The Sun.
London, England, 1844-08-26 00:00:00

CORRESPONDENCE WITH INDIA REPORT OF THE PRISON IN-
AND THE MEDITERRANEAN. SPECTORE.
The following circular from Mr. Alexander Ridgway, The Secretary of State has appropriated the Milibank
of Leicester-square, has been addressed to the principal Prison, which was previously under the guidance of the
mercantile firms of the metropolis, announcing tke com- magistracy, and called the "Penitentiary," as a depot
pletion of the arrangements for the conveyance of mails for the reception of all convicts under sentence of trans-
to the Mediterranean and India on the 3d of every month. portation in Great Britain, in lieu of their being. sent as
The public are mainly indebted to the exertions of Mr. heretofore to the hulks. The inspectors are periodically
Ridgway for this important convenience, to make reports to the Secretary of State, and to recom-
" Sir,—lt affords me great satisfaction to acquaint you mend the mode in which the prisoners are to be disposed
that her I.llajesty's Postmaster-General has made ar- of; with reference to their ages, crimes, sentences, and
rangements by which mails for Gibraltar, Malta, lonian previous convictions, and in'accordance with the great
Islands, Egypt, Aden, the East Indies, and China, will in principles of convict discipline as now established in the
future be dispatched from London at eight o'clock in the penal colonies, and under which there are four stages
morning of the 3d of every month, via Southampton; ex- through which the convicts will have to pass before they
cept that when the 3d is Sunday, the mail will be closed become free—namely, detention at Norfolk Island, the
and dispatched from London on the Saturday evening, probationary gang, probationary passes, tickets of leave.
the 2d of the month. Convict ships now regularly take their departure. The
"A closed mail, via Marseilles, for all the above places, convict is no longer inevitably impelled or lured back to
except Gibraltar, will be made up in London and dis- crime by being, after a short imprisonment, again thrown
patched through France on the evening of the 7th of ameng his old associates, and exposed anew to tcmpta-
every month; except that when the 7th is Sunday it will tions to which his more depraved habits give additional
be dispatched on the evening of Monday, the Bth. force, nor does his tainted character, closing agaii st him
"It is necessary to mark on all letters the route by the path to honest employment, almost compel him, as
which it is wished they should go to India, because by under the former system, to seek for subsistence by re-
the existing rules all letters which are not especially ad- newed depredations. On the other hand, society is pro-
dressed via Southampton, will be sent via Marseilles; tested from the return of one of the most mischievous
not only making them liable to a higher rate of postage, c!asses of its members, who are almost compelled to live
but subject to considerable detention. It is at the option by plunder, and will seek to indemnify themselves for
of the sender to pay the postage via Southampton, but what they consider the harshness of their penal treat-
compulsory per closed mail via Marseilles. ment by fresh acts of fraud or violence. The inspectors
" The letters via Marseilles, from India, are expected further declare that "the prompt removal to the penal
to arrive generally in time to admit of their being an- colonies of convicts under sentence of transportation not
swered immediately. only prevents their return to crime at home, but is the
"In case of a desire to send home information as means of saving the expense entailed by the imprison-
rapidly as possible, it is better to write in duplicate, ment and trial of those who are re committed, and who,
inclosing one letter to the care of a mercantile house in under the old system, constituted a very numerous
Egypt, with instructions to transmit it through France class." The hulk system is to be entirely superseded.
by the first French or English steam-packet leaving Better accommodation in convict ships has been effected.
Alexandria ; the other should be addressed vice Mar- The prison decks were dark, but they are now improved;
seilles. and whereas five men were in the habit of being huddled
" The single rate (meaning half an ounce weight) of together in a bed, each one has now a separate sleeping-
postage via Southampton is—to Gibraltar, Malta, berth. The inspectors, after reviewing the subject at
lonian Islands, East Indiss, and Hong-Kong, Is. ; to some length, state that the improvements in the convict
Alexandria, in Egypt, is. 6d. ; and Aden on the Red system have during the last twelve months, involved be-
Sea, ls.; payable in advance, or not, at the option of nefits more unquestionable, more important, as respects
the sender. the moral, religious, and physical condition of the con-
" The single rate, via Marseilles closed mail (meaning vict, than have seldom been accomplished in so short a
under a quarter of an ounce weight) is, to Malta, is. 3d,; period. It appears, that from July, 1843, to July last,
Alexandria, ls. Bd.; and Aden, on the Red Sea, Is. 10d.; there were 3,588 prisoners in the establishment, of
lonian Islands, ls. Bd.; East Indies, ls. 10d.; Hong- which, 3,144 were males, and 444 females. There were
Kong, Is. 10d. ; payable in advance. 2,530 males, and 439 females transported. Eleven pri-
" Soldiers' and sailors' letters go to India, via South- soners died in the year, and two became insane. The
ampton, for ld. each, payable when posted ; but coming daily average number of prisoners throughout the year
from India under the customary restrictions they are was 741. The report speaks favourably of th
charged 2d. each on delivery. of the prison.
"Newspapers pass free via Southampton, but are sub
ject to 3d. each for postage via Marseilles.
" Letters to New South Wales, Van Diemen's Land,
New Zealand, and Mauritius, can be sent with the India
mails as far as Bombay, from whence they will be dis-
patched to their destinations by some of the frequent op-
portunities which present themselves. Sealing-wax
should never be used in correspondence with the East
" Parcels and packages are sent overland to parts of
the East Indies, by Messrs. Wilcox, jun., and Co., 15,
St. Mary-axe, at the following rate of charge :—viz., to
Aden on the Red Sea, Ceylon, Madras, and Calcutta,—
"If under six cubic inches in bulk
Above six and under twelve ditto
Above one foot and not exceeding two
feet
" When the bulk is above two cubic feet the charge is
at the rate of 301. per ton of 40 feet.
" The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Com-
pany book passengers throughout, from Southampton to
Aden, Ceylon, Madras, and Calcutta, the journey through
Egypt inclusive, to depart—
From Southampton on the 3d October, per Oriental.

TAGLIONI'S APPLICATION ? R
A DIVORCE.

Marie Taglioni, the celebrated danseuse, on Wednes-
day appeared before the Civil Tribunal of the Seine, to
apply for a divorce (separation de corps) from her hus-
band, M. le Compte Gilbert des Voisins. In this affair,
as in many similar applications made by distinguished
artistes and prime donne, the curious public were left to
make their own conjectures as to the real motives to the
eparation.
Taglioni was represented by M. Dupin, who was about
to state the lady's griefs upon which the application was
founded, when he was immediately stopped by the Pre-
sident, who confined him to reading the following formal
statement:—
" That in 1834 Madame Marie Taglioni married the
Count Gilbert des Voisins ; that at that period she was
attached to the Royal Academy of Music ; that subse-
quently to their union, M. Gilbert des Voisins expressed
his desire that his wife should discontinue the theatrical
career in which she had already obtained so brilliant a
success ; that on her part Marie Taglioni, induced by
the love of her profession, and asserting her right to do
so, persisted in a resolution to continue therein; that
from this determination resulted much domestic discord,
In consequence of which she accepted several advanta-
geous offers of engagements, some of which were abroad;
that on her return to France she had hoped to find M.
!es. Voisins more disposed to conform to her wishes, but
that so far from that being the case, he actually shut the
door against her ; that in this conduct M. des Voisins
had offered her a gratuitous injury and insult, which
would render it impossible that they could ever live
together again as man and wife ; and that she therefore
3rayed the tribunal to ordain that she should be sepa-
rated in person and effects from her said husband, and
that she should not be molested or annoyed by him."
M. Masson, who, on the other side, represented the
Count, read a statement to the following effect.—
" That Madame Marie Taglioni, in breach of the obli-
gation which she took on her marriage to give up her
profession, has entered into new engagements, both in
France and abroad ; that during nearly ten years she
has lived away from her husband ; that under these cir-
cumstances the refusal of M. Le Comte Gilbert des
Voisins to receive Madame Marie Taglioni cannot be
considered as an injury of a nature sufficiently grave to
ustify a divorce, and that he therefore prayed the tri-
bunal to refuse the application of Madame Taglioni on
the ground of insufficient reasons."
The case having been considered by the tribunal,
The President pronounced a judgment in favour of the
livorce prayed for, on the grounds of the refusal of the
Count to admit Madame to the domicile conjugal.—Ga-
:ette des Tribunaux.

From Southampton on the 31 December, per Oriental.
From Suez on the 22d October, per Hindostan.
From Suez on the 22d December, per Bentinck.
" It will be observed that there will be no means of
conveying passengers or parcels to those places by the
steamers which leave Southampton on the 3d of Sept.
and 3d of November ; but the Peninsular and Oriental
Steam Navigation Company has entered into a contract
to convey mails to India by way of Aden, Ceylon,
Madras, and Calcutta, upon a system which will allow of
a communication every fortnight, to commence in
January next ; and it is intended to extend the line to
China at as early a period as possible.
" I regret that, in consequence of rules established by
the Indian authorities, passengers are not furnished on
board the Bombay steamers with bedding; and great un-
certainty exists as to whether or not parcels reach that
place by the steamers, consequently their conveyance
can only be undertaken at present at a very considerable
expense and risk.
" Passengers can go direct from Suez to Bombay by
the East India Company's steamers, or, if they prefer it,
by the Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamers to
Ceylon, and thence by the steamer which plies between
Ceylon, Cannanore, and Bombay.
Single periodicals, open at the ends, are forwarded
to India for from 1 s. Gd. to 2s. Gd. each, according to bulk.
" In addition to transacting every kind of agency
business on commission for my civlian and military
friends in India, Arabia, China, and the Australasian
colonies, my connection with British North America,
Cape of Good Hope, Mauritius, New Zealand, the Me-
diterranean, the West Indies, and British Guiana, af-
fords me facilities for rendering useful information to al
persons desirous of obtaining authentic intelligence re
lating to any of her Majesty's extensive possessions
and, with offer of my best services, I am, Sir, your ver
obedient servant,

" ALEX. F. RIDGWAY."

A RECAPTURE.—Our readers will probably re.
collect that three prisoners effected their escape from
Durham gaol early on the morning of the 30th of June,
1843, and that two of them were soon afterwards recap-
tured and brought back to their old quarters. The third.
named James Grierson, has ever since remained at large,
until last week, when curiosity, or a desire perhaps to re-
lieve some of his fellow. subjects of their superfluous coin,
induced him to attend the Newcastle and Gateshead
Regatta. Alas! for the shortsightedness of human
nature, be was here recognised by a young man who
was the principal witness against him on his trial, and
forthwith handed over to the police, while he stoutly
denied having ever before seen his accuser. He was
safely lodged in Newcastle gaol, and information having
been forwarded to Durham, an officer from the count)
prison here, named Todd, was immediately dispatched
to identify him; and there being " no mistake," he was
brought hither to undergo the nine months' imprison-
ment of which he had defrauded justice, and then to take
his trial for breaking out of gaol.—Durham Advertiser.
SHOCKING DEATH IN A STEAMER.—lpswicu AUG.
24.—A most distressing accident occurred on Thursday
afternoon, on board the River Queen steamer, by which
one of the passengers was instantaneously deprived of
life. The River Queen had been engaged for a pleasure
trip from Walton-on-the-Naze, in Essex, to this port.
Amongst the passengers were Mr. R. Resker, captain of
the Zephyr brig, belonging to this port, who set out in
company with his wife and a party of friends. The
steamer being very much crowded, the deceased and
several other persons went down into the engine-room.
Captain Beaker, finding the heat oppressive, returned
on deck, and took a seat on the hatches over the engine.
room. Owing probably to a sudden attack of vertigo, he
fell backward on to the engine, which was immediately
stopped by the engineer, but when extricated from the
works life was wholly extinct. The body was so com-
pletely jammed in between the shaft and the frame work,
that it was found necessary to draw it through the en-
gine. It presented a most frightful spectacle. The
neck was dislocated, both arms were fractured, there
were several bruises on the lower extremities, and the
face was terribly lacerated. The distress of the poor
man's wife and two female relatives, who were also on
board, created the most lively sympathy amongst the
passengers, to many of whom the deceased was person.
ally known. Mr. Aingier, surgeon, who was returning to
Ipswich, examined the body, but his services were of no
avail. The steamer having touched at Stoke, the body
was taken ashore there, and an inquest was held the fol-
lowing day, before Mr. S. B. Jackman, the coroner. The
evidence was to the effect already described. No blame
whatever was attached to the persons belonging to the
steamer, nor did it appear that the deceased was intoxi-
cated. The verdict of the jury was " That the deceased
met his death from being crushed by the engine of the
River Queen steamer," with a deodand of Is. on the
engine, The deceased was a steady, well-conducted
man, and was much respected by the owner of the ship
he commanded.
IRON TRADE.—We learn, from an official return,
that the iron trade on the Continent has been rapidly
extending, and that the following is very nearly tht
relative proportion of the pig and bar iron manufactured
in different states :—Prussia, 199 furnaces, worked with
charcoal, employ 8,674 workmen, and produce about
120,000 tons of cast iron, equal in value to 730,0001.
Wrought iron, in bar and plate, is made at 538 forges,
employing 6,049 workmen, and producing 73,000 tons.
of the value of 230,0001.—Bavaria, 44 furnaces pro-
ducing 9,000 tons of cast iron, and 141 forges, pro-
ducing 5,750 tons of wrought iron.—Wurtemberg,
6,400 tons of cast, and 2,500 tons of wrought iron.
—Grand Duchy of Baden, 7,000 tons of cast, and,
4,750 tons ,of malleable iron.—Saxony, 7,500 tons o;
east, and 4,650 tons of wrought iron.—Electorate of
Hesse, 4,150 tons of cast, and 900 tons of malleable.
—Grand Duchy of Hesse, 7,150 tens of cast, and
9,400 tons of malleable.—Duchy .of Nassau, 14,330
tons- of cast, and 1,300 tons of bar iron, and 2,375 ton
of different other sorts of iron, in bars, cast and wrought
iron work.—Duchy of Brunswick, 2,150 tons of cast, and
7,180 tons of wrought, iron, or works in cast iron.—
United States of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Saxe-Meinin-
gen, Anhalt, Scharsboarg-Ilohenzollern-Siegmaringen,
Reuss, Waldeck, produce 4,035 tons of cast, and 2,240
tons of bar iron, or works in cast iron.—German Luxem-
bourg, 7,700 tons of cast iron. Total production of the
States of the Zollserein, cast iron 191,156; wrought iron,
or works in cast and wrought iron, 107,324 tons. In
ti
ut r oe n
il
syt
heaevmec
even
nuyfneetdts
ebrt
uao
tt
ia
oibn
pu
et f
Inesc France,
nd
efe ocv, e
0, each
proportion to the population these quantities are not
m
about here
it amounts to above 22 lb.; in Belgium it is
great,pe
thisrs mn a sincenu throughoutfa
c
while in England it is as high as 55 to 56 lb. for each
person. All, or nearly
all the Zollverein States are en-
gaged in the iron manufacture.—Railway Chronicle.
AGRICULTURAL FETE. On Saturday last one of
Mr. R. Page's labourers, named John Skelcher, under
took for a wager to reap fifty dozen of wheat sheaves in
fifteen hours, each sheaf to measure a yard round it. Ile
began at half-past four in the morning, and finished his
task five minutes before seven in the evening, having
thirty-five minutes to spare.—Orford Journal.
Filton Church, Gloucestershire, having become
much dilapidated by age, is about to be taken down,
with the exception of the tower, and rebuilt in the
Gothic style, from a design by Mr. hicks, of this city.—
Bristol Mirror.

CUSTOM-HOUSE POLICE.—A new system of detec-
tive police, under the superintendence of a lieuts-mant of
the Royal Navy, has just been established (says a Cor-
respondent) by the Commissioners of Customs, and their
duties will be confined to the tracing cut of frauds com-
aaitted by this branch of the revenue, and will also co-
Terate, when occasion may require, with the officers of
Excise. This arrangement has been already found to
succeed in bringing many fraudulent traders to justice.
whose cases stand over for hearing at the next sittings of
the Commissioners of Excise and Customs.—Obsei ver..
A CHART Room AT LLOYD'S.—A new feature,
and one that deserves notice from the fact of the benefit
it will confer upon those connected with the maritime
interest of the country, is about to be introduced in the
re-organisation of Lloyd's—viz., the establishment of' a
chart room, which will contain the official charts and
surveys published by the respective foreign governments
so that the subscribers may have at hand a ready re-
ference to any point or place they please. The Adrni-
Salty, the East India Company, and the Russian Go-
vernment have already, in the most handsome manner,
furnished the requisite copies, and there seems every
probability of the collection being the most complete of
he kind in existence.—Shipping Gazette.
FORTUNATE PRESERVATION.—On Friday night,
about ten o'clock, two fishermen of Leigh were fishing
off the sands of Foulness Island, when they were struck
with hearing cries of distress. The night was very dark
and tempestuous, but they went in the direction whence
the sounds proceeded, and discovered, to their surprise,
seven soldiers standing upon the sand, on whom the tide
was gaining most rapidly, and who must have inevitably
been lost in less than an hour. The Leigh fishermen
immediately took them into their boat, and conveyed
them to Leigh, the wind preventing them from at once
taking them to Sheerness. It is to be hoped, that in
addition to the gratification which these poor fishermen
must feel at having been instrumental in saving the lives
of so many of their fellow-creatures, some substantial
acknowledgment of their very useful services will be
made to them. Indeed, we are surprised to hear that it
has not yet been done.—Essex Herald.
A NEW RAILWAY DANGER.—On Wednesday
forenoon, at a quarter-past ten, as the first down train
an the Eastern Counties Railway was passing through a
cutting of about five feet, in the parish of Rivenhall, half
a mile from the Witham station, a spark from the engine
set fire to a field of barley, belonging to Mr. Upson. The
barley was very ripe and uncut, and a heavy crop both of
straw and grain, not less than seven quarters per acre.
The flames passed across the field with great rapidity,
till they were stopped by the hedge or the bottom of the
enclosure' 'which fortunately was a distance of only IS
rods. The quantity consumed was about two acres, and
altogether, including the straw, the damage sustained is
not less than 301. The straw is entirely consumed. The
tield was in a blaze of fire before the train was out of
sight.
EXTENSIVE FRAUDS UPON THE EXCISE.—A most
extensive gang of persons have just been discovered by
Mr. Frederick Pargiter and Mr. John Charles Kay, two
active officers of the Excise. From circumstances of a
suspicious nature, the officers were induced to visit the
chemical factory of Mr. Barker, in Cross-street, Black.-
friars-read, and, upon examination, Pargiter found
several secret trap-doors leading to an excavation under
ground in the cooperage-yard belonging to a person
named Bryant. The upper portion of the range of
buildings was used for chemical purposes, strong acids
being prepared, with a view of counteracting the pungent
smell arising from illicit distillation. Pargiter descended
one of the secret trap-doors, armed.with a crow-bar arai
fire arms ; but, although he could discover in a secret
obtainedoffender.
a foArfetiebrle con-
siderable nen-
trance into the distillery, and
and inner chamber a man at work, he was unable to
t entrance to chaeptuoffireeetrhse
seiffdeecrtaba Inc
there found, on
through massive oak doors, three stills in work-
ingperfeimis s
order, with the spirit running off from cm
of
c
ethem,
a large quantity of molasses, molasses spirits, and
Soup-
ards of 500 gallons of wash. perfect was every-
thing to enable a successful
to
be operationcarried on
that the officers found •it necessary to employ five wag-
gons to remove the l p ant, &c., to the chief office in
Broad-street. The work men, by well-concerted signals,
managed their escape in a most mysterious manner.
Since the above affair, a second discovery has been made
of a minor establishment in Little Collingwood-street,
Blnckfriars, supposed to belong to the same gang.—
Observer.
CROPS AND WEATHER IN WALES.—We are re-
joiced to say that we have been generally free from
those disastrous circumstances resulting from unconge-
nial weather which appear to have thrown a gloom
over the agricultural districts of England. The tempe-
rature during the whole week has been lciw, and we
have had hardly any rain. The outstanding crops, there-
fore, have not suffered, and more bountiful harvest has
seldom been anticipated. A few fine days only, and all
will be well with us.— IT'elshman.
Prince William of Prussia and suite arrived in this
town by a special train, from York, on Thursday night,
a little before tweve o'clock, and immediately proceeded
on to Edinburgh. The Prince came direct from York,
where he had arrived the same day, and visited the race-
course, attended by General Brotherton and a guard of
honour of the 6th Dragoons.-21'elccastk Chronicle.
One hundred seamen are ordered to be entered in
the dockyard under the Master-Attendant, to work as
rigger's labourers at 15s. per week, with four petty offi.
cers, at 21s. per week as leading hands; seventy-five la-
bourers are also to be discharged from the department
of the boatswain of the yard; the whole of the seamen
are to be disposable for sea service at a moment's notice,
--Hampshire Independent.