The Sun.
London, England, 1848-12-15 00:00:00

LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 151 1848.

... 591
... 378

... 1,823

... 1,297

... 4,293
... 2,485

4,556

10,797
8,043

2,754

number of pupils in the school were, boys, 42; girls, 35;
and that their progress was, generally speaking, satis-
factory. They were taught the ordinary routine of a
national school education chiefly by means of embossed
frames. The religious instruction was conducted wholly
by the chaplain, and was exhibiting the best results.
There were, at present, forty communicants, and the
number was increasing. The present being merely a
quarterly meeting there was no financial statement, but
our reporter was informed by the secretary that the
balance in the treasurer's hands at the last audit, in No-
vember was 8671. lie. 7d. From a printed book, pub-
lished for the benefit of subscribers, it appears that this
institution has funded property to the amount of
63,5911. 4s. Bd., besides freehold and leasehold property
in St. George's-fields, Burton-crescent, and Wal-
worth. The income of the charity for the year 1847
was (including the balance from previous year) 9,4681.
12s. ld., and the expenditure 7,8671. 7s. 11d., leaving a
balance in favour of the institution of 1,601/. 4s. 2d.
Of the expenditure 1,258/. 13s. ld. stands for salary and
%ages.

EMIGRATION MOVEMENT.—BIRMINGHAM, Trifles-
DAY.—This afternoon a meeting was held at the Town-
hell to receive a deputation from the Colonisation So-
ciety, and to hear an explanation of the objects contem-
plated in a systematic method of emigration to various
parts of our colonial empire. The attendance, for a
mid-day meeting, was good. The Right Hon. Lord
Lyttelton occupied the chair; and there were also pre-
sent the Right Hon. Lord Ingestre, Hon. W. H. Leigh,
Hon. and Rev. G. M. Yorke, G. F. Muutz., Esq., M.P.,
W. Scholefield, Esq., M.P., B. Adderley, Esq.,
Rev. J. Garbett; rural dean, Rev. J. C. Miller, W. James,
Esq., High Bailiff, Mr. Thomas Clark, Captain Tindal,
Colonel Fielding, Rev. Sydney Gedge, the Rev. George
Smith, and many other gentlemen. The deputation
consisted of Lord Mandeville, M.P., Hon. F. Scott, Hon.
W. Wrottesley, Mark Boyd, Esq., C. D. Logan, Esq., C.
Boyd, Esq., and A. Hodgson, Esq. Several excellent
speeches were made on the occasion, and resolutions in
conformity with the objects of the meeting were
agreed to.
RAILWAY TRAVELLING.—On the southern part of
the line of the London and North-Western Railway
carriages have lately been running furnished with axle-
boxes so constructed as to render the inspection thereof,
at almost every station (for the purpose of renewing the
grease with which the " journals" are lubricated) quite
unnecessary. Some of these axles-boxes have travelled
with express trains 6,000 to 8,000 miles without ex-
hausting the grease with which the box is filled at start-
ing. It follows of course, that the " journal" of the axle,
and brasse forming the rubbing surfaces, are preserved in
their best condition, while, with the axle-boxes, gene-
rally used, the grease exudes, dirt, grit, &c., get between
the rubbing surfaces, and frequently a carriage is re-
turned for repair from these causes after its first journey.
By this invention :the saving in grease and repairs is
enormous, and under no circumstances, will the axle-box
" fire," as it is technically termed. The inventor is Mr.
Normanville, of the engineers' department at the Euston
station.
ANOTHER NEW COMET.—On Saturday evening,
the 25th Nov., at 6b. 30w., a telescopic comet was dis •
covered at the Observatory, Cambridge, United States,
by Mr. G. P. Bond. It is situated in the constellation
Cygnus. Its motion is towards the south.
EXTRAORDINARY TAKE OF HADDOCKS..--.TWO
boats belonging to Buckie, and in the employment of
Mr. Macdonald, fish curer there, are reported to have
brought ashore the week before last at one haul 7,000
haddocks.—Edinburgh Advertiser.
THE PITCAIRN ISLANDERS.--"The last accounts
from Valparaiso describe a visit recently paid by her
Majesty's ship Calypso to the inhabitants of Pitcairn's
Island. The population was found to be 140, of whom
71 are males, and 69 females, and the present chief ma-
gistrate is George Adams, the son of John Adams, one
of the mutineers of the Bounty. The island contains
about 400 acres of land, which is quite capable of culti-
vation, and which might supply 2,000 inhabitants, but
only 60 acres are in use, that amount being fully suffi-
cient for existing wants. Formerly, the absence of
water, of which there is not a single spring on the island,
was found to be an insuperable objection to living upon
it, but this is now obviated by the use of well-constructed
tanks, which enable the residents not only to collect
enough for themselves, but also to supply the vessels that
visit them. The condition of the entire community, both
as regards intelligence and morality, is spoken of in high
terms, and they are likened in their appearance and in
their general arrangements to the inhabitants of one of
the better sort of villages in England. They consider
themselves English subjects, and acknowledge no other
supremacy or allegiance.—Liverpool Mercury.
At Marseilles, the sugar market during the week
ending last Saturday had been very dull, not quite 300
barrels only of Martinique and Guadeloupe having gone
off at 27f. to 28f. the 50 kill. A little had been done in
Brazilian coffee, but only at a discount of 20 per cent.
In olive oil business was likewise very dull; a few sales
had been effected for home consumption--in those from
Genoa at from 156 f. 25c. to 164 f. 05e. per hectolitre.

SCENERY: We have had little opportunity lately to
continue our notices of scenery and theatrical decora-
tion, little of striking novelty or more than ordinary
ability having been produced in this way since the re-
opening of the houses for the winter season. The
time, however, is corning when we shall doubtless have
to record progress. At the Lyceum, Mr. Beverley pro-
duced a room-scene a short time since, for a piece called
My Father did so before Me (written to introduce the
son of the late John Reeve, of comic memory, to a
London audience), which without any pretence or glare,
was perfect of its kind. In the revival of Merry Wives
of Windsor, lately played there (revived with all that
attention to costume and keeping which distinguishes
the house), the same artist has introduced some land-
scape scenes, which are beautiful picures. At the
Haymarket Theatre, the decoration of which we justly
praised some time ago, a elever landscape has been
painted for the new and interesting drama called the
Knight of Arva. The scenery at this house, generally,
has been greatly improved lately. At the Adulphi,
where people laugh so much that they are not able
usually to criticize, the Liverpool burlesque, called the
Enchanted Isle, has afforded opportunity for some pretty
effects.—Budder.

FAC-SIMILES OF BUSTS AND SCULPTURE.—Mr
James Gall, of Edinburgh, is said to have discovered a
method ef taking a strictly accurate likeness in form of
a bust, by means of a mask of so peculiar a kind, that
sitters are able even to read at ease while the mould is
being taken, and which is so light that not a feature is
falsified by its weight or pressure. We are not told what
the precise nature of the substance is, but we shall ven-
ture to guess that Professor Simpson's invention of the
Samaritan oil of gutta percha dissolved in chloroform, for
pouring into wounds, has something to do with it. The
chloroform evaporates in an instant, leaving a skin of
gutta percha, which repeated until thick and resistive
enough, would form a mask which, at all events, we will
venture to say, Mr. Gall's will not excel in either light
ness and delicacy, or convenience and comfort. We
recollect, by the way, a rumour, many years since, that
a Parisian had invented a machine for copying sculpture,
or taking likeness. busts, which consisted merely of a
crop, as it were, of needles or fine wires, so fitted into a
frame, that on pressure towards the face or other object
to be copied, they yielded to the form, and were then
screwed tight, or fixed in the form or mould so taken,
which served the purpose of a mask for the reproduction
of the bust or sculpture.—Builder.
THE SALMON SEASON IN THE RIVER AND LAIR
OF Cm:LA.—ln the course of last week Mr. Barry ac-
companied b. y another gentleman, both Inspectors of
Fisheries, visited the Salmon Weir on the River Cara
with a view to ascertain whether salmon caught in the
river in the month of November were fully in season, as
had been so frequently and so confidently asserted.
Mr. Michael Foley, the proprietor, had previously re-
ceived instructions to put down the boxes and have some
salmon taken, in order that the Inspectors might on their
arrival have an opportunity of setting the disputed point
at rest by personal examination. Accordingly, when
these gentlemen arrived at the Weir, the boxes were
taken up and were found to contain seventeen salmon,
sixteen of which were in prime season, fine spring fish,
while the remaining one contained a large pea, but only
a good judge could distinguish its quality from that of
the others. This is a very important fact and must lead
to a new legislative enactment distinguishing the pecu-
liar seasons of salmon on the different lakes and rivers of
the kingdom.—Kerry Examiner.
FORGERY ON MESSZN. AIBIANDERS' BANK.—A
rumour having prevailed in the town, for the last week
or fortnight, that a person has been lately apprehended
on suspicion of forging a number of notes of
.Messrs.
Alexanders' banking establishment, it may be desirable,
in order to set gossip on the subject at rest, just to state
that, though not substantially true, the rumour has some
shadow of truth in it. About two years back a few
forged notes of the above bank were circulated in the
neighbourhood of Manningtree and the surrounding dis-
trict; but owing to the rigid inquiries then instituted, a
further issue ceased. A twelvemonth elapsed, when a
larger number of these notes was found to have been put
into circulation. On this occasion Forrester, the cele-
brated detective officer from London, was employed to
take the matter in hand. With his accustomed shrewdness
and success, be soon obtained a clue to the offender
—a party residing at Manningtree, whose marvellous
skill with the pen had enabled him to imitate the intri-
cate finish of the note with such exactitude as to deceive
any but the closest observation. Aroused to a sense of
danger by the presence of Forrester, the party decamped;
and, though tracked from one place to another, finally
succeeded in eluding the vigilance of that officer. No-
thing more was heard of his w hereabouts until two or three
months ago, when intelligence was received that an
individual tallying with his personal description and ac-
quirements had been lodged in Oxford gaol, to take his
trial at the Assizes, on a charge of having played a simi-
lar game with his pen on one of the banks in that county.
We believe there is no doubt as to its being the
same party, but no steps will be taken by the Messrs.
Alexanders in the way of prosecution, unless the issue
of the present charge should need them.—Su folk
Chronicle.
THE EX-KING OF VHF FRENCH AND THE ISLE OF
WIGHT.-It is reported that East Cowes Castle has been
token for a term of years by the Count de Neuilly.
PROVIDENT RATS.—A few days ago, as two men
were walking on the banks of the River Leven, their at-
tention was attracted to a dog they had with them,
which began barking at the mouth of a rat-hole. They
got a spade and dug part of the hole out, when a large
rat bounced out and fastened on the dog. The dog
soon destroyed his assailant, but still refused to leave the
hole, and ou the men digging in a little farther they
found a largo quantity of carrots and potatoes, which
weighed 24 pounds. The field where the rats had evi-
dently procured the esculent roots is situate on the oppo-
site side of the river to that on which the hole was found,
and the occupier had suspected some school lads of be-
ing the plunderers of his field, and his astonishment may
be better imagined than described, when he was in-
formed of the enormous weight of roots which a couple
of rats had laid up for their winter store.—Doncaster
Chronicle.

LITERATURE.

DIARY OF SAMUEL PEPYS. Edited by Lord
Braybrooke. Vol. IV.
A standard work like " Pepys' Diary " requires
no comment or commendation. The new edition
just brought out by Mr. Colburn deserves, however,
a few words of notice. Of this edition four volumes
have already made their appearance, the fifth volume
will complete the work. This edition is greatly
superior to all its predecessors in as much as it contains a
considerable portion of original matter never published
in any former edition. This important alteration has
been made under the supervision of Lord Braybrooke,
who has performed the duties of editor in a most sa-
tisfactory manner. His annotations are remarkable
for their brevity—a very desirable thing in foot notes
—the necessary information is given without embar-
rassing the reader with long interruptions in the
narrative. The " Diary of Samuel Pepys," like the
" Letters of Horace Walpole," is alike attractive
to the lovers of history, and the lovers of
romance—to those who read for information,
and to those who only seek for amusement. In these
volumes history appears in its undress, which cir-
cumstance, far from diminishing, only increases its
interest and attractions. By these glimpses behind
the scenes we learn what Kings and Ministers really
are, and we obtain an inkling of the wheels-within-
wheels system by which the state machine is kept in
motion. The new edition of " Pepys' Diary," ap-
pears in handsome octavo volumes, printed in clear
and very legible type, and covered with an elegant
and durable binding.

MEMOIRS AND ADVENTURES OF SIR
WILLIAM KIRKALDY, of GRANGE. 1 Vol.

This very delightful volume is one of a class at-
tractive to all readers, whether they be learned or
ignorant, or old or young. It is a chapter of history
written in the language of romance, a tradition of
truth, but of that truth which is stranger than fiction.
The memoirs of Sir William Kirkaldy are inse-
parably interwoven with the most important in-
cidents of Scottish history, during a most
memorable and romantic period, and those in-
cidents are detailed in this biography in
the most interesting and attractive manner possible.
The first important scene in which we are introduced
to the young Kirkaldy, is one which is far from en-
listing our sympathies in his favour—the murder of
Cardinal Beaton. This terrible tragedy is here por-
trayed in a most emphatic and heartrending manner.
The scene in which the Cardinal, having unbarred
his door, stands before his murderers, is very simi-
lar to the death of Coliquy, as described in " The
Henriade." After this event the first half of the
volume is devoted to Kirkaldy's adventures in France.
It is the latter portion of the volume which
is possessed of the most enthralling interest, for it is
the latter portion which relates to the history of Mary
Stuart. Kirkaldy it was to whom the unhappy,
Queen surrendered herself at the battle of Carberry-
hill. Kirkaldy conducted her a prisoner into the
hands of her enemies. This melancholy duty was,
according to this biography, performed with most
chivalrous courtesy by the Scotch knight, who was
ignorant of the severe intentions of the insurgent nobles.
Mary's sufferings under the uncourteous and un-
manly treatment to which she, a Queen and a
woman, was subjected by the nobles and by the po-
pulace, are described with heartrending pathos. To
all who love the stirring narrative of bold adventure,
softened by occasional gleams of tenderness, these
memoirs of Kirkaldy—memoirs in which truth is ro-
mantic and romance is true—will possess a lively in-
terest and an enthralling fascination. We say this
without forgetting that the "Abbot" has been written.

THE ROMANCE OF THE PEERAGE. Vol. IL
By G. L. Craik.
__
__

The " Curiosities of Family History, " which
occupy the secoad volume of " The Romance of the
Peerage," are thus enumerated in the table of
contents :—" The Kindred of Queen Anne Boleyn—
The :Lady Dorothy Devereux—The Old Percies—
Earl Henry the Wizard—The last of the Ruthvens—
The last Lord Cobham—The last Lord Grey of
Wilton—Mary Tudor, the French Queen (a very
beautiful portrait of this royal lady forms the frontis-
piece to the volume)—The Sister of the Lady Jane
Grey—Margaret Tudor the Scottish—The Lady
Arabella Stuart." From this list the lover of
romantic history will be enabled to estimate the
attractions of the volume here presented to him. One
of the most interesting chapters records the painful
history of Lady Catherine, the unfortunate sister of
the unfortunate Lady Jane Grey. " The Romance
of the Peerage" is fraught with interest both of an
historical and a biographical character.

TIIE EVENING BELL; or, The Hour of Relating
Entertaining Anecdotes for Young People. By Caro-
line Reinhold. Translated from the German by the Rev.
G. S. Mangan, A.M.

To young -students of the German language, no
book could possibly be more useful or more attractive
than this very elegant and very interesting volume.
The tales •f Miss Caroline Reinhold are peculiarly
calculated to please youthful readers, and they are
adorned with many excellent illustrations. The
German and English are placed side by side, one on
the left-hand page, and the other on the right.
" The Evening Bell " will be a welcome as well as
useful gift for the young; half of its contents being
adapted for the morning's study, and the remainder
for the evening's recreation.

PRESBYTERY EXAMINED: An Essay, Critical
and Historical, on the Ecclesiastical History of Scot-
land since the Reformation. By the Duke of Argyle.
The Duke of Argyle has written the ecclesias-
tical history of Scotland in a very able and interest•
ing manner. This work will be the means of making
many familiar with the characteristic history of
Presbyterianism to whom that form of church
government has been hitherto little more than
a name, and it is also calculated to excite among
members of the Scottish Church a warm veneration
for that form of religion which their ancestors es-
tablished and maintained in the face of the most ve-
hement opposition. The Duke of Argyle is evidently
a heartfelt and zealous Presbyterian; to the members
of his own Church, it is, therefore, that his work will
be especially interesting and Taluable. The style is
animated and eloquent, and the arguments are ren-
dered peculiarly forcible by the
,writer's unwavering
conviction and zealous enthusiasm in and for all he
asserts.

LAMARTINE'S ~ THREE MONTHS

IN POWER."
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SIR,—My attention has been called to the critique
on the translation of M. de Lanaartine's " Trois Mois
au Pouvoir" that appeared in your paper of the sth
inst., in which you state it is by the author "of the
admirable translation of the Girondists." Permit me
to correct an error caused by the similarity of name,
and to say, that the " History of the Girondists" was
translated by my father, the " Three Months in
Power" by his son, and
Your very obedient servant,
HENRY JOHN HYDE.

Dec. 14, 1848.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SU.Ar.

Sru,--Lasthtl—Went to the Grecian Saloon with
a party, and paid 4s. for the admission of two ladies,
two gentlemen, and a lad of fifteen, Being desirous of
proceeding to the balcony, I tendered 2s. 6d., the extra
charge, as stated in the ordinary bills of the establish-
ment ; this was refused, and ss. demanded, which I at
once paid. Thinking this demand an unfair one, I pur-
chased a bill of the box-keeper, which I enclose, you
will there seo the price of admission distinctly set forth
as ls. each for gentlemen, 6d. each for ladies and ju-
veniles, with 6d. each extra for the balcony. May I
beg to ask whether the proprietor or beneficiare have the
right to make such a charge, or whether it must be
classed as a theatrical imposition ?
Friends who were with me paid in the same way. I
inclose my card, and remain, your obedient servant,
Dec. 14,1848. INQUIRER.

LIVERPOOL CURRENCY REFORM
ASSOCIATION.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE MORNING CHRONICLE.
Sir,—Your editorial effusion on Saturday was not very
complimentary to the British Consols, on which we pro-
pose to found our paper money. It always struck us
that there were some essential differences between them
and the French Assignats.
We hardly expected to hear remarks derogatory to
British ability to pay, and British honour to acknowledge,
a lien on every man who owns a shilling of capital or a
rood of land in this England of ours ; and suspect that
new lights have burst on our old friend, the Morning
Chronicle, who seems inclined to read the British consti-
tution according to the political gospel of Cuffey.
As treating your readers to mutilated extracts of our
proposal of the reasons which seemed forcible to us, and
of the modes operandi by which we meant to work it, is
hardly fair, I send you the whole manifesto for your
insertioo.
Allow me to trouble you with one argument as good
as the five hundred which might be brought against gold
as a money.
In the present relation of our wealth to the quantity
of gold we can muster, a pair of boots or a hat is worth
a sovereign, but there is no reason why the wealth of
England should not quadruple, with the help of the
steam-engine--the hat will be worth then only five shil-
lings. A century might see our boots, hats, &c., in-
creased twenty-fold, and then the price comes down to a
shilling. But what becomes of national debts, fixed
charges, and annuities?
I remain, your obedient servant,
JAMES HARVEY, Hon. Sec.
Brown's Coffee-house, Clayton-square.

" MANIFESTO.
" A currency—based not on gold, which is barter— I
but on national property."
"It is surprising that our mercantile men have not
long since arrived at conclusions respecting a system of
currency which can be recegnised as correct by all
parties, and which would lead to the adoption of princi-
ples and practice, by means of which the ruinous alterna-
tions now constantly recurring would be rendered im-
possible."—Porter's Progress of the Nation, p. 426.
" The committee
.of the Liverpool Currency Reform
Association have been led, by their consideration of the
commercial phenomenon of periodical excitement and
depression, to inquire whether this extreme oscillation,
productive of so much evil, be the necessary consequence
of extensive commerce; and if so, within what limit of
productive enterprise ought a commercial people to be
restrained? For if the calamities that have been ex-
perienced by this nation within the last twenty years be
a necessary effect of extended trade, it behoves the Le-
gislature immediately to impose restraining measures
that shall prevent such frightful ruin and devastation in
our domestic trade, and relieve from so cruel a scourge
the commerce of the whole world, which, from the mag-
nitude of our transactions, becomes involved in our mis-
fortunes.
" In pursuing their inquiry, they have cerefully ex-
amined
the evidence brought under the consideration of
both Houses of Parliament, appointed to inquire into
' the cause of the present national distress.'
" After the most deliberate consideration of the evi-
dence therein stated, and the uniform agreement of all
other facts and information they have been able to col-
lect, they are of opinion, that the cause of periodical ex-
citement and depression is not necessarily involved in
extensive commerce, but that the sole cause of our com-
mercial crises is to be found in the absence of a steady
measure of value and an insufficient medium of exchange
or, in other words, in the inefficiency of our present
monetary system; an insufficiency further proved by
its inadequacy to sustain a system of credit, so neces-
sary to the development of the productive energies of
this country.
" From the evidence above referred to, two all-im-
portant facts are established beyond question: First,
that there was at one period a superabundance of the
present medium of exchange, and at another not a suffi-
ciency for the ordinary necessities of trade. Secondly,
the measure of value has, within the last three years,
fluctuated from one to twelve per cent.
" Here we have, under the gold standard, an enormous
alternation in the value of money—which, by inciting
speculation at one time, prostrating credit at another,
causes extreme changes in the prices of commodities,
and disturbs the relation between debtor and creditor.
These facts were placed so forcibly before the public by
the memorial of the merchants of this town, addressed,
in October, 1847, to the First Lord of the Treasury, that
the association feel emboldened to offer for consideration
a monetary system, which, they believe, will prevent the
recurrence of such evils.
" THE OBJECTS REQUIRED IN A MONETARY SYSTEM
ARE A STEADY MEASURE OF VALUE AND A SUFFICIENT
MEDIUM OF EXCHANGE.—It is necessary, for the facility
of commerce, to adopt some description of property of
admitted value, that shall be used as the standard by
which to measure the value of all other property, and it
is imperative that the property so used be of a descrip-
tion least liable to variation. The association, there-
fore, propose
"THAT THE NATIONAL FUNDS BE TAREN FOR THIS
PURPOSE, AND THAT GOVERNMENT BE EMPOWERED TO
ISSUE MONEY AND CONSOLS—which represent a bona fide
amount of capital to the amount of 800 millions, guaran-
teed by the property of the British nation.
" WHILST THE NATIONAL REVENUE IS PLEDGED TO
THE PAYMENT OF THE INTEREST THEREON, so that both
the capital and interest are perfectly secured.—What
better or safer basis can there be whereon to found a na-
tional currency?
" Thus, by adopting the funded property, we obtain
two essentials—a sufficient medium of exchange, and a
steady measure of value for the pound in account; so
that the relation between debtor and creditor will be de-
finitely fixed, that the former may not, at the expiration
of his credit, have to refund a greater or a less value than
was implied in the pound in account at the time of the
contract.
" The plan by which the Association propose to carry
their system into practical operation is as follows :
" THE ESTABLISHMENT, BY ACT OF PARLIAMENT, OF
A NATIONAL BANK, AUTHORIZED TO ISSUE BANK NOTES
ON THE RECEIPT OF CONSOLS, such notes varying from
one to a thousand pounds, to suit the convenience of the
receiver.
" THESE NOTES TO BE THE ONLY LEGAL TENDER
throughout the United Kingdom, and to be convertible
into value, that is to say, into Consols, on demand, at the
National Bank.
" THE CONSOLS TO BEAR A FIXED RATE OF INTEREST,
which will, of course, cease during the time they are in
the bank.
"By this plan, when money became scarce, and ex-
ceeded the fixed rate of interest, the Consols certificates
would flow into the National Bank, and the currency be
extended to the relief of our commerce; while in pe-
riods of prosperity, when money is abundant, they would
be withdrawn, and the circulation proportionally con-
tracted; thus securing a principle of self-adjustment,
which would preclude the possibility of any great fluc-
tuation in the value of money, leaving the price of
commodities subject to the natural law of supply and

demand.
"It may be objected that, under this system, the
whole amount of the national funds might be converted
into money, and the country be over-supplied. The as•
sociation has no such fears, feeling convinced that, as
the demand for money is necessarily limited by the
ability of employing it profitably—the supply of it may
be left to adjust itself to the requirements of trade. In
conclusion, the advantages offered by the proposed sys-
tem of currency are these:—
A SECURE Basis that cannot be disturbed.
A READY CONVERTIBILITY of the legal:tender note
into value.
" AN EQUABLE SUPPLY or MONEY—to which may be
added a NATIONAL SAYING of interest on the Consols,
while in deposit.
"In bringing forward this very important subject,
the association would earnestly invite the active sup-
port and co-operation of every individual who may be
friendly to their views ; whilst they hope to elicit from
those who may differ from them a candid expression of
their objections to the proposed system, as they are only
I wishful for the establishment of a self-acting principle,
that will give steadiness to the value of money.
" JAMES Ilinrzr,:llon. Sec.
" Brown's Hotel, Clayton-square, Liverpool,
Nor. 20, 1848."

METROPOLITAN COMMISSIONERS OF SEWERS.—A
meeting of the Metropolitan Commissioners of Sewers
was held yesterday, at the offices in Greek-street, Soho.
The Hon. F. Byng presided, and the other commis-
sioners present were :—Mr. E. Chadwick, Dr. Southwood
Smith, Mr. Lambert Jones, Mr. Hutton, Mr. Bidwell,
and the Rev. W. Stone. Representation was made that
a number of defaulters within the Westminster commis-
sion positively refused to discharge the claims upon them
for contributions to sewers, cleansing, &c., unless they
were summoned to show cause why they should not.
These arrears were stated to be considerable, and sum-
monses were accordingly ordered to be issued for the
next court. In the course of the proceedings, the chair-
man inquired the expense charged to parties who wished
to have their house-drains connected with the sewers?
Mr. Hertslet, the clerk, said this question came before
him daily, but, in order to insure the greatest accuracy,
he had procured a report from the surveyor. This
report was then read, and it stated that the average cost
was not more than from 2s. 6d. to 3s. per foot run
in-
cluding all expenses of labour, drains, and making
g, ()o d
p the surface; but when the pipes were made by machi-
nery it was anticipated the cost would be reduced to 2s.
conversation or Is. 6d. In the course of a
subject it was stated that the fees upon this
formerly paid to the
district surveyors upon the execution of works of this
nature had been abolished.
separated. The commissioners then.

Advices from Vienna of the 9th of December men—
tion the announcement of a new Five per Cent. Loan for
eighty millions of florins (c-qual to eight millions star •
ling, or about seven millions at the present rate of ex-
change), which it is expected will be readily taken
abroad, particularly as the dividends will be made par
able in London and elsewhere. Meanwhile, in consi: •
qucnce of large importations, rendered necessary by shut
stocks of raw material, and the purchase of supplies fc r
the army, the exchanges were becoming more adve ;s:,
and the quotation on London had risen to 11.18. '1 Che
stoppage of commercial relations with Hungary c
on-
tinuid to be most -severely felt, produce being shut out
on the one hand, and the return of manufactured go ads
on the other. The active I:rosecution of the war tam ter
Windischgratz was appointed to commence on the 12 't
of December, and the incorporation of the Hungariui
kingdom with Austria Proper had been definitively re
solved upon. The army is described as so numerot Is
and well equipped as to render success almost certaii J.
The Funds continued to improve, and the Five er
Cents. where at 79, while the shares of the North ern
Railway had risen 3 per cent., the quotation being li )21.
The Bank of Vienna had declared a divided of 46 do tins
for the half-year, besides a reserve of 4 ferias, and the
price of its shares was I,los.—Tietes,

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.
SIR CHARLES NAPIER'S SQUADRON.

PORTSMOUTH, DEC. 14.—Sir Charles Napier went to
Osborne in her Majesty's steam-yacht Fairy, on Wed-
nesday, to pay his respects to his Sovereign before
leaving the neighbourhood with his fleet. His Serene
Highness Prince Victor of Hohenloe Langenbo urg,
naval cadet of her Majesty's ship Powerful, 84, at Spit-
head, accompanied the Gallant Admiral, to take leave of
her Majesty and Prince Albert. His Serene Highness
dined with the Royal circle, and returned to his ship in
the evening.

The squadron unmoored at five o'clock this morning
and commenced preparations for weighing anchor, but
the wind appearing very changeable, no other movement
was made than crossing topgallant and royal yards at
eight o'clock. About noon the wind changed, and began
to blow until it increased nearly to a gale at S.S.W., at
which point it continued until dark, raining incessantly
and very heavily, which now continues (five o'clock P.m)
with every prospect of a foul night. The Ikon. Mrs.
Norton is staying at the official re.idence of the Com-
mander-in-Chief, awaiting a passage to Lisbon in the St.
Vincent.

The Sharpshooter iron screw-schooner, Lieu tenant-
Commander Bailey, sailed after dark last night for the
Sussex and Kentish coast. _ _ _

The Princess Royal transport arrived this morning to
embark detachments from the Isle of Wight for service
in the West Indies. _

The Superb, 80, Captain Purcell, is to be expedited in
her fitting out, as she is wanted for sea service.

APPOINTMENTS.
Assistant-Surgeon—George Edward Freemen, to the
Penguin packet brig, at Plymouth.
Midshipmen—Henry IL Stuart, to the Superb, 80
guns, at Portsmouth; R. Morris, to the Superb; C. A.
Johnson, Thos. M. M. Wynyard, R. J. Lawrence, L.
A. Whymper, and Charles Broadhead, to the St. Vin-
cent, 120 guns, at Spithead; Thomas J. Young, to the
Excellent gunnery-ship, at Portsmouth; J. T. Jeyes, to
the San Josef, flag-ship at Devonport; W. K. Bush, to
the Plumper screw-schooner, at Spithead.
Naval Cadet—William Moriarty to the Superb.
Passed Mates—Thomas Commerel, late of the Comus
sloop; M. Vernon, late of the Vernon frigate; Messrs.
Fair holme, Bickford, and Parkin, late of the Superb,
passed their examinations at the Royal Naval College on
Tuesday. The following received certificates yesterday
—Messrs J. Ward (b), Dashwood. Bush, Warrington,
Balfour, Dawkins, and Symonds.
THE AVENGER SUBSCRIPTION.—The committee will
pay the widows and orphans on Saturday, the 16th inst.,
at the Naval College, for the month of December.

COAST GUARD.-CIRCULAR MEMORANDUM.

" Houston Stewart, Coast-Guard Office, Dec. 7, 1848.

"Having reported to the Lords Commissioners of the
Admiralty and to the Honourable Board of Customs the
result of the great•gun drill for this year, and expressed
my hope that the excellent conduct and zealous atten-
tion displayed by the officers and men of the Coast
Guard and the revenue cruizers would elicit their ap-
probation.

" I have much pleasure in transmitting, for the infor-
mation of the respective inspecting commanders, and of
the officers and men of stations and cruizers under their
orders, extracts from the letter which has been addressed
to me by the Secretary of the Admiralty, dated the 25th
ult., and also in communicating the agreeable fact that
the Board of Customs have been pleased to signify their
marked approbation of the zeal and ability displayed by
Captain Jerningham, and of the alacrity and attention
shown by the officers and men in the Coast Guard em-
ployed in the service in question.
" It is impossible for me to state too strongly the satis-
faction I have derived from the general good spirit and
cordial feeling evinced in each of the districts which have
been subjected to the gun drill of 1847 and 1848, and I
beg the respective inspecting commanders wilt receive
and convey my grateful acknowledgments to all the
officers and men of the Coast Guard and cruizers con
cerned.

--------
" The respective Inspecting Commanders, &c."
[EXTRACT U.S.]
" Admiralty, Nov. 25, 1848.
" Sir,—With reference to your letter of the Gth inst.,
reporting the result of the training of the men belonging
to the coast guard and the revenue cruizers to the use of
the great gun, I am commanded by my Lords Commis-
sioners of the Admiralty to acquaint you that the report
contained in your letter is most satisfactory to their
Lordships; first, as showing the cheerful zeal and ex-
cellent spirit existing throughout the Coast Guard ser-
vice, including the revenue cruizers, under your orders.
Secondly, as exhibiting the intelligence and ability of
Commander Jerningham and the instructing officers;
and from the result being such as to convinee their Lord-
ships of the importance of this arm of the service for the
purposes of home defence.—l am, sir, &c.,
" W. A. B. HAMILTON.

" The Comptroller-General of the Coast Guard."
Lord John Hay has sanctioned the alteration
of the Horatio, frigate, at Sheerness, as a screw guard-
ship, to mount 24 guns, instead of the Eurotas, at
Chatham.
The Earl of Auckland, G.C.8., has left the Admiralty
on a visit to the Marquis of Lansdowne, at Bowood.
Rear-Admiral Deans Dundas, C. 8., M.P., has re-
turned to the Admiralty, from his country seat, Barton,
Hungerford:

EXPERIMENT AT THE ROYAL
ARSENAL, WOOLWICH.
DEC. 14,—A series of experiments have been carried
on for some time past at the Butt, in the Royal Arsenal,
to ascertain the practicability of Captain Chads' sugges-
tion of employing two shots at one firing in actual ser-
♦ice, and how far danger was to be apprehended to
those employed in working the guns when double shotted.
Captain Chads made several experiments on his prin-
ciple on board the Excellent, gunnery-ship, ut Ports-
mouth, which were most efficient and satisfactory to
him, and on submitting the plan to the authorities, the
matter was referred to the members of the select com-
mittee at Woolwich, who gave instructions that an 8-inch
gun of 65 cwt., 9 feet long, should be selected from a
quantity recently received from the Low Moor Com-
pany, in Yorkshire. The gun selected had been pre-
viously tested in the usual way, by firing two rounds
with one solid shot and twenty pounds of powder
each time; and the experiments were com-
menced by firing two SC-pounder hollow shot
with five pounds of powder each charge, and con-
Itinued with the double shot and the same quantity of
powder up the 60th round. From the 61st to the 70th
round, six pounds of powder were used in each charge;
from the:7lst to the 80th round, seven pounds; from the
81st to the 90th round, eight pounds; from the 91st to
the 100th round, nine pounds; from the 101st to the
110th round, ten pounds; from the 111th to the 120th
round, eleven pounds; from the 121st to the 130th round,
twelve pounds; from the 131st to the 140th round, thir-
teen pounds; from the 141st to the 150th round, four-
teen pounds; from the 151st to the 160th round, fifteen
pounds; from tho 161st to the 170th round, sixteen
pounds; from the 171st to the 180th round, seventeen
pounds; from the 181st to the 190th round, eighteen
pounds; from the 191st to the 200th round, nineteen
pounds; from the 201st to the 210th round, twenV
pounds; and from the 211th to the 220th round, twent-
one pounds. The last ten rounds with the heavy charge
of twenty-ono pounds of powder, and the gun doubly
shotted each time, were fired yesterday, and on examin-
ing the gun after the experiment, it did not appear
to have any perceptible injury, n,otwithstanding the se-
vere test it had undergone. The gun is only of met
metal, but this trial has shown the superiority of the
castings of the Low Moor Company, and the small risk
to the gunners employed in firing them, under a test
which it was never contemplated they would be sub-
jected to. It is intended to carry on the experiment
until the gun is burst, and to add an additions.' peund
weight of powder to each charge after every ten rounds.
The firing has already disabled one carriage, and a car-
penter attends the experiments in case of injury to the
platform by the recoil. The ultimate result is now
looked forward to with great anxiety, the test the gun
has already experienced having so far exceeded the an-
ticipations of the officers who have witnessed the expe-
riments.

A STRANGE FREAK.—Lsst evening, some persons
pass Eng the premises of Mr. Baker, ship-chandler and
roperna, ker Bermondsey-wall, saw an unusual glare of
light in a room on a second floor. Having been in-
form ed of this the inmates hastened to the reom in ques-
tion, the door of which was fastened inside. They
forced an entrance, and found the maid-servant sitting
upol A the bed undressed, her head and hands coverett
wall her mistress's jewellery; a quantity of wearing ay).-
parol had been taken from the cupboards and wardrobes
and placed in the fire, which was blazing away furiously,
anet there is no doubt if a few minutes longer had
eta psed, that the female would have lost her life, and the
pmmises would have been destroyed. As it was, the
fia:mes were soon extinguished, the damige done to the
premises not being very considerable. The female”wks
yr: Is the causo of the fire has been taken into custody.
FIRE ON THE EASTERN COUNTIES RAILWAY.—At
a. late hour on Wednesday night the inhabitants of Strat-
-I;3rd, and the contiguous districts, were greatly alarnrd.
by the sudden outbreak of a fire on the Eastern Counties
:Railway, near Stratford-bridge. The flames originated
in the workshops on a siding at Chopham Farm-bridge,
which were of considerable size, and at the time of the
outbreak contained a number of trucks and other pro-
perty. The damage done is as follows:—Shedding, used
as workshops, about 150 feet long by 25 feet broad, with
a number of trucks, the property of the Eastern Coun-
ties Railway Company, at Chopham Farm bridge, near
Stratford-bridge, destroyed; buildings and contents tin-
insured. The fire was extinguished by the parish engi-
' Ineer and the company's servants.
MEETING OF MIDDLESEX MAGISTRATES.—Yes-

terday a meeting of the magistrates of the county of
Middlesex took place at Clerkenwell for the transaction
of general county bibiness. Mr. Pownall occupied the
chair. There was an unusually full attendance of ma.-
gistrates. The prison reports having been received, Mr.
Armstrong moved—" That the labour cal the treadwhael
of our prisons having from its establishment to the pre-
sent time been proved useless and totally inefficient as a
reformatory punishment, be discontinued." The motion
was, after a long discussion, negatived, there being only
to o votes in its favour and thirty-eight against it."
LICENSED VICTUALLERS' INSURANCE COMPANY.
At a special court of this company held on Tuesday last,
C. S. Butler, Esq., of Clapton, was unanimously chosen
a director, in the room of Charles Bleaden, Esq., re-
' signed. A highly complimentary vote of thanks was
passed to Alderman Musgrove, the newly-appointed
chairman, who, in returning
thanks,
stated that the busi-
ness of the company had greatly increased within the
last few months.
We understand that Dr. Bowring, whose eminent
qualifications as a linguist are so well known, has been.
appointed her Majesty's Consul at Canton. The Learned
Gentleman has long been in a state of health which re-
quired his residence in a warmer climate. We believe
that Sir J. Walmsley will succeed J.):. Bowring in the
representation of Dolton.