together with a statement of the quantity of chaldrons raised per day : Hewers.... Tyne. 620 .... Wear. 349 53 .... Tees. .... Total. 417 1,386 Men left the Union 62 215 .... 100 Chaldrons per day... 835.... 500... 620... 1,955 In a reply to the foregoing, signed by "William Richardson" and" John Clark" on behalf of the miners, we are assured that, after" the most diligent inquiry," the following statement has been ascertained to be the truth :-" Tyne, 205 hewers, 45 men left the union, 200 chaldrons produced. Wear, 116 hewers, 29 left the union, 109 chaldrons. Tees, 130 hewers, 18 left the nnion, 141 chaldrons. Total, 451 hewers, 92 left the union, 450 chaldrons produced. Of the 92 men who have left the union, 70 are deputies, shifters, brokemen, &c." "A Miner," whose letter we received only yesterday, contradicts several assertions made in the Journal, and asks :-" 1. How many days were the miners of Northumberland and Durham employed per week, on an average, before they restricted themselves?-2. How can the miners secure constant work-3. How can a man, who was never in a coal-pit, institute a comparison between the healthfulness of a factory and a colliery?" The "Team" and "Waldridge" rejoinder, received last night, must stand over to Saturday next. Mr. W. Thomason, on Tuesday, addressed a public meeting in the Nelson-street lecture-room, Newcastle, on the conduct of the "executive" and "law establishment" of the union, whose partisans (says the Newcastle Advertiser) were present in large numbers-and one of them was in the chair. Mr. Thomason (our contemporary states) was assailed in a most unfair and unmanly manner; and although all discussion was Burked, the "executive" had the courage to propose and press a resolution, to the effect that the meeting had investigated the charges, and ascertained them to be unfounded!-The Newcastle Courant, in its report of the proceedings, observes:"An amendment was proposed stating that Mr. Thomason had not had a fair hearing, but it was defeated, notwithstanding its manifest truth; for at no time was he allowed to proceed without interruption. In fact, the greater part of the time was wasted in confusion of the inost disgraceful character-in the bandying of vulgar epithets, and the imputation of dishonest motives. A more uproarious meeting has not been held in Newcastle for some years, nor could there be one in which partizanship more strongly predominated. It may not have been altogether unproductive of good, inasmuch as it must satisfy the least reflecting of the miners, how completely they have from time to time been duped by parties who have set themselves up as their advocates and enlighteners who have tolerated each other's conduct as long as the same game was to be played-and who close their career by showing to the world their own worthlessness, by mutual recrimination and exposure." Several men, formerly occupied in contract work on railways, are now working at Blaydon Main colliery, having lost their railway-engagements in consequence of pitmen undertaking their jobs at lower prices-in some cases one-half! Strange that men who "strike" for higher wages, and combine together to accomplish their ends, should deprive other persons of their work by accepting it on lower terms!-Correspondent. Thomas West, Robert Palmer, John Ovington, and Thomas Ellison, pitmen "on strike," were brought before the Sunder. land magistrates on Saturday, charged with riot and assault(almost murder, indeed)-on the 21st ult., at Monkwearmouth, Edmund Hayton, a "blackleg," had been working in Monkwearmouth pit, and was returning home, when a mob of unionists fell upon him in a field, and beat him most brutally. Thomas Watson, a plumber, had the manliness to warn them against proceeding further with their violence; and he, too, was then assaulted, and nearly killed. The prisoners were all committed for trial at the assizes. The Marquis of Londonderry's agreement with his pitmen, reported by one or two of our contemporaries, existed only in idle rumour. Mr. Edward Richardson, of Derwent iron works colliery, addressed a public meeting in Glasgow on the 31st ult. He stated.-1. That the coalowners always kept a number of unbound men, who were discharged a month or two before the "binding," that, by the 5th of April, they might be hungry for work, and be glad of engagements on any terms; whereby the whole body of pitmen were placed at the mercy of their masters.-2. That it was on this account the "restriction" was adopted, so that the number of unemployed men might be kept down as much as possible.-3. That in one year, at one colliery, the sum of £120 7s. 10d. had been deducted in fines, and £3,252 8s. 114d. in wages.-4. That the inccrease demanded in wages was full 5 per cent. less than the decrease which took place in 1842-43.-5. That the "guarantee," of which so much had been said, did not extend to more than 15s. per week for five days' work; which being granted, the strike would be at an end.-6. That 10s. per week "smart money" was demanded simply to make the coalowners more careful of the safety of their men.-7. That the men were now, at the end of two months, in a better condition for the strike than when they first ceased work.-8. That not a dozen unionists had fallen away from the strike.-9. That the owners, aided by the "rurals," were doing all in their power to provoke breaches of the peace, but, with a few exceptions, had so far failed. [The meeting passed a resolution expressing sympathy and promising support.] John Bright, pitman, committed to Durham gaol on the 6th inst., for an assault on a" black-leg," died on Tuesday. He was subject to epilepsy. John Drummond, George Cherry, and Edward Elliott, of Wingate Grange colliery, having been apprehended on Thursday, on a charge of intimidating the men employed at Hartbushes pit, the unionists came to the rescue, but were overpowered by the "rurals," and fifteen of them lodged in prison. A gun was fired at the police before the disturbance broke out. A writ of certiorari was served upon the five magistrates of Sunderland, who committed for trial and refused bail for the four pitmen of Monkwearmouth, on a charge of cutting and wounding. The writ authorized the removal of the depositions of the witnesses to the chambers of the Lord Chief Justice. They were also served with a summons to appear before his lordship to show cause why they refused the bail. The hearing came on on Tuesday, when they were represented by a law agent; but in consequence of the depositions having been forwarded without the signatures of the magistrates, it was adjourned to Friday (yesterday), to allow time to correct the informality. The pitmen held a large meeting at Tantoby, on Tuesday last, about 20,000 men being present, with music, banners, &c. Mr. Matthew Elliott, of Trimdon, was called to the chair. Mr. William Bird moved a resolution, referring to the ten weeks' strike, and the "many diabolical attempts of the masters," during its progress, to "make them submit to worse than Russian serfdom." In conclusion, the resolution pledged the pitmen to abide by the union.-Mr. William Bulmer seconded the resolution.-[At this stage of the proceedings, a troop of the 6th Dragoons came up, headed by R. S. Surtees, Esq., of Hamsterley, J.P. Mr. Surtees, the Hon. Capt. Jocelyn, and Lieut. Knox, rode up to the chairman-the pitmen clearing a road; and Mr. S. read an address, signed by himself and Peter Annandale, Esq., on that day, at the justice-room in Shotley Bridge, stating that complaints had been made of acts of outrage committed after the last meeting at Tantoby, and requesting that the men might be exhorted, on the present occasion, to disperse without disorder. Mr. Surtees said, there was no intention to obstruct this or any other constitutional meeting: all that the magistrates desired was the maintenance of the peace.-Mr. Elliott thanked Mr. Surtees, and undertook that the peace should not be broken.-The gentlemen then retired.Colonel Bradshaw, of the 37th Infantry, and Major Wemyss, Chief Constable, were at the outskirts of the meeting during the interview.]-The resolution was unanimously passed.Then followed a resolution, condemnatory of the proposed monthly agreement of the coalowners, and pledging the miners to stand until the terms demanded by the union were acceded to in all the collieries.-This, on the motion of Mr. George Armstrong, seconded by Mr. Thomas Hay, was also unanimously adopted; together with a resolution binding the mem. bers of the association to settle all their debts after they got to work. Two delegates, who had been to London and elsewhere, made a favourable report as to the reception they had experienced, but, so far, the amount of subscriptions was trifling.The meeting separated in good order.-We gather the foregoing particulars of the meeting from the Newcastle Chronicle. correspondent has written us on the subject as follows: A When the intention of the pitmen to meet on Tanfield Moor, at the extreme north-west of the county of Durham, became generally known, the greatest alarm was entertained, on these grounds: 1. Tanfield Moor being so far removed from the residence of any considerable number of pitmen, the great majority of those assembling were totally unknown to any one in the neighbouring villages. 2. There had been a general meeting held at the same place only the week previous, when various violent outrages were committed by large bodies of strangers on the persons and property of several of the men then working in Tanfield Moor and Tanfield Lea collieries; the owners of which, it may be as well to add, were the first to go to work with offband men, and also the first to turn out of their houses the men who refused to work. On Monday evening, the village of Tantoby was surprised by the entry of nearly 100 men, from such places as Thornley, Trimdon, &c.; and on Tuesday morning, masses of pitmen were seen coming from all points of the compass to the place of meeting; and-(to the great alarm of the peaceable inhabitants of the village and the men at work)-nearly all of them were armed with bludgeons. By noon the number assembled could not have been under 14,000 or 15,000; and the utmost terior prevailed in Tantoby and Whitelee Head, as they forcibly entered At this very the houses, insisting on being supplied with drink, &c. critical juncture, the inhabitants were greatly rejoiced to see a troop of dragoons arrive; and shortly after an interview took place between the Chairman of the meeting and our manly and efficient Magistrate, R. S. Surtees, Esq., of Hamsterley Hall; upon which the troop was removed, and the meeting afterwards quietly dispersed. The greatest gratitude is felt by those who were thus timely relieved from their alarm. The pitmen who passed through Gateshead to the meeting, on Tuesday morning, had no very threatening appearance. Many of them, it is true, had (not bludgeons, but) walking-stickswhich they must have needed for their weary trudge. TO THE EDITOR OF THE GATESHEAD OBSERVER. SIR,-You will oblige me by publishing the following in reply to two statements which appeared in your paper of last week-the one from the men of Waldridge colliery, stating that they were informed by their masters that their earnings were 16s. 10d. per week during 48 weeks. Such, I admit was the fact; but they were not told to multiply 16s. 10d. by 48 weeks, and divide by 52, in order to give their weekly earnings throughout the year. The 48 weeks was only from April, 1843, to March, 1844. The weekly earnings were taken on the average of the whole of the workmen (1 mean those given in your paper of the 25th ult.)-and, I can confidently assert, with great exactness. I admit there was one working place in the pit (but only one) where the men did not earn more than 2s. in six hours; but as soon as they complained to me, they were paid consideration, so as to make them equal to other workmen. The reason of this place being hard, was from the influence of a slip-dyke. The other statement is from R. Woodhouse and W. Winder, on behalf of the men of Team colliery, in reply to what they call "an erroneous statement," which appeared in your paper of the 25th ult. They, however, admit that they are not in possession of facts "to prove the statement erroneous." The average was very exactly taken, from the earnings of 12 workmen, from April, 1843, to April, 1844. They also state "that they were not restricted at this colliery, except during one fortnight. The fact is, they restricted themselves to 3s. 6d. per day, from June 13, 1843, to April, 1844; and during one fortnight of that time, they refused to work for more than 3s. per day. I may also state, that in consequence of this restriction I was obliged to employ 20 extra I am, Sir, your obedient servant, WILLIAM BARKUS, JUN. workmen. Team Colliery, June 7, 1844. THE COAL TRADE. OBSERVATIONS BY THE COMMITTEE OF THE COAL-TRADE ON THE DISCUSSION RESPECTING THE DEMANDS OF THEIR LATE WORKMEN, INTRODUCED DURING THE DEBATE ON THE MOTION TO REPEAL THE EXPORT DUTY ON COALS. THE HE remarks of the Honourable Member for Finsbury on the evening of the 4th inst., when he took occasion to introduce into Parliament the subject of the Pitmen's Strike, have, for the most part, been answered by anticipation in the Report of this Committee, published so long ago as the 27th of April. But there are some of the Honourable Gentleman's observations which the Committee cannot permit to pass unnoticed nor uncontradicted, on account of the place in which they were made-the wide circulation they will obtain through the medium of the public press-and, the Committee would have added, the unfair spirit in which they were uttered, but for the conviction entertained by them, that the Honourable Member had been misled by a want of proper and impartial information on the subject brought by him before the House of Commons. In commenting upon the Honourable Gentleman's statements, the Committee quote from his Speech as reported in the Times Newspaper; and, for the sake of clearness, they have arranged their observations side by side with his own. "It was the masters who had struck-not the workpeople." It is difficult for the Committee to understand the meaning of this statement. If it implies that the coalowners have forced a strike, by offering lower wages than were paid during the last year, this is contrary to the fact; for though the state of the trade would have justified a reduction, yet no such abatement has been made; the same prices for work having been proposed to the pitmen as were paid them under their previous engagement-that is to say, sufficient prices to enable the hewers to earn 3s. 8d. per day of eight hours' working, free and clear of all deductions. The desire of the coalowners to carry on their works is shown by the strenuous efforts they are making to supply the markets, by employing such hands as can be mustered. Already 1,975 men are at work, and the number is daily increasing. "There was no question of wages involved. It was a question of the personal safety of the men. A system of bonds, too, had been introduced, which had been previously unknown." The Committee experience great satisfaction in learning that the question is not one of wages; at the same time they cannot understand why, if no advance in wages is wanted, so great a one has been asked, as amounts, on the average, to at least 58 per cent. on the last year's prices; and in particular cases, to so much that the collieries where it is demanded must altogether cease working from inability to grant it. Even the pitmen themselves, who do not seem to know very well what they have asked, make it appear in a published document that a considerable advance is required, though in reality their statement is very much short of the truth. As regards the safety of the men, the Committee are well aware, that in no part of Great Britain are coal-mines conducted on superior, or even equally skilful principles, as compared with those of Northumberland and Durham; and, in fact, more lives have been lost, not merely in a single storm at sea, but in a single shipwreck, than have been sacrificed in the entire mines of this district during the last fourteen years. Lest there should be any mistake on this point, which has been so much dwelt upon, the Committee have it in their power to state, from documents published by the pitmen themselves, that the annual average loss of life from accidents in the mines, has been no more than 14 per 1,000 per annum, during the period in question. It is difficult to select an occupation in which fewer casualties occur; and it ought to be remembered, in reference to accidents of a minor character, that scarcely any other class of labouring men have the privileges of smart money, medical attendance, house, and fire, which are possessed by pitmen during the time they are suffering from misfortunes, which as frequently happen from their own want of precaution, as from any other cause. The new system of bonds alluded to by the honourable gentleman, has been forced upon the coalowners by the treatment they have experienced from their workmen during 11 months out of 12 of the last term of hiring. So early as May, 1843, the hewers began to restrict their labour, contrary to the letter and spirit of the agreements; which provide that a workman "shall perform a full and fair day's work, according to each man's ability; such day's work not to exceed eight hours." So far from this reasonable and moderate requisition being complied with, the pitmen restricted themselves to an amount of work which on the average of the trade could be performed by a diligent workman in five or at the utmost six hours in the day; the object being, to check the supply, and to take advantage of the consequent rise in price, in order to enforce their demands. While this scheme proceeded, an attorney was engaged by the pitmen, who made it his business to raise actions and commence chancery suits upon the yearly bond, and to conduct the affairs of the workman in such a manner as plainly to evince, that the coalowners could no longer submit to an instrument which, while it was binding upon them, was, as events had fully proved, of no effect as regarded their workmen. It was determined, therefore, for these and for other reasons, which the Committee have fully explained in their Report, to engage the latter in a manner similar to that in which labourers and mechanics are hired in manufactories, and it may be said, in the mining districts of the kingdom generally; for the Committee are not aware that coal-hewers are hired for a service of 12 months in any other part of Great Britain; and, by consequence, in none of the latter districts are the owners harassed by lawyers especially employed for the purpose of annoying them. The superiority in the condition of the coal-miners of Northumberland and Durham has been heretofore most strongly marked. They have had better wages and more comfortable dwellings than other labourers of the same class elsewhere. The coalowners hope and believe that this distinction in favour of their workmen will continue; but should it be otherwise, they appeal to the explanation which has been given as to whether they or the pitmen will be to blame for such a result. "The workmen declared that they were willing to submit all the disputed points to a fair arbitration. Would the masters meet the proposal? If not, could it be doubted they were in the wrong?" Assuming what the honourable member for Finsbury does not however seem willing to grant, that the question at issue is mainly one of wages, the Committee do not consider it necessary to answer the rapid succession of questions thus put by the honourable gentleman. They may however remark, that even supposing the principle to be admitted, it is absurd to think of carrying it out practically, by endeavouring to arbitrate on the affairs of more than 120 collieries, employing upwards of 30,000 workmen. Not only would it be requisite to have as many arbitrations as there are collieries, but with respect to every colliery as many questions would have to be adjusted as there are different classes of workmen. The suggestion must have proceeded on the supposition that the strike depended on some question common to the whole trade, and is clearly inapplicable to the existing state of things involving so wide a range of local differences and character. "But what were the other grounds of conflict? One was that the coal was measured instead of being weighed. The workmen said that this arrangement was unfair-that they had a right to have their work weighed; and they demanded that this arrangement should be enforced. Why, was there any thing so very wrong in this? It was only a year or two ago that the system of measuring coal in London was altered at the insti It is remarkable that the honourable gentleman does not know that the system of weight which he recommends so emphatically, in preference to that of measure, is precisely that which is being practised, and has been for a long time in use at the majority of collieries in the trade, and which, at its first introduction, was reluctantly agreed to by the pitmen themselves. The Committee see no objection whatever to the plan of weight gation of the coalowners them. selves; simply because, as they said, and truly said, the measurement plan was unfair to all parties. If the coalowners then insisted upon selling their coals by weight, what reason was there why they should not remunerate their labourers by estimating the work done by a similar test?" being generally adopted, especially if that of measure is considered to be "unfair to all parties," in which latter case they confess their inabi lity to perceive how its continuance can be favourable to the coalowners. The Committee while on this subject would beg to remind the honourable gentleman, that the Act of Parliament substituting weight for measure in the sale of coals, was passed, not a year or two ago, but nearly 13 years ago, namely, in October, 1831. "All they asked was, that inspectors should be appoint. ed to see that the mines were made safe, and that the sub'ect of fines should be properly and equitably regulated. Why, how was justice dealt out under the present system? Sometimes a man might employ himself a whole fortnight, and yet, in consequence of the operation of the fines, find himself in debt at the end of that time, instead of being in receipt of a fair equivalent for his labour." "A system, too, existed with regard to payments, which was most unjust to the men. Why were not the payments made weekly? At present the men were only paid every fortnight, and even then a week's pay was kept back. (Hear, hear.) By this means, if a man entered a work, for the first three weeks he received no wages at all, and at the expiration of that period only received two weeks' pay." This statement is not incorrect, provided the workmen choose, as they have done for particular purposes, to inflict those penalties upon them. selves, which it is their interest, as well as that of the coalowner, that they should avoid. Under any other circumstances, the idea of a man finding himself in debt at the end of the fortnight is nonsense: the real fact is, as has been shown long ago, that the fines amount to one halfpenny per day per man on the average throughout the trade. The Committee are confident that if the honourable gentle. man reconsiders the subject, he will be aware that the circumstances here mentioned, (and the extreme case is put,) is of no importance to the coalowner, who has exactly the same amount of wages to pay, whether they are settled immediately or after the lapse of some days. The only reason for having "running-on days," as they are technically called, is to give time to the overman, hewer, and owners to make out and examine the accounts-a matter not so simple as the honourable gentleman may suppose, when it is considered that the wages of, it may be, some hundreds of people are to be settled, nearly all of whom are at work by the piece, and who are to be arranged and agreed with accordingly. The bare inspection of an overman's bill, on a large colliery, would convince the honourable member that it requires nearly a week's labour to draw it out properly and without error. That the contrary has been stated, is only a specimen of the vexatious and frivolous objections which have been raised against the coalowners in regard to the management of their own concerns-a line of proceeding which they are unanimously determined to tolerate no longer. Their workmen have been hitherto better paid than those of any similar class in Great Britain; and if they are resolved to sink themselves to the same level with others, the coalowners may regret, but cannot prevent the natural consequences of such conduct. Coal Trade Office, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, June 13th, 1844. THE NEWCASTLE TOWN COUNCIL. THE Council met on Wednesday, June 12th. - Margaret Rawling, aged 63, was elected from among 30 candidates to a vacancy in Jesus' Hospital. Mr. PLUMMER presented a Report from the Trade and Commerce Committee: We, the Committee on Trade and Commerce, beg to lay before the Council a few observations on the subject of erecting sheds and laying down a railway on the quay, in addition to those contained in our Report on that subject now before the Council. In our former Report, after recommending a railway or tramroad communication to be made along the quay, to facilitate the transportation of goods from one berth to another, and with the view of its being at some future period connected with the railway.stations now formed or hereafter to be formed, within the borough, we adverted to the width of the quay, which in some parts might seem too contracted to admit of the project being carried out, without materially encroaching upon the present carriage-way. Since presenting the said Report, it has been found necessary to make an actual survey of the quay; and it bas thereby been ascertained that sufficient space for a railway, suitable for all the purposes contemplated, can be obtained within the present line of chains, for very nearly the entire length of the quay, thereby leaving the carriage.way free and uninterrupted as at present, excepting for a short distance, commencing opposite Pallister's-chare, and running west, without interfering with the facilities for loading and unloading, and the mooring of vessels. The cost of laying a line of railway, extending from the east end of the new quay, on the East, to the Tyne-bridge on the West, is estimated at £700; and the annual expenditure required to keep it in repair, at about £50. From information which has been laid before the Committee, it appears that about 20,640 tons of goods are now carried annually between the quay and the Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Carlisle railwaystations; and it is estimated that were those places connected by railway, the annual saving in the present rates of carriage would be at least £1,000-a consideration of immense importance, when viewed in con-' nection with the port as a port of transit, and one which will greatly and rapidly increase when the town receives the advantage of further railway communication. A plan of the quay, showing the line of railway and the sheds recommended to be made, together with a Report from the Engineer, accom. pany this Report. The cost of erecting the four sheds, numbered 1, 3, 4, and 5, on the said plan, is estimated at the average sum of £114 per shed. The larger shed, No. 7, on the new quay, will cost about £200. These sheds are laid down upon a line which will admit of their being continued hereafter, with uniformity of construction, to any extent that may be found desirable. They are much required, and we trust the Council will order that immediate steps be taken for their being erected. It is not proposed at present to erect the sheds numbered 6 and 8. ROBERT PLUMMER. JOHN THOMAS CARR. Mr. PLUES seconded Mr. Plummer's motion that the Report be confirmed. An amendment, moved by Mr. Ald. DUNN, and seconded by Mr. Ald. POTTER, to defer the consideration of the Report to the close of the financial year, was negatived on a show of hands, and the original motion carried. The confirmation of a Report recommending that Mr. Thomas Salmon have leave to lay down moorings at South Shields, was deferred-Mr. HUNTER contending (very properly) that the Corporation should provide moorings. On the motion of Mr. ARMSTRONG, the Council confirmed a Report from the River Committee, recommending that £750 be granted to the owners of Killingworth and Burradon collieries, to enable them to extend their gears at Wallsend- their elonga. tion being rendered necessary by the improvements of the Corporation, and law-proceedings having been threatened. Mr. Ald. DUNN presented the Treasurer's accounts for the Midsummer quarter, the payments amounting to £8,381 7s. The Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Finance Committee (Aldermen Dunn and Nichol) were appointed to attend the ensuing meeting of the Durham Junction Railway Company, the Corporation being shareholders to the extent of £5,000.Mr. Ald. HODGSON observed, that the shares in the Newcastle and Darlington Railway were quoted at 28 per cent. premium: its proprietors, therefore, in his opinion, should pay a premium on the shares of the Durham Junction, if they became the purchasers of the line.-The Town CLERK said, the proposed price, he believed, was below par. Mr. Ald. NICHOL presented a Report from the Finance Committee, recommending compliance with the proposal of the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway Company, viz., to erect their new station on the south side of Neville-street.-Confirmed. Mr. ARMSTRONG presented a Report from the River Committee, recommending that the Corporation Engineer have an addition to his salary of £50 a-year, in consideration of additional duties, and of his non-superintendence of works undertaken by third parties, in which the Corporation is interested. The Town CLERK read a letter from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, regretting that they could not render any assistance in augmenting the vicar's income. [The income of the worthy vicar being, in the opinion of Churchmen, far too limited, they have an excellent opportunity of exhibiting the sincerity of their convictions, and of marking their attachment to the Church, and to the vicar who ministers to them in spiritual things, by raising a voluntary subscription, and hand. somely endowing the reverend gentleman and his successors.] Letters were read from the promoters of the rival Regattas, and it was agreed to grant £5 to the one above bridge, and £5 to the one at Shields. When several members of the Council had expressed their high opinion of Mr. John Bell's plans of the northern coalfield, now in course of publication, it was resolved that the Corporation should become a subscriber to the valuable work. Mr. HENRY TURNER moved, "That a Committee be appointed to obtain information as to the best means of bringing into town the intended line of railway from London to Edinburgh by the east coast." But the Council resolved, instead, "That the Town Improvement Committee be instructed to watch the proceedings of the railway companies." On the motion of Mr. KEENLYSIDE, seconded by Mr. HARLE, it was resolved, that the wool-fair be held on the second of July, (Stagshawbank fair occurring on third); also, that a wool-market be held every Tuesday, immediately after the corn-market, up to October; and, in future years, on every Tuesday from May to October. Mr. Ald. DUNN stated that there were two petitions for Sir Thomas White's loans; and after the sums now in hand were disposed of, there would be none at the command of the Council until 1846. NEWCASTLE AND DARLINGTON RAILWAY. OPENING OF AN UNINTERRUPTED LINE OF RAILWAY FROM THE THAMES TO THE TYNE. THE strong Saxon spirit of GEORGE STEPHENSON, the "Hengist of Railways," is a Spirit of the Age that has written a work whereon those who ride may read glad tidings of man's rescue from the bondage and thraldom of ignorance-of his power of unison with his fellows for the purpose of conquering and civilizing the earth, reclaiming its swamps and morasses, and adding to its beauties. Prometheus, in the elder mythus, brought fire from heaven to earth for man's uses. GEORGE STEPHENSON may be the hero of some future mythus, which will tell how he harnessed fire to chariots of iron, which became swifter than the winds of heaven. FARADAY is the representative of the power which, in all ages, has sought to gather nature's secrets for man's uses; and ROTHSCHILD is the representative of the great power-accumulators of the world, the hoarded labour of mankind, ever on the increase, till at last it shall grow to a surplus, when men will rest from their work, and say, “It is good." Many a weary day is before us, before we obtain that desirable end, but the time will come.-Westminster Review, June, 1844. THE "great fact" of the present week, and one of the greatest of our day and generation, has been the opening of the Newcastle and Darlington Junction Railway, whereby an uninterrupted line of railway-communication has been opened from London to Newcastle. Devoting our chief attention to this event-so important to us, locally, and to our fellowcountrymen, nationally-we have left ourselves neither time nor space to notice otherwise than briefly the other occurrences of the week, whether within or without the walls of parliament; but we trust to stand excused for the decision to which we have come, in the midst of contending claims; and that we shall not be blamed for treating almost with neglect the debates on the "sugar-duties," when it is considered how comparatively small will be their importance in the time to come-how vast the importance of the work which Tuesday, June 18, 1844, saw completed and commemorated, in all time coming! Before reporting the proceedings of the day, it will not be unappropriate, and it may not be unacceptable, if we look back on the times of our forefathers, and review their modes of travelling-the appliances placed at their command, and the rates at which they journeyed from town to town in the little island to which they gave renown. It would appal the mere newspaper-reader-who dislikes length, and loves variety-if we were to carry him back to the invasion of England by JULIUS CESAR, and to the erection at Gateshead of the most northern "station" of the Romans, when as yet the Tyne was unspanned by a viaduct, and Newcastle had no existence; and thence to bring him down, step by step, to the invasion of our ancient borough by GEORGIUS HUDSON, and the erection of the most northern and most magnificent" station" of the "Railway Napoleon," within a few yards of the Capra Caput of the Roman roadmakers! Contenting ourselves, therefore, with this bare allusion to the two "stations" of the Italian and the Yorkshire Cæsars, and leaving to others the task of pursuing the curious historical parallel which they present, we will commence our narrative in the sixteenth century, when coaches were unknown in England, and "Good Queen Bess" rode, on "state occasions," behind her chamberlain. An envelope-(still, we believe, extant)-bears the address of a letter dispatched on horseback by Lord Burleigh, in the sixteenth century, from London to Berwick, and the receipts of the parties through whose hands it passed on the road, as follows:"To sir Raff Sadler and sir James Crofts, Knights, at Barwicke, W. Cecill, for liff, liff, liff, 30th of November, at Westminster. "Received at Styelton the ii. day of December, at six o'clock at night. "Received at Neverke, the io. of December, at ix. of the clock at nite. "Received at -the vii. day of December, at iii. of the clocke at afternoon. "Received at Newcastle, the viii. of December, xi. of the elocke before noon.' Before the close of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, coaches were introduced into her dominions; and about the year 1625, when James the First was drawing near his end, vehicles were "let out to hire." But it was not until long afterwards that stage-coaches were introduced. Travellers made their journeys on foot or on horseback, nor were there roads through the island for any other sort of transit. Our antiquarian neighbour, Mr. John Bell, of Gateshead, the land-surveyor, has kindly favoured us with the loan of a London newspaper of 1647, printed in a small quarto form, which curiously illustrates our present subject. It is an interesting sample of the periodical political literature of our ancestors; and we have the pleasure of enriching our columns with a fac simile of the wood-engraving which adorns the first page of our forerunner's journal, and also with a few extracts from his letterpress. The "newsman" on his stout horse, blowing his horn to proclaim at once his approach and his importance, affords a strange contrast to the "railwaytrain" of the nineteenth century. The former occupied ten DAYS on his trip from London to Edinburgh: the other travels from London to Newcastle in ten HOURS! THE LONDON POST, Communicating the High Counsels of both Parliaments in England and Scotland, and through the Three Kingdoms. Printed and entred according to order. From Thursday, January the 28, to Thursday, February 4, 1647. THE great businesse is now concluded, and what forraigne kingdoms have so long attended, and |