The Sun.
London, England, 1847-10-05 00:00:00

VICTORIA THEATRE.

A new domestic drama, entitled The Merchant's
Clerk; a Love .Story, was produced here last evening
with the most unequivocal success. This is one of those
intensely interesting domestic dramas for the production
of which this house is so celebrated. The interest of
the piece turns upon the adventures of Mary Hillary
(Miss Vincent), the daughter of a merchant, whose
clerk, Elliott, is in love with her. Old Hillary, in
order to break off the match, concocts a charge of
forgery against Elliott, which eventually recoils against
himself. Mary, who is married to Elliott, and
cast off by her father, suffers all the misery
and wretchedness that want and poverty can
inflict, but Old Hillary, who has been through-
out the tool of a designing housekeeper, who
wishes to estrange him from his daughter, in
order to marry him herself, at length discovers the
machinations of this "fiend in human form" (we
quote from the bills), and all ends happily. Miss
Vincent's impersonation of the character of Mary
Hillary was distinguished by a pathos and intensity
of feeling which not unfrequently drew tears from
her audience. She was well supported by Mr. Hicks
as Elliott. The Old Hillary of Mr. Dale was a fine
piece of acting, and richly merited the applause that
was lavished on it. Artistically viewed, it was the
best thing in the piece. There was an excellent
low-comedy part for Forman, who made the most of
it. The drama, which is admirably put on the stage,
met with the most deserved success, and will have a
long run.

QUEEN'S COLLEGE, BIRMINGHAM. -- The annual
meeting for the distribution of prizes to the successful
pupils took place yesterday (Monday) in the theatre of
the institution. The Right Hon. Lord Lyttelton, the
Principal, took the chair, and amongst those present
were—the Hon. and Rev. Chancellor Law, the Vice-
Principal of the college ; the Hon. and Rev. Grantham
M. Yorke, Richard Spooner, Esq., M.P., the Rev.
Vaughan Thomas, Dr. Booth, Mr. Sands Cox, the Dean
of the Faculty, the various professors, and a numerous
attendance of ladies and gentlemen. The following
prises were awarded :—First Warneford gold medal,
Whittell, Leamington ; second Warneford gold medal,
Bird, London ; the Jephson prize, 20 guineas, Bird ;
Protessor Sands Cox's prizes, Bird and Whitten ; the
governor's gold medal, Barrett, Birmingham ; anatomy
first medal, Bird ; materia medics ditto, Moore, Hale's
Owen ; certificate, Ireland, Malmsbury; chemistry, first
medal, Lane, Grosmouth, Monmouthshire ; certificate,
Stead, Congleton ; medicine, first medal, Bird ; certifi-
cate, Brown, Birmingham ; surgery, first medal, Patter.
son, Stourbridge ; midwifery, first medal, Whitten ;
certificate, Brown ; botany, first medal, Lowe, Birming-
ham ; certificate, Moore. The vice-principal's first
priz.) of 321. 10s. was awarded to Bird • and the prizes
in the junior department to Fryer, Wall, Edney, Wil-
kinson, and Stead.

DIOCESAN Counrs.--By an Act of Parliament
passed in July (10th and 11th Victoria, cap. 98) the
several diocesan c.iurts in England will be opened for
the transaction of business from and after the first day
of next month. Much inconvenience, it is declared by
the preamble, ensues from the continued suspension of
the jurisdiction of the several diocesan courts in Eng-
land, and it is then enacted, " That the bishop of every
diocese in England shall, by himself or his officers,
exercise throughout the whole of his diocese as
it now is or hereinafter may be limited or con-
stituted, save only in causes and matters testa-
mentary, or relating to the administration of the
personal estate of intestates, the same jurisdic-
tion and authority which before the passing of this Act
ho or any bishop lawfully could or might exercise by
himself or his officers within any part of such diocese.'
The officers of the court are to pay over the net amount
of fees to the treasurer of the governors of the bounty
of Queen Anne, to be carried to a separate account,
,6 and retained until Parliament shall provide for the ap•
propriation thereof."
_ _

HAMBURG, OCT. I.—Mr, R. Cobden arrived on
the 29th of September at Lubeck, on his way from
Stockholm. The following day a grand dinner was
given in his honour at the Hotel du Nord, by the mer-
chants of Lubeck. Mr. Cobden, being anxious to return
home, set out next morning for Hamburg, where he ar-
rived about noon, and took up his residence at Streit's
hotel. Great preparations have been made in this city
for his reception.

EXTENSIVE ROBBERIES OF CASH AND BANK OF
ENGLAND NOTES.—Yesterday information was received
by the police, that the dwelhm2-house of Mr. G. Howarth,
of Cadisht ad, near Manchester, bad been plundered of
90/. in gold, and 350/. in Bank of England notes, and
that a lodger, named Elias Field, at Mrs. Dorothy Tyas's,
Castlercagh-street, Barnsley, had gone off with 65/. in
gold, and eleven five•pound notes of the Barnsley and
Wakefield Bank.