t2G be robintts.

A vacancy has occurred in the representation of Reigate, owing to the elevation of Lord Eastnor to the House of Peers, by the death of Earl Somers. Mr. Ryves D'Arcy is busily canvassing the electors on the Conservative interest. No opponent has yet appeared in the field.

The Wolverhampton Anti-Corn-law Association have published an address to the electors of Walsall, urging them to vote for their can- didate against Mr. Gladstone. The approaching election they represent to be one of the utmost importance, on account of its moral effect. "If successful," they say, " in returning the advocate of freedom in this contest, the Bread-tax will have received its death-blow."

The Anti-Corn-law Circular gives the following as the " latest from Walsall"- " Our latest accounts from Walsall are of the moat encouraging description. The canvass goes on prosperously ; but, owing to the severe weather and the straggling nature of the town, it will not be completed for some time. The popular sympathy is all on the side of Mr. Smith ; and we are assured that, with an effective protection to the voter, there could be no difficulty in polling three to one on behalf of cheap bread."

It is currently reported that the heavy demands made on Mr. Gipps's purse by the Tory party have been the cause of his sudden retirement from Canterbury. It seems strange, that a gentleman who had been so long awaiting a vacancy should run away the moment the vacancy arrived. Mr. Gipps was a candidate with Mr. Bradshaw at the last general election. Mr. Gipps, it is said, paid 1,500/. then ; and it is said that his kind friends in Canterbury required him to pay 2,0001. now. Mr. Gipps would not stand this, and retired ; and Mr. Smythe stepped instantly into the vacant place. Can it be that this has been a ruse of the Tory party to get rid of plain Mr. Gipps, and to enable themselves to be tickled and flattered by having a young aristocrat for their can- didate? Mr. Smythe has been for some time past paying his court to the Canterbury Tories.—Kentish Mercury.

James Fenton, Esq., of Bamford Hall, near Heywood, the brother of the present Whig Member, is to be the Conservative candidate for the borough of Rochdale at the next election.—Leeds Journal.

The fourth annual dinner of the Buckingham Conservative Associa- tion was held on Wednesday ; when, notwithstanding the badness of the weather, about four hundred members from various parts of the county attended. The Duke of Buckingham, as President of the Association, was in the chair : there were also present, Lord De Lisle, the Earl of Orkney, Lord Hotham, the Marquis of Chandos, Sir Thomas Fremantle, and many other influential gentlemen of the county. The Duke of Buckingham adverted in a marked manner to the present position of the Conservative party, and the prospect of their return to power— It had been well pointed out by Sir Robert Peel, that the battle was to be fought at the registries. They had attended to his advice until they had now attained a force which would shake the present Government to its centre ; a force which he hoped soon to see called into active operation by the leader of the Conservative party. Victory was now within his grasp ; but be might be right in wishing not to take too sudden an advantage of his strength. At pre- sent it might be said, when the Government was talked of, that there was no Government, or that it was under another name. He (the Duke of Buckingham) knew of no Government at present. It was Sir Robert Peel's one day, and the Radicals' the next. (Cheers and laughter.) The time had, however, arrived when Sir Hobert Peel should take the Government, in order that the Throne might be supported, the Church maintained, and the rights and liberties of the people protected. It might be very well to say, " Wait your time "; but he would sly that the time is come—that the blow ought to be struck, and that a Conservative Government should rule this great country. (Cheers.) At a special meeting of the Hertfordshire Magistrates, on Monday, the question of adopting the provisions of the Rural Police Act in that county was carried, by 38 against 34. A memorial was then drawn up for the sanction of the Secretary of State. Lord Essex and Mr. Ward were among the supporters of the motion; the Marquis of Salisbury and Mr. Heathcote opposed it.

At a Chartist meeting in Bristol, on Monday, to petition for the par- don of Frost, Williams, and Jones, a son of Mr. Frost read long ex- tracts from a letter from the exile to his wife, dated Port Arthur, Van

Diemen's Land, 1st July, which settle the fact as to his appointment and pardon. Mr. Frost says-

" I am at Port Arthur, a place to which the very worst of men are sent, and where human misery may be seen to probably its greatest extent. I was not, however, sent here for what is called punishment ; the Governor told us re- peatedly that we were not sent to Port Arthur as a punishment, but to fill cer- tain offices. Williams is a superintendent at the coal-mines ; Jones fills a situation at the Juvenile Establishment; and I am in the office of the Com- mandant, that is, the Governor of Port Arthur. I am acting here as a clerk ; and hitherto the labour has not been heavy. I am in excellent health—I never was letter; and my spirits are very good, considering all things—much better than I could possibly have anticipated.'

[By saying that he was not sent to Port Arthur for punishment, the writer means that he was not sent there, as most of the convicts in that place are, in punishment of offences committed since transportation from England.]

Accounts have been received from the murderer of poor Millie, Archibald Bolam; from which it appears that he has obtained a situa- tion under Government, and is ander but little restraint. At the expira- tion of six months from the date of these accounts, he expected to obtain greater freedom, and also an advancement, as his good conduct had recommended him to the attention of the authorities. It is said that he entertained some intention of quitting the Government-office, and ac- cepting some situation in the interior of the:country ; where he had no doubt of soon being able to realize a fortune.—Neweastle Journal.

The house of Mr. Samuel Holland of Bexhill, Sussex, was on Tues- day sennight forcibly entered by a gang of six armed burglars. They effected their entrance at one of the sitting-room windows. The first alarm was by Mr. Holland being awakened by a person standing at the foot of his bed, with a light in one hand and a carving-knife in the other, who desired him to get out of bed. At the same time, the side- curtains were withdrawn, and disclosed three other men ; who declared they did not wish to hurt him if he immediately gave up his purse, the key of his bureau, and his pocket-book. Resistance was vain, and the demand was acceded to. Meanwhile, a visiter, on hearing the disturb- ance, approached the room ; at the door of which he was stopped by the muzzle of a gun being presented at him. He seized hold of the gun, but was knocked down by one of the party. One of the ladies gave up her purse to one of the robbers, and herself and her companions were kept prisoners in their rooms. The man-servant, by a door being barred against him, was unable to get to the assistance of the family. The thieves succeeded in obtaining nearly 2001., in gold, bank-notes, and checks.

A gang of housebreakers in Kent have been disturbed in their trade. Several burglaries have lately been committed in the county ; and in a recent case, in which some jewels were taken from the house of a Mr. Thomas, at Hollingsbourne, a reward of 201. was offered for the detec- tion of the offenders. Gibbon, a wholesale file-vendor, offered some of these jewels to one Kent, a lawyer's clerk, who told another person, and the last told Mr. Thomas. Mr. Thomas then negotiated for the reco- very of the property ; and a man named Piety, a coach-guard, was in- troduced to him. Ultimately, Kent, Gibbon, and Piety were arrested, and tried at Maidstone Borough Sessions on Saturday last. Kent turned approver ; and upon his evidence of conversations with the other prisoners, Piety was found guilty of stealing the articles. The charge against Gibbon was not proved to the satisfaction of the Jury. ,Sentence against Piety was deferred, for further investigations to be made. It does not come out in the published accounts who actually committed the robbery.

A curious circumstance occurred at Lewes Sessions last week. The Grand Jury had ignored the bills preferred against two prisoners ; which being by some means overlooked, the men were placed at the bar, where they pleaded " guilty." The Chairman was just on the point of passing sentence on them, when the error was discovered, and they were discharged.—Brighton Guardian.

The mails conveyed by railway to the North of England were seriously impeded by the late snow and frost. The slippery state of the rails in many instances prevented the wheels of the locomotives from getting .a sufficient hold to impel the trains; whilst in others the snow was so deep, that it was necessary to detach the engines from the carriages, and to send them on alone to clear the road before the trains could be drawn along. In no case, however, with the exception of the baggage-train on the North Midland Railway, have they been absolutely stopped by the frost.

On Monday morning, a second accident occurred on the Midland Counties Railway. The following " official account" of the disaster has been issued by the Company. " The snail-train, which left the Euston station at half-past eight last night, (Sunday,) on arriving at Rugby detached two carriages, which were to proceed on to the Mid- land Counties line. The carriages were in the act of being passed from the London and Birmingham down-line for the purpose , when the mail-train, which leaves Birmingham for London at twelve p. m., arriving very slowly at the station, came unfortunately in contact with the crossing carriages, and caused contusions to four of the passengers, and a slight fracture of the collar-bone to a fifth. Surgical attendance was at hand, and every care taken of the parties. The immediate cause of the accident is-now under investigation." The guard also was thrown from the roof of one of the carriages, and much injured.

A collision unfortunately took place on the Manchester and Leeds Railway last Wednesday evening, under the following circumstances. A cattle-train of nearly twenty waggons, with sheep, &c. left Wake- field a little before four o'clock in the afternoon, and got on very well until after they passed the Dewsbury station, when the engine began to show signs of weariness. Before they could reach Cooper Bridge station the water was exhausted; the engine was then detached, and proceeded to the Brighthouse station for a supply of water. In the interval, the next train, which leaves Wakefield at half-past four, came up, and owing to the dense fog which prevailed, the engineer was unable to see the former train until he arrived within a short distance from it : the engine was immediately reversed, and the breaks applied to the wheels, which greatly decreased the force of the shock which took place. Two of the carriages were broken, and the engine par- tially thrown off the rails ; but none of the passengers were injured beyond a severe shake from the concussion ; and the sheep also in the first train escaped without harm. An inquiry was set on foot the same evening by several of the engineers and Directors ; and after a most rigid investigation, the servants of the Company were fully acquitted of all blame. The engine of the cattle-train the Leeds, is considered to be inferior to others on the line."—Halifax Guardian.

The London and Dublin Company's steamer Thames, on her voyage from Dublin to London, was wrecked on Monday -week on the South- west rocks of the Scilly Islands ; and all on board, consisting of from sixty to seventy persons, drowned, with the exception of a lady passen- ger, two stewardesses, and one man. When the vessel was discovered in her perilous situation by the islanders, their boats were aground ; but with great efforts they succeeded in launching a whale-boat through the breakers, and getting her under the stern of the Thames. The commander, Captain Gray, insisted on the females being first hoisted therein, and, unfortunately, as soon as a lady and two stewardesses had been placed there, the boat broke adrift, and drove to the land. This was perceived by a sailing-boat, which took her in tow, and succeeded, with great risk, in towing her to the shore in safety. By this time the wind increased almost to a hurricane, which rendered it impossible for any other boat to approach the vesseL Captain Gray then formed a raft, on which a great many of the crew got ; but it was almost imme- diately dashed against the rocks, and all the poor fellows on it were lost, with the exception of one man, who was thrown on a perpendicu- lar rock, and remained there till the following day, when he was rescued. The vessel became a complete wreck, and the remainder of the crew perished.

The Honourable and Reverend Lord Charles Hervey, and his lady, a few days ago were endeavouring to cross the river near the Rectory, Great Chesterford, when his Lordship perceiving the boat was taking water at one end, endeavoured to remove Lady Hervey from it ; and whilst doing so, the boat capsized, and both of them were immersed in the water. The footman, a short distance off, perceived their perilous situation, and with prompt assistance succeeded in rescuing them.— Essex Standard.

The Gloucester Journal mentions an instance of a young man at Ashleworth, near that city, having a large portion of his forehead and more than two ounces of brain carried away by the bursting of a gun, who nevertheless retained his senses, and was able, with assistance, to walk to his bed. He still survived, but was not expected to recover.

Mr. Badeock, chemist, of St. James's Street, Brighton, has recently inoculated a fine young cow of his own with smallpox ; with the lymph from the animal he has vaccinated his own child ; and from that child he is now supplying the medical men of Brighton with pure fresh lymph.—Brighton Gazette.