o™y, ‘ I e : Al AOF AN 0 A D AL QY AN DL A , _ A 74 /A - , / ¥ an la> XN\ @ Y AAT ANV DN 4T Loy AT D Ay 7 AP & W)L NIRRT P9O A I e OO ZPH I P /’/%'/{/// ] | /%77 L ¢ ///// A % % /j %, o / i I ) % \éf,' 4 7 i "lz * v g ‘g YR YV PO VY SHH) & 5 ALY O YY A 222 o - . % W‘, . : % e . By WILLIAM P. HILL. -~ . THE GAZETTE & UNION, Is published weekly, on Tuesday mornings, at $1,25 per annum when the subscription price is paid strictly in advance; or $1,50 if paid within the year. If a year from the time o‘i’ subscribing is suffered to expire, the F::ie&or will reserve to himself the right to charge at the rate of $2,00 per annum, with interest after,in payment for expense of collecting, cither through legal measures or by sending out an agent. 3 0= Subscribers in Portsmouth who receive their pa gd's from carriers, will be charged $1,50 in advance ; or 1,75 if paid within the year, or $2,00 after expiration of the year. O~ ADVERTISEMENTS inserted three weeks, at the rate of $1,25 per square of twelve lines, brevier type. Twenty cents per square will be charged for each ad ditional insertion. For short advertisements of less twelve and over five lines $1,00; five lines or less 75 cenfs. A liberal discount from the above terms will be made, to yearly advertisers or others where the amount of advertising exceeds sl2. 05— All communications must be addressed to the publisher, at Portsmouth, and the postage, in all cases pre-paid. > I?No paper discontinued until all arrearages are aid. [G~Jor Work done with neatness and despatch at this office. 0 Orrice, No. 3 Pleasant Street, nearly opposite Jefferson-Hall Market. POETRY. From the German. Song of the Bell. Bell! thou soundest merrily, When the bridal party To the church doth hie! Bell! thou soundest solemnly ‘When, on Sabbath morning, Fields deserted lie! Bell! thou soundest merrily; Tellest thou at evening, Bed-time draweth nigh! Bell! thou soundest mournfully; Tellest thou the bitter . Parting hath gone by! Say ! how can’st thou mourn ? How can’st thou rejoice ? Thou art but metal dull ! And yet all our sorrowings, And all our rejoicings, Thou dost feel them all! God hath wonders many, Which we cannot fathom, Placed within thy form ! When the heart is sinking, Thou alone can’st raise it, * Trembling in the storm ! The Snow. BY CHARLES LAMB, An old man sadly said, *“ Where’s the snow That fell the year that’s fled ? Where’s the snow ! As fruitless was the task of many a joy that’s past, As the snow. The hope of airy birth, like the snow, Is stained on reaching earth, : Like the snow; ‘While ’tis sparkling in the ray, ’tis melting fast away : Like the snow. Cold, deceitful thing, is the snow, Though it come on dove-like wing, * False snow! g "Tis but rain, disguised, appears, And our hopes frozen tears, Like the snow. - On the Death of a virtuous young Girl. e - Softly woo away her breath, Gentle Death! . Let her leave thee with no strife, Tender, mournful, murmuring Life ! She hath seen her happy day ; She hath had her bud and blossom : Now she pales and shrinks away, Earth, unto thy gentle bosom ! She hath done her bidding here. Angels dear! Bear her perfect soul above, Seraph of the skies—sweet love ! Good she was and fair in youth, And her mind was fain to soar, And her heart was wed to truth: Take, her. then, forevermore & For ever—evermore ! From Yankee Doodle. How the Taylor treated his Customer. The fierce Ampudia tore his clothes In boldly scampering from his foes, And swore the Yankee Zaylor should Be bound to make the tatters good. Old Zach despatched a flag to say He'd mend them all another day, = Or if that didn't meet his view Would even dress him o’er anew. And well the Taylor kept his word, As all his customers have heard ; For if, half dress’d at Palo Alt The chief ran off—was Zach in fault ? He merely basted him that day, And sewed him up at Monterey. _———_———j.—.___fi_—‘___._. For the Gazette and Union. Acrostic. 3 ~ 'Will the Muse inspire me in my plain verse, In my first essay, to sketch a portrait, Long the object most heloved on earth - Little known here in his native hamlet ? In all the relations of life perfect, And a model as a son, brother, friend ; ' -Most gallant, lately, where he did defend At great odds, the banner of his country. Long and bloody the fray at Tobasco, But a kind Providence gave victory ZExtatic to him ; the Dons an overthrow ;— ‘Radiant then shone that face beautiful, - "T'o Gon his thanks tender’d, most merciful. Pmans chant, oh ye all his countrymen, ~~ Admire his gallantry, ye youth, and copy, - Respectively, his good disposition :— _ Kindly affectionate, brave in duty, ~ Ever careless of his life when duty ~Requires the sacrifice, always ready. S e ] Faa e NN MATIEDA, For the Gazette and Union. Charade. In Adam’s time my first did live, In Noal’s ark it did survive, It lives in '47. o i My next was cast into the son, Perchance to find what there might be, E’re Christ had chos’n _eleven. My whole, though small, when clearly sang “Through groves and forests loudly rang ; ~ Its echo rose to heaven. _ S » . BOILING ROCK. ‘Time is the sharpest thief on record; notwith sta there is so many watches set for him, he i ini Mkngawsy Mhi silver among the poor, gold among ~ Goslow so the entertainments of thy friends, - Were are two sides o every thing except the religion of & hypocrite, and that is all outside. Circumstantial Evidence. RECORDS OF EXTRAORDINARY CASES. The records of every country abound in remark able cases of persons being judicially put to death for crimes of which they were entirely innocent. A mistaken resemblance to the actual perpetrator, the fact of having been seen near the spot where the crime was committed, or some other suspicious circumstance has contributed to bring the guilt and punishment on the wrong party. At one time ca ses of injustice were also committed by condemning individuzals for murder when it was not proved that a murder had been perpetrated. The now well recognized principle In c¢riminal law, that no mur der can be held as having been committed till the body of the deceased has been discovered, has ter minated this form of legal oppression. Another and perhaps one of the most common causes of injustice in trials of this mature, is the prevarication of the party charged with the offence. Finding himself, though innocent, placed in an awkward predicament he invents a plausible story in his,defence, and the deceit being discovered, he is at once presumed to be in every respect guilty. Sir Edward Coke men tions a melancholy case of this kind. A gentleman was charged with having made away with his neice. He was innocent of the crime, but having, in a state of trepidation, put forward another child as the one said to have been destroyed, the trick was discovered, and the poor gentleman was executed —a victim to his own disingenuousness. The following interesting cases of loss of life from too great a leaning on circumstantial or presumptive evidence, we select from various authorities, English and foreign. | WILLIAM SHAW. - Inthe year 1721 there resided in Edinburgh an upholsterer named William Shaw, who had a daugh ter, Catharine Shaw, who lived with him. This young woman, it appears, encouraged the addresses of John Lawson, a jeweller, to whom William Shaw declared the most insuperable objections, alleging him to be a profligate young man, addicted to every kind of dissipation. He was forbidden the house ; but the daughter continuing to see him clandestinely the father on the discovery kept her strictly con fined. William Shaw had for some time urged his daugh ter to receive the addresses of a son of Alexander Robertson, a friend and neighbor ; and one evening, being very urgent with her thereon, she perempto rily refused, declaring she preferred death to being young Robertson’s wife. The father grew enraged, and the daughter more positive, so that the most passionate expressions arose on both sides. and the words barbarity, cruelty and death, were frequently pronounced by the daughter. At length "he left her, locking the door after him. ; The greater number of the buildings in Edinburgh are tall and massive, divided into flats or floors, each inhabited by one or more families, all of whom enter by a stair leading to the respective floors. William Shaw resided in one of these flats, and a partition only divided his dwelling from that of James Morrison, a watch-case maker. This man had indistinetly overheard the conversation and quarrel between Catharine Shaw and her father, and was particularly struck with the repetition of the above words, she having pronounced them loud ly and emphatically. For some little time after the father was gone out all was silent, but presently Morrison heard several groans from the daughter. Alarmed, he ran to some of the neighbors under the same roof’; these entering Morrison’s room and listening attentively, not only heard the groans, but distinctly heard Catharine Shaw two or three times faintly exclaim, “ Cruel father, thou art the cause of my death.” Struck with this, they flew to the door of Shaw’s apartment ; they knocked—no answer was given. The knocking was repeated— still no answer. Suspicions had before risen against the father, they were now confirmed. A constable was procured and an entrance forced; Catharine was found weltering in her blood, and the fatal knife by her side. She was alive, but speechless ; but on questioning her as to owing her death to her father, was just able to make a motion with her head, apparently in the aflirmative, and expired, At this.critical moment William Shaw returns, and enters the room : immediately all eyes are on him. seeing his neighbors and a constable in his apart ‘ment, he appears much disordered ; but at the sight of his daughter he turns pale, trembles,and is ready to sink. The first surprise and the succeeding hor ror leave little doubt of his guilt in the breasts of ‘ the beholders; and even that little is done away on ’ the constable discovering that the shirt of William Shaw is bloody. He was instantly hurried before a magistrate, ‘and, upon the depositions of all the parties, commit ted to prison on suspicion. He was shortly after brought to trial, whenin his defence he acknowl edged the having confined his daughter to prevent her intercourse with Lawson ; that he had frequent ly insisted on her marrying Robertson ; and that he had quarrelled with her on the subject the evening she was found murdered, as the witness Morrison had deposed ; but he averred that he left his daugh ter unharmed and untouched, and that the blood found upon his shirt was there in consequence of his having bled himself some days before, and the bandage becoming untied. These assertions did not weigh a feather with the jury when opposed to the strong circumstantial evidence of the daughter’s expressions of * barbarity, cruelty, death,” and of * cruel father, thou art the cause of my death,” to gether with that apparently aflirmative motion with ; her head, and of the blood so seemingly providen tially discovered on the father’s shirt. On these several concurring circumstances was William Shaw found guilty, and executed at Leith Walk in No vember 1721. Was there a person in Edinburgh who believed the father guiltless ? No, not one, notwithstanding his latest words at the gallows were, “ T am innocent of my daughter’s murder.” Butin August, 1722, as a man who had becomé the possessor of the late Wm. Shaw’s apartments, was rummaging by chance in the chamber where Catharine ‘Shaw died, he acci dentally perceived a paper fallen into a cavity on one side of the chimney. It was folded as a letter, which on opening contained the following :—* Bar barous father, your cruelty in having put it cut of my power ever to join my fate to that of the only man I could love, and tyrannically insisting upon my marrying a man whom I always hated, has made me form a resolution to put an end to an existence ‘ which is become a burden to me. I doubt not 1 | shall find mercy in another world, for sure no be ‘lng can require that I should any longer live in tor ‘ment to myself in this. My death I lay to your ‘charge : when you read this consider yourself as the | ‘inhuman wretch that plunged the murderous knife into the bosom of the unhappy CATHARINE SHAW.” ~ This_letter being shown, the handwriting was recognized and avowed to be Catharine Shaw’s by many of her relations and friends. It became the ‘ public talk ; and the ma}sistracy of Edinburgh, on a scrutiny being convinced of its authenticity, order ed the {mddy of William Shaw to be taken from the gibbet, and given to his family for interment ; and as the only reparation to his memory and the hon or of his surviving relationg, they caused a pair of colors to be waved over his grave in token of his innocence—a poor compensation it will be allowed, for an act of gross cruelty and injustice. i BRUNELL’S CASE. g In the year 1742 a case of very remarkable na ture occurred near Hull. A gentleman travelling wmwe was mp&ed Tlate 1n the evening, about suveiniod trate thie tawni by smh(h:g:?:‘flofi with & mask on his face, who robbe the traveller of a purse-containing twenty guineas. The highway- AND REPUBLICAN UNION PORTSMOUTH, N. H, TUESDAY MORNING, MARCH 3, 1847. man rode off by a different path full speed, and the gentleman, frightened, but not injured, except In purse, pursued his journey. Tt was growing lute, however, and being naturally much agitated by what had passed, he rode only two miles further and stopped at the Bell Inn, kept by Mr James Brunell. He went into the kitchen to give directions for his supper, where he related to several persons present the fact of his having been robbed ; to which he added this peculiar circumstance, that when he travelled he always gave his gold a peculiar mark, and that every guinea in the purse taken from him was thus marked. Hence he hoped that the robber would yet be detected. Supper being ready he retired. The gentleman had not long finished his supper, when Mr Brunell came into the parlor where he was, and after the usual inquiries of landlords as to the guest’s satisfaction with his meal, observed, “ Sir, T understand you have been robbed not far hence this evening ?” 1 have sir,” was the reply. “ And your money was marked ?” continued tlig landlord. ¢« Xt was,” said -the traveller.. “A et cumstance has arisen,” resumed Mr Brunell, “which leads me to think I can point out the robber.— Pray at what time in the evening were you stop ped?” “Tlt was just setting to be dark,” replied the traveller. ¢ The time confirms my suspicions,” said the landlord ; and he then informed the gen tleman that he had a waiter, one John Jennings, who had of late been so very full of money, and so very extravagant, that he (the landlord) had been surprised at it, and had determined to part with him, his conduct being every way suspicious: that long before dark that day he had sent out Jennings to change a guinea for him; that the man had only come back since the arrival of the traveller, saying he could not get change ; and that, secing Jennings to be in liquor, he had sent him off to bed, deter mining to discharge him in the morning. Mr Bru nell continued to say, that when the guinea was brought back to him, it struck him that it was not the same which he had sent out for change, there being on the returned one a mark, which he was very sure was not upon- the other; but that he should probably have thought no more of the mat ter, Jennings having frequently had gold in his pocket of late, had not the people in the kitchen told him what the traveller had related respecting the robbery, and the circumstance of the guineas being marked. He (Mr Brunell) had not been present when this relation was made, and unluckily before he heard of it from the people in the kitch en, he had paid away the guinea to a man who lived at some distance, and who had now gone home. “ The circumstance, however,” said the landlord in conclusion, ¢ struck me so very strong lv, that I could not refrain, as an honest man, from coming and giving you information of it.” Mr Brunell was duly thanked for his candid dis closure. There appeared from it the strongest rea sons for suspecting Jennings; and if, on searching him, any other of the marked guineas should be found, and the gentleman could identify them, there would then remain no doubt in the matter: It was now agreed to go up to his room. Jennings was fast asTeep; his pockets were searched, and from one of them was drawn forth a purse, containing exactly nineteen guineas. Suspicion now became certainty ; for the gentleman declared the purse and guineas to be identically those of which he had been robbed. Assistance was called: Jennings was awakened, drageed out of bed, and charged with the robbery. He denied it firmly ; but circumstan ces were too strong to gain him belief. e was se cured that night, and next day taken before a jus tice of the peace. The gentleman and Mr. Branell deposed to the facts upon oath; and Jennings hav ing no proofs, nothing but mere assertions of inno cence, which could not be eredited, was committed to take his trial at the next assizes. So strong secmed the case against him, that most of the man’s friends advised him to plead guilty, and throw himself on the mercy of the court.” This advice lie rejected, and when arraigned, plead not guilty. The prosecutor swore to the fact of the robbery ; though, as it took place in the dusk, and the highwayman was in a mask, he could not swear to the person of the prisoner, but thought him of the same statue nearly as the man who robbed him. To the purse and guineas, when they were produc ed in court, he swore—as to the purse, positively, and as to the marked guineas, to the best of his be lief; and be testified to their having been taken from the pocket of the prisoner. The prisoner’s master, Mr. Brunell, deposed as to the sending of Jennings for the guinea, and to the waiter’s having brought back to him a marked one, in the room of one he had given him unmarked. He also gave evidence as to the discovery of the purse and the guineas on the prisoner. To consu mate the proof, the man to whom Mr. Brunell had paid the guinea, as mentioned, came forward and roduced the coin, testifying at the same time that Ee had received it on the evening of the robbery from the prisoner’s master in payment of a debt; and the traveller, or prosecutor, on comparing it with the other nineteen, swore to its being, to the best of his belief, one of the twenty marked guin eas taken from him by the highwayman, and of which the other nineteen were found en Jennings. The judge summed up the evidence, pointing out all the concurring eircumstances against the prison er; and the jury, convinced by this strong accumu lation of circumstantial evidence, without going out of court brought'in a verdict of guilty. Jennings was executed some little time afterwards at Hufi, repeatedly declaring his innocence up till the very moment of his execution. i Within a twelvemonth afterwards, Brunell, the -master of Jennings, was himself taken up for a rob ‘bery committed on a guest in his house, and the fact being proved on trial, he was convicted, and ‘ordered for execution. The approach of death brought on repentance, and repentance confession. Brunell not only acknowledged he had been guilty of many highway robberies, but owned himself to have committed the very one for which poor Jen nings suffered. The account which Brunell gave was, that after robbing the traveller, he had got home before him by swifter riding and by a nearer way. That he found a man at home waiting for him, to whom he owed a little bill, and to whom, not having enough_ of other money in his pocket, he gave away one of the twenty guineas which he had just obtained by the robbery. Presently came in the robbed gentle man, who, whilst Brunell, not knowing of his arri val, was in the stable, told his tale, as before relat ed, in the kitchen. The gentleman had scarcely left the kitchen before Brunell entered it, and there, to his consternation, heard of the facts, and of the guineas being marked. Ie became dreadfully alirmed. The guinea which he had paid away he dare not ask back again ; and as the affair of the robbery as well as the circumstance of the marked guineas, would soon become publicly known, he saw nothing before him but detection, disgrace and death. In this dilemma, the thought of accusing and sacrificing poor Jennings.occured to him. The state of intoxication in which Jennings was gave him an_opportunity of concealing the money in the waiter’s pocket. The rest of the storg the rea der knows.— Chambers’ Edinburgh-Miscellany. e e e e it " ‘ ; A;mlGoon lriAN GONE.—From an Jt:;lzncanj Journal (says a liuropean paper) we .recorded, un -1 dér,tlgia(ti‘z!, lately, the. 'vfi«afi; )by drowning, of a ‘man in whose poo{etw’u’ found a receipt for pay ment of his newspaper. It was a mdmentl for a year past, and we have since ascertained that the breastpocket containing it was the first that flonted. All the printers in_our establishment think, that if he had had another receipt for m' The Funeral at Sea. “No flower can ever bloom upon his grave—no tear ;if afl'ection fall upon the briny surge which rolls over ~ It wasa morning at sea. The sun had risen in SIOF_Y, and was pouring his beams, a shower of gold en light, in richness over the boundless expanse of water. Not a cloud was visible; the winds were hushe(j, and the surface of the ocean was unbroken by a ripple. A solitary ship was the only object'in all the magnificent scene wfiich spoke the existence of man. Her sails were hanging sluggishly from the yards. The light motionless flag, suspended at half:mast, seemed to portend that misfortune, per haps death, had been there.- And such indeed was the case. Among the party who composed her pas sengers on leaving port, was one whose health had been declining in the coolness of our northern win ter, and who, as the last hope of regaining it, had determined to visit the sunny vine hills of I'rance, and inhale the pure air of Italy. His friends, as they bade him adieu, belieyed. it-was their last fare well; and he, himself, as his native shore faded from his sight, felt the dark dreary consciousness come over him that he was going to die among strangers. He was young, and before disease had fastened it sell’ upon him, had moved the beloved and admired of all. Ile could ill bear the thought of dying, for his hopes were high and animating—just such as an ardent, inexperienced mind delights to indulge ; and he had looked forward with impatience to the time when he should become an actor in the busy world. IHe had talents and education fitted for any employment, and his friends confidently anticipated the period when he should share in the councils of his country, or stand pre-eminently distinguished at the bar. Ile had ties to of a different nature, which had given a fairy charm to existence, and bound still closer to life—ties which were too fond ly cherished, intertwined, as they were with the véry fibres of his heart, to be severed by anything saye death. No wonder that he felt it hard to die! But the vietims which the grave selects are not al w:&vs those whom we value most lightly, nor who mgst readily sink into its shadows. IHow often is yauth cut down when just opening into manhood, anfl glorying in all its bright anticipations ? Such w=§ the case with the one before us. Consumption had been silently but gradually performing ifs task, and the unnatural flush upon his cheek, and his glazing eye told but to faithfully that he was rapid ly passing to another world. He died at last, and his/death was calm and peaceful as the sleep of an infint folded in its mother’s arms. And now his mynly body lay stretched on the deck about to be cammitted to the world of waters, a feeble thing ; bat oh! the hope and happiness of how many liearts may go with it to old ocean’s silent chasms ! ' The ship’s company were collected and stood around, gazing upon the cold, placid countenance which they were about to consign, with all its beau ty to the deep. No word was uttered, but memory recalled the gentle voice and sweet smile of the deceased, and fancy pictured the sorrow which his death would cast over the circle he had left. An appropriate prayer, and a few remarks suggested by the occasion, were the only religious ceremonies performed ; then the body was carefully lifted, as if it could know, in its uncomsciousness, that tears were in the eyes of the strangers, and tenderness in their bosoms. Then asingle beavy plunge broke strangely the wide stillness of the ocean, and sent long and circling ripples over its glassy breast.— We gazed with strained eyes after the slowly sink ing corpse, till it grew dim and vaguely shaped in the deep green water, and then gradually disap eared. A gloomy silence succeeded. The deso thion of a desert pervaded the ship. Country Newspapers. The Morning News thus speaks in regard to country newspapers : “Let no farmer, and no other man relinquish the newspaper published in his own neighborhood, for the sake of taking one other larger, cheaper, or more popular paper published abroad. The news ‘paper published in one’s own county, isas a general rule, more valuable then any other, if it be for noth ing but the advertisements; for even they are the ‘thermometer of a business and often the key which ‘opens the door to excellent bargains. It is of no little consequence to the farmer to know what is ‘going on in his market town; the competitions in buying produce ; the changes in business opera tions ; the settlements of estates ; sales of farms, &e. We ventuare to say, there is no man who may not ‘every year much more than save the price of sub seription to his neighboring newspaper, from its advertising columns alone ; and on this ground all ought to patronize their own newspapers. This should be done also for weightier reasons, one of which we will name ; the mammoth weekly sheets of the cities being furnished at a price with which 1 no country grinter can compete, [for the reason, because made up generally from the matter once used and paid for in the daily papers] are @eroach ing largely upon the country newspapers, thus dis couraging improvements and gradually bringing the whole country under the influence, and in some sense, the control of the leading cliques in the ci ties. Thus a tone is given to the morals and poli tics and habits of the country, and we hesitate not to say, that the preponderence of this influence is bad.” The people of the country get full enough of this influence throngh their own papers, and if they would not complete the supremacy of the ci ties over the moral and political destiny of the country, let them support the country newspapers. Take tfie city papers so you can afford It, and as many of them as you please, but first see to it that your own home paper is a regular visiter to your fire side. Support them first and liberally, and they will hardly fail to support your interests.” | ONE OF THE GOOD 'UNS.—One of the Nan tucket whalers, not long ago, went to sea with a crew, mostly “green,” as is too often the case, and was not long in getting into a most beautiful and horriffic—to the green 'uns—gale of wind. The skipper bawled * all hands on deck,” as loud and long as his old and salty throat would give him ca ble. Up ran the half petrified “green uns,” but there they stood in a mass, hanging on to one another. “Go aloft! go aloft! blast and rot ye, go aloft and take in them topsails, you darn’d infernal erit ters iyou I” shouted t%e raging skipper. f “ Heavings and yearth, capting, deu yeou ex pect a feller to go up thar, when it's a blowing this sort of a way ?” responded one of the greens. “Go aloft, you blasted fool, you rotted creatures you, go alof‘t,%say, or 11l give every one on ye the darndest walloping you ever had in all yer born days,” again shouated the skipper. “ Can’t dew it, capting, by thunders, we can’t dew it, but if yell let the hull grist of darn'd top sails blow off, we’ll jine in and pay for 'em.” ‘ The railroad from Worcester to Nashua is already under contract, and being an easy route can easily be built in twelve months, and then New London will he connected with the Nashua, Concord and the Northern railroads, by a continuous line of about one hundred and thirty miles in length, intersecting the Worcester and Western roads. At Worcester a mammoth depot is to be built, for the accommodation of five roads, viz: the Worcester, Western, Norwich, Nashua, and Provi ene. fu et o) ik B shOR WeaLrny Ixprvipuars.—Peter C. Brooks of ‘New ’fsgfl,o;dm_,i; ; i)b%hmnce W» AMOS, at j’,limmg‘:- m‘ Y Qfi\m»”fi i*’; )0,600; T. H. Per ins dlm.gm Daniel Sears, 1,500,000, the "three %‘"" 000,000 each ; Jonathen Philips, R. G. millions of dollars owned by 12 men.—Bugulo Express, - Appalling Destitution in Ireland. The following letter, from acitizen of that unhap py country to the Duke of _Wt'l‘hngton, has been extensively published both in Great Britain and the United States. It is a melan-chol)" recital, and will excite feelings of compassion in every heart :— To His Grace Field Marshal the Dule of Welling ton : My Lord Duke—Without apology or preface, I presume so far to trespass on your grace as to state to you, and by the use of your illusirious name to present to the British publie, the following state ment of what I have myself seen within the last 3 days : ' B | Having for many years beén intimately tonnect ed with the western portion ogthe eountry of Cork, and possessing some small property there, I thought it right personally to investigate the truth of the several lamentable accounts whic's had reached me, of the appalling state of mis ery tn which that part of theeountry was reduced. = T accordingly went, on the 15th inst. to Skibbe= reen, and to give the instance of one townland which I visited, as an example of the state of the entire coast distriet, I shafi state simply what I there saw. It is situate on the eastern side of Castlehaven harbor, and is named South Reen, in the parish of Myross. Being aware that I should have to witness scenes of frightful hunger, I pro vided myself with as much bread as five men could carry, and on reaching the spot I was surprised to find the wretched hamlet apparently deserted. I entered some of the hovels to ascertain the cause, and the scenes that presented themselves were such as no tongue or pen can convey the slightest idea of. In the first, six famished and ghastly skele tons, to all appearance dead, were huaddled in a corner on some filthy straw, their sole covering what seemed a ragged horsecloth ; their wretched legs hanging out, naked above the knees. I ap proached in horror, and found by a low moaning they were alive—they were in a fever—four chil dren, a woman, and what had once been a man. 1t is impossible to go through the detail —suftice it to say that in a few minutes I was surrounded by at least 200 of such phantoms, such frightful spectres, as no words can describe. DBy far the greater num ber were delirous, either from famine or from fever. Their yells are still ringing in my ears, and their horrible images are fixed upon my brain. My heart sickens at the recital, but T must go on. In another case, decency would forbid what fol lows, but it must be told. My clothes were nearly torn off in my endeavor to escape from the throng of pestilence around, when my neck-cloth was seized from behind by a gripe which compelled me to turn. I found myself grasped by a woman with ‘an infant, appavently just born, in her arms, and the remains of a filthy sack across her loins—the sole covering of herself and babe. 'The same morning the police opened a house on the adjoining lands which was observed shut many days, and two fro zen corpses were found lying upon the mud floor half devoured by the rats! A mother, herself in fever, was seen the same day to drag out the corpse of her child, a girl about twelve, perfectly naked, and leave it half covered with stones. In another house, within 500 yards of the cavalry station at Skibbereen, the dispensary doctor found seven wretches lying unable to move, under the same cloak. One had been dead many hours, but the others were unable to move themselves or the corpse. : To what purpose should I multiply such cases? If these be not sufficient, neither would they hear who have the power to send relief and do not, even “though one came from the dead.” Let them, however, believe, and tremble, that shall one day hear the Judge of all the earth prouounce their tremendous doom, with the addition, “I was an hungered and ye gave me no meat ; thirsty, and ye gave me no drink ; naked, and ye clothed me not.” But I forget to whom this is addressed. My lord, you are an old and justly honored man. It 1s yet in your power to add another honor to your age, to, fix another star, and that the brightest, in your galaxy of glory. You have access to our young and gracious Queen. Lay these things before her. She 1s 2 woman. She will not allow decency to be outraged. She has at her command the means of at least mitigating the sufferings of the wretched survivors in this tragedy. They will soon be few in deed in the district I speak of, if help be longer withheld. 1 Once more, my lord duke, in the name of starv ing thousands, I implore you, break the trigid and flimsy chain of official etiquette, and save the land of your birth, the kindred of that gallant Irish blood which you have so often seen lavished to support the honor of the British name, and let there be in seribed upon your tomb, “Servata Hibernia,” (Ire land saved.) I have the honor to be, my lord duke, your grace’s obedient humble servant, N. M. Cummixsg, J. P. Axx-MouxT, Cork, Dec. 17, 1846. 1 Miscellaneous Summary. : If a miss is as good as a mile, how many young ladies will it take to make a league ? Three. Toae marry MAN.—An eastern caliph, being sorely afflicted with ennui, was advised that an ex change of shirts with a man that was perfectly happy would cure him. After a long search, he discovered such a person, but was informed the happy fellow had no shirt. A late writer says, that if you would have an idea of the ocean in a storm—just imagine ten thousand hills, four thousand mountains, all drunk and chasing one another over newly ploughed ground, with lots of caverns in it for them to step into now and then. . DerixiNg THE GENDERS.— Can you give me ‘an example of each of the genders ? said a school master to a bright eyed girl. . “ Why, you are masculine, because you are a man ; and I am feminine, because I am a girl.” “ Very well—proceed.” “I don’t know,” said the girl, “but I think the f.'ilptain at our house is neuter, as he’s an old bach elor.” : Once upon a time—in story-teller’s phrase—a very old iady was united in marriage to a very boyish gentleman(?)—whereupon one of the town poets perpetrated the following cruel impromptu : “ Hard the fate of every childless wife, The thoughts of wedlock tantalize her life ; ‘T'roth—aged bride—by thee 'twas wisely done, To choose a child and husband—both in one I" A clergyman not particularly eminent for his pulpit orations, being appointed to preach on an important occasion, asked a friend what he should preach about, who significantly replied, about five minutes. : . X THosk SerMoNS—“Tt amazes me, mnisters don’t write better sermons—l am sick of their dull prosy affairs,” said.a lady in the presence of a par o ; “But it is no easy matter, my good woman, to write good sermons,” suggested the minister. ! “Yes,” rejoined the rady, “but you are so long about it, I could write one in half the time, if I on ly had the text.”- “ Oh, if a text is all you want,” said the parson, “T will furnish that. 'l{ike this one from Solomon —¢ It is better to dwell in a corner of a house-top, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.’” “Do you mean me, sir,” inquired the -lady quipjxlfi, ‘ g gl e - “Oh, my good woman,” was_the grave lesponse, “you will never make a good sermonizer : you are too soon in your application.” : \ VOL. XCIIT—NO. 9, | Important Events of the Past Year. The past year has been big’ with events, princi pally of a national character, as will be seen by the following summary, selected from the New York papers. , January Ist—The province of Yucatan defijared herselt independent of Mexico, on the ground that the Central Government had violated the compact. February 9th—Resolutions for terminatin {%he Joint occupation of Oregon passed the U. S. éb se of Representatives, 164 to 64. et o 28—Dritish House of Commons sarictioned by a large majority Sir Robert Peel’s ‘measure for re forming the Corn Laws. . M E March 28th—General Taylor with an army of 3,500 men, arrived at the Rio. Grande and took post opposite Matamoros. - L 1 o April 16th—Resolutions to terminate the- joint occupation of Oregon passed the Senate, 40 to 14. 24th—Capt. Thornton’s command taken by the Mexicans. May 3d—The Mexicans opened their batteries on Fort Brewn opposite Matamoros.” The cannon-— ade was kept up without intermission for seven days, and returned with effect. During the seige, Major Brown was killed by a falling shot. Bth—The first general battle was fought with the Mexicans at Palo Alto. The American force under Gen. Taylor was 2,288 ; the Mexicans under Arists numbered twice as many. American loss, 9 killed and 44 wounded. Mexican loss in killed and wounded supposed to be about 440, 9th—Dßatile of Resaca de la Palma, in which the Mexicans were completely routed, with the loss of about 600 killed and wounded. American loss 89 killed and 83 wounded. Among the officers killed in these two engagements were Major Ringgold, Captain Puage, Lieutenants Inge, (ochrane, and Claiborne. 12th— War with Mexico recognized by both Houses of Congress, and a bill passed authorizing the reception of 50,000 volunteers. June Ist—DPope Gregory the XVlth died at Rome, having served more than 15 years. 18th—The U. States Senate ratified the treaty for the division of Oregon. 21st—Cardinal Mastai Ferreti was inaugurated at Rome, under the title of Pope Pius IXth. Heis 54 years of age. July 3d—The new Tarifl' passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 114 to 95. 6th—Commodore Sloat took possession of Mon terey, California, without serious opposition. ~ 18th—Ratifications of the Oregon Treaty were ‘exchanged at the Foreign Ofiice in London. ~ 28th—The new Tariff bill passed to a third read i ing in the United States Senate by the casting vote of Vice President Dallas, and was finally passed by w vote of 28 to 27. | August 30—President Polk vetoed the River and lllurbor Bill. - 6th—Another revolution took place in Mexico (in favor of the exiled chief, Santa Anna. The | troops of Vera Cruz and its vicinity first declared in his favor, and were soon followed by those at the Capital, who deposed and imprisoned Pare des ' and proclaimed in favor of Santa Anna and the | Constitution of 1824. | _ Bth—President Polk vetoed the French Spoila | tion Bill. } 10th—Congress adjourned, after the longest ses ' sion ever held, except that of 1841—2. | 15th—United States brig Truxton went aground lon the bar of Tuxpan river, and two days after was 'abandoned by Captain Carpender, officers and { crew, who went on shore and surrendered them ! selves as prisoners of war. They were subsequent i ly exchanged for General La Vega and his associ | ates. 17th—Commodore Richard F. Stockton de clared California a territory of the United States, proclaimed himself Governor, and issued a cede of laws for the government of the territory, &ec. 18th—General Kearney, at the head of about 3000 troops, took peaceable possession of Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico. September 19th—General Taylor arrived before Monterey, at the head of about 7000 men, and af ‘ter a seige of three days, forced the Mexicans, un der Ampudia, to capitulate and evacuate the eity. American loss in killed and wounded a trifle less than 500. Mexican loss not known, but suppos% to be about 1000. Among the Americans Kkille and mortally wounded was Lieutenant Colonel Watson, of Baltimore. 22nd—Steamer Great Britain, Capt. Hosken, went ashore on the coast of Ireland. No lives lost. October 11th—A terrible gale occurred in the Gulf of Mexico. Key West, Florida, was almost entirely destroyed. The gale also proved very de structive to some portions of the I}sl:md of Cuba where more than 2000 lives were lost in conse quence of it. At Havana every house in the ity was more or less damaged, and scarcely a vessel in the harbor rode out the gale in safety. 22nd—Commodore Perry captured two Mexican steamers and several other vessels at Frontena, mouth of the Tobasco river. ; ; 23d—Captured Tobasco, after a slight resistance. 30th—Gen. Wool took peaceable possession of Monclova, the capital of Coahuila. November 14th—-Tampico was taken possession of, by Commodore Conner, without opposition. December Ist—The new tariff goes into opera tion. Bth—Congress convenes, there being a quorum in both Houses. ' 4 9th— President Polk’s message is received and published. ‘ ~ 30th—Death of Hon. Alexander Barrow, at, Baltimore, a distinguished Senator of the United States from Louisiana. ' ' 31st—Intelligence of the total wreck of the Uni ted States brig Somers, and the loss of many of the officers and crew. . i : | Tonage of Nations, l The correspondent of the Washington Union, writing from Frankfort-on-the-Maine, gives the following as the tonage of each of the nations below named. It ’wil] be seen that, in a commercial point of view. the United States falls but little shortof Great Britain. With nothing to mar our bright prospects in the future, - a few years will see our tonage exceed that of any oth, er nation on the Globe. Lo Nations. Amount of' Tonaye.- ‘G]-catßrituin.....-..--...-....v.. ......-3’ooo'ooo " SRR vs G s e e 590.000 Sweden and Norway- .« .««.o c.oiviieoi. 480,000 Hollahid b