The Sun.
London, England, 1846-10-15 00:00:00

I,I"I'TE SECOND.

The lists are cleared, the barrierS—;cared, the knights come
riding in,
The captive maidens ssdly look, for liking is a sin;
They may not choose, may not refuse, fur such their royal
parts,
'Tis but their hands are wanted—what need to think of
hearts?

Rides in the van, the pale TEArrAw, his sword is in his sheath,
The legend blazoned on his shield " I fight"—a cross beneath.
MONTEMOLIN, his shield within, displays a crown of brass,
Which his sire Don CARLOS gave him when he found it

wouldn't pass.
Next rides COBURG. COTIARY, and the QUEEN doth wish him

luck ;
For, though somewhat out at elbows, he's what ladies call a

" duck,"
And he bears the Coburg legend, which his seedy look con-
firms,
Of "Royal Marriages performed upon the cheapest terms."
Don FRANCISCO rideth after, looking fain to run away,
Right groggy is he in his selle, and anything but gay :
Follows close bold Don ENR:QUE, he bath caught the IN..
FANTA'S eye,
He blows a kiss to her, and she blows him one in reply.

The trumpets sound, the knights ride round, displaying of
their paces,
And the ladies gay, they flirt away, displaying of their faces;
When, o'er the barrier of Utrecht, that shuts the lists below,
With lusty leap Louis PIIILIPPZ on " Artful Dodge" doth
show.

He wears his crown with vizor down," Hold hard !" he cries
aloud,
" I too will ride a tilt of arms before this noble crowd :"
And he strikes on Prince TRAPP.A.NI'S shield, who, the chil-
lenge when he hears,
Immediately is taken ill, and straightway disappears.

" Ha, ha I I guess that's one the less! Now, Sir COBURG,
for you."
And he tipped his lance with gold, for well his foe's weak
point he knew •
"A rush, a thrust—a cloud of dust—and when it left the air,
There lay the COBURG, dead to " time," and much the worse
for wear.

" Now rest thee, Don FRANCISCO, I leave the QUEEN to you.
But Don ExtuQuE, there's a crow to pluck between us two."
And he bent his lance of slander 'gainst that heart so true and
leal,
And, with a grin, the stern old king sent home the poisoned
steel.

Then silent flowed the tears of those maidens as, perforce,
Each saw her favourite champion sent, as Bell's Life sayr,
" to florae;"
But nought reeked he, the grim Louis, of breaking hearts, or
woe :
He'd come to win a wife, and one he'd have before he'd go.
On came MoNzzstouN, but aye his glance he backward
threw,
For the Constable was on his track, as well old Louis knew ;
" Police !" shouts France, but 'their approach the Count
awaited not,
At first glimpse of the Alcalde he bath bolted like a shot !
The jousts are done, the prize is won, old France has gained
the day,
Tho' tis in what some folks may call—a dirty sort of way;
And he strokes the neck of " Artful Dodge," "well done
thou trusty steed I
I've worked thee hard, but never yet thou'st failed me at my
need!"

Right proudly rode he up the lists to where the maidens

sat,
And courteously his visor raised, beneath his broad-

brimmed hat,
" Your hands are mine, to pick and choose: Faatictsco

take the QUEEN
For you, INFANTA, I've a son, a gallant boy, tho' green."
And with a roguish chuckle, as they looked both sad and

sour,
He gave_ these sorry maidens each unto a husband's power;
And long Madrid shall grumble at the doings of the day
When, with " Artful Dodge," Lows PanarrE the INFANTA
bore away.—Panch.

THE LATE SIR GEORGE MURRAY.—The will of
the late Right Hon. Sir George Murray,late of Belgravo-
square, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Hon. Military
Order of the Bath, a general of her Majesty's forces, and
Master- General of the Ordnance, was proved in London
on the 9th instant, by his executors, Sir William George
Hylton Jolliffe, Bart., of Merstham. Surrey; Mr. George
William Hope, Curzon-street, Mayfair; and William
Smythe, advocate, Edinburgh. The will was executed
on the sth of anuary last, together with a deed of
settlement of the same date, in favour of his daughter
and only child, wife of Lieutenant Henry George Boyce,
of her Majesty's 2d Regiment of Life Guards, by which
the deceased has settled upon her various sums, in the
whole exceeding 26,0001., besides the house in Belgrave-
square ; and further by his will leaves her the furniture,
pictures, prints, &c., as also the residue of his estate, to
enjoy a life interest over the whole of the said property,
money, and effects, and at her decease to descend to her
children; but if no children or child should obtain a
vested interest therein, then in trust for the children
that may be living of the late Hon. Sir Patrick Murray,
Bart. There are pecuniary bequests to his sister and
aunt, and to his son-in-law, Lieutenant H. G. Boyce, and
legacies to his servants. In the 54th year of his age,
Sir George married Lady Louisa Erskine, sister to the
Marquis of Anglesey, of whom he was bereaved in
January, 1842, having had issue one daughter.
DEATH OF LIEUTENANT-COLONEL GORDON.—We
have to record the demise of a (valiant and eminent field
officer, Lieut.-Colonel John Gordon, who expired a few
days since at his seat, Princestown, county of Fermanagh,
at the advanced ago of seventy-nine, forty-one of which
witnessed a connexion with the British army. This
officer saw during his career some rough service, and he
had the honour and satisfaction of being made a retired
Lieutenant-Colonel on full pay in 1844, being connected
s NEitßhlsoiunc ser ILLNESS
regretNEs v
with the Royal Regiment of Artillery, which he entered
SN OFe
h i‘
as Second-Lieutenant in 1805.
SERIOUS
justCo heardu
LetouofN,th Me .P.—lt
iillness of J. C. Colquhoun, Esq., M.P., and that, although
now pronounced out of immediate danger, he is still in
a very precarious state. The attack appears to have
been that of gastric fever, and of unusual severity. From
the last accounts from Killermont, we fear his recovery
must be a work of time.
Irswicu AND BURY RA ILWAY:—Ife are glad to
hear that the subsidence of the coil at Haughley, has
been now overcome, and there is every prospect of the
line being opened for traffic early in the ensuing month.
—Bury Herald.

SPIRIT of the PUBLIt.3 JOURNALS.

FROM TRE MORNE.:G PAPERS OF THIS DAT.
TIMES.—Lord Westmeath's vices of the rights and
liabilities of landed proprietors, to which we have on
two recent occasions given publicity, however natural,
however common, however unstriking to Irish land-
owners, are, nevertheless, based on an utterly erroneous
view of their duty, and if carried out into action without
limit, would result in the most abject misery of the great
majority of mankind. His Lordship came into the pos-
session of certain portions of the soil of Ireland, which
his ancestors had possessed before him. He found divers
tenants occupying parts of his estates under leases.
When these leases fell iu, he found more occupiers than
had been bargained for. The soil was encumbered with
humans, and their condition was such, that they were
by no means profitable cattle. Had they been as pro-
fitable to him as so many sheep or pigs, he would have
rejoiced at their being part of the live stock of
his farms. He objects to them, not as bipeds, but as
squatters. lie could not, owing to the cost of litiga-
tion, put a stop to the squatting while the leases sub-
sisted. It he could have done so, he would. Now
that the leases are ended he wants the law to make up
for lost titre ; and cooly proposes that he shall be en-
abled by Act of Parliament to transport to oorne other
country—no matter which—the uncomfortabia surplus
population ; that a new felony shall be created for the
benefit of his "order," the landed proprietors of Leland;
that the crime of having been born into Ireland, and
having survived the perils of Irish infancy, shall bet
placed in the same category with forgery, burglary, and
arson. If this is a specimen of what an Irish House of
Lords would do in the way of domestic legislation, it had
better be avowed generally at once. It might have some
effect even in that focus of nonsensical extravagance, the
Conciliation Hall. Now, it may be as well fur the Irish
landowners to consider what would be the case of the
population if Ireland, like Egypt, had only one land-
owner. Would they, then occupying the position in
Ireland of tenants of the soil, deem it just that this
monopolist of " the first gem of the sea" should prohibit
their marrying and having families ? or that he
should only permit a given portion of them to marry,
and endeavour to place a limit on the number of chil-
dren which should be born? If rot, they must give up
Lord Westmeath's proposal for the expatriation of his
countrymen as equally against the inalienable rights of
man. If the landowner--the solitary lord of the soil—
whom we have supposed could have no right to prohibit
or attempt to restrict the multiplication of his species,
50,000 landowners combined could have no such right,
nor could any one of them have it. Again, this landed
oligarch could only enjoy his insular estate by having it
tenanted by others besides himself. Were he the sole
inhabitant of his own territory, he would be as badly
off as Robinson Crusoe before he found Man Friday.
He must have tenants to enable him to enjoy his own
property. Without tenants he would have no profits.
If he introduced a tenant population, unless he made an
express bargain with them, at their first introduction
into his domains, that they and their posterity
should at all times remain at his absolute disposal, and
renewed that bargain with their descendants, they would
bring with them, and retain, their rights as human be-
ings; and if he took the benefit of their labours, he must
also take the liability of satisfying such of their physical
wants as should enable them to fulfil the conditions of
their existence. But if, instead of introducing a labour-
ing population, he became the owner of the soil already
occupied by his fellow-creatures, and availed himself of
their services to obtain some enjoyment from it, he must
take their consequences with them, permitting them to
propagate their kind and to people his domains. He
could only have a conditional right to the land—a limited
proprietorship. The Aborigines would possess their
ordinary rights as human beings, and transmit them to
their descendants. Their children would be born
into the country with his express or tacit consent,
and with the rights of fellow-countrymen with him.
It would not be difficult to convince even an Irish land-
holder that Mehemet Ali has no right to screw his
Fellahs down to absolute starvation, or to drive them
wholesale into the desert. They would admit that those
Fellahs, as Egyptians, have a right to live in Egypt ;
that if they perform their duty to the Pacha of cultivat-
ing his corn and cotton estate, they may require in re-
turn the means of subsistence and of subsisting in
Egypt ; and that, however absolute may be the Govern-
ment under which they are placed, they are entitled to
their share of the rights of man. Follow this out in
Ireland, and there is no logical possibility of denying
that those who are born in Ireland have by the mere
accident of their birth a right to stay and subsist in Ire-
land. It may be a hard task, and one of slow fulfilment,
to convince the majority of the proprietors of the Irish
soil of the truth that the whole of God's earth is intended
for the enjoyment of the whole of God's creatures ;
that when a child is born into that world it is gifted by
God's providence with a right to a subsistence during
the whole of its life on and from that earth ; and that
whatever may be the artificial division of that earth into
continents, countries, or counties, no combination of men
whatever can, without a violation of their duty to God
and man, snake such an appropriation of any portion of
it as shall deprive a single fellow-creature of that right,
or hinder him in the reasonable enjoyment of it ; but it
is the truth, and it must be recognised and acted on.
CHRONICLE.—The meeting of the working classes
of Manchester, held in their Town hall on Tuesday
evening, for the purpose of memorialising Lord John
Russell to open the ports, is a sign of the times which
cannot fail of receiving the deliberate and respectful
attention of an enlightened statesman. From the report,
which appears elsewhere, of the brief, quiet, and per-
fectly business-like proceed ngs on this occasion, it will
be seen that our manufacturing operatives have made
great proficiency in that most useful description of all
useful knowledge—knowledge of the facts and laws
determining their own social condition. The compulsory
and disagreeable lessons of the best of schools seem to
have been mastered by our working-men, in Lancashire
at least, with a very satisfactory completedess. Their
own experience for many successive years—as interpreted
to them, first, by the League, and more recently by
Cabinet Ministers who vied with one another, through
the greater part o fa protracted Parliamentary session, in
expounding the economies of the working-man's life—has
been largely effectual in imparting the wisdom more im-
mediately profitable for their political guidance. They
know all about the doctrine of wages, and its relation to
prices. They understand their concern in that political,
or state, economy, which is neither more nor less than
the aggregate of their own particular domestic econo-
mies. They have learned to respect the facts and figures
of that political arithmetic which does but sum up and
epitomise the more familiar domestic arithmetic of their
own cupboards and firesides. They appreciate their
interest in that cheapness of the primary necessaries of
life, which enlarges the surplus of national income
available for the comforts and luxuries that consti-
tute the subject-matter of manufacturing production
and commercial interchange. The difference between
cheapness and dearth of the nation's food they know to
be so much added to, or taken from the nation's capi-
tal—which capital is the fund out of whose increase
their wages are paid. They have acquired considerable
skill in this very interesting species of computation.
So much added to the price of the Alb. loaf they
find, on casting up, to be so much of extra weekly taxa-
tion on a town and neighbourhood of such or such a
population—the amount of which tax " is, of course,
abstracted from the receipts of the general tradesman,
and is thus operative to the destruction of the home
market for manufactures." With this expert intelli-
gence of the law of wages and the nature of the wages
fund, our working men are of course very watchful of
dangers that threaten that fund with diminution—espe-
cially with gratuitous and preventable diminution by ar-
tificial causes. They look with jealous alarm on those
shillings of the scale, which, as a now easy and familiar
logic has taught them, stand for shillings abstracted
from their pockets. They dread and deprecate the
effect, especially during a season of severe national trial
and difficulty, of even four shillings artificially added to
the natural price of a quarter of wheat—such addition
really and practicably meaning, to them, increased com-
petition fur diminished wages. With prices rising to
the point at which a fixed four-shilling barrier will
abridge and retard the very supplies of whose necessity
the Legislature has made that figure the index, they are
keenly alive to the danger and absurdity of a policy, the
principles of which have been explicitly condemned by
every statesman of weight and repute, and whose results
are so dismally illustrated in their own well-remembered
experience. It is just tho old story beginning over
again, and they know it all too thoroughly by heart not
to beg fervently that it may be cut short. This is really
a very striking feature of this working-class meeting.
'The alarm which prompts Manchester operatives to
pray for open ports, is a reasoning and prospective
alarm. Their meeting and memorial are no, passionate
utterance of irritated or desponding misery, but the
quiet and sober-minded expression of a logically justi-
fied fear. The whole proceeding is very much of a pre-
cautionary character. These are not " distressed
manufacturers" clamouring for a " boon," but men enjoy-
ing a very tolerable amount of prosperity, who see
natural causes at work that must imperil and abridge
their prosperity, and are anxious that a natural and in-
evitable evil should, at least, not be artificially aggra-
vated. The memorialists have nothing to say of
" distress," except as a future event, which they
see at no great distance, and for which they
would be well prepared. It is only that they
" apprehend great distress, and would have this distress
minimised down to its natural limits, by the instant ex-
tinction of a fiscal injustice which must, more or less,
enhance it. They speak under no other pressure than
that of deliberate and sober apprehension of evil. But
after all the teaching they have had, this is enough to
make them speak plainly and strongly. They have
learned to read future events in present tendencies.
They are great believers in cause and effect. They scent
danger afar off, and are wise in time. We cannot en-
tertain the fear that the chosen of our statesmen will
show themselves less sagacious in their interpretation of
familiar facts, or less far-seeing in their prescience of a
certain and not very remote future, or less prompt and
earnest in warding off preventible aggravations of a com-
ing evil, than a miscellaneous assemblage of our working
men. Lord John Russell must be as well able as these
operative memorialists to draw the right conclusion from
data of fact and pridciple which are common to both
parties. We feel persuaded that, to a prayer so just and
reasonable, and so thoroughly accordant with themaxims
of a reflective and experienced statesmanship, there is
but ono answer possible. After all, our Manchester
working men only ask, that the settled and fundamental
policy of the empire may be consistently applied to meet
the special wants of a crisis for which it has an obvious
special fitness.
ADVERTISER.—The subject of punishment in the
navy, to which we referred yesterday in our correspond-
ence, is one which ought to receive a large share of
public attention. The court-martial on board the Vic-
tory (off Portsmouth) reveals to the public a practice in
our steam navy which ought immediately to be discon-
tinued, and which it is strange that men of ordinary in-
telligence and humanity should ever have permitted.
The charge against Lieutenant Story was, g, that he, on

the 13th day of August, 184 G, being then the senior
lieutenant of her Alejesty's steam-ship. Retribution
. . . did . . . order Edward Redpath, then the
captain of the hold of the same ship, to be confined in
the ' port bunker' of the said ship, in which bunker the
said Edward Redpath was accordingly confined, and
was fount dead ; the _said Lieutenant having ordered
such punishment of confinement without reference to
Captain Stephen Lushington, the captain of the said
ship." We are not about again to arraign Lieutenant
Story, or to question the justice of the finding of
the court, by which he was honourably acquitted of all
blame for his said conduct on the occasion before men
tioned. Indeed, it was quite apparent, from the evidence
on the ccurt-martial, that Lieutenant Story bore an ex-
cellent charlxter on board the Retribution for humanity,
and that he was an enemy to the barbarous practice of
flogging. It appeared also that the punishment which
led to the death of Edward Redpath "had been pre-
viously resorted to on board the Retribution, with the
knowledge of the captain, and not disapproved of by
him, and that the same punishment had been adopted in
other steam-ships." The finding of the Judge-advocate
adds, " without any Lad cAlsequenees;" but qumre. By
this time our readers may wish to have some insight
into this ' port bunker," which was the scene and the cause
of the death of Edward Redpath. For the benefit of those.
who are not very learned in naval lore, we b-g to mcn:ioa
that the " port bunker" is the coal-hole of the steam-
vessel, into which it has become the practice in the
steam-vessels of war to cast refractory seamen. The un-
fortunate man Edward. Redpath, whose crime was drunk-
enness, was pieced on the p!atforna in this miserable
place, and was seen just under the grating some hours
after his imprisonment, but when the time approached for
iris release, he was found lying insensible on the coals.
The truth is, the man was poisoned by the foul gas—the
carbonic acid gas emitted by the coals. Every one
knows, or ought to know, that an atmosphere which will
scarcely feed the flame of a candle is one in which
human life cannot be sustained. Now, one of the wit-
, nesses stated that he took a candle to look for the de.
ceased man, and in answer to a question from Captain
Stanley, he admitted that the light "was burning dimly;"
and farther, that he felt the ill effects of the gas himself
during the short time he was employed in raising the
deceased man out of it. The same witness, Thomas
Rumble, a stoker, admitted that he felt the ill effects of
the gas in the bunker before, those effects being "pains
in the head, across the eyes." In accordance with these
statements is the evidence which was given by the sur-
geon of the Retribution, who said, " I made a post-mortem
examination, and found the appearances on the body such
as are known to exist where the persons have died
from respiration of carbonic acid gas. The lungs
were gorged in blood dark in colour. What blood
was about the heart and the large vessels was fluid and
of a very dark colour?' There is, therefore, not the
shadow of a doubt that this poor man was killed by
being cast into a mephitic atmosphere, from which he
could not escape, and where he died, just as any one
would die, in a sort of Grotto del Cano. We cannot
withhold the expression of our indignation at the gross
ignorance which presides over this department of the
punitive code in the steam navy. Here are gentlemen
of great sagacity in the cocked hats, entrusted with
irresistible power over the lives of their men, and who
have to find out, by the actual occurrence of death, that
it is unsafe to order a man into the receptacle of a large
quantity of coals, where the temperature is between 76
and 80. We regret to discover on board the steam
nary so much ignorance, or so little attention to the ne-
cessary effect of modes of punishment ; and we hope the
competent authority will interfere to prevent the further
infliction of death by the certain process of " the port
bunker."

MESSRS. DELARUE'S ENVELOPES FOR NEWS..
PAPERS.—If any envelope be entitled to the denomina-
tion, of safe, it is the newly-invented newspaper envelope
manufactured by Messrs. Delarue and Co., which, com-
bining as it does the security of a tie, by means of a
piece of tape fitted into the envelope, with that of the
usual adhesive edge of the ordinary envelope, furnishes a
double security. These envelopes, manufactured of
plain paper, are sold at the rate of Is. per 100, and will,
no doubt, soon come into general use. In addition to the
plain paper envelopes, Messrs. Delarue and Co. have
manufactured others of a patent material (paper lined
with cputchouc), which being waterproof, and not liable
to tear, are admirably adapted for transmission to foreign
countries. They set mas tough and as strong asleather.
MY COUSIN NICHOLAS.—This is the new volume of
"The Standard Novels," and comprises the powerful
story with which the Rev. Mr. Barham first delighted
the readers of Blackwood. The quaint humour and the
deep ;,athos of the tale are still fresh in the recollection
of those readers, who will be glad to find this favourite
story presented to them in so convenient a form. 'We
envy those who have yet to read " Cousin Nicholas,"
and we hardly know whether or not to envy those who
have yet to become fascinated by the absorbing story
appended to it, under the title of "The Trance," which
deprived us of more hours' sleeping than we care to
acknowledge.—Court Journal.
_ _

MEXICAN BONDS.—In the dispatch which has
created so much noise within the last few days, is a
clause ordering Mr. Murphy to publish it immediately.
The bondholders, who are in. the greatest state of
uncertainty, knowing the existence of the dispatch, and
seeing no official copy of it, are most anxious that Mr.
Murphy should comply with this order of the provisional
Government, or, at any rate, make some statement on
the subject. The fact that Messrs. Schneider deny the
receipt of any official information as to the mission of
Senor Gomez Ferias is not enough to counteract the
effect of a document which is circulated in the City, and
which announces the repudiation of the new bonds, and
the removal of Mr. Murphy from office.
BENEVOLENCE OF TILE LATE PREMIER —The fol-
lowing instance (says the Suffolk Chronicle) of Sir Ro-
bert Peel's unobtrusive benevolence was mentioned by
Mr. Wilderspin, in the course of his lecture at the Ips-
wich Mechanics' Institution, on Tuesday evening. We
give it in the speaker's own words:—" Some of you have
heard of Ha)don, the painter, and, no doubt, you have
heard that Sir Robert Peel, the late Prime Minister of
England, sent that man 50/. in his distress. It ought to
be known, by my moving about the country in this
manner—and I never thought of self, for I always had
faith that my countrymen would not allow me to die
a union, and that the Almighty would not allow me to ask
for the common necessaries of life—that I had spent all
my money. I was at last reduced to the utmost extre-
mity. I wanted a crust of bread, yet I kept the secret
within my own breast. I set out for an obscure village,
where I thought I would end my days. A friend called
upon me. And when I had not a single shilling in my
house, when I had nothing to offer him, for I felt I
should degrade my cause by running into debt, when my
poor dog was as thin as my children ',501. 'came from the
Prime Minister of England, Sir Robert Peel. Thus you
see there are two men whom he has benefited. One is
now in the eternal world, and the other is the humble
individual who stands before you."
It is rumoured among the highest classes of society
that the fair fugitive from Gloucestershire will shortly
be received by her noble parents ; it is said that the
blacksmith at Gretna was not on this occasion called
upon to perform the ceremony, but that the gallant offi-
cer and his " ladye love " were united in a large town
in the west of England at an early hour on the morning
of the elopement.
We regret to announce the death of Mr. F. V. Lee,
a barrister of the Oxford Circuit, in very considerable
business. Mr. Lee was a man very popular among the
attorneys of his circuit, and was a man of great aptitude
and shrewdness, and what is called business-like talent.
His death was very sudden. He had been out shooting
on the Monday, and on his return home, and while
dressing, fell down and expired. He has left a widow
and a numerous family to mourn his early loss—for Mr.
Lee had but attained his 41st or 42d year.
APPROACHING MARRIAGE IN HIGH LIFE.—The
marriage of Lady Charlotte Herbert, second daughter of
the Earl and Countess of Powis, and Mr. H. Mont-
gomery, of Grey Abbey, county Antrim, is to be solem-
nized on Tuesday next. The Earl and Countess of
Powis, and Ladies Herbert, Viscount Clive, and other
members of the family, have already arrived in town
from Powis Castle, Welshpool. A sumptuous dejeuner
will be given by the parents of the fair betrothed to a
numerous and distinguished circle in celebration of the
nuptials.
CURRENTS IN THE CHANNEL.—An inquest was
held by adjournment from the Ecclesbourne Coast Guard
Station, near Hastings, on Tuesday, on the body of a
man, name unknown. It appeared in evidence, that on
Saturday morning one of the Coast Guard, while on duty,
saw the body washed on shore. It was dressed in a
good black coat, a figured satin waistcoat, black trousers,
and Wellington boots. In the pockets were found seven
double francs, two single francs, seven double and one
single copper sous, and a card-case, containing cards of
Mr. Charles Ellis, and of Messrs. Ellis, 81, Borough-
street,. Southwark. Lieutenant Cogge, of the Coast
Guard, repaired to London, and was referred to Mr.
Joseph Ellis, of Balham-hill, Clapham, from whom he
learned that his brother, a Mr. Charles Ellis, had been
living some years at Guernsey, and that about three
weeks ago his hat had been found on the rocks in that
island, and that it was conjectured he had fallen into
the sea and been drowned. Mr. Joseph Ellis attended
the inquest on Tuesday, and stated his belief that the
body was that of his brother, and the jury thereupon re-
turned a verdict of " Found drowned." The body must
have traversed the distance between Guernsey and
Eccleshourne during the late heavy gales from the south-
west.

THE COBDEN NATIONLL TRIBUTE.—Within the
last week the committee of this fund have received 3501.,
principally contributed by the people of Manchester,
Burslem, Bury, Dalkeith, Clitheroe, and Gomersol. At
the weekly meeting, on Tuesday evening, at Manchester,
the Chairman, Mr. George Wilson, stated that Mr.
Henry Bury, of Edenfield, has subscribed 100/. The
total sum received amounts to 74,795 L The collection
in London is making rapid progress, and the reports
transmitted by the collectors are of the most cheering
character. At the next meeting of the committee, a
return of the amounts collected in Lancashire, York-
shire, Cheshire, Staffordshire, and Warwickshire, will
be submitted.

THE WESTMINSTER IMPROVEMENTS.—ALLOCATION
OF THE POOR-RATES.—It is stated that another attempt
will be made to carry out the long talked-of improve-
ments in Westminster by an allocation of the poor-rates,
and bills are extensively circulated in St. Margeret's mid
St. John's parishes, ca'ling on the rate-payers not to
consent to any such application of the parochial funds.
Great complaints are everywhere made, too, that the
Government did not take tho plan upon themselves, with-
out leaving it to be a matter for speculation.
CHARLTON FAlR.—This pleasure fair, which is
better known as " Horn fair," will commence on Monday
next, and continue three days, at Charlton (near Black-
heath). Its charter is of ancient date, and it once
ranked among the first-class suburban pleasure fairs. It
has of late years gradually declined, and has now become
a mere phantom of by-gone fairs.

, .
_
I Pc t> 11
1 t.
.14 •--"„4-.

NE IV MARKET

(THIS DAY.)

RACES.

BY ELECTRIC TELEGEAPH,

Sweepstakes of 10 sots. each. T.Y.C.
Mr. Newton's Redwing
Mr. Marsou's Bedouin

Match, 100. A.F.
Tom Tulioch beat llu.mirum.
handicap Plate. A.F.

Mr. Parr's Dulcet
Mr. Stewart's Cranebrook
Twenty-five ran.
Match, 100. Ab.g.
Tatuina beat Retriever
Match, 500. T.Y.C.—Alarm beat Oalloy.

RO YAL I'o AIL STEAM-PA CKET

COMPANY.-(THIS DAY.)

A general gall-yearly meeting of the directors and
proprietors of this company was belt], at one o'clock this
day, at the London Tavern. Notwiilistanding the inauspi-
cious state of the weather, a considerable number of
proprietors attended. Thomas Baring, Ecq., occupied
the chair.
The CHAlnmax said, owing to the absence of the
Chairman of the company, he had been requested to
take the chair on that occasion. He did not know that
it was necessary for him, at the commencement of the
meeting, to make any other observations beyond con-
gratulating the proprietors upon the regular operations
of the company, and upon its favourable prospects. lle
then called upon the Secretary to read the report and
financial statement.
The report set forth that, at the corresponding meet-
ing last year, the directors announced that they had
succeeded in arranging with her Majesty's Government
the preliminaries of an amended contract for the com-
pany, plaeing its affairs upon a more satisfactory basis,
and they may now add that the new agreement has since
received the formal ratification of both parties. The
company's ships continue to arrive and depart at the
various places, both abroad and at home, with the
greatest regularity, and the manner in which the ser-
vice is conducted appears to afford general satisfaction.
Since the last meeting of the proprietors the contem-
plated arrangements for conveying passengers and
treasure across the Isthmus of Panama have been com-
pleted; and other means are also in progress for faci-
litating to the utmost this important traffic. The
additional number of persons travelling by the COM-
pany's ships have rendered it necessary to extend
the cabin accommodation, which has entailed
considerable expense on the company, but this will
no doubt be fully compensated by increasing the receipts.
The amount now invested on the insurance account is
50,773/. 4s. in Three-and-a-Quarter per Cent. Stock,
and the claims hitherto against this fund have been very
inconsiderable. It will be observed that upon the total
expenditure the working account now presented shows
an augmentation over that of the first six
months of last year, amounting to 3,863/. 3s. Id,
which arises principally from an increase under the head
of " provisions," occasioned by the greater number of
passengers ; and it affords the directors much gratifica-
tion that they are enabled to exhibit an augmentation in
the receipts, amounting to 10,3321. 18s. 1 ld., showing
therefore an increased surplus of 6,4691. 15s. 10d. over

the corresponding period of last year. Looking at this
steady improvement in the company's finances, and
having no reason to doubt its continuance for the subse-
quent six months of the present year, the directors feel
justified in proposing an addition of five shillings per
share to the dividend, making it for the half-year ended
30th June last, 11. 15s. per share, to be paid free of de
duction on and after the 19th inst.

The financial statement submitted to the proprietors
showed the disbursements for the half-year, from the
Ist of January to the 30th of June last, to be 146,123/.
6s. 3d., and the receipts for the same period 195,014/.
16s. 4d., leaving a surplus, 48,891/. 10s. Id., being a net
increase of 6,469/. 15s. 10d. over the preceding halt.-year.
The CHAIRMAN moved the adoption of the report.
Mr. limo WAY seconded the motion. lie said he was
one of the original proprietors of the company, and
that he held 25 shares ; and, therefore, whatever he
might say with respect to its affairs, or the proceedings
of the directors, was only dictated by one feeling—
namely, the good of the undertaking in which they had
embarked their capital. He did not hesitate to
state that in his opinion there were many grounds for
bringing some grave accusations against the directors.
During the last few months their income had been ma
terially increased—perhaps the directors did not think
it proper to mention this important fact to the pro-
prietors, but it was right they should know that a great
increase had taken place to their income during the
last few months. He wished therefore to have a reply
to this question, whether or not in the course of one
month, August, since the making up of the accounts to
the 30th of June, the profits had been greater than
during the entire preceding half-year?—(Several
directors. " No, no.") If he was not correct
in this assumption at any rate the increased
profits formed a very large item ; and the
fact was one, as he had said, of which the proprietary
ought not to he kept in ignorance, especially as it was
of a nature to encourage those' ho had supported the
company under all the disadvantages under which it had
formerly laboured. In the report presented at the
last meeting the shareholders were informed that •the
profits had materially increased; and an Honourable
Proprietor who was present on that occasion—Mr.
Stuart—expressed an opinion to the effect that the
dividend ought, on the showing of the accounts, to be
at least seven and a half per cent. Now those who had
borne the brunt of this great undertaking ought not to
be left with the small additional increase on their divi-
dends of the half-year mentioned in the report. They
ought to have some benefit from the capital
they had invested, and not be left to the fluc-
tuations of the money market, for the com-
pany had stood well amidst the difficulties
which had attended all joint-stock companies during the
last few years. To show the increased value of their
shares, he might state that some time ago he bought
some shares at 121., on which 601. had been paid, and
although they were purchased at so small a rate, they
were of great value in the market at the present moment.
A very large fund had been reserved to meet any
casualties that might occur to the company's ships, but
it appeared to him that they had a sufficiently ample
reserve fund to meet any exigency that might occur,
without adding to that fund what ought legitimately to
be applied to the dividend fund. The report stated that
the new arrangements the directors had made had given
great satisfaction ; still he had heard complaints made
by parties that they had been shifted during their
,journey from one boat to another, and that their position
in one ship was altered when they were removed to an-
other. Unquestionably this was a course which entailed
the greatest inconvenience upon their passengers, par-
ticularly upon ladies. There were also complaints that
the wine was of an inferior quality. Though he had
named this on a former occasion, and though it was
treated as an immaterial matter, still he thought it was a
matter of the utmost importance.—(Hear.) There
should be no ground of complaint on this head, because
the passengers paid a good price, and it was to the ad-
vantage of the company to induce them to patronise
them as much as possible. However, they could not ob-
ject to the reception of the report ; he hoped, however,
that something would be done before long—before the
next meeting. Perhaps before then the directors would
voluntarily declare an increased dividend in the shape of
a bonus. shape

The CHAIRMAN explained that the increase of divi-
dend for the half-year was ss. on every share of 60/., or
31. los. per share. He (Mr. Ridgway) was wrong in
saying that there was only f increase.—(Mr. Ridgway
intimated that he did not say so.) The Hon. Proprietor
had been most censorius for many years, so much so
that he was the last person from whom he should have
expected a recommendation to increase the dividend,
inasmuch as no one was so prolific of predictions of evil
to the company, in fact speech appeared to have been
given him to conceal his thoughts. It was true he
had a perfect right to censure the directors, whose
duty it was to listen to all he or any other Hon.
Proprietor might address to them, but he would allow him
(the Chairman) to state that no one had depreciated the
amount of dividend more zealously than the Hon. Pro-
prietor had done, when it was less than at present.
The Chairman than read a statement of the receipts in
August last and in August of last year. By that state-
ment it appeared that the Hon. Proprietor was in correct
in his data with respect to the extraordinary increase
which he stated had taken place since the making up of
the accounts. The whole increase, it appeared from
this statement, during the three months ending the 30th
of September, outward and homeward, was 6,890/. The
amount of capital received, he (the Chairman) considered
by no means too great for the casualties which might
arise. The next accusation which the hoc. proprietor
brought against them was, that the statement in the re-
port, that their proceedings had given general satisfac-
tion was incorrect. Nothing would have been more pre-
sumptuous than to have stated that their proceedings
had met with the approbation of the worthy proprietor
—(Hear)—but they were correct in stating that they
had met with " general satisfaction," which did not in-
clude the worthy proprietor. His next charge referred
to the removing of passengers.
Mr. RIDGWAY explained, that if a passenger took a
berth at Bermuda, he was liable to be removed to ano-
ther at Grenada.
The Cirarnsusz said it was impossible to regulate
throughout a long voyage the irremovability of the pas-
sengers, because it was not easy to ascertain what berths
had been pre-engaged in the different colonies at which
the boats called. The wines had certainly been com-
plained cf—(Hear, hear)—and the Directors had given
their attention to the sulject. They now employed two
instead of one wine merchant, who affixed their pieces to
their wines, which was hung up in each, ship, so that the
passengers themselves could test the wines and disover
the best. He (the Chairman) urged the proprietors
not to declare an amount of dividend beyond that
which the circumstances of the Company could
yield.—(Hear, hear.) The Directors were naturally
anxious to increase the dividends, because they held a
large stake in the company, but when they looked to the
casualties—their great floating capital, and the shortnes:
of the contract they had now to run—they considered
the reserve fund not too ample, even although they had
a 50,0001. insurance fund. Although their profits had
increased, no very great additions had been made to their
capital stock.

The report and accounts were then received, and

_ s r
(t.,17(

ordered to be printed and circulated amon)
holt:ers.

t

PVIiVr4.4.:•; I.
1.4

Mr- C. Minns highly complimented the
the great interest they had taken in the corn
direction of any company in the City of Lo lk AA
greater stake in any one company than they di. in tglt`"li.:2
Company. Instead of paying 61. dividend, they did not,
in fact, pay more than :)/., as they were then paying off
three years of arrears. It should not, therefore, go
forth that they were accumulating a large capital with-
out enhancing the dividends. Then the insurance fund
amounted to 25,n00/. a 3 ear. The casualties to which
their property was exposed were great. One company
had lost one ship (the Great Britain, we presume), and
by accounts received that morning they had nearly lost
their n mainir g one (the Great Western). Ile concluded
by passing a vote of thanks to the chairman and direc-
tors, expressive of the continued confidence of the
shareholders iu them, which was seconded by Mr.
Poynder.

Mr. RIDGWAY would not object to the motion, but he
seriously objected to the conduct of the Hon. Chairman,
who hsci s, to prevent him from giving free expres-
sion to the opinion entei timed.— (Cries of "(Order,
order.") He wits perfectly in order, as he was speaking
on a motion which b id reference to the conduct of the
chairman and th. directors. He wishei it to be distinctly
understood that Lc sh.,old not hesitate to express his
sentiments on the affairs of the Company. He
asked if there %%ere not ample grounds for censure ?
Undoubtedly there were. He hoped fur the future that
the chair wan 01141 evince more courtesy to bile when
he felt it his duty to remonstrate. He (Mr. Ridgway),
in his position of life, was as respectable as any one in
his (Mr. Baring's) father's house.
The CHAIRMAN ackno,%ledged the right of Mr. Ridg-
way to express his censure and as perseveringly as he
had done. Ile was not aware of having offended the
Hon. Proprietor in any thimg he had said.
Ile motion was then carried, and the meeting se-
parated.

---
I DREADFUL EXPLOSION and LOSS
OF LIFE AT WALKER IRON WORKS.
NEWCASTLE• UPON-TYNE, TUESDAY.—A dreadful ex-
plosion occurred last night at the extensive iron works
of Messrs. Lush, Wilson, and Bell, situated on the
river Tyne, at Walker, about three miles below New-
castle. Three persons were killed, one by the force of
the explosion, and the other two by inhaling the impure
air before the explosion took place, and several others
have been seriously injured. The Walker iron works
are the most extensive in this district, and give employ-
, ment to upwards of a thousand men. They comprise
the various processes of manufacture from the iron stone,
whence the ore is extracted, to the completion of the
mechanism for which it is designed. Two blast fur-
naces and four refineries are in continual operation. The
blast is produced by an air pump, worked by a steam-
engine of one hundred and twenty horse power, pump-
ing on an average 14,000 cubic feet of air per minute.
The blast is conducted from the blowing cylinder in
metal pipes to the various furnaces, the feeding pipe
being about six feet in diameter, and connected with
others of smaller dimensions, from which branch pipes of
still smaller bore extend to the fires. In order to
regulate the blast, a large receiver is placed in the
line of these pipes, which being filled with highly
condensed air, operates in producing a uni-
forntity of action in the blast pipe during the return
stroke of the air-pump. There are two air-pumps on
the premises, one on the east and the other on the west
side of the boiler, and both communicating with it, but
for some time the pump on the west side has not been
worked, the other one, which has recently been erected,
being larger, and capable of doing all the work required.
The works corer fourteen or fifteen acres of ground, and
the pipes, therefore, are of considerable length. The
escape valve opens into a drain, communicating with the
river, as does also the privy for the use of the workmen,
the latter being in that part of the works west of the
reservoir above described. The accident appears
to have arisen from an accumulation of foul air in the
reservoir, and the pipes to the westward of it. It appears
that about six o'clock yesterday evening the men in the
works were alarmed by hearing groans issuing from the
privy, and one of the boys went down to see what was
the matter, when he was heard to utter a loud scream,
and fall down, almost immediately on reaching the bottom
of the stairs. This alarming circumstance brought
several of the workmen to the spot, and with much diffi-
culty the boy was dragged out, in a state of insensibility,
from which he was with difficulty recovered. A lamp
having been procured, it was ascertained that a man and
a boy were in the privy, and no doubt the groaning that
was heard proceeded from them. With great difficulty
both were drawn out, and the usual restoratives applied,
but without effect, as they were both dead. It was
judged that the impure air had proceeded from tho
drain, into which it might have passed from the
blast pipes after having been generated in the furnace.
The pipes were accordingly examined. One branch
pipe that had been plugged was found with the plug out,
and the blast escaping from the orifice. The men tried
to close this opening, but they were not able on account
of the strength of the blast. Robert Rogers and Wil-
liam Short, two of the overseers, then caused the pump-
ing engine to be stopped, and they proceeded to the
reservoir in order to close the orifice of the pipe leading
from it to that portion of the works where the privy is
situated. They opened the man hole of the reservoir,
and Rogers was in the act of lacking in, when a tre-
mendous explosion took place, the force of which carried
poor Rogers into the air, the height of nearly fifty feet.
and landed him on an eminence about twenty yards from
the place. Ile was literally shattered to pieces. Ilis arm
was blown off, his head and face flattened, and dreadfully
disfigured ; and when gathered up, his body presented a
horrible mass of mutilated remains. Short was blown
some distance from the spot, and also much injured, but
ho fortunately escaped the direct action of the explosion
The reservoir, which was of plate metal, three-six-
teenths of an inch in thickness, was blown to frag-
ments, which were sent with tremendous violence
in every direction, through the roofs of adjacent
buildings, knocking down walls, and everything
that obstructed their progress. One large piece of
metal plate was driven at least three hundred yards from
the place, and the windows in nearly every house in the
vicinity of the explosion were broken. The inhabitants
of the cottages adjoining the works, on hearing the
noise, rushed out of their houses, and a group had as-
sembled near some palings, where they stood a few mo-
ments surveying the scene of the disaster at the distance
of about 150 yards, when suddenly a massive metal plate
descended within a few feet of them on to one of the
posts of the paling with such violence that the wooden
post actually pierced the plate, which came to rest about
a foot from the ground, supported by the fragments of
broken palings, and with the post sticking through it.
The men had no light near the reservoir, nor was there
any fire seen at the time of the explosion, which seems
to have issued from the orifice of the blast pipe as from
the mouth of a cannon. The end of the blowing cy-
linder was carried over the heads of the workmen in the
rolling mill to the opposite side of the building, where
it struck a man and broke his leg. Another fragment
struck a youth, and injured him severely. The rest
seem to have fortunately escaped. It is conjectured
that the explosion arose from the cause above described
—namely, the ignition of inflammable air in the pipes,
which it is supposed arose from the furnace, but that
has not yet been satisfactorily ascertained.
An inquest on view of the bodies of the unfortunate
sufferers was opened this afternoon, and was adjourned
till Thursday.

ALARMING RISE.—We already knew the Duke of
Wellington was dear 'to his country, but we never ex•
pected he would rise to such " a very large figure."—
Punch.

RAPID PASSAGE. - The splendid iron clipper
schooner Prince of Wales, which left London on Friday
morning, at seven o'clock, reached Leith harbour at six
o'clock on Sunday evening, thus performing the passage
(a distance of nearly 500 miles) in the remarkably short
space of 47 hours.

The celebrated Greek General Kalergi, who so
admirably conducted the movement at Athens on the
15th of September, 1843, arrived in town on the 10th
instant.
THE MODEL PRISON, CLENICENWELL.—This pri-
son, intended us a house of detention for untried persons,
is to be ready for use by the commencement of the next
year.
THE PROJECTOR OF SOCIALISM.--Robert Owen
has returned again to the United States, having crossed
the Atlantic four times in less than six months. Though
upwards of seventy-five years old, he is still as enthu-
siastic as ever in the pursuit of his plans of reform.--
New York Tribune.

WIFE.-Yesterday, jite3s, tverodliacye,
csohnosrttalyblbeefso2r6e,twwoaso'sciltoctinkg,
A POLICEMAN DANGEROUSLY STABBED BY BIS
et
ncli ai
nr
with his wife, at their lodgings, Talbot-court, Grace-
church-street, when some words arose between
them, which ended in the wife throwing with great
violence a sharply•pointed table-knife, which struck
him in the neck, beneath the right ear. The
blood gushed forth profusely from the wound, and
the poor fellow rushed out to Mr. Smith's, surgeon,
to whom he stated that he had been stabbed by his wife.
Mr. Smith, finding that the wound was nearly an inch and
a half deep, and that the carotid artery bad been in-
jured, instantly forwarded him to St. 7'homas's Hos-
pital, where he now remains in an almost hopeless state,
arising chiefly from the loss of blood, as well as from
the dangerous nature of the wound, owing to the great
difficulty of uniting the artery. Immediately after the
occurrence the wife gave herself up at the station-house
Garlick hill. Benjamin Wood is a mild inoffensive man,
and is deemed a very excellent officer ; he has been at-
tached to the force almost ever since it was. first estab-
lished, and was highly respected both by his superiors
as well as his brother officers.

__
A CHILD DROWNED IN A WASHING- run.—Yester-
day forenoon, an inquest was held before Mr. Wm.
Carter, at the Pitt's Head Tavern, Grange-road, Ber-
mondsey, on the body of Samuel Robert Hodgkins, aged
eight months, whose friends reside at No. 10, Diamond-
street, Grange-road. It appeared from the evidence that
the parents of the deceased were destitute. The de-
ceased, who was in good health, was left on the morning
of Monday on the bed, by its mother, while she went
out of the room, and on her return soon afterwards she
discovered the deceased lying head downwards in a
washing-tub, containing some dirty water, which had
been carelessly left by the bedside. She raised the de-
ceased up, but life was apparently extinct. A surgeon
was also called in, but all efforts to restore animation
were of no avail. The supposition is that the deceased
rolled off the bed while the mother was absent. The
jury, after a few remarks in reference to the careless-
ness of the mother, returned a verdict of "Accidental
death."

MORE CONVICTS FOR VAN DIMMEN'S LAND.—The
Arabian, Government transport, has refitted at Dept-
ford Victualling-yard, and is ordered to drop down to
her Majesty's Dockyard, Woolwich, to receive 300 con-
victs on board, who will be sent down from the Peniten-
tiary, for a passage to Van Diemen's Land.

,11,111.LIVA.* INTELLIG
AUSTRALIAN LINES.
Probably not-one of thejeast interesting (12 velopments
connected4vith the, c blic character of railways, now
identifying themsf.: with the life and labour of almost
every tribe and tory, is their presrrt more particular
exten,ion into time important c comm.inities,
where a British tenantry proclaims the presence of
British rule, and where of her railways, as well as of her
flag, it may soon consistently be said they were tOe sym-
bols of a sovereignty on which the sun never sets. The
interests of the mother country in her transmarine do,
minions arc by means such as these, perils's; more so
than ‘by any others, to be multiplied and cemented. It
is certainly a bold and novel effort upon the part of that
great continent whose centre is the South Pacific, Aus-
tralia, that of taking upon herself, single-handed, as it
werr, and thus early in the annals of her constitution
and .commerce, the construction of ,a railway Aystem,
and at a period when she can scarcely be said to have
arrived at those years. of discretion and majority
in the scale of colonisation and improvement that
characterise the condition of elder dependencies,
hor interior being as yet comparatively unvisited by
the foot of Europeans, and her recesses Unexplored
by the missions of modern discovery. 'For these rea-
sons, Australia may at present be considered altogether
unripe for the introduction of -a trunk line system. To
work well for her the railway system must go de point
en point, plying its way in short lengths between the
principal points of produce, linking together her leading
localities' and more -important neighbour settlements,
without contemplating, at any rate for the present, those
huge triots-, and'atretches of rail that would involve a
hundred Mile range at a time,. with'only two termini for
traffic, the intervening distance being one of sterility and
stint, unstayed by the touch of culture, ant strantte alike
to the foot of white man and red. Carried out-under an

econony of this kind, the lines already projected to con-
nect Paraniatta with S.ydoey, and its fipe.natural basin
of water, and the latter a ith Botany Bay and Bathurst,
the point. for military transmissions along the boundary
of the Blue Mountains, and connecting with. the Cham
paign country beyond, may prove of speedy and positive
utility, in connexion with proposed routes between New
Holland, Adelaide, and .Melheurne. The convict labour
of the great penal colony, set in operation by British and
local capital combined, may here find a field for useful
occupation, so as to bring into more active play her
mineral and manufacturing resources. -
Two subjects at the present moment appear to be agi-
tating, in a more than ordinary manner, the people of
Australia—the one in relation to resistance to an at-
tempt at imposing royalty impositions upon the produce
of her mining industry, and the other with reference to
railways. On the latter we learn, by the latest accounts,
that a meeting of those favourable to the construction of
railways in New South Wales, consisting of the citizens
and colonists, took place in Sydney, at which the mayor
made known to the meeting that he was most favourable
to the formation of railways from the city to every part
of the colony where such undertakings were practicable.
Mr. James Macarthur, of Camden, who was called to
the chair, appears to have been of opinion that there
could not be two opinions as to the importance of the
subject which the meeting had been called together to
consider ; and a general opinion of the practicability and
probable remuneration of well-devised lines of railroads
in -New South Wales seemed to pervade the meeting,
which was marked throughout by great solidity of argil,.
meat, prudence,,and principle, as well as by most indus-
trious research, relevant information, and sagacity.
The general impression seemed to be that the con-
struction of railroads in the elder colony must be mainly
effected by the application of British capital, and en-
tirely through the instrumentality of imported labour;
whilst in estimating the probable income upon the
amount invested, the present cost of carriage might
fairly be taken, giving to the settlers, as their immediate
advantages, economy of time, and safety of conveyance;
whilst prospectively, they might expect, to participate
fairly in reduction_ of charges and those collateral ad-
vantages which would quickly result from increased
traffic and the .rapid progress of internal improvements
necessarily consequent upon:increase of population and
general productiveness.
The meeting was addr2ssed at considerable length by
the Chairman, by Dr. Nicholson, M.L.C.; Mr. Earl,
brother of Mr. George Windsor Earl, Mr. .C. Wert-
worth, M.L.C., Captain M. C. O'Connell, M.C., Mr.
M'Donald, of Pitt Town, Mr. a C. Turner, Mr. 11. G.
Smith, Mr. Campbell Brown, and Mr. Raymond, post-
master-general of the colony; and although there was
much unanimity as to the general principle, the differ-
ences in the (mentally) proposed modes of carrying it
out may. be .inferred from the various, shades of avowed
opinions as to the cost per mile, which varied from 6,000/.
(as broached by Mr. Earl) down to 6001., which Mr.
M'Donald, who had inspected several railroads- in the
mother country, declared to be sufficient for the Hunter
Riper district, the claims of which he advocated.
Mr. Macarthur was of opinion that railways shourd
be.primarily formed from the capital to various parts of
the county of Cumberland, because every sort of pro-
duce, and to any extent, would then find a speedy and
profitable market in Sydney, which would thus become
one of the cheapest and " most luxurious cities for living
in upon the face of the earth," to which invalids from
India and retired capitalists from England would be-
take themselves for temporary or conclusive sojourn
through the short paisages which would soon be pro-
vided for, them. Mr. Macarthur admitted also that
certain portions of the Hunter River district possessed
advantages no where to be exceeded for the formation of
railways.
Dr. Nicholson confessed himself a comparatively re-
cent convert to the railway system as applicable to New
South Wales, and luminously compared and contrasted
the densely-peopled main lines of England with those
American undertakings which claimed a priority in
point of time, although designed for the uses of a scat-
tered population, and by no means possessed of the ad-
vantages of New South Wales, for which, he said, capital
to any extent would be forthcoming. lie added, railroads
had paid well inEngland ; take, for instance, the London
and Birmingham. and the Great Western. The direc-
tors had been compelled from time to time to reduce
their charges—had made extravagant improvements on
the lines and at their various stations, in order to keep
the profit to be divided within the amount allowed by
the Act of Parliament, and to evade the alternative :
for by the Act of Parliament it was provided that the
profit to the shareholders should not be more than 10
per cent. on their capital outlaid ; and any surplus return
over that 10 per cent. was to be paid to the Consolidated
Fund of Great Britain. These were principal lines, it
was true ; but the establishment of branch lines in Eng-
land, where population was thinnest, and traffic least,
had conduced to the increase of both, and districts un-
known and neglected had risen into importance. The
railroads of. the United States, too, had paid well,
although, carried out in the face of difficulties greater
than any which presented themselves in New South
Wales, and had conduced to the rapid development of
thelnatural resources of the country.
Dr. Nicholson, in advocating the formation of a rail-

way from Sydney to Goulburn, a distance of 115 to 120
miles, at a presumed expense of 706,060/ to 800,0001,
went into the probable sources of income, seriatim, and
according to his showing there would be a gross return
of 100,0001., from which taking 40,000/. for current ex-
penses, there would remain 60,0001. for the payment of
dividends, a more than sufficient sum even at the outset,
if, as stated by another speaker, a well assured dividend
of 61 per cent. would be sufficient inducement for British
capitalists.
The Maitland Mercury of February, in an article full
of acumen and inference, attempts to disprove Dr. Ni-
cholson's calculations, and arrives at the conclusion that
instead of the shareholders receiving six per cent. upon
the capital invested, they would be extvmely fortunate
to escape getting involved in debt to pay the expenses of
working the railway.
„The Port Philip Herald, of February 17th, says " the
inconsistency" of the English capitalist who invests in
the undertakings of foreign states, whilst he withholds
from English colonies, is only reconcilable with the sup-
position. that the policy of .the colonial government as
vaci:lating, weak through the want of comprehensive
information, unwise through immature plans and crude
decisions.
" These notions," continues the Port Philip Herald.
" and their causes (if such they be) have, however, just
experienced the first assault."
The railway system—the money power, armed with axe
and spade, has entered the field, and will soon extirpate
these unsound prejudices and reform these old abthe,.
England has laid out some 40 millions in making railways
in foreign countries btfore she has bethought her that
these countries might go to war and estreat these loans,
and that the railways which will benefit foreign countries
would benefit and be profitable in her colonies—portions
Of her own empire and governed by her own laws. The
first advances have actually been made for a large
company at Hoihe by, en agent now in Syduey; and the
Colonial Executive in Downing-street has signified its
sanction and support, to the extent of even supplying on
terms of advantage to the *colony, the requisite amount
of convict labour.
There is probably no country so well adapted for rail-
ways as this, and where they could be so cheaply and
readily made. As was truly observed by the Rev. Dr.
Lang when he first broached the subject, an immense
amount of labour now consumed in such avocations -as
fiiillock,driving would be turned to a profitable account;
and besides this, the distances of the interior districts
would be diminshed, and the line of railway would be
equivalent to s line of coast.
We do not suppose that the expensive iron railway
system of England, with its rapid velocity of traffic, will
for many years pay in New South Wales; but we are
convinced that the old wooden railways, such as were in
use since the middle of the seventeenth century (as de-
scribed in the life of Lord Keeper North) in the New-
castle collieries would answer admirably.
As extensive undertakings of this nature could not be
executed without an amount of labour with which we are
totally unprovidcd, we see no objection to the employ-
ment of convicts upon such work. It is a labour that
:Would' not be preferred by freemen to rural employments,
*lnd a labour in- which convicts could be strictly disci'
Alined and controlled. Above all, it is work in which
they could be readily separated. from the least commnni-
Caton with the rest of the population, and finally with-
drawn altogether from our shores on the completion of
their allotted periods.
Thus the Government of Van Dieman's Land would
be relieved from a large measure of expense, the capita-
lists at home would be encouraged by the recognised
patronage'of Government, and the people of New South
Wales would reap as many of the advantages and as few
of the ill results of the transportation system as it is pos-
sible to devise ; whilst the men themselves would be in
a position to be punished with rigour, or for good con-
duct encouraged to reformation.
A correspondent of the Sydney Morning Herald ob-
serves, in reference to the late meeting, its objects and
the unwonted care displayed for the interests of English
capitalists
" When the committee have collected and digested
the information which will be rend2red to them, they
will smile to think they should have cherished the idea

. _
of English capitalists not knowing what they are about.
" LA the Government and the colonists understand
what they are about, for a measure of greater importance
to the colony can scarcely be imagined.
"The Gorvernmeut have before them the vari us prin-
ciples which have been tried or adopted in every other
part of the gl,.be, which is an-advantage over Ea,glanti
itself, as well as in availing:unnecessary' expenditure on
superfluous erroneous lines.
" The council will see that the subject is of such im-
portance- as to command its earliest and earnest at-
tention.

" It is for this-reason I presume to offer a few remarks,
more with the view of inducing competent and influential
persons to reflect on the subject in all its vital influences,
than that my suggestions may be of any value in them-
selves.
" ThPre are three,:distinct and primary interests in-
volved in this mighty que,tion ; and which will at first,
I expect, approach it•antagonistically ; but in the end
they will discover other views should have a reciprocal
tendency. •
" The colonial government, theßritish capitalists, and
the colonists, are the parties I allude to.
" The former should determine the many trunk lines
for the whole colony, decide on the principle on which
the British capitalists shoUld be allowed their Act, and
adjnst the terms with a due r eAard to the present in-
terest of all parties, and the future good of the. Colony.
I have the fullest confidence that these grand leading
points will be soundly, dealt with by the investigating
mind of the Colonial Secretary."
The intended railways in South Africa and South
Australia were spoken of at the meeting as having com-
menced; but we are free to admit that if South Australia
loses the honour of being the first in the field of railway
improvements in Australasia, we are likely to derive very
great advantages from the sage consultations and ju-
dicious precaration3 of our elder colonial brethren.
A provisional committee was appointed at the Sydney
meeting.

,BELGIAN. RAILWAYS.
We extract *Om the Emancipation, Brussels paper,
the following notice of the opening of the (1) section or
the West Fliinders Railways for public traffic, which took
place on the 6th. This event cannot fail to be most
pleasing to patties interested in Belgian.railways,since
this is the first section of railway opened by a private
company in Belgiuha:—
" Yesterday morning at five &clock the first train of
the West Flanders Railways left Bruges for Thourout.
This train, consisting of ten carriages filled with passen-
gers, perfumed the distance, 12 mile=, in 38 minutes, the
ordinary speed at which the trains run on the State lines.
Not the slightest shock or jerk was felt during the whole
distance, which was most surprising one road so recently
constructed and opened.
" The management and mode of conducting the traffic
appear,to be much better than on the State lines ; more
particularly with reference to the. system of tickets,
which is far superior. We also noticed that on the ar-
rival or departure of a train at a station no concussion
of carriages was felt, which is the case to a great extent
upon all other Belgian railways.
" The number of passengers in the train from Thou-
rout was mater than that from Bruges. The two in-
termediate stations, Lophem and Zedelghem, also fur-
nished many passengers.
Thus has been opened for public traffic, the first sec-
tion of a line which, when coruple•ted to Courtrai, (and
this will be the case about February next), will shorten
the road to France by eight leagues (24 miles).

THE BRITISH SURVEYING
SQUADRON.
(From the Sydney Morning Herald.)
The approaching departure of her ►Majesty's bhip Fly
from the cology, on her return to England from the
arduous voyige on which, with her Majesty's schooner
Bramble, she has been employed, induces us to give
our readers a brief sketch of her services, in order to

impart to them some idea of the benefits that have been
conferred upon the commercial interests of the 'colony
by Captain Blackwood and the officers under his com-
mand. _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The " outer route," through Torres' Straits, as it is
generally called, which has been of late years so ,e-
-nerally followed by vessels bound to India, has hitherto
been but imperfectly known, and only could be con-
sidered safe for thtle ships whose commanders, had
already passed that way. The rough, and little more
than eye-sketched plans of different passages through
the Barrier Reef, 'which were procurable previously to
the Fly's voyage, were sufficient to' lead a stranger into
danger, but not to extricate him from itl'and many have
been the melancholy'and distfesiing losses of fine ships
in consequence. During the last year, even with the
advantage of Captain Blackwood's chart, the loss of the
Hyderabad, with a valuable cargo of horses for the East
India Company's Service,. which, by missing the beacon
on Raine's Island, was thrown to leeward, and was
obliged to run thrthigh the first opening that offered, in
doing which she struck on a rock and sank almost
\in-
stantaneously,
in deep water, is a proof, were one want.
ing, of the difficulties of these passages ; and fully shows,
when under circumstances of unfavourable weather, or
an error in the reckoning, the passage intended to be
taken is passed by, or cannot be recognised, and it-be-
comes necessary to dash at the first opening, and lives of
all on board are jeoparded.
Secondary to this, but not less important, is the de-
. tailed survey of the channel round Darnley Island,
between it and the coast of New Guinea—a route,

although to the northward, far preferable to any ell
trance through the Barrier, inasmuch as the passage will
not be lengthened more than twenty-four hours, and is
many miles in width, and quite free from difficulty or
danger of any kind. It is evidently the principal passage
through Torres' Straits.
One of the chief objects of Captain Blackwood's in-
structions was to erect a beacon in a convenient spot to
direct ships to the best channel through the reef—and
this has been most effectually performed. The passages
generally used to lie in the neighbourhood of that part
of the Barrier situated to the north of 12 deg. south. In
the let of ,12 deg. 21 min. the Ferguson, with a detach-
ment of the 50th regiment, was wrecked i and in 12 deg.
11 min. the wreck of the Martha Ridgway serves to
point out the entrance round the Black Rock, in 12 deg.
12 min.—a favourite passage, and perhaps the best
among the bad. It is not known to us whether any
ship has been lost in this passage ; but if not, chance
has carried them clear of a very dangerous sunken patch,
having only ten feet upon it, in the direct track of the
course. Here there was no possibility of erecting any
mark, as heavy breakers la-hed over the reef, and there
is no rock or island where a party could be landed. To
the north of this there are several openings in the
reef, such as Nimrod's Entrance, 12 deg. 5 min.
30 sec., about a quarter of a mile wide ; and Head's
Passage, considered a safe one by Captain Black-
wood, 'in 11 deg. 55 min., but equally contracted.
No bacons could be erected at any of them ;
but in' Ra.irm's Island, in 11 deg. 36 min., every fa-
cility was afforded, and the beacon was constructed,
and serves to point out the safest and best passage that
exists ; and according to the direction given by Captain
Blackwood, there will be no difficulty in making it.
Daring the progress of building the- beacon, the Fly
and Bramble were employed in exploringlhe relative
situatiDns and extent of all the reefs between Raine's
Island and the coast, as well as the exact positions of
the more southern entrances above noticed ; to that
through whatever 'passage a ship may enter, the chart
Will be found most useful in leading her clear of all
danger to a safe anchorage.
A chart of this part, showing the whole detail of the
Barrier Reef, and of the new passage round Darnley
Island, and embracing the track to Booby Island, has
been put into the hands of the engraver, at the expense
of the Colonial Government, and will be completed
before tho ensuing season, by the use of which ships
bound to India may proceed on the voyage with confi-
dence.
In thus leaving for immediate use the most important
result of this voyage, Captain Blackwood is entitled to
the thiwks of the colonists, inasmuch as no small portion
of the eclat of his.lab.ours.will be lost in England by the
previous Publication of his work in the colony. The
Ad;r.iralty will doubtless republish it in England, and
probably with improvements, but in the meantime the
public will reap the advantage of an early possession of
the information it conveys.
A more particular description of this part of the
voyage would be out of place here; nor indeed is it at all
necessary, because the chart in itself will be a descrip-
tion which those who consult it %Null perfectly understand
and he satisfied with; but it is due to those who have
rendered this service to be assured that their labours are
valued and -duly appreciated by those who are capable
of judging of the Nast importance of this survey to the
large and rapidly extending commercial intercourse be-
tween the Australian colonies and India.
Although the principal object of Captain Blackwood's
voyage was confined to the Great Barrier, yet there
was another of less immediate importance attached to his
instructions—namely, the exploration of the coast of
New Guinea—the one, of labour and intense anxiety;
the other, full of interest and novelty—in fact, the cream
of the voyage. The time, however, expcnde dupon the
survey of the Barrier, the progress of which was
materially interfered with by the erection of the
beacon, precluded anything being done there until
the last few _weeks of the last voyage; but suffi-
. dent was seen of its coast and inhabitants to
cause the greatest regret on leaving it. The portion
of country explored, which embraced about 50 or 60
miles to the west of the meridian of 145 degrees east,
was formed by a low coast, intersected by numerous in-
lets running many miles into the country, and forming,
as was supposed, the deltoid embouchures of a consider-
able river or inlet of the sea ; its shores were densely
pop 'atecl, villages of considerable size being passed at
intervals of every two or three miles, at some of which
they landed, and were enabled to look about them ; hut
at some they were prevented, and their intercourse
fiercely opposed. -
' There were no signs of any previous intercourse with
white people, and they were evidently ignorant of the
effect of fire-arms, but they possessed some of the re-
finements of a civilised life, which showed that they
were a people of superior intelligence to the 'generality
of' savages, particularly to their neighbours of New
Holland.
Lieut. Yule, of her Majesty's schooner Bramble, with
the Castlereagh as her tender, under Mr. Aird, remains
to carry on the survey of the outlying reefs, and of the
coast of New Guinea. This important service could not
be left in better hands.

BLACKHEATH CATTLE AND PIG FAIR. —On
Monday, being Old Michaelmas Day, according to
usual custom the autumnal cattle and pig fair was held
on Blackheath, at the rear of the grounds adjoining the
Green Man Hotel. We never recollect seeing so many
fine pigs penned an on the present occasion. In the
horse portion of the fair there were several fine young
draught animals and a few good nags, but horseflesh ap-
peared to be a complete drug, few being sold, but these
few at a good figure, the former fetching from 301. to
351„ and the latter about 314