The Sun.
London, England, 1856-09-02 00:00:00

A SUBMERGED FOREST.

Visitors to our sea-coast, says a correspondent, often
feel at a loss for a motive to that exertion so favourable
to the acquisition of the health and strength they canes
there to seek, and this is more eapecially the case with
the invalid. As one object which will well repay attens
tion, we may mention the overthrown and submerged
forest of Hartlepool Bay, of the interest connected with
which very few, probably, of the numerous visitors to
Seaton Carew are acquainted. In walking along the
beach northwards, when the tide is low, especially at the
lowest neap tides, patches of a black c flour are oh iervab'e
at irregular intervals in the seed. T less, when eza•
mined more closely, will be found to consist of pore
vegetable matter, resting on a bad of clay. They occur
more frequently as the observer paces nerthwael to the
pier of West Hartlepool, and may be seen again at low
water at and near the breakwater at 0:d Hartlepool.
These curious-looking patches form the remains of an
ancient forest, which once grew on the spot, as the roots
proceeding from the stump outward and downward in
the clay beneath sufficiently testify—and the blank mat-
ter of which they are composed is nathing more than the
accumulation of a Ling period of the growth and decay of
under plants, the fall of leaves, twigs, and branches, and
finally of the trees themselves, the overturned steins of
which may be seen embedded in the peat. The observer of
nature will be curious to ascertain the character and spe-
cies of the trees which whilom spread forth their branches
in this primeval forest, and upon examination he will be
gratified to find them precisely such as grow in the woods
'and forests of the present day. The oaks, of considerable
;ize, he will find outwardly decayed, but " heart-whole,"
aryl, by good (but difficult) management, capable of being
converted into furniture. The wood of the fir has almost
disappeared, but the bark is wonderfully perfect, even
in colour. There also is the alder, the plants of which
must have attained a considerable sizo. Thorn also is
found in considerable quantities, but the most abundant
of all probably is the hazel, with its rind nearly perfect,
while scarcely a vestige of the wood remains. As was
to be expected, among the decayed mass of leaves, &c.,
the seeds of many of these plants occur. Shells of the
hazelnut are found in abundance round the root of the
parent plant, as they have periodically fallen to the
ground. The cups of acorns, too, will reward the diligeet
searcher, and even the shining wing cases of the black
beetle may occasionally be found. Other animal remains,
such as the antlers and portions of the skull of the red
deer or hart, together with the horns of the texand other
bones, not yet satisfactorily made out, have also been
discovered. It is not our purpose on the present occa•
sion to do more than direct the attention of the seaside
rambhr to this curious matter. To the geologist the
subject, though common enough, will be always full of
interest, as constituting one of the established facts of
his science, and we may recur to the interesting evidence
of this at a future opportunity.—Durham Advertiser.

BERLIN, Aug. 31.—The Princess Royal of Sweden
has left for Stockholm. M. de Budberg, ex-Russian
envoy at this court, has received the Order of the Red
Esele Ist class.
ROYAL PRESENT TO THE MAYOR OF WINDSOR.
James Brown, E-q., Mayor of Windsor, has had the
honour of receiving, through the Commissioners of
Words and Forests, a fine buck, shit in Windsor Great
Park, as a mark of Royal approval of his conduct as
chief magistrate of the borough.
The report which has been going the rounds of the
French papers of a number of young men having landed
on the coast of Maremma, nem. Orbitello, and been
suddenly routed by a natty of Gensclarme., is untrue.
The Observer, of Trieste, says the: Baron Hubner,
Aua'rian amba.ssalor at Paris, embarked at that port on
the 27th ult. for Corfu, and will proceed from thence to
Naul e.

Th: London Chartist demonstration, in honour of
John Frost, is to take place on the 15th of this month.
BARTHOLOMEW FAIR.—It is understood that, in con-
sAitence of the removal of the cattle-market from Smith.
fi ,'d to Copohha;_fen-fields, the L')rd May :r will this
year forego the o..nual custom of Mug the holding
of Bartholomew Fair.

Despatches have been received from Admiral Guerin,
cprnmanding the small French squadron whose arrival
Nanzasaki we recmtly announcel. They are
fahourable to the conclusion of the treaty between France
and Japan, which it was the object of the expedition to

It is probable that Archdeacon Derdson will appeal,
in the first instance, to the Court of Arches, and from
the latter, should the decision be given against him
there, to the Privy Council ; thus it is considered that
the ultimate judgment cannot be looked for before a
couple of years.

SUSPECTED CASE of POISONING AT BRIGHTON.—AR
inquest was held in the latter part of last week, before
Mr. Black, the borough coroner, on the body of a la-
bouring man of the name of Richard Watts, aged 40,
living at 31, Liverpool-street, who died on the previous
Wednesday under circumstances of considerable sus-
picion The inquest was adjourned in order that an
analysis of the contents of the stomach might be made,
and which was entrusted to Mr. M. Phillips and Mr.
Schweitzer. The result of the analysis will be made
public in a day or two.

A CENTENARIAN.—Near the Devil's Bridge, Cardi-
ganshire, there lives a remarkably hale old man in his
1088!•h year. He is quite upright, stands nearly six
fee t high, an I has complete possession of all his face!.
tie•. Notwithstanding his great age, this venerable old
gentleman rrequently marches across some of the smaller
mountains of the Plinlimnon range to meet the Hera.
ford mail, which passes along the road, within three
miles of his residence, and sometimes lends a hand is
changing the horses at the first stage from Aberystwith.
DEFALCATION OF AN INCOME TAX COLLECTOR.-011
Friday, the commissioners of income and property tax
for B'acliburn, after an investigation, suspended and
ai-reAed Mr. W. B. Illingwerth, the collector of the in-
come and property taxes for the borough. The defal-
cations of this officer amount to upwards of 1,0001. He
was on the same day lodged in Lancaster Castle. The
sureties are ample, and will almost cover the entire loss.
—Manchester Examiner.

NEW CHURCH IN SMITHFIELD.—The proposal to build
a new. church in Smithfield in honour of the martyrs at
the Protestant Reformation, which received a check by
the failure of Sir John Dean Paul's bank, has been re-
vived. Amongst the subscribers to the fund are the
Earl of Shaftesbury, the Bishop of Carlisle, the Duke of
Manchester, the Earl of Wincbilsea, the Earl of Waldo-
crave, Sir E. N. Buston,Bart., and Sir C. R. Leighton,
Bart.

A HERO IN DISTREM—The Lincolnshire papers
state that an old soldier, who has seen fourscore years,
and wears the Peninsular medal, with eight clasps,
bearing amongst others the names of Vittoria, Sala-
manes., and Badajoa, one of the men, too, who assisted
to bury General Sir John Moore " with his martial
cloak eround him" at, Corurna, is in a state of destitu-
tion with his wife, at Colt by, near Lincoln. He has
been working on the highway, but the overseers have
refused to al.ow him any further work. His name is
William Hall, and he has a pension of ninepence per
day.

A.TEEAT FOR THE HIGHLANDERS.--Yesterday a large
body of the 79th Carneroes,' and a few of the 49th, came
on board the Little Western, one of the General Steam
Navigation Company's vest e's, at Ramsgate, from
D.,ver. It immediately sugges'ed itself to the benevo-
lent mind of the able and energeLic captain, Mr. Ryan,
that something should be done to honJur triese Crimean
heroes, and accordingly,neading a subs riptian list, to-
vgether with Mr. Willis; he canvassed the whole of the
passengers, collecting nearly 41 , with which a very sub-
stantial cold luncheon was at once provided. The su-
perior officer of the party, after dinrer, made a very
neat speech, thanking Captain Ryan and the company
for the kindness shown himself and comrades.
RUSSIAN PRIZES.—It appears from a return made by
the Admiralty to the House of Commons, and issued
ye-terday, that 206 Russian vessels were captured by
British cruisers in 1854 and 1855. All the captured
vessels appear to have been unarmed, but it should be
observed that the return contains but a small portion of
the iessels which were captured from the enemy. Mary
were captured both in the Baltic! and Black Sea, of
which there are no particulars, as they were at once
destroyed or otherwise disposed of.
A letter from Berlin of the 27th nit., in the Breda
Gazette, says We learn that M. Nulandt has re-
cently had a conference with M. de Manteuffel on the
subject of the suspension of the Bank of Jassy, and
that the President of the Council gave him little hopes
of a speedy resumption of the affairs of that establish-
ment. Austrian influence, and particularly the personal
action of P.Z. Prukesch Osten, has induced that Govern-
ment to oppose this measure so obstinately ; and there
exists no reason to hope that it will abandon it."

" The King of Prussia," says the Konigsbe9 g Ga-
zette, " will arrive at Heilsberg on the 3d Eeptem-
her with a suite of 140 persons. The troops which
will take part in the manoeuvres will arrive tbei•
on the 4th. They will be divided into the army of
the east and the army of the west. The gland
review will take place on the 6th. The manoeuvres
will be resumed oa the Bth, and will con,ilue to
the 12th."

A letter from Berlin in the Debuts this refqrs
to the intentions entertained by the Prussia i Go-
vermnent of increasing the fortifications of Span-
dau :—" It is at Spandau that our principal mili-
tary arsenals and depots are situated as well as the
manufactories of arms and ammunition. This
place, which under our first kings was very strong,
outline of which we give below, supplies all that is
farther necessary for understanding the points of
difference on which this grave crisis has arisen, and
at the same time their relation to general American
Mr. Seward's speech, a )domestic politics.
Another le .ter in the same journal says • '
has been already announced that the Princeg I
of the reigning
oft
Mecklenburg Schwerin, brother
Grand Duke, after resigning his post as major in
the royal guard, retired to
a chateau belonjn; to
at Koenigsberg. The sensation
chaisusuendclaetthße Bing,
eKriiina
and in military circles by this
strange affair had scarcely subsided, when it was
heard that the Prince had left the above chateau,
and had embarked by a
steamer for C Tenhageu'
whence he intends, it is said,
rica., His brother the reigning Grand Duke leas on
several occasions advanced him very con,iderable
skims, but on this occasion it is said that the &Its
and liabilities of the Pr nee amount to more than
half a million. It appeers that the holders of his
bills have retisxl to enter into any compiorni:e,
and that it is to avoid legal proceedings that he
has determined to quit Germany for America."