The Express. — London, England, 1850-12-26 00:00:00

~, I ,1 Os Oa nit of Joann% MI. *di be of a rOliebei. Past I, prise 70, awl L. pries led., cou.umw swim+ or IRE WRITINGS of DOUGLAS JERROLD. TM Seri a .42 a essstomer with the I liettsy at NT. <ALEN AND ST. JAM Old liseeatter a Sililitat win be puhlsete4 co ry Wedatiday, aid Paste■ the Sot dews, moth, lista eomplairol. 14111166: riobsied at ,he Fugal Office, B Fleet-attest; and sold TS di bioloolleis Is NMI sad emote,. gut entrtos. TO COIIIII3PONDIEN TS. alloorWswastolwowloi Ow *TM Uprise.' Lizalos Emig( pow, ismi lost obi USN. Uy Ilsooseiroulos„ b Two eciact as she day et ookbikaliow HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIX'S Tan Ml—likerles. ni. sks. mernana. 7L Os. 10-isosao• —Mona& Aftruses. M. in. LONDON, THURSDAY. DECEMBER 28. IT is the custom of the Church ef England, in obe dience to the thirt3 -first anon, to ordain her minis ters on the Sundays immediately following what are called the Ember-days, and at no other time. Tnis custom is said 4) have originated in primitive egos, and to have been contemporaneous with the appoint meet of the Bober-days themselves, those days having been set apart by the early Christians u days of prayer for &AI'S blessing on the fruits of the earth. By the same anon it is further decreed that the sob mn ceremony b i performed in the cathedral or parish church where the bishop resideth, in the pre sence, nut only of the archdeacon but of the eean and two pub* ndaries at the last, or (if they shall happen by any lawful eanse to be let or hindered) in the preeeece of four other grave persons, being masters of arts at the last, and allowed for public preacher.. In part pursuance of this canon the B shop of LONDON held an ordination last Sunday, al hough in contravention of the same canon it was held neither in the cathedral of St. Paul nor in the parish church of St. James or St. Martin—in whichever of the two parishes London bones is situate—" wit' re the high( p resideth"—but in the banqueting chamber of Whitehall. Perhaps it is fitting that the initiatory ceremonies of a church which exists under SMART canons and STUART acts of uniformity should take place, in the diocese of Lor don at least, in a room on the c, ding of which is painted the Apotheosis of JAkES the FIRST, from a window of which CHARLES the FIRST walked forth to receive the reward of his misdeeds, and on the floor ef which CHARLES the SECOND, amidst Italian priests and French intriguers, reduced Eng land to degradation and the monarchy to a jest. In this sacred apartment the solemn ceremony of ordination was last Sunday performed on about forty or fifty men who are now priests or deacons of the church of England. But the ceremony was chiefly remarkable for the sermon of the Bishop of LONDON, that prime patron of unlighted candles, that great originator ot the surplice and cassock controversy, that prelatic syrin who, if Mr. BENNETT is to be believed, first lured his victim by Anglo catholic charms, and who Ilia now turn him and his living into pieces and cast his spoils to the chaplains. The Bishop's text was from those words of PAUL'S second left. r to Timomite where he exhorts him to watch in all things, to endure afflictions, to do the work of an evati4elist, to make full proof of has ministry. It was of course addressed for the most part to the candidates fur ordination, and in illustra tion of the text it presented a lucid summary of the duties of the Christian ministry, mingled with talcum and appropriate exhortations to those who were about to undertake the office. But it was chiefly noticeable from the entire absence of any ex pressioos such as might have been expected to fall from the lips of n prelate who has distinguished him 'pelt even within the last two months by stirring the ashes ot the Gontism controversy, and from the manner in which he explaired, even to explaining away, those sent, noes in the Ordination service which seem to imply a spiritual authority given by the imposition .3 hands. lie told his hearers that by the question in the service when the candidate is &skid if he tree's that he is "inwardly moved by the' Holy (Most to take upon him" the sacral office, nothing more is meant or requirid by the church than that the candidate should be predisposed by tames and previous pur4u•ta fur the ministry, and that he should have prayed for the aid of that divine auxiliary to fit him fur his malice, and to guide him in the discharge of them; but there was no word of exaggerated euloty and high church satisfaction with resptct to the office itself. The candidates were not told that they were to it invested with powers of absolution and &open. eatiou of sac. isinentary grace above other nsor• tale, eor was the institution of the ministe rial office ascribed so much to CHRIST'S ordi nut ce as to man's necessities. There was, it is true, a slight flourish of trumpets about the unbroken hue of succes4iii: but it was followed by no ponti fical assumptions, no vauetin4s of au exclusive right derived from apostolic hands. Nay, the hearers were told that that solemn and much debated sen tence.in lk h the Deacon o r the Church of England is bidden to receive the Holy Onost for the office and work of a priest in the church of God, is to be inter preted more as a prayer than as an authoritative im parting of supernatural powers, and the neophytes themielvee were warned its very solemn words, words which concluded the sermon, and in the delivery of which tue speaker wu visibly and deeply moved, that on them it de waded whether or no should rest on the church of England that blessing which, as be observed, was conferred on one only of the apocalyp tic churches, that of being 0 kept from the hour of temptation which shall come twin all the world," and which was conferred upon that one church in conse quence of its comparative fidelity. Now what does all this mean ? Is it a sign of the times ? and has the mercury run so rapidly down in the episcopal barometer because there is a storm at hand? Or dues the Bishop re.aly ate that, after all, the only legitimate object of the ministerial office is, not to administer sacraments as means of magical grace—not to boast about claims which, if histori cally traceable, are theologically absurd—not to mutter and bow, and gesticulate—but, in one word, to preach the gospel? If It be not so—but we will nut pursue the disagreeable alterna tive, for it is so pleasant to find • man more honest, more wise, more conscientious, better than we thought him, that we will postpone a more marching examination; but, if it be eo,—if the superintendent of the most important subdivision of &gland for religiose purposes has really begun in the evening of his days, and after twenty-five years' experience of episcopal functions, to take such • view of ministerial duties as has usually been taken by the beet and wisest of other reformed churches, we can bat rejoice in the change, and look forward to hie assistance in that great struggle which is surely on the eve of its commencement, in which will be arrayed superstition in all forms: intolerance and priestcrah on the one side, and the principles of civil and religi ow liberty, social order, and spirituel freedom on the other. Now that railways everywhere monopolise the great arterial lines of communicition, the combina tions and strikes of their engine -driven have an im portance such as do not belong to any other confede racy of any other claw of workpeople ' • such as take them oat or the ordinary consideration by which the power and the right of artisans to combine ars regu lated. It is, therefore, quite possible, as Mr. °solos OLT* told the deputation of North Western driven, who waited on Mtn on Tuesday, that the legislature will deem it proper to protect the country against the wilful and perverse interruptions of its communica tions and intercourse consequent on such strikes, by making engine-drivers the objects of exceptional legislation. At all events, the spectacle now to be seen on the North Western Railway ia quite intolerable; it is • disgrace to the intelligent* and to the sense of justice of the British workman, and is not to be endured in • commercial country. That line is, fur its work ing purposes, separated into two divisions : on the northern division the engine -drivers threaten to strike, not because of any reduction, either actual, proposed, or intended, in their wages; not became* of any new rule or regulation that affects the amourt of labour they are required to give foe the sub stantial wages they receive or the extent of re laxation they enjoy ; not because their material combos, conditions, or enjoyments are in the , slightist degree touched ; but because their masters seek to protect themselves from a constant repetition of strikes by requiring • lengthener] notice to quit from the drivers; which notice is and must be • posi tive pecuniary, la well as moral, advantage to the THE EXPRESS, THURSDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 26. 1 men themselves. These men have no earthly ground of complaint against the North Western Oompan,y, other than this senseless one; yet; becaall, dray cannot have their own way, th ey, like spilt shildren, turn sulky, conspire in their sulkiates, imd twelve, in so far as in them Tier, to interrupt all bade and intercourse Opitwien London at I,a -...hire. The engine drivers on the southern division of the North Western hue have, it seems, adopted the griev ances of their fellow-workmen on the northern division, without the same inducement ; aid although they ad mit that they have nothing to complain of, they have determined "not to stand by and see the rights of their fellow-men encroached upon." And worse than all; the dismissed engine-drivers of the Eastern Counties Railway interpose in the affairs of the North Western, and assure its workmen that should they strike, their employers need not look to the discharged ser vants of the Eastern Counties, half starving though lay be. Before this combination of their servants, alloying excellent wi•es, and having collateral vantages furnished them by their masters, such as are not known to any other body of werkpeople be the kingdom, the North-Western directors have been obliged to notify that should it be pushed to sixtremi!ies," a veiy considerable reduction of passen ger trains may be temporarily made on the line." This is a very pitiable spectacle. Whether under any circumstances workmen are justifiable in c•mbin leg to kelp up or raise wages is a question on which difference of opinion exists; though, perhaps, the very highest morality that could be appealed to, viz., " to do unto others as we would they should do unto us," would decide it against any such right of com bination. But, for all practical purposes, these com binations are either ineffectual or tyrannical. For, as wages are regulated by the supply of workmen and the demand of masters, combinations of the former can only permanently keep up wages by restricting the number of hands in the particular trade that com bines, or, in other words, by a monopoly which would inflict injustice on workpeople generally, by denying to them the right of vending their labour freely. Combinations of labourers to keep up wages mast there'ore, as a general rule, either be unsuccessful, or their success can only be permanently based on acts of the grossest tyranny. Their very success would thus require the interposition of the law to repress their tyranny. But engine-drivers can enjoy high wages without any such combination or tyranny ; they are few in number, the demand is great ; their wages are con sequently high and their comforts considerable. If ever, then, there was a trade in which combinations would, even were success possible, be needless and foolish, it is their trade at present. Combinations exist however in it ; and, having no legitimate object on which to concentrate their ac ion, they find vent in unadulterated mischief, springing out of unpro voked susceptibilities, unnecessary jealousies, and unjustifiable apprehensions. How often is it necessary to point oat that the masters have not the power, of their own mere mo tivis, to reduce the men's wages ; and that when the masters have the power, combinations cannot long or permanently suspend or restrain itsexercise. The very announcement of a reduction of trains proves that the men have in this case greater power than the masters. The North Western directors are preparing to endure the pecuniary consequences of the threatened strike Why? Because they cannot get hands to supply those about to leave-. If they could, they would then be in • position to lower wages; but not being in that po sition, they choose to endure every inconvenience and ' loss rather than to submit to the veriest tyranny ever resorted to by workmen spoiled by good work and good masters. But have not engine-drivers a mural and a legal right to refuse to give three months' notice to quit their employment? Certainly they have. But each in his individu capacity only. The North Western Company does not enter into contracts with its ser vants as a great corporation aggregate; it knows nothing of them in that character ; it can recognise no union of t h em without ignoring freedom of labour and disregarding distinctions between the efficient and inefficient workman. It deals with, engages and paja each man separately, distinctly, and apart from all his fellow servants; it is fM individual strength, skill, and work that it renders wsges to indi viduals; it has nothing to do with clubs or confederacies or conspiracies of workpeople. While I then each individual engine driver has a right to I decline to be subjected to any pirtirular terms in the contract prorised fur his adoption; for all the engine drivers on the line to unite and threaten to strike because a portion of them, in a corporate capacity. object to a three months' notice, amounts to such a conspiracy as reither the North Western directors nor their customers, the public, can or will submit to. It is a tyrannical nuisance that must be abated at once and for ever : not less for the sake of the con spirators than for the general interests of the corn• =unity. It becomes, then, the passengers and traffic cus tomers of the North Western Railway to stand by and to support that company, should its er gine drivers persi.t in their folly and wickedness. Any amount of inconvenience ought to be suffered, rather than yield to pretensions so tyrannical, and to combinations so unnecessary. And if workpeople will act so un justifiably to their employers, they mast be prepared ter new laws to meet new emergencies. Whilst, however, inviting the public to support the North Western Company, we must again insist on the neessAry that this affair establishes for railway directors losing no opportunity of rearing up and educating a large supply of engine -drivers, for it is only by the supply ex. ceding the &mind that the e strikes and this tyranny can bet ffectually repressed. IT is difficult to conceive why the Austrian govern ment, which is m the habit of keeping its doings and writings so exclusively sealed up, should have pub• listed its oorreepondence with the British Secretaries of State on the subject of the assault upon Marshal HAYNAU. The correspondence renders pretty evident what was the public feeling in this country respect ing what Priam SCUWARZCNSERO justly calls that " celebrated" commander. It is clear that he had but to show his face, and announie his name in any spot where Englishmen cmgregate, in order to receive from them full demon.tra•ions of their feeling towards the butcher of the Hungarian generals, who surrendered to him, and the flogger of the Hungarian women who were true to the national cause. The correspondence must reveal, even through the cour teous and covert language of a secretary of state, that no minister in this country, and co attorney-general, dont have instituted a prosecution, which would have raised the voice of the public opinion against it, and that no jury could have been found to convict. Marshal HAYNAU brief as had been his sojourn in London, saw putty clearly what war the force and current of opinion, aed also saw the utter absurdity of seeking to resist or stem it. Like a wise man, therefore, he refused to identify cry of those who mobbed him, and resolved to take himself off, and have no more dealings or sojourn ing, amidst a free people. Prince SCHWARZLNDERG by no means displays the same amount of sense, although he was so long a re sident amongst us, and made such an ample experi- MOO of English life as to have been the principal personage in a celebrated trial for criminal con variation. He, fix", took himself off to escape payment of damages, so that he is in the position of one invokinf, in behalf of Marshal H•TNAU that English justice, which he showed such particular ob jection to pay the award of in his own person. It is not unamusing to perceive in Prince &swan- SEWBERG'S first despatch the self-same argument and assumption which appeared in the first leading article of the Tines on that subject. The two documents are, in fact, completely identical, both attributing the onslaught of the brewers' men upon HsrtcAU to a deep-laid conspiraey, concocted by men who kept themselves in the back-ground, and moving their puppets by wires. The impossibility of supposing, that honest Englishmen and brewers could be moved to any indignation on the subject of the atrocities in Hungary unless they were paid for it, is a sentiment' so peculiarly belonging to the nines, that the illus trious Prime Minister could certainly not have gleaned it from any other source. And having established this portentous fact upon such irrefragabie authority, the Austrian of course proceeds to insist on a grand in quest. A drum-head court-martial would have suited best. But this was impossible. So the brewers were at least to be indin'ed for treason, and less than their decapitation would evidently not have sa tisfied the Austrian autocrat. Illitebstorisa — .7(piicts, however, are not believed amongst us. The passions which invent them, and the vengeance they call tor, aro alike impossible. English men don't conspire. , And when tier working and, , populist claim% do feel. • great interest in foreign pol k s'its they have done lithe affairs of Hungary, is is tees the political question which moves them, than deeds which outrage humanity. The Elliott public has no doubt swag opinions on the subject of free dom re despotism, oonaritwional or non-constitutional government ; but it avid never mob a foreigner or exe crate him for being either • democrat or •courtier. It is the wholesale murders they abhor, the administration of the know. to women, the stringir g up to the gal lows tree of some score of brave generals, guilty of no crime save that of defetding the traditional inde pendence of their country. It is not as • politician that General Mixtratt underwent the stern treatment of English execration ; it was as a monster. And we are glad to see that the whole story of the cue has been permitted to penetrate to the perception of the Austrian public. Prince ScHeisarerensao winds op his puerile and captious correspondence by a trait worthy of him. He threatens retaliation. This must mein, that if any Englishman visits Vienna, and gets ill-treated, he shall have no redresr. Now, since Prince -....farawan- ZENBERO imagines, that the ill-treatment of HATNAII was instigated, his myrmidons may no doubt be insti gated to ill-treatment of any Englishman in the streets of Vienna. And Englishmen in such a case would no doubt apply to the magistrates and the courts of law. All these, however, he would find in c unpiete depend ence on the government, which has announced before hand that it will prevent redress being given. English gentlemen, therefore, of constitutional opinions, how ever they may travel with safety in Turkey, and even in Russia, had better beware how they visit Austris, whilst it rem oine under the vindictive tyranny of Prince SCHWARZANBERO. It is there not the mob which threatens, but the minister; and the minister can keep his word. Trio Prince ought, we should think, to be satisfied with his revenge. For if we have shown disapprobation of Marshal HATNAtt, • Austria has retaliated by sending us Cardinal WISE , MAN. GERMANY. [TZLIORAPRIC DISPATCH sal DRESDEN, MONDAY BVECINO, Die 23. The Conferences hare been opened in the Buhl Palace, by Prince Schwarzenberg, who is as yet the sole represen.alse of Austri.t. Frauds is represented by M. Manteuffel and Count Alvensleben. Hesse, Mecklenburgh•Bcbwerin, Oldennurg, and the small states had no representatives to-day. Dec. 24 This mornin , z, at 10 o'clock, the Conference met for the verification of powers. The next sitting will take place the day after to-morrow. In the opening sit ting of yesterday, Prince Schwarzeoberg, M. Man teuffel, and M. von Bend expressed their hopes for the maintenance of peaco and harmony. M. von der Pfordten announced at once the demand of &saris for the representation of the German people in the B uod. On the 21st at noon, the following plenipotentiaries had arrived :—Herr Smidt, Iron Bremen ; Herr Brehmer, from Lubeck ; Hrrr It der, from Schwarz burg-Radoistadr ; Cour eellor Chop, from Schwarz burg Sandershausen • Herren Schlrinitz and Liebe, from Brunswick ; and Herr Wechmar, from Mein ingen. We learn from Berlin that M. Von der Heydt, the Minister of Commeroe, was about to resign. Baron Dormberg, the El. ctor of Hesse's agent at the Prussian court, bad arrived at Berlin. In Hesse the national guard have been required to deliver up their arms voluntarily, to prevent the necessity of compulsion. After a consultation with their commandant, the guard refused to comply with the requ:sition. The editors of the two po litical papers had made their escape out of the town. Count Leiningen and General Peocker, having extorted a provisional submit:a:on from the Hessian authorities as representatives of all the Orman states, now issue their edicts in the came of the Diet alone. Count Leiningen insists at present that the ordinances of September should not only be submitted to, but aeknowl.dgrdes legal and constitutional. This has occasioned more resignations, and has brought the Court sf Appeal again iato negotiation with the C )mm'saioners. The despatch respecting the lorgeditsche corps, alluded to yesterday, is not mentioned in to-day's Frankfort papers. Perhaps it was merely intended to act as a menace to the Danes. It must not be forgotten that the despatch did not speak of a march ing order, but only of an order to be in readiness to march. CASSEL. Dsc._22 At this moment the "Diet's" troops are marching, to the number of 6,000, into our city, by 'he Leipsic gate. There are Austrian charseure, Bavarian light horse, and Bavarian infantry and artillery. Of the Prussian troops, but a very small remnant remains among u , ---)ne battalion of the 13th infantry regi ment and another of the 7th chewers. To hinder any no-sib's collision between the Prussians and the Diet's troop, the farmer are queered in the Upper New-town and the latt r in the Lower New-town. (By a telegraphic despatch, of the 23rd instant, which has just reached us, we learn that the Bare- I rians on that day left Cas el.) The Elector, it is said, arrived yesterday at Wabern. FRANKFORT, Dn. 23 The news of Hassenpflug's appointment as pkni piventiary at the Conferences was erroneous. M. Beombach goes to Dresden, ',loath Hassenpflug is to have the honour of accompanying the Elector on his return to Cassel. The ez•mioistcr Dungern, and not M. Wintzengerode, is to go to Dresden for Mumma MUNICH.thre. 20. It is said that Von der Pfortden will, at er the opening of the Conferences, be relieved by Count Armansperg. If this report be true, and we are to judge from the antecedent politice of M. A-mtneporg, the policy of Bavaria, both home and foreign, must have undergone a change quite unexpected. RENDSBURG, Dic. 21 . The 7th battalion yesterday morning met with a reverse at Msnenthal. Our whole loss amounts to seven men, flys taken and two killed. On the Danish side an officer was killed. Beaux, Dec. 24.—Volontary Lose, 1041 ; New Loan, Four-led-a-Ho ff per Cents , 981 ; National Debt, 831 ; Commercial Mules Society's Freedom, 120; Bask Bbarer,94. Vierrtre, Deo. 271.—Fin per Cent. Dietariquei, 931; Four and-a-Half per Crate., 811. Bank /inert,. 1112. Exchange on Leaden. 12.34. FRANCE. PARIS, TUMIDLY EVRNING. The principal business before the Assembly to-day was with respect to the interpellations announced by M. Sevaistre to the Nlioister of War. Tnese inter pellations have reference to the adjudication of the last contract of cloth for the use of the army—an ad judication which was contrived in such a manner that all real competition was destroyed, and the interests of the manufacturers of the north were sacri ficed, according to M. Sevairre, to those of the ma nufacturers of the south of France. M. &Tabour, in bringing the subject forward, complained—though in very moderate and becoming langlisge—of this disloyal partiality. The Minister of War, in replying to this charge, reminded the house the contract was entered into, not by him, but by h.s predecessor; and 'that if he had wished to annul it he could not have done so, uit was a fail accompli. He then went on to deems that the Assembly might be assured that henceforth the government would allow all France to compete, and that the operation would be carried on with the greatest impartiality. After a long discussion in which M. Dupre. M. Bourdon, M. Vernhette, M. Randolog, and M. Emile Leroux were heard, the following order of the day was moved:—" The Assembly, convinced that free competition is the best guarantee for the interests of the treasury trusts to the solicitude of the Minister of War, to apply it with firmness acd impartiality." It was then moved as an amendment that the order of the day per ei simple should be adopted, which was carried by a majority of 346 to 301. Some unimportant bills were then pa , eed,: after which the assembly adjourned. The President of the Republic received the com mittee appointed to examine and report on the system of education in the Boole Polytechnique. The report, which is drawn up by M. Leverrier, was delivered by that gentleman to the President The Alba, affair came on to-day before the Court of Correction police. A great number of witnessee ap- peered and the cue is likely to last several days. Mists was pale and depreseect. The evidence of M. Yon was long and embarrassed. Th• •coart was very severe on M. Yon. and remarked that when a witness was dispose:l to till the traih he was in general less prolix and more decided than he appeared to be. Rumours of a change of ministry are current to day, but they do not appear to rest on any good foundation. WlDNZatila Ella' IMO. Christmas being observed as a holiday, and the Assembly, the B3urse, and all the public offioes being closed, politics are at a stand-still, and the Parisian public devote the lay to their devotions. At the Passage de I'Opera a few speculators assem bled (notwithstanding the orders to the contrary given by the prefect of police), but scarcely any business was done. The Five per Cents. were at 95 fr. 75c. The trial of Allah yesterday, after the hearing of a great number of witnesses, was adjourned over Christmas-day till to-morrow (Thursday). The Afoniteur announces that the adjudication of the new French loan of two millions of mites (which failed on Monday last) has been flied by the minister of finances for the 31st instant. BOURSE. ror AOCOLLDL. PARIB, Dion 14. For Money . 'Opening Highest. Lowest. Claims ----.-- --- -- -- —. 3 per Cents. ....... .... 37 70 37 30 37 70 37 33 37 60 5 per Cents— -1 do. Nam Loan_ „ or Npar cants.. I per Crate7ll 73 racoons* on Loom, t at dub; 24 82i ; " 9n days, 9o 34 70. " srOgou., - S, 1860 De. 3, 1842 - Do. 44 ...... " Ditto, d 0.... 1330 781 „ Do. 24 MS „ Treasury Bonds 4 " Piedmont 3 parCenta. 94 60 „ Bank Shares 7333 Bonus —Bt. Germain, 422 60; Versailles (right bank), 168 75 ; ditto (lett honk), 168 76; Paris and Orleans, 860; Paris a nd Bourn, 690; Routh and Havre, 27260; Marseilles sad Avignon, 196; Strasbourg and Bale, 137 60 ; Centre ("Pierson), 410; Boulogne and Amiens, 226; Orleans and Bordeaux, 407 60; North, 483 75; Paris and Strasbourg, 360; Tours and Nantes, 252 60; Montereau and Tropes, 96; Dieppe and Fecamp. 190. MADRID, Dsc. 18,—Three per Cents., 35& Four per Cents., —. Five per Cents., 12i. Coupons, 61. Pas, cites, 31 cub. Bank of Bas Fernando, 92; paper. Ex change on London. 6046. ITALY. ROMAN STATES Oar Roman corn epondent, writing on the 14th December,givrs tie result of M. Cal's interview with Cardinal Antomi:li on the 10th, respecting the closure of the protestant chapel, and the determination of his holiness to allow it to remain open. Our correspond /tit mentions the fact of Prince Schwarzenburg's having addressed strong remonstrances to the papal government on its present policy. Cardinal Antonelli was complaining of the expense of the Austrian forces in the legations. The French were to occupy the Castle of St. Angelo entirely on the let January,lBM. A government edict appeared cn the 13th, fixing the rates at which professional men were to be taxed. Signor Piccioni had been absolved by the coneulta tribacal, but reserved for that of the police. Prince Sciarra Colonna was mentioned as the new senator. Mr. Gibson was beginning the statue of Queen Victoria for the House of Lords. PENINSULAR MAIL, The Oriental Company's steam packet Madrid, Captain Francis Meehan, arrived at Southampton yesterday, and landed her mails under the charge of Lieut. Thomas William Langton, RN., Admiralty agent. Her dates are: Gibraltar, Deo. 15; Cadiz, Dec. 16; Lisbon, Dec. 19; Vigo, Dec. 21. The Madrid brought the following passengers: Mr. Bell, Lieut. Colonel Budgeo, It E., Mr. I mine, Mr. Poriant, Mr. Douthat, Mr. Moleswortb, Miss Moles worth, and 27 deck passengers. Her cargo incluled 19 bogs of specie and 9 packages of bullion. The following is the letter of a Lisbon corres pondent: LISBON, Bac. 19. Portugal is not now gradually approaching, but striding toeards a precip:o-; for the finances are in great disorder. To the picture of them I gave you in my last, I may 11071 add a very dark back-ground ; one impenetrable to the gaze of the Anglo-Portuguese credi•or. The beginning of the falling off in the cuirom-house here, on account of the general features of the Spanish tariff, exceeded 50 contos in the last month, as compared with the corresponding month of 1849. 1 do not inform you of this as a rumour, bet as a positive fief: and from what I mentioned relative to the Bank of good° holding security for their loan to the government of 400 con eon, it is some what clear that in future no establishment in this country will advance the government a shilling with out holding ample st curity ; and if the foreign lender would observe the same lice of conduct, the year 18.51—marked as the year for the payment of alt the arrears due by the government—might truly become the year of bankruptcy and winding up of the aoc•iunts of this ill-starred n ttioc. The popular party have been desirous of again sho sing a front, so as to stem the torrent of corrup tion at the next general election, which must take place in 1851; and for the purpose of meeting, they engaged a place, and advertised a meeting ; but the ltndlord having received intimation from certain quarters of the disagreeableness to them of the act he had committed in engaging the use of his house for that purpose was unable to perform his cow:Act —hence an obstruction to tne efforts of the popular party ; and their meeting has been consequently sus pended until a new locality can be engaged. It is said the Minister of Finance ts busily em ployed in endeavours to discover any article that has as yet escaped taxation; in order th it he may, in the ensuing session, duly load it with its portion of the burdens of the state. Royal letters may perhaps at tract hie attention ; as it is said the royal correspond ence is very extensive and tolerably heavy. Exchange 51; discount of Lisbon Bank Notes, 61. THY ORIENTAL COMPANY'S STEAM-PACKILT INDUS, Capt. Soy, arrind at S.utnaapton yesterday, and lauded her au Is under the charge of Lieut. Brady, R.N., A inanity Agent. Flag IN BEEMONDBEY.—Lbst night • fire, attended with a serene. destructing' of property, broke out in the pre silt, occupied by Mr. Cloy, a turner, cerryieg on buses 41 No 7, Orange-road, B•renondsey, within a short distance of the scene of the late extensive co .fintrations. The flames ' ware first noticed by a person passing by the premiere, wbo immediately raised an alum, and the whole of Mr. Clay's property was non enveloped in Nunn, whence the destructive element extra -d to two spaciau timber bindings belonging to Mr. Jaakinson, the leather dresser. The engine belonging to the parisk was quickly on the spot, and aon a , work, fdllowed by others of the London brigade, under the directioe or Mr. Henderson. An shun dance of water was procured, but three bouts shined en they could be wholly ingaished, and not until Mr. Clay's premiere were destroyed, two large buildings oar Mr. Jun kies n's estate consented, and some dams done by fi re, water, dte., to Mr. Weetwood's property a buket maker). The origin of the Bluster k enveloped in o bscurity. F. , ra nately Mr. Clay wee inured in the Sun Ere dike. Mr. Junlenson was also insured in the Alliance office, and Mr. ' Westwood was protect. d from loss by a policy in the General Insurance Odic*. TOE ACIRICELTORAL 'MEERUT. The Solopiaft Jownvil announces that Viscount Hill has veduired the rents on his farms between 16 and 20 per cent., tel on some cold farms even more; and we karts from the CAclrernitatie Jour real, that the Rev. W. L. Townsend, rector of Bishop'. Cleve., at his tithe audit, liberally returned 26 per cent, on the amount of hie commuta.ion rent charge.—The Right Hoe. William Loyd Ward, at his rent awiit at Motley. last week, returned 10 per cent. to hie tenants.—The Bsrl of Dartmouth hes returned 16 per cent, upon the rents on the Patehuli estate —Mrs. Mole end Mr Cale have returned 10 per mot. to their tenan , s at Bhereshill en their Michaelmas teats. --- ATTEMPT TO PREVENT A 80101 De.—At the High Forge, near Keswick, on Saturday Jut, a youth, a bobbin turner, with lir. Robert 11[111asson, named Charles Bowness, about 14 years of age, drowned himself. He bad been beat by some of the men in the mill, and threatened what he ac- Nally carried out by running direst to the river and plung ing in where the water is dcep and rapid. A son of Hr. Christopher Harringtonolso • bobbin-turner, plunged in after him, and narrowly escaped being drowned himself, u the 'drowning youth torantly seta-d him by the leg, and be thus prevents] the gallant young fellow from sAvlog his. Th e y both rolled down the river, which was mach swollen at the time, at least 160 yards, and when and a the bridge, floriagton, by a desperate effort, seized hold of a stone which they rolled against, and at the same time, by an equally desperate straggle, freed himself from Borne's. Harrington was at last rescued from his perilous position. to • very exhausted state, sad almost dad ; but the other youth was canted away by the foram of the stream, and was ultimately found quite dead some 200 yenta further down the river.—Curaberksnd Pother. CALIFORNIA-ITS PEOPLE AND THEIR WAYS. TO Tilt IDITOIL 07 THE EXPRESS. lioqueborn• Amer, 900 mile . trots Sin FranOA°, Ca.itontia, October 31,1840. BM—From a practical experience of upwards of eight mouths as • miner and storekeeper in the miner, I am now enabled to give you 80020 details wbich I hope rusty prove cf interest, and at all even's I shall endeavour to make them as useful as possible as a guide to any of my countrymen who may still have an idea of turning their thoughts to mining in California ; a life, which, although full of novelties, I believe most of your readers will agree is also one of considerable hardship. •• At a little later period I will give you a few particu lars of that " go-a-head" place, San Francisco ;for the present, however, I will conduct you to a city called Stockton, situated on a small branch or arm of the ricer San Joaquim, and at about 100 miles in an easterly direction from San Francisco. Stockton is the depot for all the southern mince, and a truly wonderful place, considering that 18 months ago it was not even in existence, but the gold works wonders, and Stockton now containel upwards of 400 houses, with a population varying from 5,000 to 10,000. It can else boast of two daily newspaper., a theatre, and other places of amusement, but above all, I must notice the poet-office, which is most admirably arranged—each merchant has his box OR the same system se at Liverpool and other towns in England. I would wish your readers to understand that the houses in this place ate by no means the rude erections that might be imagined, but real, substan tial buildings, as far as is possible with wood, and in addition many are built with architectural decors- Sone, and have cost an enormous sum,—to give you an ides, the residence of C.Webar, Eq., who owns a great tract of land hereabouts, cost hem 60,000 dole. (12,0001.), and others in proportion. There are numerous excellent hotels and restau rants, the charge being 1 dol. or la dol. each meal— of course everything in the free-and-easy style, and one sits down to table with the unwashed, without any of the feelings such an association would be likely to create in England. Probably the best restaurants in the town is owned and conducted by some Chinese—the ve'y best of cooks. Ships of large tonnage come close alongside the town. Five or six are entirely dismantled, serving as store ships and warehouses, offering great security against fire. Oue is also fitted up as a bathing establishment. With all this, however, it is a most disagreeable place to live in. Business has been very dull all the summer, and 1 do not think Stockton is a very rising place ; there fore, I shill bid adieu to it, with its dirty, dusty streets, and myriads of fleas, and, mounted on a good mule—the usual mode of conveyance—steer in a southerly direction towards the mines, the whole of which are situated at about seventy miles distance. On quitting the town, you enter on a tract of country which is perfectly level—there are good wag gon roads in numerous directions ; and although so flat, it is not very monotonous, the whole being beautifully wooded with oak, &c., put ting me in mind of a gentleman's park in the old country. The land, however, is poor, with a great want of water. In the spring, however, the ground is literally covered with flowers of every variety of hue—nothing can be more pretty, but the heat in the course of a month or two causes a change, which is anything but agreeable, herbage of every deecrip Son being literally burnt up. The traffic on the roads is very great, large troops of mules and heavy ox teams passing you constantly. This your readers will readily understand, looking at the immense population in the mines, and seeing that everything is conveyed by means of mules or the ox teams. Freight is very expensive. In tne month of April last it was 8 sects per lb., and all the sum mer has never been leas than 41 and 5 cents. At pre sent the rate is 6 cents. Taus the freight on a sack 'of flour weighing 100lbe. will cost 6 dolt. (11. 44.) List winter many parties were obliged to pay 75 cents per lb., and this winter it is calculated freighta will go up to 40 cents per lb., equal to 81. sterling on .very 1001 be. weight! The road. are then, of course, almost impassable. I am conducting your readers now to a place called Mokelome IEII (au Indian name, I believe), 55 miles from Stockton, and situated about midway between the northern and southern mines, a place which has proved one of the richest in this country, and which will gradually become a place of some importance. Tne rued presents the same appearance fur about 25 miles, almost entirely level. At every three or tour miles along the route are refresh ment stores, where a tolerably good meal (good enough for a miner), can be had for 11 dol., or 6s. These stores are generally known by the name of the owner; thus "Welker'. Stare," "Jackson's two springs trading taking Store," dec. Enka, you arrive at a pl ice called . ttiel o r u r t t e e S a p t r :i n ia g t s cla an ce. nam H ed ere two from large are erected, one of which serves as county and assize court for the district. After leaving this place the ruad gradually takes a rice until reaching Mokelome fill, where it is actually mountatauus. CLIMATE IN THE MINES. Of the climate it is impossible to speak too highly, and an Englisbman above all ought to be consented in this respect; withal that the heat is somewhat too great at time. One uninterrupted summer prev..ils fur upwards of seven months in the year, viz., from April until the end of October—and not such sum mers as we have at home! No calculations as to whether it will rain tomorrow—no cutting winch, —no thunder storms; day after day, week atter week, the sun rites with the same undiminished splendour, and one day is an exact repetition of the other. It is true that the heat is occasionally too great; but as a compensation for this, a delicious brt eze blows as regularly as ilia day comes round, from eleven o'clock until three. The miners are never out during the hottest part of the day, but reposing under some shady tree; it is too hot to travel. 1 have had no means of calculating the exact di give of heat, but it is nearly always the same, viz, as near as I can guts", about 80 degrees Fahrenheit at 12 o'clock in the shade; while the actual rays of the sun are so power ful that it is impossible to handle a crowbar, or any article of iron, which has been exposed to them for a few minutes. At the commencement of the night one blanket is g , .nerally sufficient, but towards morniog it becomes chilly; the thermometer, I am sure, got s dnwa one half; indeed, I have, during the course of the present month, seen the ground covered with hoar frost; but here again is the beauty of the climate; the nights serve to equalise the days. Without such a provision, this would be a tropical climate—as it is, it is perfection. HEALTH IN THZ MINES. I consider the whole of the mines where I have been (south), to be healthy in the extreme, and lam happy to say that cases of serious illness are very rare ; those which have come under my notice have been in general dysentery,of which many have died from want of proper attention, advice, and remedies. I'oe mining doctor* are nothing but quacks, and the suf ferer frequently cures himself by drinking a decoction of the bark of the white oak, at once a simple and efficacious remedy. The malady of the miner, how ever, I take to be sore hands, arising from the jar they ricoeive in working with the crow-bar and rick. The worst kind of whitlows prevail, and great care is necessary, for I have known men inca pacitated from work for two months at a time with this apparently trifling but really serious malady. Cases of scurvy are becoming rare —the miners use every precaution against this dreadful scourge, eating raw potatoes, pickles, vine gar, &c., as a preventive. For the rest, the climate must be healthy; for it is really astonishing to see what excesses are committed, and without any bad results. There is no doubt about the life being a hard one—living without vegetables, eating an im mense quantity of salt pork, and, what is worse, pan cake; fried in its fat at almost every meal; flour and water made into bread, and tnerally only half cooked ; drinking large quantities of most in'amous wines and spirits; working up to the knees in cold spring water for weeks together, with a broiling sun over heed—immense perspiration—and at night sleeping on the ground itself, with a couple of blan kets, exposed to the night air, and only a tree as a shelter (tor one-half dispense with tents). I say again, the mines must be healthy, for all this is done without apparently any bad results; that is to say, for the moment, for I am —afraid many of these men wilt have cause at a later period to regret ever having worked in such a manner. This brings me to sp e ak ' of more 11-I..te'tll tot ________,. GRAVES IN TIM itt.Nr.s. Man, wherever . be goes , is 0n 1 5..m0tt , 1, and flu me fore it is not astont,hing to . s., at tt.terv.,'.. t h ., ~.0 , 4 4 of a miner," causing anything but !in t,' le fedinga —the man who dies 1:1 the nitn!s ties p .ei , ire! l ii ie a m d an ott w i h n o a d h i a te s h. any l k ee n t o s tln ve ttC f T e g lings. Tt4, futtrai ceremonies are conducted with a greet deal ~y .1, „ , ey. and the grave in nearly every c ase i s plateelLn th e side of a hill—if possible under some b-autiful Ire-, in th e bark of which a large era% ie tut—er e* . times also the initials ; thi,., and the stna.l in and of earth raised, mark tho lest mutely-place of the h o w . [unite gold-seeker. It may not b e out ol place bete to mention that the males are full of doctors, w po . called, for they are utter quack!, and most of them are without either medicine, or tostrumenle ; thet e i e nothing for them to do, so they take to rnitd. g. Th e i r fee is nominally 16 dollars, but they are contented to take as much as they can get. OF THE GOLD trsey.band i n . The quantity of gold is it.e.do my belief not one-fiftieth part has yet been extoaetee it is a complete puzzle to the minere, and terre day the question is asked, " Where does it all coin. from.: this I nave neither the intention our the Unity :to reply, for I have been equally aruezul my.cif , and I doubt nut that long ere this your rearier s Ii re b een enlightened with numerous able trentioss on he Bab. ject. All that I shall endeavour to do w.li b e t o point out where, and in what quieti•ies it is found A: First of all I must ask you to disp e l from ;our. mind any ideas you may have aosccietid with the word " Mines." Up to this m o m ent there love been no mines or mining operations carrieet on in California, or, at all whirs, no: inch works as we aro accustomed to cal, min e . in Englatd. The country where the gld is. found is mountainous, or mere properly eery Lilly; the scenery putting me in .. mind of wanepins of Derbyshire, only perhaps it lb not so ru4o.a. These hills are intersected in a manner which it would be difficult to find in any other part of the {dohs, with innumerable little ravines, called, in mining phrase. ology, " gulches," some of which have water in them during the whole season, bat the greater pert o f which are dry by the time July arrives. It is in Fuse gulches that the greatest quantity of gold it found, and it requires an apprecte• ship of two or three months to know the spots where it lies, for in numerous instances small laud .lips have taken place, covering the original bed; and I may say that in nine eases out of ten this lowest I, t e l lies completely to one side, or in the hill ; the ditlimlty is, therefore, to hit this spot; for there the gold is sure to be. The manner of proceeding is es follows :—A small hole, called a prospeeticg hole, is duo, varying , according to circumstances, from 3 to 6 feet i n d ept h ' to find the bottom or ledge rock; from this o ne or two panfuls of dirt arc washed, and if they Ore less this twelve and a half cents. worth to each pan, the hole is abandoned as worthless ; fir o eat eves moderate wages, each pan ought to eth.t.iiu a' Mss' 25 cents worth. As soon as this trial is deeded opera tions are commenced by enlarging the hole, which, on an average, is perhaps six set t square by fire feet deep; the top dirt is thrown off, arid a ihtervsla pine are again washed until reaching the earth contaieing the gold, which is then carried to the raitch.ns led washed in earnest. I should add that toe arth (or washing lies nearly all at the b athru, varying from one inch to one foot in depth; cud not the leas: extra ordinary thing is to find the gild oce.eionaliy under a false bottom composed of very hard eck. This is often mistaken for the real ledg, int! 120 cs are constantly abandoned under this liner. nine—the knowing ones frequently get a good haul from a hole abarodoned in this manner. A gulch wh'sh is in any way rich, thus noon pre. sents a sorry appearance. I have seta places which have put me in mind of a cemetery. It .le elite r hole is made, looking like so many new gr ,v s; beautiful trees are torn up by the roots ; rotlis and atones strewed in every direction; thick mu dy water run ning in the place of the formerly pike crystal; in tact, the gulch may be said to be eit.rely des greyed. If all this was dry work, the search after gold would be a healthy and a much more profitable occupation—unfortu..w.ly, uo ro,cer do you get down a few feet than wet( r runs is from every corner in such a way that it is imiaosibls to keep dry—constant baling is requisite, a..d t.e but. tom of the hole is a mass of mud sod wet. r,:platEing the poor miter from bead to foot at each rtr..ks of the pick, putting one in mind of a Ler.don scerenger, only that hero the dirt is chain dirt, it I !:I:.y be at. lowed the exprewdon. Some of these gulches have been rich beyond be lief, but the cream Las long since loco taken off, and all this year it has bean dillieult to find gulch to pay anything like decent wegts. Still same parties are very lucky, and within the list three months I have known scull holes which lure yielded amounts varying from 20 to 200 Ounces .•f it-Id. I am inclined to think, however, that the uvet age daily gain of the miners throughout the sub rn mines fur six months past has not been higb• r than 4 dok., though, of cows-, some have made lur e . :oa.ls. And here let me state why this average is sod at , ; the same time explain, for the inform r.,hl f friends ' at home, why they must not expect ill: . their rela tives here are rapidly accumula ing fer.u..ts. tithe first place the population is immerse, aiol ti:' gulches where water is running during the sumo. r t ry few, , and nearly the whole of these have been new worked out. Here and there are spots unt..un.ed, where man can find a week or a forthight'e work, acd where he will make hie eight or ten aril-.r per day. Probably several days, perhaps a Inaelule, will than , elapse, before he makes anything, and , OC:nwlitlelus , expenses, at the rate of 4, dollar per dap, are go i ng on ; in fact, the miner, unleea he be rely forting% loser, while running about, the small amount acoims lated during actual work. Were it otherw,se, were work plenty, money would ripidly be tu ode, but it le for this sole reason that there are them-and. wiihoet money enough to carry them to (owe, or con tr pay their debts. Another species of digging is on flats, which are spaces of level ground found occasiomaily at the beads of gulches, and where it is necessary to dig vet] deep, say from 16 to 35 feet. This pica wel l , Wit requires from 6 to 10 men to work a hole. Water, as a matter of course, again intrudes, std in such a manner that I have seen .5 pumps in one hole; and I know of others where the pumps are kept eying night and day. Not unfrequeatly from 6to DN. of gold will be found in a morning; but do nut let this deceive you, fur even such sums will only give as average to each man of from 8 dole. to 16 dole. per day, and such Hats are few in number. I now come to riv. r digging ; and here again I think it neces-ary to acquaint you that the riven where the gold is found hardly deserve their designa tion, and would be more properly denominated man• tain streams or torrents.. There are such streams the Peak of Derbyshire. River digging commenc 4 ia July, and continnea until the rain sets iu : at all other times they are too high, especially during the month of June, caused by the melting of the snows above. They are then really rivers, running et tb rate of from five to ten knots an hoar, and, consrqueatift with immense force: they commence falling to Julio and the first week in September are at their lowest, having fallen from ten to twenty feet during fir interval. I have a poor opinion of river diggleg generally. Gold is found in their banks, in their bolo, and is places called bars, which are nothing more than large, landslips which have completely covered the ang . le" bed. Sums of these hAve proved very rich. I haveknova 401 be. taken out of n hole on a bar on the WWI river. This is difficult and very wet digging. It h necessary to go to a depth of from five to tweet' five feet, and generally a bar is composed of . lair , heavy !gone*. I consider it the le.sviest kind Of work. Digging in the banks is simple enough; it can hardly be called digging. All that is regatta is to throw away the stones, and then wash from the top down, through three feet of sand and gravel All depend' upon the quantity washed. The machine must be kept constantly going; therefore, three 1 „ i ! an advantageous numb er t o wor k : viz., cne to was the machine, one to carry the dirt, and one to pre "3oo pare it. In this way it is possible to wash bucket's of dirt a .day, yielding generally 24 dole., occasionally more. To get at the beds lathe next consideration ; this is effected by digging a new channel or race, and turn ing the river into it. From ten to fifty men are ! . ft; quilted for the purpoir, and difficult enough it te frequently solid beds of rock are .men din making the race, which require blast!. g, and. uunndaceqrtuaakinetetdhiswditahngtehreouspropperoc;ss made.t .117 0 u e_o tt e o L l y . queue has been, that several have boen a seriously wounded, and the companies who have