The Aberystwith Observer

The greatest exertions were made to save this unfortu- nate man from the gallows, and on Monday mornin" a de- putation of the residents of Lambeth waited upon the Right Hon. Sir George Grey, for the purpose of presenting a memorial adopted by a large meeting of the working men, held on Saturday evening, at the Lambeth baths, praying for a commutation of the sentence on Samuel Wright, urging, among other reasons, that the present moment (the birth of an heir to the Prince of Wales) was a most fitting time for an act of Royal clemencv. The deputation was followed by a procession of more than 200 working people anxious to learn the result of the interview Mr. Doulton, M.P., was to have introdn- | deputation, but, owing to the short tiV -oed the memorial wasv 'opted, they had b' _^ie since the the Home Secn t-ry to fix a- _n unable to get Mr. Doulton, however nour for the meeting. George Grey, in uad a long interview with Sir Sleigh arri" ne course of which Mr. Campbell presp- 1 <ed and Homo Secretary having ex- a desire to see hiw, he was admitted to his nresencf?, when another long conference took p.ace,_ at | the expiration of which Mr. Doulton returned to the deputation and informed them that he feared their efiorta had been fruitless, Sir C^eorge Grey felt acutely the unpleasantness of his position, and regretted that he could, pot at once a,ccede to their request. This an- npunqement caused great disappointment among the mejjGjbersjof the deputation and the numbers of people .waifetig the restllfc .1 u;: In the afternoon Mr. Murphy pf-oceeaedtd Windsor Castle for the purpose of presenting a memorial on behalf of Wright to her Majesty. He was received by Sir Charles Phipps, who, having read the memorial, said her Majesty could not interfere with the decision come to by Sir George Grey, although she deeply sympathised with the unfortunate man. On Monday evening a public meeting was held at the Lambeth BaUiSj td.rycei7e the testijt *4, Mt, MtMhy's missiQn to Wmdsp?,. iii ymoa ^r. £ )oultoii, JM. P. took the chair. At least 4,0U0 psrsofis were-, present in the building, i^nd as many more were Enable to obtain admission, and the excitement in the neighbourhood was very great. Mr. Murphy having stated the failure of his mission to Windsor, it was then resolved that a deputation consisting of Mr. Doulton, M. P., and Messrs. Hill, Applegarth, and Murphy, should at once have a final interview with Sir George Grey, to inducb Uliii *p re-consider his, determination. The deputation having procefdeii to tHa Sorfie Office, Baw Sir George Grey at 10 o clock, but were unabie to iii. duce him to comply with their request. He said the law must take its course. The deputation having returned and stated this result, it was received with shouts of indignation and loud cries of Shame," "Judicial Murder," &c. A collection was then made on behalf of the two children of Wright,.and th^.irtim^iisfe meeting separated in great excitement. The following bill, bordered tflih dSep moutning, was circulated at the meeting A Solemn Protest against the Execution of Wright.—Men and women of London, abstain from witnessing this sad spectacle of injustice. Let Calcraft and Co. do their work at this time with none but the eye of Heaven to look upon their crime. Let all window-shutters be up, and window- blinds be down for an hour on Tuesday morning, in South- ward

During the iast twd of tared days cl his existence the culprit wrote the following letters to It ttslatlve whom he was accustomed to call mother, who, it appears, lives in the country at some distance, and who was unable to come to see him :— f^an. 10,1801, Horserfianger-lane Gaol. Bear Mother,—! feel it my duty to write a few lines to you before I leave this world although it is under Such painful circumstances. Although I have not written to you before, you know how I am situated. I never tht%lit that I,should add to your sorrow. Dear mother, I call you by tfiflt h&thhi for you have been to me as one, and I may say I- to you as â soil. I *««ived a kind and welcome letter from Mr. Hazembetb, and waa gliia to hear that my Cossey friends showed so much sympathy towards me. It is a great crime that I have committed, and I feel that Almighty God will forgive me, and then I hope to join them thit'a gone before me. Dear mother, it grieves me very miicli t5 tHinS tJ&tiNy dear children will be left fatherless and motherless, but tHer*?s O'ne #Vct*e frliPft has promised to be a Father to the fatherless. Since I have been here I have been tiëiltëd tfith greatest kindness, and I am visited daily by the chaplain, from whom I feel great comfort. I have but a few hours lo# £ er to live on this earth, and they will be taken up with reading and prayer. Dear Polly is quite well, and I will leave ycrtt to Judge a patent's care; I have seen her several tidies; cut my dear child docs not know tbiit I arh condemned to die. i hate had a great number of frifehSIs tiiio hafe trifed to sate me from this end, and have failed but, think God, 1 fefel cjuit^ prepared to meet it. Dear mother, I conclude with my kindest liJv^totoll and my dear daughter. May the blessing of God Almighty be upon you now and for ever. No more from your unfortu- nate son, SAMUEL WRIGHT. Good-bye. Jan. 11, 1864. Dear Mother,—I feel as if I must write a few lines before t leate thl8,w«?ld, as Almighty God has given me strength so to do. Dear motiier, tthrotigh t sis preaent here under a heavy crime, I feel as if the Almighty God hits frfiely forgiven me, after all my sins. And what a blessing that is to thiiik that your dear son feels so glorified-that he dies in peace with God; where I hope to meet them that are dear to us. I leave one with you, my dear child, in re- membrance of me, and may the Almighty God give you health and strength to bring her up in the ways of the Lord. Dear riother, I feel as if I cannot last but a few hours longer, and now I agaiit take farewell of father, mother, sisters, and 'crother, and wishing theblsssirg of God Almighty may be upon you, now and for ever,tAmen. Father's blessing and kiss for his child. SAMUEL WRIGHT.

A STRANGE DEATH. dnMph&iy fe'Senitogan inquest was held atSneinton, jfottingham,' before Mr. bor'Mtt Pwfinn,, on the body of a married woman named Mary Anii BiHicii; #fecs<? death was caused bya blow from a drunken man on the tiHiviotts Saturday night. Elizabeth tiartbh statfed that the deceased was the wife of her husband's brother, ana T7fl3 Sbottt 21 years of age. Last Saturday higHt SiitnbsS weiit out with her to look for her,husband.They wfetfe tossing, the toimty Tavern, on.Wft High JA^omelit, went by. Y{bile gassing hfe gaH flebeiisfed O Jji the side with his felbow, which Wirt net vfef> iihidn. She called the man who striibk hfer d drunken brute" and tbld, hiih "to riiind .what he was doing." The 'man then turned roiind and ttsed Soflie tery bad language: threatening ■frhflt lib -rt'oiild dtt tb her. She did not know the man, but said he appeared to. bo about thirty years of age. He then went away. When they had got a few yards further deceased said, "Oh, what a pain I've got in my side Witness asked her if she thought the paiil wis caused by the man's blow, and she replied in the affirmative. Pecbftaea could not walk home, and was Ultimately bartied thei-fe by IIBr hii'bafidi whom they met on the Way. She was put to bed, and medical assiituflcs was e at once procured. All efforts to rally her were useless, and she gradually sank, and died at six o'clock on Sunday night. The medical evidence went to prove that the blow had caused a rupture, and. she had died from the effects of it. Diana vjtriiejr flftltl Wfta the deceased's mother. Witiiesa Cable from Leicestershire oii Friday last to attend the funeral of her brother-in-law. The funeral took place on Sunday afternoon, and she returned to her daughter's at 6 o'clock. She went upstairs to at- tend her, and as she got into the room deceased gave a heavy sigh and then expired. This was the whole of the evidence, and, the cofoner having summed up, the jury tfettirhed a Verdibt df Manslaughter against sijihe person Unknown.

OUR CGVMM IN SCHLESWIG- HOLSTLLLF; We English, of all peoples in the world, t; feel interested in our ccmsins of Schleswig-Holstein tsarfs a correspondent). We and they are of one and the same blood and descent. Our and their forefathers lived io these Duchies, They are the home of the Anglo- Saxon: faCS. The language even now spoken presents notoriously more points 5f identity with English than any other German: dMect,- aftcf.the people themselves, after 1,500 yeats of distinct history, still preserve the characteristics of the corfitfloW falcc. The people ate hardy and industrious, ùivided in tbeit ptttsiiits between agriculture and thfe sea. The country was originally a sterile waste', half marsh and half sandy tracts, rising here and there in gentle acclivities. There were but fewjtrees, chiefly flf and birch, when our forefathers first entered these regions. The sea and rivers frequently inundated wide tracts of land, and the country in general was about as uninviting a spot for colonists as could well be conceived. The steady, patient industry of the race hits turned this unpromising field into a garden. The sea and rivers have been banked out with dykes, the marshes drained, forests planted, and the soil brought into the highest state of cultivation, so that Holstein has long been fatnofls for its cattle, which are every day exported for the London and othsr foreign markets. The breed of horses here, too, is very fine, and the population general!? are fond of riding. Even the 1 women are expert in a roiigh Mnd of horsewomanship, and on market days the small peasant proprietor may be seen trotting to and from heme along the country ftatd on his old mare, with his wife occupying » seat behind him on the same animal's baek. Peasant proprietors are, I believe, a decreasing class—almost raire cLVes— in England. Here, accord- ing to good old Anglo-Saxon castoir, they abound, and have not yet been crushed out, that their little freeholds might expand the overgrown estates of the aristocracy. In Hamburg, too, an Englishman feels at home it is as busy, grimy, and rich as any English seaport or manufacturing town.

SOMETHING LIKE A -PHILAN- THROPIST! The success which has attended M. Auguste Guvard's benevolent efforts eclipse any of the numerous miracles of late recounted writes a corres- numero Paris'* The means at M. Guyaras disposal when attempting to convert a filthy hamlet into a model commune, were sanely faith and Ion nc IvSnte for this reformer is the iVu niL Public of unhappy memory. -Believing tnat .wffv should begin at home, he no sooner found him- self shut out from political life than he undertook to remodel the village of Frotey-les-Vesoul, of which he iS The transformation which he has there effecte«l wah by means oU sailed'^ between two and six years 01a, a liDrary w of the schools and children ot the commune, to ™h he attached a little museum of art, nath^tory and mechanical appliances a commanan br^y wi b a laboratory and observatory annexed to it, as wui a powerful microscope a ilecture-room, in which courses of lectures are given on literary, scientific, and social questions to adults of both sexes on week- day and Sunday evenings; special prizes given to the children who attend the communal schools and the adults who attend' the public lectures; a medical staff, donating of a doctor, two nurse-tenders, anapothecary, and1 a dispensary; a veterinary staff; two goeteies dt; &ei<MrS miltuels, and an insurance society; a professional school, Mld' a modern Sarin; an academy of morals, of fine arts, oi agriculture, and practical art. This waa a, gigantic work for a single individual to undertake, Tet M. Guyard has founded all these institutions, andl organlsdfl'them so well, thaS they are likely to work, as the saylng'i^ touts seuls. Moreover, tn;? apostle of the nineteenth century undertakes to cause' his commune to be planted with fruit trees which will no* be injurious to the pastures there—such, for instance, as the walnut, the cherry, and the apple-tree—and to enclose the properties into which it is divided by hedges composed of damson- trees, the gooseberry and raspberry bushes, and the. cpint-tiii'ctle. I fear to strain the believing faculty of your reafcfefs by telling about the projected public bakehouse and washhouse, and storehouse, and the. tribunal of prwthommes who are to supersede lawyers it the model village 5 or the loan fund, or the covered footp^l&s,' or the concerts and public gardens, that call to niNri the Phalanstery of which Fourrier dreamed. T Having never visited Frotey-les-Vesoul, 1 cannot say precisely how far M. GûYMd has been able to carry out his but I have met with some persona who made a piigtf*«age there, and leturned delighted.

BLACK AND WHITE. One William Still, in a letter to the Philadelphia Press;, dated the 11th ult., writes as follows:- I had occasion to-day to come into Philadelphia, from Germantown, and entered one of the city passen- ger cars for that purpose. Quickly the conductor- approached me, and I tendered him the fare, but- before he took time to hand me the change that was due to me, he invited me "to step out on the platform." Why is this ? I remarked. It is against the rules," he added. "Who objects?" I inquired. It is the aristocracy," he again added. Well, it is a cruel rule and I believe this is the: only city of note in the civilised world where a decent coloured man cannot be allowed to ride in a city pas- senger car. I told him that I paid taxes, &c., but, ofi course, it was all of no avaiL Riding on the platfwam on a bitter cold day like this, I need not say, is almesfc; intolerable, but to compel persons to pay the same as those who enjoy comfortable seats inside by a good fire seems quite atrocious. Yet I felt, under the circumstances, compelled to submit to the wrong for the sake of arriving at my place of business in due time. But before I arrived at my destination it began to snow, which, as I was already thoroughly chilled with the cold, made the platform utterly intolerable hence I concluded to walk the rest of the- distance, and accordingly got off,« feeling satisfied that nowhere in Christendom could be found a. better illustration of Judge Taney's decision in the Dred Scott case, in which he declared that black men have no rights which white men are bound to respect," than are demonstrated by the rules" of the passenger cars of the City of Brotherly Love. A vener- able old minister of the Gospel, in going from here to his; home at Frankford, one dark, cold, and rainy night last, winter, while occupyinjg the only place on the platform assigned for colours! people, was killed. Who has forgot- ten this fact ? One evening, in going home from a lecture, two elegantly-dressed young women stepped into a car, and took seats. The conductor courageously brouat the rules forward, and one of them instantly stepped out, while the other remained. The car was stopped, and the conductor seized her, and actually, by physical' force, thrust her out of the car. The father of this. young woman pays several hundred dollars taxes an- nually keeps his horse and carriage, and lives as nicely as most respectable citizens. But the God-givem hue of the skin of his daughter rendered her obnoxious; to the rules of the railway company, and she had to. submit to the outrage.

SEPTENNIAL AVERAGES.-Mr. Willich writes as follows to the Times Asmanv of your readers may feel anxious to Wowine resultofthe corn averages for the seven years to Cbnstmas 1863 published by authority in the London Q** 2 11ici evening, namely, wheat 6s. 3id., barley 4s. imperii bushel, I beg to state, for their formation, ihat each 100!. of tithe-rent charge will, for theyearly 1,ount to 103!. 3s. 10 Jd., or about 4 per cent, lew than iw* year's value,

"Controii Comspmibeitf. I fVi'v dwn» it right to 'lite that we do not at all times indentifr owsfciwaa with oar correspondent's opinions.] There is no other country in the world where the I opening of Parliament is looked forward to with such cuabiccd anxiety and pleasure as England. Parlia- ment, as a body, doubtless has many faults and anomalies. I do not believe that—to use a Carlj^ean phrase—it is a sham, a windbag, an unvera^fy but I believe it contains many contrary and opposing ekinents, many anomalies and antiquated absurdities I bat in these very respects, as in o:hers, it fairly i eprcsenta public opinion. We, too--the great public—are afflicted by many anomalies and wrongs, rocial and national. The fact is, that the Parliament is what the people ara as a whole. If tirere are net men of all classes in it—and I do not think there oighi to be, or rather I do Rot think there can be—all clasps are represented. Here the poorest and meanest of her Majesty's subjects-for instance, the 'fxvuper in the Union—has his defenders, and the richest and mightiest have their assailants. Our legislature, in fact, is Great Britain in miniature. N\> wonder, therefore, that such an assembly, the fountain of our laws, is. looked forward to with interest. We shall not now have long to wait,for its feathering. Already the official note of preparation lias been sounded, and the Government Gazette informs us that it is to meet on Thursday, the 4th of "February next, for the dispatch of divers urgent and important affairs. There will be no other proroga- tion, and the 4th will be the opening day. I can learn nothing at all reliable as to the probability of her Majesty opening the Houses in person. The only things that are in favour of such a result are *hr,t the public generally earnestly desire it, which the Queen must know; and that the two years of Court mourning being over, there is no official etiquette to prevent such a desirable result. On the other hand, her Majesty keeps so secluded, even now that the two yeara have expired, that there is not much ground for hoping that the opening ceremony will be 11 Ly otherwise than by Royal commission. I think the coming session is likely to be a very busy one. Many very important foreign topics will necessarily engage the attention of Parliament, and there are already standing on the books of the House of Commons-the rcmanct of last session-no less than 46 notices of motion. Why, here is half a session's work cut out already and we all know how rapidly work begins to pour in when the Commons fairly get into harness. There have been many elections during the recess, but the state of parties does not much differ now from what it was last year. In 1863 there were 312 Con- servatives, now there are 314. In 1863 there were 11 Peelites, now there are 13. In 1863 there were 238 Whigs, now there are 233. In 1863 there were 95 Radicals, now there are 96. This estimate is the result of very careful analysis, but I confess I do not place much reliance on it, inasmuch as divisions in the Commons show such curious anomalies. I do not believe that any set of men, whether they number 95 or 238, can be counted on to vote this or that way. It never turns out so, as the division list will show during any session. Whatever the state of parties may be, however, on the meeting of the Houses, it is probable that all boundaries will speedily be levelled by a general dissolution, and politicians will have to do their reckoning all oyer again. We must be a thoroughly royalty-loving people, for everything connected with the Royal Family excites immediate and intense interest in the public mind. Nothing has been read with such general and pervading interest as the brief announcement of the accouche- ment of the Princess of Wales. Everybody is delighted, and rejoices in the fact that mother and child are doing well. Round our cheery fires these cold nights you could not get any one to take the slightest interest in the Schleswig-Holstein question, even though war may at any moment arise out of it; but everybody talks with pleasure about the last bulletin, which completely knocks on the head even the last telegram of Mr. Reuter. Whatever Lord Palmerston may be in other respects -and, on the whole, he is perhaps as popular a man as has been at the head of affairs during the memory of any one living—he is certainly very fortunate in the matter of ecclesiastical patronage. Archiepiscopal and episcopal mitres have been falling at his feet, and all sorts of posts and preferments have come to him to dispense. Another bishopric now comes to his lot —that of Ely. Besides this, there are two deaneries 4 vacant-those of Cork and St. Patrick; two arch- deaconries—those of Dublin and Carmarthen and we all know that there have been lately many rich ecclesi- a.stical appointments in his gift. It is quite true that all ecclesiastical preferments are not in the gift of the Prime Minister—far from it; but it is well known, neverthe- less, that the Prime Minister of the day has always .onsi'Lrable indirect power in these matters. There 13 such a principle in political action as claw me, claw thee," and it is very natural to take advantage of it. On the whole, the ecclesiastical appointments Lord Palmerston have been popular, and I firmly believe that he sincerely desires to do in this respect what he considers best for the Church at large. There is very great distress now in London, and although the severity of the weather has considerably modified, and consequently distress has much decreased, still there is plenty of cold and hunger, nakedness and want. What a cheering fact, therefore, it is, that the benevolent institutions and kind-hearted individuals are doing all in their power to alleviate the misery around them! The lists of contributions which you may see any day in the Times does the heart good. The age of chivalry may have departed, but the age of charity has not gone. There are still as much benevolence and true charity amongst us as ever. J speak more particularly of my own little village, London, and I wish to add to my remarks an urgent appeal to any whom it may concern, that we may have more policemen. The two subjects are intimately connected in this way: London is disgracefully de- ficient in its police ferce robberies and street outrages, these dark nights, are painfully numerous; and all this while there are thousands of men unemployed- dock labourers especially, though they are but one dass-who, with a little training, would make very fair average policemen. Apropos of the police, just let me add a fact and a recommendation. The fact is, that the City police have just had added to their new uniforms those very comfortable and even necessary appendages, leggings. The recommendation is that policemen should be allowed to grow beards. For men who are exposed to all weathers, day and night, the boo is the natural protection, which only a stupid martinet policy would forbid. Have you ever noticed how, of late, there has sprung up a system of ecclesiastical puffery which, in my humble judgment, is very much out of place ? I do not think it right that we should be told, amongst theatrical and entertainment advertisements, that "the services at the Foundling Chapel commence," kc., when we know full well that there is a collection strictly exacted at the said Foundling, and that if a gentleman takes his wife and offers sixpence, he will be told that "sixpence is not usually considered enough for two persons." Nor do I consider it seemly that there should appear every now and then such an advertisement as this St. Paul's, Charlotte-street, Buckingham-gate, Pimlico.-Sundays, 11, 3..30, 7; daily evensong, 8. All services choral. Seats free to all. Offerings for clergy and service expenses re- <(u cated at each attendance in lieu of pew-rents." When I read such notices as this, evidently put forward to attract visitors, and consequently money, I half cxpect-at least, it is only another step-to see added, "No half-price. Children in arm3 not admitted. "Vivat liegina." Do not let me be accused of ridi- culing sacred things. Ce n'est pas mon metier, it is a natural deduction. The friends of the total abolition of capital punish- ment could desire no better argument in their favour than a recapitulation of the criminal history of the last assizes. The anomalies of pardon and hanging, reprieve and perpetual imprisonment, have been so great, that I have not been at all surprised to hear some of the most staunch supporters of capital punish- ment say that they think the juries, judges, and Home Secretary have of late created so many anomalies between them, that it would be far better that in future the severest penalty for any crime should be perpetual incarceration. Certainly a more dreadful punishment is not easily to be conceived. The case of the wretched man Wright will not soon fade from the public mind. Never were there more efforts made to rescue a man from the scaffold. Public meeting of two or three thousand people, successive deputations to the Home Office and to the Queen, and the press raising its voice in the same direction — everything tended to the hope that Wright would be reprieved; but his execution is now one of the blood-stained episodes in our criminal annals; and whenever his dreadful story is told, it will be connected with that of Townley, while "one hw for the rich and another for the poor "-whetber rightly or wrongly--now pervades the public mind.

A STAR IN THE ICE,-The London" Star" and New York '"Herald," in an article which describes all England as in mourning because the Home Secre- t-iry has not reversed another verdict by a jury, says that Townley has "escaped Scot free." We do not know what is considered freedom in Scotland, but in v this country the being imprisoned in a lunatic asylum f >r life, with the alternative of coming out to be li.mged, is as mild an allowance of freedom as even JtTr. Lincoln wnnM inflict on a Confederate. This gushing provincial r and Herald should be a little fwre truthful,- |

WELCOME, LITTLE PRINCELY STRANGER! Long before t&ts paper shall reach our, reader, tha newa of the accouchement of the Princess of Wales on the Sth inst. will have travelled to the extreme end of the kingdom nevertheless, the following seasonable v^rdVon the subject from the leading Journal will fee With interest:— The announcement that the Princess of Wales has been safely delivered of a fine boy, and that both mother and child are going on perfectly well, will be received throughout the country with the gr^at^s* delight. No news is ever so welcome among al* Classes of the people as that of the happi^e^S and prosperity of the Royal Family. He!' Majesty centres the affec- tion and sympathy 'C? her people in herself and her children so e^t*rely, that every joy and every grief that aftectc t'xi'eni brighttns or saddens the hearts at each fireside in the kingdom. In this ense the spontaneous feeling of loyal satisfaction is enhanced by the univ-:r\ goodwill which the Prince and Prinoeso of Wales have won. Like all the members of He* Ivlajesty's family, they are regarded, if we rr.a'y be allowed the expression, with that persoeei Regard which adds the keen sense of a private 'pleasure to the enthusiasm of a public delight. We have mixed ourselves up with their happiness from the moment their marriage was first spoken of. We have followed them with all o'ir r.ofc- gratulations, sympathies, and hopes; and it will be felt as the completion of a most cherished wish that the happiness of their marriage has been perfected by the birth of an heir, EXGLAND F&EE FROM DYNASTfC r^i'iBLES. For the moment this loyftl congratulation will be the first feeling in the hje&l't of every Eng ishman, but the impulse will be Supported by the solid reflection of the addition ttiade b, this happy event to the stability of the Royal succession. Her Majesty, indeed, ia happy in a numerous and healthy family, a-iri li'ct dynasty seems to all human anticipation established beyond all the usual chances of mortality. We are happily. free, too, in England from the dynastic trou- bles which seem now en the verge of plunging Europe into war, and have been one source of the distraction of our immediate neighbours. But it is impossible to be too secure. The mere mention of the confu-ion which disputed successions still produce on the Con- tinent is sufficient to make us thankful for any addi- tional pledge of the permanence of our Royal Mcus'e and the existence of two heirs to the Throne in a direct line is a visible earnest of stability which will be as welcome to the nation as to the Royal Family itself. ENGLAND HAS MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR Providence seems, indeed, while permitting confu- sion and gloom to settle on almost every other country in the world, to have chosen to shower upon us every blessing that a people can receive. In whatever di- rection we look, we find nothing but subjects for gra- titude, and the only shadows of gloom or anxiety on our prospect are cast by the quarrels and confusion of others. A firm and equal administration cf the law, a freedom unknown in any county either of ancient or modern times, a. security for life and pro- perty which appears incompatible with any other form of government, and Unparalleled public and private wealth, are established and adorned by a Throne which rests as deeply in the heart of the nation as it is rooted in its constitution. The passions of national antagonism or political enmity which spread misery and bloodshed over the Old and New Worlds are checked at the narrow channel and the broad sea which separate us from Europe and America; and we present a nearer approach to those happy isles which the ancients imagined in the Western sea than any one but a poet would have anticipated a century ago. Even the evils we dreaded most are softened to us. What threatened to be an inevitable famine to thren millions of our population is converted into an additional evidence and means of prosperity; and now we are gladdened with a new gleam of happiness on the brightest feature in our prospect. ENGLAND'S NEW YEAR'S GIFT This auspicious event comes at a happy time- to double the usual rejoicings cf the season, and to scatter for the time the gloom which the troubles of other nations have been casting over our horizon. The Princess of Wales has presented the country with a New Year's gift, all the more welcome because it ful- fils the promise of the Old Year and holds out the brightest prospect for the future. The Christmas and New Year's rejoicings will be renewed with a heartier enthusiasm, and the nation will banish the gloomy forebodings of the last few days in unrestrained delight and universal congratulation. We have all been settled down into a temper of anxious resolution, watching with care and dread the threatening signs of the times, determined, if possible, to keep our- selves free from the quarrels and wars which surround us, but yet with a painful expectation that we shall, somehow or other, sooner or later share them. But this event suddenly breaks on our view with an aspect of hope and promise. It reminds us that we are a united and prosperous nation; that if the New Year has difficulties and dangers in store for us, it has its supports and encouragements as well and as we are made conscious how firmly the whole nation is bound together to the Throne, and beats with one pulse of mutual trust and sympathy at the happiness of the Sover^'m as at the sufferings of the poor, we ft-el that v<«: strong enough to meet anyBhock that the ordinary destiny of nations may bring. A HOPE! And now that we have run the round of all other congratulations, we must recur to the first feeling of sympathy with the Throne, and utter the hope that the charm of a new life may wean the Queen from the sadness of the past, and dissipate the sorrow of the last two years.

MAY HEAVEN BEFRIEND IT! The little infant of the Prince and Princess of Wales that has just breathed the breath of 'ife, besides being heir to the mightiest empire in the world, is the one only link in blood between two fierce antagonisms now threatening to rend Europe in twain, and deluge it with blood, for no one can say how many years (says a co' tempo- rary). English, Dane, Saxon, and Hanoverian, Scan- dinavian and German, the blood that scarcely beats in its veins, is near akin to that of many co-itetiding sovereigns. Helpless and motionless, it represents a rapid course of events, which seems to have seized Europe, and even this quiet isle, as if a comet bad suddenly added its momentum to our earth, and com- pelled a diversion. Within nine short months two I deaths have placed ita grandsire on a disputed throne, and called into activity an endless question of dynas- ties, constitutions, and races. Though it reposes in a charmed circle of pacific hopes and kind wishes, yet there rages out of doors, round its cradle, an all but fra- tricidal war. Several time?, indeed, in the course of our history, the cable by which we hold on our ancient anchorage has been strangely twisted with strands of sorrow and strife. It is through the son of the wan- dering Princess Elizabeth, and the son of the unfortu- nate Mary, that we trace to the Conqueror. Happily, in the immediate prospects of the Royal babe just added to our line there is nc dark cloud, no fatal ques- tion of succession or religion. It is born to a lofty state and an undisputed rule. So Nature, so Heaven befriend it, a generation yet unborn will look to it with loyal hope, another generation with loyal love and trust, and at length, another with loyal and grate- ful recollections.

To make the above perfect we must attach some account of the events which preceded the birth of the young Prince, as under Friday was a grand day on the ice at Virginia Water-His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales left Frogmore Lodge at a quarter past eleven o'clock in the forenoon, in an open carriage and pair, with several gentlemen of his suite, and arrived at Virginia Water shortly before twelve o'clock. Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales followed in a close carriage, accompanied by her ladies in attendance. Their Royal Highnesses immediately proceeded to the lake, where they were met on the ice by about forty ladies and gentlemen, many of the gentlemen belong- ing to the London Skating Club. Two sides were chosen for the game of hockey. Those on the Prince's side were distinguished by a mg white riband on the left arm. The game was kept up with great animation until 2 o'clock, when the Prin ce and his companions repaired to the Fishing Temp Ie, where they partook of a sumptuous luncheon. After- wards they returned to the lake and resumed the game of hockey, which they kept up until a quarter to 5 o'clock, when the Prince left for Frogmore. His Royal Highness proved himself a first-rate skater and player, being as active with his hockey stick as he was on his skates, and puzzling many of the most expert players. Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales, who is an excellent skater, seemed much interested in the gaine, and was occasionally driven about in a sledge, The Princess left Virginia Water at 4 o'clock. Besides the Royal visitors and suite, there were up- wards of 500 people present, including a large number of ladies, who displayed much skill and grace in the performance of several difficult figures. This exciting scene was much enlivened by the performances of the band of the Royal Hor. e Guards (Blue), who were comfortably seated round a large charcoal fire on the banks of the lake, near to the Fishing Temple.

THE QUESN'S ARRIVAL. Telegraphic messages were at once despatched to the Queen atOsborne, the Ministers of State, and the daily newspapers, while the bells were rung and the whole borough of Windsor thrown into a state of pleasant excitement. About 1 o'clock on Saturday Her Majesty the Queen, acting upon her strong maternal feelings, with their Royal Highnesses Princess Helena and Beatrice, at- tended by Colonel T. M. Biddulph, Colonel the Hon. C. B. Phipps, Lady Churchill, and the Hon. Mrs. Bruce, arrived at the Windsor terminus of the Great Western Railway, having left Osborne at 20 minutes past 9 in the morning. The Royal party travelled in a special train from Gosport by the South West; rn Railway to Basingstoke, and thence to Windsor, which was reached at 12.55, by the Great Western Railway. Here a large crowd of the principal inhabitants of the town, including the mayor and other officials, was assembled on the platform, while the Prince of Wales drove from Frogmore, and waited at the station to receive his Royal mother. As the train entered the terminus Her Majesty was received with the most enthusiastic cheering, and the scene was quite an ova- tion. His Royal Highness, when the train paused, entered the State saloon and affectionately embraced his Royal parent. On alighting from the train, the Royal party was received by Mr. Grierson, Mr. Kelley, and Mr. Matthews, of the Great Western Railway, and conducted to one of the Royal carriages, which was in readiness outside the Queen's private entrance, and into which Her Majesty and the Prince of Wales entered, and immediately drove through the town to Frogmore House on a visit to the Princess of Wales, the Princesses and suite leaving the station at the same time. It was observed that Her Majesty on entering the carriage was much affected by the kind and loyal re- ception she had just met with from those around her indeed, so much so, that, after having taken her seat in the carriage, she bowed her head, and was almost affected to tears; while the Prirce, though conversing with her, could hardly draw her attention, so much was she overcome by her feelings and the excitement of the event. Her Majesty was still in mourning, though the Princesses wore only half-mourning, their bonnet. trimnied with blue, The Queen re- _W" mained with the Princess of Wales at Frogmore the whole afternoon, till a late hour ih the evening, and afterwards returned to the Castle. Earl Gr&millb, the Lord President of the Privy 'Council, arrived most opportunely at Frogmore on Friday afterroon on a visit to the Prince of Wal- s, and was thus present at the birth of the Prince. His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales f- much pleased a* the addition to hiff family, while the town and neighbourhood ill aay were in a state of joyous exciter-nl. T:1P. precincts of the Cattle and the railway stations exhibited scenes of unusual bustle through the sudden advent of the Queen, which called forth all the ener- gies of the various Royal purveyor. who thus, without any notice or preparation, were called upoil ttJ,sUp*}]y the immediate wants of the i Aiiiify, curie, and household at th^O^tl'-v r.omestics and members of whir;t. 'C!) continually arriving.

THE INTENDED ASSASSINATION OF THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON The discovery of the conspiracy against the Emperors lif6 (writes the Times Paris correspondent) has fill'ed with, conster- nation every cne sfto h'e&rdlt. The afort&i of this plot "Mi- trts to have b'e'en executed, wit^ circ'iiiisiances of ex- traordinary Atrocity, are founa. It was at first said thae one 6f the party was a Eelglah, and then a Pole. The cir- cumstance til a ^o!e who was employed on the Northern riilrc ad having been arrested in consequence of the last &t £ l accident on that line led to the mistake. The following are the particulars It would now appear that the four are Italians; their names are Greco, Imperatori, Trabuco, and Saglio, otherwise called Marpholi, Tb'jy W2T:; ?Kt3tcd in the afternoon of Sutiday Izst. When they were examined befo^ .the Jtt.e d'instruction, Greco, who, it W.is&'t the head of the band, unhesitatingly, with audacious frankness, avowed his crime, affected to glory in having been employed to execute it:, and regretted that he had not succeeded. If the disclosures made by this man are to be trusted, it would appear that towards th° 2nd of September, or beginning of October last, he and his. threb accomplices weie summoned to Lugtihd by Mazzini, with whom they had been for some time in correspondence. It w;ls then and there arranged that they should proceed to Paris to assassinate the Eriiperor. Mazzini give them fbur shells which he had received or brought from England; four shells of a similar description which lie had caused to be made at Genoa; four revolvers and four poniards-, On leaving Lugano Mazzini gave him 4,000f. t, tellihg him he was going to London to the result of the at- tempt, and would then send him more money. He at the same time left him the address of a person through whom he was to write, in case he wanted mcrt funds. The address-, in Mazzini's handwritings was found on Greco's person. Amtlng other papers was a copy of instructions from Mazzini written in cipher, aftd oontabling certain signs which he was to send him on the eve of the day the crime was to be attempted. Mazzini also gave him two photographic portraits of himself, with his name at the bottom written in his own hand. Those papers were found ia (Jrtettrt's trousers, between the lining and thb cloth. There was also found in Greco's pocket-book a letter addressed by ftnperatori to Maitzini, statingthat, having heard of a plot for the murder of the Emperor, he claimed to be one of the party. Greco admitted that this letter had been handed to him at Lugano by Mazzini. [In justice to M. Martini, we think the evidence of his having arranged the above plot should be further confirmed before our readers place any con- fidence in the exparte evidence of such men.l It was on Christmas-day that the men bent on this mission of blood arrived in Paris. It was at first said that they had come direct from London to Franc1?; but it appears from the depositions tjat they entered the French territory from uMteerland, and with passports perfectly fc regie, without a single flaw, which had fa'Ceh given them by the Swiss authorities. had two shells uncharged on his person. From the day of their arrival to that of their arrest they changed their lodging more than once in order to throw the police, whom they seemed to knö\V were on the watch for them, off th« scent. They did hot all live together, but met In the daytime to ftonceH the means of carrying out their object. Greco, who appeared to be as Aft approver as he had been a mustittathy-, rblated to the judges every movement-, every particular of himself and his accom- plices since their coming to Paris. They had made a careful inspection of the approaches to the Opera in the Rue Lepelletier, and of those of the other theatres which the Emperor was in the habit of visiting. They had closely examined every place which gava access to the Palace of the Tuilefies; g&d tepea&e'dl^ visited the Bois de Bottlogns tvh'sn the Eihjieror went to skate. Their plan was^ tMA Whenever or whenever the opportunity presented itse'f they were to throw t-heif shells (said to be more destructive than those of Orsini) under his horse's feet, and at once rush on him and his attendants with their revolvers and poniards. Greco added, that the poniards which he had received from Mazzini were poisoned, and it seems, on examination, that the points end blades lu-, of a peculiar colour, as if they had befeia lobjr sVeep'ed iii some liquid. The conspiratoirt, wkb declare that they were in con- stant c'CWtespotidence with Mazzini, resolved to effect t'Veif purpose 011 Monday or Tuesday last at the Bois de Boulogne. On the previous Saturday the shells were loaded and everything prepared. They were, however, out of money, spent the 4,000f. Mazzini had given them in uctotwr-r Their way of life contrasted strangely with the secret object on which they Were, bent. I'hSy had been constantly tracked by the police, ahd, from their frequent changes of dothicile, seemed to be perfectly awaJre of it;, yet they acted as if they wished to give every facility to those who were so vigilantly Watching them. They denied themselves no pleasure; they lived joyously, and a dinner for the four cost over 200f. They contemplated escaping from Paris after the perpetration of their crime but, as they had spent their money in orgies of every kih'd, they wrot« to Mazzini, who is now ih London, foj- moHs. The Emperor had been kept acfliiaiht'ed With what was going on, but it dirl hot prevent him from going out as UFU-al, and the police, knowing that Monday or Tiyssday was fixed for the attempt, made all sure by arresting the conspirators on Sunday evening. The money they had written for did L, ot arrive the day they expected but I hear that a letter containing an order -some say for 500f., others for 4,000f,—AtlaVessed to one of them was intercepted on Saturday at the post-office. Had the funds arrined before Sunday, they would, they said, have at once proceeded t'è action. Such in substance in the Confession of Greco, and it is in all respects corroborated by hi* accomplices. The only one who has shown compunction for tyie crime in which he was to have a share, is Saglio, alias Marpholi, a young man of two or three-and-twenty, and he declares that wheu matters came to the point he would have refused to act. Imperatori and Trabuco describe tjiem^fel^'es as formerly belonging to tbe band ttf Garibaldi, and as having taken part in the aifair of Aspromonte when he was wounded; and both wore the Marsala medal. Trabuco, who had passed under another name, is said to have been tried and convicted in France for swindling, and in London for theft. Greco, the head of the party, was in a state of great excitement during his examination by the Juge d'lnstruction. He blasphemed, foamed at the mouth, cursed himself flr having failed, and declared that there Were others bound like himself by oath to Complete the crime. The shells found at the house where they lodged are I about the same size as the Orsini ones, but somewhat differently ehaped. Orsini's were in form like a pear; these are perfectly oval, and very thick, and, instead of being charged with fulminating powder, were filled with ordinary powder. The conspirators are now lodged in the prison of Mazas; their preliminary ex- amination is not yet quite ended, and it is believed they will make further disclosures. Trabuco was seized at the door of his house on Sunday aftemoob, Imperatori almost at the same moment while pre- paring to go out, and Greco and the other in another house in the Rue St. Honore.

WHY SIR GEORGE GREY RESPITED TOWNLEY. Sir George Grey has lost no time in replying to the' remonstrance addressed to him by the magistrates of the county of Derby in the case of Townley, and his letter, containing a full account of the grounds upon which he acted has been published. Our limits precludes us from giving it in full; but it is sufficient to say that this document places the respite of Town- ley in a very different light from that which has given rise to so much popular dissatisfaction, while at the same time it reveals a point of far more serious and startling character than any hitherto noticed in refer- ence to the case. In the first place, this feeling of dis- satisfaction has arisen for the most part under the impression that the respite of the prisoner has been granted by Sir George Grey in the exercise of his dis- cretion. The public will, therefore, be startled to hear that he does not appear to have had any discre- tion at all in the matter. Neither the suggestion of the judge nor the consequent examination of the pri- soner by the Lunacy Commissioners has had anything to do with the matter. Sir George Grey has not had even to form a judgment upon the merits of the case. T. iL-i. I „i. -I: T» 1 x 1 ■».v appeals i/uob uy AIJ, ui i i:U,1.UULtCUII, jJč;W58ea In 1840, it is enacted that whenever any person confined in any prison under seliteDce of transportation, im- prisonment, or death, shall be declared insane by two physicians or surgeons and two justices of the peace for the place wherein the prison is situate, it shall be- come the duty of the Secretary of State to send him to an asylum. The precise words, indeed, of the act are it shall be lawful," but it is well known that this is a regular legal term, implying an obligation, and not a permission. In the case of this particular act there appears, at all events, to be no doubt that this is their meaning, and Sir George Grey is strictly ac- curate in saying that "this is the construction which has been uniformly placed upon the section in ques- tion. Now, as the public are aware, a certificate in the form required by the act was duly executed, and placed in the hands of Sir George Grey. Upon the receipt of that certificate, therefore, the whole question of Townley's fate was at once settled, independently of any other considerations whatever. The matter was taken out of the hands not only of the judge and jury, but of Her Majesty and the Home Secretary, and there was nothing left to the authorities but to obey a plain direction in a recent act of Parliament, and to order Townley's removal to a lunatic asylum. Sir George Grey concludes his letter as follows:— There is one other passage in the letter from the magis- trates to which Sir George Grey thinks it right to refer. They say that the effect of the respite of Townley and of his removal to a lunatic asylum has been to catlse much.dis- satisfaction and to create a feeling, greatly to be lamented that there is one law for the rich and another for the poor that justice has been turned aside by the power of money and that if Townley and his friends had been poor, he would have been executed." The magistrates may possess infor- mation as to the expenditure of money by Townley's friends of which the Secretary of State has no knowledge nor is he aware of the manner in which the magistrates believe such money to have been expended. But the most satisfactory proof which can be given that the course taken with regard to Townley is one which it required no expenditure of money to obtain, and which would have been equally taken "had Townley and his friends been poor, is a reference to a similar case which occurred at -the Spring Assizes held at .VeH:ca.stie-on-Tyue, in 1862, when man named Clark, himself a poor man, and with v who were not also poor, and in whose defer'" a even wag retained, was convicted of irlenda ,o no counsel ,>4&! mvwfcc raio, sentenced to death. In that case, as in the case of Townley, the learned judge before wb )m dark was tried, in reporting the case to the Secretary of State, expressed his opinion that the verdict was right, .but called the' attention of the ■Secretary, of State to the evidence a3 toithe unsound state of mind of the prisoner at the time of the tnfl, as having, to use his own words, "so intensely important a bearing upon tile question whether he ought to be executed." In consequence of this representation from the judge, an in- quiry as to the sanity of the prisoner was directed by the Secretary of State, and the result in that case, as in the present, was his'removal to a lunatic asylum. Sir George Grey trusts that this statement will tend to re- move the impression which the magistrates say exists, and which they appear to have shared, that a similar course, under similar circumstances, would npt be, adopted.in .the case of a.p^pr jpar\$$the,,pa.cIcif. diipi.wncse fr'ends Kr.d the rtf*§r # e^pendin- mbney iii his beiiaii'.

The following is a. copy of a letter addrpssed to Sir George Grey by Mr. Cox, the magistrate of the county of Derby, who signed the certificate of insanity in the case of George Victor Townley:- Sir,—We the undersigned justices of the peace for the county and borough of Derby, and medical men of Derby, who signed and forwarde.d.to you two pertiflcates. a,s,to thp insanity pft<?t*>vge tTiot«? towh" dated tlie :'tth and 2Cth flscer-ibsr ln.ct, having had our attention called to a memorial, signed by certain "magistrates of the county of Verhy" dated the 5th inst., beg to solicit your consideration of the follow:ng facts. Upon the trial of the prisoner, Mr. Gisborne and Mr. Sims, the surgeon and governor of the gaol in which the prisoner was coniiucd, deposed to the fact of the prisoner being insane at that period,—viz., on the 11th of December, and the Rev. H. Moore (chaplain of the gaol) made a written report of the prisoner's insanity in his minute-bock, for the iiisppptio« cf th'"3 £ i9l*iti&.jils?icbs 'rally iu. t.v5 m'oiith of I)ecerhber, and we havo been credibly in- formed and believe that, notwithstanding such evidence of the surgeon and governor and report of the chaplain, none of tiie visiting justices or county magistrates, excepting ourselves, have visited the prisoner or taken any action whatever upon such evidence or report. We beg further to state that we entered upon the inquiry as to the prisoner's mental condition from a mere sense of duty, and we took considerable pains to ascertain the true state of his tiiind. Cn the ofte hand, tV'a btlie'/e o'ir cbrtffl- cates to be perfectly trtie, whilfe, oh the other, We ate asstired that nbiife of the county magistrates who have signed the memorial of the 5th inst. have any personal knowledge of the subject matter of our certificates. Neither the prisoner's adviser nor any of his friends were present at our examinations, and they have in no way influenced our judg- ment, or attempted to do so. Signed by W. T. Cox, J P- for the Borough of Derby. J. D. TOKMAJT, J.P. for the Borough of Derby. TkoS. itOKi Mayor of the Borojigh of Derby. HESRT Gobufi, M.B. aiid M.R.C.a. THOMAs itAiiAvoob, Surgeon, .re., ilfid Medical Officer to the Derby Unien. Derby, .fan. 8, 1864.

EXECUTION er WRIGHT; G&mtiei Wrigkk was executed on Tuesday morhihg at Horsemonger-lane Gaol, in London. Even as late as eleven o'clock on Monday night, hopes were entertained, that he would be reprieved, and all those who have interested themselves on his behalf were untiring in their exertions. There is no need for us to recapitulate the particulars of the crime for which he was condemned. They are familiar, to the publi^ tlj&V hgrs fcgen freely cativds^ed jjnd ais- c'd3sed. it will suffice to state that the fatal deed wa? committed on the morning of Sunday, 13th December; that on the following day Wright was brought before a magistrate and that on the Tuesday he pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court, and refused to retract this plea when the judge suggested that he should do so., He wat wftho<1.t atty le»al aflvice fin3 assiitinbb iiha it tvas thought by many who were in tnn fcohrt that; had he taken his trial in the usual way; the jury would have simply convicted him of the ininor offence of manslaughter. Be this fts ife. Qifty; d goo3 jde|l of gyi&jt}#!iy, wSs, s&iji «ivbk6d in his favour; and the fact that Townley had been spared gave rise to a feeling that Wright's case was one in which the prerogative of mercy might reasona- bly be exercised. Accordingly, on the 7th January the visiting justices of Horsemonger-lane Gaol presented a memorial to Sir George Grey, in which they ex- pressed a strong opinion that, had all the facts of the case been mad& knoV/p §n Ids trial? ilq ittty tootild ha^B rbturiie'd & VeJr'diist of Wilnil innrder." 'j_ his appeai; however, was Unsuccessful, and the Home Secretary in his reply held out no hopes of mercy. The popular feeling, however, had strengthened in the meanwhile, and several meetings been held the particulars of the last and most important we give below. Whilst the exertions to get his life spared on Monday were in progress the scenes in front of the gaol were assuming that cnarabter which betakelis the tear *tJph> £ cli Of ah ezeciiticn. # Although eucli indications as the placing of barriers were delayed until quite late in the evening, the space before the prison gate was occupied by a crowd, consisting partly of mechanics and their families, and partly of the vilest dregs of the London populace. The two public-houses were thronged to overflowing. At least a dossen preachers were loudly e.tliot'ting the mob at one time, and that as early as three or four o'clock -i*»Jth.e afternoon. Hymns V/efe sting, a+ld t'heir burden taken ttb toy owners mart Vbw dy.ijtrcwi'ea, tlie sacked, tune a bbiig frequently dtowme'd 'Ujr the dis- cordant refrains of many comic ditties. At tch o'clock there was a much larger boà¡ of people in front of the gaol than at later hours of the night. Steady and continuous streams WtJre converging on the spot, along every road in the neighbourhood; men and women walking together in couples. It was plain that the majority of those who had assembled by eleven o'clofk did not contemplate re- gaining. Tliete iVfcrte aa haShy wbfefcil aS,tiieii.; di*ii aldoot as ihany childieb as either. Towards midnight they dispersed, and at two or three o'clock the place was, comparatively speaking, deserted. Still the public-houses were full; but the preaching outside had ceased. High up on the grey stone walls of the gaol the hideous black planks and beams pf, t,h^ g £ tl1<jw$ Ap- peared. Throughout the iughfc dha the early hoUrs Cf dawn arrahgfements were being made to prevent any possible disturbance. Indeed, we are able to state with certainty, that far greater precautions were taken on Monday night ahd Tuesday morning in front of H'Otsbm'chget-l^hfe Giiol than -tVei-e piit (ih jbt&ctice ■frheii tlie notorious Mannings were eiecuiea, oi' wlien Youngman suffered for the murder of his relatives. At least 600 picked policemen were present. The houses opposite the gaol have all long gardens in front; and to keep these from being invaded by the mob, a strong body of police was posted along the rails. It may be terea'tfet citea as & nbtable eisiiipls o! the miscalculations usually made by the most ex- perienced officials, that all the predictions of an immense crowd were falsified as the morning wore on. Day broke ahd found scarcely half the assemblage that gathered under the drop when Youngman paid the penalty of his crime. The impression among all, down to the most depraved, was that Wright deserved a punishment less than, that of death; atid many tvho left the Bpot d'iring the tii'ght cricd out that they wbuld not stay atld see the man murdered." There was, at times, a great deal of tipsy shouting and brawling in the street; and a clearance of the public-houses took place some three hours before the execution, it beiOB found that most of the customers had ceased to be profitable, having fallen asleep, upon the benches, tables, an^ floors After infeSie places of entertainment were reopened to a fresh set of boosers and the preaching began again, with re- doubled strength of ltings; amid the stentorian cries of people vendjng articles of food. A gteat. placard Was cafrifed about with religious sfentblib^a ih ldrge characters, and with a smaller bill appended, the in. scription on which was not easy of deciphering. Contrary to expectation, the crowd was hardly greater in number than a full regiment. When Youngman was hanged, fainting and crushed women and men were dragged up to the leads of .a building adjoining one of the pttbliclibUsfeS; biit nothing ot the kind occurred to-day, nor were railings broken down as on the. former occasion. One strong man fainted aa Wright fell, and the prostrate figure was catried over the heads of the people. It is unquestionably dUe to the police authorities ahd to the iUeh who kept order, that the admirable Character of their arrangements and general conduct should be praised. A demonstration of popular feeling was expected; nor can it be said that none took place but such outcries as were heard assumed no formidable or threatening tohe, and the excitement at the last terrible climax was met with such moderation as sufficed to quell it without a show of force. The hour fixed for the execution was nine o'clock and when that hour had arrived soitfie astotoishment was caused to the assembled crowd by the fact that the hangman had not appeared, and the gibbet was without a rope, or hook to receive one. Then, when people were beginning to feel some faint hope that a reprieve had arrived, the sheriffs came on to the roof, at the fo«>t of the step3 leading to the gallows, and Waited with their wands in their hands as the clergyman, the condemned man, and the executioner mounted to the droh. TVipn hrr>k« forth a storm of yells such as had been faintly fore- shadowed, when several officials had come upon the roof about an hour before. The culprit bovmllow, and drew himself up as with an effort at self-control. He bowed again, and as he was a third time bending his head forward the hangman slipped the ghastly white cap over his face. But still he bowed, and con- tinued doing so even when the rope was round his neck. Meanwhile the mob groaned and yelled in a perfectly indescribable and very appalling manner) and the executioner, having flung the end of the rops over the beam, proceeded clumsily and tardily to tie it. The cruel delay was borne with a marvellous forti- tude by the dying man, who bowed and bowed, and continued that hysterical drawing up of bis body, throwing back the head. His legs weretthen strapped, and the bolt was drawn. Certainly, for at least two minutes, he moved, but whether in pain or the insen- sible convulsion of a violent death, we do not attempt to say. One of the preachers in the crowd was uttering a prayer as he fell; and the placard being carried nearer, disclosed the words, "Solemn Protest against the Execution of Wright."

The naiÍy iiewa h&S following remarks upon the execution If any one, without previous knowledge of the events M t!tt last few weeks, had'suddenly descended on Tuesday morning amongst the crowd which stood watching Samuel Wright ascend the scaffold, he would have found it difficult to believe that the man about to die was not a political martyr, but a mtlrderer found guilty on his own confession. Instead of the street windows let at enormous prices and brimful of excited eyes; Wild, sesn the blinds drawn down as at the funeral of some fleld-iiiSfsnal,' ftnd the seats erected for curious spectators untenanted. Inst&(d tff eiljjs of execration over the murder, he would have found trie people-roftiantly as they were for the most part-sullenly silent or giving vent to their feelings by exulting cries of Bravo, Wright" God bless you, my lad," and by clapping of hands whilst Wright himself, like some favourite actor ot popular statesman on the hustings, was bowing his abJuiSwISdgthents; at the very moment when the ghastly white cai> Waii drafrh h'3 facej and even until the drop fell and stopped his ill-timed pol3sfe'fie?g, Meantime there was the surging mob hooting and yelling. ffortle prajred, I some cried "Shame," "Judicial murder," "No more hanging," Where's Townley

FRAUD BY AN ACTUARY. l tames \Y- i 11 1— •-—, rrriu nas oeen actuary ot tsu sSvmgs-bank there since the year 1825 (says thq Liverpool Mercury), is now in etistody for frau- dulently Appropriating, to his o'wri use t^e moneys of the (i.-positora. TheHeston SaVin"s-Bank is an inde- pendent institution, managed by a Bo*fd Of directors# but the treasurer deposited the money of the uartfe ra the Liverpool Bank for Savings. It appears that Woodward, who is about 70 years of age, was so well known and so much trusted by the villagers, that he was in the habit of receiving the money frcm de- positors at his own house, in the street, or wherever it was presented ty Me, of cottrse, entered the money cor- rectly in the Ib'b'cSa Eeld fey the depositors, but he did not enter it in the reteltit caah-b'ooi, £ s We MMht to have done, when the bank opened, in the ptesencS of OlJe of the directors. Subsequently having access to tho ledgfcrt, hs entered the amounts to tne credit of the depositors in the lfedgef1, so that tlie ledger correctly showed the money due to depositors, ahd iithfe dire6to'rs hitd insisted upOU the pre- paration of a halfincS-sneet nf dity oihk'i ptrsOn thart the actuary, the deficiency would have betirt tit once detected. The Rev. R. W. Gleadowe, the vicar of Neston, was the trea- surer and he and the other directors appear to have had such implicit faith in Woodward, that no steps had been taken to check his accounts. It is said that, on making up the,hist statement, in November, he look the amount in the I/lvMjjbol MviigsbSifk ,$nd, struck a balance, forgetting altogether that the treasurer Jad 30"t. IP. hand. Even this does not seem to have aroused the suspiii^iii, at the treasurer, and it was only on the Rev. Mr. Coxon, the vwSt of Heswell, insisting on the production of the balance-sheet that Woodward, after several weeks' delay, confessed that he had been appropriating money to his own use. In round number,, the bank owes over 12,000(. to depositors, and there is dtily h g«jjj about 9,000Z. to meet the liabilities, so that the appropriations o! TTc/SdWSrd will be somewhere about, and will probably not exceed, 3,1,'Oji. It <?e«Kw that the irre- gularities commenced about 1841. As may be supposed, there has been little regularity in the working of the bank. The rules provide for filling up vacancies in the list of directors, but they have not been adhered to, and it is said that at the present tianD it is scarcely known who are the re- spohsiule piHifcs; ihS tSGaljeics on the board of directors not having been filled üp; f/tile Itt other cases the gentlemen who'have been named for the dirfettc^y have not acted. Whoever the gentlemen may be who have allowed their names to go forth to the public as trustees, we trust that they will not allow the poor depositors to be losers by their neglect. The trustees can drily be cHai*g&d vrith having placed implicit con- fidence in a ma.n who has gtosSiy feetraysd hia. trust, and the amount will scarcely be felt among the rich residents of the district but if the poor depositors are to suffer the loss, it will deprive many a hard work- big, hbn^gt fttan of years of saving, and reduce to beg- gary, in this inclemeiit wfeitfcti-j some of the industrious and deserving poor of the district.

MURDER ANP ROBBERY AT AN AMERICAN BANK. ( On the morning of the 15th uit,, at twenty minjites DfifofS twelve o'clock, Frank Converse, the son of .the President nf the Maiden P.ank, was fouiid within that Bwjkjust at t!i6 Point of death, haVing beteii shot throUgn tHe Hesld (sfly$a Boston Paper), WIS ioiiowing circumstances Every morning either Frank or Mr. Merrill, tlie cashier,"has been accustomed to bbine into Boston for the purpose of making up the* b>;tw«eri that bank and the Bos^oh bahks, and for this reason there is usually but one person ih the bank from 9 o'clock mitil 12. Yesterday mottling Frank wa s left in charge of the bank. At 25 minutes past 11 Mr. Baily, stove and tinwaVtj dealer in tho vil 'age, wont to the bank and received ca^h fov 3. tlieque. About 15 minutes after not Hter minutes to 12—Robert Merrill, the little •"on oi the cashier, rushed into the grocery store of Mr. •"on oi the cashier, rushed into the grocery store of Mr. Charles Shepard, near the bank, and called for some ODf,) to go into the bank, saying that Frank has got a fit and there's a horrid great hole in the side of his bpad'" Mr. Shepard at once went into the bank, and saw Frank lying on his back behind the counter. Medical aid was sent for, but he was insensible and died in twenty minutes. All the money in the money drawer had been taken but a few cents The sum was probably about 5,000 dollars. Of this u,000 dollars was in 100-doUar bills on the Maiden Bank and the remainder in small bills, mostly on the same bank. The murderer has gained little by his crime. The 100-dollar bills it will be impossible for him to pass. The boldness and audacity of the crime seem to indi- cate that it was the work of one deep in guilt, and many circumstances support that idea. It was at first supposed that the murderer had committed the deed while standing in front of the counter, but that view was soon found to fcto fallacious. Thti counter extended1 across the room, with wits gauze above, such as is frequently seen in banks, and cfter which it Would be; dif^cult for, a man to reach. At cli^ ehd or the counter is qi (FRTPJ tl«jo^g}i which entrance i^ had to the space benilr'a; and jao doubt the assassin cams through this gate beS.in'3. tne.. couiiter before he fired the fatal shot. The ball entered trnder the right ear and came out near the left temple, ana tbo pistol was so close that the flesh near where the ball enticed was burnt by the powder. When found by Mr. Shepard, the deceased was lying on the floor just behind th £ teller's desk, which was at the middle of the counter, as t&'oWe had been standing there when he, was shot. Therd wjT3 aoth ng to show any scuffle,' or ,that the deceaakl' Wa:s H&p then lying where lie first fell. Two detectives from Bbston'.h'a^e already visited the scfme, and are busy in "working u'ji" the case but it seems lery doubtful if the assassih tan now be secured. The bAfk has offered a reward of 5,000 dols. for the detection of murderer, and the town will offer a farther amount 01 4wo' or three thousand dollars.

A PARALLEL! A gentleman writing to the Times draws the following parallel betwixt Bill Sykes in "Oliver Twist," and Townley :— As cold-blooded and brutal a murder as was ever, perhaps, committed having been followed by the respite of the murderer on the ground of insanity, it is not surprising that ths public, feeling that deep interests are at stake, wish to thoroughly sift the reasons and the justice which have led to the preserva- tion of the deliberately forfeited life of Townley the murderer. But public interest appears to be universally excited in tiiis Cass by the suspicion that the equality of justice has not been preserved between rich and poor. If we take the case of Townley the murderer on the one hand, and that of Bill Sykes tb9 murderer on the other, and compare them calmly, we may arrive at » conclusion whether this suspicion and distrust has '!J'e:m reasonably or unreasonably excited. Townley, passionately in love with his victim, finding that she has played him false, seeks an inter- view, the object of which is ckar. If the poor girl had acceded to hia-ish and con- sented to become his wife, her life would have been saved, but she refused, and he kills her deliberately and brutally. Bill Sykes, equally, after his manner, enamoured of his sweethfiaft, proposes a certain ultimatum to her, which she declines to aceept, and consequently meets with the same fate. "Townley, superior in social position to Sykes, has plenty of friends, who come forward and state that his behaviour has been eccentric all his life, and that several of his relations have been rather odd. The result is, the preservation of his deliberately foffsited life, and that he is to live-in a madhouse certainly, but still to live—for, probably, very many years, in a condition which the recent insight which we have obtained into the treatment of criminals forbids fy* bftiitt-uA will be oneof stnous discomfort. rout Sykes, unlrieniteu uv parso,. witW three weeks merely represents something put ouToi eight within the precincts of the prison. Yet both these men were actuated by the same motive,— Lust, through some certain strainers well refined, Is gentle love. And it is difficult to discern much difference, making due allowance for the difference in the education of the two criminals, between thezlltimatUlIb presented to Townley's victim, fino, I will say, that of the Fording- bridge murderer's. Townley went with a deliberate motive, and failing in his object, committed a brutal murder. I would only quote, in justification of the universal feeling of dissatisfaction which is now evinced by the public at the respite of Townley the very words of the Under- secretary of State while declining to extend the pre- rogative of mercy to the criminal Wright:— It is one of those sad cases, unfertunately too frequent. Where httman life is taken under the influence of ungoverned passions, but with a full intention at the time, as evidenced by the use of a deadly weapon, and the nature of the injury inflicted, to take life, and without such provocation as could reduce the crime to manslaughter. If we have done wrong in respiting Townley, as we seem to think we have, shall we set matters right by etretching severity to its utmost extent in the case of Wright, whose crime, very many have suggested, was difficult to cfcrocider more than manslaughter ? A mistake has been made. Let us try not to make it again, but not to atone for it by displaying unwonted strength of mind in its correction.

MR. HOME, THE SPIRIT MEDIUM, IN ROME. Perhaps the moist exciting incident of the week is that Mr. Home, of spiritualism notoriety (writes the Times correspondent from Rome), has been ordered to leave Rome in three days and that I may not err in my statement of a fact which has occasioned a great ttjisation, I give you a report of the proceedings in his oWn words $- Jan. 2.-ftecelfed it letter requesting my presence before the police on the 3rd iiust., between the hours of ten and 0DJan 3 —Went, and was shown to the room of the ad- vocate Pasqualoni. I was accompanied by my friend M. Oouthier, Consul of Greece in Rome. The questions were a £ fallows i— The naffits of my father and mother Have you published a book?- Your profession ?—An UTt student.—Yes. Your residence ?—65, Via del Trltsme. When did you arrive ?-Six weeks ago. Htjw many times have you been in Rom^?-—Twi«!. Ii<M !o £ 8 did you stay each time ?—Two months the first anHowTongd6o you intend to remain this time ?—Till Have you a fixed residence ifl I'renee ?-No. How many books have you written?—'One. How many copies have you sold ?—As I am not my CTTTD publisher, it would be impossible to say. .tfter you became a Catholic did you exercise your power as a itteSltfm f—Neither before nor after did I exercise my power as a riieditittf, inasmuch as it is not a power dependent on my will, I could not ass it. How do you make these things ?—I think the reply I have just given is sufficient for this. Do you consider your power a gift of nature ?—J* o; X consider it as a gift of God. What constitutes a trance ?—A study of physiology Trill &ipt £ !in this better than I can. Do fbit 866 the spirits asleep and awake ?—Both. Why do the spirits some to you?—As a consolation, and to convince those who do not believe in the after existence oi the soul. — What religion do they teach ?—That depends. Whit do ytfu do to make them comeI was about to 1 tV, 1 /«/» whin" when on the table where he was reP]y P^L and distinct raps. He then said, "But the table also moves he was saying it the tamaUsmthVeeage of yet* child^ouraM*half. Whereishe?-AtMatvenl. Wit!i whomt-i)r. Gully. Is Dr, G1!11, a Catholic 1-No.. When did yod Uit see your child ?-Two months ago. When do you expect to SSe him again ?—In April. He then said, without .IsrfigMti# any reason, that I must leave Rome in three days. "Vo ytftf consent ?"—" No most decidedly not, inasmuch as I have dorie t0 tlie latts. rf this or any other country, t will wnsult with the English t'dPSn! "nd be guided by him." On Monday moriilng tb? British consul saw Mon* signor Matteucci, the Governor of Rome, and com' plained that any British subject should ,b9 interfered with in consequence of his opinions. He stalred that Mr; Home had conducted himself during his iti jWg itt a strictly legal and gentlemanly manner, and drjihahded tha* tb« obnoxious order should be rescinded. Monsignor spoke of dangel!6'tf £ £ we2is of fas ci 21 ai n, of the prohibition by the Government of pn»c- ticca or the black art, and finally assented vo Mr. Home's remaining, on condition of his entering into an cement, through Mr. Severn, that he would desist from all t'oiflffltmic^tions with the spiritual world during his stay in Rome. An agreement to that effect was drawn up and signed by Mr. Home, who will hence- forwards abstain from all communication with the upper or lower world, aa the case may be, during nis residence in Rome.

A GOOD CBAFLSE FOR KING f The eccentric and witty Manhattan," writing on the late prize-fight, says:— The great news that the American championy, Heenan, was defeated, is still ringing in our ears. The great unwashed part of our population refuse to. be comforted. They have lost their money and their terser. There is no safety-valve. They cant say that HCfcflan was poisoned or unfairly used. If we- could charge live British people with unfairness to owe man, it would afferd us consolation* We can't do it.- The charge would be barefaced. Heenan is but a small part of the United States population. He has been thoroughly whipped by your man King. That is not all. Mr. King seems to have been decidedly the squarer, as well as the better, fflan. If there was any unfair play, it was in the wresttffi$. -j-p tired oat Heenan more than it did his opponent. Heenan nas made a great blunder for his personal reputation. After the Sayers fight he had all our folks upon his side; and if he had refused to fight any more, he could hate lived on for fifty years, and died with the sanctity and the veneration attached to the greatest prize-fighter in the world. He did not do this, *na now there will be half-a-dozen ordinary fighters wTno will trv to lick him as soon as he comes horned Meanwhile the banowr of America ought to be vindi- cated, and Jolm Bull punished. Already two new champiCM have arisen, and are ready for Mr. King with 10,00d doito. The redoubted Joe Coburne offers to fight King for 10,000 dols._ Mr. Francis Pettit, who resides at Alexandria, but is the messenger of Mn Seward at the State Department, also offers to raise 10,000 dols. Very possibly he will be furnished with that sum from the -secreb service money, such as is used for the trips of distinguished persons to^Europe to soft-soap the British lion, such as Walker, Beecher, Ewart, &c. If Mr. Thomas King wishes an ovation* the freedom ot the city of inew x orK, a. reuepMuu uJf all the military, superior to Kossuth, or the Japanese, or the Russians, let him come aver. He can be for two weeks the greatest man in America. He can t run rfor the presidency, not being born here, but he has reduced the presidential candidates by whipping Heenan, who, if he had whipped* King, would have been the most prominent among the civil candidates for the presidency.

IN LOVE WITH HER PRISON! I know not whether the fact must be attributed to" the excitement a little change produces in the mono- tonous life of a prison, or whether it is owing to the' volatile and light-hearted character of the Polisht people; but certain it its that they all seemed in ex- cellent spirits (writes the Times correspondent). Oris lady, indeed, with whom we had a prolonged! conversation, was particularly amusing: as we entered? conversation, was particularly amusing: as we entered? she laid down ».volume of Dante she was reading, and gave us her views of life in a prison. Never, she said, had she experienced anything so convenient; she could read the Divine Comedy;" she could rear trees (she was growing a lemon under a tumbler); she could 'meditate, and she could smoke if she wanted anything, a soldier was ever at her door, ready to minister to her and if she did not want anything, a prison was an unequalled place for meditation. AIR her daughters, she said, should -go to prison before. they mixed in the world; such a peaceful calm, sucm a glorious opportunity of contemplating from afar the-, character of the scenes in which they were to mix; would be an invaluable antidote against the tempts tions and frivolities of the world This brave and high-hearted lady was the head of the forbidden order of "St. Vincent de Paul" in. Wilna, and her case waa before the commission of • qi i j „ —.xici TJcTuiigeci to a mquiry.^ ^fi^milv she had risked much to servtT as she thought, her country, and was determined not to- shrink from the penalty that attached to the failnrf; of her cause. The different prisons offered a curious commentary on the alleged rapacity of the Russian soldiery. A very large proportion of the prisoners of the better class had rings, gold chains, ahd watches and in one of the rooms we entered we found a gold watch and chain carelessly left upon the table and the door left open, while the owner had gone to walk in the court-yard below.

A KING NOT MUCH HEARD OF! Burns somewhere speaks of his high luck In having one day dinnered with a lord" (writes the correspondent of the Daily News, from Paris). In a similar frame of mind your correspondent, fresh from a sumptuous repast, writes to tell you that he has breaklaated with a king :— Yes I have this day sat at the festive board siat- by side with Orllie I., by the grace of God and the national will King of Araucania and Patagonia. The occasion of this overwhelming honour was a deievimr given to a party of twenty by M. Gudm, at the: Chateau Beaujon, to celebrate the completion of his; grand picture .of Napoleon III. landing at Genoa-a. work which has been upon his easel for four years. I was introduced to the king by M. Gudm, who, m the English language, which his Majesty does not under- stand, spoke very highly of him. Let.me nowsay that Orllie does not insist upon royal honour* in tbis country, £ without the slightest affectation of superiority enters' into familiar _converse with ordi- nary mortals who address him as M. de Tonnens. He is an adventurous a n»twe of Peri-- gueux, who, under circumstances with which I am not. Luiltar, but which are «* ftrth at Mp M h» work, from which I lately <p«ted a f J really exercise sovereign power ^er f Y8?* So-nth America in a backward state of civilisation, of which he still claims to be king. As far as looking S chanXr goes, Orllie I. might filT the best throne n eaS Hc is about 3d years of ag remarkably handsome, with black curly hair and a black silky beard carefully trimmed he is of middle sirigttlarly well proportioned; his head is *g exquisitely shaped, and his countenance beau™ ™th intelligence 2J1 energy. His manners are gentle- manly, and he a modest assurance in his sp^ch and demeanour wMch is altogether ^possessing. Like other potentates whose position is more re- gular he « looking out for a loan,, with which, when. reaHsed, he proposes to return to hw dominions.. He; intends to govern upon the most enlarged prmcip1^. J?civil and religious liberty, from all parts of the world. I told Inni that there were capitalists and would-be emigrants lnEngland ever ready to take any rational proposali into consideration, and mentioned as an instance of the growing feeling ff —twe milliards of acres waiting for owners.