The Sun.
London, England, 1846-01-05 00:00:00

THE SUN. LONDON, MONDAY' EVENING, JANUARY 5, 1846

M AGA ZINES.—(CONTINUED.)
L'L i_JT; V.EP.S./
To sustain the national character of this number,
the Dublin University Magazine commences and
terminates with an article of strictly Irish interests,
and animated with a strictly Irish spirit; the first,
entitled " Prizes in the Lottery of Repeal," sifts and
scrutinizes that oft-sifted and oft-scrutinized question
of the Legislative union between the sister islands.
Though the writer evidences a tolerable share of
acumen, and a very large proportion of earnestness
in his mode of combatting the opinions of Mr.
O'Connell and his partisans, we must remonstrate
against such an over-lavish cataract of acrimony as
that with which he saturates the unfortunate gentle-
man who presumed to pen three prize essays, at the
instigation of the Repeal Association. Nor does it
savour much of elegance in composition or suavity in
temperament, to say of one unhappy wight that he
turns from it with that feeling of relief, which a
demonstrator experiences in quitting a putrid subject of
morbid anatomy, the corruption of which has disgusted
his audience, the effluvium from which has sickened his
class." Besides the somewhat unpalateable flavour of
this article in its composition, we rather deprecate
the selection of a subject which has been worn, not
only threadbare, but to very rags and tatters, by
the kaleidoscopic speeches of " the Liberator" alone ;
e say kaleidoscopic advisedly, since the same
materials, nothing more, and nothing less, are ever
present—" Repeal," " Saxons," " College-green,"
" Irish Parliament," &c., being the bits of coloured
glass, and the whole merely requiring another shake
to form a fresh oration. We therefore recommend the
writer of this article to select in future some less
hackneyed theme. The concluding paper is a digest
of what is called the present " Social Disorganisation
in Ireland." In a memoir of Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart, the illustrious musician, which is here headed
" The Prodigy of Salzburg," we are charmed with a
certain esprit de corp, which displays much enthusi-
asm for the divine art in the abstract, and for the
young prodigy in particular ; still we must be per-
mitted to dissent in some measure from the ultra-
laudation of this fine original. Though, without
doubt, Mozart was the first " who rescued the world
from the dull depths of counterpoint," and infused
what had previously been something little short of
mechanical ingenuity, the throbbings of the human
heart and the stirring of the human intellect, we are
not on that account to place him above all his suc-
cessors, however marvellous his compositions may be
in themselves. That was a grand triumph of genius, as-
suredly in "Idomeneo," where he pourtrays the heroine's
jealousy by the beatings of her heart in octaves; but
admirable as are such examples of his capacity to in-
novate, he undoubtedly has his superiors in most of
the different classes of music ; Haydn as a composer
of masses, Rossina for the more intense, and Weber
for the more fantastic and wierd kinds of Operas,
and Beethoven the Giant Emperor of his
art, Beethoven—the quintesscence of divine discords—
he of whom we once heard an eminent living musician
declare that he began where Mozart and Haydn left
off—Beethoven in all. An exquisite dissertation on
" Old Letters," by Elizabeth Youatt, follows, and is
fruitful of sweet thoughts and pensive memories. No.
11. of " Irish Rivers" carries us very swimmingly
down "The Bride, a tributary of the Blackwater,"
painting the scenery on either side with much bril-
liancy and naturalness of colour. Of the dippings
into " Ottoman Poetry" we can speak with extreme
delight. " The Kasseed in praise of the Prophet
Ahmed," even as a translation, has in it the rush and
foam, and boil and eddies of a torrent amidst the
woods. The " Adventures of Joseph Pitts," a
kind of Alexander Selkirk in his way, is • most
interesting narrative of adventure ; followed by
a continuation of a very clever analysis of "Ariosto's
Poetry." Immediately after this Mr. Newman is
scored with the dagger of invective, and the raw
wounds eaten into by the caustic of satire, in a re-
view of the ex-Protestant's last work in defence of
himself and his conversion. In many of the senti-
ments expressed by the author of the paper, entitled
" Present State of our National Defences," a kind
synopsis of a work recently published by Lord Ra-
r;elagh, we most cordially coincide ; and the follow-
ing paragraph in particular we recommend to the
perusal of every one who is desirous of knowing
" the rights of the case:"-
6‘ England should no longer consider herself simply as
an insular power, protected by the ocean, and safe
from attack as long as her naval superiority continues.
She can no longer rely upon wind and tide for baffling
the approach of an enemy. The sea has now become a
great highway, to be traversed with a certainty and
celerity which greatly increases our exposure to inva-
sion, as well as multiplies the chances of success which
may attend the attempt of an enterprising enemy.
[lad Napoleon, when he congregated his great army
of invasion at Boulogne, had the same certainty
which might now be calculated upon of effecting a
sudden descent upon our coast, of which the first
notice might be the landing of one hundred thousand
men upon some point where we were unprepared t
meet them, we may depend upon it that his vast army
would not have resembled the old cat in the adage,'
and that an attempt would be made to bring the war
into our own country, from which very disastrous
consequences might be apprehended."
Altogether, this month's number of the Dublin
University possesses much that is entertaining and
much that is instructive.

air of invidious scrutiny, and reddening as he spoke,
There are no longer any messieurs in France, but
only citizens.'
" Well then, pardon me, citizen, if I have given
you offence.' _ _

" You are not a Frenchman,' he resumed, with an
embarrassed air, and cannot, therefore, be aware of
our new usages.'
" If peace be established, I shall certainly visit
France.'

" You, sir?' he rejoined with warmth, never shall
set foot there, so long at least as I live !'
" Do you mean personally to designate me, or my
countrymen in general ?'
" The young officer, fixing upon me a pair of hand-
some, but fierce eyes, rejoined:—
"' Sir, my name is Murat, and I have served in the
constitutional guard of the ty— last king.'
Then, with a less lofty manner, and lowered tone,
he continued :

" I know who you are, sir, and lam very sorry that
I have met you.'
" You are a soldier and a man of honour,' I replied,
and I can have nothing to fear from you.'
" Country before all,' answered Murat, ` yes, before
all ! Such at least ought to be my maxim. Monsieur,
I advise you not to sleep here.'
" With these words he bowed, and quickly with-
drew. I reflected upon the course which I ought to
pursue, and prudence suggested the impolicy of trusting
to the dubious generosity of a hotheaded republican. I
consulted d'Avaray, who became alarmed for my safety,
and would not be satisfied till we had resumed our
journey. •

" \V hen fortune, at a later period, had raised Joachim
Murat to the throne of Naples, I recognised in him the
young French officer who had driven me so abruptly
from my sleeping quarters. I could not be certain whe-
ther he had betrayed or kept the secret of my birth,
and in this dilemma, felt in his regard some sort of
grateful feeling. When, therefore, I returned to France
a second time, and heard that he was an unfortunate
fugitive, I gave express orders that, if arrested in my
dominions, his life should be spared."

The writer of this article is evidently strongly pre-
judiced in favour of the elder branch of the Bour-
bons, and as strongly prejudiced against the Orleans
dynasty; but he is an honest recorder of facts, and
those facts prove that the elder race were, to a man,
weak, grovelling, superstitious, ignorant—nay, even
incapable of education. They were firm believers in
astrology, prognostics, dreams, ghosts—
" Black spirits and white,
Red spirits and gtcy."
Witness the solemn relations of the prophecy found
by the Comte de Provence on his table, on the day of
the birth of the Dauphin, of the horoscope of the three
Princes, drawn up by the Count de St. Germain ; of
the mysterious appearances preceding the death of
Catharine of Russia, and of the dream of the Sa-
cristan previous to the execution of Louis XVI.
Nothing could exceed the folly of the friends of that
unfortunate monarch at this period. Just as
his trial was about to take place, the Comte
de Provence, then an exile, addressed a letter to the
Duke of Orleans, couched in the most haughty
and arrogant terms, commanding, rather than request-
ing, that he should not interfere in the trial. Among
many absurdities, we give the following as a speci-
men :—" The king" (at the time a prisoner in the
Temple, and about to be tried on a capital charge)
" is disposed to indulgence, and indeed oblivion of
the past would be for all of us the wisest course."
If anything could exceed the mad folly of pen-
ning such a missive, it would be the manner in
which it was presented to the Duke of Orleans by
Boissy d'Anglas, the secret agent of the Comte de
Provence in Paris. He himself, in a letter to the
Comte de Provence, thus describes his reception at
the Palais Egalite :
" Your cousin, Monseigneur, by the graciousness of
his reception, made amends to me for the insolence of
his officious attendants. He is always the pink of polite-
ness, and begged me to sit down, which I refused to do,
perhaps from a mischievous wish of reminding him that
he is still a prince."

Why, if the Comte de Provence and his agent had de-
sired to prevent the Duke from exercising his influ-
ence in the King's behalf—if they had desired to goad
him on to the King's destruction—could they have
done so in any manner more effectually ? Can any-
thing prove more completely the utter heartlessness
both of the Count and of his agent, than the compla-
cent manner in which the one relates, and the other
records, his reason for refusing to set down " a mis-
chievous wish of reminding him that he is still a

prince ?" What nature that was not utterly frivo
lous, utterly incapable of forming a good or a noble
aspiration, could have imagined such an expieglerie at
such a time? The whole history of the Revolution
goes to prove that poor Louis XVI fell a victim to
the unprincipled, uncalculating, heartless, frivolous,
incurably vicious folly of his soi-disant friends, ra•
ther than to the malice of his enemies; and if any-
thing could excuse the excesses of the Reign of Terror
towards " the Aristo-trats," it would he the revelations
which these aristocrats ever and anon make of them-
selves. The more we study the history of this
Revolution, the greater is our admiration of the cha-
racter of the present King of the French. Louis
Philippe is the most statesmanlike king that France
has ever possessed—the wisest, and, perchance, the
greatest man that France has ever produced. That
his sons inherit his great talents, his manly courage,
his energy, his activity, they have already given
abundant proofs. Let us hope, for the sake of
France, of Europe, and of the world, that they also
possess his prudent firmness, his wise caution, his
unerring tact, and his sound judgment.

opinions, it possesses much candour and independence,
-While it opposes doctrines of a contrlry tendency with
a liberality and a gentlemanly bearing which, in these
somewhat stormy times of controversy, are very de-
lightful to encounter. The present number, which
is the commencement of a new series, contains matter
of peculiar interest just now, embracing some sen-
sible articles on " Mr. Newman," " The Ronge
Movement," and especially one headed "The Church's
Course in her Present Trials." Besides this, a host or
searching and elaborate reviews altogether make up
a number that augurs well for the future prosrlerity
of the publication.

NEWTON'S REPERTORY OF PATENT 1N-

VEIVTIONS.
This monthly catalogue of improvements or in-
ventions in arts, sciences, and manufactures, conti-
nues to be conducted on the same plan as heretofore.
By this plan it combines clearness and neatness,
while it is, moreover, sufficiently copious in its details
to satisfy the curiosity of all those to whom it more
particularly addresses itself. On these accounts it is
vv( rthy of every support and encouragement.

INAUGURATION OF THE NEW
POSTMASTER-GENERAL,
On Saturday last the Earl of St. Germans, the newly-
appointed Postmaster-General, was inaugurated into
the office, and commenced his charge of the establishment
by visiting the several departments in the course of the
day. His Lordship was attended in his progress through
the office by the Secretary, Colonel Moberly, and received
by the gentlemen appointed to preside over the various
sections of the establishment, who minutely pointed out to
him the nature of the several duties performed in each of
the(, upper
roeffit chees In t
intricacies
he
o f t h e afternoonda
ih
lye
businessvisited the inland
office,
wernel
ex-
plained to his Lordship by W. Bokenham,Esq., the super-
intending president. To the several ramifications of the
duty, from the posting to the dispatch of the tatters, his
Lordship appeared to pay great attention, discoursing
freely with the executive officers with reference to the
nature of the duty in their charge. In the newspaper-
office the magnitude of the business appeared to surprise
the new Postmaster-General, who entered these offices
a short time before the great supply of newspapers
were posted. As the hour of six o'clock drew nigh
(the time when the window in the office in St.
Martin's-le-Grand is closed for the reception of news-
papers passing without charge), the sorting-tables in
the centre, and at the end of the office rapidly filling,
and upwards of 200 men being engaged in the several
duties of " facing," " assorting," " throwing-off," re-
sorting the papers a second time into the boxes repre-
senting the post towns—his Lordship paused to witness
the scene before him. He then closely watched the
window near the hall, where immense bags were being
put in by the vendors and others. Upwards of 30,000
newspapess being posted at this window in less than a
quarter of an hour, forming a pile as they were emptied
from the sacks several feet square, and some yards high,
his Lordship was quite surrounded with daily and weekly
journals; and as the hall clock tolled the hour for closing,
the papers fell thickly around him, as they were hurled
through the opening of the already descending sash
which closed the scene. At this moment one of the
rapers, flung by some boy out of breath, who had just
managed to " save post," struck his Lordship on the
breast, but he good-humouredly smiled at the incident
to his attendants. Having carefully examined the vari-
ous stages of the duty, from the commencement to the
close, his Lordship took his departure shortly after the
mails were dispatched to their several destinations.

DESTRUCTIVE FIRE, AND LOSS

OF TWO LIVES.

On Saturday morning a fire, which was attended with
disastrous consequences to both life and property, took
place upon the premises occupied by Mrs. Pryer, a
laundress, situated at 23, Cambridge-place, Junction-
road, near the Great Western Railway terminus at Pad-
dington. It appears that police-constable D 179, on
going his rounds early on Saturday morning, observed
an unusual light in the first floor of the building, which
induced him to raise the alarm of fire ; but unfortunately
it was some time before the inmates could be roused
from their slumbers, and not until the flames were burst-
ing through the front windows, as well as up the stair-
case, with the greatest impetuosity. Several of the
lodgers managed to escape from the blazing building, as
did Mrs. Pryer and another female, who was severely
burnt upon the body as she descended the stairs. The scene
shortly afterwards was of the most heartrending descrip-
tion, for not only the inhabitants of the burning house, but
also those adjoining, were seen either at the windows or
huddled together in the street in their night-dresses. Upon
the first alarm information was speedily conveyed to the
different stations, and the Baker-street engine was soon
upon the spot, as well as neighbouring engines. The
parish and West of England were also early in arriving,
and so was an escape belonging to the Royal Society for
the Protection of Life from Fire. Mr. Staples, the
superintendent of the fire brigade, soon set the men to
work, but, unfortunately, before the engines began to
play, the fire had reached the second floor, and after
piercing through the windows of that story, they made
their way through the roof, and burst out with redoubled
fury. The Grand Junction Works famished a suffi-
cient supply of water, which was speedily discharged
into the midst of the burning property, and by the most
praiseworthy exertions of the firemen, they were enabled
to cut off any further communication, but it was past five
o'clock before the fire was extinguished. For some time
afterwards it was imagined that all parties had made a
safe retreat from the premises, and when they were con-
gratulating each other that such was the case, a dis
covery of a most melancholy character was made upon the
ground of the back parlour. On further examination, it
was found that two human beings, man and wife, had
been sacrificed to the fury of the devastating element,
who had rented that room, and whose remains were so
mutilated that no likeness was discernible, although no
doubt remains that they are the unfortunate parties re-
fe;r, d to. Their name was Wane, or Ward, and their
remains were conveyed from the scene, in order that a
coroner's jury may arrive at a verdict. The origin of
the fire is not known, and wo regret to add that not one
of the inmates was insured to the amount of a single
farthing ; so that they have lost everything, and have
been kindly lodged since the occurrence by their neigh-
bours. From inquiries, made up to the latest period,
there is no doubt that the two unfortunate persons were
suffocated in their beds, as they were not seen nor heard
of by any of the other inmates, and if it had been known
that they were in the building they could have been
saved by the firemen, as well as with the assistance of
the fire-escape from the Royal Society.
(ADDITIONAL PARTICULARS.)
The following additional particulars were obtained
yesterday :—lt appears that shortly after the outbreak,
the Royal Society's escape for the protection of life from
fire, reached the spot. This was quickly raised in front
of the burning building, and the conductor ascending the
same, he called loudly to the parties within, and happily
succeeded in awaking the majority of them. Whilst,
however, he was on the machine the flames burst through
the windows with such violence as to cause him to leave
his pest. The persons who were thus aroused were
enabled, after some trouble, to rush through the flame
and smoke on the stairs, and thereby escape a horrible
death. Had it not been for the intrepid conduct of the
man in charge of the escape, the loss of life unquestion-
ably would have been far more extensive. Some time
after the firemen had succeeded in getting the games
subdued, and whilst they were exploring the ruins, intel-
ligence was received that a lodger in the house named
Wain, was, together with his wife, missing. This in-
duced the firemen to examine the place more minutely,
and in the course of a short period the remains of the two
parties were found in the midst of a heap of rubbish, most
frightfully burned. The two feet of the man, together
with one of his arms were completely burned away by the
action of the fire. The woman was also burned to such
an extent:that the head was laid open, and the brains
scattered about the ground.

GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA.
We have been favoured with the sight of a private
letter from Mr. Goodrich, an ex-senator of Massachu-
setts, and well known as a writer under the signature of
" Peter Parley," from which we extract the following:—
" Congress has assembled, and is now attracting at-
tention. The President's message will have been re-
ceived and discussed in England before this reaches you.
Our people have taken it quietly, and it has excited much
less sensation than I anticipated. The stock market
shows, however, that there is some uneasiness in rela
tion to the Oregon question. My own expectation is,
that John Bull will utter a tremendous growl when he
reads the President's manifesto, and I am not without
my fears that we shall at least have a year or two of very
awkward relations between your country and ours. Our
strong hope is, that Webster and Calhoun will act to-
gether in resisting all warlike measures, and that the
vexed question will be negotiated or arbitrated to a
happy result. It would be a blunder as well as a crime
to get the two countries at loggerheads upon such a
paltry bone of contention."

DRURY-LANE THEATRE.—It gives us great pleasure
to record the brilliant success which has attended the pre-
sent holiday performances at this. theatre. A t the same
time, we are free to confess that it would indeedt beta matter
of perfect surprise if such entertainments as M. arttana,
The Devil to Pay, and Harlequin Gulliver, with all the
eminent performers who support them, did not draw all
London. We hear that the last week's receipts are
without precedent.
THE SCOTCII LOBSTER FISHING.--We have fre-
quently alluded to the rise and progress of the lobster
fishing in and around the Western Highland Isles, and
noticed
with
pleasure the annual increase in this de-
partment our fisheries. As this species of shell fish
of
has been now well ascertained to be found in abundance
on the coast of the Hebrides, many of the Celtic fisher-
men have betaken themselves to this precarious branch
of industry ; and this year has added a vast number to
those who have been formerly engaged in the lobster
fishing. For some time past the produce exported to
Liverpool has been immense, frequ may from 40 to 50
boxes, of four dozen per box, weekly.
While a gentleman was looking at the salmon
essaying to pass Powick weir the other day, his dog (a bitch
of the Newfoundland breed) discovered a very curious
magazine. She began scratching violently at a rat-hole
situate under a beam at the extremity of the weir, and
some couple of yards from the water Guessing there
was something extraordinary there, it was examined,
when it was found to contain nineteen lampreys, all
alive and in good order, which some fishermen insisted
had been stored there by the rats. As the water had
not reached the spot for a long time previous, the lam-
preys clearly had been carried there by some means, and
the fishermen say that the rats are continually in the
habit of robbing their putcheons.—Hereford Journal.
The Earl of Lauderdale has quite recovered from
his :recent severe illness. The Noble Earl continues at
Thirlestaine Castle,

NAVIGATIC)"N COMMITTEE AND
THE \VATW:aIAN'S STEANI-PACKET COM-
PANY.

TO TEE EDITOR OF THE SUN,
SIR,—Ir. the police report of proceedings at the Man-
sion-110":se in your journal of this day appears a letter
from elessrs. Clarke and Cooper, the respectable solicitors
of 'the Watermen's and Lightermen's Company, stating
t'aat that Company was in no way connected with or
parties to the proceedings of the Waterman's Steam-
packet Company ; and my Lord Mayor is also reported
to have stated, with all the weight attached to his ma-
gisterial office—first, that he thought it right to let the
public know that the poor watermen, in whose behalf
numerous appeals had been made to their sympathies as
being connected with and deriving profit from the Wa-
terman's Steam-packet Company, had nothing to do
with that Company, and derived no advantage whatever
from it. Secondly, that nobody had any benefit from it
with the exception of the individuals who had been
able to purchase shares in the speculotion.
Without commenting on the serious charges involved
in these assertions, I beg to state, in answer to the last
statement of his Lordship, that the Waterman's Steam-
packet Company was established, in the first instance,
by free watermen at Woolwich, for the benefit of the
working watermen, assisted by the aid of philanthropic
parties, three of whom are still the trustees of, and
shat eholders in, the Company, and members of the Court
of the Watermen's and Lightermen's Company, and that
one-half the present shareholders in the Waterman's
Steam•packet Company are members of the Watermen's
and Lightermen's Company.
That the public may judge of the justice of his Lord-
ship's first assertion, and form its own opinion how far
his Lordship has been misled by information given to
him, I further beg to state that the Waterman's Steam-
packet Company has contributed towards the Water-
men'a and Lightermen's Almshouses for decayed mem-
bers, of which Messrs. Clark and Cooper are secretaries,
the sum of 1571 ios., by votes at annual meetings.
That since the recent period of the formation of the
Company it has paid to the free working watermen at
the several public stairs undermentioned, for the accom-
modation of landing and embarking at floating piers
belonging to these poor men, the following sums :
To the free watermen at Garden-stairs, Greenwich, in
five years, 4,7001.
At Bellwater-gate-stairs, Woolwich, in five year:,
4,6001
At Blackwall-stairs, in three years, 4501.
At Limehouse-hole-stairs, in two years, 5002
At Execution Dock-stairs, Wapping, in one year, 4301
At the stairs, Blackfriars.bridge, in two years, 8001.
At the Adelphi-stairs, in five years, 1,8001.; and
At the stairs, Westminster-bridge, in two years,
5001., making together a total of 13,7891.
The Directors of the Waterman's Steam-packet Com-
pany are as anxious as any one that the Company should
not be identified with any Company under the authority
of the Corporation of London or the Navigation Com-
mittee. The title of the two Companies is entirely dis-
tinct, and the letter Messrs. Clarke and Cooper have
been instructed to write is uncalled for and ungenerous.
A crusade against the poor watermen at the various
public stairs for erecting floating piers has long existed,
and had these poor men been assisted by the aid of the
Watermen's and Lightermen's Company in maintaining
their birthright of landing and embarking the public at
the ancient stairs, from the present improved mode of
conveyance on the river, it is apparent from the fore-
going facts that a revenue sufficient to maintain these
poor men would have been derived which would have
enabled them to live without resort to the workhouse or
appeals to the sympathy of the public, or at least would
materially have mitigated their present distress.
The erection of the Corporation Pier at Blackfriars-
bridge deprives the watermen at the public stairs of an
income of at least 400.: per annum from this Company
alone, and I trust the rights of these poor men will be
considered by her Majesty's Government in the next
session of Parliament.
Jan. 2, 1846.

J. S. NEWBON, Secretary.

THE LATE ANTI-CORN-LAW
MEETING AT HEREFORD.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
SlR,—Having read in your paper of the 2d inst. your
comments on the anti-corn-law meeting which took
place at Hereford, on Wednesday last, I observe it stated
that in my allusion to the wages of the agricultural la-
bourers in this vicinity, I was met by " indignant cries
of six shillings a week, and that I did not venture to as-.
sert that the average rate of wages was more than six
shillings a week." During the time I was speaking the
noise was so great that although the remark may have
been made I did not notice it ; but when at the close of
the proceedings Mr. Nash, in his speech, made allusion
to it, I immediately stated that he was in error ; that
we pay Bs. a week and drink, and charge them 6s. per
bushel for their wheat. You will find that lam borne
out in this statement, by referring to the report of the
proceedings which appeared in the Hereford Times of
Saturday last. I therefore trust you will allow this ex-
planation to appear in your next number, as I feel satis-
fied that upon your part the misrepresentation was un-
intentional, and I remain, Sir, your obedient humble
servant, JOHN TOMKINS.
Weir, near Hereford, Jan. 4, 1846.

SUPPOSED INFANTICIDE.—On Saturday Mr. Bing-
ham, the sitting magistrate at Worship-street, was informed
by Inspector Pascoe, of the N division, that the body of an
infant had been found, under suspicious circumstances, at the
house of Mr. Carter, a linendraper, in the New North-road,
lloxton, and that Harriet Gibbs, the servant, was in custody
as the mother, but was in such a state as precluded the pos-
sibility of her being at present brought forward for examina-
tion, although the charge was entered against her on the
police-sheet. On inquiry it appeared that she had for some
time been suspected of being enciente, but she strongly and
to the last denied it. On Friday night, however, she was
missed for upwards of an hour from the house, and it was
discovered that she had fastened herself into a privy. She
refused to open the door when required, and it was at length
forced open, when it became apparent that parturition had
recently taken place. No child was visible, however, but the
police being sent for, a search was made, and the body of a
fine male infant, dead, was found in the soil. The wretched
young woman, the mother, immediately received the profes-
sional aid requisite in her condition, but remains at her
master's house, under the surveillance of the police.
FAILURE OF YAAMS.—In consequence of the failure
of the Yaam crop, several large orders have arrived in Lon-
don from the West Indies for supplies of potatoes, which it is
almost needless to say have been necessarily rejected.
" DEAD DRUNK."—Mr. Wakley, M.P., held an
inquest on Friday in the Marylebone workhouse, on the body
of Anne Pettyfor, aged forty-four, the wife of a sweep. Mr.
Boyd, house surgeon to the infirmary, stated, that last Mon-
day she was brought in " dead drunk" from the stables of
the Green Man, Edgware-road, where she had been, from the
preceding evening, in a state of drunkenness. She was cold,
insensible, and very rapidly sinking. Everything was done
to restore her, but in vain, as she expired next day. He ex-
amined the body after death. The brain and lungs were
congested, and the stomach was spotted like a leopard's skin.
Death ensued from excessive drinking. Deceased's husband
said that his wife had been an inveteratt gin-drinker, and
that she was drunk for two successive days before her death.
Verdict—" Death from drunkenness."

ESCAPE AND CAPTURE OF A TIGER.—On Mon-
day, the 22d ult., as a caravan, belonging to the proprietor
of a small collection of wild beasts, was passing through
Potter Heigham, on its way to Yarmouth, the driver, in
making room for a passing vehicle, incautiously Overturned
the caravan. The bars of the tiger's den not being suffi-
ciently strong to support the weight suddenly thrown upon
them gave way, and the ferocious animal being thus unex-
pectedly liberated, after taking off an eagle's head as his first
exploit, betook himself to the neighbouring fields. Alarmed
at the probable consequences of the intrusion of so bold an
innovator upon the peace and safety of their flocks and herds,
Messrs. Rudd and T. R. Murrell, two resident farmers, held
a consultation with the proprietor of the menagerie, as to
the best means of capturing the formidable object of their
pursuit; and armed with guns, and attended by the keeper,
as well as a large muster of labourers provided with pitch-
forks, they determined upon endeavouring to entangle him
in a sheep net. This, however, having failed, a large ham-
per, containing a piece of flesh, was placed in his way, and
upon his jumping in to seize the food the lid was drawn
down and soon secured, the animal uttering a hideous yell,
which the stoutest of his captors could not hear unmoved-
Fortunately none of the party sustained any injury,,
ande the
coldness of the weather, no doubt, greatly contn u
facilitate the capture, by inducing the animal to takeshelter
under a fence.— Norfolk News.
Thirteen persons have
CAPTURE OF GAMBLERS.—
been taken into custody, charged with having been found in
a common gambling-house, known amongst " play-men" as
the "Little Nick," No. 17, Castle-street, Leicester-square.
Between eleven and twelve o'olock vu Saturday nighty
super-
intendent Beresford, of the C division, with a strong party of
constables, proceeded to the house in question, and obtained
admission by stratagem. The defendants were found in dif-
f
anderent roomims,
plements of gaming.
and about the house were found dice, dice-boxes,
BotherIDFORDSHIRE. AX.T
Ileosrd at
be y,
was appointed for hearing appeals f
G rtehae
30th ult., t
Bardford division of Bedfordshire, at Bletsoe. A very great
number of persons were at the Falcon Inn,
all day ; very
many could not obtain a hearing,
and were iold they might
attend again that day fortnight. This was very consoling to
some comparatively poor men, who had walked ten to fifteen
miles, and loud were their complaints. Surely some better
arrangement might be made for this division of the county.—
Canibridge Chronicle.
The Duke of Northumberland has distributed
coals and. clothing to 800 poor families in the parish of
St. Martin's, an act of charity and munificence rarely
equalled ; but what is the miserable drawback attached?
—the recipients of his bounty must be members of the Church
of England—so the poor Roman Catholic and Dissenter may
starve if they do not conform to the creed of the Noble
Duke. The good Samaritan did not ask the faith of the
wounded Israelite, when he poured oil and wine upon his
bruises.

SURPLUS REVSxuE.-Th• forthcoming financial
statement of her Majesty's revenue will, as regards the sur-
plus in the Treasury, show a balance over the expenditure, it
is stated, of about three millions.

MINISTERIAL SCREMES.—Amongst other official
projects for the ensuing session, we are told that a rumour
prevails in some of the Ciovernment departments to the effect
that in connexion with Sir R. Peel's talked-of scheme for
total repeal of the corn-laws, a proposal will be made for an
increase of the income tax to 71,i per cent. ; and that a part
of the repeal plan will be to exempt the agriculturists from
the payment of all poor-rates.—Post.
THE RATING or THE CITY OF LONDON LITERARY
INSTITUTION.—This case, which was adjourned from Satur-
day last, came on for hearing before Sir C. Marshall and Mr.
Alderman Challis, at Guildhall ; Mr. Clarkson appearing for
the parish, and AL. Paucy fur the Institution. The proceed-
ings lasted nearly two hours; the argument being the same
as advanced the previous hearing. Ultimately, it was again
postponed for a fortnight, to enable the parish officers to in-
spect the books and accounts of the institution.

-- -
CROMEE, JAN. I.—On the 25th ult., part of a
vessel's side (apparently a schooner's) came on shore at Sher-
ringham, and part of the deck at Overstrand, with two empty
port barrels, marked "Donaldson and Truman." A hands-
pike, marked " N. Pinder," has been picked up, supposed to
be from the same wreck, which also appears to be wheat
laden. On the 27th, a medicine chest was washed up at
Bacton. The labels are from Liverpool and Elsineur, and a
prescription, written at Elsineur, by .. 0. Mullen, for Captain
Meal= in 1843.—Norfolk airoriscle.

THE RUGBY, DERBY, AND MAN-
CHESTER RAILWAY.
Some curious disclosures on the subject cf railway
management have been made in the report of a meeting
of the shareholders in the Rugby, Derby, and Manches-
ter Railway, which took place on the 17th ult., and of
which copies in print have since been pretty extensively
distributed. From this report it appears that the pro-
, ject was concocted by Mr. T. G. Smith, of the Stock-
Exchange, and Mr. Brewer, solicitor of Gray's Inn, who
became the registered promoters of the undertaking,
and in connexion with some other parties who are not
named, the prospectus was issued, an engineer and
• secretaries engaged, surveys entered upon, and the
support of parties locally interested obtained before the
Company as constituted at this meeting was formed.
On the 22d of September a meeting took place be-
tween the promoters and a number of gentlemen, who
were so satisfied with the representations made to
them, that they proceeded to establish the Company,
to settle the amount of capital, the apportionment
of shares, and other routine matters of the same
kind. Assurances were given on this occasion that the
surveys were in such a state of forwardness as to allow
the deposit of the plans as early as the 10th of Novem-
ber. A committee of management was appointed to
work the details of the undertaking, to whcm a report
of progress was made by Mr. Blunt, in which it was
affirmed that " between Ashbourne and Leek (where it
was said that engineering difficulties existed) the tun-
nelling would be only one mile, the earthwork would
cost 3s. a yard, and the material procured in cutting
could be sold for Is. 2d. a yard, reducing the cost to
Is. 10d. a yard. There would be no curve with a radius
less than 14 mib s, which could be increased to two
miles. The steepest gradient would be 1 in 240 ;
and therefore, so far from that part of the line
being difficult, it was remarkable for engineering faci-
lities. These and similar statements creating per-
fect confidence, the distribution of shares took place.
As time advanced, the committee, in order to
insure the material points of the timely deposit
of the plans and compliance with the standing
orders of Parliament, appointed Messrs. Humphrys,
Keightley, and Parkin, solicitors to the company, giving
them the sole direction and control of their Parliamen-
tary business. The plans were ultimately obtained, but
in P defective state, and they failed therefore in their
first stage. On the 2d of December, the new solicitors,
having had time to investigate the company's affairs,
sent a report to the committee that matters were alto-
gether different from what they had been led to expect,
that the engineering difficulties were very great, and
that another survey must be made before the policy of
going on with the projected line could be determined.
This led the committee to appoint another surveyor
(Mr. Hawkshaw), and to- call the present meeting, to
whom his report, dated on the 15th of December, was
presented. It proved the reverse in nearly all respects
of that made in the first instance, stating the
engineering difficulties to be of the most formidable
kind, that the probable cost of the line between
Derby and Macclesfield would be 50,0004 a
mile, and that the tunnels and viaducts alone could not
be executed in all probability for less than 1,000,000/.
The plans and sections were full of blunders, assigning,
for example, a height to bridges under which the trains
could not pass, and in fine, Mr. Hawkshaw declared
that he could not undertake to support the line as at
present laid out. The committee could, therefore, only
recommend that the company should be dissolved, its
affairs wound up, and the assets divided among the
shareholders. They had received the deposit of
24 12s. 6d. on 30,600 shares, producing 80,325!., out of
which they had paid about 20,0001., in which were in-
cluded 7,0004 to Mr. Blunt and near 6,0001. to Mr.
Brewer, who claimed further large sums for their
services. With regard to these claims, however, and
also " with regard to the power or right of the com-
mittee to require from the promoters a proportionate
part of the expenses incurred in respect of the shares
reserved for them, the committee will be guided by
professional advice." This report was received and
adopted by the meeting, the immediate payment of
11. las. a share was ordered, and the balance, when the
accounts are wound up, is to be distributed rateably
among the shareholders. Thus a highly respectable
body of men, as the greater part of those who have ad-
vanced their money appear to be, through their credulity
in listening to parties who ought not to have been trusted
in so important a matter without more inquiry, have to
apportion this heavy loss among them. Of 87 gentle-
men on the provisional committee, to each of whom 100
shares were allotted, the whole, but with five exceptions,
are stated to have taken up their shares and paid the
deposits upon them. The "compensation " assigned to
the promoters was " the patronage of 15,000 shares " for
the time and attention given to the scheme. and pecu-
niary risk incurred in its concoction. These fine pros-
pects were spoiled by the interference of the Times,
and the "panic," which stopped the issue of shares, pre-
vent ,d without doubt the greater part of this, now de-
clared worthless, scrip from being saddled on the public.
—Times.

WINDSOR, SUNDAY EVENING.—Her Majesty and
his Royal Highness Prince Albert, accompanied by their
Royal highnesses the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal,
and the Princess Alice, will leave the Castle for Claremont
on Tuesday next, taking their departure from Windsor imme-
diately after an early luncheon. It is expected that the infant
Prince Alfred will also accompany his illustrious parents.
The Court, according to present arrangements, will remain
,at Claremont until Friday week, the 16th instant, on which
day it will return to the Castle. Her Majesty, accompanied
by the Prince Consort, will take her departure from Windsor
for Buckingham Palace on the following Tuesday, the 20th,
two days before the opening of the session of Parliament.
The Court is shortly afterwards expected to return to the
Castle for about a month or six weeks.

The Duke of Wellington has had invitations issued
for his customary Parliamentary banquet on the 21st instant,
the eve preceding the assembling of both Houses of Parlia-
ment. Above sixty Conservative Peers are invited.
FUNERAL OF THE LATE COLONEL GURWOOD, DE-
PUTY-LIEUTENANT OF THE TOWER.—The remains of this
lamented officer were brought into the Tower in a hearse on
Wednesday night; at half-past nine o'clock, and deposited in
the vault behind the church. The funeral, which was strictly
private, took place on Saturday, at half-past eleven o'clock.
The body, enclosed in a coffin covered with black cloth, was
brought into the church, when the burial service was per-
formed by the Rev. H. Dunnage, curate. A few of the de-
ceased's private friends attended, amongst whom were :
the Spanish Ambassador, Major-General Brown, Colonel
Grant, Colonel Home, Colonel Rowan, Major Shadwell
Clark, Sir Henry Webster, and Captain Lord Frederick
Paulet. The body was then carried back to the vault, where
it was finally deposited.
COLONEL GURWOOD.—We have received the follow-
ing communication:—" On the point of quitting Paris
to pay the last sad duties to my lamented half-brother,
Colonel Gurwood, I read in the Messenger the re-
port of the Coroner's inquest, in which no notice
is taken of a serious wound he received in the head
in the storming of Ciudad Rodrigo, in which he led the
forlorn hope. How much this has from time to time affected
him is known to some of his friends, and particularly to Sir
Robert Chermside, late surgeon of the 10th Hussars, in
which my brother served for many years. On account of his
wound, he was obliged to abstain from wine for many years,
and to the last he had a habit of throwing back his head,
and the expression of his features showed that he was some-
times in great pain.—l remain, &c., C. OKEY.— Galignani.
Mr. O'Connell has addressed a letter to the Mayor
of Limerick, in which he states that he declines to attend the
repeal dinner in that city, fixed for the 21st instant, in con-
sequence of his determination to attend in his place in the
House of Commons on the opening of the session, in order to
give his support to a repeal of the corn-law.
The members of the Princess's orchestra have pre-
sented to Mr. F. Eames, the leader, a valuable snuff-box,
whereon the following testimonial is inscribed :—" Presented
to Frank Eames, Esq., by the gentlemen of the orchestra of
the Princess's Theatre, as a mark of their esteem. January 1,
1846."—Dramatic and Musical Review.
AN ARTFUL ROBBERY.-011 Saturday information
evenqutanhattitoyn
0f Fridayhosiery, evening, nainngu,
mb ettewre cot.!
belongingse N,en
merinoandto
dresses,ieeigs
sl
canvasws stolen.bag when Theira
awaslarg
shirts, ribands, and other property,.
inGgthre:e :got toumonci
stsrtyir en-
leaot
0,
largekuilntyg ,
rs.
cart offered to give
porterNe v i Neville ewaiondearryCo.
ffeder,topblaeceadraitihiserbhaeavy
him a lilt with his load, which
one,ma2 andwh who
we
, "
availingdrin: gf.
himself ofaptlpieeaor
the cart. In the Strand, however, when near Wellington-
street, he he went into a public-house to procure socraaretedrriTiks.,
and while he was so occupied the accommod
appeared with the horse and cart, and with them Messrs.
Neville and Co.'s bag of goods. The carter is described as
about forty years of age, rather stout, and of middling height,
with sandy hair and whiskers, and wearing a velveteen
jacket.

An incendiary fire broke out at Needingworth,
Hunts, on Wednesday evening last, about five o'clock, ou the
premises of a person named Cave, jun. The destructive
element raged with considerable fury, and destroyed two
barns, &c., the property of ➢ir. Frank, postmaster, St. Ives.
Strong suspicion rests upon the tenant Cave, and we under-
stand he has been apprehended, and committed to take his
trial.—Cambridge Chronicle.

ELECTIONEERING ON DIT.—We are assured
that our county will be contested, on the first vacancy, by
either the Hon. 11. A. Cole or Lord Henry Loftus.—Ennis-
killen Reporter.
The Church of Dei-Girolamini, at Naples, was last
month the theatre of a dreadful crime. One ecclesiastic
murdered another by cutting his throat with a razor. The
murderer was surprised in the fact, and arrested immediately.
The motive of this crime is not.known.

A letter from Venice of the 26th ult. states that
the Emperor of Russia arrived thither on the 24th., and im-
mediately paid a visit to the Duchess de Berry, at the Van-
dramini Palace.

HARWICH.—The Liberal electors of this borough
aroused by the late events, appear to be casting their eyes
about them, and preparing for another election. A meeting
of electors was held at the Three Cups Tavern, on the 22d
ult., for the purpose of considering a requisition to John
Bagshaw, Esq., the High Steward of the borough, to offer
himself as a candidate, in the event of a vacancy in the re-
presentation. Mr. L. Cottingham took the chair, and urged.
that it was a matter of paramount importance with th_oboenietea-
tors to use their most strenuous exertions to bring
_ A
more healthy state of things, and not to miss
d honesty and
an opportunity of showing that they h
of the borough by
patriotism sufficient to redeem the credit
Egg.' took part
to Mr.
so favourable
sretatukreniinngthtoe
tPeawrnli,amanedntitas
in gentleman
temsts at
Mr. Alderman
part in the proceed-
leheahorthad an important
a committee was ap-
pointed and W. C. Randfield,
Bagshaw
should be signed by those p
ings, and it was resolved thartestbenet
with •t Ch /
i.— e msford
pointed to wait upon the requisition'
electorsand
Chronicle.
DARING RonnEtt-r.—ln the night of Tuesday, the
23d ult.,' a most daring robbery was committed on the pre-
mises of Mr. Samuel Hardy, farmer and maltster, Eckington.
Admittance was gained to the nialthouse by picking the lock;
and about three cwt. of hops, which had been put up in sacks
ready to be sent off the next day, were abstracted therefrom.
It is supposed that the hops must be concealed somewhere in
the vicinity, as, from their great bulk, they could not be
carried far. We understand that Mr. Hardy has offered a
handsome reward for the apprehension and conviction of the
guilty parties.—Derby Repo; ter.
ALARMING DISAPPEARANCE.—We perceive that
Mr. T. D. Townsend, of Pond Hall, Foisted, whose alarming,-
disappearance from home was noticed in our paper of the
19th ult., has not yet been heard of by his friends, who have
offered a reward of 501. for information respecting hiele,, --
Ease.): Standard.