The Sun. — London, England, 1869-01-08 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF ane 'limes, in discussing the recent agrarian outrage in Triverary, observes that there is nothing to relieve the crirng of a single particle of its intrinsic hideousness. The Murdered man was a good and liberal landlord, and Acknowledged to be such by his tenantry ; and he fell a tictim to a family quarrel in which he bad personally no Alcern. Yet this man is shot within hearing of his wife, p,Oopitrently with as little concern as if he were some Wo ws animal. But this is not the worst aspect of the case. , We believe that as many murders are committed in England as in Ireland in the course of the 117 ear. But in England a murderer was about with the rand of Cain ; in Ireland he too often commands the s ympathies of the people. But it is an undoubted fact that..agrarian crime has decreased in a remarkable degree since England commenced the system of conciliating instead of oppressing the Irish Roman Catholics. The late Sir- Robert Peel declared, in the year 1829, that Ire land bascarcely been governed for a single year, from the ton downwards, according to the ordinary course of law. w hat was the consequence ? In 1823 no fewer than 2,600 memorials for mercy were presented to the Irish Viceroy, who commuted capital sentences in four hun dred uses, nearly all agrarian. Compare this state of things with the isolated murders, horrible as they are, *?ich are now committed in Ireland, and then deny who cap that Ireland has made a wonderful progress since the era pf conciliation commenced with Catholic Emancipa tion. Let us not be discouraged, therefore, by these occa eonal crimes in the wise policy which we have marked out for ourselves. The task we have before us is to create Ina-the Irish character a respect for law; and this can only be done by separating the law from all alliance with injustice. A great nation like ours is not to befrightened back from the course of justice because its path is crossed by a criminal al the wilds of Tipperary. But we must, at the same impress upon the Irish people the ne,essity of putting the ban of public odium on undoubted crime. England has given them a pledge of her goodwill and of her determination to abolish all relics of injustice ,against which they can urge a legitimate cause of complaint, and surely we have a right to ask them, even in their own interest, to second our efforts. We are willing to do our part ; let the Irish shew themselves willing to do theirs. We cannot have an imperium in imperio—a secret code of laws administered in opposition to the law of the land by irresponsible agents. The public opinion of Ireland must &dare itself on the side of the law, else the Parliament of England will labour in vain. The Standard thinks that the change of policy for Ireland has been marked by a revival of what are emphati cally called "agrarian outrages." The Radical agitators in England have raised the hopes of the Irish peasantry so high, that it is no wonder they are eager to test the sincerity of their sympathies. They have been told what they should do in vindication of their outraged rights ; they have been tutored in their wrongs, and directed bow' they should behave themselves to their op pressors by hints so significant that it was scarely possible for them not to profit by the instruction. They have listened to the parable teaching what the Irish should do with their landlords if their country were a thousand miles away. They have read of how a great Liberal statesman, writing to a friend, insisted that " justice would be done, or the landlords would be exter- minated by the vengeance of the people." They have been taught out of the same mouth—the mouth of a professed apostle of liberality and justice—that it was " an essential thing for the peace of every country that its soil should be the possession of its own people." The Irish are a race quick of taking a hint, and apt in improving a lesson, especially when it is one to their taste. The Daily News, after examining the conflicting argu ments respecting the proposed cession of Gibraltar, remarks that the fortress is of no particular value to us except in its prestige and in its commanding the harbour. As to prestige at this day, it need hardly be taken into account. If the Spaniards should think that we give them back Gibraltar because we cannot keep it, we may be quite sure no other nation will. But the point respecting the security of the harbour is a very different matter. It is clear, as we have before shewn, that we ought to possess a secure harbour at the mouth of the Mediterranean, not merely for coaling, but for telegraphic purposes. Just now, for instance, telegrams from Constantinople or Athens are often delayed a week or more in traversing Austria or France ; and, were we involved in o. war, the delay might be fatal to our Eastern possessions. We are bound, therefore, to take measures to ensure the absolute safety of a harbour on one side or other of the Straits. And herein we must say is the point on which the controversialists on both sides have failed to give us the information we require. Both, it is said, can be made defensible, unless we lose the command of the seas for such a time as to permit of a regular siege. We need not, therefore, consider anything more than the relative expense of putting each portion in a state to resist a coop de main or a bombarkment by iron clads. For if we do lose the command of the seas for any length of time we lose all that makes either Gibraltar or Ceuta of use to us. If our fleets are sunk, dispersed, or shut up in the Channel, our commerce will be swept from the Atlantic and Mediterranean both ; our com munication with India, whether by Suez or the Cape, cut off ; our colonies exposed to capture by expeditions of a few thousand men. In so universal a catastrophe it will signify nothing to us whether a garri son at the extremity of Spain, or one on the African coast, can hold its ground or not. What would be really of importance to us would be that the one or the other should be able to defend a harbour in which our vessels were sheltered or were refitting ; and this simply brings us back to the old question of the defensibility of the harbour at either place by means of our batteries as against the enemies' batteries. When in this way we clearly apprehend that it is a harbour and not a fort that we want, and that we only need the fort in order to defend the harbour, we have brought the question to the furthest point at which lands men or civilians, or even any military men not belonging to the scientific corps, are competent to speak upon it. The grounds for our decision on the vital points at issue must be furnished to us by sailors and by engineers. If they say Ceuta can serve our purposes better than, or as well as Gibraltar, and at no greater expense, then we may dis regard any other counsel, and readily enter into negotia tions with Spain whenever that country is in a state to propose them. The Post remarks upon the position assumed by the Roman Catholic bishops, and explains it by the supposi tion that they do not regard the Anglican bishops as bishops at all. Mr. Ffoulkes, a Roman convert, takes another view of the question, and in his letter to Archbishop Manning he complains that the Church of Rome has not been that chivalrous and successful guar dian of the ancient faith which she professes to be. It is 4uite refreshing to see the Church of Rome dealt with in this learned, candid, quiet way, so unlike th e no i s y u lt ra - Protestant demonstrations which have been so common of late years, and have done so much to strengthen the hands of proselytising Romanists. Such unimpassioned but cogent argumentation will do more than anything else to check Ultramontane tendencies in the Roman Church, and to prevent secession from our own. At the same time it leaves the Roman hierarchy no ground to stand upon in this country. However they may be tolerated by th e St a t e , th e y are a lt oge th er a t issue with the Church. Mr. Ffoulkes says plainly to Archbishop Manning that the conclusion to which Le is driven must cut " at the very root of the Archbishop's position in England." No doubt it does. This was the real ground of hostility to the so-called Papal aggression in 1850. It may be asked by some why Mr. Ffoulkes does not give still further expression to his views by at once leaving the Roman Chur • ; and returning to his old com munion. Tha. is a question he is not bound to answer. Consistency does not logically require it of him, inas much as the questions he has raised are not de fide. He will in all probability be far more useful by staying where he is ; and by teaching the world from an inner point of view what are the really weak parts of the Roman system. The Herald makes some observations upon the increase and decrease of pauperism during the last few years. Although there is a subsidence in the flood of pauperism, it considers that the danger is not yet over, and if frost should set in, thousands of individuals would speedily be thrown upon the poor rates. The poor-law expenditu_ )on the whole is greatly increasing, and without any per ceptible benefit to the poor. No doubt in individual cases the relief does some amount of good ; yet in the aggregate there is an increase of suffering. Something more than the poor law seems to be needed for the purpose of reliev ing the poverty of the country. On various occasions for several months past we have pointed out the value attach.attach ing to a proper system of emigration , more especially in the dire ,:tion of Canada. Every day's experience serves to confirm that view, and we believe that unless this remedy be adopted no reform of the poor law will be sufficient to meet the dire necessity which is coming upon us. The Star observes that Mr. Bright's peace principles have been put to a novel test. He has shunned the Indian Secretaryship in vain. Wars and rumours of wars pursue - the pacific statesman into the calm of his carefully selected department. He is adjured to fight, and to fight a poacher—he who so loathes the game laws. But the poacher is not the humble villager with whom unpaid wisdom wages intermittent hostilities. The poacher against whom Mr. Bright's official right arm is invoked is a poacher of the sea. Mr. Bright is conjured to make war-- on the bottle-nosed whale. Mr. Bright's predecessor was never appealed to to throw the aegis of England over the weak powers of the ocean. Richmond was never nu the seas for any such purpose, But no sooner does this peace loving statesman seek out the Board of Trade as a pacific retreat, than a " ponderous monster "—a Caliban of the deep—a shape fraught with suggestions and portents of mar i ne disaster, was thrust ruthlessly upon the much plagned Cabinet. As if it wer e no t enoug h to disendow the Irish Church, without being called upon to disestablish—the bottle-nosed whale. This porpoise question may grow. Every one who believes ail lie hears is well aware that it was the existence of a Peace party in Eng land that encouraged the Emperor Nicholas to assail the sacred integrity of Turkey. Wh a t if t h e pre sc.nce of Mr. Bright the Board of Trade should suggest to the bottle-nosed whale the b'ea of leaving the British Isles absolutely tishless? We shrink, like Mr. Bright, from a sdhject which it would be painful to pursue fur ther. But the Government will d well to consider that England has waged many a war as unjustifiable as that which Mr. Drew would draw her into, and that we should have been richer and less taxed if we had had the courage to adopt the " crinpilizand centracted "uoliev with which Mr._Bgigbt has - :''tiatntay' nm t , an tßigisallttga Sil of — bottle - noted whales. :C JOURNALS, i AIETROPO ►LITAN GOSSlP—Thursday. Political matters are in abeyance jus -ow, and are likely to be so for another fortnight. Ministers are ex pected to return to town on the 25th, and to hold a Cabinet Council on the following day. Meanwhile there are rumours of serious difficulties with regard to the Irish Church question, and one evening paper, which has not yet lived long enough to be an authority, has published with a good deal of detail, the nature of the difficulty, declaring inter alia that Lord Westbury has determined to oppose the secularisation of the Irish Church revenues ; so that, though little serious opposition is likely to be offered to disestablishment, disendowment will prove a far more difficult task. Irish journalists seem to have heard something of these rumours, for a leading Irish newspaper has within the last few days threat ened Mr. Gladstone with very serious consequences if he does not satisfy the just aspirations of Irishmen, and he is given to understand that he receives the support of the Irish party only dens se bent gesscrit. Ey way of allaying suspicions, one of the Irish Ministerial - officials (Sir Colman O'Loghlen), on being re-elected, assured his constituents that Mr. Gladstone's programme would include the Church, the land, and railways; all subjects in which Irishmen take great interest. There is consternation in the Government offices. If it bad depended upon the members of her Majesty's civil servants, Mr. Gladstone's majority of 115 would have been a minority of 230. They dread the rule of the economist who for the first time is supreme, and has for col leagues men ready and eager to carry out his financial reforms. Every day sees some new order against some old abuse excessive telegraphing, use of Government ships for private purposes, excessive consumption of champagne (nominally by the sick), ex cessive consumption of whitewash. The last orders are still more serious. Thirty clerks are under notice to quit Whitehall, where their services are said to be "absolutely superfluous ;" and if the same principle is adopted else where, there will be a wholesale deportation from Pall-mall also—from the War Office, that is, as well as from the Admiralty. Nor is this all. As lucrative posts fall vacant they are no longer conferred upon the men who thought they had the reversion of them, but are abolished. Mr. James Disraeli's post at the Inland Revenue Office was one of these ; General Travers's post as Inspector-General of M arines is another; and to-day's papers announce that the post of Master Attendant and Queen's Harbour Master, at Chatham, which has become vacant through the completion by Captain Stokes of the pre scribed five years' service, will be abolished, and £6OO a year saved to the country. It has been pretty generally rumoured during the last week that the present Government are hesitating to endorse the arrangement made by their predecessors for the purchase of the telegraphs. Probably this rumour has its rise in the known dislike felt by the President of the Board of Trade to the intervention of Government in public companies. But it is not likely that Mr. Bright will set aside an agreement upon which so much depends. I may state that the impression at St. Martin's-le-Grand is that the arrangement will be fully carried out, and that by July ;the telegraphs will be under the control of the Post Office. The adjourned meeting of High Church clergy who met at the Freemasons' Tavern on December 30th, takes place next Wednesday. No one of course knows what decision will be arrived at, but I think in all probability a protest against the judgment will be drawn up and sent to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and that sub mission will be made to the judgment subject to this protest. The question of costs in the suit will also have to be considered. I find that, while there is every disposition to relieve the defendant, there is great unwillingness to pay the plain tiff's costs. The argument is that it was not Mr. Macko nochie who appealed from the Court of Arches. He was willing to accept Sir R. Phillimore's judgment. It is, therefore, thought hard that High Churchmen should bear the expense of an appeal which they did not desire. In fact, some of the Low Church party themselves think that the case is a hard one. Under these circum- stances it is not improbable that Mr. Alackonochie may be advised to pass through the Bankruptcy Court (his own lawyers being paid, of course), rather than that the English Church Union should be called upon to pay the costs on both sides, which will not be much under 20,000. Whether this judgment lead to a rupture or not, it will certainly increase the chances of separation between the Church and the State. I know that men who were formerly high Tories of the Church and Queen school, now declare themselves Radicals, and prepared to make any change that may _ _ _ relieve them from what they deem State thraldom. know, too, that the question of disestablishment is by no means absent from the minds of our leading Liberal states men. There is at least one very distinguished Minister who believes that this great revolution is inevitable, and only hopes that it may not come in his time. Meanwhile the open advocates of separation say that they do not desire to hasten the event ; they would have it brought about in consequence of, rather than in violence to the convictions of the nation. Sir Francis Grant is a lucky man. his salary as President of the Royal Academy is to be doubled — raised, that is, from £3OO to £6OO. It is possible that he may live to have it tripled. It is not generally known, I think, that the late Sir Francis Chantrey left his property to the Royal Academy, subject to a life interest in it reserved for his widow. That lady still survives ; but should she die, £3OO a year of her husband's property will go to the President of the Academy, whoever he may be. While the chief officer of this institution is thus flourishing, I do not hear a very good report of the Academy generally. In the first place, it is said that the Academicians have absolutely refused to increase the number of R.A.'s, and have pretty broadly intimated that they will not add even to the A.R.A.'s. There are forty of the first and only twenty-six of the second, although the number of the latter c'ass of dignities used to be unlimited, and an artist was made an Associate directly he was thought worthy of the honour. There is also an anticipatory grumble about the new buildings of the Academy. It is rumoured that the Hanging Committee will not henceforth hang nearly so high as they have done hitherto. If this should prove the case, there will be very little increase of space above that of the old building ; in other words, outsiders will fare as badly as they have done hitherto, thanks to the selfishness of the portrait painters, who occupy acres with their own pictures and deny inches to the common herd. Mr. Theed is engaged on one of the groups of statues for the Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens. This memorial will cost £190,000, and as the public contribute only a small amount, the greater portion of the expense will have to be borne by the Queen. Large as the sum is,it may be even still larger, for I learn that the architects are striking for higher payment. Including the Mausoleum at Frogmore, the Queen will have spent between £300,000 and £400,000 in commemorating her husband, who would certainly have been the first to deprecate such excessive lavishness. During the present week a matter has turned up which is likely to attract some notice in commercial circles. The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company is at present an un profitable concern. The West Indian agents of the com pany have reported that a handsome dividend might be earned if the company's steamers went to Cherbourg, for then they would take all the French traffic. But as this would in volve thelanding of all the English passengers at Plymouth, the Southampton people, with Mr. Russell Gurney at their head, have brought enormous influence to bear upon the board. The result is that the recommendation of the company's agents is not to be carried out, and some miserable makeshift is to be tried, such as granting through tickets to Havre, just by way of saying that something is being done. Of course this will not answer the purpose. French passengers will not care to be kept waiting at Southampton until the Havre boat leaves, nor to transfer all their luggage from one steamer to another. The real fact is, the shareholders are being sacrified to Southampton interests. lam glad to see that the matter is being taken up in the London papers. This morning there was published a valuable series of maps, illustrating the report of the Royal Commission on Middle-class Schools. Each map is coloured, so as to shew schools classical, semi -classical, non-classical, and schools in abeyance in any part of England. Speaking of educa tional topics, I may mention that the old grammar-school at Wantage, which dates from the time of King Alfred, has just been reorganised. The new master, Mr. Henry Cook, of Exmouth, who was chosen out of three hundred candidates, has been elected on thelarinciple recommended by the above-mentioned commissioners, viz., that a small fixed stipend should be paid, sufficient only to maintain the master while he is getting a reputation for the school, but not enough to induce an incompetent man to stay, and that he shall receive a capitation grant on every scholar. Mr. Cook has come to the conclusion that the old curriculum is to a great extent obsolete. Classics are still to be taught, but English, modern languages, and practical mathematics are to have especial attention. Every week sees some alteration in journalism. Echoes from the Clubs is reduced from 3d. to 2d. with the new year. Its cartoon this week will not please Ritualists, especially as the principal kneeling figure is—although by no means flattering—too much of a likeness of Mr. Mackonochie to be called a caricature. The Echo is to be doubled in size, and will be eight pages and thirty-four columns—an arithmetical problem which somewhat puzzles me. The Illustrated Sporting AV( wi has ceased to exist. So, too, has the London Turkish paper, Mukhbir. The Architect is the title of the newest rival of the Builder, and is very neatly got up. The news is printed on toned paper, and the principal illustrations (the new i~ ~J.~t~,:,i.i buildings at Balliol College, Oxford, and the new Suspen sion Bridge at Pesth) are executed in a manner far superior to.he engravings of the other architectural ourn als. I mentioned in a former letter that Messrs. Strahan had purchased the copyright of Mr. Tennyson's works. They are to pay £4,000 a year for twenty years, and will publish any new work that he may produce during that time. They will bring out the works in the familiar foolscap editions. Moxons will continue to publish Dore's illustrated edition of the " Idylls," and they claim also the copyright of the " Selections," a claim which is likely to lead to a lawsuit. Moxons will also issue a volume of original songs by Tennyson, set to music, and illustrated by Millais. The same firm have, I believe, agreed with Gustave Dord to bring out an illustrated edition of Hood's poems. Miss Emily Jolly, the author of that most charming of novels, " Pearl," is engaged on a new tale which is likely to be the best that she has produced. A cheap edition of Mr. Gladstone's autobiography, at 9d., has been published by Mr. Murray. The same publisher is bringing out Dr. Smith's " Dictionary of Medieval Latin." Chapman and Hall are issuing a fine new edition of Carlyle's works. Hurst and Blackett announce a life of Lucrezia Borgia, by William Gilbert the novelist. The weather to-day has been something extraordinary. A clear atmosphere in the streets, but a pitch-dark fog up in the heavens ; so that we have had to burn gas all day. It is still very mild, but the wind has changed, and the barometer is very high. This fog is in all probability the herald of a severe frost. MISCELLANEOUS AR VS. TICE CESSION - OEi GIBRALTAR. Admiral Grey's letter, advocating the cession of Gibraltar to Spain in exchange far Ceuta, has called forth another reply. The last-mentioned writer styles himself "A 'Voice from Gibraltar," and de clares that some of the views expressed in the Admi ral's letter are so mistaken that he is induced to point out why the possession of Gib ra lt ar i s o f i mpor tance to this country, while that of Ceuta would be useless. Ceuta has no harbour ' and its position is so unsatis factory that it cou ld be captured by land or sea if a powerful enemy undertook the work, and England would only lose money in the attempt to convert the place to greater utility. As for the Admi r al' s s t a t emen t, "th a t no t a house on the Rock would be out of easy range with modern artillery," it is said that this assertion could be of weight only if there were no guns in Gibraltar. The defences of Gibraltar are excellent : it is impregnable by land, and might be made so by sea if due pre cautions were taken. These " days of steam" have made Gibraltar of far greater importance, for it now seals the entrance to the Mediterranean. In con cluaion, the writer expresses a hope that our Govern ment will lose no time in making Gibraltar 'in oregnable, by placing heavy guns on the heights. " J. B. K." (the initials, by the way, of the late Attorney-General) writes to the Pall Mall Gagette upon this much-discussed subject. Ile says he too discards the " sentimental " question, yet thinks that the feelings of great nations are not without some actual weight in determining policy. The desire of Spain to recover Gib raltar is something more than a sentiment. The port is a vast smuggling depot. In 1866 we exported there L 1,134,699 worth of goods, just about half as Much as we sent through the whole of the Spanish custom houses. The amount is, of course, enor mously in excel of the wants of the town and the neighbourhood, and this excess represents so much contraband trade. Nor is Gibraltar costly only to the Spaniards; it is costly to us, and the garrison alone must mean fialf a million sterling a year. Add to this the expense of Gibraltar shields and Woolwich guns, and we can readily imagine how the sum total must mount up. "J. B. K.' holds that Gibraltar is not a safe station in case of war, and could not be made so unless we held the whole circuit of the shore surrounding the bay, a line of fifteen miles, whose occupation no one has ventured to suggest. If we gave up Gibraltar it would be of very little harm to us. Even supposing that we were at war with Spain, we could, provided that we retained the command of the sea, blockadethe Spanish fleet in Gibraltar more easily than elsewhere. If we did not retain the command of the seas, the posses sion of Gib ra lt ar w ould be of very little service to us. "Nobody doubts our power to hold Gibraltar if we choose, but the great men who won and held it for us when it was of real value would be the first to wish us to exchange it, if in process of time it had become a port of little or no actual importance or benefit." Altogether "J. B. K." is of opinion that a case has been made out for inquiry, and he thinks that if it should be determined to exchange Gibraltar for Ceuta, there would be little or no political objection to our doing so. The Morning Herald says there is something in explicable in the discussion which has arisen upon this question. If Earl Russell were in the Cabinet our contemporary could understand the mooting of the matter. But considering what glorious associa tions attach to this stronghold, &c., &c. The : Herald forgets that the proposed cession was first started in the leading columns of the official Conservative organ at the time that Lord Stanley was at the Foreign Office. TH SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, JANUARY 8, 1869 &c. But Grattan was undoubtedly a - great Irishman:z one who, if the figure is not too stale, lives "in the hearts of the peoplf" Then why not give him a statue ? At the '• Mayor's meeting," held at Dublin on Tuesday, , all creeds and parties were represented. Mr. Pim,M.P., Ur. J. Norwood,. J.P., Professor Webb, F.T.C.D., Alderman Manning, J.P., Hon. Judge Little, Dr. O'Leary,Alderman Campbell, Dr. Shaw, F.T.C.D., the Rev. Dr. Spratt, and Mr. L. Waldron were speakers. Resolutions were adopted to the effect that the erec tion of a public statue to Grattan was "a sacred obligation of duty, love, and gratitude;" that assured of the hearty approbation of Irishmen of all classes, they entered on the work, and that a com mittee and treasurer, whose names are published, should be appointed to carry out the intention of the meeting. TUE RITUAL JUDGMENT. The Times adds another to its numerous leaders on the Ritual judgment. The object of the article is to shew that the judgment has been entirely mistuider stood so far as it is supposed to favour the defendants. The main source of comfort to the Ritualists—that the celebrant is bound to stand before the Lord's table—the Times believes to be no comfort at all. The judgment simply decided as to whether the celebrant should stand or kneel, and did not deeide his position when standing. The effects of this judgment will be, according to the Tunes, that the Prayer for the Church Militant and the whole of the notice of celebration must be read, while the Gloria before the Gospel must be omitted, the singing of hymns in the middle of the Communion Service and the chanting of the sentences of the Offertory must be discontinued. On the other hand, the introduction of hymns before the evening ser mon, the evening sermon itself, the organ volunta ries, and the collects are wholly untouched by the judgment. The rubric must, indeed, be literally observed, but the rubric affects only the order of common prayer, and when the communion service is not used, the sermon and its accessories form an additional service, commencing when the common prayer is finished, and having no necessary connec tion with it. As long as the order of prayer is in progress, it may not be varied; when it is completed, any service of preaching not in itself unlawful may be undertaken. With regard to vestments, also, the Times believes that the Ritualists are wrong. They argue that as the Privy Council condemned lighted candles because these did not satisfy an indispensable condition of ornaments, the Council is bound to accept the vestments because they do satisfy that con dition. To this the Times replies : "It need scarcely be pointed out that a condition may be indispensable without being sufficient. No church ornament can be lawful which was not prescribed by the Prayer Book. of 2nd and 3rd Edward VI., but it cannot be concluded that every ornament is lawful which was so prescribed. In effect, no one but the most exag gerated Ritualists doubts that the vestments referred to in the Rubrics of King Edward's first Prayer Book were disallowed by the later statute of the same reign, the statute of Elizabeth as mo dified by the advertisements, and the canons, and have never been revived. The point, of course, was never raised in the recent contention, but if It ever comes before the Judicial Committee the Ritualist clergymen will find that their interpreta tion of the law of ornaments is as unsound as their speculations on the law of ceremonies." In conclu sion, the Times contends that the judgment " esta blishes the Prayer Book as the single and sufficient guide of the common devotions of the members of the English Church. It disallows all addition to or diminution of its plain directions. It reaffirms the constitutional status of the English Church as an organisation endowed and established by the Legis lature of the English people." THE CASE OF OVEREND, GURNEY, AND CO. - - The directors of Overend and Gurney are not left without an advocate. " Spero " has addressed a letter to the Post in answer to what he calls Dr. Thom's " triumphant acknowledgment of support in the prosecution." As Dr. Thom's letter is evidently designed to make people suppose that his conduct meets with general approval, " Spero " undertakes to represent what he believes to be the public view of the question. He has heard en all sides expressions of sympathy for the un fortunate gentlemen, and he thinks that the reopen ing of the scandal is generally regretted. Every one admits that the directors were to blame for conceal ing the true state of the concern, but it is quite clear that they thought they were acting in the interest of their shareholders in doing so. They had two courses open to them ---to make a full confession of the facts, or to ask for more subscriptions under a new name. They chose the latter course, with the fatal results we all know. The directors themselves have lost everything ; their magnificent commercial position, their fortunes and estates, are all gone ; and now it is attempted to brand them with infamy. Their worst offence was an unconditional confidence in their business, which precluded them from contem plating the possibility of failure. A 310NITMEN T TO GRATTAN. - - The ultra-loyal party in Ireland is agliast at the barefaced wickedness of the " patriots." They (the " patriots ") are going to erect a monument to Grattan. This, at a time when the Mayor of Cork has waved the green flag, when Limerick is in tumult, and when a Tipperary landlord is lying shot, makes the wise amongst the loyalists shake their heads signifi cantly, and murmur, by no means either soft or low, aolueillinstahnut " symptoms." iMeen-seated disease.! 01111217ARY. The deaths of three naval men are recorded. Com mander Richard Lock Connolly, well known to Bath men, died on that city on the 4th, in his 84th year, being oie of the few survivors of the *tie of the Nile. Captain John Sibbald, R.N. who has just died at 59 years of age, was one of Sir John Ross's companions in his Antartic expedition. Admiral Charles Warde, whose death, at 83 yea - A of age, is announced, was a Knight of Hanover, but was nos on the active list of the royal navy. DE GUSTIBUS NON DISPITTANDinr. The Daily News is conducting a genekal assault on me evil tendencies of this generation. And really one can hardly account for the tastes which our con temporary attacks. There is, first, the rage for expensive desserts. Seasonable fruit is " common," and is therefore despised. Fruits out of season are sought after. Peas "a penny a piece " are the"luxuries" which grace the table of the would-be-thought rich. Pears are offered by the " high " fruiterers a couple of guineas apiece. Flowers, too, are produced in winter whose proper time is the end of summer. The money spent 'during the festive season in ball-room flowers alone would feed the poor of the East-end for a long time. And it is remarked that " people of quality " do not thus ostentatiously shew their wealth. The " upstart " —the officers of some bubble company who wish to give the impression that they are " good for any amount "—thus " shew off." And perhaps it is a good piece of advice to a shareholder to " sell out " directly he sees anything of the kind in the officers of any concern in which he is interested. But while this cannot be defended, a second leader of our contemporary notices a positively degrading, and, unfortunately, increasing " taste." A love for almost completely undresSed young ladies seems to actuate the majority of theatre goers. The old pantomime its fun, frolic, childishness, and imbecility has given place to a "spectacu lar burlesque." The " spectacles" which one sees are made up to a great extent by whirling fairies ; and everyone knows what that menus. Our publications, too, are beginning to lean to the same side. A Christmas number, which is reported to have sold over 160,000 copies, consists of a series of pictures, exclusively, or all but exclusively, of young girls, got up in diffe rent costumes, and represented as occupied in different amusements, most of them designed to bring out into bold relief those of their physical charms which are supposed to render them super ficially attractive to the masculine sex. " Girls, girls, girls (exclaims the Daily .News)—impudent, frisky, fast, vulgar, but always rendered so as to be seductive to the masculine gaze—such are the attrac tions, the amusements, the entertainments of the age." THE CRIMINAL QUESTIOI In his recent lett er to the Times on the subject of crimin• als, Mr. Baker observes that those who have made a life-long s t u dy o f the question can appreciate its importance far more than the general public is likely to do. The case of those men who become hardened in crime through long practice attracts the notice of all experienced persons, and it is to be remembered that few can become skilled in crime without this practice. In the year 1859 Mr. Baker took a census of all the boy-thieves in London, and . was found th a t many o f them had been frequently convi▪ cted. They all agreed upon two points— first, that boy-thieves are always instructed by boys ; and, s econ dly, that no boy-thief ever attains proficiency without from four to eight imprisonments. The decisive course taken to check the spread o f j u venile delinquency was not without its effects. Every boy on his first conviction was subjected to a short imprisonment, and on his second to a long re f orm atory sentence, and Middlesex juvenile crim e f e ll f rom 41,113 convicts to 1,511 in six years. Mr. Baker believes that great advantages would follow upon the adoption of a nearly similar system with adults. It would be advisable to warn all offenders that a fi rs t conv iction will entail a month's imprisonm a second twelve months, a third seven years' penal .Lude, and a fourth penal servitude for life. lie considers that far more justice would be done by this system than by following the present plan ; and he forcibly follows up his sugges tion by declaring that if the prevention of crime be an object, it is necessary that those who are to be deterred should understand the sen tence that awaits them. Mr. Baker thinks that more care should be taken in tracing the antecedents of the offender, and if inquiries fail to meet the desired end, the prisoner should be called upon to shew where he has lived for the last five years. GENERAL CUST AND COLONEL HAMLEY. General oust has answered Colonel Hamley's remonstrance through the columns of the Times. He denies the charge of personality, and declares that the strictures in the pamphlet which Colonel Hamley complained of were directed against the whole school of writers to which the Colonel belongs, with the Quarterly reviewer at their head. General Cust considers that Colonel Hamley supports the theoretical study of war rather than the practical, and reminds him of the great Duke's aphorism, that the most useful teaching for a soldier is to see service. His reason for circulating his pamphlet at this moment was .to bring the whole subject before the Crown Commis sion now sitting on military education. The general belongs to the old school, the colonel to the new, and unluckily each is too conscious of the merits of his own plan to perceive any merit in the other. STEEL PROCESSES. Mr. Bessemer invented a cheap P;ocess for making steel which has superseded old methods, and has made a name and a fortune for him. Mr. Heaton, trying for the same result, has discovered another process. The steels produced, however, are in some respects dissimilar. Mr. Bessemer likes his own child best. Mr. Heaton considers his steel greatly s uperior to Mr. B essemer ' s . The two inventors have been disputing finely in the Times for the last fortnight. It puzzles a " non-professional" to know what it is all about. But words have run high, and the passions of the disputants have evidently been excited. They have called in professional evidence. Dr. Percy thinks the quantity of phosphorus in Heaton 's steel such as to injure it. Professor Miller, assayer to the Royal Mint; however, has recorded a totally contrary opinion. And so the professional evidence falls to the ground. The ultimate decision must be left to the steel -buying public. A DISCOVERY IN JERUSALEM. Mr. Grove, the honorary secretary of the Palestine Exploration Fund, has addressed a letter tothe Times, stating that a v ery important discovery has recently been made respecting the exact position of the Temple, by Lieutenant Warren, of the Royal Engi neers. Mr.. Grove reminds us that the discovery of the site of the Temple is a point of great import ance in the successful exploration of the Holy Land. Everything, he thinks, will come right if that is found out, so that he regards Mr. Warren's disco very as highly important. Mr. Warren, accord ing to his own account furnished to Mr. Grove made his discovery in consequence of the displacement of the ground by heavy rains. He has ascertained that the north wall of the plat form of the Mosque of Omar is built on the edge of a perpendicular scarped rock. If the present flooring of the Haran Area were removed, a sudden artificial gap, running from east to west, would be visible in the surface of the rock. Mr. Warren succeeded in examining this gap for some distance, when he found a subterranean arcade about thirty five feet in width, which apparently runs the whole length of the platform, no feet. It supports the flooring of the Haran Area, and has no appearance of being constructed for a tank ; there is not a sign of plaster about it, and the rock seems to have been scarped for view. The arches appear to be Saracenic,while the masonry in the walls is of a very miscellaneous characler. This discovery will probably affect the plan of future operations, as it does not tally with previous conjectures. The great difficulty about the matter is the unwillingness of the Turkish authorities to concede permission to explore inside the Haran. Mr. Warren says that he has been for several months waiting an opportunity to examine the ground on the northern side of the mosque, as he is convinced there are vaults there, and he now thinks it likely the souterrain extends all along the northern edge of the Mosque platform. It is to be hoped he will soon be able to follow up his discovery. Twenty-six Chinamen attended the Bible class of a Methodist church at Santa Clara, California, and are re ported to be interested and learn rapidly. FADVERTISEMENT.I-llolloway's Ointment and Pills,— A large and important class of society suffers year after year, and has life robbed of half its pleasures through sub jection to some cutaneous complaint, readily remediable by Holloway's treatment. his wonderful productions havo now become so appreciated in every part of the world that they form a complete household treasure. The worst cases of ulcers, wounds, and every variety of skin diseases, for which so many remedies have been tried without effect, readily succumb to theirower. They act so mira culously on the system as to be considered a complete phenomenon in the healing art. For this reason they are advocated by many modern practitioners, after everything case has proved successful. THE PUBLIC DEBT OF AMERICA The interest of the Public Debt, when the whole debt shall be funded at an average rate of interest of five per cent., will amount to $125,000,000, which will be reduced with the an nual reduction of the principal. When the Internal Revenue and Tariff laws shall be revised so as to be made to harmonise with each other, it is supposed that $300,000,000 can annually be realized from these sources without burdensome taxation. How much shall be raised from each can be determined when the whole subject of Revenue shall be tho roughly investigated by Congress with the light shed upon it by Commissioner Wells in his exhaus tive Report of the present year. The Secretary does not doubt, however, that the best interests of the country will be subserved by a reduction of the Tariff and an increase of Excise duties. Accord ing to this estimate the account would stand as fol lows : Receipts from Customs and In- ternal Revenues ... Expenditures for the Civil Ser vice ... $40,000,000 Expenditures by tbs. War Do- $300,000,000 partment ... 35,000,000 Expenditures by the Navy De partment . Expenditures for Pensions and Indians 30,000,000 Expenditures for Interest on the Public Debt 20,000,000 125,000,000-250,000,000 Leaving, as an excess of receipts ... $50,000,000 to be applied to the payment of the principal of the debt. If the growth of the country should make an increase of expenditures necessary, this increase will by the same cause be provided for by increased receipts under the same rate of taxation ; and as it is to be hoped that the regular increase of the reve venues without taxation resulting from the advance of the country in wealth and population—will be greater than the necessary increase of expenses, there will be a constantly increasing amount in addition to that arising from a decrease of interest to be annually applied to the payment of the debt. If large additional expenditures should be unavoidable they should at once be provided for by additional taxes. What is required, -then, at the present time is a positive limitation of the annual outlays to $300,000,000, including $50,000,000 to be applied to the payment of the principal of the debt, and such modifications of the revenue laws as will secure this amount without unwise restrictions upon com merce, and with the least possible oppression and inconvenience to the tax-payers. In the foregoing estimates of resources, miscellaneus receipts and receipts from sales of public lands are omitted. The miscellaneous receipts heretofore have been derived from sales of gold and of property purchased by the War and Navy Departments during the war and no longer needed. On a return to specie payments there will be no premiums on coin, very little Go vernment property will hereafter be sold, and under the Homestead law and with liberal donations of the public domain, which are likely to be made as heretofore, no considerable amount can be expected from lands. Whatever may be received from these sources will doubtless be covered by miscellaneous expenses, of which no estimate can be made. The Act of March 31, 1868, exempting from taxes nearly all the manufactures of the country other than dis tilled spirits, fermented liquors, and tobacco was sudden and unexpected. It not only deprived the Treasury of an immense revenue, but the reduction was so great as to leave an impression on the pub lic mind that it would be only temporary, and that a tax in some degree equivalent to that which was removed would of necessity soon be resorted to. It is; perhaps, for this reason that this measure has failed to give relief to the public by a diminution of prices and has benefited manufacturers rather than consumers. The frequent and important changes which have been made in the Internal Revenue laws, the ease with which exemptions from taxa tion have been obtained and the suddenness with which taxes have been greatly augmented or reduced, having constituted one of the greatest evils of the system. Sudden changes in the revenue laws are not only destructive dal' business calculations, but they excite, not unreasonably, a feeling of dis content and a sense of injustice among the people most unfavourable to au efficient collection of taxes. While it is admitted that in a new and growing country like ours modifications of the taxes will be frequently necessary, some definite policy should at once be inaugurated in regard to our internal re venu,!s, the general principles of which should be regarded as finally established. Assuming that the receipts from customs will be reduced by a reduc tion of duties, or by the effects of a return to specie payments upon importations under the present ta riff, and that consequently there must be an in crease of internal taxes, there are three svurces of revue F e i n r st w A h n i c i h n e a r r e e a l s i e k e o l f y t t a o x e b s e u c p o o n n s i d d re . distiller. spirits. The idea of deriving the bulk of the revenue from this article is a very popular o ne, a a ri n t.ll deven our un fortunate experience ha s o n l y perhaps, p tax the on pubdilisctiolfleidtsspitinriptoss,insibtielnitdye. The late exorbitant not merely d as a revenue measure, but as an encouragement to temperance, proved to be th e most demoralizing tax conviconvinced ever imposed by Congress, corrupting both the ma innugf a t c h t e u p r e e r o s p w d i t t h h e s r t u e p v e e n n u d e o o u Ms violations i e o r I s a , t i a o n n d s The restoration of it, o r any considerabl fo e afm i t n hi c lei r al e ra a iw s z e : f o r f a t u h d e s which present ieh h taavxe, brought r ' would lead a the internal repetitionrevenue of h i n t t o e such utter disgrace. Second. A restoration of the taxon manufactures abolished in March last. The objections to the re storation of this tax are, that it would indicate vacillation on the part of_ Congress, and that this tax, principally on account of numerous exemptions; was partial and unjust. It is also apparent that if restored it would fail to be permanent by reason of the persistent and united hostility of a class of citi zens influential and powerful, and whose influence and power are rapidly increasing. Third. An increased and uniform tax on sales ; and this the Secretary respectfully recommends. Under the present law wholesale and retail dealers in goods, wares, and merchandise, of foreign or domestic production, wholesale and retail dealers in liquors and dealers in tobacco, are subject to a similar but unequal tax upon sales. This inequality should be removed an d a tax levied upon a ll sa l es sufficient with the revenues from other sources to meet the wants of the Government. The reasons in favour of a tax upon sales are that it could be levied generally throughout the country, and would not beliable to the imputation of class legislation. That it would be so equally distributed as not to bear so oppressively as other taxes upon individuals or sections, and that no depression of one branch of industry which did not injuriously affect the busi ness of the entire country could greatly lessen its productiveness. As has been already stated the receipts from Customs for the fiscal year ending June 30,1866, were $179,046,651 58 ; for the year ending June 30, 1867, $176,417,810 88 ; and for the last fiscal year, $164,464,599 56, These figures show that the tariff has produced large revenues, although it is in no just sense a revenue tariff. In this respect it has exceeded the expectations of its friends, if, indeed, it has not disappointed them. It has not checked importations, and the complaint is made that it has not given the anticipated protec- tion to home manufactures, not because it was not skilfully framed to this end, but because it inflated currency, the effect of which upon importations was not fulliconiprehended, and has in a measure de feated its object. It has advanced the prices of dutiable articles, and by adding to the cost of living has been oppressive to consumers, with out being of decided benefit to those industries in•which interest it is regarded as having been prepared. In his last report the Secretary recom mended the extension of specific duties, but did not recommend a complete revision of the tariff, on the ground that this work could not be intelligently done as long as business was subject to constant derangement by an irredeemable currency. The same difficulty still exists, but as decided action upon the subject of the currency ought not to be longer postroned, the present may not be an un favourable time for a thorough examination of the tariff. It is obvious that a revision of it is required, not only to relieve it of incongruities and absurdity, • and to harmonise it with excise taxes and with our agricultural and commercial interests, but also to adapt it to the very decided change which must take place in the business of the country upon the re storation of the specie standard. Large revenues are now derived from customs, because a redundant currency produces extravagance, which stimulates importations. If the currency were convertible and business were regular and healthy the tariff would be severely protective, if not in many instances prohibitory. Indeed, of some valuable articles, it is prohibitory already. There will be in the future, as there have been in the past, widely different opinions upon this long vexed and very important subject, but the indications are decided that the more enlightened sentiment of the country de mands that the tariff shall hereafter be a tariff for revenue and not for protection, and that the revenues to be derived from it shall be no larger than in connection with those derived from other sources will be required for the economical ad ministration of the Government, the mainte nance of the public faith, and the gradual extin guishinect of the public debt. While the country is not at present, and may not be for many years to come, prepared for the abrogation of all restric tions upon foreign commerce, it is unquestionably prepared for a revenue tariff. The public debt is an incumbrance upon the property of the nation, and the taxes the necessity fur which it creates, by whatever mode, and from whatever sources collected, are at last a charge upon the consumers. Taxes should not therefore be increased, nor will the tax payers permit them to be permanently increased for the benefit of any interest or section. Fortunately, or unfortunately, as the question may be regarded from different stand-points, the necessities of the Go vernment will be such for many years that large revenues must be derived from customs, so that a strictly revenue tariff must incidentally benefit our home manufactures. According to the estimate made by the Secretary, an annual revenue of $300,000,000 will be required to meet the necessary demands upon the Treasury, and for a satisfactory reduction of the public debt. How much of this amount shall be derived from customs it will be for Corgress to determine. In examining this difficult question, the magnitude of our foreign debt, and the necessity not only of preventing its increase, but of rapidly reducing it, must be kept steadily in view. It may be necessary that a large portion of our bonds now held in Europe be taken up with bonds bearing a lower rate of interest, payable in some European city, in order that they may be less likely to be returned to the United States at unpropitious times. Whether this is accomplished or not, it is of the last importance that our tax laws, and espe cially the tariff, should be so framed as to encou rage exports and enlarge our commerce with fo reign nations, so that the balances may be in our favour, and the interest, and in due time the principal, of our foreign debt may be paid by our surplus productions. Many of the investigations of the Revenue Commission have been made with the view of furnishing Congress with the data necessary for a thorough examination and a wise determina tion of this most important question, and it is for tunate that the subsidence of political excitement removes many of the difficulties heretofore in the %ay of any impartial consideration of it. The debt between the Ist day of November, 1867, and the Ist day of November, 1868, increased $35,625,102 82, of this increase $24,152,000 is chargeable to the Pacific Railroad, and $7,200,000 to the purchase of Russian America. Within the same period there was paid for bounties $1,406,051, and at least $4,000,000 for interest on compound 7 3-10 notes, which had accrued prior to the Ist of November, 1867. If these extraordinary advances and pay ments had not been made the receipts would have exceeded the expenditures $13,787,412 18. Consi dering the heavy reduction of internal taxes made at the last session of Congress, and the large expen ditures which have attended the military Operations against the Indians on the frontiers, and the main tenance of large forces at expensive points in the Southern States, this statement of the amount of the debt cannot be regarded as an unsatisfactory one. The bounties will, it is expected, be entirely paid within the next three months, and very little interest except that which accrues upon the funded debt is hereafter to be provided for. Should there be henceforth no extraordinary expenditures, and no further donations of public moneys in the form of bounties, or of additional subsidies to railroad compa nies, with proper economy in the administration of the general Government, and with judicious amend ments of the revenue laws and proper enforcement thereof, the public debt without oppressive taxa tion can be rapidly diminished and easily ex tinguished within the period heretofore named by the Secretary. The ability of the United States to maintain their integrity against insurrection as well as against a foreign enemy can no longer be doubted. I'he question of their ability, under Democratic in stitutions, to sustain a large national debt, is still to be decided. That this question should be affirma tively settled, it is, in the opinion of the Secretary, of the highest importance that the tax-paying voters should be encouraged by the fact that the debt is in the progress of rapid extinguishment and is not to be a permanent burden upon them and their posterity. If it be understood that this debt is to be a perpetual incumbrance upon the property and industry of the nation it is certainly to be feared that the collection of taxes necessary to pay the in terest upon it may require the exercise of power by the Central Government inconsistent with Republi canism and dangerous to the liberties of the people. The debt must be paid. Direct repudiation is an impossibility. Indirect repudiation, by further i ssue s of legal-tender notes, would be madness. To insure its payment without a change the essential character of the Government every year should wit ness a reduction of its amount and a diminution of its burdens. The Secretary is confident that he expressed the sentiments of the intelligent tax payers of the country in his report of 1865. Iu his last report the Secretary referred to the condition of the Treasury at the close of the war and at some subsequent periods, alluding especially to the emergency in the Spring of 1865, arising from the very large requisitions which were waiting for payment, and the still larger requisitions that were to be provided for to enable the War Department to pay arrearages due to the army and othe'r expenses which had already been incurred in the suppression of the rebellion. In briefly reviewing the adminis tration of the Treasury from April, 1865, he did not think it necessary to state how much of the large revenue receipts had been expended in the payment of debts incurred during the war, and lie would not undertake to do it now did not misap prehension exist in the public mind in regard to the expenditures of the Government, since the conclu sion of hostilities, prejudicial to both the law-mak ing and law -executing branches of the Government. The war was virtually closed in April, 1865. On the first day of that month the public debt amounted, according to the books and accounts of the Department, to $2,366,955,077 34. On the first day of September following it amounted to $ 2 ,757,689,751 43, having increased in the four months, $390,734,494 09. From that period it continued to decline until Nov. 1, 1867, when it had fallen to $2,491,504,450. On the first day of November last it had risen $2,527,129,552 82. By this statement it appears that, between the first day of April, 1865, and the first day of September of the same year, the debt increased $390,734,491 09, and that between the first day of September, 1865, and the first day of November, 1868, it decreased $230,560,018 61, and on the List day mentioned it was $160,174,475 48 larger than it was on the first day of April, 1865. Since then the Treasu rer's receipts from all sources of revenue have been as follows : For April, May, and June, 1865 583,519,164 13 For the year eliding June 30, 1866 For the year ending June 30, 1867 490,634,010 27 For the year ending June 30, 1868 June 30 to Nov. 1, 1868 Total receipts..., $1,662,476,062 20 To which should be added the increase of the debt be tween the first day of April, 1865, and the first day of November, 1868-8160,174,475 48—51,822,650,537 68. This exhibit shows that the large sum of $1,822,650,537 68 was expended in the payment of the interest and of other demands upon the Treasury in three years and seven months, being an average annual expenditure of $508,646,661 e 68. If the statement of the public debt on the Ist day of April, 1865, had included all debts do' at that time, and $ 1 ,822,650,537 68 had realt been expended in payment of the interest of the public debt and the current expenses of the Go . vernment between that day and the Ist day d November last, there would hare been a profligg and a recklessness in the expenditures of the publ l moneys discreditable to the Government and dig' heartening to tax-payers. Fortunately this is of the fact. That statement (as it is true of all 00 6 monthly statements of the Treasury) exhibited 0 1 1 the adjusted debt according to the books of the Treasury, and did not, and could not, include th e large sums due to the soldiers of the great 1:7 11 i° 11 army, numbering at that time little less than million men, for pay and for bounties, or on clairo of various kinds, which must of necessity 1 10 been unsettled. For the purpose of putting the matter right, the S.2cretary has endeavoured. to 0 certain from the War and Navy Departments bo f much of their respective disbursements, since the close of the war, has been in payment of debt properly chargeable to the expense of the war' The following is the result of his inquiries :—I 3I the War Department, $595,431,125 90 ; by th e Navy Department, $35,000,000. It has been iov possible to obtain an exact statement of the amount of such debts paid by the Ns Department, but sufficient information has beee received to justify the Secretary in estimating 11 in round numbers at $35.,000,000, which is pro' bably an under rather than an over estivaate. The expenditures of the War Department have been furnished in detail, and are believed to b e substantially correct. These figures show that the money expended by the War and Navy Depart' ments between the first day of April, 1865, a nd the first day of November, 1868, on claims instil chargeable to the expenses of the war, amounted to $630,431,125 90, to which should be added amod advanced to the Pacific roads, $42,194,000 ; amouvt paid for Alaska, $7,200,000. Total, $679,825,1 26 90. Deducting this sum from the amount of the revenues, $1,662,476,062 20, and $160,174,475 43 ' the increase of the public debt, the remainder $ 1 ,142,825,411 78, or an average of $318,928,0 89 per annum, is the amount actually expended il l the payment of current expenses and interest. COINAGE OF TIIE UNITED STATES. Dr. Linderman, the director of the Mint, repot the operations of that institution for the fiscal yea r ending the 30th of June last. The total deposit° of gold and silver, less re-deposits, were $24,591,32 6 ' The value of the coinage, including nickel-coppe r and bronze, was $27,447,606 ; pieces strueltf 49,735,840. Operations were suspended for three months for repairs, reducing the time of coinages; the lower coins to nine months. The Mint is rc ported in th e most efficient condition, and 1 is proved by experience that coinage can b ° executed at the principal Mint at less eV pense than in any other part of the country' As the means of safe transportation have lately ia . creased, there is, no reason for reviving coinage ope' rations at either of the three branch Mints formerif in operation in the Southern States, and he there' fore recommends that those establishments be dig' posed of. The machinery for the new branch Ml°' in Nevada will be put up during the present winte r ' and a new building is to be erected at San Francis°, on a scale commensu ra t e w ith th e b u lli on i nter est' of that region. This branch and the Mint at P 1 311 4; delphia the Di r e c t or thinks sufficient for the proolP execution of the coinage of the country. -- recommends tho repeal of the Act of CO gress which conflicts with contracts for separat' ing and refining bullion with outside partil and that they b e au th or i ze d whenever they belle°, the public i n t eres t , t h e sav i ng thereby being abo ut 3 cents per ounce. An important recommendatto n is the renewal made in the last annual report of the suggestion providing for the reduction and re; demption of inferior coi ns , by crea ti ng a f un d out of the profits of suc h co i nage, an d ma ki ng i t the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to receive 5 0 1 offered in specified amounts, and to pay for they out of the fund creat e d f rom th e pro fi ts. Th e ne e profits from the mino r co i nage an d pa id into Oa, Treasury ar e l arge , amount i ng d ur i ng the last fi s e year to $1,300,000. The discontinuance of th e coinage of bronze two cent pieces is recommended' Copper-nickel cents to the amount of $260,482 Wa l purchased during the last fiscal year, and, being paid for in three and five cent nickel cuing' netted a small profit to the United States, whil e reducing the redundancy of cent coins. The pre ; priety and policy of char g i ng f or th e coinage () bullion is discussed, the conclusion being a reconr mendation to lower the present charge of half Pe r , cent. to one-quarter per cent. Th e t en d enc y ° this change would be to turn gold bars into coin+ and so prepare for a gold currency. The chang e in the small silver coins of France and Germany 19 • explained, the international coinage question clIS' cussed, and interesting information given of the attempt of the Chinese to furnish a silver O r ' rency, in which the 3 followed the American ten' tesitnal notation, issuing pieces of the denominatio n of ten, five, and one. The report is valuable, bell full of statistical i n f orma ti on , an d i nterest i ng a ° important matter. The Price of Gold. The quotation of gold at Paris is about at par, and the short exchange on London is 25f. 20 c . p er £1 s t e rill . on comparing these rates with the English Mint price ,:s.loid. per ounce for standard gold, it appears tha gold h about 1-10th per cent. dearer in London than 10 Paris. The course of exchange at New York on London for 191 11 : at 60 days' si,rht was on the last date about 1091 per 0 0 4 At this rate there is no profit on th e i mpor t a ti on o f r O4 from the Uni' co states. Henry Ward Beecher's church has chosen We: " deaconnesses" to assist the d eacons i n t h e i r v i s i ts to 11/ sick and the poor. A proposition is to be made at the approach/ Session of Congress to erect at the Capitol a statue Thaddeus Stevens. • - 17 18 [AD VERTISEMENT.]—rIenCeOrth no one will doubt the value,,, properties of Du Barry's health- restor i ng R evalenta Ara n Invalids' and Infants' Food, since to the thousands of blessllo it has already received from I nva lid s whose position had 10„e, deemed hopeless, we may now a dd t h at of his Holiness the P°rof whose health has been perfectly restored by it after thirty yeal l a4 unsuccessful medical treatment. We quote from th e 4, G a yette l Midi," July 25th:—" Rome, July 21,1866. -The health o f the 1 1 . ,, u e Father is excellent, esp ec i a ll y since, abandoning all other ret'o dies, he has confined himself entirely to Du Barry's Revalef,t Arabica Food, of which he consumes a plateful at every hi? It has produced a surprisingly beneficial effect on his health, Igo his Holiness cannot praise this excellent food too highly." o f extract a few out ofmore than 68,000 cures :—Cure No. 58,2 1 ,n 0 $ the Marchioness de B re h an, of seven years ' liver comlns.o, wasting away, debility, n ervousness, w i th a nervous palpita ti, all over, bad digesti on, constant sleeplessness, and the most to tolerable nervous agitation. Cure No. 1.771: Lord Stuart .p. Decies, Lord-Lieute n a n t o f W aterford, of many years' dyspeP:o, No. 49,832: "Fifty years' indescribable agony from dyspeP,%., nervousness, asthma, cough, constipation, flatulency, spasr, sickness, and vomiting --Maria Joly." Cure No. 46,270: e s, James Roberts, of Frimley, S urre y , o f 30 years ' diseased 11114, spitting of blood, liver derangement, and pariial deafness. t O ,O portant Caution—Beware of the many unsavoury and more ti`„l sloppy imitations to w hi c h , w i thout authority, Baron Liel ° name is most audaciously attached. In tins, at ls. lid. ; 1 lb . 2 s. 9d.; 2 lbs.4s. 6d.; 5 lbs, lls. ; 121c 0' 225. ;24 lbs., 40s.—Also Du BARRY'S REYALENTAARABICA Cll-44 LATE POWDER is packed in ti; for cups„y ;00 cups at 3s. 6d., for 48 cups at ncaniEtors for 288 cups 12 at 305., for 576 er at 55s.—bein g a b out one penny per cup. The 30s. and 55s ,;co are sent free o f carr i age in England on receipt of Post 01,ir Orden—BAßßY DU BARRY and Co., No. 77, Regent-street, Lo don; and all Grocers and Chemists. Births. DrintAm—On the 3d inst., a t Middleton Lodge, Bidefor d ' the wife of Comma n d er C . J . Didham, R.N., of a 00 0 ' 0, lIENny —On the 6th i ns t ., at Bognor, the wife of 11. Henry, Esq., of a son. Stumps—On the Gth inst at Durham, the wife of Jobs Shields, Esq., of a daughter. Marriages. LENNY—LoNG—On the 7th inst., at St. George's, Nottiit hill, Sam Lenny, 9, Addison-gardens=south, KonsiD ton, W., to Ellen, daughter of the late William Lon Esq., Brighton. PEEL —PLA.TI'AIR - On the sth inst, at Edinburgh, Edintil l i Peel, Esq., 14th (King's) Hussars, son of John Pe a ' Esq., Middleton Hall, Warwickshire , to Jessie itr i o; "1 daughter of Dr. Lyon Playfair, C. 8., M.P. Deaths. BLAKE--On the 2d inst., Silas W oo d Bl a k e, E sq . , 1 7 0 311. House, Upton, Somerset. CAMPBELL—On the sth inst., at Leamington, Alezan d er Cameron Campbell, Esq., of Monzie, aged 57. ELLIOT - On the sth inst., in London, Captain Amyand (/‘ B. Elliot, late sth Bengal L. 0., aged 45. HATCHARD —On the sth inst., at Fulham, Chas. Llatchill 4 Esq., aged 50. POOLE—Ou the 6th i ns t., a t 97 , G rove -road, Hornser 4o l Mrs. A. R. Poole, aged 73. London : Printed and Pmbliehed by WJLT.L93/ ANDBB- / of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at Tan SUN Olne3, 'No l ' o f Strand, in the Preci nc t o f the Savoy, in the Cou3t l Iliddlesez.—Friday, January 8, 1869 K' Thi prize I Sold the Ag Obse han's l ADV) hold ( able NI For= M Ar added R,' Eve angle Vide D. Dn ringto and a will sl CA A' Room and C an at Dance 1' 105, The T' for T every CA -Ali( Ind street Fleet meat, with 105, 1 5, Th H' Advat the w full pa atalll orders trade House Co , D RE c Natic Th £879 SO Willi the S Street Ru Cove _ EE fessic week binee estab Ti nised and Lady Caro Al ten Su Trea T Tl 3 Fire The Bent vain( rends leave thirty N Linde when Girls the ki The lish e. and h wino suital The entire Orli( HEM I~