The Cardiff Times

itclanb. OOMMAND OF THE IRISH CONSTABULARY. — Although not officially announced, it is pretty generally understood that the responsible appointment of Inspector- General of the Irish Constabulary has been conferred upon Colonel Woods, who has for some time filled the post of Deputy-Assistant Adjutant-General to the Forces in Ireland. Sir Duncan M'Gregor retires on full salary. The selection as his successor of an Englishman, perfectly free from all local party feelings aad prejudices, is creditable to the Government of Lord Derby. THE PRESBYTERIAN CHAPLAINS QUESTION.— One of the Belfast papers (the Mercury) gives a prominent place to the subjoined statement We understand that the Government has repudiated alto- gether further dealing with the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Churcti in Ireland, and has conferred the privilege of nominating candidates for the vacant chaplaincies on the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Such, we have reason to believe, is the course that has been adopted, and we need not say that we regret it. The appointments are now lost to the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, and hotheaded folly is alone to blame for such a result." THE IRISH HARBOURS OF REFUGE,—In conse- quence of petitions to Parliament from the municipal body and Harbour Commissioners of Drogheda, for the construction of a safety harbour at Skerries, in the county of Dublin, the Royal Commissioners, now on their tour of examination, closely inspected and took soundings in the Bay of Skerries. The Dublin Chamber of Commerce have expressed a decidedly favourable opinion with re- gard to the conversion of Skerries into an asylum harbour, and strong representations have been made to the Government to assist in diminishing the marine disasters so frequent along the neighbouring coast. It was in this dangerous locality that the Tayleur was lost, with 290 souls, in the month of January, 1854. The competing locahties on the northern coast are Carlingford, Skerries. Portruth, and Clogher Head, but the latter is believed to be out of the race. On the southern coast the choice, it is surmised, will lie between Waterford and Wexford, on the south-east.

THE DEFALCATIONS AT WEEDON. STATEMENT OF GENERAL ADAMS. Commissary-General Adams was called at the request of the Chairman, and stated that he and a staff of eight assistants were and had been for some time engaged in making up the arrears in the ledger of Mr. Elliott from the 1st of April, 1857, to the 14th of May, 1858, at the instance of the War-office, a work of infinite labour as shown by the following report, which he read to the Commissioners:— "On the 9th of June last eight commissariat officers who were residing on half-pay in different parts of England, Scotland, Ireland, and the Channel Islands, were ordered to repair to Weedon to assist in completing certain accounts. "On the 10th of June I was informed that, it being considered of much public importance that these accounts should be completed as soon as possible, it was deemed desirable that the labours of these officers should be superintended by a superior officer of their own depart- ment, and I was directed by the Secretary of State for War to proceed to Weedon for that purpose. On the 13th of June, having visited Weedon, I suggested that the examination of the accounts which had then been recently rendered to the War-office up to the 31st of March, 1857, should be completed at the earliest possible period, in order that the 4 state' or remains in store on that date might be checked and verified. I also submitted that regiments and corps should be applied to for returns of all clothing, and other stores received from or returned to the depot; that I should be furnished with statements to be prepared from, or that I might have reference to the cash accounts, to ascertain that all purchases and sales had been duly accounted for; and that it might be necessary to call for returns of all transactions with other depots. I stated that the number of vouchers to be posted was supposed to exceed 20,000. On the 2nd of July I was requested to prepare draughts of a circular, and of the returns to be required from regiments or corps; which I submitted for approval on the following day. This circular was issued on the 10th of August, and many of the regiments at home have, I understand, furnished the returns. "The postings in the ledgers have been much inter- rupted and retarded by vouchers having been delivered in and withdrawn in great numbers almost daily for the settlement of large arrears due to contractors, and for other purposes, and that regularity in their order has been disturbed which it would have been very desirable to observe, with the view of more regularly checking or I accounting for the large issues of clothing to contractors for alteration; of cloth and materials delivered to con- tractors to be made into clothing; of consignments to the army packers, Messrs. Hayter and Howell, at Mark-lane, to be repacked and forwarded to regiments; of issues to and receipts from other depots; and of issues to the Admiralty, the East India Company, or other service, the value of which would be recoverable. Notes have been kept in posting the vouchers of such j* appear to be incomplete or objectionable—such as the signatures of the viewers, only, or are otherwise r fhive' according to tha regulations or usual practice « A rvice* has also been kept of the registry numbers lopoinf ™Ict account ledger, in order that when all the I l have b3en handed over, any that have ov«- f l varr ',ots and shoes brushes, and forage-caps; buttons, badges, nd0.arnit neCes3aries accoutrements, and'packages; s^ ji sers, made up ind in material, and 10,361 of issues have been in! of being posted in other of these ledgs\ there are 429 vouchers of receipts and 27 of issues,' M from time to time delivered over, but could f, on, r in their proper order, and will, with about c™ mnrfl which are retained by the military store dapa'i the purpose of settlement of large arrears due tractors, remain to ba arranged and added herea> „ the present or some supplementary ledger. It is proposed to send to the War-office the severe ledgers, as far as they can be completed, with the postings of the vouchers already in course of entry, in order that their examination may be proceeded with, and that the vouchers which could not be entered in their proper place or order, with those retained for settlement with con- tractors, should when these are all handed over, be made additional entries at the end of the present ledger, or be completed in supplementary ledgers. "When all the postings have been completed, and the state' or remains in stores on the 31st of March, 1857, certified by the examiner, of the accounts already ren- dered, has been furnished, an account can be prepared showing ths remains of the stores which should have been transferred by Mr. Elliott, and a comparison can then be made with the remains ascertained and brought to account by Captain Gordon on or about the 14th of ,)May, 1858. It must, however, be observed that even the account thus prepared cannot bo deemed a satisfactory public account until it has been thoroughly ascertained, in the course of its examination at the War-office, that all pur- chases, sales, and all transactions with contractors, the army packers at Mark-lane, and with other depots have been duly and properly accounted for. It should also be borne in mind that the present ledgers have been compiled from a mass of documents handed over, a large number of which are defective and objectionable as vouchers, from time to time, without any arrangement whatever, and there is no guarantee that they represent all the transactions of the depot.—Weedon, Sept. 29, 1858." EXTRAORDINARY REVELATIONS. During the inspection of the depot some facts were elicited which are worthy of mention. As they were wandering about among pyramids of soldiers' boots piled up in the store devoted to that purpose, they had their attention called to nearly 70,000 pairs packed in large barrels, part of what had once been 170,000 pairs. In December, 1855, when the depot at Weedon was estab- lished, those 170,000 pairs were sent from the Tower, where they had undergone the ordinary official inspec- tion, to Weedon to be stored. At Weedon they were re- inspected, and, not coming up to the standard pattern, which had been changed, they were put aside on account of defective workmanship in many cases, and defective materials in others. Subsequently 20,000 of them were sent back to the lower to be sold at the public auctions which take place there periodically. On Wednesday it was a matter not quite cleared up whether those 20,000 pairs were selected from tbe rest as actually bad or taken indiscriminately from the bulk. Mr. Selfe, the chairman of the commission, appeared strongly impressed with the notion that they had been taken from the heap at hap- hazard. Some light, however, was thrown on the point by the evidence given next day. Be that as it may, they were taken to the Tower and sold at the public auction for 5s. 5d. a pair, the original contract price of them having been from 7s. 9d. to 8s. a pair. The buyer at the Tower, however, actually paid 6s. 8d. a-pair for them, for he had agreed to give 3d. a-pair to each of hve persons present not to bid against him, thus payjDS Is. 3d. a-pair as "hush-money." The buyer afterwards sold them to some army cloth- ing contractors, who, in their turn, disposed of them to the government at their full price, and th0y ^erff -f8Ue?, to the militia where the wear ° £ u +Kai" had S;ven satisfaction. The sale of tbe rest that way was then stopped by the autho- rities at the War-office. Of the 150,000 pairs which re- inK • after th8 2Q>000 had been sold 46,460 pairs haa been issued to the troops and to the disembodied i? xi!wh nF iwQe !lfference> 103,540 pairs, were in store on n?st' when stock was taken at Weedon. Smce that time 20,000 pairs had been issued for hospital purposes, and 15,00.0 pairs to the Irish militia, leaving 68,540 pairs still in store. These, it is said, will be issued to the disembodied militia, when they come out for train- ing m the present autumn, and whatever remains in store will be kept for issue to the disembodied militia next year. The commissioners were also shown some 25 000 or 30,000 frvf whichhad been furnished by Isaacs, Campbell, and Co., contractors, and the whole of which had been re- jected after inspection, on the ground that a single thread which had been used in the manufacture, and ran across the ill/™ V°-0tB of tbe fiL'Sers> had been omitted to be ? i paoh Slmply mJuir3d t0 ba drawn out by the hand • TJ1 >AUD could be done in a moment. Again, since January last of 1,000 or 1,500 pairs of boots sent in t?0ntractors' a11 trace ha3 been ]ost> and for hnnto Aey are '!°pt out of both their money and their boots. An entry in the books at Weedon had quite w .ai3covered, after a long search, showing w haa 1ueaii°n had been received there, but +,lnce become of them is not at present known, t 3 made-up clothing now collected ? may he stated that each bale, packed by "1,1 „„-iPressure' about three feet square, such as a man 00 cari7—we tfon't say how far—on his back, a"f. „ *re Piled up to a great height in various parts of the depot, cost3 about £ 100. wiiiiimMiiiiHiuimMa

HOW ABOUT THE COMET? A CHEAP TELESCOPE FOR THE COMET. A correspondent of the Manchester Guardian last week made the following suggestions for the construction of a cheap telescope for observing the comet:—Procure from an optician a 36-inch object glass (that is, a convex glass which produces a focus of the sun's rays at the distance of 36 inches), and a 1-inch eyeglass (that is, a convex glass producing a focus at one inch). Employ a tin-plate worker to make two tin tubes, one 30 inches long, and about It inch diameter; the other 10 or 12 inches long, and its diameter such that it will just slide comfortably inside the larger. The inside of these tubes should first be painted or otherwise lined with a dull black. At the end of the larger tube, an ingenious workman will have no difficulty in securing the object glass, so that not more than an inch diameter of it shall be exposed, and at the end of the smaller the eyeglass must be fixed. When the open end of one tube is inserted into the open end of the other, so that the two glasses shall be about 37 inches apart, a telescope will be present which will magnify the diameter of objects 36 times; or, in other words, will make heavenly objects appear 36 times nearer. With mch a teleicope, the satellites of Jupiter, the crescent of Venus, and the inequalities of the surface of the moon may be distinguished. Galileo's telescope, with which he made the first discoveries in the heavens, did not magnify more. I need scarcely add, that with this instrument all objects will appear inverted; but, with regard to celestial ob- jects, this is of no importance.—In the Guardian of Mon- day, the correspondent (Mr. J. T. Slugg) supplements his former letter by saying:—The telescope I described cost3 about 4s.; but that for double that sum a very much superior one may be constructed by obtaining a larger and better object glass, of 40 inches to 48 inches focal dis- tance, the cost of which is 3s. 6d., retaining the 1-inch eye-glass, and having the tubes made to suit the addi- tional greater length of focus and diameter of object- glass. The possession of such a telescope, even after the comet has disappeared, may add greatly to the pleasure and instruction of those who have any taste for the sub- lime and wonderful facts of astronomy.-Another Man- chester correspondent writes to the Guardian:- Mr. Yardley, ironmonger, of Market-street, made me a tin telescope (from Mr. Slugg's letter) with which I obtained several interesting observations. A CRAND APPEARANCE. The comet was seen to great advantage on Tuesday evening. About half-past seven the star Arcturus was shining brightly through its luminous tail near the nucleus. The tail extends to a length of about twenty- seven degrees. A scientific correspondent at Edinburgh thus describes its appearance on Monday night: "Just after it had become visible to the naked eye (at ten minutes past six), the comet presented a very marked appearance when seen with a telescope magnifying sixty times. The nebulous matter, which reached to a distance of about 40 sec. below the nucleus, had the form of a crescent, the darker part between the cusps giving the idea that the opaque part cast a shadow into the nebula. As the darkness of the evening came on, this seeming shadow grew narrower, but the ccntral part remained very decidedly fainter than the edges, as if the luminosity of the comet was confined principally to the outer layers of matter." WHEN TO LOOK. Tho comet has now ceased to be visible in the morning. In the evenings it will be visible during the greater part of the month, but its brilliancy will be somewhat checked by an increasing moonlight. Observations should be made a little after sunset. THE GREAT COMETS OF 1811 AND 1858. It is exactly forty-seven years since our fathers were eye-witnesses of a comet which, until the appearance of the present wonderful celestial visitor, proved the most brilliant of modern times. As the present comet bids fair to outshine in magnitude its predecessor, a few re- marks on that of 1811 m&y be very interesting at this juncture. The most brilliant phenomenon which accom- panies a comet is the stream of light which we cill a tail. On the 2ad of September, 1811, the comet possessed no visible tail; on the 9 Lb, it had a very conspicuous one about 9 or 10 degrees in length on the 18th, the length was 11 or 12 degrees; on the 6th of October it was 25 degrees; on the 12tb, only 17 degrees long; on the 14th it appaared to extend 17t degrees; on the 15th, it "overed a space of 23t degrees in length. The apparent colttl being 23t degrees, its real extent, taking into may^erat'orx oblique position in which it was seen, October6 bien 100,000,000 of miles. On the. 12ch of and abofe breadr-h on the broadest part was 6f degrees, 4: little contra01 6 degrees from the head it began to be a of October wd; the real breadth of the tail on the 12 th of 1858 will ai?early 15,000,'000 of miles. The comet 10th of October,at lls P3r,"gee about midnight on the us from it. "en 51,000,000 of miles will separate WHAT In the absence of any at ^QIV|ETS? subject, perhaps the foilowin2,ri^atlV8 information on th$ readers to form some general iray /ac's may assist our bodies. of the nature of these 1. Comets are innumerable; they rate of two a. year, and the orbits oP9ar times at ths been calculated; but this is quite an inapp have already when compared to those that are believed^ahle number system in air directions, and that Arago averse our three to seven millions. at from 2. Their forms are Protean. Few comparativb. tails, while others have several, producing and cl?ave them off at pleasure; the comet of 1744 had six £àlg each curled in the form of a quadrant, while that of 181o appearing at first without any continuation, supplied that deficiency at the rate of 10,000,000 of miles a-day! 3. Their spaed is immense and their bulk inconceivable; the comet of 1813 moved at six times the rate of the earth in its orbit, and that of 1811 was 600.000,000 of times its s'ze; the present one is only 400,000,000 of times the size of the earth. 4. The nucleus is composed of ponderable matter, but in infinitely less proportions than that contained by any of the planets, while the tail is merely attenuated vapour, many thousands of times less dense than our atmosphere. 5. It is possible that the nucleus of a comet should strike a planet, but the odds are 300,000,000 to 1 against it; the chance against the immersion in the tail is much lesf. 6. The result of a collision with the nucleus would be an immediate return to most everlasting chaos, while an immersion in its tail would probably be attended with no visible result. 7. Comets do not affect the seasons. Taking an interval of sixteen years, the warmest was 1794, in which there was one comet; the coldest 1799, in which there were two, and therefore it is not probable that comeis ever killed cats, wasps, or Julius Csesar; produced fine vintages or great droughts, or can now be saddled with the plague of daddy-long-legs, steel petticoats, and other monstrosities!

j&wntitic. THE CORSICA BROTHERS. once (says M. Trousseau) had two brothers for clients who were twins ery rich, and both directors de maisons de jeux cetebres ISSt WB?° lxke^ach u0ther 1 SowS apart. B ut more than this, they had a remarkable patho- logical simuitude. Thus, one of them, whom I saw at ^e™v,s' suffering from a rheumatic ophthalmia, said thifm'ia ly at thl3 moment, must have an oph- thalmia nke mine. And as I dissented to this, he two days afterwards showed ma a letter from his brother, (MnP^' TT -my ?PhtfaaImia, thou must also have fiJti f °^e7er SiDgular this m8y appear, it is per- fectly true; I have witnessed similar facts. These twins were also both frightfully asthmatic.—Medical Tims. -1?1 .k°xes with yery thin lead, but espe- wiiyia cases where the leaaen lining is thicker, and actioiHre much used by the Paris retailers, a chemical snuff wlfces place, the rasult of which is to charge the by Chevaiiib-acetate of lead. This result was suspected and Mayer "nd has been confirmed by Boudet of Paris ea The latter leaperhn, by long and careful experiments, cases of "saturnV chemist traces several deaths and taken scuff from ptparalysis" to the patients b Hving was i hin sheet lead, iatfS the inner envelope of whicfi weed. "ant contact with the powdered

ilonbon. DEATH FROM CHLOROFORM.—On Monday after- Doon a long inquiry took place before Mr. W. Payne, the \r ccoroner' at t"3e R°yal London Opthalmic Institution, •woorfields, respecting the death of Daniel Pheby, aged eIght vears. It appeared that the deceased, who had a cast ia both eyes, attended at the institution on ri.iay to undergo an operation for the removal of the e ormity. He was accompanied by his father, who left the lad at the entrance to the operating-room. At the M nearly an hour ^e father was informed by i "liber, the house surgeon, that his son had died fom chloroform administered to him previous to the psrarion. Mr. Maber stated that the chloroform was administered by Mr. Lloyd, a medical practitioner; it 'Was dropped in a piece of lint, which was held to the mouth and nostrils of the patient in such a manner as to allow the passage of a current of air. Another medical gentleman watched the patient's pulse, and_ two medical men were always engaged in the administration of chloroform. A post mortem examination showed that deceased's brain was highly congested, and his death had undoubtedly been caused by the effects of the chloroform. rbe coroner having expressed an opinion that during the administration of chloroform it was desirable that one Medical man should watch most attentively the action of Je Patient's pulse, the jury returned a verdict, "That the deceased died from the effects of chloroform." THE APPROACHING EVENING SERVIOEI IN ST. RAUL'S—Extensive preparations are in progress in St. auls Cathedral for the approaching evening service nder tfce great dome, and the arrangements appear to ^cite much interest. It is not the intention of the com- fflittea to erect any galleries. The whole of the large area jT1 be filled with hundreds of chairs, in a similar way to nose used at the recent services at Westminster Abbey, Bo marble pavement being entirely covered with matting, fie openings to the side aisle and western nave are to be closed in by screens of white canvas, suspended from the arches of the ceiling, thus completely protecting the con- 8'"('gition from cold air. It is not yet determined it • any steP3 W1H be taken to warm the interior, but t is hoped that some plan will be adopted to modify the eyenty of tin temperature which prevails in the during the winter months. The mode of will be similar, to a certain extent, to that .med out on the occasion of the public funeral of the u~f °f Wellington in 1852, when it will be remembered dome was lighted up by some thousand jets of gas, wnica extended round the entire circle of the whispering ganery. These gas pipes were left, so that the only additional expense to the committee will be the carrying of the pipes up the shaft of the staircase to the gallery, which is now being done. The effect, no doubt, will be very grand, the dome having been renovated and beautified since the Duke of Wellington's funeral. OVER-OROWDED ROOMS.—An inquest was held at Chelsea, by Mr. Wakley, on the body of a little boy Gained Frederick Meredith, aged five years, the son of a Poor mechanic, William Meredith, residing at 8, Chelsea- :market, a narrow alley, consisting of some twenty houses, running from the lower part of Lower filoane-street into ~^er vGuorgo-street, Sloane-square. The Jather was a Fftit biock cutter for paper stainers and fabric printing. here were six of them in the family, and they all lived In the same room. There were two other children ill in the same bed. The room was measured, and the dimen- SIons were twelve feet long by ten broad, and only seven feet nine inches from the floor to the ceiling. The jury returned a verdict of Death from scarlatina, produced "y a vitiated atmosphere in the dwelling." THE SHERIFFS' SWORN IN.—This event took place in the Court of Exchequer, on Thursday. After the various introductions had been gone through, the Common Crier of the court made the following proclama- tion:-h Qyes, oyez. oyez—Tenants and occupiers of a PleCfe of waste land, called the Moors, on the county of Salop, come forth and do your service upon pain and peril Hat ahull fall thereon." Then Alderman Carter, the enior alderman below the chair, took two bundles lying before him on the table; one of which be cut with a atchet, and the other with a billhook. The crier of the ^t then made a second proclamation, as follows:— uyez, oyez, oyez!—Tenants and occupiers of a certain nement called the Forge, in the parish of St. Clement's anes, Middlesex, come forth and do your service." Then e same alderman counted some horse-shoes lying before tJ3a'aD!* was questioned by the Queen's Remembrancer JJ. ua -Remembrancer: How many have you ?—Alder- ao: Six shoes. Then the alderman counted the nails, ^remembrancer: How many have you?—Alderman: Th D That is a good number.— th 8 f;ecorder thBO invited .the Chief Baron to dine with e sheriffs; the Lord Mayor and sheriffs bowed again ae On entering the court; the hats were lifted as before, and the procession quitting the court, returned to the City. .MB

Scotland -+-- SHOCKING ACCIDENT AT ARDROSSAN.-A MAN BLOWN AWAY FKOM A GUN.-The 29th of September, the birthday of the Earl of Eglintoun, the Lord-Lieu- tenant of Ireland, is usually observed in Ardrossan by a display of flags, the firing of cannon, and other tokens of rejoicing. On Wednesday last the usual preparations were made, and about 12 o'clock the firing commenced from the Cannon-hill, but whilst preparing for a third discharge an accident occurred which effectually stopped the rejoicings, and cast a deep gloom over the entire community. The accident arose from the cannon having been insufficiently sponged; and whilst a young man of the name of Kean, a carpenter, was engaged in sending a shot home, the other person employed incautiously lifted his finger from tbe touch-hole, which allowed the powder to ignite, and Kean was blown from the cannon's mouth a distance of two yards. When lifted his body presented a most painful appearance. His breast was completely riddled, other parts of his body shockingly mangled, and his clothes on fire. Dr. Wallace was speedily in attend- ance, but aid was unavailing, for in about an hour and a half he ceased to breathe.-Ardro,"san Herald. THE HooroE IN THE HIGHLANDS.—A very fine specimen of the hoopoe was on Tuesday last shot in his Grace the Duke of Richmond's forest of Glenfiddich, in this county. This bird is not uncommon in some parts of England, but is not very often found so fdr north. Mr. M'Gillivray mentions that" one was shot at Porto- bello, and it has also been killed in Ayrshire, and at Banff." We may add it has been twice met with in this vicinity: once at Duff-house in 1832, and on another occasion a few summers ago. One was also procured at Dunrobin a year or two since, and is preserved there. The adult male hoopoe is a splendid and showy bird, being an admixture of a bright and pale buff, a pure white, and a glassy velvety black. The back, which is of a reddish buff, has three semicircular bands bent down- wards—one white between two black, the lower part white. The wings are also barred alternately with black and white; the black with a white stripe on the sides. To these bright colours is to be added a charming crest, with which the bead is adorned, consisting of a double row of long feathers, the fronts turning towards the side, of a rich buff, the ends white, tipped with black.—Banff- shire Journal. THE WESTERN BANK.-The liquidators and committee of the Western Bank held a meeting on Mon- day, and resolved to make a call of £100 per share in addition to the call of X25 already made and partially paid. The necessity for this call arises from the affairs of Macdonald, Monteith, Pattison, and Wallace having turned out much worse than anticipated, and from the large sums consumed in paying interest. The call is payable on the 1st of November.

r Imtmtts anii FIRE AT DUBLIN.—Loss OF FOUR LIVES,—A fire, attended with lamentable loss of life, broke out on Sunday night, about half-past 11 o'clock, in the house of Mr. Woodrooffe, vintner, Island-bridge, Dublin. Imme- diately on the fire being noticed, expresses were forwarded to the different stations, and the engines of the Police Fire Brigade and of the Barrack arrived with the greatest speed at the scene of disaster. The flames, however, had gained the mastery with the most deadly rapidity; and, although the utmost exertions were made to rescue the seven individuals who were known to be in the house when the fire broke out, only three were saved from deatb. A number of the 13th Light Dragoon?, of the 30th and 65th Foot, and the 1st and 2nd Dragoons, the Police Fire Brigade, and the men of the Sun Fire In- surance Company, commenced pouring a copious stream of water upon the burning edifice, the gallant fellows of the 13th supplying their own engine with buckets from the river; and by their combined efforts soon succeeded m subduing the flames, but, unfortunately, not in pre- venting a ead loss of life—Mra. Woodrooffe, the wife of the owner of the house, a waiter, a servant-girl, and a young child falling victims to the flames, and a young woman, who threw herself from a window, having her Leg and head injured. Another girl and two children wera rescued by the efforts of the neighbours. The exer- tions of the police brigade and the military were most praiseworthy, two brave men, one of the brigade and one of the 13th, dashing into the still burning ruins, and bearing out the charred and mutilated body of the ill- fated Mrs. Woodrooffe. Mr. Woodrooffe and two children bad previously, we should have mentioned, effected their sscape through one of the windows. The house in which the fire occurred was totally consumed, the walls alone being left standing. The adjoining premises, though much injured, were preserved from destruction by the rnergy of the firemen aud the ready assistance of the people. It appears that the fire originated in the bar, a puncheon of whisky which Mr. Woodrooffe was jxamining with a lighted candle having taken fire. FATAL GUN AOCIDENT.-On Monday morning it fatal gua accident, by which Mr. Douglas Ward a medical student, met with his death, happened at Castle Bromwich. Mr. Ward's mother lives at that village, and leceased, with a party, among whom was another young gentleman named Chattock, went out to shoot rabbits, fhey were on their return home, and when near Mr. Newton s lodge gates, Mr. Chattock held his gun fur- strard ior the purpose of wiping the lock, as rain had alien during the morning. From some cause or other gun, winch had been unfortunately left charged, went oft and the whole of the contents lodged in poor Wards back, as he was standing a little in adva ico. tie fell, and the serious nature of his wound at once ippeared from the fact that a lirga hole had been made n his coat, and blood wa3 running therefrom profusely. door was at once obtained, on which the unfortunate TOung fellow was removed to Mr. Powell's, of the Brad- Arma Inn, one of whose sons was also of the party. cal ass«tance was at once sought, and Mr. Ward himself requested that Mr. Clarkson, of Birmingham, should be sent for. The messenger, on arriving at Bir- mingham, found that Mr. Clarkson was from home, and so procured the services of Mr. Crompton, of Temple Row. That gentleman at once proceeded to Castle Bromwicb, and did everything which skill could suggest, but in vain, for Mr. Ward died about four o'clock in the afternoon. It is supposed that his spine has been shat- tered by the charge, part of which also took effect in the right side of the chest. IMMOLATION OF THREE MEN IN A COALPIT NEAR WIGAN.—Throughout the past week the most painful sensation has been produced in Wigan and its neighbour- hood, in consequence of three men having been buried alive in a coalpit at Pimbo-lane, Upholland, the property of Earl Crawford, on Friday week; and so suddenly and securely were they encased in the bowels of the earth, that notwithstanding every exertion of relays of men, working night and day, it was not until early on Saturday morning that the bodies of the men were discovered, and it was noon on that day before they were all brought to the surface. The names of the unfor- tunate sufferers are James Astley, William Evans, and William Goulden; and they had been engaged in open- ing up the shaft of a pit which had been closed up during the last twelve months, in consequence of the coal taking fire by an explosion of damp, and resisting every effort to extinguish it. They were in an advanced state of decomposition, and had to be conveyed from their living tomb, through a long tunnel of about 400 yards, to the shaft of No. 1 pit, up which they were conveyed to the surface, when they were removed to an empty cottage, a short distance from the pit, to await a coroner's inquest. FATAL ACCIDENT IN THE SURREY THEATRE.— On Monday night great excitement was caused amongst all persons who had entered the Surrey Theatre, in con- sequence of the following melancholy accident. The moment the doors were thrown open there was a rush to every part of Jie house, more especially to the pit and galleries. An unfortunate man, having obtained a front seat, was looking over the front of the gallery, when he ov«t-balanced himself and fell head- foremost into the pit, fusing the spectators to utter a wild and frantic scream. The poor fellow's head pitched with such fearful violence voon one of the seats in the pit as to split the wood asunder, at the same time his skull was forced in. He was pv-ked up by an officer of the theatre in a state of insensr^u^ an(j medical aid was procured, but he was found to bl. in such a precarious state that it was deemed advisable to remove him to St Thomas's Hospital. Three medical sentiemen were promptly m attendance, and did all that +h«v pmilH +r> save his life, but he died at half-past twelvv o'ciocfc on Tuesday morning. One fortunate circumstanctwas that the audience had not had time to fill the pit wi<.a the occurrence took place, or others might have been inj.red. Messrs. Shepherd and Creswick, upon being apprl,d of the melancholy event, directed that everything possibt should be done for the poor fellow, but it all proved useless. Deceased was dressed in cord trowsers and jacket, and wore a black hat, and was between thirty and forty years of age, and apparently a mechanic. The body remains to be owned and to await a coroner's inqu9st.

ps' :d THE ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH. Mr. Henley, engineer employed by the Telegraph Company, reports:—"By our testing, one fact is un- questionably established, and that is the fault is not beyond 300 miles. I speak of the great fault. Others may exist between that and Newfoundland, but if it be a fact (as I have heard) that on testing at the latter place very little earth is shown, the probability is that the other part of the cable is good. Having arrived at the fact of the injury not being beyond 300 miles, the diffi- culty is to know how much within that distance it i3 to be found, or how much of the resistance is due to the cable, and how much to the fault; and, although by accurate testings and examinations a pretty correct knowledge of the facts may be obtained, still it is liable to some uncertainty, and instances have occurred in test- ing cables where the most experienced have been quite wrong in their conclusions. I cannot think it possible for the injury to be in the harbour, but should think it advisable to lay down some length of shore end; as the present cable near the land must soon be injured by friction on the rocks and shingle. A piece of the same size laid across the harbour for the Magnetic Company was entirely worn asunder some days since. In my opinion, the fault or faults existed in the cable before it was submerged, and that they would have been detected and made good had the precaution been observed by having the whole cable tested in water during its manufacture. Its not showing so bad when first laid is easy to be accounted for, as it takes some time for the water to soak through the coating of pitch and tar. In a cable I am now manufacturing, a fault was four days in the water before showing anything. Had your cable been injured after submersion by resting on the sharp edge of a rock, the inner wire and the outer metallic covering must ,have come in contact; and that this is not the case we have absolute proof, both from the fact of a battery current being generated by the iron sheathing and the exposed copper, and from signals being received from Newfoundland; for, did the iron touch the copper conductor in the smallest point, not the slightest signal could be observed. Signals ware from the first much weaker than they ought to have been, from a tolerably insulated line of that length, and were scarcely sufficient to work a very delicate relay (which can be used with a current so feebls that it could only just be detected on the tongue). The currents now received are not more than a tenth of that power, and can only ba indicated on Professor Thomson's very ingenious reflecting galvonometer. This is constructed on the principle of the boys' trick" of receiving the rays of the sun on a piece of looking-glass, and reflecting them on a wall, a very small motion of the hand giving a range of many feet to the spot of light. Professor Thomson attaches a small mirror to the mag- netic needle of a very delicate galvanometer of his own contrivance. The light of a lamp is thrown on the mirror, and a motion of the needle that would be inap- preciable in itself is plainly indicated by the reflected spot of light on a scale. The apparatus could be made much more delicate still, and capable of working with the smallest amount of current.; but there is an obstacle in the way of using such a feeble power, and that is the earth current, which shows itself at all times more or less. If this earth current were at all constant in its quantity or direction, it would be quite easy to compensate for it and render its effects neutral, but it is most erratic in its movements, sometimes throwing the spot of light entirely afjSi°a 0ther8 changing from positive to negative and back again so rapidly and frequently, and with such irregularity that it is difficult to know whether it is Newfoundland or the earth current signalling. These earth currents in submarine and subterranean lmes (like the atmospheric currents, as they are termed in over ground wires) are produced by the inductive effect of natural currents of electricity moving parallel with the conducting wires, it being a well-known law of elec- tricity that if a current moves in the vicinity of a wire or other insulated conductor, a current is set up in such wire in a contrary direction, its strength being in proportion to the parallelism of the wire with the natural current. Any wire laid parallel with the Equator, or nearly so will have also its electrical condition disturbed by every variation in the earth's magnetism. On the first estab- lishment of practical telegraphy, the inconvenience ex- perienced from these currents was as annoying as it was unexpected, but in course of time contrivances were pro- duced capable of modifying or counteracting their effects, so that but little trouble is now felt from their occurrence although, even now, occasionally, on some lines, all com- munication is stopped for a short time when these terro- magnetic currents are unusually strong. On lines of a hundred miles or so they only show themselves at intervals; at other times the line is quite free. But on a line of such e/iormous length as the Atlantic cable, electric disturbance is sure to take place on some part of it at all a current is set in motion in any part the effect is communicated throughout the whole. In another cable (as well as in this, had its insulation been more perfect) earth currents would not cause much trouble, as the working currents sent through the line would not lose their strength as in the present case, and consequently would overpower them. i ^j mS'0 of the cable, as regards its length, would offer very little impediment to its working. The same length of insulated wire, stretched on dry earth or other non-conductor, could be worked through with a very small power, and at a rapid rate. It is only when it becomes surrounded by a conductor, such as damp earth or water, or by the matallic covering of the cable, that the phenomena of induction again come into play and the more eomplete the insulation the greater will be the embarrassment from induction. mi mm imwm—wbmb,

THE LATE AMERICAN MINISTER AT NAPLES _A letter from Naples says:—"On Monday last Mr." Dale Owen, ior someyears resident minister of the United States at this court, had an audience of hia Majesty,, to present his ktters of recall, .and on-the same evasion Mr Chandler presented hw letter* accrediting him as Mr Owens successor. Mr. Owen leaves Naples with I believe, the great regret of a large circle of frienS Vs minist(-r, he has kriown how to exercise ifrinness with ji. ugment. ino instance has ever arisen of the newstifv of imerferenca m which he has not asserteTtKS and de ended the interests of the citiscpna n <. Republic, and, though he did and firmness, it is lo the credit of the court that he was S L'T'?1 BYL!■ OTMR- 04*5521 J £ ,'™ fcSSSf'r 5. r' bat the fact of his being a ™Hu°H4U< °""e ""°S avour 111.

The Chief Registrarship of the London Court of Bank- rtiptey I-lai become vacant by the death of Mr. John Campoeu. The appointment is worth upwards of £2,000 a year.. r transpired relative to the stess taken by "rince Napoleon to induce the Czar to visit Paris," Vi™ letteI7 in the Independance of Brussels, is 1ISv' Q/i l!?ai?Ver iI" is sa'd"t0 ^ve replied that ha had r U EfI1Peror of the French and Qaeen Victoria t ^rance and England, and that he hopsd to be m his promise next spring." a sum of fin nnrfp ^iU last"se3sion> accorded" ral iPMi! i j0r tQe ParPose °f making mineralogi- Xo" £ S'dSricir"" p'lWis"t"u ot •eeolosif"

rfUMWIIBMCTBa—IIIIHWII ■iWllllliMIHPII IIUfWWWKW TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS IN THE SUDS. An ex-banker of Cincinnati, Ohio, who went under during the "late financial crisis," and was compelled by "outaido pressure" to "shut up shop" and endeavour to realise assets amply" sufficient to cover all his lia- bilities, was thrown into a wild state of excitement on Tuesday last; so humorously remarks the Commercinl of that city. He was, in fact, in a condition of mind bordering upon frenzy. It seems that he has a queer habit of having breeches washed. Last Thursday the ex-banker's unwhisperables went out as usual-one pair at least; but the washerwoman, from some unexplained cause, was dilatory, and did not put the bifurcates into suds as promptly as she was wont. Saturday came, and she concluded to lay the job over until the first of the week. Monday she was interrupted, and the unmention- ables were flgaui put aside until Tuesday. That morning, however, she resolved to dispose of the contract, and accordingly she prepared the instrument. 6he got the water hot, the suds made, and held the breeks by the waistband, and was about to subject, them to hydropathic treatment, when her hand was suddenly arrested, and her heart sent struggling into her throat by a furious rapping at the door. She hesitated, stood aghast between terror and her wa9h tub, but before she had time to collect her faculties her patron stood before her, his features distorted, his eyes blazing with frantic excitement. Surveying her an instant, he screamed rather than interrogated, Have you, have you washed my breeches ? Have you washed my breeches?. You've ruined me;—have you washed my —ut suddenly catching a glimpse of the garment still clutched by the suspended hand of the terrified laundress, he leaped forward with nervous energy, and snatching them from her, he ran his own hand hastily along the waistband until he met with something that seemed to satisfy his desires, and sinking down into a chair he fairly went into hysterics. By this time the poor woman found voice and asked: Why, Mr. what is the matter ?" "Oh, woman, woman, what an escape," he sobbed, "what an escape! There are ten thousand dollars in those breeches. Where's your scissors? Get them quick. Had you washed those breeches I would have been ruined. What an escape." The laundress got the scissors; the seam of the waist- band was ripped open in an instant, and before her astonished go z a beheld layers of bank bills, of what value ehe knew not, save that he repeated ten thousand dollars, tea thousand dollars! What an escape! What an escape!"

LARGE DRAUGHT oF FISH.—A few days ago, Mr. Lip.3cott)b3, of Godstow, dragged the pool in trontof hi, house, which ia a portion of the Ms. and with the assistance of Webb, the celebrated diver, who went round the bottom several times, succeeded in bringing to land ia one net the enormous qu-m icy cf 1,091 roacb, besides jack, perch, and dace, weighing altogether bet we en 5 cwt. aud 6 e wt. An immense quanu ty of fiih has been caught in the Isis, or the tributary streams near Oxford during the summer.—Oxford Chronicle,

jtabal and JEtlttarg* —*— ARM? AND NAVY EXPENDITURE IN 1857. Detailed accounts have been issued of the receipt and expenditure for navy and for army services for the year ended 31st of March, 1857. The expenditure of the navy in 1856-7 amounted to £ 14,664,081, 4s. 10d., while JM6/; P^atneQtary grants for that serv:ce amounted to £ 16,568,614, thus showing a surplus of receipts over expenditure of £ 1,904,100 63. 9d. after deducting X432 8s. 5d., an amount written off as irrecoverable from naval defaulters. In eleven of the items of expenditure the outlay was £2,493,139 153. 7d. less than the original estimate; in the seven other items of which the expendi- ture is composed, the outlay exceeded the original estimate by £588,607 0s. 5d. The army and militia expenditure forthesameyear reached £ 21,114,21015s. 8d,, whereas the sum granted by parliament for the service was only £ 20,478,034. In fourteen items the actual ex- penditure was £556,605 less than the grants; but in the other seven items of the account the grants were ex- ceeded by £1,192,782 Os. 7d. The difference between the receipts and expenditure was made up by drawing upon the vote for the extraordinary expenses of the Russian war. THE NEW CAMEL CORPs.-The new OameI Corps is thus described by an Allahabad correspondent of the Delhi GaztUei Last evening the governor- general, commander-in-chief and suite, were out on the maidan reviewing the Camel Corps, about 400 of these ungainly beasts going through military evolutions. It was a novel and curious spectacle to see these animals performing almost all the movements of cavalry. Besides the native driver (who is of,course armed) there is on every camel^a hardy Briton who occupies tne back seat, and is quite in a position to use his rifle. The camels are well trained to the word of command. On a recognised touch of the guiding-string dowa would thev drop on, their knees, the rifleman would be off in a second and go OTI into skirmishing order till the word of recall was issued when they would shoot back to their places, remount, and almost simultaneously, like a brown mass growing out of the ground, would the camels regain their feet (so to speak) in their own awkward mode—that is first their hinder parts and then their long stretching necks! You can fancy what a rare scene the whole was."

=-- A LONDON LAWYER DONE FOR BY A YANKEE COLONEL. While mentioning this luminary of the law, a storv relating to a member of the same profession which is going about occurs to me. It seems that there has been for some little time floating on the surface of London society f. ^T??nca, adventurer, who has perhaps more right to call himself a colonel than most Americans have who, during the last Reason, was installed in very splendid apartments in a very fishionable street. Finding his funds to run short, he was in search of expedients to replenish them, when chance threw him in the way of a recentlv created serjeant-at-law, well known for his extensive practice in criminal law. To this gentlemen the colonel made himself peculiarly agreeable; and having, in the course of conversation, discovered that the serjeaut was fond of whist, he suddenly recollected that two or three friends were to spend the following evening with him to play a rubber, and the learned gentleman was urgently invited to join the party; to which he, nothing loth, as sen tad. The calonel instantly im- provised a party, consisting of two male and two two female confederates; one of the latter being a Spanish lady-so called-of the school of Lola Montez A mag- nificent supper and abundance of champagne were ordered from a celebrated French restaurant; and, on the arrival of the serjeant, the comedy began. The ladies, especially the Spaniard, sung divinely, and were most fascinating; the serjeant was delighted; nothing was said abouc cards until after supper, but at the right moment whist was proposed, and at a hideous hour in the morning the guest of the evening found himself mulcted of a large sum, which is variously stated at £ 75 and £ 750, which he duly paid. But this was not all. A day or two after, the colonel vanished, leaving a balance of X40 unpaid at his lodgings, and has not since bsen heard of. Previously to his departure, he contrived to dispose of a magnificent piano which he had hired for the occasion of his entertain- l^t '11 Seem'°' he obtained by adroitly mixing tion^ ll:?i:n.owu. n^me of the serjeant in the'transac- order'in* J th adoPted the same device in the Mdenng of the supper; and claims for payment were made on the learned gentleman both by the mnsic-seller and the French restaurateur. This is not an old story cooked up out of Gil BIas," but an actual occurrence in London this year.

.J6, c,he A SERENADE TO THE CX Am-"(Jom'egentil," Comet genteel! Pray, how do you feel? Isn't annoying to bear The popular stare. You are spied and pursued In a manner most rude, For every night w We at you take a sight. ™, £ SLr"™ »«*> the Queen, Aud state you out of cc)untenance wilder you're to be Comet, ladies genteel Can bear a good deal In the way of a stare, It their faces are fair; Hut possibly you !>;slike being on view. And perhaps, our rudegazs TP ,Ma*e3 you red in the face. If 3 ou would scape our staring, Comet, wear a veil Or get your friend the Dog-star to bite off your tail! TELEGRAPHIC ALPHABET.—The Lindley- Murravs of uaa ofCtChpareibUSy la3,ing dowa a new alphabet for the osa of the submarine telegraph. Mrs. Trimmer Lva p'r«J American or even Australian Telegraph, when he reflects £ taSLTS no d-TAU ,WlEE' wai Oe brought, at no distant date, into tue Mansion House. TK MISSES AND FIŒNCH MADEMOISELLES — The difference between them is thisYour English mi s S tot anH™d rm -XJSfc Lt,ZSSJiSr" Neluoif ^Ur-Zfrdt,yfl of the statue of Sir Isaac Newton, at Glanttlaill, an elegant banquet was given. ^n,nv,rL af eP'curean wit was seated oaposi'i to a ^w/lffS aZhM hdm- C^versation arose upon tha a.mo^t peifea character of Newton, and it was pleasingly SSSSl '"tellect virtue could nlt pSce Si ^^oment Lord Brougham asked for a SDeech th« n r^r Dj' ariswefing with one speech the moraliser and the nobleman, quo tea If parts allure thee, see how bacon shiued.-ForE.

1! THE HARTLEY BEQUEST.-Nearly 10 years ago a gentleman named Hartley died, and oequeathed, bv will, upwards of £ 100,000, to the corporation of South- ampton, to be expended in measures to promote the intel- lectual improvement of the inhabitants of that town. The will was disputed by distant aad dubious relatives of tne testator, and litigation haa been going on uo tr> th» present time in the Court of Chancery. it e'n(i d iu a compromise, at the recommendation of the coun«.l en- gaged on botn sides, and the litigants their claims for £ 2,'500, thus leK about the corporation; out ot tnac <or tne legacy auty, a-iiouatmg to nearlv £ 4 5fio t,„„ „u that remains to carry our 80 tUat ali n £ o9,780. Ma" ■)? ot £ Ue testator iUat atter the reform of 1U Soutil"upton can fast so Ion- S* ? 01 GhaQcery litigation i'ne cost of taxing be so enormous, nearly £ 1 ooo reducing, the law charges was tae UmoiiB fresco of the •' L1;t JuS mnfR19, Angsiy, in ths bi-tine Chapel. ° b-r Mlchae!