Infstellantous.

A Cabinet Council was held on Tuesday, at the Foreign Office; all the Ministers except the Earl of Minto being present. The Council sat an hour and a half. The Council also met on Thursday, and sat three hours; and again yesterday, sitting for two hours and a half. Parliament met on Tuesday, pro formd; and was further prorogued to the 11th November. Only the Lords Commissioners and the officers of the two Houses were present. We are given to understand, from a source on which we place much re- liance, that Parliament will be assembled next month. We sincerely hope: its measures may be all in accordance with the magnitude of the otitis- which calls them together.—Globe.

An announcement appeared in Tuesday's Gazette from the Commis- sioners of the National Debt, to the effect that as the actual expenditure- had exceeded the annual revenue for the year ended the 5th July 1847, by 143,3921., no sum would be applied by them on account of the sinking- fund.

Tuesday's Gazette contains a Treasury warrant regulating the postage on newspapers, and other printed papers, transmitted between the United King- dom and Bremen. The regulations are similar to those recently established for other places on the Continent; the route for newspapers to pass free to Bremen being " to Bremen direct, or yid Cuxhaven, or any port or place within the territory of Hanover." The local companies of Pensioners belonging to the Metropolitan district are under orders to assemble for drill and exercise. The Western divisions will parade for that purpose in the grounds of Chelsea Hospital on the 18th and 19th of October.—United Service Gazette.

The statement that Sir John Hobhouse and Sir Charles Coote are to be. raised to the Peerage has been contradicted, as if on authority. We understand that Captain Sir William Symonds has been superannu- ated upon 5001. per annum, after having held the office of Surveyor of the Navy for a period of fifteen years.—United Service Gazette. Mr. Cobden arrived in London on Monday morning, by the Hamburg steamer, and proceeded on Tuesday to Manchester. Queen Isabella of Spain completed on Sunday the seventeenth year of her age, and the first year of her marriage. Accounts from Venice mention the death of the young Archduke Fre- derick, Admiral in the Austrian Navy; who expired on the 5th instant, under a disorder much resembling cholera. The Prince became Com- mander-in-chief of the Austrian Navy in 1844, as successor to the late

Admiral Bandiera. •

The musical world has lost an estimable member in Mr. William EU- chael Rooke; who died on Thursday afternoon, at Fulham, after a pro- tracted and painful illness. Mr. Rooke had long been known to a few as- the composer of operatic music exhibiting very high qualities of talent; but it was with difficulty he could obtain a hearing in a theatre. At length, however, his Arne& appeared, and established his repute for original con- ception and sound musical acquirements. The success of some subsequent. productions was less decided. Mr. Rooke has sunk, we believe, under the anxieties of a professional life more meritorious than brilliantly prosperous, at the comparatively premature age of fifty-five; and he leaves a widow and large family with the artist's legacy—a name, but little more.

Failures have again been more numerous in London, this week. there On Saturday the were three, though of small amount: Messrs. Rickards, Little, and Company, East India agents, whose liabilities were stated at 45,0001. Mr. E. Bernouilli, in the Venetian, and Mr. M. J. Soares, in the Portuguesetrade. On Monday, Messrs. James and William Morley, of Gutter Lane, Manchester warehousemen, for liabilities estimated at 60,0001. or 80,0001.; and on Tuesday another person in the same trade, Mr. William Nash, for a similar amount. On Wednesday, Messrs. Barclay, Brothers, and Company, stopped payment for 450,0001. The cause is said to be the same as in the case of Reid, Irving, and Company: large engagements in the Mauritius' involving a constant absorption of capital, first involved the firm in trouble; and the recent failures in England of parties on whom it held acceptances, coupled with the existing pressure, have rendered extrication impossible. The head of the house is one of the present Members for Sunderland, and the partners are distantly related to Messrs. Bar- clay the bankers; they are also related to the owners of the brewery, but are not connected with that business. At a meeting held on Saturday, under the estate of Messrs. Reid, Irving, and Company, a statement of affairs was laid before the creditors. The account as prepared shows a surplus of 186,3241.; but this is on the san- guine assumption that the Mauritius property will produce the estimated value. Some deduction from this part of the assets is viewed as inevitable; and it is also feared, that in consequence of the disastrous position of commercial matters, the liabilities on bills receivable will involve greater loss than that estimated. Mr. Freshfield showed the probability of the speedy payment of a dividend of 5s. in the pound. After some discussion, the meeting came to the conclusion of wind- ing up the affairs of the house under inspection; and Messrs. Thomas Baring, Blythe, (of the Mauritius house of that name,) and M'Chlery, were appointed trustees and inspectors for the creditors. Further failures are reported from Manchester. That of Messrs. James, Son, and Company, is not considered of any importance; the statement made to the cre- ditors is deemed satisfactory. The suspension of Mr. Tebbut appears to have been unexpected: the house had been of long standing in the soap trade. Messrs. Burts, Watson, and Company, leave their affairs in a state that is not encouraging: the debts to bona fide creditors amount to 97,000/, besides heavy acceptances to the extent of 70,0001. more; while the assets scarcely reach 28,0001. The prospects for the creditors of the estate of Messrs. De Jersey and Company, whose failure was mentioned last week, are highly gratifying. There are assets to the amount of 430,0001., against liabilities for 845,0001.; and the proposition made to the creditors was the highly satisfactory one of payment in full by in- stalments of 25 per cent per month. In four months, therefore, the firm may be expected to be once more in a perfectly sound and independent position. There has been some hitch in the affairs of the Oldham Banking Company, and a winding-up of its affairs has been decided on. The capital was only 80,0001.

At Liverpool, Messrs. Mocatta and Son, in the La Gnayra trade, have come to a stop. Their liabilities are about 50,0001. From Ireland, we learn the failure of Messrs. William White and Company, timber and corn merchanM of Waterford. The amount of liabilities is put down at from 40,0001. to 50,0001.

Scotland is feeling the pressure, and the sequestrations are increasing: between the 21st September and 8th October, thirty-six sequestrations were announced in the Edinburgh Gazette. Letters brought by the Washington mention five failures as having taken place in New York; but they are none of them to any large amount. Among the num- ber are Muir, Taylor, and Company; who have also a house at Montreal. The suspension in this and in one of the other cases was caused by returned bills from England. In the three remaining instances,—one of which was for about 30,000L,—it was the consequence of speculations in railway shares, induced by the recent easy state of the New York money-market.

The anticipations as to the liquidation of the affairs of Prime, Ward, and Com.- tiny, bad not become more favourable.

The Morning Chronicle puts forth an opportune memorandum on the subject of these continued disasters— "There is much popular error respecting the influence exercised by the fail- ures of mercantile houses upon trade. The supposition that a stoppage of a firm whose liabilities amount to any given sum involves dishonoured paper to that amount is a mistake, and one which it is very advisable to remove. Common report gives the sum total of recent failures as between ten and twelve millions; and it is a frequent question, ' What will become of all that dishonoured paper?' We believe the fact to be that the acceptances of the firms who have recently failed scarcely reach 3,000,000/. sterling; and in many cases the items of that amount were drawn for by the bill-holders here on the foreign countries from whence the drafts originally came.

" When in 1837 the three large American houses suspended payment, their acceptances amounted to a larger sum by some hundreds of thousands sterling than the aggregate of those dishonoured by the whole amount of failures which have recently occurred; and yet the effects of the present crisis are generally be-. Hewed to be unparalleled in their severity. With reference to this particular point, the state of our exchanges must sooner or later bring the bullion back to this country; and with its accumulation will come a period of greater ease in all departments of trade." We understand that the notices of withdrawal given by depositors at 'owe of the principal savings-banks during the past week have been more rtumeroas and for larger amounts than for a long time past. The low price of the public securities, offering nearly four per cent on investments, has naturally had this effect; and the savings-bank depositors who have reached the maximum of their deposits allowed by law are gladly availing them- selves of the present opportunity to transfer their money to a more profit- able investment.—Morning Chronicle.

The Railway Commissioners have, it is said, demanded from all companies a• statement of their works in progress; and the report of them, if pub- lished, will be of public interest. It may not be out of place to remark with reference to the above inquiry, that the calls made by railway com- panies and payable during the ensuing week amount to upwards of 1,600,0001.!—Morning Chronicle.

Mr. W. T. Spackman's late call upon the " practical " men connected With railways, to help themselves, has evoked a challenge from one " S.," that Mr. Spackmau should furnish the " modus operandi " for such self-

help. He accordingly proceeds to explain. Shareholders have full liberty to enter the office of the company in which they hold shares, ask for the registry, and take a copy of it, gratis; or, on payment of 6d. per every hundred words, they cau demand to have a copy furnished to them-

" The average number of shareholders in nineteen companies out of twenty, whose trunk-lines are not completed, do not exceed from 400 to 600; very few ihdeed amount to 1,000. A circular letter, costing one penny, will convey to each individual from the peer to the peasant a knowledge of the circumstances of the particular company, and also of the rights and duties of the shareholder.

" One thing more only is wanting to qualify your correspondent S.' to embark in this line of business; and that is, to invest the sum of one shilling and three- pence in the purchase of the Companies Clauses Consolidation Act, and about as much more in the act of the company on which he is desirous of operating, and in these he will find not only the rights and duties but the modus operandi of Fe-

cedure fully laid down and strictly defined. • • * The 90th clause of the Companies Clauses Consolidation Act subjects all the powers exercised by the directors to the control and regulation of any general meeting specially convened for the purpose; a security in itself ample enough to afford complete protection to the shareholders."

On this another correspondent, " A. B.," remarks, that Mr. Spackman, with a little want of candour, forgets or omits to add—" but not so as to render invalid any act done by the directors prior to any resolution passed by such general meeting."

Mr. Chadwick, Dr. Southwood Smith, and the other members of the special Sanatory Commission for the Metropolis, have been engaged for several days past examining witnesses as to the present state of those districts where the cholera was the most prevalent in 1832; Shadwell, Rotherhithe, and the Borough.—Globe.

The steady advance of the cholera Westward has induced Mr. William Herapath, of Bristol, to publish for the public benefit the results of his chemical experiments on the nature of the infection during the visitation in 1832. Mr. Berapath gives reasons why the recently discovered disin- fectants will be of no avail in grappling with this particular form of in- fection—

" For some time I attended almost daily at the cholera hospitals, and ex- perimented in every way I could think of, upon the dead and living subjects, their contents and egecta, the atmosphere surrounding them, and their articles of clothing. The conclusions I arrived at I forward tor the information of those who have not had the same opportunities. " 1. That the cause of cholera is a putrid animal poison, capable of being re- cognized by the smell by some, emanating from and surrounding the dead or living cholera subject or articles of clothing.

" 2. That it is not sulpburetted hydrogen or bydrosulphuret of ammonia, as it does not decompose salts of lead or zinc, and when passed through nitrate delver it only forms a red solution when exposed to light.

" 3. That it is only received into the living body through the lungs, and cannot be propagated by inoculation. " 4. That infection can be conveyed by articles of clothing, bedding, &c.; and that washerwomen are more subject to infection than ordinary persons from that cause.

" 5. That all persons are not equally liable to infection from equal exposure, and even the same individual becomes more sensitive under certain circumstances.

"6. That the poison is destroyed by chlorine gas and a heat of 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

"As the object of the present communication is merely to give the public opinion a right direction so as to help the future boards of health to combat this insidious and powerful enemy, I must at once state that the two most popular dis- infectants of the day—the chloride of zinc and the nitrate of lead, known as Sir W. Burnet's and Leiloyen's—will be of no avail, although they will promptly re- move ordinary putrid effluvia. The only chemical preventive 1 depended upon in my numerous exposures to the virus was chlorine gas; and this I believe to be a perfect one if the fumigation is complete. I invariably passed through an atmosphere of it on my return home, and kept it escaping in my residence during the continuance of the disease in the city. I also placed large quantities of the substance necessary for the evolution of this gas in the hands of a Bristol druggist, who was kind enough to distribute 1,200 quantities of it gratuitously to applicants during three days with instructions for the use; and am happy to say, that during that time the deaths fell from ten to one per day; and I have but little doubt that if every ship arriving in England from an infected place should be exposed to a perfect fumigation with chlorine we shall be preserved from the infection. If the disease should pass this cordon. by any accident, then every house in the infected district should be simultaneously fumigated with it--say three times a day: unless done in all houses at the same time, it would be useless, or nearly so; and to do it effectually, a mixture of three parts of common salt and one of black oxide of manganese should be placed just inside the eater or street door of the dwelling-house, and a little common vitriol poured upon it. The inward current of air will convey the chlorine gas to every part of the interior; and wherever it can be smelt the effect is produced—the miasm is destroyed. If articles of clothing are infected, and the colours are likely to be injured by the gas, they may be heated in an oven or on a kiln, to 250 or 300 degrees, (about the heat of baking bread,) when they might be handled or used with perfect impunity."

The eclipse of the Sun on Saturday last, which was not observed in Lon- don, was only partially seen at Paris and Brussels. In each city the morning remained cloudy till after eight, when the most interesting mo- ment was past. At Liverpool, however, the morning was exceedingly propitious; the atmosphere was clear and unclouded; and the transit of our satellite across the Sun's disc was observed from the moment when the luminary appeared above the horizon to the termination of the eclipse. At Brighton and Exeter, the eclipse is reported " a total failure." Edin- burgh was rather more fortunate; occasional glimpses were obtained throughout the whole period of obscuration. Glasgow was not quite so well off as the Scottish capital; and the sun did not show himself at all to the good folks of Greenock.

M. Alexandre Brogniart, the well-known mineralogist, died at Paris on Friday, in his seventy-eighth year. He was director of the Royal porcelain manufactory of Sevres, at which he resided.

Omnibuses have appeared in Turkey: a regular course of them has been estab- lished between Constantinople and Adrianople, by an Armenian company. These carriages carry twelve passengers inside, two out, and are drawn by six horses. The journey occupies thirty-two hours; and the fare is 130 piastres.

A Chinese junk, the Ke-Ying, from Canton, has been exhibiting at New York; but it seems that, though great curiosity was excited by the arrival of the stran- ger, the 'cute Americans have not fulfilled the expectations of the Chinamen in paying to view the junk; for the captain has been unable to liquidate the wages of his crew. The sailors, to the number of twenty-six, seized the vessel for the debt, and then appealed to the Civil Court; the seizure has been maintained by the Court, and the junk was to be sold to pay the demands of the seamen.

Nine years ago, Mr. Hele, postmaster of Alphington, trained a dog of the bull- terrier breed, to fetch firm the guard of the Bath mail, as it passed through the village, the bag of letters. On the guard sounding his born, the dog would leave the office and meet the mail; and when the guard dropped the bag, he would bring it safe to the office. From his sagacity and faithfulness, a collar was given him with the following inscription—" Menge, guard of the Alphington mail-bag." Many gentlemen and passengers have witnessed his performance during eight years. On Tuesday last, the mail was.taken off the Plymouth road: the dog was in waiting ffir the bag at the usual time, but no mail arrived; and he has been apparently in great distress ever since. He may be seen every day waiting and walking up and down the road, and will not leave the accustomed spot. A conespondent says, " We hope his case will be represented in the proper quarter, and that he will receive the reward of faithful service."—Western Times.

The district of Arsunde, in the province of Noreland in Sweden, was ravaged by a water-spout at the latter end of last month. The water-spout passed over two forests of pine-trees, in which it rooted up or destroyed 4,000 trees, some of them a century old; it carried off the roofs of a great number of houses, conveyed two barns a distance of 3,000 feet, killed a numerous troop of cattle, and caused the death of twenty-two persons. Such a phenomenon is-unexampled in the dis- trict, which is so far North as almost to touch Lapland.

Everybody has-been curious to know the name of the "Duke" in whose cellars and yacht, were found smuggled spirits. The Hampshire Independent describes him as "a nobleman residing at Lyndhurst, enjoying a foreign ducal title, and of great wealth, whose equipage is daily to be seen in the streets of Southampton? The Post mentions that the gentleman is supposed to be the Due de Stacpole. We believe," says the Hampshire paper, " that no further proceedings have yet been taken; though there doubtless soon will be, as it is believed the' noble Duke' has rendered himself liable either to the forfeiture of the yacht or to the payment of a very heavy bond, customarily entered into by the owners of yachts, to abstain from such attempts to evade the revenue-laws; • in return for which engagements, immunities are given which are not allowed to vessels of any other description."

An Irish paper tells of a singular "advantage of crime." "Mr. Anderson, soli- citor to Mr. Maclean who has a judgment for 2181. 15s. 3d. against Mr. Browne, the Irish barrister, lately sentenced to transportation for bigamy, but whose sen- tence was commuted to voluntary exile, applied to Sir William Somerville for leave to arrest him while he was in prison. Sir William Somerville refused granting that power; and as the Sheriff had no jurisdiction over the prison where Mr. Browne was confined, the latter, by delaying his departure until Sunday, escaped the clutches of the bailiff."

The Count of Goerlitz, accused in the German Spectator and the Mannheim Evening Gazette of having murdered his late wife, announces that in order to ex- culpate himself from the charge he has instituted proceedings against those two journals, for calumny, before the tribunal at Darmstadt.

A rich farmer of Valdbye, in Denmark, has just been tried at Copenhagen for having attempted, by displaying a red pocket-handkerchief at the end of a stick, to stop a train running on the railway from Copenhagen to Rothschield. He acknowledged that lie had displayed the signal as stated; but affirmed that he did so in consequence of a wager entered into by him after a copious breakfast well seasoned with wine, that he should succeed in stopping the lint train that appeared: knowing that to display a red flag signified danger, he had waved his red handkerchief as mentioned in the indictment. The Court, finding him guilty, sentenced him to ten years' hard labour in a house of correction; being the penalty laid down in the Danish law against any attempt to stop a railway train or im- pede its passage. The man has appealed against this severe sentence.

Intelligence has been brought to Sydney from New Zealand, by the Miinkin, to the 14th May. A shocking murder had been committed by the Maories in the district of Wanganui. The scene of the crime was the country section belonging to Mr. Gilfillan: he, with his daughter, a girl of about fifteen years old, of all his family alone escaped; and they were both badly wounded. Besides sacrificing Mrs. Gallen and three of her children, the Maones had burnt their house to the ground. Five of the party were shortly afterwards captured, and were committed on the charge; and as the district of Wanganui continued under martial law, a military commission was to be held for their trial.

While a son and a daughter of Captain Edgar Hayes were proceeding in the carriage from Brompton to town on. Saturday, something was seen to move in the pocket of the coach; the young gentleman put his hand in, and was immediately bitten in the wrist; directly afterwards a viper sprang out, and fastened on the mantle of a young lady who was accompanying Miss Hayes, and bit her above the shoulder. The screams of the ladies brought assistance, and the reptile—which was about eight inches long—was destroyed. How the viper entered the carriage is a mystery.

Mr. Whiteway, a banker of Newton Abbot, was out shooting, lately, with a doable-barrelled gun; while he was reloading one of the barrels, the other went off, and the charge passed through his head. The venerable patriarch of the Gipsy tribe, Will Faa, died at Kirk Yetholm last week, in the ninety-sixth year of his age. Up to a very recent period he was in: the enjoyment of a hale old age, pursuing his favourite amusement with the fishing-rod, and taking long rambles; but within these few months back his iron frame indicated quick-coming decay. His death was made the occasion for a Gipsy wake; which consisted of a more than ordinary house among such of the clan as were in the village and neighbourhood.—Glasgow Paper.

A child at Manchester has been smothered in dough ! The boy, two years and a half old, was left by his mother sitting before the fire; the woman had been preparing dough to make bread, and left it on the hearth; during her absence the child fell into the dough and perished.

Henry Ford, a man employed at the St. Pancras steam sawing-mills went, on Saturday afternoon, into a shed containing a circular saw; the saw caught him on the shoulder, and before the machine could be stopped the upper part of his body was nearly sawn through.

While the congregation were leaving Walsall church on Sunday night, they were startled by a violent explosion. There had been an escape of gas into the building for some time; and on that night, Lunn, the beadle, set about an inspec- tion_, with a lighted candle in his hand: he entered the Churchwardens' pew; an explosion took place; the adjacent pews were blown in all directions; and the poor man was killed.

Broughton Old Hall, near Manchester, the property of Colonel Clowes, was par- tially destroyed by fire on Saturday morning. The building was undergoing re- pair, and was stripped of furniture; and the workmen had left a very large fire in one of the rooms, which acted upon timber communicating with the wainscot

Three young tradesmen of Calder Bank have perished in a colliery near Air- drie. Their mangled bodies were found at the -bottom of the shaft. They had been drinking deep the night before at Airdrie; and there is no doubt that they fell down the shaft while wandering about intoxicated.

Results of the Registrar-General's return of mortality in the Metropolis for the week ending on Saturday last—

Number of Autumn deaths. average. Zymotic (or Epidemic, Endemic, and Contagious) Diseases 324 .. . 211 Dropsy, Cancer, and other diseases of uncertain or variable seat 96 • • • • 101 Diseases of the Brain, Spinal Marrow, Nerves, and Senses . 133 • • • 157 Diseases of the Lungs, and of the other Organs of Respiration 214 • . • • 333 Diseases of the Heart and Blood-vessels . 43 • • • • 31 Diseases of the Stomach, Liver, and other Organs of Digestion 79 • • • • 71 Diseases of the Kidneys, he. 17 • • • • 9 Obildbirth, diseases of the Uterus, g.c. 18 • • • • 11

Rheumatism, diseases of the Bones, Joints, die s • • • • 7

Diseases of the Skin, Cellular Tissue, &a 3 ... . 2 Old Age 55 • • • 63 Violence, Privation, Cold, and Intemperance 28 • • . • 29 Total (including unspecified causes) 1022 1046

The comparison of the deaths registered last week in London with the deaths which would have been registered if the rate of mortality, had been the same as in Dorsetshire, shows these totals—London, 1022; Dorsetshire, 614; excess, 408.

The temperature of the thermometer ranged from 79.3° in the sun to 32.0° in the shade; the mean temperature by day being colder than the average mean temperature by 0.4°. The air was nearly in a calm state during the first four days of the week, the air being in very gentle motion. The direction of the wind was variable.