The Sun. — London, England, 1866-04-12 00:00:00

The Austro-Prussian Dispute. - - BERLIN, April 9. The following Notes of earlier dates than those re cently published s h o w the grounds of complaint Prussia conceives herself to have against Austria in Holstein, and the line of defence adopted by the latter : COUNT VON BISHARK TO BARON WERTHER. " Berlin, Jan. 26, 1866. " In my despatch of the 20th inst. I have concisely alluded to the state of affairs in Holstein, for ac quaintance with which my other communications have afforded your Excellency ample material ; and I requested you to leave no doubt in Count Mens dorff's mind as to the effect of the eventsin Holstein upon the general character of our relations in Aus tria. Recent intelligence from Altona obliges me to return to this point. It must be admitted even in Vienna that the assembly held at Altona of Schleswig Holstein clubs and brothers-in-arms no longer forms a mere individual link in the chain of apparently in significant occurrences of whichwe have long had to complain, but that it marks a decisive turning-point at which the character the Vienna Cabinet intends to impart to its relations with us must be displayed. " This assembly is indeed an appearance, for the admissibility of which within the scope of Austrian rule in Holstein, we could not be prepared even after former events. A mass demonstration intended to agitate, partly for objects which the Land Go vernment had shortly before declined by the express desire of the Governor, partly expressedly and directly against Prussia—this demonstration, at first pro hibited by the police, then permitted by the Land Government upon an understanding with the com mittee that if only no resolutions were passed the widest scope might be given to speeches of the most exciting character ; and, lastly, the assembly visited by leading Democrats from other German coun tries, exactly* in the same manner as at Frankfort, and for the same object. " The plan of this assembly shows the sense in which the declarations of the Land Government and of the Governor upon the agitation for its convoca tion were accepted and understood by the country, and the permission to hold the meeting unfortu nately proves that this understanding was correct. It seems almost incomprehensible that matters should have arrived at this point when we look back to the days of Gastein and Salzburg. I was able at that time to suppose that his Majesty the Emperor of Austria and his Ministers understood the common enemy of both Powers—the Revolution —as clearly as we did, and we believed ourselves agreed upon the necessity and plan of campaign against that enemy. Stipperted by this conviction, we made the proposal in Vienna of proceedings at Frankfort, to which the Imperial Cabinet assented, but which it soon endeavoured to frustrate, and whose effect, therefore, resulted in nothing. This conduct was well calculated to make us hesitate ; but we were nevertheless able to ascribe this luke warmness and reserve to a certain passiveness and the reaction of former traditions. Although this experience warned us to be cautious in future, we were still able to abstainfrom drawing more alarm ing conclusions. " The present attitude of the Imperial Govern ment in Holstein bears a different character. We are compelled to characterise it plainly as aggressive ; and the Imperial Government does not hesitate to bring us exactly the same means of agitation as it had been willing to combat in union with us at Frankfort. What is the difference between that mass assembly, aided by democratic leaders from Hesse, Frankfort, and Bavaria, and those meetings concerning whose admission Austria herself com plained, with us, at Frankfort ? At most, in the fact that the Imperial Governor possessed more efficient remedies in the Holstein laws than the Frankfort Senate had at command ; that the agitation in Hol stein has a more definite and tangible object, and is even more directly and hostilely employed against Prussia, but just as hostilely against Prussia's and Austria's common right of sovereignty in the Duchies. Nothing but the use intended to be made of the hostile feeling against Prussia called forth by such demonstrations can explain the oversight at Vienna of the fact, that all these attacks upon the right of Prussia affect the rights of his Majesty the Emperor of Austria in an equal degree, and render it possible to understand how the destructive effect can be ignored which is produced throughout the country by the favoured and constituted system of agitation ; how it can be permitted that South Ger man agitators summon Holstein meetings to refuse payment of the taxes. I have already stated to your Excellency upon former occasions, that if this transformation of a people hitherto distinguished for their conservative sentiments into a focus of re volutionary efforts can be quietly surveyed from Vienna, we, upon our part, dare not and are determined not to do so. By the Gastein Conven tion each of the two Duchies is as it were a pledge for the loyalty of the co-possessor. We hope to arrive at a further agreement, and we are entitled to demand that until this agreement is achieved the object itself shall be maintained in statu quo. We cannot and will not permit such deterioration as this agitation effects. The surrender of all authority, the permission of open disregard and con tempt of orders it has itself given, the non-applica tion in principle of existing laws, and the dispute of their validity by the Imperial Government—all these are serious injuries of the moral principle we con sider ourselves in duty bound to uphold in the countries that have passed under our protection by a war waged at heavy sacrifice. " I leave to your Excellency to consider what an impression such proceedings of his ally in war now make in peace upon his Majesty the King our most gracious master; how painful it must be to him to see revolutionary tendencies hostile to every throne developed under the protection of the Austrian double eagle ; and how such impressions must con duce to shak e an d wea k en th e f ee li ngs o f th e coali tion of the two German Powers, so long and willingly cherished by his Majesty. " It is by the King'soox Mot: command that I re quest your Excell ency t this plainly to Count Mensdorff, and to beg him to b r i ng i t to the know ledge of his Imperial master. " The King's Government asks the Imperial Cabinet to put an end in the interest of both parties to the injury suffered by the monarchical principle, the sense of public order, and the union of both powers by the system now practised in Holstein. It believes that it would be easy—if the laws of the country, as to the existence of which no serio us doubt can obtain, were put in practice—to make an end of the disgraceful abuse in the Press and in associations against an ally and co-possessor, and to rende r impossible in future the influence of the so called C ourt of Kiel upon the cou ntr y , which con stitutesa Perpetual protest and attack a g ainst the rights of Austria as well as of ourselves. We de mand no concession no surrender of any A ustrian rights in the Duchies, but only the preserva tion of the common sight_ noth i - owes as much to her ovul)ng but what Austria but what the Imperial°4 ition as to ours ; also nothing Gov ernment is able to carry out at any moment, Nyithi any sacrifice or injury to her interests whatever. Al though this common right may possess but scanty value for Austria, its establishment and execution are Prussia vital elements of the present Governm ent of his Majesty the King, inseparable from its tot a l Policy " A negative or evasive answ er to 0 . wo uld afford us the conviction that the e request ImPerial Govern ment is not inclined to go with us the same course in the long run ; but that tendencies averse to Prussia, a traditional antagonism to Prussia we had hoped overcome, which hav e now chosen the territory of the Duchies as the field e i their activity, are stronger within her than the sen. timent of coalition and of common interests. This would be to the King's Government, but above all to his 'Majesty the King, a painful circumstance we wish and hope to be spared. But to bring clearness into our relations is a prime necessity to us. Should the intimate community of the general policy of the two Powers we have sincerely striven for not be realised, we must gain full liberty for our entire policy, and make of it such use as we may consider compatible with the interests of Prussia. ," I re ques t your E xce ll ency to l eave C oun t Meus uoiB:n no do u bt u p on thi s su bj ect. Th e moment 4, s elious, and recent events,ivhich can no longer be ignored even in Vienna, and whose reception and treatment must throw a decisive light for us upon the attitude and intentions of the Imperial Cabinet, have driven matters too closely to a point to permit of less frank language being well-timed. " Your Excellency is empowered to read the full text of this despatch to the Imperial Minister, and to leave it in his hands, should he wish you to do so, for the purpose of communicating it to his Ma- jesty the Emperor. (Signed) "VON BISMARK." The Austrian reply to this note was as follows : " COUNT MEN SD ORFF TO COUNT KAROLYI. " Vienna, Feb. 7,186 G. " From my various communications, as well as from the interviews recently had with me in Vienna, your Excellency is fully acquainted with the views of the Imperial Court, as to the Gastein convention and to the position of affairs that has resulted from the same. "Mindful of the provisional character of this agreement, we shall assuredly not forget that at Gastein neither was a succession quarrel decided nor a province incorporated with the Austrian monarchy, nor were we endowed with the right of one-sidedly and, without the assent of Prussia, disposing of the political future of the duchy of Holstein. Such a ' right is as little in our power as has Prussia ac quired a right to one-sided disposition of the duchy of Schleswig. The two Powers have not divided between them the substance, but only the tempo rary possession of the acquisitions of the Vienna peace treaty. They have reserved the definitive solution of the question of sovereignty to a future agreement. Your Excellency is aware that the Imperial Court has recognised the binding power of this reserve in its fullest extent. Although it was not claims of Prussia, but rights of the Germanic Diet and of the Duchies that formed the motive of war against Denmark, it yet always appeared to the Emperor, our most gracious master, as suitable to the position of the two German great Powers to at tach the new political formations which must issue from the war to the condition of a free agreement between the Courts of Vienna and Berlin. The Em peror Francis has never misunderstood that such an agreement must afford just satisfaction to the State interests of Prussia. His Majesty's desire to facili tate the final solution by every possible concession is apparent from incontrovertible proofs. Free from all responsibility for the fact that this object is as yet unattained, Austria still answers to the Govern ment of his Majesty the King of Prussia not to permit anything that might prejudice the reserved agreement between the two Powers. The Imperial Government, however, according to the Gastein Convention, is not subject to any control in the provisional administration of Holstein. It is not the sole possessor of the Holstein rights of sove reignty, but the method of its carrying out the same is left to its own free judgment. As every where else, it represents in the North of Ger many strongly conservative interests ; and it is its earnest care that its entire action in Holstein should fulfil the demands of this duty. But its proceedings in Holstein depend solely upon its own initiative, and it regards every individual question which may arise within the scope of its administration of that province as exclusively pending between itself and its governor, but withdrawn from every other in fluence. It concedes the same independence to the Prussian Government in Schleswig. " This view of the position is based on the plain text of the Gastein Convention. It is just towards Prussia as towards ourselves. It corresponds with the sentiment of our dignity, and is required by necessary care for our interests. The Berlin Cabinet to which we have repeatedly represented all these things, could therefore hardly have drawn up the despatch, of which a copy is annexed, in the expec- tation that we should deviate from the line of con duct so expressly and plainly marked out for us. "I, who have the honour to write these lines, maintain too willingly confidential personal inter- course with Baron Werther to hesitate in discussing with him every event of the day. Count Mensdorff is undoubtedly able to inform Baron Werther what the Emperor's Government thinks as to the permis sion to hold that Altona meeting to which too great an importance appears to be attached in Berlin. But the Emperor's minister must decisively reject the claim of the Prussian ambassador to receive satisfaction as to an act of the administration of Holstein, and in saying this I only follow the orders of my imperial master, to whom I considered it my duty to submit Count Bismark's despatch. "By the treaty of Gastein, observes the Cabinet of Berlin, each of the two Duchies is, as it were, a pledge of :the loyalty of one of the co-possessors. Each of them possesses the right of demanding that until the occurrence of the future understanding its object shall be maintained in statu quo. That is in reality the case. But this right evidently refers to the undiminished preservation of the substance. Were its meaning that of control of individual acts of administration, the undivided community of go vernment which existed prior to the Gastein Con vention might just as well have been retained. And if the complaint against us is, that by our luke warmness and passiveness the monarchical principle in Holstein has been injured, the conservative feel ing that distinguished the Schleswig-Holstein people has been changed, and the object of the future un derstanding has been deteriorated, the conscience of collective Europe will join us in repudiating this change ; for collective Europe knows that the efforts now prevalent in Holstein are the same which existed at the time of the Gastein Convention and long before that period, and from which the resist ance of the Duchies against Denmark derived its strength. " We are further accused of having permitted the same excesses to be committed against Prussia at Altona which we condemned at Frankfort in com mon with Prussia. How has the Prussian Cabinet been able to avoid perceiving the evident reply, that it was precisely Prussia who refused to propose the prohibition of such meetings as have taken place at Altona throughout the entire Federal territory ? Had the matter been already settled by the Diet there would have been no lack of positive law in llolstein, and the King's Government would not have been reduced to the necessity of demanding from us the re-introduction of those Danish decrees of whose pressure the Duchies generally loudly complained, and which we no longer found in prac tical operation when we undertook the administra tion of Holstein. " The Emperor, our most gracious master, deplores this entire discussion. It will be difficult for his Majesty to believe that King William will estimate the value the Emperor attaches to his relations to Prussia by Austria's consent or non -consent in the desire to annex the Duchies to Prussia. A claim so one-sided is no doubt far from the intentions of the King. Nevertheless the King's Government speaks to us as if our natural refusal to allow this annexation to be completed could not be explained otherwise than as the return to a policy of destruc tive jealousy and rivalry. Nay, it speaks as if it had been abandoned by Austria in the conflict against the common enemy, the revolution, and thereby been checked in carrying out its wish to go with us permanently on the same road. Let the King's Government cast an unprejudiced glance at recent events. If it surveys the conditions of Ger many, n e e a m i o a v , e w d e from have wi a s n h y in , it gto pe f r o c r e m i veascotahleitfiaocntatghaaittisftaPr ; decidedly subordinated our relation s to the and, e i m nd id ee dl d e States to the:alliance with Prussia,, have seriously d amag ed them, as is provedbeyltthae retribution they have taken of recognising th - lian kingdom. If the King's Government looks at thcrelati i o n an nsb y etwoen European Cabinets , it will be forc e d to acknowledge' that we have never endea vouredq uarter to work upon Prussia by pressur e f rom with out • and even the labours of our Ambassad or at Paris —so directed roundly solely abusedt owards i n t he Berlin ob been — have alway s- ject of s t re ngthening Thena. a a lbi l e e l ye e f ob fe f reonm action e t gulog SF regulated by e-hHigohlsetset interests inquestioonf. etdrbencein her policy of hold- Emperor, which has in peace and order in Ausytria, .as in: G ermany an d Europe, could not therefore have led the King of cCourt Prussia astray; and I mus t reject with firm con victione the reproach mad e t o the Imperial that its sentiments and act s constitute the ground why the intimate community of en re r po icy o f the THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, APRIL 12, 1866 two Powers, stated by Count von Bismark at the end of his despatch to have been sincerely striven after by Prussia, has been unable to be realised. ," This protest is the sole object of my remarks, and I should sin against the lofty sentiments of the Emperor if I allowed myself to be led astray by many recent and present manifestations to contrast the conduct of the Berlin Court with ours. " Your Excellency is requested to bring this de spatch to the knowledge of the Minister President. Should Count von Bismark wish to submit our reply to his illustrious Sovereign, you are em powered to leave him a copy.—Receive, &c., (Signed) " MENSDORFF." SPORTING INTELLIGENCE. CHELMSFORD SPRING MEETING.—WEDNESDAY. The Boroham Plate of 50 sovs for 2-yr-olds ; colts, Bst 101 b ; fillies, Bst 71b ; with penalties and allowances. Five furlongs. Mr. W. M. Lambourn's Court Card, Bst 21b...(E. Sharp) 1 Mr. Dunbar's La Sarrentina, Bst 21b (J. Mann) 2 Mr. Maund's Maesgwatha, Bst 21b (Payne) 3 Betting-3 to lon Court Card ; bad third. The Essex Stakes Handicap of 5 sovs each, 5 ft, and 2 only if declared, with 60 added. About 7 furlongs. (18 subs, two of whom paid 5 sovs, and 11 2 sovs forfeit.) Mr. Hodgman's Confederate, 5 yrs, Bst (lleartfield) 1 Lord Vivian's Sharper, 3 yrs, sst !21b (Kenyon) 2 Mr. C. M. Bond's Musketeer, 4 yrs, 7st 41b...(H. Covey) 3 Betting-6 to 4on Confederate, 7to 4 agst Sharper, and 100 to 8 agst Musketeer. The Springfield Selling Stakes of 5 sovs each, with 30 added, for 2-yr-olds and upwards ; weight for age ; the winner to be sold for 200 sovs. Three quarters of a mile. 9 subs. yr. T. Stevens's Laura, 2 yrs , sst 71b (.£5O) (Keny on ) 1 I r . H. Wright's Usher, 5 yrs, Bst 81b (C5O) (Jas. Nightingall) 2 Mr. Hodgman's Vesper's dam g, 2 yrs, sst 71b (X5O) (Quince) 3 Betting opened at 5 to 4 on Laura, but closed at 6 to 5 on Usher, and 5 to 4 agst Laura. The Fairlands Handicap of 10 sovs each, 3ft, for all ages ; the winner to be sold for 200 sovs. Three-quarters of a. mile. (9 subs.) Mr. John Dawson's Rappel de Minuit, 3 yrs, sst 121 b (Kenyon) w.o. The Stand Plate Handicap of 50 sous, for all ages. Half a mile. Mr. Hodgman's Venturesome, 3 yrs, Bst 41b (Parry) 1 Captain Gray's Warwick, 3 yrs, 7s 31b (11. Covey) 2 Mr. Fleming's Gold Pen, 3 yrs, 6st 131 b (G. Topp) 3 The following also ran :—Chip of the Old Block, Maid of 'Usk, Lydia, and Adamanthea. Betting-5 to 2 each agst Adamanthea and Venturesome, 7 to 1 each agst Lydia and Warwick, and 8 to 1 agst Chip of the Old Block. The Boding Staked did not produce a race. BETTING ON THE COURSE. CITY AND SUBURBAN. 2to 1 agst Delight (offered) 6to 1 agst Vandervelde (taken) 7to 1 agst Mephistopheles (taken) • 100 to 6 agst Brahma (taken) 300 to 100 on Delight agst Vandervelde, Ist, 2d, 3d (t) THIRSK SPRING MEETING,-WEDNESDAY. The Falcon Plate (Handicap) of 50 sovs Three-quarters of a mile. Mr. Calder's The Count, 5 yrs, 7st 131 b, inc 61b ex (Carroll) 1 Mr. Fob?rt's Vagrant, 3 yrs, 7st 81b, Inc 101 b ex (Bates) 2 Mr. Jackson's Miss Williams, 3 yrs, 7st 61b...(Cameron) 3 Archery and Belmont also ran. Betting-7 to 4 agst Vagrant, sto 2 each agst Miss Williams and The Count. Won by two lengths ; a head between sceond and third ; a bad fourth. Match, £5O. Two miles. Mr. H. T. C. Vyney's Miss Taft, aged, list 7lb (Mr. G. S, Thompson) 1 Hon. W. E. Duncombe's Canada, list 71b...(J. Osborne) 2 Betting-6 to 4on Miss Taft, who won by 12 lengths. The Silyer Cup of 50 sovs ; weight for age ; gentlemen riders. One mile and three-quarters. Mr. Herod's Miss Menken, 5 yrs, list 101 b (Mr. T. Spence) 1 Mr. T. Surtees' Cragsman, aged, 13st 51b ...(Major Bell) 2 Mr. Thompson's Bandana, 5 yrs, list 101 b (Owner) 3 The following also ran :—Prince, Extra Number, Full Sail, Bounty, Jenny Wheatlands, g by Eclipse, Governor, Highflyer, My Friend, Volunteer, and Diana. Betting-4 to 1 agst Bandana, sto 1 agst Highflyer, 4to 1 each agst Extra Number and Full Sail, 7 to 1 agst My Friend, 8 to 1 agst Cragsman, 10 to 1 agst Miss Menken. Won by half a length ; three lengths between second and third ; a bad fourth. The Scurry Handicap of 3 sovs each, with 20 added; for all ages. Four furlongs 130 yards. _. _ Mr. Peck, jun.'s, Bonaparte, 4 yrs, Bst 41b (Carroll) 1 Mr. Arthur's Poetess, 5 yrs, Bst 101 b ...(Mr. Thompson) 2 Mr. Masterman's Honest Tom, aged, 7st 121 b (Dunbar) 3 Balsam and Nolly Grey also ran. Betting-5 to 4on Bonaparte, 3to 1 agst Balsam, sto 1 agst any other. The winner was bought in for 48 gs. The Thirsk Handicap of 5 soya each, with 100 added ; cer tain winners extra. About one mile and six furlongs. Mr. Osborne's Miss Haworth, 3 yrs, Est 81b (inc. 51b ex.) (Challoner) 1 Mr. Jackson's Harry Brailsford, 4 yre, 7st 71b...(Morris) 2 Mr. Singleton's Fitzroy, 3 yrs, Est 21b (Westby) 3 The following also ran :—Honesty, Iconoclast, Red Earl, Empress of India, Sayernake, Bachelor, and Nizam. Betting-2 to 1 agst Harry Brailsford, sto 2 agst Miss Haworth, 6 to 1 each apt Empress of India and Honesty, 7 to 1 agst Fitzroy, 10 to 1 agst Iconoclast and Nizam. Won by a head ; a length between second and third ; two lengths between third and fourth. GRAND NATIONAL HUNT AND WEST SOMER SET STEEPLECHASES, CREWKERNE.—WED KESDAY. The West Somerset Open Handicap of £2OO, added to a Sweepstakes of £lO each; 5 ft; winners extra. The second horse to save his stake. About 4 miles. 28 subs. Mr. Halford's Old Oswestry, 6 yrs, list 71b (B. Land) 1 Mr. Powell's Daisy, aged, lOst 111 b (J. Pope) 2 Mr. A. Yates's Bristles, 5 yrs, lOst 111 b (Owner) 3 The following also ran :—Salamander, Hornet, Pixie, and King of Hearts. Betting-7 to 4on Salamander, 100 to 30 agst Old Os westry, 6 to 1 each agst King of Hearts and Daisy, and 10 to 1 bar 4 offered. The Woddon Stakes of 3 goys each, with 30 added; weight for age, with selling allowances ; the second to save his stake. About three miles. 5 subs. Capt. Hunt's Iloumaza, aged, 11st 131 b ... (Mr. Thomas) 1 Mr. Daniel's Beverley, aged, list 131 b (Mr. Drax) 2 The Abbott also ran. Betting-2 to lon Beverley. Tho Crewkerne Stakes, value £l5O (subscribed in Craw kerne), for maiden hunters, .tc.; weight for age ; gen tlemen riders. About 3 miles. The winner to receive £lOO, the second £3O, and the third £2O. Mr. Barnes's Nimrod, aged, 12st 101 b (Mr. Thomas) 1 Mr. W. Hole's Kronberg, 4 yrs, lOst 101 b (Owner) 2 Mr. Bartlett's Lady Dawson, 5 yrs, 12st (Mr. Harroway) 3 The following also ran :—South Stoneham, Lady Wal ters, Honest Bob, Peter, Skirmisher, and Langholm. Betting-3 to 1 agst Nimrod, and 6to 1 each agst Skir misher, and Langholm. Betting-3 to 1 agst Nimrod, and 6to 1 each agst Skir misher and South Stoneham. The Yeovil Stakes (Selling Handicap Plate) of 50 sovs. About 21 miles. The winner to be sold for £5O. 7 subs. Mr. Yeersley's Atlanta, aged, lOst 121 b (J. Knott) 1 Mr. Gibbon's Lottery, aged, list 71b (A. Sadler) 2 The following also ran :—Eheu and Beeswing. Betting—Even on Eheu. Handicap Plate of 50 sovs, for beaten horses. 21 miles. Mr. Smith's Peter, aged, 12st Coleman and Honest Bob also ran. Betting—Even on Peter. LATEST BETTING ON THE COURSE. CITY AND SUBURBAN. 5 to 2 agst Delight (taken) 6to 1 agst Vandervolde:(taken) DERBY. 40 to 1 agst Vespasian (taken) NEW PIXTIMES. — The following dates have been fixed : —Bromley Flat Races and Steeplechases, October 4 and 5 ; Harrow Flat Races and Steeplechases, October 16 and 17 ; Brook Hill (Barnet) Steeplechases, October 18 and 19 ; Chertsey Steeplechases, November 22 and 23 ; Croydon Steeplechases, November 27 and 28 ; Reading Steeple chases, December 4 and 5. We have to announce the death of Mr. R. A. Brooman, well known in turf circles. Deceased retired from connec tion with racing after Blair Athol won the Derby, in con sequence of having lauded a large sum of money over that horse and never having been paid. Mr. Brooman, who was much respected, was in the 43d year of his age, and died on Thursday last. A NEW LIGHT-IVEIGIIT.—We are informed that there is resident at Aldershot a little fellow who weighs but 2st 81b, a son of John Watson, formerly in John Scott's employ. The boy is an animated " guide to the turf," and can re count the winners of the big events for many years past. Little Watson wants employment, and in the present dearth of light-weights he is worth looking after. BETTING IN FARRMMON-STREET.— On Monday, at Guildhall, George Groome, John Poole, Edward Ray, Joseph Cathro, Joseph Scott, Matthew Frost, John Kay, and Thomas Webber appeared before Alderman Dakin, in answer to a summons charging them with causing an ob struction in Farringdon-street. Summonses had also been served on several other persons, but they did not appear. Mr. Poland, instructed by the City Solicitor, attended to prosecute ; Mr. T. Beard appeared for Groome, Poole, Ray, Cathro and Scott. It was attempted to be proved that the defendants were committing a nuisance, inasmuch as that they created an obstruction from time to time. But whether the charge was proved or not, the luckless book makers of the seedy order were bound over in their own recognisances to appear on Saturday next, by which time it was expected the other defendants would be got at and compelled to come before the City judgment-seat on the same day. What a fuss these Farringdon-street hucksters and City aldermen are creating about trifles ! It was reported yesterday at Chelmsford that The Buck fell lame after pulling up from a gallop on Monday morning, and that there is no likelihood of his starting for the City and Suburban. Quince, the light-weight, who rode his first for Mr. Hodgman in the Craven Meeting, is a son of " Old Sam," of Newmarket. The boy is very promising indeed, with good seat, hands, and judgment. He can ride sst 71b quite comfortably. Rococo, who has been frequently inquired after and nibbled at for the Chester Cup, at long prices, was beaten so signally in the Hambleton Plate at Thirsk, yesterday, that his chance over the Roodee must be hopeless. Mr. Frederick Martin wishes us to contradict a report which was circulated last week to the effect that ho bad taken stables at Epsom for the purpose of training horses, and to state that such a rumour is devoid of any founda tion. Ilambledon Hunt Meeting will take place on Saturday, April 21, and not on the 11th. In consequence of a requisition to Lord Ailesbury, the Master of the Horse, the distance of the Queen's Plate at Newcastle has been altered from three to two miles. Mr. Grant, the well-known steeplechase rider, has pur chased White Stockings, and the mare will henceforward be trained at Waddon, near Croydon. Tom Donaldson, the light weight, is engaged by Mr. George Holmes, of Beverley, to go out to Bombay, to ride for Mr. Fane, and he proceeds to India on the 20th inst. Mr. J. Dallyhas collected .£2O for Mr. C. Searle, of Epsom, who, we are sorry to learn, is very ill. AQUATICS. THAMES ROWING CLUB. On Saturday last, the members of this club met at Put ney to commence their season, and, being in pretty good force, formed themselves into the following crews—two eights, two fours, six pairs, and ono or two scullers. Hav ing paddled up to Barnes, they returned to the boat-house in procession, and afterwards adjourned to their club-room at the Red Lion, where, having paid due attention to the wants of the inner man, the election of thirty new mem bers and the proposal of a. few others was proceeded with. The captain took the opportunity of making a few sug gestions as to the practising of the crews, and other mat ters, and expressed himself highly pleased at the prospects of the club for the ensuing season, and he hoped both old and new members would attend on . the practice nights, at Putney, on Wednesday in each week. The first pair-oared race takes place on April 28. The entries close next Satur day, April 14, and a meeting will be held at the Red Lion, Putney, at eight o'clock, for the purpose of drawing crews. LEANDER BOAT CLUB. OPENING DAY.-It is satisfactory to notice that, whilst during the last few years a number of new clubs have sprung up, who go on and prosper, increasing year by year in strength and rowing power, old clubs, such as the Lean der and Hex, still hold their own among their more youth ful rivals. The Leander, in especial, has during the last year or two exhibited the vigour of youth in a marked de gree, and has risen, phoenix-like, from the ashes of its former splendour; and under the fostering care of Mr. H. P. Smith, wbo has acted most indefatigably as their hono rary secretary, the ," Old Brilliants" give us hopes of a return to their old form. Mr. Smith has, we understand, now resigned his arduous duties ; but a well-qualified suc cessor will no doubt be forthccming. The Leanders were the heroes of the day at Putney yes terday, when they opened their season. Two eights and other lesser crews were named, but, owing to the tidebeing unfavourable, and the great dulness of the weather, the muster at the boat-house was scarcely as large as it would have been under more favourable circumstances. . _ In the evening the members dined together at the Star and Garter, and, after discussing the good things set be fore them, the evening was passed in the usual agreeable manner. KELLEY AND HAMILL. The New Yorh Clipper writes as follows :—" Since the proposition originally made by the champion sculler of America (James Hamill) ;to Harry Kelley, who holds the same honourable position in Great Britain, and Kelley's response thereto, we have looked upon a meeting between them as almost a certainty, as both men appeared to be in earnest, notwithstanding that the merest shadow of a doubt loomed up in consequence of the somewhat irregular made of making the match, it having been arranged almost ex clusively through the Clipper and Sportsman newspapers, no letters or communications by ministers plenipotentiary having passed between them. However, all's well that ends well,' and we are rejoiced to be able to say that Harry Kelley has declared his intentions in the most manly manner possible, exhibiting generosity and a de sire for dealing openly and above-board (and avoiding unsportsmanlike quibbles), truly refreshing in these days of sharp practice in match-making. That he will be met in a like spirit by our champion, who of all men ob jects to dodges,' WO are positive, and the match, or matches, with the aspect they now wear, may be looked upon as a foregone conclusion. Read what Kelley says in his letter of March 16." On that letter the editor of the Clipper comments as follows :—" As before said, the above dec!aration of intention is manly, and may be pointed at with pride by Kelley and his friends, no matter how the race or races may result. It indicates that the proposed contests will be carried out in the most ami cable manner, as all sporting events should be, and we prophesy that, whoaver may be conqueror, a strong per sonal friendship will have been consummated between the contestants. The details of the proceedings in regard to the proposed meeting, and all that is iateresting in refe rence thereto, will be given in the Clipper, and it is our purpose to despatch an aide-de-camp to the scene of action, in order that the Clipper readers may be truthfully advised in all things concerning it. The above card will induce haste in the Pittsburgh camp, and we shall soon be able to announce, no doubt, that Hamill and his friends have taken passage for England. By this time the articles of agree ment sent over by Hamill for Kelly's inspection have no doubt been received by the latter, and in all probability his signature thereto has been affixed." We trust ere long to have to announce the arrival of Uncle Sam's representa tive, to whom, on behalf of the sporting world of England, we may guarantee a hearty welcome. CRICKE TING. SURREY WANDERERS CLUB.—The members of this club will meet for practice on Saturday, the 14th inst., at three o'clock, at the private ground, the Greyhound, Dulwich. This will be the opening day of their first season, and sides will be chosen by the president (Mr. H. G. Haynes) and the vice-president (Mr. P. Baker). Middlesex Club v. Metropolitan (Middlesex) Clubs. — Gentlemen desirous of playing on the Metropolitan side in this match on May 14 and 15, aro requested to apply early to either of the honorary secretaries—V. E. Walker, Esq., or C. Hillyard, Esq., County Ground, Islington, N. The Kennington Club wish for a young club to amalga mate with them on friendly terms. Their practice-ground is the best position on the County Ground, Oval, Kenning ton. Address, G. Davies, honorary secretary. BATTERSEA STANDARD CLUB.—The committee will be happy to arrange a home-and-home match with any amateur club within a reasonable distance, and a day's match on Whit-Monday. All letters to be addressed to the honorary secretary, Mr. Thos. Neal, Royal Standard, York-road, Battersea. BERMONDSEY PRIORY CLUB.—The first annual meeting of the members of this club was held on the 31st ult., at the Horns, Bermondsey-square. The club funds were an nounced to be in a flourishing condition, and the secretary will be happy to arrange matches with clubs of a similar standing. Address Mr. F. Greener, secretary, at Messrs. Hepburn and Sons, Long-lane, Bermondsey, S.E. ESHER CLUB.—Matches at present arranged :—May 26, at Esher, v. Incogniti ; 28, 29, at Southampton, v. South Hants. June 6, at Hampton Wick, v. Hampton Wick. July 7, at Esher, v. Uppingham Rovers ; 12, 13, at Esher, v. South Hants ; 20, at Crystal Palace, v. Incogniti ; 26, at Wimbledon, v. Wimbledon. August 2, at Esher, v. Banstead ; 20, at Ether, v. Wimbledon ; 22, at Esher, v. Hampton Wick ; at Banstead, v. Banstead. The professional bowlers are now fast getting into har ness for the season. Last week Willsher and Griffith cora_ menced at Marlborough, and Sewell at Rossall, for the month. This week Grundy and Tinley commence at Eton ; James Lillywhite, jun., at Cheltenham ; Roger Iddison, at Uppingham ; Hewitt, Hall, and Bignall go to Cambridge ; and doubtless there will be as usual quite a little army of professionals pounding away at Oxford. ADYERTIBEMENT.} -Avoid medicines: they always aggra vate chronic complaints, but Du Barry's Delicious Health - Restoring Rcvalenta Arabica Food, which yields three times the nourishment of the b3st meat, saves fifty times its cost in other remedies, and invariably restores perfect digestion. strong nerves, sound lungs, healthy liver, pure blood, re freshing sleep, functional regularity, and energy to the most disordered or enfeebled. We extract a few out of 60,000 Cures :—Cure No. 58,216, of the Marchioness de Brehan, of seven years' liver complaint, wasting away, debility, nervousness, with a nervous palpitation all over, bad diges tion, constant sleeplessness, and the most intolerable nervoui agitation.—Cure No. 1.771. Lord Stuart de Decies. Lord Lieutenant of Waterford. of many years' dyspepsia.—No. 19,832. "Fifty years' indescribable agony from dyspepsia, nervousness, asthma, cough, constipation, fiatulen 7, spasms, sickness, and vomiting.—Maria Jolly."—Cute No. 46,270. Mr. James Roberts, of Frualey, Surrey, of thirty years' diseased lungi, spitting of blood, liver derange ment, and partial deafness.—Cure No. 47,121. Miss Elizabeth Jacobs, of extreme nervousness, indigestion, gatherings, lom spirits, and nervous fancies.--Cure No. 54,516. The Rev. Jas T. Campbell, Fakenham, Norfolk, "ot indigestion and torpl dity of the liver, which had resiste 1 all medical treatment.' In tins, 11b, 2s 9d ; 21b, 4s 61 ; 51b, lls ; 121 b, 228 ; 241 b, 10s.—Barry Du Barry and Co., No. 77, Regent-street, London ; also Phillips, tea d?alers, 8, King William-street ; likewiee at 61, Gracechurch-street ; 4, Cheapside ; 49, Bishopsgate street Within ; 63, 150, and 298, Oxford-street ; 330, Strand ; 54, Upper Baker-street ; 10 3, Tottenham-court-road ; 96, Uppes-street, Islington, N.; Harvey, Notting-hill; Close Brothers, 65, High-street; and Stubbs, Queen's -terrace, St. John's-wood, London; and all respectable grocers and else mists.—Beware of spurious imitations. On Bowling and Fielding. The division of bowling into round-hand and underhand as genera, and fast, slow, and medium pace as species, is more true as a matter of history than of fact. Underhand bowling is almost extinct. Mr. Drake among amateurs, and Tinley among pro fessionals are unique ; but there is literally on one to hand down the traditions of that old fast underhand bowling, which, I think, might be reproduced with advantage The things called " lobs " are not de serving of the slightest notice, and thus my remarks may be restricted to round-hand bowling. And here again is another limitation ; for fast bowling of this kind also is rapidly dying out, Tarrant still keeps up his wonderful speed, and, when the ground favours him, manages to combine with it a destruc tive " break ;" but Jackson, Griffith, and Willsher have all moderated their pace, and the younger school, A. Shaw, James Lillywhite, and the like have never attempted pace at all. The reason for this change is that experience and observation have taught people that pace is of very little importance compared with pitch and precision—that pace very frequently militates against the attainment of pitch and precision—and that fast bowling is, as a general rule, much easier to play than slow, and much more productive of runs. If these undoubted truths apply to professionals, much more will they hold good for amateurs; and no one can deny that of all bad ama teur bowlers (whose name is legion), the fastest are the worst. I will accordingly confine my observa tions to medium-pace and slow round-hand bowl ing, which alone, in present circumstances, are worthy of study. The former of these two styles is shown in perfection by James Lillywhite. I can- not conceive a more excellent model for any one who aspires to be a bowler. His ease of action and delivery which enables him to bowl as well at the end of a long day as at the beginning ; his wonder ful accuracy, and his power of deceiving the bats man by raising or lowering his arm, and appearing to vary the length of the ball, while all the time a uniform pitch is maintained, and the only thing that varies is the curve described before the ball pitches, —these are some of the qualities that make his bowling second to none at the present day. A. Shaw also is another well worth imitating ; and, in general, take for your model a bowler who has no marked peculiarities, and no singularity of action and delivery, however much his own success may be ncreased thereby. Grundy and Wooton are in the very first class of bowlers ; but it would be ridicu lous to imitate either Grundy's low delivery, or Wooton's wrist work. Peculiarities of delivery very often puzzle the batsman, but they cannot be Wight. Every bowler must invent his own for himself. Mr. W. S. Norton, a very successful amateur bowler, owes a great deal of his success to his remarkable delivery. You never know when the ball is coming. His fingers, wrist, elbow, and arm twist and twirl about so that your eyes are quite dazzled. Last of all comes the ball, which you fail to see. The worst of this sort of style, however, is that it is difficult to keep up. It is all extra exertion to the bowler, and he tires under it ; whereas Mr. R. D. Walker, with his easy unfatiguing action, goes on, and goes on, and will not be denied. It is the greatest fallacy to imagine that straight bowling is the best. A good bowler is one who has such command over the ball that he can pitch it where he likes, to the leg, to off, or quite straight. To a great hitter, bowl straight. The consciousness of his powers will now and then make him forget the duty of defence. To a man with a strong defence and straight bat bowl off the wicket, first to one side then to the other. Find out on which side he hits most weakly. A sticker very seldom hits to more than one or two places. I have seen nearly the whole field moved over to the on-side and dispersed between short-leg and mid-on for a first-rate defensive bat whose weak point was there. The bowler had confidence in his command over the ball, and secured his man in a short time. This is the skill and science of cricket, as of every other encounter requiring the exercise of judgment —to take advantage of an adversary's weakness. Bowling down a good man's middle stump (after he has made 50 perhaps) is mere brute force and very often mere luck. But with proper judgment, and sufficient ability to act thereon, I believe that very few innings v ould exceed 20, and the balance of the game would be much more equally maintained. I assume, of course, that fair chances are taken ; and I may say, by the way, that I incline to the opinion that after three palpable chances a man should be " out." To return to bowling. When a man bends his legs much in playing forward, bowl at them continually. You will be sure to get a cannon off them before long. Observe him who repeatedly - steps out of his ground ; and bowl for the wicket-keeper. A full pitch is a very good thing occasionally, particularly for a steady man, and when it is the last ball of a good over. Besides a pitched-up is not so bad as a short- pitched ball. Long-hops are the sin of bowlers for which there is no forgiveness. Lastly (but what bowler ever attended to this ?) don't go on when your bowling does not pay ; and don't consider the friend who suggests a change as your greatest enemy. This is particularly applicable to slow bowlers, of whom there are many good examples among ama teurs, Mr. Pelham, Mr. Maitland, and Captain Arkwright, for instance. The bowling may be excel lent, and things may not come off. The field may be lazy, the wicket-keeper out of form, the batsman may go in for neck or nothing, and with a run of luck. Slows are no good then ; for they depend only partially on their own excellence, and require, more than any other bowling, the co-operation of a ready and intelligent field. The first thing necessary to make a good field is a good captain. Otherwise they are like a body without a head. For they require to be constantly . moved. Every fresh bowler and every fresh bats man involves an alteration, more or less, in the placing the field. And this should always be done silently, by a motion of the hand. A man who will not move in the field without being shouted at, is only fit for trap, bat, and ball. On the other hand, a captain must not worry the field, or move them to gratify his own caprices. '• Will you be good enough, sir," said , a captain once to me, " to be at an angle of forty-five degrees between the gentleman who is batting, and the gentleman who is standing point ?" While I was wondering by what possible change of position I could make myself into an angle, and drawing imaginary lines to determine my locus, the ball was of a sudden cut with much sharpness, and, being unprepared to catch it, I was hit violently in the pit of my stomach. No doubt the captain considered me a very obtuse angle. After all, a good fieldsman does not want very much captaining. His own judgment will tell him to go out for that man, to come in for that one ; to play fine at one time, and square at another ; and a good captain will never interfere with this discretionary power. Avoid gallery fielding ; using one hand instead of two may bring down a round of cheering, but all good judges execrate it. Never mind if you miss a catch, or if you miss fielding a hit. You have tried your best ; but don't stand still after the miss. Run as hard as you can after the ball, and don't, because you have lost two runs already, lose two more. A man who will not run hard in the . field, parti cularly after missing a chance deserves to have the Eumenides after him in full cry. Never make ex cuses, for nobody believes them. In vain may you protest that the sun was in your eye, that a fly flew into your eye, that your eyelashes got into your eye, that your foot slipped, that the ball " spun so, old fellow, I saw it turn a foot in the air, just as I was ready to catch it." It is of no good. I have heard these reasons before to-day. " Quodcunque ostendis [k of of bearing such] incredulus odi." No, don't make a double muff of yourself. Call your self all the unparliamentary and improper names you can think of, and determine that you will not do the like again. One word about throwing. Good fielding is of no use without accurate throwing. The general fault is that, as with the screw stroke at billiards, you put on too much. You see men five yards from the wicket keeper hurling with all their might, and then not even at his hands, that were bad enough ; but they throw at his head, his stomach, his shins, or his boots. How many an easy run out is thus lost, how many a promising wicket keeper is thus ruined ! And this arises simply from a fieldsman being in such a hurry that he cannot look. He dashes in, picks the ball up, and sends it .he knows not where. You don't want a man who can throw 110 yards ; you want a man who can throw coolly and with accuracy 15 or 20 yards into the wicket keeper's hands, and for longer distances send him an easy first bound. In fact, in this as in every other department of the game, you do not want brute force; you want moderate power judiciously used. This is the essence of cricket, this is its moral also. —Land and Water. SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. TIMES.-It is curious to see how small questions fre quently open great controversies. Nothing could appear more strictly technical than the arguments advanced a few weeks ago against the present system of musketry drill in the army, and yet the matter has already been developed into a'subject of the first magnitude. Colonel Al'llurdo, whose opinion in such a case is of obvious value, does not hesitate to suggest, as our readers yesterday saw, that the system of musketry instruction now pursued is something far worse than even its assailants ,alleged. Besides being harassing and irksome to the soldier, it may be actually prejudicial to the army at large. In short, according to this view of the case, we are maintaining at considerable expense to the State, and Much to the annoyance of the soldier, certain schools of instruction which may be ex pected to operate with direct injury to our military power, To explain this enigma, we have only to indicate the close connexion between the tactics of an army and the weapon carried by the troops. Twenty years ago it was still a cur rent proverb that the true weapon of the, British soldier was the bayonet. The meaning, however, of the maxim was this—that the soldier had then no other weapon to rely upon. He carried a musket, but he could not trust to this instrument for sending a bullet to its mark. As a machine for propelling balls with anything like accuracy of direction or range the old firelock was almost useless ; indeed, the reader may recollect, perhaps, the testimony given before a committee by a sergeant of the Guards, who said that if a man took no aim at all with his musket the bullet might perhaps hit the target, but that it could not possibly do so by force of adjustment and level. At that time, therefore, scientific shooting was avowedly confined to one or two regiments in the army, which were equipped with special weapons and specially instructed in the art of using them. Gradually, however, and in some degree from the influence of French example, we began to think that the difference between a musketeer and a rifleman was a distinction which it was unwise to maintain, and that every soldier who carried a mus ket might as well have the best weapon procurable and be taught to turn it to the best account. At first the old principle so far prevailed that wo contented ourselves • with increasing the strength of the select regiments of the army, and making each of the two rifle corps equivalent to four ordinary battalions. But in the end this distinction was dropped altogether, and every soldier in the line be came, in all but costume, a rifleman. The troops were all armed with the Enfield rifle, and each trained with great care and pains to bring its powers into use. It is this training, conducted under anxious superintendence at the musketry schools of Hythe and Fleetwood, which was first made the object of attack as gratuitously tedious and wearisome, and it is now described as likely to damage the efficiency of British troops in the field. When the bayonet was the soldier's weapon it was natural that he should hasten to employ it ; in other words, that he should get as quickly as possible to close quarters with the enemy, and decide The contest by a charge. Theso tactics, too, were always believed-- at any rate, by ourselves—to be pecu liarly suitable to our national qualities, and peculiarly conducive to success. It is at close quarters that battles are most commonly decided, and whichever army was superior in that kind of practice was likely to be superior altogether. The troops who were best at the bayonet would probably have the best of the day. It was not often, as experienced officers said, that bayonets were actually crossed, but still the bayonet charge decided the affair, for when it was made with obvious resolutions by soldiers fitted for their work, the opposing line broke and turned before the shock of the collision. These are the tactics now thought to be superseded by the new practice of mus ketry. The bayonet is no longer the special weapon of the British soldier. He now carries a rifle which will deal death at a thousand yards, and the fact is carefully impressed upon his mind. It is natural, therefore, to suppose that he will rely upon his new arm, and try long-range shooting, instead of closing instinctively with his enemy as in times past. His rifle is of no use to him if he is to treat it like the old musket and neglect it for the bayonet. That is the view of the case now suggested, and it is obviously not without reason. Here, however, we must ask whether a change of tactics, substituting long-range shooting for bayonet charges, may not be a necessary incident of the improvement of firearms. The foregoing argument assumes that as battles have heretofore been decided at close quar- ters, so they will be decided in future times; but is that assumption sound? Would not a line of troops advancing to the charge be almost destroyed by rifles and rifled cannon before they could close ? Is not the day of the _ _ bayonet gone by, and are we not doing the best for our selves by cultivating to the utmost the new science, which has given superiority to the bullet ? Is it remarkable that these questions, if they can as yet be answered at all, must apparently be answered in the negative. We are assured by military authorities that battles will be decided by actual collision as before, whatever may be done by rifles and cannon before the final shock. Not only is this Col M'Murdo's opinion, but it was intimated by Sir Charles Russell in the late debates. Sir Charles appealed to the experience of the American war to show that rifle-shooting —though the Americans have a natural aptitude for the ar t —did not decide battles, but, on the contrary, led to extra ordinary carnage without any proportionate results. Fede rals and Confederates fired away at each other from long distances till both sides were so weakened as to be unequal to the shock of personal conflict, and the battle was drawn, though each army had paid the price of a victory. No serious affair, it is said, was decided by flue shooting, and we are led to the conclusion that the old-fashioned tactics of the bayonet would have been more effectual than the new science. Colonel M'Murdo, indeed, is not unprepared to revert at once to the old system of forming riflemen into select corps. He does not pretend to depreciate arms of long range and extraordinary precision in skilled hands, but these arms and this practice may to be left, he thinks, to picked regiments. The great body of an army, the " main battle" as it used to be called, will have little need of such weapons or such discipline. The real conflict will still be decided at close quarters—if not by hand-to-hand fighting, at any rate by volleys delivered at such short ranges as to call for no extraordinary skill. On all this we must remark that if in this distribution of duties a reasonable proficiency in musketry practice is still to be exacted from the ordinary soldier, while consummate excellence is reserved for the select rifle corps, the argu ment may possibly hold good. But we cannot forget that ordinary skill, even with ordinary firearms, has always proved of the greatest value and importance in an engage ment. The fire of the British Infantry was notoriously more fatal than that of other troops, even when the old musket was still in use, and the difference between the Enfield rifle and the common firelock, even in untrained hands, was most sensibly felt both in the Crimea and in India. There are many degrees of efficiency between abso lute skill and no skill at all. Moreover, in many engage ments there is no shock of collision,but all depends upon the bullet, as in the prolonged action round the Confederate earthworks in Virginia. We think, therefore, that every soldier should carry a good rifle, and should know how to use it. The ordinary fire of a battalion, however deli vered, would unquestionably be more effective under such conditions; but if it is urged that wo are exceeding these conditions in our present system of instruction, and that a training like that given at Hythe is required only for picked corps, there may be truth in the doctrine. In short, we certainly cannot, on any pretext, afford to go back to the musketry system of twenty years since, but it is possible that we may find a desirable position between that and the system enforced at present. HERALD. —As our Liberal contemporaries profess them selves satisfied with the meeting that was assembled on Tuesday at Earl Russell's official residence, we do not in tend to mar their contentment by too rigid an analysis of the reasons for such a frame of mind. If they are pleased they are quite welcome, as far as we are concerned, to all the delightful emotions which they claim to experience. And if those who pin their faith upon these political oracles have caught from them any sentiment of gratification, we should be sorry for a moment to dispel with rude veracity that dream of approaching triumph which, as far as we can judge, seems likely to prove so ephemeral. Yet it is not a little strange that so great a discrepancy should pre vail as to facts which should admit of easy and satisfactory verification. The Morning Post has fixed at 286 the num ber of that faithful band who gathered round Earl Russell on this important occasion. The Daily News, which pro fesses, by the way, to give a detailed account of the pro ceedings, reduces the sum total to 263, while the Telegraph and Star, with a gratifying modesty and peculiarly attrac tive regard for truth, piece the reckoning of the entire forces at somewhere about 250. But none of these papers have attempted to estimate the proportion of those present who would do all in their power to trip up the measure. And even in the sacred precincts of Downing-street were heard voices protesting steadily against the bill. Nor can we suppose that Mr. Edward James and Mr. Laing were by any means the only gentlemen present who entertained the antagonistic feelings towards the Government scheme ; which they so uncomp rom i s i ng l y ex preised. So that, without' in any way insinuating that the gentle men who officiated as " tellers" for the Ministerial p ress were disposed in any case to see double, we think that a very considerable deduction may fairly be made from the numbers claimed by them as sup porters of the bill. The Morning Post has indeed, ever since the measure appeared, expressed such a sincere disapprobation both of the proposed changes and the mode in which it has been suggested to carry them out, that we can hardly be surprised to find that its infor mation on the subject of the meeting is a little inaccurate. But even supposing that the reports of the more favoured, because more obsequious, journals were correct, which we are by no means prepared to admit, we think that a cla morous effort at self -gratulation over such a display of party forces must be construed as an indication, to use Lord Cranborne's celebrated phrase,, of great presence of mind. Mr. Glaistone's Trojan horse must carry a larger number of inside passengers if it is to carry out the designs of its ambitious architect. A Ministry that in its extremest hour of need can only rally round its chief some two-thirds or thereabouts of the party which he claims to control, must, indeed, be daring, almost to the verge of infatuation, if they still resolve to sacrifice themselves and their followers in the reckless impetuosity of a forlorn hope. And when a Premier finds, even in the dwindling host who surround him, one or two outspoken dissentients who are not afraid to tell him to his face that they condemn the course he has chosen, he can scarcely augur well for his enterprise from the sounds that prevail, in his own camp. But then there were undoubtedly pleasanter features in the afternoon's proceedings. The pretty little lovers' quarrel between Messrs. Bright and Gladstone, with whfch the meeting terminated, was just the sort of light piece with which a judicious manager usually contrives to play the house cut. It had been, perhaps, an error to commence the entertain ment with so stiff apiece de resistance as the serious drama by the noble author of "Don Carlos," and the somewhat ambiguous spectacle afforded of the ill-assorted mem bers of the Happy Family, which immediately fol lowed, reflected small credit on the foresight of Mr. Brand, or whoever was responsible for the at tempt to play the " School for Scandal" with such a com pany ; but the comedietta at the finale was all that could have been desired. Mr. Gladstone, whose forte is not comedy, could hardly have been expected to play his part with such easy jocularity, while Mr. Bright, in his sturdy resolution to withstand any cajoleries on the subject next his heart, was inimitably good. People who had been led to suppose that there existed somewhat too intimate rela tions between the Cabinet and the member for Birming ham must have been ashamed of their suspicions when they looked upon the conscientious divergence of opinion on such an important matter ; and the Ministry, which has at length begun to learn that even Mr. Bright's support may be bought too dear, at the cost of disgusting the mo derate section of the Liberals, are much to be congratulated on having secured this brilliant performer in a role where his apparent antagonism may be dexterously employed to repair the calamitous consequences of former mistakes Altogether, "The Underground Passage" was a decided hit, and if Mr. Gladstone had only the spirit to throw him self more completely into this part, and to give to his dif ferences with the member for Birmingham a spice of greater reality, we think the house might be induced to tolerate him much longer than in the character he has so oddly chosen for his own. The "sentimental rant," which is the conspicuous feature of the language employed by the "Reformer in spite of himself," may suit a transpon tine, or rather, we might say, a trans-Atlantic audience, but it palls upon the British public. still, perhaps, the healthiest symptom to be detected in the whole per formance was the abandonment of the ridiculous cant which has formed the staple of provincial harangues about the " honest " bill. A very pru dent observer has said that when a man begins to talk about his honesty or a woman about her virtue it is time to doubt both. And certainly the noisy protestations as to the " honesty" of a bill, which has been recognised, and indeed almost confessed, from the very first, to be nothing but a " dodge," have ceased to inspire the amusement which they excited a few weeks ago, and tend rather to provoke disgust than merriment. But at Earl Russell's muster there was no more nonsense on this head. It may be ne cessary for habitual agitators in the country to delude the poor creatures whom they have duped into a vague aspira- tion after manhood suffrage as a political panacea, by de precatory allusions to instalments and Lord Russell's "honesty." But in addressing an audience of Liberal members his lordship was discreet enough to know that any such declamation would be irrelevant and ridiculous. And though it was, perhaps, only decent to invite Minis terialists to listen to what their recognised chief had got-to say, the only arguments that carried any weight with that assembly were such as are whispered by Secretaries to the Treasury, not those which have been so frequently reca pitulated by the original Patentee of Reform. It may bo a grievance to his lordship that his machinery of '32 has been improved upon since by many thoughtful and pains taking politicians ; but we think he is hardly likely to get his monopoly prolonged even . by audacious misrepresen• tations of better measures. COUNTRY MARKETS. GAINSBOROUGH-TIIESDAY. Our Corn Exchange to-day was well supplied with wheat. The full rates of last week were supported, white wheat making from 50s to 525; and mixed from 48s to 498 per qr. Barley dull and dear. Other descriptions as before. HULL-TUESDAY. Since our last more business has been done in English wheat, at an advance in this district of fully is per qr. In foreign here have not been many transactions. On the spot the quotations are as follows : English old white wheat, 48s to 525; old red, 42s to 465. Barley, English, 37s to 425. Oats, Russian, 24s to 255. Beans, new English, 43s to 445. Peas, English blue, 40s to 41s Od ; grinding, 40s to 41s Od per 36 stone. SALISBURY.-T UESDAY. We had a short supply of wheat on offer, part being of inferior quality ; but late rates were fully maintained throughout. Barley was in more active demand, and in some instances a trifling advance was obtained. About an average business was done iu oats, beans, and peas, gene rally at last week's figures. The following are the quotations :—Wheat realised from 38s to 52s ; barley, 35s to 44s ; oats, 22s to 32s ; beans, 40s to 525; and peas, 42s to 50s per qr. Tares, from 6s to 7s 6d per bushel ; Best bread, 13d ; household ditto, 12d. per 81b loaf. Flour, 34s to 38s per sack. MONMOITTIISTIIRE-TUESDAY. During the past week there was a fair supply of home grown wheat at most of the markets in the district, but business, on the whole, was rather inactive. Superior samples of home-grown fetched full money. Barl e y was in good demand, and prices ruled firm Beans were in fair request and oats were not so much sought after. The following are the average quotations ; —Wheat, red, 5s Od to 5s 6d per bushel ; inferior ditto, 4s 9d to ss. 3d ; white, 5s 9d to Gs ; malting barley, 36s to 43s per qr ; grind ing ditto, 27s to 325; beans, 44s ; white oats, 24s 6d to 26s ; black ditto, 23s Gd to 24s 6d. LYNN--TUESDAY. A fair attendance to-day, and but a small show of wheat. The prices rea:ised were the same as last week. Malting barley was easier to buy ; grinding descriptions were in demand, at late rates. Beans and oats fully as dear. New wheat, 46s to 48s ; new red, 42s to 44s ; old w hite, 51s to 52s ; old red, 46s to 48s per 36 stone. Barley for malting, 37s to 40s ; secondary, 33s to 355. Oats, new, 24s to 26s per 24 stone. Beans, small, 43s to 465. Peas, 36s to 40s per 28 stone. NEWCASTLE-TUESDAY. At to-da'y's market there was a fair supply of wheat from the growers, but a small quantity coastwise, with, how ever' a good arrival from abroad. The trade ruled firm , fine English bringing an advance of 6d to Is., and foreign about 6d over the rates of last week. Barley had a mode rate sale, at late prices. Malt was firm. Beans were un changed. Oats moved off at rather more money. Flour from 6d to is per sack dearer. The average prices of British grain for the week have been—wheat, 46s ; barleh 36s 10d; oats, 29s Od per qr. COAL MARKET. Price per ton at the close of the market. s. d. s. d. Hastings Hartley l7 3 Harton Holywell Main l5 3 Walls End Hetton ... 19 0 West Hartley N.Staffordshire 17 0 East Hartlepsol ...... 18 6 Ships at market, 20 ; sold, 15. lADVERTISEMENTd—HoIIoway's Ointment and Pills.:-- There is no question whatever that rheumatism, neuralgia, and such like painful maladies are more rife this season than for some years past. The number of testimonials o' cures effected by Holloway's remedies is unprecedente d, and should be enforced on the attention of all sufferers from these complaints. The parts in pain should be fomented for some minutes with warm brine, dried, an d immediately well rubbed with the ointment. It will pass into the pores of the skin and give the greatest rebel; Many valuable lives are annually lost which might be;savea if early recourse in illness were made to these remarkable remedies, which must necessarily prove beneficial, and can not do harm. Births. ---- Bunia—On the Bth inst., the lion. Mrs. Newdigato Burn°, of a daughter. CARMARTHEN—On the 10th inst., at 15, Portman-square, the Marchioness of Carmarthen;of a son. RAWLINSON— On the 10th inst., at Oxford, the wife of Pro" lessor Rawlinson, of a son. WETHERALL—On the 9th inst., at New Brampton, Chat ham, the wife of the Rev. C. A. Wetherell, Chaplain to the Forces, of a daughter. Marriages. DEVITT—GARLNEn—On the 11th inst., at Hackney, HenrY, third son of the late Thomas H. Devitt, Esq., of Billiter street and Hackney, to Helen, eldest daughter of ThoO. Gardner, Esq., of Clapton, Middlesex. WEST— OTTLEY—On the 11th inst., at Headingley Church , Leeds, John F. E. West, of St. Martin's.roa.d, Stockwell, eldest son of F. B. West, of King-street, Whitehall, t°, Eli za b e th Ottley, youngest daughter of W. C. OttleY , Hyde-park-terrace, Leeds. Deaths. ----- DAY--On the 10th inst., at Leigham Holme, Streatham, 13 * Day, Esq., aged 55. Pnna.rorr—On the 11th inst., at 65, King William-str eet, City, Beatrice, wife of Mr. Phillpott, aged 51. POLAND—On the 10th inst., at 7, Rodney-terrace west ' Bow-road, Mr. Joshua Poland, aged 74. PARRY—On the 9th inst at Highgate, John Parry, Vscl'' aged 84. '7 SwArzsoN—On the Bth inst., at 31, Porchester-square, Major-Gen. Swanson, H.M. Bombay Army. TOKE—On the 10th inst., at Godington Park, Dent, th Rev. N. Toke, aged 67. -- London : Printed and Pulahrshed by WILLIAM .A.NDUEW6' of No. 112, Strand, Piiater, at Tire. SUN 010(4_ NO' ll2 }, Strand, in the Precinct of the S e v A y .in the cOtUa v Middlesex.— Thursday, April 12,1886.