The Express. — London, England, 1866-04-28 00:00:00

LEGRAPHIC INTELLIGENCE. (=ma's Trutaasus.) osru, PRUSSIA, AND ITALY. VIENNA, APRIL 27, AFTERNOON. ron Werther, the Prussian ambassador, has e d to Count Mensdorff the expected arrival of patch from Berlin in answer to the last note Istria is despatch, alluding to the military measures win/ taken in Venetia, declares that Prussia A consider the proposals of Austria for dis went as serious while she arms against .kitstria must also re-establish the status ink in Venetia if she expects Prussia to demo !. her hoops. VIENNA, Aram 27. Alizian reply to the Prussian note of the i nc e. was despatched to Berlin yesterday. xia &Flares her readiness to take the initiative emobilising her troops, but the armaments in compel her to take measures for the protec of hex frontiers, and especially of her extended line, VIENNA, Arm. 27. Abendpost of this evening declares that the Min government has definitively determined L adopting energetic military measures in etia. Srom the let of May trains for the oon poe of troops will, it is stated, run daily on the theta Railway. Orders have been issued for i t o ppige of the direct ordinary traffic to Italy his line. count Sarolyi, the Austrian minister at Berlin, ud to have been instructed to request explana u from the Prussian government respecting cer , a lleged arrangements between Prussia and 9. AUSTRIA AND HUNGARY. VIENNA, Aran, 27. he deputation from the Hungarian Diet pre ted the address to the Emperor yesterday. His jetty, in reply, expressed a hope that the Diet uld accelerate the arrangement of those matters m which depend the tranquillity, power, and aperity_of the whole monarchy as well as Hun- THE CORPS LEGISLATIF. PARIS, APRIL 27. ro-day, in the Corps Legislatif, Count Walewski, president, proposed that the debate on the bill ing the military contingent for the present year ould take place on Thursday next. M. Emile brier announced that on that occasion he in sled to make allusion to the general state of !rope, which now pre-occupied and disturbed e public mind. He wished to know whether the vernment would be willing to reply to certain cations on that subject. M. Rouher, Minister State, stated that he would take the instructions the government on the point and reply on nirsday. The Chamber subsequently agreed to e proposal of Count Walewaki, fixing the debate r Thursday. THE PARIS BOURSE. PARIS, Aram 2T, 9.30 P.M. Since the close of the Bourse this afternoon great messiness has prevailed among speculators, arising rm rumours asserting the imminence of war. 45 evening Italian stock is freely offered at 49.10. Re.ntes are quoted 66.50. RUSSIA. ST. PETERSBURG, APRIL 27. lf. de Golovnine has been replaced in the Isistry of Public Instruction by Count Tolstoy, Sxurator-General of the Holy Synod. AMERICA. (Per the Damascus, TM Greencastle.) NEW YORK, APRIL 14, Emortio. The trial of Mr. Davis is expected to take place the Circular Court at Richmond within two oaths from this date. General Sheridan has ordered all persons em irking from New Orleans for Mexico to obtain importa. Mount Desert is reported to be one of the Fenian mdezvous in Maine. A British gunboat is ruining near Frenchman's Bay on the look out. NEW YORK, APRIL 14, Evirmc. Money abundant. Gold, 1261. Exchange on ndon, 196 ; on Paris, 4.171. Stocks dull : ew York Centrals, 921; Illinois, 114 ; Erie, 721; 20 United States Bonds, 104. Cotton steady ; iddling Upland, 38c. Flour advancing. Wheat htly firmer. Corn, provisions, and coffee dy. Sugar quiet. Molasses dull. Petroleum 1 : crude, 24c. ; refined, 38c. NEW ORLEANS, APRIL 13. Cotton depressed : low middling, 35 to 36. reel's sales, 18,000; receipts, 13,000. Week's ;ports, 2,000 ; stock, 168,000 bales. IE MISSING STEAMER CITY OF WASHING TON.-ARRIVAL OF THE PASSENGERS. A telegram, dated Roche's l'oint, April 27, Iceived at Mr. Renter's office yesterday, says : The d'amer 'red off Roche's Pro p o ntis, m Bosto n on t Point this aft e rnoo n. e 30th She rta that the City of Washington's passengers mails were transferred to her on the 17th inst., ut 800 miles west of Cape Clear. They will be ed here. .The City of Washington was found derless, with her fan broken. An attempt to w her was ineffectual, and almost disarranged the ery of the Propontie. The captain and wof the City of Washington are still on board vessel, and will sail her here." A Liverpool correspondent, in a telegram dated night, says : " I have just received the follow information respecting. the steamship City of ashington from the purser of that vessel :—'Just ded at Queenstown from the steamer Propontis, th all the passengers and mails of the City of ashington, and fifteen stewards. On April 2, we propeller, in lat. 40, lon. 35. We rigged a Porary rudder, which did not answer. When pontia came alongside we were in lat. 46, lon. e panniers were then transferred to the Pro ms. Assistance will be sent.' " rHE Noma . .—A case of Asiatic cholera has oc- Ted at Bristol. It appears that a seaman came from ttertlam, via London, and that on the journey from latter place he was first attacked with the disease, ich mad e suc h rapid strides that within 18 hours of hi t seizure he was a corpse. Dr. Davies, the medical I"tc.r of the city, and Dr. W. Budd, both pronounced I c•IPA of Asiatic cholera. At a meeting of the Board of nith held yesterday it was stated that no other person the house bad taken the disease, and it was hoped that ~ 1 passed away. Some regret was expressed that the homes bad no power in such eases to order speedy al, as the °eiled in this case been kept uninterred four days. The general health of the city is exceed y good, the rate of mortality being shown by the Re lA.-General's return to be lower only in two other illustrate the facility of communication , led by that great American invention—the electric (InPh—the Sunday Chronicle (Washington, D.C.) men i a fact sufficiently extraordinary to deserve record, that William S. Huntington, cashier of the First sal Bank of Washington, recently sent a despatch to Lake City at 30 minutes past 10 a.m., and received a at 30 minutes past 5 p.m. There are few feats in the of telegraphing that surpast this ; the distance Aphell Over in both directions being over five thousand —Alm York paper. EXPRESS FROM PARIS. THE INDIA AND CHINA MAILS. (►ROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) By the arrival of the above maile we have re ceived advices from Madras to March 28 ; Hong Kong, March 15 ; Singapore, March 22 ; Shanghai, March 8, &c. PARIS, FRIDAY EVF.SINCI. The contemptible, not to say disgraceful para graph of the Cvmstitutionne/, signed Boniface, pretending to know that the " favourable recep tion " by Prussia of the Austrian proposition for a mutual disarmament had given rise to negotiations for the purpose of devising a mode of disarming which should respond to the intentions of the two courts, was scouted as it deserved to be on the Bourse. The government journal knew nothing of the kind; had the best means for knowing the con trary ; was certain that the hopes of a disarmament are scattered to the winds ; and that the two go vernments, as I represented yesterday, are more than ever at daggers drawn. With reckless con tempt for its own thick-skinned character and the public intellect, it risked the paragraph, of course pursuant to orders, in the hope that it might allay the panic at the Bourse and cause honest and simple people to lose more money for the benefit of those behind the scenes. The truth is now out that Prussia makes the concentration of Austrian troops on the Italian frontier a ground for putting an end to the whole negotiation, which, as I have unhesitatingly said, was from the first a sham on both sides. Panic reigns at the Bourse. After many fluctua tions nearly the lowest quotations of the day pre vailed at the close. Bente fell 40c. for cash, and 35c. for account, closing at 66fr. 80c. in each cane. I Italian fell lfr. 60c. _ _ . . An action was tried in the Civil Court of Paris this week, in which the plaintiff was M. Courtel, the eminent French sculptor, and the defendant, Mr. Fitzgibbon, son of a late mayor of Cork. The cause of suit was a breach of contract on the part of the defendant, who had ordered a statue of his father, for the sum of 11,000 fr., to be erected in a public place in Cork. When the statue was in an advanced state, Mr. Fitzgibbon wrote to the artist not to send it to the founders, on the ground that riots in Ireland on the subject of statues made it unsafe to carry out the original design. This argument was developed by the defendant's counsel, who en deavoured to make out that the objection of certain citizens of Dublin to the erection of a statue of Prince Albert on College-green was a valid reason for rescinding a contract to set up a statue of a deceased and much respected mayor in Cork. The court, however, adopting the conclusions of the Advocate-General, held that Mr. Fitzgibbon was personally bound by a plain contract, and de creed him within a month to pay the instalment of 4,000 fr. now due, and in default of such payment de clared the contract rescinded ; that the plaster cast of the statue should thenceforth be the property of M. Courtel, and that the defendant should pay him 5,000 fr. damages, and be liable to imprison ment for non-payment. ITALY. (mow coos cowzr coKßEspommrr.) FLORENCE, APRIL 23. I observe that there has been a resuscitation of a canard, which I imagined to have been long since duly gathered to the father of canards, suggesting the existence of negotiations between the Italian government and the French Emperor for the acquisi tion of Venice and Rome, at the cost of a cession to France of certain other portions of Italian territory. And as I think it likely enough, remembering the degree of credit which the rumour obtained in , England at its first avatar, that this renewal of it may have excited a greater degree of attention in London than it has here, it may be worth while to lay hold of it, and twist its canard's neck for once and all. The assertion is, that the price to be paid fur the good offices of France in the acquisition of Venice and Rome is the cession of Sardinia, or of Savona, on the Ligurian seaboard. I have no hesitation whatever in assuring you that there does not exist the slightest foundation for any such report. No such proposal has been made—no such suggestion put forward. Had it been made, or were it to be made, it would not be entertained by the Italian government for an instant. La Mar more is not the man to be led into any trap so baited. Nor could, or would, any Italian government, even if the existence of one capable of desiring such a thing were admitted as possible, dream of venturing on such a proposal. No government could face the country with such a proposition. Any minister daring to announce such an arrangement as a bargain concluded would find himself face to face with revolution. Be assured that, deep and intense as is the desire, and urgent as is the importance of rescuing Venice, no cession of the smallest chip of Italian soil will be consented to as the price of attaining that end. The earnest longing of the people here for war leads them to attribute small importance to the latest pacific news from Germany. It will only put the matter off a little, they say ; it is merely a throwing of (lust in the eyes. No question is set tled ; and war must come. I repeat, however, my recent assertion, that statements of the exist ence of an alliance between Prussia and Italy are at all events as yet premature. On the other hand, I am very much disposed to believe that Signor Visconti Venosta went to Paris simply in order to make purchases for his outfit, and to Vienna simply to avoid the sea-sickness, which any other route to his destination would have entailed on him. But I can hardly expect your readers or anybody else to believe as much. LAUNCH AT MILLWALL IRON WORIB.—We have the pleasure to record the successful launch on Thursday of the iron screw steamship Salisbury, built by the ma wall Iron Works Shipbuilding and Graving Docks Company (Limited), for the Southampton Steam Collier and Coal Company (Limited). This fine vessel will be a very valuable addition to the fleet of the Southampton Company. Her dimensions are :—Length between perpendiculars, 189 feet ; breadth moulded, 28 feet ; depth moulded, 183 feet ; her builders' measurement is 718 tons. She is fitted with water ballast, and all the latest improvements in shipbuilding have been put into the vesseL Her engines of 90-horses nominal power have also been made by the builders at their engine works at Deptford-green; they will be imme diately fitted into the vessel, which will lie ready for sea in three weeks. Amongst the parties present at the launch we noticed Rear-Admiral Sir John C. D. Hay, the chair man of the Millwall Company ; Mr. George Lungley, one of the directors of the Southampton Collier Company ; and other gentlemen. The ceremony of naming the vessel was performed by Miss Lungley, of Southampton, in that lady's usual graceful manner. At the luncheon, which followed the launch, general regret was expressed at the absence of the director of works, Mr. Charles Lungley, who is at present confined to his bed by illness, brought on by his exertions during the launching of her Majesty's ship Northumberland. _ _ DENSE FOG AT MALTA. —Oll Saturday last one of the thickest fogs that we ever remember to have seen in Malta enveloped the island, and extended a consider able way at sea. Several steamers and vessels due were detained outside in consequence of the thickness of the weather.—Maito Times, April 19. HEALTH AND STRENGTH RESTORED ET Dl7 BARRY'S DELICIOUS RIVALS:WU ARABIC/. FOOD, which =el without me dicine or Inconvenienced yspepria ;indigestion), cough, asthma, consumption, debility, constipation , diarrhoea, palpitation, ner vous, bilious, liver, and stomach complaints. It saves fifty times Its cost In other remedies, and is the best food for infants 56,000 cures annually.—Du Barry and Co., No. 77, Regent-street, London, W. In tins, at Is. 1 d.: lib., El ; 12lbe We. Whs., 40s. ; also at 61 , Gracechurch-street ;4, eltespedde 150, sad 298, Oxford-street and at all Grocera --(Advertisement.] THE EXPRESS, SATURDAY EVENING, APRIL 28, 1866. Etre Court. OSBORNE, APRIL 27. The confirmation of Prince Arthur took Place yesterday at Whippingham Church by his Grace tLe Arch bishop of Canterbury. The Queen arrived at the church at 12 o'clock, accom panied by Prince Arthur (who went in the same carriage with her Majesty), Princess Helena, Princess Louise, and Princess Beatrice. Prince Leopold, the Prince and Princess of Le:nil:gen. and Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein had preceded the Queen. Her Majesty and the royal family having taken their places on either side of the chancel, Prince Arthur stood at the communion rail, within which were the Archbishop. the Dean of Windsor, the Rev. George Pruthero, and the Rev. William Jolley. The service commenced with a hymn. The Archlirhop then performed the ceremony, and another hymn was sung ; after which the Archbishop delivered a charge. The Queen was attended by Lady Churchill, the Hon. Caroline Cavendish, Major-General the Hon. A. Hood, Colonel Du Plat, Sir John Cowell, Maur Ephinatone, and Lieutenant Stirling. Among those who had the honour of being invited to be present at the ceremony were the Duke and Duchess of Wellington (who were specially invited on account of he late duke having been sponsor to Prince Arthur), the Hon. Mrs. Wellesley, Lieut.-Colonel the Hon. C. Grey, Sir Thomas and Lady Biddulpli, Mrs. Prothero, Miss Bauer, Mdlle. Norelle, Major-General Francis Seymour, C. 8., the Rev. R. Duckworth, Mr. Sabi, and Dr. Hof neister. The Queen drove in the grounds yesterday morning with Princess Helena, and drove out in the afternoon, accom. panied by Princess Helena, Prince Arthur, and Prince Christian. Princess Louise and Prince Leopold drove in the grounds. The Archbishop of Canterbury and Major-General Sey mour left Osborne yesterday afternoon. The Prince and Princess of Wales, with Prince Albert Victor and Prince George, arrived at Marlborough•house from Sandringham yesterday afternoon. The Viscountess Walden, Lieut.-General Knollys, Major Grey, Mr. Fisher, and Mr. Holsmami were in attendance. The Prince of Wales took the chair at the Royal Insti tution in the evening, when a lecture was delivered by the Dean of Westminster. His royal highness wu attended by Majcr Grey and Mr. Holzman. A committee of the Lords of her Majesty's Meet Honour, able Privy Council at yesterday in the Council•chamber- Whitehall, on the subject of the cattle plague. The Lord' present were :—The Lord President, Sir George Grey, th e Right Hon. T. Milner Gibson, the Right Hon. H. A. Bruce, and the Right Hon. G. J. Goschen. The Solicitor- Genend, and Colonel Harness, with Mr. Help. (the Clerk of the Council), and Mr. Harrison (the Deputy-Clerk), attended the committee. COMMUNICATION FROM CONSUL CA.VEReN IN CAPTIVITY. (From the Cornhill Maga:ine fi r Msy.) [Csptain Cameron, who has been so long imprisoned in Abyssinia, has sent 118 the following v(rst-s, with an urgent request that we should puLlish tht;u with Lis notes.] - . . SHOAL! TO HENRY W. LONGFELLOW. I thank thee, Friend, for this bold song,(l) Which thrill'd my burning veins along, When madden'd 'neath the sense of wrong, I wrung the cutting gyves and strung, That eat these free-born limbeM Bleeding at heart, I work'd each link, Till ev'n as speanstabli'd leopards slink, To cool them by soft Mareb'sk3) So, wild and worn, I turn'd to drink The solace of thy hymns. They spake like Jean, " Be thou while" But 10, the mystic fennel bowl, That erst must quaff the troubled soul ; I seize it, and return thy Skoal, (4) From honest heart and free,— " All scathe to me is Freedom's gain— Then welcome hunger, shame, and pain ; Yet sing, my Friend, a gallant strain— Afric shall sooner cast her chain For this our.misery." (5) Magdala Prison, 27th December, 114":5. C. D. O. (1) "The Goblet of Life"—see Longfellow's Poems. (2) Chains round the ankles eat the limb internally. The sinews shrink, so that the ankle becomes a mere stick. The calf, at the same time, wears away—and gradually retires—perhaps three inches higher than it WnIS before chaining, and its dimensions above decrease in proportion. (3) Mareb, a river which, rising in Ahyssiiiir., loses itself in the Eastern Sarhara. Its waters, filtered through white sand, are singularly soft and sweet. The Sarhara, like its sister Lybia, is " a ri da nutria leonuni, - .- ..n ] no traveller can pass irough without an adventure eitLer with lion or leopard. (4) Like Longfellow, the writer has drunk many a Skoal in Sweden, so this is no affectation. (:)) The slave trade is carried on with a high band in Upper Egypt, and along the west cast of the Red Sea. The writer may, hereafter, furnish the public with statistics on the subject. There are about 1,400 slaves passed through Massowah alone to Capola and Djedda. When the writer was at Massowah, a Greek merchant ' there, 11. Aristide, entertained the plan of purchasing op a number of these, and accompanying them to their re. spective homes. His object was not philanthropicLl, 1.”. t had in view the conciliation of the distant Galla tribes, to the end of establishing trading stations among tLe:n. A practical nation like England might safely take the same view on a large scale, being assured that the suppression of the slave trade would necessarily lead to the develop ment of legitimate commerce. At present a hatred of the whits Christian is sedulously instilled into the 'Linde of the Gallas by the slave merchant, who represents us as cannibals for his own purposes. When the writer was in the Soudan, he stopped, by authority, a whole caravan of slaves. They all, the girls especially, burst into tears, imagining that they were to be roasted and eaten forthwith. . . . The slave trade is forbidden in Abyssinia, though the law is sometimes evaded, slaves being often pr.ssed through to be sold at the coast. But there is no open traffic in human bein4s in Abyssinia itself,—rotten se the Chris tianity of Abyssinia is, it has at least produced th.s good effect. But as among the Jews prisoners of w•c.r are re tained as senants, and after baptism, for they generally adopt the religion of their masters, treated on the same footing as menials of the country, There are many hundred flu .stian slaves, AbyssiMans by birth, scattered throughout the Soudan. They Ere kidnapped by the border tribes. The funeral of Mrs. Carlyle took place on Thurs day. Her remains were laid within the choir of the ruined cathedral at Haddington, in the same grave as her father, Dr. Welsh, who was in practice at Haddington, and died there in 1819. The pallbearers were—Mr. Thomas Carlyle, chief mourner, Dr. Carlyle, Mr. John Forster, the Hon. Mr. Twistleton, Rev. Mr. Welsh, Mr. Dods, banker Had dington, Mr. Binnie, of Leton Mains, and Dr. Thomas Howden. formerly partner with the father of Mrs. Carlyle. The funeral was attended by a number of the older resi dents, who bad known the deceased lady in youth and her father, who was much esteemed in the town as a medical practitioner. There were also a number of ladies and gen tlemen present in the churchyard. Tit's LATE WINDSOR ELM:TM:M.—Sir H. Hoare writes to the Times :—" Sir,—l was unaware of Mr. Labouchere's intention to address you on the subject of the Windsor petition till I read his letter in the Times of this morning. I cau substantiate every word he says with re spect to my position and course of action during the elec tion. I visited Windsor for the first time in the last week of April. having only received an invita tion to became a candidate in the middle of the month. My solicitor, Mr. Durrant, accompanied me. and advised me throughout. At my request Mr. Labouchere also con sulted him, and we employed him for the express purpAie of preventing any illegal unl impropersteps being taked by our agents. It appears we might as well have saved our selves both this trouble and expense, as we have been un seated on the ground of one of our agents having hired certain public-houses as oommittee-rooms in the interest of Mr. Flower, which hiring was effected some five months before I became candidate for the borough of Windsor. The charges of bribery, which were of a nature most frivo lous, vague. and shadowy, broke down without exceptli.n. Not one single act of bribery or undue influence was proved against any one of our agents from the day of their en gagement by us. I and my ' colleague in misfortune,' therefore. have been condemned for a corrupt action and imputed corrupt intentions on the Tart of Mr. Flower's agents durin3 the previous winter. I will only add tluit numerous member, sitting on both sides of the house have expressed to me by word of mouth, or by letter, not only their sympathy. but their dissent from the justice of the decision given. and every one of .hem (to quote the words of a letter on the subject now before me) is of opinion that we hlve harshly and unjustly ' lc.. HENRY A. HUABE. 22, Berkeley-square. April 27." NORTHAMPTON AND BANBLRY JCNCTIoN RA:L- I WAY.—The Board of Trade has granted its certificate uuthorising the opening of the above company's line from Blisworth (the junction with the London and North- Westisrn Railway) to Towcester. Jt is the intention to open it for riss.miger traffic in the course of a few days. The coznp.iny ilitend making their own line. INDIA. The Mahommedan community of Madras gave a farewell entertainment to Sir William Denison on the 24th March. The Madras Athena iim of the 28th March says the entertainment was of a kind such as was never before given by the Mahommedan community "to any authority in Madras." A highly flattering address presented to his excellency on the occasion concluded in the following terms : Your excellency has manifested much kindneu and con sideration to the several members of our community who have had occasion to come before your excellency. Unfor tunately for us, notwithstanding that we are loyal subjects of the British crown, we have always been looked at through the distorting medium of a political light, and con sequently those in authority have been slow to extend to us their countenance and support. But with your excel lency it has been otherwise. Your excellency has been above such narrow prejudices, and your excellency has even done us the honour of giving us the means of representa tion in your legislative council; and it cannot be denied that your excellency . has the afforded an object of praiseworthy ambition to the leading and noble members of our community, and given them the means of rendering themselves useful to their community in particular anti the country in general. For this, we beg to tender to your excellency our most grateful thanks. That your excellency has had at heart the real interests of the people is evidenced by many of your excellency's acts, but by none so palpably as the formation of the model farm at Sydapett, and the in troduction and exhibition of improved European agricul tural implements. During the various dynasties which have ruled over India under its own native princes, under its Mahommedan conquerors and its British rulers, this one great original feature has re mained unchanged, viz., the attachment of the people to the soil, and their reliance on it for their chief support. The tributes laid upon the people have chiefly been met from the produce of the soil, and the main source of revenue under every dynasty, Hinder), Mahom medan, or British, has been the land tax. To this the people have always willingly submitted, and this they have always cheerfully paid. Your excellency has therefore manifested true statesmanship in teaching and encourag ing the people to increase the productive resources of the soil, and they cannot be too thankful for the impetus that has been given them in this direction. Your excellency's name will long be associated with the improvements in agricultural pursuits in this presidency. It is greatly to be regretted, indeed it is a misfortune, that men of your excellency's character, disposition, and capabilities are permitted to be connected with the government of this country for so limited a pe riod, and that they are called away laefore they can elect all the good they desire. A life tame would not suffice to erect all the good that can be realised, and the period of five years is too short to mature and give completion to the many schemes for the advantage of the people and deve lopment of theresources of the country which must no doubt have presentedthemselvesto a philanthropic mind like that of your excellency. But it must be confessed that your excellency has done your best under the circumstances, and acquitted yourself with honour to yourself and nation and benefit to the people and country. And now we bid your excellency farewell ; but while we do so with the most profound regret, we heartily wish you the enjoyment in your native land of all that satisfaction and comfort which he must enjoy who has been true, just, and honest in the performance of public duties and the practice of private virtues ; and we trust that your excellency will receive on your return to England, at the hands of her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen, a suitable recognition of , your services, which they so richly deserve.—We beg to , remain, with the utmost reepect, your excellency's most obedient servants, AMUR Oon DOWLAH DAHADOOH, anti some 3,000 others. TM Excellency replied as under : My Friends.—On the eve of my departure from this country, it is I confess a very great pleasure to me to find, that the mode in which I have administered the govern ment of this presidency during the last five years has been such as to merit the commendation bestowed upon it, in the address which you have just read. I feel quite certain that I have but carried into effect the wishes of her Majesty the Queen, in maintaining, without reference to creed or caste, that perfect equality before the law of all classes of her subjects in India, and I can not but think that the Mahommedan population must have misjudged the conduct of nay prede cessors, who I feel certain were actuated by the same principles which have guided me, though they may not have had similar opportunities of exhibiting them in ac tion. lam glad to find that you appreciate the efforts I have made to improve the character of the agriculture of this presidency. As two-thirds of the population are di rectly or indirectly engaged in agricultural pursuits, any improvement, however trifling, in the various processes which may lessen the amount of labour expended upon these will have a very marked effect upon the productiveness of the country ; and I trust that a conviction of this will induce many to turn their attention towards the development of the many sources of wealth which this country presents. I thank you heartily for your good wishes. I look back to the five years which I have passed in India with feelings of great satisfaction, and these feelings are naturally enhanced by your assurance that in the performance of my duty to the best of my ability, I have had the good fortune to establish a claim to your sympathies and kindly feelings. I need hardly say that I shall rejoice to hear that pro sperity, the sure reward of peace and industry, continues to prevail throughout the length and breadth of the land, and that in such prosperity the Mahommedan portion of the population ham a full and overflowing share. In speaking of this address the Madras Athena ran says: There was one passage, alluding to the mistrust and dis couragement that Mahommedans had experienced at the hands of former governors, for political reasons, which would better have been omitted. Sir William felt it incumbent on him to refer specially to this, and to assure his hearers and their co-religionists outside, that the motives and acts of his predecessors had beer, misunder stood. The address otherwise commands entire approval, and particularly that part of it in which the framers deplore the practice of frequent changes in the government, which deprive the Indian presidencies of their rulers just when they have gained such an amount of acquaintance v. ith the coun try, its inhabitants, and its affairs, as would render the continuance of their administnition infinitely more be neficial than it can be during their few years of learning how best to perform the duties of their high and most re sponsible office. It is not to be doubted that if Sir W. Denison were to remain three or four more years among us, with sufficient liberty to carry out his plans, he would do far more for the good of these provinces and Madras than he has ever yet ventured to attempt ; but we lone him at the very time when he could render us the greatest amount of service, and when he commands our best esteem and confidence. CHINA. From Canton the following news is published in the &ruing Mail :—" The successes of the Imperial ists in the north-east of Kwang-tung, which were recorded recently, have taken the shape of a more complete victory even than we anticipated. The entire body of rebels under the lead of the Kang-wang, numbering some 50,000, and forming the last residuum of the Taipings, have been either slaughtered or taken prisoners. About 20,000 perished in a conflict lasting two entire days—the Bth and oth February—and the remainder have surrendered themselves to the Imperial command ers. The latter have already commenced the work of disbanding their troops, whilst the civil authori ties are busy with arrangements for dispersing the prisoners, with whom, to the number of upwards of thirty thousand, they find themselves burdened. The victorious general, P'ao Chao, has already left for Hankow, where he is to take the field against the Nien Fei. This success, wiping out the last trace of the Taiping rebellion, will no doubt be peculiarly gratifying to the Peking government." Peking advices state that a mission is to be ap pointed to proceed to Europe, and that Mr. Wade and Mr. Hart will accompany it. We are also in formed that it is intended to take with the mission sir of the pupils now studying English and French at Peking. The Orerland (Una Mail thinks this news needs confirmation. A Danish brig, the Dannevirke, has been at tacked by pirates, and plundered of all her valu ables. DESPATCH OF THE BOMBAY MAILS.—SOUTHAMP TON, Aran. 27.—The Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamship Nyanza, Captain Augove, sailed hence to-day at 3 p.m. with the mails for Gibraltar, the Mediterranean, Eqpt, Aden, Bombay, and Upper Bengal. She took out 25 fint and 20 second class passengers, and on freight a general cargo, including 181 boxes specie for Bombay, com prising bar gold, 2,0501. ; bar silver, 50,710/. ; silver coin, 540/.: gold thread, watches, &c., 945!. STRIKE OF TAILORS AT GREENWICH. —The whole of the journeymen tailors at Greenwich, Deptford, and Blackheath, have struck for a considerable advance of wages, amounting, it is stated, to at least 23 per cent. upon some garments. At a meeting of the masters it was unanimously resolved not to accede to these terms, and the men have therefore left work, and now patrol in front of the shops of their late employers, with a view, it h, said. to prevent - .hem from obtaining other hands. To I,,Pet the emergency. some of the most extensive master tailors ire tow having garments made up in Loudon. MR. LOWE'S SPEECH. (Frew the pod ! , ..Vcoz.) THE friends of Reform owe warm thanks to Mr. I LOWE for having on Thursday placed in so strong a light those constitutional doctrines which they must ever steadfastly oppose. The obligation' would have been even greater if it had suited the right honourable speaker to deliver that masterly exposition six weeks ago. His March speech against a reduction of the franchise did great good by showing how the great body of the people were regarded by the ablest of the opponents of Reform, but the public wanted to attain to a fuller and clearer apprehension of his latest ideas of the foundations of government. Henceforth there will be nothing to complain of on this score : his latest discourse was constructed on a scale large enough to embrace all the dogmas, all the interests, and all the passions of his political school. It was full of spirit and grace, admirably delivered, and altogether in sympathy with the audience to which it was addressed ; but it might have been all these, and yet not have been the great and important speech which it unquestionably was. We do not know where else to find so complete, exact, and convenient a summary of the princi ples which in modern times lead those governments that adopt them to nun. If we admit with the Times that the march of Mr. LowE's logic was irresistible, we must add that the same logic has in our days conducted nations to barricades and kings to exile. Mr. LOWE swept all before him : so did M. Goizos—into the abyss. Mr. LowE's was the most revolutionary speech that has been heard in the House of Commons for many years, and the rapturous cheers which sustained the orator eloquently show how urgent is the necessity for a reform in the House of Commons. Mr. Lows piques himself on not being as other men are, who can talk of " our own flesh and blood," as if the sentiment which binds us all together in a com mon national life could have anything to do with the wisdom of extending the suffrage : he is a politician. Well, the ablest politician who in our days has tried to carry out Mr. LOWE'S theories lost his master a crown. " Look," cries the right hon. gentleman, "and see what happened "in France when there was a limited "constituency in the time of Lur:s PHILIPPE, " and parliamentary government until the Revo " lution of 1848." Yes, by all means : look, and look, and look again. But wherefore look if you have not eyes to read the obvious lesson I We see in the history of the later years of Loris PHILIPPE what comes of arbitrarily " limiting your "constituency," to exclude powers because they are toopowerful, and which just because they are powers ought to be recognised and brought into the con stitution, and harmonised with it. We lately quoted from an essay by that devoted friend of the House of ORLEANS, M. VICTOR COUSEN, an account of the policy of distrust which led to the downfall of his King. That policy is identical with that of Mr. Lowr. Happily, there is this difference between the circumstances of the two countries, that in England the Sovereign has often recommended an extension of the suffrage from the throne, while the fears and suspicions which re duced all Loris PHILIPPE'S political accomplish ments and vast experience to worthlessness, and turned his wisdom into folly, are with us repre sented by a discontented member of the Opposition. Like all Mr. LOWE'S speeches, this last was an elaborate impeachment of representative govern ment, and to that extent an attack on the British Constitution. Finding the political arrangements of 1832 in operation, he nominally approves of them, but he continually lays &ten maxims as to the fitness of voters which could not be applied without leading to wholesale disfranchisement. As he is never tired of telling us, there is nothing to be said in favour of associating the largest number of citizens in the control of their country's affairs and in the work of making the laws they are ex pected to obey. Those who fancy there is are victims of puerile fallacies, and out ~f the pale of political argument. The sound doctrine, according to Mr. Lowx, is that the franchise is a mere poli tical expedient, a means of securing good govern ment ; and the better to drive the argument home, he represents a member of the administration as maintaining that it is better we should be governed by large representative bodies, and governed badly, than governed by small representative bodies, and governed well. We need nut say that nobody has maintained a proposition so absurd. But we suppose that no one is unaware that the necessity which exists under representative govern ment of convincing large numbers of persons of different classes, associations, and prejudices, of the desirableness of any particular law before that law can be made, does impede useful legislation. Mr. CARLYLE thinks this is a conclusive argument against parliaments, but his school is not a large one. In these columns we every year plead for the enactment of laws which would very soon pass if we had only to do with gentlemen who can see the bearings of administrative reforms as well as Mr. LOWE, instead of having to reckon with Mr. HENLEY and Mr. NEWDEGATE. But we do not on that account desire to he governed by clever nomi nees of enlightened Whig noblemen ; we prefer to deal with the intelligence—or, if it be necessary, with the unintelligence—of our fellow-countrymen —" our own flesh and blood "—rather than to have good measures passed without regard to what they think and feel. The loss by delay is only temporary ; the gain, when once secured, is permanent, and we have all the infinite satisfac tion which the best laws passed by the wisest bureaucracy could not give us, that our affairs have been finally settled by mutual accommodation with a view to the general advantage. The country is prepared to honour and reward those who will devote eminent talents to the work of leading it in this spirit, the spirit of the constitution, but it will not recognise the pretensions of an oligarchy, not even of an oligarchy founded on intellect. Governments such as Mr. Lowe despises stand ; governments such as he commends fall. That is the fact of the nineteenth century—the fact which Mr. LowE's admirers have to consider. LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC 'MEETINGS TOR THE ENSUING WEE[.—Monday„ Actuaries, at 7, " Construction of Tables of Mortality," Mr. Woolhouse. Tuesday, Royal Institution at 2, annual meeting. Horticultural, at 3, general meeting and lecture. Anthropological , at 8, " Hindu Neologi," MaV i ri a 3wen ; " Living Microcephale," Dr. J. Shortt ; " Sacti ," Mr. Salon ; " Fecundity of Negro Women," Mr. Waler. Engineers, at 8, "Flow of Water off the Ground," " Water Supply of Paris," Mr. Burnell. Wednesday, Society of Arts, at 8, " National Standards for Gas , Mr. Glover. Literature, at 8). Thursday, Royal Institute, at 3 , "Ethnology," Professor Huxley. _ Chemical, at 8, " Pyrophospho-4liamic Acid," Dr. Gladstone ; " Tricalcic Phosphate, sc., " Mr. IL. War ington. Linnean, at 8, " Cranial and Dental Characters of H ," Mr. Busk ; " Recent British Ostracoda," Mr. Brady ; " Otolites of Fish, their Value in verifying Species," Mr. Higgins. Antiquaries, at 8 6. Royal , at Si. Friday, Archmological Institute, at 4. Royal Insti tution, at 8, " Substitutes for Gunpowder," Professor Abel. Society of Arts, at " Artificial Aromatic Sub s'ances" (Cantor Lecture), Dr. Craw Calvert. Philolo gical, at 8. Saturday, Royal Institution, at 3, " Eth nology," Professor Huxley.—Allunream. CRYSTAL PALACE.—At the Saturday concert to day (the last of the present series) Maden.c P.,repa, LTbrich, and Herr Leopold Auer will the a.--ists. Beet hoven's Pastoral Symphony, and the overtwea to Oberon and William Tell, are incladed in the p,fgno..rne. The promenade will take place 2.11 lisval after tie concert. THE CONTRACT CORPORATION COMPANY (LIMITED). The committee of investigation of the Contract Corporation (Limited), have just issued their report. This document has been so anxiously looked foe that we subjoin it in carte/too. It will be notioett that it reprobates the conduct of the directors, ai.d charges them with " the most gross and culpable negligence" : _ . London, April 26, 1866. Sir,—Appointed a committee to investigate the affairs of the corporttum by resolution of meeting of shareholders on the 27th Marzh, we proceeded, with the aid of a public accountant, witheut delay toprepare such a balance-sheet as should show the real position of the mei oration's bat& Mies and assets at the present time, so far as could be ascertained: but, while doing so, our attention was necessarily drawn to the applications pending is the Court of Chancery before the Master of the Rolls, by the petitions of two shareholders, foe the compulsory winding op of the corporation ; to avert this, your committee, so soon as prepared, con vened a meeting of the principal creditor's, which meeting was adjourned to a subsequent day, at which second meet ing a resolution permitting the Contract Corporation to continue operations and realise its estate and effects under a letter of licenve from the creditors, with other specified. conditions, was agreed to by creditors amounting to above 450,000/., and with only two dissentients. Thus prepared, your committee. in concurrence with the directors, in structed counsel to appear on behalf of the corporation at the hearing in the court fixed for the 21st inst., when the dissentient creditors—the Discount Corporation and the Warrant Finance Company —appeared as petitioners for a winding-up order, which the court granted. All future control and management, thereto' e, will now pass into the hands of the official liquidator, who w U shortly be ap pointed. An it is most important to the interests of the shareholders to whom that appointment is given, the i.t tention of your committee, so soon as the candidates for that position are known, will be given to ascertain who has thebest qualifications for the office, and they will inform the shareholders ci.! the result, until which they recommend the shareholders to abstain from giving their individual support to any candidate who may apply to them. By the terms of the resolution appointing them a committee, they (suck committee) were to report to a subsequent meeting of shareholders to he called for that purpose ; this meeting would immediately have been called had not the corpora tion placed into liquidation, but as nothing more ono. now be done by the joint action of the execa tive and the shareholders, and as the transoc- tior.s which have led to the lamentable position in which this corpor ition is placed are so complicated and diftkult to he traced out, and will be much better elnci dat,d and unil.rstood hereafter, your committee propose to rest satisfied for the present with presenting you with the following concise report of their labours, with a state. went of aceounts. showing, as far as they are able, the position of tie corporation in this respect. The committee find no reason to complain of the conduct of the affairs of the corporation, nor was the position of the corporation ! otherwise than satisfactory up to the period of its con nexion with Measr,. Watson and Overend. At the close of the year 1)464. o: the beginning of the year 1813, negotia tions were entered into between the corporation and Messrs. Watson and Overend, which eventually led to the pur chase by the corporation of the business of that firm. Mr. Watson and Mr. Overend became directors of the cor poration ; Mr. Overend being appointed managing direc tor. The board vas also then, or had been a short tirr.e previously. joined by Messrs. Bateman, Hixon W. Dert, and White, the three but being also directors of the Joint Stock Discount Company. Messrs. Watson and Overend previously bad extensive monetary transactions with Mr. Bateman and the Joint Stock Discount Com pany, and there is no doubt but that at that period they were largely indebted to that company. Not long after this fusion of irtereAs a monetary transaction wag entered into bitwem the corporation and the Joint Stock Discount Con.pany, which could have had no other object, as it appears to your committee, than to relieve that company of the indebtedness of Messrs. Watson rind Overen 1, mei of saddling it on the corporation. The outline of the arrangement was this : that the (en tract Corporation should purchase of the Joint Stock Dis count Company the securities (consisting of bonds and shares in railway companies) of Messrs. Watson and Over end held by that company, of the nominal value of 211,0007., for a sum of WO,OOO/., the purchase to be made by hills, to be renewed for a period of two years. The Joint Stock Discount Company were further to make an advance to the Contract Corporation of a sum of 150,0001., also by means of bills, but of which sum 50.0001. was to be allowed to remain on deposit with the Joint Stock Discount Company. The position of this :natter at the present moment is that the Contract Corporation is liable on bills in the hands of third parties to the amount of .1.10,0001. The securities above mentioned have never been in the ion of this com pany. and a sum of 13.610/. 175.&1. only appears to have been made availab:e for the purposes of the corporation ; in fact the whole transaction calls for the must seri° is inquiry. With reference to the conduct of your directors in these transactions. which your committee do not hesitate to state led to th- ruin of the corporation, your committee cannot speak in too strong terms of reprobation. While your committee acquit certain niembera of the board of complicity. they feel bound to state that there has been the moat gross and culpable negligence in the conduct of affairs; indeed, the management appears to have been alloi,ed to drift into the hands of a few, who have utterly .I;.re3arde.l the +interests of the corporation. The value of the assets in the balance-sheet is stated on the assumption that adequate time is given and care taken in the realisation.—We are. air, }}our obedient servants, WILLIAM EDWARDN HIRIST. J. SULLY. WAHINE B. M. LVSLEY. ALFRED WILSON. Below we give the balance-sheet accompanying the foregoing report. It will be seen that the com mittee's investigations have resulted in showing a deficiency of 157,621 1 . There are 20,000 shares of 1001. each in this concern, with 10/. paid. BALANCE•SHEET, MARCH 27, 1866. DR. . To creditors o nv:• , re I To bills psyside 2lil.goo 3 • To creditorsbol.lina security 303,02 7 11 To liabilities on Nils receivable con sidered good £ 2,000 0 0 Lj. I,i;fticr, £177.293 1 0 To capital paid up . _ 1 o detlelencj iirowrbt down 167a21 9 10 Estimated Cr. Per books. to realist. Ey debtors Estimated to realise... Ey securities in hands of creditors &Emoted to realise Ey severities in i`allti Pollinated to reali.e. . . . 37.100 0 • Ey bill* receiva'de in h.iii ... . 39,696 8 1 Estimated to reali ie ..... 29./sin 8 it By cub in ham] .. ... .. 441 7 6 441 7 6 By property in band Estimated to realise.. ... . . 55.000 0 9 Ey balances due on contracts . .... 13,218 0 0 Estimated to realise .. 13.210 0 • Ey deposits and ex p‘inites relating to projected undertakino Estimated to realise 12 6 Assets ....1713,972 4 42519,671 11 2 By balance, being deficiency 157,611 9 19 L';77 2Ct 1 • B/ John Watson and Co., Balance dee by them Arrears on gli) calla—Lem unpaid dividend—L call on chum By Bateman, Benjamin, claim under action now pending 47,000 0 I Irrrepertlve of a claim against the Joint flock Dieccunt Com pany In respect of the monetary transaction referred to to the annexed report for any loss In coaarakes therewith. WEATHER REPORT.-(THIS DAY.) SATURDAY, APRIL TA, 8 A.X. 7. abase. • • D T. W. •Ito W. Z. n 12 7. D. , I S. Neirn — 29.63 41 N.W. , 1 1 K mu 0.13 1 Aberdeen .429.54 43 N.K. I 5 I E. 4 11.&W two 3 Leith .29.5 N.R. ; 47 N. 2 r 0.03 1 Ardrassan '21.56 51 N.W. 2 3 • L c. 2 Oreeneastle ,25..67 4.4 N N.& 6' 1 W.O.W. re .0.01 3 Valentin. 29.54 55 N.E. . 1 1 R.N.L 'ow 0.07 1 ''ape I I Liverpool ... 42f. 51 s'; WN W. 1• 4 W.O.W. co 0,03 1 Holyhead 29.51 Wr. W. 21 1 I E.B.Z. Ico 2 Penzance._ 9.''+ ; W 1 3 B.E. o 0.04 2 Brest - 1 ,1 W. 3 S.E. oI 4 Lorlent ''r W 2' I B.E. c 0.16 2 Rochefort C! SE. j 2 2 , O.K. ol 2 Plymouth Weymouth IY.rtsmouth 2.! !!4 12 3 ! O.K. cr ' 1 London - Yarmouth 4 .. :4.W. 1 - B. E Do ' 1 scarborough 19 47 41 j 3 , 1 N.E. br '6.37 3 Komi& 24 „47 N.W. 211 I N.E. Ire ,o.OU 3 Ashler PROBABLE ArNI , A7 ON NORTHERN MONDAV. to N . W„ fr0.,11 to CoAar!". Varying. fre.li to .tivr.g. with %%On straw. 'honer* v Ar yi ng ;.•••.ir WELTERS. As above. rate to atron; With at Unit.. At above. SoT:TTIERN. Strallar to above. similar to 51.4 e. Y. str.r.N. Similar. orthem-B...ntland. Western—lreland. Wales, and adja cencies. Soutiter , Cliamo:l and Hoy of F.abtern—Eastwaru and North Sea. [AtlVENtilleMer.t. ?-HOLLOWAY'S OLNYNENT AND [ILIA llinesy.e. —The hidden cause, the un rlspected Gann., n) J Na8L111;: McklieinA and falling strength hove hcen dere! .15,1 1,,111,1r.b1e 11116, and the spplif %- Lion of the 41Natr , ....t to the instrulv thus diao.vered hos rescucd county from a 'e .ntinned torture and premature end. l'ilca Is all the moor forum muter which they afflict inanldnd, such as fistulas. swetnres, intltuntnallons, uloeratiscna. interns/. externol, recent Sr cht,,nic, are thus soh. ly and weedily hmught to a sti.te of ca , e, ar.J thence c >nducted to s lasting core. Btstts, Mann nt and ...ills ice 1111.1(TM to r nrondttnn purifvm,f 4 . ~,,, tort hot!. are ..ecutle In nperoth.o. a.. 4 assist each other. ccec helping, u ever I.artitutg naturc's !edges! LAWS. pommy y+