The Press. — London, England, 1855-12-29 00:00:00

= TO CORRESPONTMte, Ibialaifimeslble to soknowledge the mass of letters we reoetve. Their insertion is often delayed, owing to a press of matter laid when omitted, It is frequently from reasons quite rode pendent of the merits of the communication. We cannot undertake to return communications of which we do lo,4l4ll{loureelvea. eCnimuni tions should always be legibly written, and on one VOW of% e paper only. If long it increases the difficulty of *adios epeee for them. Whatever is intended for insertion must be authenticated by the name and address of the writer, not necessarily for publics tabu, but as a guarantee of his good faith. Admertisa t ments sent from the country must be accompanied by a rsmittkiice or a reference for payment in town. SAW TERMS OF SUBSCRIPT] ko P'• SOU gb t I,nre s: ( SI A Mrlill.) Fa 841;t4lent1 7; er.y .. t 1 6 0 .. 0 13 0 .. 0 8 8 77 1 Payable in advance. t ombs or i bora ars requested to send their Orders through their low* Agent; if direct to the °Moe, i 14.1 c o pan e 1.1 by a remit 'nee. Advertisements also must have arofereuce or remittance. doitey Orders to be made payable to Mr. A.LITRILD Iva, 110, •trsm.4..London. tio 1? rtgo+ LONDON, SATURDAY, DEC. 29, 1855. yo. POSTSCRIPT. - A telegraphic despatch from Paris on the 27th announces the arrival of Count Esterhazy at St. 'Petersburg. Despatches from Trebizond, of the 11th, via Trieste, state that the British Ambassador at Tehe ran bad broken off all relations with the Persian Government, in consequence of some personal offence. 4.dvices from Constantinople, up to the 17th, bring intelligence of the breakage of the telegraphic wire between Varna and Balaklava, and of the stoppage df the embarkation of the Egyptian troops for Redout-Kale, from severe weather. • .TSIE KING OF SARDINIA, in his reply to an address of the Edinburgh Protestants, in which with singular bad taste the Romish Church was spoken of in con temptuous terms, remarked, through his Minister, the Marquis d'Azeglio, "that it was with extreme regret that his Majesty had been informed of the expressioes of contempt (expressions de inepris) by which the; address stigmatised the Court of Rome. The King (continued the reply), as well as his pre decessors„ has considered it a duty to maintain the civil' power in his hands intact. He may have de plored isibfOundly the line of conduct which the Holy See has thought its duty to adopt towards him of late years; but, descended as he is from a long line of Catholic princes, and Sovereign of subjects almost entirely Roman Catholics, be cannot admit of words of reprobation thus severe, and, above all, iejuriousy towards the head of that Church on earth. General de la Marmora is expected at Turin, front the Crimea, this day. His return is connected with the organisation of an additional force of 10,000 men by Sardinia, and with a view to attend the great military *moil of war about to be held at Paris. Muni Prokesch Osten had arrived at Constanti nople, and the Conferences upon the settlement of the PrinClpalities were expected to open very shortly. Lord Stratford, it was stated, had proposed the union of Moldavia and Wallachia under the governs men( of an hereditary prince, with a national army. Private letters from Berlin assert that the King of I Prussia has sent instructions to Baron Waller at St. Petersburg to support Count Esterhazy in his representations to the Russian Government. COUNT VALERIAN Kaaziesitr, one of the most distinguished leaders of the Polish emigration, died at Edinburgh on the 22nd. Count Krazinski's name has been well known in England since 1831, from his able pamphlets upon the Polish and Russian question, from his translation of " Calvin's Treatise on Relics," l and his numerous publications upon Polish history and literature. His history of the Weiformatlon in Poland " won for him high renown, and the flattering distinction of the gold medal from the King 'of Prussia. His high intellectual atta;n ments, and his marked integrity of character, ever labouring in honest independence for the benefit of his country, gained for him a kindly welcome from English 'society. His loss will be severely felt by his exiled countrymen. An Order of the Privy Council, dated the 27th, prohibits the exportation of saltpetre, nitrate of soda, sulphate of potash, and chloride of potassium, to any foreign countries, and limits their exportation to our • colonial p'Oksessions only on receipt of a bond that the said ,articles shall be entered for use and eon irtuttptiosi within her Mrkjestra dominions or the territories of the East India Company. Rigx. IST • THE LATE COLONEL SIBTHOBP. A PARAGRAPH upon the death of the late distinguished member for Lincoln appears in the columns of the Cor.stitutionnel of the 21st. That it was originally written as a squib there can be no doubt; but the gravity with which it has been literally translated and transferred to the columns of our I'aris contemporary is not the least amusing feature. The Colonel Waldo de Laerdo Sibthorp, whose death we lately announced, did not, as some journals have stated, represent London in Parliament, but was member for the borough of Old Sarum. He was, as his name indicates, of French origin, and this explains the sentiments of affection which he always bore to our country, and which appeared in all his speeches and writings. Colonel Sibthorp, at the age of fifteen, entered the Royal Navy, and assisted at the greatest naval battle of modern times, that of Navarino, where he received a slight wound in the left eye. However, not feeling much sympathy for a sailor's life, he quitted the profession, and entered the Last Indian army. At the terrible battle of Ferzonghaboosh, and at the as sault of Whalker, the regiment in which the young Captain Sibthorp served had the honour of being foremost in the attack. After the submission of the Sikhs he entered the service of the King of Oude, in which be commanded the irregular cavalry of that monarch. At the head of these troops (irregular horse marines) ho distinguished himself on many occasions, and received from the East India Company the only decoration it has the power to bestow, the Order of the Golden Key of the Brahmins (the Brahmins' golden donkey). After an absence of ten years Colonel Sibthorp returned to his native coun try, where the voices of his fellow-citizens quickly carried him into the House of Commons. At the commencement of his political life he took a position in that assembly to which his vast experience, his vivacity and wit, and his freedom from prejudice en titled him. He belonged to the Tory party. His death is regretted by all, and the English journals have pronounced many eloges over the illustrious dead. The enormous fortune whiah Colonel Sib thorp leaves will revert to his son-in-law, Mr. Chisholm Anstey, Director of the East India Com pany, and Common Councilman. GERMAN OPINION UPON THE FALL OF KARS. UNDOUBTEDLY the most important result of this event will be the exaltation of popular opinion in Russia, where the masses can hardly be said to be in favour of peace. But for this, however bight• ore may estimate Monravieff, we are forced to admit ,Lat the general state of the war is only slightly affected by the fall of Kars—a fact that is conceded even by the New Prussian Gazette. Kars may be called the key to Asia Minor; the lock, however, is very rusty. The natural obstacles presented by the country itself through its want of roads and its long vacant tracts are so great that Prince Paskiewitch t when he had taken Kars, and even Erzeroum, in 1828, hardly dared to proceed more than a few days' march in advance. General Mouravieff is much too weak to advance farther in this inclement season ; especially now that Omer Pacha is actually before Kutais. What we cannot understand is, not why the Turks have done so little for the relief of Kars, but why the English, if we except a few spirited officers, have sent no aid to the distressed fortress. The Turkish auxiliary troops formed by them into a contingent were ready to take the field in Aprq last. The hitch in the army, the petty jealousy of the officers in that army against the Indian officers and the auxiliary troops—this has been part of the reason. It is pos sible that the French do not evince the same ardour as the English do for undertaking operations in Asia, for otherwise we find it hard to comprehend why the allies do not mete out their blows in that quarter, where Russia is least able to parry them, and where they would bo most deeply felt. To drive back the Russians through the defiles of the Caucasus would be tantamount to barring them out of Asia.—Cologne G zzette. THE. AUSTRIAN ARCHDUKE ALBERT, it is related, at his late inspection of the French gendarmerie at Rome, remarked to the captain of the corps, " Vous avez un beau corps, Monsieur." The captain, whose detachment consisted of only about fifteen men, and being portly and obese himself, did not at first com prehend whether this eulogy was intended as per sonal or for his few veteran troopers, until the Arch duke relieved him from the embarrassment by adding, " C'est dommage qu'd snit peu nombreux." A camp of 40,01X1 men, it is authoritatively stated will be at once formed at Cl, .rbourg, and another of 20,000 at Brest. Mr. Baron Park's, it has been announced in the Morning Post, is about to retire from the bench as one of the Barons of the Court of Exchequer. The learned judge, it is also stated, will be raised to the peerage, under the title of Baron Ampthill, SATURDAY, THE REFORMATORY ESTABLISHMENT AT METTRAY. A LETTER from Lord Leigh, who recently visited the Reformatory establishment at Mettray, has lately appeared in the Times. His lordship appears to have thoroughly investigated the system in vogue there, and gives an interesting detail of the manner in which the discipline of the establishment is carried eut:-- There are twelve houses (exclusive of the farmhouses) fur the boys, divided into three storeys ; the two upper form the sleeping and living rooms, while the ground floor is used for a workshop ; the family division, however, is not carried out in the workshops, as boys of various fami lies are brought together to learn the same trade. M. de Metz observes that it is very desirable to teach boys who come from towns, and who belong to families practising them, trades, as he says that he has found by experience and former failures theimpossibility of inducing town boys to attach themselves to country life. The children are divided into families. A chef de famine, or employi, has the constant superintendence of one of these families. He is assisted by one of the slaves, or young men in training to become masters hereafter, who does not, however, re main permanently attached to one family ; and by two Peres sines, who are chosen from among and by the boys themselves. The frires ainis are in the position of monitors, and are distinguished by a red mark upon the sleeve of their jackets. The chef de famille occupies a little closet at the end of the children's bedroom, which is in shape an elongated square ; therefore it is the more possible for him to overlook the whole through a little window opening into his room, added to which the children lie with head and feet alternating. No conversation whatever is allowed during the hours for work, meals, or sleep. The hammocks (which the children at Mettray all sleep in) were recom mended to us on many grounds, althongh I am not pre pared to give a decided opinion myself upon them. M. de Metz said that in summer the boys lie in them in comfort and decency, with scarcely any covering whatever, and in winter very little makes them snug and warm, not to mention the great economy of material and of apace. All retire to rest at the same hour; only the little ones get up later in the morning. A light is kept burning in the rooms all night. Half the children sleep on one floor, half on another. The chef de famille aleeps near one half, end the slave near the other. The children have three meals day—meat twice a week. The cost of their diet averages 44 centimes, or 40. It is the chef duielier who adjudges the little rewards in money which are given to the best workmen among the colons at the close of every three months. The chef de famille puts his veto upon the reward if the conduct of the child in the family has not been sa tisfat...iry. Part of the money is put into the saving bank at Tours, and, I believe, one-fourth is at the disposal of the child, at the discretion of the chef. The money in the bank is paid to the boy on his leaving Mettray, unless, by his desire, it is allowed to remain yet longer. The strictest discipline is observed, and nothing is overlooked. Dry bread is an occasional punishment, but the cell is a more frequent one. Every fault which has called for re proof is registered, and a most careful and detailed conduct book is kept, showing the behaviour of every child. Punish ment is administered for apparently trifling faults. We found four boys in four cells on the occasion of our visit. One was there for refusing to sing on the day before, two for taking chestnuts, and the other for being found near the cellar, where he had no business to be. I think it will be allowed that these are not offences of a very grave nature, and, as the discipline is so strict, that it is satis factory there were so few boys from a larger number. There are six farms attached to the institution. The land consists altogether of 2flo hectares, or about 520 English acres. The farming is overlooked by a very gentlemanlike person in the pay of M de Metz. The land appears well cultivated, and a large stock of horses, cows, and pigs is kept. Lord Leigh says, in conclusion : There are many things at Mettray, suggested by the mi litary spirit of the French, which would at first sight appear, perhaps, impossible to carry out in an English institu tion, but I see no reason why the feeling of " honour," which I believe to be as strong in an English child as in a French one, should not be appealed to with advantage in an English reformatory. Why should not we have the table of honour hung up where every one can see it, upon which is inscribed the name of every child whose conduct during the last three months has not called for punishment ? With regard to the almost military discipline and order with which the children go through their movements before and after work or meals, I consider that by it a great saving of time is made, and five or ten minutes upon every change of movement are saved which would be other wise lost in collecting and adjuring stragglers, both young and old. I must add that the children are first received as innocent, and as having sinned without discernment, and therefore irresponsible for their actions ; but when they have been once admitted to the benefit of the instruc tions given them in the institution, they are considered to be capable of discernment, and become subject to the strict rules observed in the institution. AN Ausrams OFFICIAL, it is told in the gossip from Vienna, when lately asked how it was that Austria should leave her Gallician frontiers almost unprotected for the purpose of concentrating so enormous a force in the principalities, replied : The Emperor's Central Military " Chancellery " is well served by its agents, and it is therefore aware that hardly any troops are now in the kingdom of Poland Very powerful forces are, however, being concentrated on the Pritth. and in the southern part of Podolia, and Austria is not inclined to be taken by surprise.