126 
THE GARDENERS’ CHRONICLE. 
[FEs. 25, 
discovered, but died without uttering a word. An 
inquest was held upon his body, and, in the absence of 
evidence of foul play, averdict of “ Died by the visitation 
of God” was returned. It appears, however, that a young 
woman, now imprisoned in Cambridge jail for robbery, 
has made a confession that Mr. Hopwood was murdered 
for the sake of robbing him. The woman states that she 
was at Milton feast, in company with other women and 
two men, and that the latter, on their return, murdered a 
man, by smothering him in the snow in Cottingham- 
fields. The names of the parties implicated by this con- 
fession are at present withheld, for the purposes of justice. 
Carmarthen.—The Welsh papers give an account of 
the origin of the disturbances that at present exist in 
Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire, and in which ‘“ Re- 
becca and her daughters” take so prominent a part. It 
appears that about seven years ago a turnpike-road was 
made between Pembroke and Carmarthen, with the view 
of securing a great thoroughfare by it between Ireland and 
London. The Liverpool railway has, however, frustrated 
the object by leaving but thirty-two miles of road from 
Carmarthen to Hobb’s Point, or Milford, asa passage for 
the mail. Very little thoroughfare else exists along it, so 
that there is not sufficient money raised to pay the inter- 
est for the capital expended, much less to keep the road 
inrepair. The trustees have put up toll-bars on the lanes 
and by-roads, and thrown the expense of the main road 
on the parishes, which appears to have excited the pea- 
santry to the late acts of violence. Rebecca has already 
destroyed the St. Clear, Prendergate, and Pime toll-gates, 
She also boasts of having an auxiliary force of 500 men, 
at Haverfordwest. By order of Sir J, Graham, the Ma- 
rines from Pembroke Dock-yard have been recalled, and 
the duty of pursuing the malcontents has devolved upon 
the Yeomanry, who in 1798 distinguished themselves un- 
der Earl Cawdor against the French troops at Fishguard, 
On Monday, at midnight, a mob of forty or fifty persons 
destroyed two turnpike-gates at Trevuchan, in Pembroke- 
shire, one leading to Tavernspite, the other to Lampeter, 
and entirely demolished the turnpike-house, which the 
gate-keeper had just left for the night. There is little 
doubt that these men were from the English part of Pem- 
brokeshire, as they were heard to converse in English, not 
a word of Welsh being spoken by any of the party. It is 
said that some of the less educated people pretend to have 
Scripture warrant for their doings, quoting the 24th chap- 
ter of Genesis :—‘ And they blessed Rebekah, and said 
unto her, Thou shalt be the mother of hundreds of mil- 
lions, and thy children shall possess the gates of them 
which hate them.” This text, which is somewhat ap- 
plicable to the situation of affairs near St. Clears, is 
expatiated upon by many itinerant preachers, and the 
multitude believe they have a warrant for their lawless 
doings. 
Cheltenham.—About a fortnight since the Rev. Hugh 
Percy Rennett, of Evington Cottage, Coombe-hill, and 
perpetual curate of Naunton, in this county, was shot by 
his wife, Mrs. Anna Maria Rennett, and Montagu Clark, 
a lad about 17 years of age (a son of Mrs. Rennett by a 
former husband). It appeared from the evidence given 
before the magistrates, that Mr. Rennett and his wife had 
been married several years ; and that the younger prisoner 
resided with them. In consequence of family disagree- 
ments, Mr. Rennett and his wife had been for some time 
separated, but still resided in the same house ; Mr. Rennett 
occupying and taking his meals in one room, and the re- 
mainder of the family in the other parts of the house. On 
Thursday evening some dispute arose which attracted the 
attention of a policeman in the street, and on entering he 
found Mr. Rennett on the ground, bleeding profusely, the 
younger prisoner having shot him in his neck with a 
pistol. The bullet could not be extracted immediately, 
and the reverend gentleman is still in considerable danger. 
The magistrates committed both the wife and son to 
prison to take their trial for the offence, but their health 
has suffered so much since their committal, that it has 
been necessary to remove them to the hospital. 
Coventry.—It is stated that a requisition has been pre- 
sented to the Archdeacon of Coventry, requesting him to 
take measures for drawing up an address from the clergy 
of that Archd yy d y of Lord Ellenbo- 
rough’s proclamation respecting the gates of Somnauth, 
and that the signatures of all the masters of Rugby school 
are attached to the requisition, 
Hereford. —On Saturday evening a fatal accident ‘hap- 
pened to the Aberystwith mail on its up-journey from 
Hereford to Cheltenham. The coach was leaving Here- 
ford, the weather being very boisterous at the time, and 
when clearing the turnpike near the city, the wind caused 
the gate to rebound against the leaders, who immediately 
took fright and darted off ata rapid pace, and comingin con- 
tact with a donkey-cart, the poor woman who was drivin: 
was trampled under their feet and severely injured, and 
the donkey was killed. The coachman, in endeavouring to 
rein in his horses to avoid the catastrophe, lost his seat, 
and was precipitated on the road, and falling on his head, 
survived the injury but a few minutes. The guard and 
passengers jumped off the coach the moment the horses 
took fright, and escaped without injury. 
4Tull.—We lately noticed under this head the measures 
taken by the shipowners of Hull in reference to Captain 
Fitzroy’s bill, requiring qualifications from masters and 
mates in the merchant-service, It is now stated in some 
of the provincial journals that Capt. Fitzroy has withdrawn 
his bill for the present, finding that the measure was not 
satisfactory to those whose interests would be chiefly 
affected by its operation, 
Lancaster.—The local papers give the detailed particu- 
lars of the discovery of a murder perpetrated as far back 
as April, 1817, at Pendleton; when the house of a Mr. 
Littlewood was entered and robbed, and Mrs. Marsden, 
the housekeeper, and a female servant, were murdered in 
open day. Five men were tried for the crime before Baron 
Richards, at the assizes of September, 1817, in this 
| Manchester, 3,4567. ; Brighton, 2,3947. ; 
Croydon, 1917. ; Liverpool and 
Grand Junction, 
5,889/.; York and North Midland, 1,394/.; Blackwall, 
5137, ; Great North of England, 1,3507.; Sheffield and 
Manck , 2661, ; Manch and Leeds, 3,4987. ; Glas- 
Eastern Counties, 7901. ; 
city, when four of them were convicted on cir 
evidence, and executed. It now appears that on the 9th 
inst. an old man, aged 74, the uncle of one of the men 
who were hung, finding himself on the point of death, 
confessed to two women, whom he called to the bedside for 
the purpose, that he was the perpetrator of the murder, 
but did not commit the robbery. He died the day after 
he had made this fessi corr dent informs 
gow, Paisley, Kilmarnock, and Ayr, 7937. 3 Midland 
Counties, 2,197/.; Edinburgh and Glasgow, 1,437. ; Bir- 
mingham and Gloucester, 14471. ; Birmingham and Derby, 
1,0277. ; North Midland, 3,5272. ; South-Western, 4,083/, ; 
Great Western, 10,188/.; London and Birmingham, 
13,0712; South-Eastern, 1,343/.—The Birmingham and 
Gl 
ter Company held their half-yearly meeting on 
F 
us that on Sunday last a flock of sheep, amounting to no 
less than 57, were stolen from the farm of Mr, Moffat, in 
the neighbourhood of Hornley, by an Irishman and a lad 
belonging to Lancaster. They drove the flock into the 
city and attempted to sell them in open day, but the price 
demanded was so small as to excite suspicions ; both par- 
ties were accordingly apprehended, and after a long ex- 
amination before the magistrates, were committed to take 
their trial at the assizes. 
Leeds.—The adjournment of the coroner’s inquest on 
the mutilated body of a female found a few weeks since in 
the river Aire navigation, has led to no other evidence at 
all bearing on the case, beyond some of a negative cha- 
racter, proving that the body found is not that of either 
of two young women who were missing from the West 
Riding of Yorkshire. A verdict of ‘ Wilful Murder 
against some person or persons unknown” hag been re- 
turned by the coroner’s jury. 
Liverpool.—At the annual meeting of the Liverpool 
Insurance Company, held last week, the chairman stated 
that the loss which the company had sustained by the 
recent conflagrations in the town had been confined almost 
entirely to the mercantile districts of Liverpool. They 
had been driven to a painful experience, like all other 
panies, that the ile premiums formerly charged 
were totally inadequate to protect them from the risk 
which they ran, and, though they regretted to place the 
commerce of the port under additional burdens, they had 
been compelled in their own protection to increase the 
premiums upon insurance. The report showed that the 
loss during the year had been 46,5287. 
Manchester.—The Quarterly Table of Mortality just 
issued by the Registrar General, shows that the mortality 
in Manchester and its suburbs during the past year was 
10,555 in a population of 356,373 souls. The mortality 
in the spring quarter was 2,312; in the summer quarter, 
2,816; in the autumn quarter, 2,744; in the winter quarter, 
2,683. The average of the four autumn quarters from 
1838 to 1841 was 2,718. It is remarkable that of the 
four quarters of 1842, taking 113 districts of England and 
Wales, including nearly all the large towns, but excluding 
the metropolis, the mortality is largest in the winter 
quarter (32,083) ; next in the summer quarter (28,050) ; 
then in the autumn quarter, the spring quarter showing 
the lowest mortality ; while in Manchester, as will be seen 
above, this order is not observed; the summer quarter 
showing the largest mortality, surpassing the winter by 
183 deaths; and even the autumnal quarter exceeds the 
winter quarter by 6] deaths.—The local papers mention 
that the applicants in the Manchester workhouse are 746 
weekly more than at this season last year, and that many 
of the mills are again stopping.—In consequence of a con- 
tradiction given by Mr. M. Philips to a statement made 
by Mr. Ferrand in the House of Commons on the night 
of the 13th inst., respecting certain cruelties to which un- 
protected females were said to be subjected in the mills of 
Mr. Greg, near Wilmslow, a special general meeting of 
the Lancashire Central Short-time Committee was held 
in this town on Wednesday, in order to corroborate Mr. 
Ferrand’s statement. The meeting resolved unanimously 
that they “ are prepared to prove that Mr, Ferrand’s 
statement gives but a very faint idea of the hardships to 
which those females were subjected ; and that the contra- 
diction which Mr. Mark Philips was instructed to make 
to Mr. Ferrand’s charges is characterised by equivocation 
and a total disregard to truth. That the thanks of this 
committee be given to Mr. Ferrand for his praiseworthy 
and fearful exposure of the cruelties practised by the 
manufacturers generally on the defenceless children com- 
mitted to their care.’’ 
Shefield.—The second meeting of creditors under the 
fiat of bankruptcy issued against Messrs, Parker, Shore, 
and Co., the bankers, was held on Friday. The meeting 
was for the proof of debts and for the choice of assignees, 
The amount of debts proved during the day, including 
those proved on the 16th inst., was 185,3527. 17s., being 
about one-third of the whole to be proved against the 
bankrupts. The trade assignees were then appointed, all 
of whom were residents in Sheffield. 
Shrewsbury.—The local papers state that at one of the 
recent audits of Sir E. Blount, Bart., of Mawley Hall, in 
this county, several of the tenants were contesting as to 
which of their families could boast of having rented for 
the longest period on the estate, when a farmer named 
Allen satisfactorily proved that himself and ancestors had 
either been in the employ or rented under the Blount 
family for a period of nearly 780 years !—that, in fact, his 
ancestors had immigrated from Normandy with that family 
at the time of the Conquest, and from father to son each 
succeeding generation had been retained on the estate. 
Stourbridge—The Worcester papers state that the 
distress at Stourbridge has become so alarming, that 
numbers are subsisting on turnips alone. From one field 
as many as from five to six tons a week have been taken 
for several weeks past; and the owner does not think it 
expedient to attempt to put a stop to the peculation. 
tailways.—The following are the returns for the past 
week :—Northern and Eastern, 1,019/. ; Greenwich, 614/, ; 
Wednesday. The total receipts for the half-year had been 
50,3102., and the charges, 41,694, The surplus, added 
to the balance in June, formed a sum of 12,9632., from 
which a dividend of 25s. per share was ordered to be paid. 
This would leave 1,245/. to be carried over to the next 
half-year’s account. No general discussion was raised at 
the meeting, a committee of inquiry having been insti- 
tuted into the general management of the undertaking. — 
A special meeting of the Cheltenham and Great Western 
Company was held at Cirencester last week, in reference 
to an arrangement with the Great Western Company for 
completing the line from Cirencester to Gloucester, and 
then leasing or selling the whole line from Swindon on 
specified terms. After some discussion, a resolution 
authorizing the directors to treat with the Great Western 
Company for a sale on the basis of the Great Western 
Company’s proposal, was unanimously carried. — The 
report of the Directors of the Hull and Selby Railway 
Company states the receipts of the half-year to have 
been 28,894/., and the expenses of working the line 
13,689/., showing a profit of 15,2057. From this, how- 
ever, has to be deducted 5,074/. interest on loans, 2277. 
income-tax, and 725/., the price of a new engine ; leaving 
abalance of 9,179/. available for a dividend, which it is 
proposed shall be 1/. per share; after paying which upon 
8,000 shares, there will remain 1,179/. applicable to the 
future purposes of the Company. The report mentions 
that the sum taken in the last sixmonths exceeds that for 
any former half-year.—On Monday last, the half-yearly 
meeting of the Newcastle and Darlington. Company, by 
which another important link will be added to the chain of 
Railway communication between England and Scotland, 
was held at York. The report stated that the whole of 
the works on two portions of the line, one extending from 
the Durham Junction Railway to Shincliffe, including the 
branch to the city of Durham, and the other from Dar- 
lington to Brafferton, comprising together rather more 
than twelve miles in length, have been let at prices be- 
low the engineer’s estimates ; and the chairman stated his 
opinion, that the line will be opened throughout from 
Darlington to Neweastle, by which an uninterrupted 
Railway communication between London and Carlisle will 
be accomplished in July, 1844.—At the York and North 
Midland Meeting, a dividend of 27. 10s. on the original 
shares, and a dividend of 20s. on the half-shares, were 
declared, leaving a surplus, after the payment of all ex- 
penses, of 2,6697. to he carried to the guarantee fund, 
now amounting to 6,6727. The traffic for the half-year 
had amounted to 46,3852. Ils. 11d.—The half-yearly 
meeting of the Great North of England Company was held 
at Darlington on Tuesday. The balance of profit in the 
half-year, after deducting the usual amount for the re- 
serve fund and Income-tax, amounted to 8,538/., from 
which it was recommended that a dividend of IJ. 5s. per 
share shouldbe made. A more economical system of ex- 
penditure had been introduced, whereby the charge for 
repair of way for the past six months was reduced to 
4,2071.; and, as the last quarter showed 7007. less than 
the preceding, it was expected that a further reduction 
would be effected in the ensuing half-year. The number 
of passengers conveyed by the rail last half-year was 
80,738. It was recommended that about 2,000, should 
be laid out in the erection of cottages on the banks of the 
line for the convenience of the labourers employed on it ; 
as, while the rent would return the Company about 7 per 
cent. on the outlay, and enhance the price of the land, 
these dwellings would conduce much to the comfort of the 
men, and add greatly to the security of passengers, in 
case of obstruction on the line, or delay of the trains. 
IRELAND. 
Dublin.—Meetings are still in progress to petition for 
the total repeal or modification of the present Poor-law. 
The Guardians of the Tuam Union have resolved to 
adjourn for a month, and suspend the ordinary business, 
pending a motion of the Marquess of Clanricarde in the 
House of Lords, on the subject of the Poor-law. Mean- 
time, great difficulty exists in collecting the rate in most 
places. In the county and city of Waterford and in Kil- 
kenny scarcely anything can be collected. At the petty 
sessions of Carrickfergus, on Thursday week, a consider- 
able number of persons, chiefly poor cottagers, were sum- 
moned for non-payment of the rate, in several cases 
amounting only to 5d. “These people,” the Northern 
Whig remarks, ‘‘are paupers, and fitter objects them- 
selves to be relieved from the poor-rate, than to relieve 
others.” The Assizes in the different circuits have com- 
menced this week, and it is said that petitions against the 
Poor-law will be brought forward at all the grand jnries.— 
The Repeal Association met, as usual, on Monday, when 
Mr. Ray read a letter from New York, inclosing 47, 168.5 
and another communication from Judge James, of Boston, 
containing a bill of exchange for 50/., being the subscrip- 
tions of ** The Boston Association of the Friends of Ire- 
land.’’ ‘The next document read was an address from the 
Repealers of Halifax, Nova Scotia, dated Feb. 3, accompa- 
nied by a remittance of 80/, Mr, O’Connell addressed this 
meeting at great length, and explained his reasons for abs 
i 
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