The Express. — London, England, 1855-03-10 00:00:00

THE ONE SHILLING DUTY OK CORN. Pion the Return et the amount of Customs Duties is the year 181:4, it appears test the Government plieetrd by the is. duty levied on corn of all descrip tions in 1852. £406,928 .... 1863. 1854. £632,793 .... £417,279 Io thew years the average prices of wheat per gutter in England won respectively 41e., 53e., and 720. 7d. Thus, wilco the prim was Oa. per quarter the Government took away from the people more than half a million on the prim of their bread, and wham it was 72a. 7d. the Government took upwanilll of 400,0001. The money collected by the Govern• went from the food of the people, however, forms b a small portion of the evil of this tax. By levying Is. per quarter on all corn imported, the rice of all the corn grown in the country, and all the corresponding products of the soil, and all the articles made from them, is raised at least Is. higher, or kept Is. higher per quarter than it would otherwise be. It enhances to the consumer the price of everything grown or fed on the soil of England, and reduces the earnings of the labouring classes wherever the la bourer is not in a condition of independence, and cannot make a fair bargain. It enhances the price of butcher's meat and potatoes, as well as of bread; and we must direct attention to the sum of money It takes out of the pockets of the consumers by thus enhancing the price of food, and we must consider where this money goes to. We suppose that, in addition to the quantity of wheat imported, at least 15,000,000 qrs. are con sumed. This is a modest estimate. We will take auly 8,000,000 qrs. for the barley grown at home and consumed in addition to that imported; 24,000,000 qrs. for the oats; and 3,000,000 qrs. for the beans and peas. Throwing in only 10,000,000 qrs. for all the other things grows—such as potatoes, turnips, the materials for fattening cattle, &c.—we shall have 60,000,000 qrs. of corn grown at home, or the Nei- Talent of 60,000,000 qrs., on which the price was mind to the consumer in each of the years 18M, 1853, and 1832, Is. per quarter. Now 60,000,000 shillings are 3,000,0001. ; so that while the Exch.- Tier collects from the people by the Is. duty on corn 412,0001. on the average of the three years, 3,000,0004 in addition, or almost seven times as much more is taken out of their pockets by the indirect action of the woe duty. There is no tax now levied which impoverishes the people to such a vast extent, to put each a small sum into the public coffers. What becomes of this 3,000,000/. ? It is not mated. None of it goes to the agricultural labourer. He has to pay a part of it, in the additional price of his food. He is very little better than a serf. He cannot make a fair bargain for himself, and he sodas by every rise in the price of provisions. As a rule, the demand for labour declines as the price of food rises, and with every such rise, if the rate of wages does not fall the amount devoted to the payment of labour does. The labourer is sure, there fore, nut to get a farthing of the 3,0000001. Very little or none of it goes to the farmer. The compe tition for laud, which still continues, guarantees to the landlord the full ge rent for his land, what ever that may be. The farmer will get no more thin the ordinary rate of profit, which is usually lows r in agriculture than in other arts, and the ordi nary and general rate of profit is more likely to be lowered than raised by the tax. The former, then, gets little or none of the 3,000,0001., and it all goes to swell the income of the landowner and the tithe *weer. Three millions a year, by means of an Act of Parliament, are taken from the bread -eaters, to be distributed amongst the gentry and clergy of Eng feed. This would be scandalous if it were intended. Sometimes laws are made expressly to assist these classes at the expense of the people; but this law wee made with no such intention, nor was the result coctemplated by the legislature. It aimed only at securing that an account should be kept of the, quantity of corn imported ; this might have been accomplished without the imposition of a duty; but, unexpectedly, and with no such design, the law fakes away annually the sum of 3,000,0001. from the general community, to hand it over to a few landowners and tithe-owners. The ls. duty imposes upon the people a tax (qui 'Cent to a twentieth part of all the taxes they pay, which goes into the pockets of two opulent classes. In proportion, it makes the Government so much the more onerous to the nation. It relieves these two claws, who ought, because they live on the surplus wealth of the community, and their existence merely as landowners and tithe-owners is not necessary to its welfare, to contribute more liberally than others to the public r , to an equal extent, from their fair share of the public burdens. The subsistence of the labourer is indispensable to the welfare of society ; it le the last thing which should be taxed for the behoof of the State. It is bad enough that the tea and Nagar of the labouring classes are taxed for national parposes, but the tax on them does not enhance the price of corresponding articles grown in the country ; the whole proceeds of these taxes go into the exche quer, while the duty on corn takes from the people nearly seven times as much more than it yields to the exchequer. After cotton, and perhaps timber, corn is the next tact bulky sr tic's imported. Unlike cotton ,which is im parted almost exclusively into Liverpool and London —unlike tea and sugar, both of which are brought lady to a few ports—corn of all kinds is imported into every port of the empire. The article being bulky, and the imports diffused, • large staff of Custom-house officials must be required to levy the tax. Accordingly, in proportion to the expense of collectiag it, the tax yields comparatively little to the exchequer. The yield of the duty, as is evident, varies in amount ; and, as a rule, increases as the price of corn increases. More corn is nasally imported as the price risco. Thus, in 1833, when the price of wheat eau 531., it gave 632,793/. ; and in 1852, when the price was only 415., it yielded only 406,9261. If the rule did not hold good in 1854, it was the conse quence of • general deficiency abroad ; so that our high average price was insufficient to bring hither as large a quantity as in 1863, with • comparative abundance at home. But, NO the effect of this on our own farmers and landowners. They grew a larger crop than usual last year, they have at lead one-third more to sell, and they get a price of ►bout 20s. more per quarter than in 1853, and upwards a 30s. more per quarter than in 1852. At the very time, therefore, when these 'lames have most to 'ell, and the price is the highest, the people have to y them more than usual. There is a greater gami ly of corn of home growth enhanced in price. If the gain go to the farmer this year, the next year or the year after it will lead to a rise in rent, and In increase in the rate of tithe commutation, and thus the bounties of heaven are in part intercepted by the laws before they reach the people, and not allowed to gladden industry. The budget will soon come on for discussion, and this is now the time, therefore, to attract the atten tion of the public and the Parliament to this unin tentionally injurious tax. A great outcry ham bees made against farmers and bakers for levying, u was ly alleged, a large tax on the people's bread; here, however, is an instance of the State levying 3,000,0001. on their food, not for itself, but unad- Madly and ignorantly putting this sum into the • THE EXPRESS, SATURDAY EVENING, IIf e ;RCH 10, 1855. short, will airy oat all the operatioas of th e post-offices of Fraaos. Receive, dr, the aantance of my satire consideration, Councillor of State. Directeur-General of the Post dna. This postal arrangement is all that could be de sired. Before closing this communication, I may also state, on the authority of the Imperial Commis sion, that the gentlemen who have pretended to interdict the publication of drawings of the Exhibi tion Palace exterior, have received a warning that their absurd claims will not be allowed. This is a vigorous move in the right direction. POLAND. • WARSAW, liAsca 3. A telegraphic despatch from St. Petersburg in formed Field-Marshal Prince Paskiewitch last night of the death of the Emperor Nicholas, in conse quence of which he gave orders to have everything prepared for hie journey to the capital ; but to-day it seems the orders are countermanded, and it is likely he will remain here, unless specially sent for. In the meantime considerable excitement is percep tible amongst his generals, who have held several consultations in the palace. After these conference.' General Paniutin, commander of the second army corps, proceeded to Lublin, the head-quarters of his troops, and the commandant of the fortress of Alodlin also left this city in a hurry to repair to his post. Great is the consternation of the Russians at the intelligence of the Czar's death, and they cast inqui sitive glances at the faces of the Poles to endeavour to read in their countenances the impression the news has made on them. But the latter are too cautious, and afraid to make aoy observation likely to com promise themselves, particularly as the intelligence came so suddenly, and accompanied by such myste rious reports and accounts of the particulars so widely diverging from each other and full of exaggerations. The exchange was thrown into a panic, and business of every description was completely suspended. I am sorry to be obliged to add that cholera and typhus are carrying away daily numbers of the inha bitants of this city, particularly in the streets and lanes neer the Vistula. FRANCE. OP Til DA. ILY PARIS, FAIDAT •1" 131 ,.. 1N G Aooording to the You G azette the Vienne L. 02 1 - Irenoes will not open so soon as was expected. Prince Gortshakoff, it is said, has received the forint' "- Duval of his powers as Minister Plenipotentiary, b 11: he is is yet " without instructions." The ominous date, April 1, is now fixed as the probable day for beginning basinfuls. OPILOY TEI Captain Mae lamas, the Commander of the Impe rial frigate the Reine Hortense, has gone to Mar seilles, where that vessel is now anchored, to make the necessary preparations for the reception of their Majesties on board. At the Bourse scarcely any business was done. The Rents closed with a fall of 50. at 68fr. 950., The fluctuations in the course of the day were unimpor tant. Bank of France fell Mr. Railways were nearly stationary. The favourite security was the Austrian railway, which rose Mr. The monthly return of the Bank of France made up to Thursday lut, shows an increase in the coin and bullion (including the branch banks), of 15,395,092 fr., being a continuation of the upward movement remarked last month. The bills discounted have fallen off in Paris 26,923,752 fr., and in the departments 17,990,084 fr. The treasury deposits have decreased by 40,350,924 fr., and the private deposits have increased 18,571,065 fr. in Paris; and in the departments, 2,878,874 h. The falling off of nearly forty-four millions in the discounts in the account of the Bank of France for the month ending March 8, is in great measure accounted for by the extraordinary stimulus given to the dis counting department at the beginning of the year by the exigencies of the new loan. The appeal to the nation had an unparalleled success, but the amount was by no means made op from the surplus capital of private individuals. Numbers of tradesmen dis counted all their available paper in order to subscribe, and the natural consequence is that they have now very little in their portfolios. Owing to this cause a further diminution in the . Bank discounts may be expected next month. There has been a serious students' row this morn ing at the College of France. M. Saint Beuve, whose learned and elegant essays on various subjects in the literary columns of the Moniteur have for the last two years constituted the principal attraction of the official journal to the general reader, has just been appointed professor of poetry and belles Wires in the university. He appeared to-day to give his first lecture. The studente chose to remember that he was, up to the time of the coup detat, a professed republican, and a writer in the National. His appearance on the platform was the signal for a storm of hisses, which lasted for several minutes. During a momentary pause the 'professor was heard to say something about a " Prince as illus trious by his pen üby his sword." This produced a fresh explosion of disapprobation. A stentorian voice exclaimed, " We think now as you did when you wrote in the National." M. Saint Beuve then got angry, and spoke of appealing to the public force to turn out the malcontents. He was ultimately obliged to be as good as his word, and as it was im possible to distinguish the sheep from the goats the serpent de title cleared the hall, making several arrests among the students who had made themselves most conspicuous. The affair of Madlle. Doudet came on to-day before the tribunal of correctional police. Having been ac quitted of the manslaughter of Mary Anne Aarsden, she is now accused (in the technical language of the French law); lit, Of having in 1852 and 1853 wil fully struck and wounded Emily, Rosa, and Alice Marsden, the blows and injuries by her given and inflicted not, having occasioned a sickness or an in capacity for labour for more than twenty days ; and 2nd, For having in 1852 and 1853, struck and wounded Lucy Marsden, the blows, and injuries, &c. Dr. Marsden was first called. He declared that the prisoner was the first person who accused his children of bad habits. He said that Celestine Doudet knew his affairs as well as he did himself, and was more au fait than any one as to all the scandal of the village. lie went on to describe the dreadfully emaciated state in which he found his children when he came to see them in Paris. The trial is going on. OFFICIAL BULLETINS OF THE LAST ILL NES3 OF THE EMPEROR NICHOLAS. The journal de St. Petersburgh of the morning of the 2nd, brings us the two first bulletins relative to the last ilium of the Czar : BT. PETERSBURG, MAACK 1. " His Mapsty the Enspersr is suffering. His illness at Ant was the Lamas only, but since the 23rd it has been combined with fever, and accompanied by a slight attack of the goat. _ "Yesterday his Majesty experienced pains in the right Innsr, and the fever has increued. In the night the august invalid hes cot slept. "To-day this fever ia a little less, and expectoration is effected without difficulty. "Da. )(inn. "Exams. "Mara 1, 1846." "Da. KARNALI. "AIILLITIN NO 11. OF TIER XIALTI OP AIN ITAIRITY TIN " intriaoa. n MARCY 1, UNPIN O'CLOCK AT NIONT. " The following change has taken place in the state of his Majesty the Emperor :—Towards night the fever in creased, and the ez . peetcretion from the part of the lower right lung, which is effected, hes booms more diMoilt. " DZ. 111413fDT, " " Dn. Hamm.." MILITARY PREPARATIONS OF THE GERMAN STATES. pockets of others; and we should like to see an agitation to get rid of the tax. It im pedes the supply of corn, it impedes trade, and cos t sequently checks manufactures, and is in all respects a noxious, though a small, corn-law. It is a fine theme for Mr. BRIGHT. He may ask his con leer*s in the Ronan of Commons to repeal the tax. It doss not depend ea the will of the Caax, or any' foreign potentate. It exists only by a foolish enact ment of the Parliament. He has threatened us with a great mutual slaughter if we keep out Russian cora. Here is a duty which keeps out to some extent the oorn of all nations, and to abolish it would help to prevent the great calamity Mr. BRIGHT threatened us with. It will lessen pro Canto the cost of Rus sian and all other corn to the people. The corn merchant will be enabled to give ls. per quarter more for cora at New York, if he has to give ls. less to the Government. The abolition of the duty, therefore, would enlarge the supply. By all the considerations which Mr. BEGET urged against the war, as making food dear, he ought to be moved to propose the re peal of this duty. He would no doubt be supported by all the patriotic landowners who profess a vivid desire to improve the condition of the labourers— by all the benevolent tithe-owners, who live only to instruct and benefit the poor— by all who wish to lessen the charges for pauperism, very much lemmata by the high price of provisioce— by all who love justice and are willing to make it the rule of legislation. All classes mast be desirous of getting rid of a tax which is accidentally so injurious, and we shall be surprised if the new CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, himself a landowner, does not pro pose to abolish it. Why should he keep on a tax which insidiously cripples to a considerable extest the national resources for such a..paltry object as merely keeping an account P—Daily News. A GENERAL AND HIS STAFF. In the " General Regulations and Orders for the Army, 1844," we read:—" General officers in coin• mend are ezpected to be extremely circumspect in the recommendation of officers for staff appoint- ments, and are responsible that the officers in hose behalf they interest themselves are, by their pre vious personal services, u well as by their acquire ment■ and character, qualified to discharge with advantage to the service the duties attached to the station for which they are recommended." This is the theory of staff appointments in the British army—what is the practice? Let Major-General BENTIMCK answer. He was asked, during his examination by Mr. ROEBUCK'S Committee Oa Thursday, in what manner he appointed the officers of his staff ; and this was the an swer : The first aide-de-camp I appointed on account of the abilities he displayed at Chobham. The next was unknown to me, but he will an officer of intelligence and activity, bring a good horseman, and thoroughly trustworthy. Of nig third aide•de-camp I kneso nothing, but I saw a good deal of him aboard ship. The general has to receive his aides-de-camp at hie table ; they must therefore be thoroughly trust worthy." Here, then, of three aides-de-camp, we have one appointed for ability displayed at Chob ham—so far good. We have a second appointed because he was a good horseman and thoroughly trustworthy. " Thoroughly trustworthy " has an imposing sound; but what does it mean ? The only explanation afforded by General BEMTINCK on this bead, is his statement that aides-de-camp must be thoroughly trustworthy, be cause they are received at the General's table. "'thoroughly trustworthy," therefore, appears to mean " a good trencher companion." General BENTINCK gave the appointment of second aide-de amp to • person " unknown to him," because he was • good horseman, and • good trencher companion. General BENTINCICS testimony to the competency of his second aide-de-camp, reminds one of the testi mony of the sailor, in the court.martial scene in " Black-eyed Susan." When naked what he knows of William's " moral character," the honest tar replies, "He plays the fiddle like an angel." As to the third aidirde•camp, General BENTINCK frankly admitted that he "knew nothing of him." True, he added that he saw a good deal of the gen tleman on board ship, but he did not favour the com mittee with the results of his observations upon him. Now, it must be kept in mind that few officers in the army of the But remained a shorter time in the Crimea than General Bzwrizeat, and that few, if any, have been so well rewarded for any services he may have performed there. Indeed, he would have been more amply rewarded still had not the murmurs of the army and the public become audible and me nacing. Can we wonder, then, at the condition to which the army in the Crimea has been reduced when we find staff appointments conferred, as if in wanton contempt of the army regulations, after the fashion described by General BEiTINCK ? and when we find a man who can confer them in this manner holding the high and responsible rank he does?—Daily News. THE PARIS THE OPENING. (nom TDB SPIOIAL COll/ISPONDINT OP TED DAILY 1111W8.) PARIS,Lam 7. Various rumours have been fiyinN about Paris rela tive to the postponement of the Universal Exhibition opening day. This postponement has been referred to the supposed departure of the Emperor for the Bast. The question was so important, that lat once proceeded to bead-quarters, determined, if possible, to inform your readers on authority whether the open ing day was postponed or not. I have sow the satis faction of communicating to them the fact, which I have this day obtained from the Secretary I. the Imperial Commission, that the opening day la fixed " irrevocably " for the first of May ; and as it is now generally known that the Emperor doss not intend to proceed to Sebastopol, this opening day will have the advantage* which the presence of a court Oyes to such a ceremonial. The report of the sub-committees is anxiously expected by the 6,000 candidates who have been lately struck off the list of exhibitors in France alone. I MD also enabled, by the courtesy of the Imperial Commissioners, to mend you the following circular, which is about to be addreseed to the editors of all foreign papers. The plan, as described, is an excel lent one, and augurs well for the spirit of liberality by which the government will counterbalance the bargaining tendencies of the company Direstion Generale des Pastes. The general director of tiefostofiti;eltas just addressed the following letter to the general 'moiety of the Imperial Commission for the Universal Bahibitlon, which we hasten to publish : Paris, March, 1866. Sir,-1 have the boson to inform you that, during the time the Uaiveseeliddbition will remain open, a post-office will be mashed to the Pekoe. The mission of this office will be to disielimete al kisses which visitors from the pro vince, et fres abesed may have addressed to the Exhibitiou hwitiisig itself. The directors of the Poet -ogee have thought that sway. iliseiceele, not knowing, preview to Ask brake% Me kV!, they will wowfn Fat* and wiliej ei ts wed amid Or leek INN at the =Libidos, or is the besehoed se% wadi lad i' seinweisat to receive their letters in tite building. I will limbo beg of yes. sir, to give to this S a tZ us widat amble c i bl i r e Lia country. peon Wing Paris whether ce liseigner, may have his Mess as follows Ifirawiewr—, at the Peseulles de l'Expedsiss Valessesile. Pests." These Wks will be kept et the elks, sad gives tote I:ea to when they ere addressed, pessiatiag with thsk passport or other mews el tkestity. The bases addressed to exhibitors will be distributed by =at the stall which they oticapy, if this stall be in ups the letter. The liskibitior post-Ake will east lieSsest messy-order busses", sell postage stater—in CHINA. A private letter from Canton, dated Jan. 13, ob serves as follows: We are as nearly at a dead lock as it is possible to be—the only feature of any interest being the settlement of about 1,200 packages of new Taysaus wagon. The tea men have, I understand, paid pretty smartly to get this leaf past Fat-Shan—and judging from the prises the tea has fetched, I imagine they do not want to lose on the tnasaction. The quality so far is anything but fine. You would naturally think that if they can got leaf down to make Congo., they could procure some to manufacture S. 0. Pekoe; but the tea brokers tell me that there is no Rower now ; 1101:1141 time sines they had plenty of flower, but no leaf. The few 8. 0. Pekoes on offer are consequently held for very high rates. Although the shipments now show a decrease of over six millions of pounds, I don't think you need fear any scarcity of the commoner and Savoury Coogan, ; bet, a I have before stated, really good teas snug, in my humble *pinion, be in request. About a month since 8— paid a visit to the headquarters of the rebels, near Whauspea, and was received by the chief in due state, who appeared sur rounded by a guard with drawn swords. He was shown their gunpowder and other belligerent manufactories, everything showing them to be well organised. They now have a number of foreigners of different nations in their employ, who have been doing them good service. On the 30th of December there was a fight between the rebel and imperial junks amongst the shipping at Whampoa, and in the scrimmage several of the foreign ships were struck. The English and American men-of-war did not, however, feel justified in interfering. It ended in the Imperialists get ting 1 funk burnt, 1 blown up, and 2 captured. The next day the Imperialists got a tremendous lick ing at Fat-Shan, but the most successful action 'of the rebels took place en the 7th fast,, about half-way between this and Whampoa ; when, according to the Imperialists' own accounts, 33 of their junks were taken and 20 destroyed. No one knows how many people were killed. This may seem "very small deer " after the daily reports you get from the Crimea, but when you hear the can non biasing away—and if you like to pull down the river • few miles, as see the action—it becomes rather personal. In cue of an attack on Canton—en event that may take plus any day—notice bas been given to both factions, that foreigners insist upon the whole of the river facing the fan twigs being kept clear. An American man, of-war will be stationed on the extreme left, and an English sloop on the right, with gunboats between, to prevent any sort of craft from passing up or down. At the same time guards will be landed to take up • position so as to sweep the back streets with grape and canister, and thus keep • space both before and behind the foreign settlements intact. H.M. steamer Styx, and the sloop Comus are up here, and the , Barracouta and the United States frigate Macedonian at Whampos. We have been assembled at the consulate to have all this explained to us, and have been told we shall not he called upon to fight ii they can avoid it, but that we must hold ourselves in readiness. There is • statement in the Canton Chamber of Commerce (which I believe to be entirely without foundation) to the effect that Fat- Shea is , is the hands of the imperial soldiery. I bearre the simple truth to be this. On the 23rd of December, a party of rebels left Fat-Shan on some expedition, and on their return were Intercepted by • • large num b er of villagers in the suburbs, supposed to be in imperial employ; there was a regular fight, the attacking party were driven back, the plate fired, and every man speared as he tried to escape. The fire com municated to the town, and I believe half the place is burnt down ; but beyond this, I don't believe the imperialists have been within five miles of it since the drubbing they got at the sad of the year. THE CAMP AT EUPATOIUA. (TROY LAST NIGHT'S o•Zi2Ti.) COLONEL SIMMONS TO SIR EDMUND LYONS. Eupatoria, Feb. 20, 1856, 9 p.m. The bearer is an aide-de-camp of the 13/riskier, having despatches from Omer Punka to hie government. His Highness would be much obliged to you if you would kindly order him a passage to Constantinople by the int " C lini posi l tion is much stronger hers than it was; in fast, I should say doubly so, and nearly twice as many guns mounted as es the 17th. That affair wen pretty sharp, and the Russians loot a great many men: we have interred 453, and there can be no doubt they carried off and buried many more who were killed at long ranges by our artillery. They also left nearly 300 deed horses on the fi eld. Our loss was 87 killed, 277 wounded, Turks; 4 killed and 9 wounded, French ; and 13 killed, 11 wounded, of the population; besides 79 horses killed and 18 wounded. Our field battery had 19 men (Turks) killed, and every gun (6) disabled. The Turks behaved very well. Selina Paha, the Estyptiao, who was killed, was a great loss, but hi, place is well supplied by Saliva= Pasha, who was woueded. Omer Pasha is most gratified at the promptitude with which you sent uo ships after hearing of the attach. The exertions of the officals sod men of your float in disembarking troops, ite., here arebeyaid all praise ; bat, union saintly, the weather daring the last week or ten days has not been pro. pities', and wasequentl transports have been detained leapt than they otr would. OMER PACRA TO CAPTAIN HASTINGS, R.N. Head-quarten, Hepatitis, Feb. 17. Measiona le Capitaine —During the attack which the Remise attempted, yid:considerable force, this 1111111aN 2:ll.the town of Rupatoria, the squadron of her Drifts 114esty'e navy which was in the roadstead, under year 4111111•111 id, contributed greatly, owing to your dispositions, their prentpt essential, and the exact aim of your artillery, to roan nugatory the efforts of the enemy, end to mean the inemes of the day. In Oresenitthigee you my warm thanks, I beg you to set as the interpreter of my sentimeats of esteem and gratitude teelleses as& seeetes. Rados, iintififf fr Capitains, the assurances of my mom dietheinlitel amide: seam. The gemealleise of the Ottoman army, (Signed) °nu. To the 111/0& Captain Hastings, R.N., Superior Offioer at Zapata* en board the Canoe. BAVARIA.—The extraordinary levy to complete the contingent was fixed at 18,290 men of the classes of 1832 and 1833. It was, however, discovered that the provinces of Upper and Lower Franconia, Swabia, and the Palatinate were not able to tarnish their shares. The Palatinate, for instance, has to furnish 2,211 men, but there were only 1,218, from which bad to be deducted those bodily unfit for duty and those who had been proved guilty of crimes. eiders have, therefore, been given to those provinces which, after furnishing their quota of men, have a surplus, THE NAVAL BRIGADE BEFORE SBBASTOPOL. to all them out for enrolment in the army, where Camp, Naval Brigade, Feb. 11. they are to be placed in the reserve. The purchase Sir,—la continuation of our proceedings, I hen the of the 8,000 horses required for the army is nearly honour to inform you that we have been employed thin completed, and it is expected that the requisite num week in tarrying shot into the batteries. The enemy con . her will be found within the kingdom, and that it tenses augmenting his defences, and firing on our working punter dating the dep. s om a ( Di fy getua l so w.. b a y, will be therefore not neoessary to buy them in other been made on the French during the put week. states. I ban else been getting up slops sad provisions, and HafrovEa.-.-Owing to the activity displayed by ha" a supply for wren daYs of the latter in our "we tsar. our authorities, the arrangements are nearly per- I itsee mash Yleame is it/farm:Li you of the healthy footed. The Cavalry Commission are now at Oana state of the brigade having only in the sick list, no serious man, sad victualling 998.—1 have, tic., brook, where they have no difficulty in finding (Signed) S. LVIIIINOTON horses at moderate prices, say 160 to 200 dollars Captain Commanding Nav al Brigade. apiece. A service of field-posts is now being Bear-Admiral Sir Maid. Lyons, G.C.8., organised by the combined efforts of the Postmaster- Cosimaader-ia-Chlar. General and the Minister of War. Lieut.-Colonel , Naval Brigade, Feb. 18. Schulte of the Regiment of Queen's Hussars (blue 84,—1 have the hewer to 3atwa you that the enemy and silver) is to be the now military plenipotentiary still ouldaan.".. t hgaliff his W 4441 .* lamto "7 of Hanover to the Diet at Frankfort, vice Major that them km bees tae ansellke this week sad that the womb kumee i e w les ieb r We bee , sib Count von Bonnigeen recalled, and appointed to other Ille flit 114 VastiaMsi ins .ea sad allasusa. All symptoms atip ei seem bane Eleorpineei ; sad I seeislimesi by th e meal- 21111115 LL—Large contracts have just been made 1111 ISM in .#l , ll , that he ennialne____.llln eel_eniMPaY for blue cloth (80,000 pieces) for the army, with Mill 19 the "WU supply of Sei•liga le th e bri g ade '. manufacturers in the Rhine Provinces and in Bel- I have, &s., & ( La m alllllo3ll gium, deliverable I. May. Cassia Commanding Naval 'Brigati,s, Otliettnuao.—The financial committee of the iser-Adainl Sir Mad. Lyons, Beet, G.C.8., Be % Landteg has voted the sum of 20,640 dollare de• mended by the government for the purchase of the borne asesasary to complete the cavalry. BAIR WzreAa.—Our contingent u ready. It consists of two battalions of 1,175' effective men, to gether with a third as reserve. Aro, and accoutre ments for 3,000 more men have beer I...lmbued by government, and delivered into our arsenaL MECKLENBURG SCHWERIN has made an ar:angt.'• meat with Prussia, by which her contingent is incar cerated with the Prussian army. WtTarzennaa's contingent will be ready in a few =The chambers voted with alacrity the three of florins required of them, and passed a re akin that the kingdom is not destined to act the =advanced sentry to Russia, but that her true Austria. require .her to ally herself most closely to HAMBURG and LUBECK are at this moment en gaged in negotiating with Oldenburg on the subject of their forming one brigade. The commissioners are now at Hamburg. BEUNSWICIL—The contingent wants but a few more horses to complete the hussars, and will then be ready. The ehambe r of representatives has given its sanction to the bill brought in by ministers for legal ising the forced sale of horses required for the use of the army. Nessau.—Those recruits living abroad have re-' ceived orders to return forthwith, and report them selves to As war department. The contingent of Nassau and Luxembourg combined amounts to 6,375 men, of which Lux em b ourg h as to f urnish the cavalry, amounting to 870 men and horses. A sani tary company is being formed. It already consists of upwar& of 100 men, to whom the chief physician, Dr. Ebhardt, gives regular lectures on the practical duties they will have to perform. BREMEN is gradually completing her arrangements. As a convention has been made with Oldenburg to furnish the staff and artillery due from Bremen, there remain but the hospital staff and field train to be organised. SAXONY has already reported to the Diet at Frank fort that her contingent is ready. BADEN.—TiII the purchases of horses required for the cavalry remount s are completed all private sales of horses without the knowledge and consent of the government are forbidden, the sales to be cancelled, and the parties fined for each sale 500 florins. The remount commission has given notice of their inten tion to buy serviceable hones of from 5 up to 12 years old, and invited breeders and owners to bring them on fixed days to the different towns of the grand duchy. By the last accounts the commission was at Heidelberg. ANHALT BEENBERO.—A message from the govern ment to the Landtag inform, the assembly that the negotiations hitherto pending with the neighbouring duchy of AI 4 IIIALT DESSAU, for the formation of their joint contingents into one brigade, have been broken off, and that the government has, therefore, opened nego tiations with Prussia for the purpose of incorporating their contingent into the Prussian army. SAXE ALTENBURG.—In order to place our little contingent on a war footing, it was necessary to make great alterations amongst the officers, in consequenes of which • comparatively large promo tion has taken place. A colonel commandant of our battalion and a second major have been newly ap pointed, besides which, two captains and six lieute nants have been promoted a grade. In the arsenal, the workmen are busily engaged in altering the per cussion locks and transforming the muskets of both our battalions into zundnadelgewehre, like those in use in the Prussian army. SAXE COBURG GOTHA.—AII the men on furlough have been recalled, and every other step taken. In a day or two the contingent will be prepared for any emergency. The contingents of the Thuringian States have al ready reported themselves to the central government at Frankfort as prepared. NAVAL AND MILITARY. ADMIRALTY, MARcii 9:—APPOINTMENTS.—Secre tary'a Clerk, It. Bane (1848) to the Doke of Wellington, 131, swim steam ship of 700 hone-power, at Plymouth. Second Master C. M. Hughes (1847) to the Coast Guard. Clerk's Assistant W. P. Albin to the Neptune, 120, fur particular service. VISIT OF HER MAJESTY TO WOOLWICH. WOOLWICH, MARCH 9. Her Majesty visited Woolwich this day, and was repaired at the Ordnance Hospital by the hes& of the department, and remained in it about three quarters of an hoar, asking the wounded a number of questions, and manifesting her sympathy for them. The Queen and Prince Albert on leaving the Ordnance Hospital proceeded to the Royal Arsenal, and alighted at the Dial-square, in front of which one of Lancaster's 68-pounder guns of 66 cwt. was stationed, mounted on a siege gun car riage, and promoting in all respects the appearance of a mcst powerful engine of destruction. In the Dial-square baring department her Majesty had an opportunity of in specting the beautiful machinery, much of it self•ecting, and invented by Mr. John Anderson, chief engineer, who was present to explain its various movements, and the re sult attained by its operation. The Queen, passing through the boring department, entered the place when the self acting machine was at work in making Mink balls, and ' watched the w►ole of the process very minutely. The Queen then went across the avenue to the Laboratory department, and witnessed the w►ole of the process of making percussion cape, from the rolling out of the metal until charged with the percussion powder and being ready for service. The beautiful machinery for these operations appeared to be highly approved, and all that was brought under her Majesty's notice in the department. From the Laboratory the Queen proceeded teas carriage department, and there witneseed the remarkable quantity of work per formed with the greatest precision in the working of timber into the various articles required in the service. Her Ma jesty and Prince Albert left the Royal Arsenal at half-past one ender a royal salute, and proceeded by the Greenwich rued en rock to Buckingham Palace. PORTSMOUTH, Mmica 9. The Royal George, 120, screw ship, Captain Cod- Antos, arrived at Bpitbead this morning, from :Sheerness, and took her station as one of the ships of the Baltic seer. The Ariel, 9, screw sloop, has been taken oat of dock this afternoon, and the Falcon, 17, screw sloop, taken in, having • defect in her screw. harbour progress without delay. Be•r•Admiral Diodes is expected so arrive her• and hoist Ms Sag u Conutander-ia-Chief of the Baltic Beet on Monday. MALTA, M•acu 2. The yawl which ought to have brought the mane on the 29th, broke down at the Dardanelles, and the pemengers cams on in the Phi:moat, which only cans is this morning. The post doses at seven Ls. Lord Stratford di Radcliffe has issued • circular, de claring the Russian pore is the Black Bea to be in a state of blockade. The Masada!, in concert with the Gladiator has beim seat to alibis off Odessa ; and the L.o pard and le , Berthollet are to auks off Anapa, Hartch, and Half. The 91st Regiment moves on to Athena to-day, and the Buffs come back to Malta, to all up. Sin divisions of the battalion here, of 100 men each, are ander orders to embark for the On the 10th Mr. Horsford, of the 23rd, died of fever ; and two other officers are in a dangermis state. Mr. Mum 19th, and KelTington, 62nd, an also dead. The WallaceW has left for England. Our lines in the camp are sow wally all filled by the French. Sickness is still on the degrease, and the men are getting a bettor supply of food than they were, though it is expected the weather will still be rough beton the winter is over. Lord Onerneey has left Malta for England, as also about 21 officers, going home on detaehealint. DUBLIN. ItAscii 9. The Great Britain steamer arrived at Qmsenstown yesterday and will embark drafts of nine regiments, to the number of 1,200 men, for the Crimea. A large detachment of Met; and hcress of the Royal Artil lery marched from Ballinaolltg ea Tuesday, nadar command of Captain P goa, an raga to Cork, to embark for the Crimes is then ataya. Lisabnant Colossi Aylmer ad-, dressed this es "Parade, VAN' to their departure, in truly s and on Me parting from, than they ebeerird a lb . pin '... l7 ' ll gating the militia regimmits in the barrack yerht et Seib mining bee been adopted by toe setheei ties letiliethel toeilides, in order to save the iahllMeetls the easejOhled the billet system ; and steps will los Mae& etetridale tarry it into execution. Mod Jury of Clare have agreed to band over the County Fever Hospital to the authorities, es a barrack for the militia or such other troops is government muy direst to occupy it. CRYSTAL PALACE. SHILLING DAY. Friday, Marsh 9th. Admissions on payment, 901; ditto by moos tickets, 248 ; total, 1,149. THE ARMY BEFORE SEBASTOPOL. MR. ROEBUCK'S COMMITTEE. Commander Clay, of the steam _`hip Emperor s chartered for the conveyance of horses and stoles, Was the first witness ezamined yesterday. He arrived at UAW,* in December. The harbour was in a filthy condition. Vast r iisantitiee of oxen, sheep, and offal, that had drifted in after th e m at i c , were lying in and about the harbour; and there was a large ilfftrefft of barley and straw heaped on the .ground without any covering. The transports were sadly damaged after the storm, and many were completely stove in. He pointed out to Captain Christie the danger of their being outside the harbour, and men. tinned It to other captains. He told his own captain never to anchor there again, but rather to abrogate the charter than do so. There were quantities of hay drifted in by the gale from the wrecks. The harbour-mute,,, generally, were active, but the stores were not landed from his vessels till long after they arrived, and the planks for huts with which the vessel Cottingham was laden were not taken out until a week after. The reason assigned was that there were not people to take them away. They were consigned to the naval authorities, and it was the business of this commissariat to attend to it. The roads from Balaklairs• to the camp were up to the knees in mud, and in • dread ful condition. Many of the horses used in the conveyance of materials died. The camp was in a bad condi tion, the men were ragged, the provisions low, and the soldiers scantily fed. At oast time they could not get provisions up to the camp at all, and the men frequently ate the salt meat raw, and only had it two or three times • week. The horses of the cavalry regiments were in such a condition that they could not make a charge. They had not a gallop in them. (Laughter.) He never saw such ob jects as the horses of the Scots Greys. All their manes and tails were eaten off by one another, and twenty-eight horses of the heavy brigade died in one night. The heavy brigade were very "lousy " and dirty, but th e y seeme d very jelly and good in pluck—what was left of them. This French seemed very comfortable, cocking and eating, and they were building huts for themselves and the English. The Zousves were employed in building a hut for the Scots Greys, of granite. The Scots Greys were in a bad condition. They were a hardy lot, ready for anything—what was left of teem. The sick and wounded were brought down on mules. The French were musical from morning to night, and quite lively, and the constant sounds of harmony seemed to have a great effect both on them and the English in the valley below. The commissariat at Varna and Eupatoria was excellent. Twenty men in the Monarch, consisting of sick and wounded who were frostbitten, died, sad many of their legs rotted off. He visited the hospital at Scutari, and saw the mottling of the steamers at Constantinople. There were general complaints by the master of every transport as to Admiral Boxer's arrangements. The same might be said of the arrangements at Balaklava, but the sperm was bad, and not attributable to Admiral Boxer. The greet fault at both places was, that men were not furnished suffi ciently to coal the ship at ones, as at Malta, and this alone cost the government I,OOW. in the hire of the ship be com mended. The 17th Light Drago me had 2:50 homes on leasing Portsmouth, and lost 27 when they arrived at the Crimea. Deaths occurred among the horses owing to the improper mode of shipping them. He had had many dis cussions on the mode of ehipyi .g horses with Captain Milne, of the Admiralty. His suggestions were received well, but were attended with no results. His mode of shipping horses was that practised at Hull ever since she peace, where more thoroughbred horses were shipped for the Baltic, than any where else. They were all shipped on ballast, and then bedded up, and they laid down at sea is a gale; and out of the thousands shipped in this way abroad, be never knew of a single death. They generally arrived as well as when they went out. In very bad weather the hones laid down, and if they got unruly the mom adopted • peculiar method of quieting them. They could not take so many by the Hull plan as by the government plan, by which the horses were slung all the Bytim ethtenegyowyeerpromone government p l an d. Thet t hey werebal ballast e t consisted up tedo 4 a 2 sh m . f g ee l e t . stall, and they could not sometimes lie down for six weeks together, if the voyage was of that duration. He did not experience any differences with the government in chartering his vessel. By Mr. Layard—The horses he shipped at Woolwich were walked on board. They all belonged to Lord It igisn's staff. He n saw any cavalry horse. shipped. He was not aware that the horse-boxes gave way, and that • large number of hones were destroyed. The covering to the horse-boxes was of deal, and the rain could not penetrate. He did not know whether the hones were insured. The (-hatter for the Emperor was 6601. per week, and that for the Cottingham, of 260 tons, 21. 6s. per ton per mon th. The government found all the fuel, and if the vessel steamed all day the Emperor would consume two tons an hour, and the Cottingharn one, and the other general transports 16ewt. The horses taken oat to the Crimea were very much affected. Witness insured his own vessel. The transport vessels remained • good deal in idleness, and they were not hard worked. Not having the logs with him he could not give an account or the time they worked, but they were worked more than one-third of the time they were engaged. It was a general remark that the Emperor end City of London did more work than all the rest. They were employed on spinal missions by Lord Raglan to carry sick or rent for detschments. Ile did not always bring full cargoes. Captain Christie had charge of the transport service. He went out in the Emperor, and lived in it for three or four months. The Emperor was one of the leading vessels of the fleet. Witness had a conversation with Captain Christie as to the transport service, which seemed to him rather more disorganised than organised ; and Captain Christie appeared to be overborne by work, or not up to the mark. Ile was rather an elderly man, and a more active one would have been better. lie (wit ness) never communicated with Commissary Filder, and the commissariat bed nothing to do with their vessels. Ile went out as an amateur. The bullocks and sheep were received by the commissariat, and written receipts were given for what was landed. Some confusion arose between the officers of the commissariat and transport service at times. His (witness's) officers considered them selves under the command of the transport ser vices, which looked on Captain Christie as their head. The crews of the transports were g Ily discharging their stores but they might have been employed In removing the offal, &c., at Baleklava ; but a " rake," as it was called, could not have cleared it out. This neglect was unavoid able, as nearly all the labour was absorbed in the army. Many oxen died on board, on coming from Eupatorie, and they threw them over board into the harbour ; but if the government had given compensation, the sailors and officers might have taken them out to sea. It was the business of a harbour master in England :ogee that these things were not thrown into the harbour. The streets of Balaklava were in a dreadful state, and generated di . No one had the care of their sanitary condition. The officers did not trouble themselves. The burial plain was very impro perly placed. Witness sailed to the island of Cerigo, in Southern Greece, and the Dardanelles. It blew a heavy gale all the voyage. If a proper system had been adopted, many of the transports is Balaklava Harbour might have been employed, and with one-third lees, they might have done the work that was done. All that occurred was for want of a proper system. It took ten days to coal 300 tons. He had the large steamers employed between England and Alex andria, and at Malta they put 400 tons on board in one night. Bands of men ought to have been organised for coaling purposes at Belgian's, and he would have employed some of those idle fellows on beard the line-of-battle ships, or some Turks or Armenians. The vessels with the coals from England were brought alongside the ships, and they were so filled. There was tolerable order and regularity in Balaklava harbour, and vessel, with some difficulty could leave end get out. The wood at Sinope was bad, soft, end not of mach value. It was willowy. No huts were put up before he left. He visited some of the houses, and they were inhabited by the sick Turks chiefly. Commis sary Heelless c lived in oar, and on a large one was written Lord Raglan, but there were only a few black smiths in it. It was the largest house in the town, and would have done for a store-house. He went into the hcia pitale. Some of the churches were converted into hospi tals. The Tucks died very fast in the hospitals from cholera, resulting from bad food and fever. Visited the cavalry camp, and thought the horses wets treated as well as they could be. Those of the light brigade were picketed on the mountain side inuiscrintiaately, but the heavy were in rows, three or four feet intervening between each horse, with their head. tied down to stokes ; and if their manes and tails were eaten, how they got at them he could not say. All he knew was they were eaten. (Loughter.) He never saw them do it He did not see any case of -curvy. There were depots of coal only on board ship at Balaklava, and depots could not very well have been formed there, there being no organised labour. The detention and confusion in the transports could have been remedied by proper expenditure and attention. Admiral Boxer suc ceeded Captain Christie at Halals's, and he heard com- Boplaints from every captain of every transport about Admiral Boxer's being an intemperate old man, and ae giving extra ordinary directions. Vessels could not lie in Cons..satinople harbour so as to be protected from every wind. " t here wise v im ery ns s po te rta currentsong were .0 scatteredol enH all and oval been cleared in • week. Such a stat e of thi-o g s could not bare been tolerated in Hull harbour. Mr. P•.iest was owner 'th i e ts E surface. nglish t With proper regulations, Balaklava h arbour cou ld have of the Helen and Glide. They were laden with hay and February, 1865, and it was a matter of complaint on the re detain ed there fur want P eet of the " Ptah° that they we f the troops • orders, although by despatches rom Raglan stare% and arrived at Constantinople on the. 4th and 6th of troops were greatly in want of the suppi es. g n —Zed about to ß ra sh ee k tas i e FTrehneych were low small shrubs, about two miles from the French suppliedwith camp, which was in that way well fuel. diets by scores Visited Haraimch Bay, and went from Constantinople: with statement between the harbour arrangements at Balaklava p French regiment. Could not mete any comparative seo j. r r es eki eu e t o c e n tained end at Handset& Bay. By Lord Seymour—Hi ratite his contract with Captain Wine in Maroh to take the horses of Lord Raglan and his star at 6601. per week. The Emperor was so built and altered as to take the horme in What fashion. His mode— the Hull—was infinitely cheaper and healthier for the horses than the government plan. He showed letters to Captain ' Milos from the largest horse exporters, descriptive of the Hall system. When the Emperor was on the eve of depar ture the boxes were altered, to carry the horses on the Hull system. He knew Mr. Goodwin, • veterinary surgeon, who took out horses to Ennis for the Emperor Alexander, and he adopted tke jinn ,ONM 10r We Emperor Atezanaer, systen and foua it miccessful. 1.•