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1843.] 
THE GARDENERS CHRONICLE. 
253 
sinall majority, he inferred a short life to the present Corn 
Law, and firmly believed that if they had not free trade 
during the present Parliament, the next Parliament would 
be elected to give it to the people. 
Bath.—On Saturday night the walls of Bath were pla- 
carded with notices, having attached to them the names of 
London printers, stating that, at the request of Mr. 
Roebuck, the ‘‘aerial steam-coach’’? would commence its 
proceedings on Monday, by making a trip from London to 
this city, and that it would alight on Beechen Cliff, at 
half-past one o'clock, “Bath time,” after a journey of 
20 minutes. Accordingly, the crest and sides of Beechen 
Cliff were crowded, at the hour named in the bills, by 
some hundreds of persons—all eagerly watching for the 
appearance of the flying visitor from town. Large num- 
bers stood their ground long after the appointed hour, 
under the conviction that the delay in the arrival of the 
machine was most probably caused by some mishap inci- 
dent to its first journey, and that it would certainly arrive 
in the course of the afternoon. The house-tops in the 
lower part of the city also displayed numerous groups of 
anxious expectants, who at Jength discovered that the 
promised visit was a hoax. : 
Brighton.—The workmen employed at the Artesian 
Well, at the head of the Chain Pier; have succeeded in 
obtaining a plentiful supply of fresh water, at a dépth of 
200 feet froin the level’ of the Marine-parade, The 
directors intend erecting an ornamental fountain in the 
centre of the promenade, affording a continual stream of 
spring water. 
Deal.—During the past week, owing to the prevalence 
of westerly gales, a great accumulation of outward-bound 
and coasting vessels took place in the Downs. On Mon- 
day morning, the wind having chopped round ¢o the east- 
ward, a fleet of 500 sail got under weigh, and proceeded 
own Channel with a favourable breeze. About nine 
o’clock the line of ships stretched from the South Foreland 
towards Dungeness, in length about five or six miles, pre- 
senting one of the most magnificent sights ever witnessed 
in the Channel. Indeed, it is said that the oldest {nlia- 
bitants of those shores heVer before Withessed so many 
vessels in full sail in so narrow a space. It seemed to the 
eye of the spectator, that at many parts of the fleet the 
Vessels must have been yard-arm and yard-arm, so closely 
did they appear to be ranged together. 
Alythe.—In consequence of the plunder perpetrated by 
the wreckers who infest the Kentish coast on the recent 
loss of the schooner Francis, off Dungeness Lighthouse; 
the Lord Warden has 1 triminal ding 
against the ringleaders} and their trials are expected to 
come on at the ensuing assizes. So extensive were the 
depredations, that the tallow which formed the cargo of 
the wreck was carried into the adjacent towns, Lydd and 
New Romney, by cart-loads, and sold at the rate of 3d. 
per lb, Many of them, on the strength of the wreck, 
purchased moulds, and carried on a profitable trade in 
the candle manufacture, 
Kingston.—We noticed in our last the particulars of a 
charge of felony, preferred under remarkable circumstances, 
against an attorney's clerk, called Stone, and an innkeeper 
named Wardell, who were charged with stealing some 
money from the Dolphin Inn, in this town, on the 21st 
July last. The case was tried on Tuesday, at the Surrey 
Sessions. The court was crowded at a very early hour, 
and continued so until the conclusion of the trial, which 
Was not until near one e’clock in the morning, having 
lasted 13 hours. The leading facts of the case were given 
last week, when we stated that the whole strength of the 
Prosecution rested on a question of identity, the prisoners 
being said to resemble in many important particulars the 
persons by whom the robbery was committed, They 
Were eventually taken before the Kingston magistrates, 
and, after a searching investigation into their case, they 
Were discharged. Stone then commenced an action against 
the landlord for false imprisonment, which was tried before 
ord Denman at the late assizes, and after a trial of two 
days, the jury returned a verdict for the defendant. 
N consequence of this verdict the prosecutor caused 
the prisoners to be again taken into custody on the same 
charge, when they were taken before the Kingston 
bench, and fully committed to these sessions for trial. 
On behalf of the prosecution, the landlord’s daughter 
Swore in the most positive manner to their identity, and 
er evidence was in some manner corroborated by the 
sie There was, however, a great discrepancy in the 
shecsitions, and an evident contradiction in the evidence 
rae gave in July, and the testimony she gave last week at 
se eetton. She spoke confidently to the dress of the pri- 
ae and accurately described a ring with a red stone, 
ich the prisoner Wardell wore at the time of the rob- 
sae it was proved that on his apprehension he had a 
me ar ring on his finger. The girl, and her father and 
‘other, underwent the most rigid cross-examination b: 
Bean creer and, with regard to the time, the testimony 
dani them was considerably shaken. The prosecutor 
ite ae he would not give them into custody, for he 
thene rey were not the men, being, unable to identify 
“oan Several other witnesses were called for the pro- 
Rice i but their testimony did not in any manner 
a ee the case. Mr. Chambers addressed the jury 
es of the prisoners, he spoke for upwards of two 
Bee iia ccuvered one of the most powerful defences 
Rbéech re ene a of justice. At the conclusion of his 
dered that Fabesoune applauded that the chairman or- 
checked, Gr the « uu ition of feeling might be immediately 
in suminiag a aus ee be cleared. The chairman, 
had aecapied es a the case was a very peculiar one, and 
WO pointuves tia Tate eth of time. He would leave 
Sonera ab the bar wee hich ~were, whether the two pri- 
4, the same persons who entered the 
Dolphin public-house, it being admitted that they were 
at Kingston on that day ; and then again, in the second 
place, did the jury believe they were the same two men 
who joined the tall man on the bridge. There was one 
remarkable circumstance, that of the ring—the prisoner 
Wardell having a similar ring on his finger as described 
by the child, at the time of his being taken into custody. 
The jury returned a verdict of Not Guilty. 
Newcusilé.—One of those disastidus fire-blasts whith 
so frequently happen in this district occurted on Wednes- 
day morning, the 5th inst., at the Stormont Main Col- 
liery, which belongs to Messrs. Grace and Co. At'the 
time of the explosion there were upwards of 50 men at 
work, and so slight was the effect of the shock, that the 
workmen at bank knew nothing of it until apprized by 
some of the survivors, who escaped by reaching the pit- 
shaft; On the dlarm being given; every exettion was 
used to rescue, if possible, the men below; but some 
hours elapsed before it was deemed prudent for any one 
to venture into the mine. During the course of the day 
24 bodies were brought up quite dead, while 8 more, who 
were severely burnt, were brought out alive, but 3 have 
since died. The others are expected to recover. There 
was only one horse killed, and the damage sustained by 
the workings is inconsiderable, the explosion being very 
litiited ih its range. The juty, at the inquest, returiiéd 
a verdict of Accidental death. 
were during that period of 1842, and there has been & 
considerable increase of pi gers.<=The Kil Ht 
branch of the Glasgow and Ayr Railway was opened 6i 
Monday the 3d inst.—It is understood that on Easter 
Tuesday another grand blast of the cliffs on the line of 
the South-Eastern Railway, near Dover, will take place. 
The operation will be on an extensive scale, as it is in- 
tended to explode sixteen mines simultaneously, by means 
of the galvanic battery. The time appointed is four o’clock 
ih the aftérhooh, in order tO give an opportunity for the 
scientific men and others who take an interest in these 
remarkable works, to arrive by the morning train front 
London. 
IRELAND. 
Dublin.—We noticed in our last the excitement occa- 
fioned by the mail-coach contracts having been given to 
4 Scotch geatlethah. The accounts received this week 
state that the most lively interest i8 felt throughout Ire- 
land on the subject, and that memorials inntimerablé 
against the new contract are in course of signature.-A€ 
the weekly meeting of the Repeal Association on Monday, 
Mr. Steele, in seconding a resolution of thanks to the 
American repealers, announced that he had been ap- 
pointed by the Association to go from one end of America 
to the othet, to agitate the question of repeal; and he 
wished jiow to state that he was ready and willing to fulfil 
Northleach.—An inquest has been held at Cheltenh 
on the body of Richard Jones, a prisoner, who died a 
few days since in the Northleach House of Corréction: 
The inquiry excited great interedt, and was three times 
adjouined $ on the last occasion it was continued for seven 
hours. Both coroner and jury closely examined the wit- 
nesses, with a view to elicit the particulars of the mode of 
discipline practised at the prison. he coroner recom- 
mended the jury to forward a memorial to the Secretary 
of State, praying for a still farther improvement in North- 
leach prison. ‘The jury during the long inquiry, repeat- 
edly declared their cnviction that the har work and 
scanty food of the prison was the catise of the evil then 
complained of ; and that it was the system, and not the 
particular individ Ww i d the law, that was 
to blame. Several witnesses were examined, and. the 
jury, after an hour’s deliberation, unanimously agreed to 
the following verdict: ‘*That the deceased, Richard 
Jones, died from the ill-treatment he received while in 
Northleach Houst of Cotrection, from hatd labbitr, waht 
of fod, and froth ho othei Gatises.’? The jury in addi- 
tion, wished it to be recorded that they had unanimously 
agreed that the authorities of Northleach were deserving 
of censure for their conduct throughout the affair. 
Reigate.—At the Surrey Sessions, on Saturday, the case 
of Mr, T. Colson, appellant v. the Justices for the Croy- 
don division, came on, as ati appeal frdm the decision of 
the Justites, in refusing to grant to the applicant, who is 
superintendent of the works of the Croydon Railway, a 
Victualler’s license for his house, known as the Annersley 
Tea-gardens. The appellant’s house was built three years 
ago by the directors of the Railway Company. The license; 
after a long inquiry, was granted. ‘This is said to be the 
first time, within twenty yeats, that an appéal of this kind 
has been successful. 
Wakefield.—_At_ the quarter-sessions for the West- 
Riding, heldin this town, on Thursday, Joseph Whiteley, 
a collier, from Elland, near Halifax, was tried before the 
magistrates, for having assaulted and ill-used dames 
Whiteley, his appentice. As the evidence in this case is 
already known to our readers, it is not necessary to repeat 
it. It was considered by the jury conclusive against the 
prisoner, and they accordingly found him Guilty. The 
Chairman, in passing sentence, said that he had been 
found guilty of one of the most attocious offences ever 
brought before a court of justive, He had ill-treated in 
a most cruel manner an orphan relation of his own, who 
had nobody else but him to look up to for protection. 
There could be no doubt of the fact, that without any 
reason whatever he had ill-treated him in a way that no 
person in court could have heard, and that no one could 
read of, without horror. He was sorry that the law did 
not allow the Court to inflict a severer punishment ; but 
the sentence of the Court was that he be imprisoned in 
the House of Correction for 2 years. He was sorry that 
they could not sentence him to hard labour, or inflict 
any severer punishment. 
Railways.—The following are the returns of the under- 
mentioned Railways for the past week:—London and 
Birmingham, 14,039/.; Great Western, 11,360/.; South- 
Western, 5,283/. ; South-Eastern, 1,724/. ; Eastern Coun- 
ties, 1,535/. ; North Midland, 3,518/. ; York and ditto, 
1,416. ; Greenwich, 661/.; Croydon, 204/.; Brighton, 
2,526/.; Blackwall, 609/.; Hull and Selby, 936/.; Grand 
Junction, 6,860/; Midland Counties, 2,2087.—At the 
annual meeting of the proprietors of the Newcastle and 
Carlisle Company, held on the 28th ult., a dividend was 
declared of 4/. per share of 100/. each, and so on in pro- 
portion for the quarter shares payable to the shareholders 
on the 2lst instant. To meet this dividend the sum of 
536/. Os. 8d. has been taken from the profits of former 
years ; but the reserved fund will still amount to 49,3772. 
The accounts of revenue and expenditure for the past year 
exhibited a profit of 15,0632, which, considering the de- 
pressed state of trade and commerce, the directors be- 
jieved would be satisfactory to the proprietors.—The di- 
rectors of the Durham and Sunderland Company held 
their half-yearly meeting on the 24th ult., and declared a 
dividend of 10s. per share, clear of the half-year’s income- 
tax. The receipts from ordinary traffic on this line, for 
the half-year terminating on the 28th Feb., were 15,365/., 
being 1,368/. less than the corresponding half-year of 
1842; but the working charges were 1,103/, Jess than they 
thdt engagement whenever he was called upon.—Mr. 
O’Connell said that before the resolution was put, he was 
anxious to mention that his eldest son would accompatiy 
Mr. Steele to Atetica, to assist in obtaining independ- 
ence for his country. e then announced the repeal rétit 
for the week to be 4487. 4s. 
Monaghan.—On Monday, the 3d inst., an outrage took 
place in the Barony of Farney, near the town of Carrick- 
macross, part of the estate of Mr. Evelyn Shirley, M.P. 
A multitude of people, to the amount of 10,000 or 12,000, 
of whom very few were tenants on the estate, assembled 
in Catrickmacfoss, ahd thete seiged Mr. Trench, Mre 
Shirley’s agent, who hid cme forward to addréss theta, 
and dissuade them from violence. This gentleman they 
dragged with them to Lough Fea Castle, where they sup~ 
posed Mr. Shirley was staying, endeavouring by menaces 
and ill-treatment to extort a promise from him that he 
would use his influence with Mr. Shirley to obtain a re- 
duction of their rents, by 25, or as some say, 50 per cent. 
This promise he courageously refused to give; and after 
receiving some severe biuises froth his assailants, he was 
surrendered into the hands of a neighbouring gentlemati. 
The papers add that the great majority of this mob ¢on- 
sisted of strangers; that Mr. Shirley has always treated 
his tenants considerately and kindly ; and that similar and 
greater outrages have before been perpetrated by the 
peasantry upon persons who had devoted their capital to 
the employment of native labourers and the improvemient 
of native produce. Large rewards have been offered for 
the apprehension of the offenders. 
; . SCOTLAND. 
Edinburgh.—The Duke of Sutherland has addressed 
a‘letter to the clergy of Stitherland on the affairs of the 
Church of Scotland, from which the following is an ex 
tract :—“I deeply regret to find you and other friends 
adopting measures which in my conscience I believe in- 
jurious to the welfare, and likely to impair the means and 
usefulhess of that establishment, and detrimental to all 
the interests committed to let charge. Whenever the 
application which you mentioned as proposed to be madé 
to the Legislature may be brought before Parliament, I 
shall not fail to endeavour to discharge my duty as a peer 
of Parliament. I cannot, however, refrain from express- 
ing my hope that in the meantime further consideration 
on the part of yourself and other friends may prevent the 
crisis which now seetis impending: It is not for me to 
endeavour to control or moderate the feelings which, on 
your part conscientiously entertaified, have much effeet in 
maintaining and increasing the uncertainty of the connece 
tion between the State and Church—of which T should 
much lament the separation. Having always admired and 
respected the piety and moral and religious principlesof the 
people of our Highlands, I have been disposed to asso- 
ciate those feelings on the part of the congregations with 
the labours of their pastors, and considered that under the 
present system we have enjoyed the very great advantage 
of having men fearing God, and well qualified to give 
diligent care and labour in the parishes committee to their 
charge. Therefore, not desiring innovation and disturb- 
ance, I cannot but regret the spirit which now encourages 
agitation among our congregations, and I consider it a 
melancholy proof of the instability of our human under- 
standing.” His Grace has addressed a similar letter to 
the elders and parishi of Farr, exp ing his con- 
viction that the maintenance of two Kirks and two manses 
in the parish would be fatal to the establishment, whatever 
amount of funds might be raised to support them, and 
hoping that they will remain as they are, and that a faith~ 
ful minister will continue with a pions congregation in the 
established Kirk.—In connection with the Kirk question, 
Dr. Chalmers in his valedictory address to his students, 
last week, observed—‘‘ It is impossible to predict the 
issue of the crisis now at hand. Bre we meet again, the 
church of our fathers will have separated into two great 
parties; though it remains a question which of the two, 
will be entitled to the name of the church of Scotland— 
the church minus the stipends, or the church minus the 
people. It now only remains for me to bid you farewell; 
but while I do 80, I do not bid you a final farewell. 
I confidently look forward to our meeting again; and, 
though it may be in a college minus endowments, it is 
some consolation to think that we will not have to givé 
