The Express. — London, England, 1853-06-28 00:00:00

ow4 a sit street in Landes that be would aaer woes, far a livelihood than go into the Court of - theeeters en such terms. ( aug tee.) Of course all per ,- s m i n not so parecular—(laughter)—but if the hon. her for lial'olferd (Ile. Mangles) chose to unbosom .ratelf, be could no d oubt amuse the house for two hours t esti eterieset what to. le plan at a canvas.. Here, then, person having no interest in India, who were to 443 ls gown:tag persons, while upon themselves would ro e 0.. respeasitolity whatever. (Hear, hear.) The general • of e t pro pr i etors bad no control over the Court ;, „mess, ; the Court of Mentors had no con trol over the went committee, being genteelly ig *ern: Stitt they were about; and the secret ese..sdite bad no control over the Board of Control, for the L,n. somber for Ha:ilex could do what be pl used as ensiled that commit!: e. nutty such a state etchings par wine itself was baffled and deluded. He defied any of that heose to grapple with as Indian question so be cull with any oreditary ccdoesial questi in ; sad his v ge;:leat alto regard to this bill was that it put a meek e pee the Rover/anent of their Indian empire. (Cheers ) Ile Lee. member for Henna (Sir J. W. Hogg) had asked .he pirliane id slid not give back to the East India Com pity the IteehLooo/. spent in the Affghan war. Ile (Mr. ti r mh•) admittel that an expert.e incurred to gratify some stac ul mums ul a insister in this country ought to be re- p m d out of the Eselish exchequer, but he must sheen* that no dire enr in Letdenball street raised ha voice at the tine against the Aflghsia war, and therefore none should D ow neck to throw the Name on the Board of Control. ((been.) Ow, Mike greatest cbjectiuns to the bill in its ri m shape, wee that it was to be passed fur an lode finite rued. Ile was very much afraid that amid the multitude sicuestiems that OZZIO up, Indian questions might to at, -pas ; ter i: was not a modern saying —it ens as old es the leech., of Mr. barbs—that the people of England yard se ate noon ta India, unless some great emergency or es Limity cancelled citation. He did sot like the bill any get latter because it wee not to terminate at the meiration of fire 'ears; on the contrary, if it bed been proposed that it should Uml aute at the end of that period, his objection to it wsuld lane been weakened by the consideration that dis cs...ea and additional information might secure greater So bag as there were two governing bodies, nu et her in separate buildings, and carrying on their common- Miens by mean of "nines documents, so long would then be no dire: -espeaslaility, and so long would the govern ment of ladia, initial of being brought before that Mew. hare to be sought for in the byeditre. ta anti lieu of Leeks. Mr. Halliday. a gentleman who had been secretary ta the government in India, said that among tolerably-informed 1,1197n0 is 'cell there was a growing desire that the two ' y e omen b elite might he made to act with greater har- Reny and unanimity. He further said, " I should wish tho entrant' at to be carried on avowedly in the name of gee mow. ; I think it would very mach increase the weight and authority of tee pavers:gent in India." ° Every d .y'," he said, "I bare seen 14 disposition to exalt every thaqr that belongs to the crown over everything that be logs fo the company." Was there a man in that home wee disbelieved that? (Clams.) Was it not natural ? If er .referied to India would not they thenseelvee rather live LIUr the dignified power which ivied over their dossi• than he ruled over by eighteen or twenty-four gen tlemen who had no sympathy with the people of lour` ? (Hear, hear.) Ile believed that perilous lit WAS now lush..! a ens: opportunity. He regretted that the messure bad fallen into the bombe of a minister who did not appear esp. Ne of comprehending the vastness of the question wh:ch belonged to 11 , a department; he wished he bad had ev.n the anil.ouout to connect his name with a great, gold, end comprehensive pleasure for the government of their ledian possewiens. (Hear, hear.) By the course they were ta king they were ignoring their own constitu tion; they were ceetrog mud on those representative in stitutions which they professed to value so highly. (Hear, bear.) It was said that the course pursued by the opernents of the hill was factious. He did not believe a word of I t. To the contests which had been waged in that house he attribut:d the vast superiority of this coun try over many others—(bear, hear)—and if there were anything goad in any colony which was better or more secure than it had been ho ascribed it to constent essauhs of members ..f that house on the governmeet of the day, and constant appeals to the intellect, the judgment, and the benevolence of the people of this country. (Hear, hear.) And, with re gold to the Indian empire, if it were said that having beta conquered by force of arms it was to be governed only by force and terror, and that the people of England were to be shut out from considering questions which intimately cm ctrued the greatest dependency of the Crown, then, he said, the glory of that house would have departed, and the nation would have proved that, having conquered a country by arms, they had not the intellect, the benevolence, or the power, to govern it as it deserved. (Cheers.) Mr. 11AltDINGE would vote for the second reading of the bill, because he approved of the principle of double ge "element, and was anxieus for immediate legislation. He was anxious for immediate legislation because he had fa.ih in the opinion of Lord Dalhousie, of one whose acme he was proud to bear, and in that of Lord Ellenborougb, who had said it was time we put our house in order. He be lieved that most of the petitions which had been presented, complaining of the rule of the company, contained greatly exaggerated statements, and as he believed it would be im possible to overrate the danger of delay he should vote against the amendment of the noble lord. Several member; roes together, mid there was a general soy of adjourn." Sir 1. W. HOGG addressed himself particularly to MI. Bright'. ..ennes..... *ea, vs eserarded the East India Com any, repudiated with scorn an observation mad.. br ' that gentleman, that they were " revelling in corruption. Me. Bright had quoted some points from the eridenc.) of the late Mr. Alexander Mackay, with regard to which Sir James now asked, Why were not Mr. Mackay's papers produced ? That they had not been wee sag rune of a suspicion that this gentleman, the agent of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce, bad made out a ease unfavourable to the Manchester view. Sir James next referred to the attacks made on the judicial system in India, and while admitting the imperfections of that system, denied that the general condemnation was jus tified by any of the facts adduced. The great principle of the bill was the Intervention of the East India Company between the crown and the people of India, and this WM- Potion he believed to be esuatial to prot ect that country from the blighting influence of party politic., and the man.. Mance of the greatest, the richest, and the mightiest of our benign posit salons. Mr. D. SEYMOUR moved the adjournment of the , debate, which was .agreed to. CUSTOMS, &c., ACTS. The house then resolved itself into committee on these acts. Sir R. INGLIS reminded tho Secretary of the Trea sury that there had been an understanding that there should be a separate bill for the Isle of Man, whereas now it appeared that the Isle of Man was to be incorporated in a general customs law. Mr. J. WILSON admitted that he bad given enemies to the effect suggested ; but it had been ascertained sines that it would be better to consolidate the whole of the Cus toms Acta into one measure. He had communicated with the authorities of the bele of Man oh the subject, and hail received their suggestions , which would be attended to. The bill he proposed to bring in wend be let on the table of the house, that the country might have an oppottenty of fully con. sidering it before the home was called upon to read it a mend time. Great pains and attention had bees taken to aonso- Late the customs laws into one act, and, though the lefee sun was a long one, it did not occupy one-fourth of the space of the acts which it embraced and. consolidated. The bill would be printed and in the hands of members on Wednesday, and the government would then be happy to receive any suggestions on the subject of it. He concluded by moving the formal ',whin= for leave to introduce the bill. Sir J. WALMSLEY said that the people of the Isle of Mari were decidedly adverse to the customs law of their island being Melia& I in any general bill. They considered tech a step an infringement of their privileges. Mr. EWART believed also that the peoplo of that island wen dissetidnl with the proposed arrangement. The motion was then agreed to, and the bill Ma brought in. WEgTMINSTER BRIDGE BILL. Sir W. MOLESWORTH moved the committee on dilo bill. Mr. ALCOCK objected that the proposed bill would is" Wen with the navigation of the river, and urged the poet gatemen: of the h;11. Si, W. MOLESWORTB replied that the bill had been maturely considered by the select committe e , _ and urged the superior importaree of the entitle over the bridge to that ping cider the bridge. The only vessels that would be saccunineded by the new bri, ge were a few straw barges, wltch would have to puck their cargos somewhat lower to pen through the arches. The number of vehlees that paned over the present bridge between 8 is the owning lad tf at night, was 4,441, dawn by 9,600 honer, vain the number of vessels passing under it was Vs only, of which 11l were steamboats, 122 boats, 114 barges, and 42 or.ty were sailing barges and billyboys. Aster a brief discussion the house resolved itself into enntatttee. D.NORRE YS considered the mite a/the new bridge injn iLe.oas4 chosen. It ought to be placed near to Charing-cross. In answer to a question put by an flux. MEMBER, Air W. MOLLSWOMTM stated that the new bridge would be built of stone and iron. The remaining chines then passed through committee. NEWsPAPER STAMP DUI lES BILL. Mr. WILSON moved that this bill be read a second time. Mr. M. GIBSON of to proceeding with it at so late an hear (half past one), and Mr. WILSON withdrew his motion, and appointed Thonsdsy nest for the second readiag. MALICIOUS INJURIES (IRELAND) BILL. On the motion that this bill be read a third time, Mr. FITZGERALD proposed that it be read a third time that day sin month,. (I. Di:NNE tht.ught that it would he better to adjourn tae cessideration of this question, and he therefore moved fist the debate be adjourned. The mtiouniment of the debate having been negatived without a division, IL: house divided upon the third real:ng. The numbers --- For the third reeling Apiest The bed was then read a third tante. ASSISIANT JUDGE (MIDDLESEX SESSIONS) DILL The report on th',. hill was brourht up and agreed to. L'Al tEIISEA PALM BILL Tail bju went though committee, and the hope seemed. LAWS RELATING TO CUSTOMS. Mr. Wlttiol,i:citsinedlesve to bring in a bill to conso lidate the laws relating to the customs, which was brought in and read a first time. HEREDITARY POSSESSIONS AND LAND REVENUES OF TILE CHOWN. Hr. WILSON obtained leave to bring in a bat to utebt tate the redemption of certain charges on the bfreaitary possessions and hod revenues of the crown, which was brought in and read a first time. The house adjourned at a quarter put two. tize erprer3g, TO CL'aIiEF:POY DENTS. •econtt !dittos at " Tilt Y.:prem." eacziaine the same 'wet-tee " Garr:m."4e pulalialmod way Tut. Lay ano k Irian) atel.t..a..:a a Ite poet. !rat,* meets inter Jed r " The TT.,!•C!.." Leaden F: et!te paper, =not he at ar I ACC. 1 i, ii0 , 21V10.24,4t.9r TWO o't loci. on the day of petglenatioa. ZHOU WATEg AT LONDON BRIDGE. Tn. D47-1111oreirt. 7b. 19m.. on. Tu. Cm. Tssonacw-51.into So t.too Afternoon. 6 .Sim. LONDON, TUESDAY, JUNE S. ANOTHER night has been spent upon an Indian de bate in the Homo of Commons, without in coy material degree changing the present character of the question, or the relations - of its future settlement. Our huge Empire iu liindostan has been shown to be sadly in want of those reforms that we in these columns have so often called for. India wants peace,—she wants railroads and other public works,—she wants education and fair play for her ingenious people. That these necessities may be isely 'provided for, she wants full and Into opportunity for the statement of her grievances, and to this end the Parliamentary Committee now Fitting must (and it seems will continue its labours. Either by Commissions sent to the Presidencies, or by summoning witnesses to England, the testimony of the natives themselves should be taken and published for the enlightenment of Parliament and the satisfaction of their fellow-subjects, the people of England. Such means, well carried out, for gaining additional information, would assuredly demonstrate anew the mischie fi of the existing system in so clear a manner that the Legislature must inevitably deter mine upon the establishment of a thoroughly effec tive Indian Government—one directly responsible to Parliament and the Crown for all its acts. Thus alone are we likely to do justice to the vast population of our Eastern Dependencies. But all these points have been so often discussed before, that last night's debate could do very little for their fur ther elucidation. Whatever the final decision of the House of Commons on the Coalition plan may be, —still through each of the natural stages must the Indian question pass—agitation, inquiry, popular instruction on the subject; and ample legislation. Whether the Tories carry Lord S raN LEY'S motion, or whether they do not, the result, so far as India is concerned, must be much the same. If the new Derbyito champion could have his way, he would postpone legislation till next year, when the House of Commons, however otherwise engaged upon Re form or any other urgent topic, would be compelled to discuss the Government of India. On the other hand, the non-success of Lord STANLEY leaves Par liament equally open next year to the discussion of the question of India if it should be so inclined ; but permits it the option of keeping over the settlement of reform on the Ganges and the Indus till we have first settled some much needed reforms at home on the Thames, the Medway, and use, Humber. The difference, as it affects Hindostas, is virtually nil—as it affects Great Britain it is every- 1 thing. Accepting the temporary measure of the Coalition, whilst declaring its faults, we are at full liberty to alter and amend it as completely as Parlia ment pleases whenever Parliaancat plcszcs—ant with this satisfuetory difference in favour of the plan pro- posed by Sir C. Noun as compared with the Tory scheme of his opponent, Lord STANLEY, that with the former we may be able to secure timo for such a purification of our representative system as shall give a much purer and better House of Com mons to sit in judgment on India than the one now seated upon the benches of St. Stephen's. In pro- portion as we in England become more enlightened by popular education, more comfortable by the growth and distribution of wealth, more free by the adaptation of our institutions to the new aspects of the time, so shall we find more leisure, more will, and more ability to do complete justice to the various colonies and dependencies which acknowledge our sway. The more comfortable we become, the more shall we be bound and be ready to exert ourselves to lift our fellow-subjects in India and elsewhere towards that level of civilisation and freedom which we ourselves enjoy. Nothing, there fore, is more certain than that agitation for reform in India is now only beginning—only in its infancy. It must and will grow and strengthen year by year, and is only to be stayed by the doing of the fullest justice that the case demands. Viewed dispassionately, it is seen to be a great step gained when we find the India Company coming in vain to Parliament for another lease of power for an absolute fixed term. They never met refusal before. All previous settle ments were on the basis of a lease for a period of years, during which they had full swing for all they ' wished to do. But the days of their leases are over. They remain—or, rather, a portion of them remain—tenants it is true, hut this time they are but tenants-at-will. They may farm llindostan, but they are to have with them in their tenancy certain nominees of the Crown, who may be regarded as apprentices learning what ever Leadenhall can teach, and when able to pull the strings of the India House machinery, Parliament may at once give the old worn-out cliqucnoticcto quit, and move the new councillors at once to Cannon-row. The term of the duration of the double government rests absolutely with the House of Commons. They henceforth are the true lords of Leadenhall. The settlement of all the moot points are now simple ques tions of time; and the wished-for India changes may, if Parliament so wills it, be made as completely next year with Lord STANLEY beaten as with the Tory motion triumphant. And he will be beaten. But the India House lease being out, and the stage free for future action. let that action be calm, steady, well-informed, deliberate. Let our reform come first, and India reform must then assuredly follow after; 03 a reality—not a sham. WE have recently hud to chronicle a large number of tires in London. Can these horrors not be lessened ? A fire in the prairies is one of the most terrible of all devastating %isitations, but our feelings on its occurrence are in some degree checked by the reflection that its origin is accidental; that the blame of it can be attached to no one, and that its pro gress is inevitable. A fire at sea has all the elements of horror that arc involved in a fire in :he prairie, although its area is limited; but the same mnsidera tions of impossibility of succour from any extra neous source, tend to diminish in some degree the sentiments we should otherwise expeti.lnce in reading narratives of such calamities. No.ne of these considerations apply, however, to a fire in a large city. A forest on fire is a thing which defies the attempts of all human power to quell it— a ship on fire is isolated in the deep, no one at hand to bear assistance, and the sufferers who would avoid death by fire have no alternative but to incur that by THE EXPRESS, TUESDAY EVENING, JUNE 28, 1853 water. Ent a house on fire in London is in the very midst of a 1 kinds of help which it might be sup posed would be sufficient to stifle every fear of danger in the minds of the inhabitants. Never theless, there aro very few deaths by fire in the prairies ; there are not many who perish by fire on the open sea; but there is a number very much too large of persons who have their life scorched out of them within a few inches' distance of human beiugs in the next building, who would willingly make any sacrifice to save them—within hearing of a numerous police, who are on the look-out to render assistar co in cases of extremity—within a minute's walk of fire-escapes, which would afford them a means of withdrawing from instant death— within reach of powerful artificial streams of water, sufficient to drown conflagrations of far greater mag nitude than that which endangers their safety ; within short distances of engines capable of extin guihing any amount of combustion. And yet, in spite o all this, people arc frequently burnt to death in London. Where the means of safety abound most, they appear to be the least brought into use. The daily papers are constantly rt gistering the awful details of fatal catastrophes by tire. Yesterday's paper contained the last incident of ttis kind. On Saturday evening, between the i.ours of seven and eight, a fire broke out on premises occupied jointly by an India-rub ber manufacturer and a clothier in Hatton-garden. A Mrs. Crams, occupied in the upper part of the house, on perceiving the flames had scarcely time to reach the street door, when she saw the tiro breaking through the doors and windows of the ground floor. This part of the property was, it appears, completely filled with articles made of India-rubber, gutts- percha, and other substances quite as inflammable, which proved of such assistance to tho flames that they travelled almost as quick u electricity, cutting off ail means of escape from three persons who had nut been able to run down. stairs during tho brief interval that had elapsed. Not to dwell too long on tho miserable details, it will be sufficient to say that a young female, named Ctlvrls, in the upper part of the house, bcc:.me literally surrounded with flame, and was quickly burnt almost to a cinder. A woman, who had made for the front window, in expectation, it may be supposed, of finding the escapes of the society there, jumped out, and fell first on some iron spikes, and afterwards in the area. Her life is de spaired of. The circumstances attending the fate of the third vict;m, a man named STEMIENS, are not known. It is sufficient to state that he was found dead, with his body dread fully disfigured by the action of the fire. The first consideration that strikes us upon a perusal of a narrative of this kind is the strange indifference to danger which is engendered by the habits of a large town. JEAN BAr.r, the French naval hero, was supposed to have perpetrated a deed of considerable daring, when, to convince a few impertinent cox combs that he was not deficient in personal bravery, he took his seat upon a barrel of gunpowder while sme.eing his pipe. Bat the fire-eating JEAN had the' filling of his own pipe, and kept a good look-out for sparks. He knew that there was his own body and a half inch plank between him and destruct ion. The CURTISES, however, who were the sufferers by what may be with much more propriety called the expksion than the conflagration in Hatton-garden, were sleep ing night after night over apartments charged with as much danger as the powder-cask of JEAN BART, without taking the slightest measure of precaution against accident, or providing means of escape in the event of ignition. JEAN BART would have been in a position similar to theirs, if he had taken his seat on the task with his legs in fetters and his eyes shut. A person who should go to sleep by the side of the crater of Mount Etna would be able to choose his path of if awakvilea by tho noise of an eruption, but the inmates of the gutta-percha factory had looked themselves within an artificial Etna, ever liable to, combustion, and thrown the key away. Individuals will become insensible to danger by custom. Is it right, however, that the public safety should be endangered by private carelessness ? The Latin proverb tells you that your house is in danger when your neighbour's is on fire, and when the fire has spread to your house, are your means of escape better than those of your neighbours? And here the majority of house holders in London would reply they were not. If not, then, why not? The Legislature has not hesi tated to interfere with private rights, in order to obtain a greater measure of public security, in some cases, why should it not extend its interference when it can be shown that such interference is absolutely necessary for the preservation of human life? It has been enacted that all contiguous houses shall be separated by a party wall, and this very enactment has prevented fires from extending in numberless instances. What should prevent the Legislature which has interfered once in the direc tion of public safety from going a little farther, and enacting that no house shall be built without an easy access to the roof, and that contiguous roofs should be constructed so as to have an easy method of communication ? It is quite evident in the case of the Hatton-garden fire that the three deaths in question would not have happened had the roof been easily accessible. It is not very likely that a fire will begin at the same time in the upper and lower storeys of a house. There should always bo therefore an easy approach either to the front door or the roof, in which case the liability to death by fire would be infinitely diminished. The danger in the event of the staircase being in flames would be brought down almost to nothing if the side win dows on every floor had a balcony communicating with the side windows of the next house. The same advantage has been proposed to be obtained by a balcony running in front of every floor the whole length of the street, but to this plan there is the evident objection that it would facilitate robberies. If, in addition to these improve ments, it were rendered imperative upon every police-office to keep a few long coils of rope, with rings or hooks at the end, which could be hauled up into any room by means of a ball of thread or string, the risk of loss of life by fire would be lessened still more. These are suggestions which are capable of improvement, and their number might be easily in creased. Our present object has been to point out the absolute necessity of the interference of the authori ties in this matter, on account of tho mere interests of humanity, and to show that the subject is not sur rounded with insuperable difficulties. EPISCOPAL INCOMES. TURKEY. (sr arswasitsz TELEGRAPH.) DA.NITBIAN PRINCIPALITIES. JASSY, JUNE 17. A special courier from St. Petersburgh passed through this town on the 13th inst. on his way to Bucharest and Constantinople. After his departure the Russian Consul informed the Prince Ghika that unless the Porte accepted the ultimatum the Rus sian General had orders to cross the Prnth and com mence hostilities. Ile consequently desired the llos podar to take the necessary measures for the victual- ling and the general comtort of the army. In the course of the last three days detachments of Russian troops have marched into Skuliani, near Jassy, in which place a corps of 40,000 men is to be concentrated. We have received despatches from Constantinople via Belgrade of the 16th. The only noveltywhich they contain is the statement that Baron Bruck, the Aus trian internuncio, who arrived on the 14th, was en deavouring to induce the Porte to make some conces sion to Russia. The Divan professed its readiness to accept any expedient consistent with the honour of a sovereign state which M. Bruck could suggest, but was firmly resolved not to come under an uncertain, dangerous, and dishonourable engagement to the Czar. The Imlependance Bet e contains a statement more categoric and absolute than our own correspondent has felt authorised to make. We read : The Austrian minister has induced the Divan to ad vance a step towards Russia. In the answer to the Nesselrode note, the Sultan will, it is said, declare that he considers the last imperial firman in favour of the Christians et the empire as having an immutable character, and as constitutieg a mural engagement on the part of the Yor te with all the Christian powers. Such a declaration the Porte would no doubt be ready to make at any moment, and could we sup pose that in suggesting it M. Bruck was acting under the assurance that it would be deemed satis• factory at St. Putersbun, the fact would be a matter for gratulation. It is well known, however, that I the Austrian internuncio has not been authorized to I mediate or pledge the acceptance of the Czar in any degree. - I We have received vitt Trieste the following letter from our correspondent : CONSTANTINOPLE, Jrsz 13. " Mr. Balabine, Secretary of Legation, who had re mained here after the departure of Mcnchikoff, started for Odessa on the 3rd inst., and returned here on Thursday, the 9th inst., per war steamer Yeni I Calif, with despatches for the Ottoman government, I which, on the evening of that day, were delivered by Mr. Argyropoulos to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. They consist of an ultimatum, of which the substance lis as follows: . _ Count Nesseltode expresses, on the part of the Emperor and his government, regret at the inter ruption of those amicable relations which had so long existed between the two states—in coasequence of the refusal of the Ottoman government to accede to the legitimate demands of Russia , as notified by Piinee Menchikoff. Still the Russian government, iu the spirit of conciliation, and with an earnest de sire of neglecting no means in its power to arrive at an amicable solution—has decided on allowing the Sublime Porte a further term of eight days, to expire on the 19th inst., for the reconsideration of these matters; in hopes that, on mature reflection, it will return a favourable answer, and accepter sans variants the propositions in question. Should it, however, unfortunately turn out otherwise, and the Porto still persist in its refusal, the Russian government will not even then consider the refusal as amounting absolutely to a coatis belle, at the same time th tt it will find itself under the disagreeable necessity, "pour avow des assurances materirlles," to order its forces "troccuper le territoire Ottoman." Nothing else of importance has occurred since ray Inst. Many couriers have arrived at the French and English embassies, with despatches from their respective governments. The Caradoc came in on the 11th iust., and on the following day the Chaptal. Tho Heron, French station steamer, quitted port yesterday, destined for Salamis. According to the accounts of an officer of the Cara doe our fleet had quitted Malta for the Levant, and is expected, with the French squadron, to station at Besika Bay. The Austrian Charge d'Affaires on Saturday, the 11th inst., received despatches from his government, promising, if required, to use its good offices and cants, with a view to an amicable arrangement. The greatest activity is displayed by the Porte in its preparations for resistance; and so great is the hatred and irritation which has been pro duced by the mission and pretensions of Prince Menchikoff, that there is not, I believe, a Mussul man in the length and breadth of the land who is not ready and anxious for a lee %e en masse. On this account, great apprehensions are entertained of some untimeiy collisions, should Russia attempt, as she has threatened, to enter the Turkish provinces. All the reserve forces have been called out, and arc being sent daily to their destination. The Syrian troops are also to reinforce the army, and orders have been sent to Abbas Pacha to replace them ad interim by his own. Menchikoff, contrary to the expectation of every one, has been approved by his government; and so much so, that it has been intimated in Count Nessel rofle's despatch that the reply of the Porte must be addressed to him. Some say he is at Odessa; others at Sebastopol." In the summary of Count Nesselrode's note, given in the correspondence of the French papers, the threat of occupying the Ottoman territory is qualified by the addition, "in a few weeks." Our correspondent, whose abstract was made from an authentic copy of the " note," does not mention these words. It does not clearly appear why Russia should volunteer a statement so unusually specific. FRANCE. PARIS, MONDAY Evesixo We remain without any decisive news relative to the Eastern question. A telegraphic despatch ex pected to-day, to announce the arrival at Marseilles of the Messagerie's Constantinople packet, has not yet arrived. The Bourse is full of confidence. The letters from St. Petersburg, speaking of the marked attention paid to the English and French ambassa dors by the Emperor of Russia at the Hermitage, have produced a tranquillising effect. The Moniteur contains a list of twenty members of the Legion of Honour who have been expelled from the order by an imperial decree, they having been convicted of various degrading crimes and mill. demeanours. Among them is Colonel de Scrccy, of the staff, wkoee trial for swindling made so much sensation a few weeks ago. lie was a commander of the orders of the Legion of Honour and of St. Gregory the Great, and an officer of the orders of Leopold of Belgium and of the Saviour of Greece. The decree, besides degrading him front the Legion of Honour, prohibits him from wearing any foreign order. C olonel de Sercy is the only one in the list whose rank in the legion was above that of a simple chevalier. A large audience was collected at the annual meet ing of the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences at the Institute on Saturday to hear M.?dignet read a paper on the life and labours of Jouffroy. Some pointed political allusions were caught at with all the eagerness that forbidden fruit provokes, and greeted with hearty rounds of applause. M. Mignet com menced by saying that all times were not equally propitious to labours of the mind. There were mo ments when intelligence fatigued sunk into inaction, when humanity enervated aspired only to repose and enjoyment, when science,: passing too precipitately from theories to their application, was in danger of losing its inventive power, when false systems had ' compromised true ideas, and when philosophy and liberty had, as it were, fallen into disgrace. He de scribed the Institute, however, as a spot exempt from this prostration, as the sanctuary of the human mind, where the persevering worship of thought would be ever preserved. He, therefore, thought it might be "apropos" to call attention on this occasion to the career of a philosopher who had devoted his too short life and his vast intelligence to the study of the soul. Jouffroy entered upon his career of philosphy and letters at the moment of the fall of the Empire, and under new auspices. Fur many years a man whose genius and sword hud made him master of France and ruler of Europe, had in some sort thought, willed, and acted for the whole world. A favoured child of a revolution produced by tho human mind, ho had imposed silence upon the human mind. After having founded his own absolute authority upon the public lassitude, not hearing the stifled opposition of men, and not yet encountering the hidden resistance of things, he abandoned himself to the ardour of his vast imagination and the impe tuosity of his will. As the revolution had hoped by its id' as to change the internal form of society, so he thought by its victories to change the face of the external world. But he wrestled against the truth of things and the necessities of the age, and so, despite the prodigies of his genius, and even by the excess of its force, when ho had sacrificed liberty, exaggerated greatness, worn glory threadbare, and even fatigued ambition, he fell more rapidly than he rose. After this attack upon Bonapartism, M. Mignet gave a sketch of the literary and scientific career, of M. Joutfroy,alludingtohis lecture delivered to twenty ad miring pupils in a small room in the Rue St. Honore, at a time when twenty-one would have been an illegal number, and to his connexion with the celebrated Globe newspaper. Coming to his parliamentary life, which began after the revolution of 1830, M. Mignct took occasion to laud parliamentary govern ment in general and the constitutional epoch of Louis Philippe in particular. The representative government consolidated by the revolution of 1830, seemed to M. Soliffroy especially adapted to a people monarchical by its traditions, but liberal in its ideas, requiring to govern itself with independence and ' regularity under the common empire of its principles and its habits. lie was not content with approving this government, he desired to serre it. lie en tered the chamber in 1831, together with most of his friends echo belonged, like hinnalf, to that gene ration of political men educated in the soundest doctrine'', attached to the highest interest, who had the rare molt of respecting in power what they had professed in opposition, of doing themselves what they had called upon others to do, and who, applying the beautiful principles and realising the true promises of 1789, gave to our country more prosperity than it had ever enjoyed, the largest measure of liberty it had ever exercised, and the most moderate govern ment it had ever known. The whole of M. Mignet's paper• is published by the Sleek. A M. Louis Pujos, one of the pardoned political offenders of December, bnsjust been punished by the Prefect of the Gers for making a turning table play political tricks. m. Pujos, it seems, invited his neighbours repeatedly to witness the wonderful per formances of his table, which prophesied the downfall of the empire, and the triumph of M. Emmanuel Pujos, a son of M. Louis, who is now lying in gaol at Marseilles upon the charge of belonging to a secret society. The prefect has sent M. Louis Pujos away from his home, and ordered him to reside at Condom. It is not stated whether he is allowed to take his table with him. In consequence of the improvements going on in the Gth arrondissement, a house forming part of the ancient convent of the Temple, was pulled down last week. In the vaults underneath this house were found the remains of eleven Lady Abbesses who bud successively governed the convent. Tho skeletons of all were found perfect, and it is said that from religious ornaments and emblems found in the coffins it wcs easy to identify each of them. The remains were exhumed in the presence of the municipal authorities, the clergy of St. Elizabeth, and the chaplain of the convent ot the Holy Sacrament in the Fauboug St. Germain (whither the nuns of the Temple took refuge when their house was suppressed), and removed to the Eastern ceme tery, where a religious service was performed over their new graves. It is said that the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce has decided that merchandise absolutely prohibited by the tariff shall be admitted for the universal exhibition of 1855, and that, after the exhibition, such merchandise may, at the option of the owner, be re-exported without charge, or eo:d in France on paying a duty of 30 per cent. M. Partarrteu-Lafosse, the father of the judge of that name in the Imperial Court, and a member of the Constituent Assembly of 1790, has just died in Paris, at the extraordinary age of 97. Count Karnicky, Austrian chargo d'affaires in Switzerland, left Vienna yesterday cn route for Berne. At the Bourse today an average amount of busi dess was transacted in the public securities, and at its termination a general improvement had taken place in prices, with the exception of the Three per Cents. for cash, which had declined se. A rise of 23c. occurred in the Four-and-a-Half per Cents. for money, whilst for the end of the month the Three per Cents. advanced 25e, and the Four-and-a-Half per Cents. 40c. In Bank of Frauce shares there was an improvement of 20f. The concluding quotations were—For cash, Three per Cents., 77 40 ; Four-and a-Half ditto, 102. For the account—Three per Cents, 77.45; Four-and-a-lialf ditto, 101.90. Bank Stock, 2670 f. Northern., 807.50 ; Orleans, lON ; Paris and Strasbourg, 912.50 ; Paris and Lyons, 925 ; Paris and Rouen, 1055 ; Lyons to the Mediterranean, 734. N; Western of France, 730 f. TO Till ZDITOR or TUT ZIPRESS. Sin,—Dr. Denison of Salisbury was, he boasts, the first to place himself under the act of 1850, and take a fixed stipend of 5, 9 00/. a year, instead of an irregular in come averaging 6,7371 ; and, at least, one other bishop— Dr. Pepys, of Worcester—has done the same. So far so good : but Dr. Maltby, of Durham, is the great offender ; and I thit.k it is important the public should know whether he also has submitted to take the fixed stipend of 8,000/. a year, which parliament intended the bishops of Durham should receive, or whether he is still going on taking 16 or 20,009/. a year ? YOllll, A CHURCH REFORMER. NEW QUEEN'S Cosset..—We ) under stan,i that the following gentlemen will be ealkd to the inner bar during the present term .—Messrs. Montague Smith, •if the Western; Edward James, and Stephen Temple, o the Northern ; and W. it. (hove, of the Slath Wales circuit. DENMARK. The discussion on the second reading of the royal message, relative to the royal succession, took place on the 21st, in the Danish United Diet. It ended in the adoption of Count Molike's amendment, con formable to the government proposition, by a majo rity of 113 against 7 votes. 'fen members abstained from voting. HOLLAND The Second Chamber of the Netherlands voted the address in answer to the speech from the throne on Saturday last. M. Van Hall had previously an nounced that the government would take the least possible share in the discussion, owing to the good feeling towards the ministry which was evident in the Chamber. SEWER ACCIDENT AND LOSS OF LIFE. Yesterday, about twenty minutes before noon, an alarm was raised, in llolywell.street, Strand, by the report that a portion of the tunnel for the construction of the new sewer, which has been some weeks in construction there, had fallen in, and that two persons were buried beneath the superincumbent earth. The report, in a few seconds, was found to be too true, the workmen employed at the upper part of the shaft, which was sunk at the eastern end of Ilolywelbstreet, hearing cries from the man below, who was at the opening end of the tunnel, in which the other man was boring, that the tunnel had fallen in. This man fortunately succeeded in making good his escape, the other poor fellow being buried in the brickwork of an old sew( r running parallel with the tunnel, the sewer being con structed in a series of lateral shafts and tunnels. The beadle of St. Clement Dance, who was parsing at the time, promptly obtained a large body of police to keep back the crowd, and by their exertions the curious were kept off, so as to leave free the number of men who were immediately set to work, on the catastrophe being known, by the clerk of the works, to extricate the man, and by dint of extraordinary exertions, men being placed at different points and then boring and clearing the earth round tho position where it was l.rown the unfortunate man must be, they after about an hour's exertion, succeeded in extricating the body threugh en opeiiing from a deep cellar of Mr. Steps's house, which was formerly a public house; from its appearance, there is no doubt that the poor man was immediately suffocated, life being quite extinct, and there were but very few injuries on the person. Medical attendance was of no avail, and on the body being got up it was placed in a shell and conveyed to the dead house of the Duchy of Lancaster. The deceased's name is Phillips, and unfortunately he was a married man, and has left a wife and four children, who are thus suddenly de prived of their ninon. A number of workmen were en gaged in shoring up the several houses atljoning, to prevent further accident. Informed= will be conveyed to the coroner, and an inquest held on the body. • THE ROYAL DISPENSARY FOR DISEASES OF THE EAR, DRAB-STRRET, Stlllo-NtARZ.-A sermon was preached to a very crowded congregation on Sunday in aid of the funds of this die/Jemmy, by the Bishop of St. Asaph, at St. Peter's, Pimlico. His lordship most earnestly and powerfully entreated n liberal contribution for an institu tion so highly deserving public support. During the past year 1,388 patients had been placed on its books, and 659 had been discharged cured, besides many more materially relieved. His lordship's pathetic and eloquent appeal produced a very handsome collection. . . - - - HONOUR. TO SCIENCE.—From Berlin it is stated that the King has ordered that the portrait of Jacob Grimm, the philologist, shall be pieced in the Gallery of Contempo rary Celebrities created by him in the Palace of Charlotten burg ; and has commissioned M. Degas, the painter of the portraits of Humboldt and Meyerbecr is tha same collection, with the work. One of the first acts of the King on his accession to the throne was to recal the proscription against the brothers Grimm, issued by his father cn political ground'. fag Court. The Prince and Princess of Prussia, accompanied by the Priuuss Lulls', arrived in town yesterday afternoon from the Continent, on a visit to the Queen. Their Royal Highnesses travelled from Dover by a special train on the South Eastern R a il wa y, an d at 1.. o'clock reached the Bricklayers' Arms station, where they were met by Prince Albert, attended by Captain the lion. Dudley de Ros. la attendance on their Royal Highnesses were Countess Oriolla, Countess von Mare, Mdlle. von Sternberg, Co.aut Puekler, Count Oohs, and Count Boos. Prince Albert and the Prussian Royal Family immediately proceeded in one of the Queen's carriages to Buckingham Palace, w here her Majesty. attended by the Ladies and Ocatlemen in Waiting, received her illustrious guests. The royal circle arrived at the palace at 20 minutes past 12 o'clock. The Duchess of Kent visited tha Prince and Princess of Prussia in the afternoon. _ In the course of the afternoon the Prince and Princess of Prussia visited the King and Queen of Hanover, the Duchess of Cambridge, and the other members of thy royal family, at their respective residecces. ' The Queen, accompanied by the Princess of Prussia, the Duchess of Saxe Cobourg Gotha, and the Prince of Hohen lobe Langenbdurg, took a drive in au open landau and four yesterday afternoon. The Equerry in Waiting, Lord Charles Fitzroy, attended on horseback. Prince Albert, with the Prince of Prussia, and the Dike of Size Cobourg Gotha, rode out on borsch ick. Captain the Iloa. Dudley dc Res and Count Goltz king in attctt lance. The Queen atiol Prince Albert, accompanied by the Prince and Princess of Prussia, the Duke aril Duchess of Same Cobourg Gotha, ant the Prince of Ifonciilahe Latigin bourg, honoured the performance of French Plays last ere-wing with their presence. The royal suite consisted of the Countess of Mount Edgcumbe, the Ciuntess Othello, the Countess Von Ilacke, the Baroness Wangenheim, Ilto Marquis of Ormocde, Count Goltz, Lord Charles Fitzroy, Captain the Hon. Dudley de Hos. Count Boos, and Baron de Treskow. The Duchess of Scot, accompanied by the Print:ass Adelaide of Hobenlohc, and attended by Lady Anna Maria Dawson and Lord James Murray, also honoured the performance with her presence. The Duchess of Saxe Cobourg Gotha, attended by Baroness de Wangenheim, inspected Mr. Wyld'a Mod,' of the Globe in Leicester-spare yesterday miming. The Qletnof II snorer visited the Duchess of Kent yes terday at Clarence House, St. James';. General Love, Lieutenant-tr.., trnor of Juicy, bad an interview with Vracouut Palarerston, yesterday, at the _ Hon. Sir John Young, Chief Secretary fir Ireland, entertained the following noblemen and gentlemen Cr, dinner, at the Trafalgar Hotel, Greenwich, on Saturday. The Duke of Newcastle, the Earl of Mulirruve, the Lard Advocate of Scotland, the Sulicitor.Geniral of Ireland, the Hen. Francis Clialteri=, M.P.; Serjeant Murphy, ; the Hon. Cecil Lao less, M.P. ; Mr. J. D. Fitzgerald, ; Mr. W. Fagan, M.P. ; Mr. F. W. Russell, ; Mr. 0. Grace, M.P. ; Mr. A. O'Flaberty, M.P. ; Mr. Wyndham Goold, M.P.; Mr. Pollard.Umuliart, M.P.; Mr. Vincent Scully, M.P. ; Mr. F. Scully, M.P. ; Mr. Ousely Higgins, ; Mr. Fitzstephen French, M.Y. ; Colanel Caulfcild, M.P. ; Mr. T. Bellew, M.P. ; Dr. Paillimure, M.P.; Mr. J. Ball, M.P. ; Mr. Chichester Furtescue, M.P. ; Mr. Patrick O'Brien, M P. ; Mr. R. M. Fos, Id P.; Sir Matthew Barringtue, Bart. ; Mr. A. Hay ward, and Mr. G. Tuite Dalton. Ti.c Bi,hop of Giraua had an interview with the Dike of Nes erstle yesterday at the Colonial-office. Despatches were received on Sunday at the Colonial olliee, from the Governor-General of Canada, from tho Governor of Hong Kong, the Governor of Malts, and the Lord Hig:i Commissioner of the lonian Islands. MEASLES AT THE PALM:E.-11c Prince of Wales has been suffering under an attack of measles for some days past. The symptoms first appeared on this clay week, and since that day have been sufficient, without giving cause fur anxiety, to warrant a mire than ordinary solicitude on the pert of his royal parents. Uer Majesty has been unremit ting in her maternal attmtion to the young prince, and, as ina:ter of precaution, has absented herself from all Wieln blies where a chance of contagion to other children might arise. Tke absence of the Queen and the youthful mem bers of the royal Lanily front the juvenile fete given by the Duchess of Gloucester on Saturday was remarked. ARRICAL OF TILE PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Prussia lett Aix-la-Chapelle on Sunday =ruing at an early hour, and arrived at Ostend between 6 and 7 o'clock the same evening. At half-past 7 their royal highnesses, secompasied by their youthful daughter and anumerous suite, embarked en boardher Majesty's steam-packet Vivid, Capt. Smithett. The Vivid started from O: tend immedi ately, and, aster a very stormy passage, which she made in five hours, landed the royal travellers at half an hour alter midnight. Their royal highnesses were received on the new lauding-place (the jetty) by his Excellency the Prus sian Minister, Count Flemming, and Mr. Ernest Bunsen, and conducted to the Ship Hotel, where their royal high nesses passed the night. Yesterday morning, at half-past 9 o'clock, their royal highnesses, accompanied by Chevalier Bunsen, left Dover by a special train, which reached the Bricklayers' Arms Station at 12. At this station his Ruyal Highness Prince Albert was in attendance to receive his royal guests, and their royal highnesses were conveyed to Buckingham Palace in the Queen's carriages. STORM AT PORTSMOUTH AND LOSS OF LIFE. (EY ELECTRIC YELEGRAYII.) PORTSSIOCTII, MONDAY. The weather today has blown a heavy gale, and many casualties are apprehended. A shore boat, in which were Lieutenant Lambert and Mr. Muirhead, surgeon, of the Edinburgh, foundered, and they with two watermen have been lost. Whilst striking lower yaras on board her Majesty's ship Amphion, a hook fell down, and struck Captain Patey, fracturing his skull. lie is not expected to live. Two men arc similarly wounded. OESTIU OF THE DANUBE BY RUSSIA. sUFFERLNGS OF ENGLISH 5E.4.11E.V. For the last threeweeks lettere from Constantinople and GAlets have brought energetic complaints of the injury done to British interests and British lives by the working of the Russian scheme for shutting up the Danube. The last reports from the embouchure of that river state that there were on the 10th inst. scores of vessels laden with corn stuck fast in the mud for want of water, their crews im prisoned amid the poisonous exhalations which at this season of the year steam up from the ooze of the river bed. A large proportion of the vessels are British. That this mischief has been directly inflicted on commerce by Russia may easily be shown by the recapitulation of a few notorious facts which M. Skene has well stated in his recent instructive work on the Danubian provinces. [The pas sages of M. Skene's work which we are about to adduce were published yesterday in the late edition of the Times verbatim et literatim, as the staple of a letter from " our own correspondent" at Constantinople, and without one word of acknowledgment.] " The treaty of Adrianople conferred on Russia, in the year 1829, the right of establishing and maintaining a qua rantine station on ono of the mouths of the Danube which forms the boundary between the Turkish and Russian em pires, and bears the name of Sulina, and as this is the only passage practicable for shipping she thus obtained a direct influence over the whole trade of the river. A bar of mud of about 200 yards in length crosses this month of :Le river, and the water becomes so shallow over it, when no steps are taken to preserve a suitable depth, that only vessels of light draught can pass, and these are obliged to discharge their cargo into lighters, and re-embark it after crossing the shallows. The occupation of Sulina by the Russians re ceived the sanction of Austria in a special convention passed in 1840 for the maintenance of deep water on the bar, in consideration of a tax or toll on all vessels crossing it. This bar is formed by the gra.lual deposit of mud conveyed by the stream ; and to keep the required depth across the bar nothing further is required than to stir the mud, which the current carries off. Before the conclusion of the treaty of Adrianople the Turks maintained a uniform depth of 16 feet on the bar by means of heavy iron rakes, which they obliged all vessels to drag after them during their passage out of the Danube. Since the convention of Russia and Austria, concluded in 1810, no ; steps have been taken to clear the bar, which in consequence has been gradually increasing, although English and other ships have been paying so many Spanish dollars to the Russians for a service unperformed, besides many pounds sterling for the cost of lighterage, insurance, and losses, which this Russian breach of engagement has entailed on commerce. On one occasion the master of an English ship accidentally fished up a big of atones from the bar, show ing that sins of commission as well as of omission are re - sorted to, in order to divert trade from the Turkish territory to Russian ports." EDINBURGH, PESTI!, AND DIINDEE A special meeting of this company was held on Friday at Edinburgh, when the bill now before parliament for m►k iog an arrangement with the creditors of the cempany was approved of. The Chairman (Mr. Balfour) intimated that the chief objects of the bill were to effect a reduction on the existing debentures to 3} per cent for a limited period, to reduce the dividend on preference stock from 5 to 4 Wet cent., and to sanction the creation of new debentures at a fixed rate, iu order to meet the outstanding obligations of the company. The bill had been approved of by a special • committee ti the noun of COMMOLt• 1 i