The Express. — London, England, 1863-01-10 00:00:00

STOLEN KISSES. —PIESSE and LUBIN'S 211 W PIIIYMUS for the festivities—ltioka rams sad their !Aegis!, Box-his-Dark goo air Roger de Cove*, bp flavour, throe hoMMe. hi a pretty ger, 75.-2, New Baal street. muu MEDAL AWARDED.) ALLEN'S PATENT PORTMANTEAUS and THAVELLI2fO MOB wtth LAMS WARDROBE TZUNIII32IIBVM O 4 'ten Ober Mugu DISPATCH EOM% WRITING and DEEMING CALL and IMO other articles for boos or ooatlneutal travelling. Muntrabsd eatalognee poet free. Abe Alien's Barrack Furniture Calalogos or Portage Dad steads, Drawers, &ay Chairs, Wasishandetands, CsMs ewt n tree. J. W. ALLEN, Manufacturer and Patentee, lli, Weis glum. London, W.C. MAPPIN BROTHERS' WEST-END HOUSE soleb and dtatinetly at uOENT-brKEET. For 50 years MAPPIN BitOTtlEtt.s . lisuintactures hare been gaining celebrity and s good name but ft la quit* a nalatsks to suppose that theism sold In Oxford-dreet at all. Yatabliabed In Sheffield A.D. 1810. Hones-t 7 and at KING WILLIAX-BTII IT, LC. wAsmosonr—Qciffixrs PLATS & (Imam Wain, lIKKMIIO. CaPIPAGNE, DRY and DELICATE. Inle 242., gaerbe - - par dam, ceiling carriage mid. Recommended with mae.—HRNRY BR Z.. 7 end Oa, merceseen Old Fundreln DietUlery, Holborn. LC.. end $O, Regeetetreet. Waterloolgooe, B.F. HARMONIUMS. - NSW MODZL. GRAYER. ELLS, sod WOOD, DM, legentairest THE EXPRESS, SATURDAY EVENING, JANUARY 10, 1863. Ebr Court. OSBORNE, JAIL 9. Her Majesty, accompanied by Princess Louis, walked and drove yesterday morning. The Queen drove out again in the afternoon, attended by the Coastline of Gainaborough, and Major-General the Hon. A. N. Hood. Countess Bhicher had the honour of accompanying her Majesty. The Queen held a Council this day, at which were present his Greoe the Archbishop of Canterbury, Earl Granville, Lord President ; the Duke of Somesset, and the Right Hon. Sir George Grey. At tbe Council, parliament was ordered to be further prorogued from Tuesday, the 13th January, unto the sth February, and ► proclamation was issued, summoning par liament to meet on Thursday, the sth of February, for the despatch of public badmen. Mr. Helps, the Clerk of the Conseil, attended. The Archbishop of Oanterbury, the Duke of Somerset, Earl Granville, and Hr. Helps, left town at nine o'clock yesterday morning, by &special train on the South Western Railway, crowed from Gosport to Osborne Pier in the Fire Queen, and arrived at Osborne about one o'clock. The Archbishop of Canterbury, FAA Granville, the Duke of Somerset, and Secretary Sir George Grey, altar attend. log her Majesty's Privy Council, re-embarked on the Fire Queen, and returned to London by a special railway train. Tai PRIRCZ Or WALES.—SANDB.INGLIf, FRIDAY ILTllRSOON.—Conaiderable sanoyance was canna his Royal Highness yesterday afternoon, by a circumstance which led to the abrupt termination of the sport. His Royal High... bad been shooting with good wooer for about three bane, and when about to shoot a wood where a large rise of pm• was expected, it wee found that one of his tenants, a Mr. Sharringham, was rabbit digging just on the edge ri the wood. His Royal Highness at once intimated his doiirmi. nation to have no more shooting that day, and the royal party at once returned to the hall. This morning hie Royal Highness has been in consultation with his agent and solicitor on the subject. The Mayor of Lynn (L. W. Jarvis, Rsq.) also bad the honour of an interview, and lunched with hie I Royal Highness. This afternoon his Royal Highness rode over the estate. Pheasant 'hooting will be resumed to morrow. Tux NEW BARoxirs.—WHrrzaALL, JANuARY 9. —The Queen has been pleased to direct letters patent to be passed under the great seal granting the dignity of a baronet of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, unto the tuadermentioasd Foilsmen and the respective heir male of their bodies lawfully begotten ; viz. :—Thoinaa Davis. Lloyd, of Brom wydd, in the wanly of Car. digan, and of Kilrhue, in the county of Pembroke, Fag. ; Henry Rich, of Sonniog, in the county of Berke, Peg. ; Frame' Crossley, of Bello Vue, in the county of York, and of Sonacisytoe, in the county of Suffolk, Esq. ; Wiliam Brown, of Richmond-hill, in the county palatine of Lan caster, Fag. ' • Sir Daniel Cooper, of Woollabra, in New Wales, SouthWaßnight, late Speaker of the Legislative Assem bly of that coloey ; David Baxter, of Kilmaron, in the county of Fife, Fag.—Gazelte. _ . Their Royal highnesses the Duchess of Cam bridge sod the Prisons Mary, and hie Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, honoured the Dschem of Invernew with their company at dinner last evening, at Kensington Palace. A select party were invited to meet their royal highsew• _ . _ The Duke and Durham of Wellington and Lord William Hay. have left Apeley Howe for Strathfieldaye, Haat& The Earl and Countess of Hardwicke, who ar rived in town a few days since, will leave Portman-square on Monday for their seat, WimpoLs Hag, Cambridgeshire. Lady Agoeta Yorke is staying at Melton Mowbray, on a visit to Mr. sod lady Mary Craven. The Countess Craven and the Ladies Craven come to town to-day from The Grove, Herta, where they have been staying on • visit to the Earl and Csnateas of Clareodon. The Countess Dowager of Westmoreland and lady Rose Fano have returned to town from visiting the Berl end Comte= of Clarendon, at The Grove, near Wet• ford. The Countess of Kenniare arrived at the Royal Pavilion Hotel, Folkestone, on Thursday, from the Coa. tinent. Viscount Royston will leave town to-day, on a yiait to Mx. W. and Lady Nary Craven, at Craves Lodge, Melton Mowbray. The Right Hon. B. Disraeli and Mrs. Disraeli have returned to Grosvenor-pie from Winter Villas, Ply mouth, where they have been on a visit to the Marquis of Noi manby._ _ . Mr. and Mrs. Disraeli were the guests of Baron Rothethild in their sojourn at Torquay. The marriage was solemnised on Thursday, by the Hon. and Rev. Robert Liddell, of Lady Catherine Lakes, sister of the late Margais of Ely, to Captain Arthur Loftus, late of the 18th Harmers. The bride wee mom. paid to St. Paul's Church, Knightsbridge, by the Mar &Mesas of Ely and Viscount Hawardeo, who gave the bride away. The bridesmaids were Lady Marion Loftin, Lady Emily Toler, the Hoe. Clementina Maude, and the Hon. Olivia Calthofpe. Colonel Francis Seymour acted as beet man. At a grand amateur concert at Leamington, on Thursday, given as behalf of the Coventry weevers, Ladies Ida and Mary FeiWing, Miss Bertha Yorke, Mr. Coleridge, Captain Stzacy, Mr. Millais, and Mr. Standish were among the sinprs. A duet by Lady John Manners and Mine Stan dish was also given, mad was perhaps (says the Lea mi ngton Courier) the most charming mid delightful piece of the day. The moot refined taste sad ability were blended with a fiezi. Why of voice and superior style of azimut/no. Lady John Mansen also sang with peculiar softiies Haydn's solo, "My Mother bids me Bind my Hair." At the conclusion of the piece her ladyship was greeted with prolonged cheering. _ _ CZYML PALACR-01f2 SHILLIWO DAT.—FRI DAT, JAN. 9.—Admistime ce payment, 1,315; Moo by usesue tickets. 862; tetal, 2,197. Nairn 9l. Aberdeen Letth 97 Ardrossan Pont ash Gab, sy Nairn 14 80 Queenstown 72 Holyhead Liverpool Pembroke Penzance Jersey Brest L'Oriont Rochefort Plymouth Weymouth , .67 Portsmouth 0.70 Kew. 29 7s, London Yarmouth _lf' Scarborough.; Shields ; Heligoland nhagen 1 co. Zer B6Tonne... 0 Lisboa 1/1711. N. to W., moderato. BooTWZ. - - snow or rain. LE to B. and W.. liauA ong, some rain . ILL to S. and W., fresh W. Ceram. to strong. 8.8.5 to 8.3. W. and N.W,PaQO►. W., strong, to a gale, rainy. As nett above. MONDAY. N.W. to S.W., strong to • gale. 8.8. W. to W N.W., • gale, rainy. 5.9. W. to W.N.W., strong, squally. As next above. &WENN...in. S.W. to N.W., Oxon, unsettled. SB.E. to 8.8. W., B.S ENGLAND. As above. strong, some rain or snow. N.E. to &S. strong, S. Ontfr. 8.8. K. to W.8.W., some rain or snow. strong, rainy. Eighteen months before his death the late Car dinal Morlot added the following lines to his will : " In terminating this act, in which my last wishes are comprised, I humbly ask pardon of God and my fellow. men for the faults which I may have committed against them in the course of my life and my long career as a bishop. This weer I hope to quit as soon as possible, and I ask of God this mos from the desire to render the ter rible account which will soon be demanded of me, and of disposing myself to do so more seriously than I have hitherto done. If I can truly declare that I have never sought nor dee;red any of the divers functions which I have filled, and if I can say with all sincerity that I have held them! with out any illusion, I am not the less bound to admit that In no reaped had I anything that could justify the choice and the preference of which I have been the object." He says further on that he had saved no money ; that he never had the slightest inclination that way, and that, even were he so inclined, the liabilities attached to his functions would not have allowed him to do so. It is certain, even without this declaration, that the prelate, who was at once Cardinal Archbishop of Pans, senator, and grand almoner of the Emperor, died poor—so poor that the expenses of his funeral have to be defrayed by the state. A Paris letter in the Inds pendant says :—" The subscription in favour of the cotton workmen in Frame has not bad the success which was to be drink!. MM. Pereira, touched with the position of that branch of industry, have written a letter to the Emperor, proposing another mode of assistance, more efficacious and more moral. Those gentlemen propose that a loan of 15,000,000 franca should be made to the unemployed workmen, cm easy condition both as regards Intelsat and facilities of reimbursement, offering to subscribe themselves for the sum of 2,000,000 francs. The prefect of the Seine- Infirieure, being consulted by the government upon that project, replied that it appeared to him impracticable." A letter from Berlin states that the numerous manufactories of cotton in that city are suffering severely from the scarcity of the raw material. A number of them are completely at a stead, and others have discharged a peat port of their bands. At least 6,000 of those weavers are now oct of employment in the Prussian capital. The Theatre of the Op4ra Comique, Paria, has during the first five days of this month realised the enor mous reosiptm of 30,013 fr., or 6,000 fr. per night. Thin sum hem Dever yet been attained in eo short • time, no that the new administration cannot complain. • Di Augier'e new drama Le Fits de Gliboyer was samonneed for performanoe some evenings mace at the theatre of Anton (Saone-et-Loire), and as it was expected that opposing parties would make it an occasion of disorder, the gendarmery and police attended in considerable force. The actors were saluted with applause from the pit and hisses from other parts of the house. The commissary of police sad the mayor exerted themselves to restore order, but in vain, for after a momentary calm the hissing recom menced and continued to the end of the piece, so that it was impossible to bear a word. To prevent a recurrence of a similar scene, the piece has been withdrawn by order of the authorities. The question has been raised at Paris of adopting repressive measures against poachers. The other day a gendarme discovered, on a haprick, in the environs of Paris, an immense net, called by poachers a "shroud," and with it, as a convincing proof of the ravages of that formidable engine, 132 partridges. A net of this description is valued at I,ooofr. to 1,200 fr., but the profits arising from it must be enormous, for with It all the game mu be swept off • plain in one night. PRUSSIA. The %nut Zeitung (the feudal journal) of Berlin, M a programme for 1863, says : The situation is favourable, and the victory certain if the King's language is followed by energetic acts. It was only in 1813 that the struggle against Bonaparte commenced; with the year 1863, fifty years after, commences the struggle against democracy for the liberation of Prussia and of Germany. The recoastitution of the country and of royalty upon their former bases-such are the object and the prize of the present contest. Weakness above has produced disorder below. It is from above that the present situa tion has proceeded ; and it is from above that the conser vative dements must be reorganised, for they are too weak to reorganise themselves. If the government and its partisans were united by a reciprocal confidence the former would not grant ►n electoral law, but would govern in con. formity with the constitution ; it would consider the bud get as the principal affair, would effect of itself all the re trenchments possible, and would each year consider how far the chapters of the budget might be specialised with out risking the treader to the Chamber of Deputies of the power which is necessary to the crown. (111011105 ULM/BAWL ) FRANCE. PARTS, JAN. 10. The Moniteur of this morning announoea that the Courrier du Dimandie has received a third warning. SPAIN. MADRID, JAN. 9, EVENING. The discussion on Mexican affairs was continued to-day in the Congress. Senor Rivero censured the policy inaugurated by France and Spain in Mexico, and defended the po licy of non-intervention. Nothing has yet been decided upon in reference to the resignations tendered by several function aries. That of Senor Coello y Quesada has only been accepted unofficially. WEATHER REPORT.-{THIS DAY.) BAIVISAY. JAM:WM . IO, 0 AX. EXPRESS FROM PARIS. trite erpreM ,dvertlawatands load tar It;17;;•;i" London Inedwg Pram% at Ye anon, 10, Bouverlootroot, by Two be Ic ow Ur day ol pobakailow. UOVINT GAIDIN. Tins EVENING, Tlii 114117T1V11 DA176 . 1113E. Ildlle. Pam Mr Santley. and Mr. W. Harrison Ms —And Pantota LEQUIN BEAUTY AND TSB BlAST.—Coodoctor i 7kr. A. Mollon.—Commenco M too otinaloo to 7. HAYMARKET. Tam Emma. OUZ "ditiCRICIN 00USM. Mara. Bothern and Ilnelutona ; Era E FltswEllam. -LAMMAS PRINCE OR ABYWENLL Mr. Compton and MYs L Leaky. —And MR.S. WEITL Mr. Compton and M 1 Hardier. PRINCESWB. Trio EVLMING, THE TRIPLE ALLIANCE M 1 Oosetsaos Aylmer. —And the Pantomime, HIQUICT WITH THE TETT ; or, Harlequin end Mother Shlpton. Juan. Whew, H. Power, and Halford; Him A. Collinami. BRITANNIA. TBM Swum, the Pantomime, ABON HASSAN. Wm Lane Mesas. gnat, lonia, Newham, and 3fdlie. Celeste Stephan Tom Sayers and his two performing Halm—And SOME BELLS THAT RANO.—Commence at half-past O. NIGH WATIR AT LONDON BEIDGN. TIDII DAY Maratmg, bb. LEA....AAmemoos. 6i. tom. To-Gossow—Nornlng 66 41s.....Afteask, AL I. LONDON, SATURDAY, JANUARY 10. Tea Underground Railway, to use a slang phrase of the day, may now be called a great fact, and may take its place as the subject for a hun dred gushing leaders. Like all new undertakings —from the Thames Tunnel to the Great Eastern —it will be looked upon, for a time, as the one reformer of the hour. It will be credited with a power of performing wonders which it is never likely to possess, and will doubtless encou rage the birth of many followers and imitators. The days of want of faith in railways have long since passed, and superstitious belief has now taken the place of coaching scepticism. The Under ground Railway is the newest enterprise of its kind ; it is the one which creeps most closely to our door-steps, and it will therefore doubtless be the one which will meet with the most favour and attention. For twenty or five and twenty years the travelling MAHOMIT has been content to go to the railway mountain, and now the railway moun tain is straggling to come to the travelling Mansur. The travelling Msnourr can hardly feel otherwise than flattered. It is his duty, at any rate, to thank the railway shareholders for their politeness and benevolence, and to ask no troublesome questions about vulgar dividends. The great work which the Underground Rail way is expected to perform is the relief of the City traffic. It is expected to cut that Gordian knot of vehicles and passengers which causes police men to be tyrannical and Common Councilmen to make themselves ridiculous. What capacities it has at present for performing this gigantic task are not easily perceived by the impartial observer. At Holborn-hill it threatens to become a feeder of the City traffic, instead of a re liever. It will deliver goods and passengers on the borders of the crowd, but it will hardly deliver the City from its pressing difficulty. It may ease certain broad thoroughfares in the out skirts, which were never troubled with an emcees of traffic, bat it will leave the fifty great feeding ar teries of the City almost as choked as they were before its coming. It may have & little influence at Holborn-bars, but what it draws from that point it will only pour out again at Victoria-street. When its extension is finished to Finsbury-circus —another railway of the future—Newgate-street may have just cause to bless its existence, but at present Newgate-street stands a chance of being more blocked than ever by contributions to and from its terminus. Al the fist creeping arm thrown out towards a general centralization of all railways, it may be welcomed or not, according to the way of looking at it, but some time must elapse before it can be fairly admired as a City traffic reformer. As a junction line to the great Northern and Western railways it has not even done its work thoroughly and welL It has started from the Great Western, and has picked up the Great Northern in its course, but it has passed by a rail way of equal importance at Easton-square—the London and North Western. It is not for us to enter into or give publicityto the reasons assigned on both ides for this palpable omission :—it is sufficient to refer to the fact when the Underground Rail way is praised as a collector of all the heavy traffic from the north and west of England. The construction of the Underground Railway is a matter which we may safely leave to profes sional critics, after expressing a belief, drawn from personal observation, that the engineer and the contractors have done their work well and honestly. They have had great difficulties to contend with, which they knew of before they turned a sod, and, fed with unlimited supplies of capital, they have overcome these difficulties. Backed by the Great Western's shareholders and influence, by the Great Northern's shareholders and influence, and the Corporation of the City of London, who are anxious to turn to profitable account the slimy desert of Victoria-street, their success was certain. Money, as we have before said, can do anything, and a million and a quarter sterling, if we are rightly informed, has built the Underground Railway. Much time, which is also money, has been consumed in the task, but the task, up to a certain point, is finished. The tunnelling of the Underground Railway is not longer, or more impressive, than other railway tunnelling, but it is imbedded in different soil. There is the three-mile tunnel on the Manchester and Sheffield line, there is the celebrated Box tunnel on the Great Western Railway, built by an engineer who generally sacrificed capital for scientific display, and there is the Kilsby tunnel on the North Western Railway. All these works differ materially from tunnels which have to be bored through a London street, between gas pipes, water pipes, sewers, and telegraphic wires, like the tunnels of the Underground Railway. In their difficulties of construction they more re semble the Thames Tunnel, though we sincerely hope that they will never become such a laughing stock for posterity. The Underground Railway deserves credit for one thing. Though it has been a nuisance for years while in process of formation, it has cleared up its litter, and has left no permanent eyesore I above ground. All its merits and its faults lie buried in the London clay and gravel ; and in this it forms a worthy contrast to the works of other companies. Telegraphic enterprise, in particular, is a glaring offender in this respect, having covered our not very picturesque town with a web of tight-ropes and wire clothes-lines. Underground ingenuity may surely do something for us here, and relieve us from such a terrible infliction in the name of utility. The Underground Railway is already promised several imitations in various parts of London. A railway is planned from Leicester-square to Kensington ; and those dripping wells of Wapping and Rotherhithe, and that damp fragment of a cavernous fair, which together go by the name of the Thames Tunnel, are threatened with utiliza tion as an under-water railway. These are only two out of the many similar projects which will doubtless be brought before Parliament for its sanction, and against which one or two indigna tion meetings have been held by frightened trades people. If present public convenience is made to give way for future public benefit, let us hope that the projectors will be merciful. They will neither be backed with the capital nor the influence which supports the present Underground Railway ; and for their own sakes, therefore, we trust they will make short work of their disagreeable task, and save their shareholders, and the inhabitants near their lines, from all unnecessary suffering. OPENING Or THE FRENCH CHILMBERS.—The Monittur of yesterday announces that the French Emperor will open in person the legislative session of 1863 in the grand hall of the Louvre on Monday next, the 12th inst., and that he will receive the oaths of those members who have not yet taken them. The ceremony is to begin at one o'clock precisely, and every one present is to be seated by a quarter past 12 at the latest. LATEST INTFILIGENOE. POLAND. The Czas of Warsaw eaya : Out of the 66 persons tried by the military tribunal three have been declared not guilty, and it has alio demanded of the Grand Duke the liberation of nine others. That request has been acceded to, and 12 innocent persons have just left the prison. One of the accused complained that the committee of inquiry had forced him to confirm the denunciations of Piwoniski, the agent of the least police, and that his own observations were not entered on the proch-verbel. Another of the prisoners complained that no ►ttention bad been paid to his demand when he called for the evidence of a vanes. It is proved that the oom mittee of inquiry attributed to the accused replies which they never made, and presented them as voluntary admis sions. A SINGULAR ROMANCE. (nom OUR °yrs onaseromarr.) PARIS, FRIDAY Emma. M. de Villemessant, the editor of the Figaro, some time since informed his readers that he was the illegitimate son of an unmarried lady of noble family whose name he bore ; that out of filial respect for his mother's memory he had long withheld the legal evidence of bis parentage, but that being harraseed and persecuted by some of his mother's relations, represented by them as an impostor, and actually prosecuted by them in a court of law for bearing a name to which they alleged he bad no right, he felt it his duty to his children to lay aside the scruples which bad so long restrained him, and, at a painful sacrifice of feeling, to lay the whole case before the world and the tribunals of the country. The facts thus alluded to came out very fully on January 6, before the civil tribunal of Blois, and they con stitute a very singular romance. The case exc►tes intense local interest, and in the crowded court were to be seen many members of the oldest and most wealthy families in the department, who had known M. de Villemessant from his infancy, and among whom the circum stances of his birth were matter of notoriety. The Count de Beaucorps de Crdquy, Madame de Bou vale, and M. de Clinchamp were among the wit nesses for K de Villemessant. The present action, which arises out of one pend ing before the courts of Paris, is in the form of a demand for a judicial declaration that the plaintiff is in reality the natural son of the late Mademoi selle Louise Ren6e-Francoise de Launay de Villemessant, who was the daughter of Philippe Delannay de Villemessant, one of the body-guards of Louis XVL, by his wife Louise Ran& Hurault de Saint Denis. This form of action is, in the lan guage of the code, styled recherche de la makrnit4 t which is permitted, while, on the contrary, recherche de fa paterniti—inquiry as to the paternity of an illegitimate child—is prohibited by an express article. M. Lachaud, counsel for M. de Villemessant, stated, in substance, that the mother of his client, a lady of excellent family in Tonraine, was unfor tunately seduced by a Colonel Cartier, whom she accompanied throughout Europe in the wars of the Empire, in which he greatly distinguished himself. By him she bad two children, the plaintiff, born at Rouen in 1810, and a girl named Isoline, now de emed. After her elopement she bore the name of Cartier, and that name was habi tually given to her children during their infancy. Nevertheless, when the present plaintiff at the age of 16 went through the catholic ceremony of the first communion, he was described by his name of De Villemessant, which was then re cognised both by his mother and grandmother. A certificate of his birth at Rouen, in which he was described as the son of Mdlle. de Villemessant, was also among the proofs. That he was the son of Mdlle de Villemeasant was notorious in Blois, where he was known and liked as a dare-devil boy, and where, to all those who knew his mother, the striking likeness spoke for itself. The only diffi culty in the me was that at the age of 21 M. de Villemesaant fell in love and married without his mother's consent. On that occasion, in order to evade the law, he procured an "act of notoriety." in which he was described by the name of Cartier, and as having been born in Poland of " parents unknown." Soon after the marriage his mother forgave him, and he lived on terms of affection with her until her death, which happened in a most tragical way in 1847. Colonel Cartier had then been long dead, and she, having lost a law suit in which the whole of her expected fortune was involved, was living in Paris in great poverty. M. de Villemessant, himself poor at that time, had helped his mother to the best of his ability, and one of the proofs of her acknowledgment of him as her son was a bill in her favour drawn by him, and endorsed by her. However, in 1847 Mdlle. deVille measant and her daughter Isoline committed suicide together, leaving letters in which they de sired that their little furniture in their lodging at Montmartre might be given to the plaintiff. Ever since that time the name of De Villemessant had been borne by the plaintiff without dispute. But very lately K Casein and Mme. Vezien, the legiti mate nephew and niece of his mother, brought an action against him in Paris, in which they alleged that hie only real name was Cartier, and that he had no right to bear the family name of M. deVille messant. In answer to this action, the plaintiff, not wishing to brand the memory of his mother, contented himself with pleading the notoriety of his name of M. de Villemessant. The tribunal of Paris, however, held that in the face of the "act of notoriety" obtained by himself on the occasion of his marriage, the evidence of contrary notoriety was not sufficient, and it accordingly granted an injunction against his using the name of De Villemessant. M. de Villemessant appealed, and the court of appeal being informed of the ac tion to establish his parentage, which he had at length decided to bring at Blois, adjourned the case for three months to await the result of that action. M. Lachaud now submitted that the proof as to the matter of fact was clear as noon-day. His adversaries, in fact, ad mitted this by declining to argue the case on the merits, and confining themselves to taking objection to the jurisdiction. He argued at great length a point of law which is in reality the only substantial question in dispute, i.e., whether the various letters and certificates produced con stitute such a "commencement of proof in wilting" as is required by the code to sustain an action of this kind. The case stands over for a week, when the public minister will be heard. The motive of N. de Villemessant's opponents, as stated by M. Lathaud, is simply to extort money. He had lent them considerable sums from time to time, they always writing to him as "My dear I oonsin," and it was only when his patience was tired out that they threatened to force him either to drop his name or to brand the memory of his mother. The Bank of France returns show, aa was anti cipated, a considerable decline in the stock of bul lion. The increase in the discount department, which, under ordinary circumstances, betokens activity in trade, cannot be thus construed in the present instance, because, as I am informed, the greater part of the augmentation is attributable to the discount of treasury bills necessitated by re mittances to Mexico. I further learn that imme diately after M. Fould's statement that the cost of the Mexican expedition was 83,000,000, further drafts wefts received to the extent of 22,000,000 more. According to some estimates the real ex penditure up to the present time is not less than 220,000,000. The Bourse was heavy to-day in consequent* of the comments made upon the Bank returns. I am enabled to state that the paragraph which has gone the round of the papers, representing that Mr. Dayton, the American minister, had discussed with the Emperor the project of an armistice in America, is essentially untrue. I have just heard that the Cowries du Disnanthe has received a warning for last Sunday's article, by M. Prevost Paradol, suggesting reforms in the working of universal suffrage. I donot know thepre ciae grounds of the warning, but I believe one of them is that M. Paradol objects to printed bulletins, which are thrust by government agents into the hands of ignor►nt people, who think they are bound to use them, and that every elector should be bound to prove his intelligence and real will by writing the name of the candidate of his choice. I can well conceive that this proposal to limit the suffrage to people who can read and write may be plausibly construed as a csae of flat blasphemy against that universal suffrage which, as at present organised, can never by any possibility fail to echo the commands of the executive power. Mozart's Requiem was performed this day, at 12 o'clock, in the Cathedral of Notre Dame for the repose of the souls of the archbishops of Paris, whose coffins are to be placed in the vault lately prepared for them under the choir. The bodies of those of M.gre. Pierre de Marca, deceased in 1662; Hardouiu de PiSrlffize de Beaumont, in 1671 ; Francois de Harley de Champvallou, in 1695 ; Charles de Vintimille, in 1746 ; Christophe de Beaumont, in 1781 ; Antoine Leclerc de Juign6, who resigned in 1801 ; Cardinal de Belloy, de ceased in 1808 ; Cardinal de Talleyrand-Perigord, in 1821 ; Hyacinthe de Quelen, in 1839 ; Denis Afire, in 1848 ; Auguste Sibour, in 1857 ; and Car dinal Morlot, in 1862. THE WAR IN CHINA. The Secretary of State for War has received a despatch and ita enclosures, addresaed to him by Brigadier-General Staveley, C. 8., commanding her Majesty's troops in China, of which the following copies are pubhahed in yesterday's Gazette : Headquarters, near Bah-ding, Oct. 21, 1862. Sir,—l have the honour to report for your information that the Chinese authorities having expressed their willing ness to plea a garrison in Kah-ding, if the allied forces would recapture it for them, the place was taken by storm after a bombardment of two hours, this morning, by the force under my immediate command, mentioned in the accompanying return marked (A), as well as the British naval forte under Captain Daiwa, CB., and the French troops, placed respectively at my disponi by Via-Ad• mind Sir James Hops and Captain Fanottn, command ing his Imperial Majesty's forces in China, also the lo cated Ward's force, under the command of an American (Colonel Burgoviene), and Lieutenant Kingsley's 67th Regiment, battalion of 500 Chinese, and six mortars worked by Chinese, under Lieutenant Cane, ILA., all detailed in return marked (A). The guns and mortars were got into position during the night, and opened fire so soon u the walls could be seen. At 8 o'clock, two practicable breaches having been made, the French and British each established their bridges, the British under the direction of Lieutenant Knevitt, &N., and Lieutenant Lyeter, R.E., the storming parties of the 31st and 67th Regiments, under the command of Captain Christian, 31st Regiment., then planted their ladders and entered the place without opposition, the enemy escaping by the opposite aide of the city. The place had been considerably strengthened since our last visit, by au outwork made to flank the walls, and protected by a sort of bomb-proof, which, however, waa not proof against 8-inch mortar shells. I gave over the place to Colonel Bur goviene and his men, and, except the storming parties, none of her Majesty's naval or military forces were allowed to enter it. The re-capture of Kah-ding completes the radius oflthirty miles round Shasghae, which it was decided should be cleared of the Tai-ping rebels. I trust that the excellent conduct, of the troops under very tempting circum stances, and the very arduous nature of the service, will be favourably considered. 1 wish to mention for favourable notice, Captain C. Gordon, commanding Royal Engineers ; Captain Mansergh, Deputy Assistant-Adjutant-General ; Captain Gammsll, Deputy Assittant-Quartermaster-Gen. ; Dr. Rennie, 31st Regiment, Senior Medical Officer ; Assis tant Commissary-General Thompson, in charge of Commis miseariat ; lieutenant Jebb, 31st Regiment; and the Prince Witgeostein, of the Ist Prussian Lancer Guard Regiment, who acted as my Aides-de-Camp. I take this opportunity of recording the greet assistance I hate invariably received on the 'occasions of the various expeditions from Mr. Consul Medhurst, and Mr. C. Ala baster, of the consular service. I also wish to manila, the services performed by Commander Strode, of her Majesty's ship Vulcan, who was employed during the whole of the operations against the Tai-pings, and whose name was in advertently omitted in my recommendatory despatch ; also of hie first lieutenant, Lieutenant Grant. Commander Strode bad the working of the naval 32. pounders on all co- Cili01)11 when they were used, and was assisted by Lieute nant Grant. _ . In transmitting a list of casualties marked (B), I have much matisfaction in calling your attention to the senio r medical officer's report (herewith forwarded) on the health of the field force.—l have, &c., _ . . _ C. S4avittEr, Brigadier-General, Commanding her Idsiesty's Troops in China. The Right Honourable the Secretary of State for War, War•offioe, Pall-mall. London. THE POPE'S SPEECH.—A correspondent of the Tempe, ins letter from Rome dated the 3rd instant, states that the reception of the French officers at the Vatican on New Year's Day was so unusually solemn that of itself it indicated a radial change in the diplomatic relations with France. The Pope, be adds, had a very animated and smiling aspect, and seemed in excellent health. His speech was is French, and appeared to have been learnt by heart, although " here and there some few extempore words" escaped him. It is perhaps owing to this circum stance that two different versions of the speech have been published in the Paris journals. The Bade of yesterday places several peruses from these two versions aide by side, and point. out bow very much more energetic the Pope is made to speak in the columns of the Union than in those of the Moniteur. In one paper oc curs the phrase, "Why cannot I also bless my enemies!' In the other this is given as, " Why cannot I also bias the impious r The discrepancy between other passages is even more marked. The Temp. of yesterday, in comment ing upon the .peoch,says :—" Pins IN. blessed the Emperor, the Empress, the Prince Imperial, and the French army. He regretted he could not also bless his enemies. We were not aware that the gospel forbade him to do so." " We are informed," says the C'entstitutionnel, " that the Superior Council of Commerce, Agriculture, and Ilsnrdacture has been called on by the French government to examine the sugar question in all its bearings, both u regards internal consumption and the regime of exportation and maritime interests." His Honour Sir William Foster St•well, Knight, slake justice of the Supreme Court at Melbourne, lies appointed Mr. William Barr, of Beighley, Yorkshire, soli citor, • commissioner to take and remise affidavits in Engbutil to be need in the Supreme Court at Judicature of the colony of Victoria. . . . Among the new companies (says the Atheneum) one of a most novel and curious nature is talked of. The object is to construct a gigantic reflecting telescope of far greater dimensions th,,n Lord Itore's celebrated six-feet reflector, with which it is expected wonderful planetary sights will be revealed. "We hope, if such an instrument be constructed, that it will be erected where the atmo- sphere is clear ; for, as we well know, Lord Itosee's splendid telescope is sully out of place in the very misty atmosphere of Ireland." The honorary secretary of the Central Relief Pond has received an intim►tion from the Mersey Dock Board, that any vessel with food for the Lancashire opera. tives "shall have the full Odle of the docks of the company, free of all dock rates and charges." This resolution was unanimously adopted, and it was also agreed "that so rates shall be charged on any food or other article imported directly for the same objects." The total receipts of the Central Fund yesterday amounted to shove 10,0001. About 140 boxes, saved from the wreck of the Colombo, will, it is expected, arrive by the seat homeward Australian packet, due next week. Mr. Cowdery, for many year; the toll collector at the lichen floating bridge that leads from South►mpton to Natio) , Abbey, was found dead in the toll-house yester day. In 1860, one in every 9,404 slaves in the United States was insane, one in every 4,900 was a deaf mate, and one in every 2,503 was an idiot. NAVAL AND MILITARY. ADNIAAIST, JAN. 9. Dr. A. Graham, to the Edinbeuxh. Ammtant.Elargeool B. Brown ( , to the Dumberland ; K. J. (YToole, to be &Athlone! to M• Forte; and T. S. Bur. nett, to the Royal Adelaide, for service at Plymouth Hoe- OW. Amietant Payment& in Mane H. H. MT. Grant, to the Invedilrator• .—Surgeon POBTAIKIIITH, JAIL 9. The Termagant, 25, screw frigate, Captain Ro bert Han.. paid out a l commission to-day. The Pylades, 21, screw corvette, °appal Arthur W. A. Hood, is expected to sail to-morrow for North America and the West lodise. -- iii; member of the Privy Council arrived at the Royal Clarence yard this morning shortly before eleven o'clock, and crossed over to Osborne in the Firequeen steam vessel, Master F. W. Pant commanding. They returned in the afternoon and proceeded to London. CHATHAM, J pg. 9. Admiralty instructions haveleinireo — ervedai the dockyard directing a shot-proof turret to be erected on the upper or lighting deck of the Royal Oak, 80, 800-horse power, iron-cued steamer, for the protection of the cap tain d uring an engagement. The turret will accommodate one person, and it will be encased in armour-plating of the same thickness as that on the exterior of the Royal Oak. It is probable that the Royal Oak will be shortly commis sioned, and a certain number of her °SOWS eppointed, in order that the work remaining to be accomplished on board in the way of preparing the frigate for sea may be pushed forward as rapidly as possible. The subjoined (says the Army and Navy Gazette) are the names of those Trawls which either an on their way to England, or have been ordered home, viz.: —Hecate, Fawn, Pioneer, ImpErisuais, Odin, Scoot, Pearl, Encounter, Centaur, Sphinx, Renard, Blandon, Snake, Vulcan, Clio, Wye, London, Man, and Melpomene. The Beagle is ordered to be put out of commission at Hoag Bonn, Pas to be available on the spot if her services should be required. PRACTICAL JOKING IN THE ARMY.—WO sincerely regret to have to refer to • case of " practical joking" which lately occurred in the 18th Human, and which formed the subject of • court of inquiry. Anything less jocose and more stupid and ungentlmmilike than the pro ceedings conventioasily clawed under this heed cannot well be conceived. Gutting the room of an unpopular member of a regiment is an act more befitting the undergraduate career of a " ticket of leave," than that of a gentleman's son ; and in the present instance the nn-resentful character of the victim took away from the outrage even the element of pluck which is sometimes held to palliate such freaks. Schoolboys, not to speak of those grown to man's estate, have long mince eschewed this kind of boisterous mis chief. We are glad to find that his royal highness the field-marshal commanding-in-chief promptly took up the cue in the 18th Hussars, and when it was proved, at once sent down the deputy-adjutant-general to Hounslow, who read a severe lecture to the offenders, and announced that their leave was stopped and their promotion affected by their transgressions. As some impression to the coatrary appears to prevail, we feel bound to state that the culprits at once bowed to their sentence, and accepted it in • spirit which leads WI to hope we shall bear no more of these vul gar eccentricitiel l —Aresy zed Navy Gazette. REDUCTION OF THE NAVY. An examination of the Nary List would seem to justify the conclusion that the Admiralty intend to make a considerable diminution in the estimate of expenses for sea. going ships. No leas than sixteen vessels have been paid out of commission during the past quarter, including five line-of-battle ships. This is au unusual number to be dismantled in one quarter; but in addition to those already enumerated, there are no less than 17 under orders to return to England, allot which will in all probability, be paid out of commission on their arrival, their term of service having expired. To supply the vacancies of the 33 ships paid off or under orders to return home, there have been only seven commis sioned during the past quarter. Of these, two are merely store and receiving ships, and cannot, therefore, be accounted effective men-of-war. It is very clear, also, that daring the ensuing quarter no material addition will be made to the numerical strength of the navy. At Portsmouth there are at present only three ships under orders to be brought forward for speedy commission, namely, the Frederick William, 82, the Curacco, 31, and the Eak, 21, although the harbour is crowded with ships to reserve, the majority of them being in the second, third, and fourth classes. It wall be observed that most of the homeward bound ships are from the East India and China Station.— , Fran the Hampshire Telegraph of to-day. THE AMERICAN MINISTER AND THE MAN CHESTER ADDRESS TO PRESIDENT LIN• COLN. _ _ The working men's address to President Lincoln was beautifully isegromed on vellum, and placed in • neat morocco case, gilt lettered. On New Year's night • special messenger, Mr. T. H. Barker, proceeded to Laden, and on Friday morning placed the documents in the hands of the United States minister, the Hon. Charles Frame's Adams, to be forwarded by Saturday's steamer to President Lincoln. Mr. Adams received the messenger very coltrteously, and kindly said that nothing could give him greater pleasure than to have such an address to forward to the President under present circumstance', coming as it did from the heart of the manufacturing districts, and when the people were now suffering so much through the sad state of matters in America. He was sure that Mr. Lincoln would very highly estimate such an expression; and that its influence would tend very much to soften any bard feelings that might have been engendered during the conflict, through misconception on either side of the Atlantic. Mr. Adams, in reply to • direct question from Mr. Barker, said that he did not think that the President, whatever the pressure brought to bear upon him by adverse parties and interests, would shrink from upholding his proclamation ot emancipation of the slaves of the rebellious states. Hs could not see how the President could recede from the pcsi. tion he had taken up, and he sincerely hoped and believed that he would remain lira. With the address a note from the chairman of the Free-trade Hall meeting was handed to Mr. Adams, and we append the reply of the United Stales minister " London, Jan. 2. "Dear Sir,—l have the honour to acknowledge the re. caption of your note, dated yesterday. together with the address to the President of the United States, of a publio meeting held in Manchester, over which you presided. Both of these papers were put into my hands this morning by Mr. Barker, the gentleman who had them in charge. I shall take the greatest pleasure in forwarding at once the address to the President. Permit me to add the expres sion of my own conviction that nothing will be more cheer. cog to him in the severe trials through which he is now passing, than the sympathy and encouragement of inch,. pendent and disinterested witnesses all over the world. and most especially such • manifestation as this, coming as it does from the very heart of the population of this king dom, and that the most deeply affected in its interests by the unfortunate strife in America, must not only move him strongly to persevere in the policy to which be has pledged himself, but cannot fail to rouse the generous enthusiasm of all true friends of freedom in the United States. I bail the occasion as one likely to do much to cement the friendly relations between the two countries, which • common in. Greet in the great principles of civil and political liberty should always keep united.—l have the honour to be your obedient servant, "Cuaacre FRANCIS ADAMS. " Abel Heywood, Fag., Chairman, Manchester." The Era remarks :—" The visit, on Monday evening, of the Prince of Wales to the Haymarket Theatre will be, we hope, but the precnreor of many such extensions of royal patronage through the approaching sesmon. The Lord Chamberlain has officially granted permission for the curtains, that have hitherto been closed over the royal bons to be oboe more drawn aside, and it in now rarely vacant." Mr. Balfe's new opera is said to be in active pre paration at Covent Garden Theatre. Pause is also in re hearsal there, with Miss Pampa, and Mears. Perron and Weise in the principal parts. The rumour that Mr. Sims Reeves will sing in English opera for Mr. Maploom gains ground.. . . Signor Costa is understood to be closely occupied in the completioe of his new oratorio. Mr. H. Leslie's choir will give its first concert of the ammo on Widmer:lay Dent. . . . The Philharmonic Concerts, this y ear eight in number, are to begat oa the 9th at March. The next Sacred Hanuouiu Iwrfornianoe will con- Wet of Maudelaaolues dtAalie music aud Mozart's Requiem. Among the numerous changes contemplated in e►r-changing Paris is the transformation of the large enclo sure of the Palais-Royal into a winter-garden, in which con certs will be given. We (A thenauni) hear that Mr. R. 11. Knowles is prepack's a memoir of his father, the late Sheridan Knowles, for publication. The work could not well be in better hands. Mr. Knowles acted for a long time as his father's amanuensis, and was perfectly well acquainted with his ideas on all subjects, es pecially the drama and literature. The Austrians, it is stated, have now 112,500 men in their Italian provinces—in Verona, 38,000; Peeshierk 5,000; Mantua, 7,000; Vicenza, 5,000; Yemen, 21,000; Treviso, 5,000 ; Trieste, 10.000 ; F null, 12,000 ; and Tyrol. 7,500.