The Express. — London, England, 1866-12-31 00:00:00

JOHN BROGDEN. ORIGINAL GOLD CHAIN MA NUFACTORY, 16, HIMITICTIA-MENT, courrvaaanix. JOHN BROGDEN'S 18-erst GOLD CHAINS. JOHN BROGDEN'S GOLD GUARD CHAINS. JOHN BROGDIN'S GOLD ALBERT CHAINS. JOHN BROGDEN'S GOLD BROOCH CHAINS. BENSON'S WATCHES. f 8 and 00, laidgato-bill: 26, Old 3on44troet. BROWN and POLSON'S CORN FLOUR for CUMMINS DIET. To obtain a xtrs profit by lion anis other Ida& are sometime. Meted Instead of liltOr and POLSOFS. J o hn Brown," " John POWS; aed *Vile (railcars on acct paatot the erpreoo. TO COBSEISPONDIINTS. advertbements Intended for " The Exoreea," London reening We, nowt be st the Moe, 10, bouverk-atreet, by Two co'lt on the day of public:stem. DRURY LANZ. to, A VHS Evincn DAY AFTER TIM WEDDING. —And NUMBER NIP. Mesdames L Thompson, Hudspeth, Seymour, Cardonnl, Yandenboff ; Mesas. T. Matthews. Clifton, Rester Roselle, Boleno, Laurrussek de.. Wiles. Boleuo and Marlon. lATIAARKRT. TWS Ressreo, A IMILS cumuli! ews. Bowe, Gordon, itc.; Meacham Chlppendele , Fitzwilllaro, Laws, Powell, de.—A LZSSON FOR LIM. Dewar. &other's, Auger., Clark. --JEN NY LLND AT LAST. DLLs kw- - And the SALLIT. Sid Sophia. runcves. TEM Isisront BARNABY BUDGE. Moore 8. COrnball. 7. Villiers. J.O. rlsore, and G. Honey; Wass Amanda Thom son and Hatherin Rodgers, Wm H. Vining, and Mrs. C. Hors man.—And THE INVISIBLE PR NCI LICKS*. THIS tvaarnte, THE TWO POLTS. Yr. Wlddlcomb. —And ROWS NT NOIR. Mews yachter , Emery, Cowper, Moreland, Anderson, do. 3tt s y s trick. D atop, Reyn olds, Lomas. Andrews, Sirs. L. Hurray, and Mimes Remade. Grattan, nod C. Lecleroq. STRAND. THIS ammo, NBIGHBOUBS. —Atter which will be produced • °rood Burlesque, GUY FAWKEd.—sud B O OTH AT TSB SWAN.-------- HOLBORN. THIS Samar:Hi, MY TURN NEXT. Mr. Belmom; HMIS loot. and Lennox.—An FLYING SCUD. Messrs Neville, Bel lmore, Blake, Vollake, &c. ; Mesdames F. Josephs, C. Saunders, Dori e Foote, Fiddes, Lennox, Raymond, Re. --- BRITANNIA. THIS MMHG, TI M PRINCESS OF THE PEARL ISLAND ; ON., THE THREE KINGDOMS OF PEARL GOLD, AND SILVER. Mra Lane and Miss Janota.— Yin -rate Pantomimist& --And THE SKELETON CREW. HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. Mg DAT —llorniuB, 99. 31m Attersoou om . 109. 6m. TO-116011140W—Mortilng, 109. 41m Aftern, 110. 14m. LONDON, MONDAY, DECEMBER 31. Tee year that is passing away has been one of disorganization. Old settlements, political and diplomatic, have been disturbed. The new order to which events obscurely tend has not yet estab lished itself. The period is one of conflict and transition in both hemispheres. To an elder super atitjon, Nature herself might seem to have sympa thised with the throes of civil society. Her de structive powers have broken loose by land and on sea. While in some instances the waste of life and devastation of property are due to the out break of elemental forces, whose action science cannot foresee nor control, in others human re sponsibility must be acknowledged for some of the most fearful calamities that have desolated vast regions and communities. In the storms which at the commencement of the year strewed our coasts with wrecks, and our streets and high ways with ruins, we recognise the irresistible and irreversible d.!ereets of a Power to which we can respond only by submission and resignation. But the immediate source of other calamities even more destructive must be looked for, not in the providence of GOD, but in the improvidence of man. Reckoning on a long impunity, men tamper with the mechanism of nature and its mighty powers as no one would venture to do with any machine of humau invention. Eager to use it for their immediate profit, they disturb the healthful and harmonious balance of its forces ; and the righting of this false adjustment, the re turn to stable e l eilibrium, comes violently in the torrents which have inundated the north of Eng land and the south and south-west of France, in ' the explosicn of the pent-up gases of our mines, in peatilences among men and among beasts. Man.'s haste to seize the hidden wealth of the earth makes him neglect the precautions needful for its preservation. The clearing away of the mountain woods and the ab indonment of the upland lea - tures, whose action distributes equally the How of the descendiu.; streams, involves as wanton a disregard of CI.• laws of nature, in the eagerness to draw from it ininwdiate profits, as the miner shows who works amid foul air by the unsheltered light of his candle, rather than sacrifice a frac tional gain to tie security of himself and his com rades. The elm ,lira and the cattle plague are the fine paid often by the innocent as well as the guilty for the breach of the laws of health. The sympathy and aid extended to the sufferers under these calamities, to those whom the inunda tions which have swept through the towns and fields of the North have impoverished, and to the surviving victims of the mining catastrophes in Durham, Yorkshire, and Staffordshire, but imper fectly discharge the obligations of society. It is not enough to endeavour to mitigate th e effect. Law and public opinion are bound to control the action of those who set in motion the cause. 1866 has been a year of fearful casties to England, which will not have I been wholly injurious if they lead us to adhere more closely to the known laws, and to deal more cautiously with the ill-understood forces of nature, which all human exertion on this globe puts in motion. Ecclesiastical and commercial affairs, not less than the political world, exhibit a multiplicity of problems not Laded, but waiting solution. The panic and crisis in the City, and the consequent action of the Government and the Bank of Elm land—one authorising the suspension of the Bank Charter. the other evading the necessity of it by rais ing the rate of discount to 10 per cent —revive the vexed questions of the currency and of free or re stricted banking. The failure of Overend and Gurney, and of Barned and Company, and the disclosures made with respect to the management • of the London, Chatham, and Dover, and the North British Railw tys, are illustrations of a relaxation of commercial morality, even more alarming than I the political disorganization which the last session of Parliament revealed. It is not veor easy to forecast the future in monetary affairs, but accordiug to all pre cedent it would appear that a season of stag nation and cheap money is at hand. There seems little reason to doubt that the Bank rate will be reduvai to 3 per cent. early next year, and that it may probably remain at that or a lower point until the close of 1867. The prospect is not satisfactory, since it betokens less an increase in the wealth of the country than an absence of healthy enterprise. It is often said that cheap money begets undue speculation. This may be the case sometimes, but it is constantly forg otten that the very cause which over and over twain makes money cheap—distrust--equally Witli- 1 1 . more, MO Dade loot • THIS ET OR TUS BILVEit. . —And Til Tars D To-stoat i tli LON 1 1 ' THE ' 1 of disoi • diplom , to whi li fished transit atition thised • 1 ' structi on sea and ill break • canno aponsi i most regiol 1 st th coast i 1 ways and i can r But 1 1 morell prov man with pow , • , mac 11 i t for heal 4 1 1 i and tun '1 ' .' tor • lan , the Pel I hat ' i ii ma I Pr 1 I 4 il W( t 1 1 l of u di tc al , \ ~i 1 '' i , i 1 1. f . i E 1 e t i l'ij 1. \ il l i I . ii, • \ l `l i t t, . 1 . i . - . l I • l'' 11, . 1 ' 'i l i 1 1 1 i lil ,ti 1 '' ' 1 1 • , • \ . 1 1 : 11 , . , t ~, 1 1 1 I . / ` 1 ~ • P: 1 1 V II, 1 . I fi • 4 1 . • ; ! I •.. i 4 . I I \ \ 1 If .. ; 'BESS, MONDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 31, 1866. THE E: holds men from embarking in new schemes. The great point is to find the golden mean---to foster sound commercial ventures without tilsge nerating into the mere speoslatiesOntling born w hich the country has recently suffered so inner. Commercial and financial history does not entirely repeat itself, but at least it often presents manly points of resemblance. Who are the p e rsons that have lost by th e great joint stock com pany failures in the dosi n g year To a great extent the class of small investors, W h ich accumulators of a few hundred pounds, for which they seek a high rate of interest. It waa the same in 1846-7, after the railway mania. In 1857 the loss was mainly Buffered by the trading classes. Apart from the monetary crisis the landed interest have suffered heavily by the c attle plague and a harve st partially spoiled in the gathering. It is, however, satisfactory to per ceive that the year closes with signs of a confidence which certainly have not existed during the last twelve months. A severe storm has passed over us, and has at all events done the service of laying bare much insolvency and the unsound financing of some institutions whose reputation was pre viously unquestioned. The lesson to be learnt is very plain. The public must consider it their duty for their own sakes not to repose blind confidence in a few names of high standing, but to personally satisfy themselves that the property in which they place their money is honourably and efficiently managed. By pursuing a different course share holders should recollect that they not merely im peril their own investments, but absol u t e ly hold out a premium to malversation, or at least official neglect. ues tions of doe In the Church, fundamental q trine and polity are being stirred ; old compro mises no longer satisfy ; and efforts are made by all parties to find real and solid ground of convic tion. The development of ritualism on the one side, and of rationalism on the other, and the attempt to reduce into a theological system the doctrines which sprang out of the devout impulses of Evangelicism, show how deeply the relig'ous mind of England is stirred on the gravest themes. The existence of a party whose watchword is reconciliation and comprehension, itself testifies to the vehemence of conflict. The judicial decisions in the case of the Bishop of NATAL as to the status of the Church in the colonies, and the measures of the Crown which have followed on them, revive questions of ecclesiastical polity which have more than colonial application. Whether the guarantee of law secured to the ministers and members of a Church by its de pendence on the State, or its freedom of self government, with only such restrictions as the Courts of Justice may exercise in the last reaource over all corporations , l a y or ecclesiastical, offer the more favourable conditions fur the discharge by this Church of its proper work, is a question occupying many minds, and to which some day an answer must be given. Ireland remains still the English difficulty. Twice in the present year, and for the ninth time since the Union, the Habeas Corpus Act has been suspended. The Fenian madness has been put down ; but the causes which le,td to periodic con spiracy and rebellion are not removed. The Church que stion and the Land question are not effectually grappled with. The late Government made an honest attempt to grapple with the laud question, but their measure, resisted by the landlord party, English and Irish, in Parra ment, was lost by their retirement office. The changes provost(' by the Govern ment in the Queen's University, in conces sion to demands of tho iltramontane clergy on behalf of the Catholic University, betrayed an un happy tendency to seek a solution of ecclesiastical questions, by balancing privileges rather than in establishing equality. ..--------"---.____ THLYIRE A THE CRYSTAL PALACE . Tim intelligence we publish this evening of the extensive &image dose yesterday - be the Crystal Palace by fire will be received by fie public' with regret, out of all p r oportion to ilie commercial loes which the proprietors of the building sus tain. The Crystal Palace, although the creation of private enterpriae, is a national institution, an d something more. E v ery Englishman went thither to Beek and find gratification, both innocent an d boundless in its variety, w hil e foreigners visited it as almost an eighth wonder of the world. There was nothing which strangers found I so characteristic of our character and country as this beautiful building. The tropical end of the Palace has been destroyed, and it is marvellous that the fire spread no further. We are glad to learn from Mr. GROVE tha t nothing has suffered on the south side of the scre en, and especially that no was h u man life has been lost. The Palace open to-day, the objects for the sake of which it is prin cipally visited not having been injured, and the centres of Christmas holiday entertainment lying out of range of the destruction. Thousands no doubt will visit the spot during the coming week to look at the ruined oondition of the building, and feel than kful that the transept, with the Handel orchestra and the noble organ, and th e Florentine Court, w ere not reached by the flames. _____-------- [GEWCE. ITALY. DISTURBANCE IN TREVISO. A BISHOP HISSED IN A CATHEDRLL: The Gazette of Treviso, of the 26th of December, contains the following : Yesterday morning Bishop Zinelli went to the cathedral to celebrate Christmas day, and to address the people. There was an Immense crowd present. When Istanaignore alluded in his address to the persecutions of which the head of the church has been the object on the part of the Italian people and a portion of the clergy, there arose very significant murmurs, then hisses, and l as tly vociferation , . The speaker said th at be was speaking from the pulpit of truth, and that the house of God ought to be betrester he pected. If th a t were not done , he added, it would be for t we re such that the evil disposed to retire. Th e murmurs preacher had to bring his d iscourse to a ooncludon by giving the blessing. Some disorder took place in the church, and several persons were bruised. The people afterwards collected at the side-door, through which it was thought the bishop would pass. The Royal Carbineets and the police had great difficulty in dispersing the crowd. The bishop got safe and sound into his palace, a ccompanied by hisses and hooting'. In the course of the evening the people again collected in the neighbourhood of the bishop's palace. Some windows were broken. The corporation of Treviso, in consequence of t h re e events, issued the fo llowin g proclamation :—" Citi zens, excited demonstrat ions made on even just the ifiable grounds in the public streets may easily o verstep limits consistent with national dignity and what is allowed by law. In the assemblage of yesterday good sense and perseverance sucoeeded in calming the minds of the people and in preventing fresh disorders from bresking the out. Ci t i zen s, let us show by de eds that we are worthy of liberty which we have acquired at the cost of so many sacrifices." THE REORGANLSAARMY.TION OF THE FR ENCH The Indipendance Beige gives circulation to the following reports in connexion with the reorganisa tion of the French army : The most remarkable incident is an: ppeal which the Emperor addressed to the patriotism d energy of the members of the council to warn them against hostile at tacks and any irresolution which • project which im poses new sacrifices on the country might produce. The Emperor has put f orward the imperious law of c i rcums t anc es, and the necessity of meeting their re. quirements as • reason for these sacrifices. As to the re solutions which have been t aken, it is not at all probable that they are final, whatever may be said on the subject. One plan, which at fi rst sight appears to have been favour ably received,consists in having a contingent of 100,000 men annually voted by the Corps Leggy •, and fixing the length of active service at six years of forming an annual reserve of 60,000 men, to be also voted by the Chambers, whose term of service should be six years ; finally, of the creation of a moveable National Guard of from 300,000 to 400,000 men, There is whose term of service sh ould be three years. another report that the idea of a moveable National Guard has been altogether abandoned. (REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.) THE ABYSSINIAN CAPTIVES. PARIS. DEC. 31. The Manikiur of this morning says :—" Letters received here from Massowah state that Consul Cameron and Mr. Remain, with their friends, have been again placed in irons by orders of the Emperor 1 Theodore. The cause of this severity is not known:' is raging f e arfully, and carry in g Ch o l era , however, five to forty ad the Inhabitta at the rate of thirty iet the Court. OSBORNE, Dec. 29. The Queen drove out yesterday afternoon, acoompanied by Princess Christian and Princess Bespice. n Major-General F. Seymour was in a ttendances upo horseback. Her Majesty walked in the grounds this morning with Princess Beatrice. Princess Louise, Prince Leopold, and Prince Henry of Prussia, went out also. Messrs. Elkington have had the honour of submitting to the inspection of her Majesty the shield manufactured by them, which they intend to exhibit at the Paris Exhibition lof 1867, the subject of which is from Milton's Paradise Lost. DEC. :ie. The Queen and the royal family saw the American yachts Henrietta, Fleetwing, and Vesta, under sail off Osborne yesterday afternoon, they having been ordered round from Cowes by Commodore DPVickar, of the New York Yacht Club, by her Majesty's desire. The Queen and Prince and Princess Christian, Princess Louise, Prince Leopold, and Princess Beatrice attended Divine service this morning at Whippingham Church. The Rev. G. l'rothero officiated. A committee of the Lords of her Majesty's Most Honour able Privy Council sat on Saturday, at Whitehall, on the subject of quarantine. The lords present were the Right Hon. Spencer Walpole, the Right Hon. H. Hammond, and the Right Hon. Horatio Waddington. Mr. Harrison attended the committee. Despatches were sent on Saturday from the Colonial (Rae to the Governor of Canada. The Right Hon. S. Walpole arrived in town on Saturday from Cambridge. . _ We are authorised to state that Mr. Morton's resignation as inspector of coal mine s has not been accepted. THE PRINcE AND PRINCESS OF WALES.—Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales, with the Duke of Cambridge, are expected to be the guests of the Earl and Countess of Leicester at Holkham-hall, Nor folk. The royal visitors will probably arrive at I lolkham to -day. The Prince of Wales, having quite recovered from his recent slight indisposition, will be enabled to partici pate in the sports of the field, which will be shared by several members of the aristocracy. V7SIT OF THE DCKEoIEDINIsCRGHTOTHETRINITY HOusE.—On Saturday afternoon a special court of the Elder Brethren of the Hon. Trinity Corporation was held at the Trinity-house, Tower-hill, for the purpose of swear ing in the Right Hon. Benjamin Disraeli, M.P.. Chan cellor of the Exchequer, and the Right Hon. Sir Stafford Northcote, M.P., President of the Board of Trade, as elder brethren. The Duke of Edinburgh, the master of the corporation, attended in the uniform of the body, and presided as chief of the court. The Chancellor of the Exchequer and Sir Stafford Northcote, who were elected at a previous court, in the place of the late Lord Northbrook and Admiral Sir W. Parker, also wore the uniform of the brotherhood. On the ceremony of swear ing in the new members being concluded, the Prince The usual review of the year appears in the and the eld s. er brethren retired to the model room f or columns of our contemporaries to-day. The events chro nicled refreshment are, of course, almost identical ; but the method in Cabinet Councils, it is understood, will be which they are narrated and the reflections which they resumed on Tuesday . the Sth of January, by which day all occasion vary according tothepoliticalviewsof each journal. the ministers will be in town. This will give four weeks The Times concludes its summary with some remarks on for deliberation before the session commences on Tuesday, the probable future of Lord Derby's government. The February 5. The Si mlay Ga:c!te states that there is good recent English policy, it says, of withdrawing as much as reason for believing that her Majesty will open parliament possible from foreign complication; is not likely to be re- in person. versed during Lord Stanley's tenure of office. In England The Earl and Countess o near f Carnarvon oi lwil leave the creation of a North German p ower was generally re- Highclere Castle, their seat Newbury, the h7t garded with satisfaction, not unmixed with anxious re- proximo, for town for the season. Sections on the comparative weakness of a small volunteer The Earl Groarenor has gone on a visit to Lord army. Political attention is principally directed to do- Leconfield at Petwortb, Sussex. Lady Constance Gros mestic questions, and mole especially to military orgaui- venor and family have left town to spend a few days with sation and to parliamentary reform. The position of Lord the Duchess (Dowager) of Sutherland, at Cliveden, near Derby's government is necessarily studefined, es he Maidenhead. has only hell (Ace at the end of a sessio n and during Viscount and Viscountess Castlerosse and Lady Alice Kerr have arrived at Cannes for the winter. the recess. The disad vanta g e of representing a minority has, perhaps, been virtually removed by the consequ ences Viscount and Viscoun tess Cranborne and of Mr. Bright's agitation. Mr. Gladstone has been abroad family return to town early in the week from visiting Mr, during the autumn, and his future intentions have not been disclosed ; but on t he o p enin g of the session, if Mr. A. Beresford Hope, Iff.P., and Lady Mildred M o p e, at Disraeli should ppose a reas ona bl e measure of Bedgebury Park, Kent. ro reform, Mr. Gladstone must cho ose The late death of the wife of Mr. Holman Hunt, s` former colleagues and allies " an between his d the small the distinguished artist, wan, it seems, in childbirth. Mr. parliamentary section which follows Mr. Bright. Hunt was residing at Fl o rence, on his way to the East, The great body of liberal members will prefer the and has not been a year married. settlement of the reform controversy to the party There is now in the aviary at Knowsley (says the pretensions which were paramount in 1859. The erection Lirerixml Albion) a turtle dove which hatched two young of the necessary edifice is more important than the choice ones, in a tree in the open ground, on Christmas-day of a presiding hero or a patron saint. The conventional morning. The same pair of doves batched on Christmas right of Lord Russell and Mr. Gladstone to give their day last year in the same tree, and on New Year's-day the names to a Reform Bill has been waived for the present year before. by the errors of judgment and deficiency in tact which The Fete York Times says :—" A clergyman of caused or excused the defeat of the bill of 1866, Western Blassachussets who had prepared with much The country cues little whether the conservatives labour and care an appropriate discourse for the recent are entitle,' to the honour of performing s task thanksgiving services at his church, was greatly annoyed which has become indispensable to the national to find only about thirty hearers, and a majority of those welfare. It is not forgotten that the Duke of I not of his own flock. The following Sunday, being Wellington passed catholic emancipation, and that Sir unusually pleasant, a very large congregation assembled Rabert Peel repealed the corn laws. If Lord Derby, by lat his church, but no minister appeared, and though r:conciling his party to a liberal extension of the suffrage, i several times sent for at his r esidence, he left his con slits I nns the denitegogues who endanger public safety, he gregation to go home sermonless." will I‘e at liberty to settle the question of the political . It is related in the American papers of a son of consistency of himself and Isis colleagues with his nart • - Y' ! . General E. Lee that at a recent dinner party in Richmond with his conscience, and with future history. ----e-----.--- , one of the guests proposed as a toast, "The Fallen Flag." : Colonel Lee promptly placed his hand upon the glass and UONITI , ERATION OF TIIE NORTH AMERICAN CO- ' arose. " Gentlemen," said he, " this will not do. We I t n NtE s.—The delegates from the British North American are pardoned prisoners. We have now but one flag, and Provinces, in se-' for several weeks at the Westminster that is the flag of our whole country—the glorious old Palace Hotel, have succeeded in revising the Quebec scheme stars and stripes I can recognise no other, fight for no s e as to secure a unanimous vote of all the provinces repre• other, and will drink to no other." sntell—that is to say, Upper and Lower Canada, Nova ' CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES.—Mr. Hughes, M.P. Scotia, and New Brunswick. The resolutions passed at for Lambeth, laid the corner atone of a new co-operative I I Quebec in their revised form, have been forwarded to Earl store at Darwen, near Bolton, on Saturday afternoon last. ta rvon forcon sideration. All the knotty points and diffi- It is only a little over six y ears since the cooperative Canl movemen t commenced in Darwen, and its ca reer has been cultieswhiehmesentedthemselves,sofarascolonialinterests one of rapid progress. In Marc',March, 1861, a small store was are cncered, have beensuccessfullycombated. Island,v opened in Green-street for the Kale of groceries and pro made for enabling the colonies of Prince Edward s Newfoundland, the North-West Territory, and British \ visions, on the principle of the Rochdale pioneers, with ait sif°ncemetTiebenr4thne a so s lty ri h bed as c ol ita o l o of ii i a g°l .lre . asi r g er i y n ‘ Columbia to enter the Confederation on equitable terms yearcapital and members. The new store will be a substantial test ' hereafter. A draught bill hissed on these resolutions, it and handsome three-gtoried building, 117 Pert long and is expected. will be prepared and submitted to parliament 46 feet broad. It will have separate depments for early in the ensuing session. The conference is compose•l reel:Tel:a returg: will g w i l i lf hol a l l a d ho l U u :1 1 1;07 . 'ra n e e l a e n ct d u t r lTO as follows : - Canada : the Hon. Messrs. J. A. M'Douald building altogether will be one of the most P :arrple'te of its (chairman). G. E. Cartier, Howland, Langevin, 31'Dougall, kind, and an ornament to the town. In the evenings public and Galt . Nova Scotia : the Hon. Messrs. C. Tupper, tea party was held, which was well attended. Mr. Hughes IW. A. Henry, J. W. Ritchie, J. M'Cully, and A. G. presided at the meeting afterwsrds, and several speeches Archibald. New Brunswick: Messrs. S. L Tilley, P. were delivered on co-operation by . gentlemes connected with the various co-operative stores in Lancashire, and by sliteliell, C. Fisher, D. Wilmot, and J. W. Johnson.— Mr. E. O. Greenin Tined. ROYAL FREE HOSPITAL, GRAY'S-INN-ROAD.—The THR LATE LoRD MACACLAY.—A bust of Lord number of patients relieved at this hoepital during the Macaulay has, with the permission of the Dean and week ending Dec. 29 was 2,320, of which 714 were new Chapter, been placed in Westminster Abbey by his sister, cases. lady Treveleau. It rests upon a handsome bracket. CRYSTAL PALACE. HALT-A-CROWN DAY. ,hadened by Mr. Scott, in the immediAte neighbourhood SATURDAY, DEC. 29.—Admissione on payment, 1,829; ditto of the grave and of Addison's statue in Poet's Corner. by season tickets, 5,141 ; total visitors, 6,970. From OUR CONTEMPORARIES, (TlilS DAY.) TURKEY AND SERVIA. CONSTANTINOI'LE, DEC. 30. France has confidentially advised the Porte to yield to the demands of Servia, and generally to endeavour to pacify its Sclavonianaubjects. The Candian insurgents have been reinforced by fresh arrivals of volunteers, and are preparing to engage the Turkish troops. _ - THE WEST INDIA, MEXICAN, AND PACIFIC MAILS. SOUTHAMPTON, DEC. 31. The Royal Mail Company's steamship Shannon, with the above mails, has arrived. She brings 69 passengers, 1,613,830 dols. in specie, and 3,298 packages of cargo, consisting chiefly of cocoa, I indigo, cigars, bark, and tobacco. She left St. Thomas on the 16th, and expe rienced fine weather. The yellow fever has greatly decreased. The Shannon had about five cases, and only one death, which occurred ten days since. Dr. Wiblin, the medical superintendent of qua rantine, has communicated with the Lords of the Privy Council. It is expected that the Shannon will be admitted to pratique forthwith as there ap pears no reason for the detention of ship or paa- sengers. In Chili the press in the radical interest con• tinues to denounce the government. The allied fleet were to leave Valparaiso about the 20th of November , for the purpose f attack ing the Spanish merchant vessels in the Atlantic. A slight shack of an earthquake was felt at Valparaiso on the Bth. A tire also occurred there on the 2nd, and entirely destroyed the market of that city, reducing numbers of families of the lower classes to want and ruin. In Valparaiso the market was active, and considerable transactions were taking place in nitrate of soda. Bar copper had declined 37c. per quintal. Exchange on London, 46d. to 4.0 d. On Paris, 480 fr. Bar silver per mare, 10 dole. 25c. Freights to Liverpool and Swansea, &is. Peru continues to fortify Arica and Callao—the latter port, it is said, will soon be capable of resist ing the most powerful fleet. The telegraph i between Arica and Jana was completed and will shortly be in operation between Islay and Ariquissa. The Secretary of the Exchequer had resigned in consequence of a misunderstanding between I the other members of the cabinet. The troops sta tioned on the Chincha islands had mutinied, and having seized a boat made their way to Pilaw, and returned to their homes in the interior. In Costa Rica dry weather prevailed, and a great improvement was shortly expected in business. The Central American republics were in the en joyment of peace. The difficulties existing between the President of Bogota and the archbishop had. been amicably arranged. A revolution in Antiognia against Mosouera, and an invasion of the Canes by that state was expected. The Jamaica legislature was to meet on the 10th December. The government had manifested a de sire to economise the expenditure. It is expected that numerous offices of emolument will be abolished. The north side of the island had been unusually wet ; on the south side rain was wanted. In some parishes sugar making had commenced, and the yield was expected to be good. The coffee supplies were small, and had sold at from 40s. to 455. Rum, 2s. Gd. in bond. Sugar, 14s. to lie. Exchange on London, 2 per cent. The weather at Trinidad was unsettled, but public health had improved. Genial rains had fallen at Antigua, and crops were flourishing, and were expected to be good. Granada had been visited by a terrible storm I which had done great damage to property. The cane fields and cocoa fields in some districts had been laid waste. The yellow fever and small-pox still prevailed at St. Thomas, which although not to the extent ' I reported by the last mail are nevertheless very had. ••daily. News frost Use War islands was unimportant. AMERICA. ARRIVAL OF THE HECLA. QUEFSSTOWN, Dtc. 31. The Cunard steamship Reda, from New York, arrived here at 4.25 a.m., with 105 passengers, and 115,437 dole. in specie, for England. She landed 14 passengers, and proceeded for Liverpool at 4.40 a.m. All well. (BY ATLANTIC TELZGILAPIL) NEW YOILIE, Die. 29. Gold, 1331. Sterling exchange on London, 1091; Illinois, 118 ; Erie, 68 ; 5-20 United States Bonds, 1051. Cotton, middling upland, U. The royal mail steamer Australasian arrived out yesterday. REPLY OF THE EMPEROR OP RUSSIA TO TOE UNITED STA TES CONGRESS. President Johnson has sent to Congress a mes sage containing the translation of s letter dated August 17 last, addressed to him by his Majesty Alexander, Em peror of Russia, in reply to a joint resolution of Congress, approved on the 16th Mardi ,1866, relative to the a ttempted assaas inationof the Emperor. a certified copy of which was, in compliance with the request of Congress, forwarded to his Majesty by the hands of Gustavo/ V. Fox, late As sistant Secretary of the Navy. The following is the letter [Translation.] " His Majesty the Emperor of Russia to the President of the United States of America : " Peterhof, Ang. 17. " I have received from the hands of Mr. Fox the resolution of the Congress of the United Steles of America on the occasion of the providential grace of which I have been the object. That mark of sym pathy has moved me sensibly. It is not alone personaL It attests once more the senti men t s that bind the American nation to that of Russia. The two peoples have no injuries to remember, but good relations under all circumstances. Proofsl o f mutual benevolence are a dd e d. These cordia relations are as conducive to their interests as to the good of civilisation and humanity, and answer the designs of Divine Providence, whose will is peace and concord among all nations. It gives me a lively pleasure to see these ties constantly strengthened more and more. I have imparted my sentiments to Mr. Fox. I pray you to be my interpreter to Congress and the American people whom it represents. Tell them how much I appreciate, and with me the whole of Russia, the testimonies of friendship they have given me, and how h a ppy I will be to see the Ame. rican nation grow in strength and prosperity by the Union and constant practice of the civil virtues that distinguish it. Accept at the same time the assurance of the high consideration with which I am your good friend, " ALEXANDER." LIFEBOAT SERVICES. WEXFORD, IRELAND, DEC. N. Information was brought here last evening during a violent gale of wind (reports Wm. Goghlan, Esq.) that nine workmen who had been employed on the Dogger sandbank, for the Wexford Harbour Commis sioners, were endeavouring to reach the shore in their own boat. As they thereby ran a great risk of losing their lives, the lifeboat " Civil Service," of the National Lif e boat Institution, was launche d to their assistance,w an ho were d w f o rtunately the means of rescuing the men, ' much exhausted when taken into the lifeboat. CAISTOR, NORFOLK, DEC. 29. A vessel was seen to stop in her course last night near the shoal of theßarberSand, and soon showed signal lights of distress. The Birmingham No. 2 lifeboat, belonging to the National Lifeboat Institution, was at once launched, and on arriving alongside the vetwel she was found to be the brig Kelpie, of London, laden with coals from Shields, and it appeared that she was aground on the sand and was very leaky. The lifeboat remained by her all night, and u l t i ma t e ly succeeded in getting her off, and, with the Assistance of a steam-tug, she and her crew were safely taken this morning into Yarmouth Harbour. FENARTH, SOUTH WALES, DEC. 29. During heavy squalls last evening (says the Rev. Chas. Parsons) several flash lights were shown from a vessel sp pirently in distress near the west end of Cardiff Sands. The lifeboat of the National Lifeboat Institution was thereupon launched, and proceeded in that direction and again observed some dare up signals strongly exhibited. On arriving alongside the vessel she was found to he the barque Cedes, of Bremen, bound from that port to Cardiff, in ballast, and that she was not in distress, but was signalling for her own boat, which was on shore with the master. After remonstrating with the crew for show ing distress signals unnecessarily, the lifeboat returned to the shore. L EXTRAORDINARY DEATH P KHO US ROM POISON IN ,ST. UKE'; WOR E. INQITE'ST..-(TIIIS DAY.) This morning Mr. John Humphreys, the Middle sex coroner, resumed an inquiry at r.he Green Gate Tern, City-road, respecting the death, under very singu larav circumstances, of Henry Pepler, aged 55 years. The deceased had been for several years an inmate of St. Luke's Workhouse. He expired on the sth inst., and was found dead in a water-closet. Dr. Henry Letheby's report of the analysis of the stomach and intestines of the deceased was read to the court. It tated that on December 13 he received from Dr. s Edmunds a heart, two kidn eys, and a stomach. The heart was quite healthy. The kidneys were large and much congested. The stomach was unoened. It was of a deep violet colour, and it copntained three drops of an alkaline liquid of a deep colour having the odour of prussic-acid. The mucous coat of the stomach was inflamed and was of a violet colour it from the action of poison. On analysis, he found that contained nearly two grains of prussic-acid, and about ten grains of carbonate of potash. There was no doubt, there fore,that the death was occasioned by cyanide of po. There tassium, of which about 12 grains remained in the stomach was no other poison present. Joseph Pepper, 31, Fleet-lane, Old Bailey, said that be was a cheeeetnonger. The deceased was his brother, and he had been a French polisher. His death was a very sudden one, and witness had taken the matter up. because he thought by so doing he might do good to others who were in workhouses. If he had not done so his brother would have been buried as a person dying a natural death. The Coroner said that he should have known nothing about the case only for the hro'her. He hoped that he time would come when the officials of workhouses would be compelled to give notice to the Coroner of every death that took place in a workhouse. That course was adopted with respect to deaths in lunatic asylums, and from his experience it appeared to be very necessary with regard to deaths in workhouses. Dr. C. H. Harris, the medical officer at the workhouse, said that the deceased had been ill since the 4th of 'No vember. Witness ordered him to the sick ward of the workhouse. He asked for sick diet, but ho de clined to go into the infirmary of the work house. He was therefore granted permission to go and see a doctor. He had, during the course of his illness, been under the care of three doctors, at three hospitals. Witness had made inquiries since the deceased's death, aLd he had been informed that none of those doctors' prescriptions included any medicine contain ing prussicaciiL The deceased bad permission to leave the workhouse two days every week to see an hos pital oloctor, as lie preferred their treatment. A juror asked whether there was any evidence as to how the decaLsral became poisoned. Was there any suspicion The Coroner said that it was not suspected that any per son had administered poison to the deceased for the pur pose of killing him. It was conjectured that the deceased had cow:nitwit suicide in consequence of his illness, but that was a mere supposition. The case was a very mys terious ono, for there was no evidence as to when ho was piisoucd. The jury, after some deliberation, returned the follow ing verdict, " That the deceasal was found dying in St. Luke's workhouse, :rail did there die from the mortal effects of haa takeu and swallowed down a certain poison known as cyanide of potassium, and the jurors do further say that under what circumstances he swallowed down t'ae said poison there is no evidence to prove." SOUTHAMPTON, DEC. 31.—The Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamer I'era arrived off the Needles at TB.IS°Isa.inC.ONDEMN*I) AT NIRIEDALE.—The con- I _, Mm••=1............ '.......".."•1, andOrdilla tite° downed criminal, Robert Reid . who was sentenced to IHE CHRISTMAS ORDINATIO e \ de. th at the late ruedze., for the murder of his wife in were held for 19 dioce s es at Christmas,3l , resu i To Lower 'Ty-ale-street, four Ye*" ago, *mains in the Kirk- have been admitted into Holy Orders. Of 1 ! le . il 01, dale Gaol, and has been visited by his DOD, his mister from were—From Cambridge, 116 • Oxfor,l, 101 ; . rut 7,,,, Ireland, end two cousins reddent in Liverpool. He is at- lege, Dublin, 19 ; King's College, London, 11'; 11,t.!75e tended by the protestant chaplain, the Rev. R. Appleton . Theologicaleollege. Birkenhead, 13 ; ht. Bees Ifin:i We unl,..rstand that two petitions, praying for a commul College, Cumberland, 11; tation of the sentence, have been forwarded to the Home- ' 7 QUeen's College. Birminglcon, 6: Llf er i otlice. One of the petitions was o riginated by the prisoner's I Lichfield Theological College, 4 ; University ef_ • intimation which would lead them to believe that ' friends, and is stated to have been numerroasly signed. 14 ; University of Landon, 3 ; Chichester TD_ ., I .; so fir, the authorities at the gaol lave received College, 2 : Church Missionary College, Ig b !`gr t : CO SaiiSbUry Theological College, 1 ; London Diva% 7 n il: i w n e t vz . , the extreme sentence of the law will not be carried into lege. 1 ; Cuddeadon Theological College 1. lt-10°1 euect. The criminal still seems to entertain a hope_ that i GREAT NORTHMAN HOSPITAL, C stRnoNIA ow her Majesty's clemency will be extended towards him.— I Isuactret..—Numbey of S po t. t D ien " ts ia' f a vr Cu t ilegeieekll7l Lircrpool Album. Dec. 29, 857, of which 284 were new coats. COl7ll -S 'A. benkrotau Ol k eretreek wei.ham SOL gg e . Colo • lam SW* of l be from his led or eted the • henlcrat. dolt in melt, Se to had le wis he eight n ag them et gartmon , °t he a iry for rest an Wind Whitby, Whitbl , an d sw ays more ezel tam p* et. mended. In that bb into not then be had obta in baker , is Chu floor the the ' the Imre' ell " The Com had !mg* I D eeeetarre he w oo d there rept's book yid ash, and defic hoar the Ist of "Ziosti°l offlucesurc TC prosecute It the pri The cle instructs months' Mr. C beprosoc ciscly, tL deal of ti time to nand th The el man wh the cou said the at was BO months. Mr. tzt;ies to iouitO minatio he hod g The p Mr. C too, no The ..niov Thig fore Mi Crystal of the i:;if extim with the o Eche in ti the 1 iA THE GREAT FIRE AT THE CRYBTZ PALACE. LATEST PARTICCLABI3.---(THIS DAY.) During the night, and up to 12 o'clock tot*, large streams of water continued to be poured upon 04 ruins at the Crystal Palace. The precise came of th g re i n i ts ornery ; but the report that it orirjanw from the overheating of a stove in the basement is e a t credited by the officials, who are disposed to endorse ys conjecture that the outbreak commenced in the carpant w „buy,. swishing was reported to have been q ,d e whsn ths eleploris left the building on Saturday ei g ht. Kr. Grove, the secretary to the company, stated eh morning that the whole of the north-east portion el e n building may be said to have been entirely (Litre's"... the Alhambra Court, the Assyrian Court, th Bymnitin• Court, the Queen's apartment+, library,* printing office. We are also informed that the building% fully insured, but melt losses as have been experienced h the rare collections cannot well be replaced. With the caption of s few (how many has not been ascertained) vai n able birds, most of the live stock have perished. Itir admitted on all sides that to the position of the large se m at the extreme end of the tropical department, and Irma divides that from the northern nave, must be attribute' the safety of the other portions of the building. p, screen itself is much scorched, and it is remarkable flat the fire did not extend further. The scene within the palace this morning wee a bail one. Carpenters were present in large numbers, and* sound of the hammer rang from one end of the build* to the other. The men were engaged in erecting st ab fit the exhibition of goods in the platy of those which wa ft either destroyed by the fire or removed to prevent a further extension of the calamity. The for to rams of the stall-keepers will be rather considerable hot tha company is rapidly striving to bring things to a pram working. _ order. The reports of the fire in the morning papers s m u t s & some thousands to Bydenham. The young folk mourned the loss of the gigantic Christmas -tree, and the deems el the Mammoth tree and its tropical complains ars , very much regretted. Some of the workmen me greet been by the destruction of their tools. II & Wilbee, the foreman, who had over the value of 3f. is threepenny and fourpenny pieces locked up in his mon, found them among the ruins this morning molten tete• ther in a most peculiar form. An investigation is tube nods by the company as to the origin of the dinner; and in the meantime it may be repeated that the fire we not in any way interfere with the general entertainments. A number of roughs have been lodged in the dindek station for theft during the progress of the fire. As ma y b e imagined, much confusion was *mind by the removal of the books from the compaey's oaks within the Palace to a place of safety ; but it is Nth. factory to state that the whole of them have bees pee served. About the first to discover the outbreak of the fire was a police-constable on duty in the building. He played a hoer on the flames, and remained firm at his post, d o i ng so until the fire burned him so severely that he is now under the surgeon's care." A number of the birds and monkeys kept in the honied w ing made their escape. The pheasants were seen mien about the streets of Camberwell during last night. EAST INDIAN SAILW 4Y.--( THIS DAY. -.--- This day the half-yearly meeting of shareholders was held at the London Tavern ; Mr. CRAWFOI:9, H.P., in the chair. The report, which has already been pu blished, havin g been taken as read, The CHAIRMAN congratulated the meeting en the favour• able prospects of the company. The last bridge over the Jumna had been completed, and a passenger could now go from Calcutta to Delhi without changing his carriage. They had a surplus profit of 50,0004 to divide, and a similar sum for the government, to be paid to them as interest on the money on whi of thech they lent the company during the constructi line. The number of passengers carried was less than in the corresponding period of the previous year, but there was an increase of 10,020 tons in the goods carried. Out of every 1001. earned, the shareholders re. ceived 584 per cent., the remainder, e rn rent., being sufficient to defray all the expenses G: magement India and in England. (Hear.) The average expenditare of the railways in England was 48 per cent. of the earnings ; and, of the seven railways which had termini i n London—exclusive of the London, 'Chatham, and Dover — per cent. ;so that they were all 10 pa written cent. better than these seven railw a y compani re es. They had ea 9,165/. this half -year on account of a bad debt, the caroms stances of which were atated in the report. Fuld had ma& provision against loss by fire by iIIBUTAUCCG The audit • department in Calcutta hail been MOli useful in keeping down expenditure. They had now sza rived at the point when they earned t h ehal cent. above the guarantee. Their neighbours, lndia Pe ninsukr Company, took credit to themselves to being the first to reach this happy position, but he must deprive that company of half their l athe ISM aurels, fa this company at the very same time reuche point. (Hear, hear.) With regard to loeuntotive power, for an increase of which they bail receiied urgent da mends from India, he had toll them at the lsal meeting that orders had been given for the construction el ?25 locomotives. Of these 24 were on the water, and some might have arrived already in India, so that he hoped there would be from this time forward as complaint on the score of want of locomotive FOWL On the whole he thought they were in a satisfactory position, and might look forward in the future to a tea siderable increase of dividend. (Hear, hear.) The motion for the adotion of the report haying bra s econded, was carried afte r a short discussion. EGYPTIAN COMMERCIAL AN!) TRADING COMPAIVY ( LIMITED).-( THIS DAY.) The third ordinary general meeting of the sham holders of this company was held at the London Tama this da ; Mr. ALE:CANDER DODD occupied the char. The report y of the directors, and . f the committee of investigation, which have already been pabli.hed, wets taken as read. The CRATRMAN said the meeting could not be earlier in consequence of their desire to remit the accounts up to the :10th of Noyes*. Their chairman (Mr. !Arkin) was absent in Effift , and it was on that account that he had here de sired to take the chair. The mp difficultie co s any, be It w. Lia st be ..F happy al. io say, was emerging from its . mitted that there had been mismanagenent iv. Egypt, bat it was the fi nancial panic of last May that had mainly hi to the difficulties of the company, and white compelled the making of a call which hal node/ the c i rcums t an ces been promptl met. Ile coLgratalstsi y them that the directors were able to present a ,titetasstsi accounts showing that the losses had not been more things share, and that the directors fully anticipated W be h ing skis n oon to re turn the call of :11. a share. it IVA to the future of the company, the dimc;o:a determinstio 0100 it better not to come to ally no w, but they proposed to at on fora few nice rry In the meantime the directors were confinin thouggh lii JIM selves to commission business ; and profits were email the busineia was safe. Tie directors despatched to Egypt several mo nths le Mr. Landeau, a shareholder, with in4tructiens to Neil the meta, and which he was now enca:c la d in doini• gi mo ved that the report and statemen t of acconati received and adopte d Mr. GRENIELL seconded... 7— • A SHAREHOLDER ellqUiredi f the management was slag the same hnds as when t losses urel The CHAI a RMAN said thehe management were was n the bah of Mr. Ross and Mr. Landean. The SHAREHOLDER complained that they should Ilwt! paid so much to Messrs. Briggs and Co., and that m anagement should be in the same hands. The CHAIRMAN said that there wasa good d e al Abe on both sides of the question. He thought Maar. Ili._ and Co. might have made more of their business sir they had. Mr. Ross resigned during_ IM time of the lot and was not in the pay of the company, but was &jai "" duty of a paid servant. l —.el do M r . B. BoRKHIEII said a commit tee was ew- - - p last meeting by imposition a nd tricks. (Cries of " i t no," and " Sit down.") He blamed, these el committee who had consented to becmne __ A i for accepting that office. For e i g ht, en . of shoes the shareholders had been kept w i t h o ut aego i rj and during that time the bu y ers only been those who were in a po ppo se ~ Ilion to IT. information from the board. He should o Illi:2 of thanks to the committee or the directors. lis _ . ,..g the company to be wound up. The shareholders ow.. whether the oss of 200,000/. was corrector not know _., f3l r . Rorkhiein l was still proceeding when our Ter' left.] I