and about half a gill of water was served out to each person. Next day some sails were procured, also some more provisions, and a small keg containing lime-juice. The master had saved some of his charts and nautical instruments, and got them away when the boats left the wreck. On Monday, a boiler and some copper piping, together with a cistern, having been procured from the wreck at low water, Mr. Philip Beal, a passenger, succeeded in distilling fresh water from the sea water, and a half pint was served to each person that evening the fuel for the purpose being procured from the wreck. On the next day, after a consultation, it was resolved to attempt the building of a boat large enough to carry all hands in safety to some port, and accordingly three divisions were made of the men-one portion to assist in saving necessary articles from the wreck; another to assist Mr. Beal in distilling water for their sustenance; and the third in building the boat. Some carpenters' tools were secured from the wreck, and timber from time to time; and in this way the judicious arrangements that had been made were effectually carried out. During their stay at this solitary place, some relics of former wrecks were found. A rusty chain was discovered on the reef, together with some head-boards and planks in other places, and some cinders, as if a fire had been made on one of the banks. By the 25th September, Mr. Beal had so far improved his machinery, by means of articles preserved from the wreck, that he was enabled to procure 25 gallons of fresh water that day, and henceforth the supply to the people was more liberal.

The provisions, however, began to get short; and the allowance was reduced to half a pound of flour a day, which had to be made into a pudding with salt water. The little biscuit they had was preserved for sea stock, as was also all the water they could put by. At length, on the 26th October, the boat upon which all their hopes depended was launched successfully. It was found that she sat well on the water, but leaked considerably; and two days more were occupied in repairing the defect, and getting her rigged and stowed. These operations being completed, the adventurers got under weigh on the 29th October, 22 persons being in the craft that had been built, and six in the safety boat. They made for Moreton Bay, but the wind eventually, in the course of five days, drove the boats towards the entrance of the Brisbane River, and they reached the town in safety, where they met with every kindness and attention from its inhabitants, all of them, including the women and children, comparatively well,— a circumstance almost incredible, after having been exposed for 37 days and nights on a desolate coral bank in the Pacific. The preservation of these people is most remarkable, and is due, under Providence, to the firmness of mind displayed by all in remedying their disastrous condition.

ELECTIONS TO PARLIAMENT.-At Devonport and Southampton, Sir John Romilly and Sir A. Cockburn were re-elected without opposition, on their respective promotions; and Mr. Page Wood, at Oxford, on his appointment to the solicitor-generalship. At Aylesbury, vacant by the election of F. Calvert, Esq., being made void, there was a severe contest between Mr. Bousfield

Ferrand, a violent Protectionist, and Mr. Bethell, the eminent Chancery barrister, and a liberal in politics; the latter was elected, having polled 544 votes to Mr. Ferrand's 518. At Coventry, Mr. Geach defeated Mr. Edward Strutt; both Liberals. In West Somerset, Mr. Gore Langton, a Whig, was returned without opposition. At Boston, the Protectionists gained the victory, returning Mr. Freshfield in the room of the late Whig member, Captain Pelham, by a great majority. In Ireland there have been two elections. At Enniskillen, Mr. Whiteside, Q.C., was returned in the room of the Hon. Colonel Cole; at Longford, Mr. More O'Ferrall, in the room of S. W. Blackall, Esq.; and at Cork, Mr. Sergeant Murphy, in the room of Mr. W. Fagan, resigned.

MAY.

THE

ROYAL

EXHIBITION OF ACADEMY.-The pictures exhibited this year are calculated to convey a favourable notion of the English school. The subjects of the works of the higher class are in general well selected, and attempted by the men of most note; and in consequence a general tone of elevation is communicated to the whole collection. Paintings by foreign artists are more numerous than usual, and though they possess much merit, exhibit such confirmed mannerism in treatment, drawing, and colour, as to show the earnestness of the English artists in advantageous contrast.

Among the scriptural subjects are especially noticeable, Herbert's Young Daniel," a figure from a larger picture, full of the artist's peculiar beauty; Armitage's "Sam

son grinding in the Prison," and Redgrave's "Flight into Egypt." Of the historic pictures, Maclise's "Caxton's Printing-office in the Almonry" is a work of wonderful composition and expression, and is undoubtedly the chef-d'œuvre of the exhibition; Mr. F. M. Browne's "Chaucer reading to Edward III. and his Court," a fine piece of grouping; Cope's "Laurence Saun ders, the second Protestant Martyr:" E. M. Ward's "Royal Family of France in the Prison of the Temple;" and Charles Landseer's "Cromwell reading a letter found in Charles's Cabinet, after Naseby," deserve notice. Of inventive or illustrative paintings, Sir C. Eastlake, the President, exhibits "Ip pollita Torelli," a single figure full of beauty and grace; Mulready, "The Music Lesson;" Sir Edwin Landseer, "A Midsummer Night's Dream-Titania and Bottom," an exquisite specimen of the master. Mr. Dyce's "Lear and Fool in the Storm," Leslie's Falstaff personating the King," and Elmore's "Hotspur and the Fop," are not unworthy the great bard they illustrate. Sir Edwin Landseer sends other pictures, beautiful representations of animal life, "Geneva" (a group of animals); a Stag on a Mountain Pinnacle, Mountain Pinnacle," "The Highlander," a sportsman with a slain eagle; and the "Last Run of the Season."

said; few artists will send their laborious productions to such a cellar as is appropriated to the exhibition of sculpture in the National Gallery. Marshall's Hebe Rejected," and MacDowell's "Slumbering Student" and "Psyche," are works of merit, lost in dim obscurity.

3. CONFLAGRATION AT SAN FRANCISCO. On the 4th May, 1850, a large part of San Francisco was destroyed by fire, and thrice within the year was the calamity repeated. On the 3rd May of this year, a conflagration consumed nearly the whole city, being the seventh time that the place has been thus devastated during the four years of its existence. The fire broke out in a paint-shop on the west side of Portsmouth Square.

"It was but a slight blaze when first seen, but in five minutes the whole upper story was full of flames. Before the engines could get upon the ground and commence playing, the American on one side, and a store occupied by Messrs. Rhodes as a furnishing establishment, were in flames. The buildings in the vicinity being all of wood, and extremely combustible, the fire spread up Clay Street, back towards Sacramento, and down Clay Street to Kearney Street, with frightful rapidity. It soon had full command, and the fire department could only work upon the borders, and endeavour to check its progress. By anticipating it in its way, they succeeded on the north side before it reached Du Pont Street; but in every other direction in which it could spread, it took its own course. There was but little chance to save much of the moveables. To the south it spread to Bush Street, and to the east passed Jackson Street,

sweeping everything from east of Du Pont Street to the Wharfs. The blocks between Du Pont and Kearney Streets, and west of Portsmouth Square, as far as Bush Street, three in number, are in ashes. Between Bush and Jackson, Kearney and Montgomery Streets, five in number, all are burned down. Between Montgomery and Sansom, Bush and Jackson Streets, five in number, all down. Besides these thirteen blocks, almost every building of which is destroyed, there are many others. It is impossible even to guess at the number of buildings or the amount of property destroyed. A thousand buildings is within the range of truth. We judge that ten millions of dollars could not replace the terrible destruction. Some place it at three times as high. It is sufficient to say that more than three-fourths of the business part of the city is nothing but smouldering cinders.

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Frame-buildings burned like tinder; iron-houses curled up like sheets of paper before a fire; brick buildings, with iron shutters and doors, gave way, and crumbled into ruins. Of scores of buildings supposed to be fire-proof, within the limits of the burnt district, not a dozen remain, and it seems as if they were preserved by a miracle. Such was the fierceness of the flames, that they leaped across streets a hundred feet wide, and ignited the buildings as if they were made of touchwood. And when the fury of the flames was exhausted, they were extinguished in as improbable a manner as they had ravaged. They destroyed one end of a wooden building and went out, leaving the remainder standing.

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But the most wonderful part

of the history of this fire is the energy and perseverance displayed by the citizens since. The language does not contain words sufficient to describe or commend their courage and determination. Four times destroyed by fire, and four times rebuilt, this the fifth catastrophe is as far from disheartening them as the first. In 48 hours after the fire, buildings were erected and business was transacted over the still smoking ruins. On this the eleventh day since the fire, (including two Sundays,) there are nearly 400 buildings erected or in progress of erection in the burnt district, most of them being completed and occupied. I hazard nothing in saying that in 60 days the whole district will be again covered with buildings."

6. Loss OF THE FALKLAND STEAMER. This beautiful vessel was built by the East India Company for service on the Indus; and in order to fit her for river navigation was constructed of iron, of great length and very shallow. She left Bombay on the 1st May, in company with the Berenice steamer, for the Indus. The Berenice was deeply laden, and had a vessel in tow, in consequence of which her progress was very slow, and the Falkland had to wait for her, working only one engine. There was a heavy swell from the north-west, which proved very injurious to so long and shallow a vessel as the Falkland, which might have been obviated had she been allowed to put on her speed. She started some of the bottom plates, and became leaky. On the 5th one of the side plates split, and the crew attempted to bind the ship together with coir cable, and kept alongside the Berenice in case of a split. At 2.30 A.M.

of the 6th, the starboard side gave way, the water rushed in with terrific violence, and the vessel sunk; but not before the crew had escaped on board their companion.

9. ROBBERY OF 7,000l. wORTH OF CALIFORNIAN GOLD DUST.-By the Great Western steam-ship, arrived a few days since at Southampton, an immense quantity of gold from California was brought to this country, consigned to the Bank of England. The gold, principally dust, was enclosed in tin canisters, which were again enclosed in small wooden boxes, about 18 inches long, 7 or 8 inches broad, and 6 deep, the average weight of each box being half a cwt. On Thursday 157 of these boxes were unshipped from the Great Western, and placed in four railway trucks by the servants of the Southampton Docks, and the packing superintended by officials of the West India Mail Company, and two clerks attached to the Bank of England. The four trucks were properly "sheeted" and made secure before leaving the dock company's premises; and before they were attached to the ordinary goods train for London, they were separately placed on the weighing bridge at the Southampton station of the South-Western Railway, the weight of each being taken. The usual time for the goods up train starting was 8 o'clock, but from some delay it did not leave Southampton until 9 o'clock. It is customary when property of a valuable description is not insured, and taken by the ordinary goods trains, for the persons who are acting as agents for the owners or consignees, to ride in a close carriage next the treasure trucks, to get out at each station

and see that no unauthorized person is near them, and to guard the treasure until it is safely lodged in the Bank of England. The train arrived at Nine Elms about three o'clock on Friday morning. Between five and six the same morning, Mr. Thorne, the night superintendent of the goods traffic, found that three of the boxes containing the gold dust were missing. The boxes missing were severally marked, the first, "B., at the top, and "N. M. R." on the bottom, and weighed 53 lbs. The second was marked "C. M." upwards, and "J. J. C." underneath; this one weighed 39 lbs. 12 ounces. The third box had written on it "D. Dunbar and Son," had no weight marked, but was valued at 6500 dollars. Information was instantly sent to all the stations between Nine Elms and Southampton to search the intervening spaces, and at a late hour on Friday night, information was received that the box directed to "D. Dunbar and Son" had been discovered by a boy on the bank of the railway, near Winchester station, unopened, and that a man was in custody on suspicion of being concerned in the stealing of it.

On

Saturday, Wm. Pamplin, a middleaged and respectably-attired man, who described himself as a tailor, living in Earl Street, Soho, was taken before the magistrates at Winchester Town Hall. The evidence given was to the effect that, on Friday afternoon, a boy, the son of a licensed victualler, whose house is near the Winchester station, was looking for birds'-nests on the railway bank, near the station, when he discovered the box partly hid by a bank; he took it home, and his father went with it to the station, and Gradidge, the railway police

man, suggested that a watch should be kept near the spot, which was done, and as late as half-past 11 o'clock that night the prisoner came to the spot, and the constable took him into custody. The box had not been replaced, and when the prisoner was asked why he was there, he said he had lost his way in going to the station. The proceedings of the prisoner for some time preceding the robbery were traced, and proved to be sufficiently suspicious to justify the magistrates in committing him for trial.

Pamplin was put on his trial at the Winchester Assizes, July 19, charged with having stolen a box of gold dust; and, secondly, with having received the same knowing it to be stolen. He was found

"Guilty" on the second count, and sentenced to be transported for ten years. He seems to have been connected with railway robberies.

9. GREAT ROBBERY OF DIAMONDS. Guildhall. Edward Thönen, a young German, was placed at the bar, charged with absconding from his employ, and stealing a large quantity of diamonds, of the value of 450l., the property of Messrs. Birustingl, Schwabacher, and Co., diamond merchants, of 8, Broad Street Buildings. This case is singular, from the circumstances attending the capture of the prisoner.

Michael Haydon, a detective officer of the City force, said-On the 28th of last month, I received information that prisoner had absconded with a quantity of diamonds belonging to Messrs. Birnstingl, of Broad Street Buildings. I traced prisoner to Peterborough, and from thence to Liverpool. On Tuesday night I went down to the latter place, and from inquiries I made there on the following morn