The Sun.
London, England, 1853-01-04 00:00:00

THE NEW LORD-LIEUTENANT.—The Earl of St. Ger-
mans will not, make his public entry into Dublin, as
viceroy, until the 12th instant. It is understood that the
Hon. Major :Ponsonby will be his Excellency's private
secretary, an d that Mr. George L'Estrange has been
appointed chamberlain.
MR. J. lERIDAN KNOWLES.—This distinguished

dramatist is at present on a visit at Holywood, in the
county Down., with his son-in-law, Dr. J. D. Marshall.
THE PANTCY.mimEs.—The Christmas novelties produced

this season at. the different theatres have all proved most
successful. 11 the theatres are full nightly to over-
flowing ; and if the same good fortune attends them
during the ris ual duration of a Christmas piece, the
managers ma.z., look upon the season of 1852-53 as one
of the most rea numerative which they have had for many
years. They certainly deserve it ; for we scarcely ever
remember a y. ear when more liberality and enterprise
was displayed by the managerial powers than has been
manifested in the production of the novelties now before
the public at th e different theatres of the metropolis.

SERIOUS A COIDENT TO LORD AUCKLAND.—On Tues-
day last as his lordship was returning on horseback
from Ramsey to Bishop's Court, he overtook, and, in
his usual kind. manner, entered into conversation with
a farmer of the parish of St. Michael, returning from the
fair, when unfori, unately the farmer's horse became
restive, kickedl, and struck his lordship on the right leg,
causing a compound fracture of the limb. His lordship
with great presxmce of mind remained quiet in the saddle,
until the carrir ce, wh'ch had been at Ramsey with Lady
_ .

Auckland and 'l.:el- daughters, came up, into which he
was placed and driven to the palace. Medical gentle-
men were immediately in attendance, and set the limb.
Although his lordship has suffered severely, the symptoms
at present are all favourable.
PRINCE ALBEIi,T'S FARMING.—Her Majesty and Prince
Albert possess si3veral farms in the Isle of Wight, two
of which, contaii ling about six hundred acres, the Prince
farms himself. :Every recent improvement has been in-
tro uced on then e farms, and steam engines are now
performing on 'them various agricultural operations.
His Royal Higl mess is a thrifty and successful farmer,
and the results of his skill and superintendence may be
regularly seen at the neighbouring markets. The Prince
is partial to the rearing and fattening of the Scotch
black cattle.
FATAL ACCIDENT.—A fatal accident occurred to a
man of the name of William Quinlan, labourer, aged
28 years, who expired in the Albert Ward, King's Col-
lege Hospital, Carey-street, Lincoln's-inn-fields, on
Sunday night, under the following circumstances :—lt
appears that the deceased was passing through Carey-
street, Lincoln's-inn-fields, on Monday, the 27th of De-
cember, when the wind blew off a tile from one of the
houses, which fell on the head of the deceased, inflicting a
most severe wound: He was immediately picked up in
an insensible state, and conveyed to the above hospital,
where Mr. George Lawson, the house surgeon, was un-
remitting in his attendance on the unfortunate sufferer,
till death terminated his sufferings. Mr. Baker, the
summoning officer, has forwarded the information to
Charles Bedford, Esq., of the melancholy event, but no
day at present is fixed for the inquest.
COLLISION ON THE LONDON AND NORTH-WESTERN
RAlLWAY.—Yesterday evening a collision occurrred upon
the London and North-Western Railway, close to the
city of Oxford. It appears that the half-past five o'clock
train from Oxford was met after it had proceeded about
a quarter of a mile upon its journey by a coal train. The
particulars of the accident have not yet reached us, and
we are unable to say whether it was attended by any
loss of life.

DEATH OF TWO YOUNG WOMEN BY FlRE.—Yesterday
afternoon Mr. W. Baker, the coroner, held two inquests
at the London Hospital, on the bodies of two females
who perished by fire. The first death was relative to
the death of Catherine Harley, aged nineteen years. It
appeared from the evidence that the deceased was ser-
vant to Miss Blackman, a maiden lady, residing at No.
21, Arbour-square, Stepney. On the night of the 24th
ult., and after the family returned home, the deceased
fell asleep in an easy chair, before the parlour fire, and
about three o'clock on Christmas morning the family
were aroused by hearing loud screams. Another do-
mestic ran down stairs into the room, and found the de-
ceased enveloped in a mass of flame. The second inquiry
was respecting the death of Eliza Barker, aged sixteen
years, whose friends reside at Barking, Essex. The de-
ceased was the daughter of a fisherman, and on Wed-
nesday morning last was standing near the fire-place in
her father's house, when the lower portion of her gown
became ignited. In both cases the jury returned a ver-
dict of " Accidental death."

NORTH-WEST NIGHTLY REFUGE FOR THE HOUSELESS
!'t
nOcio POOR.—Last
friendsi,aS t nighto
of this
aehpauribc meeting of h
tyliwasheld
at
the
ee
institution,orinators
'7, Market-street, Edgware-road, for the purpose of
naugurating its operations. The chair was taken by
Lord Dudley C. Stuart, M.P. His lordship having
given an account of the difficulties which beset the un-
dertaking, called upon the Rev. Mr. Booth to offer a
Prayer to Almighty God for his blessing upon the under-
taking, and he having, in earnest :.,nd eloquent terms,
complied with the request, the r ev. i Ir. Marks accounted
for the establishment of the institution, and moved a vote
of thanks to the Rev. Mr. Booth, which was seconded
by Mr. Reece, and carried unanimously. A vote of
thanks was passed to Lord Dudley Stuart and to Mr.
Montefiore, each of whom had subscribed 500/. to esta-
blish the refuge.

NAPLES.—lmportant intelligence has arrived from
raples, which will especially affect the interests con-
nected with our woollen manufactures. The King, by
a decree dated the 27th of December, has raised the ex-
port duty on olive oil in the kingdom of the Two Sici-
lies to about Si. 12s. per ton (and to about 131. per ton
by foreign flag of those countries that have not treaties
of reciprocity), being an increase of about Si. 12s. per
ton on the old rate. At the same time the import duty
on this article is reduced one-half, namely, from 171.
to Si. 10s. per ton. The civic duty, or octroi, on oil for
the consumption of the city of Naples is reduced 1 ducat
per cantar, or about 2/. 2s. per ton—that is to say, from
3.20 ducats to 2.20 per cantar. Some further clauses
of the decree prohibit the export from the kingdom of
the Two Sicilies of beans, Indian corn, potatoes, French
beans, vetches, lentils, and chick peas, and also tallow
and hogs' lard. The whole of these regulations were to
come into force from the date of the decree, and the
motives assigned for them are the scarcity of the crops
of all kinds of pulse as well as oil, and the consequent
pressure of high prices upon the home consumers of.
these products and their substitutes.—Timee.
PORTUGAL.—The intelligence from Lisbon of a decline
of 3 per cent. in Portuguese stock, and also of the in-
tention of the Government to convert a portion of the
home debt into foreign Three per Cents. for railway
l i
el
thatotfh e portion
bonds i
n o
purposes, caused a fall here of 1 per cent. It is pre-
sumedicr consiststfhethheanhdosmoef dtbebet
Government,
sreferred
to
which
interest
offeredtheyin to d
thet
to give j securityeaestore?f th
the railroad.
th egu p
a ra nr
ot ebead.
bly they were among the securities advertised by the
Bank of Portugal '
by in October last, as having
been seized
the Government, although
the Bank they had been pledged to
for 540 000/ Upon that '
in denouncing , •occasion the Bank,
the transaction as " • a flagitious injustice
committed in contempt of the most solemn sti ul t* "
would gave notice that they II P a Iclis'
possession of these - • ways contest the right to
securities, whether in the hands of
the Government or
individual, cor'ofthird parties,
and
warned
"every
to that effect oration, or company, national or foreign,"

Note.—The prices in the above table are taken irrespec-
tively of any contingent circumstances, such as accruing or
surrendered dividends, interest, new shares, &c. &c., ex-
planations concerning which would have needlessly encum-
bered the compilation.

The statistics of the Railway and Mining Share
Market, in review of the past year, now crowd
thick upon us, and a glanc9 at the views of dif-
ferent parties may not be uninteresting. Messrs.
Lamond and Co., commenting more particularly
upon last month's transactions, state—
" There has probably never been so sudden a diver-
sion of business from the Railway Market as has occurred
within the last month. First came the great excitement
arising from the activity of the Paris Bourse, which in-
creased business here, and subsequently, when the ex-
citement passed over, renewed activity sprung up in
English shares. As long as it lasted prices were
buoyant, the rise continued, and everything appeared
most promising to those engaged in this branch of busi-
ness ; but now a sensible change is observable—the mar-
ket is almost wholly neglected, and instead of the brisk-
ness before perceptible, we have scarcely a fluctuation
in prices, the same monotony prevailingfrom day to day.
In the early part of December quotations generally
exhibited a rise, but it has not been supported, and the
principal lines present a proportionate reaction. Little
of importance has transpired with regard to new com-
panies. Our summary contains the particulars of two
or three provincial undertakings, but the shares com-
mand no premium. The foreign projects, including the
Antwerp and Rotterdam, the Lucca and Pistoja, the
Norwegian Trunk, the Swedish, and the Western of
Switzerland, all guaranteed at 4 and 5 per cent., have
sunk into insignificance, and not one of them rank at a
higher figure than par to a A premium, and several are
only marketable at a discount. The traffic on our lines
is favourable, and if the forthcoming dividends should
lead to the presumption that they will steadily augment,
we may shortly look for a revival. The accounts have
not been extensive, and they have been adjusted with-
' out difficulty, notwithstanding the rates of continuation
have proved extremely onerous."
At the half-yearly meeting, this day, of the Lon-
don Dock Company, a report was presented show-
ing
that the number of loaded ships which had
entered the docks in the six months, was 711,
whilst that of the same period in 1851, were only
688. The dividend was at the rate of 2/. 10s. for
the half year, and the balance of cash in favour of
the company was 160,073/. 13s. 3d. The report
was adopted unanimously.
The writers of another statement, Messrs. Tripp

and Co., express a very strong opiniop of the value of

the Australian Agricultural Shares, even at the ex-
isting high prices, and ground their argument upon
the very tangible basis of the large landed property
possessed by the Company. As far as the Peel
River estate is concerned, its gold production will
doubtless give it a great value, but the soil of a por-
tion of the immense territory held is well known
to be inferior, as must necessarily be the case in a
country like Australia, where large tracks are taken
up. The coal properties of the company will no
doubt be valuable. The public by purchasing single
shares or small lots and taking them out of the
market, are imparting great firmness to prices. The
South Australian Land Compan y is, however, now
a competitor for public favour. This company pos-
sesses over 60,000 acres of selected land in the best

localities, one acre being worth fifty in other
parts of Australia, both as regards locality and
fertility. It has town allotments, profitable
leases to thriving tenants, wharves and other
sources of income, which have for years, we believe,
enabled it to pay a dividend of five per cent. per
annum, and appropriate some surplus. Copper is
present on some of the property ; but, more im-
portant to the shareholders, intelligence of a most
authentic character has been received that gold is
obtainable. The last report, presented at the
meeting of proprietors, showed most encourag-
ing prospects upon the mere agricultural
view of the -company's resources, and many
have thence anticipated much larger future divi-
dends. The total number of shares is 12,500, held
largely as an investment in Australia. The special
correspondent of the Mining Journal, writing
from Adelaide, describes the excitement that had
arisen in consequence of the discovery of gold on
the Company's property, only 23 miles from the
town, and antipating something of the kind, further
sales at the head office are declined upon any terms.
A private letter by the Chusan and over-
land, entirely confirms the Mining Journal, one

person having procured 162 ounces. It is consi-
dered that if the Company w ere to offer a reward
other spots would be almost immediately discovered
by the " prospectars," and to offer an attraction in
competition with the Government lands, moderate
royalties, or leases, to mining companies, will be
probably the best course. The steamer Australian,
so long overdue, is expected to bring much later
news from Adelaide ; but as the writers of the
private letter in question wished to purchase land,
and keep their discovery a secret, no further infor-

ination may be yet received from them. The
rates of insurance on the steamer Australian have
increased to 10 and 15 per cent. The general screw-
, steamer Harbinger leaves next month for Australia.
The English Funds have been firm, but not very
brisk. The price of Consols is 1001 to The
ship Phoenician has, it appears, not quite so much
gold, the amount being 195,0001. Money is easier
in Lombard-street and the Stock Exchange, the
dividend payments being at hand, but a consider-
able sum goes away again this week to Russia,
where the exchange, owing to large grain and
tallow purchases, rules against us.
The next Bank Returns will show a decrease
again in the bullion. The new 3+ per Cents. have
realised 104-11- Exchequer Bills have realised
G9s. to 725. premium.
Foreign Securities have been fluctuating, Mexi-
can Bonds have realised 23i to and the Peru-
vian Deferred are steady at 64-i- to 65. Grenada
Deferred are 131-. Spanish Deferred are buoyant
at 23:1 ex. di-vidend. Dutch 4 per Cents. are
worth 99 to 1. Portuguese 4 per Cents. bring 40.
Railway Shares are very quiet again, but gene-
rally steady. York and North Midland and South-