Aistellantous.
We have great pleasure in announcing that the Government is about to send from 8,000 to 10,000 troops to India immediately. A more numerous force may be expected soon to follow.—Sun.
We have just heard a rumour that her Majesty has it in contempla- tion to raise to the Peerage a few of our most distinguished Admirals. namely, Sir Robert Stopford, Sir George Cockburn, and Sir Edward Codrington.—Naval and Military Gazette.
A promotion has, we understand, arisen out of the recent visit of her Majesty to Portsmouth, which includes the following officers. The Commander of the Queen, to be Captain ; A. J. Gnome, Lieutenant ditto, to be Commander ; A. J. Wellington, Flag-Lieutenant, ditto; W. Mould and J. Franklin, Mates, to be Lieutenants ; W. D. Carroll and J. P. Palmes, Mates of the Royal George, to be Lieutenants ; J. A. Blosve, Commander of the Black Eagle, to be Captain ; T. S. Brock, Additional Lieutenant, to be Commander ; E. J. Voules, Additional Mate, to be Lieutenant. The Commanders and First Lieutenants of the SL Vincent and Alfred have been promoted, and also two Mates of the St. Vincent.— United Service Gazette.
The report of the Scientific Commission, composed of Professor Aire7, Sir John Herschel, Mr. Lubbock, and other persons distinguished in science, appointed to inquire into the present standard weights and measures, proposes, among others, three important points: 1st, Asystem
of decimal computation to be adopted in all weights, measures, and monies; 2d, The total abolition of troy weight and substitution of avoir- dupois; and 3d, Correction of the local standards of the kingdom, which are at present highly imperfect, and the revision of the laws relating to their examination by inspectors, and the preservation of proper model standards.
The Globe mentions, to contradict, a report that Mr. Hutton Perkins, one of the Cashiers in the Civil-Servant Pay Office at the Treasury, had Itbsconded, being a defaulter to the amount of 2,000/. for stamps. He is absent from his duties on account of severe illness. His accounts, 'which the Stamp-Office have not demanded for nearly four years, show a deficiency of 2,0001,; but he has paid 1,000/., and only requires a little time to pay the remainder.
Madame Perlet, the wife of the well-known French comedian, met with a severe accident on Sunday afternoon. While crossing St. James's Street, she was knocked down by a cabriolet which was suddenly called from the stand. She was found to have sustained a had fracture "on the left side "; but is going on favourably.
Our obituary today announces the death of Mr. Kirkman Finlay, which took place on the morning of Friday last, at his residence Castle Toward. Mr. Finlay long occupied a high position in the mercantile 'world; but as a political character, an unhappy infirmity of purpose attended many of his movements, and prevented him from attaining that influence which his acknowledged abilities would otherwise have secured.—Glasgow Argus.
Mr. Edward Hitching, of Oakridge in Gloucestershire, the next of kin to the late Mr. James Wood of Gloucester, and one of the parties In the great will cause, died on the 3d instant, at the age of ninety. By the decision of Sir Herbert Jenner, Mr. Hitching would have become entitled to the immense personal property of the rich banker, which he announced his intention of distributing among his children, grand- children, and great-grandchildren; but the decision of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council reversed that of Sir Herbert. Before the last decision was given he appeared a very hale and hearty old man, and was remarkable for his cheerful habits and very retentive memory.
The weather during the week has been stormy, and the wind has caused some accidents. At Holloway, on Thursday night, a stack of chimnies was blown down, in a Mr. Atkinson's house; and, carrying with it the roof, it killed a servant and badly wounded a young lady who was sleeping with her. A floor-cloth manufactory, a wooden building, was blown down at Walworth. A man was carried off the pier at Black- well by the wind, and drowned. The craft in the river and the shipping on the coast have also suffered severely.
A prophecy that there will be an earthquake in London on the 16th, (Wednesday next,) prevails among the Irish in the Metropolis ; who are leaving it in considerable numbers, even giving up good situations to get out of the perilous district. One man is said to have sold a business rather than stay in the doomed city, and a clerk earning 2001. a year has relinquished big-post. It is gravely disputed whether only London proper is to quake, or 'whether ; traet extending fifteen miles round is to be shaken—whether, to put it in a popear shape, the convulsioupis to be coextensive with the twopenny or the threepenny- post district. The origin of the superstition is shrowded in mystery. Some newspaper wag put forth two prophecies, professing to be taken from manuscripts in the British Museum, one by Dr. Dee and the other issued before his time ; but they have been pronounced spurious on official authority. A correspondent calls to mind the ancient saying- - Wbeu our Lady falls in our Lord's lap. Then let England beware a mishap.'
Now, this year Ladyday and Good Friday both fall on the same day I The contagion of terror has spread to other than the Irish Catholics, and many a heart will be stiller after the 16th; for "though it may be all nonsense, who knows what may happen ?" We have heard of but one philosopher who is proof against fear, and he is of the intelligent class called barbers : his logical mind perceives the impossibility that an earthquake should occur in London ; "For, Sir, only think of the vast number of buildings, and their immense weight upon the ground."
There is good reason for supposing that Mr. Aston, our Minister at the Court of Madrid, has informed this Government that the King of the French has been made to feel the expediency of naming a Minister Plenipotentiary to proceed to Madrid, who will of course have to deliver his credentials to the Regent.—Morning Post Correspondent.
A mercantile firm in Liverpool has received a letter from its New Zealand correspondent at Wellington, stating that the preliminary ex- pedition of the Nelson settlement, under Captain Arthur Wakefield, had arrived ; and that the settlement was to be planted at Blind Bay, Captain Hobson having refused to consent to the selection of Banks's Peninsula for the site. The New Zealand Company, however, is with- out any despatches upon the subject.
Previous page
