Vrobintes.

The reelection of Mr. Strutt, the President of the new Railway Board, for Derby, was opposed by Sir Digby Mackworth, as a supporter of "our Pro- testant religion." Mr. Strutt's vote on the Mayuooth grant had proved displeasing to many Dissenters who had previously supported him; and hence Sir Digby's resolve to take his stand on the No-Popery cry. As an evidence of being a good Churchman, he attended worship in three different churches last Sunday. The nomination took place on Wednesday. Mr. J. B. Crompton nominated Mr. Strutt, and Mr. D. Fox seconded him. In proposing Sir Digby Mackworth, Mr. W. L. Newton spoke of him as a champion of Protestantism, that invaluable principle which had been attacked by the increased grant to Maynooth : of which increased grant Mr. Strutt had been a supporter. Mr. Lewis, the seconder of the nomination, spoke of Sir Digby's warlike achievements: ho had followed the Duke of Wellington through the whole Peninsular war, and was present at his crowning victory at Waterloo. The candidates were then heard. Mr. Strutt justified his vote in favour of the Maynooth grant; quietly alluding to the inconsistency of pleading principle as demanding opposition to a large grant, whilst a smaller sum had been allowed to pass unheeded. For sixteen years he had voted in nearly every division in favour of the smaller grant, and till last year he had never heard any objection to his so voting. When the mea- sure of last session was brought forward, be thought it would be unfair to tax the people of England to support a Roman Catholic College in Ireland, so long as the enormous revenues of the Irish Church could afford a sur- plus; and he therefore advised his friend Mr. Ward to propose an amend- ment to that effect. That amendment he supported; but it was rejected by a large majority; and he had therefore to consider whether he should support the Government proposal, or oppose it at the hazard of abolishing an institution founded in favour of the Irish people, which had existed for upwards of fifty years. If the question had been a new one, or if the state of Ireland had been similar to that of England, he would at once have said that it would be unjust to tax the people of the United Kingdom for such a purpose. But, admitting, then, the existence of the immense revenues

of the Established Church, and admitting that the practice of voting annually endowments for Protestant Dissenters in Ireland would be con-

tinued, he had to consider whether it would be just or fair to the immense majority of the inhabitants of that country—the Roman Catholics—to re- fuse them this small pittance. Sir Digby Mackworth followed. His opponent had taunted him with holding back his opinions on Free Trade, the Ballot, the Sugar-duties, the Irish Church Temporalities, and other questions: but many of these subjects bad ceased to be agitated questions. The Ballot was an old bygone story: it had not been brought before the Legislature for some time past. As to the Sugar Bill, before he could have supported it he must have been convinced that this country was acting consistently with its avowed hatred of slavery in giving facilities for the introduction of the slave-grown article. He did not stand before them as the advocate of any political measure, but solely to support the Protestant religion of this country. He would never give his vote in favour of any measure which would create invidious distinctions between the various classes who professed the Protestant religion. He was no political character; though, if he were elected, he should feel himself obliged to enter upon the consideration of political matters far more than lie had hitherto done. Reverting again to Protestantism, Sir Digby ex- plained why he had presented himself in the character of its supporter. His hearers could scarcely have failed to perceive that there had been of late years a species of conspiracy at work, the object of which was to in- troduce Popery into Protestant England. On this subject Sir Digby ad- vanced a " poser ": if Popery must be placed on an equality with Pro- testantism because it was professed by a majority of the people of Ireland, why should the religion of the Hindoos not be made the established reli- gion of Hindostan?

Both candidates were subjected to some questioning. Sir Digby was asked if he would support a motion to abolish flogging in the Army? His answer was, that he would not pledge himself on any subject except to support Protestantism. As an officer, if there was one duty more than another that he abominated, it was that of attending the infliction of flogging. During the last six months that he commanded a squadron of cavalry, there had not been a single punishment of any kind whatever in the squad- ron. In reply to a question on the subject of the suffrage, Mr. Strutt re- marked, that he was in favour of its extension, but was not prepared for making it universaL He thought the franchise for Parliamentary voters might now be safely extended as far as the franchise for Municipal elections.

The show of hands was declared to be in favour of Mr. Strutt; and a poll was demanded on the part of Sir Digby Mackworth.

The voting took place on Thursday. From the beginning Sir Digby Mackworth was placed in the minority: at nine o'clock he was 98 behind; and at ten, 175. At the close he was in a minority of 276: the numbers being—for Mr.. Strutt, 835; for Sir Digby Mackworth, 559. Sir Digby did not appear at the official declaration of the poll, which was made yesterday; contenting himself with a printed address, in which he comforted himself and his supporters after this fashion —" We have been defeated; but a de- feat in- such a cause will afford us now and hereafter a purer gratification than success can ever confer upon our opponents." Mr. Strutt congratu- lated the electors on having sustained their character for genuine Libe- ralism in placing him by so large a majority at the head of the poll.

Colonel Wyndham, Member for West Sussex, has intimated his intention to retire from the representation. In his address to the electors he says- " It is needless for me to enter on the causes which have led me to this decision : suffice it to say, that it is from no public motive that I retire, as it was from no personal or private motive that I was induced to come for- ward at the election in 1841."

The Free Trade Association of Sheffield celebrated the passing of the gJp t Measures of the past session by a soirdo, on Wednesday, at the Music Good speeches were made by Lord Morpeth, as Member for the West Riding, Mr. Parker and Mr. Ward, the borough Members, Colonel Thompson, and Mr. R. It. R. Moore. The following resolution, pointed at certain movements now going on, was voted unanimously—

".That in case any serious attempts should be made by the Protectionist party to induce the Legislature to retrace its steps,. or prevent the final extinction of the Corn-laws in February 1849, this Association shall be called into renewed existence."

On this Colonel Thompson delivered some quaint sentences of pregnant import- " I should have been happy if it had so happened that these halcyon days had been occupied in searching for what remnants of fallacies might yet be left; that you might have trodden out the latest sparks, and not have left the remotest chance for any advantage being gained by your opponents. Affairs are not so settled as they might be. In America, the alteration of the Tariff has been car- ried by a single vote; and it would be said that the cry for resorting to the old law should be encouraged by any shadow of success permitted here. We have too much at stake to afford to be incautious. We cannot risk the world's har- mony, nor give a chance for losing the fruits of the great Peace Society of our day. Wit in these times has taken a stride in power, and wit is only wisdom in disguise. The Society of Friends, as you know, have a quiet but caustic wit of their own, and one of their members at Bristol has best expressed the truth. On occasion of some disturbance there, the yeomanry were turning out in arms; and as one of them was setting but, his Quaker partner said to lum, 'John, take care thou dost not cut down any of our customers.' (Great laughter and cheering.) That is the principle which will win—the world will be much le s willing than it has been to cut down one another's customers. In our own country, too, the change is equally apparent. Can you not peiceive in your town the softening among those who have hitherto been the bitterest? 1 here is no hatred against the aristocracy now. I speak not of our friends and leaders, but of those who have heretofore been the objects of popular dislike. The great act of justice which has taken place has softened all hearts and healed all warfares. The wildest man in the most savage country will yet be reached by the improvement of which you may be called the authors. In regions which seemed to be divided between the despot and the slave, the sense of common interest is amalgamating both into the admission of human comfort. The customhouse and the passport systems are everywhere coming down; and man will visit man without necessitating the Ma- gistrate's permission for the act. But should the resuscitation of the old enemy be ever seriously attempted, it was a happy announcement which stated that your association was only in a state of suspended animation."

Her Majesty has sent to the Mayor of Liverpool, and the Chairman of the Dock Committee, proof copies, most magnificently framed, of Winter-

hait rtraits of the Royal Family, as a mark of her satisfaction at the Fir her illustrious consort in July last. They were accom- flattering letter from Mr. Anson, written by Royal com-

mand.--Timea.

Sir Geor has appointed Mr. Crowder, Q.C., Recorder of Bristol,

in the room. Charles Wetherell. Captain y, R.N., is at present engaged on an exploring expedition

through the Swillies, off the Welsh coast. He is on board the Government steamer Firefly.

Within these last few weeks, property, which it is conjectured may yield little less than 100,0001., has been bequeathed to found a University in Manchester. To this sum it is expected another 100,0001. will be added by public contribution; and hi a few years Manchester may possess a University which, while not inferior to any existing establishment in its means of general education, will at once take as regards practical science an unrivalled position.—Cambridge Advertiser.

The ruinous effect of the repeal of the Corn-laws was very forcibly dis- played at the sale, on Saturday evening last, at the Eagle Hotel, of the lease of the manor farm at Gmntehester, by Mr. Wentworth. We never remember to have seen a larger or more respectable company at an estate sale in this town than was assembled on that occasion; • or to have witnessed more spirited competition. The lease is granted by King's College, to whom the estate belongs, for a term of years, of which nineteen were un- expired, subject to a corn and money rent of about 2001. per annum. The improved rent paid to the College lessee by the occupying tenant, Mr. Frederick Lilly, amounts to 6001. per annum. The lease was ultimately knocked down for the very trifling sum of 6,1601. to Mr. Devereux Denton, on behalf of the occupier, Mr. Lilly. So much for agricultural distress and the miserable prospects of the farmers.—Cambridge Advertiser.

At the Liverpool Assizes, on Monday, judgment was given on a point of public interest. Sir John Gerard had sued Mr. Muspratt, the proprietor of the alkali works situated near Newton, for damages on account of injury to the plaintiff's plantations from the noxious gas emitted by the works. The tall chimney of the works is a striking landmark at the junction of the Liverpool and Birmingham Railway with the Liverpool and Manchester, and well known to all travellers on the line. The case as made out by the plaintiff was essentially this. The estate of New Hall, on which Sir John Gerard lives, adjoins Mr. Muspratt's alkali works; and since their erection the trees have continued to fade and die, especially those which face the chimney. The gas emitted from the chimney is muriatic acid gas, which has a great affinity for water. In a damp day it combines with the moisture in the atmosphere, and, being carried along by the wind, comes in contact with the trees and hedges, and is condensed upon the leaves and branches. Its im- mediate effect is to destroy the leaves; the bark then becomes affected; and the final result is to destroy the trees altogether. Up to the time that the works were es- tablished, Sir John's plantations were perfectly healthy. One of the witnesses, a timber-surveyor, estimated the actual damage sustained during the past seven years at 5,8261. On both sides, persons accustomed to rear and value trees, as well as scientific men, were examined. The plaintiff's witnesses attributed the damage to the alkali works; the defendant's traced it to peculiarities of soil and management. After a trial which lasted the greater part of two days, the Jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff, damages 1,0001.

On Wednesday, another trial was entered upon of a similar nature; Sir John Gerard being the plaintiff, and Messrs Crossfield and others, proprietors of alkali works, the defendants. According to the plaintiff's witnesses, the damages sus- tained by those parts of Sir John's plantations subject to the action of the works was about 3,4001. In this case the Jury returned a verdict for 4001. damages.

An investigation by the Berwick Magistrates into the recent extraordinary bank robbery at that place has resulted in a determination to commikittrs. Thom m. for trial for the theft. As soon as the state of her health will permit, she will be sent to Morpeth Gaol.

The cash-box at the Norwich terminus of the Norfolk Railway was robbed of 8001. in gold and silver on Monday morning. The theft was discovered imme- diately after the arrival of the first down-train. The weight of the money ab- stracted was nearly half a hundredweight. It is suspected that some one con- nected with the railway was the thief.

Ashworth, a weaver at Manchester, attempted to murder his wife in a fit of jealousy, by cutting her throat with a razor: but the woman struggled hard for her life; whereupon the man let go his hold, and inflicted a fatal wound on his own throat.

A serious poaching affray took place one night last week on Mr. Featherstone's land near Rsyborough: one of the game-keepers received a blow which dan- gerously fractured his skull.

After a careful examination of the matters taken from the coke-furnace at Chatham, a surgeon has declared his belief that a child, living or dead, had been thrown into the fire.

A tea-party at Bristol has been poisoned by drinking from a pot in which a packet of fly-poison had been put to be out of the way of the children, and for- gotten: the poison was a preparation of arsenic. Fortunately, medical aid pre- vented fatal consequences.

Woodford, a labourer, at work in the tunnel of the Gravesend and Rochester Railway, was killed last week by a train passing over him. It was proved at the inquest, by a fellow labourer, that deceased heard the whistle of the engine as it entered the tunnel, at a distance of three-quarters of a mile; and had he stepped on one side he would have been safe. The Jury added to their verdict of "Acci- dental death," an encomium on the excellent management of the railway.

An engine-driver and a stoker employed on the Great Western Railway had a scuffle on Saturday night, in a very dangerous situation—on the engine of a train which wasgoing at thirty miles an hoar! Between Steventon and Didcot, the men quarrelled, and proceeded to fight; the engine-driver, finding he was getting the worst of it, stopped the engine, that be might throw his opponent off The guards, however, interfered, and the train was taken on to Didcot; where the bel- ligerents were given into custody. The consequences of this encounter on the engine might have been frightful.

On an inquiry by the superintendent of locomotives, it was found that the stoker was the aggressor, and he was dismissed from his employment; the engine- driver was fined twenty shillings.

Elsdon, a guard on the South-eastern Railway, received fatal injury early on Thursday morning, at the Reigate station. He was coming from Dover with the night mail-train, and, wishing to descend as speedily as possible on arriving at the station, he attempted to get down, on the wrong side, while the train was yet in motion; his leg came in contact with the dwarf wall between the two lines of rail, and his thigh-bone was fractured by the concussion; he then fell down, his legs were entangled in the wheels of the carriage, and he was dragged along. When picked up, his legs were found to be crushed, several toes cut off, his left ankle dislocated, and the sole of the foot almost torn away. The sufferer was taken to Guy's Hospital; where he died in a few hours.

A fatal expl sion happened last week at Apedale colliery, in Staffordshire. The ventilation of the mine had been neglected for one night; in the morning a num- ber of men descended to work; the head man went with a candle to a place where be had deposited a safety-lamp, that spot being considered safe when the ventilation was perfect: on the present occasion, however, an explosion took place, and two men were killed, while three others were severely burned.

The King's Head Inn at Chard, and six adjoining houses, have been destroyed by fire: it originated in a range of stabling.