The Sun. — London, England, 1869-06-25 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF TEL PUBLIC JOURNALS, he Times observes that it is startling enough in all conscience, considering the magnitt de of the interests at stake, to find that the great Overeau and Gurney case is in danger of coming to an untimely end, or, what would be still worse, of being so conducted that its trial will degenerate into an unmeaning farce. But, strange to say, even the possible collapse of the case itself, extraordinary as it would doubtless be, becomes of secondary impor tance, so far as the general public are concerned, when compared with the circumstances which threaten to occa sion it. If, in consequence of these, the Overend and Gur ney case fall to the ground, it will not improbably con stitute almost as important au epoch the history of British jurisprudence as it has already constituted in the history of British commerce, and we are not without hope that even the possibility of collapse, with which it is now threatened, may do more than v:holc volumes of essays and speeches hate hitherto done to make that great flaw in our crltni:lnt system, the want, of rt. public. prosecutor, generally f,•! 1 . - . The Overend and Gin.r.ey eat - :e is at prf: sent in this es::trn.ordirlavy pmition diet•clors, having . been con:tnitte.l Ly the chief magistrate of the city-, rind a true Lill having i!ef2n found agamst them by the grand their trial in the Court of Queen's the prosecutor either cannot or not emp!oy counsel, the Lord Chief Justice declares ti.at he shall not p pear except by counsel, and the Lord Mayor vii tually declares that if he does not appear jury, are alvaiLl! Bench. But I‘. he - shall forfeit._ 1:5,000. It is not too much to say that it would be a national disgrace to ]et a trial involving interests of such inegnitude to a community eminently commerelal fall to the ground directly for want of funds, and indirectly through the deficiency of our legal system ; and if it is obvious that the conduct of the case by the Treasury is the only immediate solution of the difficulty, we trust it is no less obvious that the permanent remedy lies in the appointment of a - - - public prosecutor. Such a scandalous and calamitous miscarriage of justice as that with which we are now threatened, and which, if the Homo Secretary should persist in his refusal to supply funds, we may not even now escape, could never have been possible but for our system of private prosecution ; and since it is the national habit to make reform depend upon the accidental obtrusion of some glaring anomaly, we shall be throwing away an admirable opportunity if we allow even a possibility that such a scandal should occur again. " Why is it that there is so much pauperism in this country ?" is a query of Mr. Bright's which the Post answered spme few months ago. The answer may be summed up in half-a-dozen words. It is because of the activity of trade. Tracing back to its earliest sources the progress of pauperism, it noted that with the development of commerce there was a concurrent development of un avoidable poverty. Investigating, too, the more recent cases of sudden and marked accessions of the disease, it found that they happened contemporaneously with unmis takable convulsions in the world of trade. The conclu sion, then, seemed obvious and irresistible. The price we paid for commercial greatness was an aggravation of pauperism. In an equitable re arrangement of the system of local taxation, the mercantile community should by some means or other be called upon to contribute much snore liberally than they do to the maintenance of the poor. It is wrong that the bumble occupier should be overpressed past en durance on account of poverty which he has done nothing to create, while the wealthy trader does not even pay an equal share. It is not right that landowners and the possessors of real property should mainly support that por tion of the poor resulting from the operations of their prosperous commercial fellow-countrymen. The com merce of the country has vitality enough to hear its share of the national burdens. The gains of trade have been, and still will be, enormous. Let trade, then, contribute more liberally than it does to the relief of that pauperism which is one of its inevitable results. 'ibis should be a marked feature in any future plan of reform. The Standard thinks that whether Mr. Goschen's bill will effectually relieve the poorer class of occupiers or not, it is certainly proof against the intemperate criticisms of Mr. Vernon Harcourt. Mr. Harcourt complained that the bill was a " new Reform Bill," but apparently his real objection to it is that it is not a new measure of reform. With quite a superfluous vaunt that he was " not afraid of residential manhood suffrage," the member for Oxford seemed to find fault with the bill because it did not embody residential manhood suffrage. But leaving residential manhood suffrage in the hands of the Liberal party of the future, it must be admitted that Mr. Goschen's defence of the bill was perfectly successful against Mr. Vernon Harcourt. It was not meant to be an enfranchising, but a relieving measure. It could not do both things, that is to say, remit the occu pier's contribution to the public burdens, and at the same time invest him with the privilege of a voice iu public affairs, without an entire recasting of our representative scheme ; and for that the Ministry are not yet prepared. The occupier did not come before us in the character of a claimant for a political privilege, but as an applicant for a certain indulgence in the mode of paying his rases. The legitimate course is dearly for Mr. Vernon Harcourt, to bring in a new Reform Bill himself, in which residential manhood suffrage shall be embodied. In the meantime it is a little unreasonable for the compound householder to ex pe c t to be endowed with a new political privilege by the very same instrument which discharges him of a civil liability. The Daily News says that among the symptoms which justify a cheerful, if guarded, confidence, we may point to the meeting held at Exeter Hall on Wednesday in favour 4 of the Trade Union Bill introduced into the House of Commons by Mr. Thomas Hughes and Mr. Mundella. The bill bears the name of one employer of labour upon a large scale ; the meeting was presided over by another, The presence of Mr. Samuel Morley in the chair sheaved not only a kind and generous temper, but also a wise fore sight. It is creditable to the trade societies by whom the meeting was organised that they should have invited Mr. Morley's presidence, and it is equally to his honour that he shonld have accepted the invitation. Ire and they have acted in the interests of peace and good-will. The object of the bill is, as Mr. Morley ably and frankly stated, to leave to the members of trade societies, as such, the liberty, and to subject them to the restrictions which attach to all subjects of the Queen, neither more nor less. Those who advocate a " short way with the " trades unionists" as Defoe advocated, in earnest or sarcasm, a short way with the Dissenters, are in danger of sanctioning an inequitable law, which may some day reach themselves. Principle can never safely be sacrificed to temporary convenience, even if the conve nience be rightly estimated, which is not always a matter absolutely certain. The bill of Mr. Hughes and Mr. Mundella is in its essential principles sound. The temper of Parliament and of the capitalist class will be tested by the reception it meets. For its own sake, and for the sake of the wider and deeper social interests involved in it, we hope that the spirit of the House of Commons will be 'as good as that which was exhibited on Wednesday in Exeter Hall. The Star discusses the recent meeting of the Dialectical Society, at which Mr. Home and other eminent medla enlightened the audience as to their prospects in the other World. When questioned on the subject of future rewards and punishments, Mr. Home augured badly for the prospects of those persons who have had the misfortune to be convicted of crime, as "lie believed that spirits retained their personal identity, and that a person with cropped hair would appear cropped." But if we serf: for a comfortable certainty, for positive and definite informa tion regarding the mysteries of the future, Mr. Dainrain is clearly the man. We are to feed, he says, on spiritual fruit, which is rather tantalisingly described as " nourish ment in the atmosphere." Spiritual boys go to school, he infortos us, and continue to grow until 35. We should like, however, to know where tin spiritual boys come from, Mr. Danirair, naving previously stated that there are no spiritual tiiildren; and to get out of the difficulty by asserting th•st a boy is not a child is unworthy of a spiritualist, Perhaps he means that a boy who has not completed his education in this sesames it in a future life, and a: so, we shall feel inclined to dispute the asser tion twat whom the gods love di e youtig. Upon the wh a le, the picture of a future state drawn by Mr. Home and his confreres is a gloomy one. Disembodied ispirits seem to work just as hard as our grosser selves, though on what is, by a strange contradiction in terms, called spiritall materials. Painters paint with sp.r.tual pigments, mechanics make spiritual tables, &c., and the inference is forced upon tis that the other world is not a much better one than that to which we aro accustomed. As to the morals of its inhabitants we are left in the dark. Will Mr. home kindly inform us if he thinks that som e of his spiritualist friends will be allowed to practise in a spiritual way Porn spiritual victims ; and will Mr. I)antrain and the other members of the Di.dcctical Society f. vour us with their opinions as to time probable perpetua. Con of the conditions of gnilibility in a future state' The Telegraph. believes there is t.o doubt that, in a few days at farthest. the flouse of C o mmons ti ill la.! asked (1) Eanction a grant of six millions and a half sterling, or thereabouts, for the :satisfaction of all claims, and the proper equipment of the great telegraphic machinery to be provided by the State. The nati,4l not only lioys of the right of a p:irticular company to send nies,:z; - ;es over a defined district ; it secure:; a victual nainopo!y• of every district in t 1 1 ,! cool, Lei', mai a control of the lines %%ICA connect England ii•ith the Continent. Thus tilt devehipm,nt, rf tclegraphie enterprise in Csreat Britaio iriit fall to the lot ef the State, without drear: of rivalry ; and whether the country dur:ves the fit! beneht in reduced charges, or in lafge revenues accruing to the Exchequer, either wayit will gain a pvrceptilile and always growing benefit. Now. as a matter of strict busi ness calculation, it is clear that whatever expands tele graphic intereolirse thronghont the iv:n.l(l must indefinitely increase its amount in that colmLy which is the heart of the world's industrial system—its exchange, bank, • am! counting-house, its busy factory, its inexhanstible mine We hope, however, it is not over Sanguine to anticipate that from the telegraphic movemelit now in progre.-,3 England will Le the greatest gain r ; and that our country will soon be ent•r ! s of a va,t network of communica ties which er.0.11 enli.;ra.,:e the earth and spe e d the °awful 1119yerang of humanity, PROSECUTION FOB HERESY. The commissioners appointed by the Bishop of London under the Church Discipline Act to inquire into the charge of heresy against the Rev. Charles Voysey, vicar of Bealaugh, in the county and diocese of York, met on Thursday at London House. The prosecution is insti tuted by the Archbishop of York, but .as the offence — that of publishing the books containing the doctrine which is now called in question—was legally committed within the diocese of London, by the publication of the work therein, the preliminary proceedings bad to be taken by the Bishop of London. The commissioners were Sir Travers Twigs, the Chancel lor of the diocese; Archdeacons Hale and Sinclair; the Ii v. John Edward Kempe, rector of St. James's Piccadilly; and the Rev. James Moorbouse, vicar of Paddington. The counsel engaged on the part of the Archbishop of York were Mr. Archibald and Mr. Cowie. Mr. Sham, of the firm of Shacn and Roscoe, attended to watch the proceedings on behalf of Mr. Vows y. Mr. John B. Lee, secretary to the Arebbishtp of Yorlz and to the Bishop of London, at tended the c,mar;sstoriers, and opened the proceedings by rcadirg the cornrahs'on. that it al-peared that certain pa.sagcs are extracted fern the "Sling and Sto::e," which consists a f sertncus preached 1 y Mr. Voy.ey. in hi.s par:sh church, and afterwards published in monthly part 4. 'The dte . aration alleged that Mr. Voysey impugned the ductr:ne of divine mediation, of atonement, and the incarnation of our Lord, and had written generally in terms of contempt of the Holy Scripture, especially of the Gospel of St. John. The duty of the commissioners was to inquire whether there were sufficient grounds fur further proceedings. After an able speech from Mr. Archibald, and some formal evi dence of publication had been given, the commissioners retired to consider their opinion. On their return into court they announced that they had unanimously agreed to report to the Bishop that in their opinion prima, facie grounds existed for the prosecution of further proceedings. The usual formalities having been entered into, the court was dissolved. THE CAVALRY COLLISION AT ALD_EI:SIIOI'. A court of inquiry sat at Aldershot, on Thursday, to investigate the causes of the late fatal collision of cavalry at Aldershot. It was composed of Major-General Sir Alfred Horsford, K.C.8., as president ; Major-General G. J. Carey, C.B. ; 'Major-General D. Lysons, C.B. ; Colonel Conolly, assistant quartermaster-general ; and Colonel Newdigate, assistant adjutant-gem rat, A coroner's Lquest was held on the same day. Major- General Henry Dalrymple White, C. 8., who com manded the field on the day of the collision, gave a resume of the manoeuvres of the troops. He did not see the collision. The order was for the lines to attack in succession—that is, fur the first line to advance, walk, trot, and gallop, and retire by columns of troops round the flanks to get out of the way of the advancing, second line. There was no actual charge. The colonels of regiments are supposed to be in the centre of their regiments in front, and. it is quite possible he might not sec an obstruction on his extreme left. Moving ever broken pound, the squadron-leader's duty would Le t) break oil his files until the obstruction was cieared. Ile had no doubt but that the officer in command of the sprailron on the left miscalculated the distance and went on, thinkhz it would become clear. Ina certaindegrce the c >loud should have seen his front clear. 'i here was no blame attachable to the first or retiring line, but he thought that the rqnsidron that met with the collision in wheeling at right angles " hugged " their own men 00 much, ins!ead of going more to their then front.— Colonel A. F. Stewart, commander of the second squadron of the Inniskillings on the field day, which squadron came into co lision with the fourth squadi on, said that the proper thing for the ccumanderol the hitter squadron to have done was to have halted his troops. Captain D'Olier, who was in command of the said 4th squadron, said he gave the ort'ee "fours right" when he saw his men would not clear the rear troops. lie thought that the quickest way of getting out of the way. Ile added that he had never drilled in brigade before.—The coroner summed up, and the jury, after forty minutes' delibera tion, returned a verdict of " Accidental Death," and appended an addendum, "That the accident was chiefly due to the want of foresight of Captain Richard D'Olicr George to avert it." I LAW AND POLICE. THE PRIVILEGES OF ROYAL RESIDENCES.—The House of Lords have been engaged in hearing the appeal case of " The Attorney-General v. Dakin," in which the question to Le decided is whether the Sheriff can execute a writ within the Palace of Hampton Court. The defendant Daki was one of the sher:irs of inrebruary ISUC,, and the, charge arose front Lis officers having seized anti sold the goods and furniture in a suite of apartments in Mouton Court, assigned by her .Majesty to Lady Henry Gordon. The goods weie seized under a writ of issued against Lord Henry Gordon. The question was whether the Palace Lad lost its privloge of immunity from the execution of civil process by reason of the sovereign having ceased to reside there, George IL having been the Last siaerciEn who persorally ccenried it. Alter Lear:ng arguments on both sides, the kat j,:dgts took time to consider tie case, and ,ti further tunsidcratien was adjourned sine die. AN EXORBITANT CLIAROL—In the Court of Chancery, on Thursday, an appeal was heard involving a point of some interest. The bill was filed by Mrs. Turnbull, the widow of an cfflccr in the Bombay Artillery, against the agent of her husband and herself in this country. Mrs. 'Turnbull wrote from India to • Mr. Gordon, the defendant, who carries on business as an army contractor in Piecadifly, authorising him to provide her son, then a minor, with an outfit, &c., un his appointment to a cornetcy in the 21st Hussars, hoping that everything would be done as reasonable as possible. The defendant's bill amounted to £699 17s. 3d., which was asid to be double the usual price, and included a great number of useless and extravagant articles. The main point of the case was that the defendant had Lot paid the full amount charged to the plaintiff fur many of these articles, but had obtained heavy discounts from the tradesmen from whom he obtained them, and whom he paid in bills at. three months. Thus a double 1.111,3 and double shot gun were charged £ll3 Bs. 6d. Mr. Davy, of Threadneedle-street, who supplied it, receiving only M from the defendant. The question was whether the defendant, as agent, had a right to take this profit. Vice-Chancellor Jameson, hearing the case, directed a general account to be taken in Chambers, but diallowed altogether the sums received as discount. The defendant appealed, but the Lords Justices dismissed the appeal, with. costs. COMPENSATION FOR 11AJLIVAT ACCIDENT.—In the Court of Common Pleas, on Thursday, the case of " Sugar v. the Mane:ester, Sheffield, and Lin colnshire Railway Company " was heard. An action was tried at Manchester last assizes, when the plaintiff had a verdict for £4,000 damages, for injuries received by a collision •on the defendants' railway. A rule nisi was afterwards obtained to set aside the verdict on the ground that the damages were excessive. After the plaintiff's counsel had been heard against the rule, their lordships said they were of opinion that there must be a rule for a new trial, unless the plain tiff would consent to reduce the damages to E!,COO. Rule accordingly. THE RIGHT OF PETITION.—At Marlborough-street Police coart, on Thursday, Joseph Stoner, an elector of Liverpool, was charged with creating a disturbance at the house of Mr. Graves, M.P. for that borough. lie stated that he was " a free born Briton," and that Mr. Graves had not presented some petition he had entrusted to him to the House of Lords and the House of Commons. He gave an outline of his retitiou to the House of Lords on the subject of the Irish Church Bill, and appeared much excited. Mr. Tyrwhitt remanded him fur further inquiry. A shocking outr4 a has bcen cc nitpit ted at Norfol. A man named Wise ruz.n Las L, en kil;rd in a quttrLl at Llo fi&la. The unfortunate man was iu,lud over a bunk by Li, asfa:hnt, and bad his 01 ck b; o! en. THE HARTLEY COLLIERY RELIEF FUND.A meeting of the sulreribLls to the above fund has Leen held at the Birmingham Exchange to dispose of the surplus of the above fund. The surplus in question amounted to about £2,470. It was recommended that the amount be devoted to the South Staffordshire Hospital, towards the building of a colliery accident wing. Ame morial, signed by about S,CCO miners, prayed that the amount be devoted as a fund fur the widows and orphan: of men killed in colliery operations. The first named pion was adopted after a protest. 01IFOLK AGRICULTURAL SOCI ETY. The annual meeting of this society is being held at Attleborough. Tilers is a large and c:iceilLut show ( f live stock. The first prize for the Lest short-horn bo . l has been won by Mr. Kersey Cooper, of Euston, with Ilogarth the Second ; and that for the best short horn cow by M r.. 1. Holy, of Broughton, Hunts, with Lady Anne. Major Barlow ham prize for the best thoroughbred stalli on , w o n the principal with Dalesman. Most of the SGutlidown sheep prizes were won by Lord Walsingliam and Lord Loudes. His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales took the first prize for the best pen of ten Sonadown ewe lambs. Mr. 'l'. Brown, of Marham, won most of the long.woolled sheep prizes. Messrs. Duckering, Lincolnshire, and Mr. Stearn. Suffolk, secured most of the pig premiums. A prize for the best-assorted collection of implements was awarded to Messrs. Holmes, of, Norwich. The exhiLitlou was .43,1=e. c0u51.7 attar:Mk th e-1041144c, Ti - TE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, JUNE 25, 169. 111E7 ROPOLITAN GOSSlP—'Thursday. "Levelling up" is the word for to-day. Will it he the thing for to-morrow ? I very much doubt it. The matter stands thus. At the general election Mr. Gladstone pro mised that no portion of the Irish Church revenues should be appropriated to the endowment of any other religious body. At the same time it was stated by one or two other Ministers that in all probability the glebes and par- aonages would be handed over to the Church without charge. Just before the session began, and when Cabinet Councils were of almost daily occurrence, it was found that this could notbe done consistently with the principle of thebill without also giving glebes and parsonages to the Roman Catholic priests, and the Presbyterian clergy. There was for a few days something like a Cabinet crisis, one portion of the Cabinet advocating giving to all, the other giving to none. The latter section prevailed, and hence it came about that one of the provisions of the bill ordered that the glebes and parsonages should be sold, the present occupants having the right of pie-en - Vim This provision was felt, by many members on both sides of tl e House of Commons to be harsh, and one Liberal member besought the Government to give way on the point. Ent Ministers, knowing that concession would involve levelling up, refused ; so the hill passed in its present 61:nre. Now it has entered the House of Lords the proposal has been renewed, and is being strongly supported by members of both i arties. The Marquis of Salisbury and Lord Cairns have bad an interview, and have come to an understanding as to the changes they will propose, and which, I believe, involve this of granting glebes and parsonages to the three religious bodies. These amendments will probably he laid upon the table to-night or to-morrow. Meanwhile, Lord Grey has anticipated the Conservative party by moving the omission of that portion of the preamble which prohibits the application of the funds to ecclesiastical purposes. But Lord Russell has far surpassed everybody else. He has given notice of amendments (of which, strange to say, neither the Times, the Star, the Standard, nor the Herald has any notice) for appropriating the surplus revenues of the Irish Church not only to the building of parsonages, and the giving of thirty acres of glebe to the clergy of the three chief Churches, but to building Roman Catholic churches and Presbyterian chapels. This is levelling up with a vengeance. I find that I did the Bishop of Oxford an injustice in suggesting that he arrived late in the House of Lords on Friday night by, what schoolboys call, anaccident done on purpose. The truth is, he did intend to speak that night. Coming down from Mr. Motley's, he was greeted at the House with the satirical announcement from the Bishop of Gloucester, " Your colleague, Lord Westbury, is up." Now, between the ex-Chancellor and Dr. Wilberforce there have been sundry passages at arms in past times, and the sentiment which the second entertains for the first is the reverse of amicable. The Bishop's temper, not conciliated by this sarcasm, was still further irritated when, on urging the Duke of Argyll that he might be permitted to speak, the Secretary for India assured him that it was impossible. The Whips were determined to have a division that night. Many peers who had been summoned from various parts • of the earth, and who had not been in London for nearly a dozen years, who vowed that they hated the place, only wanted to get away as soon as possible, and were insisting that they could not remain in town over another Sunday. So it was neces sary that the debate should be closed that night. The Bishop was told that if Lord Cairns rose after Lord Hatherley, as it was expected that he would, it would be impossible for anyone else but Lord Granville to speak; if, however, another Opposition peer were heard before Lord Cairns, the Bishop might have his twenty minutes, which was all that he asked. As it turned out, Lord Cairns did rise, and the Bishop who had done so much for the Government was compelled to keep silence, even from good words, which was pain and grief unto him. However, he contrived to let off some of the fire that burned within him a few hours later in a building on the opposite side of the way. Preaching the sermon on Sunday evening at the special service in Westminster Abbey, he made for about a quarter of an hour the apology that he would have made in the House of Lords, and proved his devotion to the Crown by an almost extravagantly loyal discourse. 'The sermon was, however, one of the most eloquent that he has ever delivered. I doubt if this one were made, like most of his, while be was shaving. The Bishop of Gloucester is now the leader of the Con servative prelates. He is untiring in his opposition to the bill; and means to obstruct it by resorting to every possible device, supporting whatever amendments seem most calculated to damage the measure, and without any regard to their origin or primary purpose. The Bishop of P.ipon is so disgusted with the result of the divi sion, that be has taken to himself wings like a dove and fled to the Continent, thus following out Archdeacon Denison's advice, not to go rear the committee. As to the Arch deacon, he is as full of wrath as though he were not St. George, but the dragon. The other day he was talking to some Radicals, and he said that one of the first results of the discstabliehment of the Irish Church would be that Mid-Soinereet would return him as M.P., for ; said lie, the Irish clergy will then be able to sit in Parliament, and if they do, you may be sure that the English clergy will not remain excluded. "Now," he added, " would you not much railer have a few quiet bishops in the - Upper House, than n;c in the Lower ?" His Radical audience certainly thought they would. It bad never struck them in that light before. In all seriousness, this point is one of great importance ; and it has perplexed Mr. Gladstone not a little. If the Irish Church Bill should have the result of permitting clerics to take up politics as a profession, as is done in Norway, and that result is by no means improbable, the clergy will cer tainly gain more influence than they will lose by disesta blishment. The last night of the great debate taxed the London papers to the uttermost. The T( . 711 -CB, Lich was the only paper that aye Lord Granville's reply in full, and an account of the division, had but fifteen minutes between going to press and catching the first trains for the country. In that fifteen minutes 15,00 copies were printed. The funniest thing, however, was that the Will-o'-the-lVisr, Mr. Hamilton Hume's comic paper, was so sure of a Conservative triumph that it had prepared a very capital cartoon of the Lords literally kicking the bill out of the House. At the last moment a cartoon of a very different kind had to be prepared. It is remarkable that your contemporary should have made this mistake, as everyone behind the scenes knew well that Lord Derby was riding not to win, and as a matter of fact a large number of Con servative peers were instructed to leave the House before the division took place. While we in England are still discussing the Church, in Ireland it is the land which is the great subject of con troversy and expectation. An Irish landowner (a Liberal, by the - way) stated the other day that his agent had just come back from a fair, and that there he found the peasantry unanimous in believing that they would shortly have the land entirely in their own possession. "Shure," said they, " has not the Pope got all the title deeds, and is he not going to give them to the Cardinal and Mather Bright?" The famous speechby the President of the Board of Trade has produced a profound impression upon the Roman Catholic peasantry. It is not surprising that they should be dissatisfied. They see that in Protestant Ulster their brethren enjoy fixity of tenure so long as the rent is paid, and they ask why they also should not have it. The treatment of the Pasha of Egypt has given rise to some very severe criticisms. Yesterday's morning papers gave a very different account of his Highness's reception from the actual facts. To begin with, the Prince of \Vales was not at the station when the Pasha arrived. The con sequence was that poor Lord Alfred Paget was in a state bordering upon distraction. He rushed up and down in a frantic manner, and when the military band had finished the Egyptian Hymn, he shouted, "Go on ! go on ! Keep going !" At last the Prince arrived. But where was the escort? No one knew. So Prince and Pasha drove away, attended by a mounted policeman, and the troops arrived at the station somewhere about the time that royalty arrived at the Palace. Nor is this all. Instead of the great gates of Buckingham Palace being thrown open, the Pasha was taken in at the side door, the servants' entrance, I presume. At Dover he was met by a dirty fly and a pair of hearse horses. All this is making people excessively angry. They see that their character for hospitality is being completely ruined by the parsimony or the negligence of the Court. It is not only that the Sovereign herself keeps away from the capital, but she does her utmost to keep away all other crowned heads. Last night there was a state concert at Buckingham Palace, and Titiens, Nilsson, Bettini, Santley, and Gardoni were among the singers. But neither these nor the Pasha could attract the Queen, though she was less than twenty miles away. Carlton-house -terrace has been the trysting place of all the gossips and the cynics in London this week. They . have been spectators of the disetablishment and disendow mcnt of a duke, and all the papers have been delivering homilies thereon. I%lehnwhile, neither gossips, cynics, nor papers appear to have heard that another peer, who has held very high office and quitted it under circumstances not altogether conducive to his fame, has made acquaint ance with the Philistines, which is Hebrew for the sheriff's officers. Mr. Lowder is now, I believe, the only London clergy. man who still burns altar lights. Mr. Rodwell continued to burn them until he was threatened with proceedings. He then took counsel's opinion, and Dr. Deane was so strongly against him that be thought it better to conform to the Cairns judgment. Mr. Le Geyt, of St. Alatthias'g, Stoke Newington, has likewise conformed. As for Mr. Lowder, he is a man of such extreme self-denial and devotedness, has done such an enorraeus amount of good in one of the Very worst districts of London, that, unwise though he is in defying the law, he gets a good deal of sympathy from men of a very different school from his own. Should a defence fund be opened in his behalf, you may look for the name of one of the best-known Broad Church clergymen in London. You will remember the vehement opposition which the London gas companies offered a little while ago to the bill brought in for reforming them. In spite of that oppo tion the bill was passed, and the result has been most satisfactory. Three of the companies were com pelled to amalgamate. They have begun to erect large works at Barking, and will, when these are completed, abandon their present works, which are so grievous a nuisance to Londoners. By this removal they will enable the Thames Embankment to be continued, and so one improvement leads to another. They will have to lay down eleven miles of two-feet main, and will keep it always at work by having several receivers in various parts of London. These will be free trom all the annoyances that arise from the present manufacture in the midst of a dense population. In spite of all these expenses, it is found that the company will, through the reduction of expenditure resulting from amalgamation, get a higher profit from the Act of Parliament charge of 3s. Od. than they now get from that of 4s. 6d. This happy resultof combination augurs well for the economical working of the telegraphs when they are under Government control. This is likely to take place very shortly, as the bill empowering Government to raise the necessary money for the purchase has been prepared, and will very shortly be introduced by Mr. Lowe. Longfellow is still in Italy, and when he wrote last to his London friends, dated from Como. He was to have been in England before this, but has probably been kept away by the thought of a banquet to which he had been invited by the Goldsmiths' Company. The author of " Hiawatha," different from most of his fellow countrymen, has a great dislike of publicity. Tennyson, as I mentioned in a former letter, is in Switzerland. The subject of his new poem is the Quest of the Holy Grail. The example of Lord Lyttelton is about to be followed by his third daughter. She is to be married to Mr. Edward Stuart Talbot. Young Lord Newport is to be married to Lady Ida Lumley, daughter of the Earl of Scarborough, and Mr. Brand's daughter to Mr. Henry Campion. MISCELLANEOUS NETVS. . spiritual manifestations in which he mu taken part, specially mentioning a spirit -hand which had written the autograph of Napoleon I. in the presence of the French Emperor and Empress. . Being ques tioned as to the state of departed human beings, Mr. Home said that spirits retained their personal identity. Ile had seen spirit buds and flowers. Had seen a bottle disappear. Dr. Edmunds asked if it was a brandy bottle, a question which greatly incensed Mr. Home, who objected to being made ridiculous in the newspapers. A Mr. Glover having declared his belief that the manifestations were made by the devil, Mr. Home interposed, declaring his conviction that the manifestations of this medium came from his own mind ! A NEW MUSEUM. An addition is to be made to the public buildings of London. The Duke of Argyll has resolved to appropriate the ground between the India Office and Oharlcs-street to the building of a new museum, library, and chart &Tice under one roof, from plans by Mr. Digby Wyatt. At present our Indian literary treasures, in which we arc richer than any other country in the world, not excepting Russia even, aro helped away like so much lumber, and are wholly inaccessiblA to the student. THE BISHOPS AND THE IRISH CHURCH. "A Broad Churchman" writes to the Daily Tele graph pointing out that the Liberal party have been suffering for the sin of Lord Palmerston, in allowing his relative, Lord Shaftesbury, to hold for a time the appointmett of all the bishops. Lord Shaftesbury's nominees, with scarcely an exception, voted against the Government in the late division. "A Broad Churchman " hopes that this will be a leBson to Mr. Gladstone, and that he will give the Liberal school of theologians which really does exist in the Church a fair share of promotion. IitISII POETRY. The latest attempt of the Fenian party in Ireland. to rouse the enthusiasm of the people on the side of "Ireland for the Irish" is about the best-considered of all recent modes of stirring up the public mind. It consists of reading and reciting b:llads and poems. These recitations verge on the seditious, if they : - .re not actually treasonable. The most wild parts of Moore are the best of the pieces presented ; many of the others are roor enough, but the broadness of the half-concealed attack upon England and the Englie: makes up for the badness of the poetry. Mr. Meany seems to be the leader in the organisation of the meet:llgs. THE LATE MAYOR or CORK. 11!r. Daniel o'&illivan, late Mayor of Cork, is at it again. lie is a member of the board of guardians in the " beautiful city." On Wednesday last be attempted to introduce a petition in favour of the Irish Church BM as passed by the Commons. The mayor ruled such a petition out of order, and refused to allow it to be discussed. Mr. O'Sullivan there upon denounced him as an Orangeman, and in the midst of groat uproar demanded his resignation. The mayor left the chair and went away. Mr. O'Sullivan then moved that he be called upon to resign, but the clerk refused to take the motion. Great confusion ensued, and the board broke up in the midst of it. THE OVEREND, GURNEY, AND COMPANY PROSECUTION. Dr. Thom, the prosecutor of the directors of Overend, Gurney, and Company, is placed in a most awkward predicament. 116 is bound over in £5,000 to conduct his case in the Court of Queen's Bench ; he has not any large amount of money, the Home Office will not provide him with counsel, and the Lord Chief Justice refuses to allow him to pro secute in person. What ,then is he to do ? He writes very indignantly about the matter to the papers, slaewin2,- how absurdly he is pressed. If," ho slys, " a prosecutor and his witnesses be doomed to have obeyed their country's call in vain, let the blame of the fadrre be divided between the apathy of the public at large and the I:b..urdities of our penll juris prudence. Pe the result what it may, I shall have done my best to vindicate commercial iWegr:ty and to restore commercial confidence." Perhaps the home oir ce does not wish the efISCO to go to trial. LEVELLfI;G IJP. The.lV oneonformisl is fully alive to the fact that the 1 rish Church 13i11 has entered upon its most critical stage. Not aware that Lord Res ell had actually proposed to build Roman Catholic churches with the surplus funds, our contemporary urges that even the minor form of "concurrent endowment," the giving of parsonages and glebes to the Roman Catholic priests and the Presbyterian ministers, should be opposed. " There is no earthly necessity for it, except to gratify the traditional sentiment of the Lords in favour of some national provision for religious ministrations. It will be a blot upon a measure singularly definite in its policy and complete in its arrangements. It will not, perhaps, altogether de feat its object; but it will change for the worse its spirit, and mar its symmetrical arrangement." The Daily Telegraph, says that, " consistent to the traditions of a long political life, Lord Russell would carry up the levelling policy wholesale. What the country will say to Lord Russell's proposals there can be no doubt whatever." That answer will be, our contemporary affirms, too late. The thing might have been done in Pitt's time, but the public judg ment and conscience have decided on a far different solution of the long controversy. It was part of Mr. Gladstone's programme at the elections that the Church property should be devoted to other than ecclesiastical purposes. Moreover, to split up a vast revenue among warring religionists in unequal proportions, would be to light the torch of discord in every Irish parish. The Morning Advertiser is, naturally enough, horrified at any proposal for levelling up, and in a long leader, asl:s any number of questions, which are all variations of the one question—" Are we to undo the Reformation ? " The Morn:ng Post simply publishes the amendments without note or comment. 'The Tines does not seem to have heard of them. Elphinstone Dalrymple, writing from Belgium, tells what has been done in Prussia. That country entered into a concordat with Pius VII., by which the tithes and the endowments of the Church were apportioned equally among the different religious bodies in proportion to their numbers. The right of veto - upon objectionable appointments is retained. Mr. Dalrymple ales that " a like course is open to the English Government, if bigotry and prejudice will permit." A very large " if." • T]U LICENSED VICTUALLERS. The Victuallers have been dining at the Crystal Palace. They succeeded in catching a live M.P., Mr. Stanley \ T ickers, who beat the late Sir Wentworth Mike at the last election. Mr. .Vickers made the m agnan i mous remar k that in entering Par liament he was influenced by the wish to represent his customers qu it e as m uc h a s by the wish to re present himself. One would like to know what the electors of Wallingf or d wou ld sa y to this confession. They elected Mr. Vi c k ers t o re present them, but it seems that he never thought of this, that his object was primarily to represent Mr. Stanley Vickers, and, secondarily, the publicans and the gin-palace keepers. Probably Mr. 'Vickers thinks that he has done his duty to Wallingford by paying in full his very heavy election bills, SPIRITIJALISII. The committee of the London Dialectical Society have continued their investigations into the subject of spiritual phenomena. It was said at the last meeting that the committee intended to adjourn until the autumn, when they. present a report . of their lengthened inquiry. At the suggestion of Dr. Edmunds, Mr. Homo, the celebrated mediuth, was asked to favour the c.mamittee with his experience. lie said that he was the last person who ought to give evidence, as the plieno:nena occurred through him unconsciously to himself. Ile was not, he said, an imaginative - man, but sceptical. Living a life of excitement, his mind must become harassed if lie dwelt upon these subjects, and lie diverted himself by going to theatres, In answer to i n qui r ies as to the process of the communications,. Mr. home said that certain manifes tations only occur in a trance, w hich never happened unless the people about him were "in a har monious condition." A member h.7lving asked whether "mediumistic" powers had any effect upon the general health, Mr. Home said when he was born ho was never expected to live, and could not walk at six. lle.had often been given over by the doctors, but the spirits told him he should get better. In the law snit with Mrs. Lyon lie had congestion - of the brain, and his inemory left him, but he had got well. When in a trance he frequently took a live coal in 4 11 :44**--. gpse A. 402 p,ceUt_9l3ll2 CHANCES OP DEATH BY DIFFEIIENT DIZEASES. Nen pray to be preserved from murder and from sudden death ; in other words, from what are com monly called accidents and wilful injuries. The Times states that the chances are as one to twenty-nine that a man will depart this life from such causes. That he will die of zymotic disease is as one to six, that consumption will cause his death is as Ito 0. Out of every 1,000 deaths in 1807, 195 were caused by zymotic diseases, 102 by constitutional diseases, 402 by local diseases, 167 by developmental diseases, and 36 by accidental and other violence. 118,003 out of every million deaths were the result of con sumption. A SPOItTSMAN'S LIFE. A. case has just been tried in the Court of Common Pleas which, it has been remarked, might, in prac tised hands, supply the elements of a realistic drama or novel. The plaintiff, a Mr. Suntan, who was formerly house steward to a great duchess, brought an action against the Gresham Insurance Company on a policy of £l,OOO, effected on the life of a young man named Owen. Mr. Owen • was an ensign in the army, who had got into difficulties, and was honoured by the friendship of Mr. Morby, a money-lender, through whose kind ass:stance he disposed of the whole of Ilia money, including the price of his commission and a reversicnary interest. The policy of insurance was effected as security for the loan ad vanced by Mr. Surman; but as Mr. Owen died three months after it was effected, of delirium .tremens, the company objected to pay i t. In the evidence it appeared that Mr. Surman advanced 375 on a three months' bill for £4OO, which was afterwards made ,500 on Mr. Surman's paying 1:70 in cash. Mr. Owen, who had ruined a fine constitution by intemperance, was so depressed by the result of last year's Derby that he drank more and more, dying in July. As the company believed Mr. Surman ws ignorant of Mr. Owen's state of health, the case was compromised. TIIE CONFEDERATE DONDROLDET:S. The Confederate bondholders are evidently sanguine mcn. They still expect to be re paid by the United States Government money which was lent to aid what the said Government regards as an unjustifiable rcb Anon. They are about to hold a meeting in the metropolis, for the purpose of protesting against that part of Mr. Sumnees speech'referring to their interests. At the same meeting it is proposed to consider a petition to the House of Commons "not to grant compensation for satisfying any claims arising out of the late war in the United States unless adjudicated by an im partial tribunal, according to the principles of equity and international law." TI 1 IBON AND STEEL TRADES. The members of the iron rind steel trades are taking measures for amalgamation and union. Cu Wednesday night the Duke of Devonshire presided at the metropolitan oilice of the Society of Arts over a mcctino• for inaugurating an institute whose purpose is to afford means of communication between the members of the aforesaid trades. The new society excludes all matters bearing on wages and trade regulations ; it is rather formed to hold scientific discussions and meetings of a practical character, having reference to the special business of its members. REDUCTION OF THE RATE OF DISCOUNT. The Bank of England has again lowered the rate of discount. The directors met yesterday and reduced the rate to 31 , per cent. FOREIGN NOTES. A NEW ATLANTIC CABLE. One great idea is generally the precursor of several. The success of the s'.raight cables from England to America has given rise to a stupendous project of a system of ocean telegraphy to sweep the north-west coast of Africa, cross the ocean to Brazil, cover half the coast of South America, and pass all the principal West India Islands to the United States. It is propmed to com mence a submarine cable ac Lisb.m, connected of course with Paris, London, and the other Fur pean capitals. From the Portuguese capital the wire will pass round the coast of Portugal and Spain to Gibraltar, thence proceed to Agadir, in Morocco, shooting off from that port to the Canary Islands, and an off branch going to the Madeiras. From the Canaries the cable will return to the African coast, passing round it to Cape Nerd, and thence to the Cape Verd Islands. From the Cape Vera Islands a south-westerly track leads to Natal, in Brazil, the cable going south to Rio Janeiro, and north along the Brazil and Guiana coasts to Trinidad. From Trinidad it will pass by Jamaica, Hayti, Cuba, and the other West India islands, one branch going from Ila,vanna to the south of Florida, and another to New Orleans. The total length of the route will be 10,000 miles. The general principle which it is proposed to follow is to keep the cable close to the coast, except in crossing the Atlantic, but not to land it, except at the stations. The dangers which apparently present them selves are that the coast part of the cable may be injured or broken by the anchors of ships visiting the numerous ports at which it will touch, and that belligerent nations may, in certain events, find it to their interest to cut off the communication. If these disadvantages can be overcome, the project ought surely to prosper. The existing Atlantic cables pass only from one port to another ; this will touch at not fewer than 120 stations of greater or less importance, and the business done ought to be more than proportionate to the extra length of line. A company has been formed to carry out the idea, and concessions have already been granted by the Govern ments of France, Brazil, Denmark, Portugal, and Hayti. The company is called the International South Trans atlantic Telegraph Company. TIIE REPUBLICANS AND TIIE ALABAMA CLAUS. There seems to be no doubt that theastonishing scheme, the earliest announcement of which appeared in our American telegrams, of making the Alabama claims a party question, emanated from Mr. Sumner himself. Indeed, he still clings to the idea of dragging this inter national controversy into party politics ; but the stern condemnation of the leading Republicans promises very little for his chance of success. The New York Times is very severe upon the conduct of the Senator. The poli tical campaign, in fact, which Mr. Sumner cut out for himself, has terminated very badly. Should Mr. Iteverdy Johnson accomplish all helms promised in defence of his conduct as a Minister, it is difficult to see how the senator will defend himself. THE CANADIAN DOMINION. Newfoundland has joined the North American Confede ration; there is little fear that Nova Scotia will abandon it; but in order that the Empire north of the United States be complete, it is necessary that British Columbia, with its extent of Pacific coast, he in cluded. Overtures have been made, and the inhabitants of British Columbia seem not unwilling to join the Dominion, but they insist upon what the Telegraph calls an impracticable condition. 'They require that their colony shall first be connected with Canada by a railway across the continent. "'Unfortunately, the Canadians are obliged to meet the condition thus advanced by the familiar non possum tts plea. In their present financial straits, and with the inter-colonial railway not even com menced, it is simply impossible to engage in so gigantic a n undertaking as the construction of an iron highway over tbe broadest part of the North American conti nent. they therefore want to reverse the process--that is, to have confederation first, andthe railwayafterwards." The Telegraph observes that this dilemma must be got out of somehow, and advises the Colombians to make the-first advances. They have 11103 t to gain, both by their union with the Atlantic provinces and by the construction of the railroad. Unfortunately, if the line be not made the union must be a thing of nought, for without the line there are no practicab'e means of com municating. A wide extent of almost uninhabited terri tory separates Columbia from Canada. 'This is the great argument on which the Columbians rest their case. ENGLISH AND AmEnicAN RAILWAYS. The earnings of the American railways are much greater than those of the English lines. The latter receive only MG per cent. yearly upon the whole cost ; whilst the former earn not less than 21 per cent. Cut these figures do not represent the true difference. In England the working expenses are much lighter, so that the clear profit averages about one-half of the gross receipts, whilst the American lines do not make a net profit of mo c than 30 per cent. on the total income. The most remarkable point of difference is in the cost of fuel, the American,expenditure in this respect being more than five timmilasakincand QA_tiaradlillittles,__Cokt is use In this country ; in America wood or ralrcoal serves as fuel, the former being very costly, the latter injurious to the engine. The New York Times concludes that the United States excel all nations in the art of construction, and in securing the largest return upon a given outlay, but not in economy of working—a deficiency which is largely due to the greater cost of material. THE WAITERS' .STRIKE AT NEW YORK. As might have been anticipated, the strike of waiters at :gew York has proved a disastrous failure. Trades which require no great manual skill are not readily protected by strikes. Waiters can be made out of raw material with a little trouble, and so it has proved in this case. The hotel-keepers refuse to employ any of the leaders ; and compel the few strikers they do employ to forswear allegi ance to their trade union, which has been broken up. MISSING SHIPS. Nothing has been heard of the United Kingdom, now nearly two months due from Nosy York to Glasgow. The agents of the Anchor line in New York still express their con fidence in the safety of this fine vessel ; but grave doubt must necessarily be felt after this lapse of time. The United Kingdom was spcken once, and after that heavy gales pre vailed off Newfoundland,and icebergs were numerous. Other ships arc missing. The E. Mask, of Liverpool, . which sailed frog , Madras for Marseilles on the `7th of last October, has been spoken once, and not heard of since. The - Vol°, of the United states, sailed from Cardiff for Havannah on the 11th. of December, and is likewise missing. BELGIAN POLITICS. The Patrie, which divides its messages of evil between Belgium and Prussia, has now something disagreeable to tell of the former country. The position of the Ministry is very serious. The present state of things cannot last. M. Frere-Orban's Cabinet is nut giving satisfaction on the railway question. "It is now known that the adverse vote of the Senate on the Imprisonment for Debt Bill is an act of defiance instigated by the foreign policy of the Ministry." This is simply a neat insinuation that the Senate and the Belgian people desire the demands of France on the railway question to be granted in full, that the Cabinet opposes this wish, and is therefore unpopular. It would seem from various signs that the Belgian Govern ment is anxious to make up its quarrel with France, and is getting afraid; but it has yet to be seen that the people are angry with their rulers because they do not concede all the demands of their powerful neighbour. THEFISTURBANCE3 IN ITALY. The Times correspondent, as well as other writers, attri butes the riots at Milan and other places to Mazzinian agency. They seem to have had no object beyond creating a disturbance and unsettling men's minds. The corresponden# .0f the facti , fiend , nice Pelye, however, holds to the theory that they were merely the resu!t of a little popular effer vescence at the attempt upon Major Lobbia's life; that they arose and ceased spontaneously. They were undoubtedly of very contemptible proportions, and may r cry possibly have had no serious connection with politics. BOURBON PROPERTY. The Civil Tribunal of Florence has rejected the demand of the Bourbons for the restitution of certain property confiscated during the dictatorship of Garibaldi. Thl; judgment is in conformity with the decision of the Italia' Government. It is maintained that the two dictatoriA decrees of Garibaldi hold good. INTERNATIONAL COINAGE.* (From the Anglo-American 1 imes.) Although England is now the great stumbling block in the way of an international system of coin age, it is in no small degree owing to her exertions that so much has been accomplished towards the introduction of universal weights, measures, and a unit for coins. In 1862 the British Branch of the National Associatior for the adoption of a univer sal system of weights, measures, and coi'is through out the world, got the House of Commons to appoint a committee to inquire into weights and measures, which led to the adoption of the metric system. The M unetary Convention between France, Belgium, and Italy was signed in 1865, which united a larger population using the franc than any other unit. In December, 1866, Britain was asked to take part in an International Conference to extend the system, and about the same time the International Decimal Association brought the same subject before her Majesty's Government, while the Metric Commit tee of the British Association for the Advancement of Science suggested to the Commission for the Uni versal Exhibition of 1867 a special exhibition there of the weights, measures, and coins of all countries. The British Government cautiously approached the subject, attracted towards it, and acknowledging its value, yet dreading disturbance in the enor mous commercial interests they represented. Tine was taken to consider, and they agreed to send the Master of the Mint and other Cemmissioners to such a Conference, on the clear understanding that they admitted nothing, and their Commissioners were unauthorised in any degree to commit them. So two Commissions sat in Paris during the time of the Great Exhibition hi 1867, the oec official exclu sively on coinage, the other unoflicisl on weights, measures and coins, at the Palais d'lndustrie, both be ing presided over by Prince Napoleon, and attended by the same representatives, from all civilized coun tries. The first question they had to decide was whe ther a new universal coinageshould be brought iato use or existing coins brought into conformity. The reviewer regrets that the opportunity was not seized to establish a distinct relation between the unit of we ight and the unit of money, and he considers that a grand opportunity was therein lost. Abraham thus used the shekel, the Romans the as., the Greeks the drachma and the talent, and the English the pound. Touching this last unit, as a coin, it is not old, though as a weight it has been used for centu ries as a measure of pure gold, varying from time to t i m e. In 1717 Sir Isaac Newton, then Mester of the Miut, settled the pounl weighs, but it was not till a century after, in 1817, that the sovereign or 20 twenty shillings was put into circulation by Procla mation. The question as to the introduction of a new coinage the Convention was settled adversely, when the subject came up as to the metal, and gold received the preference. A double standard was proposed and strenuously advocated by M. Wolowski, of the palais d'lndustrie. His main argument was that if any country, say France, changed from silver to gold an injustice would be done to the debtor class. The production of silver was increasins, that of gold decreasing ; and the value of the latter would be still further enhanced when the United States, Russia, and Austria changed their paper circulation into specie. Hence it would be unfair to alter their contracts into a metal yearly rising in value. These arguments, however, had no effect on the Commis sion, and gold was selected. Then arose the difficult question of the unit. Five or ten grammes of gold, nine -tenths fine, was discussed and rejected. The subject of fineness was raised, and it was found that France, Germany, and the United States adopted nine-tenths pure gold and one-tenth alloy ; while England, Portugal, and Prussia adopted eleven twelfths pure gold and one-twelfth alloy ; the nine tenths, being most generally in use, was adopted. But the real stumbling-block was that the Conference then reached—to select the unit of value. The French sys tem had been decided on as that of the largest popula tion, embracing ; as it did, several other countries. It is true that the exports and imports of the United Kingdom in 1865 did exceed those of the nations that had then entered the Convention, the former being £490,000,000, the latter £472,000,000, exclusive of Switzerland, but tile: coin of the former was esti mated at £100,000,000, wn . L'e that of the latter was .E300;000,000 ; hence, in choosing the system of the most numerous population, less expense an - el labour would be incurred iu recoinage. In considering the other great nations, it was found that they were but little affected—the United States, Russia, and Austria having a paper currency. The most feas able coin, as a unit, appeared to be the five-franc piece. The English pound represented 25 francs 2u cents ; the United States dollar nearly equals four shillings; 25 francs nearly equal the pound, four dollars equalling the Napoleon, or 16 shillings, and five d five dollars equalling the pound, or 25 francs. The United States coinage varies three-and- a -half per cent. from the franc ; but although t his was made ing differed from them when consider the subjec'. light of by the American representatives, the Senate Several schemes were, howev er, introduced into onizine the United Con g ress with the object of harm States currency w ith the system adopted at the being Mr. D. Ay. Kelley's Bill of July l 2 , 1868. He suggests that Conference, the tnost feasible each gold dollar shall containone-and-a- half Fren c h grammes of pure gold, a nd weigh one and two-thi r d s; by which 1,003 ne w dollars would equal 1,000 old dollars. Thi s would be reduci ng a step towards the diff ere nce between the money of the United Statcs * St. Paul's Magazine Jue,1869. , and of Britain and Germany, while adjusting it more closely to the French system. One hundred francs contain a Mile over twenty-nine grammes of gold, while twenty of the United States pro posed dollars would contain 30 grammes, and one thousand British pence 301 grammes, and these might, Mr. Kelley thinks, easily be made equi valent to four British pounds. By slightly chang ing the weight, a hundred francs would equal a thousand pence and two thousand cents, and each of these would equal thirty French grammes, now the equivalent of three German crowns, which would make the dollar, the five-franc piece, four shillings, and three-twentieths of a German crown alike in value. How far Mr. Kelley's bill militates against the system laid down at the Conference we cannot tell, but one of its cla it - 3es provides that silver shall be a legal tender for sums under ten dollars, and 25 grammes of silver shall make a dollar. We imagine the Conference in rejecting the double standard had no idea of throwing out silver as a legal ten der for small sums. Mr. Kelley's gold coins would be pieces of $ - 20, $lO, $5, $3, and $l. As re gards the English potted its exact measure is 113.001 grains fine gold, while the 25-franc piece would be 112.008 or -993 of a grain less or in value 2.126, equal to .88, or nearly nine-tenths per cent- Mr. Feer Herzog, the Swiss representative, thought so small a difference only the limit of tolerance, but from this the British representatives dissented, as they considered that their Government would in honour, and to avoid having sovereigns not exactly alike in circulation, have to recoin, and perhaps ulti mately to abandon, the sovereign. It is, however, the case that the British Mint alone charges nothing . for coining ; hence if one per cent. be deducted for seignorage, the value would be equalized, while the contracts in existence with countries which did not join the Convention could be settled, not in coin, but in gold bars. An objection was raised to the five-franc gold piece ; for if coins were struck Of that value, and of 10, 20, and 25 francs, mistakes would be constantly occurring, owing to the slight difference in size. Already mistakes are made even in the present more marked gold pieces of France, which would repeatedly occur in verysmall pieces, be sides their being more liable to be lost. It was then proposed to raise the common denominator to ten, which was in harmony with the decimal system, and the franc, with neither of which does the five' franc piece agree. Such a coin was once largely circulated as a ducat, and was the smallest geld coin before the five-franc piece was issued. M. Wallenberg and Professor Leoni Levi favoured it, while M. de Parien did not object. The represen tatives of Austria gave it the preference as in readily agreeing with their coinage, 13 representa tives voting for it ; those of England and Sweden were against it while Prussia, Baden, Wurtemberg , and Belgium abstained from voting. The Confer' ence, by way of conciliating England, added a COh of 25 francs, from which the mistaken idea tire s° that they had adopted that coin as the unit, whi ch was not the case, the five-franc gold piece being taken as the basis of the monetary system, the coins of all nations to be made an exact multiple or con' formable to it. The reviewer objects to the action of the Convention in contemplating only a chang e of coins without touching on the system of currency The Master of the Mint assured the Conventio n that England would not come into their proposal, as it would entail too great an inconvenience for th e advantage it would confer, and this was in effe ct the conclusion arrived at by the Royal Coina,ission appointed immediately after to consider the subject, and with the concurrence of the mercantile cum' munity.. At the same time the Commission fulif acknowledged that a uniform system alike i n the higher and lower coins as well as in weights and inea sures would be productive of great general advantage: Both the Master of the Mint and ProfessorLeoni Levi advocated the 10-franc gold piece as the unit: 1 115 would necessitate a new coinage, and reduce ou r shilling to a ten-penny piece. Ten new shillings would equal the new gold piece ; four pounds, the large coin, would be ten of these new gold coins, or one hundred francs ; two pounds would ecilla! five of the new coins, or fifty francs ; one pou rsn would be two and a half of the new coins, equal to twenty-five francs ; sixteen :killings would eq l - 1:11 two new gold coins, or twenty francs ; eight O il ' lings would equal one, the unit, or ten francs . There would be no difficulty, we imagine, in g et ' tin; a bill passed through Congress, either to hat monise the coinage to such a system, or to adopt i t ' "File silver would consist of pieces equal to five hence, to two francs, to one franc, to half a fr anc l and a quarter franc; and the copper coinage w ould be a ten cent piece, equal to a penny, one of five cent s ' and one cent. We are glad to see that the Hon. ,• Ruggles has been commissioned by the President t° attend the approaching Statistical Conference at the Hague, which will bring the most active ine hl : bar of the United States Delegation to the Fe lls Conference again to Europe to re-open this sub" ject, as it surely will be unofficially, if not officially Indeed, Austria intends to coin pieces equal to 01 10-franc and 20 franc pieces; and Greece, the PaP 3 , States, Roumania, as well as the United State s sn' Canada, have taken action on the subject. 1)35t Tuesday at Pesth the bill introducing a gold. cei ty age, with the franc as unit, was agreed to. 1 " North German Confederation have passed reselg tiops, while Sweden proposes to strike gold colliS (Anal to 10 francs and 25 franc;, and France lis g resolved to alter her standard to gold ; thus En& laud has been left almost alone, while even Cll O talks of coming into the system. t The Rev. Samuel Nott, .father of Samuel No. ; jun., superintendent of the Hartford, Providence, R. Fishkill Railroad, died at the residence of his son in 1 131 ford, on Tuesday, Juuo 1. Ho was the last survivor ° the band of five missionaries sent to the East Indies by th° • American Board of Commissioners for Foreign 31issical in 1812. [ADVERTISEMENT. I —Holloway's Ointment and Pi lls r,t Bad Legs. —Any unnatural discharge from the skin is t e all times disagreeable, but sometimes it becomes not ow/ irritating, but offensive; bad legs, old wounds, scr ofP" .1 D and- scorbutic eruptions are cooled, soothed, and curet., be I Holloway's ointment. It at once arrests all diseases Of curet., surface, by purifying and regulating the cireula , tio ri their neighbourhoOd, by giving energy to the nerves of. t „4 affoe - ed part, and by expelling all poisonous and nosi°, ( l matters. It ejects the seeds of all virulent eruptions s" 0 , ulceration, and thus confers - no temporary or partial bo but a complete and permanent cure. By means of the' remedies all persons may aim at attaining health , and vt" invariably succeed. LAD VERTISS htENT.]-11encerorth no one will doubt the va•-`,..,0 properties of Du Barry's health-restoring Revalenta Ava" Invalids' and Infants' Food, since to the thousands of blesele,, it has already received from Invalids whose position had l' s deemed hopeless, we may now add that of his Holiness the ,pouf whose health has been perfectly restored by it after thirty - Ye a ,' unsuccessful medical treatment. We quote from the "C4azei.„„ii Midi," July 25th:—" Rome, July 21, 1866. - The health of the Father is excellent, especially since, abandoning all other re dies, ho has confined himself entirely to Du Barry's Revel e ; o l. Arabica Food, of which he consumes a plateful at every "" eJ It has produced a surprisingly beneficial effect on his health , his Holiness cannot praise this excellent food too highly: 2l of extract a few out of more than 6 3 ,00 0 cures :--Cure No. 58,;‘,"iet the Marchioness de Brehan, of seven years' liver coruP i ': o o, wasting away, debility, nervousness, with a nervous palpit ao w all over, bad digestion, constant sleeplessness, and the west de tolerable nervous agitation. Cure No 1.771: Lord Stuer',lo. Decics, Lord-Lieutenant of Waterford , of many years' dysPe9,;.o, No. 49,832: "Fifty years' indescribable agony from dysP , % o o, nervousness, asthma, cough, constipation, flatulency, sP 3 'gt• sickness, and vomiting —Maria Joly." Cure No. 46,27 0 : , James Roberts, of Frimley, Surrey , of 30 y ears ' diseased It o spitting of blood, liver derangement, and pariial deafness. th at portant Caution—Beware of the many unsavoury and more sloppy imitations to which, without authority, Baron Lieb.' name is most audaciously attached. 25 5 ' In tins, at Is ;Ilb2s od 21b3 4s 6d slbslls 12 lbs 21 lbs 40s. -Also Dur BARRYS REVALENTA AnAnteL Cnoco4o POWDER is packed in tin canisters: for 12 cups at :es, for ' 5 50 at 3s 6d, for 48 cups at 6s, for 288 cups at 30s, f o r 576 cups ' 3 'loo'3'loo —being about one penny per cup. The 30 s and 55s tins are free of carriage in England on receipt of Post-Office Orel er l yea BAR'. Y Du BARRY and Co., No. 77, Rege n t-st ree t, London 1 All Grocers and Chemists. BIRTHS. goo' SMITH - On the 22d inst., at 69, Queen's-gate, the Mrs. Woolmore Smith, of a son. 1 -14 ' UNDEILWOOD—On the 23d inst., at 10, Park-square , gent's-park, N.V ., th e w if e o f Frederick Under Esq., of twin sons. MARRIAGES. at , CLARKE - -BEARE —At St. Andrew's Church, W'all-str-og, Arthur Doveton. son of J. Clarke, Esq., of 36, r i n - o t shire-place, to Edith Amy, youngest daughter of . 10 . 1 W. G. Beare, of Devonshire-place. PARKER —KITCHENER. —On the 24th inst., at Weybri d e," liarry Rainy Parker, Esq., eldest son of the late 'Sh oo , Chancellor Sir James Parker, to Frances Fm il y daughter of Lieut.-Col. Kitchener, late 9th Regt. DEATES. CIIAMBEIIS—On the 23d inst., et his residence. (3, 1 31 ° °°1- field-place, Pimlico, Mr. S. Chambers, aged 82. lra JARDINE —On the 23d jest. ) at Brighton, Major - G ee° Jardine, aged 61. WILSON On the 21st inst., Thos. Wilson, Esq , late °f the firm of Thos. Wilson, Sons, and Co., Hull, aged 78. London: Printed and Published by WILLIAM ANDOCCT, of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at VIP SUN Office, N 0.1 1 2, tr a- , in the Precinct of the Savoy, the county of Xicicil el. Friday, June 25,1868. I