ENGLISH NEWS.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume II, Issue 64, 27 December 1845, Page 3

ENGLISH NEWS.

1* he! Post-office returns for the last year show an increase of twenty -two millions letters'posted in Great Britain over the previous yean The total number of letters delivered in Great Britain daring the year 1844 wjis242 millions. The number before the reduction of the postage was 75 millions. Mr. Thomas Moore is about to become the biographer p/ the late Sydney, Smith. „ ', The will, of the late Mr. Somes Jias Wen proved. The personal estate was sworn under £500,0p6. , • In a duel near Portsmouth, between Lieutenant Hawkey, of the Royal Marines, and a, Mr. Setoti, the Jatter gentleman was wounded, and died in consequence: iiv a -few days. The jury which sat on the body returned a Verdict of " Wilful Murder*' against all parties corn cerned in the duel. The London correspondent of the Dublin Evening Mai], writing on Saturday last, says — "Lord Stanley's mismanagement of the colony of New Zealand (what did he ever interfere with that he did not mismanage ?) was ,nlar causing a break-up of the Cabinet on Thursday. Seventeen Tories voted against ,the Government; and upwards of thirty who had intended to do so, were induced to walk out of the house. As it was if Hie. Whigs had used any diligence, they must have had as signal a triumph on the division .as they unquestionably had in the debate." • , < ,;•..,.

Jew's Synagogue.— lnstallation, \6i^ the Chief Rabbi. — Yesterday, July $, i; w£s the day fixed for the installation of the Rev. Dr. Nathan Marcus Adler, Chief Rabbi of 'the united congregatiou of Jews of Great Britain. The Synagogue in Dukes-place- was, . from half- past four, completely beseiged with the arrival of person-; « of the Jewish persuasion wishing to see the ceremony. The open space, in front was completely crowded^ and insccip* tions on canvas fixed on several of the neigh-, bouring houses, such as " Welcome Dr. Adler;" &c. Dr. Adler was, till the death of. the late English Chief Rabbi, the Chief Rabbi inHanover, where his talents and his amiable character had caused him to be much respeccgd.' flit loss there wilLbe .much-felt. The synagogue was crowded to, excess, -all the elite of the persuasion being present — rtbe Rothschilds, the Montefiores, and- many others being present. At half-past five, Dr. Adler arrived and -entered the Synagogue, when the service immediately began.- The service being iii Hebrew we were not able to nnderstand it. The greater part of it was sung or rather chanted. There was a choir of about forty or fifty siagers present, whose voices gave great effect to the chant, and a sermon also in Hebrew, was preacheji by the Chief Rabbi. Though not understood by us, and therefore not appreciated, those of his bearers more gifted than ourselves, seemed fully to appreciate those powers of eloquence with which the reverend gentleman is so' fpUy and generously gifted. After the service ano*. ther psalm was chanted by the full choir, and the congregation then dispersed. A strange sight to us was to see the whole of the male congregation, as usual, wearing their hats during the service. — Morning thornicle. .■:

The "Stagging^System.-^A correspondent of the limes gives the following" strange account of a new system of fraud introduced by railway speculation : it is' called the "stagging" system ; 'aud ' the first step, he says', taken by the delinquents in it is, "when a new railway project is announced iromedit&ly, Co have written a large number of letters applying for shares (some of the principal "Stags'* keep four or v five youths for no other purpose" but to write these letters, and their payment rs Id. or 2J. a letter, according to the variety, they are able to give to the writing ;) these letters are addressed as from the country, and: are sent down in packets to postmasters already! sealed and stamped, with the request that the postmaster will forward them through his letter box. A few days after the postmaster, receives a letter, in many cases containing envelopes directed to some address in London, already stamped, stating to the postmasters that some letters, which are letters of allotment of shares, will probably arrive in the name in which the envelope is directed ; that they belong to the writer; and he requests the postmaster will put them in the envelope and post them, so back they come to London. In other cases the postmaster is requested simply to strike out the original address, aqd redirect the letter according to the new address given ; these also find their way back, to London^ as the following cases will exemplify. Letters addressed to postmasters atßeigate, St. Alhan's, Hull, Staines, Watford, Rickmanswortb, '" Huddersfield, Leamington, Donctster, «n<i *. almost every oth,er post office in the kjtoedom.

are returned to London te-direcled, cbiefty to the following addresses— . No. 1, Newington-terrace, Dover-road, London ; No. 14, Darlington-place, South-wark-bridge-road, London.; No. 13, Georgestreet, Southwark; No. 22, Castle-street, Holborn : No, 1, Park-place, Devonshirestreet, Mile-end-road ; No. 22, Great Percystrset, Fentonville; New City Chambers, Bishopsgate-street ; Crosby-hall Chambers, Bishopsga: e-street. To these addresses -very large quantities of •letters come daily from all parts of England, Scotland, end Ireland. The letters arriving at the first four-named addresses are all received by the same person ; letters addressed to Cattle-street, Holborn, to the name of Hutchins and Hitchins were traced through the postman to be delivered at No. 14, Darlingtonplace, to a person going by the name of Hitchins, whom he knew by sight. The postman delivering letters to 3, George-street, in a variety of names, knows person by sight who takes them from the keeper of the chandler's shop there, to be the man calling himself Hitchins. The postmau delivering at No. 1, Newington-terrace, Dover-road,, who has an enormous number of letters in almost as many names, knows the person by sight to be a man calling himself Hitchins; and these several postmen having been taken to the Stock Exchange, each of them pointed out the party calling himself Hitchins, who turns out to be one and the same person ; so that the receiver of letters directed to these four places is the -same person, although in the city he is known by another name altogether. The following are some of the' names to letters taken in by this person : — Hutchins, Rev. W. Stanhope, Augustus Adling, Hitchins, -Frederick Bond Hughes, William Tamlyn, James S takers, Theodore Whittaker, William Asquith, Samuel Friskin, Fothergill, /Lockwood, Metcalf, Boldero,Jerrold, Golding, Waltham,-Wigmore, Adams, and many others. The next-case is that of letters addressed to 1, Park-place, Devonshire-street, Mile-end-road. So great is the number of letters delivered here that additional assistance has been given in the duty. Upwards of 1 ,000 letters have bees -delivered here within nine months ; only last week 120 vere taken-in on oneway, of which at one time no less than -sixteen and at -another thirty letters were delivered. This No. 1, Park-place, is up an obscure court, consisting of three small houses, of about ~ss~. IkL ]>er week lent. No. 1, is occupied by a^man and woman, and the next door by their daughter. The proceedings of these persons have been closely watched* Direetly-a packet of letters has been received in the> morning, off starts the old man and woman, and sometimes the daughter, to the places appointed to meet the receiver. «Qn the £rst occasion the old woman who had received -sixteen letters, evidently wanted to deposit her treasure at Crosby-ball Chambers, for opposite them she halted, carefully looking about her, but -unfortunately -she found-she was watched, and escaping through the Excise-office, hid herself somewhere till her pursuer lost her. The next morning anoxhor packet was -received, with which the old mail w»s entrusted ; he started immediately, and after a most curious route, to avoid d^tectitm-as to where 4ie deposited his treasure, he' was seen to enter the King's Arms Tavern, Bishopsgafe-cburch-yard — the scene of the Stinton wad JBaldron transactions — where he was seen to deliver his despatches to a smart, dapper well known, who, after a few moments' deliberation, left the house, and was speedily, joined by several confederates at the top of the churchyard, who, after dividing the letters, dispersed as instantaneously as can be imagined. The next day it became necessary to augment the detective force, for the old people became* more chary: the old man. went out before post time, and the daughter was selected as the messenger with despatches ; she was fleet of foot, l>nt she had been carefully identified, therefore that did not avail her much, as the detective force was divided and stationed at such places as were likely to succeed. She took a most circuitous route, but eventually found herself opposite the Auction M*rt, evidently looking out anxiously for some one ; she saw she was watched, and away she started, and after a long round -found shelter in Maidenhead-court, AldtiEsgate-street, in a little smith's shop, which turned out to belong to the identical person who resides at No. 1 , Park -place, where the letters were first delivered. Here put suit was given up. How, it may be asked, do they .procure the, signature to the deed, one party holding so many letters of allotment ? The system is this — one party signs the deed as often as dis- 1 guise will shield him from discovery ; then the practice is resorted to of procuring persons, from fifteen years o'd to sixty, to accompany the holder of the banker's receipt to the railway-office, to sign the deed in su b name as he may direct, for which, when done, he receives remuneration, varying from one shilling to ten, according to the premium the scrip i may bear in the market.