The Sun. — London, England, 1865-04-17 00:00:00

AMERICA. (Per Australasian.) NEW YORK, April 5, Morning. The following are the official despatches in full, describing the progress of the campaign against Richmond and Petersburg, and the capture of those places by General Grant : " City Point, Virginia, March 31, 8.30 p.m. "At half-past 12 p.m. to-day General Grant tele graphed me as follows There has been much hard fighting this morning. The enemy drove our left from nearDabney's-house back well towards the Boydton-plankroad. We are now about to take the offensive at that point, and I hope will more than recover the lost ground.' Later he telegraphed again as follows :—' Our troops after being driven .back to the Boydton-plankroad 'turned and drove the enemy in turn, and took the White Oak-road, which we now have. This gives us the ground occupied by the enemy this morning. I will send you a rebel flag captured by our troops in driving the enemy back. There have been four flags cap tured to-day.' Judging by the two points from which General Grant telegraphs, I infer that he moved his headquarters about one mile since he sent the first of the two despatches. "A. LiwcoLN. " Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War." "War Department, Washington, April 1, 11 p.m. " The following despatch from the President, re ceived to-night, shows that the desperate struggle between our forces and the enemy continues unde cided, although the advantage appears to be on our side. "EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. " Major-General Dix. _ _ " City Point, April 1. " A despatch just received shows that Sheridan, aided by Warren, had, at 2 p.m., pushed the enemy back so as to retake the Five Forks, and bring his own headquarters to F. Boiseau's. The Five Forks were barricaded by the enemy, and carried by Devon's division of cavalry. This part of the enemy seem to be now trying to work along the White Oak-road, to join the force in front of Grant, while Sheridan and Warren are pressing them as closely as possible. 66 A. LINCOLN. " Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War." " War Department, April 2, 6 a.m. " A despatch just received from General Grant's adjutant, general at City Point, announces the triumphant success of our arms, after three days' hard fighting, during which the forces on both sides exbibited unsurpassed valour. " Major-General Dix. " City Point, Virginia, April 2, 530 a.m. 66 6 A despatch from General Grant states that General Sheridan, commanding cavalry and infantry, has carried everything before him. He captured three brigades of infantry, a waggon train, and several batteries of artillery. The prisoners cap tured will amount to several thousands. " T. S. BOWERS. " Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War." " War Department, Washington, April 2, 11 a.m. " The following telegram from the President, dated at half-past 8 this morning, gives the latest intelligence from the front, where a furious battle was raging, with continued success to the Union arms. 4 ' EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. " City Point, Virginia, April 2, 830 a.m. " Grant telegraphed that General Sheridan, with his cavalry and the sth Corps had captured three brigades of infantry, a train of waggons and several batteries, the prisoners amounting to several thou sands. This morning General Grant, having ordered an attack along the whole line, telegraphs as fol lows : " ' Both Wright and Parke got through the enemy's lines. The battle now rages furiously. General Sheridan, with his cavalry, the sth Corps, and Miles' division of the 2d Corps, which was sent to him this morning, is now sweeping down from the west. All now looks highly favourable. General Ord is engaged, but I have not yet heard the result in his front. " A. LINCOLN.' " ' Hon. Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War." " Washington, April 2, 12.50 p.m. " The President, in the subjoined telegram, gives the latest news from the front. " Major-General Dix. " City Point, April 2, 11 a.m. " ' Despatches are frequently coming in. All is going on finely. General Parke's, Wright's, and Ord's lines are extending from the Appomattox to Hatcher's-run. They have all broken through the enemy's intrenched lines, taking some forts, guns, and prisoners. Sheridan, with his own cavalry, the sth Corps, and part of the 2d, is comingin from the west on the enemy's flank, and Wright's force is already tearing up the Southside railroad. " A. LINCOLN. " To E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War." " War Department, Washington, April 2, 11 p.m. " The following telegrams from the President reports the condition of affairs at half-past 4 o'clock this afternoon. --- " EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. " Major-General John A. Dix, New York. 44 City Point, Virginia, April 2, 2 p.m. At 10.45 a.m. Gen. Grant telegraphs as fol lows :—Everything has been carried from the left of the 9th Corps. The 6th Corps alone captured more than 3,000 prisoners. The 2d and 24th Corps captured forts, guns, and prisoners from the enemy, but I cannot tell the numbers. I have not yet heard from Sheridan. His headquarters have been moved up Banks' House, near the Boydton-road, about three miles southward of Petersburg. " 'A. LTNCOLIsT. " Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War.' " ' City Point, Virginia, April 2, 8.30 p.m. " ' At 4.30 p.m. to-day General Grant telegraphs as follows : We are now up, and have a continuous line of troops, and in a few hours will be intrenched from the Appomattox, below Petersburg, to the river above. The whole captures since the army started out will not amount to less than 12,000 men, and probably 50 pieces of artillery. Ido not know the number of men and guns accurately, however. A portion of Foster's division, 24th Corps, made a most gallant charge this afternoon, and captured a v ery important post from the enemy, with its entire garrison. All seems well with us, and everything is quiet just now. " ' A. LINCOLN. " Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War." " War Department, Washington, April 3, 10 a.m. "The following telegram from the President, an nouncing the evacuation of Petersburg, and pro bably of Richmond, has just been received by this department.. 66 EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. "Major-General Dix. " City Point, Virginia, April 3, 8.30 p.m. This morning Lieutenant-General Grant re ports Petersburg evacuated, and he is confident that Richmond also is. He is pushing forward to cut off, if possible, the retreating rebel army. " A. LINCOLN. " To Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War. " W" It Department, W as hi ngton, Apr i l 3, 10 a.m. appears from a despatch of General Weitzel, just received by this department, that our forces under his command are in Richmond, having taken it at 8 15 this morning. " EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. "Major-General Dix." " War Department, Washington, April 3, noon. " The following official confirmation of the cap ture of Richmond, and the announceme n t t h at the city is on fire, has been received. " E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War. "Major-General Dix." " City Point, April 3, 11 a.m. " General Weitzel telegraphs as follows - :--W e took Richmond at 8 15 this morning. I captured many guns. 'The enemy left in great haste. The city is on fire in one place, and we are making every effort to put it out. The people receive us with en thusiastic expressions of joy. General Grant started early this morning with the army towards the Dan ville-road, to cut off Lee's retreating army, if pos sible. President Lincoln has gone to the front. " T. S. BOWERS, A.A.C. " ' To Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War.' " " Washington, April 4, 11 a.m. " The following particulars, dated at City Point, April 4, 8 a.m., give the latest information received from Richmond :—General Weitzel telegraphs from Richmond that of railway stock he foun I there 28 locomotives, 44 passenger and baggage, and 106 freight cars. At half-past 3 o'clock this morning GeneraL,Grant, from Sutherland station, 10 miles from Petersburg, towards Burkeville, telegraphs as follows :---‘ General Sheridan picked up 1,200 prisoners to-day, and from 300 to 500 more have been gathered by our troops. The majority of the arms that were left in the hands of Lee's army are now scattered between Richmond and where his troops now are. The country is also full of strag glers. The line of retreat is now marked with ar tillery, ammunition, burnt or charred waggons, caissons, ambulances, &c.' "E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War. "Major-General Dix, New York." " Washington, April 4, 11 p.m. " The following telegram from Gen. Grant has just reached this department. What hour to-day it left him does not appear, but likely in the afternoon. No details of the casualties have been received, but they are expected to-morrow. The statement of General Custer being killed is not true. He was un harmed late this afternoon. "E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War. '• Major-General Dix. " 6 Wilson Station, Virginia, April 4. " The army is pushing forward in the hope of overtaking and dispersing the remainder of Lee's army. Sheridan - with his cavalry and the sth Corps is between this and the Appomattox. Gen. Meade with the 2d and 6th following. Gen. Ord is follow ing the line of the Southside Railroad. All of the enemy that retain anything like organisation have gone north of the Appomattox, and are apparently heading for Lynchburg. Their losses have been very heavy. Houses through the country are nearly all used as hospitals for wounded men. In every direc tion I hear of rebel soldiers pushing for home, some large, some in small squads, and generally with out arms. The cavalry have pursued so closely that the enemy have been forced to destroy probably the greater part of their transportation, caissons, and munitions of war. Thenumber of prisoners captured yesterday exceeds 2,000. From March 28th to the present time our loss in killed, wounded, and cap tured will not probably reach 7,000, of whom from 1,500 to 2,000 were captured, and many but slightly wounded. I shall continue the pursuit as long as there appears to be any use of it. "U. S. GRANT, Lieut.-General. " Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary at War." . _ The following particulars are gathered from the various newspaper accounts : On Thursday, 30th of March, Sheridan's cavalry was repulsed in several attempts to reach the South side Railway from Dinwiddie Court-house, and was reinforced during the night by the sth corps under Gen. Griffin. On the following morning Sheridan again ordered an advance, which was continued without opposition for some distance until suddenly the left of the sth Corps was attacked furiously by the Confederates under Gen. Pickett and Bushrod Johnson. The Federals were forced back in great confusion, but were finally reformed on the Boyd ton-road by General Sheridan and again advanced, and finally, after a desperate engagement at Five Forks, succeeded in routing the Confederates and reaching the line of the Southside Railroad. During this engagement Sheridan is reported to have cap tured over 4,000 prisoners. Sheridan's success was the signal for a general advance of the whole army. Early on the morning of the Ist inst. the 9th Corps sustained a severe repulse in an attack upon Fort Mahone, but carried the Confederate lines at other points, and finally, after severe fighting, took the fort by assault, and subsepiently repulsed several desperate attempts of the Confederates to re-esta blish their lines at that point. The 6th corps also successfully carried the works at and adjoining Fort Welsh, capturing some 3,000 prisoners. These suc cesses broke the Confederate lines effectually, and a general retreat seems to have followed. The offi cial reports furnished give about the most connected account of the operations on the Ist and 2d instant. From the confused mass of newspaper correspon dence in relation to the four days' fighting, a few intelligible paragraphs might be selected, but these, would be disconnected and confusing. The tota annihilation of Lee's army is announced as a cer tainty by some correspondents, while others state that although losing very severely Lee will, with the aid of reinforcements from Johnston, make a stand with the possibility of checking pursuit. He is said to be retreating to Danville, to Lynchburg, or to Raleigh, and his losses are said to have been in pri soners alone 25,000 men. General A. P. Hill is re ported as killed ; and Lee's loss in killed and wounded is stated at 15,000. The Northern press generally regard the seedy and entire dispersion of the Confederate armies as certain. Great re joicing has occurred throughout the Northern States, business in most cities has been partially suspended, and illuminations and artillery salutes resorted to. Some journals, however, agree that Lee had long ago determined upon the evacuation of Richmond and Petersburg, and that the war may be yet greatly prolonged. Intelligence received from the different northern cities and towns describes the excitement subsequent to the receipt of the news of the capture of Richmond to have hardly ever before been equalled. Public meetings were held, salutes were fired, and most of the places were illuminated in the evening. Business was suspended everywhere." The following account has been received from Washington, of date April 3 :-- "The fall of Richmond and Petersburg became known at a few minutes after 11 o'clock this morn ing. The intelligence soon spread throughout the city, occasioning intense and joyous excitement. Between 11 and 12 o'clock an immense crowd gathered in the park on the north side of the War Department, and there received the first confirma tory intelligence of the victory, which was greeted with deafening cheers. There were loud calls for the Secretary of War, who delivered the following brief address : " ' Friends and fellow-citizens,—ln this great hum of triumph, my heart as well as yours is penetrated with gra titude to Almighty God for his deliverance of the nation. (Tremendous and prolonged cheering.) Our thanks are due to the President—(cheers)--to the armyand navy—(cheers) —to the great commanders by sea and land—(cheers)--to the gallant officers and men who have perilled their lives upon the battle-field, and drenched the soil with their blood. (Cheers.) Henceforth our commiseration and our aid should be given to the wounded, the maimed, and the suffering, who bear the marks of their great suffering in the mighty struggle. Let us humbly offer up our thanks to Divine Providence for His care over us, and beseech Him to guide and govern us in our duties here after, as He has carried us forward to victory, and to help us to secure the foundations of this Republic, soaked as they have been in blood, so that it shall live for ever and ever. (Enthusiastic cheers.) Lot us, also, not forget the labour ing millions in other lands; vhe in this struggle have given us their sympathies, their aid, and their prayers. and let us bid them rejoice with us in their great triumph. Then, having done this, let us trust the future to Him, who will guide us, as heretofore, according to His own good will. (Cheers.)' The Secretary then read the despatch from General Grant announcing the capture, at 8.15 this morning, of Richmond, and that he (Grant) was moving the army up to capture the Danville Rail road and Lee's retreating forces. It was' received with long-continued cheering. A large crowd col lected in front of the State Department, which was profusely decked with flags, and called out Secre tary Seward, who, after the eheers had subsided, spoke as follows : " thank my fellow-citizens for the honour they do me by calling to congratulate me on the fall of Richmond. (Cheers.) I am now about writing my foreign despatches. What shall I tell the Emperor of China ? I shall thank him in your name for never having permitted a piratical flag to enter the harbour of the empire. (Applause.) What shall I say to the Sultan of Turkey ? I shall thank him for always having su►rounded rebel insurgents who have taken refuge in his kingdom. (Cries of ' That's it,' and cheering.) What shall I say to the Emperor of the French ? (A voice—' To get out of Mexico.') I shall say to the Emperor of the French that he can go to-morrow to Richmond and get his tobacco, so long held under blockade there, provided the rebels have not used it up. (Laughter and cheers.) To Lord John Russell I will say that British merchants will find cotton exported from our ports under treaty with the United States cheaper than cotton obtained by running the blockade. As for Earl Russell himself, I need not tell them that this is a war for freedom and national independence, and the rights of human nature, and not a war for empire ; and that if Great Britain should only be just to the United States, Canada will remain undisturbed by us so long as she prefers the authority of the noble Queen to voluntary incorporation with the United States. (Cheers and exclamations of ' That's the talk,' You're right.') What shall I tell the Ring of Prussia ? twill tell him the Germans have been faithful to the standard of the Union, as his excellent Minister, Baron Gerolt, has been constant in his friendship to the United States during his long resi dence in this country. (Cheers.) To the Emperor of Austria I shall say that he has proved himself a very wise man, for he told us in the beginning that he had no sym pathy with rebellion anywhere. (Cheers.) Ido not doubt, follow-citizens, that at least you accede to the theory by which I have governed myself during the war—namely, that the rebellion was to end in 90 days. (Laughter and cheers.) I have thought this the true theory, because I never knew a physician able to restore the patient to health unless he thought he could work a cure under the most favour able circumstances in 90 days. (Renewed laughter.) Finally, if the American people approve, I will say that our motto in peace shall be what our text has been while at war— Every nation is entitled to regulate its own domestic affairs in its own way, and all are bound to conduct themselves so as to promote peace on earth and goodwill to mankind.' " Upon the conclusion of the Secretary's speech the crowd dispersed, cheering vociferously for the President, the Secretary, and the Union. At a subsequent period of the day an assemblage was addressed from the steps of the ladies' entrance to Willard's Hotel by Vice-President Johnson, who was frequently interrupted by cheers. The enthu siasm was particularly great when he said the time the Southern States were talking treason, he told them to their faces in the Senate Chamber that, were he President James Buchanan he would arrest the whole of them, and, obtaining a verdict, he would do as General Jackson would have done, hung them as high as Haman for treason. Major-General Butler, Senator Nye, and others, also gratified the auditory with speeches. General Butler said : "Fellow-citizens,—Nothing could give me greaterplea sure than to meet you at any time. How much more, then, to mingle my congratulations with yours upon the glorious triumph of the American arms ! All honour to the brave soldiers who have purchased by their blood this success to our arms, and assurances of peace. In the hour of triumph let us remember that the deluded masses of the South are and must be a portion of our countrymen and of ourselves. But let us also pledge ourselves that the leaders of the re bellion, who have cost the country:so much blood and trea sure, shall never hereafter have any political privileges or power (the General was here interrupted by loud and long continued cheering) again to tear down the glorious flag which waves over us. (Great cheering.) The God of Jus tice works by certain means, and perhaps there can bo no more suggestive instance of His retribution than that a corps of coloured troops under the gallant Weitzel was the first to plant the flag of freedom over the rebel capital. (Loud cheering.) Let us thank God that we have obtained peace, not by negotiation or compromise with treason, but by the right arms of our soldiers; and that the terms which we shall give will be consonant with the dignity, clemency, and justice of the nation.' (Renewed and long-continued applause.) "At the National Hotel, and in fact at every prominent point in the city, large crowds gathered, and were addressed by eminent gentlemen. An elderly, respectably-dressed coloured man mounted a low window-sill in front of Willard's Hotel, and expressed his gratification of the glorious victory in Ca brief speech, to a throng of good-natured citizens. Salutes were fired in different parts of the city. Such a day of rejoicing was never before known in Washington. Secretary Welles sent telegrams to the California and other navy yards of the United States, ordering a national salute to be fired immediately on receipt of the glorious news of the downfall of Richmond." President Lincoln has addressed the following letter to Governor Fletcher of Missouri : " Executive Mansion, Washington, Feb. 20. " It seems that there is now no organised military force of the enemy in Missouri, and yet that destruc tion of property and life is rampant every where. Is not the cure for this within easy reach of the people themselves ? It cannot but be that every man, not naturally a robber or a cut-throat, would gladly put an end to this state of things. A large ma jority in every locality must feel alike upon this subject, and if so they only need to reach an under standing one with another. Each leaving all others alone solves the problem ; and surely each would do this but for his apprehension that others will not leave him alone. Cannot this mischievous distrust be removed? Let neighbourhood meetings be everywhere called and held, all entertaining a sin cere purpose for mutual security in the future, whatever they may heretofore have thought, said, or done about the war or about anything else. Let all such meet, and waiving all else, pledge each to cease harassing others, and to make common cause against whoever persists in making, aiding, or en couraging further disturbances. The practical means they will best know how to adopt and apply. At such meetings old friendships will cross the memory, and honour and Christian charity will come in to help. " Please consider whether it may not be well to suggest this to the now afflicted people of Missouri. —Yours truly, " A. LiNc oLiv." Secretary Seward issued the following order at Washington yesterday To all whom these presents may concern.—Whereas for' some time past, evil disposed persons have crossed the bor ders of the United States or entered their ports by sea from countries where they are tolerated, and have committed capital felonies against the property and life of American citizens, as well in the cities as in the rural districts of the country. Now, therefore, in the name of and by the autho rity of the President of the United States, I do hereby make known that a reward of $l,OOO will be paid at this department for the captUre of each of such offenders, upon his conviction by a civil or military tribunal, to whomso - ever shall arrest and deliver such offenders into the custody of the civil or military authorities of the United States; and the like reward will be paid upon the same terms for the capture of any such persons so entering the United States whose offences shall be committed subsequently to the publication of this notice. A reward of $5OO will be paid upon conviction for the arrest of such persons who shall have aided and abetted offences of this class above named within the territory of the United States. Gi'ren under my hand and the seal of the Department of State, at Washington, this 4th day of April, 1865. "W. H. SEWARD, Secretary of State." The correspondent of the New York Herald de scribes the dispersion of Lee's army as follows : "At the commencement of General Grant'S operations on this line five days ago the rebels had a force at their com mand defending Petersburg variously estimated at from 60,000 to 75,000 men. The defence of Petersburg was the defence of Richmond—if one fell the other was certain to fall. Hence every available man was brought to confront Grant. Of this boasted army of veteran troops, the last hope of the rebellion, not less than 25,000 have fallen into our hands as prisoners of war. These have been captured on the battle-field as the fruit of severe fighting; 12,500 of them had been delivered at City Foint and dispersed of up to last evening. So rapidly were they received that troop could not be spared to guard them all, and Admiral Porter volunteered the services of his sailors and marines for that duty ; and the gallant tars of the Monitors (the depth of the water not permitting them to get up to Richmond) thus found an opportunity of participating in the great struggle of the war. I have no data on which to base an estimate of the casualties in the rebel ranks, but on every hand they are reported to be very heavy. Ordinarily 33 1-3 per cent. is a fair average of losses in a general engagement of any magnitude. But let it be supposed that, because of the lack of spirit in the rebel ranks, which caused them to shrink from the fight and not stand up so bravely as on former occasions, their losses were small. Make them but 25 per cent. That gives from 15,000 to 18,000 killed and wounded—say 15,000—which, added to the 25,000 cap tured, makes 40,000 more:than half the entire army at the maximum estimate of its strength, or three-fourths at the minimum estimate. These estimates leave from 15,000 to 30,000 of the Petersburg rebel army yet alive and at large. Add to this, say, 10,000 occupying the defences of Rich mond, making from 25,000 to 40,000 the sole survivors of the Grand Army of Northern Virginia. These are divided into not less than four distinct fugitive bands, each seeking safety for itself alone, with no settled purpose or plan of junction, and no rest afforded them by their unrelenting pursuers to form plans. Sheridan's success at the Five Forks on Saturday cut Lee's right wing off ; since which time it has not since been heard of. Doubtless it was understood by them that defeat meant abandonment of the Petersburg and Richmond lines, and rightly considering Sheridan's flank movement a virtual defeat these fellows made off with all haste. Their disappearance has been considered a mys tery up to this time, the rebels themselves supposing them captured entire. The vigorous push by the 9th 6th, and 24th Corps yesterday morning, penetrating and piercing the rebel linos, caused another separation of their forces, cutting off a second large body. Of the flight of these we have some trace. A portion of them started for the Appomattox, and succeeded in crossing that stream by means of a pontoon train at a point some 10 or 15 milesabove Petersburg,while the rest being hard pressed could not get across, and fled up the river on its southern bank. Sheridan is still pur suing and pushing them, capturing more prisoners at every step. A third detachment, consisting of those who held,'or sought to hold, the works immediately in front of -Peters burg, escaped through that city, Tha fourth detachment, those in the defences :of Richmond, are also fugitives, it now being known that the place is evacuated.. Thus we have the grand army reduced by its many battles and cam paigns to but 60,000 or 75,000 men ; this number being re duced in the final struggle to 20,000 or 30,000, or, includ- rHE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, APRIL 17, 1865 ing the Richmond detachment not in- the battle, - ,to from 25,000 to 40,000, and these, again, separated by the chances of battle into four distinct squads, each separately put to flight and being pursued. Thus the rebel army in Northern Virginia is in reality destroyed. The general direction of the flight of each squad is towards the Danville Road. Probably they have a plan of forming a junction at Appo mattox station or Burksville. But the plan will be frus trated. Neither of the fragments will be permitted to halt long enough at any point for another to find it. They are on the run, fairly put to flight, and Sheridan's magnificent cavalry, with the elated victorious army 'of the Potomac, are on their heels picking up additional prisoners by hun dreds and thousands almost at every turn. A more com plete destruction of an army was never known. Even Wa terloo, when the facts are learnt, will be found not to sur pass it. The fugitive character of this once magnificent army is attested by the multitude of :its numbers found in Petersburg hid away in houses, barns, and other places of concealment, anxious to give themselves up as prisoners rather than :stand a long and hopeless pursuit. It is fur ther attested by their leaving behind them their artillery, tents, and all impedimenta, and by the roads lined with their cast-off guns and accoutrements. Good bye to the re bel army of Northern Virginia! It has been a noble army, worthy of a better cause and a more honourable death. "Tare OCCUPATION OP PETERSBITG. "When Ely's brigade entered the city daylight had not yet dawned. Seeing that the rebels would not fight, and that but a scattered few remained in front of them, when the outskirts of the town were reached the firing ceased, and the troops made a dash in and captured the most of the small skirmish line that had been falling back before them. They had then undisputed possession of the city, and at half-past 4 o'clock Col. Ely reported it to Gen. Willcox. At that hour your correspondent rode in. The streets at first seemed deserted, but the cheers of the soldiers as they marched through the town soon brought out swarms of negroes, men, women, and children, who manifested their gladness by every conceivable demonstration. Aprons, handkerchiefs, sheets, tablecloths, were waved by these overjoyed people, either as tokens of amity and submission or in welcome, it was hard to determine which. They bowed and scraped, danced, shouted, and sang hymns, swung their hats and turbans, laughed and cried and acted altogether very much like people crazy with joy. Bross de good Jesus, ' de; Yankees hab co me .' Tank de Lord, you's all here. 'Bress de Lord, we's been looking for ye des many days.' Glad to see you all, we like you a heap better'n we does de rebels.' These and many similar expressions met us on all hands, while the friendly salutations and greetings were so numerous that we wearied of returning them. Your correspondent, being the first mounted man in town, was looked upon as some high military dignity, and received more than his share of these hospitable demonstrations. One old negro woman insisted on kissing my hand, while any number of mothers presented their babies for a distin guished touch. It was somewhat embarrassing, as well as a little annoying, to be compelled to explain at every street corner that l was no very great personage after all. Enter ing at the upper end of the main street of the town, I forced my way along a most beautiful avenue, lined at first with elegant dwellings, and lower down with blocks of stores that would not look mean in Broadway, to the Richmond railroad depot on the river at the lower end of the street. Turning to the right on Water-street, and going on a block, I entered a street leading to the river, across which, at this point, were a waggon and passenger bridge, and the principal railroad bridge. The latter had been thoroughly destroyed. Its abutments had been blown down with powder, and the superstructure burnt. The wooden passenger bridge, known as the Lower Bridge, had evidently been the last used by the rebels, and was but just fired. Presuming upon my recognised authority as an officer of high degree, I sent the negroes off after the engines and very soon had a first-class brigade im provised and at work extinguishing the flames. Trans ferring my :authority to a white man, who represented himself to be a fireman and seemed willing to work, I left the scene to make other observations. Just below this point was another railroad bridge, a temporary affair built by the military authorities for our own accommodation, but as the track across it communicates with all the railroads centring in Petersburg it is an important structure for us. This bridge the rebels had forgotten, or neglected to de stroy. It was just as good as ever it was. Most of the railroad property in the city was destroyed. The depots were not fired, but the rolling stock that could not be got away was burnt. How much destruction this entailed in the limited time allotted me I could not ascertain. From many citizens in the town I learnt that the dense columns of smoke that have hung over the city since yesterday morning were caused by the de struction of tobacco here. It is estimated that 5,000 hogs heads of the weed have been consumed. There are still large quantities remaining uninjured. I was told that there were immense stores of all kinds of provisions for the army in the city. These were stored in buildings in the heart of the city, the destruction of which would have en tailed the .probable total destruction of the town, so that, on the protest of the citizens, they were left unconsumed. I had much curiosity to see the effect of the numerous shell ings to which the town had been subjected, and rode through that portion of the city most exposed. It was cer tainly wonderful that so little damage bad been done. Nearly every other building in some localities had been struck, but with the exception of now and then a chimney knocked down or a hole through the building that a few dollars would repair, the injuries were scarcely perceptible. I found people living in the exposed localities, and was told that they had been thero throughout the siege. But few people either had been killed by the cannon ading in the town. Some sad cases were cited, but they numbered in all less than a score. By 6 o'clock the town was quite awake and alive. Troops were pouring in from all directions, shouting, singing, and cheering, but otherwise preserving the most orderly and commendable bearing. There was no straggling, no pil laging, no destruction of property or intrusion of private residences. Guards were stationed thickly in all direc tions, with imperative orders to keep the soldiers out of all buildings, public or private, and protect all property from destruction. The citizens were showing themselves in large numbers upon the door steps, in the doors, and at the windows of the houses, indicating that but few, if any, had run away, while most of them manifested, in the expression of their faces, a gladness at our arrival. Wherever I con versed with any of them I found the first thought to be for something to eat, They seemed to be starved out. While there was plenty of food for the army it had been carefully hoarded, and the resident population left to shift for themselves as best they could. Doubtless it was on this account, more than any other, that they were so pleased to see us, and so ready to abandon the rebel cause. On the main business streets there was every appearance of thrift. Though the stores were not generally opened at so early an hour in the morning, I noticed here and there, where shutters were down, considerable stocks of goods, while all the business portion of the town had a commercial look. General Lee was in Petersburg up to last night, superintending the with drawal of his troops, but was careful not to say in what direction he was going. When asked by some citizens if they had better go to Richmond, he told them that would do no good,. as Richmond was also being evacuated. Ho acknowledged his inability to hold Virginia any longer, and seemed very much depressed. The funeral of General A. P. Hill, whose death I have mentioned, was attended with military honours just previous to the evacua tion, General Lee and other distinguished officers being present. He was buried in the city cemetery on the day of his death, the circumstances not permitting the retention of his remains longer. All the vessels in the river here, and some on the ways, said to have been intended for gunboats or rams, were destroyed before the evacuation. At a very early hour this morning, just before our troops advanced on the city, we were startled by several distinct explosions, so violent as fairly to shake the ground. These explosions were supposed to bo in Petersburg, but I have just learnt that they were caused by the blowing up of the rebel vessels in the James, below Richmond. Everything, therefore, is destroyed, even to the rebellion. Law Dee. The end is near at hand. lam off for City Point and must close hastily." SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. THE "LONDON REVIEW" ON MB. COBDEN'S FAMILY.—We alluded last week, in paying our tribute of respect to the memory of Mr. Cobden, to the fact of the great Free-trader having, a few years ago, refused the offer of a subscription, to which there can be no doubt a large proportion of the English people would have heartily contributed ; and we added that such a subscription at the pre sent moment would be graceful, and perhaps not ill-timed. Since then, the public have been made aware that Mr. Cobden was unable to leave his family in that position which every admirer of the deceased legislator would wish to see them maintain, and which even his generous enemies would not begrudge. A letter from Mr. Hadfield, the fellow member with Mr. Roebuck in the representation of Sheffield, has been published in a Manchester paper, in which letter it is suggested that no fitter means could be adopted of showing regard for the memory of Mr. Cobden than by presenting his family with a national gift of £lOO,OOO. A widow and five daughters have been left behind, with a portion very inadequate to the demands which must be made on it ; and we cordially second Mr. Hadfield in ex horting England not to leave this work of tender ness and respect to be performed by France or America, but to do it herself. At any rate, let us do it mainly, and in the first instance. If France and America like to join (as we can well under stand they may), so much the better—so much the more complete the te s timony to the man's cosmo politan character. But we must take the lead. This is not a matter in which we can endure to see ourselves tutored in a national duty by those who are beyond our pale. Nor is there any likelihood that we shall require such tuition. We are seldom backward in subscribing to t es timonials ; we have even a weakness that way ; .and it is not to be sup posed that we shall hesitate when so strong a case is presented to our sympathy and veneration. We fully expect, therefore, to see a large in-pouring from all classes as soon as a subscription-list is formally opened. Mr. Hadfield has already promised a very munificent inaugural sum. " My £500," he writes, "will be ready at the nation's call for it." The nation, doubtless, will respond, and at the same time act in a spirit of equal generosity, There are but few sections of society, which are likely to hang back from such a work. The commercial and trading classes owe to the memory of Cobden that which they could not repay in full if they would. The agriculturists have by this time learnt that the man who came of their own order was no malignant enemy of their interests, as at one time many were not ashamed to say, but that he has really done them a service by freeing their enterprise from pri vileges which were but fetters in disguise, and restor ing them to the healthy stimulus of competition. The aristocracy, placed beyond contest and jealous rivalries, can afford to honour a man who made his way from a humble station to the very pinnacle of political fame by dint of genius, of industry, of honesty, and of spotless character. The working man—how much is not due from him to the cham pion of cheap bread, the asserter of all broad and progressive ideas ? And as for the clergy, will not the Bishop of Oxford, who knew Mr. Cobden and who wrote that touching letter which was read at the funeral—will not he speak of a body of men who, by the very nature of their calling as peace makers, are bound (setting aside the merely tem porary questions of politics) to respect and honour Mr. Cobden for believing that the nations of Europe may be brought some day to act in the spirit of the religion they profess, and may beat their swords into ploughshares, and their cannon into church bells ? May we not, then, look for the co-operation of all these classes in doing a work of grace and good- . ness?—that so the dissensions of twenty years ago may be closed in peace and love, and we may know in our own hearts, and show to all the world, that we are not a horde of adverse tribes—commerce against agriculture, and agriculture against com merce—but a well-knit nation, mutually helpful, mutually respectful, honouring worth where we see it, and succouring, where we can, the necessities which self-sacrificing men too often leave behind them. It was, indeed, owing to his spirit of self sacrifice that Alr. Cobden was overtaken by those difficulties which made his life a constant struggle. Thirty years ago he had an excellent business at Manchester as a cotton-print manufacturer—a busi ness which, being managed with the energy and in telligence which he afterwards exhibited on a larger field, brought in a considerable yearly profit to him and his partners. But in 1838 a few far-sighted men began the agitation for the repeal of the Corn Laws, and from that time forward Mr. Cobden threw himself so completely into public life that he was unable to giTe as much attention as he had formerly done to his business in the north. The consequence was that it languished, and at length sank so low as to be seriously involved. Mr. Cobden at one time thought of giving up politics, in order that he might devote himself to the cotton-printing establishment, and retrieve, if possible, its fallen fortunes ; but from this he was happily dissuaded. For some years past, we believe, he was entirely disconnected with business, and lived on his small property at Mid hurst like a country gentleman. But he was much embarrassed, and it now lies with the country to see that his embarrassments shall not descend to those he held dear. The rich, we are persuaded, will be ready with their hundreds ; and all will share in one of those duties which are amongst our highest honours. THE " SATURDAY REVIEW" ON THE LICENSE OF NOVELISTS.—A public man must be prepared to be described, or even satirised, in a novel, just as much as to be criticsied in a newspaper. And the same law which applies to the newspaper will apply to the novel also. The rule should be that nothing should be admitted in either case which passes the bounds of honourable political warfare—nothing which can in any way be construed as arising from personal malignity. As for private matters, we shall pro bably make our meaning better understood by citing examples. Thus, in the novels written by Mr. Frond before he assumed his later and more famous character, there were local and personal descriptions which a large circle of people thoroughly under stood, and which gave great and reasonable offence to many. The private nature of most of them hinders their being quoted, but one will serve as a specimen of what we call unjustifiable license. One of Mr. Froude's characters goes to a college chapel in Oxford mentioned by name, and is there witness to an immoral assignation on the part of a member of the foundation. Now in so large a body as all the residents in. Oxford, or even all the resi dent members of fomadations, it may be presumed that all will not be virtuous men. No one will quarrel with " Tom Brown" because several of his characters are vicious in different ways.. The sin against reality and probability would have been if all had been virtuous. But when it comes to Mr. Froude's incident—to a charge of very aggravated immorality brought against some one of so small a body as the resident members of the foundation of one college—the thing becomes libellous. He is speaking of some one of ten or twenty known men, whose names may be found in the calendar. A scandal is therefore brought upon every one of these ten or twenty men. Every one of them has a right to be indignant on behalf of himself and his friends. The incident is quite possible ; it May be literally true ; but it is a thing which, true or false, no one has a right to put in a book with the name of a particular college attached. We will look next at cases where nothing vicious or libellous is brought in, where the heaviest charge that can be made against the writer will be only bad taste or want of taste. Thus, in Mr. Savage's novel of " Reuben Medlycott," the scene, laid about the time of the Reform Bill, runs backward and forward between Hereford and Chichester, the two cities being men tioned by name. We do not know enough of the society of those cities 35 years back to know whether real people are intended, but:one naturally takes for granted that such is the case. At any rate one fancies an inhabitant of Chichester or Hereford, or the neighbourhood of either, asking, sometimes with no very agreeable feelings, Is it my father or my neighbour's father who is meant to be taken off in this or that Canon or Alderman or M.P. for the borough ? When Mrs. Wood minutely describes Worcester under the name of 'Helstonleigh, or when, in a smaller story which we lately took up, Norwich is in the same way described as Eastminster, hardly anything is gained by so thin a disguise. The only difference is that, as far as people not living at Worcester can judge, Mrs. Wood's stories are not likely to make enemies in the same way as Mr. Savage's very likely may. When we turn to a real master in the art, we find the case utterly different. Barchester is not a mere transparent veil like Helstonleigh or Eastminster. Barchester in Barset shire sounds so natural that we almost begin to look about to see whether there ever were any Barsattas as well as Sumorsmtas and Dorsmtas. But Barches ter is no place in particular. There are elements from Winchester and elements from Wells, but Barchester is neither Winchester nor Wells nor any other one place. Even the constitution of the cathe dral body is, whether by desig n or by a happy acci dent, so described as to be different from that of any actual church ; it is not exactly lik6 either an old or a new foundation. Therefore, though we may suspect, and more than suspect, that particular people are intended by Mr. Trollope's characters, there is nothing locally unpleasant as there is in the other cases. Who was Bishop, or Dean, or Canon, or Mayor, or Alderman, at Hereford or Worcester in a given year is known on the spot, and can, with a little trouble, be found out off the spot. You can put your finger on a definite name and say, there is the man who is mentioned in the novel, or else his official description is very unjustifiably used. But a Bishop of Barchester is an abstraction ; you may shrewdly guess that Bishop Proudie and his wife mean such or such a bishop and his wife, but you can only guess it ; y ou canno t put yaur finger on a particular name in a list of bishopr and feel that you have, or ought to have, caught your man. Of course the passages where Mr. Trollope intro duces public satire, portraits of well-known public men, whether bishops or anything else, come under a different head and must stand or fall by a diffe rent standard. We have been led into this train of thought by the casual sight of a novel, or rather what we believe is called a novelette, which, though in a mild form, carries the faults of art of which we speak further than any other book that we ever saw. The story is laid partly in the writer's own neigh bourhood, partly elsewhere. We have a northern city mentioned by name ; the Bishop of thirty years ago and his daughters, the Dean of thirty years ago and his daughter—why do all our d storytellers harp so on bishops and deans and their families ?—the clergy of the town, and other persons, all come in. Now what is easier than to find out who was Bishop or Dean of any English see thirty years ago? And though the Bishop and Dean are probably them selves dead their daughters are perhaps still living, and they may reasonably complain if among their portraits they find one which is no means amiable. The chief character of the story is then carried into another part of England. which the book itself shows to be the writer's own neighbourhood. Till we reach that neighbourhood all the names of places are real ; but the w r ite r 's county fluctuates between its real name and an imaginary one; one chief town of that county appears by its real name, another by an alias. Now nothing can be worse in point of art than this last inconsistency. If Mrs. Wood moved into the next county to her own, she might perhaps call Glo uces t er S eve rnbridge and Bristol Avonborough, but a railway journey from Glouces ter to Avonborough—possibly, to fall in with the prevailing taste, a Bishop of Gloucester and Avon borough—would be beyond all human endura nc e. In our sto r y th e c ity i s ve il e d by so thin a disgu , se that every reader everywhere must recognise it; the natural features, the villages, and so forth, round about the city are so exactly described that any one in that neighbourhood must recognise them. You have a hill and a village, a parsonage, and a sqiiire's house, all drawn to the life. But then comes the rub ; there are the parsonage and the squire's house, but where area he parson and the squi re ? Th e wr it er is afraid to introduce her own neighbours bodily ; so she peoples her real houses with imaginary inmates, only, with singular poverty of invention, she gives them names, not indeed from the immediate neigh bourhood, but names well known in other parts of the same county. Other names, Christian names and surnames, which to dwellers in the particular neighbourhood cannot help suggesting particular persons, are also brought in freely. A word or two in this matter of names, and we have done. Some names, both Christian and surnames, are public pro perty. It is not personal to write about Tom Brown and Mary Porter. In another way, though it is rather cheap wit, it is at least not personal to call a physician and a surgeon Dr. Fillgrave and Mr. Rerechild. So there are a crowd of Christian names, some so common in real life, some so set apart as it were for story-books, that they may be used in a book under all circumstances. You have a friend named Smith, but you do not scruple to put Mr. Smith in a book, and your friend Smith, if a sensible man, will not be offended. You put in a book the whole conventional flight of Herberts, Ediths, Con stances, and what not, and you need not be sup posed to be satirising the Herbert or Edith next door. If you write in Cornwall and introduce Mr. Twopenny in Northumberland, it may chance that you wound the feelings of a real Northumbrian Twopenny. If so, you are very sorry, but you really cannot help it ; the homicide was purely by misad venture. But if you had a Twopenny living within a mile of you, common decency would hinder you from putting Mr. Twopenny or even Mr. Halfpenny into your book. So the fathers, brothers, or lovers, of a dozen Ediths or Constances must endure to see their pet names in book after book. But if you have a daughter or a sister bearing the name of Quinctilia, you keep a more diligent look-out. If Quinctilia figures as the heroine of a book by some body you never heard of, you think it an odd coin cidence and no more. .But if your near neighbour writes a book, and puts a Quinctilia, and a not very amiable Quinctilia, into his or her book, you na turally draw up a little. Nothing will persuade you that the name was not at least suggested by your own Quinctilia. You naturelly feel that this is something of a liberty, and you are not easily persuaded that it is mere accident—that the writer was not at all thinking of your Quinctilia, that he meant some other Quinctilia a great way off, or that he merely got the name out of the Dictionary of Biography. Such acci dents can be avoided by any one of moderate good taste and moderate artistic power. A name that is likely to suggest a particular person should, unless avowed satire is intended, be rejected. If the real person is unlike the homonym in the story, that is one reason for rejecting it ; if the real person is like the homonym, that is another reason. As with persons, so with places. London is public property; as all sorts of people are to be found there, any body may be introduced as living, or anything as happening, in London. But Hereford, Chichester, and Worcester need rather more delicate care. If one chanced to be grandson of a bishop of one of those cities, it would be unpleasant to take up a book and find that the author had stuck in, per haps purely at random, what might at first sight seem to be a satirical portrait of one's grandmother. THE " SPECTATOR" ON METROPOLITAN ELECTIONS. —The true charge against the London consti tuencies is not exactly that of electing inferior re presentatives. Some of them are bad enough no doubt, but the majority would, if they sat for other boroughs, pass muster very well in the crowd. Three at least of the City members are far above the average, Mr. Craufurd being as able a speci men of the merchant prince as it would be easy to find, Mr. Goschen a man who will be a Cabinet Minister, and Baron Rothschild the fitting repre sentative of the plutocracy whose capital has made the City the pivot of all the world's monetary affairs. Then Finsbury, though it elects Mr. Cox, sends up also Sir Morton Peto, the very type and model of the prosperous Nonconformist, and de cidedly useful besides, and though few men have heard of Mr. C. Salisburyßutler, of the Tower Ham lets, Mr. Ayrton still adds a flavour to the Parlia mentary punch. Southwark sent us Sir William Molesworth, thereby doing more for the colonies than most of the statesmen of England, and now finds a place for Mr. Layard, who, though sadly given to rhodomontade possesses a spe cial knowledge which the House of Commons would regret to miss. Besides it is creditable to any constituency to consider that the discovery of Nineveh bulls is a disqualification for Parliament. Mr. Doulton's election, say for Sheffield, would not excite a remark, and poor Mr. Williams, whom Punch makes such fun of, tried very hard to per form a N ery much-needed function—that of wife to the House of Commons. Westminster has seated one of the very few Radical generals in England, and a Radical general is a most useful person, a type of character which in a House full of -Whip captains and Conservative colonels adds a new ele ment to debate. The metropolitan boroughs, too, are exceedingly faithful to their men, never change them if they can help it, and recognise experience as a qualification more openly than any other elec tors. A county will keep on its member as long as he keeps his property, but a London borough will stick to him, as in Mr. Duncombe's case, long after he has ceased to be able to pay for his own elections. The Tories are very fond of talking about their constancy, but we shall compare with some inte rest the treatment of Mr. Duncombe by his Ra dical followers and of Major W. Beresford by the Church-and-State farmers of Essex under circumstances very nearly identical. The apparent failure of the London boroughs is due, we believe, to the dissonance between their position and what they themselves think that position is. They con sider themselves mere boroughs, with vast local in terests no doubt, but with no special position, while the :world looks to them to be model boroughs, the best instead of the average among constituencies. They have never caught the idea of their true func tion in the Parliamentary scheme, which is to place in the House of Commons the men who ought to be there, but who, precisely representing no constit uency, can never obtain a seat. This function be longs to them not only from the imaginary head ship conferred by locality, but from the fact that alone among English boroughs they can never be represented. They are not entities at all, not even so much so as English cities, the least vital of all municipalities, but are simply districts covered with houses filled with men who know for the most part nothing of each other, care nothing for each other, are totally apart even in their local inte rests. Nobody dreams of saying, " I am a Mary lebonian, or a Finsbury man, or a Southwarker ; ' even a name to express such identities still waits to, be invented, and nobody living in one of these encampments feels any the closer to another man because he lives in the same one. The voters are Englishmen merely, not consciously members of any municipal organisation. England they care about perhaps more than most constituencies, Lon doners of all grades being kee n p o liti c i ans , and very apt to support Government in great acts aboutwhich other cities are more than doubtful, but nobody tries to beautify Finsbury at his own cost, or leaves money to Marylebone, or feels humili a t e d because Lambeth as Lambeth does something silly or mean. There are no means, either, under the present organisation of creating municipal feeling, and the only local pride must arise from sate benefit con ferred by the locality upon the nation. Finsbury cannot make of itself a true city in the sense in which Bristol, or Liverpool, or par excellence Paris is a city, but it can if it likes make of itself an elect ing body of very marked and emphatic value to the Empire. We can hardly imagine a greater addition to the working force of the Constitution than would be added to it were London in the habit of seating eminent men of all kinds who must otherwise be absent from the national deliberations, great jurists, great scholars, great colonists, great Indians, great English Catholics, any one who by general consent can benefit the State, yet has no local connection or power of swallowing shibboleths, or it may be funds to stand the expense attendant on a borough election. This is the idea which Westminster has caught in proposing Mr. John Stuart Mill, and it ought at the next election to be extended over the whole body of metropolitan boroughs. Not that we would ask them for the self-sacrifice involved in any neglect of their local interests, whatever they consider them to be. Let the second member be, if they like, a local notability, a mere business man, a person who can give an opinion on Mr. Thwaites's conduct, or argue for the right of swimming in the Regent's Canal, or fight improvement bills which threaten whole streets of shopkeepers with ruin—it is odd, by the way, how shamefully this class is treated, and how little anybody remonstrates—but a borough does not require both members to do work of this kind. The man who " works" will find his task all the easier and more effective because his col league who " talks" has the ear both of the house and the Government bench. The possibility of achieving some such result is the true and in our eyes almost the only merit of the scheme intro duced by Mr. Hare to the Law Amendment Society on Monday night. He proposes to adapt his scheme, drawn up originally for all England, to the metro politan constituencies, with Surrey and Middlesex thrown in, giving 22 members in all. The whole body of electors wouldvote for all these in the order of their preference, and each candidate who had a twenty-second part of the number of persons actually voting would be declared elected. If, for example, there are 140,000 electors, and 88,000 vote, then every man who obtains 4,000 votes will be one of " the members for -." what are they to be called, Mr. Hare ? It is clear that under such a system a man known to the immense mass of voters for his great services would stand the best chance, local claims being altogether eliminated. That would for a group of boroughs so peculiar as the metropolitan be a great deal, but it is secured by a very cumbrous and, as it seems to us, needleso machinery. We quite agree with Mr Mill that living under the Constitution we do, with its exquisitely balanced forces, it is rather late in the day to talk about simplicity, which we nowhere either seek or obtain, but Englishmen are wise in preferring to build upon their old foundations. Not to mention the absurdity of throwing in Middlesex and Surrey, that is, of destroying two very special and useful constituencies, to increase a mass already enormous. Mr. Hare's plan would throw the election inevitably into the hands of a " caucus." One or two cele brated men would get in—Mr. Mill, for example, would have a chance, and so would Sir John Law rence have had—but for eighteen out of twenty two the voters would trust to the decision of some club or committee wbich told them how to throw their votes to the best effect. The " Liberal list" would be the guide, and the Liberal list would be drawn up by the most astute, most active, and least scrupulous of mankind, clever electioneering agents, whose interest is to put in nominees or political partizans, and not men whom they can neither con trol nor guide. No such man, for example, would nominate Mr. Mill if he thought it safe to avoid it. Besides localism in a constitution like ours is real and sound principle, if only it is not pushed too far, and we do not see why Westminster is to give it up en tirely any morethan any other constituency. Under Mr. Hare's plan the second member would be en tirely eliminated, and the members elected would represent only classes and not places at all. If the same end could be attained without attacking the existing system at its root the gain would be very much greater, and if Londoners will but once recog nise what their function in the Constitution is we do not even yet despair. The boroughs are weary ing evidently of the dictation of cliques, and the pride of seating men who are valued by the whole nation may well compensate oxen greengrocers for the absence of one of their members from the Vestry Hall. THE " EXAMINER" ON THE GERMAN CRISIS.--- The Prussian War Minister, von Roon, declared publicly that it was the intention of the Govern ment to keep and fortify the harbour of Kiel. No sooner did his words reach Vienna by telegraph, than the same quick mode of communication ordered 3,000 Austrian soldiers to proceed from the nor thern fortresses of Bohemia to Altona. Railways enabled this move to be made in a few hours. No language can be plainer than this expression of Aus tria's determination not to allow Prussia to appro priate the Duchies. Nothing, indeed, can be more absurd and more dangerous, or indeed more need less, than the grasping and provocative character of Bismark's policy. There is nothing whatever to pre vent his seizing Kiel and fortifying it in the name of the German Confederation. In the command and in the execution, Prussia would necessarily be the first Power of that Confederation. But this does not satisfy Bismark. The Duchies and Kiel must not only be all German, but all Prussian. And yet Prussia, which is but a second-rate Power, could not hold or defend either Kiel or the Duchies against the hostility of the maritime States. The only chance Or possibility of retaining what has been robbed, is to make all Germany an accomplice after as well as before the fact. As Austria alleges, ILO Power will attack and make an enemy of all Ger many. Prussia, or its Government, thinks in oppo sition to this—it does not speak, the character of the Berlin people being never to speak out—but it thinks that by appropriating Kiel and the Duchies it will have made a step towards treating the other States of Northern Germany in the same fashion. This is a great mistake. If Germany is to be re volutionized, it must be by an appeal to the people, and with their support and adherence. The at tempt to accomplish a Prussian empire over even the north of Germany by military violence can o nly lead to war, in which Prussia will be alone against a combination of States, and without the people to support her. The German will never really be a purely military and anti-parliamentary Govern ment. Austria, therefore, knows her power. An if Prussia persists, the Court of Vienna will push that of Berlin out of. the Confederation, and form new one without it. If, in forming this new Confede ration, Austria intends really liberal reform, whilst the Prussian King and his Parliament are at at loggerheads, Prussia will be sent to Covent* and reduced to an isolation most menacing to so weak a State. We English certainly look with great in difference upon these proceedings. Were we 3 rnalignaht people we should take pleasure in the perils, embarrassments, and oppressions of the Duchies. We take no such pleasure. Our feelings are now of indifference. And yet the state of things in Germany is not calculated to make us contented. As long as the States of that great country Pup amicably together, there is no fear of either French i or Russian aggression. But if the Germans fall out, will enact over again the follies of the thirty years' war, or even of the seven years' ditto, it is impossible but that their powerful neighbour will be tempted to intrude and take advantage of German weakness and division. Napoleon the Third may be a very pacific monarch, but he is not the prince to keep his mouth shut with a ripe pear dangling at his lips. The most impudent thing on record is certainly Prussia's putting in a claim upon the Duchies for herself. Had such a pretension bee" threatened before, neither Austria nor the German States would have aided the Court of Berlin in war for its own private aggrandizement. To thrile,t forward such an undreamt-of claim at the eleventh hour is a mostldangerous attempt to dupe and cheat both Austria and Germany. Both so strongly re sent it, that it will be long ere they can again wilt_ Prussia, or enter into common design or league wit h her. hen that sovereign of Prussia who was con; sidered by some people the most straightforward 0 men, has been induced to take part in some trickeri,, who can trust a Prussian statesman or prince Such is the general feeling of reprobation throughoin' Germany and at Vienna, that the great probability is, as we have hinted, the formation of an universa l anti-Prussian League. Should such a League b° knit, Prussia can in no wise defend herself, exceP t by flinging herself into the arms of France or Russia: and paying for material support by cession of a province. That is what Bismark's policy is leading to. The conquest of Sleswig was a great infringe; ment of the existing balance of power ; but if it lea(' to Prussia's parting either with Konigsberg e r Cologne, how much more will that balance 1 1 damaged and destroyed. Our Government is n°' blind to such untoward prospects. We fear, holy; ever, that its influence in Germany is slight, a3 l ‘' not ikely to be used or wasted in vain efforts. Foreign Mail Packet List. Australia and New Zealand, via Southampton April 1S Ditto, via Marseilles May 13. Brazil and Cape Verde. by British pactet May C Ditto, by French packet Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena April 23 • China, Penang,. and Singapore, via Soul hampton April 18 ' Ditto, via Marseilles April 2 6 . Falkland Islands Gibraltar, via Southampton India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampton..., April 1 8 ' Ditto, via Marseilles " India (Bombay), via Southampton. AprAl 2 8 ' Ditto, via Marseilles April 20 ' Mauritius, via Southampton Ditto, via Marseite 3. May 8 * Newfoundland May . 0 . Portugal •••• - ......May i' Ditto, by private ship to Lisbon United States and British North America, by Bri tish packet • April 3 Ditto, by United States packet, via Southamp tcm Ditto, via Cork Ditto, by Canadian packet, via Londonderry.. April if. West Coast of Africa, Madeira, and Tenerife April 12. West Indies and Pacifio (exceptßaharnas, Cuba, " ~ and Mexico April 1 Bahamas, via New York. April "*.* Bermuda, ditto M a y 10. Cuba and Mexico April 21' Births. GRENFELL.—On the 14th inst., at Beckley, Mrs. Pascoe -- Pre Grenfell, of a daughter. LACY.—On the 12th inst., at Southsea, the wife of Captain Lacy, RN., of a son. WORCESTER.—On the 11th inst., at 20, Brunswick-terra ce ' Brighton, Anna Maria, wife of J. R. Worcester, Veg . ' aged 42. Marriages. GODDARD—BROOK.—On the 15th inst., at St. Mary's, vy" Brompton, Henry Goddard, Esq., of Hollywood LocleD, West Brompton, to Florence, only daughter of the I ,l c f Frederick Beauclerc Brook, Captain S co t s Fusel Guards. SMITH—DENTON.—On the 13th 1118 t, at the Cathe- Manchester, George Sydney, o f Bowden House, LOg)J, tershire, son of the late T. S m ith, E sq ., o f Bl o re P e 1 , , Staffordshire, to Alic e Eli za b e th, secon d d aug hter 0 1 Denton, Esq., Beverley, Yorkshire. Deaths. BUCKLEY.--On the 12th inst., Abel Buckley, Esq., Al ciet° dale Lodge, Ashton-under-Lyne, aged 71. „AO Goom. l --.on the Bth inst., at Barking, Essex, Uenry v"- Gooch, Esq., aged 79. Humpnnpys.—On Good Friday, at 29, Bedford-Pll Bloomsbury-square, late of Giltspur-chambers, Newb' street, William Come Humphreys, Esq., aged 74. PARRY.—At Udny House, Woolwich, Henry Parry aged 47. TnoimoPE.—On the 14th inst., at Florence, Theoclo Sibi wife of Thomas Adolphus Trollope. London : Printed and Published by WILLIAM ANDA. 6 1 /, of No. 112, Strand, Punter, at THE Surf Office, 14° , of Strand, in the Precinct o f th e S avo y, i n th e Ocl/ 0 ' Middlesex.—Monday, April 17, 1865.