The Sun.
London, England, 1842-10-20 00:00:00

brigands, one by one, and to reserve the cavern for (
the last. For this purpose, the child,• to whom we will
give, by anticipation, the name of Fiqfin, which he FALMOUTH, MONDAY EVENING.—Iier Majesty's
packet Penguin, Lieut. Leslie, arrived at this port
afterwards acquired by the dexterity with which he
played his part, was disguised by good clothes, and this morning. She left Rio de Janeiro Aug. 14,
placed, under the care of a woman who acted Bahia 24, and Pernambuco Sept. 2. Passengers—
. Don Ribeiro de Silva, Messrs, Vanlede, Fontaire,
as his nurse, at the corners of the markets
Isler, de Lavelet, and Mr. Triscott. On freight,
s`' the towns to which it was supposed that
the brigands would resort to sell the plundered pro- (valued at 30,0001. Her Majesty's packet Swift, the
perty. Whenever he saw a face with which he
next packet, had not arrived at Rio. The ship Mid-
hadl become familiar in the cavern, he gave a sign, dlesex, Captain Talbot, from Sydney, bound to London
and the person indicated was arrested. At length
with a cargo of oil and cotton, went on shore at For-
the number exceeded a hundred; descriptions of the mesa, 60 miles south of Pernambuco, on Tuesday,
prisoners, and of the property found on them, were Aug. 30, and it is supposed she would become a total
loss, as well as her cargo of cotton and oil, for want
published; and evidence poured in from all sides.
of proper protection against plunder. The passengers
The trial lasted several days. Every morning the "
accused, about 112 in number, were marched in a and crew were saved. Her Majesty's ship Winches•
long column, guarded by a numerous escort, through ter, Rear-Admiral Percy, arrived at Madeira on June
the streets of Chartres, to a church in the centre of 23, and at Rio July 27. She sailed again on Aug. 5
the town, which had been fitted up on this occasion for the Cape of Good Hope. The Penguin left at
R
as a court, and was large enough to exhibit them all Rio the Malabar, Alfred, Bittern, Viper, and Spider,
to the witnesses and the jury. M. Berryer dwells on
an American corvette and schooner, a Sardinian fri-
the horrors of the evidence, particularly on that of gate, with a Brazilian brig and schooner. Left at Bahia,
the daughters of an opulent proprietor, three sisters, the war steamer Growler. Reports from each of the
whose feet had been destroyed by fire, so that they Brazilian ports represent trade as exceedingly dull, in.
were forced to come on crutches into the Court. deed, that there was no business doing, and that
the British merchants generally would willingly hu-
h appeared that the cavern, or rather the collection
m
of caverns, from whence Finfin had wandered, wasediately withdraw from that empire but for out-
situated in the least accessible portion of the forest • standing claims, which then would be absolutely
and formed out of the quarries which had furnished obliterated.
the stone for the magnificent cathedral of ChartreF. Exchange quoted at Rio, among the English mer-
Here a colony of malefactors, male and female, had chants,:at 24-.ld. to 25d. A hope, moreover, was en-
been founded, which recruited itself, partly by immi- tertained that as the late insurrectionary movements
had been put down, and that the imperial troops had gration and partly by natural increase. Like the
Indian asseciations of Thugs, it had a government,
arrived at and taken possession of Ouro Preto, the in-
laws, and police adapted to the frightful profession ternal traffic from Rio with the two important dis-
of its members. It had corresponding members, who tricts lately in a state of disaffection would soon be
restored. It was believed that the successes which
indicated the dwellings most fit for attack, and an
executive, which planned expeditions, and appointed attended the imperial anus would affect materially the
the persons who were to effect them. The whole 112 strength of the Ministry and the pending elections on
were convicted. At a subsequent period, it would the part of the Government. The new electoral
have been difficult to dispose of a body of criminals body will assemble in January. Affairs at Rio
for whom death was the only appropriate sentence, Grande as by last accounts. The articles or prelimi-
and who would have been thought too numerous for naries of the young Emperor's marriage with the
such a punishment ; but in 1795, and in France, men Neopolitan Princess are arrived, under charge of Don
were accustomed to such scenes, and M. Berryer R. de Silva, an attache of the Brazilian embassy, who
passes over their execution without remark. has likewise a portrait of the Emperor, to be conveyed
" Taylor's Edwin the Fair" is a favourable cri- to Naples.
ticism on a recently published dramatic poem, The official copy of the new treaty of commerce
whose only defect is, that all its personages too between Great Britain and Monte Video is furnished
closely resemble each other, and are too fond of by this arrival.
talking like philosophers, instead of Ii ke men of th e RIO DE JANEIRO MERCANTILE REPORT.
world. In this criticism, the Reviewer amuses During the month, from the 12th of July, the rates
himself by speculating on what would be the of exchange maintained themselves with but little
works that men of intellect would endeavour to alteration at 25d. till the close of that month, when
preserve, in the event "of a literary deluge the pressure of money on the market caused it to de-
sweeping over the land, and consigning to the dine to 244 d., and still lower by id., at which rates
abyss our whole poetical patrimony, and all the business has been doing to the sailing of the Penguin,
treasures of verse accumulated in our own gene- though to a very limited extent. The transactions
ration." A good judge of the imagination would, for this mail have not realised a fair average, and
he thinks, be strongly inclined to walk off with principally 2*., but some has been done at 25d., and
" Lord Lyttel ton's Monody !" This is absurd. We a shade higher.
should as soon suspect him of an inclination STOCK.—There has been a good demand, and a
to walk off with a brickbat ! " Madame De great deal of business doing, in consequence of which

BRA ZILS.

THE IN COME-TAX.

Sevigne and her Contemporaries" is penned in a
most attractive spirit—lively—gossipping—truth-
ful—and discriminating. The Reviewer tho-
roughly appreciates the idiosyncracy of this best
of French letter-writers, who, equal to Horace
Walpole in ease and grace and liveliness, is far
superior to him in earnestness and sincerity of
feeling. Both were Aristocrats, both were fa-
miliar with Courts; but the one was heartless,
and often affected, the other uniformly simple
and natural. Horace Walpole had ever the fear
of criticism before his eyes, and made a point
of studiously respecting the conventional pro-
prieties of style and sentiment; Madame De
Sevigne, on the contrary, was under no such
restraint, but unhesitatingly abandoned herself
to all the impulses of a frank, social, and ardent
nature. We admire the tact, polish, and well-
bred vivacity of the one; we love the truth, the
cordiality, the bonhommie, and careless, laugh-
ing temperament of the other. In a word, Wal-
pole delights our understanding—Madame de
Sevigne touches our heart. The former would
have made a delightful acquaintance—the latter
a devoted friend. Of the article entitled " The
Late Session," we need here take no notice,
having already made it the subject of some com-
ments in The Sun.

he price has risen from 69 upwards to 70.
COFFEE.—New Crop.—This denomination, after
some inconsiderable fluctuations, has ultimately been
selling at 100 to 200 rs. higher than last months quo-
tations. Present price—Superior, from 3,500 to
3,700 per arroba ; first good, 3,150 to 3,300; and the
lower qualities in proportion. At these rates there
seemed a tendency of less inclination to purchase.
The old crop ranges, almost without exception, under
the fore-stated quotations. The arrivals from the
country are still very moderate. Stock on hand is
about 20,000 bags, but the greater part is composed
of old low coffee. Sales this month, 40,000 bags ;
shipments this month, 39,803 bags ; 29,853 were
cleared for the British Channel. The reports re-
garding the deficiency of the new crop are confirmed
from the planting districts to the extent of a decrease
of at least one-third, as compared with the previous
crop. It is, however, necessary to make a proper
allowance for the exaggeration usual on such occa-
sions, though there appears to be little doubt that
there really will be a considerable decrease.
SUGAR.—The sales for the month amount to 700
cases • stock on hand 400 cases, including 300 cases
arrived from Campos not inspected. The next ar-
rivals are expected to be already of the new crop.
A greater allowance than usual has been made in the
price of Bastidos.
HIDES.—This article dull. Amount of sales 9,000
hides, and sold at 180 rs. to 190 rs. Stock on hand,
60,000.
Among the passengers by the Montrose steamer,
which left port this morning for Vigo, Oporto, Lis-
bon, Cadiz, and Gibraltar, are Sir Charles Napier
Mr. and Mrs.
Dr.and fnamyillayn,d,MArirß. üßrrooowths, al‘nird. family, Mr. Murphy,
Sharp,
Wancey, Mr. and Mrs. Giles, Mr. Forman, Mr.
and Miss Pember, and General Villaboys (the late
Governor at Cadiz).
The Dee, West Indian steam-ship, had a great
many passengers, and also started with the mails for
Corunna, the Azores, the West India Windward and
Leeward Islands, Mexico, &c.
The London mails will leave this town on the 23d
inst., at eight A.M., in continuation, and will be but
20 hours on the road to the metropolis. This ar-
rfole.iglnviallrrbilremls
delivered. T he
hereails
ar-
rangement will be of the greatest service in regard of
the following day. aftrohmalf-Lpasontdfionve art.
Meight

THE NEW MARYLEBONE THEATRE. --- This new
theatre, built on the site of the former licensed house,
the accommodation of which, particularly of the
boxes, was not such as to give general satisfaction, is
a most substantial building, and for convenience and
decoration is likely to rival the best of the minors.
The audience part is of a broad horse-shoe form,
measuring, from front of box to box, in the widest
part, thirty-four feet, the same from front of centre
box to the " float" lamps, and from them to the back
of the stage, forty-seven ifeet. The height of the
proscenium is thirty-two, and the width twenty-
eight feet. The gallery will hold seven hundred, the
boxes five hundred, and the pit eight hundred people,
and every one will have a perfect view of the stage.
The theatre has been built entirely under the direc-
tion of its enterprising proprietor, Mr. Loveridge, and
he has evidently been determined that nothing shall
be wanting to give satisfaction, and make the place
worthy the patronage of its largely increasing neigh-
bourhood. The manager of the old house, Mr.
Douglas, is to take the management of the new, and,
with an efficient company, will, no doubt, make it a
popular place of amusement in that quarter of London.
In consequence of an application from the sub-
Committee of the Wellington testimonial, the direc-
tors of the Royal Exchange have agreed to give a site
in front of that building for the erection of the eques-
trian statue in honour of the Duke. We understand
that the statue is expected to be finished, and in Glas-
gow by the Ist of May next, the birthday of the Noble
D uke.— Glasgow Argus.
The turkey fair of Aughrim took place on the 14th.
This fair, following so soon after, is remarkable for
improved prices over Ballinasloe ; but keeping pace
with the general depression, there was a reduction of
ss. on heifers, and 3s. 6d. on wethers—the same de-
scription of stock on our fair. This fair is celebrated
for turkeys, which are brought in large quantities.
V>y fine birds, and at this season of the year, plump
and fit for the table, sell from 2s. 4d. to 3s. each.
GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE OF POLYNESIA.—Among
the thousands of islands which shoot up in the South
Sea, some rise to a considerable elevation, and gene-
rally present a conical form. Many of them are
basaltic, often containing in their centres wide tunnels
or cavities, and, at other times, round lakes which
might be taken for ancient craters. Although the
occurrence of volcanic substances has not, on satis-
factory evidence, been every where ascertained, there
has already been discovered a greater number of vol-
canoes than in any other part of the world. In the
annals of early navigation these are sometimes men-
tioned as the most splendid appearances in nature;
while, on other occasions, they are described with a
feeling of unmingled horror. On one place near New
Guinea, the flames and smoke rise calmly over a
fruitful country : but on the northern verge of the
Marians, dreadful torrents of black lava darken the
shore. All the low islands seem to have for their
base a reef of coral rocks generally disposed in a cir-
cular form. The middle space is commonly occupied
by a sheet of water, on the margin of which the sand
is mixed with pieces of broken coral and other marine
productions. These facts have been employed by spe-
culative writers with the view of proving that all the
islets must have originated in the labours of the dimi-
nutive insect already noticed, and been afterwards en-
larged and raised above the surface of the ocean by
the accumulation of light substances drifted to them
by the action of the waves. It is, however, very re-
markable, that among the islands so constituted, some
are almost level with the sea, while others are elevated
several hundred feet : though on the summits of these
last aria found masses of coral perforated in the same
manner with those found at the water's edge. Now,
as the animalcules which raise these submarine habi-
tations cannot live above the level of the deep, it is
manifest either that the Pacific has sunk to a-lower
level, or that the several islands hare been raised by
an expansive force acting from below. There can be
no doubt that the latter agent ought to be assigned as
the, true cause of the phenomenon.---Edinburgh Cabi-
net Library, No. XXXIII. Polynesia.
CORONER'S INQUEST.—Yesterday an inquest was
held at the Hero of *Waterloo Inn, Waterloo-read,
Lambeth, before William Carter, Esq., the Coroner
for Surrey, on view of the body of Collinson,
aged 75 years. The deceased resided at No. 64
Cornwall-road, Lambeth. He had formerly been in
good circumstances, but latterly was supported by his
nephew. He was addicted to habitual intoxication,
and between seven and eight o'clock on Saturday
evening last he returned home, excessively drunk, and
fell down stairs. From that time, although he had
not sustained any apparent injury from the fall, he
remained in a state of insensibility until his death,
which took place on Sunday evening. Verdict—
"'That the deceased died from apoplexy, occasioned
by a fall he received while in a state of intoxication."
BoY. KILLED BY. IfIS FATHER.— The neighbour-
hood of Feeney, near Dungyvan, was much
alarmed last week by a report that Michael Devine
had, by unmerciful treatment, caused the death
of his son, a fine boy, about twelve years of age.
Shortly after the death of the boy a report reached
the County Coroner, D. Bailey, Esq., and James
Stevenson, Esq., J. P., Ashpark, who held an inquest
on the body. It appeared that the father of the de-
ceased had, for a length of time, been in the habit of
beating him and the other members of the family in
the most inhuman manner, and that to escape his
violence they bad frequently to seek refuge in some
of the neighbouring houses. He had lately so
brutally abused the deceased; that he was forced
to go to the house of a man named M'lllheney,
where he lingered for a few days, and afterwards died.
The Coroner committed the unhappy man (who, it is
said, is labouring under insanity) to gaol, to await
his Irig tit to owing assizes.--Beffost Whig.

CORONER'S INQUEST.
HORRIBLE DEPRAVITY.
Tuesday, at 12 o'clock, an inquiry was ;instituted
before Mr. Wakley, M.P.,
at the Crown Tavern,
Edgeware-road, on view of the body of Elizabeth
Bell Woodroffe, aged 32, who committed suicide by
taking poison, under the circumstances subjoined :
Mr. Richard Keene, surgeon and chemist, No. 17,
Crawford-street, Bryanston-
square, deposed to being
called, and having found the deceased lying in bed,
her extremities quite cold,
and she evidently in a
dying state. She had been vomiting very much, and
was almost
if beyondshehad
tthakeen
Power of speech. Witness
asked
.poison, to which she made
no reply ; but on his ,again putting the question and
whether iin t
was arsenic, she by
a movement of her
sulphate ,
head signified in the affirmative. Witness then ad-
ministered to her two scruples ofof zinc •
but she never rallied, anddiedin less than 20minutes.
He had since made a post mortem examination of the
body, and found the whole internal surface of the
mpatches, indicating that
shest
hadstomach c h
takendiscoloured
arsenic,
Nt‘h. h
ircehd,
by subsequently using
tests, he had proved beyond doubt to be the fact;
the arsenic he had ascertained to have been purchased
at his shop by the deceased.
William Woodroffe stated that the deceased was
his wife. On Saturday morning last she placed a
cup out of which she had been drinking on the table,
and throwing down a piece of paper, said, "There,
that's poison. I have done it." Witness saidyou are
always up to some of your tricks, and taking up the
paper, threw it ~,into the fire. About half an hour
hour afterwards she began vomiting, when witness
fetched her half a quartern of gin, part of which she
only drank. Subsequently getting worse, Mr. Keene
was sent for, shortly after whose arrival she died.
Sarah Blanchard (who cohabited with the husband
under the same roof) corroborated this statement.
A respectable-looking mechanic here stepped for-
- ward, and stated to the Jury that he was acquainted
forof vet, so respectable fa-
ne years, and had
all of whom with the
with her up to the
hmwaii
dti
yh
a. thef
sa thaeil yil deceased,aodof
beel
eleven
vn
ewnr
ah
caohr
rwi
li
dea
drs e n z
About two years ago
her husband, who was a zinc-plate
teixinceepotifonheorf
doenaethSwwleorwe
dasealdiv. ing
worker, deserted
h
,fuwr further assistance. assistance. She
destitute. She
had e r leaving
,since
h celived er i n Yorkshire
ontlie
bounty
of
her family and
friends, who at length, being wearied out with her
then importunities,sough t refusedafter
she at length
found living as described. She was at first repulsed,
but refusing to quit the place without him, an offer
was made to her to lodge with them, to which truly
revolting proposition she was
induced, through fear
her hhuesrbaannyd
of actual starvation of herself' and child, to accede.
Since then she had been subjected to constant ill-
usage from her husband, for protection against whom
she had more than once applied to a Magistrate ; and
while he and the female Blanchard occupied the bed,
she had been forced to submit to lie on a piece of old
carpet on the floor.
Mr. WAxinz remarked that the case was one which
disclosed facts of a disgraceful and immoral nature,
and one which could not have been supposed to exist
in the present enlightened age. The Jury, however,
had only met for the purpose of inquiring into the
cause of the death of the deceased ; and although the
conduct of certain parties might have led her to com-
mit self-murder, such parties were not answerable
there for the manner in which they had acted.
The Jury, after some consultation, returned a ver-
dict, "That the deceased had destroyed herself while
in a state of temporary insanity," at the same time
expressing their opinion that she was driven to the
commission of the crime by the base and cruel treat-
ment of her husband William Woodroffe.
On the husband of the deceased making his ap-
pearance in the street after the inquiry he was greeted
with the groans and hisses of about 100 women, who
had assembled round the house, and who would, had
it not been for the protection afforded him by the
police, have proceeded to the infliction of personal
chastisement

The Poet, James Montgomery, and the Rev. Peter
Latrobe have come over to this country as a deputa-
tion from the Moravian Church. A debt of 6,0001.
has been incurred by the Society, chiefly in keeping
up their missions in the Wrest Indies ; and they have
been compelled to throw themselves on the benevo-
lence of the Christian public, of all religious per-
suasions, to enable them to discharge this debt.
Three thousand pounds have been alread7 subscribed
in England, and about one thousand in the West In-
dies. Dublin ,Evening Mail.

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY MORNINV-; OCTOBER 20, 1842.

NEW INSTRUCTIONS AS TO THE MODE OF CLAIMING
EXEMPTION. _ .

In consequence of the great number of doubts and
difficulties that have presented themselves as to the
proper interpretation and meaning of the clauses of
exemption in this Act, the followingadditional instruc-
tions have been drawn up by her Majesty's Commis-
sioners, 'and will be delivered to the assessors of every
district. The following is an official copy :
" 1. Every person claiming to be entitled to exemp-
tion must, within the time limited for delivering in
the lists (or within such further time as the Commis-
sioners for general purposes in the district shall allow)
deliver to the assessor a notice of his claim for exemp-
tion, together with a declaration setting forth therein
all the particular sources whence the income of such
claimant shall arise, with the amount from each source,
and also every sum of annual interest, or other annual
payment reserved or charged thereon, whereby the
income may be diminished, and also every sum charged
against every other person on account of the duty, or
which he may have deducted or retained under the
authority of the Act out of any payment to which he
may be or become liable.
"2. Every person chargeable by assessment, or by
deduction from any rent, annuity, or other annual
payment, who shall prove that the annual amount of
his income is less than 1501., is entitled to exemption
from duties, and to repayment of all deductions on
account thereof, except so much of such duties as he
may be entitled to charge against any other persons,
or to deduct out of any payment to which lie may be
liable. Thus, if a person owns land of 1501. annual
value, and receives that sum in rent, and his tenant is
assessed on that sum on his behalf, then his income is
150/. ; but if he allows land-tax out of that sum
amounting to 201., then is his income 1301., on which
sum his tenant would be assessed on his behalf. The
same may be said of any other deduction allowed by
the Act. But if such person has paid out of his rent
201. for repairs, which is not allowed as a deduction
under the Act, his income still remains 150/. So, if
a person pays an annuity, interest of money, or other
annual payment out of his rent, then is his income re-
duced by that sum. If he pays annual interest to the
amount of 201., his income is 1301.; and if he pays
the land-tax of 201., then his income would be 110/.
But his income will not be reduced by the payment
of any sum from which he is not entitled to deduct
the duty.
"3. The annual value of lands'or tenements is to be
estimated according to the rules contained in schedules
A and B. The income arising from ownership is to
be understood to be the rent at which the same are
let at rack-rent, if fixed, by agreement, within seven
years preceding the year of assessment; but if not let
at rack-rent, then at the rack-rent at which the same
are worth to be let by the year, subject to the deduc-
tions to be authorised by the Act. _ _ _

"4. Every person separately assessed, or having a
separate interest in the profits assessed, may claim an
exemption.
"5. So co-partners, joint-trustees, or tenants in
common of the profits of any property whatever, hav-
ing declared their respective shares, in order to a se•
parate assessment.

" 6. So joint-tenants, or tenants of land in partner-
ship, being in the actual and joint occupation thereof;
and entitled to the profits in shares, and personally
labouring therein, or managing, the same.
" 7. So partners carrying on trade, or exercising
any profession together, and entitled to the profits
thereon in shares, and personally acting therein, in
such cases of separate assessments only.
" 8. So a guardian, trustee, or agent on account of
others, may claim on behalf of such others, either
where satisfactory proof is given that such others can-
not attend in person, or in cases where they may be
assessed for others, as acting in the character of guar-
dian, &c., to a person under incapacity.
" 9. Every claim is to be made to the Commissioners
of the district where the claimant shall reside, except
where the whole of his income shall arise from any
employment, the duties whereon are cognizable by
the Commissioners of a department of office, or from
a pension, in which case he may claim to the Commis-

shiners of the department.
" 10. Every person entitled to claim exemption
must sign the notice to that effect contained in the
forms left him by the assessor. If the income of the
claimant should arise from an 3r other source than
those described in the forms left him, he should signify
the same to the assessor, specifying from what sources
his income is derived.

" 11. Schedule for exemption (particulars of income
from whatever source derived).
" 12. In all cases claims for exemption are to be
examined by the surveyor of the district, and if he
shall not object thereto within 410 days after the same
have been transmitted to the Commissioners, or within
such further time as they, on just cause, shall allow
him to make such objection, the Commissioners are
authorised to allow such objection.
" 13. If the surveyor is satisfied that a party is
wholly exempt he will sign a certificate to that effect,
and lay the claim before the Commissioners at their
next meeting, upon which the Commissioners will
discharge the assessment, and if it shall appear that
any property is assessed in any other district the
Commissioners will certify to the Commissioners of
Stamps and Taxes, at the head office, the allowance of
the exemption, upon which the last-mentioned Com-
missioners will direct the assessment in such other
district to be discharged.
" 14. In case the surveyor shall see cause to object
to any claim for exemption, he is to certify such ob-
jection and the grounds thereof to the Commissioners
of the district, when the merits of the claims are to be
heard and determined upon appeal by the party before
them, under and subject to the rules, regulations, and
penalties under the Act.
" 15. Upon proof that any person whose claim for
exemption has been allowed has been charged to, and
has paid, the duties by way of deduction from any
rent, annuity, or other annual payment from which a
deduction is authorised to be made, or that such per-
son has been assessed and has paid the duty in respect
of any annuity, &c., payable out of the public revenue,
the Commissioners will certify what shall have been
so, proved to the Commissioners, at the head office for
Stamps and Taxes ; whereupon the last-mentioned
Commissioners will issue the necessary order for re-

payment.
" The order for repayment will be directed to the
officer for receipt, or the collector of the duties, or to
a distributor or sub-distributor of stamps of the dis-
trict or parish in which the claimant shall reside ; and
a notification thereof will at the same time be for-

warded to the party from the head-office, in order
that he may know when and where to apply for such
repayment.

AMERICAN LAW COURTS AND LAWYERS.—TO an
Englishman, accustomed to the paraphernalia of
Westminster Hall, an American court of law is as
odd a sight as, I suppose an English court of law
would be to an American. Except in the Supreme
Court at Washington (where the judges wear a plain
black robe), there is no such thing as a wig or gown
connected with the administration of justice. The
gentlemen of the bar, being barristers and attorneys
too (for there is no division of those functions, as in
England), are no more removed from their clients
than attorneys in our Court for the Relief of
Insolvent Debtors are from theirs. The jury are
quite at home, and make themselves as comfortable
as circumstances will permit. The witness is so
little elevated above, or put aloof from, the crowd
in the court, that a stranger entering during a
pause in the proceedings would find it difficult to pick
him out from the rest. And if it chanced to be a
criminal trial, his eyes, in nine cases out of ten,
would wander to the dock in search of the prisoner in
vain ; for that gentleman would most likely be loung-
ing among the most distinguished ornaments of the
egal profession, whispering suggestions in his counsel's
ear, or making a toothpick out of an old quill with
his pen-knife. I could not but notice these differ-
ences, when I visited the Courts at Boston. I was
much surprised at first, too, to observe that the counsel
who interrogated the witness under examination at the
time did so sitting. But seeing that lie was also occu-
pied in writing down the answers, and remembering
that he was alone and had no ' junior,' I quickly consoled
myself with the reflection that law was not quite
so expensive an article here as at home ; and that the
absence of sundry formalities which we regard as in-
dispensable, had doubtless a very favourable influence
upon the bill of cost. In every Court, ample and
commodious provision is made for the accommodation
of the citizens. This is the case all through America.
In every public institution, the right of the people to
attend, and to have an interest in the proceedings, is
most fully and distinctly recognised. There are no
grim door-keepers to dole out their tardy civility by
the sixpenny-worth ; nor is there, I sincerely believe,
any insolence of office of any kind. Nothing national
is exhibited for money, and no public officer is a show-
man. We have begun of late years to imitate this
good example. I hope we shall continue to do so ;
and that in the fulness of time even deans and chap-
ters may be convertecL—Dickens' Notes on America.
THE GUADALOUPE IRON WAR-STEAMER _Many
of our readers will remember this beautiful iron war-
steamer, built by Mr. John Laird, of North Birken-
head, for the Mexican Government. She was manned
by an English crew an.d engineers, and commanded
by Lieutenant Charlewood, R.N. On arriving at
Vera Cruz she, with the old City of Dublin steamer,
formed the leading vessels in an expedition consisting
of 2,000 men against Yuczttan, which had thrown off
the Mexican yoke, and so Republic on itst uP as
mainly owing to the
own account. The expedit ion,
N% 'as completely successful.
efficiency
,of the steamers,
,r navy, and the whole
Yucatan was deprived of hk
and of Mexico. Iron
coast placed under the comm
steam-vessels of war are thus ph:Ying as conspicuous a
part in the naval wars of the we, stern as they are in
tibOn of the cistern seas.—Liverp,,'ol Albion.