The Sun.
London, England, 1856-09-04 00:00:00

FOR THE FIFTEEN POUND PRIZE.

1. Mr. George Bowes, Laytoon Moor, tenant of Edward
Kemp, Esq., Layton Hall.
2. Mr. Francis Dent, Caldwell, tenant of Lord Alford.
3. Mr. John Golightly, Grey Stones, tenant of his Grace
the Duke of Northumberland.

FOR THE THIRTY POUED PRIZE.

4. Mr. Richard Kay, Forcett Valley, tenant of John Mit-
chell, Esq., Forcett Hall.
5. Mr. John Clark, Aldbrougb, tenant of his Grace the
Duke of Northumberland.

Of these entries three, namely, Mr. Bowes, Mr. Kay,
and Mr. Clark were competitors last year, the remaining
two now entered for the first time. The inspection of
the competing farms took place on Tuesday, happily with
fine weather, and the judges were J. Snowball, of Ne-
therwitton, near Morpeth, agent for the Earl of Eldon,
and others ; Mr. E. Lawson, of Redesdale Cottage,
agent for Lord Redesdale, Admiral Mitford, &c. ; and
Mr. R. J. Wiley, agent for the Duke of Leeds, Hornby
Castle, near Catterick. The same parties officiated as
judges last year ; and Mr. Moore, who might well con-
gratulate himself on the selection of gentlemen of un-
doubted experience and unbiassed judgment, like the
three we have named, obtained their assistance also on
this occasion. This was an arrangement in every respect
advantageous, as the pains they had bestowed, and the
awards they had given last year, tended not only to
justify the selection of his grace's agent, but to inspire
confidence in competitors that merit would in every case
carry the day; and as enabling them to institute a com-
parison between the state of the farms in the former and
the present competition, as well as to arrive at a more
complete estimate of the state of the farms than new
judges could have done. The judges commenced their
duties sooa after 9 o'clock onTuesday morning, and were
conducted to the different farms by Mr. Sturges, son-in-
law of Mr. Moore, and agent of H. B. Pierce, Esq., of
Bedale Hall. To this gentleman every inch of ground ap-
peared to be familiar; and the various tenants accompa-
nied the judges over their respective farms, and afforded
such information as was required. The judges first pro-
ceeded to the farm of Mr. Bowes, the occupier of 80
acres under Mr. Kemp, whose farm exhibited every mark
of careful and industrious farming. As but few cattle
were here kept, no fewer than 65 acres were allotted to
tillage, on for the most part a three years' course ; nor
had he spared either lime, guano, or other manures, so
far as could be obtained ; Vie land was clean, and the
fences were in a good state ; but the land appeared to be
in indifferent heart, mainly owing probably to the drains,
which had been ;aid at a time when the operation and
importance of them were not so well understood as now,
not being deeper than 2.j feet. The landlord, it was
explained, had supplied the draining tiles and done the
cutting, and the tenant had placed them in. Mr. Bowes
sad he inspected the action of his drains once a year. '
The judges expressed a wish to inspect one also, and
Mr. Bowes, picking up three spades, conducted them to
a field in fallow, and, pitching on a spot, at once dug
dawn, and there, two-and-a-half feet deep, appeared the
tile drains, laid in most exact order, and there was seen,
on lifting one of the tiles, about a foot long, the water
flowing beautifully down in the bed made by the drain.
We may hire, as before, give every credit to this hard-
working and painstaking farmer, who, once a labourer,
is now a tenant of a considerable farm, which he culti-
vates with the assistance of only a boy, who was at the
time ploughing in the field ; and although unable to
snatch the prize from farmers of larger means, greater
early advantages, and it may be richer land, appears en-
titled to every credit, and, with such encouragement as
so deserving a tenant is entitled to from his landlord,
may not despair of eventually carrying off the prize. The
judges ware next conducted to the farm of Mr. Kay,
which comprises 330 acres, 270 of which are arab'e, and
110 in grass, and which carries a considerable number of

cattle and sheep. It vvill be remembered that this farm
last year received very flattering commendation from the
ju iges ; and ;hid year it presents an equally, if Hot more
favourable appearance with referenco t') the ariou-t

points specified in the conditions of the competition. Un-
fortunately, however, either from the excessive rains, or
from the land being now for the first time applied to that
crop, a considerable portion of the wheat had a disco-
' loured appearance, and some of the turnips bad been a
failure. Tnis, however, had resulted from no fault in the
management of the farm, but from atmoephete or other
influences, and was held, therefore, to de•
• tract in no degree from the enlightened, scientific, and
painstaking cultivation of the farm. The stock of Mr. Kay
appeared also to be excellent; and the impression with
which this farm was Btu veyed was highly favourable
both to the enterprise and skill of the tenant and the li-
berality of the landlord. The last subject on which in-
quiry was made were the farming accounts kept, which
appeared to be very complete, with one exception, viz.,
that ho :had omitted the important item of expenditure
upon the household derived from the farm. Tee next
farm visited was that of Ur. Dent, a tenant of Lord Al.
ford, at Caldwell. Mr. Dent was a competitor for the
151. prize, and had a very excellently cultivated and well
kept farm of 115 acres, 33 of which were in pasture and
meadrw, the remainder arable, and who had also a
capital show of stock ; the implements were, moreover,
varied and well chosen ; and the accounts were kept with
careful detail, the totals being brought to present a re-
gular debtor and creditor account, which told the tenant
his exact position at the end of the year. Mr. Dent,
and his son, by whom he is assisted, and who accom-
panied the judges over the field, presented favourable
specimens of the modern English farmer, and the gene-
ral state and fertility of ithe farm bore testimony to at
once 'great- painstaking, and liberal and enlightened
farming, which deservedly secured the priza The
farm of Mr. John Golightly, of Grey Seanes, was next
inspected by the judges. It was also a competitor
for. the 151. prize, and contained 133 acres, which
had been entered upon eight years ago in a very
indifferent state, and since beer, brought, by ashin-
er's work and jtricious expenditure, t o a vory fa
vourable, if not extremely fertile state. The land was
for the most part arable; and with the view of
increasing its productiveness manure had bean very
liberally applied, especially guano, of which Mr. Go-
lightly appeared to apply to the value of 561. or 60/.
annually to his land. On the whole, this tenant, who
had taken the farm in an almost wild state, appeared,
as was said, " to have gone the right way to work," and
now, BO well directed-seemed to have been the labour
upon it, that no such change had probably passed upon
any farm in the district as upon this ; and, while it,
failed to carry off the prize, the commendation accorded
to it must be encouraging as it is well deserved. The
last farm visited was that of Mr. Clsrh, an elderly gen•
tae-mar,, the thriving occupier of a bea As
sstitul and 1.-1 t
farm of 425 acres, of which 210 are arable, and a cose-i-
-d,raala portion of it was covered with Leavy wheat
crape, part cut, with every other kind of crop equally
good. A considerable quantity of stock is also kept, and
it appeared to be in excellent condition. This farm ap-
pears to have been held by its present occupier ler 36
years. It presents a highly favourable specimen of care-
ful and industrious farming, and since last year has un-
dergone considerable improvement in a variety of re
competition,
op
me epts;ti
aardvoietww-,hinciniqtu.neesti
joundagbelys, the present
weiceme a and an ardu
toads favourable
mention. At all the farms the judges were received with
othues
y o dmosta If) inspection,f:ar ty and
hdosupriintagblewhich
they
had carefully
gone over every part of every farm, closed about seven
o'clock. The following was subsequently given as their

award :
PRIZES FOR THE BEST MANAGED FARMS GIVEN BY Ms
GRACE THE DUBE OF NORTHUMBERLAND.

We, having been appointed to award the prizes given by
his Grace the Duke of Northumberland, of 301. and 15/.,
for the best cultivated farms within the townships of Stan-
wick, Aldbrough, Melsonby, Gayles, Dalton, Forcott,
Eppleby, East and West Layton, Caldwell, Barforth,
lannfield* and including all tonantm of his Ono in

Yorkshire, hereby award to Mr. Richard Kay, of Forcett
Valley, tenant of John Mitchell, Esq., of Forcett, the sum
of 301., being the sums to be awarded for the best culti-
vated farm exceeding 200 acres ; and to Mr. Francis Dent,
,of Caldwell, tenant of Lord Alford, 151., being the sum to
e awarded for the best cultivated farm not exceeding 200
acres; these premiums being awarded with reference to
L` he cultivation of the farm, the state of the roads, fences,
end gates, water-courses, buildings, live stock, imple-
)aaents, best kept accounts, the use of artificial manure,
:Lnd including everything connected with good husbandry.
We think it right and just to state that the cultivation
of the farm of Aldbrough, by Mr. Clark, is very much lul-
-1 )roved since last year, and his crops are most satisfactory
i e consequence ; and that we highly commend Mr. Ge
lightly, of Grey Stones, for his industry and good manage.
anent.
Dated this 27th Aug., 1856.

EDw. LAWSON.
Jos. SNOWBALL.
ROBT. JAS. WILEY.
The judges expressed a regret that the competition had
not been more general, as being acompetition which they
i.tonsidered peculiarly calculated to give an impulse to all
parts of good husbandry, and improve the agricultural
character of the district. While this feeling will be gene-
rah concurred in, it is not, in the meantime, wonderful
that a backwardness should, at the outset, pre ;ail to enter
into this new kind of competition, in which neither ex-
cellence in stock, nor any isolated branch of good farm-
ing, will carry off the prize, but excellence in all depart-
ments must be manifested. But the scheme having now,
even under circumstances of considerable disadvantage,
obtained a footing, it is expected to be entered upon very
generally by the tenants with vigour, and it is under-
stood that next year will amply realise the most san-
guine wishes of the munificent originator and enlightened
promoters of these prizes. The judges, as formerly, were
the guests of Mr. Moore, his grace's agent, at Carlton
Hall, where several gentlemen bad been invited to meet
them, including Thos. Mason, Esq., of Pallinsburn, an
enterprising and thriving agriculturist, who at the last
Northumberland Agricultural Show earned off several
prizes; the Rev. Mr. Gilpin, incumbe t of Aldbrongh; T.
t3urgess, Esq., Bedale; B. Wilson, Esq., Aske; T. Brad-
ley, Esq., Richmond, &c. In the course of Tuesday
evening the health of the judges, to whom he paid a high
compliment, and expressed his obligations for their valu-
able services, was given by the chairman, Mr. Moore,
accompanied by the expression of a wish that they
would next year also undertake the duty, to which these
gentlemen at once gave a willing consent, and expressed
their very decided approval of the beneficial influence of
this kind of competition. The chairman also proposed
the health of Mr. Mason, as the son of an old and valued
friend ; and that gentleman proposed the health of his
Grace the Duke of Northumberland, to whose contribu-
tions to agricultural societies, and now his origination of
this prize scheme, he particularly referred. The chair-
man acknowledged the compliment on behalf of his
grace. A. variety of other toasts were drunk, includ-
ing that of the chairman, proposed by Mr. Snowball,
and most cordially received ; and the evening, as well
as Monday evening, was spent with the utmost harmony
of social intercourse, in which a variety of agricultural
topics of interest and importance underwent animated
and not unprofitable discussion.—Newcastle Journal.

GENERAL IYALKFIR'S CHARACTER AND

CAREER.

Seven of the soldiers of Walker's army taken prison-
ers by the Costa Ricans, at and after the battle of Santa
Rosa, have issued an address to the citizens of the
United States (dated Punta Arenas, May 21, 1856), in
which they review General Walker's history, and his
claims to be considered a great man, and in their own
words, " prove by the eight principal events in his life,
that he is no general, no statesman, no lawyer, no judge
of human nature, and even a most ridiculous imitator of
Don Quixote de la Mancha."
The period of their imprisonment, they state, is the
only free moment which they have enjoyed in Central
America, of expressing their sincere, honest, and ma-
ture convictions, with the least hope of their communi-
cations ever reaching their destination in the United
States. The reason is that Gen. W. Walker has, for
many months past, established a strict system of espio-
nage over the Post-offices of Nicaragua, and no letter
or other communication is permitted to pass to a fo-
reign country, unless it is replete with the most fanciful
accounts of his greatness, his glory, and the unparalleled
success of his arms.
It is not to be wondered at, therefore, that the Ame-
rican newspapers teem with such fulsome compliments
to his greatness. Their motive in presenting Walker as
he is is to prevent in future (if possible) the young men
of the United States from being deluded, betrayed and
deceived as they have been, by magnificent promises of
gain and glory, not one of which has or will ever be com-
plied with, Our opinions, they add, are the sober and
serious sentiments of every North American soldier in
Walker's army, every one of whom, except a few officials,
would affix his signature to this document if he were free
in speech and action. The eight principalevents on which
they base their judgment respecting Walker's incapacity
and ignorance„are his attack on Lower California at the
outset of his military career, with only 56 men ; his at-
tempt after the treaty with Gen. Ccrrales to reconcile and
amalgamate the conflicting parties in Nicaragua ; the exe•
cution of Corral ; the sending P. H. French as minister to
Washington ; the seizure of the steamers of the Transit
Company; the despatch of only 240 men to take Liberia ;
the placing Col. Schlessinger in command of the army
which invaded Costa Rica ; and, lastly, his (Walker's)
neglect of an elementary rule of warfare, whence ensued
the disastrous defeat at Rivas on the 11th of April, 1856.
In reference to the attack on Lower California, the
memorialists say :—With 56 men be invaded a country
with whose resources he must have been entirely unac-
quainted. Without a map, without guides, without men,
means, or munitions of war ; without the remotest hope
for aid or co-operation among the people whom he was
invading. With 56 men he expected to conquer half a
million of men, with all the aids appliances, and muni-
tions of war. The world is families with his disgraceful
and dishonourable defeat. HistLry refuses to present a
parallel of such idiotic folly, over which some flattering
apologists have lately attempted to throw the mantle of
charitable indulgence by ingeniously asserting "that he
was young, inexperienced, and just a little too enthusi
astic." Our own impression is that he had just arisen
from the perusal of such works as Prescot's Conquest
of Mexico, Dampier, Ovido, and Peter Martyr, where
he kad read
that Gil Gonzales de Avila had conquered
Nicaragua with one hundred men and four horses, and
with a mind morbidly insane he fancied he would achieve
. equal greatness with fifty-six veterans. This attempt to
reconcile the conflicting parties in Nicaragua (though re-
deemed by a good and benevolent motive) was equally
foolish. To enable the reader fully to understand this
ojection, it is necessary to state that the two parties
now existing in Nicaragua have been conducting, for
years past, the most bitter and uncompromising wars
against each other.
The Democrats invited Walker to subdue the Charnor-
ristas' and when these were put down we naturally sup-
posed that to the victors belonged the spoils. Imagine
then their utter surprise, mortification, and lasting in-
dignation, when they found William Walker, instead of
giving them the fruits of victory, actually dividing the
hest offices in the Government with their hereditary
foes, whom they had paid him to subdue. While he did
not, by this step, conciliate the CI tmorro party, as has
been conclusively proved since, he disappointed and
alienated the Democrats.
Tue deep-rooted prejudices of years, whether religious
or political, never have been, and never will be eradicat-
ed in a day, a year, or even in a generation. Tne man-
date or the policy of no man living can obliterate them.
It is the slow moving finger a time alon combined
with mental improvemeat, that can ever extinguish
them. The he stility at present subsisting between the
democratic and Chamorro party of Nicaragua is as pro-
found, as unrelenting, and imperishable as the heredi-
tary Vendetta of the Corsican.

It required no profound knowledge of human nature
to be aware of the fact that these conflicting portions,
composed of material utterly discordant and antagonis-
tic, were far more substantial than the crystal fabrics of
the morning frost. The Jew will sooner have dealing with
the Samaritan than a Chamorrista with a democrat.
We will next call the public attention to Gen. Corral's
execution. For the sake of argument we will concede
that he was guilty. Even admitting this, his execution
was uncalled for, unwise, and manifestly impolitic. His
conviction and incarceration, or his conviction and ban-
ishment from the country, was the dictate of sound dis-
cretion and sound common sense. The unanimous sen-
timent in Nicaragua, with all parties, was a deep and
strong opposition to the execution of Corral. And yet,
notwithstanding the earnest prayers of the entire clergy,
regardless of the forcible petitions of the chiefs of both
parties, uninfluenced by the agonised cries of the mother,
wife, and children of General Corral, this would•be
rnu-
dera Brutus ordered his execution, and thereby alien-
ated from him and his cause for ever the most opulent,
mostpowerful families in the country. We say it with-
out the fair of contradiction, he is now most cordially
deteieed by both the Chaosorristas and the masses of
democrats. If his Government is popular, why is it
that he has not one volunteer among the privates in
the native army ? Why are his native troops all
forcibly pressed at the point of the bayonet into the
service ? We defy sophi.;try itself in answer to the
question. Time song of " Toe Death of Corral "is the
only ono upon which all parties now unite. The next
reason we must urge for asserting that Walker is not
entitled to be considered a man of even common sense,
is his sending Parker H. French as minister to Washing-
ton city. Had Walker sent any native of the country,
for instance Don Manuel Bermudez, or Dun Pedro Silva
(an ac,:omplished and polished gentleman), or Padre
the United States Government would have found itself
placed in rather a delicate position. The best friends of
Walker have characterised this act of his as disgustingly
stupid.

nut Walker's crowning folly undoubtedly was the
idiotic seizure of the steamers of the Transit Company.
The constant an 1 interrupted continuance of the Tran-
sit Company was his sole and only dependence for the
reception of men, money, and munitions of war ; and
yet, knowing this to be the fact—knowing that at the
different ports of the Atlantic and Pacific there were
hundreds, nay thousands, of deluded victims inno-
cently waiting to sacrifice themselves upon the altar
of his unhallowed, insensate ambition, he wilfully and
madly denied himself the aid which his necessities at
that time so imperiously required. Had he blown up
his powder magazine in Granada, or broken the locks
from all his muskets, it would have been scarcely
an act of more unequivocal insanity, and what augments
the stupidity of this unparalleled exploit is the fast that
the last steamer, before the seizure of the boats, brought
no lees than 400 men to swell the list of dupes in Gra-
nada, with the information that thousands more were
anxiously waiting for a conveyance to arrive.
And for what was this done ! To insure the payment of
money which has not, and doubtless never will be paid.
Could he not have seized the steamers eight or ten
months later, as at the time he did I He would not then
halo loot the battle of Santa Rotas with Schleoola. eveL!