The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1839-11-29 00:00:00

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STEAM NAVIGATION TO INDIA.

(From the City Article of the Morning Herald.)
The very important subject of a comprehensive system of
steam communication with our East Indian possessions has
been already so freely discusied in this journal, and re-
sponded to by all independent parties connected with those
valuable possessions, that we may introduce the following
letter upon the subject, which has been addressed by the
Bishop of CalcUtta to a gentleman of this city on that sub-
ject, without further comment.
" Bishop's Palace, Calcutta, Aug. 22.
" Dear Sir,—l should never forgive myself if I conveyed
to you the accompanying resolution, without at the same
time assuring you of the sincere gratitude I feel from the
bottom of my heart to a gentleman who has laboured so
assiduously, diligently, and successfully in one of the greatest
causes that ever interested humanity. I can truly say that
the consequences, immediate and remote, of an efficient plan
of steam communication betwen India and Europe, defy
calculation ; such a wonderful adaption of science is full of
" the seeds of things," as was said of Lord Bacon's
philosophical writings and principles two centuries since.
The invention of printing and the discovery of the mariner's
compass did not more immediately bear upon the happiness
of mankind. The human family is now indeed approximating,
and, by an inter-communication of knowledge, the times may
be expected to draw on when the illumination and elevation
of the more prostrate nations will be borrowed from the
most remote and exalted. _ _ _

" Allow me, sir, to conclude with saying that not only as
a chairman, but as a man and a Christian, I have sincere
pleasure in transmitting to you the following resolution.—l
am, your most obedient,
(Signed) " D. CALCUTTA.

" Resolution I.—That the report be received ; that the
thanks of this meeting be conveyed by the right rev. the
chairman to Messrs. Curtis, Larkins, Bagshaw, and
Mackillop, and to Captain Barber, for their zealous and
well-directed efforts to obtain the immediate establishment of
a perfect comprehensive steam communication between Eng-
land and India, and that they be assured no exertion shall be
wanting in Bengal in aid of their endeavours.
4" True copy,
(Signed) * "D. CALCUTTA, Chairman.' "

BRITISH INDIA.

There are 100 millions of British subjects in India.

Of these hay' a million died last year of famine, although
India may be called (fro►n its fertility} the granary of the
world.

There is at present a famine raging in some parts of India.
The chief cause of those dreadful calamities appears to be
the oppressive nature of the land tax, which, in the first in-
stance exorbitantly high, is made ruinously oppressive by the
mode of collection, which obliges the solvent inhabitants of
a district to pay all defalcations which may occur amongst
them.

Out of 34 millions of tropical produce annually imported
by Britain, with the whole or nenr:y the whole of which our
own India could supply us, we take but 41 millions from her.
We receive but 1-13th of our cotton from India, though it
grows there indigenously ; while we take 800,000 out of
1,000,000 bales from North America annually, at the expense,
too, of upholding their detestable system of slavery, and send-
ing them to Cuba, &c. where slavery reigns in all its most
dreadful horrors, for a large portion of their sugars.
Cotton is not indigenous to North America.
Fifty years ago the first, eight bales were brought into Eng-
land from one of her ports and seized as contraband, it not
being believed possible she could grow it.
The salt monopoly still continues. Salt is peculiarly a ne-
cessary of life in India, as rice, which is the main food of the
population, is unwholesome without it, nevertheless, a native
is liable to be fined 500 rupees (X 50.) or three months' im-
prisonment, or both, for stooping to pick up even a single
grain of it from the sea shore !—Christian Patriot.

CLOGS FOR THE QUEEN.—Among other desirable things
which fall to the lot of a virgin her presents are not to be
forgotten. The Parmard cheese will serve to grace her Ma-
jesty's table, and stand the knife even' of Melbourne for
many months. The very small shoes which were sent to
her, as well as the riding habit from Leeds, are all useful,
and though the guinea pigs were rejected, it seems that her
Majesty does not object to a pair of clogs. Mr. Richard
Baxter, of Think, has had the ingenuity to make great im-
provements in spring clogs, and as a testimony of his loyalty
forwarded a pair each, to Victoria and her august Mother.
The following is said to be the reply, and it will be Seen that
the spring clogs are termed " Boots" by the attendants of
Royalty. " From her Majesty to Mr. R. Baxter, in return
for a pair of boots which her Majesty has been graciously
pleased to accept." " The Lady in Waiting upon the Duchess
of Kent is commanded by her Royal Highness to acknowledge
the receipt of Mr. Baxter's letter of the Ist instant, accom-
panied by two pair of walking boots. Her Royal Highness
is exceedingly obliged for Mr. Baxter's attention, in sending
one pair for her, and had the pleasure of delivering to the
Queen the pair intended for her Majesty.—Windsor Castle,
Bth of November, 1839."
DEEPER AND DEEPER STILL.—The Marquis of Lans-
downe has written a reply to the Bishop of Exeter's letter—
a piece of folly quite equal to that of a burnt child a second
time putting its finger in the fire. It would be best, perhaps,
to let the bishop deal with his lordship in the first instance ;
but there is one passage in his reply which concerns every
one—lookinc, at his lordship as the chief director of the con-
templated scheme of public instruction, and which it is not,
therefore, froward to notice. His lordship gives, as his rea-
son for saying, "we have no supernatural being upon whom
we can rely,' that "we could not expect God to work a
miracle for us ;" so that, because God will not condescend
to work miraces for us, no reliance is to be placed in Him !
What sort of religion a man entertains who "insists" upon
that, it is impossible to say, for the doctrine is perfectly new.
His lordship is a new sect in himself, and his belief should
be called Lansdownism. The truth is, his lordship is com-
pletely bewildered, and says he knows not. This, at least,
is the most charitable construction, and, as is quite natural,
the more he struggles to flounder out of the foul expression
he originally used, the deeper and deeper he engulphs him-
self the raire.—Morning Herald.

SOCIALISM AT BRADFORD.

THE VICAR'S PROTEST.

(From the Leeds Intelligencer.)
Since our last we have received a fuller and more particu-
lar account of the protest of the Rev. Dr. Scoresby, Vicar of
Bradford, at a recent meeting of the Socialists in that town.
It appears that the Socialists had been holding a festival and
establishing a Social Institution at Bradford, and for their
furtherance in the infidel object they had obtained the assist-
ance of a Mr. F. Hollick, a young man of considerable talent,
who styles himserf " Social Missionary," to give lectures on
the question—" The Popular Religion—true or false." Au
invitation to these lectures was received by the Vicar from
the Socialist Secretary, couched in respectful terms, and stat-
ing that any objection cbnscientiousty offered on this subject
deeply affecting the interests of mankind would be seriously
and candidly attended to—" Truth," it was added, " being
the sole object sought for by the Rational Religionists."
Thus invited, the Vicar intimated to the Secretary his inten-
tion of attending the lecture of Thursday evening, the 14th,
stipulating that admission should be provided for two or
three friends, and that the lecture should not exceed one
hour ; or if it did, he, at the end of an hour, if he thought fit,
might have an opportunity of speaking, andi then retiring.
This circumstance having been announced at the lecture of
Wednesday,, there was a crowded attendance on Thursday—
probably near 1000 men, and 40 or 50 women.
The Vicar, accompanied by Messrs. G. Pollard, J. and W.
Rand, A. Harris, Rev. G. S. Bull, and a gentleman from
Scotland, entered the room five minures before eight, and,
declining ascending the platform, were accommodated with
chairs in a vacant space at the upper end of the room. There
were some other gentlemen there, but none of the Vicar's
party. Tho lecture lasted just about an hour, when the lec-
turer sat down, as the presiding personage, in a centre chair
on the platform, and after a short pause, the Vicar, followed
by a part of his friends, ascended and addressed the crowded
and expectant assembly to the following effect :
" Men of Bradford,—l have attended the lecture which
you have just heard on the invitation of your secretary. The
subject to be discussed, he informed me, was one deeply af-
fecting the interests of mankind—that is, whether the Popu-
lar Religion be true or false ? I also believing it to be a sub-
ject of solemn consideration, and deeply affecting your hap-
piness both here and hereafter, have felt it my duty, as Vicar
of this parish, and, as such, placed in the providence of God,
and by the law of the land, in the care of your souls, to accept
the invitation. But in so doing, it is not my intention to
debate the subject of the lecture, which I do not think fitting
in this place; though in my own place, in the Parish Church,
on Thursday next, I will, please. God, give a lecture upon the
question of which one side has now been considered,—but I
come here as the Vicar of this parish, and caring for your
souls, to make nay solemn protest, as in the presence of God,
and before these gentlemen as witnesses, against that fearful,
delusive, and ruinous system which has just been recom-
mended to you. In declining to debate the matter here, Ido
so, as those who know my public life will, I think, believe,
not from any fear of man, or difficulty in the task ; but be-
cause I think another course more fitting. At the same time,
I will take occasion to remind you that the controversy is not
betwixt me and the person who has just addressed you, but
betwixt him and the Word of the living God. If the Bible
be true! (Here there was an interruption, by a strong and
audible expression of contempt and derision from a number
of men seated on the benches near the platform, on which
the reverend speaker paused and remarked)—Men of Brad-
ford,—l do not think it courteous, much less generous, that,
after having been invited to attend this meeting, and encou-
raged to address you, any mention of the Bible should be
treated by you with scorn and derision. You may now be
brave against God, and may reject that Saviour which His
Revelation declares to us ; but I am free to confess that,
though I would not fear man who may kill the body, 1 do
fear that Great Being who, when he bath killed, is able to
cast both soul and body into hell ; and I am free also to con-
fess my belief of the truth of the Bible, in which is revealed
my hopes of happiness hereafter, and in that Saviour, whom
you despise, through whom I humbly trust to obtain access
to a future state of unspeakable blessedness !" The assem-
bly being now quiet, and for the most part a serious attention
being observable throughout the room, the Vicar proceeded.
" If the Bible be true, let me now remind you, and to this
point I would request your serious attention,—then all the
conclusions that you have heard from your lecturer must be
false; but if the Bible be not true, then some of the greatest
of philosophers, Newton, Bacon, and many others, whom the
world has received as ranking high among rational men, must
have been fools ; for they were firm believers in the Bible as
a Divine Revelation.

" And let me tell you of one province of the Bible. The
lecture you have now heard has professedly been about matters
of fact and experience ; and your lecturer disclaims the mak-
ing use of or receiving anything else. He only, therefore,
can tell you of what now is, or of things that are past ; but
the Bible, which we believe, tells us of the doctrines of man,
and what shall be hereafter : it tells us this—may God grant
that the declaration may impress some deluded ones among
you !—` That the dead, small and great, shall stand before
God, and that every man shall then be judged according to
his works : that the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all
the nations that forget God.' Let me solemnly beseech you,
ye men of Bradford, and [turning to the lecturer, the rev.
speaker impressively added] and the man who has been en-
gaged in the misleading and deluding, by the false and ruin-
ous principles of Socialism, this numerous people, to consider
now how the matter will stand with you in that day ? If the
Bible be true—Oh! what a tremendous disappointment and
woe will then be revealed to you ; and to you, Sir, [turning
to the lecturer) for the abuse and profanation of those su-
perior talents which would have been so estimable in a better
cause !"

" Let me, hefore I conclude, also warn you, ye men and
women of Bradford, against the destructive influence, tem-
porarily, of the sensual system which has been advocated,
but the abomination of which has been studiously kept out
of sight. If lam rightly informed, the system of Socialism
denounces the ordinance of marriage, appointed of God, that
one man should be joined to one woman. Is this [address-
ing the lecturer] the fact, or no? [The lecturer was silent]
—I ask, Sir, is this a part of your system' or no ?" The lec-
turer said—" I will answer when you have done." The Vicar
proceeded. " I presume then, the thing is so. But I appeal
to you, ye women of Bradford, is your support of such a sys-
tem rational Is it rational to go back to the ages of hea-
thenism, and the condition of savage, uninstructed nations,
where their women are degraded as slaves, and beasts of bur-
den ! To Christianity our women owe their rank, their con-
sideration, and all their dearest privileges. Is it rational to
reject these ? I address you, women of Bradford—is it well,
is it rational, to sanction a system which makes your children
bastards? Or, ye men and women, which makes you adul-
terers and adulteresses, whom God will judge ?"
The reverend Vicar having repeated the announcement of
his intended lecture at the Parish Church, and invited the
attendance of the people there, concluded with a few words
of solemn exhortation, warning those who came from curiosity
against attending such meetings, and, then, evidently much
to the disappointment of the Socialist party, retired from the
room, together with all the gentlemen who had accompanied
him.

_,' 4

We are happy to have it in our power to contradict a ru-
mour very prevalent in town, respecting the serious illness of
the Earl of Eglinton. His lordship was slightly indisposed,
but not so much as to excite alarm, and he is now conva-
lescent.—Ayr Observer.
We understand that Mr. Ruthven has obtained patents for
" Economising Fuel," by condensing the waste steam of
engines with cold air, and discharging the air highly heated
into the furnace, producing a very important saving in fuel,
besides other advantages.—Edinburgh Courant.
ECONOMY OF THE NEW Pool:. LAW. —lt is stated that
not less than £2,500,000 in exchequer bills have been ad-
vanced, towards the erection of the various Union Work-
houses, formed under the New Poor Law in different parts
of the country.
A fire-ball fell on Thursday se'nnight, in a field adjoining
the city of Peterborough, belonging to Mr. Taverner, and
passing completely through a stack of hay, entered the earth
under it, leaving a hole nearly a foot wide, and the hay much
scorched.
The Leipsic Universal Gazette, of the 20th, has a letter
from Paris' stating that the Duchess of Orleans is again en-
ciente, and that she has become a Papist. The public pro-
fession of her new faith, adds this correspondence, will take
place at the christening of the Count de Paris.
On Monday, a dead body was cast ashore near Helens-
burgh, exactly answering the,description we gave of John
Falconer, who was supposed to have perished when the
Royal Tar and one of the Liverpool steam pjickets came in
contact. Intimation having been sent to his friends, the
body has since been identified as that of the person alluded
to.—Greenock Advertiser.
BIBLE PRINTING.—We understand that Mr. Alexander
Gardner, printer, of this town, has this week been duly au-
thorised by the Lord Advocate to print the Scriptures, the
Confession of Faith, and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms.
So far as we have heard, this is the first appointment, under
the new regulation, for printing the Bibie.—Paisley
Advertiser.
We hear that Lord Auckland, the Governor-General of
India, is to be advanced in the peerage to the dignity of an
earl, by the title of Earl of Auckland and Viscount Eden ;
and that Sir John Keane, the brave commander of the army
of the Indus, is to be created a peer. Suitabl :lonorary dis-
tinctiong will be conferred also on other officers who were
engaged in that important and brilliant service.—Govern-
ment Evening Print.
Hors.—The accounts received from all districts where
hops are cultivated state, that the picking had terminated.
In East Kent the produce, it is expected, will be equal to
that of last year—the quality probably not so good. The
whole of Kent will exceed last years' produce. The duty,
it is thought by the buyers, may be from £10,000"to £12,000
more than was last year realised in these parts of the king-
dom. The planters think the present estimated duty over-
rated. They calculate it at £205,000 to £2lo,ooo.—Kent
Herald.

The report is again prevalent of her Majesty's intention to
have a marine residence at Ramsgate. Indeed, it has been
said that a plan and design of a royal edifice has actually
been submitted for approval, but that her Majesty prefers
the site of the West Cliff.(whence she can have a view of the
shipping in the Royal Harbour) to that of the East Cliff,
where the marine panorama is not seen. Cliff House and
grounds, with the contiguous property, are pointed out as an
eligible spot for the erection, being sheltered from the cold
wind ; and they might, with little cost or trouble, be seclud-
ed from the public gaze.—Kentish Observer.

AN ATHEISTICAL PREACHER.—On Sunday last Mr. Owen,
we understand, delivered two sermons in the- Freemasons'
Hall, Niddry-street--the one in the morning, the other in
the evening. The subject on both occasions was charity, his
text being taken from the 13th chap. of Ist Corinthians.—
Scotsman.—[The devil, they say, can quote scripture, and
here is an avowed atheist lecturing from the gospel on cha-
rity. With regard to the audience, only Socinians and infi-
dels are degraded enough, morally and intellectually, to listen
to the beastly doctrines of this hoary apostle of undisguised
atheism and universal prostitution.—Edinburgh Evening
Post.

Statements having appeared in the Morning Chronicle re-
specting her Majesty Queen Adelaide, and referring to her
conduct, as well as to her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen,
we are authorised by a gentleman who accompanied the Queen
Dowager to Lisbon, and who has ample means of knowing
the falsehood of all these statements, to give the most pe-
remptory and unequivocal contradiction, both in the general
and in the particular, to the whole statement, which, as it has
its foundation in falsehood, could only be dictated by a mali-
cious disposition to create mischief.—Morning Paper.
SIGNS OF THE WEATHER.—Two wayfaring men lately
took up their lodging in a country public-house in this quar-
ter, and being anxious to take the road early, one of them
rose in the course of the night to ascertain how the world
wagged. " Weel, what kind. o' weather are we to get ?"
inquired the cautious traveller who kept his bed. " I canna
tell ye," answered the other, who had shoved his head into
a press, or " autnry," instead of shoving it out of the window'
—" I canna tell ye : the night's as black as pick—there's nae
a breath o' wind stirrin',--and there's just a dreadfu' smell o'
pease-meal.—Aberdeen Constitutional.

A young man in Perth was last week committed to jail,
and afterwards held to bail, for imposing on the Perth Co-
nstitutional, by causing it to announce the death of a well-
kno'wn gentleman in Edinburgh. The fraud was accom-
plished by forging the signature of an official gentleman in
Perth. The culprit admits the writing of the letters, but de-
nies the forgery of the subscription. He further confesses
that the hoax was an act of revenge for the rejection of some
sentimental verses he sent for insertion in the .Constitutional.
This sort of practical joking upon newspaper conductors has
now become sufficiently common to warrant the laW in ma-
king a severe example.—Glasgow Mail.

EXTRAORINARY MORTALITY.—The following almost un-
heard-of instance of mortality occurred in a family of the
name of Law, resident at Doddington, in this county. On
the 19th of August last, Andrew, the youngest son, aged 23,
paid the debt of nature. On the 11th of September, Matilda,
the eldest daughter, aged 21. On the 13th of September,
Ambrose, the eldest son, aged 33. On the 30th of Septem-
ber, George, the second son, aged 25. On the 14th of Octo-
ber, William, the father, aged 59 ; and, on the 12th of No-
vember, Harriet, the second daughter, aged 19. The mother
and one daughter are the only surviving members of a family
in which the hand of death has been at work with such fearful
rapidity.—iVorthampton Herald.

NATURAL CURIOSITY.—We have been favoured with a
sight of a beautiful antediluvian specimen of the fir tribe,
just dug from the Stevenson freestone quarry, on the estate
of Mr. Warner, of Ardeer.
,The trunk, stems, and leaves,
are as perfectly formed and pourtrayed in this piece of rock as
those now growing in the neighbourhood of the quarry. This
geological curiosity, along with a cluster of nuts, five in num-
ber, which composed part of the stone, was thirty feet from
the surface, being twenty feet below the present level of the
sea. The nuts and the leaves, stern and trunk of the fir, are
of a dark brown colour ; while the surrounding body of the
stone is a blueish white, which gives these fragments the ap-
pearance of the finest fresco painting. Many interesting
curiosities of the like description have been found during the
working of this extensive quarry. The antiquarian geologist
would certainly be highly gratified by repeated visits to this
excavation.—Correspondent of Ayr Observer.

A LOVE MARRIAGE.—Love marriages, even among
princes, are happily not altogether out of date, as is very
satisfactorily proved by the following extract of a letter from
Frankfort, of the 27th ult., published by the Courrier
Francais :—" We learn from au undoubted source, that the
young Count Neipperg, son, by the first wife, of the late
count, who was formerly Governor of Parma and Placentia,
and afterwards married the widow of the Emperor Napoleon,
is affianced to the Princess Mary, daughter of the King of
Wurtemberg and the Grand Duchess Catherine of Russia,
his wife, sister of the Emperor Nicholas. The young princess
was so deeply enamoured of the handsome young hussar
officer, that her health suffered severely from the opposition
made to her union with a personage below her own rank.
The king, her father, who loves his children with the most
tender affection, soon yielded his consent ; but that of the
Emperor Nicholas was not obtained without great difficulty,
and was at last granted only at the entreaty of the Archduchess
Maria Louisa. The count will be raised by the Emperor of
Austria to the rank of prince, and, after his marriage, will
reside at Louisburg; near Stuttgard. The princess will have
a dower of 60,000 florins a year, coming chiefly from• the
property
.of her mother."

THE YEAR 1810.—The Gazette de France contains the
foilowing remarks on the various prophecies which are said
to have been made relative to the year 1840:—" For a length
of time the year 1840 has been looked upon, without any
positive reason being assigned, as a critical period in modern
history. This opinion haS prevailed for the last 50 years
years from one end of France to the other. We have been
told that the brother of Count Capo d'lstrias, the Governor
of Greece, read an inscription on a tomb in the mosque of
St. Sophia, in 1819, that the Turks would be driven from
Constantinople in 1840. A person of eminence wrote
recently from America, stating that the opinion of the im-
portance of the year 1810 was generally entertained, not
only in America, but also in Asia. Ancient and modern
history have furnished us with very singular facts, which
may really be called popular presentiments, and we have
ourselves seen a book, which was printed at the commence-
nient of the 17th century, in which the writer, Pavillon,
amuses himself at the expense of those who sought to attach
importance to the year 1789. These rumours, however,
respecting 1840 prove one remarkable fact, that people's
minds are almost universally engaged in speculating upon it."

EARTHQUAKES.—The lateit arrivals from the Mediterra-
nean state that Vesuvius is inwardly convulsed, and thick
clouds of smoke cover the mountain top, the vapour of which
is so very prejudicial to the vines in the immediate neigh-
bourhood, that the government has remitted the taxes of the
growers. It is a remarkable fact that the eruptions of Ve-
suvius have, almost in every case, been preceded by alarming
indications of the volcanic action in Perthshire. About a
month ago, it will be recollected that some smart shocks
were felt at Crieff and Cowrie. It now turns out that, al-
most immediately afterwards, Vesuvius became convulsed.
It thus appears that there must be a chain of strata, of uni-
form sympathy, stretching from the Grampian and Ochil
Hills to Italy. There is nothing in the history. of Scotland
to show that earthquakes were peculiar to Perthshire previ-
ons to, the great earthquake at Lisbon ; but, since that time,
they have been more or less common • and on the assump-
tion that a chain of electrical strata does exist in this direc-
tion, the conclusion might be drawn that " the foundations
of ie earth," so to speak, were " rent," and thus, accord-
ing to Daubeny's hypothesis, " water and atmospheric air"
would thereafter find comparatively easy access " through
the channels in the rocks," and, reaching the heat which is
believed to " exist below a given point of the earth's surface,"
produce the volcanic action. From the borings which have
been made in Perthshire, in search of coal, the strata have
been proved to be highly charged with electricity, more es-
pecially in the valley of Struthearn ; and it has also been
demonstrated that the heat there is not far from the earth's
surface. Loch Earne; too, never freezes—a phenomenon
exclusively applicable to that lake, as compared with others
of equal dimensions in Scotland. Taking all these circum-
stances into account, we think they open up a very interest-
ing and inviting field for the farther investigation of physical
science in connexion with volcanic phenomena, and we hope
the attention of scientific gentlemen will be early directed to
the subject.—Aberdeen Journal.

The Marquis and Marchioness of Douro left last week the
seat of the MarqUis of Tweedale, for the Continent.
CRIME IN YORKSHir.E.—The calendar for the next York-
shire assizes presents an unusual and melancholy aspect—a fa-
ther killed by his son, a wife by her husband, and a sister by
a brother. There are now, with those out on bail, between
seventy and eighty prisoners for trial, a' greater number, we
believe, than was ever'known at this Season of the year.
It is a fact worthy of particular remark, that Vincent, the
chartist prisoner at Monmouth, was till Saturday last in utter
ignorance of the fatal events at Newport, and was not even
aware of Frost being in the same prison with him, until
he saw the would-be-dictator on Sunday morning, in the
chapel of theprison. Their exchange of glances was a study
worthy of Lavater.—Monmouthshire Merlin.
SPECTACLES OF No USE.—A. remarkable case occurred
at Ruthin a few evenings back which clearly proves how man
I may and does become the creature of habit. Two very re-
spectable gentlemen were, after the toils of the day, enjoying
a glass together, when the subject turned on the mode of
signing names, and one party bet the other glasses round that
he could not sign his name legibly with his eyes closed. The
bet was accepted, when the gentleman who was to place his
autograph on paper (with closed eyes) very formally drew
from his pocket a pair of silver spectacles, and having polished
his pebbles with a silk handkerchief, placed them formally
upon his nose, closed his eyes, and wrote his name, to the no
small amusement of those who participated in the joke.—
Chester Gazette.
ST. LOUIS, OCT. 19.—There was a crowd of some hun-
dreds to witness the sacrifice of the gambling tables at the
Court-house ; and all—excepting a few of the owners who
were looking on and meanwhile' " grinning horribly with a
. ghastly smile,"—seemed to be quite satisfied. The funeral
pile was about six feet high—quite a monument of iniquity.
One of the banks had six dollars in specie left in its vaults ;
showing that, without drawing hard upon their customers
arid producing a pressure in the money market, it could not
have held out long at any rate. We hope the gamblers will
not fire the town, in revenge for the fiery ordeal which their
property has passed through. At any rate, our officers and
the, city watch cannot be too vigilant.—American paper.
SANDWICH ISLANDS.—We have received from a friend a
copy of the Sandwich Islands Gazette, of April 6. It is dressed
in mourning for the death on the 4th of the Princess Kinau,
Governess of Oahu, in the 23d year of her age. She was the
sister of the King, and daughter of the late King-Tamaha-
maha, and was married in 1827 to Kekunaoa. She succeeded
'to the authority of the late Queen Regent, Kaahumaner,
on her death in 1832. She was three weeks previous to her
death seized with the prevailingepidemic, the mumps, which
terminated in a fever, which proved fatal. She has left a
husband, three sons, and' a daughter, the latter only five
months old. She was a woman of talents and spirit, and ap-
pears to have taken an important part in the administration
of the government of the,lslands, besides having entire con-
troul of that of the Island of Oithu.—,-Boston Daily Adv.
FALMOUTH, Nov. 23.--Serious apprehensions are enter-
tained by several persons here for the safety of her Majesty's
ship Swift, Lieutenant Welsh, R.N., commander, which
conveyed hence the Mexican mails of June 17, and was due
October 21. It is to be hoped that, although she is a consi-
derable time behind the destined period for the completion
of her voyage, she may still be safe, • and will soon be forth-
coming. To meet any exigency she might be put to by short-
ness of provisions, &c., on arrival in the channel, the Star
packet was despatched yesterday, on the wind becoming
northerly.
THE MARYLEBONE DEBT.—The worthy radicals, domi-
nant in this borough, seem to be in a sad quandary regarding
their present liabilities. What with jobbing and squabbling,
and experimentalising about the eternal repayment of Ox-
ford-street, unseemly litigatiOn with the clergy, and dissent
among thy parochial doctors—not to speak of the creation of
new offices under the very clever registration anomalies of
the whig administration, the parish will be in debt about
Christmas to the amount of nearly £30,000 ! Of course,
this includes the county and the police rates, and also the
yearly payMent of -Xl2OO on money borrowed at five per
cent. interest from the bankers, Messrs. Claude, Scott, and
Co. ! It will be curious to observe how so serious a matter
will be managed. The radical executive must " get money,
honestly if they can," but they must get money.—Morning
Herald.
We have late accounts from Ceylon. The repair of the
immense Bawaly tank, near Pomarrippo, was matter of
much conversation. This tank—the Herculean labour of
former ages—is one of the very curious remains scattered
through Ceylon, which prove that a numerous population,
whose energies were directed by considerable skill, once in-
habited parts of the island, and cultivated fruitful fields,
where nothing is now to be seen but impenetrable jungles,
infested by wild beasts. Some idea of the immense extent
of this tank may be formed, when it is stated that it would
require about 2000 labourerseto cultivate the land which this
tank, if repaired, would irrigate. There were many other
tanks through the island, of greater extent than this, all of
which, equally with the ruins of cities, attest the former
greatness of the place.
" THE CHOICE OF THE PEOPLE."— On Monday last
one of the modern specimens of the people's choice, a Town
Councillor, was creating a shameful disturbance in our
streets, by a too liberal indulgence in some of those elegan-
cies of mind for which he rs more celebrated, than for the
courteousness of his manners, without any notice being taken
of his conduct by the police, who were within 50 yards of
him. Being one of the body. corporate, and a pet of the
gentleman who is the imperium in imperio of that most
august body, he was, of course, allowed that enjoyment of
ruffianism ; but had he not been a radical councillor and a
publican, we will stake our existence he would have been
billeted for the night in Saddler's Wells, and next morning
been called upon to show cause, if any he could, why he
should not contribute towards that panacea for all local
grievances—the Borough Fund.—" Verily this is the age of
the Pharisees."—Stockport Advertiser.
EXPLORING EXPEDITION.—We understand that the ex-
ploring expedition. went as far south as, lat. 70 and some
minutes. Large masses of ice were seen in every direction ;
and as the winter was coming on, it was not deemed prudent.
to proceed further at that time. A plenty of right whales
were seen in the high latitudes. Returning to Valparaiso
and Callao, the expedition refitted, and then proceeded to the
Sandwich Islands, and were to spend the (southern) winter
in exploring among the Pacific islands and shoals. On the
return of spring, say about this time, they Were expecting to
go south again, intending to gain as high a south latitude as
the state of the ice would permit. Returning from this
cruise, in the autumn (next spring they would visit the
Columbia river, Oregon Territory, and the neighbouring
coast and islands, after which they would return to the
United States by the way of the Cape of Good Hope. They
cannot be expected home much sooner than two years from
the present date.—N. I. Journal of Commerce.
A FAIR EXCHANGE.—It is, we believe, a settled thing
amongst the whigs in this quarter, that Mr. Gibson-Craig,
who will of course be turned out of the county at the first
election, is to be put up in the place of Sir John Campbell,
as a candidate for the representation of this city, in the event
of the Attorney-General's going to Ireland or the House of
Lords. Mr. Duncan M`Laren has been throwing " sheep's
eyes" at the representation of this metropolis ; but we
doubt whether he will be able to overtake Boots junior, un-
less he can contrive to assume a pair of seven-leagued trotters
for the occasion ! The rallying cry amongst the supporters
of the voluntary volunteer—the phrase is not tautological—
is the homely assertion that he is " one of ourselves." We
remember when that expression was scouted with derision ;
but times have changed, and the whig-radicalshave changed
with them.—Edinburgh Evening Post.

GLASGOW AND AYRSHIRE RAILWAY.—It is truly grati-
fying to find that .the highest anticipations formed of the
success of this railway, promise to he fully realized, as a
traffic on the limited portiOn of the line already opened is
being created, far more extensive than the most sanguine
could have expected. Indeed, this undertaking affords a
more than ordinary illustration of the fact, that facility of
-communication secures trafic for itself. Before the line was
opened to Irvine, the intercourse between these places was
so very limited, that public accommodation did not demand
more than a one horse coach, thrice a week. Now, how-
ever, that railway coaches run to and from Irvine thrice a
• day, and there is a coach stationed at Irvine to carry for-
ward passengers to Glasgow, this route has become quite a
thoroughfare. And well do the shareholders of the Glasgow
and Ayrshire Railway merit so flattering a prospect of the
success of a- speculation fraught with such unspeakable ad-
vantages to the west of Scotland. The recent return of the
number of passengers that have travelled from Ayr to Ir-
vine, during the three months ending the sth current,
(36,832) must .give thent great confidence, that when the
entire line to Glasgow is opened, the traffic upon it will
greatly exceed the estimate laid before parliament. Indeed,
we believe that the parliamentary proof went no farther than
to warrant the annual traffic in passengers of 32,000, 4,832
less than have already traveled in three months ! The line
from Irvine to Kilwinning being, now on the eve of comple-
tion, will be opened in January next, when a large increase
of traffic must necessarily follow, from the surrounding po-
pulous districts, including the towns of Dairy, Kilbirnie,
Beith, Stevenston,, Saltcoats, Ardrossan, &c. The entire
line to Glasgow, as Ts-now pretty well known, is expected to
be opened in June, 1810.—Ayr Advertiser.
MORE EXPLANATIONS.—It is impossible to tell what com-
plexion thV'Marrittis of Lansdowne's speech on national edu-
cation will come to at last—except, perhaps, that of the Ga-
berlunzie's coat, which was mended and patched until not a
shred of the original was left. That he will himself attempt
to botch it up any more, after the rap of the knuckles which
Dr. Philpotts has (riven him in his last letter, is not very
probable ; but he has a- smart apprentice in the person of
Mr. Babington Macaulay, who has evidently taken the job
in hand, and will turn it out " fit to be seen" if possible.
There is no more mistaking his classical handywork than
there is the unique cut of Hay's boots Voila ! There is
rto supernatural-:being," said the -marquis (and printed it
too), on whom your lords-hips can rely to allay the coming
dangers To Ik. Philpotts' reproof of. the infidel tendency
(he does not say intention) of this passage, the Chronicle is
prompted to answer thus Lord Lansdowne never could
have dreamt that by such language he was questioning the
omnipotence of a God. -Every one who is versant with the
poets and the-older Roman writers, knows that in -all diffi-
culties it is the constant ,practice to introduce supernatural
beings: Lord Lansdowne's expression had reference merely
to the use of. the supernatural in works of the imaginaiion.
It was only another way of saying, a certain cause must pro-
duce its natural effects." If these be not the words of Tho-
mas Babington, then be there two suns in one hemisphere—
two Macaulays in London. And so, in saying that there
was no supernatural being to whom a Christian state should
look for help against coming danger, his lordship was merely
giving his imagination the reins, and, in the ardour of a my-
thological reverie, galloping towards downright blasphemy
without knowing it ! Meaning nothing more all the while
than to express, in the language of " the poets and the older
Roman writers," that " a certain cause must produce its na-
tural effects !" Very like a whale, by all that's palpable !
His lordship is certainly the GREAT OBSCURE, and deserves
to have a Macaulay ever, by way of a " running commenta-
ry," at his heels.—Morning Herald.

SIMPLICITY AND UNIFORM!TY.7One way to teach a
stranger the English language is, first to teach him Greek,
Latin, French, Dutch, Saxon, and the fifty other languages
from which it is derived ; for when once accomplished in
all these the acquisition of plain English will be child's play
to him. Mr. Rowland Hill, or those in authority over him,
seem to have adopted some such plan in preparing the Post-
office clerks for the ease and uniformity of a universal penny
postage. Under the existing system there are about a dozen
races of postage as regards distance, and which, as regards
weight, are (after the first ounce) merely to be multiplied by
the number of quarters of an ounce a letter will draw down.
But this does not afford practice sufficiently severe to render
the Post-office clerks ready enough reckoners for the penny
scheme,- which was to save so much trouble, as well as ex-
pense ; and accordingly it will be seen, from the London Ga-
zette of Friday last, that they are to be put into a course of
training under an intermediate system, a hundred times more
complex than the old one, to prepare them for the simplicity
of the new one ! The " intermediate" exhibits no less than
two hundred and seventy-two different charges for postage,
(besides the original fourpence,) weight and distance being
ingeniously combined in so many several ways ! This may
seem so incredible (corning from the simplicity and uniformity
school) that the reader is requested to take the London Ga-
zette, and, as an arithmetical diversion, make the computa-
tion for himself. Luckily this is not to last long, (at least
they say so, for otherwise it would be necessary for Lord
Lichfield to get• Mr. Babbage to make a calculating machine
for the Post-office, as no mortal head could bear the burden
above a year. As the means of testing the mental powers of
the clerks, the intermediate system is certainly most efficient ;
for the deuce is in it if a man who can work that cleverly will
not be well qualified for a system, the business of which is as
plain as selling bits of tobacco by the half-ounce.—M. Herald.

The Princes Ernest and Albert of Saxe-Coburg have joined
the reigning Duke of Saxe Coburg, and the King of the Bel-
gians, at Wiesbaden.
According to a Vienna correspondent of the Temps, Prince
Metternich designs Prince Esterhazy to be his successor.
This would seem to confirm a paragraph to the effect of his
excellency not returning to England, given a few days ago.
Very early symptoms of winter have shown themselves in
several parts of Europe. In Warsaw the streets and roofs of
the houses had, on the 29th ult. been completely covered
with snow for two days previously. In Dresden, on the 30th,
the snow lay a foot deep.
A correspondent of the Courier says—" Some idea may
be formed of the unusual activity that has lately prevailed in
the Woolwich Arsenal, from the fact, that a greater number
of pieces of ordnance, chiefly brass, have been cast within
the space of the last four months than during the whole
period of the seven years previous to that time."
The New York line-of-packet ship Philadelphia, Captain
E. E. Morgan, arrived yesterday, at Portsmouth, from New
York, having on board Joseph Bonaparte and suite. This is
the third time that distinguished individual has crossed the
Atlantic in the same ship, on each occasion making the worthy
captain a handsome present for his good conduct : in the
present instance a gold dessert service of 54 pieces.—
Morning Herald of Monday.
The lambs, we are happy to find, are looking (generally
speaking) well, and should we have a drying wind from the
eastward it will assist them much. In consequence of the
keep being so good in the Marsh this year, the lambs went
up in better order. Much depends on the weather between
this and Christmas as to their fate.—Kentish Gazette.
CRATSWORTH.—The workmen are now glazing the im-
mense conservatory at Chatsworth with a new description of
glass, called patent flattened crown glass by means of which,
in the ridge and furrow mode of roofing invented by Mr.
Paxton, a great improvement may be made in the construc-
tion of hot-houses. This glass is so much thicker than the
common crown glass, that it is in no danger of being broken
by hail-stones, and the panes may be made 40 inches long at
the same cost per foot as ordinary sized panes.
• DISASTROUS FIRE IN LONDON.—On Tuesday morning,
about half-past one o'clock, or a quarter to two, a destructive
and calamitous fire occurred in Lombard-street, Fleet-street,
on the premises of Mr. Slee, cabinet-maker. Several en-
gines were speedily on the spot, but great delay occurred in
getting a supply of water. The firemen were standing un-
able to offer the least opposition to the flames, which were
spreading with awful rapidity, and blazing on to the frontage
of the printing establishment opposite. The firemen, under
the direction of Mr. Braidwood, their superintendent, hoisted
the hose of two engines through the premises. and by the
energy used, after some anxiety, succeeded in preserving the
building, after some trifling damage ; but in the premises
where the fire commenced, damage was done to the extent
of at least £l5OO. The escape of the inmates was truly mi-
raculous. One woman, who was but the week before con-
fined of twins, was awoke by the crackling of the flames, and
the ceiling of the apartment, which was all on fire, falling on
her bed. She had not time to dress herself, and every thing
she had was destroyed, and, moreover, she, in consequence,
is left wholly destitute.
THAMES RIVER.—A HINT TO WATERWORKS COMPA-
NIES.—There is understood to be a plan in progress, devised
by Mr. John Martin, the celebrated painter, for materially
improving and beautifying the banks of the Thames from
Vauxhall-bridge to some distance below the Tower, on the
north side, and to Rotherhithe, or thereabouts, on the south
side ; and this plan, if carried into effect, will give an oppor-
tunity for the construction of those public walks which are
justly held to be so necessary to the health and comfort of
the inhabitants of the metropolis. The main purposes of the
plan are to preserve the river from being polluted by the con-
tents of the sewers which are now discharged into it, and
collect those contents for manure—a manure of the most
valuable kind, but at present lost, and at the same time pro-
ductive of positive mischief. To effect this object, it has
been recommended to construct two large sewers, one on
each bank, which shall receive all the matters now emptied
into the Thames, and convey them to receptacles below the
city, whence they may be taken into boats, properly contriv-
ed to prevent the escape of offensive effluvia, and conveyed
by canal or river to the country. This certainly, appears a
better manner of getting rid of the subject matter than drink-
ing it.

SURPRISING, IF PRACTICABLE.—If rumour be correct,
the great steamers are to have rivals in big balloons, which
are to be constructed for the express purpose of crossing the
Atlantic. _The idea is magnificent ; we wish it may turn out
practicable. In what manner the said balloons are said to be
guided, seeing that it is a point which has never yet been
achieved, is not stated. We presume that Mr. Green, to
whom the execution of the scheme is to be entrusted, has had
a " new light" on the subject, and now sees his way clearly
to the solution of the aeronautic problem. It is tolerably
certain that if the thing is practicable the balloons would beat

the steamers and their boilers hollow ; by going straight,
" as the crow flies," they must come to their journey's end
very speedily. Brother Jonathan would be astonished at the
descent of a covey of balloons on his shores. It would, after
all, only be a contest between coal and gas ; and, barring the
bursting of a balloon or a boiler, the notion seems flattering
as well as feasible. Balloons would, of course, be more liable
to be affected by the high winds. By all means let Mr. Green
first make his balloons, and then let him seek for passengers,
and if he find them they will be well worthy to belong to the
Green family likewise.—Sunday Times.
Tun MONMOUTH 0 UTDREA K.—lf an unfortunate Welsh-
man, an Irishman, or a Scot gets into a scrape, the English
papers are seldom remiss in giving full credit to whatever
country the unlucky wight happens to belong—a neglect of
which observance may he taken as denoting that the offender
is native horn, although this is never stated in the case of an
Englishman. This sort of tact has been followed up in re-
gard to the late chartist outbreak in Monmouthshire, the
credit of which is most generously handed over to old Cam-
bria, albeit Monmouthshire is an English country, as may be
seen by a look into any Gazetteer, viz., " Monmouthshire,
a count✓ of England, 24 miles long and 20 broad, containing
317,720 acres, divided into six hundreds and 120 parishes.
Monmouthshire was formerly reckoned one 'of the counties
of Wales. The borough of Monmouth is the capital, seated
on the Minnow, which here joins the Wye. Over the former
is a very ancient bridge and gateway, once a baCrier against
the Welsh. The warlike Henry V., called Henry of Mon-
mouth, was born here." We do not go the length of saying
that Welshmen were not concerned in the outrages, the fact
of their participation in the same being notorious enough, but
these were borderers, who, from their proximity to the Eng-
lish pale, became an easy prey to the factious demagogues and
traitorous Russell magistracy. Welshmen, properly so called,
abhor the chartist treason, being sound to the core ; and they
are now, as in times past, ready to vindicate their loyalty,
and also to maintain order against all disturbers.—North
Wales Chronicle.

TEETOTAL MIRACLE.--Last week an acquaintance meet-
ing another accidentatly, asked him how he was. "Very well,"
was the reply. " I heard," said the other, " you were nearly
blind." "So I was," he replied, " and deaf too." "And
how did you get cured?" " Why," replied the teetotaller,
" I drank so much that I could not see anybody except mine
host ; and particularly, I never could see my creditors, nor
could I hear what they said • but since I turned teetotaller, I
have paid the greater part of them, and 1 can now see and
hear very well! "
TRIBUTE SUNDAY.—The pay day is at hand—the tribute
is ail but due, and on Sunday, the Bth December, the box is

to be sent round. Woe be to the man who on that day enters
a chapel without his penny. The most pitifulappeals are made
in some of the Dublin papers, and no excuse will be received.
The collection it seems; turned out indifferently last year; the
people were unwilling, and the mendicant was unpaid. Be-
sides, conservatives were vigilant ; boroughs were at a dis-
count, and there were few Raphaels to be plucked.—Cork
Constitution.

DREADFUL ACCIDENT.—On Tuesday last, while a man
named Rice, who held some employment in the Zoological
Gardens, Dublin, was tying up two large bears for the night
in their dens, a little dog ran in, and was immediately seized
by one of the animals. The unfortunate man in attempting
to rescue the dog, was laid hold of by the two bears, and be-
fore assistance could be procured, he was almost torn in pieces,
—when he was rescued, he was immediately conveyed to Ma-
dame Stevens's Hospital, where every assistance was promptly
rendered to the sufferer.—We have heard that the unfortunate
man has since died ; but we cannot vouch for the truth of this
statement.—Dublin Pilot.

The Rev. J. Campbell, M. A. has been appointed, under
the sanction of the bishop, a missionary chaplain among the
navigators employed on the Bristol and Exeter railway. The
directors of the railway company, and the Pastoral Aid So-
ciety have contributed very liberally towards his support. It
is hoped that much good will be thus effected amongst this ig-
norant class of men, and that the same well-judged efforts to
reclaim them from their present heathen state will be made
in other parts of the kingdom. The men have received the
reverend gentleman in the most cordial manner, and have
listened to his instructions with the greatest attention.
DREADFUL SUICIDE.—An extraordinary instance of self-
destruction by a female occurred on Monday at Little Stret-
ton, in this county. Miss Mary Arm Bridgman, a remarka-
bly beautiful young woipan, twenty-two years of age, the
daughter of a highly respectable widow residing in that vil-
lage, had been for some time in rather a delicate state of
health, but not so much so as to cause any alarm ; she had
been attended by a most respectable medical man residing at
Stretton, who had prescribed for her, and she was much bet-
ter. On the morning of that day the young lady's mother
was superintending a brewing at her house, when she observed
Miss Bridgman writing on the back of a letter and tearing it
up and throwing it in the fire ; this did not excite any sus-
picion, but about nine o'clock in the morning she came into
the house, and not seeing her daughter there, her attention
was drawn to a scrap of paper, on which was written—" Fare-
well for ever." She immediately went to look for her in the
garden, where she was horror struck at finding her daughter
in a reclining position, with a gun, which had been. dis-
charged, in her hand, and a pool of blood near her : she was
quite dead. It appeared she had taken off her right boot for
the greater facility of discharging the gun, the muzzle of
which she had placed just above her right ear, and the charge
of shot had passed quite through her head, making an orifice
of the size of the muzzle of the gun on each aide of the head.
No cause can be assigned for the dreadful act, other than
that which the coroner's jury, after patiently investigating
the case, found by their verdict of " temporary insanity."—
Salopian Journal.
FALMOUTH, Nov. 24.—We are truly happy in having it
in our power to announce the arrival here this morning of
her Majesty's packet Swift, Lieut. Welch, from Mexico, as
most parties, particularly those connected with her, had
begun to have serious apprehensions for her safety, she hav-
ing been due upwards of a month; her chief detention oc-
curred between Tampico and the Havannah, from a preva-
lence of easterly winds at the time prevailing. She left Vera
Cruz on the 17th September, Tampico 23d, and the Havan-
nah on the 20th October, bringing on freight £138,340 in
dollars and other specie, and left at Vera Cruz her Majesty's
ships Cleopatra and Rover. The packet lost one man at the
Havannah from fever, where, from its continuance, with but
slight abatement, it was still causing considerable alarm.
No political news has reached by this conveyance, her dates
being antecedent to those which have already arrived. Her
Majesty's packet Express, Lieut. Croke, had passed the
Havannah for Vera Cruz prior to the 20th October.
CHESTER DIOCESAN TRAINING COLLEGE.--We would
direct•the attention of our readers to an advertisement in our
columns which announces the opening of the Chester Diocesan
Training College, and intimates the terms on which young
men may be admitted to the benefits of the institution, and
be formed for the important duties of school masters.
Whether we regard the welfare of society in general, or the
interests of our own city, we cannot but rejoice in the above
announcement. An improvement in the stindard of our
school teachers, is the surest way of raising the standard,
both moral and intellectual, of the people at large ; and an
institution which is raised for this purpose is calculated to
convey a very large measure of advantage to every part of the
diocese. The city where the establishment is situated must,
of course, derive great advantage from it. An easy access
will be offered to any young men among us who may be
desirous of devoting themselves to the good of their fellow-
creatures. Intelligence will be communicated most im-
mediately to those who in position are the nearest ; and
whether a school affording instruction in those branches of
science, which are of most easy and generalappepolipclaeticoann,-
becoming part of the plan or not, our young
hardly fail of drawing improvement from the opportunities •
which will be thus brought within their reach. The introduc-
tion of a large family of consumers is a matter of less con-
sideration, though -it is not to be overlooked ; but the
attachment that may be formed to the place, the feelings that
may bind many useful individuals to the city, where they
received that education which led them into situations of
usefulness and distincion, may be more extensively beneficial
than we are at first disposed to think.—Cheater Gazette.