The Sun.
London, England, 1840-04-30 00:00:00

T. SET N,, LONDON, THURSDAY. APRIL 30, IP4O.

to them? Those mecticgs had been advertised to take
place, in the Irish Papers ; and, therefore, it was im-
possible for her Majesty's Government to say they were
not aware of them.
Viscount MELBOURNE was quite aware of the
system of agitation which the Noble Marquis had said
had lately commenced in Ireland. That agitation was
I certainly not new ; it was an old system of agitation
newly revived, and it was not quite so intense as it had
been on former occasions.—( Hear.) With respect
to the question, whether he disapproved of it or not,
he had only to say that he bad always disapproved of
proceedings of a simiLr nat'ire. With respect to the
confederation to which the Noble Marquis had referred,
as there existed no such confederation, there could be
no intention of continuing that which did not exist.
With respect to the advice that had been given to her
Majesty on the subject, that was a question on'which he
could not give a specific or precise answer.—(Hear.)
The Marquis of WESTMEATH said that it was
only necessary to refer to the newspapers to see that
such confederation did exist.
Lord HOLLAND rose to order—lt was a
most disorderly proceeding, to refer to newspapers
when questions were put in that House.
The Marquis of WESTMEATH said if he was a
member of her Majesty's Government, he should be
exceedingly sorry to get rid of questions such as he had
put in such a manner.
BUENOS AYRES.

Viscount STRANGFORD wished to know from the

Noble Viscount, whether he had received uay commu-
nication from France ancounciFig their intention of di'.
patching a considerable military force to Bueynos Ayres.
Viscount MELBOURNE replied that no such in-
timation had been received.
CORN LAWS.

Earl FITZWILLIA NI said he had a petition to
present from the inhabitants of Sheffield, signed by
10,864 persons, each of whom not following but per-
haps giving the example to the petitioners whose petition
was presented by a Noble Earl that evening ( Malmesbury)
stated his employment and residence. That petition,
and others which he should present, related to a subjtct
of the greatest possible importance, and which could
not be better described than as a law to limit the
population of the United Kingdom, for suob was necessa-
rily the effect °fa law which limited the population to toe
means cf sustenance which could be produced within
these realms.—( Hear, hear.) The petitioners corn-
plained that there was an interference with that free in-
tercourse with foreign nations which it had been the in-
tention of the Almighty should be kept up by giving to
various countries various productions, and by enabling
them to exchange those productions one with the other.
They complained that many obstacles were put in the
way of intercourse with foreign- nations by means of
those laws ; they stated that the effect of those obstacles
was most injurious to themselves and those who de-
pended upon them—that they produced great commer-
cial inconveniences, and that, under particular circum-
stances, they created great distrust among tho
great mass of the population of this coun-
try. In the view which the petitioners took of those
laws he entirely concurred, and he would take the
liberty of laying upon their Lordships' table the first
petition, which was from the inhabitants of Shef-
field, and at the head of which were the signa-
tures of the Master Cutler, and several of the Ma-
gistrates of the West Riding of Yorkshire. The
Noble Earl also presented a petition from Brad-
ford, signed by between 7,000 and 8,000, and about
GO petitions from places in Scotland and England,
about one half of wuich were (torn agricultural pari3tws
and districts—in all, signed by upwards of 4,C00 per-
sons, all to the same effect.

The Marquis of NORMANBY laid on tLe tab'e
of the House certain returns of the number of Irish
Peerages created since tLe Union ; also the number
of ihosa become extinct in the same period. The
Noble Marquis then laid upon the table copies of
the instructions issued by the Poor-law Commissioners
in Ireland to the Poor-law Guardians, for the regula-
tion of their proceedings, and also to the Poor-
law valuators. Beforo the return was printed
he begged to state to the Noble Duke ( Wel-
lington) that he had made inquiries with respect
to the effect of the sth section of the Act of
last year as it referred to the 85th section of the
previous Act. He had taken the opinion of the Law
Officers of the Crown, and their opinion was, that the
83th section remained unaffected by the Act of last
year. Under these circumstances he would not be
called upon to redeem the pledge he had given to intro-
duce a declaratory Act. The correspondence between
Mr. Nichols and the resident Poor-law Commissioners
was also presented, and be wished to know whether the
Noble Dnke wished to have all these ',returns and cor-
respondence printed ?

The Duke of WELLINGTON did not think it
necessary.

The Duke of BEAUFORT presented a petition
from Gloucestershire praying far the repeal of the Corn-
laws.

!The Duke of RUTLAND presented petitions from
Leicestershire against any further grant to the College
of May nooth, and in favour of the Exemption Union
Workhouse Bill.

EARTHQUAKES IN SCOTLAND.

At a recent meeting of the Royal Society of Edin-
burgh, amongst other interesting papers read was one
by David 'Milne, Esq., on earthquakes felt. in Scotland
during the autumn and winter of 1839. For the sub-
joined summary of this document we are indebted to
the Scottish Standard. Mr. Milne stated that the
shocks were first perceived on the 2d of October, and
had continued, with hardly a week's intermittence,
down to the present date. The total number of
shocks from that date down to the 13th of April,
1840, was 145. From the 3d of October to the 2d of
November no day passed without shocks, and on
several days there were as many as 12 or 14. The
shocks appeared to bare diminished in number and seve-
rity as the winter advanced, though on the 7th April
there was a shock only exceeded in severity by the great
one of the 23d October. The author then pro-
ceeded to describe the effects produced by this last-
mentioned shcck, felt at Comrie about 10h. 14m. p.m.
It was perceived in all the central and southern parts
of Scotland, and extended to the north, as far as Ding-
wall on the east coast, and Appin on the west. This
shock, as well as all the others, emanated from one
central point, situated about two miles N. W. of
Comrie. After describing the effects of the most vio-
lent shocks, both physical and moral, some of which
were curious and interesting, Mr. Milne proceeded to
describe the undulation of the earth's surface, which
produced them. He showed that the natural levels of
the ground had been altered, in some cases to the
amount of more than two degrees. and in the opinion
of some intelligent eye-witnesses, four degrees. There
appeared to have been probably two undulations, and
certainly one consisting of an interior swell and
a posterior hollow, which caused houses, si-
tuated on soft or hollow ground, to rock like boats on
the swell of a sea. The velocity of the undulation must
have been immense, as it occurred throughout the whole
country to which it reached at one and the same instant.
Houses situated on rock were not so sensibly affected,
and the shock was in all cases felt more in the upper
than in the lower flats. The shocks were transmitted
to greater distances in a direction of E.N.E. from
Comrie than in any other direction. Of all these phe-
nomena explanations were offered. The author next
noticed the probable cause of the shocks, which he attri-
buted to fractures or ruptures in the earth's crust at a
great depth. He considered that the phenomena could
be better explained on this assumption than by sup-
posing, as many philosophers did, that the earth's
crust was floating on molten lava. The vibrations
caused by these subterranean ruptures would rise
vertically, as well as obliquely upwards, and cre-
ate at some places the sensation of the shock coming
directly from below, and at others, of its moving
forwards along the surface. The cause of these rup-
tures, and their frequent occurrence near Coterie, was
next adverted to ; and some geological explanations
were given, tending, as we understood, clearly to show
that the earth's crust is there intersected by great lines
of fracture, that these lines were nearly parallel E.N.E.,
and that there had been frequent outbursts of igneous
rocks in them. It appeared that for a month be-
fore the commencement of the earthquakes, and for
some time after they were perceived, there had
been in Perthshire an almost unprecedented quan-
tity of rain, notwithstanding which it was observed
of the Erne, the Airdle, and other streams near
Stratherne, that they were not flooded as might
have been expected. The fact of these earthquakes
being in some way connected with the rain was
rendered probable by the fact that, in former years,
they had been almost always preceded by rainy weather,
and it was known that if water percolated to the depth
of one mile and a half into the earth's crust, it would.
in consequence of the subterranean heat, generate steam,
which might cause ruptures. The water might in Perth-
shire percolate into subterranean depths by the numer-
ous fissures abounding in it. It was further shown that
for a month before the commencement of the earth.
quakes, the atmospherical pressure was less than it had
been for several years; whereby any volcanic forces
beneath would be enabled to press or push upwards the
earth's crust with unusual effect, and thus facilitate the
percolation of water in its fissures. A number of other
phenomena was mentioned, such as a peculiar smell or
odour, and a black powder which fell extensively in the
district and floated on Loch Erna last October ; but,
in consequence of the lateness of the hour, they were
not fully described.

ATTEMPTED MURDER AND SUI-

CIDE IN PARIS.

Oa Wednesday evening last, on the Place des Vic-
toires, in the very heart of Paris, in its most popUlous
neighbourhood, within a stone's throw of the Bank, of
the Palais Royal, and the Bourse, at eight o'clock,
the numerous passers-by were alarmed by the discharge
of fire-arms. When they fled to the spot from whence
this detonation had proceeded, they found a middle-aged
female weltering in her blood, and her assassin near her,
who had Attempted- to destroy himself, or had at leas::
pretended to do so. The police, of course, immediately
secured the latter, while the former was carried to the
nearest druggist's shop, to receive the first assistance
which could be offered to her, from whence she was re-
moved to her home. The following appears to be the
history of the case :—The culprit, a man named Helvin
Devonshire, had some three months ago married his
victim, and with the assistance of her fortune had
bought the stock of a jeweller on the other side of the
Pont Neuf ; but as she was some years older than him,
and had a young child by a previous marriage, their
honeymoon soon turned to bitterness, and the conse-
quence was, constant wrangling, and often acts of das-
tardly violence on 'his part ; these determined her to
apply to the Tribunals for a separation of property from
her husband. Such a separation, as it would take
from his establishment a large portion of his capital,
was offensive to him, and he therefore sought every
means to divert her from it ; finding her mind made
up he watched her every step, and ascertained that she
had an appoiutment with her legal adviser, on Wed-
nesday evening, in the Rue de Clery. He posted himself
in the neighbourhood as early as five, and having at
last watched her in remained concealed under a gate-
way till eight, when she came out; he immediately
crossed the street and followed her, when, as she was
entering the Place des Victoires, he fired upon her
with a duelling pistol, the contents of which lodged in
her loins, and she fell at his feet. He was immediately
secured, arid taken to the Corps de Garde ; on his first
examination before the Juge d'lnstruction, he declared
that his only regret was that his victim had not been I, t
once killed, and that his attempt on his own life had
also failed. The poor woman had been at once carried
to an hospital, but so precarious was her state con-
sidered, that the surgeons were unwilling even to at-
tempt for the present the extraction of the ball, which
must he lodged in some very vital plrt.

THE LATE DA RING FOOTPAD

ROBBERY AT GODALMING.

Since the committal of the two footpads, Summer-
fieldtnci
;sirhbac(nomdiur
:to,di companion,
nEdwards,haveul t' i
oxine
grt.n e Guildfordto and
struggle
apprehend
with
ti
usede
e escapedpeovleier eyd
u ofer
the officers, but he has hitherto avoided detection, and
it is supposed the he has left this part of the country
altogether. In cr nsequence of the punlicity that was
elven to the former proceedings, various communications
have been received from different parts of the country,
detailing similar outrages by persons answering the de-
scription of the prisoners, and aiming others the can:
stable from Chepstow attended before the Magistrates,
and stated that a lady had been robbed in the neigh-
bourhood of Cheltenham a short time before by two men
dressed in smock frocks, who presented pistols at her
bead, and thus• compelled her to give up her money.
Upon his being shown the smock frocks found
in the possession of the man who escaped, he at once
identified them as belonging to Edwards and Summer-
field, who, it appears, belong to the neighbourhood of
Cheltenham, and whose persons he is well acquainted
with. The prisoners ha;:ing been conveyed to Horse-
monger-lane Gaol, it was considered advisable that this
constable should proceed there to see whether they
really were the same parties, and upon his being intro-
duced to the yard where they were by Mr. Keene, the
Governor of that prison, he immediately recognized them
as his old acquaintances. There is not the least doubt,
from the information that has been received, that these
men, with the one who bad escaped, have, for a
considerah!e time, been in the habit of going
about to all the fairs and markets in different
parts of the country, and waylaying the farmers and
others on their return home after having disposed of
.
their stock ; and from the daring manner which they
acted, and their mode of disguise by the immediate re-
moval of their smock frocks, exposing a totally different
dress underneath, they have for a long time succeeded
in evading justice, and the booty they have obtained
must have been very considerable. When the pri-
soners were apprehended they had between thirty and
forty pounds in gold and notes on their persons. It
is said to be the intention of the authorities to offer a
reward for the apprehension of the man who has escaped.

HUDDERSFIELD MARKET, APRIL 28.—AI-
though there was a fair demand for fine woollens and light
fancy goods, generally speaking the market was not so brisk
as might have been expected, if it was only on account
of the extremely beautiful weather. Nor do prices
much improve, but they are very firm. Orders are
snore numerous, and stocks of saleable goods very light, so that
better prices are demanded, and must shortly be realised. There
is more animation in the wool market, at prices much the same
as of late, The warehouses are tolerably busy, and better prices
are obtained; but we fear the .nanufacturer is yet far from
obtaining a satisfactory remuneration.
On Friday night Mr. Friend, grocer, of Preston,
was awakened from his sleep by load shrieks in the adjoining
room. He immediately leaped out of bed, and rushed into
the apartment, found the bed upon which the servant had
been sleeping enveloped in flames. The alarm roused the
neighbours, and by their assistance the fire was extinguished,
bui; not until it had entirely consumed the furniture of the
room. The poor girl, in her fright, rushed down stairs and
ran into the warehouse, where she fell through a trap into the
cellar beneath, sod was so much injured by the fall as to render
it neePsaary that she should be rem'jved to the County Hospital.
Brighton Guardian. •

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

MANSOAIHOUSE.

Mr. Hodgson, a solicitor, residing at Wapping, ap-
plied to the Lord Mayor in behalf of four masters of
vessels, viz., John Stewart, of the ship Eliza ; Alex-
ander Smith, of the smack Ann Eliza ; Alexander
Blair, of the smack Hope ; and Peter M'Allen, of the
sloop Margaret Cunningham, under the following cir-
cumstances

The vessels are all laden with potatoes, consigned to
various potatoe salesmen on the Sarrey side of the river,
who, it was expected, would dispose of them at once.
The salesmen, however, although they had accepted the
cargoes, had refused or neglected to unload them, and
had detained them considerably beyond the usual time
allowed for discharge. Some of the cargoes had even
been detained 25 days. The consequence of the
delay was that the cargoes, being of a perishable naturo,
had heated, and decomposition had commenced its work.
A candle would not burn beiow—a steam was issuing
from the hatches and boxes, and, in fact, it was most
unwholesome for the masters and their men to remain
on board. The masters of the vessels had all protested
to the consignees in vain. The latter pail no attention
to their complaints and remonstrances, and appeared to
be actuated by sordid motives.
The Lott]) MaYoa.—You have you:- action for
damages.

The Solicitor said he was perfectly aware of that,
although a notion prevailed amongst the salesmen that
they were not liable for damages. The error of that
opinion would be very shortly exposed ; but, in the
meantime, the inconvenience was very seriously felt,
and his Lordship's interference as Conserv,.tor of the
river Thames, would have a very beneficial effect. His
Lordship must know that stratagems were frequently
resorted to, in order to raise and depress artificially
the price of the funds. That vice had reached the
potatoe market.

The LORD MAYOR.—You mean, that to keep up
the price of the commodity the consignees refus:.. to sell
beyond certain quantities.
Mr. Johnson said that such was precisely the case.
They did not care about the destruction of the cargo.
The applicants were in a sad dilemma. The shippers
were generally farmers of uncertain property, and their
best, and in many cases, their only security for the
freight was their lien on the cargoes ; but it, as hap-
pened to be the case in the present instances, the
cargoes were suffered to rot, and become valueless, their
claims would be defeated. The nuisance was increasing
hourly, and his Lordship's assistance was most urgently
required. He (the Solicitor) had in his hand the de-
clarations of the several masters to the effect he had
stated.

The LORD MAYOR said that the evil complained of
was certainly a very serious one, and particular inquiries
should be made into the nature and extent of the mis-
chief. He could think nothing more culpable than the
course described, and he advised the applicants to apply
to the consignees once more, and if the vessels were
cleared out, to dispose of whatever might be still vend-
able, and their attorney would know what to do as to
the rest. If the application proved again unavailing,
his Lordship would be glad to receive further informa
Con from them, and he was of op;nion that they could
obtain good remuneration for the detention of their
vessels for so long a period.
Two butchers, named Rice and Shade, were charged
by Mr. Widdicomb, a surgeon.
As the complainant was driving in his cab along,
Cheapside, at about four o'clock on Monday evening,
the defendants, who were in a cart behind him, endea-
voured to get before him on their wrong side, and, by
driving with one wheel on the pavement, succeeded, and
at the same time damaged the wheel of the cab. He
said that the conduct of the fellows was disgraceful,
and Shade immediately struck the cab horse, which was
a very spirited animal, with the butt end of b s whip,
between the ears, and then drove off at full speed- The
horse that was struck was evidently stunned by the
blow, otherwise dreadful mischiet might have been the
consequence. As the defendants were both drunk, it
was no matter of difficulty to secure them, after a shoat
pursuit. The complainant followed them to Leaden-
hall-street, and there placed them under the care of a

policeman.
The two butchers acknowledged that they were
drunk, and prayed hard tor pardon, which was granted
to them atter they paid the expense of repairing the cab,
and dropped a sovereign into the poor box.