The Sun. — London, England, 1869-02-27 00:00:00

TEE CONVENT CASE. At last the Court of Queen's Bench has got rid of so much of the odour of sanctity as hung round the case of "Saurin v. Starr." The interest yesterday, when Sir Alexander Cockburn commenced his summing up, was greater than on any previous day. The precincts of the court were filled by half-past nine by an anxious crowd, who, when the doors were opened, rushed in in admired disorder, and occupied every nook and corner. Amidst breathless silence the Lord Chief Justice proceeded to con gratulate the jury most heartily at their having arrived at the closing day of this monster case. He regretted so much valuable time had been lost by them, and, on public grounds, that so many cases of importance had to be post poned in order to investigate the miserable jealousies of convent life, which he thought might have been better, and ought to have been, investigated by the visitorial power of the convent ; but the case was here, and they must do their best to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion ulon it. He urged them to put aside all religious feeling, and recollect that that question was not at all mixed up in it. The parties were all mem bers of the same religious body, and they had bound them selves by certain vows, rules, and regulations. The question was, whether in carrying out those rules the defendants had acted wrongly. The trial, ho thought, had acquired a factitious import. ance, and they must take care that neither party derived any undue advantage from the religious element that was mixed up in it. The plaintiff first complained of an assault in the stripping in May 1865 ; secondly, that she had been illegally imprisoned ; thirdly, that the defendants had converted several articles of hers to their own use ; fourthly, of a libel ; and lastly, of a conspiracy, which was the most important of the whole. First, to force her from the convent by ill-usage, and, secondly, having so failed to have her expelled, to assist him in coming to a just con clusion, it would be his business to give them a history of the case which extended over a period of 15 years. He should commence with her entry into Bagott-street in 1850, dividing the period from that time to her leaving the convent into several epochs. The first would embrace from 1850 to 1860-61 ; the next would be from 1861 to 1864, when she was transferred from Clifford to Hull, when, as the plaintiff alleged, the conspiracy and the acts complained of com menced, from 18 . 64 to the time of the commission ; the next what took place under the commission; and then, the last closing chapter in the history of this painful case, viz., the matters of which she complained during the period which intervened between the bishop's sentence of expulsion and her final withdrawal from the convent. He believed he was addressing twelve gentlemen who be longed to the great Protestant communion, but although they might regard the objects of convent life with dislike, whatever they might think of the withdrawal of women from those functions of life on which in the main human happiness rested--of that attempt to obliterate human in terests and chill human affections—of that yield ing up of woman's life to those minute triviali ties and petty observances which had been de. tar/eel—however they might regard all this as opposed to the voice of nature—with all such considera tions the jury had nothing whatever to do. This was not a case of a Protestant parent coming into that court to complain that his child had been inveigled into a convent; they. were dealing with the complaint of one whose grievance was that his child was not allowed to live there. And here he must pause to declare that the language of the Solicitor- General in reference to convent life had positively startled him, remembering that he was the advocate of a client who, far from decrying convent life, openly and per sistently avowed that her dearest object on earth was to continue to reside within the walls of a convent. Passing from that, his lordship's final direction to the jury under this head was that, if they wished to try the case properly, they must try it as if they were twelve right-minded Roman Catholics. They could not other wise do justice. Next addressing himself to the pleadings, his lordship said the substantial defence to the main heads of complaint was embraced under the legal maxim, " Volenti non fit injuria." Ex concesszs up to the moment of Miss Saurin's deposition as a member of the community she had no right to any property. Sub sequently to that, although still remaining in the convent, her right might have revived. He was, however, very glad to hear the Solicitor-General declare that it was not to be contended that the sum paid into court was not amply sufficient to cover the head of damages. But he owned he was not a little pained that the charge of assault was to be insisted on. The only foundation for the charge was that when Miss Saurin did not take off her clothes with sufficient celerity, Mrs. Starr and Mrs. Kennedy rudely tore them from her. One shilling damages would amply compensate such a wrong. At the same time the defendants directly contradicted the evidence under this head. As to the imprisonment, it was beyond all question that there had been none until long after Vie . depositions had gone before the Bishop, which had produced the final conclusion in the Bishop's mind that the_ plaintiff should leave the convent. The real gravamen of.the 'complaint, and that on which the plaintiff must have .a verdict—or she must fail altogether—was a charge- of conspiracy. In order to assist the jury to arrive at just conclusion upon that head, it would be necessary, said his lordship, to review the whole case. To that end he would divide the history into five epochs, commencing with the earliest years of the plaintiff's conventual life, and terminating with her departure from the institution at Hull. The whole history extended over no less than fifteen years. He began thus early for this reason. If from the very first Miss Saurin was found setting at nought the rules of convent life, and defying the orders of her superiors ; or if, on the other hand, the defendants were found from the commencement shewing signs of being actuated by base and sinister objects in their relations with the plaintiff, either alternative must have a most important influ ence upon their ultimate conclusions. And now he approached what was stated to be the origin of the ill treatment which Miss Saurin had experienced at the asaases sas— nes ,,shs 1 =l - to disclose to Mrs. Starr what had passed between her and her confessor in confession. And here again he must pause to express how startled he was to find how the Solicitor-General had dealt with this cardinal point in the case. Miss Saurin's statement could have had but one interpretation, and yet the Solicitor- General did not hesitate to give that interpretation the go-by. His lordship declared, with indignation, that neither he nor the jury could permit such playing fast and loose with the case. Mies Saurin had made a most odious charge. If she succeeded in establishing its truth, she had saddled upon Mrs. Starr conduct the most detestable. On the other hand, had she invented this story for the purpose of preventing the defendants travelling back, and unveiling the former years of her convent career? Then there was the charge of defaming the plaintiff's character. With respect to the statement about the alleged familiarity with the priest—assuming that it meant no more than what those ladies declared it meant—l cannot help lamenting the language used, which certainly was too strong. But, on the whole, you must judge whether the intention was to carry out a purpose of imposing false charges upon the Bishop in order to induce him to expel the plaintiff from the Order ; that is to say, to impose upon him by means of charges for which there was no real foundation. The Lord Chief Justice here went particularly into the evi dence as to the charges of taking trifling articles, and he then came to the charge of taking Sister Catherine's medal. But (he proceeded) that is not all. The witness tells us this most startling story—that when the body was taken into the chapel, the plaintiff, having been in attendance on her in her last moments, went into the chapel, where was the coffin with the dead body in it, habited as a nun for burial, and she then describes a scene which it almost takes away the breath to recount. She says she saw Sister Scholastica go to the coffin and stoop over the dead body and take away the sleeves which formed part of the burial dress, and hide them in the chancel, and then fold the cloak over the breast of the corpse, that the absence of the sleeves might not be observed when they came to close the coffin for ever. If you can believe that story ; if you can believe that in that chapel where she was in the habit of daily worshipping, in the presence of the symbols of the life to come, she stripped off the graveclothes from the body of her deceased Sister, that she might afterwards wear them; if you believe she did an act which shocks every sentiment and feeling of our common nature, there is probably nothing else you would have any difficulty in believing against her. There are, no doubt, great difficulties in believing it. The Sister who witnessed it never mentioned it until after she had made her statement for the Bishop ; and it seems incredible that it should have been done in the presence of a witness. But it is for you to judge of this and every other part of this painful story. The Lord Chief Justice then went on to advert to the charges as to stea';ng the children's dinners, and to the contradictory evidence, and in like man ner h e put to the jury whether there had or had not been untruth, and whether, even if the charge was not true in fact, there was reasonable ground for believing it. N o d ou b t, h e said, these were charges of acts of a most disgraceful character, and if the jury believed that they were not only unfounded, but trumped up, they would have to consider what damages they coup 1 award to the plaintiff as compensation for such atrocious Imputations. Upon that they must form their own judgment. After adverting to the commis sion (in which he said he thought there had been a sad miscarriage of justice in not producing the nuns to be examined),. the Lord Chief Justice went on to lay Sown—as to the conduct of the defendants in sending in the statements to the Bishop—that they would not be liable either on the count for liable or conspiracy if they sent in lent in the statements honestly and bond fide. Adverting en the incident of the taking away the plaintiff's ring, he said he thought it was an act of unnecessary cruelty and harshness. After noting the other matters as to the alleged imprisonment, &c.—leaving them to the jury —the Lord Chief Justice, in conclusion, made an earnest and elo quent appeal to the jury to decide the case dispassionately. The case, he said, is in your hands. All I ask of you is that you allow no prejudices to influence you or your judgment. The current of popular feeling, the echoes of which have been heard within these walls, ought to find no entrance here. The cries of an unthinking populace ought to find no response in the breasts of twelve honest and intelligent men, who have come to discharge, and will discharge, one of the most solemn duties men can be called on to dis ' charge, only according to their right sense of truth and the dictates of their unfettered consciences ! All I ask you is to hold, as I in my province have endeavoured to hold, the scales of justice equal and even, and, having so adjusted them—as right, and truth, and justice require— let them incline the one way or the other. The jury retired to consider their verdict, and were absent from court for more than an hour. On their return they delivered in a verdict for the plaintiff on the counts for conspiracy and libel, for £5OO, including, how ever, the £3O), the amount of the dowers, so that the net amount of the verdict is £2OO. They found for the defendants on the minor counts. The moment the verdict for the plaintiff was known it was communicated like lightning to the multitude out side, and a loud cheer was heard reverberating through Westminster Hall. Thus ended this extraordinary case, which while it lasted caused an excitement quite unpre cedented within living memory. The Lord Chief Justice expressed his high acknowledgments for the services of the police on the occasion. THE DAILY PAPERS ON THE CASE. The Times considers that the conclusion of that aston ishing phenomenon of litigation which has been so long engrossing the Court of Queen's Bench is just and reasonable. An investigation of a matter alien from the whole spirit of English national feeling conducted so patiently and dispassionately is honourable to our legal machinery. In the public mind the question has hardly been one between Miss Saurin and Mrs. Starr. Miss Saurin has been regarded more in thelight of a public prosecutor. She and her family appear to have been unequal to the perception that for anun to speak of rights Is all but self-contradictory ; but this in nowise detracts from the justice of the verdict. The defendants may pos sibly have believed that the plaintiff had ceased at a cer tain date to have in her the making of a good nun ; but the jury has concluded very justly that, however honestly they may have adopted this belief, they, at all events, were thenceforward utterly reckless as to the legality of the means by which they were to act upon it. The Daily News declares that the verdict in the Saurin case is in accordance with the expectation of the public. We may at least give one of the most curious scandals and most remarkable trials of modern times a parting notice. It has illustrated the impartiality of British justice, and the wide tolerance of modern opinion and feeling. From first to last no attempt has been made to import into the trial any theological prejudice. A quarrel between Roman Catholics—it has been settled by Protestants with no other aim than to do justice between the parties. Unlike the ancient Roman tribunals, our Courts have not dismissed it as merely involving "questions of their law," though it is on such questions that the whole case has turned. Although everybody has felt the strangeness and unreality of the dim, narrow underworld in which plaintiff and defendants have alike been dwelling, an earnest effort has been made to enter into their feelings and realise their position. The Post thinks that the picture of conventual life which the Saurin case has revealed must ast3nish alike those who regard a convent as a paradise as those who believe it to be a hotbed of wickedness. The story that has been told, and substantially confirmed both by the plaintiff, the defendants, and the witnesses, has impressed an idea of conventual life which will not speedily be effaced from the memories of those who have heard it, whether they be the friends or foes of such institutions. The Standard says that so far at least as the opinion of the jury can go, Miss Sarnia leaves the court with her character completely rehabilitated. The moral effect of the decision remains unaffected alike by the pecuniary sacrifices which have been necessary to secure it, and by the possibility that the plaintiff may yet lose, through the operation of legal doctrines, the substantial fruits of the impression which the story of her wrongs has made upon those in whose hearing it was told. The moral victory, however, will remain with her, no matter to which side the law's glorious uncertainty may ultimately incline. The Telegraph declares that the verdict will be regarded as thoroughly just in itself, and consistent with the facts of the case ; and the public will receive the issue with none the less satisfaction, that in all probability they will hear no more of Miss Saurin's torn stockings, cold dinners, petty faults, and minute crimes. Mrs. Starr, too, will presumably return to her convent to reign over the rest of her nuns—attended with, we hope, somewhat bettersuccess than followed her governance of this Irish girl, who has aroused almost the only authenticated nunnery scandal on English soil since the days of the Reformation. TIONAL EDUCATION. The report of the Commission on National Education in Ireland has just been published in a formidable blue book. It begins with an encouraging statement of the increase both of schools and scholars. The year 1867, to which the report refers, shews an increase of 67 in the number of schools, of 2,379 in the pupils on the rolls, and of 5,453 in the average daily attendance as compared with the statistics of 1866. There are in course of erection Si national school-h ouse s, affording accommodation to 10,510 children. Seventy-three schools were struck off the rolls in the year for various reasons, such as insufficient attend ance , 'i ncom p e t e nt teachers, unsuit able school-houses, and similar causes. In the mixed schools, 1,039 in number, which are taught exclusively by Protestants, nieL, was an nvorcuoc or 111'4 Protestants, and 281 Roman Catholic pupils. In those taught conjointly by Protestant and Catholic teachers, which amount to 132, there was an average of 1121 Protestants, and 100'2 Catholics. In the 2,649 schools taught exclusively by Roman Catholic teachers, there was an average of 9 . 3 Protestants, and 125'9 Catholic pupils. The commissioners insist very strongly upon the advantages of their leading rule, which protects their pupils from the possibility of proselytism. In most cases the patrons and managers would rather be exempt from such rules, but the commissioners emphatically declare that the toleration now enjoyed by the minority who attend the national schools would cease to exist if the attendance of that minority compelled the patron to observe rules from which he would otherwise have been free. They therefore insist that the protective rule shall exist in every school. The consequence is that the Protestants of Mun;ter and the Catholics of Ulster alike receive the protection which their slender numbers require. The regulations by which all proselytism is avoided are very stringent. The religious instruction is to be given separately, either before or after the secu lar instruction, and in either case a notice is to be put up in the school to announce it during the time, so that those children whose parents object' to their receiving it may withdraw. The only common doctrine ,nculcated is the duty of living peaceably with those who differ from us. Full particulars are given of the working of the school forms, of which there are 112, twenty-one being under the exclusive management of the commis sioners. The total amount of salaries, allowances, &c., paid in 1867 t o th e t eac h ers and assistants of all kinds was , £267,671 Bs. 3d. The number of teachers in receipt of good service salary at the end of the year was 504-364 males and 140 females. DEATH OF A CENTENARIAN,--A Mrs. Pyrn, of Ivybridge, Devonshire, has j us t di e d , after a lingerin n ss, aged 100 'years and 3 mon th s . g ill A deputation consisting of Mr. S. Lloyd, Mr. Akroyd, M.P., and other' gentlemen, from Newcastle. Birmingham, Exeter, Stoke-upon-Trent, Bradford, Dun dee, Goole, Southampton, Plymouth, Bristol, and Leeds, had an interview with the Right Hon. J. Bright, at the office of the Board of Trade, on Friday, on the treaty of commerce with Spain and Portugal, the regis tration of trade marks, and other matters relating t o commerce. FIRE AT A LUCIFER FACTORY.—On Friday morning a fire took place on the premises of Messrs. Bryant and May, lucifer match makers, Fairfield-row, Bow, originating in the drying-house, a building not more than thirty feet long, and was occasioned by the over heating of the stove. In the course of a few minutes this building was in a general blaze, and the workmen could only succeed in rescuing packets of matches which were placed in the packing-room. Whilst attempts were being made to subdue tb_ flames in the drying-house, some children got playing with the matches in the packing room for the purpose of sheaving that they would not ignite unless rubbed on the peculiarly, prepared paper paste-d on the boxes, or exposed to the action of extreme heat. Whilst so engaged they dropped one of the lighted matches amongst a vast number of others, and the conse quence was that some thousand gross of matches broke out into flames. It was a wonder that the children were saved from instant death. The fire was eventually ex tinguished, but not until the drying-house was burned out and about one-half of the packing-room destroyed, and the greater portion of the roofs burned off. The fir= was not insured. Fires took place in the same premises on the 13th of October, 1,367, on the 9th of June, and 'OD the 21et_ef July. 186.8. THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 27, 169. MISCELLANEOUS AE TVS. ELECTIONEERING ITEMS. The large majority in favour of the Marquis of Ilartington at Radnor shews that it is one of the safest pocket boroughs in the United Kingdom. As Mr. Phillips must have known from the first that he had not the ghost of a chance, his pertinacity in going to the poll was probably owing to his determination to enter a protest against the constituency being sold to the Government. The last contest in these boroughs was in the year 1820, when Mr. Richard Price (C.) beat his opponent, Mr. Lewis (W.), by a majority of 148 votes. Mr. Price held the representation without being molested until August 1847, when the Right Hon. Sir T. Lewis (father of Sir George) was returned without opposition. He was succeeded at his death, in February 1855, by his son, who died in 1863, when the late member, Mr. Green Price, was returned. By the election of the Marquis of Hartington Mr. Gladstone's Cabinet is now complete. Nine members of it are in the Commons, six in the Lords. The death of Sir John Vanden Bempde Johnstone causes a vacancy in the representation of Scar borough. This makes the fifth death among mem bers of the house of Commons since the general election ; three belonging- to the Government side of the House, and two to the Opposition. Sir John was born in 1799, and married, in 1825, Louisa 'enables Vernon, second daughter of Archbishop (Harcourt) of York. He was first returned for Scar borough in 1832, in conjunction with Sir G. Cayley, and was again successful in 1835 with Sir Frederick Trench ; at the general election of 1837, however, he was defeated by Sir George Cayley by a majority of nineteen votes. In 1841 he was once more suc cessful, being returned at the head of the poll. He has held the seat ever since, in spite of five contested elections, and although Mr. George John Cayley has made several strenuous attempts to obtain a seat for the borough. In politics the hon. gentleman was for many years reckoned as a Conservative, but during Lord Palmerston's regime he was considered as belonging to the followers of the noble lord. When Earl Russell took office Sir John supported Mr. Gladstone through the Reform Bill debates, and voted for the Suspensory Bill last year. Hitherto he was opposed to the Ballot, but it is probable that the facts brought to light at the last general election would have convinced him, as it has many more members of the Liberal party, that secret voting and free voting are essential to each other. A supporter of the present Government will pro bably be elected to fill the vacant seat, Scarborough having been for nearly twenty years a thorough Liberal constituency. At the late contest the fight was an exceedingly hollow one, the numbers being —Johnstone (L), 1,826 ; Dent (L), 1,678 ; Cayley (C), 742. In all probability the son of the deceased baronet will come forward in the Liberal interest.. amount or remuneration wnicn ne requires. econaly, expenses incurred before the submission of an inven tion will not be considered to give a claim for repay ment ; and no liability for loss of time after such submission will be recognised, unless authorised by one of the Under Secretaries of State. Thirdly, all claims will be examined by a council at the War Office ; and the amount recommended will be included in the estimates, and not be considered due until Parliament has passed it. Fourthly, no.claim for reward will be held established unless the inven tion has been adopted into the service, or substantial benefit to the public has resulted from it. tion), Colonel Norton, Colonel Heine, Drs. Sims and Evans, Colonel Bardan ; Mesdames Norton, Harbeck, Downing, the Misses Harbeck and Minnie Hauck ; Mr. Remington, Mr. Toppan (late Presi dent of the American Bank-note Company), and numerous members of American society at present in Paris. Dancing was kept up till 5 a.m., and the company separated, after drinking a toast in honour of the memory of Washington, and an other to the health of the Prince Imperial. The body of Mrs. Surratt has been given up to her friends for private burial. She was hanged in 1865 for complicity in the assassina tion of President Lincoln ; but many doubt her guilt, and among them such skewed lawyers as Gene►al Butler. The friends of Booth are also asking for his remains to receive Christian burial. A London paper, which the Times quotes as pub lishing a great secret, says it was never known before where he hal been buried. Why a year and a half ago the whole circumstances were pub lished in this paper, and were freely discussed in America. The body was brought to Washington, and interred in a building of the arsenal before Secretary Stanton and some other officers, and the room was boarded up, the key being taken away by Mr. Stanton. John H. Surratt, son of Mrs. Surratt, is now in Brazil ; her daughter, Annie Surratt, is a school teacher in Baltimore. Cuban revolutionists now muster strong in New York. The Cuban Junta has there its head-quarters, and they excite sympathy ; theirs being considered the Liberal cause, and a public meeting in aid is talked of. The insurrection has been on a far larger scale than Europe was aware of, though the late accounts by telegraph to Madrid speak hopefully and confidently of its suppression, provided it receives no further re inforcement from abroad. Of course thisis in allusion to assistance from the United States. At Washing ton efforts are being made to induce Congress to ad mit St. Domingo into the Union, but success is not anticipated. Beneath the movement is Baez, who was raised to the Presidency in 1867, and he is supposed to act under the influence of Americans who have purchased large tracts of land in St. Domingo, to which they thus hope to give value. The strength of Erie interest has been shown by the late action taken against its stock in Wall street. The stock brokers dealing in that and other shares banished for non-registry held a meeting on the Bth inst. at 54, Broad-street, to organize an in dependent board. Several brokers addressed the meeting, and in the end a committee was elected to draft a constitution. It is said that more than 200 members have already joined. It would never do for the speculators to lose Erie, their favourite stock, but we would like to know the standing of the members of the proposed Exchange. Mr. James Shepherd writes to the London Times to advise a syndic, by means of which the European holders, who oxn half the Erie stock, might exercise a rea sonable control. He alludes to Mr. Gould's report, wherein it is announced that since October last the stock has so far been watered, that the increase has been from $74,000,000 to $130,000,000. One of the last bills Andrew Johnson had the power to veto as President was the Copper Tariff Bill,which, of course, he did. It was returned to the House of Representatives with his objections last Monday, and on Tuesday was at once passed by 115 to 56, and sent up to the Senate, who made it a law bya majority of 38 to 11 on Wedesday last. The im porters of copper memorialized the President to veto it, but they might have been quite certain that the veto would have no effect. By it the tax on blue vitriol is raised 100 per cent. ; the price in Europe of sulphate of copper per lb. being 5 cents and the import tax 5 cents per lb. An important vote was given Feb. 10, by the House Committee on Reconstruction, the propo sition being to admit the State of Mississippi with its present Government, and with the Constitution framed for it by the last Convention, but voted down by the people. The vote in the Committee stood for the proposition :—Bingham, Norris, and Paine, 3. Against it—Boutwell, Brooks, Beck, Beaman, and Farnsworth, 5. The Senate Com mittee on Judiciary has determined to report in favour of modification of the Constitution of Vir ginia, as suggested by the committee of nine. Professor Goldwin Smith intends to deposit his valuable historical library in the Cornell Univer sity, to which he now gives his services gratui touly. The Board of Directors met Feb. 11, when Mr. Cornell reported progress. The resources are now $76,774 per annum ; the expense for pr.)- fessors, $:38,300 ; the receipts have been $105,000, and expenses $171,610. A. D. White, President of the University, presented his report, giving in detail the operations of the Institution. The rise in 5-20's continues, those bonds having now gone over 80 on the English Stock Exchange, while the upward tendency is as marked in Wall street. Besides the decline in the price of gold, the very distinct expression of Congressional opinion with regard to their payment has imparted con fidence in Europe. Last IVednesday General Schenck's Finance Bill passed the House of Re presentatives. It provides that the public debt, not otherwise specified, is payable in gold, but postpones the payment till the value of greenbacks equals gold. It also legalizes gold contracts. The vote was 119 to 01. The Union League Club of New York, met on the 11th inst., Mr. John Jay thanked the Club for the honour conferred upon him in his re-election to its presidency. lle congratulated them upon its success, socially, politically, and financially, as proved by the report for 1868. Finally, Mr. Jay remarked—" The gentlemen who have successfully brought about the Congressional investigation in the frauds by which, in the recent election, the the vote of the people was overborne, are I believe, prepared to suggest further investigation of an equally important character. For the accomp'ish ment of our common ends we require only pru dence, harmony, and unity, and with these, I think, we may regard the Club, despite all that it has accomplished, as still in its infancy, and anti cipate for it a long career of increasing usefulness and honour." A canal is proposed from a point in Alabama on tho Tennessee river, to the tide water at Bruns wick or Savannah, crossing the Coosa in Georgia, the Chattahochee, and the Oemulgee ; 290 miles in all. The cost is estimated at $5,000,000, but Southerners believe it will pay admirably and open up a splendid district. It will enable boats to pass from St. Louis to the seaboard without breaking bulk. Triibner's Literary Record contains a remarkable extract from Mr. Catlin's work, about to be pub lished, entitled "The Lifted and Subsided Rocks of America, with their Influences on the Oceanic and Land Currents." Mr. Catlin announces " the discovery of a river under the Rocky Mountains, many times larger than the Mississippi, its course nearly twice the Mississippi's length, and gliding through the clean and vast rocky cellars of the up heaved mountains, without the losses by alluvial absorptions and solar evaporations which diminish valley rivers, it takes along in its course the sink ing streams and lakes of the mountains of Mexico, and with them, perhaps by a hundred mouths in its deep bed, debouches unseen into the Caribean Sea and Gulf of Mexico." ID imagines a similar river to flow underneath the Andes, running from the 30 deg. S. lat. to the North, emptying into the Carribean Sea. Six thousand years ago the two rivers met beneath the Antilles, which ended in un-. derming them, and these islands are but the tops of a sunken mountain chain. The joint influence of these rivers on the Carribean Sea raises its western surface several feet above the level of the ocean, which rushes through the Gulf of Mexico, sweeping round its west coast, and, gathering up the Rio del Norte and the Mississippi, pours its vast flood into the Atlantic at the Florida Cape, becoming the Gulf Stream, until now, says Mr. Catlin, one of the mooted problems of the world. Every change of climate, every storm, a shoal of herrings, or their absence, all are attributed to the Gulf Stream ; and we think that Mr, - Catlin's ac count will but add to its mystery. Five Senators out of the eleven composing the Railroad Committee of that body have prepared a minority Report she - wing the objections to the Omnibus Pacific Railroad - The Philadelphia „Ledger thug Au= up these objections :—.;46 dour roads are acid by this bill, and the members of the minority say that the uniting of measures having no relation to each other, for the too apparent pur pose of combining strength for the whole that might not be obtained for the separate parts, has never been deemed an honest mode of legislation, and has never added fame to Legislative bodies. History, it is asserted, furnishes dishonourable ex amples of that kind of legislation in Congress and in the State Legislatures. This mode of legislation is corrupting in its tendencies, and conveys upon the face of it the impression that the measure is one of more than doubtful propriety. After dwelling upon the necessity of curtailing, in every way, the expenditures, and reducing the debt of the United States, the report says that the magnificent scheme of railway construction embodied in this bill pro poses to guarantee the interest for thirty years on $30,000 per mile of nearly five thousand miles of railroad—being a guarantee by the Government on about $150,000,000 of bonds, of nearly $9,000,000 of interest, annually, amounting in the aggre gate in thirty years to the enormous sum of $270,000,000." From New York we learn by telegraph, dated 21st instant, that revolutions have broke❑ out in several States of the Republic of Mexico, and that Negrete has captured Puebla. According to news from Cuba large numbers of the insurgents are surrendering to the authorities. The latest news is that the loan required was fully subscribed and the insurrection was said to be at an end. From Athens it is announced that the American Minister has written a letter to the Greek Government, in which he states that the United States desire most sincerely that peace should be maintained between Turkey and Greece ; he has also been authorised by his Government to offer his good services to both parties in such a manner as not to compromise the neutrality of the United States. The New York Evening Post exposes the fallacy of the statement lately made in some London papers that European emigration was exhausted, and that Americans would have in future to trust to their ingenuity in devising machines to take the place of physical labour. That journal gives the figures for the last eleven years' immigration into New York, and the increase is steady and con tinuous ; the average for the first five years being 82,093 ; for the next five, 203,202 ; and for the last year, 211,359. The argument for a con tinuance of the stream is unanswerable. Granted all that can be said against the cost of living in the Republic, the taxation and other drawbacks, still the United States remain, and must remain, supe rior to the old countries as a working man's home. So long as that superiority continues, emigration will continue, and the Post remarks on the fact that more than 60,000 English landed in New York in 1867 and 1868, and it calculates " that we shall for many years to come enjoy the chari table delight of welcoming many thousands of effi cient British labourers every year to the broad fields, boundless resources, and free institutions of United States. They are coming, " three hundred thousand more." The official correspondence has been laid before Congress between Admiral Davis and President Lopez. In it Bliss and Masterman are described as criminals engaged in a horrible conspiracy, yet " he (Lopez) would cheerfully consent to the de livery of the criminals, provided it were requested in a manner more in conformity with the fact of their being accomplices of ex-Minister Wash burn, and the first immediately acquainted with his intrigues in the character of conspirator and agent of the enemy, of which he is accused in the national tribunals." Admiral Davis responded that it was no part of his duty to offer or refuse any terms affecting the legal criminal condition of those per sons. Again, referring to the friendship of the United States towards Paraguay, he asked that Bliss and Masterman be embarked on board his vessel, subject to the dispositions of the Govern ment of the United States, of whose justice and friendly sentiments President Lopez could entertain no doubt. President Lopez acceded to the request of Admiral Davis, saying, however, it could nut be complied with in the sense of a reclamation, but of a graceful courtesy on the part of the Goverment of Paraguay towards the United States. THE PERMISSIVE BILL. The Permissive Bill is endorsed by Sir Wilfrid Lawson, M.P. for Carlisle, Mr. Baxley, M.P. fox Manchester, and Mr. Dalway, M.P. for Carrick fergus, and president of the Irish Temperance League. The last-named gentleman was originally of rather Conservative views, and is still a strong Orangeman. Nevertheless he has now taken his seat on the Ministerial side of the House. It may be assumed that his decision has been influenced in some measure by the extreme hostility which was manifested against him by the Conservative party. THE ADMIRALTY CORRUPTION CASE. The prosecution of Mr. Rumble is likely to prove a notable case, and to lead to such disclosures as will make us blush for the reputation of Government officials. Sir Thomas Henry, the magistrate before whom the preliminary charge is being heard, dis tinctly stated that the case against Rumble " might resolve itself into several charges, that of extortion for instance ;" and he added that there were books found in the possession of the prisoner containing entries which the prosecution were bound to investi gate. It is strange that so clever a man as Mr. Rumble seems to be, since he has escaped such a charge as this for many years, should not have bad the forethought to make to himself friends of the mammon of unrighteousness. Not a single person can he get to stand bail for him. MISPLACED SARCASM. A correspondent of the Standard writes, " For quiet sarcasm commend me to Sir J. Hay's motion, viz., ' Rule of the Road at Sea.' Sir J. Hay gave notice that he would, on Friday next, call the atten tion of the House to the rule of the road at sea, and that he would put a question to the right hon. gentle man the President of the Board of Trade upon the subject. Fancy the right hon. President of the Board of Trade undergoing an examination in naval matters ! His is, indeed, a hard case ; after ruining his family by his patriotism, to be sent to sea at his time of life." The correspondent forgets that neither of the two last Presidents of the Board of Trade, Sir Stafford Northcote and Mr. Cave, were brought up to the sea. Both were landsmen. It is usual for both parties to appoint landsmen to this post. It is not unusual to appoint landsmen—Mr. Corry and Sir John Pakington to wit—to the far more nautical post of First Lord of the Admiralty. CONFERENCE OF THE LONDON CHARITIES. A. short time ago a conference of persons interested in the London charities was held at the rooms of the Society of Arts, and an interesting discussion took place. The Bishop of London presided, and many of the representatives of the great London charities expressed their views on the subject of pauperism. Dr. Hawkesley the author of the pamphlet on the Charities of London, which formed the basis of the Conference, moved that they should recommend the organisation of the London Charities to the-Metro politan Association for theßepression of Crime and Pauperism. Some discussion arose as to the propriety of working the system of th e P oor -l aw B oar d and the charitable institutions together, and the con ference adjourned. It was resumed last Thursday, and Dr. Barry, Principal of King's College, presided. Dr. Ilawkesley's resolution was withdrawn, and an amendment, prop ose d b y Sir W. Fraser, substituted. This suggested an organisation of the London charities, without proposing any plan for the purpose. A reso lution -rrnD carrica to the effect that an official register of all applicants for relief in the metropolis was most essential. Mr. Rusi..in said that some charities should be private and others public, and too much was said about indiscriminate charity. Another resolution was carried in favour of the registration of chari table societies and the audit of their accounts. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT. There has been a great difference of opinion expressed as to whether the fear of death has pre vented would-be murderers from committing the greatest offence known to the law. It has been stated that criminals fear life-long imprisonment more than death, and that while the one is a terror to them, the idea of being sent out of this world altogether lulls them into a state of indifference. M. Lallemant Advocate of the Court of Nancy, publishes a letter on this'su bj ect, and gives a tot a llydiff erent opinion,founcled on eighteen years' experience. He maintains that the punishment of death is the only one which great criminals fear. As for transportation to Cayenne or New Caledonia, they rather like it ; and an assassin who, in virtue of " extenuating circumstances," finds himself let off with traraus forces for life, dances the cancan and shrieks with delight. "To under stand the question," says )1. Lallemant, " you should have witnessed, as I have done, the loud, expan sive joy of murderers on re-entering their prison after just escaping the scaffold. How happy they are, how they rejoice, uttering cries of joy between two dances of the most expressive character, at only being condemned to hard labour for life." Under the old French law, theft, like assassination, was punished with death, and the consequence was that a thief, already liable, if convicted to capital punish ment, did not hesitate to proceed from theft to murder, if by so doing ho could increase his chances of impunity. The same thing, M. Lallemant argues, would happen again if capital punishment were altogether abolished. The thief, who now thinks twice before he commits murder, would no longer pause, for, whether he murdered or not, his punish ment would still be only hard labour for life. TIIE PRIZE SYSTEM. A letter from Dr. Henry Bence Jones, M.D., appears in the Times, protesting against the prize sy s t em w hi c h a t p resen t prevails at the public schools. " I am strongly urged," he writes, "by one whose child is in danger of suffering from the prize system in school to say to the public what I have said to him, namely, that mental work beyond the strength which the nervous system is able to bear will affect the development of the whole body, and dispose it to wrong actions which would not otherwise shew themselves. The prize system does no good whatever to the mass of boys. They leave school repelled from all knowledge, chiefly because they have been nozzled in heathen learning.' The few who will work often includ e th ose w h o are quite unfit for premature brain work.' The trainerknows little, and thinks less of this; he urges the competition; the race is run, and, if a breakdown occurs, he continues to train others for a similar competition. Surely it would be a noble thing if trainers, instead of this prize system, would encourage the mass to love learning and to know English, and would save the growing brain of the willing few from the evils of premature overwork." The evil to which Dr. Jones points can be overcome only by leading the youths to love education for its own sake. Can he propose any system calculated to produce such a love rHE WAR OFFICE AND INVENTOR°. At last there is to be a definite ,principe on whieli inventors are to be treated by the War Of' The are no longer to be exposed to death froiii broken heart, like poor Mr. Snider, nor_to ten year s ' d e l a y, like the more fortunate Captain 51oncrieff. Lord Northbrook, Under Secretary for War,- hasi. inued a memorandum, in which four regula.... .ara laid down for the guidance of ill - Ltoret First, they must dearly set forth the nature' of the Jaunt= thanerson.who exnecta_to be DaiLanaili TRAMWAYS OF LONDON. Tramways are now likely to be tried in the metro polis, and there are hopes that we shall soon be rid of the uneasy, uncomfortable, jolting, close omnibus. Several companies are applying to Parliament for leave to lay down lines, and once successful in the metropolis, it will hardly be long before tramways will be adopted in the provinces. Indeed, the line has rather marched from the provinces to the metropolis, as several of the Midland and Northern towns have tried different systems, and we believe the one in use at Birkenhead has proved successful. According to the Daily News, this is the plan which is to be carried out in the south of London. It has succeeded at Copenhagen, and is being laid down in Brussels, so that there is ground for believ ing that it will answer. The rail proposed is three and a half inches in width, and laid exactly flush with the surface of the street ; the spaces between the rails as well as a strip beyond their outer edge being pitched with the ordinary paving stones. The portion of the street thus pitched is to be completely open to the use of the public as at present, but to be kept in repair by the Tramway Company. The omnibus wit be more roomy inside, will be better ventilated, and contain doors at both ends, so that not much crushing will be needed to leave the 'bus. The fares will be about half those of the omnibuses. FOREIGN NOTES. TAE UNITED STATE% General Shenck's measure for the redemption of the Five-Twenty Bonds in gold has produced a good effect upon the London Stock, Exchange. Different versions of is terms, however, have come to hand. If payment in gold is to be postponed until the values of coin and green backs are equal, that is, until gold has fallen to par, the redemption of the Five-Twenties, may, as we stated yesterday, be postponed indefinitely. But if, according to another account, the payment of the principal is not to take place before maturity, unless the currency is pre viously of the same value as coin, the bonds in the worst event must be paid in gold thirteen years hence, the date when they arrive at maturity. Everything depends upon the success of the party which favours the contraction of the paper currency. As to the Ten-Forty Bonds, their redemption in gold was specially provided for, but they do not exceed the value of 40 millions sterling. A decided rise in Five-Twenties has been the effect of General Schenk's measure. GREECE. The Trieste Gazette says that the Zalmis Ministry has already attained great popularity. All warlike preparations have been given up, and the Government is preparing to ameliorate the internal condition of the country. One of the most pressing needs is the extinction of brigandage which is now so common as to completely subvert industry. The Government intends employing the regular army in this work, instead of the irregular troops, who were too prone to eke out a precarious subsistence by taking to brigandage. Notes and manifestoes in endless profusion are poured forth by the Greek Ministers and diplomatists. But they contain nothing beyond the old story of the wrongs of Greece and the pressure of the Powers. BELGIUM. The rejection of the Budget of Justice by the Belgian Senate—a measure without parallel since 1830—has no connection with the recent international dispute respect. ing the.railway concessions. According to the Temps, the clerical party, to whom this vote is owing, cherished a special dislike of the most advanced thinker in the Ministry—M. Bara, Minister of Justice. On Wednesday they took advantage of the comparative emptiness of the Government benches to inflict a check upon the obnoxious official. They allowed the Justice Budget to pass through, article by article, without discussion, and then gave a negative vote upon the whole. The consequences of this strange procedure remain to he seen. ITALY. At is announced that a great meeting of Republicans from all parts of Italy is about to be held at Lugano under the presidency of Mazzini. SPAIN. Marshal Prim's demonstration against the fallen dynasty on the day when the Provisional Government resigned its powers was even more vigorous than repre sented in the telegraphic summary. " History," said the revolutionary leader, " presents examples of monarchies fallen in various ways, but never was there an example until now of a dynasty forced by the pressure of public opinion to take refuge in a foreign country. On that account I am convinced that it will never return. Let this serve as an answer to those ill-disposed persons who credit me with the idea of restoration in favour of the Queen's son in order to obtain the regency." Amid great applause Marshal Prim stated that the re-establishment of any of the fallen family was impossible. But this negative information as to the destinies of the country is all that we possess. The contest between the partisans of Dom Fernando and the Duke of Mont pensier, the only candidates who remain in the field, has relapsed into a condition of inextricable confusion. The Independence Belge and the 'Memorial Diplomatique both state that the Portuguese Prince will not leave his quiet retreat for the turmoil of political life. He will not accept the crown if it be offered him. Prim, in his speech,- declared that he was not the partisan of any particular candidate, and this affirmation is thought to increase the Duke of Montpensier's chance. More definite is the state ment that an attempt will be made to secure the condition that the successful candidate must have a majority of three fourths. It is well that some limit should be fixed for a vote of such exceptional importance, but two-thirds would have afforded the Republicans smaller opportunities of mischief. A GENERAL CONGRESS OF NATIONS. The famous correspondent of the Telegraph writes in a new vein. He is a firm believer in a coming congress of nations, which might be the germ of a Parliament that would represent the world, and perhaps, when our genera tion has passed away, settle all questions by a jury of diplomatists instead of an army of chassepots. After his rebuff in 1863, it is hardly likely that the French Emperor will again propose such a step ; but the confidant of princes has reason to believe that, if England made the proposition, there would be some chance of its acceptance. The settlement of the Greek question has brought the project into public notice again. It is much dis- cussed at present in the French papers. Some of these say that the success of the late Conference has demonstrated to the leading Governments the possibility of in future submitting all international questions to a sort f Amphietyonic council of the different States of Europe. Such a result is so desirable that the project cannot but be treated with the greatest respect. But it has yet to be proved that the Greek affair can be quoted as a " leading case." If Greece had been a first rate Power, would the result have been the same ? (From the A)wlo-American Times.) A bill was reported by Mr. Pike in the House of Representatives on the 12th inst., and passed by 85 yeas to 25 nays, to pay Commodore John A. Win slow and the officers and crew of the United States steamer Kearsarge $190,000, to be distributed as prize money, being the estimated value of the rebel piratical vessel Alabama, destroyed by the Kear sarge on June 19, 1864. A proviso was inserted that no money should be paid to the assignees of any mariner entitled to a share, but only to the mariner himself, his wife, or his children. It is a pity a move should have been so long delayed, which would have come with so much better grace three years ago, though the compliment is perhaps greater as the appreciation now shown is in cool blood. Dr. Mudd's pardon was signed by the President on the 11th instant. It received the signature of the Secretary of State and the seal of the United States, and would reach the commandant of the Dry Tortugas during the week just ended, so Dr. Mudd is probably now at large. A report by the Attorney- General accompanies the pardon, wherein it is stated to have been satisfactorily shown that it was Dr. Mudd's professional duty to attend Booth when called upon, and that his medical skill had last summer proved of the greatest value at the Dry Tortugas during the prevalence of yellow fever. The recommendation was signed by 39 Represen tatives and members, and over 300 officers and sol diers of the prison. t The ball in honour of Washington's Birthday, and also to inaugurate a new Charitable American Society, took place at the Louvre Hotel, Paris, last Monday, and was a marked success, all the ladies of the American colony having considered them selves bound to be present on an occasion which celebrated together patriotism and charity. The supper room was decorated with the United States flags and the portraits of Washington and of Na poleon 111., in a way to reflect great credit on the committee of management. Among those present were the Hon. Anson and Mrs. Burlingame, Gene ral Dix, Colonel Hoffman (of the American Lege,. THE GREAT OCEAN STEAM' IMOF. From the time we cease to toddle and begin to run, we race, and we continue to race long after our legs can carry us. Man has been described as a cooking animal, but the Anglo-Saxon at least might be more properly described as a racing animal. The greatest of races came off last week between the Royal mail steamers Russia and City of Paris •, the Cunarder under Captain T. Cook, and the Intnan under Captain Kennedy. The City of Baltimore bad been delayed in her arrival at New York by the very heavy westerly gales which have not ceased for months to blow, and as she re quired some slight overhauling after her tempestuous passage. The City of Paris, which had just arrived, was turned round, and the cargo intended for the City of Baltimore put on board. The 10th was the regular day of departure for the Cunarder, and the Russia with her steam up and passengers on board, was about to leave. It may be wrong for ocean steamers to run races across the Atlantic in mid winter, but it is simply impossible under such cir cumstances to refrain. Theiovessels were the two finest mail steamers afloat, the Russia being 3,100 tons burden, 370 feet over all, and 700-horse power ; and the City of Paris 2,875 tons burden, 365 feet over all. The City o f P ar i s got under w eigh at 1.35 p.m., the Russia following at 2.40. Next day the smoke of the Russia was visib'e from the deck of the City of Paris, and so it was on the the 12th, 13th, and 14th, though by the Russia's log on the 13th she passed her competitor. Thenit came on to blow ; the pace of theCityofParis which carries an immense spread of canvas, may be imagined from the fact that on the first day of the fresh gale she ran 342 miles ; the next day, blowing hard, 346. The gale still continuing on the 17th she made 338, and there being no abatement on the 18th she log,ged 346. Glancing at the logs of the two vessels, it is clear that up to the time of the gale the Russia was the faster ship, and this again became evidant in the Channel, but the extraordinary rate of speed at tained by the City of Paris, when aided by her canvas, brought her to Queenstown at 8.58, making the passage in 8 days 19 hours 23 minutes, no allow ance being given for the difference of longitude, while the Russia reached Queenstown at 10.45, making the passage in 8 days 20 hours 5 minutes, which shows 42 minutes in favour of the City of Paris. In run ning up •the Channel the Russia not only recovered this time but gained on the passage to Liverpool 15 minutes. The Russia was more heavily laden, and, it is alleged, that she had to stop an hour and a half in the Atlantic to renew the indiarubber on a valve. On the other hand, the City of Paris had no time, after a rough passage to New York, even to clean her boilers. An undue pressure of steam is against the strict orders of both companies, who do not permit racing, but we imagine it would have been difficult, even had the captains desired, to have prevented the stokers from cramming in fuel. The interest excited was extraordinary both in New York and Liverpool, even a cold winter's morning being unable to prevent a great gathering at the docks to see the vessels come in. The City of Paris is a marvellous ship, and perhaps her running dur ing the four days of the gale was never before equalled. COURSE OF EXCHANGE—Last Eveiang. Amsterdam Short ... 12 I ... 12 1 Do Rotterdam — ... 12 li ... 12 2.k. Antwerp — ..25 35 ... 25 40 Brussels — .25 35 ... 25 40 llamburgh — ... 13 101... 13 11 Paris Ditto Marseilles Frankfort-on-the-Main ..• ... 1191 1201 Vienna — ... 12 30 ... 12 50 Trieste — ... 12 30 ... I 2 50 Petersburg Copenhagen — ~ 9 2U ... 9 24 Berlin Madrid.. Cadiz — ... 481 .„ 481 Leghorn Milan — ... 26 30 ... 26 40 Genoa, Naples ...'' ••• 30 ... 26 40 Palermo — ... 26 30 ... 26 40 Messina .. 26 3U ... 26 40 Lisbon — ... 52k ... 521 Oporto — „. 52k ... b2i Rio Janeiro New York --- ••• ••• -- DUNVILLE and Co., Belfast, are the largest holders of Whisky in the world. Their Old Irish Whisky is re commended by the medical profession in preference to French Brandy. Supplied in casks and cases for home use or expor ts _ ,4 011- Quotations on application to Ilessrc. Dunville and Co. Belfa st; or 4, Beanforfrbuilliizgs, st-aO, Loudon W.O rtiserant.. _~~ IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT HOUSE OF LORDS.—LAsT E VENI G. The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack At five o'clock. REPRESSION OF CRIME BILL. The Earl of KIMBERLEY brought in a bill for the more effectual repression of crime. The noble lord entered at some length into the provisions of the bill, which provided amongst other things that a system of licenses with re spect to tickets-of-leave should be issued, and a list of licenses kept by the Chief Commissioner of Police. Another provision was that were a man convicted a. second time for felony and was not sentenced to pena l servitude he should be for seven years under the sur veillance of the police. Their lordships then adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS—LAST EVENING. The SPEAKER took the chair at four o'clock. TIIE TREASURY. Mr. BOOTH gave notice that on Thursday he should coil the attention of the house to the present arrangeme nt of the Board of Treasury. DISEASED SHEEP. Mr. FOSTER, in reply to Captain CARNEGIE, said it was not the fact that some sheep in a diseased state had been stopped at the Victoria Dock. Some animals bad been marked for second examination, this having been made, they were found to be quite free from disease. THE NEW ZEALAND MEDAL. Mr. CARDWELL in r, ply to Viscount Enfield, said the estimates were now on the table ; a vote was taken for the medal, and ho believed the designs would very 0 0011 be ready for the approbation of her Majesty. LANDLORD AND TENANT (IRELAND). Mr. C. FORTESCUE, in reply to Mr. Downing, said it was solely from want of time that the Governmen t did not propose to proceed with a bill to deal with the subject of landlord and tenant. THE AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE. Mr. GLADSTONE, in answer to Mr. Samuelson, said it was the intention of the Government to bring in a bill to repeal the Aberdeen Act, and Lord Clarendon, he b e ' lieved, had already introduced the measure into the House of Lords. THE WAR OFFICE AND THE HORSE GUARDS. Mr. CARDWELL, in reply to a number of question g front Sir P. O'Brien, said the "letter of service" appointing his Royal Highness the Field Marshal Commanding-in" Chief was not for any specific time, or for life ; the Sec retary for "War did not recommend to her Majesty persons for commissions, either directly or by purchase ; and tha t it would not be fur the benefit of the army if the patronage was removed from the Commanding-in-Chief to a political officer. That it was not consistent with military discipline and the regulations of the service to appeal from a decision of the Field Marshal Commanding-in-Chief or of the Military Secretary to the Secretary of State for WO' There was no need of inquiry as to whether, regarding both efficiency and economy, the duties of the Horse Guards and the War-office were concentrated in one eili ca because all were agreed upon that point. THE PATENT LAWS. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said he did not purpose during the present session to introduce any bill for the amendment of the patent laws. REDISTRIBUTION OF SEATS IN IRELAND. On the motion for going into committee of supply on the supplementary estimates, Mr. RAIKES rose to ask the Chief Secretary for Ire: land whether it was the jntention of her Majesty 0 Government to introduce, during the present sessinsf a measure for the redistribution of seats in Ifs land, and, if so, when; and further, whether it vl s° not, in the opinion of her Majesty's Government. somewhat premature to enter upon legislation materially affecting the welfare of [reland before such a measure ha d been considered; and to call attention to the present sys tem of Irish Representation. The hon. gentleman toiA the opportunity of going at some length into the subject' recommending the Government to consider whether it if° not possible to take any members from thirteen of the small boroughs in Ireland, and to give their represents" tives to the counties. Mr. 0. FORTESCIIE thought the present a most in; opportune time, the first year of a new and reformed Parliament, to entertain such a proposal as that brought forward by the hon. gentleman opposite, and with re spect to the taking away to a great extent the boroug h members to give them to the counties,would occasion the greatest opposition. He therefore could hold out no ber 3 that anything of the kind would be brought forward by the Government. TIIE TRADES' UNIONS COMMISSION. In reply to Mr. Sergeant Cox, Mr. BRUCE said the report of the commission mig h t be expected in the course of a few days, and be Tule' rely that the Government would not lose a moment 11) taking the subject into consideration, with a view to leg °. lation on that very important subject. Some other business having been disposed of, the ho t° adjourned. LuNDON GAZETTE-LAST EVENING. WAR•OFFICE, PALL MAL, FEE. 2G. be 7th Regiment of Hussars Cornet Harold Paget to Cornet. be 18th Hussars—Gentleman Cadet Edward Smith to Cornet. Royal Regiment of Artillery - Lieut. Anthony hurray be Second Captain; Sergeant-Major James Thonagou 4th be Fo a t Quartermaster. o le; —Major 0 Francis Hamilton to Lieutenant nol ; Captain Cuthbert Ece:es to be Major; Lieutooliiito William Bridson to be Captain; Ensign John Irving be Lieutenant. 31st Foot—Ensign Cyril Taylor to be Lieutenant ; 5 1; bert Lushington to be Ensign ; Edward Showell to Ensign. 37th Foot—Ensign William Monckton to be Ensign. 43d Foot—Staff-Surgeon Thomas Hale to be Su r g eon 44th Foot—Herbert Hill to be Ensign. 46th Foot—Captain Thomas 51ackinlay to be Captain. 49th Foot—Henry Young to be Ensign. 53d Foot—Ensign Frederick Whitaker to be Lieutenallt" and Pulteney Murray to be Ensign. 57th Foot—Ensign George Garnett to be Lieutena T34 Thomas Phillips to be Ensign. fa ith 70th Foot—Lieutenant Henry Greatwood to be Cnl 3 '" 7- 0( 1 Ensign Fredk. Maturin to be Lieutenant, Ferdinil Leslie to be Ensign. 78th Foot—Ensign Massey Stacpole to be Lleut ellati4 Ensign Charles Carfrae to be Ensign. be 90th Foot—Ensign Alexander Marin de la Voye to Lieutenant. 94th Foot—William Monckton to be Ensign. ADMIRALTY , FEB 23 • , t Dr. Christopher Knox Ord has this day been promoted to the rank of Staff Surgeon in her Majesty's Fleet. Foreign Mail Packet Lies• MAILS DUE. ~, 2l. saistralta and New Zealand , via Southampton ..... r'e - o s Ditto, via Yirseilles gar. * Ditto, via Pt,...ama ......... ........ ........ .•• Y e i. Brazil, Buenos Ayres, and Monte Video .......... go . ' ,s, gar - Ditto, by French packet . )14r. 7 • Cape Vetch , . by Brazil paotcot ..• • . ..... ba. Cape of Good ELpe. Ascension, and St. Holena.••• Y e ": sj. China, Penang. and Singapore, via Southampton .• i i•e "" 21 bibraltar, via Southampton Feb' ........... ../. • .Feb . 21 India, via Southampton . ..... .• • 1. gar. oitto, via Marseil,es • • • Feb. v. Malta, Egypt, &o. Fcb' " Ditto, Marseilles Mauritius, Cape of Good Hope, and Natal, via Southaros ton far. l g Ditto, Marseilles Newfoundland " ... .. gar. " Portugal ... • ..... • • United States. t anada, Cilifornia, &c., by l3ritiali ~,, Feb " racket ...... Ditto, by Canadian paoket Feb `' 4 Ditto, by L. Lited States packet ............... • Ditto ditti (Baltimore) ................... • 4 , 0. 6 • West Coast of Africa. Madeira, and Teneriffe . • •• • • Du West Indies and Pa :Mk (except Mexico and 8aha"....0 1 mas) . gar. • Cub i and M exico ... H ..... .. •• • g ,0, . . Mar •• Bermuda, via alita .. x.,........ ......... Feb. _... Bahamas, via New York ..... LADVERTISEMENT.I Holloway's Ointment an , -. t i s fac; Chest Complaints.—lt is a source of the highest SA, ono tion that an easy and expeditions mode of cbeel ci° :beel conquering these constantly recurring affections hay discovered. The proprit ty of disturbing the nerv. ll atiog , o o ~„r vascular system in pulmonary maladies by tuira•p ro few" internal medicines was long questioned before f re' Holloway was enabled to prove the practicabiligifai acci lieving over-gorged lungs and restoring their na b i ubbe tion by external means. His ointment tlaoroughlY _st se' on tho walls of the chest twice a day gives the utmvotiost curity and comfort in influenza, acute and chronic . 0 0 bronchitis, pleurisy, stitches in the side, s b or 13 ,, _ erot iO breath, and palpitation, with other allied and da diseases. Births. BEAUCHAMP —On the 26th inst., the Countess Beauebsl3l' of a daughter. Ladysolt Biam -On the 26th inst., at 50, Portland -place' Cecilia Bingham, of a daughter. Marriages. 4 'Fre - HAYNE—CoL:INs—On the 25th iust , at soutbilee-, on ly derick G. Hayi.f's, M.8.C.5., Eng.. to Mary An ve ' fieeti daughter of the late J. W. Collins ' , Esq.? o f North Kent. sc/' SIMPSON—DALE—On the 23c: lust., Georg. Sioll'srv:rtbs, of Early Hall, Barnard CastLA, Yorkshire, to f - oaf' only daughter of JosPpli Langhaui Dale, Esq.) °` rington-tquare, London. Deaths. • Sir AnAtn—On the 24th ' inst., at Mann 11 Robert Shafto Adair, Bait., aged , B4. 14 410 BAnsEs On the 22d lust.,at Bellair, 13:ceter, Barnes, aged 87. tli& „.o,llaTet BARNETT—On the 2Cth inst ,atl4 NV b • , o in. , wife of Rear Ad • ` . - Gal L. Barnett. ..._:--. ____,------ _ --- 0 01. all, Sufioll., London : Printed and Pabliahed by WiLLIA% ILI4D tio 14 ' of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at TUB SUN OBIA toy of Strand, iu the Precinct of the Savo' , ill the C" I 141C1(40595"-WAUCIV, i ebvaary' 27, 1862. ~~ `, ~,, •.~ RNAFTA This pri ze --ziftl. Sol~rnr Mil the in Rottlf Agents in th ou. _g, GREA k m ,"wrve th e 13 8 LI, Whisk aft t r TUA] (Inc 1, ~cryss InEL ,8 1 4 T 7A NOES M able or L easeil 'weekly, m° Ms free on fI J OYAL _ Ur Pat Corr, 7al and List ;4'tx gre n ßated to Berr" °f ° and Co * • I , ° Pen at 2 111 ate boxes, •1 ATAII2-1-eel-(110:11:0jr.s.jaIta vttl:Sbje: A M eee " ;, 1111 , r cirt z A vPen frc ex t., '. ll mitta l A lt4Yr R.VENI tph„Z e " . Ce Music. .~ D Abol un g che deViLlin Le 1?111QINA/, Al B,IILI Offices—] Th e rim R ""s T evenuf h tooderat p:i n ns for th re " rider astliem SI l e th l a gram "IY days a .off Greet . ""c ns, Thqr t 879 ecelp SU Re g Vir• BSCRII 188 1 1 \TV '7ll4t a) ! l °l9-r:e4 3h4:1 . 44°4(:) b u rn t I C lb e brrnlB:l 4 B . ei t t r I:l9ll° l .aep o alitthit "4SO rovide( eatable Ritual _ The Co mm i entirely BUS°. Oniee. 121. ri p TIE M rh President reasurers - soli 'n • 130 NATI cited, to ex p A nditur E 3 at Saltonto Banker --. C 22 ce 32 lIRITI Macke] Patron— des For th itut, e or ; 1 , 3 . 4 of all I - '°sPero u bund g stitutio Iter n as eud owe S,sed I ssigt an u e ':' fillbßeribe 1118titUtioti, Itsreuliar 13 e . ' h ' last ] eret,ry. B~Offices 7 , ta t o_ 1 44 Kers_ 6 4 :7:AT --- Lra 1) 11 and