The Express. — London, England, 1850-12-18 00:00:00

/ LIST Wm, with yap P, bs, pals of redbird" de • t. a I say be bd. grad, °IRMO MASH site . at, & ta l i l ' •Ir pdee, Posed. sinetome 4, Upper Weymmotb.euert. Portbar&pleee. Tbe Nem" "Zeproo" aM all the ether d.Uy japed forwarded by de sands awl molds add. JOHN NAM! aad Ca bey drea ds bibs b Jaime% Chrodeb . s.d EVOSINg pretrial ded tido • rah, prior lea e. per odder . The "M. Jades% °bromide • orperaalay felenemis Itself to fanlike, the deny. sad psstrp Abbas. by de delusion of all natter of a joretiesable tomempay, as men es de dried Lll•rittOT oflb adoeilamoos lard- Odd The Itembe MM" le Use wreath, gelds of the "11E00 mire odd= .1 Its baperuat adra of WS Oared, therefore bolas of the bat MIMI 0.19.49 a arospapere thaatry elreolatroa. All modpapare re lbeerarded by JOHN NA ame Oa, Is prbmad ewers, abs atria pemedear. 711=a1.111 2 11:11W: 11 . 1 MMI. * NEWSPAPERS for 1861.-Gratia.-A NEW Ll .4 on th, LON Do! SPATES!! sad MAOAZt Si. I ~I 7 • Is‘ Wit entrefigi. TO CORRESPONDENTS. hiwerdemeablebiehell lot 7M Taprome," laden Evening poppy. N Yet the Moe. lb, Ileseeeloarwet, by Two debit es the day el pahheetbes. HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. Too D.T—ifendos. um. Wimp" to.mossov—ilervis, I LL Oa. iflarwas. !h. ba. LONDON, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18. PRESIDENT FILLIR011f• Sall Mgr to CongTese la nbareeteristic of the man. It is the composition of ewe who has attained the position he holds in his party sad in the state by substa.itial hard work, by the eon fides°e he has inspired in his tact, judgment, and prac ticed good sense, not by showy declamation. It ',tem perate in language, perspicuous in conception and siTangemi nt. From some of its views we utterly dissent, es narrow and antiquated, but it is a docu ment such u could emanate from no one but an expe rienced statesman who sees clearly within the range of his mental vision, though that range may be somewhat of the narrowest. In so far as the PRESIDENT'S views of foreign policy are concerned, or the measures he recommends with a view to complete the organisation of the terri tories recently incorporated into the Union, the Message is unexceptionable. This is Mr. PILL MORE'S true and natural sphere of action. In the routine duties of his high offi:e, in the practical appli cation of uncon•roverted principles and maxims, his sound judgment keeps him right It is where he has to deal with new phases in the political relations of his country, or with doctrines which have not yet re esiveithe sanction of a time-honoured conventionality that he is apt to err. The tone of the message with reference to the foreign relations of the United States is decidedly pacific. The PREsIDENT congratulates himself and the country that they are generally amicable, and inti mates • desire to maintain this satisfactory state of affairs. With reference to the new territories, be urges a prompt adjudication on the Mexican land titles in California, and prelims for the extension of the land laws to Utah and New Mexico. He recommends that the gold lands should be sold in small quantities, sod that a branch mint should without lore of time be established in California. He also cilia attention to the neer silty that exists for organising one or more regiments of mounted men for the protection of the frontier. of New Mexico, and to help to repress the predatory Indians. This part of the message is emi nently judicious and practical. Closely connected with these topics is what the PRESIDENT says on the heads of a Tehuantepec rail. way and Niciraguan Ocean Canal. The accomplish ment of both these objects has a vital interest fur the Americans. It is through them that they are to look for maintaining a permanent connexion between the Atlantic and the Pecitie states. The PRESIDENT in timates that Mexico is being importuned to grant • more unrestric'ed right of way for a railroad across the isthmus of Tehuantepec, and expresses a hope that he shall be able to come toe satisfactory arrange ment with Greet Britain respictiog the ocean ship canal through Nicaragua. Two preliminaries, he rates, have yet to be settled before the canal conven. tion can be regarded as complete : the designation and establishment of a free port at each end of the canal, and the fixing of the limits within which bel ligerent operations shall not be carried on. These points are most important. Since the first is still open, it is to be hoped that the American and British negotiators will consider the line of canal as well as the terminal ports an open question, and extend their views to the whole isthmus instead of narrowing them to the San Juan route alone. The recognition of the common right of way, and of the permanently neutral character of the canal and its terminal ports and the adjoining waters, will be ri most important and beneficial innovation in in ternational law, and the cordial disposition to promote it evincid by the American PRESIDENT Is of good auger, At the same time the terms in which he speaks of this important principle as still unrecognised by any del uge coavention shows the recklessness of the aver meets that the whole matter was finally arranged. pet forth for interested purposes, which we have recently had r cession to expose. The message contains important suggestions re specting the revision of the republic's naval code, ren dered necessary by the recent abolition of flogging ; the establishment of lighthouses and improvement of harbours ; and the app intment of a tribunal to adjudicate all claims upon government Not less interesting is the PRESIDENT'S recommendation that an uniform rata of postage, of 3 cents for prepaid letters and 5 rents for unpaid letters, should be adopted, whatever the distance that they are coo fhe moat unsatisfactory parts of the message are those which relate to Customs duties and to the Fugi tive Slave Bill. Mr. Fitt SHIRE is of opinion that the federal reve nue should be raised mainly by import duties; that these duties should be as far as possible specific, eid raker/me rates when unavoidable be ing estimated on the home instead of the foreign valuation; and that those rates should be so levied as to benefit incident ally home industry by shielding it from destructive foreign competitioc. In short, Mr. Filaments per in the insidious policy by which his party seek to recur to a system of protective duties. Mr. Fittatoar. takes up his stand upon the Fugi tive Slave Act, the principle and policy of which be unreservedly defends. This is the first topic to which he allude*, and it is also the last. He main tains that the act hes contributed to rescue the coon try from a boundless agitation ; and yet, singularly enough, he finds it necessary to deprecate in strong language the mutual reproach and recrimination, leading to useless irritation, among the several members of the Union, to which it has given rise; and to de clare emphatically that all existing laws mud be enforced and obeyed, whether obnoxious or popular. We were quite prepared by Mr. Plumose* pre vious career to tied him entertaining the view. he ex presses with reference to free trade and slavery; and we are neither depressed nor alarmed by them. The maintenance of a free-trade policy in the Uoited States depends upon the legislature, not the execu tive ; and we do not believe that the PIESIDINT can obtain the cioncurrence of both houses of the legisla ture to the unsettlement of the existing tariff and the principle* open which it is based. As to the Fugi tive Slave Aet, whatever may be the opinions or wishes of the PRESIDENT and his p arty , it is working its own core. The tactics adop ted by the Bostonians to counteract it are singularly adapted to American tastes, and likely to be imitated throughout the Union. An opposition which is perfectly pacific and orderly, and which at ogee evades a law and renders it ridiculous, cannot foil to pat down the obnoxious statute in the end. Bat there is more than this at wink. Among the letters (and they are not a few) which we have received from our American correspondents, who are hostile to abolition, or more correctly speaking, to the abolitionists, there is one topic that is uniformly dwelt upon with great glee. It is the fact that the freedom of most of the negroes arrested in the northern states on the allegation that they are run away slaves, has been purchased, and purchased not by abolitionists, but by members of the political party opposed to them. What is the boastful spirit in which this fact, or alleged fact, is stated, but an admission that there is an universal feeling throughout the free states, that slavery is indefensible, and that the en forcement of the Fugitive Slave Law is an outrage to humanity ? Partisan bias cannot long uphold a law against which the sentiments even of its sapportere revolt. ONE of the strangest anomalies in the English mind is the patience with which it submits to those admitted social abuses which have once obtained the prescription of custom aid the support of law. Ob servances and institutions which all candid and rational man are everywhere load in condstaning— THE EXPRESS, WEDNESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 18, 1850. matter, that out of every hundred who obtain such divorces in Scotland there are not more than half a dosen in command of ouch means as could .lore put them in a position to procure a divorce bill in England. If °stevedore Will reeroton the eateatit of misery 'which pitch a denial of right. mast niteessarity ones 'mien, especieby among the huttibler classes of the community,. they will enabled to form some ade quate estimate of the Fastness_ of the abuse that is msolvedda the perpetuation of our preseet anomalous and oppressive system. By what pteutical machi nery the amendment of that system might best be effected, and of what ameliorations the substantive part of the law is susceptible, are important ques tions, the consideration of which must be reserved for another time. Iwhich no reflecting man who hes taken the corn monist pains to understard their real caters can ' anywhere be found to defend—are yet suffered to linger on amid the general discontent, irficting year after year intolerable hardship es the indiviiinfils who suffer under the it op. ratio:, era • serious 114. Weal reproach on the community that falls to init on their extinction. One of the crowning instance. of this fisibillil weakness of long sufferingAs tp he found its woe existing Law of Divoacr. Two banana. gears elm with eloquence that has never bran surprised, and with arguments that have never been answered, lons MILTON pointed out to his countrymen how ' this law "charged the blessings of matrimony not seldom into • familiar and co-inhabiting mischief, at least into • drooping and disconsolate household cap tivity without refuge or redemptioo." In the many generations that have shoe passed away no effectual change has been introduced into the administration of this department of our law; its anomalies and its op pression still continue in all material points as fla grant as when they drew forth from our great poet 'Woman the trumpet-blast of his indignant rebuke. Of all the many social ameliorations of the day there is none that better deserves the active support of bold and earnest reformers than the project of an effectual and searching reform or rather re-constitution of the entire fabric of our laws relating to divorce. Ex perience has taught us not to be too sanguine PA to the results of those inquiries, which the State from time to time directs to be instituted, with a view to ulterior legislation; they have too often been merely a cumbrous machinery for relieving men in office from the responsibilities which office ought to entail. We cannot, however, be wholly indifferent to the announcement that a royal commission is about to issue for the purpose of inctoiring and reporting upon the whole subject of the law of divorce, and that amongst the members of the commission are to be found the names of Lord CAMPBELL, Dr. Luau tnaros, and Mr. PAGE WOOD. We would fain trust that the hops inspired by these names may not prove illusory, but that the country may really and speedily derive from the labours of the commission, a practical and working measure of reform in this vitally important department of our law. To show the urgent necessity of such a reform nothing more is requisite than a clear and succinct statement of what the law, as it at present stands, actually ie. In England the marriage contract can only be die eolved, either by the death of the parties or by act of parliament; and the legislature will only interfere for this purpose in cases where an action for criminal conversation has been first brought at common law, and a separation a menui et thorn been afterwards ob tained by a separate proceeding in the ecclesiastical courts ; even this measure of relief is, however, sub ject to the further limitations that it will not be granted on any ground except that of adultery, and that even in case of adultery it will never be granted except at the instance of the husband. Three occa. sloes indeed there have been, and three only, in which the extreme enormity of the facts proved induced the House of Lords to depart from the inflexibility of their general rule, and concede a divorce at the suit of the injured wife. The general state of the law, therefore, in this country is that the wife can never, save under the most extreme and exceptional circumstances of mari tal guilt, obtain an effectual dissolution of the marriage tie; that the husband may do so, but only on the ground of adultery, and on condition of his having first gone through two previous investigations before two different tribunals, in each of which precisely the same point is at issue, which he is compelled a third time to try over again in the House of Lords before he can procure the act of the legislature which can alone let him free from the matrimonial bond. --- The expense of there preliminary proceedings is so great, that dissolution of marriage in case of proved I adultery, which, on theory, is the common right of all, is, in point of fact, a privilege which none but the comparatively wealthy can purchase. Even under the mist favourable circumstatces, that is, in cases where no defence is made to the action at law, and no opposition offered to the prcc.:( dings in the Zoete tiasticil Court, or to the passage of the divorce bill through parliament, the necessary expenses of the prcceture can hardly be reckoned at leas than 1,0001. In the case of Mr. blyrroau's divorce, where, from various causes, the expenses were more moderate than in any other which has yet c mte to our knowledge, the charges actually itcarred were— £ s. a. emu of action Proci dings is D Atore COMMIOBO 263 14 0 Parliamentary oasts £983 3 1 If any opposition takes place the amount, of course, is much larger; aid instances tare been known, as in the case of Lord ELLENBOROUOII . B divorce, where the sums expended have been very little short of 6,000/. It is thus obvious that in a community whom chief boast is that its laws are equal to the rich and poor, one of the most clearly admitted rights of citizenshir—one of the rights whose denial may cause the bitterest misery and the deepest serge of wron—is virtually denied to at least nine-tenths of the English people. With regard to all except a email fraction of the wealthier cusses of Englishmen the law which proclaims the equal right of all to break off the intolerable yoke of an adulterous mar riage, is a mockery and a delusion. Kr the vast majority effectual divorce, even in the worst of cases, is as completely a practical impossibility now as it was when MILTON wrote : of them it is still true that the Law rather than " break by divorce that which is much more broken by undue and forcible keeping," oftentimes compels " the whole worship of a Chris tian's man's lite to languish and fade away beneath the weight of an uumeaaurable grief and discourage- If we ask why the law thus rigorously insis.a on making so costly a privilege of this natural right, we are met by one of the most singular instances of that unreasoning reverence for antiquity which is the root of so much that is most faulty in our legislation. The principle os which the whole of our divorce system rests is the doctrine of the absolute indissolubility of the marriage tie, a doctrine, be it always remembered, not of the common law of Eng land, but of the canon law of Rome; a doctrine which wits first established as an article of faith by the Council of Trent, and which, though it may be bitd- Mg in countries where marriage is regarded as a sacrament, can have neither meaning nor authority in a country where the sacramental character of marriage is expressly denied by the articles of the church, and I the institution is treated by the laws of the land as a mere civil ceremony, to whose legal validity the pre sence even of a minister of religion is by no means necessary. So oompletely, however, did this doctrine of indissolubility survive the Reformation, that it was not till towards the close of the 17th century that marriages were first rescinded by act of parliament. That which upon the true principles of our protestant faith and our free constitution should from the first have been regarded as a common right, was thus for a long period treated sa an act of special favour, and even now, when the practice of granting parliamen tary divorcee has become comparatively fee quent, dis solution of marriage is still looked upon not so much as an ordinary step in legal procedure, as an excep tional exaction of legislative power. It is high time that an end should be put to this mischievous and absurd state of the law—this prac tical solecism which starting from a false premise has led us to the most anomalous conclusions. The doc trine at the indissolubility of marriage must be wholly renounced as a principle of law ; the cases in which its dissolution is permitted must be ac curately defined; above all, one uniform tribunal, and one inexpensive mode of procedure, must be established by means of which Englishmen shall be enabled, as Scotchmen are now, to procure a complete and effectual liberation from the intolerable burden of an adulterous wedlock, at a oast not ex ceeding one-fortieth of what they are now compelled to pay. The average expense of disannulling a mar riage in Scotland is about 301., but in cases where the claim for divorce is unlitigated it is not much more than half that amount. The consequence is, that, although the morality of the Scotch in all that relates to the marriage tieis universally admitted to be at least ea high as oar own, there is nothing to preclude the poorer classes of the community from availing themselves of the privilege of dissolving the marriage bond in all caste where its forced eionticuance most necessarily be regarded as the grab:test of hardship.. In such eases, accordingly, we find that small ehopkeepre, farmers, labourers, and servants are smug the number of those to whom divorce,. Uncut° mairessoreii, is habitually granted on the other aide the Tweed, and we have been assured, by • mamma prestically conversant with the FRANCE. PARIS, MONDAY Eves's°. T 4 pressed' ings of the Assembly to-day sere more thins orefisarily iaterestiog. After the passing of a 'bill relative to the exchange of some landed peonerty between M.De Seger and the State, M. Jules De Lasteyrie reed the report of the committee appointed to examine the proposition of M. Victor Lefranc for the revision of the new electoral law. M. Lefraso's proposition was to the effect, that a committee should be appointed to inquire into the effects produced by the electoral law paned on the 31st of May, 1850; and to suggest sse.h modifications as it might con sider necessary. M. De Lasteyrie in his report en deavours, in the first place, to establish that the new electoral law has had the effect of consolidating social order on a sound basis, and he contended that it would be both impolitic and dangerous to adopt the proposition brought forward by M. Lefranc. He declared that if such a proposition were taken into consideration the effect would be to bring the law into suspicion and discredit, to revive the alums of the last two years, and to lay the Assembly open to the charge of weakness and inconsistency. In con cluding his report he stated that the law was not nearly so restrictive as bad been pretended by the adversaries of the meuure I for that it appeared from official documents that the number of electors inscribed on the lists already drawn up amounted to nearly 7 millions of voters, and that that number would be considerably increased in 1831. The report was received by the conservatives with loud expressions of approbation. The Montagnards murmured occasionally, but on the whole they were more calm than usual or than was expected. The bill granting the credits necessary for the sup port of the new colonial bishoprios, wu then brought forward. M. A. Esquires opposed it with great vio lence, but the bill was carried by a majority of 449 to 165. The debate on the bill relative to the law of hyppothee, was then resumed, and is still going on. Toe committee on the Western Railway met to day. The discussion was confined entirely to the question of the formation of a branch line from Chartres to Alencon. M. Darn supported the branch line with great vigour, and M. Gouin opposed it. Ultimately the committee, without coming to any de cision, adjourned till Wednesday, to give the Minister of Public Works an opportunity of giving some ex planations on the subject. It is supposed that the notation Bill will be Nought forward within the next mouth, but the mi nistry hesitate in consequence of the serious opposi tion which will be made to it by the republicans and legitimist& It is said that MM. de Valsmesnil, de Lucy, and Berryer, are determined to oppose it. It is uncertain what part M. de Falloux will take, but it is supposed that he will abstain from voting. The legitimists state that the Comte de Chambord has written a letter to one of his adherents in Paris, in which he expresses a hope that all his friends will oppose the dotation. The parties are so nearly ba lanced for and against the measure, that the fate of the measure will probably rest ultimately upon the decision of General Caysignao and M. Dufaure. It is said to be already ascertained that 200 republicans de is 'milk, 100 legitimists, and 30 Orleaniate, have expressed their determination to oppose the measure. The Chronigve of Courtrai announces that the Bel gian and French commission, which was appointed to examine into certain difficulties raised by the custom house at Lille, relative to the admission of Belgian linens into France, has effected an arrangement which will be satisfactory to both countries. V NITED STATES. PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE. The Niagara, Captaia Stone, which sailed from New York on the atm instant, arrivid in the Mersey yesterday, with the President's speech, of which an abstract, forwardedby electric telegraph,wu published in the same day's impression. We now give the deca -1 sisat-entire. 04116111.11 set on the 3rd, and after having orga nised itself, intimated to the President its readiness to receive any communication he might have to make. The message was publifhed in the Washington and New York journals of the 3d. Of course there had been no time for any action, or even decided expres sion of opinion in either house of the legislature. THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE. FELLOW-CITIZINII OP Phi 151111•111, AND OP THE Hooey OP EllrittialrrialVia,— Being suddenly eallod, in the midst of the last session of Congress, by a painful dispensation of Divine Providence, to the responsible station which I now hold, I contented myself with such communiutione to the legislature as the exigency of the moment seemed to require. The country was shrouded in mourning for the loss of its venerated Chief Msgistrate, and all hearts were penetrated with grief. Neither the time nor the occasion appeared to require or to justify, on my part, any general expression of political opinions, or any anaouncemeat of the principles which would govern me in the discharge of the duties to the performance of which I had been so unexpectedly called. I trust, therefore, that it may not be deemed inappropriate, if I avail myself of this oppor tunity of the re-sasembling of Congress, to make known my sentiments in a general manner in regard to the policy which ought to be pursued by the government, both in its Inter , course with foreign nations, and in its management and administration of internal affairs. Nations, like individuals in • state of nature, are equal and independent, possessing certain rights, and owing car. tale duties to each other, arising from their necessary and unavoidable relations; which rights and duties there is no common human authority to protect and enforce. Still they are riahu and duties, binding in morals, in conscience, and in honour, although there is no tribunal to which an injured party can appeal but the disinterested judgment of mankind, and ultimately the arbitrament of the sword. Among the acknowledged rights of nations is that, which each possesses, of establishing that form of government which it may deem most conducive to the happiness and prosperity of its own citizens; of changing that form as eh , cnmstaoces may require ; and of managing its internal affairs according to Its own will. The people of the United States claim this right for themselves, and they readily concede it to others. Hence it becomes an imperative duty not to in terfere in the government or internal policy of other nations ; end, although we may sympathise with the unfortunate or the oppressed, everywhere, in their struggles for free dom, our principles forbid us from taking any part in suck lenign contests. We make no wars to promote or to pre. seat successions to thrones ; to maintain soy theory of a balance of power; or to suppress the actual government which any country chooses to establish for itself. We in s/agate no revolutions, nor suffer any hostile military espediiions to be fitted out in the United States to invade the territory or provinces of a friendly nation. The great kw of morality ought to have a national, as well u a personal and individual application. We should act to wards other nations as we wish them to act towards us; and justice and conscience should form the rule of conduct between governments, instead of mere power, self-interest, or the desire of aggrandizement. To maintain a strict neutrality in foreign were, to cultivate friendly relations. to reciprocate every noble and generous act, and to perform punctually and scrupulously every treaty obligation—these are the duties which we owe to other states, and by the performance of which we best entitle ourselves to like treatment from them; or if that, in any case, be refused, we can enforce our own rights with justice and a clear csonscience. In our domestic policy, the constitution will be my guide ; and in questions of doubt, I shall look for its interpretation to the judicial decisions of that tribunal which was este. bashed to expound it, and to the usage of the government, sanctioned by the acquiescence of the country. I regard all its provisions at equally binding. In all its parts it is the will of the people, expressed in the moat solemn form, and the constituted authorities are but agents to carry that will into effect. Every power which it has granted is to be exercised for the public good; but no pretence of utility, no honest cAtviction, even of what might be expedient, can justify the assumption of any power not granted. The powers conferred upon the government and their distribution to the several departments, are as clearly expressed in that sacred instrument as the imperfection of human laneueire will allow; and I deem it my first duty, not to question its wklons, add to Its provisions, evade its requirements, or nullify its commands. Upon you, fellow citizens, as the representatives of the States sod the people, is wisely devolved the legislative power. I shall comply with my duty, in laying before you, from time to time, any information calculated to enable you to discharge your high and responsible trust, for the benefit of our common constituents. My opinions will be frankly expressed upon the leading subjects of legislation; end it, which I do not anticipate, say act shoutd pass the two houses of Congress which should appear to me unconstitutional, er an encroachment of the just powers of other departments; or with provisions hastily adopted, and likely to produos consequences injurious and unforeseen, I should not shrink from the duty of returning it to you,' ith my reasons, for your t urth. r oonsicieratior . Beyond the due performance of these constitutional obligations, both my respect for the legislature and my tense of propriety will restrain me from any attempt to control or influence your proceedings.. With you is the power, the honour, and the responsibility of the legislation of the country. The government of the United States is a limited govern ment. It is confined to the exercise of powers expressly granted, and such other, as may be necessary for carryirg those powers into effect ; and it is et all times an especial duty to guard uainst any infringement on the just rights of the States. Over the objec:a and subjects intrusted to congress, its legislative authority is supreme. But here that authority mum, and every citisen who truly loves the consti tution, and desire, the continuance of its existence and its blessings; will resolutely end firmly resist any interference in those domestic affairs, which the constitution has clearly and unequivocally left to the exclusive authority of the States. And every such citizen will also deprecate useless irritation among the several members of the Union, and all reproach and crimination tending to alienate one portion of the coun try from another. The beauty of our system of government consists, and its safety and durability must consist, in avoiding mutest collisions and encroachments, and in the regular separate action of all, while each is revolving in its own distinct orbit. The constitution has made it the duty of the President to take care that the laws be faithfully executed. In • government like ours, in which all laws are plinth by a majority of the representatives of the people , and thews representatives are choeen for such short period ' s, that any injurious or obnoxious law can very soon be reputed, it would appear unlikely that any great numbers should be found ready to resist the execution of the laws. But it must be borne in mind that the country is extensive, that there may be local interests or prejudices rendering a law odious in one part, which is not so in another, and that the thoughtless and inconsiderate, misled by their passions, or their imaginations, may be induced madly to resist such laws as they disapprove. Such persons should recollect that, without law, there can be no real practical liberty ; that, when the law is trampled under foot, tyranny rules, whether it appears in the form of a military despotism or of popular violence. The law is the only sure protection of the weak, and the only efficient restraint upon the strung. When impartially and faithfully administered, none is be neath its protection, and noes above its control. You gentleman, and the country may be assured, that to thi utmost of my ability, and to the extant of the power vested in me, I shall at all times, and in all places, take care that the laws be faithfully executed. Is the discharge of this duty, solemnly imposed upon ma by the constitution, and by my oath of aloe, I shad shriek from no responsibility, and shall endeavour to meet events se they may arise with firmness, as well u with prudence and dis cretion. The appointing power is one of the most delicate with which the executive is invested. I regard it as a sacred trust, to be exercised with the sole view of prosperity end happiness of the people. It shell be my fitted advancingforby the the u - s 870t.ip l e es : etc : Es:t i t ogr W am. nfeiwro e o l b ehr e dpui v cpun a kh l ttoheito t dewy : standard of importance individuals b a ts r ii e y huh a a s a. ap ic elp i e d : ,tien , afu ien b wdn y , th eir ge personsupower,a fo k r nonm a p p o in te dw country , a unfortunate . pew i th integ r ity, nott s l :1 meets be made, notwithstanding the greatest care. In such oases, the power of removal may be properly exercised, and neglect of duty or malfeasance in office will be no more tole rated In individuals appointed by myself than in those ap pointed by others. I am happy in being able to say that no unfavourable change in ear foreign relations has taken place since the message at the opening of the last amnion of Congress. We are at pews with all nations, and we enjoy in an eminent degree tie blessings of that peace, in a prosperous and growing commerce, and in all the forms of amicable national intereminse. The unexampled growth of the country, the ' , resent amount of its population, and its ample mean of pelf protection assure for it the respect of all nations; while It Is tru s ted that its character for judos, and • regard to the rights of other states, will cause that respect to be readily and obeerfally paid. A convention wee negeedated between the United States and Great Britain, In April last, for facilitating and protect ing the commotion of a ship ciangl between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and for other WPM'S. This instru ment has sine* been ratified by Ike mistreating parties, the exchange of ratifications has bm effeeted, and proclama tion thereof been duly made. In addition to eke stipulations contained in this maven- TORLIDAT MORNING. In the Legislative Assembly yesterday, atter your reporter left, the debate on the Mortgage Reform Bill oocupted the attention of the house till its rising. The debate was adjourned till this day. The Vole du Proacrit publishes another manifesto from the political refugees in London. It is signed by . MM. Ledru Rollin, Albert Daruz, Joseph Maz atm, and Arnold Ruge, and is addressed to the Italian, Polish, Oerma r it,' Austrian, and Dutch com mittees. Fourteen members of the Left have inscribed them selves to speak against the conclusions of the com mittee recommending the rejection of the proposition of M. Victor Lefranc. Among them are MM. Orevy, !double, Regal, Baune, Pascal, Duprat, Arnaud (de l'Arriege), Madrie, de Montjau, &c. Only three members of tie majority are inscribed to support the report, viz., MM. Haze, de Kerdrel, and Leon Faucher. The Armiteur contains an official defence of the administration of the Forest of Fontainebleau, and denies that the splendid trees which have acquired historicel fame have been cut down. PARIS FUNDS, DEC. 17. Three per Ceuta. Five per Cents 9sf. Oc. Bank Shares 2 325r. Oc. Our Paris parcel of list evening had not arrived at the hour of going to pram SIR EDWARD BULWER LITTON u at present en gaged in wrieing the play, which, at the elms of the interest ing entertainments recently given at Knebwortb, where Mr. Charles Dickens and his company of amateurs performed before the guests of Sir Edward, the latter proposed that he should write, and Mr. Dickens and his company per form, u often es might conduce to profitable and beneficial results; the proceeds going to die formation of an endow ment fund for soma establishment of the nature of a refuge or retreat fcr destitute literary persons. - - RFFORM THE CHARTER-HOUBE.—Mr. Poole, author of " PILO Pry " and of other works still living and likely to live, has refused to accept the poet of one of the Poor Brethren of the Charter House. The reuons for his re. furl are, it is said, the want of many common comforts ne usury for his health, which it was thought by his friends so rich an institution as Richard Sutton's would have supplied to all " poor heaths , n " within the walls of the Ceatreuz. Few commissions more than charity commissions require to be renewed at short intervals ; and no endowments need more to be looked after than the noble foundation of the Charter House. A e.mmissioes of inquiry into the mansge meat of Eton and the Charter Hones will we trust follow pretty closely on the heels of the present Osferd and Cam bridge Univeraity Commissions. A master of the Charter Rouse with a smaller income, and the same number of Poor Brethren with greater comforts—would be more in accordance with Sutton's spirit, the objects of his institution, end the requirements of the age.-4therlawre. Tin COLLECTION OP THE 1848 Hop Dtrry.—The Board of Inland Rcvenue has, during the past week, issued writs of wire facia. against • large nnraber of the hop planters, who have not yet paid the last moiety of the 1848 hop duty ; and we learn, from undoubted authority, that similar proceedings will be at once commenced against all defaulters. We shall be doing a ureic, to al, those plasters who can raise the mosey, by recommending them to says further expenses (Exchequer processes are always costly) by getting out of thi. difficulty at once. We are convinced that the stoney will have to be paid, and that the sooner it is paid the better. We learn that the Collector of Inland R at Diaidat as will, probably, be all this week at his office ; and we sincerely hope that at the end of that period there will be few payments remaining to be collected by summary process. —Maidstone Gazette. POPULAR PROTESTANT DEMONSTRATION AT CROY DON.—Lest night the inhabitants of Croydon signified their feelings on the late acts of the Pepe and his cardinal, by a demonstration of an extraordinary character. At a mode rate calculation nom 8,000 to 10,000 persons must have ben present to wheelie the proasedings. About 5 o'clock a grand procession was formed, consisting of seven men in armour, eseh having a battle-axe, or a cross is his hand, a vast number of Romish: priests, each couple being preceded by a number of men carrying flambeaux; then came a similar muster of men deemed as stooks, and some dozen other parties carrying links; these were succeeded by six men in the garb Grey Friars, and a person wearing the coatame of a Sister et Mercy, who was mounted on a jack us. The members of the splendid bend belonging to the Addiscombe cadets were interspersed at equal distances in the proorsaion, whilst two vans followed fa the leer, one contalaing a representation of the Pope 12 feat high, and the other °attaining a likeness of his seenes the Cardinal sin feet is height. Large Mann, nearly the width of the oar riageroad, were borne by men, eostalning the following in sorfrions God Save the Queue," " No Pme7iest," " No Pepin," "No Mummeries," " England expects that this day every man will do his duty." Several hun dred torch-bearers having joined the procession, it started towards the railway statics, and then pined through the principal thoroughfares to the extreme end of the town, end finally made for Duppe's Hill, a piece of ground similar to Epsom nee mine. In the middle of the hill a gallows thirty fast high was erected. Rader end round which 4,000 faggots li• I** placed and nearly 100 tar barrels. The effigies of the Pope and Car dinal Wiseman were this hoisted into the air, whilst the I shouting and clapping of hassle was gaits deafening. The et es then struck up "God save the gamut" which was ras p,: did to by the assay thousands present joining in the diorama ; Sc.. twisty or thirty men applied their burning licks to rZte combustibles under the two efigiee, and in en instant Agorae& • Mane shot forth that lighted up the ruunfr7 fir Use rand. Is II very brief period the two fi gura b r ume limited, when eangemerel cry of "Bravo" re s o un ded *mum Me district. The diem having been or e umed, the End Omsk up "Ike the eesqueiej hero eacFshehont",:ddtrohfseretdhgarrescaniregaelamtli:antanfindi:ithe dieteme from ,h e i r i h t : within which belligerent maritime openrions sits!: ca no he carried on. On these points there i s little o nubt that t ut. twn governments will crime to an un terrsaling, The company of citizens of the lint ed 3.tes who hi re acquired from the State of Nicaragua the priv.lege Of e c ., sir uc - ing a ship canal between the twn oceans, thrnsitt th i territory of that State, have made progrem in :h e i r r . o. misery arrangement*. The treaty bet wren IL, L, itm States end Great Britain, of the 19th of April last, eh r i e ; referred to, being now in operation, it is to be hlperl gu th ee the arantees which it offe a- nt to 110. ore the completion of the rs work —• (or the purpose* of harc.onising cull chug " bi t obe re s q te ine i l id t woti r d l y n o it : i°l l n nl : is th p " a u l t r t ie n ar: o tie b' r vii be fou ah ss o n a u ty l h di aot h:e w hwti l i ado r th i ted 7t e o 'ke:etul m. :" iT4"-^: , - consequently, be my endeavour to cause any, li mps!- p negotiations on the part of this government, which - ;: them h rom dfetaap a th a n S d t u t gn o tt W f e e zi u d a i i n c s ill tr a7d c a u o g i l d t u l y a a be o ; ln f e b dd i u s n e t u t l e a s irc i u m et t ai n u i ;.. i n t oc w . . e fn e d ah n , " : 1 71,, t set h irp n e . ' ir iab r fr of the appointment of an envoy extraordinary snd pluipoteatiery of that government to re sid e whose arrival may soon be expected, it is hoped tile. further impedimenta will be experienced in the promo trta ° action of business between the two government.. . Citizens of the Milted States have undertaken et, n p e ee x per ion e o ti f e t e h , e fte tw d o t o t c e e r s e a i s e by ev Isthmus of Tehuantepec, under grates of the el: ' . - „ n s vernment to a citizen of that republic. It under. oad a thorough survey of the course of the commutievi in is -- "i„ : th a t it win u oe ry pr t os o e i c . u p te a d rt w a i i th .oi c . h g er o ar f eLe put r u ia r t ii i nt c y that government shell Lave consented to such ;Von " ' with the government of the United Stet. s may be aces,. to those who rr .y a mirk their property in the enterprime. Negotietions e t.eodicg for the accomplishment of that object, and • h 'i o ' s i dently entertained that, when the pommel. ntl're • shall become duly sensible of the &drainage, es 1 - ", i co o t the uengtorvye sovereigntyii n ni n e o n t ib t t t a il o thete. derive i United.,Mexico i . fromthe Sta i t t e t h s h m e d u w e s la; e enl ern b li—tt paired, the stipulations referred to will tie agreed to l rpm . is ''w,--re; alacrity.Dy I last advice. from Mexico wth i hi t so w r o; pp l er d oue ll t p ., p u tari ri,ii: , that that government entertains strong o bjection s the stipulations which the e of ct of the railroad deem necessary for their prot. curity. Further consideration, it is to be hoped, a. dification of menu, may yet reconcile the dffieree ' Ci ' o . Fresh instructions have recently been given to the reioi of be t t . he t' U n t n h it e en tw S o ta g tes ove in a M me ez n i ts co i , n jut with promptitude and ability. Although the negotiations with Poruitel for the pay ment of claims of citizens of the Uatted Stu government have not yet resulted i n a tericiO irece, ' s e i • propreition made by the governme nt of I..ru foral sh e - final adjustment god payment of thos e c l a i ms In, neently been accepted on the part of the United Bt.it... It me preemies to say that Mr. Clay, to wh om the n 1".7, tion on the part of the United State had h - en err:rus:led, discharged the duties of his appointment with a'.l ey net discretion, acting always within the instructions of hte go. unmeant. It is expected that a regular colleen' ion *E; he item diately negotiated for carrying the agreement !,etee• n tee two governments into effect. The commissioner appointed under the act of eeriness for carrying into effect the convention with Broil the of January, 1b49, has entered upon the periorce,,,c,, of ;he duties imposed upon him by that act. It i• to ;.et aro:lne duties may be completed within the time weld, r pr. eci ;Ws, The document., however, which the imperial ,roe, fttpt2; by the third article of the convention, st.; ~u..t. o• furnish to the isrvernment of the United Suites, have no. ye: en received. As it is pro , wave that those doci.m,ao, to% be essential for the correct disposition of the it may become necessary for congress to extend the pen lonted fur the duration of the commission. The sum, d the 4th article of the convention to be paid to it,. g.vere. meat has been received. The collection in the ports of the United S'ate s of ...on o:notating duties upon the vessels of Celli and their woes tag been suspended, pursuant is the provisions of tie idol congress of tee 24th of May, 1628. leis to be Impel the: this measure will impart a fresh impulse to the comm.,. hetreen the two countries, which,ot late, and espeeialis bIi.CP our acquisition of California, has, to the mutual auv.aatage of the parties, been much augmented. Peruvian guano has become so desirable an art.c:c to the agricultural interest of the United B:.tr, that it i.. the duty of the government to employ all the means pr,ptrly in its power tor the purpose of ceasing that article Lk tampered into the coustry at a reasonable price. Beehive wOl be omitted on my part towards accomplithing the desirable end. lem persuaded that in removing gay restraints oa this traffic the Peruvian government will prom e vs own best interests, while it will afford a prcot of a friendly disposition toward. this country, which will be duly appre ciated. The treaty between the United States and his blrjerry the King of the Hawaiian Islands, which has r r.t.tly been made public, will, it is believed, have • bent Mill ulna the relations between the two countries. The relations between thou parts of the ~l-ml it St. Domingo, which were formerly colonies of Spain sod kraus respectively are still in an unsettled condo:. a. The proximity of that island to the United States, :.el ihe cats questions involved in the entering controversy there, reader it desirable that it should be permanently sod speedily adjusted. The interests of humanity and of ?nerd commerce also demand this; sod, as intiontioas of he ...me untie:mut have been received from other erovereee ate, it is hoped that some plan may soon be devised to edict the object in • manner likely to give general sssbfacuon. The government of the United Stotts will not fail, by the en. er ise of all proper friendly offices, to do all in its power to put an end to the destructive war which hes rased between the ditf rent ports of the island, and to secure to them bath the bent(' s of peace and commerce. The tots' receipts into the treasury for the year ea hog 30th of June last, were forty seven millions tour hundred and twenty-one thousand seven hundred and forty-sight dollars end ninety mnte. (47,421,748 doe. 90c). The total expenditures, during the same period, were fat! three millions two thousand one hundred and sixty.eight dollars and ninety cents. (43,002,165 dal-., 90: ) The public debt has been reduced, since the tut annul report from the Treasury Department, four-hundred and nii.ety-five thousand two hundred and seventy-six dollars and seventy nine cent'. (495,276 dole. 79m ) By the 19th section of the act of 28th January, 1847, tie proceeds of the sale. of the public lands were pledged fur the interest and principal of the public debts. Too great amount of thou lands subsequently granted by Congreu for military bounties will, it is believed, very nearly supply the public demand for several years to come, and, but Little reliance can, th, retore, be placed on that hitherto fruitful source of revenue. Aside from the permanent annual expenditures, which have necessarily largely increased, a portion of the public d. bt, amounting to eight million steeply five thousand nisi hundred and eighty sex dollars and fitte.ntoe cents. (8,075,986 dots. 69c.) must be provided fir within the two next fiscal years. It is most desirable that these seem ing demands should be met . without moiling to new loans. All experience has demonstrated the wisdom and policy of raising a large portion of the revenue for the sunport of government from daub@ on goods imported. The power to lay these duties is unquestionable, and its chief object, of course, is to replenish the treasury. But if, in doled; the, an inci,ental advantage may be gained by encouraging ti.e in. dustry of our own citizens, it is our duty to avail ourselves of that advantage. A duty laid upon an article which cannot bo produced in this country—such as tea or coffee—adds to the coot of ths article, and is chiefly or wholly paid by the osusumee But a duty laid upon an article which may be produced hare stimulates the skill and industry of our own country to produce the same article, which ia brought into the market in competition with the foreign article, and the importer is domestic thusc'm article Pend e t : n continuance of this proceu creates the skill, and invites the the duty upon the reduce producer duoc sold, thereby hisot of the yft foreign that r)go ra t , which..p part tT t rte capital, which finally enables us to produce the article meth cheaper than it could have been procured p.m abroad, thereby benefiting bath the producer and the consumer at home. The consequence of this is, that the artisan and the agriculturist are brought tegetber ; club affords a ready market for the produce of the other ; the whole country becomes prosperous; and the ability to produce every newsier, of lite renders us independent in war es well u in peace. A high tariff can never be permanent. It will cause die. satisfaction, and will be changed. It excludes competition and thereby invites the investment of capital in maculae , tures to such excess, that when changed it brier distress', bankruptcy, end ruin, upon all who have been misled by its faithless protection, What the manufamorer wants is uniformity and permanency, that he may feel a confidence that he is not to be ruined by sudden changes. But to make • tariff uniform and permanent, it is not only luminary Out the law should not be altered, but that the duty should not fluctuate. To effect this, all duties should be specific, wherever the nature of the article is such as to admit alt. Ad valorem duties fluctuate with the price, aad offer strap temptations to fraud and perjury. Specific duties, on the contrary, are equal and uniform in all ports, and at all times, and offer a strong inducement to the importer to bring the best article, u he pays no more duty upon that than upon one of inferior quality. therefore strongly recommend • modification of fM present tariff, which bas prostrated some of oaf most important and necessary manufactures, and [hit specific duties bs imposed sufficient to rules the re gobbet revenue, making such discrimination in favour of the industrial pursuits of our own country to encourage home production, without exclaffioll foreign competition. It is also important that an unfortunate provision in the present tariff, which imposts a much higher duty upon the raw material that enters into our ma nufactures than upon the manufactured article, should be remedied. The papers accompanying the report of the Secretary of the Trautay will disclose frauds attempted upon the re venue, in variety and amount aCt great, u to justify the conclusion that it is impossible, under any system of ad retirees duties, levied upon the foreign cost or value of the article, to secure an honest obeervanco and an effectual administration of the laws. The fraudulent devices to evade the law, which have been detected by the vigilance of the - - or. leave no room to doubt that similar impoeitioill aiw lion, two other obiootO ;Main he otoolopliehed between I a sP o P t r disectoe rs 'reditoi - largo am — - ons — i, have been meow - 7,11 / the metreeting powers. Prattled dim the enactment of the low wow in force. Ilse meat." GERMANY. We have dates from Berlin to the lath. The cabinet was not then completed. The condi tion attached to the acceptance of the portfolio of the Interior, namely, the adoption of the new parochial ordinance (Gemeinde ordnung) makes the difficulty. M. Witaleben has refused to enter the cabinet on this ;ground. The entrance of the Bavarian troops into Rothenburg has been signalised by farther measures against the opponents of the September ordinancee—soldiers have been quartered in the houses of many refractory judges. Almost all the constitu tional judges have resigned. Count Reebberg, pre vious to laying down his government at Rothenburg, has spared has sacosesor, Count Leiningen, a dis *getable task, by again publishing an edict, whereby the Hesse territory is declared to be in a state of war; the carrying of arms is for bidden to all; the forcible deprivation of them is announced if they are not delivered up ; all public meetings, whether for political or other pur- I poses, are prohibited, and all unions and societies, whatever may be their object, are, by the bare will of the prince, declared to be dissolved. The Deutsche Reform says :—" According to infor mation that may be depended on, Count Baal, not the under-secretary, Werner, will represent the Aus trian government at the Dresden conferences. It is said also that Prince Schwarzenberg will be present at their opening." VIENNA, Dec. 12. The Finance Minister, Baron Kraus, has finally plucked up courage in a cabinet council to declare that it is no longer possible to meet the wants of the state with printed paper. FRANKFORT, Dac. 15. Practical opposition has here been shown to the "Duality." The lit Bavarian light infantry batta lion, which has been in garrison here about five week., was to be relieved by the let battalion of Austrian light infantry. The latter arrived yesterday at Hanau, and were expected here to-day. But the Bavarians refuse to leave Frankfort, and M. von Xy lender, being questioned on the subject, declares he has received (corn his government no orders for the battalion to leave their present quarters. The presence of the Austrian quarter-muter here produces no effect, so that the Austrian battalion must remain at Henan till the courts of Vienna and Munich . have settled the matter. _ . . Lient..Gen. von Peuker has declared that, on closer consideration of the instructions he has received for the Hessian mission, he finds it impossible to under take it. M. von Peuker has sent a declaration to this eLct to Berlin, in consequence of which Count Leiniegen set out alone for Cassel this morning. The retinal of M. Peuker very distinctly intimates the nature of the mission be was solicitedto undertake ; and we may judge from this example that no one who respects an oath of fidelity to any constitution will consent to act a part which may lead to the exercise of violence against Hessian constitutional rights. CARLSRUHK, Dec. 15. It is not improbable that our Minister for Foreign Affairs, M. von Rudt, may represent us at the con ferences. The representatives of the small German states at Dresden should be decided men—if we equi vocate we are lost; for it is well known in all well informed circles that Prussia and Austria have already settled between themselves all the principal points. The remaining German states will have nothing to do but to accept or reject the proporitions set before them. Bavaria will take advantage of this steve of things to gain an ascendant position herself, by head ing the small states in Germany. DRESDEN, Dn. 14. The minister Zachiosky surprised tLo Chamber very agreeably by announcing the " intention of the go vernment gradually to reduce the army when a similar measure should be carried out in Prussia." DIRLIK, DEC. 16.—Voluntary Loa., 1041; Now Loan, Foy, sod g-Half per Cant..., 981; National Debt, 841; Com mercial Marine Society's PrEZEISEE, 1201; Bank Shams. 94 . VIENNA, Dec 14.—Fire par Cent. Motalligues, 941 ; Four-and-a-Halt per Cents., ditto, 821. Bank Shores, 1,148. Exchange on London, 12.23. SPAIN. From Madrid letters and journals of the 11th it appeals that on that day a sort of panic prevailed in the Stock Exchange among the holders of shares in the Bank of San Fernando, in consequence of the government hating, it was said, resolved to suppress in the budget of the Minister of the Interior the 14,000,000 reale it has hitherto allowed that esta blishment; the fall was from 64 to 53 reale per shale. The directors of the bank intended to make energetic remonstrances against the proposed measure. The ' Three per Cents. were at 34 15.16th5. ITALY. A letter from Gleam, published in the Risorgi motto of the 13th inst., states that on the anniver sary of the expulsion d the Austrians from Genoa, the republican party attempted to excite a revolu tionary movement. A red flag having been fixed in the public place, during the night many of the party assembled around it, when a party of gene d'armes arrived, and p ted further assemblage, and the agita•ion gradually subsided. A letter from Rome in the same paper states that the agent of the house of Rothschild had bad an interview with Cardinal Antonelli to solicit canoes- sions in favour of the Jews. The Cardinal answered that the Pontifical government being essentially ecclesiastical could not do as other governments bad done. He added, however, that when the reform. in the laws relating to courts of justice were published, the condition of the Jews in the Roman States would be ameliorated. Letters from Rome of the 10th instant state that further reductions are making in the French army of occupation. The let battalion of Light Infantry has left Rome on its way to France. The number of Frecch troops in that capital is now barely suf ficient to garrison the place. Numerous bands of robbers have establshed themselves between Rome and Florence, when they have victimised several travellers. • Aurrantam.—The exertions made here for the in struction of the Caps boon will not be fruitless. Five Dutch mhoolmastan have already set out, and three more are named, and a froe passage is to be given to them. Tboy are to labourin the first instance among the bons within the Rosilab bounds Favourable advice. had been received from the Cape of the progress of the plan. —Dutch Paper. Tin SEWER ACCIDENT AT HONORREORD MARKET. —Notwithstanding the fatal accident of Monday, the men were at work yesterday morning in the sewer in which the two rase lost their bees. At ma tide, thartly before 12 o'oloek yesterday, the Thames rase very high ; but d. spite the previous terrible weenier, the men continued at work without any additional proteetion from Inundation, or any additional means of escape in eue of its tubing into the sewer. Since the commencement of the works tho contractors have collected odium» a week from oath of the men engaged, to aattunalata a tend for the families of those who might meet with any see:Oat; and out of this hod, which must be oottelderable, u for some weeks 100 to 200 men were employed, some relief will be afforded to the desotute families of those who were drowned GOING A LITTLE TOO PAR.—The Bishop of Lon don wrote t. Mr. St. Barnabse Bennett the following mild motion ; " I rosily fear you Cry carrying things too far." W. agree , for once, w ith th e B:shop of Loudon, and mast say that when a gentleman rues from Pimlico to Rome, sad saute§ his prineiple, to the extr.rmo lengths which Mr. St. B. Bennett has done, that it is " eanybar Wass a little too tar." If the reverend gentleman were to awry hi. eriaciples oat altuiethu—we mesa eat of the Ohara of England—we think it would henry nth* bathe be the Wangle °f all parties.—Pitieeh. i 30 , pa W A' tt 110 0 i Ir u" br, that tt Kmt it IL 0 1111 CO O l 00 4 ' A , ega elou Ike i ehlu I , be Berl T og leb't dot t od ttehl WP' Ohs: oho sold ft en i thet ee the I did e J th of c• .le4 rat to . • It Mf Po 1 Jr Ed D he t. •1