ottwtt* V- ! [ GRATIS.] SUNDAY, JANUARY 11, 1863. [ GRATIS.] REVIEW OF THE RACING SEASON IN FRANCE, BELGIUM, AND AT BADEN- BADEN—( CONCLUDED). ( FROM OUE OWN CORRESPONDENT.) It has usually been our practice to complete our remarks on the Paris and Chantilly reunions before we commenced commenting on any of the provincial meetings, but during the past season this latter racing has become of much greater importance than hitherto, and having furnished results that were subsequently materially associated with the great event at Chantilly, we should necessarily break the string of our narrative were we not now to allot them a prior consideration. Retracing our steps a little from Paris, therefore, we come to the BORDEAUX Meeting, which com- menced on Thursday, April 24. The first day's card only com- prising four events, two of which only were of any importance, namely, the Prix Special, for which twelve ran, and John Styx, who on the previous Sunday had run very badly in the Prix de la Ville, at Paris, now beat this lot of Midi three year olds very easily, thus proving that there is a great difference in quality be- tween the horses of the southern and northern provinces; the other event was the Omnium of 2,500f, for all ages, which the six year old Bissextile won, beating four others very easily. On the second day Peu de Chance commenced M Eobin's very fortunate season, by securing for his stable the Prix des Haras, and then twelve came out for the Prix de l'Empereur of ll. OOOf, for three year olds bred in the Midi; and Gouvernail, a fine- looking Collingwood colt, who had run second to John Styx in the Prix Special on the first day, won it just as he liked. Three other races comprised the day's sport, of which one went to M Terry's stable, by the aid of Plaisir des Dames, another won by Bissextile, and the last, a hurdle race, by Mr Power's Sceix, who beat amongst others the well- known Monarchist. The Midi Derby was run on the third day, and only eight came out for it, the superior pretensions of Vertu Facile having frightened a good many from coming to the scratch, and the fact, as we have been assured, that she could give John Styx 251b, will slightly show her superiority over the Midi division, so, of course, we need hardly say that she won this race with the greatest ease imaginable. The other racing that came off on the third day was of an uninteresting character, excepting in a local point; and so was that on the fourth day, when the chief event, the Prix Im- perial of 4, OOOf was won by the Confederacy's Good Bye, who had only, however, the selling- plater, Fairy Queen, to beat. The 11th of May was the first day of ANGOULEME. wherea three- day meeting is now held, and which, during the last two years, since the Haras authorities have increased their interest in racing affairs, has shown considerable signs of improvement. The open- ing event was the Prix de la Tourette, in which Beau Soleil, Linieres, and St Aignan met at even weights, and finished in the order named, with two lengths separating the first two, and the Saint a length from the second. In the St Leger of the West, Souvenir made his first appearance for the season, and he had to meet seven three year olds, all of the Western and Midi provinces, so of course there was nothing considered likely to overthrow this great gun, who, it was reported, had been doing what he liked with the five year old Peu de Chance, at even weights, in private; and this seemed likely to have been the case, for in the race he soon had everything safe, excepting one, named Fortunio, who stuck to him rather too close to look pleasant, until they had come into the distance, when the crack appeared to stay the longest, and eventually won easily by a length, a result, that not only elated M Eobin's party, but the friends of Fortunio were also convinced by it, that they possessed a good animal, and his trainer even hinted that some day their respective positions should be reversed, in which idea he was not far wrong, as will be seen by our narrative. The next race produced a very fine struggle between the confederacy's Le Due Job and Eegina and M Verry's John Styx, three heads separating the lot, and the Confederates were victorious with Eegina, the day's sport terminating with a walk over for Pharaon. The second day of An- gouleme is confined only to two races for half bred horses, which will not interest our readers, so we will pass on to the third day, when Souci, a Caravan colt of Viscount de Cheinellier's, won the Prix de l'Empereur, beating Faustin, a stable companion of Souvenir's, who was second, besides two others, easily, and Peu de Chance ( Souvenir's schoolmaster), the Handicap, beating Connetable, a three year old, to whom he gave 231b, besides Bissextile, Jonathas,. and Eosiere, from the first two of whom he received 71b, and from the mare 31b. Souvenir now oame out for a second time to meet Beau Soleil in the Prix de la Societe, the two meeting at a difference of 211b for the year, and the young one came off the winner easily, which was considered a most satisfactory trial, and quite decided a question which had previously existed between his owner and trainer as to whether he was only good enough to cut in successfully amongst the pro- vincials, or of a class superior enough to have a chance with the clippers of Chantilly ; for it could not be overlooked that in de- feating Beau Soleil he had beaten the conqueror of St Aignan, who had won the Omnium in 1861 at a weight which made him about fourth best of his year. Linieres won the Prix d'Angouleme, worth nearly 4, OOOf, beating Le Due Job at 161b for the year in a canter, and the Hurdle Eace proved another victory to M Eobin's stable by the aid of La Chatte, with which terminated satisfac- torily the Angouleme Meeting, and no other of importance inter- vening we are how left free to follow Souvenir in his victorious travels, and see how hefaredat the racing head- quarters of France. If the Derby speculation up to this time had not been so Spirited as usual, in consequence of the great monopolisation of in- terest centred in Partisan and Stradeila, we can confidently as- sert that the CHANTILLY Spring Meeting suffered nothing from it, for M Grandhomme had arranged a capital programme, entries were very full, and with brilliant weather and all the Turfites of France attracted together, there was nothing seemingly wanting to insure for the meeting its usual amount of success; and at the commencement fine contests appeared to be the rule, as in the opening event, the Prix de la Eeine Blanche, Ama- ranthe, and the filly by Cossack out of Quality, ran home a neck- and- neck struggle, resulting in favour of the former by a short head. Then seven appeared for the spin over the T. Y. C., including the quondam cracks, Bochet and Eclair, besides the winner of the same race last year, Guilzin, who has since become a steeple chaser of some pretensions; but these now got defeated easily by Count de Morny's Sauterelle, who rather surprised her party by beating such company, as was well evinced by the tremendous hurry T. Osborne seemed to be in to secure the judge's fiat, which he did by nearly a couple of lengths over Good- by, who was giving the winner only 161b for the year; Eclair and Bochet finishing third and fourth. The race for the Handicap was interesting, as it comprised amongst its starters Souvenir, who stood as the top weight three year old at 8st, but he was nevertheless made a good favourite at 2 to 1, a price justified by the result, for he came away from his competi- tors when he was asked, and ran home a clever winner by a length, beating the six year old Quid Juris, who only gave him a stone for the difference of age, and was second; this per- formance elevating Souvenir at once in the betting from 20 to 1 offered, to 8 to 1 taken freely for the Derby. Another change in the odds now took place, by the result of the French Oaks, which only brought half- a- dozen fillies to the post, and Stradella was one of them, with, of course, odds on her, but, to the great discomfiture of her Derby friends, she appeared to cut up very like a soft one, and Noelie, not backed for a shilling by her party, hap- pening to reach her head, succeeded in making it a dead heat, to the no small delight of those who trusted in Partisan ( Noelie's stable companion) though the black one in a measure regained her character by winning the deciding bout in a canter. The Confe- deracy pitted Compiegneand Benjamin against Mon Etoile in the Prix d'Apremont, and Compiegne and the mare racing each others' heads off from the start, allowed Benjaman to become the odd man at last, and he won cleverly, which brought to a termi nation the first day of the meeting. Thursday's racing was cer- tainly better than usual, for a bye day, commencing with a good race in the first heat for the Prix Special, which Blanchette won, beating Eclair, who gave her 181b for the year, by a head only; and Hirma was well up, third; the second heat also going to Blanchette, who now won cleverly, beating Hirma by half a length. It appeared to have been a great sacrifice for the Jockey Club to dispense with its favourite two year old race in the spring, which was done last year, by excluding the Prix du Premier Pas from the programme, mainly to meet the views of the Haras authorities, for this year there was another two year old race in lieu of it, in the shape of a sweepstake, and for it a field of ten came to the scratch, though, as it had not long been decided upon, none were in very forward condition; and one or two that were then beaten off a long way, have seen a better day since. Pergola, the winner, however, is a goad- looking filly, and if she trains on, is likely to be heard of in future over short courses; and Demon, the second, who is reported to be the best of the Duke de Morny's team, has good looks enough to recommend him, and must have been thought promising, as he is entered in both the French Derby and Grand Prix de Paris for next year. A good race for the Gentlemen Eiders' Stake, resulted in favour of Volta, who was subsequently claimed from the Confederacy, by Mr H. Gibson, and then a fine finish was witnessed between A la Eescousse and Genealogie for the Prix deCourteuil, in which the colt just pulled through by a head, whicli event was followed by another gentlemen riders' race, which Egmont won easily. In the last race, the Prix du Chemin- du- Fer, another fine race was witnessed between Champagne and Villafranche, resulting in favour of the former by the shortest of heads. The following 8unday, the 25th of May, was the French Derby Day, falling this year ten days before the Epsom event, which gave many of our English Turfites a good opportunity for a continental trip, with a chance of getting back their expenses. The Prix Imperial was the first event on the card, and nothing appearing against Compiegne, he had only to walk over, twice, however, for the race was in heats. In this respect the French seem to be a little behind us, for our 49th rule of racing deter- mines that one heat is sufficient to decide a walk over; whereas in France no regulation of the sort exists, and hence a gool deal of unnecessary time is frequently lost. Jamb d'Argent, with odds on him, won the Prix des Etangs for the Confederacy; and their representative, Champagne, was then made a great favourite for the handicap, in which, however, he was bowled over easily by the Marquis de St Cloud's Eoquille, but as the competitors for these events possessed only third class pretensions, the results had no effect whatever on the betting for the Derby, which was now geing on very spiritedly ; Stradella still maintaining her pride of place, for her great- looked- for rival, Partisan, had been scratched at the eleventh hour, and Souvenir was the only one that was considered likely to have a chance with her, although Tamberlik was now for the first time talked of ; and M Stick- ler's formidable team of three— Choisy le Hoi, Provocateur, and A la Eescousse, had its few friends, whilst even the patched- up Ma- rignan was looked favourably upon with Fordham up. Admi- rable starts have characterised the French Derby's for the last four anniversaries, and this year's proved no exception to the existing rule, for Baron de la Eochette got off a field of seventeen beauti- fully at the first attempt, Orphelin and A la Eescousse making the pace a clipper for three parts of a mile, when the race was vir- tually over, for Souvenir then went to the front, and, cutting down down everything just as he liked, ran home the easiest of winners two lengths in front of the favourite, who was only half a length before Choisy le Eoi, while Tamberlik was fourth. The result was very satisfactorily received by the public in general, although it contrasted in quite an opposite direction with per- haps more sanguine anticipations than had ever been formed on any previous event that has ever come off in France; for, first, the supposed invincible Marignan fell infirm at a very early period of the spring ; then the defeat of the highly- tried Stradella by an animal that a fortnight prior to the race was at 40 to 1— for who could have dreamt of the western provinces producing anything worthy of such an event, when the best horse that had even been previously bred in them could only boast of mere plating pretensions— and thirdly, the scratching of Partisan, on account of an infirmity that his owner and trainer, curiously enough, only just discovered at the very last moment. But somehow or other the public have got to think that it must have been a very deep- rooted infirmity, perhaps so imperceptible that the sharp eye of W. Smith could " not detect it, though, we fear, poor Partisan's case subsequently took a very serious turn, for no one has ever seen him in regular training since the Derby. On the 21st of May, and clashing with the first day of Chantilly, a day's racing was held at POITIERS, the meeting having been re- duced since last year, from two days to one. The racing was by no means interesting, as the fields were very small, and the cracks being all at Chantilly, these comprised nething but the rif- raf of the country, excepting Beau Soleil, a fair class four year old, who won the Prix des Haras, beating four others, " and Mademoiselle des Douze Traits, appearing as yet hardly to have come to lier form, was beaten a neck in the Poule d'Essai after a slashing race, by the moderate Connetable. The day's sport was concluded by a steeple chase, for which the country was tre- mendously stiff, and the Old Colonel, carrying top weight in a field of eight, composed of Ringleader ( who put his hip out) Trente Quarante, Sir Patrick O'Plenipo, Whiskey, & c, and ap- pearing to be the only one able to get over it satisfactorily, won just as he liked. LIMOGES races commenced on the 21st May, and lasted three days, on the first of which there were four races, and Baron de Nexon commenced by winning the Prix de St LoupHandicap with Ainsi Soit II, who beat a field of eleven provincials easily. The second race was the Prix Special for three year olds bred in the West and Midi, and Yertu Facile won it easily, beating Wild Deer, who was second, and six others. Beau Sire beat Bis- sextile, at 101b for two years, cleverly for the Prix Pa- vilions, and the hurdle race was won by Mille Jenny, beating five others. On the second day the only event of importance was the Oaks of the West, for which eight fillies came to the post, and Souvenir's stable companion, Mademoiselle des Douze Traits, also by Caravan, won it easily, though the performance was nothing great, as Beaute SSvere was second, and her preten- sions are very small over a distance like this. On the third day M Lupin's Buzet, a Lamartine colt, and the first winner of that horse's get, won the Prix des Haras, beating Beau Sire easily, as he had every right to do at 311b for the year, and this race was followed by the Grand Prix du Midi of 6, OOOf for three year olds, which looked a good thing for Vertu Facile albeit a 61fe> penalty, but she was, however, defeated easily by the Viscount de Chemel- lier's Souci, another Caravan, and also by Yacht, who was second, though it subsequently transpired that Vertu Facile had damaged a back sinew in running the race, and in consequence this remark- ably powerful and good- looking daughter of the Pedagogue now retired for the season. On the Sunday after Chantilly, racing men, as usual, met at VERSAILLES, but very little of interest transpired there, Stra- della, coming out for the Prix de la Society, worth above 10, OOOf, and having only to beat Pigeon Yole, it was little better than a walk over for her. Then the Prix de l'Empereur was won by Yolta, ridden by Mr Jonas, beating one other, and in the han- dicap, which brought eleven together, Pigeon Vole, brought out for the second time, jumped off' with the lead, made all the run- ning, and after a good set- to at the finish with the top weight, Quid Juris, who gave him 251b, won by a head, the concluding event, the Prix de Satory, being won by the Confederacy's Chester Cup hero, Hadji Stavros, after a tremendons race with the four year old Clemence, who gave him 161b for the year. The second day of this meeting was this season done away with. The Southern Meeting of AVIGNON clashed with Versailles, but, the racing there was only of local import, excepting for the handicap, worth 4, OOOf, which was contested for by the four year olds— Grabuge and Plaisir des Dames— and won by the former, giving the other 21b. A very good meeting was held at BRUSSELS on the 1st and 3d of June, and there seems every probability that this Belgium re- union will continne to improve, for plenty of money has been easily provided, and the direction of it is evidently in good hands. There were five events for each day, and proceedings commenced on the first with a race only for half breds, then the Baron de Mesnil ran first and second with Goeulzin and Auricula for the Prix Pavilions, the Belgium people having a good deal to crow about in the next race— the Prix du Eoi— for their repre- sentative, Eush, single- handed, beat two of the Confederacy's— Champagne and Eegina— easily; and the most valuable race of the meeting, the Prix de St Michel, was won in a canter by Tamberlick, beating Hirma at even weights, Tolla at 191b for the year, and the English Avalanche at 301b ; M Delamarre thus win- ning three good races, at three different meetings, on the same day, viz., the Handicap at Versailles with Pigeon Vole, the Handicap at Avignon with Grabuge, and this event with Tamber- lick. On the second day the fields were hardly so good as on the first, and the races confined to horses trained in the country, ex- cepiing for the Prix du Eoi Handicap, in which Tamberiick, Hirrna, and Tolla again met, at nearly the same weights as before, and Tamberlik came in this time also an easy winner. Those horses that ran at Brussels now went on to SPA, where a meeting commenced on the 8th, and continued over the 9th of June. In the opening event, the Prix de Barisart, Sauterelle had no difficulty in defeating Eegina and Gceulzin. Nor had Tamber- lick in repeating his Brussels performance, of beating Tolla at 191b in the Prix du Pouhon, and the Prix de la Ville of 5, OOOf was won easily by Orphelin, beating Pigeon Vole, who gave him 61b, and was second, Hirma, who also gave him 61b, and was a good third, and Noelie aud Gemma at even weights. On the second day, Orphelin again won a race over a mile, beating Gemma and Sauterelle easily, whilst giving them 61b each, and the Spa Handicap of 5, OOOf was won very cleverly by A la Rescousse, beating Pigeon Vole, who was second, at even weights, besides La Diva, who was third, giving him 71b, Quid Juris 171b, and Hirma 91b. The racing at AURILLAC on the 1st of June, was unimportant, Ainsi Soit II winning both the principal events, the Prix de la Ville of l, 500f, and the Prix des Haras of 2, OOOf just as he liked for Baron de Nexon's stable. ANGERS races took place on the 8th and 15th June, and although the fields were not large, the races were nearly all well contested, and very fine finishes were witnessed in several, Beau Soliel win- ning tiie first event, beating Peude Chance, who only gave him 51b for the year, cleverly ; Souvenir then coming out for the Bien- nial, in which he only had to defeat Connetable and Souci, which he did easily enough. In the Prix Principal, Blanchette and Koyalieu met at 201b for the year, and the young one won easily, and then, after Liniere3 had beaten a bad lot for the Prix de Cir- conscription, Benjamin came out for the Prix de la Ville, having to meet a couple of west country colts, Le Gamin, by Caravan, and The Clown, by Florist, giving them each 141b, a difference that almost brought the former on terms with him, for after a fine race he only just pulled through by a head. On the second day Benjamin again had a close shave for the Prix Special, when running at even weights with Connetable, from whom he was enabled to secure it by half a head. The Four Year Old Biennial brought together St Aignan, Linieres, and Beau Soliel, at even weights, and the Saint won cleverly by a length, and then a tre- mendous struggle took place for the Prix de l'Empereur between Souvenir and Fortunio, both, as in the St Leger at Angoulerne, getting clear of the rest of the field in the first mile, but at the end of which Fortunio gained a slight advantage over the Derby winner at a turn, and maintaining it to the end, won, after a very game finish, by a neck, this being the first defeat that Souvenir had suffered. MARSEILLES Spring Meeting, consisting only of one day, came off on the 9th of June, but the racing was merely of local import- ance, excepting a good Steeple Chase Handicap of 10, OOOf, which brought seven together, and, owing to the curious course that had to be run over, Mauchline, Dread Not, Trembleur, and Church Langton all came to grief, and the cleverness of Old Kibworth Lass enabled her to come in alone. The racing at MONTAUBAN, on the 12th and 15th of June, was not of a very interesting character, for Baron de Nexon's stable entirely farmed the meeting, winning the Prix des Haras and Prix de la Societe with Esperanee, the Prix de la Ville and Prix de l'Hippodrome with Tandem, and the Prix des Chemins de Fer with Meurchin, after a dead heat with Fitz Ion. FONTAINBLEAU ranks as the most important new meeting of the season, and, as it is te be considered as the Emperor's own reunion, one can hardly foretel the extent of grandeur that such august patronage may attach to it for the future. We are told, however, that, ere another anniversary comes round, it has been quite determined upon to form a first- rate course, which can easily be accomplished, for a finer site than there is for one does not exist in France. The meeting, which at present only consists of one day, took place on the 22d of June, in the presence of the Em- peror and Empress, and Prince Imperial, and a good race was witnessed for the opening event, the Prix de l'Empereur, which Lilas won, beating ten others. The Gentlemen Eiders' Race also produced a fine finish between Le Due Job, ridden by the Duke de Caderousse, and Egmont, ridden by Baron Finot, the former winning by a short head ; and then the four year old Diable au Corps won his maiden race in the Prix des Haras, beating Faustine who gave him 131b for the year, and wassecond, besides Clemence, who was third, at even weights, and three others easily. Twelve came to the post for the handicap, and Jonathas, remarkably well in at 1071b, won it in a canter, beating Panique, who was second, carrying 1101b, and Mon Etoile third, under the welter weight of 1301b, which must tell its own tale as to the mediocrity of the others. The day's sport, which also comprised several races for military horses, was wound up by a hurdle race, which Eigoletto won easily, beating Page, on whom the odds of 2 to 1 were freely laid. The LA MARCHE Summer Meeting took place on the 29th of June, but nothing then transpired there worthy of comment, so we will pass on to Toulouse, where a capital provincial meeting commenced on the same day, when the three chief prizes went to H. Jordan's public stable. First for M Fould, with Merlin, who beat five others in the opening event; then for the Prince de Beavau, with Boulabaisse, who beat four others for the Prix de la Society, including the Confederacy's G6nealogie, giving her 151b for the year, and the last race, the Prix des Haras, for M du Garreau, with Beau Sire, who beat a field of six cleverly, includ- ing that great impostor Diable au Coups, who here terminated a most unprofitable career by breaking down badly. On the second day a good deal of local interest was attached to the Prix Special, for three year olds, bred in the Midi, and it was won, after a well- contested race amongst nine, by M Capdevielle's Wild Deer, a very good looking colt, by Sting out of the Deer filly; and in the Prix de la SociSte, on the same da}', a good race was witnessed be- tween Plaisir des Dames and A la Eescousse, the latter running to disadvantage, at only 41b for the year, the result being in favour of the former by a head only. On the third, and cor elud- ing day, Jordan's stable was again in the ascendant, for Merlin won the handicap, worth 3, OOOf, beating seven others, all of the Midi division, excepting A la Eescousse, who was a good fourth, and after Mousquetaire, who also belongs to M Fould, had walked over for the Prix Principal, Boulaibaisse won the Prix de la Ville de Toulouse of 4, OOOf, for four year olds and upwards, over three miles, at weight for age, beating Plaisir des Dames, Peu Eouge, and Areole. A meeting for the first time was celebrated this year at CHALON- SUR- SAONE in the province of Bourgogne, and although rather out of the way of all racing districts, a handsome provision of money secured plenty of subscribers, and many who attended were so well pleased with the course, which is on the finest and most luxuriant downs in France, that the idea was at once broached of having training stables there, a notion that we ima- gine would become very popular if Chalon only happened to be a little nearer Paris. The meeting this season only boasted of one day, the 13th of July, when the Confederacy won the two opening events, worth in the aggregate nearly 4, OOOf, with Eegina and Isabella; but their representative, Tolla, was bowled over easily by Eclair, to whom, however, she gave 91b in the Prix de la SociSte of 3,000f, given by the Haras. Jonathas followed up his Fontainbleau viotory by now winning the Chalon Handicap, with 1101b on him, beating Chamboran, who was second, carrying only 871b, and three others, and the concluding event on the card was a hurdle race of l, 000f, for which Eigoletto walked over. Retracing our steps once more into Belgium, we have the GHENT Meeting, which came off on the 13th and 15th July, to occupy our attention, and perhaps no meeting during the season exhibited greater signs of improvement, for its stakes were better subscribed to than usual, and its funds had so far increased, as to put the authorities in a position to add a new feature on the card in the shape of a good steeple chase to wind up with. The opening event, the Prix de la Ville, resulted in a magnifi- cent struggle between Le Due Job and lie de France, and mainly owing to the patience and fine horsemanship of J. Watkins, the latter ( a very bad half sister to North Lincoln) just pulled through by a head. Avery good field of three year olds came together for the Ghent Derby, but, owing to the curious formation of the Ghent course, it frequently happens that it does not suit many horses, and we were told that this excuse was ap- plicable in the cases of Telegraphe ( who started favourite) and Provocateur, for neither of these previously good performers were naw able to gallop a yard, nor did, in fact, three others, as for a considerable distance from the finish Orphelin and Gemma were the only two in the race, which resulted at last in favour of the former by a neck. On the second day also Gemma obtained second honours in the handicap, which was won easily by Sol- ferino, who was receiving 41b from the filly besides the sex's al- lowance, and Vapeur was well up, third, giving the winner alto- gether 81b. The new steeple chase came off most auspiciously in favour of the chief turfite of Belgium, Baron de Mesnil, by the aid of Gieulzin, beating Trembleur, who was second, Duhallow third, and seven others. The meetings of ROCHEFORT and AMIENS clashed with the first day of Ghent, and at the former place a good race was wit- nessed for the Derby of the West, worth more than 7, OOOf, for three year olds of those provinces, in which five started, and, after rather a severe struggle, Mademoiselle de Douze Traits succeeded j in defeating Souvenir's conqueror, Fortunio, by a length. At | Amiens the racing was hardly of the same interesting character as is generally witnessed there, for the fields were not very large, : and all the races were won in hollow style, Noelie winning the Prix des Haras easily, beating two of the Confederacy's, Eoj- allieu and Falendre, and Clemence gained her maiden victory in the Prix de la Society, beating four others. In the handicap Adacieuse, with 1091b on her, seemed to revel in the soft treacherous ground which several others seemed afraid to act upon, and she won cle- ; verly, beating Don Juan, who wassecond, receiving from her 131b for the year. Not a bad field of ten came together for the steeple chase, for which Tippler was entrusted by his party with a stake, but, getting Mr Jonas into grief at the river, his stable companion, Page, was obliged to win in his stead. The steeple chasers had also another turn on the follow- ing Sunday at ROUF. N, where nine well- known performers met for the Prix de Conseil General Steeple Chase, and the Old Colonel— with the top weight, as usual, on him— after the new flyer of the season, Auricula, had led the lot a merry dance for two miles and then brought himself to grief, took up his quarters in the van, and won very nearly as he liked. BOULOGNE had its meeting on the 23d and 24t- h of July, the latter day being appropriated to steeple chasing. In our report of it at the time we mentioned many circumstances which tended to show that Boulogne Eaees were likely to improve, but from what we have since been told we are inclined to believe that when we go there again we shall be semewhat disappointed, as it is stated that nothing has yet been done to mend matters, and those who we considered had the meeting at heart seem from all accounts to care very little about it. One thing, however, is certain, that the next meeting cannot be worse than the last, for a wretched course was provided, and three events were competed for by six horses. The steeple chasing, however, on the second day was much better, two of the events being tolerably well contested, the accom- plished hunter, Moor, winning the best, and Church Langton the other ; and as the jumping portion of the programme is in the hands of a sportsman fond of this sort of diversion, and the Go- vernment have, besides, granted a good stake for next year, there is nothing to prevent Boulogne being able to boast of a good steeple chase day at any rate. A good meeting has for many seasons past taken place at CAEN, and this year's, on the 27th and 28th of July, proved no excep- tion to the existing rule. Orphelin beat Bisbille easily enough in the Prix Special, giving her 91b, and in the Prix Principal ( heats, lm 2fur) Bianchette had the best of Gabrieile d'Estrees, at 121b for the year, the other event worthy of comment being the handi- cap, worth 12, OOOf, for which thirteen went to the post, and the five year old mare Eosiere, under the lenient impost of 1001b, won it easily, beating Noelie, who gave her lib and two years, and was second, and Belle Dupre, carrying 181b less, third. On the second day, Com pei gne gave Eclair and Clemence 111b each, and beat them both easily in the Prix Imperial, over nearly four miles; then in the Prix Special Gemma and A la Eescousse ran home a splendid race at even weights, just in favour of the filly by a short head, the Confederacy getting beat, however, in the next race ( the Prix de l'Empereur) by Orphelin, theirs being Genealogie and Benjamin— now in no form whatever ; but their colours were again in front for the Prix des Haras, which Gabrieile d'Estrees won, giving Vapeur 201b for her year, and beating her easily. The meeting concluded with a capital steeple chase amongst twelve, in which the two young entries of the season, Church Langton and Auricula, took the most conspicuous parts, and the former came off the winner. The meeting at LE PIN was a tolerably good one, commencing on the 3d of August and extending over the 4th; the racing, how- ever, for the most part was not of a very interesting character, at least for our readers, as there were a great many races for the half- brede of Normandy, that are now so much patronised by the Go- vernment ; in fact, the first day was confined to this sort of racing, excepting two small events, which the Confederacy won with Genealogie and Ephemere. On the second day Ava- lanche won the opening event, Ephemere the second, and in the Prix Principal Gabrieile d'Estrees and Blanctiette fought their Caen battle over again, but now with different results, for the old one, running on 31b better terms, and the extra distance ( now two miles) also serving her, was enabled to turn the tables on her late conqueror very easily. This meeting also winding up with a steeple chase, it was contended for by a field of ten, all ridden by gentlemen, and the result was in favour of an English horse, Pathfinder, ridden by his owner, after a well- sustained contest with Pacha, Kibworth Lass, Sir Patrick O'Plenipo, and Catspaw ; the best hurdle race horse that perhaps France has ever produced, Trembleur, here terminated his Turf career by breaking down badly. A three- day meeting at MOUNT DE MARSAU in the south, and one of similar dimensions at SAINT BRIBUC in the north, took place about this time, but as at both places the interest attached to the racing was merely of a provincial character, there is n ® need for us to recapitulate it here. The same may be said con- cerning the meetings of LUCON and RENNES, the first of which was confined to one day, the 29th of July, and two days' racing took place at Eennes on the 27th and 29th of July. BRUGES— a Belgian reunion— also took place on the 29th of July, and some good sport there, including a good steeple chase, which Harry won, beating the Moor and several others, was well appreciated by the natives" NANTES Races took place on the 3d, 5th, and 10th of August, but the racing there was not of sufficient consequence to demand from us any comments, excepting to mention that a magnificent struggle was witnessed for the chief event of the meeting— the Omnium of the West— between the four year old Beau Soleil and the three year old filly Mademoiselle des Douze Traits, running at 211b for the year, and resulting in a dead heat, the race even- tually terminating in favour of the old one by a neck, which performance subsequently made him a good favourite for the more important Omnium at Paris. ABBVILLE Races came off tamely enough on the 6th of August, there being only two races and a steeple chase, in the first of which Falendre, assisted by a stable companion, beat Don Juan at even weight, easily for the Prix du Conseil General. Auda- cieuse beat Tolla at even weights, and the steeple chase, which brought nine together, was won by Graciosa, through ail the others refusing. The VALENCIENNES Meeting commenced on the 10th, and continued over the 11th of August-, and on the first day Alerte, a fresh arrival from England, had no difficulty whatever in defeat- ing a field of half- a- dozen three year olds for the Prix du Nord, including Falendre and Solferino, who were second and third. Tamberlick, who had but a short time previously, however, broken a blood- vessel at exercise; and M Aumont now com- menced the luck that has always followed his stable at this meet- ing, by winning the Prix d'Anzin ( Handicap) with Clemence, who beat Audacieuse, who was second, at even weights, very cle- verly. On the second day, also, M Aumont's star was in the ascend- ant, for the handicap, worth above 8, OOOf, was placed to his credit by Vapeur, who won in a canter by six lengths, beating Oiseleur, who was second, giving him 111b, and six others, including her future conqueror in the Omnium, Mazeppa, now giving him 141b, whereas she met him on 41b better terms in the greater event, so] but for her accident, nothing could then have prevented her being the winner. The meeting was, as usual, concluded by the Handicap Steeple Chase, which The Colonel now won for the third year in succession. TARBES RACES, in the south, on the 14th of August, being only of local importance, MOULINS, on the 16th and 17th, next claims our attention, and the first event of import there was the Two Year Old Stakes, which brought nine youngsters together, and the result was a splendid finish, and a dead heat between Pas Perdus and Cantonnade, withGuillaume le Tacit- urne only beaten a neck from the pair; the second bout not suiting the soft- hearted Pas Perdus, which character he has established for himself on more than one subsequent occasion. Cantonnade, a daughter of M Mosselman's stallion, Allez y Gaiment, defeated him easily. Alertefoll « wedup her Valenciennes victory by now car- rying off the St Leger of France, beating Noelie, not very easily, it was said, which is not to her discredit, however, for Noelie, though unfortunate throughout the season, has more than once shown some very fine form in running second, as was witnessed in her running in the Oaks, at Chantilly, with Stradella. On the second day the Handicap was the chief event, and Falendre won it easily, with his stable companion, Hirma, for second, beating four others. The DIEPPE Steele Chase Meeting passed off very suc- cessfully on the 24th of August, and on that day also a very good day's racing was witnessed at LE MANS, commencing with a dead heat for the Prix Special between Telegraphe and Loyal, won by the former in the deciding heat by half a head ; and this was followed by another good race for the Prix de la Sociite, in in which Ephemere beat Paratonnere by a head, the handicap also being won, after a good contest, and resulting in favour of Belle Dupre, beating Grabuge, who was second by half a length, at a difference of 201b for the year. The Emperor this season instituted some races at the camp of CHALONS at which he assisted himself, and several eye- wit- nesses declared the scene to be most imposing, for the regiments, comprising upwards of 20,000 men, marched on the race course in review, and thousands of country people had come for miles to witness the racing, which, in that quarter, was quite a new feature. The sport, however, was unimportant, there being but three events, of which Loyal won the first, beating Hisber and Genealogie, Archiduchesse the hack race, and The Colonel the steeple chase, beating three others. About this time also there is a meeting at AVRANCHES, but the only event there of importance is theGrand Steeple Chaseof 4, OOOf, which Mauchline won, beating Theodora, who was second, Sir Patrick O'Plenipo third, and three others. At BLOIS a tolerably good meeting of two days came off on the 30th and 31st of August, Telegraphe and Loyal meeting in the opening event to renew their La Mans contest, and the former having now to give the latter 61b, just produced an opposite result. M Verry's stable was in luck, by securing the Prix Special and Prix du Conseil General with Montretout and John Styx, who repeated his victory on the second day also, by winning the Prix de l'Empereur, and the chief event of the meeting, the handicap, was won by Telegraphe, beating Bochet, who was second, when seceding him exactly his year. We have but recently reported all that is connected with the Autumn reunions we feel assured that our readers will be able to discover the link between the above narrative and the events that have subsequently transpired at Baden- Baden, Chan- tilly, and Paris. How, at the first- mentioned reunion, the two cracks of the season, Souvenir and Stradella, again met, after both had been kept on the shelf for three months, and that, al- though the former did give the latter a 101b beating at Chantilly in the spring, how the case was reversed on nearly as easy terms in September; and at Chantilly, how Stradella got bowled over by Orphelin in the Emperor's Prize, andhow sherevenged herself on this victor by defeating him just as she liked in a raceonthe follow- ing week at Paris. These are facts that are so well known as to exculpate us from the extra labour of recapitulating them in order, so we will now, therefore, turn to our statistical report, the sum total of which is that in France, Belgium, and at Baden- Baden 442 races have been run, which include 70 steeplechases and 21 hurdle races, and that the aggregate amount of stakes run for presents the sum of 1,537,776f, or in English money about £ 61,500. An appended list will show also that the above sum has been proportioned with tolerable fairness, for there are six owners of race horses that have won above 70, OOOf, twelve above 40, OOOf, nineteen above 20, OOOf, and twenty- six abovel0,000f, and thewhole list of principal winners, that is of above 3, OOOf, numbers 59. At first sight it would appear that the Great Confederacy have a tre- mendous pull out of this million and a half of francs, in fact, rather over a fifth part, though on considering that Count de La- grange and Baron Niviere maintain five times as many horses as any one individual in France, it becomes both fair and necessary that they should have a considerable balance in their favour. It must also be remembered that the sum which was placed to the Confederacy's credit last year was 497,190f, whereas that of this year is only 352,868f; and, as their English list also shows a deficiency, coupled with the fact that in both countries they have been beaten in most of the great events, where the betting is a material point, it becomes pretty certain that the Confederates have had anything but a good year. The second on the list, M Eobin, Souvenir's owner, has been far more fortunate, for his 128,970f has for the most part been gained in great events, and with only the expenses out of it of maintaining a stud of about seven or eight, whilst the Confederacy have been keeping upwards of sixty in training. M P. Aumont, with a small stud, has had a very good year, and so have M Delamarre and confederates, their purchases at M Aumont's sale in 1860, Tamberlick and T61egraphe, turning out especially useful; and here is an instance shown of the uncertainty that exists in buying blood stock, for it may be recollected that M Delamarre gave for these colts a trifle over 5, OOOf for the pair, and they have now won together the sum of 39,100f, and that at the same sale Count de Morny purchased Noelie and Solferino for 23, OOOf, and now their aggregate winnings amount only to 8,200f. M Schickler has never had so good a season during liis Turf career, and no gentleman de- serves success better, for the best blood that England can supply has been constantly introduced into his paddocks, and his whole establishment has been supported regardless of expense. The De Ls Motte Confederacy has hadavery fair year in France, besides a most profitable pull in England, by securing the G- rand National, but M Lupin and the Duke de Morny have had very poor seasons, especially the latter, for with a long string of horses at home, and during the spring a second lot at Newmarket, his winnings of 26, OOOf must be a small item against the expenses. M Fasquel had very bad luck in the spring, but towards the latter end of the season Rigoletto did him good service over hurdles, and hence a tolerable figure stands against this gentleman's name, and we are only happy that so good a patron of the Turf is after all not going to secede from it, as was intimated a short time since by his entire stud being advertised for sale, and to the hammer they were really brought on the 18th of this month; but, like the Con- federates, M Fasquel managed to buy in all his favourites, and amongst these were seen many promising youngsters—" yearlings and two year olds"— that will very likely do justice to Planner's skill and care in training, and may perhaps carry the old yellow jacket comfortably on through many a fight to come. But there is one slight grumble we cannot help making here in connection with this recent sale and the higher authorities, and this is with reference to the partiality that is exhibited by the G- overnment in their selection of horses for the Imperial Haras towards certain breeders, and to the disparagement of others. At the Government inspection of stallions at Paris, about a month ago, half a dozen horses were selected and purchased at good prices, of which there were two certainly good- looking horses, and the third was a good- looking, powerful three year old, but not fur- nished, yet altogether there was nothing particularly objection- able in the selection of this lot; but we think those who saw the other three must have been a bit puzzled to know what on earth the Government meant to do with them, for wer § they fit to get race horses, cavalry horses, carriage horses, or hacks? They may be; but all we can say is, that if notoriously bad race horses, of no size, no shape, and with no action, are not the kind of animals to get some of the right sort of the above category, these three that the Government have lately selected are now about as much use to the Haras and the country as they were previously to their former owners. Now, however, let us see what the Government treats as insignificant. A breeder of thirty years' standing has the good fortune to possess a horse that has, when in training, beaten the horse, at even weights, that ran second in the Stewards' Cup at Good- wood, has, besides, won over all sorts of distances, and beaten all sorts of company, and one of his last perform- ances was to start at top weight ( nearly lOst) in a handicap, over one mile four furlongs, and cut down a field of eighteen, just as if the lot had stood still. I » appearance this horse is a whole- coloured bay, nearer seventeen than sixteen hands high, and combining, to a wonderful extent, the power and bulk of a waggon- horse, with the symmetry and action of a pony, which description we think a judge will admit is as near as possible the outline of perfection, and those who have seen him will easily recognise in it Fortabras, who was put up for sale with the rest of MFasquel's lot; but although the Government sent a commis- sioner to the Confederacy's sale to buy the fashionable- looking Compiegne, with no middle- piece, and several other deficiences for a stallion, and the cripples, Marignan and Gouvieux, no person was even sent to look at Fortabras, who has now, for the second time, been thus passed © ver by the Government. In our list of principal winning horses, the three year olds, Stradella and Souvenir, are conspicuously in front, and there can be no doubt that this pair are many pounds superior to the rest of their year; but a3 to which may be actually the best is a point that might be difficult to decide, though we are certainly inclined to believe that the Derby winner, when quite well, would prove himself just a shade the better. The most superior form of the season being thus re- presented, and Stadella having run in the Antumn meetings at Newmarket, exhibiting only moderate pretensions amongst English horses, makes it not difficult to determine the merits of the French three year olds of 1862, and the conclusion must be, that they have been indifferent. Of the four year olds and upwards, Palestro, Compiegne, and Mon Etoile, are the best winners, and the Old Colonel still heads the list of the steeple chasers. The two year old racing has been most satisfactory, in a French point of view, as the best per- formers of this class, are got by the French stallions, Monarque, Allez- y- Gaiment ( both by the Emperor), and Fitz Gladiator; but the Dutchman has been by no means disgraced by his first year's produce in France, for two out of the ten two year old winners, are his sons, and it is pretty ccrtain that if his son Brick had been contending against only his own countrymen his winning list would have taken a more extended form. Our readers must notice, however, by the paucity of signs attached to those in our list of two year old performers, as indicating special engagements, that most of the cracks for the great events next year have not yet run, and excepting Damier, Demon, and one or two others, we shall expect to see those that have been out this sea- son belonging only to the second- clas- s company of the next. The past season has certainly not produced any remarkable flyers, neither has it been particularly characterised by any very stirring events, but it must nevertheless be considered a most re- markable year, by the suggestions that have been made from time to time since its commencement, effecting the prosperity of the Turf, and for the several first trains that have been laid towards securing for French racing aggrandisement and fame. For early in the year it was suggested that a great race should be established of sufficient value to attract subscribers from all parts of Europe, and no sooner was it thought of than it became a fact beyond dispute that such a race would exist, and before six months had elapsed the grand sum of £ 4.000 was all forthcoming, and two large entries, for the years of 1863 and 1864, were at the same time made, each of such magnitude as to quite confound even the most sanguine expectations. Some disappointment has been felt in England that the day fixed for this great race should be on a Sunday, and we fully believe that the French authorities have made a great mistake by adhering to a custom in this case, which is so utterly at variance with the interest of its English subscribers, and we have perceived a slight effect already, for previous to Viscount Daru's well- known letter there had certainly commenced an idea at least of speculating on the event, but since the decision has been known as final such speculation has had a complete damper put upon it; for who could take 10 to 1 about certain horses when it is anything but " certain" that they will be allowed to start; or a bet of the French against the English, and vice versa, which would depend also in a great measure on the religious prin ciples of the English owners ? Belgium we also see does not wish to be behind France in being able to boast of international races, for both at Brussels and Spa such events have been decided upon for next year on nearly the same terms— though of course of less value— as the Paris one; and when to this we add the great steeple- chasing prospects of next year, by the recent measures of the Government in behalf of that sport, it may be fairly presumed that there will be a brilliant season on tlie'Continent in 1863. HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE OF WALES, AND ENGLISH SPORTS AND PASTIMES, BY THE GENTLEMAN IN BLACK. CHESS. TO CORRESPONDENTS. Kenrick: We regret we canndt give the drawn game played some thirteen years ago between the clubs of London and Am- sterdam, having no copy. You might possibly trace it in the British Museum, as we believe it appeared in our columns. Clubs: A paragraph has gone round the papers, taken from the French Begence, stating the arrival of Paul Morphy in Paris. We trustthe news is true,| but he has notbeen yet seen intlieParis| chess circles. Herr Kolisch will have an opportunity of measuring himself with Morphy, should the latter resume his chess sway in Europe, CHESS PROBLEM. No. 385. By Conrad Bayer. BLACK. 11 IP? JJ JJ H Jj 11 Hi jjj JJ § H Slit 11 IP i mm * WM 1 HI I UP Hi Jjj jjf jjj Hi mm in § jjj JK H • WM- m1 iH Hi Hirschfeld. 1. K P 2 2. K Kt B 3 3. K B Kt 5 4. KBQR4 5. Q B P 1 6. Castles 7. QP 2 8. Q B K 3 9. B Kt 3 10. PXP 11. KtXKt 12. K B P 2 13. BXKt 14. P K5 15. Q Kt Q 2 16. Q K Kt 4 17. P K B 5 18. Q R K 19. P K B 6 WHITE. White to play, and mate in four moves. Game between Hirschfeld and Mayet, in Berlin. Mayet. KP2 Q Kt B 3 QEP1 K B Q 3 ( a) KRP1 K Kt K 2 K Kt Kt 3 Q Kt P 2 Q B Kt 2 Q KtXP KtXKt Kt Q B 5 PXB B K 2 B Q 4 Castles B K Kt 4 R Q Kt BK3 Hirschfeld. 20. Q K Kt 3 21. RXB 22. Q K R 4 23. Kt K 4 24. Q K B 4 25. Kt Kt 5+ 26. Kt K 6 27. KtXQ 28. R. X Kt 3 29. Q Q 4 30. QQ 31. R K Kt 5 32. K R P 2 33. K R K B 5 34. RXR 35. RXP+ . Q Q 2+ 37. Q K Kt i>, wins. BXB- r K KtPl PKR4 B Q 4 KKR2 KKR KKR2 RXKtP RXKt PQB3 K R Q Kt KKR3 RXQ R P RXP+ BXR PXR KKR2 ( a) A curious sort of move; but anything for variety between two players who have contested hundreds of games together. Game between Hirschfeld and Bchleppes,' in Berlin. Hirschfeld. Schleppes, Hirschfeld. Schleppes. 1. K P 2 KP2 11. P Q 6 BKB3 2. K Kt B 3 QKtBS 12. B Q Kt 3+ KtoR 3. K B Q Kt 5 Q R P 1 13. Kt Kt 6+ PXKt 4. BQR4 K Kt B 3 14. Q K Kt 4 KKR2 5. QP2 K KtXP 15. QKtBS Q Kt B3 6. Castles K B K 2 10. KtXP Kt K 4 7. K R K K B P 2 17. Kt. XB+ PXKt 8. P Q 5 Q Kt home 18. QKR4+ K K Kt 2 9. KtXP Castles 19. Q K R 6, mate. 10. RXKt PXR This game is beautifully played by winner. Game between Mayet and Hirschfeld, in Berlin. Mayet. Hirschfeld. Mayet. Hirschfeld. 1. K P 2 K P 2 20. KtXQ KXKt 2. K B P 2 PXP 21. Q R K B K to B 4 3. K Kt B 3 K Kt P 2 22. K Kt P 1 P K B 6 4. K R P 2 P K Kt 5 23. K R Kt K to Kt 3 5. Kt K 5 Kt K B 3 24. QBP1 BKB4 6. B K B 4 Q V 2 25. B Q B 2 Q R K 7. PXP KBQ3 26. BXB KXB 8. Q P 2 Kt K R 4 27. K Q RXB- f- 9. BKt5+ KKB 28. KXR R K 7+ 10. Q Kt B 3 Kt Kt 6 29. K Q B K K 5 ( a) 11. R K Kt Q K B 3 30. R K K K 6 ( b) 12. QKtK2 KtXKt 31. K Q RXR+ 13. QXKt KRP 2 32. RXR+ KKB 7( c) 14. R K R QRP1 33. K Q 2 K to Kt 7 15. BQR4 Q Kt P 2 34. RQ BXP 16. B Q Kt 3 K to Kt 2 35. Q Kt P 1 B K B 4+ 17. Q B Q 2 K R K 36. K Q 3 P K Kt 6 18. CastlesQR Q KtQ 2 37. PQB4 K to B 7 19. KtXKt RXQ 38. PQB5 P K Kt 7, Wins. ( a) The high style of chess, and no mistake. ( b) Again excellent. ( c) We rarely see a situation in which King can safely act so power- fully. Game between Harrwitz and Herr N. N., in Vienna. Harrwitz. 1. K P 2 2. K B P 2 3. K Kt B 3 4. K B Q B 4 5. Q P 2 6. Castles 7. P K Kt 3 N. N. Harrwitz. K P 2 8. K BXP+ PXP 9. KtK5+ K Kt P 2 10. Q K Kt 4+ K B Kt 2 11. R K B 7+ Q P 1 12. Q K R 5 K R P 1 13. K K R PXP Harrwitz mates in two moves. N. N. KXB KK3 K K 2 KK PXP+ Kt KB 3 Game between Anderssen and Herr Kloos, in Amsterdam, July last. Anderssen. 1. KP2 2. K Kt B 3 3. K B Q B 4 4. Q Kt P 2 5. Q B P 1 6. Castles 7. Q P 2 8. Q Q Kt3 9. PXP 10. B Q R 3 11. Q Kt Q 2 12. Q Q Kt 4 13. QQR4+- 14. Q Q B 2 15. B Q 5 16. Kt Q Kt 3 17. PXKt 18. P Q B 4 19. B Q Kt 2 20. KtXP 21. K PXB 22. KB P 2 23. R K B 2 24. K R P 2 25. Q Q 2 26. Q R K B 27. RXKt Kloos. KP2 Q Kt B 3 K B same BXKt P BQB4 QP1 B Q Kt3 Q K 2 PXP QK B3 Q Kt R4 QBP2 BQ2 K Kt K 2 Castles K R KtXKt BQB3 Kt Kt 3 KRK BXB RXKt KtXP QKKt4 QKB4 R K 5 ( a) QRK tXR Anderssen. 28. RXR 29. R K B 30. Q Q B 3 31. QXQ 32. R K B 3 33. PXR ( c) 34. K K B 2 35. K K 3 36. P K B 4 37. B K 5 38. BQ 6 39. P K R 5 40. K K B 3 41. B K5 42. B Q B 3 43. B K 5 44. B Q B 3 45. B K 5 46. PXP 47. BQB3 48. B Q Kt 2 49. K to Kt 3 50. B Q B 51. K K R 4 52. KXP 53. B Q Kt 2 54. K to Kt 5 Kloos. Q Q Kt 8- t- Q K 5 ( b) QK6+ RXQ RXR BQB2 KB P 2 K KB2 KKtPl BQ( d) P Q Kt 3 PXP K K KQ2 B K 2 QRP1 1' Q Kt 4 PXP PQR4 PQR5 BQ BQR4 B Q Kt 5 PQR6 PQR7 B Q 7 B K 6, Wins. Anderseen ( a) Kloos plays all this with great nerve and steadiness, has under- rated his man. ( b) Kloos certainly has now the better game. ( c) But now the loss of Pawn will tell; to say nothing of your broien Fawns, and Bishops both of one colour. ( d) Yery well played. [ From Baih/ s Magazine.] It is but a few weeks ago that the English nation was compelled to withhold those external tokens of affectionate rejoicing wMch it was so well- disposed to have displayed on the occasion of 5be majority of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. No evenl perhaps, in his whole career will be found so universally interest- ing to his people, as that which launched him, like a gallant vessel, to do battle with the storms of life, or, may it please God, to sail prosperously on the tide of an unruffled sea. But the melan- choly circumstances of the past year, and our affectionate sym- pathy with the sufferings of our beloved Queen, denied us that happiness, and made us feel that no ordinary time would suffice to lift the cloud of sorrow that encircled us, in the death of the late Prince Consort. Memory has not, however, robbed us of the privileges of hope. If ever a people had a right to calculate upon the advantages that grow out of the virtues of its princes, and their fitness to exercise the influence that belongs of necessity to them, that people is ourselves. Trained to self- government and self- denial, not more by the precepts of his directors than by the example of his august parents; instructed in those arts and accomplishments which are so graceful an accompaniment to more solid learning ; fitted by scenes of travel, and by long experience of other lands and govern- ments, for the just appreciation of the excellence of his own ; and educated by the discipline, mental and physical, which belongs not less to private care than to the public training of the highest classes of our nobility and gentry, the Prince of Wales returns to his country to take the first place among subjects, and eminently qualified for the responsible duties of his position. To him belongs the happy privilege of offering to the Queen that truest and tenderest devotion and service, which her widowed condition demands. To him we look as to the model of those excellences, which are characteristic of the English gentleman. In him, we trust to see reflected the honour, the dignity, the chivalry, the courtesy, of every good and great man amongst his people. To him we look for the confirmation of all that is most worthy of a great nation, and for the reformation of all that debases or de- grades, by influence and example. These are the obvious duties which belong to the first gentleman and the highest subject of the realm. By their performance the Prince of Wales will assuredly attach to himself the respect and regard of his people. He will be happy in the consciousness of having deserved the high opinion that will be formed of him ; and his own conscience will echo the praises of the country on which he bestows his care. He will have, in all trials, our assist- ance, our support, our sympathy; lie will command our esteem, our respect, our obedience. We shall be to him a people, and he will be to us a prince. But there is yet another aspect in which loyal Englishmen would wish to regard the Prince of Wales, the heir to the throne, and the eldest born of our glorious and gracious Queen. We would give him our love. For his own sake and for ours we would that he should descend from his high estate, and come among us, as circumstances shall permit, that we may tender to him not only our respect and submission, but that we may teach him to know us, and to love us, and to accept our love in return. We ask this of him now, whilst the bloom of youth and bright- ness is upon him, whilst every generous and manly pulse throbs most warmly in his breast, and before a still higher destiny shall have rendered personal communication with his people an impos- sibility. Millions will honour him, and regard him as their king; thousands who may never see him such, desire to know him and to love him as their prince. With the highest nobility of the land, with the most learned, the most powerful, the wealthiest, and the most influential, he will be constantly brought into contact. They will be taught to love him, and the privileges of their order will give them the happiness which the many ask. The necessities of Government, the communications of art and science, the cares of state, the princely pleasures of social life, and even the dissipations of a capital, will draw closely the bonds of union between the prince and the rulers of the people. But from such communication the nation is necessarily cut off, or only feels the sympathy of the heir to the throne diluted by the numberless channels through which it must flow. Let us, in the interests of that vast circle for whom we plead, show by what means these bonds may be ex- tended and secured, so as to make thousands participators in the sunshine which they so naturally and so honestly covet. The great characteristic of Englishmen, nationally, is their love of sport. It is not too much to say that the peculiarities, pre- judices if you will, of our countrymen, are closely connected with athletic exercises of all kinds, and, above all, with the sports of the field. Philosophers may class these tastes low in the scale of rational enjoyment; but we do not hesitate to declare our con- viction that the independence of character, the love of fair play, the appreciation of truth and generosity, on which we pride ourselves and the coolness and daring which charged the heights of Alma and the guns at Balaclava, are the children of our participation in English pastimes. Like the Athenians of old, we do not des- pise the elegancies of social life, the refinements of art, the luxuries of cities, and the air of courts; but it is not from these that we derive the qualities which make us Englishmen in the highest sense of the term. We boast not to be a nation of warriors, living like our neighbours in the daily routine of discipline, yet when the time comes for the dis- play of severer qualities, " r/ f+ eis aveiptVws Stan- ii/ uerai ovSee rjtrtrov inl rows ISonaKeis kivSvvovs xaJP°"/ xei/'" we launch ourselves from the midst of onr social dissipations upon the tide of war and danger, with a courage that has never been surpassed. And why? because there is cherished in the hearts of our- country- menan ardour in the pursuit of field sports which gives quickness of eye, steadiness of hand, strength and agility of limb, and a determination and courage belonging to experience and self- re- liance. It is this innate manliness, which our public education encourages by its pastimes, and our social life by its sports, that makes a natural hero of every stripling subaltern, gives firmness and decision to the more advanced years of civil life, and diffuses a generous hatred for everything mean or ungentlemanlike, which is expressed by no other word so forcibly as English. With these convictions it can scarcely be surprising that we should solicit the patronage of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales for a publication which has for its object, to a certain ex- tent, the promotion of English sports and pastimes. He is already known in the hunting field. He has already shown his taste for the great national sport of this country, and we should rejoice if his royal highness would condescend to enter into closer competition with the present leaders of Leicestershire and Northamptonshire. We do not despair of the time when the prince and his illustrious consort shall occupy some seat near Melton or Market Har- borough, where he shall witness not only the csurtesy and respect of the nobility of the kingdom, by which he is always surrounded, but the hearty goodwill and affection of the squirearchy and yeomanry of the country, when he deigns to qualify thefcares of royal state, and the dissipations of the capital, with the health- bringing pleasures of provincial life. Oh, if the heir of England's throne could be made to know the truth, to un- derstand how his very presence, not in the council chamber, or the salons of St James's and Buckingham Palace, but in the field, on the heath, and in the oak glades and woods of merrie England ( like the younger Cyrus, rivalling the nobles of his father's court in those manly exercises and accomplishments which give grace and ornament to the sterner virtues, and firmness to the elegancies of life), is calculated to strengthen the sentiments of affection and loyalty which are his legitimate due, we should have but little difficulty in persuading him to the adoption of such pursuits, even at some sacrifice of time or taste. Or should Melton and Market Harborongh seem to be too business- like in their pleasure, we know not what political motives may be con- nected with the mastership of Her Majesty's Buckhounds, or what court etiquette may exist, that could prevent the Prince of Wales from assuming that position, and recalling the days of which Frank Grant's Ascot picture is the only memorial. A con- nection with the field would prove a happy compliment to a powerful section of English sportsmen, some of whom are en- thusiastic enough to think that no virtue, no real superiority, can exist quite extraneously of their favourite pursuits; and who would feel more flattered by the exhibition of sympathy with the national taste, than surprised by the cultivation of the most trans- cendent wisdom On one other subject we touch with delicacy, fearful of offend- ing, yet anxious to do justice, where sometimes scant justice is done. We are not of those whose vulgar servility would have chronicled the unexpected though natural appearance of the prince at Newmarket, but we were glad in believing it, and in the hope that he might be again induced, at a future period; to visit a spot dedicated to another of those manly pastimes in which the noblemen and gentlemen of this country delight. We tread, we say, upon delicate ground. There are those who hold up their heads with horror at the mention of a sport of which they have taken sedulous care to know nothing, or nothing but its worst side; who have ignored its advantages, its utility, its necessity. Loudly will well- meaning but mistaken journalism proclaim the " Scandals of the Turf," and urge its demoralising tendencies. What profession is without its scandals ? The bar, the bench, the senate, the Church itself, or that world through which the prince is bid to stalk so fearlessly ? Surely it is no compliment to your prince to tell him that he is so deficient in strength as to fall a prey to the temptations which thousands withstand, or to bid him avoid a duty because it is hampered with certain perils to the covetous, the weak, or the self- indulgent. No man who walks through the world with his eyes open can refuse to believe in the vast amount of good that is done by the influence of high rank, and the example of our superiors. If the Turf has its scandals, if it include in its votaries some less scrupu- lous in their dealings, less rigid in their notions of " the honour- ble" than we would have them, where shall we look for one in this country whose rank or character could exert such an influ- ence as the Heir Apparent? We turn to him to cleanse and purify, if need be, an institution having of necessity nothing vul- gar, nothing discreditable, nothing wrong; to give his valuable assistance to those members of the Turf who would strengthen its reputation at all risks, and to uphold by his august name and presence the integrity of a system which has been instrumental in asserting our pre- eminence in all that concerns the horse, and the numberless uses to which that faithful and valuable servant of man is turned. The Turf of this country is a fact which cannot be ignored. Be it what it may, it must exist, not in the hands of dishonest speculators, but under the care of the wealthiest and most influential persons of this country. If it die, or exist in any other way, there dies with it our boasted cavalry, our superiority as horsemen; one- half of our sports, and the collateral advantages to the country arising from them; our most rational and innocent enjoyments, and much of the manli- ness and characteristic daring of the Englishman. What is the end and object of the Hampton Court Stud I Even under the aus- pices of a prince scrupulous beyond all men in his rejection of the most trifling appearance of wrong, it has continued to flourish. We cannot, therefore, be accused of urging a consideration which by its novelty, or by its acknowledgment in high quarters, may shock the prejudices of a certain portion of our fellow- country- men. We would rather place before his roj'al highness a means by which he may remedy error, establish good, promote the best interests of a national sport, and an admitted necessity; and assist in perfecting those measures of reform which, und'er his protec- tion and authority, will carry a weight which their inherent value will not always afford them. Although we have dwelt thus long upon the subjects above mentioned, it must not be forgotten that there are many others in which the same honourable influence may be exerted for the good of the country. In a nation peculiarly maritime we should be unwilling to exclude the various yacht clubs, which form so distinguished a feature in the recreations of English gentlemen. An interest in these would surround the prince with a halo of affectionate regard from some of our worthiest scions of nobility. If the Turf and the Field claim a title to his attention for the un- questionable pre- eminence in one branch of the service, surely the aquatic sports of this country bespeak his participation in them, as far as circumstances will allow, as the basis of that bulwark which forms the mightiest, the most characteristic, defence of a nation of islanders. God forbid that our beloved monarch should have to look for protection from foreign foes to either the one arm of the service, or the other; but if ever such a protection for these shores, or for that monarch, shall be required, it will be no mean satisfaction to Her Majesty to know that something of her own and her subjects' security is due to the consideration of her gallant son. That an equal capacity or taste for overy pastime, however politic, should be found in one individual is not to be expected; if it could be, in the prince's case the cares of Government, and the development of higher qualities, would dis- appoint such expectations; but there can be no pastimes charac- teristic of the country, and not in themselves demoralising, which will not raise their standard of utility by the lustre which so brilliant an association will shed around them. Let me descend to the more ordinary sports of the field, to the preservation of game, to the still increasing meetings of the courser, and to that most innocent, manly, and most universally eultivated of all our exercises— cricket. It is true that that game appears to require but little additional asssistance to give it spirit. All England now, by a gradual progress from the south, to the furthest con- fines of these islands, every colony that clings with affectionate remembrance to the mother country, rejoices to encourage § pme so truly characteristic of national skill and power. Every university, etery school, loves to celebrate her triumphs at Lord's, or at the Oval,' « ount- y against county, country against country. Our pleasures are enhanced by the thousands of bright eyes that welcome the successful batsman, or the formidable Bswler; bat it is impossible to deay that there is still one augmentation to the cricketer's innocen ® vanity, in the patronage of li; « - prince, and his occasional presents on the " tented field." Have we said too much, w e plead the interest of the rabbet, and our own anxiety to oil it nothing which may render" the Prince of Wales favourable to our petition, and not impatient'of our suggestions. Have we said" too little; it is lest we be tlioaght impertinent in urging what the Prince of Wales's good sense wilt have already foreseen, and importunate' in placing before hi a royal highness the claims of a wort which Would gladly owe its- fuSare success to the honour of a patronage ss>' distinguished. PAESJASTENTARY CHANGES IN 1862 — Last year effected a con- siderable number of changes in the Hcnse of Commons, besides several introducing modifications which- are stiB pending. Afc Andover, the late Lord Mayor has succeeded Mr 25. B. Coles, de- ceased ; at Canterbury, Mr A. B. Johnsttme has succeeded the Hon H. B. Johnstone, resigned; in Carloy county, Capt Beres- ford has succeeded Capt Bunbury, retired; at'Colerarne, Sir H, H. Bruce has succeeded Mr J. Boyd, deceased; at Gloucester, the Hon C. P. Berkeley and Mr J j. Powell havs- sticceeded Mr W. P. Price and Mr C. J. Monk, whose election wasrleclared void in 1859; at Great Grimsby, Mr J. Chapman lies- succeeded Lord Worsley, who became a member of the Upper House i'n conse- quence of the death of his father; at Kidderminster, Colonel Luke White has succeeded Mr A. R Bristow, retired ; a'JKl'rkaldy, Mr R. 8. Aytoun has succeeded Colonel Ferguson, deceasedat Lam- beth, Mr Doulton has succeeded Mr W. Roupell, retired; at Lei- cester, Mr P. A. Taylor has succeeded Mr J. Biggs, retired; at Lincoln, Mr J. B. Moore has succeeded Mr G. F. Heneage, re- tired; at Longford, Major O'Reilly has succeeded Colonel White, who failed to obtain re- election on appointment to office; in Mont- gomeryshire, Mr a W. W. Wynne has succeeded Col Wynne, deceased; at Oldham, Mr J. T. Hibbert has succeeded M- r W. J. Fox, retired; in Oxfordshire, Colonel Fane has succeeded Mr Gr. G. Harcourt; at Preston, Sir T. Hesketh has succeeded Mr R. A. Cross, retired; at Shrewsbury, Mr H. Robertson has succeeded Mr R. A. Slaney, deceased; at Shoreham, Sir P. Burrell has suc- ceeded Sir C. Burrell, deceased ; at Southampton, the Lord Mayor has succeeded Mr B. M'Ghie Wilcox, deceased; at Stoke- upon- Trent, Mr H. R. Grenfell has succeeded Mr J. L. Ricardo, de- ceased; at l'otnes, MrJ. Pender has succeeded Mr T. Mills, de- ceased ; at Wakefield, Sir J. C. ft Hay has succeeded Mr W. H. Leatham, whose election was declared void in 1859; at High Wyecombe, Mr J. R. Mills has succeeded 8ir G. H. Dash wood, deceased; and in the North Riding of Yorkshire, Mr T. J. 3. Morritt has succeeded Mr E. S Cayley, deceased. The following seats are also now vacant:— East Kent, by the death of Mr W. Deedes; Eeigate, by the elevation of the Hon W. J. Monson to the peerage; Totnes, by the death of the Earl of Giftbrd; and Cambridgeshire, by the retirement of Mr E. Ball. GREAT FIRE AT PLYMOUTH.— DESTRUCTION OF THE THEATRE AND ROYAL HOTEL.— On Tuesday morning early a fire broke out at the Royal Theatre, Plymouth, which was not got under until a great- partof the theatre, and nearly the whole of the Royal Hotel, had been destroyed. The Royal ' Hotel and theatre form an ex- tensive and elegant fabric, which was finished in 1813, at the cost of about £ 60,000. The north front is 270 feet long, and has in the centre a magnificent portico of the Ionic order, under which are the main entrances to the theatre and assembly rooms. The pro- perty room wa3 situated above the refreshment room, which is over the main entrance to the theatre. Immediately on the fire being discovered, Mr Newcombe was communicated with, and admission to the theatre obtained. Some buckets were obtained, ancl water procured from the conduit near the Athemeum, and used as well as it could be. Presently the water within the theatre was also turned on, but it soon became evident that these efforts were unavailing. Dense masses of smoke were vomited out from the upper windows of the building nearest the hotel, showing that there was a mass of fire there which it was impos- sible to put out with buckets. The alarm of fire had by this time been given, and very soon the West of England engine was on the spot, and having procured water, began to play at first against one of the windows. But Mr Newcombe, at considerable personal risk, went through the smoke and succeeded in opening the prin- cipal door. The firemen now took up a position within that door, and a hole having been broken through the archway, were able to play directly on the flames. The fire continued to increase, and presently illuminated several of the windows facing George- place. Loud were the lamentations that only one engine was on the spot. But it was nearly half an hour after the Westof England engine was at work before the second came. That, we believe, was the engine of the South Devon Railway This was soon fol- lowed by the engine of the Royal Marines, the garrison, and several others. At a little before one it was evident that the fire- was one of the most serious that has ever taken place in the neigh- bourhood. The flames shot up far into the air, and the dense canopy of smoke that arose from the burning turpentine and other inflammable materials was of a blood- red hue. The inmates of the Roj'al Hotel were not at first aroused; but before this time it was thought right to awaken such of them as were asleep. The fire had, it was clear, spread to the ball- room, and by a little after one the whole of this splendid room was doomed. At a quarter- past one the roof of the beautiful portico fell in with a tremendous crash. A roar, as of a gun, resounded through the air, and a dense volley of smoke and sparks shot up from the lurid mass. From that time huge rafters all a- glow kept on falling, to the no small danger of the men who were working at the engines. When it became obvious that a great part of the building of the theatre must be sacrificed, and that anything saved must be rescued by the efforts of the firemen, Mr Newcombe, his son, Mr Albert Newcombe, Mr Henry Reed, the leader of the orchestra of the theatre, and a large number of the employes of the estab- lishment— amongst whom were especially conspicuous Mr Hem- mings, the clown, and Mr Mole, box checktaker ( a member of the South Devon Militia Band)— turned their attention to the work of saving as much as possible of the moveable property within the theatre. As the densest smoke pervaded the whole o£ the upper part of the building, the difficulty, and at times the danger, was great. Mr Newcombe was not the only person who risked his life to save the property ; but, amongst amultitude of intrepid people, he was one of the most, daring. About one o'clock it became clear that the fire would not be confined to the theatre, but was fast making its way towards the hotel. Mr Pearse, the lessee, was assisted by some of his neighbours in the care of his books and most valuable of his smaller articles. By 9: 45 a. m. the fire had been so thoroughly subdued that there was nothing but a smouldering of the fire, which was kept from doing further mischief by the large number of engines that were around every part of the spacious pile of buildings, ready to do such work as might be necessary. The exact amount of the damage has not been ascertained, but it is believed it will be covered by the insurance. HORRIBLE MURDER NEAR WIGAN — A most revolting murder was committed on Friday night, Jan 2, or Saturday morning, at a colliery belonging to Lord Crawford and Balcarres, at Haigh, near Wigan. On Friday, Jan 2, John Barton, a fireman, went on duty for the night to take charge of the pumping engine. At three o'clock next morning the fireman who had to relieve Bar- ton came to his work as usual, but was astonished to find the fire under the boiler completely out, the steam verj' low, and the en- gine stopped. He sought in all directions for Barton, but as he was not to be found he proceeded to his residence, a short dis- tance from the pit, to see if he was there. Barton's son, alarmed at the disappearance of his father, got up and assisted in the search, and on a minute examination of the cabin, near the fireplace, blood was discovered sprinkled upon the floor, and a crowbar was also found with blood upon it. Information was now given to the police, and the tidings spreading rapidly through the neighbourhood a further and complete investi- gation was made, when drops of blood were traced from the cabin to the fire- hole, and the plate in front of the furnace was also found to be smeared with gore. The horrible sup- position which this circumstance gave rise to, viz, that Bar- ton had been murdered and his body then thrown into the boiler fire, to be consumed, was, we regret to state, immediately confirmed. The ashes of the furnace were carefully raked out, when several small articles were discovered, which placed the fact almost beyond doubt. What was found may be epito- mised as a couple of handsful of what appears to be the charred remnants of human bones, a few buttons, a buckle, a couple of double teeth, and a few small nails, used in the making of boots, and termed " sparables." These latter were found at the extreme end of the furnace, and the teeth near the door, thus leading to the conclusion that the body had been put in feet foremost. The fierce draught of the furnace would soon consume the body, and leave but the fragments we have mentioned to tell the horrible tale. The motive of the murderer or murderers it is difficult to conjecture. Barton was a respectable, quietly- disposed man, and the idea that he was murdered in revenge by any enemies he might have had is entirely scouted by the residents of the dis- trict. Information was forwarded to the coroner, to whom the articles discovered were shown. Before any steps were taken, however, to open the inquest, the police- officers consulted pri- vately with the coroner, and made inquiries from the family of the deceased. The result of the conversation was that the coroner informed the jury that after a consultation with the police officers and the family of the murdered man, he had decided not to open the inquiry at present. The inquest would, therefore, be ad- journed sine die, but due notice would be given when it was thought advisable to make the evidence public. The reasons of this step are, we understand, that the police think it might be prejudicial to them in their search for the murderers if the whole of the in- formation they have obtained and the suspicions they hold were circulated at the present time; and that if the inquest was opened the coroner would have to issue his order for the interment of the remains— a course not at present thought advisable by the officers, who wish them to be left in their hands a short time longer. The jury offering no objection, the opening of the inquest was ad- journed sine die, and the proceedings terminated. THE LOSS OF THE COLOMBO.— By the Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamship Massilia we have received full particulars of the loss of the Colombo. Owing to the thickness of the wea- ther no observations could be taken after leaving Galle, and on the morning of November 19, at four o'clock, the weather con- tinuing very thick, nothing being visible at a ship's length, and the rain coming down in torrents, speed was reduced to " full slow." Two hours afterwards breakers ahead were reported a quarter of a mile off, and before the engines, which were imme- diately reversed, could have any effect on the vessel, she forged ahead, and the swell and a strong wind drove her bodily on the coral beach. She touched so lightly that no one on board felt the shock. There was a strong current to the northward at the time of about three miles an hour. After striking she fell over to windward, exposing her deck to the sea, which poured down the hatchways and skylights in torrents. As nothing could be done to save the ship the boats on the land side were cleared, and by eight a. m. all the passengers and crew were safely landed. A drenching rain continued all the time, which was the more felt as most of the ladies and children were very lightly clad. Awnings and spars were brought on shore, and by two p. m. the passengers were comfortably housed until better accommodation could be ob- tained at the village a short distance off, where they repaired the next day, and took up their abode until the arrival of assistance. A native boat, with an officer, was sent to the nearest land, 210 miles distant, to telegraph the news of the disaster to Bombay, Galle, and Calcutta. An abundance of provisions was obtained from the wreck. On the 30th of November the Ottawa arrived from Bombay and brought the passengers to Suez. Eighteen hours after striking the ship parted in two pieces midships, The disaster appears to liave been occasioned by insufficient allowance having been made for the strength of the current, which, notwith- standing a mile and a half an hour had been allowed for it, drove; the vessel some 32 miles out of her course. The passengers speak in great praise of the presence of mind shown by Captain Farqu- har under the trying circumstances, and his unwearied exertions for their comfort and convenience. A short time before the dis- aster Captain Farquhar had succeeded in saving a vessel from shipwreck. SHIPWRECK OFF DUNDEE BAR.— On Sunday morning, Jan 4, when blowing a gale of wind from E. S. E., and a heavy sea, a small vessel, a ketch, named the Nucha, belonging to Berwick- on- Tweed, bound from North Shields with a cargo of whiting, was entering the mouth of the river Tay, and was driven on the Aber- lay Bank. After drifting about over the bank for some distance, she made so much water t'. iat she heeled over and sank. At the time she first struck it was not daylight, and as it was raining heavily and the weathp^ was thick, the captain was unable to dis- tinguish the upper lights, and thus lost the channel. After mak- ing all the efforts in their power to keep the vessel from sinking, and finding them ineffectual, the crew, when the water had reached the deck, put off in their boat, and with considerable diffi- culty, on account of the roughness of the sea, managed to make their escape trom the wreck about ten o'clock. The signal gun was fired from the lighthouse a little after nine o'clock. The BuddonnefjS lifeboat, belonging to the National Lifeboat Institu- tion, was soon got afloat, manned by fifteen men, and as they were ne aring the wreck they observed the crew in their own boat, which, was in a sinking state amongst the rollers. The lifeboat cam'- up just in time to save the three men from, probably, a w.' tery grave. SUPPLEMENT TO BELL'S LIFE IN LONDON, JANUARY 11, 1863. CRICKET. CRICKET AT ALEXANDRIA. ONE SIDE V THE OTHEE SIDE. The following is the score of the opening game of the Alexan- dria Club for this season. Saturday, the 1st November, opened this our second season. Proceedings were commenced by a sumptuous lunch, when the merits of bottled Bass, cold turkey, & c, were discussed. Although the temperature was high, the spirit of the noble game never flagged. Score: ONE SIDE. R. . T. Moss, b Christian 6 Gisborn, c and b Christian 1 Consul Saunders, b Kose 1 Dr Edwards, b Tod 5 Gibbs, b Tod 8 Archer, Mtw 1 Bell, bChristian 4 Anderson, b Christian 0 Capt Jenkins, b Tod 0 Rose, st Elliott 0 Sykes, not out 0 Byes, & c 8 Total 34 THE OTHER SIDE. Hazleden, legbw, bSaunders.... 8 Elliott, run out 12 W. Christian, hit w 0 . J. H. Tod, c Moss, b Saunders.... 10 Evans, b Sauuders 1 VV. llose, run out 4 Capt Murray b Saunders 0 J. Horsfall, b Mess 3 CaptM'Micken. c Anderson, bMoss 0 M'Arcallim, not out 0 Kroner, b Moss 0 Byes, & c 5 Total 43 ALEXANDRIA CLUB V H. M. S. FIREFLY AND TRIDENT. On Saturday, the loth November, 1862, a match was played in Alexandria between the Alexandria Club and H. M. ships Firefly an( J Trident, resulting in a drawn game. In the second innings of the " Navy," Lieut Bedford and Corporal Buckley distinguished themselves, scoring respectively 24 and 27, and running up the total to 98. The second innings of the A. C. C. was not finished, owing to night coming on. H. M. ships produced a remarkably good team, whose fielding was much admired, whilst the bowling of Messrs Daniels and Bedford was very destructive. For the A. C. C. Mr Elliott kept wicket very well, aud made an excellent defence, as his score will show. Score: ALEXANDRIA CLUB. R. J. Moss, b Daniels 4 Rubldge, b Bedford 6 Duff, b Daniels 6 Hazelden, b Bedford 1 Elliott, not out 17 Darbyshire, b Daniels 4 W. Christian, b Daniels 0 Evans, cDennlstoun. b Buckley.. 0 Rose, b Daniels 3 J. H. Tod, b Bedford 6 Gibbs, b Bedford 0 Byes, & c 20 Total 67 H. M. S. Lieut Dennistoun, rim out 9 Corporal Kirby, c Elliot, b Moss 2 Griflin, run out 8 Guilford, run out 0 Lieut Bedford, c Rubidge, b Moss 0 Mr Daniels, run out 4 Corporal Buckley, b Rose 12 Lieut Hartwell, b Rose 0 Martin, b Moss 2 Morley, c Duff, b Moss 3 Gibbs, not out 7 Byes, & c 12 Total. CRICKET IN SOUTH AFRICA. 2D BATT 11TH REGT v DIOCESAN COLLEGIATE SCHOOL. This match was played at Green Point, near Cape Town, on Saturday, Nov 1, and terminated in favour of the 11th Regiment with three wickets to spare. The weather was all that could be desired, and the ground in better order than is usual at the Cape. In the first innings of the College Mr Elliott and the Eev H. Ogilvie each made good scores, the play of the former gentleman being exceedingly pretty. In their second innings no great stand was made, the bowling of Mr Byron being too much on the spot for making runs. For the 11th Regiment Messrs Byron, Cum- berlege, and Private Chillman, by some good play, scored double numbers in the first innings. Score: Uth REGIMENT. 1st inn 2d inn Serg Lee, b Stack 6 leg b w, b Stack 0 Private Chapman, b Ogilvie 6 Private Wharton, b Ogilvie 5 st Elliot, b Stack 2 Ensign Cnmberlege, bH. Barry 15 runout 4 Private Chillman, c Beyers, b H. Barry 12 b Stack 3 Lieut Byron, c Beyers, b Stack 23 c Beyers, b Stack 5 Private Lee, c D. Pritchard, b Stack .. 0 b Munrick 7 Lieut Eliot, run out 5 not out 3 Corp Frewen, run out 0 Private Pearson, b Munrick 0 not out 7 Private Gillian, not out 3 c Munrick, b Stack 0 B 6,1 b 1, w b 14 21 Wide balls 6 Total. - 96 Total — 37 THE SCHOOL. 1st ins 2dmn Munrick, b Byron 0 b Byron 0 Bevers, st Chillman, b Wharton 0 c Lee, b Wharton 0 D. Pritchard, b Wharton 0 b Byron 3 H. Pritchard, leg b w, b Wharton .... 0 b Byron 0 H. Barry, b Wharton 4 c Byron, b Wharton — 0 Rev H. Ogilvie, cChillman, b Lee .... 19 b Byron 3 Elliott, c Chillman, b Lee 22 legbw, b Lee 12 Morket, c Lee, b Wharton 3 b Lee 8 Stack, c Cumberlege, b Wharton 7 b Wharton 0 J. Barry, c Cumberlege, b Lee 2 b Lee 0 D. Barrv, not out 2 not out 0 B 3,1 b 1, w b 16 20 B 14,1 b 4, w b 7 .... 25 Total — 79 Total — 51 ELEVEN v NEXT TWENTY- TWO OF 11TH REGIMENT. This match was played at Green Point, near Cape Town, on Saturday, Nov 8, and was won by the Twenty- two with 12 runs to spare! Privates Chapman and Smith were the only two who made any stand in the first innings of the Eleven, the former, by some brilliant hitting, scoring 30 off his own bat. For the Twenty- two Private Sink in the first innings and Private Marsh in the second each played well. In the second innings of the Eleven Mr Byron tried hard to pull the game through for his side, but as neither of the three last wickets would make any stand with him, he was unable to get the number of runs re- quired. The bowling of the Twenty- two, though destructive to the Eleven in their first innings, was anything but good. Score: THE TWENTY- TWO. 1st inn 2d inn Private Leedham, run out 2 st Chillman, b Wharton 0 Private Gillian, I) Wharton 3 c Pearson, b Byron 3 Lieut Edge, run out 0 candbEruen 0 Private Marsh, b Cuniberlege 2 b Lee 15 Private Olive, c and b Cumberlege .... 6 b Fruen 1 Private Water worth, c Lee, b Wharton 2 st Chillman, b Lee 6 Private Wainwriglit, run out I st Chillnian, b Fruen.... 2 Capt Crompton. b Cumberlege 0 c Cumberlege, b Lee — 0 Private. Bennett, b Cumberlege 0 c Fruen, b Lee 0 Private Chlnery, c and b Fruen 0 b Lee 0 Private Kenney, c Lee, b Wharton .... 3 c Lee. b Fruen 0 Private Henry, run out 0 c Chapman, b Lee ..— 0 Corp Sugden, b Cuiaberlege 1 b Eliot 0 Capt Dixon, c Byron, b Wharton 0 b Fruen 11 Private Dvvei), hit w, b Cumberlege .. 0 b Lee 0 Private Sink, c Byron, b Wharton .... 21 c and b Lee 6 Private Bowell, b Lee 2 c Byron, b Lee 0 Ensign Skill, runout 0 b Eliot 6 Private Swords, c Wharton, b Lee .... 0 c Byron, b Lee 1 Private Ralph, run out 0 not out 0 Private Lever, b Lee 6 leg b w, b Fruen 2 Ensign Gibbons, b Lee 2 b Lee 9 B 4, w b 22 26 B 8, w b 8 16 Total —" 7 Total — 78 THE ELEVEN. 1st inn 23 inn Serg Le\ b Waterworth 1 c Skill, b Dixon 12 Ensign Uuniberlege, b Waterworth.... 9 b Dixon 1 Private Chillman, b Waterworth 2 b Dixon 0 Private Lee, b Waterworth 0 c Waterworth, b Dixon.. 3 Lieut Byron, c Dixon, b Gillian 0 not out 26 Private Wharton, b Gillian 0 b Dixon 0 Private Pearson, run out 4 b Waterworth 2 Corp Fruen, st Chillman, b Gillian.... 7 leg b w, b Waterworth .. 6 Private Chapman, b Dixon 30 cWaterworth, bCrompton 3 Private Smith, b Gillian 13 b Skill 6 Lieut Eliot, not out 9 c and b Dixon 0 W b 2, n b 8 10 B 2 w b 2, n b 4 .... 8 Total - 76 Total — 67 CRICKET IN BTJRMAH. 5n BATT 60TH RIFLES v CANTONMENT OF THAYET- MYO. This match was played at Thayet- My0,011 Oct 22, when the Eifies were victorious in one innings. Score: THAYET- MYO. 1st inn 2dinn b Bennett 9 run out 2 b Bennett 8 c Coe, b Terry 5 b Bennett 5 b Terry 0 b Bennett 2 Major Hicks, b Bennett Capt Henderson, b Terry 1 Lieut Lowndes, b Bennett 0 Lieut Harris, b Bennett 0 Corp Douglas, c Widdowson, b Terry.. 3 D. f\ Lonsdale, b Bennett u Lieut Pickance, b Terry 0 Lieut Cowle, run out 3 b Bennett 3 Private Birmingham, b Terry 5 b Bennett 0 Lieut Thornton, b Bennett 0 not out 3 Private Cavanagti, not out 0 c Widdowson, b Terry .. 0 B 1, w b 5 6 B 1,1 b 2, w b 4 7 Total — 24 Total — 44 RIFLES. Corporal Bennett, b Harris .... 1 Private AUoway, b Douglas ... .10 Lieut Terry, b Lowndes 3 Private Widdowson, c Hicks b Harris 2 Capt Forsyth, b Harris, 7 Private Cos, c and b Harris .... 5 Private Hairl3, not out 31 Lt Ainslie, c Lonsdale, b Douglas 0 l'rivWalsh, c Douglas, b Lowndes 14 Ens Davidson, c Hicks, b Ca- venagh 0 Private Lazarack, b Cavenagh .. 0 B6, wb 19 25 Total. SCORES OF 100 OR MORE MADE DURING THE LAST TWELVE YEARS. MR EDITOR : In noticing the scores above 100 made during the last twelva years you have omitted the following:— 18- 57. Surrey v Oxford, Caffyn 167. 1859. Surrey v England, V. E. Walker 20 and 108. Cambridge Town v Gown, Hayward 220. 1862. United All England Eleven v 22 of Odiham, Carpenter 108. Daft's 118 is stated to have been made in the match " Surrey v North, at the Oval," instead of " North v South, at Lord's." 1862. u) y 17, Lord's, Gentlemen of North v Gentlemen of South, Mr A. St Fabian 100. 24, Lord's, South Wales Club v M. C. C., Mr E. M. Grace 0 and 118. . W, Oliver made 105, not 195.— Yours, & c, G. LACY, SCHOOL MATCHES. MR EDITOR : In one of your late numbers there appeared a eltei from a correspondent signing himself " Oxon,'' concerning public school matches. In it he proposed that Rugby, Marlbo- rough, and Cheltenham should all meet at Lord's, to make up for the loss of the old public school match week. To do this, Marlborough is to drop its annual match with the Surrey Club, and Rugby that with the M. C. C. Now, I am of opinion that Rugby will not be very willing to give up the Marylebone match, which has been played almost from time immemorial, as all read- ers of Tom Brown knovsr. About Marlborough I do not know so much; but it is a new school as compared with Rugby, and I be- lieve that its match with the S. C. C. has not been a fixed annual one till quite lately. The Marylebone match is the great matter that is talked about at least for a month beforehand, and I am sure that the Rugbeians will never willingly consent to change it. Yet I am certain that Rugby will always be ready to meet any other public school that may come forward to dispute the palm of superiority with it on the cricket field.— Yours, & c, FLOREAT RUGBEIA. FATAL FIRE WORK; EXPLOSION.— An inquest was held on Monday at the London Hospital on the bmdies of Helen Clitheroe, aged 20, and Samuel Pelham., aged 24, who were killed by an explo- sion of fireworks, which occurred on the previous Tuesday. James Willett, 8. Weaver- street, Bethnal Green, said that be- tween seven and eight o'clock last Tuesday week he heard an ex- plosion, which wan followed by a cry that " Clitheroe's factory was on fire.'' He rushed into the house, 13, Weaver- street, and there saw Helen Clitheroe standing in the centre of the room in a mass of flames, fireworks exploding all about her. Fire was bursting out from underneath a bench where the gasmeter was kept. Mr Clitheroe was also in the room, but was unable to as- sist his daughter, as he was partially disabled through an acci- dent which had occurred previously. Witness, therefore, took her in his arms, and carried her out, but she was so completely enveloped in flames that when he reached the street the people called out to him, " Throw down the bed,'' it being impos- sible to distinguish her as a human being. Witness put her down and tore her clothes off from her neck, but the flesh peeled off with them in strips. A blanket was wrapped round her, and she was removed to the hos- pital. Pelham, who was a workman, rushed out of the house dreadfully burnt, and he and Mr Clitheroe were also con- veyed to the hospital. Witness and others endeavoured to throw quantities of the ex ploding fireworks, which lay about on benches and tables, into the street, but the flames were too much for them. Mrs Clitheroe, - who was infirm, was then seen at a win- dow, aud two men stood on witness's shoulders and rescued her, The roof soon after fell in. Witness was much burnt during his exertions. — Mr J. Powell gave a corroborative account of the cir- cumstances. Several engines had to be employed before the fire could be got- under.— The Coroner inquired why such a large quantity of fireworks were allowed to be kept on the premises.— Witness believed that Mr Clitheroe paid £ 50 for a license, which entitled him to have such a quantity in the place at once.— Mr Pounceby said that Mr Clitheroe was not expected to survive. The account he gave of the occurrence was that when the gas was turned off in the streets the increased pressure on the gas in the factory earned sparks to fly about, which exploded the fireworks. — Mr J, Jackson, house- surgeon, said that the iniured parties were brought in strongly smelling of gunpowder. ' Pelham and Miss Clitheroe died on Friday, Jan 2, from the serious injuries re- ceived.— A verdict of Accidental Death was returned. THE FATAL FIBE IN SOHO.— On Tuesday, Jan 6, the adjourned inquest on the six children of a poor man named Spencer who were burned to death on Dee 26, in Portland- street, Soho was concluded at St James's Vestry Hall. The verdict returned was a special one, and to the following effect: " That the deceased children lost their lives by burning in the fire that occurred at No 6, Portland- street; but the jury have had 110 evidence placed before them as ( 0 the cause of the same; and the jury strongly censure the conduct of Denyer, the turncock, in not rendering that aid when called upon by the police which they consider it the duty of cayman to give in all similar cases," CHRONOLOGY OE THE RING FOR 1862. ALLEN ( Birmingham), ft Morris Phelan, £ 25 a side, 131r, 160m ( two meetings), when they agreed te draw. Allen bound oyer to appear at the ensuing sessions, Birmingham district, April 9 and 12; was to have fought Young Dan Crutchley, for £ 10 a side, but Crutchley on the morning was captured by the police, taken before the magistrate, and bound over to keep the peace for six months, July 21. ALLEN, bn by Posh Price. ADAMS, NED, died at his lodgings, No. 30, Charlotte- street, Port- land- place, aged 40, June 24. BROWN, T. ( Birmingham), b H. Davis, £ 5 a side, 15r, 35m, Bir- mingham district, April 21. BURGESS, HARRY ( Potteries), b Patsy Marley, £ 50 a side, 61r, 81m, Helbrey Islands, on the Welch coast, July 29. BAINES, JOHN, b Patsy Claire, £ 5 a side, 38r, 65m, home cir- cuit, Sept 2. BRETTLE, BOB ( Birmingham), ft John Eooke, £ 200 a side, 4r, 100m, when as neither showed the least disposition to finish, the referee gave them a quarter of an hour to get to work, and as no blow was struck a draw was declared, March 11. This was an adjourned meeting, the match having been postponed from Jan 1 in consequence of Brettle seriously hurting his ancle. BALDOCK, JOE, b Jack Brookes, £ 25 a side, 74r, 130m; Brookes removed from the ring by his seconds, and the battle given to Baidock, down the river, April 9. BROOKES, JACK, bn by Baldock. BENDOFF, b Hopkinson, £ 10 a side, 28r, 57m, down the river, April 9. BRANNAN, T. ( Birmingham), bn by I. Fisher. BENSON, bn by Evans. BAKER, ISAAC ( Walsall), bn by Evans ( Young Broome). BUCKERFIELD ( Birmingham), beaten by Tuckey. TERRY, BEN ( Birmingham), died, after a short illness, aged 43, Oct 12. BOYLE, ANDY, b Alf Owen, £ 10 a side, 89r, 83m, Dunford Bridge, Manchester, Nov 17. BLACK DIAMOND, dr with Denny Sullivan. COOK ( Birmingham), bn by Patsy Kenny ; bn by E. Fellowes. CRAWLEY, YOUNG, bn by Jack Leonard. CLAMP, GEORGE, B Fleurence Donovan, £ 25 a side, 33r 73m, down the river, Dec 30. COLLINS ( Room's Novice), bn by Fisher ( Birmingham). COLLINS, J., b T. Morris, £ 5 a side, 14r, 40m ( two rings), police interfered, and men ordered to meet following day, when, as Morris did not attend, the referee awarded the stakes to Collins, down the river. May 19; b Tom Frost, £ 5 a side, 25r, 30m, home circuit, June 30 ; b Spider, £ 5 a side, 22r, 25m, down the river, Dec 11. « CLAIRE, PATSY, bn by J. Baines. CORNEY, NED, b Fred Harper, £ 5 a side, 7r, 35min, York. Jan 6. COWLISHAW ft SMITH ( Derby), for £ 25 a side, 131r, 142m, when the referee, thinking the state of the men from punishment critical, gave three minutes to decide the battle, and then decided a draw, Birmingham, Feb 25. CREMER ( Birmingham), dr with Thompson. CRUTCHLEY, YOUNG DAN ( Birmingham), arrested and bound over for his fight with Allen, whom see. DILLON, JEM, b Mike Cocklin, £ 25 a side, 46r, 118m, down the river, Jan 7 ; bn by Patsy Reardon. DUNN ft MULLINS, for £ 5 a side, 60r, 108m, police interfered, ordered to meet following day, Mullins did not attend, stakes awarded to Dunn, Birmingham, Jan 6 and 7. DAWES, GEORGE, b James Evans ( alias Nuts), £ 25 a side, 56r, 102m, down the river, Aug 19. DAVIES, HAMMER ( Birmingham), bn by Mic Foley. DIMMOCK ft JOE ROE ( Dudley), for £ 5 a side, 36r 70rs, when the police stopped hostilities, and stakes afterwards drawn, Oct. 13. DONOVAN, FLEURENCE, bn by Clamp. DREW, YOUNG, b Porter, £ 10 a side, 13r 26m, down the river, Oct 21. DAVIS, H. ( Birmingham), bn by T. Brown. DREW, IKE, bn by Firm. DAVIS, BILL, b Tom Daley, 500 dollars, 54r 47m, off Port Wine, California, May 31. DALEY, TOM, bn by Bill Davis DOVE, J., ft J. STEWARD, for £ 10 a side, 30r, 45m, when the battle had to be stopped owing to the police ; met follow- ing day, fought 30r 40m ( total 60r, 85m), when the backers agreed to draw, down the river, Sept 30 and Oct 1. DUFFY, PAT, ft BOWEY TAYLOR, for £ 10 a side, 24r, 75m, when the police stopped proceedings and the men agreed to draw, Sutton Coldfield, Dec 22. EVANS, b Benson, £ 5 a side, 25r 24m, home circuit, June 13. EVANS ( Birmingham), bn by Hunt. EVANS, JAMES ( alias Nuts), bn by G. Dawes. EVANS, WILLIAM ( Young Broome), b I. Baker, 26r, 58fm, referee deciding against Baker for falling without a blow, home cir- cuit, Dec 21. FOLEY ( Birmingham), b Patrick, £ 5 a side, 92r, 153m, Birming- ham, F- b 10 ; b Hammer Davis, £ 5 a side, 20r, 41m, California, Birmingham, Oct 13; b Patrick, £ 10 a side, lOr, 30m, Sutton Coldfield, Nov 24. FITZPATRICK, C. ( Birmingham), bn by Caggy Wilson. FISHER, J. ( Birmingham), b T. Brannan, £ 10 a side, 41r, 56m ; battle given against Brannan, who, when the constabulary ap- peared, was considered to have allowed himself to be captured; Brannan afterwards taken before the magistrate, fined £ 3 12s. and bound over for twelvemonths ; Eldon, Warwickshire, May 5 ; b Collins ( Rooms's Novice), £ 20 a side, 36r, 30m, Hednes- ford, Sept 30. FIRM, YOUNG, b Ike Drew, £ 5 a side, 2lr, 45m, Leicester, June 5. FROST, TOM. bn by Young Collins. Fox, JEM ( Birmingham), b T. Freeman ( alias Tonkey), £ 10a side, 35r, 58m, Sutton Coldfield, Nov 3. FREEMAN, T. ( alias Tonkey), bn by Jem Fox. FELLOWES. R.. b Cook ( Birmingham), £ 10 a side, 8r, 12m, Wor- cestershire, Dec 16. Goss, JOE ( Wolverhampton), ft W. RYALL ( Birmingham), for £ 100, 36r, 198m, when, as neither man could finish, the referee decided a draw, home circuit, Feb 11; b Posh Price, £ 2- 5 a side, 66r 108m, Stonebridge, Wolverhampton, Nov 25, match postponed from Oct 7. GLYNN, PATSY ( Birmingham), b J. Morgan, £ 10 a side, 4r, 8m, Birmingham district, Dec 16. GANNON, MICKEY", b Jesse Hatton, £ 50 a side, 39r, 63m, home circuit, April 29. GLOUCESTER, YOUNG ( Birmingham), bn by Wheelock. GOLLAGHER, JEM, dr with Jack Hicks. HACKIN ( Liverpool), ft JENKINS, for £ 10 a side, rounds not mentioned, 208m ( two meetings), when, as neither could finish, the referee decided it to be a draw, Liverpool, Dec 23 and 27. HILL, PATSY, dr with Melton. HOLMES. J. ( Wolverhampton), b Tom Price, £ 10 a side, 50r, 65m, Wolverhampton, Dec 8. HARRIS ( Birmingham), ft T. LANE, for £ 5 a side, 20r, 50m ( two rings), when the police interfered, and the men agreed to draw, Birmingham district, Oct 23. HICKS, JACK, draw with JEM GOLLAGHER, for £ 100. 58r ( two rings), 107m, police interfered, drawn, home circuit, Nov 27. HOPKINSON, bn by Bendoff. HATTON, JESSE, bn by Mickey Gannon. HARTLEY. JOHN, bn by Peter Morris. HALL, NOBBY ( Birmingham), b Wilkinson, £ 50 a side, 37r, 250m ( match postponed from 22d of April), Fiddler's Green, near Sheffield, May 7. HILL, JEM, bn by Bill Smith ( the Brighton Doctor). HAWKES, JERRY, b Harry Morris, £ 5, 28r, 85m, home circuit, June 13. HUNT ( Birmingham), b Evans, £ 5 a side, llr, 23m, Begger's Bush, Oscott. June 30. HICKEN( Birmingham), b Hawley, £ 10 a side, 118m, Birmingham district, July 17. HAWLEY ( Birmingham), bn by Hicken. HOLDEN, GEORGE ( Walsall), bn by Peter Morris. HEENAN, JOHN ( Benecia Boy) and his brother JEM arrived in England, by the City of Washington, April 3. HALL, NOBBY ( Birmingham), dr with Peter Millard. HARPER. FRED, bn by Ned Carney. HORTON. C. ( Darlaston), b N. Robinson, 96r, 105m, Kingswood Common, March 17. HAWLEY ( Wolverhampton), bnby Mic the Grecian. HEFFERAN, b Young Keefe, £ 10 a side, 34r, 73m, down the river, April 3. HICKENS. YOUNG ( Birmingham), dr with Mic the Grecian. HOBAN, SIMON, dr with Murphy. INNES, JOE ( Hull), b G. Scholey ( Leeds), £ 30 a side, 36r, 52m, Haughton Skelter, Lincolnshire, Nov 18. JENKINS, dr with Hackin of Liverpool. JENNINGS, S., dr with Kenny ( the Shoeblack). JAMES. T. ( alias Ginger), bound over to keep the peace for six months in his match with Tierney. JERRY, b Barney Regan, £ 5 a side, 17r, 39m, home circuit, Aug 5. KENNY' ( the Shoeblack) and S. JENNINGS, ft for £ 5 a side, 25r, 85m, police interfered, and stakes drawn, Birmingham, Jan 18. KING, GEORGE, dr with Patsy Reardon ( whom see). KEEFE, YOUNG, bn by Hefferan. KEELEY, DENNY, bn by T. Porter. KING, TOM. b Jem Mace, £ 200 a side and Champion's Belt, 21r, 38m, home circuit, Nov 26. KENNY, PATSY, b Cook, £ 15 a side, 9r, 21m, Worcestershire, April 22. LANE, T. ( Birmingham), dr with Harris. LEATHER ( Liverpool), bn by Murphy. LEACH, RODDY ( Cheltenham), bn by J. Paul. LEONARD. JACK, b Young Crawley, for a purse, 96r, 120m, home circuit, Aug 29. MULLINS ( Birmingham), bn by Dunn; bn by O'Donnell. MACE, JEM, b Tom King, £ 200 a side and Championship, 43r, 68m, home circuit, Jan 28; bn by Tom King. MILKY ( Birmingham), b Caggy Wilson, £ 10 a side, 26r, 50m ( two rings), Birmingham, Feb 25. MURPHY ( Liverpool), b Leather, £ 15 a side, 12r, 16m, Liverpool, March 4. Mic THE GRECIAN, b Hawley ( Birmingham), £ 10 a side, 25r, 44m, Birmingham, March 25. MIC THE GRECIAN ft YOUNG HICKEN of Wolverhampton, for £ 15 a side, 41r, 159m ( two meetings), police inter- fered. and the men agreed to draw, Birmingham district, Dec 30 and 31. MURPHY ft SIMON HOBAN ( Hoban staking £ 12 to £ 10), 143r, 175m, when, as the battle could not be finished, the men agreed to draw, Liverpool, Dec 23. MORRIS. PETER ( Birmingham), b J. Hartley, £ 25 a side, 33r, 90m, down the river. May 7 ; b George Holden ( Walsall), £ 100, 64r ( two rings), 129m, down the river, Aug 28. MORRIS, T., bn by J. Collins. MORRIS, HARRY, bn by J. Hawkes. MARLEY, PATSY ( St Helen's), bn by Harry Burgess ; bn by Jack Parton. MEEK, A. ( Birmingham), b J. Morgan, £ 25 a side, 84r, 59| m, near Sheffield, Sept 15. MORGAN, J. ( Birmingham), bn by A. Meek; bn by Patsy Glynn. MILLARD, PETER ( Bristol), ft Nobby Hall, £ 50 a side, 58r, 230m ( two rings), when, as there was no time for a finish, the referee ordered the men to meet on the following day, but as neither attended, the battle ended in a draw. Oct 7. MILTON ft PATSY HILL for £ 5 a side, 19r, 30m, when the nolice arrived, and the men agreed to draw, home circuit, Oct 23". M'KEW and WELSH were to have fought, for £ 10 a side, but Welsh forfeited, being over weight, Sept 17. NOLAN, JOE ( Birmingham), dr with Dan Thomas ( the Welsh- man), whom see. O'DONNELL, B , b Mullins, £ 10 a side, lOOr, 56m, Birmingham, March 17. OWEN. ALF, bn by Boyle. PHELAN, MoRRis'( Birmingham), dr with H. Allen. PUGILISTIC ASSOCIATION BENEFIT at Mr J. Roberts's Ground, June 9. PRICE, TOM ( Bilston), bn by J. Holmes. PARTON, JACK, b Patsy Marley, £ 50 a side, 13r, 21m, Marley hav- ing the battle given against him by the referee for fouling, banks of the Mersey, Sept 30. PORTER, THOMAS, b Denny Keiley, £ 10 a side, 84r, 170m, down the river, May 27. PRICE, POSH ( Birmingham), b Tom Allen, £ 10 a side, 35r, 50m, Sutton Celdfield, July 28; bn by Joe Goss. PRICE, TOM ( Wolverhampton), b Paget, £ 5 a side ( rounds not mentioned), 100m, Wolverhampton. PAGET ( Wolverhampton), bn by T. Price. PORTER, bn by Young Drew. PATRICK ( Birmingham), bn by Foley; bn by W. Foley. PAUL, J. ( Cheltenham), b Roddy Leach, £ 10 a side, 79r, I25m, near Cheltenham, July 22. RYALL, WILLIAM ( Birmingham), dr with Joe Goss ( Wolver- hampton). ROOKE, JOHN ( Birmingham), drwith Brettle ( second meeting). ROBINSON, N. ( Darlaston), bn by Horton. REARDEN, PATSY, ft Geo. King, £ 50 a side, 14r, 146min, when, as neither meant finishing, the referee declared a draw, Home Circuit, March 25 ; bt Bob Travers ( the Black), £ 100 a side, ft 7r, 37m, first day, when the police interfered and stopped hostilities; met the following day, ft 53r, 245min, Home Cir- cuit, July 15 and 16; bt Jem Dillon, £ 100 a side, 56r, 191min ( two rings), referee deciding against Dillon for not coming to time, down the river, Dec 9. RYAN, YOUNG, bt Nobby George, £ 5 a side, 26r, 50min, Home Circuit, Dec 8. REGAN, BARNEY, bn by Jerry. ROOTER, YOUNG ( Birmingham), bn by E. Welson. ROE, JOE ( Dudley), dr with Dimmock. SMITH ( Derby), dr with Cowlishaw ( whom see). SMITH, BILL ( Brighton Doctor), bt Jem Hill, £ 10 a side, 39r, 105min, down the river. SIMPSON, ALF ( Birmingham), bn by Caggy Wilson. SPIDER ( Jesse Hatton's Novice), bn by Young Collins. SULLIVAN, BILL ( Birmingham), bn by Fred Wilson. STEWARD, J., dr with J, Dove. SULLIVAN, DENNY, fought Black Diamond for a purse, 67r, 145m, agreed to draw. Home Circuit, Nov 21. SULLIVAN, JACK, bn by Dave White. SCHOLEY, G. ( Leeds), bn by Innes. TAYLOR, BOWEY, dr with Pat Duffey. THOMPSON and ALMEY were to have fought, but Almey was ap- prehended by the police and bound over, Dec 23. THOMAS, DAN ( Welchman) ft JOE NOLAN, for £ 200 a side, 20r, 90m ( two rings), when the contest had to be put a stop to by the referee, owing to the blues putting in an appearance. Nolan's backers, who were disgusted with his conduct, did not intend the men to meet again with the certain chance of losing, therefore agreed to give Thomas £ 25 te draw. The referee ( Bill George) and Thomas were apprehended, and bound over to appear at the Berkshire Sessions, and were acquitted, Oxford, April 8. TUCKEY ( Birmingham), b Buckerfield, £ 5 a side, 32r, 90m, Bir- mingham district, Oct 13. THOMPSON ( Birmingham), ft CREMEK for £ 10 a Bide, no rounds mentioned, 105m, police interfered, when, instead of meeting next day as ordered, they agreed to draw, Birming- ham district, March 27. TIERNEY, E. ( Birmingham), and T. JAMES ( alias Ginger), were to have fought for £ 10 a side, but James was arrested, and bound over to keep the peace for six months, July I, stakes ultimately drawn. TRAVEBS. BOB ( the Black), bn by Patsy Reardon. WILSON CAGGY, bn by Milky ; b C. Fitzpatrick, £ 10 a side, 14r, 37m, King's Norton, Birmingham, March 24; b Alf Simpson, £ 5 a side. 62r, 130m, Birmingham district, July 21. WILSON, FRED ( alias the Mouse), b W. Sullivan, £ 10 a side, 12r, 46m, Birmingham, March 17. WILKINSON ( Potteries), bn by Nobby Hall. WELSH forfeited to M'Kew, being over weight. WHITE. DAVE, b Jack Sullivan, £ 1,000, Light Weight Cham- pionship of Australia, 37r, 75m, Australia, Aug 14. WILSON E. ( Collinson's Pet), b Young Rooter, £ 5 a side, 9r, 65m, Birmingham, Oct 13. LITERATURE. BAILY'S MAGAZINE FOR JANUARY. [ Baily and Co, Cornhill.] — Sir Watkin Williams Wynn forms the subject of the memoir of the present month, a capital likeness of that well- known and popular sportsman being the leading illustration, while an equally good vignette likeness of Mr G. S. Thompson, the " gentle- man rider," adorns the titlepage. An article entitled " His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and English Sports and Pastimes," by " The Gentleman in Black,'' we nave given in full in our Supplement. " Charlie Thornton, or the Dunce of the Family,'' reaches a criticaV period, and " A College Fingerpost" will recal the light of other days" to many an old Oxonian. SOMEBODY'S LUGGAGE. [ Office of All the Year Round, Wel- lington- street, Strand.]— Most of our readers must have been startled by the announcement on all the blank walls, Somebody's Luggage, merely that and nothing more. After some w< eks' delay it turned out to be the name given to Mr Charles Dickens's Christ- mas number of All the Year Bound, a sort of vehicle for enter- taining his numerous readers with a collection of charming little tales, written as Boz and his talented coadjutators only could write them. Of these, our prime favourite is the first, written under the head of " His Boots," a historiette worthy the_ pen of Laurence Sterne, and full of a manly sentiment, which is quite refreshing after the mannered and roundabout cynical philosophy we are accustomed to meet with in certain other serials and periodicals. The constraint of the English gentleman is nicely contrasted with the pretty innocence of the little Bebelle. The story told of the wreck of the Golden Dream, under the title of " His Dressing- case," partakes so largely of the marvellous as to be amusing on that account alone, but it has other features likely to interest all lovers of fiction. EUDIMENTARY TREATISE ON THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN IN ARCHITECTURE. By EDWARD LACY* GARBETT. [ London: Vir- tue and Co.]— The author of this little work deals only with the practical question involved in building well such edifices as are intended for man's comfort and use. He is earnest in his views, and takes a minute survey of architectural taste. Many a builder might learn sound lessons in these pages. OUTLINES OF MODERN FARMING. By EOBERT SCOTT BURN. [ London : Virtue and Co.]— A work in small octavo, treating of soils, manures, and crops, with several woodcuts, from which the agricultural student cannot fail to pick up many useful hints. The observations on ail kinds of cereal crops are evidently from the pen of a practised farmer. THE FARMERS' MAGAZINE. [ Eogerson and Tuxford.]— The new year's number of this standard periodical leads off with a portrait of Sir Walter Scott, the prize Clydesdale at the Great Battersea Show, and about the best horse of the whole entry. The engraving is after a picture by E. Corbet, one of the most faithful of our animal painters, and especially bappy in preserving the points of a horse. His sketch of the fiuke of Hamilton's famous stallion only the further confirms the favourable impression made by his p g vious works. ROYAL NATIONAL LIFEBOAT INSTITU- TION. THE GREEK KING. [ After Tennyson.] A DOMESTIC INTERLUDE. PRINCE A D, loq. You must post a letter early, post it early, mother dear, Or to Mister Scarlett telegraph, before the glad new year, To tell the kind Athenians, mother, next time to them he speaks, That I'm to be King of the Greeks, mother! I'm to be King of the Greeks! There's many a brave, bold heart, they say, but none so brave as mine, Not Leuchtenberg's nor anyone's on either side the Rhine; And ' tis but fair, for Albert claims the lands of mines and leeks, So let me be King of the Greeks, mother! let me be King of the Greeks! Please write the note to- night, mother, and never, never mind How Palmerston and all his crew may chance to be inclined ; And tell your own dear sailor- boy that Greece shall have what it seeks, For I'm to be King of the Greeks, mother! I'm to be King of the Greeks! As for all the protocols, would Russia care a rush, If she knew the bird was in her hand instead of in the bush ? Think of all her antecedent moves, and her Crimean freaks, And let me be King of the Greeks, mother! let me be King of the Greeks! And I'll try to rule them wisely, rule them firmly, and in peace ; Their navy and their commerce, too, I'll endeavour to increase ; I'll establish a police force, and some stipendiary beaks- Do let me be King of the Greeks, mother! let me be King of the Greeks! And I'll seek some noble lady, some Greek beauty, for a bride, That Great Britain's Queen, my mother dear, may gaze upon with pride; For I'll come home each new year, mother, for two or p'raps three weeks. If I may be King of the Greeks, mother! let me be King of the Greeks! And we will all be very happy, very happy, mother dear, These meetings will be the happiest time of all the glad new year; But just now do pray say " yes," mother, ' twill flush with joy my cheeks, Say I'm to be King of the Greeks, mother ! I'm to be King of the Greeks! HER MOST GRACIOUS M Y, loq. It's no use asking any more, any more ; It's no use asking any more ; It can't be done, Says the Editor of Fun, So it's no use asking any more.— Fun. ABDUCTION AT HORTON.— A considerable amount of excite- ment prevailed on Sunday at the village of Horton, Gloucester- shire, in consequence of the disappearance during the preceding night of Miss Emma Stinchcombe, whose father is a large farmer there, with an organist named John Crampton, the former being 15 years cf age, and the latter a married man, 27 years old. The 3Toung lady had been a pupil at a boa* ding- school where Crampton attended for the purpose of giving music lessons; and being on familiar terms with Mr Stinchcombe and his family, he visited their house on Saturday evening, and, to all appearance, took his departure for his own home at bed- time. Miss Emma Stinch- combe retired to her own bedroom as usual; but, as was subse- quently ascertained, instead of seeking repose, busied herself in packing up sundry articles of clothing, with which she contrived to leave her father's roof, and was speedily in company with Crampton. Eain was descending heavily; still this was insuffi- cient to check the pair in carrying out the designs they had formed, and for fifteen miles they trod the dirty road until they reached Chippenham, where they made for a tavern and applied for a bed, but the hostess suspected that all was not right, and therefore refused to grant their request. The couple then decided upon proceeding towards London, and in the after- noon of Sunday took tickets for Eeading by the 2: 55 train. The fact of their departure, however, was learnt by the superintendent of police for the Sodbury division, who despatched a telegram ( describing the parties, and asking their detention) to , the chief superintendent of the Reading borough police. Accord- ingly, on the arrival of the train at Reading at 5: 23, a policeman was in waiting, and Crampton soon found himself in secure quarters at the lock- up of that town. The young lady sobbed, and pleaded an excuse for her conduct by stating that Crampton merely left with her on a visit to his wife; but the letters written by her to Crampton are couched in very affectionate terms, and in one of her communications she informs him it would be well for him to write with milk, as the contents, although at first sight invisible, could be deciphered by holding the paper near the fire. On Monday Crampton was brought back in the officer's custody, and will be prosecuted for the offence. CURIOUS CASE.— At Bradford, on Monday, Patrick Cronin, woolcomber, fifty years of age, was brought before Messrs Alder- man Brown, William Murgatroyd, and John Light, borough magistrates, and charged, on suspicion, with having killed his wife, Sarah Cronin, aged sixty- three years. Mr Terry, solicitor, appeared for the prosecution, and Mr Lees on behalf of the pri- soner. On the night of Saturday, the 27th ult, the deceased and the prisoner had a quarrel, in consequence of his having gone home drunk and kicked his sen, a little boy, for disobeying some order. The prisoner at that time gave the deceased some blows with his hand, and kicked her twice on her side. She received a black eye in the quarrel, and inflicted a slight wound over one of the prisoner's eyes, by striking him with a brush- handle. She attended to her domestic concerns, and went to her work at a worsted- mill on the following Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday; and on New Year's Eve, just after she had returned home from the mill, she and her husband, who was again under the influence of drink, had another violent quarrel about her not preparing his tea when he wanted it. Three woolcombers were at work in a room upstairs in the same house, and heard the noise made by the prisoner and his wife, but saw nothing; and the only person with them when they were quarrelling was their younger child, six years old. It appeared that the prisoner upset a table, broke some crockery, and threw part of a tea saucer at the deceased; but there was no evidence that he struck or kicked her in the second quarrel. After the violence mentioned he left the house, saying he would go and get more drink. Two neighbours, named Alice Dunn and Mary Ann Rushworth, hearing the cries of the deceased, went into the house after the prisoner had gone away, and they had not been long with her before she gave a terrible shriek and died. She told Alice Dunn about the prisoner having kicked the table over, and thrown part of a saucer at her, but said nothing about his having struck or kicked her on that evening. Just before she expired she attributed the state she was in to the two kicks which her husband gave her on the Saturday night. She said she had felt pain in her side ever since, and complained then of feeling the effects of those kicks at her stomach. The prisoner wa3 apprehended the same night. He expressed sorrow at his wife's death, but said he had done nothing to her on the Wednes- day to cause it. He admitted that he had up3et the table and broken some pots. Mr George P. Smith, surgeon, who made an examination of the body of the deceased twenty- six hours after death, found no external marks of violence except a discolouration of the left eye and a small scratch on the right cheek. The pupils of the eyes were dilated, and there was no contraction of the features. The whole of the internal organs were quite healthy, but the lower edge of the right lobe of the liver was lacerated to the extent of about four inches, and to this laceration, which he said must have been caused by ex- ternal violence, he attributed the death. A kick or blow, or a fall against a chair or stool, might have produced the laceration, without leaving any external marks of violence, and where the death occurred so soon after the violence he should not expect to find any external mark. He did not think it possible for a per- son to survive such a laceration of the liver more than a few hours. Mr Lees quoted the following passage from Taylor's Medical Jurisprudence :—" Rupture of the liver may occur from falls or blows, but this organ may be ruptured merely by a sud- den action of the abdominal muscles. An accident of this kind happened to an individual who was endeavouring to avoid a fall from his horse." The chairman of the bench, after consulting with the other magistrates, said the case appeared to them a very suspicious one, but they had not sufficient evidence before them at present to warrant their sending the prisoner for trial. Should any further evidence be brought forward he might have to appear before them again. The prisoner was then discharged. A coro ner's inquest was held on Saturday, Jan 3, relative to the death of the same woman, and the jury returned the following verdict:— " That the deceased died from a wound or laceration of the liver, caused by violence, but how or by what means such violence was done there is no clear evidence to show.'' The coroner ( Mr Jewi- son) disagreed with this finding, and was of opinion that the ver- dict ought to have been one of Manslaughter against Patrick Cronin. On Thursday, Jan 1, a meeting of this institution was held at its house, John- street, Adelphi, Thos. Chapman, Esq, F. R. S., V. P., in the chair. There were also present Sir Edward Perrott, Bart, V. P.; Admiral Washington, Hjdrographer to the Admiralty; Alexander Boetefeur, Esq; Admiral Gordon, Montague Gore, Esq; Capt W. H. Hale, R N., C. B.; John Griffith, Esq; Capt Ward, R. N., Inspector of Lifeboats of the institution; and Richard Lewis, Esq, its secretary. A reward of £ 6 10s was voted to the crew of the institution's lifeboat stationed at Lytham, for saving, on Friday, Dec2>, during a gale of wind, the crew of thir- teen persons of the bark Brazil, of Liverpool, which at daylight was observed on Salthouse Bank. The poor men had hurriedly abandoned the ship in their boat, over which the seas were rolling in fearful violence. The lifeboat came up just in time to save them from a watery grave, for in a few minutes afterwards the seas filled the ship's boat, and instantly sank her. This valuable life- boat has this winter saved thirty- two shipwrecked persons. Among the number was a Liverpool pilot. On his relating to his co- pilots the narrow escape he had had of his life, and the noble ex- ertionsofthelifcboat'screw. they voluntarily subscribed£ 14amongst themselves, and handed the amount to thelifeboat's crew, in gra- titude for their services in rescuing him and thirteen others from the American ship Annie E. Hooper. £ 6 9s was also voted to pay the expenses of the Porthcawl lifeboat in saving, during a fearful gale of wind, ten persons from the schooner Champion, of Liverpool, which on the dawn of the 20th ult, was observed water- logged on the Scarweather Sands, near Swansea. The cost of this valuable lifeboat was presented to the institution by a lady resi- dent in Staffordshire, and her satisfaction is indeed great tliat she has thus contributed to the saving of ten persons from an impend- ing death. A reward of £ 5 10s was also voted to the crew of the Cardigan lifeboat for rescuing three persons from the smack Countess of Lisburne, of Aberystwith, which, in a heavy ground- sea, had grounded on Cardigan Bar. After considerable difficulty the lifeboat succeeded in reaching the wreck, and in taking off her crew, who, having previously lost their boat, had no means of escape left, and in all probability " would, in the absence of the lifeboat, have perished. A reward of £ 13 was also granted to the institu- tion's lifeboat at Hauxley, Northumberland, for saving, under the most perilous circumstances, four men belonging to the schooner Little Aggie, which, during a hurricane on Sunday, the 2lst ult, was totally wrecked near Hauxley. This noble rescue had ex- cited considerable attention in Northumberland, where the conduct of the gallant fishermen who manned the lifeboat in such fearful weather had excited universal praise. A reward of £ 4 was also given to the crew of the Thurso lifeboat, belonging to the institution, for saving on the 19th ult, during a gale of wind, the crew of three men of the schooner Sisters, of Wick. The vessel soon afterwards became a total wreck. The cost of this lifeboat was presented to the Institution by A. W. Jaffray, Esq, of London. A reward of £ 6 10s was also voted to the institution's lifeboat at Holyhead, for rendering important services on the afternoon of the 20th ult to the bark Highland Brigade of White- haven, by which means the vessel was probably saved from de- struction. Capt Priest, R. N., like all others, spoke very highly of the behaviour of the lifeboat in a very heavy sea and broken water. £ 9 14s was also voted to the Whitby lifeboat, for saving 12 men belonging to the bark Royal Rose, of Falmouth, which, during the tempestuous weather of the 21st ult, had sprung a leak, and was afterwards totally wrecked outside Whitby Pier. A re- ward of £ 4 was likewise voted to the crew of the Groomsport ( County Down) lifeboat of the Institution, for the important ser- vice she had rendered to the disabled American bark Carioca, which was observed on the 19th ult dragging her anchors in a heavy gale of wind. The ship was ultimately brought to port in safety. Major Maxwell, who was mainly instrumental in obtaining a lifeboat for Groomsport, had zealously exerted himself on the oc- casion. Also voted £ 13 16s to pay the expenses of the Whitby new lifeboat, for putting off and rendering most important ser- vices to the steamer Alice, of Leith, which was found in distress in a heavy surf outside Whitby, on the 22d ult. The cost of this valuable lifeboat was also presented to this institution by Mr Jaffray, the gentleman above mentioned. A reward of £ 6 10s was also voted to the crew of the Rye lifeboat, belonging to the insti- tution, who had, in conjunction with the crew of two Coast Guard boats, succeeded in rescuing from destruction the American ship James Brown, which was observed to be rapidly making water, in a heavy surf on the Boulder Sand Bank, off Rye, on the 10th ult. Also a reward of £ 5 9s to the institution's lifeboat at Plymouth, for assisting, in conjunction with a Government steam- tug, in bringing to a place of safety the Dutch galliot Aremana, which was observed to be rapidly drifting on shore in a heavy sea. This valuable lifeboat was the gift of Miss Burdett Coutts to the National Lifeboat Institution. Rewards amount- ing to £ 48 18s were likewise voted to the crews of the institu- tion's lifeboats at Tynemouth, Scarborough, Holyhead. Ply- mouth, Tyrella, Padsfow, Carmarthen Bay, and Southport, for putting off, in reply to signals of distress, with the view of saving life from different vessels, but which had either succeeded in getting out of danger, or had their crews saved by other means. During the year which has just closed, the lifeboats of this great and important institution have rescued 358 shipwrecked persons on our coast. The boats have during the same period been manned on occasions of service and of quarterly exercise by nearly 6,000 persons, and, with the sole exception of one poor fellow perishing, the institution has, most providentially, not lost asingle man throughout theyear in its perilous operations. The silver medal of the institution was presented to MrSwarbrick, master of the steam- tug Wyne, of Fleetwood; and to Mr Robert Gerrard, pilot, in admiration of their noble conduct in rescuing by means of the tug, under the most perilous circumstances, seventeen persons from the bark Pudyona, of Glasson Dock, which had stranded, during a heavy gale of wind and a high sea, in Morecambe Bay. There were thirteen persons altogether en- gaged in this gallant service to suffering humanity, and they had received from the shipowners and the Board of Trade £ 55. A reward of £ 18 was voted to the crews of two fishing smacks, in appreciation of their gallant and persevering conduct, in rescuing, at great risk of life, the crew of four men, from the brigantine John and Edwin, of Whitstable, which, during a heavy gale of wind and in aterrific sea, had sunk off that place on the 21st Dec. An interesting report was read from the assistant inspector ( Capt David Robertson, R. N.) of the institution, on his recent inspec- tion of the lifeboats on the Irish coast. With one or two excep- tions he found the boats in excellent order. It was reported that the late Mrs Ann Catto, of the Old Kent- road, London, had left the institution a legacy of £ 1,000, duty free. A contribution of 2s 6d in aid of the funds of the institution was received from the wife of an old Scotch sailor. She was said to be a good sailor herself, and thought that everybody ought to give something to the Lifeboat Fund. The institution decided ta place forthwith a new lifeboat at Bude Haven, in Cornwall, and to completely renovate the lifeboat station. Payments, amounting to £ 500, were made on various lifeboat establishments. The cordial thanks of the meeting were presented to Mr Chapman for the able and zealous manner in which he had presided over the meetings of the committee during the past year. The thanks of the insti- tution were also unanimously given to Sir E. Perrott, the chair- man of the sub- committees, for his assiduity in zealously helping to carry on the work of the society. The proceedings then ter- minated. LIFEBOAT SERVICES DUBING THE YEAR 1862.— During the past year ( 1862) 358 lives have been directly rescued by life- boats of the National Lifeboat Institution from a watery grave, and 21 vessels have been safely brought into port through the instrumentality of the lifeboats. The lifeboats went off forty- three times in reply to signals of distress from ships in danger, but which in the meantime had either escaped it or had had their crews saved by other means. The lifeboats' crews had also assembled on nine occasions in stormy weather to be ready for emergencies expected to arise. We feel assured that no one can peruse these accounts without experiencing a satisfaction which can better be felt than expressed. Let any one think of the feelings of these three hundred and fifty- eight persons thus snatched, during stormy weather, from an apparently inevitable death by the lifeboats of the institution. Although such services can only be properly appreciated by the persons themselves on who si such important benefit has been conferred in their hour of distress, yet they are always keenly and gratefully acknowledged by the wives and children or parents of the men saved, who would otherwise have become widows, or- phans, or childless. The acknowledgments of the National Lifeboat Institution are, of course, mainly due to those who have contributed to this large amount of human happiness, by manning the lifeboats, or by subscribing towards their establish- ment and support. Rewards amounting to £ 730 Is Id have been voted by the institution to the crews of the lifeboats for their laudable services during the past year. We also refer with great pleasure to the accounts of the services rendered by shore boats, and other means, in saving life from wrecks on our shores during the preceding year. Some of these services have been of the no- blest character ; for it should be borne in mind that men engaged during gales of wind in this dangerous work undergo greater risk in open boats than is usually incurred in lifeboats, which are well adapted for the important work which they have to perform, and which are fully equipped, including excellent life- belts for their crews. Although fully acknowledging the valuable services of the crews of the society's lifeboats, we are glad to find that the com- mittee of the National Lifeboat Institution proportion their rejj wards for saving life from shipwreck according to the risk in- curred ; hence it is seen that the rewards granted to shore boat crews are frequently in excess, per man, of those voted by the committee to the crews of the institution's lifeboats. These re- wards continue most materially to stimulate our coast population to make the greatest exertions to save life from shipwreck. The men feel now assured that their services will not go unrequited ; and also that, in the event of a calamity overtaking them, their widows and orphans will not be forgotten by the National Lifeboat Institution, in conjunction with the benevolent public, which is ever ready to succour cases of real distress. One of the earliest and most fundamental principles of the institution was to foster and encourage these heroic enterprizes, because fishermen's boats are always handy, and are often found available in localities where it would be impracticable to plant a lifeboat. From a summary which the institution gives of its operations during the past three years, we observe that in that period 1,450 lives have been rescued from a watery grave by the joint efforts of its. lifeboats and shore boats, for which united services the society has granted awards amounting to £ 3,342 5s 7d, in addition to 68 silver medals. The number of lives saved by the lifeboats of the society and other means, since its formation, is 12,800, for which services 82 gold medals, 718 silver medals, and £ 16,41- 3 in cash, have been paid in rewards. The institution has also expended £ 66,860 on lifeboats, lifeboat transporting carriages, and boathouses. Deeply sensible of the great responsibility that rests on the institution to main- tain its large life- saving fleet of 123 lifeboats in a thoroughly efficient state, and its crews practised in the management of the boats, which can only be effected by a large permanent annual income, the committee of the National Lifeboat Institution ear- nestly appeal to all classes of their countrymen to aid them in upholding and perpetuating so great and truly national a work. We may add that contributions in aid of the funds of the society will be thankfully received by all the bankers in the United Kingdom, and by the Secretary, Richard Lewis, Esq, at the in- stitution, 14, John- street, Adelphi, London. LIFEBOAT SERVICE ON THE EASTERN COAST.— Some little excitement has been occasioned at Great Yarmouth in conse- quence of the alleged neglect of the crew of the lifeboat stationed at that port to render assistance to vessels in distress during the late severe gales. On previous occasions similar charges have been made. Thus, when the Queen of Grimsby was wrecked in October, 1858, within three hundred yards of the shore, and se- veral of the crew perished, it is alleged that the lifeboat rendered no aid whatever. Again, during the fearful gale of May 28,1860, when between fifty and sixty mariners were drowned on the sands in the offing, the lifeboat, it is further alleged, afforded no assistance, in consequence of a squabble amongst her crew. During a still mere recent gale, Oct 19,1862, she again remained quiescent on the beach, although signals of distress were made by vessels in the roadstead. It was thought, therefore, that some inquiry should take place into the conduct of the crew during the tre- mendous gale which extended over December 18, 19, 20, and 21, 1862, on which days the boat was not moved from the beach, al- though on Saturday, Dec 20, urgent signals of distress were made by a French brig to the north of the Britannia Pier. The inquiry took place on Tuesday, Jan 6, at the Town Hall, Mr J. Scott, shipowner, presiding. Two men, named Brown, representing the crew of the boat, were present, and in answer to questions, they stated that although it was possible to have launched the boat through the tremendous surf, it would have been useless to have done so, as the vessel was too far to the north, while they were to the south; that the wind and tide being against them, they could not have reached the distressed ship ; that they knew she was riding at anchor in safety, and that there was no neces- sity for the urgent signals of distress and minute guns which were fired by a contiguous steamer which had observed the position of the brig ( ultimately saved by steam- tugs, which went to her as- sistance from the harbour). Mr M. Butcher, heriorary local se- cretary of the Eoyal National Lifeboat Institution, expressed himself satisfied with the explanation of the men, but as other gentlemen present still regarded the state of affairs with dis- satisfaction, the inquiry was adjourned to Monday, Jan 12. Do SALMON EAT, AND WHAT?—" ' How do you explain the as- sertion that is made that salmon do not eat in the sea, and that nothing is ever found in their stomach when they are caught ?' ' Nothing in the world more simple,' said Hope. ' A salmon, like many other creatures, vomits when pursued or frightened, on the principle, I suppose, of " take my money and spare my life " Did you ever go on a rock where Solan geese were breeding? It is a very absurd sight, and a case in point. A Solan goose sits with one foot on her single egg. If you approach her she stands up, still holding her foot on the egg, stretches out her neck, and disgorges the contents of her crop. As soon as you move away she recovers her property, and swallows what she hasjust put down. A salmon, I know, goes through the first process, for I have seen it done.' "— Life in Normandy, NAVAL AND MILITARY INTELLIGENCE. LAUNCH OF THE TAMAR.— Another important addition was on Tuesday, Jan 6, made to the Eoyal Navy by Che launch of Her Majesty's iron screw steam vessel Tamar, of 2,811 tons, and 500- horse power, from the premises of the builders, Messrs Samuda, Poplar. There was a large number of spectators. The vessel was taken in tow, and hauled into the East India Docks, under the mast- house, where she will be fitted with her screw machinery and engines, manufactured by Messrs Ravenhill, Salkeld, and Co. The Tamar was laid down in November, 1861, and is in every re- spect a fine vessel. The following are her principal dimensions:— Length, 300ft; breadth, 44ft 7in; depth in hold, 34ft; burden in tons, 2,811 82- 94 old measurement. After receiving her machi- nery she will be removed to Woolwich Dockyard to be rigged and fitted with her armament, consisting of four rifled guns, and she is expected to be ready for service by April next. A large number of workmen are now employed at the premises of Messrs Samuda upon the construction of Her Majesty's armour- plated screw cupola ship Prince Albert. She will be iron- cased throughout with 4g- inch plates, and fitted with four armour- cased shields or cupolas, of immense strength, upon Captain Coles's plan recently adopted by the Admiralty. She is the first cupola ship laid down for the Government, and is named the Prince Albert by express desire of Her Majesty. The armament of this magnificent vessel will consist of eight monster rifled guns, two of which will be fitted in cach cupola. THE ANGLO- CHINESE FLEET ( from the Army and Navy Ga zette).— The following, we learn, are the terms upon which the seamen, marines, and boys forming the force will sail under Cap- tain Osborn for the East. A very fine body of short service men- of- war's men are entering, all with " very good" in every column of their certificates. They will, we doubt not., prove an excellent nucleus, upon which we understand Captain Osborn hopes to graft native levies of Chinese seamen. The compensation for wounds is based upon the pension for wounds given to our own men; but the grant to widows, mothers, and children, in the event of any man being killed in action, is quite a novelty, and we con- gratulate the force upon it. Wages paid weekly while in England, but when abroad will be paid monthly; the dollar at the same rate as in Her Majesty's navy. Once every quarter men can be furnished with bankers' checks for any sum they may wish to remit out of their wages. Three months' advance will be paid by advance notes, on the same conditions as in the merchant service. Provisions on the same scale as in Her Majesty's navy, but no savings allowed. Prize money will be granted on a more liberal scale than that of Her Majesty's navy, but will only be paid on discharge from the force and arrival in England. Men invalided will be paid three months' wages and provided with a passage to England. Compensation for wounds, & c:— The widow, child, or mother of men and boys killed in action will receive the sum of £ 500; men or boys losing two limbs on service will receive the sum of £ 500; men or boys losing one limb on service will receive the sum of £ 300; other'injuries in proportion. The laws and customs of Her Majesty's navy will beenforced, with the exception of " corporal punishment," for which " discharge from the force" will be substituted. Clothing:— Men will be expected to provide themselves with the established kit previous to receiving their ad- vance, and when abroad can supply themselves from the clothing which will be kept in store, paying cost price for the same out of their monthly wages. THE DRUM ON BOARD SHIP.— It having been represented to the Lords of the Admiralty that great advantage is obtained by the use of the drum in calling attention at general quarters and in action, enabling the orders of the commanding officers to be issued, repeated, and understood with great rapidity, they have directed by a circular that the following system shall be estab- lished throughout the naval service:— 1. The roll of the drum is, on all occasions, to be understood to be the " call to attention'' to an order. 2. Two taps on the drum to be the " signal for the execution of the order." 3. One or two drums, according to the length of the ship, to be placed in some convenient position on each deck. The roll beaten on any one drum to be instantly re- peated by all the drums; no roll is to be beaten without direct orders from the commanding officer. 4. On hearing the roll, every officer and man in the ship, whatever duty they may be at the time performing, are at once to stand at attention, and main- tain the most perfect silence. The orders will then be communi- cated to the various quarters by means of the speaking tubes, and the officers will repeat their orders to their respective quarters. When the captain, or commanding officer, is satisfied that his orders are delivered and understood, he will order two taps to be given on the drum, immediately on the hearing of which the orders last delivered are te be carried out without further delay. 5. Roll and taps to be delivered sharply and distinctly. THE COLONELCY OF THE 26TH REGIMENT.— By the appoint- ment of Major- General G. H. Mackinnon, C. B., to the colonelcy of the 26th ( Cameronians) Regiment, a major- general's pension for distinguished and meritorious service is placed at the disposal of his Royal Highness the Field Marshal Commanding- in- Chief. THE " VOLUNTEERS, ARTILLERY.— The following War Office circular, addressed to commanding officers of artillery volunteers, has been issued :— " SIR : Complaints having been made of the danger arising from firing salutes from heavy guns in small batteries belonging to artillery volunteers, I am directed by Secretary Sir George Lewis to inform you that in all cases in which blank ammuni- tion is fired from garrison batteries in use by volunteers, which consist of less than four guns, the intervals between the firing should, under no circumstances, be less than 25 seconds, and that especial care should be taken in such case in sponging out the guns and serving the vent, with the view of obviating as far as possible any chance of accident.— I have the honour to be, sir, your obedient servant, " DE GREY AND RIPON.'' Lord Colville, Commanding the Hon Artillery Company, in a regimental order just issued, urges upon the members the neces- sity of attending the drills which are shortly to commence. He says:—" In the regular service every soldier is compelled to go through the complete course annually ; how much more essen- tial is it for volunteers to do the same ? He feels satisfied that if members will but make the small sacrifice of time necessary for attending these drills they will be amply repaid by the greater precison, and consequent satisfaction, to all ranks with which the evolutions will be performed. It is probable that during the ensuing year the regiment may be called upon for the perform- ance of more public duty than heretofore. The presence of half drilled men in the ranks on such occasions produces confusion and unsteadiness, but such will no longer be the case if the exer- tions and good feeling of officers of companies and of members of all ranks support the commanding officer in his endeavours to maintain the efficiency and discipline of the regiment." LANCASHIRE DISTRESS — An elaborate return hasjust been laid before the Central Relief Committee by its hon secretary, Mr Maclure, which gives a very accurate account of the present con- dition of Lancashire, and of the manner in which the funds are being administered. There are 143 committees in the return, embracing 529,395 operatives, or a population, according to the usual calculation, of over 1,000,000, dependent on weekly wages received from the cotton mills or some auxiliary occupation. Of this half a million and odd operatives there were in the last week of the old year, which is the date of the return, 245,718, or nearly half,. entirely out of employment; 163,929 were on short time, and 119,748 were in full work. It is hardly possible to make a comparison between these and the figures contained in the last report, which was for the last week in November, since that report was incomplete, and only comprised 490,757 workpeople; but, notwithstanding this large extension of the area from which we have information— taking in nearly 29,000 more workpeople— the numbers given in the two returns as out of work, or on short time, are so nearly identical that it is impossible not to see that there has been a considerable improvement during the last few weeks. A comparison of the amounts given as the loss of wages at the two periods is still stronger proof. In the last week in November 490,000 workpeople were losing weekly £ 164,000; now 529,000 are only losing £ 168,000. But if there were any further doubt it would be set at rest by Commissioner Far- nail, who states that he had been authorised by the clerk to the guardians to inform the committee that that the decrease in their several unions was caused by additional employment. The exact extent of this improvement we are unable to ascertain from the want of fixed data for comparison. As to its permanence. it seems to be now admitted that we may depend on a supply of cotton sufficient for three days' work a week for the next year if the market continues favourable to production, and for a short time to come it is anticipated by persons well able to judge that the demand for the home market, which is now becoming very bare, will lead to an increase in the present revival of activity. Following the ordinary calculation that each worker supports one other person, it seems from the first three columns of the return that the task which the guardians and the relief committee have now to perform is to support entirely a population of 491,436 persons altogether deprived of their ordinary means of sub- sistence, and to supplement the insufficient income of 327,858 others. Or, to put it in a simpler form, if we suppose that each short- timer earns as much as suffices for his own subsistence, there will remain a population of 655,365 who are dependent entirely on relief in some shape or other. Let us see to what extent the existing agencies of relief are discharging this duty. The relief committees in the last week of the old year had 41- 5,651 pensioners on their books, and the rates, according to Mr Farnall's report, which is for the same date, were granting outdoor relief to 260,506 persons— a decrease of 3,911 on the previous week, or an aggregate decrease of 11,000 in three weeks. Of these 181,573 were being aided from both sources, 78,933 were dependent, entirely on the rates, and 2- 34,078 on the relief committees, making a total of 494,584 receiving relief in one form or other. Of course, this is an increase on the last report, though 46,000 is not so large an addition as might have been expected from the enlargement of the area over which the returns extend. But for the greater amount of wages now in circulation it would have been much greater, for a month ago there was a margin of over 200,000 who were in a position to claim assistance, but who preferred to struggle with their small savings, or were supported by private charity, but the exhaustion of those sources of sup- ply is marked by the diminution of that margin in the present return to a little under 164,000. The increase has fallen entirely on the relief committees; for, whereas the boards of guardians were then the sole reliance of 106,243 per- sons, there are now only 78,933 who are entirely dependent on them. This, and the extraordinary increase in the number sup- ported entirely frem the charitable funds, nearly 50 per cent, seem to prove that the practice of transferring cases from the guardians to the charitable funds in order to save the rates, has already commenced. Preston and Blackburn still maintain their bad pre- eminence at the head of the list of distressed towns. In the first the committee is dealing with 39,000 and odd cases, and in the second with 25,780. The Stockport committee has 19,000 pensioners, all entirely dependent on its funds; the Ashton Com- mittee has 17,500, and the Wigan Committee 11,600. The num bers are, of course, greatest in Manchester and Salford, though the pinch relatively is not half so severely felt as in many smaller towns. The different local agencies here are relieving close upon 90,000 people— but more than 60,000 are guardians' cases— and the expenditure for all purposes is not more than £ 5,200 weekly. It is stated that on the 1st inst the balance available from all sources was £ 576,000, which was being daily increased by noble subscriptions. A NEW MODE OF ROBBERY.— An elegantly dressed female entered a jeweller's shop on a Paris boulevard a day or two since, and asked to see some valuable gold pins, of which she wished to purchase one. While she was examining the articles a man began playing a barrel- organ before the door. The music seemed to annoy the lady, and, stepping to the door, she threw a piece of money to the man, and told him to go away, which he did at once. On returning to the counter she said that none of the pins suited her; but that, as some compensation for the trouble she had given, she would buy a brooch for the daughter of her con- cierge. She accordingly chose one, paid lOf for it, and was leaving the shop, when the jeweller missed a diamond pin of great value from among those she had been looking at. He ac- cordingly stopped his customer, who seemed highly indignant, and insisted on the jeweller's wife searching her, which was done, but no pin was found. The jeweller, therefore, allowed her to leave, but sent his sister to watch her. The woman was soon seen to enter another jeweller's shop, and was pretending to make a purchase as before, when the organ- grinder again made his ap- pearance. As soon as he began playing, she again threw him some money and ordered him to move on; but the person who was watching her perceived that with the money she had also given the man a piece of jewellery. This fact was at once made known to some sergeants de ville, who arrested both of them, and found on the man several articles of jewellery which had been ob- tained in a similar manner. The two thieves were consequently taken to the Prefecture. THE HACKNEY CARRIAGE ACT.— At a meeting of the dele- gates of the hackney carriage proprietors and drivers, held on Tuesday, Jan 6, at the rooms, 2, Bouverie- street, Fleet- street, Mr Wise, of Westminster, in the chair, the following petition to the House of Commons, praying for a parliamentary committee of in- quiry into the working of the present Hackney Carriage Act, was unanimously adopted:—" To the Honourable the Commons of Great Britain and Ireland,— Thejhumble petition of the under- signed hackney carriage proprietors and drivers humbly showeth, — That your petitioners belong to a class numbering upwards of 8,000 men, who are night and day plying in the streets of London. That the present Hackney Carriage Act and the other laws affect- ing London hackney carriages contain many unjust and oppres- sive provisions, under which your petitioners suffer great griev- ances without the possibility of redress, except by an alteration of the law; your petitioners therefore humbly pray your honourable house that an inquiry may be instituted into the operation of the present law, and that your petitioners may be allowed to give evidence of the grievances under which they are suffering, and that your honourable house will be pleased effectually to remedy the existing evils in such manner as in the wisdom of your honourable house may seem best. And your petitioners will ever pray, & c." The petition, when signed, is to be presented to the House of Commons by Mr A. Kinnaird, M. P. CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT. MORE STREET ROBBERIES.— On Tuesday Louisa Hollings- worth, nineteen, was convicted of stealing three pairs of boots from the persons of three children of Fx- ancis Krappel, his pro- perty.— Mr Cooper, for the prosecution, said the prisoner met the three children of Mr Krappel in the City- road, on the 15th De- cember last, and deliberately took the new boots from their feet, and it was rather a curious fact that all had new boots on that day. A shopkeeper seeing them in that condition kindly took them into his shop, and having ascertained who they were, furnished them with shoes, or they would have had to paddle home through the streets in the wet without anything on their feet.— The clerk to Worship- street police court, who happened accidentally to be present, said the prisoner was an old offender in this way, having frequently been convicted before Mr Hammill of robbing children, by taking the boots and shoes off their feet, the necklaces off their necks, and any articles of value that she could take away.— The assistant- judge sentenced her to be imprisoned and kept to hard labour for two years.— On the same day William Pearson, twenty, and James Scotch- more, 21, pleaded guilty to an indictment charging them with stealing a gold watch and a gold chain from the person of Lothair Detsch, and William Pearson for violently assaulting Thomas Harris, a police constable, in the execution of his duty.— This was a street robbery committed near Whitechapel. The prosecutor was walking along, when he was accosted by both prisoners, Pearson snatching the watch and chain from him. He called for assistance, when a policeman came Pearsen kicked him and threatened to injure him for life.— Several previous convictions were proved against Pearson. The other prisoner was unknown. — The assistant- judge sentenced Pearson to be kept in penal servi- tude for. five years.— On his being passed down the steps of the dock to the cells, he made a kick at the officers, and seized one by the throat, and it was with difficulty he was prevented from com- mitting some injury to those near him.— The assistant- judge sen- tenced Scotchmore to be imprisoned and kept to hard labour for twelve months, hoping that he would take warning by it, or he would share the fate of his companion. STREET ROBBERY WITH VIOLENCE.— On Tuesday, George Day and Susan Knight were convicted of having, in company with other persons, assaulted George Myers with intent to rob him. The prosecutor in this case is a printer, residing in Chancery- lane, and about © ne o'clock in the morning on the 23d of December, as he was passing the corner of Carey- street, he was suddenly assailed by four persons, two women and two men, and one of the latter, without saying a word, knocked him down, and, while he was upon the ground, an attempt was made to rifle his pockets. He seized the male prisoner, and called out for the police, and during this time the woman kicked him, and tried to force her companion away from his grasp. A police- constable named Whelin came up while the struggle was going on, and he took them both into custody. The male prisoner then en- deavoured to make it appear that the prosecutor had been taking liberties with the woman, but it appeared that there was not the slightest foundation for the suggestion.— Mr Collins declined to address the jury on behalf of the prisoners, observing that, after the conclusive evidence that had been given against them, he considered it would only be a waste of time if he were to do so.— The jury, therefore, at once returned a verdict of guilty, and a police- constable informed the court that both the prisoners were constantly in the habit of being out at all hours of the night, and associating with thieves and bad characters. He was not aware, however, of their ever having been convicted of any offence.— The Recorder said that the prisoners had been convicted of a very serious crime, that of attacking, in company with other persons, a single man, walking quietly to his own home. If there had been any evidence of their having been convicted on any previous occasion, he should have sentenced them to a much longer period of penal servitude than he was about to do. He then ordered them to be kept in penal servitude for four years.— On Wednes- day John Hephoey ( alias Powell), 47, labourer, a determined- looking ruffian, was convicted of a robbery with violence upon Henry Cox, and stealing his moneys.— Mr Laxton and Mr Arm- strong prosecuted. The facts of the case were these:— The prose- cutor, on the 1st of December, about half- past eight at night, was in Manchester- square, when the prisoner came up and struck him a violent blow across the eyes, the prisoner's knuckles being guarded with some hard substance. He fell senseless, and was stripped of his money. For ten days he was unable to resume his employment, and still suffered in his sight. The prisoner was ap- prehended by the police and identified by the prosecutor among more than a dozen men. It having been proved that in 1840 prisoner was transported for fourteen years, the court sentenced him to be kept in penal servitude for fifteen years. FLAX GROWING IN IRELAND.— At the monthly meeting of the Cork Agricultural Socieiy, held on Saturday, Jan 3, there was a very able discussion on the cultivation of flax in the south of Ireland There was a strong difference of opinion as to whether the crop would be remunerative or not. Lord Bandon occupied the chair. A letter from Mr O'Kearney White, Lord Fermoy's agent, was read, in which he expressed doubts of the propriety of encouraging the cultivation in poor soils, remote from market towns. Professor Murphy read a valuable report, and moved the appointment of a committee to inquire into the subject, which was seconded by Col Beamish. Mr Charles Beamish argued strongly against the expediency of the cultivation. Flax is a pre- carious crop, and it exhausts the soil more than any crop. The people have not the means or the art ef converting it into a mer- chantable commodity. About ten years ago Mr Dargan got up a factory at Drinagh Mountain, and abandoned it after spending £ 10,000 upon the experiment. Lord Fermoy, in his turn, took up the mill, and adopted every means of stimulating the growth of flax, as Mr. Dargan had done, but they had heard nothing of his lordship's success. Mr Maguire, Mayor of Cork, replied very effectively to Mr Beamish. He was obliged to come to the conclusion that the potato was a crop that could no longer be relied on. The oats had been inferior for some time, and wheat likewise. If there were three more seasons like the last three he would advise every man, woman, and child to leave the country. Something must be done, and that immediately. They had the authority of Sir Robert Kane that the crop was not exhausting, and that, in fact, it takes from the soil only what other crops do not want. This country produces only one- third of the flax consumed in Ulster, there would therefore be always a ready market in Belfast. He therefore concluded that the cultivation of flax should be encou- raged by the landloids, and that the necessary mills should be provided. At all events, there should be inquiry to ascertain what was best to be done He concluded by offering £ 25 as a premium for the best crop of flax. Lord Bandon, President of the Munster Flax Society, took the same view as Mr Maguire, and gave some valuable information on the subject. The resolution proposed by Professor Murphy, appointing a committee, was passed unanimously. DOG- FIGHTING IN IRELAND.— A great dog case came before the magistrates at the Lucan Petty Sessions on Tuesday, Dec 23. On the previous Sunday about five hundred persons, on sixty or seventy cars, drove out from Coles- lane and other dirty purlieus in Dublin to a place called Milltown, near Lucan, in order to witness a dog- tight, which excited immense interest. Thirty- eight summonses had been issued on behalf of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the parties appeared accompanied by great numbers of the dog- fighting fraternity and their sympathisers, who employed counsel for the defence. Sub- Inspector Gunn deposed that he saw the dogs fighting; that the crowd, many of them half drunk, were very violent in pre- venting his interfering; that they forced him out of the field, shouting and brandishing their sticks. Head- constable Nolan deposed that the dogs were kept fighting, round after round, till they were dreadfully cut and injured, and their heads covered with blood. There were regular " handlers," who examined the dogs' mouths, and a timekeeper held a watch in his hand. At length one of the dogs, utterly beaten and exhausted, refused to fight any more. The offence charged in the summonses was cruelty to animals, under the second section of the act. The third section related to parties keeping a place where animals were made to fight. There was a considerable discussion between the counsel, Mr Curran and Mr Purcell, as to the jurisdiction of the court. The magistrates, Mr Vesey and Mr Clarke, decided that they had jurisdiction, and the court ordered two of the ring- leaders, Goggin and Ruth, to be imprisoned for three months, without the alternative of a fine. Mr Curran gave notice of an appeal to the Court of Common Pleas, and pending the appeal the prisoners may go out on bail. A number of persons assisting were fined half- a- crown, with costs. RAILWAY ACCIDENT AT KNOTTINGLEY.— THIRTEEN PERSONS INJURED.— About half- past eight o'clock on Tuesday morning an accident of a destructive character occurred near the railway sta- tion at Knottingley. At a distance of about 200 yards from the Knottingley station there is a junction of two lines of rails, one of them being from York and the other from Leeds. Parliamen- tary trains leave York and Leeds for London every morning, ar- riving at the Knottingley station, w here they form one train, at half- past eight o'clock. Up to about ten minutes past eight the weather was fine and clear, but at that time it became suddenly foggy, and at half- past eight o'clock, the time at which the trains were due, the fog was so dense that it was impossible to see more than a few yards. It was at that time that the accident happened. At about 130 or 140 yards from the station there is a bridge span- ning the rails, and immediately beyond this there is a points- man's and signalman's box. The junction of the lines referred to is some thirty or forty yards beyond, and at some distance down the lines there are signals by which the drivers of the trains are informed whether they can with safety approach the station. Whether the signals were wrong, or whether the drivers of one or both the trains were negligent in their duties in not properly ob- serving them, or whether, in consequence of the fog which pre- vailed, the signals were misunderstood, we are not able to say. The two lines of rails are joined into one at a distance of a few yards from the pointsman's box, and it was just at the junction where the accident occurred. As was perfectly regular, the Leeds train proceeded towards the station first, and in the usual course the York train would have been signalled to approach when the line was clear, but, unfortunately, it ran forward before its time, became entangled with the Leeds train, and caused se- rious mischief. Neither of the trains was moving very rapidly at the time, or the consequences would have been most disastrous. As it was, when the carriages came into collision, two or three of them were thrown off the line, and two of them were turned over and smashed. One of these carriages was empty, but several of the occupants of the other were very severely injured. The screams of the injured and frightened were of the most alarming character. One person, Mr Leatham, of Higham Ferrers, attempted to escape from the carriage, but in doing so his leg was jammed between it and a stout signal post. Just at the point where the leg was caught there was an iron lever and other arrangements for the working of the signals above, and a small projecting iron ledge on which the lever rested was crushed into the leg in a frightful manner. A woman named Mrs Robinson, of Hull, was also caught between the compressed timbers, and was rather severely injured. The driver of the Leeds train, whose name is Knapton, attempted to save himself from injury by jumping off the engine, but he unfortunately broke his leg. The stoker, who remained on the engine, escaped without injury. In addition to the smashing of the carriages, the line was injured to a slight degree, and the levers of the signal and that connected with the points were broken. The brickwork of the signal station was also much damaged, but the accident did not, fortunately, interfere with the traffic on the line. As soon as the accident happened, Mr Abbott, the station master, sent for all the medical men in Knottingley, and for as many as could be had from Pontefract, and then proceeded to see to the comfort and convenience of the injured passengers. The total number of persons seriously injured was 1- 3, but many others were much bruised. FIRE AT PORTSMOUTH.— On Wednesday a fire broke out at the Mile End Mills, eccupied by Mr Dennison, a Government con- tractor at Portsmouth, which was not extinguished till the mill was completely gutted. The buildings stand alone near the eastern shore of Portsmouth Harbour, and, being semi- detached, comprise Mr Denison's house and conservatories, mill werking six stones by steam or wind, stables, bakery, stores, and offices. The mill contained a handsome engine of 14- horse power, and other machinery recently used in preparing straw pulp for paper. The stores contained a quantity of wheat, barley, malt, hops, and other produce. The borough fire- engine was on the spot as soon as possible, as were also the Eoyal Artillery engines from South- sea Castle and Hilsea Barracks, and the Eoyal Marines engine from Fort Cumberland, manned by troops and constables. Every endeavour was made to prevent the fire from extending, and those efforts appear to have been successful, as the dwelling- house and other buildings were saved. The loss is estimated at £ 6,000. DESTRUCTIVE FIRE AT BROMPTON.— On Tuesday morning the inhabitants of Upper Queen- street, Brompton, were thrown into a state of considerable excitement, in consequence of the sudden outbreak of an extensive fire on the premises of Mr Geo. Wilkie, eating- house keeper, Upper Queen- street, Brompton, which were" in the joint occupation of several families. As a constable was proceeding along his beat, he observed smoke issuing from the lower part of the premises. Being apprehensive that a fire was raging, he raised an alarm. The inmates with great difficulty escaped. The conflagration quickly assumed a fearful aspect. The engines were soon at work, and had it not been for their early arrival, great destruction of property must have been the conse- quence. The fire was not extinguished until the premises were destroyed. The cause is unknown. HEALTH OF LONDON.— The deaths in the week ending Jan 4 were 1,5- 53, being 100 more than the average. Smallpox was fatal in 35 cases, measles in 69, scarlatina 73, consumption 169, bronchitis 188. The births in the week were 1,099 boys and 1,047 girls— total 2,146. SUNDAY EXCURSIONS.— A memorial, signed by all the arch bishops and bishops, has been forwarded to the directors of the different railway companies, entreating them to discontinue the running of excursion trains on Sundays. Printed and Published by WILLIAM CHABLES CLEMENT, at the Office, 170, Strand, in the Parish of St Clement Danes, in the City and Liberty of Westminster,— SUNDAY, JAN. 11,1863,