The Sun.
London, England, 1853-09-17 00:00:00

THE LAWS OF CHOLERA.

It may be right to premise that the observations
which are to follow the above title are not intended
to be limited to a strictly logical definition of the
laws of cholera, and that we shall feel at liberty
not only to advert to any facts we may find it
necessary to chronicle for the purpose of showing
how those laws have developed themselves, but
,also to cligrenu little from time to time, in order
to bring to the subject sundry contributions by
which it may be enriched. We ask leave to use'
our title somewhat like the x of the algebraist, and
to declare its value when we arrive at the close of
our process. _ _

Until the month of February, 1852, we are not
in a position to show that cholera had its laws—at
least, we could not furnish anything amounting to
their digest and exposition. At the first appear-
ance of the epidemic in this country, in 1832, and
for many subsequent years, it was a subject com-
pletely shrowded in mystery ; its nature was not
understood, its movements were a riddle, and its
proper treatment, even among the most scientific
and experienced, was unknown. Of late years the
magic wand of science has been drawing its circle
around this angel of death, and, if we had a popu-
lation ready to obey her voice, we should enjoy
something like an immunity from the sufferings
and the deaths which we have with a Turkish
fatality considered inevitable.
We say February, 1852, for it was at that date
that we were furnished with a complete history of
cholera in England—a history both natural and
chronological of the epidemic, from its first appear-
ance down to the close of 1849. We refer to the
" Report of the Mortality of Cholera in England in
1848-9, presented by the Registrar-General to Sir
George Grey, the Secretary for the Home Depart-
ment." That document did not appear until two
years after the epidemic had passed over us, and,
great as was the temptation to notice it for the in-
valuable information it presented, we abstained
from entering into the subject from an unwilling-
ness to revive a distressing topic, and from a con-
viction that a year or two would bring up the pain-
ful subject again. This document we shall now use
as our textbook in the discussion on which we are
about to enter, and it will be our object, departing
somewhat from its order and method, to give our
readers the benefit of that extensive induction of
which it is the record.

The Registrar-General having confided the duty
of framing a complete history of the late epidemic
to Mr. William Farr, that gentleman proceeded to
his work with the scientific ardour for which he is
distinguished, and, aided by his able assistants, he
rendered available for his purpose the vast piles of
returns which fill the Registrar's-office, taking ad-
vantage, also, of the new population returns " to
determine accurately the mortality of the districts
of London and of the country in which the disease
had been most fatal."

To show the value which may be claimed for the
deductions that are to follow, it may be well, in
the first place, to notice the materials from which
they are drawn, and which consist of a list of every
case of death from cholera and diarrhoea in 1848-9,
transcribed from the registration volumes, the
whole forming a large mass of manuscript, which
contains the particulars of 72,180 deaths. " The
list of persons who died of the two diseases in
1848-9 would fill an octavo volume of about 2,500
pages." The report, instead of presenting a death
register, contains the abstracts and salient facts
relating to each locality in a condensed form. By
means of the ample tables with which we aro fur-
nished we can trace " the march of the epidemic
through every country day by day," and that
" through 17,000,000 of people settled over a wide
extent of country in all the various ccircumstances
of life."

Aided by the ingenuity of his assailants, the
author of this report has been enabled to record the
daily progress of the cholera mortality in a number
of diagrams, which tell their tale to the eye of the
observer in such a manner as greatly to assist him
in arriving at results and make him almost inde-
pendent of the tables of figures given to assist his
more minute inquiries.

We have a "Map of England, shaded to show the
prevalence of cholera in the several districts during
the epidemic of 1849," whereon the relatives degrees
of mortality are expressed by the darkness of the
shading. In this map, in Hull, where the mor-
tality was 237 in 10,000 inhabitants, the shade is
darkest ; in. Guildford, in Surrey, where the mor-
tality was 5 in 10,000, the shading is imperceptible.
This faithful sheet presents mournful patches of
black, beginning northwards, on the east coast, at
Ainwick, and going round to Newcastle-on-Tyne
and Sunderland, Stockton, Sculcoates, Wisbeach,
the whole valley of the Thames from Rochfore and
Sheppey, several miles above Brentford ; then
Brighton, Southampton, Plymouth, and the neigh-
bourhood, Bridgewater, Bristol, Swansea. Bridgend
Cardiff and Newport, Liverpool, and Cockermouth,
while in the interior the funereal hue falls heavily
on Leeds, Gainsborough, Nant witch, Newcastle-
under-Lyne, Wolverhampton, Walsall, West Brom-
wich, Dudley, and Stourbridge, Coventry, Hitchin,
Hertford, and Salisbury.
An admirably executed diagram, very much re-
sembling that made by the Corps of Engineers to
record the attendance at the Great Exhibition,
gives the deaths from cholera and diarrhoea on each
day of the year 1849, with the meteorological phe-
nomena registered at Greenwich on the correspond-
ing days, so that on inspection the student can
learn, in reference to any given day during that
year, the number of deaths from either disease, the
temperature, the quantity of rain that fell, the di-
rection of the wind, and the weight of the atmos-
phere, and, like the well-known diagram to which
we have referred, giving the appearance of a needle-
shaped mountain, throwing up its loftiest pinnacle
to indicate the day on which the numbers attained
their maximum. _

In the same way another diagram shows the
deaths from cholera in 11 divisions of England ;
another gives the temperature and mortality of
London for every week for the last 11 years, shown
by circular figures. This is followed by a set of
circular diagrams representing the Plagues of Lon-
don, and showing the weekly deaths in the years
1593, 1603, 1625, 1636, 1665.
These elaborate diagrams, the extended tables by
which they are followed, and the body of " Notes
on Cholera," furn.ished by the various local regis-
trars, form the apparatus which has been employed
to work out one of the most interesting problems
to which the labours of a scientic mind could be
directed. How that problem has been worked, the
solution given, and its practical uses, are subjects
to which we deem it most important at this period
to call public attention, as we intend in our further
observations, and from which it will be seen that
the use made of these materials is worthy of their
great value and importance.—Times.

DISTRESSING ACCIDENT ON WINDERMERE.—On Tues-
day afternoon, about five o'clock, as two young gentle-
menlight were rowing roorwwinhgerry
fro,mth e
Waterheadboat suddenly
dd down
ly capsized,t he lake inan
and
before any assistance could be rendered, the hapless
youths had sunk to rise no more alive. The accident
suen
took place at Ecclerig Crag, about 20 yards from land,
and in eight feet depth of water. They were on their
way to join a party at Miss Marriot's, of the Abbey,
Windermere. Half-an-hour elapsed before the bodies
were recovered. They were immediately removed to
the Low-wood Hotel, and medical aid procured from
Ambleside and Bowness. Every means were made use
of for some hours to bring about resuscitation, but
without avail, A coroner's inquest took place on Wed-
nesday forenoon, when it was stated that the young men
were seen in the light skiff, stripped as rowers, full of
life and frolic, sometimes standing up in the boat,
and then heedlessly jerking themselves down, and
throwing their legs over its side. Their names were
Thicknesse, aged 23, only son of the member for Wigan,
and Woodcock, 21, son of the eminent banker of that
town. A verdict of " Accidentally drowned" was re-
c turned. •

( From the Daily News.)
A leading topic at the Agricultural Meetings
now taking place all over the country, is the ex-
tension of the use of machinery in agriculture.
There is every reason why it should be so. The
inventors of new machines are in the state of
natural exaltation which is characteristic of in-
ventors, and always interesting and agreeable in
the eyes cf bystanders. The purchasers of new
implements aro delighted with the fresh facilities
they have obtained. And all farmers have some-
thing to say at present about the rise of wages and
the scarcity of labour. When the poor labourers
of Dorsetshire and Wiltshire are plucking up spirit
to demand more than six or seven shillings a week
they somehow sustained life upon, and ambitiously
soar to the ideal of ten or twelve, the great day of
machinery has certainly arrived. In the manu-
facturing world it is a notorious fact that every
great labour-saving invention within this century
has been directly duo to a strike for wages. In
the rural world, emigration is answering the pur-
pose of strikes, where it does not immediately pro-
Iduce them. The Irish reapers now failing us, the
workhouses having been emptied of the able-bodied,
so that the old men left are not enough to draw
the water, and weed the
grass-grown yards, the
demand for labour-saving implements is more pres-
sing from season to season. The maker of a par-
ticular scarifier, who sold about 150 in a year, five
years ago, now sells between 800 and 900. A ma-
nufacturer of steam engines now sells 150 in a year,
the demand being 15 five years since. Others re-
port that they sell fourfold, fivefold, eightfold
what was required three or four years ago ; and
the increase in the less costly implements is great
in proportion ; and the complaints of inability to
execute orders fast enough are so many that there
is no doubt of a continued extension for a long
time to come.

Side by side with these statements, we have still
complaints of the backwardness of the farmers.
Whole districts are pointed out where the work of
tillage goes on just in the same way as in the time
of our fathers; the old wooden plough, with an ab-
surd team and set of human attendants ; the old
miry ways about the farm 2 • the hand-hoeing, the
threshing with the flail, the mowing with the
scythe ; the long exposure of the hay ; the waste
of every kind in reaping, and so forth. And at
agricultural meetings now, there is always a speaker
who points out the undeniable advantages of dozens
and scores of implements, and hopes to live to see
the day when every farmer will, as a matter of
course, supply himself with a complete set of
labour-saving machinery. It is wonderful that no
one of the yet unsupplied farmers does not get up
and read to the meeting a list of prices of imple-
ments, and then ask—if such a question were still
needful—how farmers are to buy such costly
affairs. The steam-engine costs 5001. to begin
with, if the farm is large enough to make it,
according to current notions, worth while. The
drill for such a farm costs 401. ; rollers from 11/.
to 18/. ; a reaping machine from 17/. to 201., and
so on. Now if, after all this outlay, such ma-
chines as Samuelson's digger are to be added, the
farmer may well ask where the capital is to come
from. He must go on paying for human labour
from week to week because he is really unable to pur-
chase labour in its concentrated form. He must do
the best he can with his land according to the old
methods, for he cannot wait for the increased
productiveness which would ensue from improved
methods. He has eyes, like other people, and can
see what the advantages of high farming with first-
rate apparatus can produce ; but he cannot pre-
tend to compete with it. He must do the best he
can, and let himself be outstripped, because he
cannot help it. He is the handloom weaver to
the power-loom manufacturer; and he must put
up with the lot of the small capitalists in the pre-
sence of the large one. Such is the farmer's plea.
Can we admit it and rest upon it ? Must we be
satisfied with it ?
We must remember that circumstances have
changed since agricultural machinery began to at-
tract much attention. Our workhouses were then
full in winter, and the rates were a serious burden
to the farmer. Together with the machinery, the
number of labourers was growing ; and the imme-
diate consequence, though not the ultimate, was
likely to be that as much as was saved by the use
of machinery, might have to be spent in the
maintenance of displaced labourers. The case is
radically altered by the draining away of labourers
by emigration. What is saved from poor-rates
will be paid away in increased wages, with such
a further probable demand, that the farmers must
incur, it is believed, an expenditure which will
very soon exceed what the most costly machinery
could take out of their capital. Taking the whole
kingdom together it has been computed that the
saving in poor rates and the anticipated reduction
in the price of guano, would pay the interest of the
capital invested in so much machinery as would
compensate for the attraction of labour. Now,
is there no way in which the advantages of the
general use of machinery can be secured ? Gentle-
men at agricultural meetings hope to see every
farm stocked with a complete set ; and a multitude
of farmers respond that it will never be done in
their day—that the thing is an impossibility. Is
there no way of reconciling the difficulty?
In every other leading business of life, men are
finding out the economy of association. Gentlemen
began with their club-houses, many years ago, and
now artisans are feeling the benefit of the principle
and method in their model lodging-houses, their
baths and wash-houses, and wherever the experi-
ment has been fairly tried of making a complete
and first-rate apparatus answer the need of num-
bers, instead of a very poor and defective appara-
tus being supplied to each of a multitude who have
the same want. A system of gas lighting gives 'Lco
each room of a vast mansion an all-sufficient light
at less cost than the old farthing candle ; and the
clothes of a whole parish may now be washed,
dried, and ironed by an American apparatus for a
fraction of the cost, in money and time, that for-
merly half cleansed the apparel of a single court-
ful of people. What is there in agricultural ap-
paratus that need exclude it from the economy of
association ? Why should not there be depots of
it, whence it might be let out on hire ?
Most implements are abundantly moveable, and
therefore loanable, and all may be made moveable.
The obvious difficulty is that the same instrument
is wanted by everybody nearly at the same time ;
but there is some margin left—a difference, per-
haps, of three weeks between the earliest and latest
ploughing or sowing, or mowing or reaping, in the
same district. And there is, besides, the main
virtue of machinery to be considered—the speed
of its operation. By the new digging machine '
an acre of soil has been turned into a seed-bed in
eighty minutes. Of course this speed facilitates
the process of lending ; and it is clear that a small
number of machines may supply a much greater
number of cultivators, even in regard to those pri-
mary processes which depend upon season and
weather. The margin is much broader for those
secondary acts which may be done one day as well
as another—threshing, chaff-cutting, cake-crushing,
and even scarifying and hoeing. From the mere
aspect of the case, combined with experience of
what has been done in other lines of human action,
it seems almost certain that there will be, ere long,
centres of agricultural machinery, whence farmers
may derive what aid they need in its season, and
where, no doubt, great fortunes will be made by
machinists, or some intermediate class which will
presently rise up, and offer its services to perfect
the connexion between the tillers of the soil and
the makers of their tools. The first adventurers
who planted magazines in the Hanse towns and the
ports of Italy and England a few centuries ago
rose to be the chiefs of a new social and political
interest ; and some great function, or at least great
fortune, may be reserved for those who win, by
establishing magazines of labour, facilitate the ap-
plication of mechanical resources to the production
of human food. If this were done now, and the
trade in guano were extended, we might presently
add to the prosperity of the farmers as a class, and
England.
increase enormously the growth of food in

THE LATE SIR C. J. NAPIER.—In reply to the
letter of condolence from the Masons of Portsmouth to
the lady of the late Lieut.-General Sir C. J. Napier,
G.C.8., on the death of that distinguished man and be-
loved brother of the Order, Sir W. Napier -writes as
follows :—" Oaklands, September 8, 1853.—Gentlemen,
—The widow of the late Sir C. Napier is unable, from
the weight of affliction, to do more than return, through
me, her grateful thanks for the address of condolence
you have presented on her bereavement. The sympathy
of friends is always assuaging to grief, but when that
sympathy comes with such public testimony to the worth
of the lost subject, it is as alleviating as human feeling
under such a blow can be sensible of. Gentlemen, to
Lady Napier's thanks permit ma to add an expression f
grateful sentiments for all the family of one whom you
have described as a virtuous and great man.—l have the
honour to be, gentlemen, your obedient servant, W.
NAPIER, Lieutenant-General.—To R. W. Ford, R. G.
F. Smith, and J. U. Owen, Esqs., and the Brethren of
the Masonic Lodges of the Borough of Portlmoutb."

" This officer entered the navy Dec. 15, 1790, as cap-
tain's servant on board the Royal Charlotte yacht, Capt.
Sir Hyde Parker, lying at Deptford; and on removing in
1793 to the Robust, 74, commanded by his uncle, the
Hon.Geo.Keith Elphinstone, was present as midshipman
at the investment and subsequent evacuation of Toulon.
In the Glory, 98, Capt. John Elphinstone, which ship he
next joined, Mr. Adam bore a warm part in Lord Howe's
action, June 1, 1794. He appears to have been thus suc-
cessively transferred to the Barfleur, 98, and Monarch,
74, bearing each the flag of his relative, the Hon. Sir G.
K. Elphinstone, whose official approbation he elicited for
his signal services as acting lieutenant in command of the
Squib, gun-brig, at the carrying of the important pass of
Maysenbergh, during the operations which led to the
surrender of the Cape oTGOod 'Hope in 1795. In Octo-
ber of the latter year, being appointed acting lieutenant
of the Victorious, 74, Captain Wm. Clark, he proceeded
to the East Indies, and on Sept. 9, 1796, participated,
in company with the Arrogant, 74, in a long conflict of
nearly four hours with six heavy French frigates under
M. Sercey, which terminated in the separation of the
combatants, after each had been much crippled, and the
Victorious occasioned a loss of 17 men killed and 57,
including her captain, wounded. Mr. Adam, whom we
subsequently find officiating as acting commander and
' captain, from August, 1796, to August, 1797, of the
Swift, sloop, and Carysfort, frigate, was at length, on his
return to England in the Polyphemus, 64, Captain Geo.
Lumsdaine, confirmed to a lieutenantcy, Feb. 8, 1798, in
his old ship the Barfleur, Captain James R. Dacres. On
May 16 following he obtained official command of the
Falcon, fire-ship, but was soon afterwards transferred to
the Albatross, 18, and ordered with dispatches to the
Cape of Good Hope, whence he ultimately accompanied
an expedition sent to the Red Sea for the purpose of inter-
cepting the French in their meditated descent on India.
Being advanced to the command, June 12, 1799, of La
Sybille, of 48 guns and 300 men, Captain Adam while in
that ship assisted in the capture and destruction, Aug.
23, 1800, of 5 Dutch armed vessels and 22 merchantmen
in Batavia roads ; made prize in October following of
24 Dutch prows, four of which mounted 6 guns each ;
and on August 19, 1801, off Mahe, the principal of the
Seychelle Islands, took, with the loss of only two men
killed and a midshipman slightly wounded, after a gal-
lant action of 20 minutes, amidst rocks and shoals, and
under fire from a battery on shore, the French frigate
La Chiffonne, of 42 guns and 296 men, of whom 23
were killed and 30 wounded. On arriving with his trophy
at Madras he was presented by the Insurance Company
at that place with an elegant sword, valued at 200
guineas, and the merchants at Calcutta also subscribed
to him a sword and a piece of plate. Having at length
returned to England, and been appointed to the com-
mand, May 23, 1803, of La Chiffonne, which had been
added to the navy as a 36-gun frigate, Captain Adam
cruised with success in the North Sea and Channel
until the summer of 1805, and on June 10, in that year,
with the Falcon, sloop, Clinker, gun-brig, and Frances,
armed cutter, under his orders, after a chase of nine
hours, during which the British suffered some loss from
the incessant fire of the forts along shore, drove under
the batteries of Fecamp a division of the French flotilla,
consisting of 2 corvettes and 15 gun-vessels, carrying in
all 51 guns, 4 eight-inch mortars, and 3 field-pieces, ac-
companied by 14 transports. While next in command,
from August 27, 1805, to April 6, 1810, of the Resist-
ance, 38, he witnessed Sir John Warren's capture, March
13, 1806, of the Marengo, 80, flag-ship of Admiral
Linois, and 40-gun frigate Belle Poule ; brought a con-
siderable quantity of freight home from Vera Cruz in
February, 1807 ; took, December 27 following, L'Aigle,
privateer, of 14 guns and 66 men ; conveyed a large
body of general officers to the coast of Portugal in 1808 ;
afterwards bore the late King of the French from Port
Mahon to Palermo ; and was otherwise actively and
, usefully employed. On removing from the Resistance
to the Invincible, 74, Captain Adam commenced a series
of very effectual co-operations with the patriots on the
coast of Catalonia, where, and on other parts of the
coast of Spain, he carried on for a considerable time
the duties of senior officer, and greatly annoyed the
enemy. In particular, at the defence of Tarragona,
in May and June, 1811, he highly distinguished
himself under Sir Edward Codrington ; and, in May,
1812, he directed with characteristic zeal and ability the
operations which led to the capture of the town of Al-
meria, where the castle of San Elmo, situated upon an
almost inaccessible rock, and all the sea defences and
batteries which protected the anchorage of the place,
were blown up. In June, 1813, after a siege of five
days, Captain Adam took, with the assistance of Lieut.-
Colonel Prevost, of the 67th Regiment, the fort of St.
Philippe, in the Col de Balaguer, near Tortosa, armed
with 12 pieces of ordnance, including 2-ten inch mortars
and 2 howitzers, with a garrison of 101 officers and men.
He likewise while in the same ship acquired the appro-
val of Sir Edward Pellew, the commander-in-chief, and
of the Board of Admiralty, for the successful manner in
which he conducted an important negotiation with the
Dey of Algiers, having for its object a cessation of the
depredations which had been for some time carried on
by that potentate on the subjects of the Spanish govern-
ment. Shortly after the paying off of the Invincible,
Captain Adam on May 16, 1814, assumed the special
and temporary command of the Impregnable, 98, bear-
ing the flag of his Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence,
in which ship he landed the Emperor of Russia and the
King of Prussia at Dover, on the evening of the 6th of
June, and was afterwards present at the grand naval
review held at Spithead. He left the Impregnable on
the 29th of the latter month, but was nominated, on the
15th of December following, acting captain of the Royal
Sovereign, yacht, in which he continued until Feb. 7,
1816. Being re-appointed to that vessel, July 20, 1821,
he accompanied George IV. in his visits to Ireland and
Scotland, and was occasionally engaged in attendance
on other royal personages. He was superseded in the
Royal Sovereign on his promotion to flag rank, May
27, 1825 ; and attaining the rank of vice-admiral Jan.
10, 1837, was subsequently employed as commander-in-
chief in North America and the West Indies, with his
flag on board the Illustrious, 72, from August 17, 1841,
until May, 1845.
_ _

"Sir Charles Adam was nominated a K.C.8., Jan.
10, 1835. He represented in Parliament from 1831 to
1841 the conjoined counties of Clackmannan and Kin-
ross ; was First Naval Lord of the Admiralty from
April, 1835, until August, 1841 ; obtained the lord lieu-
tenantcy of Kinross April 1, 1839 ; was appointed in
1840 one of the Elder Brethren of the Trinity House.
He married, on the 14th of October, 1822, Elizabeth,
daughter of the late Patrick Brydone, 'Esq., and sister
of the Countess of Minto."
On the accession of Lord John Russell to power, in
1846, Sir Charles Adam was again offered, and once
more accepted, the post of First Naval Lord of the Ad-
miralty, under the late Lord Auckland ; but on the
death of Sir Robert Stopford he was appointed, July
23, 1847, to the governorship of Greenwich Hospital.
In all positions of life, private or public, domestic or
official, Sir Charles Adam was always most amiable and
most estimable. He possessed great kindness of heart,
and the warmest and most charitable feelings. He was
not a rich man, but, nevertheless, his bounty was fully
proportionate to his means, whilst his name and good
offices, as well as his purse, were readily given to the
promotion and advancement of the public charities and
institutions of his profession. The inmates of Green-
wich
Hospital will unaffectedly deplore the old governor's
loss ; for he laboured most earnestly and most success-
fully to improve the habits, condition, and comforts of j
the venerable pensioners.
The distinguished deceased, we believe, has left only ,
one son--a barrister-at-law. His second son, one of the
most promising youths in the service, was lost with Cap-
tain Hewett and the officers and crew of the surveying-
brig Fairy, off Lowestoft.
The remains of Sir Charles Adam will rest with those
of his gallant predecessors in the hospital chapel vault.
By the decease of Sir Charles Adam, the following
promotions take place :
To be Admiral of the Blue.—Vice-Admiral of the Red
admiral
of theHawker,rdh witce the Earl of Dundonald, to be
admiral
e.
To be Vice. Admiral of the Blue.—Rear-Admiral
'e.
B .'
Seymour, li. K. Cb e . B. vice,
admiral
dl
nfAtrhtheuwr,hiCte.,Bv.,inveicseirßaowles.
F.
G.C.H., Commander-in-Chief in the West Indies, to be 1
vice-admiral of the red.
To be Rear Admiral of the Blue.—Captain Lord 1
Adolphus Fitzclarence, G.C.H. (Dec. 24, 1824), Com-
modoret
at Squadron,Malta, vicetn
b e C
r. e
aßr
...
Houston Stewart, superintendent
of her Majesty's Yacht
admiral of the white ; vice Gordon Thomas Falcon, to be
rear-admiral of the red.
To be Rear-Admirals.—Captains James Montague
(July 17, 1824), Thomas Prickett (August 20, 1824),
and Alexander Dundas Young Arbuthnott (Oct. 11,
1824), on the retired list, promoted under the order in
council of 1846, without increase of pay.
By the promotion of Lord Adolphus Fitzclarence an
appointment of naval aide-de-camp to the Queen is relin-
quished, as also the command in chief of her Majesty's
yacht squadron, arid Captain John M. Laws (1833),
becomes a senior captain on the 14s. 6d. list ; and Capt.
C. A. Barlow (1841), on the 12s. 6d. half-pay list.
Rear-Admiral Lord Adolphus Fitzclarence, the son of
our late sailor-king, William IV., has been in active ser-
vice ever since he entered the nayy, except for ea inter 7

val of two years. He was born Feb. 18, 1802, is uncle
of the present Earl of Munster, brother of Lord Augus-
tus Fitzclarence, rector of Maple Durham, county of
Oxford ; and brother-in-law of Lord De Lisle and Dud-
ley, Lieut.-Colonel Charles Fox, of the Grenadier
Guards, the Earl of Errol, Lord John Frederick Gordon
Hallyburton, Captain R.N., and Viscount Falkland.
" His lordship entered the navy May 26, 1814, as
first-class volunteer, on board the Impregnable, 98, Cap-
tains Hon. Henry Blackwood and Charles Adam, bear-
ing the flag of his Royal Highness the Duke of Cla-
rence, in which ship he shortly afterwards escorted the
Allied Sovereigns from Calais to Dover. He then, as
midshipman, joined the Newcastle, 50, Captain Lord G.
Stuart, on the North American station ; on his return
whence, in 1815, he proceeded to the Mediterranean in
the Tagus, 38, Captain J. W. D. Dundas, and there con-
tinued to serve on board the Rochfort, 80, flag ship, of
Sir Thomas F. Fremantle, and Glasgow, 50, Captain
Hon. A. Maitland, until the receipt of his first conunis-
Sion, bearing date April 23, 1821. He joined Oct. 22
following, the Euryalus, 42, Captain Augustus William
James Clifford, fitting for the station last mentioned, and
attaining the rank of commander, May 17, 1823, was
next appointed, Dec. 26, in the same year, and Feb. 28,
1824, to the Brisk sloop, and Redwing, 18, on the North
Sea Station. Captain Fitzclarence, who acquired his
present rank, Dec. 24, 1824, was subsequently appointed
-Feb. 9, 1826, to the Ariadne, 26, in the Mediterra-
nean ; July 2, 1827, to the Challenger, 28, in which
frigate he brought home the Earl of Dalhousie, late
Governor-General of Canada, and then visited Lisbon ;
and August 28, 1828, to the Pallas, 42, employed in
conveying the latter nobleman and the Bishop of Calcutta
from Portsmouth to Bengal, General Viscount Comber-
mere from India home and Colonel Pox from Halifax.
Since July 22, 1830, his lordship has been in uninter-
rupted command of the Royal George and Victoria and
Albert yachts.
"tfe was appointed Groom of the Robes to William
IV., July 24, 1830 • granted, May 24, 1831, the title
and precedency of the younger son of a marquis ; nomi-
nated a G.C.H. Feb. 24, 1832 ; and created a Lord of
the Bedchamber in Ordinary Jan. 5, 1833."

PORTSMOUTH, SEPT. 16.
The Edinburgh, 58, screw gunnery ship, Captain
Hewlett, left Spithead last evening, at sunset, on a
cruise.

The Barracouta, paddle-sloop, Commander George
Parker, was undocked to-day, after purification by Mr.
Hay ; and the Encounter, screw, 14, Capt. O'Callaghan,
was hauled in to have some defects repaired.
In Harbour—The Victory, Neptune, Excellent, Vic-
toria and Albert, Barracouta, Stromboli, Fairy, Elfin,
Sprightly, Fire Queen, Ceres, Fanny, Portsmouth, and
Echo.

In Dock—The Nelson, 120 ; Princess Royal, 90 ; Al-
fred, 50 ; Encounter, 14 ; Scourge, 6 ; Growler, 6 ; and
Harpy, 2. _ _

In the Steam Basin—The Dauntless, 24; Dragon, 6;
Gladiator, 6 ; Geyser, 6 ; and Sphynx, 6.
On the Stocks—The Marlborough, 131 ; Prince of
Wales, 120 ; Royal Sovereign, 120 ; and Royal Frede-
rick, 116.

At Spithead—The Prussian corvette Amazone only.
The fitting basin has been drained, and is being cleared
of deposit.

PLYMOUTH, SEPT. 16.
The Lords of the Admiralty commenced their duties,
at 9.30 yesterday morning, by inspecting the police force
of the Devonport Dockyard, under the command of Lieu-
tenant T. Williams, R.N. They then proceeded in the
Commodore's barge to the Banshee, and, steaming into
the Sound, landed on the lighthouse steps, at the west
end of the breakwater. The members present were—Sir
James Graham, Admiral Dundas, Captain Milne, and
Captain O'Brien ; Colonel Greene, Mr. Walker, civil
engineer, and Mr. Cooper, civil engineer. Their Lord-
ships were accompanied by Commodore Superinten-
dent Michael Seymour and Mr. Thompson, Queen's
Harbour-master, and were received on landing by Mr.
Stuart, superintendent of the breakwater. This gentle-
man had performed the same duty 20 years previously
for the First Lord, who greeted him most cordially.
Their lordships went into the lighthouse, where the en-
gineers exhibited several plans and models of different
parts of the works, and then commenced their inspec-
tion by examining the south buttress at the west end,
which is being strengthened. Proceeding along the
breakwater, their attention was called to the mode
adopted for securing the outer parts where they have
been disturbed by storms, in two places on the western
arm, and one on the eastern arm. This is done by
dovetailing large blocks of granite, horizontally and ver-
tically, on what is termed the " toe of the foundation."
Their lordships, notwithstanding the heavy rain, passed
along the whole extent of this wonderful structure,
nearly a mile, and after minutely examining every por-
tion, descended into the commodore's barge, at the inner
part of the east end, and were pulled outside, where
they had a full and satisfactory view of the powerful
resistance given by the breakwater to a considerable
sea which was then rolling against it. Embarking
again in the Banshee, they returned to the dockyard at
12.30, and proceeded to their quarters, at Moorshead's
Royal Hotel, where a board was formed for the dispatch
of business.

At 3 p.m. they went on board the new screw steam-
ship St. Jean d'Acre, 100 guns, Captain the Hon. Henry
Keppel, in Harnoaze, and steani being up, she cast off
and made an experimental trip into the Sound, with top-
gallantyards across. Since the last experiment 100 tons
of provisions have been sent to this ship from the Royal
William Victualling-yard, and 100 tons of water have
been discharged from her. She is to be supplied with
the patent distilling apparatus.
Their Lordships dined with Commodore Superinten-
dent Michael Seymour yesterday. To-day they will
probably inspect the Royal William Victualling-yard,
the Royal Marine Barracks, and the Naval Hospital,
after which they dine with Major-General Sir Harry
Smith, Commander of the Forces in the Western Dis-
trict, and patronise a ball at St. George's-hall, Stone-
house, in favour of the Female Orphan Asylum. On
Saturday they give a dinner to the heads of the public
departments.

It is reported here that the steam-sloop Medea, 6,
Commander John C. Baily, which was commissioned
only in December last, is ordered home to Spithead to
be paid off. Lieutenant Thomas D. Williams, the First
Lieutenant, between whom and Commander Baily an
exchange of courts-martial took place, has been removed
from the Medea, by Admiral Sir George Seymour, into
the flag-ship Cumberland, 70, Captain George H.
Seymour.

The General Screw Steam Shipping Company's mail
packet Lady Jocelyn, Captain Benson, sailed yesterday
afternoon for the Cape, Mauritius, and Calcutta.

WOOLWICH, SEPT. 16.
APPOINTMENTS.
Mates.—Henry Berkeley (1853), from the Queen,
116, to the Desperate screw steam sloop, at Devonport ;
John A. F. Luttrell (1853), to the Arab, 12, sloop, at
Chatham.

Acting Mate.—Hastings St. John de Robeck (1853),
from the Waterloo, 120, flag-ship at Sheerness, to the
Philomel, 8, sloop, at Devonport.
Second Master.—William G. Aldrich (1849), from the
Imaum, 72, receiving•ship, at Jamaica.
Masters'-Assistants.—Arthur Morphy, to the Strom-
boli steam sloop, at Portsmouth ; F. C. Piper, to the
Dolphin, 3, brigantine, at Sheerness ; E. C. Roberts, to
the President, 50, fitting at Chatham as flagship for the
Pacific station.

The following is the ultimate decision arrived at rela-
tive to the intended alteration to be made on the Royal
Victoria and Albert steam yacht :—She is to have her
present engines of 430-horse power taken out, and will
then be lengthened 65 feet ; she will afterwards be fitted
with oscillating engines, by John Penn and Son, of 600-
horse power, and new paddle-wheels on the feathering
principle ; and the requisite alterations are to be made
with all possible dispatch.
THE CHANNEL FLEET IN CORK.

The Cork, Constitution. of Thursday contains the fol-
lowing intelligence respecting the Channel Fleet :
" Her Majesty's Channel Fleet steamed out of Bantry
Bay on Tuesday, but up to a late hour last night it had
not arrived in Queenstown. The London, 90, which
forms part of Admiral Corry's squadron, arrived in
Queenstown at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, and at 11 the follow-
ing (yesterday) morning, the local harbour-master (Mr.
Verling) received orders to direct all vessels in the har-
bour to fall in, and to allow space for anchorage of the
fleet when they should arrive. These orders were at-
tended to ; but as yet no further message has been re-
ceived."

, The Cork Reporter says :—" The London, 90 guns,
arrived in the harbour on Tuesday evening, but though
the other ships had put to sea, none had reached Queens-
town till this morning. The Imperieuse and another
have just come in, and all are expected before night:"
The inhabitants of Cork are making all the necessary
preparations to give the Lords of the Admiralty a cor-
dial and hearty welcome to their city. Their lordships
are to be entertained at a public banquet, and it is in-
tended to present an address to Sir James Graham. The
Cork Constitution states, that a subscription will be set
on foot during the presence of the Channel Fleet in that
harbour, the proceeds to be applied to the " Sailors'
Home," about being established in Queenstown.

THE POTATO IN IRELAND.—SeveraI letters received
in the course of Thursday from various quarters of the
country speak rather despondingly of the progress of the
potato disease. It was not, of course, ever expected
that the produce of this year would altogether escape
the ravages of the old blight, and even still there is
good reason to believe that the crop had reached such a
state of maturity before the bad symptoms had appeared
as to justify the opinion that the greater portion will be
ultimately saved. It is said that the poor man's
potato, the " lumper," has, as usual, suffered most.—
Times' Dublin Correspondent.

A RAPACIOUS BEAR.—A showman, four days ago,
took a bear to Biarritz, department of the Basses-
Pyrenees' with the intention of making it dance for
money. He fastened it up in a stable in the night, but
by some means the animal escaped, and took to flight.
A general battue waa organised, but the only trace that
could be discovered of the bear was that he had killed
and eaten great part of ow ass near Anglete

spector Field, it will be remembered, was not put
int the witness box during the famous trial at the
?).
G oucester Assizes, when "Tom Provis," of Warminster,
attempted to prove that he was Sir Richard Smyth, of
Ashton Court ; and it has been said that the public thus
lost an interesting tale. But though the officer might
have told the facts of his search alter the truth, the bye-
play by which they were obtained would have been kept
out of sight, if possible ; while the clue which led to the
detection of the conspiracy would have been concealed
under the phrase "from information received." The
writer of this article is in a position to lift the veil which
gives the interest of mystery to the case ; and, though
the following narrative may diminish Mr. Field's repu-
tation for wonderful sagacity, it will show that he is a
man of great shrewdness, coolness, patience, and perse-
verance. When the fictitious baronet first made himself
known, the parties assailed were taken by surprise, as
well they might be, his story being a pure fiction. They
knew nothing of him—who he was, what he was, or
where he Caine from ; and, in a word, were quite at a
loss what to do. The fictitious baronet's story, how-
ever, began gradually to leak out, and it came to the
ears of the Smyth family that he described himself as the
offspring of a concealed marriage, who had been brought
up in boyhood under the name of Provis. This was
the state of their knowledge when Mr. Field's services
were retained. Having been made acquainted with this
solitary fact, which was one of the supports of the fic-
titious baronet's case, in his hands it became the mas-
ter-key to the conspiracy. Scratching his ear when he
was instructed, or rather not instructed, by the solici-
tors of the family, he said, "Well, we'll see what can
be done," and immediately set to work in his own pecu-
liar way. Taking nothing for granted, his first step
was to ascertain whether Provis was a myth, and, if
not, who Provis was. He searched all the directories
relating to all parts of England, and found many
Provises ; but England is a wide place, and at first he
was quite at a fault as to the right one. In the mean-
time the fictitious baronet's story continued to transpire
bit by bit, and Warminster was mentioned as the place
in which had spent his childhood. To Warminster Mr.
Field went, and, in a quiet, incidental way, made inquiries.
The Provises, he found, had disappeared, but there was an
old woman living in the outskirts of the town who was in
some way related to them. Now it would never have done
for Mr. Field to go to the old lady in propria persona ;if he
had questioned her about family matters, without say-
ing who he was, she would have repulsed him for an
impertinent fellow; while, if he had said he was a "de-
tective," the old woman would have been very cautious
in what she had said, and, perhaps have been frightened
out of her wits. Mr. Field, therefore, assumed a
character which might win the old woman's heart, and
thus enable him to extract its inmost secrets. He ap-
peared at her gate one day, an invalid, broken down
by bodily sickness, brought on by family trouble, who
had come to Warminster for the benefit of the Wiltshire
air. The old lady was fond of a gossip ; and she was
highly pleased with the sick visitor—he was such a nice,
civil, well-behaved gentleman ; while he, in turn, was
delighted, for the old lady reminded him so much of his
mother I Indeed he was, (so said he,) so much struck
by t
he rehouse ad heresemblance that he should like to lodge in the
old ly's house during his stay—it would remind him
so much of old times. The old lady said she had never
taken a lodger before—it was quite out of her way—
think for, thanks be, she could do Without it ; she did yn—ot
think elle could accommodate him uwell enough • but
there—if he would take it in the rough, and live 's
she
lived, why she did not mind taking in him for a week or
so. Mr. Field soon installed himself in the cottage, and
those who know him will not wender that he was also
soon installed in his landlady's good graces. He chatted
with her about the news of the place, not forgetting the
famous Warminster onions ; told her many funny
things, and quite won her heart, when, on going to bed
at night, he said that he had not felt so comfortable for
many years. The old lady, of course, with the curiosity
proverbial of the sex, and prudential in a landlady,
wished to know who and what her lodger was ; and he
was only too glad to tell her, in a friendly way. He had
had, he said, a bad family, who had been the plague of
his life, and reduced him to his present condition. Ah !
she could feel for him—so true it is " a fellow feeling
makes us wondrous kind " for she had had family trou-
bles too. "Why," she exclaimed, " one of our family
Tom Provis, is the greatest rascal living." And now the
detective seeing " land a head," set about reaching it.
He should like some tea, he said, and fetching from his
room a half a pound of the best gunpowder, which—
thoughtful man—he had brought from London with him,
he asked her to make a "nice dish," and hoped she would
join him. The invitation was accepted with pleasure, and
as the tea-leaves opened, so did the old lady's heart ;
indeed she said it did her good to tell her troubles to one
who had gone through so much himself. " That rascal,"
she declared, "had ill-used his father, disgraced his
friends, gone under a false name, and was always in
some mischief or other." Our visitor, for the benefit of
the Wiltshire air, now became troubled with pains in
his stomach ; he was subject to them, he said, and al-
ways carried a little gin in his box for a remedy. Would
the old lady just put on the kettle and make the water
warm? Would she mix it for him ? Would she take a
little drop with him, as his mother used to do ? Won
by these gradual approaches to a little dissipation, of
course she would do anything to please him ; and as her
talkativeness increased, Torn Provis became a greater
rascal than ever. Why, she had In.ard say that he had
been in some gaol for horse stealing. He had also
married the aunt of a man named Ingram, and served
her very badly, but who Ingram was, or what he was,
or where he was, she knew no more than the dead. In
this way the old lady went on talking until the clock
struck ten, when, with many a "de•iry me," at being
up so late, she went to bed. The next morning Mr.
Field having taken a walk, returned to the c,,ttage
much disturbed. He had received letters, of course,
calling him home on unpleasant business, and must fore-
go the benefit of the Wiltshire air, much to his annoy-
ance, and it need scarcely be added, the regret of his
old friend. The next thing to be done was to discover
Ingram. Mr. Field returned to London, set several
persons to work about the Ingrams in town and country,
but for some time without success. Back he went to
Warminster ; picked up a vague story that Ingram had
something to do with a gaol in Somerset ; posted off to
Taunton, where he heard that there was one Ingram
employed at the Bath gaol ; and, coming to Bath,
lighted on the very man he was searching for. From
Ingram be learnt much more concerning Torn Provis,
and Bath now became the sphere of his labours, While
Mr. Field pursued his inquiries here, Ingram took an
opportunity of throwing himself in the way of Sir
Richard, who had taken up his residence at the Priory,
Clifton ; a mutual recognition ensued, and Ingram re-
ceived an invitation to tea with the great man. Sir
Richard, however, sometime afterward called at the
Bath gaol, and requested Ingram as a particular favour,
to know nothing about him, should questions be asked.
In the meantime, Mr. Field had ascertained that Provis
had been married at St. Michael's Church, in his pro-
per name, in the presence of Ingrtm's father ; and that
he had kept a school here. He now sought for some
persons who had known Provis ; a local schoolmaster,
a pupil, and some others, were traced, and a precious
story they told about him. In the year 1815, it ap-
peared, Provis had been charged with feloniously
assaulting one of his pupils ; the magistrates
had committed him for trial, but liberated him
on bail ; and he then absconded, leaving his
bondsmen in the lurch. Proof of this
at once sought ; the papers in the magistrate's office at
the Guildhall were disinterred from the dust in which
•
they had lain for nearly forty
y
eaand the official
years
Provis
documents relating to the
found "Why, this beats proceedingsagainst
cock-fightingrexclaimed
Fwreled, on seeing the proof that Provis was really a great
rogue, and, therefore, all the less likely to be the gen-
tleman he said he was ; and satisfied that the game was
all up with " Sir Richard," Mr. Field added, " Well,
now I'll go to dinner. These documents we may here
state, would have been used against Provis on the trial
if he had not been condemned out of his own mouth,
P. George, Esq., the Town Clerk, having been sub-
poenaed to produce them. We need not detail the rest
of the story, how the fabrication of the family seals
was exposed by the maker having read in the newspaper
the first day's proceedings at the trial—how the family
Bible was subsequently traced, by the same means to
the bookseller who had sold it to Provis—as these
things are already known to the public. Our object is
simply to show how Provis was traced through his
career in this neighbourhood. Mr. Field, it will be
seen, arrived at a great result through very simple
means ; and we have no doubt that many persons will
think they could have done as well as he—now they
have been shown the way. The officer's skill consists in
hitting out the way. The value of the facts collected by
Mr. Field, it may be observed, consisted not so much
in proving that Provis had been a scoundrel, but in
in
con-
tradicting the story which he gave of his career. For
instance, if he were keeping school in Bath, 1815, as
be was, he could not have been travelling on
the conti-
been.
nent with Lord Knox, as he declared he had
We may mention as a proof of Provis's audacity, that,
some years after absconding from
under the name of Dr. Smith, and gave
tures. He lived in a cottage on Sion-hill,
that some
Bath,ave series of lee-
he returned
but fell into
deep distress. It was, indeed, sopalpable,
of the neighbours compassionately
family with food ; while other persons, furnished
a subscription
believing
thatnd his
family heis
was a man of education and talent, made
for him. Before he left Bath, we believe his real cha-
racter began to be known ; at allevwehnots,hnaodthhienfgriemndeorde
was seen of him by any of those
him, until he appeared in the ssize Court at Glouces-
ter. One of his benefactors, anen
Sirest Richardeemedlerg cameymanin,
happening to be in the court when
to look round, he was recognised witlim.
aanrios_t polite
h
bow, and a condescending sweep of the
Chronicle.

A FREE FIGHT. —The following is a description of a
free fight in Western Virginia, as related by one of the
eye-witnesses thereof. Premising that there Was but
one blow struck, in answer to an interrogatory as to
who was hit, the narrator replies :—" I reckon he was
from low down on Guyan, somewhar. Jes as they
war jam ,'n a chap rode up on a claybank boss—l reckon
he was Messinger stock, a scrowgin anemil, a leetle
blind o' both eyes—a peeit-looking chap enough—an'
when he got fernent the place, says he, 'ls this a free
fight ;' and they told him it war. Well,' says he,
Bitting off an' hitching his ole claybank to a swinging
limb, count me in !' He hadn't more'n got it out,
afore some one fetched him a lick, an' he drapt. H.
riz dreckly with some defichulty, and see he, 'ls this
free fight an' they told him it war. ' see he,
unhitchin' his boss, and puttin' his left leg over the back
leather, count me out !' an' then he marveled."—New
York Tribune,