The Sun.
London, England, 1846-10-16 00:00:00

cTHE SPN. LoN DON, FRIDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 16, ;S 6.

HAYMAIII-11 T
An exoe'lently well-built and very cleverly written
farce, entitled Spring Gdrdens, was produced here last
evening, from the practised pen of Mr. Planche. The
scene is laid at an ordinary, in Spring-gardens, some
time towards the latter end of the seventer nth century.
Scoreup, (Mr. Buckstone), the keeper of the ordinary, is
a jealous-pated fool, with a pretty wife, Mrs. Scoreup
(Miss Julia Bennett). His ordinary is frequented by
various roué courtiers, who tolerate his execrable
wine for the sake of flirting with his pretty
wife. The jealousy of Scoreup is without the
slightest foundation—albeit he endeavours as much
as possible to keep his wife out of view, and with
that view he sends her down to Brentford on a particular
day, when divers of the Court gallants are expected at
his house. Among these is Lord Courtington (Mr. H.
Hon), who has certain designs upon the pretty Mrs.
Scoreup, and who manages, by means of his servant
Lightfoot (admirably acted by Mr. Clark), to waylay
her, and to transfer her from the Brentford stage to his
own apartments, where are divers fine articles of dress
prepared for his fiancée, the Lady Clarissa (whom he has
not seen), the niece of the Lord Keeper. The Lady Cla-
rissa (Mrs. L. S. Buckingham), has heard of
the roué character of Lord Courtington, and knowing
that Scoreup's ordinary is one of his haunts, determines
to go there in disguise, in order to see him as he really
is. The Lady Clarissa herself is in love with Sir Ar-
thur Lovel (Mr. Howe). She arrives at Scoreup's just
after the departure of Mrs. Scoreup, and she bribes
mine host to permit her to appear as one of his house-
hold, in order to see Courtington in his true colours.
Courtington arrives, and his man informs him that Mrs. ,
Scoreup, after being, as he thought, safely lodged in
his appartments, had disguised herself in the attire she
found there, and made her escape. Immediately after-
wards Mrs. Scoreup enters, dressed as a Duchess; she is
full of rage against Courtington, whom she finds there, for
the trick he has played upon her, and Courtington endea-
vourslto arouse her jealousy against Scoreup. Most
opportunely for his plans, the Lady. Clarissa, disguised
as a domestic, enters, and says she is Scoreup's cousin
sent for by him to keep his house, in the absence of his
wife. She refuses to accede to Courtington's propo-
sitions, but still she wishes to be revenged upon, or
rather to discover, the machinations of Scoreup ; and,
therefore, consents to dine with Courtington, masked.
Score up is ordered to bring up the dinner and wine,
and, by desire of Mrs. Scoreup, he is ordered to bring up
the wine with the yellow seal on the cork. Puzzled to
know how Courtington could have discovered the se-
cret of his best bin, he yet obeys the order.
He leaves the room ; Courtington being sent for, also
quits the ordinary, having previously taken the precau-
tion of locking up Mrs. Scoreup in an anti-room. Sir
Arthur Lovell enters ; recognises Lady Clarissa in her
disguise ; they have an interview with Mrs. Scoreup,
who appears at a window ; Courtington's sillainy is
discovered, and the tables are turned upon him. In the
meantime Scoreup has been endeavouring, by means of
a bottle of wine, to pump Lightfoot, and from him he
leaves that he (Lightfoot) saw Mrs. Scoreup emerge from
a Brentford stage and throw her arms round the neck of a
Major of Dragoons His jealousy is aroused, and he com-
mits all sorts of mistakes in serving the dinner—the dinner
for four, for Sir Arthur Lovell tells Courtington that
he too has an assignation with the fair damsel, whea
Courtington has already seen them, and the dinner is
served up to Courtington and Sir A. Lovell, and Cla-
rissa and Mrs. Scoreup, the two last being masked.
Scoreup fancies once or twice that the Duchess is very
familiar with him, and at length recognises the voice of
his wife. He is ordered out of the room, but determines,
nevertheless, to watch ; and, accordingly, his head
emerges from a trap door, and he iswitness to the orgies;
he hears his wife defend him against the libels
and insinuations of Lord Courtington, he sees her resist
the advances of the libertine, and he hears Courtington
resign all pretensions to the Lady Clarissa, for the sake
of Mrs. Scoreup. The plot is complete. Lady Clarissa
discovers herself, and is resigned by Lord Courtington
to Lovell. Scoreup finds that he has a trustworthy
wife, and he cares not who looks at and admires her.
The arch intriguer, Courtirgton, beats a retreat, under
cover of a bon met, end Ms servant Lightfoot is
ejected at the point of the spit by Scoreup.
This little farce is full of bustle, intrigue, and wit.
The dialogue is piquant enough to have carried off a
much heavier plot ; the imbroglio is quite full enough
of intrigues to have carried off a much heavier dialogue,
while the incidents follow one another with such
rapidity that the interest is perpetually kept alive ;
and we recommend those who wish for an hour's plea-
sant amusement, to hie at once to the ordinary near
Spring-gardens, where they will find excellent enter-
tainment every night between this and Christmas.

THE PROBABLE SUPPLY OF
FOREIGN GRAIN THIS YEAR.
The total number of corn-laden ships now on their
way from the Mediterranean and the Black Sea to this
country, is between sixty and seventy, and allowing that
each of them brings 1,000 quarters of grain (which is
above the truth); this gives 60,000 or 70,000 quarters
of grain, of all descriptions, on its way from all
ports within the straits of Gibraltar. About as much
more is supposed to remain in those ports, making a
total of 150,000 quarters of Indian corn, which may pos •
sibly be obtained from the Mediterranean and the Black
Sea together before winter. The American ports may,
perhaps, supply us with as much from the remains of
last year's crops. In the spring a good deal more may
be expected from the crop of the present year, but it will
be nearer six months than six weeks before it arrives.
The accounts from Odessa, which are to Sept. 7, state that
the scarcity of vessels which bad existed in that port
during the whole of the summer continued, and that the
freight of grain to England was 11s. sd. per quarter for
wheat or Indian corn. They further state that the whole
stock of Indian corn in that port was 7,000 quarters, of
which the greater part was of inferior quality; and that
it Was not likely to be much increased for some time, as
this
to make
crop of the grain in Bessarabia was so poor
as
t
make it doubtful whether any more could be spared
for exportation. The
quotations.,l7s.9d ofaa
ds second qualities. qbueaslti tti9ess.
too
20s. per quarter of
Indian corn were 17s.
feoea,ro a f
; and those of wheat 30s. 6d. to 31s. per
quarter for Polish Odessa.,
the sth instant, state that
the quantity ro
of m
Indian'rristy shipped to England during
the preceding fortnight,
amounted to 20,000 quarters,
and that the total stock of grain in the port consisted of
32,857 quarters of Indian corn, and of 12,857 quarters
of wheat. The price of Indian corn was from 225. ld. to
245. 9d. per quarter, according to quality.
Letters from Ancona of the 2d instant state, that the
crop of Indian corn in that neighbourhood had been
nearly destroyed, first by the long drought, and after-
wards by heavy floods. The price was 21s. to 245. per
quarter, and the freight 7s. to Bs. to England.
Letters from Genoa, Leghorn, and Marseilles, of
about the sem) date, say that good Indian corn could
not be bought in these ports so as to be laid down in
England for less than 365. a quarter, for cost and freight
alone.
At Venice the price of the best Indian corn was 245.
6d., at the last advices.
Combining all these facts, it is evident that our sup-
plies of Indian corn from the Mediterranean and the
Black &ea will this year be small, unless English im-
porters are willing to give prices which will make it a
dearer grain than wheat. The great hope, under these
circumstances, is in the arrivals from the United States;
but even from that country we shall receive no large
quantity of Indian corn until after Christmas. The
largest importation of Indian corn ever known from the
United States took place in 1811, when the quantity.
reached 348,850 quarters, under the stimulus of a foreign
demand for grain and flour, which raised the price of
wheat to 645. per quarter in the United States, during
the whole of that year. Since that time it has fallen
off to 50,000. or 100,000 quarters, at which amount it
has continued for twenty years. Even last year, when
the demand for England was great, it did not exceed
200,000 quarters. It is possible that the importations
this year may be five times as great as those of last, or
a million quarters, but we can scarcely believe that they
will reach more than that point. The fact is, that there
are few things more difficult than to increase the quantity
of g:ain grown in a country, in a short time. Little can
be done with machinery, and in some stages of the
operation just as little with horse labour. In the
report of the judges of the Liverpool Agricultural Society,
published only last week, it was stated that much grain
was lust in this thickly-peopled county from shedding,
owing to the want of labourers ; and if this be the case
in Lancashire how much more must it be so in the back
States of Amerisa ? The quantity of grain raised de-
pends much more on the quantity of hands than the
number of acres in a country, and therefore it is that we
do not expect that great increase of grain from the
United States which some persons hope for, until the
recent rise in prices has diverted more labour from the
comparatively unprofitable cultivation of cotton and
tobacco to that of Indian corn and wheat. This change
is in progress, but it will be some time before it will en-
able the United States alone to supply the deficiencies
of Europe.—Liverpool Times.
INCENDIARY EXPLOSION AT

:-:. ;i .-L.,"..,,.) '..: '1....,

Dumas, Ocr. 13.—The Journal contains the
following:— •
"DEATH FROM STARVATION.—On Friday, a poor
woman called the widow Conlan, residing at Clontoohee,
near Dysart, in this county, proceeding to Ennis to
purchase 6d. worth of Indian corn for herself and
family, fell down at the distance of about 150 yards
from her own house, and almost immediately expired,
through exhaustion, arising from want of food. We
fear that this is not a rare instance of effects arising from
the existing distress. In different places, within the last
few days, the people assembled in masses, and dug out
for their own Ilse the potatoes belonging to some of the
large farmers."
Sir Burton Macnamara has addressed the following
letter to Mr. Labouchere, the Chief Secretary:—
" Tromroe, Oct. 2.
" Sir,—lt is with extreme regret that I have to report
to you, for his Excellency the Lord-Lieutenant's infor-
mation, that a number of men came to my residence yes-
terday and stated they were in a state of starvation, and
that they required food and employment, or that the
consequences would be serious. I told them that the
necessary forms were gone through to obtain them re-
lief; and that r anticipated in a few days their condition
would be relieved ; I exhorted them as a friend not to
resort to acts of outrage, and to bear in mind that if
they got a week's provision by plunder it would tend to
many weeks' starvation, and that no power on earth
could justify their proceedings. I advised them to re-
turn home, which they did.
" On inquiring, 1 find all these people belong to the
village of Miltown, near which there are three magi-
strates residing, and that they tried to get the poor
people of this parish to accompany them, which they
very properly refused to do, notwithstanding their desti-
tution cannot be exceeded by any people in this county;
and I trust that their patience and good conduct will be
duly appreciated by his •Excellency, and that the pro-
mised relief may not be delayed.
" I have the honour to be, Sir, yours truly,
"B. MACNAMAR, Captain R.N., J.P.,
" County of Clare."
MEASURES FOR EMPLOYMENT.

The Cork Examiner, which arrived this afternoon,
contains nothing remarkable on the subject of the dis-
tress. In regard to the measures for employment, that
journal says :
" We are glad to understand that the contracts for the
college works will be immediately advertised. Instruc-
tions have been given, we understand on the best autho-
rity, for the commencement of the Glamire road and park
works. The Wide-street board this day issued precepts
for the taking down of the houses in Globe lane and
White-street. All preliminaries will be settled in
less than a fortnight, when an abundance of employment
will be afforded."

THE PRESENTMENT SESSIONS.
The first extraordinary presentment sessions for the
county of Dublin took place at Talla,ght yesterday. The
sum of 10,0001. was voted for variou,s useful works, to be
apportioned in electoral divisions, in accordance with the
Lord-Lieutenant's circular.

The Recorder (Mr. F. Shaw) stated that Mr. Ed-
ward Byrne, a farmer, of Whitestown, had banded
in a proposal to him for the attentive considera-
tion of the meeting, viz., for the draining of land
and the improvement of a water-course in his (Mr.
Byrne's) own land. According to the regulations
set forth in the letter of Mr. "Labouchere, a work
of this description could be presented for, upon the pro-
prietors giving an undertaking thrit, the money so pre-
rented should ba charged exclusively on the lands. This
Mr. Byrne was ready to do.
This proposal was agreed to.
RELIEF ASSOCIATION.—AP PEAL TO THE
ENGLISH PUBL IC. _ _ .

I find the follo;f4inSaunclers'sliews Letter of this
day. I have heard some objections as to the peculiar
construction of the committee, and generally as to the
manner in which the association has been got up.
" At an adjourned meeting of noblemen and gentle-
men, held at No. 16, Upper Sacicvil le-street, Dublin, on
the 12th day of October, 1846, the :Earl of Roden in the
chair.

" Proposed by Lord Farnham ; meconded by George
A. Hamilton, Esq., M.P.:—
" Resolved—That at the present emergency it is de-
sirable to re-organise the Relief -Association of 1831,
for the benefit of Ireland generally. That a committee
be appointed with the view of carrying on the operations
of the Association, to be designate rl the Managing Com-
mittee of the Relief Association for the Destitute Pea-
santry of Ireland; and that the following noblemen and
gentlemen be appointed the trustees and committee, with
power to add to their numbers :
" Trustees—The Earl of Roden., -Lord Farnham, Lord
George Hill, W. D. La Touche, Esq., and George A.
Hamilton, Esq.
" Committee—Lord Farnham, Af.ajor Adams, Richard
Armit, Esq., Alexander Boyle, E sq., Henry Bewley,
Esq., William Edington, Esq., James Ferrier, Esq.,
Rev. William Fausset, Rev. John Gregg, Robert R.
Guiness, Esq., R. S.'Guiness, Esq. , George A. Hamil-
ton, Esq., Sir J. K. James, Bart., VT. D. La Touche,
Esq , David La Touche, Esq., P. J. Marjoribanks,
Esq., Rev. E. Nangle, Thomas Pa rnell, Esq., Rev. H.
Verschoyle, Lieutenant-Colonel White, M.P., J.
Wilson, Esq.
" Secretaries—Lord George Hi% Rev. C. H. Minchin,
and H. G. Porter, Esq.
" Resolved—That the committeta be requested to make
an appeal to the English public awl to tho community
at large, and especially to absentee Irish proprietors, for
the purpose of obtaining funds to 'enable the committee
to carry forward the objects of tl se Association.
" R 0 DEN, Chairman."

SPIRIT PUBLIC JOURNALS

FRO,L PAPERS OF YESTERDAY.
TIMES.—Lard 1V estmeath's views of the rights and
liabilities of landed proprietors, to which we have on
two recent occasions given publicity, however natural,
however common, however unstriking to Irish land-
owners, ar3, nevertheless, based on an utterly erroneous
view of their duty, and if carried out into action without
limit, would result in the most abject misery of the great
majority of mankind. His Lordship came into the pos-
session of certain portions of the soil of Ireland, which
his ancestors had possessed before him. He found divers
tenants occupying parts of his estates under leases.
When these leases fell in, he found more occupiers than
had been bargained for. The soil was encumbered with
humans, and their condition was such, that they were
by no means profitable cattle. Had they been as pro-
fitable to him as so many sheep or pigs, he would have
rejoiced at their being part of the live stock of
his farms. He objects to them, not as bipeds, but as
squatters. He could not, owing to the cost of litiga-
tion, put a stop to the squatting while the leases sub-
siited. If he could have done so, he would. Now
that the leases are ended he wants the law to make up
for lost time ; and cooly proposes that he shall be en-
abled by Act of Parliament to transport to some other
country—no matter which—the uncomfortable surplus
population ; that a new felony shall be created- for the
benefit of his "order," the landed proprietors of Ireland;
that the crime of having been born into Ireland, and
having survived the perils of Irish infancy, shall be
placed in the same category with forgery, burglary, and
arson. If this is a specimen of what an Irish House of
Lords would do in the way of domestic legislation, it had
better be avowed generally at once. It might have some
effect even in that focus of nonsensical extravagance, the
Conciliation Hall. Nov, it may be as well for the Irish
landowners to consider what would be the case of the
population if Ireland, like Egypt, had only one land-
owner. Would they, then occupying the position in
Ireland of tenants of the soil, deem it just that this
monopolist of " the first gem of the sea" should prohibit
their marrying and having families ? or that he
should only permit a given portion of them to marry,
era endeavour to place a limit on the number of chil-
dren which should be born? If rot, they must give up
Lord Westmeath's proposal for the expatriation of his
countrymen as equally against the inalienable rights of
man. If the landowner—the solitary lord of the soil—
whom we have supposed could have no right to prohibit
or attempt to restrict the multiplication of his species,
50,000 landowners combined could have no such right,
nor could any one of them have it. Again, this landed
oligarch could only enjoy his insular estate by having it
tenanted by others besides himself. Were he the sole
inhabitant of his own territory, he would be as badly
off as Robinson Crusoe before he found Man Friday.
He must have tenants to enable him to enjoy his own
property. Without tenants he would have no profits.
If he introduced a tenant population, unless he made an
express bargain with them, at their first introduction
into his domains, that they and their posterity
should at all times remain at his absolute disposal, and
renewed that bargain with their descendants, they would
bring with them, and retain, their rights as human be-
ings; and if he took the benefit of their labours, he must
also take the liability of satisfying such of their physical
wants as should enable them to fulfil the conditions of
their existence. But if, instead of introducing a labour-
ing population, he became the owner of the soil already
occupied by his fellow-creatures, and availed himself of
their services to obtain some enjoyment from it, he must
take their consequences with them, permitting them to
propagate their kind and to people his domains. He
could only have a conditional right to the land—a limited
proprietorship. The Aborigines would possess their
ordinary rights as human beings, and transmit them to
their descendants. Their children would be born

into the country with his express or tacit consent,
and with the rights of fellow-countrymen with him.
It would not be difficult to convince even an Irish land-
holder that Mehemet Ali has no right to screw his
Ftllalis down to absolute starvation, or to drive them
wholesa!e into the desert. They would admit that those
Fellahs, as Egyptians, have a right to live in Egypt ;
that if they perform their duty to the Pacba of cultivat-
ing his corn and cotton estate, they may require in re-
turn the means of subsistence and of subsisting in
Egypt ; and that, however absolute may be the Govern-
ment under which they are placed, they are entitled to
their share of the rights of man. Follow this out in
Ireland, and there is no logical possibility of denying
that those who are born in Ireland have by the mere
accident of their birth a right to stay and subsist in Ire-
land. It may be a hard task, and one of slow fulfilment,
to convince the majority of the proprietors of the Irish
soil of the truth that the whole of God's earth is intended
for the enjoyment of the whole of God's creatures ;
that when a child is born into that world it is gifted by
God's providence with a right to a subsistence during
the whole of its life on and from that earth ; and that
whatever may be the artificial division of that earth into
continents, countries, or counties, no combination of men
whatever can, without a violation of their duty to God
and man, make such an appropriation of any portion of
it as shall deprive a single fellow-creature of that right,
or hinder him in the reasonable enjoyment of it ; but it
is the truth, and it must be recognised and acted on.
CHRONICLE.—The meeting of the working classes
of Manchester, held in their Town• ball on Tuesday
evening, for the purpose of memorialising Lord John
Russell to open the ports, is a sign of the times which
cannot fail of receiving the deliberate and respectful
attention of an enlightened statesman. From the report,
which appears elsewhere, of the brief, quiet, and per-
fectly business-like proceedings on this occasion, it will
be seen that our manufacturing operatives have made
great proficiency in that most useful description of all
useful knowledge—knowledge of the facts and laws
determining their own social condition. The compulsory
and disagreeable lessons of the best of schools seem to
have been mastered by our working-men, in Lancashire
at least, with a very satisfactory completeness. Their
own experience for many successive years—as interpreted
to them, first, by the League, and more recently by
Cabinet Ministers who vied with one another, through
the greater part o fa protracted Parliamentary session, in
expounding the economies of the working-man's life—has
been largely effectual in imparting the wisdom more im-
mediately profitable for their political guidance. They
know all about the doctrine of wages, and its relation to
prices. They understand their concern in that political,
or state, economy, which is neither more nor less than
the aggregate of their own particular domestic econo-
mies. They have learned to respect the facts and figures
of that political arithmetic which does but sum up and
epitomise the more familiar domestic arithmetic of their
own cupboards and firesides. They appreciate their
interest in that cheapness of the primary necessaries of
life, which enlarges the surplus of national income
available for the comforts and luxuries that consti-
tute the subject-matter of manufacturing production
and commercial interchange. The difference between
cheapness and dearth of the nation's food they know to
be so much added to, or taken from the nation's capi-
tal—which capital is the fund out of whose increase
their wages are paid. They have acquired considerable
skill in this very interesting species of computation.
So much added to the price of the 41b. loaf they
find, on casting up, to be so much of extra weekly taxa-
tion on a town and neighbourhood of such or such a
population—the amount of which tax " is, of course,
abstracted from the receipts of the general tradesman,
and is thus operative to the destruction of the home
market for manufactures." With this expert intelli-
gence of the law of wages and the nature of the wages
fund, our working men are of course very watchful of
dangers that threaten that fund with diminution—espes
cially with gratuitous and preventable diminution by ar-
tificial causes. They look with jealous alarm on those
shillings of the scale, which, as a now easy and familiar
logic has taught them, stand for shillings abstracted
from their pockets. They dread and deprecate the
effect, especially during a season of severe national trial
and difficulty, of even four shillings artificially added to
the natural price of a quarter of wheat—such addition
really and practicably meaning, to them, increased com-
petition for diminished wages. With prices rising to
the point at which a fixed four-shilling barrier will
abridge and retard the very supplies of whose necessity
the Legislature has made that figure the ind.x, they are
keenly alive to the danger and absurdity of a policy, the
principles of which have been explicitly condemned by
every statesman of weight and repute, and whose results
are so dismally illustrated in their own well-remembered
experience. It is just the old story beginning over
again, and they know it all too thoroughly by heart not
to beg fervently that it may be cut short. This is really
a very striking feature of this working-class meeting.
The alarm which prompts Manchester operatives to
pray for open ports, is a reasoning and prospective
alarm. Their meeting and memorial are no passionate
utterance of irritated or desponding misery, but the
quiet and sober minded expression of a logically justi-
fied fear. The whole proceeding is very much of a pre-
cautionary character. These are not " distressed
manufacturers" clamouring for a "boon," but men enjoy-
ing a very tolerable amount of prosperity, who see
natural causes at work that
.must imperil and abridge
their prosperity, and are anxious that a natural and in-
evitable evil should, at least, not be artificially aggra-
vated. The memorialists have nothing to say of
"distress," except as a future event, which they
see at no great distance, and for which they
would be well prepared. It is only that they
" apprehend great distress, and would have this distress
minimised down to its natural limits, by the instant ex-
tinction
of evil. But
tbiiahta noefdeliberateeoifta fiTscn fiscal lyainjusticensdpesao speak
sober
er
underwhichapprehension
no other pressure than must, snore or less,
e
after all the teaching they have had, this is enough to
make them speak plainly and strongly. They have
learned to read future events in present tendencies.
They are great believers in cause and effect. They scent
danger afar off, and are wise in time. We cannot en-
tertain the fear that the chosen of our statesmen will
show themselves less sagacious in their interpretation of
familiar facts, or less far-seeing in their prescience of a
certain and not very remote future, or less prompt and
earnest in warding off preventible aggravations of a com-
ing evil, than a miscellaneous assemblage of our working
men. Lord John Russell must be as well able as these
operative memorialists to draw the right conclusion from
data of fact and principle which are common to both
parties. We feel persuaded that, to a prayer so just and
reasonable, and so thoroughly accordant with the maxims
of a reflective and experienced statesmanship, there is
but one answer possible. After all, our Manchester
working men only ask, that the settled and fundamental
policy of the empire may be consistently applied to meet
the special wants of a crisis for which it has an obvious
special fitness.
ADVERTISER.—The subject of punishment in the
navy, to which we referred yesterday in our correspond-
ence, is one which ought to receive a large share of
public attention. The court-martial on board the Vic-
tory (off Portsmouth) reveals to the public a practise in
our steam navy which ought immediately to be discon-
tinued, and which it is strange that men of ordinary in-
telligence and humanity should ever have permitted.
The charge against Lieutenant Story was, " that he, on

1:11-1, day (,f August. 1546, beime then the senior
1. 'ter .111.,, stekut,,hip Retribution
. . . did . . . bluer Redpath, then the
captain of the hold of the same ship, to be confined in
the ' port bunker' of the said ship, in which bunker the
said Edward Redpath was accordingly confined, and
was found dead ; the said Lieutenant having ordered
such punishment of confinement without reference to
`Captain Stephen Lusbington, the captain of the said
ship." We are not about again to arraign Lieutenant
Story, or to question the justice of the finding of
the court, by which he was honourably acquitted of all
blame for his said conduct on the occasion before men
tioned. Indeed, it was quite apparent, from the evidence
on the court-martial, that Lieutenant Story bore an ex-
cellent character on board the Retribution for humanity,
and that he was an enemy to the barbarous practice of
flogging. It appeared also that the punishment which
led to the death of Edward Redpath "had been pre-
viously resorted to on board the Retribution, with the
knowledge of the captain, and not disapproved of by
him, and that the same punishment bad been adopted in
other steam-ships." The finding of the Judge-advocate
adds, "without any bad consequences ;" but qutere. By
this time our readers may wish to have some insight
into this "port bunker," which was the scene and the cause
of the death of Edward Redpath. For the benefit of those
who are not very learned in naval lore, we beg to mention
that the " port bunker" is the coal-hole of the steam-
vessel, into which it has become the practice in the
steam-vessels of war to cast refractory seamen. The un-
fortunate man Edward Redpath, whose crime was drunk-
enness, was placed on the platform in this miserable
place, and was seen just under the grating some hours
after his imprisonment, but when the time approached for
his release, he was found lying insensible on the coals.
The truth is, the man was poisoned by the foul gas—the
carbonic acid gas emitted by the coals. Every one
knows, or ought to know, that an atmosphere which will
scarcely feed the flame of a candle is one in which
human life cannot be sustained. Now, one of the wit..
nesses stated that he took a candle to look for the de-
ceased man, and in answer to a question from Captain
Stanley, he admitted that the light " was burning dimly;"
and farther, that he felt the ill effects of the gas himself
during the short time ho was employed in raising the
deceased man out of it. The same witness; Thomas
Rumble, a stoker, admitted that he felt the ill effects of
the gas in the bunker before, those effects being "pains
in the head, across the eyes." In accordance with these
statements is the evidence which was given by the sur-
geon of the Retribution, who said, " I made a post-mortem
examination, and found the appearances on the body such
as are known to exist where the persons have died
from respiration of carbonic acid gas. The lungs
were gorged in blood dark in colour. What blood
was about the heart and the large vessels was fluid and
of a very dark colour." There is, therefore, not the
shadow of a doubt that this poor man was killed by
being cast into a mephitic atmosphere, from which he
could not escape, and where he died, just as any one
would die, in a sort of Grotto del Cano. We cannot
withhold the expression of our indignation at the gross
ignorance which presides over this department of the
punitive code in the steam navy. Here are gentlemen
of great sagacity in the cocked hats, entrusted with
irresistible power over the lives of their men, and who
have to find out, by the actual occurrence of death, that
it is unsafe to order a man into the receptacle of a large
quantity of coals, where the temperature is between 76
and 80. We regret to discover on board the steam
navy so much ignorance, or so little attention to the ne-
cessary effect of modes of punishment ; and we hope the
competent authority will interfere to prevent the further
infliction of death by the certain process of " the port
bunker."

MEScRS. DELARUE'S ENVELOPES FOR NEWS-
PAPERS.—If any envelope be entitled to the denomina-
tion of safe, it is the newly-invented newspaper envelope
manufactured by Messrs. Delarue and Co., which, com-
bining as it does the security of a tie, by means of a
piece of tape fitted into the envelope, with that of the
usual adhesive edge of the ordinary envelope, furnishes a
double security. These envelopes, manufactured of
plain paper, are sold at the rate of Is. per 100, and will,
no doubt, soon come into general use. In addition to the
plain paper envelopes, Messrs. Delarue and Co. have
manufactured others of a patent material (paper lined
with caoutchouc), which being waterproof, and not liable
to tear, are admirably adapted for transmission to foreign
countries. They seem as tough and as strong asleather.
Mr COUSIN NICLIOLAS.—This is the new volume of
"The Standard Novels," and comprises the powerful
story with which the Rev. Mr. Barham first delighted
the readers of Blackwood. The quaint humour and the
deep pathos of the talc are still fresh in the recollection
of those readers, who will be glad to find this favourite
story presented to them in so convenient a form. We
envy those who have-yet to read "Cousin Nicholas,"
and we hardly know whether or not to envy those who
have yet to become fascinated by the absorbing story
appended to it, under the title of " The Trance," which
deprived us of more hours' sleeping than we care to
acknowledge.— Court Journal.
MExICAN BoNns.—ln the dispatch which has
created so much noise within the last few days, is a
clause ordering Mr. Murphy to publish it immediately.
The bondholders, who are in the greatest state of
uncertainty, knowing the existence of the dispatch, and
seeing no official copy of it, are most anxious that Mr.
Murphy should comply with this order of the provisional
Government, or, at any rate, make some statement on
the subject. The fact that Messrs. Schneider deny the
receipt of any official information as to the mission of
Senor Gomez Farias is not enough to counteract the
effect of a document which is circulated in the City, and
which announces the repudiation of the new bonds, and
the removal of Mr. Murphy from office.
BENEVOLENCE OF THE LATE PREMIER..—The fol-

lowing instance (says the Suffolk Chronicle) of Sir Ro-
bert Peel's unobtrusive benevolence was mentioned by
Mr. Wilderspin, in the course of his lecture at the Ips-
wich Mechanics' Institution, on Tuesday evening. We
give it in the speaker's own words:—" Some of you have
heard of llaydon, the painter, and, no doubt, you have
heard that Sir Robert Peel, the late Prime Minister of
England, sent that man 501. in his distress. It ought to
be known, by my moving about the country in this
manner—and I never thought of self, for I always had
faith that my countrymen would not allow me to die ;in
a union, and that the Almighty would not allow me to ask
for the common necessaries of life—that I had spent all
my money. I was at last reduced to the utmost extre-
mity. I wanted a crust of bread, yet I kept the secret
within my own breast. I set out for an obscure village,
where I thought I would end my days. A friend called
upon me. And when I had not a single shilling in my
house, when I had nothing to offer him, for I felt I
shoulddegrade my cause by running into debt, when my
poor dog was as thin as my children, 501. 'came from the
Prime Minister of England, Sir Robert Peel. Thus you
see there are two men whom he has benefited. One is
now in the eternal world, and the other is the humble
individual who stands before you."
It is rumoured among the highest classes of society
that the fair fugitive from Gloucestershire will shortly
be received by her noble parents ; it is said that the
blacksmith at Gretna was not on this occasion called
upon to perform the ceremony, but that the gallant offi-
cer and his " ladye love " were united in a large town
in the west of England at an early hour on the morning

of the elopement. -
We regret to announce the death of Mr. F. V. Lee,
a barrister of the Oxford Circuit, in very considerable
business. Mr. Lee was a man very popular among the
attorneys of his circuit, and was a man of great aptitude
and shrewdness, and what is called business-like talent.
His death was very sudden. He had been out shooting
on the Monday, and on his return home, and while
dressing, fell down and expired. He has left a widow
and a numerous family to mourn his early loss—for Mr.
Lee had but attained his 41st or 42d year.
APPROACHING MARRIAGE IN HIGH LIFE.—The
marriage of Lady Charlotte Herbert, second daughter of
the Earl and Countess of Powis, and Mr. H. Mont-
gomery, of Grey Abbey, county Antrim, is to be solem-
nized.on Tuesday next. The Earl and Countess of
Powis, and Ladies Herbert, Viscount Clive, and other
members of the family, have already arrived in town
from Powis Castle, Welshpool. A sumptuous dejeuncr
will be given by the parents of the fair betrothed to a
numerous and distinguished circle in celebration of the
nuptials.
CURRENTS IN THE CHANNEL.—An inquest was
held by adjournment from the Ecclesbourne Coast Guard
Station, near Hastings, on Tuesday, on the body of a
man, name unknown. It appeared in evidence, that on
Saturday morning one of the Coast Guard, while on duty,
saw the body washed on shore. It was dressed in a
good black coat, a figured satin waistcoat, black trousers,
and Wellington boots. In the pockets were found seven
double francs, too single francs, seven double and one
single copper sous, and a card-case, containing cards of
Mr. Charles Ellis, and of Messrs. Ellis, 81, Borough-
street, Southwark. Lieutenant Coggs, of the Coast
Guard, repaired to London, and was referred to Mr.
Joseph Ellis, of Balham• hill, Clapham, from whom he
learned that his brother, a Mr. Charles Ellis, had been
living some years at Guernsey, and that about three
weeks ago his hat had been found on the rocks in that
island, and that. it was conjectured he had ['Allen into
the sea and been drowned. Mr. Joseph Ellis attended
the inquest on Tuesday, and stated his belief that the
body was that of his brother, and the jury thereupon re-
turned a verdict of " Found drowned." The body must
have traversed the distance between Guernsey and
Ecclesbourne during the late heavy gales from the south-
west.

THE COBDEN NATIONLL TRIBUTE.—Within the
last week the committee of this fund have received 350/.,
principally contributed by the people of Manchester,
Burslem, Bury, Dalkeith, Clitheroe, and Gomersol. At
the weekly meeting, on Tuesday evening, at Manchester,
the Chairman, Mr. George Wilson, stated that Mr.
Henry Bury, of Edenfleld, has subscribed 100/. The
total sum received amounts to 74,795 L The collection
in London is making rapid progress, and the reports'
transmitted by the collectors are of the most cheering
character. At the next meeting of the committee, a
return of the amounts collected in Lancashire, York-
shire, Cheshire, Staffordshire, and Warwickshire, will
be submitted.
THE WESTMINSTER IMPROVEMENTS.—ALLOCATION
OF THE POOR-RATES.—It is stated that another attempt
will be made to carry out the long talked-of improve-
ments in Westminster by an allocation of the poor-rates,
and bills are extensively circulated in St. Margaret's and
St. John's parishes, calling on the rate-payers not to
consent to any such application of the parochial funds.
Great complaints are everywhere made, too, that the
Government did not take the plan upon themselves, with-
out leaving it to bo a matter for speculation.
CHARLTON FAlR.—This pleasure fair, which is
better known as "Horn fair," will commence on Monday
next, and continue three days, at Charlton (near Black-
heath). Its charter is of ancient date, and it once
ranked among the first-class suburban pleasure fairs. It
has of late years gradually declined, and has now become
a mere phantom of by-gone fairs.

ROY -'
311 AIL STEAM-P_IICEET

Eii e:

_
proprietors of coa:pany via, held, sr one o'clock yes-
terday, at t. la :Alden Tavern. Notwithstanoing the in-
auspicious t tat e of the weather, a considerable 'number
of proprietor 2 ttendcd. Thomas Baring, Esq., occupied
the chair.

The CHAt RI lAIY said, owing to the absence of the
Chairman of ti to company, he had been requested to
take the chair on that occasion. He did not know that
it was neces sax y for him, at tho commencement of the
meeting, to in ake any other observations beyond con-
gratulating the proprietors upon the regular operations
of the company e, and upon its favourable prospects. He
then called it] 'on the Secretary to read the report and
financial states sent.
The report F. et forth that, at the corresponding meet-
ing last year, the. directors announced that they had
succeeded in rra aging with her Majesty's Government
the preliminaries of au amended contract for the com-
pany, plaeing its affairs upon a more satisractory basis,
and they may n( sw add that the new agreement has since
received the fo:rmal ratification of both parties. The
company's ship s co,etinue to arrive and depart at the
various p ,aces, bor a abroad and at home, with the
greatest regularity
and the manner in which the ser-
vice is cot iducted appears to afford general satisfaction.
Since the last fx eeting of the proprietors the contem-
plated arranger dents for conveying passengers and
treasure across the Isthmus of Panama have been com-
pleted; and otl ter means are also in progress for faci-
litating to thf s utmost this important traffic. The
additional Thu nber of persons travelling by the com-
pany's ships have rendered it necessary to extend
the cabin accommodation, which has entailed
considere.nle expense on the company, but this will
no doubt be ft illy compensated by increasing the receipts.
The amount r ,ow invested on the insurance account is
50,77:31. 4s. in Three-and-a-Quarter per Cent. Stock,
and the cla'an s hitherto against this fund have been very
inconsideribl c. It will be observed that upon the total
expenditure the working account now presented shows
an aug,mer station over that of the first six
months of last year, amounting to 3,8631. 3s. ld,
which arises principally from an increase under the head
of " provisite ns," occasioned by the greater number of
passengers ; and it affords the directors much gratifica-
tion that rue y are enabled to exhibit an augmentation in
the receip ts, amounting to 10,332/. 18s. 11d., showing
therefore art increased surplus of 6,469/. 15s. 10d. over
the corres cpc coding period of last year. Looking at this
steady ilnp rovement in the company's finances, and
having no re aeon to doubt its continuance for the subse-
quent six rat ,nths of the present year, the directors feel
justified in proposing an addition of five shillings per
share to t'ne dividend, making it for the half-year ended.
30th June- last, 11. 15s. per share, to be paid free of de-
duction on and after the 19th inst.

The fin an 2ial statement submitted to the proprietors
showed the disbursements for the half-year, from the
Ist of Jut 'us try to the 30th of June last, to be 146,1231.
6s. 3d., a nct the receipts for the same period 195,0141.
16s. 4d., 1, saving a surplus, 48,8911. 10s. Id., being a net
increase ot" 0,469/. 15s. 10d. over the preceding half-year.
The CH Ail mix moved the adoption of the report.
Mr. RIl to, ,VAY seconded the motion. He said be was
one of the, original proprietors of the company, and
that he held 25 shares ; and, therefore, whatever he
might say w ith respect to its affairs, or the proceedings
of the di-me tors, was only dictated 'by one feeling—
namely, the good of the undertaking in which they had
embarked t heir capital. He did not hesitate to
state that iii his opinion there were many grounds for
bringing sou to grave accusations against the directors.
During the -last few months their income had been ma-
terially in. !IN 3ased—perhaps the directors did not think
it proper to mention this important fact to the pro-
prietors, I mit it was right they should know that a great
increase .1a I taken place to their income during the
last few m oaths. He wished therefore to have a reply
to this qn as./ ion, whether or not in the course of one
month, Ai igt tst. since the making up of the accounts to
the 30th of June, the profits had been greater than
during tie entire preceding half-year?—(Several
directors, " No, no.") If he was not correct
in this :05 usaption at any rate the increased
profits f. err ned a very large item ; and the
fact was of le , as he had said, of which the proprietary
ought not tt be kept in ignorance, especially as it was
of a nature, to encourage those who had supported the
company u nt ler all the disadvantages under which it had
formerly laboured. In the report presented at the
last 'meth) g the shareholders were informed that the
profits bac!. materially increased; and an Honourable
Proprietor -who was present on that occasion—Me.
Stuart—e: :pr essed an opinion to the effect that the
dividend ( )uvht, on the showing of the accounts, to be
at least se yell and a half per cent. Now those who had
borne the 'or-unt of this great undertaking ought not to
be left with, the small additional increase on their divi-
dends of the half-year mentioned in the report. 'They
ought. to have some benefit from the capital
they had invested, and not be left to the fkc-
tuations of the money market, for the com-
pany hind stood well amidst the difficulties
which had attended all joint-stock companies during the
last few yea rs. To show the increased value of their
shares, he no ight state that some time ago he bought
some sharas. at 121., on which 604 had been paid, and
although they were purchased at so small a rate, they
were of great value in the market at the present moment.
A. very 'large fund had been reserved to meet anv
casualties that might occur to the company's ships, but
it appeared to him that they had a sufficiently ample
reserve fund to meet any exigency that might occur,
without adding to that fund what ought legitimately to
be applied to the dividend fund. The report stated that
the new arrangements. the directors had made had given
great satisfaction ; still he had heard complaints made
by parties that they had been shifted during their
joir.rney from one boat to another, and that their position
in one ship was altered when they were removed to an-

other. Unquestionably this was a course which entailed
the greatest inconvenience upon their passengers, par-
ticularly upon ladies. There were also complaints that
the wine was of an inferior quality. Though he had
named this on a former occasion, and though it was
treated as an immaterial matter, still he thought it was a
muter of the utmost importance.—(Hear.) There
should be no ground of complaint on this head, because
the passengers paid a good price, and it was to the ad-
vantage of the company to induce them to patronise
them as much as possible. However, they could not ob-
ject to the reception of the report ; he hoped, however,
that something would 1:to done before long—before the
next meeting. Perhaps before then the directors would
voluntarily declare an increased dividend in the shape of

a bonus.
The CHAIRMAN explained that the increase of dividend
for the half-year was ss. on every share of 60/., or 31. 10s.
per share. He (Mr. Ridgway) 'was wrong in saying
that there was only quarter increase.—(Mr. Ridgway
intimated that he did not say so.) The Hon. Proprietor
had been most censorius for many years, so much so
that he was the last person from whom he should have
expected a recommendation to increase the dividend,
inasmuch as no one was so prolific of predictions of evil
to the company, in fact speech appeared to have been
given him to conceal his thoughts. It was true he
had a perfect right to censure the directors, whose
duty it was to listen to all he or any other Hon.
Proprietor might address to them, but he would allow him
(the Chairman) to state that no one had depreciated the
amount of dividend more zealously than the Hon. Pro-
prietor had done, when it was less than at present. The
Chairman then read a statement of thereceipts in August
last and in the August of last year. By that state-
ment it appeared that the Hon. Proprietor was in correct
in his data with respect to the extraordinary increase
which he stated had taken place since the making up of
the accounts. The whole increase, it appeared from
this statement, during the three months ending the 30th
of September, outward and homeward, was 6,8901. The
amount of capital received, he (the Chairman) considered
by no means too great for the casualties which might
arise. The next accusation which the lion. Proprietor
brought against them was, that the statement in the re-
port, that their proceedings had given general satisfac-
tion, was incorrect. Nothing would have been more pre •
sumptuous than to have stated that their proceedings
had met with the approbation of the worthy proprietor
—(Hear)—but they were correct in stating that they
had met with " general satisfaction," which did not in-
clude the worthy proprietor. His next charge referred
to the removing of passengers.
Mr. RIDGWAY explained, that if a passenger took a
berth at Bermuda, he was liable to be removed to ano-
ther at Grenada.
The CHAIRMAN said it was impossible to regulate
throughout a long voyage the irremovability of the pas-
sengers, because it was not easy to ascertain what berths
had been pre-engaged in the different cohlnies at which
the boats called. The wines had certainly been corn-
plained ef—(Hear, hear)—and the director.: had given
their attention to the subject. They now employed two
instead of one wine merchant, who affixed their prices to
their wines, which was hung up in each ship, so that the
passengers themselves could test the wines and disover
-the best. He (the Chairman) urged the proprietors
not to declare an amount of dividend beyond that
which the circumstances of the company could
yield.—(Hear, hear.) The directors were naturally
anxious to increase the dividends, because they held a
large stake in the company, but when they looked to the
casualties—their great floating capital, and the shortness
of the contract they had now to run—they considered
the reserve fund not too ample, even although they had
a 50,0001. insurance fund. Although their profits had
increased, no very great additions had been made to their
capital stock.
The report and accounts were then received, and
ordered to be printed and circulated amongst the share-
r* I iers.
Mr. C. Minus highly complimented the directors on
the great interest they had taken in the company. No
direction of any company in the city of London held a
greater stake in any one company than they did in that
company. Instead of paying 6/. dividend, they did not,
in fact, pay more than 5/., as they were then paying off
three years of arrears. It should not, therefore, go
forth that they were accumulating a large capitalf
with-
out enhancing the dividends. Then the insurance fund
c
amounted to 25,000/. a year. The casualties
their property was exposed were great. One companyhad lost one ship (the Great Britain, we_parrume),
and
by accounts received that morning they h dna nearly lost
acnodnedluirdeeed
by passing a vote of thanks to the chair.
their remaining one (the Great Western).man He
tors, expressive of the continued confidence of the
shareholders in them, which was seconded by Mr.
Poynder .
Mr. ItinowAY would not object to the motion, but he
seriously objected to the conduct of the Hon. Chairman,
who had sought to prevent him from giving free expres-
sion to the opinion he entertained.—.(Cries of " Order,
order.") He was perfectly in order, as he was speaking
on a motion which had reference to the conduct of the
chairman and the directors. lie wished it to be distinctly
understood that he should not hesitate to express his
sentiments on the affairs of the company. Ile

S- IT N ....,
el- 4-• . 4 ------zni:-;', -.i
p.,
....5.4 ,—, ..'
-------."—°—..". .... -- E.. Api, A „ 11:_k I.
.97 -4../ r ,' \.."e". .7"- 17
:1 -1., ,-,1 i f there were not sinple grounds fo ..- e,>•.11,,:c).ie,
inci,. there wen?. Re hoped for the ".I`a if-,'2:::, ft
he e 11 1-
i.olin would evince more courtesov to i .1-"..- •{" :' ------;,-,--;_i
1: i',,i,. it ifi,i. duty to icinon6trate. Ile ( \-ir ,kt: 1--.....LV,
in his position of life, was as respectable as an -)1'
his (Mr. Baring's) father's house. -IiVcISKIN
The CHAIRMAN_ acknowledged the right of Mr. Ridg-
way to express his censure and as perseveringly as he
bad done. Ile was not aware of having offended the
Hon. Proprietor in anything he had said.
The motion was then carried, and the meeting se-
pa rated.

DREADFUL EXPLOSION and LOSS
OF LIFE AT WALKER IRON WORKS.
NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, ‘TUESDAY.--A dreadful ex-
plosion occurred last night at the extensive iron works
of Messrs. Losh, Wilson, and Bed, situated on the
river T3ne, at Walker. about three miles below New-
castle. Three poi sons a ere killed, one by the force of
the explosion, and the other two by inhaling the impure
air before the explosion took place, and several others
have been seriously injured. The Walker iron works
are the most extensive in this district, and give employ-
ment to upwards of a thousand men. They comprise
the various processes of manufacttue from the iron stone,
whence the ore is extracted, to the completion of the
mechanism for which it is designed. Two blast fur-
naces and four refineries are in continual operation. The
blast is produced by an air pump, worked by a steam-
engine of one hundred and twenty horse power, pump-
ing on an average 14,000 cubic feet of air per minute.
The blast is conducted from the blowing cylinder in
metal pipes to the various furnaces, the feeding pipe
being about six feet in diameter, and connected with
others of smaller dimensions, from which branch pipes of
still smaller bore
.exiwtaerhngiciceh tboeitnhge fires.
receiver
filled i sn p
witha e d orderihnig h theltyo
lregulate
t htehsee bpl aispte sa,
condensed air, operates in producing a uni-
formity of action in the blast pipe during the return
stroke of the air-pump. There are two air-pumps on
the premises, one on the east and the other on the west
side of the boiler, and both communicating with it, but
for some time the pump on the west side has not been
worked, the other one, which has recently been erected,
being larger, and capable of doing all the work required.
The works cover fourteen or fifteen acres of ground, and
the pipes, therefore, are of considerable length. The
escape valve opens into a drain, communicating with the
river, as does also the privy for the use of the workmen,
the latter being in that part of the works west of the
reservoir above described. The accident appears
to have arisen from an accumulation of foul air in the
reservoir, and the pipes to the westward of it. It appears
that about six o'clock yesterday evening the men in the
works were alarmed by hearing groans issuing from the
privy, and one of the boys went down to see what was
the matter, when he was heard to utter a loud scream,
and fall down, almost immediately on reaching the bottom
of the stairs. This alarming circumstance brought
several of the workmen to the spot, and with much diffi-
culty the boy was dragged out, in a state of insensibility,
from which he was with difficulty recovered. A lamp
having been procured, it was ascertained that a man and
a boy were in the privy, and no doubt the groaning that
was heard proceeded from them. With great difficulty
both were drawn out, and the usual restoratives applied,
but without effect, as they were both dead. It was
judged that the impure air had proceeded from the
drain, into which it might have passed from the
blast pipes after having been generated in the furnace.
The pipes were accordingly examined. One branch
pipe that had been plugged was found with the plug out,
and the blast escaping from the orifice. The men tried
to close this opening, but they were not able on account
of the strength of the blast. Robert Rogers and Wil-
liam Short, two of the overseers, then caused the pump-
ing engine to be stopped, and they proceeded to the
reservoir in order to close the orifice of the pipe leading
from it to that portion of the works where the privy is
situate d. They opened the man hole of the reservoir,
and Rogers was in the act of looking in, when a tre-
mendous explosion took place, the force of which carried
poor Rogers ii:to the air, the height of nearly fifty feet,
and landed him on an eminence about twenty yards from
the place. He was literally shattered to pieces. His arm
was blown off, his head and face flattened, and dreadfully
disfigured ; and when gathered up, his body presented a
horrible mass of mutilated remains. Short nas blown
some distance from the spot, and also much injured, but
he fortunately escaped the direct action of the explosion
The reservoir, which was of plate metal, three-six-
teenths of an inch in thickness, was blown to frag-
ments,
• which were sent with tremendous violence
in every direction, through the roofs of adjacent
buildings, knocking down walls, and everything
that obstruct• d their progress. One large piece of
metal plate was driven at least three hundred yards from
the place, and the windows in nearly every house in the
vicinity of the explosion were broken. The inhabitants
of the cottages adjoining the works, on hearing the
noise, rushed out of their houses, and a group had as-
sembled near some palings, where they stood a few mo-
ments surveying the scene of the disaster at the distance
of about 150 yards, when suddenly a massive metal plate
descended within a few feet of them on to one of the
posts of the paling with such violence that the wooden
post actually pierced the plate, which came to rest about
a foot from the ground, supported by'the fragments of
broken palings, and with the post sticking through it.
The men had no light near the reservoir, nor was there
any fire seen at the time of the explosion, which seems
to have issued from the orifice of the blast pipe as from
the mouth of a cannon. The end of the blowing cy-
linder was carried over the heads of the workmen in the
`rolling mill to the opposite side of the building, where
it struck a man and broke his leg. Another fragment
struck a youth, and injured him severely. The rest
seem to have fortunately escaped. It is conjectured
that the explosion arose from the cause above described
—namely, the ignition of inflammable air in the pipes,
which it is supposed arose from the furnace, but that
has not yet been satisfactorily ascertained.
An inquest on view of the bodies of the unfortunate
sufferers was opened this afternoon, and was adjourned
till Thursday.

ALARMING RISE.—We already knew the Duke of
Wellington was dear to his country, but we never ex-
pected he would rise to such "a very large figure."—
Punch.
RAPID PASSAGE. -- The splendid iron clipper
schooner Prince of Wales, which left London on Friday
morning, at seven o'clock, reached Leith harbour at six
o'clock on Sunday evening, thus performing the passage
(a distance of nearly 500 miles) in the remarkably short
space of 47 hours.

The celebrated Greek General Kalergi, who so
admirably conducted the movement at Athens on the
15th of September, 1843, arrived in town on the 10th
instant.

THE MODEL PRISON, CLERKENWELL.—This pri-
son, intended as a house of detention for untried persons,
is to be ready for use by the commencement of the nest
year.

TIIE PROJECTOR or Socumsm.—Robert Owen
has returned again to the United States, having crossed
the Atlantic four times in less than six months. Though
upwards of seventy-five years old, be is still as enthu-
siastic as ever in the pursuit of his plans of, reform.—
New York Tribune.

FISHING.—For some time past there have been
large hauls of turbots, soles, flounders, and other fish,
got betwixt the Ardrossan and Irvine bars, by means of
trawling nets. A boat, in one afternoon, took three toss
of these fish.—Ayr Observer.
A POLICEMAN DANGEROUSLY STABBED BY HIS
WlFE.—Wednesday, shortly before 2 o'clock, Benjamin
Wood, City police constable 526, was sitting at dinner
with his wife, at their lodgings, Talbot-court, Grace-
church-street, when some words arose between
them, which ended in the wife throwing with great
violence a sharply• pointed table-knife, which struck
him in the neck, beneath the right ear. The
blood gushed forth profusely from the wound, and
the poor fellow rushed out to Mr. Smith's, surgeon,
to whom he stated that he had been stabbed by his wife.
Mr. Smith, finding that the wound was nearly an inch and
a halt deep, and that the carotid artery had been in-
jured, instantly forwarded him to St. Thomas's Hos-
pital, where be now remains in an almost hopeless state,
arising chiefly from the loss of blood, as well as from
the dangerous nature of the wound, owing to the great
difficulty of uniting the artery. Immediately after then
occurrence the wife gave herself up at the station-house
Garlick hill. Benjamin Wood is a mild inoffensive man,
and is deemed a very excellent officer ; he has been at-
tached to the force almost ever since it was first estab-
lished, and was highly respected both by his superiors
as well as his brother officers.

A CHILD DROWNED IN A WAERING•TUD.—Wednes-
day forenoon, an inquest was held before Mr. Wm.
Carter, at the Pitt's Head Tavern, Grange-road, Ber-
mondsey, on the body of Samuel Robert Hodgkins, aged
eight months, whose friends reside at No. 10, Diamond-
street, Grange-road. It appeared from the evidence the.
the parents of the deceased were destitute. The de-
ceased, who was in good health, was left on the morning
of Monday on the bed, by its mother, wt.ile she went
out of the room, and on her return soon afterwards she
discovered the deceased lying head downwards in
washing-tub, containing some dirty water,
cbweeineadlsou pc, carelesslyahliuetd llieffet bwyasthebedsid apparently. 3itSthienert.aise"Ad
:I is. leftiedooeni ;
were of no avail. The supposition is that_ t
absent.
the e careless-
ness in, but all efforts to restorheeai deceased
jury, after a few remar
d a verdict of "Accidental
ness of the mother, returne
rolled off the bed whileksthien
motherreferen reference
death."
MORE CONVICTS FOR VAN DLEMIN'S LA1D...410
Arabian, Government transport, has refitted at Dept-
ford Victualling-yard, and is ordered to drop down to
her Majesty's Dockyard, Woolwich, to receive 300 eon-
victs on board, who will be sent down from the Peniten-
tiary, for a passage to Van Diemen's Land.
TENDERS FOR TUE NAVY -Since the Prince of
Wales has been made a midshipman, the Admiralty has
been besieged with nurses and anxious mothers, carry-
ing their little charges to be admitted into the navy.
The impression amongst the fair sex evidently
is, that a child cannot be entered too early
on board a man-of-war; and the number of babies that
have been tendered to the Lords of the AdMiralty as
future Lord Nelsons has been quite awful. One wo-
man presented herself to the porter at the entrance with
twins, and began her speech with " Please, my Lord, I
have brought you two young sailors. I wish them, my
Lord, to be brought up as Admirals, in the same ship ay
the Prince of Wales. This one I should like to be area
one, and this other one blue. You see, my Lord, I have
put ribbons round their little arms, so It there shall be
no mistake about it." She was going on, when the
porter interrupted her, by assuring her that " they were
overstocked with Admirals just at present, but ha
believed they were in want of such an article at the
tChelsea steam-boats " The poor woman took up her
red and blue admirals, and went off immediately at full
speed.—Punch.