The Sun. — London, England, 1869-02-19 00:00:00

1,11:EIT OF TAE FIIBI,IIQ_JOURNALO. CA.NOEI e Tinze ; l,, bails with pleisure _the intimation given to both, RonseS of her Majesty's ivillingnesa' to receive version the addresies in answer to the Royal Spee . ch, and believes that the people at large will hear the intelligence with even livelier satisfaction and interest than the mem bers themselves. Mr. Gladstone has discovered a prece dent for the occasion Which is full of historical interest. The 21st Jamiary, 1806, formed one of those epochs which seem like turning-points in the history Of the world, when the destinity of humanity itself hangs in the balance. The nation was thrilled with the excitement of Trafalgar, when the naval power of France and Spain was destroyed, but " The greatest sailor since the world began " was lost to his country." The nation hung also over the death-bed of Pitt, and was perplexed, if not in despair, at the thought of the anarchy that must follow on the death—realised two days after—of that commanding genius. The King, lamenting the death of his brother, suffering from incipient blindness, and not unwarned of that more terrible alienation of power which was to follow, did not meet Parliament in person, but Parliament, casting aside, if it ever cared to consider, the question of precedent, hastened to testify its loyalty and patriotism at the foot of the Throne. The Queen will come from Windsor to receive the addresses of Parliament, and it may be presumed that an early day in the ensuing week will be appointed for the ceremonial. The people will see in this spontaneous act something more than anxious solicitude on the part of her Majesty to perform her high public functions in a manner most gratifying to her loyal subjects. The reception of the two Houses by the sovereign on the assembling of this new Parliament, indeed, bespeaks the Queen's kindly feeling towards the mass of her people, her broad, popular sympathies, the satisfaction she has in being associated with an assembly representing in the largest and freest manner the weight and purpose of the national will. The Standard declares that there is cause for satisfaction :in the arrangements that have been made for the pre sentation of the address to her Majesty. "Bringing up :the address" is usually a form which does not excite the slightest interest. The clerk reads the sentences in which the House humbly thanks her Majesty for what she has said in her gracious speech in the midst of a general conversation, and unless a member whom the Speaker could not see on the opening night insists upon delivering the speech with which he was primed, the question is put and the incident is over. Last night, however, the routine consecrated by the practice of so many years was broken upon. Mr. Gladstone moved that the address should be presented to her Majesty by the whole House, a pro ceeding under the circumstances almost unprecedented. Ib had been, the Premier observed, her earnest desire to meet herself the new Parliament, but the state of her health rendered the gratification of that wish impossible. At all times the ceremonial of opening Parlia ment had taxed her Majesty's strength most severely, and severe and long-continued suffering had rendered her personal appearance at the opening of Parliament impossible. But the Queen was anxious, the Minister explained, to meet a House elected under such peculiar circumstances, and had therefore been graciously pleased to suggest that the address should be presented to her by the whole House. Mr. Gladstone's proposition to that effect, which was seconded by Mr. Disraeli in a few well chosen words, was unanimously accepted by the House. A similar resolution was arrived at by the Peers, and consequently her Majesty will come to Buckingham Palace to receive in person, from both Houses of Parliament, their addresses. The country will appreciate as it merits this anxiety of the Queen to show her sympathy with her people, and her interest in the work of its representatives. The Daily News says that the disappointment felt by the Queen's subjects when the announcement was made that the first session of the Reformed Parliament would not be opened by her Majesty in person was, we believe, felt in at least an equal degree by the sovereign herself, so soon as it became clear to her that she could not prudently tax her strength with the burthen of a protracted and fatiguing ceremonial. The fact that the proceedings of Tuesday last were practically the commencement, not simply of a new session, not merely of a new Parliament, but of a new period in the history of our representative system, naturally prompted in her Majesty the desire to open the new era, if it may be so called, in person. Her design to do so was abandoned, it is understood, on the distinct advice, couched in terms which amounted almost to a prohibition, of her physicians. The Queen's solicitude that the first meeting of a House of Commons representing her subjects wore amply than any previous Parliament should not pass without recognition on her part, has found, in the revival of an occasional practice, a suitable means of gratifying itself. In the graceful speech in which, on behalf of the sovereign, he tendered her Majesty's invitation of the representatives of the people to her presence, Mr. Gladstone stated that at every period of her Majesty's life, even at the period of its unclouded happiness and unimpaired strength, the lengthened ceremonial connected with the opening of Parliament taxed her Maje,ty's strength to the very utmost. At the time fixed for the meeting of Parliament this year, the Queen suffered a degree of pain and pro,tration which amounted to a positive disablement for the office which she was anxious at any endurable cost to herself to perform. That considerations of merely personal con venience did not influence her in determining on discharg ing by commission the duty of opening Parliament is proved by the Queen's readiness to come up from Windsor to London to receive the address of both Houses. As Mr. Disraeli said, it is important and desirable that some personal relations should be established between her Majesty and the new Parliament, and the course suggested by the Prime Minister wisely and judiciously established those relations. The Daily Telegraph regards with satisfaction the speech in which Mr. Gladstone explained to the House the ,arrangements which had been concerning the address, and remarks that in broaching the subject, the Prime Minister explained—what we had stated, indeed, some few days before—the regret which her Majesty felt at not being able to open the session of Parliament in person ,• and, to show how desirous she is of meeting the nation a l representatives, it is now proposed that, instad of reading the Speech from the Throne in the House of the Lords, she should listen to the addresses of the Lords and Commons in Buckingham Palace. We have, on a full knowledge of the facts, borne witness to the conscientious endeavour with which the Queen has always, in times of joy or trouble, in health or in sickness, sought to do her part in the practical public business of the empire—an endeavour needing more exertion and attention than many can possibly appreciate. But the graceful act which makes her ask her people, as it were, to visit her in her own house when she cannot go to theirs, evinces the earnestness of her desire not merely to fulfil her share of the work done, but to meet them face to face, and to exchange those greetings of mutual esteem and kindly feeling which she has so sincerely at heart. The Post considers that by this time the public must have arrived at a tolerably correct comprehension of the meaning of the word " financing." It has been a great, influential, and little understood phrase hitherto, but seldom in the history of trade has one single term exer cised such wide and powerful influence. For seven years we have been living upon " seems," and treating dead leaves as if they were golden sovereigns. The investing public has been somewhat rudely awakened by the heavy fall which the year 1867 inflicted on speculation, a fall so continuous and so deep that it has landed its public appa rently at the bottom of that famous well where it is said Truth is to be found. There has been a great find of truths lately, and the speculative manipulators of money seem to be seized with a mania for revelations and confession which has apparently an epidemic character, just like jumping, shaking, or harking among religionists. They have certainly told their stories plainly, and in many instances with so little reticence and with such a face, that it is evident, painfully evident, that the standard of morality in the monetary world is so low as to be scarcely appreciable. The whole of the transactions are so bad on the face of them that no denunciation can make them more evidently black. If we would prevent money from withdrawing itself from all adventure, we must reform the system and punish the men who have been engaged in its dishonest development. The Star, in discussing the meeting held the other night for the reform of the licensing system, observes that its promoters succeeded in making out a good case for imme diate and practical action upon the limited groundpe y Beer shop chosen. It is conceded on all hands that the shop Act of 1830, which it is proposed to repeal, has entirely failed to attain the ends which the Legislature had in view when it was passed. It is acknow ledged that beershops do an infinite amount of mis chief, and that the inequality established by the law between their status and that of licensed public houses is the cause of that mischief. The abolition of beer houses, if agitated in a determined spirit, would probably be carried without material difficulty, and, besides being in itself a beneficial measure of reform, it would be a step to the reorganisation of the licensing system on more stringent and uniform principles. The reform which is mow demanded is merely the abolition of the Act of 1830, as far as the further issuing of beershop licenses is concerned. It is not proposed to touch vested interests, but to allow beershops to die out by degrees, so that in a short time the whole liquor traffic of the country may rest upon one uniform basis. That basis, of course, ought to be a remodelled licensing law of a very stringent kind. For this reform, however, some further agitation and discussion of the question in all its bearings will be necessary ; but there is at present general and just discontent at the manner in which public-house licenses are granted by the magistracy. One significant instance of the lavish manner in which licenses are granted was pointed ort on Wednes lay night I,y Mr. J. A. Smith. He called attention to the fact that in Upper Thames. street five consecutive houses were licensed as Ph ouses . It i s impossible t h at there could be a demand for so many dealers in intoxicating hymn within such narrow limit The change proposed does not startle by its mag nitude, while all must admit its expediency. The H e rald observes that the only objection raised against Mr. Forster's Endowed Schools Bill referred to the proposal to fix the second reading for Tburslay. The persons interested in this bill must necessarily rely in a great measure upon the debate in the House of Commons for their information as to the character and effects of the bill. It is therefore of the utmost importance that the House of Commons should proceed to ito consideration after a sufficient study of the provisions of the measure, and with a full knowledge of the objections which the interests affected can urge against it. Much more time will be saved by discussing the bill thoroughly upon the second reading, than by post poning discussion to another stage ; and Mr. Forster, in yielding to flip wishegg the House, ha_vz2l4 acivAnW,l ittinazsaie inttalaw._ NG ON Di JORD.A.N. Mr. Macgregor ? alias " Rob Ruy," writes from "Tell Him Sea of Galilee," by date Jan. 22, giving an interest ing account of some canoeing which he has " done " on the Jordan. Leaving Damascus, where the snow lay on the ground, he made his way routed the spur of Herman, and launching his boat near Habesan, he soon reached the Dan. He was stopped, however, at length by the inhabi tants, and had his canoe captured. The novelty of a canoe on the river first collected a crowd, which grew gradually larger. By and by the cry of " bucksheesh" (money) arose, and as "Rob Roy" would not stop and give them any they captured him and his boat after firing at him several times. "They hoisted the canoe on their shoulders, and bore it, with me sitting inside, to the tent of the Arab sheikh. A large crowd followed, shouting and dancing. I insisted on having the Rob Roy brought into the tent. A grand 'palaver was held. I told them I was an Englishman. ' Sown, sows,' they said (friend). I said I must pass on to the lake. They assured me there was no road. I said I must go to see. The seniors of the tribe assembled to consult, and several precious hours were wasted in talk. Mean while I made sketches fur some, gave a lesson in geography to others, fired off some wax matches for the rest, and cooked my luncheon of hot soup in my canoe cuisine' to the wonder and delight of all. Over and over they pressed for bucksheesh,' and I answered, ` Certainly, but it must be given to your sheikh.' He winked to me. I knew I had bought him then. I privately gave him a gold napoleon, and he pressed me to stop the night in his tent, but I was at last allowed to go on. and so in triumph launched the canoe again on the fast flowingstream." But only one of the Arabs had before seen an Englishman, so they "followed him up" until getting entangled in some weeds he found he would have to remain with them for the night. Setting off next morning, he paddled on to the Lake of Genessareth, "where," he goes on to say, " I have spent six hours of this fine summer-like day in a careful scrutiny of the water on the north-east shore. I soon found ruins under the clear water, and it seemed that no one was within half a mile of me then, but suddenly a man came forth, as if out of the earth. He was of the colour of the soil, too, and perfectly naked. He gave a loud shout before plunging in to reach my boat, but the warning was in time, and of course he could not catch me by swimming. I asked some of the Arabs why they wished to get hold of the canoe. Some said because the boat was so low in the water they thought I was sinking ; others that, being alone, I must be lost. ' Then to save me from being lost or drowned,' I answered, 'you think it best to shoot me.' . The real reason is, I believe that an Arab cannot resist firing at what is new and moving. In England many of us would take a shot at a man flying in the air if he suddenly hovered over some country village. I had already seen Palestine before in the usual way, but the varied enjoyment of this journey has made it all new again, and I finish the tour, so novel in its mode, with my boat uninjured, and the happy recollection of months of glorious weather in which every day has been a delight to the crew of the Rob Roy, lways in perfect health." UR RELATIOIV3 WITH CHINA, An important correspondence concerning the relations between Great Britain and China has been published. The most important of these diplomatic communications is a letter addressed by Lord Clarendon to Mr. .Anson Bur lingame, the chief of the Chinese Embassynow in Europe. In this letter our Foreign Minister lays down the substance of a conversation with Mr. Burlingame respecting the views of the Chinese Government as to its foreign rela tions. Alluding to the object of the Chinese mission to Europe, Lord Clarendon says that at his interview with Mr. Burlingame he understood that the Chinese Government were fully alive to the advantage, if not the necessity, of extending the relations of the Celestial Empire with foreign countries, but that with all this they felt that any attempt abruptly to introduce new systems or new ideas among a people whose knowledge of foreign nations was of recent date, and who had been brought up under a traditional system, would not only produce con fusion and even revolution in the country, but would tend to retard instead of promoting progress. Our Foreign Minister fully recognises on the part of England the wisdom of not pressing the Chinese to rapid and preju dicial changes, but adds that her Majesty's Govern ment expected from China a faithful observance of the stipulations of existing treaties. He con tinues : " But her Majesty's Government are, more over, entitled to expect from China, as an indispensable condition of their goodwill, the fullest amount of protection to British subjects resorting to her dominions. They are aware that the Provincial Governors are too often in the habit of disregarding the rights of foreigners, trusting to impunity as regards the Central Government of Peking, and to the unwillingness of foreign Powers to assert the rights of their subjects by local pressure. Her Majesty's Govern ment feel that they are acting in the interest of the Chinese Empire, when they announce their preference for an appeal rather to the Central Government than to local authorities for the redress of wrongs done to British subjects. It is with the Central Government, and not with the provincial authorities, that foreign Powers have entered into treaties, and it is for the interest of the Central Government that foreign Powers should recognise its supreme authority over its provincial governors, and that the Central Government should assume, and, on all occasions when appealed to for the redress of local wrongs, be prepared to exercise that authority. It rests with the Central Government so to order its intercourse with Great Britain and the Queen's subjects as to avoid cause of difference. I have only to add, that all her Majesty's agents in China have been instructed to act in the spirit and with the objects which I have just explained to you; and generally to caution British subjects to pay due respect not only to the laws of the empire, but, as far as may be, to the feelings and usages of the Chinese people." In reply, Mr. Burlingame agrees as to the general accu racy of these deductions from the conversation between himself and Lord Clarendon. He adds that Lord Clarendon's explicit declaration will give great satisfac tion to the Chinese Government. Copies of these letters were sent to four of our representatives abroad. In ad dressing Sir Rutherford Alcock, our Ambassador at Peking on this important matt,r, Lord Clarendon says : " You will observe in Mr. Burlingame's letter that he clearly under stands that force may be at once employed " to protect life and property immediately exposed." When, these being secured, the question at issue has been referred to Peking to he diplomatically discussed between her Majesty's representative and the Central Government, the manner in which the matter should thereafter be dealt with, if it could not be amicably settled on the spot, would necessarily be left to the decision of her Majesty's , Government. THE ATTACK UPON ENGLISH MISSIONARIES AT YA:STa--C HO NV . These principles are applied to the consideration of the practical case of the outrage on missionaries at Yang chow. Respecting , this affair, Lord Stanley addressed our Ambassador in general terms, hoping that missionaries would act with the greatest circumspection, and do their utmost to avoid occasion of collision. Lord Clarendon, writing January 14th, says that Sir R. Alcock properly referred the assault on these missionaries to the Central Government for redress. But the Foreign Secretary cannot approve of the interference of the naval force to threaten and intimidate the local authorities, irrespective of the demand upon the Central Government for redress. The active interference of the naval forces should only be in cases of sudden emergency. In another despatch Lord Clarendon gives further instructions to the employment of force :—" I have to instruct you (Sir R. Alcock) to explain to her Majesty's consuls that the special purposes for which her Majesty's a sh n i of dps employedwar are' on stationed theo in h coasts are atree tpoorptsretoefotChtihnea floating commerce of British subjects against piratical attacks in Chinese waters, to support her Majesty's consuls in maintaining order and discipline among the crews of British vessels in the respective ports, and, in cases of great emergency, to protect the lives and proper- ties of British subjects, if placed in peril by wanton attacks directed against them either on the part of local authorities or by an uncontrolled popular movement. As regards this last point, her Majesty's consul must constantly bear in mind that the interference of naval force, either on their representation or on the part of naval officers acting on their own estimation of facts before them, will alone receive the subsequent approval of her Majesty's Government when it is clearly shewn that with out such interference the lives and properties of British probability have been sacrificed ; an d evensubjeicntsenwo'ho ualdcian all l l ier Majesty's Government will exp ec t to learn that the alternative of receiving them onboardship, and so extricating them from threatened danger, was not available. Her Majesty's Government cannot leave with her Majesty's consuls or naval officers to determine for themselves what redress or reparation for wrong done to British subjects is due, or by what mean it should be enforced. They cannot allow them to determine whether coercion is to be applied by blockade, by reprisals, by landing armed parties, or by acts of even a more hostile character." TESTIMONIAL TO Ma. KENDALL, EX-M.P. FOR EAST CORNWALL. —A large meeting of leading Liberal and Conservative politicians assembled at Lostwithiel on Thursday, and presented Mr. Nicholas Kendall, late Con servative member for East Cornwall, who was obliged to retire from the contest at the last election, with a hundred guinea salver, on his leaving the country for Gibraltar. Twelve hundred rounds have already been subscribed, and the list will remain open for another fortnight, lupp_tio montzigatiparidsxra kt.air,ituidall. s' THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 19, 1869, METROPOLITAN GOSSlP.—Thursday. One danger is safely past—Ministers have got over the difficulties presented by the Irish question, so far as to prepare a Queen's Speech—Message, rather, for the day of Royal Speeches is gone by—and to meet Parliament with an unbroken front. Not the less, however, are there prophets of evil, who predict that this same question will yet break up the party, even should it not break up the Cabinet. Strange to say, it is Mr. Bright, a Noncon formist of Nonconformists, who is now supposed to be the chief advocate of the levelling-up system. His religious friends are whispering anxiously about him ; they fear that he is not " loyal" to the great principle of sepa ration of Church and State; and certain rabid anti-Roman journals are calling attention to the fact that in the recently published volumes of speeches by the President of the Board of Trade, one letter is included, that letter containing a proposal for giving each of the three chief communions in Ireland a million sterling out of the Church revenues. Why suffer this letter to be republished, say the critics, if Mr. Bright does not mean it to be understood that he holds the same views as he held 17 years ago? Is it not because Lord Russell knew well he bad a powerful ally in the Cabinet that he published his third letter to Mr. Chichester Fortescue, embodying the same proposal as Mr. Bright's ? While there is doubt as to the Ministerial intentions, doubt to be solved now in eleven days from this time, there is necessarily uncertainty as to the tactics of the Opposition. But already some sort of scheme has been traced in outline. Needless to say that for it to have any chance of success, it must command the support of a por tion of the Liberal party. A Conservative campaign fought under the old " No surrender" banner is not even thought of by the Conservative leaders. The Irish Church, in its present form, is not so much precarious as past praying for. The only hope of warding off total disesta blishment and disendowment (which, being interpreted, means the only hope of the Conservatives regaining office) lies in concerted action with the old Whigs, who are sup posed to be alarmed at the Radical programme. The present idea is to relieve Roman Catholics from contributing to the support of the Protestant Church,just as Conservatives proposed to save church rates by relieving Dissenters from that impost; and when that is done, to continue the relations between the Protestant Church and the State, by maintaining the supremacy of the Crown, the right of the bishops to sit in Parliament, and the jurisdiction of the Privy Council in matters of doctrine and discipline. In this scheme the fine Roman hand of Dean Stanley can be traced, and scarcely less legible is that of Arch bishop Tait. I have reason to think that it would be supported by the Bishops of Oxford and Peterborough, and it would certainly be viewed with greater favour at the Court than last year's " thorough." It is, in fact, the scheme of the Erastian party in the Church. This explains the strange rumour circulated a little time ago that Lord Westbury would lead the High Church party in the House of Lords. The truth is, this scheme is fai more likely to break up the High Church party than the Liberal party. There are High Churchmen and High Churchmen ; there are some who, belonging to the old-fashioned school, consider the union of Church and State as the one " sacred "principle; and it was of these that Mr. Disraeli was the spokesman last year. There are others, the neo-High Churchmen, who hold that the union with the State is tolerable only because of the material advantages which it brings, and that if these are to be surrendered that ought to be annulled. These High Churchmen would denounce as Erastian any such scheme as I have shadowed, and although it is likely that a sop will he offered to them by extending to the Irish Church the right of synodical action which was con ferred by Lord Westbury's bill upon the colonies ten years ago, they are not at all likely to accept it. I know as a matter of fact, that the editor of an influential Conservative and High Church paper has told his friends that if disen dowment is resolved upon he will "go in " for disesta blishment—for a " free " Church, that is. Ministers certainly have their work cut out for them. Although primary legislation, the codification of the law, and tenant right are omitted from the programme, there are measures enough to occupy, and more than occupy, the session. Even were there no Irish Church stopping the way, there would be an embarrassment of riches with secondary education, the equalisation of the poor rates, county financial boards, bankruptcy reform, the prevention of crime, the reform of the Reform Bill, and the like. It is to be regretted that some of these mea sures are not to be first introduced in the House of Lords. Lord Cairns very justly complained that the Upper House had nothing to do for the first half of the session, and was overwhelmed daring the second half. Why was not the Bankruptcy Bill taken in hand by Lord Hatherley, in stead of by Sir Robert Collier? The old and, I think, by no means commendable plan of communicating the contents of the Queen's Message to the public journals in advance has been revived this year. The Da;ly News (which, by the way, has been enlarged to fifty-six columns on those days in which there are long debates) affects to doubt this, and assumes that the articles written by its Liberal contemporaries were only happy, or scarcely h a ppy, guesses. A s a ma tt er o f f ac t t h ey were not, but were based upon information supplied from the best of sources. The Times, the Telegraph, and the Star had each a different informant. I could mention the name in each case, but am not at liberty to do so. This selection of particular journals for these confidences is rather invidious, and it is to be hoped that the precedent will not be followed. In this case the information, though authentic, was a little misleading, for it is said now that the Speech underwent considerable modification at the last moment. The Owl has made its appearance ; but is no longer the bird of brilliant wit and special information that it used to be. The old original Owl has for some time ceased to be connected with it. The little sheet owed its name as well as its existence to him. The title Owl was chosen because the initial and final letters were the initials of Mr. Laurence Oliphant's name transposed. At that time he was the favoured of society, and had princes for his friends. He had been one of the greatest travellers, and he was one of the best talkers of his time. He entered Parliament, and every one expected that he would rise to a high, if not the highest post at the Foreign Office. Two or three winters ago he went to the United States, and visited, I believe, some of those communities which Mr. Hepworth Dixon has described in his " New America." He returned an altered man ; shunned the salons, was su pposed to be affected by r e li g i ous melan choly, dissatisfied his constituents, so that they requested him to resign, and then disappeared from the face of " Society." It is now stated that he has betaken himself to one of the American communities above-mentioned, where he, the spoiled darling of fashion, seeks for happiness in tilling the ground, and working at the loom. _ . _ There is a good story now current of an eminent counsel whose name has been conspicuous in some notable cases lately. He has a large appetite for fees, but is rather apt to forget the apostolic maxim, " He that will not work, neither shall he eat." Knowing his laxity on th a t po i n t, an attorney having occasion to retain hi m mar k e d hi s b r i e f with eighty guineas, thinking that such a hand some honorarium would secure the attendance of this dolce far niente counsel. He attended the consultation on the eve of trial, faithfully promised attendance the next morning, but unfaithfully failed to put in an appearance. The case went against the attorney's client. Thereupon attorney, in great wrath, and taking his client with him, went to eminent counsel's chamber,upbraided him, and said, " I donot mean to leave this room until I get the eighty guineas back." _Eminent counsel protested that such a thing as returning a fee was never heard of, that it was wholly unprofessional, and much else to the same effect. Eminent counsel, though clever enough at browbeating a witness, found that browbeating an attorney was a very different matter. Attorney remained firm, counsel continued indignant and obstinate. At last attorney said, by way of clenching the matter, " I mean to leave no stone unturned to recover this money, and shall, in the last resort, memorialise the Lord Chancellor." That threat was effectual. A cheque for £B4 was signed and delivere3, and the unfortunate client left his treacherous counsel's chamber rejoicing that though he had lost his case, he had regained his money, The matter did not end there. It came to the ears of Lord Chancellor Cairns, who sent for the counsel and expostulated with him. " Really Mr. -," said his lord ship, "if this sort of thing goes on we shall be having a Parliamentary inquiry into the relations between counsel and client." Mr. - prom i se d good behaviour in future, and being pre-eminently a "funny" counsel, the interview concluded with good humour and jest on both sides. I must talk about th e wea ther again. The long s p r i ng time, which has lasted ever since the autumn, continues. The trees are fast coming into leaf ; the almond trees are a sight glorious to see. I have never seen such a display of colour before ; the pear-trees at Kew are in full hlos- som. The thrushes and other vermivorous birds are rejoicing in a banquet of worms, and the sheep have more grass than they know how to get through. This warm season is in direct contradiction of the popular idea that an abundant di sp l ay of holly-berries means a cold winter. Never was there a more brilliant blaze of scarlet in the holly bushes than there was at the beginning of December. I suspect that a hot summer has always more to do with this than a cold winter. Nature is not a weather prophet. Londoners are essentially conservative in some things. For instance, they so strongly prefer the old-fashioned narrow two-horse to the roomy three-horse omnibuses, that where the latter have been tried they have been given up. It was a common thing to see the wretched " Citizens," as the yellow Paddington omnibuses are called, crammed, while the large and well-built vehicles of the Manchester pattern were empty. For some tim past the latter have been withdrawn. Sir John Coleridge's " Life of Keble " is selling faster than the binders can supply copies to the pub• lishers. The editor of the London Quarterly Review has lost one of the ablest members of his staff by the death of Mr. Monsell, a brilliant writer, whose long residence on the Continent enabled him to deal in a masterly manner with Continental politics. The next number of that review will, I believe, contain an article by Mr. Edward Spender, on Dean Milman's " Annals of St. Paul's." The concluding verses in the current number of London Society are by Mr. Henry Frith, of the War Office, a constant contributor to Judy ; and who will also, I believe, have some verses in the next number of Under the Crown. Nisbet is about to publish the life of Cvsar Malan, the well-known Genevan minister, written by one of his sons. Mr. Fowler, M.P. for Cambridge, has in the press " Thoughts on Free Trade in Land." Sir Edward Creasy's History of England will be published by Walton. Lovers of art will be glad to learn that an exhibition of the late Mr. Welinert's pictures will be held in April. 11.113CELLIN E 0 US iV EIVS. OT:It MERCANTILE MARINE. A notice has already been placed on the boo7:s of the House of Commons reopectiiig the nesersarY amendments in the laws relating to our merchant shipping. Mr. Candlish will on Monday next ask the President of the Board of Trade if he expects, this session, to bring in a bill with that object. A correspondent of the Times, a member of the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, has explained at some length the chief grounds for the existing dissatisfaction. Our list of wrecks is not only very heavy, but is annually increasing at a much higher ratio than the increase of our shipping. There is no room to doubt that the unseaworthy condition of many vessels, the incompetence of their commanders, the insufficiency of their crews, and the absence of proper appliances for navigation afford the explanation of the greater number of the catastrophes. The interference of the Legislature is needed to remedy the inefficiency of the ships and the inferior quality of the nautical instruments, while for the improvement of the officers and crews we must look to more gradual measures. The writer of the letter we have referred to suggests several methods of securing a better supply of trained sea men. Another point on which Parliament might with advantage interfere is the licensing and official inspection of sailors' boarding-houses— a reform the men themselves desire. It has been proposed that a small voluntary due of id. per ton should be levied on all the shipping entering our great ports for the benefit of educational and charitable objects connected with our mercantile marine. Such a rate if levied on the shipping entering the Mersey alone in 1867 would have produced 5,540. THE CONVENT - CASE. At last there are signs of the end. The Hull Convent case commenced on the 3rd of the month, and will probably be concluded on Tuesday. Interest in the proceedings is naturally declining, and for two days past the Court of Queen's Bench has been much less crowded. Yester day the examination of Mrs. Florence Mary Kerr was proceeded with. In answer to Mr. Russell, she said : The defendants did not suggest my writing to the bishop in August 1865. (Witness's deposition was put in and read. She commenced it by stating that from her first acquaintance with the plaintiff she was impressed with the idea that Miss Saurin was a most dangerous person— very vain and worldly, and in order to gratify her vanity and her dislike of the reverend mother, she had recourse to inventions and falsehood, and that she felt that Miss Saurin's remaining in the community would undermine their religious life from her constant murmuring, disobe dience, and the false representations she made of the reverend mother. In many things Miss Saurin was a ;Teat actor, and she would lead the community to believe that the superior's conduct was whimsical, tyrannical, and partial. Her conduct was such that she (the deponent) had to withdraw as much as possible from intercourse with Sister Scholastica.) My de position was made in good faith, and in the honest belief of its truth. After the plaintiff's dismissal she was fed the same as the community. (Witness corroborated the main circumstances deposed to by the previous wit nesses for the defence which came under her observation, and which were in contradiction of Miss Saurin's state ment.) The witness appeared to wish to get in advance of the questions of the learned counsel, when Mr. Russell asked her if she had ever had to do penance for being impetuous. The Lord Chief Justice : You are not bound to answer the question. Witness : I think I have one now, my lord. (Loud laughter.) Mrs. Starr never asked me about my confes sions. There was only one sick sister in Miss Saurin's room, and that was the sister who sprained her knee. I never knew of any ill feeling towards Miss Saurin. Cross-examined by the Solicitor-General : A copy was taken of the letter she wrote to her brother Patrick when she was in the bath-room. Mrs. Kennedy did not dictate that letter. She objected to the first letter, and Miss Saurin wrote the second one. Except having a sister to go about with her after her dismissal, she was perfectly free to go where she liked. She was treated the same as the other sisters with reference to the ordinary comforts of life. ller secular dress and clothes were good. I don't consider her stockings were the veriest rags and tatters a scare-crow was ever dressed up in. (Laughter.) I know she had a good pair of stockings given to her on the 12th of February, but I cannot say if she put them on. The sisters wore their stockings as long as they will hang together. (There was a slight manifestation of opinion by the public, which partook of the character of subdued hissing. This had occurred on one or two former occasions. The Lord Chief Justice stated that if heard any more of such noises—whistling or hissing—he would clear the whole body of the court.) Witness : Silence is enforced in the schools. We teach the children self-control and to learn to hold their tongues. Speaking when at needlework is prohibited ; and to avoid speaking we use signs, such as putting the finger to the mouth to enjoin silence on the scholars. We might have had strawberries, but never strawberries with cream. What made me so suspicious was her covering it up. I thought it was very had from what I had been taught. The Solicitor-General: Was eating strawberries males in se? Witness : I don't know what you mean. The Solicitor-General : Bad in itself. It was not a sin Witness: No, it was not a sin. It was not a sin to - eat an apple, but a great deal of harm came from it. (Laughter.) The Solicitor-General : Not in the apple itself, but from doing what was forbidden. When Miss Saurin muttered about black and mouldy bread, I thought she did it as a matter of complaint. I do not think it was an appeal to our sympathies. The reverend mother made me leave out of my deposition what she thought was too strong. I always felt great sorrow and compassion for her. The Solicitor• General : You wrote this more in sorrow than in anger ? Witness : I used to fret about her, thinking how she was throwing her life away, after she told me that her will was turned to evil, and that she had no power to change it. The rev. mother used to try and hide Miss Saurin's faults from me. Mrs. Theresa Collingwood, examined by Mr. Charles Russell : I am a lay sister, known in religion as Sister Mary. I did n o t come muc h i n con t ac t w ith Miss Saurin. I saw somethi ng o f h er i n 1858. I was a pup il in the day school, and the plaintiff occasionally taught needlework. She did not observe silence. She frequently spoke about her family, and allowed the children to talk. She used to ask me about my friends. I dictated my deposition to Mrs. Kerr. I bad previously told Mrs. Starr what Iknew about Miss Saurin. (The deposition was put in and read. It stated what she knew of her, and that she was forward in her conduct, and used to speak to her of young men, and when she mentioned it to her mother she used to try and excuse her, saying she had an innocent heart, and saw no harm in these things.) In 1858 or 1859, Father Motler was arranging the desks. Plaintiff went to him and asked him to go with her. She said to him, "Mr. Mother, will you come ?" lle did not appear to hear her, and then she knelt down, took the tools out of his hand, and said he should not do any more until he had gone with her. I afterwards heard his lunch was ready. It was different to nuns' conduct. They are generally grave and sedate. Cross-examined by the Solicitor -General : You say in your deposition, " She drew me out, and encouraged me to speak about young men ; would go any lengths, and never seemed weary of listening ; that I have often since blushed that I should have said anything about it." What do you mean by that ? Witness : I was a pupil in the school at the time, anti Miss Saurin used to ask me if I was an admirer of men— if I intended to marry; their employment, age, and where they lived. The Solicitor-General : What was there in that to make you blush ? Witness : My answering her these questions. It is con trary to a religious life, and not what a young girl sh,uld be asked. The Solicitor• General : Whose words are those I have quoted—yours or Mrs. Kerr's ? Witness: They are Mrs. Kerr's. I told her the substance. It is not my composition. The Lord Chief Justice : What age were you at this time ? "Witness: 21. I entered the convent in 1861, three years afterwards. The Lord Chief Justice : Did you ever speak of these things to any other sister? Witness : I once said a word to one of the other sisters, and she so sharply reproved me for it that I never again said a word. Mrs. Mary Agnes Fearon, known in religion as Sister Mary Evangelista, was examined by Mr. Charles Russell lam a choir sister. I entered the Hull convent in 1860. I had frequent opportunities of seeing Miss Saurin, both at Hull and Clifford. I have known her to directly refuse to obey the superior by performing work she was forbidden to do. She showed great deceit. Her manner was exceedingly noisy, and she only observed silence when she could not possibly get any one to speak to. I have known her neglect the school for ten or twenty minutes, and even for half an hour, in unneces sary conversation with the mothers of the children. I heard her speak to a lay postulant before mass, a time of strict silence, and I saw the postulant crying in consequence. Miss Saurin was given to telling falsehoods. She has denied conversing with persons, and in my presence, when she knew I had seen her. I have seen her examine the children's dinners, break off small portions and give them to the child, retaining for herself the remaining portion. At other times, when she did not go to dinner, I have seen her take the chil dren's dinners from them and break off portions and give to them, and keep the remainder. I never mentioned it until I was asked to write my deposition. I considered her treatment of the children very rough, and in some cases cruel. I saw her pull the hair of a child until he screamed, and on another occasion she pinned the pinafore of a little girl over her head, place her on a high stool, and exclaim, "Now roar again, my beauty." (Laughter.) I never saw Miss Saurin treated differently from the other sisters. Miss Saurin never had to wash the stone steps. She had to see it done. Besides the detes table mutton, I have known her to have pork, bacon, veal, and fowl. She seemed to be fond of strong bacon, and in carrying out Mrs. Starr's direc tions I kept some for the plaintiff's special use. Mrs. Starr seemed to me to be quite Miss Saurin's dupe, and not to have her eyes open to her faults. Between August 1864 and January 1866 I was at Hull with Miss Saurin. Her conduct there was the same with regard to th•• children's dinners as at Clif ford. A little girl complained to me daily for three weeks that part of her dinner had been taken from her basket. At dismissal time I once saw Miss Saurin with part of the child's dinner in her hand. The case was adjourned over to-day till to-morrow. The testimonial to Mr. J. A. Roebuck has now reached about £3,000. Mr. Roebuck will preside at the Sheffield School of Art on the 17th of March, and the pre sentation will take place two days after. The presentation will be made at a public meeting of the subscribers, and a banquet vrin.,_.e Slyen j,cl tl )earned gentleman in th 9 muizza THE REFORM OF TIIE LICENSING SYSTEM. On Wednesday evening a meeting was held at St. James's Hall, under the presidency of the Archbishop of York, in aid of the movement for the reform of the licensing system. His grace made a very interest ing speech, observing that they had to deal with a question of great magnitude, and that their design was to diminish the temptations to drinking. Their immediate object was to prevent the renewal of any existing beer-house license or the creation of any new license. They wished to let the. present beer-house licenses die out with their holders, so that these objectionable establishments might be in time d one away with. The Archbishop referred to the enormous consumption of alcohol in this coun try yearly, and said that if equally divided it would allow 21 gallons of pure alcohol to every man, woman, and child annually. In a single year 320 inquests were held on persons killed by violence, excessive drinking having contributed to every death. Several noblemen and gentlemen interested in the object in view afterwards addressed the meet ing, and it was resolved that their efforts should be directed to the suspension of the Act of 1880. REPEATED CONVICTIONS. Lord Pollington writes to the Times in reference to the case of George Roberts. who was recently tonvicted at Southwark Police-court. The prisoner is an old offender, and the incidents .of his career furnish most convincing proofs of the errors of our penal system. He is one of the " oldest burglars" in England, and many years ago was cast for death, but the sentence was commuted to transportation for life. He received a ticket of leave, and has since been twice transported for life and liberated with a license. Lord 'Pollington asks how it is that this man's ticket of leave has not been revoked, without a chance of ever receiving another ? THE METROPOLITAN POLICE. Mr. Bruce has already, as our readers know, given notice of a measure for the repression of crime. There is a sign of energy, too, in the way of organis ing the Metropolitan Police. It is understood that four Chief Constables will shortly be appointed at salaries of Vioo a year each. Provided (says the _Daily News) that the right men arc selected, such an arrangement must greatly increase the efficiency of the police force, which hitherto has been an army with one general and no commissioned officers. Yesterday, Mr. Bruce received a deputation of Surrey magistrates, who waited upon him to bring forward the subject of vagrancy. A NOTABLE PRIVY COUNCILLOR. The Church News, famous for its novelties in the way of news, says it is reported in well-informed Roman Catholic circles that his Eminence Cardinal Cullen will be recommended to her Majesty to be sworn of the Irish Privy Council by the Lord- Lieutenant and the Roman Catholic Lord Chan cellor, LITERARY COPYRIGHT. Let all authors rejoice. The Colonial Copyright Act, which gave them the hope of receiving remu neration for the sale of their works in the British dependencies, has at last begun to work. Such is the power of English genius that the people of Newfoundland could not do without the works of English authors, even though they had to pay for them. And so we have the authority of the Times itself for announcing that " the Newfoundland authorities have transmitted to the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury the sum of fourpence (the Times prefers to write it in full) on behalf of British authors, this sum having been received under the provisions of the Colonial Copyright Act 10th and 11th Victoria, cap. 95, for the preceding year." Who is the happy man ? When he gets his money we can imagine how he will express the thanks of an overflowing heart, by blessing the country which is SO just in its dealings with its inhabitants. The fact, however, is, that the Colonial Copyright Act has Droved a total failure. THE DIOCESE OF EXETER. " A Country Vicar near lioniton " calls attention to the state of the western dioceses of England, which we have more than once commented on. Writing to the Daily News, he says that from Middlesex to the Land's End there is barely one bishop capable of fulfilling his duties. This of course is an exaggera tion, since Oxford and Gloucester and Bristol inter pose between the two points. Still the main facts are true. Salisbury both in body and mind is prostrate, Bath and Wells is quite inefficient, Win chester has had a severe stroke of paralysis. Exeter is over 00 years of age, and for the last twelve has ceased to discharge the duties of visitations and con firmations. These have been handed over entirely to colonial bishops, and his son, the chancellor of the diocese, has represented his father at the different visitations. A large body of the clergy have never seen the bishop, and very few during his long episcopate have ever partaken of his hospitality, though that is one of the duties specially enjoined upon bishops in Scripture. The writer goes on to complain that the bishop resides at a most incon venient place. in a palace on which a large sum of money has been expended, that it is very difficult to find out his present state of mind, and that his grandson, a very young man, seems to have the sole management of the diocese. The writer calls upon the Archbishop of Canterbury and the House of Lords to say how much longer the present state of things is to continue. THE ANGLO-CONTINENTAL SOCIETY. The annual meeting of the Anglo - Co n t i nental Society h as b een h e ld at Willis's Booms. The Bishop of Ely opened the proceedings, and regretted that at the present time Christendom should be divided in every possible way. Infidelity could never be driven back while so much dis union prevailed. Protestantism did not exercise a very active influence abroad, and the increasing dissensions at home were most discourag ing. The Earl of Carnarvon moved a resolution to the effect that the Church of England has duties to wards all the branches of the Church Catholic. Ilis lordship said that they must guard against a greater danger than had ever before hung over Christendom, which was Infidelity, and to counteract its evil tendency; they should all wo r k together in faith and unity. This resolution wc s carried, and another passed, respecting the duties of the members of the Church of England towards foreign Christians. The llev. J. Merewether gave some very interesting results of his experience abroad as chaplain at Venice, and explained the purpos e o f the labours of the Society in foreign lands. CITY MEN. The Pall Mall Gazette is publishing a series of cleverly written sketches on " City Men," which, if internal evidence be worth anything, are from the pen of Mr. Anthony Trollope. " The Old Moneyed Man," which appeared in the issue of February 13, and " The New Moneyed Man," presented to th e world four days later, are both admirably drawn portraits. The first is essentially reserved, dull, respectable, substantial; the second is dev,z4_,Tiveaturo,u iitantial as a rainbow or a soap-bubble. in the one case Bunions have gone on intermarrying with Ingots for generations, so that even the substantial mansion at Dulwich, which belongs to the head of the house, is not capable of receiving all the members at once. In the other case, Mr. Mark Lane began as an office boy, and began his career by anticipating the charwoman in the sweepings of the office. Bullion-Ingot does not parade his wealth; he is too much accustomed to it to do that, and were it not for his occasional pity bestowed on his friend's widow, who was left with only a miserable pittance of £4,000 a year, and the daugh 7 ters with only £15,000 apiece, there would be little room to acci.se him of ostentation. Mark Lane is quite another sort of man. He has, by making himself acquainted with secrets that were not intended for his knowledge, forced himself as a partner upon some old-fashioned City man in the Levant trade—lscarides and Co.—supposed to be one of the most substantial houses in the world, and forced him into a speculation so'huge and daring that though it turned out successful and brought an enormous fortune to the pair, the elder partner's hair was whitened by the anxiety that consumed him while the affair was in progress. Bullion-Inzots loves to walk on the old highways, and his office, though capacious, is dingy. The firm of Iscarides and Mark Lane builds itself one palace in the City for business, and two others in Norwood and Sydenham for recreation. The liullion-Ingots, by keeping to their own set, always make suitable marriages, and are never ashamed of the partners of their joys and sorrows. Mark Lane, when he was struggling to make good his first step in the world, married awoman with a dowry that seemed a fortune then, but which is a bagatelle now so small that it will not compensate for the way in which she mur ders the Queen's English as she presides at her husband's tabl e , an d revea l s h er an d hi s plebeian origin t o th e i r p a t r i c i an gues t s . Lane thinks of divorce, but her conduct is irreproachable : of separation, but her temper is imperturbable. He cannot get rid of her ; he is compelled to produce her. The Bullion-Ingot go on steadily enough t o th e en d of t h e c h apter, and never give rise to any remar k s excep t b y t h e large ness of their subscriptions to a Kamschatka famine or Patagonia earthquake fund—subscriptions which less opulent persons ill-naturedly say are advertise ments. It is otherwise with Mark Lane. He was just concerting the transfer of the business of Iscarides and Lane to a company (limited), and expectant gudgeons were gaping for the shares when another great house that had got the start of him in that way put up its shutters. A whole tribe of affiliated firms did the like. Iscarides and Lane had been just a month or two behind the fair. Instead of the proposed prospectus, out came a cir cular to creditors deploring an immense lock-up of capital, and a temporary inability to meet engage ments, intimating books in the hands of Auditt, Balance, and Co. ; promising a speedy payment of 20s. in the pound, with interest at 5 per cent. Three years have elapsed since then, and the creditors have received a first and final dividend of 31d., and Mr. Mark Lane is musing on the vicissitudes of a merchant's life in his commodious château on the banks of the Loire, comforted by the presence of his French cook and the absence of his wife. THE SUEZ CANAL. An interesting account of the state and prospects of the Suez Canal appears in the Times from the pen of Mr. Fowler, the eminent engineer. It contains. trier so many damaging reports, very good news ter ',he shareholders, but will probably be considered `depreciati on " by th ose w h o s till h o ld ou t in believing all the great things which were prophecies at the first. The canal will easily be made, in fact there was never any difficulty about that part of the business. From what Mr. Fowler says, it is not unreasonable to suppose that the waterway will be rendered passable, and that it will be " workable." There is a - likelihood that one of the entrances to the canal may be choked occasionally with alluvial deposit, but still not to an insurmountable extent. There are other .`difficulties, but these, too, may be surmounted. The actual cost, however, will be raised by them, and the capacity of the work itself much lowered. This makes it a serious question as to whether the canal will pay. If ever it does, new vessels will have to be built specially adapted to the passage; but, allowing for a large " element of un certainty," there is reason to think that moderate wishes will be fulfilled. THE PATENT OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES. (From the Anglo-American Times.) Almost simultaneously we have received the thick volume of plates and the two volumes which con tain the annual report of the Commissioner of Pa tents for the year 1866, and his annual report just submitted to Congress for the year 1868. The in crease in the business of the Patent- office is pro digious; 3,705 caveats have been filed, and 20,445 applications. The patents issued are 12,959, re issued 419, and 140 extended. Its business does not merely grow, but it multiplies, being double that of 1865, and only less than four times that of 1848. In 1836 ten persons sufficed, now between 300 and 400 are required ; and this increase Mr. Foote at tributes to the stimulus of the rewards offered by the Patent Laws and the progress of the country, by which a successful invention now brings to its author a competency for life. At the same time he allows that much of the additional work has arisen from passing patents that ought not to have been granted, as there is a direct inducement to the exa miner to allow the patent even as a cloak for his ignorance or to save labour, for the applicant has numerous appeals in case of rejection ; but, once al lowed, the matter is settled, and grants bring fees to the office. indeed it is one of the evils pointed out in the report that the inventor is heavily taxed by a subdivision, which makes many patents where there ought only to be one. " Had the practice," says Mr. Foote, " been confined to separate and distinct improvements upon different parts of a ma chine no exception could be taken to it ; but it has been carried to the extent of several patents for the same invention, and patents for parts, which taken alone constituted no invention. This sys tem has tended to complicate and confuse patented rights, and, in some instances, I apprehend, been a source of fraud upon the public." Again, he says— i, The granting of improper and illegal patents defeats every object and purpose of patent laws. It serves to mislead and deceive the public, and to subject them to the annoyance of unjust and invalid claims. It throws distrust and discredit upon patented property, and injures the saleable value of meritorious inventions." If entire confidence could be laced in the value of inventions passed by , the examiners, business operations and the invest ment of capital would be more readily founded upon them, and the Commissioner rightly considers the qualification of the examiners an object so im portant that the success of the office almost depends on it. A board of three selected for ability and fitness have been appointed to examine employee; and many changes have been the result. From the report we gather that at least in this bureau merit and knowledge have been the sole passports to ad vancement. The Examiner must be familiar with all the inventions of Europe, which in itself is a profession requiring years of study. His decisions involve nice questions of law, science, and me chanics, and large amounts hinge upon his action, indeed Mr. Foote classes his qualifications with those of a judge in the higher courts of law. This leads to his pointing out the inadequacy of the salaries for obtaining the best services. He con siders that the time must soon arrive when the models deemed useless will be discarded to make room for new ones in the already crowded offices. We trust that the Commissioner may get some place to display such models, for they may save years of labour to inventors in pursuit of chimeras, or to those who have conceived ideas the worthlessness of which these models will prove. Next to putting men on the right track is the utility of turning them back from the wrong. We recollect a conversation with the governor of a British colony, who observed that the first duty of such an official, and that to which he attributed his own great success, was to read up care fully all the records of any office into which he was Put, not to get ideas. but to learn the rocks upon which his predecessors had split, and the older he grew the more satisfied he became of the wisdom of this course, for it saved himself and the depart ment with which he dealt much useless labour. We are constantly reproducing the mistakes of our predecessors, conceiving the very idea suggested to their minds which had been exploded either by dis cussion or by practice, consigned to oblivion, and resuscitated to eventuate in the same result This is the use to which models of inventions which have proved worthless may be turned, and we would urge it on the attention of the Com missioner. "The Patent office makes exchanges of its publications with several foreign Govern ments. From Great Britain we receive full copies of their specifications and drawings, in our library , we can investigate an English invention as well as can be done in the Patent Office of Great Britain. The volumes are handsomely bound, and now fill a large room in the library. For them we make but the poor return of a copy of our Annual Report." Mr. Foote recommends a photographic establish ment, adapted to copy drawings of large size to sup ply fac-sinziles cheaply and accurately; and the new art of photo lithography is found to, be admirably adapted for obtaining any number of perfect copies. :4 The receipts of the Patent-office from July last to the Ist of January have exceeded its expenditures by about $53,000. It is confidently expected that for the year to come the excess will not be less than $lOO,OOO. By strict economy ani system in the management of the office, it is believed that salaries may be raised, necessary exchanges and improve ments made, and every needful expenditure to raise the office up to its highest state of efficiency and usefulness incurred, without any charge or t a " . upon the public." The book of illustrations of the patents for the year 1866 consists of 1,09 6 pages, beginning at illustration No. 51,784, and ending at 60,657. Everything conceivable has a plAce ; from whipping cream to the masts of a ship , from a paper bosom and collar, to a new propeller, from a tobacco pipe to a locomotive. Nothing seas to be beneath th e i nven t or ' s not i ce, noth i ng too grand for his genius. The Republic is the wmether of Invention," and its headquarters is the Patent' office, Washington. Statistics have proved tha t more men have become crazed in that bureau than anywhere else in the Union, and we can quite un derstand such being the fact, for the mind gets dis" tracted by the multiplicity and intricacy of the mo dels, and a constant intercourse with men who areal! mad on their own particular point ; for it is almost impossible to be a successful inventor without 00 I concentrating all thought o n one f ocus th a t there s a burning light there, and vacancy and darkness everywhere else, which goes far to make the inven tor the most disagreeable of society, even if he 10 the most useful of mankind. A meeting of the "German Republican Central Committee" to modify the Excise Law in the Unite d States, took place at th e Stenben House, New York, on the evening of the 29th Jan., at which Gen. Sigel presided. report was presented by a committee previously appointed recommending the appointment of a committee to take ftd" mediate action in the matter to insure a modification of t he Sunday clause of the Excise Law. The committee vi a° composed of Messrs. Andreas, Willmann, Steinbrend er ' Ronson, Naumann, Grasse, St uzmann, and Canto r ' and Dr Mutir, with power to add to its members. 14° Committee will proceed to Albany to confer with we ir bers of the Legislature on the subject. Mr. Otterburg , ° it behalf of a Committee appointed to prepare a plan to be submitted to Congress, in regard to a reform of the Nato, ralization laws, with a view of preventing a recurren ce of natur a li za ti on f rau d s, su b m i tted a report. The repert, as modified and adopted, is to the effect that Congress petitioned t' modify the naturalization laws, so that t 4° term of residence before naturalization shall be four years, and that after naturalization a person shall wait one Y e° before. he is entitled to vote at national elections ; that the power of naturalization be confined to the Unite States Courts. A committee, composed of Messrs. Otter burg, Willman, Gillman, and Dr. Gerke, was appointed t° take this matter in hand. • The North German C orres p on d ent, F e b. 3, says; —"Among the curiosities of newspaper lit e rature. t, , Democratic press of Russi a i s en titl e d t o a very consPieove ous place. Many of its later articles seem rather to in' come from some excitable and semi-barbarous tribes th ell s4 from the subjects of a great European State. Like the fir literary essays of most rac e s th e y are mar k e d b y boldn e to so of conception, grasp of imagination, and carelessness se re, probability and the minor grace s o f execu ti on . TheY a d in fact, ballads d o ne i n th e f orm o f l ea di ng ar ti c l e s, a e , they outdo those of most nations in the wonders they 113 t. late. Thus the Golo s , a p a p er w hi c h was founded ' f Petersburg in 1864, informs its readers, in its reviet c f the events of 1868, that not only Garibaldi's invasio n et the Papal States,but th e S panish Revolution and the con fl l f between Greece and Turkey, are owing to the influenc e ; Prussia. It is evident that the latter state has become, i 0 er g imagination of the writer, one o f th ose occu lt Pel, bo with which the poets of e ar ly ages l ove t o d e al. execution, however, as is so often the case with Yelp hfu i writers, falls far short of the conc e pti on . I ns t ea d a bolesct attributing this information to the muses, or to some a° to sorcerer or modernized Merlin, the journalist en deavou74 prove his case in quite a matter-of-fact way, and in thlt course he fails. It is true it cannot be clearlyproved th at those movements were regulated by orders from Berlin,tyi4 since all hese events were advantageous to Prussia 1 ,, 1 bfs but fair to suppose that Prussia had a band in thew reminds us of the German Radical who exclaime d, know nothing of the intentions of the Government, Lel conscientiously disapprove of them." LADITERTISEMENT.:I—HoIIoway's Ointment and p.:114 - j . , t Most people k now more or less what sickness is, penalties it i n fli c t s, w h at anxiety it occasions; therefe; little persuasion should be needed to impress on o v ' e invalid that during every break of wintry weather str eri i , r ous exertions sh ou ld b e made by the afflicted to re co H e o . health b e f ore unremitting cold and trying storms Throat ailments, coughs, wheezings, asthruatical affe tions, shortness of breath, morning nausea, and ac c f i l,is lotions of phlegm can readily be removed by rubbing o a fine curative ointment twice a day upon the eb es ded , neck. Holloway's treatment is strongly reconne with the view of giving immediate ease and effectingj e et manent relief. Th ese a ll-i mpor t an t en d s his ohn and pills can accomplish. LADVERTISEM ENT.]—Avoid Medicines: they always aggroCA chronic complaints: but Du Barry's delicious health-re s ;i r isly Revalenta Arabica Food, which yields three times the noodles, ment of the best m ea t, saves 50 ti mes i ts cost in ot h e r regtoal and invariably restores perf ec t di ges ti on, strong ne rves, 7 ;0 01t lungs, healthy liver, pure blood, refreshing sleep, lune" Vire, regularity, anct energy to the most disordered or enfeebletfrea extract a few out of 68,000 cures ;—" The Pope's health resls66. by Du Barry's Food. Cure No. 6M13. "Rome, July 21 ' sloe ° —The health of the Holy Father is excellent, especiallY drelY abandoning all other remedies, he Us confined himself el i _ o let to Du Barry's Revalenta Ar a bi ca F oo d . o f w hi c h he col: 1 ' 1 ,08 i a plateful at every meal. It has produced a sur prisingly s e%,,. e c e ficial effect on his health, and his Holi ness canno t p r aise t o "; Cw 4 lent food too highly." From the " Gazette du Midi, JulY No. 58,216, of the Marchioness de Br e h an , o f seven Ye3„,"ero-4 complaint, wasting away, debility, nervo usness , with a palpitation all over, bad digestion, consta n t s l ee plessnen,or'; 771; rs the most intolerable nervous agitation.." Cure No. 1, • - yea „, Stuart de Decies, Lord Lieutenant of Waterford, of rnan ot -' , fro'; dyspepsia. No. 49,832: " Fifty years' indescribable ag„ ° „hliellZ dyspepsia, nervousness, asthma, cough, constipation, t'„' re spasms, sickness, and vomiting.—Maria Joly."—`4" yro' 46,270: Mr. James Roberts, of Frimley, Surrey, of ' ori t, diseased lungs, spitting of blood, liver derangert i iol o s partial deafness. Important Caution.—Beware of tu"01 0 unsavoury and more than sloppy imitations to which, . 0. chi' l authority, Baron Liebig's name is most audaciously sttal)o, In tins, at ls. lid.; 1 lb. 2s. sd.: 2 lbs. 4s. 6d.; 5 lbs. 1 1, :',- , 0 0, 4 225. ; t, 4 lbs, 40s, --Also Du Beitars.RBvA LENTAARABI CA fo r LATE POWDER is packed in tin canisters; for 12 cups at 2t ti6 Or i o cups at 3s. 6c1., for 48 cups at 65., for 288 cups at 80s., fe i r 50. ace at 55s.—being about one penny per cup. The 30s. an, s t Off i orr are sent free of carriage in England on receipt of r', st Order. BARRY DU BARRY and Co., No. 77, Regent-str eet ' don; and all Grocers and Chemists. Foreign Mail Packet List. MAILS DUE. ai• Australia and New Zealand, via Sotithampton....•' v c h 11 . 20 00000 0000 Ditto, via Ylrseilles ." F . ••• ..., Ditto, via Pe:..ama Feb - i• Brazil, Buen os Ayre s , an d M on t e Vi deo f a r ' ,I. 7 Ditto, by French packet Fe b.O " Cape Verde. by Brazil packet ... ..... , Cape of Good five. Ascension, and St. Helena.— - F e b. 27. China, Penang, and Singapore, via Southamptoa Fe " . 0 bibraltar, via Southampton F eb 20 Indla s via Southampton unto, via Harseihes Feb';' Malta, Egypt, dze Feb. -1 Ditto, Marseilles Mauritius, Cape of Good Hope, and Natal. via uth awl ton . . • eth in re- 24 Ditto, Marseilles rep 1 . Newfoundland Dfar . Portugal ... United States, Canada, California, &0., by British Feb 20. packet Ditto, by Canadian p a cket Ditto, by L i ited States packet Ditto dittc (Baltimore) Feb' • 16. West Coast of Africa, Madeira, and Teneriffe ..•• • West Indies and Pacific (except Mexico and Balsa'- a r mac) gar. 1. Cuba and Mexico Bermuda, via Bs/la:nail, via New York Births. oe pt, OHARLESWORTII—On the 17th inst., a t Broml e3 lbte„ P the wife of Frederic Charlesworth, Esq., of a d a " P V.P ONSLOW —On the 9th inst., at 22, Wilton-Place: Onslow, of a daughter. Marriages. 5 f ar e ,, BERRIDGE—CAUTHERLEY—On the 17th inst., a , lebone Church, John Berridge, of Careby, 1-Ain e ",,beri' d to Mary Harriet, eldest daughter of Charles Ca t * of Baldock. p MANLEY—DARTON—On the 9th inst., at Sheern-gO, of N. Manley, Esq., V.C., Royal Artillery, to lO r resil'i both, eldest daughter of the late T. H. Dartory Temple Dinslei; Hertfordshire. Deaths. 11 rreP BROADHURST -On the 17th inst. at Richtno n g d 'giac iOr William Hamilton Broadhurst, Esq., late 0' •Ci lane. ,stool SMITH—On the 11th inst., at The Warren, BO rd Smith, Esq., aged 80. o r v Ge , 00 WARDLAW— On the 17th inst., at I earning ° 'O3 (IP .1 , s ee Wardlaw, Esq., formerly Captain 73d neg i ", i , i s iv. of the late General and the Hon. Mrs. Ward -.4% sa London : Printed a n d P u bli s h e d by WILT-4 1,6 -' l ' ". go - of ' of No. 112, Str an d , Printer, at THE SUN 00'9 9' oat/ - Strand, in the P rec i nc t o f the tia voy, in O . hildilleau,--Friday, L'euraaly It, 18C9. 1 I I , 13 14 4 , ...._ 11R,