The Sun.
London, England, 1850-09-16 00:00:00

V
Vf
SEPTEMBER 16, 1850.
N°. 18)090d 3
LONDON MONDAY 41-. - 6

DISPUTED LIPS POLICIES.
A trial of considerable interest to Life Assurance Offices anill the
public was concluded yesterday in the Court of Exchequer. The
Eagle Company held a policy for an assurance of 5314. in the Albion
Company.as security for an advance, the payment of which policy
was now disputed by the Albion, on the ground that at the time it
was effected the Mei: of the assured party having been a man of in-
temperate habits was concealed from the office. The chief evidence
turnel noon the question es to the degree of intemperance that had
been exhibited, and the result was, that a vent:et was giv,n against
the resisting office, not only for the amount of the policy, but also for
401. interest from the date when it became due. The circumstance
of the action being brought by one office against another presents a
str:lsing illustration of the uncertainty which may attach to all po-
licies levier the present system, and shoos that the only mole by
iih elt absolute st curtly can be obtained by the public must lie in the
general adoption by Assurance Offices of the plan of prole Iting them-
selves in ev:ry care by du, inquiries before the gr.antim f each po-
licy, and of afterwards assuming the full responsibility 01 the com-
pleteness of such inquiries by holding themselves precluded from
raising any future question. In the present case two offi,es are
found to he diametrically opposed in their opinions as to what can
properly invalidate a claim, and yet the public are expected to be
able to guare themselves against such contingences. Similar cases
have occurred before, and even If they were more rare, they would
seriously injure the progress of life assurance. The very principle
upon which the business is founded is the removal of uncertainty,
and whenever that principle is counteracted in the slightest degree,
the people who would be the first to resort to its advantages are the
first to be deterred."—Times, July 11, 1850.
THE LONDON INDISPUTABLE LIFE
POLICY COMPANY
No. 72, LOMBARD-STREET, LONDON.
TRUSTEES.
r. Campbell Renton, Esq., M.P. Richard Spooner, Esq., M.P.
I
Richard Mains, Esq., Q.C. James Fuller Madox, Esq.
William 'Wilberforce, Esq.

DISCOVERY OF THE ANCIENT KNOWLEDGE, OR LOST
WISDOM. OF EGYPT.
DR. II .WAND'S NEW WORK.
REVELATIONS of EGYPTIAN
MYSTERIES.
" These Revelations are of the highest possible interest, and im-
portant to the well-beit; of the public."—Asiatic Quarterly Journal.
Full of interesting Lrac, a:,d much to amuse the reader."- John
Bull.

Co:burn, 13, Great Mariborough-street ; the Author, 6, Upper
Glouee.,ter-s tact, Dorset-square, London; and all Booksellers. bye.,
10s. Gd.

" Familiar in their Mouths as Horsvim.° WORDS." —Shakespeare
On the 20th Instant will be published, price ss. Gd , In cloth boards,

THE FIRST VOLUME OF
ITOUSE►EOLD WORDS.
A WEEKLY JOURNAL, designed for the Instruction and
Enter.aiument of all classes of Readers.
Conducted by C ARLES DICKENS'.
The Fifth Istouthly Part was pulgished on the Ist Instant.

Office, No. IG, Wellington-street North (where all Communications
to the Editor must be addressed); and all Booksellers and Newsmen.

FORD'S WELLINGTON FAMILY and
COMMERCIAL HOTEL, DALE-STREET, LIVERPOOL.

This Hotel, situated in the immediate vicinity of the Exchange,
Docks, and other places of public and commercial resort, is fitted up
in first-rate style, and the accommodations ler American, Foreign, as
well as English strangers, will be found everything that is desirable,
while the arrangements of the "Cuisine" are in the hands of a first-rate
Cook. The Proprietor urther wishes to intimate that his Coffee
and Commercial Rooms, as well as Sitting and Bed Rooms, will be
found second to none in the kingdom.
N.B. The charges for servants are Included in the Bill (except those
who only stay a few hours), viz., Waiter, Porter, and Chambermaid,
and it is respectfully intimated that all further payment is unne-
cessary.

THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC
CANAL.

The New York Daily Tribune of the 231 ult. con-
tains a report of a lecture upon the volcanic pheno-
mena of Central America, and the geographical and
topographical features of Nicaragua, delivered on the
21st ult. by Mr. E. G. Squier, the American Charge
d'Affaires in Nicaragua, at an evening session of the
American Association for the Advancement of Sci-
ence, assembled at Newhaven, in Connecticut. The
concluding portion of the lecture, treating of the plan
for a canal between the Atlantic and Pacific, was as
follows :
Mr. Squier here observed that he should omit
any further references to volcanoes, although there
remained many facts of interest to be presented, in
order to submit, in compliance with request, some
brief observations upon the geographical and topo-
graphical features of that part of Central America
embraced in the state of Nicaragua, particularly as
connected with the proposed great interoceanic canal.
He, however, wished to say, once for all, that he had
no prejudices in favour of one or the other proposed
routes of communication across the continents, his
only wish being that the best shall be decided upon,
and the grand enterprise carried out. He did not ap-
pear as the advocate of one line of transit at the ex-
pense of the other, nor as the mouthpiece of any set of
speculators. The subject of artificial communication
between the oceans had, he said, attracted attention
for more than three hundred years, and upwards
of one hundred books and memoirs had been
written on the subject—most, however, based
upon exceedingly imperfect data, collected from va-
rious and often conflicting and unreliable sources.
The great problem connected with the subject, and
that which all have esteemed as vital to the question
of the communication, has been this : Is the great
chain of the Cordilleras interrupted at any point upon
the great central isthmus? This question, observed
Mr. Squier, I am enabled to answer in the affirma-
tive. Between the great basin of Nicaragua, in
which are Lakes Managua and Nicaragua, and which
is drained by the river San Juan, flowing into the

Carribbean Sea; that is to say, between the western
extremity of Lake Managua and the Pacific the Cor-
dilleras are wholly interrupted, and we have only the
great plains of Leon and Conejo, rising, for a distance
of 3,000 yards, to an elevation of about 60 feet above
the lake and 200 above the sea, and thence subsiding,
in a gentle slope, to the ocean. It is through the
Lake of Managua, and across this plain, either to the
little port of Tamarinda or the fine port of Realejo, or
else (Ind this is the most probable) across the Llano
del Conejo, into the magnificent Gulf Fonseca, that
the proposed canal must pass. It is true Lake Nica-
ragua approaches, at one or two points, to within
about 15 miles of the Pacific, and it would seem that
it might be easily connected with that ocean. But
between the two is a ridge of land of considerable

height, across which no canal cm ever be constructed,
Amply because no sufficient amount of water is to be
obtained at or near the summit to supply even the
•

leakage of such a work. And a direct cut, by which
a supply might be obtained from the lake, would in •
• volve a tunnel, large enough for ships, of six or seven
miles in length, besides immense and almost impos-
sible cuttings for the remainder of the distance. This
is sufficiently demonstrated by the surveys or rather
reconnoisance of Mr. Bailey. It is said that a prac-
ticable route exists between Lake Nicaragua, by way
of the river Sapoa, to the Bay of Salinas, a part of
the Gulf of Papagayo. But no authentic examina-
tion has ever been made of this line, and Mr. Squier
expressed his doubts as to its practicability. He
would not, however, presume to speak decisively, as
he had not enjoyed an opportunity of examining it in
person. lie would, nevertheless, say that even if
practicable, the contending winds that prevail in this
gulf, and to which it has given the name of Papa-
gayoe, would prove a signal disadvantage to it. Be-
side, so far as communication with California and the
northern half of the continent, as well as with the
Sandwich Islands, and China, and the East Indies is
concerned, entering the ocean at this point would be
eminently disadvantageous.
"Mr. Squier continued by saying that a ship com-
munication across the continent at this point involved,
in his estimation, not only a canal from the great
Nicaragua basin to the Pacific, but also a canal for
the greater part, if not the whole, of the distance from
Lake Nicaragua to the Atlantic. The river San
Juan, the outlet of this lake, although probably pass-
ing an equal if not greater amount of water, with the ;
Connecticut or Hudson rivers, and although for by
fir the greater part of its length capable of being
navigated by our largest river steamers, is yet, for
reasons which he had presented in a recent cominu •
nication, in the Providence Journal, inadequate, under
any practicable improvement, of being made navigable
for ships—and any canal not admitting of the easy
and rapid passing of the largest ships would very im-
perfectly meet or subserve the great ends of its con-
struction and of commerce. Small steamers, such as
are used on the tributaries of the Mississippi, may
now be run on the river • and, with some improve-
ments at the various rapids, steamers of a larger class
may be used.
"It will, therefore, be necessary to cut a canal
parallel to the river, from which the requisite supply
of water may be easily drawn. The line would run
upon the north bank of the stream, near the base of
the hills which bound the valley on that side. It is
possible the rivers might, by dredging, be used for a
distance of twenty miles downward from the lake to
the river Savalas, in which case this section of the
canal would be shortened to seventy, perhaps to sixty
miles. Mr. Squier said that this part of the proposed
line had hitherto been passed over with very little re-
mark, on the assumption that here no difficulty ex-
isted, and that the river might easily be made to
answer every desirable purpose ; yet, in his estima-
tion, it was by far the most difficult part of the whole
enterprise; not on the score of feasibility, but of labour
and expense. The whole matter, however, resolved
itself into a simple question of dollars and cents. It
only required capital. The great lake of Nicaragua,
125 miles in length, by 50 in breadth, although quite
shallow at many points on the northern shore, is,
nevertheless, of great general depth, varying from six
to sixty fathoms, and may, without doubt, be made
navigable for ships of the greatest draught. The
only difficulties exist in approaching the shore at
either extremity ; but these may probably be obviated
by pier-work and dredging.
" Between Lake Nicaragua and the superior lake
of Managua is a nominal distance of 18 miles. But!
the connecting stream, called Rio Tipitapa, is, in
fact, fur an extent of 12 miles, an estuary of Lake
Nicaragua, and for that distance may probably be so
cleared out as to be made navigable. From the
head of this estuary, at a point catled San I'acquil to
Lake Managua, a distance of five miles, there is a rise
of about 25 feet.
" The greater part of this rise is abrupt, at a point
about a mile below the lake, called the Falls of Tipi-
tapa. Very little water passes here except in the rainy
season, and in the dry season the stream is sometimes
wholly suspended. The rock is apparently a soft cale
careous breccia, easily worked. A short section of
canal is therefore indispensable here, extending from
the lake to the falls, a distance of one mile. Below
this to San Pasquil, at the head of the estuary from
Lake Nicaragua, the bed of the stream is deep, and
the banks abrupt and high, forming a natural canal,
which only needs proper dams and locks at its lower
extremity to furnish a channel adequate to every pur-
pose of navigation.
" Lake Managua is a fine body of water, and of
much larger size than has hitherto been represented.
It is certainly not far from 50 or 60 miles in greatest
length by 35 in width, and ranges from 2 to 10 and
15, and even 40 fathoms in depth. The scenery
which borders it is unsurpassed in beauty and gran-
deur. Upon the northern And eastern shore, lifting

• their blue rugged peaks one above the other, are the
mountains of Metagalpa merging into those of Le-
gone, rich in metallic veins. Upon the south and
west are broad and fertile slopes and level plains, co-
vered with luxuriant verdure, and of almost unli-
mited productiveness. Toe volcano of Momotombo,
like a' giant wonder, stands out boldly into the like,
its bare and blackened summit, which no man h
ever reached, covered with a light wreath of smoke,
attesting the continued exigence of those internal
fires which hive seamed its steep sides with burning
fl iods, and which still send forth hot and sulphurous
springs at its base. Within the lake itself rises the
regular cone of Momotombite, so regular that it
seems a work of art, covered with a dense forest,
under the shildows and within the deep recesses of
which, frayed by the storms of ages, stand the rude
and frowning statues of the gods of aboriginal super-
stition, raised long before European feet trod the soil
of America, and to which the mind of the Christian-
ised Indian still reverts with a mysterious reverence
impossible to conceal.
"Between the north-western extremity of this lake
and the Pacific, are the great plains already mentioned.
Three lines across this plain have been suggested :
Ist, by the left shore of the lake to the small fork of
the Tamarinds ; 2d, by the same shore of the well-
known port of Realejo; and 3d, by the upper shore of
the lake to the Gulf of Fonseca or Conchagua. It is
probable all of these lines are feasible, but a minute
survey can only determine which is best. -
"The first line suggested, that to the foot of the
Tamarinds, is considerably shorter than either of the
others, not exceeding 15 or 18 miles-in length. But,
said Mr. Squier, the water of the lake upon itsnorth-
western shore is shallow. He had sounded it in July,
1849. It deepened regularly from the shore to the
distance of one mile, when it attained five fathoms.
After that it deepened rapidly to ten- and fifteen
fathoms. The country between the lake and the
Tarnarinda, so far as can be ascertained, the country

being covered with forests, is level, and offers no in-
superable obstacle to a canal There is no town or
village near it, as it seems to have escaped general
notice. Nor is it known, that it has ever been entered
by vessels, except in one or two instances for the
purpose of loading Brazil wood. It is small, though
tolerably well protected. It is not, however, a proper
termination for a work like the proposed canal.
" The second line is to the Port of Realejo, which
properly an inlet, formed by the junction of the
Dona Paula and Realejo Rivers, and protected on the
side of the sea by the is!ands of Carden and Assassa-
dens, and a bluff of the main land. It is safe and
commodious ; the water good, ranging from three to
eight and nine fathoms. The volcano of the Viejo,
lifting its cone nearly 7,000 feet above the sea to the
north-eastward of the port, forms an unmistakable

landmark to the mariner when no other part of the
coast is visible. This line, starting from the nearest
practicable point of Lake Managua, cannot fall short
of 45 miles in length. It has been said that the Dona
Paula might be made use of for a considerable dis-
tance, but such is not the fact. There is no stream
upon this line which, as has been supposed by various
writers on the subject, can be made available for the
uses of the canal. The `Rio Tostal' of which they
speak, by which, from its described position the Rio
Telica is supposed to be meant (for no 'Rio Tostal'
exists), is a small stream; insufficient for any im-
portant purpose. I can discover, said Mr. Squier, no
reason why this line cannot be advantageously pur-
sued. It has the present advantage of passing through
the most populated and best cultivattd part of the
country, and terminating at a point already well
known.

"To the third line, namely, that from Lake
Managua to the Gulf of Fonseca, public attention
has never been generally directed. It nevertheless
seems to offer greater advantages than either of the
others. The gulf or bay in question is unequalled
by any on the continent or perhaps in the world. It
much resembles that of San Francisco, and may be
described as an immense harbour, in which all the
fleets in the world may ride in safety. lts entire
length within the land is not far from 100 miles, by
perhaps 50 in average breadth. The three states of
San Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua touch upon
it. All the adjacent coasts are of unbounded pro-
ductivemss. It embraces several islands of con-
siderable size, surrounded by water 01.Auch depth as
to enable vessels to approach close in shore. The
most important of these, from the circumstances of
its size and the fact that it commands and is the key
to the entire gulf', is the Island of Tegre, belonging
to Honduras. This island was the head-quarters of
Drake during his operations in the South Sea. It
is about 30 miles in circumference, level near to the
shore, but rising regularly and gradually to a perfact
cone in the centre. Upon this island is situated the
free port of Ainapala. Its possession by any great
maritime nation would enable it to exercise an in-
fluence and control over the commerce of the western
part of the continent which the possession of
Gibraltar by the English enables them to exercise
over the commerce of Europe. From the south-
eastern extremity of this gulf extends a large estuary
or arm, called the Estero Real. Its course is pre•
cisely in the direction of the Lake of Alanagua, which
it approaches to within fifteen or twenty miles, and
between which and the lake is the plain of Correjo,
which is, in fact, a part of the plain of Leon. This
Estero is as broad as the East River at New York,
and has for most of its extent an ample depth of water.
At thirty miles above its mouth it had fifty feet. There
is a narrow bar at its mouth, upon which, at low tide,
there is but about three fathoms. The tide rises,
however, about ten feet, and with artificial aid the
bar could, doubtless,
be passed at all times. This
Estero is one of the most beautiful natural channels
that can be imagined, preserving, for a long distance,
a very nearly uniform width of from 300 to 400
yards. Its banks are lined with mangroves, with a
dense back ground of Mier trees. Captain Belcher,
R.N., ascended the Estero for thirty miles in a vessel
drawing ten feet of water. From the head of tide
water in the Estero to the lake is not more than
twenty or twenty-five miles. In case the canal is
Ever built, said Mr. Squier, I am convinced this must
be its route. The advantages which would result
to such a work from terminating in the Gulf of Fon-
seca are very great, and so obvious that it is needless
to recapitulate them.

" It may, therefore, in view of the preceding facts,
be safely asserted that the passage from Lake Ma-
nagua to the sea is eminently feasible.
fhe length of the proposed line of communica-
tion for ships, from sea to sea, can only be determined
by actual measurement. Mr. Squier said that, never-
theless, he would venture to submit the following
calculation :

Miles.
Lngth of the River San Juan....... 90
Part of the Lake of :Nicaragua to be
traversed ........
Length of Rio Tipitapa .. lB
Length of Lake Managua ... 5O
From Lake to Realejo
• • 45

Total . 313
From this must be deducted 25 miles, in case the
line is terminated at the port of Tamarinda. In case
it should terminate in the Gulf of Fonseca, it is pos-
sible it would not be many miles longer than to
Realejo. The extent of actual canalisation, there-
fore, would be to tiealej°, 120 to 140 miles ; to Ta-
marinda, 9) to 110 ; to Fonseca, 100 to 120.
" It is useless, said Mr. Squier, in conclusion, to
enter into calculations respecting the cost of the pro-
posed work ; for until there is a detailed survey of
the entire line, it must be wholly a matter of conjec-
ture. It has been variously estimated at from
20,000,000 to 40,000,000 dollars. Assume it to cost
100,000,000 dollars, which may be as near the truth
as any other calculation, still it is enough, at present,
to know that it is feasible, and that its benefits, im-
mediate and prospective, will be sufficient to compen-
sate for the expenditure of double that amount,
startling as it may appear.
"In some conversation that ensued between mem-
bers, after the conclusion of these observations, Mr.
Squier mentioned, as a most interesting and important
fact, not only as connected with the proposed work,
but with the whole question of steam navigation in
the Pacific, that a large bed of coal had recently
been discovered in San Salvador, on the banks of the
river Lempa, about 60,miles from the Gulf of Fonseca.
It is semi-bituminous in character, resembling the
Mount Savage coal. He had sent specimens to the
Department of State in Washington."

NEW PLANET.
TO THE EDITOR (F THE TIMES.

Sir,—LastEvening, at 10b. 10in. mean time, at this
observatory, I discovered a new planet in the con-
stellation Pegasus. It appears like a star of the ninth
magnitude, and has a pale bluish light. The follow-
ing are the observed positions :
Greenwich North
Mean Time. Eight Ascension. Declination.
11. )I• S. IL M. S. DEG. MIN. SEC.
Sept. 13 at 11 29 36 23 44 45.08 14 64 .9
Sept. 14 at 828 24 23 44 2.59 13 59 29.3
er off
ultrathes zodaicalolar system forms the
planets, the
twelfth'rbiB noefw groupmember
emb u
third which I have been fortunate enough to discover
in the course of a rigorous examination of the heavens.
I remain, Sir, your most obedient servant,
J. R. HIND.

Mr. Bishop's Observatory,
Lim Circle, Regent's-park, Sept. 14.

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.
FROM TILE M RNING PAPERS OF THIS DAY.
TIMES.—Tne character of popular amusements
is ono, and not the least, evidence of national progress
or decline, and there is no more sure sign of moral
imperfection in a community than when teats of skill
or displays of strength fail to satisfy unless accompa-
nied by the aiditional excitement and relish of actual
danger. In barbarien or semi-barbarian states of
society we can find an excuse for the sanguinary
games which serve as a rehearsal for the sanguinary
business of life ; but if nations once civilized return to
the ferocious amusements of their less cultivated fore-
fathers, we pronounce their courage extinct, and their
dignity abandoned. The gladiatorial combats of
Rome, never so rife as in the superficially magnificent
age of the Caesars, were one pregnant proof of her
approaching decay, and the still cherished bull fights
of Madrid may be taken to signify that to true civilizi-
tion the Spaniard is yet a stranger. The resort to
excitements such as the spectacle of danger supplies
maths either the infancy or the decrepitude of na-
tional virtue, and a passion for cruel amusements will
generally be found simultaneous with a low estimate
lof the sacredness of life. We, who take credit to our-
selves for bull-baiting extinguished, for dog-fighting
discountenanced, and the ring reprobated, should
take care how any symptom of a return to barbarism
remains uncondemned—how any inexcusable risk is
allowed to form an alluring element in the sports
which are devised fur public enjoyment. Among the
most favourite attractions which in this metropolis
woo the spare money and leisure hours of thousands
of our population, there are none which involve any
necessary danger to life : exhibitions of personal
daring and alacrity, such as ropedancing, horseriding,
and other feats of the circus, do not owe their popu-
larity to the personal risk encountered ; habit and
practice give to a Ducrow security, and to an Her-
nandez nonchalance; the discipline of the animal and
the skill of the man together reduce the danger to an
inappreciable quantity; and so it is also with another
attraction which has been no less favourite of late
years—ballooning. There was a time when any as-
cent was dangerous. We might apply to the first
adventurers in the regions of air the language with
which Horace apostrophises the first explorer of
ocean. There was some real ambition at the bottom
in either case ; there were truths to be ascertained
and conjectures to be solved; neither a return in
hard cash nor popular éclat was the expected reward.
To prove that to the dwellers on earth was extended
an empire over the other elements was an achieve-
ment only the more worthy of praise because accom-
panied with risk. Use, however, has made the idea
familiar and the practice comparatively safe. The
actual danger which an aeronaut need en-
counter to-day is not more than that which a
ropedancer or equestrian runs—not more than
the necessity of a livelihood or a natural
adaptation for such pursuit may justify or
commend. It is competent to Mr. Green to ascend
into the clouds, and for Mr. Wardell to invite a
crowd to view the ascent. There need be no violation
of laws imperative on society, no considerable risk
need be run, no lamentable mischief insured. The
late insane and ridiculous experiments on ponies offer
a very different feature. It appears from Mr. Green's
statement that this absurdity is not entirely new, and
that he himself originated it some twenty years back.
Now, however, or not—and there is assuredly no
honour in being the inventor—it is to M. Poietvin
thst the reproduction of so ihhuman a method of
aerostation is due, and it is to the French appetite for
such spectacles that we have to trace the premature end
of Lieutenant Gale. In alluding to his death we wish
merely to place it as an additional argument a poste-
riori against a piece of folly which has no defence ante-
cedently, and of which the folly is aggravated by the
cruelty practised on the animal which accompanies it.
Independently of this catastrophe the former adven-
tures were quite enough to throw discredit on the
practice. Mr. Green is probably by this time as
much ashamed of his performance as the mass of
spectators of their complicity, but for the sake of im-
proving the lesson we must refer our readers to the
facts :—lt was on Tuesday, the 30th of July, that an
application was made to the magistrates by the Secre-
tary of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals to interfere with the proposed ascent of Mr.
Green. It did not appear to the authorities that the
case for interference was made out, and the veteran
aeronaut, therefore, set out the next day on his up-
ward voyage with one leg on each side of a pony ,
but the extreme humbug of the thing may best be
learned by the description of an eye-witness :---
" As the anxious si.ectators watched the proceedings,
expecting to se., a great charger come prancmng forward,
from among the feet of some half dos -a workmen a di-
minutive little animal, not larger than an undersized
Newfoundland dog, was taken and placed in the car—
its feet were fastened in sockets, its eyes carefully ban-
daged, and a hundred cords were in requisition to secure
its quiescence, At last everything was ready, and Mr.
Green proceeded to mount. A pile of sand-bags, placed
on either side of the pony, sustained the weight of the
aeronaut, which the poor animal itself was unable to
bear."
Such and so imposing was the equitation of Mr.
Green. There appears to have been some reaction
in the minds of the lookers-on when this miserable
absurdity was being accomplished ; at all events, the
general opinion was not sufficiently favourable to
provoke a second experiment. With our neighbours,
however, across the water, a single performance was
not enough, and it fell to Mr. Gale's lot to imitate at
Bordeaux what M. Poitevin had successfully achieved
at Paris. As Mr. Green's cautious procedure., though
it diminished the danger, also injured the spectacle,
the animal was in this case suspended beneath
the car by girths passed under its body.
Mr. Gale ascended from the Hippodrome of 'Vin-
cennes, near Bordeaux, but there are diverse accounts
as to the precise mode in which he came by his death.
The details of the accident, however, are of little
corsequence. That he descended safely, that in ar-
ranging the ropes after unfastening the animal he
was again carried up into the air, and that he was
finally found dead in a field, is all that has been ac-
curately established. How far his death was con-
nected with the particular method of his ascent we
can hardly ascertain ; but, connected directly or not,
it can scarcely fail to bring into entire disrepute a prac-
tice which was never otherwise than hazardous. It
is possible that the lesson to aeronauts may be simply
a lesson of caution, but the admonition to
society ought to be something more. The
affection for extravagant and exceptionable modes
of excitement is, as we have stated above,
one proof of a depraved public taste. Even if it
could be proved that the inconvenience to the animal
is slight and the pain insignificant, the practical stu-
pidity of the exhibition is none the less glaring : either
the aeronaut abandons some of those precautions
which are neceseary to safety, or he does not; if he
does, he is fatally wrong, and the spectators as mis-
guided as himself; if he does not, the phenomenon is
reduced to the very weakest and silliest of catch-
pennies. In Mr. Green's case the comedy was as
childish as in Lieutenant Gale's case the tragedy was
shocking. It is difficult to say whether Poitevin
sitting astride in bona fide equestrian position or
Green supporting himself on saddle-bags and doubly
making believe to ride is the most grotesque object
of a spurious admiration ; as a matter of fact the
performance would be improved by the aeronaut
sitting with his face to the animal's tail—the utter
inappropriateness of going up aloft on a frightened
brute with drooping head and passive limbs would
be more signally manifested, and the éclat would
be proportionate to the oddity of the spectacle. There
is, however, something to congratulate ourselves upon
in the fact that Mr. Wardell's diminutive pony was
not called upon for a second performance. How far
this absence of an appetite for equestrian aerostation
may have arisen from our national appreciation of a
horse's attributes and claims, how far from a dislike
of risks at once puerile and insane, may be matter of
doubt; but neither explanation is to be rejected, and
perhaps we may attribute it to the joint effect of both
that the catastrophe which has stamped these eccen-
tricities with so emphatic a condemnation did not
take place upon the English soil. That the calamity
has fallen upon an Englishman makes the warning as
effectual to us as if it had happened among us ; and
though we have less cause to blame ourselves from
the circumstance that public opinion here had con-
derrined so absurd and wanton a piece of folly, we are
not so entirely free from blame as to reflect on the
conduct of others, whose misapplied curiosity re-
quired
that an unoffending brute should be dragged
up
into the heavens an ignominious and forlorn victim
of idle caprice, and whose selfish love of excitement
urged an unfortunate man to his destruction.
CHRONICLE.—PIeasant stories are told of the
grotesque blunders perpetrated by philosophers in
moments cf abstraction, and something of the kind
appears to have taken place at Cambridge in selecting
a candidate for the University. The choice has fallen
upon Mr. Cowling, who is so strongly supported by
his own college that no opposition is anticipated.
From his published address we may gather the lead-
ing principles which he thinks it necessary to advance.
A decided Tory of the old school, and adhering to the
doctrines of Protection, be has little to say on the
questions of the present day—except to pledge himself
to an obstinate and uncompromising resistance to any
further concession to the Roman Catholics, as well as
to the removal of Jewish disabilities. Had the Uni-
versity been a close borough, under the dominion of

the Duke of Richmond, Mr. Cowling's manifesto could
not have displayed a more abject subserviency to the
exploded notions of a party which i 3 rapidly disap-
pearing. But we should be unwilling to ascribe the
unanimity, with which he will probably be returned,
so much to the prevalence in the University cf the
views which be entertains, as to the general unwill-
iegness to have a con•ested election, and to the pe-
culiar influence exercised by the large college of
which he is a member. S'. John's is an establish-
ment second only, in numbers and importance, to
Trinity, with which it has fur some years divided the
representation, to the complete exclusion of the
minor colleges. This practice, is, of course, very
prejudicial to the University, and often leads to the
election of members who do very little credit to the
graduate.. The learning of Cambridge has, :in con-
sequence, been represented by the infinite folly of a
beardless nobleman, or by a professional man cf
seemly respectable abilities, but who chanced to be
as good a candidate as could be found on the books of
his college. To avoid a contest, and to maintain the
system of dividing the Parliamentary honours of the
University, are, with many of the residents the chief
objects of importance. On the present occasion Mr.
Cowling has been brought forward because he is the
least unqualified person of the members of St. John'e,
but not because he is the best man that could have
been found among the graduates of the University.
These arrangements are not very creditable, but they
serve to explain the proceedings which are now going
on, without its being necessary to conclude that the
political opinions of Mr. Cowling are the sole or
the chief cause of his good fortune His luck
consists in belonging to a college which is singu-
larly tenacious of what its members believe to be
their rights in the University, and which is
not deficient in electioneering skill. The master and
college officers of that foundation are always able to
guarantee a very large number of votes. According
to old established custom, clergymen and schoolmas-
ters can he brought from the uttermost parts of the
United Kingdom, not to express an opinion in favour
of this or that principle, but simply to support the
views of a clique of half" a dozen people, who consti-
tute what is—in the eyes of the non-resident voters
—the College. At Trinity this foolish custom has
long since ceased to exist ; and, notwithstanding
the reasonable influence which the Master and Fel-
lows may be supposed to possess over a body with
whom they, in many cases, maintain no personal
friendships, it has been remarked that there the
votes follow the general divisions of opinion, and
that they are independent of college bias. It is,
however, otherwise at St. John's, where the mem-
bers are always strangely unanimous—an advan-
tage which was quite as valuable to Mr. Law, in
the last contest, as to the consistency with which he
defended the principles to which be was pledged.
With such a state of things, the return of Mr. Cow-
ling will, probably, be unopposed. Much dissatisfac-
tion has been expressed, however, with regard to the
selection of this gentleman as a candidate. The dile
ferent sections of the Protectionist party are loud in
declaring their disapprobation of a man who, unques-
tionably, will add neither strength nor dignity to
their party. Some are discontented with the vague-
ness of his professions, and others, who carry into
politics the peculiar gentleness which distinguishes
theological discussions, are indignant that a gentle-
man who held a brief, on the Gorham side, in the
late proceedings before the Privy Council, should
solicit the suffrages of an orthodox University. Into
such questions we decline to enter. We must refer
the complainants to their own professor of casuistry,
who, from his experience as a writer of contro-
versy, will doubtless be able to show to what extent
a lawyer is justified in taking a professional part
in a theological dispute. Our own impression
is, that the learned counsellor accepted his brief with
all the impartiality of complete ignorance, and we trust
that academical opinion will not pronounce him to be
a heretic because he did his duty as an advocate. It
is a more just subject of complaint that, in all proba-
bility, Cambridge will be represented by a Member
without personal weight or influence. The most that
can be said in favour of the fortunate candidate is,
that he is a fair lawyer, and was a good mathemati-
cian. He has conferred very great distinction upon
the place of his education—he has done nothing to
entitle him to the confidence of such an important
constituency. His name is unknown in politics,
science, or literature ; and his reputation as a lawyer
has never been sufficiently brilliant to penetrate be
Bond the narrow limits of the courts at Westminster.
his party anticipate from him no further services than
silent votes, which he is pledged to give in the cause of
religious persecution and commercial restriction. The
promises which he has made lead us to believe that he has
taken op political subjects only late in life, and in con-
sequence of suggestions flattering to his ambition,
and not from strong conviction. He does not profess
an adhesion to that party in the Church who un-
doubtedly possess great vigour and earnestness. He
is not the exponent of any distinct principle in politics,
education, or religion. lie does not enlist the sympa-
thies of High Churchmen or Evangelicals. In a
word, he does not come forward to represent any one
shade of the opinions which principally influence the
Church and the Universities; while, as a politician,
he belongs to a class long since gone by. It is much
to be regretted that the peculiar relations of the dif-
ferent colleges should lead to so discreditable a re-
sult. It is true that some of the l3urgraves of the
'smaller colleges were disposed, at first, to resist the
pretensions of St. John's; but the refusal of Mr.
Walpole to come forward induced them to relinquish
their opposition. It may be something to have
avoided the reproach of servile adulation, for
which the place is too notorious, but it would
seem that the University has only escaped
this • danger to secure for itself a reputation
for intolerance and bigotry. If Mr. Cowling be re-
turned, those who are unacquainted with Cambridge
will conclude that the members of the University
are careless or ignorant of the movements going on
throughout the world at the present moment—that
they have no ambition to advance, and that they are
content to remain as they are. The University
which produced a Bacon, and which was
represented in Parliament by a Newton, is will-
ing to relinquish its high claims to estimation,
and its influence upon opinion, by accepting
for its Member a bigot in religion and a mere partisan
in politics. Such are the humiliating effects of a
system which we can only regard as representing col-
leges instead of opinions. The college which has
brought forward Mr. Cowling distinguished itself a
few years ago by discovering a new planet. Without
wishing to be uncharitable, we must admit that that
ancient foundation has been more fortunate in astro
nomy than in politics. In the former case they made a
noble addition to modern science—in the latter, they
will have secured, by college intrigue, only a party
triumph of the most degrading character.

AMY.
The following has THE
been issued for the guidance of
inspecting field officers :

" 10th September, 1850.
It having been brought under the conside-
ration of the Secretary-at-War that it is very desir-
able that the district staff sergeants when detached on
the duty of conducting recruits, should return with
all convenient speed from their journeys, so as to be
available for other duties at the district head-quarters,
I am directed to acquaint you that in all cases in
which the distance recruits are conducted lay railway
does not exceed 100 miles from the district head-
quarters, or in cases where the distance is only slightly
above 100 miles, as between London and Bristol, and
London and Birmingham, &c., Mr. Maule considers
that the conducting staff sergeants should be dis-
patched by the first morning train, and after deliver-
ing over the recruits should return to their station the
same day, by which arrangement the sergeants will
be available without loss of time for other duty.
" routes for the staff sergeants when sent on
this duty, instead cf directing them to return with-
out delay,' should in future specify the hour of start-
ing, and the hour at which the sergeant should return
to his station, according to your discretion, with a due
consideration of the distance to be travelled, the hour
of starting, and of possible return, on the same day,
together with the nature of the duty, &c. ; and the
Secretary-at-War requests that you will cause such
routes to be so prepared accordingly.—l have the
honour to be, Sir, your most obedient humble servant,
" L. SIILIVAN.
" The Inspecting Field Officer of the District."

The walls of Sunderland have been disSgured
Within these few days, by the effusion printed below. -
EXCU IVION TO HELL ! ! !

(13:,nWsniile. —Be serious.)
Under the special Patronage of "The God of this World,'

alias "he Devil,"
A CHEAP TRAIN
Will start every day in the week, and a " Monster Train"
on Sundays,
from the Station of Idleness, passing en route the
Pleasure Gardens of Religious Indifference.
under the dark and long but wonderful Tunnel of Infidelity,
and straight across the beautiful River of Good Conscience,
the Devil's Bridge.
A splendid Band wi by
ll be.in attendance, and will play the
Royal Anthem of the Prince of this World,
entitled," There's a Good Time Coming."
The only Fare to the Journey's End is a Stupid and
Unawakend Conscience.
No Return Tickets