The Sun.
London, England, 1833-12-13 00:00:00

SIIIP CAROLINE.

(Front the Times )
The following nffiei..l communication wit received the
morning (Thursday) at Lloyd's :
" Foreign Office, Dec. 9.
" Sir—l am directed by Viscount Palmerston to
acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 4th instan',
upo❑ the subject of the detention by a ship-of-war belong-
ing to her Majesty the Queen of Portugal of the British
vessel Caroline, and I am to acquaint you in reply, for
the information of the committee for managing the affairs
of Lloyd's, that in consequence of an application him
Messrs. Bradford, Clayton, and Co., agents for the owners
of the vessel, an instruction was addressed on the 30th
to Lord William Russell, his Majesty's Minister nt
Lisbon, directing his Lordship to cause inquiries to be
made into the matter, and if it should appear that there
were no just grounds for the detention of the vessel, to
demand her immediate release from the Portuguese Go-
vernmen►. I am,_Sir, your roost obedient humble servant,
" W. Dobson, Esq., Lloyd's." " G. SIIEE."
The fact of the detention of the vessel above referred to
was made public sorry^ time back. The subsequent pro-
ceedings, with some judicious remarks on them, will he
found detailed in the annexed extract of a letter received
yesterday :

‘, Lisbon, Dec. 3.
" You most probably ere this will have heard of th,
brig Caroline having been sent here from off the coast of
Viand, where the commander of the Portuguese schooner
of war took possession of her, under pretext of her being
destined for that port, but she was positively bound for
Oporto, with 3,070 quintals of fish. She has been here
ten days without much prospect of being speedily triA.
When it goes into the Admiralty Court, I think she wilt
be given up. The master was four leagues off Vians, and
had not made the land distinctly, neither was be told by
the Portuguese commander he could not enter there, ad
mitting even he had such an intention. The cruisers of
Donna Maria capture at all hazards many vessels, which
are detained here two or three months before a trial takes
place, Several have been acquitted, but no damages or
remuneration awarded. The British Government should
insist on a strict observance of the maritime rights it
possesses, and not permit commerce to suffer by any
caprice or acts of inexperienced Portuguese officers, who
have nothing to lose, but something to gain, if they suc-
ceed. I think the British merchants connected with
Portugal should represent to the Government the peculiar
situation of their ships approaching the coast of Portugal,
and insist upon their not being detained unless found
entering, or sufficient proof of an intention to enter, a
blockaded port, on having been previously warned off."

CALAIS, DEC. 11 .

The weather Las been for the last few days more storm
than it was ever known to be for a continuance. Yester
day nothing could put to sea. To-day the Ferret, Captain
Hamilton, has sailed for the purpose of taking her place at
Dover, but it is doubtful whether she will be able to get
into any other port than Ramsgate, where, in consequence
of the prevalence of bad weather, there are, as we are in-
formed, 250 vessels now waiting for fine weather and a
fair wind. A fat el event occurred on Sunday in the vessel
which arrived at Calais from London, with about 60 pas-
sengers. A gentleman, aged about 50, who is said to
have been a Mr. Friend, of Camberwell, almost in the act
of talking, and apparently in good health, fell suddenly
from his chair, and was dead in a few minutes. The body
bas been landed, and has been opened, but I have me
heard to what cause his death is to he attributed. The
authorities ordered the post mortem examination to be
performed immediately, with a view to interment within
48 hours, according to the custom, and as some per-
sons erroneously suppose, the laws of France ; but they
are not always so rigid here with Englishmen and Protes-
tants. I saw a funeral yesterday of an English gentleman,
who had been dead a week ; and it is by no means unusual
to grant similar indulgences bath at Calais and Boulogne.
It is worthy of remark that there is no law in France to
compel interment within forty eight hours. On the
contrary, the law, with a view to the prevention of
concealment by sudden interment in cases of crime, or
of burial in cases of only apparent death, expressly
orders that interment shall not take place until forty-eight
hours shall have elapsed. Mr. S., an English gentle.
man who lost his wife in Normandy, resisted the mandate
of the authorities, and, with a pair of loaded pistols by his
side, threatened death to the first person who should ven-
ture to touch the body of his deceased wife. No person
had courage to make the attempt, and he retained the
corpse until he was certain that she was really dead. Dr.
M'Nab, the physician of the late Duke of Kent, took great
pains, in the administration of the Duke Decazes, to obtain
an order for changing the custom of burying within 48
hours, and in an address to the Minister, gave an account
of not less than seventy persons who had been buried alive.
Deems, to his credit, referred the report to the Academy
of Medicine, with a recommendation to have it well con-
sidered. An insulting answer was returned, viz., that
Dr. M‘Nab, like many other Englishmen, thought himsel
more wise than the test of the world, and that the Aca-
demy saw no reason for changing the existing regulations
with respect to interment. Decazes remonstrated, but in
vain : the Academy was too strong for hint, and he was
obliged to give way.
An amusing incident occurred two days ago at Meurice's
Hotel. One of those whiskered English or Irish who
travel on the Continent only to bring disgrace upon the
country to which they belong, was excessively insolent to
a young Getman, of modest and unassuming manners, with
whom he had dined at the table d'hote. The German
bore his insults for a long time without resenting them,
but they at length became so marked that be could no
longer put up with them. He left the table for his own
room, and returned in a few minutes with a pair of loaded
pistols, which be laid on the table, insisting that the En-
glishman should take one of them. Whiskerandos told
him that was not the time or place for fighting. " Well,
then," said the German, "at seven in the morning."
" That is too early," said the Englishman. " Then let it
be here," said the German, "across the table, and in pre-
sence of the company before whom you have insulted me."
The Englishman, finding the affair more serious than he at
first supposed it would be, began to back out, and at length
positively refused to fight. He was then compelled by
the company to withdraw, and was hooted as lie left the
room.
Great complaints are made of the irregularity of the esta-
fette service. The French have only one steamer, and
frequently send the letters by sailing boats which are
unable to reach Dover sufficiently early for the mail.
This, however, will not long be the else, for there are two
additional mail packets in a state of forwardness, and the
service will then be regular. In January or February
also the new carriages for the conveyance of the lettere to
and from Paris will be ready. It is supposed that
they will perform the journey from Paris to Calais within
20 hours, but they are not to carry passengers. M.
Thiers had some idea of trying a steam carriage, but that
description of carriage is not sufficiently perfect fur him
to make the experiment yet, particularly upon such a road
as that from Paris to Calais. There is every probability,
however, that this enterprising Minister will bring steam
carriages into general use in France before they become
general in England.
Nothing has yet been decided as to the line of railway
to communicate from Paris to the French coast. It is
believed, however, that it will be between Paris and
Havre de Grace (with a communication also from Rouen
to Dieppe) and that instead of running direct from Paris
to Rouen the line will be to Neufchatel, where it will
branch off to Abbeville and Lille, a branch connecting
the main railway with Rouen at a short distance from
that town. The inhabitants of Calais and Boulogne
intend to support this plan, as they entertain no hope of a
railway from Paris direct beyond Abbryille towards that
part of the coast. The Chamber of Commerce of both
towns have instructed the Secretary General of the De-
partment to give their sanction to it. By this line the
communication between London and Paris Icy way of
Boulogne will be materially shortened as to time. Taking
9 hours from London to Dover, 3 to Boulogne, 7 to
Abbeville, and 6 from Abbeville to Paris by the rail,
25 home will suffice, and persons who abject to a
long sea voyage will prefer this line to that of Dieppe,
which may be performed if the railway from London to
Brighton should really go on, in about 15 or 16 hours.
It is impossible to conceive the anxiety of the French on
this subject. Indeed any thing that promises a more
frequent intercourse with England, is now interesting to
them, for they feel and acknowledge that the two nations
will act wisely to cultivate reciprocity in every sense.
Boulogne and Calais are determined to he forward in
the march of improvement. The Mayor of Boulogne has
entered into arrangements with an English company for
lighting that town with gas, provided the consent of the
Minister. of Commerce can be obtained for the introduction
of some machinery to serve as models, and Calais will
follow immediately. The speculation is likely to be a
successful one, particularly if the duty on English coals
should be reduced.
n he

A steam-coach will commence starting in the
course of a few days from London to Kew Bridge.