The Sun.
London, England, 1848-01-11 00:00:00

FLANDERS MAIL.

BRUSSELS, JAN. 9.—COMMURCIAL INTELLIGENCE.
—From Jan. 1 to 5 there entered into the port of
Antwerp eight vessels laden wholly or in part with
alimentary provisions. The importations were as
follow :

Wheat
Rye

Barley
88,200
Beans . 36,000
Rice

1,103,370 kid.
HEssE CessEL.—The Cologne Gazette speaks of
various changer which the Elector is about to make
in the constitution of the States. There is at present
only one Chamber, and it is proposed to form two.
For the future the States will only have the right of
voting or refusing the imports in a round manner
only ; they will no longer have the right of discussing
how revenues of the States are to be appropriated.
The term of military service, which is at present
only five years, is so be extended to ten years. The
responsibility of the Minister is to be absolute.
The States shall not be _permitted henceforth to
take any part of the treasury of the States, nor of
that of the possession of the Electoral House.
THE CONDEMNED POLES.—BERLIN.—Madame Von
Mazurkiewiez, the sister of Mieroslawski, has not yet
obtained the object of her stay here, namely to visit her
brother in prison ; and, in pursuance of the police
orders for her removal, she would long since have
been sent away, if the state of her health had not
hitherto prevented the adoption of this course, and the
unquestionable respect due to a woman had not com-
pelled the adoption of milder measures. Frau Bet-
tina V. Arnim bas employed her literary talents
drawing up a very eloquent petition to the King.
The sister of Mieroslawski fully admits that her
brother urges the execution of death which was
fpoarssepdarudpoonn. hlitnh,isinisateafodnonfdeadverotpoiegn it by a
e petition
uan ty
expressed view of the Poles, that vict'tinhsetforthe cause
is essential to Polish nationality, Whereby the old
wounds which are about to be healed are again rent
whichma o
la rn it is, a
a a whether
a i s started
Oapmena.n
condemnedAwnhoothiesresio n
yright
that the sentence of execution shauld be carried out,
which has been judicially pronouuced against him.
The question is now agitated here very warmly by
lawyers and others, in reference to the three Poles
who have been condemned to death, and who refuse
either to make an appeal or to ask for pardon. s„
much seems to be certain, that in a legal case, where
mercy still predominates over pardon as an, inde-
pendent principle, the person who pardons cannot be
pledged by the appeal of the condemned, and as it is
in his power to ratify any such sentence of death, it is
equally in his power to alter or commute the sen-
tence.
ST. PETERSDURGIL—The Academy of St. Peters•
burgh has issued an almanack for 1848, in which it is
stated that European Russia comprehends a superficies
of 90,117 square miles, with a population of
54,092,000 persons. The kingdom of Poland com-
prises a superficies of 2,320 square miles, with a
population of 4,850,000 inhabitants; and the Grand

Duchy of Finland 6,844 square miles, with 1,547,702
inhabitants. According to the latest census, St.
Petersburgh contained 443,000 inhabitants. In
1846, there had been taken from the mines of the
empire 1,677 puds of gold, 1 pud of platina, and
1,190 puds of silver. The public debt is stated as
follows :-315,084,200 silver roubles, divided in the
following manner :—Foreign debt determined at
66,836,000 Dutch florins; ditto indeterminate,
224,489,900 Dutch florins; debt of the interior,
52,497,760 silver roubles ; bills of credit are in circu-
lation to the amount of 226,167,389 silver roubles, and
assignats of the empire, to the amount of 117,121,220
silver roubles.

- - - -
BREMEN.—The number of emigrants 'who have left
Bremen during the year 1847 amount to 33,682.
LlEGE.—Official reports from Liege, of 1847, state
births, 2,403 ; deaths, 2,227, being an increase of 176.
GRAMMONT.—The births were 182; deaths, 232.
HAMBURGH.—In 1847, 4,176 vessels entered the
port of Hamburgh, consequently they exceeded those
of the former four years by 399. They were as fol-
lows :—North American, 46; East Indian, 114 ;
South American, 154 ; African, 19; East Indies and
China, 24 ; ports of Europe, 3,821 ; of which 287
were Dutch.

THE HAGIII3, JAN-. 6.—The Court is to go into
mourning for three weeks on occasion of the death
of her Royal Highness the Princess Caroline Char-
lotte of Wurtemburg, Duchess of Saxe-Altonburg,
consort of his Royal Highness Prince Paul of
Wurtemburg. Mourning is also ordered for one
week for his Royal Highness Duke Henry d'An-
halteocthen.

BRUSSELS, JAN. B.—The Minister of the Interior
has received a very favourable report from competent
authorities of the School of Industry at Ghent, for
the year 1647. The names registered for the diffe-
rent courses amount to 400, the majority of which are
for the classes of engineering and mechanics.
The Brussels markets have, upon the whole, been well
supplied this morning; more than 1,000 sacks of wheat,
of a hectilore and a half each, were sold. The prices
were rather lower than on the preceding week. Above
500 sacks were sold at 7f! to 7f. 50c. for 100
kilogrammes.
At the commencement of the following week the
affair of Rosseel-Vandenplas will be brought before
the Court of Appeal at Brussels. It is expected that
more than 200 witnesses will be examined in this case.
—Flanders Papers, Jan. 9.

BELGIAN FlTlSDS.—Bsuasne, JAN. 7.
♦ctual Debt, 2% percent .. ••• • .. —
Rothschild's Loan, Five per Cent .• • • • . • •
Loan of Thirty Millions, Four per Cent
Ditto Three per Cent • • • • • • • • • • —
Ditto Thirty-seven Millions, ditto ..
Ditt0,ditt0,1848.......... .....
Ditto,ditto,lB42 .... •
Ditto, 1844... • • • . • ............
Ditto, 1836.. ..
Ditto, 1838 ..................... 67%
Ditto of the City, 1832 ............
Ditto, 1843 . • • • • • ........ 94%
Bank of Belgium•...
.Brussels Papers, Jan. S.

FORTUNE-TELLING.

As the ghosts of former ages, that only appeared at
midnight to haunt the guilty or proclaim impending
evil, have now given place to.flesh and blood spectres,
that in Ireland mistake landlords for woodcocks, or
in England and Scotland steal one's trash by Joseph
Ady contrivances, so we have fancied that the spae.
wives of old bad, with the exception of the renowned
Jenny looks, of Irvine Water, burned their broom-
sticks in despair at the incredulity of these latter
days. Not so fast, however. We have still a few
innocent originals amongst us, who, by a little
management, can be taught to pay for a peep into
futurity. And the victim is not an impatiently curi-
ous specimen of the unpledged fair sex, who might
almost be excused for wishing, by hook or crook, to
discover whether John the journeyman was really
serious when he talked of buying an eight-day clock,
four pairs of blankets, a cheese like a millstone, and a
dresser. Our heroine, who wons in Newton, has no
such apology, as fate and the clergyman bad given
her both a husband and a domestic responsibility. In
the absence of her lord and master, however, who wan-
ders far and wide with the odoriferous Bohea, the
weaker vessel listened to the voice of the tempter, who
came not in the shape of " Clootie " with a Ribston
pippin in his hand, but in that of an uncertain
looking randy of a spaewife, who told the honest
woman that, by certain supernatural gifts, she could,
for a mere trifle, give her a look into the dark future.
Artfully whetting the poor woman's curiosity by
sundry mystic nods and winks, and indicating her
power by revealing her intimacy with the past his-
tory of her new acquaintance, she at once got a con-
fidential footing. Of course it was quite necessary
for the spaewife to be clothed in the gown of her vic-
tim while reading her fate from certain greasy cards ;
and some shillings had also to be forthcoming to de-
note the future years of her life; when lo 1 there
came so dismal a picture of coffins, widows' caps, new
marriages and christenings, that the poor woman was
glad when the spaewife took her leave, promising to
call next morning with the gown, for the purpose of
confirming or rather completing the predictions ac-
cording to the dreams overnight. The spaeing was
bad enough, but the dreams were a thousand times
worse ; and no sooner was daylight come than out
sallied the affrighted matron, across the water to some
acquaintance of firmer serve, who accompanied her
home to face the spaewife. But her Ladyship, it
seems, had nothing further to communicate, for she
has not been heard of since, and has, very probably,
while engaged with her mysterious calculations, corn
pletely forgot all about the return of the new gown
and the coins.—Ayr Advertiser.

ACCIDENT TO THE EARL OF POWIS.—We regret
having to announce that as accident (which happily
proves not to be so dangerous as was at first anticipated)
befel this esteemed nobleman on Friday. It appears that
his Lordship, accompanied by Lord Clive, the Hon. R.
H. Clive, and the Hon. Robert Herbert, were shooting in
the preserves adjacent to Powis Castle ; a pheasant sud-
denly arose, at which the latter gentleman fired; the con-
tents of the gun unfortunately struck the Earl, who was
standing on an eminence a short distance off, and lodged
themselves in his thigh. His Lordship reeled rnd fell.
Assistance being close at hand, the noble sufferer was
immediately conveyed to the castle, where medical gen-
tlemen were promptly in attendance. Several of the
shots have been extracted, and up to the present time his
Lordship continues to progress favourably.
AMERNAN Hors.—The arrivals from the United
States of America, at the present time, include some
hops, the production of that part of the world. The line
of packet-ship Prince Albert, arrived in the docks from
New York, has brought 20 bales of the article, and other
arrivals of a similar nature have taken place.
The Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce has agreed
to petition for road reform. It was stated in the course
of the discussion that one miller in the immediate vici-
nity of Edinburgh paid 1501. a year for tolls on corn
sent for grinding. 800,000/. per annum was also stated
as the expenses of toll collection in England and Wales.
The chamber further resolved to take vigorous steps for
equal privileges with Glasgow in regard to the post
transmission from the west of England, Glasgow being
twenty four hours earlier than Edinburgh. The lesser
postal exigencies of the capital is the reason assigned for
this differential accommodation, but from returns ob-
tained it has been ascertained that about 12,000 more
letters per month are delivered in Edinburgh than
Glasgow—but how the two places stand in regard to
intercourse with the west of England has not been
stated.

CHARGE or ATTEMPTED MURDER.—On Wednes-
day, at the Old Town Hall, Ashton-under-Lyne, William
Ratcliffe, glad Mary, the wife of Thomas Duckworth,
who have been twice remanded on the charge of at-
tempting to drown a female in the canal at Woodend,
Dukinfield, were again brought before the magistrates.
From the evidence adduced and the statement of Ann
Scrimmager, who swore to the identity of the prisoner
Ratcliffe, and to his having struck her on the head, and
then thrown her into the canal, and it having been
proved that he had at various times threatened to take
her life, the bench, after a short consultation, discharged
the female prisoner. The male prisoner was fully com-
mitted. •

MORTALITY IN THE MUSICAL AND DRAMATIS
PROFESSIONSL—During the past year " Time has thin-
ned" the musical and dramatic professions of many of
those whose talents had contributed to the public grati-
fication. The sweet singer, of English birth and Euro-
pean reputation, Madame .Al'oertazzi, no longer graces
our concert-rooms and theatres ; Mrs. Martyn, better
known as Miss InvPrarity, who was cotemporaneous
with Miss Shirreff, at Covent-garden, many years ago;
Madlle. Mare, the great French actress ; Mrs. Egerton ;
Mr. Charles Taylor, who is associated with the play-
going said dinner-frequenting reminiscences of our
predecessors; Rooke, who, at a late period of his life,
exhibited such rare abilities as an English operatic
composer; Whittaker, equally eminent at the beginning
of the present century, and whose popularity may be
called to mind by the association of his name with his
compositions of " Paddy Carey," and " 0 rest thee,
babe ;" Sir John Rogers, a well known amateur and
composer; Dr. Essex, Messrs. Parke, Powell, H. J. Ba-
nister, Ireland, Hawkins (the well known glee singe*,
Moralt, C. Keating, Betts, Yarnold, and M'Calla ;
Messrs. Wieland, W. L. Rede, Buckingham, Hollings-
worth, W. Smith, and other members of both the
dramatic and musical professions, will no longer con-
tribute to lighten the cares of the public, by whom the
arduous nature of their avocations is little understood
or appreciated. And lastly, the great German composer,
whose rich exuberance of melody was heightened by
the purest science ever wedded to exquisite fancy; who,
not disdaining to please the ear, scorned to make his art
subservient to the exhibition of his wonderful and varied
musical erudition,—Mendelssohn, the greatest composer
of the day, is no more! Living little more than half the
time allotted to man, he has bequeathed a name of
enduring reputation, and left behind him compositions,
which, had his life been spared, give evidence of his
ability to achieve works which would have deserved to
rank with those of Mozart and Beethoven.—Dramatic
and Musical Review,
Letters from Marseilles received yesterday men-
tion the stoppage of Messrs. Crozet, Nephew, and Co.,
a firm chiefly in the Swedish trade, with liabilities for
40,0001. From Amsterdam, also, we have an announce-
ment of a failure, the parties being Messrs. Kramer
and Son, general merchants, with liabilities for 20,0001.
Iu neither case is any account given of the prospects of