The Sun.
London, England, 1861-11-18 00:00:00

THE TALKING FISII.

'Before Mr. Justice Crompton and a Common Jury
BENSHIMOL V. GALLAGHER.
This was an action for wages, &c. The defendant
pleaded never indebted.
Mr. Pearce was counsel for the plaintiff; Mr. D
Seymour, Q.C., and Mr. Telford Salter were coup.
sel for the defendant.
The plaintiff is a native of Gibraltar, and towards
the close of the year 1858 he came to this country
with a man named Cavanneh, the owner of the talk-
ing fish. He attended to it at Gibraltar, and
in England up to the time of its death, and
this action was brought to recover £6l, for
wages, &c., during the time the fish was the
property of Mrs. Gallagher. The fish was first
exhibited in Lime-street, Liverpool. Whilst
there a man named Charles Pollard, the alleged
agent of the defendant, visited the exhibition,
and after some negotiations, purchased the fish
for her for £3OO. Plaintiff had had the education
and management of the fish. He wrapped it in
blankets at night and slept with it—(laughter)—
and kept it clean and attended to it by day, and
when Pollard purchased it he agreed to give the
plaintiff £1 per week, some clothes, his board and
lodging, with permission to receive gratuities,
which, however, only amounted to a few shillings,
for the majority of the visitors, having seen the
animal and hoard its sounds, were so satisfied with
the exhibition that they were glad to get away.
(Laughter.) It was a large seal and was kept in a
tub of water. Plaintiff denied that he was only to
have some clothes, his board and lodgings, and the
gratuities. This was a second trial, and singular
is say it was on the first occasion tried before the
same judge and on the same day of the month last
year.

The defence was that no agreement was made for
' the payment of £1 per week. Plaintiff was only
to have his clothes, board, and lodging, and the
gratuities, and that those were the terms he after-
wards informed the defendant'ho had been engaged
by Pollard.
Pollard was called for the defence. He said the
plaintiff frequently got as much as 10s. and 15s. a
day from the visitors. He (Pollard) had been
offered £1 a week for the situation. He was living
with the defendant as man and wife. He was tried
once at the Old Bailey, not for bigamy, but for
stealing £2,000 worth of bills from the present
Emperor of the French. He had had bill trans-
actions with the Emperor. This took place about
fourteen years ago. He was honourably acquitted.
He did not know that he got off on a technicality.
Mr. Justice Crompton—Were you " honourably
acquitted on a flaw in the indictment"—(laughter)
—as the late Mr. Baron Watson used to say, or on
the merits ?
Witness—He was honourably acquitted on the
merits. He did not know a person named Eliza-
beth Pollard, and was never indicted with her. He
was never charged with causing the death of Dutch
Sam's widow. An inquest was held on her, and
the verdict was death from natural causes. De-
fendant has a house in May-street, Mount-pleasant,
Liverpool. It is not a brothel, but a house where
you barristers sometimes reside. (Laughter.)
Mr. Pearce—l don't go the Northern Circuit.
(Renewed laughter.)
Witness—Defendant has another house in
Houghton-street, Liverpool. lie did not know if
that was a brothel. lie knew very little of the
private business, or how many years
de's
he fendant
had lived with her. (Laughter.) He was a
commission agent, but did not sell goods. (Laugh-
ter)He took commissions on racing; ho was a
racing broker, and did the best he could, like other
gentlemen. (Renewed laughter.)
Mr. Justice Crompton—You are a sort of broker
for bets ?

- •
Witness—Yes.
Mrs. Gallagher was called and corroborated the
last witness with reference to the engagement with
' the plaintiff. Fanny Francis managed the house
in Houghton-street. She heard her say on the first
trial "that men and women cowing to the house
produced their marriage cprtincates before going to
bed." (Laughter.) It might have been done once in
a suspiciopo ,dse. She had a wine license for the
linu.av, She treated the plaintiff like a child of her
own, and gave him spending money when he re-
quired it. When the fish died he began to cry.
(Laughter.) She then told him he might remain till
he got another situation, and he did so for four
months and she maintained him. When he first
came to England he spoke English so bad that he
wore five shirts at ono time—(laughter)—not un-
derstanding when he was asked for his dirty linen.
Fanny Francis was called, and her evidence given
on the former trial was read from the judge's notes.
She said the plaintiff had told her his agreement
was the same as that deposed to by the defendant.
With regard to the house in Houghton-street,
itica es without her
smh ao
nwy n menhe r broughtheirt
atrhrei iarg
ew icveerst t e r
te , and had.
Mr. Seymour—l suppose they were coming home
' from church.
(Laughter.)
The jury, after being locked up some time,:
the re-
turned A verdict for the plaintiff—damages i
same :amount as was given by:the:jury in the first
trial.

THE CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA.

(From the Special Correspondent of the Times.)
WASHINGTON, OCT. 31

It may save a good deal of useless speculation
respecting the destination of the ships and troops
which left Fortress Monroe this week if it be stated,
and if the statement be believed, that the expedi-
tion has actually no definite point of action, and
that it is out on a roving commission, There will
be many" guessings" among the American journals,
and bold hypotheses may take the place of absolute
knowledge, but they are quite in the air in this
matter. If the authorities effect nothing else,
they will show at least that they can keep a State
secret, which is something proved in a country
where politicians of high rank act as newspaper
correspondents, editors as aides-de-camp or military
secretaries, and the heads of departments are often
"in connexion" with well-known organs. So much
may be said that the expedition is under sealed in-
structions, which would tell the enemy nothing if
they fell into their hands, and that the plan is known
only to the President and Cabinet, the Secretary
and Assistant-Secretary of the Navy, to the officers
who copied the papers, and to one or two confiden-
tial servants of the Government. It is purely ten-
tative; the object is to vary with circumstances,
and the place where the descent will be made de-
pends on certain contingencies, the force of which
must be left to the judgment of the commanding
officers. The first news of the operation and of
the appearance of the fleet on the coast, or of the
success of the armada, will be received from the
South by the telegraph through St. Louis. No
doubt some important port will be menaced. The
expedition dare not return without effecting some
important result. A wide field is open for the
judgment of the officers and the exertions of the men
composing it, and so far Captain Dupont is satisfied
that if there be any failure the fault will be his
rather than that of the officers or men under him.
At least, he has written to the Government to say so.
There is no warlike operation more difficult than a
descent on an enemy's coast, and, notwithstanding
the example of Sir R. Abercrombie's landing in
Egypt, and of the debarcation at Old Fort, prudent
generals and admirals alike dread these attempts on
account of the numerous and unforeseen obstacles to
success. The night after the expedition sailed it
blew a stiff breeze, which must have run up an un-
pleasant sea on the dangerous shore under the lee
of the ships if they kept on their course southwards
by Hatteras. When the Atlantic gets a twist the
wrong way and the wind sets from the eastward
there is an astonishing roll of water and a crashing

surf on the low spits and sand bars which protect

the shores of Secessia. The entrances to the rivers
are very unpromising on dark night, or even in fine
moonlight, when the pharos gives out no guiding
ray, and lenses, refractors, and reflectors have been
broken into fragments to the great annoyance of
friend and foe on the waters. As to the coasts,
none are there in the much-becharted world to

which sailors would more willingly give a good
offing, From what I have seen of Charleston, of
Savannah, of Mobile, and of New Orleans, I am
inclined to think the Federalists would scarcely do
more than effect considerable damage to their
enemy, without any permanent advantage to them-
selves, in any attempt they might make with their
present force. They will suffer considerable losses in
a demonstration against any of these places, which
are protected by sandbanks and difficult navigation,
and in the case of all but one by intricate river
channels, fronfany immediate sea attack. Charles-
ton, the most readily accessible, must be approached
by a very contracted, dangerous channel, which
• leads right up to the guns of Fort Sumter, under
the batteries of Fort Moultrie, along a line galled
and flanked by sand batteries on Morris Island and
Sullivan's Island. The coast above and below is cut

up into islands or marshy tracts, and separated by
deep:water channels and lagunes, so that an invad-
ing force would be obliged to make a considerable
detour to approach the city, the occupation of which
would not necessarily lead to the fall of the fort if
the garrisons were determined to hold out. Besides,
the water is so shallow that no vessels of ordinary
draught could approach 'within range to cover the
disembarcation, and a slight breeze from seaward
throws up a heavy surf on the beach. Georgetown
above, Wiltown or Beaufort below, might be readily
taken with the force in hand, but the country be-
tween these places and Charleston or Savannah is
cut up by great rivers unknown to European fame,
such as Santee, Cooper, Edisto, Ashepoo, Comba-
hoe, Agechee, Cannonchee, and by immense canals
and embankments round the rice fields, which can
be inundated at pleasure. The rivers flow through
primaeval forests, often with no visible banks, ex-
tending their waters for miles through a jungle of
underwood and tangled brake, inhabited exclusively
by water-snakes, alligators, and turtles, and invol-
ving thelland in an unsuccessful attempt to keep its
head above water; while the latter endeavours in
vain to get away off the land. Such a country ! It
lcoks as if it were in the early stages either of being
submerged by the flood, or of draining off after it.
It is true that railroads run from such points as
Wilmington, Brunswick, and Fernandina, but they

are in the hands of the enemy, and their course lies

over trestle-work and wooden bridges, spanning
these broad waterways, which could be destroyed
in a moment, at a considerable iriconvenience to the
enemy, indeed, but in no way to the advantage of
the invading force, which could not advance in-
wards if it desired it, and must be fed by sea. If
it be sought to effect a lodgment on the coast merely
with the view of securing a future base of opera-
tions, either in war, trade, or treating, Charleston
would be next in importance to New Orleans. In
former letters I described the fortifications of Fort
Pulaski and Fort Morgan as they appeared when I
visited Savannah and Mobile, but there is reason to
believe that much has been done there, as elsewhere,
to strengthen the defences, for the Confederates have
never lost sight of the fact that their enemy was
stronger by sea than by land, as compared with
themselves. As there is a considerable proportion
of the white males at the seat of war, the expedition
will no doubt create a considerable diversion, not-
withstanding the Horse Guards, Coast Guards, and
local militia, or military companies. It is known,
for instance, that a regiment from Georgia which
was engaged at Bull's Run formed part of the force
which attacked the Indiana regiment in camp on the
sand spit above Hatteras the other day. The agitation
and alarm along the Southern coast will be extreme,
and the officers in command of the expedition have
full powers and discretion to make a dash at any
pint of importance where the best chance of success
exist. New Orleans seems a long way off for such
u. number of sailing
vessels and bad seaboats, but
the weather is generally
meaunt, i lr,,e moderate at this time of the
year. In my judg
e.ver, the composition of
the force indicates
otlon to try some place
where the guns of the meZf
war can be rendered
available, and New Orleans certainly does not fulfil
that condition if a descent be made on either side of
tho delta of the Mississippi. The river` itself is de:
fended by Fort Jackson and Fort St. Phillip, which \
cross-fir© the channel at a point some distance above
the diffusion of the great river through the isles
formed formed by the precipitate of its waters. They were
originally of no great strength, but it is said they
have been much improved in armament and power,
and they are supported by batteries on the hanks
above. They are naturally strong by position, as
the stream will not admit any great front of fire to
converge upon them. Nearer to the city, close
cliose tothe spot where the English sustained
dis-
graceful repulse from the cotton bales, earthworks
have beeu erected, and the population of the city
would furnish many volunteers to the force to de-
fend them should any officer resolve on 1 he very
hardy and almost hopeless undertaking of marching
10,000 men through marsh and overflows to attack
a town containing 120,000 inhabitants. However,
" something must be done," and before ten days VMS
we shall learn what it is ; but rest assured, mean-
time, that the actual object at which the blow is
struck will depend on contingencies to be decided
Lb
L expedition
reconnaissance and observation at sea after
has sailed. The officers in command
of the sea and land forces are considered the most
capable men in the
service of the United The Government has States.
umust fotrth its utmost strength,
and expended vast
di-
tion, and if it fail the resnlmtsone'y
on the expe
will be of the most

serious character not only in the North, bat in
Europe. The fruits of its success can only be
developed by time. Assuredly there must be
something more than a mere haryin r of the
seaboard, the destruction of property, he burn-
ing of small towns, or the flight of t le "contra-
bands" to the ships to justify the assertion that
the expedition has done everything to con-
tribute to the subjugation of the South or the
reduction of the Confederates to submission. We
shall speedily hear if the fleet has rounded the capes
of Florida, or has stopped short on the coast nearer
Richmond; and then a few days more will suffice to
report its appearance before the ports in the gulf.
Mobile is, perhaps, for its size and importance, the
least difficult of attack, but it is by no means an
easy nut to crack. Galveston, which has been men-
tioned, is of little consequence in comparison with
the places alluded to. Besides, there is really
nothing there. The blockade has produced great
distress. The town is in darkness ; there is no
coal for gas, and the lamps are not lighted ; and it is
positively affirmed that there is not a stone-weight
of candles in the whole place. There is not a hundred-
weight of coffee in the stores, and other articles of
first necessity are equally scarce. Beaufort, in
North Carolina (not the place spelled the same
way, but pronounced Buefort, on Port Royal River,
in South Carolina), which also offers considerable in-
ducements to attack, is defended by Fort Macon, a
first-class casemated work, mounting about 160 guns.
The fortifications, which were built by the United
States' Government to defend the shores of the
seceded States from attacks by sea, are now used by
the Confederates to resist the fleets of the United
States, their weak points being all landwards, as is
the case at Fortress Monroe, at Macon, at Sumter,
and at all the strong places I have seen in the
country, except the formidable defences of New
York, which are, however, weaker on the land
side than on the sea faces. Bat, no matter what the
risk, " something must be done," for the country
is fretting and fuming at the inaction or the slow
progress of affairs, while money is flowing away
into contractors' expanded pockets, into the coffers
of bankers—after a preliminary canter out of their
road by way of the Treasury—and war, with all its
cost, even that of blood, is waged withrotit progress.
From Kentucky there is such "no-news" that we
are justified in thinking the Government has
nothing good to tell us, and that General Sherman
was not quite wrong when he made the statement
attributed to him in General Thomas's most remark-
able report, to which I solicit your best attention,
that it would require 200,000 men to save her for
the Unicn—in other words, to prevent her being
taken out of it. From Missouri we only know that
General Fremont is pursuing General Price with
solemn state, and no indecent precipitation which
may be forced upon him by the condition of the
force he commands, as he has everything at stake on
overtaking and defeating his adversary. If he fail,
or succeed not quickly, the Presidential scissors is
ready to cut his thread ; and even now there are
doubts whether he is not hanging on by a cord of
his own spinning. " Something must be done," for
the Government of the United States exhibits to
the world the strange spectacle of a capital
blockaded from the sea, which is in its power—its
exclusive command—while its vast army is kept at
bay by the enemy within a day's march of its
streets, every onward step being resisted and de-
feated with disheartening losses. " Something
must be done," for Europe is becoming impatient of
this cruel and apparently hopeless strife, which
causes so much misery to the people engaged in it,
and in the populations abroad whose industry is
paralysed by the results of the conflict. It may be
denied that the Potomac is closed, but no vessels
come up, and the price of provisions is rising
rapidly ; winter is coming on, and, fuel is already at
an enormous rate. Only the other day a Foreign
Minister was obliged to borrow a small quantity—
say a scuttlefall—of coal, as there was none to
buy in his neighbourhood. The price of that com-
modity has risen to 9 dollars—nearly £2 a ton.
There are petitions lying at the newspaper offices
in Washington addressed to the Secretary of War,
and praying for his action to avert the evils which
must afflict the poor this coming winter, and which
are now upon them, in addition to the increase in
the high price of provisions and want of employ-
ment. Last night, on arriving by the train from
Baltimore, I found the line blocked up by enor-
mous convoys, which could not be got out of the
way till we had backed some miles down into a
siding, and the railway, in spite of its admirable
management, and the extraordinary ability dis-
played in adapting it to the prodigious traffic
thrown upon it, gave signs in the approaches to the
station, which presented on all sides a mass of
loaded waggons, puffing engines, and great strings
of vans and carriages, that already it had more to
do than it could possibly manage. And this is but
the beginning of the trouble. There is, indeed, at
the head of the Quartermaster-General's Depart-
merit one of the most indefatigable, large minded,
and energetic men who could be found in any army,
but General Miegs cannot work miracles, though
he comes very near them ; and his capacity, fore-
sight, and administrative talent are tested to the
utmost to provide for the wants of the day. The
Confederates, who were slow in taking advantage
of their position on the Potomac, are now, no doubt,
revelling in the enjoyment of the mischief they are
doing, and revel iu the pleasures of shelling Gene-
ral Sickle's men out of their camps on the Mary-
land shore by long range fire, or from the impudent
little "Page" which runs across the river, and
drives the Excelsiors, it is said, to great lateral
lengths from her guns.
The affair at Edward's Ferry, as to which the
papers will convey many elucidations in the shape
of reports from the officers engaged, looks all the
worse the more clearly it is seen, and it is hinted
that General M'Clellan did not give the orders for
the advance, but that the demonstration was made
in consequence of instructions from a higher mili-
tary authority. There can be no doubt concerning
the delicate state of the relations between General
Scott and General M'Clellan, but it is a base and
scandalous accusation which could scarcely be made
in a country where men are respected for past ser-
vices and high character, and where old age and
the recollection of a distinguished career combine
to shield gray hairs from insult, to say that Gen.
Scott is " intriguing" to procure the substitution of
the new Major-Gen. Halleck for the present Com-
mander-in-Chief of the army of the Potomac. Be-
fore the appointment was noticed in the American
journals, I announced that expectations were
formed, particularly among engineer officers and
the scientific branches of the service, that the officer
who had just returned to the army, after a long
seclusion in civil live, would play a distinguished
part in any command to which he might be ap
pointed; but it is not to be supposed for a moment
that General M'Clellan, in whom such a mass of
the public still profess the utmost coufidence, could
be wantonly superseded because he did not 'wish
to risk a battle against his better judgment. Gen.
Scott will speedily retire on his fall pay and allow-
ances, which were secured to him very much at
Gen. M'Clellan's urgent representation by the
ingress, before it adjourned this summer, and the
but, unless I
choice of his successor will prove embarrassing ;
buatnifoumr short
deceived,ach
months a thego
was veteranh but-
tered t
General who -
tered over
Isit:ompa
o
asthie thickly with flattery as he is now
spattered
with offensive insinuation or worse, is the
last man to
an " intrig
on earth. ue" for any purpose
y dealing ve
cannotel
many
Y faults, but
obnugt meannessthsm.
and underhand di
As it may be well to show the Americans drawn
by themselves, I send you a pi •
cture, which. I think a
little harsh and severe, drawn of the appearance of
the army at Washington by a writer in the Ne i
York Tribune. It is true in many respects, but 'I 't
must be remembered how this army is formed, and
it is unjust to apply the canons of military citieism
a few months from the field and
to a force raised in
01 the bombastic nonsense and in.
the streets, thou,
fisted praise one sees in the papers provoke their
with all but very long-suffering critics
application
like myself. I have ~,.•
rarely seen, except among the
Court troops of Europe,
a finer regiment in appear-
ance Re, wich
than the 44th New Yor
d theregiment are other
came in here a few days ago, an
battalions here and there which really deserve every
commendation for the soldierly look of the men, duo

regard being had to the circumstances under which
they have been raised, and the length of time they
have been enrolled. These, however, do not as yet
quite leaven the mass. The good conduct and dis-
cipline of the troops of a line of battle may be nulli-
fied or destroyed by the misconduct of one regiment,
and Gen. M'Clellan, in his constant reviews and in-
spections, is seeking to inspire that mutual confi-
dence which is the base of all drill and discipline,
and the secret of success against an enemy. A brave
savage thinks every man of an opposing force will
be down upon him alone, and never counts on the
support of his neighbour light or left. The disci-
plined soldier relies on the support of his comrades,
and looks only to the whole force of the enemy as
compared with his own line. In the action at Ed-
ward's Ferry the other day two Englishmen were
engaged, who were mentioned in honourable terms.
One, Adjutant Harvey, rallied the men to recover
Brigadier-General Baker's body; the other, Capt.
Stewart, Aide-de-Camp to General Stone, worked
at a gun with Col. Coggeswell and other officers
when all the gunners were shot down. The general
order of Gen. 111‘Clellan in reference to the action is

liberal—nay, we may say profuse in its praise, and it
is not easy to see what more he could have said had
the troops won a great victory ; but there is censure
on others covered by the flattery of the rank and file,
and much bitterness and heartburning prevail in
reference to the disastrous affair, which cost the
column a loss of 50 per cent. of its men and 85 per
cent. of its officers and arms, the loss of its guns, a
defeat, and the exhibition of something like a re-
newal of the confused rout after Manassas. General
M'Clellan will be forced to move. He is preparing
to do so if he be compelled, but there will be less
difficulty in his advance if it be deferred till the
combined expedition has achieved a success, or even
effected a landing at some point not too remote from
Bichmond or Charleston. He is so pestered with
visitors and applicants of all sorts that he has closed
his doors against all who do not come on business
of importance, and that alone, however necessary, is
sure to create a certain amount of unpopularity
among the people who are refused, and who think
they have a right to the time of all public servants.
The publication of Gen. Thomas's report is acting
like the descent of a 13-inch shell with burning fuse
into the Government departments, and when it
reaches the Fremont quarters there will be a tre-
mendous explosion. Read, and then form a judg-
ment of the condition of affairs in the West, of the
administrative powers, of the whole aspect of the
relations between the State and its servants. There
are anxious, if not distracted councils in the Cabinet.
The attitude of foreign powers is regarded with
apprehension, but so thoroughly determined is the
Northern spirit in prosecuting this war that I be-
lieve the men and money of the States would be ex-
pended to the last to resist intervention by force.
It is, however, not the less certain that the Presi-
dent and his Cabinet are not indisposed to a peaceful
arbitration, and from what I hear it is not unlikely
that at this moment the propriety of accepting or
asking for the intervention of a great European po-
tentate may be under consideration. The conditions
of such a settlement will be difficult; but meantime,
success in warlike operations will give the North a
broader basis and a more commanding attitude.
All the world sighs for such a peace as may secure
a continuance of friendly relations and prosperity to
both sections. May it come—quod felix faust-
unaque sit. But, come as it may, or how it may, the
arbitrament can never re-unite the fragments of the
shattered mirror in which the goddess of American
liberty loved to survey her charms. A standing
army, the suspension of the habeas corpus, the in-
fringement of the liberty of the press, confiscations
and proscriptions—these stand between, and break
the shining surface.
The controversy between the military and the
civil power has been brought to a close in a man-
ner not discreditable to the character of the judges
who preside over the administration of the laws, as
will be found on perusal of the final proceedings,
which I append as they are reported in the Wash-
ington papers of Thursday last :

" CIRCUIT COURT.--THE RULE AGAINST GENERAL
PORTER.

"On the opening of this court, yesterday morn-
ing, there was quite a large crowd of spectators,
who were gathered to hear the decision of the
Court in the matter of the rule against the Provost-
Marshal.

" The presiding judge, the Hon. Jas. Dunlop, an-
nounced the following decision in the matter :
" The return made by Deputy-Marshal Phillips,
the 26th October, 1861, we will order to be filed,
though we do not doubt our power to regard it as
insufficient in law, and proceed against the officer
who has made it.

"'The existing condition of the country makes it
plain that that officer is powerless against the vast
military force of the Executive, subject to his will
and order, as Commander-in-Chief of the army and
navy of the United States.
" Assuming the verity of the return, which has
been made on oath, the case presented is -without
parallel in the judicial history of the United States,
and involves the free action and efficiency of the
judges of this court.
" The President, charged by the constitution to
take care that the laws be executed, has seen fit to
arrest the proceis of this Court, and to forbid the
Deputy-Marshal to execute it. It does not involve
merely the question on the power of the Executive
in the civil war, and to suspend the great writ of
freedom—the habeas corpus.
" ' When this rule was ordered, to give efficacy to
that writ, no notice had been given by the President
to the Courts or to the country of such suspension
here, now first announced to us, and it will hardly
be maintained that the suspension could be retro-
spective.

" ' The rule in this case, therefore, whatever may
be the President's po er over the writ of habeas
corpus, was lawfully ordered, as well as the writ on
which it was founded.

" The facts on which the rule was ordered by
this Court are assumed to be true as respects the
President, because the President had them before
him and has not denied them, but forbade the De-
puty-Marshal to servo the rule on General Andrew
Porter.

" The President, we think, assumes the respon-
sibility of the acts of Gen. Porter, set forth in the
rule, and sanctioned them by his order to Deputy
Marshal Phillips not to serve the process on the
Provost-Marshal.

•" The issue ought to be and is with the President,
and we have no physical power to enforce the law-
ful process of this Court on his military subordinates
against the President's prohibition. 'We have ex-
hausted every practical remedy to uphold the law-
ful authority of this Court.
"' It is ordered this 30th day of Oct., 1861, that
this opinion of the Court be filed by the clerk, and
made part of the record, as explaining the grounds
on which we have now declined to order any fur-
ther proceedings in this case.'
" Judge Morsell then read the following protcst :
" As a member of this Court, and on its behalf,
I wish it understood that, notwithstanding the blow
levelled at this Court, I do distinctly assert the fol.
lowing principles :
" First—That the law in this country knows no
superior. _ _ _

1" Second—That the supremacy of the civil au-
thority over the military cannot be denied ; that it
has been established by the ablest jurists, and, I
believe, recognised and respected by the great Fa-
ther of the country during the revolutionary war.
" Third—That this Court ought to be respected
by every one as the guardian of the personal liberty
of the citizen in giving ready and effectual aid by
that most valuable means, the writ of habeas corpus.
" ' I therefore respectfully ptotest against the right
claimed to interrupt the proceedings in this case.'
" The opinion of Judge Morsell was also ordered
to be recorded."

It is not easily seen why the President provoked
a contest in which his authority has been so rudely
handled. Under martial law one understands the
fitness of things and the propriety of everybody's
conduct, and the judges seem to crave for it. The
local papers contain advertisements, the first com-
manding the Marshal to attach the property of one
etn
William Sheilds, and to give notice to all claimants
\
to show cause against the confiscation, the record
setting forth the reasons for the act in the rebellion
of hte
will
di
bSehriaeilsdesa, ainndthitisisc thoughtase also.
Theleg allawayrgeurs-
niare very throublesome in these times, and always
beautiful rules of
are till they are
tie law military,suppressed
and placed under the
military
'"--------6----- '

BENSON'S WA.Ten Dois?i —" Perfection of
dwflatches, 5 to lee guineas;
glihleascieseriptive's new Illustrated
mechanism."—Morning
°bef;onadreacptri to
the
apt silver watches, 2 to 50
Pamphlet, free for two stamps,
tion of watch, ambles persons in any parotf etvetrtr
select with tile greatest certainty the watch
their use. Watches sent free and safe by post
a remittance. —J. W. Benson, 33 and 34, Ludgate-hill, receipt of
47, Cornhill, London, E.O. Establish( el 1741

IRELAND.

DUBLIN, SATURDAY EVENING.

It would seem as if Dublin were only beginning
to make progress, if we may judge from the in-
creased facilities for locomotion aleady established
and in contemplation. Two new lines of omnibuses
have been recently established, and a bill is an-
nounced ,to be brought in during next, session for
the formation of metropolitan railways. According
to this scheme, new lines are to be constructed unit-
ing the various termini in Dublin, and connecting
all the railways which converge in the city with the
pert. A great want will be thus supplied, and the
facilities of eommunication will be of the greatest
importance in advancing the prosperity of the city.
The plan includes a tramway along the quay from
Carlisle-bridge down the river on the south side.

The visit of Sir Robert Peel to Belfast seems to
have given great satisfaction to all parties con-
cerned. He arrived there on Thursday night,
accompanied by Lady Emily Peel and Sir Henry
Brownrigg, from the Giant's Causeway, which they
visited on their way from Londonderry that morn-
ing. They put up at the Royal Hotel, where the
right hon. baronet was waited on next morning by
Sir Edward Coey, mayor of Belfast, when he con-
sented to receive an address from the town council
this morning at 11 o'clock, so as to enable him to
proceed to Dublin by the midday mail train. Yes-
terday the Chief Secretary and his party visited the
Lunatic Asylum, where he was received by the re-
sident physician, Dr. Stewart, the Lord Bishop of
Down, Mr. Thomas Maclure, J.P., and Dr. Moore,
the visiting surgeon, and where he inspected every-
thing, being at the same lime entertained by the
band and the Volunteer corps, both composed of
lunatics and dressed in uniform. At the District
Model School, which was next visited, he was re-
ceived by Lord Masscrene, the Rev. Dr. Henry,
Commissioner of Education; Dr. Patten, Head In-
spector, &c. Sir Robert assisted in the examination
of the children, with whose answering he was so
well pleased that he got holidays for them till
Tuesday next. From the Model School.the Chief
Secretary and party passed on to the Queen's Col-
lege, where the President, the Rev. Dr. Henry, was
waiting to receive him. The students were assem-
bled with the professors in their various elass rooms,
and, remembering Sir Robert Peel's liberality in
endowing scholarships, they cheered him enthusias-
tically as he passed through the establishment. He
then went to the Presbyterian College, which is en-
dowed by Government for the education of ministers,
and was welcomed by the Rev. J. M'Naughton,
Moderator of the General Assembly; the Rev. Dr.
Gibson, and other professors. Mr. Tracy, R.M.,
and other gentlemen, placed carriages at the disposal
of Sir Robert and Lady Peel, but they preferred the
Irish jaunting car, having taken a fancy to it, for
its convenience in affording the opportunity of see-
ing everything around, of which they had ample
experience in the wilds of Connaught. The follow-
ing is from the third edition of the Northern Whi g :
"BELFAST, Saturday Afternoon.
"This morning Sir R. Peel was presented with
an address from the Corporation of Belfast, on the
occasion of his first visit to the town, in company
with Lady Emily Peel and Sir Henry Brownrigg.
Among those present at the Town-hall were the
Marquis of Downshire and a large number of the
principal inhabitants of the town.
" The address was read by the Town-clerk. It
welcomed Sir Robert to Belfast, referred in terms
of commendation to his conduct while he had been
in Ireland, especially to his endeavours for the
further development of education, and for making
himself acquainted, by personal observation, with
the requirements of the country, and expressed a
confident hope that he would, like his illustrious
father, have the satisfaction of receiving the grate-
ful thanks of the country for his enlightened and
impartial policy.
" Sir R. Peel, in reply, spoke at great length. He
announced that he had received many promises of
support for the endowment of scholarships, &c., in
the Queen's University, and mentioned that Mr.
Thom, of Dublin, had promised £l,OOO, Mr. Mal-
colmson £6OO, and Mr. Guinness £250. He re-
sented in warm terms the recent pastoral of Dr.
Cullen, and severely con iemned the practice of
Roman Catholic dignitaries hurling ecclesiastical
censures at public men for what they did not agree
with in their political life. For himself, he said he
was made of sterner stuff than to heed them. Re-
ferring to his late tour in the west, he said, although
there was distress from the partial failure of the
potato crop, and the dearness of fuel, there was
nothing like a famine; and he declared that the cry
of famine had been got up by those Is ho wished to
gain popular applause from an affected zeal for the
poor. Sir Robert was loudly cheered at the termi-
nation of his address. Three cheers were given for
Lady Emily Peel."
In visiting the public buildings of Belfast Sir
Robert Peel must have been surprised to find
among them no cathedral. Belfast is a city
in everything but the name, second only to
Dublin in population, wealth, and importance.
It has a population of 120,000, of which 30,000 are
Churchmen. There is church accommodation for
only 7,600—in one parish church and three or four
district churches ; but none of them is, in an archi.
tectural point of view, at all worthy of such a city.
It is a singular fact, by no means creditable to our
Protestantism, that no cathedral has been erected
in Ireland since the Reformation. All the existing
cathedrals, which are not much to beast of, were
built in Roman Catholic times. Belfast is situate
in the diocess of Connor, whose cathedral has been
in ruins since the middle of the 13th century. Down
has its cathedral in Downpatrick, and Dromore has
one also in Lisburn, but in size, architecture, and
locality it is unsuitable for the purpose. Belfast is
the proper place for the mother Church and the
Bishop's seat. This has long been teit, and at
length the Bishop of the united diocesses of Down,
Connor, and Dromore, at the urgent request of his
clergy and laity, has resolved that the want shall be
supplied. Accordingly his Lordship has appealed
for funds to the members of the United Church of
England and Ireland for this laudable purpose.
The sum required is £lOO,OOO, and it is felt that by
a vigorous effort on the part of all classes of church-
men this sum can be easily raised.
The proprietors and holders of land in the neigh-
bourhood of Bannagher had a meeting in that town
yesterday, reported by a correspondent of Saunders's
Newsletter. They complain strongly of the conduct
of the Board of Works in not protecting the country
from the inundations of the Shannon, which this
year have caused immense losses. One gentleman
stated that his own loss was £BBO. They expressed
a hope that the new Chief Secretary would take the
matter in hand, and see justice done to the sufferers
through the alleged default of the Board of Works.