The Sun.
London, England, 1847-11-23 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

THE PROGRESS OF AMERICA, FROM THE
DISCOVERY BY COLUMBUS TO TIIE
YEAR 1846. By John Macgregor.
The present M.P. for Glasgow and the late Secre-
tary of the Board of Trade, has undertaken, and has
performed,:and performed too in a manner that leaves
nothing to be desired, the Herculean labour of
tracing the progress 4::•• Europeans in America, from
the discovery of that hemisphere by Columbus in
1492, down to the present time. The application and
labour necessary to produce such a work must have
been, as Mr. Macgregor himself states, " long and
severe;" but he has the satisfaction of knowing that
he has executed a work which embraces more sub-
jects than any other work of the same description
extant, a work, the accuracy of which is unimpeach-
able, and which must henceforth be the manual of
the philosopher, the historian, the merchant, the na-
vigator, and the statesman. Mr. Macgregor will be
hailed by future generations of the Anglo-American
race as the father of their history. The first book
gives us the history of the discovery of America by
Columbus, of the conquest of Mexico and Peru, and the
settlement of those countries by the Spaniards, and
of the discoveries and conquests of the Portuguese,
Dutch, and French. In the account of the French
discoveries Mr. Macgregor gives us an interesting
description of the French Canadians, and to those
who have for years past indulged in misrepresenting
the sentiments of some of the most loyal subjects of
the 13ritish crown, we would commend the following
account of the manners and customs of this sicap!e
and virtuous race :
" There is nut, probably, in the world a more happy
people than the habitans or peasantry of Lower Canada.
.thoy are, with few exceptions, in easy circumstances;
and in all the villages the church forms the point around
Which the inhabitants, born in the parish, delight to
live; and in no dwelling further from it than they can
hear the ringing of its bell, can any of them feel happy.
They arc nut anxious to become rich, but they possess
the necessary comforts, and many of the luxries of lite.

" They are frugal, but not enterprising, and will sel-
dom buy what they can make themselves. Their lands
yield theta grain and vegetables, and food for their
horses, cattle, sheep, hogs, and poultry, as well as hemp
flax, end tobacco.

" They make coarse linen and woollen cloths, straw
hats, wore ted bonnets or caps, soap, candles, sugar,* and
implements of husbandry. What they manufacture is
seldom for ale, but for consumption. They have, in
fact, every article of real utility—every necessary re-
source within themselves, no penury, no uneasiness, no
distress is visible. Their mode of egriculture is clumsy
and tardy; yet the soil, with the most negligent culture,
Yields abundance for domestic consumption, and some-
thing over seignorial dues and the tithes, to sell, for the
purchase of articles of convenience and luxury. Their
farms are generally small, and often subdivided among
a family. The agricultural societies may gradually im-
prove husbandry among the habitans; but hitherto
neither example,
.nor the prospect of interest, has been
sufficient to induce many to adopt the more approved
'nodes pf husbandry, or any of the methods of shorten-
ing labour, discovered during the last or present century.
They have gardens attached to their houses, but the
neatness and order which lend such charms to every
little English cottage is not to be found in the Canadian
Parishes. The women generally do all the garden work,
and, like of those of Normandy and Picardy, greatly
assist in field labour. The occupations of the Canadians
are neither severe nor incessant; as moderate industry
*enures all necessaries. They, however, plough a great
portion of their lands in autumn, and there is little
doubt but they will gradually change their mode of cul-
ture. We discover a neeg the Canadians the customs
and manners that prevailed among the peasantry of
France during the age of Louis XIV.; and to this day
the rnnst rigid adherence to national customs is main-
tained among them. Contented to tread the path beaten
by their forefathers, they, in the same manner, till the
ground; commit, in the like way, the same kind of seeds
to the earth; and in a similar mode do they gather their
harvest, feed their cattle, and prepare and cook their
victuals. They rise, eat, and sleep at the same hours;
and under the instruction of their pastors, and the
example, of their elders, observe the same spirit in their
uevotions, with as ample a portion of all the forms of
the Catholic religion, as their ancestors.
Lent,
" They are fon quality ps, which are seldom, even in
Lent, of meagre . Bread, butter, cheese, with
egg, tea, poultry, fish, and flesh, constitute nearly all
the other articles of their food. They have their jours
grQs, or feasting days, before and after Lent, on which
!hey gormandise vast quantities of animal food, and
ulge in drinking; but on other occasions they are
temperate.
" The amusements of former times are also common
dlueng them, espcially at their weddings, feasts. and
111"3. Even the noisy, tumultuous charivarif is not
entirely forgotten.
" They delight in driving about in csleches and ca-
-11010- To the harness of their horses they hang nume-
tens bells and on passing each other always, as in
'ranee, take the contrary side of the road to that which
s'fo are accustomed to in England. Dancing, fiddling,
a S
and singing, are among their amusements after vespers
°unday, considering it no sin but a harmless recrea-
tion, never attended with dissipation or vice. Sunday
is, indeed, the happiest day in a Canadian's week. The
Parish church collects all acquaintances. The young
and
old, men and women, drive thither in their caleches
summer, and in their well-furred carioles in winter;
there they meet far devotion, Pleasure, and love. Even
con their little matters of business they consider it inno-
ent to converse after dinner.
c " Sunday is, therefore, truly a day of happiness in a
TaluNlian parish. Theirdevotien is to them a pleasure.
h habitan is sincerely pious; and let him be taken
Where he may, if deprived of joining in the observances
°l,rs cligion, he is unhappy, superstitions, and fearful.
1
Powerful feeling prevents him from going forth,
"to the American, with his family to settle, apart from
all ethers, in the 'wilds.
" Politeness seems natural to the Canadians. Habit,
enlitutien, and temperament have made them a courteous
EsePle; and the first thing a child learns is to say his
tra,Yers, to speak decorously and respectfully to every-
StuuY, and to bow or courtesy to its elders and to all
°rangers. The habitans never meet one another with-
tut putting a hand to the hat or bonnet, or moving the
fur d• Men and women are civil to all, not for mere
re:a or appearance, but from a sense of propriety; and
farn always treat their superiors and parents with de-
eeee.
Parents and children live frequently in one
house to the third generation. They are exceedingly
modest—'the women from the natural delicacy and dis-
P ition of their sex, the men from custom and a full
seise 01 decency ; the latter, in the country parishes,
e ver bathe in the rivers, nor even in the most private
Places, without being partially covered. The men are
welel Proportioned, about, but something smaller, than
th tunidle size, and very rarely corpulent. From ex-
Pnsure to the climate their complexions are dark; the
a4,sun in summer, and the snow in winter, bronze their
oeletees, and the general use of close iron stoves may also
urn et their colour. The features of their faces are cha•
atteteristie. 'late nose is usually prominent, and often
hetll,'el line; the eyes dark, rather small, and remarkably
the
vY; the lips thin, chin sharp and projecting, and the
eks inclining to lankness.
Many of the girls are pretty oval-faced brunettes,
with fine eyes, good teeth, and glossy locks. They
fah
affectionate wives and tender mothers. Their
are are keen and their attachments ardent. They
',r(te,
.generally more intelligent than the men; and a
" .(ntan rarely enters upon matters of any importance
Ivithout saving, J'en parleria I ma femme;' and on
bconsulting his wife, but not before, will he conclude a
argain. On entering the house of a Canadian, his wife
ms to anticipate our very wishes. If they have not
blithe time what we want, the landlady regrets it with
such good grace that we cannot fail to be delighted
With what she gives us.
"The habitans marry young; sometimes twenty
Couple are joined in wedlock at one time in the same
church. They hate being alone. The world is nothing
to them unless a number of families have the opportu-
nity of assembling together. How very different from
the Americans, among whom a man and his wife will
leave a populous settlement, in which they were born,
and all their friends and relations without apparent re-
gret, and plant themselves, regardless of all the human
race, amidst the solitary gloom of the darkest forest!
" A dance and feast always attends a wedding. The
Canadian dances with alt his heart; and eats with all his
vigour. On the day of a marriage, several caleuhes, or,
if in winter, elrioles, filled with friends and acquaint-
ances, form a cortege of imposing appearance. On these
occasions, the gayest colours, the best dresses, the most
spirited horses, and most fanciful caleches, or carioles,
are brought into full display, and often continued for
several days.
" The priests, by their admonitions, restrain, to a cer-
tain degree, and more effectually than sumptuary laws
ever could, the dress of the habitans.

" In winter, the men are clothed in long full skirted
'lark grey coats (capots) buttoned close to the body,
with a hood attached, to draw over the head, and with a
many-coloured sash, frequently ornamented with beads
round the middle; and in pantaloons, bonnet rouge, or
60nnet Lieu, and niocassins, and never without a pipe in
their mouths. In summer, light short jackets and straw
hulls, are worn in place of the long coats and bonnet rouge.
The dress of the women is old fashioned, even when they
iwear gowns. Petticoats and short jackets, or bed-gowns,
Vng waists, neat white caps, and, in summer, straw
eonnets f .rm the
dern prevailing dress. In towns, the Imo-
English or French fashions prevail.
dery English
Canadian gentry all over the province, con-
:jilting Chiefly of the descendants of the old noblesse and
gentry, retain the courteous urbanity of the French
school of the last century. After the conquest, the
of the French families of education and respecta-
who remained, was eminently courteous and polite;
andsi they were anxious to secure the good feeling of the
eLaly. English settlers, by inviting them to share in:the
14ospitality
pleasures, end amusements of their houses
and cf Chair society. (1 tine society dans laquelle reg-
ritlt g(2l 6.-ahment une politesse et une brillante ur-
banise,') Canadian families of education speak French
ZlS6correctly as it is spoken in Paris. Many of them,
posi.s converse fluently in English; and although their
cisr on has been, and is, kind, and their manners
. eeable, their society has not been sufficiently appre-
ciated by the English
ThO cultivation of the soil, building their houses,
atte,nding to their live steck, providing fuel, and making
ssupiereents of agriculture, and articles of convenience,
form the leading occupation of the rural Canadians.
Fishing is rather au amusement than a laborious pur-
suit. Spear fishing, with torch light, in calm summer
nights, alonz the n-e 7 of the rivers,:eronveyS FOlTl'lleinthnaire;
tPheaCtillbiaeralrythSiek
ofthesm p armen over the surface
toreii es and the s e
smooth, limpid waters, follow in succession, each
exhibiting eauttful bright light.

T Pi 9U N,

• " Those of Anglo-Sa:con race, who navigate the long t
craft, called Durham boats, are very different beings
'rorn the Canadian boatmen who man the river boats, or
4ateaux. The former are generally tall, lank fellows,
seldom without an immense quid of tobacco in their
mouths; grave-tempered schemers, yet vulgar, and
seldom cheerful; ' grinning horribly,' when they ven-
ture an attempt to laugh.
" The Canadian boatman, or voyageur, is naturally '
7,olite, and always cheerful; fond enough of money when
he once possesses it, although unacquainted with ever-
reaching; and if he attempts to cheat, ho knows not
how. He sings, smokes, and enjoys whatever comes in
his way, thanking " le bon Dicu, la Vierge, et les Saints,'
for everything.
" The voyageurs know every channel, rapid, rock, and
shoal, in the rivers they navigate; and, never pretend.
ing to question their leader, or bourgeois, fearlessly ex•
pose themselves to the greatest hardships, and the most
frightful dangers.
" When singing their celebrated boat-songs, two
usually begin, two others respond, and then all join in
full chorus. These songs make them forget their iabo-jrs,
and enliven their long and perilous vogeges. Nothing
can be more imposing than a fleet of white canoes, and
the voyageurs all singing cheerily,' while padding ryver
the bosom of a lake, or along the sylvan shore of the I

St. Lawrence or Ottawa.s
" The inhabitants of Normandy and Picard, ;,—from
which parts of France the ancestry of the tilanadian
habitans chictly emigrated,—are those whom the latter
resemble most in their morals, customs, and dwellings.
But the peasantry of Normady and Picardy have changed
many of their habits and customs, while the Canadians
have retained them. _ _ _

M" Crimes are very rare among the habilans. Honesty,
..hastity, piety, and superstition,—the latter not more
common, however, tivan in Scotland. an Ireland,—arc
prominent in the Catadian charaeDer. Perhaps no
people on earth have enjoyed more happiness in their
eireunictances, joined to so much virtue in their lives,
than the rural population of French origin in Canada,
until they were duped by political adventurers to join in
a rebellion against a Government, which, though it may
have frequently erred, had always considered the new
subjects of the British Crown as justly entitled to the
full paternal and equal protection of its administration."

That nothing but misgovernment of the grossest
possible description could have driven such a people
into rebellion must be obvious, and we think from
what we find relating to the causes of that unfortu-
nate rebellion, in a subsequent portion of this work,
that it may be fairly assumed that had Lord Stanley
never held the seals of the colonial empire of Great
Britain, there would never have been any rebellion
among the habitans of Lower Canada. In his second
book Mr. Macgregor gives us the history of the pro-
gress of Anglo-Saxon America, from the first attempt
on the part of Sir Walter Raleigh to colonize Vir-
ginia to the acknowledgment by George 111. of the
indrpendpnce of the United States, and of the pro-
gress of the States themselves down to the period of
the settlement of the Oregon boundary, under the
presidency of Mr. Polk. In opposition to those who
represent the inhabitants of the United States as an
ignorant people, Mr. Macgregor observes that there is
more general know ledge diffused among the people of
the United States than in any kingdom in Europe,
although the number of those who devote their lives
to literature is, from circumstances inseparable from
the condition of a new country; less in proportion to

the whole people than in Europe. The fact is, there
is so much of other and more profitable employment,
that these pursuits are left to the sickly, the physi-
cally inactive, and the unenterprising. In this
instance, as in every other, the principles of political
economy hold true. It is cheaper to import litera-
ture than to manufacture it at home, and so long as
such shall be the case, no• poor man will devote him-
self to literary pursuits in. America. Mr. Macgregor
is of opinion that the Anglo• American race is des-
tined to become masters of the whole continent, from
Hudson's Bay to Terra del Fuego. He says—

" That which distinguishes the Anglo-Americans
from most other people is their sleepless spirit of enter-
prise, wbirh, grave people as they are, is often reckless,
though calculating, in its undertaking. To every part
of their own country, where any gain can be acquired,
and in their ships, to every part of the habitable globe,
do they resort. This character of them as a nation has,
however far it may be accompanied by some unamiable
defections, been the great cause of their prosperity, both
before and since the revolution; and, according to all
probability and experience, it will continue until their
gigantic territory has a superabundant population, or
until great individual wealth, and consequent luxury,
produce the usual effects caused by indolence, volup-
tuousness, and degeneracy. This ultimate possibility is
so very remote, as practically to preclude even the Ideal
of finality. The Anglo-American will
.go forward in his
progress.
" The cool indifference, but calculating determination
with which he moves from the seaboard, or the old
states, to the back countries, where he can secure plenty
of land for his children to settle around him, is remark-
able. Nothing, however, is more common. A whole
colony sometimes depart together, and, on arriving at
the spot in the wilderness that answers their views, im-
mediately commence the operations of cutting down the
trees and erecting houses; and a town, with its streets,
and all the component parts of an American embryo
settlement, such as meeting-house, a blacksmith's forge, ,
saw mill, corn-mill, shops, and taverns, appear outhe banks
of a river or stream, where a forest occupied:the ground a
few months before.—(See the. Geographical and Statisti-
cal
chapters, vol. ii. of this work.) In this great fact is
involved the whole secret cause, the effect of which will I
overwhelm the whole hemisphere, from Hudson Bay to
Terra del Fuego, with the domination of the English
language. This is no prophecy. It is a clear daylight
forecast of that not to be arrested progress which is the '
inevitable destiny of America."
The events which are now occurring in Mexico,
and the character of the other races which are to be
found on the American continent, by whom, and by
whom alone, the progress of Anglo-American con-
quest would be likely to be opposed, almost incline us
to agree with Mr. Macgregor in opinion that the
inevitable destiny of America is to become at no
distant day the possession of the Anglo-Saxon race.
American want of refinement has always been a
favourite theme with the Trollopes (the word is a sug-
gestive and an expresive one) of our ultra-refined
society. On this subject Mr. Macgregor justly
remarks :

tk he woodland frontiers of Canada, where they assume
very strikingly difiere' at habits and morals. Not but
that a great proportic ,n. of the inhabitants, near and on
each side of the bour.daries of the United States, and
British possessions, r onsist of honest, industrious, and
praiseworthy familie 3; but there is in the general cha-
racter of borderers', in all countries, less morality, less
honesty„ greater 'recklessness, and more cunning and
plotting, than exist among tho other population.
" This is remarkably the ease in respect to the bor-
derers, on. each side the line, dividing British from re-
publican /America. The irranoral and dishonest of all
glades, and the most unprincipled schemer* sf the
former, escape or resort to the latter, and thrise of the
latter to the former. Smt.iggling is one greet nursery of
dishonesty and schemir,g. Failures 113_ trade, or in
timber or land speculatlons, and then ekeating creditors,
is another. The cu
,ions,
and poli':ical demagogues of 'iaWS by P-..ssiP.g• over to the Amatican
Here We
.t'itpte liberty—in
you °,lO bor..dage! Have ith 't.qdependent go-
esCidaanneaaoddraat,heevalitniee,thaeal
cry
cat, I
'off British tyranny !—govern your-
sveclrNhems !-

hese men, who gall themselves PATRIOTS, have
aP,itated Canada, gerrarlly, from vanity, from reckless.
fleas, and for evil purposes. The American border do-
vaagogues echo anti re-echo their catchwords—this is
called sympathy oy the part of the American people. It
is no such thing. It is mere speculation on the part of
a few hundreds (Jf the most unprincipled and desperate
characters on earth, who look forward, in the event of a
successful rebellion, to the vacant lands and trade of
Canada, as a field for adventure and plunder.
" Many of the Upper Canadians are disloyal and
worthless men; made up, first, of men whose villany was
too notorious to allow them shelter in the United States;
second, of runaway debtors, and cheats of various shades,
from the United Kingdom, and from the other British
possessions; and, third, of disorderly persons, born and
brougbt up in the province, who have, generally, passed
their time, as lumberers, raftsmen, and boatmen—in
drinking, or in scheming to live without working; and
the fourth, that is, the mere political demagogues. These
classes, the so-styled PATRIOTS of Upper Canada, with
whom sympathised, during the late rebellion, not the
United States citizens who form the many, but the un-
principled and reckless among the borders, who consti-
tute the few."

The ease with which the Navy islanders were ex-
pelled by the British militia forces proves Mr. Mac-
gregor is right in his estimation, and that the sympa-
thisers and the rebels constituted really but a very
small minority (and that a most worthless one) of the
inhabitants of even the border territories.
Our extracts have already extended to such a
length, that we must defer the Further consideration
of these most valuable volumes to some other, and
we hope not far distant, opportunity.

* Maple sugar. The season of manufacturing it is consi-
dered a period of pleasure rather than of fatigue, although it
is attended with considerable labour. About 2,000,0001b5.
used to be manufactured in the province by the Canadians.
fi The charivari is a noisy assemblage of people, who pro-
ceed after bed-time to the house of a newly-married couple,
whenever there is a fiagrant inconsistency in the match, such
as a young girl marrying an old man for his money, or vice
versa. Some come on horseback, some blow horns, some
beat drums and tin kettles; the English in the towns also
join the charivetri; others ring bells, shout, and swing rattles,
continuing the charivari from night to night, until they re-
ceive a stipulated sum from the unhappy pair, for some cha-
ritable purpose.
‘, The white canoe of the North American Indians, is
beautifully constructed, by sewing the rind of a huge white-
birch tree over a slender frame work. On the water, this
fragile vessel floats gracefully; and the long voyages of the
Canadian far traders, and those of Sir Alexander Mackenzie,
to the Artic See, and across the continent to the Pacific,
were made in them. They are so light, as to be easily car-
ried over land, by two men, from one river, or lake, to an-
other."

§ " It is not a little remarkable how thinking, educated
statesmen, even those who are the apostles of legitimate ab-
solute monarchy, entertain similar opinions as to the progress
of mankind.

" Prince Metternich, in speaking confidentially to a Ger•
man diplomatist, of the bleiben wir beim alien (hold fast to
the old) class, on the subject of arresting the progress of en-
lightened ideas, said, Le temps avarice, au milieu des °rages,
vouloir arr&er son impetuosite serait an vain cffort.'*
" The famous expression of the Abbe de Pradt, is equally
true, Le genre humain est en marche, rien ne le fera retro-
grade,-;' literally, Mankind is on the advance or march,
nothing can make this march retrograde.'
" ' The Times advance in the midst of storms; to attempt
arresting its impetuosity would be a vain effort.' By the
Times Prince Metternich personified the HUMAN MIND in its
intellectual progress."

A PROPOSED PLAN for the EQUILIZATION
of the POOR RATES throughout the VARIOUS
PARISHES of the UNITED KINGDOM of
GREAT BRITAIN and IRELAND,PROVID-
ING for the ABOLITION of the LAW of SET-
TLEMENT, RENDERING thereby the RE-
MOVAL of PAUPERS UNNECESSARY. By
S. L. Hutchinson.

" As to the manners of the Anglo-Americans no one
can detail justly, by common remarks, their character-
istics. The materials are as heterogeneous as can be well
imagined, but, at the same time, greatly modified by
circumstances. In general, but especially in the New
England States, the men are graver, and, as respects
language and carriage, more precise than in Europe.
The Virginians have been compared to country squires
in England.
" The United States, being peopled at first by persons
who left these kingdoms when public manners were very
different from what they are now, and since that time,
annually, by the adventurous of all classes from other
parts of Europe, the inhabitants must retain much of the
original habits and education of their- ancestors. Time
alone will amalgamate these materials, and create st
standard which will eventually give a more marked tone
to public and private society. But in this progress, and
intercourse, the steam-engine, the press, steam naviga-
tion, the railroad, and general commerce, will be ad
vancing the civilization, and the assimilation, of all na •

That great evils are inflicted both upon the desti-
tute poor and upon the rate-payers, by the existing
Law of Settlement cannot be denied. The pauper is
separated from all his friends and connexions, and
forced into the workhouse of a distant union, where
he is unknowing and unknown, or he is shuttlecocked
from union to union at the caprice of the relieving
officers, and lawyers, for which the rate-payers have to
pay sonic thousands per annum in litigation, in conse-
quence of the existence of this law. The great ques-
tion, however, is, how are we to avoid these evils
without inflicting others of greater magnitude. The
plan proposed by Mr. Hutchinson is, to levy a rate of
Is. 6d. in the pound on all property real and personal
in England and Wales (and he calculates that by a
reassessment, 5,2.50,0001. annually would be raised
from real property alone, a sum more than
sufficient to support and maintain the poor
of England and Wales), which would raise
more than sufficient for the relief of all the poor in
the districts where they become chargeable, and to
leave the management of this relief fund in the
hands of district officers appointed in the various
localities. This latter part of the plan would, we
fear, lead to a vast deal of local jobbing, but such is
the horror which Mr. Hutchinson has, in common
with the Commissioners of Sewers, of the bugbear
centralization, that he would run the risk of jobbing
rather than trust a Government official with the ad-
ministration of the fund. Whatever may be thought
of the plan, there can be but one opinion of the value
of the work. It is a work of immense labour, of
great accuracy ; the statistical details are most valu-
able, containing as they do a vast quantity of inte-
resting information on the statistics of pauperism,
not to be found in any other publication. It is a
work to be studied by every philanthropist, statist,
and statesman.

tions. The country people of America are blunt, but
certainly civil, altnough often accused of rudeness. We
feel safe in considering them not so rude, and certainly
not so ignorant, as the peasantry of England, nor the
bourgeoisie of France. They are never obsequious, it is
true; and this arises from their being unusually inde-
pendent in their circumstances. They are, in short,
neither polite nor rude, but always civil, unless we assume
an authoritative tone: if we do, as some Englishmen
are accustomed to do, through habit, without meaning
any assumption, the Anglo-Americans will certainly
neither comply with our requests, nor reply to us in
anything like gentleness of spirit.
" The impertinent curiosity with which the people of
America are branded must be considered only applica-
ble to the remote settlements.
" European travellers form their opinion of society in
America, not from a knowledge of the great mass of the
people, but from the characteristics of the towns, and of
steam-boat and railway travellers, and of political adven-
turers and reckless speculator& No data can be more
erroneous. The people of America must be judged in
their dwellings; and it will thenbe
evident that of the
so-termed genuine people of America, theajority—espe-
cially in the northern states, and including majority.
Pennsylvania, and New York consists of tlenagrewzi w
agricultural
na
families, and the inhabitants of villages and sal
We have with careful impartiality examined the° con
dition and character of this great class of the population,
as it exists chiefly in the non-slaveholding states, and
in the British North American colonies; and Mrs.
Grant's description long ago of Albany will still apply
to countless villages in America. Albany, it is true, is
now the busy centre of enterprising commerce. Steam-
boats, canals, and railroads, bring thither all kinds of
raw and manufactured commodities,—all sorts of specu-
lators,—all varieties of travellers. It is, indeed, no
longer Mrs. Grant's rural town, with a garden and trees
surrounding each of its neat white houses,—with its
family group in summer evenings, or clear moonlight,
seated beneath the shade of open portico, or spreading

tree,—with the family cow, fed in the common pasture,
returning home at eve, with its tinkling bell, along the
broad grassy street, to be milked at its owner's door,—
with inhabitants, net one of whom was very rich,—very
poor,—very knowing,—very ignorant,—very wise,—or
very polished. But still all these real blessings, this rural
happiness, abound in the United States."
Mr. Macgregor, however, draws a distinction be-
tween the generality of the inhabitants of the settled
parts of the States and those of the newly settled
States in the west, north, and on the borders of
Canada :
The traveller who would sketch American manners,
during a steamboat voyage down Mississippi to New
Orleans, w ill draw a very different picture, of the Anglo-
Americans, from that of the rural inhabitants, which we
have endeavoured to describe, Multitudes of German
and Irish, emigrants are added annually to the citizens,
and, even to an extraordinary degree, influence the elec-
tions, of the United States. Those, also, who navigate
the canals, rivers, and lakes, are characterised by the
habits of their occupations; and inherent and local cir-
cumstances, cause a very marked difference between the
eitizens of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore,
„ •
vide St. Louis, Buffalo, and Detroit.
" In speaking of the rural population, we have alluded
to their characteristics north only, until we approached

L'oNDoN, TUESDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 45, 1847.

when such opinions were neither general nor popular,
may render other constituencies less ardent in the
cause, and other representatives less eager for its ad-
vancement. To those friends and public men who
have generously desired that I should be chosen to
represent this county, to manifest, on the part of a
vast commercial community, its acknowledgment of
my efforts for many years successively in the cause
of free trade, I beg to tend my warmest and most
earnest thanks. There is no honour I value so highly
as the confidence of my fellow-citizens ; for this
signal proof of it on the part of the electors of South
Lancashire I shall never cease to entertain feelings of
the most lively gratitude. I have the honour :to be,
gentlemen) your true and faithful servant, _

C. P. VILLIERS.

FLANDERS and HAMBURGH MAIL.
COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.—BRUSSELS, NOV.
19.—Our corn market yesterday was extremely well
supplied. The tendency to decline did not continue,
and the prices were firm. This is attributable to the
bakers themselves. A member of the Commercial
Council justly observed, that it is for the interest of
the bakers to purchase small quantities of corn at a
high price here, while at the same time they get a
supply at a moderate rate elsewhere, and the price of
bread is always fixed according to the price of corn
in this market : thus they make large profits.
The commercial transactions of the week have
varied but little from those of the preceding. About
3,000 bales of Brazilian coffee were sold in lots,
without variation of price. About 369 cases of raw
sugar were sold, and 84 barrels of white.
THE POSTAL CONGRESS.
DRESDEN.—The following are some of the particu-
lars that have transpired relative to the discussion of
the Postal Congress, formed of the representatives of
Austria, Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, Hanse Towns,
Taxis, and some other principalities of Germany.
Austria was foremost in requiring the adoption of
uniform principles in the postal arrangements. The
extension which the branch daily receives, in con-
sequence of the establishment of railways, requires
that the postage of letters should be placed upon as
uniform a footing as possible for however the number
of persons engaged in the post-office may be aug-
mented, there is not enough time decidedly to
ascertain the amount of postage and indicate it on the
letter. Thus, for example, in 1846, after the com-
pletion of some railways, there passed through the
Post. office of Vienna 283,249 letters more than in
1846. In Austria the rate of inland postage on
single letters is divided into three classes
viz., from five to ten leagues, three kreutzers ;
from ten to twenty leagues, six kreutzers, and for any
distance whatever beyond twenty leagues twelve
kreutzers. Austria desires that it shall be the aim of the
Postal Congress to establish a fixed rate for the ex-
ternal service of those states which shall have ac-
ceeded to the Postal Congress by suppressing forced
prepayment, as well as transit postage ; the estab-
lishment of an inland rate of postage, to be left to the
option of each individual state, taking it for granted
that in some places the post is a part of the public
revenue. Austria will accede together with all the
other countries of the monarchy, and proposes to
establish for the postage of letters in the states of the
Postal Union two rates only, viz., six kreutzers for
every distance as far as twenty leagues, and twelve
kreutzers for every distance exceeding twenty leagues.
The single letter shall weigh twenty-five grammes.
With regard to the division, the tax thus raised shall
accrue one half to the state of the Postal Union
sending the letter, and the other half to the state re-
ceiving it. Prussia proposes rates for the charge of
postage. It declares itself ready to make pecuniary
sacrifices for the interest of the Postal Union, but it
objects to the division of the rate into two equal parts,
and especially to the omission of those countries
through which the letters pass in transit. Bavaria
wishes for a. remission rate of postage, without regard
to distance, and agrees on the other points with the
opinions expressed by Prussia. Saxony declares in
favour of the proposals of Austria. Hanover and
Taxis find the rate proposed by Austria too high.
After -lengthened private discussion, it was resolved
at the sixth sitting :—The tax of a single letter, that
is to say, the weight of which does not exceed twenty-
five grammes, shall pay in the states of the Postal
Union two kreutzers for the distance of six leagues ;
five kreutzers for twenty leagues ; and ten kreutzers
for every distance exceeding twenty leagues.—
German Papers.
lIIMBURGH BORSENUALLE, Nov. 19.
Bills. Money.
Austrian 5 per Cents ................
1160040
Bank Shares • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Anglo-Russian Loan -••••• • • • • • • •• • • 104 104
Russian 5 per Cent., limb. Certificate. 101
Ditto Ist serieslnscription lOl%
Ditto, Hope andCo.,3d and 4th series 95
Ditto, in Certificate
New 4 per Cent., Hops and Co. •• •• • • 863%
Ditto Stieglitz ••••••• • • • • • ••••• • • • • 86%
Spanish New 5 per Cent ••••••• • • • • • • • 12% 12%
Ditte 3 per Cent .......... •••• • • • • 22% 22%
Anglo-Portuguese Loan, 2% per Cent .•
Dutch Actual Debt, 2% per Cent. •• •
Ditto 3 per Cent. •. • •• . •
Polish New 4 per Cent. Loan, 1844.... 79
Anglo-Danish Loan, 3 per Cent ..... • 82 8l
National Bank Shares ................

AMERICA.
LIVERPOOL, MONDAY.
By the Boston packet-ship Ocean Monarch, Cap-
tain Murdoch, we have advices from New York to
the evening of the 4th inst.
The Ocean blonarch arrived off the port last
night, but, owing to the severe gale, could not be
boarded.

The French mail steamer Philadelphia arrived at
New York on the 3d inat.

The Royal mail steam ship Caledonia arrived at
Boston on the sth inst.

The political news is uninteresting. The Whigs
had carried the elections in the state of New York.

Our Mexican advices are unimportant. We have
no intelligence of General Scott. Our former ad-
vices stated that Santa Anna had left Puebla. We
now learn that after his departure the cannonading
ceased, and that the cotton warehouse of M. Valesco,
which had furnished bales for his breastworks, with
2,000 bales in the Convent of Santa Domingo, was
fired and burnt at night, causing the inhabitants to
fear that the Americans had left the entrenchments
and were storming the city.
Much enthusiasm prevailed at Puebla against the
United States troops. •
There was great uncertainty as to Santa Anna's
intentions. One account, dated Orizaba, says :
" Santa Anna, who has taken up his line of march
from Puebla for this city, with a small remnant of
his old army, was overtaken on the road by a mes-
senger from the acting executive authorities of the
republic at Queretaro, requesting him to proceed
immediately to that place; and it was not until he
was fully convinced that the call came from a friendly
source, that he consented to obey the summons. Some
of the letters state, that upon pretty good authority
the writers learn that Santa Anna refused to return
in any other capacity than an advocate of peace. It
is
.evident from these reports, if true, that Santa
Anna has given up the idea of throwing himself and
forces in the way of General Lane's command, as was
reported in letters from Jalapa, and I am rather in-
clined to think that at the time he was overtaken by
the messenger from Queretaro he was making tracks
for the coast, to embark for a place Gf safety; but
now, if these reports prove to be true, it will not
take much to induce him to elect himself President
once more."

The report that Santa Anna was endeavouring to
embark is denied by the Mexican journals, and his
determination to fight is asserted.
Herrera, according to the Arco Iris, has collected
ten thousand men at Queretaro, all of the National
Guard.

It is stated that the United States Government had
determined to open diplomatic relations with the Pa-
pal See, and that Colonel J. S. du Solle, of Philadel-
phia was likely to be the gentleman selected as charge
d'affaires to Rome.

THE BRAZILS.

FALMOUTH, Nov. 21.

Her Majesty's packet Swift, Lieutenant Lory,
arrived this afternoon from the Brazils, having left
Rio Janeiro on the sth of October. She brings as
passengers—Mr. and Miss Dickinson, Mr. Candy,
Mr. Dubbers, Chevalier St. George (ex-Charge
d'Affaires for France), and lady, four children, and
three servants, one engineer, and about 5,0001. on
freight. _ _ _

This vessel brings nothing new from the River
Plate, and very little from Rio. There was a liberal
spirit manifested by Saturnino, the present Minister
for Foreign Affairs, and before the closing of the
Chambers he was empowered to make such arrange-
ments respecting the administration of the effects and
estates of deceased British subjects and foreigners
generally with the Ministers of different nations
as it was believed would give general satisfaction.
The principal difficulty appears to be, that by our
constitution we claim all as English born in Eng-
land of foreign parents, as well as those born abroad
of English parents. This difficult point has been got
over by the French adopting the same rule agreed to
between Spain and France; and some other Ministers
at Rio have consented to adopt the same course, but
we cannot learn that Lord Howden has yet got over
this point, and up to Mr. Hamilton's leaving he would
not concede anything on the subject.
After the arrival of the Swift at Rio the coffee
market began to give way, and prices declined 100 to
130 reis, and:at the reduced quotations some import-
ant transactions occurred. The total sales of the
month (September) may be estimated at about
140,000 bags, and the shipments about 148,000 bags.
The price of first good was 2,750 reis to 2,850 reis ;
and first ordinary 2,600 reis to 2,650 reis. Freights
to Antwerp, 70s. ; Channel, 80s.; Constantinople,
755.; London, Liverpool, and Marseilles, 70s. ; and
Trieste, 755. Discounts continued unaltered. Ex-
change, 271 ; and a fair amount has been done for
this packet, 30,000?. of which have been taken up by
the Treasury.
Her Majesty's ship Crescent, Eagle, Kestrel, and
Seringapatam were lying at Rio Janeiro ; as were
the French ships-of-war Malouine and L'Arthemise,
and the American ship-of-war Ohio.

THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.
PORTSMOUTH, Nov. 22..—8 y the Mary Anne In-
diaman, Captain Parke, which left the Cape on the
18th of September, we have advices to that date.
No movement of any important character had taken
place since our last advices, but Sir Henry Pottinger
was organizing his forces for a grand coup in a few
days after the departure of the Mary Anne.
Captain Cardew, of the infantry, and Mr. Pringle,
died on the passage on board the Mary Anne.

Terrible steam-frigate, Captain Ramsay, on Wed-
nesday.
Wind, West ; moderate breezes, and cloudy
weather.

'
PRINCESS'S THI. 'A TRE.Tien _
A stage version of the first part of _
Iryt,iylor's
rie„ f
noble dramatic poem of Philip Van L. 'elae was
produced here last night with great success—a
success, however, for which it was more inct..‘l3ted to
the superb mise en scene and the excellent actiLF of
the artistes engaged in its production than to the ai ill
of the adapter, who has used the scissors in a na( )st
ferocious manner, cutting out everything that did L .ot
tell in bringing out the character of Philip Va n
Artevelde, sacrificing the author, the poem, and the
plot (for those who have never read the poem could.
the by possibility have understood the plot of
play) to the one object of making
a part for Mr. Macready, and certainly Mr. Ma-
cready made a great deal of the part. He de-
claimed last night better than we have ever heard him
declaim. His speech in front of the Stadt House was
superb, and there was a quiet firmness (the quietude
of conscious power) in his manner of warning Oco
not to approach the Stadt House, which told with
immense effect. His scene with Vanden Bosch on
the summit of the Tower of St. Nicholas was very
fine. In this scene he was well supported by Ryder,
whose coarse, yet energetic, style of act Eng is just the
thing for " a leader of the fierce democracy." miss
Emmeline Montague and Miss Susan Cushman made
much .of the two little parts (for in this version
they are reduced to - two very little parts),
of Adriana and Clara, and the other artistes exerted
' themselves to the utmost. The play ends with the
conquest of Bruges, and we only see Philip as a
conqueror. The omission 'of all allusion to the second
part, which exhibits Philip in evil fortune, and which
concludes with his death, mars the beauty of the
poem, although, perhaps, it adds to the stage power of
the play. Macreadywas called for at the conclusion,
and was received with enthusiastic applause. The
house was'crowded.

PLYmourn, Nov. 20. Her Majesty's steamer
the Rhadamanthus sailed on Thursday with meal for
Ireland.

Her Majesty's brigantine the Dolphin, Lieutenant-
Commander the Hon. R. F. Boyle, having had her
defects repaired, ;sailed yesterday for the coast of
Africa.

Last night Staff-sergeant Steward lost his life by
falling between the Millbay pier and the steam-ship
Preussischer Adler, then lying alongside. After
being taken out of the water he was restored to sen-
sibility, but died subsequently from contusions
received in the fall. He has been constantly employed
on military duty on board the St. George's Com-
pany's steam-ships on the line from Cork and Ply-
mouth to London.

WooLwidn, Nov. 22.—The Blazer steam-vessel,
Commander Smith, is under orders to leave this port
to-morrow, for the coast of Africa, and will take out
a number of engineers for the Island of Ascension.
The Violet steam-vessel, Master-Commander Sher-
lock, left Woolwich this morning to resume her duties
on the Dover station.

The Janus steam-vessel went down the river at
eleven o'clock A.m. to-day, on an experimental trial.
The Monkey steam-vessel, Master-Commander
Bryant, accompanied her.
The Stromboli steam-sloop, Commander Lord
Amelius Beauclerk, is preparing for sea with the least
possible delay, and is expected to proceed 'to thio
Mediterranean station. The crew is to consist of 160
men, and his Lordship is still in want of a number of
able seamen. The stokers required have been filled
up, and the other subordinate classes, in this fine
vessel.

Captain Fanshawe is to study steam at Woolwich
dockyard.

COURT CIRCULAR.

WINDSOR, MONDAY.—The Queen held a Court and
Privy Council this afternoon, at the Castle.
The Council was attended by his Royal Highness
Prince Albert; the Marquis of Lansdowne, Lord
President; Lord John Russell, First Lord of the
Treasury ; Sir George Grey, Secretary of State for
the Home Department ; Viscount Palmerston, Secre-
tary of State for Foreign Affairs ; Earl Grey,
Secretary of State for the Colonies ; the Earl of
Auckland, First Lord of the Admiralty ; Sir John
Hobhouse, President of the Board of Controul for the
Affairs of India ; Viscount Morpeth, Chief Commis-
sioner of the Woods and Forests ; the Earl Spencer,
Lord Chamberlain ; and the Duke of Norfolk, Master
of the Horse.

At the Council, Mr. Richard More O'Ferrall was,
by command of the Queen, introduced, and was sworn
of her Majesty's most Honourable Privy Council.
The Right Honourable Gentleman took his seat at
the Board.

The Queen's Speech, to be delivered in Parliament
this day, was arranged and agreed upon.
A Charter of Incorporation was granted to Wake-
field.
The Hon. William Bathurst was the Clerk of th e
Council in Waiting.
At the Court, the Marquis of Normanby, her
Majesty's Ambassador to his Majesty the King of the
French, was presented to the Queen, at an audience,
by Viscount Palmerston, G.C.8., her Majesty's prin-
cipal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The Queen gave audience to the Marquis of
Lansdowne.

Her Majesty was attended by the Earl of Listowel,
Lord in Waiting, and Major the Hon. Robert Boyle,
Groom in 'Waiting. _ _ _

The Marquis a Lansdowne, the Marquis of Nor-
manby, Earl Grey, Earl Spencer, Earl of Auckland,
Viscount Morpeth, Viscount Palmerston, Sir George
Grey, Sir John Hobhouse, Mr. More O'Ferrall, and
the Hon. William Bathurst, travelled from town, to
attend the Queen's Court, by an especial train on the
Great Western Railway.
After the Privy Council a dejeune was served in the
Castle to all the noblemen and gentlemen present at
the Court.

At a quarter before three o'clock, the Marquises
of Lansdowne and Normanby, Lord John Russell,
Earls Grey, Spencer, and Auckland, Viscounts
Palmerston and Morpeth, Sir G. Grey, Sir J. Hob-
house, the Right Hon. R. More O'Ferrall, and the
Hon. W. Bathurst, left the Castle for the Slough
station, and returned to town by a special train. The
Duke of Norfolk also took his departure from the
Castle.

The Queen and Prince Albert took their usual
early walk this morning.
The Prince of Wales, Prince Alfred, the Princess
Royal, and the Princess Alice, rode on their ponies,
and the Princess Helena was taken an airing.
The royal dinner party at the Castle this evening
included her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent,
the Lady in Waiting of the Duchess of Kent, the
Baroness de Speth, and Sir George Couper.
The band of the Grenadier Guards was in attend-
ance during dinner. Her Majesty's private band
afterwards attended in the Castle.

Lord John Russell, as First Lord of the Treasury,
gave a grand dinner last evening, at his official resi-
dence in Downing-street, to a party of forty. The
guests all appeared in Court dress. The invitations
included the Right Hon. the Speaker of the House of
Commons, Mr. James Heywood, the mover of the
Address, and Mr. A. Shafto Adair, the seconder;
Lord Anson, Lord John Hay, Lord Marcus Hill,
Lord Morpeth, Lord Palmerston, Lord C. Paget,
the Right Hon. Sir George Grey, the Right Hon. T.
Milner Gibson, the Right Hon. Sir John Hobhouse,
the Right Hon. Henry Labouchere, the Right Hon.
T. B. Macaulay, the Right Hon. Fox Maule, the
Right Hon. Sir William Somerville, the Right Hon.
R. L. Sheil, the Right Hon. E. J. Stanley, the
Right Hon. Edward Strutt, the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, Hon. Colonel Anson, Hon. Major Boyle,
Hon. William Cowper, Hon. William Lascelles, Hon.
Colonel Koppel, the Attorney-General, the Solicitor-
General, Admiral Dundas, General Fox, Captain
Berkeley, Messrs. Bellew, Charles Buller, Gibson
Craig, G. C. Lewis, J. Maitland, Parker, Rich, Tuf-
nell, H. W. Ward, Wyse, and W. Grey.
Lord John Russell read her Majesty's speech to his
distinguished guests in the course of the evening.
The Marquis of Landsdowne, Lord President of
the Council, gave a grand dinner to a party of Peers
yesterday evening, at Lansdowne House.
The Earl of Yarborough had an interview with the
Chancellor of the Exchequer yesterday, at his official
residence in Downing-street.
The Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England had
a committee meeting yesterday.
Dispatches were received yesterday, at the Colonial
Office, from the Governor of Hong-Kong.

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.
TATTERSALL'S.—YESTERDAY.
LEAMINGTON STEEPLECHASE.
8 to 1 agst Capt. Peel na The Chandler—taken
10 to;1 agst Lord Strathmore's The Snitcher—taken
12 to 1 agst Mr. Taylor na Standard Guard—taken
12 to 1 agst Mr. Elmore's Young Lottery—taken
12 to 1 agst Mr. Moseley's Richard the First—taken
The investments were in small sums, and the odds, in
every case, were afterwards offered.
TWO THOUSAND GUINEAS STAKES.
100 to 25 agst Col. Anson's Blaze—taken and after-
wards offered

DERBY.
sto 1 agst Scott's lott—taken to 501.
6to 1 agst Dilly's lot
6to 1 agst Day's lot
25 to 1 agst Mr. J. Day's Nil Desperandum—t to 25/.
25 to 1 agst Mr. Mostyn's Loadstone—taken to 501.,
and afterwards offered
40 to 1 agst Mr. Greville's Rosslyn taken and
afterwards offered
40 to 1 agst Mr. Wreford's Whitatone—taken and
afterwards offered
1,000 to 20 agst Mr. Nunn's Tho Fowler—taken.
A draft from Mr. Mostyn's stud, and several grey-
hounds, the property of Mr. Rake, were put up for sale,
but only a few lots sold, and those at low prices.
By the death of Mr. E. Hobson, Hatherley, by De-
fence, out of Chaos, is disqualified for the Derby and St.
Leger, 1848.

STRAND THEATRE.
Last evening Mr. Harry St. Cyr Percy, from the
Baltimore Theatre, made his first appearance before
a London audience at this attractive little theatre.
The pieces chosen for the occasion were, Ben the
Boatswain, or the Ship on Fire; andMonsieirr Tonson.
Mr. Percy, who sustained the character of the hero,
Ben, is not an exception to the general run of Ame-
rican actors who have tried their fortunes in Old
England ; he, like most of them, overacts to a de-
gree. This fault, and it is a glaring one, was appa-
rent last evening; :let him study natures a little
more, and not depend so much on declamation,
and he may reached an elevated place in his profession
He has about him all the requisites of a good
actor, a commanding figure, an expressive coun-
tenance, and a good voice, but before he can be-
come afavourite with the playgoing public of London,
he must divest.himself of his glittering, but false, style
of overacting. He was ably supported by Mr. rcher
as Mark Redriff; Mr. Huntley, as Dabbleton, and
by Mr. Bethway, as Sir Arthur Trevor. Miss Love,
as Edwin Gage, looked and acted the part admirably.
Mdlle. Louise Blanche, as Palmyra, the dumb girl,
was very effective ; her pantomime was excellent.
The little part of Madge Oatfield was given to Miss
J. Coleman, but that little was done well. Ducrow's
popular drama, The Dumb Man of Manchester, fol-
lowed, after which the evening's entertainments con-
cluded -with the amusing farce of Monsieur Tonson, in
which Mr. Percy played much better than in the first
piece, the character of Monsieur Morbleau, the eccen-
tric peruquier, with point and vivacity. A thorough
Frenchman in pronunciation, and a good one in
gesture, he excited much merriment in his encounters
with the everlasting Tom King (Mr. W. D. Broad-
foot), and:the numerous other inquirers after Monsieur
Tonson. The pieces generally, which were well
cast, went off well. Mr. Percy 's engagement is an-
nounced in the bills as limited to six nights. His
first step on the London boards may be said to be a
successful one.

EXTRAORDINARY INCIDENTS
AT ST. JUDE'S CHURCH, LIVERPOOL.

Sunday forenoon, during the time that the Rev.
Dr. M'Neile was. preaching the annual sermon at
St. Jude's Church on behalf of, the Society for the
Converson of the Jews, the most extraordinary suc-
cession of incidents occurred that we ever remember
to have witnessed or heard of in any place of worship.
When the reverend gentleman was describing the
dreadful privations from home and country to which
the Jews had been subjected, and when he had been
preaching about twenty minutes, a loud scream
and some incoherent expressions from a poor man
who had been occupying one of the free seats im-
mediately to the right of the communion table, and
adjacent to the pulpit, excited, as might naturally be
supposed, the alarm of the whole congregation, and
caused every eye to be directed towards him. Most
of the congregation suddenly rose from their seats,
and not a few, particularly females, made the best
of their way out of the church. The Rev. Doctor
:topped for a few minutes while the screams from
the unfortunate man continued, and while the
sexton and one or two gentlemen were conveying him
to the vestry-room. The Doctor then requested the
congregation to retake their seats, and said that an
awful instance had just occurred of the deprivation
of reason, whether arising from distress of circum-
stances, or from whatever cause, it was impossible to
ascertain.

Scarcely had he said this when the wretched man
was heard exclaiming in the vestry-room, in a voice
raised to the highest imaginable pitch, that com-
pletely drowned the preacher's voice, and re-
sounded through the whole building, " Lord, have
mercy upon me ! Christ have mercy upon me !"
The Doctor then observed, that it was necessary the
man should be removed to some distance from the
church, and he requested that some of the principals
of the congregation would assist in having him taken
away. A number of gentlemen immediately left
their seats and proceeded to the vestry-room, from
which they succeeded in removing the maniac, who
continued, until out of hearing distance, to exclaim
most vociferously.

The maniac's voice had scarely died away when
a terrific shriek from a highly respectable female
who occupied a pew close to where he had been
originally sitting, told but too plainly that her
nervous system bad been dreadfully affected by
the scene she had just witnessed, and that she was
seized with a fit. Again the congregation were dread-
fully alarmed, many, as before, started from their
seats, and Dr. 111'Neile and several of the ladies
were affected to tears at the sight. A number of
gentlemen assisted the lady, who continued her
heart-piercing screams, into the vestry-room, and,
when there, we believe she shortly returned to
consciousness, but, before she reached the vestry-
room door, a second lady, who sat in a pew at the
opposite end of the church, in the [side aisle upon
the right, commenced screaming at the top of her
voice, and was with difficulty carried out of the
building by the front entrance. She was seized with
a nervous fit.
These remarkable incidents followed so rapidly
upon each other, and were so dreadfully appalling,
that it was some minutes before the congregation
became again composed. In the remaining
part of the sermon Dr. 111'Neile twice alluded to
the circumstance, and expressed a hope that the
congregation would be more thankful than ever for
the possession of reason, and pray for those who had
been so extraordinarily affected. He said that during
his ministry at St. Jude's that was the first occasion
upon which any such sudden deprivation 'of reason
had occurred during divine service. —Liverpool
Albion.

THE ROBBERY AT NORWlCH.—Yesterday infor-
mation was received by the Metropolitan Police that
upwards of 300 volumes of scarce fend valuable works,
300 different [articles of "'oilier plate, and an immense
quantity of plate, linen, &o. having the names and crest
erased, had been foundon the premises cf. Mr. G Thur-
tell, horticulturist, of Norwich, who has, been committed
to take his trial at Norwich Caetle, *flamed 'vials rob-
bery at the house of E,Earrer, Esq.,, porle, Norfolk,
and the whole of which are supposed to be stolen.
CALAMITOUS Fruz.--Yeaterday, afternoon a. fire
of a very calamitoui character broke .out upon the pre-
mises in the occupation of Ur. William Morris, a paper
stainer, carrying on business at No. 3,'Portman-place,
Globe-lane, Mile-end, by which 'the occupier, together
with his wife and child, were dreadfully burned. Be-
tween the hours of-one and two-loud screams were heard
to.proeeed from the work-shop on the first floor, at the
same time flames were seen issuingthrouob lthewindow
Mr. Morris who was in another part of the house, on.
hearing the cries, ran up stairs, when he found the room
in ,a complete blaze, and in the midst of the flames he
could see his child, a boy between nine 'and ten, endea-
vouring, but in vain, to get out. Mr. Morris, in order
to save the life of his Child, rushed through the room.
The consequence was that his clothes soon became ig-
nited, when Mrs. Morris, hoping to her husband and child, also ran intothsearvoe ;the,oin
hardly done so when :her clothing'
likewiseteSloihkve6fi4e.df
Mr. Morris having'succeeded in laying hold of his child,
with a desperate exertion succeeded in pulling him and
his 'wife out of the flames.
S
in the m
e house, and the Some thonoheaerr pson
ingerthes
screams,liTing
neighbours,
ran to render assistance. They. were all three most
y burned,, particularly th,g,boy, for it was
found when the body was touched that the flesh and
finger
nails dropped off. Without delay he was reinovo
to the London Hospital, when the house surgeon pre-"
nouneed his case to be beyond recovery.
THE POTATO DISEASE.—The fears which many
entertained at an earlier period of the season, concerning
the ultimate spread of disease among the potatoes, -are
being unfortunately confirmed id this part of the:country.
We last week bad an opportunity of personally exa-
mining many samples in the surrounding districts, WA
can affirm that in no instance which came under oar
notice is there a prospect, of looking forward to 443
useful esculent as a means of, subsistence beyond acid.
mas.—Sta gbrdshire Mercury. •
IMPORTATION Of Honszs.—The steamer Coll*.
bine, arrived from Havre, has brotight, in addition tOs
general cargo of French productions, twenty-two horses,
consigned to order.

LORD STANLEY'S BANQUET.—Yesterday evening
Lord Stanley, as leader of the Protectionists, gave
full-dress dinner party to several of his supporters, at
his mansion in St. James's-square. The Peers included
the Dukes'of Rutland, Montrose, Newcastle, and Buck-
ingham ; the Earl of Malmesbury, the Earl of Eglin-
toun, the Marquis of Exeter, the Marquis of Salisbury,
Lord Ashburton, the Earl of Hardivicke, Lord Redes-
dale, Lord de Ros, the Earl of Cardigan, the Earl Of
Winchelsea, the Earl of Lncan, the Earl of Wilton, Earl
Stradbroke, Lord Colchester, the Earl Delawarr, Lord
Willoughby d'Eresby, Lord Southampton, Viscount
Strangford, the Earl of Carnarvon, the Earl of Lons-
dale, Viscount Combermere, Lord Saltoun.
THE SHAKSPERE NIGHT —The. contemplated en-
tertainment in aid of the funds tor the purchase of
Shakspere's house is announced to be given at Covent-
garden Theatre, on Tuesday, the 7th of December,
when the miscellaneous performances of certain acts
from the poet's works, voluntarily embodied by actors
of the highest eminence in the profession, will take
place, under the especial patronage of the Queen and
the Court.
Lord Brougham arrived at his mansion in Grafton-
street, on Saturday, from hitn chateau near Cannes, in
rougham has also arrived
the south of France. Lady
•hall,
in town from Brougham•hall,
o Westmoreland.y A
BIRTHDAY OF THE
being PRINCESS
the birthday o—f
the PrincessWlNDSOß,
MONDAY.—Yesterday,
Royal, when her Royal Highness completed her seventh
year, the bells of the at.' church rang merry peals in
honour of this event. 13
Thisis day, at noon, a royal salute
was fired from the corporation ordnance, in the Bache-
lnr's-aere, and also from the battery at Belvedere, near
Virginia Water. Several rare and costly presents were
reeeivedby the Princess Royal, yesterday and to-day,
from
the Duchess of Kent and other members of the
Royal