The Sun.
London, England, 1845-12-06 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENJ,NG, DECEMBER 6, 1845.

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

MALTA, Nov. 28.—Mr. Leckie, a mate of the Hibernie,
and a nephew of the late Sir P. Malcolm, has received the
death vacancy in the gift of the Admiral, fallen in by the late
Lieutenant Hill, of the Inconstant. On presenting Lieut.
Leckie with his commission, the Admiral, in a neat speech,
delivered on the quarter-deck, declared that he gave it him
as a reward for his invariable good conduct, and the posses-
sion of those qualities which would do honour to the ser-
vice in which he was enrolled, and for which he had con-
stantly evinced so much zeal, and in his future appointments
and promotions he should look to the character of the person
on whom rank was conferred, without any reference what-
ever to the circumstance of his serving on board the flag-
ship.
Her Majesty's steamer Acheron was submitted to a very
severe inspection on Tuesday by Captain Richards, Flag
Captain to Sir W. Parker. Her commander, Lieutenant
_ .

Apiin, received a high compliment, on its conclusion, for the
manner in which the duties of his vessel were carried on, and
the high state of discipline which reigned on board.
His Excellency the Governor this week commenced his
half-yearly inspections with the reserved battalion of the
42d Regiment and the Connaught Rangers (88th), the
former commanded by Major Dunsmure, the latter by Co-
lonel Phibbs.
The commanders of both regiments received high com-
pliments on the military appearance of their men, and the
manner in which the evolutions were performed. The firing
of the 42d was particularly excellent, and the sword exercise,
on the new principle, elicited the highest proofs of satisfac •
tion from the General.

Barracks and books were next inspected, and his Excel-
lency afterwards dined with the officers of the regiments ;
on Wednesday with the 42d, and on the following day with
those of the 88th.

The India mail arrived here by the Iberia at 10 P.M. last
night, and will be forwarded early this morning by the
Acheron to Marseilles ; that part viei Gibraltar will leave to-
night by the Achilles.
The French steamer Egyptus, from Marseilles for Beyrout,
arrived during the night.
Her Majesty's steamer Polyphemus has hauled out into
the stream in order to be inspected to-day. Captain Richards
and Lieutenant Wyse are appointed to that duty.
Porirsmorrit, FRIDAY.—The Lizard steam sloop, Lieu-
tenant Commander Tylden, was hauled alongside the jetty
yesterday, to repair damages sustained in her passage from
the river to this port, having carried away part of her bul-
warks, and sustained other injuries. The little craft behaved
most gallantly at sea, but from being overmasted was obliged
frequently to go at half-speed. She made, it is said, 14
knots an hour with ease, and 10 knots against a head wind
and sea. She cannot "stand up ;" her masts and yards are
therefore being taken out, and she will be newly fitted with
sticks similar to those of the Victoria and Albert.

The Tartarus steam-surveying sloop, Captain Wolfe, left
last evening for Woolwich.
The Sindbad navy lighter, and Netley tender, sailed yester-
day; the former for Devonport with stores, and the latter
for the same port with supernumeries.
The Fanny tender, Master Commander Allen, returned
from Cowes this morning, witk Admiral Sir Charles Ogle on
board.

The Persian, 16, Commander Croyton, was at Vera Cruz
on the Ist ult., all well. . .

The Eurydice, 26, Captain Elliot, was at Havannah on the
.oth ult.

The Hermes steam-sloop, Commander Carr, left Havannah
for Jamaica, on the Bth ult.

The Vindictive, 50, Captain Seymour, flag of Vice-Admi-
ral Sir F. Austen, Commander-in-Chief on the West India
station, the Rose, 18, Commander Pelley, and the Vesuvius
steam-sloop, Commander O'Callaghan, were at Bermuda on
the 20th ult,

The Pickle schooner, Lieutenant-Commander Bainbridge,
was at Port Royal on the Ist ult.
In Harbour—St. Vincent, Victory, Excellent, Victoria
and Albert, Black Eagle, Fairy, Dasher, Comet, Sparrow,
Lizard, and Echo.

In Dock—Prince Regent, Amphitrite, Leander, Childers,
Wanderer, Rattler, and Rifleman.
In the Basin Nelson, Trincomalee, Harlequin, and
Scourge.
At Spithead—No man of war.

PRESENTATION of the FREEDOM
OF THE CITY OF EDIN BURGH TO COM-
MODORE SIR CHARLES NAPIER, M.P.
EDINBURGH, THURSDAY.—To-day a special meeting of the
Edinburgh Town Council was held is the Council Chamber,
for the purpose of presenting Commodore Sir Charles Napier,
M.P., with the freedom of the city. Sir Charles has been
residing for some weeks past in Edinburgh, and the freedom
of the city was conferred upon him as a mark of respect for
his distinguished services as a naval commander. The Coun-
cil Chamber was crowded by some of our most respectable
citizens, not a few of whom were ladies. Sir Charles was
accompanied by Mr. Ross, M.P. for Belfast, and Mr. French,
of Pinkstone, near Glasgow. On entering the room he was
loudly applauded, and was lead to the seat allotted to him by
one of the magistrates.
The Loan PROVOST then rose and said—Sir Charles, in
the name of the Town Council and of the inhabitants of
Edinburgh, I have now the honour of presenting you with
the freedom of our city, in admiration of your chivalrous
conduct as a naval commander whose heroic exploits
have maintained and advanced the glory of the British
flag.—(Applause.) War—the minister of angry Heaven—
is at all times to be deplored ; and to us quiet burghers
the arts of peace are much more congenial; and we would
far rather be employed in industrious occupations, and in
the enjoyment of domestic comfort. But when the lusts and
passions of men and nations are uncontrolled, wars and tight-
ings will come. During the late disastrous war, when hardly
a country in Europe escaped its lamentable ravages—when
rapine, fire and sword, desolated kingdoms—our favoured
isle, under Providence,, was preserved in the enjoyment of peace
and prosperity, and no hostile foot permitted to tread upon
our shore—protected by our wooden walls, manned by our
gallant sailors, among whom the name of Napier was con-
spicuous.—(Loud applause.) It is pleasing to think, Sir,
that your great military and naval talents, when not engaged
in the service of your own country, were devoted to the de-
fence and maintenance of the liberal and constitutional
Government of her allies in opposition to the misrule of
despotism, and that it is mainly owing to your gallantry
that Portugal is not now enslaved under the bigotry and
tyranny of Don Miguel.—(Hear, hear, and applause.)
It is still more gratifying to find the hero who fought and
conquered in the cause of freedom on the ocean and in the
field, no less stanch in supporting civil and religious
liberty and freedom of trade in the Senate of his country
—(hear, hear)—and we trust that your efforts will be
attended with the same success at home as abroad. I cannot
conclude without referring to the gratifying fact, that though
Edinburgh has not the honour of giving you birth, she can
claim what is of more importance, the honour of having sup-
plied that training and education which formed the hero and
the man—(Hear, hear)—and I have especial delight in call-
ing to recollection the days of boyhood, when we were
school-fellows at the High School, and when many mock
battles were fought between your class and mine ,• but I will
not acknowledge that in those contests you could boast of
triumphs presaging your future victories.—(Laughter and
applause.) Should your country again require your services
upon the ocean, I doubt not you will be ready to lend your
powerful talents and unconquerable gallantry in her defence;
but I trust that Britain and the other nations of the world
will be convinced of the folly of war, and spare no efforts for
the maintenance of peace ; and that the hero of Acre will
be permitted to repose on his nobly-earned laurels, and that
as a donee Edinburgh burgess, you will live to a good
old ago in honour and in peace and domestic happiness. I
have now the honour of presenting you with the freedom
of the city.—(Loud applause.) His Lordship then handed
the document to Sir Charles, enclosed in a handsome purple
velvet case.
Sir C. NAPIER—My Lord Provost and Magistrates, I can
assure you, my Lord Provost, that nothing can give me
greater satisfaction and pleasure than the honour you have
done me this day, in presenting me with the freedom of this
city. When I came home from Syria, the Corporation of
London presented me with the very great honour of the
freedom of that city—an honour always very acceptable to
a British officer; but on my returning to my native land,
after a long absence, it is a still greater gratification that I
now receive the freedom of your city. It is true that I was
not born in Edinburgh : but I received my education in the
High School, in the adjoining class to your Lordship; and I
perfectly well remember the battles fought between the two
classes, and if we were not victorious at that time, your Lord-
ship will allow that we were the junior enemy.—(Laughter
and applause.) But, nevertheless, I believe those combats
which used to take place gave a bent to the young mind to-
wards war on a much larger scale. The rubs which we used
to get then, made us much more capable of exertingourselves
to combat against superior forces than we should have been
had we not had to contend with you on these occasions.—
(Applause.) I went to sea at a very early age, after having
left
and
the High School ; and I had an opportunity of returning to
Edinburgh nine years afterwards, having served as a mid-
shipman post-captain, when I had the privilege of at-
tending your College, and studying under Phayfair, Hope,
and Dugald Stewart. I can always look back to that time
with great satisfaction; and I can assure you, that the les-
sons I got in those days assisted me much in my progress
through life. Your Lordship has been pleased to speak in
complimentary terms of my services, in the long and severe
war with France. I have been very successful since I went
to sea, and in only one instance have I met with a reverse.
Your Lordship also spoke of my services in Portugal
being of an arduous kind. We went out there against the
will of the Government. That was certainly a most im-
proper proceeding.—(Laughter.) Though the Government
could not consent, they were no doubt extremely happy to
see us perform those services. That we rescued Portugal
from a state of abject slavery, cannot be doubted ; and
though that nation has since had various struggles to go
through, I am happy to say that the GovernMent appears
now to be established on a regular footing, and that there is
every prospect of civil and religious liberty being carried on
in that country. In the services which I was able to per-
form in Syria we were employed in a more legitimate manner,
because we were sent there by the Government; but I re-
gret exceedingly, after what was done in that country for
the alleviation of the miseries of the people, who were cup-
posed to have been severely trodden down by Mehemet Ali
—I regret to say that after having released them from what
was called the tyranny of Mehemet Ali, they have unfortu-
nately fallen into
.a tyranny ten thousand times worse.—
(Applause.) There is nothing in my life which I regret so
much as having had any hand in turning that man out of
Syria, and having allowed the Turks to establish among the
Christian population of Lebanon—the only remnant, I may
say, of Christians in Asia—the most infamous Government
that ever existed; and this people are at this moment ten
times more oppressed than they were before.—(Applause.)
I can only say that my efforts in Parliament have always
been, and will be, to see justice done to that people, and
to see the promises which we made to them when we wanted
their assistance duly fulfilled; but I am sorry to say that in
politics, as in war, there are difficulties which this country is
not always able to overcome. We were allied with three
other nations. which were very lukewarm on the subject ;
and, although I do not blame our Government for not having
exerted themselves, yet I am sorry that what they did was
attended with so little success. Since I went to Parliament
my object has been to act an independent part. For my own
part, whether the Government was Whig or Tory was to
me a matter of perfect indifference. I have always en-
deavoured to do my duty fearlessly and patiently, find-
ing fault with Government when I thought them wrong,
and praising them when I thought them right ; and in
doing so, I have never even neglected to find fault with
what is called your party, because I believe they have com-
mitted as many errors as their successors. I will further re-
mark, that whatever Government is in, I will follow the
same steps, neither swerving to the right nor to the left.
\%'hat I think is right, I shall always do it honestly and
straightforwardly.—(Applause.) As we are now coming to
a crisis, and, as your Lordship has justly said, I have always
been a supporter of civil and religious liberty and free trade,
I, on Tuesday, for the first time, pledged myself for the com-
plete abolition of the corn-laws. Although feeling constantly
in favour of it, still I thought the best object was to get what
we could, always trusting to get something better afterwards.
Those days, however, have gone by, and it is now the duty of
every man to do what he can to forward the interests of the
people.—(Applause.) I again thank you for the honour you
have done me in presenting me with the freedom of the city,
and I can assure you I shall always feel grateful for it to the
end of my life.
Sir Charles then shook hands with the members of the
Council in succession, and retired amidst great acclamation.

THE CORN-LAWS.
FROM THE CITY ARTICLES OF THE MORNING rArEns.)
T MES.—No topic for years past has produced more gene-
ral excitement and discussion in the City than the prospect,
which now appears certain, of the repeal of the corn-laws.
Many have supposed, from the few indications of movement
heretofore among commercial men whenever this subject was
agitated, that they have been indifferent to such a result,
but this is not the case. By habit, as merchants, they are
averse to all agitation, and have been particularly so to the
notion of identifying themselves with the very active body
who have taken the lead upon this question, but they have
never been otherwise than deeply sensible of the great im
portance of such a measure to them, as merchants, in simpli-
fying and rendering more steady all the great operations of
trade. Any one who will bestow a little reflection on this
subject, without beating about for opinions, may safely
come to this conclusion by considering the effect of
the sliding-scale and the average upon prices, . nd the
additional risk merchants have to encounter whose
profits are to be regulated by such influences, which
no degree of foresight or judgment can anticipate or
control. If, therefore, among certain classes of mer-
chants, there has been occasionally met with some indiffer-
ence to this question, it is owing—first, to their having put
corn, as an article of commerce, altogether out of their
operations ; and next, to a feeling of hopelessness, as legis-
lators are for the most part landlords, that such a sacrifice to
the public good could ever be looked for from them. Men
of sense and with much love of quiet have nothing left, under
such circumstances, but to look on and to bide their time, if
ever it is to arrive. To the capitalist and dealers in money
the measure will be found not less accept.Fble than it is to the
merchants. They have constantly felt that in all the panics
which from time to time have convulsed the money market,
the importations of corn, immediate or prospective, have
exercised a sinister influence, and unnaturally increased the
danger from other causes. These men, pretty generally,
are convinced that under a free trade in corn the danger
would, in a great measure, cease, as there would never
occur in future an excessive importation at any one
period. They would trust to the prescience of merchants
in that, as in every other article of commerce, to provide for
scarcity or unusual demand, to which that foresight would
then be fully competent, though all human sagacity was laid
prostrate by the vagaries of the sliding-scale. By such means
and principles they do not doubt that the importations of
corn will be so spread over the whole season, that they car,
never cause any undue pressure upon the money-market, and
the trade would have this further advantage, that it would
far less often require payment for corn in bullion, as goods
will then be more frequently accepted, nay, preferred, to gold
and silver, which now are chiefly resortsd. to because our
corn-laws have created the disposition to trade With Us as
little as possible. It may not, perhaps, be ill-timed to
convey to the landlords themselves a word of consolation,
picked up in the City, as to the event which they at present
seem to regard with so much terror. They are evidently
under this feeling, looking to low prices, such as the markets
hare never known before, with the throwing, np of Mort-
gages, reduction of rents, and other evils to follow
the meditated repeal of the corn-laws. Were they,
however, to pay a visit to the Exchange, they
would leer opinions of quite a different tenour, and
very good judging merchants would tell them, that
One of its almost instant effects will be, that of raising the
prices of corn all over the world—to what extent no man
could of course predict, but that it must be considerable is
certain ; and when that tax which mere distance always im-
poses, of freight and other charges, is taken into account,
they believe that the difference would be exti rely
compared with the range which prices have heretofore taken.
The are of opinion, many of them, that when the increased
impulse to trade which this measure must produce is allowed
for, the landlords will not in any material degree be worse
off, and that they will look back hereafter with surprise to
the apprehension under which they at present labour. In
Mark-lane to-day the first effect of the anticipated repeal of
the corn-laws was the almost entire suspension of business..
The feeling described in the Times as existing in the Cabinet
on the subject was generally credited as correct, and the con-
clusion come to by those well acquainted with the grain
trade was, that the measure is fully warranted by the condi-

tion of the country. On the whole, the Mark-lane people
may be said to have received the intelligence with much
more favour than could have been expected; and though no
positive alteration was quoted in prices, the tendency was
decidedly towards a decline.
POST.—The English funds have been subject to no con-
siderable fluctuation to-day. At the close of the markets
the quotations looked a little better; but the fears enter-
tained on the subject of the corn-laws, owing, principally,
to the continued meetings of the Ministry, keep things in
the same sensitive' state. The statement hazarded yesterday
in an influential paper, to the effect that the Duke of Wel-
lington and Sir Robert Peel had declared against future pro-
tection to the British farmer and labourer, has been reiterated
with little or no diminution of confidence, but the contradic-
tions given to it in other quarters being equally bold and
positive, the public are left in uncertainty as to the actual
fact. A fixed duty is by some believed more likely than a
total abolition to be the alteration that will be recommended
to Parliament, if, indeed, there be any recommendation at
all upon the matter. That Sir Robert Peel should be cou-
rageous enough to advocate the latter extreme is deemed
improbable on every account, and, as ho has heretofore
shown himself so strongly opposed even to the milder course
suggested, capitalists and others having a deep interest in the
result must be content to await the manifestation of the
truth at the proper period. The almost daily re• union of
the Cabinet Ministers is, at all events, an indication that
some great public question engages attention which it is
extremely difficult to dispose of.

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS

FROM THE MORNING PAPERS OF THIS DAY.
HERALD.—We copy the following from last night's
Standard; we have ascertained that every word of the fol-
lowing extract is strictly and guardedly true—the termina-
tion of the first week of January will expose the falsehood of
the first assertion of the Times, and the meeting of Parlia-
ment, when it shall arrive, the falsehood of the rest of the
article contradicted
ATROCIOUS FABRICATION BY THE ' TIMES.'
" We are now, we rejoice to say, in a condition to give the
most positive and direct contradiction to the statement of a
proposed repeal of the corn-laws, which appeared in yester-
day's Times. The statement, it may be remembered, em-
braced three propositions--
" First, that Parliament is to meet in the first week in
January.
" Second, that Ministers have resolved upon a repeal of
the corn-laws.
"Third, that the projected repeal is to be announced in
the opening Speech.
" EVERY ONE OF THESE THREE PROPOSITIONS IS FALSE.
" Parliament WILL NOT MEET IN THE FIRST WELK or
JANUARY, or much, if at all, before the usual time of
meeting.
"THE CABINET HAS COME TO NO DECISION WHATEVER
UPON THE SUBJECT OF THE CORN-LAWS.

" It must be unnecessary to add, in the third place, that
a resolution not formed can hardly hare a place provided in
the Queen's Speech.
" Upon what we have written above, we stake the cha-

racter of this journal."
If the assertion of the Standard can derive any additional
weight from our adoption, we cheerfully adopt it, and, like
our evening contemporary, pledge the character of the
journal in which we write, that on this 6th day of Decem-
ber, 1845, it was not, and never had been, intended to sum-
mon Parliament for the first week of January, and that
upon this same 6th of December no resolution whatever
upon the subject of the corn-laws has been adopted by the Ca-
binet. It must be seen in a very few weeks which is the
liar, the Herald or the Times. We probably owe an apology
to our readers, and we certainly owe an apology to Sir Ro-
bert Peel's Government, for having so long delayed the
most distinct and positive contradiction to the fabrication
of the Times. We could not, however, in such a case yen.
ture to act upon less than the most absolute certainty ; and
though we have that absolute certainty now, we had it not
yesterday morning. We are gratified, too, by learning that
the lie did much less mischief than was intended by its
authors, or than we anticipated. The dealers at Mark-lane,
we are assured, saw through the falsehood, by the aid of
light peculiar to the place, and scouted the fabrication. The
Times, which, like the frail person spoken of in " Don Juan,"
" with more than one profession, gains by all," is as well
known at Mark-lane as the Hampshire Independent says it
is in Capel-court, and about as much trusted in the one loca-
lity as in the other—the fact is indisputable, that its " great
fact," i. e., according to the Times vocabulary, great lie, pro-
duced little effect upon the market. We, perhaps, have had
our share in exposing the utter falseness of the Times, and
its systematic dishonesty, and therefore it is little wonder if
we are hated by the Times with a hatred equalled only by
that which a particular class entertains towards the minis-
ters of justice—and abused with a virulence corresponding to

this hatred, .
TIMES.—It was announced yesterday, by our early friend
Mrs. Gamp, on the authority of her evening ally Mrs. Harris,
that any contradiction of our intimation as to the intended
repeal of the corn-laws could only be obtained by the viola-
tion of his oath on the part of a Cabinet Minister. This
violation seems to be the work of four-and-twenty hours, if we
are to believe Mrs. Harris, for the old woman herself achieved
yesterday evening the following extraordinary announce-
ment :

. (Here follows an extract from the Standard, headed
"Atrocious Fabrication of the Times.")
Does the beldame mean that she, too, has succeeded in
suborning a Member of the Government? If the twins, so
aptly described by Mr. Bright at the Bath meeting, could
not contradict us till they had persuaded a Minister to com-
mit perjury, we must either infer that this immoral object
has been achieved by the evil influence of Gemini, or
that they have been made the dupes of some wag,
who delights in practising on their anile credulity.
It is amusing to observe the pompous solemnity
with which the old scold proposes to lay a wager with the
public as an earnest of her veracity, and finishes by offering
to "stake the character of the journal." This is running no
great risk, at all events; but, for the mere look of the thing,
it would have been as well to have offered that conventional
stake—a China orange, or something that would have been
at least a tangible property. We have very few words to say
in reply to the contradiction that has been given to our
statement, and these words are simply a reiteration of those
that were used in our paper of Thursday. We adhere to our
original announcement, that Parliament will meet early in
January, and that a repeal of the corn-laws will be proposed
in one House by Sir R. Peel, in the other by the Duke of
Wellington. The result, of course, can only show who is
right and who is wrong on the present occasion. We are
prepared to stand by our announcement, and we do not.anti-
cipate that it will be falsified byany change in the resolution
that has been come to by the heads of the Government.
They will not be overawed, we suspect, by the threat that
what might have been their own Standard may be seen flut-
tering in the ranks of their enemies.
CHRONICLE.—So it turns out to be a hoax, after all!
The quasi-official announcement with which, on Thursday
morning, the Times startled and delighted the metropolis
and the country—converted civic Toryism en masse from
the error of its monopolist ways—and overcame the coy re •
luctance of the Lord Mayor himself to a free-trade demon-
stration in Guildhall, has got at last its official contradiction,
and is labelled, by the real Ministerial organ, naturally in-
dignant at io daring a breach of privilege, "atrocious fabri-
cation." " Parliament will not meet," we were told last
night, "in the first week in January ;" and " the Cabinet
has come to no decision whatever upon the subject of the
corn-laws ;" after which, as our
precise evening contempo-
rary shrewdly observes, "it must be unnecessary to add,
in the third place, that a resolution not formed can
hardly have a place provided in the Queen's speech."
The official journalist writes in a hurry, and could scarcely
be expected to say everything in a breath. But we shall
hope to be informed, at the Standard's earliest convenience,
which it is of the Cabinet Ministers that has committed per-
jury, by revealing Cabinet secrets; also, on what principle
of Conservative morality a rigidly virtuous Conservative
journalist can"rejoice," on Friday, to be "in a condition,"
the bare possibility of which he contemplated on Thursday
with a sort of pious and constitutional horror, as implying a
Privy Connciller's breach of oath; also, how and why it
was that the " atrocious fabrication" was suffered to have
some thirty hours, undisturbed run of the metropolis and
the empire. We are, we need not add, no less carious to hear
what the " leading journal" has to say in vindication or pallia-
tion of one of the most extraordinary and serious escapades
on record in the history of modern British journalism. In
itself, the affair does not affect us very deeply. We
did not go into ecstacies at the rumour, and we are
not excessively depressed by the contradiction.
We were certainly disposed to believe, notwithstanding,
strong antecedent impressions at variance with the Times'
information, that our Contemporary could not have hazarded
so confident a statement on a subject of such capital import-
ance without having good authority to go upon ; and in
proportion to our inclination to credit the fact, was the mea-
sure of our satisfaction at the prospect which it opened be-
fore the country of an early and comparatively quiet de-
liverance from an enormous evil. We should have greatly
rejoiced—we should rejoice even now—if the vast industrial,
commercial, and social interests involved in the settlement of
this question could be spared the grievous injury of pro-
tracted delay. Where every week—every day even—is
precious, we would gladly forget all considerations of party,
for the sake of seeing the question of the nation's ways and
means of life in the hands of men possessing the power of
effecting the necessary change quickly and quietly. Other-
wise it matters little. It will all come to the same
thing in the end, and in any case the end is neat. The
decision, or no-decision of the Cabinet on the subject
of the corn-law can in no way influence the ultimate fate of
the question, The thing will be done; will be done soon ;
will be done before anything else is done; and if Sir Robert
Peel will not do it, wliy then, as Mr. Cobden said the other
day, and might now repeat with redoubled emphasis—. We
are not so badly off in England but that we may find some-
body able to do the will of the country wheneverit is unmis-
takeably expressed." The longer Sir Robert Peel delays his
decision on the subject of the corn-law, the less does it signify
how he, in particular, may decide on a question which the
elements both of the natural and of the social world are de-
ciding as fast as possible without him. The national mind
approves free trade as a principle, the national will demands
it as an imperious necessity, the national presentiment counts
on it as a neat reality, and the nation never yet lacked fit exe-
cutive agents of its intelligent and deliberate volitions. Com-
paratively unimportant as this rumour and its contradiction
are in themselves, at a time when events are irresistibly sweep-
ing along the national Mind and policy in the right direction,
the affitir is fruitful of instruction, both for the Minister and
the people. The Premier's habit of "not reading the news-
papers' or not heeding their cOnterits, has in this instance
worked well. It was truly a happy accident, or a wise
policy, that allowed the " atrociote fabrication" of Thursday
morning to keep unmolested possession of the world's ear
during a day 'anti a half. If Sir Hobert Peel's well-known
solicitude on the subject df "posthumous fame" extend, as
we trust preshine It does; to those favourite measures of
polio Vrhlch bedi his bathe, dim ate theist deeply marked
with the characteristic qualities of his mind; and if he feel
a natural curiosity to anticipate the verdict which' posthu-
mous fame will eventually pronounce, he has now been grati-
fied, on the easiest terms. As a noble anti learned lord, a
few years ago, thrbtigh Soule mistake of ingenious device,"
the aiititorMiip of which Still keihaina a mystery, was ad-
mitted to the rare privilege of enjoying a brief foretaste of
the terrestrial immortality which awaits public virtue and
integrity, so our Premier, under the favour of the Times's
blunder, has been allowed to learn, by anticipation, the po,t-
burnous judgment of mankind on his moribund sliding-scale.

- ,
PHILANTHROPIC SOCIETY, ST. GEORCIE'S..FIELDS.—
The quarterly court of this corporation was held yesterday.
Several handsome donations to the Society were reported,
including one of 50/. from John Salte, Esq., and a legacy of
200/. from Mrs. A. Waring. Out of fifty- five boys taught
and placed out as apprentices, or otherwise, in different trades
during the past year, all but four have turned out well. In
reference to the increasing interest expressed by the magis-
tracy of London and Middlesex in the reformation of
juvenile offenders, it was resolved to extend the benefits of
the Society's religious and industrial education to boys re-
commended by Magistrates, or others, on payment only of
their expenses of board and clothing. It was also stated that
the resources of the charity could not maintain .more than
sixty boys, but that its accommodations were adequate to
receive for reformation at least three
times that number.
The reform school lately erected by then Society was reported
to be very nearly completed- .

FRIDAY NIGHT S GAZETTE.
WHITEHALL, DEC. 3, 1845.
The Queen has been pleased to grant unto the Reverend
John Peel, M.A., the deanery of the cathedral church of
Worcester, the same being void by the resignation of the
Right Reverenel Father in God George, Bishop of Rochester,
late Dean of the said cathedral church.
Commission by the Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire.
Northamptonshire Regiment of Militia—William Alley ne
Lord Burghley to be Major, vice Hyde, deceased, Nov. 26.
DECLARATION OF INSOLVENCY.
Francis Robinson, cowkeeper, Princess-street, Chelsea.
BANKRUPTS.
John Spong, coal-merchant, Ockham, Surrey, to surrender
Dec. 16, at half-past one, and Jan. 13, at twelve, at the Court
of Bankruptcy. Pennell, official assignee ; Jordsson, St.
Mary-at-hill, London.
John Charles Edwards, bill broker, Conduit street, Dec.
19, at half-past one, and Jan. 20, at eleven, at the Court of
Bankruptcy. Groom, official assigee, Abchurch-lane, City;
Godden, John street, Bedford-row.
James M‘Dermott, victualler, Gray's Inn-lane, Dec. 16,
at eleven, and Jan. 13, at half-past eleven, at the Court of
Bankruptcy. Graham, official assignee, Coleman-street ;
Hunt, Barnard's Inn, London.
Eugene Le Roy, wine merchant, Portland-place, Dec. 10.,
at half-past eleven, and January 14, at one, at the Court of
Bankruptcy. Johnson, officials assignee, Basingltall-street ;
Lewis, Wilmington-square.
John Elliott, coal merchant, Bristol, Dec. 19, and Jan. 16,
at eleven, at the Bristol District Court. Acraman, official
assignee; Hassell, Bristol.
Joseph Mann, grocer, Warwick, Dec. 15 and Jan. 19, at
eleven, at the Birmingham District Court. Whitmore,
official assignee, Birmingham; Nicks, Warwick; Smith,
Birmingham.

_
PRICE OF SUGAR.
The average price of Brown or Muscovado Sugar, the
produce 'of the British possessions in America, com-
puted from the returns made in the week ending Dec. 2,
184 b, is 365. 7fd. per cwt.________

DIVIDENDS.
At the Court, Basinghall-street.
C. G. Webb, Long-lane, Bermondsey, woolstapler, Dec.
29, at half-past eleven—J. Haycock, jun., Wells, Norfolk,
corn-factor and maltster, Dec. 29, at eleven.
In the Country.
W. Monk, jun., Nottingham, currier and leather-cutter,
Dec. 31, at eleven, at the Court, Birmingham—J. Ashbarry,
Holm Lacy, Herefordshire, farmer and timber-merchant,
Dec. 20, at eleven, at the Court, Birmingham—J. Y. Betts,
Cardiff, Glamorenshire, grocer, Jan. 6, at eleven, at the
Court, Bristol—r. Jenkins, Brecon, maltster and carrier, Jan.
6, at twelve, at the Court, Bristol—J. Whitlow, Manchester,
laceman, Jan. 9, at twelve, at the Court, Manchester—E.
Hesketh, Hulme, Lancashire, victualler, Jan. 2, at twelve, at
the Court, Manchester.
NOTICES OF CERTIFICATES.
At the Court, Basinghall-street.
G. Harny, St. Ives, Huntingdonshire, innkeeper, Dec. 30,
at eleven—lL Tune, Blackfriars-road, boot and shoe manu-
facturer, Dec. 31, at eleven—C. Dalton, Old Kent-road, stone-
mason, Dec. 31, at half-past twelve—T. Lockhart and C.
Lockhart, Cheapside, and Fulham, florists and seedamen,
Dec. 30, at half-past twelve—R. Hughes, Piccadilly, uphol-
sterer and cabinetmaker, Dec. 29, at half-past eleven—W. G.
Thackway, Union-place, New-road, Marylebone, tailor, Dec.
30, at twelve.

Nov. 29

Dec. 2
Nov. 30

Dec. 1
NOT. 29

Dec. 2

Nov. 29

Dec. 1

Nov. 29

41s to 413 3d; 38 pipes 22 hhds of South American nearly all
taken in at 41s 3d ; 118 casks New South Wales all sold, tine
at 42s 3d to 42s 6d, good 40a 9d to 4ls 9d, middling 405 to
40s 6d, low 39s 6d ; 96 casks of St. Petersburg Soap Tallow
went at 39s to 40s, and low 38s to 38s 6d per cwt.

BRIGHTON AND CHELTENHAM
RAILWAY.
Yesterday the adjourned meeting of the Shareholders of this
Company was held at Mr Routh's offices, 9, Austin-friars, to
receive the report of the deputation appointed at the meeting
held on the 24th, to wait on the Directors relative to their
paying up the deposits on their shares; and, also, to give an
account of what course they intended taking with regard to
the Company.
The CHAIRMAN (Mr. Anderson), who had been a mem-
ber of the deputation, reported that they had waited on
the Directors on Monday last, and after a lengthened inter-
view, the latter came to the conclusion of dissolving the
Company, and offering the terms to the Shareholders which
were given in an advertisement since published. It was
stated that the expenses had amounted to nearly 6,000/. It
was further intimated that the Directors had paid their
deposits on seventy-five shares each. The decision of the
Directors was to the following effect :
" The Committee of Management, having this day re-
ceived a deputation from the Shareholders in this Company,
have, in consequence, come to the following resolution :
" esolved—That it is desirable that this Company shall
be dissolved with a view of reviving the same in the ensuing
spring.
" That each shareholder shall receive back his deposit less
10s. per share, that being the rateable average proportion of
the liabilities incurred; the like amount having been paid
by each Director on 75 shares, and claimed from all the
members of the Provisional Committee on the number of
shares allotted to them at request.
" That in the event of the re-formation of the Com-
pany the present shareholders should be entitled to the
same number of shares as those now held by them, credit
being given for the amount deducted from their deposits, or
in lieu thereof, shall, at their option, in the event of the
separation of the Company, receive the sum of 55., on their
relinquishing all claims on the plans, sections, and property
of the company, which will then belong to the newly con-
stituted company.
"That the shareholders may on and after Monday, the
15th inst., between the hours of eleven and four, receive
back their deposits less 10s. for shares on giving up the
voucher delivered at the time of their execution of the deed
and signing the necessary receipts at the office of the Com-
pany."
This was the resolution come to by the Provisional Di-
rectors, and he had advised the Shareholders to accept it.
Not that he considered it altogether what they should have
expected, bat being all they could get. If they took legal pro-
ceedings against the Directors he believed they would lose more
than 10s. per share. It was their policy,therefore, to adopt the
lesser evil of the two. had the Company gone on, the Share-
holders would have been in a worse position, considering the
present state of the money market, than they would be in in
accepting the proposition submitted. Ile, as far as he was
personally concerned, was willing to accept the terms offered;
and he advised the other Shareholders to do the same.
A SHAREHOLDER inquired how it was that so much as
6,000/. had been expended, seeing that no Bill had ever been
before Parliament, while the Belfast and Ballymena Com-
pany, which had obtained its Act, only cost 8,000/. ?
The CirAittstAx answered that 2,000/. had been paid for
engineering, 2,0001. for advertisements, and the rest had
been incurred in general expenses.
A PROPRIETOR—If the terms are accepted, what will be
done with the deed?
The CHAIRMAN-It will be cancelled.

After some further discussion, in which it was complained
of that only a portion of the Directors had paid up their de-
posits, and that the defaulters ought to be advertised, and a
vote of thanks having been paced to the Chairman and de-
putation, the meeting broke up.

THE LATE CHIEF JUSTICE OF

NEWFOUNDLAND.

The journals have announced in the ordinary manner the
death of Mr. J. G. 11. Bourne, the late Chief Justice of New-
foundland ; but something more is due as a tribute to the
memory of this gentleman. Mr. Bourne was born at East-
wood, in the county of Nottingham. He commenced his
education at Southwell, and was highly admired fcr his suc-
cess and proficiency in the various branches of academical
studies. He was then sent to Eton, where he greatly distin-
guished himself by his classical acquirements. lie next en-
tered Pembroke Collage, Oxford, and took his degree of M.A.,
and was afterwards elected a Fellow of Magdalene College.
Upon his marriage he, of course, lost his valuable fellow-
ship, with all its prospective advantages, and this by the
old law that still remains on the statutes of the Univer-
sity. Mr. Bourne now entered the Middle Temple, and be-
coming a barrister, he went the Midland Circuit, where he
was much esteemed by the most distinguished members of
the profession. lie was also appointed revising barrister for
that circuit. lie was called to till the judicial bench in New-
foundland by Lord Glenelg, the then Colonial Secretary, at the
age of 34. No man ever acquired more esteem for humanity, in-
tegrity, and amenity. In this colony he entirely discontinued
the infliction of the punishment of death, and with the hap-
piest of effects. He even declared his resolution to throw up
his office rather than be the means of depriving any human
being of life. Mr. Bourne was the author of seve-
ral works, viz, " The Exile of Idria." "England Won," &c. ;
also translated the best poems of De Beranger. No person
ever passed through life with greater esteem and attachment
from friends than the late Chief Justice Bourne. On leaving
the colony several addresses were presented to him from all
classes of the community, speaking in the highest terms of
the deceased, and expressive of the deep regret they felt at his
loss. Amongst the friends that followed him to the grave,
we think it right to mention the name of Captain H. Pres-
cott, R.N., the late Governor of Newfoundland.

Arbroath and Forfar •• • • • ....

Bristol And Birmingham . • .........
Chester and Birkenhead .• ........
Dublin and Drogheda•• •• • .........
Dublin and Kingstown • ...........

Dundee and Arbroath . • •

Durham and Sunderland .
Edinburgh and Glasgow . • .....
Eastern Counties and North Eastern • .
Glasgow, Kilmarnock, and Ayr ......
t,las;ow and Greenock..
Grand Junction • • • • • • • • • . • •
Gravesend and Rochester. • ..........
Great North of England ............
Great Western . .• •

566
652
927
322
672
2,418
6,196
1,839
806

123

Hartlepool . . ...
London and Birmingham, .
London and 81ackwa11..............
London and Brighton
LondoM and Croydon •• .
London and Greenwich .............
London and South Western
Manchester, Bolton, and Bury . .
Manchester and Birmingham • .
Manchester, Leeds, and hull Assoc..
Midland Counties. • • • • • • • • • •11. • • ....
Newcastle and Darlington
Newcastle and Car1i510•.............
Newcastle and North Shlelds• • • • ....
Norfolk.. • ..... „ ..... „

16,223
1,164
32,014

686
4,092
1,231

5,284
930
3,989
5,731
15,132
2,665
1,930

293
1,037
2,f,63
3,634
1,473
716

13,281

North Union and Bolton and Preston
Paris, Corbel], and Orleans
l'ari■ and Rouen

Preston and

Sheffield and M-
anchester..........
South Eastern• • • • •. •• • • •• •• ......
Taff Vale ....... .

24,973
768
3,696
1,009

Ulster . .... • • • •

444
1,012
1,417
6,197
4,922
525
1,126
5,198
1,117
610

3,022
830
2,976
5,153
11,703
1,031
1,668
241

175
1,410
4,832
3,972
107

679
4,036
874
616

Yarmouth and Norwich ....... .....
York and North Mid1and...........

5,056

4,800

Dspo6JTS WITH THE BOARD OF TRADE.—We are
requested to supply the following omissions to our list of de-
posits with the lio:rd of Trade :—Derbyshire, Staffordshire,
and Worcester Junetioi:: Direct East and West Junction ;
Leeds, Huddersfield, and South Staffordshire Junction ' •
Mahon and Driffield Junction liililway ; Newcastle and Leeds
Direct Railway.
CAST: OF THE FELICIDADg
•
AND THE ECHO.—
Our staten,ent of the counsel engaged in
e last argument
of this case was incorrect. Mr. Godson, Q.C.,
t;:y T. Dodson,
and Dr. Phillimore, appeared for the Crown ;
Mr, Sergeant
Manning, Dr. Addams, Dr. Harding, and Mr. CollisT, ap-
peared for the prisoners.
General Don Francisco de Mazzaredo, and his son,
General Don Manuel de Mazzaredo, Captain-General of Ma-
drid, arrived yesterday at the Euston Hotel, from a week's
tour to Birmingham and Manchester. It is not true,
as
has been stated in some of the daily papers, that the General
Don Manuel has resigned the Captain-GenintleY• He _
but a very short sojourn in London, and is accompanied
his lady.
TROTTING MATCH FOR TEN POUNDS A
, Yesterday the three miles' trotting match between Mr.lrD.
Put-
tock's grey cob and Mr. Elgie's brown mare, came oil' over a
match were to trot in harness for astiurning
the mile at a
measured distance of road at Tottenham.e. The terms of
wthaes
33
commenced at
lead, and covering the inm3areminutes and seconds.
goodspdeeladt,aritheee
mile 3
second in minutes
and went over the
At the conclusion of the second mile the mare still retained
advantage,aainid3s seconds, they were then rattling away for the goal at
an increased speed, when the mare broke out to a gallop and
was pulled iu and turned. This gave the horse an opportu-
nity to make ground, and the driver of the mare finding ull
chance of winning lost relinquished the race, and the horse
accomplished the three miles of road in 10 minutes and 50
seconds.
The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation
Company held their general meeting yesterday, when the
usual dividend of 31/3 per cent. for six months on the paid-
up capital was declared, the income-tax to be paid out of the
surplus profits. The nett profits for the year ending Septem-
ber 30, after making provision for the outlay of the next half-
year and setting apart five per cent. for the last year as a de-
preciation fund, amount to 29,1751., which exceeds the amount
of the corresponding period of 1844 by 17,9221. To the in-
surance fund, on account of which 30,000/. was already in-
vested, the directors add the further sum of 22,000/. When
the fund reaches 100,000/. the further appropriation of profits
will be considered. Nine vessels are now in course of con-
struction, and when these are completed the company will
possess an efficient fleet of 25 sea- going steam-ships, exclu-
sive of small vessels employed in Egypt.