The Sun.
London, England, 1842-09-10 00:00:00

GE FtMAN Y.
COLOGNE, SEPT. s.—Yesterday was the great day
I
here. Of the promised kings only one was present ;
the King of Wurtemberg did not arrive, and his
Hanoverian Majesty was detained by illness ; thus
accident having removed all occasion for amusingcom-
parisons, favoured the serious aim of the assembly.
At an early hour the avenues to the cathedral were
crowded, and the opendspaces in its vicinity scarcely
sufficed to hold the curious, who, however, were not
to be tempted to ascend scaffoldings at a dear price,
which had no strong guarantees for their solidity, and
which looked down with empty seats upon the crowd
congregated beneath.
The day chosen for the ceremony being Sunday,
it was
.quite in order that the King should first at-
tend the service at the Protestant church. It was,
of course, equally in order that high mass should he
performed on that day in the cathedral. At both
services. the King and Queen were presert. After
church the Royal party proceeded to the spot on the
south side of the aisle which had been prepared for the
laying of the first stone, when the King, on proceed-
ing to perform the ceremony, addressed a speech of
some length to the assembled multitude, in which the
leading theme related to the wishes, political and re-
ligious, of the Germanic States. illustrating by his.
torical allusions the advantages which other countries
had drawn at various periods from the disunion pre-
vailing in Germany, he glanced slailfully at a recent
attempt to do the same on the part of a neighbouring_
Power; but which attempt, he congratulated himself
and them, was decisively foiled by the display of una-
nimity which Germany under arms put forth. "This
day," continued the Royal orator, "is destined to
record a display of unity not less important. It will
record,. for those who doubt the fact, that, although
various shades of doctrine and opinion may divide us,
yet that Christendom is not disunited—that it forms
one great and indomitable whole. In sign of this
conviction the representatives of all confessions and of
every German land were there, and each felt that he
derived.strength from the consistency that he lent to
the general fabric."
The King was interrupted here by loud acclama-
tions, and when they had subsided added, " The sen-
timents I have uttered have met with the heartfelt
applause of a city like yours ; let us give the ancient
word once more—' Cologne for ever' (Alai' Colin),"
At this the shouts were redoubled. .

The Archbishop's coadjutor advanced, gave his be.
nediction, and addressed the people, but his speech
was not as distinctly audible as that of the King.
After this the architect of the building, a man
generally esteemed, but who had been much fatigued
with the care of providing the accommodation for the
numerous guests, spoke in his turn. He alluded to the
discernment of the fate King, which led him to patronise
this national work, which he, however left unfinished
to his heir. The heir had accepted the obliga-
tion of carrying out his father's intentions, in token
of which, the labours at the cathedral were to be in-
creased. As he spoke, the old crane at the top of the
half-finished tower, so well known to travellers, was
set slowly in motion, and a huge stone was raised to
the summit, in token of the promised continuation of
the edifice. The assembly then broke up, and the
company invited, soon after one o'clock, met in an im-
mense tent, a present from the Emperor of Russia, in
which upwards of 400 covers were laid. The banquet
passed off gaily, and in the evening the company ap-
peared at the theatre. The King and Queen have
left for the castle of Bruhl, near Bonne, where they will
stay until the two camps unite and perform their
manoeuvres. In the evening the town was illumi-
nated, and the Rhine front produced a rare and bril-
liant effect on the water.

ANOTHER AMERIt'AN DIVER.
(From the Surulerland Times of Friday.)
An American seaman, named Michael Smith, aged
23, proposed to leap from the east side of Sunderland
Bridge, into the river, on Wednesday last. His in-
tention was announced by hand-bills on the previous
evening, and at the time fixed (four o'clock) hundreds
of persons assembled to witness this daring and novel
exploit. Smith, learning that the officers of police
would be on the alert, to prevent him accomplishing
his object, changed his dress, to evade detection, and
proceeded across by the ferry-boat to the north side,
which caused a little delay. On arriving at the centre
of the bridge he instantly mounted the railing, and
was preparing to throw himself off, when he was
seized by the police, who dragged to the station...
house, to the great disappointment of the spectators.
Yesterday (Thursday) he was brought before the
Magistrates, on the charge of obstructing the tho-
roughfare. The case was stated by Sergeant Paxton;
and Superintendent Brown remarked that the
man had been previously cautioned. Smith, in
defence, said that he was a shipwrecked mari-
ner, and belonged to New York : he wPs an expe-
rienced diver, and had no other intention in perform-
ing the feat than to raise a little money, in order that
he might be enabled to fit himself out for sea. The
Mayor told him that he had no busineis to obstruct the
footpath ; if he would jump off the bridge, people Into,
go to see him, and the police had acted perfectly tight
in taking him into custody. Sergeant Paxtoo here
stated that Smith told the officers he would do it in
spite of them and the Magistrates, and that he at-
tempted to excite the mob in his favour. Smith de-
nied this charge, and said he only told the people that
it was not his fault they were disappointed. He then
intimated to the Bench that he would, yet, leap off the
bridge, providing he could get their order. This,
however, was refused, and the Mayor told him that,
as a foreigner, the Bench were inclined to deal le-
niently, and discharged him on paying costs_ ; but that
the police would keep a strict eye upon him, and if
he disobeyed their injunctions, he would be taken up
and bound over to keep the peace. We were glad to
find that no costs were exacted, and the unfortunate
mariner left the Court.

'TIE ACTUAL LEAP.
About six o'clock in the evening of the same day,
determined not to be diverted from his purpose, Smith
went privately on to the bridge, and dispatched his
companions to apprise certain parties, who had be-
friended him, of his determination to leap; several
were, however, disappointed, having, before they ar-
rived, perched himself on the summit of the lamp.
frame, from whence, waving his sap gallantly he
sprang into the river Wear—a height of upwards of 110 feet! On reaching the water he struck out, and
swam " like a sea-bird," to a keel or badgerom
whence he saluted the spectators on theand.
on the heights, in the style of a true Jack Tar, which
was immediately returned by a round of hearty cheers
from the astonished multitude. It is almost unneces-
sary to inform our distant readers (for there are few
but must have heard of the far-famed iron bridge at
Sunderland) that it is so constructed that large ves-
sels of 400 tons sail underneath it without striking
their masts. •
Nearly two years ago a man visited the town, and
announced his intention of performing ate same feat.
Immense crowds were attracted to the F,pot, but when
the hour for this display of courage mad skill arrived,
he was non est inventus, to the mortification and
chagrin of the spectators.
It was, therefore, left for Smith to do what no man
ever did before ; and what, very probably, no other
man will dare to attempt again. Smith is an active,
brave, jolly-hearted fellow, short-made, and about
twenty-three years of age. Ha has frequently leaped
from the highest yards and masts of ships into, the
sea ; and, in several instances, has been instrumental saving the lives of his fellowmea at great peril.
The poor-fellow, who has proved
- that
thepublic his object
not to impose on the credulity of
promised to repeat the act publicly, if not aga•
in pre-
vented by the authorities.
we do think that
the police, or the Magistrates, have been guilty of a
reaching the shore yesterda after
And we must here remark that
great stretch of authority in their conduct to that,.
having achieved little
poor fellow. On
less than
him, who Cheerfully pre-
a miracle, a number
when the
soeflipteeodpilieimgait,hiethredtrifirioniginsdurns
of
nionom
police immediately interfered and dragged him off to
a reason that he was
as
-we think, little less than a
t2lbee station-house,
subterfuge; and we do not see that the Magistrates
had Any more right to prevent the man leaping from
the bridge, than they would have to Mr.
Green, or any other aeronaut,, performinp g the revent
more
dangerous feat of ascending in a balloon.
Certain of
the police appear lately to have been taking special
pains to make themselves unpopular. We trust the
superintendent and inspectors will curb their imper-. tinence, and not allow them to exceed their duty ir,
the slightest degree.
A

.TTEMPT TO MURDER A TRADESMAN'S SON IN
tOLBORN.—The following daring and murderous attack
was made on the son of Mr. William Howell, china and
glass warehouseman, of Holborn Hill, a boy of 11 years
old :—Last night, about 1 o'clock, he was minding the,
shop, when a young man entered with a mug in his hand
and asked him to drink a drop of beer, which he did, a
small quantity, not liking i ; the man then left the shop,
and went across the road, and joined another man. Ms
sister having providentially returned (not having left
him alone more than 10 minutes) when he fell down in
the shop among the goods, but got up. again and went to
the door, when he became violently sick aid insensible.
The policeman on the heat carrie:i him home to Mr.
Howell's house in Stonecutter-street, when he and others
thought the boy dead. Mr. the surgeon, imme-
diately came, who eonsidere6 the boy in a dangerous
state, and administered remedies to bring off his stomach
what he had taken, and he, remained insensible for two
or three hours. He is novi out of danger, but the doctor
has no doubt that laudenum was given to the boy, andt
had he not been sick wlJen his sister returned, he would
have been a corpse, the object of the party no doubt.
being to rob the shr,p.
BAD PUN
CTI3/ TION AND SPELLING.--d poor woman
at Shoreham, 'whose husband was going to sea, handed
threugh the
clerk, to the parson, this public prayer :--
a A man ',ping to see, his wife desirt's the prayers of
this con
,way, read to the ears of his flock, " A man going to sew
e'regation." The parson, pointing it in :;is own_
Ms wife, desires the prayers of this congregv.tion," sad
set them all in a titter.