The Sun.
London, England, 1846-12-24 00:00:00

STATE OF TRADE.

MANCHESTER, DEC. 22.—The recent decline in the
cotton market, and the close approach of the Christmas
holidays, have combined to limit the demand for goods
and yarn, and to depress prices. Many spinners and
manufacturers, indeed, still refuse to name prices ; but,
in the few instances in which business has been done,
slight concessions have been made from the rates.of last
Tuesday, both in goods and yarn. We understand that
most of the mills in this district will stop for about ten
days at the close of the current week.
ROCHDALE, DEC 21.—There has been another dull
market to-day, and the demand for prices has been very
limited. In the wool market there has been very little
doing ; the dealers are asking higher prices, and, in
some instances, have obtained a small advance.

HALIFAX, DEC. 19.—We cannot report more favour-
ably of the business done in the hall. The advance in
long wools, not being followed by any advance in the
price of goods, has tended to check even the limited de •
wand that there was, and everything is exceedingly dull.
The early and severe frost has put a stop to the demand
for yarns for the continent, and scarcely any orders are
being given out. The spinners having liberally supplied
themselves with wool, little is now changing hands; and
there is no disposition to advance upon the old rates.
Short wools are rather harder to buy, but the quant,ty
sold is not large.
HUDDERSFIELD, DEC. 22.—A few sales have taken
Place to buyers who have visited us to-day to purchase
job-lots ; and the manufacturers of cashmerets and cas-
sinets, during the last two or three weeks, have been
fully employed. German wools have met with ready
sale, but there is little doing in colonial.
LExus, DEC. 22.—There was little doing in our cloth-
halls to-day. The last few markets of the year usually
arc dull and neglected, the merchants being unwilling to
increase their stocks when the period for balancing their
books is so near.—Manchester Guardian.

SMITHFIELD CATTLE MARKET.—The next cattle
market (Friday) at Smithfield, falling on Christmas-
day, business will be held as usual, but limited to the
early part of the day. The sale of beasts and sheep,
so., will be permitted till eleven o'clock, and the market
police have orders from the City authorities to clear the
market of cattle by twelve o'clock. The horse market
in the afternoon will not be held, and cattle will not be
allowed to be driven through the metropolis after one

o'cicck.
Lord John Russell arrived in town yesterday
morning from a visit to her Majesty at Windsor Castle.
The Gazette of Tuesday night contains an Order in
Council directing that the county of Cumberland shall
be divided into two districts for the purposes of the
" Act to amend the law respecting the office of County
Croner," and that the said districts shall be similar to-
and co-extensive with the present Parliamentary divi-
sions of East and West Cumberland.
I WESTMINSTEa-BRIDGE.—On TueFday the entire
bridge was thrown open to the public: the carriage-way
is being macadamized, and will be re-opened for the pas-
sage of every description of vehicle to-motrow evening.

THIRD CENTENARY of the FOUN-
DATION of TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE.
' The Third Centenary of the Royal Foundation of
Trinity College was celebrated on Monday with unusual
mugnificenee; for some weeks past rumour had been rife
as to the splendid hospitality which the college had de-
termined to exercise on this occasion, and from what we
had the cprortunity of observing we should say that
rnmour on this occasion did not exceed the truth. The
proceedings commenced at ten o'clock, P.M., by the re-
cital of the Prize Essays in the Dining Hall of the Col-
lege, and tha distribution of prizes to the prizemen. The
Master presided, and there were present most of the
noble and distinguished guests who had been invited to
take part in the festival.
COMMEMORATION SERVICE IN THE CHAPEL.—Pre-
cisely at four o'clock, the Master of Trinity, attended by
the majority of the distinguished members of the Uni-
versity, who had been attracted by the festivities of the
day to revisit the scenes of their scholastic life, entered
the chapel. The stalls were, by order, reserved for the
headz of houses, for fellows, and distinguished visitors,
while the body of the chapel was allotted to such stran-
gers and other individuals as had been fortunate enough
to secure cards of admission from the senior dean, the
Rev. William Carus. M.A. By some gross want of ar-
rangement, the chapel c'erks, in obeying the orders of
the superior functionaries, kept at the entrance of the
choir a mass o' ladies and gentlemen, though ample
space was left tinoccepied on the floor of the chapel.
Amongst this body stood no less distinguished an I
learned a personage than Mr. Justice Coltman. In
short a more wanton neglect of that which almost
amounted to self-imposed duty, it never was our lot to
witne s.

It is with the utmost difficult,, in conscquerce of the
total absence of all accommodation. that we are enabled
to furnish even a narrative of the proceedings. The
Commemoration Service commenced with the chanting
by the choir of three Psalms selected appropriately for
the occasion, viz., Psalms 145, 146, and 147. The 44th

chapter of the Book of Ecclesiastes was next read as the
lesson of the day, which being ended, the Reverend

James Amiraux Jeremie, M.A., one of the Fel-
lows of the Foundation, Classical Professor
in the East India College, Haileybury, and
examining chaplain to the Lord Bishop of London,
proceeded to deliver the commemoration sermon or ora-
tion. So far as we could, in the position in which we
were placed, follow the Rev. Gentleman, we understood
him to open with an eloquent illusion to the advantages
of a sound classical and academic course of educe.-

tion, and to enforce his views by a retrospect of—the
events which had closed each of the three centuries of
the foundation of the College, the last of which the pro•
ceedings of the day were intended to commemorate. Its
two predecessors had been marked—the one by intestine
wars, which brought a monarch to a scaffold—the se-
cond by a divided empire, which led to disputes, destroy-
ing the nearest ties of affinity and kin—while the third
century, which the expiring year brought to a close,
saw this nation blessed with peace, and happy under the
dominion of a gracious monarch and constitutional Go-

vernment. The Rev. Preacher then proceeded to roint
nut the many brillirnt ornaments of all the learned pro-
fessions which this college had sent forth to advance lite-
rature and science, and to promote the best interests of
the nation. Taking a rapid review of the lives and cha-
racters of Lord Bacon, Sir Isaac Newton, and other dis•
tinguished names of the olden times; and of Bentley,
Parson, and Greene, of our own times, and adopting as a
presage of future excellence, the fact that the college had
now existed three centuries unimpaired by decay, the
Rev. Gentleman concluded the discourse by invoking a
blessing of Providence upon the future efforts which
would still remain to be made by those intrusted with
its conduct. The choir sung Purcell's celebrated an-
them, " Oh, give thanks unto the Lord." The Rev.
the Master and the visitors retired from the chapel, the
Hallelujah Chorus being executed as a voluntary by the
organist.

THE BANQUET.—Of this, the crowning ceremonial,
we are wholly unable, in consequence of the peremptory
refusal on the part of the superintending authorities, to
supply tickets of admission to reporters of the press to
furnish forth any record of the proceedings, except the
fact that corers were laid in the hall for about 300
guests.

LAW OF MARRIAGE IN PRUSSIA.
A suit of nullity of marriage, on the ground that the
husband was a Jew and the wife a Christian, was decided
a few days ago by the Tribunal of Koenigsberg, in Prus-
sia. The parties, Al. Falkson and the daughter of M.
Leinerg, a wealthy merchant, were affianced with the
full consent of their respective parents; but not one of
the ministers of the Lutheran church, to which the
young lady belonged, would consent to perform the
marriage ceremony. An application was made to the
Minister of Public Worship, who refused to give his au-
thorisation, and the same fate attended an appeal
to the King in Council. Upon these failures she
parties went over to Hull, and were there married
according to the laws of England, and then returned
home and lived together as man and wife. The
Law Officer of the Crown asserted the nullity of
the marriage on the grounds of its want of form
and the incapacity of the parties to enter into the con.
tract. All Prussian subjects of the Christian religion,
he said, must be married by priests ordained in Prussia,
and M. Falkson, being a Jew, had not been married ac-
cording to the ritual of his own religion, as prescribed
by an edict, issued on the 11th March, 1812. M. Falk-
son, haying obtained permission to plead his own cause,
repli d with great ability and accurate acquaintance
with the marriage-law of Prussia. which he urged did
not prevsil when the party who was not a Christian con-
sented willingly to he boand by Christian rites and cere-
monies, as had been done in innumerable instances.
Ile urged that if there were a rule adopted by all
Jews which precluded their marriage with Christians,
it might be asserted, and with rea-on. that these
unions were prohibited ; but as this was not.
the case, and, on the contrary, the laws of the
Jews insured to all liberty of conscience, every one of
them had a right to interpret and process his religi( n
according to his own convictions. Thus, when Jews
contracted marriage with Christians, it was not necessary
to inquire whether the principles of the Jewish parties
were those or Judaism generally, but what was the con-
viction of those who wished to unite themselves with
Christians. If they were convinced that they might, in
accordance with the principles of their religion, as they
understood them, submit to the laws of the Christians.
then their marriages were permitted by the C. de itself.
For himself, he had on all his applications for permission
to marry, explicitly declared, and again he repeated the
declaration, that he was willing to submit, and did sub•
mit, to the laws of the Christians on marriage. He then
cited cases to show that such marriages had been held
good and valid in Prussia.
The Court, having heard the advocate of the wife, and
the law officer of the Crown in reply, delivered the fol-
lowing judgment :—Considering that although, on the
one hand, it is true that the civil code does not admit of
marriages between Christians and persons who, accord-
ieg to the principles of their religion, cannot submit
themselves to the laws which govern Christian mar-
riages, the public minister has not, on the other hand,
proved that the Israelites form part of that class of per-
EMS designated by the code as not being able to submit
to the said laws ; that the tribunal is not in itself satis-
fied that the Jews do belong to the class in question ;
that in all cases of doubt it is right to adopt the mildest
interpretation. In rtbus dubiis interpretatio benigna.
Therefore the tribunal dismisses the suit of the public
minister, tending to obtain a declaration that the mar-
riage in England between Falkson and his wife is null
and void.

A difference has arisen between the Archbishop of
Rouen and the committee for distributing the contribu-
tions for the relief of the sufferers from the great disaster
at Monville and Malaunay. The collections made in the
churches within the diocese amount to 10,400 fr. The
Archbishop and an Ecclesiastical Committee named by
him, considering that the living victims have been RA-
' cientiv relieved, and that nothing has been done for those
wh-O lost their lives in the disaster, have decided that a
portion of the 10,400 fr. shall be employed in establishing
annual masses for the repose of the souls of the dead, and
the rest towards the relief of the living, to be distributed
by the cures of the two parishes. The general commit-
tee has objected to this apportionment, affirming that the
assertion of nothing having been done for the dead was
erroneous, considerable sums having been dis-
bursed in funeral charges and services. As the Arch-
bishop persists in founding the masses, and the General
Committee in the opposite conclusion, the question is
referred to the Minister of the Interior.—Gatignani.
Tug POLES IN SIBERIA.—A Polish journal, pub-
lished in Paris, gives a long account of the exile to Si-
beria,
and escape of a Pole named Piotrowski, who had
taken part in the Polish insurrection of 1831, and sub-
sequently found refuge in France. In 1843 M. Piotrow-
ski left France, and contrived, under the assumed name
of Cataro, to enter Russia, where he established himself
as a teacher of the French language, and remained un-
suspected for nine months, at the end of which period he
was denounced by a person named Lesczinski, to whom
he had imprudently revealed who he was. He was ar-
rested and sent in chains to Fief, where he was sen-
tenced to be shot, but the Governor. General commuted
his sentence to hard labour for life in Siberia, and the
commutation was confirmed by the Emperor. The de
nunseator, Lesczinski, received the thanks of the go-
vern ment and the decoration of the order of Saint Sta-
nislaus. On his arrival in Siberia, Piotrowski was sent
to work in a distillery belonging to Prince Gortehakoff,
at Eketerinsk, and where he found 300 convicts, all of
whom, with the exception of two Poles exiled for politi-
cal offences, were thieves and murderers. At the be-
ginning of' January last, M. Piotrowski, unable to bear
this association and tke hard labour and bad food to
which he was sonde, resolved to attempt an escape,
and has succeeded, after undergoing dreadful hardships
and privations. He travelled at night, swimming through
rivers and lakes, and cone-sling himself occasionally
during the day under the snow. He r, ached Paris on
the 22d October last, after having travelled at leas!, 4,000
leagues on foot. M. Piotrowski asserts, but which we
much doubt, that the number of Poles now in exile in Si
beria exceeds 50,000, many of whom are condemned to
hard labour in various establishments, and are treated
with great rigour ; others are placed on lauds belonging
to the Government.

THE GUN TRADE.—BIRMINGHAM, DEC. 20.—After
careful inquiry there is no reason to believe the extrava-
gant statements which have been made with respect to
the purchase of fire arms in this town for illegal pur-
poses in Ireland. The sale of arms (fire-locks and fow-
ling-pieces) is little increased considering the season of
the year and other legitimate causes of demand.
CURIOUS CIRCUMSTANCE.—On Monday morning
last, about eight o'clock, Mr. Robert Cornthwaite, of the
B )Iton Railway station, discovered a sparrow frozen fast
t the rails, about one hundred yards from the station.
Ile got up to the bird, and was examining how it was held
fast, when its frequent flutterings extricated it, and it
escaped, leaving clear marks of Its feet on the rails.—
Preaton Chronicle.

4
REPORT OF THE ERALTH OF
TOWNS ASSOCIATION.
This repot t is valuable as hearing upon public health
in regard to sewerage, drainage, &c., with observations
upon the Bill introduced by Lord Lincoln at the close of
the lsst session, and which may be regarded as a sum-
mary of what Government will propose on the subject.
We extract the following :
SUMMARY OF LORD LINCOLN'S BILL.
That the supply of water, the sewerage, the drain-
age, the cleansing, and the paving, of towns should
all be under one and the same authority. That the whole
of a Own, including the suburbs, and the whole of tho
drainage area, should also be under one and the same
authority. That the interests of the community should
be protected by the supervision of a competent, impar-
tial, and responsible public officer, named an inspector.
That before new works are undertaken, full and compre-
hensive surveys should be made by competent engi-
neers. That plans of complete works should be prepared
by responsible public officers, or locally examined by
them, with the estimates. That expository reports should
be drawn up for local publication, in order that the ad-
vantages of new works may be thoroughly canvassed by
all parties interested in them. That the whole of the
works should be maintained as well as executed by con-
tract. That the performance of the contract should be
supervised by a competent, paid, and responsible local
officer. That c' rtain nuisances which poison the atmos-
phere of towns and deteriorate the physical condition of
the population, should be suppressed. That to secure the
suppression of these nuisances there should be appointed
a public officer, armed with sufficient powers to enforce
obedience to the law, called an inspector of nuisances;
and that the true causes of disease and death should be
ascertained, and the spread of diseases, and more espe-
cially of epidemic diseases, should be checked, by the
appointment in districts of a skilled and responsible
medical officer, called an officer of health.
WINDOW DUTIES
There is one subject so intimately connected with sana-
tory improvement that no sanatory measure can be toler-
ably complete without embracing it, which is wholly
passed over in Lord Lincoln's Bill, into the investigation
of which her Majesty's Commissioners enter but slightly,
and of which they take no notice in their recom-
mendations, namely, the operation of the window duties.
The window duties are a tax upon light and air ; a tax
more vicious in principle and more injurious in its prac-
tical consequences than a tax upon food. The facilities
for procuring food increase with wealth, which is always
greatest in towns and cities, precisely where the difficul-
ties of obtaining light and air increase with every street
that is laid down, and almost every house that is built.
That was therefore a most unhappy thought which sug-
gested to the Legislature the scheme of laying a tax
upon windows, the inlets to light and air. A wise
Legislature, understanding its duties, would have
met such a proposition in this spirit :—" Upon
the most skilful arrangement of houses in
towns and cities that can be devised, it is difficult
to admit to the rooms sufficient light and air. This
difficulty must necessarily increase as a city enlarges,
and the number of streets and houses increase.
We ought, under such circumstances, rather to offer a
bounty to builders for plans that they may secure to
houses the admission of the largest amount of light and
air. Nature which has made those elements indispensa-
ble to human existence, has provided them for the use
of human beings freely, in unlimited abundance. It is
not for us to step in between God and the people, and
by laying a tax upon the light of Heaven and the breath
of life, to render them absolutely unattainable by large
classes of the population." A wise Legislature, under-
standing its duties, would have acted in accordance with
this feeling ; for it would have foreseen what has actually
happened, that the operation of the window duties would
be to shut out the sun from multitudes of human beings,
and to compel them to breathe, in darkened rooms, a
poisoned air. The consequences to the people of breath-
ing this poisoned air have been fully shown ; but the
consequences of living in dark rooms, to which no ray
of sunshine ever penetrates, are not so gererally known,
though they are well understood by those who have
attended to the subject.