The Sun.
London, England, 1844-02-29 00:00:00

MISCELLANEOUS.

Nearly all the mails from the north are arriving at the
General Post-office considerably beyond time. In Edinburgh
and the north of Scotland there have been heavy falls of
snow, and many of the roads are completely blocked up.
The mails from Edinburgh, Stirling, Glasgow, Perth, Inver-
ness, Aberdeen, Montrose, Arbroath, Forfar, Dundee, and
other places, are overdue. The Wick and Thurso mails are
more than 48 hours overdue.

At a meeting on Wednesday of the ratepayers of the pa-
rish of St. George-the-Martyr, a petition to the Commis-
sioners of Woods and Forests was proposed and agreed to,
praying that a portion of any sum granted for the improve-
ment of the metropolis might be applied towards the forma-
tion of a road through the district called the Mint to the
Great Dover-road. The Mint was stated to be one of the
most immoral and profligate places in the metropolis.
A numerous and influential meeting of coal-factors, coal-
merchants, and others interested in the coal trade, was held
on Wednesday, at the Coal Exchange, near Billingsgate, for
the purpose of petitioning Parliament on the proposed new
tax of sd: per ton upon all coals imported into London, in
order to defray the expenses of the contemplated Thames
embankment. It was urged, amongst other arguments, that
the poorer classes would be greatly aggrieved by it ; that the
extent of the tax would be to the large amount of 55,0001. a
year upon the inhabitants of London and its environs ; that
the coal and shipping interests could bear no further bur-
dens, being already sufficiently taxed by the impost of is. Id.
per ton already in force ; and that the projected embankment
along the Thames was an imaginary scheme for improving
the banks of the river, and would be fraught with consider-
able injury and inconvenience to the proprietors of wharfs
and the navigation of lighters. A petition in accordance
with the object of the meeting was unanimously adopted, and
will be presented to the House of Commons by Sir J. Duke.
Sir John Beckett presided at the annual dinner of the Law
Life Assurance Society, on Tuesday evening, at the Clarendon
Hotel. Lord Abinger, Lord Campbell, the Right Hon. C. E.
Law, Sir Charles F. Williams, &c., were present.
A return, moved for by Sir J. Graham, Bart., shows that
the total number of paupers relieved in the quarter ending
Lady-day, 1843, in 584 unions in England and Wales,
amounted to 1,303,089, of whom 201,927 were in-door, and
1,101,162 out-door paupers.
Within the last few days nineteen petitions, signed by 1,128
persons, have been presented against the union of the dioceses
of Bangor and St. Asaph.

ARRIVAL OF THE PENINSULAR MAILS:-.-SOUTH-
AiurroN, FEB. 28.—The Oriental Company's steam-packet
Little Liverpool, arrived here last night at eleven o'clock,
and landed her mails, which were forwarded to London by
this morning's mail train. She left Gibraltar the 18th inst.,
Cadiz the 19th, Lisbon tho 21st, Oporto and Vigo the 23d.
The Liverpool has only four passengers, and a full fruit cargo
and Spanish.hams.

HOSPITAL SEAMAN'S SOCIETY.-7—The dinner of this
charity, founded in the year 1821, for the comfort and pro-
tection of sick and diseased seamen in the port of London,
and for some time since the operations of which have been
carried on on board the Dreadnought gun-ship, moored off
Greenwich, took place at the London Tavern ; Henry Kem-
ble, Esq., M.P. in the chair, supported by Sir IL Pelly,
Bart. ; Rear •Admiral Young, Captain Sparshot, Mr. Red-
house, Mr. Alfred Francis, Captain Locke, Lieutenant Wag-
horn, R.N., Mr. Adam Young, Mr. Oliver Lang, and several
other of the most influential members of the maritime and
shipping interests of the City. After the dinner, which was
one worthy of the house in which it took place, " Benedictus"
was sung by Messrs. Jolly, Young, Atkins, Masters Hender-
son and Force, and Jolly, jun. The responses to the loyal
toasts were, as usual, patriotic ; and all of those having re-
ference to the heads of shipping institutions were vociferously
responded to. During the evening, it was stated that the
munificent sum of 2,5201. had been subscribed by the Trinity
House, five of the brethren of which were present. The East
India Company had likewise subscribed in all 2,4001.
Amongst the subscribers announced during the evening were,
her Majesty the Queen, 100 guineas annually; her Majesty
the Queen Dowager, 101. annually; the Trinity House, 300/. ;
B. Bond Cabbell, Barclay, Bevan, and Co., Barclay, Perkins,
and Co., and the Honourable East India Company, 100 gui-
neas ; Mr. George Soanes, Vice-Admiral Sir William Hall
Gage, Lord John Russell, Captain Phipps Hornby, General
Sir William H. Clinton, Sir J. H. Pelly, Bart. ; Mr. John
Latouche, Admiral Sir Robert Stopford, Captain Nairne ;
and various amounts from foreign companies. Upwards of
1,3001. was collected during the evening.
LONDON PEACE SOCIETY.--A public meeting, ex-
planatory of the principles and in aid of the objects of this
Society, was:held in the British School-room, Harp-alley, Far-
ringdon-stree4, on Tuesday evening, February 27, John Lee,
Esq., LL.D., &c., in the chair. The meeting was addressed
by ie Chairman, the Rev. W. Miall, E. W. Richard, Esq.,
Mr. Rigaud, the Rev. C. Dukes, M.A., Mr. Jefferson, and
Joseph T. Price, Esq., of Neath Abbey. About 400 persons
were present, and 134 signed the declaration of adhesion to
the society's principles.