Incendiary fires have again been frequent : yesterday week a
wheat. stack belonsing to Mr. James Taylor, whose farm is on the Norwich road, near Halesworth, was destroyed. A provincial paper says—
Mr. Taylor, whose property was thus designedly destroyed, is the father-ins law of Mr. James Johnson, the minister churchwarden of flalesworth, whose straw .stack was burnt on the night of Christmas-day, and for the author of which devast ttion the extraordinary reward, raised by subscription, of 575/. has been offered. That reward as yet seenrs to have had any thing but the proper and desired effect; iustead of leading to the discovery of the culprits, it appears only to have directed blind vengeance against the parties who were concerned in or contributed to the reward of 575/, which is offered in hills exhibited in all the shopkarpers' windows here, and circulated largely in the county. Since
the reward whrch was offered for the fire at Mr. Johnson's, a threatening letter, of the most decided character, as tar as words can go, has been sent to Mr.
Johnson ; and the hostility has beeen extended by setting fire to the stack of
one of the principal subscribers to the reward—Mr. F. Robinson, of Dunwich. —.Ffire occurred lately at Mr. Prime's of Honiton. While it was raging, the agricultural labourers, it is said, " not only refused to assist In subduing the fire, but occupied the time in the most; wanton and notous manner. They entered the house of Mr. Prime, and consumed and carried off all time eatables that they could gain possession of, con- sisting of pickled pork, some gallons of spirits, &e."
There have also been incendiary fires in Lincolnshire, Suffolk, and Leicestershire. At some, the labouring population exerted themselves to put them out ; at others, they seemed to take great delight in viewing the destruction of. property.
We mentioned last week, on the authority of the Tie/es, that there was a prospect ()f a speedy settlement of the dispute between the Derby workpeople and their employers. This appears to be by no means the case. On the contrary, the men are fitting up rooms with machinery, looms, tkie. in order to manufacture on their own account. They have also opened a provision-store, and buy and sell bacon and flour in con- siderable quantities. About twenty minutes before three o'clock on the morning of Thursday week, a sudden and rather violent trembling of the earth was felt at Portsmouth. Its effects were more visible at Chichester, Etns- worth, Havant, and Purbrook ; where, in many of the houses, the con- vulsive motion shook the furniture, and appeared to threaten destruction to the premises, the inmates becoming so greatly alarmed as to run to and frotn each other's bed-rooms for aid and shelter. A shock of simi- lar violence and duration was felt at this place about twenty years-sinec, in the afternoon of a fine day. A few days ago, at Howden, a child accidentally set fire to its clothes; which its brother having observed, endeavoured to extinguish. In this attempt, his own clothes became ignited; and to check the progress of the flames, lie raim out and rolled himself over at Ow foot of a heyetack, which in consequence took fire. It is still further remark- able, that a gentleman who went in pursuit of a surgeon to attend impel: the children broke his leg.—Manchester Guardian. In a race between the Earl of Dundonald steam-boat, and the I111.:1■11y, ne 61CCI1Wiell, 011 Tuesday last, the bo:ler of the Earl of ihnnionald burst, and killed the engineer. The boat was an open vessel, propelled by a rotatory motion on a new prinriple, which Lord Cochruae, its inventor, wished the Admiralty to adopt. It was em it trial of its eilicacy that the accident took place. A F.itt:.;111:ir lunnicide was committed in a sick-room of Greeinviell Hospital la- t Saturday afternoon. Three men, all unwell, and one of tImal upwards of eighty and bad-ridden, were left together for some time, when an attendant heard a cry of distress ; which he found to proceed from one of' the three men, named Bailey, whom Ward, an- other of them, had stabbed in five different places with a long clasp keife. The wounds seemed to have been made by sticking in the point of the knife in two different ways, and then turning it round. Ward, when asked, said at once that he killed him, because lie plagued hitn, mid mocked him when inc coughed. The knife was quite clean, because he said, he had wiped the blood off with his tongue. The man seems to have been mad from fever, under which he was sufferieg at the time. Ile hail a fall some time ago from the rigging of a ship, which he said had broken his skull. The deceased was sixty, and Ward is fifty-four years of age. On Sunday he was more calm, and much affected. lie has since been committed, on the verdict of a Co- roner's Jury, to take his trial for the murder.
Time hotly of a young womina who left her home near ',Thiele on the Monday before Christmas, to visit some friends at Cockermouth, and who lied not since been heard of, has been found in the river Der- went, near Dunthwaite, with several marks of violence on her neck and face. lier reticule and umbrella were found on Ouse bridge, by a man, who, supposing them to have been accidentally dropped, did not make any inquiry about the owner. She had some money when she left home, but none was found in her pocket when her body was taken ottt of the river.
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