The Sun.
London, England, 1847-09-23 00:00:00

STATEN ENT OF AFFAIRS.
DEBTOR.

X. s. d

.E. s. d.
To sundry creditors 215,616 18 9
Of which the amount unsecured is 138,659 16 10
To liabilities on bills receivable.—
Of which those considered bad
amount to ...
To sundry liabilities

". 11,164 18 7
... 3,000 0 0

152,824 15 5

CREDITOR.

£. 5. d.

By sundry debtors—
Considered good ...
Considered
doubtful 7,277 16 0
Estimated at ss. in the X. 1,819 9 0
Considered
bad ... 7,784 11 0

35,694 16 8

By stock in hand esti-
mated at .. ... 44,936 3 4
Surplus stock, &c., in
the hands of cre-
ditors

5,076 12 5

By sundry property, valued at ~.

37,514 5 8

50,012 15 9
8,975 12 1

96,502 13 6
Deduct—Sundry creditors, payable in full 5,591 11 8

£90,911 1 10
With reference to the above, it is merely necessary
to add, that the valuation of the stock in hand is un-
derstood to have been made at rates somewhat below
those now current.

Subjoined is the circular issued on Monday by
Watson, Brothers, and Co., of Liverpool, announcing
their suspension :
" Derby-buildings, Liverpool, Sept. 20.
" It is with much regret we have to announce to
you, that in consequence of the protracted duration of
tue war in Mexico, preventing us receiving our re-
mittances from our establishment in Zacatecas, where
a large accumulation of specie has taken place on
this account, the great pressure in the money market,
and the general want of confidence, we have been
compelled to suspend our payments.
" We have, however, much satisfaction in being
able confidently to assure you, that there are sufficient
means to meet all demands upon us, if we are allowed
a reasonable time, and we hope for your acquiescence
in such arrangements as may be necessary to obtain
this desirable object.—We remain, &c.,
" WATSON, BROTHERS, and Co."

CATHOLIC MOVEMENT IN FAVOUR OF POPE
Plus IX.—Last evening a numerously attended meeting
of the Roman Catholic inhabitants of Deptford, and the
friends of liberty of every other denomination, was held
at :the parish chapel, High-street, for the purpose of
sympathising with Pope Pius IX. in his present
struggle, and to express indignation at the unprovoked
aggression and "the arbitrary and nefarious proceedings
of Austria." The chair was taken by the Rev. Mr.
Marshall, who explained the object of the meeting ; and
the Rev. Mr. Coyle moved and Mr. Henry Backe se-
conded a resolution expressive of the warmest attach-
ment, esteem, and respect for the person of his Holiness,
and their admiration of the wise and liberal course of
government which he had adopted. The second resolu-
tion, proposed by Dr. Drury and seconded by Mr. Geo.
Bocke, which met with unanimous adoption, was to the
effect that they denounced the Austrian aggression on
the Papal states as arbitrary and indefensible. Mr.
Masterson moved and Mr. Furlong seconded the adoption
of the next resolution—" That they who would rather
lend their right arm to sustain the shock of battle than
contribute anything in the way of money aid, in con-
sequence of their great poverty, should nevertheless
throw in their mite towards defraying the expenses, and
supporting their heroic Pontiff in repelling his ambitious
and bloodthirsty invaders." Several other gentlemen
having addressed the meeting in terms condemnatory .of
the aggressive policy pursued by the Emperor of Austria,
a subscription was entered into, and a hearty vote of
thanks passed to the Rev. Chairman.
A journeyman gunsmith at St. Etienne, a few days
ago, under the influence of insanity, broke all the furni-
ture of his apartment, and threw the fragments out of
the window. Then, taking up a pistol he placed himself
before a looking-glass, and, seeing his own reflection,
exclaimed, " I will shoot myself," and fired, falling to
the ground with the splinters of the glass, and exclaim-
ing, " I am (lead !" From that moment he has be-
lieved himself to have gone to another world, and re-
fuses all nourishment, saying that dead men never eat."

—Galiynani.
CONTINENTAL COMMUNICATION, TUESDAY, SEPT.
21.—The South-Eastern and Continental Steam-packet
Company's steam-ship the Queen of the French left
Folkestone for Boulogne at 7.30 p.m. with 58 passengers,
and the Queen of the Belgians arrived at Folkestone,
from Boulogne, at 8.30 p.m., with 36 passengers. Wed-
nesday, Sept. 22.—The Queen of the Belgians left
Folkestone at 3 a.m. with 56 passengers ; the Queen of
the French arrived at Folkestone, from Boulogne, at
10.30 a.m., with 93 passengers. The Princess Mary
left Ramsgate for Ostend at 8 a.m., and the Princess
Helena arrived at Ramsgate from Ostend at 1.46 p.m.,
with 57 passengers,

MURDERER.
SwiN rox, TUESDAY. The Coroner's investigation
respecting the brutal murder of the poor old man,
named Caleb Barker, near this place, on the night'
of the 4th instant, was resumed yesterday before Mr.
Badger and the jury previously empannelled. The
deceased, it may be remembered, was a warehouse-
man at the Don Pottery, and on the night in ques-
tion left his borne and went to a neighbouring public
house. There he had some ale, and paid fees for a
club he belonged to. He left perfectly sober, and
about ten o'clock was found in a ditch in a dreadful
condition. He was quite insensible, and died a few
hours afterwards. There were several fractures on
his head, evidently inflicted by some heavy instru-
ment, and Messrs. Blythman and Ilolliday, sur-
geons, were of opinion that those injuries were the
cause of death. Just before the deceased was dis-
covered, a man was met coming from the spot where
he was found, and other parties spoke to having seen
a young man, a stranger, in a public-house not one
hundred yards from the scene of the murder, and
who suddenly left about ten minutes before it was
committed. At that house he gave the name of
Sellars. A variety of circumstances went to fix sus-
picion on this party as being connected with the
murder. As far as possible a description of his
person, &c., was circulated throughout the country,
and not many days elapsed ere he was discovered in
a somewhat singular manner. On Monday, the 12th
inst., a burglary was committed at the farm of a Mr.
Brooks, between Doncaster and Barnsley, and a
quantity of plate and other articles stolen. The
police having a description of the property, a party
was found pledging a great portion of the stolen
plate on Wednesday morning at Westbar. lie was
immediately lodged in custody, and Mr. Inspector
Ashwood, on seeing the prisoner, was struck with his
resemblance to the party supposed to be the murderer.
The description, as forwarded by the coroner, was
read over at the Town Hall, and was found to corres-
pond with the prisoner in every particular. He first
gave as his name John Shakspere, then as Edward
in
spected,
several On his clothes being carefully
several marks of blood were found on his trousers,
more particularly about the waist and right leg. The
finding, however, upon him of nearly every article
which the deceased had in his possession at the period
of his death, settled all doubts that might be then en-
tertained on the subject. Under the orders of the
magistrates he was remanded, and on the following
day nearly succeeded in destroying himself. The
inspector on duty had occasion to go to his cell with
a man who had lost a cow, and who had reason to
suspect the prisoner of stealing it, when on attempt-
ing to unlock the door he discovered that it had been
fastened on the inside. It was instantly forced open
just in time to prevent him eluding justice by com-
mitting self-destruction. He had torn a long slip
from a woollen rug which covered his bed, and, after
fastening this round one of the bars over the door,
was in the act of securing a noose which he had
made round his neck, when he was frustrated. As
may be imagined, the gaol authorities adopted greater
precautions to ensure his safe custody.
At the resumption of the inquiry yesterday con-
siderable surprise was manifested at the non-attend-
ance of the accused in the keeping of the police. An
application it appears has been made to the Sheffield
magistrates to allow the prisoner to be present to hear
the evidence against him.
Mr. Rayner, police inspector, detailed some conver-
sation he had with the accused in the gaol last Sun-
day, when he denied that he had been at Swinton for
three or four years.
The jury holding that the prisoner ought to be
present so as to give the witnesses an opportunity of
identifying him, as several stated they could, the
Coroner was directed to solicit the aid of the Secre-
tary of State, Sir G. Grey, to allow him to appear
before them for a short time. If such cannot be com-
plied with, the jury hope they may be excused giving
a verdict.

Accordingly, to communicate with the Home Office,
the proceedings were again adjourned.

NEW LIFE PRESERVER.
EXPERIMENTS AT WOOLWICH.

A highly i_mpprtant and_itergsting exwriment
k, took place yesftWy, at Wools n, to estal> ion a
fell scale the mere -.Alfred fly's newly-
Wen ted "flexible t
f'*lloe, tcylinder," and its combi-
nations, for the preservation of life from shipwreck.
The trial was carried on in the piesence of Cornmo-
dort Sir Gordon 43remer, K.C.B. and and
und, the directiontf the inventor, by order of the
Lords of the Admiralty, who, in consequence of the
favourable report of the Commodore Superintendant
of the Dockyard on the subject of the partial trial he
made of the above invention on the 15th of May last,
were pleased to order the construction of a full sized
"catamaran," composed of 30 flexible floating
cylinders. The exclusion of water from any sub-
stance of less specific gravity must produce a floating
effect equal to the difference of the density of the two
bodies ; and the amount of buoyancy is in the ratio of
the gravity of the mass, and of its displacement.
Upon this simple but beautiful principle of nature is
the present invention founded, and not on that of
inflation with air, which characterizes every plan that
has hitherto been brought forward for the preserva-
tion of life at sea. It consists of a simple cylinder or
tube, made of stout flexible waterproof material, in-
tended, in the hour of need, to be filled with bedding
clothes, provisions, stores, or any other substance of
less specific gravity than water • and, when so filled
and closed at both ends by a tight rope lashing, exer-
cises a floating power of 641bs. to the cubic foot of
water displaced. Thus a hammock enclosed in one
of those cylinders has been proved to float about
2121b5. dead weight, and to sustain in the water
fourteen men with their heads and shoulders above
the surface. The peculiar merit of this plan lies in
the novelty and feasibility of the idea of not only
converting articles of food, clothing, and bedding
into a ready and safe vehicle for preserving the lives
of passengers and crews in cases of shipwreck, but
also of affording them the means of sustenance on the
voyage, and shelter from the elements when landed
perchance on a desolate coast. The thirty cylinders
composing the raft, termed a catamaran, made use
of yesterday, with their respective lashings, only
weighed 851b5., and was stowed away in the compass
of a small cask. These cylinders, having been
charged with hammocks, &c., were securely lashed
to four longitudinal and fifteen cross spars, the former
twenty-five and the latter five feet in length, form-
ingflat a
at bottom spaciousa
ndandaidseual:sitanncatipaalhlrea,ft,frocommpitossednatonfrea
stove in, and yet liable to be sailed and steered with
the utmost facility and precision. At a given signal
from Sir Gordon Bremer, and in the presence of a
T letters,h e
catamaran,
hav
having
gy
been
great many navalneet
tiooifinrirffiiiarvgcteaeyrnirbg,
msderhaaeet
bearing
igeedciabtel
ellei
ovtidehnne principal
or
onhwi
inscription,
bficrrtiohepas arh board
estimatedhwa
rfuaoett
uehe
rro“ authorities
of the dock-yard, the catamaran was lifted from the
ground, and a bottle of grog having been broken over
i
r.
b
es
htynsrerdl bYneto
launchedwllleeh tsrneoh's hearty raneoct:ooyi Hope,"
kn'yhtnnhnitcheers. black
com-
pliment.lf-
a
Paddles were used, and a square sale rigged,
under both of which she behaved to the admiration. of
the spectators; on shore. The Commoioiret h
ehraevslung
expressed himself perfectly satisfied
Rw,asit,
carried up
of this second trial, the catamaranh.and the hands dis-
missed,the stage, alongside the flag- p
been found as dry
cylin-
ders having, on
into them. The Lords
as when they were first put
special report of the ex-
perimentof the Admiralty, to n'hom,in the
iallno doubt look further
will. be made,.
the hammheoicilligs,
into the merits :of this curious invention, with the
to its ultimate adoption in the service.
view ttrcn"ednsoonlutat,,ined

UNCLAIMED LETTERS.—A bulky return moved for
in the last Parliament by Mr. Slingsby Duncombe, M.P.
for Finsbury, shows that there were lying in the General
Post-office at the date of the return (a few month since)
4,201 letters containing coin, bank-notes, bills of ex.
change, and other property; the coin amounting to
310/. 9s. 7d., the bank-notes to 1,0101„ and the bills of
exchange to 40,4101. The catalogue of the " other pro-
perty" contains some sufficiently amusing items, from
gold rings and silver spoons down to love-locks and
pawn-tickets. We notice, amongst other items, shaving
papers, ribands, waistcoats and shirts, artificial flowers,
soda-powders, razors, books, fish-hooks, fiddle-strings,
a will, snuff-boxes, galvanic rings, medicines, bradawls,
mats, scissors, nightcaps, a soldier's discharge, protests,
petitions, Greek MSS., punch, hair, pill-boxes, &c. Im-
mediate steps are taken to return dead letters containing
property as soon as found to the writers, by enclosing
them to the local post masters, or by sending notices to
the writers. When all inquiry is found unavailing, the
letters are kept three years, to give time for application
for them, after which period the property (if money) is
paid into the Exchequer. Other property is sold,
and
the proceeds paid into the Exchequer. The number of
letters containing money-orders lying in the General
Post-office, London, amounted (at the date of the returns)
to 346, and the value to 407/. 12s. Bd.
TESTIMONIAL TO MR. NASH.—A testimonial is
about to be given to Mr. Charles Nash for his exertions
in detecting and exposing the persons engaged in the
well-known robberies of 1845. Mr. Nash, on that occa-
sion, :rendered material service to the railway world.
and in doing OQ incurred very heavy personal expenses,