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EXHUMATIONS OF THE DEAD* I
EXHUMATIONS OF THE DEAD* I "A DEAD HOUSE IS HIS CASTLK.— DltKXF.LtU. (old German writ:*r)—-free translation. Nunquam minus d-jmi qiiam in domnWelsh dead man loquitur. SIR,-You recently gave insertion to <1. lettN from me on a public topic—Exhumations, which incidentally involved a good deal of remark on a disgusting, because needless, adoption of this practice tDwartl the remains "f Ann Thomas, a pauper. Had that letter evinced "pr- vate pique, "petty malignity, "personal censure, you would, of tonrse, have no mare allowed than I should L11,re presumed to ask its publication. Yet it has ..elicited more than one- anonymous repondellt in The Silurian, who, strange to say, find all this, and more, therein May I trespass again to a short extent on your spacc ? You will say, doubtless, that thc paper admitting these attacks is the proper arena for my de- defence. True—but your little contemporary the Li- beral ( ) Silurian, evincing the 'ast ditferece between beral ( ) Sf?trt fnt, evincing the vast ditfercnce between while allowing nameless parties—"A Welshman," and Medicus"—to vituperate me and Mr. Batt, by name, ad libitum, refuses room for answer except at the price of an advertisement. You, exhibiting the reality of your claim to that characteristic, gave insertion to my leHer, because its subject was one affecting public, and wholly inoffensive towar.d private feeling. I asserted that the digging up dead bodies is a shocking spectacle, a revolting, violence done to public feeling, only to be justified by its necessity. Is this disputed? Surely not ? What meant all the horrified sensation formerly produced in a whole neighbourhood on the detection of a body having been stolen by resurrection men," if this is disputable ? The" post mortem" process, and that more elaborate, of the Dissecting room, differ only in the extent of the anatomising, and the remains were sure of finding re-sepulture somewhere. The rites of religion had been already performed over them, yet what an outbreak of execration always followed this species of exhumation See to what cruel expedients (by the way) we resort in claiming for the knife of Science wretched paupers who die unclaimed by friends, purely to remove mercenary temptation to the violation of the grave Conceded, then, that the act is in itself most foul," does it not follow, that needless wanton resort to it is more than foul, is strange and unnatural," is an abo- mination, a loathsome one ? The sole remaining ques- tion, therefore is, was or was there not a necessity in this case? Was or was there not the very questionable excuse for it of some professional neglect? I, wholly unconnected with all parties, having carefully read the evidence, (rather disgustingly displayed at great length in the Silurian) declared that there was no neglect, therefore no necessity. As an obscure recluse, though not always such, they were free to scorn my dechuings, butLo!Lo! in the midst of the towering fury of "A Welshman," and of "Medicus," that 7 should dare to meddle, I should remonstrate, I should defend a gen- tleman, the victim of a conspiracy in my opinion, out comes the official declaration, the judgment after careful revision of the whole evidence, and in the teeth (displayed in pure sardonic retraction of the lips one can well conceive !) in the very teeth, I say, of these very angry gentlemen asserts (and on my vety grounds) the same thing acquits Mr. Batt of all blar.ie wipes off the foul stigma which a stupid verdict if not jury had attempted to attach to him—no less foul an one than that of causing—culpably—the death of a fellow creature! I certainly presumed to say, that juries are but fallible men. The highest authority, deputed by the legislative wisdom of a British Senate, to investi- gate anù definitively pronounce on the merits of this case, pronounce the same thing,— a verdict against them and their verdict. It comes to precisely a contrary conclusion on the evidence upon which they were sworn to truly and faithfully judgment give Now as it was the jury's verdict solely, that my letter impugned,—the Heedlessness of the disinterment solely that I reprobated—the jurymen (men from the moon or Under its influence for aught I know) utter strangers— the parties who got up the drama (that has turned from intended tragedy to broad farce against themselves) equally, I declare, unknown, how comically wonderful it is, that two (if not a dual man) should start up, draw goosequill upon me, present foolscap, and effuse ink and bile, charging me with personal aspersion, malignity, pique," &c. I no man call a knave or ass, 'Tis his own conscience holds the glass, quoth Gay, and I say ditto. It would be waste of time to attend to the pitiful malignity" (as Medicus writes) of "A Welshman vented agaimt trlat professional character which before his ink was dry, the Poor Law Commissioners declared to be falsely in{peached, I shall merely try to relieve the dullness of looking down on baflled and impotent irascibility by a "smil e of passing contempt"—(I plagiarise again:) "A Welsh- man" said, I "re&soned like a Tvro 'I would remind him that there go. 8ft things to the effect of reasoning on any person; MjP^wn capability to understand as well as of the other to convince. How is the gentleman "off" for brainI I hope he didn't expect me to find him reasonings and Reason too I would be loth however to leave this grave subject (excuse a bad pun) with a tone of levity. It is indeed a grave, an important subject; in one of its points of view, I do say, of atrocious character. The point I allude to, is the fact of an innocent man's having been accused of causing the death of a fellow crea- ture. I am not any longer to beg the question of Mr. Batt's exculpation. He is exculpated. The verdict is overturned. There did not exist any sufficient ground for that Inquest, which when once instituted, might require the exhumation. Then I say, again and again, a cruel, a most base, cowardly, and malignant attempt at moral assassination is most strongly to be suspected, at least, in the "rise and progress" of the imputation. I would appeal to you, Sir, to any candid man, woman, or (almost) child, to confess what your feeling would be to-morrow should you see your townsmen running to the churchyard to see a body dug up, you standing the mark of all eyes and of Rumour with her thousand tongues as the person who had occasioned the death r It is not in the common course of things for such in- justice to be inflicted on professional men, or who would ever become one ? But I have trespassed too long. Who, not interested, will dispute what I say in parting ? who with the feeling of a man (not to say a Christian) \i11 not respond to it, Amen ? If tearing the dead from the grave be a shocking and loathsome act—if the rushing to its perpetration on trivial grounds add moral ugliness to thc proceeding, to what a climax of absolute criminality of the creeping and occult, the serpent character, the stab-in-thtydark atnre, doe it amount, if worse than wanton lying, if interested views should be for a moment believed to have been at the bottom of the whole ? I was going to have said, the whole deplorable catastrophe which my latest" pitiless archer" from the citadel of The Silurian "Medicus" says, "is now matter of history;" but it seems doubtful whether this does not refer to the deplorable decision of the Poor Law authorities which I can well believe is to them a. catastrophe" maxime dejlendumas cutting the ground from under their feet. I am pleased to ifnd that what The Silurian has dignified with the name of the Garth- brengy Controversy" is to become part of the History of England I have written but one letter, so shall cut a poor figure. "A Welshman" has suggested to some future Hume another name for this one-sided conflict, drawn from a favourite little topic in his 1etter-I wish it may not go down to posterity as the Utensil Con- troversy Daiith. J. LOV/NES. [In consequence of the late arrival of an ord-r for a number of copies of our last publication, containing Dr. Downes's letter, which we could not supply, we have been induced, by the great local interest the sub- ject has excited, and from the greater space afforded us by the publication of a supplement, to republish the article.] LATER INTELLIGENCE FROM AMERICA. ARRIVAL OF TIlE" GREAT WESTERN."—The Great Western." arrived at Liverpool on Friday morning, bringing news from New York to the 6th, a week later than the "Hibernia." The uneasy feeling relative to the course to be taken by the President, in his message to Congress, is on the increase. The ground for this is to be found in an article from the TVasltingtvn Lmon, understood and recognised as the President's official organ. The Cllion goes into a lengthy detail of what the Americans consider to be the position of the two countries as to occupation in Oregon, enlarging on the fur trade, and closing with an attempt to prove that territorial aggran- disement is the sole object of Great Britain. STATE OF TRADE.—Trade continues in a flourishing condition, nearly every manufactory being in full work. Although this briskness is pretty general, yet a slight depression has taken place in some branches, particu- larly in the button and fancy glass line, where some of the people are put on short time. The building trade has not been so good for several years; journeymen can scarcely be obtained.—Birmingham Pilot. THE CHANCELLOR OF TlIE DUCHY OF LANCASTER. —The absence of Lord Granville Somerset from all the recent Cabinet Councils has occasioned a good deal of unfounded speculation. We are informed that the No- ble Lord was on his way from the Continent to England, on purpose to attend them, when he was arrested at Chalons-sur-Saone by a violent fit of the gout, which rendered it impossible for him to travel, it having, in fact, confined him to bed. So great, however, was the impatience of his Lordship to take a part in the delibe- rations of his colleagues, that he set out before his con- valescence was established, and contrary to the recom- mendations of his medical attendants. TOltADO IN FRANCE.— The Courrier du (Sard states, that a tornado, similar to that which occasioned such terrible disasters at Cette, fell on the loth instant in the commune of ;\le,.nes, T11e occurrence is thus described bv that journal :—" The sky suddenly became overcast and presently a rain, mixed with hn, which lasted about 20 minutes, fell upon the village. When it ceased, the cloud s were seen flying from the south with frightful rapdity, leaving a train behind them resembling the smoke from the locomotives. A dull and sinister sound was shortly afterwards heard, whieh seemed to presage some dreadful calamity. This was succeeded by a whirlwind, which uprooted trees of the size of a man's body wherever it passed. It uprooted r.o 1"5 than GO of various sizes upon one single estate. The column was perceptible at 2,000 yards distance. In the district of Fourques the meteor occasioned considerable damage j no person fortunately was injured, but the half of the ro:)f of a farm was rc- moved to a considerable distance by it, trees were also here torn up, and several carts overturned.
T II E C H, Y OF F A MINE.…
T II E C H, Y OF F A MINE. I [From the Momi/ig Post.] I No language we could use would be too strong to express the iiial" I icli every just man—which ever'y man who loves truth-—ouf*ht to ieel, 'at the pre- sentmoment, against those who arc labouring in the public press to excite an alarm of famine. That this iniquitous project is undertaken solely for a party pur- pose is evident. The enemies of the law which gives protection to the British agriculturist, hope, by exciting a public clamour, and producing a pressure from with- out, to cause the Government to open the ports for the reduction of foreign corn free of duty. They further hope that this grand object having been accomplished, they will have influence enough to obstruct for ever the revival of the law which restricts and regulates the im- port of foreign grain. It is the grossest hypocrisy to pretend that the exaggeration and violent declamation about impending famine, to which we allude, arises out of a real concern for the British consumers. They who are acquainted with the subject know very well, that the real operation of the opcnin of the ports would be an immediate rise of the price abroad, and, in fact, a putting into the pockets of the foreign holders the dif- ference which now exists between the price of free corn and foreign corn in bond, .od liable to duty. The ioreign holders are closely watching our proceedings, and the moment they have reason to believe that we must buy from them at any price, they will make us pay accordingly. During the short time that an influ- ential paper led the world to believe that the ports were about to be opened, wheat in foreign ports rose some seven shillings a quarter, and it has fallen again since events have proved that the journal in question had been misled, and had consequently misled the public. It is difficult to say whether the falsehood or the non- sense promulgated on the foreign corn question by the alarmists is the more conspicuous. We look on, say they, and we see other nations supplying themselves in the foreign ports which we refuse to enter. Refuse to enter What outrageous absurdity is this Does any one suppose that the duty imposed upon foreign corn, when brought to market for consumption in England, prevents ou.r merchants from purchasing foreign corn ? The very reverse is the truth. Our merchants are now steadily and leisurely supplying themselves with foreign corn at every port in the world where it can be bought. They are carrying on their operations subject to the gradual effects of the sliding-scale, upon which they can calculate, and beyond all question our chance of foreign supply is infinitely better under this system than if all were thrown into a state of confusion and chaos by the opening of the ports. Then, indeed, a helter- skelter scramble would take place, and all the well- planned operations of trade would be rendered of no avail. There is no nation in the wcrld supplying itself in foreign ports as England is at this moment. At this moment offers of cargoes of wheat from the Medi- terranean are daily arriving to our merchants. It would not be so, if, in a paroxysm of madness or of fear, the Ministers were to open the ports. This would be hoisting a signal of distress which, far from bringing succour, would make the foreigner hold off till we paid double for assistance. It is said we are looking on while our neighbours lay by stores which they will be prevented by restrictive duties from sharing with us. Another most absurd untruth. It is we who are laying in the stores. Our merchants, and not foreign mer- chants, are buying up the surplus corn of foreign coun- tries, for our merchants can afford to pay, while others cannot. Why then should we derange that which is going on steadily, as business ought to go on? If there be an insufficient supply, the price thereby pro- duced will open the ports. The sliding scale will open the ports, and by that time (though not before) some- thing will have been provided by our merchants worth opening the ports for. To open them now, would serve no purpose but that of gratifying the factious views of the Anti-Corn-law League. It is said that we know- ingly postpone our demand for foreign wheat till the time when the supply will be most costly. Another absurdity—another falsehood. We do not postpone our demand. Our demand is now steadily proceeding, and we are acquiring foreign corn at less cost, because we are acquiring it while a considerable barrier exists between the foreign produce and the British consumer. The propagators of lies on the subject of the supply of foreign corn leave entirely out of account the operations of our merchants in anticipation of the future demand. They assume what they must be ignorant, indeed, if they do not know to be false, that until our ports are open, no purchase, or no important purchase, of foreign grain takes place. It is strange that any portion of the public should be gulled by nonsense such as this. We believe the sliding-scale to be right in principle, but whether it be right or wrong, the operation of those whose business it is to watch and calculate upon the facts which they are at the utmost pains to ascertain— the operations of the great dealers in corn, have been adapted to the machinery of the sliding-scale. In con- formity with what may be expected from it, they are making their preparations, and to open their ports sud- denly, while their measures are in progress, would be to ruin them, and to destroy our means of safety, if, in- deed, it be true that we shall require considerable aid from foreign supply. If, again, it be true that our own produce is considerably short of our ordinary con- sumption, what palpable madness it is to be clamouring for cheapness of price Dues not every one know that a rise in price is the natural remedy which the habits and the reason of mankind supply to induce economy in the use of the commodity of which a scarcity is appre- hended? Shall we by any desperate measure seek a momentary depression of the price of home-grown corn, and thus induce a greater consumption at the very mo- ment that we say we have not enough to sustain the present rate of consumption till next harvest? Really, such representations are too preposterous to be borne with common patience. We have the satisfaction, how- ever, of believing that the Government is not misled by the lies which are pelted about town and country with such vehemence; and we hope Government will have manliness enough not to give way before clamour, which it well knows to be dishonest.
THE LATE AFFRAY AT KOUNSLOW…
THE LATE AFFRAY AT KOUNSLOW BARRACKS. The following is a report of the proceedings of a board of ofifcers assembled by order of the Commander- in-Chief (conveyed in the Adjutant-General s letters to Major-General the Hon. E. P. Lygon, dated the 5th and 6th of November, 184-5), for the purpose of inqui- ring into the conduct of Lieutenant Kirwan, of the 4th Light Dragoons, on the night of Sunday, the 2Sth of September last ;— President.—Major-General Hon. E. P. Lygon. Members. — Colonel Walton, Coldstream Guards Colonel Home, Grenadidr Guards Colonel Bouverie, Royal Horse Guards; Lieutenant-Colonel Hankey, 1st DragoonGuards. 7th of November, 184-5. The board met and commenced its proceedings by reading the Adjutant-General's letter. Lient.-CoI. Daly, commanding the 4th Light Dragoons, and Lieut. Kirwan, were called in. Major Parlbv, of the 4th Light Dragoons, was also called in, and was requested to state to the board what he knew respecting the transactions of the evening in question. He replied—On the 28th of September last, the officers dined together at the mess. All the married officers then present dined with me. There were three strangers present—Lieutenant Grcville of the 2nd Life Guards Lieutenant Porter of the 7th Fusiliers: and an officer of the Horse Artillerv. We dined about half-past i, and about 20 minutes before 10 many of the officers went into the ante-room to coffee. After f had sat there a few minutes Lieutenant Greville and Lieutenant Kirwan came into the* ante-room and commenced wrestling. Lieutenant Greville caught. Lieutenant Kirwan by the thigh and flung him on his back, lie got up, and in an instant he was thrown again in the same way. "W (ten he got up again Captain Fane was standing with his back to the fire. I was sitting close bv. Captain Fane crossed the room, and (as I supposed) told Lieutenant Kirwan to desist. I, having followed Captain Fane, heird only by the reply, which was—"What right have you to put a stop to this (or words to that effect); you are not the senior officer present?" I put my hand before him, and snid-" But r am. Captain Fane did perfectly right. There must be a stop put to this." Captain Fane at the moment returned and stood as he was before, at the five (it was only a. move of a few steps), Lieutenant Kirwan immediately went up to him, and continued what he had been saying before, "What right have you to speak to me in that manner?" or words to that purport. I begged Captain Fane to leave the room with me, which he did that instant. I said, You shall be perfectly satisfied to-morrow morning." From t1,, time that Lieutenant Kirwan and Lieutennt Grevii:" ""me into the room to that at which Captain Fune unr I left it, I do not. suppose that more than three minutes had. e1apsen.. Captain Fane went into his room, which was the next but one to the ante-room, and locked the poor. I stood a moment at the door, and saw Lieutenant Kirwan come out of te ante-room, followed hy Captain Low. The moment Lieutenant Kirwan came to the door of Captain Fane's room, he tried to open it, and finuing „ it fast, kicked it. I desire 1 him to go away immediately. As I was standing by the door, Lieutenant Kirwan pushed me aside, and kicked several times at the door violently. I said to him, Mr. Kirwan, if you continue this violence, I will immediately place you in the guard- room." Captain Low was standing close by, when I said— Low. get him awav from this, and save his com- mission." Captain Low immediately took him out of the passage into the barrack-yard. Every thing re- mained quiet for a minute or two, and I returned to the ante-room, where I saw Quartermaster Tarleton; I called him and said-" Tarleton, VOll are a great strong fellow, will you go and see that Kirwan does not Fane, and try and get him quietly into his room." This is ail I saw of the transactions. Questions by the board to Major Parlbv :— Are you aware of any altercation between Captain Fane and Lieut. Kirwan previous to their entering the ante-room ? Answer.—I am positive that none such took place at any time. Question.—Are YOll aware of any unusual quantity of wine having been drunk on the occasion in question ? Answer.—There was not; it was a particularly quiet party. Question by Lieut. Kirwan to Major Parlbv. Was it upon my head or upon my back that I fell, and was the fall a severe one ? Answer.—The second fall was upon the back of the head and neck together: a very violent fall. Major Parlbv then withdrew. Captains Fane and Low were next examined at some length, and they fully corroborated the testimony of Major Parlby. Quartermaster Tarleton, of the 4th Light Dragoons, was cal]erl in, nnd requested to state w1wt he knew of the transactions of the evening of the 2Rth of September, as connected with the present inquiry. He stated—"On the evening of the 28th of September, about 20 minutes or a quarter before 10. as near as I can recollect, there was a dinner party in the mess room, and the officers adjourned from the mess room to the ante-room. When I went into the ante-room I saw Lieutenant Kirwan and Lieutenant Greville, of the 2d Life Guards, wrestling. Lieutenant Kirwan was twice thrown heavily upon his back, his head striking the ground, when Captain Fane came forward and desired them to stop. They did so, when Lieutenant Kirwan went up to Captain Fane, and asked him what business he had to interfere, as he was not the senior officer present. Major Parlby was sitting close to them, and stood up, saying that he was senior, and that Captain Fane had done perfectly right in putting fi stop to it. Major Parlby then requested Captain Fane to leave the room, which he did, and I think accompanied by Major Parlby and in a few moments after Lieutenant Kinvan foI:ow?d. About a minute or two after Major Parlby came to the door of the ante-room, and called me out, and in the passage told me to prevent Lieutenant Kirwan's meeting with Captain Fane, or going to his room. I heard some one Speaking at the front door, and went there, where I found Lieu- tenant Kirwan and Captain Low. Lieutenant Kirwan stated to me that he had been ordered to the guard-room, and that he would go there. I tried to dissuade him from doing so: he, however, persisted, and went up stairs to his room for the purpose of getting his cap to go. I went with him to his room, leaving Captain Low down stairs. He took his cap from a peg. When lie went in I shut the door, and after he had procured his cap he wanted to leave the room again. I tried to dis- suade him from leaving the room, but he persisted. I placed my back to the door in the meantime, and told him that he should not leave the room. lie then took his sword and belts, which were hanging on the same rack where his cap was, threw the belts and scabbard on the floor, and drew his sword. He desired me to leave the door and let him pass, otherwise he would cut me down. I told him I would not, and after flourishing the sword about, which I imagined was to intimidate me, he made a thrust which went under my left arm. I said, "Take care what you are about;" and he then said, "There's another sword, defend yourself." I stepped forward room the door, and took the end of the scabbard in my hand. to try to take it off the rack. While doing so, I thought he wanted to pass between Tn"" anù the ùoor, and, letting go the'seabbard, threw myself back against the door, when I 1"eceÎyed a wound in my belly from Liell- tenant Kirwan. I said. "YOll 11'1ve stabbed me," and went immediately towards the fire-place, and on looking at my shirt bv the light of the fire, I found blood on It. In tn" meantime (while I was 1001dng- at mv shirt at the fire) the door was burst open by Lieutenant Warde. I then went down stairs and met somebody in the passage, and desired them to call the doctor, and I went to my room. Dr. Mure came immediately, and probed the wound with his little finger. I was then put to bed. When I went to the fire to look at my shirt, Lieutenant Kirwan went towards it also, going by the other side of the table and when I left the room both Lieutenant Kirwan and Lieutenant Wade left it at the same time. I had no further conversation with Lieutenant Kirwan. Questions hy the 1Joan1 to Quartermaster Tarleton — When Lientrnant Kirwan told yon that he had been ordered to the guard-room, who did you understand had ordered him there? Answer.-He told me that Major Pariby had ordered him there. Question.—Did Lieut. Kirwan, after you had both pro- ceeded as vou have stated, towards the fire, appear to be still in a state of excitement, or to be aware of what he had done ? Answer.—I think he was aware of wh;1t he from his calm manner of coming with me to the tire, but he was in a violent state of excitement up to the moment when I told him he had stabbed me. He then desisted at once, and lowered the sword. Questions by Lieutenant Kirwan to Quartermaster Tarleton :— Question.—Does Mr. Tarleton remember whether he mentioned having been sent by Major Parlby? Answer.—No, I did not mention that he had sent me. I Quest ton.—How near WM the sword to me where I stood? Answer.—Within reach of his arm in fact, ciose to where hf took his cap from. Question.— At the time that Quartermaster Tarleton leant forwai d to take the sword, did I not make a rush at the door ? Answer.— Yes which I imagined was to git between me and the door. Question.—When he threw himself back against tne door, did he not throw himself in the direction of my sword ? Answer.—No I threw myrelf away from his sword, and towards the door. Question.—Was I net rushing to reach the door at the time ? Answer.— Yes; my impression was that he wanted to get hrtween me and the door. Question.—Did Mr Tarleton see me make a thrust at the timc he was wounded ? Answer.—No my attention wa:3 engaged in trying to puB the other sword from the rack. Question.—Ca what terms have we always been ? Answer.—On very friendly terms. Mr. Kirwan has always shown me very great attention in the regiment. Question. Have we ever had cue single word of dis- pute to lead hilIl to suppose that I ceuld intentionally do 111:11 harm ? Answer.—Never; on the contrary, my principle reason for remaining with him that evening, and accompanying him to his room, was to prevent him from saying or doing anything more that could get him into trouuie. Quartermaster Tarleton withdrew. Dr. Mure, Capt. Halkett, Lieut. Lloyd, and Lieut. Warde were ne xt examined. Lieutenant Kirwan being informed by the board that he was at liberty to make any statement he was desirous of submitting, stated—" I have very little to say, but ex- press my deep regret for the melancholy occurrence, and likewise regret at having called the eyes of the public in ouch a manner upon my regiment. I most solemnly declare that I have not the slightest recollcetion of any- thing that occurred that night, till Mr. Tarleton ex- claimed that he was stabbed. Then I was recalled to myself for an justant hy so horrible an rlccusation--an action from which I should recoil with horror. I imme- diately rushed to the fire at Mr. Tarleton's exclamation, to see whether thcie was blood upon my sword, for I could not believe that such a calamity had befallen me. 1 then re1a;¡"pd into a state of a kind of insen":lbiEty to what was occurring around mf.nordo I recollect anything further till I found myself sun-oundpd by three Dr four vl my brothr oliiccrs. I can on!) ?tnbutc the state in which I was to the effect of the falls and to the wine, which had an effect upon me in consequence of those falls. I do not wih to insinuate that I or any of my brother officers had overstepped the bounds of prudence in this respect. I most solemnly state that I'have no recollection of ever having made a pass at Mr. Tarleton, and I feel quite sure that he is the last man in the regi- ment I should have thought of lifting my hand against, He has said that I did make a pass, but lie took no effort j to avoid tbe blow; and should we not conclude that if I, had intended to cause him any bodily injury I could not have missed so large a person, standing so close as I was ? lie has acknowledged that be received the wound in mv rush to the door, and that he never saw me make a second pass; might it not, therefore, have been an accident inflicted during this rush ? I will not say any more, but shall throw myself on the mercy of the Com- mander-in-Chief." Lieutenant Kirwan withdrew. The board having, in pursuance of the instructions herewith annexed, recorded and duly weighed the evi- dence laid before it, which appeared to be the whole that could be produced upon the case, begged leave to submit the same for the consideration of- his Grace the Com- mander-in-Chief. In consequence of the above examination, the Com- mander-in-Chief issued the following;— GENERAL ORDER. Horse Guards, inov. 20. The Commander-in-Chief having considered it his duty to order a court of inquiry to assemble, in order to inquire into the transactions which occurred in the 4th Dragoons on the 28th September last, is desirous that the report of the court may be published in the general orders of the army. He entreats the commanding officers of regiments to draw the attention of the officers under their com- mand, respectively, to the evil consequences resulting from the practice of gymnastic exercises after the mess dinner. The mess dinner of the officers of a regiment can- not be deemed a private convivial meeting, considering the interest which has been manifested by the public authorities in promoting its comfort and respectability and considering that it is not unusually attended by j officers and by private gentlemen of character, and re- spectable on account of their rank and station (whether professional or social), or age, it is desirable that con- duct or practices should be avoided in which men of that description cannot take part, and that nothing should pass which is otherwise than usual in the societies of persons of that description, and, indeed, that at all times, and under all circumstances, gym- nastic exercises, wrestling and boxing by officers, and such practices of youths in colleges and schools rattier than of men intrusted with the command of soldiers by commission of their Sovereign, should be discontinued, excepting strictly in private; and that no officer or gentleman should ever think of raising his hand against another. "The Commander-in-Chief has been informed that the practice of smoking, by the use of pipes, cigars, or cheroots, has become prevalent among the oificers of the army, which is not only in itself a species of intoxica- tion occasioned by the fumes of tobacco, but undoubt- edly occasions drinking and tippling by those who ac- quire the habit; and he entreats officers commanding regiments to prevent smoking in the messrooms of their several regiments, and in the arljoining apartments, and to discourage the practice among the officers of jifliior rank in their regiments. Lieutenant Kirwan is released from his arrest, and to return to the performance of his duty. By command of Field-Marshal the Duke of Wel- lington, Commander-in-Chief. "JOHN MACDONALD, Adjutant-General."
THE CONDITION OF ENGLAND.
THE CONDITION OF ENGLAND. (Prom the Augsburg Gazette.) The entire conditicn of Great Britain has seldom been more interesting, more extraordinary, or less easy to be comprehended than at the present time. This condition is certainly not a menacing one, for, as far as the importation of the necessaries of life is concerned, England is apparently better off than every state on the continent; and in everything else the welfare of the people is far more real than imaginary. The restrictive tariffs of foreign countries, and the increasing obstructions which have been thrown in the way of certain branches of trade, have, nevertheless, produced no remarkable effect upon the British trade abroad. The internal trade is, however, in England, as everywhere else, the real support of the national prosperity. Amongst all classes of the population an uncommon increase of labour, and, as a matter of course, an increase of profit, have been witnessed this year. The use of every description of articles of luxury has increased with the accession of the means to procure comforts and enjoyments from day to day; and, if one may so speak, the whole capital of society has been turned with twofold celerity. The great alterations in mechanics, the application of chymistry to agriculture, and the unlimited powers of steam, seem to have opened to the people of this country a new, and ,-is- suredly, no unreal, field of view. Under forms from which the philosopher may turn away, as from empty symbols of material civilization, the great ideas of all infinite extension of manly power and manly industry have been developed,—with the exception of the su- perficial extent of this little island, every element of society is here in a state of rapid and endless growth. The population almost doubles itself in the course of a man's lifetime. The natural resources of the soil are continually increased by the application of science. What can always be achieved by power can now be executed with certainty by means of the wonderful natural clement which man renders subordinate to his service. In all directions, the walls of the world—the horizons of society-appear on the point of vanishing, and nobody can venture to fix a limit to the exertions or the acts of mankind in reference to his eatthly existence upon this pianet. This sen,e of this mighty truth has not failed to make a deep impression upon the political mind and the circumstances of the people of England. The Minister who rules the destinies of this nation feels that he is only intrusted with a certain recognized place and a limited power; but that the power of the country is clastic to a degiee which posterity alone will fully per- ceive. It is less improbable that England will be some day double her present size, than it was probable, two centuries ago, that she would attain a greatness that more resembles the darkly revealed and ancient great- ness of Babylon than that of historical Rome. And herein lies the great lesson for modern Governments. Their task consists not merely in insuring the stability of the existing order of things, and maintaining their present position, but in tracing out a future one which has no limits. Whatever people may say, it is a de- monstrated truth, that the English trouble their heads but little about acquisitions of dominion—such acquisi- tions arc rather made in spite of their policy than in consequence of it. But what acquisition can be equiva- lent to the increase of strength presented by half a million of men who labour on her soil? And yet England receives this increase every year from the hands of Providence! The fairest colony is a neg- lected desert in comparison with the progress of society in these islands. The future of England, the future of every country, lies in the hearts of her own people. The branches of the tree may be extended but its real growth is in the trunk. The consideration of these facts and questions, which flash upon the minds of the most inconsiderate,has had a powerful effect as regards mere party disputes. Personal abuse and debates upon questions of time and efficacy may still occupy the time of Parliament; but elevated above these, the firmly established and recognized truths of political science are beginning to gleam in unaltered brightness. Two centuries ago the fundamental principles of freedom were enunciated in England, until at length they acquired the sovereignty and became the faith of the English people, and of all free nations upon the face of the earth. It is not improbable that the fundamental principles of statesmanship, and the laws affecting labour and commerce, will be elaborated with equal security, and form a foundation for the future happiness and welfare of mankind. The sort of way in which this will happen is certainly uncertain; but its ultimate triumph is as certa'n as the triumph of truth. Mankind are only pigmies in the handling of this great machine of the world, and the English Ministry are not a span greater than their fellow-men. But much depend s upon the result of their deliberations. — —
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BRISTOL DOCKS.—The subject of the purchase by the city, of the Bristol Docks occupied the attention of the town council bn Wednesday week for five hours. The trade of Bristol has for years been declining, in conse- quence of the high rate' of dues (3s. per ton) charged upon ships; and it has been long the ardent wisu of the citizens to obtain possession of their docks for the purpose of reducing the dues, and thus give the port of Bristol the same advantages as are enjoyed by other ports of less natural capabilities and accommodation, and which ports, simply owing to the cheap rate at which shi!)s can enter them, have risen to eminence. In 1839 a negociation was carried on between the town council and the dock directors, but the terms ofleied by the city were rejected. The question has been latterly a,gain taken up, and a committee appointed to confer with the Dock Company upon the matter. A con. ference was denied the committee, and, therefore, tney could only carry on their negociation by means of writing. The committee decided upon offeiing the dock directors such terms as they thought could not fail to be accepted, exceeding even what they conceived to be the fair value of the property, as the citizens anxiously desired to have the power of lowering the dues. The terms wete such that the council guaranteed the dock proprietors E2 10s. per cent. on their notes, being 7s. Gd. more per cent. than they have been receiving for an average of twenty-three years. The dock directors refused the terms, and the committee re- ported the result to the council. In the discussion it was admitted on all hands that the offer was exceedingly fitir and liberal, some even contending that more had been offered than what was the value; and a resolution was come to, that not a farthing more should be added to the offer. The negociation has thus, much to the regret of the citizens, closed without any successful result being obtained, but it is understood that the council will not object to accept an offer from the dock directors upon the terms proposed. Some members of the council advocated the taking the matter into par- liament, and compelling the proprietors to sell the docks upon fuir and reasonable terms.
REPEAL USES OF RAILWAYS. I
REPEAL USES OF RAILWAYS. I [From the Morning Chronicle.] I The Nation recommends to the consideration of repeal wardens, to be Tead in their parishes, a few short and easy ritles" as to the uses to which railways may be put. We had the gratification of printing them in the Chronicle yesterday: "A hint on this subject," the Nation says, May be thought enough but we see no objection to speaking plainly and, therefore, we give a few practical views, which may be improved as engineers turn their attention to the subject. First, then, every railway within five miles of Dublin could in one night be totally cut off from the interior country. To lift a mile of rail, to fill a perch or two of any cutting or tunnel, to break down a piecc of an embankment, seem obvious and easy enough. "Second-The materials of railways. good hammered iron and wooden sleepers, need we point out that such things may be of use in other lines than assisting locomotion. "Third—Troops upon thoir inarch by rail might be conveniently met with in divers places. Hofer, with his Tyroliens, could hardly desire a deadlier ambush than the brinks of a deep cutting upon a railway. Imagine a few hundred men lying in wait upon such a spot, with masses of rocn. and trunks of trees ready to roll down—and a train or two advancing with a regiment of infantry, and the engine panting near and nearer, till the polished studs of brass on its front are distin- guishable, and its name may nearly be read; Now, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost !—now -■ But 'tis a dream. :-o enemy will dare put us to realise these scenes. Yet, let all understand what a railway may, and what it may not do." It requires a. fine philanthropist and legislator to discover such advantages in the railway system—one of those obstinate martyrs who would cut off his nose in order to spite his face. Suppose the rails are down and the tunnels complt e the Irish philosopher instantly begins to think how it would be easy to lift the former and fill up the latter again. This also would give fresh work to the neglected poor an 1, causing a wholesome and perpetual demand upon capitalists, would enforce a circulation of money through the coiinti-y. Second ■ good hammered iron and wooden sleepers" would be capitally handed to make pikes with. The"seeond"is admirable: the logical precision and neatness of the rules to be read in parishes. Get your subscriptions and your parliamentary Acts; pay your engineers, landowners, and workmen and you have at once good hammered iron and wooden sleepers ready for demo- lishing Saxons. The cheapness of the weapon is unde- niable. The bovs could have the pikes for nothing. There are historical examples for the practice. The refined and intrepid Vandals, when they invaded Rome pulled out the iron clamps of the Colosseum for the same purpose the Turks _(an exceedingly civilised and maligned race) fired off the heads and limbs of I hidias' statues from the Parthenon, when besieged there. There is also the case of the enlightened Chinese, mentioned by Charles Lamb, who having eaten a pig which was roasted in the burning of a house, burned down a house every day with a pig in it, in order to get his favourite crackling. "ioung Ireland is for legislating in this way. Travellers, who have visi^ ted the country, have seen the system many times put in practice; and in the Irish domestic economy have admired a piano figuring very handsomely as an apple- cupboard, or a window replaced advantageously by a pair of pantaloons or a wig. Here it is proposed to employ the plan on a grand and noble scale, and to put arms in the hands of ingenious patriots who are about to levy war. Then we wind up with the night attack- the Irish in ambush, with the rocks and trees handy; the smashing of the engine, and the roasting, crushing, and slaughte r of the Saxon regiment in the train. And the whole of the wretched, tawdry romance finishes with that accustomed invocation so commonly used among certain patriots in Ireland now-not the Nation writers merely. The Captain Hocks and Molly Maguire's men used a similar one before they went out to murder. II. Swift left no skicc-ossor ? Are these people, who could listen to sense and wit once, to be led" by such harangues as those of Mr. Sinnott the other day, and as this of the Nation ? Fancy a country in which popular journals are found which calls these plans of incendiarism practical views"—a country where star- vation is imminent, and employment is the only chance of averting it. The native legislators do their best at this moment to frighten out of Ireland its sole means of livelihood, as if in such a time, and to starving men, bread were not more necessary that the best Parliament that ever was devised, or ali the spouters that ever roared through lungs You want your landlords to come and live among you; shoot at those who are thffre, avid so encourage the rest back again. You want money and work; curse and threaten the only people in the world that can and will give it you. You want railroads to develope your own internal resources; promise to destroy them, so that you may get pikes to kill the Saxon with. This argument goes on day by day and is talked to the best, wisest, bravest, cleverest people in the world. If Swift were but by to listen to it But they seem to prefer an orator out of the Swift's Hospital now—a bedlamite with a murderous monomania.
THE HEALTH OF THE LORD CHANCELLOR.
THE HEALTH OF THE LORD CHANCELLOR. Considerable alarm has been created, not only amongst the personal friends of Lord Lyndhurst, but in the minds of the public generally, by the rumours which for some days past have been afloat respecting the state of his Lordship's health and a paragraph which appeared on Saturday, and which we extracted on Monday from the Berkshire Chronicle of that date, has tended not a little to increase the prevalent anxiety with regard to the Lord Chancellor. Doubting the accuracy of these statements, but not being fully pre- pared to contradict them, we have thought it necessary to have especial inquiries made of gentlemen now in attendance on the noble Lord at his mansion in Oxford- shire. From their communications it appears that his Lordship felt rather indisposed on last Friday se'nnight; he was, however, on the day following not unable to travel, and went from town, accompanied by one of his secretaries, to Turville-park, near Henley-upon-Thames, where he still remains. Shortly after his Lordship reached home his indisposition assumed so serious a character, that Mr. Brooks, a surgeon, who resides at Ilenley, and who is the ordinary medical attendant of the family at Turville-park, was sent for. That gentle- man considered the case to be of so grave a character as to require the advice of a physician, and Dr. Locock was forthwith summoned to his Lordship's bedside. During the whole of Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday (the 16th, 17th, and 18th of this month) the malady under which the noble Lord laboured assumed a very alarming character, and a general impression began to spread that there was no chance of his Lordship's recovery. It appears that his illness arose principally from obstruc- tion of the bowels, an ailment by which he has on for- mer occasions been assailed. The remedies necessary for repelling an attack of this nature have usually a tendency to debilitate the patient, and, moreover, the effects of the disorder itself lead to great exhaustion so that their combined operation upon the constitution of one who has reached the advanced age of 73 could not fail to have produced most distressing effects. Nevertheless his Lordship's indisposition yielded to medical treatment on Tuesday; and though greatly enfeebled, and able to take very little food, his case manifested symptoms of improvement on Wednesday. On Thursday and Friday he was much better on Satur- day last he was able to get out of bed; and since then his lordship has been gradually advancing towards convalescence. He is himself cheerful and sanguine enough to express a hope that on Thursday se'nnight, which will be the first seal day, it possibly may be in his power to take his seat in the Court of Chancery. But the rapidity with which ayoung patient recovers strength can hardly be expected in the case of a man who has suffered the wear and tear" of professional and political life for nearly half a century, who never appeared to husband his strength or take advantage of the means by which longevity is" promoted. His case, however, is now- likely to terminate satisfactorily, and it may be hoped that, with a constitution naturally good, with the care and caution which a warning like this is calculated to superinduce, and with a full use of the aids and appli- ances which a high state of civilisation furnishes, the country will for many years continue to enjoy the benefit of his services, and his personal friends the pleasure of witnessing, and, as it were, enjoying the further pro- longation of his valuable life.— Tunes.
[No title]
CARING FOR THE PoOn.-At the last meeting of the Burton Farmers' Club, Sir O. Moseley, Bart., in returning thanks for his health having been proposed, said that though he had not done much in furtherance of agri- cultural success, still, what he had done, he had done to the best of his judgment. He urged upon the large farmers, and those who were" wpH to do" in the world, to endeavour, as far as possible, to keep off the pressure of want, which the failure of the potato crop would cause before long, from the poor. For this purpose he recommended the establishment of soup societies, which, in previous, times of scarcity, had been a great blessing to the poor. Without something of this sort were done, it was certain there must be extreme suffering amongst the poor during the coming winter. With regard to keeping potatoes, he had tried several experiments, and the one he found to answer best was by drying them well on the warm flues of his hothouse. When they became dry, the sound potatoes bore rather a greenish hue whilst the bad ones immediately exuded an offensive smell. By this means, it might at least be seen which were bad and which were good ones, and the two sorts should be immediately separated. IRELAND'S LESSON.—-The prospect of famine in Ire- land has not prevented the collection of the O'Connell tribute, and probably has not much reduced the amount below the usual average. It is equally shocking and extraordinary that the tax should have been levied by a people foreknowing: that they were squandering the means of life itself in the money they gave. The improvidence, it may be said, is characteristic; the pinch uf scarcity has not yet been felt, and the Irish peasant does not look before him but what is to be thought of the man who could take advantage of this improvidence, and diminish the wretched means of the poor creatures to swell his own income, knowing that the time must come when they must bitterly repent of their thoughtless generosity, and reflect that what they had given to Mr. O'Connell had by so much hastened the day of want ? But what cares lie ? If thousands are doomed to perish by famine or by pestilence, what matters it whether it is a little sooner or a little later? The tribute kept in their pockets would not avert the calamity, would only postpone it; and if they must die, it is well that he should have the benefit of the money, sufficient to prolong the struggle, but not to carry the sufferers through it This is probably the reasoning of the grasping m-.n j heartless as it is, we can imagine no better. The peasant who this year has given his usual tribute to O'Connell has given ill value at least fourfold or five- fold the customary contribution. This Mr. O'Connell must have been conscious of when he levied the tax, and nevertheless he consented to the imposition, aware that the poor creatures knew not what they were about, and were robbing themselves and their children for him. To take from the poor the gift they could not spare would seem the height of cruelty and mean- ness; but that is not all in tl,.Is case, f,)r the poor, in their thoughtlessness, have drawn on their narrowed means of existence 20 or 25 per cent, more than they have been aware of, and sordid advantage has been taken of their-want cf foresight and reflection. Doubt- less, however, the salve to Mr. O'Connell's conscience is the expectation that England will supply all wants, & he never, as he avows, had been an enemy to the con- nexion with England, for, in truth, he has no objection to her capital and charity. He is willing that Irclant should live with her on the terms, what's yoms is mine, and what's mine's my own—Ireland the Irish, and English aid, when Ireland suffices not, x, the Irish. For the last four years the Irish agitators have been reckoning with delight on the troubles and difficulties of England; they have looked ouJ ofi_oui misfortunes as their harbingers of S°od' prayed for the worst curses on us that c?an??isii n?a tions; but the first calamity has taught to hope for their neighbours troubles, and their only resource in the prosperity of the countiy whose adversity was malignantly counted on as the sure source of advantage. If England were now plunged in war, how hopeless would be the state of the people of Irelaud The recruiting sergeant would not be able to take the multitude ready to serve for bread, and what thousands of the aged, the women and the children would be doomed to famine, England being drained by the demands for her sell-preservation. Happy, most happy is it for Ireland, that England is at peace and comparatively prosperous. As Mr. O'Connell believes that the reversal of his conviction was a miracle, he should also, in consistency, believe that the present calamity of Ireland is a judgment on her for the guiltv prayers lie has taught her people to put up for embarrassments and misfortunes to Eng- land. He must not be like the pharisaical gentle- woman described by Gait, who never failed to call the am ictiolls of her neighbours "judgments, while to her own she gave the mild name of trials." And it is to be remembered that he distinctly ascribed the miracle of his deliverance from gaol to the effect of the prayers which had beert offered up and to the same cause lie may, with more scriptural authority, attribute the pending scourge, for we are taught that the unhal- lowed prayer for a neighbour's misfortunes is likely to recoil in curses on those that offend Heaven by putting it up. Sweet are lheuses of adversity, and profitable, indeed to the Irish people will be the present amiction if it teaches them the policy of humanity-interest in the well-being of others—and to renounce Mr. O Council s precepts of hatred and il1-ill.Examincr. THE BOOTY TAXES IN SCINDE. I-Ve understand that a grant has been made to the captors of the booty taken in Scindc bv the troops under Major-General Sir Charles Napier in February and March, 184-3. The amount of bullien and treasure is stated at upwards of £ 400,000,—what the value of jewels, &c., may be is not known, but they will probably realise £ 100,000., so that not less than half a million sterling will fall to be divided among the captors. To the troops who were stationed in Scinde at the time of the battles of Meanec and Hyderabad, but who were not actually present at t hose battles, a specific portion (we believe one-sixth) is allotted. The residue is given to the forces engaged in the battles, after deducting what they have already received under the head of extra batta on this account. The stamp duty paid into the Bank of England on ac- count of the bullion and treasure amounts to upwards of £ 21 000.—Aliens' Indian Mail. AN UNPRONOUNCEABLE N.olF.. -.A Scotchman, named Alexander Finney, drowned himself in Coney- ocketies Creek, near Buffalo, on the 12th instant, while in a state of insanity. If he had tried to pronounce the name of the creek it would have answered his pur- pose quite as well, by choking him.-Boston Bee.
LORD JOHN RUSSELL TO THE ELECTORS…
LORD JOHN RUSSELL TO THE ELECTORS OF I THE CITY OF LONDON. Gentlemen—The present state of the country, in regard to its supply of food, cannot be viewed without apprehension. Forethought and bold precaution may avert any serious evils—indecision and procrastination may produce a state of suffering which it is frightful to can tem plate, Three weeks ago it was generally expected that Par- liament would be immediately called together. The announcement that Ministers were prepared at that time to advise the Crown to summon Parliament, and to pro- pose on their first meeting a suspension of the import duties on Corn, would have caused orders at once to be sent to various ports of Europe and America for the purchase and transmission of grain for the consumption of the United Kingdom. An order in council dispensing with the law was neither necessary nor desirable. No party in Parliament would have made itself respon- sible for the obstruction of a measure so urgent and so beneficial. The Queen's Ministers have met, and separated, without affording us any promise of such seasonable relief. It becomes us, therefore, the Queen's subjects, to consider how we can best avert, or at all events mitigate, calamities of no erdinary magnitude. Two evils require your consideration. One of these is the disease in the potatoes, affecting very seriously parts of England and Scotland, and committing fearful ravages in Ireland. The extent of this evil has not yet been ascertained, and every week, indeed, tends either to reveal un- expected disease, or to abate in some districts the alarm previously entertained. But there is one misfortune peculiar to the failure in this particular crop. The effect of a bad corn harvest is, in the first place, to diminish the supply in the market, and to raise the price. Hence diminished consumption, and the priva- tion of incipient scarcity, by which the whole stock is more equally distributed over the year, and the ultimate pressure is greatly mitigated. But the fear of the break- ing out of this unknown disease in the potatoes induces the holders to hurry into the market, and thus we have at one and the same time rapid consumption and im- pending deficiency—scarcity of the articleand cheapness of price. The ultimate suffering must thereby be ren- dered far more severe than it otherwise would be. The evil to which I have ad verted may be owing to an adverse season, to a mysterious disease in the potato, to want of science or of care in propagating the plant. In any of these cases government is no more subject to blame for the failure of the potato crop than it was entitled to credit for the plentiful corn harvests which we have lately enjoyed. Another evil, however, under which we are suffering, is the fruit of Ministerial counsel and Parliamentary law. It is the direct consequence of an Act of Parliament, passed three years ago, on the recommendation of the present advisers of the Crown. By this law. grain of all kinds has been made subject to very high duties on im- portation. These duties are so contrived that the worse the quality of the corn, the higher is the duty so that when good wheat rises to 70s. a quarter the average price of all wheat is 57s. or 58s. and the duty 15s. or 14s. a quarter. Thus the corn barometer points to fair, while the ship is bending under a storm. This defect was pointed out many years ago by writers on the Corn-laws, and was urged upon the atten- tion of the House of Commons when the present Act was under consideration. But I confess that on the general subject my views have in the course of twenty years undergone a great alteration. I used to be of opinion that corn was an exception to the general rules of political economy but observation and experience have convinced me that we ought to abstain from all interference with the supply of food. Neither a government nor a legislature can ever regulate the corn market with the beneficial effects which the entire freedom of sale and purchase are sure of themselves to produce. I have for several years endeavoured to obtain a compromise on this subject. In 1839 I voted for a committee of the whole House, with the view of sup- porting the substitution of a moderate fixed duty for the slidinc-scale. In 1841-1 announced the intention of the then Government of proposing a fixed duty of 8s. a quarter. In the past session I proposed the imposition of some lower duty. These propositions were suc- cessfully rejected. The present first Lord of the Trea- sury met them in 1839, 1840, and 1841 by eloquent panegyrics of the existing system—the plenty it had caused, the rural happiness it had diffused. He met the propositions for diminished protection in the same way in which he had met the offer of securities for Protestant interests in 1817 and 182.5-irl the same way in which he met the proposal to allow Manchester, Leeds, and Birmingham to send members to Parliament in 1830. The result of resistance to qualified concessions must be the same in the present instance as in those I have mentioned. It is no longer worth while to contend for a fixed duty. In 1841 the free-trade party would have agreed to a duty of 8s. a quarter on wheat, and after a lapse of years this duty might have been further re- duced, and ultimately abolished. But the imposition of any duty at present, without a provision for its ex- tinction within a short period, would but prolong a contest already sufficiently fruitful of animosity and discontent. The struggle to make bread scarce and dear, when it is clear that part, at least, of the additional price goes to increase rent, is a struggle deeply injurious to an aristocracy which (this quarrel once removed) is strong in property, strong in the construction of our legislature, strong in opinion, strong in ancient asso- ciations and the memory of immortal services. Let us, then, unite to put an end to a system which has been proved to be the blight of commerce, the bane of agriculture, the source of bitter divisions among classes, the cause of penury, fever, mortality, and crime among the people. But if this end is to be achieved, it must be gained by the unequivocal expression of the public voice. It is not to be denied that many elections for cities and towns in 1841 ,and some in 1845, appear to favour the assertion, that free trade is not popular with the great mass of the community. The government appear to be waiting for some excuse to give up the present Corn-law. Let the people, by petition, by address, by remonstrance, afford them the excuse they seek. Let the Ministry propose :,Uc h a revision of the taxes as in their opinion may render the public burdens more just and more equal; let them add any other provisions which caution and even scrupulous forbearance may suggest; but let the removal of restrictions on the admission of the main articles of food and clothing used by the mass of the people be re- quired, in plain terms, as tiseful to all great interests, and indispensable to the progress of the nation. I have the honour to be, gentlemen, Your obedient servant, Edinburgh, Nov. 22, 18-15. J. RUSSELL.
[From the Standard.]
[From the Standard.] The Times and other journals have been for some months dropping mysterious hints of a fusion of partics and of opinions, and with so much success that many of the provincial toadies have swallowed the delusion, and arrived at the intended inference, that a coalition ministry is in contemplation. The Dublin Evening Mail, the most servile of the provincial toadies of th, Times, gave in its number of Monday the following announcement:— For some days rumours have been afloat as to th probability of a junction being formed between Sir Robert Peel and Lord John Russell; and the affairs of this crreat empire committed to that worst of all political cur, es-t coalition ministry. There would certainly now be nothing inconsistent in the present Premier joining the leader of the late opposition, because the former has yielded evorv point, bit by bit, to his antagonist. Indeed in some thil;s-antl these essentials—he has gone far beyond him." Now just two days before the Dublin edition of the Times, as we may eal,1 it—for the Times usually ven- tilates its most audacious and insolent falsehoods in the Dublin Evening Mail before venturing to offer them in London—just two days before the publication of this announcement of a coalition, Lord John Russell had w ritten from Edinburgh that billet doux, so full of ten- derness towards the present Government, which we have copied into our next page. It may be, no doubt, that the noble ex-Colonial Secretary chooses to woo the Cabinet in the Petruchio style, or, in a fashion with which our contemporaries are familiar, tries to prove his cualifieations for a servile station by the virulence of his abuse • but according to the common course of affairs among plain men, the Edinburg letter does not look very like the preliminary to a coalition, for it is hard to say whether meanness, unfairness, or spitefulncss is its predominant characteristic. The only truth, indeed, whichIttcMsfexccptthcacknowIcdnmentof the writer's inconsistency)is a flat contradiction to the passage which we have quoted from the Irish toady. Toady says that Sir Robert Peel has yielded every point, bit by bit, to Lord John, but what says the rioble lord himself, who of course-, %votild not be slow to boast of such a victory, if so impudent a falsehood as the boast could be risked any where out of Ireland. Why Lord John says, that the evil of the day is the fruit, of ministerial coun- sel and parliamentary law." A fine sentence to be sure, I-for we suppose there are ministers who do not counsel, any laws which are not parliamentary, and therefore a writer out to be precise,—but a sentence not "er com plimentary to the ministers with whom it is said the writer is about to coalesce, or to the parliament that has supported those ministers; the parliament, by the way, which passed that very law which Lord John denounce as fraught with so much evil.. We shall hereafter, probably, have an opportunity of examining Lord John's letter in detail. Our pre sent purpose is merely to show the utter falsehood of all; the stories of a coalition that have been sent abroad and we think that independently of the reasons at which we have already hinted, the unfair and ungenerous style in which allusion is made to the measures of the Premier upon other occasions, and the fact that Lord John takes up his position as a Total Abolitionist, are quite decisive of the impossibility of his ever being admitted to Sir Robert Peel's Cabinet. Lord John now goes the whole length with Messrs. Cobden and Bright, and the mpst violent of the Leaguers; and Messrs. Cobden, Bright, and Company have undoubtedly the elder claims to Cabinet offices, if cot-n-law abolitionist3 are to be received among the Queen's advisers. [From the Globe.] Lord John Russell's Letter to the Electors of London is a shot between wind and water, most formidable to the strained and leaky timbers of the present admi- nistration. It is thrown in exactly at the right moment. And in fixing that moment, not too soon is as much in our minds as not too late. Lord John Russell has waited, with that calmness which has marked all his recent appearances, to see whether ministers were, to the last, resolute in irresolution—determined to die (or let others die, as may be) and make no sign. He has left his successful rival in power wholly undisturbed by untimely rivalry, and has convinced his friends, not less than foes, that on him ambition has little influence. On finance questions —on Irish Catholic questions, Lord John Russell has really seemed rather anxious than otherwise to spike the guns of his own party before they fire them. A shot from him, after all his forbearance, sounds like the crack of doom. And it tells-as will soon be seen. Lord John Rits- sell's letter denounces, without the slightest periphrastic flourish, the last missed opportunity Sir Robert Pest had of dealing with the Coin-laws. Three weeks ago, says the noble writer, it was generally expected that Parliament would be immediately called together. The announcement that ministers were prepared at that time to advise the Crown to summon Parliament, and to pro- posejm their first meeting a suspension of the import clu- ties on corn, would have caused orders at once to be sent various ports of Europe and America for the purchase and transmission of grain for the consumption of the United Kingdom. An Order in Council dispensing with the law was neither necessary nor desirable. No party in Parliament would have made itself responsible for the. obstruction of a measure so urgent and so bene- ficial." Lord John Russell's view confirms the impression we fir t formed, and stated, that an Order in Council, suspending the Corn-laws for any sufficient period, would not have been the decent or constitutional mode of deal- ing with the subject, and would have gone to supersede the functions of Parliament at this moment of most im- portance. But what a mighty blunder that Minister has committed who has not resorted to Parliament for the sanction of a measure, of which a statesman so calm and unimpassioned as Lord John Russell declares his corK viction that no party in Parliament M-o?M have M? itself re?)o?<Me,/<M- the o&?'M'"</OM Why here was h'? damaged ware taken off his hands at once, and no ques- tions asked—the tell-tale metal popped in the crucible of "the crisis," and image and superscription melted down. It would have been carrying longanimity quite too far in the leader of Opposition, who has helped the Minister so generously in all he has done, now to help him in doing nothing. It is enough at this moment to have no government; without having no Parliament-no con- stitutional organ of impeachment or correction of this gross negligence. Mr. Escott said, it was for those in power, if indeed ice had a government at all, to take some steps to provide against the growing calamity." Such is the honest outcry of a landed nominee—a Conservative member. The signal of distress, unheeded by the Minis- try, is answered by the Chief of the Opposition. Sir Robsrt Peel has no other choice than to sail in his wake, and to follow his lead-or to nail his flag to the mast of monopoly, and, rather than strike, sink and drown. 1 1 .L_- _1 An ounce ot public spirit wouia stanu mm m uc..— stead than a hundredweight of Hansard. Make a clean breast; make a clean breast, Sir Robert!—confess your Corn-laws, and get absolution. Take pattern from the manly frankness with which Lord John penned the fol- lowing paragraph :— I confess that on the general subject my views have it) the course of twenty years undergone a great alteration. I used to be of opinion that corn was an exception to the general rules of political economy but observation and experience have convinced me that we ought to ahstain from all interference with the supply of food. Neither a government nor a legislature can ever regulate the corn market with the beneficial effects which the entire free- dom of sale and purchase are sure of themselves to produce."
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A LOST RAILWAY SURVEYOR.—The risible facultie9 of the good people of Swansea were pretty freely exer- cised last evening, at hearing the town crier announcing a reward of 5s. for the recovery of a railway surveyor, of large size, whose figure and dress were most minutely described. He was supposed to have been stolen or strayed. On inquiry we found that a party of surveyors' among whom was our hero, were directed to be at Brecon by a certain hour this morning, and that they could not conveniently proceed without him. Hence this 1120st novel method of discovering his retreat.-CambrÙm. Neither the Great Britain nor the Great Westtf* will cross the Atlantic this season again, and the HalifO boats will run only once a month during the winter. A line of packets, of GOO tons burden, is contem- plated at Baltimore, to sail on the first of every month between that port and Liverpool. We are assured that the King has invited the Com- mon Council of Brussels to a conference with his Go- vernment, in order that the tax on butchers' meat be suspended from the 1st of January to the 30th of June, 1846, that the poorer classes may be able to procure meat at a reduced price during the present crisis. -Brussels Gazette. WIIAT NEXT?—Wc have written upon paper manu- factured from iron, and seen a book with both leaves and binding of the same material.—Mining Journal. We have received the Paris journals of Monday in due course. There is no intelligence in them of il11 portance. The France pretends to have ascertained, from a certain source," that the Duke de Montebello, the present Ambassador at Naples, went to Palmero with a letter from Louis Philip to the King of the T"o Sicilies, having for object his mediation for a reconcilia- tion between the Emperor of Russia and the King of the French. The France reports the assertion of another journal, that the King declined interfering, as he con- sidered the task a hopeless one and that the Emperor of Russia positively refused to receive the French Ambassador. The Universal German Gazette gives very different account. It states from Palmero, that the Emperor received the Ambassador kindly, and invited him to dinner; and that the Duke de Montebetf0 announced to the Czar the approaching arrival of tWO French Princes, to pay their respects. We are inclined to doubt both accounts. It is probable that the mission of the Duke de Montebello had reference to some point connected with the projected marriage of the Queen ot Spain and on the other hand, we think that if tbe Emperor had given to the Duke the reception stated by the Universal German Gazette, the fact would have been noticed by the French ministerial press. If, how- ever, the French Ambassador had been really desirous of seeing the Emperor, there can be no doubt that he would have been received. The Emperor would not be guilty of so rude and improper an act as to refuse an audience to the Ambassador of a Power at whose Court he has himself a representative. TIIE PREVAILING MANIA.—The Bristol Jourtifr' says that an old gentleman of that city, whose intelli- gence reaches little beyond railway matters, reading on Thursday last in the Times an intimation that a partial eclipse of the moon would take place at llh. 10m. 128. p.m., exclaimed, Well, bless me, twelve shillings pre, mlUm! I wonder whether the shares are allotted yet ? I Lord Primate Beresford has declared his intention of bestowing £ l,000on each of the three Provincial Colleger, towards the foundation of divinity schools for studen or the Established Church.- I)aper. The will of the late Earl Grey was proved in the CoJ1 sistorv Court of Durham on the ISth instant, by the present Earl, the sole executor. The personal effects JI1 the diocese of Durham were sworn under £ 30,000. Newcastle 6'?/'cwf? We understand th.at the late Lady Hol?nd l?s .?? an annuity of ?2,000 to Lord John Rus 11, as an e5 I)rcssion ?f the respect which her ladyship enter- tuned for the noble lord. On his lordship's death, th£ annuity will be equally divided among the children of her late ladyship's ditt,hter.- Observer. BRISTOI. SUGAR MARKET, Nov. 26.—The amotit of business transacted in the Sugar Market has been very limited, chiefly for want of a better assortmen Buyers act with caution prices remain un,,tltcred.- Gazette.
LOCAL MARKETS.
LOCAL MARKETS. CARMARTHEN. —Wheat (bushel) 6s. 6jd. Barie;* 4-5 1-id. Oats, 2s. 5ad. Beef, (per lb.) 4d. to Gd., Mutton, od. to 6d, Poi-k, 4d. to 5d Freih biltter, 15. ad. j Salt ditto, aid. to IOd.; Turkeys, (each) 28. 6 to 3s. Geese, 2s. to 3s. 6d. Ducks, Is. to Is. 6d. j EggS, (per dozen) 6d.; Veal, 5d. to 6d. per lb Cheese 305. to 3?>s. per cwt.; fowls, from 8d. to is. each; Lamb, (i|d. to 7d. per lb. Potatoes, 81bs. for 3d. J' NAKBERTH.—Beef, 4d. to 6d.; mutton, od. to 6 j. Pork, od. to 6d. per lb. wheat, 5s. 9d. to 7s. l>arleY: 3s. lOd. to 4s. 6d. Oats, 2s. 6d. to 2s. 9d. per bus,h Butter, lOd. to 12d.; cheese, 3-I,d. to 4|d.perlb. See Is. 10d. to 35. each; turkeys, 5s. to 65., ducKs, 1 lOd. to 2s. 3d.; fowls, Is. 8d. to 2s. 3d. per couple eggo, 8d. per dozen. d CARDIGAN.—Beef, (pr lb.) 4d. to 5d. lklutton, 4a to 5d. Veal, 5d. Fresh Butter, Od. to Is. j S.d' 8?d.; Cheese, 4d. Wheat (bushel) 7s. Od. to 7s. 'f f; Barley, 3s. lOd. to 4s. 3d. Oats, 2s. 4d Fo? P'I' Couple, 2s. to 2s. 6d. Ducks per couple 2s. to ,? 6d. Geese, 2s. 6d. to '7s ea.; Potatoes, Is. 4d. per bus  Eggs, 12 for 6d. 7s. 6d. to 8s. 0 per bll. Iiel FISHGUARD.—'Wheat, 79. 6d. to 8s. Od. P?t.sheH Bar l ey, 4s. 6d. to -I s. 9d.; Oats, 2s. 6d. to 2s n9d,-> pe? Barley, 4s. 6d. to 4s. 9d.; Oats, 2s. 6d. 2s 9 joBeef, od. to 6d. per lb. Mutton, 3d. to 6d. eat, ?- tg fbS,; Ducks, 2s. Od. per couple; Potatoes, 3d. per Q lbs-; Butter, lOd. to Is. per lb., Eggs, 5d. per dozen. 5d to MERTHYR.—Beef, (per lb.) 4d. to 7d.; > e 5d- t0 ?- 7d. pork, 6d.; mutton, 5d. to 6|d. bu"er is. 2d.; salt, lOd. to Is. per lb.; fowls, 2s. 4Va ?to25,6,1 p aCo8> per couple potatoes, 8 to llbs. for 6d. elsh'oac()Il' 8d. Irish, 6d. 7d per lb. Cheese, 4d. to i Ter I b, Onions, Id. per lb. best do. l?d geese, to -cl ? y?d. per lb. turnips, 21bs. for ld.