ject being to make a roadway instead of a tunnel, for the Southeastern Railway. Major-General Pasley, Sir John Herschell, and several scientific men were present. The quantity of gunpowder used was 18,500 lbs.

The immense cliff intended to be operated upon was studded with spectators; and excellent arrangements were made by the Company to avoid accidents: a line of demarcation was marked off by signals, and police and military were stationed along this line, to keep the populace from approaching within it. A mine, consisting of three cells, was planned and formed by Mr. Cubitt, the engineer of the Company, in the base of the cliff, into which the enormous quantity of powder above named was placed; and the ignition of the charges by the voltaic battery was performed by Lieutenant Hut. chinson, of the Royal Engineers. Punctual to their arrangements, the miners communicated the electric spark to the gunpowder by their connecting wires, on the signal being given; the earth trembled under the surface to the distance of half-a-mile, a stifled report, not loud, but deep, was heard; the base of the Cliff, extending on either hand to upwards of five hundred feet, was shot as from a cannon, from under the superincumbent mass of chalk seaward; and in a few seconds, not less than 1,000,000 tons of chalk were dislodged by the shock, and settled gently down into the sea below. Tremendous cheers followed the blast, and a royal salute was fired. The sight was indeed truly magnificent. Not the slight est accident occurred.

27. BLASPHEMOUS PUBLICA

fice, Thomas Patterson was brought up under four warrants, issued on the prosecution of Government, charging him with exposing certain blasphemous publications in Holywell-street. Patterson was partly defended by his counsel, Mr. Thomas, who took some technical objections that were overruled; and he partly defended himself, reading professedly for that purpose some papers which proved to be outrageously blasphemous, and they were eventually taken from him. In three of the cases he was fined 40s. ; and on refusing to pay the fines he was committed to prison for one month. The fourth case was postponed.

30. Two interesting contributions were acknowledged by the Lord Mayor at the Mansion House.— 51. from a mate on board the Erebus for the widows and orphans of the crew of the Conqueror; and 10. from Messrs. Roberts, Curtis, and Co., " part of a legacy of 1,500 francs bequeathed for the poor of London by the late Arehbishop A. L. De Montblanc, Archbishop of Tours, in France; who directed in his will that preference should be given in the distribution of the sum to those of his own (the Roman Catholic) faith." This gift had been sent to other offices.

at which such meetings have occurred are, among others, Aberdure, Pen Twyn, Blackwood, Gellygaer, Nelson Collieries, Duffryn Collieries, Cross Penmain, Llantrissent. The authorities were on the alert; and several ringleaders were arrested and committed to prison for breach of contract in leaving their work.

FEBRUARY.

1. CONVICTION of a ClergyMAN FOR FORGERY. At the Central Criminal Court, on Wednesday, the Rev. W. Bailey, LL.D., was tried for forging and uttering a promissory note for 2,8751. The forged note purported to have been given by Robert Smith, a well-known miser, who lived and died recently in the neighbourhood of Seven Dials, London, to Miss Bailey, the Doctor's sister. After his death, Dr. Bailey presented the promissory note in question, and also an IOU for the same amount to the administrators of Smith. The validity of the note was disputed. Miss Bailey, the Doc tor's sister, to whom it was alleged the note had been given, brought an action against the representatives of Smith; at which trial Dr. Bailey gave evidence, and swore that the note had been given to him by Smith. The jury, however, did not believe his evidence, and returned a verdict for the defendant. Subsequently he was apprehended on the charge of forging the promissory note and the IOU. After a trial of nearly twelve hours, the jury found Bailey guilty; and he was sentenced, by Mr. Justice Williams, to transportation for life.

An old woman named "Nell Gwyn," although at the age of ninety-eight, actually walked from Swansea to Carmarthen, a distance of thirty miles, in less than nine hours. This feat may be considered almost unequalled in the annals of pedestrianism.

2. AFFAIR OF HONOUR. Α duel was fought in the Bois de Vincennes and, happily, without unpleasant consequences. The parties were the Honourable William Wellesley and Count Hummell (a Belgian, said to be of the oldest family in Europe). The dispute occurred in Brussels, but on what subject did not transpire. The Count, who was the challenger, required that the duel should be with swords; on the part of Mr. Wellesley it was urged, that not only was he unaccustomed to that weapon, but that an injury to the elbow of his right arm disabled him from fighting with a sword, and he produced a certificate to that effect from M. Cloquet, the eminent surgeon. It was then agreed that they should fight with pistols, and they met accordingly this forenoon in the Bois de Vincennes, as above related. After an exchange of shots, which did no harm, Mr. Wellesley advanced towards his opponent and expressed his regret for having used the strong language which had given offence to Count Hummell. A reconciliation immediately ensued; they shook hands, and the matter terminated. The seconds of both parties were Frenchmen, but Mr. Wellesley was further attended by Mr. J. Gunning, who had served with the Duke of Wellington as principal surgeon during the whole of his Grace's Peninsular campaigns, and accompanied him to

5. SPLENDID METEOR. little after eight o'clock in the evening, a splendidly-illuminated meteor passed over a considerable part of the north of the county of Nottingham. Its course was from the N.W., and in its direct path it went a little to the east of Grove, near Retford, where its appearance was splendid in the extreme. It greatly resembled a large body of fire of a blood red colour, assuming various shapes. Its apparent height here was trifling, but its velocity could not be less than fifty or sixty miles in a minute. In its course it was seen by numbers at a distance from each other, yet those who observed it, although so many miles asunder, fancied it fell within a short distance. In 1710 a very extraordinary meteor was first seen in Leeds, on the 18th of May, at a quarter past ten at night. Its form was that of a flaming sword. On the 19th of March, 1719, another blazing_meteor was seen in every part of England. It was observed in London about eight P.M. On the 11th of December, 1741, at one P.M., another was seen at Peckham, in Surrey, in the form of a globe of fire, larger than the full moon. At half-past nine at night, on the 18th of August, 1783, a most luminous meteor was seen in several parts of the kingdom; afterwards it passed into France, and was distinctly seen at Paris, Brussels, and Nuits, in Burgundy. In passing over Lincolnshire loud reports were head, which were compared to the falling of some heavy body in a room above stairs. On the 14th of October, in the same year, two others were seen, but their appearance was of short duration; since

8. EARTHQUAKE IN THE WEST INDIES. A terrible earthquake attended with great destruction both to life and property took place in the West India Islands. It is stated to have begun in St. Thomas at half-past ten o'clock in the morning; in Antigua at sixteen minutes before eleven; in St. Christopher at fifteen minutes before eleven; and its duration is estimated by various writers and in different places at a minute and a half or two minutes. The loss of life, as yet ascertained, is inconsiderable; the loss of property immense.

The worst of the convulsion appears to have been felt at Antigua; where it destroyed almost all the public buildings, nearly every windmill and sugar work on the island; and put a perfect stop to every occupation. The approach of the earthquake and its terrible effects are graphically described by a gentleman who was in the island at the time

"There was nothing very remarkable in the atmosphere on the morning of the 8th February. The sun was shining hot and bright, and the sky nearly without a cloud. The wind was regular, blowing fresh, and rather cold, from the usual quarter, N.E. The only thing that could be noticed was a deep purple haze, rather unusual at this time of the year, hanging over the different Islands, and shutting in the horizon: very little rain, however, had fallen for some time past, and in consequence the earth was parched up. About twenty-three minutes before eleven o'clock, I went on the quarter-deck of her Majesty's

alongside the wharf in English Harbour taking in coals; the men, women, and children were on shore in the dock-yard, enjoying themselves, cooking, playing-altogether forming a sort of fair. Suddenly I saw the cliff behind the coal-yard vibrate to and fro, and the smooth surface of the dockyard undulate, like a carpet under which the wind has crept, from huge chasms and rents in the earth. The huge vessel quivered and shook with such rapidity and force, that it was with great difficulty I could keep my legs. On turning my eyes up the harbour, I saw a hill called Monk's Hill, as it appeared to me, toppling from its summit, enveloped in a cloud of dust. The water in the har. bour foamed and bubbled; and in many places a white substance rose, as if thrown up from the bottom. How shall I describe the terror and consternation that in a moment seized upon those that were on the wharf! Some rushed on board in all directions, and scrambled up the sides of the ship; others, in their distraction, threw themselves into the sea: even some of the sailors jumped overboard; but, providentially, no accident of a serious nature took place. When the shock was over, to my dying day I shall never for get the horror that was depicted on the countenances of all. Men gazed at each other in blank and terrible dismay. I can remember one thought that startled me, as the earthquake of Lisbon flashed across my mind! should the sea rise? Horrid was the idea! but that in a moment gave way to the fear that the men would get jammed between the piles of the wharf and the vessel, as she was

The only sound that can convey the slightest idea of the noise that accompanied the shock, is that of a heavy waggon-train passing rapidly by in a hollow way, and the sensation that of grinding on a coral rock.

"The day after, I rode into St. John's. Here and there huge masses of rock, of many tons weight, detached from the hills, and plunging through the cane pieces, forming a road, clear as if the plough had passed over the track, had bounded on to the hard road, leaving perpetual evidence of their fearful power: houses in ruins, mills split from top to bottom, or totally destroyed, churches with only part of the outer walls standing-rents and seams in the ground-every thing showed that the desolation extended over the whole island. Coming suddenly on the town, the spectacle was perfectly awful. In part of a long building, formerly a barrack, the walls had given way in the centre, and the roof had fallen in and broke its back; a new brick wall, surrounded by a railing, was thrown down; the barracks, where a detachment of the Forty-seventh are stationed, a confused mass of rubbish. The tower of the cathedral is standing, but it will, it is feared, have to come down; the remainder is destroyed. The courthouse, a massive stone building, though apparently on the outside not so much injured as the rest, is virtually destroyed. The Moravian and Scottish churches have fared better, and the Government-house has escaped pretty well. It is impossible to detail every thing; but of all the mills in the island only three are fit to work. The crop is nearly ready, and one of

is feared that a sufficient number of mills, even of a temporary nature, cannot be got ready to make the sugar before the canes rot. An enormous quantity of wine and other liquors have been destroyed. The sea in the harbour rose above two feet; and in several places a stinking, black, bituminous matter, rose through the cracks and fissures in the earth. The loss of life has not been proportionate to the damage done: seven persons are known to have perished; but many accidents of a serious nature have taken place. Had it happened in the night, thousands would have been killed."

The Antigua Herald says, that not one building consisting of stone-work had escaped injury; and many families in the town had been obliged to resort to the ships for lodging. The island of St. Christopher suffered much, though less than Antigua. The time when the shock occurred was recorded by the stopping of all the clocks at half-past ten. The shock commenced with a gentle throbbing, attended with a hissing in the air, which as the severity of the convulsion increased, resembled more the rush of a tempest, accompanied by the usual rambling noise from the east. When at its climax, the frightful noise occasioned by the destruction going on in every direction added to the screams of women and children, exceeded all description. The convulsion was supposed to have lasted for a mi nute and a half or two minutes. The buildings were rent and torn, one house was demolished entirely, and on one estate situated on a cliff every building was pitched into a ravine and shattered to atoms. The loss of property is

ling. At Nevis the damage is computed at half that sum. In some parts there were slips of stone and earth, and the mountain-sides were torn and disfigured. At St. Thomas the noise and vibration are said to have lasted nearly three minutes. All business was suspende 1, and the affrighted inhabitants flocked to their places of worship to return thanks to Divine Providence for their escape from destruction. The ships in the harbour felt the shock very severely. The 10th was appointed a day of thanksgiving. The shock was reported to have been felt at Barbadoes and St. Vincent, but very slightly.

10. Mr. George Alexander Hamilton was on this day elected as Representative for the University of Dublin, in the room of Mr. Sergeant Jackson, lately made a judge. There was no opposition. Mr. Hamilton spoke at great length on the Education and Maynooth questions, in opposition to the policy adopted by the Government on those subjects.

SEAMAN-LIKE HUMANITY.

-The following statement was addressed to the Times newspaper, by the passengers of the Peninsula steamer, Lady Mary Wood:"The passengers of the Lady Mary Wood, from Gibraltar to Southampton, feel it equally their pleasure and duty, and hope that you will place on record the promptness, humanity, and excellent arrangement of Captain Cooper, in saving from a watery grave five poor Frenchmen, during a heavy gale of wind from the north east in the Bay of Biscay. At half-past 10 a. m., on the 10th inst., we observed a French lugger, with her foremast carried away by