Iftiscellantous.

Several fresh stoppages in the commercial world have been announced this week.

The most important is that to which we alluded in our second edition last week —of the old-established East India firm of Cockerell and Company. The total lia- bilities are estimated at 600,0001. " The stoppage," says the Times, " is to be attributed to the simultaneous pressure for money in this country and in India, aggravated by the discredit which in times of difficulty is always thrown upon houses which, like that of Cockerell and Co., instead of drawing upon a sepa- rate and independent firm, carry on their correspondence with a duplicate esta- blishment. Of the 500,0001. acceptances of the London house, it is, however, satisfactory to learn, that only 300,000/. consists of the drafts of the Cal- cutta house; the remainder being drawn byother parties, whose engagements may possibly be protected. We have at the same time to add, (notwithstanding the right which the public from past experience have to distrust all statements of a probable surplus on the part of a suspended firm,) that it is said by those who i have investigated the accounts, and whose opinion is in every respect entitled to weight, that there is in the present instance not only reason to hope for a surplus, but also for a very considerable one. If such shall be the case, it will afford the most sincere gratification to all parties, since there are few firms whose partners are individually more esteemed. Sir George Larpent, the recent candidate for the City, was one of its most active members. Mr. John Cockerell, it will be remembered, was formerly in the Bank direction; but he resigned the office about ten years back, when it appeared to him that the extent of his own business might interfere with the fulfilment of its duties."

Messrs. Cockerell and Company have issued the following circular-

" It is our painful duty to inform you that we have been under the necessity of sus- pending our payments.

" This event has arisen from no speculation, but from the extraordinary pressure of the money-market, both in India and England, operating upon our resources. " It is some satisfaction to us to state that our affairs have been under the Inspection of a gentleman fully competent to judge of them, who confidently reports his belief that after meeting all our engagements there will be a very considerable surplus. " We hope to be able shortly to submit to you a proposal for adjusting our liabilities."

On Monday morning, Messrs. Cockburn and Company, bankers and army agents, of Whitehall, announced their inability to meet their engagements. Their liabilities are not believed to be large; but, from the nature of the business, the extent of inconvenience felt by individuals will be very great.

In the course of the same day, Messrs. Bensusan and Company, of Goodman's

Fields, Morocco merchants, stopped payment. Their liabilities are variously stated as ranging. between 60,0001. and 150,0001.; and their difficulties are ascribed to transactions with Mexico.

On Tuesday, the respectable house of Perkins, Sohlusser, and Mullins, was added to the list of defaulters. The failure, which is for 250,0001., is attributed by some to the non-arrival of remittances from Calcutta; by others, to the remit- tances being made upon the extinct house of Reid, Irving, and Company. On Wednesday, was announced the failure of Messrs. Fry, Griffiths, and Co., iadigo and colonial brokers. The liabilities are not stated, but are believed to be considerable.

On Thursday, Messrs. Lyall, Brothers, and Co., notified their suspension of payments, in these terms— "The recent extensive failures having entailed upon us heavy and unlooked-for lia- bilities, we deeply regret to state that we deem it prudent to suspend payment. " By adopting this c .urse, and by careful realization of our assets, we hope to be able to liquidate in full all demands against us."

The liabilities of the firm are stated at 400,0001. Lyall, Matheson, and Co., are the correspondents of the house in India.

The same day proclaimed the failure of Messrs. Phillips and Co., merchants and East India agents; liabilities, probably 150,0001. This failure, says the Times, "bas created no surprise." There have been several stoppages at Manchester during the week. The houses specially mentioned are those of Messrs. James Guest, cotton-spinner; J. A. Armstrong, cotton-dealer; Cooper and Withington, goods-agents; F. H. Glover, buying-agent; Stocks and Tait, bleachers; Barton and Birchen, sharebrokers; and Messrs. Render and Milner, commission-agents. Mr. Guest's liabilities are stated at 70,0001.; of which 40,0001. was due to Mr. Armstrong. The amounts in the other cases are less.

Messrs. W. Steel and Co., of Liverpool, have stopped payment. We regret to learn that within the last two days several extensive firms in this city have suspended payment. The aggregate liabilities of the three principal concerns are estimated at 500,000/.—GIasrus Argus. The American mail has brought intelligence of the failure of Messrs. Prime, Ward, and Co., of New York, bankers. The liabilities are estimated at about 150,0001. This failure was " not unexpected." A further inquiry into the affairs of Messrs. Sanderson and Co. is so satisfac- tory as to render an immediate resumption of business almost certain. At a meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Robinson and Co., held on Thursday, it appeared that the assets of the house were 104,0001., the liabilities 96,0001.; leaving a surplus in favour of the estate of 8,0001.

The Times publishes a table of railway calls for this instant October: the total is 3,493,7171.

The same journal mentions a significant feature of its private corre- spondence--

" A very large proportion of the letters which have reached us for months past, and which still continue to pour in, contain only a reiteration of the most ve- hement protests of traders and others, who are daily being brought to the verge of bankruptcy by the unrelenting pressure of railway calls. That these letters have not been published, is simply owing to their number and uniformity; and slim to the fact that there is no remedy except that which is now is process of ulministration, in the shape of a rise in the value of money, which will go on Antil compliance with these demands shall become not merely a hardship but an impossibility." A public meeting of bankers, merchants, and traders, was held at Man- chester on Thursday, the Mayor presiding, and three hundred of the lead- ing firms attending; and resolutions were passed exhorting railway com- panies as much as possible to contract their new works, and abstain from enforcing calls on shareholders.

Lord John Russell has been suffering from severe cold: he is staying at his residence in Richmond Park.

Lord Morpeth met with a serious accident last week: his horse stumbled and threw him, and he was so much bruised as to be obliged to keep his

room.

At a Court of Directors of the East India Company, held on Wednes- day, Lieutenant-General Sir George Henry Frederick Berkeley, K.C.B. was appointed Commander-in-chief of the Company's Forces at the Madras Presidency.

A " good-service" pension of 1501. a year, vacant by the promotion of Captain Pasco, has been conferred on Captain Edward Boxer, C.B., Har- bour-master and Agent for Transports at Quebec. • Captain John Lort Stokes, who surveyed the coasts of Australia in the Beagle, has been appointed to survey the coasts of New Zealand in the Acheron steam-sloop of 720 tons; now at Woolwich.

Mr. J. R Hind has transmitted to the Times an account of the eclipse of the Sun which will take place on Saturday next, the 9th October. " The eclipse will be very large throughout the kingdom. At Edinburgh, 0.83 of the Sun's disc will be obscured; at Dublin, 0.90; at Cambridge, 0.90; at Greenwich, 0.92; and at Exeter, by my computation, 0.95. The Northern limit of annular phase passes very near Canterbury, the Northern suburbs of London, below Oxford, and be- tween Gloucester and Hereford; the latter place lying so close upon the limit that the phase must be considered doubtful, owing to the errors of the tables of the Sun and Moon. The beginning of the partial phase will not be generally visible in this country; but the end may be observed throughout England, Scotland, and Ireland." At Greenwich, the annulus will commence at 7h. 27m. 185. a. es. its duration will be 5m. 23s.

Madame Albertazzi, once a popular singer, has departed at the early age of thirty-five; dying of a rapid decline. She made her debut in Calera:dela, at Her Majesty's Theatre, in April 1837. Her maiden name was Howson; and she was married at sixteen to Signor Albertazzi, a music-master.

M. Frederic Souli6, who died at Paris on Friday, was the author of a great number of popular French novels and dramatic pieces.

The investigation into the affair of Mademoiselle De Lazy is still go kg on. Several witnesses have been interrogated; and commissions to examine have been forwarded to several tribunals in the country, and especially to that of Melun, to inquire into matters anterior to the period of the crime, and connected more par ticularly with the position of Mademoiselle De Lazy in the Praslin family. It ig not until after those inquiries have been concluded that she can be again ex- amined. She is now kept less strictly than before, and has received permission to receive certain visits.

The strike among the Ayr miners has come to an end, and the men are new returning to their work.

A shocking discovery has been made at Glasgow: the wife of George Fay has been found imprisoned in a water-closet in the man's house, covered with filth and vermin, with hardly any clothing, and half famished. She said she had been imprisoned ever since May last. Fay, a servant-girl, and two men lodgers, have been taken into custody on this account.

Results of the Registrar-General's return of mortality in the Metropolis for the week ending on Saturday last— Emetic (or Epidemic, Endemic, and Contagious) Diseases.

Dropsy, Cancer, and other diseases of uncertain or variable seat Diseases of the Brain, Spinal Marrow, Nerves, and Senses Diseases of the Lungs, and of the other Organs of Respiration Diseases of the Heart and Blood-vessels Diseases of the Stomach, Liver, and other Organs of Digestion

Diseases of the hadneys, &c.

Childbirth, diseases of the Uterus, &c.

Rheumatism, diseases of the Bones, Joints, &e.

Diseases of the Skin, Cellular Tissue, &c.

Old Age

Violence, Privation, Cold, and Intemperance

Total (including unspecified causes) 1052 990

The temperature of the thermometer ranged from 79.6° in the sun to 33.0° in the shade; the mean temperature by day being warmer than the average mean temperature by 0.4°. The mean direction of the wind for the week was South- west.

Number of Summer deaths. average.

339 .... 226 III .... 103

148 ... 161

208 .... 226 30 25

99 .... 94 30 a

19 .... 10

6 7 1 2

37 .... 28