The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1835-07-31 00:00:00

bbYTEmi.6l,lll* Y PRESS.

The discussion in the Houie of Lords last night, relat-
ing to the MUnicipal Corporations Bill. (nicknamed b",
its authors a bill of reform) will, obtain the applause and
excite the general' gratitude• of the people of England.
The country will retain a deep and lasting sense.of obli-
Eation to the Earl of Falmouth, Lord Strangford, the
arl of Winchilsea, Lord Lyndhurst, the Duke.of Wel-
lington, and other peers, who manfully stood forward
-upon this occasion to,arrest the career of boldand.profli-
gate injustice, and to, stein: the torrent of unprincipled
calumuy—injustice not the less flagrant that it. was de-
vised'by disloyal.' ministers 'of the crown, and faithless,
servantkor the peoPle', for their own base and selfish par
poses--calumny not the less 'pernicious or offensive that
it has been promulgated by a body of mercenary corn-
anissioners illegally hired- E'er that purpose.
Ts it not' mOnStrous that a body Of briefless lawyers.
_should- haVe' been hired by the ministers of the crown
4e travel through England, armed with such authority as,
those ministers could give, to collect liugevolumes of
malignant slander against the reputation-of the • most
entinent inhabitants of every corporate town? Is it not
Still more Monstrous than these, huge volumes; of malig-
r.ant slander should so have been collected in order to
found upon them an act of .tlie legislature, which was to
disturb much valuable property, and annul many impor-
tant and well-estato;shett rights.
We-say that the corporation commissioners were alas.
..pointed by the whig. ministers, and paid at the expense
of the people of England, for the purpose of collecting.
• huge volumes of malignant slander against"the most enii.-
nent and respectable burghers and citizens of this coun-
try'; and we make 'thiS assertion upon the, sound, and
just,' andnniversally admitted principle that men must
be presumed to intend whatever kale necessary ornatu• ,
rat effect of their own deliberate conduct. The whig,
ministers who appointed the corporation commissioners.
may even more fairly be charged with the foul slanders.
Of: which (thanks to the conscientious regard of the;
House.of Lords to the character and property of their,
fellow-subjects) those commissioners and the swarms of
false witnesses whoin they drew around them are about
to be convicted, than the man can be charged with mur-.
der who' haS slain a fellow-creature by a pistol•shot
fired at random into a public highway, for in a fortunate'
concurrence of circumstances the pistol-shot so fired at
random may by possibility miss every brunan being,
while there is no' possibility that, such commissioners.
should fail to give birth to, just such volumes of, flagiti-
ous calumny as those recently edited.under the authority
of the executive government.
What was it that the Whig Corporation Commissioners,
in effect proclahned to the whole body of the inhabitants
of every city and corporate town that they disturbed and:
. infected by their presende ? What was' it that they were:
authorised to proclaim.? It was simply this :—" If in- the
01)0 or City (as the case might be) of ---- there be
any man who envies or who huts the possessors of local
authority, justly or unjustly, with reason or vvithotit, if
there b any man who harbours resentment, for that lie
fancies municipal' honours arid authority have descended
upon hiui too slOwly ; for that he deems any services he
mayhave rendered, or supposed himself to have rendered;
to, the town to have been inadequately rewarded ; for that
be imagines he has been unjustly or excessively punished
by the local MagistrateS for 'any offence which he may
have heretofore committeds--if, in short: there be any dis-
c(Mtented man, whether hisdiscontent arise from an alder-
man having neglected to return his 'salutation with suffl-:
cient.courtesy, from the (*mission to send hint an Invite-
tion to' the corporation dinner, or froni the beadle
having ernPlOy,ed too vigorous an arm the last time he
Made free with the hen-roost Of an influential corporator
—now is the time for all such men to' vent their spleen,
and gratify their malice. Such an' opportunity probably
will never recur. We, 04Scorporation commissioners;
are the persons to whom all men may unburden their
griefs: Liars, slanderers, stamps, •and vagabonds of all
descsiptions come forth. Now is your' day of triumph.
Ali that you say to us shall be re2orded, shall be sent to
-the King,ashall.be.printed at the' ptiblieexpense, and dis-
persed throughout g.tikland,—shall,be used as the fowls,
dationnf a measure to overthrow the power of the men
who have overlooked' votir pretensiOns, or visited your
offences with a, too paissful rigour. Corneforwardbolilly;
• • :alai tell us all you know, and as much more as you
for, yon need further encouragement, knew that on
this special occasion you rnav speak fatselibpd with the
fullest assurance of impunity." This was in substance
'the' proclainat ion made by tke whig corporation -cointtifs
Ittioners in every city and town in England: That it was
fatly understood—that- it was eagerly and diligently
obeyed—that it has produced many ponderous volumed
of malignant anti profligate. CaluMny can excite no sur-
prise. .The only marvel. that it has produced so little.
When men are indiscriininately invited to speak evil of
their superiors, with the certainty that they may tell lies
with impunity, the harvest of slander isrMit likely to be'
scanty. The time, however, has at length arrived when
the fa-Isehood4.-colleeted with so much diligence and zeal,
alid'at so consul rable a cost to the nation', will be duly
sifted. We know from the very nature of the inquiry
carried on by, the corporation commissioners that the
gresit hulk of the' iuliirrnation which they profess to have
given the country,' in return_ for their abundant pay,
must, of necessity, turn out to be false on the first ap-
proach of anything like close investigation. Had we ever
entertained any doubt of this, the desperate attempt made
last night by Lord Melbourne to deprive the traduced:
corporations of the common justice for which they peti-
tioned, of being heard in their own defence at the bar,
would entirely have removed it.
His Lordship pretended, in order to debar the accused
parties of a hearing, that the bill before the house hati.no'
reference to the past conduct of corporations, but was to
he regarded as a great theasnre of national policy. Why,
then, We beg to ask, were the commissioners appointed ?
Why did" they travel through the country, to collect what
they call evidence, and what we call calumnious tattle ?
Why has all this mass of slander been printed at the
public expense, and to the grievous injury of numerous
bodies of respectable men, who can have no legal redress ?
Why, we repeat, all this cumbrous, and useless, and per.
Mils:sus apparatus? Is Lord Melbourne driven at last to
the hard necessity of confessing that the commission was
appointed fur the mere purpose of putting large sums of
the public money into the pockets of some dozen or two
of briefless lawyers, whein it suited the party purposes of
tife whigi to patronise ?—Morlting

STATE OF 1118 GOVERNMENT.—The anomalous posi-
tion which the three estates of the realm hold relatively
tottards each other is, at this Moment a subject of mu-
ni'entous importance. The principle of the British con-
stituting, which grants -to the king, the lords, and' the
commons an equal share in the legiSlatiVe power of the
country, is nnw particularly at stake. In the words of
a whig paper, the queition is asked f 4 Whether the lords
or tlie.coiumons are to govern ?" This is the problem
Which the liberal Party_ would have the public believe is
about to be solved and set at rest. The fallacy embraced
in the question as pripounded by the whips and radicals
is easily exposed. These men wish to pit the point at
issuer upon an eh Uneous foundation, in, order to divert the
friends of our mixed 'form of government from the real
qaestion, which is neither more nor less.than this, " Are
the lords to be gov'erned by the commons?” or rather, are
the cornnions to be the sole potVer•in the-state ? Such is
the true statement of the question at issue; and the at-
tempt of •the' 'ministerial party to place it upon other'
grtiuntla is merely a device to delude. the great- body of
tl)e'lieop!e from the real point under discussion. •
iu. entering upon this important topic, we mean not to
argue the justice "and-expediency of the principles which
regulate the British conqitution ; it is conceded, on al-
every.side; that 'they 'are practically wise and bene-
ficent. They are. also wellunderstood ; so that in apply-
ing. them to the existing, state of the legislature and of
the government, they firrnish Us-with 'a test whereby we
are easily enabled to decide upon the ::.liaracter of mea-
sures contemplated by parties, and the means by which
tlir..se are attempted to be carried. Tile principles of the
constitution; however obsolete such language may have
become in these liberal tinier, powerfully teach us that
nn measure ought to be carried into a law which ha's not.
the full sanction of the three estates; and, moreover,
that the party who etideavours to deprive any of these
pOwers of their just and constitutional influence, are
guilty of treaschn against the state. We can hardly re-
gard the men less criminal who bring forWarcl measures
which they know to amoral certainty one,' if not two of
the estates will refuse to sanctidO. rq so.doing these
men are &Mod guilty of inflicting a most wanton injury
Upon the ccnstitlition ; for their attempts can only be re-
garded as a means of holding up the o'bjectin'g authority
to public odium and indignation. That the present mi-
nistry are placed in this situation with relation to the
House of Lords—that they have most 'recklessly resolved
to risk a collision with that branch of parliament—can-
not be disputed; and they must, therefore, be. regarded
as abandoning the real duty of government,which in-
forms them that their first object
,ought to be to smooth
the working and preserve the frame of the machine of the
constitution.
The ivhigs have not been forced into this most unna-
tural attitude. If the people bad returned a decided nia:-
jprity'tif representatives in. favour of superseding the
upper house;ministers would have had sonic excuse for
o:eir"conAirer.; but when we know that, but for their in-
f:i.ence;the House of Commons would act harmoniously.
House of Peers on all the quest Zones ve-idliP
which at present agitate the political world,. We cannot
suflicientlY condemn the selfish ambition which ha.s
dnear' them so far to violate the duty which th.ey. .owe to.
the cou.Vril and its established institution!;.
, • .
A!-•' uow for the first, time in the histolY of Great .Bri-
':....,:eAlrev'olution, the attempt is made to govern
by t..e iousei of Commons alone. It isomly' by means.
of tl,irpower in that house that' the Melbourne admini-
stration ean 'entertain the- slightest hope of. success for
their orojects mow under discussion. It may be said that
the type lious,e has had no oppt.a.tunity of deciding. upon

the character of the bill for the spoliation of the Church
of Ireland; .but such an argument is too childish to merit
a reply. There can be no doubt that the pterS wilt reject
that measure. Will any of the ministers say that. they
are uncertain what will be its tate in the upper house?
No—thev are•satistied that it will be thrown out; and yet
they push it forward as if the opposition of the lords were
no obstacle in its way. Does not this circumstance fully
justify us in asserting that ministers are desirous 'of plac-
ing the whole power of the legislature io the commons,
to the virtual abrogation of a cu-equal constitutional au-
thority.?

13a~' will the House of Lords submit to this insolent
dictation of a liberal ministry, supported though it: be by
a majority in the House of Commons? We venture to
think they will nut. At a period when circumstances
were infinitely less favourable for the exercise of their
power, thep•dared to exert it, and for a time successfully.
They threW
,Out the reform bill, when the flame of ex-
citement extended 'from one end of the. country to the
other-7-when the people were_lond in its support—when
it was supported by the King—when it was advocated by
the whole popular press—and; moreover, •when more
than two-thirds of the .House of CommonS had recorded
their votes in its favour. If the lords acted in this man-
ner then, whai, may we not expect' from them now—now
when those circumstances are altogether or nearly re-
versed, in so far as the spoliation of the church of Ireland
is concerned. The popular voice is not raised in support
of that unprincipled and anti protestant measure7--the
Monarch is notoriously averse to it—the "popular press"
is.opposed to it—and parties in the House of Commons
are so closely divided in opinion with respect to its lead-
ing principle, that it is even doubtful whether a bare
majority will be secured in its favour. What then have
the lords to fear ? where is the compelling necessity, such
as existed on a former occasion, to carry a measure which
they sincerely deprecate and condemn ? Are they to be
told that they must bend their necks to the thirty papists
who make up the majority of the House of,Commons ?
that they must yield because "the tail" commands ?—that
they, the assembled peemof,England, must crouch,

"Mith bated breath and whispering humbleness,"
before the united Russells,. Humes, 'Gullys, Roebucks,
O'Connells,.Harveys, Murrays, and. Gillons ? The idea
is at once so ridiculous and revolting, that there can be
only one opinion as to the result. The lords will reject
the revolutionary principle, and let ministers adopt what-
ever course the King allows them to take.
The one point to which matters are tending, surely
• and steadily, cannot be overlooked—and that is, a dis-
solution of, the present parliament. There is no other:
means by which the balance of government can be re-
stored. • This all parties admit. -So necessary a step,
cannot much longer be delayed; and in expreSsing this
belief, we only repeat what, we have said ever since we
observed the, materials of which the House of Commons
is now composed. But if any question previously existed
upon this point, it is now completely set at rest by the
registrations throughout the country. A vast accession
of conservative voters will be added to the constituencies.
There is no doubt that by their assistance the scale of
parties in the lower house will be materially altered. and
that the next. parliament will act in unison upon this
measure, by repudiating its,principle altogether. With
this prospect, the House of:Cords are aware, not only
that they may with safety reject the,appropriation, but.
that, in doing so, they will be greatly advancing the
general cause of order and good government in the state.-
It is not to be wondered that, in such circumstances,
ministers are,beginning to tremble in their seats. Judg-
ing frorq the furious and vituperative ebullitions which,
their,organs almost daily send forth, it is•difficult to sup-
pose that they are not at this moment ".setting their
house in order." Suspected by the Monarch—OppOsed
by the aristocracy—harassed by a numerous and -able
party in the House of Commons—and detested by the
peat body of the people, their downfall must. be near at
hand ; nor rdo We think that such an event will be retard-
ed even by the most desperate enterprise which it is
possible for whig duplicity and whig selfishneSs to con-
'.ceive or attempt.—Edinburgh svening Post.

It is no joke to hold office under Mr. Daniel O'Con-
nell. There. are few sinecures about the agitator's
court. The blindest4edience, servility the most abso-,
lute,-are qualificationsy-With which he is not the man to,
dispense in those who tender him their political allegi-
.ance. • ThechUrch of Rotne in the person of her haugh-
lie'sf'and most inexorable confessor exacts not from the,
trembling 'penitent, a more abject prostration of- spirit,
and understanding than the pensioned lay-tyrant Mr.
Daniel O'Connell insists on from the Whig and radical.;
tools'of his policy.
A scene more disgusting than that which, occurred two
nights ago in a certain house which shall be nameless,
has never, we understand from those • who observed it,
been witnessed by the Oldest person now alive, or spoken
of in any traditio.n.extant. When the Attorney-General
for Ireland informed' the hobse that he meant to propose
certain ainendments to the clause of the Ii ish church bill,
which authorized the reopening of the compositions, with
a view to guard, by more precise and-equilable rules, the
respective interests of the church and the parishioners,
the tone in which a learned personage commanded the
Atiotney-General to desist from his amendments was not -
such, say our informants, as will be soon forgotten.—
"Leave your amendments out ; it is an idle mockery to
introduce all these things into the bill;" which amend-
ments, he afterwatds said, instead of tranquillizing the
the people of Ireland; would by them be considered an,
"additional insult." An thtditionat insult to the "peo-
ple of Ireland" means, of course, the slightest contraven-
tion of Mr. Daniel O'Connell's will ! Dearly have the •
ministers paid" for this man's patronage of them and of.
their government; deep has Ott iron entered into their
.wincing souls. Humbled, cringing, crouching, supplica-
ting, how mean and pusillanimous is the whole aspect of '
these-poor over-ridden gentlemen when the agitator flings
-at them one reproaChful scowl. We only ask
any dispas-
'sionate Englishman to tead. the report of last Monday
-night's proceedings, and, tell us what he thinks of the •
figure Made by Lord Morpeth, Mr. S. Rice, and the Irish
Attorney-General, who all approved, of the amendments
which the learned personage scouted, Yfet.all agree& in
deference to him, (deference!) to postpone their consi-
deration to somefuture,time.—Timem.

THE TEA TRADE.
On Monday the EaSt India Company's sale 'of teas
which have remained uncleared. since the March sale
took place at the India House, when there was rather a
full attendance of the trade. Tie quantity of teas" upon
which the required prompt had not been paid, and de-
clared for re sale,- was 487,000 -/bs., but a notice was
issued. by
,the East:lndia Company. on Saturday, stating
that only 96,700 lbs. would be offered. The-teas sold with
some briskness, with the exception of about 28,000
Mr. Twining reported to the trade the result of the
interview he and others, who had formed a deputation
from the trade, had with the chancellor of the exchequer
on Saturday last. The deputation had pressed upon
government the policy of an immediate reduction of the
high duty on fine teas' to 2d. ly /b., in order to relieve
the trade from the injury it, as well as the • revenue,)
-would sustain, by the delay that would. occur hetere the
permanent cliange,to a fixed scale of duty should -be made.
Mr. Twining. informed the trade that the chancellor-of
:the exchequer. received the statements made on behalf of
the reduction of the duty with much attention, but ccuid
Inot consent, unless the trade sanctioned an additional -
iduty. being placed on the second grade,of teas, raising it
q 2s. 214.' lb„ in order that the• revenue might be
protected from loss. Mr. S. Rice assured the deputation
that the subject should be fully considered.
The trade are led to expect, from the favourable nature
of the inters ieit that the concession asked will be granted.
The tea trade is in a mere active state in consequence,
and the deliveries of East India Company 's and p:rivate'
trade teas last week were considerable.

THETFORD WOOL FAIR.
The above fair held on Friday last, was fully attended
• by penions in the trade. Upwards of 200 dined, Air. Coke
in the chair. After the usual • toast's :and apologies 16r
those absent, Mr. WhitWorth' (the' ini.ebtor of innueula-
torY. paStute,.wh'o
,was present) charged the woolbuyers
of Lincoln- with playing a deep trick. Being rebuked by
Mr. Coke for making the charge, he said the dealers
were employed in running down. the 'long. vs.ol'of
cohishire, his county, allhou'alr there was a good.traoe in
the articles made from it, M. Elliman, who was present,
said that the sales of, wool in London that week would
amount to £400,000. He hoped the next day to have an
interview with the Duke of Richmond, %vit.° had taken
great pains to bring the French governMent to a fair re-
ciprocity in the wool trade, the admission duty upon our
wool being 22 per cent.. Mr. Fison said he. had lately
been at a house in London where wool to the amount of
£15,000 was prepared to be smuggled, into France
through Belgium; at a premium of 15' per cent. Mr.
Waller (a dealer) made mentirui of the honourable con-
duct of Mr. Coke, who, on account of his Joss one year,
returned him £l2O, ?Mr. Coke offered his wool to Mr.
hoggets
,25..* lb., ewe wool Is: 3d., which
Mr. Waller accepted; and bought Captain Fitzroy's clip
at the same price. The Duke, of Norfolk's wool was
offered at 38s..and 545., but refused. Several off•rs were
I Made to the buyerS, but the reply was that they were
ready to sell the wool bought last year at a loss. Mr.
Ellman'tO this replied that there appeased to bin, to be a'
e4nthination among the buyers not to hid over one ano-'
tiler. Mr. Fison declared to the contrary; that their
agent at Bradford had .sold wool at a halfpenny and a
pennv a pouwA less than he would have taken when he.
left. Mr. Coke expressed himself in similar terms to
Mr. Ellman. This Was denied by Mr. Baldry, who
Charged Mr. Ellman with appearing there last year,
and stating prices to have been given in Sussex Which.
had, never been realised. Mr. Ethan threw back. the.
imputation with 'disdain. Much confusion then arose, in-
somuch that Mn Coke left the chair, and the meeting•
bt2oke up 'abruptly.., Mr. Powell and Sir C. Clarke sold
their wool out of the room at 50s and 35;5,

THE BALTIC TRADE.

In consequence of the delay which has frequently ta-
ken place in the delivery of letters by the Hamburg!'
mail, a letter was addressed by the Secretary of the Com-
mittee of Merchants engaged in the Baltic and other
trades to Six Francis Freeling upon the su,bject. The
letter stated that on occasions of late nearly four hours
had elapsed from the time of the arrival of the Hamburg!'
maili and the period when the . letters were delivered,
which had occasioned great inconvenience, to the mer-
chants, and that on the arrival of the last Hambirrgli
mail the letters were not delivered until seven o'clock in
the evening, by wind) numerous orders were left uncom-
pleted till the following day.
The following letter was received from Sir Francis
Freeling upon the subject :

• "General Post-office, July 21, 1835.
"Sir,—lnimediately on the receipt, of your letter of yester:
day, I made the necessary inquiries upon the subject to which
it refers, and I beg to acquaint you that, in consequence of the
large additional influx of foreign and ship letters, the departure
of the letter-carriers from hence, which is always later on Mon-
day, was still more so yesterday, and the return of a part of
them to prepare for a second deliver), was proportionably re-
tarded, which prevented an earlier hour being fixed for the
distribution of the Hamburgh
"The Postmaster-General is most anxious to afford all possi-
ble facilities in this respect to the merchants of London, and,
since the former occurrence to which you shade, he had ordered
arrangements to be made to facilitate the delivery of foreign
mails arriving tate in the day. His lordship is also adopting
measures by Which it is hoped a second distlibution,by the letter-
carriers of foreign letters received at the Post-office, while they
are engaged iu their first delivery, may be accomplished earlier
than it has' hitherto been, and you may. rely on.our best ex-
ertions for that object.--I haVe the honour to-he, sit, your most
obedient servant, (Signed.)' “P. Pau:EL:NG, Sec.
"TO W. Wilson, jun., Eq., Baltic Coffee-house."
EXPLOSION OE THE EARL GREY STEAMER.

(From the G1ay,,,010 Courier.),
FURTHER PARTICULARS.—The spectators on the quay
suffered severely.. When the top flew. off the boiler, the
steam and water, coils of rope,. fragments- of iron and
timber, large pieces olcoal, &e. were blown on the quay,
and fell fifty. and sixty yards from the vessel. A number
of the people were knecked down, and were instantly.
covered with boiling water, or severely hurt by the fall.
ing missiles. Two young men belonging to *Greenock,
of the names of M'Kellar (son of Captain WlCellar,.
Samson steamer), and M'Nee -(step-son of Mr. William
Wvse, grocer), were dreadfully scalded. All the sufferers
were either taken on board of the steamers lying at the
quay, or to houses adjoining:, and medical uid was sect
for., and vehicles to carry the wounded to the infirmary.
,Although the explosion was great, and heard all Over the
town, still nothing was known of the accident by the in-
habitants generally, until the. unfortunate sufferers were on the shoulders of men, or in noddies to the in-
firmary. Dr. Bruce, the only medical gentleman who
visited the spot, rendered every assistance in his power.•
Many-of the ladies who were passengers, and escaped un-
hurt, but who had friends ands elations on board, and
whose fate was uncertain, were in a state of delirium,
and were removed to the inns arid hotels.
• A coil of rope, and a large quantity of other things,
alighted on the roof of the watchhouse, about fifty .or.
sixty yards from the Earl Grey, and the. iron-grating.
which covered the Coalhole was carried a greater dis-
tance, and fell Within. a few yards of the west corner of
the Custom-house; fortunately no person was in its way,
else death would have beenthe consequence.
Letter from Paisley—l find that Messrs. Caldwell and
Barclay (not Barkland, as reported in our last) were in
the Earl Grey at the time of the accident. " Mr. Barclay
is. slightly scalded in the face, but Mr. James Caldwell
has not been any way injured.
Saturday the. Sheriff ordered the valves and other small:
parts of the boiler ashore, for the purpose of assisting the'
judicial investigation going on. It is reported that the.
weights were allowed to remain on the valve the whole
tune (said to be tcn minutes) that she lay at the quay,
for the purpose ofaCcumulating steam, and thus causing
the catastrophe. Great blame, doubtless, is attributable
somewhere.

GREENOCK, MONDAY AFTERNOON.—There have been
no more bodies got, nor is it probable that any more will
cast up •for some time, as the powerful current of the
river passes. over that part of the harbour where. the. cata-
strophe occurred; consequently nothing- that would at.
all float, could remain there many minutes. Had those,
however, who were 'precipitated into the water been
blown upon the. quay, the number. of lives lost would
have been muchgreater. The only two individuals who
were thrown ashore (Wilkie and Watson) were both
killed in consequence of. falling heavily on the stones.
.Regarding• the latter, it may be remarked, that just a
minute before the explosion, ire had been sitting with his
wife and two friends in the steWard's room, taking a
glass of porter, but went on deck to look after a trunk
whiCh lie hall in charge to Glasgow, and he had not been
there many seconds when the accident took place which
instantly depriyed him of existence. Had the catastrophe.
occurred on • the previous clay, when, on account of the
Fast, there were twenty people for one on the deck and
on the quay than were on Friday evening, the conse-
quences would have been still more fearful and destruc-
tive. We were in a trivial error, when we stated in our
last that the Earl they came from Rothesay on the day
of the accident : the mistake was occasioned from not
knowing- that, till lately, Rothesay was her station; but
we learn that within these few weeks past she has been
plying between Kilmun and Dunoon, and the Inter-
• mediate places, to Glasgow.—We should have added,
that Mrs. \Vatson escaped unhurt, though the fright she
sustained has somewhat affected her mind, being on
. Saturday incapable of recognising any of her relatives,
talking wildly and incoherently.
• When the explosion occurred the people on the quay
ran back. A tar who was present rushed forward, when.
he.saw the surface of the sea covered with human beings,
and heroically sprang off the quay, and caught hold of a
.fragment of the deck, and then swam to' the_ assistance of
• an old gentleman, who wa# 'apparently. on the eve of
sinking, and succeeded in bringing him on shore after
considerable ditculty. This brave fellow sailed in the
.ship. Ann Grant, on a foreign voyage, on Sunday,
although he was urged to decline sailing until a subscrip-
tion should be entered into to reward him for his bravery
in rescuing a fellowLoreature from a watery grave.—
" No," said Jack, "I did nothing but was right, and I
want nothing for it." His name we did not learn, but
we understand that he is a stranger in the port.
A Mr. Anderson, belonging toGlasgow, had a narrow
escape; he was standing leaning his chin on the muzzle
of a double-barrelled gun just at the time when the ex-
plosion took place. The gun was blown to pieces, and
only the stock and lock have been found. He was very
much injured apd.cut about the face, but we are glad to
say was able to be removed to Glasgow on Sunday, as
were also a number of the other sufferers.
In addition to the- particulars above given, we have
just learned that Mrs. Dr. Mitchell, with Mr. and Mts.
Robert Moncrieff, had gone.down on Friday morning as
far as Gourock, and .having spent part of the day with
mutual friends, they . were on their way home. Upon
going,into the boat they had providentially taken their
seats near the helmsman, close by each other. Afterthe
moment of the awful catastrophe, and when involved. in
confusion and smoke, Mrs. Mitchell felt herself-not ma-
tertally injured„-but saw her niece, Mrs. Moncrieff, with
her head thrown. back upon the railing, covered up with
deals of wood, and when-extricated she- was found quite.
insensible and apparently dying. Mr. Moncrieff„ sitting
below her, was thrown into the water, wiih .a severe cut
on the back. of his head, but kept himself afloat till picked
up. Mrs. Mitchell's impression is, that there were at this
period none left on the quarter deck except,herself and
:Mrs. INlOncrieff.. Mr. and:Mrs. NrOucrieff are rapidlV.re-
Coveting ; Mrs. Mitchell, i-s, slightty scalded on the face
and bruised on
,the,arrns . ,
The proprietor'poihtdij, states that the engine of the
Earl Grey •Was'not constructed-on the high pressure prin-
'ciple, as has been reported. There can be no doubt that
the explosion-w-as caused by an overpressure of steam ; '
but whether occasioned by the safety valve accidentally
going wrong, or its being overloaded, is not yet ascer-
tained.

THE 'FEMALE SAILOR.
It is with sincere pleasure we record the following instance
of His Majesty's generosity towards this extraordinary indi-
tidual. Soon after her return to her native town, Donegal, she
Was attacked by fever, and, being in a distressed situation, seine
friends suggested that, if she petitioned the King, His Majesty,
as a brother chip, would probably relieve her. She accordingly
did so, sending her petition, under cover, to the :Marquis
Wellesley, and she had the satisfaction to find that it was im-
mediately attended to, for an application was made through
Colonel D'Aguilar, Adjutant-General for Ireland, to the Rev.
Richard Homan,. rector of Donegal, respeeting her circum-
stances and moral character. Mr. Homan's reply was strongly
in her favour, and the gentleman received the following note
last week from Sir H. Wheatley, from which it will be seen
that His Majesty, with his characteristic beneficence, has been
pleased to direct that the sum of £lO per annum be hencefor-
ward paid to the female sailor out of the privy purse : •
"TO THE !LEV. RICHARD ItoMAN.
" St James's Palace, July 9.
"Sir Henry Wheatley presents his compliments to Mr.
Homan, and begs to inform him that his letter of the ad instant,
relative to the feinale sailor, has been submitted to the Ring,, and His Majesty having been pleased to consider the distressed
situation of that individual, has directed Sir Henry to grant
her, from His Majesty's privy purse, an anneal allowance of
£lO, which the King wishes Mr. Hotnan would have the good-
ness to pay her by quarterly instalments, and Sir Henry
Wheatley will pay the money, either 'quarterly or half-yearly,
as may be.most convenient to Mr. Homan, to any banker or
person whom Mr: Homan may appoint. The allowance will
commence from the sth instant, therefore the first payment
may be made to the. female sailor on October 10."

ORGANS.—The first mention of an organ which is to be found
(in our N'ohhern Chronicles) is A.D., 757, when Constantine
Cupronynaus, Emperor of the East, sent to the King of France
“'ep,in,) among other new presents, a ma4ical machine, which
theFierich 4-riters describe to have been composed of pipes
and large tubes of tin, and to have imitated sonietiines the
roaring of thunder and sometimes the soft warbling of a flute.
A`lady *as so affected at hearing it played on for the first time
that she fell into a delirium, •• from which," says Fruissert,
" Ship •hever afterwerd properlie recovered."

CASI 4; OP BANCAL.

(From the Gazette des Tribunaux.)

On Saturday came on fur trial, before the Court of
Assize of Paris, the extraordinary case of Stephen Pros-
per Bancal, a surgeon in the navy, accused of having
premeditatedly put to death his mistress,. Madame Prior-
land. The prisoner, a young man of small but well pro-
portioned stature, with a handsome coUntenance and very
black hair and beard, entered the court (crowded almost
to suffocation) with faltering steps, and, either from 'over-
powering emotion or embarrassment at having every.
eye intently fixed upon him; sank down- upon the seat ap-•
peopriated to the prisoners, awl seemed lust to all around
him for some minutes.

After the act of accusation, or indictment, had been
read, the president proceeded to interrogate the pri-
soner : •

From what period were you acquainted with Madame Priol-
laud ?—Sinee 1825.

Was therenota correspondence between you and her ?—That
was later; in 1827.

Was therenotavery close intimacy between you ? Did you
not "thee" and" thou" each other ?—Yes, Sir
Who caused this correspondence to cease?—lt was no doubt
her husband that was opposed to it.
Were you not married at Senegal?—No, Sir, I lived as
other guropearis did:
Have you not several children ?—One only .
You saw'Madaine Priolland again in 1831? Yes, Sir; till
then Madame Priollaud had nut forgotten her duties.
Did you not eudeav3ur to form a criminal connexion with her?
—No, Sir.

13ut it could not be Madatue-Priolland, living quietly in the
midst of her family, who first fiirmed the idea of self-destruc-
tion: She had her mother and her daughter, for whom she_
evinced the greatest tenderness, and their affection must have
attached her to existence?—She had:Motives for leaving it.
But she had a great affection for her daughter, and we have
a proof of it in the letter she wrote to the uustress of the board-
ing school where the child was placed. A person who could
Write suet. a letter would Out resolve on being put to death with-
out being strongly excited to it. Was it you who endeavoured
to inspire Madame Priolland with your iueas of suicide?—Noi
Sir.

Have you not often said, that to die with her you loved was
the dream of your life?—'That is true..
Did yott nut cominuoicate that idea to Madame Priolland ?
No', Sir.

Among your papers, copies and extracts of various r9marices
have been found. Were they not made tor the purposeof being
cominunicated to Madame Pliollinn?—No, Sir.
Here is 'one passage :—" 1 could.wish to live tnr one'hour the
life of angels, the first, perhaps the last." Why did' you copy
this_piaSsage,?—lt seetned to me to express a pure idea. '
Whether was it you or Maclaine PriolLitid who first mani-
fested the de-sire to commit suicide ? Madame Priolland. As
fur me, I should never have thought that such an idea could
have entered the mind of a woman.
That is also the prosecutor's idea. What did you answer
.when she spoke to you' in this way ?—That I thought a luau
tmight have courage to carry such a project into execution, but
not a woman.

Did you endeavour to divert her mind from such ideas?.
Sir, I considered it a mere joke.
Did you speak to her of what you called the dream of your
life?—Nu, Sir, it was she who first spoke to me of it; and when
I expressed a doubt of a woman's having courage to execute
such an idehi, she struck me on the hand, saying, .‘ We shall
see who will first draw back."

—No,

On what occasion had you this convers:tion ?—lt was in read-
ing. an article in a newspaper— where two. young persons, who
loved each other as we did, killed themseh;es, after passing
eight days together in the country.
' What sort of death did she choose?—We passed all sorts in
'review, and we resolvedon that which appeared to her to be the
least painful.
• Had the criminal Connexion bet Ween you and .Madame Pd.
°band commenced at Angouleme?—:No, Sir.
'Where did you meet ?—At Poitiers.
Had you then resolVed on what you were to do?—A11 was pre-
pared.
Had you not purchased the acetate of morphine, and was it
not •to make use of it ? Yes,• Sir, in case the blood-letting
should not suffice.

Were you provided with money?—Yes, 'Sir, I had four hun
dred francs.

But you must have known that such a sum would not have
enabled you to remain any time iu Paris?-Madame Priollaud
had also some money.

Did you not receive from her a sum of one thousand francs?
—When she proposed to me that we should die together, I told
her that I was under engageuients, and that I could not agree to
die until they were fulfilled; she then offered me the means of
paying these debts, and I accepted it.
But this tuoney was not the property of Madame Priolland, it
belonged to her children?—l thought it belonged to Madame
Priolland.

After you had enclosed this money in a leter to your mother,
which you put in the post-office on the 23d of. March, what did
you do?-1 r..!turned to the hotel, and placed myself alongside
Madame Priolland, when she said to hie, " We must begin."
' I answered, " We have stilt time enough," to which she le-
plied, " But do you not recollect that you told me that it
'Would probably take a long tiuie," and she again added, "we
must begin:"
Here the prisoner dropped upon the seat, and let his head fall
between his hands. Alter a short time he rose up, when the
president asked him,
In what manner did you begin ?—She told the servant of the
hotel to bring a fuot bath and water, into which, after she had
heated the water, she put her feet, and I opened soine of the
veins in theiri; the blOod flowed in great abundance, and she
fainted away.
Here the prisoner's emotion became so great as to prevent
him for some moments from continuing. On recovering him-
self, he continued thus:—l raised her up and placed her on the
bed, and put a bandage over the Wounds, as she was unwilling
that the bed or her clothes should be stained with blood. I then
endeavoured to arrange her dress iu the manner that she wished
to be placed in the coffin.
What took place next?—Seeing the time advance, and that
she had no appearance of'dying, I took a scalpel and directed it
towards her heart, but recollecting that she expressed a wish not
to die by that means, I threw it aside, and waiting till she came
to herself, I then proposed to her to take the acetate of mor-
phine. She consented, and I divided the poison into two equal
portions, one of which she took, and I the other. I thought our
last moment was near, and we lay together on the bed for two
or three hours, in that kind of intoxication generally produced
by acetate of morphine.
The'prisoner, after stating that they both threw up the poison,
said, " I then asked her if she dished to recover. She replied
' No,' and asked me to divide one of her arteries. I attempted
-to do so, but my hand trembled's° violently that I could nut
completely succeed. I then stabbed myself with a scalpel, and
I took a pleasure in beholding my blood floW. When she saw
it, she said, 'Stop! fur if, you should faiut away,eve shall never
be able to-finish: ' (Here the prisoner was again obliged, by
overpowering emotion, to interrupt his statement, and sit down
for a short time. On again rising, he continued in the follow-
ing terms :—" I again asked her if she did not wish to live?"
To which she replied, ' No,' and said, " I see we must have
recourse to the means you spoke of.' I then looked for the
scalpel, and did not find it for some time, as it had fallen under
the bed. On seeing it in my hand she said, ' Now, we must
finish, eor they will soon be comity here.' I then stabbed her,
bat the blow was too feeble, 'dry hand was so unsteady. I-then
stabbed myself, and we lay for some time thinking that all was
nearly•over, but she at length recovered herself, and said, I
do nut feel that I am dying; you must try again, but take care
that the next blow is a good one.' I then stabbed her a second
time, when she said, Ah, that one is good!' and pressed my
hand."
Here the prisoner fell quite exhausted upon the seat, buried
his face m his hands, and gave way to convulsive sobbing, the
only sound that interrupted the silence of horror that prevailed
through the court. After some moments' interval a lancet and
scalpel, stained with blood, was shown to the prisoner, who re-
cognised them as those he had put Madame Priolland to death
with.
The first witness examined was M. Casinecasse, the friend of
Bancal, who had dined with him and Madame Priolland, and
passed the evening until ten O'clock with them the night of her
death. He stated that during that evening Madame Priolland
appeared more cheerful than usual, whilst Bancal, on the con-
trary, was serious
,and pensive. This witness also deposed to
several attempts made by the prisoner to destroy himself shire
the death of Madame Priolland, TwO or three surgeons who
were also examined, stated; that the wounds inflicted upon him-
self by the priStinee must have proved fatal had he not been suc-
coured in time.
The keeper of the hotel where the prisoner and Madame
Priolland lodged stated, that not the slightest suspicion of their
intentions could have been entertained in tie hotel, as they ap-
peared so happy and contented that the general remark of the
servants was,. " What a gay and' a happy couple they were.
They had been to the opera a few days before the catastrophe,
and even the very day that it took place Madame Priolland was
heard singing some of the airs of La Sylphide.
M. Plougoulth addressed the jury at great length, in support
of the indictment, and strongly insisted upon the necessity of a
Tcrtlict of guilty ; at the same time leaving it. to tke. jury to
accumpiany such verdict with a declaration of alleviating cir-
Cuaistances.
After a speech from M. Hardy, the prisoner's counsel, and
.a recapitulation of the evidence by the president, the two fol-
lc,wing counts were submitted to the. jury z-1. Is Stephen
Prosper Bancal guilty of having committed, with premeditation,
a voluntary homicide upon the person of Madame Priolland?
2. Is he guilty of having attempted the life of Madame Priol-
land by means of a substance capable of producing death ?
At a (patter to ten at night the jury retired, and at ten minutes
after eleven they returned into court, and gave in a verdict of
Not Guilty on both counts.