The Express. — London, England, 1867-04-03 00:00:00

LIFEBOAT SERVICES. —During the storm et the past year , thea • the NATIONAL LIFEBOAT I N iTITUTPON, by it. Lifeboats and other means, contributed to the urine"( 921 pennon from different wrecks nn our coasts. The Inatitntion ulcer eapeieled .C 31.430 in the woe period on Its Lifeboat estahlialino tds. In :addition to granting 4:2372 fur rewards. The Committee of the Institution earnestly APPEAL to the pithlle tor Assisi %Ni , . to enable then' to mn•t the continued heavy demand...lt the 174 Litchost nations of the Institution. rOiliriltUti•MS • th.doktodly received by %le - sTre N'illl+ and Co, Onitts end Herr'. and Co by all the .thee London and Country Rank. and by the Secretary. ttlehard Lew* Let., at the tuntsteti..e. It, J.4ln4tftet, Adelpht. 'ION of GOLD. JOHN BRoo ti carats floe, is ! 1 scarate..63 3 21 9 rants.. £1 11 IS worth ..L4 4 11i 17 carats.. 3 0 3 8 carats .. 1 8 3 per otltlce. I 1CC:11225.. 216 n 7 carats .. 1 4 9 9 carats.. 4 1 5 I...carats.. 213 1 6 ovals .. 1 1 13 carats • Britt4t 14 c.trata.. 2 9 6,1 5 carafe .. 017 8 standard 317 WI 13 carats.. 2 6 0 4 carats .. 014 2 71 carats.. 314 4 11c3rats.. 2 2 5} 3 carats .. 010 71 29 carats .. 310 vi 11 carats.. 118 11 2 carats .. 0 7 1 19 carats.. 3 7 3 lu carats.. 115 44 1 carat .. 0 3 84 31auufactury, 16, Ilc rictta-atroet, Covent-0/6m Lon.h.n, W.C. BROWN and POLSON'S CORN FLOUR for CIIII.II4ZNII DIRT. To &Amin extra profit by the sale other kinds ere sometimes Wend instead et BROWN end POISONS. h pac John ket. Brown," "John Tolson,' Is signed by the makers on eac eltz e 1 imroo. TO CORRIBPONDENTI3. Advertisements inteudml fur •• The " London Evening Paper, must he at the Mace, 10, Eouverleatrot, by Two o'clock ou thu day of publicattow. pIWAY LAN& Tim Rwintwe, ROB ROY -- ?lean. Phelps, T. Swinhoarne,W. Harrison. Witityre. Barrett, and Harcourt : ?truism's E. Cross, It. O. Le Thiore, Iludioctli, and E. ltrougham.—To conclude with WASTED HUSBANDS 10R SIX. Ills. Hudspeth. HATMAILIAT. TIP Manse, T lIE HEIL AT LAW. Mn.O Thsekstoce, Chippendale, Compton, Farren, Mesdames Chipper - dale. Moore, Re K SERIOUS FA I LY. Messrs. Bneksione, Fame. te.—And PERFECTION. Mr. Kendal and /ilissßurke. marmots% THIS EVIV4DIn. NO. L FOUND THE CORNER. Nauru Shore anal lurraater—And IT IS NEVER To() LATE TO MEN D. Mews Vining, V. Villiers, Verner. Shore, Calhoun, and Mellon; Inseam rage and Udders. LYCEP M. Titts Eresisn. RAM Rry•l%Li Price and NINs Kate lU+hop.--And TIl6 IM KWS MOTTO. Mr. Pechter, Mews. J..r.lan. Emery. !Tic,. Wi.l.lkolub, Fitzpatrick, ; Mimes Humble, Elewurthy, Grattun, and Carlotta Ledinui. WrILAND. Tun Evisrea, MARRIKD DAUGHTERS AND YOUNG HITS. BANDS.—a4NITIRALDA ; OR. THE SENSATION GOAT. Messrs. Thorne, James, Ktlllsll. and Tamar ; Mesdames Bwanlmraog►, Hughes, Wsathersby, Ac.—sad THE PRENEH EXHIBITION. ROLDO/LN. Tim ITVIIIIO, MY Tll NEXT. Mr. Delmore; Miler Foote and Leun.,x —And FLYING SCUD. Messrs. N. Ils, Del more, Blake, Vollalre, de. Mesdames F. Josephs, C. &waders. Beide Foote, lidded Lessor, Dymond, de. BRITANNIA syaxrno, TILE VAGABONDS.—FAI'ST. Mrs. Lane, Nfieaei Jac!,lo, I , 4wm. and Booth: Mr. Bigwood.—To conclude with JACK AND JACK'N MOTT WATER AT WYDON BRIDOIL Tito DAT —Morning,oKSms --- iiineoZ. Ih. lbs. To-lioasow—Morning, lh. 311a......Attarboom. lb. Wm. LONDON, IVEDNESDAY, APRIL 3. Ir there are any who have hitherto been igno rant of the existence of a Bulgarian nationality, they have only to consult the Memorial addressed to his Imperil! Majesty the SULTAN by the Secret Central Bulgarian Committee to become impressed with the strength of its position and the magnitude of its pretensions. In this address the SULTAN is told that the Bulgarian people are the most nume rous of the races subject to his sway, being no fewer than six millions ; that his empire is in the crisis of its fate, and that Heaven alone knows what destiny is reserved either for the most power ful of monarchies or the humblest tribe. One thing only is certain—Turkey is on the eve of radical transformation. For this the Bulgarians naturally desire to be prepared. After this portentous commencement it ought to tran quillise the SULTAN to be assured that the Bulgarians are his faithful and devoted subjects, pacific and resigned, and having no other desire than to form part of the Ottoman Empire, as they have done for the last four hun dred years. But, in giving this assurance, the Committee feel it their duty to state that the ceremonial addresses which have been laid at the foot of the SULTAN'S throne from time to time in the name of the nation have not expressed the real sentiments of the people, who, so far from feeling satisfaction, appear to suffer under every form of bad government which the imagination can conceive. Their sufferings, in spite of the Hatti =karat; tho Tanzimat, and the Hatti-humayoun, have become intolerable, and urgently require an energetic remedy. The Administration is utterly corrupt. Justice, committed to the hands of ignorant men, and based upon laws out of harmony with the spirit of the age, can scarcely be said to exist. The people have no rights, but only duties; taxes are multiplied, and loans and subsidies demanded continually. Not to draw out at greater length the details of oppression, let us state that these faithful sub jects of the SULTAN tell his Imperial Majesty plainly that they can no longer rely on vague Imperial promises and general good intentions, but that if they are to remain bound to his throne, he must constitute their country a distinct Na tional State, and assume accordingly, in addition to his Imperial title, that of King of the Bulga rians, as the Emperor of AUSTRIA is styled King of HUNGARY. The views of these patriots are well developed and clearly defined. The King of BULGARIA is to go to one of the ancient cities of tho country to be crowned, but inasmuch as the dynasty is Moslem, he will not be pressed to remain, as it is intended that the kingdom shall be really governed by a Viceroy elected by a Na tional Assembly and approved by the SULTAN. The Viceroy is to be the head of the executive, supreme magistrate, and commander-in-chief of the army. The military force of the country is to be national in composition, organization, and equipment, and the flag is to display the Bulgarian lion together with the arms of the SULTAN. The orthodox Bulgarian Church is to be established in complete independence with its own Patriarch, and to be the dominant religion of the State. Such, it is declared, are the wishes of the Bul garians, and the SULTAN is adjured not to mis understand or despise them. His MAJLSTY knows what is passing in his monarchy, where some populations are working to restore the Byzantine Empire, and others are seeking their own ag grandisement. Both appeal to the Bulga rians for sympathy and aid, promising them in return the blessing of liberty. This is an offer which no people can disregard, and as often as it is made it excites the national senti ment. The Bulgarians must have liberty, but they would rather owe it to the wisdom and mag nanimity of the SULTAN than to any other source. If the Ottoman Empire is to be weakened by the loss, now of a province in the north-east, and now of another in the south-west, the interests of the Bul garian people must be prejudiced ; and yet, if • popular movement were to take place on the fron tier of Albania and Macedonia, or on that of Servia, it is impossible to deny that it would re ceive a measure of Bulgarian support. H ow , then, are the Bulgarians to be withheld from par ticipating in the commotions which agitate the other races of the Empire t Simply by putting an end to a state of things which at present makes them regard every conquering stranger with hope :DEN'S VALUA' THE EXPRESS, WEDNESDAY EVENING, APRIL 3, 1867.. as a liberator—by giving them the autonomy which they desire, and making them feel that their rights are bound up with the permanence and prosperity of the Ottoman Empire. Before we can usefully examine this singular proposal, it is necessary to clear np one important point. What is Bulgaria, or where is the Bulga rian nation ? Europeans have been accustomed to designate by that name the country which extends from the Balkan to the Danube. But these Me morialists speak of it as extending from Constan tinople as far as Thessaly, and to the frontiers of Albania and Servia, thus including Roumelia, the must Turkish part of Europe. This part of their claim will not bear examination. In Bulgaria Turks are numerous, but in Roumelia, if nowhere else in European Turkey, they are in a decided majority, as compared with other races. If the Bulgarians are entitled to form an autonomous Government like the Berrien. or Wallachians, it can only be in respect of the country north of the range of the Menus. Time was when the name of the Bulgarians was terrible in Europe. The warriors who nourished their children on mare's milk, and sustained their own valour upon a diet of horseflesh—whose first question to the missionaries who converted them was, " May we " fight?" —who carried their siandard to the gates of Constantinople, and took an Emperor prisoner, were formidable foes. But for hundreds of years the name of their nationality, if it is entitled to that name, has not been heard of. The'r brave leaders, instead of making terms with the conquering Ottomans, resisted to the last, and their country, instead of preserving its own institutions and government, be came completely subject to the Turks, and was incorporated with their territory. Moldavia, Wallachia, and Berrie, by timely concession, se cured the means of preserving a national lifowhich, having continued for centuries under conditions of limitation, is once more being developed with vigour ; but there appears no reason for believing that Bulgaria contains in its own territory the element. of a distinct national existence. THE scandalous usages of agricultural labour in Lincolnahire and some neighbouring Eastern Counties, to which we called attention the other day, were discussed last night in the House of Commons in a freer and more impartial spirit than they would have been a few sessions ago. When Mr. Dater, founding his argument upon the frightful development of the gang system, moved that the employment of women and children in agriculture should be regulated, as far as might be, by the principles of the Factory Acts, there was no parade of that false economy which would abandon the young and tender to slavery, and ruin the social morals of a whole class in the name of freedom ; while, on the other hand, there was surprisingly little of the old Conservative prejudice. When we hear of little children of six years of age, who ought to be at play or at school, being pulled out of their beds at half-past five in the morning, and kept working till seven or eight at night, it is time for human nature to claim its rights, and to declare that if these poor little ones must work, it shall at all events not be in a public gang. We might be sure beforehand that children so brought up cannot grow into strong, intelligent, and manly labourers, and in fact we find that the system degrades and bru talises all concerned. Mr. FAWCETT asked last night how it was that this system could establish itself in the country without attracting more notice ; how it was that it had not been heard of before in the House ? This question is very pertinent at a time when Parliament is con sidering a Reform Bill. The lesson the member for Brighton draws from it is that those who are not directly represented are too often little regarded ; and that, we suspect, will also be the conviction of most who read this debate. The cause of the evil was correctly traced lest night to the neglect of landlords to build cottages, and this again to the iniquitous law of settlement. Mr. NEWDE GATE referred to the unhealthiness of the fen counties as the reason why cottages had not been built. But where a farmer can live and bring up a family, labourers can live in properly built cottages. If there is any ground for stating that, the number of male adults in Lincolnshire is too small for the amount of work to be done, the remedy is easy ; there are plenty in Dorsetshire starving on 9s. a week who would be glad to move to the Eastern Counties for 12s. or 14s. If the restrictions called for by justice and humanity were laid upon the gang system, it would soon be found that labour was forthcoming. Undoubtedly legislation on the subject should be conducted with caution. The principles of the Factory Acts must be adjusted to the peculiar conditions of rural life and agricultural labour ; but this may be done if the work is only taken in hand with earnestness and sincerity. OUR CONTEMPORARIES. (THIS DAY.) The definite line of policy which, when the Liberal party returns to power, it must endeavour to fulfil, relates first to the disposition of our fleet in the timo of peace ; to the abandonment of the practice of wasting squadrons of men of-war and frigates on a variety of foreign stations. The second aim is to proceed more cautiously and yet more effectually in the process of reorganisation. It is so pal pable that the naval power of all nations is now to be mea sured by their force in iron -clads, that it is idle to com pute any other. In this respect we stand already in a pre eminence which removes from us all occasion for dread. What we need is that the few ships we take in hand should be finished with all possible speed, so that we may get the benefit of them before they are superseded by later models. The present admiralty is greatly in fault in this respect, and is leaving us, too, with a want of practical informa tion respecting what any of our vessels can be depended on to do, which is very awkward. Mr. Seely's speech con tains many instances of admiralty extravagance, and it is plain that a !louse of Commons that is less disposed to take and make things pleasant will be able to cut down our navy estimates to • figure very considerably under their present amount, while adding to the real efficiency of our fleet, and the essential security of our shores. LATEST INTELLIGENCE. (RNOTER'I3 TELEGRAMS.) FRANCE AND THE LUXEMBURG DUCHIES. PARIS, Amur. 3. The Constibifionnd of this morning, in an article signed by its chief editor, M. Paulin Limayrac, relative to Herr von Betmigsen's interpellation in the North German Parliament upon the Luxem burg question, acknowledges the moderation of Count von Bismarck's reply. The writer says, " France has no desire to threaten the interests of Germany, or to bring her honour into question. France has no warlike tendency, but solely a deep sense of what is just and equitable. Now it would be neither just nor equitable that Prussia, after having achieved her great conquests without obstacle, should jealously watch the smallest acquisition that might be desired by her neigh bours, not in the interest of ambition, but of security." Count Waleivski has been nominated to the dignity of senator. M. Villemain is dead. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF COMMONS.—(THIS DAY.) The SPEAK= took the chair at a quarter past 12. BISROPWEARMOL'TH RAILWAY BILL. This bill was read a mooed time. DARTFORD GAS BILL. This bill was read a second time. JOINT STOCK COMPANIES (VOTING PAPERS) RILL. In committee on this bill, on clause 1, Sir F. GOLDSMID mid he should like to know whether the voting papers might not be need without stamps. Mr. Serjeant GASELEE objected that these voting papers being entrusted to any one might be produced with out a moment's notice, and thus decide for example, by surprise, the important question of the election of a di. rector. Mr. D. GRIFFITH (the promoter of the bill) said rail way proprietors were now so numerous that it was Impos sible for all toattend, and added that there wee a large pro portion of females. His object was to afford all an oppor tunity of expressing their opinion. The proxies in the bands of the directors had hitherto enabled them to con trol the meetings. Another advantage which they had was the knowledge of who were their opponents. It must be distressing to an honest director to know that at pre sent the voting was not free and independent. He did not propose to take away the present mode of proceeding, but to provide for the evil of inadequate representation. After some further discussion the clause was negatived without a division, and the CHATIMAX reported progress. SPIRITUAL DESTITUTION BILLS. Mr. AYRTON moved the second reading of this bill. 'Left sitting.] THE MARQUIS OF WEST.VEATH AND THE RITUALISTS. The following curious notice stands on the order book of the House of Lords for Tuesday next :—" The Marquis of Westmeath—To present a petition, and call the attention of the house to it, complaining of ritualistic practices in the church of England, and stating that in the event of a royal commission being appointed to inquire into ritualistic innovations there could be no confidence in the proceedings of such a commission if right rev. prelates were appointed thereto who were themselves compromised by the introduction of usages and practices, which were rejected at the Reformation ; the petitioners mentioning the cases of the Lord Bishop of the Diocese of Oxford, who conducted a novel, unauthorised, and superstitious service for the ' Dedication of a Bell ' in Bampton church, the Lord Bishop of Salisbury who used a similar unautho rised and superstitious ceremonial for a bell in Sherborne church, the Lord Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol who inaugurated by a special service • new order of church ministers other than those authorised in the Prayer Book, and the Lord Bishop of Chichester who, in addition to novel proceedings in a private chapel, attended a epeeist service in Chichester Cathedral in connexion with ' the presentation of a pastoral staff' having profane Popish emblems engraved thereon, and also held a highly ob jectionable minim for the consecration of a lady warden of a tractarian sisterhood ; and praying the house to adopt an address to her Majesty on the subject." Sir Robert Collier will on Friday call the atten tion of the house to the case of John Toomer, and to move for copies of all memorials presented to the lioum-othce in his behalf, and of the answers thereto. On the 30th, Mr. Trevelyan proposes to call the attention of the House of Commons to the system of put , chasing commission, in the Army ; and to move that that system tends greatly to diminish the efficiency of our military force. Mr. Taylor, after Eaater, will aak the Secretary of State for the Home Depas tment a question in respect to the appointment of Mr. Chureliwani to the commission of the peace for the borough of Dover. In committee on Representation of the People Bill, Mr. Darby Griffith, on the motion for withdrawing clause 7, the dual voting clause, will mo►e, " That a well considered measure of plural voting, in some form or other, is only a just and necessary safeguard and counter poise to any scheme for the extension of the electoral franchise which may be founded on the principle of house. hold suffrage." Major Jervis, tomorrow, will ask the Vice-Pre sident of the Committee of Council for Education, whether it is the intention of her Majesty's government to intro. duce a bill to regulate the importation of foreign cattle into this country. Mr. Childers, on Friday, will ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department bow soon the transpor• tation of convicts to Western Australia will cease ; and whether the supply of convicts for public works in con nexion with dockyard extensions in this country has been represented to the Home-otfice as inadequate. Mr. Bruce, on Friday, brings forward a bill to provide for the education of the poorer classes in England and Wales. Mr. Oliphant will ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, to-morrow, what arrangements have been made with the government of Japan relative to the Euro pean garrison at Yokohama ; at what strength it is pro posed that such garrison should be maintained : whether it is intended to be permanent ; and whether there would be any objection to laying the correspondence upon the subject upon the table of the house. Faust e Margherita will be performed at Covent Garden, on Thursday night, when Mdlle. Pauline Lucca, Signor Mario, and M. Petit, the new singer from the Thilittre Lyrique, are to make their first appearance. It is understood that the Bank of Scotland is about to open a London agency in Broad-street. Of the call of 401. per share on the shares of Barnars Banking Company, which became payable on Monday at Liverpool, it is believed the total received up to last evening will approach shoot 200,0001. Supposing all the shares constituting the nominal capital of the com pany to have been allotted, and the allottees to have been all solvent, the amount produced by the call would have been 1,600,0001., the total number of shares being 40,000. The contributories at present settled on the list are about 400 in number, and represent between 20,000 and 30,000 shares, but there are many from whom nothing whatever is likely to be recovered. As evidence of the late inflation of the circula tion of the country, arising from fictitious credit and the m►nufacture of financial paper, the following remarkable calculation has just been prepared. It appears that the decrease in the sale of inland bill stamps by one firm in comparison with the average of the two previous years is ►t the rate of 15,000/. per annum. Taking each shilling as representing 100/., the withdrawal from the bill circula tion, as shown by this one firm alone, is 30,000,000/. for the year, and looking at this house as doing a 1-30th part of the trade in stamps, which is somewhat near the troth, the falling off in the bill circulation would appear to be at the rate of 900,030,000/. for the year, representing a loss to the revenue of 450,000/. What proportion this bears to the returns of the London bankers can at present (observes the Time.) be only a matter of conjecture, but by the system of statistics of the clearing-house about to be introduced by Sir John Lubbock it will be ascertained. An extraordinary scene was witnessed by seve ral thousand persons at Wigan on Monday afternoon A dispute has arisen between the London end North Western and the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Companies as to the right to • footpath leading to the station of the former company. The Lancashire Company several times placed obstructions upon the path which were always removed, and in this removal and the attempt to prevent it a con test arose, on Monday, between the men of the respec tive companies, and lasted several hours. While the battle was still going on, a crane which was being em ployed fell, and nearly killed one of the men who were working it. THE MINISTERIAL REFORM BILL.—An enthu siastic meeting in favour of reform was held last night in the Music-hall at Chester. Every portion of the great hall was crowded. The resolutions condemned the go vernment bill, disapproval being expressed of the personal rating and of the redistribution schemes. The necessity of • lodger franchise was strongly urged. Amongst the speakers was Mr. W. H. Gladstone, M.P., who was warmly received. A resolution was paroled asking the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. to oppose the bill, and the members for the city under took to present the resolution. TRAGIC FATE OF A GERMAN PATRIOT. —Under the presidency of Karl Blind • committee has been formed in this country in aid of the German patriot, Theodor Moegling, who, after having been severely wounded in one of the revolutionary battles in Baden, was kept four long years in solitary confinement at Bruchmd. In conse quenceumt,teurt,..rly u to po rg y li eth ad h th el be noT ao wh l e d iadr. , opm anth imattee is a f p a rsaid m l i u ly dred ha or of the after effects of his prison sufferings, Moes. king's reason has latterly given way ; his little estate in v ai to e d , bec°u w:i t C h h: contains a number of names of the literary, professional, and commercial oomminercEialgl England. WATERFORD ELECTION mutant. (MIS DAV.) The committee met again this morning at elev en o'clock, Mr. ADAIR in the chair. Mr. Kennedy was re-called and further examined —At the polling booth I saw a hand laid on a voter. it e was asked who he was going to vote for, and he replied for Talbot. Mr. Barry shook him by the h a ed , and said " For De la goer." The voter was th ee hustled out. There were troops near the Court-house. I saw the mob break through tile line and follow ht r , Talbot's voters. Some of them haul to run back. I hi-ant Dr. Halley, in the course of one of his speeches, mean.* the name of Dr. O'Brien. He said he hoped the peopl e would do what they did • month ago in the county e t nary wh en they returned Captaiin Wning hit:. . wit. Sir Robert Joshua Paul—l reside at Bsllyghan, about ' seven miles from Waterford. On the Sunday before the polling day, and when returning from church I pa a - e d e chapel and saw a number of persons coming out. I a e two placards, but did not go near them. I passed th e chapel the next day, and pulled up to read the placard% One of them was the green one. There was a pl. eak t summoning the meeting for the Sunday. Cross-examined-1 never saw • meeting of that kin.' a t a chapel before. I don't know that Mr. De Is Poet vas described in the Waterford Standard as a Fenian. I .;i4 not see an article on that subject. I was a partisan of*, Talbot, and subscribed 100/. towards the expense., of the petition. I believe Sir Edward Kennedy said th a t Mr. be Li I'oer was a Fenian. To my knowledge he did not take any very activepart in the election. I did not see anv article in the Standard describing the entry of Mr. De la Net as being accompanied by prostitutes and priests. I peon heard of any proposition for arresting Mr. de la Poer as Fenian. The register of eleetore was then put in, and the case et the petitioners was closed. Mr. O'Malley, Q.C., intimated that it was not his in. tention to call any witnesses on behalf of the sitting member. Mr. Harris, Q.C., having expressed his surprise at the course adopted by his learned friend, proceeded to stua up the evidence. He would first addrem himself to the by of the case as applicable to election petitions, and then to the evidence by which he proposed to bring the case withi a the strictest rules of parliamentary law. He was pr . eper e d to satisfy the committee that • sy s tem of intim idation existed such as to deter men of ordinary courage from pro. cording to the poll. He was prepared to go still further, and to show that that intimidation was nos confined to a single instance of violence, but that there existed at organised system extending to nine different parts of the county of Waterford. And he submitted farther that that organised and general system of violence throughout the country was the result of the course adopted by the friends and agents of Mr. De la Peer. The organisation was commenced on the 15th November, at a meeting of the bishops and clergy hell at Dungarvan, at which resolutions were passed, adopting Mr. be la Poer as their candidate. This was followed up by the green placard, in which the pitch cap and triangle were referred to in connexion with the Bereaford family, and which placard was extensively circulated throughout the whole county. The learned gentleman then proceeded to analyse the evidence, contending that nine different outrages had been proved to have occurred during the election. [Left speaking.] GREAT LUXEMBURG RAILWAY.-(TRIS DAY.) II i This day the ordinary general meeting ,)f share holders was held at the London Tavern ; Mr. F. &urr in the chair. The report having been taken as read, The CHAIRMAN, in moving its adoption, said that it placed distinctly before the shareholders the position of the rail. w.iy. In explanation of the circumstance that the divi dend is not so good on this occasion as on the last, the chairman referred to the disturbance to commerce pro duced by the !eta war, the cattle murrain, the reduction of tariff in the government lines, and as a consequence, on the Luxemburg line, and the increased cost of labour The strike amongst the cabmen of Charleroi also added to their difficulties. Those combined causes sufficed to explain the reduction of dividend from 14s. to 12s. With a return of tranquillity the profits would in. crease. They all knew that there was a Lux emburg question pending, but whatever the result their line must be camera of vast quantities of coal en one side and of iron on the other. They gave instructions that all but necessary expenditure should be stopped in view of possible political complications. The direCtors could only be made responsible for events that were under their control. Mr. Raxti, the managing director, in reply to questioes put by shareholders, said that they were still feeling the effects of the causes referred to in the report; and it was beyond doubt that the state of politico on the continent was such that the industry of Belgium was suffer. ing great prostration therefrom. But when the cause of uneasiness was removed the traffic on the lino would, he believed, be greater than ever. The prospects of the Great Luxemburg Railway were as good to-day se they ever were. They only lowered their traffic rate to the point which was absolutely necessary for preventing it from going to other quarters. Every effort was made to diminish expenditurein every possible way. The present system of controlling the passengers' tickets in Belgium was very bad, and the government would Le compelled to alter it soon. •--- --- The report, ►fter some further discussion, was adopted. THE TRADts Thum Cosottinanx.—A meeting of the Trades Unions Commissioners was held yesterday, at 1, Park-prospect, Westminster. Present :—Sir William Erie, chairman ; the Earl of Lichfield, Lord Eleho, M.P.„ Sir Edmund W. Head, Bart. K.C.11., Sir Daniel Gooch, Bart., M.P., Mr. Herman Montvale, C. 8., Mr. James Booth, C. 8., Mr. J. A. Roebuck, 44. C., M.P., Mr. Thomas Hinges, M.l'., Mr. Frederic Hamm), and Mr. William Matthews. Mr. J. H. Patteson, secretary to the commis. Mon, was also present. THE BUILDING TRADE.—The joiners and quarry men in Barnsley and neighbourhood have struck work for an advance of wages and a reduction in the hours of labour. For a considerable time the question of wages and hours of labour has been under discussion, and some few months ago the committees of both trades laid before the masters their grievances, and ultimately notices were delivered by the men to the effect that on and after the Ist of April the joiners would require Is. per week ad vance and a reduction of one hour per day—viz., from tin to nine hours—while the quarrymen required an advance of 2s. per week. The masters held several meetings to consider the demands of their workmen, and with regard to the joiners ' they agreed to give the extra Is. per week hut declined to concede any reduction in the hours of labour ; with regard to the quarrymen, it was agreed to advance their wages Is. per week. The latter class of workmen held a meeting on Monday evening at the Griffin Inn, when it was resolved not to commence work spin until their demands had bean oomplied with. The wages of the joiners at present vary from 225. to 275. her week, and those of the quarrymen from 21s. to 245. Nsw Doc le.—Early in February we gave an Account of the extensive docks which are now in coarse of construction, and rapidly approaching completion, at Mills wall. These extensive works, which. with the quays end warehouses in the vicinity, will occupy something like ISO acres, lie south of the Wert India Docks, and have berm built so SA to make it easy at any time for the promoters of the company by which the undertaking has been projected to form a junction with the West India system. Themes* southern portion of the basins of the latter is separated by a very small interval from the most northern point of the new works, and even that is now being gradually dimi. Dished. Excavations have been commeneol under the direction of Mr. Hawkshaw, the engineer, to form a new basin on the south of the West India hocks. This:L.l,lWe , to the almost uninterrupted succession of water basins cow existing in the Isle of Dogs will occupy 24 acres, and his been projected principally for the reception of East India products, such as jute, seed, saltpetre. and cotton. It will At the same time afford equal facilities for ships outwird bound to ship their cargoes, and will form a most important link in the chain of communication by water, which will, in a very few years, make the Isle of Logs for ships what Clapham Junction is for railway trains. When all the projected plans are carried out it will be practicable for a vessel to go from the most southern point of the 31il1s , d1 Docks to the most northern point of the West India, And to use something like half a dozen means of ingress and egress to and from the river.—Tinges. THE HEALTH OF LoNDON.—It appears from the return issued by authority of the Registrar-Gemmel that in the week that ended on Saturday, March 30 . the births registered in London anal twelve other large towns of the United Kingdom were 5,401 ; the deaths registered, 3,451. The lannual rate of mortality WS/ 29 per 1,000 persons living. In London the ths of 1,254 boys and 1,235 girls, in all 2,48 N children. were registered in the week. In the corresponding 'GOO of ten years, 1857-66, the average number. corrected for increase of population, is 2,206. The deaths registend is London during the week were 1,601. It was the thirteenth week of the year ; and the average number of deaths for the week is, with a correction for increase of I'oPuh" i ' l4 1,59 d. The deaths in thepresent return slightly exceed the estimated number. The number of deaths decreased from 1,731 registered In the week which ended March W 1,691 last week. In the same period the deaths from otic diseases fell from 289 to 270 : the deaths from disease of the respiratory organs from 434 to 3a7 the deaths f rem diseases of the brain and nervous system from 200 to 180. Thirty-seven deaths occurred from small ppoos;, 21 from measles, 18 from scarlatina, 67 from who*" tag-cough, 42 from typhus, and 12 from diarrhow. Two deaths from horse or carriage accidents were registered. AMIDENT AND 1,088 OF Five Lives IN A CORNISH MINIL—The Cornish Telegraph of yesterday re' ports a shocking accident which occurred on Monday in the North Levant Mine, St. Just. While some stoping wag going on in the direction of an adjoining unused mine (the Ohl Maitland) water broke through, and speedily gained"' force that several workings became filled, and five poor fellows were either drowned or crushed to death by the debris. The damage done to the mine itself is bait trifling. and • portion of it only will be excluded from operatives. and that, it is believed, but for a few lays only. FOREIGN AFFAIRS. Referring to the interview of the Fenian leaders in America with Presidefit Johnson, the Times asks if such a testimony of respect is not a breach of international justice no less than of international usage. Therein scarcely the semblance of a parallel between the American re bellion and the Fenian outbreak. We did not concede bel ligerent rights to the Confederate States until those rights had been conceded by the United States, and the power to which we conceded them represented a third of the whole population of the union. As for the Fenian themselves it is not they, but, as a Greek writer would say, " those about them," whose proceedings we regard with some anxiety, but not wi hout a reserve of confidence in the sounder judgment of the American n►tion. The impression left on the Times aft er a careful perusal of Count Bismarck's speech is that be is anxious to leave to others the responsibility of any movement in the matter of Luxemburg. Any secret understanding that may ever have existed between him and Napoleon may easily be disavowed by a reference to the irresistible will of the German nation. It is extremely probable that the scheme of the sale will be abandoned. Both Napoleon and Bis marck are fully aware of the magnitude of the enterprise to which a moment of rashness might commit them. Neither of theme young, neither of them exults in that firm, exuberant health which urges men to incessant activity. Peace would be equally • boon to France and Germany ; but while it is difficult to see what good a war, however successful, might bring to France, the mere danger of it is used to promote the union, and thereby the strength and greatness of Germany. The Poet argues that Prussia is prepared to make terms if Luxemburg is ceded to France. If the Prussian troops are now poured into the duchy to vindicate its nationality, it would amount to • declaration of war, and inaugurate a conflict for which France could not be held answerable. The Telegraph is driven to the conclusion, either that the Emperor hopes to secure the consent of Prussia to the cession of Luxemburg by some inducement, whether of a persuasive or a coercive kind, or that he does not design to prosecute the scheme at present. As things are, it seems probable that the grave difficulties attending the negotiation will hinder it from being actively prosecuted for some time to oome. OOR NAVAL ADMINISTRATION. The Daily Notts remarks that the Navy discussions have this year been distinguished by their practical character, and by their being lees critical than constructive. RAILWAY DEBENTURES AND THE STATE. If the security for the debenture debts of railway com panies is ades !nate, the Times does not see why the companies should come to the State as Mr. Crawford proposed last night. Money is not lent because the solvency of the com pany desiring to borrow is in doubt. Let the State become the creditor and the pressure on the managers of railways would be instantly lightened, their motives to practice economy would be weakened, and whereas the margin of profit is now insufficient to pay the interest due to the private capitalist, it would soon sink down so as to become insufficient to meet the claims of the public creditor. Let it he understood that the treasury is the last resort of embarrassed companies, and we shall be handed over, tied and bound, to contractors and their associates. Granting proper facilities, however, to the persons interested in railway property to settle their respective claims upon it, and to allow them to realise their interest on railways, instead of compelling them to abide as unwilling qualified partners, is another question. In a word, we want a machinery for winding up the affairs of railway companies as other commercial associations are wound up. Except Mr. Laing and Mr. Watkin, no one supported the proposi tion of Mr. Crawford, while almost every speaker ap proved the policy enunciated by the Vice-President of the Board of Trade. The opinion of the house is, in fact, almost ripe for legislation, and we may assume that at no distant day the settlement of the affairs of railway com panies will be as simple as those of banking partnerships, while the interference of the state in their management will be diminished rather than increased. COMPOUND HOUSEHOLDERS AND THE GOVERNMENT REFORM BILL. Al2OlllO misapprehension seems to have arisen with regard to the exact position in which compound house holders would be placed under the government bill, the Small Tenements Rating Act being left upon its present footing, the Day hastens to point out that none of them could be actually shut out from the franchise at the discretion of any vestry in the kingdom. The act in ques tion enables vestries to throw certain difficulties in the way of a man's getting the franchise by making him a com pound householder. But though it enables them to make him one, it would not, under the government bill, enable them to keep him one. Re could claim to pay his own rates if he chose. The occupiers under 61. would be in a worse position where the act was in force than where it was not, because they would have to do some thing in order to acquire the franchise, where's the others would have to do nothing. But that is the extent of the grievance. It would probably keep a good many occupiers off the register, and so far the expression is correct when it is said that vestries would have it in their power to say that such and such classes should or should not possess the franchise. But only so far. the Court. WINDSOR CASTLE, APRIL 2. The Queen, accompanied by Princess Christian, drove out yesterday afternoon in a carriage and four, attended by Lady Churchill. Princess Louise and Prince Christian, attended by the Hon. Emily Cathcart and Colonel Du Plat, went out riding. Her Majesty drove out this morning, accompanied by Princess Christian. Princess Louise walked in the grounds; Princess Beatrice rode in the Home•park ; and Prince Leopold went out walking, attended by Mr. Legg. The Dean of Westminster and Lady Augusta Stanley left the Castle this afternoon. Mr. J. A. Vinter had the honour of submitting to her Majesty and the Prince and Princess Christian his photo graph of Prince Christian, after Winterhalter. The Prince of Wales, attended by Colonel Kingscote, hunted with her Majesty's staghounds yesterday. Captain Ellis has succeeded Lieutenant-colonel Keppel as Equerry in Waiting to the Prince of Wales. A deputation from Lancashire had an interview with the Duke of Richmond at the office of the Bo►nl of Trade on Monday afternoon, in support of the bill promoted by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board now before parlia ment. Lord Alfred Churchill, the Hon. Ashley Ponsonby, and General Craufurd, had an interview with Lord John Manners at the office of her Majesty's Works, Whitehall place, yesterday. The Earl and Counteaa of Spencer are enter t►ining at Althorp Hall, Northampton, the Duke and Duchess of Manchester, the Marquis of Ailesbury, Maria Marchioness of Ailesbury, the Earl and Countess of West moreland, Viscount Canterbury, Lord Suffield, Lady Sarah Spencer, Hon. Admiral Sous, Mr. and Lady Augusta Sturt, Mr. George Payne, Mr. Craven, Mr. H. Chaplin, Mr. and Mrs. Sumner, &c. A marriage is arranged between Lady Ida Dnff, daughter of the Earl and Countess of Fife, and Mr. Elias Hope, eon of the late Mr. Adrian Hope, and nephew of Mr. Bamford and Lady Mildred Hope. _... The meeting of the Liberal party, which was to have been summoned for to-morrow, has been postponed till Friday, in order to avoid any interference with the Budget, which Mr. Disraeli had already Axed for Thursday. It is rumoured (says the (Awl) that the following changes are to be made in the diplomatic services cone. (pent on the resignation of Lord Cowley .—Lord Lyons to be ambassador at Paris ; Mr. Elliot, from Florence, to be promoted to Constantinople; Sir Augustus Paget, from Lisbon, to be transferred to Florence ; Sir Charles Wyk.). late her M►jesty's minister at Hanover, to be appointed in the same capacity to Lisbon. Mr. Tite, M.P. for Bath, has been elected by the Council of the Royal Architectural Institute as their next president. The other candidate put forward was Earl Grosvenor, M.P. The Small Arms Committee appointed to select the new breech-loading rifle for the army held their first meeting yesterday at Woolwich. Upwards of 80 breech loaders of different patterns have been submitted to them for examination. We read in the Standard :—" Lord Amherley strengthened yesterday evening the favourable impression be made upon the House of Commons last week. The noble lord, whose manner often recalls his father, is not a great orator, and will never become one ; but he speaks lucidly and to the point, with perfect self•possession end considerable readiness, but with becoming modesty ; and his voice, although weak, is clear and distinct. His speech was a success, but a meccas for the speaker rather than for the cause he advocated." Thu death is announced is Dr. James French, C. 8., Inspector-General of Hospitals, which occurred on Friday last, at his residence in Lanarkshire. Tics PRINCE Or WALES IN THE HUNTING FtELI). —Yesterday his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales had a capital day with her Majesty's staghounds. His royal highness went from town to Slough by the 11 o'clock morn ing ordinary train, attended by Lieut.-Colonel Keppel, and was met there by Lord Colville, the noble master of the royal pack, with whom the prince proceeded in a shooting break to Beaconsfield the place appoint e d f or th e turn out. Here a large fi eld had assembled awaiting the arrival of his royal highness. The deer, on being unsorted, made across the country to Walton, leaving Charfont St. Giles on the right, and away towards Rickmansworth, thence to Watford, from the neighbourhood of which the prince left the field and returned to town. This may be con sidered the longest and fastest run of the season. The scent was good, and country in Ins boating order. PRUSBL&. BERLIN, Ann, 3. The introduction of the proposal relative to the Luxemburg question which is to be brought for ward by the national-liberal party in the North German parliament is postponed, on account of pending negotiations with the other parliamentary parties. The King of the Belgians, the Count of Flan ders,and the family of the Prince of Hohenzollern, will arrive here on the 23rd inst. Chachim Pacha, the Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian army, has arrived in this city, and will remain here several days. BAVARIA. MUNICH, APRIL 2, E'vvrin. Manifestations of public opinion, provoked by the Luxemburg question, are about to take place in Bavaria against any foreign encroachments upon German territory. The promoters of these demon strations intend to pass resolutions to the effect that the Bavarian people would consider any weakness on the part of Prussia in this question as equivalent to consenting to the sale of the Duchy. HUNGARY. PERTH, Aran. 3. The government bill establishing the mode of carrying out the military conscription has been agreed to by the Lower House of the Hungarian Diet. The departure of the Emperor and Empress has been postponed. Baron Von Beust and Herr Von Kusscw•ich have arrived here to negotiate upon the Croatian question. PROGRAMME OF THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT. MADRID, APRIL 2, Eyler'Nc. It is semi-officially stated that the ministerial programme for the present session will comprise the introduction of a bill of indemnity approving the late decrees upon public order, the municipali ties, and the press. The ministry will also propose a modification of the regulations of the Cortes, a settlement of the question of the passive debt, and measures to improve the condition of the Spanish railway companies. A royal decree has been published nominating 22 new senators. AMERICA. ARRIVAL OF THE AMERICA. SOUTHAMPTON, APRIL 3. The Hamburg and American Company's steamer America, from New York on March 21, has arrived with 118 passengers for this port, Havre, and Bremen, and 2G bags of mails for London. NEW YORK, MARCH 21, MORNING. The House of Representatives has adopted resolutions instructing the Committee on Foreign Affairs to inquire why claims of citizens of the United States against Great Britain since 1859 have not been paid, and to report what steps it considers necessary to secure their prompt settle ment ; also to investigate the case of the Rev. John Macmahon, sentenced in Canada to imprisonment for life under a charge of Fonianism, and to report what measures should be taken to effect his release. The Massachusetts legislature has ratified the constitutional amendment. Columbia and Kentucky are inundated. There is great suffering in Tennessee in con sequence of the floods. ARRIVAL OF THE HECLA. QuEENSTOWN, APRIL 3. The Cunard extra steam-ship Hecla, from New York, arrived here at 11.30 a.m. to-day, with 34 passengers. After landing three passengers and the despatches she pro ceeded for Liverpool at 11.45 a.m. All well. She experienced strong easterly weather throughout the passage. BOMBAY MAIL. MARSEILLES. Aran 3. The Syria arrived at 7.30 a.m. to-day, having been delayed by rough weather. The mail leaves for London at 11.30 a.m. INDIA, CHINA, AND JAPAN MAILS. MARSEILLES, APRIL 3. The Menageries Imperiales steamer Said ar rived here at 8.30 a.m. to-day, with the homeward India, China, and Japan mails. THE IMPERIAL PROCEERION IN THE Ex HIBITION. The procession along this gallery took about three-quarters of an hour. The Emperor and the Empress had a little word or a bow for scores of commissioners as they passed along, and the wonder is that they travelled through the gallery in so short • space of time. They stayed longest with a little party of Japanese, most of whom to the barbarian eyes of any Londoner would seem identical with the troop of jugglers who lately performed the but terfly trick in St. Martin's HalL They were, however, commissioners from the Tycoon and from Prince Satsuma, and were presented to the Tyco on and the Empress with a good deal of formality. Opposite to them, on the gang way, were ranged a small band of gaily dressed Tunisian musicians, who played on • sort of hurdy-gurdy and on a tamburine. It was • little bit of comedy introduced into a rather dull ceremonial. On the one side of the plat form, in dark solemn robes, the Japanese were bend ing with the most awful gravity, some of them reverently falling on their knees to the Empress; on the other side, in the gayest of dresses and with the jauntiest air, the Tunisian minstrels seemed to make' mirth of the sombre Japanese with • jingle, jingle, jingle. The Emperor looked from one side to the other, per plexed whether lie was to be grave with the Japanese, or merry with the Tunisians. He did his best to be courte ous to both, and so passed on to the American commis sioners, and finally to those of England, stationed at the end of the circle. As be descended the staircase he was ggrreeeated with loud hurrahs which one rarely hears out of England. Two sailors seemed to be foremost in cheering, sndd were conspicuous in the crowd. The Empress smiled upon them, and smote their hearts. " Ah, said the one to the other, " she our me sech a look." In the great crowd, rushing and tossing about, and filling the ear with • rattle of French phrases , " Vire l'Empereur !" " Par ici !" " Attendee ! " Brinell," one beard with • sort of bewilderment interpolated in all their genuineness, " Ab, Bill, she !rue me gosh a look."—Correspoodent of Tiara. Garlic came origi nally om from Sicily ; the bean, pear, and onion from ; the egg pleat from Africa ; the artichoke, horseradish, and beet from southern Europe; the peach, walnut, and mulberry from Persia; spinach from Arabia ; rye from Siberia ; the chestnut from Italy ; the cucumber from the East Indies ; parsley from Ear dials ; and the potato and maize are natives of this eoun• try.—.Asterican paper. f t