The Sun.
London, England, 1849-12-29 00:00:00

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REMARKABLE METEOR.—The meteor which, as
noticed in our last, was seen here between five and six
o'clock on Wednesday evening, was observed at the
same time at Edinburgh, as appears from a communica-
tion from Professor Forbes to the Courant. He says its
course was from W.N.W., towards N. (true), and main-
tained an elevation of about 20 deg. above the horizon.
It described an arc of from 60 to 70 deg. in azimuth, in
a space of time of about 15 seconds. Its apparent speed
was therefore very small, compared with any similar
body. From first to last it was followed by a luminous
train, and the main body of the meteor, before it disap-
pasted, divided itself into two, the one part following the
other at some distance. All these characteristics, with
the exception of the latter, correspond with the appear-
ance of the phenomenon here.—Perth Paper.
ROYAL ACADEMY Or MUSIC.—The board of pro-
fessors, consisting of Messrs. Potter, Bennett, Elliot,
Lucas, Goss, and Howell, appointed to examine the
candidates for the King's Scholarship, sent in its report
to the committee on Monday, and the following a ere
elected:-14r. W. G. Cousins, and Miss Martha Street.
THE QUEEN'S COLLEGE IN GALWAY.—The Presi-
dentship of the Galway College has become vacant by
the death of the Very Rev. Dean Kirwan. The de-
ceased had been long ailing.

IMPORTANT QUESTION BE-
TWEEN THE ENGLISH AND PORTUGUESE
GOVERNMENTS.
(From the Times Correspondence.)
After the expulsion of Don Miguel, more than one
of the noble families restored to Portugal with Don
Pedro sought to replenish their coffers by a marriage
with Dona Maria Luciana de Oliveira, the only
_
acknowledged daughter of M. Manoel Joze de
Le. Oliveira, a wealthy old bachelor, with whom she was
residing in Lisbon. M. Oliveira, however, consulted
his daughter's inclinations, and on the Si of June,
1834, gave her in marriage to Mr. George Croft, a
_ British subject, with the premise of a dowry of six
- contos of reis in jewels, and 80 contos, or 20,0001.,
"_ to be invested in lands, or in the English Three per
- Cents., besides 5,0001. to Mr. Croft.
5 Subsequent to the marriage, M. Oliveira paid the
_ 5,0001, delivered part of the jewels, and paid interest
- upon the 20,0001., but delayed the investment under
_ different pretexts, until quarrels ensuing, Mr. and
- Mrs. Croft commenced, on the 15th of May, 1840,
an action at law to compel him to acknowledge and
- make good the dowry.
ii, ‘ Upon conclusive evidence, and M. Oliveira's solemn
.7' ' confession that ho had freely and spontaneously pro-
- mieed the dowry, he was in every sentence, during a
tedious litigation, condemned to pay it. It also passed
in judgment that he had failed to prove his allegation
'l' of having promised the dowry upon the condition of
Mrs. Croft renouncing all future rights; and that she
I was, on the contrary, proved to be his daughter and
) heiress, without his enjoying any privilege of fidalgo
A or other position which could exclude her from the
:3'' inheritance after his death.
• To arrest the execution of the sentence M. Oliveira
$ put in several pleas, and, amongst others, set forth thst
ssg the dowry required the previous registration, or
) insinuacao of the administrative authorities, upon
i which a small tax is levied ; but he was ultimately
t cast upon every point, as shown by the accompanying
! copies of the sentence and tencoes, or written opinions
i" of the three judges in the Supreme Court, who gave
Ilk the definitive decision on the 31st of March, 1843, cor-
firming the previous sentences, and cendemning M.
oli Oliveira to pay the balance of jewels, besides the
A'4 20,0001., and balance of interest thereon—" under the
1 condition that the dowry of 20,0001. shall not be held
I..si valid without the registration of any excess over what
the daughter may inherit from her father's effects, in
es. conformity with the law of July 21, 1797."
1 Having given the preceding extract from that part
- of the sentence which relates to the registration, it is
eei only necessary further to refer to the written opinions
)3 of the three judges upon which it was founded, in
order to clear up any doubts, since this point has now
become a serious question between the English and
Portuguese Governments. The first judge writes, on
the 3d of March, 1843—" The dowry in this case
is a marriage portion (profecticio) given by a father
'to his daughter, which requires no registration
tee. except for any excess over her share of
the inheritance, and as until now it has not been
proved that such excess exists, the appealer (M.
Oliveira) has not established the necessity of previous
registration in arrest of execution, and, therefore, the
sentence must be confirmed, condemning him to in-
vest the 20,0001., with the declaration that the said
' dowry, in respeet to any excess, shall not be valid
without the registration."
The second judge writes on the 24th of March,
_ 1843---." All exceptions taken in the appeal have been
ice. victoriously refuted, and they all disappear under the
consideration that the dowry is given to a daughter
who has the right of inheritance; it is, consequently,
. proper to declare that this dowry is to be registered
I when it shall be opportunely known that there is any
excess."
The third judge writes on the 31st of March, 1843
' —" I agree with the others."
_ Upon these unanimous opinions the sentence was
issued by the three judges, and, having passed in
judgment without further appeal, became the law of
Ice. Portugal, at a time when Mrs. Croft was the only
heiress apparent of her father; he, however, subsea-
quently married in September, 1844, at the age of 75,
" and after being created Baron of Barcellinhos, died on
the 11th of January, 1847, leaving a widow and two
' infant children to share the inheritance with Mrs.
$
$ Croft.
[ Such are the chicanes and delays of Portuguese
law proceedings that the execution of the sentence had
- not been fully carried out at the time of the Baron's
tee death, but he had been compelled to pay 93 contos of
reis into the public deposit of Lisbon for the security
- of Mr. and Mrs. Croft. Upon his death, and as soon
as the inventory and valuation of his estate showed the
probability of an excess, Mr. and Mrs. Croft made
the necessary declaration to the competent adminis-
trative authorities, and presented the sentence
for registration, which was refused, upon the
ground that laws of 1642 and 1775, referred to in
that of 1797, " required them (the administrative
authorities) to have interrogated the donor within
; four months as to his having given the dowry freely,
3., and not under compulsion," &c. This refusal of the
4 registration has now been held good by a section of
if, the Council of State, which reports that independent
- of the free gift of the dowry proved in the courts of
_ justice, the laws already cited determine 4‘ that the
donor shall declare before the magistrate, or admini-
im strative authority, if he is agreeable that the dowry
be confirmed," which cannot now be done after his
death.
$ The Council further states in its report, " That no
conflict has arisem between the judicial and admini-
strative authorities by the refusal of the registration,
% since the sentence provides that the dowry was not to
;34 be valid without the registration of any excess which
might be proved over Mrs. Croft's share of the inhe-
ritance ; and that the judges had not by that provision
intended to impose upon the administrative authorities
the duty of admitting the registration against the
express determination of the law, "i. e., without their
having interrogated the deceased donor.
The Portuguese Government has now confirmed
12 the report of the Council of State by a Royal decree,
notwithstanding the remonstrances the English
Charge d'Affaires had made against the power of the
administrative authorities to interpret laws which are
held to have been legally interpreted in this case by
ics the judicature.
On one side it is asserted that the usual formalities
-
of the law necessary for the registration of dowries
four months after the date of deeds executed by the
,2, donors had been superseded by the long pending ju-
Ns dicial process, and that the four months in this case
154 could not be counted from the time of the marriage
g•%
in 1834, since no deed was executed then; that the
. law only admits public instruments to registration ;
I and that a verbal promise could never be a subject of
% registration; that the sentence of 1843 overruled
M this very objection, and that taking, as it
did, the place of a :public deed of sdttlement, it
prescribed a future date for the registration, by
making it dependent upon the donor's death and the
division of his estate; that this final sentence
I" resulting from a lawsuit in which the donor had been
heard, and always confessed the dowry, suspended the
los usual interrogatories of the administrative authorities;
o and that consequently the sentence did, in fact, im-
,Od.
pose upon those authorities the duty of registering
the dowry after the Baron's death, if it should be
8, . found to exceed Mrs. Croft's share of his estate.
3d. On the other side the report of the Council of State I
6d does not set:forth the epoch at which it holds the i
donor ought to have been interrogated by the admi-
nistrative authorities, but that as the sentence so
clearly precludes 1834, it is supposed that the ground
taken is four months after the date of the sentence in
' 1843. At that time, however, the donor was not
dead, and there was no known excess to register in
the terms of the sentence; nor could there be any
excess until after his two infant children were born
to divide the inheritance with Mrs. Croft. In short,
the lawyers say that no safe ground can be taken but
"that a compulsory registration was prescribed by
the sentence ;" they say that all others lead to an '
absurdity, and they certainly appear to do so. 1
In conclusion, it is well to note the effect which the
Royal decree just issued has in this case. For this
purpose, it is necessary to note that the late Baron of
Barcellinhos had the power to will away as he pleased
a portion of his estate, called " his thirds," and that
the rest had to be divided in certain proportions to
his widow and three daughters, including Mrs. Croft.
The Baron left his thirds also to his widow, but as
the law makes such thirds first answerable for any
excess of dowries previously given, and Mrs. Croft's
share of the estate is not equal to her dowry, the
refusal of registration prevents her receiving that
balance, which will thus remain se ith the widow. I
hear that the widow will now attempt to have in-
cluded in Mrs. Croft's share of the estate the sums
paid by the Baron in jewels and interest upon the
20,0001., also the 5,0001. given to Mr. Croft, and in
this case the question now at issue may involve a logs
of upwards of 10,0001. to Mr. and Mrs. Croft.

---
ADDRESS PRESEN TED TO MR.
BUCKINGHAM IN SCOTLAND.
At the close of Mr. Buckingham's course of lectures
on America and Italy, at Alloa, on Thursday evening,
the 20th of December, 1849, and in the presence of
a large meeting of his friends and admirers, the fol-
lowing address was proposed, in the name of the
Committee of Management, by the Rev. P. AlcDo
R all,
and unanimously and cordially agreed to by the
meeting, in the United Presbyterian Church of
Alloa

TO JAMES SILK BUCKINGHAM, ESQUIRE.
Honoured Sir,--At the conclusion of this your
third course of lectures, delivered in the town of
Alloa during three successive seasons, we beg leave
to express our gratitude for the valuable information
which we have received, and for the high intellectual
enjoyment we have experienced during each of these
three courses, from the commencement to the close.
If it is interesting to sit at the feet of a traveller
who has visited many foreign lands, it is peculiarly
interesting to sit at the feet of one who has perhaps
seen more of the surface of the globe we inhabit than
any man now living.
Some travellers who have seen much want powers
of observation ; but Providence has blest you with
the rare talent of collecting and treasuring up rich
stores of information regarding almost every object
and every event coming in your way that could inte-
rest and instruct your fellow-men.
Some travellers can collect information, though
they cannot communicate what they have collected;
but all of us present, and many thousands elsewhere,
can testify to the admirable talent for description, and
that easy rational eloquence which give your hearers
almost as vivid an impression as if they had been
fellow-travellers with yourself:
Some travellers who can both observe and communi-
cate are tempted to confine their information to them-
selves; but you have felt it to be the enjoymentof your
heart, as you have made it the work of many
laborious years, to spend your strength for the in-
struction and moral elevation of your fellow creatures.
In these courses of lectures, embracing as they
have done so many momentous topics connected with
political economy, and the science of government, it
was to be expected that your opinions would not on
all
points coincide with the opinions of some of your
hearers. But even the few who sometimes were con-
scious of diversity of sentiments could not but admire
the manly frankness with which your views were
stated, and the gentlemanly good feeling which ren-
dered it impossible for the most sensitive to take
offence.
We do not profess, Honoured Sir, to be ignorant of
your eventful and useful history. As the friend of
Eastern India, and its countless population, we have
observed yourself sacrificing exertions to promote the
good government of that vast and important depen-
dency of the British empire—exertions which were
praised by statesmen when in opposition; but which
have been forgotten by the same statesmen when in
power.

As a Member of the British Senate in two
several Parliaments, we have admired your suc-
cessful efforts in originating and promoting
many measures of moral and social reform ; and
as a philanthropist, in the important department of
education and temperance, and peace and enlightened
human freedom. We have been delighted with your
laborious exertions through the press, in your volu-
minous writings; and by the platform, in your admi-
rable lectures to enlighten the human mind to improve
the human heart, and to increase the aggregate
amount of human happiness.
We are well aware that like many other philan-
thropists before you, whose minds were in advance
of the age, it has been your lot to labour long for
the good f mankind with very little patronage from
the powerful, and with much pecuniary loss to
yourself. But you enjoy the divine satisfaction
of doing good, and as you have already witnessed
many of the blessed fruits of your labours, so you
may cherish the joyful assurance that the previous
seeds of wisdom and morality which you have
so extensively sown over the surface of society, shall,
in due time, under the blessing of a bounteous Heaven,
produce an abundant and a happy harvest.
As you have intimated that this is likely to be your
last public visit to Alloa, it is with much sincere regret
that we have now to pronounce to you, Honoured
Sir, the painful word Farewell ! To the
respect sad veneration which we cannot but cherish
for you as an instructor, we feel that your frequent
visits and your familiar intercourse have warranted
us in adding the confidence and affection of friendship.
Although we should not be honoured with another visit
from you, we shall continue to take a deep and in-
creasing interest in your benevolent and self denying
labours, and we can assure you, dear Sir, that if our
warmest wishes are gratified, your life will be long,
and useful and happy.
It is our earnest and united prayer, that God may
spare you, and strengthen you to labour during many
years to come, for the illumination of this world's

gnorance, and the mitigation of this world's misery.
And vrhen your earthly labours shall have come to a

close, may you, with your dear partner in life, and
your beloved family be admitted at last, through the
grace of the Divine Redeemer, to that " better
country," from which ignorance, and misery, and
sin, the cause of both, will be for ever excluded.
Signed in the name and by the appointment of
the meeting,
WILLIAM FRASER, Minister, (Chairman).

NOTTINGHAM SAVINGS' BANK,
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
SIR,—In your paper of the Bth inst. you admit a
communication which imputes dishonesty to the paid
officers of the Nottingham Savings' Bank. I have
known the secretary of that institution intimately for
more than thirty years, and I believe there never was
a more conscientious, vigilant, and active man of
business than he is, or any bank better managed.
Being the responsible person, he has ever been, not
only faithful and minute in the discharge of his own
duties, but kept so quick an eye over his clerks and
other officials, that 1 may add, in the words of the
editor of the Nottingham Review, who from personal
investigation affirms—" The officials connected with
this institution have been men of high principle and
sterling integrity, and there is not a savings' bank in
the kingdom where more care is taken to preserve
the depositors from loss. . . . In Nottingham there
can be no possibility of fraud on the part of the
officers of the institution."
As you have unintentionally given publicity to an
imputation injurious to the officers of the Nottingham
Savings' Bank, I have no doubt you will most readily
allow their vindication the same extensive circulation,
by admitting this letter into the columns of your next
number.—l am, Sir, yours faithfully,
Dec. 28. VERITAS.

THE DURHAM DIALECT.—It chanced the other
day that a phonographic foreigner, a linguist, was pass-
ing through the comity of Durham in a third-class rail-
way carriage, and jotted down in his note-book the con-
versation of some fellow-travellers. Their language was
a puzzle to him, and ho has sent us a transcript of his
notes for publication, in the hope that the Rev. Blythe
Hurst or Mr. Elihu Burrit may see our paper, and en-
lighten him as to the country which gave the speakers
birth. We think, however, we need not publish the
whole of what he has sent. A sample will du; and
without troubling the two accomplished linguists, we
will furnish our correspondent with a translation:---
Ouistu? How are you?
Ugh? cobby. Why, in good, comfortable
health.
Wairstubeen? Where have you been?
Dirm. At Durham.
Cevaw. Wairstubawin? So have I. Whether are you
going?
Ph on soc ziz. To fence houses.
Cesaw. So am I.
We may add that the puzzled passenger, on alighting
at Gateshead with his carpet bay, was assailed (so he
says) with clamorous cries of " Queenseed! Qieenseed!
Torkseedl Torkseed I " Tycktfurtuppuz! Tycktfur-
tuppuz!" and also fancied that the locomotive engiste
must have dropped him on the wrong planet!—Gates-
head Observer.

Goose•PULLING EXTRAORDINARY.--A few days
ago, a bet was made between Mr. C. flames, son of Mr.
F. Mimes, of Spalding, the extensive poulterer, and Mr.
John Ogden, who is in the snme line of business there,
the former engaging for one sovereign to pull a hundred
geese in "a workmanlike style" in sixteen hours, in-
clusive of meal times. The match, which excited
some interest amongst those engaged in both the
above establishments, came off on Saturday last, many
friends on both sides being present to witness the
performance. At live o'clock in the morning Mr.
Haws commenced " wringing" the first goose; and,
although the birds were EXCi edingly bad to pull, he
performed the task in fourteen hours and forty-five
minutes, consequently had one hour and fifteen minutes
to spare. Now, if ae take out of the fourteen hours
and three quarters the portions of time for meals which
were taken in the time stated, we have; hundred large
fat Lincolnshire geese, weighing from 10Ibs. to 141bs.
each, stripped of quills, feathers, and down, without a
rent or broken skin, in the short space of fourteen hours,
or one bird every eight minutes and twenty.four
seconds l We believe this to be the greatest feat in the
annals of goose-pulling. From fifty to seventy geese are
considered a good day's work for one man.--Lincoln
Mercury.

RARE BIRD.—A fine specimen of the Mergus
Afergazier and Cuter of Linn—the Dun Diver, or
Sparling Fowl, Saw bill, &c.—was shot in the vicinity of
Ombersley, at Lord Sandy's, a few days since. It is
now in the bands of Mr. Robinson for preservation.
Considerable confusion prevailed among the early writers
on ornithology respecting this bird in its miniature state,
from the variation of its plumage, but it is now clearly
ascertained to be the female of the Goosander. It is a
species of rare occurrence in these parts, although a con-
stant resident in the north of Scotland, in the Orkney and
other Scottish islands, advancing more southwardly only
unfler the influence of severe weather. During summer
the great body of these birds retires to high latitudes, for
the purposes of reproduction. It may then be found in
Iceland, Greenland, Siberia, Kamtschatka,' and the far
countries of North Americo.— Worcester Journal.