ZDe Vrobinces.

We understand that the Right Honourable George R. Dawson has recently expressed his determination again to offer himself to the con- stituency of Devonport, whenever an opportunity will permit of his doing so.— Western Luminary.

• A grand entertainment was given at Shrewsbury, on Friday, to the twelve Conservative Members for that borough and the county of Shropshire. Among the company, were the Earl of Powis, chairman ; 'Honourable R. Clive, M.P., the Earl of Darlington, M.P., Sir Rowland Hill, M.P., Sir R. Pigott, M.P., Mr. W. 0. Gore, M.P., Mr. Gaskell, ALP., the Honourable Cecil Forrester M.P., Mr. Whitmore, M.P., Mr. Tomline, M.P., Mr. G. C. Legh, M.P., Sir P. G. Egerton, Mr. Ackers, M.P., Mr. Botfield, M.P:, and many of the principal gentlemen of that and the neighbouring county. Mr. Disraeli was the Only absent Member of either the borough or county of Salop ; "an absence says the correspondent of the Times, which Created considerable surprise, and was altogether unexplained:" The speechea were not characterized by closeness or felicity of observation. The Earl of Darlington, as might be expected, said something about the Corn-law ; but he did not enter largely upon the subject ; almost confining him- self to an anecdote of the way in which it was made an open question by the Whigs— The first question made an open question upon the change was that question which still agitated the country from the beginning to the- end, namely, the subject of the Corn-laws. In 1834, when Lard Grey was at the head of her Majesty's Government, Mr. Hume brought forward a motion for abolishing the present system of the Corn-laws, and establishing what he called axed duty of 10s., but when prices declined to a certain sum the duty should decline Is. till it ended in nothing. That was Mr. flume's fixed duty. As .might very justly be imagined, the whole of Lord Grey's Government were op- posed to the scheme; they were all in favour of the existing Corn-laws as they stood at the present moment. If this was the case with the whole Cabinet, was it not extraordinary that it should be made an open question ? It was made an open question to accommodate one individual, and one individual alone, who was certainly a very great man. He must, however,- speak of him with rest respect, because he was now no more. It was for Lord Sydenham, then Mr. Poulett Thomson, that the question was made an open question: he then held the office of Vice-President of the Board of Trade ; and it was said, as an excuse, "flow can it be supposed that any man who is the Member for the town of Manchester would give his assent to the Corn-laws?" Very true, that might be the case ; but then came this question—whether a Minister who bad to be the representative of a large constituency was to obey the express will of a large majority of the nation, or the party whom he represented? Now, as he had always thought it was the duty of every Mini/der of the Crown to promote to the utmost of his power the interest of the nation at large, and not of any one particular class, so he said that Government ought to leave but one option to Mr. Thomson,—namely, either to have resigned his office of Minister of the Crown, or his office as one of the Representatives of the town of Manchester.

The promised meeting of Anti-Corn-law deputies, to devise plans of operation during the winter, took place on Wednesday. About one hundred and twenty assembled, at the Spread Eagle Inn. The Anti- Bread- Tax Circular of Thursday publishes the resolutions adopted by

the meeting. The deputies recommend petitions for the total and im- mediate repeal of the Corn-laws to be presented to Parliament "to the utmost possible extent." They advise that district meetings of deputies from manufacturing towns or districts should be held, to collect infor- mation on the state of the population on wages and the effect of the Corn-laws upon them, and on home and foreign trade; the information to be published at the district meetings ; the meetings to plan and urge petitions to the House of Commons ; and to send deputations to com- municate with Government on the state of each trade and district. The next resolution directs a committee to be appointed to carry out a plan [whose nature is not explained] proposed by Mr. James Wilson. Other resolutions request' the League to draw up a report on the acts of legislation "which have been inflicted on this country by the land- owners"; recommend memorials to the Queen from the females of the United Kingdom, praying for immediate abolition of the Corn and Pro- vision taxes ; direct a meeting. of deputies to be held in London on or

about the commencement of the next session of Parliament, of which due notice shall be given by the League ; declare an opinion that "the

great principle of total and immediate repeal should be brought forward in the next session of Parliament at the earliest possible period ; and express approval of the clerical conference held in Manchester some months back.

The Sheffield Society for the Promotion of Free Trade held a public meeting in the Cutlers' Hall, on Monday ; Mr. Offiey Shore, the Presi- dent of the Society, in the chair. Among the attendants, were Earl

Fitzwilliam, Mr. John Parker the Member for the borough, Sir Arnold James Knight, and, says the Sheffield Iris, "nearly all our most influ- ential merchants, manufacturers, &e." Letters were read from Mr. E. G. Ward, the other Member for the borough, Mr. Stuart Wortley, Mr. Edward Denison, Mr. W. Evans, and others regretting that they were unable to be present. Mr. Edward Smith, seconded by Mr. Thomas Dunn, moved the following resolution- " That the present import-duties, which either prevent or obstruct our inter- course with foreign countries, greatly aggravate the distress now existing among the mercantile and manufacturing classes of England." Mr. Parker supported the motion. He discussed the necessity of Free Trade in its bearing upon revenue, as a means of relieving the Oppressed and exhausted resources of the industrious classes from taxa- tion— " I am persuaded that no plan, come from what party it may—no matter if it emanate from a Whig or a Tory Government—no plan can be adopted for the permanent relief of the people of England, nor tend so much to extricate the masses from the difficulties in which they are plunged, unless the party bringing forth such measures of relief go boldly and fearlessly into the consider- ation of the question of Free Trade, and with a determination to open more freely the ports of this country to the produce of foreign nations. We have, whether wisely or unwisely I will not pretend to say nor to discuss, an enormous national debt ; to pay the interest of which requires thirty millions of money, which must be collected by some means. We have, then, twenty rnillions more required for the support of the various departments of govern- ment. Every one who pays any attention to the finances of this country must see that the means of taxation are becoming exhaustible ; and if some new plan be not adopted on -a large and more comprehensive principle of Omitting the produce of other nations, the trade of our own will be lost. It 15 also clear to me, that whatever Government assumes the management of affairs, they cannot reduce the establishments of the realm: they may strike out a 5001. there, reduce a 1,000/. here, and a few scattered hundreds else- where ; but they can do nothing which will affect the required twenty millions. Such is now the increase of our Colonies as well as the nature of affairs between this country and the whole world, as to make such a procedure positively impossible. Contract our navy and our army. ! What ! when Austra- IM wants regiments—when China an additional reinforcement—and when Canada and India are daily calling for help ! it is quite impossible to make the attempt. Many ,people hold that the trade of this country dernd: ,-,,, emigra- tion : let it depend im Willa it will, the revenue of this country will be best relieved by th: augmentation of its commerce."

We claim from other countries reciprocity in trade, but our Corn-laws render reciprocity impossible with those countries that have corn to offer us. Let us place a fixed duty on corn, that all the world may know what it is, -.nd that the trade may no longer be carried on by fits and starts. No mere reduction of the sliding-scale could effect any permanent settlement of the question. Mr. Parker gave, though he did not seem to do it with that view, a good illustration of the " indepen- dence " secured to the country by the Corn-law s- " I think that no man, who is a true patriot to his country would ever desire to see the Bank of England at the feet of the Bank of France. I refer with feelings of gratification to the conduct of the Bank of France at that juncture when it was difficult to say what would have been the condition of England, had not the Bank of France, with magnanimous generosity, and in a handsome manner, arranged and cooperated with the Bank of England. If the Bank of France had taken a different view of the difficulties of England—had France been a hostile nation—what would have become of this country is not for me to say ; but her difficulties arose out of that vicious system of legislation in corn. Until this country has the energy to see this system altered, you may again find yourelves in the same position, and possibly asking a favour at the hands of France when France is not willing to grant the assistance." Mr. Ibbotson described the transfer of the trade of Sheffield to America- " Five-eighths of the manufactures of Sheffield go to that market : all have felt the severe prostration of that market, which has not been of slight dura- tion, but of five years' standing. What is the reason of all this ?—Because the Americans have had nothing to give us in exchange for our goods. America has an abundance of what our people are dying for—not literally dying, but wasting away for want of adequate support. There is an amount of suffer- ing in Sheffield of which the people have no adequate idea. If we were to adopt the plan which has been adopted in Leeds, we should discover an amount of poverty, and such poverty as we little think of. America has abundance of corn, and we have abundance of labour. What is the state of the various trades in this town ? The scissor-trade is nearly annihilated ; the Germans have done this. The axe-trade—a trade of great importance in America—has nearly entirely left this town. America makes as many in three months as we do in twelve; which has been excluded owing to the great duty on corn. In the mill-saw we are entirely cut out. Circular saw, ditto. True, I am sending steel to America to cut myself out ; but what can I do ? I am obliged to do somethin,g, and I am even glad to send the very article away which ought to be manufactured into saws-by myself. I fully anticipate that the day is not far distant when we shall be entirely cut out in table-knives—another article, to manufacture which the Americans are likely to take away our steel. We have no alternative but to let it go; for if we do not manufacture still and sell it to them, them will manufacture it for themselves."

Mr. Ibbotson proposed the second resolution ; which we subjoin with the others-

" That it is an unsacred principle to attempt by legislative interference to protect the manufacture or the growth of any thing in any national locality ; because free commercial intercourse will ever determine by whom and in what locality each thing can be best manufactured, and most conveniently grown. " That free intercourse between the nations of the earth for the various articles of manufacture and of natural production, is most conducive to the happiness of mankind generally, and is especially advantageous to a country which, like England, possesses great mineral wealth and natural facilities for commerce, combined with superior capital, industry, and skill. "That whilst we claim exemption from all protective import-duties on foreign produce, we are prepared at the same time to abolish all protective im- port-duties on foreign manufactures ; and we are anxious that the idea of pro- tecting trade or agriculture by means of import-duties should be altogether abandoned, and that such duties should be employed only as a convenient means of raising revenue for the state, and their amount be regulated with re- ference to that single object."

Mr. Benson a working-man, seconded the last resolution. Thanks were voted to the chairman, and to Earl Fitzwilliam and Mr. John Parker for their attendance ; and were briefly acknowledged. The Society then adjourned the meeting, to the second Monday in December.

A meeting was held in Leeds, on Wednesday week, in St. Ann's School-room, Park Lane, to consider a petition to the Queen in Council on the situation of the Irish poor resident in the town and its neigh- bourhood. About two hundred people were present, chiefly Irishmen. Mr. James Holdforth was elected chairman. The subjoined resolutions were carried ; and a Committee was appointed to carry out the objects of the meeting- " That this meeting views with alarm and sorrow the great amount of dis- tress which now prevails, and the apparent inevitable increase of that distress during a season when the inclemency of the weather renders domestic comforts more necessary.

"That we, her Majesty's subjects, natives of Ireland, are made to feel more acutely our distressed condition, from the circumstance of our being compelled to leave this country on the receipt of relief, though that relief be only tempo- rarily required in consequence of sickness or loss of employment. " That this meeting deems it prudent and necessary to address a humble pe- tition to our most gracious Queen, praying that she will be pleased to take our case into consideration, and issue such orders as would prevent our poverty being treated as a crime; and our having to leave the country on the receipt of paro- chial aid."

Mr. James Green illustrated the evil of requiring the poor to be sent back to Ireland— It had been said by some of their overseers, that the Irish were very kindly treated when they got back to Ireland ; but he believed they knew nothing about it, and he did know something about it. He knew two very old persons, who, when they were sent to Ireland, left nothing in England, and yet begged to come back to that nothing rather than stay where they were; so that Limerick workhouse could not be a very nice place. Mr. Green gave some other instances, and particularly of one man' who had returned after being sent to Ireland by a pass, and whose house he had visited lately, with the ope- rative enumerator, and found that it contained scarcely a farthing's worth of any thing whatever, either furniture or food, except a black pot, containing some porridge, which the man devoured with the greediness of famine. It was said that it was the law that required them to be sent to Ireland; but the law ought to be altered. The Manchester Chronicle reports upon the state of Stockport- " We are sorry to say there is yet no improvement in the trade of this bo- rough. Wretchedness, misery, and distress are daily on the increase, and every week adds to the number of unwillingly-made paupers. This week thirty- right new applications have been made for relief; and during the last two smooths more than seventy families who had no claims on the township of Stock- port, but who had been driven to the necessity of applying for parochial relief, have been removed to their respective places of settlement : thus we may say, at a aw-derete calculation, fifty more dwellings are become tenantless an the township of Stockport alone. The removals froto the whole of the borough during the last two months have been upwards of one hundred families. If this state of things exists much longer, the jeering statement put forth in a placard posted on the walls of Manchester a short time ago, viz. that Stock- port was to let, will be verified; and this once flourishing town will only be known as a place which once existed. About one-fifth of the borough is already to let. Most of the mills are still working short time.

The Hereford Times describes a misemble state of things in Aber- gavenny and the iron districts of Wales- " Notice has been this week given to all descriptions of workmen employed at the different iron-works, that a further reduction of wages must take place : to what extent it is not named ; but rumour says the fall will be at least to the amount of 10 per cent., or two shillings in the pound. Although expected and dreaded for some time, this notice has created universal gloom and despon- dency; which is not alone confined to the unfortunate class whom it directly _affects, but likewise to the commercial and trading portion of the community, whose transactions, already injured to an alarming degree, will now suffer still more. From the well-known fact of hundreds of families being at the pre- sent period scantily supplied with the necessaries of life, it is feared that the contemplated reduction will create harrowing and heartrending privations. Discontent exhibits itself accordingly ; and it is said that many workmen, sooner than accept the same, will generally stand out for the present price. Unfortunately, such is the depressed state of the iron-trade, that it is thought such a course would be very acceptable to many masters ; who, having been for some time making iron at a dead loss, would instantly blow out their fur- naces."

The Birmingham Chartists spoiled an Anti-Corn-law meeting on Mon- day evening. Mr. John Curtis of Ohio was invited by the Anti-Corn- law Association of the town to deliver a lecture in the Town-hall ; and every arrangement was made for the purpose. The placard by which the meeting was called, as if anticipating interruption, concluded by de- claring that "the meeting was solely for the purpose of giving informa- tion on the subject of the Corn-laws." This warning possibly provoked the interference which it was meant to deprecate : the Chartists issued the following placard- " Chartists of Birmingham, look out! The Anti-Corn-law Whig faction are about holding another meeting very soon ; to which they have invited Alr. Cobden, of Stephenson's Square notoriety, and Curtis from America, in order to thrust their nostrums down our throats. Watch the Whig plotters well, and show, by your attendence at the Town-hall on the day of meeting, that you are determined to give them the finishing.blow. No humbug ; the whole Charter, and nothing less."

At six o'clock, Mr. Curtis was escorted into the hall by Mr. William .Scholefield, the chairman of the Association, Mr. Joshua Scholefield, M.P., Mr. Cobden, M.P., Mr. Joseph Sturge, Mr. A eland the Anti- -Corn-law lecturer, and some other gentlemen. Mr. William Schole- field took the chair, and that was the signal for a disturbance. Mr. White, one of the leading Chartists, objected to a chairman who had pre- judged the question before the meeting, and proposed a working-man in his stead. He was backed by sixty, or a hundred, or two hundred Chartists, according to various computations of their opponents : Mr. White said that there were " hundreds " in the Chartist minority—thus admitting that they were the minority ; and the correspondent of the Times reckons them at 500 or 600. Whatever their number, however, they succeeded in raising such a continued turmoil, that after several gentlemen had made ineffectual attempts to procure Mr. Curtis a hear- ing, Mr. Sturge, in the name of the chairman, declared the meeting to be dissolved. The rage of the Anti-Corn-law party was now inflamed against Mr. White ; and with much difficulty, and apparently some danger, Mr. Sturge and other gentlemen succeeded in rescuing him from his assailants and removing him from the hall. The meeting sepa- rated shortly after.

A public meeting of the inhabitants of Brighton and Hundred of Whalesbone was held in the Town-hall, on Monday evening last, "for the purpose of taking into consideration the propriety of petitioning the Commons House of Parliament in favour of the People's Charter." The meeting was numerously attended, there being probably about a thousand persons present ; among whom were Captain Pechell, R.N., and Mr. Newton Wigney, the Members for the borough, and Mr. Charles Brooker of Alfriston. Mr. Good was called to the chair. Re- solutions were passed attributing the existing distress to class-legisla- tion; declaring "that till all classes of men be placed on a footing of equality before the laws of the country, the evils now so universally complained of will continue to grow, and at last to threaten a national convulsion"; and "that, in the opinion of this meeting, nothing short of the adoption of the People's Charter' can effect the desired object, and that we therefore adopt the petition called the National Petition' pray- ing for this object." Other resolutions accorded the thanks of the meeting to the two Members for their attendance, and appointed a Com- mittee to obtain signatures to the petition. The chief address was that of Mr. Bronterre O'Brien ; who gave some account of his pains and troubles during his late imprisonment ; and then he enlarged on class- legislation— He would undertake to prove that the miseries of the people were the result of acts of Parliament ; and he would undertake not only to show that, but that the men who made these acts of Parliament made them for the purpnse of robbing and enslaving the great body of the people. And more than that, he would undertake to show, in opposition to any one, what these acts of Par- liament were. Or if there were evils existing which were not the result of acts of Parliament, they were the result of the want of such acts which they would have if other acts of Parliament did not prevent them. He thought it necessary to make this remark, because it had been frequently said in the House of Commons, that the distress of the people was not owing to legislation. Lord John Russell had made a statement to that effect, and so had Sir Robert Peel; and the Times, the organ of the monied class, on the occasion of the rest meeting in Palace Yard to elect delegates to the Convention, after abus- ing the Chartists for their folly and presumption in thinking they had any claim to the suffrage, said 'What! do you mean to show us that Parliament 'could do any thing to better your condition? Draw up a bill which, if carried 1 into a law, would ameliorate your condition, and present it to the House of Commons; and we will undertake to say, that however meanly you may think of that House, it wil not hesitate one moment to pass that bill into a law.' That was all delusion ; or he might use a much stronger expression, and say it was all humbug. In the first place, it was not by one act of Parliament that the people were brought into their present condition; and they had no right to expect that one act of Parliament would bring them out of it, much less one proceeding from that House as it was at present constituted. No; if they were to remedy the evils of the country, they must have power in the hands of those who suffered from the evils, and not exclusively confined to the classes who either did not suffer or were interested in the system that caused the evils."

He glanced at the distress in the chief manufacturing towns ; observ- ing, "it might be said that this was the result of machinery, of the Corn- laws, of the want of free-trade ; but all these things themselves were the result of bad laws." He then attacked all HouSes of Commons,=- except the present House, for to do that would lodge him again in Lan- caster Castle,—and the fundholders and receivers of fixed incomes, as the thieves and receivers of stolen goods—of the five-sixths of the earnings of the people which were wrung from them. He denied that he had ever recommended spoliation of property, but declared that if the Tories were to suspend the Habeas Corpus Act against the declared majo- rity of the people, the people would rise as one man and put down the conspirators ; and he exclaimed, " Damn me if I would hesitate an instant." The two Members for the borough expressed a partial dissent from what had been uttered by the Chartist speakers ; but promised to secure a respectful reception for the petition, which had been so "intel- ligently argued."

On Tuesday morning, the Chartists of Norwich created a disturbance during the consecration of a new church at Catton, near Norwich. The Bishop was assailed with hooting and yells, and during the ceremony at the church a Chartist band played Outside. The congregation were much alarmed during the whole service. Several Chartists were taken into custody. One of them was rescued, and two or three of the Police were severely wounded. One man, Neale, was cut in the nose ; ano- ther man, Didwill, cut on the back of the head by heavy stones. The Chartist prisoners were examined before the Magistrates ; and several were fined W., and in default committed for a month to hard labour. Hewett, a ringleader, was bound over to take his trial at the Sessions.

A meeting was held at Oxford, in the Radcliffe Library, on Tuesday the 9th instant, for the purpose of raising a subscription to purchase from Messrs. Woodburn the original drawings by Raphael and Michael Angelo, that formed part of the collection of the late Sir Thomas Law- rence, in order to place them in the picture-galleries now building for the University. It was attended by upwards of sixty members of the University ; and the Vice-Chancellor took the chair. Dr. Cramer, Principal of New Inn Hall, stated that the idea originated with the Reverend Henry Wellesley, formerly a student of Christchurch, a gen- tleman of cultivated taste, who is well acquainted with the drawings of the Italian masters. His letter suggesting the purchase of these valuable relies of art by the University was read : it contained the following account of the drawings in question-

" From the collection as originally formed by Sir Thomas Lawrence, several have been disposed of to the King of Holland. In its present state it consists of about sixty drawings of Michael Angelo, and nearly a hundred and fifty by Raphael ; a much larger number than exists in any single gallery in the world. And they are even more remarkable for their intrinsic excellence than for their number. They are all in admirable order and preservation, and framed and glazed for the purpose of being displayed to view in a public gallery. The sum required for the purchase of these drawings is 10,000 guineas. This will doubtless appear large to those who are not conversant with the prices de- manded for first-rate works of art. But they have been valued (exclusively of those purchased by the King of Holland) by a most able and experienced judge, at not less than 14,0001.; since which valuation, the whole of Mr. Har- man's well-known and most important collection of the same master has been added by the present proprietor. These Sir Thomas Lawrence was never able

to procure." - Dr. Cramer, in supporting the proposition, also bore testimony to the value of the collection-

" I had myself seen the Raphael and Michael Angelo drawings when they were first exhibited in London, and I saw them again this summer ; and though it is certain that many most important studies of both masters have been ob- tained by the King of Holland, who is as judicious as he is liberal in his en- couragement of the fine arts, yet I most fully concur in every thing that my friend Mr. Wellesley has stated, respecting the importance and value of this collection as it stands at present. And I think it worthy not only of belong- ing to the University, but to the nation. Its proper place, indeed, would un- questionably be the capital."

He combated the objection that paintings would be preferable for the University galleries-

" Undoubtedly, paintings are more calculated to captivate the general eye and the superficial observer. Their greater size and splendid colouring would render them more attractive to the public. But the real question is, not whether we shall prefer drawings or paintings; but whether we shall secure to the country, through the instrumentality of the University, a collection which appears to men of taste and judgment likely to promote greatly the study of design in this country ? But, besides this, it is clear that paintings of these two greatest masters are out of the question ; we never could hope to obtain any for our gallery. Those of Michael Angelo are so rare as to be hardly known beyond the walls of the Vatican; and the pictures of Raphael, though more numerous, are already appropriated by crowned heads or opulent noble- men and private gentlemen. These admirable designs are therefore, it is mom than probable, all that we can ever hope to obtain of the two greatest of the Italian masters : and let it be remembered, too, that these studies will preserve to us the conceptions of these inimitable painters, traced by their own hands, when. perhaps no vestige of the great works executed from them shall remain. * * • Drawings in fact, though less laboured and finished, frequently ex- hibit the highest requisites of art, correctness of design, knowledge of anatomy, skill in arrangement and composition, with more fire in conception and vigour of execution ; and, for these reasons, the most able and experienced judges have not hesitated to prefer them to paintings. We recommend., therefore, the ac- quisition of these studies for the University Gallery, as offering the best models of true feeling in the art of design." The Reverend Vaughan Thomas, in a speech remarkable for the knowledge of art it displayed, cordially supported the proposition, onthe ground of the tendency of such studies to refine the manners and cul,- tivate the tastes of the students. The Reverend G. Liddel instanced the beneficial influence of the study of Italian art in Germany, and urged the consideration of those

advantages that might accrue to the English school by the possession of the drawings.

The meeting came to the resolution of appointing a Committee to carry the purpose into effect. Messrs. Coutts and Co., Strand, and Willis, Percival, and Co., Lombard Street, were named as the London bankers for receiving subscriptions.

A, triple murder was committed at Burnley on Sunday evening. One Morris, a mess-waiter in the Sixtieth Rifles, became jealous of his Lieu- tenant, William Sharman O'Grady-, on account of a woman of very in- different character, named Lerrett, with:whom he had formed an intimacy. On the night of the murder, Morris and the woman were together at a pUblie-house, and were both rather intoxicated. He reproached her with encouraging the attentions of Mr. O'Grady ; and threatened her, if she did not break off all connexion with him, to kill both of them, and then himself. Ou her return to the Barracks, Mrs. Lerrett went to Mr. O'Grady's room, to put him on his guard ; but he at once went into the mess-waiter's pantry and remonstrated with Morris. A quarrel and a scuffle ensued, and Morris stabbed him with a large carving-knife. O'Grady rushed into the mess-room, and was put to bed by his brother-officers; but he died almost immediately. In the mean time, Morris proceeded to O'Grady's room in search of Mrs. Lerrett, and stabbed her several times. He then plunged the knife four times into his own body, and as he was falling literally ripped himself open. He died instantly.

The Norfolk Chronicle tells a story of a juvenile murder.— " On Saturday last, John Smith, aged nine years, was sent by his father, a baker residing in Houlston, to Mr. Edward Kearsey, of Shotford llall, distant about a mile, with a basket of cakes for sale: whilst on his way thither, George Barber, aged ten years, accompanied him (as he has since confessed) to Shot- ford-bridge, which crosses the river Waveney. Here the boys loitered, and Smith got upon and sat astride the parapet-wall thereof. Whilst in that posi- tion, Barber took one of the cakes from the basket and ate it ; when Smith cried, and said he would tell his father ; and immediately Barber pushed him off the bridge and ran away : this took place between four and five o'clock p.m. The evening closing in and the child not making his appearance, his parents became exceedingly anxious about him. Search was made for him immediately, and the river was carefully searched. Information was given on Monday that the boys had been seen together on Saturday afternoon ; and immediate steps were taken to find Barber ; which was soon accomplished, he having returned home that morning. He denied having any knowledge about the boy Smith : but afterwards the parish-constable of Fulham extorted a confession from him, that he did accompany the deceased to the bridge ; that he pushed him into the water, and then ran away ; that he ate the remainder of the cakes, and slept in the shed on Saturday night where the basket was found. The body was found on Tuesday, and an inquest held on the same day. After two hours' delibera- tion, the Jury returned a verdict of' wilful murder' against George Barber who WS immediately committed to the Castle to take his trial at the next Assizes." _ The Norjblk Chronicle says that Barber's "father-in-law," meaning probably his stepfather, had very much neglected him.