Fkb. 24,] 



THE NEWSPAPER. 



[1844. 



Jew, hid told them that he was in the kitchen of the 

 vie ir's house when the coffin was opened, and that he saw 

 inside the lid a paper on which the words " Behold thy 

 likeness M were written. This however he now denied 

 upon onth ; and a servant to the Rev. Mr. Close proved 

 that there was no paper of any kind within the coffin, and 

 that Saeh had not been at her master's house on the day 

 on which the hamper arrived there. The jury after along 

 consultation returned a verdict — •* That there was no 

 evidence as to the identity of the deceased, nor as to the 

 cause of death, nor by whom the body was forwarded to 



Cheltenham." * 



Folkestone. — k subscription has been commenced in 

 this town for a monument to the memory of the cele- 

 brated Dr. Harvey, the discoverer of the circulation of 

 the blood, and several inhabitants have undertaken to 

 collect funds in order to raise this memorial to their illus- 

 trious townsman. Dr. Harvey was born in this town, and 

 it is intended to erect the monument on the site of his 



birthplace. 



Gloucester.— The Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol, 



who has been a large contributor to the establishment of 

 Bishops' College, Bristol, and to numerous churches in 

 the two cotttitier, has addressed a letter to the Secretary 

 of the Eccle>i istical Commissioners, placing in the hands 

 of the Commissioners 2000/. towards erecting churches 

 of dimensions proportioned to the population, in poor 

 neighbourhoods of the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol, 

 to which the commissioners shall assign ecclesiastical 

 districts in the course of the present year, the sum to be 

 divided in equal shares amonsj such as they shall judge to 

 require extraordinary aid. In regard to the power of 

 nominating the ministers of the districts, the Bishop 

 leaves the decision to the commissioners; stipulating 

 only that they shall not be placed in private patronage. 



(irea* I/ford. — Our readers are aware that for some 

 nonthi past the parish of Great llford,in Essex, has been 

 the scene of considerable excitement, resulting from a 

 controversy which has been going on between the clergy 

 and the parishioners relative to the mode of performing 

 divine service. It appears that the parishioners were 

 successful in obtaining from the clergy a concession to 

 the extent of the abolition of the weekly offertory ; but 

 they also demanded that a credence-table, which was 

 erected at the altiir, should be removed, and that altera- 

 tions in the position of the reading-desks should be made, 

 so as to prevent the clergymen, during certain parts of 

 the service, from turning their backs upon the congrega- 

 tion. Resolutions in support of this demand were pre- 

 pared by the vestry, and forwarded to the Bishop of 

 London, who, after a long correspondence with the 

 churchwardens, declined to authorise the removal of the 

 credence-table, on the ground that it was put up twelve 

 months ogo, with the knowledge of the churchwarden, 

 though not with his express permission, and that no ob- 

 jection was made at the time to its introduction. In 

 consequence of this decision a meeting of the vestry took 

 place a few days since, when resolutions were unani- 

 mously adopted, requesting and authorising the chufch- 

 wardens to take every legal step in their power for the 

 removal of the credence-table and for the restoration of the 

 reading- desks to their Conner position. 



Haverfordwest. — On Wednesday week one of the most 

 destructive events ever known in Pembrokeshire took 

 place at Landshipping Colliery, the property of Cobnel 

 Owen. While the men and boys, amounting in number 

 to 58, were at work in one of the pits which extends under 

 the river, the water broke in at about half-tide, and so 

 sudden waa the rush that 18 only of the number were 

 enabled to make their escape. The remainder were either 

 instantly drowned or crushed beneath the slip. The work 

 of this pit is completely destroyed. No blame appears to 

 be laid to any party, as the persons whose duty it was to 

 survey the work had considered it safe. It had never 

 before been worked at high water, when the pressure must 

 have been much greater than when the above accident 

 took place. Among the numbers who have perished there 

 are several who were fathers with large families dependent 

 on them for support. 



II udders fie Id. — Mr. Richard Oastler, whose release 

 from the Queen's Prison we recorded last week, made his 

 public entry into the manufacturing districts on Tuesday. 

 Brighouse was the place which had been appointed for 

 the reception ot Mr. Oastler by the central committee 

 under whose auspices the fund for his liberation has been 

 raised. An address was there presented to him, in 

 which the committee complimented him on his liberation 

 from prison, and expressed their joy at his re-appearance 

 in the field of his former labouis, hoping that he was 

 ready once more to engage in the struggle for the protec- 

 tion of helpless infantile industry. Mr. Oastler had ap- 

 pointed to leave Brighouse for Huddersfield at one 

 o'clock, hut long before that hour large masses of the in- 

 habitants of the surrounding country had assembled in 

 front of the Railway Hotel to catch a glimpse of him and 

 escort him on his way ; and by the time the procession 

 arrived at Huddersfield the escort amounted to upwards 

 of 10,000 persons. Hustings had been erected in front 

 of the hotel at which the carriage drew up, and he was 

 greeted with renewed bursts of cheering, and another 

 complimentary address w«s read to him from the Rev. 

 Mr. Howarth, to which Mr. Oastler replied at consider- 

 able length. Thanks were then voted to Lord Fever- 

 sham, Mr. Fielden, M.P., and Mr. Ferrand, for their ex- 

 ertions in effecting his liberation. 



Norwich.— The committee appointed to consider the 

 best means of erecting a memorial to the late Earl of 

 Leicester, have selected the design of Mr. Donthorn, of 

 Hanover-street, Hanover-square. There were 76 com- 

 petitors. The monument chosen is in the form of a fluted 



i 





column, and as it will be placed at Holkham-hall, on the 

 coast of Norfolk, will serve as a landmark to mariners in 

 all directions. It will be at least 80 feet higher than any 

 surrounding object. On the summit is represented a 

 wheatsheaf, and a novel capital, formed of the heads and 

 fore parts of that peculiar breed of oxen which the earl 

 was known to have much improved, is an open circular 

 work, piercing the masonry from the four sides, probably 

 with a view to place a light iu at night. The base is very 

 simple, and rises at once in a perpendicular direction to 

 the height of 4} 2 feet ; thus preventing the necessity of a 

 railing to keep off the deer and oxen, and so that the 

 most wanton person would be unable to injure the sculp- 

 ture, which consists of three bas reliefs upon tablets 16 

 feet long and 6£ high (the figures the size of life), and 

 representing sheep-shearing, irrigation, a landlord pre- 

 senting a lease to his tenants, and the fourth side left open 

 for the inscription. Four massive pedestals abut at right 

 angles, upon which are placed, of the size of Nature, 

 oxen, sheep, a drill, and a plough. The stone has 

 been presentod by the Marquess of Hastings from his 

 quarries in Northumberland. 



Oxford. — It is stated by the Oxford Chronicle that a 

 subscription has been commenced in the University to 

 defray the expenses incurred by the Rev. Mr. Macmullen, 

 in the attempt lately terminated to force Tractarian theses 

 on the Regius Professor of Divinity, and that the Rev. 

 Vaughan Thomas, chairman of the committee which con- 

 ducted the affair with Dr. Hampden in 1836, has headed 

 the subscription with a contribution of 50/. 



Plumstcad. — It is stated by the daily papers that a man 

 called John Bodle, who was found guilty last week, and 

 sentenced to twenty years' transportation, for extorting 

 money from Lord Abingdon's butler, and who about ten 

 years ago was tried at Maidstone for the murder of his 

 grandfather by poison, and acquitted, has confessed since 

 his confinement in Newgate, that he did commit that 

 murder, and that no one but himself was concerned in it. 



Portsmouth It is announced in naval circles, that 



Government are resolved to adopt the most active mea- 

 sures to put an end to the traffic in slaves on the African 

 coast, and that the French Government has also deter- 

 mined on the same course. The Penelope, 22, steam- 

 frigate, Captain Jones, and the Prometheus, Lieutenant 

 Pasco, and two or three other steamers are about to be 

 dispatched to the coast of Africa, which they will scour in 

 those latitudes where this traffic is carried on. The 

 smaller steamers will go up the rivers and examine every 

 inlet and creek where it is possible for any slaver to be 

 concealed, and the search along the coast will be so minute 

 that it will be impossible for any vessel to escape the vigi- 

 lance of the squadron. Three French steamers are being 

 equipped for similar service on the African coast, and there 

 will be a cordial co-operation between the French and 

 English cruisers in every plan resorted to for the effectual 

 .suppression of the slave-trade. 



Windsor — A new arrangement, at the suggestion of 

 her Majesty, which will be the means of materially bene- 

 fiting a great number of the poor of Windsor, has just 

 been carried into effect at the Castle. The whole of the 

 unused cut pieces of bread, collected throughout the various 

 departments of the Castle, daily amounting to a very large 

 quantity, are in future (instead of being wasted by being 

 consigned to the washtub to feed the pigs of those 

 domestics who had the privilege of participating in per- 

 quisites of this nature), to be given to the inmates of the 

 several almshouses within the borough, amounting to 

 nearly 30. The distribution, which commenced on Thurs- 

 day lasr, will take place on three days in each week, and 

 will considerably add to the comforts of the poor recipients 

 of her Majesty's kindness. — An outrage was committed 

 last week at Datchet, within sight of her Majesty's apart- 

 ments, on a man named Garnham and two companions, by a 

 mob of between 200 and 300 persons belonging to Windsor 

 and Eton. The complainants were most severely assaulted 

 hy the mob, who stripped them of their clothes, and 

 attempted to duck them in the Thames. The outrage and 

 assault originated in the circumstance of Garnham having 

 appeared as a witness against certain beer-shop keepers in 

 the parish of Horton, who were fined in heavy penalties 

 for suffering gambling in their respective houses. On 

 Tuesday last the ringleaders appeared before the Windsor 

 magistrates, and were remanded for three days, to give 

 time for the apprehension of several other rioters. 



Railways. — The following are the returns for the past 

 week : — Birmingham and Derby, 1193/.; Birmingham 

 and Gloucester, 1806/. ; Eastern Counties, 3124/. ; Edin- 

 burgh and Glasgow, 1748/.; Great Western, 11,324/.; 

 Grand Junction, 6577/. ; Glasgow, Paisley, and Ayr, 

 1151/.; Great North of England, 1370/-; London and 

 Birmingham, 14,221/.; South Western, 4290/. ; Black- 

 wall, 582/.; Greenwich, 661/.; Brighton, 2425/.; Croy- 

 don, 184/.; Liverpool and Manchester, 386f>/. ; Man- 

 chester, Leeds, and Hull, associated, 5357/. J Mid- 

 land Counties, 2317/.; Manchester and Birmingham, 

 2585/. ; North Midland, 3928/.; Newcastle and Car- 

 lisle, 1350/.; South-Eastern and Dover, 2252/.; Shef- 

 field and Manchester, 477/. ; York and North Midland, 

 1490/.— The meeting of the Great Western Company took 

 place last week, Mr. C. Russell, M.P., in the chair. The 

 receipts for the last six months of 1843 exceeded those of 

 1842 by 18,420/. The total amount was 337,797/. 10s. 8rf., 

 of which sum 309,445/. had been separately earned on the 

 Great Western. The receipts in respect of the Bristol and 

 Exeter as far as Beam-bridge, amounted to 56,543/. and 

 on the line between Swindon and Cirencester, to 11 808/. 

 More than the promised reduction had taken effect in the 

 general expenditure, which amounted in 1842 to 

 110,194/., while in 1813, with a prolongation of nearly 

 nine miles of railway, and an increased trade it was 





only 103,187/., being a difference of more than 

 7000/. for the half-year. Duty and parochial rates had 

 increased as was predicted under the state of the law. so 

 that more than the saving made by retrenchments had 

 been absorbed. The balance after discharging all interest 

 was 116,820/., from which a dividend of 3 per cent, for 

 the half year, amounting to 102,678/., would be declared 

 leaving for ]the present, always the least productive half 

 year, a balance of 14,422/. The Oxford Railway will pro- 

 bably be opened early in June, the whole line to Glou- 

 cester about the same time, and the Bristol and Exeter 

 line in May. The report having been confirmed, the 

 meeting was made special to authorise the directors to 

 apply to Parliament for powers to authorise the directors 

 to construct a railway from Pangbourne to Newbury, and 

 from Basingstoke to Twyford. A long discussion took 

 place on the advisability of altering the third class car- 

 riages, but nothing definitive was settled. In the course 

 of the chairman's address he stated that the subscription 

 towards the erection of a church at Swindon already 

 amounted to 4600/. without any assistance from the 

 Church Building Society, and 1380/. had been collected 

 towards the school fund. A library for the workmen had 

 been established, and it was in contemplation to inclose 

 a plot of ground in order to afford them the means of 

 amusement by cricket and other manly sports.— The 

 Great North of England Company held their meeting last 

 week and announced a dividend of 1/. 125. Qd., the re- 

 ceipts of the half year having increased to 38,272/. The 

 improvement of trade appears to have benefited this 

 railway. The balance of profit after allowing for working 

 expenses was 17,365/., which would pay the dividend and 

 leave a surplus of 6494/. — The South Western Company 

 held their meeting last week. The report announced thnt 

 the receipts for the half year had amounted to 179,488/., 

 a sum greater than had been realised during any preced- 

 ing half year. The surplus of 7230/. over the corres- 

 ponding six months of 1842, and the continuance of a 

 progressive improvement in the traffic since the com- 

 mencement of the current half year as compared with 

 1843. were considered by the directors to afford evi- 

 dence of the stable prospects of the undertaking. 

 The directors expected that the position of South- 

 ampton, Gosport, and Portsmouth as passenger and 

 commercial ports must eventually become, in connec- 

 tion with the railway, the great marts of commerce on 

 the southern coast. The total expenditure during the 

 half-year now ended was 76,595/. The available balance 

 was 88,562/., out of which the directors recommended a 

 dividend of 355. per share, leaving a balance of 8216/. to 

 be carried to the next account. The directors were pro- 

 ceeding with all possible dispatch in procuring power to 

 construct the branch lines to Salisbury and Epsom, the 

 capital for which had been subscribed and the petitions 

 presented to Parliament. The capital for the proposed 

 Newbury line to Basingstoke had been subscribed, and 

 the almost unanimous consent of the landowners secured. 

 The report having been adopted, a lengthy discussion 

 arose with reference to the establishment of steam-boats 

 in connexion with the railway, Mr. Lefevre on behalf of 

 some of the inhabitants of Southampton and Captain 

 Ward, R.N., contending that the company had no right 

 to intermeddle with steam-boat speculations. The chair- 

 man and Mr. Locke on the other hand affirming that it 

 was only by such a system of communication with South- 

 ampton, the West of England, Havre, and the continent, 

 that the railway interest could be properly maintained. 

 Ultimately it was resolved that the directors be empow- 

 ered to apply to Parliament for this purpose. — The meet- 

 ing of the Blackwall Company held last week was one of 

 the most harmonious meetings that has taken place for 

 years in the company. A dividend or" 2s. 6d. per share 

 was dechred, and it appears that the introduction of low 

 fares has in a great degree benefited the revenue of the 

 passenger traffic. The extension of the steam-boat con- 

 nexion with the railway seems still to be regarded by the 

 directors as the source whence improvement may be ex- 

 pected, and hence they persevere iG urging upon the 

 shareholders the propriety of raising the guarantee fund to 

 support this branch of their receipts. To carry this mo- 

 tion more generally into effect, a resolution was passed 

 calling upon the shareholders to subscribe, and the feeling 

 of the meeting was in favour of trying the experiment. 

 Favourable mention was made of the application of the 

 atmospheric principle to the working of the trains, and at 

 no distant period it will probably be in use. Should the 

 plan be brought into operation and found to answer the 

 expectations raised, there is every prospect of a material 

 reduction in the present expenditure of the company, 

 which of course must be in favour of increased dividends. 

 — At the Midland Counties meeting, which was held last 

 week, the dividend declared was 21. 45. per share, and the 

 report stated that this line also shows an increase of traffic. 



IRELAND. 

 Dublin. — A rumour has been current in Dublin for 

 some days, that Lord de Grey, who has been lately suffer- 

 ing from an attack of rheumatic gout, intends to resign 

 the Lord Lieutenancy, and visit the Continent for the 

 benefit of his health. The name of his successor has not 

 yet transpired, but Lord Westmoreland is confidently 

 spoken of at Dublin Castle. There have also been rumours 

 that the expediency of abolishing the office of Viceroy has 

 been under the consideration of the Cabimt. Lord Eliot, 

 it is said, is to remain as Chief Secretary, but Mr. Lucas, 

 the Under Secretary, is expected to go out with Lord de 

 Grey, and will, it is said, be succeeded bv Mr. Pennefather, 

 the chief clerk in the Secretary's office.— The weekly 

 meeting of the Repeal Association was held on Monday, 

 Mr. Steele in the chair. The resignations of the P r0 P r . ie " 

 tors of the Nation, Register, Pilot,, and Freeman, which 



