

July 20,] 



THE NEWSPAPER. 



P1844. 



Countess De Grey held a levee on Monday at the Castle. 

 The ceremony whs very numerously attended, the streets 

 being for some time almost impassable from the number 

 of equipages making their way as best they could through 

 the avenues leading to the Castle. About 1000 persons 

 are stated to have been present on this, the last public 

 opportunity of complimenting the noble Earl and his 

 Countess. Two addresses were presented to their 

 Excellencies, one of which emanated from a Protestant 

 meeting held on Friday last ; the second was that of the 

 nobility, gentry, &c. of Ireland, and bearing the signa- 

 tures of men of all parties. After the reception, addresses 

 were presented by deputations from the Royal Institute 

 of the Architects of Ireland, and from the Society of 

 Irish Artists. Lord and Lady De Grey took their 

 departure on Tuesday, under the usual salute from 

 the Military, &c. — The weekly meeting of the Re- 

 peal Association took place on Monday. Mr. James 

 Kelly, the newly-elected Roman Catholic and Repeal 

 member for Limerick, was called to the chair, and 

 addressed the meeting at some length. His speech con- 

 sisted of an enumeration of the advantages to be derived 

 from a Repeal of the Union, and an elaborate repudia- 

 tion, on behalf of Roman Catholics, of the desire for 

 ascendancy attributed to them by the opponents of the 

 measure. Mr. Roche, M.P., stated that he had been 

 requested to act for the day as the representative of Mr. 

 Smith O'Brien, who was absent on business of importance 

 in Limerick,, and handed in several sums of money for- 

 warded to that gentleman during the past week from 

 various parts of the country. Mr. D. O'Connell read a 

 letter from the Earl of Wicklow, in answer to the recent 

 resolutions of the Association respecting certain Bills 

 now befoie Parliament. Lord Wicklow asks, why, if 

 the Association consider the proceedings of the Imperial 

 Parliament worthy of their attention, they do not re- 

 quest those members of their own body, who are also 

 members of Parliament, to attend ; and why, on the 

 other hand, they call upon individual members to inter 

 fere, when, in the opinion of the Association, all inter- 

 ference would be useless? The secretary also read a 

 letter from the O'Conor Don, M.P., on the same sub- 

 ject, in which he stated that he should always consider 

 it his duty to attend to any suggestion he might have the 

 honour of receiving from the Repeal Association, and 

 promising his best attention to the recommendations of 

 the committee. Some small sums were announced as 

 having been received from America. After a speech 

 from Mr. W. J. O'Connell, who handed in 48/. from a 

 new ward of Repealers in London, Mr. D. O'Con- 

 nell, jun., announced that his father and the rest 

 of the prisoners were in the enjoyment of excellent 

 health. He had another piece of news for them. Earl 

 De Grey was to quit their shores, he hoped for ever, 

 to-morrow, carrying with him the contempt of the whole 

 Irish people. He regretted that the battle against 

 Repeal Bui tons, which had been commenced by the Lord 

 Lieutenant, had been carried into the national education 

 schools, from which every boy who persisted in wearing 

 a Repeal Button was excluded. He protested against 

 such pettifogging conduct, and denied that a Repeal 

 Button was a party badge, because Repealers were not a 

 party, but the whole Irish people. However, his father 

 did not wish that children should be deprived of the 

 benefit of education in consequence. At ihe same time 

 he admired their spirit in wearing it ; but was it not very 

 easy to put it into their pockets when going into the 

 school-room ? He concluded by stating that his father 

 had scarcely any hope that the Writ ot Error would be 

 decided in his favour, and he was glad it was so, because 

 it would show them the necessity of depending on them- 

 selves. Mr. H. Grattan, M.P., and Mr. Roche, M.P., 

 addressed the meeting at great length on a variety ot 

 topics. The rent for the week was 1688/. 14s. 3a. 



King's County — The Crown solicitor for the Home 

 Circuit has served notice that the persons in custody, 

 charged with the murder of Lord Norbury, will be 

 brought to trial at the present assizes for the King's 

 County. The Crown had declined proceeding with this 

 case at the last assizes, and the two individuals accused 

 were detained in custody. Respecting the nature of the 

 evidence for the prosecution some very curious state- 

 ments are afloat ; but under present circumstances the 

 papers do not further allude to the subject. 



visited. The Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway Com- 

 pany, as well as the Glasgow and Ayr Company, have 

 agreed to give every accommodation, and to afford a 

 passage to and fro on the day of the festival, for a sin- 

 gle fare. 



of felony, and on conviction shall be liable, at the discre- 

 tion of the Court, to be transported beyond the seas for 

 the term of the natural life of such offender, or for any 

 term not less than 15 years, or to be imprisoned for a term 

 not exceeding 3 years. Persons setting fire to any hay, 

 straw, wood, or any other vegetable produce, in any farm", 

 house or farm buildmg, or to any implement of husbandry 

 therein, with intent to injure or to defraud thereby, will 

 be deemed equally guilty of firing the said farmhouse or 

 farm building. This act is to be deemed a part of the 

 7th William IV. and 1st Victoria, cap. 89, the provisions 

 of which it merely proposes to extend. 



SCOTLAND. 



Edinburgh. — It was stated some time ago, that the 

 Political '• Martyr's " Monument was about to be com- 

 menced on a piece of ground granted by the Town Coun- 

 cil on the Caltou-hill, immediately to the east of Burns's 

 monument. It appears, however, that the teuars on the 

 Regent and Royal Terraces, having intimated their deter- 

 mination to insist upon their right of servitude against 

 buildings being erected along the south side of the Re- 

 gent-road, the Monument Committee have abandoned 

 their intention of placing it on ttie Cahon-hill. 



Glasgow.— The Duke of Sutherland has bought the 

 beautiful property of Glenarback, which lies upon the 

 north bank ot ihe Clyde, immediately opposite bis son- 

 in-law (Lord Blant>re'») splendid mansion, at the cost, 

 it is said, of 14.000/.-U is intended to have a grand 

 festival m honour of the poet Burns. It will be one ot 



nnusual brilliancy, and be patroni S ed by large numbers 

 of the Scottish nobility and gentry, who have already 

 signified their intention of being |ire8ellt . Lord E^lm- 

 ton will preside on the oc< .on. All the arrangements 

 Z been *«"»«. »nd the festival -ill take place in Ayr- 

 1 Hi!!. r bda 7' AugUSt l * Two d *>* afterwards, 



low Jn Tv aa , d A 6 r,cullural S^ty's Show at Glas- 

 gow will take place, so that both places will be easily 



jftusteliancous* 



Shoicers of Flies and Frogs — The Kelso Mail states 



that several persons at Berwick early astir on Tuesday 



morning, were witnesses to a very singular phenomenon. 



Between five and six o'clock, what appeared to be a thick 



mist or cloud, was seen to pass up Sandgate from the 



Shoregate, extending from the latter about half-way up the 



street and at the height of the eaves of the houses. It 



moved at a slow pace, and, when opposite the Salmon 



Inn, was so dense as to conceal the sign-board from those 



persons on the other side of the street. At this time a 



shower of rain fell, and the object gradually descendcl to 



the ground. The curious who passed over the street to 

 inquire into the cause of their wonderment, discovered it 



to have been a body of flies so numerous as actually to 



blacken the flags where they lay, and so small individually 

 as to admit of examination only by a microscope. — About 

 3 weeks since, during the heavy rain which fell imme- 

 diately after the drought, the Liverpool papers state that, 

 an immense quantity of pebbles descended upon the 



Exchange flags, and some eels in Castle-street. The 

 pebbles were all small in size, but of different colours 

 and shapes. The inspector on duty at the Ex- 

 change gathered a large number of the pebbles, and 

 deposited them in one of the neighbouring offices, where 

 they have since been very generally admired. The eels 

 were about two inches and a half in length. On the same 

 day, according to the Leeds Mercury, during the pre- 

 valence of the heavy rain, a shower ot frogs fell at aeiby. 

 Several of the frogs were caught in their descent by 

 holding out hats for that purpose. They were about the 

 size of a horse-bean, and remarkably lively after their 

 flight. The same phenomenon was observed in the im- 

 mediate neighbourhood, and in several parts of Lan- 

 cashire and Cheshire. On Monday fortnight, during the 

 thunderstorm in London and its vicinity, an immense 

 quantity of yellow sand and small white pebbles fell in 

 different parts of the metropolis. 



Paper from a New Material. — Almost every suc- 

 ceeding day adds to tne resources of practical science, 

 and multiplies the developments of human skill. Paper 

 is now, it seems, to be made from Wheal straw ; and it 

 is affirmed that both the finest aud coarsest qualities can 

 be produced by the new method. The experiment, we 

 hear, is about to be tried on a large scale, mills having 

 been lately taken at Chalford, near Stroud, for that pur- 

 pose. — Cheltenham Chronicle. 



The New Comet. — The following letter has been ad- 

 dressed to the Times by Mr. Main, first assistant at the 

 Royal Observatory, Greenwich : — '* In the absence of 

 the Astronomer Royal, I beg to inform you that the 

 comet recently discovered by M. Mauvais was observed 

 here yesterday evening, July 15. At lOh. 17m. mean 

 solar time its right ascension was 15h. 43m. 5s., and its 

 declination north, 42h. 4m. 14s. It is very neatly cir- 

 cular, having an -ll-defined planetary nucleus surrounded 

 by a coma. Its brightness is considerable, and it may 

 be easily found with a small t.lescupe. 



The Rev. Dr. Wolff — Intelligence has arrived by 

 the way of Trebizond, (from whence the dates are to the 



24th of June,) announcing the safe arrival at Bokhara of 

 Dr. Wolff, and that he had been kindly received by the 



Bokharees. No mention, however, is made as to whe- 

 ther he had found the objects of his journey, and therefore 



the next accounts are looked forward to with anxiety. 

 Peerage Statistics. — Since the accession of Sir R. 



Peel's Ministry a considerable decrease has occurred 



among the hereditary honours of the country. The 



Dukedoms of Sussex and Dorset; the Irish Marquessate 



of Wellesley ; the Earldoms of Plymouth, Ludlow, and 



O'Neill; the English Baronies of Rolle, Wellesley, 



Lynedoch, Wallace, Ludlow, Fitzgerald, and Sydenham ; 



the Baronetcies of Bruce, Cowan, Croniie, Hannay, 



Johnstone, Mackenzie, Macnnghten, Rae, and Rowley, 



have become extinct. The Earldom of Mansfield ot 



1793 has merged into that of 1776. The Viscounty of 



Ferrand has uuited with that of Massarene; the English 



Barony of Arden with Lovell and Holland ; the Irish 



Barony of Arden with the Earldom of Etjmont; the 



Barony of Duncannon with the Earldom of Besborough. 



During the same period, the Earldom of Abergavenny, 



the Viscounty of Hereford, the Baronies of Rodney, 



Berwick, Fitzgerald, and Congleton, have descended to 



clerical possessors. The Viscounty of Hill is the only 



elevation ; the Barony of Lowther, now merged in the 



Earldom of Lonsdale, the only addition to the Ministerial 



party in the Upper House; whilst Sir John Pirie is the 



only Baronet created since September, 1841. By the de- 

 mise of the last Earl of Plymouth, the Barony of Windsor 



has fallen into abeyance between the sisters of the sixth 



Earl, the Marchioness of Downsi.ire and Lady Harriet 



Clive, wife of the Hon. R. H. Clive, M.P. for South 



Salo:.— Standard. 



Farm Buildings Bill.— The Government have just in- 

 troduced a short Bill, to amend the law as to burning 

 farm buildups. It is prepared and brought in by Sir J. 

 Graham and the Solicitor-General, and contains four 

 clauses only. They enact that whoever shall unlawfully 

 and maliciously set fire to any hovel, shed, or fold, or to 

 any farm building, or any building or erection used in 

 farming land (whether the same shall theu be in the po s - 



session of the offender, or in that of any other peison), reComme wi v ^ iijwj ^ 



| with intent thereby to defraud any person, shall be guilty mustproaouuc^he'sejatea^^^'la^. wtiicb is, that you 



I Hafa. 



Summer Assizes. — Norfolk Circuit, Buckingham. — 

 Uthwutt v. Eikins and four others. — This action was brought tr> 

 recover the sum of 207. for the use and occupation of certain land 

 situate in Great Linford, in this county. The defendants pleaded 

 that they never were indebted to the plaintiff. The plaintiff is a 

 gentleman of fortune, living at Great Linford, and it appeared that 

 in the year 1833 he and the parish officers were desirous, if pos- 

 sible, to better the condition of their poorer neighbours, by letting 

 small portions of garden ground to such of them as were willing 

 to hire it. For this purpose it was resolved that the plaintiff 

 should lease a plot of ground to the parish officers, and that they 

 should fence it off, and let it in lots to the poor. Two of the de- 

 fendants were at that time overseers of the parish, other two were 

 churchwardens, and the fifth was surveyor of the highways. In 

 the month of February. 1833. the defendants, in pursuance of the 

 above resolution, executed an agreement, in which they described 

 themselves as churchwardens, &c, and by which they hired the 

 land of the plaintifT for 21 years, and agreed "for themselves, their 

 executors, administrators, and assigns, and their successors," to 

 pay the sum of 20/. to the plaintiff during that period. The de- 

 fendants then divided the land into numerous gardens, which they 

 let to the poor inhabitants of Linford, who entered upon the cul- 

 tivation of them. The defendants went out of their several paro- 

 chial offices at the end of the year, and were succeeded by others ; 

 and, in like manner, year by year, fresh persons were elected into 

 the several offices. It appeared that the defendants themselves 

 paid to the plaintiff the first year's rent for the land, and year by 

 year the plaintiff received the rent reserved in the lease, and gave 

 receipts to " the churchwardens, overseers, and surveyors," of the 

 parish : those offices, as already observed, being either altogether 

 or partially fil'ed by different persons in each year. This state of 

 tilings continued until Michaelmas, 1842, down to which period all 

 the rent was duly paid. The year's rent due at Michaelmas 

 in that year being unpaid, the plaintiff applied to the de» 

 fendants for it, but they denied their liability, and insisted 

 that the parish officers for the time being, who, by means of 

 the poor of the parish, occupied the land, ought to pay the 

 rent; and whether, under these circumstances, the defend- 

 ants were personally liable, or whether they had executed 

 the lease solely in their character of parish officers, binding only 

 their successors in office, was the question of law involved in the 

 cause. It appeared that two of the defendants had long since 

 left the parish, and were residing at a distance wholly unconnected 

 with it. For the plaintiff it was contended that upon the true 

 construction of the terms of the lease by which the defendants 

 bound themselves and their executors, &c., to pay the rent, they 

 were liable in their individual characters, and not merely during 

 the time of their continuance in office. On the other hand it was 

 argued that, even supposing the surveyor of the highways might 

 be individually liable, still that the churchwardens and overseers 

 (who were enabled by a statute of the 5gth of George III. to hire 

 lands for the use of the parish) must be considered to have con* 

 traded in their corporate character only, and not as individuals, 

 and that, not being in office during the period in respect of which 

 the action was brought, the plaintifi" had sued the wrong persons. 

 It was further contended that the term which the defendants took 

 under the lease (which was not under seal) was surrendered and 

 gone by the plaintiff's having from the year 1834 received his rent 

 from the persons filling the offices of churchwardens, overseers, 

 and surveyors, and not from the defendants. Mr. Justice Wil- 

 liams was of opinion that the plaintiffs construction of the lease 

 was the correct one, and also, that the fact of receiving the rent 

 and giving the receipts as already mentioned, did not put an end 

 to the lease by the substitution of a new contract; but his lordship 

 r -served both points. The plaintiff, therefore, had a verdict, 

 with liberty to the defendants to move the Court in which the 

 action was brought to set aside that verdict and enter a nonsuit 

 in its stead. —Aylesbury. — Richard Chandler was indicted for 

 ki ling and slaying John Leech, gamekeeper to a gentleman named 

 Curtis, by striking him over the head with a stake, on Monday, 

 the 2d July, in the parish of Bow Brickhill, near Newport Pagnell. 

 John Keen was also indicted for aiding and assisting. The trial 

 lasted a considerable time ; but the following are the whole facts 

 of the case :— On the day named the two prisoners were detected 

 by deceased beating for game. The latter interfered, and attempted 

 to take them into custody. Chandler declared that he would not 

 he taken alive, and a severe struggle took place between them and 

 deceased. The latter was getting the better of them, when 

 Chandler seized a stake from the hedge, and, striking the deceased 

 several blows with it over the head, felled him to the earth, and 

 caused his death subsequently. The jury, after being absent some 

 time, returned a verdict, finding Chandler guilty of manslaughter, 

 and acquitting Keen. The judge sentenced Chandler to be trans- 

 ported for fifteen years. — H untingdo.v. — Arson.— Samuel Baxter, 

 a respectabie little boy, aged 10 years, and not unlike the cele- 

 brated General Tom Thumb, having pleaded guilty to a charge 

 of firing four straw stacks, the property of Robert Daiotree, of 

 Hemingford Abbots* on the 1 fth May. — Mr. Wells, on the part 

 of the prosecutor, begged to recommend the youthful incendiary 

 to mercy. His father was his farming bailiff, and had filled that 

 position' for eight years with the greatest credit. The prisoner 

 himself was always considered a very deserving boy, and every 

 one was surprised at his having confessed to the perpetration 

 oi this crime. His Lordship then called before him the prose- 

 cutor aud the fattier of the prisoner, neither of whom could in 

 any way account for the transaction. The boy himself, when 

 asked to assign any reason for his conduct, professed his in- 

 ability t.) do so, denying that he had ever been incited to the 

 deed by any one, or that he had any motive. The prosecutor, 

 i w ever, said th«t he had told him that his reason for doing- so 

 was a wish to live in the village, and that he thought the house 

 would be burned as well as the stacks, in which case he and 

 his family mu t all nave gone into the vi.lage. To accomplish 

 this wish it would appear that he had thrust a lighted stick into 

 one of the stack*. Mr. Daintree earnestly begged for mercy ou 

 the boy, whom he said he had known from his extreme youth, 

 as well as Ins father. Mr. Baron Alderson— Well, 1 do not know 

 whai to no witn him, but I shall not pass sentence on him just 

 now. Tne boy was Men removed, crying bitterly, as well as- 

 ms father, but having been shortly replaced on a chair in the 

 dock, his Lordship thus addressed him :— Samuel Baxter, your 

 case has given me great pain and difficulty indeed, but I can- 

 not exercise any discretion as a judge. It is for th rown to 

 do that. We must make the same example for boys as we 

 would for men who commit such an offence a* that to which 

 you have pleaded guilty. What circumstances there may be 

 in y«>ur favour which her Majesty the Queen may see, I know 

 not, but her advisers may see some such winch may induce 

 them to recommend the display of mercy towards you. I can 

 only sav thar you shall have the benefit of vaj most favouraoie 



ndation to mercy. At present I can exerci.e none, bat 



