The Sun.
London, England, 1828-08-12 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

A formidable engine towards advancing the
cause of religious freedom in Ireland will be the
establishment of local clubs for securing the
election of liberal representatives throughout the
country, and ousting all who will not pledge
themselves to vote for emancipation, and against
an unfriendly Government. The question has
been paltered with too long. It was said, with
some truth, by Mr. Canning and others, that
the political storehouse of England did not con-
tain the materials of an Administration alto-
gether favourable to the Catholics. That no
Ministry, decided and exclusive advocates for
emancipation, would hitherto have enjoyed the
good will of the Court or the confidence of Par-
liament, we are now ready to acknowledge.—
With regard to the Court, it is needless to say
any thing : its political inclinations derive their
whole importance from the want of virtue in the
Parliament, and of energy in the people, by
which last a large proportion at least of the na-
tional representatives are elected. To neutralize
the Court, therefore, if not to propitiate it, there
was nothing necessary but to pour into the Le-
gislature a larger infusion of liberal blood ; and
the absence of that all-powerful ingredient arose,
in a great measure, from the unripe sagacity,
half-awakened spirit, and imperfect organization
of the Catholic community of Ireland, now en-
gaged in consummating a new policy, but feebly
adopted at the last election, but which embraces
within it the infallible remedy for perverse Courts
and divided Cabinets, viz., a numerous and un-
compromising opposition in Parliament, pledged,
as the condition of its being, to enforce on he-
half of the people from which it emanates, a
speedy surrender of Court caprice, and a detec-
tion and dissolution of that mystical confederacy
among ten or a dozen placemen, of whom, while
one half denonnces emancipation as ruinous,
and the other invokes it as the sole salvation
of the empire, the first party identifies its
own political existence with the advocates
of what it proclaims to be' public ruin, and
the second with the enemies of that which it
deems to be our salvation ! To apply a eleci-
eiye remedy to this foul-working of the Consti-
ention, is in one word the present business of
the Catholics of Ireland. fly returning none
but thorough friends to emancipation, they will
reach the Ministry that it can oscillate no more.
To the honest portion of the Cabinet there will
thus be afforded a grand occasion of illustrating
Its pure principles, and of escaping from embar-
eassments which cast a strong suspicion on their
purity. The real friends of emancipation will
no longer hesitate to represent it in " high -
quarters,* as that measure, without carrying
-which they must unavoidably resign. The op-
ponents of the measure, if they do not yield to
so fitir an opportunity of being enlightened and
converted, will resign, because they no longer
make the cry of "No Popery" available. We
f annot picture to ourselves a number of men in
the whole nation, who ought to pray so devoutly
for success to the Catholic interest at every Irish
election, as those members of the Cabinet who
feel that the unsettled state of this question, with
the ferment and discord growing out of it, has
disabled them from doing justice to their coun-
try's honour and their own, lest each foreign
enemy should find or make an ally in the camp
of Great Britain. It is by some, we see from
our private correspondence, asserted, • that a
late conciliatory overture a Dr. Doyle to the
Duke of Wellington has • been disavowed
and disapproved of by other heads of the
Catholic church. We have the strongest reason
to believe that the very reverse has happened.—
We have been assured, on well-informed autho-
rity, that the heads of the Catholics, clerical and
lay, are desirous to evince the most tractable
spirit of acquiescence and co-operation with his
Majesty's Government, should it consult them,
in whatever may tend to an immediate adjust-
ment of this dreadful and daily aggravating quar-
rel. We have long ago affirmed, and we stand
to the fact, that the aspect of democracy which
the spirit of the multitude assumes with more
apparent eagerness every hour, has alarmed the
men of property among the Catholics, and per-
haps, in a higher degree, the reverend persons
at the head Of the hierarchy, who are even more
eoncerned than any Protestants in the kingdom
for the maintenance of all that species of autho-
rity. which founds itself on moral prescription,
and is left unprotected by the law. The Catho-
lic landlord, in the struggles which have recently
taken place, felt that although the object sought
by the return of popular representatives to Parlia-
ment was one which involved his own political in-
terest more deeply than that of the 40s. voters who
elected them ; yet the destruction of the land-
lord' s influence over the same voters, was an in-
etrument by which the end itself seemed rather
too dearly purchased. The priests, instead of fear-
lessly obeying the orders of their Bishops, have
been swept into the demagogue torrent of the
time ; and landlord, bishop, and priest are aware,
that in the triumph of tumultuous numbers,
their own peaceful and patriarchal sway has lost
its most solid security. If the Kind's Govern-
ment, then, be disposed to act fairly towards
Ireland—but still more, to the Crown and
Church of England,— we conjure them for the
hundredth time to hasten the good work before
she daylight abandons them, and the dark night
confounds them. We urge the guardians of
this Protestant empire to disarm Popery of her
terrors, by redressing her wrongs. rhe period
has not long gone by when the sympathies of
England,—ot Church and King,—of landlord
and merchant, of gentleman and yeornan,—were
enlisted on the side of suffering Popery, because
Jacobinism was her assailant. Let them beware
of what now goes on in Ireland, where every
thin is governed by the speech attd passion of
.
the day,---where habitual authority yields to the
encroachments of a power not far remote from
what once was Jacobinism,—and where
i the re-
cted prayer for a constitutional right s dege-
aerating before our senses into a prayer for the
.everthrow of the constitution.-7'imes.

h is said that-the Duke of Wellington has
declined filling up the vacant Welch-Judgeship
himself, but has transferred the nomination to
the Lord Chancellor, alleging that though the
patronage belongs to him, as First Lord of theTrea-
surv, yet that, his professionalhabits having been
of another kind, he deems himself unqualified to
make the selection. This report we
aire as we
have received it, not at all vouching for its accu-
racy.i If true, however, t does much credit both
to his Grace's taste and judgment, and forms a
strong contrast to that grasping lor patronage
which we have sometimes seen prevail. But his
race has, upon this occasion, an opportunity
of conferring a signal benefit on the country—
viz, by not allowing the place to be filled up at
all for the present. There can be little doubt,
especially after the strong exposition it has re-
cently received from the pamphlet of Lord Caw-
dor, that the whole of the Welch Judicature
-Joust undergo a speedy revision, one effect of

which will probably be the abolition of the pre-
sent mode of appointing Judges altogether. In
that case, the present holders of these offices will,
of course, be looking for compensation, accord-
ing to the good and wholeseme practice " in
such case made and provided." And with that
prospect, therefore, before him, the Duke of
Wellington surely would act wisely in keeping
an appointment like this at all events in abey-
ance ; when, if otherwise, the holder, before he
is well warm in his seat, must leave it, and the
country be saddled with a remuneration for ser-
vices which will have ended as soon as begun.—
Morning Herald.
The recent decision of the Bow- street Magis-
trates in the case of the Strand Hotel Licence,
was in our opinion perfectly just, and exactly
what it ought to be. We see no reason why
the Licensed Victuallers should have a monopoly
in the sale of wise and beer, and spirits, &e. or why
they should attempt to rival (in their small way)
the great Leviathans, the Brewers. The obvious
policy of the late Act was to open the trade, and
enable respectable persons, having respectable
hotels, to sell wine and spirits, without being
subject to the plundering visits of the cormorant
informers. But the Licensed Victuallers seem
to be up in arms at any invasion of their rights,
as they are pleased to term their monopoly, and
club together for the purpose of defeating the
evident intention of the Legislature. The pub-
lic accommodation requires to be attended to
before the vested interests of any individual class
of the community ; and those who minister to
this accommodation are entitled to the protec-
tion and support of a liberal public. If men
choose to embark their capital and industry in
hotels, taverns, or inns, why should they be
prevented ? What moral or political ob-
ject could be obtained by the prohibition ? In
short the trade in the sale of wine, spirits, &c.
should be as open as any other, if any thing
bearing the semlelance of free trade is to be per-
mitted in this country. Two Magistrates are
empowered to grant a licence ; but, highly as
we generally approve the conduct of our Magis-
tracy, we have some regret at transferring the
further power of the Board of Excise to their
Worships. Already we have seen a want of
unity in their decisions, and nothing can bring
any law more into disrepute and disuse than every.
day variations in its construction. Some of the
City Aldermen (including Mr. Wood) have lately
refused licenses to most respectable individuals
upon grounds by no means warranting the con-
clusions of those fUnctionaries ; but then, the
Licensed Victuallers abound in the City of
London—many of them have votes—many of
them can influence thevotes of others, andcertain
gentlemen, of course, were only looking to the
preservation of their constituents, or doing a kind-
ness to the Kings of the " vat and blue ruin,"
when, to a worthy man, who neither dealt in
smoke nor gin, they refused a licence. Howe
ever one good must result from the late remedial
Act, and if it be absurd or misconstrued now,
the public have some guarantee that the subject
will not be lost sight of in the course of the next
Session.--Morning Post.
The more we consider the subject, the more
are we convinced that the extension of the mo-
nopoly of the Bank of England to all parts of
the country is a measure of unmixed evil. Of
this, we have not a doubt, the Directors are
themselves convinced. The expense of these
useless establishments will never be repaid by any
profits the, will realize in the country ; or, if
they do make such exertions as will command
these profits, they will thereby place the parent
establishment, on the first moment of panic, in
the most imminent danger. Let any man con-
ceive for an instant 3 simultaneous run on the
Bank and its numerous bratmhes. The Bank,
under such circumstances, would be differently
situated from the Provincial Banks, There never
was such a thing as a general run. At ao time
in our history, at no period in the history of our
national embarrassments, was it ever known that
all the banking establishments of England were
pressed for payment of their notee at the same
time. The weaker Banks are first assailed, and
though these fail, and many others are, in con-
sequence of their failure, sadly harrassed, soil
the majority remain firm, are not even doubted ;
and these last are, therefore, enabled to help the
country and protect their constituents. This has
always been the case in all the panics which have
overtaken us. But a run upon the Bank of
England—and such an event may occur sooner
than some people imagine—is a run upon the
parent establishment and all its branches at the •
same instant. If assailed At one point it will
almost immediately be assailed at all points. One
branch cannot assist another ; suspicion thrown
upon one will affect all. And what would
be the consequences of this general attack ?
Suspension of cash payments perhaps ; but
the most extensive and heart-rending dis-
tress nevertheless. The branches would have
no moral influence on their constituents
or the provincial holders of their aetes. They
have no character but that which manatee from
Threadneedle-street. Unlike country barik-eee,
their resources are unknown. They have no
substantial property to point to—no land to re-
deem them—no stake in the country, in the
shape of corn fields, or stone buildings, or
blooming orchards, to inspire that confidence
which is necessary to subdue an " ignorant im-
patience" of a love for gold. They are known
to be deeply involved in the financial obligations
of the Government ; and this very knowledge
will prove their worst friend when the day of trial
Cornea, as come it must, if very different mea-
sures from those in progress be not promptly
adopted.
Any commercial pressure on the pa-
rent establishment would be attended with terrible
consequences, even if the Prime Minister himself
sat in the Beak
parlour with a suspension order
in his pocket; but much more dreadful would
be the havoc, the apprehension, the dismay,
which would follow a general pressure on all the
brandies at the same instant. We throw out
these hints to enable Ministers more correctly
to comprehend the inevitable tendency of this
ill-judged measure of their predecessors—a mea-
sure;the eery maddest many mad ones
upon their country during their
d
abort but disastrous career. And the hint, we
they of the
hope, will not e),
be thrown aw at the present
moment. Any man who will be at the trouble to
make himself acquainted with the effects which
is producing on the busi-
ness bill
the new currency
bankers, will see many seri-
ous reasons for alarm. These gentlemen foresee
the coming storm, and are preparing to meet it.
Mr. Huskisson spoke unguardedly when lie put
forth his late and last warning. Had lie been a
Minister, he would not have been so rash—lie
would net have confessed the truth so boldly—he
would not have dared to point again to the state
of barter which is before us, without also send-
ing in at the same time his compliments and
his resignation to his employers. But that he
did Speak the truth is known to every banker

and every man of business. The .bankers are
gradually narrowing their issues—they are re-
ducing the amount of their discounts—they are
shortening their credits—they are, in fact, pre-
paring themselves to do nothing, but wait the
course of events. That the branch banks will
give that accommodation which they decline, is
out of the question. It is not now even asserted
by their advocates, that they can or will do the
business, or lend the aid which the industrious
part of the community, the numerous classes
bf small tradesmen and dealers, of farmers and
drovers, and many others, have been accus-
tomed to receive from the banker, to whom their
profession, their character, and their property
are known. The consequences of this, we say
it again, will be dreadful—and these consequences
will eventually be visited on the Government and
the Bank of England. If the Currency Bill be
enforced, and we see nothing but the prospect
of a war to induce us hy believe that it will not
be enforced, another panic must come ! And
this crisis cannot be far distant. We do not
wish unnecessarily to alarm the public, but we
could, if we had leisure, call attention to some
unquestionable symptoms of it at this very mo-
ment in operation. But we shall speak more
plainly on this subject by and by.—New Times

TRIAL OF WILLIAM CORDER.

LEGAL FICTIONS.

The forms of our law are of so happy a nature, that
when they are employed on the gravest crimes, they cause
a feeling of the ludicrous to spring up in the minds of the
reader. The daily papers have given a❑ abstract of the
indictment against Corder, which abstract oscupies about
three-fourths of a column of small print ; and we ask whe-
ther any mortal can glance his eye over this article, with-
out having his sentiment of horror at the crime disturbed
by a sense of the laughable absurdity of the jargon in which
it is set forth ?

" First Count..—. The Jurors of our Lord the King, upon
their oath, present that William Corder, late of the parish
of Polstead, &c., Suffolk, yeoman, on the 18th of May,
&c., with force of arms, &c., in and upon one Maria Mar-
tin, in the fear of God, &c., then and there being, felo-
niously, wilfully, and of his malice aforethought, did make
an assault; and that the said William Corder, a certain
pistol of 2s. value, then and there charged with gunpowder
and one leaden bullet (which pistol he, the said William
Corder, in his right hand, then and there had and held)
then and there feloniously, wilfully, and of his malice
aforethought, did discharge and shoot off at, against, and
upon the said Maria Martin ; and the said William Corder,
with the leaden bullet aforesaid, out of the pistol aforesaid,
by the said William Corder discharged and shot off, then
and there feloniously, wilfully, &c., did strike, penetrate,
and wound the said Maria Martin in and upon the left side
of the face of her the said Maria Martin, &c., giving her
the said Maria Martin one mortal wound of the depth of four
inches, and of the breadth of half an inch, of which said
mortal wound she the said Maria Martin then and there in-
stantly died ; and so the Jurors aforesaid, upon their oaths,
&c., do say, that the said William Corder her the said
Maria Martin did kill and murder."

As it would be impossible to proceed in the investigation
of truth without the wholesome aid of a contradictory
averment or a palpable lie, in the neat' count it is stated
that William Corder killed Maria Martin with a sword of
the value of one shilling. The value of the instrument, it
must be inferred, is a material article i❑ the consideration
of the act. It is absolutely necessary to justice that the
pistol should be described as worth two shiliings, and the
sword as worth one !
The naked state of the accusation of Corder-is this :

He killed one Maria Martin with a wound from a pistol
bullet on the left side of the face. Of this wound* she in-
stantly died.

He killed one Maria Martin with the Wow of a one-shil-
ling sword on the left side of the body, of which wound
she instantly died.

He killed one Maria Martin with the blow of a sword
on the right side of the face.
He killed one Maria Martin by a blow on the right side
of the neck.

He killed one Maria Maras by strangling her with a
handkerchief.
He killed one Maria Martin lay shooting her with a
charge of shot from a gun.
He killed one Maria Martin by throwing her into a hole,
and heaping upon her five bushels of earth of no value, and
five bushels of clay of no value, and five bushels of gravel of
no value, of all which load of fifteen bushels of no value
she instantly died.
Ile killed tone Maria Martin by heaping fifteen bushels
of clay, gravel, and earth, in equal quantities and equal
worthlessness, upon her in a hole of a particular size.
He killed one Maria Martin by stabbing her with a
sharp instrument, and also strangling her.
He killed one Maria Martin by shooting her with a pis-
tol loaded with shot, stabbing her with a sharp instru-
ment, also with a one-shilling sword, by strangling her
with a handkerchief and throwing her into a hole, and
heaping earth, gravel, and clay on her.
Now, it is mathematically certain, that if Corder killed
only one Maria Martin, and not ten different Maria Mar-
tins, destroyed by different means, as would appear, nine
distinct great lies have been averred respecting the circum-
stances; 3nd it follows that no less than nine great lies,
with tbeir accompaniments, are absolutely necessary to the
discovery Of fate truth, and the ends of justice. If it had
simply been set forth that Corder had killed Maria Martin,
the minds of the Jury would surely have been utterly at
fault, and unequal to discover, by the examination of the j
evidence, whether he had indeed murdered the deceased, I
and by what means. How admirably promotive of the
elucidation of the truth and the detection of guilt is that
exact averment of the five bushels of clay, the five bushels
of earth, and tie five bushels of gravel! And what cu-
rious and profound Affect there is in the statement that the
earth, gravel, and clay, were of "no value !" How di-
rectly all these facts bear on the pint at issue! And
while so much nicety is observed, how much latitude is
allowed ! For example, exact in tendency as those com-
bined fifteen bushels sound, the clerk of the indictment
might have made corder either smother Maria Martin in
Polkaed barn, with as much soil as would make a new
world, or he might have made him slay her by flinging
on her half a peek of mould. provided only a lie be told,
English justice is satisfied. The effect of the lie is indif-
ferent ; all that is wanted is the eustom ad comforting
exaartple of falsehood. Whether you use a rnonntaig or a
411 indictment for murder, is indifferent, pro-
vided you gin ,:at the necessary character of a he. For
example: to have za;:al that William Corder killed Maria
Martin by heaping earth up,:, l?er, might have been true;
but the exactness of stating that he her with five
bushels of earth, five of clay, and five of gpayel, produces
the desirable certainty of a falsehood. If falSelanoai ?Pre
supposed to be an exhaustible body, nothing could be con-
ceived more politic than the syetem.of English law, which
would in this case expend so many lies in its own forms
and proceedings as to leave none for the convenience of
evidence; hut unfortunately such is not the moral philo-
sophy, and the w,:titese who goes into one of our Courts,
the vital atmosphere of whialt is charged with fiction, is
too likely to have his inward and :lafr,rat mendacity pro-
voked by the affinity. He sees, in the reputed sacred
forms of justice, that the falsehood which 'is aca-atinted
convaeient is net esteemed shameful ; and why, lie consie
dere, may not the individual man have his politic fictions
as well as that abstraction of all possible human excellence,
justice—The end sanctions the means. We cannot touch
pitch without defilement, and it is impossible' that a people
can be familiarized with falsehood and reconciled to it on
the pretence of its utility, without detriment to their rno-
rals.—Erconiner.

" The Judge, in his charge, supposed it possible that
the accused might be found guilty of all the manners of
killing described in the ten counts. He has then to ex-
plain how a person who Instantly died of one sort of
wound could also have instantly died of another sort of
wound ; and unless he can make out this variety of causa-
tion, all predicated to be acting momentarily to the same
end, and which yet could not by possibility be shnulta-
necius in action—for Corder could not give Maria the blow
of a sword of which she instantly died, at the same Coo'
went at which he wounded her with a pistol ball of which
she instantly died—the Judge has, out of compliment to
the forms of law, supposed possible a physical impossibility.

,
From the abundance of work of every descrip-
tion which is at present to be had, and from the low price
of provisions, the working classes may be said to be in
possession of the comforts of life to a greater degree than
at any period for some years. Provisions of all kinds are
much cheaper than at this time last year. Butcher's meat
is about 2d. a pound below last year's prices. The best
oatmeal was last year selling at. Ltd. ; it is now Is. ;
and in fpotatom there is the ssme difference.--Glasgow
Chronicle,

THE SEA COAST OF IRELAND.

, We have already commented upon the extent of
the waste lands of Ireland, and their great facility of
drainage and reclamation. In further pursuance of
our object, namely, the developement of the re-
sources of this island,,we come to the subject of the
Fisheries and the Coast Improvements. Ireland
possesses a sea coast of many thousand miles in ex-
tent, and a succession of the most magnificent har-
bours in the world, particularly bordering the Atlan-
tic ocean. This coast is remarkable for its indenta-
tion of creeks, and bays. If we draw a line from
Londonderry to Cork, we cut off a section of
the island in which there is not less than five
thousand miles of sea coast. It may be sa-
tisfactory to the public to learn on what
authority this statement is founded. In examining
the splendid map of the county of Mayo, executed
under the direction of William Bald, Civil Engineer,
we find there are not less than seven hundred and
fifty miles of sea coast in that county. From this
fact, as an element of analogical measurement, we
cannot assign less than the above quantity between
the above-mentioned northern and southern points.
This may be considered rather singular; but the
island of North-Uist, one of the western Hebrides
was surveyed by Mr. Reid in 1802 or 1803 for
Lord Macdonald, and although not more than
twelve miles long and twelve miles broad,
was found to contain a coast of eleven hun-
dred miles—and the island of Benbicula, lying
to the south of it, not more than nine miles long and
eight broad, was found to possess a coast of abou'X
four hundred and fifty miles. Now, if it were. par,
sible to subject the coast of Ireland, and that of
France, to actual measurement and comparison, we
apprehend that the result would be in favour of the
former in the proportion of three to one. Thus it ap-
pears that if the physical capabilities of Ireland were
appreciated as they should, our country would pro-
duce three seamen where France can produce only one.
It is to be regretted that this coast, which, taken
in a national point of view, might prove one of Eng-
land's principalbulwarks, by supplying her with abun-
dance of hardy seamen to man her fleets, has been,
we may say, almost neglected. Were it not for the
exertions of Mr. Nintruo, Civil Engineer, who an-
nually drew public attention to the great importance
of improving the western coast of Ireland by the erec-
tion of fishing piers, and the formation of useful har-
hours, we do believe that nothing would have
been done to this day. The French appear to
be sedulously attentive to the augmentation of their
marine power—and also to the improvement of
their harbours. The operations now going forward
at Cherbourg ought to rouse the attention of Eng-
land to do every thing in her power to preserve her
dominion of the ocean. It is well known that the
naval dock at Cherbourg is the deepest in Europe,
anti capable of containing fifty sail of the line. The
rubbish thrown up from the excavation of another
dock at the same place, is visible at a distance of
seven or eight miles. It is also contemplated to
erect thirty-two building slips for ships of the line,
in addition to those already existing there. Thus
it appears that France bears in recollection the say-
ing of one of her own great men. " The flag of
the ocean is the sceptre of the world." We shall
return to this subject.—Freeman's Journal.

The wheat harvest has commenced in Gla-
morganshire, and the crops, we are happy to hear, are
abundant. The farmers complain heavily of a want of
hands.— Cambrian.

Harvest is now generally in hand throughout
this county, and notwithstanding the unsettled state of the
weather, considerable quantities of wheat and barley, both
excellent crops, have been cut down and saved in good con-
dition. A few days more of fine weather will relieve our
farmers from all apprehensions with regard to these crops.
New barley was sold in Penzance market this week at 15s.
per bushel, 24 gallons.—Cornwall Gazette.
,-•

COACH ACCIDENT.—On Saturday last, as
the Tally-ho Coach was hooting York for Harrogate, with a
pretty full load of passengers and luggage, and had proceeded
as far as the New Bridge, the back seat gate way, and
with a sudden crash precipitated such of the passengers as
unfortunately had placed themselves upon it, into the
street. One gentleman, who was returning from his
duties as a juryman, pitched upon his head, and was taken
up in a state of insensibility. He was conveyed back to
his inn, and at the time of our informant leaving the city,
two days after, was still lying there, in a very doubtful
situation as to the extent of the injury. On an inspection
of the coach, it was learnt that a bag of corn had been, in
spite of remonstrance, very improperly suspended from the
hind seat, one part of the foundation of which had evidently
been fur some time in a state to which no careful proprie-
tor would have trusted the limbs and lives of his customers.
—Leeds Mercury.

EXTRAORDINARY DRAUGHT OF' SALMON.
—On Friday the 25th ult. many salmon having been seen
to leap near a rocky point of the sea coast, in tke island of
Islay, on the property of G. F. CAMPBELL, Esq. M.P.,
for Argyleshire, a common drag net was shot at the place,
when 279 full grown salmon were brought ashore, and at
least as great a number escaped, owing to the bursting
of the net from the immense weight of fish.—Scotsman.
In consequence of the late floods, an immense
quantity of worms were brought down by the stream, •and
deposited in a field belanging to Mr. ABBOTT, of Lowd-
ham. They were so extremely numerous, and the effluvia
arising from them was of such a horrid nature, that Mr.
ABBOTT was compelled to employ carts, on Monday, to
remove them away from his premises.—Nottingham
Mercury.

One of the heaviest falls of rain ever expe-
rienced in this country, took place about half-past one
o'clock on Sunday last. I❑ a few minutes the ordinary
channels in the streets for giving passage to the water were
overflown, and nearly the whole pavement appeared as one
general current. Several shops and cellars were inun-
dated, and many thoroughfares rendered impassable.
Happily the shower extended only about a mile around the
town, which seemed to be the centre of its range, other-
wise it must have been attended with much injury to the
crops in the neighbourhood. In half an hour, according
to the, indications of an accurate rain guage, kept in Pro-
vost ItasisAy's garden, the quantity of rain which fell in
that alasrt time was upwards of four-fifths of an inch,--a
quantity which exceeds in degree the tropical rains on the
banks of the Oronoco, where HumßoLoT informs us he
once observed an inch and a half of rain to fall in three
hours. In the Journal de Physique it is noticed, as au
extraordinary occurrence, that an inch of rain once fell at
Montpellier in an hour.--Perth Courier.

PCW'4ET-PICKING.--It is really a rare occur-
rence to, ear of a person's pocket being picked in this part
of the country. However'diaitinguislisd may •be the pro-
ficiency which some of our nerthern rogues may have at-
tained in some descriptions of knavery, they -are perfect
ignoramuses in the science of pocket-picking. Oa Wed-
nesday. last, howestr, our Lammas market was visited by
some of our southern amateurs in the profession in ques-
tion ; and they furnished several of his Majesty's lieges in
;t,i4s place with very conclusive specimens of what might
be done in their honourable vocation, by those who pre
properly maslera of it. One farmer had his cofierOtitd
of fifty-seven pounds—another of five pounds—andi :rd
of two pounds. There were several others from whose
pockets whatever quantity of the circulating medium they
contained was most mysteriously extracted ; but we have
rot learned the exact, amount thereof. One of the light-
6n„,,,ered gentry was apprehended ; but although there were
no doubts of the nature of his profession, nothing could be
proved against him. In the course of, his examination a
gentleman present, evidently wishing to tease the scientific
pocket picker, expressed himself most anxious to know
what plan he adopted when doing business ou a small
The pocket emptier replied, that there were vari-
ous plans and that he would immediately furnish him with
a specimen of one of his plans. The gentleman readily
agreed ; and after requesting him to stand as if engaged in
conversation with another gentleman, the explorer of
pockets proceeded to furnish him with 4. lesson in the
science he professed. Ile placed himself cheek by jowl
with the gentleman in question; arid with indescribable
dexterity reached his hand towards the gentleman's watch
then giving it a gentle pull, he got the chain en-
tirelychain ;
out of the pocket. lie afterwards gave it another
equally gentle pull, when the watch itself appeared ; and
then dashing it on the ground with all his might, he re-
marked with indescribable sang-froid, " that is one way,
Sir, of pickinc, pockets." We need scarcely add that the
watch was brokenb in pieces,---and that the gentleman
referred to, thought he had paid dear enough for one
lesson in the fashionable science-of pocket picking.--Agin
Courier,