The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-02-24 00:00:00

POLITICAL EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK.

The Hon. J. Lindsay does not intend to defend his re-
turn for Wigan.
Bets are made at the Club Houses in London, offering
to give £lOO to receive a guinea a day while Sir R. Peel
shall remain in office.
The Duke of Norfolk has withdrawn from the Sussex
Protection Society, and will support the government mea-
sures.

On Thursday, Mr. E. S. Gooch, a staunch protectionist,
was elected for East Suffolk without opposition, in the
room of Lord Henniker, resigned.

The Cambridge Advertiser states that there appears
little doubt of Mr. Goulburn's being opposed the first
time he again offers himself for the suffrages of the senate
of the university.

DUBLIN CITY.—The electors of the city of Dublin fiave
called upon Mr. William H. Gregory to resign the trust
which he has violated in support of a measure fraught
with evil. _

Mr. G. Finch, a protectionist, and a decided opponent
of the Maynooth grant, has been returned unopposed for
Rutlandehire, vacant by the retirement of the lion. W.
Dawnay.
Sir Robert Peel has derived great benefit from cupping.
The right hon. Bart. underwent the operation before at-
tending the House of Commons on Monday, Nhen be took
part in the debate.
A Paris letter to the Times says—" A very considerable
sensation has been produced in high quarters here by the
receipt of assurances from London that immediately upon
the passing of his measures now before Parliament, Sir
Robert Peel will retire from office."

A requisition has been originated by the League to the
lion. C. P. Villiers and W. Brown, Esqrs , requesting
them to become candidates for the representation of South
Lancashire at the next general election. A committee has
been appointed to canvass for signatures.
Sir G. Cockburn, M.P. for Ripon, and Admiral Bowl,
M.P. for Launceston, have resigned office rather than
vote against the understanding on which they were elected.
Lord Forester resigns the command of the gentleman
Pensioners, and Earl Delawarr, the office of Lord Cham-
berlain, being unable to support the Premier.
MR. O'CONNELL'S SPEECH.—The Morning Post says
the hon. member's speech was delivered with extreme
feebleness, and one could hardly persuade oneself that he
whose voice with difficulty reached the gallery, could be
the same great agitator whose stentorian lungs once made
the walls ring with their powerful tones.
The Duke of Newcastle has addressed a letter to the
inhabitants of South Nottinghamshire, in which he says
that his son (Lord Lincoln) has been deluded; and sug-
gests to him to retire from a contest in which he must be
beaten. It is confidently expected that Lord Lincoln will
not go to the poll. His opponent calculates on a majority
of SOO.

Capt. Rous. who has just been ejected from the repre-
sentation of Westminster, stated in the House of Com-
mons on the 14th Feb. 1842, that " the man who would
do away with the Corn-laws was only fit for Bedlam." In
1846 he declares his readiness to vote with Sir Robert
Peel for the repeal of the Corn-law. The gallant captain
has been custed from Parliament ; and where, according
to his own confession, should be now be sent to ?
The Siecle (Paris paper) has an article giving great
praise to those members of Parliament who, having
changed their opinions on the subject of the corn-laws,
have appealed to the judgment of their constituents. No-
thing can go wrong, thinks the Siecle, in a country where
the constitution is so well understood and so honourably
followed.— [The only drawback from this eulogy is that it
can be best wed upon so few.]
Robert Owen, in a letter upon the state of affairs in
England, says, " the abandonment of the Administration
by the Conservative party in that empire, is the signal
which proclaims the commencement of the great moral
revolution of the world." The news of the restoration of
Sir R. Peel was published on the same day and in the
same paper. What will the oft-mistaken prophet say to
that ?

In reply to a requisition calling upon the members for
West Somerset, Mr. Acland and Mr. Dickinson, for " an
explicit declaration of the view which they take of the
ministerial plan," Mr. Acland states that he shall vote
with Sir R. Peel. Mr. Dickinson is less explicit, but
gives the electors to understand that he also intendp to
support the ministers in the coming division. A cou`nty
meeting is spoken of for the purpose of formally calling
upon these gentlemen to resign their seats.
Mr. Seymour and Mr. Floyer, two opponents of the
government measures, were returned unopposed for the
county of Dorset on Thursday, in the room of Lord Ash-
ley, and Mr. Sturt resigned. The noble lord was present,
and delivered a long address, but declined peremptorily
being put in nomination. His lordship animadverted with
much warmth on a resolution passed by a meeting of elec-
tors opposed, that " it was inconsistent with their honour
to support Lord Ashley." His lordship with great force
challenged the whole county to state one single reason why
it would be inconsistent with their honour to returm him
as their representative. _ _ .

LORD NORTHLAND'S PREDICAMENT.—The Morning
Chronicle thus explains Mr. Ferrand's allusion to the
coal-hole predicament of Lord Northland. It would ap-
pear that on the occasion of the Maynoath grant, during
last session, Lord Northland had voted with Sir R. Peel
on the first reading of the bill, but after having done so,
some qualms of conscience seem to have disturbed the un-
limited confidence of the noble lord in the Premier. Be-
ing present in the house at the second readif.g, he was a
little puzzled what to do; vote against Sir Robert he could
not—to vote with him he was ashamed. Very properly,
then, he bit upon a tertium quid, and this was tempora-
rily to eclipse himself in the coal-cellar of the honourable
house, while the division took place over head ; then he
could return and resume his seat on the Ministerial
benches, with increased confidence in the Premier.

WESTMINSTER ELECTION.—The nomination for West-
minster took place on Tuesday. The proceedings were
opened by the High Bailiff, who stated that the vacancy
was caused by the acceptance of an office under govern-
ment by Captain Rous. (This announcement was 're-
ceived with groans.) After the usual preliminaries, Mr.
J. C. Wood nominated Captain Rous, and Lord F. Eger-
ton seconded the nomination. The Hon. Edward Bouve-
rie proposed General Evans, and Mr. R. Moore seconded
the nomination. The show of hands was declared to be
in favour of General Evans, but a poll was demanded on
the part of Captain Rous. The respective candidates then
addressed the assemblage. The crowd was very great,
and there was much uproar and confusion. The pull was
opened at eight o'clock on Wednesday, and at four the
voting was declared to be as follows :—General hvans,
3843; Captain Rous, 2906. Majority for Evans, the ra-
dical, 937. In 1841 Captain Rous beat the General by
several hundred votes. So much for the divisions amougst
Conservatives through Sir Robert's apostacy. The first
person who voted at the polling-booth, at St. Margaret's
Church, was Sir Robert himself. The hon. baronet ar-
rived as the chimes were going for eight, the commence-
ment of the polling, and gave his vote for Captain Rous.
There were few persons present at that early hour, and
few, except the poll-clerks, were aware of the rank of the
voter. In 1841, Captain Rous beat General Evans by a
majority of 80.
CAPTAIN Rons AND THE PREMIER.—An amusing
anecdote is in circulation, connected with the Westmin-
ster election, which exhibits the Premier in the novel
character of a dupe. It is said, that when the vacancy at
the Board of Admiralty occurred, Capt. Rous at once ap-
plied to Si: Robert Peel for the appointment. The Pre-
mier announced his readiness to accede to the. wishes of
Captain Roes, provided his re-election for Westminster
was a matter of certainty; but that he considered any
diminution of the ministerial strength in the House of
Commons at the present crisis as a matter so much to be
deprecated, that the condition alluded to was to be consi-
dered as literally a sine qua non. Tha gallant captain,
with characteristic alacrity, gave the assurance required,
and that, it is said, in the most precise and unqualified
terms. Whether the naval hero was the dupe of his own
vanity, or whether his ignorance of the feelings of his
constituents was in some degree feigned, remains to be
settled between himself and Sir Robert. One thing is per-
fectly certain, that the mortification of both knows no
bounds. At the clubs it is considered as doubtful whe-
ther Captain Rous, having lost his seat in parliament, will
be parmitted to hold his new appointment, as the failing
health of Sir George Cockburn makes the presence of
another member of the board in the House of Commons
almost a matter of necessity. The salary of a Lord of the
Admiralty is £1,200 per annum, and Captain Rous's ex-
penses at the late election are calculated at £l.soo.—Bri-
tannia.

CONNECTION OF SPEECH WITH HEARING.-It has
often occurred to me that there is really more connection
between the organs of bearing and of speech than is usu-
ally supposed. It is now the received belief that the deaf
and dumb are naturally only deaf, and that thay are dumb
also because they have never had any opportunity of learn-
ing to speak. It is undoubtedly true that for this reason
they do not speak; but I am persuaded there is also—a-
part from this, and physically connected with deafness—a
sort of inability to utter articulate sounds. I have no
physiological acquaintance with-the subject ; but the im-
pression growing out of my own experience and observa-
tion is, that the same fuctional causes act upon both or-
gans. The hearing, being the more delicate organ, is ut-
terly extinguished by that which only suffices to impede
or deaden, without utterly destroying, the vocal organs;
leaving them in so much vitality as may, under a certain,
artificial training and stimulus, be awakened into imper-
fect action. The deaf can thus be taught to speak, as a
bear can be taught to dance, or a man without hands to
fabricate baskets; but a natural indisposition to use this
acquired art, with more or less difficulty, or pain in the
use of it, remains : and this I am disposed to attribute not
to the education being left imperfect through deafness, but
to a physical difficulty in formingarticulatesounds.—Kitto.

. -
AMBITION—A LITTLE TALE FOR JOINVILLE.—A
mite, who lived in a piece of Neufchatel ch,et-e, was sur-
prised one day to find himself under a microscope. The
exclamations of the children, who were looking at him,
turned his brain, as he had no idea he was a millionth
part so big. From that moment the Neufchatel, which
he preyed upon, was too small for a person of his great-
ness, and he must go abroad, in search of larger and richer
cheeses. Ile succeeded in entering an old Parmesan,
which, being in a very decayed state, from the number of
little pieces it had been cut up into, he soon got through,
as well as an adjoining Gruyere, and several Austrian,
Spanish, and Dutch cheeses, every one of which he seized
upon, and divided them amongst the greedy followers he
always took with him. But a fine rich Cheshire, which
had never yet been entered by a single mite, had excited
his appetite for a length of time, and at last be deter-
mined, especially as it was so near his own Neufchatel, to
make it his own. But a little drop of water happened to
be in the way, and the consequence was, the poor little
mite sunk, in sight of the very Cheshire he had made so
sure of walking into. The name of this ambitious mite,
whose littleness has been so grossly magnified, was Napo-
leon, and we hope no one will accuse us of boasting when
we say that England is " the cheese."—Gilbert a Beck-
ett's Almanack for February.

SIR ROBT. PEEL'S FREE-TRADE STATISTICS.
(From his speech on Monday ni.(41.)

RELATION OF THE PRICE OF WHEAT TO THE RENTAL
OF THE KINGDOM.—What I want to show is this, that
agricultural prosperity has no necessary connection with
the price of wheat. (Hear, bear.) It is admitted that
never was there a period when science has been so much
applied to agriculture—when so many improvements have
been made—and when the cost of production was so much
reduced, as it has been within the last three or four years.
Let us see what is the price of wheat—and I would ob-
serve that there is a natural tendency in the price of
wheat to decline, quite apart from legislation—let us take
the price of wheat for the ten years ending 1805 ; the
price then was 81s. ; for the ten years ending 1815, it was
97e. 6d. ; for the ten years ending 1825, it was 78s. Bd. ;
for the ten years ending 1835, it was 565. 7d. ; for the ten
years ending 1845, 575. Ild. Now, what was the average
for the last four years, during which it is admitted great
improvements were made in agricultural science. The
average of the last four years was only 51s. 10(1. Thus,
it has fallen from 975. 6d., 78s. Bd., 81s. 2d., and yet it is
admitted that agricultural prosperity never was more
marked, or that greater improvements were made than
within that period. And therefore, if there should be a
continued fall in the price t:f wheat, do not attribute it to
the operation of the law—it may be the result of scientific
improvements, and even the reduced price of wheat shows
the increased extent of agricultural resources. I would
now compare the rental of land in this country, as taken
from the property-tax returns, with the price of wheat.
Tie rental of 1815 was £32,532,000; the average price of
wheat for five years, ending 1815, was 102 s. sd. ; for five
years, ending 1812, the price of wheat was 61s. 7d. ; and
yet the gross rental of the country had then risen from
£32,000,000 to £37,000,000. (Cheers.) So that, instead
of a great fail in the price of wheat, there had been a
great increase in the rental of land. I quite admit there
was a difference in the currency ; if you take off ten per
cent. from the price of 100 shillings on account of the
difference in currency, you must take off ten per cent. on
the rental of X 32,000,000. Take off a proportion on both
sides, and still it will leave them unquestioned, that with
a great reduction of the price of wheat, there had been a
great increase of agricultural prosperity.
THE QUESTION OF HOSTILE TARIFFS.-11 is not
fact that every country is determined to meet you with
hostile tariffs. (Hear, hear.) No, there are countries
which you, perhaps, least expect, and to which I did in-
justice, perhaps, by not naming before—as Sardinia,
which has already set the example of a free importation
of your goods and manufactures. (Hear, hear.) Naples
will shortly follow the example of Sardinia. (Hear.)
And Prussia, I can tell you, is already shaken. (Cheers.)
France is desirous of following these examples. These
countries have been controlled by the aristocracies of
their manufactures and commerce, which exercise a pre-
ponderating weight in their chambers; but the opinion of
sensible men not interested in protection is bearing upon
willing governments, and they are desirous of following
your course, and of reciprocating the benefits you may
offer to them. (Loud cheers.) Then the United States.
(Hear, hear.) I believe you will give by this measure an
encouragement to that party in America which is in favour
of commercial intercourse with this country.
GROWTH OF THE ENGLISH SILK TRADE.—During the
ten years which immediately preceded the year 1823. the
total amount of raw silk imported into this country, under
the old system, was nineteen millions of pounds. liuring
the next ten years it was thirty-nine millions, and during
the next decennial period, that terminating in the year
1843, it was fifty-two millions. (Hear, hear, and loud
cheers.) Could any eloquence of any human tongue,how-
ever gifted, speak more potently than do these figures ?
(Cheers.) Under the prohibitory system the quantity of
foreign silk imported was nineteen millions—when that
system was relaxed, it increased from nineteen millions to
fifty-two millions. On that fact alone I might base my
vindication. And now I will give you a statement of the
aggregate consumption of raw silk after the duties were
relaxed. During the first decennial period after the re-
laxation, the average consumption was 1,540,0C01b5. ; dur-
ing the second, 3,968 0001bs.—(hear, hear)—during the
third, 5,200,0001b5. (Loud cheers.) There was a further
reduction of protection in the year 1842, and the results
were equally satisfactory. The gross resuit of the experi-
ment shows that whereas under a strict and inexorable
system of prohibition the quantity of silk consumed in
our manufactures averaged no more than 1,940,000 lbs. in
each year ; in the year 1844, when a wiser and more libe-
ral policy was adopted, our consumption was no less than
26,400,0001b5. (Loud cries of hear, hear.) * Look
at the state of the silk trade at this moment. The French
have been long accustomed to plume themselves upon
their silk manufactures. But it may, perhaps, surprise
not a few of those who are now listening to me, to learn
that last year, with our relaxed tariff, we actually exported
to France more silk than we exported to the whole uni-
verse in any year under the protective system. (Hear,
hear.) And there is no branch of manufactures in which
the same improvement is not observable. lam prepared
to prove this; and could enter into matters of the most
minute calculations in support of the assertion.
EFFECT OF THE REDUCED DUTY UPON FOREIGN
FEATHERS.—In the year 1842 we reduced the duty upon
foreign feathers. When it was understood that this re-
duction was in contemplation, an extensive dealer in the
article, who resides in Cork, came to me in an agony of
anxiety and gravely assured me that the proceeding in
which I was about to engage was the most revolting,
cruel, and hard-hearted measure that it bad ever entered
into the mind of man to conceive. (Laughter.) In fact,
he represented to me that the absolute ruin of every one
engaged in the feather trade would he the inevitable con-
sequence of the reduction, and he calculated that the in-
jurious results would be felt in an especial degree in Ire-
land. He said that he was in the habit of purchasing
large quantities from the Irish farmers, who were more
provident with respect to their feathers, and set greater
value upon them than the English, and he represented
that this source of revenue would be entirely removed
from them if the duty were relaxed. His representations
were pathetic and moving in the extreme. But I was not
to he diverted from my purpose. We reduced the duty
on feathers, and I have the happiness to inform the
house, that many weeks have not elapsed since I received
a letter from the some gentleman, in which he admits
that he was totally in error, that he was but a sorry pro-
phet, and he returns me thanks for the firmness with
which I adhered to my purpose, in despite of his repre-
sentations, and those of many others similarly circum-
stanced. Ile had given me to understand that, before
the alteration was effected in the tariff, he was in the ha.-
bit of purchasing about 100 tens of feathers annually in
Ireland. for which he paid at the rate of 20s. per stone,
and herein consisted almost the entire of his traffic.
But observe how his fortunes are improved. He now in-
forms me that, during the last year, he imported 250 tons
of feathers from Russia, and that in Ireland he purchased
150 tons, instead of 100 tons as heretofore, and that he
paid for them to the Irish farmer at the rate of £1 2s. 10d.
per stone, being an advance of 2s. 10d. per stone upon
the price which the article fetched under a higher duty.
So much for my friend's prediction that his own trade
was about to be lost, and the Irish farmers ruined. But
there is another circumstance connected with this com-
munication which is highly gratifying, as evidencing the
increase in the comforts of the poor, which results from a
liberal policy in commerce. He tells me that his princi-
pal customers are the miners of Cornwall, whose condi-
tion of late years has become so much improved that a
feather bed is no longer a rare luxury amongst them ; and
their orders to my correspondent are daily becoming
more numerous. This is a trivial matter, and yet I have
not thought it wholly irrelevant to allude to it.
WHAT SHOULD BE THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE
LANDLORD AND THE FARMER.—Referring to a supposed
dialogue between a landlord and his tenant, related by
Mr. S. O'Brien, in which the former is represented as
stating that a manufacturer, who is able to improve the
yield of the soil from three quarters per acre to five, pay-
ing a full rent, and that the latter is likely to be dispos-
sessed; his farm being let to the highest bidder, the right
lion. baronet continued :—" Well, now, I will suggest li
another speech, and a better speech to be made by this
landlord : My good fellow—(laughter)—let us both start
with this advantage. Your forefathers have been buried
in the churchyard of this hamlet. Your forefathers Faye '
had their fortunes intimately connected with those of
mine. It is possible that a stranger may outbid you in
this farm. Under these protecting laws, your land, which
ought to produce five quarters, only produces three, and
public opinion will hardly tolerate this. (Hear.) That
there shall he no foreign corn imported, but that the na-
tural fertility of our own soil shall be promoted. We must
really, therefore, take some measures for increasing the
produce of this farm from three quarters to five. (Hear,
hear.) But I have the advantage of the new tariff.
(Hear, hear.) lam enabled to purchase my commodities
at a lower rate—(hear, bear)—and I intend to apply the
saving in your assistance and in the improvements which
I wish to effect. (Cheers.) I will not, therefore, turn
you out of your farm ; I will not let the manufacturers
come here ; but it is for your interest and for mine that
the land which can bear five quarters shall not bear three.
(Hear, hear.) You have not capital, perhaps; you have
not science ; I can afford you both—l will lend you capi-
tal, I will get you the aid of science to assist your im-
provements, to assist you in the education of your son,
and enabling him to succeed you. (Hear, hear.) I will
cut down the trees that encumber your land, and let you
and me together keep out the foreign invader—the manu-
facturer. (Hear, hear, and a laugh.) But let us now, by
the application of capital and industry, improve this farm,
and let it be handed down to my son and to yours in an
improved state. (Cheers.) Let five quarters be pro-
duced where three have been before. That will be for the
benefit of both landlord and tenant, and your son's son
shall be buried in this churchyard.' (Hear hear, and
laughter.) Suppose the tenant ehould say, But this is
a labourer's question.' I should answer then, My good
friend, but if we can make this land, which now produces
three quarters, produce five, we shall employ more labour
—we shall have a greater demand for labour, and all
parties will be benefitted, and the state will be improved.
The guarantee for the rent will be enhanced, your com-
fort increased, and all this by the application of a little of
that saving which the honourable gentleman says that the
rich are to derive from the tariff.'"

MURDERS AND SUICIDE AT CAMBERWELL.

Shortly after seven o'clock on Monday morning, the
neighbourhood of Southampton-street, Camberwell, was
thrown into consternation by the frantic screams of a wo-
man who had just made her escape, by the back door of
No. 5, Wellington-place, a small cottage residence t nly
one story high. The first person who repaired to the
spot was Mr. Pratt, a surgeon, who resided at No. 4,
and who, upon entering, was horror-struck at the scene.
In an upper room, upon the floor, lay the lifeless body
of M. Philarete Hot eau, a Frenchman, aged 53, with his
throat cut from ear to ear ; on the bed, his son, aged 13,
quite dead, shockingly mutilated about the throat; and in
the lower room, an3ther son, aged 11, with his throat cut,
a wound on the cheek, and his hand much lacerated, who
was at first supposed to be dead, but afterwards showed

some symptoms of life, though unable to articulate or give
the least account of the dreadful catastrophe; and in a
short time aft .rwaras, a female child, aged eight months,
was found dead in a rain-butt which stood in the garden,
but having no wounds whatever about its person.
Upon investigation we find that the unfortunate man
had resided at No. 5 for nearly the last twelvemonth,
supporting his family as a teacher of languages; but this
mode of existence had been so precarious, that for some
time past they bad suffered extreme privation and great
pecuniary embarrassment. M. Horeau had been in the
habit of rising about seven in the morning, and usually
took down stairs with him one of the twin infants (a male
and a female), who slept in the same bed as he and the
mother.

On Monday morning, upon dressing himself, he did the
same thing, taking the female child with him, and leaving
the male infant in bed with the mother. In a few minutes
the mother was alarmed by a loud shrieking, which she at
first attributed to the two elder boys quarrelling, and
therefore took no farther notice of the matter for a few
moments, but the shrieking being continued, she went to
the room, and upon opening the door was met by the
younger boy, who immediately ran down stairs bleeding,
at the bottom of which he fell down apparently lifeless ;
and, on entering the room, Mrs. Horeau saw her unfortu-
nate husband in the act of cutting his own throat, and be-
fore she could interpose he had fallen down a corpse.
On looking farther, she discovered her eldest son dead
in the bed, but could not perceive any trace of her infant
child, who was, however, shortly afterwards discovered
to have been drowned in the rain butt. There is no doubt
whatever but that the unfortunate father proceeded to the
garden instantly on leaving his bed-room, and having
drowned the child, then ascended to the children's room,
where he afterwards perpetrated the other murder, com-
mitting suicide the moment an alarm was raised.
As no vital organ bas been severed, hopes are entertained
that the younger boy's life will be saved. There seems to
be little doubt that, owing to their privations, temporary
insanity was the immediate cause of this shocking affair, as
his pecuniary embarrassments had for some weeks past
induced great depression of spirits.

GENERAL MISCELLANY.

A labourer, at Padibam, aged 68, committed suilside, on
Saturday week, from the fear of going to the workhouse.
The repair of the Portland vase is completely finished.
The work has been so well managed by Mr. Doubleday
that scarcely a blemish can be detected.
On Tuesday last, as a wedding party were returning to
Holmfirth, in a spring cart, the vehicle was overturned,
and Mr. Henry Senior, 24 years old, was killed.
On Monday morning last, some fifty individuals, com-
posing nineteen families, residing in the neighbourhood.
left Bradford, with a view to seek a home in Venezuela.
On Wednesday se'nnight, the coach from Exeter to
Torquay, was upset near the Clifford Arms, Shaldon,and
two of the passengers were much hurt.
About £15,000 have been bequeathed to the Phrenolo-
gical Society of Edinburgh, by the late Dr. Robertson, of
Paris, who died in 1840, and who had taken a warm inte-
rest in the subject for nearly thirty years.
A brace of pheasants were lately killed in the parish of
Brad well, near Coggeshall, Essex, the crop of one of which
contained 75G grains of wheat and barley, the other 928
grains, besides other small seeds.
_

The fire which destroyed the brown-paper mill of
Messrs Hutton, Fletcher, and Co., near Sunderland, on
the 6th instant, was the work of an incendiary, for the
discovery of whom a large reward has been offered.
Visitors to Windsor Castle, since the abolition of the
shilling fee, have not seen the suite of rooms overlooking
the North Terrace, except the Presence Chambers and
the Ball Hoom. These contain all the old pictures. They
are now to be seen only by special favour.
On Saturday week a woman, named Susan Hayton, was
accidentally killed on the Lancaster and Carlisle railway,
at Hay Fell, near Kendal, through the cart she was riding
in backing on the rails as a train was passing. She was
crushed in a frightful manner.
At a meeting of the Syra-Egyptian Society, last week,
Dr. Platt demonstrated the practicability of a continuous
railway communication with India, through Germany and
Turkey. Lieut. Waghorn stated, that Government had
determined on the route to India vid Trieste.

During a levee of General Tom Thumb, at the Trades'.
hall, Airdrie, on Monday, the floor gave way, and preci-
pitated the audience into a room some 14 feet below. No
one was seriously hurt, but the table on which the Gene-
ral bad been exhibiting was dashed to pieces.
The House of Commons sat last session 119 days and
three Saturdays; hours of sitting, 1,026 r; hours after
midnight, 96 ; average time of sitting„ 8 hours. 37 mi-
nutes, 33 seconds; average number of Inurs, 7 hours, 52
minutes, 44 seconds. The total number of divisions was
170.

AUTOGRAPHIC PORTRAIT OF THE MOON.-Mr. Clau-
det, in making experiments on the photographic actions
on the moan's rays, formed a powerful picture by five
minutes' exposure. He hopes to be able to obtain a very
accurate daguerrotype of the moon's surface, drawn by
herself on silver plate.—The Builder.
The inquiry into the case of mysterious poisoning at
Bromley bas been resumed. A young woman, named
Moncton, it will be remembered, was found dead in a
water closet attached to a dissenting place of worship in
that village. A post naortem examination discovered the
presence of prussic acid i❑ the body of the deceased.
On Tuesday evening last, about five o'clock, a man,
named Lacey, or Facey, made an attempt to murder, by
stabbing another party, whose exact name could not be
ascertained, but who, at the time, wns in the house occu-
pied by a Mr. Lewis, cordwainer, Cripplegate, London.
The culprit is in custody, and his victim is declared to be
in great danger.
The monument to the author of the " Pleasures of
[lope," to be erected in the Poets' Corner, WeAtoinster
Abbey, will consist of a statue of the poet, leaning on a
pedestal, on which is a figure of Hope, in bas-relief. At
the foot is a lyre with a wreath. The modern costume
not being adapted to sculpture, the artist has represented
the bard in his robes as Lord Rector of the College of
Glasgow.

THE CONDEMNED FRIGATE DUBLIN.—The fifty-gun
frigate Dublin, which was condemned and ordered to be
fitted up as a lazarette fur this port, has been re-surveyed.
It was formerly reported that it would cost £40,000 to
render her fit for service. It ha 3 now been declared that
for £lO,OOO she can be put in efficient repair for four
years, and that, in consequence, her condemnation has
been rescinded.

On Friday week, a boy and girl, aged respectively seven
and four, were warming themselves at a fire in the house
of a friend at Everton, near Leeds, when the clothes of
the boy, the younger of the two, caught fire, and he was
instantly enveloped in flames. His sister tried to extin-
guish the fire, but in doing so her own clothes caught, and
before assistance came to them, they were so much injured
that they soon after expired.
PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS.—The Royal College of
Physicians, in 1844, granted fifteen diplomas to practice
medicine; and the Royal College of Surgeons examined
in that year 437 candidates, to 376 of whom diplomas
were granted. In 1852 diplomas were granted to no fewer
than 669, and in 1843 to 531. The Society of Apotheca-
ries, in 1844, granted 302 certificates, out of 357 candi-
dates.

MACKAUEL.—A very large quantity of mackarel have
been taken during the week. Nearly ten thousand fine
fish were landed on the Brighton beach on Wednesday.
Alackarel are now brought to this city in a very fresh
condition by railway : they fetch from 4d. to 6d. each
when fresh, but have been sold at lid. On Saturday
week soles were offered for sale in our market at 2d. per
lb —Worcester Guardian.

The itiorni7g—We;id—reports that there are at this
moment about 20,000 beasts in course of fattening for
our markets, a large number of which will be shipped in
the next three months. The beasts are being fed in the
various distilleries at Rotterdam, Scheidam, and Harlin-
gen. The Dutch graziers have built a number of sailing
vessels fur the conveyance of their stock to the English
market.

FURTHER RlOTlNG.—Further disturbances have taken
place on the Lancaster and Carlisle, and also on the
Windermere Railway, in the vicinity of Kendal. On
Monday, a body of about fifty Irishmen applied to the
Mayor of Kendal for protection. They had been driven
off their work, beaten with pickaxes and other weapons,
their huts had been pillaged, and, in one instance, set fire
to. The mayor and magistrates assembled promised
every succour in their power, and immediately issued a
handbill, warning the labourers on the railway, that strict
measures would be taken to protect the peaceable in their
lawful calling, and to bring the offenders to justice. On
Tuesday the men were set to work again, under cover of
the mayor and magistrates on horseback, attended by the
police f. rce of the town. A number of special constables
have been sworn in, and no further outhre has occur-
red. It seems desirable that a body of military should be
sent into the district.—The latest accounts state that all
was again quiet. Several of the rioters have been appre-
hended.

ORIGIN OF THE LEAGUE.—The seven persons who
originated the movement which gave rise to the National
Anti-Corn-law League were Edward Baxter (now of Bel-
fast), W. A. Cunningham, Andrew Dalzeil, James Howie,
now of Edinburgh), James Leslie, Archibald Prentice,
and Philip Thomson. At the second meeting of the asso-
ciation, although about fifty persons had given in their
subscriptions, there was again an attendance of seven, the
place of Mr. Baxter, who was absent, having keen taken
by Mr. Rawson, now the treasurer of the League. Mr.
Rawson was the first Englishman who joined the associa-
tion. Of the original seven, six were natives of Scotland,
and one of Ireland. The grand impulse to the movement
was given when Mr. Cobden, who was abroad at the time
of its origination, joined it. The first person who sub-
sctibed more than ss.,was Mr. Robert Stuart, now one of
the magistrates for this borough, who, on being applied to,
said, '• What is the use of subscribing ss. ? Put me down
t:lo."—Greenock Advertiser.
Loss OF THE " JANE MORRISON," OF GLASGOW,
AND SUFFERINGS OF THE CREW.—A letter, written by
the captain, has been received by the owners in Glasgow,
informing them of the loss of the above vessel, which
struck on the Monicorgan shoals, about 190 miles below
Quebec, on the night of the Ist December, during an
easterly snow storm. The sufferings of the crew were
intense, owing to the excessive cold, and the loss of all
their clothing and provisions. After remaining on the
wreck for three days, they succeeded in constructing a
raft, and reached the shore. Here they met with the
captain and crew of the Sir R. Jackson, which had been
wrecked on the upper part of the shoals, on the same
night, and who were in the same destitute condition as
themselves ; and, falling in with an Indian cabin, they
despatched one of the inhabitants with a communication
to the authorities at Port Neuf. After suffering every
hardship for three days and nights, and when nearly ex-
hausted, they were relieved by the arrival of the Hudson's
Bay Comr any's agent from Jeremie, with several Indians
loaded with n:Tessaries. Many are so frost-bitten as to
be unable to walk. The ship's papers, with every thing
belonging to the captain and crew, are lost. They expect
to reach Quebec in March.

MURDER.—Uriah Deffett, of Meare, bas been commit-
ted for murdering his wife whilst in a state of intoxica-
tion. On Sunday she was upbraiding him with spending
his Sundays in drunkenness, and not providing for his fa-
mily of five young children, for which he knocked her
down, and then cut her across the forehead and temples
with a knife, which caused her death.—Sherborne Journal.

THE MISSIONAAY-CHlEF.—Kahkewoquonaby, one of
the Ojibeway chiefs, has become a missionary, and last
week, delivered a lecture at Tolsey, Gloucester, where he
had an overflowing auditory. His description of the
manners and customs of American Indians, was full of
interest, and his appeals to Christian sympathy to aid him
in his labours among his dark brethren, was impressive
and effectual.

PARRICIDE IN NORTHUMBERLAND.—Margaret Joy-
cey, the sister of Ralph Joycey, who, it may be remem-
bered, was a few weeks ago committed for trial for the
murder of his father, by poison, at Cockle-park, near
Nlorpeth, has also been committed for trial as accessory
after the fact. Ralph Joycey, the brother, was commit-
ted by the coroner, but the jury, at the inquest, acquitted
the daughter Margaret, on the ground that the evidence
was not sufficient to implicate her ; she was, however,
brought before two magistrates on Thursday, when, some
slight additional evidence having been produced, she was
committed.

A RAILWAY SPECULATOR.—The principal witness in
an action tried, on Friday, in the Court of Queen's Bench,
at Guildhall, for the recovery of Pie value of some railway
scrip, gave the following account of himself on his cross-
examination :—" He bad several times been insolvent to
a large amount, and never paid a farthing to his creditors.
He could not tell how many applications be had made
for shares. There were some railway projects in which
he had not received any shares ; but he had received at
least fifty letters of allotment, and he might have sub-
scribed for shares to the extent of £BO,OOO or £lOO,OOO,
but never paid a farthing upon any of them, nor ever gave
that subject a thought."
LADY HOLLAND'S WILL.—We occasionally hear in
society of the bequests in the will of the late lady, with
the monetary parts of which we have no vocation to med-
dle. But it is a subject of general literary interest to
learn that (besides some £1,500 per annum, and a consi-
derable sum in money, £7,000) she left to Lord John
Russell the " Memoir of Mr. Fox," so long in prepara-
tion by the late Lord Holland, with the expression of a
hope that it should be published as early as possible.
Her ladyship also bequeathed to the British Museum the
celebrated Tolentino Box, on which the lovers of art are
aware, is sculptured the noble antique of the Goat Brows-
ing. This precious relic, it may be remembered by our
readers, was presented by the Pope to Buonaparte after
his Italian campaign, as the richest gift he could offer him.
Napoleon sent it to Lady Holland from St. Helena, with
a grateful autograph note, for the attentions paid to him
by her ladyship in his captivity. Both box and autograph
are now, we believe, in the British Museum.—Literary
Gazelle.

FATAL RAILWAY ACCIDENT.—On Monday, about 36
labourers, employed to repair the damage arising from the
embankment " slip," which happened beyond Corsham
about a week ago, were despatched from the Bath station
in a carriage-truck attached to the up mail train. On
arriving near the entrance of the Middle Hill Tunnel. one
of the wheels of the truck gave way, and threw it off the
rail. The accident occasioned the utmost consternation
among the men, some of whom were thrown out, others
jumped off, and others remained in the truck. The men
in the truck called out " murder" as loud as they could,
but the engine-driver, mistaking the noise for singing,
kept on till an intimation of the accident reached him, so
that he was enabled to stop the train in the middle of the
tunnel. He then went back, and the men who were not
hurt accompanied him, when it was found that one man,
named George Smith, had expired from a dislocated neck,
and most of those who had jumped or fallen out of the
truck had received severe contusions, and one of them had
sustained a fracture in the right arm.
A curious case of seduction has been brought to light.
About two years ago two sons of Mr. W. Pitt, piano-forte
tuner of Warmington, near Oundle, were engaged by the
Rev. W. Faber to play the organ and lead the choir in the
parish church. The age of one of the boys was 17, and
that of the other 16. They left home on the Saturday
evenings, and returned on Monday morning, and as they
often stayed at the Rectory, the rev. gentleman was exces-
sively kind to them, made them his equals in all respects,
and at length began to teach the elder one Latin. When
Mr. Faber joined the Church of Rome, the boys also joined,
voluntarily, according to the rev. convert's account, but
doubtless owing to his teachings and persuasions. This
event has thrown the father and mother of the boys into
unspeakable affliction. Mr. Faber has written to Mr. Pitt
to say—"l feel that I have been the means and in God's
sight I cannot repent of it, of introducing division into
your family; and I am therefore bound to do what I can
to repair any grievous consequences to you which may
come out of that solemn and religious act."—The boys,
however, have now been recovered by their parents.
DREADFUL ASSASSINATION.—On Monday morning,
soon after six o'clock, a man named James Bostock, who
is a working brass and gun-metal founder, in a narrow
paved court leading from Drury-lane, London, was as-
sassinated by a young man named Wix, his apprentice.
Wix had obtained payment of a small bill due to his mas-
ter, and stated on his return home that he bad lost Ils.
of the money, and begged his master to deduct it from
him at 2s. 6d. per week. This Bostock refused to do, and
deducted the whole sum from his wages on Saturday
night last. This circumstance created a rancorous feel-
ing against his master in the mind of Wix, and in revenge
he snot his master with a pistol on Monday morning.
The bullet entered the unfortunate deceased's ear, and he
expired the same afternoon about four o'clock. The
possession of a pistol, with powder and bullets, by Wix,
was proved in a clear manner. He was accordingly ap-
prehended, and on Tuesday was committed for trial, when
he confessed his guilt as follows :—" The evidence is so
clear against me, that I must confess that lam guilty. I
did do it ; and I only wonder I did not do it twelve
months ago, his conduct to me was so cruel."

BRITISH WINE.—By reference to our advertising co-
lumns it will be seen that Mr. Hiles, of Parker-street, has
commenced the British wine trade. The improved mode
in which British wines are now made is causing a daily
increasing demand, and the high repute in which Mr.
Hiles has long been held as a confectioner, is sufficient to
guarantee to his friends the excellence of the article he
announces ; but as trial is the genuine test, all consumers
should obtain a supply.
CHEAP METHOD OF CLEARING SHIPS AND OTHER.
PLACES OF VERMIN, &c.—Captains and owners of ves-
sels are often obliged to incur great expense in smoking
their vessels (often as much as £5, and frequently that
ineffectual) to get rid of rats, mice, and other noxious and
destructive vermin. From undoubted testimonials, ad-
vertised in another part of our paper, it appears that this
desideratum may be more effectually attained at a scarcely
mentionable expense, by the use of Butler's Vermin and
Insect Killer.—(See Advertzsement.)
A POOR MAN'S LIFE SAVED BY HOLLOWAY'S PILLS.
—Jeremiah Laughlin, a porter about the quays of Dublin,
was afflicted for many years with shortness of breath,
spitting of Phlegm, night perspirations, and general weak-
ness of body, a want of appetite, sick headache, and suf-
fering much from the liver. This man was in the second
stage of consumption and not expected to live three
months, when he commenced the use of Holloway's won-
derful Pills, and by their means alone he is now as strong,
as hale, and as well as ever he was in his life.

Among the many discoveries that characterise the pre-
sent age, nothing has contributed so much to the ease of
the community, nor conferred such a boon-upon suffering
humanity, as that important discovery and never-failing
remedy for gout and rheumatism, Blair's Gout and Rheu-
matic Pills. Thousands would join in the observation of
an elderly female, as mane to Mr. Fogget, the agent at
Thirsk • " That shgewould rather be without butter to her
bread and sugar tdher tea, than Blair's Pills." This im-
portant rnedicOi is sold by an medicine vendors. Price
2s. 9d. per Ipfx. Observe the name of " Thomas Prout,
229, Strand, London," on the government stamp.
AMBROSIAL SHAVING SOAP.—This is the title of an
excellent article to supersede the use of soap for shaving,
manufactured by Messrs. John Gosnell and Co., of Lon-
don, who have recently opened a branch for supplying
export and other orders, in Rumford-place. There is no
operation at the toilet so annoying as shaving under ordi-
nary circumstances, but by this invention the powerful
effects of cutting a wiry beard are at once removed. In
fact, it proves that ease in shaving is not to be attained
by a. genuine razor alone, but by preparing the skin for
the operation, and this cream is so astonishingly powerful
that the application of the smallest portion on the point
of the finger will, with the addition of a moist brush, pro-
duce a creamy and inimitable lather. It is patronized by
Prince Albert.

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.

ALTCAR COURSING MEETING.

DECIDING COURSES.
The Cup was won by Romulus, beating Sparks of Fire.
The Sefton Stakes were won by Hector, beating Col-
lector.
The Croxteth Stakes were won by Ballyshannon, beat-
ing Syren.
The West Derby Stakes were won by Cormorant, beat-
ing Satirist.
The Sapling Stakes were won by Carder, beating Sher-
bert.
The Ditch-in Stakes were divided between Cataract
and Specimen.
The Hill-house Stakes were won by Habeas Corpus,
beating H it-or-M iss.
The Altcar-hall Stakes were won by Secretary, beating
Cork.
The Ackers Holt Stakes were won by Bright, beating
Codford Lass.