The Sun. — London, England, 1865-01-30 00:00:00

THE CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA. (From the Times' Correspondent.) NEW YORK, Jan. 13. There is nothing to be heard on any side but rumours of peace. Wall-street has to some extent caught the infection of credulity, and gold has gone down 9 per cent. since Saturday last. But that peace will come out of the embassies, formal or informal, which Mr. Lincoln has sent, or is willing t o send, to Richmond, or to receive from the South at Wash ington, no man whose opinion is worth a straw can in his heart believe. That the Federal Government is more than usually anxious, either to gain some overwhelming victory in the field, or to coax back the reluctant South on any terms, -whether in refe rence to slavery, to the assumption of the Southern debt, to the position of the Southern leaders and generals, to everything in short that would not in volve a disruption of the Union, is . manifest to the most careless observer. The impelling power which t h us d r i ves M r . Lincoln's Government into the paths of conciliation if conquest be unattainable, without, h owever , driving it to the extremity of making a formal offer of peace to Mr. Davis, is the fear that after the 4th of March next the European Govern ments--led by Great Britain, France, Russia, and Ste —will severally or conjointly recognise Mr. Lincoln as de facto President of the States alone by the votes of which he was elected for his second term, and thus by implication, if not overtly, recog nise Mr. Jefferson as the de facto President of the Confederacy. There may possibly be 'no founda tion whatever for the rumours to this effect, which reach this country from Europe by every steamer ; but there undoubtedly exists in high quarters here and in Washington a dread, and in some instances a hope, that these rumours are true, and that the recognition of the Confederacy will not be delayed much if any longer than the " ninety days," which are the favourite term with Mr. Seward and the Federal press for the accomplishment of all greatly desired events, whether civil or military. Meanwhile, however, the war goes vigorously on. Gen. Sherman, having secured Savannah, has orga nised measures for a rear attack upon Charleston, with the assistance of Admiral Farragut's fleet in front. The second expedition to Wilmington has already set sail, and as the weather has been much milder and calmer than on the first occasion the re port that it has arrived off Cape Fear without loss or accident is probably correct. In other quarters there are no signs of movement, though a report, founded upon private telegrams, that Gen. Lee is so well provided at Richmond and Petersburg as to be able to spare 40,000 men from the defences of those cities for services in a new and unsuspected quarter leads well informed people to believe that the lull will be speedily broken, and that the Federals will not be left in entire possession of the aggressive. Gen. Butler's deposition has been received with sullen silence by theßepublican and Abolition party, and with shouts of applause by the Democrats and by moderate conservative men of all classes. The Tribune alone among the Republican journals has had the courage to speak the sentiments of the party, and has indignantly denounced the action of the Go vernment, as not only personally unjust to General Butler but publicly injurious to the cause of the Union. If Butler were really dismissed for his re fusal to sacrifice the lives of brave men in a hope less assault upon a strong if not impregnable fort, as he seems to allege in his sharp and eloquent fare well to the Army of the James, there can be no doubt that he has been ill-used. It would appear, indeed, that Gen. Butler's failure at Fort Fisher was the pre? text, and not the cause of his removal, that the diver gences if not hostilities of sentiment and opinion be tween him and Gen. Grant, as well as Mr. Stanton, were of long standing and widening growth, and that the Lieutenant-General finally assumed such a posi tion towards the Government in the matter as to force Mr. Lincoln to decide which of i the two should remain in the Federal service. In other words, Gen. Grant threatened to resign if Gen. Butler were not removed. If this be the true explanation, Gen. Butler will not be suffered to remain permanently under a cloud. Work will be found for him to do, more pleasant in its character and safer to life and limb in its per formance than the conduct of an army amid shot and shell and the other horrors of the battlefield. The case of Mr. Chase is one in point. It was ne cessary to oust him from the Administration, but inexpedient to convert him into an irreconcilable enemy. In due time, as he was discreet as well as ambitious, he was rewarded with the Chief Justice ship of the Supreme Court. Most probably, if Gen. Butler be equally reticent, equally persevering, and equally determined not to be politically extinguished, he will receive a befitting reward at the hands of a President who understands as thoroughly as any man living which opponents it is safe to despise and which it is safer to flatter and conciliate. The great question of slavery continues to assert its supremacy and stands before the American people in a variety of ways. The South, which alone has any power in the matter, is debating, under the hard pressure of necessity, the expediency of calling out an army, or a series of armies, of ablebodied slay.es in successive levies, from 50,000 to five times 50,000 men, to be rewarded with their own freedom and that of their wives and families at the conclu sion of the war. The North, which has no power but much will to abolish slavery, is debating in the halls of Congress an amendment to the Constitu tion, for ever prohibiting slavery in any State or territory of the Union. The amendment, if not carried by the requisite majority of two-thirds of the present Congress, will, it is calculated, be car ried all but unanimously in the new Congress which will assume power on the 4th of March next. Whe ther the amendment, if embodied in the Constitu tion, will have any practical effect in giving freedom to . a single slave who would not have been freed if no such legislative enactment had been made, de pends not upon Congress but upon the opposing armies of North and South. H the North con quer, the sword of the North and not the resolu tions of Congress will free the negroes. If the South conquer, the votes of the Federal Congress are idje wind, and the Northern people will act more wisely—if they love the negroes hall as much as they detest slavery—in repealing the laws that convert them into social pariahs, and in some States such as the President's own State of Illinois, prohibit the entrance and sojourn of any man of black skin and woolly hair within their sacred boundaries. Three of the Border States, which know something of the question, and which, moreover, have the power of dealing with it in their own limits, have either abolished the institution by the legal votes of their Legislatures and the affirmation of the people, or have taken measures to that end. Maryland, which produces nothing that cannot be cultivated by the labour of free white men, and which consequently was under no paramount necessity of employing slaves, long since found the institution to be unpro fitable, and has already freed itself of the trouble, the responsibility, the disgrace, and the danger of maint aining it. Missouri and Kentucky have already taken the the 11811a1 preliminary steps, by c o nvention of People and the action of the Legislature, to imi tate the exampl e of Marylandfree ,• and as they also . pro duceand as they havefound white labour cannot cultivate, slavery too costly and un profitable to be worth opposition making against the o any effort to preserve, the disapprob a ti on of thethe Northern people and little doubt th at i n a few eiviliseci world, there is ; will have ceased t o b e a buwrede7 or months slavery ti important comm onwealths. P Oll these rich and European philanth ro pi sts to knlwthlellat' however, for i n abolishing slavery the philanthropic element • Thnae strongofslave, well as in Kentucky and mi ssouri u , Ma rYland, as greatly, if at all, called into action. s not been in the prime of life, will be able t o take care him_ self in some way or other, though d r i ven, as in New York and throughout the North, to earn a poor sub sistence by the lowest,'roughest, and most scantily remunerated kinds of labour ; but the y oung, the helpless, helpless, the impotent, the disabled, and the super annuated negroes, who were formerly maintained by their owners, will, it is to be feared, fare but badly at the hands of public charity, which has not yet established or even thought of establishing any legal provision for their maintenance. It would thus ap pear that the best chance for the poor negro is with the South. Mr. Lincoln can do nothing for the race but convert into soldiers such of the most stalwart as are willing to take service in his armies. He can not reach, either by his proclamations or his guns, the great bulk of the black population w to still toil for their Southern masters and mistress s , and take no advantage of the peril or weakness cf the Con deracy to rise in insurrection, or even in mutiny and insubordination, against their employers. The South can much more effectually befriend them, and seems as if it would not hesitate much longer in placing freedom within the power of such ablebodied slaves as shall earn it by devotion to the cause of national independence, and of so regulating and modifying the slavery that will afterwards remain as to gradually prepare the way for complete eman cipation by some process that shall not convert the useful slave into a pauper, and that will provide for the subsistence of the aged and the impotent by some species of legislative enactment or form of poor law. There are not wanting persons high in social and political position to affirm that, if this were done, the Northern Abolitionists of the extreme school would recommend peace with the South and a recognition of its independence, on the plea that the war was a war against slavery, and that slavery having ceased to exist the Southern people were as much entitled to an independent Government of their own choice as the Thirteen Colonies were when they rebelled against Great Britain. These philoso phers may be at present in the minority, but it can not be denied that their voice is powerful, their in fluence great, and that it is within the limits of probability that sooner or later their sentiments, like the little leaven that leaveneth the whole lump, may take possession of the majority. There is another aspect of the negro question in which, notwithstanding all the philanthropy of Mr. Lincoln's proclamations and the debates in both Houses of the Federal Congress, the North does not show to advantage as compared with the South. The South is at all events honest, even if it be in error in its treatment of the negroes ; but the North, which claims to be so much holier than its Southern brother, permits the infliction of the most grievous wrong against ablebodied black men, without taking So much as the petty trouble of remonstrance. It is at this moment, and has been for the last six months, positively unsafe for a young male negro to walk the streets of New York. If he be a sailor just arrived in port from the West Indies, Cuba, or Brazil, he is hunted by ruffians at all hours of the day and night, and, if captured, sold into the slavery of the military or naval service of the United States. A recent case, only one of scores that are every week brought under the notice of the consular authorities of Great Britain, France, and Spain, will show the modus operandi. Four coloured sailors, of a British ship from Jamaica, were walking through the river-side streets at the lower, or Bat tery end of New York, unconscious of danger and unsuspicious of treachery, when they were set upon in broad daylight by half a dozen crimps, bounty brokers, or other scoundrels of the same class, and accused of being deserters from the Federal army. In vain they protested that they were sailors and British subjects. The gathering crowd took the part of their aisailants, and, on the promise that they would be immediately liberated by the proper authorities if their story were found to be true, the men consented, with the exception of only one, who contrived in the confusion to make his escape, to proceed quietly to headquarters with their captors. All trace of them has since been lost. General Dix, on being appealed to by the British Consul, has promised to do his best to discover and release them, but with the compact and well organised system of robbery opposed to his efforts will find it difficult, if not impossible, to effect their libe ration. Such " prizes " are entered on the books of the naval or military deppts which receive them, under names that are given to them by their cap tains ; and each " prize" of the kind is worth from $5OO to $l,OOO, according to the state of the bounty market at the time. Not a cent. of the money ever reaches the victims of this new slave trade, but is distributed at a rate agreed upon among the captors, the examining surgeons, and the military or naval officials, who wink at the iniquity. The anti slavery journals—the whole sympathies of which are with the Southern slaves, and which are never weary of clamouring for the " vigorous prosecution of the war," have no time to attend to such cases of individual hardship as these. The Federal Govern ment wants men, and it does not become the truly loyal patriot to examine too microscopically into the means by which men are secured. This much, however, must be said. If the British Government were half as anxious to pick - a quarrel with the Fe deral Government as the ruling party in America is to pick a quarrel with Great Britain, it might find a justifiable pretext every day of the week in the treatment received in New York by British emigrants I and British sailors, both white and coloured. Spain and Santo Domingo. MADRID, Jan. 23. The Marquis of Habana spoke yesterday in the Senate on the question of Santo Domingo, replying to the Duke de Torre's speech advocating the pre servation of the island to Spain. The marquis strongly urged the expediency of abandoning Santo Domingo. He said that the possession of the island gave no moral force to Spain. It did not augment Spanish prestige, and produced most serious inconveniences in political order, in finance, and even in military order. •Replying to what had been urged by the Duke de Torre respecting the importance of the pos session of the Bay of Samana, the Marquis of Ha bana said—" I shall proceed to examine this ques tion from a practical point of view, and will ask if the Duke de Torre believes that commercial interests would not have sufficed to attract a numerous po pulation to that spot—what has, and what is now the Peninsula of Samana ? A desert, and, unfor tunately for our troops, a vast cemetery. When the English projected establishing communications to facilitate their trade with America, they never thought of establishing themselves there, but preferred St. Thomas, though this is a bad and insignificant port. Thus, when Spain ac quired the Bay of Samana, it was completely deserted, which proves that it was not the importance to trade that has been supposed. In further proof we have the fact that the customs of Samana have barely produced the small sum of 100,000 reals. We will now consider the question from a military point of view. Would you wish the Bay of Samana to be converted into a military port—a Cronstadt, as de sired by the Duke de Torre, in order that it might serve us in the event of our American possessions being endangered, w hi c h would be whenever we might be at war with the United States? Would it serve to hold our ships of war ? But then for this we have the ports of Cuba and Porto Rico." The speaker then proceeded to disprove the belief ex pressed by some that, although the Bay of Samana had no importance in Spanish possession, it would immediately acquire it under the United States. He said that even if the latter Power did not obtain possession of the bay, it would not be Spain, but France and England, who would be threatened, as the occupation of the bay by the United States would seriously interfere with their commercial na vigation and the movement of their ships of war. For this reason the Marquis of Habana thought that England and France would never permit such oc cupation. Regarding the question und er a financial a spect, the marquis s howed that the expectations res pecting the na tural wealth of the island , and all unfounded. The productions of the is land had been that Spain would obtain from it, were completely t r easury, and was been a burden upon the Spanish . so unimportant that since its rolcorporation it had the principal cause of the deficit Spain now experienced. " The last budget of Santo Do mingo," he continued; " reached the res pectable sum of 74,000,000 reals, and this without in single any way supplying the necessities of that country, we leave it. si.nee, after having spent so much money, not a yard of road will have been made on the day the island and c to develop 100,000,000 reals m or of Santo If we had waited for the prosperity of its riches, e Tveyed to it the materials necessary pointed outrthrnantre. Do. it is indubitable that the budget which rendered the would have amounted to further The Marquis of Habana Thi s consisted of the island to there was a special circum stance Spain impracticable. population of the island. rhrinh sist aritattfj t , h al e th m o ix ug ed h a speaking Spanish, were in a great part of African extraction, and it might be said that nine-tenths of them were negroes and mulattoes. " These negroes and mulattoes had 20 years of independence, and were entirely equal, as regards political rights, with the whites. They became presidents of the Republic, generals, senators, in a word they were placed on equal conditions with the few whites there were in the island. And what is the position occupied by people of colour in our Antilles ? There we have slavery, and this marks the difference of races and establishes a supremacy of the white over the coloured race. The latter have no political rights, and although some civil rights have been accorded them they have always been in a depressed condition, and held in lower consideration than the white race. If, then, as is natural and just, we left the negroes and mulattoes of Santo Domingo the political rights which they enjoyed before incorporation with us, what would be said by the free negroes and mulat toes of the islands of Cuba and Puerto Rico ? Hence arises the agitation among the coloured classes in those islands, produced, not by the war, but by the annexation of Santo Domingo. This sole circum stance ought, in my opinion, to have sufficed for Spain never to have listened to the petition of the Do minicans for reincorporation with the mother coun try." After reviewing at great length the history of the reoccupation of Santo Domingo by Spain, and censuring the mistaken policy pursued by the Government, the marquis concluded by a defence of the Spanish army in Santo Domingo, upon which some reflection had been cast by Senor Cal deron Collantes. He quoted the official reports of the captain-general to show the frightful mor tality of the climate, and the immense losses sus tained by sickness among the troops. The question of Santo Domingo did not affect the honour of the Spanish nation, and it was a sad disgrace for the soldiers, instead of falling musket in hand as in Africa, to die in a miserable hospital. Fashions for February. (From Le Folk) The question of most interest on the subject of fashion for this month is the style in vogue for ball and evening dress. Amongst the novelties we remark robes of gauze embroidered in gold, or silver, or silk. Nothing is prettier than such flowers on a light, vapoury material, and ladies of elegance can wear such a dress without appearing to be dressed in too simple or girlish a manner. There are some beautiful tulle dresses spotted over with butterflies, or flowers formed of feathers, or with silver arrows—very original and exceedingly elegant—but, although needing no trimming, they are expensive. Fichus, berthes, and pelerines are made in a variety of very becoming styles. From numerous models we select the following :—A berth of tulle illusion, bonillonnee lengthways, very narrow at the shoulders, and forming a point at the centre. Ruches of tulle, edged with gold, and having a white and gold blonde beneath, form the trimming at the bottom and top of the berthe. A second bertha is made in Figaro style in front, whilst the back forms braces and ends in a square postilion basque. It is very pretty when made of blonde tulle, with flowers and light ruches of pink ribbon put in festoons over a wide blonde. For more simple dress we End a fichu made high, and crossed; composed of five crossway pieces of tulle, with a bonillonne and bows of red velvet round the top, and round the bottom a wide white lace headed by a narrower black lace, both finifled off with small bows of red velvet. We must not omit to mention a charming pelerine of spotted tulle with a double trimming of festoons, very pointed, and set on in deep plaints. These festoons are' edged with a narrow lace, and above is placed a sky-blue ribbon run under a bouillonne. The trimming is carried up the front and round the throat. For at-home toilette, chemisettes are more than ever fashionable, for now, with the Russian veste, it is not merely a gaimpe, but the sleeve also which are required. Many white bodies without vestes:are worn at small soirees or social dinner-parties, and with a light silk skirt look ex ceedingly well ; but care must be taken that the colour of the ribbon placed under the insertion, with which these bodies are usually trimmed, suits the skirt. Passementerie is still the favourite trimming, and deservedly so, for cer tainly nothing can be more elegant. The list of model dresses is so numerous this month that we must now proceed to describe them, commencing with ball and evening toilette. A sky-blue satin robe : train skirt, with a plisse of blue crape ; the plaits very large and full, a passamenterie of white silk and white beads marking each plait, and forming a chain from one to another. Over the skirt, a tunic of English lace. Aberthe of tulle and crape in large plaits, edged with lace matching the tunic. Sleeves short and puffed, made of crape and tulle. _ _ _ A dress of pink satin. The skirt trimmed with three rows of bouillons of white tulle festooned with bouquets of roses with dewdrops. Body draped with tulle and similar bouquets. Sleeves to match. A Pompadour taffetas robe. The ground pink ; the flowers of various colours. The skirt is open in front over a petticoat of white satin trimmed with bouillonne pink tulle. The body, which is low, is also open in front, showing a white satin stomacher, embroidered in coloured flowers. Round the edge of the pink body, and at the bottom of the sleeves, is a trimming of silk cord mixed with white beads. A dress of light green crape. The skirt entirely bouil lonne, caught up with wreaths of violet camelias and green foliage reaching to the waist, the front wreath being joined by light foliage to the bouquet on the body ; at the bottom of the skirt a lace flounce about six inches wide, partly veiled by the bouillonne. A plain body, with points, trim med with drapery of crape. Sleeves composed of one bouil lonne of white, another of green, crape ; and a violet came lia on each shoulder. Headdress of similar flowers, forming a tuft on the Summit of the head, and a spray behind. This toilette made in white, with pink camelias, is extremely charming. A white tarlatans dress. Three plaited flounces, about five inches wide, each headed by a thick chicoree of pink taffe tas. Plain body, with round waist. A corselet sash of taf fetas, pointed behind at the top, and finishing off in long rounded ends, reaching nearly down to the flounces, and gradually increasing in width ; the whole edged with a taffetas ruche. Large rosettes of pinked taffetas hold the drapery in the front of the body and on the shoulders. The sleeves are composed of two narrow frills of tarlatane. A skirt of white tarlatane, having three flounces bordered with pink at the bottom : a second skirt, reaching to the top of the flounces, made of pink foulord, cut in large scol lops, and edged with a thick pink chicoree. A similar chicoree on each side, looping up the top skirt. The body plain ; a small point in front, and trimmed with three chicorees, forming a fan. Folds of white tarlatans are placed round the top, and bows of pink ribbon on the shoulders. A mauve satin robe : the skirt made with a train ; the front embroidered en tablier with steel beads. The body is low, with a flat berthe, also embroidered with steel beads. Round sash, wide, embroidered to match, closed in front with a steel buckle, and finished off behind with a bow and long ends. The head-dress is of mauve velvet and steel, and a white feather. A blue velvet dress. A wide band of guipure round the bottom and up the left side. Low body, and basques formed of three pattes of guipure. In the hair, between the bandeaux, is placed a beautiful bird with wings spread, and another on the centre of the body. A dress of cerise taffetas antique, covered with skirt of tulle, composed of seven narrow flounces put on in waves, alternately with flounces of white blonde, and dotted with rosettes of cerise velvet. Low body, with short sleeves, and bertho of narrow frills and blonde. Sash of cerise velvet. A robe of light green satin, opening in front over a skirt of white satin ; the whole trimmed with point d'Angleterre and white jet. The body is open, and trimmed with a fringe of jet. A dinner-dress of striped satin, white and blue : the bottom of the skirt trimmed with a plaiting of blue velvet: The body has rounded barques, trimmed with rich figured velvet, and fastened with buttons Louis XV. style. The sleeves, which are quite tight, close under cuffs of point lace. Another, of taffetas antique, lilac, embroidered round the skirt with a wreath of grapes and leaves in silk and pearl beads. The sleeves and body are trimmed to match. A robe of silver-grey satin, trimmed at the bottom of the skirt with a chicor6e of black tulle. A flounce of Chan tilly, waved, and surmounted by a ruche of tulle worked with jet. Low body and short sleeves, with fichu Marie Antoinette of Chantilly. Buckle, " Princess," with band of black velvet embroidered in jet. For toilette de ville, a robe of black taffetas, opened at the bottom of each breadth, so as to show a triangle of vio let velvet, on which is placed an ornament of passementerie and hanging buttons ; the edge of the silk cut in large scal lops. The body with small barques opal over a violet waistcoat. The bottom of the sleeve has a similar ornament to that on the skirt. The same ornament forms the jockey. A robe of violet satin, cut in large scallops, edged with a wide band of black velvet. Under-skirt of violet satin, striped with black velvet, forming a long train. Veste Russee of plain satin, and waistcoat of striped satin. There is nothing new to notice either in the form or the materials for bonnets. It seems to be universally admitted that the present style is much more becoming than the high-fronted bonnets were; yet it must be confessed that the absurd head-dresses made by some, and called bon nets, are :quite as little becoming, and have, besides, an air of vulgarity. Our leading modistes, however, are always careful to avoid extremes, and we may safely de scribe some of their newest styles, to guide the tastes of our readers. Thus, a bonnet of light blue velvet, made in one full piece from the front to the crown, where it is fastened under a large ruche of blonde, which forms a point over the chignon. Under the niche is placed a small white feather, With a b 917 and long,entlo of narreiv blue alma, Blue velvet in folds across the forehead, with small white fea thers' between the folds. A capote of white satin, with three runnings from back to front, fastened under a double niche of white satin, spotted with rosebuds. Plaited satin and rosebuds inside. A bonnet of mauve velvet, made in plaits from the front to the back, trimmed at the back with a cache-peigne of jet falling over a wide black. lace. Torsade of mauve velvet, and jet ornaments inside. Black velvet bonnet. Plain front. Pointed behind ; trimmed round the point with a double niche of pink silk and sprigs of small daisies of white velvet, and bows of very narrow pink ribbon. A capote of crape bouillone and tulle malines, with straps and strings of Tose-coloured velvpt. The crown formed of curled feathers and strings of small pearls, fall ing over bouillons of tulle. Another capote of blue tulle bouillone and white blonde. Cache-peigne of white feathers, with loops of black velvet worked with pearls. Black velvet and pearls inside the bonnet. Coiffures for evening costume are becoming more and more varied, and for this good reason, that ladies are be ginning to adopt those styles most becoming to them, rather than to wear a head-dress because it is worn by others. Perhaps the coiffure composed of bands of velvet is the most universally adopted; and, from the fact that it may be fastened simply with silver or jet ornaments, or enriched with agraffes or pens of diamonds, it is equally applicable either for a quiet dinner-dress or for a more elaborate toilette. Those of light blue velvet should have pearl or silver ornaments, and those of ponceau velvet gold or pearl ornaments. Another pretty style of head-dress is made with a pouff formed with ends of green velvet worked with dew-drops in crystal, and fastened with two long ends. A charming Ceres wreath was made of blue velvet myo sotis and silver corn-ears, fastened at the back with long bows of silver laco. SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. - THE " SATURDAY REVIEW" ON THE RUSSIAN BUDGET.—The practice of publishing annual bud gets is so novel under autocratic Governments, and so commendable in itself, as almost to disarm cri ticism, but it must be confessed that the document recently issued by the Russian Minister is more valuable as a respectful homage to the demands of public opinion than for any information to be de rived from it. Those who contemplate dealings with the Russian Government are naturally anxious to know how far it is habitually exceeding its:income, and what is the state and progress of its debt. Nothing of this kind can be discovered from what is called the Budget of 1865. The estimated revenue and expenditure for 1864 are carefully compared with the estimates for the ensuing year, but no in formation whatever is given as to the actual expen diture which has been incurred. An existing deficit is quite as serious when caused by unforeseen, as when produced by estimated, outlay, and it would be interesting to know how far the military expenditure in Poland and Cir cassia has exceeded the levies which it has been pos sible to draw from confiscation of the property of the unfortunate inhabitants of those subjugated provinces. It is not likely that, in a country where the revenue is so little elastic as in Russia, the actual deficit has been below the calculated amount, and it is admitted that the year 1863 was com menced with estimates which provided an income of about £55,500,000 to meet an anticipated expendi ture (including extraordinary military and naval expenses) of nearly £63,000,000, leaving an esti mated deficit of more than £7,000,000. In 1865 the the Minister hopes to fare better. By some slight natural improvements, and by additional taxation upon spirits, it is expected that the revenue will be raised to £56,000,000, while the cessation of the drain for warlike operations will, it is hoped, bring down the expenditure to £59,500,000, thus reducing the deficit for 1865 to one-half of that calculated for the previous year. These figures are not very encouraging, but it is by no means certain that they tell the whole truth, and it would surprise no one to find that the real excess of expenditure in the past year was something much more co ns iderable than the antici pated £7,000,000. The rate of progress of the national debt of any country, when it can be ac curately discovered, serves very well to test the annual budgets ; but it is not easy to ascertain with exactness what the present position of the floating debt of Russia is, and we have already said that the Budget affords no assistance to any one who is cnrious enough to enter upon such an . mquiry. The following figures, however, are believed to be not much in error. At the beginning of 1864 the funded debt, which before the Crimean campaign stood at £64,000,000, had risen to £110,000,000, while the floating debt, almost all of recent creation, reached the formidable sum of £24,000,000, making the total debt about £134,000,000. Since that time a loan of £6,000,000 has been negotiated, and Trea sury bonds have been issued to about the same amount, and to cover the expected deficit of 1865 it is proposed to issue about £2,000,000 more. This will leave the funded debt at £116,000,000, and the floating debt at £32,000,000, showing an increase of debt, beyond the amount in curred upon to the end of 1863, of £14,000,000. If these figures are accurate, there must be some im portant deficiencybeyond the £10,500,001) calculated for.the two years by the published estimates. If we pass from the broad results to the details given in the Budget, we find very little to relieve the gloom which seems to rest on the finances of Russian. There is none of that marvellous growth of revenue which in England and France is expected almost as a matter of course. The land revenue is falling, as a consequence of the abolition of serfdom. The Customs duties are less than they were in 1863, either from a diminution of consumption or an in crease of smuggling. Some loss, too, has been in curred by the removal of export duties on raw cotton and other commodities. The licenses and fees which gauge the state of commerce also show a diminution, while the only items on the other side of the esti mate are about £BOO,OOO raised by additional spirit duties, and some smaller sums derived from less im portant items of revenue. It has apparently become obvious to the Russian Government that equilibrium can only be restored by a reductio n o f m ili tary ex pe ndi leaves tiire a by de r c , t so o o fi ,0 1 0 3 0, ex penditure. Now that Poland and Cir cass i a are crushed, it is proposed to redu ce th e army and thisnavy saving e]c met in 1865, and will only be effectual to even h e effectual as a financial measure if it is followed by still more vigorous pruning hereafter. This, however, the Minister hopes to effect, and, in a country aspoor as Russia now is, it is the only course by which the gravest embarrassments can be escaped. The enu meration of deficits, and the history of the progress of debt, are far from exhausting the troubles with which a Russian financier has to contend. As is al most always the case, the accumulation of debt has been accompanied by the issue of inconvertible notes to such an extent as seriously to derange the circu lating medium. It is argued, with some plausibility, that the comparative barbarism of the Russian empire exempts it to a certain extent from the ordinary con sequences of a redundant currency. Throughout the greater part of the dreary regions which acknow ledge the supremacy ofj the Czar, the common re sources of credit are unknown. In the absence of banks,whatever passes for currency's hoarded byig norant peasants and scarcely less ignorant proprietors. All the ingenious contrivances by which a limited amount of circulating coin or notes is made in more civilised States to supply the wants of an almost un limited commerce are unknown in Russia, except of the great commercial centres, andthe consequence is that a very restricted trade requires a much larger amount of circulating medium than is needed by the most energetic commercial nations in the world. Nevertheless, large as is the capacity of the huge empire of Russia, the Government has long since contrived to flood it with more irredeemable notes than it can absorb. The old device was begun by Catharine 11., by an issue of no more than £3,000,000 ; but every war has driven the Govern ment to resort to the same dangerous expedient, and after the great Continental struggle in the be ginning of the century, Russia was groaning under the burden of an issue of £100,000,000 of incon vertible notes. Confiscation, under the name of special taxation and fina nc i a l arrangements was tried for many years as a means of reducing the un manageable circulation; but fresh necessities con tinually arose, and after the Crimean contest there were once more £120,000,000 of notes in circulation. Sin ce th a t time a series of half-intelligible transactions with the Impe rial Bank have been adopted; in the hope of restoring the value of the paper - money. Loan after loan has be en con tracted, ostensibly for this purpose ; and the last operation by which about £6,000,000 was raised was avowedly intended to redeem the superfluous notes. ' Other demands, however, of a more urgent character swallowed up these resources, and at this moment the state of the Russian currency is worse than it has ever been before. It is said that w ithi n the last few years an intelligent Russian officer, who was asked to accept the office of Minister o f Fi nance , re plied that only a genius or a fool would und e rtake the responsibility, and that, being neither one nor the other, he pre ferred to decline the proffered honour. Whether the actual Minister fulfils either of these conditions remains to . be proved, b u t as ye t h e h a d m ade little head against a sea of troubles, and the only thing to be said in his favour is that he does not seem to be aware that rigid economy i s th e so l e policy by which the threatening financial embarrassment can be averted. THE " EXAMINER" ON THE LATE COLONEL CHARRAS.—It cannot be denied that the Emperor of the French possesses what the Spaniards, in their Oriental fashion, calls the estrella feliz. Louis Napoleon has survived the deaths of many of his enemies. He has.survived Cavaignac, a high-souled and high-principled man ; he has survived the ac- 1 complished and profound strategist, Bedeau ; he has survived that sturdy Republican Minister, Frangois Arago, the astronomer ; he has survived the deep thinker, the philosophic and earnest De Tocqueville ; he has survived the democratic Prefect of Police, the Citizen Caussidiere ; he has survived the Presi dent of the National Assembly, Armand Marrast ; he has outlived Alexandre Thomas, one of the most earnest, conscientious, and learned of the writers of his country ; he has survived the democratic Mini ster of Finance, Goudchaux ; and he has survived a man, recently departed, who had as much energy and talent as any one of these—Colonel Charras— who died on Tuesday last at Basle, in Switzerland. From his democratic opinions it might by many be supposed that Charras was a man of humble birth and fortune, sprung from the Ipins of the working democracy. There could not, however, be a greater error. Charras was the son of a General of high character and principles, who was appointed to the Military Government of the Puy de Dome in the reign of Charles X. To this office he was originally named by Clermont Tounessee, Minister of War in the Ministry of Villele, and he was continued in his functions by Marshals Gerard and Soult, both Ministers of Louis Philippe, after the Revolution of 1830. Young Charras, who was born in 1808, in the same year as the now Emperor of the French, received a careful education at the hands of his father. In his sixteenth year, soon after the accession of Charles X. in September, 1824, he entered the Ecole Polytech nique, in which seminary he not only greatly distin guished himself by his talents and acquirements, but also by his open and manly character. From the Polytechnic School, having chosen the Artillery as the special branch of the profession to which he attached himself, he was despatched to the Ecole d'Application de l'Artillerie et du Genie at Metz, in Lorraine. In this great Military Academy he was no less distinguished than at the Polytechnic, and when he left it to join in the active business of his profession he was exceedingly popular, notwith standing the brusqueness of his manners and the advanced nature of his political opinions. Already, in 1829, when scarcely 21, Charras was as well known for the vehemence of his opinions in the French army as was our own William Napier 20 years earlier in the British. In the following year the French Revolution of 1830 broke out, and in the three days of July the young officer of 21 (who had months before distinguished himself in the columns of the National as a writer), distinguished himself also as a combatant in the attack on the barrack of the Rue de Babylone. Charras soon discovered that his contributions to a democratic journal were as displeasing to his commanding offi cers as were those of Carrel ten years previously, when he was a sous-lieutenant in the 29th Reciment of the line, in garrison at &fort. Though Char ras had early enough obtained the grade of Captain of Artillery, yet at that point his promotion stopped, doubtless because of his political opinions. He resolved therefore to get himself transferred from the Artillery to the Infantry, with a view to service in Africa. This was effected under the War Ministry of Soult. After three years' service in Africa Charras was made Chef de Bataillon. After the events of 1848, when Francois Arago held the portfolio of War, awaiting the arrival of General Cavaignac (who had been appointed War Minister), Charras was telegraphed for to Algiers to act as Under Secretary, a post which he at once accepted. It has been said that his conduct in this capacity was harsh and inconsiderate, and that seve ral old officers of Royalist opinions were removed from their command and mis en retraite. Some few cases of this kind wholly indefensible certainly oc curred ; the blame, however, rested not with Char ras, but with his superior, Arago, who held the portfo lio of War till Cavaignac arrived. The personal de meanour of the Under Secretary, though not highly polished or courtly, was that of a frank and manly soldier. Arago's manner, on the contrary, was more trenchant and abrupt, and his views were more unbending. Much of the blame that ought to have fallen on the principal was transferred to the Under- Secretary by the public. But the army and his brother soldiers were well aware that the sin was not Charras's. For a few days in May, 1848, Arago had become so unpopular that Charras filled the office at War till the arrival of Cavaignac on the 15th, and during this time there was no complaint of any injustice. If there had been, it is plain that the department of the Puy de Dome would not have returned Charras to the National Assembly by more than 82,000 votes. While a member of the As sembly Charras gained the esteem of those who differed from him by his directness and straight forwardness of purpose. He avowed himself a Re publican but a moderate Republican, of the school of Cavaignac, who wished order to reign hand-in hand with liberty. Though a member of the C °mite de Guerre in the National Assembly, Charras never separated the duties of a soldier from those of a good citizen. He opposed on Parliamentary grounds the Ministry of the 20th of December, and he was still more vigorously and more energetically opposed to the policy of the Elysee. Such a man as this, though only enjoying the rank of Colonel of Artil lery, was a formidable opponent ; and on the 2d of December, 1851, Charras was arrested in his bed in the Rue Duplot. He made, like his superior officer Dedeau, a desperate . resistance, and would have used his pistols had they not been seized while he was between sleep and wake. Charras felt the attack on his personal liberty a crime not to be con doned. He declined to avail himself of the am nesty issued a couple of years ago, and refused to return to a country from which, he contended, he had been unjustly and illegally expelled. He occu pied the enforced leisure of his exile in writing a history of the campaign of 1815—a work ably and, on the whole, fairly executed'. The talents and attainments of Colonel Charras were considerable. He was a master in the science of his own pro fession, as is apparent from his criticisms on the campaign of Waterloo. He has exposed to demon stration the errors of Napoleon, and proved with remarkable clearness that the charges of treachery, disobedience, and incompetence which the Emperor would fix on his lieutenants are without a shadow of foundation. This work, printed at Brussels, is so popular, that in 1863. it had attained a fourth edition, and a fifth has been called for. Colonel Charras had also written a work on the campaign of 1813, which will be published by his widow. THE " SPECTATOR" ON THE MALT TAX.— Liberals are apt to be a little unfair in their argu ments for the malt tax. They will not always reason the matter out as a question of national policy but treat it too frequently as one of class interests or as a cry raised only for political purposes. I generally find, said a Liberal member recently amidst the laughter of his audience, " that those who oppose the tax are Tories," as if that had anything what ever to do with the matter in hand. We generally find that those who oppose oppressive duties are Whigs, but that is not reason sufficient to *justify a Tory government in keeping those duties on. Still less is it an argument to assert that the repeal of the malt tax is only a farmer's question. If it were it ought to be discussed just as much as a mer chant's question or a manufacturer's, but it is not. It is a question, for every voter in England outside the ranks of Mr. Lawson's clientele, and for every Liberal statesman,—for every voter, because if he is' a sensible person he prefers sound beer to bad wine and worse spirits ; for every Liberal statesman, because the thing most needed at this moment is to disabuse agriculturists of the notion that the Liberal party is at heart hostile to them. That notion,utterly false, corn-growing being just as much an industry as cotton making, and a far more extensive one, sways even so moderate a speaker as Lord John Manners. In his speech at Leicester on Saturday the member for North Leicestershire, who was try ing to be almost painfully fair, still allowed himself to assert that the only chance of repeal was to con ciliate the urban population, who thought the tax one beneficial to them. Such a belief divides the country bylines which are not political but sectional, and makes all improvement tardy by creating an irritable suspicion in the mind of every farmer and landholder that any reform proposed is secretly directed against him. Even when Liberal members repudiate such an idea, as Mr. Milner Gibson did at Ashton, they are still very apt to treat the farmer's demand with something of contempt, to offer argu ments they would never think of producing in the House s to tell people, for example, as he did his constituents, that as the malt tax was only 121 per cent. upon price and the tea duty was 331 per cent. the latter had the higher claim. The President of the Board of Trade of all men must be most certain that the amount of a tax is no test of the injury it inflicts. There are trades which a 3 per cent tax would kill, and trades, such, for instance, as m quinine or saltpetre, on which five times that rate would have scarcely a perceptible effect. A duty levied on the sea-board costs the merchant only its amonnt and the consequent' loss of demand, an excise costs those and the loss from interference in manufacture besides. The first principle of all true hnance is to get rid as far as the necessities of the State will allow of every tax which seriously restricts an industry, and the true point for those who ap prove this tax is to show that it does not restrict an industry as much as some other impost. To say that it is not protective, as, for instance, the Scots man does, is very little to the purpose. The farmers do not allege that it is .protective in the sense of protection against the foreigner, but affirm that all other excise duties having terminated --except one upon spi r it s w hi c h no b o dy wishes to abolish, which we should probably keep up even if we did not want the revenue—it is hard that their industry alone §l2oUld Ive fiubject to au undue restriction, That re. stricticn, they urge, arises in this way. They have land, in some counties a great deal of land, which will grow rather poor barley. They cannot grow it becanse while the duty is levied on quantity it is not worth the maltster's while to malt any but the very best sort of grain. The duty, as they contend, operates to create a monopoly in favour of the pro ducers of the very best barley, a monopoly not se cured by the quality of their article, but by the fact that the malting constituents in good barley pack into a smaller compass, that in fact the saving of duty is ,a bonus granted by the State in favour of the least bulky article. It is the old question of the sugar duties. Suppose them made uniform, it would only pay the importer to purchase the very best, and colonies producing worse—i.e. more bulky sugar—would in fact have a differential duty levied against them. The malt duty is uniform, and the uniformity acts as a differential duty against poor barley. This is the first grievance, and not merely the duty, which it is alleged with truth is paid by the people who drink beer. If all barley could be malted the duty would be a some what cumbrous tax upon all people not teetotallers, but it prevents barley which ought to be malted from being so consumed. The farmers therefore urge that if the Exchequer can spare the money, or any part of the money, they ought to be relieved, and if they cannot be relieved altogether then the duty should decreased pari passu with the income-tax until it is gradually extinguished. Of course some of them say things very unlike this, and talk bom bast, as irritated men generally and Mr. Busfield Ferrand always are apt to do, but we have endea voured to state the argument of the moderate sec tion, of the men who, like Lord John Manners, ad mit that the Treasury must be filled, and who do not believe that anybody wants to crush them, but who still think their reasonable freedom of cultiva tion is impaired by the tax. It will be necessary to listen to them, for the single business in England except cotton which is at this moment not sharing in the general prosperity is agriculture. With wheat selling through last year at an average of 38s. per quarter, farmers whose calculations and leases are based on a minimum of 40s. are not likely to look with complacency or even fairness on any tax which interfere with their efforts to find some paying substitute. Their difficulty may be all their s own fault, as the gentleman who informs the Times that he has grown seven quarters per acre evidently thinks ; or all the landlords' fault, for screwing up rents and preserving game ; or all the black beetles' fault, for anything that anybody's blame has to do with the matter. There is the scrape undeniably, that it is no use for the moment to grow wheat on poor land, and that barley upon such land is prohibited by revenue law, and the farmer is perfectly certain to make strenuous efforts to get out of it. He cannot get back protection, even if he wanted it—and we are talking of sensible men—but he can get rid of a differential duty against poor land, and Liberals may rely on it he will try. Their duty therefore as practical men is to consider not whether the complaint comes from farmers, or landlords, or labourers, or tailors, but whether the plea for reduction is as good as any which other trades can produce. That is not quite so certain as the farmers think, but it is much more probable than some Liberal reasoners appear dis posed to allow. There are very few duties remain ing to be taken off, and among them not one except that on spirits which presses close upon the springs of an English industry. Neither tea, coffee, sugar, nor tobacco are produced in these islands, and of them only sugar can be said to be more beneficial than beer. The ridiculous shilling stillleft upon corn ought no doubt to go,but with wheat at presentprices that necessary reduction can very well wait a little. There are no indirect taxes of moment to abolish, except fire insurance, and although reductions on tea are popular it would not be quite safe to poll England on the choice between that and beer. THE " OBSERVER" ON THE METROPOLITAN OMNI BUS MONOPOLY.-It would appear that nothing short of fresh ',legislation will bring the company which monopolises the omnibus traffic of the metro polis to their senses, and secure justice to the public. We stated in the Observer of last week that so fully did the directors of the London General Omnibus Company feel that the local travelling public of the metropolis were at their mercy that, even should there be a public show of any kind, or a slight change in the weather, then they made it a pretext for increasing their fares 25 and even 50 per cent. Little could it be supposed when those observations were penned that this company were likely to realise the complaint against them within so short a period as one week. It could hardly be supposed that in consequence of a slight change of weather this com pany, who have the entire traffic of the metropolis in their hands, would venture, instead of 50 per cent., to increase their fares to 100, and even, as we are credibly informed,in some instances to 150 per cent. Yet, nevertheless, it is true.lf the " London Ge neral" reduced as well as raised their fares in ac cordance with the indications of the barometer, there would not be so much ground of complaint— the public would not then be under the delusion that they were about to indulge in a threepenny ride, for which, at the:end of their journey, or dur ing their progress, they subsequently found out they had to pay sixpence, and in some instances even as much as ninepence, or in the latter instance an increose of 200 per cent. All this would be un derstood, and the public becoming alive to it,would regulate their travelling accordingly. On most of the lines, however, yesterday morning, the omnibus company doubled their fares without giving the 'Slightest notice to the public. On the Waterloo line of route, from the York and Albany, through Re gent-street and the Strand, the omnibuses were filled, the start made, and the vehicle had proceeded a short distance on the journey, when an intimation was made that a rise in the fares had taken place by the conductor putting his head in at the window, and exclaiming, " Fares, sixpence, ladies and gen tlemen, for any distance." Many, on hearing this, looking upon the demand as an imposition, stopped the vehicle and alighted, preferring rather to walk than submit to it. On the Hampstead-road, and Camden-town and King's-cross lines the same sys tem was adopted during the early part of the morning, but on the second journeys the conductors were provided with a sheet of paper, which was temporarily pasted inside, with the words written thereon, " Sixpence any distance ; " and it is asserted that during the first and second journeys, knowing that the mass of riders were compelled to be at business by a given time, as much as nine pence was charged for the ordinary threepenny and fourpenny journey. A great amount of indignation was manifested by the public, and grave doubts were expressed as to the legality of this proceeding. We believe we are correct in asserting that, without due notice, painted prominently on some portion of the vehicle such charges are not legal, and cannot be enforced. However, legal or not legal, we are quite certain in the l ong run th a t th e London General Omnibus Compa n y will find their policy in th is re spect a failur e . Wi t hi n a b r i e f perio d the northern suburbs of the metropolis will in common with others form a portion of the great Metropolitan Railway system ; and the Omnibus Company may rest assured when the advantages of competition in this respect is attained—a competition they cannot by any possibility run off the road or get rid of— their present treatment of the public will not be forgotten. The Opinion Nationale publishes a communicated note from the Ministry of the Interior, correcting a misin terpretation of certain passages in its comments on a pre vious note. That journal had erroneously insisted that the city authorities were to be blamed for unnecessary delay in settling the indemnity to be paid to the parties expropriated to make the new Rue de Turbigo. _ _ _ CENTRAL ASIA.—A letter from St. Petersburg, dated 18th inst., notices as follows the sitting of the Imperial Geographical Society on the 14th December, at which very interesting news was given concerning the countries of Central Asia. Mr. Struve read an account of a voyage he had made in company with Mr. Potanine, towards the sources of the Irtisch, to the Lake Zaissane, and to the mountains of Tarbigataisk. According to the information collected by the author, it appears that the Kirghises and Tatars are inclined to form fixed settle ments, and have begun to found villages, one of which is situated at about forty kilometres to the south of the mountains of Tarbigataisk. After Mr. Struve, Rear-Ad miral Boutakoff gave an account of his exploration of the Sir Darla. He has ascertained that this river is navigable to a distance of 800 kilometres from Fort Perowsky, which gives a total length of 1,500 navigable kilometres from its mouth. It is still unknown if higher up the river has a sufficient depth to carry boats. Rear Admiral Bouta koff has met as far as Fort Djoulck traces of canals and of some towns, the existence of which dates as far back as Tamerlane. The desert lands begin higher up. All the ter ritory comprised between the Forts Perowsky and Djoulck is at present inhabited by a numerous and active popula tion, who occupy themselves with husbandry and breeding cattle. The Kirghises dig water canals, drain the bogs, construct dikes, and live on good terms with the Cossack colony established near the fort. Every day there arrive Kirghises and wandering Korakalpacks, who abandon Khiva and put themselves under our protection. The Aca demical Gazette publishes the account of a voyage of explo ration of the river Soungoura, a tributary stream of the Amoor. The steamer ascended the river as far as Guirine, a Mantchouria town of 100,000 inhabitants, which serves as a seat of residence to the governor of the country. The borders of the Soungoura, which traverses Mant chouria from south to north, are well peopled, and the in habitants gather in crowds round the Russians to admire their dress, and especially the steamer working its way against the current by means of its paddle wheels. It results from this first voyage that the Soungoura is navigable from the Amoor as far as the confluence of the Nani-Outa, but that further on there are shallows. It remains nosy to amrtain if the 11.3 likowio9 Vacancies, Promotions, and AppointineuD,, in the Civil Service. (From the Civil Service Gazette.) COLONIAL-OFFICE.—MT Henry Russell Heysham hasbeet' appointed a clerk in the convict service, Western Australia. INDIAN-OFFICE.—Mr. Hugh C. Briggs has been a pP oiuted a temporary clerk. THE ADMIRALTY.—Mr. Frederick Powell has been a r pointed a clerk in the victualling-yard, Malta. THE POST OFFICE.—Mr. Pellatt, postmaster of iler castle-on-Tyne, has been appointed postmaster of Sour; ampton. Mr. Edward M a c gow r a n has been appohl te ' clerk at Dumfries. M r . H aver ty h as been promoted {rola the old supplementary c l ass t o th e seco nd class of elern sorting office, Dublin. Mr. M'Clintock has been promote from the redundant establishment of clerks to the Po t*. tionary class of clerks, sorting office, Dublin. iu"-- i „d a CUSTOMS.—Mr. John R. Blackford has been appe clerk in the examiner's office, London. Mr. Maurice Sr u . - has been appointed a clerk in the examiner's office, theLo Mr. Alfred J. Wood has been appointed a clerk m examiner's office, London. Mr. John H. Jeffery h as fir. appointed a clerk in the searcher's office, London. ‘: Charles de V. Wood has been appointed an extra clerN London. Mr. Charles E. Sullivan has been apPoi nte r ci ; clerk for general business, Liverpool. Mr. Thomas B . Th 1 .1,. has been appointed 18th clerk, Dublin. Mr. Williaw.h. Massy, has been appointed 10th clerk, Southampton, ;7. James Moway has been appointed sth clerk, Aberdeen'T. D. Thorpe, clerk of the second-class in the long - P''„, London, has been promoted to be chief clerk in the Ist; room. Mr. H. H. Hooper, clerk of the third-class nn a long room, has been promoted to, be a clerk of the bee°llof class, long-room, London. Mr. W. H. Sharmand, clang I , the fourth-class, long-room, has been promoten to he w, clerk of the third-class, long-room, London. Mr. M. lift # „ ( l son, clerk of the fifth-class, long-room, has been proel°"" to be a clerk of the fourth-class, long-room, London. INLAND REVENUE.—Stamp and Tax Branch.—le• Lomas, committee clerk, has been appointed assistant setre tary, Stamp and Taxes, vice Mr. C. Hay, retired. 11-I ,'g, Joseph Prendergast has been appointed committe e u'e vice Mr. Lomas, promoted. Exam BRANCH.—Mr. Henry Geo. Attfield, office r, Stgf ; ford division, Stafford collection, has been apPoD'ied,f,i aminer. Mr. William Lindsay, office r , Gl asg ow, 12th r sion, Glasgow collection, has been appointed elcat te r e i ' l Mr. Wm. Tulse, officer, Edinburgh, 2d division, Ediu:7- collection, has been appointed officer of Liverpool, 6tP * -- T e i r sion, Liverpool colleetion. Mr. Wm. Long, dropped oc a Glasgow, 14th division, Glasgow collection, has men pointed officer of Glasgow 7th division, Glasgow eoll ect v i- Mr. Peter Fisher, officer, Glasgow, 13th division, Glases:i collection, has been appointed officer of Glasgow, 12th sion. Glasgow collection. Mr. John P. Sibthorpe, d r°l lo officer, Glasgow, 14th division, Glasgow collection, been appointed officer of Glasgow, 13th division, G las r c l i collection.' Mr. Edward Pinnix, officer, Tentercieu Canterbury collection, has been appointed second c i°- Brighton collection. Ii ..„{ tea IRELAND.—Mr. Edward Murtagh has been ePY h ro third class clerk, secretary's department, Board a Ku - l e , Works, vice Mr. Octavius H. Braddell, transferre d t° countant's Department. • Cry 114, lot t, dze. Witt LI T 1 Clud Vari. Ot t you l'atc) and by nni Fab 111 411 8 Ar (ex z , -It ( %tr qa [ i ( TI.II ,_ li COUNTRY MARKETS _-.1.---- YORK—SATURDAY. t ther e The frost continnes with considerable severity, bu is a good covering of snow for the land ; in fact , ju t it s to places further north the fall of snow has been so gre,,, B ia tit° render the roads impassable. There was only tendance of the trade at our corn market, and a of wheat, the price of which was fully equal to that - week. 888 pa t New white wheat, 40s to 45s ; new red, 360 dal 36 stone. Barley, for malting, 28s to 30s per qr ; stone'. 26s to 27s per 30 stone. Oats, new, 20s to 22s per `` Beans, 40s to —s per 38 stone. NO T T INGHAM—SATURDAY. the There was a fair quantity of wheat on offer -I . of the growers at this corn exchange to-day, the condition o i 0) grain being pretty tolerable. We have had a hea r / of the snow during the last few days, and the ap p e araucc erv ice: country is quite winterly. The snow will be Veil 6 ra able to the young wheat plant in protecting it fro to o i frost. There was a fair demand 10-day, and the r 3 last week were fully supported. o esf Old white wheat, 43s to 46s ; old red, 898 to 41s; no white, 41s to 45s ; new red, 37s to 41s per 36 stone. 2 6 $ to ley, new malting, 28s 'to 34s per qr ; old grincling' to 27s ; new, 25s to 27s per 30 stone. Oats, old, 250 3so naw, 22s to 25s ; old foreign, 24s to 26s per stone. old, 40s to 43s ; new, 37s to 39s per 38 stone. NORWICH—SATURDAY. to-m' The supply of wheat was short at this market 5 lot and the trade may be considered about the smile 'offer' week for all useful qualities. There was less b arley of 15 ing than of late, and in some instances an adv!olce other per qr. was realised for the best samples of m alting 7 , it tid sorts ruled about the same as on this day (1 doing in oats, beans, or peas. 5 • re . White wheat (weighing 631 b to 641 b 448 to 4 s a i t ias ditto (weighing 631 b to 641 b), 36s to 8s ; best 1 11 dit to barley (weighing 551 b to 561 b), 30s to 33s ; rti l L s ,igir (weighing 541 b to 551 b), 28s to 30s ; distilling ditto (",1" Sl 4 ing 521 b to 531 b), 84s to 28s ; oats, 24s to 26s • be 311 4 ." 0 2 64 to 39s ; peas (maple), 36s to 38s per qr; flour ' 2W ci. rs.l sennight. +.. 6d. Average—wheat, 2,000 qrs, 33s 4d ; barley, ' 91 11 ' 29s 2d ; oats, 32 qrs, 26s 7d. LEICESTER—SATURDAY. net Old white wheat, 41s to 45s ; old red, 38s to ' 2° 'l3O - white, 40s to 438 ; new red, 37s to 408 per 36 stone- 0 .5 0 ley, malting, 308 to 33s per qr. ; grinding, 28s to 3 1 13 o toll e ' stone. Oats,- old, 24s to 26s •, new, 25s to 2 7 s p er. 2 Beans, old, 39s to 41s ; new, 36s to 38s per 38 stone. CORK—FRIDAY. -1 1436 • g , The following were the quotations this Mora l 68 O d , berle9 wheat, 7s 6d to Os Od ; white, 8s 8d to O s ; A A to 6 6d • to 7s Od; oats, 5s 3d to 6s 8d ;• black oats, 6s bore, Os Os Od. DUBLIN.—FRIDAY. Attendance thin. Supply of wheat small; ts - oats large ; dema n d very s l ow . T o e ffect sales o , ?,a tec i to barley 3d per barrel reduction should be subs oast' Foreign wheat, no buyers. Maize in very little Flour, no life, bake rs j us t t a ki ng f or i mm ediate witu.'' eci Currencies: Whte wheat, 23s Od to 25 5 Od 013' 21s Od to 22 s 6d ; gr i n di ng b ar l ey, 12 s 6d to 135 9d' 404 mg do., 14s to 15 s 6d ; w hit e oats, 11 5 t o 120; b li ‘ e 10s 6d to lls 3d. Foreign Mail Packet List. -4. , beb. ,S. Australia and New Zealand, via South a mpton••• • • F ' w e-* 13. Ditto, via Marseilles b 3. Brazil and Cape Verde, by British pao t et 1"" ~/, Ditto, by British packet .. .......... .. rep' ;9, Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena....r e t l. China, Penang, and Singapore. via S o uthampton.," v. feb• it EDitto, via Marseilles Falkland Islands Feb. Gibraltar, via Southampton l. India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampton.... Feb. I. 1 , Ditto, via Marseilles - Feb. I n dia (Bombay), via Southampton. Feb. l'' 5 , Ditto, via Marseilles Feb. Mauritius, via Southampton 5 , Ditto, via Trlarseite 3. Feb. 15' Newfoundland Feb' 3, Portugal Fel). • •••• Ditto, by private ship to Lisbon... United States and British North America, by Bri- f. • tish packet Ditto, by United States packet, via Southamp ton Ditto, via Cork ...... • ..... Ditto, by Canadian pack e t, v i a L on d on d er ry ' • yew p West Coast of Africa, Madeira, and Teneriffe. ..... Feb West Indies and Pacific (except Bahamas, Cuba , Jan' 9. zd and Mexico r ). Bahamas, via New York. vi I-' Bermuda, ditto ......... i sn e 2S' Cuba and Mexico ....... ili n # s ' [ AD VERTISEMENT].---Holloway's Ointment a il- A desye Hope for all.—Wh atever their ailments, none 11ee tii 0 ' 4 1, of being c ure d till they have tried these we ore. remedies. Wh e th er th e di sease b e i nterna l or c'toil2:,l spontaneous, or the result of violence ; if a cure b e S e rit , : i eu Holloway's medicaments will effect it. The 50 : 0 1itte'd duration of the malady is no bar to the successful ur l i fy, exerted by these twin medicine, which cleanse? P o wle e t o ir invigorate every solid and fluid s in the body, and N I , oc t renovate the digestion. They render every' ore ease pa cretion healthy. These admirable antidotes to to, 0 ,4 immediately on the absorbent system, lunge, b one, circulation, whereby they invariably give ene2o vigour to all the natural functions of life. Births. do r CHAPMAN.—On the 26th inst., at North L o dge, le 91 ton, Mrs. Frederic Chapman, of a son. , na to ,. ld MAXWELL.—On the 26th inst., at 21, Bucking o " - As - to ' Edinburgh, the wife of Colonel Maxwell, C.B.v" o f Regt), of a son. +l , ififo' a MrLEs.—On the 21st inst., at Penpole House, inlell" Philip W. S. Miles, Esq., of King's Weston, 0' - heir. Marriages, 117'1 , t BERENS--SHAW-HELLIER.—On the 21st inst., al , Knightsbridge, Alexander A. Berens, Esq., ° f Hall, Cambridge, to Mary Ellen, the eldest dai l s o ffo Thomas Shaw-Hellier, Esq., of Rodbaston shire. bent d , JOHNSON—ROPER.—On the 24th inst.. at St. Pe tel : n belt don, Thomas Charl es , fourth son of the late oecy Johnson, Esq., of Aldermanbury, to Susan Lyaiiii daughter of Robert Roper, Esq., of Croydon. Deaths. 4.4 " 0 114 DUCE.—On the 27th 'i ns t., a t W e d nes b ury , 8- 421. ..tatf James Duce, Esq., M.R.C.S., L.S.A., aged 28- 1 .-Iw o ." DUNDONALD.—On the 25th inst. at at BouloguilitluA Katherine Corbett, Dowager Countess . of Dunu,"; 2 l 6 9 lict of Vice-Admiral the Earl of Dundonaldi a5 l De l co . FULLER. —On the 25th inst., at Bear-hill, TwYff r ygtl l ' Lieut.-Colonel Frederick Hervey Fuller 0 1 ' 14 &t o giment), aged 79. FOWLE.—On the 21st inst., at Chute Lodge , o licf Rev. Henry Fowle, M.A., aged 62. No Posmn.—On the 26th inst., at Yelverton Rector" , dolt * . the Rev.. Edward Postle, aged 65. C WELLS.—On the 27th inst. i at Chelmsford., 1 " Esq., aged 75. 0 4,/ _ ° 110' London : Printed an d P u bli s h ed byWIL LIA3I! , of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at TILE SUI 4 0 " 4- 01P t " i Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, 111 Kiddleoes.--31miay, Jaunt, 80,1886., DOli I ,l lls. rti , uar t !_ orn Ent( eio I[4IQ till 1 , Cc Ztt 1.11•tt Of Nj Th e 0 1 EtYf ~a fr ail u }{ un 5 1. 11 1 . 14,,s THE SUri, LONDON, MON DAY E V ENING, JANUARY BJ, 1865.