The Sun.
London, England, 1844-02-06 00:00:00

rnE S,U,N, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, FEBII-IJARY 6, 1844.

iletnaii. On one subject, however,~
he differed from him.
He. disagreed from that part of the Right Honourable
Gentleman's speech, in. which he stated that he consi-
dered it might be 'advisable for the Government and the
Right Honourable Gentleman to enter into some sort of
cam Pact with the existing railway companies, to pre-
vent the construction, of competing lines of railway.—
(Rear.) He thought that•in some cases competing lines
of railway might be necessary, in order to secure to the
public the benefits of competition-(Cheers.) At
awool ll events, they could •do no harm. They
secure the public against the monopoly
Zr carriage possessed by some of the railway companies.
bOr instance, the Great Western and Southampton were,
a certain extent, competing lines, and the consequence
reacdenbeden a reduction in the prices of carriage. He had
leen Y, at one of the stations on the Southampton line,
parcels directed to Bath. He had inquired, and.
Grad been informed, that they were competing with the
%11;eat Western line, and that when they had
ranch to Salisbury, there would exist a still greater
b:gree -.of •competition, which would undoubtedly
neat the public.—(Hear, hear.) The Right Hon.
ventietnitn had stated too positively that no advantage
,c°4ld be derived from competing lines.—(Cheers.) He
sure the public would feel much obliged ,to the
ght to Hen. Gentleman for having directed his attention
afttbs high rate of fares charged _for third-class pas-
tii-gars.--(Cheers.) Any one _who had travelled on
Ze Continent could not but be struck with the beneficial
be isproduced by low third-class fares. There
b ourers went to their work of a morning
dye rallwaY, While here the exorbitant fares
Manded ,for third-class passengers pressed
elah:st beefily upon the humbler classes.—(Loud
Iverb s.)' The country generally was indebted to the
the ':•`-t lion. Gentleman for the attention he had paid to
jubject of railways:—(Cheers.)
GLADSTONE was anxious that the attention of
the Committee should be directed in the first instance to
telle. railway -companies which were about to apply
ahin:iat House for additional powers. He hoped that he
ex;-.11,1u, shortly be enabled, with the consent of' all the
ja,--t"''eng railway- companies,"to submit the general sub-
eetilli ,railway legislation to the Committee, and nothing
hmeee easier than to enlarge the powers from time to
britistruetions.—(Hear, hear.)
1, • ROEBUCK was glad that the subject had been
thought under the consideration• of the House. He
ht light they ought to have no half-anct-half measures
°t
relation to this subject. A great revolution had
°tea: made in our several relations by the introduction
The railvvay system. - Parliament had in fact created
itilaM monopolies,- and he asked the Right Hon. Gen-
anio go into the whole
subject and not con-
• 'Himself with legislating in those cases merely
freshhich railway companies might- apply for
e Bowers. A monopoly had` been created by the
~ttFaordinary advanceawe had made in physical science,
lie could not have been dreamt of twenty years ago.
Iv° '
aysWanted the Right Hon. Gentleman to deal with rail-
in Which hid obtained powers from that House just
.7, the same way as he would deal with those which were
L'iluing to the 'House. These railways had obtained a
fn
91301 y from Parliament, but Parliament had a per-
ks 'light to interfere with them
.for the public benefit.
the Z"ld ask the Right Hon. Gentleman not to fetter
which of the Committee with any of those shackles
tit an seemed dispoSed to cast upon them. He would
en. eudeao a subject with respect to which
. the Right
c, Gentleman •had involved himself in a mystery—
*nineting lines. The Righ4Flon. Gentleman's proposition
tell that a competing line would not be beneficial to, but
tr ftga ainst, the public. Now, let him suppose a case. The
south 'extern went to Bath,. the South Western to
teCpton. If by any chance or accident they could
petit; line which should make those two lines com-
ndil lines, there would be a benefit to Southampton
there a,th. In such a case, how was it possible that
suonld be any. disadvantage to the public ? He
41.'7 the Committee to examine how it would be pos..
by ",','"Y favouring competing lines, to benefit the public
letv;e„ Mere fact of competition, the effect being to
• ~.prices• in each competing railway. If there
ktp ut one railway in the whole of England, command-
lti:LlParY possible communication, the company to whom
he -'aged would be the ruling power in England. If
Ipeenuld divide' them—if he could make the South-
'Pt' stern Railway a competing power against the Great
teleelatern be beneted the public ; and if he introduced
of theticl regulationa which prevented the amalgamation
the ,s two companies, he conferred a great advantage on
peacunainunity. When the Hon. Gentleman talked. of
be W,aYs having peculiar powers orp.eculiar rights,
tights ocia the whole- question. Post railways had no
thesn except those which 'Parliament conferred upon
; •and• Parliament, for the benefit of the commu-
tiv'e'nlailt revise and alter the rights which had been
eider•
.The Committee- should have the power of cip-
lais,Vg„wbat means.might be adopted for preventing
ei to the community by monopoly. He had nn-
the • that on certain great lines of communication,
„I:41414111. PtaLnY had made their arrangements in such a
gest; that whereas the. 61131). class train arrived at its
treellnatiun in site hours, the poor man, who was obliged,
train !II! want of means, to travel in the third-class
for was exposed to all the inclemencies of the weather
htpedourand-twenty ho'urs.—(Hear, hear.) 11,0-"be-
be thinthat on the Great Western Railway there was
hed
L., class train by day.—(Hestr, hear,) 'He would
-to know whether the Right -Hon. Gentleman
wrraPared to deal with past railways so far as this
taiWas-noucernedi? Were. they to seek to induce those
eot__Vsfwhich had obtained*
powers from the House to
netitetUe to their wishes? In his judgment Parliament
UPon,,,!°:,„
uSay tothem " We have conferred certain rights
We ex•riL, but as we find that. you do not* use them as
Take wed, -we will compel you to do what we require."
cool the Case of a poor man going down to Bath. He
to net go by day ; he. was obliged to go by nig
stand the whole time; there was no place for
eo",.,,,e9tnnu)dation ; he had no means of obtaining those
the
which were accessible to those who travelled in
""e first class. He (Mr. Roebuck) travelling in the first
class, was in a place which was very much like a draw-
kg-room, where he was comfortable and warm, and
*hen he arrived at a station he could go to a fire. The.
48e: of the poor, who travelled by the third class was al-
t4teiher different, and some alteration was necessary.
stbOped the Right Hon. Gentleman would do all in his
Wer to adopt the. system of laying down new lines on
vp„listang roads. - They had chosen in their extravagant
417 to lay out 60,0001, and the public-ought not to pay
aju an expenditure. He was prepared to say, that if
Ih-tielee showed that they could do the thing at 2,000/.,
l a_NVaB all the public ought. to pay.—(Rear, hear.)
it
w.elt, no doubt that the time was not far distant when
tanjtand be shown that railways might be laid down at
he less than the .present proposed expense. He
unfit House would deal with the subject with an
, hand.
hug
denied the statements of the Hon. and
arned
likssen ember for • Bath, with respect to third class.
Issesters.. 'The Hon. and Learned Gentleman. had
testsnd that. the third-class passengers were compelled
(/ei, verin daring the journey, and also' that there was no
Mere g,,to the carriage. He (Mr. Russell) wished,
44etinntn- 800. and Learned Gentleman made such
ttihiett.. s, that be should inform himself better upon the
kr•lv ••
teh eiit .bliv',4l4, LACE said, he was glad that the Govern-
„ uetermined• to -enter upon this inquiry, and
Posee-d that it would be carried out in the spirit pro,
ktltn.s• bY the al
eted w cm. Member for Bath, and some course
hie pont, uleb would render- equal accommodation to
tithw,,„, as that which they- formerly had upon the
hl4te sof Great Britain and Ireland, for it was only
od bt,t,e establishment of railways that this distinction
al)04 thll Made. In the various Committees which sat
trend
ei_s subject in the years 1833, 1834, and 1835,
thoald be're was taken to inquire into the prices which
• time ,ebarged as fares upon the railways ; and at
h: it was asserted that the different companies
vej_Perfectly satisfied with six or seven per cent.
11%, kers railway companies were, like all other par-
-I,,Vic wing after their own interests, while the
reilch the as never consulted at ill in the rate at
ay hfeares should be fixed. On the Grand Junction
es 4 Nis could safely assert 'that the fares had been
Ilse 1,41, ed, and he dared to say that the same was the
-_se Co 4 Most of the railways throughout the kingdom.
cia'st shoul:1(It See why some protection from. cold and
fN ettr,i "ot be afforded to the poor man in the. third
spin theft age, and he thought that the profits derivable
eiZing at class passengers ought to be applied to
If'? greater accommodation to the humbler
he
•-b'ed ,7,,,eoped the Committee now about to be ap-
Itieight°74" inquire into-the whole question, and that
to-L(m. Gentleman would not alone limit the
'4lu eh railways about to be formed, but that it
toetatter de° extend to those existing at present, and a
a.,kee of accommodation and comfort be afforded
it, pt.;llg classes.
tht EEL said the question more properly before
thecasesoivas the regulations that should be adopted in
Aatilh•ogresanew railways, and he thought it important that
iitkent °f legislation ' should not be interrupted.
use Plemettall a perfect right to attach what conditions
feet, on the They had a perfect 'right to place limi-
tvitk Jolt to profits of new companies—they had a per-
-11.4, referee exact from the new cempanies regulations
is,„‘Slr I?,n to third-Class passengers.—(Hear, hear.)
!1L4(51,)013,.....tiV) was not at all unaware of the evil of
tie „s'ven monopoly which, he thought, Parliament
,-gest to ra.lway cempaniee.—(Hear, hear.) Still
ratkriartild for this, great principle, that there was
tialttilliaMent seduction between companies approaching
had the ConZ the first time aid asking for new powers,
'iitelavesternes which, upon the faith of Parliament,
gig Capital and had established lines.
gs,47ect the:light repent their indiscretion for having
Petelt,etl----(ll„PoWers, but still the powers had been
the/1-eY 'of paZi, hear.) He would not deny the cora-
the ona,to parka hear.)
to interfere, but he had advised
PshiPtQfits, (:antious before they did interfere with
the,_es which ,T", with the management, of railway corn-
thijitY (kg 'd been called, into existence by the an-
y sta.far arstar"...,..
„ via TtnhhceeeiriHnawornandCentlema.n had said
)? ith,,„ a- his exer: • •
wiriebthew.
..sfeatatenndded to.e
iwnateyreesotms.panvviehsywtehnaci
called into
aleree,B2eated to be B°lll of all commerce. It was that
a selfish interest—which vilified com-
};&lty".utrZhich
action the industry of the
t It was "•-"e seeming
he that „selfishness was perfectly natural,
bilt 'lid not ultimately led to the public good.
flurol did deny that Parliament had right to
e
eatitifteUMPlllieS• But he.a
tee.' saw -us regard tothe advised the House to
_ these coin . great public interest. If
and they • Panics were dividing 15 and 20 per
Rda ouly
ex ere told some years ago that those com-
Inth4Pon thn,Peeted to divide •
4▪ the - ground th y six or seven per cent.,
iiag
doZofits of thosee-ociinai" a right to interfere
9„i_speewan„,sa_ Principle whicir
,nn,loeusiriFy were thereby
It'eprehens'iyue".:7(Hear, hear.) be destructive of
They. must take
-"Painy ,„ Ylew of the subject in legislating a
-oust , upon
.es not onsider that in these great
theysalt' expend , 'me farthing of th li
ed, eu, great 'e c money had
niuets(.l that from the a _public advantage had re-
I' net fume. Pplicatton of private capital.
6. 100, that
in many cases the ap-

plication of that capital had been unproductive of any
profit whatever. While there were companies whose
shares were selling at 250, yet there were others whose
shares were offered at forty, or fifty, or sixty discount,
but still a great public advantage was derived from those
very companies. Look at our bridges, our roads,
and our railways, from which the, public derived great
advantages, without having given one farthing towards
their construction. The Hon. Gentleman said the com-
panies ought to be compelled to adopt third class pas-
sengers. If the House interfered thus far they would
have to take the whole management of railways under
their control. They must become responsible for all
accidents. To suppose the House of Commons and the
Legislature could do this was impossible. He perfectly
agreed with the Hon. Gentleman that the public ought to
be allowed the advantage of new discoveries in science.
He (Sir Robert Peel) would advise existing railways
to consider well what would be the result of the applica-
tion of the atmospheric railway.—(Hear, hear.) Emi-
nent men, who had seen the practical. working of this
railway in Ireland, had come back very altered in
opinion as to the possibility of applying that principle
generally. He believed that two brothers, men of the
Jewish persuasion, were entitled to the credit of this
invention. The experienee of its working, over a very
few miles in Ireland, was such that very great doubt
was entertained whether or not it was not capable of
general application at a trifling comparative expense.
Agreeing with his Right Hon. Friend (Mr. Gladstone),
that it would be unwise in the Legislature to encourage
two competing lines running very near each other; yet he
was sure his Right Hon. Friend did not mean, to ex-
clude that competition which was greatly effectual—
namely, such competition as would take place between
London and Manchester, through different lines of coun-
try. He (Sir R. Peel) did not think that a sufficient ac-
commodation was given by railways to third-class pas-
sengers. But then it might be urged, on the part of the
railway companies, that if they were to give additional
accommodation to the third-class passengers, those who
could afford to go in the first and second class carriages,
would go in the third class. It was clearly the interest
of the different railway companies to attract as many
passengers as possible, by carrying passengers at the
cheapest rates.. It-was perfectly right that the. House
should retain to itself the power of holding out the
threat of competition to these companies. But it should
remind them that the advances which were being made
in. science, must eventually diminish the profits ; but he
trusted that the House would never consent to such a
violation of the principle, or to attempt to reduce the
rate of profits by legislative interference—(Cheers)--or
by interfering with the management of these companies,
for he was convinced that the affairs of these companies
could never be so effectually conducted, as when they were
conducted by the proprietors themselves.—(Cheers.)
Mr. STUART WORTLEY agreed entirely in opi-
nion with the Right Hon. Baronet. When he considered
the absence of competition, he was really surprised at
the amount of accommodation which the railway com-
panies afforded the public.—(Hear, hear.) Persons in
their station of life had no reason whatever to complain
of the accommodation afforded them by the railway com-
panies. He hoped the President of the Board of Trade
would consider the suggestions that had been made to him,
and confer more extensive powers on the Committee.
He thought some alteration should take
_place in the
composition of the tribunal appointed to assess the com-
pensation to be granted to persons whose property was
taken by railway companies. Every 'one conversant
with the subject must be aware how very imperfect a
tribunal that was which at present .granted that com-
pensation ; it was assessed at present by a jury—twelve
men taken by chance, without any power to challenge,
who might or.not be interested in the question, and who
frequently granted a sum very inadequate to compensate
the parties for the loss of their property. He would
suggest that the question of compensation should be
referred to arbitration, and he hoped the attention of
the Committee would be directed to the subject.
Mr. E M. STEWART, finding that the Govern-
ment, although not adopting. the suggestions of the ,
Right Hon. Member for Taunton, were yet willing,
virtually, to accede to them, would not oppose the,
motion. His Right Hon. :Friend the President of the
Board of Trade had laid the ground for the revision of
the railway laws.—(Hear, hear.) He admitted that
there were defects in those laws, and yet there was to
be no inquiry on the subject. He thought the Com-
mittee ought to have the power to inquire into the
working of all railways, and he believed, by doing so,
great convenience would be given to third-class pas-
sengers by all railways. Another great reason for com-
pleting the revision, and having a thorough Report from
the Committee was, that at this moment, owing to the
great encouragement given to railroads on the Con-
tinent, and especially by the French Government, Bri-
tish capital was, to a great amount, seeking for invest-
ment there. Before the Committee dissolved, instruc-

tions ought to be given to the Committee to embrace the
suggestions of the Right Hon. Gentleman the Member
for Taunton, without which their Report would be de-
fective, and their labour injurious, with regard to gene-
ral legislation.
Colonel SIBTHORP said that he found railroad com-
panies always looking to their own advantage without
any reference to the public. He was, therefore, op-
posed to all railroads—(Laughter)--and he saw no
reason to alter his opinion. He called on the Chancel-
lor of the Exchequer to levy 'a tax on railroads. They
were the cause of the ruin of a number of persons, such
as inn-keepers and small shop :keepers. in provincial
towns. Those persons were now in poor-houses, and he
thought it but fair that those who caused their distress
should be taxed. He had seen an Administration which
had lost all credit turned out of power, and he hoped he
should live to see all the existing railways become-bank-
rupts.
Mr. PLUMPTRE said there was one point in connec-
tion with railways to which he wished to call the atten-
tion of the House, and that was the undue use which
was made of them on the Lord's day. He was quite
sure that the Right Hon. Gentleman who had proposed
the appointment of this Committee would most calmly
contemplate every desecration,of that day.
Mr. F. FRENCH said he could not let this opportu-
nity pass without saying that a sum of 20,000,0001. of
public money had been expended on railways in Eng-
land, and that he thought the fares were nearly treble
what they ought to be.
The motion-was then put from the Chair and carried

SIERRA LEONE and the GAMBIA.
Two important papers relative to these interesting
settlements, ordered by the House of Commons, one,
printed on the 24th of August last, have just reached
our hands. The first (on the motion of Mr. Hume)
is " a Return of the total, income of the two Settlements
in each of the years 1839, 1840, and 1841, and how
expended; stating the several and separate heads of
income and expenditure, with the particulars.thereof,
under each head." The second (moved by Sir Harry
Inglis) purports to be " a Return of the Public Ex-
penditure in the Settlement of Sierra Leone from
1825 to 1842, both inclusive ; distinguishing that
from Colonial Funds, and that from Parliamentary
Grants ; and distinguishing the expenditure in each
year from each source."
The " income " of Sierra Leone is classified under
the following heads, viz. (1) Customs dues, (2)
Licenses' dues, issued under Colonial Acts or Ordi-
nances (for retailing spirituous liquors, for auc-
tioneers, hawkers, pilots, &c., for marriage licenses;
also market dues, taxes on horses, carriages, and
Dogs. (3) Fines, forfeitures and fees, from sessional
and police courts, copies of public office documents,
&c. (4) Rents and sales of lands. (5) Special and
miscellaneous (chiefly proceeds, in 1839, of sales of
goods abandoned for duty, 7211., (the minor items
under this head ranging from 201. to 86/.) The
" Customs" which yielded 11,0051. in the year 1839,
and 12,6091. in 1840, in 1841 fell to 7,4801. The
spirit selling licences in like manner produced in
the same years, successively and respectively 1,116/. ;
1,0181., 871/., and market dues,, 8411., 8561., and
4711. " Fines, &c." declined, in like manner from 152/.
and 2291., in 1839 and 1840 to 39/. only in 1841.
Rent of factories brought in the two former years
31/. and 135/. ; in the last only. 11/. In short, the
only heads on which we find an increase in 1841 are
(characteristically enough) in passports (from Sierra
Leone we presume), which in 1839 produced but 551.,
in 1841 212/. ; auctioneers' licences, which advanced
in same interval from 91/. to 1031., and miscella-
neous, which rose from 42/. in the first to 861. in the
third year of this term. The total income and ex-
penditure results as follows :
Income. Expenditure.
In 1839 £14,179 £12,086
1840 15,302 10,165
1841
The principal heads of increased expenditure, which
went to make up the excess over income in 1841,
were to salaries paid by agents in London, contin-
gencies of the colonies, revenue salaries, pensions in
London, pay of militia, contingencies of ditto, rents
and customs to native chiefs (91/. in 1839, and 1,370/.
in 1841), presents for ditto, and missions to and from
ditto. Thus. it will be seen that there was
In 1839 a surplus of income of £2,093
1840 , ditto.

£7,230
1841 as excess of expenditure... 4,864

£2,366
It appears that, allowing for the surplus income of
1839 and 1840, amounting in all to 7,2391., the ex-
cess of expenditure in 1841, 4,8641., there was still a
balance of income on the three years of 2,366/. Un-
der the heads pensions in colony, expenses of tak-
ing .the colonial census, maintenance of distressed
seamen, - and .ecclesiastical contingencies (co-
lony), the items are stationary, or very nearly
so, throughout the whole period ; whilst, on the
charges for contingencies (London) ; ecclesiastical sa-
laries (colony) ; contingencies (ditto), medical sala-
ries, and contingencies (ditto) ; clothing and contin-
gencies (London) ; and buildings and repairs (colony),
there was a considerable aggregate decrease in 1841
from the aggregate of 1839.
In the return for Gambia, the chief items of in-
creased expenditure in 1841 are civil salaries paid in
the colony; judicial salaries and contingencies, ditto;
pay of militia; repairs and buildings (colony) ; presents
to, and missions to and from native chiefs. But the
excess of all these together, as compared with their
amount in 1839, is but 1,464/. ; whereas, in the other
prominent heads of expenditure, the decrease in 1841,
as compared with the two preceding years, is about
2,1001. There is, however, an additional item of ex-
pense, a 500/. repayment of a 500/. fine in 1841, by
order of the Secretary of State. The truth is, the
revenue of Gambia has lamentably declined in the
same interval. The Customs yielded in 1839, 7,117/. ;
in 1841, only 4,532/. The other items of revenue in
1839 and 1841, scarcely exceeded a total of 2001. ; in
1840, of 774/. The excess of expenditure, therefore,
over income for three years is very considerable, as
may be shown by this statement :
GAMB

Income.
1839 £7,381
1840 4,953
1841 4,840

Expenditure.
£5,126
8,284
6,413

£17,174

£19,823

Excess of Expenditure in three years £2,649

The third return in this Parliamentary paper, ex-
hibits the public expenditure in the settlement of
Sierra Leone, from 1825 to 1842, thus distinguished
and arranged, namely :
TOTAL OF EXPENDITURE, 1825 TO 1842, FROM
PARLIAMENTARY GRANTS.

Liberated Africans
Civil Establishments 116,850
Public WOrks 12,434
Colonial Contingencies 3,878

£327,436
EXPENDITURE FROM CLERICAL REVENUES.

Under same heads and in same interval £164,676

Grand total..

X 492,112

HARRIS'S LIGHTNING CON-
DUCTORS.
" H.M.S. MINDEN.—We have been favoured with
a copy of a letter from the Minden (hospital-ship at
Hong-Kong, China), from which we extract the fol-
lowing :—' The lightning last night (July 30) was
heavier than I ever saw it before ; two flashes struck
the Minden, and played about Harris's conductors for
some seconds, conveying a stream of fire through the
ship awful to behold; a frizzing noise was distinctly
heard, and I have no doubt but that we should have
received serious injury had we not been furnished
with these conductors. We are now lying with the
fore-yards and top-masts struck, and have just had
orders to receive on board fifty more of the worst
cases out of the 55th Regiment: we have the sick on
two decks at present. I have just been informed that
the lightning last night also struck some merchant
vessels, killed four men, and wounded some others,
Dr. Morrison, the chief interpreter, is dead, after hav-
ing been nearly all his life in China. Lieutenant
Ralph Milbanke, of the Childers, is also dead, and
Mr. Forbes, mate of that ship, has been promoted to
the vacancy. Dr. Rae, assistant-surgeon, is appointed
to the Minden."'

It appears from the above which we extract from
the Devonport Independent of last week, that the most
complete protection has been afforded by Harris's
lightning conductors to one of her Majesty's ships
employed in a service of great consequence to the
country—and that, too, under very trying circum-
stances, and when other vessels near, and exposed to
the same storm of lightning, evidently suffered con-
siderably.
It has always been our object, as impartial jour-
nalists, to afford due and fair consideration to any
question of practical science affecting the public. in-
terests, and we cannot, therefore, but admit that this
result of the action of Mr. Harris's system of pro—
tection from lightning is most important, and quite
conclusive of the truth of the principles for which he
has so long contended.
Without any undue bias in favour of our towns-
man, or the least wish to treat lightly the opinions of
those who have expressed themselves as adverse to the
general employment of his conductors in our navy,
we are at a loss to understand upon what ground
they insist on their danger ; seeing that they have
been now employed in her Majesty's navy for up-
wards of fourteen years, and that the ships fitted on
his plan have been exposed to the effects of lightning
under various circumstances in every climate,—yet
not a single instance has ever been adduced in which
they have failed to afford protection, or in which any
injurious consequence has resulted. Had the views
which have been lately pressed upon the public mind
thrOugh the pages of a most respectable and valuable
journal, the Hampshire Telegraph, been founded on
truth, then we most unhesitatingly insist upon the
fact, that such a case as that we have just quoted of
her Majesty's ship Minden could not possibly have oc-
curred. Now, one fact is worth a thousand theories.

• In the. Nautical Magazine, for December last, we
find an equally important illustration of the operation
of these conductors. It appears by the official jour-
nal *of the sloop Scylla, signed by Captain Sharpe,
and transmitted to the Lords Commissioners of the
Adjniralty, that on the 6th of Angust, 1843;
.in lat.
24 3 N., long. 96 13 W., the ship having shortened
sail to a squall from the N,W., was at this instant
struck by a -terrible shock of lightning, which burst
on the main• mast, and was instantly carried clear out
of the ship, so that within half-an-hour the vessel
had again made all sail, as if nothing had happened.
The electrical discharge is said, in a private letter, to
have passed down the masts and by the lower deck
into the sea, attended by a rattling peal of thunder.
The force of the shock was so great as to start some
of the fixings of the copper plates in the royal pole
yet not the least damage was done, or any inconve-
nience, felt in: the ship.
With such facts before us, we cannot but hope that
the Editor of the paper to which we have alluded
will see the necessity of revising the disparaging
statements which he has allowed to appear in his
pages, relative to these conductors. It can never be
for the interest of the press to deal narrowly, and
through the-prejudiced opinions of others, with any
quection in any way affecting the national interest.
To rescue our shipping generally from the terrible
consequences of so destructive an agency as light-

ning, must surely be regarded as a point of very
great importance ; and when we consider the terrible
loss of life and property which has occurred in our
navy only in the course of the last half cen-
tury, we hold as a duty to our naval and commer-
cial interests generally to place such facts as those to
which we have alluded fairly before the public.
Between the years 1809 and 1815—viz., six years,
no less than thirty sail of the line, and fifteen frigates,
are known to have been disabled by lightning ; a
great number of seamen either killed or crippled by
the same agency. The Repulse lost the service of no
less than twenty men by lightning, in the Bay of
Roses, in August, 1813, ten of them were killed on
the spot; and the squadron lost the efficient services of
one of its fastest ships, from the crippled state of the
masts. It has been calculated, from the cases detailed
in the official log-books of her Majesty's ships, depo-
sited at the Admiralty, that the country, during the
last war, did not expend at the least a sum short of
10,000/. annually, in consequence of the damage sus-
tained by our shipping, by lightning, in various parts
of the world.—Plymouth Herald.

COURT CIRCULAR.

WINDSOR, MONDAY.—Her. Majesty and his Royal
Highness Prince Albert have remained in privacy during
the day.
The Ladies and Gentlemen of the Royal suite have
not quitted the Castle.

The Archbishop of Canterbury had an interview with
Lord Stanley yesterday, at the-Colonial-office.
A deputation, consisting of Mr. Glyn, Chairman of
the London and Birmingham Railway Company, Mr.
Baxendale, and several ether gentlemen connected with
Railways, had an interview with the Right Hon. W. E.
Gladstone yesterday, at the Office of the Board of
Trade.

Captain James Clark Ross,, Royal wavy, had an in-
terview yesterday with Lord'Stanley. -
Sir Robert Peel had an interview with the Duke of
Wellington yesterday, at the office of the Commander-
in-Chief, Horse Guards.

Sir James Graham had an interview with Lord
Wharncliffe yesterday, at the Council-office.
111 r. Ogden had an interview with Lord Stanley yes-
terday at the Colonial-office.

Dispatches were received yesterday afternoon, at the
Colonial-office, from the Lord High Commissioner of the
lonian Islands,•and also for the Governors of Malta and
Gibraltar. •

The Judicial Committee of her Majesty's Most
Honourable Privy Council sat yesterday, at the Council-
office. The Lords present were the Master of the Rolls,
Lord Brougham, the. Judge of the Admiralty Court,
and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Cornwall. Sir E.
Ryan sat as a Privy Councillor.
Xi% Charles Buller and Mr. -Jackson were heard for
the appellant on an appeal from the Court of Sudder
Dewanny Adawlut at Bombay, "Jusvnmt Singh Jee
Übby v. Jet Singh Jee."
Mr. Wigram, Queen's Counsel, Mr. Lloyd, and Mr.
E. F. Moore, appeared for the respondent.
The Master of the Rolls gave judgment on the part of
their Lord§hips, dismissing the.appeal with costs.
The Court then rose.

leven," and the dirge, " Weep, weep ye streams." are
of this class, and last night were listened to with great
attention. " The last Lay of Chatelard"—the modi-
fication of an old French tune—was enthusiastically
encored ; and the great Scottish welcoine, " Carle,
noo the Queen's come," the Covenanters' song—sung
with an irresistible nasal twang—and " Tammie and
Nannie," with other characteristic effusions, we're
applauded, baculis pedibusque, until the room rung
again. Mr. Wilson sings the whole of these domes-
tic songs admirably. When the subjectS'are mournful
and tender—as in the threnodies—no one could pos-
sibly render them more affecting than himself ; and
when, on the contrary, they require broad humour,
with a like felicity he still preserves their keepinF,
and gives them with an archness indescribably pi-
quant and diverting. •

LITERATURE.
THE BROTHERS. 3 VA
Co!burn, London, 1844.
The civil wars of the Fronde, the most inconsistent,
mismanaged, and puerile of any recorded in modern
history, in which neither party seemed to be in ear-
nest, or to have the slightest c:nfidence in the wisdom
and justice of their cause; the principal leaders, and
among them that overrated character, the Prince of
Conde, changing sides just as often as suited their
convenience, as though the war was a mere holiday
pastime—these childish civil dissensions form the
subject of the tale before us, and having stated this,
we need hardly add that the incidents are supposed
to have taken place in France during the regency of
Anne of Austria and her wily Minister, Cardinal
Mazarin. The hero is a young Englishman, of good
family, by name Henry Mornington, who, having
lost all his possessions and many of his relations,
during the great civil war in England, goes over to
France as a military adventurer, and obtains an ap-
pointment as chef d' escadron in the army raised by
the court party against the Frondeurs. While tra-
velling to join his division through a remote woodland
district, he is suddenly alarmed by the cries of dis-
tress uttered in a female voice, and hurrying up to the
spot whence the sound proceeds,: he finds a carriage
overturned in the highway, close to which a beautiful
young girl is standing, wringing her hands, and exhibit-
ing tokens of the deepest affliction ; while, at a few
yards distance, two men, who happen to' be brothers,
are fighting with all the fury of desperation, and be-
fore the English traveller can serrate them, they fall
mortally wounded by each other s swords. The lady
being thins left alone, and defenceless, is escorted by
Mornington to a neighbouring convent, where hesoon
learns, from her own lips, the sad story of her life—
how she was an orphan, but heiress to large estates.
and how, in consequence, she was courted by the
two sons of her guardian, neither of whom she liked,
and who, being distrustful of each other, one of them
had resolved on carrying her off, and marrying her,
in spite of herself, but being overtaken by the other
on the road, a mortal battle had taken place between
the two brothers. On hearing this painful narrative,
Mornington, feeling for the wholly unprotected state
of the Lady Isabel, makes an offer at once of his
hand, which she unhesitatingly accepts, and they are
privately married, at night, in. the chapel of
the convent. Immediately afterwards, however,
the bridegroom is compelled to set forward to
join his regiment, and scarcely is he gone,
with the promise of a speedy return, than Isabel her-
self is carred off by a party of ruffians, and, after un-
dergoing a world of romantic adventures, is restored
to Mornington, with which auspicious event the story
concludes. There is no want of exciting incident in
the story, but its principal recommendations are its
battle scenes, which are pourtrayed with all that
vigour and picturesque skill which we admired in the
Author's first work, " Oliver Cromwell." We know
no novelist of the day—not even Mr. Lover—who
imparts such life and spirit to his decriptions of
battles, as Mr. Herbert; but when he attempts to
bring forth the nicer points of character, he almost
invariably fails, his various personages, with scarcely
one exception, eing deficient in individuality.

THE BUILDER.
We have here the fourth part of a new weekly
magazine which, as its title sufficiently indicates, is
devoted almost exclusively to architectural subjects,
and is illustrated by a variety of appropriate engrav-
imp, executed, for the most part, with very passable
ability.

CHRISTIAN'S MONTHLY MAGAZINE.
There is a very lengthy and elaborate article in
this Number, entitled " Theology and Philosophy,"
in which, among various other matters, the author
speaks in terms of regret of the decline of classical
scholarship among us. The article, though it contains
several useful suggestions, is much too long-winded
and too desultory in its character. In the monthly
register we have a carefully digested account of all the
religious ecclesiastical proceedings that have taken
place during the past month. The magazine is an
intelligent one, but it is too heavy in its tone, and too
little distinguished by variety.