The Sun. — London, England, 1866-02-05 00:00:00

Naval and Military Intelligence. On Saturday Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Talbot, Acting Commander-in-Chief at the Nore, accom panied by his suite, inspected the screw steamer Conqueror, 2,845 tons, 500-horse power, Capt. W. B. Luard, on her return from China and Japan, with the battalion of Royal Marines. The Admiral was received on board with the customary honours, and inspected the principal parts of the vessel, mus tering the whole of the ship's company, and wit nessing their exercises at quarters. Before leaving, Sir Charles Talbot expressed to Capt. Luard and the officers his satisfaction with the appearance of the vessel after the lengthened period she had been in commission, and the nature of the service on which she had been engaged. The Conqueror has taken up moorings in the harbour, and will be placed in the steam basin, where she will be dis mantled and put out of commission. A falling barometer and a stiff southerly gale in the Channel during Thursday night offered another chance for the trials of the 121-ton guns and their carriages on board the Minotaur on the succeeding day, Friday. As soon as the atmosphere cleared sufficiently to admit of objects being seen within moderate distance of the ship, she weighed her anchor at Spithead, and, with Capt. A. C. Key and staff on board, steamed out to the southward in search of rough weather. A sea heavy for the Chan nel was soon fallen in with, but, as on previous oc casions, the ship was found much too large to be strongly influenced by it, her utmost motion when she lay in the " trough" was not quite ten degrees. Rolling thus, at what may be fairly termed a maxi mum swing of nine degrees each way, the motion of the ship was easy and regular, and without that sudden lurching movement which has been sought for by the ship on her trips, but which she seems destined never to fall in with. The Mino taur is, in fact, as we have stated before, a ship of too large a tonnage for the present trials. A Channel sea produces but slight effect upon her, and a cruise into the Bay of Biscay she is not in a fit state yet to enter upon, nor could Captain Key spare from his other duties the necessary time for such a trial. A continued gale entering the Chan nel from the Atlantic may occur and bring with it such a sea south of the Isle of Wight as may yet supply the necessary conditions, and if such an op portunity does occur we may depend upon its being taken due advantage of. It is, however, considered that enough has been done already to demonstrate satisfactorily to the most sceptical the possibility of working 12i -ton guns on a ship's broadside when ever a ship's gunports can be opened at sea. This is of the gravest importance, but it is the opinion en tertained by Capt. Key and his officers, and all who have conducted or witnessed the trials of the guns so far as they have yet gone. It is also an opinion that will be confirmed in its soundness by the intro duction of improved mechanical aids in mounting and working the guns, for, if with the present crude ideas that direction now being developed by practice on board the Minotaur so much has already been achieved, it may very confidently be presumed that with these same ideas perfected, or possibly super seded altogether, by new and better forms, 12i-ton guns will in future be worked as securely and fired as rapidly on the broadsides of our ironclads as were the 6-inch and 8-inch guns on the broadsides of our earliest wooden built screw frigates, before iron planked frigates were thought of. From the results of the experimental firing on board the Minotaur on Friday no other opinion could indeed be entertained even if all consideration of what had been done pre viously was discarded for the time being. What practice took place was made from the gun mounted on Commander Scott's iron carriage and slide, and the gun mounted on the Admiralty pattern wooden carriage and slide, the latter fitted with eccentric rollers, &c., on Capt. A. C. Key's plan, and with Cunningham's running in and training chain and winch. The guns were held, in both instances, under perfect control, under greater control, indeed, than the old 8-inch or 32 pounders, as usually mounted and worked, would have been under similar circumstances. Up to the present time nothing more need be said about the competitive gun carriages and their fittings on board the Minotaur than that the iron box-girder carriage and slide has a very great advantage over the only rival it can be said to have at present on board—the iron carriage and slide from Woolwich arsenal. This is due to its very superior finish, and is the more remarkable as the former was made in the factory of the dockyard and the latter in Woolwich arsenal. The running-in gear and the compressor fitted to this gun have thus far answered admirably, but the training gear wants simplification. The Cunningham training and running in chain gear is simple, and there is no loss of force by friction ; but it also is open to improve ment in some of its details. A part of the chain gave way on Friday, but the damage was merely temporary. From the confined space between the ports on the Minotaur's main deck, where the 12i ton guns are mounted, there is not room for work ing efficiently proper chain training gear such as Mr. Cunningham's, or, indeed, the triple descrip tions of training gears fitted to the Scott gun, but with a greater space between the guns, which must be given where they are permanently carried, the training of the guns in rapid firing from one extreme angle to the opposite will be carried out with much greater care, regularity, and rapidity than it can be at present on board the Minotaur. The 12i-ton gun has become so associated with the turret prin ciple of shipbuilding, from the fact of the Royal Sovereign carrying that description of gun, for want of a heavier weapon, in her turrets, that some may imagine if we succeed in carrying and fighting this description of ordnance on the broadsides of our ironclads at sea there will be then no need of turret ships. No idea could well be more fallacious. Whatever the weight of the gun may be which will be carried on a broadside gun on board ships of war, all our experience goes to prove that a turret-built ship constructed on the same lines would carry guns in her turrets of treble the weight, yet necessarily fewer in number. The Minotaur returned to Spithead from the Channel on Friday evening, and remains anchored there in readiness for further experiments. Two 6-inch armour-plates for the double-screw frigate Penelope, building at Pembroke dockyard from the designs of Mr. E. J. Reed, were tested at Portsmouth on Saturday, under the supervision of Capt. A. C. Key, C. 8., of her Majesty's gunnery ship Excellent, and under the new conditions of trial as recently laid down by the Admiralty. Under the old conditions the armour-plate to be tested was bolted on the side of some old wooden ship selected for the purpose and fired at from the deck of a gun boat moored at a distance of 200 yards, with a 95cwt. 8-inch smoothbore gun, throwing a spherical shot with a powder charge of 161 b. Under the new conditions the plate and the gun are but 30ft. apart, the same Weight of shot being thrown at the plate, but now Propelled by 1:31b. instead of 161 b. of powder as before. To carry this into effect a line of-battle ship, Previously used as a target-ship, has lower been cut do wn to her low d beams and 30ft. , of the lower deck amidships stripped of the overhead planking and converted into the " proof room." At the fore end of this roofless space of the ship's deck is a massively built athwartships timber bulkhead, su pposed to give supporting strength to the plate under trial equivalent to the strength given by the side of our best constructed ironclad. Thirty feet aft of this bulkhead is the battery bulkhead, f aced with 44 -inch plating, and pierced.withfo ur gu'npo rts through which peer 95 cwt. g un s. hive sh ' ots at each end of each plate under trial is the tea, and the shoot distance enables the gunners to plant thes e shots so that all overlap each other. Utter disin tegration of the metal in the centre of the smallspace where these five. blows are delivered as a matter of course follows, but upon the exact nature of this disintegration, and the presence or absence of ex tended fractures depends the passing and classifica tion of the armour-plate. On Saturday the guns being loaded and pointed at the p l a tes magnetic tubes were placed in the gun vents, and all hands were ordered to the deck below. Here a small mag netic instrument was connected by wires with the magnetic tubes in the guns. A few turns with the handle of this instrument was succeeded by a deafening explosion, followed in a few seconds by a shower of iron, the remnants of the broken up shot falling on the deck overhead. This repeated the required number of times,:according to the number of plates under trial, concludes that part of the test applicable to the guns, the other part being the less exciting one of the measurement and comparison of the results on the face of the plates. Messrs. Cammell's plates on Saturday passed through their trial successfully. The Cumberland, 24, Capt. G. Randolph, guard ship of the steam reserve squadron in the Medway, had her crew paid down to 12months, on Saturday, after which a large number of the hands were granted leave of absence for various periods, for the purpose of visiting their friends, the liberty men leaving for London by an early train in the afternoon. The screw steam frigate Doris, 30, having had her bottom cleaned and valves overhauled, was removed from No. 1 dock in Keyham steamyard on Friday and placed in the lock. This week she will be re moved to mooring in Hamoaze, preparatory to her being put in commission by Capt. Vesey. The screw steam frigate Liffey, 39, having been overhauled in Keyham steamyard, was removed on Saturday into Hamoaze, preparatory to her being placed in Devonport dockyard, in order to be pre pared for the first division of the steam reserve. The screw steam corvette Rattlesnake, 21, Com modore Eardley-Wilmot, C. 8., recently returned from the West Indies, was placed on Friday under the sheer hulk in' Hamoaze, where her masts and bowsprits were removed. She is now alongside the Devonport dockyard to complete dismantling, after which her crew will be paid off. The Liverpool screw wooden frigate, 35, Captain Lambert, sailed from Spithead at noon yesterday for Plymouth Sound and the Mediterranean. The military invalids brought to England from Hongkong and the Cape of Good Hope in Messrs. Teighe and Smith's ship Gresham were disembarked on Saturday and forwarded to the Royal Victoria Military Hospital at Netley. A board of officers, consisting of Rear-Admiral Wellesley, Col: Shad well, Adjutant Quartermaster-General, Dr. Tunes, the principal medical officer of the S.W. district, and other officers, afterwards assembled on board the Gresham to inquire into the causes of the ex cessive rate of mortality which had prevailed among the troops during the voyage home, upwards of 40 men, women, and children having died on board since the vessel sailed from Hongkong. The report of the board was to the effect that the large number of deaths was solely attributable to the weak and sickly condition of the troops at the time of embar cation at Hongkong, the accommodation afforded to the troops on board the ship, the height between decks, and their thorough ventilation, proving the Gresham to be a ship of unusual excellence for troop carrying duties. The officers accompanying the troops on the voyage expressed themselves in terms of warm admiration of the conduct of the comman der of the Gresham, Mr. Brayley, and especially with the manner in which he endeavoured by every means in his power to anticipate the wants of the sick during the voyage. The Gresham is bound to London to discharge her cargo, but was detained at Spithead up to last evening by the rough weather. The 17th Lancers, who have occupied the cavalry barracks at Colchester since their return from India, have received orders to hold themselves in readiness to proceed to Aldershot, and it is expected that they will take their departure some time in March. It is understood that they will be succeeded at Colchester by the Ist Dragoon Guards, which regiment will shortly arrive in England from Madras. E ear-Admiral Robert Spencer Robinson is to be Controller of the Navy for a further period of five years ; his appointment is to date from the 17th instant. The following appointments were made on Satur day at the Admiralty :—Lieut. Lawrence P. Wil lan, Lieut. Henry Fox, and Lieut. W. Thresher, to the Doris, commissioned ; and Lieut. J. Buchanan to the Gladiator, vice Croke. The Late Mr. Gibson. (Front. the Correspondent of the Times.) RO3IE, Jan. 30. On Saturday it was my melancholy duty to re port the death of our distinguished countryman, John Gibson. I have now to describe the honours which were rendered to him on the occasion of his funeral, which was solemnised yesterday at two o'clock. No sooner was the sad event known than 1 a general desire was felt and expressed to mark in some peculiar way the respect which was felt for a great artist and a good man, and a hurried meeting of his friends was called at the English Academy of Arts on Saturday evening. A considerable number attended, and the Hon. Mr. Walpole having been voted to the chair, the Dean of Down and several other gentlemen addressed the meeting, some of whom were of opinion that a public character should be given to the funeral. As some difference of opi nion existed from a regard to the well-known un ostentatious character of the man whom all wished to honour, and perhaps from a fear of meeting with opposition on the part of the Government, it was decided to leave the arrangements in the hands of Mr. Penryn Williams and Mr. Spence, the attached friends and Roman executors of the deceased. Mr. Macbean and Mr. Ercole, the bankers, at the re quest of the executors, conducted the arrangements for the funeral. Invitations to attend were issued to the members of the Art Academies, to the Em bassies, to the English residents and visitors, and to many foreigners ; while placards announcing that the funeral would take place on Monday at 2 o'clock, were posted in the English church and other public places, the clergyman of the American church reading it from the pulpit. The body was re moved from the house early on Monday morning, and taken very privately in a hearse to the English Protestant burial-ground, where it was deposited in the little chapel erected there. It was a lovely morning when we drove out of Rome to pay our last homage to our friend—just such a morning as an artist might have desired on which to sink to rest after life's long toil. Before us and behind us were carriages full of ladies and gentlemen, and many persons on foot—the healthy and strong, all tending to the same spot as ourselves. " Five-and forty years have passed," said one of my compa nions, Mr. Severn, " since I travelled the same road to attend the funeral of my friend Keats, be tween whose imagery and the creation of Gibson I find no slight resemblance." On approaching the cemetery it was evident that a large crowd of per sons had already assembled. Outside the gate was a platoon of French soldiers, whose officer was placed for the time under the direction of the Eng lish authorities. 'With a courtesy and kindness which cannot be too highly appreciated, General Montebello accorded this mark of respect to our deceased countryman, who had been honoured by the Emperor with the decoration of the Legion of Honour. Artists were in great force ; all the resi dents and visitors among the English and Ame ricans of any consideration ; many of the French and Germans, and not a few of the Romans were there assembled, and, as was very evid en t, not merely to do honour to the man who had attained the highest eminence in his profession, but to mani fest their regard for one who was as much beloved in private as he was respected in public life. I never witnessed so large a crowd so fully impressed by one deep sentiment. It is a beautiful spot is the Eng lish Protestant ground in Rome, lying as it does close to Monte Testaccio on the one hand and to the Aventine on the other. The very irregularities of its surface add to its appearance, and relieve it of that dull uniformity which usually marks the resting-place of man. Tall, sombre-looking yew trees on one side stand there, the silent and perma nent mourners for the dead, while flowers, the flowers of spring, which seemed to have stolen im perceptibly on winter, seemed to say that genius and virtue can never die. By 2 o'clock nearly all had arrived, and on the order beinr , given the com p(l)vn either eain3eyrofth sFeriench soldiers marched in ' and took its place fidersotf tphaertpaotfhtiw:ehicsehrvleideeiiwitoastthoe be o hapel per formed. By the side of the coffin, covered with black cloth, stood two ladies in deep mourning ; there were the pall-bearers, too, and others of the more intimate friends of the deceased; and outside were massed a crowd of friends ready to fall into the pro cession. The Rev. Mr. Watts, the resident curate of the Protestant church, read the service, and on the con- THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 5, 1866. elusion of that beautiful chapter from the Corinthians, which has filled so many generations of Christian mourners with comfort and hope, the coffin was raised and the procession formed. The pall bearers were the Earl of Northesk, M. Schnetz (the Director of the French Academy of Arts), M. Dessoulavy, M. Wolfi (the distinguished Prussian sculptor), Mr. Coleman (landscape painter, and Secretary of the British Academy of Arts), M. Bravo (Danish Con sul), M. Saulini (the celebrated cameist), and M. D'Epinay, the very rising young sculptor from the Mauritius. The chief mourners were Mr. Penryn Williams, the old and beloved friend of Gibson, and one of his Roman executors, Mr. Odo Russell, Mr. Web ster, R.A., and Mr. Severn, her Majesty's consul. Mr. Spence, the friend, pupil, and almost son of Gibson, was prohibited by his medical man from following, and remained in the chapel. The French company of soldiers formed behind, and then, two and two, came the long line of friends, acquaint ances, and admirers. As it moved slowly on, and up the steep ascent, the muffled drums of the soldiers, which were covered with crape, added to the solem nity of the ceremony; the groups above all gathered together and formed a semicircle round the upper part of the grave, while on the lower part were those who had joined the procession. As the coffin, on which lay the decoration of the Legion of Honour, was lowered into the vault, a military salute was fired, and then, amid the most impressive silence, the concluding part of the service was read. The will of Gibson, of which I am in a position to send you the details, forms an interesting portion of the history of his life, and shows what persevering labour and industry can effect. The following are the bequests of one who early in life copied drawings in the shop windows, and sold them for a few pence : —By a will made and signed May 25, 1855, he left Penryn Williams £5OO ; Mr. Theed, £4OO ; Benja min Gibson, his cousin, £2OO ; Mr. de Soullavy, £lOO ; Signor Giuseppe Incoronata, of London, £lOO ; Signor Giuseppe Bonomi, £2OO ; Mrs. Anna Jameson, £2OO ; Mr. Solomon Gibson, his brother, £lOO. His books and prints, with their frames, he left to Mr. Spence, the son of his fellow-workman, and now the eminent sculptor. His own or other drawings were left to the Royal Academy. By a codicil added May 26, 1865, he bequeathed to the Royal Academy his group in marble of the wounded warrior supported by a female figure, then nearly finished ; all his works in marble not sold at the time of his death—models in Gesso of his works in marble not sold, except the models of such works as have been presented in marble ; all his models in Gesso not executed ; the first cast of Venus de Medicis, which was sent to Canova to be executed in marble, and which, when executed, was to replace the noble statue carried off to Paris. Moreover, he bequeathed to the Royal Academy £32,000, free of testamentary tax, on the following conditions :—A space sufficient for their reception, and easy accom modation is to be provided for his works, which are to be open to the use of the students of the Royal Academy, and to be exposed to the public, accord ing to such regulations as to the council should seem best. Legacies of £lOO were left to his executors in England, the President, Treasurer, and the Sec retary of the Royal Academy for the time being, and who were then Sir Charles Eastlake, Mr. Boxall, and Mr. Hardwick, " who will prove my will." By another codicil made, I believe, since his late illness, Gibson left £2OO each to his devoted and affectionate attendants, Mrs. Spence and Miss Lloyd ; the same sum to a female servant who had been long in his service, and a similar sum to each of his two workmen. Railway and other Companies. -0.- LONDONDERRY AND ENNISKILLEN. The report of the directors states that the rent of the railway for the six months (£13,000) had been received from the Irish North Western Company by weekly payments, less income tax. Such moneys as were immediately required for the use of the company were placed to a deposit account, the in terest of which amounted to £Bl. The transfer for fees amounted to £3, and balance from last account to £2Ol, making the total £13,285. From this was deducted £4,018 for interest on loans from Govern ment and on debentures, and for legal, office, and other expenses, leaving a disposable balance of £9,257 towards the payment of dividends and arrears. The directors recommended that dividends at the rate of 5 per cent. per annum to the 31st of Dec. last be declared and paid on the 19th inst., on the £3,062 stock B, described as 245 half shares, standing in certain names ; also the dividends, at the rate of 6 per cent. per annum, on the £39,850 stock A ; also the dividends, at the rate of 5 per cent., together with 1k per cent., on account of arrears, making 6f per cent. per annum on £247,737 stock B. After the payment of those dividends and arrears there would remain a balance of £lB4. The capital account showed that £708,933 had been ex pended. PORT CARLISLE. The half-yearly meeting was held on Friday at Carlisle—the Rev. J. Heysham in the chair. The report showed that there was a balance of £425 available for dividend ; out of this the direc tors recommended the payment of a dividend of 245. per cent. per annum, less income tax. The dividend as recommended was agreed to, and the proceedings terminated. ATLANTIC AND GREAT WESTERN AND THE PENNSYLVANIA. The controversy between these and other Ameri can railway companies was resumed on Jan. 15, be fore Justice Read, in the Supreme Court. The great object of the proceedings was for the purpose of putting an end to an agreement made on the 10th ult. between the Atlantic and Great Western Rail way Company on the one part, and the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company on the other part, also including other railroad companies, for a joint working of the traffic from Drayton and other places in the West to Philadelphia and New York. The Court was addressed by Judge Church, Judge Black, and the Hon. R. J. Walker on behalf of the Atlantic and Great Western Company, in the course of which it was urged that the agreements between the Sunbury and Erie Railroad Company and Cata wissa Railroad Company stipulated that all disputes between the companies parties to these agreements should be decided by arbitration. On the 16th Mr. Walker resumed his argument, and contended there was no ground for granting an injunction to pre vent the agreement being carried out. The only complaint of injury on the part of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company resulted from an anticipated de flection of trade from its road to that of a rival which was the subject of competition and could not be complained of. He concluded by referring to the line of steamships to be established in connexion with the railroad enterprise, and said it had been demonstrated that a line of steamers starting from near Philadelphia, taking the southern passage to Milford-haven would perform the distance in 22 hours less time than the present line from New York to Liverpool. The clause in the agreement with reference to the establishment of steamships was to be carried out in good faith. Mr. C. GIBBONS, on behalf of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad Companies, said that the great stuggle for the com merce of the West was not new. It commenced more than 30 years ago. Philadelphia had been beaten in the struggle, and New York had secured the prize. They had been beaten from want of union among the people of Philadelphia, and from want of determination to secure the trade. The only two great railroad companies in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania were assailed in that court by those railway speculators in London who had drawn to their service the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company. On the 17th he resumed his argument, and contended that his clients had always endea voured to benefit Philadelphia. The lease of the Catawissa, railroad to the Atlantic and Great Westcrn worked very serious injury to the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad Company—it transferred to an avowed enemy what was granted to a friend. What they asked was that this contract should be surrendered to be cancelled. On the 18th he resumed, and denied the existence of any power in the Cata wissa Company to assign the contract made with the Sunbury and Erie Railroad, and contended there was no authority for the contract between the Atlantic and Great Western Railway Company and the Catawissa Railroad Company. He then adverted to the agreement with the Reading Railroad Com pany in order to show that this and the Atlantic and Great Western Company were managed by London capitalists. On the adjournment of the Court it was under stood that Mr. Cuyler would conclude the case on behalf of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, but it was thought the Court would take some time before it decided the question. DEMERARA. The traffic receipts on this company's line for the three weeks ending the 31st of December last amounted to $B,BlB, against $8,434 for the corre sponding three weeks of 1864, showing an increase of $385. ELECTRIC AND INTERNATIONAL TELEGRAPH. The half-yearly meeting of this company was held on Friday at the office, Telegraph-street, Moorgate street ; the Hon. R. Grimston in the chair. The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the re port, stated that the directors were gratified at being able to recommend a dividend at the rate of 10 per cent. per annum, which was the highest amount of dividend they were empowered to declare. Although the revised tariff only came into operation on July 10, they had carried 263,447 additional messages, and had earned £26,700 more than in the corres ponding period last year. At the same time a great deal of that increased prosperity was owing to the zealous exertions of their staff. The directors there fere felt it was only right they should allow those employed to participate in the prosperity of the company, according to the principle adopted in some of the large banking establishments. The sum of £4,394 which had been distributed among the offi cials might appear large, but when they considered the large number of recipients it would be found that in many instances the amount given to indivi duals was small. After paying every expense and the proposed dividend there would remain a balance of £22,791 for the reserve fund, which had been established for the purpose of meeting losses and other contingencies. They had recently been gra tified at having such a fund, for on the 11th Jan. a storm fell upon the southern portion of their system such as had not been known within the 20 years' experience of the company. The damage had been very heavy on some of their lines ; they therefore proposed to add the sum remaining to the reserve fund. With respect to the capital account they had still further reduced the debenture debt by £6,000, and the amount of debt was now £66,656, which was considerably less than the reserve fund theyhad upon deposit. Mr. HuisH seconded the motion for the adoption of the report, which was carried unanimously. The dividend at the rate of 10 per cent. per annum was declared for the past half-year, and the retiring di rectors were re-elected. Certain paid-up shares and a vote of tha n k s ohcokrisoefdthteocobme company, and into the g enera l ca w e p r i e tal au st t to the chairman concluded the proceedings. Surplus Income and the National Debt. (From the Bullionist.) The certainty that the Chancellor of the Ex chequer will, in his estimates for the new fiscal year, again have a surplus to distribute, has led to a re vival of the discussion regarding the propriety of devoting for the future any such sums as may arise to the reduction of the national debt. The Times, in a recent leading article, pronounced strongly in favour of such a process. It will not be difficult to show that, however well-intentioned and honourable may be the promptings to this view, it would be highly impolitic to adopt it. Asa preliminary in the question it may be men tioned that already, under an existing act of Parlia ment, the surplus that is actually realised in each year is applied to the Sinking Fund, the amount available for the purpose being invested quarterly as it accrues. It is only when, in framing the esti mates for the coming year, the Government find that the revenue will exceed the expenditure, that the point has to be discussed, so as to determine in what manner this excess of revenue shall be appro priated. It may be applied to paying off a portion of the national liabilities, it may be absorbed by a re solution to augment the army or navy or other pub lic establishments, or it may be made to disappear altogether by a reduction of taxation. The argument of the Times is that it is the duty of England to take " serious steps to pay her huge debt," and that she is at present " trifling with this duty ;" that instead of the debt being reduced at a rate that would occupy four or five centuries it ought all to be wiped out in at least three genera tions, and that as the United States talk of paying of their debt in thirty years, the contrast between course—will be " not only the countries—if England, in the interval, merely pursues her present shameful, but dangerous." Nay more, we are warned of the disadvantage in which we should then stand in case of a dispute with America, she being clear of debt, and ourselves still with the burden of large liabilities. Finally, the writer puts the whole affair as if it were a case of conscience and honesty, and charges the public that whereas they once wished to pay, and could not, they now believe they can pay, but will not—a po sition of circumstances which is described in itself as an " ugly symptom," and a denaoralising example, since, if the State will not pay, every Englishman wishing to evade his pecuniary duties " can plead the example of his Government." Now, although arguments of this sort have a moral and self-sacrificing sound, nothing could be more erroneous in principle, or more unjust to the universal feeling by which the country is distin guished. They are all based upon a false assump tion at starting. The writer first asserts that it is our duty to take steps promptly t o pay o ff th e d e bt. Grant this, and, of course, all the rest follows, since no one can complain of anything that is said of a nation that knows its duty and declines to fulfil it. But we deny the assumption. The first duty of the nation is, as far as it has the light to do so, to keep its affairs in a condition that shall best pro mote its own happiness ; and, as a consequence, also the happiness of the world. The English people have never made any promise to pay off the National Debt. Of course, had such a promise been made, there would be no choice but to fulfil it at all' costs. But the debt was raised in the form of permanent annuities, and so long as the annuity is punctually paid, no holder can say there has been any default in the fulfilment either of the letter or the spirit of his bargain. The present appeals to con science and honesty, so far as the nature of the compact is concerned, arc therefore wholly out of place, and have merely the effect of putting in a false and injurious light the conduct of a nation that for the rigid maintenance of public obligations stands as the most perfect example. There is no patriotism in concealing or softening the errors of our people, but there is something worse than want of patriotism in charging them with short-comings on the very point to which, more than on any other, they are entitled to dwell with unqua lified satisfaction. Now looking only t o th e happiness of the country, and its power of influencing the happiness of others, let us ask what would have been our position at this moment, if the theories just put forth as to the duty of paying off the debt, had been adopted 30 years ago—a period when the pretences to be urged for it, both moral and financial, were much stronger than at present ? Instead of reducing taxes we should have provided that all surplus revenue should have been handed over to the Sinking Fund Commissioners. We should have had no repeal of the Excise Duties, or of the Corn Laws, or of the Customs' tariff, no penny postage and no extinction of the Window Duties or removal, or mitigation of the Assessed Taxes that worried every man in each movement of his existence. Under such circumstances it is not difficult to conceive where we should be at this moment. Instead of the wealthiest and most con tented people on earth we should be among the narrowest and most dissatisfied, and instead of the national debt being really reduced, we should have found that, owing to the absence of reforms, not only was there no surplus revenue of any kind, but that it had become a question not whether we should THE " LONDON REVIEW" ON THE RATE OF INTEREST.—The Times City article of last Thursday observes, with respect to the operation of the market of Wednesday, that " although there were symp toms of discouragement yesterday, greater than at any time since the commencement of the money pressure in October last, the tendency almost to panic was to-day still more observable." It attri butes this state of things to "an increase in the general demand for money, and the disquietude occasioned by the revelations in progress with re gard to the modern modes of financiering," and adds the possibility of unpleasant events in connection with the privateers now operating against Spain, and the state of the Mexioan question, as additional reasons for the " prevailing gloom" and " uncer tainty." On the preceding day, the same news paper had observed, that "on every side the evi dence daily becomes more complete of the serious condition the country would now have reached, if the clamour for cheap money on behalf of unsound firms and the promoters of deceptive companies had been gratified at any time during the past three months." We are far from undervaluing, or wish ing in any way to detract from the authority due to the commercial and financial acumen of our con temporary ; but as Homer sometimes nodded, we cannot but hope that we may, without offence, think that the Times in this case, as evidenced by a series of gloomy vaticinations of coming evils, takes a partial and incomplete view of the existing situation. Before speaking to the public of panic, we would stare the existing situation very hard in the face, and prefer, if we could, another solution. And, first of all, we would observe that a great demand for money and a high rate of interest, consols below 87, and Exchequer Bills at a discount, ought not to frighten men engaged in legitimate trading—the producers and distributors of - wealth. These symp toms, indeed, precede, and in an aggravated form accompany panic ; but they may, and often do, in dicate healthy enterprise, and a laudable effort to meet the exigencies of sound business. Without venturing on the line of prophecy we would observe that for a long time past there have been such sypmtoms of a permanent or average increase in the rate of interest as would account for some por tion of the high rate now demanded. Eight per Cent. now does not mean the same thing—is by no means so significant as it would have been some years back. The reason is that trade has increased faster than the medium for settling balances. Money is more valuable, that is, the rate of interest is higher, because there is more demand for it. This question is wholly apart from—quite beside the symptoms or indicia of panic, the chief of which is not the high rate of interest, but the impossibility of getting money at any rate of interest. Of course this impossibility is never absolute. A few houses of immense resources, and in a position to command the utmost convenience from the discounters, can always obtain what they want by paying for it, perhaps even less than it is worth ; but the less highly favoured members of the commercial com ' munity are sacrificed to the fears of the Directors of the Bank, who must first and foremost comply with the law and put on the screw to save the coin in their cellars, for the law says that they shall not issue promises to pay on their credit, except to the extent of some fourteen millions. This curious empirical restriction is of course supported by the great houses—the aristocracy of traders—because it does not press upon them, but rather affords them the opportunity, in difficult times, of trading at a great advantage over the great mass of traders who are not members of their coterie. Those who are not so constituted as to see that it is always right that the Bank should issue just fourteen millions of notes, without gold in their cellars to meet it, are stigmatised as speculators, who would endeavour to control the natural operation of the law of supply and demand, and reduce the rate of interest or the supply of money on credit below its natural standard. They are called clamourers for cheap money, and their object is declared to be the bolstering up of unsound undertakings. That there are such per sons to be found amongst those who think that in a trading community credit is to be curtailed by Act of Parliament is not unlikely to be true, but there can be no doubt that the operation of the Bank Charter Act has much to do with creating this very class. For the extreme pressure of an enormous rate of interest, and the application of that rate to comparatively few houses, re-act and produce a subsequent glut of money, which is the very atmo sphere which kindles the speculator in delusive joint-stock schemes into life and activity. Such persons so brought into existence will, of course, cry out against the syste.n. which produced them when their turn comes to feel the pressure of the screw. We confess to some enjoyment in seeing this class discredited and unable to pursue their calling ; but there is another class which suffers with them, who have all our sympathies ; it is those who are engaged in the production and distrib u ti on o f the products of every industry —the manufacturers and mer chants, who make and distribute the wealth of the world. It is, we believe, a fact that this" class of men are in this country subject to greater vicissi tudes than elsewhere, and we know one vicissitude always tends to produce the opposite one : the greater the screw the greater the glut, and vice versa. In the London market merchants are screwed up tighter, and suffer more from gluts than elsewhere. Just now they are suffering from the screw, but by no means, in our belief, to the extent which would be supposed from what we have extracted from the Times. The rate of interest does not at this moment present the characteristic of a panic, but is due to the real wants of commerce, which is being carried on largely, and at a profit that meets the high current rate of interest, which, we may also hope, is not so high as to insure the speedy recur rence of a glut and the brood of the speculative schemes a glut engenders. THE "SATURDAY REVIEW " ON THE NEW HOUSE OF COMMONS.—The members of the new House of Commons have probably looked at one another with some curiosity while they have been engaged in electing the Speaker, or in going through the cere mony of swearing. The introduction of some fresh elements, and the change of political temperature, will have given the new Parliament a distinctive character of its own. The death of Lord Palmer ston may be regarded either as the symbol or the cause of reviving excitement and agitation. The happy inaction which has lasted since the close of the Crimean war would perhaps have terminated even under a Minister who would have had suffi cient firmness and good sense to abstain from gra tuitous restlessness. Lord Palmerston, in his later years, represented the satisfaction with which a prosperous community contemplates, from a peace ful shore, the stormy seas of foreign politics. With the aid of opponents who perversely refused them selves the cheap pleasure and the profit of liberal sympathies, Lord Palmerston contrived to secure universal popularity with the smallest possible risk or exertion. Political zealots accused him of trea son, because he allowed them to try their strength, and then cheerfully acquiesced in their failure ; but the House of Commons and the outer world were more indulgent to a state of mind which was at the time almost universal. A passively elastic policy is perhaps no longer in season, and the principal Ministers are exempt from the virtue or the vice of a propensity to let things alone. The tranquillity of Europe, and the modern disposition to abstain from interference in Continental affairs, naturally tend to concentrate attention on domestic business; and it may perhaps also appear that the American war has, for the first time in many years, rendered democratic agitation possible and formidable. No other foreign contest has produced in England the same antagonism of opinion and of feeling. The vast material resources which were conspicuously illustrated by the events of the war are associated in the popular imagination with American institu tions. Even Irish rebels, who propounded half-a dozen years ago ridiculous schemes of crowning a French Marshal, have conformed to the fashion of the day by electing a mock President, supported by a sham Senate and House of Representatives. In England, if Mr. Bright and his followers are scarcely numerous enough to constitute an Ameri can party, malcontents of all descriptions are pro vided with a republican ideal. No revolutionary question is likely to be mooted, but the spread of democratic sympathies may either modify the general character of the Liberal party or promote a temporary Conservative reaction. Mr. Gladstone, though he has little love for the United States, has occasionally shown strong democratic affinities. The extreme party in the House of Commons is not largely increased in numbers, but it is reinforced by several able and active members, superseding as many conventional Radicals. Those who have long taunted the metropolitan boroughs with the obscu rity of their representatives are perhaps not alto gether satisfied with the deference which has at last been paid to hostile counsels. It was always known that a member for a London borough would pledge himself to the ballot, to household or universal suf frage, and to every other measure which happened to be included in the programme of his party. At the same time it was understood that, in practice, the metropolitan reformer would support Lord Pal merston's Government, and that, if necessary, he would aid in throwing out troublesome measures, on the pretext, if no more plausible objection occurred, that they were not sufficiently sweeping. It would have been possible to imagine a better and more dignified representative system, but trimmers and political sceptics tolerated the Lawrences and the Coxes on the same sound principle which recom mends a gingerbread Lord Mayor in preference to a municipal ruler of an unwieldy metropolis. If the members for Finsbury and Lambeth were not statesmen, they were better than demagogues, especially as they furnished a conclusive argument against any increase of their number, and a forcible reason against the assimilation of other borough constituencies to the London type. At last, it would seem, the miscellaneous aggregate of petty shop keepers became ashamed of the carelessness which had once placed a seventh part of the representative power of the capital in the hands of two adventurers who are now respectively expiating their misdeeds in unhonoured exile and in penal servitude. The artisans in some districts were anxious to make a creditable use of their local power, and competent candidates were forthcoming to profit by the sudden repentance of the electors. Mr. Mill was brought forward in Westminster to oppose the Grosvenor family, by whose aid he subsequently defeated a strong Conservative candidate, after having forced his own intended colleague to retire from the contest. The constituencies knew little of Mr. Mill's special opinions, and pro bably nothing of his writings ; but they were told that he had attained a high reputation by the exercise of great intellectual powers, and they rightly determined to rely upon his ability and character. Sir John Shelley would perhaps on all occasions have voted as Mr. Mill will vote, but a consistent Liberal on whom Lord Palmerston could safely depend has been replaced by a possible leader of a party, or at lea s t by a disturbing force, in the House. Mr. Hughes, Mr. Torrens, and Mr. Faw cett, who is, however, not a metropolitan member, belong to the same class of educated, zealous, and —to use a common phrase--earnest Liberals. Some of them may be tamed by the House of Commons, and others will perhaps tire it ; but they cannot be regarded with the good-humoured indifference which attended the patriotism of Mr. Cox. Mr. Chambers, the new member for Marylebone, though he will probably be temperate and reasonable, will scarcely be as manageable as Lord Fermoy. In one respect alone the metropolitan boroughs have consistently adhered to their uniform practice. In the richest and most highly educated consti tuencies, or portions of constituencies, which exist in the world, wealth and refinement are absolutely disfranchised. Of the class which is vaguely but intelligibly described as consisting of gentlemen, not one in a hundred holds the opinions to which every metropolitan member is committed as a con dition of his relection. The vertical divisions which are promised by Reformers in the popular con stituencies of the future are unknown in London. In a pyramidal structure, composed, in one sense, of clay at the bas e an d o f go ld a t t h e summ i t, horizontal cleavage necessarily gives the prepon derance to the" larger mass below. Although the great majority of the House is essentially moderate, there are causes which may render many members more impatient than in the golden days of Lord Palmerston. The career of office at last appears to open to unlimited competition. The old Whig Government under Lord John Russell, and the first Administration of Lord Palmerston, were constructed on an extremely narrow basis. At one time nearly every member of the Cabinet was descended from a common ancestress, who flourished only two genera , flops ago. On one or two occasions a Minister pro moted from a less elevated class seemed to have been selected merely that he might furnish an awkward contrast to the refinement and official experience of the ruling families. It naturally followed that, after the fall of an exclusive Ministry, new alliances, formed during a temporary absence from power, rendered candidates more numerous than places. Lord Aberdeen in 1853, and Lord Palmerston in 1859, were judiciously anxious to provide every in dependent Liberal with office. In the first coalition the friends of Sir Robert Peel pushed a few even of the purest Whigs aside and Lord John Russell, Mr. Gladstone, and Mr. Milner Gibson had, on the second occasion, fully satisfied Lord Palmerston that opponents who had twice inflicted on his Government decisive defeats would be safer within his C abinet than outside. No member who had not previously held office could be surprised to find that the claims of recognised Parliamentary leaders were acknowledged as paramount. Time and change have since thinned the number of privileged statesmen, and during Lord Palmerston's tranquil reign no politician had the opportunity of acqui r i ng a ves t e d r i g ht t o Ministerial succession. When there are few political officers on half-pay with a prior right to vacancies, subalterns begin to hope for promotion, and civi lians for commissions. Their aspirations have been encouraged by the admission of Mr. Forster to the Government and of Mr. Goschen to the Cabinet ; and Mr. Childers, who lately succeeded Mr. Peel at the Treasury, is himself but lately advanced from the ranks. It is easier for an ambitious member to compare his pretensions with those of a recent companion on the back benches than to inquire into the causes which have inseparably asso ciated some familiar names with the thought of office. The new Parliament contains many young men, of more or less promise, who may be excused for remembering that half the members of of the Cabinet are over sixty., and that all but one are over fifty. Personal ambition is one of the legitimate springs of political activity, but it would not be desirable that half the majority of the House of Commons should desire official employment. Both counties and boroughs haveinvoluntarily con sulted the public interest by the selection of mem bers because they own a certain number of acres, or in recognition of a long and successful prosecution of trade. Lawyers are devoted to the harmless pur suit of seats on the bench ; and elderly manufac turers know themselves to be as unfit for office as middle-aged sportsmen. There is some reason to fear that the example of Mr. Goschen may prove too attractive to his less fortunate contemporaries. It is desirable that a competent number of mem bers should devote themselves to public business as a profession, but candidates sometimes advertise • themselves by becoming unnecessarily active, or by making themselves disagreeable. Australian As semblies, where every member expects to be in cluded in one of the semi-annual Cabinets, are only an exaggeration of what a House of Commons might, under certain contingencies, become. It is doubtful whether Mr. Gladstone could have ruled even the docile Parliament which perished a little before its congenial chief. The new House of Commons will tax far more severely the skill, the temper, and the firmness of the Ministerial leader. WESTERN VIEWS OF A TARIFF.—on the subject of protection for Home Manufactures, the Chicago Republican says :—" It is vaguely reported that certain Republican members of Congress from the West have resolved to oppose any alteration in the tariff calculated to secure -domestic manufactures against the effects of foreign competition. Their idea is said to be that any alterations of this sort, while they might be beneficial to Eastern capital ists, would be injurious to Western farmers. This is an old notion ; indeed we may say that it is obsolete. * * But here in the West manufac tures are rapidly springing up, and the farmers are interested in their prosperity and development almost as much as those who are directly concerned in them. We apprehend, accordingly, that any Western representative who votes against such duties upon foreign wares as will save from de struction our own infant iron mills, wooden mills, flax mills, cotton mills, and the like, will find him self condemned by his constituents." The Chicago Tribune, on the other hand, strongly urges free trade, and claims that a free-trade policy is the only policy which will satisfy the immense agricul tural population of the Western States. gratify our " conscience" and feelings of " honesty" by paying off the principal of the debt, but whether we could be quite sure of being always ready to pay the interest. That we should now, after such experience, enter tain a proposal to change our course and abandon a system which, mainly inaugurated by Sir Robert Peel, has been at the root of all our tremendous growth in prosperity, and which has likewise made us, more than any other nation, the apostles of peace and good-will, is one of the most marvellous in -1 stances of the way in which men may shut their eyes to the teaching of all that has been taking place under their immediate view. But there are yet other considerations that make the affair more surprising. Thirty years ago not only was the annual burden of the debt much greater, the relief in the reductions of interest which our prosperity has subsequently enabled us to effect having been very considerable, but there was actually at that time a tendency to an advance in the value of gold which would cause the pressure of a fixed debt to become more severe with every year of its continuance. From this state of affairs a wonderful revulsion has been in progress more than 16 years, and is still steadily in operation. The gold discoveries in California and Australia have already produced their expected results. It may safely be said that from this cause alone the weight of the National Debt has been reduced 10 or 15 per cent.—a result which is practically the same as if eighty or a hundred millions of it had been paid off. Coincidentally there has been, and will still continue to be, a large yearly increase of popu lation, so that the annual charge to be met is les sened to every individual by its wider extension. SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. 4i— l— . -- Free-Trade League in the North-Western States. The letter of Mr. John Bright, on the sub ject of Free Trade in the United States, has pro duced a great effect in Illinois and adjacent regions. A Free-Trade League has been established, with head -quarters at Chicago ; and branches are being organised in connection with it in all the large cities of the West. The following remarks by Mr , Horace White were made at the inauguration of the Free-Trade League in that city : " Chicago is a commercial city—a city of trade. Freedom of trade is its life. The North-west is an agricultural community. The North-west asks no discriminating duties for the protection of her great industry, and wdl consent to no discriminating duties for the protection o . f other industries at the expense of her own. She welcome manufacturers, for they are a benefit to the State' In all that is said concernin g the blessings of a diversified industry I agree, provided the arrang em ent is effected on fair terms. The comp e titi on w hi c h is such a terror to manufacturers of the narrow-minded sort, but which In really the life of human activity and enterprise, an d at the same time the protection o f th e p u blic against the e vils of monopoly—the competition, I say, between the E ast and the West is more to be feared (if competition is eve r to be feared) than any possibl e com p e titi on between the 13754 and European countries. B u t we can have no prot ective tariff to shield Western ma nu f a cturers against E astern manufacturers. The cheapness of food and the cost of transportation from the East to the West is sufficient pro tection to Western manufacturers, and at all events that is all they can have. Hence the North-west has no inte rest in common with the Protectionists, but many inte rests at variance with them. It would be well fo r those who complain of the absence of manufacturers at the West to reflect that the only reason why they hav e 11(4 been established is that capital and labour could be more profitably employed in other vocations. Certainly it has not been for the want of protective tariffs, for we h ave them in abundance. Among the more immediate w ants of the West, I may mention cheap iron. Cheap iron mean cheap railroads; cheap railroads means c heap transportation. A Free-Trade League, organised fo r the dissemination of truth on these questions, seems altogethe appropriate in our city, which is the natural centre of so large a portion of the . North-west. Quite likely we sha ll encounter opposition. No great truth has made its Ivay to popular acceptance in a moment. But surely no sod can be more inviting than this for the cultivation of the principles of free trade, which is the natural handmaid of free labour. I have said nothing about the revenue, beff" caus3 we are not discussing that portion of the tariff which is levied for revenue, but only that portion which is levied for protection. We are all agreed as to the 7 10- cessity of a revenue. We aro all agreed as to the neces sity of taxes and tariffs to meet the expenses of t h° Government and to maintain its credit. We differ only on the question of taxes levied for the benefit, or the en courageinent, if you please, of private individuals." COUNTRY MARKETS. LEICESTER—SATURDAY. There was a fair supply of wheat, and the atteoalLl moderate. In this neighbourhood the wheat plant is Ar ,'"" forward for the time of year. The demand for fin.,,,e sorts steady at recent prices, damp s o rts lower. a ' maintained late rates. Oats steady at extreme rate s. Old white wheat, 55s to 56s ; old red, 50s to 52s ;1 1 r _ white, 49s to 52s ; new red, 43s to 48s per 36 stone. 9 9 ley, malting, 33s to 37s per qr. ; grinding, 28s to 30 s 1 3 ' 3 % 0 . stone. Oats, old, 30s to 35s ; new, 24s to 28s.per 24 00' Beans, old, 47s to 51s ; new, 42s to 46s per 38 stone. NORWICH—SATURDAY. The supply of wheat was tolerably good at this niarkat to- day, but the condition being much affected by the c ll ,l state of the weather the trade ruled dull at late rates• demand for barley good at an advance of 6d to 10 Pe r 4 was realised. Little passing in other articles. red White wheat (weighing 631 b to 641 b), 50s to 5 4 e ; • g y t i to ditto (weighing 631 b to 651 b), 48s to 50s ; best barley (weighing 551 b to 561 b), 34s to 36s ; run s d ;, 1 1 1 .. (weighing 541 b to 551 b), 28s to 30s ; distilling ditto (well mg 521 b to 531 b), 25s to 27s ; oats, 24s to 26s ; bea us ' --i s to 39s ; peas (maple), 36s to 38s per qr ; flour, 330 to Od A per sack es . 7 30 8 verag :—Wheat, 2,382 qrs., 44s 3d , barley, 7, 308 qrs., 32s 11d; oats, qrs., —s Od. Business was inactive YORK—SATURDAY , and the turn . easier. There W t ° an average supply of barley. The show of oats Was 0 1 middling, and sales were made at recent currencies . New white wheat, 48s to 54s ; new red, 45s to 491 P er 36 stone. Barley, for malting, 34s to 38s per qr ; 30s to 32s per 30 stone. Oats, now, 24s to 28s per 24 ston e Beans, 40s to 42s per 40 stone. Malt, 62s to 641; 30s per qr. Flour, 36s to 38s per sack of 2801 b. NOTTINGHAM—SATURDAY. pia The show of wheat was tolerable, many of the sat° being out of condition. The demand slow at about ilayt° rates. There was a fair demand for fine sorts of b n'„,l3 and prices rather higher ; secondary about the same. maintained their previous value. Old white wheat, 56s to 61s ; old red, 50s to 5 45 / white, 52s to 59s ; new red, 48s to 53s per 36 stone. ''` - to ley, old malting, 36s to 42s per qr; old grinding, 28s a . 31s ; new, - s to —s per 30 stone. Oats, old, 27s to 3 v s : new, 20s to 25s ; old foreign, 22s to 27s per stone. in tir old, 48s to 52s ; new, 40s to 43s per 38 stone. Super 1 10 37s to 39s ; fine, 34s to 36s per 20 stone. CORK—FRIDAY. --V oa The following were .the quotations this morning7B wheat,9s 6d to lOs id ; white, lOs 9d to lls 5d ; barley!, j; 4d to 8s ; oats, 7s 10d to 8s 4d ; black oats, is id to 8s here, Cs Od to 6s 6d. BN.—RIAY. Market for home g DU ra unaltered unalter F ed. D Foreignwbea l " l3 be rge arrivals, depressed value, and sellers concede 6d to 1- 6 1 - t ; low this day week. India n corn at late rates. Flo ur 2s per qr. lower. Oatmoal show. Foreign Mail Packet List MAILS DUE. ve b • 19 , Australia and New Zealand, via Southampton.• • •• ^ Ditto, via Marseilles Feb ' 4. Brazil and Cape Verde. by British packet F. Ditto, by French packet Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helen; . . . ...... eb ..... 22 : 2 ‘ China, Penang. and Singapore. via Southampton.. Feb. I. Ditto, via Marseilles Feb. 13 Falkland Islands .............. Gibraltar, via Southampton ... . Feb. ifl India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampton..., Feb. 3 Ditto, via Marseilles India (Bombay), via Southampton.. ................ Feb. 7 Feb. Ditto, via Marseilles Feb. 13 Mauritius, via Southampton Feb . 7 4 ' 4 Ditto, via Marseil.ei Newfoundland Portugal . •• r Ditto, by private ship to Li5b0n........... eb ;:. United btates and British North America, by Be' ' Feb. 8 " tish packet ............. Ditto, by United States packet, via Soufhamr ton ...................... » ........ Ditto, via Cork . • ... ..... • ..... b. 9. Ditto, by Canadian packet, via Londonderry. • F e b. if. West Coast of Africa. Madeira, and T ener ifie ...... F e West Indies and Pacific (except Bahamas, Cuba , i 3 and Mexico .................. ............. .•• .. Feb'F'" . 28 Cuba And Mexico .... Feb' 6. Bahamas, via New York. . Feb' 1-. Bermuda, ditto ........ . ............. The number of United States postage 8t511} ; Y b e er made lB6 5 hasby t h h e e s nNat abouti on a f l o h nk a h N d r o s t d e in o o p fl a s n . Cy Thefort htrai 'l 3 . of three cent stamps used is about one million persitq' 12 stamps are printed, perforated, gummed, and packed for COnts a thousand. ti r [ADVERTISEMENT.] - Holloway's Pills. The in the weather of the last few months has laid many — t heir churchyard who might still have been a blessing t° c aS families if they had, by some such means as these far% pills, kept the blood pure, the stomach sound , the liver tive, and the bowels regular. Mild wet winters allicofr press with heavy hand on the aged and infirm, wh ° ills scantly require some balsamic tonic like H o lloway s r, t b. to sharpen their appetito and to ma intain their streeboy. The pills cannot work wrongly nor weaken u n necessto- The invalid, under all circumstances and in every ei,od tion, should get a box of these noted pills, attentivoln.oo the directions wrapped round it, and release himse lf his malady. Births. BLAXENEY.--011 the 30th ult., at Castle Durrow, County, Ireland, the Hon. Mrs. Blakeney, of a da ti b,, e t, GRE La n d E ft. /kg' y Y G .— re On ey t , h o e f l a st so in n s . t., at 28, Upper Grosvenor -s.- ORDE.—On the Ist inst , at Hopton, near Low es , '° — James Orde, of a daughter. reo t ' POWELL—On the 3d inst., at Efeathfield Lodge, ° hill, the wife of Wm. Powell, Esq., of a daughter, Marriages. r ies ALLEN A — n ßz ei : E .— sci On o t a h p e ta l i s n t s ins co t csG a re t y3fs,aonfcr yn ster, C b4 .q . c,uset g ford v .'"'`ipe, rmersetshire, to Annie, eldest daughter of IL • sq., of The Home, Whalley Range, Manchester. 0.0, K m oc ah o r ku u l ; r ec L yh E l s q Y T — uua ß l rs e a T e f ai ts: 2—hsoo7ncatsahnen3odn_ Edwardi s n t r s • e t . nt at tby o r e it : 0, o r i vs, . ) 012 6 0 : Elizabeth, only surviving daughter of Richard • s ide. dall, Esq., of Beauchamp, Tulsa-hill, and 127, Ch ear Deaths. o ve oes- BURROWES.—On the 2d inst., at his residence, -4 ' ° DO" ton-square, Thomas Augustus Burrower, Ems" gan Castle, co. Meath, aged 33. rov iCht CUMMINS.—On the 2d inst., at Royal-plac e ' aree Anee r Richard Yeates Cummins, Esq., late Royal 11b.- Department, aged 83. L 7 of Al icurs.—On the 31st ult , at 12, princes -stree - t, dish-square, London, George . Esq., mar ch 11 Toronto, Canada West, aged 55. o ntag ll° ' MONTAGUE.On the 29th ult., G eo rge Hervey -- Esq., of Caversham-hill, county of Oxford. o nvering t REEKS.—On the Ist inst., at the Rectory, .0 11 0- - Sussex, the Rev. Henry Reeks, aged 61. 'n. ICS" Ross.—On the 29th ult. at Hadfield, near si v mliter - Daniel Ross, Esq., of Hadfield, and late of 8, J." street, London. London : Printed and Published by WIL LlAlki AN 02, of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at Tnz. SUN Ow V 11• , of Strand, in the Precinct of the S avo y . in the COI Aliddleien,•—Monday, February 5, 1866.