he desired merely to make it more palatable, and, with the amendment, he believed it would have been more palatable; he believed further, that whenever Ministers came forward with another Bill upon the subject, they would be compelled to adopt some measure of the same character. Earl Grey supported the Bill before the House, although he thought with his noble friend that no case of necessity had been made out, yet he did not apprehend that the measure could produce much injury to the agricultural interest. He supported it also on the ground that it was a safe experiment, and that by its means they would be enabled to proceed to another session in a more satisfactory state of preparation to formal legislation.-Earl Stanhope considered the Bill, in the present state of the country to be perfectly unnecessary, and therefore moved that it should be read that day three months.-The motion was negatived without a division; the Bill was read a second time, and ordered to be committed. Lord Goderich moved the third reading of the CORN AVERAGES BILL, with an additional clause, the effect of which is to give the power to his Majesty in Council, to appoint any additional towns in Great Britain and Ireland he might think proper to be included in the averages, with a proviso that the averages so taken should not operate upon the duties to be charged under the Bill then before the House. The clause was agreed to, and the Bill read a third time, and passed. June 26. The Marquis of Londonderry called the attention of the House to the returns presented from the Foreign-office, and animadverted on the increase, which, during the five years of Mr. Canning's administration of that office, has taken place in every department of the foreign diplomatic expenditure.-Lord Dudley and Ward defended the increase in question. He alluded to the greater sums obtained for his services by the Noble Marquis than had been granted to Mr. Canning; and adverted somewhat sharply to a complaint which the Marquis of Londonderry had made of a disclosure of his correspondence with the Foreigu-office. The Marquis of Londonderry replied, showing that a private memorandum of the Earl of Liverpool, upon a confidential communication of his, had been published in a newspaper without his (the Marquis of L.'s) having known that such a memorandum had been made. In proof of, this, the Noble Marquis read a correspondence with Lord Dudley and Ward. The Marquis of Lansdown moved the committal of the DISSENTERS' MARRIAGE BILL, in a speech of great length.-The Earl of Eldon, in a long and extremely eloquent speech, opposed the motion, as did Lord Farnham.-Lord Calthorpe, the Lord Chancellor, and the Bishop of Chester, supported it. On a division the numbers were, for the committee 61, against it 54. June 27. The report of the Committee: on the WAREHOUSED CORN BILL was received, after two amendments had been moved and negatived without a division., The first was by the Earl of Malmesbury,' which proposed to limit the release of Bond-> ed Corn, to that warehoused before the first day of June, instead of the first day of July. The second, moved by Lord Redesdale, proposed the omission of that part of the measure which for every shilling's increase in price diminishes the duty to the amount of two shillings.-Earl Grey suggested that great relief would be afforded to agriculturists, if the existing prohibition on the cultivation of tobacco in this country were removed. It had been originally enacted in order to encourage the growth of that plant in Virginia, and since the separation of that. State from the British empire it was certainly no longer entitled to such protection. Lord Goderich admitted the impolicy of that prohibition even at the time of its enactment, and promised to consider whether it might not be removed without ma e terially injuring the revenue, as he could not think it any relief to agriculturists to permit the growth of tobacco, and then to clog it with any duty at all. June 29. The UNITARIAN MARRIAGE BILL was reported, in order that the Lord Chief Justice might introduce into it the amendments of which he had given notice, and the motion of the Marquis of Lansdown, was then put off till the next session, ou sideration before it is passed into a law. that it may have the benefit of mature con In the HOUSE OF COMMONS, the same. day, the subject of the charges against Lord C. Somerset was brought forward by Lord E. Somerset, who, in announcing the resignation of his noble relative, declared that the Noble Lord was most anxious to: meet any inquiry that could, by possibility, be instituted in regard to his conduct.-Mr. Wilmot Horton, feeling himself called upon by an allusion made to him, did not hesi-: tate unequivocally to say, indeed he felt it his duty to declare, that the Government held Lord Charles Somerset to be fully acquitted of all the charges alleged against him, at any time, or from any quarter. FOREIGN NEWS. FRANCE. An Ordinance, imposing a rigid Censorship on the Press in France, has received the Royal signature of King Charles. This measure has been resorted to in consequence of the late failure in attempting to carry the project respecting the press through the Jegislative Chambers. It is enacted by this Ordinance, that there shall be at Paris, in the office of the Minister of the Interior, a bureau, charged with a previous examination of all journals and periodical writings; to be composed of six censors, named by the Minister of the Interior. Every number of a journal or periodical writing must, before it is printed, be furnished with the visa of this bureau, which shall authorise its publication. In the departments, the Prefects shall nominate, according as may be necessary, one or more censors charged with the previous examination of the jour nals which shall be published in them. It appears that the new Censorship has already commenced operations. On Saturday and Sunday, the 29th and 30th of June, the Journal des Debats appeared with large vacancies, the latter being in the part allotted to literary articles. This is in direct opposition to the wish of the Directors of the Board, who are said to have threatened to suppress next day all the articles of any journal neglecting to fill up the vacancies, where articles are withdrawn. In fact, one, La France Chrétienne, has been discontinued in consequence. Messrs. Lourdoneix and Deliege, the heads of the Bureau of Censorship, have had a meeting with the editors; when they professed, that the only object was to bring back the press to a calm and "polite" discussion of public affairs-not to prohibit any subject that is decorously treated. Two of the oldest journals, the Gazette de France, and the Journal de Paris, long in the pay of Government, have been discontinued by Miuisters. The latter, it is said, could have gone on without assistance, but the Ministry preferred extinguishing it altogether, to suffering it to stand on independent principles. Many of the old subscribers are said to have shed tears on the occasion. SPAIN, Public attention has been for some time absorbed by the difference that has just arisen between the Spanish Government and the Court of Rome, on the nomination of Bishops for the new States in Ame rica. His Catholic Majesty, considering this as a breach of the Concordat, and an infraction of his rights of sovereignty, had caused orders to be given at the frontiers not to receive the new Papal Nuncio, Monsignor Tiberi, who was coming to suceed Cardinal Giustiniani. Monsignor Tiberi, on arriving at Irun on the 17th of June, found there a letter from the principal Se cretary of State, desiring him not to preceed on his journey; and on the intimation given him by the Captain General, he in fact returned to France. The Councils of Castile and the Indies, which were summoned to give their opinions on this delicate affair, and on a letter which his Beliness had written to the King, to explain his conduct, has terminated its delibera tions, the result of which has been trans mitted to his Majesty. It seems that the Council of State will also discuss it. No question has arisen for many years that has caused so much agitation and irritation. GREECE. The surrender of the Acropolis to the Turks is confirmed by the arrival of the dispatches to our Government, from Sir Frederick Adam. The garrison capitulated on the 2d of June. The lives of the gar rison were spared, and permission was given to Colonel Fabvier, and the other Philhel lenes, to go wherever they pleased. General Church, as Commander-in-Chief of the land forces, has published his official account of the late defeat of the troops under particularly the Suliots, for their bravery in his command. He gives credit to the Greeks, the action; he states that it was necessary to attempt the relief of Athens at any and that the attack failed from the over whelming force of the Turkish cavalry. Of the little corps of Philhellenes only four survived. risk, German papers contain several dispatches! It has been notified by the French Mi- from Captain Hastings, announcing the nister for Foreign Affairs to his Majesty's capture of four Turkish vessels and the Ambassador at Paris, "That the French Government has declared an effective blockade of the port of Algiers, and that every measure authorised by the law of nations destruction of two, by his steam-bost and and also the burning of a Turkish brig of war of fourteen guns in the port of Tri I will be adopted and enforced against all keri, though lying between high rocks close neutral vessels which may attempt to violate the said blockade." in shore, and protected by a large body of Albanians and several batteries. NORTH AMERICA. CAPTAIN FRANKLIN.-Canada papers give accounts of Captain Franklin-the expedition appears to have been completely successful. The first despatch is dated Fort Franklin, 12th June, when he was moving from his winter quarters: the second despatch is dated 26th June, at Fort Norman. : Having followed the course of the Mackenzie river, the expedition reached the shores of the Pacific. Captain Franklin has surveyed the coast, from 113 to 143, 38 west long. in five days more, he calculated he would have reached Icy Cape, but the expedition having endured great hardships, for fifteen days being covered with a dense fog, he determined to return. DOMESTIC OCCURRENCES. IRELAND. INCOMES OF THE PRIESTHOOD. By authentic returns, it appears that the annual income of the Irish Protestant Church Establishment may be taken at 300,0001, If we allow one-third of this as the income of the Bishops (and this is a fair proportion), we shall find about 200,000l. per ann. to be divided amongst 1,200 Clergymen, leaving the income of the parochial Minister at an average of 160l. per ann. Now, it is not easy to estimate, by any authentic documents, what may be the aggregate wealth of the Popish Clergy in Ireland; but there are a few data from which the inference may be validly drawn, that their average income equals, if not considerably exceeds, that of the Protestant Clergy of that country. When the "Provision Wing" of the Catholic Relief Bill was under discussion, it was proposed to secure a Government allowance to the Popish Parochial Clergy of about 150l. per ann. and to their Bishops of 1,500l. per ann. Those Bishops and Clergy were vehemently opposed-they said-to the principle of the Bill, because they were aware that such a provision would be greatly below what they now receive. The average income of the Popish Clergy was considerably underrated, in proposing to give them 150l. per ann. Their present incomes arise from regulated fees, for the performance of the various rites of the Church. No member of the Romish Church can dispense with these rites, nor will any Priest perform them, for the poorest person in the land, without the regulated fee, at least, being paid. As to the rich of their flock, they would as little think of putting off a Priest with a regulated fee, as an attorney would of letting off his client with taxed costs. A Correspondent gives the following sketch of these regulated fees: Tithes, from every farmer who holds even three or five acres (half a barrel of the produce at least), seven shillings, besides presents of hay, straw, meal, flour, eggs, butter, potatoes, fish, fowl, &c.-amount incalculable. In short, taking all into consideration, we may rate the annual income of the Popish Clergy at two shillings a-head per ann. for every member of their flock. And if there be, as the Catholics say there are, at least six millions of Catholics in Ireland, the income of the Popish Clergy amounts, at the rate above stated, to twelve millions of shillings; i. e. 600,000l. per ann. And supposing an equal number of Protestant and Popish Clergy in Ireland, the average income of the latter will amount to 500l. per ann-while that of the former is but 1601. in England 3054.-and in Scotland 2751. per ann. Hence it appears, that the Irish Roman Catholic Clergy are the richest in the United Empire, and the Irish Protestant Clergy the poorest. But farther, we have not included, in the foregoing calculation, the revenues of the Catholic Bishops, nor the incomes of monasteries, nunneries, religious houses, Jesuit establishments, &c. And surely these may be fairly estimated at 100,000l. per ann. For Christening Child and Church-£, s. d. Consequently the Popish Clergy of Ireland ing the Mother Mass over the Dead. .................. 0 2 6 0 40 1 29 suntide, and Christmas) each..... O 26 Collections at Burials, average......1 10 0 are annually drawing, from the poorest population on the earth, the sum of 700,000l. which, added to the revenue of the Protestant Establishment, leaves the religious supervision of Ireland at a cost of one million sterling per annum !!! INTELLIGENCE FROM VARIOUS ness, incident to heated stone, and indicated its proximity to the active agency of fire, but no flame appeared. Pursuing the same process the following day, they made an opening of rather larger dimensions in front, and about ten feet in depth, on the west side of the first day's operation, merely leaving a portion of the stone between, in a perpendicular position, sufficient to support and prevent the declining super-stratum of rock from falling. HOLWORTH CLIFF, CO. DORSET. (Continued from p. 398.) Notwithstanding the external appearance of the Cliff (says a Correspondent) presents such marked indications of the agency of internal fire, yet a manifest disinclination has been shewn by many individuals to be lieve the existence of subterraneous fire within it; inferring (under the idea that the original cause of ignition was effected by lightning falling on or rather skimming over a surface highly impregnated with inflam mable matter) it could not have penetrated deep enough into the soil to have produced such a consequence. It is unnecessary to urge any argument on the subject, as the point is now placed beyond a doubt, it having been ascertained, by a process about to be detailed, that fire does exist within the bowels of the Cliff, but to how great an extent cannot be determined. This phenomenon is obviously produced by a cause very distinct from that of lightning. The operations of Nature are proceeding progressively in her unfathomable magazine beneath us; and, although appearing slow to us short-nued, until the upper part of the cavern, by sighted mortals, are not less certain, and are gradually and regularly advancing towards completion; the effects, for the same reason, seem to us as sudden as they are extensive, awful, and astonishing. How little do we really know of the theory of the soil, on which we are constantly walking! How much less still of this vast and glorious planet, which Providence has permitted us to occupy as our residence for a few years, preparatory to our introduction to some other! We who are apt to view things through a medium of our own construction, too often as vain as deceptive, at best but very superficial, and, without any references to first causes, must of necessity deduce specious and groundless conclusions as to effects.-But to return to the immediate subject of the Cliff. It was considered advisable to attempt boring the soil as near the largest aperture as could be done, to ascertain its peculiar qualities, and at what depth beneath the. surface fire might be found. The attempt, however, having failed, owing to the hardness of the materials of which the Cliff is composed, two labourers were set to work, on Tuesday the 24th of April, with proper implements, for the purpose of excavating; they worked out and removed a considerable quantity of the soil, enlarging the principal aperture, to an opening extending about six feet by seven in front, and near six feet in depth. Previous to finishing their day's work, a few sparks of fire were seen falling from some broken blocks of stone; the interior rock exhibited a degree of red After working about three hours, a lurid flame of fire appeared, issuing out of a small fissure, on the east side of the first opening, caused seemingly by the action of the external air; a communication having been opened through some intervening fissures, almost imperceptible, which produced the ignition. The flame, about a foot in length, seemed playing on the surface of the stone, and after some time fixed on a portion of bitumen, which increased it; it then spread itself over a larger space, and ultimately creeping into the second opening, presented a fire of considerable magnitude; and stil extending, aided by a continued supply of external air, produced so great a body of fire, as ultimately to resemble that of smelting furnace. This appearance conti the consumption or weakening of the prop sunk in, and filled up these openings (s happened originally to that aperture which the fire first became visible), which has consequently suppressed every appear ance of an object so interesting, until the recurrence of an event, similar to the pri mary cause, may open another aperture. The workmen were obliged to continue their toilsome and unpleasant task during the later part of the second day, in a situstion bordering on suffocation, from the united effects of oppressive heat and effluvia. The materials excavated from the two openings were promiscuously thrown together, at the mouth of the cavern, forming a heap, which ignited spontaneously in the course of a few hours, and during the evening exhibited a novel and pleasing sight to the inhabitants and visitors at Weymouth, and along the coast. VIATOR. turalist and the geological student, was A discovery, interesting alike to the namade a few days ago in the Moat Colliery, A petrifaction resembling part of the trunk in the parish of Tipton, in Staffordshire. of a considerable-sized tree towards the butt, measuring in length two feet four inches, and in circumference four feet ten. inches, with the bark formed into coal, was found in nearly an upright position, among The stratum of rock at this part of the Cliff exhibits a dip of at least 45 degrees to the northward. the strata of iron-stone, at the depth of upwards of two hundred yards below the surface, and which, in the extraction of it, was broken from the upper part of the trunk, that still remains in the earth. On the exposure of this fossil to the atmospheric air, the coal formed from the bark shivered from the trunk. So great a curiosity is this specimen considered, that the proprietors of the colliery, at their quarterly meeting, passed a resolution, generously offering it as a present to the Trustees of the British Museum; and there can be no doubt, that it will be deemed a valuable acquisition to the numerous fossils which are already deposited in that national institution. A curious discovery was made a few days ago at Fornham Saint Genevieve, near Bury. Men had been for some days employed in felling a pollard ash near the church, which had the appearance of great antiquity, being not less than eighteen feet in girth, and very much decayed; and standing upon a small hillock, which seemed to have been left at a very distant period, when the rest of the soil around it had been lowered. On the fall of the tree, the roots, which were of unusual size and length, tore up the ground to a considerable extent, when immediately under the trunk were discovered a large quantity of skeletons, or rather fragments of skeletons, all lying in a circle, with the heads inwards, and piled tier above tier, from the depth of about four feet, being probably the remains of several hundred bodies. The most perfect of the bones was a lower jaw of large dimensions, containing the whole of the teeth; all the rest were very much decayed. It is well known, both from history and the tradition of names, that in the reign of Henry the Second, A. D. 1173, this village was the scene of a sanguinary and decisive battle. According to Hoveden, the Earl of Leicester having made a descent upon Suffolk, at the head of a great body of Flemings, to support the claim of the king's undutiful son to his father's dominions, and having been joined by Hugh Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, who put the Castle of Framlingham into his hands, was encountered here by Richard de Lucy, the guardian of the realm in the king's absence, with a less numerous but braver army; and the Flemings, being mostly weavers, and other tradesmen, were broken in an instant, ten thousand of them put to the sword, and the rest were glad to compound for a safe retreat into their own country. It is, therefore, probable that these were the slain of the victorious party, from the careful, yet singular manner in which the bodies were deposited; and that, after the earth was heaped over them, the ash was planted to mark the spot. If this supposition be correct, it affords a striking instance of the longevity of trees. Single bodies, bones, and remnants of arms and armour, have been not unfrequently found in the same neighbourhood; but it is rather remarkable that on the present occasion no warlike implements were discovered. LONDON AND ITS VICINITY. LAW INSTITUTION. June 5. The first annual general meeting of the members of this Institution took place at Furnival's-Inn. It was formed for the very necessary purpose, amongst others, of giving information to those of the profession who are in need of it, by means of a library, and of facilitating the transaction of business. The report stated, that 456 members of the profession had subscribed to the Institution to the amount of 44,150l., of whom 347 had paid the first call, the amount of whose sums formed four-fifths of the whole. The disbursements amounted to 371. 1s., and the funds had been invested in Exchequer hills, with the exception of 3401, 9s. remaining in the banker's hands; that so many individuals had already shown their approbation of the plan by paying their first instalment, that they had no doubt the full amount originally contemplated-namely 50,000l. would be eventually collected, when the objects of the institution were more generally known among the profession. The idea of this institution, it appears, was suggested by the singular fact, that whilst the various public bodies, companies, and commercial and trading classes in the Metropolis, and indeed in many of the principal towns in the kingdom, have long possessed places of general resort for the more convenient transaction of their business, and while numerous institutions for promoting literature and science amongst all ranks and conditions of society have been long established, and others are daily springing up, the attornies and solicitors should still be without an establishment in London to afford them similar advantages; more particularly when the halls and libraries of the luns. of Court, the clubs of barristers, special pleaders, and conveyancers, &c., furnish a strong presumption of the advantages which would probably result from an establishment of a similar description for attornies in London. Mr. Tooke, in moving that the report be received, dwelt upon the advantages which must, in his opinion, arise from the institution to the young men of the profession, in establishing uniformity and liberality of practice, and advancing their education to that state to which every gentleman ought to aspire. It was calculated to further the interests of the profession, to abridge its labour, and at the same time enable it to preserve its relative position in society. |