The Sun.
London, England, 1847-04-15 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EIirrNING, APRIL 15, 1847.

THE GOVERNMENT SCHEME OF
EDUCATION.
Yesterday a public meeting of the inhabitants of the
Borough of Finsbury was held at White Conduit House,
in order to take into cansideration the scheme of educe-
atia asto paudtofpotr tshucuhpomne
atshuererseac es nt
might minutebe ad
deemed
eCdo unc i
expe-
dient thereupon.
Mr. R. BASLEY, having taken :the chair, said
that he was prepared to go as far as any man in favour
of education, or to further any means which could be
adopted to promote a diffusion of general information.
He objected, however, very much to the principle of in-
troducingany discussion upon the minutes of Council.
The measure had not been brought forward as a regultv.
Bill, but upon these minutes, which had been *stied
more than once, and they had no security that, in the
course of the discussion, they might not see it varied
again. The way in which the measure was introduced
was most obnoxious to many classes. It was nothing
less than the introduction of a new Church Establish-
ment. He did not intend to detain them any further,
hut he hoped that a fair and impartial hearing would b.
given to those who might address the meeting. lie had
receivtd letters from the two representatives of the
;lorough. expressing their regret that they were unable
to attend ; but though they were absent yet he hoped
that the discussion of the question would continue.
Dr. Errs moved the first resolution. He thought
they all agreed that education was a bent-fit to the corn
muuity, and therefore they did not mt et to oppose it.
They were, however, met to discuss the merits of a par-
Ocular scheme as proposed by the Government, and,
though he was ready and at all times willing to forward
so good a purpose us that of educating the people, a
glance at the system and its details had determined bin,
to oppose it. The Ilan was not to give education to an
increased number of per-ms, but merely to constitute it
body of educational offi.ers, to drill as it were the minds
of the people of England, and it became an object of the
greatest importance to them to know to what they were
to be drilled, and what points were to be inculcated with
regard to questions of religion and morality. The
pupil teechers to be appointed were to undergo five dif-
ferent examinations, in as many years, in Scripture,
liturgy, and catechism; so that at the end of that periou
he would be a well-drilled soldier to fight the dirty bat-
tles id the Church.—(e;tieers.) He called upon them to
repudiate a system so fraught with danger to the Dis-
Sentii g community, and leave the quo scion of education
to private enterprise, if it could not be brought forwerti
in a te toe. form. He w. uld c-include by proposing the
first resolution—'• That this meeting prote,t against the
scheme of Giese 'lament education as put forth in the re-
cent minutes of Council oti Education. and especialt)
againstvii tit, mereheut ,
mi
c(m•shttitttt.s
utit:ii Council,practicenal
not authorised
of
g
legislative sanction, the force of law."
Mr. ELT, its s, conding the resolution, said that he did
not think that any great naiional ache-rue of education
would tend to deer. use the amount of crime. They bad
returns of the number of thobi• convicted for crime, who
Ise re able to read and write, while they had no retur..s o
the number of those who could not, and still were honest.
They had as gross depravity in St. James's as in St.
Giles's, and that showed that wealth and idleness were
greater incentives to crime than industry and ignorance.
He hoped that the Government would try to remove the
abject poverty, which was the main cause of crime as
well as ignorance.
The resolution having been read by the CHAIRmAN,
Mr. R. TAYLOR proposed as an amendment-4. That
it is the opinion of this meeting that, to secure the
greatest amount of individual. social, and political good,
it is necessary that every human being should have a
thorough secular education, and, therefore, that it is the
duty of Government to supply such education, and that
of schools buil:loved wholly, or in part, by charitable
contributions, are wrong in principle and in practice,
deetruc;ive of the independence of the working classes,
anti that the opponents of the Government measure are
mostly persons who are desirous that the British youth
should be educated in the dogmas of religion—thereby
keeping alive sectarian strite arid biderness ; and that
the Government have refrained feom bringing forth a
more liberal scheme because of the opposition of a large
portion of the Nonconformists." The opposition to the
Government scheme of education was purely sectarian.
The sectarians had found that they did not keep pace
with the population, that their numbers were diminished,
and they therefo:e tried in every way to oppose the
progress of that which they at first looked upon as likely
to decline, to give way to others.
Mr. !Stooge seconded the amendment. He said,
were the Government to wait until the poor or ignorant
man was stained with crime before they would do any-
thing to further the education? Was it not the duty of
the Gevernmeet to luck to the education of the people
before crime had taken place instead of afterwards? The
education proposed was by no means Scriptural, as de-
scribed by Dr. Epps, but comprised a sound and sub-
startial information on all the ordinary heads of history
and geography.
Dr. PRICE said that the question was not one of a
purely sectarian nature, it was one which affected every
Englishman of every creed, and therefore these dis-
agreeable distinctions, calculated to separate and estrange
class from class, should not be indulged in, for they were
calculated to create that mischief which it was the aitn
and eial of education to pr.-vent. He admitted that the
fgrr,e;rantetshtea sis,irsottaet,t ctea
ut which)i s s
eekd
tuecrast. i o nT
hh
ea)d,
hrae
dcapivrOdeeewdea.ds
silently for years without any public demonstration,
without any resolution:, at public meetinge, and without
any speeches in Parliament, and against the bitter.
st
acrimony of the members of the Church of England,
and he thought that cit.-nib:llly they should not be sub-
ject. d to the operation o. a scheme like the present, which,
if the) availed than.selses of it, was likely to interfere
with th. it relieious opinions.
Several tel or get tlemen having spoken,
The CHAIRMAN put the amendment, which was
negatived by a large majority, and the original resolu-
tion agreed to.
The second resolution—•• That this meeting believe
that, if at any time a Gov el nmental it) stein of education
can be li.gitlnitit«, it will be when the people are enabled
to Fem in-ce an opinion thereon by oring really teprsi•
sewed in the Commons' [louse of Pari..ment ; in the
mean time this meeting instruct their mea.bers to
oppose the vote of money for educational purposes pro
posed to be taken on the 19kh of this mon h"—was
proposed and seconded fro m the platform, and was car-
ried unanimously.
After some further discussion the meeting, which was
numerously and respectably att• ne;e-1, a. pirated.

PROFESSOR SCHCENBEEN'S GUN

COTTON.

The specification of this pater 4 (taken out in the name
of Mr. John Taylor, of the Ad, Iphi, became du and
was enrolled the other day.—The following is a correct
abstract of its conteuti:—

The patentee states that the invention consists in the
manufacture of explosive compounds applicable to min-
ing purposes and to projectiles, and as substitutes fur
gunpowder, by treating and combining matters of vege
table origin with nitric and sulphuric acids. The mat-
ter of vegetable origin which he prefers, as lying best
suited for the purposes of the invention, is cotton, as it
comes into this country freed from extraneous matters;
and it is stated to be desirable to operate on the clean
fibres of the cotton in a dry state. The acids are ni!ric
acid of from 1.45 to 1.50 specific gravity, and sulphuric
acid of 1.85 specific gravity. The acids are mixed toge-
ther in the proportion of I measure of nitric acid to 3
measures of sulphuric acid, in any suitable or c,,nvenieet
vessel not liable to be affected by the acids. A great de-
gree of heat being generated by the mixture, it is thee
left to cool until its temperature falls to 60 or 50 degrees
Fahrenheit. The cotton is then immersed in it, and, it
order that it may become thoroughly impregnated or
saturated with the acid, it is stirred with a rod of Oa,
or other material not affected by the acids. The cott.t,
should be introduced in as open a state as praeicable.
The acids are then poured or drawn off, and the cotton
gently pressed by a presser of glaz• d earthenware, ti,
press out the acids, utter which it is covered up in tht
vessel and allowed to stand for about tin hour. It is sub,
sequently washed in a continuous flow of water until the
presence of the acids is not indicated by the ordinart
test of litmus paper. To remove any uncorabi-ed p' r-
tions of the acids which may remain aft, r the cleansing
process, the patentee dip,i the cotton in a weak solution
of carbonate of potash to one gallon of waiter, anti par
tially dries it by pressing. us before. The cotton is thee
highly explosive, and may be used in that state; but, re
increase its explosive poser, it is dipped in a weak so-
lution of nitrate of potash, and, lastly, dried in a root!:
heated by hot air or steam to about 150 degrees Fahreu
heit. It is considered probable that the us.- of the solo
Lions of carbonate of potash arid nitrate of potash ma}
be dispensed wi,h, although actual experience does no
warrant such an omission. The patentee r, marks, that
nitric acid may be empl.,yed alone in the manufacture of
explosive compounds, but that, as far as hip experienct
goes, the article when so manufactured is not 11,1 good.
and far more costly. When used, care should be take!,
to employ a much less quantity by wt ight, to product,
the same result, than of gunpowder ; and it has heee
found that three parts by weight of the cotton produces
the same eflect as eight parts by weight of the Tower-
proof gunpowder. The cotton, when p-epared in the
manner before mentioned, may be rammed into a piece
of ordnance, a fowling-piece, or musket ; or may be
made into the shape of cartridges ; or may be
pressed, when damp, into moulds of the form of du,
bore of the piece of ordnance for which it is intended.
so that, when dried, it shall retain the required figure ;
and that it may also be placed in caps, like percussion
caps, and made to explode by impact. Lastly, the
patentee states, that although he prefers the use or
cotton, other matters of vegetable origin may be
similarly treated with acidsto form an explosive com-
poeunedm,palendsetdh.at acids The opfeatnehitieifeerihoarysing
pecifithcegsraditsyermiba may
be
the nature of the invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, states, that he does not confine
himself to any of the details above specified, so long as
the peculiar character of the invention is retained, viz..
the manufacture of explosive compounds from matter-
of vegetable origin by means of ad Is. But to adopt the
patentee's own expres,qon, " What I claim is the maim•
facture of explosive compounds from matters of vegetable
origin, by means of nitric acrid, or nitric and sulphuric
acids."—Mtchnnics' Magazine.

General and Lady Susan Reeve and family have
arrived at their house in Portmqn-square.
AN AWKWARD PERDICAMENT.—A few evenings
ago, about dusk, a man named Mugg, of Burton-on-the.
\Voids, having been to see his brother, at Sherwood,
near Nottingham, in returning home on the Flood-road,
took it into his head to jump over the wall orposite the
skinner's house, and mistaking the locality, he fell, not
upon the bank, as he intended, but into the canal. The
water at that place is very deep; and, as he was unable
to swim, his situation was one of extreme peril. He
contrived, however, by dint of much struggling, to reach
the side; but being near the seven arches, there is a
smosth wall down to the water's edge, so that he was
unable to get out. Fortunately, he tound a corner in
which there was a ledge sufficiently low for him to cling
to; and in that position he remained for two or three
hours. His shouts for help were not noticed by the
passers by; or the place where the poor fellow was fixed
was so removed from sight that it could not be ascer-
tained vihince the cries proceeded. At last, a person
discovered Mugg's " ahereabout," and immediately
went to the Trent Bridge lon fur assistance. It was
now quite dark, but four young men procured from the
Trent side a light skiff, and, launching it in the canal,
proceeded to fetch him off. Some time was thus lost,
for the boat had to be carried a good distance ov. r
land; and %hen they errive4 at the spot, they found
that some persons had let down a rope frcen the brirl/4..
close to hem, but he vas so benumbed as to be quite um
able to grasp it. He was, in tact, in the I‹st stage o'
exhaustion, and there can be no doubt that had es-ist-
. unce bt en only a few minutes later, he would hay.
slipped from his hold at.d bet n droll tied. lie was with
oulisiderable diffi••ttity fitted in o the boat and eoTivey..d
to tht. Uni-n Inn, wit. re he was lut to bed. He had.
however, so comp', tely lost the use of his lisubs, that he
wa4 oblig. d cat rigid into ,le, house; rel. 'vas ht
sib'e to utter a %to, d. Every attention was pa,d
land he at length reeovered.

A PICTURE OF EGYPT, DRAWN ON THE Spur, BY
Miss MARTINEAU.- -Of e impretsi,,n had taken me by
surprise. I used to wonder—ant always cid till now
—at that stupidity of the I•ritebtes which so as gered
their leader—their pining after Egypt, after finding
it impossible to live there. It was inconceivable how
they could lung to go back to a eof such cruel
oppressi..n. for the s .ke of and thing it could give.
I 110 N wonder no longer, having seen and felt the
desert, and knowing the el, arms of the valley of the
Nile. One every ng lately, jut at sun.et, the sceni
s•ruelc upon me heart, oppressing it with the sense of
b auty. A village was beside an extensive grove of
palms, which sprang from out of the thickest and
richest closer to the height of eighty feet. Their
tops waved gently in the soft bra eze which ruffled
the sut face of a blue pond lying among
grassy shores. There were golden lights and
sharp shadows among the banks where a stream had
lately made its way Th 3 yellow sand-'hills of the
desert just showed themselves between the sterna of
the more scattered palms. Within view were some
carefully tilled fields, with strong wheat, lupins
and purple bean blossoms ; and some melon
and cucumber patches were not far off. Cattle were
tethered beside the innses; and on u batik near sat an old
woman and A boy and girl, basking in the last rays of the
sun with evident enjoyment, th ugh the magical colouring
given by Egypti.in atom-There could not be so strikieg as
to English eyes. But whatmust it have been in the memory
of the Israelites, wandering in the &bed a here there is
no colour, except at sunrise and sunset, but only
glare—parched rocks and choking dust or sand! I
will not attempt now, for no one has ever suc-
ceeded in such an attempt, to convey any impression
of the appalling dreariness of the depths of the
cLesert. I can only say that • a hen it rose up
before me in contrast with that nook of the valley
at sunset, I at last understood the surrender of heart
and reason on the part of the Israelites, and could sym-
pathise in their forgetfulness of their pas:. woes in their
pining, for verdure and streams, for shade and good food,
and for a perpetual sight of the adored river, insr.ead of
the hateful sands which hemmed them' in, whichever
way they turned.—People's Journal.
M. RoNGE.—A letter from Breslaw of the
says:—" In the mouth of March, 1846, M. Raw was
condemned to a month's imprisonnient, for having
preached at Magdeburg without the permission of the
authorities. It was thought that the execution of this
condemnation had been abandoned :by the Government,
hut such is not the fact. The day before yesterday M.
Rouge received from the police of brestaw an injunction
to undergo the sentence pronounced against him, and
yesterday he rendered himself a prison r. Upwards of
two thousand persons accompanied him on his pas-
sage, crying', ' Runge for ever!' • Religious Liberty
for ever! But this demonstration gave rise to no dia.
turbance."
INCENDIARY FIRE.—A little before midnight oh
Saturday last an incendiary fire was discovered on the
farm of Mr. Hill, at Morten, three miles from South-
well, in the county of Nottingham, which destroyed a
stack, containing upwards of seventy quarters of wheat.
The flames were first observed by Miss Hill, who saw a
red glare through her bedroom window, and on giving
an alarm her Wiler iroceeded to the stockyard, but the
fire had gained too great an ascendancy to leave any
hope of saving any portion of the stol. An engine from
Southwell, and a crowd of peoi le from the villages
around flocked to assist, and by great exertions pre-
vented the flames from communicating with the other
stacks and the farm buildings. The owner, who is
universally respected, is fully insured in the Nottingham
and Nottinghamshire Fire-office, and the damage is
estimated at 2601.
JOURNEY ROUND THE WORLD, BY SIR GEORGE
►Ships U, GOVERNOR IN-CHIEF OF THE launsorr's
BAY ComrANY'S TERRITORIES.—This narrative, which
will probably be found one of the most interesting among
all those of our adventurous travellers, is to be published
in a few days by Mr. Celburn. The great novelty of
the expedition arises from its having been performed
principelly overland ; and the position and influence of
the author, his enterprise and scientific attainments have,
it is said, enabled him to make extensive additions to our
limited knowledge of the various interesting portions of
the globe which he traversed. The contributions to the
geography of ,the great American continent, in par•
titular, o'er which he proceed. d from Canada to Van-
couver, will, doubtless, be extremely valuat,le, as well as
his notices of the various tribes of the aborigines with
whom he cone in contact—his residence at Silka, and
account of the Aleutian Archipelago—his descriptions of
Kamchatka and Siberia—and his journeys over those
vast regions 01 the Russian empire eoncernirg which we
have hitherto received such scanty information.
THE Dusts or WELLINGTON —lt is understood,
from a source upon w hich we may rely, that as his Grace's
son (the Marquis of Douro) intends next month to visit
the Scottish estates of his father-in 'law, the Marquis of
Tweeddale, in the county of Haddington, he will be ac-
companied by the Duke, who will remain' at least one
day at Berwick, in order to enjoy the society of a distin-
guished military character in the vicinity, whose gallay.t
conduct in Spain very speedily secured him his Grace's
approbation and patronage.—Berwick .Advertiser.
Mr. John Wood, Chairman of the Excise, had tin in-
tereiew with the Esrl of Clarendon, yesterday, at the
Office of the Board of Trade.

POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTION.
In addition to the usual emertainmente attOrded at
this amusing and highly instructive in.titntion, the
managers have announced a course of lectures upon
Animal Migneiism, by Mr. Jon.-s, of King's Co:lege. Tt
•
first lecture of the stries was delivt red on Tuesday,
and we were glad to observe that the theatre was
crowded. The lecturer introduced the subject by say-
ing, that weer the investigation, which those whom he
had thy- honour of sdiressing had prob,bly given to the
be his duty to introduce them to s. me of the opera ions
varied runt complete machinery down stairs, it would
of nature, which teemed us it were to anticipate in a
more perfect way the inventions of man. The human
being had, for instance, iuvc•nteti the ropo for a variety
of puli,,ses, and he no doubt' considered that in form-
ing hemp into different: strands, for the purpose of
making a rope or a cubic, a great deal h,d been accom-
plistled—and no doubt a great deal had been accom-
plished, for by means of these ropes they traversed
from clime to clime, on the one hand ; and to &wend,
they executed the justice of the law on their unfortunate
and guilty fellow-creatures on the other. He
would direct their att., ntion for a few moments to a
natural rope manufactory, which far excelled the other
in ingenuity and in perfection ; and for this purpose he
would refer to the silkworm as one great manMacturer
and to the spider as another. The machinery which
resulted from human ingenuity was clumsy in its
details and defective in its arrangements ; but
very cliff rent was the machinery employed by
byim-
possible bah
igi
ebr
iattmeods other
caiontindvtehye tto
itffhe er illustrations,different
reader
ch a.nag edsti
oitefi internalthe
eeiwdi
nea,
se
ocsi
thenuct
nature. The lecturer then proceeded to illustrate
Aftert
nh
te b rcmhrayet'sxwapnlliasienaoinbritvgleyth:
the
eabfter state. It is, h
Lure of the silk-worm, and the wise economy of nature,
ymoMder Jones, without etvheerim
"reference.
oirng,, and the
illus-
trated aids to which he Made frequent?'
substance from which the silk of the worm m u
factured, the lecturer referred to the web of the spider,
and explained the wonderful apparatus by which that
well known insect was enabled to construct a thread of
some three or four thousand twists, which, in delicacy
of texture, exceeded almost the power of thought to con-
ceive, and certainly precluded the powers of language to
xpress. Singular as it might be, many of the discove-
ries on which the human intellect prided itself were acted
upon from time immemorial by the common spider. To
it the honour belonged of originating the balloon and the
diving bell. The lecturer said that he had intended ix
the present lecture to advert to a variety of the purp,ses
fir which nature intended the film of the spider, but his
time would not permit him, and he would, therefore,
defer this more interesting portion of the subject to
another opportunity. The lecture, which evidently gave
,he liveliest satisfaction, was listened to throughout with
he utmost attention.

A GENUINE IRISHMAN.—A few days ago as a gen-
tleman of our acquaiotance was walking up Nurshgate,
14 WA* fieli, he was accosted by a son ut the Emerald
Isle in the following manner :—" Arrah, yer honour,
and would ye be after telling me the name of the street
•.pposite?" To which the gentleman replied '• Provi-
dence-street." " Sure enough, and yer honour, and
hat's the very stre t I'm wanting, ai,d faith, I've a par.
ticular friend who lives in that same street, but, by my
,oul, I've intirely and completely forgot his name—per,
haps. now, you would be aft, r telling me his name t 0.,„
Has so excited our triond's risible faculties, that he
"urst into an iiumud,rate fit of laughter, to the no small
imszeulent of poor Paddy, who retorted, " Faith, end
you're no gentleman, or jou wouldn't be after Orating
cne in that manner ; by my soul, but ye may have to
ask the s.tlie question yourself, soma. day." A second
iit of laughter wits the result of this droll iemsrk, and
['add, , after lotikmg unuver dile things. walk -.41 away,
o doubt to find a in •re gentienienly informant. —Leeds
Int, 1 igower
600 D FISHING.—On Tuesday last a decked fish-
vi ssel cast her lines on the Mar Bank, and in olea
maul the crew pulled up twenty-five halibut and twenty-
Lane skate. The whole of the fish were exceedingly
',irge; One of the halibut, which was exhibited oft Thurs-
lily in a fishminger's .hop in George-at, eel, weighed
tBWhe.—Editiburgh Witness.
THE ROYAL BUCK HOUNDS.—The Royal pack, and
several relays of her Majesty's hunters, will leave the Kennel
et Ascot on Monday text,-for the Farnborough station, and
proceed thence by the Southampttn Railway to Lyndhurst,
ill -Hampshire, for the purpose of hunting three days during
Ithe ensuing week in the New Forest ; the first roast taking
_ ,Ttwedsy nest.

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. --
PORTSMOUTH, WkDNESDAY.—The Trident steam-
sloop, Lieutenant• Commander Rigge, arrived at Cowes
last night late, and came up to Spithead this morning
from the Mediterranean. She brought the latest news
from Lisbon and Oporto. This vessel left Chatham
only last August, to be employed by Lieutenant Wag-
horn in the trial of the Trieste against the Marseilles
route for carrying the Indian mails. She made but one
attempt to reach Trieste, and failed, having knocked up
at Corfu. She has never answered, althou2,h she looks
perfect, and presents a graceful and pretty model upon
the water; she is of 850 tons, and 350-horse power,
propelled by paddles. She left Malta on the 16th of
March, leaving there the Rodney, 92, Captain Collier,
C. 8.; the Albion 90, Captain Fremantle; and the Locust
steam-sloop, Lieutenant-Commander Power. The Re-
sistance troop-ship, Commander Lowe, sailed the same
iftcrnoon with the second battalion of the 42d High-
landers, for Bermuda.

The .I'rident arrived at Algiers on the 20th of March.
No English men-of-war were there. She left on the
234, and arrived at Gibraltar on the 26th. The Virage
'steam-sloop, Commander Lunn, was the only men-of-
ear there. She left on the 30:h, and arrived at Lisbon
on the 24 inst., found there the Hibernia, 104, Captain
Richards, flag of Vice-Admiral Sir IV. l'arker, coal -
:nand.r-in chief; the Tratelpar, 120, Captt Nutt; the
l'anopus, 84, Captain Moresby, C. 8.; the America,
30, Captain Sir Thomas Maitland. The Pl.cenix, ste4m-
stoup, Commander Dennis, arrived on the nay the
Vrh!ent left. for Oporto (Tuesday, the 6th inst.), where
-ate arrived on the following morning. the 7th, and found
there the Gladiator steam-frigate, Captain Robb ; the
Nautilus, 10, Lieutenant-Commander Rivers ; and the
.rack.l steam-vessel, Lieutt want-Command. r Western.
She left on the Bth fur Spitheati.
C.eumander Spong, late of the Ardent steam-sloop,
promoted, has come Lome i 4 the Trident; also Captain
Cahill, paymaster of the 88th regiment, at Malta, and a
lew naval and military invalids.
The America was to sail on the 7th for Malta.
The Trident came into harbour at eleven this morn-
ing, to replenish 111.1 bt fore going round to the river.
The. Thetis, 36, Captain Codrington, C. 8., Tlas decked
yesterday. The injury sustained by getting ashore on
entering the hat hour of Lisbon consists of tie foremost
lower piece of felse keel having been carried away, and
the upper piece forced slightly to port ; the gripe was
also a little started. The topsides and decks have beets
caulked to-day, which, we understand, is quite usual in
new ships after the first cruise, as the caulking generally
requires to be brought into close contact with the plank-
ing, which may have shrunk a little. All these trifling
defects are expected to be completed by Saturday, so
that the ship can proceed again to sea next we. k.
The following is a copy of a " General Order" re.
garding "relative rank" in the medical department, re
eently issued to the American havy by the late chief of
its executive, Mr. Bancroft:—
" Surgeons of she fleet and surgeons of more than 12
years will rank with commanders. . .

" Surgeons of less than 12 years with lieutenants.
" Passed assistant-surgeons next after lieutenants.
" Assistant-surgeons not passed next after masters.
" Commanding and executis e officers, of w hatever
grade, when on duty, will take precedence of all medical
officers.

" This order confers no authority to exercise military
command, and no additional right to quarters."
The above important order, so gratifying to the me-
dical body in the United States navy, has been obtained
through the instrumentality of Dr. William Maxwell
Wood, now surgeon of the fleet in the Pacific, mho has
also been the means of obtaining many other gratifying
orders tending to improve the condition and standing
of the medical gentlemen employed in the American
service.
The Britannia, 120, ordered some weeks since to be
brought forww d for commission, was taken into the
basin this morning, and will be docked as soon as the
Thetis comes out, to have her " ordinary" fittings re-
moved and sea-going ones substituted.
The Talbot, 26, recently paid off, from the Pacific,
was brought alongside the dockyard jetty to day to be
dismantled ; she will, therefore, not be employed in the
meal service.
The Fairy was taken out to-day to Southampton
water to cleanse herironbelow the water, which had be-
come foul.
WOOLWICH, APRIL I4.—The Mastiff surveying
vessel, Commander Becher, with her tender the Wood•
lark, are to be paid wages in advance, at Woolwich to •
morrow, and will leave on Saturday, the 17th inatal t, to
resume their surveying duties at the Orkney Islands.
The Falmouth will leave this port to morrow with a
dredging machine and stores for Portsmouth and South-
ampton.
The Nankin, 50-gun frigate, building on the east slip
in Woolwich Dockyard, from a design by Mr. Lang,
assistant to the Master Shipwright at Chatham Dock-
yard. where all her timbers are converted, is progressing
rapidly, the whole of her frame being completed with the
exception of a small part of her stern.
The Rifleman, wooden vessel, went down the river

Sesterday afternoon, to try her screw propeller ; and the
harpshooter, iron vessel, went down to-day for a similar
purpose.
A large anchor, of Porter's construction, weighing 55
cwt.. 2 qrs. awl 11 lb., was tested at the machine in this
dockyard yesterday, with a strain of 451 tons, and will
be sent round to Portsmouth 1. r service iu the Retribution
steam-frigate.
A set lea oft xperiments are in progress at the testing
room here to ascertain the comparative streng'h of a
new dt seription of blocks for chips and at. sni•vessels
mole of ga.v thised and patented by Lennox and
t. One of these blocks, six and a halt iuchem in
liameter, on b,?ing t. st«,d bo.e a strain o' 6t tins, an.;

with that po*Pr did not appear to be in the I,ast injured,
the hook attached to it being the part which broke
during the operation. The usual strain apt,' ed to blocks
.4 meta or brass of the same diameter is 34 tons *lnch
is sufficient to pass them for service. A stronger d..-
scription of hook has been attached to the galvanise s
metal blialts still to be experiutntecl aith, an -1 *ill be
tried until the block and hooks of this invention are of
evil] row•-r. The result has surprised all ahu Lase wit-
nessed the testings.

SOUTH-WESTERN RAILW 4Y EeiTENSlON.—Yester-
day the whole of the houses in the IVestminster-bridge-
rosd, and the Lower and Upper Marsh, Lambeth, were en-
tirely demolished, so that the whole tine of extension to
Waterloo-britlge, with the exception of a few houses in
York-street, is now entirely cleared, and the viaduct on
which the trains will run, complete as far as High-street,
Lambeth.
HEALTH AND MORTALITY IN THE METROFOLIB.
The deaths returned by the metropolitan registrars for the
week ending Saturday last were 1,031, being an increase of
47 on the mortality of the previous week, and 137 in excess
of the weekly average of five springs. This result is. to a
certain extent, attributable to the unusal coldness of the
weather at the commencement of the present month, and
tends to illustrate the ascertained influence of atmospheric
circumstances on certain forms of disease. Bronchitis and
other diseases of the organs of respirati .n, instead of yielding
under the influence of spring, continued to swell the morta-
lity indicated by the returns, in which neatly one-third of ,
the whole number of deaths are referred to this class of com-
plaints. Diseases of an epidemic character appear to have
increased. particularly hopping-cough and other complsints
incident to chiliren ; the deaths from typhus are also more
numerous than in the preceding week. As regards locality.
the excess of mortality over the spring average was greatest
in the south and west districts, but was shared by all the
groups of districts into which the metropolis is divirsed by
the Registrar-Gereral. The mean temperature of the week
' was 471, no less than 11 degrees above that of the previous
week.

LIVER/10GL, WEDNESDAY.---By the Bellona, arrived
at Glasgow, advices from New York to the 20th ult. have
been received at that city. One paper only of the 17th has,
however, reached Liverpool. There is no news of any interest
by this arrival.
FABRICATING INQUESTS.—At an inquest held by
Mr. Mills, on Tuesday, in the Middlesex Hospital, the
Coroner alluded to the surprise which Mr. Wakley, M.P.,
experienced cn reading in last Sunday's papers the report of
an inquest, said to have been held iv,s, him on the body of
Frederick Nicklewright, the bailiff of Sir W. Ulay,Bart., ALP.,
but which he had not held until Mondayalternoon. Mr. Wa k-
ley's surprise was how any one could attempt thus to aoti•
cipate an inque,t, and after having fabricated the rep. rt. tout
it upon a public journal. A gentleman observed that if such
a practice was tolerated, all necessii.y for coroners and coro-
ners' juries would at once be done away with.
CHARGE OT NEGLECT AGAINST A MEDICAL PARO-
CHIAL OFFICEII.—An inquest was held by Mr. Mills yes-
terdav, at the Horse and Groom, John-street, Clerkenwt 11,
upou'llarriet Shearer, aged tiny-seven. Front the evidence,
which occupied upwards of two hours, it appeared that the
deceased and her daughter bad been reduced to such an
awful state of destitution that for three days in the week out
of seven they frequently went to bed without food, canal:, or
fire. They then entered the workhouse, which they soon
left, the deceased having been allowed a shilling and a
quartem loaf weekly by the palish. After some time de-
ceased becaine so ill that Mr. Goddard, the parish surgeon,
had to attend her, which lie did, although her case was
hopeless, until he found that another medical gentleman had
been called in, when be discontinued his visits, and the de-
ceased died in a few weeks afterwards. Mr. John Welch,
surgeon to the Finsbury Dispensary, who performed the
post mortem examination, deposed that externally the body
presented a very emaciated appearance, and upon opening
the body he found a cancer in the stomach, which was the
cause of death. In his opinion the disease was of several
years standing, and could not be cured. After a very
lengthened and angry discussion between Mr. Goddard and
Mr. Smith, the medical gentleman that was called in, upon
professional etiquette and the treatment of the deceased, the
jury returned a verdict of" Satural death."
INSTITUTION FOR THE ADULT DEAF AND DUMB,
RED LION-BQUAItE.—At a recent committee meeting of
it the
above excellent institution for the adult deaf and dumb,
was stated that his Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge,
with his well-known feeling of benevolence in promoting
the cause of trt,ly charitable okects, had kindly consented
onnn it‘h-eersla2?l, ofp
rtolixiiiinDoematt and
tio)upmreb .iieat
Institution,tlr etobebid a forthcominge
'Freemasons' Tavern, Great Queen-strett. Lincoln's Inn
fields. Previous to the annual meeting, however (it was
stated by the secretary, J. G. Simpson, Lsq ). the committee
had determined to increase, as tar as the funds of the charity
would permit. the present number of inmates, and for tha
laudable purpe-e balloting papers for the election were issued
for the 3d of May next. The indefatigable exeitions of the
members of the society forming the above institution, on be-
half of the happiness and comfort of our afflicted fellow-
creatures, are well worthy of
n i
port, the charity being the only one
which
mormng the store
turned out for an advance
bourhood, who ere ii ieM h e rosf
public crinmendatien arid sup-
Ergland establi,hed
for the adult deaf and dumb,
tettlies .tr..cles and in-
culcates sound morels and religiouA principles.
ROCHDALE.--TU RN' OUT
OF A AWNS.— On Monday
stonemasons of Rochdale and the n.igh-
owfages the
to Ttrhaed easm' amounti ijoi ii
6d. per day. The men have had 4s. per day during the
winter, and they now want 4s. 6d. The masters, under
the present depression of trade, refuse to pay the demand.
MEREWORTH.—On Saturday last the whole of the
men employed on Lord Torrington's estate were presented
with a quantity of beef and beer, in proportion to their fami-
lies, wherewith to regale themselves, and drink his Lotdship's
health on leaving England for the scene of his official duties.
.-14taidstono Gazette.