The Sun.
London, England, 1851-12-22 00:00:00

ALARMING FIRE AT BIIIXTON.

Last evening a very alarming fire broke out in the
premises belonging to Mr. G. E. M,:gg, surgeon, &c.,
carrying on business at No. 1, Yolk-place, Water-lane,
Brixton. It commenced in the shop, and was discovered
by a policeman of the P divie.ior, who immediately
raised an alarm. From the rapidity with which the fire
was burning a feat ful conflagration was expected. The
police, however, set to work in a most praiseworthy
manner, seed by keeping the doors closed much good
was ffected. Information of the disaster having been
dispatched to the engine-stations in town, with as little
delay as possible, the Waterloo-road Brigade and West
of England engines reached the scene, followed by
another from the Brigade Station in the Southwark-
bridge-road. Fortunately, a splendA supply of water
having been procured from the mains of the Lambeth
Company, it was distributed over the bit zlng mass, but
in spite of the most strenuous exertions of all present,
the fire could not bo extinguished until the whole of the
valuable stock in trade was consumed, and ever portion
of the premises more or lets damaged by fire, &c. llow
the disaster occurred could riot bo gl-ared, or whether
the suffer was insured, owing to his having left home to
attend divine service at a chapel in Westminster. Tho
police rendered essential service during the time lost in
sending for the engines, and are therefore deserving of
great praise.

ROYAL COLLEGE or SURGEONS.--The following
gentlemen having undergone the necessary examinations
for the diploma, were admitted members of the college at the
meeting of the Court of Examiners on the 19th instant:—
Messrs. Bernard Kam-High, Limerick ; William Talbot
Young, Madras; Henry Greenway, Plymouth; Lewis
llitchin Archer, Southampton-row; Daniel O'Donovan,
Limerick; Albert Daniel Smith, Nailsworth, Gloucester-
shire; Joseph James Harding, Newcastle-upon• Tyne; John
Hancock, Wolstenholme, Bolton, Lancashire; Joseph Gib-
son, Dowse, Manchester ;
,John Breakey, Monaghan; Ri-
chard Wilkinson, Bradford, Yorkshire ; George Pishey
Thompson Hill, Boston, Lincolnshire; John Henry Wilson,
Shrewsbury, Salop; Erlin Clarke, Worcester; John Crown
Agnis, Harewood-square, Regent's-park ; and George Mal-
let Coventry, Llanrwst, Denbighshire.

DEATH Or SIIEEN THE INFANTICIDE.—The noto-
rious William Sheen, whose murder of a child under circum-

stances of unparalleled atrocity, and his own extraordinary
escape from the gallows through a trivial technicality
excited universal astonishment, died on Friday morning, at
his residence in Kent-street, Spitalfields. It was in the year
1827 that ho committed the crime of cutting off the head
of a male infant four months old, the illegitimate offspring of a
young woman whom he bad married only five weeks before
the murder; and at his trial be was proved to have delibe-
rately decapitated the child, concealed the body in the bed,
and placed the head erect on the table, standing up on the
bloody neck] so as to face the mother when she entered the
room. The child, however, had been baptised Charles Wil-
liam Berdle, the latter being the mother's name at the time
of its birth ; and upon the objection of Mr. Clarkson, the
prisoner's counsel, this description in the indictment was
held to be a misnomer, and the prisoner was acquitted. The
life so spared, however, has since been a most miserable one,
and he has many times, even in the presence of the magis-
trates, expressed a wish that he had been hanged, for upon
every slight occasion his neighbours taunted him with his'
great crime. He became utterly ferocious, although cow-
ardly, and has been many times imprisoned for acts of vio-
lence, brothel keeping, and felonies.

Mr. Walker, the distinguished American advocate
of free trade, in a letter addressed to the Mayor of South-
ampton, dated Friday last, expresses his regret that, owing
to his short stay in England, and to accumulated business,
he is obliged to decline his invitation to a public dinner at
that port.
TIIE STOUEBRIDGE AND BRONSGROVE BANE:
On Saturday last, the bankrupts in this case were examined
as to their separate estates for the last time. The audits
were merely of the current receipts and expenses of the bank-
ruptcy, and afforded no information as to the probable assets
of the several estates.

DEPARTURE OF TUE AFRICA.—The British and
North American Royal Mail Steam-ship Africa, Harrison,
commander, sailed from Liverpool for New York, direct, on
Saturday, at 9.30 A.m., carrying a large number of passen-
gers, the usual mails, and 1,000 tons of British and French
manufactured goods. The Africa was on the point of starting
when the Asia's signal guns announced her entrance in the
Mersey.

PRUSSIAN RAILWAYS.—The gross receipts of
the Prussian railways during the first ten months of the al
pre-
sent year, amounted to 35,141,284 f., being an increase of
2,402,712 f. on the corresponding period of 1850
extent of the Prussian railways is now 717 French leagues.
Tlle t
The shortest line is that from busseldorf to Elberfeld, whichotal
is only eight leagues, and the longest that of the East, which,
when terminated, will extend 136 leagues.
DUNROBIN.—THE QUEEN'S
the honour of having her Majesty
the vi y Isyr.—We believe
'within the princely halls
of. Durobin may be looked for
bons are going on with
the outbuildings in a tastefulec"oloidf
nest yeal. Active prepara-
tions
masons, are in constant employment in this fine open waiter.
.
IN hatever disappointment postponement of the
the lepeated
iptitottnt:ngantdheaground
Queen's i • number ofd
\ sit may have occasioned in any quarter, the delay
in the realization of this honour to Sutherland has not been
barren of good fruit to the workpeople in the neighbour-
hood. The longer the visit has been delayed, the more have
to welcome her Majesty on her
been the preparations made
arrival ; and the result has been highly advantageous to the
people.—lnyernsss Courier.
WOECETEIL Cox EXCHANGE COMPANY.— On
Friday, at a meeting of persons interested in this matter,
Master Ferrer placed ten more parties on the list of contribu-
tories, which contains the names of sixty-one persons, all of
whomare settled, with the exception of about half a dozen.
The official manager said he had the books of this company
in so perfect and satisfactory a state that, as the list was
now almost definitively arranged, he would in a few days lay
before the Master a statement upon which he proposed to
ask for a meeting to declare a call of 31. 10s. per share or
thereabouts, which would be 4111licieut to pay all the debts
AO OXPOlifie§*

RELATIONS BET W FRANCE
AND ENGLAND.
" (stem the Aretning
The nature of the relations which exist at the
present moment between the President of the French
Republic and the English Government" is undoubt-
edly a subject, not only to excite "some curiosity,"
but to warrant a very strong feeling of interest in this
country. It is, therefore, important that "on so deli-
cate a subject" responsible writers in the public press
should "confine themselves to facts on which every
reliance may be placed."
The words which we have quoted are those of the
correspondent of the Times, in a letter from Paris,
which was published iu the second edition of that
journal on Satrdsy, and will doubtless be repeated in
the same quarter to-day.
They are employed in putting forth a statement
which Jae are enabled to decl;re is utterly untrue,
but which is given han air cf such confidence, that
it might, if uncontradicted, gain sufficient credence
to excite alarm, if not to do mischief.

The writer d'etails, on authori4- which he invests
with a high charactL,r, the substance of a communica-
flan alleged to have been ritse]e by the British Cabinet
to the French Government, containing remonstrarce,
advice, and threats on the subject of the course of the
lavcr with reference to internal. affairs. A sketch is
given of the stlpposed reply to this fabulous
Communication.

1' arther, a letter is said to have been written by
one of the Ino,A. prominent members of the B:itish
Cabinet, but not the Foreign Secretary, to rotnebody
of great influence , not a weieb?r of the French Go-
veinment, declaring that it was " absolutely indis-
pensable for the British Cebinet to have some data—
some assurances_„rnething positive to present to
Parliament"
should be demanded.
with Lord Palrneretborei
Out of this is said to ha-ve risen a proposal " that a
when explanations
person. should be sent to London to confer directly
explanntions which
it was hoped would
The whole story of tiles. a_ctor3 .
to and from the
notes
..
French Government, we are in mostposi-
tively positi.on .
to affirm, is a fable ifn toend
inning
We are enabled most distinctly bcgthat the'
British Government has, with to
assert , t
referencefit to late LN en s,
as in every instance from the outbreak. of the
revolution in 1848, strictly adheredr to its avowed de.-
termination not to interfere in any way whatever in
the internal affairs of France.
There is, in fact, something so inco • nssistent with
common sense, so utterly absurd in the upposed ob-
ject and contents of these impossible communications
that we may, perhaps, be thought to have bestowed
on them a graver notice than they merit. Theestnwed
reck-
less exaggerations constantly supplied by some of fcontemporaries to the public in this country,ob our
Palmerston, ,
~
however, excited an appetite for the wonderful on all
matters connected with France, the prevalence of
which leads us to believe that no folly is too gross for
the Times to publish, scarcely any fabrication is too
absurd for some of its readers, in their present state of
feeling, to believe.
The principle which we have indicated as having
been uniformly declared and acted on by the Go.
vernment of this country, with reference to the suc-
cessive changes since 1848 in the internal political
arrangements of France, is clearly the only one
which could be wisely or safely followed out. It is
to the French nation, not to the Cabinet of to the
Parliament of England, that every French Govern.
m eat must justify its policy and its deeds. The civil
rights—the political institutions of that country—
are the concern and the property of something more
than thirty millions of her people—the care of them
is their business and not ours. Parliamentary repre-
sentation by suffrage, universal or limited—liberty of
the press, entire or restricted—freedom of public
meeting, speaking or writing these the French nation can perfectly well decide for
themselves whether they will ha:le
ele.
a are
They privileges
are
not
at all likely to desire, nor is England in the least
called on to offer, any aid or intervention to defend or
establish them.

For our Cabinet to summon the Government of
France, in whatever hsnds it may be placed, to give
explanations and assurances of its intentions with re-
gard to purely internal measures and policy, would
be a departure from the acknowledged principles and
invariable practice by which the relations of England
with her restless neighbours have b?en governed for
the last twenty years. The Socialist projects and
Utopian abortions with which France was threatened
in February, 1848, were, for instance, sufficiently dis-
tasteful to the people of this country, but it was felt
that to accept or reject them—how France should be
governed—was a matter not for us but for France to

decide. We do not think it possible even for the
blinchlt prejudice to allege that there is anything in
the events of 1861 to demand an interference which
was deemed unwise and unjustifiable in 1848 ; and we
are convinced that the French nation is as able now
as it was then to take care of its political institutions
for itself.

As to the potion of the present Prz.nch Govern-
ment with n g•ard to the continental powers, on which
the public has also been favoured, from the source to
which we have referred, with seine very detailed in-
formation, it is sufficient to observe that this state-
ment is tdrnitted to rest on the same authority as the
purely imaginary communications iith which we
hare already dealt. We may presume, therefore,
that we are tolerably safe in concluding the conti-
nental part of the story to be of the same character
with the English. This latter we do not hesitate to
denounce as the most impudent invention yet in-
flicted on a credulous public. If anything in the
world could justify an interference with the liberty
of ihe press, er reconcile a free people to its suspen-
sion, it wont(' he the reckless circulation of these mis-
chievous faisities.

THE MINISTRY.-PROBABLE SECES-

SION OF EARL GREY.

In alluding the other day to the rumours in circula-
tion relstive to an immediate dissolution of the Whig
Cabinet, we stated our disbelief in these rumours, so
far as regarded the alleged impending break-up of the
Ministry. At the same time wo but spoke of the seces-
sion of Earl Grey, Sir Charles Wood, and Sir George
Grey, as a probable contingency. We can now state,
with increased confidence, that the secession of this tri.
umsirate may be expected very soon; but whether be-
fore the meting of Parliament, or immediately after it,
we are not in a condition to say. So late as Thursday
last a circumstance occurred which of itself would go far
to prepare the public for the loss of Lord Grey's ser-
vices—if lose, his taking leave of the Colonial Office,
ought to be considered. On that day the Noble Lord
said that office had no longer any attractions to him, and
that be would feel himself a much happier man in the
seclusion of private life—for the calm and quiet of
which he had for some time eagerly longed—than where
he now is. We could add something mcra of what
passed on the occasion, but what we have said may,
under all circumstances, be regarded as replete with
significance.—Adartiser.

ROYAL POLYTECIINIC INSTITUTION.—IES Royal
Highness Prince Albert has, in the most condescending man-
ner, consented to become patron of this institution.
DEATH OF J. W. M. TURNER, ESQ., ILA--We regret to announce the death of Mr. Turner, the well-known
painter, which melancholy event took place on Saturday.
Mr. Turner was the father of the Royal Academy, and in
spite of the peculiarities of his latter manner, one of the. mostof
eminent artists of his age. died full of 3 ears,.
from an official
.
wealth,
PANAMA ar ofwell-earnedßA
w A y.
It lappears
reputation.ias
repert that the works on this important line are progressing
of thise a s railwaytern side
ois
f
anAdtloafnAtlican
ztearnn us
iiiiian,at
the
Limon Bay, and from that point to Gorgona, the distance is
situatedfavourably.
o n the
29 miles, of which 1p are partially constructed, leaving 13
miles to be made over favourable ground. From Gorgona
Tlhsel
to Panama the distance is 20 miles, and the gradients are
favourable. It is stated that the engineers are of opinion
that this latter portion may be completed in the course of
two dry seasons from the period of commencing the works.
On the section from the Atlantic terminus, towards Panama,
the rails have been laid down for a distance of nine miles,
but it is not intended to open any portion of the railway for
traffic until it is completed to Barbacoas, a distance of 23
miles from the Atlantic terminus. It is expected that this
portion of the line will be opened in May, 1852, and that
every exertion will be made to complete the remainder as
soon as possible.

RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURE or THE Contain" BIONERC os WOODS AND FORESTS -The 22d An"nald Le--
venues, was printed on tiaturday, in comPilardi
Re-
port of the Commissioners of Woods, Forests, and Land
an
order of the House of Commons made on the 2
It appears that
The report bears date the 30th of July
littsrt.the year 1850-51,
841,3331.
the total receipts of the Commissioners for
the expenditure to
amounted to 1,338,027/. 16s. sd" 3,3 01496,694/. 4s. 7d. Of
the latter sum 246,646/. As-iii-e* -of August.
lie. 10d., leaving a
. mbiaallonccash, and 266,048/. 2s 2d.
is due front individuals.
sanctioned by votes of Parliament
items of expenditure
as
sessions:-Publie buildings and Royal
following are the principal
Palaces,
during the last two
sess
Ordnance-office, Pall-mall, 7,0001.
16a1"alace improvements, 5,175/. 195. 7d. ;
2s. 2d. ; Buckingham
arch, &c., 5,6491. 18s. 6d ; temporary
98,7111. ...
ditto, inclosure 0
I Parliament, ,
Houses o
2s. 6d. ; Holyhead darbour, 7,930/. Is. 4d. ;
Par-
liament, 113,8251. 2 293/. 4s 10d. ; new Houses of h
'Wino 25 096/. 14s. 7d.; geological
6/ ss. sd. ; Nelson Monument, 1,3261. is. 10d. ;
survey, 17,29 .
at Constantinople, 7,614/. 14 "d
bassador's house
s. 4 . ;
Am 22 6261. 10s. 2d ; ditto new
metropolitan improvements, ,
me
t from docks to Bhoreditch, 56,4321.; Battersea-park,
Museum ut .-, ,
s2:2;:.:1/. 14s. 7d. ; Menai and Conway bridges, 2,810/. 18s. 3d.;
drainage, 1,118/. 2a. 2d. This account is made up to the
VindsJr town improvements, 21,781/. 9s. 9d. ;
31st of March, 1851. The liabilities of the Commissioners
New Forest
upon that day amounted to 1 ,2 8,434/. of which 1,228,410/.
fur principal due, and 29,983/. iGs. Bd. for interest. The
total number of men employed on the new Houses of Parlia-
ment on the 31st of March, was 1,013, viz., 742 upon the
works at the building, 163 at the workshops on the Thames
bank, and 108 at the other establishments.
TRAITS OT AMERICAN HUMOUR -A new work
cf from a source so popular as the author of " Sam Slick." Humour,"
with the attractive title cf. " Traits of American
makes its appearance most appropriately at this season,ition. The
all the elements of festivity are in especial requwisc
an
eager
laughter-loving public will hail this production with 14
'n fun and welcome, but but though it is one tissue of genuine as a graphic
lery, it will perhaps win even greater popularityhiumwohen
Slick. Et picture of American manners. It is
that has appeared since the fatuous '
Paper.
by Howard Glom is in re•
it is said that an opera -
litargl at the utqualles Theatre.
,thammost sparkling work

Aut t;e454
14' ri 4'":14111-

TATTERSALL'S.-THIS EVENING.

Six o'cLocK.

METROPOLITAN lIA.NDICA P.
1,000 to 45 apt Don Pedro
1,000 to 25 agst Achyranthes
1,000 to 25 agst Hesse Homburg
1,000 to 25 agst Kate (by Auckland)

CHESTER CUP.
40 to 1 agst High Sheriff—taken
40 to 1 agst Ringleader
45 to 1 agst Grand Duke
50 to 1 agst Cardinal Wiseman
50 to 1 agst Grosvenor
DEBBY.

No change.

FRANCE.

The re-establishment of tranquillity has (says the
Patrie) led to such a decided increase of occupation
for the working-classes of Paris, that they are deter-
mined to vote for the person who has been the cause
of this fortunate change. The syndics of the bakers
have gone to the Prefect of Police, and, after declard
-
ing that already the b'king trade has felt a ma
decked
advantage from the revival of business, requested him
to express theirgauitude to the President of the Re-
Re-
public, and to say that all their workmen were de-
termined to vote for him.
The Moniteur contains several decrees of the
President of the Republic, to the following cffect:—
For prohibiting tne sale of arms, .on, sul-
phur, and saltpetre to the nativis is Algeria ;
I,lini,ter of Public In-
struction, of 300,000 f. for ot..eniag credits to th'.
grwiling indemnities to
the enanlo,,,ea recently deprived of their situations;
of 2 137 f. 503., for defraying the expenses of hind-
in g boulit the library-
for the inoressed pers
ofonnel and materiel of th, lit:rAry
of St Genevieve ; 1129 357 t. 3;, f,r silence and
indfmciArs to tho Incrub,T4 d chapters and of the
par:chial clergy ; seed of 3:754e. 110. for bursarships
in s?toin Aries.
An old Soldier of the linpirial Guard, named CALI-
,
tilion, of whom tae Emperor Nlpo!e,m wade wen •
Con in has jut died at 11-4,,t-2ey. He was
accused in, 1315 of bavini fired A pi,tcl-shot at the
Duke of \t',Alington. Ti:e Emperor to iudenanify
him for ftt, hurl: manner in -wiiich he was treated.
bequeath: 10.000:.