The Sun. — London, England, 1858-11-30 00:00:00

BRITISH COL UMBIA. (Front a Correspondent of the Times.) VICTORIA, VANCOUVER'S ISLAND, OCT. 6. In, my last letter from San Francisco I stated that I would visit the Fraser River gold mines, and report upon them from personal observations. An opportunity occurred of my doing so in the follow- ing manner. In consequence of rumours of an alarming colli sion 7 oetween the miners and the Indians, the Go verner determined to visit the interior in person ; and the account of the collision which was brought to him by a deputation from the miners at Fort Yale and Fort Hope was given with such minute ness., detailing the massacre of 45 white men and the commission of other atrocities, and the demand for assistance was so pressing, that the Governor made a requitition upon her Majesty's naval and military officers on the station for men to accom pany.him to support the civil authorities if neces- nary. I accompanied this party, and now give you th,g jottings of the trip. I regret the delay in forwarding this letter, but I could not help it, for the last mail, by which I in tended to convey it, left a few hours before I got back to Victoria. The Governor had with him 22 non-commissioned officers and men of the Royal Marines and Lieute nant *Jones, R.M., in charge, from the Satellite ; and 14 non-comissioned officers and men of the Royal Engineers, and Major J. S. Hawkins, R.E., vb.o commanded the party. Mr. Bannerman, the geologist of the. British Boundary Commission now engaged, in this country in " fixing" the line of de markation between ourselves and our " cousins," accompanied the party. We left Esquimault harbour, ne ar Victoria, late hi the evening of August 30, and early next morn in g anchored off Point Roberts, near the mouth of Fraser River. Point Roberts is a narrow peninsula wlich runs into the Gulf of Georgia, and some interest attaches to it at present from the fact that the 49th parallel of north latitude, which is the boundary line between the British and American po: ;sessions, crosses the point, giving to America a small portion of the northern extremity of it, as determined by the astronomers of the two nations en the commission. A joint national monument is to be erected here. _ . . • Some of us landed on Point Roberts, and visited the spot marked as the boundary. The first portion •of the-'new colony of British Columbia which I touched promised to justify the high eulogiums I had heard passed upon the country. The scenery of Point Roberts is rich to a degree—almost tropical in luxuriance and in colouring. The land rises gently from the shore of a long, graceful, crescent shaped bay, covered with blue shingle, first to a strip of narrow plateau, from which it runs up into a high bank, impenetrable from the rankness of the vegetation; Douglas pine, cedar, sycamore, maple, alder, birch, dogwood, snowberry—covered with round white wax-like flowers,—the wild cherry in full bearing—the fruit tempting to the eye, but bitter as quinine to the taste,—willows, wild goose berry, chrysanthemums of a light violet, very deli cate,: Michaelmas daisy, sand reeds, and many other plants hustling one another for room. The first light frost of autumn had just tinged th 4 .s mass of foliage, and produced the most resplen dent colouring imaginable. The combination was made up of ins-sees of dark green, the colours of the alder and pine ; clumps of the rich canary, of the broad-leaved maple • the deep red of the logwood, and the light green of the cedars—quite as gorgeous, but without the glare, of tropical colouring. The entrance to Fraser River, between Point Garry and Point Pelly, is nine miles north of the 49th parallel and of Point Roberts. The views obtained of the mainland as we approach the river are very fine. The horizon is bounded by a curved line of lofty mountains of all shapes—some extend ing iiito a chain, others thrown into a congeries of peaks, crags, and bluffs, speckled with snow, and broken by great gaps and chasms,—the whole at first appearing as if enveloped in a cloud of blue gauze. On nearer approach we found that all these mountains were covered from base to summit with pines. To a height of 3,000 feet the moun tains of Fraser River are covered with timber. The change from Vancouver's Island is at once manifest. Everything on the continent is on a grand scale. I must try and give you some idea of the river, which is fast becoming so famous. The entrance proper is between Point Pelly on the north and Point Garry on the south bank. An extensive flat belt of low alluvial land intervenes between the mountains I have just mentioned and the Gulf of Georgia. The river runs through the delta, a con siderable portion of which it overflows. Outside the mouth of the river the navigation is rendered difficult and tedious by shallows, but Capt. Richards, of her Majesty's surveying ship. Plumper, has dis covered a deep and safe passage, which, when buoyed, will afford easy access to large vessels. The Satellite entered by this channel lately. The width of the river at and for some little distance beyond the entrance is about two miles. The river is more remarkable for its depth than for its breadth. The impediment to its navigation for many hundreds of miles is caused by the strength of its current and its rapids. The water is clear and pure, of excellent quality, cool, and agreeable to drink, without filtration. The soil on both sides is evidently rich from the exuberance of the vegetation. The south bank is covered with a crop of long coarse grass and shrubs, grouped into dense thickets ; while the north side produces bulrushes in the marshes, and belts and clumps of Douglas pine and other coni ferce on the elevated dry spots. An Englishman is astonished at seeing the pine family select :such rich soils as it does here. It indulges the same taste on the north coast of California and else where on the Pacific. This fact puzzled the hon. and learned members whose labours arc given in the blue-book on the Hudson's Bay Compuny, if 1 mistake not. In British Columbia the pine takes the matter very indifferently. It spreads itself in one unbroken sheet from the bottom of the deepest valley to the top of the highest hill. Rich soil and poor, deep soil and thin, black vegetable mould and gray clay, seem to suit it equally well ; and some times, as if to show its contempt of luxurious feed ing, it flourishes in the clefts of rocks without any sort of soil that I could distinguish, nourished by moisture. A few miles up the river narrows to a mile. The body of water is immense, the depth must be equal to that of the ocean. The Leviathan could ascend for 35 miles, if, according to our captain's dictum, she had astern wheel. The captain was not correct. Side wheel boats can go up for 35 miles to Fort Langley. There, owing to the strength of the cur rent and of the rapids a stern wheel boat is re quired. The stern wheel gets over the shoals better, too, because it displaces less water than the side wheels. As we ascend some 10 miles up the country on both sides becomes clothed with trees, and the view is confined to the glades that pierce the profuse and tangled thickets. The current gets strong, too strong for sailing vessels, which could only warp up. On the coast, at or near the mouth of the river, and for many miles up, there is not a site eligible for a town. Except a solitary , otter, which gave us a passing stare, we saw no signs of life for many miles. The absence of birds is re markable. The scene is rich, soft, and luxuriant, but very lonely. Fifteen to twenty miles up the pines recede in_ long straggling belts, and give place to a foreground of alder, poplar, and sycamore, and the edge of the river's banks are feathered with willows and shrubs. The river continues to contract, about the width of the Thames at Greenwich, and the vegeta tion thickens and grows ranker until the banks become impenetrable walls of foilage, in places having the appearance of artificially trained rows as seen in the clipped avenues in England, the trees very tall and slender, and so lithe that they bend low to every passing breeze. The effect is very graceful. You can see the same sort of thing on the river San Juan in Nicarrap;ua if you take that route when you pay us a visit. But I'm getting prosy' and mu s t h asten on w i th my narrat i ve. alf an hour's steaming and weleave the narrows, the banks recede, and the river expands into a wide lake— the current disappears. The water seems to be re posing on its way down, and the surface is clear and placid as the fa ce of a mirror. On emerging from this basin We op en the highlands and come under the shadow of the mountains, which appear bolder and assume an aspect of greater grandeur than on the first view. It is really difficult to say which gratifies the eye most on this most bea u t i ful river, the rich varying hues of the foliage on either side, Which changes so frequently as to dispel monotony, or the fore. ground of cerulean mountains clothed i n th e i r tall graceful p i nes. While feasting upon these beauties a picture of a different character presents itself—a fleet of 13 canoes (.1 was prosaic enough to count them as they flitted by), a boy and a girl in each, fishing for salmon. How skilfully these young creatures managed their frail, tiny barks ! They rush them through the fiercest rapids, wind and co ax them along the stony, devious belts in shore, and glide them over the broad currents with equal safety.. Besides their skill, they display a grace in their management which is unattainable by civilised man. A turn of the Reach brings the village in view—a single parallel line of huts built of reeds and thatched with leaves, on the white sandy beach ; a long line of canoes staked in single file in front, cunningly placed out of reach of the steamer's swell ; a few of the patriarchs of the tribe; gentlemen who once were " braves," sunning themselves among their dogs, enjoying their otium cum 4ignitate after the fashion of the Youcloulyets ; and the ladies grilling the salmon (flattened and boned) in a cleft stick stuck upright before the fire ;—a perfect picture of savage fife. A little way beyond the Indian village the scenery presents a new phase. Pines, of a more commanding height than any yet seen, resume their place on the banks and run down to the verge of the water, their boughs bearing festoons of the tiliandsia or Spanish moss, the first I have seen in this country. The effect of this elegant gossamer drapery trailing, as it does, among the trees, must be seen to be appreciated. I have seen hundreds of miles of it in California, but cannot find similitudes to describe it by. Now for a little practical episode. We stop our boat alongside the brigantine Recovery, which is anchored m the middle of the river doing duty as l i a revenue cutter. We deliver to the Recovery something " for the comfort of the inner man ;" and we pick up Dr. Wallace, the assistant-surgeon of the Satellite, to accompany Major Hawkins' military party,—a happy change for us. The Go vernor transacts some business. Our party gets three cheers that " make the welkin ring" from the Recovery's men, which we, of course. politely re turn ; and we start in the dusk, which soon changes to darkness—most fortunately for you and your readers, for you are saved from further description, save and except a few particulars touching the Re covery, which will be brief. The Recovery is not a man-of-war, but a private vessel, belonging to the Hudson's Bay Company. She has a revenue officer (a civilian) on board and a complement of 30 sailors and marines from the Satellite, in charge of the second•lieutenant of the latter ship, Mr. Roach, and two midshipmen. This force does the State some service in guarding the river against the ascent of unlicensed spirit's to poison the poor Indians with, and in looking after other matters of a fiscal nature,—more particularly the suppression of smuggling from the American embryo towns - which have sprung up in mushroom haste on Paget Sound and at Semiahmoo Bay, near Point Roberts, since the discovery of gold. Our kind neighbours boasted publicly that the " City of Semiahmoo" would acquire a rapid development" from its facilities for carrying on a contraband trade with the new colony, which John Bull would be too sleepy-headed, good, easy man, to put a stop to. Some, deeply read in Mattel, even doubted, or rather pretended to doubt, John's right to interfere. What ! Stop a free and in dependent Yankee in the exercise of trading in what, where, and with whom he pleased, subject only to the impulses of his own sovereign will and pleasure ? This doctrine was enunciated partly from natural obliquity of mind, partly from a spirit of bullying, and from what is vulgarly called "trying it on," and partly for the use and edifica tion of Bunkum. It was initiated in Washington City, and travelled via Washington Territory, to Semiahmoo, and other kindred places. But alas for human hopes and aspirations ! One of the qualifications of Mr. Douglas is that he lived among our good cousins long before he became Governor ; that for years he has had business transactions with them; and that he knows them, consequently. "He knows them like a book," said a politician the other day, in the street to another man. " Like a book ! Yes, like a library," re joined his interlocutor. " Lost money by them, too, at that." It is clear they can't come over to the Governor. He'd sooner smother them with politeness. But to my tale. The well laid spe culation in smuggling has been nipped in the bud. With all his blustering and ostentatious wearing of arms (always the sign of a coward), the Yankee is, of all men, the easiest brought under the cor rection of the law. There have been a few cases of attempted " run ning," but the whiz of a rifle bullet " over the bow" has always brought the gentleman to with wonderful alacrity. There has not been a single case of collision. But without the little Recovery we should not have been allowed, I believe, to call the Fraser River our own. SEPT. 1. Passed last night at Fort Langley, a post of the Hudson's Bay Company. From the late debates in Parliament one can gather that the company's beds in London have not been " beds of roses." I never tried such a bed, and cannot speak of its qua lities, but I have used many a hard bed, and from experience, I can say that the Langley bids bear away the palm in this quality. Mine suggested a hint for Mr. Roebuck's benefit. Let him get a di rector as a scapegoat, to pass some night on one of their own beds out here, and all the sins of the company will be expiated. The welcome was kind and hearty, and the hospitality generous, for which I am most grateful, but the bed rather primitive. While the governor is transacting a heavy budget of business I stroll about and look at the place. The fort is a stockade of strong pickets enclos ing a quadrangle which contains the buildings for the transaction of business and for residences. Everything has been designed for use and nothing for ornament; the gentleman in charge, like all the " servants," is well-educated, intelligent, very civil, obliging, and gentlemanly; no show, fuss, or osten tation. All the arrangements arc with a view to business, and great order and regularity reigns throughout the establishment. One may be taken as a sample of all their establishments. The soil at Langley is rich, and wherever it has been cleared of trees it has produced an abundant crop of grass—most excellent pasture, of which the good quality of the dairy produce gives ample tes timony. The ground is actually matted with grass —so thick is it—and it is low?. and green even at this season, while that of Vancouver's Island is dried up. The climate is moist, and the atmo sphere is at present quite grateful, warm, and balmy. In summer the musquitoes are very tor menting. The Fort is surrounded by forest, chiefly the universal Douglas pine, some of which have at tained gigantic proportions here. Fruits and vege table are very abundant, and the apple trees are bending under the weight of their golden crop. This is by far the most eligible place for settlement I have yet seen on the continent. The Company have a farm four miles in the interior, on which horses and cattle thrive well, but not sheep—there is too much forest for them. The view from the Fort is very fine. It embraces the river, which washes the base of the little pla teau upon which the Fort stands ; takes in an In dian village on the opposite side of the Fraser, the valley of the Keitsay watered by the Pitt River, a tributary of the Fraser, and a great clump of lofty mountains, being a portion of the coast range lying eastward at a distance of some fifteen or twenty miles from Langley. The Keitsav valley, which runs from the Fraser River at 'Langley to the mountains on the east, is a portion of a greater valley lying between the 49th parallel, the Gulf of Georgia, and the coast range. and which is said to contain a tract of rich, flat bottom land, 100 square miles in extent, fit for cultivation. The Fraser River runs through it. Like the rest of the continent, it is unexplored. Its situation would indicate that the soil was alluvial. It seemed to ma well suited to rice growing. Like the rest of the. country, it is heavily timbered. I had here some little opportunity of seeing the relation of the Indians to the Company. The fact is that every " fort" forms a small nucleus of civili zation, around which the effect of the Company's treatment is quite apparent. The Indians in these localities have all made a step in advance of the more remotely placed savages. Here were young Indians employed as porters, coopers, boatmen, menials in the houses, all earning wages, paid chiefly in commodities ; while some find employ ment as pilots. One of these piloted our boat into the entrance of the river. They are most efficient pilots. I was informed that some of the Indians were so intelligent as to have risen to the important position of interpreters. I could not test their ac• complishments, but I did meet an Indian boy who spoke very fair English. Taken young, there is no doubt but that the Indian is susceptible .of being reclaimed ; but in order to civilise him he must be removed from the influence of savage life. Their natural intelligence and acuteness I had seen dis• played on several occasions. The solitude of Langley has been invaded and the Company's business engagements disturbed by the intrusion of the gold hunters, who at first were very sau-.T. The gentleman in charge complained of the Yankees having been very intrusive, imper tinent and lawless when they first came up the river in force, and when they fancied they were beyond control of the authorities. They invaded his corn-fields, ate the green peas. stole the oats, tore down the fences for firewood, and miscon ducted themselves in other ways. How strange that the natural coarseness, the bad manners, and the vulgarity of this people will cling to them wherever they go 1 For my own part, I take this to be an illustration of the effect of bad Government upon national manners and morals, A stop must be put to these unseemly and brutal displays of their customs in this country. Our own self-respect calls for their repression. If these people don't know the practice of decency, they must be taught it ; and if they don't choose to learn it, they must go back to their own country, where they can indulge their propensities. I of course, allude to the "Hoosier" class —the great Yankee " un• washed," and do not include in my denunciation a ny American who deserves the epithet of gentle man. In front of Fort Langley a narrow island, called Manson's Island, about two mil % long, divides the river. The smaller branch is the one on which the Fort is built. It is the south channel. It has a depth of three fathoms in the middle, but along shore it shoals to about seven feet. The tide raises the water from 18 inches to '2 feet. The town of Langley consists of about a dozen tents, used for all the purposes of life—decency excepted. " Growler House" is a tent where brandy is sold on the sly under cover of permission to "furnish meals at all hours." " Our House" is in the same business. Other tents are occupied byway faring miners "loafing" away time which, if well employed in the mines, would yield them a good return. The scene was strange enough, full of antithesis, but so little edifying, that I had better suppress it. The canvass town is on the beach; but, as a new town is to be laid out under autho- rity two miles lower down the river on a good site, I suppose this rapscallionry will " quit" soon. Our steamer is now off up the river, and I must start. The day is sweltering hot, and the boat is even hotter than the day—a floating oven. It makes me perspire to look at her, and she is so crowded with passengers that there is no elbow room. The only place to stand in even is the wheel house. I hope the mosquitoes will behave them selves, for if they make free with one at such a disadvantage they will mar my enjoyment of the scenery. A short distance beyond Fort Langley we passed through a group of seven islands of fanciful shapes —some triangular, and one the exact shape of a heart—covered with sycamores, their silvery loaves glittering in the sun as they fluttered to the lightest breath of air that stirred. The river here is ex panded into a wide glittering lake and is rather sluggish, but a short distance beyond the islands the current begins to be felt, the steamer begins to labour and fails to keep up her speed. The captain gives the current at five knots an hour. At seven miles above Langley sounded and found 10 fathoms. This depth is found for 80 miles up from the mouth of the river. Ten to 15 miles from Langley the river assumes the form of a series of magnificent reaches, winding round the headlands of a succession of long strips of valleys and bottom land which run in lateral lines along the banks at intervals. Some of these valleys recede for miles, and run into the distant mountains. One would suppose their soil to be rich, judging from the luxuriant growth of maple and deciduous shrubs which succeed the pine forests, now left behind. For many miles we have a noble foreground of lofty mountains, from 2,000 to 3,000 feet in height, variously shaped—great round mounds, long serrated ridges, and snowy peaks. None of them bald, all covered with timber, the narrow strips of bottoms at their base grow ing the softer woods—maples, sycamores, alder, wild cherry, &c.—while the mountains them selves yielded no other trees than pines. Tho vegetation is much fresher here than on the Gulf of Georgia. No autumnal tints yet: The season is later than on the coast. A few miles' steaming, and the scene is consi derably changed. Banks of clay succeed to the vegetable mould which produced the trees above mentioned, and we have a dense growth of cedars. " This country is well adapted for settlement," " Who would remain in Europe that could settle in such scenery, soil, and climate ?" were some of the cogitations of the English passengers. Twenty-three miles from Langley the Smess River empties into the Fraser on the south side. About 15 or 20 miles up the Smess there is a party of Sappers and Miners and others, under the charge os Capt. Haig, R.E., encamped. This party belongs to the Boundary Commission, and is detached to verify the line of the 49th parallel, as ascertained by the Atherican astronomers. Both parties (the American and English) agree in their work. The American party traced the parallel from Semiahmoo to the Smess Valley, and the English party verified the work at both ends. Capt. Haig walked along the line, which had been delineated by notching the trees by the Americans, from Smess to Semiahmoo. The journey was terrible, from the denseness of the forest, and took him three days - to perform—the distance about 50 miles, I think, he said. He de. scribes the country as a tangled thicket, all except. Smess Valley, which is a rich open plain, covered with the tallest grass he ever saw—a fact which some of our keen neighbours have not been slow to discover and to take advantage of. An Americanised Swiss and a true live Yankee are squatted in it, feeding their worn-out mules. For the present they are quite welcome ; better turn the grass to some account than let it rot. I believe the authorities think so, and do not entertain a " dog-in-the manger " policy. A little way beyond the Smess we come upon another cluster of islands covered with tall syca mores and spruces—which grow in thick belts as close as artificial hedges—in a reach of the river wide enough to justify the appellation of a small biy. Five miles from the Smess the River Chilwaiuck (pronounced as if written Chilwayack), falls into Fraser, also on the south side. The river drains a large lake some 20 miles up the country. Both it and the Smess are at all seasons navigable by large canoes, and in the high stages of water in summer by the batteaux of the Hudson's Bay Company, which carry 30 to 40 tons. At the mouth of the Chilwaiuck there is a fishing station of the Company, now deserted in consequence of the idleness of the Indians. The discovery of gold is fast corrupting the River Indians. They neither have caught sufficient salnion this season for their own winter supply, .nor have they worked as here tofore for the Company. From the mouth of the Smess the Smess plains extend back into the interior, and run along the river for some distance. They are spoken of as being extensive and having good soil. Likely enough, though I cannot speak with any certainty, not having landed. They appeared buried in wood like the rest of the country. There is great diversity of opinion as to the quantity of good soil in the country' available for settlement by farmers. I shall only speak positively upon this subject when I know the fact from my own observation. The sunset this evening was the most glorious imaginable. None of our party has ever seen any thing like it. As the sun withdrew behind the mountains they , became enveloped in thin airy clouds of deep violet, the edges tinged with a rich rose colour. Presently the two colours united and overspread the whole series of mountains in a colour quite indescribable by so poor a hand at these matters as your correspondent. We encamped for the night on a little ledge covered with reeds, on the bank of the Harrison River, another tributary of the Fraser. This river drains a series of lakes in the Lilooett country—an extensive district which lies to the north-cast of the river, and which contains two vast chains of moun tains—portions of the coast range running inland from the gulf of Georgia, and another spur of the same range called the Lilooett Spur. These two ranges run north-east from the coast to the Fraser River, leaving a great stretch of country between them which contains the lakes drained by the Har rison. The Harrison is a large river, and its water is remarkable for the deep blue of its colour—a striking contrast to that of the Fraser, which is very light—almost grayish. It falls into the Fraser on the north side, 55 miles from Langley. It was amusing and instructive also to see the facility with which most of our passengers adapted themselves to circumstances. No sooner had the boat stopped her engine than a crowd of miners sprang on shore, each with his blanket, his frying pan, and his little kit. While I was gaping about me and gazing at the scene these " old hands" had made themselves comfortable. In a few minutes fires had been lit and the frying-pans brought into play to cook their bacon ; coffee was preparing, and some of the felloivs - were actually asleep. Evidently oldcampaigners, these fellows ! No strife and no noise. THE EXTRAORDINARY CHARGE OF MURDER IN WALES. David Thomas, who has been several times re manded on a charge of murder at Blaendynfich, near Llandovery, was on Saturday brought before the bench of magistrates. It should be remembered that the prisoner is named David Samuel in the warrant, and it is by that name he is designated in the evidence. Mr. Parry, of Carmarthen, appeared for the prosecution ; and Mr. Owen, of Pontypool, for the prisoner. Mary Jones said she lived at Glasalltfach in 1825, and remembered Lewis Wil liams, who was her second cousin, being mur dered. She also remembered a servant at Sletty- evanddu at that time, called David Samuel. He was in the habit of coming at times to see his sister, who was in the employ of witness's grand mother. At that time he was marked by small pox on the face, and heavy eyebrows and a low fore head, and was about 19 or 20 years of age. On being asked to look round the room and see whe ther she could see David Samuel. the witness said she did not 'think she could, but that the prisoner very much resembled him. It was 33 years since she saw Samuel. William Davies said he remembered hearing of the murder of Lewis Williams. He did not know David Samuel, of Slettyevanddu, but knew David Samuel, the son of the miller of Trebane Mill, Celvcwm (the person who committed the offence with which the prisoner was charged). He saw him at Dowlais about eight or ten years after the death of Lewis. After closely inspecting the pri soner at the bar the witness said he was not the David Samuel, the miller's son, referred to. Several other witnesses were examined, and a further remand was applied for,but the magistrates having conferred for a short time unanimously agreed to dismiss the case, and the prisoner was accordingly discharged. LA BELLE FRANCE. (From the Dispatch.) Were we to j udge of France by its literature alone we know not that we could assign a higher character to any other people in Eurepe. There is a clearness, simplicity, and logical rigid sequence, combined with a fascination and easy facility in the style of their great authors, that amply satisfies the intelligence of the most reflective. There is also a precision and justness of thought in their views, such infinite sagacity and good sense com bined with remarkable subtlety in their enun ciations of opinion, while over all presidas such a well regulated moral tone, that nothing but sectarian bigotry or national prejudice could fail to appraise them at a very high valuation. We have risen from the perusal of the dissertation of Monsieur De Montalembert on the recent Ministerial crisis in England, with sentiments of earnest admiration. We are surprised that a foreigner, and especially a Frenchman, should apprehend the significancy of our political and social life with such a clear insi"ht, and in such a catholic and philosophical spirit. We think it must do us all good to see ourselves reflected in the mirror of his just views and intelligent wisdom. We trust his candid examination of the " Condition of England Ques tion" will make us conscious of the institutions which have elicited from so sagacious a statesman such well-founded admiration, and gravely ponder over the responsibilities of unsettling a system " the envy of surrounding nations and the glory of the world," seems to be least appreciated by those who are most indebted to its virtues. The good and sagacious Frenchman " hopes on— hopes ever." lie yet expects even for his prostrate country the happy consummation ours has already reached. He has faith in the destiny of that noble band of Gallic patriots who, amid the universal de generacy, have not fallen from the mettle of their pas ture. And so it is with Poland, Italy, and Hun gary—" the thin red line "—the small and tenuous band of heroic souls who "would rather not be, than live to be in awe of such a thing as I myself," mistake their own enthusiasm and devotedness for the public spirit of their nation, and believe their dastard and. craven countrymen to be animated with the self-sacrifice and intrepid national pride which inspires their own independence and intrepidity. They have yet to learn that to , acquire liberty, nations must first of all deserve it, and know how wisely to use it. They have still to discover that a whole nation cannot be disen thralled by the mere aspirations of the handful of the good and true ; and every people must work out their own political salvation, not through the self-immolation of the few, but by the heroic patriotism of the many. What hope is there for the country that Monta lembert loves so well, but not, we fear, wisely ? Is it race or is it destiny that places her, in our ap prehension, further off than ever from her political redemption? Is it that being Celtic, her people without septs andchiefs wander like sheep without a shepherd, and "find no end in wandering mazes lost ?" Is it that their genius and character having designed them for the patriarchal absolutism of a feudal oligarchy, they find that having an nihilated their nobility, they are totally un fitted for that constitutional self-government whereby it seems the destiny of Saxons to " show the nations how to live ? " We reproach her rulers, we contend that she is what they have made her, we denounce the Emperor, call him tyrant and traitor— A vice •f kings ; A cutpurse of the empire and the rule ; That from the shelf a precious diadem stole, And put it in his pocket I Yes, although he is only one, and his subjects 36 millions, we lay all the sins of the State upon his shoulders, and talk only of sympathy and commise ration with his suffering subjects. How long will this cant about the oppression of sovereigns blind us to the abjectness of the people ? It was not without reason that the greatest of Frenchmen called a Gaul singe-tigre—monkey he is now as he was then. If we would know how to appreciate the French character we will trace it through its history. Not to speak of our English monarchs having so often overrun France, or to insist too much on the un natural spectacle of many feudatories and vassals of its kings siding with strangers and invaders against their country, we rest at the massacre of St. Bartholomew for the " picture in little" of the nation. Next-door neighbours, intimate friends, families in kindly intercourse, the old in graver discourse, the young in the song and the dance, and the more intimate relationship of opening courtship, in the busy towns and the sunny villages but an hour or two before, part with friendly leave taking. But the guest, as he leaves, gives the signal wink to the Catholic servant of the Hugue not host • and. when the assassin bell tolls from every Christian church, the guests return to mur der their entertainers—Frenchmen, fellow-country men, neighbours, and friends. The Great Revolu tion—what is it but the one half of the people mur dering the other half—secret denunciations of friends and neighbours again anonymous ac cusations to veiled councils whispers of inciviSm —insinuations of disloyalty—and then straight to the guillotine, to say nothing of the baths and Meudon breeches—and this not against a foreign enemy, but against one another. There is an inveterate faithlessness, treachery, and distrust about all the national acts of the French, and withal a degree of poltroonery and subserviency among them that ought to make the reflective despair of their regeneration. Poor, harmless, well-meaning, sincere Louis is executed without one finger being raised to his rescue. The unhappy Widow Capet, the ward, as it were, of the whole nation, is beheaded, and a Queen that might have " inspired a soul beneath the' ribs of death," and roused the chivalry of Europe, passes away with out one Frenchman with soul enough to draw a sword to save or avenge her. The nobility that should have died in the last ditch for their order, their lands, and fair name, run away with scarcely a show of resistance, and become the miserable pauper refugees to happier countries. Napoleon— one man—usurps the Sovereign power, and scarcely one solitary Republican ventures upon the slightest resistance to his sway. Louis le Desire comes— Charles the Tenth " absquatulates," and again, not the feeblest resistance to his deposition is even attempted. Louis Philippe gets himself crowned ; he has numerous Princes of his own blood royal ; he surrounds himself with a Chamber of Peers. Bey presto ! He escapes "by the skin of his teeth ;" calls himself Mr. Smith ; carries his own carpet-bag ; his Princes disperse to the cry of " Sauve qui pent !" and King, Princes, Peers, Field-Marshals, " great men" and all, give up the finest kingdom in the world into the hands of a lawless rabble, without striking one blow or risk ing one scratch for their hearths, their homes, their women, or their property. The Republic succeeds, " one and indivisible" (!) Liberty, Equality, Frater nity, trees of liberty, machinery, dresses and decora tions—Albert, ouvrier, a Minister of State ! Pre sently appears a special constable fronkMarylebone and a smart young lady of the easy virtue sort. The Republic, one and indivisible—that is, Lamar tine, Ledru Rollin, and the rest—do not like him —confound his impudence—had prohibited his entry upon the soil of France. But modest assur ance and more profound humbug—more deep and skilful than the humbug it succeeded—carry the day. The Republic, one and indivisible, with all its patriots, Albert ouvriers, incorruptible Rollins, stump-orator Lamartines,heroee,Marshals, Generals, Admirals, armies and navies, vanish " in the twink ling of a bed-post," or change like the cruel fathers, country bumpkins, lovers and shepherdesses, into the clown harlequin, columbine of the pantomime; the Equality of the Republic " drifts" into the ab solute Dictatorship of the Empire ; and all fall down, without scruple or hesitation, to submit to be the slaves or victims of the Prisoner of Ham. The recent narrative of an Algerian victim of the coup d'etat, a landed gentleman, Colonel in the Imperial Guard at Waterloo, is a painful evidence of the fact that the French people, like the Bourbons, have learnt nothing and forgotten nothing. It proves too, conclusively, that "if you want to roast a Frenchman, you will get another to turn the spit." At the secret bidding of the President yet an inchoate Emperor —there seems to have • been no abjectness of subserviency, at which any he com missioned tothe duty would not stoop ; no treachery they would hesitate to perpetrate ; no fraud, in justice, or cruelty they would scruple to commit. Half the nation quaking with dastard terror were at the word of command arresting, imprisoning, spying, transporting the other. Gentlemen, without a moment's notice, were dragged from their peace ful country houses and the bosom of their families, and disappeared never to be heard of more. Vene rable ladies, distracted at the kidnapping of their sons, were tied to the cart's tail and dragged pri soners through the streets, trailed to death if they could not keep their feet. No accusation, no charge, no indictment, no trial. It was the pleasure of the Emperor—everybody ran, flew to execute it—that was enough. At the hint, the whisper, of any secret enemy, a lion's mouth anonymous denunciation was sufficient. It was enough that the best men in France should be suspected- 7 olf with them " with out judge or jury." This was not the act of the Praetorian cohorts, the myrmidons of the despot— - it was not the gens d'armerie alone, the spies, the police. Magistrates, private citizens, anticipated, by their zeal in the service of oppression, the official eagerness of the hired instruments of the law. The best generals of France were marched off to prison or across the - frontier by . their own troops—the men they-had led to victory. Everybody succumbed, everybody obeyed, every body fell down prostrate before the one man who had pluck enough to say they must. " The Emperor, said a Parisian barber to our friend the other day, "is a truly great man. No ruler has ever made.himself so feared." Is not Kossuth right in his recent lectUre, when he says there is no individuality, no self-dependence, no personal independence among the French; that the indivi duality is merged, sunk in the nation ; that they live in and for society—to be and to do not what they themselves are moved to, but what they see the majority do. Men, women, and children, are all ready to be spies of the Government--informers upon each other—secret police, anything ordered by the strongest power for the time against their own countrymen—their very friends and neighbours —their very relatives—their own families even. This is what this appalling narrative of France, not merely as it was but as it is, but too conclusively proves. Where is Changarnier, where Ledru Rollin—what became of Guizot, Montalembert, Thiers, Michelet, Louis Blanc, Cavaignac, and all the rest of the men of mark, and leaders of society and opinion ? Is there one great name in all France that is on the side of the Emperor ? Yet he rules, and all obey. Is there any class.:--the great landowners, the chief nobles, the Academy, the learned or the middle orders—in his interest ? Yet there he is, and they are nowhere. In England here we would fight it out — we have fought it out—our Cavaliers and Roundheads—our Jacobites and Hanoverians. We could have no coup d'etat here—no sudden jump into power would induce our Saxons to submit to it. We -would stand by our opinions— our rights—the law. The Duke of Wellington with the Army at his back would have been nothing to us. We would have drawn off and fallen back upon our strength, and taken the field again. Our nobles would die in harness rather than quit their grip of their rights and acres. Our Middle classes would stand shoulder to shoulder against the most power ful usurpation, and spend their last guinea and drop of blood before submitting to it. But there is the fact broadly staring us in the face, that in France revolution after revolution has been per fected without a struggle, almost without a pro- test ; and that whenever one man was strong and dexterous enough to get into position, all the rest fell down before him, the unwilling in submission, the indifferent in obsequious subserviency. Abuse of the Emperor, denunciations of his per fidy, perjury, tyranny, are really childish. He is an effect, not a cause of the state of France. He is the mere instrument of Providenceto prove to mankind that power will never lie idle or without fruits ; it will be always usurped where men are weak enough to permit it. One half the people helped the coup d'etat, and the other half succumbed to in place of resisting it, else it could never have been. It was the nineteenth century way of repeating the eve of St. Bartholomew. In every town and village throughout the Empire, we learn from the Algerian victim, there were arrests, cruelties, de portations under direct control of the municipal civilians—the fellow citizens of the denounced or suspected, There never will be freedom if subjects submit to be slaves, or help to rivet the manacles upon each other. LAW INTELLIGENCE—Nov. 29. COURT OF EXCHEQUER. ,Sittings at Nisi Prius, before Mr. Baron Martin and a Special Jury.) BENNETT V. WATKINS AND OTHERS. This was an action brought upon a post-obit bond made in the year 1854 by a Mr. Watkins, of whom the defendants are executors. The defence was, that the signature of Mr. Watkins to the bond was a forgery. Mr. Huddleston, Mr. Hawkins, and Mr. George Francis were counsel for the plaintiff; Mr. Edwin James and Mr. Karslake appeared for the defen dants. After Mr. Huddleston had opened the case for the plaintiff, Mr. Joseph Bennett was called, and, being sworn, said—The plaintiff is my brother. I now live in Nelson-square, Hackney-road. I knew the late Mr. Robert . atkins. He was .land steward to the Duke of Norfolk, and my father was his grace's steward. My brother, the plaintiff, is a tailor. On the Bth of July, 1854; I was at. his place of busi ness in Regent-street. Mr. Watkins came while I was there. I was talking to my brother when he came. I did not hear the conversation between them. I was in a back room. I was subsequently called into the room. (The bond was handed to the witness. I saw that paper there. That is my signature as attesting witness. I saw Watkins sign it, and heard him say 00 1 deliver this as my act - and deed." He shook hands with my brother and went away. Cross-examined by Mr. James—My brother had all the house except the shop—that was my im pression. I was keeping billiard tables then at the Eagle Tavern, in the City-road. I am a cigar merchant. I always travel l ed in the tobacco way. I was then living at 8, Gresham-street, City-road. I kelp billiard-rooms now in Finsbury-pavement, and travel in the daytime in the tobacco business. I left the Eagle four years dgo. I travelled then. I keep no stock of tobacco. I get orders, and then purchaLe the tobacco. I sold some a month ago to gentleman who frequents the rooms, 21b. or 31b. I don't persevere in that line much. I only use up my old customers, and have very nearly done so. I cannot mention any other sale. I. never applied to Mr. Watkins fOr loans or money. (Letter handed to witness.) That is my writing. I usually sign my name to letters so. It is my ordinary writing. To the bond it is my extraordinary writing. In attesting legal documents I use it. I have been in the revenue service and executed a great many bonds. I left the service in 1837. The salary would not keep me. I was dismissed the service for neglecting the duties. I had other business in hand at the tithe. I was not in the tobacco depart ment at the Custom-house. Mr. "Watkins was be tween seventy and eighty years of age when he signed . the bond. On the Bth of July I mer,:ly made a call on my brother. I did not know that Watkins• was eoming there. I dined there. I did not know who was there until I was called. I can't recollppl what was said. He didn't speak to me:hut said to Sam—" I wish you luck, my boy." I only saw him twice in about thirty years, although I knew him well. I heard nothing of the' bond till lately—about three weeks ago. I have kept, a beershop at Mile-end. That's a year' and half ago. Part of the time I had a billiard table there. I paid rent one way or the other. The landlord was satisfied. He agreed that I should walk out. I returned to him the pictures I paid for when I went in. The rent was £24: I paid £l2 or £l5 for the pictures. I went from there to a cottage close by, and thence to some walk, not Birdcage-walk, but a very nice place, and paid my. rent there. It was in the Globe-road. I owed my brother for some clothes. Re-examined—The landlord was very friendly and took the pictures. Samuel Charles Bennett—l am the plaintiff, and carry on business in Langham-street, Langham place, as a tailor. I knew Robert Watkins for some years, and was intimate with him in 1854. My father was very intimate with him. I was apprenticed at Arundel, and saw Watkins there frequently. In 1839 or 1840 I went to London. He wrote to me to say that there was a business to be disposed of at Hampton, and offered to put me into possession of £5OO to take it, but I did not approve the business. In 1815 I was in trade in Richmond-street, Soho. Mr. Watkins then lent me £lOO. I wrote to say that I was going into business, and he enclosed me a cheque. In 1847 I was in difficulties. He had lent me is, everal large sums of money. My father died in the same year. When he died I received a letter from Mr. Wat kins dated the 7th of January; 1847. (This was a letter of condolence. Many other letters written by the late Mr. Watkins to the witness were handed up to him for identification, in order that they might be used to compare with the signature to the bond.) I owed him £609 18s. 2d. I was entitled to some property in right of my wife: There was a draught deed of assignment prepared, but Mr. Watkins declined to execute it ; it was in 1848. In 1851 I made an assignment for the benefit of my creditors, and the deceased signed for £730. In 1850 the legacy became due. There was a negotia tion going on with a tenant for the purchase of the property. Mr. Watkins went down with me and my wife, and purchased it for £l,OOO. Subsequently the tenant did not purchase for more than £l,OOO. Watkins got his money, but no interest. I was obliged to be insolvent in 1853 to wipe off the re mainder of the assignment. In 1854 I made an assignment to Mr. Watkins. He called on me in Regent-street. I asked him to lend me £lOO. He kid " he was short of money, and, beyond that, he had promised his wife not tolend any more money. I said " I did not know -what I. should do." He said, " There is one thing I ca n do for you, and that is to give you an I 0 U for .£l,ooo,pay_a paya bl e after my death. " He then .wrote methatlw O and told me to:ascertain fro m m y lawyer ifh the oull c be a proper document to secure what e intended. I took it to my lawyer's and had counsel's opinion upon it. A bond was prep ared; and t h ,a e t c l am o e on u the Bth July, and I told him that was not a proper security, and that my lawyer, Mr. Melton, had suggested a bond. I showed him the bond, and returned him the I 0 U. He said, " I you £l,OO O , but the bond is for £2,000." I then said "If you read on you will see that it is for £l,OOO. He then said " that he was prepared to execute it, but we should want a witness." I said "My brother is in the other room, and I will call him if you will allow me." He said. " Yes," and my brother attested it. I said " Put your hand on the seal," and he said " Yes, lam aware of that," and did so. He then said " Goodbye" and went off. I afterwards parted with the bond. It was not stamped when executed, but stamped afterwards. Several gentlemen were called. who swore that to the best of their judgment and. belief the signa ture to the bond in question was the handwriting of the deceased. gentleman. • This closed the plaintiff's case. Mr. Edwin James, in his address to the jury for the defence, said, that the action was one which the defendants were not only justified. in resisting but were bound. as executors of- Mr. Watkins to resist, and that the whole bond was a forgery, and -he charged the Bennetts with concocting it. After the learned. counsel on both sides had ad dressed. the jury for their respective clients, His Lordship very carefully and clearly summed up the whole case. The jury, after deliberating a quarter of an hour, but without leaving the box, found a verdict for the defendants. Mr. James—l have to apply to your lordship to impound. the document. Mr. Baron Martin—Certainly. His *lordship also certified that it was a proper case to be tried by a special jury. POLICE INTELLIGENCE.—Nov. 29. MANSION-HOUSE.—Hannah Newman, a well dressed young woman; was brought before the Lord Mayor, charged with robbery from the person under peculiar circumstances. It appeared from the evidence that on the pre vious night, about half-past 10 o'clock, she ran against a gentleman who was walking along Cheap side, and who in vain endeavoured to avoid her. He presently found that his purse, containing £3 12s. 6d., had been abstracted from his pocket, and he charged her with having robbed him. She however denied having done so until he threatened to give her into custody, and then, seeing a police man close at hand, she took the purse from her muff and returned it to its owner, begging to be allowed to go free. Notwithstanding this appeal he gave her into custody, and upon being taken to the sta tion-house she ,was searched, and in her pocket was found a portemonnaie, in addition to some loose silver, containing 7s. 6d., and three address cards' bearing the n4me of a gentleman, who stated that on the previous evening, about half-past nine o'clock while passing along Jewry-street; the prisoner ran against him, and when he reached home he found his purse gone, together with some coppers which were in the same pocket, but the purse had no ' money ; in it when he lost it. It was stated also that there was a third case of a similar kind against the prisoner, but that the gentleman who had been robbed could not come forward. The prisoner asserted that she was too much in liquor at the time to know much about it, but she believed that the first gentleman dropped his purse and that she picked it up and gave it to him. At all events she hoped the case would be disposed of at once. The Lord Mayor told her that. her conduct was too flagrant to permit him to take such a course, for she had at the least committed two barefaced robberies within an hour, and there were strong • grounds for suspecting that she had committed a third. He should therefore send her to the Central Criminal Court for trial. I She asked that the money found upon her, L amounting to 19s. 6d , might be restored to her ; , but his lordship ordered that that should be appro priated towards her maintenance while in prison. CLERKENWELL.—Ephraim Favell, a ta rough-looking fellow, was brought up in the cus tody of Hughesman, 163 G, one of the warrant offi cers of this court, charged with violently assaulting his wife, Sarah Favell, on the 22d inst. The prisoner not appeariog upon a summons, warrant was granted, and when the prisoner was taken iito the waiting-room and saw his wife there, he became very abusive, and before he could be pre vented rushed upon her and assaulted her. Police-constable Lambert, 135 S, another of the warrant officers, stated that the prisoner's conduct was brutal in the extreme, and before the prisoner could be made to loose hold of the poor woman's hair he had knocked her head several times. The wife, a poor, sickly-looking woman, deposed that the prisoner was in the continual habit of ill using her. She had before summoned him, but had forgiven him. He was a very drunken, dissolute man, and in addition to his ill-usage, did not do much for the support of her or her family. The prisoner said his wife " nagged' him, and then he gave her " a pat or two." He produced a number of pawn-tickets, and said the complainant had pawned his goods. His wife said that she bad pawned the goods when her husband was ill. Mr. Tyrwhitt sentenced the prisoner to two calen dar months' hard labour in the House of Correction, The prisoner as he was being removed said he had enough of it, and he would do something for her when he came out. SOUTHWARK.—Wm. Brook, a carman, in the employ of the Railway Company, London-bridge, was brought before Mr. Burcham, charged with attempting to murder George Spencer, his brother in-law, by striking him several blows on the head with a heavy stick, and throwing him down a flight of stairs. The complainant, whose head was completely bandaged over, and who was extremely weak from the loss of blood, was allowed a seat while giving his evidence. He said in a low voice that he was a driver in the employ of the Post-office, and ho lodged with the prisoner, at No. 7, Paulding's place, Bermondsey. The prisoner's wife was his sister. On Sunday night about 11 o'clock witness went home, and being admitted by the latter, she ordered him up to bed immediately, saying if he did not go she would take the candle from him. She then gave him a candlestick, and as he was about to go up the candle went out, and he threw the candle stick at his sister, but it did not hit her. When he got to the top of the stairs the prisoner met him and struck him with the stick produced, and knocked him down. He was afterwards knocked about, and he soon became insensible. When he recovered he found himself in a doctor's shop at the corner of George-street. Mr. Burcham asked him how many times the prisoner struck him ? Witness replied that he could not tell, but the doctor had found three deep wounds in different parts of his head. He really believed that the pri soner intended to murder him. The prisoner declared that it was all false. In fact the prosecutor ought to be in his place, as he actually not only threatened but tried to murder his sister and her two children. He protected her, and they both fell down stairs. Mr. Burcham remanded him for a week. LAMBETH.—Ann Cunningham, a rather good looking young woman, was placed before Mr. Elliott on a charge of making two attempts to commit suicide by . throwing herself into the Thames. On the evening before the prisoner was observed close to the Suspension-bridge by a young man, who, suspecting her intention, had watched her for some time, and who caught her just as she was in the act of throwing herself into the water. He remonstrated with her on the rash act she was about to commit, when she expressed great contrition, and deelared that if permitted to go home she would do so. Believing that she was sincere in her promise, she was allowed to go home, as she should ; but in a short time after this she flung herself into the river, and, had it not been from the state of the tide at the time, she must have been drowned, and it was with some diffi culty that she had been rescued. Mr. Elliott, to the prisoner—What have you to say to the charge ? Prisoner—l had a drop to drink, sir, and quar relled with my father, and that was th e caus e of my doing what I did% but I'm very sorry, and shall not do so again. Mr. Elliott—What do you do for a living ? Prisoner —I am a waistcoat maker, sir. The prisoner's sister corroborated her statement, and said she was always well conducted. Mr. Elliott —Your conduct, prisoner, has been most i m proper. It is quite shocking to see a p erson like you take to drink ; but as you yourself p ro mi se not to repeat the offence, and your sister has offered to look after you, I shall now discharge you. WOOLWICIL—SamueI Asquith, 16 years of age, described as a skinner, of 3, Child's-cottages, Anchor-road, Bermondsey, was charged with being concerned in a prize fight at Erith, on the previous day (Sunday), and causing the death of George M‘Donald. Poliee-sergeant Best, 21 R, said—About two o'clock yesterday afternoon I was on duty at Erith and heard that a prize fight had taken place that morning at Abbey Wood. I immediately pro ceeded there, and found the deceased lying at the Harrow public-house, considerably injured. I obtained the assistance of a medical man, who advised the man's removal to the hospital, and I conveyed him to Guy's Hospital, where he died at three o'clock this morning. On the way to the hospital the injured man told me he had re ceived his injuries in a prize fight, and that he had left London that morning, with about 60 others, by the first train. At half-past 8 last night I went to a beer-shop in Bermondsey, and there saw the ,---- I toll' L him I was a police officer, and that vti come to i 'ake him into custody for eing con id in a prize fight that morning at Erith, and cernt injun lig a 1011 ng man named M'Donald. The pH ,o.an e r • asked he )\ - v M'Donald was, and said, he hoped id rear Ter. I a s k e d th e pr i soner h ow l ong so 1 he ner WOW. the fight • had c ontinued and he s aid near l y an h our , adding Donald wish e d t o l eave o ff some t i me g th. tit previously,b Yi u; that the seconds would not allow it, but presses i hi m 1 to con ti nue t h e fi g h t ; that they procee d e d a .gain to fight, and in the last round they closed 1 `;ogeth er, when M'Donald got hi s h ea d under his (th a risoner's) arm, and in falli ng toge ther M , Dei , 3eived the injuri es . o 9 1 re, In reply to - the L 'iag,istrate, the ptisoner said he had been backed to t i g ht the deceased A month ago, the stakes being I' s a side. Mr. Trail said ht 1 sh ould remand th e p r i soner I n order to afford the p. oli ce an opportunity of appre hending the seconds ' and others engaged in the fight, who were know n, the prisoner having given their names and addret Isc 's. THE IMPERIAL G OVERNMENT OP - - - `yH .r~ "d. We have the Pekin Ga.rette from the 11th to the 25th of August inclusive. On the 17th Kweiliang and Hawashana had an, audience, and on the 21st anothe.r,—the last to request instructions be fore proceeding to ShanOrai, and to pray the nomination of their suites. \ Lastly, on the 22d, Link'wei, Manchoo Presidnt of the Board of Punishment4is desired to add to his duties t hose of Hivashana, President of the Board of Civil Oißces, as the. latter "is employed on a mission." On th, 21st tl le Board of Punishments submitted the minute of the it proceedings in the case of the ex-Geverno r-- Gene], 'al Tan Ting-slang, whose fate is declared in the following decree of the '22d August :—"1 :he Prince of Hwui and others have, in concert m with the Board of Punishments, presented a memo r sal, setting forth the penalties they find the law s to, award to the different officers whom we had dire ete,d them to try for the loss of the port of Tier „ s i n . The following officers already degraded—na: ate ly, Chang Tien-yuen, commander-m-chief of th e Chinese Army of Chib-li; Tanien, acting as e eneral in command of the Tien-sing division of th, same , and To-kwei, acting commandant of Tali u, had been directed by T'an Ting-siang to °cc , spy and defend . the forts at Ta-ku, on the north ar L.., south banks oi" the river ; Fulehtunt'ai, lieutenaa t _ gen , al of Ban', termen, had encamped at Chum ' pan, in rear and in support of Chang Tien . •y uen an d the rest. When the barbarians oy ,)ened fire they me .de every effort to keep them. ( in, striking and wounding four barbarian ships, and killing several tiarbarian soldiers ; notwithtstl..mding which all the f arts and all the guns were t 0 . 7& en. Certainly their off& - snce is without excuse. Le t Fulehtunear, Chang Ti en-yuen, and Taniert, 114 to, according to the award should properly be decapitated, be im prisoned IL etil after the autumn, and then put to death. rPtim Ting-siang, al ready degraded from the office /If Governor-Gene ral of Chi h-li, has been found not i runty of cowar dice and c lesertion, but, in that his operations w ere withou .t plan or re source, his o. ffence is no Less without excuse. Let him be bani, Shed to the fr ontiers, th ere to redeem his guilt by his exertions. The memorialists pre sent a supple mentary MI miorial praying us, if it be proper to prosecute them, to 'direct the Board of Civil office ti 3 proceed against tho civilians accom panying the fo tee on the above occasion, a return of whose names , drawn up by the acting Governor- General, they intelose. The n rilitary officers con cerned in the affair of the p ort having been all denounced and. 'punished, let the Board of Civil Office award p, enalties in the ease of Tsunghan, Intendant of the Yun-ting RilTer Works, and the other civilians na med in the returns, which send to the Board. Res pect this ! " The Prefect of the Metropolitan Del tartment arm' dunces heavy falls of rain, which the co untry much required. He also reports the locut t still abunda it, but he is "taking steps " against tliem.—Overlamd Friend of China. a COUNA II RY MA BEETS. ROCL T ESTER-2 Toy. 27. At this day's market we had a fair attendance of the trade, and wheat met wh'h a made rately good demand for consumption, at the price's of tl Lis .day week. Beans and Indian corn steady, with a fair i aquiry. Oats and oatmeal sold slowly. White wheat, new, 46s to 48s I Barley, grinding.. 28s to 34s Red do. 39s to 43s f Oats, old, .. —s to — 5 Old white 43s to 46s 1 few do 23s to 270 Red do. —s to —s f I leans.. 40s to 4 4 ; Barley, malting—. 408 to 44s .1 'efts.. 42s to 44s YORK— —liov. 27. Wheat and flour were some- what steadier to-day, but the demand was still very limited , at the currency of this day se'nnight. Choice qualities o f wheat lower, and met a fair sale. Oatmeal sold rather slowly, and former price s wo re barely maintained. Beans ro id Indian corn again favoured buyers. Wheat . ...38s to 42 s Oats 21s to 3 09 White .42s to 4r , s B eans ..40s to 445 Barley NORTHA - AP' 'ON--Nov. 27 Rather higher rates w ere asked for wheat of all qualities, and buyers operated can.tieusly. Good barley rather dearer, but no change in the value of alma- grain. Wheat .. 383 to 40s Oats.. 32s to 36s White 38s to 42s Beans, new 48s to 453 Barley 4ss to —a Ditto, old .4Bs to 503 COLCHESTER—Nov. 27. At this nb)rning's market them was a very small at tendance, and rather more tone in the trade, sellers making fully Saturday's prices. Foreign quiet and unchanged in value. Flour in limited demand. In barley and other kinds of spring - corn not much passing. Wheat, white ..., .. 46s to 50s Beans Mazagan.. 358 to 38 1 red ....38s to 44s I Middle & small 40s to 441 Barley Oats KIRKALDY—Nov. 27. There has be nn a limited show of wheat to-day, which was sold at fully last week's prices. Wheat . (0). Barley (0). Oats (M. First.... 38s• Od —s Od —s Od Second.. 46s Od —s Od —s Od Third .. si l s Od .—s Od —s Od Wheat (N). Barley (N). Oats (N). First.... 31s Od 1 26s Od 22s Od Second .. 42s Od 31s 7d 24s Od Third .. 48s Od 33s Od 26s 6d .ET—Nov. 29. the close of the market.) Walls End. ................. 8. d. Benson... 17 0 Bradyll's Hetton 17 9 Ridden 16' 6 lietton. l9 0 Framwellh,:ate l7 3 Lambton ' 18 6 Nixon's Nterthyr 2l 0 Powell'sMaffrynSteam2l 0 Nixon's Duffryn 21 0 )t, 34—sold, 29. COAL MAR (Prices of Coal per Ton a s. d. Bate's West Hartley..l4 0 Hartlepool l4 6 Lambert's W. Ilartley 15 3 Tanfield Moor Butes 13 0 Wylam l5 6 Taufield Moor 13 0 Walls End. Cassop l7 91 Heugh Hall 17 3 Ships at marke' [ADVERTISEMENT:j—Rarey ' s Horse and Cattle Improv ing Food is equally adapted to improve the stamina of ill conditioned Horses, Cows, Bullocks, Valves, Sheep, end Pigs. It causes no extra expense, as it contains far more and better nourishment than its cost of lid. per feed sup plies in corn and hay ; hence ensures an actual saving in the keep. But its principal advantages are a great improve ment in the digestive functions, the stamina and gen eral condition of horses enabling them to perform far mere labour without getting distressed. It, imparts new vigour to sick, debilitated, or old apparently worn-out horses, and it puts rapidly the finest flesh on cattle generallY , and im proves the milk in cows, as it enables them t o extract the , entire nourishment out of everything they feet' on. Rare)* and Co., 77, Regent's Quadrant, Piccadilly, London. Packed in tins of about 90 feeds, lls. ; in casks of about 450 feeds, 505.; of about 1,000 feeds, £5, being about lid. per feed. BIRTHS. BLACKETT.—On the 28th inst., at Ealing, the wife of Henry Blackett, Esq., of 13, Great Marlborough-street, of a son. JOLLEY.—On the 25th inst., at 13, Curzon-street, Mar fair, Mrs. George Jolley, of a son. MARTIN.—On the 27th inst., at Shooters'-bill, Kent, the wife of Th omas Martin, Esq., of Gracechurch-strect , solicitor, of a son. - STONE. — Ontheifith inst., at 20, Burton-crescent, the wife of Thomas Stone, Esq., of a son. MARRIAGES. AusTwicx—WEST.—con the 27th inst., at Farnham Church, Lancelot, the eldest son of Harwood Austwick, Esq., to Caroline, only daughter of the late Wm. West" Esq., of Farnham, Surrey. BATTEN—PRELIPS. — On the 27th inst., at Stoke Trister , Somerset, Herbert Butler Batten, •sq. of Hollands 7 Yeovil, Somerset, to Elizabeth, only daughter of the late Rev. Win. Phelips, rector of Cucklington, Somerset. DEATHS. HANSLER.—On the 27th inst., Maria, wife of Sir John J. Hensler, of 3, Westbourne-terrace, Hyde-park, and Field place, Horsham, aged 71. CRADWICK.—On the 28th inst., at Balham, Surrey, Jas• Chadwick, Esq., of Grosvenor Wharf, Westminster , aged 60. DOWN.—On the 27th inst., Henry Down, Esq., third sell of the late Richard Down, Esq., of Haliwick Manor house, Colney-hatch, aged 70. DOGGETT. — On the 27th inst., at Yately, Hants, A'jr• Doggett, formerly of Davies-street, Berkeley-square , aged 81. OWEN.—At North Benfleet, Essdx, Susan, wife of the Rev. Charles G. Owen, curate. PEGUS.—On the 28th inst., at Uffington House, near Stam ford, the Dowager Countess of Lindsey, widow of Albe marle, 9th Earl of Lindsey, and wife of the Rev. P. `V . • Pagus LONDON : Printed and Published by MURDO YOUNG, Of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at The Sun Office, No. 113, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the county of Middlesex, Tuesday, November 30, 1848. T B Xoticc Irony of Lor at 12 c 30th Gen' rnodat ments inoder. engag( 27th G E , 255: jj GI AND PI 7 -_____- 00( ' soups, for gen, Sauceß. expert Tea COT yard, Ci ~~ Path( mine th of inters Depos Without The For No : E Presic Sol CApital o R,______ ... evell' creasing. Nine-t 'divided a Ini!uns. All Pr - 11 th e P i at eve v i er ru —5 to 70 1 'I, Rani T Ii 1 Bank-1 TUE A( Esti The bi COMPA N Cotripany teed and aurance 4 ditiona Tot Cla inform ddents'. togetheC Proposal apply to 1 Company 7, Bank THO It i article of its celebri and has brought r ° toPeeiniv a gentlen Perfect the aniin. Of Thorle horse ray gained cultural carried o 1 foot areforce • from its ( Proceed a W.t . . , 0 have Will Ao Pannyfilei a .„ CH me-Pret Correa. 111 National Dlysiciar std -aqua n i p s, , " Thir.can an health ar en'real "The 1 eure:;Lj "The the abst: plaints, and easil sented."- For Qi Xedical ~' THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 30, 1858.