The Sun.
London, England, 1850-02-14 00:00:00

COURT CIRCULAR.

The Duke cf Wellington had an audience of the
Queen yesterday, at Buckingham Palace.
His Royal Highness Prince Albert presided yesterday
of-ernoon at a meeting of the Chairmen and members of
Committees of the Royal Commission f)r the Exhibttioa
of 1851. The int ving was held at Buckingham Palace,
nt throl o'clock, and was attended by Earl Granville,
Lord Stanley, Sir Richard Wesimacotr, Sir Charles
Lynn, Sir Henry de la Becl.e, Mr. William Cubist, Mr.
Thomas F. Gibsop, Professor Oyler), Mr. Brunel, Mr.
Posey, M.P., and Dr. Boyle. Mr. Scott Russell attended
as Secretary to the Commission. Lieu'.-Colonel Reid,
R.E., Mr. Henry Cole, and Mr. Charles W. Dilke, jan.,
were in attendance as members of the Executive Corn-
mittee. Colonel the Hon. Charles Grey, his Royal
Highness's Private Secretary, also attended. The met-
ing broke up at twenty minnws beture eight o'clock.
The Royal Family took their usual walking and pony
exercise yesterday.
The Lord Chancellor and Lady Cottenham, Lord
George Lennox, and the Right Hon. Sir Francis and
Lady Arabella Baring, had the honour of dining with
her Majesty and the Prince yesterday evening, at Buck-
ingham Palace.

—Dispatches from the Governor of the Bahamas were
received yesterday at the Colonial-office.
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council sat yes-
terday, and resumed the hearing of an appe,il from
Bengal (part heard), " Anund Lal Sing Dee. v. Maha-
rajah Djeraj Gurrood."

BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY. Yes-
terday evening the 45th annual general meeting of the
Bread-street branch of this association was held at the
London Coffee-house, Alderman Sidney, M.P., in the
chair. The proceedings having been oper;ed by prayer,
the Chairman said he was glad to be able to congratu-
late them upon the prosperity of the society. In the ad-
dress which they heard in the House of Commons the
other night, in which the Prime Minister propounded
government to all our colonies to the utmost bounds of
the world, he had not mentioned a word about religion,
because the Bible societies and other kindred institutions
preceded him there, even before regular government
was established. It appeared from a view of the plans
and operations of the society, which was submitted to
the meeting, that during the forty-five years of its
existence the society had put into circulation
nearly 22,000,000 copies of the Scriptures, either in
whole or in part, and its expenditnre for this pur-
pose had exceeded 3,500,0001. sterling. The receipts
for the past year alone had amounted to 95,933/.
10. id., arising from the usual sources of donations,
annual subscriptions, sales, and legacies; the payments
during the same period having been 88,8311. le. 2d.,
and its engagements had exceeded 67,0001. There had
been issued from its depositaries, at home and abroad,
within the same year, no fewer than 1,107,518 copies,
and if the aggregate issues of foreign Bible societies
were added to those of the British and Foreign Bible
Society, the grand total would amount to more than
36,000,000 copies of the entire Bible or New Testament.
or integral portions thereof, in different languages. The
society had promoted the distribution of, printing, or trans-
lation of the sacred volume in whole or in part, directly in
81, and indirectly in 59 languages or dialects. Within
the United Kingdom there were no fewer than 3,217
auxiliary brances or associations, and 525 in the British
colonies and their dependencies. There were also more
than 50 principal foreign societies, with their respective
branches, spreading their salutary influence over the
states of Europe, all more or less effective in the distri-
bution of the Scriptures. The adoption of the report
having been passed, several practical resolutions were
agreed to, and officers for the ensuing year were elected,
and the meeting separated, after the usual courtesy to
the chairman.

11.}...covEuir or HER MAJESTY'S MAIL-PACKET
ONvx.—lntelligence has been brought by the Sir. Ed-
ward Banks, which arrived last night at St. liatharme's,
of the floating of the mail steam-packet Onyx. The
vessel having been lightened by the removal of the pad-
dle-boxes and all the heavy fittings, a successful effort
was made on Tuesday to tow her off the beach at
Ostend. The operation was favoured by an unusually
high tide, and at about half-past one o'clock, a good pur-
chase having been obtained by the vessels ordered on
the duty by the Admiralty, she glided into deep water
as if leaving a dockyard slip, and was taken in tow by
the Princess Alice and brought into harbour. As soon
as the weather permit, she will be towed to Woolwich
to be repaired.
INAUGURATION Or THE GREAT TUBULAR BRIDGE
OVER THE MEstaL—Wednesday last, the second tune
was lowered to its permanent seat en the Carnarvonshire
side, in the presence of its distinguished founder, Robert
Stephenson, M.P. So successfully was every part
brought to bear on lowering the tube on the rock tower,
that an extension of three -sixteenths of an inch took
place, denoting great rigidity. The gale on Wednesday,
and again on Saturday, when the wind was west and by
south, or at right angles with the bridge, did not affect
the structure in the least, though a pressure of seventeen
and a half pounds to the square foot was ascertained.
The only unfinished operations connected with this
bridge are the fillirg up of the gap on the near side, and
the grand junction with the Carnarvonshire tower, for
which a period of three weeks will suffice—two other
weeks will suffice for lining the rails—from which it will
be seen that the line will be in readiness for opening

within a period of five weeks from this dale. Of.courre
there will be a public demonstration on so interesting an
occasion; and we know it to be the intention to get up
an ovation for Mr.:Stephemon in the manner of a public
entertainment.—North Wales Chronicle.
METROPOLIS WATER BILLS.—The following lin*
portant order was adopted by the House cf Commons,
on Tuesday, on the motion of Sir G. Grey—" That no
Dill for the supply of water to the metropolis, or an
part thereof, be read a good time before

THE TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF
BISHOP'S BOCK LIGHTHOUSE OFF
SCILLY.
Amongst the various disasters and loss of property
which occurred in the terrific gale of Tuesday night,
the sth inst., we have to record a no less serious oc-
currence than the total destruction of the Bishop's
Rock Lighthouse off Scilly, the erection of which was
rapidly approaching completion. The rock is situated
about eight or ten miles westward of the Land's j
End, and the lighthouse was in progress of erec-
tion by Mr. Douglas for the Honourable Corpora-
tion of Trinity House, under the superintendence of
Messrs. Walker and Burges, the eminent engineers.
As to the immediate cause which produced the dis-
aster, of course no definite information can as
yet be obtained. All that is known is, that on the
Tuesday night, the lighthouse was standing, and few,
if any, had any apprehension of its safety. On the
following morning not a trace cf its existence was
visible upon the turbid mass of waters on whose sur-
face it had before risen as a warning beacon.
As our readers have already been made acquainted
by us, the lighthouse was formed of cast-iron columns,
braced and stayed with wrought iron rods. The
columns were sunk into the rock ; and the present
surmise i., that in penetrating the rock for this pur-
pose, some fissure of which the engineer might not
have been aware, has thus been rendered a greater
source of that insecurity of which we now record the
result ; and that the rock with the light -house upon it,
has been swept away by the fury of the waters.
'lnc lighthouse had been constructed by Messrs.
Robinson, of Pimlico, and the lantern was in progress
by Mr. Wilkins, of Long-acre. It was anticipated
that the erection would have been complete early in
summer. It would have been upwards of 120 feet
high, being 20 feet higher than the far-famed Eddy-
stone, and had been considered peculiarly adapted,
notwithstanding its apparent lightness, to withstand
the heavy seas which fall in at that point, as from
its construction the sea would pass through without
taking any hold in.comparison as it does when meeting
with a solid body. The centre column was about
three feet six inches in diameter, and the entrance to
the light was by the interior of this column to the
hopper, over which, and under the gallery, were the
living room, store, &c. The whole of this structure
has now, however, become a total loss.—Penzance
Gazette.