The Sun.
London, England, 1844-12-28 00:00:00

awl a THIRD. EDITION at SEVEN O'CLOCK, for POST, w6wßining PARLIAMENTARY and all other NEWS in LONDON up to that noun
ADVERTISEMENTS INSERTED in ALL THE THREE PAPERS, Morning Noon, and Night, thereby insuring a TOWN and COUNTRY CIRCULATION, at ONE CHARGE

MISS MARTINEAU'S STATEMENT.
A FEW WORDS of COMMENT in THE
ATHEN.EUM of THIS DAT.

BUILDING SOCIETIES—WINDOW DUTIES.
THE BUILDER, No. 99, of This DAY, con-
tains a beautiful Illustration of the Confessional Chair in Len-
ham Church— Willoughby Wilton's Fourth Letter on Building So-
cieties—Petition of the Society of Master Carpenters for a repeal of
'Window Duties—Shed on the Eastern Counties Railway—lmprove-
ments In the Tower—Novel Proposition to keep Dover Harbour clear
of Shingles—Society for Improving C Atages—Notices of Contracts,
Tenders, Competitions, Timber Sales, &c.; and the Architectural
News of the week. Price 3d.

FRASER'S MAGAZINE for JANUARY,
Price 2s. 6c1., contains :-
1. A Walk from London to Fulham. Adorned with Cuts. Part I.
2. Glimpses of the Pageant of Literature. No. I.
3. Recollections of the Gifted. Olympia Morata.
4. Some, Rambling Remarks on Horace and others. By Morgan
Rattler.
5. Retrospective Gleanings.
6. A Fine Day In the Temple.
7. The Curate's Volume of Preens.
8. Little Travels and Road-side Sketches. By Titmarsh. Waterloo.
9. On Decorative Painting for the Embellishment of our Dwellings.
10. The Sun Dial.
11. The Poet of Prague. A Bohemian Legend.
12. The Church—her State and Prospects.
13. The Old Year's Track.

G.'W. Niekisson, 215, Regent-street, London.

steam sloop Growler ; of the detention, on the 30th
August last, of a brigantine. name unknown, completely
fitted for the slave trade, by her Majesty's sloop Star ;
of the detention of a 13razlian felucca, called Il Grande
Poder de Dios, bound to Bahia, with forty slaves on
board, by her Majesty's sloop Wasp ; of the capture of
a schooner, fully equipped for the slave trade, supposed
to be the Virginia or Alerto, but without papers of any
kind, by her Majesty's steam-ship Penelope, which ship
had also driven on shore and destroyed a smaller
schooner, of about forty tons, equipped for the slave
trade, and probably Brazilian.
The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty have pro-
moted Mr. John Francis Tottenham, mate of the Hya-
cinth, to the rank of Lieutenant.

LORD CHAMBERLAIN'S-OFFICE, DEC. 27.
The Lord Chamberlain of her Majesty's Household
has appointed the Hon. Mortimer Sackville West to be
one of the Gentlemen Ushers Quarterly Waiters in Or-
dinary to her Majesty, in the room of the Hon. Heneage
Legge, deceased.

DOWNING-STREET, DEC. 24.
The Queen has been pleased to appoint Frederick
Sedley, Esq., to be Inspector of Police for the island of
Malta.

WHITEHALL, DEC. 26.
The Queen has been pleased to direct letters patent to
be passed under the Great Seal, granting the dignity of
a Knight of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland unto Chevalier Robert Schomburgh, recently at
the head of the expedition for exploring the boundaries
of the colony of British Guiana.
OFFICE OF ORDNANCE, DEC. 26.
Corps of Royal Engineers —Second Captain A. Gordon
to be Captain vice Rutherford, retired on full-pay; First
Lieut. R. G. Hamilton to be Second Captain, vice Gordon ;
Second Lieutenant E. W. Ward. to be First Lieutenant
vice Hamilton, Dec. 18 ; First Lieutenant 11. W. Lu-
gard, to be Second Captain, vice Harness, seconded ;
Second Lieutenant W. H. Jesse to be First Lieutenant,
vice Lugard, Dec. 20.

Royal Regiment of Artillery—Gentleman Cadets to be
Second Lieutenants—J. F. E. Travers, vice Desborough,
promoted ; Hon. E. T. Gage, vice Russell, promoted ;
N. S. K. Bayly, ♦ice Shaw, promoted ; G. Barston, vice
Lennox, promoted ; G. Leslie, vice Henry, pro-
moted ; A. M. Archdall, vice Flint, promoted ; C.
Wright, vice Taylor, promoted ; J. E. Thring, vice E.
Swinton, promoted ; W. M. King, vice Pipon, promoted ;
11. L. F. Greville, vice Paterson promoted ; S. R. B.
Swinny, vice Lucas, promoted ; H. Bent, vice J. D.
Shakespeare, promoted ; F. R. Glanville, vice Hamley,
promoted; H. J. W. Jervis, vice Field, promoted, Dec. 19.
Corps of Royal Engineers—Gentlemen Cadets to be
Lieutenants—J. G. Jervis, vice Galton, promoted ;
H. W. Tyler, vice Barlow, promoted ; J. C. B. De Butts,
vice Scott, promoted ; W. S. Stace, vice Ross, promoted;
G. S. Tilly, vice Tuglis, promoted ; E. Stanton, vice
Hope, deceased, Dec. 19.
ADMIRALTY, DEC. • 21.
_ _

Corps of Royal Marines—Second Lieut. E. A. Wylde
to be First Lieutenant, vice J. L. Brainier, to half-pay.
Commission by the Lord Lieutenant of Clackmannan-

shire.

Stirling, Dumbarton, Clackmannan, and Kinross
Militia, commonly called the 90th Regiment of British
Militia—J. F. Erskine, Esq., to be Captain of a com-
pany for the shire of Claekmannan, vice Young, de-
ceased, Dec. 10.
BANKRUPTCY SUPERSEDED.
Joseph Craven and John Hardman, dyers, Wakefield,
Yorkshire.

THE RAILWAY SYSTEM AND THE

150,.RD OF TRADE.

The course which Parliament intends to pursue with
resp,ct to railways in the ensuing session is now become
a subject of great interest. To develop a sound and
permanent system of intercommunication suitable to the
commercial and political situation of the country, both
in its national and continental relations, is a matter of no
inconsiderable difficulty ; and this difficulty becomes
still more perplexing by the necessity which exists for
repairing the errors that have already been committed,
while preserving a due regard to existing interests of
so large a character as those already involved in these
undertakings.
The full effects of the railway system are but very
imperfectly comprehended by the great majority of
persons. It is looked .upon generally as merely a
more easy mode of transporting persons, for pleasure
or for business, from one place to another. But
those who look deeper into the matter discover in it
a principle svhich is fast producing a change on the
whole commerce of the country—which is daily ab-
sorbing the merchandise traffic to such an extent as
must affect, to an unknown degree, the value of pro-
perty, by altering the relative cost of transit for our
mineral productions and our manufactures, which form
so important an item in the value of the staple commo-
dities and general merchandise of the country. The
laying out of railways, therefore, on a comprehensive
plan is a subject requiring the most serious considera-
tion ; and the most extensive experience which can be
brought to bear upon the question will be required to
obtain even an approach to a sound and judicious deci-
sion on this difficult subject.
The proceedings of the Railway Department of the
Board of Trade are naturally watched with considerable
anxiety by those who are interested in, and able to com-
prehend the various bearings of, this complicated sub-
ject. A Government Board which was instituted to
supervise the arrangements of railway companies for the
prevention of accidents, is a very different thing from
a Board which is to decide upon the great national
question of railway communication in general. And the
course pursued by this Board in their investigation of
the various railway schemes brought before them is- not
calculated to remove the impression that their inquiries
will be entirely deficient of any practical good, while
their reports may be productive of great harm, by in-
ducing those unacquainted with the subject to place a
much greater dependence upon these reports than their
intrinsic merits can possibly entitle them to. In a re-
cent article upon this subject we stated what were the
points in which the Board were required to report to
Parliament, These were principally the engineering
peculiarities of the lines ; the sufficiency of the esti-
mates ; the relative commercial advantages of compet-
ing lines ; and some other points of minor importance.
Now, how do the Board arrive at their conclusions on
these subjects ? They have merely copies of the plans
and sections furnished to them, similar to those de-
posited with the clerks of the peace. They examine
no evidence, except such voluntary statements as the
parties interested choose to make. They take for
granted the correctness of the engineering details.
No local examination is made to establish the accu-
racy of the estimated expense of construction. No in-
quiries are instituted into the commercial peculiari-
ties of the districts ; no personal inspection and survey
of the country •, no estimates of traffic from actual ob-
servation. An Ordnance map, a gazetteer and the plans
and sections of the railway, constitute, so far as any-
thing appears, the whole machinery by which a judg-
ment is to be formed and a report made, which is to be
the foundation for a Parliamentary decision. The in-
quirers after truth need no longer complain, Mincing tarn
facile vera ineenire possem, quam falsa convincere ; for it
would appear that the clearsightedness which official
situations produce on those who previously were subject
to the common defects of ordinary mortality, renders
both truth and error alike transparent at a glance.
If gazetteers and maps could furnish sufficient infor-
mation as to the best direction and commercial advan-
tages of particular railways, there would still remain
the question of cost of construction, which cannot be
reached by these means. Where are the data for
these calculations ? If we take the experience of
the past for our guide, we shall find that the
average cost of all the principal railways in England
has been between 50,0001. and 80,000 L a mile. But in
the new lines, for which application to Parliament is now
about to be made, the cost of construction is estimated
only at from 10,0001. to 15 0001. per mile—some few lines
reaching as high as 25,0001., and others being as low as
7,000/, per mile only:Engineers may well laugh in their
sleeve at the idea of their estimates being revised by the
Board,of Trade. Without a careful investigation of the
face of the country, the nature of the soil, the geological
character, and the local value of the land through which
the railway passes, even the most remote approximation
to the cost of construction cannot be obtained; for many
of the new lines are estimated to cost less than half what
the land alone has cost in the old railways; and unless,
therefore, the Government engineers possess intuitively
that knowledge which it has cost the staff of railway en-
gineers twelve years' labour to acquire, and railway pro-
prietors a sacrifice of 40,000,0001. or 50,000.000/. to secure,
the judgment of the Railway Department of the Board
of Trade can be nothing better than a farce and a
mockery, which it is quite beneath them to attempt.
The Railway Board undoubtedly contains some clever
men, and the character of the President is above
reproach. But cleverness is as far removed from that
grasp of mind which this subject requires as it is from
that practical experience without which far greater ta-
lents than even the collective Board can boast would be
of but little avail. To judge of such questions as these,
military engineers are almost totally incompetent, unless
they possess talents quite distinct from those of their
own profession. In the two notable instances in which
a Government engineer has been called upon to decide,
the most unfortunate decision has been the result; for
both in the Brighton Railway and in the Churnet Valley
schemes the erroneous decision adopted is now fully ac-
knowledged; and the result will, probably, in both cases
be, the construction of two lines of railway at a vast
sacrifice of property, where one would have amply
sufficed.

The decision by a secret tribunal in such important
matters would, under any circumstances, be a vast evil,
which is greatly increased when the, udges are obviously
inexperienced in the matters they are to decide upon.
The opposing parties for competing lines each make
their own statements. No cross-examination takes place
by those acquainted with the facts of the case; and the
most unscrupulous of the parties are, therefore, most
likely to obtain a judgment in their favour. What care
they if their estimates of cost prove utterly insufficient,
their calculations of traffic enormously exaggerated ?
These defects will not be exposed till they have realised
a Large premium on their shares, and when they have
left to others the task of bearing the public odium. Not
one in twenty of the owners of the high-sounding names
attached to various of the new schemes knows personally
the truth of any one single fact 'which has been stated
respecting the'schemes with which they are connected,
and they have only at any moment to sell their shares,
pocket the premium, and declare they have been deceived
by false representations of other's, in order to exonerate
themselves from the consequences here stated. The pro-
ceedings of the Board of Trade peculiarly favour such
operations ; while the old-established companies, who
bring forward schemes guaranteed on a tangible capita:
of their own, and supported on the statements of those
who must be responsible for them, are left without the
possibility of being able to refute the statements of their
opponents, however erroneous they may be. Such ap-
pear to be some of the probable evils that will attend the
decisions of the Board of Trade, made, as these decisions
will be, on most inconclusive evidence, and by persons
inexperienced in the ma ttor.— Times.

The Earl and Countess of Powis, lion. It. H. and
Lady Harriet Clive, Hon. Robert Herbert, and a family
Noblecircle,
are
l
rl and i
assembled
Hon, 11, I. 11.
)wll4 Catio, Pear Welshpool.
The Clive have each sub-
scribed PO/. for the relief of the poor of Ludlow. At
the close of last week the Earl and Countess of Powis,
Hon. R. H. Clive, and Lady Harriet Clive, with a party
of friends, repaired to Ludlow, to honour the annual
ball by their presence there. The assemblage of the
local and neighbouring nobility and gentry was exceed-
ingly numerous, man/ of whom came purposely to Con-
gratulate the Noble Larl on his recent investiture as a
Knight of the Garter. Earl Pools, who was decorated
with the insignia of his order, viz., the star and garter,
was warmly received by his friends and neighbours.
'The ball altogether went oft with much eclat.

DEATH FROM SUFFOCATION, ••- CAUTION TO
BURSII.OI oF Coin.—Thursdßy an inquest was held at
the Royal Mason Tavern, Mary,street, Poplar, before
Mr, Baker, coroner, on view of the body of Edward Lines,
Yoccasionally acted
aged sixty-eight years, a pensioner, residing
India Company's almshouses, Poplar, who Caine by his
sftoaltleopindamdeel
deceased
dl vircUrastances t—
in the East
as shipkeeper on board vessels in the docks. On Tues-
day evening last he left home to proceed
(Nlveaiitihi4umn under the
it:etre
On board the
Larpent, then lying in the West India Docks, to tape
charge of her during the night. 04 fopolying
j',l4tio t;ol, t: xua) gay, tioetur,oin hot? as kilo, witness
vent od Ward' the ship to aseertam the eat Se. iklot
finding hint on the galley, which he usually occupied, he
went to the after-cabin. lie found the door locked, and
upon knocking and receiving no answer, he broke open the
W 49 dircovcred the q.leßacya 400 i;i a
ialtintod .' Ih &man, which was only seven feet long
by five wide, was a fire grate, on which was a coke fire
burning. There was no vent for air, deceased having
Placed the curtain across the door to keep out the draft.
There was no chimney or flue to the gra:f!, witness's
°pluton deceased hail been'stlifbcaeaby the fames Of. the
chareoal: Eanburn, a constable in the 'West India
Docks., said he had gone into 'the vabin'about*twe hours
after the deceased had been found dead. The fumes of
the charcoal were then so strong that it W t scarcely pos•
Bible to breathe. It a human being had, even after that
lapse of time, been shut up u the ca,in, death must have
ineviably-ensued: Yerdiev--!‘ Accidelic4lll), s't4fibeit(cd 13y
fumes ' .;

IRELAND.
FUNERAL OF THE EARL OF LIMERICK.—
TURBULENT PROCEEDINGS.
DUBLIN, DEe. 25.—The Tipperary Vindicator, re-
ceived this day, contains the following account of the
funeral of the late Lord Limerick, and I am sure you
will read with the deepest pain the description of the
turbulent and disgraceful proceedings of a portion of
the populace of the city of Limerick on that occasion:—
" Oa Saturday evening, at six o'clock, the mortal re-
' mains of the late Ear] of Limerick, of the late Viscount
Glentworth, the Earl's grandson, and of Lady Mary
Pery, his daughter, arrived in Limerick from Dublin in
funeral procession. The hearses in which the bodies
were contained were accompanied by mourning coaches,
containing some of the distinguished members of the Pery
family. The remains of Lady Mary and Viscount Glent-
worth were deposited forthwith in the family vault,
Pery's chapel, in one of the niches of the ancient Cathe-
dral of St. Mary's.
" The body of the Earl of Limerick was taken to the
Palace.
" During the entire of Sunday the family mansion
and the cathedral were visited by hundreds of citizens
of all classes, impelled by motives of eager curiosity to
witness the obsequies of an individual who was known to
them only by the recollection of his having a title and
estates, derived from a city and locality which were never
benefited by his occasional presence, or the expenditure
of any portion of the ample pecuniary means with which
the extensive property he held in the district supplied
him.
" The coffin, which was covered with black velvet, was
placed in the antique spacious parlour of the mansion,
and suspended over it was a coronet, with the family
arms and escutcheon, surrounded by sable plumes. The
lying in state was an imposing and pompous spectacle,
commemorative of the decadence of worldly splendour—
indicating the passing joys and sorrows of this life.
"It having been rumoured through the city that the
funeral would take place at twelve o'clock on Monday,
the populace were on the qui rive from an early hour in
the morning. The funeral left the palace at 12 o'clock,
and moved on through George-street, Patrick-street, and
Rutland. street. The carriages of the nobility and gentry
of the surrounding district were in attendance. Among,
them were, Earl Dunraven's, Lord Clarina's, Lord
Monteagle's, Sir Aubrey De Vere's, Mr. William Maue,
sell's, &c.

"About one thousand of the tenantry of his late Lord-
ship were dressed in scarfs and hatbands. Many gentle-
men of the county and city wore crape hatbands and
weepers. The crowds of idle persons in the streets and
thoroughfares were very great, and as the proceasion
moved along there was a good deal of shouting and
groaning. When it arrived at the New Bridge,' it was
completely stopped, and then a scene of indescribablio con-
fusion ensued. The tenantry were hustled and pulled
about, and the linen was torn from their hats and shoul-
ders. The crowd was so great on the bridge and up
Quay-lane that there was no proceeding. A most dis-
graceful assault was made on the carriage of Lord
Monteagle, who, on being recognised, was fiercely
groaned and hooted. His Lordship with muck difficulty
escaped into Mr. Howard's spirit shop, after some very
rough treatment. Some say he was knocked down
and trampled on—others that he was merely hustled.
Mr. Sam Dickson, likewise the Mayor, and Mr.
O'Neill, who interfered to protect him, received
some ill-usage. At length the excitement and vio-
lenee become so great that it was feared the immense
crowd would overturn the hearse and carriages and
throw his Lordship's remains into the river. A speedy
order was given for the military, and two companies of
the 15th Foot, and a troop of the sth Dragoon Guards
were almost immediately on the spot. In the meantime
Lord Monteagle, Sir Aubrey De Vere, and others, re-
mained in durance at Mr. Howard's till the military
came to their rescue. The populace then slowly retired,
laughing and jeering at the parade of soldiery, whose
presence could have been well dispensed with were the
police at hand, as they should have been, to do their
duty."
MR. O'CONNELL.—Mr. O'Connell arrived privately at
Cruise's Hotel, Limerick, on Saturday evening, and left
on Sunday, after breakfast, for Darrynane. There was
a large collection of people outside the hotel.—Limerick
Reporter.
The Marquis and Marchioness of Abercorn arrived on
Thursday last at Baronscourt.

SUICIDE BY STARVATION IN A

LUNATIC ASYLUIIi.

-
Thursday afternoon Mr. Baker, the ftrotter, held
rather a lengthened investigation at the Fire Bells inn,
I-Ma—For+ Middlesex. resnectirw the death of Pracc;,
Wilson, aged 45, an inmate of Byle's private lunatic
asylum, in the above parish, who died from voluntary
starvation in that establishment.

Ann Williams, a nurse is the-asylum, deposed that the
deceased was a married woman, and had been an inmate
of the establishment since the 10th of last month, having
been sent under an order from the parish officers of Wel-
worth, on proper medical certificates, and was not a pri-
vate patient. The deceased was a decided lunatic. The
deceased had a disposition to abstain from food, and could
not be persuaded to eat proper nourishment. What
could be administered to her was generally done by some
persons holding her head back whilst witness put the
food into her mouth. She used to fancy that she was
going to be poisoned. On Tuesday forenoon witness,
assisted by a nurse named Jones, was engaged in feeding
her with wine and arrow-root, and as the last teaspoon-
ful was about being poured down her throat, her eTes
became fixed as if death were coming upon her. She
was instantly laid down on the bed, gave a deep gasp,
and expired.
The CORONER—Have you any padded rooms here
similar to those at the county asylum at Hanwell ? Wit-
ness—Not as yet, Sir.
What was this house formerly?—A receptacle for
paupers, who were farmed out.

Is it a properly licensed private lunatic asylum ?—Quite
so, Sir.

Mr. Edward Palmer, resident surgeon at the asylum,
said the deceased laboured under violent mania, raving
almost constantly. Her delusions were various. She
refused food, believing it was poison. He was in attend..
ance upon her when she died. He thought that her
death was caused by the weakened state of her system,
arising from the circumstance of her having no disposi-
tion to take food.

The jury returned a verdict—" That the deceased had
died in consequence of her abstaining from proper nou-
rishment to sustain life."

A SCENE.—At the Watlington Petty Sessions, on
Saturday, before Mr. H. Hammersley, and the Rev. E.
F. Glanville, Jane Allen, a wretchedly distressed-look-
ing woman, with an infant at her breast, was charged
with having stolen, on the 25th of November, a small
faggot of wood, of the value of " one penny," from off a
pile in Thirdswood, the property of Mr. John Page,
chairmaker, of Wheel-end, Stokenchurch. The prose-
cutor produced Alfred Newell, who said he saw Allen
take the faggot at about half-past five o'clock on the
morning of the day in question. The husband of the
defendant, covered with rags, and bespettkie7, 'irorn his
appearance great poverty, declared ;at no person left
his house that morning 0.11 after six o'clock, and his
wife declared that be did not enter the wood till after
six o'clock, and then only to collect some dry boughs to
ways her children. The bench more than once put it
to the prosecutor as to whether he was determined to
press the charge, and he said he was ; he had lost faz-
gots before. Page said, " The faggots were worth 6s.
per hundred in the wood "—V. each. It was an affect-
ing scene. From the prosecutor sternly pressing the
charge, the mother, with the infont in her arms, was
committed to Oxtbrd gaol, to take her trial at the Quarter
Sessions, charged with stealing the said faggot, of the
value of id,
TUB WEATHER.--THE PARKS, &c.—There is still
a suspension of frost, without a thaw of that rapid and
decided character which usually renders the streets of
the metropolis slippery and muddy; they were, however,
for the greater part of Thursday, greasy, as it is termed,
and the roads in the suburbs were somewhat softened,
but the wind was generally through the day keen and
cutting, blowing briskly from the eastward; and a rather
thick fog generally prevailed, which on the river was so
dense as to obstruct the chief portion of the traffic. The
temperature at the Royal Humane Society's receiving.
house, in Hyde Park, was thirty-five degrees at eight
o'clock on Wednesday night, but had descended to thirty-
four degrees at seven o'clock on Thursday morning. At
noon the mercury had advanced to thirty-eight degrees,
at which point it remained at eight o'clock at night, or
rather it may be said to have risen a shade, and the
wind having moderated considerable mildness succeeded.
The barometer had fallen from 32. 2. to 29. 7., giving
intimation of a fall of rain or snow. Skating in either
the Regent Park or Kensington Gardens is at an end for
the present.
DRIADFUL ACCIDENT DT FIRE.--Thursday morn.
ing, soon after three o'clock, a police-constable, nettled
Ayliffe, No. 270 K, was on his beat in Green Man-lane,
Poplar, when he heard the screams of a woman, and
cries of " Murder, fire," proceed from the house No. d,
inhabited by a frill* named Ellen Walsh. He lost no
time in hastening to the spot, and endeavoured to obtain
admission, but was unable to do so until he broke open
the door, when the poor untortunate creature Walsh fa_l.l
into his arms with her garments blazing RAM ker.
Ayliffe, with great preseace of mind, threw his great
coat about her pclup.4, flung her on the ground, and
rolled heit over until he extinguished the flames. She
was burnt in a dreadful manner, and Ayliffe frame.:
diately called upon the assistant of the
divis.onal surgeoto,c.s,i,,t:end her. After the usual rerne-
diza 'uati neen apPlied; she was remo•ved on a latter t. 4
the London "Hospital, 'and 'riveivo.. tlt'e attentions
which the res9ANI?:4 stf. Ghat adminable institution could
filer case appeared hopeless from the first, and
death has since VI--• e red her. The woman was of the
called " unfortunate," and went hom into,kicatd
on Christmas night at twelve oktiock, iefi' a candle
burning on a chair by
her bed Side, and the light coma-
rininicated to her clothes after she had laid down. In
extinguishing the fire, the constitble'a handl were te-1
Tereli hunted,

DARTMOUTH ELECTION.

THE NOMINATION.
DARTMOUTH, THURSDAY AFTERNOON.—The nomina-
tion has just taken place, amidst a scene of considerable
confusion and excitement. The show of hands has been
declared by the :Mayor to be in favour of Mr. Somes by a
slight majority. Mr. Moffatt was proposed by Sir
Henry Seale, tun] seconded by Mr. Teach. Mr. Somes's
proposer and skconder were Messrs. Cordner and Cutler.
Mr. AfossA.Dr, in the course of his address, said that
bribery had bk.en resorted to by his opponents, and at
that time there was a warrant out against one of the party
for attempting to bribe an elector, and in all probability
he was then in prison.
Mr. Soßtris denied that there was any bribery or inti-
midation rersorted to by his friends.
The MANOR read a notice, signed by two electors,
which had.:been placed in his hands, to the effect that
Mr. Somers was a Government contractor, and therefore
ineligible to sit in the House of Commons.
Mr. So3tEs gave this statement a flat denial, and said
that he •ivas not a Government contractor in any sense
of the vrord.

DEATH OF A MOTHER AND IN
PANT FROM NEGLECT.

Thy! picturesque little village of Cowley, near Chel-
.erhe in has, during the past week, been the scene of
great excitement, in consequence of various reports, that
a fe male (unmarried) named Sarah Jackson, had been
recently delivered of a child, and that both the infant
and mother had perished the same morning, shortly
after the accouchement, and had afterwards been buried
at Cowley without having notified to the clergyman the
cause of death, which it was said entirely arose from the
gross neglect of the midwife. The above circumstances
having come to the knowledge of the Rev. Mr. Fendale,
the rector of the parish, that gentleman immediately put
himself in communication with the Coroner, Mr. Barnet,
and Mr. Dalton, the medical officer of the union, when
the former gentleman forwarded an order to the rectory
for the exhumation of the bodies, for the purpose of as-
certaining the cause of death. The disinterment having
taken place, the inquest was held in the drawing-room
of toe parsonage house at Cowley. From the evidence
of Edith Jones, who keeps the toll-gate at Birdlip, near
Cheltenham, on the Cirencester road, it appeared that
the deceased was her sister. Deceased, who was twenty-
three years of age, was unmarried, and lived as servant
in a gentleman's family at Over, near Gloucester, and that
she came to Birdlip for the period of her confinement,
which took place at witness's house, on the 4th inst.
Deceased was attended by a midwife, named Betty
Redden, who, at the period of the accouchement, got
extremely agitated, and sent to Cheltenham for the as-
sistance of a medical gentleman, Mr. Dalton, who gave
his immediate attendance. Mr. Dalton remained with
his patient above an hour and a half, who, he said was
going on exceedingly well. He then left her in charge
of the nurse, Elizabeth Redden, taking care to examine
Redden as to her competency in midwifery; the answers
being satisfactory, he left deceased in the hands of the
nurse, with the greatest confidence, particularly as the
dangerous period of parturition was over. At two hours
after Mr. Dalton had left the deceased was delivered of
a full-grown fine female child. The nurse Redden was
present. The nurse was to have ss. for her attendance.
After the birth (about an hour and a half) Redden
attended to the child; she washed its face, and placed it
on a box, observing that it was " dead enough." The
mother was placed in a chair, undressed, and put to bed.
The child' as born alive, and there was some blood on
its ears and nose before it was washed. There were no
marks of violence observable about the head. The child
lived about an hoar after it was born, but nothing was
done to it till it was washed by the nurse, and the mother
was informed of the death of her first-born. After the
child's face was washed the nurse left, saying the female
was going on very favourably, and did not return again.
The mother died before Mr. Dalton could be sent for a
second time.

Elizabeth Redden was examined at great length, but
the prevaricating manner in which she gave her testi-
mony, and the great reluctance with which she answered
the questions of the Coroner, induced him to order
her to withdraw, and to decline receiving her testimony.
The CORONER observed, that, by her own admission,
it was obvious that both mother and infant had been
treated with great neglect and ignorance. The Coroner
observed, he did not know in what position the verdict
of the jury would place her; it might be one of peril.
Ann Williams, of Birdlip, another midwife, also in
giving her evidence. prevaricated to such a deer.° ‘lntt it
torch the severe censure of the tionrt. The wit-
ness, however, admitted that ahe observed a black mark
on the forehead of the child, and blood was escaping
from the nese, mouth, and ears.
The CORONER severely lectured the two midwives
for the tissue of falshoods relative to the child, which,
in fact, had never been washed at all, and said he did
not know that he was doing his duty in not having
them punished.
Mr. Hawkins, surgeon, of Cheltenham, stated that
in his opinion, both mother and child had been grossly
neglected by the two midwives and their friends. Had
proper and judicious care and management been taken,
both lives would undoubtedly have been saved. It was
a gross case of neglect.
Mr. Dalton, the surgeon to the union, presented him-
self for examination, but the jury said there was not the
slightest imputation oa his conduct, and his evidence
would be unnecessary.
Mr. Dalton replied, he merely wished to explain that
when he arrived at the house, he was told his assistance
would not be required, that the female was going on
well, aid that nature would perform her office—having
seen the patient, he left orders that if she got worse he
should be instantly sent for. Placing the deceased in a
chair was sufficient to cause serious injuries. As medi-
cal officer of the union, he received no order to attend
the woman, but went instantly without one.
The jury, after a lengthened discussion, returned the
following special verdict:—" That they considered the
deceased had not received proper care and attention that
a person in her peculiar state required, but, on the con-
trary, was neglected and injudiciously treated by the
midwife, Elizabeth Redden—that the, infant died from
contusion of the bride, but from what precise cause it
arose there is not sufficient evidence to testify. The
jury also beg to express their opinion that the child had
not proper care and attention bestowed upon it, as to
afford it an opportunity of living, and that there was
great neglect oa the part of the said Elisabeth Redden."
The above verdict will not warrant a committal for
manslaughter.

MORTALITY in the METROPOLIS

The following are the results of "A Table of Mortality
is the Metropolis, shorn'
,* the Number of Deaths from
all Causes registered in Week ending Saturday, the
21st of Deoember, 1844." a Table is issued from the Office
of the Registrar-CTeneral

CATJSEg Or DEATH.

Weekly
Total. Average of
Vire Years
Epidemic, Endemic, and Contagious Diseases 258 178
Diseases of variable or uncertain seat lO7 111
Diseases of the Brain, Nerves, and Senses 2OO 157
Diseases of the Lungs, and other Organs of
Respiration 5ll 285
Diseases of the Heart and Blood-♦essels 46 21
Diseases of the Stomach, Liver, and other
Organs of Digestion
Diseases of the Kidneys, &c 4 5
Childbirth, Diseases of the Uterus, &c. l7 10
Diseases of the Joints, Bones, and Muscles 7 6
Diseases of the Skin, &c
Old Age, or Natural Decay 125 71
By Violence, Privation, or Intemperance
Causes specified 1390 942
Deaths from all Causes ...... . 1393 946
DRAINS FROM THE PRINCIPAL DISEASES LNCLUDRD UNDiR

THE ABOVE HEADS.

Total. Weekly Ayerap
Consumption
Scarlatina 42 34
Pneumonia ..........
Dropsy ..... .. .. 35 35
Hooping Cough 3l 33
Typhus ............... 35 31
Small P0x...... 4B 15
Disease of the Heart
Measles ... 52 28
Apoplexy .......... ... ....
Diseases of the Brain ll 9
Diarrhoea..
Sudden Deaths ....... .......... 17 15
DLITRICTS.
Vest 194 196
North 262 11'1
Central
East ... .. 303 207
South 382 242
'f0a1.... ----Ina 946

SALE OF GUANO.--Our brethren of the press ought
to be on their guard against being made the medium of
communicating to the public erroneous information on
the subject of matters of trade, inserted solely with the
view of serving the purposes of interested parties. A
paragraph is now Tanning the course of the press, to the
effect that when the last-arrived vessels left Ichaboe there
was only about four months' supply of guano left in the
island, and that nearly 200 vessela were waiting. We
need hardly suggest that this news has beet fabricated
solely with the •Kiesv of giving an adventitious 1:4111a to
that tunintie, which has of late fallen to a price which
can barely remunerate the shippete, in consequence of
the immense suuly lately arrived or on the way home.
Par from th *apply being nearly done, wo aTe assuxed
that it will take years to exhaust it, even, at the rate St
which it has been intromitted with, during the present
lear •, and lohaboe is but one of a cluster of islands
oaded with tj Sittirar deposit. In the present state of
tcz gain markets, farmers have little need to have tbe
price of manure raised beyond its true yalue.
.—Pertl;
Courier.

A VETERAN SPORTSMAW.---Mr. Partridge, of Bow,
lest ITet4i allot sown And a half brace of snipes, a brace
of widgeona, a brae of pheasants, and a wild 4u0,,.
Not bad von for 711 years old.— Western Luminary.