The Express. — London, England, 1855-01-01 00:00:00

ALOAR sod STREET—Colonial Nowspatr a rl Genera Advertisement Mien 14 Citodee-ledli. strem—Lendes. lan. 4 t$U. THE NEW RETURN OF NEWSPAPER STAMPS. The Mara of newspaper stamps jut lined gives tho following results : First Charter. Sewed Quarter, Daily Mews . . 319,191 30,044 Morning Herald . . 303.000 299,000 Morning Post . . 205,000 221,110 Morning Models. . 162,501 legit Express . . 177,133 196,1 W Globe . . . 175,000 196,1111111 Bea . • . 168,000 112,011 Standard . • . 103,000 104.1011 zhe enotoo• TO CORILESPONDRNTB. • %NM &Utica et " The Twelve," esetalaise the ease eveldwee ...Duette,* is published (imp Tuesday sad Vida: sight, doe fir put hdratheraestelatewied Szprese,* Loudon Twigs, paper, eases Swot die OM" 1 11. lwevecie4tweet, by Two o'oloek ea the lay sitysloliesdea. HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. Us. DAT—Mani(. OIL SUL.— etersooa. 01. Mau Tihatoasow—lllonlas. Ik. lb. 44k. LONDON. MONDAY. JANUARY 1. LATEST NEWS FROM ABROAD THE FRENCH LOAN. Or Rums= TaLscia Arx.) PARIS, Somme. The Moniteur publishes the following u the terms of the Loan : NA r OLEON, ETC., Art. 1. Our Minister of Finance is authorised to proceed, by public subscription, to the alienation of the sum of Three and Four-and-a-Half per Cent. .Rentes necamary to produce a capital of 500 millions. 2. The Three per Cents. shall be issued at the rate of 651.250., with dividend from the 22nd De cember, 1854. The Four-and-a-Half per Cents. shall be issued at the rate of 92. f., with dividend from the 22nd September, 1834. 3. Agreeably to the purport of the third section of the let article of the law of Dec. 31, 1854, the dolation of the sinking fund shall be increased from the Ist January, 1866, by a sum equal to one per cent. on the nominal capital of the Roan, which will be issued by virtue of the first article of the present decree. 4. Our Minister of Finance is charged with the ex ecution of the present decree. Done at the Tailleriet, Dec. 31, 18454. NAPOLEON. It is added that the subscription will be opened to the public from the 3rd to the 14th January, the 7th (Sunday) inclusive, and that subscribers will be invited to choose between the Three and the Four and•a-Half per Cents.—Daily News. SPAIN. CDT 11.2CTIU0 TILLOIATII.) MADR:D, Die. 27. The Cortes have rejected the proposition of &inches Silva for suppressing the Octrol. There were 118 for and 128 against the metion.—Daily News. WARSAW, Dic. 28. The first Corps d'Anzee, commanded by Genera Sievers, is completely assembled. Its staff is in the centre of the position on the right bank of the Vistula, that is at Radom, fourteen German miles from this place. General Rudiger is commander-in- chief of the first and third corps, and of the:corps of grenadiers. He at the same time acts u Governor- General. Prince Gortchakoff is General-in-Chief of three corps in the south. Field-Marshal Pukie witch is generalissimo of all the six corps, and is still at Warsaw.--Daily News. THE CRIMEA. The following appeared in some of the German papers on Saturday, but is not worthy of implicit confidence : " ODESSA, Dsc. 25. "A courier has just brought intelligence that General Liprandi's corps, powerfully reinforced, is attacking BalaklavL" CONSTANTINOPLE, Dsc. 21. On tbe 16th the Russians made a sortie by night. but were repulsed by the French, after a severe struggle. Ths Riles also repulsed a Russian sortie. Our mortars and batteries are ready to open, but the heavy rains impede the progress of the siege, and cause great sickness, General Adams died of his wounds on the 19th. Siaos the IGth of November 24,000 English, French, and Turks had arrived in the Crimea in British vessels. The Turks at Eupatoria have been much efreagth cued from Varae.—Timer. Accounts from Berlin, of Dec. 31, state that Prince Gortschakoff, after the interpretation of the Four Articles had been communicated to him, asked for a delay of a fortnight to enable him to reoeive instructions. Omer Pacha, in person, will take the command of the expedition to the Crimea. There is nothing of importanoe from Sebastopol up to the 23rd.—Post. THE ALLIED PACIFIC SQUADRON. SAN FRANCISCO, Nor. 24. The Echo du Pacifigue hu the following in rela tion to the allied fleet, which sailed on Saturday and yesterday : " The Eurydice, having on board the Russian pri soners, mailed for the Sandwich Islands. The government has ordered the prisoners to be kept there until further instructions regarding them shall be remivsi. The Forte and President will proceed to Mazatlan, from whence, after a stay of a hw days, they will sail for Valparaiso, where they will await nation oche &Ai- THE EXPRESS, MONDAY EVENING, JANUARY 1, 1855. of the aristoeraey bey, by and insphid by s sirs entiri sympathy with their (Wisp and opinions. We shall be told that inch assn do find their way into oar Cabinets : yes, by ones aid twos, to feel themselves in a hopeless atinceity, isolated among their asso ciates in business—wild elephants placed between two tame ones, whose business it is to dtub them late conformity. To be of any use, the admission of ‘' man who are the sons of their own works," into high offices of state, must be on a sufficiently eiten sive scale to enable them to modify the general tone of our Cabinets. This is urged in so temper of dis respect or animosity to our nobility; .it is urged as the most likely means to strengthen their position by teaching them more entire sympathy with the people, and exposing them to the salutary and strengthening influence of emulation and ,'competition. It may be alleged that we have not at present among those clams from which Ministers of State , have hitherto been rarely taken if at - all, men of sufficiently commanding talent to render the experiment easy. This is a mistake. It is not noisy demagogues that are wanted, batmen with administrative capacities, and free from Aar kvism. Such men there are among our representa tive., and they who have been brought into close contact with them by the business of the House know their qualities and their value. It is fck the people at large to choose their representatives; it is for their representatives to decide who are sufficiently worthy of confidence to be recommended to the Crown as Ministers.—Daily News. nt soul!. WINDSOR, Die. 80. The dinner party yesterday included the Duchess of Kent, the Mugs& of Breadalbane, Lady Fanny Howard, Baroness de Spath, dm Bishop of New Zealand end Mn, Selwyn, and Colonel and Lady Emily Seymour. _ _ Her Majesty's private brad was in attendance after dinner. The Queen, with the Princess Alice, walked in the Home Park this morning. Prince Albert, with the Prince of Wales, went shooting. Captain Seymour had the honour to accompany •e Prince. supplement - "A report from General Prince Mentchikoff, dated Deo. 13, informs the Emperor that sines the Bth of the same month the fire of the besiegers had been u weak as before, inflicting hardly any lose upon the besieged. Altheregh the enemy was continuing his entrench ments so his left flank, being harassed by our well rriflemen, he was not pushing forward his lines fr e o d at but extending them to the left." The report goes on to say :—" On our side the defence is strength ened, and we make nightly sorties. On the night of the 10th inst., amongst other feats, the naval cadet Thelg of the ship's company, No. 40, taking advan tage of the darkneu before the rising of the moon, to* with him from one of our redoubts two mountain howitzers and 20 men from the fleet. He raked the French trench where their men were at work with discharges of case-shot, and he then returned to the re doubt without sustaining &nylon On another side and simultaneously Major Goloviosky, commanding the battalion No. 2 of the Black Sea Cossacks, at the head of a few brave Cossacks, made a dash at the French trenches, took 8 Frenchmen prisoners (omit whom, an ofßoer, was wounded), captured time small mortars, and spiked the large ones. The awe- tars thus carried off were immediately turned splint the same trenches of the enemy." The German papers just now very generally give, and especially in the form of news from St. Peters burg, ex n to the conviction that no concession macula to lead to a peace is to be looked for from the Csar at the present juncture. It is observed that the most important of his recent military prepara tions are calculated for a long war, and cannot receive their full execution in much le e than twelve months. The French papers publish correspondence from before Sebastopol of the 12th ult. (the date, it will be remembered, of our ample correspondence given on Friday). Some of the facts recorded in the following extract, which we find 1* the Courrier of Marseilles, are too valuable to be overlooked: The Russians have made two sorties against the French batteries. The first was in the evening of Sunday, the 10th, at about half-past 8. The night was very dark and stormy— in fact, the wind blew like a hurricane. The enemy in very strong force left Sebastopol by the gardea battery, which is in face of the most advanced works of the French. Favoured by the darkness, the Russians approached to within 40 yards of the French batteries. Au alarm was immediately given ; but before our trOopS were ready the Russians arrived, and some of them even climbed up the parapets of the batteries. The awl:wipe was, however, only momentary. Such of the Russians as succeeded in entering our works were killed, and the French, 700 or 800 in num ber, fell on the enemy with the bayonet. The Russians, terrified by the impetuosity of our soldiers , fled as fast as they toted, leaving behind a great number of men, who were killed or made prisonen. The French pursued them to the walls of the town. All the forts immediately opened fire to protect their retreat, but the French, per fectly sheltered by the irregularities of the ground, were not touched. At about one o'clock in the same night the second sortie was made. Strong detachments of Russian infantry attempted to dislodge the French from the posi tions in which they were in ambuscade. On their approach, the latter, retiring in the greatest silence, dispersed amongst the ruins not far from their ambuscade. The Russians ad vanced, and not finding our *Didion, believed that they had returned to their camp, but all at once the French opened on them a murderous fire of musketry. The enemy, so cruelly surprised, wee obliged to beat • retreat, and to re tire to the town in the most complete disorder. It was a veritable sows pit peat. All the batteries of the place then fired on the French, and with such vigour that the h seeined on fire, and the earth shook. In these attacks the French had not more than 60 men hors do combat; the lose of the Russians mast have been 800 at least. Our troops have placed the cannon which they have just received in their third parallel, and they are ready to open fire with 100 guns, amongst which are a good many mortar' of a large calibre. We ars now waiting until the English are ready. The state of the roads has delayed them. The French took their precautions be fore the arrival of the bad weather, and constructed • good military road from Kberson to their camp. By means of it they have been able to obtain emit tuition and provisions at any hear. The English, unfortunately, had less fore sight ; bat their allies went to their aid, and laboured day startled to construct a magnificent road from Baskin& to the amp. They besides lent them their horses and male, to convey the English artillery. It is a fact admitted by all English officers, that whilst their horses are in a pitiable state, these of the French are in the beet condition. Oar allies emu* understand how it is that our men and horses have been so well. Before the end of the week the will have 80 gnus in position ; and they have to establish • second parallel. The two batteries whisk love been eocitteueled at Inkermann are admirably phisedi and it is intended to construct two redoubts be Mni than, a little higher up the bill. These batteries will le maul with 4 10-frek aceutirs and 12 guns of 32. This pukka will be held by the French, and the two redoubts will be confided te the English, who will have 4 8-inalt mortars, 10 gams of 32, sad some piens, of a long range. All this artillery will be placed la such a way ss to fire on all the parts of the town, mars especially the forts. Indeed, it is principally against the Ran vessels that the lire will be divested. It is enpected that these new works will be very Forinastely, fine weather has returned • it I. now sad steam hot. The French have lent their ashy/mg waggon W convey the English sick to Balaklava. The Ti<igWl frequently visit the port of Kaniesh, which, as yea know, is the French port. They are utonishad to find it so well arranged, and all things in It so admirably organised. The French sailors have con structed three quays on it—one for the cavalry, anther for the infantry, and the third for ammunition and storm according to dent etiquette . / place, more especially as Napoleon hal received the Sultan's 'flit at the French palace. The prince's two other aides-de-amp, Lord Pullet and Captain Clifton, remain for the present at the hotel. A new and important postal regulation has been accomplished, whereby we shall have in future eight arrivals from France and eight departures every month. This will almost render superfluous the Austrian mail, more particularly as the French will start twice a week on the same days with it, The cholera is again happily on the decline, and from the 29th ult. to the 13th inst. the total amount of deaths was only 22, according to the report sent in at the last sitting of the Council of Health. bmaee &in h ale and moan - ague of the to nay, , and in reported, has, as was visiting the Excellency come _ down usual, and pre- Hotel, and Maeda is said POLAND. await orders to return to Humps, or any other desti- of the aristocracy has, by narrowing the fie . R r. bas k .' '' ' :.„......il`. IC * d tha n t d h ltr ial e P o e f ri e hi nation which may be iodised them. The Amphi- of selection , led to frequent appointments • \THE WA....... • • ,--, to France, in consequence trite leaves for Honolulu, and from whenoevifter a men who merely represent their departments. . --y-- f• o lie lif.alth. sheet stay, she will eau for ri,,., It io whilp the work is dove by others. - The w. . c -,.. seam, pvemaneeitiy a , Dullptel bridge is, lam happy I "''''''' pilh toselealeblz by the killaptt tit Iti *tem in . • ' 1 4th infantry asps el the in 41 respells , tely re-established, s that the squadron will spin aeeniallibiin oar - wit* Ile men wise 'actsally do worloghtain the airs " 1 . to the chief commeld at tendk to - return , the CriMea, it is re in a few months, and, in confused's with tW honour and underlip the responsibility for the manner to • • .' in thiconne . days. The Sultan has, and Adventure, again ft ncgthwasd, allit r Itlsikfik it is dsesk Thom are tosny moat our e lear ip t from ;easy that on the 10th the = pe e d, his intention .of visit Oortebokoff notified to the gwrernro yal duke. On this account his Exc their movements will BS coninniallitogo 'Ciao eftgabi"said :who " I "" x 't "b" their sixfwn wa s el Moldavia that the frontier of Bessirabia evd R e--- sa d f am ily h ave mei current of affairs in Europe." quartering. and yet are more competent to fill the was closed, and that the quarantine eta ' fronr - the — Wintry earlier — than ' natal, as high offices of state t h uswho man. : • •_•.. • • •replooed by i nate", cordon. The papers of thismoraiag nodes thedepartem of . many Tailed on the prince to quit Mimiri's Hot slitting a number of such men to Cabinet offices the The following Russian news from the Crimea, Atm few d Ays w i th h i s a id c .d e . camp, m a p, . the Pique also—destination Honolulu—Doily News. , , inter aka, an account of the two tootles boa Elovernment would be brought into 'mom bums. e nn l opri Sell, at ear embassy. This arranpment it diets contact with the great body of the people, 0,„,11.",„,,,,,, on the 10th, comes to hand in an extra- trill take plies to day—and which is accor - a and b em i re d by a m ai n m o w w i t h -7, -- ,- - J '"? . F,lumf,'_d_ti:',•,Praimis •Rts_te n .:_ w ,_,...., allisial precedent and etiquette in this plan The Lord Chamberlain left the Castle in the for London. Ditc. 31. There wu no addition to the Royal dinner party yes terday._ _ He; Majesty and Prince Albert drove oat yesterday aftar noon in an open carriage. The Equerries in Waiting were in attendance on horseback. The Queen and Prince, with the Royal Chiidea and the Duchess of Kent, attended divine service to-day in the private chapel of the Castle. The Rev. Lord Wriothealey Russell performed the Morning Bervlce and poached the arson. Viscount Palmenton left town on Saturday for hia seat Broadlauds, Haute. The Earl of Clarendon has left London for his seat, The (iron, Watford. • Viscount and Viscountess Palmerston left town on' Saturday afternoon for Broadlands, near Ramsey, Hants., The noble viscount will come to town to-morrow (Tuesday) to attend the Cabinet Council that day. Viscountess Joce lyn and (orally are remaining at the residence of his lord ship in Piccadilly. The Marquis of Lansdowne is entestainisa a select party at Bowood-park, Wilts. The noble marquis masa to town tamorrow. The Earl of Clarendon is seeing a select circle of friends at the Grove, near Watford, where the noble earl has been 1 1 staying since Friday. The Right Hon. Ihr George Grey, who came to town on Wednesday from Failoden, our Alnwiels, remains in town. The Earl of Aberdeen, the Duke of Newcastle, Sir Wm• Molesworth, and Sir James Graham, Wand to remain in town daring the noes. The Right Hon. Sir Ckarlas Wood left town on Friday evening for Hickleton Hall, war Doncaster, for a few days . . only. - . The Right Hen. the Chancellor of the Rzchequn con tinues, with Mrs. Gladstone and fani;ly, at Sir Stephen Glynne's, Hawarden Castle. Flintabire. The Lord Chowsllos loft town on Friday for his seat mai Bosley, Rent. The Earl Granville left town on Friday for the country. The noble ear I will be in town to-morrow. TM Duke of Argyll is with the Duchess sad family at Bedford Lodge, Carapden-hill. Lord John Russell will return to town to-morrow. The noble Lord President of the Council and Lady John Russell and family will retarn to Pembroke Lodge, Richmond. Lord and Lady Cochrane have arrived in London at M ch r. Mackinnon 's :amnion in Hide - park - place, Marble Ar. Mr. William Owen, son of Professor Owen, our distinguished comparative anatomist, is apppointed to a junior clerkship in the Foreign•offioe, Downing• street. -- . GOVERNMENT APPOINTMENTS. Goptsts John Pnaer is appointed Captain of the Royal Naval Coast Volunteers. Mr. Percy B. Blemish is appointed Third Class Clerk in the Accountant General's °Mos of the Admi. ralty Department An exchange of appointments has been sanctioned between the Rev. T. Bert, Assistant Chaplain of Pentonville Prison, and the Rev. A. Sherwin, Chaplain of Birmingham GaoL—Obsereer. TitiFoamott-orrica.—On Saturday morning two Queen's messenger arrived shortly after • ht e'eleek, at tee Foreign-off ye, in Downing-street, from le, via Marseilles, with despatches for the Earl of fres lb Excellency Viscount Stratford de Redd& mad for the Duke of Nswesetl•, the War Minister, fele Meld KNOW Lied Raglan. On last Friday night a Foreign. Mies meemoser was seat off to Cuastantinople with &apish.' fee the British ambassador sad the Commandew in-Ohief at the Crimea. We understand that Means. boas Loyd and Co., with their usual itheraiity, have mead' their clerks a Christ mas present of 1,0001. FISTITITLIII AT BROUGHAM HALL. Lord Brougham is spending the Christmas at Brougham Bail, I. this neighbourhood and it affords us mach pleasure to state that his lerdsidp is in the enjoyment of good health, and as fad iambe and joke, although he has messed ma's mosaimut allotted as Its was la his younger days.— Wsw- CURIAL CLULIRAL Coubt—The sittings of this court will be resumed this morales. at the OM Bailey. The most Wefts ems la the calendar is these the Preach. MINN LUISA Dirtbelmay, the murderer el Mr. Moore sad the emilaimme mem Collard, in Wuribilmet. p. repequaro ; bet geisha* the trial will not aim ea as this sudsy bat be ~ad mei aest, to give briber lime the ropop MM. &sham. Mesa the aim however, be tried this esesies. It will east Asap Wes Willorger or Thuseday messiag. Whin tbil= l l2 Rise renerded. bis moms wee males and and be esemediee lent vidi • NM deal it billeasies the a c r i g r ie s harge wafts ever Ni bat after tit lied el sad lie seared easeinagelit fill me =ma to se alive to his real ellestlia . He beim ene mies* a haniimm, Whist ma. la steam be le shee t Mt Bvs I la., of warnalar build, dark emegleds% biglt shiekbemmi, lad • grebeisa d bag, blaek idly heir, Irbil& gives kin a Imes ; deSeembisi ap peareassoad his 4011.11•111110 wean a thud impseeden of cold ; his pil boa verger, and Mies is same- Oleg e WSW! igramems irldsilsavaelbe sabisenaMe is bee deolge l aba be t there w nest ee ao websavillt when be mat le in/ that U a warm. Mimi ghee be did, In deb et her; but this is is Its midmost. lrbst bb reel salve was beg ail ; bat Ilintie • gement belief that it had rehrisse Isms ile the wears by whom it is ;keyed TURKEY. CONSTANTINOPLE, Duo. 18. I mentioned in my last that the news of Austria having ratified by treaty, on the 2nd instant, her adhesion to the cause of the allies, had been trans mitted by telegraph to the French embass y on the 9th, and 24 hours later to M. do Bruck. This im portant event, however, was kept a profound secret at the Austrian Legation till the arrival of the post on Thursday last, and was not hailed with much satisfaction, it is presumed, by some of the officials, whose political tendencies are well known to be adverse to the Western Powers. " Their only brilliant exploits since the commencement of the war," one of these gentlemen, if I am rightly informed, was heard to remark facetiously, " have been the capture of Bomarsund, and that of the Russian poesesuons at Pas!" Our latest 'deices from the Crimea are of the 12th inst.; the works of the French army at that date were complete, but our own unfortunately still defective, and every possible assistance was being afforded by our brave allies to accelerate their progress. Oen. Canrobert more over, announces, respecting the strength of his own batteries, that there were 160 woes of heavy ord nance in position. extending over a considerable range of the investing lines, and he seems to consider it unlikely that the place can long resist against this formidable array of artillery. It was even thou g ht that in cue of the British works not being sufficiently advanced to co-operate within a short delay, the general had resolved to commence the attack single handed, with the fullest confidenx in the result. The French force, including the reinforcements which had arrived up to the date of these despatches, amounted in all to 60,000 available troops. The British since the battle of Likermann have been strengthened by the arrival of about 7,000 men, making a total amount of about 22,000 at the present moment There is a report in circulation that the Vladimir has captured a British transport laden with 15,000 rounds of ordnance ammunition, but there is no men. tion of the incident in our latest intelligence. General Montebello arrived yesterday from the Crimea, and is expected to return to France in a few days, with all the details and important informa tion relative to the operations at Sebastopol. To-day he visited the French hospitals, and distributed among the wounded heroes 50,000 f., as a souvenir from his august and munificent master. The Boys/ Albert arrived here on the 15th inst. with 2,000 men, and proceeded without delay up to the Black Sea. Prince Napoleon, since the arrival of Cenral Montebello with a letter from the Bnapetoe Width, his imperial highness to return to the camp as mat as circumstanoss permit, is again, it appears, rather eat of sorb. The fact is, little podtire known about this matter, as the prma moo then has kept his chamber, and reosind very few viatica. CONDITION OF THE PEOI PREPARATIONS. WARSAW, Dzo. 24. The columns of our journals have been filled for several days put with a great number of official de crees' confiscating the property of numerous indivi duals who have quitted the kingdom, without the knowledge and consent of the authorities. The advertisements contain the significant fact that the above-mentioned absent:we have gone to Turkey. My telegraphic message of this day will have In formed your readers of the prohibition of the expor tation of sheep skins during the continuance of the war. This is another unexpected and severe blow o our commerce, which is already , sufficiently para lysed by the war. Every day fresh bankruptcies are reported, and whilst the prices of all sorts of provi stone are getting dearer daily, the scarcity of me tallic currency is becoming more and more felt, the agio is rising, and the price of government securities, or rather insecurities, falling in propodion. Trea sury bonds were yesterday quoted at 74 roubles 42 copecks without the coupons, and as much as 6 roubles 38 copecks is freely given for the Demi- Imperial. In short, trade is stagnant, misery staring us in the face, the poverty almost insupportable, and the whole country on the eve of a general bank ruptcy. In spite of the prevailing wretched weather, which has converted our roads into almost imptaeticable bogs, the military movements and the dislocation of the troops on the Austrian frontiers continue without interruption. The reserve divisions of the Third Army Corps at Kiew and Sohitomir, those of the Fourth at Kaminietz and Odessa, the depot divisions of the third corps at Kiew, of the fourth at Orel, of the fifth at Charkow, and lastly, the reserve squa drons of the first and second reserve Cavalry Corps at Elisabethgrad and Tschngejew, are now perfectly organised. The second reserve Cavalry Corps is already on its march to the south. The greater part of the Third Army Corps and a division of the Fifth, under General Riedt, has been ordered to the Crimea and has already begun its march. The first reserve Cavalry Corps, consisting of the brigades of light and heavy cavalry, is destined to defend the fron tiers towards Austria, and several regiments of Cuirassiers are already in garrison at Berdishew. The arrival of troops from the north continues daily. Part of the garrisons of Lublin and Roden, consisting of 18,000 men, are ordered to Vollaynia, and all the regiments quartered in Lithuania are under order for the Crimea. THE NEW SWEDISH TARIFF. STOCKHOLM, Dec. 20. The new tariff, which comes into operation on the Ist January next, has just been published. This is one of the most liberal measures ever voted by the Diet. The King has sanctioned the proposals made by the Chambers for rescinding all the hitherto existing prohibitory duties on imports and exports (with the single exception of brandy), but with the alight modification that they are to cease at the end instead of the beginning of the year 1806. The mea sure has been most favourably received by the mer eantile world, as one tending to - give a great impetus to the development of our foreign commerce. The Suisse aye The Zurich armourers have not responded to the appeal of the Russian government, and it is very improbable that they will accept Russia's offers." We also read in the Suisse :—" The rumour that the English Minister had made application for leave to recruit openly in Switzerland for the English army appears to be unfounded." LETTERS FROM THE CRIMEA. Letter of a yonngster of 17, from the county Cork, a mid shipman serving in the fleet off Sebastopol: "December 9. "Harrah! my dear father, I have volunteered to go to the trenches, and am off to-morrow for them. We send fifty men. It will be rather cold work, but I should prefer being there to remaining down here all the winter in a state of inactivity. This is the third time I have volunteered for the trenches, and am very glad I am going to fight for Greenwich Hospital or Westminster Abbey. lam very busy getting ready. If you direct my letters still to the —, they will be forwarded to me, th ong I now belong to the second naval brigade, and our position is within 600 yards of the Russian forts, and is called the Koh.i-noor battery. You mast not be surprised at not hearing often, as I suppose we will not have time. If any thing happens to me my particular friend and chum will let you know ; at any rate, my dear father, you will n ot fi n d you eon disgrace yen by showing the white feather before the Russians, or say one else. I must now say good I by e' Ste." Letter of a Newnan from the neighbourhood of Cork, a sailor on board the fleet : " Off Sebastopol, Dec. 7. "No doubt, with all my countrymen, you are on tiptoe for newgfrom the Crimea; such as it is you are welcome to, so far as my knowledge extends. To-day is the first really fine ,day we have had for a month ; I sincerely trust it may be the forerunner of more. You, no doubt, ere this, have heard of the heavy gale of wind we experieneed last month. The effects of that on the shipping eau really not be exaggerated. At Balak lava end at liatcha the scene was fearful—but I never like to dwell on such subjects. In all large expeditions we may anticipate some disaster, so let ns be thankful that it is no worse. The combined sailing fleets have all left for the Bosphorus, with the exception of the Bellerophon and Leander at Bupateria ; the :Rodney and Vengeance, at Kateha. I suppose they will also follow as soon as they can be relieved by screws. The Hannibal arrived the day before yesterday. "The weather is becoming cold, but so long as we have no rain it is healthy. The mountains in our rear are No Treed with snow, and from the retest rains the passage of any body of troops must not only be difficult bat in a groat degree fatal to a relieving corps. For a week, our fire, as seen from seaward, has been very weak, but these last two days it is very vigorous. I antici pate that we have been occupied in bringing for ward our mortar batteries, no doubt with the purpose of not leaving a roof to cover the besieged ; and from what took pleas yesterday, I think the place must be getting too hot for them. At one p.m. two Russian steamers came outside of the harbour, and stood towards ' Cape Chor using.' One of them was the Vladimir, as heavy a steamer as we have here. On their coming within range of the two nom* steamers moored outside of the range of Quaraa. tins Battery, they,opened fi re, which was returned by the heath, but with what result I do not know. In the meantime the Valorous made a move,when they quietly paddled back, allisugh net another steamer wee near her for some time. The Vellum got within range, but at this distance I cannot say with what effect; however, as soon as oar friend the Vladimir pt seder Fort Conestautine she stepped. It wee evidently a draw, for no wooer did the Valorous stop than every bat tery on the an face opened on her. I thWactly saw the shot from the' Was Bat tery' go over her. But this morn ing, as if to let the ese how much she had to thank them for their she hoists a flag of truce and premeds under Put Osertantine to exchange a Russian de tibia at Alma for Lord Dunkellia. So El ar e li e l li e gr R ar and all bravery —to no from ens steamer.' How slimly they would have looked with her es a prin. As the lag is just closing , I assist close. We are new eaveloped in a dire fog, width Is surely a foretaste of joys to some," THE NEW YEAR AND THE CABINET. ' I THE year opens with a respect al mewed activity in the cabinet-making line of business. The opinion that a partial reconstruction of the Ministry is impending is no longer confined to the gossips o club smoking-rooms, and the gobemouches who derive their political prescience from that source, but begins ' to gain ground among more wary and well-informed politicians. Our views respecting Ministerial changes at the present time are upon record. Provided the existing administration .how themselves able and willing to carry on the war with judgment and vigour, we deprecate any immediate changes, on account of 1 the delay and embarrassment they ire certain to give rise to in our military operations. But if a change, more or learn extensive, in thepereosnel of the Govern ment mast come—if pressure from without or internal discords render a modification of the Cabinet ins• vitable—we can look forward to the crisis with little dread of anything beyond a mere temporary obstruc tion and inconvenience. We have unwavering faith in the power of the true heart and sagacity of the nation to compensate for any transient • that may result from the rivalries and intrigue public men. At a much more gloomy crisis of the nation's fate than the present—when the whole of Sootland wu in the power of rebels, when the re• presentative of a dynasty which had forfeited the throne was advancing into the heart of England, and when a French invasion was anxiously antici pated—the Ministry of the day, actuated by paltry jealousies, tendered 'their resignations in a body and yet our liberties were preserved, Encouraged by this example, we could look forward calmly to a worse evil than a breaking up and reconstruction of the ABERDEEN Cabinet in the midst of an arduous war. If, however, a clean house is to be made of such members of the Cabinet as are alleged to be inca pable., it is to be hoped that no undue partiality will he shown in the selection of the individuals who are to be got rid of; that no unlucky /right will be picked out to be made a JONAH of, and thrown over board to still the popular storm, for no better reason than that his position has rendered him more open to attack than his colleagues. The op ponents of the Government, u at present constructed, are concentrating their attacks up on the occupants of the War Department. We assuredly have no interest in, and no very great concern for, the Duke of Nawassms and Mr. SID NET HERBERT. The Duke, so far as our opportuni ties of observing go, is an amiable and honourable man, sincerely desirous to do what is right, with fair average though rather commonplace abilities. But it must be confessed that he appears to be scarcely adequate to the arduous task of organising and conducting a new department of state in a crisis like the present. Bat for any shortcomings of the Duke of Nzwcums, the blame rests lam with him than with the head of the Administration who placed that nobleman in the office he holds. When a leading statesman is " sent for" by his SOVEREIGN, and accepts the task of forming a Cabinet, he incur' the responsibility of surrounding himself with com petent colleagues. If the Duke of WELLINGTON, when he held all the secretaryships at once, had committed a serious blunder in any one of them, the blame would have rested upon him. And by every principle of law and justice he would have been equally held responsible for the blunders of any one to whom he might have delegated the charge. Qui fecit per chum fecit per a.. says the old brocard. The contractor is held responsible for the negligence or ignorance of those whom be em ploys. If this holds good in private life, why should it not bold good in a Government The QUEEN has called Lord Anatomic to her coun cils, and the people have borne with Min i on the under standing that he would employ proper people to do the nation's work. It he be deceived in any of those whom he has taken to be his colleagues, it is his duty to change them ; and if be will not, be ought to throw up his contract. If the change. that are looked for do take place, it is to be hoped that the people and their repre. l sentatives will insist upon their being real and effective. That thenuclens of the future Cabinet will consist of leading members of the present, no one seems to entertain a doubt. There is a not unkindly feeling towards the Earl of DERBY personally among a considerable number of politi. cians ; he entertains the sentiments of an English nobleman, and expresses them vigorously and grace fully : but those who have had the best opportunities of narrowly observing the Earl of DERBY when in office, know that he is to the lut degree impatient of drudgery, and morbidly afraid of incurring responsi bility. The Earl of DERBY'S courage and energy begin and end with hie speeches. And of all the aspirants to place who surround the Noble Earl, who is there that the country could trust P Mr. Din , luau's artistic talents and sparkling style could carry him triumphantly through a narrative of the war in the Crimea, but to organise and conduct the war is quite a different matter. And who could think at such a time of again entrusting our navy to the management of the Duke of NORTHUMBERLAND and Mr. STAFFORD P It is not an entire, but a partial change of the administration that Is wished or expected in any quarter. How, then, ought any vacancies in the Cabinet that may be made to be filled up ? One truth is obvious, that our Ministerial forces, both those in commission and the unemployed re serves, are pretty well used up. An infusion of new blood into the official ranks is urgently needed. A mere shifting and shuffling of the cards that have hitherto been played with will not do; the worn-out cards must be thrown away and new ones employed to make up the pack. Would our chances of speedily humbling Emile, and conquering a permanent and honourable peace, be increased by the simple circumstance of Lord ABERDEEN'S walking out with the , Duke of NEWCASTLE and Mr. SIDNEY HERBERT in his train, and Lord PALMERSTON'S SSW mains to the Premiership with all hispoco-curantion, and with Earl OUT and Lord OBANTILLZ in office es his sureties that be will be civil sad compliant to the Coact P To be of any avail, the mooted changes in the Cabinet must lead to an iaffeassaf the liberal element in its composition, and to tbe lasorporation of men who can work hard and are idsulillsd with the middle classes. There can be no *Wen to patri clans if the patricians ere fit for tbeli slices; but it hes been too long the practice ta eggslut and con tinue persons of very questionable lbw in place merely because they are patricians. The practice of limiting the choice of our Aikidos to the ranks FRANCE. (1 0 1103 C TEN OP TER DAILY *sal PARIS, SATURDAY Evonto. The doubts which I mentioned yesterday as havia e , been entertained respecting the fact of the r ep einearnple conference at Vienna are confirmed to.d ir by the Cologne Calais, which says that on the VA 4bo ambassadors of the three Powers, Count de Beal, Baron de Bourqueney, and Lord Westmoreland, Mg in con ference, and that afterwards Count Buol ha as interview with Prince Gortabakoff, to whee l h e onuninicated the precise sense of the coediting" demanded by the Western Powers and Aunti e , Insisting upon a simple answer of yes or no. Tbi e inenariam is conformable to what I yesterday indicat e d es tie probable course of things, and reduces ti e Import of the conference, about which so much* has been made, to an empty formality, for no one expects that the Russian ambassador will have girls a straightforward or satisfactory answer. The Bulletin des Lois promulgates a decree, dated Nov. 7, authorising the Minister of Finance to sag. meat the emission of treasury bonds for 1 854-1833 to 350 millions; and also a decree, dated Nov. 12, opt& ing a supplemental credit of 7,466,000 f., of whim 6,897,900 f. are appropriated to the consolidated debt and the remainder to the poet office. A further sop, plemental credit of 4,000,000 f is opened for civil and military pensions, the expenses of the Senate, and the receipt and farming of taxes. A new denomination of gold coinage has been de• creed—pieces of bof. and 100 E No more 40f. gew pieces are to be coined, but those now in circulation are not withdrawn. At the Bourse the settlement in the rente (4. vaned a day in consequence of the 31et being Sunday) turned out untavourably for the speculators for the rise. The Three per Cents. fell 30, closing at 66.70. Almost all the railways rose two or three franc, but Orleans fell 10f. Bank of Francs rose 15f. I learn by a private letter from the Crimea that in the night of Dec. 10, while the artillery of the fortress was blazing away vigorously but doinc li n e ; harm, the Russians made two serious sorties. were repulsed on all points except at a mortar battery guarded by a battalion of the French 42nd Rev. menu which was unfortunately fast asleep. Th. Russians wounded a few men, took a lieutenant pri. soner, and carried away with them three little mortar' —email enough to be carried in the arms of two men. As soon as this affair was reported to Gen. Csairobert he withdrew the battalion from the trenches as en. worthy to be employed upon such a service, and ordered the captain who commanded the force to be tried by a court-martial. The same letter states that another sortie (date not given) was repulsed by the English in a masterly style at the. point of the bayonet, with a Russian low of 400 killed, wounded, and taken prisoners. The following article in the Ifimiteur is believed to be intended as a satisfaction to the Turkish em. balmy for the omission of all mention of Turkey in the Imperial speech. The Porte continues to use the most praiseworthy efforts not only to merit the universal interest which its cause has awakened, but also to co-operate in the merino's of the allied powers. This is what results from all the information re. ceived by the government of the Emperor, from the French embassy at Constantinople, and from the General-in-Chid of the army of the East. It is already known that the Sultan, not wishing to confine himself to sending to the Crimea the reinforcements which were kept in re. serve at Varna for the wants of the expedition hal given orders to Marshal Omer Pacha to place himself at the head of a corps d'ormt's formed of picked troops, intended to take an important part in our opera tions. The central military administration, which, since the commencement of hostilities, has shown the greatest anxiety to assist us, has lately given a fresh im pulse to the works which we had requested them to under take. Numerous workmen are at this moment occupied is making tents for our men and coverings for our horses, and the arsenals are employed in founding cannon and project tiles, which will be placed at the disposal of General Canro bert. The Ottoman Admiralty, on its side, gives to the allied squadrons an active co-operation for the repairs of the damage experienced by our ships during the hurricane dike 14th November. Lastly, our hospital establishments requir ing an increased development at Constantinople in propor tion to the number of our army, the Sultan has ordered the Sneakier to offer us for that purpose all the buildings that we may require. It is with devoted eagerness that the Porte has on all occasions made the sacrifices called for by the common interest, and the government of the Emperor feels the most sincere satisfaction in making it known. It is important to observe the allusion to Omer Pacha, wbtch is an implied contradiction of the report of his dismissal by the Ottoman government. The Constitutionnel says : According to accounts which have just reached Paris from Constantinople, the state of health of Prince Napo leon had not yet allowed him to leave for the Crimea, whither he had already sent the officers of his household in the hope that he should soon be able to follow them. It was even feared that his Imperial Highness would be obliged to postpone his departure from Constantinople for some time as he has a violent attack of the gout, from which be is suffering severely. The other symptoms of his complaint have completely disappeared. All bis illaees is now therefore (*shoed to the gout, which give, no canes for uneasiness, but confines the Prince to his bed, and the greet annoyance which he feels at being thus kept away from the army tends to increase the disease. The Press. Constantinople correspondence of the 18th says the Duke of Cambridge and Lord Cardi gan were both about to return to England. With regard to the Duke of Cambridge I have seen several letters, by this mail, stating that he was coming home. One letter says he had been "ordered to England," and another that he had actually em barked on board the Retribution, but had afterwards landed, that vessel being detained for repairs. Your own Constantinople correspondent, however, 'who is very seldom misinformed, says, writing on the same date, that his Royal Highness, after receiving the visit of the Sultan at the embassy (a fact noticed, by the way, in the letters to which I refer) would return to his command before Sebastopol. A letter from Berlin says that the French govern ment has bought up most of the wine on sale in the Moselle districts, for the use of the army. The Moniteur contains a notification that as the Emperor and Empress wish to exercise a free choice in purchasing articles at the Universal Exhibition, thethey cannot accept any which may be offered to m. There will be a reception for ladies only at the Tuileries, at 9 o'clock on Tuesday evening. They must appear in Court dresses. Mr. Edward B. Buchanan has been accredited to the Imperial Commission of the Exhibition as Com missioner from the United States for the state of Maryland. The Commissioners of toe United States now present in Paris have held a meeting to form a central committee, of which Mr. James Swaim has been chosen President. A firs broke out yesterday morning at an early hour in a young ladies' boarding-school, kept by Mdlle. Lefeuvre, No. 8, Rue Sery, at Havre. An alarm being immediately given, all the pupils of the house were got out, and the firemen soon arriving, succeeded in extinguishing the flames on the first floor, where the fire commenced. No sooner, however, had they done so, than the conflagration broke out with greater fury on the third story. Tke firemen, who were aided by detachments of gendarmes and soldiers, made every effort in their power to check the progress of the flames, but it was five hours before they succeeded, and then the house and its contents were almost entirely consumed. Next the boarding school was an immense wood yard full of wood, but the precautions taken fortu nately prevented the flames from reaching it. A sergeant of the firemen, named ()rancher, whose zeal was extraordinarily great, was crushed to death by the fall of the ruins of the house ; and his body, when found some time after, was completely who nisecL The pupils of the school, many of whom had to hurry off only partially dressed, were kindly re ceived in the house of Madame d'Hondelot, and that lady supplied them all with food and clothes. The damage done by the fire is calculated at 80,000 f. The unfortunate Grander leaves a wife and young family. Upwards of 3,000 L have already been sub• scribed for them. Tim STUN= Quart, Captain Wilk, arrived at Southampton yottordity from Oporto, Which port obi loft et the 21st alt. Her sago consists of 230 live bulbar, rr 7,000 k 234tD3ty Oi etas, ogg, emit, sad moots to Of Tau It F I