March 4.J 
THE FIELD. 
209 
— interest. The search for precious metals hud 
iCto leen u„,ucccssful, though in Port Maitland some 
i ,i.ia discoveries had been made. 
Va HOBBlCANB IN TUB M EDITERRAN EA N — A dreadful 
N E hurricane blew at Gibraltar on the loth nit , causing 
great damage both to the town and to the shipping in he 
g ,1 - Part of the roof of the Commissary General * quin - 
f° 8 was blown in. The Presbyterian church and a great 
number of houses were materially injured. A keeper and 
L 0 convicts were washed from the breakwater, and other 
ives were lost. Several vessels and small craft drifted 
inshore in Gibraltar Bay and Algeciras Roads. The btuts- 
raad Vogt (Norwegian brig) got on shore on the rocks in 
tl.o Camber, lias damaged her bottom, -lost lalse keel, See., 
and makes water. A boat belonging to the Samuraug 
guard ship capsised in 
was dated Feb. 2(5. A third document was next read, being 
a communication from the Home-office, and was follows : 
‘Whitehall, Feb. IS. 1854. 
“Gentlemen, — I am directed by Viscount Palmerston to 
transmit to you the enclosed copy of a letter from Mr. F. 0. 
Ward, relativo to the comparative advantage of the systems ot 
i drainage advocated by the Commissioners of Sewers ami the 
Board of Health respectively ; and I am to state that, in his 
lordship’s opinion, the system of drainage recommended by the 
Board of Health is that which ought to ho adopted, ns combining 
the greatest degree of efficiency with the grentest degree of 
| economy. I am. Gentlemen, your obedient servant, 
(Signed) “Henry Fitzroy.” 
After the reading of this lottor, 
Colonel Dawson said — After this expression of deliberate 
I judgment by the Secretary of State fur the Il -mo Depart- 
undor the superintendence of Mr. Brindley Richards, after 
which the children were marched round tho room in proce»» 
'ion, and the company srparalcd. 
PROVINCIAL. 
CROW OFFICE, F KB. 25. 
MEMBER llETCRNim TO SF.Itvfi IX THE PRESENT PARLIAMENT. 
County ot Cardigan. 
Tho Right Hon. Ernest Augustus Earl Lisbume, of Croswood Park, 
in the county of Cardigan, In the room of William Edward Powell, 
Esq., who has accepted tho otltce of Steward of ller Majesty's Manor 
of Northstead.— Tuesday's UattUe. 
squall — one officer and two , ne „t } j n opposition to the principles und practice of this 
men lost. . commission, sanctioned by the highest engineering aulhori- 
Downing-street, Tuesday. — Despatches were received ties of the day, it is not consistent with our reputation, or 
at the Colonial-office yesterday from tho Governors of the wit j, t j, e i, e * t interests of the public, thut we should continue 
North American Colonies, the Mauritius, Gibraltar, aud the longer in office than until this board can be reconstructed, 
Cape of Good Hope. . and our successors aro appointed. (Hear.) 1 move, 
The Canadas. — No portion of this country is making therefore, that this court be adjourned sine din. Mr. Hawk- 
more marked aud rapid progress at tho present time than 8 i luw seconded the proposition. A pause of about half a 
the westeru section of Canada. Wo are surprised at the minute took place, but no one else spoke. The Chairman 
rapid growth of the western states and cities of the American p U t the question, which passed unanimously, tho City 
Union. And yet since tho year 1801) the growth of Canuda representatives not voting. The commissioners then instantly 
West has been nearly twice that of tho United States. In retired. 
tho last fifty years the increase of tho States, according to t he City Monument to Wellington. — The com- 
the best authorities, has been about 400 per cent. But m jttee appointed to carry out the design for n monument to 
during forty years, between 1811 and 1851, the increase of ^ erec t e «t to the memory of the late Duke of Wellington in 
Upper Canada was upwards of 1,100 per cent. Take even t j, e Qj t y Guildhall have appointed to receive the models of 
tho three great states of tho west — Ohio, Michigan, and tlie competing urtists in March, thoso seut in last year 
Illinois, and compare them with Canada West for the past having been all rejected. 
twenty years, and, great as has been their growth, our Banquet. — Admiral Sir Charles Napier is to be enter- 
C.madian neighbours exceed their increase during the same tainerl before his departure by the members of the Reform 
period by the largo ratio of fifty -five per cent. This im- Club, 
inenso increase in Western Canada is not confined either 
to the cities or the rural districts. It is a general move- ^ AJJ1IW1 . - 
ment, and there are potent causes in operation which d - circumstances attending a si 
will accelerate the growth of the next decade The J The hlIsines8 nu .st have been i 
increase of the city of Toronto, when compared Liter pressing and important, wind 
cities in the States, is found to exceed that of Boston, iNew I 
York, St. Louis, aud Cincinnati. — Boston ( United States) 
Transcript. 
India and China. — The commercial advices from India 
by the overland mail are rather unfavourable, tho markets 
for cotton goods being very heavy, although metals wero 
firmly maintained. At Canton there appears to have been 
no alteration since the pieeeding accounts. The Singapore 
letters arc to the 19th of January, at which date the import 
markets were inactive. From Labuan the accounts mention 
that u body of Chinese Coolies had been imported to work 
the coal mines, which were in course of steady development. 
The Cape Elections. — In the election of the Council 
for the Cape of Good Hope, eight of the fifteen members 
were being chosen for the western districts when the last 
advices left, and seven for the eastern. A voter might give 
all his votes to ono candidate if he chose. The result seemed 
likely to be a representation of ono or two minorities ; in 
ono place 500 voters gave 4,000 votes to a resident candidate. 
The papers say, — “A man’s opponents pronounce him 
‘ popular, safe, in no need of further care;’ his supporters 
declare him ‘ unpopular, with a majority, against him,’ and 
urge for plumpers.” 
on tho occasion of his appointment to the chief com- 
mand of the Baltic fleet. 
Cabinet Council on Sunday. — One of the first extra- 
state of war has taken 
indeed urgent, and the 
hicli could have induced 
tho Earl of Aberdeen to summon a Cabinet Council last 
Sunday. The Ministers mot on the Sabbath by appointment 
at the Earl of Clarendon’s, aud remained in deliberation for 
some hours. 
Destructive Fire. -On Tuesday morning a fire broke 
out in the premise s of Hibhard’s dining-rooms and coffee- 
shop, 158, Fleet-street. The fire was discovered by a police- 
man on the beat, by whom an alarm was raised aud the 
engines sent for ; but on tho arrival of the London Brigado 
and West of England engines, it was found that there 
was a great difficulty in obtaining a supply of water. After 
some delay the water was procured in abundance, but 
before the firo could be extinguished the premises were nearly 
gutted. 
Riot and Murdeb by a Band of Spanish Sailors at 
Bristol, Feb. 26. — A shocking tragedy was perpetrated iu 
this city ut a late hour last night by a gang of Spanish seamen, 
forming purt of the crew of u Spauish vessel calle.d the Rosario, 
which arrived iu tills port, u few days ugo, from lluvuna. 
Four or five English seamen were wounded in tho affray — ■ 
one, if not two, of them fatally. Tho particulars of tho 
horrible occurrence wero these : — Tho greater portion of the 
injured men belonged to a Scotch vessel, which is also lying 
at the quuy, call* d the Highlander. On Friday evening, us 
one of the crow of lire last-named ship was proceeding along 
the Broad-quay, he saw one of the Spanish sailors quarrelling 
with, and, us lie considered, ill-using a female. lie remon- 
strated with the foreigner, and interfered to protect the girl. 
The Spaniard seemed enraged at his interference, and a 
sc utile would at that time have, in all probability, taken place 
had it not beou that the police interfered, and separated the 
parties, sending them off in different directions. At a lutor 
hour of tho same night, some of the crow of the Highlander 
were walking in Queen- square, when they wore assailed by some 
of the Spanish crew. As the Spaniards were armed with long 
knive9, the Britishers deemed it prudent to get away, and they 
luckily escuped without injury, beyond a slight cut whioh ono 
of them received on his shoulder. La«t night eight or nine of 
the Spanish suilois, each having ono of the murderous knives 
commonly carried by them, entered a downstairs room of 
the Hole-hi-the-Wall Tavern, Princes-stieet, whero they 
called for some beer. As they were sitting thero some of 
the Highlander’s crew entered the passage, and, seeing the 
foreigners in the room, one of them suid, “ These are the 
thut stubbed ns last night.” The landlord of the 
AUSTRALIANA. 
The Golden Age. — Tho American steamer, Golden 
Age, arrived in Table Bay, January 6th, making the 
quickest passage from Liverpool to the Cupe on record, 
accomplishing the distance in less than thirty-one days, 
including four days’ detention at St. Vincent. Sho sailed 
again for Australia on the 17th. 
Military.— A draft, of tho 40th Regiment, consisting 
of Lieutenant Richards, Ensign Mo Her, and 110 men, em- 
barked on Wednesday week in tho Bussorah Merchant, at 
Queenstown, for conveyance to New South Wales, to join the 
service companies. The head-quarters of the regiment is 
stationed at Melbourne. 
Emigrant Shirs. — Her Majesty’s emigration com- 
missioners have taken up the ships Plantagenet und Maria 
Hay for the purpose of conveying emigrants to New South 
Wales. 
Gold for the Continent. — The demand for gold for 
remittance to the Continent was very active on Monday, and 
absorbed all the available, supplies brought in by the 
steamer, Cleopatra. The quantity of gold on hoard this 
vessel on freight, it appears, is less than stated in some 
quarters, being only 20,938 ounces, worth about 83,700/., 
of which 5,302 ounces aro for the Union Bank of Australia, 
5,786 for the South Australian Banking Company, and 
5,800 for tho Bank of Australasia. 
THE METROPOLIS. 
BREAK-UP OF T1IE METROPOLITAN COMMISSION OF 
SEWERS. 
The Great Drainage Scheme. — On Monday, the 
Metropolitan Commissioners of Sewers met at the Chief 
Office, Greek-street, Soho. The court was specially called 
for the purpose of receiving and determining upon the report 
of Messrs. Bazalgette and Haywood, upon the sewngo inter- 
ceptions and muin drainage of the districts north of the 
Thames. In consequence of a portion of the works described 
in such report having relation to sewers made, or to be 
made, within the City of London and the liberty thereof, 
the City representatives of the Metropolitan Commission, 
consisting of the Right lion, the Lord Mayor, Deputy 
Peacock (Chairman of the City Commission of Sewers), 
Deputy Harrison, and II. L. Taylor, Esq., wero present. 
The Metropol’tan Commissioners present were: Colonel 
Dawson, G. Baker, Esq., J. Iluukshaw, Esq., Thomas 
Hawes, Esq., Sir C. Follower, Bart., and G. S. Smith, Esq. 
R. Jebb, Esq., presided. The business conmiencrd witli the 
reading of the joint report of Messrs. J. "NY. Bazalgette, 
engineer to the Metropolitan Commission of Sewers, and 
William Haywood, engineer to the City Commission of 
Sewers, who, by an order of tho court on the 2nd of June, 
were associated for the purpose of re-modellmg the scheme 
of the lato Mr. For&ter, for the main drainage of London. 
Their report had reference to the districts north of the 
Thames; the remaining portion of the main southern 
drainHge, not embraced in tho reports of tho engineers pre- 
sented in October last, being re?erved for a future report. 
A long document was next read, being the report of Sir 
Wm. Cubitt, consulting engiueer to the commission. It 
developed a plan of drainage, the execution of which, ac- 
cording to ita author, would co6t three millions sterling, and 
SOCIETIES AND INSTITUTIONS. 
Crystal Palace. — According to the announcements 
issued, Saturday tho 25th ult. was the day fixed for closing 
the works to all visitors— the press, of course, excepted. As 
might havo been anticipated from the extreme fineness of 
the weather, and the intense interest taksn in the progress 
of this gigantic structure, a large number of visitors availed 
themselves of this last chance ol seeing tho progress of the 
works. The various avenues leading to the pulace wero 
quite thronged with vehicles and equestrians, aud among 
the latter were an unusual proportion of the gentler sex. 
Stabling accommodation for the horses and carriages was 
airily to he obtained in tho neighbourhood : indeed, the 
inhabitants of Norwood seemed quite overwhelmed, and to 
calculate with something like fear what tho rush of visitors 
would he when once the palace was fairly thrown open to 
the public : about 14,000 or 15,000 visitors paid at tho doors 
during the course of the day. The Greek, Roman, and 
Pompeian courts, as being the most advanced, were tho 
greatest objects of attraction, while the Alhambra, which 
will far surpass them all when finished, received on Saturday 
only a cursory glance from some of the more adventurous 
explorers. The gardens, though in a very backward state, 
and at present damp aud inconvenient to walk ubout iu, 
were much patronised, as Were ulso tlie extraordinary geo- 
logical productions of Mr. Waterhouse Hawkins. It is 
intended to open the building to the public on the 24th of 
May next; though, of course, at that early time very con- 
siderable portions of the interior adornments must be 
unfinished. Indeed, if tho company can manage to get the 
building any way presentable by the 24th, they will have 
accomplished u very miracle of labour, quite in keeping 
with the whole scheme. The men woik ut the interior until 
nine o'clock each evening, and tho heads of departments 
speak confidently of all being tolerably ready by the time 
mentioned. It is said that her Majesty and his Royal Highness 
the Prince Consort will be present ut tho public opening, 
which will he of the most imposing nature, and on a scale of 
grandeur hitherto unattempted. On Tuesday a general 
meeting of shareholders iu the Crystal Palace Company 
was held at the Bridge-house Hotel, London-hridge, to 
receive the report of the directors on the present state and 
prospects of the undertaking. An additiouul sum of 
250,000/., reqiiirod for the completion of the works, was 
voted on that occasion with great unanimity, thus raising 
the capital to one million. Whatever may be the commercial 
success of this noble undertaking, tho public at least have 
supported it thus far with signal liberality. A statement of 
the proportions in which the shares are distributed shows 
that they are held by about 2,200 proprietors, being four 
times the average for ordinary joint-stock companies with 
that amount of capital. There are many holders of single 
shares, and the majority would seem to be persons who have 
put their 20/., 50/., 100/., or 200/., in what they considered 
was an enterprise which, whether it answered pecuniarily or 
not, was calculated to do good to the community. 
Ancient Britons’ Annual Festival. — The 136th 
anniversary of this umient charitable society was held on 
Tuesday at the Freemasons’ Tavern ; Earl Grosvenor, M.P., 
presided, assisted by Lord Dyncvor, Sir W. W. NV'ynne, 
Bart., and other notabilities connected with the Principality. 
About 100 gentlemen sat down to dinner, and the galleries 
were filled with elegantly dressed ladies. Among the cus- 
tomary toasts, the “ Army and Navy” was received with 
unusual fervour ; and an original war song, recited by a 
nativo poet, raised the enthusiasm of the company almost 
to the fighting point. Tho claims of the charity upon all tho 
sons of Cymry were forcibly put by the chairman and Lord 
Dynevor, and a liberal collection was the 8alisluctory answer 
to their appeals. A selection of Welsh music was performed 
house, hearing this remark, and apprehensive that u tumult 
might arise from it, interfered, and told the Highlander 
sailors that he would have no fighting there, and that, if 
they did not pass up stairs quietly, und stay there, he must 
turn them out of his hon-e. They accordingly went up 
stairs ; and he then gave the Spaniards to understand that 
they must remain in tho room they wero in. It happened 
thut another of the Highlander crew came to the house to 
join his companions, und meeting a girl at the public-house 
door he stopped to talk to her. This must have been ob- 
served by the Spanish sailors, for one of them immediately 
left the house, put his face close to him, and shoved him. 
The British sailor said ho could afford to be looked at, to 
which the Spaniard answered, “ Me no knife.” The sailor 
replied that he did not want to quarrel, upon which a second 
Spaniard came out and struck him. Some others of the 
Rosario crew then came out of the house, as did some of 
the Highlander men, who were fiercely uttacked by the 
foreigner.-. One of the Englishmen was followed into 
tho avenue of Queen-sqmne, where ho was knocked 
down and jumped upon by two of the Spaniards, who 
injured him seriously, and it is believed broke some 
ot his ribs. Another of the Highlander men, seeing that 
a Spaniard who was attacking him had a largo knife, 
run across the. street. He was hotly pursued by bis 
assailant, who aimed a deadly blow at him with the weapon. 
Tho English sailor contrived to give a sudden double, whereby 
he escaped the blow intended for liirn, but, unhappily, the 
U m f 0 entered tho back of an Irishman, named Cornelius 
Murphy, who happened to be stunding conversing with a 
female at the corner of Current-lane, aud who immediately 
ti ll bleeding profusely from the effects of the wound. The 
murderous foreigner afterwards aimed a second stub at the 
Englishman, but fortunately lie a second time escaped. Tho 
knife, instead of entering his chest, passed between bis arm 
aud his body, and stuck into a window-shutter, where it was 
afterwards found by tho police, stained to the hilt with poor 
Murphy’s blood. Another Englishman escaped n wound 
through his foot slipping, in consequence of which he fell 
lengthways in the pussbge of tho Albion tavern. Cornelius 
Murphy,* and two other men who wero wounded iu the 
affray, wero immediately carried to the infirmary, Poor 
Murphy died early upon his admission, but the two others, 
Robert Hoskins und John Beale, still survive. The police 
have succeeded m arresting six of the Spanish crew, whose 
names are — Lorenzo, Antonio, Ferronio, Feirnandez, 
Andres, Jose Bitigoi, and the cook of the Rosario. At the 
inquest on Cornelius Murphy, tho evidence clearly proved 
that the mun who stabbed Murphy was Juan Antonio Castro, 
and tho jury found a verdict of “Wilful Murder” ugamst 
him. It was stated by one of the witnesses thut the weapon 
was not like the knives usually carried by sailors, but was 
similar to a butcher’s knife. 
Sui-fosed Murder in Liverpool.— O n Monday night 
one of the police inspectors on duty discovered the body ot 
a female in Lark-lane, near Liverpool, respectably attired, 
lying in the middle of the road. It was found upon ex- 
amination that the woman had been shot, but there was 
nothing to indicate that she had committed self-<k*tiuc- 
tion, and it is believed that a murder had been perpetrated. 
Efforts arc being made to discover the relatives of the de- 
ceased, mid the cause of the mysterious death. 
The 
WORK AND WAGES. 
1’rf.ston Strike. — Preston, Feb. 27. — This 
morning greut excitement was produced in the town, und 
especially amongst tho unemployed portion of tho factory 
operatives, by the arrival from Moncbcster of u body of men, 
women, und children— numbering in all 62— who had been 
engaged to work for one of the associated masters of this 
town. Information of the circumstanco having been con- 
veyed to the weavers’ committee-room, several of the 
delegates immediately put thomsolves iu communication 
with the strangers, and tho result was, thut 54 of them 
aaricd to return to Manchester. These 54 were taken to 
the Farmers' Arms (whore the spinners’ committee sit) and 
supplied with refresh ment, of which they evidently -tood 
much in need, many of them appearing to lie in a state of 
destitution. The committee being informed that u'lout a 
hundred other families were to leave Manchester t<>r Preston 
next day, a deputation has been sent over to that city lor 
the purpose of taking measures to prevent the removal o 
