The Express. — London, England, 1847-01-05 00:00:00

THIS DAY (Tuesday) MRS. PARKES' FINE ANY ELL' r•tatienlirllON.—Tikc GALLERY of FINE ARTS, 22, Golden-mu dr. want/trine Or dee specimen of Engrav ing.. mounted In superb framer, and forming input= o' Mo. Parker' Club rzub.inti gin. Iv id b• opened be the inspeetioi of the puha, this day at Twelve °Woe's. Sharer, One Grine& met, ue seven fur Sin Guinea Amount at publiatiin; priced the ',brie /C43,111)0. THE BRITISH and FOREIGN INSTITUTE en:era on it, VIFTII IF:AIt in 1817, and members joining it at the present time win lure the ginninge of the full SemiOn of the &irks, LectotteN enoveraichmi, and Dieeuw•iotoy which will com wore on FIIIDAY, Jeoutry 2i, nod be contioncil on th, Friday. Evrannr, of cacti win* from January to lune. The CLUB artochol to tire ltuutute to WAY r,,ely :or the reeeprum of New 54,411,0 , , rind particular, of each may be hol at N 0.13, Ge3rge-. , treet, Hanover ware. 'ALES rt. acciusonAm, Ic.ident Diream. -.-- - § AINT JAMES'S ASSEXIBLY-ItOOMS, late callocrortrom. —TIIIS EVENING, the VIRsT of a Aeries of 138P.B.PflON BALLS will take place at Nine o'clock, at the above muxrniticeat 800.. Every attribute that art or taste can furnish has hen Li, lady bestowed in decorstlon; the Belo= will preaeat a won d'ouil superb in the extreme; in feet, na halos ere adequate to ctmvey an idea of the grandeur of this Temple of T. thor:. The 'land is compo+ed of artistes ef achnov:l,ls:-1 talent, 5115 d experienced Masters of Ceremonies are retaiacd. Its2freohniTaho in esery variety, and Alpo, will 0- provided under the miperintendence of dpr0f,,,,1 maitre ..hotel Subscrip tion: for a tt.antleasan, Ss.; for .51.54 PM goitlc win, 7s. fat. Sub. etribene names rc,ived at P., following libraries a 5551 mu.ic-sellorss Mr. Alle. - oft, 1.% N..sr Boad-start; Mr. Chappell, SO, New Ikm:- tenet ; 31 tsars. (tamer ant Beek, itegent-street ; Feeturn, SB, Streal; Mr. IWO" 8, Ludgate-hill; Mr. Prowse Cheapside ; Mr. Terms, Paltry; Mr. Mere iihrary, Bontl.atrea4; Mr. tallivior, Peed-strut; Mewo.•Leadet . and Cook, CS, hood-street; also of Mr. et 5.1,, 33, at. Jusesh,tr.t.st. adjoining the estildishinent - - - -•— ENGLISH MUSIC, EX The Committee of the Millet Testimonial Fund hex 10.0 to announce 4 Ser.es of FUER 11.13iCEItTS, illustrative of the Ilisbiry of EngibM Voealli,e4. A New Organ will b, err etc.' by Mr. Rob , . expresely for thwe concerti ; en efficient Orchestra wdl alm be pm sided f th' Seem!, 'Mira. and Fuarth Cartemtv. Tae Fitt' T CoN. CERT will he boW MO:iDAY EVENINti, January IC. Principal Vocal PerfotherA:—' it:dearth, Rim Dlby, Mr. 111111TMIA en I Mr. UM T. trea, °., for th e sed ; w,dern Evart'. Se. Bd., (or the /1,6(K ; I.IA. (41.; e.erved seats, re.. for the sertes, 1::. —mar be hod of Jr. l`srter, publisher, 443, Wed ecru.:, and of the principal nintic-nclicrA. QACIIED TIAILNI()NIC SOCIETY, EXETEIt- LI USU.—Om FittDAT EVF.NING, Joanory S, I/317, rill be p,r famed 11 SNItE..'S ORATORIO, MESSIAH. Princiod %oc.il Performers—Madame Ci.sulori Allan, Mist M. B. Bowes, Mr. Msovers, sod Mr.ll. The 80.0 l an 1 Moron will eossii4 of above 500 Performers. 'Matta, SA. esch ; Reserved fiesta, Si., may be obtained of the principal Mosie-iellers; of Mr. Bosley, 3.1. Ctoriritt-crora; of Mr. Ries, 101, scrotal, opposite Exeter-hall; or of Mr. Mitt-1011, 3:), Charing-eross• TIIOMAS BREwrit. Moo. _ _ _ CIRAND HARMONIC HALL - OICAPEB TAVERN, slouthw.dk Bridre-road, Borough, Ileen‘wl pursuant to Acta( Psrliament. Dowirietnr, Mr. It. DREECE.—(OPEN EVERY N1611T.-111MENSE ATTRACIION.—Iift extraordinary and un equ And Cour.mny of Vo, ;lists and Dancers, th' whet° ennabirmil farming at eseuintes enterminment of a most plessine description. lint appearoice t i .Inistican Barlow, whose hovel ; erfonnance 111111 hero nigh:ly hailed with sh; ;at, of sopinice. Eel! Life in America— intr. dueling the *mg. r. 1.1 Dances to 'given by the N levers on the phuttation {nomads ax.reamaiest by the Banjo, Canoe Fiddle, Tambu, &e. u.e. That excellent comic singer, Mr. W. Wurde, will introduce, each ,vening, o variety of Comic Elusions, Droll InventioA, Sketches MD:cc - Mei, Cason:dem and new Combs Saw, written by himself. Mr. Climb,. Shaman, the only kiw..ibilt Improviontore, ir vim-teed nt this estehishovnt, and will appcir this C,llllll, — Doors open at Seven, the roncert to commence at li:dr-put. Managing Director, Mr. W. Wattle, whose Benefit is Axed for to-morrow. Jan. 0, 1847. 011.0SBY-HALL —The ETHIOPIAN SERE NADZRS, Pell, Ilarrington, White, Stanwood, and German Mthe St. James's Th. atre), will repeat their INIMITABLE n ERTAINIIEN r, at the above hall, TO-MORROW EVENING and FRIDAY NEXT; also MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, and FRIDAY, in the enming week. Daum open at tulf-past 7, and its perform ance en:rmness at A o'clock precisely.—lickets may be had at the Library of Lac luatittition; and at the doors on the evening of per formance. EATRE ROYAL lIAYMARKLT.—Ttiumph x tkat Socee - a of the sow grand fairy Extravaganza of TtIE VI'IBLE PRINCE. or the Wand of Tranquil Delighta,thc - greateet hit ever made : rkle' the Pm.. In order to give as much variety on plivi.tde, the intervating and traccesidul Mow Druna ci THE ROUND OF WILONIi will only be terfonned on Monday.. Wed neaday, and Frichiy.—On Tiaviday, LONIYiN ASSUKANCE. — On Thuroday, MONEY.-01 Matinday, LOOK BEFORE YON LEAP, and ovary night the near grand fairy Extravaganza of THE INVIOBLE PRINCE.—J. T. Archer. km Cook-keeper. Site r‘lprois. MAI L§. The mail. for Britt& Nottl7;l ' ineriet, Bermuda. and Um Colted Steles, will be made up on the evening of the 3rd February. 'hem oils for the the River Plate. Monte Video, rernam. bum, Mateira, an Bursae /tyros, will be clos:latched on the evening of the 4th February. Them ills for lien, Opnrto. l.iebon, Madeira, endir, and Gibraltar, will be made up on the moving of the 7th Jonior. The overland dared re .its rin Marseilles, to the Mediterranean, Egypt, Alen, Ceylon, fotlia, Moog Kong, Sie., will be made up on the evening olthe 7th Jannar . The Vest lade trails, ezehullng throe for Me.aleo, llnntlarav, and the ifemannab, will be made up on the morninz of the 17th January. The *retie .4 wait, for Gibraltar, Malta, Greece, the lonian Isisnits, Ades, Ceylon, Intlia, Ilung-Kong, and China, sin Southampton, frl i at made op on the evening of the morning of the 211th January. The malls for New tooth Wiles. tan I,,v,hen'. Lund, end New !Wand will be made 112 GU the evening of the 3lst January. TO CORRESPONDENTS. •.• Adtartiseraenta intendad far The Repress, Loudon evening paper, mon ha at tha Odin, by Two o'clock on the day of publication. mGU WATER AT LONDON-BRIDGE. Tars DST.—Morning, 18 min. pad 4; Afternoon, 3 min. pad 4. To-Xott. ow—Morning, 31 min. pad 4; Afternoon, 0 min. pad 5. LONDON, TUESDAY, JAN. 5. ME Times continues to deprecate and oppose the impulses of English charity towards Irish distress. We have always given credit to that journal for being endowed with those sensitive feelings for popular sufferings, which overcome and smother the colder, but at times more just, principles of politi cal economy. But it is only when the English poor are in view, that it makes philosophy bow to feeling; because, no doubt, out of this same sympathy for the English poor it was possible to raise a clamour against a Liberal government. But where the Irish poor are concerned, our contemporary reverses its principles. The man of feeling is converted at once into the rigid political economist, and the Times lectures on the bad effects of charity to Ireland, by pampkrasing and exaggerating the arguments which Mr. SENIOR applied to the English poor, not in moments of famine, but in years of abundance and idleness. Our contemporary has no bowels for the wholesale starvation of Skibbereen or for the famine which stalks over the bogs of " Mayo. Its tender sympa thies are all reserved for the pockets of the rich. It dreads lest the Christmas offering of one thousand pounds should seriously diminish the store of such a charitable donor, as Mr.lteerliscHan, or Mr. BARING, and it expresses its serious anxiety, lest the present generosity of the English capitalist towards Ireland should leave no surplus sentiment or coin in their hearts or purses for the future distresses of England. Why did not the Times preach this doctrine apart the subscription for the burnt-out Hamburgers, or for the hundred remote objects of the übiquitous cha rity of England? According to it, English sympa thies should never overleap English shores. It pro claims: " What is given to Irish is so much filched from English distress. What is given to Tipperary or to Clam is taken from Dorsetshire and Wiltshire. What is poured into Skibbereen is deducted from Sutton or from Stockport." This is the old poor-law with a vengeance, dividing the world into parishes, getting rid of Ireland by the clauses of a poor-removal, and telling charity to stay at home. This, indeed, is breaking up an em pire, and proclaiming more loudly than ever an ()Tox in'. or an O'Baux spoke, the Repeal of the Union— the union of common feeling and charity, as well as of policy and race. Is not such language calculated to make the Irish ask, how much of the rent and the surplus produce of Ireland are consigned to those English counties, here forbidden to return a pittance of it in charity. "It would be unjust," exclaims the Times, " for rich Yorkshiremen to give to Cornwall a portion of the wealth produced b' Yorkshire labour, whilst the wants of poor Yorksluremen passed unheeded and unhelped." What if the Yorkshire wealth had been in part compounded of Cornish labour? What if Yorkshire had for centuries ruled Cornwall by unequal laws, and unwittingly forced it down to a pauperism, aid ing its landlords in producing that very pauperism which now, forsooth, the dominant country is for bidden to relieve by indulging the natural feelings of charity? Out upon such beggarly, such narrow, such in human sentiments!—such mistaken, such federal, such fatal policy'.—sentiments as disgraceful to the indivi dual, as destructive to the empire ; a policy so retro grade that one would suspect it to belong to the I-Ler g eh a y s zth m e i r xt th ure an c t; our day, and whichhothevethrygether class, and party in England must repudiate, and which could not have been invented, indeed, except by the perverse and arrogant spirit of dictatorial journalism. In addition to the selfish reasons so needlessly im pressed upon Englishmen to prevent their being charitable, other assertions and arguments are brought forward to show, that this great act of charity would do harm. The public works in Irish counties have withdrawn a great portion of the . population from agricultural labour. If English charity come in aid of public works, agriculture, it is mid, will be even more But here it is quite left out of view, what been the alternative, had there been no In Clam, in Cork, in Longford, in many counties, more than half the population would bate been swept away by famine. Farmers and agri eultutists in Ireland do not give wages, they give cabins and conacre. The funds and reward for agi ieulturtl labour were wanting ; and between public works and starvation there was no alternative. And now what is proposed to be done with the charitable Lund? To provide seed, huts, implements, the materials and appliances of labour : to limit direct relief to those 'modifies and those families which are beyond the operation of the laboar-rate, and utterly beyond toe posers of a relief committee. The subscription which has taken birth in the dc mands of the Skibbereen deputation will not go to perform the charitable task that Irish property has heft undone, but will be applied in aid ot• the in sufficiency of Irish property. There are proprietors in Inland with wide domains, three or hew years of whose rental will have been sunk without suffi cing to word off imminent distress. Lord Sutio's line property is swamped for years amid the rising ocean i of poverty around him. The gentlemen of the county of Cork have raised subscriptions to the amount of 40,000!.; yet Skibbereen is in the county of Cork. If, in such circumstances as these, charity is not called fur; if to such distress, in a portion of our domestic empire, placing the poor on the brink of the grave and rendering the local proprietor, in too many maws, utterly powerless,—if, in such a crisis, charity is to be denounced as pernicious, then let charity be blotted from the list of English virtues, and let a new gospel be promulgated to suit the iron nature of the age. TIIERE must be something vicious in any law which cannot be carried into execution without outraging every sentiment of justice. And where the constant interference of the executive is found necessary to co:rect the administration of a system of law having a defined and well understood purpose, the necessary conclusion must be that the law is erroneous. Now the game laws are obnoxious to such objections. The foltrwing paragraph which we rcpnnt from our column of provincial news of last week, is truly a startling announcement to those who recollect the evils resulting from the maintenance of laws con demned by the intelligence of the community. This is the passage : H,: arsett DS 11 I RE. —T HE ROYAL PA RDON .—The governor of the Hertford gaol received last week two documents, ex tending the royal pardon to Jos. Brooks, and Thos. Body, of Wiggiugton ' committed for several terms of imprison ment, fur the otfence of poaching. The prisoner Brooks was committed on three warrants Jot one tfence, and Body on two warrants, each of which was to take effect at the expira tion if Me imprisonment ordered under Me preceding con rid ions, tier Majes.y ordered the discharge of the prisoners at the expiration of the term of punishment authorised in the tirst warrant in each rase. It is stated to be the intention of the government to pursue Mil courec, with a view td dis courage the infliction of cumulative penalties in cases of poaching. Here we find that the extraordinary prerogative to pardon offenders is to be constantly exercised to cor rect the administration of the game laws. We be lieve that such exercise is wise and necessary on the part of the government ; and that the justices of the peace who are game preservers, or who partake of the prejudices sf game preservers, to execute a code of extreme severity with so much harshness as ' to bring their administration of law in general into discredit, cannot be trusted without some such check. But why is such a system of law permitted to exist? These cumulative punishments are peculiar to the game laws, and are directly opposed to the spirit of British law. It is a rule, not only that a man shall not be punished, but that he shalt not be tried twice for the same offence, which prevails throughout our criminal code, with the exception of the squire's code —the game laws. Tire property of the merchant, the manufacturer, the tradesman, or the farmer, is deemed to be sufficiently protected by visiting offenders against the laws of property with a single punishment for one offence. But the amusements of the gentry are fenced round with penalty upon pe nalty, ana fine upon fine, which overwhelm with utter ruin every offender against whom the game laws are enforced. Nor is this interference by the Home Secretary to correct the severity of the game laws a new matter; for the late government found it necessary to adopt the some course. Upon this point some striking evi dence was given before the game-law conunittee by Mr. PIIILLIPPS, the permanent Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department. Mr. Pam ' 1.11 , PS said that the attention of Sir JAMES GRAhAM, when Home Secretary, had b.en called to the subject by ob erring that out of 201 commitments made in the year 1844 for the county of Bedford, 143 were game eases, and en calling for returns of those com mitments, four of the game sentences were found to have been alto g ether illegal. In consequence, it was determined to inquire into the mode in which the game laws were administered, and for that purpose an order was issued to all gaolers to send to the Home-office copies of all commitments in game cases. Returns were accordingly made of all the Commit ments in England for game-law offences between the 23rd of May, 1844, and the 11th of March, 1845, from which it appeared that out of 1849 second com mitments, forty persons had been discharged from prison, their sentences having been clearly illegal, and that fourteen other sentences had been commuted. Mr. PUILLIPPS said distinctly " All the discharges were on the ground of the law having been actually violated, the sentences being against the law. There had been no instance in which a prisoner had been discharged because the commitment was defective in point of form." And when asked whether " those returns did not strike him as showing that a very great deal of irregularity and injustice had been committed by the magistrates under the game laws," kis answer was, " I must say eery great. I have been very much surprised, and I have expressed my surprise very frequently to the Secretary . of State upon the subject. I could not have conceived that there could have been such." And it marks strongly the spirit in which the game laws are administered ; that in every instance of irregularity discovered, it was against the offender ; that is, punishment be yond the law, or which were not authorised by the law, had been inflicted. For instance, where 40s. was the maximum penalty for the offence, a fine of 31. had been imposed, which, not being paid, the of fender had been sent to prison. So where the ex- tremo period of imprisonment allowed by law was three months, commitments for longer terms had been made. Again, there were many convictions by a single magistrate, where two magistrates had jurisdiction, and a single magistrate could not legally act. There had been convictions under the Game Certificate Act, where the magistrates had ordered six months' imprisonment, with hard labour, which is against the law. There is no hard labour justified under the Game Certificate Act,—only imprisonment without hard labour. There were instances in which I there had been no less than three punishments — three imprisonments fur one °fence! A man was convicted under a special clause for poaching on a Sunday ; then he was convicted for the same offence under the trespass clause, that is, for trespassing in pursuit of game ; and he was afterwards proceeded against for killing game without a certificate, and im prisoned for non-payment of the penalty. He was imprisoned by means of these cumulative penalties for eleven months for one offence. Can anything be more monstrous? Are the public aware that any rural bench of justices may inflict such punish ments for trespasses upon their own preserves. It is true, magistrates do not often act in their own cues, but the advantage of that, where there is such a strong community of sentiment, is rather appa rent than real. As one of the farmers examined said, with much point, "magistrate A commits the poachers on B's estate, and magistrate B commits A's poachers." An enumeration of the penalties and punishments, actually enforced in the case above mentioned, will give some idea of the power which game-preserving justices possess over the liberty of the subject. Killing game on a Sunday or Christmas, subjects the offender to a fine of 51., or three months' imprisonment with hard labour; killing game with out a certificate another fine of 51., or a second three months' imprisonment with hard labour ; and besides, I sporting without a certificate subjects the offender to the payment of 201., to be levied by distress, or six months' imprisonment ; and also to be charged a double certificate duty, amounting to Si. Is. Bd. These bat penalties are recovered before the commissioners d rsesd taxes, and are nominally fiscal charges; bat y, the Game Certificate Act is used solely sa ilt a :Zhe suppression of poaching. The penalty &SOL can only be mitigated to 101., and there is no power to remit any part of the double duty ; then a labouring man when proceeded against under the Game Certificate Act, and few except labourers are ever so proceeded against, must pay 18/.13.8d., or go to gaol. The total amount of the maximum pecuniary penalties above mentioned—three penalties for one act—is 381. Is. 83. Besides these penalties, if the (mil bud been committed out of season—if, for instance,l pheasants had been killed ou the last Sunday in Sep tember, or the first Sunday of February, another and additional fine of 295. for each head of plum, or im prisonment fur two months with hard labour is in flicted. The above provisions will amply justify the remark made by Mr. PIIILLIPPS—" That the game laws are the severest laws iu the statute-book." But the reader will be mistaken if he supposes the limits of oppression which may be, and frequently is, inflicted under the game laws, has been reached. There is the Night Poaching Act (9 George IV., c. 69), under which a person convicted of poaching, or attentpting, to poach; as for instance, setting a snare one hour after sunset, or before sunrise, is subjected for the first offence to imprisonment and hard labour for three months, and at the end of that time he is to find sure ties for not offending in the same way again for the space of a year. And in rase lie can find nu securities 1w is to be impriyme , l and kept to hard labour f.r the space of six calendar months. The act is peremptory, that if sureties are not forthcoming the offender shall be committed fur six months. There is no rower of mitigation. Imagine an agricultural labourer, earning when employed from 7s. to 12s. a week, who when out of employ has been detected in poaching—in com mitting high treason against the squirearchy—called upon to find sureties not to poach again for a twelve month! Surely this is oppression, oppression which might well raise a 1, cling the squires would not easily allay. But this is not nll. Under the Night Poaching Act a second offence is visited with six months' im prisonment and hard labour, and at the expiration of that imprisonment two sureties in 101. each are to be found against a repetition of the offence for two years, and when such sureties arc not found the offenderis to be imprisoned wills hard labour for one year. The third offence is a misdemeanor punishable by imprison ment for two years with hard labour, or transposta lion fur seren years at the discretion II the court tf quarter sessions ! ! And let it be observed, that a man who has killed the game upon his own land—gt me, perhaps, bred to his annoyance by his neighbour—without a certificate may be subjected to many of the penalties we have mentioned. To palliate these evils. Mr. rIIII.I.IPI'S recommended the abolition of game certificates ; that magistrates and gaolers should be obliged to make a return of all game-law commitments; and that all game eases should come before a jury. The protec tion of a jury was suggested also by sever other witnesses, who had had opportunities of seeing the administration of game-law justice. That these sug gestions fall short of the necessity of the ease we shall have occasion hereafter to show, but they sufficiently brand with injustice the existing game laws. It appeared from a table delivered to the com mittee by Mr. l'immors, that during the five years from 1839 to PM, the proportion of game jaw convictions, to the total male summary convic tions in England and Wales, had increased from 5.68 to 7.38. Since the Home-office has kept a somewhat more vigilant eye upon these convictions, and Mr. BRIGHT has drawn public attention to the subject, magistrates have b.:en lather more careful, and game convictions have slightly decreased. That the Hert fordshire justices, however, have not been influenced by the signs of the times, is clear, from the necessity under which the Home Secretary has been of correct ing their administration of the game laws. TIIE statistics of poverty are, at the present mo ment, a prominent subject of discussion. England set the example, after the passing of the Reform Bill, of instituting fearless inquiries into the state of the labouring classes. Their wants, their habits, their improvidence, their sufferings, were made public. The rich were led, by the commissioners of inquiry, into the courts, the wynds, and the hovels of their poorer neighbours. The factory, the mine, the work shop, were laid open to the light of day; and there can be no doubt but that many improvements resulted from the knowledge of the abodes of misery thus diffused. Our continental neighbours have a different way of going to work in these matters. The adminis tration of government is carried into many depart ments, that in Engl and are either abandoned to parish management, or that are willingly left in the shade. In France and Germany minute enumerations of the people have for a long tune been in practice. Accurate and costly surveys of the face of the country have mapped out every possession, however small. The trifling contributions of the poorer in habitants of those countries form the great mass of the moderato revenues raised, and a person accustomed to the exemptions customary in England and Ireland, would be astonished at the amounts for wi.ich the tax-gatherer deals out his receipts, and to collect which even military aid is required, where arrears accumulate. The effect of the inquiries made in England were not lost upon the Continent. No blue books were printed, and the writers who ventured to make the privations of the poor a theme of declamation, were silenced by mulcts or by imprisonment. Yet were the governments not remiss, as far as their power went, in watching over the state of the bulk of the population. Factory regulations, not quite so stringent, nor so strictly enforced, as in England, were enacted. The state of the revenue of parishes and towns was inquired into, and rates were recommended to be assessed, where the disposable funds did not meet the demands upon them. There is now not a town in Prussia that does not make an assessment for the poor. Every village has one or more " Fathers of the poor." The relief is unostentatious, and changes little or nothing in the habits of the people. Private benevolence is not slack; and not only are there refuges for the destitute provided in all large towns, where heated rooms, cheap soup, and work for the aged or for females is provided, but of late years the richer citizens have gone so far as to purchase meal and bake it at a moderate price for such poor families as are deemed objects fer relief. Nor is the standard of distress very nicely dig- tiuguished. The " Fathers " have plenary power to give out-door relief, or to send the applicants to some fitting occupation. But compared with the very mo derate standard of wealth in Germany and France, the standard of benevolence is undoubtedly a high one. There can be no doubt that this general attention to the state of the poorer portion of the inhabitants of at least one-half of Europe has had a material effect upon the market value of the most necessary supplies. Parishes, and even private individuals, make their calculations with forethought. A larger number of claimants must be supported than formerly from the same extent of soil, and often from the same means. The small contributions from the surplus once left to feed the great markets, are sparingly parted with, and often altogether withheld. A diminution like that occasioned by even a partial failure of the potato crop, creates alarm, or induces over-caution in the owners of food. Hence the frequent rumours of scarcity, and the scanty supplies that threaten, and occasionally produce, famine. If we are not mach mistaken, the possibility of controlling the market has not escaped the watchful eye of capitalists. A gigantic speculation is now in progress, centering at Marseilles. But to what account soever this scarcity may be turned, the important thing is to trace its origin. While we are occasionally tempted to acknowledge that the principle on which relief is administered on the Continent is a better one than obtains under our system, it must be agreed that a minute attention devoted to these points of detail is no compenaa&a for a neglect of the greater questions that more directly influence the results of the productive industry of nations. In another column of our paper the reader will find a notice of a small work on the German Zollverein, with some statistical statements ting the condition of the people of Prussia, whichare of high interest, as evincing a elate l i insight into this great truth. The author of the pamphlet reviewed has affixed his initials to the preface. He fills a situation at Berlin nearly corresponding to the office of Secretary of the Board of Trade. At the present moment the influence of a colleague, M. RCEN NE, is more powerful, and M. RCESSE is an advocate for those restrictions on trade that are miscalled protecting duties. It is interesting to know that free-trade has its champion at Berlin, and that the advocate can plead its cause with the talent here evinced by M. KCIINE. The forcible argumentation of this short appendix cannot fail to have its due effect upon the government, which, as we have seen on the other hand, is not deaf to the growing claims for a mode of relief that is at all times distressing, and which on a large scale becomes demoralising. Various German papers have recently given estimates of the proportion of paupers in towns that do not much differ from Lord DEvos's °dialect , of Ireland. In the small town of Fulda, in Hetr.,e, 700 inhabitants out of 2,100 were stated to be rlsieiving relief. A Frankfort paper, that by no means seeks popularity by exaggeration, estimated the nnm ber of paupers in Berlin, *hose population is 330,00 . ,), at 60,000. The number of those now enjoying ex emptions on account of poverty was stated to be 200,000. Where so much has been achieved as is shown by the statistical statements that have been furnished by the head of the Statistical Board at Berlin, the Prussian government will assuredly not flinch front the task of studying a searching remedy for an evil that is evidently growing. ANOTTIER warning to delay no longer the provi- I sion of a suitable I'ublic Record-oftiee happened on Saturday last, by the burning of Queen Anne's Bounty ofiice. Until this necessary and prudent measure is , adopted, no opportunity should In lost of reminding the government of the neglect of their predecessors in this matter. This office, like most of the others which are made the repositories of public documents, had no especial aptitude whatever fur its pa:pose ; be ing a common dwelling-house, exposed to ordinary . fire I risks. It is said that its records, which are chiefly ecclesiastical records of the value of livings, and of the institution of incumbents t) them, have been wholly preserved on this occa sion. We believe this is true of the great mass : but that so many, which were ii itietty modern, as hap pened to be in the front room of the Keeper's (Mr. 110Dcsox's) house were destroyed. The file appears' to have completely burnt this house from top to bottom. It is on the side of Bean's-yard, Westmin ster, opposite to the entrance to the cloisters. As we are now on the eve of the meeting of parliament, we hope that ministers are prepared to announce that practical steps are being taken at once to relieve the records from that situation " to which," we repeat, "no merchant of ordinary prudence would subject his books of account" This statement of danger is not at all exaggerated. Thirteen years ago, the fire at the Houses of Parliament da maged the exchequer records. Five years after wards the fire at Baron .Il.sei.E's chambers burnt a I great part of the documents relating to the "Fines," and now, in a few years after, we have the ecclesias tical records placid in great jeopardy, and some destroyed. Let us hope that a jester sense of the value of our public records exists with the present Ministry, and that these disgraceful accidents will shortly be rendered impossible. 5 lieglected. Bi would have b public works. THE EXPRESS, TUESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 5, 1847. PORTUGAL Yesterday we were enabled to presnt some portion of our readers with the following letter from our Lisbon correspondent. The news it communicates is, it will be seen, of importance. We had once more the gratification of adding another to our recent series of victories over the " combined "by presenting it to our readers exclusively. The intelligence was con veyed by the Peninsular and Oriental Company's steam ship " Ripon," which, on its way with the India mails, touched at Lisbon. LISBON, DEC. 29, 2 P.N. A delay in the departure of the Itipon enables me to send this off, and, in case you should not hare re ceived my previous letters, of December 22, 23, 23, and 26, by courier and by Rattler war-steamer, I think it advisable to recapitulate the events of the last ten days, in as brief a manner as my limited time enables me to do. The Roy - al Tar had scarcely left the river, on Sunday the 20th, before the whole of the troops in Lisbon were called out, and marched forthwith to the lines, the account which I sent you of Itomfin's expected apparition at Torres Vcdras having proved correct. Daring Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, the capital was kept in a state of suspense and excite ment, which was not allayed by the sudden entry within the lines of two regiments (the 9th and 14th Infantry), which had been stationed at Alhandra, just below Villa Fiance, in order to guard the road to Lisbon. _ . On Wednesday, the 23rd, intelligence was received of au action having been fought by Saldanha, and a slight idea only of what the result had been was given in a supplement to the Diario, stating briefly the fact that a victory had been gained by the Queen's troops. The accounts on Thursday were fuller, and on Friday letters were received in town from several officers of the Queen's army, detailing the facts, from which it appears that Bomfin was, on the 22nd oftl December, very strongly posted at Torres Vcdras, having possession of the lines, the redoubt of San Vincent, two bridges covering his flanks, the Old Tower, and the town. Saldanha, having divided his troops into four brigades, made the onset at about ten o'clock, A.m., on the 22r.d. The first he sent to attack the redoubt of San Vincent, which they did in good style whilst this was going on two other of his divisions attacked the bridges simultaneously, and, after • hard struggle, the redoubt was surrendered (some assert, treacherously), and the 300 men who defended it gave up their arms. The bridges were taken one after the other, and then the 4th division, by Saldanha's orders, entered the town on the south-west side, and thus Bomfin and about 1,300 of his men were completely hemmed in in the old Moorish tower, where he had posted some of his troops. On the following day, the 23rd, Saldanha, having got his cannon into position, sent a summons to surrender, ere he opened fire, on which the whole of the troops (1,300 in num ber) then remaining under Bowfin's command, toge ther with his chiefs laid down their arms. The prisoners taken were, Bomfin, Nlonzinho (who was badly wounded, and is since said to be dead), Villa Real, the two Valdez (Bomfin's sons), and many others, whose names you will find in the bul letin sent herewith. The regular troops, being disarmed, were also retained as prisoners. The armed peasants and guerillas either took themselves off or were allowed to disperse, and numbers of them have since joined Das Antes. Bomfin and his principal officers were brought into Lisbon on the 26th of December, and then imme, diately lodged on board the Diana, Portuguese frigate which was lying in the river. Das Antes, who was unable to get up in time to assist Bomfin, has gone to Coimbra, whither Sal- I danha has marched to attack him. A division of the Queen's forces, under General Mesquite, has entered Santarem, which place they occupied yesterday (Dec. 28), at two P.M. Notwithstanding this very serious blow, the confidence of those who promote and act in the movement of the Septembrist party , is in no degree shaken, but, with an elasticity . that is highly energetic (which is only not surprising be cause it is based on the national sentiment), the agents of the Liberals are already preparing to give fresh impulse to their determination to resist, what they term the despotism, folly, and corruption of the actual Government. The canoes out of which this feeling springs I have now no time to enter upon ; but in my next I may, perhaps, be able to state a few facts which will forcibly illus trate the hopelessness of the attempts now making by the Queen's present advisers to follow out the policy which they decided upon pursuing when they counselled the coup d'etat of Oct 6. OFFICIAL DESPATCHES OF IIIAHSHAL SALDANHA. BELGlUM.—Barssehs, JAN. 3.—Their Belgian Majesties will leave Brussels early to-morrow morning 11w l'aris. it is understood that the King's return to the French capital has reference to the dispute between England and Franee.—For the future the prepayment of letters forwarded to Poland and Russia will not be obligatory on the part of the sender.—The ju lieial authorities of this capital are just now in a " !ix" re! ttiva to a ease which w.sr recently tried. Three individuals lest week were fund guilty of swindling, and one of the number appealed from the sentence to a higher court. The appeal WAS succeasful, and he wasordered to be set et liberty. The other two having refused to make an appeal, arc now underzo,ng the sentence passed on them —a sentence which, by the Cur Cessation, has been de clared an illegal one. The authorities, therefore, mast either continue to 'mish the two individuals unlawfully, or grant them a psrdon which they do not ask for. It is probable that the judges may eb.de the law by setting the two at liberty, without, however, granting them a formal remission or their sentence. HOLLAND.—AXSTETWAM, JAN. 2.—The ice is thica on the rivers near Helvoetalitys, Mansiuys, and Briil. The Belgian mail, during the past week, has been one day later than usual. GEItIANY.—VIENNA.—It would appear, by a paragr ,ph in the Nureatberg Courier, that there is a project of marriage between Count Trapani and the youngest daughter of Archduke Charles of Austria, the l'rincess Cardiac. BnESIAU, DEC. 29.—The Breslau Zeitung posi tively asserts that, niter the 11th inst., the territory of Cracow will Le added to the Austrian line of customs, and that a custom-house will be opened on that day at Chelmek. Goode sent to Cracow after the 10th will he subjected, there fore, to the customs regulations of the Austrian states. KtIiNIGSBERG, Dec. 20.—The following are par ticulars respecting the accident which betel the Emperor on the 9th inst. at Known°. Pl ink, had been laid across the stream which was only half covered with thin ice, over which the carriage was to be drawn by men as f,sr ai the barge which was stationed in the rpm river. The ice clew to the shore was deemed sufficiently strong to render it un necessary to cover it with boards, and the Emperor was per suaded to remain in the carriage with Count Orloff'. But, as the carriage rolled down the banks, the wheels cut the ice and the carriage began to sink. Count Oriuff escaped by making a leap upon the ice, and the Emperor win about to follow his example, but the carriage had in the meantime sunk so, that hie Majesty was obliged to mount the coach box. lie then descended upon the shauldi rof the com mandant of the city, who was standing in the water, and, by one leap, happily gained terra . firma. BRUNSWICK, .DEC. 23.—The number of destitute poor has increased here OH account of the frost, which has stopped many kinds of work. At this crisis our Benevolent Union has well ma'atained its character. Many poor fami lies, unwilling to solicit public aid, have been rejleved during this Christmas in the most delicate and welcome mann' r. Tu ItK EY.—CONSTAN T I SOPLE, DEC. 9.—Count Von Sturmer, the Austrian lnternuncio, had a conference yesterday with Ali liffeudi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, at which, in consequence of the full powers which he has re ceived, he opened the negotiations for a new treaty of com merce and navigation between the imperial house of Austria and the sublime Porte. EGYPT.—ALEXANDRIA, DEC. 9.—Yesterday even ing, at It o'clock, his Rmal Ilighnest l'rince Leopold of Bavaria returned from Cairo. and at 9 o'clock this morning Railed to Syra, sot board the Austrian steam-boat PrincC Mettcrmch. MADAGASCAR. SHIPWRECK. GENEROUS CONDUCT OF TEE CAPTAIN OP THIS lit:NE LAtilie.—The Ocean Star, Captain Pearson, chartered by the Oriental and 'Peninsular Steam Navization Company to carry coals to Aden, which sailed from Hartlepool on the 27th of Mar, rao Lou,lke reef which lies ob-tut two miles in front of Haire, being (thirty-six miles north of Augustine bay) on the west coast of bludagasear at too a.m. of the 12th of Septemb. r. The French yowl La Jenne Laura woe lying at the time in Itsine hay. At dayltght the captain and chief mate of La Jenne Laurc put off inn light whale boat to attempt to eumnaunicate with the Ocean Star ; but were prevented by the heavy Bea. All hope of getting the vessel off the ret being lost, it was abandoned. It was our intention (s.ve Capt. neuron, in a statement publiihed by the Maurithujounsais?, on having our own ship, to proceed to the shore, but at first to cell en beard the French vessel, the Jenne Inure, to ascertain the nature of the place and its inhabitant,. On arriving on board of her, I woe told that it wee by no means safe to land on that part of the coast, on account of the treacherous disposition of the natives. Tl.e captain said that he bad completed his loading; he had been on a trading voyage from St. Augustine Bay to Itanomba Bay, and was only waiting for a f.1:1 wind to prormal out of the bay fur the Isle of Bourbon. Ile, in a most generous manner, offered me and the whole of my crew to remora board he chip, and try to save what we meld from oar own ship, if the weather permitted, and pro mei with him to St. Denie in the Isle of Bourbon, from ableh place we could anon get to the Ilauritlua. I cow no alternative between accepting the friendly offor and that of going on quire to t uffer de till immediately, or be made slave. for life-1 therefore chose stopping on board his vessel. On the morning of the 13th the boats of moth vessels were about to be manned, with a view to proceed to the wreck, when (we again quote front Captain Pearson): Captain Contard taking the glass and looking towards the north part of the bay, observed a large quantity of canoe, coming from Haltom!, Point and making moonlit the Oven Star. As they came towards fifty canoes were counted, hosing from three to six men in each of ;hem; the ca.iitain of the French veswl immediately deter mined to fire upon them as soon as they came within range of his guns, in order to prevent them from going nn board of our ship. The guns were lowed, and all got ready; a. soon as the headmost esawe came within gunshet he fired upon them; this bad the desired effect, for they immediately altered thew Collne and came towards the French brig. None were admitted to mane on board until the governor of the pro vince came alongside; he, accompanied by five ch(e's, were allowed by Captain Contrail to come on board, every means was used by Cap. lain Contort, And Ids °filters who could all speak the language, to induce the governor and chiefs to allow to to rave all that we could from the ship, and we had got scarce any thing thee. The con femme lasted a long lime, during which I was introduced to the governor and chiefs. They all shook hands with me; the governor told me in rankest Daniels that it was the intention d the King Baba, whose emissary be was, to have the ahlp, and he also said that I wan en Englishman, that the English were not good friends with the French, nor with them. The captain and his officers did all In their power to eons ince him that we were all good Blends; the captain made them presents of ruin, brandy, beads, and other things, and invited the governor to breakfast. Tee governor and chiefs agreed at bat that they would rend a party to the vessel and nee what was on Word, but they were to take nothing that day, and to desist from all other attempts for two days. Towards noon they all left us. On the afternoon of the 13th, and every subsequent day till the 16th, attempts were made to save some of the cargo or storm but only a few provisions and casks of watercould be brosibt off. Oa the 16th, says Captain Pearson : Ile weather being still tine, the boats started from the Jenne Laura Y tow order as yeaterday. although this wra the day that the goner- Her mill they would take the ship, and that he would fetch as many ores Han ea he had with him on Sunday ; but it was thought by *Mod sod myself, that by starting ea early the men might save a bw woo atop, such an warps, towlines. hawser, chains, mils, Re., bintillogallwes came to her. In fhb we were deceived, for, on the blob ontelowaeor her, several canoes wore seen lying behind the reef webg be aptlebt. Their were all with their spear. and Wharwisgsm. On our tr to baud the ship, the ammo dm/ to two t than, mail So irolboo bit their spears to bo ma's twonoto. and took ash OA woo moseabie out of the t bras lbw sows amble Memo teal sorbed ; all in them ow Num& Om or boob dolp So wow Sot wad in our lil4 awl bat oetwslg get two Gilboa was sw; mks ate athe AY wows wales agarsod pat so sod to It be Awed be bests to plonk to tboromb lota but reamed n o th dow boa Weds biro sot dam. bey woo after, I bat the morlitolloo to we bolo their We of derratation; her decks woe wowed with OW% the etib. that 11/11e bent they cut away about tee het below the ' bomb of oath ; the bmyards of the lower rigging woo eat. Oa the Atb of October, Captain Contard landed Captain Norm and his crew at St. Denis. The Prince of Wales was fn the roads, ready to sail for Mauritius, where she landed our shipwrecked countrymen on the Bth. It is with sincere pleasure that we give publicity to the generosity of this gallant French seaman and his men. Mr. Pearson gays : To the laniciverawe and humanity of Captain Contrail and his of and crew we were indebted for the preamvation of our lire, ; and without his friendly assistance I know not what would have become of us. Indeed, I can never aufficiently eaprelai the serve I have of his kindness and attention, both to myself and the whole ship's company. When I learned that the capital, by the brilliant and effective state of its volunteers and municipal guard, was able to defend itself against any attack of the rebels, those under the Conde de Bomtin ' Mousioho de Albuquerque, General Celestine, and the Guerilla chief Fernando de Louse, occupied Aleobaca and Caldoa, I did not logo an instant, on receiving such intelligence, but on the lath pushed a forced march in the direction of Caldos, my vanguard sleeping at Tagarro and Cereal. I remained there the following morning, awaiting information, and sent out cavalry parties to seek it. From Cereal and Ta gun there axe three roads; to Caldas Cadaval, and to Candieries, as well as the high road to tins. In the middle of the day I acquired the certainty that the enemy had followed the road f.om Caldas to Torres Vedras, and I marched on Cadaval ; there we encamped. The following day we reached tussle, a league from Torres Vedras, and obtained the certitude that the enemy were in the town. The weather was dreadful, and continued so ; we were obliged to encamp. On the 22d, of half-put 10 in the morning, we drew near to the position of the enemy. The lines of Torres Vedraa, all the world knows, form the barrier that first arrested the French eagle. There the armies of Napoleon first found an insurmountable obstacle, and Tones Vedras is the strongest point of the lines. The heights of San Vicente, covered by a magnificent redoubt in good reparation, those of Force, and the Saes, on the right bank of the Cizandro, are flanked by the fire of the castle, which is the true citadel of these works, defending their mouth. Between the heights and the lines runs the river Cizandro, traversed by three bridges and paved roads, all flanked by tae fire of redoubts and citadel. This very strong position was occupied by the enemy, who assured the townspeople that had I four times my existing force, I could not take it. And without the enthusiasm that animated us, and the con viction that to us were entrusted the Queen, the continua tion of her dynasty, and the eonstitutional charter, the rebels would have in this spoken truly. At a quarter-put eleven the rebels opened fire. In re- COLONIAL. AUSTRALIAN COLONIES. .•-- - VAN DIEMEN'S LAND.—The Cerneen (Mauritius paper), on the authority of Robert Town journals, announces the nomination of Mr. A. Jackson as agent for the colony in England. He is to act under the direction of committees in Hobart Town and Launceston. One great end of his ap rintment is said to be to obtain responsible government. Subscriptions to the amount of 5031. had been received, but it was thought double that sum would be required to defray Mr. Jackson's expenses. MAURITIUS. THE MAURITIUS BANK.—A . general meeting of shareholders was held at Port Louis, on Wednesday, tho 28th of October last, M. Brurnud, seconded by Mr. Webb, moved the immediate closing of the tank and winding-up its affairs. M. d'Eriaay tbe . s.ght there was no necessity for taking such • to.ep ,• since the IGth of June the bank had been lickuidtling and doing nothing else. Besides, according to the toaster of the bank, a final liquidation could not be resolved upon without the approval of the London share holders. M. d'Epinsy moved that this question be sub mitted to the shareholders present : " Can this meeting defioi:ively resolve to wind up the bank's affairs with out the concurrence of the London shareholders ?" M, ihipont supported the motiJn. A vote being taken, connoitcring the position, I saw that victory depended on the 1 it awaited that all the shareholders answered in th e ne s e,- possession of the great redoubt or fort of San Vicente, and I tire, except six, who abstained from voting. The president ordered Colonel Fernando de Fontana Mesquite e Sella, reed several pipers, from which it appeared:—Phut on the commanding the first brigade, to take the redoubt with the IGth of June lust the liabilities of the Bank amounted to bayonet. The fort was garrisoned by a battalion of Coca- 308,397 dole.; that on the 26;h of October the liabilities dorms and three companies of infantry, but it was takea were reduced to 114,451 duls.; that the none withdrawn in glor:ously. the course of four months amounted to 223,336; that the The horrible state of the roods retarded our artillery, and two-fifths culled up in Mauritius had as yet yielded only it was not till three o'clock that it could op -n fire. I cave 102,0000 f the 120,030 dollars due in Mauritius; that indepi•n , the necessary orders for attacking the town at four o'clock. dently of the two-fiftha, 112,000 dots. had lavers called up in The Bth and 10th regiment., which, with a battalion of Mauritius; that the 155.800 dollars due on accounts current, Cacadores, withstood gallantly for a long time a fira front regarded as good debts on the 16ia done, hail often retlocedto front and flanks, were the first who, by the bridge of the 48,000 capital and iinteeert. MeArs. Webb and Itruzitud then centre, had the honour of forcing entrance into the town. offered a protest ag is t the acluisition of the property Col met Fernando de Fonseca Mesquite entered by the of La Laura estate, and moved toot the dirt Mors be held bridge on the right; the 4th brigade passed the night in the tursonolly liable for that traineactioit. Several directors de town fended themselves on the ground, that, by the charter, " the The enemy, beaten on all sides, having lost very many bank may possess such lends, vessels, and other property, killed a.til prisoners, returned into the citadel with 220 until they can be disposed of; " and tSat before acquiring horses. Many of the enemy's forces canoe in to surrender, La Laura In property, they had consulted the standing lespecially the garrison of the redoubt of Form. couns n 1 of the book. The motion was lost, city five meat ' I ordered all the avenues of the castle to be guarded. In ben voting for it. M. d'Epinay strongly urged upon the the morning, planting some cannon against the cas tle, I directors the- propriety of dimin'altinte the expenses of the surrounded it. General Valdez, in reply, demanded to go establishment, and reproached them foe not hooting declared out of the fort with military honours, calkers with baggage, the forfeiture of the chives upon which the two fifths had not • and soldiers with kamisueks, which I granted; and at mid- been paid. day they laid down their arms, there being 903 infantry in I'rMT OPME Onntgatect.—An orlinonce has pawed the the cinetle, 400 Cacadores, the Conde de Borneo, Mouldable • legislative conecil, eaacting, that a reward of 301. shall be I dc Alburquerque, seriously wounded, &c., &c. given to every vessel bringing an overland moil from any Torres N'edras, Die. 25. DUQUIS DES.ALUANUI. port in India, and stopping at Mauritius to land it, upon proof that it sailed not later than fin= days aft_ r the arrival _.__ . of the mail; a reward of 201. to every vessel hound for Nieto ritinta, and bringing an overland mail, on twoof that it did not pail more than 43 hours after the mail's arrival ; a re ward of 101. to every vessel bringing a newspaper, forwarded overland, without the mail, and delivering it at tie Chamber of the Brokers, on pro a that it did not sail more than live day: after the arrival of the mail. MARSEILLES vEases TRIESTE.. The following letter, from the Allgenieine Zeittow, describes—with a few trifling errors exceosable in a foreigner—the difficulties with which Lieut. Wag horn and the Austrian I.loyds have to contend with in establishing the Trieste route for the Indian mail. It intimates the way of overcoming those difficulties, by pointing out the weal: place , of the rival route. "If in this undertaking we lag not behind," says the German editor, in a note, "in the formation of our German railways, then we should despair of the sagacity and policy of England, if we could imagine she would continue to prefer the route through France—a way geographically farther about, and politically objectionable, as it makes English trade with India and China dependent on the good-will of France, and even brings goods two days earlier into Paris than into London. In the long run, neither the interests of coteries nor the predilections of journals will avail. Already Indian papers ure speaking in favour of Trieste " : We find, quite unexpectedly, in the Express of Dec. IS, the letter of an Austrian concerning the overland mail rid Trieste, which, in its general purport, accords tole rably with the London cerreepondence in the Allgemeine Zeitung of Dee. 3. Although this letter may he regarded as merely containing the views of a stranger, yet it is some thing worthy of notice when an Eng ash parer opens its column for the defence of Austrian and Ocrinan interests. As I happen to be acquainted with some p irticulars of this topic, you will, perhaps, allow me to state them bridle, with some allusion to known matters. The indefutheable Lieut. Waghorn, in his first two experiments, proceeded on the simple idea that from Bombay, or rather from Alexandria, rid Trieste ; it is 300 miles nearer then the route rid Marseilles, and (as Lie tit. Waghorn himself wrote to the Tiws)" it only rennin. the energy of the !lriti-h government, the East India Company, and the Continentnl States, to bring India so much nearer to us, that I should fear now to state in bow few :lays I believe the journey- might be neenr.plished." At the conclusinn he said that, if all conditions were provided, the whole distance from Bombay to London might be passed in twenty-two days. Now it is remarkable that the patronage of this shortest mute d. penis solely upon Austria and some of the G. rman States. No pains and no s scritiee should be [Tared to avail ourselves, as soon as pos sible, of this advantage ; for as mon as it is an establithed fact that the Trieste courier can outstrip the Marseilles post, the practical Englishumn will allow on opposition to hinder him from availing himself of the former route. From the last three experiments under the sanction of the British goy-eminent, it can only be con cluded that the spc: a on the two routes is about equal, with an advantare or come two hours gained on the aide of Trieste. This calculation is made by taking the average of the three journers ; but, practically, we may say the routes have had alternate triumphs. In these cireunist niers, greater eco nomy or political consideratioits might turn the scale en the side of Trieste. We must, however, not ley much weight on the latter paint; for England does not study anticipatory politics. As long as the way over France is op: n for her she will use it, and when, by war or other cause s it is blocked up, then, according to the English way of thinking, it wall be time to look out f or ant Oar road. The power of the opposition against the Austrian Lloyds can hardly he over-estimated. We have the French govern meut commanding the way from Nantilles to Dover, end against swell a power nothing can avail les: than a thorough mutual understanding and co-operation of all the German States, with the motive that here we hare to deal with a national interest, of which we mug not allow our selves to be deprived by the French gevernment. The greater the natural advantages on our side, the greater would he the shame of our defeat. But the Austrian Lloyds has its enemy in England. If England knew fully her true relations towards the rest of Europe, she would see that der naval power should rest on the protection of the inferior naval powers. This has been declared by able statesmen; but, as France clings universally to the pride of superiority on land, so does I:nglaud on the writer. The commerce of Austria iii the Mediterranean has not escaped the jealousy of England. In a pamphlet Ivey on the route through Egypt this jealousy of Austrian trade was expressed. Brit we must also mention a private rivalry. England needs fear no rival in the steam passage from Bombay to Suez, unless Holland chooses to appear in competi tion. Between Alexandria and England the Oriental Steam Company have found rivals in France and Austria. Good policy would meet the more formidable rivalry of France by aide.g that of Austria; but private interests will not judge in this way. The Oriental Steam Company only considers that the route by Trieste may be too favourable to Austrian commerce. That company, therefore, will not favour the Trieste route. But eircunistances hare arrayed azainnt the Austrian Lloyds an enemy more thrtnidable—the London Press. At first, the Times was entirely in favour of the Austrian Lloyds, and boldly asserted its cause against France, particularly by the agency of the late city corres pondent of the Times. [We omit here a paragraph of painful personal details.] Although in the late contest the Times " thundered" so fearfully against all monopolies, there eau hardly be a mono poly conceived greater than the Times itself. No new jour nal can have any chance against it, unless supportet by a very large capital; and even then there would be ditlieulties in finding renders. Thus many new-horn journals have ex pired immediately : the Constitutional [IL presentative ?]only lived a few months. Another and a more dangerous rival en tered the lists, excited by French exunples—the Daily Sews at 24d. The characteristic avarice of the high-priced papers has displayed itself in their treatment of the Daily News. Some of the principal contents of the morning journals are the French express, which arrives every day (except Sunday), in anticipation of the French post ' • and the overland mail from Marseilles, which arrives monthly. The cost of these expresses is borne by the morning papers conjointly. But there happened to be a schism moos the established ones : when the Morning Herald passed into the hands of the proprietors of the Standard it was excluded from the commu nion. At fast, the Morning herald united itself with the equally-respected Daily Ames. At Waghorn's find trial, old Trieste, the Times gained a conquest in giving the news from the Sutlej at the earliest date, and then declared its preference far the Austrian Lloyds, The Herald gained sup port from the French government, and, on the next occa sion, had the victory of speed on its side. Now the Times has stepped in and dissolved the union of the Herald and the Daily News, by restoring the former to all its old privileges. The Daily News, left quite alone, found it necessary to raise its price from 21d. to 3d. Subsequently Lieutenant Wag horn united with the Daily News ; and, as the Austrian Lloyds and Waghorn's route are identified, the vengeance of the Times and its combination fell, not only on the Daily News, but on Waghorn and the Austrian Lloyd. This, of itself, would have been enough to make the po sition of the Austrian Lloyds difficult; but we must also consider another point of not less importance. After the late Spanish marriage, the protestations of the Times against Louis Philippe knew no bounds—suddenly, a change took place; the Times, with one of those salli mortali which seem to have become quite sal! from long practice, alighted suddenly, one morning—on the other side of the question'. so that the Journal des Debals complimented the English journal on its return to its usual cool consideration and ei. How this sudden conversion was effected, whether by Guizot's mesmeric manipulation, or by sonic galvanic pro cess, for which, as is well .known, the agency of a metal is indispensable—remains to us unknown. But the fact is plain—the Times and some other English journals again speak mildly of France, with no more fault-finding than is convenient These papers are not only opposed to the Austrian Lloyd, but are in favour of hie rival, France. It is probable that the support of government will be less cordially extended to the Austrian Lloyds. What then? Shall these difficulties intimidate? No; the greater will be the triumph. Its lot is bound with that of the Daily News. Let it only win for that journal, two or three times successively, the exclusive, earliest de livery of the overland mail, and, instead of losing by its hardihood, he will find, as in the case of the Herald, that its friendship will again be in request, and all possible means will be employed to draw the Austrian Lloyd's from its alliance with the Daily News. AQUATIC SHOES.—Hate warranted to become effectual floats for the use of persons in danger of being drowned are no novelty to the readers of advertisements in DINA newspapers. A new article of dress, of more extra ordinary floating pretensions, has it seems been invented by Lieutenant Smite, the director of the military swimming school at the Hague. It is a species of shoes which will enable a man to walk and ran on the water, and if upset to float on it. The shoes are attached to au apparatus which covers the entire body, leaving it the free tve of the arms, and the apparatus is said to be shot-proof, Several ..,.speti meats have been nr.de and have proved_ successful. l 4