The Sun.
London, England, 1847-01-15 00:00:00

S N JANUARY 15, 1847.
9

CONVEYANCE OF TROOPS BY

RAILWAY.
There is some interesting testimony on this subject to
be found in the recently issued (by order of Parliament)
minutes of evidence taken before them. The following
are extracts therefrom. The first witness quoted is W.
Hosking, Esq. :
Supposing a separate terminus to be made for the
North Kent at Union-street, what effect would that have
upon the thoroughfares ?--Any terminus in that neigh-
bourhood would, of course, have some of the advantagc s
which I claim for the neighbourhood of the York-road,
hut it would want the Advantage which seems to me
likely to arise from the railways north and south all
meeting at the same place, and the interchange of pas-
sengers and goods without the necessity of driving them
through London. The streets of London would be re-
lieved, in the way I propose, of a useless traffic, that is,
of the mere through traffic from railway station to rail-
way station. I contemplate also an advantage from
bringing all the railways as far as possible to the same
terminns that an interchange would take place.
You speak of passengers only ?—Passengers mainly.
Would not that apply to one particular class of pas-
sengers, viz., those going by unotherrailway ?—Of course;
but it is an incident merely to the general scheme,
though not an unimportant one in a military point of
view, and especially as it regards the transmission of
troops and stores from one part of the country to another,
when it may be necessary that such should pass by or
through London.
Do you contemplate, in connexion with the general
terminus which you propose, that the termini now exist-
ing in the outskirts to the northward and westward, be-
longing to the Great Northern and Western Railways,
should still remain?—That might be left entirely with
the companies. I should urge merely that they ought
not to be allowed to advance further into the town; that
they should not be alleiwed, indeed, to advance beyond
their present positions, so as to come within the belt
formed by the Edgware-road, the New-road. and the
City-road; and that no public advantage would be de-
rived from bringing them forward, for some parts of the
town would suffer more from greater difficulty of access
to the railway than others would benefit fkm vicinity. I
submit, that tile position which I have indicated would be
more accessible than any other from every part of the
town, and more accessible than most othertlaces, taken
as independent termini.
[General Sir James Willoughby Gordon, irt„ '
G.C. H., and Major-General Sir John Fo Burgoyne;
K.C.B , examined.]
To Sir J. W. Gordon—The Conatnissic'en-are vi•
ty
anxious to have your opinion upon the advantages wlik:h
might be expected to be derived, urinary speaking,lrciin
a connexion between the railways on the rvorth bank of
the Thames and the railways on the southlptink of the
Thames; and also to have any opinion that‘you may:be
prepared to give them as to the best means of conneUt •
ing those railways for military purpose6?-711efore I
answer the question, let us see whether we understand
the present termiri in the same way. The termini of
the railways that I use are these, viz , the Paddington,
the Euston-square, the Shoreditch, and the Black wall:
Railway in Biditer-square; those are all on that bank of:
the river. When we come to, the other sider-there arp
the London-bridge stations, the Bricklayer's' Arms,
station, the New Cross, and the Vauxhall, or nine Elms.
Those are all the termini that I know of. Now, nothing
can be more convenient for my purposes than those ter-
mini. Ido not see any advantage that would arise from
any change in them. I may understand it wrongly, but
if I am to understand that anything like a central ter-
minus is intended, I should say it would be attended
with inconvenience. Your termini now, as I
have described them, are central, in a circle of
somewhat large diameter, but still it is one. If you
make it smaller, so as to bring the thing, as it
were to the nave of a wheel, from which the raddii
diverge like spokes, it for military purposes might be
attended with very serious inconvenience. I need not,
perhaps, tell you that in the assembling of large bodies
of troops with all their necessary accompaniments,
equipments, and baggage of all kinds, women and
children, it is a difficult matter to put them in regular
motion from any given place at any time ; but when
you bring them from different parts to one central place,
and under different commanding officers, I can conceive
nothing more calculated to create very great confusion.
I did not intend the question to apply so much to a
central station as to a connexion, (putting stations out
of view for the moment,) by railway, between the rail-
ways already existing on the north, and the railways
already existing on the south ?—I do not see any ne-
cessity for it. For example, our troops are moved up
from Hampshire to London, with a view to being sent
to Birmingham; they disembark at Vauxhall, and then
they are moved to Euston-square ; there is no difficulty
in that movement.

Except the loss of time ?—As far as regards the
march ; but if I am to understand by a connexion a con-
tinuous connexion, that instead of stopping at Vaux-
hall, they would go on, that would be a different think.
That is the question, a connexion by railway ?—lier-
tainly, that would' be a convenience ; they would not
have to stop and be billeted about ; but if they are to
be removed from one railway station to another, then I
should say it is hardly worth while to do it.
It is specially with a view to a junction by interme-
diate rails ?—lt would be convenient, no doubt, if, in-
stead of being disembarked at Vauxhall, they could go
straight on to Paddington, or straight on to Euston-
square, or any other place to which they might require
to go onwards.

It would be a saving, probably. of three or four hours
between Ninij Elms and Euston-square ?—Yes • in
sending troops by railway we must consider this. When
the Government has particularly desired it for special
public purposes, troops have been conveyed on the same
day from Goiport to Weedon, vid London, but that is
not a thing to be practised, for various good reasons.

If such a connexion as I have described were to be
established, should you consider it a matter of much im-
portance whether the connexion were very direct ; that
is, for instance, whether the connexion between the
South-E.stern Dover Railway and the London and Bir-
mingham Railway passed through the heart of London,
or should you consider that it would equally answer
your purpore if the connexion were circuitous and
4 ffected by it railway making half the circuit of London,
and perhaps crossing the river as far up as Vauxhall or
Battersea, and coming round to the London and Bir-
mingham ?—The answer to that question would be
merely a matter of time ; if you went direct it would be
a quarter of an hour ; and if you went in the way you
propose, it would be twenty-five minutes. As to the
extent of the use to which railways are applied under
try direction, I would state, that in the course of the
four last years, there have been moved by railways
250,000 people, of which about 12,000 have been wo-
men, and some 14,000 children ; ar.d the extraordinary
part of it is, that they have been moved without an
accident of any kind. I know no other conveyance
which would show this ; so that it is not only rapidity,
but security.
1)o you think, for the defence of the country, in the
event of an invasion or threatened invasion, it would not
be very desirable to form a communication between the
northern and southern lines of railway ?--No doubt it
would be.

Would not an unbroken connexion between the
northern and southern railways ho particularly desirable
for the purpose of moving cavalry and artillery ?—Yes;
in moving troops generally the more continuous the bet.
ter ; cavalry and artillery are seldom moved without
great expense attending it, and very imperative necessity
for doing so ; but move what you will, in a military
sense, by railroad, a continuous line is better than a
broken one. I take that as a general view of it. Any-
thing that requires to be taken from a railway at one
point, and moved to another, is very inconvenient ; and
the more you can avoid it the better for the public.
service.

One finds, in private life, that the inconvenience and
the risk of transporting horses, is
cerainl
s?m—uchfreater than
h
mthoavting of
otrfahnslproserstinbgy human
reiiway beings?—Certainly. icno'mes expensive y. The
thise
way, not only that the weight is larger, but that you
have nothing to set off against it. A horse marching
costs no more to the public than he does when in the
stable; his food is the same. Younothing have to set
off against the expense of the railway with
a horse, but
with a man you bare. The men and the officers cost
the public more when they are in march than when they
are at rest. That cost put against the expense of the
railway makes the expense of the railway for them less.
With respect to stations in the heart of London more
central than they-are at present, I understand you to say
you have a decided objection to it?—l should say they
are not necessary, and they might be very inconvenient.
If
you bring great bodies of people to one centre, there
will be a great confusion in getting them out of one
place and into another, which might be extremely in-
convenient, and particularly if there were horse and
artillery, with all those impediments that must attend
the moving of bodies of that description. I should con-
ceive that nothing could be more inconvenient. I con-
sider that the termini now, as I have described them,
viz., at Paddington, Euston-square, Shoreditch, Billiter-
square, London-bridge, and Vauxhall, are quite central
enough. If you reduce it to the nave'of a wheel and
make all the spokes branching out from it, it will be
attended, I think, with great embarrassment, but any-
thing that is continuous is good as a general principle.
The less interrupted your line of movement is, the more
convenient; whether you move by your fret, or on horse-
back, or by railway, the principle is the same.
You would see no objection to a connecting railway
avoiding London, and skirting instead of going through
it ?—I understand the question to be, whether if you
make a turning, instead of going in a straight line, it
would be inconvenient. I say not at all ; it is a mere
question of time whether ,I go round that curve, which
takes ten minutes longer than the straight line,
You are constantly using railways for the purpose of
moving troops at present, I believe ?—Yes, I have said to
the extent of about 60,000 a year ; but not always, for
this reason—that a soldier carries, or ought to carry, a
considerable' weight upon Ms back, and no man can do
that, however strong he may be, without practice. If
you take the strongest fellow you see in the street, and
strap a package on his back of the same weight as a
-soldier earries,lt will be very inconvenient to him before
he has gone six miles. It is necessary to practise it.
Troops are moved by railways more when the public
service requires celerity of movement.
Would there be any great object in cot necting Wool-
wich with Portsmouth by railway ?—I think so. Wool-

Ptt ICR SD.

with is an ordnance depot, and therefore any explana-
tion required with regard to the moving of ordnance
supplies would be much better given to you by an ord-
nance authority than by me ; but on general principle, I
think it convenient. The same principle applies to mili-
tary stores of all sorts.
To Sir J. F. Burgoyne—l believe you have turned
your attention very much to the system of national de•
fence and the degree to which railways might contribute
to it ?—I have.

...
Do you consider it a great object to connect Wool-
wich with the southern and western ports of England
England by railway ? —Certainly, of very great import-
ance. The old mode of conveyance was chiefly b 3 water
round the coast, and, of course, was subject to great in-
terruption in time of war.
But that communication would be just as well afforded
by railway for your purposes if it did not come nearer to
London perhaps than two miles or, thereabouts 7—Per-
fectly.
It is not necessary to come through the heart of the
metropolis to effect the object which you have in view ?
—No, certainly not. Perhaps it is better avoided, as
in the case of transport of ammunition, &c.
And the same would apply, I suppose, to a connexion
between Woolwich, or between the south of England
and the north ; it might be just as well carried round
London as through it ?—Just so. I imagine that a few
miles in increase of length would make very little diffe-
rence in that respect, the great object is the continuity
and non-interruption of the intercourse.
Do you think it very desirable to connect all the nor-
thern and southern lines, in the event of national defence
being required ?—I think it of very groat importance,
and one particular reason would be that the carriages
would be universally available. I should say, that
about 2,000 men require at least 100 carriages ; 2,000
men would be a small number for an emergency
upon an invasion, or in any case of that kind, where
you want to assemble a large number of troops ;
100 carriages is a large number to carry on ore line ;
therefore, it would be of considerable importance to
make the carriages of one line available for any other.
With the power that the railways ought to give us, I
Aink that every soldier of Great Britain might be as-
Vembled on any one point within twenty-four hours, and
even from any part of Ireland within a few hours more.
:But in bringing them by the different railways to Lon
Aoa, and moving them from London, unless you can
:take all the carriages available, you would have to take
jhem down by driblets to the point of action; that
Tither
be very objectionable, and lead to two things,
littler in that way they must be taken near the enemy,
in which case they would be beaten in detail, or you
must take them at a distance of fifty or sixty mile:,
which would be an inci,nvenience. It would take as
long to march from Guildford to the coast as for them
eto get all the way from Eclu.burgh to London. I think
it a point of very great importance to preserve the co 1-
itinuity of the line.
So that the carriages of one railway might be avail
abl;i for all7—Yes.

Sir J. W. Gordon—That is to say, to have the same
gauge.
Sir J. F. Burgoyne—And the same gauge, of course.
At present the northern and southern lines are severed
by the Thames ?—Yes, unless you had a continuous line;
if the troops got to the terminus of the Portsmouth line
from the Birmingham line, for instance, they would find
only such a number of carriages as that 2,000 or 3,000
could go at a time ; if you had a continuous line you
could bring them all down from the northern lines, and
they would only be subject to the one inconvenience of a
single column.
Supposing an invasion on the south coast, you could
bring the whole of the northern forces down, and they
could cross the Thames ?—Yes, you could have 20,000
or more men all at once.

One of the lines is proposed to run down from the
Great Western and the London and Birmingham, to
cross the Thames near Battersea, to join the South-
Western line?—Any communication, though it might be
circuitous, that would enable all the carriages to be ap-
plicable, I think, would meet the point I allude to.
Sir J. W. Gordon—l would mention, with regard to
all lines of road by which military supplies of any kind
are to be moved, that the Government ought certainly
to be consulted in the tracing of the line, and to have
' the report of the proper military and civil authorities
before that line is traced ; and for this reason, that in
case of military operations being carried on in the
country, if those lines which are intended only for com-
mercial purposes were found to interfere with those
operations, either by impeding our own movements or
facilitating those of the enemy, the duty of the com-
manding officer would be to destroy them.
To Sir J. F. Burgoyne—Are there any observations
which you can offer to the commission upon the subject
which they have before them, beyond what has been
stated by yourself and Sir Willoughby Gordon ?—I am
not aware that there are. The facility and rapidity of
steam navigation render us very susceptible of being
attacked on a sudden on the breaking out of a war,
mid it is very necessary to improve our means
of defence. The only resources which we have
are the navy, fortifications, and the concentration
of the troops ; the navy might not be able to come in at
particular periods ; the fortifications have all yet to be
made ; therefore it would be of still more importance to
facilitate the concentration of the troops. I conceive
that you might be able to concentrate your forces faster
than the enemy could land them ; there is great diffi-
culty in landing a large number of troops ; It takes a
very long time.
We are to understand that you attach very great im-
portance to a line being carried across the Thames to
connect the northern and the southern railways ?—Cer-
tainly, it is of very great importance, more particularly
in London than in any part of Great Britain.
[Alderman J. Humphery, M.P., examined.]
And the advantage of the extension (of the South-
Western) to London-bridge as regards the telegraph,
would be, that it would bring the telegraph nearer to
Lloyd's ?—lt would bring• it to Lloyd's within a very
short distance. .

It would bring it safely to a point so near Lloyd's,
that it might be continued to Lloyd's?—lt would. An-
other advantage, I think, of having the terminus here
would be with respect to the steam-boats coming east
and west of London-bridge, bringing troops going
south, south-west, or south-east. The Gravesend boats
come no further at present than Loudon. bridge ; they
come just through the bridge ; they are larger boats
than the penny boats, and bringing troops up from any
part of the Thames, they would bring them and land them
on the wharf. and those troops would go into the railway
carriages without being perceived by any person ; they
might walk up the staircase from the river to the plat-
form, and the Government would be able to transport
these troops without being incommoded by the crowd, d
streets, or by any portion of the traffic that :might be in
that neighbourhood. Troops, also, earning from the
South-Western and proceeding by the South-Eastern,
or vice versa, could pass under the dry arches of London-
bridge to either ntation, without going through the
public streets, which I consider would be a great conve-
nience. The company having such a large frontage to
the river, I have been measuring, since I have been here,
the frontage of Somerset House ; I find it is 500 Let,
and thw frontage which the South-Western Company
propose taking at London Bridge according to their plan
is 700 feet, consequently it is by 200 feet a larger front-
age next the river than the Somerset House frontage,
and therefore it would be a very imposing sight, and it
would be a place of very great traffic.

INSTITUTION OF CIVIL
ENGINEERS.

The first meeting of the session, Sir John Rennie,
President, in the chair, was held on Tuesday evening,
when a paper by Mr. Shears Assoc Just, C.E., was read,
descriptive of the iron dock gates constructed by Messrs.
Rennie for the Russian Government, and erected at
Sevastopol on the Black Sea :—" Sevastopol is very
peculiarly situated amidst rocky ground, rising so
abruptly from the shore that there was not
space for the buildings necessary for a dockyard.
On account of the depth of water close in shore, and
other natural advantages, the Emperor determined
to make it the site of an extensive establishment,
and as there is nut any rise of tide in the Black Sea,
and the construction of cofferdams would have been
very expensive and difficult in such a rocky position, it
was decided to build three locks, each having a rise of
ten feet, and at this level of thirty feet above the sea to
place a main dock with lateral docks, into which vessels
of war could be introduced, and the gates being closed,
the water could be discharged by the subterranean con-
duits to the sea, and the vessel being left dry, could be
examined and repaired even beneath the keel. A stream
was conducted from a distance of twelve miles to sup •
ply the locks, and to keep the docks full. This, how-
ever, has been found insufficient, and a pumping en-
gine has since been erected by Messrs. Maudslay and
Field, for assisting. The original intention was to have
made the gates of the docks of timber, but on account of
the ravages of a worm, which it appears does not, as in
the case of the &redo naval's, or the tcrebrans, confine
itself to the salt water, it was resolved to make them
with cast-iron frames, covered with wrought. iron
plates. There are nine pair of gates whose
4opainhe
rf,s
vary from 64 feet in width, and 34 feet
s
in height, for ships of 120 guns, to 46 feet 7 inches
in width, and 21 feet in height, for frigates. The man'-
festation of such masses of metal as composed these gates
demanded peculiar machines ; accordingly, Messrs.
Rennie fitted up a building expressly with machines con-
structed by Mr. Whitworth, by which all the bearing
surfaces could be planed, and the holes bored in the ribs,
end all the other parts, whether their surfaces were
curved or planed. The planing was effected by tools
which travelled over the surfaces backward and forward,
cutting each way ; the piece of metal being either held
its blocks if the surface was plane, or turned on centresbinl;
if it was curved. The drilling was performed
1 chines, so fixed, that the pieces could be brought bY
en
or against the drills in the required direction, and
guideda
so as to insure perfect uniformity and accordance
between them. Travelling cranes were so arranged as
to take the largest pieces from the wharf, and place them
few men,
notwithstanding the various machines by the agency
notwithstanding their formidable dimensions of a very rPn
mensions ; the heel
parts in seine cases being upwards of 34 feet lung.
Each endless screw, for giving progressive motion to
the cutting tools, was 45 feet long. Some idea may be
formed of the manual labour avoided by the machines,
when it is stated that the surface planed or turned in the
nine pairs of gates equals 717,464 square inches, and in

some cases a thickness of'three-qtrtk"ters'WFlN'.nch was
cut off. The surface in; the drillett.:;6Plis equals
120.000 square inches." .
The paper gave all the details of the' eoisfrtrpction of
the gates and the tnachint2s for '6Skriietlid-t;- and was
illustated by a series of detailed drawing,
An interesting discussion followed,' chiefly. on the
peculiarity of the site selected for,the 40,`a and the
supposed ravages Gf the worm in fresh:xi-it:J(l4.e- s it was
of unusual occurrence. It seemed to be,tiwbisinion that
the temperature of climate- influenced aid
-wages of
. .
these insects. „
The meeting was held in the. library, •Itsi the new
theatre was yet to damp to be used ieith safVty-, It was
announced that the meetings would: be held-4here in
February, when we shall give an account-of altera-
tions to the building during the recess.- • •
The annual general meeting for the` 'rlectPon of the
council, was announced to take" place. an -Tuesday,
January 19. , .

STATE OF THE TRADE OF GREAT

BRITAIN.
The Board of Trade have published their accounts re-
lating to trade and navigation for the ten mouths ended
sth November, 1844, 1845, and 1846. As respects the
imports of the country, there has been on Most articles
a steady improvement. This is especially shown in liv-
ing animals, bread stuffs, and such commodities as are
convertible into food. The number of oen 'and bulls
imported in the first ten months of 1841 was
2,889; in
1846 it rose to 13,087; cows increased from 836 to
18,029; sheep from 1,272 to 61,113 in the same period;
and other living artimalein the same, proportion. This
is a matter of no little censequenc'e at the present time,
as it is pretty well known that the steek of beasts in the
United Kingdom is rot so great as ie has bceiti.--In some
localities there may be sufficient, but if Ireland be taken
into account, it will be evident that there is a: falling off.
These remarks will apply especially to a-subject which
appears to have been overlooked, viz., the supply of fowls
for the enuriug spring. From whative can learn it will
be defic.,ioN. Food being scarce, the breeders havi been
induccd to bring their 'hells to an early 'inarliet, and
judging from this tact, and also from the present price
of eggs, we arrive at the conclusion that there will be a
'g,t eat deficiency. Those who have kept up theit;,,stock
will realize g)ocl prices for two years to come.
The imports of bacon, butter, and cheese, have been
much extended. Of bticoa 26 cwt. was imported in 1844;
in 1846 the import was 1,668 cwt. A large portion of
this, and a butter, which has increased 35 per cent. on
the ten months, finds its way into the London market.
We allude now to the imports from Ostend and other
continental ports, from which places the qualities are
superior. The import of cheese, all of which hes been
entered for home consumption, was 153,178 cwt. in 1814;
in 1846 it was 242,442 cat.

Bread studs continue to pour in abundantly. The
articles chiefly increased are—flour, wheat, oats, beans.
ludilda corn, Indian meal, and buck wheat. In the first
ten months of 1844, 2,430,516 quarters of such bread
stuffs as are entered by the quarter were imported ;
against 2,842,454 quarters in 1846. Of those entered
by the cwt., the imports, in 1844, were 908,697 cwt. ;
against 2,768,401 ewt,., in 1846. Showing an increased
importation which may challenge a parallel.
t'ea, sugar, and coffee increase bath in the quantities
imported and onsumed. The uq.orts of tea, in 1844,
were in round numbers 33,000 000 lbs.; and, in 1846,
43,000,000 lbs. The consumption, in 1844, was
34,000,000 lbs. ; and, in 1846, 39,000 000 lbs. Of un-
refined sugar di," imports, in 1844, were 3,902,406 cwt.,
against 4,753,328 cwt., in 1846 ; whilst the consumption
was 3,494,403 cwt, in the former period, against 4,468,313
cwt. in the latter. The imports of coffee, in 1844, were
34,000,000 lbs. ; and, in 1846, 41,000,000 lbs. The
consumption in the first 'ten months was 26,000,000 lbs.;
and in the latter 30,000,000 lbs.

An increased import and consumption is also to be
noted in rice, foreign fruits, tobacco, timber, and spirits.
Thus it will appear that, in the staple imports of th•
country, there is great encouragement.
The exports of British produce and manufactures are
a little less, in the aggregate value, than in 1844. The
difference arises chiefly from cotton manufactures, of
which the exports appear to be a million sterling less
than in 1844. Cotton yarn and other articles, how-
ever, increase ; so that, on the whole, the falling off is
only 100,0001., an amount which is less than the work of
a day.

In the tonnage of vessels employed in the foreign
trade of the United Kingdom there has been an increase
of 600,000 tons outwards, and 750,000 tons inwards.
Vessels in the Irish and coasting trade have been in-
creased 950,000 tons inwards, whilst the clearance out-
wards have increased by 1,300,000 tons.
The excise charged upon articles of home production
is given for nine months. Upon the whole, there is an
improvement. This is apparent in bricks, paper, hops,
malt, and soap. On all the articles named there has
been a decided increase. It is curious to observe, with
regard to spirits, that while in England and Scotland
the quantities retained for home consumption present no
marked feature of increase, in Ireland there has been an
excess of consumption, in 1846, over 1844, of no less
than 1,435,927 gallons.

ADVANCE IN THE PRICE OF
BRITISH SPIRITS.

A public meeting of the licensed victuallers of the metro-
polis was held yesterday at the Crown and Anchor Tavern,
for the purpose of adopting such measures as might be con-
sidered necessary to meet t he advance on the price of British
spirits made by the distillers. Mr. George Smith, of Sloane-
square, was called to the chair.
The Cumer.m.sx said that the advance in the price of
spirits by the distillers had been so great that it would be
impossible to continue retailing them at the present prices,
and it was therefore necessary that some uniformity of price
should be adopted, in order to place themselves right with
the public, at the same time that they protected themselves.
An advance of Is. 9d. on every gallon of gin had already
been made, and a resolution had been framed which, he
trusted, would meet it. But the advances were not confined
to British spirits, for rum, because deficient in quantity, was
increasing in price. He mentioned these facts to show that
they were driven by circumstances to increase the prices to
the public.
Mr. licamEn, in moving the fir,t resolution, that the price
of gin be advanced one shilling and fourpenee a gallon, said
he believed that if Government would relax the present ex-
cise laws the result would be not only satisfactory to the
dealer and the public, but would be found most advantageous
as respected the revenue of the country.
Mr. You No seconded the resolution.
Mr. MARRYAT moved, as an amendment, that the mini-
mum price be 9s. 4d. a gallon, which being added to the
original words, the resolution was carried unanimously.
On the suggestion of the Chairman the rise was deter-
mined to take place on Saturday.
Mr. HOLLEBONE moved the second resolution, that no
rum be sold under 4%e1. per quartern.
Mr. SIANDON seconded the resolution.
Mr. JONES, of the Two Brewers, Borough, moved as an
amendment that the price be sd. per quartern.
Mr. Fox, in supporting the amendment, said that it was
somewhat singular, that while " rums" were rising to the
retailer, they should lower the prices to the public. Such a
course might suit those gentlemen who :stuck great bills in
their window promising gin at Is. 4d. a bottle, when others,
and he among the number, could not sell the same article
under 2s. True, the difference might be that the latter par-
ties did not poison the public.
Mr. HOWELL, of the Savoy Palace, followed in support of
the amendment, and the original resolution was carried thus
--" That rum be raised in the same proportion as gin," and
the rise to take place on Saturday.
Thanks having been voted to the Chairman, the meet-
ing broke up.

DESTRUCTION OF WORTH-PARK
HOUSE BY FIRE.
LATEST PARTICULARS.
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON.—From inquiries instituted
on the spot yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon, it was
ascertained that the mansion which has been destroyed
contained thirty-taco rooms.
During the day a gentleman connected with OA
London Insurance Companies visited the ruins for the
purpose of inquiring into the origin of the calamity, and
ascertaining the amount of damage done. From the in-
quiries mare, it appears, that besides the great destruc-
tion of property that has taken place, it was truly mira-
culous that not one of the inmates had perished in the
flames.
The contents of the library, we regret to state, were
entirely destroyed, as well as-the whole of the furniture
in the upper rooms. Most of the rare plants were
uscued from the conservatory, and a number of large
looking•glasses were saved. The property, however,
that was removed, of course was seriously injured by
breakage, Sic.
It is impossible at present to tell the exact amount of
property that has been consumed, but it must reach, at
the lowest, to several thousand pounds.
It has been ascertained that the proprietor was insured
for only 4,700/., viz. :-3,0001. on the mansion, and
1,7001. on the furniture.
At five o'clock last evening (Wednesday) the ruins
were still smouldering.

°tor myeaarrrys bone-
gonßenaACinKa
nIII
namedAN s
ppeßteErACM,;—oreAr
iinauprpnebneerd
entitled to. Having
of our fair townswomen, who did not use
him with that
tenderness that he conceived himself
last resolved to work upon her fears of punish-
Peter at
tried all other arts to retrieve her lest affections in vain,
ment in another world for her conduct in this. Pretend-
ing, therefore, to swake, one morning, extravagantly
alarmed, his helpmate was full of anxiety to know what
was the matter ; and having sufficienly, as he thought,.
whetted her curiosity by mysteriously hinting that ‘he
could a tale unfold," at length Peter proceeded as fol-
lows :—" H-11 of a dream last night. I dream Igo to
hebben and rap at the doa, and a gent'man came to do
dua wid black coat and powda hair. Whoa dere ? Peeta
Coopa ! Whoa Peeta Coopa ! Am not know you.
Not knowa Peeta Coopa ! Look de book sa. He take
de book, an he look de bcok, and he couldna find Peeta
Ckopa. Den I say, Oh ! lad oh ! look again, finda
Peeta Coopa in a coma. He took de book, an he look
de book, an at last he finda Peeta Coops in lilly,
coma. Peeta Coopa cook ob de Royal Char-
lotte, ob Greenock.' Walk in sa. Den I walk in, and
there was every ting, all kind of vittal, collyflower too,
and I eat, and I drink, and I dant, and I Ling, and I neva
he done ; seg,tr, t-o, by gum. Den I say, Oh ! lad, oh !
look for Peeta Coopa wife. Ile take de book, and he
look all oba de book, many, many, many a time, corns
an all, and he eo,:ldna find l"eeta Coopa wife. Den I
say, Oh ! lad, oh ! look de black hook. He took de
black book, and lie findim, Peeta Coopa wife first page,
Peeta Coopa wife, buckrawoman, bad to her husband .? "
" Cervantes laughed Spain's chivalry away."
So says Byron ; and if the English were not made of
sterner stuff, what might not the absurdities of Punch,
and such like ridiculous publications, produce on the
British Lion. We must beg pardon, however, of the
Spanish ghost for coupling his name with such abortions.
How different the mission of the Messrs Ross and Sons,
of Bishopsgate street, whose productions and art give ad-
ditional dignity and grace to the
" Human face Divine."