Atisteilantous.

the Paris National states that King Leopold and his Queen are engaged in endeavours to render the intercourse of the French and British Courts and Cabinets more friendly.

After a sojourn in England of nearly four ydElts and a half, the Duke de la Victoria left-London on Wednesday, on his return to Spain-

" From the moment," says a correspondent of the Morning Chronicle," that he became aware, from the reports of the debates in the Cortes, in the public journals that the Prime Minister of Spain had declared that no obstacle existed to his return to Spain, and that an honourable seat in the Senate was ready for his occupation, this illustrious Spaniard hastened to apply for the needful pass- port, and to make the most active preparations for his departure." "Those who may imagine that the Duke de la Victoria's return to Spam will be the signal for political outbreaks, are altogether in error. He simply goes to take his seat as a Senator in the Cortes; as he was ready to do when his Sovereign first nominated him to that high legislative office."

Prince Metternich had addressed notes to the Governments of England and France, intimating that, as a measure of precaution, the Emperor of Austria has determined to increase the number of his troops in Venetian Lombardy.

It is understood that the subject of forming an army of reserve is at pre- sent under consideration. In consequence, many suggestions are being made to the Government as to the propriety of officering the same by se- lections from the Half-pay list—Morning Poet.

The Superintendents of her Majesty's Dockyards have received the fol- lowing instructions from the Admiralty on the subject of

LIGHTS FOE STEAMERS.

"The attention of the Board of Admiralty having been repeatedly called to the ne- cessity of establishing a uniform system of lights for steamers, directions were given (after a long and careful series of trials of various lights) to fit the several mail steam- ers on the West coast of England, namely those of Liverpool, Holyhead, and Pembroke, with lights as follows— "When under Weigh—A bright white light on the foremast head—A green light on the starboard bow—A red light on the port bow, to be fitted with inboard screens.

" When at Anchor—A common bright light.

" On the above plan being notified, it was adopted by several steam-boat proprietors; and the vessels of the steam companies named below are fitting or are already fitted with these lights. 1. The British and North American Royal Mall Company. 2. The British General Steam Packet Company. 3. The Glasgowand Liverpool Steam Packet Company. 4. The Chester and Holyhead Company. 5. The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Packet Company. 6. The West India Royal Mail Steam Packet Company.

" The experiments thus made proving satisfactory, tee Board of Admiralty have given directions that all steamers in her Majesty's Navy shall be fitted with the above coloured lights and screens; the lanterns being divided Into two sizes or classes. "An act having been passed in the tenth year of the reign of her present Majesty, entitled an act, &c., requiring, 'that the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty shall Institute and establish certain lights, to be exhibited by all steam-vessels belonging to. Great Britain,' it is the intention of the Board of Admiralty to issue regulations for the above lights being exhibited by all steamers navigating the coasts and channels of this country : but sufficient time will be given for the owners and masters of steam- vessels to become acquainted with the plans, before the notice is published in the Lon- don Gazette, requiring them to show these lights ; and this will probably be in the month of March next. In the mean time, every facility will be afforded to masters and owners of steamers desirous of becoming acquainted with the plan, by furnishing such as may apply for it with a full description of the lights. And for the guidance of persons interested in the above plan, a diagram illustrative of the system is sent herewith. "It it should be desired, an officer will be sent to give the requisite Instructions as to the proper placing of the lights and screens."

Government have it in contemplation to pass a measure authorizing pensions to be granted to superannuated masters of workhouses.—Morning. Post.

The Gazette of Tuesday contained an official notice altering the royalty reser- ved on minerals raised from mines in the colony of New Zealand from 15 per cent to 1-15th of the said minerals.

We are happy to state, on the best authority, that the latest accounts- from her Majesty the Queen Dowager, at Madeira, are of the most favour- able description in every respect. Her Majesty is not forgetful of home duties though so far away. can Christmas-day, nearly a thousand families in the parish of Hampton and its vicinity were regaled with a plentiful supply of beef and bread for their Christmas dinner, by her Majesty's mu- nificence. The Royal bounty, in this and various articles of warm winter clothing, was distributed by the Vicar of the parish.—Morning Poet_

The Earl of Harrowby died on Sunday last, after an illness of only three days, at the family seat, Samba Hall, in Staffordshire. He had completed his eighty- fifth year on the previous Wednesday. Dudley Ryder, Earl of Harrowby, Viscount Bandon' and Baron Harrowby in the English Peerage, was the eldest son of Nathaniel first Lord Harrowby, and. Elizabeth daughter to the Right Reverend Richard Terrick Bishop of London,. He was born in 1762; and in 1795 married Lady Susan Leveson Gower, sixth- daughter of the first Marquis of Stafford; by whom he had nine children: the eldest son, Lord Sandon, succeeds to the title. Mr. Dudley Ryder commence& his long and busy career in 1784; when he entered the House of Commons as Member for Tiverton. The first office conferred on him was that of Under Se- cretary of State for Foreign Affairs: during forty years of active public service,

he successively filled the offices of Compeller of the Household

' , Paymaster-Ge- neral of the Forces Vice-President of the Board of Trade, Chairman of two

portant Committees of :the House of Commons, Treasurer of the Navy, Secretazy of State for Foreign Affairs, Plenipotentiary to Vienna, Berlin, and St. Peters- burg, for the purpose of organizing a coalition against Napoleon, Chancellor of the Datchy of Lancaster, and President of the Board of Control. Mr. Ryder al- ways enjoyed the friendship of his political chief, Mr. Pitt; and acted as second to him in his duel with Mr. Tierney. He succeeded to the Peerage in 1803; and in 1809- was created an Earl. His final retirement from the public service was in 1827.

It was to assassinate the Ministers at a Cabinet dinner given by Lord Har-

towby, Gresvenor Square, that the Celebrated Cato Street conspiracy was. hat aUld.

"What is a prtemunire? " is a question often asked at present. The following explanation of its meaning and legal effect is abridged from the • account given in the fourth volume of Blackstone's Commentaries. The statutes of praininnire were originally framed to check the progress or Papal usurpations in England. The first statute, against "Papal provisions," was passed in the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Edward the First. Edward, the Third followed, by passing sharp and penal laws against " provisors "; enact- ing, says Blackstone, "that the Court of Rome shall not present or collate to any bishopric or living in England; and that whoever disturbs any patron in the pre- sentation to a living by virtue of a Papal provision, such izrovisor shall pay fine and ransom to the King at his will, and be imprisoned till he renounces such pro-- vision: and the same punishment LS inflicted on such as cite the King, or any of his subjects, to answer in the Court of Rome." These laws were further strengthened in thereign of Richard the Second. Aliens were declared incapable of letting their benefices to form, and subsequently of being presented to any ecclesiastical preferment. Liegemen of the King accepting of a living by any foreign provisions were put out of the ring's protection, and' the benefice was made void. To these penalties a late act adds banishment and- forfeiture of lands and goods; and for the bearer of any citation or excommunica- tion from beyond the sea, imprisonment with " pain of life and member."

The writ for the execution of all these statutes commenced with the worths: " prasmunire facias,"—being used to command a citation of the accused party; and in course of time the word " prsemunire" came to be used not only for the writ, but for the offence in respect of which it was issued. The last of the an- cient statutes was the 2d Henry 1V. c. 3; by which all persons who accepted any provision from the Pope to be exempt from canonical obedience to them proper ordinary were made subject to the penalties.

The author of the Commentaries thus sums up the offences included under the term " przemunire"—" Introducing a foreign power into this land, and creating, imperium in imperio, by paying that obedience to Papal process which constitu- tionally belonged to the King alone, long before the Reformation in the reign of Henry the Eighth; at which time the penalties olfieraimunire were indeed ex- tended to more Papal abuses than before; as the IC ono then entirely renounced the authority of the See of Rome, though not at all t corrupted doctrines of the Roman Church. And therefore, by the several statutes of 24th Henry VIIL c. 12, and 25th Henry VIIL c. 19 and 21, to appeal to Rome from any of the King's courts, which, though illegal before, had at times been connived at— to sue to Rome for any licence of dispensation—or to obey any process from- thence—are made liable to the pains of prsemunire. And in order to restore Jer the King in effect the nomination of vacant bishoprics, and to keep up the esta- blished forms, it is enacted, by statute 25th Henry VIII. c. 20, that if the Dean and Chapter refuse to elect the person named by the King, or any Archbishop or Bishop to confirm or consecrate him, they shall fall within the penalties of the statutes of prsemunire. Also, by statute 5th Elizabeth, c. 1, to refuse the oath of supremacy will incur the pains of prmmunire; and to defend the Pope's juris- diction in this realm is a pn:emunire for the first offence, and high treason for the

second. So, too, by 13th Elizabeth, c. 2, to import any Aguas Dei, crosses, beads, or other superstitious thin' gs pretended to be hallowed by the Bishop of Rome, and tender the same to be used—or to receive the same with such intent, and not dis- cover the offender—or if a Justice of the Peace, knowing thereof, shall not within fourteen days declare it to a Privy Councillor—they all incur a przemunire. But importing or selling mass-lcoks, or other Popish books, is by statute 3d James I. c. 5, sec. 25, only liable to a penalty of forty shillings. Lastly, to contribute to the maintenance of a Jesuit's college, or any Popish seminary whatever, beyond sea, or any person in the same—or to contribute to the maintenance of any Jesuit or Popish priest in England—is by statute 27th Elizabeth, c.2, made liable to the penalties of prsemunire.'

It is said that the Prince de Joinville is at present preparing a work on the French Navy, which he proposes to present to the Chamber of Peers.

A medal struck by the Polish Historical Committee of Paris, in commemora- tion of the important services rendered by Prince Czartoryski to his country, was presented to him on Friday last week, at the Hotel Lambert. Besides a large body of Poles, there were present deputations from the Historical Committees of Pans and London, and from the Literary Society.

In contrast with the large revenues of the English Prelacy, the Jaunted des Debate obserees, that in France Archbishops receive stipends of only 15,000 francs [6001.1, and Bishops of only 10,000 francs. The Archbishop of Paris, however, has 40,000 francs, on account of the importance of his see; and Car- dinals have 10,000 franca additional.

It appears from an official document that in the several dioceses of England and Wales there are 11,386 benefices, and 7,785 glebe-houses.

On the let of August last, there were 25,000 English residing at Paris and in the environs- at Boulogne there were 7,000, and at Calais 4,000; 25,000 resided in other pares of France. Their expenditure is reckoned altogether at 5,000,0001.

The celebrated sculptor Luigi Pampolini died at Florence on the 18th of December.

Accounts from the North of Germany mention the rise of a German O'Connell. It appears that M. Bessler, a lawyer, was elected three years ago to represent his native town of Tondren in the Sleswig Diet, by whom he was elected to the office of President. Having in that capacity spoken strongly against the Danish Go- vernment and in supportof the "German principle," the authorities of Denmark took measures to silence him. It appears that every lawyer must be com- missioned by the Government, and no commissioned officer can sit as a representa- tive in the Diet without the permission of the Government. Under this law M. Bessler was required either to give up his commissioned business as a lawyer or relinquish his seat in the Diet. M. Bessler chose the alternative of sacrificing his lousiness; an intention which he made public in a sort of manifesto. The ap- pearance of this document caused the greatest excitement; and forthwith com- mittees were formed in the different towns of the two Dutchies to raise subscrip- tions for the martyr. Gradually the feeling spread to Hanover, Prussia, Bavaria, Baden, and Wurtemburg; and the result is likely to be, that instead of his former income of about two hundred a year, M. Bessler will receive a clear fortune of several hundred thousand thalers.

According to advices from St. Petersburg, to the 14th December, the cholera had not subsided at Moscow. Between the 29th November and the 6th Decem- ber, the number of cases was 231, with 112 deaths: total eases, 2N.96;--deatlis-,- . 1,419. Theldisesee, , however, appearsto be statiouary;.and to have lost much of --11:3 intensity: Thus, in the government of Twer it was confined to the district of Torschok; it completely ceased at Kazan on the 23d, and at Simbirsk on the 24th of November. In the government of Oremburg it still prevailed in the localities where it originelly manifested itself. In the districts of the governments of Mohilew, Tschernigow, Kiew, and Poltatva, which are watered by the Dnieper, the cholera presented a more epidemical character.

An operation in surgery, of a very formidable and intricate nature, was per- formed on Monday last, by Mr. Thomas Wakley junior, at the Royal Free Hospital. , The chloroform was used on the occasion with complete suceese There were be- , stween thirty and forty practitioners present; who appeared to view the operation with great interest, as it was the first time that it had ever been performed. The operation consisted in dissecting out the two chief bones of the foot, and in cutting off the ends of the bones of the leg which form the inner and outer ankles. The bones were dissected out in less than six minutes; and the remaining portion of the foot having been adjusted in its new position by a bandage, the patient was removed to his bed, where he expressed his gratitude to the operator, and declared that he had not felt the slightest pain.—Times.

A correspondent of the Daily News calla attention to the manner in which the arches of the South-western Railway Extension are built. "A few days ago, one of the railway arches, opposite the Elephant and Castle at Vauxhall, gave way, leaving an aperture of seven or eight feet square at the top. It is fortunate that no serious accident occurred; for children are, every hour in the day and man hours of the night, amusing themselves by running from pier to pier, little thinking that their lives are literally limited to a span. In some of the adjoining arches the wet drips through, just as if the bricks were incontinent of moisture, or had the dropsy, or were shedding tears ill compassion for future sufferers, set.. ting an early example to the directors. The circumstance imparts the most un- sightly appearance to the srches, and causes just apprehensions of insecurity and mishap—that of despatching, many a victim of hateful avarice to that gloomy terminus from which there is no returning train."

A marble quarry has recently been opened in the Maremma, about thirty-five miles from Leghorn. The quarry appears to have been worked in ancient times, possibly by-the Etrurians; and some ohisels and picks have been found there, which closely resemble those now in uge. Mt. Powers, the American sculptor, thus speaks of it in a private letter—" It is..ular that the owner of the quarry is a Greek, who has found the marble, supposed to be peculiar to his own country, here in Tuscany. He can afford this marble for less than one-half the price of Carrara on account of the great ease and small expense of excavating and taking it to the sea-shore. The marble has a rich warm colour, so desirable in statues and busts; and it is most beautiful in columns, mantelpieces, and the like. The grain is coarse, like the Parian, but it works smoothly, and takes a high polish." —Builder.

A manufacturer of silks, having received from his dyer a large quantity of goods in a spotty condition, threatened him with an action, unless he was com- pensated for the loss he was likely to sustain, owing, as it appeared, to the dyer's carelessness. This being resisted, chemists were employed to detect the causes of the accident; but they were at fault, until, at length, one gentleman to whom the damaged silk had been committed for analysis, thought of submitting it to mi- croscopic examination by an eminent naturalist; who at once discovered that the spots were owing to a peculiar fungus, having all the characters of that variety which was detected in the potato disease. The result was, the discovery that all the damage had beeen effected by the manufacturer and not the dyer • he having employed in the process of manufacture a starch size which had been prepared fromdiseased potatoes.—Art-Union Journal.

On the night of Sunday week, about ten o'clock, we observed an Aurora of most unusual and brilliant character. A blood-red light first appeared in the N. N. W., high up the sky, like the reflection from a great fire. After this had remained stationary for two or three minutes, the whole atmosphere round to N.E. appeared filled down to the very ground with luminous clouds, in rapid ma- lice, undulating, flickering, flashing, and disappearing. As this vanished, the

whole sky over the ding quarter became covered with a blood-red light,

which gradually fadceleteTe duration of the whole was about ten minutes.— Cornwall Gazette.

A large whale has been stranded near Aberdeen, during a storm. It was discovered by two boys: it plunged about, vomited a large quantity of blood, and then expired. The whale was about forty-eight feet long, and thirty in circum- ference; though of a kind not very copious in blubber, it will probably yield seven tuna of oil. The good folks of Aberdeen swarmed by thousands around leviathan, to admire and wonder.

The Inverness Courier tells a tale of a novel fox-trap. "Immense mussels, some of them almost as large as a man's shoe, are found at Ardinisgain, on Loch Carron. A few days since one of these mussels was left uncovered by a spring ebb-tide, and was induced by the rays of the sun to open itself. While thus open, it was observed by a prowling fox, which thrust its tongue into the shell, in the hope of securing the Sabi but the mussel instantly closed on the tongue of the fox, which was retained a prisoner until drowned by the rising tide."

A gentleman in Devonshire having incurred a debt with his barber for twenty- one years' shaving, demurred to the charge, when the bill was sent in, of 311, 'Jr. 2d., or one penny a day. The barber proposed to be paid by square measure at the rate of 2001. an acre. On measurement, the area of the gentleman's beard proved to be 129 square inches. This space traversed 7,670 tunes was found to give 1,472,646 inches, and to produce a charge of 461. 19s. Id.

Mr. Barry, the present stage-manager of the Park Theatre, New York, when quite a young man, was an actor at the Dublin Theatre. One night, not being in the bill, he took a seat in a private box for the purpose of witnessing the perform- ance of Othello. Shortly after the rising of the curtain, a stranger entered the box and took a seat by his side; and both gentlemen sat out the whole performance. The next morning, Mr. Barry had the satisfaction of reading a long critique in one of the newspapers on the performance of Othello, in which he (Barry) was set down as the lege of the night, and most decidedly damned. The writer declared his conception of the character ridicules., in the extreme, and his delineation as " most villanous." Poor Barry was of course astonished—he woe enraged—and immediately applied at the office of the paper for the name of the writer. Tics °rifleris pointed out to him; and lo and behold ! it was no other than the very man who sat by his aide in the private box on the previous night. This circum- stance was of course mentioned; and the "gentleman of the press" admitted he had made a small mistake,—adding, however, in a rich brogue, "Faith! it's a matter of no consequence at all, at all, Mr. Barry; for what I wrote last night about the gentleman who did play logo, is exactly what I should my about you if you had played the part!" Barry thought this "foregone conclusion" with a ven- geance; but the critic would give him no farther satisfaction.—New York Tribune.

In consequence of a communication made by Mr. Justice Patteson relative to the case of Michael 3PCabe, now under sentence of death in York Castle for murder, the Secretary of State has advised the Queen to respite the prisoner.— Globe.

Mary Ann Hunt, who was convicted of the murder of Mrs. Stowell, and whose pregnancy a jury of matrons denied, has just given birth to a male child.

One Joseph Speed was recently convicted,AkbaiiitmpostAesises, of the mu r- fler:pf his.tan c.mr though it' wafittlempted b e allown that he was insane when he committed the deed. A memorial having been sent to the Home Seers tary in his behalf, the sentence has been commuted to ttausportation for life.

A heartless poisoner has been sentenced to death by the Pftpes Court of Assizes. Rose Theyre is a widow of thirty-seven, but looking younger, find she has a sweet

voice and becoming manners: she was charged with no fewer than seven murders or attempts to murder, and several cases were proved against her. She poisoned her husband and her son, by means of arsenic. She attended sick people, ingra- tiated herself, got wills made in her favour; and then the invalids died, evidently by poison. At the last place she was at, she attempted to poison the mistress and a maid: suspicion was excited; her criminality was made evident; and then her other offences came to light. The wretch was very artful, and equally unfeeling: a few hours after the death of her son, she was found asleep by his side! M. Outrebon, a notary who has resided iis Paris during the last twenty-five years, a superior officer of the National Guard, officer of the Legion of Honour, and one of the stanchest Conservatives of the second arrondissement, has been re-.

nowned for giving the most sumptuous balls during the season: he was arrested on Tuesday morning, at his residence in the Place Vendome, on a charge of having committed forgery, and misapplied a large sum of money intrusted to his care. After having been interrogated by a magistrate, he was placed in solitary confine- ment in the prison of the Conciergerie. A melancholy tale of disaster at sea is reported this week. The bark Lord Canterbury, bound from Quebec to Bristol, encountered a tremendous gale on the night of the 5th December, and leaked so much that one pump was kept con- stantly going. Next morning, it was found that part of the rudder was gone, and it was necessary to work two pumps. On the succeeding day, the ship became full of water; and the crew, twenty in number, were compelled to take to the mast-tops. Here, subsisting on a little bread and water, they remained unaided till the 16th, several ships having passed them. On the evening of the 16th, during a breeze, the John, of Bideford, discovered the wreck about thirty-five

miles from Cape Clear. The Lord Canterbury was then falling to pieces, the sea breaching over her. Mr. Hallman, mate of the John., and three brave sailors, vo-

lunteer to go to the succour of the people. In a little boat, at imminent peril,

the men made two trips, and succeeded in rescuing thirteen of the mariners. But the weather then Frew so rough that no more aid could be afforded, and the John

was obliged to quit the wreck for her own safety. Those left on the sinking ship were the master, two seamen, and two apprentices; an apprentice had been drowned in attempting to leap into the John's boat, and the cook had previously died from exhaustion.

Two persons have died at Stromness from a singular accident. They and another had purchased a jar of naphtha for burning; in the evening they were di- viding it, with a lighted candle near; the vapour from the fluid suddenly ignited with an explosion, and the people engaged were covered with the burning naphtha. One woman died in two days; another lingered for a long time, and died on Sun- day week; the third person was much burnt, but he is recovering.

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

Zymotic (or Epidemic, Endemic, and Contigieme) Diseases

355

Dropsy, Cancer, and other diseases of uncertain or variable seat 107 Diseases of the Brain, Spinal Marrow, Nerves, and Senses 125 Diseases of the Lungs, and of the other Organs of IiesplratIon 301 Diseases of the Heart and Blood.vessels . 21 . Diseases of the Stomach, Liver, and other Organs of Digestion 02 Diseases of the Kidneys, RI Childbirth, diseases of the Uterus, Se

Rheumatism, diseases of the BOIICJ, Joints, Itc

it 1 Diseases of the Skin, Cellular Tissue, Sc 5 Old Age Violence, Privation, Cold, and Intemperance

69 as

Total (Including unapecIded causes) 1247 1045

The lowest temperature of the thermometer in the shade was 22°; the mean temperature by day being colder than the average mean temperature by 4.20. The thermometer whose bulb was placed in the full rays of the sun was broken. During the week the air was generally calm.

Number of Autumn

deaths. average•

211 .... let 157 .... 333 34 74 C 14 7 1 55

us