The Sun.
London, England, 1842-10-19 00:00:00

HAIVIBURGH.

OCTODEIL 14.—The reported arrangement which
has been made, or which is about to be completed, be-
tween the Governments of Great Britain and Hanover,
relative to the transit dues exacted at Stade, is as
little palatable in this city as it is in the man-
facturing districts of Yorkshire and Lancashire.
It is said that concessions have been made
to Hanover, under an implied promise on the
part of the 'Hanoverian Government to abstain from
becoming a party to the Germanic Union of
Customs, and it is farther whispered that the
Hanoverian Government is secretly negotiating
in Berlin to be allowed, under certain condi-
tions, to become a party to the said Union. The
probability is, that negotiations have been mooted in
Berlin which are not intended seriously, but which, by
their abandonment, are to be the justification of Lord
Aberdeen's policy in this matter.
The numerous failures which occurred in Hamburgh
during the past twelve .months, and the miserable
amount of dividend which will be eventually paid (in
more than one instance the • assets will barely cover
the expense of the commission), are directing at-
tention to the state of the bankrupt law of • this
city, and it is to be hoped that laws will be enacted
whereby distant creditors will be placed in a
better position than now appears to be .the case.
However stringent the laws here may. be under par-
ticular circumstances, it does not appear a difficult
matter, on the part f any individual, prior to a de-
claration of his insolvency, to give undue preferences
—to pay away the whole of his assets to favoured ere-
ditors who may be on the spot, and to leave the distant
creditor without the hope of ever again seeing one shil-
ling of his claim. A case of this kind is at present
under investigation, which excites a great deal of
interest and attention amongst the mercantile classes
The number of the habitations for the humbler classes
which are springing up in and about Hamburgh since th e
great calamity of May last is almost inconceivable, and
cannot now be much short of one thousand. These
habitations are. to all appearance comfortable, and well
situated wi th reference to health. It is probable that some
years will elapse before they are again removed, and
during that period they will stand a monument at
once of European sympathy (for they have been
erected from the funds so liberally subscribed for the
relief of the poor in the city) and of the active bene-
volence of the more opulent inhabitants of Hamburgh.

IMPROVEMENTS AT WESTMINSTER.—In the course
of repairs going on in that part. of Westminster
School called the Little Cloisters, some of the carved
tombstones of the earliest Abbots have been exposed.
The following are the inscriptions upon some of them
which have been renewed :—" Vitatis Abbas, 1082."
" Gislebertus Crispinus Abbas, 1114." " Laurentius
Abbas, 1176." The figures are lying at full length,
with the hands crossed upon the breast. Time, how.
ever, has effaced all distinctive marks, saving that on
one of them something like a crosier may be faintly
traced. There is another plain slab in the centre of
the cloister, inscribed " Gervasus De Blois Abbas,
1106."

PnteE or GOLD.—An account of the average price
of gold in each year, and in each period of five years,
from 1797 to 1842 inclusive, has been published,
agreeably to an order of the ouse of Commons. The
return is signed by Mr. Gray, the Deputy Accountant
of the Bank of England. The price, since 1819, has
been nearly stationary, averaging about 31.175. 9d.
the ounce, and is the same as in the four years ending
with 1800. During the war it varied considerably.
No prices'are given for the years 1801-2-3, but in
1804 it had risen to 4/. ; in 1811 it was 4/. 15s. Bid. ;
and in 1813 it was at the highest, having reached the
enormous price of Si. 6s. lid. It gradually declined
till the passing of the Currency Bill in 1819, when it
was 3/. 18s. 9id.
FALMOUTH, OCT. 16.—The Avon and Flamer Go-.
vernment steamers have put in to-day ; the former from
the Channel, where she has been cruizing, to relieve the
windbound with provisions, from the circumstance of
two of her crew having been severely attacked with
illness. The other steamer is from the West Indies,
(last Antigua) in six weeks ; she came in with her
paddles unshipped and under sail. By the Montrose
steamer, which sails to-morrow, the Gallant 'Sir C.
Napier and lady are passengers; Lieut. Wise will take
charge of the mails ; and of those by the Dee (both
of which have arrived, and are coaling), for the West
Indies, Lieut. Belhair will be in charge.
CAPTAIN BASIL HALL.—It is with infinite regret
that we have to confirm the sad accounts in circula-
tion respecting the very severe illness which has seized
on Captain Basil Hall. His glowing and active mind
has been too wearing a tenant for his body, and para-
lysis is the consequence—we earnestly hope and trust
only for a brief season; but it is melancholy to have
so bright a sky so suddenly overcast.—Literary Gaz.
DEATH OF A PATRIARCH.—On Monday last,
William Taylor, aged 102, died at Old Moss, Fyvie,
He retained his faculties to the last, and was hale and
healthy till within a few days of his death. About
two years ago he opened a ball, on the occasion of a
local festivity, and led off the merry dance with a de-
gree of vigour and hilarity that would have done cre-
dit to a youth in his teens. Nothing gave this worthy
old patriarch more pleasure than to talk of the stirring
events of the '45. He recollected well of the Duke of
Cumberland's army marching north, and gave a gra-
phic detail of its arrival in the parish of Fyvie. He
was in the field with his father at the time, who, dread-
ing their devastating propensities, despatched William
to place the poultry in a situation where they would
be free from scaith ; and, while others had their barn-
yards cleaned, the feathered tribe of the tenant of Old
Moss lived to see other days. Among the remarkable
incidents which happened on this occasion, William
used to relate that the stable in which the Duke's ca-
valry were accommodated, was the parish church of
Fyvie—the seats of which were taken out to make
room for the horses. Our informant states, and truly,
that the worthy old man has not left another in the
parish who began the journey of life with him.—Aber-
deen Herald. •
DR. SMITH, or LIVERPOOL.--We have no know-
ledge of any individual of this name and title; nor of
the person who uses them in his movements in Lon-
don, relative to educating pauper girls to qualify
them to become wives of professional gentlemen.—
Liverpool Mercury
HORN FAIR.—Horn Fair, which is at all times a
place of great resort of the inhabitants of Greenwich,
'Woolwich, Charlton, and the vicinity, took place yes-
terday at Charlton. It is a fair held on the estate of Sir
Thos. Maryon Wilson, Bart., according to an ancient
tenure, and is opened by the ceremonial of carrying a
pair of horns round the estate. Sir Thomas, being a
bachelor, the horns will be carried by his land agent,
but had it been otherwise, they would have been borne
by his eldest son. It is usual during the day for most
of the officers and families of the neighbouring gar-
rison, as well as the gentry residing in the locality, to
visit the village and its attractions, which partake
more of the character of a Venetian Carnival than a
fair, from the long-established usage of assuming fancy
dresses.

TRANSATLANTIC STEAMERS.— It will be remem
bered that the Great -Western, Lieutenant Hosken,
R.N., sailed on the 3d of September, at five o'clock in
the afternoon, from this port for lTew York. She
reached that city on the night of the 17th, having
made the passage in a few hours above 14 days. The
British and North American steamer the Acadia,
Captain Ryrie, sailed on the 4th, at noon, for Halifax
and Boston. After having landed and received the
mails at Halifax, she proceeded on to Boston, which
she reached on the 18th, at two o'clock in the after-
noon, the voyage having occupied under 14 days.
The Belgian steamer the British Queen, Lieutenant
Eckroyd, which sailed from Portsmouth on the even-
ing of the 10th, arrived at New York on the morning
of the 28th, the passage having occupied 18 days. On
the afternoon of the 29th the Great Western left New
York with 37 passengers for Bristol. She anchored
in Kingroacl on the 12th instant, at nine o'clock at
night, after a passage of 13 days and 6 hours. The
Acadia sailed from Boston with 33 passengers on the
Ist instant, at four o'clock in the afternoon, called at
Halifax (where she- stopped 11 hours), and was off
Holyhead on the 14th instant, at three o'clock in the
afternoon, havinc, made the run to that point (equal
to a run to Bristol) in 13 days. At nine o'clock she
came to her moorings at the Sloyne. The Columbia,
Captain Miller, which sailed on the 20th ult. for Hali-
fax and Boston, arrived at Halifax on the evening of
the 2d install*, and proceeded on to Boston.—Liver-
pool Albion.
THE ACCIDENT TO SIR WILLIAM GEARY.—(From
the Maidst .ne Gazette ofyesterday.)—We rejoice to be
able to state that Sir W. Geary still survives his dread-
ful accident, and that during several nights since our
last he has enjoyed some refreshing sleep. The wound
in his throat is fast healing, he has recovered his sight,
and regularity has succeeded in many important func-
tions which had been deranged. He receives nourish-
ment about every two hours, and his medical attend•
ants, Dr. Taylor and Mr. Stirling, have remained with
him night and day. Lady Geary has not taken her
clothes off for several nights, and has been most unwea-
ried in her attentions. Sir William is of course kept
as quiet as possible, but is in full knowledge of all
that is passing around him, although he is only allowed
to speak in whispers. Her Majesty and Prince
Albert have been pleased, through one of the Lords
in Waiting, to cause inquiry to be made after
Sir William. Indeed, inquiries have been made
almost daily by nearly all the nobility and gentry
of the neighbourhood. Sir William is still in a
very critical state, but from the length of time
which* has occurred since the accident took place,
and the improvement observable, considerable hopes
are entertained of his ultimate Tecovery. The fol-
lowing is the latest bulletin that I as been if,sued
" Oxonhoath, Monday.—Sir William Geary has hal
several hours' refreshing sleep, and is gohig on satis-
factorily. The ligature on the carotid artery is nit
yet detached.—GZOßGE TAIWIII M.D.; ROBERT J.
STIRLING.' ;.‘