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On Tuesday morning, Lord John Russell assembled about 160 Liberal Members of the House of Commons, at his official residence in Downing Street, to explain to them, before several members of the Cabinet, his dis- approbation of any policy involving an immediate withdrawal of the Afri- can squadron. An " M.P." reported to the Times on Wednesday the sub- stance of the interview; premising that the Premier spoke in terMS neither "apt nor gracious."

4' He said, that if Mr. Hutt's motion were carried, it would be his duty to advise the Queen thereupon ; and, as he should be unable to advise her Majesty to take a course in conformity with the recommendation of the House of Commons, it would be his duty to resign his office.' I omit the small arguments with which this announcement was accompanied, as well as the ingenuities of Lord Palmerston ; who also made a speech, and, of course, said 'ditto' to Lord John. Mr. Hume then rose, expressed a strong opinion against the continuance of the African squadron, and a still stronger one apinst the unnecessary and unjustifiable declaration of the Government. After him, Lord Harry Vane and Mr. Evelyn Denison, both members of the Committee, respectively stated their opinions and their intentions, and de- precated the course which Lord John was pursuing. Lord Harry Vane said, that whatever the result might be, he must take the same part in the House which he had taken in the Committee ; and Mr. Deni- son, after making a similar declaration emphatically warned Lord John Russell, that if he really meant his Government to rest hereafter upon no more firm foundation than the perpetual maintenance of the African squadron, he would very soon find such a foundation crumble away from under him. After some more palaver, a few commonplaces, and a few cheers, the meeting broke up ; and the Mends of the Government took their departure with the intentions of the Government, to ponder in their minds and digest as they could. It is probably many years since a set of Parliament-men have thronged out of the Minister's antechamber in a state of higher dudgeon and more intense and undisguised disgust. Few of them seem to have been at the pains to conceal their resentment and indignation at the treatment to which they suddenly found themselves exposed." Mr. Lushington, the Member for Westminster, communicated in Thurs- day's paper his surprise at the occurrence of the division in the House of Commons on Tuesday night, "contrary to almost universal expectation, and to an impression which seems to have been studiously, conveyed."

" It was notorious in the lobbies and other parts of the House, that one Cabinet Minister had asserted that the debate would be adjourned till Fri- day, and another Cabinet Minister actually described the order in which the members of the Ministry were to speak. Sir Robert Peel and Sir James Gra- ham were expected to address the House, besides a large number of other Members. The last impression may be gathered from the commencement of Mr. Gladstone's speech. Many persons consequently left the House, and were deprived of the opportunity of voting.'

Mr. Lushington himself had left the House, and was not disappointed only because he had resolved not to vote at all : " a vexatious alternative," to which he was reduced by the " unusual " conduct of the Premier. " My voice was heartily in favour of the withdrawal of the squadron ; but I had to weigh the consequences, if by raising it in conformity with my convic- tion, I contributed to displace the existing Administration. Those conse- quences, according to my forecast, would be most disastrous to the country,— the accession of a Protectionist Ministry ; the dissolution of Parliament, -under very unfavourable circumstances, especially with reference to the Irish constituency; the ruin of hundreds of London tradesmen entailed by the abrupt termination of the season ' ; the temporary triumph of Protectionist plans ; the reimposition of a duty on corn, involving probable conflicts of the most painful nature between the two great leading parties in the country ; the embroilment of the Established Church, by interference in its squab- bles; the postponement of contemplated social improvements; the re- pression of free trade, still under experiment; and, lastly, the general 4iseouragement and check of that train of liberal policy, the re- sults of which are in a course of satisfactory development. Taking, then, a view beyond the immediate question for decision, I came to the conclusion that these ulterior calamities should not be hazarded; and I silently relinquished the satisfaction of voting for a measure which I heartily favoured, because the Minister bound me down, if I voted at all, either to sup- port him against my conviction, or to give a vote which, with reference to contingent evil, would jar upon my conscience. Lord John Russell thus neutralized one vote which would have been given against him ; and many o ther Members have perhaps been in the same predicament as myself : but, highly as we respect his personal character and honour, he has shaken our confidence in his prudence and Ministerial ability, and gone far to convince this shattered and wavering party, that he is ready sternly and unqualifiedly to assert his own course of action, though he jeopardize the vital interests of the country by his dictatorial pertinacity."

A very numerous deputation from the brick-manufacturers, with a few Members of Parliament, sought an interview with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on Wednesday, to solicit a drawback of the duty on their stock of bricks in hand. Sir Charles Wood was too ill to receive the whole force of the solicitation; so Mr. Hayter dealt with them generally, while a select band—Mr. Cubit; Mr. Holmes, and Mr. Heron—were ad- anitted to a personal conference. Sir Charles Wood was disposed to meet the claim, but evaded a pledge : he " would undertake ' that the manu- facturers should be allowed "some sort of compromise." The gentlemen were "highly satisfied" with the result.

The decision of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the Gorham case has led to protests of great importance. A large assembly of clergymen, delegated to London from the Church Unions of the country, including " several distinguished eeclesiastial dignitaries," has resolved that the doctrine declared by the Council to be " admissible in the Church of England " is " heretical and contrary to the creed "; and that all con- stitutional means should be employed for giving effect to the proper ec- clesiastical jurisdiction of the Provincial Synods. Archdeacons H. E. Manning, Robert J. Wilberforce, and Thomas Thorp, Dr. Pusey, Dr. Mill, the Reverend Messieurs Dodsworth, W. J. G. Bennett, Henry W. Wilberforce, and R. Cavendish, with Mr. Baddeley and Mr. James R. Hope, have published a declaration, that the doctrine sanctioned is an abandonment of the Catholic doctrine of the article which forfeits the office and authority to witness and teach as a member of the universal church : they call for steps "praying licence for the Church in Convo- cation " to declare the true doctrine, or for an act of Parliament to give effect to the decisions of the collective Episcopate on matters purely spi- ritual ; or failing such measures, for efforts to obtain from " the Episco- pate, acting only in ita spiritual character," a reaffirmation of the impugn- ed doctrine.

The Bishop of Exeter has made a twofold manifesto. He has ac-: knowledged an address from influential clergymen in the diocese of London, by a letter to Dr. Spry, in which he says—" It seems but too likely that we are as yet only in the commencement of the fight of faith appointed to us." And in a far longer letter, to the Archbishop of Can- terbury, he not only refuses to institute Mr. Gorham to the Vicarage of Brampford Speke, but urges the Primate to abstain from doing so ; and declares that, regarding all who uphold Mr. Gorham to favour and sup- port heresies, he shall have no communication with any one who so abuses his high commission !

Results of the Registrar-General's return of mortality in the Metropolis for the week ending on Saturday last : the first column of figures gives the ag- gregate number of deaths in the corresponding weeks of the ten previous years.

Ten Weeks of 1839-49.

Zymotic Diseases 1752 ....

Dropsy, Cancer, and other diseases of uncertain or variable seat 681 .

Tubercular Diseases 1922 ....

Diseases of the Brain, Spinal Marrow, Nerves, and Senses 1255 .... Diseases of the Heart and Blood-vessels 292 • • . • ... Week.

of 1840. 149 43 196 114 41 Diseases of the Lungs, and of the other Organs of Respiration • • • • 1784 • ... ifig Diseases of the Stomach, Liver, and other Organs of Digestion 684 • ... 62 Diseases of the Kidneys, Sc 99 • .. • 13 Childbirth, diseases of the Uterus, Sc 109 • ... 9 Rheumatism, diseases of the Bones, Joints, @c 68 ... • 6 Diseases of the Skin, Cellular Tissue, Se.. 10 • .. • 2 Malformations 21 • • . • 3

Premature Birth

16 Atrophy

420 ..... ....

23 Age

....

43

Sudden 89 • • • • II Violence, Privation, Cold, and Intemperance 267 ....

as

Total (including unspecified causes) 9910

967

"In the week ending last Saturday, the deaths registered in the Metropo- litan districts were 967; showing an increase of nearly 100 on those of the previous week, and a disposition to rise after a continuous fall during a period of five weeks. The average of corresponding weeks in ten years (1840-9) is 991, which if corrected for increase of population becomes 1,081; the number now returned is therefore less than the average by 114 deaths. To account for the excess in the present return over that of the former week, the only epidemics observed to be more fatal are hooping-cough, croup, diar- rhea, and phthisis, which approximate to the average for the season.

"At the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the mean daily reading of the barometer was above 30 inches on every day of the week; on Tuesday it was so high as 30.438; and the mean for the week was 30.292. The tempera- ture decreased considerably towards the end of the week, and the mean was 40.9'; rather less than the average of the same week in seven years. It was less than the average on the last three days, and on Friday and Saturday was 4" to 6' less than the average' of these days." The mean direction of the wind for the week was North-east.

The Nankin, 50-gun frigate, was launched at Woolwich on Saturday. The Dutchess of Sutherland and her daughter, Lord Adolphus Fitzclarenee, many

other noble ladies and lords, the official Lords of the Admiralty, Sir Thomas Herbal, Sir Baldwin Walker, and Captain Peel, were among the notable spectators ; and the general concourse is said to have numbered more than 20,000 persons. Miss Parker, daughter of Admiral Sir William Parker, christened the Nankin ; and the whole affair passed off with the éclat of perfect performance.

The Queen has bestowed a pension of 1001. a year on Mrs. Betsy Moore, wife of the poet Thomas Moore, " in consideration of the literary merits of her husband, and his infirm state of health."

A cabinet of coins was presented by Mr. Beanfoy of Lambeth to the Cor- poration of London last week. It contains nearly 1,000 pieces, bearing date between the years 1648 and 1675. They were issued by various traders of the city of London, partly to accommodate thepublic and supply the want of small change when the Government put forth no copper monies, and partly as a means of advertisement ; the name, residence, and sign of the

house,. being generally found upon each coin. They consist of various me- tals—iron lead, zinc, brass, and copper, and a few are of leather ; and, in-

dependently of their value as curiosities of two centuries back, they will furnish, when the index is completed, a record of the topography and history of the city of London at that period, with the names of streets and locali- ties long lost to the present generation.

The report of the Commissioners of Inquiry into the Market of Smithfield and the other markets for the sale of live and dead meat in the Metropolis is expected to be made immediately after the Easter recess.

During the fine weather of the past week, Lord Rosso has been able to make use of his splendid telescope to great advantage, and has added three new spiral nebulas to his former important discovenes.—Dublin Evening Packet.

At the Assizes at Swansea, last week, Mr. Rbys, an engineer, obtained a verdict of 1,4001. against Messrs. Hall, manufacturers of gunpowder and gun-cotton, for having invited him to witness an experiment with gun-cot- ton, and managed it so carelessly that an explosion took place and he lost his sight.

A double murder has been perpetrated at Juniper Green, a village about five miles from Edinburgh. Dr. Wilson, a medical practitioner, re- sided with his aged mother in the village, a servant they employed sleeping at another house. A man named Pearson, who has been subject to fits of insanity, and had been confined in a lunatic asylum for four years, went last Sunday night to Dr. Wilson's for medicine ; the servant left him in the

house—departing. in some apprehension from the strange conduct of the man. Early next morning, Dr. Wilson and his mother were found dead, and hor-

ribly mangled, on the floor of the lower apartments. Pearson was found up- stairs in Mrs. Wilson's bed, naked, and fast asleep. When awakened, one of his exclamations was, " Here I am ; quite clean, you see !" He had burnt his clothes ; some remnants of which, his watch,. and other articles, were found in a grate. His whole manner indicated insanity : he had recently had fits of madness : sometimes he was friendly towards Dr. Wilson, and sometimes the reverse. Dr. Wilson was a vigorous middle-aged man ; his mother, eighty-six.

A very extraordinary incident occurred at Aylesbury Assizes last week. The High Sheriff, Mr. Selby Lowndes, had directed his pack of fox-hounds to be brought into town, to gratify his friends with a bye-day immediately after the Assizes. The hounds were lodged in the yard of the White Hart Inn, which happens to be so close to the baize Court that they were liter- ally within call thence. Some disturbance occurring in the court, the Sheriff suppressed it by calling " Silence !" more than once, in a very audible and authoritative tone. It seems that in the pack of hounds is a leading hound named " Silence" : this dog, on hearing himself summoned, broke through the lofty palings which surrounded the White Hart yard, and rushed into the court with the whole pack at his heels, threading the crowd in search of Mr. Lowndes. The Assize trumpeter sounded a call outside, but the pack regarded him with contempt. Mr. Lowndes's own voice was acknowledged instantly ; in a short time he collected his favourites from the inappropriate cover, and, much to the amusement of the spectators, led them off to kennel.