19 DECEMBER 1846, Page 4

be 413robintes.

Mr. Hodgetts Foley, the late Whig candidate for the representation of the Eastern DiVial(611 of Worcestershire, has announced his retirement from the present contest. The grounds he assigns are, a general desire that the peace of the county should not be disturbed before the general election; and an arrangement with the supporters of his opponent, Captain Rushoue, bartering present retirement for future support on the next vacancy.

A requisition from about a hundred of the electors of Reading has been presented to Mr. John Walter of Bearwood, asking him to stand for the borough at the next election. In his answer, Mr. Walter intimates that he will become a candidate if allowed to go into Parliament unpledged, and (as we read the paragraph) if his return can be assured by a numerous body of requisitionists-

" After the disappointments which all parties have sustained since the passing of the Reform Bill, 1 would wish to be considered as only attached to those views and measures which my own experience has taught me are likely to be most beneficial to the country; and on this account I should be loth to be implicated with any one class or section of political opinions to the exclusion or neglect of others. For this reason, I should abstain from announcing myself a candidate till I saw that marked declaration of coincidence in my own opinions which num- bers only can give."

The Nottingham Mercury, jealous for the character of its native place, complaims of exaggerated statements constantly put forward in the London papers respecting the local trade. It had just been stated that the trade of the town was suffering from the greatest possible depression—that multi- tudes of men are in extreme destitution, and wandering about in search of employment: now the fact is, that there is some activity in the lace-trade, with stocks unusually low; and the woollen-trade is not much duller than it usually is at this season of the year.

The delegates from the Lancashire and Yorkshire Central Short-time Committees met at Todmorden on Monday, to devise the means of securing the Ten-hours Bill in the next session of Parliament. Mr. John Leech, of Huddersfield, presided. It was decided to hold a general meeting, at Man- chester, of delegates from every town in the manufacturing districts, and to issue an appeal to the public for subscriptions in aid of the work.

A party of gentlemen have undertaken the responsibility of fitting up a rodging-house in a commodious manner, where a number of the Bradford factory-girls will be lodged comfortably, and cheaply.—Leeds Mercury.

At the weekly meeting of the Guardians of the Andover Union, on Sa- turday, there were more than fifty fresh applicants for admittance into the 'workhouse, or to have out-door allowance granted them; being the greatest number ever known to apply on one day since the formation of the union. In the union, this year, the annual Christmas dinner is to be discontinued; as a sufficient sum for so great a number cannot be raised by voluntary contributions.

At the Liverpool Assizes, on Friday week, a curious ease of bigamy was tried, involving the question as to the legality of marriage with a deceased wife's sister. The accu-ted was James Chadwiek, a sawyer, of Manchester. Many years ago he married Hannah Fisher; who died: Ile next, in September 184.5, married her sister Anne who still lives; and in March last he married — Restock. Rostock's fziends charged him at Manchester Police-office with bigamy; but the Magis- trate, bolding the marriage with Anne Fisher null, dismissed the case. At the Liverpool Assizes, however, the Mall appeared voluntarily to take his trial. It was understood that the prosecution was instituted by desire of several gentle- men, who, having married the sisters of their deceased wives, made this an occa- sion for trying before the Judges the legality of such marriages. Mr. Justice Wightzran was on the bench. The facts were undisputed. Mr. Monk contended that the second marriage was invalid: the Marriage Act, 5th and 6th William IV. c. 54, enacted that all marriages thereafter to be celebrated between persons within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity and affinity should be absolutely void: marriage with a deceased wife's sister was one within the prohibited de- grees; this was a canon of the Ecclesiastical Courts. Mr. Foster, largely quoting cases and statutes, denied that this was binding on the laity; the Ecclesiastical Courts could not restrain the common law as recognized in the temporal courts. In the midst of his remarks, the Judge intimated that it would be impossible to hear all the arguments in such a case at assize. A special verdict therefore was taken by consent, acquitting the prisoner, but setting forth the facts, so that the case might be reargued on a writ of error.

Mr. Cooper, the Coroner for the borough of Cambridge, having forwarded the verdict given in the case of Elizabeth Howe to the Home Secretary, a communi- cation has been made to him by Mr. Phillips, the Under-Secretary, acknowledg- ing the receipt of his letter; with this addition—" Sir George Grey directs me to inform you in reply, that the several particulars to which you have called his at tention will be carefully considered by him, and he will make an early common/ cation upon the subject to the Vice-Chancellor."

"A Cantab" has admitted, in a letter to the Times, that his charge against a Proctor of arresting a young lady was only founded on a general rumour to that effect.

A desperate poaching affray has occurred on the grounds of Mr. Spode, Ar- mitage Hall, near Rugeley. More than a dozen poachers encountered a band of keepers; a conflict ensued; one keeper was severely wounded, and a poacher was shot through the thigh. Five of the depredators were secured, :and have been committed for trial.

A Mr. Smith, the confidential manager for Mr.Shuttlewortb, of the Manchester Stamp-office, who is a yarn-agent on a large scale, has absconded, after defrauding his employers and other persons to a large amount: his defalcations are estimated between 5,0001. and 10,0001..

A fatal accident has happened on the Manchester and Bolton Railway., near the Clifton station. The engine of a train got off the rails. It ran on the sleepers for some distance, the jolting which was produced greatly alarming the passen- gers; while the side of one carriage was wove in by the buffer of another, and some of the inmates were much hurt. "After running in the way described for a short distance, and when within fifty yards of the steep embankment at the junction of the East Derby line, the engine ran up a small embankment on the near side of the line, and then came down again in a curve upon the line, and was there overturned across the line. The tender was violently detached and hurled quite over the engine; falling upon the axles of one side quite across the inner rail of the up and the inner rail of the down line of rails, forty or fifty yards further on. The carriages were also separated, some thrown one way, some an- other. The last carriage kept on its wheels; but a third-class carriage was over- turned, and the passengers were taken out through the window." As soon as search could be made, the people found the engineer lying on the road, quite dead; and in the rear of the carriages the stoker or fireman was sitting on the other line of rail, holding his leg—his right foot cut off by a wheel, and his left leg fractured in two places. Several of' the passengers sustained less material injuries; one gentleman had his nose broken by the concussion. An amputation of the stoker's fractured limb has since been performed, and he is going on favourably. The cause of the disaster does not yet appear.

Flixton Hall, the seat of Sir Shafto Adair' near Bungay, was utterly destroyed by fire on Sunday morning. The fire was discovered soon after midnight, by a lad who was walking in a neighbouring village: he hastened to the Hall and alarmed the inmates, consisting only of two female servants and a groom. From some cause, two hours elapsedbefure the alarm was given at Bungay; and when engines arrived, all that could be done was to save a range of kitchen-offices. By live o'clock, the main building was completely gutted. Little could be done to save any of the valuable contents of the Hall,—a choice collection of paintings, a large library, articles of vertn, and a rare selection of china, which Sir Shafto had been years gathering, are said to have all perished. For extent, grandeur, and picturesque site, the mansion was the most imposing in the county. It stood within a few miles of the town of Bungay, bounded on one aide by the Waveney river and the other by the Dies road. The building was erected by Inigo Jones; and has been for the last two or three years undergoing extensive repairs, which would have occupied several more years. There is reason to believe that the ac- cident originated in fires kindled by the workmen on the hearths in one of the drawingrnoms, which, the bond-timbers generally igniting, fired the building. The loss is estimated at 30,0001., which the insurances will nearly cover.