The Sun.
London, England, 1844-08-16 00:00:00

James Ford .

o others, who were, however, not placed, started.
The distance was across the Serpentine and back. The
three detailed went off together, and so kept throughout,
Townshend finally winning, Farmer being a close second,
and Ford an excellent third. On coming in, they were
loudly applauded, and the winner was congratulated on
his succes.,.

SECOND RACE-SUBSCRIPTION PURSE FOR BOYS, YOUNG
MEN, &C.

William Shaw..,

William Smith

Thomas Clark..

Three others, not placed, also started.
Shaw and Clark, from being previous victors, were
the favourites, the latter having the call of his opponents.
The race was splendidly contested, the two first being
neck and neck throughout, Shaw prevailing at the finish,
and winning by a short length. The distance was half
that of the men's, only to the middle of the Serpentine
and back.

At the conclusion of the latter race, the day's sports
terminated.

GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY.
At the eighteenth half-yearly meeting of this Rail-
way Company, held at Bristol on the 13th inst., a
report was read, which we are glad to say is of a satis-
factory nature, and will justify an increased dividend,
arising chiefly from the improved state of the revenue
during the last six months. The receipts have exceeded
those of the similar period in 1843, by 39,056/. ss. ld.;
a proportion of which is unquestionably due to the
greater length of the Bristol and Exeter .tiailway—via..
from Taunton to Beam-bridge, open during four months,
and from Beam-bridge to Exeter during two months,
with a few days' traffic on the Oxford Railway, which-
was completed for use on the 12th of June. On the
G rca t Western Railway, however, separately, without
any difference of distance, the receipts have increased over
the ccTresponding period to the extent of 24,1371.55. I Id.,
the earnings of the half-year amounting to 299,4331.75. 6d.
The receipts for the Bristol and Exeter Railway have been
59,160/. Os. I Id. ; for the Swindon and Cirencester Line,
10,286/. 19s. 9d. ; and for the Oxford Railway, during
nineteen days, 1,0131. 15s. 1 1 d., making up the total
revenue of 369,9041. 4s. ld. The expenditure of the
half-year has been 127,235/. 4s. 2d., or 34.457 on the re-
ceipt. In this sum the Government duty and parochial
rates are included, 24,522/. 4s. 5d., which in 1843
amounted to 20,2201. 35., being an excess of 4,302/. Is. sd.
The whole difference of charge for the half-year is only
2,4971. Os. 6d., satisfactorily showing that there has been
an actual reduction of expenditure, although the extra •
distance worked has been equal to about twenty miles on
the :average of the six months. After deducting the
rem of the Bristol and Exeter Railway, and the balance
of interest, there is a disposable amount of 133,243/.
I Is. ld., which will enable the Proprietors. to order a
dividend of 31 per cent. on the paid up capital of the
Company.

LONDON AND BRIGHTON RAILWAY.—Three lads
in the c mploy of Mr. Newman, of Patcham, near Brigh-
ton, were charged before the Earl of Chichester, Mr.
Sergeant IYoyley, Alajor Paine, and other magistrates,
at the Lewes bench on Tuesday, with having, on Sun-
day afternoon, placed an obstruction on the railway.
The boys all pleaded guilty, and Mr. H. Faithful!, soli-
citor to the railway company, then stated the case, from
which it appeared that the boys had placed on the
rails a " tarry," that is, a truck with four wheels
used by the plate layers in conveying their tools and
materials from place to place on the line, and.
were amusing themselves by riding on it, when one of
the Hassocks ph asure trains came in sight, and notwith-.,
standing the efforts of the boys to remove the obstruc-
tion from the rails, they were unable to do so entirely,
and the consequence was that the engine struck a corner
of the " larry." The driver of the engine, however,
On observing the obstruction, had reversed the steam
and put on the breaks, by which means a frightful ac-
cident was probably prevented. The Company not
pressing for a severe punishment, the boys were fined in
the lowest penalty of 51, each, and in default of payment
were c:mmitted to prison for four days each.
DRIED FRUITS.—The Lords of the Treasury having
had under consideration a report of the Commissioners
of Customs, on an application of Messrs. Joseph Travers.
and Sons and others, importers of fruit into the port Of
London, praying relief with respect to the practice at
present pursned by the officers of the Customs, of de-
manding the duty upon the difference between the land-
ing and export w eight of packages of fruit, their Lord-
ships have authorised the Board to give directions
that the duty on all reasonable deficiencies of
boxes, drums, and baskets of figs and raisins, ascer-.
tainrd on delivery for exportation from the legal quay
warehouses, may be remitted upon a certificate from the
landing surveyor in. each case that no fraud is suspected,'
and that the deficiency has aris,n from natural causes:•
Copies of this order have been furnished to the officers
of the departments for their information and government.

FATAL EFFECTS or MENTAL ANXIETY.—Mr.
Wakley held an inquest on Wednesday at Mr. Blake's,
corner of Jockey. steps, Bedford-row, on the body of Mr.
W illiam Manly, aged sixty, a commercial clerk, late of 10,
Warwick-court. From the evidence of Mr. Stevens, de.
ceased's landlord, it appeared that the deceased, who had
previously enjoyed what lie termed " a prodiious constitu-
tion," upon returning home yesterday week complained
that anxiety about business made him very ill. Last Sun-
day he appeared quite recovered, but on Monday morning
he was found dead in bed. Mr. Wakley said that it was
amazing how many persons died suddenly through
anxiety produced by misfortune in trade. When a sud-
den change took place in their affairs, the workhouse
stared them in the face, and the result was that they
either di; d suddenly or became insane. It was a fact
(continued the Learned Coroner) that many stately
mansions of our wealthiest merchants became private
lunatic asylums from the same cause. Some time ago he
had in his own district twenty-four cases of suicide in
twelve days. Several jurors corroborated the statementS
of the Coroner, and subsequently returned a verdict of
" Natural death."
THE WEST INDIAN STEAMER TAY.—We learn
from a private letter received by the Hibernia yesterday
morning, that the Royal West India Mail Company's
steamer Tay, while en her way from Kingston to Ha-
vannah, with the mails from England, on the 2d of June,
by some mischance or other, went ashore on a dangerous,
reef of rocks on the Havannah side of Cape Antonio,
caned the " Coleradoes." The mail agent, immediately.
after the accident, started in an open boat, and delivered
the bags on the 15th of July at Havannah. A Spanish
Government steamer, and the Royal Mail Steam-Packet
Company's schooner Lee, then went to her assistance.
The steamer succeeded in getting her off, and she en '
tercd the harbour of Havannah on the 17th of July,
making three feet of water per hour. All the quick-
silver, anchors, cables, and heavy stuff on board, with
the exception of about twenty tons of coal, had pre-
viously been thrown overboard.—Liverpool Courier.
A GOOD OLD AGE.—Thomas Lovering, of Gert,
in the parish of Combmartin, now in his hundredth
year, joined his workmen in the harvest field on Fri-:
day last, and is in good health. He has occupied the
same estate for more than half a century.— Western
Luminary.
THE TWELFTH OF AUGUST.—From a Cumberland
correspondent we learn that the sport on the moors in
Cumberland and Westmoreland, on Monday, was most
excellent. Birds were plentiful, but it required- the
greatest ingenuity to come within range of them, they
being universally strong on the wing. The Hon. Col.
Lowther, Sir James WAdam, W. Holmes, Esq., :and
other gentlemen, on Shap and Birkbeck Fells, the pre-
serves of the Earl of Lousdale, made a tolerable good
day's sport. Colonel Lowther bagged sixteen brace, but
his sporting companions were not quite so fortunate. Sir
George Musgrave of Eden Hall, Bart., Capt. Salmond, and
others, were more successful on the worthy Baronet's
preserves, on the moors near Kirby Stephen, in
Westmoreland. Sir George, we understand, brought
down twenty-five brace, and the other gentlemen of his
company made some excellent sport. W. Marshall, Esq.,
m.P., who was accompanied by three other gentlemen,
j on Crossfell, traversed many a weary mile, and on their
return to the shooting box on the Fell, in the afternoon,
were well loaded with fine birds. H. Howard, Esq., of
Greystoke Castle, and his friends, were on Skiddaw
Forest, where the birds were numerous, but being packed
together in large numbers, they were difficult to come
at. However, by unwearied perseverance, they made a
good day's sport, killing eight brace each on an average.
Accounts received from several other moors say that the
birds are numerous, but, in consequence of the long-
continued dry state of the weather during the hatching
season, they are packed and remarkably wild.
MEMORIAL TO THE LATE EARL OF DURHAM.—
On the 28th instant the foundation-stone of this tribute
to the late Peer will be laid on Pensher-hill, with
masonic ceremonies, by the Earl of Zetland, the Grand
Master of the order.—Tyne Mercury.
OLD GUNS FOR TIIE TOWER.—One of the three
long brass guns brought from Aden to this country. and
deposited in the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich, has been
selected for conveyance to the Tower, to be permanently
c
s tru
ctdepositedotewihn:oieeenlni aointninfnei t
het)",
,seahrrha.
rrcea7itgai
walat:niocoen,tect3ol
se,ilebaefber
Srlnsrmoaoetiers;ttaad,fsh:r:naesthrga.nerbt
ordnance
seoncanpfsseflsdoeos
acr.bimtsmiirhri
e9eilocelei,leae(l):
glnag,:cel
calculated
hyteanloaha,ffain(ter)sbeefcionidnnoamui;a:shl
etAel)lnliteels7h(girisB,
eeasktf: of
Persian
feet
same.
dimensions aet:pci%lniieeioloe,
dnne(
per
oehniell iscg.toi it
l
th.
t
d
t
dimensions as the one intended for the Tower. An iron
gun, about eight feet long, recently brought home from,
the Isle of France, and having the Ileur-de-lis and cap of
liberty engraven near the breach, has been set aside for
the same destination. It is numbered 11, and the figures
2,300 are cut at the breach, denoting, it is supposed, that
it weighs that number of kilogrammes. The iron gun
must be, from its appearance, at least half a century old,
and is a very close approximation in pattern and in every
other respect to Monk's guns, and tends to confirm the
old adage, " there is nothing new under the sun."
LATEST FROM AMERICA.—" Did you present your',
account to the defendant ? " inquired a lawyer of his
client. "I did, your Honour." "And what did he say?"
"He told me to go to the Devil." "And what did you do
then ?" Why, then I came to you."

TILE :BURNS PVSTIVAL;
the following letters of apology from some of the
most distinguished writers in England, invited to the
banquet, will be read with interest. It is a singular
feature in these documents, that though the writers
vary in a most remarkable manner in their mode of
expressing. admiration for Darns, they all, with dtth
exception, concur in regarding him as one of the
brightest ornaments of his country. That exception
is Thomas Moore. We are indebted to the Ayr ob-
server for the letters. They are all addressed to
Messrs. Bone and Gray, the Honorary Secretaries:—
From Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, Author of " Za-
noni," "The Lady of Lyons," &c.
Great Malvern, July 6, 1844.
Gentlemen,—lam truly sensible f the honour you
confer upon me, by your invitation to attend the
festival in honour of Burns ; and it is with great and
unfeigned regret that I must decline the pleasure of
enjoying Scottish hospitality, and uniting with some
of the most illustrious of living Scotchmen, in
homage to one whose manly heart, and healthful
genius, have never, even in Scotland, been surpassed.
But my arrangements, depending on the uncertain
state of my health, are such as to preclude all hope of
being able to accept the offer, which I acknowledge
as a distinction.--I have the honour to be, Gentlemen,
_you very obedient servant,
EDW. BULWER LYTTON,
From S

lergeant Talfourd, author of the Tragedies 01
lon, Glencoe, &c.

London, 6th July, 1844.
Gentlemen,—lt is with great regret that lam
obliged to confess the absolute impossibility of my
availing myself of your very flattering invitation to
the meeting to be holden in honour of your great
Scottish poet, and in sympathy with his sons. The
scene, the occasion, and the presidency of the noble-
hearted poet and critic, Professor Wilson, would
render a visit to the romantic land, where I have spent
the happiest of my mature holidays, most de:ightful to
me. But your festivities will be holden in the midst
of my laborious circuit, which will begin next Wed-
nesday, and last till towards the close of August, and
from which I cannot be absent without serious injury
to my own professional prospects, and a violation of
my duties, which would entail great inconvenience,
and perhaps loss, on my clients. Under these circum-
stances, I can only thank you, as I do most heartily,
for thinking me worthy of a presence "at your great
bidding;" and assure you that I shall drink a full
bumper, on your day, to the memory of your genial
poet, and another, as full, to the happiness of his sons.
I have the honour to be, Gentlemen, your obliged
and faithful servant,

T. N. TALFOURD.

From Thomas Carlyle, Author of " The History of
the French Revolution,"
JulyChelsea,London,
6,
1844.
Gentlemen,—l have received your obliging invita-
tion to the Burns Festival, and beg to express myself
very sensible of the honour you do to me.
It would have given me real pleasure to assist in
any public testimony as rational and earnest as our
times permit, of the reverence entertained by Scotland
towards this the most gifted of all her sons, for some
generations past ; one whom she has good cause to
look upon with gratitude—with pride ; and, alas !
also with various other feelings, wherein sorrow, self-
reproach, and determination to treat her next gifted
one a little more wisely, should not be wanting !
Unluckily, however, the state of my engagements
threatens to detain me here through August; and I
shall only be able to contribute to your meeting my
sympathies, thanks, and good wishes.
With many acknowledgments, I have the honour
to be, Gentlemen, your most obedient servant,
T. CARLYLE.

From William Wordsworth, Poet Laureate.
Rydal Mount, July 7, 1844.
Gentlemen,—lt would have been a great pleasure
to me had circumstances allowed of my attendance at
the festival to be held on the Banks of ikon, in
honour of the genius of the poet Burns; but, as it
will be inconvenient to me to leave home at the! time
specified, I trust that the friends assembled to wel-
.come his sons will believe that I am in full sympathy
with the most ardent of their father's admirers ; and
let me assure them that, though absent in person, my
thoughts and good wishes will be with them upon
the Gth of August.—l have the honour to be, Gentle-
men, your obedient servant,

WM. WORDSWORTH.

From G. P. R. James, author of " The Gipsy,"
" Richelieu," and other novels.
The Oaks, near Walmer, Kent, July 11, 1844.
Sir,—Having been moving from place to place for
some time, your poqte letter of invitation to the
Burns Festival was long in reaching me, which must
account for my not replying sooner. It would give
me infinite pleasure to attend, and I should accept the
invitation at once with many thanks, but that, at the
present moment, I feel so unwell that I fear I may
not be able to fulfil my promise
,if I do engage to
come. My admiration for the genius of Burns, my
close connexion with Scotland, and the delight which
it would afford me to meet several whom I esteem
and love, will all bring me to Ayr, if lam able to
travel; but the uncertainty of being able to do so
leads me to beg that you will not reserve any accom-
modation for your most faithful servant, _

G. P. R. JAMES.

From Samuel Warren, author of "Ten Thousand

a Year," &c.
Northern Circuit, York, July 15, 1844.
Gentlemen,--Your letter of the 11th instant was
forwarded to me at this place, which it reached only
yesterday. I feel a deep sense of the honour which
,you have conferred upon me by inviting me to be
present at so interesting and memorable a festiral as
that which is fixed for the 6th of August next; but
my arrangement for the next six weeks, fixed long
beforehand, render it impossible for me to enjoy the
gratification which you have so kindly proffered me.
Be assured that my heart, however, will be a silent
and invisible, but a reverential guest among you; for
the genius of Robert Burns has long held absolute
sway over my best feelings. I have for very many
years been convinced that his taste is the purest, his
feelings are the freshest, and his perceptions the
quickest, by whom the inimitable songs and poems of
Burns, your great poet, are best appreciated. As for
myself, In many an hour of severe solitary mental
toil and exhaustion, when
"Oppress'd with grief, oppress'd with care,
A burthen more than I could bear,"
the strains of Burns have gushed upon my wearied
faculties, they have left me no means of testifying
their influence but tears. You may have present
many great and gifted men on this occasion, but none
that can feel more deep enthusiasm and fondßess for
the memory of Burns than I do.—l am, Gentlemen,
your obliged and faithful servant,
.....--

SAMUEL WARREN.

From Leigh Hunt, Author of " The Story of Rimini,"

and other Poems.
Kensington, July 18th, 1844.
i r:i,l—l —1 rasot
ur
Sunday.letter li
o ftrh.e
m2onxdo
n inst.hs had
did b
been
Sirs,—Four
to see me, otherwise I should have
my delay in answering it has
partly from my very sense of the honour
yourd
Committee have done me by their invita-
tadhrieratiadi Dnslcey r.hen itae mx
sooner ; and
and my extreme unwillingness to say that
it is out of my power to accept it. But my
wife is in such a state of health that I fear at pre-
sent to leave her for many hours together. Nothing
but an obstacle like this should, or could, have de-
tained me; and she is heartily sorry for it on my ac-
count, as well as her own. Pray make the explana-
tion to such of your friends, besides the Committee,
as you think may wish me to havebseueenhmstehnet
poet's; par-
ticularly, if I may count them as
sons. I shall not fail to drink their health, and his
(the immortal man's) on the day of the festival ; and
very impatient shall I feel at not being among you.
I cannot indeed express my regret at missing so
delightful an opportunity of seeing Scotland, and my
friends there, and all its classic ground; old ground
to me (in books) from Tweed-side to the Dee, and so
round by the isles to the Clyde and Doon, not omit-
eare with his tiNi.nhgichthle
traced
dlitnieost olofnAgllaanloeßaisnau mraes,ma Y
even in these days
ofevery step of
swiftness,ave walked through merry
England pas-
toral by my side • and if I have so much respect for
Allan Ramsay, what must I not have for Burns ? I
have been one of his greatest admirers from my
gstleaand
boyhood,m
into
od
mcoeu rlrdi
merrier
withsh pleasure,
(for your poetry beats
ours in impulse and animal spirits), and paid the
mite of my homage at his shrine. Who so fit for a
festival as he ?—for all the candour, the large-
ch one feels
wine ! I
myself under its influence at
chi
naenaornntoeetd,
snhle.eeslispr;
sftahndecuyr highii rteha se o nil aobnleesnt e sfls,olv‘v, hio f w
this moment—standing midway between your Noble
and Learned Presidents, glass in hand, and, with the
leave of the chivalry and poetry which they represent,
daring to utter my testimony to the honour and glory
fetrhvoidu,ghlahregee.-31:eldarmteadk,h
eopen-hearteda.i.o:
of one whose books are his veritable self—Nature's
own work—a
manly, unhypocritical, uncastrated edition of a human
being—one who,
himelf out of love and a song, had anxious thoughts
for the whole human race ; and was Christian enough,
like divine Uncle Toby, to wish the very devil him-
self out of his "den."

Begging you to give my warmest thanks to the
Committee for their invitation ; and to accept them
yourselves for the kind manner in which you have
conveyed it, I have the honour to be,
Dear Sirs, your most obliged and faithful servant,
LEIGH HUNT.

Fiorn the Rev. Henry Hart Milman, author of " The
Fall of Jerusalem," &c.
Cloister, Westminster Abbey, July 24, 1844.
Gentlemen,—l have had the honour to receive the