their shavings, chips, dabs of paint, and other rubbish.
He was quite certain that the fire commenced below the
store-room; some sacks, which were placed outside of it
by his order, helped the flame. When he saw the
gleam of the fire first it was low down, and the store-
room was not then on fire. He was quite certain of
that, from his position. The turpentine was kept quite
away from that part of the ship, and he had never seen
any leakage of oil from the tanks. The "bearings"
were not more heated than those of new engines usually
were, and he was quite confident that it was from
nothing of that kind that the fire originated.

Unsuccessful searches have been made for the boats
not accounted for, which appear to have left the burning
vessel. On the 17th, the Rev. Mr. Warburton, brother
of Mr. Eliot Warburton, arrived at Plymouth from
London, bringing despatches from the Lords of the
Admiralty to the Commander in Chief at that port,
Admiral Sir J. Ommanney, upon the receipt of which
the Admiral issued orders for two steam vessels—the
Sprightly, and the Avon, to proceed with all possible
despatch to join the Hecate, in searching for any of the
survivors of the Amazon. On the 21st the Sprightly
and Avon returned to Devonport, having experienced
much foul weather, but not succeeding in gaining any
further information as to the Amazon, or of the
survivors of her destruction. The Hecate, steam sloop,
which was despatched to Brest by order of the
Admiralty, also returned without bringing any intelligence
respecting the missing passengers and crew. Portions
of wreck, supposed to have belonged to the Amazon,
have come ashore at Swanpool, near Falmouth, at
Bridport, and other places. A new inquiry into the
loss of the Amazon, under the powers given to the
Board of Trade by the navigation act of last session, has
been commenced. The subscriptions for the benefit of
the survivors exceed £6000, and it is expected that the
whole sum wanted, £10,000 will speedily be obtained.

SOCIAL, SANITARY, AND MUNICIPAL
PROGRESS.

A Christmas Feast to the Poor of unparalleled
magnitude was given on the 25th ult. at the Leicester Square
Soup kitchen, through the agency of the committee,
and by the benevolence of those persons by whom this
charitable institution is supported. The yard was
covered over with a beautiful marquee of colossal
dimensions, which was brilliantly lit up. Tables, covered
with white cloths, were laid for about 300 of the houseless
and otherwise dinnerless poor. The rows of dishes
laden with roast beef, or baked pie, potatoes, bread,
and plum-pudding, and flanked by shining knives and
forks, and jugs of porter, formed of themselves a striking
picture; but when the guests took their seats, and with
the strictest decorum, and in grateful silence, regaled
themselves with the viands before them, the sight was
most gratifying. The guests, having thus feasted during
half an hour, and carrying away what they could not
eat, departed by a door of egress at the bottom of the
yard in the same orderly manner as they entered, and
were succeeded in a few minutes by a relay, amounting
to the same number, from the main entrance. In this
manner, relay after relay were regaled, from half-past
one until six o'clock in the evening. About 4,000
heads of families had provisions given to them, to eat at
home with their wives and children; each had from
2½ to 3 lb. of roasted beef, 1 lb. of plum-pudding, a
2 lb. loaf, 2 oz. of tea or 3 oz. of coffee, half a pound of
sugar, and a pint of porter. Estimating that the family
of each of these recipients consisted of five persons,
upwards of 20,000 mouths must thus have been filled
with good cheer on Christmas Day. If to these we add
the 2,500 single persons who relieved each other at the
tables every half hour, we find that 22,500 poor people
had enjoyed this bounteous feast.

The new regulations issued under the authority of the
Board of Trade, in reference to the Merchant Seamen's
Fund, came into operation on New Year's Day. Before
the 8th of August, 1851, contributions to this fund were
universal and compulsory; since that time they have
been made voluntary. The following are the principal
regulations: Seamen engaged in the home trade are
to contribute 8s. per annum. Seamen engaged in the
foreign trade are to pay rateably on every voyage, and
in proportion to its length: 1s. for every calendar month
and any broken period exceeding twenty days; 6d. for
any broken period not exceeding twenty days. Seamen
serving during the same year, partly in the home and
partly in the foreign trade, are to pay at least 8s. per
annum. Masters are to pay double the amount of
seamen.

A deputation from the National Public School
Association waited on Lord John Russell on the 6th inst.
at his official residence in Downing Street, to present
the draught of A Bill for Establishing Free Schools in
England and Wales for Secular Education, and to
explain the views of the Association. Mr. Milner
Gibson introduced the deputation, among whom were
Mr. W. J. Fox, M.P., Mr. Bazley, President of the
Manchester Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Hoyland, as
representing the Society of Friends in Manchester, the
Reverend W. F. Walker, incumbent of St. James's,
Oldham, the Reverend Dr. Davidson, Professor of
Biblical Criticism in the Lancaster Independent College,
Mr. E. Swayne of London, and Mr. J. A. Picton of
Liverpool. After listening to the statements and
arguments of the deputation, Lord John Russell replied at
considerable length; expressing his sense of the
gratitude due to the Association for their efforts in the
cause of education; saying, the proposed scheme
required deep consideration on the part of Government
before being adopted; that he hoped that they would
go on with it, without, however, pledging himself to
any particular course; though he thought that even
failure in schemes of this kind was productive of much
good.

Arrangements are now in progress, with the consent
of the South-Eastern Railway, and at the request of the
Astronomer Royal, for Placing the Royal Observatory
at Greenwich in connexion with the wires of the
Electric Telegraph Company; which will give facilities
for instantaneous astronomical observation at one and
the same time in all parts of the kingdom, and by
means of the submarine telegraph with nearly all parts
of the Continent. Two other advantages will also be
obtained—those of ascertaining the difference in the
longitude of places, and of regulating the national time
by the uniform standard of Greenwich.

A discovery of Iron-stone has been made in
Northamptonshire. It is of good quality, running through the
county from north-west to south-east, over an extensive
district. The fact has been known for some time, but
it is now publicly announced because extended inquiries
show that the discovery is really valuable: many persons
connected with Staffordshire and the North have been
examining quarries and exhibiting an anxiety to purchase
estates.

An Agricultural Meeting was held at Longtown, in
Cumberland, on the 12th, to hear Sir James Graham
explain the steps he had taken towards promoting the
Cultivation of Flax. Sir James went over the whole
case in favour of flax-cultivation, with his characteristic
mastery of details and cautious generalization. The
result seemed to be, that farmers in Cumberland had
even better chances of a profit on flax than farmers in
Ireland, who have made the crop a staple produce of
their country. After Sir James's explanations, Mr.
Rome, of Carlisle, was introduced, to state that he
would undertake to purchase next season to the extent
of three hundred acres, at prices which in case of
difference should be fixed by a referee, and which he
felt no doubt would return a profit of £8 or £7 an acre.
Favourable opinions were expressed; but the farmers
resolved to deliberate awhile, and to meet and state
determinations on the 2nd of February.

The Treasury have determined to abandon Mr.
Peacock's Award in reference to the purchase of the
Brompton and Nunhead Cemeteries; so by this abandonment
the operation of the Metropolitan Interments Act
has, for all practical purposes, been suspended.

A convention for the establishment of International
Copyright between England and France was ratified on
the 8th instant. The following are its principal provisions.