The Sun.
London, England, 1842-01-05 00:00:00

CRIMINAL COURT.-(THIS DAY

OLD COUR P.
(Continued from our Afternoon Edition.)
Post- °et:ter; ROHRER v.—Richard Horton, aged 30,
was indicted for soating one letter, containing one sove-
reign, the property of the Postmaster-General.
Mr. SHEPHERD (with whom was Mr. Adolphus)
stated the case to the Jury. It appeared that on the
22d of Deember, Mrs. Ann Bay, residing at Truro, en-
closed a sovereign in a letter directed to Air. Alden, 27,
Brewer-street, near the Brill, Somers Town, London,
sealed the letter, and put it into the post•office. The
letter arrived at the Post-office, London, in due course,
on the 24th of December, and was entrusted to the pri-
soner, who is the postman of the SoMers Town district,
to deliver, the inspector having, on observing that it
was a money-letter, previously made an entry o the di-
rection in a book, unknown to the prisoner. On the
prisoner returning to the office he was asked if he knew
Mr. Alden, 27, Brewer-street, and if he had delivered a
hitter there, as inquiry had been made on the subject.
The prisoner replied that he knew Mr. Alden, and 27,
13rewer-street, but that he had had no letter directed to
:27 that morning, for if he had it would have been deli-
vered in the usual course. The prisoner during his
rounds that morning had passed Mr. Alden 's house, and
bad spoken to Mrs. Alden, who was standing at her
tloor, but had delivered no letter. The authorities at
the Post-,)flicu directed that the prisoner's house
and person should be searched, and in the prisoner's
trowsers-pocket there was found a sovereign, and in his
breast-pocket a memorandum -book, in which was the
letter in question, the seal of which was broken, and front
which the money had been abstracted. The prisoner at
the Police-office said, that on getting to Brewer-street,
he found the seal of the letter broken, and the sovereign
visible ; that he took it out ; that he did not know Ora
to do with it, and bad intended, •on his return to the
rust-office at five o'clock, to ask what he wits to do with
it ; and that he would have stated the fact at the Post 7
office when given into custody, if he had not been cau-
tioned by Peake, the policeman, as to what he might
state.

Mr. PliumPs addressed the Jury for the prisoner, and
contended that the account given by the prisoner at the
Police-oftice was strongly corroborated by the fact that
he had not either destroyed the letter or changed the
sovereign.

Several witnesses gave the prisoner an excellent cha•

racter.

The deposition of Peake, the policeman, before the
Magistrates, was put in and read, for the purpose of con-
tradicting the testimony he had given in Court. Peaky,
in his evidence to-day, stated that when he took the pri-
wqier into custody he cautioned him by telling him that
wictever he said would be used either for or against him,
when, from the depositions, it appeared that he had
stated when before the Magistrates, that he had cau -
tioned him net to state anything unless he thought pro-
Ter. Pt-ake denied that he had made use of the expres-
sions attributed to hi!u when before the M'agistrates.
Mr. SILEPAERD replied.
Mr. Justice WmturmAN in summing up said, that it
did not appear to him that the discrepancy in the evi-
dence of Peake, as given in Court to-day, and as given
before the •Magistrates, was of any very great import-
ance as regarded the case against the prisoner.
The Jury without hesitation found the prisoner
Guilty, but recommended him to mercy on account of
his good character.
Mr. Baron GURNEY—You should recollect, Gentle-
men, that every person employed in the Post-office must
necessarily have a good character.—The prisoner was
then removed from the dock.

AtiOTTIER POST-OFFICE CASE.—Henry Warner was
indicted for stealing one letter, containing a bank note.
value 101, the property of the Postmaster-General.
The prisoner ph:acted Guilty.
From what transpired, it appeared that the prisoner
was shopman to all oilman, whose shop was a receiving-
house for the Post-ottiee, and that the prisoner had stolen
the letter in question, which had been posted at his
:master's. .-tieveral witnesses gave him an excellent cha-
racter.—Sentence deferred.

STATE OF TRADE.
(From the Manchester Guardian.)
ltilANcrtEsTEit.—Tt.c-c was I ttle change to report
in the state of the m.rket yesterday. The improved
kfitog which we noticed a wrek ago continued without
change ; and many, of the spinners, with some of the
manufacturers of printing cloths, demanded higher
prices,
which, however, the buyers were not much dis-
posed to
give, and coascqueetly but
little business was
done, it,dced, at this season, and especially with some
propability of sec ere frost anti consequent interruption
of the Canals, not much activity can be expected in the
absence of speculative inquiry ; and the tendency of
prices has been so ling and so uniformly downward,
that some time must elapse -before buyers can be in-
duced to make any considerable purchases in anticipa-
tion of their actual wants.
Although the appearances of gradual and steady im-
provament in buriness during the present year are, as
we have already stated, rather promising, we cannot
help thinking that some of :the grounds of expectation
on-thie%scorer•whiell we findputiorth in different quar-
ters, aro rather questionable..-.. Intsonle of the annual

ROCHDALE FLANNEL MARKET, MONDAY, JAN. 3.
—The market to-day is scarcely deserving that name.
Few buyers have attended, and very little business has
been transacted at any prices. There has been another
failure this last week amongst those manufacturers who
make for the Blackwater market. The •' New
market," which may be considered as the opening of
business for the year, will be held on Monday next, the
10th instant.

HUDDERSFIELD MARKET, JAN. 4.—A general dul-
ness pervaded this market, and the business done was
of the most unsatisfactory description, both in quantity
and price. Buyers were numerous ; but evidently re-
luctant to give any thing like fair prices.

LATEST MANCHESTER BETTING

MANCHESTER-TUESDAY EVENING.

THE CHESTER TRADESMAN'S PLATE.—SeVeraI par-
ties attended the room this forenoon, anticipating, as
we imagined, that the entry would be on the table ;
however, they left as they came, without the knowledge
of either the exact number or the high or low quality
of the candidates, The only offers we heard were the
following, viz. lay 50 to 10 agst any of the Welsh
division, 3 to 1 agst Mr. Scott's lot. (reported to be 10),.
and takers of 20 to 1 on the Marquis of Westminster's
(understood to be only Satirist and Sleight-of-Hand).
If this be the case, the Morning Star and Van Am-
burgh parties may, indeed, look out for a fresh fancy.
THE DERBY.--ii to I was offered "against Attila; 9
to 1 against Chatham; 20 to 1 against Robert de
Gorham; 25 to 1 against either the Lord of Holderness
or Ballankeele (offered) ; 200 to 6 against Dime
(offered); 1,000 to 15 against Scalteen; takers of 1,000
to 10 on Canadian, or of 400 to 12 on the Lord of Hol-
derness ; 12 ce 1 was offered r. the Lord of Holderness
and Ballankeele ; 1,000 to 20 against each, say the
Agreeable colt and Rover (offered). The following
engagements were booked in ponies :-40 to 1 against
Meteor ; and 50 to 1 against Sea Horse. When we
left the room 40 to 1 could not be got upon Aukland.
THE OAKS.—A gentleman of considerable influence
offered 12 to 1 against any two, bar 1. A bet of 45 to 1
in ponies, was taken upon either Aukland or William de
Fortibus, but we could not exactly catch the horse.

circulars of Liverpool brokers, for instance, we find the I PROPOSED NEW GEOGRAPHI-
probable termination of the disputes with China CAL DIVISION OF ENGLAND AND WALES,
occupying a prominent THE BETTER TO PROMOTE 'CIVIL AND
pace amongst the causes
likely to lead to an increased demand for cotton ECCLESIASTICAL CO-OPERATION.
goods. We fear, however, that this expectatiOn (From the Congregational Magazine.)
will be disappointed, unless the settlement with England and Wales contain a surface of 57,552
the Chinese should lead to an opening of new Square miles. This portion of the United Kingdom is
channels of trade to an extent scarcely to be expected differently divided for civil and ecclesiastical pur-
under existing circumstances. Notwithstanding the poses. The chief civil divisions are circuits, counties,
interruptions of intercourse which have from time to hundreds, wapentakes, tythings, parishes, town-
time existed, there has been so far no diminution of ex- ships, liberties, &c. The ecclesiastical divisions
ports. On the contrary, the shipments to China in 1841 are provinces, dioceses, archdeaconries' parishes, eh-
exceeded those of 1840, as these exceeded the ship- pelries, and peculiars. However well suited these
meats of 1839 ; and, at the date of the last advice!, con- divisions might be to the times and purposes for which
siderable quantities of goods, remained unsold. No re- they,,were made, they are now attended with great trou.
sumption of the trade under ordinary circumstances could ble and expense. Some are inconveniently large, and
be expected to cause a great increase of demand ; and others unnecessarily small. The county of York con-
if very large shipments should be made in the hope tains 5,836 sqnare miles, while Rutland has but 149.
of such increase, it is to be feared that they would The shapes of the counties arc in general ex•
lead to disappointment and to severe losses. Even- tremely ill-formed, in numerous instances they
tually, we have no doubt, the demand for English run deeply into one another, and in many cases
goods and yarn, especially the latter, will become parts of one colinty are isolated, and embedded in
very great ; but with such a people as the Chinese, several other counties. Most of the county of Dur-
all changes require time ; and even the opening of ham lies to the south of Northumberland, but one
new ports would only gradually lead to any very large part is ball-way up the eastern coast of Northumber-
extension of buskess. land, and another portion is quite on the north of that

county, and adjacent to Scotland, and is thus widely
separated from the body of the parent county, by the
whole length of Northumberland. What a needless
expense of time, trouble, and money, is required to
bring officers, jurors, witnesses, and prisoners, from the
borders of Scotland to the Assizes in the City of
Durham.
In most cases the boundaries of counties were de-
termined by the course of rivers. At a period when a

stream of water was a real impediment to the inter-
course of two neighbouring places, when for the most
part rivers were passed only over a solitary plank, or
through dangerous fords, at a time when a map was a
rarity, and the geographical knowledge of most men was
confined to their own parishes, there might be a pro-
priety, or even necessity, for making rivers the bounda-
ries of counties, &c. But now, when if we only mention
the latitude and 'longitude of any part of the ocean,
every school-boy can immediately point it out on the
map, when good roads in every direction, and bridges
at short distances from each other, render the inter-
course of towns in adjacent counties as easy as between
two places ,of equal distance in one -and the same
county, no such necessity exists. Whoever looks at
a map of Lancashire, Oxfordshire, or Berkshire, will
be convinced, that even chance or hap-hazard could
scarcely have formed more ill-shaped districts.
Some difficulty would now attend a general re-divi-
sion of the whole kingdom, but these, though consider-
rable, would be but temporary, and would soon be
compensated by the great and permanent advantages
that would accrue. It is, perhaps, to be regretted,
that a general measure of this kind was not adopted at
the passing of the Act to recorm the national repre-
sentation. The most has not been altogether over-
looked, and some poriial legislation on the subject has
taken place, but by ao means suited to the necessity of the
case. If there be political reasons why the Government
should continue the present awkward and unequal divi-
sions and sub-divisions which now exist, there is no reason
why voluntary Sociefes should be confined to them.
The Congregational. Union, the Baptist Union, the
Bible Society, the various Missionary and other So-
cieties, might at once dispense with them, and adopt
others incomparably better. The Wesleyaus have
already done this with great convenience and advan-
tage to their body—why should not other Denomina-
tions and Societies avail themselves of similar facilities ?
In the following suggestions the boundaries of coun-
ties are altogether disregarded ; the sooner we disabuse
ourselves of the prejudices and feelings which these
antique and awkward figures have occasioned, the better
we shall be prepared to adopt a more rational and con-
venient plan. In theconsideration of this subject both the
size and shape of the divisions should be regarded. It
a country could be divided into squares with the exact-
ness of a chess-board, it would be the most convenient
imaginable ; but as the general figure of our island, and
the great irregular;ty of the coast•, make this impos-
sible, an approximation to such a division is all that can
be obtained.
Many persons are of opinion that the, districts would
be too large, if England and Wales were divided into
but five or six part., as was proposed a few years ago.
Perhaps from 1,200 to 1,600 square miles might be
thought an area of sufficient extent for all practicable
purposes, without exposing Ministers and other per-
sons to great trouble and expense in travelling. If
Englund were divided into thirty-three, and Wales into
tour well-shaped districts, this number would be consi-
derably less than that of the counties, yet the extreme
points of a district would be much nearer to each
other, than are the extremities of many of our present
counties. On an average, an English district would
contain about 1,500 square miles, the side of such a
square woul3 be about 39 miles, and the diagonal about
54. Each district might be re-divided into four sub-
districts for the purposes of frequent and easy inter-
course. Some such division of the country would be
attended with many facilities and advantages.
The most material objection to the adoption of some
such plan, would probably arise from the present exist-
ence of many county associations. From these associa-
tions many pleasing intimacies have been formed,
and some useful co-operation has been secured. It
would therefore require some sacrifice of personal
feeling to relinquish these. But if a new arrangement afrard
facilities for greater public good, ought we cot to forego
our personal predilections ? And the new associations
•would quickly vocate new intimacies with all their
friendships and sympathies, and thus form the basis for
much more systematic co-operation of all the civil and
ecclesiastical associations.
In addition to these remarks, it may be observed that
the principle of adhering to county divisions in the
organization of associations, has been found so formidable
a difficulty, that it has been, in many cases, virtually
abandoned, and while the Association bears the name
of a particular county, a majority of its members actually
live beyond its bounds.
The consideration of the above proposals should not
be deterred by the charge of innovation. It is indeed
true that the Chartists have required that the United
Kingdom should be divided into three hundred electoral
districts, of an equal number of inhabitants, for popular
elections ; but then let it be remembered, on the other
hand, that the Commissioners appointed to consider
the estate of the Established Church have very truly
complained of the great inequality of the existing
dioceses, and have themselves recommended plans for
new divisions that have been sanctioned by Parliament,
and are now in the course of progressive adoption to
diminish that disparity.

NAVAL FORCE of GREAT BRITAIN

ON JANUARY 1, 1842.

The following is the official return of the naval and
marine forces of Great Britain, on-the Ist of January,
1842, including the recent promotions on the occasion of

the birth of hi-s
Royal Highness the Prince of Wales :
COMMISSIONERS FOR EXECUTING THE OFFICE OF LORD
HIGH ADMIRAL OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
The Right Hon. the Earl of Haddington.
Admiral the Right lion. Sir George Cockburn, G.C.B.
Vice-Admiral Sir :William Hall Gage, G.C.11.
Rear-Admiral Sir George Francis Seymour, G.C.H.
Captain the Hon. William Gordon.
The Right Hon. Henry Thomas Lowry Corry.

ROYAL NAY Y.-FLAG-OFFICERS.

Admiral of the Fleet—Sir Charles Edmund Nugen
G.C.B.

Admirals of the RA, 14; of the 'White, 16; of the
Blue, 16: total, 46.
Vice-Admirals ditto, 19; of the White, 19; of the
Blue, 20: total, 58.
Rear-Admirals ditto; 33 ; of the White, 34 ; of the
Blue, 40—total, 107.
_

Captains, 709 ; ditto retired on half-pay, 6 ; ditto
under her Majestycs Order in Council of the 10th of
August, 1840, 49.

Commanders, 809 ; ditto retired under his Majesty's
order in Council ofJan., 1816, and Nov., 1830,298.

Naval Knights of Windsor, 7; Lieutenants, 2,707 ;
Masters for service, 494 ; ditto retired, 6 ; Mates, 445 ;
Pursers, 580.

MediCal Officers.-1 Inspector-General of Hospitals
and Fleet ; 9 Inspectors ditto ; 13 Deputy ditto ; Sur-
geons for Service, 371 ; Assistant ditto, 249 ; Physicans,
7 ; Deputy Inspectors retired, 2 ; Surgeons retired, 36 ;
ditto on commuted allowances, 42 ; ditto unfit for active
service, 208; Assistant-Surgeons retired, 54; Dispensers
of hospitals, 8.
Chaplains—Active service, 39 ; retired, 41.
Naval Instructors and Schoolmasters, 37 ; Naval
Aides-de- Camp to her Majesty, 11 ; Marine Aides-dc-
Camp to her Majesty, 2.