The Sun.
London, England, 1848-07-12 00:00:00

No. 17,408.] LONDON, WEDNESDAY E G S Ny JULY 12, 1848.

WEST INDIA PINE Apples ex " Volunteer,'
from WEST INDIES.
• Messrs. KEELING and HUNT will OFFER, for PUBLIC SALE,
at Monument-yard, on FRIDAY next, the 14th instant, at Two
o'clock precisely, 3,000 PINE APPLES, just landed from the above
vessel.

To bo viewed on the morning of Sale at the Warehouses of Keeling
and Hunt, Brokers, Monument-yard and Pudding-lane.

FREEHOLD MANSION AND VALUABLE FARMS IN MAY-
FIELD AM) WADHURST, IN TIIE COUNTY OF SUSSEX.
UL R. BEADEL is directed to OFFER to
I PUBLIC COMPETITION, at the Kentish Hotel, Ton-
bridge Webs, on FRIDAY, July 14, at One o'clock, in Four Lots,
An ELIZABETHAN MANSION, and seventy. one acres of
ARABLE and PASTURE LAND, close to the admired village of
Mayfield, known as the Lower House Farm, the remaining portion
of the Lower House, and Hoadleys Farms adjoining, including up-
wards of 190 acre:, of very useful Land, and a compact Freehold
Estate in Mayfield and Wadhurst, known as the Cinder-hill Farm,
consisting of 177 a. 3a. 14p. of arable and pasture Land.
Particulars may be obtained of Messrs. Dawes anti Sons, solicitors,
Angel-court, Throgmorton-street ;of Messrs. J. C. and H. Freshficid,
solicitors, New Bank-buildings, Lothbury ; at the Kentish Hotel,
Tunbridge Wells ; the Rose and Crown Hotel, Tonbridge ; and of
Mr. Bendel, 25, Gresham-street, City.

SOYER'S EFFERVESCENT NECTAR now
ready.—The immense success obtained by SOYER'S SAUCE,
lately brought out has induced the inventor to produce a new
beverage, prepared from the choicest fruits, called SOYER'S
NECTAR.

Homer sung of nectar for the gods, Soyer has succeeded in con-
cocting a nectar meet for gods and goddesses."—Morning Chronicle.
Manufactured only at Messrs. Soyer and Co.'s, 40, Rupert-street,
Haymarket. Retail price per dozen, 4s. ; including bottles, 6s. Li-
beral allowance to the Trade.

Q ILVER PLATE, New and Second-hand.—
). Y T. COX SAVORY and Co.'e Pamphlet of Prices, with out-
lines, may be had gratis, er will be sent post free if applied for by
a paid letter. The contents are the prices, weights, and patterns of
new and second-hand Silver Spoons aed Forks; new and second-
hand Tea and Coffee Services, Waiters, Silver-edged Plated Goods,
the new plated on white metal Spoons and Forks, Watches, Clocks,
Ladies' Gold Neck Chains and Jewellery.
V. COX SAVORY and Co., 47, Cornhill (seven doors from Grace-
church-street), London.

MECH S SHILLING PENKNIVES.
These, and the SIXI'ENNY TOOTH-BRUSHES, will prove
that whilst he has the most elegant Shop in London, he is deter-
mined to do business on the most reasonable terms, lie manu-
factures extensively on his premises, No. 4, Leadenhall-street, Lon-
don, Desks, Work-boxes, Dressing-cases, Bagatelle-tables, Table and
Small Cutlery, Razors, Razor-strops, Brushes, Combs, and every-
thing for the work-table and dressing toilet. Every article Is war-
ranted. Ile is the sole inventor of the Mechian Dressing-case, the
Patent Castellated Tooth-brush, the Magic Strop and Paste, and the
Peculiar Steel Razor. Beware of counterfeits, none being genuine
without his Name and Address, No. 4, Leadenhall-street, London.

STRICTURES OF TIIE URETHRA: Prevalent and Dangerous
Errors in their Treatment.
Just published, price 55., (by post free, 65,,) Bvo., in cloth,
THE PATHOLOGY AND RATIONAL
TREATMENT of STRICTURES of the URETHRA, in all
their Varieties and Cemplications. With Practical Observations no
the Use and Abuse of Instruments in the Treatment of Urethral Dis-
eases, showing that the unnecessary employment of instruments is
a frequent exciting cause of stricture, and that a want of practical
knowledge and manual dexterity in their use, when necessary, is the
source of most of the severe, loag-protracted, and complicated cases
of that disorder so fatally prevalent. The whole illustrated by nu-
merous cases.

By F. B. COURTENAT, M.R.C.S.E.
Published by 11. Bailhere, 219, Regent-street ; Maciachlan, Stew.
-art, and Co., Edinburgh ; Hodges and Smith, and Fannier and Co.,
Dublin ; Simms and Denham, Manchester ; Deighton and Laughton,
Liverpool ; and all Booksellers.

TEAS AT WHOLESALE PRICES.
No. 2, BUCKLERSBURY, Clicapside.
Black, 2s. Bd., 35., 3s. 4d., 3s. Bd., 48., 45. 4d., 50.
Green, 35., 3s. 43., 3s. 81, 45., 55.. 65., 7s.
Coffee, 9.1., 10d., is , Is. 2d., Is. 4d., is. Gd., is. Bd.
Delivered free of carriage to any part of England.
CARRIAGE FREE TO ANY PART OF
ENGLAND.—Six Pounds and upwards of TEA delivered
carriage free to any part of England at the lowest wholesale price.
All orders not comainiug,remittances must be accompanied by a re-
ference to it respectable party in London.
MANSELL and Co., Wholesale Tea-Dealers, 2, :Bucklersbury,
Cheapside.

ROYAL AGRICULTURAL
SOCIETY.

YORK, TUESDAY.—The annual meeting of the Royal
Agricultural Society of England commenced this day
by a public exhibition of implements and machines for
farming purposes in a meadow situate on the Booth=
Stray, about a mile north of this city, near the intersec-
tion of the Helmsley turnpike-road with the S2ar-
borough Railway. The show-yard was thrown open to
the public as early as eight in the morning, and was not
closed until six in the evening. The weather was most
propitious for the occasion, and crowds of people wended
their way to the scene; in fact, there was a constant sue-
cession of visitors throughout the day. But though the
number which passed to and fro by rail and road must
have been enormous, not the slightest confusion arose in
consequence. The area of the 3 and was so extensive
that there was no unpleasant jostling or squeezing,
and the arrangements for the ingress and egress
of visitors were perfect. About a score of the A divi-
sion of the metropolitan police were employed in and
about the ground; and the services of that efficient body
of the civil force tended much to preserve order. Every
description of husbandry implement was to be found in
the exhibition—the plough, the harrow, the scarifier, the
dibbler, the thrashing-machine, the steam-engine, chaff,
hay and straw•cutters, cake-breakers and cake-crushers,
and very many new inventions; some undoubtedly most
useful, others, perhaps, less so, and more to be admired,
on account of the ingenuity of the inventor than for any
purpose of real utility to which they can be applied.
According to custom we shall enumerate a few of the

new impleMents which struck us as worthy of notice.
Amongst them were a patent land cultivator, invented
by the exhibitor, Mr. Henry Clayton, of 21, Upper
Park-place, Dorset-square, London, and combining
the advantages of the ordinary scarifier and clod-
crusher. An agricultural drainage level, invented by
the exhibitor, Mr. R. Blundell, of Theberton-street,
Islington. A clod-crusher, invented by the exhibitor,
Mr. Nicholas Burnett, of Black Hedley, near Shot-
ley Bridge, Durham. A machine for breaking oilcake
for beasts, &c., invented and manufactured by Mr. W.
N. Nicholson, of Newark-upon-Trent. The same gen-
tleman also exhibited a number of other new inventions,
one of them being an improved Lincolnshire heath con-
vertible clod-crusher and general land-roller. Mr. R.
Harland, of Fridaythorpe, near Wetwang, Yorkshire,
showed a drill to drill pulverised manure broadcast,
adapted to the drilling of soil, salt, lime, or guano,
from two to ten quarters the acre, at the option of the
person using it. Mr. Thomas Craddock, of Broad-
street, Birmingham, showed an improved steam-engine
for agricultural purposes, combining economy of fuel,
safety from explosion, and great power, with small bulk
and weight. Mr. John Bruce, of Tiddington, near
Stratford-upon-Avon, exhibited a subsoil pulveriser, on
an entirely new principle, with two shares, which may
be taken out or used as desired; said to be easy of
draught, to work at a regular depth, and to require but
little comparative manual labour. Mr. Burrell, of
Thetford, Norfolk, exhibited a portable thrashing
and dre,sing machine, invented by Mr. Walter Palmer,
of Southacre, improved and manufactured by the
exhibitor. Messrs. Barrett and Co., of Ceres Iron-
works, Hull, showed a mill (for horse-power) adapted to
bruising oats, beans, barley, or malt. This mill is
placed upon a wood stand, with two spirally-grooved
iron rollers moving at unequal velocities, and is de-
scribed as capable of crushing two quarters of oats per
hour. Messrs. Barrett, Exall, and Andrews, of Kates-
grove Ironworks, Reading, showed a patent hand-power
thrashing-machine, which has applied to it a new patent
breasting, formed by a series of straight wrought-iron
bars moving in two sets of slots crossing each other
transversly, one set in the side of the machine and the
other in a segment, which, being worked round the cen-
tre of the drum, draws the breasting either towards or
from it, the segment being so formed as to keep the re-
quired sweep of the breasting. The Duke of Richmond
showed a Scotch single-horse cart, with shifting shelv-
ings and hay frame, with a pair of self-acting drags—
the drags invented, and the axles, wheels, and lock, im-
proved, by Edward Wagstaff, of Gordon Castle. Mr. Ed-
ward Hill, Brierly-hill Iron Works, Dudley, exhibited a
wrought-iron rick-stand, of an oblong shape, 15 feet long
by ten feet wide, constructed with a view to the exclu-
sion of vermin and the promotion of ventilation. Messrs.
Smith, of Stamford, exhibited a patent drill and manure
spreading machine, for the deposition of varieties of
seed with compost or manures, in a dry or moist state
the distance regulated at pleasure. Mr. James Comics,
of South Mutton, Devonshire, showed a newly-regis-
tered one way turnover or turnrest plough, regulated
by a lever between the handles, which turns over the
share and reverses the mould plates and coulter at the
same time. Mr. George Kilby, of Queensbury, Rcarsb;-.
Leicestershire, showed a winnowing machine, invented
by A. Pridmore ann Son, of Thorpe Satchville, near
Melton Mowbray; after the corn is separated from the
chaff the machine can be converted into a double blast
back-heaver. Messrs. Shaman, Stanley, and Johnson
showed an improved sack barrow, sack raiser, and
holder, invented by Mr. Stanley, of Peterborough; by a
compound lever attached to the side the sack can be
raised sufficiently high for a man's shoulder, and having
wheels in the backstay, it readily acts as a sack barrow.
Messrs. Dean and Co., of 3, Arthur-street East, London-
bridge, exhibited a cesspool and tank cleaner, a square,
air-tight, iron body, with air-pump on the top, and a
4i-inch flexible tube, mounted on two wheels, the weight
being about 12 cwt. Mr. Joseph Paule, of Thorpe Ab-
bots Hall, near Scole, Norfolk, exhibited a patent deep
draining and subsoil raising machine, which may be
worked with three or more horses, and by a single ope-
ration will cut a drain from three to five feet in depth, at
the rate of four feet.per minute, and leave a level bottom
for the tiles to rest upon. The display of agricultural
seeds, roots, &c., was very large. The principal exhi-
bitors were Messrs. T. Gibbs and Co., seedsmen to the
Royal Agricultural Society of England; and Messrs. G.
Gibbs and Co., seedsmen to the Royal Agricultural De-
partment of Belgium, Ike.
The award of prizes in this department of the show
is as follows, the judges being Mr. T. P. Outhwaite, Mr.
W. Heseltine, Mr. P. Love, Mr. C. Paget, Mr. O.
Wallis, Mr. J. Alrnack, Mr. T. Bayldon, Mr. R. Cly-
burn, and Mr. W. N. Parssons. Consulting engineer,
Mr. Amos.

I"nrzEs.—For the best plough for heavy land, Mr.
v rnri
rts
ehbtyht
11d10 ) 51. / .
51. For For
For
ot thehr e
the
h bestbee
st
best
turnip
turnip
drill
or grubber,
drillscarifier
Busby, 101. For the best plough for light land, Messrs.
Howard and Son, 10/. For the best drill for general
uopnnurtpthhoe flat, Air Garrett,
purposes, Mr.
Mr .
ridge, Mr. Hornsby, 101. For the best hand-
drilling machine
Dhinleessrs. Sharman and :Co., 101. For the
best machine for making draining tiles or pipes, Mr.
Whitehead, 201. For the best Harrow, Messrs. Howard
and Son, 5/. For the best steaming apparatus, Messrs.
Sharman and Co., la For the best skim or paring
plough, Mr. Kilby, 51. For the best horse-seed dibbler,
Mr. Newberry, 10/. Fur the best one-horse cart, Mr,
Eaton, 51. For the best waggon, Mr. Stratton, 10/.
For the best thrashing-machine,* 20/. For the best
steam-engine, Mr. Hornsby, 50/. For the best corn-
cl
Messrs.es s i dressing thesL Furbestt
hgeobr sees; bruiser,
instru-
ment for distributing pulverised manures, Mr. Hornsby,
10/. For the best grinding-mill,*
g Bmarareehtti,neE:aill°,la. ndlC'oor.,
15/. For the best grate
or stove for cottages, Mr. w. N. Nicholson, 51.
MEDALS.—SiIver medals were awarded to the follow-
ing exhibitors:—For a Norwegian harrow, Mr. Croskill.
flay-making machine, Mr. Smith (ot Stamford). Horse-
rake, Mr. Hensman. Horse-hoe on the flat, Mr. Gar-
rett. Horse-hoe on the ridge, Mr. Busby. Grand land
cultivator, Mr. Busby. Linseed and corn crusher,
Messrs. Sharman and Co. Liquid manure drill, Mr.
Thomas Chandler. Chaff-cutter, Mr. Cornes. Cake-
breaker, Mr. W. N. Nicholson. Root-washer, Mr. Cros-
kill. Cesspool and tank cleanser, Messrs. Dean, Dray,
and Co. Cheese-press, Mr. Bruckshaw. Shock remover,
Mr. Summers. Level, Mr. Blundell. For his improve-
ments in the transparent water gauge as attached to the
steam engine, Mr. Howe. Steaming apparatus, Mr. B.
Robinson.

nobletuhnedsinthu
andeo r
sdistinguished o
visited the
roesgHighness the Duke of Cambridge, his Grace the Duke of
e f the day w
epersonsre
his
R o who3,a
Richmond, the Earl of Yarborough (the president of the
society), and the Earl of Lonsdale. His Royal High-
ness the Prince Consort is expected to arrive here to-
morrow afternoon at two o'clock. It was at one time
intended by the Lord Mayor and the civic authorities to
give his Royal Highness a public reception, and ar-
rangements for that purpose were determined upon; but
in consequence of its being intimated to the Lord Mayor
by the concil of the society that, flattering as the pro-
posed exhibition of loyalty would undoubtedly be to his
Royal Highness, yet, on the present occasion, he was
visiting the city of York in his capacity of a farmer, and
that, therefore, any such public display was altogether
unnecessary, particularly as it would interfere with his
Royal Highness's desire to remain in privacy. In the
propriety of this suggestion the worthy chief magistrate
and his colleagues have entirely concurred; but it is
still understood that an Opportunity will be given to the
corporate body to present his Royal Highness with the
freedom of the ancient city of York.

At noon to-day, Mr. Mechi delivered a brief lecture
to a respectable body of agriculturists, in the Mer-
chants' Hall, Fossgate, on the subject of manures. The
Duke of Richmond presided; and among the company
present we observed the Earl of Lonsdale, Alderman
Thompson, M.P., Mr. Hudson, M.P., Mr. Hildyard,
M.P., Mr. Henley, M.P., &c. In the course of his ad-
dress Mr. Mechi strongly advocated the system of feed-
ing with corn, the farmer breeding his own cattle, and
raising manure from their feed; and also the system of
burning earth as a manure, and cutting the weeds from
the hedge-row, and mixing them in the compost heaps
on the farm.
Several gentlemen took part in the discussion which

• N.B. The judges had not completed the trial of theca
articles on Monday eTening.

NEW ZEALAND.

We have received Now Zealand papers to the Ist of
March, and subjoin the following intelligence, which we
take from the [Yew Zealand Spectator of that date:—
" The departure of a vessel direct for England,
freighted with produce of this settlement, renders it ne-
cessdry for us to say a few words on some of the topics
affecting our local interests, on which those in the
mother country interested in our welfare desire informs.
tion. On most of these subjects we have, as oppGrtunity
offered for their discussion, entered fully; but on an occa-
sion like the present it will be necessary again to refer
to them in a summary manlier. After a weary in-
terval of eight years Crown grants have at length
been issued to the New Zealand Company for the dis-
tricts in the neighbourhood of Port Nicholson; and the
statement of this fact proclaims the final adjustment of
all disputes with the natives relating to lands in the
districts for which these grants have been made; the
roads undertaken by the Government are carried on
with increased vigour, opening the country districts
for the occupation of additional settlers, and afford-
ing, when they are completed, the means of increas-
ing our trade with the natives by the improved faci-
lities of communication. The money obtained by the
natives for their labour on the roads is for the most
part spent either in the purchase of clothes and other
necessaries, the produce of English manufactures, or in-
vested in stock (either horses or cows), thereby adding
to the permanent wealth of the colony. The work of
clearing and cultivation is proceeding this summer with
renewed vigour, and the cargoes of stock imported from
the neighbouring colonies find ready purchasers in
the
.country settlers; so that the different country
districts present indications of hopeful progress. These
are encouraging signs of returning prosperity. but we
want the assurance of their permanence. These are
the bright spots—the lights of the picture on which
the eye, attracted by their prominence, rest. But
if we turn to ;the other side, if we name
the three great wants of the settlement, they
are precisely those essential elements of colo-
nisation which it was to be the peculiar business of
the New Zealand Company to keep in their due re-
lation to each other, so as to insure the greatest pros-
perity. We want land, labour, and capital. The roads
now in progress open up fresh districts to the settlers,
but the absentees in too many instances interfere to pre-
vent their profitable occupation, there is an absolute scar-
city of labour of all kinds, and bnt little prospect of a re-
medy for this want, the wages of labouring men aro from
3s. 6d. to 4s. 6d. a day, while female servants are
hardly to be procured on any terms. An influx of
fresh capital would materially assist in developing the
resources of the colony, since the recovery of the old
settlers from the losses inflicted on them by the
previous mismanagement of the Government and
the company must be the work of ;time. But our
prospectstheNew ze od Company on these
alapointsoareay areunsatisfacatlolyrywd to
unsatisfactory. As long
as mar
eoxu
irs pt
ernoesep?
tcht se,
pas
rolgorng es
sa
oft ft ht
he ye
sceotntltei nmueen
tt mwill h
oi ssclhoiwe vaoauds
uncertain; the result of the meeting held here on Mon-
day will at least convince them of the estimation in which
they are held by those who formerly most trusted them.
They may linger on for a time by the aid of a
friendly minister, but the settlers can only anxiously.
look iforward to the period when the claims of this
rapacious body must be finally extinguished, and the
whole colony placed under the more vigorous manage-
ment of the British Government. To this consumma.

tion we are tending. It is a question of time, but until
the consummation arrives, time—our only inheritance—
is wasted, and we shall still remain the victims of their
broken pledges, of their repudiated obligations.
"The Woodstock sails to-morrow for London direct
with a cargo of oil and wool, the produce of this settle-
ment. Wool is rapidly increasing in importance as an
export, from the number of stations now established in
the southern province, and the early increase of the
flocks, and promises soon to become one of our staple
exports. Three hundred and seventy-six bales of wool
are on board the Woodstock, and we believe there
are nearly two hundred more, with other produce, wait-
ing a convenient opportunity of being shipped direct to
England. Through the activity and good management
of Captain Nicholson, her commander, the vessel has
been got ready for sea with great dispatch, and due pro-
vision has been made by him for the comfort and conve-
nience of the passengers, of which there are several both
cabin and intermediate.

"The Supply returned on Monday from Queen Char-
lotte's Sound. The negotiations with the natives for the
purchase of the Waitohi were unsuccessful, the natives
declining to part with the district, though they offered to
sell the adjoining bay ; but it is believed that
eventually some arrangement may be made with them,
and the Waitohi secured. The greater part of the na-
tives belonging to Queen Charlotte's Sound have left
for Taranaki. Not more than about sixty of them are
living at Waitohi and its neighbourhood."

THE EXPECTED COMET.
Public attention having been recently drawn to the
anticipated return of the great comet of 1264 and 1556,
after an absence from our system of 292 years, the fol-
lowing particulars, which were stated iu a lecture upon
the science of astronomy, delivered by Mr. Henry Al-
thans, jun., before the Hackney Literary and Scientific
Institution, in the Mermaid Assembly Rooms, may
not be uninteresting:—" On the sth day of March,
1556, this eccentric wanderer was first perceptible in
the sign Libra. Pursuing its celestial course with
great velocity, it touched the left wing of the sign
Virgo, passed below the knee of the constellation
Bootes, whence it ascended to the northern pole
of the ecliptic (its inclination being 32 degrees 6
minutes) towards Andromeda, where it lingered,
but receding towards the northern Fish, it was
there lost. Its perihelion (or nearest point to the sun)
was passed on the 21st day of April, just two days pre-
vious to its final disappearance. Whilst it remained
within the circle of those tropical stars which never
set, the comet was visible all night long ; and
throughout its course, the apparent magnitude of
the head was uniformly as large as Jupiter to
the naked eye.. Its motion ran contrariwise to
the succession of the Zodiacal signs, and within the
space of four days it completed seventy degrees west-
ward, and thirty degrees northward, directing its path
towards Saturn (then in Aries), but apparently slacken-
ing its speed as it approached that planet. At
first its heliocentric motion was retrograde—at last,
direct. In the intermediate course it was most
swift, dispatching fifteen degrees daily. The
nucleus (or body) presented the aspect of
a bright globe of flame equivalent to a half-moon, but
the rays and colours varied and interchanged like the
flickering of a flame agitated by the wind. The tail was
moderately long and much attenuated; at first presenting
a martial aspect, but subsequently dissolving into a pale
and livid complexion; the stream of rays was denser near
the head, and more rarified towards the extremity of the
tail, which at first pointed eastward, but us the comet
mounted to the north, the train took a southerly direc-
tion. This eccentric member of the solar system has
been conjectured to be identical with that mighty comet
which startled Europe in the year 1264, so particularly
described by Palwologus, Zuinger, Calvisius, Matthew
Paris, and other chroniclers of the period. That por-
tentous visitant was first discernible near the sign Taurus,
behind the planet Venus; and it raged during the whole
summer season, until the 7th day of October. It was
originally observed in the twilight of the evening, but
speedily passing the sun on the 6th of July, at a rapid
rate (the place of its perihelion being 2 t degrees of Ca-
pricorn), it re-appeared shortly before the morning
twilight towards the eighth degree of Cancer, whence it
retrograded very quickly into Gemini, threading its
way between Canis and Orion, but ultimately retreating
into the latter constellation. Its movement from east to
west was more than equal to 50 degrees of latitude,
and hardly 5 of longitude. The inclination of its
parabolic orbit to the ecliptic was 364 degrees ; and the
distance of its perihelion (that of the earth being 1)
was 0.4450. At first it followed the morning star,
but subsequently preceded that brilliant orb. The
train or tail was very long and broad, re-
sembling a fan in shape, emerging from the
eastern horizon before the dimmer nucleus, and, when
fully ascended, stretching itself upwards, and shoot-
ing its rays to the meridian, the comet occupied
in length one-half of the heavens, presenting a fear-
ful apparition to the eye of the superstitious spec-
tator. As it swept along through space, the tail
diminished daily in breadth, but proportionately
increased in length and brilliancy. Contemporary
historians relate many terrible calamities as befalling
the nations of Europe during the year 1264; among
other strange coincidences, it is related in the Libri
Chronicorum (printed at Nuremberg, A.D. 1493), and
confirmed by other writers in the middle age, that
on the occasion of the first appearance of this
blazing star, the Sovereign Pontiff, Urban IV.,
was seized with an alarming distemper, which
confined his Holiness to his apartment during the entire
period that the comet prevailed; and on the night that
the comet disappeared the Pope expired. In 1556 its ap-
pearance was accompanied by similarly strange sublunary
events. The victorious Emperor, CharlesV., to the amaze-
ment of the world, suddenly resigned the crowns of Ger-
many and Spain, and betook himself to a monastery,
where he shortly died. It was in a paper read before
the Royal Society of London about the middle of
the last century (Vido Philosophical Transactions,
vol. 47), that Mr. Dunthorne hazarded the supposis
tion that these two celestial strangers were identical—
a conjecture also countenanced by the eminent French
astronomer, M. de Lalande. This hypothesis has
recently found a sanguine advocate in Mr. J. R. Hind, the
discoverer of the new asteriod. But its return during the
current year (1848), although indorsed by these high
w
au-
thorities, is very problematical; for the cautious Dr.
._
Hal-
ley has expressly included the comet of 1556 along
ticit
five others., concerning whose elements be was sceptical,
as s e
as the observations handed down by Paulus Fa briciupalh,
s_hisand
the older astronomers (which formed the basis of
computation) were neither made with
good
d instruments
h
nor mathematical precision, so
that great difficulty was
experienced in harmonizing their conflicting accounts.
Adequate allowance should also be madeforthe amount
of the disturbing forces which this eccentric traveller a
omuanyt
encounter through its approximationh to
h the realms of
bodies in its lengthened journey throng
other heavenly
space. Besides, we possess exacttdetailshisoft visible.itspat A
only
during one-fourth a the 50 days. it was
for the elements of 1264, foundedupon the.uttin menu-

script of a Dominician friar, preserved in Pembroke Hall,
Cambridge, they are open to grave exceptions, and form
but a sandy foundation for the calculating astronomer
of the nineteenth century. Is there not also a palpable
difference of several degrees between the elements of the
two ? Considering, therefore, that the cometary re-
volutions are subject to extensive fluctuation,,
since these frail bodies are so susceptible of opposite
attractions from powerful neighbouring orbs—
weighing the difficulty of proving identity after
a lapse of 292 years—and the laxity of previous ob-
servations ; above all, reflecting that the orbits of
only three of these singular bodies are satisfactorily
settled, whereas probably 800 appearances are known,
and the elements of nearly 100 recorded; may we not
reasonably pause, and, with the sagacious Halley, legiti-
mately doubt before yielding assent to a predic-
tion, not wholly gratuitous, nor placed beyond the
range of possibility, but et depending too closely
upon conjecture, though seeking to ally positive
calculation and observation i❑ its support ? But,
in spite of mathematical discrepancies, imperfect
instruments, and conflicting data, should the approach
of this comet crown the other wonderful occurrences of
this eventful year, it will afford another astronomical
triumph; as the comet will then have completed its
twentieth revolution round the sun since the creation of
the world.

A NEW OPERATION on the FOOT.
REMOVAL OF THE BONES OF THE HEEL AND ANKLE-
JOINT.—We have just seen in the Lancet an account of
the progress and successful termination of the case in
which Mr. Thomas Wakley removed all the hinder por-
ticn of the foot (the astragalus and os calcis), at the Royal
Free Hospital, of which Mr. Wakley is one of the sur-
geons. The man who became the subject of the opera-
tion had for many months suffered from disease of some
of the bones in the foot, and bad been a patient in
hospitals both in London and Brighton, without having
derived relief. As Le had set himself strongly
against losing either his leg or his foot, the
removal of which would have been the remedy, pre-
viously had recourse to for such a case as he presented,
Mr. Wakley determined upon the bold and daring
operation of extracting only the bones which were
diseased, leaving the patient, if possible, the sound
portion of his foot, and trusting to time to show how far
usefulness and power might be restored to the then use-
less portion of the body—a method of proceeding never
before attempted.
" Various operations have been performed upon the
ankle-joint, the most important being of the two Moreau's
—viz., the excision of the lower extremity of the tibia
and formula; portions of the other bones entering into
the formation of the foot and ankle, have been removed
by the gouge and the saw; but there is no previous case
on record of the entire removal of the two important
bones of the foot—the astragalus and os calcis."
This operation was, however, performed on the 27th
December last, by Mr. Thomas Wakley, and it was
briefly noticed in our journal about the same period.
The patient was placed under the influence of chloro-
form, and the extraction of the bones was completed in a
few minutes with only slight loss of blood, and the
complete safety of the anterior tibril artery, the antici-
pated danger to which had been supposed to
form an insuperable obstacle to the successful issue
of the attempt. On the 17th of January, the wounds
made in the operation had healed, and on the 21st of
February the patient was discharged from the hospital
convalescent. He is now, we find, 'a stout and healthy
man, able to pursue his former occupation as a tailor,
walking with ease with the help of a stick and a high
heeled boot, and preserving a useful member, which
under a less advanced state of surgical science, he must
have inevitably been deprived.

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.
PORTSMOUTH, JULY 11.—Sir Charles Napier's squa-
dron has received sailing orders, and will leave with the
squadron under his command, the St.. Vincent, flag, 120,
Captain Dacres; the Prince Regent, 92, Captain Martin;
the Bellerophon, 78, Captain Baynes; the Amphion, 36,
Captain Williams; the Dragon steam-frigate, Captain
Hall; the Blenheim steam guard-ship, Captain Chads;
the Tweed, 18, Commander Lord F. Russell; the Pilot,
16, Commander M. Lyon (both hourly expected to joi❑
the squadron from Plymouth); the Helena, 16, Com-
mander Smith; the Frolic, 16, Commander Vansittart,
&c., about Saturday for a cruise in the Channel. Yester-
day the Blenheim and Amphion had a short trial
from Spithead round the Knab and back. The Blen-
heim weighed at ten A.m., and started in an
easterly course, making very good speed. The Am-
phion was delayed until 11.30, from " a screw loose" in
the old quarter; she then used steam and sail until well
up with the Blenheim, outside the Knab; Amphion then
furled sails, and both vessels went off at full steam before
the wind until 1 15 P.M., the Amphion beating the Blen-
heinrabout three-quarters of a knot an hour; rate of the
Blenheim 4.i knots. They then steamed back to the entrance
of the Channel to Spithead against the wind, which was
light, when the Amphion beat the Blenheim nearly at
the same rate; Blenheim stopped and made sail, working
to Spithead. The Amphion proceeded to the former
anchorage, where she arrived about lour; Blenheim did
not take up her former berth before six. Her per-
formances are considered as highly satisfactory. Cap-
tain Chads exercised the crew aloft when off the Knab,
which, it is almost unnecessary to say, was done in first-
rate style.
The Collingwood, 80, Captain Smart, K. H., was
mustered, &c., yesterday, by Sir Charles Ogle, the
Commander-in-Chief. The inspection and exercise of
the men resulted in the most gratifying compliments
from the Admiral. She was towed into harbour last
evening, and this morning at four o'clock commenced
unloading the freight. The specie, amounting to thirty
tons, was expressed to London by a special train on the
London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway, in charge
of Mr. Chambers, the freight agent, and Mr. R. Sut-
ton, the superintendent of the Portsmouth traffic on the
above railway, who delivered it at the Bank of England
this afternoon. The ship will be ready for paying off
early next week.
Wind north; moderate breezes and fine weather.

HEN MAJESTY'S THEATRE..—Her Majesty and
his Royal Highness Prince Albert honoured the per-
formances at her Majesty's Theatre with their presence
yesterday evening. In attendance upon her Majesty
and his Royal Highness were the Countess of Cherie-
mont, the Hon. Miss Kerr, Lord Camoys, Major-
General Wemyss, and Lieutenant-Colonel Seymour.
His Royal Highness Prince George also honoured the
theatre with his presence. Amongst the audience we
observed—His Grace the Duke of Wellington and the
Marquis and Marchioness of Douro, his Royal High-
ness the Conde de Montemolin, the Duchess of Leeds
and Miss Lane Fox, the Duchess of Hamilton, his
Excellency the Russian Minister, his Excellency
the Sardinian Minister, his Excellency the Swedish
Minister, his Excellency the Hanoverian Mi-
nister, the Marquis of Huntley, the Marquis
of Donegal, the Earl of Falmouth, the Earl of Besbo-
rough, the Earl Delawarr, Lord Ward, Lord Walpole,
Lord James Hay, Lord Burghersh, Count Arthur de
Courcy, Lady Colborne, Lady Sheffield, Lady Howard,
Lady M. Bentinck, M. C. Koudriaffsky, Gen. the Hon.
A. Upton, the Hon. W. A. Bathurst, the Hon. G. S.
Jerningham, Geaeral the Hon. H. Cavendish, General
Shubrick, Major Gordon, Major Waite, Major Buckley,
Colonel Wildman, Sir John Duckworth, Bart., and Lady
Duckworth, Sir R. Brownrigge, Sir Henry Dymock and
Lady and Miss Dymock, Sir J. Bailey, Bart., Sir Ralph
Howard, Bart., Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler, Captain Crow,
Captain Scott, Mr. Barry Baldwin, M.P., and Miss B.
Baldwin, Mr. Parnther, Captain Somerset, Mr. Drum-
mond, Mr. H. Broadley, M.P., Mr. and Mrs. Ewings, &c.
ROYAL HUMANE SOCIETY.—The half-yearly ge-
neral court of the Royal Humane Society was held yes-
terday afternoon, at the offices, No. 3, Trafalgar-square,
B. Bond Cabbell, Esq., in the chair. The minutes of
the previous court having been read, and confirmed, Mr.
Charlier, the secretary, read the report, from which it
appeared that since December last the number of per-
sons who had been successfully treated after immersion
in water was 64, beyond recovery 3, attempted suicides
18. In Hyde-park, since December last, 19 cases had
come under the attention of the Society, out of which
17 persons were successfully treated, and two beyond
recovery. There had also been 11 attempted suicides
during the same period. The Society's honorary re-
wards were voted to Lieut. W. R. Smith, RN., for sav-
ing the life of Mr. West, the second Master of her Ma-
jesty's ship Endymion ; to Mr. F. Hutchinson, surgeon,
of Farringdon-street, for restoring by skilful and unre-
mitting exertion, George Thornton, also for his valuable
and prompt assistance rendered on frequent occasions,
and to Mr. H. A. F. Lusignan, for saving the life of
Edward Blundell. The Archbishop of Canterbury hav
ing been elected one of the Vice-Presidents in roomthese
_to
of the late Archbishop, a vote of thanks was
spas d
the Chairman, when the proceedings terminated.
MELANCHOLY DEATH or AN ACTOE. ireprotemrday
Mr. Bedford held an inquest, by adjournmentr
Sa-
turday last, at the Coach and Horses,t
ed 48, for many
York -street,
West-
minster, on the body of James miho
years an actor at several of the
minor
Yorkhe- street, Lr es
Thean d
deceased, it appeared, resided at No. 12,with
his
was in very bad circumstances, being In arrears
landlord to the amount
of 51. 18s., at 4s. porlwetekm.onllthe,
was last seen alive on Thursday, the 29th of as
and on Thursday last was found dead under singular
es. On that day a quantity of putrid liquid
mattercircum
sotaonzeed through the floor of the deceased's room,
and fell into the shop underneath. The deceased's door
was forced to see from what cause this proceeded, when
his body, far advanced in decomposition, was found
lying on the floor. A bottle labelled " hydrocyanic
acid" having been found in the room, the contents of,
the bottle and also of the stomach were
analyzed, but
nothing of a dbleterious nature was found, and the
general opinion was, that he had died in a fit. The
jury returned a verdict of "Found dead."
THE BRAZILS.--LIVERPOOL, :JULY 11.—Theay, with
une Freghts
barque Priscilla arrived in the Mersey to-d
dates from Pernambuco to the 7th of
J. i
were at 635. per ton for sugar in cases
and lb. per
for cotton. Business was
extremely
ot dull. Exchane
closed at 2s. ld., but good bills
could nbe obtained g
at
that rate.
Viscount Morpeth left town yesterday morning, to
attend the agricultural meeting at York.