The Sun. — London, England, 1848-12-18 00:00:00

By Mrs. ROMER, Author of " A Pilgrimage to the Temples and Tombs of Egypt," &c, Richard Bentley, New Burlington•street. Immediately, in post Bvo., R ON T EN A C. By ALFRED B. STREET, The celebrated American Poet. Richard Bentley, New Burlington-street. A Poem. By THE .AUTHOR OF " GISELLA," " Letters from the Danube," " Second Love," &c. Richard Bentley, New Burlington-street. Now ready at all the Booksellers, 10s. 6d., bound, VOL. IV. OF PEI YS' DIARY AND CORRESPONDENCE, NEW EDITION, with the omitted Passages restored. Edited by LORD BRAYBROOKE. N.B. One more Volume will complete the Work. Henry Colburn, publisher, 13, Great Marlborough-street. ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE. Under the Management of Madame VestriS. Sole Lessee, Mr. Charles Ma he ws. THIS EVENING. Will be performed a comic Drama, entitled ANYTHING FOR A CHANGE. Characters by Messrs. Harley, C. Mathews, Honner; Miss K. Fitzwilliam, and Miss Marshall. After which USED UP. To be followed by an APPEAL TO 'rFIE PUBLIC. To conclude with MY FATHER DID SO BEFORE ME, in which Mr. John Reeve will appear. Dress Boxes, ss. ; Upper Boxes, Is. ; Pit, 2 ; Gallery, ls. No half-price to any part of the house. The New Rox-oftice, No. 2, Wellington. Stre.2l, is open to the public every day, from Ten till Six. ST. JAMES'S THEATRE. DUMBOLTON'S SERENADERS. This celebrated Troupe, whose performances kare excited univer sal admiration throughout the United States, will repeat a short Series of their popular ETHIOPIAN ENTERTAINMENT at the above Theatre THIS EVENING, Monday Dec. 18, Wednesday Morning, and Friday Evening next. The Programme will include a variety of original Songs, Glees, scc., entirely new to this country. Doors open at Eight. Day Performance commences at Half-past Two. Boxes, 43. ; Pit, 2s. Boxes and Stalls at Mr. Mitchell's Royal Li• brary, 33, Old Bond-street ; and at the Box-office. PRINCESS'S THE.A.T.G.E. Mr. J. M. Maddox, Sole Lessee and Manager. During the Recess this Theatre has been re-decorated and embel lished in a superb and costly manner ty Mr. Hurwitz. A new Chan delier has been fatted, and the best arratize ments have been made for the due Ventilation of the Theatre, and the couuort and convexience of the audience. Will be THIS ETENTNG, FELLOW. perforated a new Ballad Opera, entitled ROBIN GOOD- To be followed by a New DITERTISSEMENT. After which, THE WATERMAN. Tom Tug, Mr. C. Braham. To conclude with a Farce, entitled THE MODEL COUPLE. to which Messrs. Osberry, G. Cooke, Mrs. Selby, and Miss E. Stanley will perform. TO CORRESPONDEN TS. No communication can be attended to unless autheati , cated by the name and address of the writer. Elejected communications cannot be returned. THE WEATHER.—SurN OFFICE. DECEMBER 17. THERMOMETER, Lowest, 36; Highest, 42: Noon, 40, BAACMETER, 30.—WIND N.E.; fine. DECEMBER 18. THERXOMETEP., Lowest, 37; Highest, 41; Noon, 48 BAROMETER, 29.98. WIND E.S.E fine weather. HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE THIS DAY. Morning .. 38 min after 7 Evening .. 3 min. after g (7 W 1 A 1 4116 rvi _ . LONDON, MONDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1848. After two successive and most ignominious flights from his palace at Scho&thrunn, it was manifest that the SOVEREIGN whom the Moravian Diet has re cently, with unparalleled folly, inscribed upon its archives as " FERDINAND the Mild and Good," could not, with the faintest vestige of grace or dignity, return to the capital of Austria, and resume the reins of government. Even the purblind statesmen who had followed the Imperial fugitive from Vienna were unable to close their eyes to this fact. The royal robe, which had been stained with the blood of BLuxt and MESSENHAUSER, which had been steeped in the massacres of WINDISCHGRATE, which had been polluted by the spoliations of JELLACHICH, and which, infamous from its association with the vengeance wreaked upon the metropolis by the hand of mercenary dragoons and barbarian Croats, still continued to be the symbol of treachery and retrogression —was altogether too vile and execrable for further use. FERDINAND must abdicate, and strength, and youth, and uncompromised energy be combined in the person of his successor. Hence arose the retirement of FERDINAND, and the accession of FRANCIS JOSEPH to the throne of the Hapsburg dynasty. It was conceived that the change would aid very materially the progress of counter revolution. It was imagined that by setting aside the weak-minded and abhorred faineant by proclaiming as Emperor an intelligent and accomplished stripling, by striving to revive the semblance of popularity out of the super stitions of loyalty, and by breathing through the lips of the new puppet a few intoxicating promises of political reform and social amelioration—it was imagined, we say, that, by these ingenious tricks of speech and contrivances of policy, the old regime might be evoked anew, the revolutionary animosities lulled (and gulled !) into oblivion, and the various nationalities which formerly consti tuted the Austrian empire, bound together once more by the stringent and complicated ligature s o f d espotism ! Therefore was the Lord Archduke transformed into an Emperor, and there fore did the newly -proclaimed SOVEREIGN say to the deputation of the Viennese Diet " Gentlemen, pre sent me speedily the project of a constitution that my people expect with impatience;. order that I may examine an d approve of it Many days have elapsed since these illusory dynes Were articulated and the supporters of the dynast7 lative, and otherwise, are still scattenriedteri• and hesitation. The Parliament deliberates In dismay l sier—the administrative Courts are held at Viennara the EMPEROR tarries at 011mutz—and between these three, the Cabinet of SCRWARZENBURG are cohti nually flying to and fre at the tail of a locomotive. The Government has not yet the courage to confront the Diet, the EMPEROR, and the Law within the walls of the capital. And why ? Because the diffi culties of their position are bewildering, and the old, anomalous mosaic of nationalities cannot be so easily patched together. While affairs continue in this dubious state in the centre of what was once Austria, matters are pro gressing rapidly to a crisis on its ancient confines. Hungary has begun in earnest to dream of her eman cipation, and not only to dream of it, but to struggle vigorously for its realisation. No sooner, indeed, had the Hungarian Parliament at Pesth received intelli gence of the dynastic changes effected at 011naiitz than it declared iitself for the proclamation of an Hungarian Rep ublic, asserting the i nva lidi ty of the new EMPEROR'S claim to the regal diadem of Hungary, by reason of the stipulation made in the Pragmatic Sanction, that no one under twenty years of age should be 'capable of succeeding to it. As to the ca- pacity of the Imperial armies to force obedience down the throats of the Hungarian population, at the point of the bayonet, we may judge in a very great degree by a simple comparison of facts and bravadoes. Not long ago—scarcely a month ago— we were assured that the rebels of Hungary would be conquered before the arrival of Christmas by the drallitalleola incursion, beyond its frontiers of the NEW 'WORK BY THE AUTHOR OF " A PILGRIMAGE TO THE TEMPLES AND TOMBS OF EGYPT," &c. On Wednesday, in Three Vols. post Bvo., with a Portrait of the Author, T HE BIRD OF i"i§§AGE; or, FLYING GLIMPSES , OF MANY LANDS. On Wednesday, in crown Bvo.. with numerous Comic Illustrations, price 12s. boun MARTIN TOUTROND ; d, A FRENCHMAN IN LONDON IN 1831. From an unpublished French Manuscript. Richard Bentley, New Burlington-street. Immediately, in Three Vols., post Ivo. THE LILY OF PARIS; or, THE KING'S NURSE. THEATRE ROYAL, HAYMARKET. Mr. B. Webster, Sale Lessee and Manager. Old Brompton. The public Is respectfully informed that this Theatre has, during the_ recess, undergone very extensive repairs a e d alterations and the Whole re-decorated. THIS EVENING. Will be performed the Comedy of MONEY. Evelyn, Mr. Charles Kean r Clara Douglas, Mrs. Charles Kean. After which, the Farce of DEAREST ELIZABETH. Mr. Lionel Lax, Mr. Keeley ; Betsy, Mrs. Keeley. Te conclude with the Farce of THE IRISH LION. Tim Moore, Yr. Hudson ; Mrs. Cerules Fitzgig, Miss F. Horton. THEATRE ROYAL, ADELPUI. rrnder the direction of Madame Celeste. During the Recess this Theatre has been entirely re-decorated, the Original designs by Digby Wyatt, Esq., executed by Mr. Sang. A new Stage, Curtain, Act Drop, and Chandelier. An approved sys tem of Ventilation, &c., &c. The Private Boxes enlarged, Backs added to the Seats, and Stalls rendered more comfortable. THIS EVENING Will be performed ST. MARY'S EVE. A Story of the Solway. Torn Baggs, Mr. Wright ; Madeline, Madame Celeste. To be followed by THE ENCHANTED ISLE. Alonzo, Mr. Paul Bedford; Prospero, Mr. 0. Smith ; Ariel, Madame Celeste. After which a new Farce called SLASHER AND CRASHER. Mr. Slasher, Mr. Wright ; Mr. Crasher, Mr. Paul Bedford. To conclude with JOHN JONES. Guy Geedluck, Mr. Lambert ; Eliza Melton, Miss E. Chaplin. e f. L . - . . .. ,6 ..,„„ .: .,i. k ~.„ ,-,-, _ ... s ......,,,..,:,,;,,,, ~,, , a ......,.. . , ~. ~..,,,..., ..t......r.„: - .7„.... ~ , , —.,..., 4.., A , ';,,,, ,, t 2 . -, - \ 4.. e. • :. 0.• —.. ik*lT - ......;; O::` ** ' , - - 41 6 '- . A', ii . -:. armies led by JELLACHICH, WINDISCHGRATZ, and SIMMONICH. The Magyars were to be summarily routed by these redoubtable and right-loyal Cap tains. Rebellion was to be extinguished in Hungary) and the infection of tranquillity was to extend to all the surrounding provinces of Austria herself, of Prussia, and of the dominions of the AUTOCRAT. By the sudden pacification of Hungary, Posen was to be lulled to rest, Wallachia was to become the harbinger of peace and tyranny, and even the more southern inhabitants of Italian Lombardy were to experience the btneficent influences of a dominant and tranquil lised despotism. Notwithstanding these boastful de clarations of the reactionary champions, Hungary is more than ever insurgent against the repressive au thority of the Hapsburg potentates—the Magyars hold undisputed possession of their cities and fortifi cations—Snamorac u, instead of being a victor over Pesth, remains with all his followers very snugly ensconced within the boundaries of Moravia—Kos- SUTH preserves his magnificent and almost ro mantic predominance—Presburg and the Hunga rian capital (Pesth) have been strongly forti fied Komorn is rendered impregnable, and other preparations have been extended even as far as the banks of the Leitha, so that the subjugation of the Hungarian dominions, even by an army which is far removed from insolvency, would be an undertaking in no small degree hazardous. to prosecute, and such as their duty to their SOVE REIGN imperatively demanded. The memorialists complained of the conduct of the High Sheriff of the city of Dublin and of the At torney-General ; they stated that " the means by which the exclusion was effected were twofold—first, that the panels were so constructed by the Sheriff as to contain a disproportionately small number of Roman Catholics, and this number placed upon the panel in the most unfair and partial manner; and secondly, that the Crown'prosecutor, by an unusual and arbitrary exercise of the privilege of unlimited challenge, directed every Catholic as he was called to the jury -box to stand aside. THE FRENCH REPUBLIC. We have received the Paris papers of Saturday and yesterday. The aggregate returns of the voting for President, which had been examined up to Saturday night, gave the following result : Louis Napoleon Bonaparte .. 4,050,000 General Cavaignac 1,006,000 In seine of the departments th e majority of Louis NAPOLEON over CAVAIGNAC amounts to 90 per cent. In the departments of the Bouches du Rhone, the Var and Finisterre, General CAvAiosiec is at the head of the poll. In the Haute Garonne, Gers, Lot-et-Ga ronne, and Cote d'Or, LEDRU ROLLIN has a majority over CAVAIGNAC. In the canton of Brionde, in the department of the Upper Loire, M. RASPAIL is at the head of the poll. M. DE LAMARTINR did not secure a majority in any one department or section. The Committee of the National Assembly charged to examine the returns for the election of President of the Republic has divided itself into nine sub-com mittees, which operate simultaneously. M. Ducos, one of the secretaries, is charged to draw up a general table in which is put down the results according as they are arrived at for each department. Up to the present time, the Committee has not had to signalise any irregularity in the operations of the electoral col leges. It has cancelled a certain number of bulletins which bore on them ridiculous or anti-constitutional designations. It has added 14 bulletins to M. Louis NAPOLEON BONAPARTE'S list, though containing the words " Louis Bonaparte" only; but it has annulled about a dozen giving him the title of Prince, as being interdicted by the Constitution. The Biecle has the following on the new Ministry : " The proclamation of the President of the Republic is now only a matter of mere form. The majority is known, and goes far beyond all pr ov i s i ons . H appy would France be if such a majority evinced the unity of views which have been wanting to us for so long a time! But it is not a durable union amongst all opinious—it is at most a protest in common, we do not say against the Republic, but against the acts and doctrines which have nn-, n rnratscat nnrl, In ....equence, tue difficumes com menced with the success. In constituting the new Mi. nistry several necessities had to be attended to:—first, unity of action; secondly, accord with the National As sembly; and, lastly, satisfaction to be given to each of the parties who had co-operated more or less actively in the election of Decemhr 10. The following is the manner in which these difficulties have been resolved, after a piece of labour long commenced, and which we believe to have now arrived at its term. The Cabinet is thus composed:— President of the Council and Justice M. O. Barrot. Foreign Affairs Drouyn de l'Huys. Interior ." Leon de Malleville. Finance Hippolyte Passy. Public Works Leon Faucher. War ". General Rulhiaces. Commerce and Agriculture ... A. Fould. Public InstruCtion De Falloux. Marine ••• ••• De Tracy. General Changar n i e r is to preserve the command of the National Guard of Paris. The Prefecture of the Seine, it is said, is to be reserved for M. Berger, and the Pre fecture of Police for Colonel Rebillot, ex-colonel of the gendarmerie of the Seine. In this Ministry, the opinion of President of the Council, as is right, is in majority. Two members, MM. H. Passy and Leon de Mall ev ill e belong to the Left Centre of the old Chambers. Two others, M. Fould and General Rulhiekes, represent the old Conservative party, M. de Falloux belongs, by hi origin, to the Legitimist opinion. So far the Republicans of the Veille would appear to be authorised to complain; but they so much abused, after the revolution, their right of birth, that the public in general is but little disposed to pay attention to their grievances. Besides, the difficulty was no trifling mat ter. In order to meet any objections that might be made, M. Barthelemy St. Hilaire had been thought of for Public Instruction, and M. Pagnerre for Commerce, but both of them aro unfortunately mixed up with the attacks made on General Cavaignac, and so victoriously refuted in the sitting of November 25. Their entrance into the Mintstry would, in consequence, have assumed in the eyes of th e p u bli c a character which assuredly no one had any desire to invest it with. It was above all this motive of propriety which caused them to be set aside. We may add, that in order to unite himself, at least by some tie, to the party of the revolution of February, the President will propose to the choice of the National Assembly, for the Vice-Presidentship, three candidates, taken from the ranks of the Republicans of the Veille, and who, it is said, are to be MM. Dupont (d i'Eure), Arago, and Garnier-Pagis." The same journal has the following in allusion to certain rumours which have been most industriously circulated, to the effect that certain members of General CAVAIGNAC'S Government, some persons went so far as to say General CAVAIGNAC himself, had been making overtures to Prince LOUIS NAPO LEON : The first of these complaints was very properly passed over by Lord CLARENDON. His Excellency pointed out that the Government had no control whatsoever over the acts of the Sheriff; that any interference whatsoever with his selection of jurors would be a most improper assumption of authority on the part of the Executive. He alone was answerable for the manner in which he discharged his duty, and the Government could not be held in any degree accountable for his acts. It is, however, but a matter of justice to that functionary to state that the array was challenged as being unfairly and par tially constituted—that unimpeachable triers were selected to decide thereon—that not only was there a total failure of any evidence to sustain the charge— but that the Sheriff himself and the sub-Sheriff were personally examined, and that, by their sworn testimony, they both clearly, distinctly, and unequivocally repelled the unwarranted asper sions that had been cast upon them, and i completely exonerated themselves from even a suspicion of bias or partiality. They proved that they struck the list without the slightest reference to the religious opinions of the parties selected, and that their only desire was to return ,the most respectable persons to try questions of such importance and mag nitude, in the correct decision of which all classes. not only in Ireland, but throughout the British dominions, were deeply interested. The immediate and unhesitating decision of the triers, their unquali fied acquittal of the parties implicated, should have prevented a revival of the thrice-rebutted calumny. Simultaneously with the movements we have already enumerated, the young EMPEROR has received as a guest, in his palace at 011mfitz, the Prince CHARLES of Prussia, while his courtiers continue in momentary expectation of a similar visit from the Grand Prince CONSTANTINE of Russia. The repre sentatives of the counter-revolution would con sequently appear to be concentrating their hitherto scattered energies, and to be preparing, in the ob scurity of imperial intrigues, for a violent ebullition of vengeance. Let the Democrats be vigilant ! and collected ! and sanguine! remembering that they are no mythological serpents, to be strangled in the grasp of an infant Hercules. A great stimulus would undoubtedly be applied to private enterprise, and many persons would be induced to embark their capital in the reclamation of waste lands in Ireland, if Mr. RIGBY Wesois's sug gestion were adopted, and the lands thereby brought into cultivation, permanently, or at least for a consi derable period, exonerated from any greater contri bution to the poor-rates than should be assessed on their present value. It would be but a just and politic principle to establish that persons who had contributed materially to reduce the general burden, who had provided profit able employment for those who should Otherwise be maintained in unproductive idleness, who had opened new sources of wealth to the country, should be freed from any demand whatsoever on account of the lands on which so much labour had been expended. No injury or injustice would be done to any. The charges would not fall more heavily on the other lands in the union, the amount of the rates would not be in any degree increased. It would, indeed, be an unwise and unstatesmanlike decision to declare that the lands should remain waste and barren—the people idle and destitute—the rates oppressive and overwhelming, rather than any departure should take place from the abstract principle, that all lands should contribute to the relief of the poor in proportion to their actual value. Every encouragement should be given to those willing to embark their capital in undertakings so beneficial to the entire nation. The titles should be simplified so as to prevent the possibility of future litigation. The enjoyment of the reclaimed lands should be secured to those by whose industry they had been rendered productive and of real value. We have already shown that the present state of the law of real property presents an insuperable obstacle to any ex. tensive measures of improvement. That must be altered, and Commissioners appointed who shall be authorised to make conveyances of waste lands, for the purposes of reclamation, that could not afterwards be questioned or impcnebpd. Such a measure would effect much, but it would not be suffieient in itself. The possibility that the future produce of the lands would be absorbs(' by the enormous rates rendered necessary by the poverty of the surrounding districts would a e also be ffi c t i d e . n At t io :o deter capitali s t s ( w h o are b n nthe s s u pe. k g u umid and suspicious class) fr--- t It was with the conduct of the law officers of the Crown that Lord CLARENDON was more immedi ately concerned, and never was there a more com plete and unequivocal vindication of public men than that which fell from the lips of his Excellency. He pointed out that it was not only necessary that jurors should be fairly and impartially chosen, but that each juror should him. self be fair and impartial ; that he should stand indif ferent between the Crown and the prisoner; that parties had been ordered to " stand aside" on account, not of their religious, but of their political opinions ; that they were excluded from the jury box, not because they professed the Roman Ca tholic faith, but because they sympathized with the accused, and that at a time when the utmost excite ment prevailed, and when jurors were openly appealed to, to disregard the oaths they were about to take, and to return verdicts not in accordance with the evidence that might be adduced before them, but with their own preconceived opinions and prejudices. His Lordship might have added, that shortly before these very trials two gentlemen had been separately ar raigned on charges of sedition, and that, although no possible doubt could exist that they were morally and legally guilty thereof, and that sufficient evidence had been brought forward not only to justify, but to compel convictions, the juries had disa greed in both instances, and were discharged without returning verdicts ; that the results were looked upon as political triumphs, and celebrated by public de monstrations, in which the dissentient jurors were lauded as patriots and their examples held up for general imitation. After such proceedings how could the Attorney-General have justified himself to the nation had he again suffered the administration of justice to be brought into contempt, and for the third time gone through the mockery of a judicial investigation when there could be no possible doubt as to the result? There is every probability that Mr. R. BUDDEN CROWDER, Q.C., will be elected without opposition to represent the borough of Liskeard in Parliament as the successor of the late Mr. CHARLES BULLER . The electors of Liskeard have acted wisely in reject in? the Tory, Mr. KEKEWI2,4 a fiqavour of a tried 1 and proved Reformer like Mr. R. B. CROWDER, who was a supporter of the cause of Reform in days when it was dangerous to be known as a Reformer, and who took part in the great victory of 1832. His " confession of faith," (which appears in our report of a meeting of the electors of Liskeard, in another column) is, with one exception, most satisfactory, and that one exception is the ballot. We could have wished that Mr. CROWDER had been somewhat more explicit on the important subject of secret voting. He seems to imagine, as regards the ballot, that adhuc sub jwlice lis est. We can assure Mr. R. B. CROWDER that such is not the case. Reformers of dl shades have long since made up their minds on the subject ; they are all convinced that unless the pro tection of the ballot is thrown over the voter an elec tion is nothing better than " a mockery, a delusion, and a snare," and that any extension of the franchise without the ballot would be, in the rural districts more especially, only an extension of serfdom. We are surprised to find that, according to Mr. CROWDER, some of the soi-disant Reformers object to the ballot— "It will prevent us from knowing our friends." To be sure it will, gentlemen, and that is the very object of secret voting. It will prevent you from favouring those whom you consider your political friends, and as the conferring of any favour for any such cause is in its essence a bribe, it will prevent you from in curring the guilt of bribery, and it will, moreover, protect the honest voter from the enmity of your op ponents, which he would be sure to incur were he known as your political friend ; and as the voter has more to fear from the yen geance of an enemy than to hope from the support of a political friend, it is infinitely more to his interest that the manner in which ho has re corded his vote should be altogether unknown. But the question of the ballot is no longer a question for argument. Mr. GROTE and Mr. HENRY BERKELEY have already exhausted the subject ; the opponents of the ballot have never attempted an answer to the speeches of either of these honourable gentlemen. We recommend these speeches to the careful con sideration of Mr. CROWDER, and we are sure that if he condescends to an attentive perusal of them be tween this and February next, we shall find him among the foremost supporters of the Bill which Mr. HENRI BERKELEY is pledged to introduce on this subject, early in the course of the ensuing session. " The moat ridiculous reports," says the Siecle," have been designedly spread as to the al titudetof several members of the Government towards M. Louis Bona parte. We are authorised to contradict them formally. No step whatever has been taken, either by the chief of the executive _powysor . a , py one of the members of the (.1 - i to the last moment when they may be called upon to deliver it over to their successors, they will preserve in tact in their hands the trust confided to them. The dignity of their conduct is an additional claim to the gratitude of the couutry, and malevolence will try in vain to calumniate them." We believe that Prince Louis NAPOLEON justly entertaining doubts, as all men must enter tain doubts and " something more," as to the sincerity of M. TRIERS, is desirous that that gentle man should either at once take office, and thus commit himself to the fortunes of the Odilon Barrot Ministry, or should cease to meddle at all with the Government. In the event of M. TRIERS choosing the latter alterna tive, M. Louis NAPOLEON will seek to strengthen himself by securing the services of some of the mem bers of the old Republican party. M. BASTIDE, M. DUCLERC, and -M. Bixio, are spoken of as not un- likely to form part of the new Ministry. As M. DE TRACT, LOUIS NAPOLEON'S Minister of Marine, is a near relative of M. GUSTAVE DE BEAUMONT, who has resigned the English Embassy, it is probable that that gentleman also may be included in the new Ministerial arrangements. If that tear were set at rest—if convinced that they would indeed be permitted to enjoy the fruits of their enterprise without let or hindrance, many would com mence undertakings from which such favourable re sults might be anticipated. As Mr. Wesosi pointed out in his third letter, it might make a difference of no less than 93,7501. to a person investing 131,2501. in the reclamation of 10,000 acres. Although this may not be a very probable result, as the new field of employment that would be opened to the people would relieve the rates of all able-bodied claimants for relief, still it is possible, and it is most desirable to satisfy the parties who might be induced to take the initiative, and to remove all doubts from their minds. If any lands should be improved by the expendi ture of public funds, it would be equally just that the nation should derive the benefit of this exemption from increased poor -rate. The equitable principle should be acted on—that the greater portion of the burdens should be cast upon the "faineants," who suffered their properties to , remain unimproved, who disregarded their duties to their neighbours, and neglected to provide employ ment for those both able and willing to work. We should gladly see, in every instance, as far as it was practicable, the rates levied on the lands according to their original value, and that all improvements should be freed from any liability. Some difficulties might arise in carrying out this principle ; it would, however, be very easy to carry Mr. WASON'S proposition into effect, and to provide that the Commissioners authorised to convey the land should also be empowered to have them valued before any expenditure had taken place, and that no change should be made in that valuation for the pur poses of any local or general rating or taxation for a term of 31 years, or for such other period as would be sufficient to remunerate the reclaimers for their outlay and labour. It was yesterday mentioned as probable at the National Assembly that M. BERGER, the Mayor of the second arrondissement, will be Prefect of the Seine, in place of M. RECURT, and M. AALEDEEI THAYER Postmaster-General, in the place of M. E. ARAGO. It is said that Count WALEwsKt will be the new Ambassador to London. General DE LAMORICIERE, Minister of War, has addressed the following order of the day to the troops in Paris : " Paris, Dec. 14. "Officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers— For the first time the whole people has been called on to choose the President of the Republic. In a few days the National Assembly will h ave proclaimed the name designated by universal suffrage. If f rom t hi s t i me to that the promoters o f disorder should end eavour t o pro voke culpable manifestations, you would know how to do your duty. The Government is ready to hand over to the person elected by the nation the temporary power which had been confided to it by the National Assembly —it is its duty, and it is determined to give it up intact and respected. The Minister of War, who has seen you so brave and so devoted in the hour of combat, so patient and so calm in the days which succeeded it, reckons on you to aid it to accomplish to the end the mission which was confided to it to maintain order, and cause the law to be respected." The Assemblee Nationale says :—" Many persons have entertained fears of the continuance of a cool ness which at a former period had existed between Marshal BUGEAUD and General CHANGARNIER. We are, however, happy to learn that one of the first visits the Marshal paid on his arrival in Paris was to Ge neral CIIANGARNIER. This step, which has done as much honour to him who made it as to him who was the object of it, at once dissipated every cloud between these two eminent men, and nothing can hereafter prevent their acting in concert, in case their devotedness should be called for, with equal cordiality and effective energy for the interests and the safety of the country." The celebration of the anniversary of the arrival of the remai ns o f the Emperor NAPOLEON at the Inva lides took place on Friday morning; but the Go vernment, alar me d b y reports which were in circu lation on Thursday evening, ordered the mass to be performed three hours earlier than the usual time. Accordingly at eight o'clock some persons were as sembled at the chapel. A hanging of black cloth covered the gallery in which appeared JEROME NA POLEON, ex-King of Westphalia, with his family. With them were M. JEROME BONAPARTE, the repre sentative for C ors i ca, and the Princess MATHILDE, his daughter. There were also present at the ceremony MM. LAITY and PERSIGNY, Colonels. DUMOULIN, LABORDE, and MAIsoNNAuT, General PYAT, and several other pe rsons attache d to the family of BONA PARTE. General PETIT, Deputy-Governor of the Invalides, surrounded by his staff, also attended. The nave and isles were filled with Invalides. At eleven o'clock a considerable body of people came to attend the service, and great was the disappointment when they found that it was over. It was understood that the old officers of the imperial army had, at the sug gestion of the Bonaparte family, resolved to abstain from any public display on this occasion. The Patrie says---" The National Assembly is ex pected to resolve, on the proposition of some of the most eminent members of the moderate party, to confer upon General CAVAIGNAC, in acknowledg ment of his incontestable services, the rank of Mar shal of Fra nce and the grand cordon of the Legion of Honour. General CAvAIGNAC having been only the delegate of the Assembly for the Executive Power, it belon gs, i n fact, to the Assembly t,; - : give him this testimony of its esteem and sympathy. . The Moniteur h as pu bli s h ed t h e expos e d es motifs of the budget for 1849. This document commences A memorial, signed by no less than 41,000 persons, was presented to the Earl of CLARENDON during the past week, complaining in the strongest terms of the exclusion of persons professing the Roman Catholic religion from the juries, by which the several parties charged with offences under the Treason Felony Act have been tried and convicted. The murmurs and complaints that have for some time been uttered on this subject have thus at length found a " local habitation and a name ;" and many influential persons have thus deliberately echoed the charges that were preferred through the columns of the Repeal press against the law officers of the Crown, for the manner in which those prosecutions were con ducted. It is asserted that "during the last eight months juries for the trial of political offences in Ire land have been for the most part selected upon the Principle o f which, it is a ged lle excluding fr om suc h j uries mem bers of the R om an " d e Catholicpriy est he prisoner prei r o f r s s o u n a e si o n, '' his constitutional right of being tried by twelve of his countrymen, indifferently chosen, at the same time takes away from the Roman Catholics their common-law right to serve as jurors, destroys that patter viarstilelysolemnly ctr th a a ranteed by the Legislature, most odious chapter in the p ena l iftws. „ These are grave and serious accusations, and if wellfounded, no censure would be t oo heavy, no punish ment too severe for those who b a d t h us ventured to pollute the sources of justice a n d t o bring its ad ministration into contempt and disrepute. W e re joice, therefore, that the complaint was brought forward in a tangible shape, so as to elicit the complete, triumphant, and satisfactory refutation which was subsequently delivered by his Excellency —a refutation that must disabuse the mind of every unprejudiced and impartial person of any erron eous i mpression, and convince him that the law officers acted with the strictest propriety in the discharge of the arduous and invidious tasks imposed upon them, that their conduct was at the same time fair and just towards the unfortunate gentlemen whom they were compelled MEETING OF PARLIAMENT. At the meeting of the Privy Council, held at Osborne House on Saturday, it was ordered that Parliament be prorogued from Tuesday next to Thursday, the Ist February, 1849, and that it shall then meet for the dispatch of business. TESTIMONIAL TO MR. BENJAMIN HAWES, M.P.— A magnificent piece of plate will, in a few days, be pre sented by the electors of Lambeth to Mr. Benjamin Hawes, M.P., as a testimonial of their approval of his Parliamentary services while Member for that borough. The testimonial consists of a superb salver, silver gilt. In the centre is the following inscription:—" To Benja min Hawes, Esq., M.P., from many public admirers and numerous constituents in the borough of Lambeth, seek ing by this humble tribute to record their acknowledg ment of his labours whilst the guardian of their new • born electoral rights, and the champion of their free choice in maintaining those liberal principles which be stowed on them enfranchisement; their sense of bis public service as their tried and faithful representative during four successive Parliaments: his zeal and in tegrity—his energy and ability, which had rendered him so far conspicuous among many contemporaries as to give importance to the constituency he served, and to obtain for him an office or participation in the more compre hensive duties affecting the welfare of the State at large; and as a testimonial further to record, that the fund sub scribedw. after his defeat at the election in August, 1847, Majesty's Colonies, Dee. „aos appropriated in aid of his return to the Commons 1111 1a u rc s Z of Parliament for the borough of Kinsale in for her 1848. Presented to him while Under• Secretary FooT..Thi7 DE 1848." MAJOR GILLAND, SECOND (QUEEN'S) 1812; in 1839 be received Queen's Ro yalOsM, cdeire,dtihet o w ld e e e s k t , a o tf histhe r s e t a ar de o n f ee th E e 0 2 r d . tescue-terrace, Dublin" He entered the :,ervice in the regiment many yearrndle9tal and, in 1843, that of Re • the rank of Brevet Major, eluding the operations in and lihelat. The 2d ia Major. He was with Atning its stay in India, in g anistan, and at Ghuznee 119 W atationed at Richmond , & racks; Dubli4 THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 18, 1848. by giving an account of the real state of the budget of 1848, and declares that, whether from the different causes of augmentation in the expenses, or inaccuracy in the estimates, the deficiency on the year is 530,000,000. For 1849 the following modifications are held out as probable : an augmentation in the receipts of 263,000,000 is looked for—viz.. 99,000,000 in the taxes lately proposed; 23,000,000 in the direct taxes ; 83,000,000 in the indirect taxes ; 7,000,000 in the Forests ; 9,000,000 in the sums to be paid by the Northern Railway ; 35,000,000 in the reserve of the Sinking Fund, &c. In addition, it is expected to realise 175,000,000 of economy in the expenses—viz., 79 millions in the War Department ; 46 millions in that of the Interior; 22 millions in the Navy; 11 millions in the Finance; 24 millions in Public Works. IR remarking on the above, the Constitutionnel says—" Thus, according to this statement, there will be 263 millions in dimi nution of expenses, or 439 millions in all ; but, as the deficiency for 1848 amounts to 530 millions, the deficiency for 1849 will still be 91 millions, the expenses amounting to 1,639 millions, and the receipts to 1,648 millions. This, it may be re marked, is by no means the same result as was pro mised by the Honourable Minister a few days before, when he positively declared that the budget for 1849 would be in equilibrio. We have besides to remark, that this present statement supposes, on the one hand, the adoption by the National Assembly of new taxes to the amount of one hundred millions ; and, on the other hand, the realisation of economies to a large amount, some of which are enumerated above, but which it is impossible to form an opinion on at present, since no documents are published in sup port of them. The Minister of Finance also remarks that he has not set down amongst the expenses the annuity which is to be given in 1849 in part payment of the indemnity due to the planters in the colonies in consequence of the abolition of slavery. The exposé des motifs terminates by a table setting forth the situation of the public treasury, from which it results that the charges on the floating debt will amount to 460,000,000 and the means of service to 435,000,000, leaving a deficiency of 25,000,000, but which, says the }Tin Miniobcr , will Lc more than made up by the economies that can be effected from this period to the end of 1849. This account of the public treasury, it must ba remembered, is based on the statement of the budget, and we have to remind the Hon. Minister that according to a preceding declaration from him, the treasury will not probably after the commencement of April have more than the ordinary receipts to meet the expenses of every sort." The .Youvelliste of Marseilles, of the 13th, states that, in consequence of orders received.by telegraph, the expeditionary brigade had disembarked that day and gone into barracks. Up to last night the Ministry of Commerce and Agriculture in the new Cabinet had not been filled up, and it is generally supposed that it will be given to a member of the Republican party. Prince LOUIS NAPOLEON has shown great sagacity in pursuing the course he has pursued with regard to M.M. THIERS, MOLE, and BUGEAUD. If they do not by some overt act stand so committed to his cause, as that their personal interests would be compromised were they to desert it, they will most assuredly be tray him. They originally accepted him with the intention of betraying him, and are now caught in their own trap. The Red Republican Members of the National Assembly have published the following address : " Citizens—We did not wish for a President because we wished fur the unity of power ; the contrary opinion has prevailed ; the people has pronounced ; we bow to the decision. No, we will not believe that the Republic has been threatened, that the institutions which are the foundation of it can be attacked. We will not believe it. If, nevertheless, parties being the enemies of liberty, in terested in disorder, should renew their mad projects, the people, we hope, would resist their perfidious sug. gestions. As for us, we will never forget that the inis. sion which we have received is to found the Republic and to defend it, should that be necessary, at the per of our lives. (Signed) “ ASTAIX, BAC, DAVID (d'Angers), GUINARD, JOLT, MIC , LEDRU ROLLIN, LAMENNAIS, &c.” (In all, sixty-one Members.) General CAVAIGNAC, as Chief of the Executive Government, has received the following letter, dated the 7th, from the POPE : "Monsieur le Gectiral,—My heart is touched, and I am penetrated with gratitude for the spontaneous and generous movement of the eldest daughter of the Church, who shows herself anxious and already in action to hasten to the succour of the Sovereign Pontiff. A fa vourable opport un ity w ill , w i thout doubt, offer itself to me to manifest in person to France my paternal senti ments, and to be able to diffuse over the soil of France, with my own hand, the benedictions of the Lord; as I now supplicate him by my voice to consent to diffuse them in abundance over you and the whole of France. " Pius PAPA NONUS." The following is the state of the returns of the Presidential election up to yesterday evening : Louis Napoleon ••• .. 5,002, 2C 451 General Cavaignac 1.91:11 Lua for the ceremony of the proclamation of the President of the Republic, when LOUIS NAPOLEON will take the oaths and deliver an inaugural address, announcing the names of the Ministers he has chosen, and setting forth the line of policy which he intends to pursue. The Bien Public has ceased to appear. There were some speculators assembled in the Passage de l'Opera yesterday, but no business was transacted. COURS AUTRENTIQUE.-PARIS, DEC. 16.-French Five per Cents. 761. 25% 50e. 75c. 60c. 50e. 20c. 25f. 50c., 76'. 90c. 85c. 77f. 771 20c. 771 771. 10c. 05c. 25c. 35c. 30c. 10c. 25e. 40c. 50c., 77f. 60c., 781. 77c. 50c. 60c. 20e. 771. 761. 80c., 771. 26c. 50c. 75c. 80c. 90c. 75e., 77f. 60c. 75c.; New Loan 761 761. 25c. 75c., 77f, 76f. 85e. 90c., 77f. 10e. 30c., 7tif. 50e., 77f. 20c. 30c.; Three per Cents., 561. 50c. 75c. 50c. 60c. 40c. 50e. 80c. 90c., 471., 47f. 10c. 20c. 25c. 05c. 15c. 50c. 60c. 40c. 35c. 50c. 25c.; 461. 90c., 47f. 40c., 47f. 40c. 30e. ; Bank of France, 1,6601., 1,665 f., 1,6701., 1,675 E, 1,6651., 1,660 t., 1,6751., 1,6701., 1,680 E, 1,6851., 1,6901,, 1,695 f., 1,700 E, 1,6851, 1,6901., 1,7001;; Obligations of the City, 1,2001.; Roman, 64f., 65f.; Belgian Five per Cents., 1840, 821, 8211.; Ditto, 1842, 82f., 8211; Spanish Three per Cents., 26-if. Exchange on London, one month, money, 251.374 e.; three months, money, 25f. 27ic. BOURSE-PARIS, SATURDAY, DEC. 16. The improvement which has manifested itself in our market for the last few days still continues, and prices have again to-day consiclerahly,advanced, Threes closing at 47f. 30c., Fives at 771. 75c., and New Loan at 77f. 30c. The market closed as follows :-Threes, for cash, 47f. 30c.; for Account, 47f. 25c.; Fives, for cash, 771. 75c.; for Account, 77f. 60c.; New Loan, for cash, 771. 30c.; for Account, 77f. 25c.; Bank of France Shares, 1,7008 Neapolitan not quoted. Spanish Threes, 20ff.; Fives, not quoted. RAILWAYS.-The Share Market has been similarly affected, and prices have generally improved. Orleans closed at 7151.; Rouen, 4451.; Havre, 1901.; Avignon, 1901.; Vierzon, 2401.; Strasburg and Bale, 87f. 50c.; Nantes, 340 f ; Northern, 380 f.; Bordeaux, 3801.; Paris and Strasburg, UV.; Montereau, 100 f. BUSINESS DONE IN FOREIGN RAILWAYS AT THE LONDON STOCK-EXCHANGE, DEC. 16. Boulogne and Amiens, 7: —Northern of France, Orleans and Bordeaux, 2/ q Paris and Rouen, 171h—Rouen and Havre, V i a—Sambre and Meuse, N. SPAIN. Madrid journals of the 10th have arrived. The Gageta contains a decree appointing Marquis DE MIRAFLORES as President, and Prince D'AziooLe. and the Duke DE VERAGNAS Vice• Presidents of the Senate. In Catalonia General CONCHA has distributed arms to the populations of several towns. Serious differences have, it is said, arisen between the QUEEN and NARVAEZ. It appears that among those who attend the petits soupers, in the giving of which Queen ISABELLA much delights, is a certain Marquis of SANTIAGO, a colonel of Grenadiers, and a gentleman who has had the good fortune to attract the fa vourable notice of her MAJESTY. The QUEEN demanded of NARVAEZ that the Marquis should be promoted to the rank of General. This was at once refused by the Minister, and rudely and offensively refused, and the Governor of Madrid was commanded to notify to the Marquis the will and pleasure of NARVAE Z that he should henceforth absent himself from the suppers at the Palace. The reply of the Marquis was that his commission was at the service of the Minister, but that he should continue to enjoy the society of his SOVEREIGN when it might please her MAJESTY to honour him with a command to attend at the Palace. The Marquis, therefore, still continues to attend the petits soupers as heretofore, but NARVAEZ has received an intimation from the QUEEN that his company at the Palace balls will henceforth be dispensed with; and it is also said that in consequence of the counte nance given to NARVAEZ by CHRISTINA, the title of Prince will not be conferred on the Duke of RIANZAEES. There was no Bolsa on the 10th. THEATRICALS AT WINDSOR CASTLE. --11l the de-. scription of her Majesty's private th eatre, published i n the Sunday papers, M r . St an fi e ld is erroneously named as one I'd the artists employed. ,The merit of h av i ng designed the new theatr e , t h e stage, scenery, and decora tions is due solely to Mr. Grieve, of the Royal Italian Covent-g&rder, by wh o m an d h is assistants they w O rl e l r h a e filially completed this day. NORTH AMERICAN MAJLS.—On Saturday the steam-ship Europa, Captain Lott, departed from Liver pool for Halifax and New York, with the fortnightly mails and a full complement of passengers. The steam ship Cambria, Captain Harrison, with the inward mails, may be looked for to arrive in the Mersey on Tuesday (to-morrow); she would leave New. York on the 6th and Halifax on the 9th inst. FALL 01 THE SUGAR lIOIISE IN ALSTON.STREET. —We are a.uth6thed to state that, after a full investiga tion into tl:e eireumlqarees connected with this unfor tunate catastrophe, the public authorities have not found grounds for instituting criminal proceedings against any party.--Glasyow Guardian, GERMANY AND THE NORTHERN STATES. AUSTRIA AND FRANKFORT. The breach between Austria and the Central Go vernment is becoming every day wider, and the ques tion of German unity will soon be determined, as M. SCHMERLING, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, has, in consequence of the position recently assumed by Austria, given notice of the following motion in the German Parliament for the 15th : Considering, that owing to the nature of the union of Austria with the non-German countries, and that, ac cording to the :declaration of the German province of Austria, the accession of the same to the German Con federate State cannot be expected ; considering that the Austrian Ministry has solemnly expressed the opi nion that the Constitutions of Germany and of the Aus trian empire ought to be perfectly distinct and indepen dent of each other, and that the conditions of union can only be fixed when those two states shall have re ceived a definite organization: considering that the con stitution of Germany cannot be delayed, and that an en tirely distinct organization of the two Constitutions, without preliminary agreement on the possible bases for the future union of Austria with Germany, might en danger that union, and with it the highest interests of the whole nation: considering that an agreement with Austria is also commanded by the necessity of fixing positively the extent of the federal duties, to fulfil which Austria has declared herself willing: considering that the negotiations with the Austrian Government on this subject can only be suitably conducted by the Central Power, and that the law of the 28th of June had not foreseen this case, the Minister of the empire demands from the National Assembly the authorization for the Provisional Central Power to commence negotiations with the Austrian Government with a view to a pre liminary agreement on the possible bases of a possible (mliglich) union of Austria with Germany." The financial difficulties of Austria are increasing every day. Bank-notes can only be exchanged for silver at a sacrifice of ten per cent. The quantity of notes issued by the Bank is enormous. Scarcely any one has any money in Vienna except these notes. ITALY. At the sitting of the Roman Chamber on the 6th, a resolution was passed almost unanimously, protesting against the resolutions announced to the French National Assembly, by General CAVAIGNAC on the 28th of November. The Epoca of Rome, of the Bth, gives au account of the mission and subsequent return of the depu tations sent by the two Councils and the Roman mu nicipal authorities, to invite the Pope to return to his capital. The deputations were stopped at the Neapolitan frontier, and on being ques tioned as to their quality, were informed that there was a precise order given not to let any persons pass who announced themselves as members of depu tations to the Sovereign-PONTIFF. The deputations, however, feeling convinced that this order of the Go vernment of Naples could not have been consented to by the POPE, immediately dispatched a courier to Gaeta, with orders to penetrate to the POPE'S dwelling, and cause a written announcement to be handed to him that deputations had been sent by the two Councils of State and the Roman municipality, to express a desire that his HoListEss would return to his capital. They then awaited at Terracina the re' turn of their messenger, who brought back three dis tinct but similar dispatches, signed by Cardinal AsTo - NELL', and addressed to each deputation respectively. The substance of them was that his HOLINESS, whilst denying himself the gratification of receiving the honourable persons sent to him, informed them that he had already provided for the Government of Rowe, by his brief of November 27th, and that he hoped that the mercy of Heaven w o uld soon f a ll on his people. The deputations then had no other course` open to them but to return home, to announce the re sult of their mission. The Prime Senator of Rome was the first to perform this duty before the Council of Alinisters. The effect of this intelligence upon the people of Rome has been extraordinary. The general im pression adopted by the public press now is, that the POPE, after having been inveigled into the step of leaving Rome, is morally a prisoner at Gaeta, and that his will is entirely under the control of the retrograde party, headed by the King of NAPLES. The mome n t it was -known that the deputations had been stopped at Portelli, the popular circle assembled with the delegates of the Civic Guard, and of the provinces, and decided that both Chambers united should elect among them three or five citizens to form a Provisional Government, and proclaim a Constituent Assembly. The Alba of Florence, of the 10th, however, states that these measures have been suspended in conse quence of the unexpected arrival of a second courrier, announcing that the POPE had consented to receive the deputations at Gaeta. The return of the latter will, therefore, be waited for before any measure of the kind is resorted to. The Turin journals of the 13th state that a second demonstration took place at Genoa on the 12th la favour of a Constituent Assembly. The people amen bled in numbers before the head-quarters of the Ne" non al Guard, demanding the appointment of a commis" sion to draw up a petition to the KING and the Chambers, for the purpose of obtaining a Consti tuent Assembly for Italy. Cries in favour of a democratic Ministry, against th e I n t en d an t-G en eral of the province of Genoa, and for the liberation of the four persons arrested on the preceding Sunday were also proffered. General PARETO acquiesced in the desire of the people, a commission was named, and it was agreed that as soon as the petition was drawn up it should be read to the peoples and a deputation named to present it. Meantime the four prisoners were set at liberty ; the petition was soon drawn up and read; after which the people . named a deputation, composed of Advocate DIDACO , PELLEGRINT, NICOLAS, CAMBIARO, and Advocates CELORIO and MAacnio. On the 12th, Giousan bad a conference with the KING. MESSING D'AZEGLI° has been charged with the formation of a Cabinet, but with little chance of success. In the sitting of the Chamber of Deputies of Turin, of the 12th, the opposition inquired of Ministers , what progress the mediation had made since Brussels had been fixed on as the place at which the con ferences were to be held. Minister PINELLI replied that he had nothing to communicate, but that the fact of Austria h a ving ac cepted Brussels must be interpreted as a desire on her part to come to an arrangement. This answer was very unfavourably received by the Chamber. M. Ricci has been appointed by King CHARLES. ALBERT as his Plenipotentiary for the conferences at Brussels. The Grand Duke of Tuscany has nominated Prince PoNLerowsxr as Minister Plenipotentiary to the Courts of England and Belgium, and the French Republic. M. BARZAGLI is named Secretary of Le: gation, residing at London, and PIETRO GIANNONI is named second Secretary, to reside at Paris. A letter from Rome, dated the sth inst., announces that Marshal RADETZIET is assembling a corps d' armee at Brescia, with which he proposes to occupy the Legations of the Pontifical States, and to act in concert with the French to restore the POPE and to re establish public order. The Swiss who bad been disbanded by the POPE bad entered the service of the King of NAPLES. lITINGAnv The cholera has appeared at P esih and Ofen. JELLACHICII, it is said, left Vienna on the 10th for the Hungarian frontier. ~.. _ _ The Magyar army, which was informed by Kos- SUTH of the abdication of the EMPEROR, has every where taken up a defensive position. Raab is com pletely surrounded by entrenchments. Kossu TH'S army amounts to about 160,000 men. PRUSSIA. __— Prince CHARLES of Prusia has been dispatched to 011miitz to congratulate the new Emperor of AUSTRIA on his accession to the throne. The Prussian Staate Anzeiger of the 15th con tains a proclamation of the chief president of the province of Silesia, dated Breslau, Dec. 11, whereby, in consequence of the lamentable excesses which have taken place in the villages of Upper and Lower Rosen, in which a great deal of property was destroyed, and M. vox GLADIS, a gentleman who was highly re spected, was cruelly murdered, which compelled the authorities to have recourse to arms three times, the circle of Kranzburg, the Government circle of Op peln, and the surrounding districts, are declared in a state of siege. The Berlin Nachrichten again brings forward the subject of the report which obtains general credit, that the Cabinet of St. Petersburgh intends to make an exchange of that portion of the Grand Duchy of Posen (the Duchy of Gnesen), which is now subject to re-organization for the Duchies of Courland and Seingalled. This proposal is not at all disliked at Potsdam ; but Prussia desires to secure certain poli tical rights for the Duchy of Gnesen previous to ceding it, viz., those rights which have been abrogated in Russian Poland since 1831. The acquisition of the rich coast-land of Courland, which has affinity with Prussia both in language and manners, would be very advantageous ; but if this projected exchange be really entertained by the two Cabinets, it must, in the first instance, in constitutional Prussia, be submitted to the National Assembly, and this cannot possibly be done till the close of February next. • SOUTH GERMANY. The Frankfort Zeitung of the 14th contains the following under the head Munich, Dec. 10: "The increasing probability that the King of Prussia will receive the Crown of Germany has here awakened reminiscences of the glorious epoch of the Confederation of the Rhine. The foundatio❑ of the kingdom of Bavaria and these reminiscences have, in their turn, recalled others to the minds of men. The report which has pre valled here for the last fortnight gains ground, that the frequent and long conferences of our King with the French Envoy are paving the way to an alliance of the southern states of Germany with France against the northern states of Germany, and especially Prussia." HOLLAND. - - THE HAGUE, DEC. IG.—The elections are now ()vol. returnea urc for the most part Liberal minded, but not ultra men. The First Chamber of the States General is convoked for the 19th instant. The sections of the Second Chamber are occupied in the examination of divers projects of law. THE BOURSE. —There was a slightly favourable tendency for the national funds, and some business was done in Integrals. In Russian Funds the Five per Cents. were most offered, while the Four per Cents. were more in demand. Austrian were in greater request, and the Belgian Fundy were much in demand. There was great animation in the two principal Spanish funds, as well as in th e Ard o i n Coupons ; th e general tendency was favourable. Mexican and Peruvian funds were slack, in con sequence of the realisation of some stock.—Amsterdam Courant, Dec. 15. SWITZERLAND. A letter from Berne, of the 12th, states that the federal troops which had been sent to the canton of Tesino are about to return home, seeing that the Italian refugees have withdrawn into the interior of Switzerland, in conformity with the decree of the Federal Council. DAN ÜBIAN PRIN CIPALITIES. The Constantinople correspondent of the National gives the subjoined account of the present state of affairs in the Danubian Principalities:— " The question of the principalities of the Danube acquires daily a more serious aspect, and at the present moment the Cossacks may be said to rule there su preme. The authority of the Caimacan and of the Commissary of the Porte is a dead letter. The Rus sians arrest whomsoever they like, and openly assert that the Czar does not care two straws for Turkey or for the European Powers. An Austrian subject has been arrested in the consulate of that nation; the resi dence of Omer Pacha, the military governor of Bucha rest, was violated, and his aide-de-camp seized by the Russians, fur the sole reason that he was a Wallachian; and they have now laid hands on a British subject, whom they seized in the house of an Englishman at Bucharest. "I am not aware whether the Austrian Consul, who is said to be in the pay of Russia, has protested, but I can state that Omer Pacha, on seeing his aide-de-camp arrested, protested with all the energy of a soldier, and that his protest was forwarded to Ceneral Duhamel, the Russian Commissary, accompanied by an energetic note from Fuad Effendi. " The great Powers have consuls at Bucharest ; it is therefore impossible for them to be ignorant of these facts, and if they are aware of them, how explain their apathy? The liberty and the letters of their compatriots are at the mercy of the Cossacks, who trample upon them at their pleasure, and they submit to it; and these Powers do nothing: they allow all the privileges of their subjects to be violated, and do not see that, by refusing to come to the support of Turkey, they most seriously compromise their own interests. " When I say that all the powers of the West submit to the tyranny of the Cossacks, I make an error. The representatives of one of them has loudly preclaimed against it. I mean Sir S. Canning, the British Ambas sador at Constantinople. When M. Asprea, the Eng lish subject alluded to above, was arrested in an English house at Bucharest, M. Colquhoun, the British Consul- General, immediately appealed to the Caimacan of the Principality. The latter replied, that being entirely a stranger to the abominable acts of the Russians, he could not be held responsible for them, the more especially as he had no power to control them. " This being the case, M. Colquhoun addressed him. self to the Commissary of the Porte, from whom he re ceived a similar answer. Not being able to obtain satis faction at Bucharest, the British Consul-General laid the affair before Sir S. Canning at Constantinople, who immediately demanded an interview with the Grand Vizier and the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs. These two high functionaries expressed great indignation at the audacity of the Russians, and expressed their regret that they were not supported by Europe in cir cumstances in which the interests of the West and of the East are equally concerned. " The Porte, however, addressed an energetic note to M. Titow, the Russian Ambassador at Constantinople, who, on being informed of the energetic steps taken by Sir S. Canning, who demanded redress, replied that the officer who commanded the detachment that arrested M. Asprea should bo dismissed, and that the latter should receive a pecuniary indemnity for the injuries he had received, he being in prison, and suffering from the blows he had received from the butt-ends of the muskets of the Cossacks. It is evident from this that if France and England had taken an energetic attitude at first, matters would never have come to this pass. " It is said, however, that General Aupick, the French Minister, and Sir S. Canning have taken upon them selves to protest against the abominations committed by the Cossacks in the Principalities. For the honour of France and England, I trust it is true; for they cannot, without compromising themselves, allow the rights of their compatriots and of the Porte to be at the mercy of the Cossacks in theiDauube Principalities. Tinc ABUT 1N InLLAND.—The official returns state the &ices at the Ctispcsal of the authorities in Ireland for the month of December, including strong detach ments of artillery and engineers, with the out-pensioners and grand Paine, g$ new! 60,000 mene—Obf erver . • GUNPOWDER EXPLOSION. THE ARMY AND NAVY. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. SlR,—The army and navy are much praised, and with reason, but why cannot the heads of the above departments adopt some measure which would en able young men of respectability, who have not the means or interest to get appointments, to enter, not se common soldiers but as second-rate officers, to rise by their own merit ? Many young men would then avail themselves to enter into the army who now are precluded from doing so, not liking to associate with the many queer characters who flock thereto. Should this meet the eye of any of the influential heads of the above departments it will have attained the desired end.--I am, Sir, yours obediently, Hull, Dec. 15, 1848. X. Y. Z. SPORTING INTELLIGENCE. HUNTING APPOINTILENTS. The Cheltenham stag hds., Wed., Beech Pike; Sat., sixth milestone on the Gloucester-road-12. South Berkshire hds., Tues., Streatley; Sat., Hair hatch. Carmarthenshire lads.,, Tues., Bankfelin; Fri., Aberg• with. Sir John Cope's lids., Wed., Pinge Wood; Fri., Ball Marsh Court. Craven lids., Wed., Henswood; Fri., Ashdown Park; Sat., Asheridge-10i. Eggesford lids., Tues., Kingsympton Park; Thurs., Calves Bridge, Lapford; Sat., Stone Moor -11. liambledon hds., Wed., Wickham Gate; Fri., Al lington. East Kent hds., Wed., Swingfield Park; Fri., Sweech Gate. Llanelly hds., Wed., Man Saut ; Fri., Mr. Barn's, Talyclyn. Mr. Littleton's hds., Tues., Half-way House . on the Bodmin road; Fri., the kennel-10f. N. F. H. bds., Tues., Bolderwood; Thurs., Hill Top Gate; Sat., E ar ld oms -1 0 i . Lord Southampton's hds., Wed., Horton Inn; Fri, Wappenham; Sat., Wicken Park -11. United Puck, Thurs., Ridgeway Turnpike -9. Vine lids., Wed., Bradley Wood; Sat., the Yine—i 1. South Wilts hde., Tues., Middleton Farm; Fri., War . dour Castle. Baron Rothschild's stag hds., Thurs., Stewkley-11. Mr. Lowndes's hds., Tues., Winslow; Fri., Two-mile Ah-11. Lord Lonsdale's harrs., Tues.,llockliffe Grange; Sat., Puttenham-12. OPIUM-EATERS. —The Lancet states that "the Lin colnshire poor are to abandoned to opium eating as in sums instances to spend in the baneful drug 2s. 6d. out of a weekly 35.!" a degree of fatuous devotion to the Circean vice that would appal Coleridge or De Quincey themselves. The same writer extracts a passage from the evidence of a brother medical witness, a druggist, that he himself sends 400/. worth a year more opium to Ireland now than he did before; and Dr. Grindrod, the ablest of all the temperance advocates, admits that in the fens of Lincolnshire sad Cambridgeshire a vast quantity of (Tit:nil is conciaraed. Vast must be the quantity eon smut(' somewhere or somehow, for, according to the re turns of th e B oard of Trade, issued on Thursday last, acre was ao Ic-ss than S,COO lbs. of opium imported in the single month of October, that being by no means a c omparatively large quantity, for occasionally as much aa • 32,000 lba. uro impinteci wishiu the game time. Yesterday morning, about three o'clock, an accident ofa peculiar and alarming character occurred on the Eastern. Counties Railway, by the explosion of two barrels of gunpowder, each weighing three quarters of a cut. Providentially, however, the accident was unattendea with loss of life. It appears that the barrels arrived et Witham station about a quarter to three, and:were to be dispatched one by the Maldon and the other by the Braintree line. The porter, who also acts as night Inspector on the up-train, went into the office to book his trait!, and in a few minutes the London mail-train arrived-- . 4 stopped s h ort o f t h e b arre l s, but on moving on aga in, passed immediately over them, and some sparks falling from the fire-box the gunpowder exploded. The shook is indescribable, and the greatest alarm prevailed. The explosion shook the houses at Witham, which is half e mile off, and is said to have been heard at Colchester, fourteen miles further. In the vicinity of the station, the damage to the windows was very extensive. Ae soon as the people about recovered self-possession, they sought to discover the passengers, the carriages haying been blown off the line, but as the engine continued its course for a short distance, it is evident that the ex plosion could not have taken place until the engine itself had passed over. Dreadfully alarming as the ac cident was, none of the passengers, twelve in number, received any injury. The engineer and stoker were found to be stunned but not hurt, and the guard es caped with his arm being bruised. The train was de layed wo hours. BUSIN Aberde Amber. Ayrshi, Belfast Birmin calls Do., Birmin, calls Do., 1 Birrainl Eirkent Chest Boston, Bristol Do., Buckin, Caledor Ditto Ditto, Ditto, Chester Ditto, Clarenc( Do., I Do., 2, Do., ti Direct L Dublin s Dundalk East Ar • sad L. Ditt Ditl Eastern Do. Nt Do. Pe Do., d( Do., N Do., 5 Do., Do., N Eastern 1 E. L Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto Ditto, Ditto East Lai] Ditto, Do., N Do., 6 .„ Qua .t ast L i n Edinburg Ditto, Edinburg Ditto, Exeter, D la gow, Do.Pre Great No: Do. Do. Do. Ea Gt. South Great No. Ditto, Ditto, Great We Ditto, I Ditto, ( Ditto, I DO. Ne ' Unddersfi Ditto, 1 dull and Ditto, I Ditto, (caster kia newthir Ditto,d Ditto 13 Ditto Q Ditto F Ditto Si Ditto T Do., N e Do. Liv 120.01, " 0 , W Dittc mat( Spar Cent 25 t, t; 3 ' rex 86. at 49 Ra 'value BR PR]