The Sun.
London, England, 1858-02-04 00:00:00

MARKET NE WB.—(This Day.)

CORN EXCHANGE.
•
GENERAL AVERAGE PRICES OF BRITISH CORN
For the week ended Feb. 4, 1858, made up from the Re-
turns of the Inspectors in the different Cities and Towns in
England and Wales,"per Imperial Quarter.
WHEAT I BARLEY I OATS RYE BEANS PEAS
47s 6d 37s ld 23s ld 31s 10d 39s 5d 40s 6(1

METEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENON.

Last night (Sunday, Jan. 31, 1858), at 10.40 p.m.,
when about half a mile from Ferns Plat, Corn wail, says
a correspondent, I was walking amid mooulight, which
at that instant was perfectly clear, but which had hem
obscured from various masses of clouds, heavily charged
with water, still floating in the air, I saw in an oppo-
site direction (or at least 140 degs. from the moon),
somewhere in the north-west, an object which I thought
in my confusion to be another moon, }mind, abotit
five or six days old, of the usual size and the accus-
tomed brilliant orange hue. I had scarcely time to
examine its form when it became a little elon-
gated and commenced falling, somewhat gradually,
in a spiral line ; the general course of the descent
being nearly perpendicular. In its fall it revolved
regularly around a perpendicular axis, the diameter of
the spiral line being about three times the length of the
crescent. The horns of this apparent moon during the
revolutions were sometimes turned plainly towards the
west, which was their first position, and alternat,ly
with equal distinctness they faced the east; and, although
in its downward progress it threw off sparks as large as
or linary meteors, it preserved its full size and undi-
minished brilliancy until it disappeared in the horizon
(which, as I stood on the side of a hill that intervened,
was not very . remote)
_ _

I confess I felt at first a little alarm, and a perturbed
imagination brought to my memory the flaming sword
which Josephus speaks of as being suspended over
Jerusalem (if I recollect aright—l have not that author
at hand), which preceded a great catastrophe ; but Gam-
mon sense soon came to my rescue, and convinced me
that the accumulation of.gases and other chemical
substances is a natural event in the atmosphere ; that
these bodies sometimes spontaneously ignite, and may
develope themselves in any capricious form that the force
of the explosion, assisted by the wind, may direct. So
the idea of an omen was at once dispelled.

Bright objects, about as conspicuous as Venus or
Jupiter, shoot horizontally or obliquely through the
lower sky in single motion so frequently as to call forth
no comment ; but a luminous body so gigantic in its
dimensions, and revolving so peculiarly in its descent,
as this meteor was to me a strange phenomer oa ; and
its singularity is my apology for troubling you with this
report.

HOW WE COME TO RAVE REFUGEES IN
ENGLAND.

The summer before last (writes a correspondent) while
residing with my family at Boulogne, I witnessed on two
or three occasions the shipment of batches of Italian
refugees on board the Folkestone boat for delivery in
England.
I was particularly struck by one lot who were brought
down to the harbour, esc .irted by a large body of police.
Judging from the extreme attention shown them by
their guardians and the number of those who were
linked, in no affectionate bonds, to the wrist; of their
conductors, I concluded that the party would form
a very pretty addition to English society. Two or
three of them appeared men of education, and most
of them were of the exact type which formed, in
Cassius' eye, the perfected conspirator. Several
of them had hunches of black bread in their hands. All
of them were buttoned up in rags and half-famished in
appearance. What I learnt of them 'was, that they had
been passed on from police-station to police-station, and
were not wanted in France.
I well remember the insulting gestures and u-,arse
oaths which were flung at the gendarmes as the boat
left the quay, and felt satisfied from the violenCe of one
or two of them that bad the means been in their hands
they would have left with those gentry some more de-
finite token of their opinion of France and its authoritie3.
Some six weeks afterwards I twice met two of these
men still buttoned up in their rags, but as erect and
defiant as ever, parading in Piccadilly.
Do you not think it possible that this lot might have
furnished a band for the Rue Lepelletier business ?

SOUTH DEVON RAILWAY.-4t the meeting of the
board of directors, on Tuesday, it was resolved on
recommending, at the coming half-yearly meeting, a
dividend at the rate of 1/. 13s. per cent, per annam on
the consolidated stock.
REPRESENTATION OH' DEVONPORT.—A. meeting was
held on Tuesday evening, in the Town-hall of Davenport,
to bear an address from Mr. James Wilson, M.P. for
that borough, who had been prevented by official busi-
ness from attending the meeting two or three months
ago, at which his colleague, Sir Erskine Perry, ap-
peared. He spoke at considerable length upon the
principal topic of the day ; and the Plymouth Mail
says that, when he sat down, an elector sarcastically
inquired why the bills announcing the meeting had not
been headed " A Lecture on India," as that had been
almost the only subject referred to. A. resolution,
expressing confidence in the hon. gentleman, was
unanimously adopted.
THE BELGIAN MAIL STEAMERS.—It appears from an
official letter received from Brassels that the Belgian
Government mail packet•Diamant was not in so much
danger in the gale of the morning of the 21st ult. as
reported. It is stated that she shipped a sea while
crossing the Stream Bank, near Ostend, which carried
away her steering wheal and injured two rum at the
tiller, and other seas causing more damage, and the
water falling considerably during the time of clearing
away and refitting, the commander deemed it imprudent
to attempt to make the harbour, and therefore ran for
Flushing, and then to Terneuse on the Scheldt, whence
the mails and passengers were for warded to Ghent.

A FEW RUSSIAN IlsoTs.—We have seen a private
letter from a gentleman occupying an important official
position, who has just returned from the Black Sea, in
Which, after stating that the American engineers have
only succeeded in raising two of the many Russ:an ships
sunk at the time of the war in the harbour of Sebastopol,
and that they consequently must have lost a large sum
of money by their failure, he says that nothing has been
done or is doing, towards the rebuilding of the docks
and fortifications of that place, while the forts of Odessa
have been dismantled. The writer of the letter accounts
for the latter fact, by supposing that if Odessa be thus
made a purely commercial port, we should not, in the
event of another war with Russia, seek to destroy it. At
Nicolaieff two line-of-battle ships, with engines of BCO
horse power each, are now in the course of construction.
—Morning Advertiser.

ENTERTAINMENT TO CABMEN.—On. Monday night Mies
Catherine Sinclair, encouraged doubtless by the success
which attended her efforts to promote social union
amongst the upper ranks of Edieburgh society, extended
her operations to the lower classes, and entertained some
300 cabmen to supper iu the Lower Music Hall. Iu
order to suit thefiusinesseurangements of the company
the late hour of half-past ten was fixed for assembling,
and about that time the guests began to flock in and
take their places. By-and-by, when the long benches
were filled, the show of glossy black broadcloth and
snowy cravats displayed by the more elderly portion of
the fraternity was highly imposing, while the wonderful
variegated neckties and gorgeous pins in which many
of the younger branches indulged greatly enlivened
the view. At first, when they took their seats,
the company on the whole were rather stiff and slightly
uneasy ; but as the evening drew on, when the
supper was over, and the speeches were begun, all
bashfulness wore off, and they entered heartily and
enthusiastically into the spirit of the entertainment. The
tables were loaded with tempting joints of ruddy beef,
smoking steak-pies, heaps of bread and butter, piles of
"cookies," and kettles full of tea and coffee ; and grace
having been said, the company- set to with heart and
will, doing ample justice to the abundant fare. Miss
Catherine Sinclair and her sister, accompanied by seve-
ral ladies, occupied a prominent position on a raised
platform at one side of the hall ; while, at the heads of
the tables, various gentlemen acted as troupers. The
Very Rev. Dean Ramsay occupied the chair ; and
addresses were delivered by Dr. Guthrie, Rev. Mr.
Mackerzie, Rev. Mr. Robertson, of Greyfriars ; Rev.
Dr. Hanna, and Professor Miller. In the course of
the evening, Mr, James Stewart, cab-drlver, returned
thanks for himself and lea brethren to the speakers, and
to the benevolent lady to whom they were indebted.
Edinburgh Extress.
EUROPEANS AND INDIANS.—At a dinner of welcome

given by the wealthy natives of Borebay to the European
soldiers recently landed from England, Lord Elphinstone
took the opportunity of reading, something in the shape
of a lesson to those who confound in one common dis-
like all classes of Indians. He affirmed " that with very
few exceptons the revolt had been purely military, and
that the great body of the people had nothing to do with
it ;" that in Oude only had there been anything liko a
popular adhesion to their cause, while in Itohilcund the,
feeling bad been decidedly in our favour. lie added
that in Scinde, where there were those who owtd us nu
good will,
whose greatness had been extinguished by us,
and whose power
had been reduced or null by our
successes, the conduct of the mutineers and their associ-
ates had been viewed with disgust and indignation, and
he quoted words spoken by Shere Mahomed, one of the
ex-Ameers of Soinde, to the effect " that this was not
like meeting the English in the field, and that the fiends
who murdered women and children deserved the
punishment of Sodorn and Gomorrah." These expres-
sions Lord Elphinstone dwelt on with pleasure, because
he said he had heard that the profession now made by
the natives of Bombay were considered insincere and
hollow by some who believed that they shAld have been
publicly made at au earlier period, when the symptoms
of the re-establishment of our rule were less decided
than they had since become. Against such senti-
ments Lord Elphinstone considered it hie duty to
protest, reminding his bearers that the wealthy na-
tives of Bombay had been among the first to
come forward with subscriptions in aid of the sufferers
in the ;mutinies and expressions of indignation at the
cruelties perpetrated in various parts of the country ;
that Bombay was the olle.st possession of the English in
India ; and that during 2CO years no attempt had ever
been made to subvert our rule. All this and more to the
same effect, Lord Elphinetone urged on his listeners,
whom, let us hope, he convinced of the truth of his
views.—letter from Bombay.
SILKS AS THEY WERE AND AS THEY ARR.—Pow
things probably have been ,object to more strange
viciseitu des than the price of bilks. Prior to the recent
monetary panic they became higher than had be n
known fur yeare, and now that the fever of the
Market has subsided, prices are again advancing, Ist
is a serious consideration to purchasers. It happens,
however, that a wel.lenown house, which had the good
fortune to make large investments hi Lyons and otb,,,
Silks during the panic, is now enabled to offer a stock.
said to ha choice and varied, at 20 per cant. below tie-
current rates. To ti.e lady community this is of some
importance; and when it is stated that the firm referred
to is that of Jay in Regent-3trett (the London mourning
warehouse), it will be accepted as a sufficient guarantee
for quality), as well as the advantages of moderate cost.