The Sun. — London, England, 1862-12-26 00:00:00

*- 4 • 4 ( V 7 - AMERICAN DIPLOMATIC CORRES PONDE.N C E. The selections from the correspondence between Mr. Seward and the r epresentatives of the Federal Government in Europe, reprinted by the Amerioam journals, would alone fill a tolerably sized volume. After reading these official despatches, even in the form of extracts, it is difficult to understand why the greatest portion of the documents were ever Written, and still less easy to perceive any motive for publishing them. We presume, however, that the Department of the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, having less to do directly with the management of the war than any other, had not attracted so much of the public notice during the excitement caused by domestic events, and at the close of the year Mr. Seward felt bound to prove he had not been idle during that period. Nor has he. We doubt whether Mr. Chase or Gen. Halleck will leave so much of their individual ideas, beliefs, and predictions be hind them in the archives of Departments of Fi nance and War. In the opening months of the present year Mr. Seward was full of confidence that the rebellion was on the point of being crushed. The material power of the North, organised during the preceding win ter, was immense, while that of the Confederacy was already becoming exhausted. In his despatch to Mr. Adams of Feb. 10 the Foreign Secretary says : "Only 11 of the slave States are practically subject to the insurgents, and already the flag of the Union stands, as we think, irremovably fixed upon some points in every one of the 34 States, except Texas, Alabama, and Arkansas. Congress has come fully up to the discharge of its great re sponsibility of establishing the finances of the country on a safe and satisfactory foundation. Notwithstanding the pro testations of the insurgents that the people of the insurgent States are unanimous in their determination to overthrow the Government, we have the most satisfactory evidence that the Union will be hailed in every quarter, just as fast as the army shall emancipate the people from the oppression of the insurgent leaders." On the 17th of the same month he informs Mr. Adams that the operations of the campaign by land and sea had begun, and is sanguine of success. The great preparations which have been made so carefully, in defiance of popular impatience at home, and political impatience abroad, are now followed by results indicative of a complete and even early decision of the contest in favour of the Government." On the 19th of February he was about to write probably a long despatch, instruct ing Mr. Edams " how to answer the querulous complaints in Parliament," which the representa tive of the Federation had anticipated, " the chief of which is the assumed incompetence of the Go vernment to suppress the insurrection," when chance turned up a bit of evidenee so convincing as to render any arguments superfluous. " A very shrewd observer, a loyal, and at present exiled, Virginian, fell in at the moment, and expressed to me the opinion that the end of the war is in sight ; that there will be a short and rapid series of suc cesses against a disheartened conspiracy, and then all will be over." Fortified by the testimony of this shrewd observer, Mr. Adams was urged to claim on this side of the water " a suspension of judg ment." If the assurance of the exiled Virginian was repeated here, when received, it must have misled Mr, Adams into some rash predictions—as after events so completely falsified them, it is im possible to conceive why they are preserved in an official volume, published so lately in the month of December. Throughout the year, and especially in the last months, Mr. Adams must have found it very difficult to impress Mr. Seward's sanguine anticipations and " rosy views" of the war on any section of English society, in the face of the ad verse events that pursued the despatches across the Atlantic so relentlessly. In the middle of March Mr. Seward's confidence had, if possible, increased; so much so, indeed, that he thought the time had come when the Govern ments of France and England might be asked to re consider the policy that recognized the Southern states as " belligerents." They were now evidently only a " dwindling faction," and if the rights con ferred by the recognition were withdrawn all the European trouble caused by the war " would come to a speedy end." On the 15th of March Mr. 50Walra. Bays : 6, Since the date of my last despatch the Union forces h a ve gained decided advantages. The financial and moral, as well as the physical, elements of the insurrection seem to be rapidly approaching exhaustion. Now, when wo so clearly see how much of its strength was derived from the hope of foreign aid, we are brought to lament anew the pre cipitancy with which foreign Powers so unnecessarily con ceded to it belligerent rights. The President trusts that you are sparing no efforts to convince Earl Russell that the time has come when that concession can be revoked with safety to Great Britain and advantage to the great material interests of that country." On this point Mr. Adams is compelled to differ from his chief. He admits that a time may come when " such a proceeding might be of use," but con fesses he " does not see it yet," and doubts the ex pediency of proposing such a measure. Events, if propitious, would do much : " Indeed, shOuld it so happen that the existing indica tions of an early termination of the struggle continue to multiply, there wii be little occasion for further remon strance of any kind here; for the disposition to help a party once that it is felt to be certainly sinking is not very com mon among either political or commercial men; and there are no others in Great Britain who would stop to shed a tear over the fallen fortunes of the quasi-belligerent of their own creation." ry As the war grew in magnitude, and great battles fought proved at least the existence of armies able to 13ht them, it must have become evident, even to the Americans, that England and France had only recognised a material fact that could not be dis puted. We could not reduce an immense army to an abstraction ; and reason one party in a gigantic conflict dewn to a legal fiction. Gradually the irri tation excited by the European "recognition" of the state of war died out ; but at one time there was great confusion in the popular mind of America on this subject. It is reflected even in the above de spatch of Mr. Adams. It seems to have been a general conviction that in some indefinable man ner, by recognising the fact of the South having armies in the field, we placed them there. Even as late as the 27th of March Mr. Adams speaks of the South as "a q uasi -belligerent"—only a kind of foe or fictitious enemy ! And even that simulacrum is one of "our own creation." We sincerely wish it had been, for by this time we should have unmade it in our interest. Unhappily for us all, the sword of the South was not the "air-drawn dagger" of an European delusion. We have had to feel too much of its stroke, and the "recognition' was a neees,:ity. We cannot understand the importance Mr, S ew ard attached to it, indicated by the perti nacity with which he urged Mr. Adams to attempt procure a revocation from the English Govern- Ine nt- On the 3d of April Mr. Adams acknow ledges the receipt of three separate despatches, all referring to one r " therevocation by Great Britainller recognition of the insurgents as belligerents" pre But Mr. Adams adheres to and repeats his :ons opinion that formal discus sion on such South should beP:fit would be useless. If the defeated in the field the ques tion would be disp osed Infof without further diffi culty. If the current event s turned the other 'way, any representation needless mortification of Would only insure the a i‘ a little pressure was brou r ß e h r t usal." However, to bear on the E n glish Cabinet through the Government- of France. o,n April 11th Mr. Adam s states that had re turn ed from Paris, where he had had tt wit h 11_fr. Diyton on this question. In a to e u o ference tion with Mr. Dayton the Emperor had alludeda to the increasil.,g difficulties in Fr ance , caused by the failure of the cotton -apply. Mr. Dayton, i n reply, dwelt on the e ff e cts of the Emperor's recognit ion of the belligerent right of the rebels in pr o l ong i ng the war, and pressed f or the withdrawal of it." The Emperor was not averse to e ntertam ingthe ques tion, but pointed out that the recognition could only Cle revoked in concert with England. Mr. Adams, thorgore, determined again to propose the measure in London, with a hope that, even should the Eng lish Gover:lment meet it w ith a refusal, some ad van " The tage would be derived from its negative. effort (he says; will be to concentrat e the res p onsi• bility for any furti;gr protraction of the struggle, as much as possible, on tilt.' Government here." The tietermination of American politicians to fasten the rE ‘sponsibility for their civil war on England amounts to 0 mania. On April 16th, accordingly, Mr. Adams h`"11 . •.. reports that he had broached the subject again to , Earl Russell, representing this time that if England would only declare that the war is not war it would "accelerate the re-opening of the customary trade between the two countries." A denial t at the sun is on the meridian at noon would have b en as likely to produce the dissolution of the Southern Confede racy. Earl Russell said that France had made no reference of the question to the English Govern ment, and there the matter seems to have ended. Next to the attempt to fix the responsibility of protracting the war on a country that has not a man, a gun, or a dollar engaged in it, the subject that occupies the most space in this correspondence is the possible mediation, or interference of France and England. Mr. Seward expresses a constant ap prehension that these Powers would attempt to put an end to the struggle, or, at least, to break the blockade of the Southern ports. He points out that if the want of cotton precipitated an European in tervention, the only result would be to embitter the strife and ensure the destruction of the system of slave labour, by which alone cotton could be pro duced. On the 19th of May Mr. Seward writes : "I observe that speculations concerning foreign interven tion were again rising in Europe at the date of our last ad vices thence, and certain remarks made by one of the Min - istry at Manchester have been thought here indicative of a despotism of that kind growing up in Great Britain. It is regretted that such incidents should occur just at the mo ment when this country is so manifestly about to return to a condition of repose and peace. Nevertheless, they may exert a salutary influence by inducing Congress to put the land and naval forces of the country upon a footing which will not permit it to be agitated again by intrigues to intro duce foreign enemies to settle domestic strife." It was a "lost fear;" but Mr. Seward persisted in treating dictation from Europe as an ever impend ing peril to the Western Continent. He wastes much elaborate argument to show that such interference is needless, rebellion being so nearly dead; and that if forced on America the cotton supply would be more precarious than ever. On the 28th of May Mr. Seward writes thus to Mr. Adams :—, ,4 The President arks foreign nations to consider that we are only at the end of one year now, and yet the whole effective mass of the insurrectionary region has been brought into the field by conscription. The credit of the revolution is dead before the first dollar has been raised by taxation to support it, and the territory which must bear taxation is at once reduced to the narrowest limits and is exhausted of its wealth and supplies. The power of losing faction, under any circumstances, must continually grow less; but that of the disunionists is abating under the operations of a cause peculiar to themselves, which is now my duty to bring forward—l mean the practice of African slavery. He then enters into a long argument to show that if the conflict is indefinitely prolonged, it must eff9ct a general emancipation,—" Every slave will become not only a freeman, but an absentee." If their masters attempt to prevent their escape, it will produce a servile war. Indeed, Mr. Seward be lieves, if the struggle continues, that a servile war is only a question of time. The problem, then, is " how to save the Union and rescue society from that fearful catastrophe." The Federal Government has adopted a policy calculated to do both. To that policy foreign intervention would be fatal : " Let, us now suppose that any one or more European States should think it right or expedient to intervene by force to oblige the United States to accept a compromise of their sovereignty. What other effect could it produce than to render inevitable, and even hurry on that servile war so completely destructive of all European interests in this country, which this Government so studiously strives to avoid ?" In a despatch of the 18th of July Mr. Seward returns to the subject:— " The correspondence which has just taken place between the President of the United States and the representatives of the so-called Border States is herewith transmitted. It will show you that the revolution is already successfully arrested by the separation of those States from the company of the so-called Confederate States. It needs only any real or seeming danger of foreign intervention in the conflict to revive and renew devotion to the Union, even with the sacrifice of slavery, throughout the whole of the United States. Europe will not intervene or appeal to us except for cotton. Cotton, perhaps, could be furnished in answer to such an appeal only by saving the existence of slavery here to produce it. Intervention will end the exportation of cotton by extinguishing the slavery which produces it." The position of the Federal army at the date of this despatch would not have led an ordinary ob server to the conclusion that the revolution had been successfully arrested. But Mr. Seward's dis position to underrate the importance of adverse incidents has been as remarkable during the pro gress of the war as at its commencement. From the same tendency, perhaps, he is perplexed by discovering that facts have such a powerful influence on the opinions of others. At the end of July the retreat of M'Clellan and the descriptions of the condition of his army published by the American journals began to have their natural consequence in Europe, on which Mr. Adams (July 31) remarks " progressive consolidation of the popular prejudice against America," by which is meant increasing doubt of the power of the Federal Government to cope with the armed resistance of the South. This growing opinion Mr. Adams ascribes wholly to the " continuous denunciations of the English Press." If defeats are discouragements to a cause, the army and generals who lose the battles are rather the cause of the depression than the journal that describes them. But, passing over this minor point, Mr. Adams bought at the close of July that the English Govern ment was not in a condition long to resist any popular outcry for interference, " prompted by the concen trated passions of an agitated community." As the resisting power of the Government was not tested by any popular pressure, Mr. Adams's anxiety on the subject had the slightest possible foundation. Bat at Washington the events of July had produced a hasty conclusion in Mr. Seward's mind that must have totally upset its balance. On the 2d of August he wrote the following extraordinary despatch. The idea with which it opens is certainly one that never occurred to any sane subject of this realm : " But what warrant have the British Government for ex pecting to conquer the United States, and to subjugate and desolate them, or dictate to them terms of peace. A war waged against us by Great Britain could not fail to reunite our people. Every sacrifice that their independence could require would be cheerfully and instantly made, and every force and every resource which has hitherto been held in reserve in a civil war, because the necessity for immediately' using it has not been felt, would be brought into requisition I shall not willingly believe that Great Britain deliberately desires such a war, as I am sure that every honourable and generous effort will be made by the United States to avoid it. . . I shall not here add to the explanation which I have made on other occasions of our means and resources for meeting a final trial of the national strength and the national virtue. Rather than do this, I willingly turn away from the spectacle of servile war and war abroad—of military de vastation on land, and a carnival of public and private cu pidity on the seas, which has been presented to me—to set down with calmness some reflections calculated to overt an issue so unnecessary and so fatal, which you may possibly find suitable occasion for suggesting to the rulers of Great Britain." Again, on Aug. 13, he states that " sentiments un favourable to our cause and country are gaining more favour (in England) under the inculcations of a hostile press." Mr. Adams echoes the complaint, and, on nearly the same date, speaks of the " gradu ally spreading antipathy to us among the people of this ci , y and kingdom, as it has been shown by the reception of General Pope's announcement that we have gained a victory. Here it is viewed in the light of a disaster, and great efforts are made to dis- credit it." The suspicion and doubt alluded to were based on the known character of the commander, the language of the despatch itself, and the inci dental evidence that accompanied it. And a disaster it proved to have been. The military courts of inquiry at present sitting at Washington fully jus tify the conclusion drawn in England when the operations took place. down toe s the e f b e e r g beginning i t t h )g of N ovem b er , an d th e l ast d e Presid ent ' s d ecree o f emanc i pat i on t h at was to take effect f rom the Ist JAn. last. Mr. Seward advocates it on the ground of exigency. He says" What h been di scussed so earnestly at home and abroad, as s a CitieSti " of moral s or h uman i ty, h as a ll the while benb Practically only a m ili tary quest i on, depending time circu mstances: , As the p roc l amat i on has no w b een of purchase modified by th e more gradual scheme cottained in the P res id ent ' s M essage, the references t o the earlier document are deprived of interest. Only a small part of the correspondence is devoted to real business. The great mass of the t hes read more like a series of lectures and des etches essays on lieve in be despite what the people o f E urope ought to of all facts and ev i dence leading to different conclusions. to the ° -I n the foll ow i ng passage, in reference d üb 4 's expressed in F rance and . .~ • „ 041:1N . Lo .„ 4 Englafad of the possibility of :reconstructing the Union, Mr. Seward employs an illustration of sin gular bad taste. He says— " The account of public opinion and public felling in England concerning our affairs which it contains harmonises in all respects with Mr. Dayton's report that the statesmen of France, including the Emperor, are no less sceptical than the restoration of the 'Union since the capture of New Or leans than they were before. You tell me that in England they still point to the delays at Richmond and Corinth, and they enlarge upon the absence of displays of Union feeling in New Orleans and Norfolk. Ah, well l scepticism must be expected in this world in regard to new political systems, insomuch as even Divine revelation needs the aid of miracles to make converts to a new religious faith." Had Mr. Seward consulted his own reputation, he would not have published many of these private letters, as they essentially are, though they take the form of official communications. THE CAP7U RE OF 1 REDERICKSBURG. The following account of the bombardment and capture of Fredericksburg is from a correspondent of the New York, Herald, who writes under date of the llth inst. from the headquarters of the army of the Potomac : To-day has witnessed one of those rare, grand spectacles of war—the bombardment of a city. For days the attack had been looked for with feverish anxiety, and with each successive evening the mor row was prophesied as the inaugural occasion of the much-talked-of winter campaign; but weeks slipped by and and yet we rested in our camps, while all along the ridges just across the river batteries nightly sprang from the earth, as if by magic, and the increasing smoke of the enemy's camp fires wrapped hill and vale in undistinguishable gloom. Wild, exciting rumours were greedily accepted for facts, and a thousand statements, as ridiculous as they were contradictory, flew like wildfire from camp to camp. Throughout the week there had been indications that the crisis was rapidly approaching, and each night the troops retired at tattoo fully confident that the roar of artillery would be their reveille. Last evening, at sundown, the movement com menced. Batteries hastened to the front, waggon trains were removed from the vicinity of the anti cipated battle, the ponderous pontoons joined the current hurrying river -ward, and light closed down upon us bright and beautiful, with our pulses throbbing quick with eager expectations. Artil lery never seemed to rumble noisily before, and the sharp cluck of the iron axles echoed far and near, as if in league with the enemy. Down by the river everything was as quiet as peace. Oar pickets, composed of the 51st Pennsylvania regiment, sat listlessly about their fires, watching the rebel sentries and crunching hard tack. The river swept smoothly by, placid as the sky above, and just over there, so close one almost wished to tell them of their error, stood the rebel sentries, while a sooth ing movement of rushing waters in the rapids up stream swelled softly down the valley. From the thresholds of the city the sharp yelp of curs ran now and then discordantly upon the ear; but, with the batteries in position, the cause of their outcry would be removed, and silence again settles down upon the town, broken only by the tones of the town clock tolling the midnight hours. And sa the time slipped along. The moon climbed higher up, and the falling dew whitened into frost upon eur ponchos, while the horses, restless in the chill night air, moved to and fro uneasily in their harness. At two o'clock our pickets were withdrawn, and at three the pontoon train drove down to the water. Lumber was noiselessly piled upon the ground, and the huge boats slid from off their trucks. Then we hear a splashing in the river—a dark pathway lengthens out upon the silver surface, shadows flit here and there along its track, the lusty blows of the hammer re-echo from side to side. And yet no sound comes from the enemy, " Have they evacu ated the place ?" " Are we not to fight here after all ?" is asked. Suddenly, Crack ! crack ! crack ! from a hundred muskets tell us the ball is opened. A cry of pain comes up the bank from the gallant engineers, mules dash off, with pontoons thunder ing after, across the plot ; the musketry grows louder, and the whiz of bullets more frequent ; frightened teamsters fly, panic-striken, and the artillery horses plunge at the caissons. Suddenly, boom ! goes a gun—another and another, until thirty pieces are pouring shot and shell upon the devoted city. Graham, who did so generously at Antietam ; Kirby, with Ricketts' old Bull Run battery; Miller, Durell, Tayler, Smith, Hazard, Kinsey, and Kickson, all join in the uproar, and musketry is lost to the ear in the mighty roar that re-echoes again and again from hill to hill. Gradu ally the fire slackens, and the engineers again at tempt the completion of the bridge, but in vain ; and after a third trial they fell back, bearing in their arms their wounded, dead, and dying, It was designed to lay down two bridges at once, one at the lower and the other at the upper end of the city. The enemy, posted in the houses and cellars, upon the banks of the river, were safe from our infantry, and maintained a continuous fire. Our infantry returned the fire spiritedly, but find- iog it impossible to drive the rebels from their cover, finally ;withdrew, leaving the disposition of the enemy to our artillery. By this time it was sunrise. The engineers (60th New York) and the 57th and 66th New York regi ments had suffered heavily, and the wounded soon began to crowd the floors of the Lacey House. Other regiments had also suffered, though much less, and the surgeons soon had work enough. About 8 o'clock the artillery fire ceased. The fog was so dense that objects were invisible 100 yards from the guns. Fredericksburg was as silent as before. Again the engineers advance, and again the enemy drive them back ; orderlies gallop to the dif ferent batteries with instructions ; a message orders from Aquia a special train with solid shot: and again the thunder breaks out anew. For a time the roar is indescribably awful. The city from its walls of brick hurls back a thousand echoes, which beat up against the Falmouth bluff, roll back again beyond the town, and then from the distant hills once more swell over to us, as though the heavens were rent asunder. At General Sumner's headquarters, half a mile distant, it becomes difficult to converse in a low tone, while at the batteries orders must be sig nalised. By and by the firing ceases, and one is almost awe-stricken with the profound silence. The mist still clings to the river, the sun struggles up red and fiery, and the air is suffocating with the odour of gunpowder. Presently the bank of fog begins to lift a little. the glistening roofs gleam faintly through the veil, then the sunbeams scatter the clouds that intervene, and Fredericksburg, ut terly desolate, stands out before. A huge column of dense black smoke towers like a monument above the livid flames, and leap and hiss and crackle, lick ing up the snow upon the roofs with lambent tongues, and stretching like a giant. The guns re new their roar, and we see the solid shot plunge through the masonry as though it were pasteboard; other buildings are fired, and before sundown a score of houses are in ashes, while not one seems to have escaped the pitiless storm of iron. A less number have been fired than was anticipated ; but the damage done by solid shot is terrible, and will require years to repair. Among the sufferers is Mr. Garland, a loyal iefugee, who witnessed the bom bardment from the head-quarters of Gen. Sumner, of whose staff his son is a member. The residence of Mr. Slaughter, father of the mayor, Dr. Wallace's, Mrs. Hayes', and Timberlake's auction and com- mission store, are among the buildings burned. An English ensign hung conspicuous'y from one of the houses, which, fortunately for the inmates, was less exposed to our fire. Females could be seen darting through the streets, negroes carrying furniture from burning houses, and now and then a rebel gliding from one hiding place to another. Our artillery would drive the enemy from their cover upon the bank of the river, but when compelled to cease, in order not to endanger the lives of the regiment, the rebels would immediately steal back and pick off our men with the rifle. In the meantime our own troops lined the hills upon this side as far as the eye could reach, all in tensely watching the operations. Artillery, cavalry, and infantry, in solid columns, covered every pla teau, and every csmp in the vicinity was well nigh abandoned in the desire to witness the born bardment. A number of females appeared at the windows in the city from time to time, waving white 'DAY EVENINg flags and shouting to us that they wished to come over. As we were in the same predicament, the dis appointment was mutual, and the affrighted females were left to the undisturbed enjoyment of our sym pathy. Whenever such signals were displayed, however, the buildings were spared by our artil lerists, so that the inmates were but little less safe than they would have been upon this side. As night approached it was found that the enemy had no idea of yielding to us a free passage across the river. With their facilities for shielding them selves, our artillery could not permanently dislodge them, and Companies C and G, of the Seventh Michigan regiment, gallantly volunteered to cross in boats and drive them out of the town. Reedy ing assent to their proposition, they sprang into a couple of pontoon boats, rowed briskly across, dashed up into the city at double quick, broke open the houses, and captured 36 prisoners, including a staff officer. This gallant act secured to us the opposite side until the bridge could be completed, and our troops are now in possession of the city. Immediately after taking possession of the place, the enemy opened upon it with artillery from the hills beyond, but without effect, and at this hour (9 o'clock p.m.) everything is perfectly quiet. Not a shot was fired by the rebels from their batteries during the entire day, with the exception of the few shots just at night. Some of our own men suffered trot. our own guns, however, a few shells having exploded this side of the river. Our loss in killed and wounded is not large. The rebels, owing to their sheltered positions, have probably suffered less than we, though at times our shells seemed to burst among them with consider able effect. General Burnside remained at General Sumner's headquarters during the bombardment, in plain view of the whole scene. Subjoined is another account of the capture of Fredericksburg, written on the 11th inst. by the correspondent of the New York Times :- 1 localise this letter Fredericksburg, but it is most assuredly " living" Fredericksburg "no more." A city soulless, rent by wrack of war, and shooting up in flames athwart night's sky, is the pretty little antique spot by the Rappahannock, erewhile the peculiaeocene of dignified ease and retirement, The advance of the right grand division of the army of she Potomac rests here to-night, after a series of operations which are certainly among the most extraordinary of the war. To those who re tired to rest uninformed of what night was destined to bring forth, the spectacle this morning must have seemed strange enough to be the improvisation of the magician's art. One hundred and fifty pieces of cannon covered the circular sweep of the heights of Fredericksburg : 150,000 men in battle array had sprung from the earth, and lay, ready for the advance, behind those heights. But to theinitiated, who spent the night in vigils and knew what work crowded its busy hours, it was all intelligible enough. All night artillery came, and came with its ceaseless, heavy rumble, and as each battery arrived from the rear it was pcsted in the place selected for it by the chief of artillery. All night the perpetual tramp of men moving to the front filled the air. Pontoon trains unwound their long, snake-like forms, and were drawn, each boat by its team, down to the river's brink. It had been determined, in council of war, held on Wednesday, instead of extending our lines of operations along the river from Falmouth to Port Con way, the entire army should be crossed at or near Fredericksburg. Five pontoon bridges were to be thrown across the river, the first at the Lacey House, which lies directly opposite the end of the main street of Fredericksburg, half a mile below Falmouth ; the second and third within a few hundred yards from the first. The remaining two were to be thrown over a mile and a half or two miles further down the stream, and on these the grand division of Gen, Franklin—the left—would cross, while Sum ner's and Hooker's grand divisions—right and cen tre—would use the three upper ones. It was about 3 o'clock this morning when the boats were unshipped from the teams at the river's brink. Swiftly and silently the engineer corps pro ceeded to their work. A dense fog filled the val leys and water margin, through which the bridge builders appeared as spectral forms. The recital of the limes special correspondent with the left will inform you of the details of the construction of the two lower—Franklin's—bridges. Work there was performed with perfect success —the engineers being allowed to complete the first without any interrup tion whatever, while the construction of the other was but slightly interrupted by the fire of the rebel sharpshooters. We were not so fortunate with the upper bridges. The artificers had but got fairly to work, when at 5 o'clock the firing of two guns from one of the ene my's batteries announced that We were discovered. They were signal guns. Rapid volleys of mus ketry, discharged at our bridge builders, immedi ately followed. This was promptly responded to on our side by the opening of several batteries. The fog, however, still hung densely over the river. It was still quite dark, and the practice of the artil lerists engineer was corps necessarily suffered very severely from the fire of the sharpshooters concealed in the town. The little band was being murderously thinned, and presently the work on the bridges slackened, and then ceased. en, was Meanwhile the firing from o ur b atter i es, posted about a mile from the river, was k ep t up v i gorously. The to ff believe t‘ct h wast not a phantas magoria. It was still quite d ar k, t h e horizon ethat singular the whole affairoug h around being lit only by tho flash of projectiles, which reappeared in explosive flame on the other side of the river. Daylight came, but with it came not clearness of vision for on looks: s. The mist and smoke not only did not lighten, but grew more opaque and heavy, clos l e a l un y ch their missiles at a Our gunners, how ever,hugg entgulthcontinuedto venture. The rebel batteries hardly returned our fire, and this chariness of their ammunition they preserved all day—not a dozen rounds being fired during the whole forenoon. To wards eight o'clock a large party of general officers, among them General Burnside, the corps commanders, and many others of high rank, had congregated in front of and on the balcony of General Sumner's headquarters, Phillips'-house, situated about a mile directly back of the Lacey house. The performance could be heard, but not seen—the stage was obstinately hidden from view, and ell were impatient that the curtain should rise. Aids and couriers came and went with messages to and from the batteries and bridges. At half past nine o'clock official notification was received that the two bridges on the extreme left were completed, and General Franklin sent to General Burnside to know if he should cross his force at once. The reply was that be should wait until the upper bridges also were completed. Meantime, with the latter but little progress was made. During the next couple of hours half-a- I dozen attempts were made to complete the bridges, but each time the party was repulsed with severe loss. On the occasion of one essay, Captain Brai nerd, of the 50th New York Volunteer Engineers, went out on the bridge with eleven men. Five im mediately fell by the balls of the rebel sharpshooters. Captain Perkins led another party, and was shot through the mek, and the 66th and 67th New York Regiments, which were supporting the 50th and 15th New York Volunteer Engineers—General Woodbury's brigade—suffered severely. It was a hopeless task, and we made little or no pro gress. The rebel sharpshooters, posted in the cellars of the houses of the front street, not fifty yards from the river, behind stone walls and in rifle pits, were able to rick off with damnable accuracy any party of engineers venturing en the half-com pleted bridges. The case was perfectly clear. Nothing can be done till they are dislodged from their lurking places. There is but one way of doing this effectu ally—shell the town. At ten o'clock General Burn- side gives the order, " Concentrate the fire of all your guns on the city, and batter it down." You may believe they were not loth to obey. The artil lery of the right—eight batteries—was commanded by Colonel Hays ; Colonel Tomkins, right centre —eleven batteries; Colonel Tyler, left centre —seven OE! 13_ER looz batteries; Captain De Russy, left—nine batteries. In a few moments these 35 batteries, forming a total of 179 guns, ranging from 10-pounder Par rott's to 41 inch siege guns, posted along the con vex side of the arc of the circle, formed by the bend of the river and land opposite Fredericksburg, opened on the doomed city. The effect was, of course, terrific, and regarded merely as a pheno menon, was among the most awfully grand con ceivable. Perhaps what will give you the live liest idea of its effect is a succession, absolutely without intermission, of the very loudest thunder peals. It lasted thus for upwards of an hour, fifty rounds being fired from each gun, and I know not how many hundred tons of iron were thrown into the town. The congregated generals were transfixed. Mingled satisfaction and awe was upon every face. But what was tantalising was, that though a great deal could be heard, nothing could be seen, the city being still enveloped in fog and mist. Only a denser pillar of smoke, defining itself on the back ground of the fog, indicated where the town had been fired by our shells. Another and another column showed itself, and we presently saw that at least a dozen houses must be on fire. Towards noon the curtain rolled up, and we saw that it was indeed so. Fredericksburg was in con flagration. Tremendous though this firing had been, and terrific though its effect obviously was on the town, it had not accomplished the object in tended. It was found by our gunners almost im possible to obtain a sufficient depression of their pieces to she.l the front part of the city, and the rebel sharpshooters were still comparatively safe behind the thick stone walls of the houses. During the thick of the bombardment a fresh at tempt had been made to complete the bridge. It failed, and evidently nothing could be done till a party could be thrown over to clean out the rebels and cover the bridge head. For this mission Gen. Burnside called for volunteers, and Colonel Hall, of Fort Sumter fame, immediately responded that he had a brigade that would do the business. Accord ingly the Seventh Michigan and Nineteenth Massa chusetts, two small regiments, numbering in all about 400 men, were selected for the purpose. The plan was that they should take the pontoon boats of the first bridge, of which there were ten lying on the bank of the river, waiting to be added to the half finished bridge, cross over in them, and, landing, drive out the rebels. Nothing could be more admirable or more gallant than the execution of this daring feat. Rushing down the steep banks of the river, the party found temporary shelter behind the pontoon boats lying scattered on the bank, and behind the piles of plank ing destined for the covering of the bridge, behind rocks, &c. In this situation they acted some fifteen or twenty minutes as sharpshooters, they and the rebels observing each other. In the meantime new and vigorous artillery firing was commenced on our part, and just as soon as this was fairly developed the Seventh Michigan rose from their crouching places, rushed for the pontoon boats, and pushing them into the water, rapidly filled them with twenty-five or thirty each. The first boat pushes off. Now, if ever, is the rebels' opportunity. Crack ! Crack! Crack! from fifty lurking places go rebel rifles at the gallant fellows, who, stooping low in the boat, seek to avoid the fire. The murderous work was well done. Lustily, however, pull the oarsmen, and presently, having passed the middle of the stream, the boat and its gallant freight come under cover of the opposite bluffs. Another and another boat follows. Now is their opportunity. Nothing could be more amusing, in its way, than the result. Instantly they see a new turn of affairs. The rebels pop up by the hundred, like so many rats, from every cellar, "rifle pit, and stone wall, and scamper off up the streets of the town. With all their fleetness, however, many of them were much too slow. With incredible rapi dity the Michigan and Massachusetts boys sweep up the hill, making a rush for the lurking places occupied by the rebels, and gaining them, each man capturing his two or three prisoners. The pontoon boats on their return trip took over more than 100 of these fellows. You can imagine with what interest the crossing of the first boat load of our men was watched by the numerous spectators on the shore, and with what enthusiastic cheers their landing on the oppo site side was greeted. It was an authentic piece of human heroism, which moves men as nothing else can. The problem was solved. This flash of bravery had done what scores of batteries and tons of metal had failed to accomplish. The country will not forget that little band. The party once across, and the rebels cleared out, it took the engineers but a brief period to complete the bridge. They laid hold with a will, plunging waist deep into the water, and working as men work who are under inspiration. In less than half an hour the bridge was completed, and the head of the column of the right grand division, consisting of Gen. Howard's command, was moving upon it over the Rappahannock. A feeble attempt from the rebel batteries was made to shell the troops in crossing, but it failed completely, Your correspondent found an opportunity to cross the river along with the party who first went over in a boat, having been curious to take a closer view of the city which we have for near a month been observing over the river, not 800 yards wide, with- out the power of visitation. As the rebels were in very considerable force on the heights, back of the city, one could not extend his perambulations be yond the street fronting on the river. Every one of the houses which I here entered, a dozen or more, is torn to pieces by shot and shell, and the fire still hotly ranges in a dozen parts of the city. A few citizens—a score or two perhaps—male and female, presently made their appearance, emerging out of the cellars, whither they had taken refuge during the bombardment. Three women—white—whom we found in a cellar, told us that they, with a ma jority of the inhabitants, had moved out of Freda- ricksburg a fortnight or so previously, but that growing reassured by our long delay, they, with a good many others, had come back the evening be fore. The forme: inhabitants, they report as now living in various parts of the environs, some in negro huts, and others in tents made with bed clothes, &c. During the afternoon of the bombardment we observed a couple of white handkerchiefs waved out of the windows of a house in the city. This was taken by some for a flag of truce, and the chief of artillery was on the point of causing the shelling to cease. General Burnside, however, decided that it was probably merely only the wonted rebel ruse, and ordered operations to be continued. We found out that the demonstrations were made by two of the women referred to, with the desire that WO should send over a boat and convey them away from Frede ricksburg. Among other prominent objects during the bom bardment was a large British flag, flying over the house of the English consul. This personage, how ever, was not found in his house when he entered the city, and the flag was taken possession of and brought away. A number of rebel dead were found in various parts of the city, some exhibiting frightful mutila tions from shells, and I took as a tzophy a rifle, still loaded, out of the grasp of a hand belonging to a headless trunk. The infantry in the city appear to have been Mississippians, South Carolinians, and Floridians. Those of them that we took prisoners were wret chedly clad, and mostly without blankets or over coats, but they generally looked stout and healthy, and certainly in :far better condition than they could have been in were there any truth in the re port of some deserters the other day, to the effect that for three we e k s they had nothing to eat but the persimmons they were able to pick up. Although we are not yet fully informed of the present positions of the enemy, there seems to be go d ground to claim that General Burnside has succeeded in outgeneraling and outwitting them. His decoys to make them believe we were about to cross our main force at Port Conway seems to have succeeded admirably. I suppose there is no harm now in my mentioning that among the ruses he employed was sending down the day before yester day to Port Conway 300 waggons and bringing them back by a different road, for the stole purpose n-. 4 ir of making the rebels believe that we were about to cross the river at that point. To the same end workmen were busily employed in laying cause ways for supposed pontoon bridges there, while the gunboats were held as bugaboos at the same place. Completely deceived by these feints, the main rebel force, including Jackson's eJmmand, seems to have been two or three days ago transferred 20 to 25 miles down the river. It must be remembered, however, that without the utmost celerity on our part they can readily retrieve this blunder by a forced march or two. Signal guns, at five o'clock this morning, gave them the cue to what was going on, and doubtless they have not been idle during the intervening hours. To-morrow will disclose what unseen moves have been made on the chess• board. The New York Herald of the 12th has the follow ing remarks upon the capture of Fredericksburg : The stirring news which we publish today from the Rappahannock shows that the winter campaign has fairly opened. The Union army has crossed the river in the face of the foe. The devoted city of Fredericksburg, bombarded by our guns, and partially destroyed, is already occupied by our troops. Franklin's corps has landed on the south side of the river, and the greatest battle of the war is now begun, if the rebtls will await the shock. They are said to be in great force around the city. Fifteen miles below they are also in force, and are being shelled by the gunboats. A crossing will probably be effected there, and perhaps also above Fredericksburg. Meantime we hope there will be a bright lookout for Jackson, who may turn up where he is least exp e cted. If the entire Union army succeeds in crossing the river without great loss, and if the enemy will fight there with all his force, it will perhaps prove the decisive battle of the war, casting into the shade the battles of Shiloh, Bull Run, and perhaps Antietam. If it should be won by Burnside, the fate of Richmond would be sealed. On the other hand, if it should be won by Lee, Washington would be in imminent danger. But we have every confidence in the skill of the Union general, taught, as he has been, in the school of ll'Clellan. But we hope that his plans will not be interfered with in the critical moment, as were those of his predecessor in the former cam paign, If he wins a decisive battle on the banks of the Rappahannock, it will be his good fortune to have given the blow which virtually terminates the war. If the rebels do not fight in force on the Rappahannock, nor on the other streams further south which obstruct the march of the Union army to Richmond, they will have to fight on the James, or surrender their capital without a struggle. "On to Richmond!" is now a cry with some meaning in it. If they will not fight on the James they must fight on the Roanoke, and if they will not wait to give battle anywhere they will be driven into the Gulf. Their retreat to Mexico by way of Texas is now cut off. There was a time when that escape was open to them ; but the opportunity has now passed away, and nothing remains for them but submission to the authority of the Union, or, like Pharaoh and his host, to find a watery grave. How much better to have proposed an armistice and a convention to settle the terms of reunion than to be brought to so miserable an end! 7HE DOINGS OF THE ALABAiIL4. Respecting the proceedings of the Alabama, we have the following information, published in the New York Express : " The T. B. Wales left Calcutta with a cargo of saltpetre, linseed, gunny cloth, &c., on the 16th of June, and Sand Heads on the 18th. She touched at St. Helena, where she took on board the Hon. G. H. Fairfield, of Salem, late consul of the United States at the Mauritius, his wife, two children, and two servants, and sailed thence on the Ist of Octo ber. Captain Edgar Lincoln, of the T. B. Wales, had his wife with him. On the Bth of November, when in long. 58 W., lat. 28 30 N., a steamer was descried at eight o'clock a.m., which was chasing a schooner, but on sighting the ship she hauled up and made for the latter, then about ten miles to the leeward. The steamer apparently put on all steam, and as the wind favoured her every stitch of canvass she could bear was set. A large American flag was flying from her gaff, while from the masthead signals were displayed designating her the 'Ame rican sloop of war Tuscarora.' Capt. Lincoln, glad to hear from home, hauled his courses, and when under the guns of the steamer the latter hauled down the stars and stripes and sent up the Con federate flag, at the same time firing a shotted gun across the bow of the Wales. A boat from the pirate at once shoved off, and the first lieutenant of the latter stepped on board and ordered Capt. Lincoln on board the vessel with his papers. lie was courteously received by Captain Semmes, who, unfortunately, first laid hold of the bill of lading for the saltpetre, which at once settled the fate of the Wales. He directed Capt. Lincoln to be rowed back to his ship and to bring over the personal effects of himself and lady, also his instru ments and everything of value. This order was complied with, and Capt. Lincoln, with a boat load of pirates, went back to his ship, where he informed his crew of the sad affair. Every man was allowed but one bag of clothing, while all their money fell a prey to the pirate. Capt. Lincoln and Mr. Fair field, with their families, were taken back to the Alabama, and the crew, including the first mate, Mr. Joshua Atkins, of Provincetown, Massachusetts, placed in irons. Arrived on board the Alabama, Semmes gave the captain and his pasbengers the liberty of the ship, but signified to them that he would place them in double irons if they attempted to speak to any of the prisoners who were confined at night on the boiler deck, close to the boilers, while in the daytime they were on the forecastle. On the first day the second mate of the Wales, Joseph Neal, anEnglishman,with eight of the crew, voluntarily took the oath of allegiance to the Con federacy, and were at once placed on the books of the ship. The prisoners, 123 in number, found on board the crew of the Levi Starbuck, numbering 28, who were treated like them. The captain of the .Starbuck and his officers were also in irons among the crews. The prisoners received no unkind words from their captors, and were fed the same as the piratical crew. Captain Selnmes and his first lieu nant were very haughty, and never Broke a word to any of the prisoners. The discipline on the Alabama is very loose, and the only men good for anything are the first and fourth lieutenants, both of whom alternate on deck. A nephew of Jeff. Davis is lieutenant of marines. He told them that the Alabama would never stop until every Northern vessel had been destroyed by her. The crew of the Alabama numbered 120 men, all told. Semmes, it is said, makes considerable money out of these cap tures. He generally made the searches in person, appropriating the quadrants, mails, money, and all other valuables that are easily moveable, to himself. After all has been removed from the vessel that is of any value the cabins are stove in, and the fire started in the cabins, generally at night, and when the flames are under full headway, so that there is no possibility of a failure, the pirate vessel moves off. The scene of the vessels as they are thus in flames is described as awfully grand, the heavens being lighted up for miles." The Evening Traveller publishes the following letter from a commissioned officer on board the San Jacinto, explaining the circumstances attending the escape of the pirate Alabama from Martinique, and giving the reason why the commander of the San Jacinto did not take the responsibility of attacking her while in the harbour and under the flag of the French Government : " United States Steamship San Jacinto, Island of St. Nov. 26. "I suppose that long this the papers will have denounced t he o ffi cers and crew of i-ho before nas you receive the San Jacinto for allowing the rebel steamer Ala bama to escape from F ort Ro yal, Martinique, an d to vindicate the o fficers and crew of this ship is principally m y object in writi ng to you. The fol- On the mo rn i ng o f l t o h w e i l n 9 g th ar in e st t . h w e p e a s r t t o i o c d ul i a n rs fo :— r ' Fort Royal Bay, in the Island of Martiniqu e, with the view of seein g w h a t vessels were i n the harbour. As we opened the harbour we saw a steamer, with steam up, at anchor underthe gunslof Fort St. Louis. We stood in towards her, and, when about two miles off, she hoisted the rebel rag. The San Jacinto was im mediately prepared for action and everything got ready for desperate fight. At 8 a.m. a pilot came off, and offered his services to take the ship in to an anchor, which were declined. Shortly after we saw a French man-of-war steamer come out from behind the fort and anchor alongside the Ala bama, between her and us. About noon a French naval officer came off with despatches from the go vernor of the island to Capt. Ronckendoiff, order ing him to either come to anchor or keep three miles off from the nearest point of land. Of course we chose the latter course, and kept our position in the middle of the bay. Here let me say that Fort Royal Bay is six miles wide, with high land on either side, with very bold shores. In the evening Captain Nickerson, of th e brig Hampden, came on board, accompanied hY a whaling captain, whose ship, the Levi Starbuckf had been burnt by the Alabama. Shortly after thei came on board we dispatched two boats to g o out and watch the rebel. At this time it was very dark and cloudy, with a light drizzling rain. From the whaling captain we learn that the Alabama was armed with 100-pounder rifle and 1 64-poundcr co pivots, and six long 32's, with a complement of 150 men, most of whom were English. At 7.30p0' Captain Nickerson left us, promising to co-operate with us in vvatchi g the mov e ment s o f th e Ahlbaao' Previous to his leaving we gave him four rockets, with instructions that if the Alabama got unde r way, and stood over the bay for the south side he was to fire rockets in that direction, and vice versa' At eight p.m. we saw three rockets go up to the southward. The San Jacinto was immediateli kept for the south shore, every man at his gun, loc i string in hand. We stood as near the land as the rocks would permit, and kept off and on until dar light our boats returned, neither of which saw Or thing of the steamer. Our first lieutenant we nt oti shore to see Captain Nickerson, whom he found 10 trouble with the authorities for firing the rockets. He expressed his opinion that the rebel was n et out of the bay, on the strength of which he r e ' mained until the next day having sent actici master Coon up to the head of th e b a y in one 01 ' our boats to see if she was behind any o f the f islands. He return e d on the morning 0 t the 21st, and reported th a t s h e was ll° in the bay. Our h ear t s san k w ithi n us at this , but we cheered ourselves with the thought that W e had done all we could. Whatever comments th e papers may make on this affair, the above state meat is the truth. If it had been a clear night We might have seen her; but th e n i g ht was d ar k, 01°1 and rainy—just the kind of a n i g ht th e re b e l want ed My opinion is that the F renc h a id e d him in . 131; escape all they could. There were lights poll to and fro from one poi n t o f l an d t o ano ther, 011 , , from one part of the bay to the other, till past MI; night. The position our c a pt a i n was p l ace d / ve o a trying one, and his first impul se was t o ma into her and sink her, but th en w h a t wou ld the cone e quences have been P A war w ith F rance; the Sa o Jacinto sunk by the guns of the fort, or, Perb i. a P r °l getting the vessel ashore before w e go t up to ' le ; for we had no chart of th e h ar b our , an d did o e , know at the time the depth of water she was chored in." GOUN2.RI 111ARAL2)5. BIRMINGHAM—DEC. 24. 48 0 go English wheat was sold at 50 s t o 60 s f or w hit e , aus to to 56s per 36 stone for red, B ar l ey, new malting, 30' 42s per qr ; grinding, 278 .to 30s Oats, old, 25 s to r. per 30 stone; Irish, 21s to 255. Beans, 418 to 44s per 61 Peas, 38s to 48s per 36 stone. PLYMOUTH—DEc. 23. The corn market very dull, and purchases of wheat co l t ! : fined to retail sales. Malting barley active ; grinding d 5 70 —White 56s to 60s; red, 54s to 56s per qr; Dantzi% s . to 58s ; American, 51s to 55s ; Spanish, --e to —s „ Q ; -"" ne r Sian, —s to —s. Barley at previous rates-34s to 6°° . n .l- d qr for malting ; grinding, 27s to 28s ; oats, 23s to 270 ; '— beans, —s to —s; flour, 38s to 41s Od. EDINBURGH GRAIN—DEC. 23. A good supply of farmers' wheat to-day, which brengll_, fully the prices of this day week. Th e business Oslot acted showed a slight improvement. do wn' Wheat on the top is Od up .. average 2s Od 0 , Barley on the top Os 6d down .a verage O s 2d dovi' Oats on the top Os 9d down average O s 6d DO I ' Beans on the top is up .. average 3 s 2d u p. _ _ Total Supply and Sales. Wheat .. 734 qrs Sold 469 qrs Barley... 1619 qrs Sold 1166 qrs Oats Beans 33 qrs Sold 23 qrs Flour sells as follows :—Whites, 45s Od ; extras, 43s 0c1; superfine, 41s Od ; fine, 39s Od. DERBY SMITHFIELD—DEC. 23. drid A short supply of all ki n d s o f f a t s t oc k. The dera.- - brisk, and a clearance was effected at good prices. 7d Beet 6d t o 60 1 V eal 7d to a d Mutton .. Lamb —d t o —d R oug h f a t, 4s Od per stc' n 8 Rides, 3d to 41d; calf skins, 5d to 6d. CORK—DEc. 23 Re d The following were the quotations this morning 100 wheat, 16s Od to 24s 6d ; whit e , 20 s Od to 27s 6 d ; barle to Od to 14s Od ; oats, 7s Od to 14s Od. ; new bere, - 43 —8 Od. FOREIGN MAIL PACKET LIST. MAILS DUE. 9. Aus;,ralia and Mauritius, vi a S ou th amp t on ...... •-i' — ' .--• Deo' via Marseilles Brazil and Cape Verds, by British packet. ....... , JBll. , Cape of Good Hop e , A scens i on , an d S t. He l ena .. Jam' 19. 19. China, Penang, and Sin ga p ore , v i a S out h amp t o n.y.,% ...-. via Marseilles ...v e '4, Falkland Islands Gibraltar, via Southampton ...... D ee ' 19. India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via South a mpton.•rz: -- . via Marseilles... a•''`:„ . 26. India (Bombay), via Southampton ....... • . 20. 4. —, via Marseilles . T DB Portugal.... Malta, Egypt, and Aden, via Southampton via Marseilles D . 4, . Tan . Newfoundland .. ''' Oporto and Vigo n c. 16. U. S. and British N. A mer i ca, t y B r i t. pac k e t.. • • e by U.S. packet.. .• eo. 1. by Canadian packet.,-' - ' n . 10. W.C. of Africa, Madeira, and Teneriffe '' lB. Bahamas, vi a N ew Y or k Dee. 29. Mexico D e° ' J 9, All parts of We s t Indi es , i nc l u di ng Chili, Peril, Deo. b California, and British Columbia. A New York paper says that a daughter of t oo lle i late Mr. G. P. R, James h as opene d a young ladies' oc h in that city. [ ADVER TISEMENT.]—HoIIoway's Ointment and ril is r e . - Unexpected Relief.— Ih ese p ur ifying an d soothing "Ito dies demand the earnes t attention of a ll persons liab ty s _s rheumatism, gout, sciatica, or other inful bould 1 " 9 the muscles, nerves, or joints. The Ointment , 1 fo „. applied after the afflicted parts have been Patiu n ' i Y d . be mented with warm water, when the unguent should diligently rubbed upon the adjacent skin, unless the . ": 11 . tion should cause pain. Holloway's Pills should bertha taneously taken to reduce inflammation and to Pu r se l l, 3 the blood. This treatment abates the violence, and lesdiseaseo, frequency, of gout, rheumatism, and spasm°driefrom any which spring from hereditary predisposition, 41) The Ointment accidental weakness of constitution. the vital rector® checks the local malady, the Pills powers. affection o: BIRTHS. CALTHORPE.—On the 23d inst. at 43, Lowndes square, the Hon. Mrs. Somerset Gough'C a lthorpe, of a son. COOPER.—On the 21st inst., at Thames Ditton, the wife 0 1 Mr. Henry Cooper, of a son. PHILLIPS.—On the 23d inst., at Wood-green-common , Tottenham, the wife of Lewis Phillips, Esq., SHIPMAN.—On the 20 th inst.,`a atson The Terrace, Champion hill, Mrs. Wm. Shipman, of . MARRIAGES. of a son. COLLETT—TnomAs.—On the 20th inst., at Hanover Chit; pel,oh nson Peeklrom, ar,ro.f RHyeenrioCdgoell,etpt,ecokfhLa:in-dryoen., to Ja il J ScRIER—BATTERBEE.—On the 25th inst , at St. George ' s, s li on an o o f ve p r- h s i q ii u p ar s e e , l b le y r, li E ce s n ci se , , John Henry Schier B B6 l'' Charlotte Batterbe o,daughter of the late T. a e . of Hessen-Cassel, i3 to t l E r in b e i 4 of Ooodge-street, Tottenham-court-road. Ar I'm's() N.—On the 2 1) 1s E\ t in with, Joh n Ait c hi son, Esq., late of the Admiralty , IT s i t• i , S at his residence, Greelr A. inerset House, aged 75. BARTLEET.—On the 21st inst , at St. Leonard's -012 ' 3e° ' Charles Bartleet, Esq., of Surbiton, Surrey, J.P. for th e county of Worcester. TninCo CROFT.—On the 21st inst., at Surbiton-hill, Surrey, '— Croft, Esq., aged 86. HETLEY.—On the 20th inst., at Salisbury, Richd. Net le Y rf Esq., aged 74. 00l- JACKSON.—On the 19th inst., at his residence, Upper loway, Wm. Jackson, Esq., aged 54. ODY o . i — ce On ertshho. the 24th inst., Dr. Ody, of Market Har boroug L st bY Norfolk" °`--- PAYNE.—On tho 23d inst., at his residence, 7, t terrace, Brighton, Randolph Payne, Esq., and o f James's-street, London, aged 72. SHIPTON.—On 'ha 20th inst., Mrs. Frances Shiptons 15lie of Watford, Herts, aged 85. LONDON : Printed and Published by JOHN ClAN'Tor of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at THE SUN Office, N 0.117 Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, is the Coeur/ Middlesex,—Friday, December 26, 1862. 1 11 _ E Th haviz 17.-ti No rat -'rive Foxe ed. A ' TH Conlic Pri Nevil cotter, Aft Ann u les que Cowie Lau( vr " T 1 "4,•fitxi Shoes P howh E Tw o s Th e (her p, Little Jolu Th ou Day R'am'p viii bacon la "Ti ge 1 her the °I the Th e / Pool Boa 110 w tl gen teticc w set little C and th hat Th e 1 Bits B Peed , Colvol ease, ] host o Pea Pas WOO] CELE OIITE CCU 'The S. Th e The L. Th e ] Th The and hi Ceed g 1 - laz vOlurc Cl own S eelle L- .,,,, 1 auto l'ant( N b . aa ,j AZ PI I Want