The Sun. — London, England, 1869-03-31 00:00:00

THE RACHEL SCANDAL., Two law cases have within the last few months excited $ large amount of attention—the Rachel Scandal and the Convent Case. Both of them bid fair to hang about the courts, and to give trouble to our judges for some time to come. The case of " Saurin v. Starr and Kennedy," though it occupied such a long time in trial, is on its way to come before the full bench at Westminster, and is already moving in the Court of Chancery. The Rachel case is ever cropping up at unseemly times in unexpected places—then in the police court, again before the judge at Chambers, and now before a common jury at the assizes. Mrs. Borrodaile, the complainant at the Old Bailey, was on Tuesday the defendant at the Kingston Assizes, in a suit :in which a Miss Sutton was the plaintiff. Miss Sutton sought to obtain from Mrs. Borrodaile the sum of £l6O 18s. for services alleged to have been rendered in respect of the Rachel trial. The, presiding judge was Mr. Baron Bramwell. Ser jeant Robinson and Mr. Philbrick appeared for the plain tiff ; Mr. Serjeant Parry and Mr. F. H. Lewis for the defendant. Mentioned it to his counsel in consultation. Mrs. Borro. daile was called to confirm him, but she did not appear to remember distinctly, and all she could say was that she complained of Miss Sutton's interference, and that Miss Sutton had said she had acted for her from sympathy. Miss Sutton was then recalled to contra dict the statement of Mr. Lewis, and denied that she had said, " I have never made any charge, and have never sought to make anything by you ;" but she admitted she said, " I have never worried you for money ; I have done all I could do for you from sympathy." This closed the evidence in the case, and Mr.Baron)3ram well expressed a clear opinion that the plaintiff could not maintain her claim for the supposed obtaining of money, because no money had been obtained, and the negotia tions for it had been broken off and fallen through. This, after some discussion, was assented to by Miss Sutton's counsel, and the counsel for Mrs. Borrodaile then addressed the jury on the evidence as to the rest of the case, representing it as fraudulent, and urging that Miss Sutton's case was falsified by the admitted fact that in September IS6B Mrs. Borrodaile had actually complained of her interference, and bad tried to shake her off, and had refused to speak to her. The counsel for the plaintiff having replied, and the judge having summed up, the jury returned a verdict for plaintiff for £5. From the opening statement it appeared that the plain tiff, a middle-aged person, Miss Sarah Sutton, described herself as a literary and monetary agent and an accountant. She was in Whitecross-street Prison at the time Mrs. Borrodaile was arrested for debt due to a Mr. Baur, a West-end tradesman, for lace that had been supplied during the transactions that were taking place between Madame Rachel and Mrs. BOrrOdaile. An intimacy sprung up betiveen them. The plaintiff for some time interested herself in the Rachel matter from a feeling of sympathy for Mrs. Borrodaile. She represented, how ever, that after some time Mrs. Borrodaile requested her to continue to" act in her behalf, and under a distinct promise to pay her for her services in that respect. From this time down to the period of the two trials at the Cen tral Criminal Court, the result of which was the convic tion crf Madame. Rachel and her being sentenced to five years! penal servitude, she continued to act in behalf-of Mrs. Borrodaile. At length she set up the present claim, and sent in a hill of particulars of dcmand. This docu ment contained some rather curious items :—" Intro duced to you on June 12, 1866, and made two long copies of your transactions with Madame Rachel. Arranged the same for explanation with your solicitor, and made an account of the money advanced by you for Lord Ranelagh and clothes left with Madame Rachel. Employed on your business after your release, and found you much disturbed at your position, when we both agreed to your placing yourself in the hands of your solicitor. You informed me that nothing had been done to release you from the toils of the serpent—Madame Rachel—and that you had been robbed, and that no lawyer would take up your case without money down, and that Rachel had so mystified every thing that you could not make them understand your story, and wished me to do whatever I could to assist you. You promised to give me £lOO, and I then employed myself in your case, and spent 38 half days in arranging your statements, and correcting them, 10s. each half day—.£l9. On finding you were arrested, went for parti culars to the Sheriff's Office, in Red Lion-square, and found that you were arrested on a bond to Madame Rachel for 81,600. Instructed your solicitor to set it aside. Suggested that Madame Rachel should be treated with, and writing to say that Mr. Cridland said he thought it would be necessary to make' her a bankrupt. I immediately set about to prevent it, and prepared a copy of an affidavit, and engaged a solicitor to act in your behalf in case Mr. Cridland, the family solicitor, should decline to do so. I spared no time or expense to procure your release. Claim for doing so, £52 IN.—To negotiations for a loan in your behalf, £2s.—To time spent on your behalf relative to the first trial of Madame Rachel, to watch the proceedings and give you all the information I could, £5 ss. To time spent in the second trial, £1010s." In her examination the plaintiff said she had one time been proprietor and editor of the London Review (a paper lately deceased). She asserted positively that, although in the first instance she acted from a feeling of sympathy for Mrs. Borrodaile, it was clearly understood that she was to be paid a sum equivalent to one guinea per day, and a commission of 5 per cent. upon any money that she might obtain from Mrs. Borrodaile upon loan, and for any future services that she might render her. She said that part of the services she performed for Mrs. Borrodaile consisted in sending a gentleman, named O'Keefe, to Paris, to make inquiries relating to Mrs. Borrodaile. Mrs. Borrodaile had gone to Paris for change of air, and Madame Rachel had been to Mr. Cridland, Mrs. Borrodaile's solicitor, and informed him that she was accompanied by "her William," and that they were living together there. Mr. Cridland, upon hearing this, said it was impossible for him to do anything more until he had ascertained whether there was any truth in this, and she requested Mr. O'Keefe to go to Paris and make inquiries. She made the charge of 50 guineas for what she did with reference to procuring her release from Rachel's bond by special arrangement with Mrs. Borrodaile. Mrs. Borrodaile agreed to give her that sum. She did not apply to Mrs. Borrodaile for any money until after the last trial of Madame Rachel at the Central Criminal Court, and she received a letter from her in reply, in which she said : " I am surprised that you should ask me for money, when I have none for myself, and if you gossip with lodging-house keepers, you must expect to hear lies, and that you were a very coarse and vulgar person, and no friend of mine, and that you borrowed a shilling of them, and wanted to take rooms in the house, but they would not have you as a lodger." In cross-examination she said that she was sent to Whitecross-street Prison through becoming surety for another lady for a debt, and as that lady did not pay she was arrested for the debt. When Mrs. Borrodaile came into the prison she thought she was a very foolish woman. Witness was not a very sympathetic person. She was rather annoyed with her, and told her that she was a very Treat fool hundreds of times. [A letter of the witness written to Mrs. Borrodaile was here put in, in which she stated that she was overpowered at finding that she had been, arrested upon such a false charge, and said she was satisfied that she was a most virtuous and prudent woman, and that she had been led into her present position through her ignorance of the world and its wickedness.] Some banter took place between judge, counsel, and witness about her being a monetary agent. It appeared that she kept no books, and what she meant by so describ ing herself was hard to understand. In answer to further questions put to her by Serjeant Parry, she said that she had been in Whitecross-street Prison three.'or four times upon previous occasions, but it was almittys on account of her becoming surety for some one else. Once (in 1867) she took the benefit of the Insolvent Court. She went through the court also about eighteen years ago. She bad a great many consultations with Dlr. Cridland, the family solicitor, about Mrs. Borrodaile's transactions with Madame Rachel. lie could not under stand' the case at all. She did not act as a solicitor, but she; endeavoured to make Mr. Cridland understand the nature of the - affair. For this and for other matters she Cade various charges varying from one to ten guineas. Miss Sutton was also cross-examined as to a letter she bad written to Mrs. Borrodaile after the con viction of Rachel. "I would not see strangers. Lord Panelagh is still prowling about." She was pressed as to what she meant by that, and sad she bad seen Lord Ranelagh in Piccadilly —all she meant was to warn Mrs. Borrodaile from seeing strangers. She had, she said, no intention to deceive her. She was cross-examined also as to a letter which she had drawn up and copied for Mrs. Borrodaile, • to be sent to a person who, as Mrs. Borrodaile had said, had written to her, proposing marriage. She said she knew nothillg at t ill about him, except what Mrs. Borrodaile had told her— namely, that he had proposed marriage, and that his real name was Campbell. • The evidence was corroborated to some extent by two widows. On the part of Mrs. Borrodaile it was represented that the claim was exorbitant and absurd,.even if it had not been got up between her and O'Keefe, who, it was said, she had not _ventured to call. Miss Sutton was vehe mently_ denounced as living by her wits, and as having forced herself upon Mrs. Borrodaile, and concocted a claim without any real foundation, as a kind of " female attor ney." Mrs. torrodaile herself was called and examined in contradiction of the case for the plaintiff. She gave her evidence with great clearness and positiveness, and some sharpness of tone, and denied everything Miss Sutton had stated as to payment. She utterly denied that anything what ever was said about paying Miss Sutton, and stated that Miss Sutton bad herself offered such assistance as she had ren dered, and that it was but slight. Mrs. Borrodaile said she had thought Miss Sutton's interference useless, and it further appeared that Mrs. Borrodaile had somehow con nected her with certain paragraphs which had appeared in the press about her, and that she had, in September, 1.663, refused to speak to her, which was admitted by Miss Sutton. In support of these statements Mr. Cridland's clerk and Mr. George Lewis (the present attorney of Mrs. Borrodaile) were called to chew that Miss Sutton had never given any material assistance. Mr. Cridlancl's clerk said that so far as the supposed interviews with him were concerned au attorney would have been repaid by £5. Mr. G. Lewis stated that Miss Suttor. had proffered her assistance, and had given him her wribten statement ; but after that he had told her that she could be of no service, nor was she. Miss Sutton said to Mrs. Borrodaile on one occasion, " Why, you know, I have never made any cbar,-_;.e, and have never sought to n;aLe any. thing by you, 001 Mr. Lewis was c. statement that M any charge for anything she had (lone (which had never been mentioned before nor suggested in cross• examination of Miss Sutton),- and it was elicited that r4e bad not put it i the brief. nor could he ors that he had +ton bad r mad( A ROYAL ELOPEMENT. The Irish Times publishes the following story from Queenstown :—" An elopement of a Bourbon prince with a supposed Cuban lady has come to light here. On Wednes day, the 3d inst., there arrived in the train which brought the American mails, two ladies and a young gentle man, as passengers by the outgoing steamer. They were mentioned in the passage ticket which they had provided themselves with as Mrs. and Miss Hamil, and Louis Bourbon. In the tender, whilst on the passage to the mail steamer, Palmyra, they attracted much notice, especially the youngest of the ladies, owing to her peculiar beauty ; and much speculation was put forward as to who they were, one gentleman asserting it was a runaway affair between a French count aLd a Cuban lady. However, no further notice was taken of the occurrence until a day or two ago, when searching inquiries were set on foot by a gentleman acting as consul for a South. American Republic, and it now turns out that the supposed count was no less a personage than Prince Don Louis de Bourbon, but of the identity of the lady there is nothing divulged at present. THE STRAITS OF DOVER TUNNEL. Mr. rtemington, C.E., has written to the Echo a letter, in which he advocates his scheme for the construction of a submarine tunnel between the coasts of England and France. He states that he prepared plans and sections as far back as 1865, and has every year since deposited fresh copies with the Board of Trade. Perhaps Mr. Bright will think the subject as well worthy of a letter as " bottle-nosed whales," and may give the author his views upon the project. Mr. Reming ton thinks it useless to attempt the formation of a tunnel through the chalk bed about Dover and Folkestone. But he states that the work might be accomplished through the beds of wealden-clay, lime stone, and freestone extending from Dungeness to Cape Grinez. His line would commence at the town of Lydd, joining the branch of the South-Eastern at Appledore. He proposes to have three main shafts — one at Dungeness, one in the shoal called "The Ridge," and a third at Cape Grinez. The total cost of the tunnel and works he estimates at £6,008,200. He takes the traffic of the Paris Exhibition year and multiplies by four to get at his estimate of returns. The income he derives is from 2,000,000 passengers, 4,000,000 tons of goods, 752,00) head of stock of all kinds, a trifle from poultry, and some thing from Post Office and telegraph service. The probable income from all these sources he estimates at £1,625,900, from which, to arrive at the residue of profit, he deducts 40 per cent. for working expenses, leaving a show of profit nearly amounting to a million sterling. We see all the advantages of the work, and are inclined to think its accomplishment possible ; but we don't share Mr. Remington's vision of profit, and we fear that Mr. Lowe is not the man to give him a subsidy of £5,000,000. FORGERY OF AssAY MARKS.— A t the Public Office, Birmingham, Alfred Warren, Charles Warren, John Orbell, and Charles Wingfield have been charged with having many dozens of gold rings in their possession, the mark of the Birmingham Assay Office thereupon having been forged. The two Warrens were committed for trial, and the prisoners Orbell and Wingfield were dis charged. In the case of Alfred Warren, bail was refused. Forty-seven dozen rings were found having the forged mark upon them ; one ring only bore the genuine mark ; it was kept in a separate case for the purpose of imitation THE BeNNETT PROSECITTION.—The Council of the Church Association publish a statement of this case in their Monthly Intelligencer. Referring to the refusal of the Bishop of London to send the re-issue of Mr. Ben nett's book to the commissioners, they say: "The coun cil were not prepared to expect such an obstacle from one who cannot be suspected of sympathy with its doctrines. There is good reason to believe that the Court of Queen's Bench will compel the bishop to comply with the pro moter's application." THE PUBLIC HEALTH.—In the week ending Saturday last the rate of mortality in London was 26 per 1,000, while in thirteen other large towns of the United Kingdom it was 29. Birmingham and Glasgow are once more placed in contrast, the former with a death-rate of 17, and the latter with one of 46. In the metropolis 2,177 births and 1,590 deaths were registered. The latter were 13 less than the estimated number. Seventeen deaths from scarlet fever were recorded in the East districts, and ten children died of measles in Lambeth workhouse. Five persons were killed by vehicles in the streets. The mean temperature during the week was 381, or 3 degrees below the average. WANTED A GOVERNESS.—The following adver tisement is taken from the Christian World :—" Governess in a farmhouse, to instruct six children in thorough English, French, and vocal singing, plain and fancy needlework, with entire charge of children and their wardrobe. Must be amiable and polite. Salary £l2. —Address with carte, stating age and reference, to T., Post-office, Cowbridge, South Wales." Is it not hard, asks a contemporary, that the Christian world in England should have nothing better to offer to a youn g lady competent to teach all these things to six children, besides the entire charge of them and their wardrobe ? To be amiable and polite, too, and to do all this for £l2 a year ! If this is an evidence of the operation of the favourite law of supply and demand, if this Cow bridge invitation meets with many responses - as, indeed, we fear it may—we must do all we can to make the supply of such accomplishments more scarce at such a price. The subject is too sad for a joke, yet there is much that is funny in the advertisement, from which it might be thought that the six children were chiefly to be taught singing of the thorough English and French as well as of the vocal order. At the Kensington Branch of the Reform League, Mr. J. D. Nicass in the chair, the following resolution was unanimously passed on Mr. Edmond Beales, on his retirement from the presidency of the Reform League :—" That the members of this branch cannot permit Mr. Edmond Beaks to retire from the pre sidency of this association without acknowledging our great respect for him as a wise, prudent, and fearless leader of the people, as dis played by him in the maintenance of the right of the people to meet in the parks ; that the League has accomplished more, considering the short time of its existence, than any other organisation with which we are acquainted ; and we have no hesitation in sa ying that to the leadership of Mr. Beales we are chiefly indebted for the success that has:attended its efforts. And we beg to assure him that in retiring from the presidency of the association in which wa have been associated with him so long, he will carry with him our warmest thanks, and that we shall hold. his memory in grateful respect for the many benefits obtained through his wisdom, courage, and ability." A JOURNEY IN A VELOCIEEDE.—A journey on bicycles from Liverpool to London, by way of Oxford and II enley, has just been accomplisited by two of the Liver -1)001 Velocipede Club. On Wedn esday evening Mr. A. S. Pearson and Mr. J. M. Caw, the honorary secretary of the club, set off from the shores of the Mersey for a "pre. liminary canter" to Chester, fron:r which city they started in earnest on Thursday morning. After a ride of 59 miles they arrived at Newbridge, near N7olverhampton, where they stayed the night. On Friday the. velocipeclians, having traversed the Black Country, we 73i on to Woodstock . , a distance of GO miles, where they ept. On Saturday night the tourists arrived in Lc rt. don, feeling none the worse for their long ride. Theli• tncycles caused no little astonishment on the way, and remarks passed by the natives were most amusing. - .AI some of the villages the boys clustered round the ma chimes, and, when they could, caught hold of them, and ran 'ioehiud until they were tired out. Many inquiries we ie•JAcii. , as to the name of " them queer horses," some e.t.E th , t,nt " "menageries," and " valapszaisos." Between Wolverhampton and Birmingham attempts were madeollo upset the riders by throwing stones. Thertourists their luggage in carpet bags, which can be:fastened .Vn by strapping them either in front or on the' portman 4 ,euu plate behind. This is stated to be the,longest bicycle tour yet made in this country, and Ile riders are iof opinion that, had they been dirosed, they could haTe accomplished the distance in niu4l-10s4 t Vue. SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY - EVENING, MARCH 31, 1E69. CABINET CHANGES IN WASHINGTON. (From the Anglo-American Times.) It is amusing to read the article in the Times of Thursday on President GRANT and his Cabinet. In Printing-house-square its man in Philadelphia is still an oracle, and in its innocence the Times prints leaders on the text of his sayings. General GRANT thought he was going to be a strong Presi dent, but he finds himself a weak one ; he thought he was going to rule ia his Cabinet, but he finds that his Cabinet is to rule him ; he knew that it would be a war to the knife with the rings, backed by the class of politicians wbo make the rings, but these men prove to be his masters, and have recon- structei his Cabinet. By a chain of reasoning the Times arrives at the conclusion that, however poor a thing a European monarchy may be, a still poorer thing is an American Republic. The impression it desires to convey is that Mr. STEWART* was GRANT'S choice for Secretary of the Treasury, but that the politicians ousted STEWART in favour of BOUTWELL, a man of their own. Their chief rea- MISCELLANEOUS NEWS. THE LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION. Echoes—a weekly sheet of gossip not to be CM founded with the Echo, the new halfpenny evening paper—announces that Mr. Disraeli is to be raised to the peerage at the end of the session with the title of Viscount Beaconsfield, Mr. Hardy taking the place of leader of the Lower House. Who is to raise him? Is Mr. Gladstone supposed to be magnanimous enough thus to serve a political opponent? and — cainiiit be kept under proper mseipunc, Luv steamers thus manned being often deserted when a foreign port is reached. Mr. Carnegie advises that all seagoing steamers should be forced to carry apprentices. It is only fair that the owners of steamers should train up a supply of able seamen in their own ships, instead of taking the crews reared in the sailing vessels. Under the old Mercantile Marine Act all vessels were properly compelled to carry a sufficient number of apprentices, and it will inflict no hardship to enforce the same rule now. THE IRISH CHURCH. Notwithstanding the largeness of the majority in favour of Mr.. Gladstone's Irish Church Bill, the question at issue has not been set at rest by the division. Easter has brought no truce to the battle, and the journals are still full of argument, illustration, and controversy respecting disestablishment and disen dowment. The Standard has a letter from " An. Irish Protestant," a column in length ; and a corres pondent of the Morning Post on the same day fills two columns with reasons against the measure. He thinks that it is a fundamental error of Mr. Gladstone's bill that he regards tithes, glebe lands, and all ancient possessions of the Anglican clergy as if they were grants by the nation through its Parliament for the services of this particular religion. The writer maintains that the Anglican Church was not set up as a separate Church, in an tagonism to Rome, but was a continuance of the old Church under limits and restrictions. He argues, too l that the right and interest of congregations in parochial tithes and parochial endowments are totally ignored by the bill. The Irish Protestant bases his opposition chiefly upon the terms of the Act of Union, which, he considers, the English Parliament has no right to alter, as it is only one of the contracting parties, and no Parlia ment can abrogate a treaty entered into with another sovereign State. Unfortunately for this theory the Act of Union has already been infringed more than once. THE SCOTCH EDUCATION BILL. The schoolmasters of Scotland are very indignant at the education bill of the Government. They declare that they are not for a moment consulted, and that the bill is likely to degrade the tone of teaching throughout the country. They object most strenuously to the application of the Revised Code to Scotland; and the Scotch papers are filling their columns with meetings pro testing against it. The schoolmasters say that as the Code does not require any standard of religious teaching, religion is likely to go to the wall. This is an attempt of the masters to make common friends in opposition to the bill with the ministers and deacons at the kirk across the way. Next they object that the only qualifications required for a boy to pass the inspector are those which may be or must be inducted by routine. The training of the intellect is taken as nothing; boys are to be taught to read, write, and cipher, but not to think and know. This is an argument intended for the parents. Next the schoolmasters protest on their own account. No security is made for their salary ; no retiring allow ances is provided ; no tenure of office is laid down ; nor is there any guarantee that the present burgh and parochial schoolmasters will be elected national schoolmasters ; the masters are insufficiently repre sented at the board ' • and payment by results is most disastrous. Some of the meetings favour compulsory education ; others advocate " the entire freedom of the subject ; " and in others the question is avoided. BANQUET AT THE ➢LANSION HOUSE. It is the pride and boast of the citizens of London that its various corporations are noted for their hospitality. Englishmen as a rule are reserved, not hospitable ; but our character as a nation is in some way redeemed by the good deeds of the City's institutions. And so it happens that when a distin guished foreigner visits this country, or a great governor returns to his home, the Lord Mayor, as the centre of all the corporations, calls together the aldermen, and all among the great who are likely to respond, to,dine with the guest whom it is meet that we should honour. On Monday the guest was Sir John Lawrence. In the banquetttng hall of the Mansion House the Governor-General of India was publicly welcomed by the Bishop of Gloucester, Field Marshal Sir John Burgoyne, Lord George Lennox, Lord George Hamilton, M.P., Sir John Hay, M.P., Captain Grosvenor, M.P., Sir John Lubbock, and all the talent of the City authorities. Amongst the speakers to toasts were Sir John Burgoyne, Admiral Hay, and the Bishop of Gloucester; but of course the speech which excited most attention was that of Sir John Lawrence himself. Sir John Bur goyne entered a feeble protest against the reduction of the naval expenditure, but nothing else was said above the usual order of post-prandial speeches. Sir John Lawrence told the diners that he was elated when he received the appointment of Governor- General of India, but was happy and contented to resign ; and he then went on to say in a few general sentences that his task had been a difficult one. " I need hardly tell you that India is a vast country, filled with many great races anta gonistic to each other in many respects—in feelings, and wishes, and aspirations. That country is governed by strangers and foreigners, and by a fraction of its native population, and it is not neces sary for me to expatiate on the difficulty of governing such a land, attempting to reconcile its inhabitants to a foreign rule, of raising a revenue sufficient to maintain the supremacy of the Crown, and at the same time of making the people satisfied and con tented with their lot. It is an undertaking from which any man might shrink without disgrace, although a philanthropist might be impelled by high aspirations to attempt it, and a statesman might be forgiven if he failed completely to accomplish it." Sir John has accomplished it, and is fairly entitled to all honour in respect of it. MR. SAMUEL MORLEY ON THE WORKING CLASSES. Mr. Morley gave an interesting address on Mon day, near Nottingham, on the working classes, at the opening of a fine arts industrial exhibition. He agreed thoroughly with the establishment of such institutions, as likely to raise the working man. What else, he asked, could be done to make the life of the artisan more elevated ? One way was to make his home more attractive. But how could that be done? 'The more the working classes were brought into contact with that which was pure and noble the purer and more elevated would their lives become. He had long thought it would be a good thing if music were introduced into the homes of our working classes. In travelling in Germany he had often heard part singing in the cottages of the poor, and he was persuaded that if they could introduce the same in England it would have a very improving and ennobling effect. Doubtless. But does not Mr. Morley see that the homes must in some sort become attractive before the part singing can be car ried on ? While a father is in the public-house and his eldest son in the skittle-alley how can part songs be learnt ? The elevation of a home is a gradual work. Singing will not come by itself, but must spring in some' degree out of the family being together, and having something to do in common. If there is not the singing or something to amuse, the family is not likely to be brought together . very fre quently. It is a question of culture, of gradual development. Family life cannot be, as Mr. Morley seems to infer, forced into action by the outward application of some art which has not grown up out of its immediate requirements. Mr. Morley went on to offer his opinions on strikes. The rich were as much dependent upon the poor as the poor were upon the rich. In this spirit he had come to regard strikes as a crime except under the most special circumstances, being of opinion that with regard to masters and workmen who were indisposed to come to an agreement that they were guilty of a criminal act. This was evi dently intended to cut both ways, but the employer j of labour is very palpable indeed. CLERGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS BILL. The council of the Church Association have examined the provisions of the Clergy Discipline and Ecclesiasticl Courts Bill presented to the House of Lords by the Archbishop of Canterbury. They recognise its merits, but give the preferenceto the bill recently presented by Lord Shaftesbury. They trust that by mutual arrangement the country may secure the ben etas so much required. Some of the chief defects in the proposal of the Archbishop are pointed out, and it is said that certain provisions are of a retro grade character. The laity will be worse off than they are now by the arrangements of this bill, and in any case of unsound or erroneous doctrine great difficulty will be found in taking proceedings. After mentioning some other defects in the scheme, the council feel compelled to urge their friends to pre sent petitions in favour of Lord Shaftesbury's mea sure, as• being the best calculated to secure the interests they have at heart. TUE WICKLOW PEERAGE. "Ellen Howard" writes to the Times respecting the controversy about the Wicklow peerage. She complains that, on the death of her husband, she was subjected to every annoyance which detectives could inflict upon her, and that she vainly applied to Sir Richard Mayne for protection. She is indignant with Lord Wicklow for desiring her to prove the legitimacy of her child in the Court of Probate, and also for refusing to grant her a personal interview. MERCHANT SNIPPING. Mr. Carnegie, of Bishopsgate-street, writes to The Tinzes on the acts relating to shipping, and points out smile of the e xisting evils. In the first place, he recommends that steam and sailing ships should be dealt with separately, instead of being, as now, placed on the same footing. He thinks that great improvements might be made iu the victualling system of foreign traders, especially the steam ones. The men suffer greatly from the faulty system that prevails, and business is interfered with in some cases. It is also most inexpedient to engage crews by Ihoweeki for the men lose alLelpritge coro, (From the Anglo-American Times) Mr. James Fisk (junior) has put his oar into the Gas inquiry business, which has been progressing in this city for some time. No one seems to escape the censure of that immaculate party, and the evi dence he gave-the Legislative Committee about the gas the company supplied his opera house with was not to their credit. Not only was the quality bad, but in proportion as it grew worse the bills increased, and so did the insolence of the enzployes. Fisk is a fund of delight, for one has only to look out into the street to see him after some one with a big pole or a sharp stick, and he never tears through Wall street without leaving behind him a flock of ducks he has lamed. The Ilolsatia sailed last Tuesday for Southampton with 250 pas-engers, and every berth engaged for her next trip. There is to be a tremendous exodus if present indications are to be believed, as the North German Lloyd, the Cunard, the Inman, the Guion, and the Anchor lines are finding a heavily increasing demand, and anti cipate a great passenger transit season. I suppose this is pleasant news to you, as your sales and ad vertisements will increase with the tide of our tra vel ; but we do not regard it on our side with the same complacency, as it makes dull times here, and scatters too much American money over Europe. James Logan (No. 2) has been indicted by the grand jury for the murder of James Rogers. The evi dence of Martha Elsworth is likely to be fatal to him, although her mother, aided by a parson, have persuaded her to make a clean breast of it, and to live hereafter like a good woman. The attention of the grand jury has been called to our " nude fe males." •I see on your side the Lord Chamberlain has been looking narrowly after the legs of the ballet girls; here we require a jury to do it for us, a lot of heavy respectables with spectacles, something like the batch who settled down to the entertainment when " Griffith Gaunt" had to be read, and found • it entirely too moral for them. Harper Brothers have come out with an illustrated edition at 25 cents, which they have extensively advertised. It is an ill wind, that blows no one good, and Charles Reade has got a grand advertisement out of the Round 7 aide. But to return to the ballet girls. We Americans always drive ahead of you Europeans in vice as well as in virtue. If you bring out a saint we bring out a greater, and • you have never equalled our wickedest man, although he was far outdone on our stage. If you want a revival you should come here for it, and for an obscene ballet you should turn to New York, and not to Paris. We have this advantage, however, over you, that we do more promptly and effectually suppress glar ing and offensive vice. Masquerade balls are the forms our latest visitations have taken, and they have been growing_ worse and worse until the State Legisla ture has, been petitioned to interfere. Five murder cases have come on for trial this week, and the pre sent mood, Of judge and jury is such, that if I were a case, I won!d rather be held over to take my chance in less excited times. The rascals are in a furious ferment, and openly thr,aten vengeance against judge and jury, while the whisper of a vigilance committee cows the ruffians, for they know that if they introduce assassination to intimidate the judges that they may be marked and hung on mere sus picion. There is Real, who is to be hung on the 2d April for murdering a policeman. The idea of being executed merely for shooting what the Eng lish call a ." Bobby" is something horrible and inex plicable to the gang; but hanged he certainly will be, although the judge is in terror of his life. Governor Hoffman resolutely adheres to his determination to let the law take its course, in spite of every effort made to move him. There has been an accident of an extraordinary nature on the Erie Railway. While the express train from Cincinnati was passing some freight cars laden with old rails, so ill-packed that a few got deranged, and projecting were driven into the smoking car, severely injuring Mr. W. A. Smith, of Damascus, Pennsylvania ; Mr. Walter Bickley, of Tremont Centro,- New York ; and another gentleman. Real estate is still on the rise ; what it will eventually reach. no one can predict, but if it does not soon stop Manhattan earth will be as good as gold. Of course there will be a tremendous smash some day, as the sales are chiefly speculative ; the purchasers merely looking for a rise in a month or two, while they only pay the deposit of ten per cent. Our Senate is going to submit the new Constitution to a vote of the people next fall, divided into four, and each section to be voted on. The Excise Law is likely to be amended so as to keep open the licensed houses till one o'clock, and re-open at four instead of 'seven. The City of Brooklyn, the new Inman steamer, has made a very favourable impres sion bere,,and has been presented with a suit of co lours by the city of Brooklyn in response to her Ulysses S. Grant, who will only be 47 years of age on the 22d of April, is the youngest man ever elected President of the United States. Silent as he may be, lie has picked up with rare facility the best mode of fending off the attacks of office seekers. His success before inauguration was marked, but it is even more surprising since. Yet, after all, hi; system is simple ; he admits none but Cabinet Ministers and other high officials; and members of Congress, between the hours of 9 and 11 a.m. ; after which, till noon, the doors are open to the public, when all the office-seekers rush in and, of course, baulk each other. So, by admit ting the crowd, he uses one particle to sustain the pressure of another, and thus personally escapes. There is no denying that the President's appoint ments, both in and out of the Cabinet, have excited the most undisguised hostility of the politicians. Every hotel and boarding house is crowded with office-seekers, and everywhere the appointments are condemned, even by Congressmen. The Re publican press, as a whole, support Grant's nomi nations, but not heartily. Longstreet's appoint ment was much commented upon, and generally applauded. The following were the nominations sent to the Senate yesterday : - James Longstreet, to be Surveyor of Customs for the port of New Orleans; James F. Casey, Collector of Customs at New Orleans ; Sidney A. Stockdale, to be Collector of Inland Revenue for the First District of Loui siana ; Edward V. Kingsley, of New York, to be Secretary of the United States Legation at Madrid ; Alexander Sharpe, to be Marshal of the United States for the District of Columbia; Chief Engineer James W. King, to be Chief of the Bureau of Steam Engineering—the last endorsed as follows : "In place of Usherwood, whom I desire removed." General Smith, of Bloomington, Illinois, takes the place of Second Assistant Postmaster-General, vice M'Clelland, whose removal excites surprise. General Parker has been appointed Commis sioner of Indian Affairs, in place of Taylor, ' removed, and bis appointment is considered a blow to the Indian " ring." Mr. John S. Ris • ley has resigned the Deputy Commissionership of Internal Revenue. Supervisor Creecy of the Lou isiana Revenue District proceeds there vigorously to push the recent prosecutions. On Monday, when the Senate reassembles, there will be an im mense number of nominations laid before it, and there are all sorts of rumours regarding the ap pointments. Who shall be Minister to England is a much agitated question, and over 50 prominent Americans are suggested for the post. Senator Sumner is supposed to favour Mr. Motley, but the politicians back Horace Greeley. The New York Sun has been vigorously advoCating Mr. Greeley's claims, but the Tribune prefers its silence to its ad vocacy: If Horage Greeley goes and fails, what Mr. Reverdy Johnson has got is a trifle compared to what he will get ; for Mr. Reverdy Johnson is not a successful editor, and has not excited the jealousy of the men who write. Mr. Washburne will not leave for Paris till the Ist May, and Mr. Frank Moore is to be his Assistant Secretary of Lega tion. Mr. Hale was I heard to remain for the pre sent at Madrid, and Marsh in Italy ; but now the rumour is that Gen. Daniel Butterfield of. New York is to be his successor, that Gen. Palmer, of the same State, goes to Stockholm, and our citizen Colonel Ruble to Switzerland. Paymaster-General Brice has been reappointed to the place of Pay master, of which he was deprived by Andrew John sae. Mr. Murdock has also been reappointed. Most people are under the impression that Mr. Motley's destination is Austria. Gen. Dix is ex pected from France soon. He sent in a letter of resignation. Mr. Bincklev's successor as Solicitor of Internal Revenue is announced to be Walter H.Smith of Mount Vernon. Mr. Hamilton Fish, the new Secre tary of State, is expected in Washington next week, until which time Mr. Washburne will act. The Diplomatic Corps called yesterday on the President, and were introduced by Mr. Washburne. After a neat address from Baron Gerolt, Grant replied as briefly. His only remark was--" You may be as sured that it shall be my constant endeavour to maintain those relations of peace and friendship which now exist between the United States and the countries which you respectively represent—a pur pose which I am happy to learn from you will be fully reciprocated." The impression here is not favourable to the strength with which the new Sec retary of State will conduct the foreign -policy of the nation ; but there are many who consider con ciliation and a tone of courtesy much more to the point. You, Mr. Editor, who read so much of our papers, must be struck with the neglect which our screaming bird, the eagle, now meets. The soar ing, the spreading, the screaming, the striking, of that feathered animal, have gone out of fashion, and are beginning to be thought bad taste ; nor that only, but poverty of argument, and the resort of weak, ill-read speakers. Mr. Fish is a gentleman who will uphold the interest and honour of the country with dignity, as well as with good manners. General Sherman issued an order on assuming command of the armies of the United States. The power of the General is increased, and that of the Secretary of war decreased. Gen. Grant's staff has in the main been transferred to Sherman. Schofield has handed over the Department for War to Raw lins, and to. day the oath is to be administered to both him and Boutwell by Justice Cartter. Secretary Bone has hal several interviews with Vice-Admiral Porter and several Rear-Admirals, especially Dahl gren, Chief of Bureau of Ordnance. The new editions of "Griffith Gaunt" had been published to his know ledge, and gave it is his opinion that no publisher would issueless than 25,000 copies of a work by an author of Mr. Reade's reputation. Mr. Reade has written 12 or 15 novels, but, except in " Peg Woffington" and "Foul Play," had not associated any one with him in the authorship. Torn Taylor assisted him in the former, and iu the latter Mr. Boucicault was associated with him. The writers' names were mentioned with that of Mr. Reade on the title-page, but in the case of "Foul Play" some chapters had been returned to Mr. Reade by the publisher, on the ground that hd had not written them. The witness said no other authors received such large compensation as Mr. Dickens and Mr. Reade, but he could not say whether Mr. Reade received a lesser rate of compensation since the publication of the articles in Th.l Round Table. Mr. Whitney summed up on behalf of the defendants, contending that the quea• t.ion for the jury was not, Was this criticism just and true? That was a matter of judgment, not of fact; but was there in the story which called forth the criticism occasion for such a criticism? Such things as might to an honest mind suggest such con demnation as was here. The counsel reviewed at some length the book, claiming that the book was not really a story of jealousy, but of illicit love, checked be fore it reached its full development. He quoted largely from the portion of the book giving the intercourse be tween the young priest Leonard and Kate Gaunt. The book, he argued, painted a bigamy, and the bigamist was shown to be a happy man, not suffering under the pangs of conscience, but floating in happiness throughout. These things, he argued, fully justified the criticisms. This book did paint vice in an enticing form, and an honest critic, especially when asked by author or publisher to criticise it, would condemn such demoraliz ing books. The third article made no charge what ever against Mr. Reade. It was simply an inquiry whether Mr. Reade had written this book, and the doubt expressed in it was honourable to him. The doubt was justified by the custom of authors ; the motive ascribed to him for this quasi-deceit wan most honourable—to aid a novice. The testimony was that the book was not in jured by these articles; its sale was enormous. Counsel called attention to the Prurient Prude letters, and claimed that its language fully justified the severe terms in which The Round Table commented on it, and it was a false and base attack on the defendants. The defendants were to day the representatives of the great principles on which the liberty of the press rests. If the jury believed the book to be an immoral book, then they would justify the defendants; but if the criticisms were not just, still the jury would have to look to the intent with which they were written, and this, they would find, was true and honest. As to the Prurient Prude letter, and its attacks, 'the coincidmice of its publication with the issuing of the book, gave a probability to an entirely different motive-- that of advertising, and calling attention to the book. The jury, after hearing Mr. Booth's summing up on behalf of the plaintiff, awarded 6 cents damages to the plaintiff. Badeau's " Military History of United States Grant" is being translated into the French, German, and Spanish languages. Senor Romero is making the Spanish translation, two distinguished gentlemen, one a professor at Heidelberg, and the other a professor at Berlin, are preparing German translations of the work, and an emi nent French scholar is engaged in translating the History into the_French language. LAD VERTlSMlENT.]—Henceforth no one will doubt the valuable properties of Du Barry's health-restoring Revalenta Arabic& Invalids' and Infants' Food, since to the thousands of blessings it has already received from Invalids whose position had been deemed hopeless, we may now add that of his Holiness the Pope, whose health has been perfectly restored by it after thirty years of unsuccessful medical treatment. We quote from the " Gazette du Midi," July 25th :—" Rome, July 21, 1866. The health of the Holy Father is exoellent, especially since, abandoning all other reme dies, he has confined himself entirely to Du Barry's Revalenta Arabica Food; of which he consumes a plateful at every Mea l * It has produced a surprisingly beneficial effect on his health, and his Holiness cannot praise this excellent food too highly." We extract a few out ofmore than 68,000 cures :—Cure No. 58,216, of the Marchioness de Brehau, of seven years' liver complaint wasting away, debility, nervousness, with a nervous palpitatioh , all over, bad digestion, constant sleeplessness, and the most in tolerable nervous agitation. Cure No 1.771: Lord Stuart de Decies, Lord-Lieutenant of Waterford, of many years' dyspepsia. No. 49,832: "Fifty years' indescribable agony from dyspePsa , nervousness, asthma, cough, constipation, flatulency, spasms , sickness, and vomiting —Maria Joly " Cure No. 46,270: Mr. James Roberts, of Frimley, Surrey, of 30 years' diseased lungs, spitting Of blood, liver derangement, and parilal deafness. Ira -- portant Caution—Beware of the many unsavoury and more than sloppy imitations to which, w ith ou t au thority, Baron Liebig s name is most audaciously attached. • In tins, at ls. lid. ; 1 lb. 2s. 9d.; 2 lbs. 4s. 6d. ; 5 lbs. lls.; 12 lbs, 225. ; 'e 4 lbs, 403,—A150 Du BARRY'S REVALENTA ARABICA CHOCO LATE POWDER is Packed in tin canisters; for 12 cups at 25., for 24 cups at 3s. 6d., for 48 cups at 65., for 2SB cups at 30s. rot 576 cups at 55s.—being about one penny per cup. The 30s. and 555. tins are sent free of carriage in England on receipt of Post Office Order. —BARRY DU BARRY and Co., No. 77, Regent-street, Lon don; and all Grocers and Chemists. Births. BIEBER—On the 29th inst., at Champion-hill, Surrey, the wife of Egmont Bieber, Esq., of a son and heir. DE BKOKE —On the 29th inst.. at 7, Rutland-gate, Lady Willoughby De Broke, of a son. Marriages. LEWIN—BA /B —On the 29th inst., at Edinbrgh, Fred. I,M Albert Lewin ' of Lineoln's-inn, to Ella , eldest (laugh ter` of the late William Robert Baillie, Es 4., W.S., Edin burgh. ROBERTSON—M E LVILLE —On the 29 th inst., a t lioehamp ton, Lieut.-General R. Robertson, of Tulliebelton, Perth shire, to Lady Julia Leslie Melville, daughter of the Earl of Leven and Melville. son, the Times says, was that STEWART is a Free- Trader, while the politicians are Protectionists, and they made a strong point that a Free-trader should not occupy the post wherein he would be the most dangerous to Protection. The truth is that GRANT'S first choice for the Treasury was Mr. BOUTWELL, and he only appointed Mr. STEWART after the other had declined to act ; so that the whole ground work of the Times article sinks, leaving that paper where it often is, in the air, mere ballooning. GRANT, as we have before explained, selected Mr. WASHBURNE for the first office in his gift as a com pliment, knowing that he could not continue to hold it. He retained Sc HOFIELD for the same reason, expressly stating that as that officer had declined to resign his commission in the army, he did not con sider it right he should remain in the post of a civilian. The man he selected as his successor is the closest personal (friend, perbaps, he has. If GRANT owes his elevation to WASHBURNE, RAWLINS owes his more distinctly to GRANT ; and it is a truism that the attachment growing out of giving is greater on the part of the donor than on that of the receiver. Yet the Times writes a leader to impress on the English public that GRANT has been driven from his pbsition by the politicians, that the Cabinet of his choice has been broken down, and the present incumbents of the three most important offices have been thrust on him at the dictation of the politicians. While on this subject let us give an instance of the way in which it corrects mistakes. It published to the world that GEORGE F. HOAR had been nominated Attorney-General, and puzzled every person in Europe acquainted with, and interested in, Ameri can affairs. The letter of the correspondent fol lowed in due course, and the error of his telegram was there repeated. We gave the reason last week, but not in the most remote way did the Times ever allude to its blunder, and with an impudence, which only long habit could give, wrote about Mr. EBENEZER ROCKWOOD HOAR as the Attorney-Gene ral. The Cabinet is not yet fully constructed, for President GRANT dots not intend to infringe the rule of taking more than one Cabinet Minister from I any State. When he prevailed on BOUTWELL to accept the post of Secretary of the Treasury, he wrote asking Mr. HOAR to resign ; but that gentle ; man arrived immediately at Washington, having resigned his seat on the Massachusetts bench, and the PRESIDENT so far changed his mind as to avail himself for the present of his legal services. It is, however, an understood thing that Mr. HOAR will shortly receive another appointment and sur render his place in the Cabinet. At the same time, we freely admit, a great storm is brew ing at Washington ; but it is one long fore seen by GRANT, and long predicted by the news papers. The fight will be GRANT versus the " Rings," and the PRESIDENT will require all the aid the nation can give to come off victorious. In this country something is known of close boroughs, corporations, cliques and monopolies, and the man who undertakes to fight them has a hard time of it, with only a small chance of success. But what are these to the gigantic combinations of fraud which have grown up in America during and since the War. General GRANT has one thing to do--to purify the Administration, to reform the Civil Ser vice. If he can accomplish this he will crown his :great services, and take his place by the side of WASHINGTON in the future history of the Union. But to rout the " rings" will prove as difficult as to subdue the South, and no man know 3 this better than GRANT himself. His Cabinet has been ap pointed to strengthen his hands for the conflict. It is composed of men always foremost in this battle and his own fast friends, and the Times is most in correct in its assertion, that either Mr. Fist' or Mr. BOUTWELL represent interests or opinions not in accord with those of the PRESIDENT who selected them. We have already sketched the careers of the other members, and we have only to add those of the Secretary of State and of the Treasury. The former, HAMILTON FISH, of New York, was born in .New York City, in 1809, of one of the oldest and most respected families of the metropolis. He was educated at Columbia College, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1830. He was defeated in his candidature for the State Legislature in 1834, but was elected in 1837. In 1842 be was elected to Congress, and in 1848 became Go vernor of his native State. On the close of his term in 1850 he was sent to the U.S. Senate, in which as sembly be sat from 1851 to 1857. From that period he travelled for years, mainly in Europe, which has given him much acquaintance with European questions and an insight into Foreign Affairs which qualify him for the post he now fills. In conjunction with BISHOP AMES, he acted on a commission ap pointed in 1862 to relieve Union prisoners in the South. On the whole, his appointment must be well received by the nations with whom he will most c ome in contact, as his views are moderate, and he i s a gentleman in every sense of the word, his sentiments being expressed and his manner dis tinguished for courtesy and dignity. General JOHN A. RAWLINS, Secretary of War, was born in Jo- Davies County, Illinois, on the 13th Feb., 1831. His early life was spent in farming and charcoal burning, and his educational advantages were limited to attending the neighbouring schools, chiefly in the winter, although he once had a spell of eight months at the Rock River Seminary, Illinois. When 23 years of age he was admitted to the bar, entering into partnership with his pre ceptor in Galena, GRANT'S own town, where he continued to practise till the outbreak of the war. In 1861 he assisted in raising the Lead Mine Regi ment of Illinois Infantry, and was shortly after wards appointed to the staff of Brigadier-General GRANT, with the rank of Captain. From that period throughout the war be was on GRANT'S Staff, and rose with him till he attained the position of Chief of Staff, with the rank of Brevet Major- General of the United States Army. This com missiou he will have to resign, a sacrifice Sato- FIELD would not make, and one which doubtless caused RAWLINS pain. He enjoys the entire con fidence of the PRESIDENT, who speaks of him as having fully earned all his promotions as a soldier who came " the nearest to being indispensable to him of any officer of the service." • The following is the law which disqualifies Mr. Stewart from acting as Secretary of the Treasury, being the eighth section of the law creating the office:—" No . person appointed to any office instituted by this..act shall, directly or indirectly, be concerned or interested in carry ing on the business of trade or commerce, or be owner, in whole or in part, of any sea vessel, or purchase, by him self or another in trust for him, *any public lands or other public property, or be concerned iu the purehaso or dis posal of any public securities of any State or of the United States, or take or apply to his own use any emolument or gain for negotiating or transacting any business in said department other than what shall be allowed by law ; and if any person shall offend against any of the prohibi tions of this Act shall be deemed guilty of a high misde meanour, and forfeit to the United States the penalty of three thousand dollars, and shall, uput conviction, be re moved from office, and for ever thereafter be incapable of holding any office under the United States ; pro vided, that if any other person than a public prosecutor shall give in formation of any such offence, upon which a prosecution and conviction shall be had, one-halt the aforesaid penalty of three thousand dollars, when recovered, shall be for the use of the person giving such info-matiou," Dus . viLLE an d Cc., Belfa,t, are the largest holders of Whisky in the world. Their Old Irish Whisky is re :ommended by the medical profession in preference to French Brandy. Supplied in casks and _cases for home use or exports tion. Quotations on application to Messrs. Dunville and Co., Belfast; cr 4, Beaufort -buildings Strand, London; W.CI--[Ad vertisement THE ACCUSED AT COItONEIt'S INQUESTS. That continually recurring question, Should a man accused of murder be summoned before the coroner's jury ? has now arisen at Wednesbury. The inquest on Hall, the man charged with the brutal murder of a woman, is being held, and the coroner appealed to the magistrates to allow him to have the prisoner before him. They refused, and committed the man for trial. The coroner adjourned his court and appealed to the Home Secretary. 111 r. Bruce, - in reply, repeats over again the by this time well-known law, that he has no power to do so. Surely coroners ought to have learnt, after so many decisions, that they have no strict right to have the man before them ; when they do so it is only as a privilege on Account of the wish of the prisoner. DYING DECLARATIONS. Mr. Baron Cleasby, in a charge of murder against a midwife, which was brought before him at the . Sheffield Assizes, on Monday, decided an important question. When the case was before the magistrates, the principle evidence against the accused was the statement of the deceased taken shortly before her death ; but when it was attempted to put in the examination at the assizes objection was taken to its admission, on the ground that at the time it was made the deceased was not impressed with the belief that death was imminent, and, therefore, that her statement was not of the nature of a dying declara tion. Baron Cleasby, considering the objection well founded, excluded the evidence, and as upon it the prosecution relied for a conviction, the case broke down, and a verdict of acquittal was entered. THE WEATHER. Mr. E. J. Lowe, writing from Highfield House Observatory, near Nottifigham, calls attention to the extraordinary fall of snow. which occurred on Easter Sunday. It continued, without ceasing, from 7 a.m. till 2.55 p.m., and fell with . great violence from 10 a.m. till noon. The thickness on the ground was, at 8- a.m., lin. ;at 11 a.m., 61-in. ; noon, qin. ; 12.30 p.m., 7in. The water on the lake was covered deep with half-melted snow, through which the waterfowl moved with difficulty. The snow fell in a calm, and the trees were laden four and five inches deep, and some redcedars (18 feet high) were so bent as to touch the ground. The wire wheel of Mr. Lowe's electrometer, which has withstood the snows and storms of 20 years, was broken by the weight of the snow. 'The temperature varied from 32 deg. to 30 deg. SPIRITS FROM BEETROOT. The hidden riches of beetroot have not even yet been disclosed. The Chamber of Agriculture Journal is informed that where beet sugar-making is profit able, beetroot spirit-making is even more profitable; and that on soils and in climates where the quantity of saccharine matter yielded by the roots is too small to be • worth extracting, distillation of alcohol may, nevertheless, be a money-making business. And in proof of this assertion, the fact is pointed out that large numbers of beetroot-sugar works in Prussia, Austria, and France, have been lately converted into distilleries. "We are quite aware" says our contemporary, " that spirit-making from beetroot has been tried in this country, and has failed. But so has sugar-making ; and the very authorities who formerly satisfied themselves that the business could not pay are now warmly congratu lating the British public upon the advent of this new help to the farmer, and hope to the underpaid agri cultural labourer. This is because inventors will keep on improving upon processes and apparatus. And for just the same reason the failure of beet tillation years ago ceases to tell against the profit ableness of that branch of industry at the present moment." Our contemporary does not seem to understand that the increased consumption of spirits means the increased impoverishment of the con sumers. These new distilleries will be a sorry gift to the British agricultural labourer. .~ christening. Henry . M. Steele, partner of _a largd dry-goods firm, committed suicide at No. 1, Irving place. He had been drinking hard, and, had been divorced from his wife, which had caused much un happiness.. The Legislature has appointed a com mittee of seven to investigate the affairs of the New York Central, Erie and Hudson River Railroad Companies. The seven members are Bemus, Sal kreg, IVelker, Gleason, Ely, Sufferin, and Jacobs. General 0. E. Babcock, late of General Grant's staff, left for Washington yesterday. Miss Susan Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton have drawn into their net some German ladies and gentlemen who are going to back up the Revolution by a Ger man weekly paper, to be called the New Era, Die New Zeit, with a subscribed capital of $5,000, raised by the issue of 1,000 shares at $5 each. The Germans are going in strongly for Woman Suf frage, and Chicago is likely to rival New York as a centre of agitation on this subject. You may take it for granted that before long the women of the United States will be as free to vote as the men. Senator Tweed has introduced a bill into our State Legislature to increase the construction of railroads in this city. The one proposed is to commence at Burlington-slip, through South-street, to Catherine, Bowery, Spring, Greenwich, Christopher, Wash ington, West, Tenth-avenue, and Thirty-second» street; returning along Tenth-avenue, West, Christopher, Washington, Spring, Bowery, Chat ham-square, James, South, to the place of start ing. The corporators are Henry Smith, George M'Mullen; John B. Greene, George W. Butt, James M. Sweeney, and many others, while Mr. Kennedy introduced anpther bill to permit W. H. Williams, W. G. D. D. Cam bell, A. S. Foster, L. S. Lawrence, D. C. Littlejohn, and others, to construct and operate an elevated railroad along the following streets :- 1 From South Ferry. and Whitehall-street to Bowling ! green, Broadway, Union. , square, Union-square park, Broadway, Sixth-avenue, Fifty-ninth-street, to Fifth-avenue, and westerly to Eighth-avenue, Fifth-avenue, and Eighth-avenue, to Harlem River. Corporate stock to he $25.000,000. The road bed to be elevated 13 feet above the streets and avenues. The weather has changed from the late bitter cold, and some warm showers have fallen, which will help to break up the ice and open the navigation to Al ! bany. It looks now more prDmising, though the cold snap has greatly interfered with the river navi gation. Two steamers, as an addition to the Ame rican vessels on the China rivers, left on Thursday for Shanghai. The Walrus is commanded byCapt. Watson, and the Nautilus by Capt. Hodges. They are not new vessels, having been built for the Phila delphia trade, but they are the finest steamers sent by the United States to China. They are each 240 feet long, 46 feet in beam, and are owned by Messrs. Russell and Co., the American merchants of Shanghai. WASHINGTON, March 12. Secretary is said to be well acquainted with th construction and rigging of ships, and his practical knowledge will be of value. The Cabinet is now in working order ; but they have to get through a vast amount of business before the departments are rid of many inefficient employes, and the places well filled, and it is certain that for every friend made there will be ten enemies in those rejected and those discharged. General Howard has sent in his resignation of the Freedman's Bureau, asking that General Edward Hatch of the 9th Cavalry be assigned to that post. General Howard will then proceed to the plains to serve against the Indians under Hancock. It is said that General Schofield will be assigned to the Divi sion of the Pacific, now under General Halleck. With reference to Secretary Seward's retirement, the Kew York Commercial Advertiser says: -" Among all the great events of the day none is more remarkable than the retirement of Mr. Seward from public life. The man who gave slavery its death-wound, wbo wounded the Republican party, who, above all others, sus tained Piesident Lincoln in all his great measures, who saved us from foreign complications fatal to our success, who has enlarged our boundaries and developed means of enlarging our commerce, is now a private citizen. In the history of America, whose name is to be brighter? The peer of Hamilton and the superior of Jefferson—what are we to think of the apparent insensibility of the people to these tacts ? Are republics truly ungrateful ? Or has the moral sense of the nation become dim ? It is not strange, as Mr. Seward himself has said, that his political opponents should hate him; but how are we to account for the lack of devotion and applause he should receive from the party he founded and built up, and to whose principles he has never for a moment been unfaithful ?" "THE RECENTNESS OF CREATION."—A. volume on this subject is about to be issued by the Rev. Ch. C. Adams, of Manhattaniille, New York. He is said to have been engaged on this work for ten years. It will divide the physical history of our planet into four geological epochs—the Creative, the Productive, the Desiructive, and the Regenerative. It will develope a new law of motion in the sea, which is said to have formed the marine geolo gical strata from the Azoic rocks upwards, and that within a period of six thousand years. It will exhibit the Bible in two lights, both as a scientific and theological revelation from God, forming a grand harmoniously arranged system only to be understood as a whole. - Trubner's Record. In the case of Reade versus Sweetser, Professor Frobisher took the place of Mr. Vandeuhoff in the reading of " Griffith Gaunt" on the Ist March, and frequently paused to repeat words in order to give greater emphasis. Judge Clirke became weary of this entertainment, and on resuming his place on the bench, after recess, he an nounced that upon a cDnsultation with his brother Jus tices, it had been determined that the.plaintiff was pur suing a wrong course in reading a book to the jury. After much argument the Judge gained his point, and the read ing was stopped. Mr. House then testified at Mr. Reade received either X 3 or three guineas per page for "Griffith Gaunt," from the publishers of the Atlantic Monthly, and five or six guineas from the Argosy; also a percentage on the sales of the story after being published in book loran by Messrs. Ticknor and Fields. Mr. House saw the article from the Round Table copied into the London Review and tLe Globe. Ile knew the Review had large circulation; and, on his cross-examination, stated that 12,000 or 15,000 would be a large circulation for a paper of its character in London. His belief as to its circulation was founded upon its general reputation and the number and character of , the advertisements sent to it. The Globe he describes as a daily evening newspaper and a sort of club organ, and its circulation, he said, was about one-sixth of that of The Daily Tribune. The daily edition of The Tribune had, he believed, a circulation of about 600,000 copies. When Mr. House went to live with Mr. Reade, about three instal ments of "Griffith Gaunt" had been finished. It was Mr. Reade's custom to write one or two numbers of a serial before publication, and then to continue it. Mr. Reade is a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, is 56 years old, and has been an author for 15 or 20 years. Mr. House said he was not Mr. Reade's agent in this city, but on one occasion he had submitted a play—" Never Too Late To Mead"— to the managers of Wallack's Theatre, by whom it was ac cepted. He had never negotiated with any publisher in rela tion to " Griffith Gaunt." The witness said three American Deaths. BAX —On the 28th inst., at Old Charlton, Kent, Captaln Henry Bonham flax, aged 72. MORGAN— On the 29th inst., General John Morgon, of St. Helen's, Swa nsea, aged 84. SPALD ING —0 n the 29th inst., at The Holme, New Gallo- Way, N. 8., John Eden Spalding, E€q., in the 61st year of his age. London : Printed and Pablished by WILLIAM ANDREWS, of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at Trut SUN °inn, NO 1)2, strand, in the Precinct of the Sc Toy tn the County of Middlefan t --Wednesday, March 81,1369.