had not given any encouragement to frighten him: but when I told to his addresses, since my father my father the position in which spoke to me on the subject. I the man was standing, he said he forbad him to visit me again, and was afraid that he had hurt him. I never admitted him into the The moon had not then risen. I house, nor have I kept his com- went down stairs under an impres pany in any other manner than I sion that the person was breaking have now stated, except speaking into the house; and from what my to him once or twice at my father's father said at the time, I believe door. My father's lodging-room that he had the same impression is on the other side of the house. upon his mind; we found the parI did not give any alarm; my lour window a little open; I did sister Sophia got up and went out not know whether it was left so of the room, as soon as the deceased when the family went to bed; we came to the window. I do not made no attempt to pursue the believe she knew who it was. I supposed robber; we wiped the first became acquainted with Mr. sword with a white handkerchief Blackburn at Hamburg. to ascertain if there was any blood upon it; we found it rather stained, but we thought it was with the rust and grease; we had no further conversation about the robber; my father was somewhat agitated, but I was not at all so; the deceased and my father had never had any quarrel."

Mr. Benjamin Carlile, the brother of the last witness, said, "About half-past eleven o'clock on Tuesday night last, my sister Sophia came into my room, and said that there was somebody breaking into the house; I put my trowsers on, and found my father (who had also been called by my sister) a few steps before me; he always keeps a sword in his room, and had it then in his hand; we went into the parlour, and I saw a man standing at the window; my father put the sword through one of the top panes, but not as I believe with great force: nor did he speak to the man: we both thought that he was standing on the ground at some distance from the window, but I could not judge of the distance, as it was very dark, and it was not until he had leaped down that I discovered that he had been standing on the ledge of the window; he jumped down immediately after my father put the sword through the pane. My father had no idea that he had hurt the man. We then went into the kitchen; my father said he had put the sword over his head

Miss Sophia Carlile, who seemed about sixteen years of age, said, "I heard a noise at my sister's chamber window, on Tuesday night, about eleven o'clock; it seemed to be occasioned by something thrown at the window; I was awoke by the noise, but I did not speak to my sister about it: I did not know that Joseph Blackburn threw it. She did not get up whilst I was in the room; I thought it was thrown by some person that was going to break into the house; I went to my father's room, and told him that some person was breaking into the house, and he immediately got up; I went to tell my brother, and then retired into my own room; I found my sister sitting in a chair undressed; I heard the noise of the breaking of the window; but I did not see or hear of my father afterwards. I did not

tell my father that Blackburn was throwing at the window, I remember dirt being thrown at the window once before, and my sister told me that it was Blackburn who threw it; I am not certain whether my sister had got out of bed before I went to alarm my father or not; I did not hear my sister speak to Blackburn."

Mr. Joseph Waiblinger said, "I am a surgeon at Pudsey. I was called on Tuesday night, about eleven o'clock, to visit the deceased. I found a great quantity of blood in his small-clothes; there was a wound in the abdomen, five inches below the navel, a little to the right; there was a portion of the omentum protruded through the wound, which I was obliged to remove. I told the deceased that the wound had more the appearance of having been inflicted by a sharp cutting instrument than a ball; the deceased said he could not say whether the noise he heard was the discharge of a pistol or the breaking of a window. I saw the deceased six or seven times on Wednesday (25th), and again on Thursday morning, when I continued with him till he died, which was at nine o'clock.

Mr. Hutchinson was called to prove the examination of the deceased, which had been taken by the rev. J. A. Rhodes, and was to the following effect:-That the deceased went to Mr. Carlile's house, between eleven and twelve o'clock on Tuesday night, to visit his daughter, as he had done many times before: he got up to the window to speak to her; she burst into tears, and her mother asked her why she cried, but he did not hear any answer; Mr. Carlile tabbed him immediately, but the deceased said he did not see him

or hear him speak; he hardly knew he was wounded until he got a few yards from Mr. Carlile's house, and he thought he should never have been able to have got to his brother's house; in a subsequent part of his examination, he stated that he never said that he knew it was Mr. Thomas Carlile who had stabbed him, as he had neither seen him nor heard him speak; had not lately had any quarrel with Mr. Carlile, nor had Mr. Carlile at any time threatened to do him any injury; witness about a year since had a quarrel with Mr. Carlile; it was about Sophia, who told her father that he was paying attentions to her sister Rebecca; Mr. Carlile spoke to him out of the window; he seemed vexed, but did not threaten him. 1

The jury returned a verdict of Manslaughter.

FORTUNATE ESCAPE FROM SaVAGES. In 1824, the Countess of Morley being off the Marquesas, Jeffery, the chief mate, with a boat's crew, was despatched on shore to procure fresh provisions in exchange for articles of barter. In prosecuting this object, he was induced to enter one of the huts, where he was detained as a prisoner. It is conjectured that the natives, in resorting to this measure, had no intention of injuring him; but as he appeared to be the principal of the party, they wished to have a musket offered for his ransom. They had before expressed a great desire for fire-arms, and declined exchanging their hogs, fruit, fowls, &c. for any thing else. Those who accompanied the mate, seeing nothing was to be done against such a force as had been collected, returned to their boats, and made good their passage to the ship. The next day Griffiths volunteered

fered to go by himself; and, on the appearance of any vessel in the offing, he was forced to keep at a distance from the beach. The clothes which he had on when made prisoner were taken from him, and distributed among the na tives. Thus Griffiths was obliged to wander over the island in the same state of nudity with his companions. The hope of eventually escaping kept up his spirits, but the difference of diet, having nothing but fruits and water to subsist on, materially impaired his health. A man of colour, named Exeter Dick, who belonged also to the Countess of Morley, was taken at the same time with Griffiths, but being conveyed to another part of the island, he contrived to make his escape: Another man, called Michael Dale, had been detained there some years, but the fear of being retaken prevented his endeavouring to escape. Griffiths describes the island, which is situated in lat. 9. S. long. 139. 27. W. and called by the natives Rooahoogah, as very mountainous, and well wooded. It is totally uncultivated, but produces the bread-fruit, cocoa-nuts, plantains, bananas, &c. in abundance. The only animals are hogs, which are killed and eaten on particular occasions, such as the death of a priest or chief, when the number devoured is in proportion to the consequence of the party. Their arms consist of clubs and lances, and the persons killed and taken in war are devoured. They appeared to set great value on a few old muskets, which Griffiths cleaned and repaired as well as he was able; and this circumstance alone caused him to be held in much estimation. -After residing there

his services, and with two boats' crews, well armed, proceeded to the shore in quest of Jeffery. Soon after they had landed, he was led down to the beach, between two of the natives, backed by a numerous host; and having told his shipmates that he was afraid of falling a victim to the treachery of the islanders, an attack was instantly commenced, and in the skirmish Jeffery got free. By this time the force of their adversaries so augmented, that they were obliged to give way, and retreat to their boats, under showers of stones, one of which struck Griffiths on the back of his head, and knocked him senseless into the water. When the boats were at some distance from the shore, the lifeless body of Griffiths was held up by the heels in view of his shipmates, who looked upon him as dead. So, indeed, thought the islanders, for each claimed a part as his share, and but for the interference of their chief, these cannibals would have made a sure end of him. This chief, whom Griffiths represents to be a venerable old man, nearly ninety-years of age, with a flowing beard, had him conveyed to his hut, and seeing that life was not extinct, advised their using every means in their power to recover him, as he might be useful in teaching them how to mend and clean the muskets they were in possession of; this reasoning seems reasoning seems to have had the desired effect, and being adopted by the old chief as his son, he was thenceforth treated with much kindness. His time was mostly occupied in helping them to make and mend their fishing-nets, which were formed of the inner bark of a tree. He also accompanied them in their canoes when fishing, but was never suf- for some months, he became ac

31. To-day, parliament was prorogued by commission. The commissioners were, the lord chancellor, the archbishop of Canterbury, the marquis Conyngham, the earl of Harrowby, and the earl of Shaftesbury.

JUNE.

2. MEDWAY CANAL COMPANY.

an important inquiry was had at the Court Hall at Rochester, before the committee of the company of proprietors of the Thames and Medway Canal, to ascertain the compensation to be paid by the Canal company to Mr. Gunning, Mr. De La Cour, and Mr. Hasted, for expenses incurred by them, and damage done to their estates at Frindsbury and Strood: the works of the canal having abstracted the water from Mr. Gunning's pond, and having introduced salt water into the wells of Mr. De La Cour and Mr. Hasted, so as to render them brackish. The inquiry excited great interest, and continued on the first day, from ten in the morning until seven in the evening. The claims of the several parties amounted to 1,526l. 17s. 6d. but were reduced, by the verdicts of the jury, to 978l. 13s.

quainted with their language, and latterly spent much time in conversing with the old chief with whom he lived, and to whose interference he owed his preservation. The old man was very inquisitive as to the extent and power of England, and often said that, but for his great age, he should have endeavoured to visit it. The natives are all idolaters, and the taboo forms an essential part of their system of worship. The antiquity-On Friday and Saturday last, of the taboo is equal to the other branches of that superstition of which it forms so component a part. The idols, temples, persons of the priests, chiefs, burying places, &c. are always taboo, or sacred. The prohibitions and requisitions of the taboo are strictly enforced, and every breach of them punished with death. After living with the family of the old chief about twelve months, Griffiths succeeded in escaping to an enemy's tribe on the opposite side of the island, by whom he was favourably received. Here he remained some time, when, by promising to send them a supply of powder, they suffered him to depart in a canoe to St. Christina, another island about fifty miles further to the southward, where British and American ships often send their boats to procure refreshments. He reached St. Christina in safety, and after being there three weeks, an English ship hove in sight; on her nearing the place, Griffiths plunged into the sea, and swam alongside a boat which had been despatched from the ship for provisions, and after a little explanation was taken on board. The vessel was the Eliza Frances, of London, Stephenson master. Griffiths remained on board to work his passage home, and arrived in the Downs about three weeks since

3. MURDER AT BEDALE.-Mr. Nicholas Carter, of Crake Hall, near Bedale, about 55 years of age, was returning from Leyburn market on horseback. Mr. Plews, a neighbour, accompanied him to Constable Burton, where he remained a short time, and Mr. Carter proceeded onwards. Mr. Plews found him, about ten minutes after the attack had been made

upon him, weltering in his blood, and speechless, at a small village