23.-The Irish Tithe Bill read a third time in the House of Commons by a majority of 148 to 30. 26. The first stone of two new wings to Bethlehem Hospital laid by Sir P. Laurie. The Internal Discipline of the Church Bill read a third time in the House of Lords, the object of the measure being to abolish the jurisdiction of diocesan courts in certain cases, and to bring clergymen charged with offences at once before the Arches Court. 29.-Departure of Marshal Soult for France. 30.-Lord Brougham draws the attention of the House of Lords to the highly illegal character of the Ordinances issued by Lord Durham for securing the peace of Lower Canada. "Even with persons," he said, "who had committed the crime of rebellion, they ought to have been tried; they could not be put to death without trial, and without sentence of death in due course of law. Even if the Queen-if the Crown-had in a certain case commuted the sentence of death to that of banishment, the man returning from banishment could not be put to death. It was only after trial that a man could be ordered to be put to death. The returning from transportation was made a capital felony by Act of Parliament in certain cases; but here death was ordered without a trial, and without the regular sentence of the law to sanction it. This, however, was going upon the vulgar error, that a man who returned before the period of his banishment had expired could be put to death by any one. There was, then, the case of M. Papineau and one or two others, who had not confessed themselves guilty of any crime."-Lord Lyndhurst: "Their confessions would only be evidence."-Lord Brougham: "But they had not confessed; and men had been acquitted notwithstanding their confession. Yet Papineau and the others were to be put to death, not confessing anything, and not having been tried. Nothing was more monstrous than this The Act authorized Lord Durham to make a general law, but not to hang men without the form of law." The subject was resumed in the Lords on the 5th August, when Lord Brougham introduced a bill declaring the true intent and meaning of the Act passed by the British Parliament, making temporary provision for the government of Lower Canada. Lord Glenelg admitted the illegality of that part of the Ordinances which related to Bermuda; but the best course would be to write simply to the Governor, informing him that the prisoners were free. The second reading of the bill was carried against Ministers by a majority of 18 in a House of 90. 31.-The Marquis of Waterford, and others, tried at the Derby Assizes, on the charge of riotous and disorderly conduct near Melton Mowbray, on 5th Apríl last. Fined 100%. each. - International Copyright Act passed. August 1.-The negro population of Jamaica enter on the full enjoyment of their freedom. The governor and the bishop of the island both describe the conduct of the people as in the highest degree praiseworthy. The event was celebrated in a festive manner in various towns throughout England. 1.-Great eruption of Vesuvius commenced. 4.-John Drew Woods, pedlar, murdered at Dundee, whilst in a state of intoxication. His father and mother were afterwards tried for the crime, and the former condemned to death. 6.-A Radical meeting held at Birmingham, and addressed by Attwood, Scholefield, and Feargus O'Connor. Resolution adopted, praying the House of Commons to use their utmost endeavours to get a law passed granting to every male of lawful age, sound mind, and unconvicted of crime, the right of voting for members of Parliament, and enacting voting by ballot, annual parliaments, the abolition of all property qualifications by members of the House, and the payment of those attending to its duties. This manifesto came to be known as the National or Chartist petition. 9.-A number of the followers of Thom, or Courtenay, tried before Lord Denman, at Maidstone Assizes, for the murder of Constable Mears and Lieut. Bennett. They were all sentenced to death, but their punishment was commuted to various terms of imprisonment. The 11.-Colonel Stoddart arrives in the Persian camp with an ultimatum that the Shah must quit Herat or fight Great Britain. Shah undertook to raise the siege, and called off his troops in the direction of Teheran early in the following month. Towards the close of the year Stoddart was despatched by Sir J. M'Neill on a mission to the Ameer of Bokhara, from which he never returned. He was at first received favourably; but the tyrant Ameer, taking offence at his letter to the Queen being answered by the Governor-General of India, afterwards treated the mission with disrespect and cruelty. 13. Report presented by the Select Committee appointed to inquire into the present rates and mode of charging postage, with a view to such a reduction thereof as may be made without injury to the revenue; and for this purpose to examine especially into the mode recommended for charging and collecting postage in a pamphlet published by Mr. Rowland Hill. The Committee sat sixty-three days, and, exclusive of Post-office officials, examined 83 witnesses of various occupations, professions, and trades. The petitions presented during the 1838. session amounted to 320 in number, bearing 38,709 signatures. So far as Mr. Rowland Hill's plan was concerned, the Committee reported "That considerable time would be saved in the delivery of letters; the expenses in almost every branch of the department, but principally in the Inland and Letter-carrier offices, much reduced; the complex accounts of the Bye and and Dead-letter offices greatly simplified, and the expenses greatly diminished. system of accounts between the deputy postThat the masters, which presents so many opportunities and facilities for combination and fraud, would disappear; the labour and responsibility of surveyors be curtailed; a system of complex and intricate duty, inseparable from the existing nature of the country part of the Post-office, give way to one of simplicity and uniformity; and the entire principle and machinery of the Post-office be changed in its character, greatly contributing to the security, comfort, and advantage of the community, in its connexion with the public correspondence. That in the opinion of all the witnesses, excepting most of the officers of the Post-office, the adoption of Mr. Hill's plan would occasion a very great increase in the number of letters posted; and in the opinion of most of them, a far greater increase than would be required to maintain the revenue at its present amount." 14.-Inquiry regarding an explosion on board the Victoria steamship, results in a verdict condemning the construction of the boiler. A deodand of 1,500l. levied on the boiler and steam-engine. 16.-Parliament prorogued by the Queen in person. In the Royal speech reference was made, as usual, to the principal measures of the session. "The disturbances," it was said, "and insurrections which had unfortunately broken out in Upper and Lower Canada have been promptly suppressed; and I entertain a confident hope that firm and judicious measures will empower you to restore a constitutional form of government, which unhappy events have compelled you for a time to suspend. I rejoice at the progress which has been made in my colonial possessions towards the entire abolition of Negro Apprenticeship. I have observed with much satisfaction the attention which you have bestowed upon the amendment of the domestic institutions of the country. I trust that the mitigation of the law of Imprisonment for Debt will prove at once favourable to the liberty of my subject, and safe for commercial credit; and that the Established Church will derive increased strength and efficiency from the restriction of granting benefices in plurality. I have felt great pleasure in giving my assent to the Bill for the Relief of the Destitute Poor in Ireland. I cherish the expectation that its provisions have been so cautiously framed, and will be so prudently executed, that, whilst they contribute to relieve distress, they will tend to preserve order and to encourage habits of industry and exertion. (24) SEPTEMBER I trust, likewise, that the Act which you have passed relating to the Compositions for Tithe in Ireland will increase the security of that property, and promote internal peace." During this session the House sat 173 days, and spent 1,134 hours in public business. 22.-Duel on Wimbledon Common, between John Flower Mirfin and Francis L. Eliot, the former of whom died from his wounds. The parties had previously quarrelled at Epsom races, and again in town, at a disreputable haunt known as the Saloon. 24. The Duchess of Orleans delivered of a son, the Count de Paris. We 27. At a dinner at Cork O'Connell tells his hearers that matters are continually growing worse for Ireland in the British Parliament. "They fancy we will be put down. I tell you we will not. I'll raise my voice, and it shall sweep from the Giant's Causeway to Cape Clear, and Connemara to the Hill of Howth. I'll raise all Ireland to determination. will complain of the Tithe system. Without its extinction there can be no religious liberty. No man should contribute to that from which he derives no benefit or instruction. It was said I approved of it. I never did. I said directly the reverse. I said it shifted Whiteboyism from rags and friezes to Whiteboyism in broad cloth. I promise you that from Moore Park to Bantry you will no longer see Peep-o'-dayboys, but in the full noontide of the sun will be coming forward meetings-influential meetings to prove that rent-charge means tithes, and that abolition is the remedy for both one and the other." 30.-Died at Oodypore, the Maharajah Ju wan Singh. Two queens and six concubines were burnt on his funeral pyre. 31.-A report being busily circulated that Dr. Hook, Vicar of Leeds, had been dismissed from his post of Chaplain at the Chapel Royal, on account of certain passages in a sermon, afterwards published with the title of "Hear the Church," the Doctor writes to-day: "I have received no notice whatever to that effect; nor have I any reason to suppose that her Majesty is otherwise than pleased with what I stated in my sermon when I was last in waiting I thought it necessary to publish that sermon, because many false reports of what had been advanced in it were spread abroad; and it is to these that allusion is made in the note which is prefixed to it." September 1.--The aggregate average of the price of wheat for the six weeks ending on Saturday last was 72s. 11d. per quarter, being within a penny of the mark at which the duty would have been lowered from 2s. 8d. to Is. A week later 735. was reached, and foreign corn was offered in market as "duty free." There was said to be a good demand for all descriptions, and a slight advance on previous rates was obtained. 1.-The Emperor of Austria crowned King of Lombardy at Milan. The ceremonies and rejoicings extended over four days. 4.-The King and Queen of the Belgians visit England as the guests of her Majesty. 6. Wreck of the steamer Forfarshire, trading from Hull to Dundee, on the Fern Islands. Her machinery becoming disabled, the vessel drifted southward for about five hours, when she struck at 3 o'clock A.M. on the outer rock. The hull almost instantly parted, and, with one exception, the whole of the cabin passengers, twenty-five in number, were drowned. The captain was washed overboard with his wife in his arms. Of a crew of twenty-two, ten were drowned; eight were preserved in an open boat, and taken to Shields. Four of the crew and five steerage passengers were taken off the wreck by the dauntless intrepidity of Grace Darling and her father, the keeper of Longstone lighthouse. She induced her father to enter the lifeboat, and with great difficulty they reached the wreck, when Darling himself picked the survivors off, while his heroic daughter managed to keep the boat from being dashed to pieces. 17.-A London demonstration in favour of Parliamentary Reform, held in New Palace Yard. A petition was adopted in favour of the People's Charter, now being circulated in the form of an "Act to provide for the just representation of the People." - The Bath meeting was attended by Colonel Napier, who supported one of the resolutions. Mr. Vincent, in the course of his speech, remarked that they had been kept down by those who were knaves. Lord John Russell was a knave; Harry Brougham was a knave; Peel was a knave; the Duke of Wellington was a knave" (Col. Sir W. Napier rushed to the front of the hustings, and with much earnestness exclaimed, "I contradict that; the Duke of Wellington is no knave. He fought for the country nobly, bravely, and successfully; and he is no knave.") Mr. be Vincent resumed: "I say that any man, he a Wellington, a Russell, or a Napier, who denies to me the right to vote, is a knave. The present representation is a combination to deprive the people of just and equal laws; and I call on the people to arouse, and put an end to such a state of things, and it can be done by moral force, if the people will only firmly exert themselves." Colonel Napier said that Mr. Vincent had degraded himself by applying the term "knave" to the Duke of Wellington: ling names did no good to any cause. They ought to remember the force of early prejudices and impressions; and that a very honest man might be mistaken in politics. That he believed to be the Duke of Wellington's case; but he was one of the greatest soldiers Europe had ever produced, and ought not to have had the term 'knave' applied to him.' "Cal - London and Birmingham Railway opened throughout. 21.-Young and Webber, two of the seconds in the Mirfin and Eliot duel, convicted of murder, and sentenced to death, afterwards commuted to one year's imprisonment. 22.-Lord Durham announces his resignation of the office of Governor-General of Canada. In answer to an address from the Delegates presented to-day, his Lordship said: "I had, as you know, devoted the most careful attention to all subjects which could affect the general interests of all the colonies; and had brought nearly to maturity the plan which I intended to submit in the first instance to the consideration of the Provinces, and eventually of the Cabinet and the Imperial Parliament. In this, I trust, useful course, I have been suddenly arrested by the interference of a branch of the British Legislature, in which the responsible advisers of the Crown have deemed it their duty to acquiesce. Under these circumstances, I have but one step to take to resign that authority, the exercise of which has thus been so weakened as to render it totally inadequate to the grave emergency which alone called for its existence." 24. John Larner, under pretence of being the proper heir, makes a forcible entry into Stanfield Hall, Norfolk, then in the possession of Mr. Isaac Jermy. The house was afterwards surrounded by military, who conveyed Larner and all his disorderly followers to prison. The Duke of Sussex announces his intention of resigning the presidency of the Royal Society, owing to circumstances connected with his private affairs over which he had no control making it incumbent on him to leave London. Numerous meetings held throughout Ireland this month, in support of O'Connell's "Precursor" Society. The French Government pressing the Swiss to expel Prince Louis Bonaparte from their territory, the Prince writes to the Executive of the Canton of Thurgovia abandoning his claim to citizenship, on the ground that he cannot under any circumstances give up his title to be considered a Frenchman. It was rumoured that he had applied to the British Envoy for passports to England. October 1.-Lord Auckland issues a "manifesto" from Simla, stating the reasons which had induced him to direct the assemblage of a British force for service across the Indus. "After much time," it was said, "spent by Captain Burnes in fruitless negotiation at Cabul, it appeared that Dost Mahomed Khan, chiefly in consequence of his reliance upon Persian encouragement and assistance, persisted, as respects his misunderstanding with the Sikhs, in urging the most unreasonable pretensions, such as the Governor-General could not, consistently with justice and his regard for the friendship of Maharajah Runjeet Singh, be the channel of submitting to the consideration of his Highness; that he avowed schemes of aggrandisement and ambition injurious to the security and peace of the frontiers of India; and that he openly threatened, in furtherance of these schemes, to call in every foreign aid which he could command.' Reference was then made in the manifesto to the unjustifiable aggression of Persia upon Herat, and the countenance which had been given to the expedition by Dost Mahomed, and his brother Sirdar of Candahar. "After various and mature deliberation the GovernorGeneral was satisfied that a pressing necessity, as well as every consideration of policy and justice, warranted us in espousing the cause of Shah Soojah-ool-Moolk, whose popularity throughout Affghanistan has been proved to his Lordship by the strong and unanimous testimony of the best authorities. A guaranteed independence will upon favourable conditions be tendered to the Ameer of Sindh, and the integrity of Herat in the possession of its present ruler will be fully respected; while, by the measures completed or in progress, it may reasonably be hoped that the general freedom and security of commerce will be promoted; that the known and just influence of the British Government will gain its proper footing among the nations of Central Asia; that tranquillity will be established upon the most important frontier of India; and that a lasting barrier will be raised against hostile intrigue and encroachment. His Majesty Shah Soojahool-Moolk will enter Affghanistan surrounded by his own troops, and will be supported against foreign interference and factious opposition by a British army. The GovernorGeneral confidently hopes that the Shah will be speedily replaced on his throne by his own subjects and adherents; and when once he shall be secured in power, and the independence and integrity of Affghanistan established, the British army will be withdrawn. The Governor-General has been led to these measures by the duty which is imposed upon him of providing for the security of the possessions of the British Crown; but he rejoices that in the discharge of his duty he will be enabled to assist in restoring the union and prosperity of the Affghan people. Throughout the approaching operations British influence will be sedulously employed to further every measure of general benefit, to reconcile differences, to secure oblivion of injuries, and to put an end to the distractions by which for so many years the welfare and happiness of the Affghans have been impaired." A notification was at the same time made that Mr. W. H. Macnaghten, Secretary to the Government, would assume the function of Envoy and Minister at the Court of Shah Soojah, and that Captain Burnes would be employed under his direction as Envoy to the Chief of Khelat or other States. A number of political assistants were also appointed. It was of this proclamation Sir J. C. Hobhouse said afterwards, speaking officially: "Lord Auckland must not be per mitted to hear the blame of the Simla mani festo against Dost Mahomed. It was the policy of the Government; and he might mention that the despatch which he wrote, stating his opinion of the course that ought to be taken in order to meet expected emergencies, and that written by Lord Auckland inforining hin that the expedition had already been undertaken, crossed each other on the way." 2. The Perth and Edinburgh coach, "Coburg," upset into the sea over the pier at South Queensferry. Two passengers and two horses drowned. 3.-A parachute descent successfully performed at Cheltenham, by an aëronaut named Hampden. At an altitude of 9,000 feet he freed his parachute from the balloon, and descended gently to the earth in the space of thirteen minutes. 5.-Fire in warehouses, Robert-street, Liverpool, destroying cotton, indigo, oil, turpentine, and spices to the value of 200,000!. 7.-Meeting held in the saloon of the Haymarket Theatre to establish an association for the relief of aged and infirm actors. It 8. At a banquet in Liverpool, Lord John Russell took occasion to allude to the public meetings now in the course of being held in various parts of the country. There were some, perhaps, who would put down such meetings. But such was not his opinion, nor that of the Government with which he acted. He thought the people had a right to free discussion. was free discussion which elicited truth. They had a right to meet. If they had grievances they had a right to declare them, that they might be known and redressed. If they had no grievances, common sense would speedily come to the rescue, and put an end to these meetings. It was not from free discussion, it was not from the unchecked declaration of public opinion, that Governments had anything to fear. There was fear when men were There driven by force to secret combinations. was the fear, there was the danger, and not in free discussion." 9. In a proclamation, dated from "the Castle of St. Lewis in the city of Quebec," Lord Durham announces her Majesty's disallowance of the Ordinances formerly issued. "I had reason," he writes, "to believe that I was armed with all the power which I thought requisite, by the commissions and instructions under the royal sign manual with which I was charged as Governor-General and High Commissioner, by the authority vested in me and my Council, by the Act of the Imperial Legislature, and by the general approbation of my appointment which all parties were pleased to express. I also trusted that I should enjoy throughout the course of my administration all the strength which the cordial and stedfast support of the authorities at home can alone give to their distant officers, and that even party feeling would refrain from molesting me whilst occupied in maintaining the integrity of the British Empire. In these just expectations I have been painfully disappointed. From the very commencement of my task, the minutest details of my administration have been exposed to incessant criticism, in a spirit which has evinced an entire ignorance of the state of this country, and of the only mode in which the supremacy of the British Crown can here be upheld and exercised. Those who have, in the British Legislature, systematically depreciated my powers, and the Ministers of the Crown, by their tacit acquiescence therein, have produced the effect of making it too clear that my authority is inadequate for the emergency which called it into existence. At length an act of my government, the first and most important which was brought under the notice of the authorities at home, has been annulled; and the entire policy, of which that act was a small though essential part, has thus been defeated." On the question of the disposal of the prisoners, Lord Durham said that he was perfectly aware his powers extended only to the landing of them on the shores of Bermuda, but he presumed that Parliament would sanction their forcible detention if necessary. 12.-Upsetting of the Oxford coach at Teddington, causing the death of Mr. G. Broderick, of Brasenose College. - Meeting at the Jerusalem Coffee-house, presided over by Sir R. W. Horton, "to consider the practicability and expediency of forming a private company" to carry on steam communication with India. The scheme, as submitted by Captain Barber, was that a vessel should sail monthly to the three Presidencies and the Straits of Batavia; the passage-money not to exceed that now charged by vessels passing the Cape of Good Hope. "Five steamships, of 600 horse-power each, and 1,500 tons' burden, with two smaller vessels for the Bombay branch, are to be built. It is expected that the voyage to Ceylon will be performed in thirty-six days, to Madras in forty, Bombay forty-two, and Calcutta forty-three. The transit through Egypt to be performed by means of iron steamboats to Cairo, and omnibuses and vans across to Suez; skeleton carriages to be used for the land transit of goods and luggage, made to fit the same places in loth vessels, so that there will be no disturbance of packages and no uncovering till they reach the final port. In Bengal alone, 800 shares, amounting to 140,000l., had been conditionally subscribed for; which showed how much interest the subject excited in India. The amount of capital required was only 400,000/.; and, on the calculation that there would be 2,300 passengers (only half the number that went to India in 1836) and a proportionate carriage of goods, the company might expect a dividend of 70,000%. on their 400,000!." - So engrossed were the inhabitants of Montreal with their constitutional struggle, that when the Theatre was opened to-night not one person was found in attendance. The doors were quietly closed again. 15.-Died at Cape Coast Castle, South Africa, from an overdose of prussic acid, Letitia Elizabeth, wife of Governor Maclean, famous in the literature of her time as L. E. L. 18. The Protector, East Indiaman, lost in a storm in the Hooghly river, with nearly all on board-116 recruits for the Company's service, a crew of 36, 9 male passengers, and 26 women and children. 22.-Fire at Harrow, destroying the resi dences of Rev. Mr. Wordsworth and Rev. Mr. Colenso, mathematical master. 23.-A piece of ground nearly a mile square, covering a salt mine at Northwich, Chester, suddenly sinks to a depth of between fifteen and twenty yards, and carries with it the engine-house, stables, and cottages erected thereon. Four dead bodies were dug out of the ruins. 24.-Explosion in the "John Pit" colliery at Lowca, near Whitehaven, causing the death of 35 labourers, the whole employed in the ninety-five-fathom workings. Two men and one boy, in the act of descending the shaft, were blown to pieces; another boy lighted on a bank overlooking the blazing fissure, and was rescued little injured. 25.-The Bishop of Durham (Dr. Maltby), in a letter to Archdeacon Thorp, defends himself from the imputation of countenancing Unitarianism, in so far as he had subscribed for a volume of sermons about to be published by a heterodox Dissenting minister named Turner. "I never have intentionally," he writes, countenanced any doctrine which is at variance with those of our Church, still less could I have thought of countenancing errors so grievous as I hold those of the Unitarians to be. Yet this feeling, as to the extent of their error, ought not to prevent us from showing all possible charity to their persons; and that, I assure you, was all that I contemplated by this act of courtesy, which has drawn upon me, I cannot help thinking, much unmerited censure. I need scarcely remind you that Dr. Lardner's Works, edited by Dr. Kippis, also a Unitarian, were published by subscription; and that almost all the bishops of that day, with the leading men of the Church, were subscribers. Yet Dr. Lardner's Works contained not merely his masterly labours on the 'Credibility,' but various sermons and tracts, including his celebrated but heterodox 'Letter on the Logos.' Now I am not aware, and certainly I do not expect, that either you or I shall find any offensive matter in the forthcoming volume of Mr. Turner. Surely, then, I am at least as much justified in subscribing to it as the bishops |