The Sun.
London, England, 1857-05-16 00:00:00

THE ROYAL• BRITISH BAyK.

(From tile rimes )

After the declaration of Air. Coinraisfioner Ilolroyd,
it is difficult to cancLiva that Sir Richard Bethel, the
Attorney-General, can so completely set at nought the
obligations of his office as to resist tt:e appeal which has
been made to him upon the Itlyal' British Bank. Mr .
Goningbam plainly put the question last night
in the Attorney-General, " Is it your intention to in.

stitwe criminal proceedings against- these great. cri-
mhals ? Ay or n) ?" Feo.-n Sir Richard Bethel's an-
swer it is difficult to gather what his real intention may
be. - Now, what can be the motive of this 'reluctance ?
It is simply puerile to suppose that a man of the pro-
fessional eminence of the present Attorney-General can
have any personal object to answer which shtml,l induce
him to stay proceedings in so serious a matter. Sir
R. Bothell ilas forty fears of big]) character at his back;
• we dismiss any such supposition as unworthy even of a
moment's discussion. But acquitting, as we do most en-
tirely acquit., the Attorney• General of any such imputa-
tion, it is difficult to understand why he t-hould for a mo-
ment hesitate to u,t) the powers which are plaried in his
hands fur the puilic -ecurity. A man of hi, great ability
can never give a motnent's credence to the a;sertion
which be himself made 114 night :—" My reluctance
will be due entirely to the i eports and statements which
I find repeated day by day in the public newspapers,
which 'would render it almost impossible, where persons
I are indict d for an offence so ill-defined and so elastic as

hat fur which these personm cln alone, according to my
iersonal apprehen,ion, be ludic ed, that they can be

fairly trie while the public mind remains in it. pre•
sent rxcited state." Does our whole judicial ma-
chinery, then, break down in the moment of trial 1 Of
course,_a greet crime, or even the imputation of a great
crime, will always inspire a great meakire of public
indignation, and God forbid that it should be otherwise,
or in what a country should we be living ? But, accord-
ing to the AttorneyGenrral, an offender is not to be

brought tO trial because theerime wherew.?th Leis charged
is k•uch as to rou e the emotions of all honest men to a

keen inspection of the nreceedings. Let Sir Richard calm
his mine and dismiss all apprehensions of an undue decision.
The difficulty here is not one of fact, but one of law.
Now, the fifteen judges are not meu peculiarly liable
to be swayed by transitory emotions, and the question
is whether the Directors o the R ,yal British Bauk have
violated the law ? The 1,,gal point is one rather for the
Bench than for the jury. The Attorney-General should
remember, too, that if he mere motu chargashis conscience
with the responsibility of deferring this inquiry,
practically he standing alone and setting his judg-
ment or his timidity against the conviction and the
resolution of the best criminal lawyers in the king-
dom acquits these criminals. Now Sir Richard Bothell
is not the first criminal lawyer in the kingdom.
His fame depends upon his pre-eminence at the Equity
bar—surely enough to content the pride of any
man. Why, then, should he shrink from acknowledging
that the prosecution of criminals is a matter with
which he has not been conversant. He needs but to
give an intimation of his decision, and he can command
the assistance of the highest professional skill which the
country can afford. We repeat once more that this is
one of the two or three occaeions in a man's life when
his fame is made or marred. It is one of the occasions

on which the Attorney-General must do his duty at any
coat. His answer to Mr. William Conin.ham last night
was shifty and flimsy in the Extreme ; it shou:d be read
by the side of Mr. CommiSioner llolroyd's judgment.
Titnes.

TETE CONDEMNED CONVICT MANSELL.—MAIDSTONE,
Frida .—Ttie ex cation of, this murderer is fixed for
Nlontisy nrxt, the.lBte inst,, and up to this evening no
respite has been received. It is very generally believed
that /ire ,xill be spared.
BRITISH FISHERIES.—Last night's (?azctte contains an
order in council prescribing regulations for carrying out
the convention with France, and the Act 6 anti 7 Viet.,
cap. 79. respecting fi,heries situated between the coasts
of Great Britain and France.

Tns ART TREASURES EXHIBITION.—Among the dig•
tingui-hed vi-itora to the Ex iibition on Wedneslay
were Lord JOhn Russell, the Duke of Argyll, the Duke
of Northumberlai,d, Sir J ho Maxwell, and Lord Dud-
ley. The general attendance was not very large.
PARLIAMENTARY BILLS.—It appears, from a return
issued yesterday, that the sum .total paid to draft-men
by the several public departments during the year
for settling the drafts of pariiamentary bills, amounts to
6;3341, 7s. 2d.

CRYSTAL PALACE.—OPERA. CONCERT DAY.—ADMIS.
SION SEVEN SHILLINGS AND SIXPENCE.—FRIDAY, May
15 —Admissions on payment, 1,008 ; ditto by seasoa
icket', 3,212 ; total visit .rA, 4,220
THE PRINCE
,AND PRINCESS OF CHINA.—SOIIIO of the
Chinese news we have, lately got from Paris is odd
enoutib, but the oddest of that kind seems to he this
"the Chinese prince and princes, who have been fur
some time expected a% Paris, arrived to-day (Wednesday
last). The prince is two feet high, and the princess a foot
and a half. They took a prom-nade a10n2,. the Boulevards
to-day in a carriage a la Dauntont, the carriage and
horses being of a size corresponding to the stature Of
their highnesses.' fhey will give audience to visitors
every thy whilst they remain at Paris, imposing a small
tribute in return for the honour of admission to their
presence.

-
DEATH FROir SLEEPING IN A I3OILER Room.—At noon
on Monday, a boy discovered a man named Brad-
bury lying asleep on one of the boilers at the Spring.
flad Mills, Salford, and on arousing him found he
was drunk. Between five and six o'clock he was seen
in a beerhouse in the neighbourhood, still drunk. The
next morning he did not appear at his work, and upon
a search being made he Was discovered in a dark corner
of the boiler room, close to one of tho boilers, quite
dead. His body was dreadfully burnt in several Dlaces,
and the flesh dropped off tha bones when touched. It,
was stated by one of the witnesses that the heat at the
sp,it where deceased was found was so great, that it was
impossilde for any person to exist there for ten minutes.
The verdict was, that the deceased died from auffeca.tion
whilst in a state of drunkenness.

EMBEZZLEMENT or B,oool.—Thomas Fox Linggy
cashier to Messrs. Kershaw, Lees, and Co,, manufac-
turers arid merchants, Manchester, charged on Monday
last with eurbezzing money t, a larae amount, was
brought before the magistrates yesterday for reeexatni-
tion. In addition to the 2,000/. proved to be deficient
in one amount on Monday, several others were gone
into. There was an entry in the bank 1-dger in his
handwriting of December 27, 1856, of 3 0001. received
from the Manchester and Salford Bank, but there
was no entry in the oash-hook in which he should
have accounted for it, and he had never, io fact, paid in
the money. There was another sum of 1,2001., received
from the Bank of England, and entered into the bank
pass-book ; but there was no entry of it in the cash.books
Phe total deficiency in his cash is stated at upwards of
8,0001. The prisoner has not lived extravagantly, but
appea,s to have lent the greater part of the money oe
I 0 U's and promissory notes to a firm carrying on buei-
ness in Salford, so that there is some hope that a portion
of it will be recoverable. The prisoner was committed
for trial.
THHEE RIVERS SETTLEMENT —This vast tract of
country-50,000 square miles—is destined at no remote
period to become of paramount importance, not only to
the lumber inerchaet, but to the sett Lr. A. map a
this hitherto terra incognita is being engraved for the
Crown Lands Department, and the world will tbeo
be better able to judge of its magnitude, One fen-
cure of this tract of country is its numerous lakes,,,
When the lumberman ascends a tree to " prospect
his eye is dr.zzleci with the glitter all around, and ja
s-tne localities he may count from_one point of view
as many as 50 lakes. These lakes are filled with the
finest fish, from the perch to the muskinonge, ordinarili
weighing 50 lbs. Besides the above, black bass, dorel
white fish, and salmon trout abound ; of tho latter sorb
I have seen some soh) in the Three Riv,rs market, which
nave been might only 40 miles north 'from this place;
weigh!ng 341 b. These fish are taken by the line an
t`
book, generally baited with a young chub or piece ef
°
pork. When the arms of the fisherman grow weary
hauling out his prey, he adopts a plan for hi= relief whicbo
I question, never entered the brain of Izeak Waltoos
He bends down a young Fooling, either beech or maple'
which he fincls growing near the water's brink, and'
attaching his line to the topmost branch, throws out his
baited hook, which no sooner touches the surface tha°,,,
it is seized upon by some hungry cruiser; the sapling
'is allowed to rebound, and the captive is landed with
j-rk.—Three Rivers Correspondent of the Canadian
Nan.
THE EXHIBITION OF GOVERNMENT
.OFFICE DEsrGl4oi
WESTMINSTER-HALL.—The WESTMINBTER-HALL.The fact that the Dul'e,,o
Buccleuch possesses a mansion immediately aCijoiningt-a
site to be treated, about to be enlarged or rebuilt, at't,
that Mr. Burn is his architect, may lead some to assEr s
by, and Gy, that predilection for certain arrangereiet,'t
affectingpersonal convenience has weighed in the ee:v
aim All, the judges, however, are understood to
men of the highest integrity, and if they fail in n134114l
a correct selection, it will not be through Want of /5„..
to do what is right. The task is one of greavtc;e
sponsibility, and, properly performed, will le up.
immense labour. Let. us hope that the judges are P.r
pared to give that patient attention to the matter vvbie-b
task
it demands. When we talk of the difficulty of the o)f
we speak from personal knowledge; none can judge„e
it but those who have made the attempt to master
various propositions set forth with pen and pencil by et
various competitors. The intimation in our pages Ns
week, that we sbouid be glad to receive copies of aeYe an
ports sent in with the designs, has brought upon u
oor
overwhelming pile of pavers, to say nothing of the pre..
respondence ou the subject. We alluded ill aof a
vioui article to the fact that the authorshillv
large number of the designs was perfectly well k_
art
w
,sinco then, the anonymous has been for the ,00.4tptbey
abandoned ; competitors cf any poatioo felt that
while tbe
were disadvantaged by rruniumg unkoown,'
,
h
works of contemporaries were mentioned w'i'ough••
names o; f their authors and the result is that the obor.
' out tile Hall reserve 1.109 disappeared, and the and
ship of nearly every design of note is knordova
publicly recognised. ' Thus to tame half iv the
noticeable desi4ns to which w. shall not err_elvneto 111 r•
course of the present article—No. 60 is given 99 to
Knawies 76 to Mr. Lamb, 77 to Mr. GarV'scott,
Mr. E. M. Barry, 112 to Mr. Kerr. 116 to M
minable
No PEW RENTS.— new Baptist chapesiat s
cost 0/31
144 t' Mr. Cockerell, and so on.— The ..Suilden of
accommodating 1,000 persons, and erected Altboug .
4,0001, was npentai at Bradford yesteriay.„,
pe_vv „vets !
there are pews in the chapel, there will be n,,►
beinn, oboet
.
the voluntary principle, "pore and simple,P"De a its
to be adopted for the maintenance of an
• Bractior P . s 0
Tne•experiment is altogether new in
all section
work], g will be watched with inttrest by a,
Christians