The Sun. — London, England, 1859-05-10 00:00:00

previously told him that if the duty could not be r emitted the sooner it was levied the better, for they did not want any credit. Mr. Lawrence Reeves, Mr. Carlton, and Mr. Punnett then briefly spoke, pointing out the pres sure of the present duty, and declaring that the producer of no article was taxed so heavily directly as the producer of hops was, and that in conse quence the trade was now no longer a remunerative one. Mr. DEEdes, M.P., then said that he thought the subject had been almost talked out, and he thanked the hon. baronet for the courtesy with which the deputation had been listened to. Sir STAFFORD NORTHCOTE said that he should inform the Chancellor of the Exchequer of what had taken place since he had retired, and in the course of three days an answer should be given through Mr. Deedes. The deputation then retired. ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE. Under the Management of Mr. Charles Kean THIS EVENING will be presented Shakspeare's"ti3 t orical play of KING HENRY V. King Henry V., Mr. C. Kean ; Chorus, Mrs. C. Kean. 'rHEATRE-ROYAL, HAYMARKET. Lessee, Mr. J. B. Buckstone. THIS EVENING will be performed the new and original Comedy, entitled THE WORLD AND THE STAGE. The characters by Messrs. Compton, Buckstone, Howe, W. Far ren, Rogers; Miss Amy Sed,9, - wick, &c. After which, a new Classical Rxtravazanza, entitled ELECTRA IN A NEW ELECTIt'IC LIGHT. Messrs. Compton, Braid, Clark, Mrs. Wilkins, Misses Fanny Wright, Eliza Weekes, and Louisa Leclercq. And 'TWAS I. Commence at 7. NEW THEATRE - ROYAL, ADELPHL Sole Proprietor and Manager, Mr. Benj. Webster. THIS EVENING the performances will commence with ICI ON PARLE FRANCAIS. bressrs. I. L. Toole, Chas. Selby, Billingtoo ; Misses Keeley, Arden, and Laidlaw, and Mrs. Billington. After which, THE DEVIL ON TWO STICKS. Mr. J. L. Toole, P. Bedford, Misses Woolgar, Keeley, Arden, and Kate Kelly. To conclude with THE SERTOUS FAMILY. Messrs, B. Webster, Billington, Toole ; Miss Woolgar, Miss Sims. Acting manager —Mr. Wm. Smith. Doors open at a quarter-past six—Commence at seven. Box Office open from 10 to 5 —no charge for booking. No fees to servants permitted. A registry kept of all articles found. ROYAL STRAND THEATRE. Lessee and Directress, Miss Swanborough THIS EVENING will be produced a new Comedietta. by J. M. Morton, Esq., entitled WHICH OF THE TWO ? supported by the company. After which, THE MAID AND THE MAGPIE. To conclude with VANDYKE BROWN. Mr. J. Clark. Commence at 7o'clock. ASTLEY'S ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE, Westminster-road. Lessee and Manager Mr. William Cooke. Continued Success of INANyloE.—Overflowing Houses Nightly. THIS EVENING, the performances will commence with a new grand spectacle, founded on Sir Walter Scott's popular work, entitled IVANHOE; or, The Lists of Ashby, intro ducing- among the vast resources of this great Hippodramatic Temple,Tournaments, Processions, Banners, Combats, Tilts, Victories, and Achievements in extraordinary magnificence. Ivanhoe, Mr. R. Phillips ; Isaac of York, Mr. Jas. Holloway; Richard of England, Mr. Herbert ; Robin Hood, Mr. Wm. Cooke, jun. ; Rebecca, Miss Bathurst; Lady Rowena, Miss Dowton. After which, the matchless and unrivalled SCENES IN THE CIRCLE, introducing Mr. John Henry Cooke, the greatest equestrian in the world : together with Miss Emily Cooke, Madame Blanche, Madame Bridges, Madlle. Fleurette, and Madame Francisco, being the greatest amount of female equestrian talent ever seen in one night in any theatre. Grotesques—Messrs. Hemming and Thorne. k To conclude with the Farce of RAISING THE WIND. :Dregs Circle, 4s. ; 80xe5,..215._; Pit, ?s, ; Gallery, Is. ; Upper Gallery, 6d. Private Boxes, £4 4s, £2 2s, asid £1 Is. Stage Manager, Mr. R. Phillips CANTERBURY HALL AND FINE ARTS GALLERY. Westminster-road.—Open at Seven. EVERY EVENING during the week will appear THE DELEPIERRE FAMILY, consisting of three Juvenile Violinists, viz., .Tnles, Jnliette, and Julia Delepierre, aged, respectively, FOUR, SIX, and EIGHT years. The perfect execution by these Lilliputian Artistes of some of the most difficult and brilliant Solos, Duets, and Trios ever written for the violin, has excited mingled wonder and admi ration in Continental Musical Circles, and drawn forth enthu- Mastic tributes of praise from the Public Journals of France and Belgium. They will perform EVERY EVENING, at NINE and ELEVEN o'clock, in addition to the usual Entertainments. THE WEATHER.—SUN OFFICE, MAY 10. THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE. 64—highest since noon yesterday. 48—lowest this morning and during the night. 63—this day at noon. BAROMETER. -30.29. WIND, South-easterly; light, with fine weather. THE SUN. TUESDAY, MAY 10, 1859. Our Detective Police are certainly beginning to want the assistance of Monsieur C. AUGUSTE DI:PIN, the astute Parisian friend of EDGAR ALLAN POE, the American Poet and Romancist. Neither the " Mystery of MARIE ROGET," nor the mist of doubt surrounding the " Murders in the Rue Morgue " can be said to eclipse in interest the im penetrable and inscrutable horror enveloping the tragedies of the Carpet Bag at Waterloo Bridge, and of that other Carpet Bag on the sands at Mar gate, with the dead body of the man to whom it had belonged lying upon the beach seven miles off near the foot of Augusta-stairs, at Ramsgate. From the first there were manifest, in the former of these two atrocious incidents, the evidences of a diabo lical assassination having been perpetrated. At the last there is beginning to grow out of the first supposition, in reference to the latter, that the cause of death was an ecceistric kind of suicide—a conviction that a thousand significant details point here again to murder, brutal and fiendish murder, as the real cause of the catastrophe. The corre spondent of the chief of our morning contempora ries—an anonymous writer, signing his communi cation with the initials C. D.—who has recently scrutinised anew the whole of the evidence laid be fore the Coroner's jury at Ramsgate when the dead body of the poor German traveller was earliest discovered there under the cliffs—has shown with extraordinary sagacity how utterly preposterous it is to dream that the cause of death there was the act of deliberate self-destruction. The peculiarity of the wound in the breast, immediately under the left nipple, being upwards and the bleeding from it inwards, showing that the blow must have been administered when the body was in a recumbent position ! The orifice of the wound being enlarged by the movement to and fro of the knife struck through the heart—when the very gash through the heart shows that death must have been absolutely instantaneous ! The considerable amount of property known to have been in his possession directly before death, having altogether disappeared—money, watch, signet ring —nay, the very instrument of death, with which, as we have already remarked, he must have been killed instantaneously ! Casual circumstances agai n , i n regard to the condition of the few articles of his apparel found scattered along the shore near Mar gate, in the vicinity of his empty carpet bag, and near Ramsgate, in the vicinity of his naked corpse —such peeilliar circumstances, for example, as that showing that the tops of his boots (according to the evidence of a cobbler examined before the coroner's jury) had been cut off with the skill of a practised shoemaker ! Together with that other additional evidence which went to prove that, upon the beach near Margate (on the morning of the discovery of the poor - wretch's body near Ramsgate), a portion, not the Whole, but a portion of one of his shirts, was seen there covered with blood—that it after wards, on a second examination, was found to have been made away with—that there were tokens on that spot of a fire having been kindled—that there was a partially burnt inciter match l • ymg there, and imprinted upon the sands the mark of the footsteps of a man and woman ! All these and other sinister and sugg es ti ve hardly less appearances carefully enumerated by C. D. in the columns of the Times, point, we do seriously believe, in thi s in stance clearly, distinctly, unmistakeably to the murder that unfortunate foreigner, and a murder, too, it must be repeated, of the most brutal and fiendish character. The evidences of murder found months before inside that other carpet bag on one of the abutments of Waterloo-bridge, we all remem ber with a shudder to have been, as we have said from the first, glaringly apparent. Yet to this day in neither instance has there been traced by one inch the faintest clue to the perpetrators of these hideous assassinations. Our Detectives are all of them at fault. Mr. BUCKET is evidently a creature wholly born of CHARLES DICKENS'S vivid imagination. There is not anywhere to be found in the whole police corps the most shadowy semblance of the original of that character. The Detectives of England are manifestly but a small improvement upon the old Bow-street Runners, who were so effectually baffled by the undiscovered destroyer of ELIZA GRIMWOOD. The murderers of that mysteri ous somebody whose boiled bones were lowered in a bundle over the parapet of Waterloo Bridge by an old woman with grey hair, a mole on her face, and the strength apparently of a coal heaver—go to this day scot free and wholly undetected. The murderers (evidently) of that other victim under the shadows of the cliffs to the east of Ramsgate are equally undiscovered and unsuspected. There is a manifest delusion we cannot but think from all this—a glaringly manifest delusion in the popular mind as to the extraordinary skill of our English Detectives. Their reputed sagacity is again and again, we repeat, entirely at fault. Added to which unwelcome consideration comes the growing thought, that SIIAKSPERE spoke in error when he declared that—" Murder, though it have no tongue, will speak with most miraculous organ !" Or, if it does always so speak, it is some times in a language yet unlearnt by our Detectives. Conclusive testimony of which has surely been afforded of late somewhat frightfully in that mur der at London, and in that other murder at Rams gate ! " Murder ? Murder most foul, as in the best it is : But this most foul, strange, and unnatural." landet, act i., scene v.] A testimonial of no ordinary character has fol lowed Sir ARTHUR HALLAM ELTON, Bart., and late M.P. for the City of Bath, in his retirement from the representation of that fickle and petulant constituency. It is a testimonial of more value than gold or silver—being, in fact, a spontaneous and cordial Address, signed by one hundred and eighty of the leading Liberal and Conservative Gentry and Tradesmen of Bath, signed 22d of April, 1859, and among other things declaring on the part of the subscribers—" We hesitate not to record our deliberate opinion, that during a period of great State difficulty, when the contest of parties has more than usually influenced the judgment of the representatives of the people, you have discharged your duty to the Parliament and. your constituency with honour, integrity, and. solicitude for the pub lic interests; and although you have deemed it your duty to retire from the representation of this city in Parliament, we are yet anxious to express our appreciation of that truthfulness and independence of character which have uniformly marked your conduct in the House of Commons." The address, while expressing at the commencement of it un feigned regret that Sir ARTHUiI, ELTON'S political connection with the City of Bath should have been so suddenly terminated, intimates, before its close, a confident hope that a fitting opportunity may be afforded, " at no distant period," by availing himself of which the hon. baronet might be again enabled to take his place in the council of the nation. The reasonableness of that hope we instantly recognise —with it we fully concur—in it we cordially sym pathise. It is by no means improbable, indeed, that Sir ARTHUR ELTON may eventually experience from the electors of Bath an evidence of repentance as timely and as welcome as that once upon a time afforded to Lord (then Mr.) MACAULAY by the electors of the capital of Scotland—Mr. MACAULAY having been rejected by Edinburgh in the July of 1847, and returned again as M.P. for Auld Iteekie exactly five years afterwards, when in the July of 1852 he was returned again as M.P. for the city of Edinburgh without attending the election, or even issuing an address to the constituency ! In responding to the very gratifying communica tion addressed to him by 180 of the Bath electors— both gentry and tradesmen, both Liberals and Conservatives Sir ARTHUR ELTON remarks as frankly as judiciously—" With reference to the difficulties impeding of late years the progress of legislation, and the action of Government at home and abroad, to which allusion is made in your address, it is common to attribute them to the un• ruly caprice of the various sections into which the House of Commons has been divided." Adding, " I hold, however, that the blame attaches not to political parties, but to those who on either side of the house profess to lead them. There was no want of intellectual vigour or earnestness in the last Par liament. Why were not those valuable qualities turned to better account ? Whose was the fault ? I answer without hesitation that the fault lay with our foremost public men, and not with the bulk of the Liberal party." "If, instead of labouring for party objects," continues Sir ARTHUR, "any one of our present statesmen had boldly thrown himself on the manly sense and honest instincts of the House of Commons, I believe he would have commanded an amount of support most influential in determining the conduct of Government, whether Whig or Tory, to the great advantage, not merely of England, but of the civilised world. Immediately following upon which retrospective observations, there follows the earnest avowal of the writer's conviction that there now devolves both upon the Ministry and upon the Parliament which will be shortly assembled a weighty responsibility. So obviously solemn and inevitable is the responsibility, that it is scarcely credible for an instant that any one of those despi cable party designs recently heard of can be seri• ously entertained in the presence of a great Euro pean war, by the most factious, by the least pa triotic, by the most selfishly ambitious statesmen upon the side of the Opposition. A mere vulgar scramble for power, with all its patronage and perquisites, at the moment the oppos ing hosts of Austria and France are meeting in deadly conflict upon the soil of Sardinia, would, to say the very least of it, be but a discreditable spectacle in the presence of Christendom. What the new Parliament has to decide now is not the advantage of this or that party, but the strength and integrity of the position occupied by the Go vernment of England in the midst of the clashing interests of the Courts and Cabinets of Europe. His Royal Highness the Prince of 'Wales is ex pected to arrive at Buckingham Palace early in the en suing week from Gibraltar and Italy. The Osborne, w hi c h left Portsmouth on Sunday, has gone to Gibraltar ex pressly to convey the heir-apparent to England, Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge his been suffering from the effects of a violent cold, which prevented her Royal Highness attending the confirmation of the Princess Alice at Windsor, and also the Queen's Drawing-room on Saturday. Oa Sunday her Majesty and the Prince Consort visited the Duchess at her residence at Kew. Accounts front the German Bourses state that many of the Italian capitalists and speculators who were active sellers of Austrian securities before the commence ment of the war have since come into the market as buyers. Probably in most cases, however, the change of operatiune , has been merely for tht realization of proflto, , . „; 4 ks 4 (40 , ' • THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, MAY 10, 1859 ADELPHI THEATRE. The practical joke of placing a timid gentleman in the midst of circumstances that involve an unlimited quantity of bullying, was repeated last night to good purpose in a new farce, called " lei on park Francais," which, accord ing to the bills, is of genuine English growth, albeit the title is French. Mr. Spriggins (Mr. J. L. Toole), the owner of a house on the sea-coast, being desirous of turning his property to the best advantage, resolves to let the chief rooms to lodgers, and though his command of the French language is anything but despotic ho places in his window a card inscribed with the bold assertion that forms the title of the piece. Mrs. Major Rattan (Mrs. Billing ton), accompanied by M. Victor Dubois (Mr. Billington), respond to the invitation, and the lady without hesitation takes an apartment on the first floor, while the gentleman, recognizing in the landlord's niece, Angelina (Miss Laid law), a lady of whom he has become enamoured in Paris, secures a snug little chamber for himself. Spriggins at once concludes that his new lodgers are a married couple, but in reality their acquaintance is of the slightest, a mere accident having severed the lady from her lawful spouse at one of the railway stations, and induced her to accept the protection of the gallant foreigner, who happenod to be tra velling in the same carriage. All this has been done with the most innocent intention, but Major Regulus Rattan (Mr. Selby), a fire-eating officer of the old theatrical school, is by no means disposed to believe in perfect innocence. He is is of opinion that hls wife has intentionally eloped with his fellow-passenger, and rushing into Spriggins's house, accuses him of harbouring the guilty pair. Poor Spriggins is decidedly in a "fix," from which there are no obvious means of escape, and which comes as a finishing touch to previous miseries. He was dreadfully perplexed with the French of M. Dubois, he was terribly humiliated, and so likewise was Mrs. Spriggins (Miss Arden), when the Irish servant, Anna Maria (Miss Kate Kelly), struck for wages on account of extra work, and left her mistress to cook the dinner, her master to black the boots ; and now he is likely to be murdered by a whiskered barbarian, who loves to fight duels in the drawing-room, after a fashion most rare in actual life, but most common upon the stage. The avowed love of Dubois for Angelina proves a blessing in the emergency, for it causes the savage Major to abandon his jealous suspicions, and thus allows everybody to shake hands and be happy. The resolute "fun" with which the piece is acted has more to do with its success than the plot or the dialogue. Mr. Toole' s te r r o r is abj e ct, an d M r . Selby's wrath is tremendous ; so that they play well into each other's hands. There is much spirit, too, in the Frenchman of Mr. Billington, though his talk is not much more Parisian than that of the gentleman who lets the lodgings. The character of the Irish servant, small but strong, is brought out with great force by Miss Kate Kelly. • LATEST NEWS. The following telegrams have been received at Mr. Reuter's office : PARIS, MAY 10. The Moniteur of this morning contains the fol lowing :—The Emperor having the intention of placing himself at the head of the army of Italy, has resolved upon conferring the title of Regent on the Empress. The Empress, says his Majesty, will exercise the functions of Regent during our ab scence in conformity with our orders and instruc tions, which will be transcribed into the great book of the State. The Prince Jerome, the Presidents of the great bodies of the State, the members of the Privy Council, and the Ministers will take cog nizance of these orders and instructions, and the Empress will not be able to depart from their tenor in fulfilling the duties of the Regency. The Em press will not be able to proclaim any other senatus consultum than those now actually existing. The Empress will take the advice of the Prince Jerome on the resolutions and decrees which will be sub , mitted to her. Another theree 'published by the Moniteter ap points M. de Thouvenel senator. The 111oniteur also announces that a statue of Alexander von Humboldt will be placed in the museum of Versailles. TURIN, MAY 9. OFFICIAL BULLETIN. PUBLISHED ON MONDAY, MAY 9. The enemy to the number of 2,000 after having occupied Biela for a short time, has again with drawn. Austrian reconnoitring parties had ad vanced as far as Ivrea, but seeing the preparations for defence they withdrew. The command of the troops for the defence of Turin has been given to General Sonnaz. MADRID, MAY 9. The Prince of Wales disembarked yesterday a Algeziras. ALLEGED SUCCESS OF GARIBALDI. A Turin letter in the Brussels Independance states that on the night of the 4th the Austrians at Vercelli were surprised by Garibaldi, who made 400 of them prisoners. The Italian volunteers and their chief were assisted by the Cialdini division. The following is the account of the affair given by the Nord : " Our despatches from the seat of war acquaint us with a brilliant coup de main by Garibaldi. It seems that this General, combining his movements with those of General Cialdini, has attacked the Austrians at Vercelli, after having made a forced march. He surprised them in that city, beat them completely, bringing off 300 prisoners. A body of troops sent to support him by General Cialdini met him bringing back his victorious troops." NEUTRALITY OF ENGLAND. The Independanee Beige of Saturday mentions a rumour that explanations have been asked of the French Government by England as to a phrase in the Imperial manifesto which, in anticipating the independence of Italy "to the Adriatic," implies the entire abrogation of the treaties of 1815. In its number of yesterday the same journal says that the explanations offered by the Cabinet of the Tuileries have appeared sufficient at London, and that a better understanding prevails between the two Powers. The Nord says : . " The grand news of the day is the resolve on the part of the Cabinets of London and Berlin to maintain a strict neutrality in the present war. A despatch from London, which we have this moment received, assures us that, after declarations from Russia and explanations by the French Govern ment, England and Prussia have decided upon absolute neutrality, in order to localise the war in Italy. The war no longer threatens to embrace the rest of the continent, and its duration will be all the shorter. To prolong the contest under such circumstances would be, on the part of Austria, an act of madness. Whatever may be the phases through which this war may pass elsewhere, the issue is not doubtful. Italy will be restored to herself." Vaillant and Count Walewski. The others are— Cardinal Morlot, the Duke de Malakoff, M. Achille Fould, M. Troplong, Count de Morny, M. Baroche, and Count de Persigny. Marshal Baraguay d'Hilliers has removed his headquarters from Genoa to Novi. The Emperor of the French, as at the period of the war in the Crimea, has in his cabinet a telegraphic apparatus, by which he communicates direct with his generals on the theatre of war. His Majesty, it is said, is highly satisfied with the first operations of his army. The Duke de Padoue, Minister of the Interior, has addressed the following circular to the pre fects : " The Emperor has done me the honour of calling me to the Ministry of the Interior. Without concealing from myself the difficulties of the mission which his Majesty has confided to me, I hope to find in my unreserved devotedness to the Imperial dynasty, and in your co-operation, the strength necessary for the accomplishment of my task. The name I bear is a symbol of fidelity ; the traditions of my family trace out the line I have to follow, and I shall reso lutely proceed in it. You, like myself, have already mea sured the extent of the duties which circumstances impose on us. The Emperor is about to leave, in order to place himself at the head of our heroic army. While our brave soldiers, animated by his presence, will gloriously carry the flag of France on the battle •field of Italy, we, by our vigi lant firmness, will know how to secure the maintenance of public tranquility at home. Tho Emperor, in his pro clamation to the French people, said .—' I confide the Em press and my son to the valour of the army which remains in France, to watch over our frontiers and to protect the domestic hearth ; I confide them to the patriotism of the national guard; I confide them in short to the whole peo ple, who will surround them with that love and that de votedness of which I every day receive so many procfs.' These noble words have touched every heart. In face of a foreign enemy, party differences disappear ; all who wish for the maintenance of order and for the grandeur and prosperity of France will rally round the Imperial dynasty ; for it is the keystone of the social edifice. I rely therefore, Monsieur le Prefet, on your experience, your energy, and your devotedness to the Emperor. The departure of his Majesty may give birth to uneasiness ; be it your endeavour to prevent or to dissipate it; whether at a distance or near, the mind of the Emperor watches over France. The Empress, seconded by the in telligence of the last surviving brother of Napoleon 1., and surrounded by devoted councillors, will continue his policy and his work. Let us, then; have confidence in the destiny of the Emperor and the protection of the Almighty ! Accept, &c., " A. DENPADOUE." BOURSE, May 9.—The market has been very dull, with prices slightly receding, owing to the approaching departure of the Emperor. Threes, after having been done at 60f. 95c. and 60f. 75c., are now at 60f. 85c., English Consols having come with a rally of per cent. Mobilier varied from 540 f. to 517 f. 50c. Austrian, 350 f. to 345 E Lombardo-Venetian 415 to 417 fr. 50c. Orleans 1,110 to 1,115 fr. Lyons 730 to 735 fr. Eastern 550 to 555 fr. Northern 825 to 830 fr. A slight rally took place towards the close, when the following were the quotations : 41 per Cents. .... 88 75 ' Credit Foncier 605 Do. end month .. 88 75 Belgian 4i B7 3 per Cents 6O 90 Piedmontese (5) .. 74 50 Do. end month 6O 85 Roman 77 Bank Shares 26.50 Austrian — Credit Mobilier .. 525 Spanish Threes Do. Account . 517 50 Home Debt 34 50 BT. MARTIN'S HALL. The Shaksperian "readings" which hare pleased and instructed so many persons in London and in the provinces were resumed last night by Miss Glyn, who selected for her re-appearance in public the tragedy of " Macbeth," in which she has so often distinguished herself both on the stage and on the platform. The intelligence which marks her interpretation is too well-known to render particular comment necessary. Distinguishing the office of the "reader" from that of the actress, she does all that she can to enliven the text by the force of elocution, without risking those abandonments to passion that require scenic arrange ment to give them their proper effect. There are many persons who revere the poetry of Shakspeare while they entertain a conscientious objection to theatrical representa tions, and to these the " readings" of Miss Glyn must always be especially welcome. Here at any rate one element of histrionic art is displayed in all its purity. HAYMARKET THEATRE.—Mr. George Turpin, well known as the box bookkeeper at this house from the beginning of Mr. Buckstone's management, has announced his annual benefit for Thursday, the 19th inst. The per formance will consist of Mr. Palgrave Simpson's success ful comedy, the "World and the Stage, and Mr. Frank Talfourd's new burlesque " Electra." THEATRE ROYAL, DRURY-LANE.—The interior is lighted by nine new prismatic chandeliers of 60 lights each, which, from their lightness and elegance, surpass every thing yet produced. The light is immense, and entirely does away with the old chandelier, which has been removed in order to allow a free ventilation. The large 80 light chandelier in the vestibule is of most massive construction, and quite illuminates the interior. The entrance to the dress boxes is lighted by a crystal standard, semicircular, with a plate glass at back so as to make it appear a circle of lights. The staircase and passages are lighted by new crystal brackets. The whole of this new arrangement of lighting is from the manufactory of Messrs. Defries and Sons, of Houndsditch. ACCIDENT TO MDLLE. VICTOIRE BALFE.—On Thursday afternoon this accomplished and favourite artiste was passing along Piccadilly in her brougham when a stupid or intoxicated cabman drove with such violence against her carriage that the hind wheels were forced from their place, and the shaft of the cab struck forcibly one of her arms, severely lacerating it. Medical attendance was immediately obtained, and not so much injury as fright was happily ells.: couered. With most commendable spirit, she would not disappoint the public at Drury-lane last night ((Friday), and appearing with her arm in a sling, sang the music of Lucia, in "Lucia di Lamermoor," in her usual exquisite style.—Era. Baron de Hubner, before his departure from Paris, signed the marriage contract of his daughte r , Mll e , Melaine Hubner, with M. de Maupressant, a wealthy landed proprietor of Brittany. The marriage is to take place at Brussels. ROBBERY OF £720. —On Friday afternoon a gen tleman was robbed of £720 and . his gold watch, in a house in South St. James-street, Edinburgh. Information being given to the police, the inmates of the house were taken into custody, and £7oo—consisting of seven £lOO notes — and the gold watch were recovered. Tho case is undergoing investigation. EXPLOSION IN SOUTH STAFFORDSHIRE.—An explosion occurred at the Corbyn's Ironworks, near King fissvvie Sunday.onftohrder,sosnhockingly b T um wo t. me i n i w e e i r en ki w l o l n ed l , ve a r n e d about fou to four or °r tap a furnace to let out the molten pig iron, when, from some derangement or other, probably the leakage of a vent, the accident occurred. THE PROVISION TRADE AND THE WAR.—WC understand that the French Government have contracted for the immediate delivery, at Marseilles and Toulon, of 20,000 casks o f b ee f an d por k , an d a vessel is now loading in George's-dock, Liverpool, with 3,000 casks, the remain der of the orders being distributed among the principal ports of the kingd om . Th e su dd en demands which have thus been made upon the provision market have caused consider able excitement, the supply being short. Notwithstanding these heavy demands, however, the prices of both beef and pork are now 20 per cent. lower than after the outbreak of the Indian mutiny. DISPUTE IN THE RIBBON TRADE AT COVENTRY. —Mr. Hart, ribbon manufacturer, Coventry, issued a notice to his work - people on Monday last that he should in future only pay weekly wages to those employed in the manufac ture of " plain goods." Many of the men at once left work, and were summoned before the magistrates inconsequence. The majority of the weavers seem resolved to insist upon maintaining the "piece" system, and at several meetings held last week levies for the support of the weavers who may be thrown out of work were agreed to.—.4ris's Bir minyhain Gazette. THE MAILS, &C. — SOUTHAMPTON, May 9.—The Royal Mail Company's steamship Tyne, Captain Sawyer, sailed hence to-day, with the mails for Lisbon, the Brazils, and River Plate, 96 passengers, £9,800 in specie, jewellery , velue £21,500, and a full cargo. The Peninsular and Orien tal Company's screw steamer Jeddo, Captain T. Black, also left to-day for Alexandria, as an extra steamer, taking out 12 passengers, among whom are General Sir William Codrington, Lady Codrington, and two daughters, and Captain Sayers. The Sultan, Captain Neil Cook, left on Saturday with the mails for Vigo, Oporto, and Lisbon, and 21 passengers. The - Valetta steamer, which has been re paired since her return from the Mediterranean station, arrived here on Saturday from the Thames, in charge of Captain Woodgates. The paddlewheel steamship Peiho, Captain Harris, which left New York on the 24th ult. ar rived this morning for orders, and is taking in a sapply of coal. She brought no news, and had neither passengers nor cargo. The Vanderbilt steamer, Captain Lefevre, le aveson Wednesday w ith th e F renc h and English mails for New York. The - United. States mail steamer, Fulton, Captain Wotton, with the mails from New York of the 30th ult., is due on Thursday ; and the Hamburg-American company's screw steamer Saxonia, Captain 'Ehlers. with New York ad vices of the Ist. inst. is expected on Friday. The Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamship Tagus, Captain Hall, is due on 'Wednesday with the mails from Lisbon, Oporto, and Vigo ; and the Ceylon, Captain Evans, leaves on Thursday with the Bombay and Australian mails. :NEW AUSTRALIAN BISHOPRIC.— Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, her Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonies, has consented to the creation of another new bishopric in Australia, the seat of which will be at Bris bane, Moreton Bay, New South Wales, now included in the diocese of Newcastle, a see which is equal in extent to four times the area of the British Isles. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts has granted £l,OOO towards the endowment fund, and Dr. Tyrell, the present Bishop of Newcastle, has generously promised to contribute half the amount required for the endowment of the new see. Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton has nomi nated as the first Bishop of Brisbane the Rev. Ed ward Wyndham Tuffnell, M.A., of Wadham College, Ox ford, and Prebendary of Salisbury Cathedral. The Bishop designate was ordained in 1837 by Dr. Bagot, Bishop of Oxford, and having for some time been minister of Broad town, near Marlborough, he was presented by the late Bishop of Salisbury to the rectory of Beechingstoke. In 18.57, on the appointment of Sir Erasmus Wilson to the Chancellorship of St. David's, he was nominated by the resent Bish o p o f S a li s b ury to the rectory of St. Peter and t. Paul's, Marlborough, which he has held up to the pre sent time. Mr. Tuffnell graduated in 1837, when he was third Class in classics, and was select preacher in 1858. It is probable that the new Bishop of Bangor and the Bishop de.iignate of Brisbane will be consecrated on the 2d of June, Leine . Holy Thursday, or lA scension-day. DRINKING FOUNTAINS FOR WESTMINSTER.— At a meeting of the vestry of St. James's, 'Westminster, held on Friday—the Rev. J. C. Kemp in the chair—a com munication was received from Mr. Samuel Gurney, in which the advantages of public drinking fountains were stated, and the co-operation of the vestry with the associa tion for promoting their erection was invited. The Hon. F. Byng moved a resolution to the effect that the vestry propose to the Free Drinking Fountain Association t o p a y or the supply of water to the fountains erected by the association. Mr. Beale seconded the resolution, and Dr. Lancaster, the medical officer of health, urged the necessity of such public driking fountains being established, and hoped they would be made ornamental as well as useful. Mr. Bidgood supported the resolution, viltieh was unani mously agreed to. IMPUDENT ROBBERY FROM THE PERSON.-01l Frid Birmingham,ayeveni, asA Ir. George Hillman, of Great Colmore street,was passing along Hagley-road, he was stopped by two men, who politely informed him that his coat, was torn in the back. Mr. Hillman pulled off his coat to look for the hole, when one of the men snatched the garreent from his hand and made off with it in the direction ofMonument-lane, followed by his companion, The thiQves effeck;d their escape. AUSTRIA. Count Buol has issued the following circular to the Austrian diplomatic agents at all the Govern ments of the German Confederation : " VIENNA, APRIL 28. • " The Imperial Government had agreed with the Royal Court of Prussia to abstain from provoking a debate in the German Diet on the case provided for by Article 47 of the final act of the Congress of Vienna until the intention of France to take part in a war between Austria and Sardinia should have been formally expressed. " That moment has now arrived, the French Charge d'Affaires, the Marquis de Banneville, having declared to mo on the 26th, in consequence of orders he received by tele graph, that his Government would regard the passage of the Piedmontese frontier by Austrian troops as a cams belli ; and France has not even waited for that event to march French troops into Sardinia. " Meanwhile we have also received the evasive reply from Turin, and at the same time news of a military revolution at Florence, and risings at Massa and Cararra, in consequence of which our troops have been ordered to enter Piedmont. Under these circumstances, we can no longer delay express ing ourselves at Frankfort, and we charge Count de Rech berg to hand to the Diet, in an extraordinary sitting to be held, if possible, on Monday next, the subjoined declara tion, of which I send you a copy. _ . " I beg of you to communicate it without delay to the Government to whfch you are accredited, expressing the hopo that the result will be the mobilisation of the federal army, and that the representatives of each Government will re ceive instructions to urge that resolution upon the Diet. (Signed) " DE BUOL." A Vienna letter in the Cologne Gazette says : " Austria has already on foot upwards of 600,000 men, well equipped, of whom. 300,000 are in Italy. In a fortnight her army will be 800,000 strong. In all the provinces volunteers are flocking in. At Vienna about 1000 men enrolled themselves yester day, and the Ist battalion of volunteers can march in a few days. The Hungarian nobility are raising five regiments of hussars, and at Arad thousands of men are flocking in. Similar enthusiasm prevails in Bohemia, Moravia, Styria, Upper Austria, the Tyrol, and Carinthia. All these provinces supply volunteers equipped at their cost, and young men go in crowds to engage themselves. The two regi ments of cavalry, Prince Liechtenstein and Arch duke Ernest, are to be concentrated in Upper Aus tria, being destined for Germany. The Hereditary Grand Duke of Tuscany has resolved to enter the Austrian army and to serve in the war ; he is already nominally colonel of the Bth Dragoons." " Austria," says a Berlin letter, " has not yet abandoned all hope of inducing Prussia to take part in the struggle. She has contrived to bring into play the diplomacy of the petty Courts, which have till now been closely allied with Prussia. This is particularly the case with the Courts of Anhalt and some of the Thuringen. The incessant goings and comings of M. de Plcetz, Minister of State of Anhalt, seem connectcd with these intrigues, but they have met with no success. The Prince Regent has declared that Prussia will not be induced by pressure from without to take any step which she does not consider compatible with her own inte rests ; that the Cabinet of Berlin would not suffer other States to exercise any influence on its action, because it well knew the line it ought to follow ; and that, if Austria succeeded in getting certain measures adopted by the Germanic Diet, Prussia would be obliged to separate her policy from that of the other States of the Confederation, FRANCE. PARIS, MONDAY. The Privy Council, which was at its first forma- tion only composed of seven members, is now iIIVXOMed to nine by the late nomination a Marshal RAILWAYS. Cash. Account. Orleans Northern B2B 75 .. 828 75 New ditto 7ll 25 .. 710 Lyons and Mediterranean 737 50 .. 736 25 New ditto Geneva 4lO .. 410 Southern Western Eastern Sardinian 315 .. 315 Austrian Exchange on London, at sight, paper, 25f. sc. ; money, 25f. 21c. ; three months, paper, 24f. 871 c.; money, 24f. 85c. SARDINIA. The King of Sardinia has issued the following order of the day, dated from his head-quarters at Alessandria, May 5 : " On the 3d and 4th the enemy attempted to pass the Po opposite Frassineto and Valenza. The troops of the 17th Regiment,. the Bth battalion of Bersaglieri, the Ist, 17th, and 18th batteries, entrusted with the defence of that posi tion, stood the enemy's fire with intrepidity, and frustrated his attempt. His Majesty the King, highly satisfied with the firm and praiseworthy behaviour displayed by these troops, and with the intelligent manner in which they were commanded by their chiefs, Colonel Bozzoli, Major Volpel landi, and Captains Sobrero, Dho, and Roberti, has given orders to the undersigned chief of the staff to inform all the corps of the army thereof by the present order of the day, his Majesty being convinced that the first result will be followed by other greater ones, which will increase the re putation and glory of the Piedmontese army. " By order of his Majesty, Lieut.-General Chief of the Staff DELLA ROCCA." The Piedmontese Gazette publishes ashort account of th.p cannonade at Valenza on the 4th, stating the number of wounded at 10, besides Captain Roberti and one man killed. The latter, a corporal of Bersaglieri (or riflemen), named Albini, being mortally wounded, nevertheless crawled to a hillock in order to have one shot more at the enemy. The operations of the enemy near Frassineto are officially described as follows : " After some insignificant encounters of cavalry during the first days of the war, and in which our troops retarded the enemy's march, we have now tomention facts of greater importance. On the 3d of May, about thirty minutes past four p.m., the enemy in considerable force reconnoitred the left bank of the Po, opposite Frassineto, with an attempt to cross over to the right bank. The enemy's forces were drawn up near Terranova, protected by the dam of the river, whence they opened a heavy fire of musketry and rockets against our advanced posts. The troops of the 17th regiment, with the 17th battery, which were stationed there for the defence of that point, bore the enemy's fire with intrepidity. Major General Chev. Cialdini, hearing the cannonade, hastened out . of, Casale with the 15th regiment of infantry, two squadrons of the Monferrato light cavalry, and the 3d field battery, to the assistance of the troops, in order to drive the enemy back from the river, had he succeeded in crossing ; but before his arrival there, after nightfall, the enemy had already ceased firing and retired. During the night, at about half-past one a.m., the enemy attempted to construct two pontoon bridges opposite Frassineto, but being harassed by a brisk fire from our batteries, he renounced his project and again retired about 8 a.m. The reconnaissances made by the troops of Casale after the engagement, showed that the enemy had abandoned Balzola, and subsequently Ter ranova and Villanova. We have to deplore the loss of six killed and 27 wounded, all privates and non-commissioned officers." The Piecimontese Gazette of the 6th contains the following : " His Majesty's Government would have willing, during the present war, proclaimed those liberal principles, accord ing to which the mercantile vessels of the enemy are allowed a certain space of time to leave the ports of the State with out molestation. The Government has been unable to do so, because the territory of the State Is invaded by a powerful army which oppresses the occupied provinces with acts of violence of every description, thus disobeying both the rules of the law of nations and those of humanity recognised in our present state of civilisation. • Orders have therefore been given to lay an embargo on the Austrian vessels lying in the ports of the State. This mea sure of precaution and security was imperiously called for by circumstances. And although the enormous requisitions and extortions of all kinds practised by the enemy on our territory, to the injury of the unarmed population, justify even now an order of capture of the said vessels, neverthe less the Government still reserves its decision in that re spect. Meanwhile the Government hastens to notify to all whom it may concern that - the property of neutrals that may be on board the sequestrated vessels shall be immediately restored is their owners, conformably to the declarations in favour of neutrals signed by the high powers at the Con gress of Paris in 1856. The application of such principles can naturally only be invoked in the case of such vessels as shall scrupulously observe strict neutrality." The Ost Deutsche-Post, the Austrian semi-official organ, appears to prognesticate the ultimate non success of the mission of Count Karoly to St. Petersburg. It says Under existing circum stances neither the French ambassador nor the envoy extraordinary will succeed in obtaining from the Russian Government a precise declaration as to its intentions. That power will not bind itself to any one, and will remain faithful to the programme of Prince Gortschakoff not to middle directly i n European complications. All that Count Karoly has been able to learn from Prince Gortschakoff i s that for the moment events must speak for them selves." The Austrian Gazette publishes an article which has for title, " Let us be united! Forward!" and concludes with the words, "Let us march! To Paris !" The Government of the Two Sicilies has given notice, by its agents at the different European Courts, that his Neapolitan Majesty intends to observe the strictest neutrality towards all Powers during the present complications. A Berlin letter, in the Elberfeld Gazette, says: —" The last accounts from Hungary state that great agitation prevails amongst the Magyar and Sclavonian populations, anxious to recover the rights wrested from them ten years ago. Agitation also prevails in Gallicia and in the Polish pro vinces of Austria." "It is affirmed," says the Independance of Brus sels, " that the great Powers will come to an understanding to guarantee the neutrality of the Duchy of Parma, a neutrality which the Duchess herself is anxious to secure." " According to our private information," says the _Nord, " the retreat of the Austrians is the con sequence of an order sent from Vienna, where a new plan of campaign has been decided on." AUSTRALIA. LIVERPOOL, MONDAY. The clipper ship Mermaid has arrived from Mel bourne with 60 passengers, 14,000 ounces of gold, and 1,500 bales of wool. The advices by her have been anticipated. FALMOUTH, MONDAY. The ship Sussex, Captain Fothergill, arrived off the port today from Melbourne, in 84 days. She has on freight about 80,000 ounces of gold. She landed her mails and some passengers. THE ROYAL GUN FOUNDRY AT WOOL WICH. At a time like the present, when some of the most powerful states of Europe are launched into perhaps long and sanguinary war, and into the vortex of which no one knows how soon this country may be drawn, the interest of the public is naturally awakened to the consideration of the efficiency of the various departments employed in the manufac ture and preparation of war materials. The occa sion is therefore a favourable one again to advert to a subject which occupied our columns some months back, viz., the royal factories recently established at Woolwich for the manufacture of ordnance and warlike stores. It is not the object of this notice to enter into the question whether or no these works are established on a legitimate basis, or whether they are likely to prove a saving of the publio money, but merely to show the vast quanti ties of ordnance, shot, shell, and other warlike stores, which, in the event of war, could be produced from the Royal Arsenal alone. Since the com mencement of the present year the greatest activity has prevailed throughout the Ordnance Depart ment of the Arsenal, and though for the past few weeks the operations in the iron gun foundry have been suspended during the repair of the four old furnaces, and the construction of two new ones, the preparation, proving, and shipment of the contract guns have proceeded with the greatest activity ; the average number of heavy guns despatched from the gun. wharf per week being no less than one hun dred. This great demand has been created by the arming of the numerous vessels of war lately put into commission, and the changing at the various coast and other defences of the old unservice able 24-pounders for long 32 and 68-pounders. Notwithstanding this un isual shipment, the con tracts for the supply of guns for the present year are smaller than those of last year, while 300 pieces of heavy ordnance have been ordered from the new foundry during the present financial year. The store of cannon of all calibres now in the Arsenal is sufficient to supply all demands for years to come, there being between 15,000 and 20,000 pieces of serviceable ordnance on the various wharves, which could be prepared and despatched to any part of the world at the rate of 200 per week. With the six furnaces, which will shortly be in working operation in the gun foundry, it will be capable of turning out ten 68-pounders per week. When the whole ten furnaces are erected, the foundry will be capable of producing twenty new guns per week, a number which, without taking into account the contract entrusted to the Gospel Oak and Low Moor works, would be sufficient to supply all , ordinary peace demands for cannon. A very large series of worshops is now in course of erection close to the new foundry for the manufucture of the Armstrong guns. The works will take in the old Lancaster shell factory, which contains thirteen furnaces and nine steam hammers, so that without going to any very great outlay for plant, Mr. Armstrong, who will superintend the factory, will, as soon as the works are completed, be in a position to supply his guns as fast as they are likely to be required. A great deal of mystery has been thrown round this most destructive weapon, and Government have certainly done all in their power to prevent the secret of its nature and construction from transpiring. The jealous care with which the drawings and models have been guarded has, as might have been expected, proved ineffectual for this purpose, the gun having been publicly mann factured in Newcastle-on-Tyne and openly used for practice in Woolwich. It is a waste of time to try to prevent those who are interested in obtain ing the information, from becoming acquainted with every particular connected with its construc tion. Mucn has been said about the danger to which England would be exposed if- any adverse power were enabled to construct these weapons ; but it should be rememberedhat the same time that the knowledge of the principles upon *hich the gun is made will not of itself enable foreign go vernments to construct it. The detailed descrip tion of our machinery, our engines, and our small arm rifles has never been kept concealed from the world, and yet the mechanical skill necessary for their manufacture has never been found in foreign countries. The Armstrong gun is a piece of me chanism which would tax the skill of English artisans, even when directed by the inventor. How little, then, need we fear that foreign nations would be able to manufacture it, even if supplied with de scriptive plans and drawings. The principles upon which the advantages possessed by the weapon de pend are not novel, even as applied to gunnery. In external appearance the gun differs very little from the ordnance commonly in use, except in being a little more than half the diameter in proportion to the weight of shot carried, and not quite half the weight. It may he familiarly described as a hollow tube, the bore extending from the muzzle out at the breech: The upper portion of the bore, from the chamber to the muzzle, along which the projectile passes, is rifled by about 30 grooves, 1-16th of an inch wide and 1-10th of an inch deep, which have a spiral pitch of one complete turn in 16 feet. The other portion of the bore, from the chamber to the extremity of the breech, through which the charge is introduced, is smooth, and rather wider than the rifled part. Immediately behind the chamber in which the charge is exploded, and about a foot or so from the breech, there is a square slot., some four or five inches across, which extends from the upper surface of the gun, and cuts right across the bore. When the charge has been inserted through, the breech a solid piece of iron is dropped intn the slot, and by a screw placed in the breech is firmly forced against the conical base of the chamber, forming an effectual break, which is capable of resisting the explosion. To the projectile, however, is owing in a great measure the efficiency of the gun. It is formed of iron, elongated in shape, like the Mink bullet. Two grooves are cut at different places along its length, into which are cast belts of lead which project about one quarter of an inch beyond the diameter of the shot. The projectile and the charge of powder are, as we have said before, introduced through the breech. The plug which fits into the slot is then dropped and screwed into its place, so as effectually to prevent any lateral escape of the explosion. When the charge is ignited the conical spot is driven forward into the rifledportion of the bore, which being rather narrower than the diameter of the shot, the leaden belts are firmly forced into the grooves, and the whole bore so effectually wedged passage of the shot th a t there i up during the s absolutely no " winclao•?. " or escap e o f the explosion, until the shot has left the mu zz l e . Thus the whole of the propulsive power of a given charge of powder is utilised, and an enormous range obtained. The con struction of the body of the gun itself is ingenious, though not perh a p s quite novel. It is entirely of wrought iron. Iu the original plan proposed by - AIL Armstrong th e b ore was intended to be of steel, strengthened outside by massive cylinders of wrought iron welded on while at a high tempera ture, and firmly fixed to the steel core by the con traction consequent upon cooling. This plan has been altered, and the cores are now either made of wrought or cast iron. The wrought iron cylinders are made like the twisted steel barrels of a fowling piece, by winding red hot bars of wrought iron spirally round a polished metal drum of the re• quired diameter. These successive spirals are then pressed and welded together, forming a tube whose greatest tensile strength is in a direction transverse to its length. These tubes, in lengths of one or two feet, are welded to the core in a state of incan descence, and are contracted firmly to their places on cooling. Outside this a second covering of the same descriptionof wrought iron cylinders is welded, which completes the gun. This peculiar combina tion of iron cylinders, the tensile fibres of which run in different direction's, has the effect of prevent ing the expansion of the bore during firing. It stops the vibration so destructive to the strength of iron, and it renders the piece considerably stronger than the cast-iron gun of the srme calibre, though only one-half the weight of metal is used Of the effects produced by this wonderful weapon the public have already been partially made ac quainted ; but it may not be out of place here to advert to them again. The iron 92-pounder, Armstrong's gun, tried at Shoeburyness, was found capable of throwing its projectile, with perfect accuracy of aim, a distance of five miles with 5 lbs. of powder, one-half the charge of an ordinary 32- pounder, which carries but lt mile. At a distance of 3,000 yards (the extreme range of a long 32- pounder), of 25 shots fired at a target 10 feet square by an ordinary gunner, every one struck the mark. Looking at the gun as a piece of mechanism, it is a perfect weapon. Yet, notwithstanding the severe tests to which it has been subjected, there are many who think that the delicacy of its construction will materially impair its effectiveness in actual warfare. This is a question which cannot be decided until the gun has been tried in the field, but looking at the simplicity and strength of its construction it does not appear at all more likely to get out of order or to be injured than the ordinary artillery now in use. An order has already been issued for the supply of these guns during the present year, but as their advantages become more generally appreciated, and the artillery men are more accus tomed to their use, they will doubtless in a great measure supersede the ordinary artillery. It is but a few years ago that the Government were entirely dependant for the supply of shot and shell upon private contractors ; but it having been suggested that the Government, by taking the manu facture into their own hands, could produce at the rate of £6 per ton that class of shot for which they were paying £l3 per ton, a small experimental factory was erected, which, being considered suc cessful, was enlarged. At the present time the laboratory department are producing from 26,000 to 28,000 shot and shell per week, or between 70 and 80 tons per day. Working day and night it would be possible, in case of an emergency, to pro duce at the rate of 36,000 per week. As abstract numbers of production give no idea of the quantities of materials expended in actual warfare, it may be mentioned that during the siege of Sebastopol, which must be considered one of the most stupen dous sieges of modern times, the English never had more than 209 pieces of artillery employed at once throughout the whole siege, extending over twelve months. The shot and shell expended was not more than could be now turned out by Woolwich in six or seven weeks. Thus, with the present stock of guns in store, and the various foundries in full operation, Woolwich alone could supply war material sufficient for carrying on perpetually two such sieges as that of the great Russian stronghold. In the small arm department the supply is on an equal scale ; the present machines, if kept con stantly at work, will produce 2,000,000 Minie bullets per week. Notwithstanding that the pro duction of shot and shell is carried on at the rate of 80 tons per day, so great has the demand been lately for arming the navy and storing the maga zines of our various fortresses and defences, that the shipments from the wharf have exceeded the production, and great inroads have been made in the apparently inexhaustible piles with which the various quadrangles of the Arsenal are covered. THE IMPROVEMENT OF OUR COINAGE. There are at present circulating in the British four distinct kinds of pence, with their satellite halfpence or farthings. In the first place there are the heavy pieces, popularly known from the broad band surrounding both obverse and reverse as ring" pence. Of these, which were strurk at the old Soho Mint by Messrs. Boulton and Watt, between the years 1797-1799, 16 go to the lb. avoirdupois, and they have certainly worn remarkably well, although they must have worn out a vast number of pockets in the sixty years of their existence. At the close of 1799, pence, halfpence, and farthings of respectively 18, 36, and 72 to the lb. were struck by the same firm, and these circulated alone with their weighter brethren until 1805, when a further improvement, as it was deemed, took place. In that year, 24- pence, 48 halfpence, and 96 farthings to the lb. weight were considered fair pro portions for the copper coinage, and new digs having been got up for the purpose, Boulton and Watt again set to work in producing these comparatively light coins. It will be seen thus that within a space of eight years three kinds of inferior coins were stamped into vitality and became current. This was not, however, con sidered sufficient, and an Irish coinage of great extent, and in which the one pound weight was divided into 26, 52, and 104 pence, halfpence, and farthings respectively, took place in 1806, and continued to go on simultaneously with the last named English variety up to 1823. In that year the Irish coinage was abandoned, and although there have been distinctive copper tokens struck since for the Isle of Man and for the States of Jersey, of like proportions to those for Ireland, yet it may be said that the arrangement of 24 pence, 48 half- pence, and 06 farthings to the pound lb. weight has prevailed throughout Great Britain ever since 1823, and is that of the present day. It will be admitted from this record of facts in connection with the copper coinage that there is it sufficient medley of recognised and legal pieces of money in circulation among us; but there is in ad dition to these, as most know to their cost, a very large percentage of non recognised and illegal discs of copper, of which the public can " make neither head nor tail," and which are altogether discreditable to an enlightened com munity. Is it not high time, then, we ask, that, whether the decimal system be adopted or not, the whole confused jumble of copper coins, nearly 6,000 tons in weight, should be sent once more into the foundry, there to be united with some more spiritual, or at least more valuable metal, and then reissued in a uniform and handsome shape ? By judicious combinations of metals, lightness, beauty, and value may be attained; and these are the desiderata for a new coinage. In the United States Mint experimental pieces have been issued of nickel and copper. How these will stand wear time will reveal, but their dull grey colour is not pleasing to the eye, and they are of dumpy form, too thick for their small diameters. The bronze coins of the Napoleon 111. and those of the Victoria Canada Mintages are, indeed, models in this last respect. For ourselves, we believe that the new' clay metal aluminium, which promised to revolu tionise in other respects the world of metals, will be found a most excellent material for admixture with copper for the purpose in question. It is true that its properties are not yet fully developed, but enough is known to augur for aluminium a brilliant and useful future. Melted with copper in different proportions, any shade of colour between those of zinc and fine gold may be obtaihed, and we look forward to the day when Dr. Gra ham of the Mint, and some of his scientific confreres, shall arrive, by experiment or other wise, at an amalgamation of aluminium and copper, from which may be cast a new coinage—decimal or duodecimal—that, with the aid of the engraver's art and the skill of the machinist, shall surpass in proportions, colour, and practical utility the coinage of every other country. This matter has been dwelt upon at some length because it is right that the pub lic should comprehend it thoroughly, and be thus enabled to bring the force of their opinion to bear upon the Government in effecting a wholesome and necessary reform. Mr. Disraeli professes to bow to public opinion, and declates that it is the most potent of all agencies. If we can enlist it, there fore, in behalf of v decimal coinage, the good wor k in introducing .it may be said to be begun. — Mechanics' Magazine. THIS DAYS MARKETS. HAY MARKETS. SuITHPLELD..--Meadow hay, £2 108 to £4 10s ; clover, do., £4 Os to £5 lOs ; and straw, £1 4s to £ 1 8s I.lr load. A steady demand for both hay and straw, at full prices. CUMBERLAND.—Meadow hay, £2 lOs to £4 12s ; clove! do., £4 Os to £5 5s ; and straw, £1 5s to £1 8s per Leask Trade steady. WHITECHAPEL. — Meadow hay, £2 lOs to £4 lOs ; clover do., £4 5s to £5 10s ; and straw, £1 3s to 7s per load. A fair inquiry at our quotations. COLONIAL. TEL—The market remains very inactive, but prices are steady. Common Congou is quoted 14d per lb. SUGAR.—Large quantities are advertised for public sale during the week. In the private market the demandg very inactive, prices in most instances showing a doWnwa movement. In the refined market easier prices aro current for dried good. COFFEE.—Scarcely any business has been reported, pr e " vious prices being barely supported. Cocos.—For the finer descriptions there has been a moderate inquiry at about former rates, but inferior quali ties are quite neglected. IttcE.—A fair amount of business has been reported ill soft grain qualities at former quotations. SALTPETRE.—The market remains firm at previous values. with WooL.—The public sales of colonial are progressi n g rather more firmness ; in some instances a slight improve ment has taken place. TALLOW.—There has been a very lim i te d business re ported, prices however are steady. P.Y.C., on the s pot, 565. to 665. 3d. and 565. 6d. for last three mouths. Their Serene Highnesses the Prince and Princess Edward of Saxe-Weimar arrived at their mansion in Por t land-place, on Sunday evening, from a to ur on the Con tinent. His Excellency the eount Persigny is expected to arrive at Albert:gate House from Paris to-morrosv, t :trample his diplomatic duties as representative of the Im perial French Court. The earl doyley left town yesterday for PO. 2 ; tC at 8 1, ha ve los., Ex c i, Ditto Ditto nu e , 14xi Lust I) at( fro ] X 9 Ivit Di crU 1)* Di 41 .11.1 Di Sard `Pari Di Di Pert