The Sun.
London, England, 1844-08-24 00:00:00

COURT CIRCULAR.

'WINDSOR, FRlDAY.—Prince Albert t 4 sad this
morning in the grounds adjacent to the Castle. His
Royal Highness rode out on horseback in the after-
noon, attended by Colonel Wylde, Equerry in
Waiting.
The Royal Family were taken their accustomed
airings in the pleasure-grounds and slopes of the
Castle in the forenoon, the Prince of Wales and the
Princess Royal on ponies. Their Royal High-
nesses the Prince of Wales and the Princess Alice
were taken a carriage drive in the afternoon, ac-
companied by the Dowager Lady Lyttelton. Her
Royal Highness the Princess Royal was also taken
an airing.
Sir Robert Peel arrived at the Castle at three
o'clock this afternoon, and had an audience of Prince
Albert. The Right Hon. Baronet afterwards took
his departure, returning to town by the five o'clock
train of the Great Western Railway.
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent will dine
at the Castle this evening.

Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge, and the Hereditary Grand Duke and
Duchess oMecklenburgh Strelitz, arrived at Kew on
Thursday evening, from Alton Towers.
M. Dedel returned to town yesterday afternoon
from Nuneham Park, where his Excellency had been
invited by the Archbishop of York to meet the Prince
of Prussia.

Sir Robert Peel left town yesterday afternoon for
Windsor Castle, to have an audience of his Royal
Highness Prince Albert. The Right Hon. Baronet
returned to his residence in Whitehall gardens last
evening.

M. Van de Weyer, the Belgian Minister, transacted
business yesterday at the Foreign-office.

FASHIONABLE INTELLIGENCE.

ARRIVALS.

The Duke and Duchess of Argyll and Lady Emma
Campbell, in Connaught-place West, from Brighton ;
Major-General Wynyard, at Kensington Palace ; Lord
and Lady Claud Hamilton, at Argyll House ; Barton,
Esq , and family, at the York Hotel, Albemarle-street ;
the Dowager Countess of Essex and Miss Johnstone, in
Belgrave-square, from a visit to the Archbishop of York,
at Nuneham ; the Marquis of Worcester, at Beaufort
House, Arlington-.street, from Troy House, Monmouth-
shire ; Capt. and Mrs. Haselfoot and Miss Hill, at Nel-
son's Hotel, Portland-place, from Harrogate, en route to
Colchester, Essex ; J. Burgess, Esq., and Mrs. Burgess,
at ditto, from the Isle of Wight ; H. M. Morgan, Esq.,
at ditto, from Houghton Lodge, Stockbridge.
DEPARTURES.
_ _

The Marquis and Marchioness of Douglas and suite,
from the Duke of Hamilton's, Portman-square, for the
north ; Hunloke, Esq., on a visit to the Earl and
Countess of Albemarle, at Quiddenham Hall, Norfolk ;
the Countess of Dunmore and Miss Talbot, for Lord
Shrewsbury's, Alton Towers ; Cox, Esq., from Gros-
venor-place, on a visit to the Duke and Duchess of Rich-
mond, at ordon Castle, N.B. ;W. H. Gregory, Esq.,
M.P., from Dover-street, for the German Spas ; Ran-
dall, Esq., and Mrs. Randall, from the Clarendon Hotel,
Bond-street, for the Continent ; Captain Blacklin (Ist
Royals), for Gibraltar ; Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Ormsby
Gore, on a visit to Sir J. T. Tyrell, Bart., M.P., at
Boreham House, Essex ; Capel Lechmere, Esq., and
Mrs. Jones, from Nelson's Hotel, Portland-place, for
Cheltenham ; Edward Kinnersly, Esq., and family, from
ditto, for Hulmwalfield, Congleton.
CHANGES.

The Duchess of Sutherland and Lady Caroline Love-
son Gower, at Trentham Hall, from a visit to the Earl
and Countess of Shrewsbury, at Alton Towers ; Major
and Mrs. Kennedy, from Cheltenham, for the Continent ;
the Rev. Viscount Sidmouth, at Up Ottery, Devon, from
Sidmouth ; Lieutenant-General Sir E. Blakeney, at
Dublin, from a visit to the Earl of Bandon, at Castle
Bernard, and an official tour of the south-west district ;
the Marquis and Marchioness of Lorn, on a visit to the
Duchess of Sutherland, at Trentham Hall, from
Brighton ; the Marquis and Marchioness of Ormonde,
at Kilkenny Castle, from a tour; Lord Ebrington, for
the German Spas, from Brussels; Lady H. Forde, at
Hollymount, from Harrogate ; Colonel Rotton, on a
visit to the Duke and Duchess of Richmond, at Gordon
Castle; the Marquis and Marchioness of Blandford, from
Cowes, on a cruise in the Wave, cutter yacht.

BIRMINGHAM AND GLOUCESTER
RAILWAY.

BIRMINGHAM, FRIDAY EVENING.-A numerous and
important meeting of the proprietors of the Birmingham
and Gloucester Railway was held at Dee's Royal Hotel
to-day, for the purpose of transacting the usual half-
yearly business of the Company. There was consider-
able interest excited in consequence of a large number
of shares having been thrown upon the market, owing to
some unfavourable rumours which had been circulated
respecting the mode in which the recent transactions of
the Company had been managed. Indeed, it was expected
that there would be some strong debates, but such, how-
ever, was not the case, and the meeting was carried on
and terminated to the satisfaction of the shareholders
present

Samuel Bonley, Esq., of Gloucester, was called to the
chair, when, _

Mr. SANDERS, the secretary, read the minutes of the
last meeting, after which he read the report of the
directors for the last half-year, from which it appeared,
that the receipts for the past half-year, ending the 30th
June, have been 53,2031. 4s. ld., and the total expendi-
ture, including interest, &c., has been 39,261/. 125.,
which, with the balance from last half-year, of 1111. 16s.
10d., now leaves at disposal 14,0531. Bs. 11d. ; from
which the directors recommend the payment of a divi-
dend of 255. per share (less income-tax), amounting to
13,759/. 12s. 10d., carrying forward the remaining sum
of 2931. 16s. Id. to the current half-year's account. This
amount of dividend is more than double what was paid in
the corresponding six months of 1843. The receipts
from the passenger traffic show an increase of 5,5901.25. Id.
over the corresponding half-year, although no ad-
vantage had been obtained prior to the 30th of June
from the completion of the Bristol line, which was not
opened till the Bth of July. The increase of the goods has
been much greater than that of the passenger traffic.
The CHAIRMAN then said that he was quite prepared
to enter into a full explanation of the whole of the trans-
actions and accounts of the Company, in addition to the
information supplied in the report. It appeared that
some persons, having been disappointed in the dividend,
had sold out rather extensively, although he could not
see any grounds for such alarm. The account which he
held in his hand of the amount of the traffic was cer-
tainly very satisfactory.
Mr. J. STURGE said he was glad to observe that there
was an evident disposition on the part of railway pro-
prietors to accommodate second and third-class passen-
gers, and he hoped that that feeling would become gene-
ral. Ile had heard that on some lines it was the practice
to compel second-class passengers, when changing to an-
other line, to go in first-class carriages.
CHARLES Slum, Esq., said, the Birmingham and
Gloucester Company had three third-class trains run-
ning daily, at the rate of 17 miles an hour, and so far
they must be considered as having acted with liberality
towards the public.
The following resolution, declaratory of the divi-
dend, was then agreed to, after which the meeting
separated :
" That a dividend of 1/. ss. per 100/. share, in 6s. 3d.
per quarter, dated Ist January, 1844 ; 4s. 2d. per quar-
ter share, dated Ist March ; 3s. Oid. per quarter share,
dated Ist April ; 2s. 03d. per quarter share, dated May
1 ; Is. Old. per quarter share, dated Ist June (less in-
come-tax), amounting to 13,759/. 12s. 10d. be now de-
clared, and that it be payable on the 7th Sept. next."

(From Last Night's Gazette.)
Railway Department, Board of Trade,
'Whitehall, Aug. 20, 1844.
Where2s, by a minute of the Lords of the Committee
of Privy Council for Trade, relative to the constitution
and mode of proceedings of the Railway Department,
dated Aug. 6, 1844, and presented to Parliament by her
Majesty's command, my Lords direct, that whenever the
department has formed an intention of examining into
any railway scheme or schemes, with a view to making a
minute or report thereon for presentation to Parliament,
notice shall be given of that intention in the Gazette, for
the information of those whom it may concern; in which
notice shall be stated, as near as may be, the points into
which inquiry is to be made in connection with the pro-
posed line of railway. In conformity with the said direc.
lion, the Board, constituted by that minute for the trans-
action of railway business, hereby give notice, that it is
their intention to examine into the following schemes,
with a view to the presentation to Parliament of minutes
or reports thereon, in the event of their becoming the
subjects of application to Parliament:—
I. The schemes proposed for connecting London and
York by a new line or lines of railway communication
to the eastward of the lines at present existing.
11. The schemes proposed for establishing east and
west lines of railway communication between Lincoln-
shire and the West Riding of Yorkshire.

111. The schemes proposed for completing the railway
communication between Scotland and England.
IV. The schemes proposed for extending railway
communications to Newbury, and to the districts of
Wiltshire, Somersetshire, and Dorsetshire, which lie in-
termediate between the London and South-Western
Railn ay, and the Great Western and Bristol and Exeter
Railways.
V. The schemes proposed for completing the line of
southern coast communication between Chichester and
Portsmouth.

VI. The schemes proposed for extending railway
communications from London to Gravesend, Chatham,
and North Kent.

VII. The schemes proposed for extending railway
communications from Oxford to Rugby, and. to Eves-
ham, Worcester, and other districts intermediate between
the Great Western and London and Birmingham Rail-
ways.
VIII. The schemes proposed for establishing new and
more direct railway communication between Manchester
and Leeds, Huddersfield, Halifax, Bradford, and other
places in the districts adjoining to the Manchester and
Leeds Railway, and intermediate between thatiline and

the Manchester and Sheffield, and Leeds and Bradford
Railways.
The principal points into which inquiry will be made,
in connection with the above schemes, are as follow :-
Ist. The ability and bona fide intention of the pro-
moters to prosecute their application to Parliament
next session for Bills to authorise the several under-
takings.
2d. The advantages to be obtained, in a national point
of view, in completing or extending important lines of
railway communication.
3d. The amount of local advantage afforded to the
towns and districts more immediately affected.
4th. The engineering circumstances of the line, so far
as may be necessary to form a general judgment of the
character of the undertaking.
sth. The estimates of cost of construction, and of
traffic and working expenses, so far as may bo necessary
to judge of the probability of the line being completed
and efficiently worked in the event of its being sanctioned
by Parliament, and with a ♦iew to drawing a compari-
son between the merits of competing lines of railway.
The inquiry, in conformity with the recommendation
of the Fifth Report of the Select Committee on Railways,
will not embrace questions of private property or i!ite •
rest, which will be reserved altogether for the conside-
ration of the Legislature.
(Signed) DA LLIOUSIE.
C. W. PASLEY. G. R. PORTER.
D. O'BRIEN. S. LAING.

CITY OF LONDON GENERAL PENSION SOCIETY.—
Amongst the recent donations announced by the secre-
tary, Henry F. Richardson, Esq., are—The Duke of
Northumberland, 20/.;:Luke J. Hansard,Esq.,so/. ; Mrs.
Thwaytes, 50/. ; Trustees Cholmondeley Charities, 501.;
Lord Bristol, 25/. ; Sir T. Baring, Bart., 20/. ; Thomas
Baring, Esq., 20/. ; Hon. W. B. Baring, 151.
STATE OF TRADE.—LIVERPOOL.—For the last few
weeks there has been a downward tendency in this mar-
ket for all the important articles of consumption, and
although the rate of discount has continued at a very
low standard, and money exceedingly plentiful, yet
merchants have had to endure the annoyance of submit-
ting to lower prices on each succeeding operation. Cot-
ton, the most important article in our trade, has caused
heavy losses in some quarters. Prices are now about
twenty-five per cent. lower than they were on the Ist of
March last, when we had a stock of 620,000 bales, of
which fully one-third bad been taken by speculators in
the first two months of the year. This stock has gra-
dually gone on augmenting, and the difference in its
value on the prices of the Ist of March, and its present
worth in the market, may fairly be estimated at about
one million sterling, no mean sum to be divided among
the unfortunate holders, of whom a great proportion
were mere adventurers. We might make similar com-
parisons to the above, with respect to sugar, coffee, rum,
tobacco, some descriptions of oils, and other articles ;
and if the result was seen at one glance, the totallosses
occasioned by the depreciation in value on produce, since
the Ist of March, would be very much augmented. Not-
withstanding the rapid fall in prices, there is no dis-
position to speculate. —L iverpool Mercury.
JUDGES' CHAMBERS.--Yesterday it was understood
at the Judges' Chambers that Mr. Justice Maule, the
only
300 Judge
orders
fi
on r t ot
hwen
disc
na gr
gteh eovf a
pc
ea
rt isoonn,s had
om
werea d e a
cb
oo
nu.t
fined for debts not exceeding 20/., and that daily appli-
cations are made ex parte for the liberation of debtors
incarcerated in the prisons of England and Wales. It
should be known that debtors detained on Courts of Re-
quests' warrants need not to wait until the Court out of
which the judgment was obtained should be opened, but
they can apply by affidavit to a Judge of one of the supe-
rior courts at chambers. A case was brought before Mr.
Justice Maule on Thursday of a person who had been in
Wilton gaol, Somersetshire, for fifteen months, on a debt
of 2/. 6s. 7id., the law costs on which amounted to 5/.
He was discharged under the new Act. By some strange
omission in the new Act the remands of insolvents for
debts under 20/. have been rendered inoperative, and
other insolvents, whose cases were adjourned on ac-
count of gross misconduct, have got out of prison under
the new Act. Two cases of peculiar hardship have oc-
curred. An insolvent was remanded for six months for
a flagrant case of vexatiously defending an action for a
debt of 19/., and on his application to be discharged it
was urged that it would be a monstrous perversion of
justice to let suck a person escape. The Learned Judge,
however, made the order, leaving the party to any re-
medy he might possess. In the other case an insolvent
refused to give up possession of some premises to the
landlord ; he, however, obtained his discharge under the
new Act, retaining possession of the property from the
owner.

DINNER TO CELEBRATE THE BIRTH-DAY OF THE
DUCHESS OF KENT.—WINDSO FRIDAY.—A public
dinner, to which upwards of fifty of the most influential
inhabitants of Old and New Windsor sat down, was
given at the Hope Inn, Frogmore, yesterday evening ; a
splendid buck having been presented for the occasion
by her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, whose
birth-day the large party had assembled to celebrate.
The chair was filled by John Clode, jnn., Esq. The first
toast `was " The Queen," which was drank with all the
honours, a royal salute being fired at the same time from
a battery erected in the gardens. The chairman, in
proposing the health of the Duchess of Kent, paid her
Royal Highness a well-deserved compliment for the
exercise of unbounded charity in the neighbourhood of
Windsor, since her Royal Highness had come to reside
amongst them ; thus following in the footsteps of her
revered relative, the late Princess Augusta. The toast
was drank with the greatest enthusiasm. The health of
" Prince Albert," " The Queen Dowager," " The Prince
of Wales, and the junior branches of the Royal Family,"
" The Duke of Cambrige, the High Steward of the
borough, and the remaining branches of the Royal
Family," " Sir George Couper, Comptroller of the
Duchess of Kent's Household," and several other toasts
having been drank, the company retired shortly after
nine o'clock. Sir George Couper arrived from Frog-
more House shortly before dinner was served, to inspect
the arrangements which had been made in the house
and grounds of the Hope Inn, to celebrate the auspicious
event.

A MODERATE APPETITE.--A few days ago Thomas
Ford, a spare looking man, in the garb of a keelman,
went into an eating-house in the Broad Chare, in this
town, and at his own request was supplied with three-
penny worth of cooked meat. After the lapse of an hour
the landlord's daughter looked in upon him, and she al-
most imagined the poor man was troubled with a stomach
complaint, as he appeared still to be labouring hard at
his original supply. Another hour nearly expired, when
Mr. Ford, having settled all demands, took his depar-
ture, but without exhibiting any improvement in his
physical condition. Immediately afterwards it was dis-
covered that a leg of lamb had disappeared, and a few
remains in the room, probably too large to swallow, left
no doubt that it was irrecoverably lost to its owner. A
short time afterwards Mr. Ford was discovered in a
neighbouring public-house washing down his dinner with
a pot of beer. Mr. Ford is at present confined for four-
teen days, not because the lamb did not agree with him,
but because the magistrates thought he kad eaten too
much; but we have no doubt at the conclusion of that
time, he will be quite willing to convince any one of the
extent of his power who may doubt the truth of this
story.—Newcastle Advertiser.
Captain Bernal, M.P., is authorised, we see by the
Gazette of last night, to change his name on his marriage
with Miss Osborne, which has taken place, to that of
Osborne. Henceforth the gallant Member will, we pre-
sume, be known as Captain Osborne.
A Sheriff's officer (says a Scotch paper), on going
last week to execute a writ at some dye-works at Govan,
Glasgow, was thrown into a vat, and died in conse-
quence.—[Query, dyed in consequence ?]
REASONABLE CAUSES.—Lord Frankfort has no
music in his soul. Treasons, stratagems, and spoils en-
gage his thoughts to the entire exclusion of all sympathy
with Italian organs. The march in .A'orma raises his
lordly bile, and " Gently o'er my senses stealing" throws
him into a paroxysm of fury. At the Marylebone
police-office, on Saturday last, one of the vagrant min-
strels was charged with giving Lord Frankfort " ex-
cess of music," with the charitable intention of sur-
feiting an appetite that has already sickened and died.
The crime was established ; the boy—one Morangi—
continued his " eternal demnition grind," as Mr. Man-
tilini calls it, and refused to "move on" at any price.
The Magistrate, Mr. Rawlinson, declared the boy's con-
duct " very scandalous," and, searching the Police Act
for an adequate punishment, found that he might fine
him forty shillings if he refused to go away for any
" reasonable cause." But there was the rub. What was
reasonable? A Magistrate could not be supposed to
judge of such things ; we have every day evidence of
their embarrassment when appeals are made to the un-
derstanding. It is specified in the Act, by way of exam-
ple, that sickness in a house is a reasonable ground for
chasseeing itinerant musicians—but all the rest is left
to conjecture ; and magisterial conjecture is the most
absurd thing under Heaven that our Legislators could
trust to ; judge-made law is bad enough, but magiste-
rially-constructed punishment is a farce. Mr. Rawlin-
son declared that the boy's conduct was " scandaloui"—
ergo, it was " reasonable" to expect him to desist, or be
punished for perseverance. But that would have been
too rational for the usages of the bench ; so the magis-
trate " discharged" the youth, and he may now repeat
his " very scandalous" behaviour with impunity, to the
intense annoyance of the music-hating Lord.—Atlas.
PILCIIARD FISIIERY.—PERRAN PORTIL—The Coh-
ler's sean, at this place, shot on Monday last, and in-
closed a fine shoal of pilchards ; but being unfortunately
short of hands, they were unable to draw the whole on
shore, and only fifty hogsheads were secured, which
were very fine fish.— West Briton.
IMPORTANT TO SOLICITORS.—In the Crown Court
at Wells, on Saturday week, the Hon. P. P. Bouverie,
foreman of the Grand Jury, complained that that body
had been detained both that day and the day before for
want of bills. Mr. Justice Patteson replied that he know
such to be the case, and had been given to understand
that it arose from the neglect of attornies sending in their
instructions. If he attended this circuit again, he would
make an order that if the bills were not prepared within
a certain time (when the delay originated with the attor-
nies), he would not allow them their expenses.—Somer-
set County Gazette.

COURT OF SEWERS.
I An adjourned meeting of the Court of Sewers for
dlesex,
the city
was and lheldiberty of Westmin
aster and part of Mid-
yesterday, t tho Suwers-office,
Greek-street, Soho-square. T. L. Donaldson took the
Chair at twelve o'clock.
Some general business having been dispose 3 of,
The CHAIRMAN said that the next matter before them
was " to consider if any, and what, steps should be im-
mediately taken to restore the dilapidated parts of the
main line of the Ranelagh sewer in Gloucester-road,
Paddington." He had ordered that the business should
be put into that day's paper in order that it might be
kept before the Court, with the view of taking some im-
mediate steps therein. They had an application to con-
tinue the line for another thousand feet at an estimated
cost of 3,0001, and he (the Chairman) was most anxious
that the works should be commenced forthwith. The
public were greatly inconvenienced by the present con-
dition of the sewer ; and that Court had not
for the last four months done anything to get
it rectified. He would take the liberty of throwing
out a suggestion, and he hoped that some mem-
ber of the Court would frame a resolution upon it—that
it might tend to strengthen the evidence of the
officers of that Court, as to the causes of the failure of the
works, if one or two professional men were empowered
to report upon the subject. He merely threw out the
suggestion; it was for the Court to act, or not, upon it.
A COMMISSIONXR understood that it had been deter-
mined upon, some time before, to try the question as to
the contractor's liberty to make good the failure, int a
court of law,

Mr. WlLLouGrinv explained that the contractor had
made a proposition to finish the works, but the Court
had not seen fit to accede to it.
Mr. ALLANSON coincided with the remark made by the
Chairman, that the present delay of the works occasioned
great public inconvenience.
Colonel J. C. GANT thought that the Court would
have serious difficulties to contend with if they carried
this matter into a court of law. Those difficulties would
be greatly increased if they went on with the restoration
of the sewer in a different form from that in which it
was first made. He questioned, indeed, how far the con-
tractor might be considered liable, seeing that his money
was paid by that Court for the work, on an assurance
from their own officers that it was completed in a trades-
manlike manner. It had stood for two years, and be
certainly thought that before proceeding further in the
matter their solicitor ought to have the opinion of two
eminent surveyors, besides that of the regular officers of
that Court with regard to the work. He again ex-
pressed a doubt, that, if they completed the line accord-
ing to the new form of sewer, it would be held as a tacit
admission that the old form sanctioned by the Court,
was a bad one, and that the contractor therefore was
not to blame because it ha.i failed.

Mr. WILLOUGHBY denied that the old form of sewer
was faulty, but the contractor had not done his work
in a proper manner.
A resolution was, after some further discussion, agreed
to, that professional opinion should be taken on the sub.
ject. It was also decided that the additional length of
1,000 feet should be added to the line.
The Court then sanctioned the orders of the 25th and
23d July, for ninety-feet of sewer in Norfolk-street,
Strand, at an estimated cost of 118 L 11s. Bd., and twenty
feet of Rauelagh main sewer at Kilburn-bridge, to be
arched over, at a cost of 131. 6s. 6d.
A letter was read from Mr. Pennethorne, surveyor
to the Woods and Forests, stating that the Commis-
sioners agreed to the proposition made by him to the
Court of Sewers, (namely, the contributing of 575 L to-
wards the line of sewerage in the proposed new street
from St. Giles's to Long-acre, the estimated cost of the
whole being 2,1001. 18s. 6d.), provided the line was
carried on to Charlotte-street, Bloomsbury, and the
whole finished by Lady-day. The line was then con-
sidered in reference . to the necessities of the Holborn
and Finsbury Commission, and it was stated by the sur-
veyor, that the additional depth required would be five
feet, two inches ; and the estimated cost for digging
5181. 1 ls. Bd. The estimated cost for rebuilding the
Charlotte-street sewer, was 4101., which expense would
in a very short time require to be borne by the district,
as the present drainage was in bad condition.
Mr. ALLANSON thought that before they came to any
conclusion on this point, they ought to have some direct
correspondence with the Holborn and Finsbury Com-
mission.

Colonel GANT went at considerable length into the
amicable relations which ought to exist between neigh-
bouring Commissions, and was persuaded that a broad
and liberal mode of arranging matters like the present
would conduce most to the public advantage, and to the
good feeling which ought to be maintained between
the Sewers' Courts of the metropolis.
Mr. WILLOUGHBY did not think it consistent with
their duties to their district to involve that district
in expenses incurred for the benefit of another. It
seemed only a principle of justice, that those who
reaped the advantages should bear the expense ; and he
apprehended that it would be an illegal application of
9281., to expend it for the benefit of any parties, other
than those from whom the same was derived.
Mr. DONALDSON thought that it would be enough
for that district to bear the expense of the sewerage in
Charlotte-street, which their surveyors' report esti-
mated at 4101.

At the suggestion of the Chairman, the Court con-
fined itself to the question of the diggings, and,
Mr. WILLOUGHBY proposed a resolution—" That this
Court does not feel justified in deepening the sewers of
the division for the purposes of the Holborn and Fins-
bury division, and beyond the requirements of this
division, except at the expense of that division."
Mr. HAWKER thought that the expenses ought to be
calculated together, and not in portions. He was of
opinion that they ought not to discuss the subject until
they had received the further report of their surveyors.
The resolution was ultimately carried.
The CHAIRMAN then put the question as to whether
the Court would sanction the rebuilding of the Char-
lotte-street sewer at a cost of 4101. They had the sur-1
veyors' report that in a short time they would be obliged
to begin this work, and he (the Chairman) was of
opinion that the present was a most fitting time.—
Agreed to.
s
Mr. HAWKER then moved a resolution—" That the
report what additional expenses may
by gullies and sewers, on account of the increased depth
of main sewer necessary to accommodate the Holborn
and Finsbury district." He had stated, before the other
votes were taken, that he required information upon this
be caused
subject before he went further, and he hoped it would
not be withheld from him.
The CHAIRMAN said he had no wish to withhold any
information from the Court, but he hoped that the
Hon. Commissioner would allow the rotes already taken
to preclude the resolution he had now proposed.
Jr.A HAWKER objected to the course required by the
Chairman.
Colonel GANT thought that the calculations' sought
for by the lion. Commissioner would be found inter-
minable. Were they in the progress of these works to
go with every little item to the Holborn and Finsbury
Commission, and say, " Pay this, it is incurred to suit
your purposes?" He thought the Court could not enter-
tain the resolution for a moment,.
Hon aTwhkee s, tCHAIRMANhe r sol u ttih enw
saas
dp,u tt
hand
icna rorderried.
After some remarks from Mr. Willoughby and Mr.
to test the
last resolution, he should put another, namely—" That
the resolutions of this Court, with the exception of the
last, be forwarded to the Holborn and Finsbury Com-
mission."

Mr. HAWKES—'Who signs that ?
The CHAittsteN—.Mr. Willoughby's namo and my
owN is attached to it.
Mr. HAwKES--it is a most extraordinary mode of
doing business, and I am quite ashamed of it.
Mr. WlLLorclinr, —Mr. Hawkes stated that it was
for the information merely that he put the resolution.
The object, therefore, can be attained, although it is not
forwarded to the Holborn and Finsbury division.
The last resolution Ilas then put, and it was also
carried.
The question was then put, whether the Court would
sanction the 1,540 feet of sewer in the new line
already alluded to.—Agreed to.
Several reports were afterwards read, and some minor
business transacted, and the Court adjourned.
The General S'
_ _ _

___ ..,,,..erat Steam Navigation Company's steam-
ship Caledonia, with her Majesty's mail from ilamburgh,
arrived on Wednesday, having
experienced a continued
gale of grind ever since she left that city. She brought
about for y
thpeassengers, :Who, before leaving the vessel,
addressed t following handsome testimonial to Captain
rsetsesainmgerto you the deep sense of
Phillips, commander of that vessel :—" Caledonia
steamer, Aug. 20.—Sir,—We, the undersigned passen-
gers, under your command,
gratitude for the seaman-like conduct displayed during
the extreme responsibility thrown upon you by the situa-
tion of the ship, in the severe gales that we encoun-
tered on our passage from Hamburgh to London. We
ettnnobtYp.
beg that you will do us. the favour to accept the accom-
panying token, as a slight offering of o
our esteem and
en,
remain, Sir,
good wishes.--1,,„„,,,
„., yours faithfully, C. God-
, defroy, Baron Bergh, "• P. Kaye (Queen's foreign mes-
senger),EdwardJennings (lieutenant R.N.), and eighteen
other passengers.
SINGULAR CIRCUMSTA/CCE. —One of those singular
freaks which death plays with all cases and individuals
has occurred in a case which has lately come before the
magistrate at Bow-street. Our police reports have at
various times contained particulars of a performer at
Sadler's Wells Theatre, named Charles Lambe Dowden,
having been brought up at Bow-street, charged with
presenting several cheques, for various amounts, to
licensed victuallers, _to whom he owed accounts, stating
that they had been drawn by his uncle, Mr. Haggar, of
Pimlico, who would take them up when due, which were
afterwards found out to be forgeries. He succeeded, in
three different cases, in obtaining sums, varying in
amount, up to nine pounds, from three different licensed
victuallers, but a fourth party, knowing Mr. Haggar was
a very old man,
and bed-ridden, determined to inquire
it into it, and having done so found was a forgery. Mr.
Twyford found he could not go on with the case without
having the uncle's disproof of the cheques being in his
writing, and determined to go in a cab, with a clerk, to
take his deposition at his own residence. On Monday
last, just as the journey was about to be taken, intelli-
gence was received that death had closed the eyes of the
aged uncle, who, with upwards, of ninety winters o'er his
head, had yielded to death s imperative call. The land-
lord of the house, Mr. Spratt, with whom the old gentle-
man lodged, will, however, prove that the handwriting of
the cheques is not that of Mr. Haggar.
RAILWAYS IN PRUSSIA.—The Prussian Govern-
ment, in order to avo.c; as far as possible accidents upon
the railroads, has founded a school at Berlin for teaching
the art of directing and managing locomotives; and an
ordonnance has been issued that, from and after the Ist
of January, 1846, no person shall be employed as drivers
of locomotives on the railways of the kingdom but those
who have been taught in this school, and obtained a cer-
tificate of their capacity.

LucirEß, MATCHES.—The Courrier de Lyon states
that on Thursday last, a man, living at Franconville, re-
turned to his home at night so much intoxicated that he
could not find his way to his bed, and laid himself on
the top of a table, where he probably would have slept
through the night, had he not, in turning from one side
to the other, crushed a bundle of chemical matches which
he had in his pocket, and set them alight. His clothes
caught fire, and although immediately awakened and
sobered by the flames, he was so much burnt before as-
sistance arrived that he expired next day.
ISLE Or WIGHT WAGGERY.—" IS this the way to
Ryde ?" said a traveller who was as ignorant of horse-
manship as he was of the place he was inquiring for.
The unsophisticated native to whom the query was ad-
dressed, after carefully surveying the equestrian artist,
naively replied, " Na, na ! thee turns out thee toas too
much."—.6l4 of Wight Advertiser.

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, AUGUST 24. te44

MONUMENT TO THE SCOTTISH
POLITICAL MARTYRS.
(From the Caledonian Mercury of Thursday.)
A. site for a monument to Thomas Muir, Thomas
F. Palmer, William Skirving, Joseph Gerrald, and
Maurice Margarot, who in 1793-94 suffered banish-
ment on a charge of "sedition," having, after much
difficulty, been obtained in the Old Calton Burying-
ground, yesterday was appointed for formally laying
the foundation of the obelisk, to be erected as a tri-
bute to their memory and sympathy for their fate.
Joseph Hume, Esq., the Member for Montrose, and
the originator of the movement for erecting monu-
ments to the political sufferers of their period, both in
London and in Edinburgh, having agreed to be pre-
sent at the ceremony, every exertion was made by sub-
scribers and others professing liberal opinions to render
the occasion as imposing as possible. The Complete
Suffrage Association, to the number of about four
hundred, assembled in the Meadow-walk at three
o'clock in the afternoon, for the most part dressed in
black clothes, and marched in procession down the
High-street, through Parliament-square, passing the
courts of justice, to the Waterloo Hotel, where they
were met by Mr. Hume, several members of town
council, and many respectable citizens. Among those
present on the ground, we observed, beside the Hon.
Member for Montrose, a son of one of the martyrs,
Mr. Skirving, who, we understand, is a manufacturer
in Kirkaldy, and Mr. William Moffat, who acted as
agent for Mr. Muir at his trial, and in both of whom
the proceedings of yesterday seemed to awake the
most lively interest.
When the company had all assembled,
Mr. Hume addressed them as follows :—Gentle-
men, I am happy at meeting with you here to-day,
ready to perform an act of justice, and of respect to
the memory of those who were the pioneers of the
cause in which we are all engaged.—(Cheers.) I
have been long anxious to see this day, having from
a very early period of my life formed opinions
highly condemnatory of those proceedings which took
place towards the close of last century.—(Cheers.)
lam one of those who, in 1792, 1793, while attend-
ing the University of this city, was witness to the
proceedings which then took place, and though I
have had occasion to be in different parts of the
world, I never failed to recollect the enormities of
that time. It has been a happy—a very happy—
reflection to me, that I have been instrumental
in making amends, in some degree at least, for the
sacrifices those men made. You are all aware how
disgraceful to Scotland those proceedings were—how
the judges demeaned themselves by becoming instru-
ments in the hands of, I will not say the Ministers of
the day, but of the man who, but a few years before,
professed the same principles which afterwards he
persecuted.—(Cries of " Hear, hear.") Many may
not perhaps be aware that the thing for which these
unfortunate individuals were tried was for advocating
the same cause, and contending for the same object
which, in 1782, Mr. Pitt and the Duke of Richmond
supported.—(Hear.) When in 1784 Mr. Pitt suc-
ceeded to office, he immediately became a persecutor
of those very doctrines by the profession of which he
obtained office, and, like many others who desert from
their party, he showed an increased zeal in persecuting
individuals who continued to maintain those prin-
ciples. The French Revolution alarmed those who
held the reins of Government, and they wielded their
power on the principles of despotism. I have said des-
potism, for I consider that wherever the people are not
fully represented, despotism is almost sure to exist.
Whatever privileges the Crown may have, and the
aristocracy, I am ready and willing to concede all
that is due, but still the people have their right and
title to share in the Government. Mr. Pitt and the
Duke of Richmond at one time introduced a Bill
into Parliament, to obtain universal suffrage and
annual parliaments, and they laboured gloriously to
procure those benefits to the country, but soon after-
wards they deserted those principles and became
zealous persecutors of 'what they had formerly pro-
fessed. Those men whom we are now met to com-
memorate saw that those who then possessed office
had no right to appropriate the country funds—to
fatten at the public expense—raised the alarm and
brought upon themselves the persecution which we so
deeply deplore.—(Cheers.) It is to the disgrace of
Scotland, that it was through the labour and per-
severance of Mr. Dundas that those persons were con-
demned. Their condemnation was contrary to all law—
a mockery of justice, and sufficient in itself to dis-
grace any country.—(Hear, hear.) I am one of
those who deeply regret and sympathise with the
manner in which the people were then treated, and
the insults which they received, and I cannot but
think that we, who profess to be advocates of reform,
have been very backward in not having, many years
ago, raised a monument to men who have done so
much for our common cause. We see in our streets
monuments erected to the memory of the persecutors
of those men—to those who had no right, on the part
of the people, to receive that respect. You are per-
fectly aware that great and repeated attempts have
been made to calumniate those men as having been
desirous to promote disturbances in the country—
as having been men whose sole object was to create
dissension and commotion. Nothing can be more
false or inconsistent with their life and character.
They were men of respectable station in life—in
nowise desirous to excite any disturbance or popular
commotion whatever, and therefore we ought to use
every means in our power to confute those calumnies
which have been raised against them.—(Hear, hear.)
I look upon them as individuals sacrificed to the great
cause of reform, and it becomes us as supporters of
reform to erect a monument to those who have led
the way in the path of justice and right, in order that
in after times those who advocate the same cause
may be encouraged, and that those in power may
learn to beware of trampling upon the rights and
privileges of the people.—(Cheers.) I trust this
monument will prove a precursor of that which we all
so ardently desire, for lam confident, as we are
claiming what is right and just, that sooner or later—
it may be in my day and may not—the people of this
land will have a fair and full representation in the
Commons House of Parliament.—(Loud cheers.)
Without that it is impossible that this country
can go on and maintain that position in the
world which its wealth, influence, and character
entitle it to hold, and which we all desire to see it
maintain. Many of you are better acquainted with
the history of the times I have alluded to than I. am.
I have myself been an attentive observer in the cause
of reform, and I would just recommend to every
Reformer to read the history of those times of per-
secution. I find a very concise and correct history
of these men has been published by Mr. Tait, which
I would recommend to all who wish to be informed
of what they suffered in the cause of reform. If
there is anything about which I am more anxious
than another, it is to relieve the characters of these
men from the charges made against them of being
desirous to excite dissension and commotion among
the people, and with that view I shall read one single
paragraph from the speech of M Muir himself is
the jury, which shows the real motives by which he
and his compatriots were actuated.—(Mr. Hume here
read extracts from Mr. Muir's speech to the jury,
and to the Court after receiving sentence, in the lat-
ter of which he said—" I have engaged in a good, a
just, and a glorious cause—a cause which, sooner or
later, must and will prevail, and by timely reform,
save this country from destruction.") And (conti-
nued the Hon. Gentleman) so say I—(Hear, hear)
—for it is only time that is required to secure the
reform which we so much require. I entirely con-
cur in the sentiments of Mr. Muir which I have read.
I am sure when it is known to any one that a person
has been sacrificed for the principles which he holds,
the fate of that person will stir him up to sym-
pathise with his misfortune. And in such a spirit
will he regard those five men who were treated
as felons, compelled to work as such, and who,
though every effort was made in the House of Com-
mons, received no redress, but were shipped off to a fo-
reign land to associate with criminals, and to be sub-
jected to the most ignominious punishment. Aftet
spending eighteen months in banishment, an Ameri-
can vessel succeeded in rescuing Mr. Muir from ba-
nishment, but unfortunately, in consequence of hav-
ing touched at Nootka Sound, he was exposed to
great peril and hardships. Mr. Hume here related
some of the particulars connected with Mr. Muir's
arrival at Cadiz, when it was supposed he was killed
in the action with the English frigate in the harbour
at the time, and also as to his death at Paris, eighteen
months thereafter. He (Mr. Hume) had been
anxious to obtain possession of any papers which Mr.
Muir had left, and had sent a person to the Conti-
nent with that view, but unfortunately none
had been found. Such was the fate of one of the
victims of Mr. Pitt's apostacy.—(Hear, hear.) Mr.
Palmer was punished on account of an article, written
not by himself, but by another man, and like Mr.
Muir he was subjected to similar atrocious procedure.
The others were all arrested in December 1793. Let
any man read the trials, and he will rise from the
perusal with feelings of the most intense shame that
they should ever have taken place.--(Hear, hear.) _ I
may state that I appear here in consequence of a
public meeting held in London in Februarylast,
the Crown and Anchor Tavern, and which was one of
the largest I ever saw in that place. At that meetitig
it was resolved to join together the two funds raised
in London and in Edinburgh, for the purpose of
erecting monuments to the martyrs in these two
cities, and in the terms of the other resolutions then
agreed to, I shall, with your permission, proceed to
deposit such documents as have been prepared, and
which, though of no value in themselves, yet,,,form
part of the ceremony observed on such occasions.
Allow me to hope, that we shall live to see that re-

form with which these men identified themselves
triumphant. It is not the names or the individuals
that we advocate and admire, but it is those prin-
ciples for which they suffered—and it is for the
maintenance of those principles—it is in the cause
of liberty, that I am anxious to lay the foundation of
this monument.—(Cheers.)
Mr. HumE then deposited in a cavity prepared for
the occasion, a glass jar, containing copies of the
newspapers of the day—Oliver and Boyd's Almanack
—Tait's Magazine, containing a report of the trial of
the martyrs—a list of the Scotch subscribers to the
monument, and a few coins of the present reign.
The covering stone having been deposited, Mr.
HOME said—Gentlemen, as there is no clergyman
present, you will perhaps allow me to officiate, and in
doing so, I shall read the following remarkable prayer
of Mr. Gerald, which he offered up by permission of
the sheriff at the last meeting of the British Con-
vention in Edinburgh.—(Here Mr. Hume read the
prayer, the company uncovering.)
Mr. HOME expressed his great satisfaction at
having, after the lapse of fifty years, the pleasure of
seeing a monument about to be raised, which he
hoped, together with the one to be erected in London,
would prove a beacon to warn the statesmen of the
day against persecution, and encourage men to sup-
port the cause of liberty.
Three hearty cheers were then given, and the com-
pany left the ground.
MEETING ON THE CALTON-HILL.

As comparatively few could be accommodated
' within the burying-ground, it was resolved that a
meeting should be got up on the Calton-hill, to hear
addresses on the subject of the martyrs, and to enforce
. the principles for which they suffered. At least 3,000
persons were congregated on the hill ; a platform was
erected at the eastern wall of the Observatory, for the
Chairman and those who were along with him.
Councillor STOTT having been called to the chair,
said that, as Scotchmen, they must regard this occa-
sion with mingled feelings of solemnity and of joy.
Could they look back on the sufferings of the honoured
men who had stood forward for the defence of the
rights of the people, and to whose memory they were
that day met to do honour, without feelings bordering
on sorrow ? And when they reflected on the manly
way in which they had conducted themselves under
their heavy trials, and, more especially, on the pro-
gress of the principles and opinions for which
they had been called to suffer, the meeting had rea-
son to rejoice. In meeting to honour the memory of
these men, they only acknowledged the debt of grati-
tude under Which Scotland lay to them—(Cheers)--a
debt they never could repay. They might erect
a monument to their memory—monuments were the
order of the day—but be was sure that if these men
were now present, and could give them advice, that
advice would be to take up the work for which they
suffered—(Cheers)—and thus raise the noblest monu-
ment to their memory, and pay the highest tribute of
admiration to the principles for which they struggled.
—(Cheers.) Let them all then devote themselves
more decided to the promotion of the great cause of
liberty, and never rest satisfied till they had made the
representation of the people in Parliament full, fair,
and free.—(Cheers.)
Rev. P. BREWSTER, of Paisley, on rising to address
the meeting, was received with loud cheers. He said
he had come to this meeting to show his regard for
the incorruptible patriots who had laid the foundations
of liberty of opinion and free discussion. He con-
trasted the present time, when men had full liberty to
give expression to their sentiments in all political
questions, with the despotism and terror which per-
vaded men's minds at the end of last century, when
the people were cowards and afraid to utter the senti-
ments of their hearts against the tyrants and oppressors
of their country. If ever a lesson had been taught
the people of this country by these trials it was this
—that slavery was the curse of God upon cowardice.
The Government which depended on an aristocracy
never could stand. The history of this country
abundantly proved that the nobility always
looked to their personal interests in preference to
those of the nation. They had deserted their coun-
try on all occasions of difficulty and danger—the Go-
vernment which did not rely on the affection and
confidence of the people, and which had not its source
in the popular control, could not be safe or permanent.
Mr. Brewster concluded by inculcating the sentiment
of the chairman, that they should complete the work
begun by the early friends of reform, who had been
punished for their boldness. That work had yet to
be completed, and no monument to the merits of the
martyrs of 1794 would deserve the name which did
not include the realisation of those just and equitable
principles of popular government for which Muir and
his associates had endured the scorn and obloquy of a
prejudiced age; and this was only to be done by each
section of reformers waiving their little differences,
and uniting for the great common objects which they
had in view.

The Chairman intimated that several of the rela-
tions of William Skirving, one of the martyrs, were
present on the platform.

After a few admonitory observations by Mr. Dunlop,
of Brockloch, the meeting separated.

TIIE DINNER.

The Edinburgh Committee of Management, and
the subscribers to the monument, entertained Mr.
Hume to dinner in Gibb's Royal Hotel, Prince's-
street. Sir James Gibson Craig, Bart., of Riccarton,
occupied the chair, supported on the right by the
Honourable Guest, Bailie Gray, Councillor Mac-
farlan, Mr. Philip Leith, Mr. Duncan M'Laren, &c. ;
on the left, by the Right Hon. the Lord Provost, J.
M. Bell, Esq., Advocate, Mr. Andrew Millar, Mr.
Veitch, of Woodside, &c. Mr. Tait, publisher, dis-
charged the duties of croupier.
The cloth having been removed, and the customary
loyal toasts given from the chair,
Sir J. G. CRAIG, the Chairman, said, I had many
reasons for wishing to decline the honour of presid-
ing at this meeting ; but although with great re •
luctance, I have been induced to undertake it at
the request of many persons for whom I have a very
high respect, who have assured me that you will
kindly forgive the very imperfect manner in which,
I cannot doubt, I shall conduct myself.—(Hear,
hear.) One inducement to undertake the duty has
been my desire to place before you the grounds on
which many persons subscribed to the monument ;
for great pains have been taken to hold us up as the
friends of annual parliaments and universal suf-
frage, and that the monument is to be consecrated
to these principles. Now, I think it due to the me-
mory of Lord Holland and to the Duke of
Norfolk, the Duke of Bedford, and many
other subscribers, to say, that we never
entertained them—we have always disclaimed them—
having been convinced that the Constitution could not
survive many months after their adoption.—(Hear.)
No one who was not personally engaged in the occur-
rences which gave rise to the trials of Muir and the
other martyrs, can form the most distant conception
of the state of the country at that fearful crisis. The
French Revolution had convulsed the civilised world,
and had excited the most lively interest throughout
Great Britain. On the one hand, the most enthusiastic
hopes were entertained that it would be productive of
the greatest blessings, and secure the greatest pos-
sible liberty to mankind ; and notwithstanding the
horrors which accompanied that revolution, these hopes
have been in a great degree realised—and on the other
hand, there was the utmost alarm, that it would be
productive of the most dreadful consequences—that it
would overthrow the Constitution, and produce e‘Nry
misery to which man can be subject. The whole
kingdom was distracted into parties, who acted with
the most determined opposition to each other. Society
was, in a great degree, dissolved—the dearest friend-
ships severed—the nearest relations separated—the
most bitter hostility prevailed, and every one acted
as if those who entertained opposite opinions were
his deadliest enemies.—(Hear.) All that then passed
has now become almost matter of history, and I,
recollecting and calmly reviewing the occurrences of
that eventful period, have in a great degree ceased to
wonder at many of the acts then done, which at the
time we most severely condemned, believing that the
alarms which prevailed had deprived the actors of
them of the power of sober judgment, and that they
were committed under the conviction that they were
struggling for their lives, their liberties, and all that
was dear to them. Thus, that they were led
to act on what was termed by their advocates a
" wholesome vigour beyond the law."—(Hear, hear.)
Under the unhappy circumstances I have men-
tioned, the trials of Muir and the other martyrs took
place, and sentences pronounced upon them. The
injustice of all these sentences is,
I I believe, univer-
sally acknowledged. But particularly allude to the
case of Muir ; and I would put into the hands of any
man, be his principles what they may, the report of
this trial, and defy him to point out any crime he had
committed which could Justify the punishment in-
flicted on him.—(Hear, hear.) One crime lie com-
mitted against himself. He conducted his own de-
fence instead of availing himself of the splendid ta-
lents of Henry Erskine, who, at the solicitation of
some friends of Muir, cheerfully agreed to be his
counsel. Had he trusted to Mr. Erskine, the sentence
which was passed on him never could have beenpro-
nounced. I know, that one at least of the jury, vin-
dicated the verdict, not on the charge made against
he made in his defence.
For but on the speech
For offences, for which, if they had been committed
in England only a few weeks or months' im-
prisonment could have been inflicted, the martyrs,
who had been guilty of no outrage or violence, who
were men in most respectable stations in life, one an
advocate, one a clergyman, and one a favourite pupil
of Dr. Parr,l and a friend of the celebrated Sir Wil-
liam Jones, and who were all of irreproachable pri-
vate character, were sent to the hulks, doomed to
confinement with the greatest miscreants—to pains
and tortures worse than death, and were transported
to Botany Bay. All but one perished miserably in
foreign lands.—(Hear, hear.) The 'sentence against
Skirving was pronounced within a few days of the
Court of Justiciary sentencing two men found guilty