The Sun. — London, England, 1865-11-25 00:00:00

....-------(.......... ..-- 7 —__ A rc hbi s hop Mannmg ; s Pastoral. The following Pastoral Letter to the Clergy and Laity of the Diocese of Westminster was read in the Churches of the Diocese on last Sunday : HENRY EDWARD, BY THE GRACE OF GOD AND THE FAVOUR OF THE APOSTOLIC SEE, ARCH BISHOP OF WESTMINSTER, TO THE CLERGY, SE CULAR AND REGULAR, AND FAITHFUL OF THE SAID DIOCESE. HEALTH AND BENEDICTION IN THE LORD. Your kindness in greeting our return on Monday week has anticipated our purpose of addressing you. But in thanking you for your words of attachment at the time we refrained from giving utterance to the truths which this moment suggests. we do so now more fully and in a form which will reach the whole flock committed to our charge. On the Feast of St. Michael, as you already know, a day ever to be remembered by the Catholics of England as the Anniversary of their reconstitution in the perfect organisation of the Catholic Hierarchy, the Sove reign Pontiff was pleased, after celebrating the Holy Sacrifice in his domestic Chapel, with his own hands to confer upon us the Sacred Pallium. By that act was brought before us in all its vividness the person of the Good Shepherd, and the Parable of the Lost Sheep, as it is pictured on the vaults of the Catacombs, burnt into the sacred vessels of the altar, sculptured upon the tombs of the Christian people :—the most perfect symbol of the Incarna tion of God, His tender love, His pastoral care, our wandering, our weakness, and our safety on the shoulders of the Good Shepherd , folded in the arms of His love and power. It is by these beautiful analogies that the Pas tors and writers of the Ch urch describe the signifi cance of the Sacred Pallium. They, as you know, have not failed to use the happy verbal coincidence of the Vulgate in which we read of Eliseus, " Leva vit Pallium Elise (4 Kings ii. 13.), he took up the pallium of Elias ; and again in the Italic, " Sustulit meloten Elise," he took up the sheepskin of Elias, the shepherd's garment, with which, as an instru ment of power, in the Name of the Lord he divided the waters. In this they saw the Good Shep herd letting fall upon St. Peter the Shep herd's Garment and the charge of the whole flock of God; whereby all the communicable powers and prerogatives of Jesus passed to Peter ; so that St. Leo in the consciousness of his world-wide and imperishable commission has said, "As that which Peter believed always abides in Christ, so that which Christ instituted always abides in Peter" (Seri. 2 in die Assump.) The words, " Feed my lambs, feed my lambs, feed my sheep" (St. John xxi. 15, 16), conveyed to Peter the cure of souls ; the supreme, plenary, universal, and perpetual jurisdiction over all for whom the Good Shepherd laid down His life. In this is revealed the law and conservative princi ple of unity, the distinction between the character of sacred orders, and the jurisdiction which validates and directs their exercise. In the power of the Keys, and of Sacrifice, and of the plenary gifts of Pente cost, in the Sacerdotal, Episcopal, and Apostolic character, all the twelve were equal. But as the source of jurisdiction Peter was alone, and because alone was Chief, and Vicar of his Master. The mantle of the Chief Shepherd had descended upon him. The regulation, and therefore the unity and harmonious action of the Apostolic College, flowed from him, and was sustained by union with him. The Shepherd's Mantle and the charge of the universal flock, the Pallium, and the jurisdiction over both sheep and their shepherds which fell from him op the Janiculum, in the hour when he ascended from his Cross to the kingdom of his Master, de scended upon Linus. It was the voice of Linus, but the jurisdiction of Peter who in his successor lived on, and in Pius the Ninth lives still. And this gives a special beauty and significance to the words in which the Pallium is demanded by Patriarchs, and Primates, and Archbishops kneeling at the feet of the Vicar of the Good Shepherd and the successor of the Apostle, " Peto urihi tradi et assignari pal- Hum de corpore Beati Petri sumtum," the vestment of wool, woven from the fleece of the lambs, blessed on St. Agnes's Day, and laid upon the tomb of the Apostle with the Apostolical Benediction on the Vigil of St. Peter and St. Paul. You already know that Orders and Jurisdiction are distinct : that the power of aclministering Sacra ments-does not include a power of administering them to any particular flock ; that the impressing upon a man the character of Priesthood does not make him the Pastor of any parish, or empower him to ab solve any individual soul ; nor the impressing upon any one the character of the Episcopate make him Bishop of any Diocese. The Priest and the Bishop are created by ordination and consecration ; but the charge of parish or diocese is given by the grant of jurisdiction. Any Bishop can validly ordain a Priest, or consecrate a Bishop, but the power over souls in any particular parish or diocese comes from the Vicar of our Lord alone. And this is derived from the two-fold power which was conveyed by our Lord to His Church, the power over His natural Body, in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, to which all other Sacraments and orders are related ; and the power over His mystical Body or the souls which are united to Him as their head, and kni together in the unity of His visible Church. The power over His natural Body descends by consecra tion in thepiscopate, which isithe plenitude of the Priesthood : the power over His mystical Body is distributed to every several Bishop by the Successor of St. Peter alone. This constitutes the cure of souls or the personal relation between the Bishop and his diocese, which excludes every other juris diction, and is excluded from every other Diocese. Thus much it may not be out of place to say, in order to make more clear and vivid, if possible, the one truth we desire now to bring before you in order that we may ask, for the love of Jesus, the help of all your strength and of all your hearts ; that is, the personal charge and care of souls, and the personal responsibility for the salvation of souls which is laid upon us. There is no more tremendous thought foryou, dear Children in Jesus Christ, than that you must all stand before the judgment-seat of God, to give ac count of your stewardship to the last farthing. You willbe held to answer f or th oug ht s, wor d s, an d deeds ; for all the works done in the body for the whole of this mortal life, with all its intense activity, day and night from birth to death ; multiplied by all the gifts of nature and of grace, all the oppor tunities and seasons of doing good, all the influences, trusts, and powers of serving God and saving souls, committed to you. Well may the heaven and the earth flee away before the face of Him who sitteth upon the great Throne (Apoc. xx. 11), for who shall endure the day of His coming, or who shall stan(l when he shall appear? Tremendous indeed for y ou , but what for us? Of you will be required the ac count of one soul, that is your own. Of us, of tens of thousands. Of us the.stewardship of the whole flock will be exacted ; and of every several soul in it for whose salvation we can in any way labour. Jesus died for them that they might be saved. He gives them to us that, through the power of His precious blood, we may save them. If His precious blood be not applied• to them, their blood will be required at our hands. And if they be lost, how shall we be saved? This is a thought still more tremendous than that in which we shall stand alike before God, on our own personal account. For this reason it is th a t S t. J o h n Ch rysostom says, "Iwon der how any ruler of the Church can be saved." This cure of souls resides always habitually in the person of the Bishop, and also actually, so long as he shall not have transferred the same canonically, and therefore in perpetuity, to another. So intimate and personal is this jurisdiction of a Pastor over his own Flock, that while the Church forbids to all her saving on l y t h e Sovere i gn Pastors, even the highest., Pontiff, to absolve out of his own Diocese a single soul subject to another Bi shop, without hi s express authority communicated for that purpose, every Bishop may absolve in all the world the mem b ers o f his own Diocese, wheresoever he may find them, by sea or by land. The personal charge of sou ls whic h is given by the Vicar of Our Lord immediately to every Bi s h op in his Diocese, is given mediately by him to every Bishop, Priest, or Rector of a Mission, canoni cally erected ; and this burden rests on all, whe ther Secular and Religious, who shall be admitted by the Bishop to the pastoral care of any parti- cular Mission. They with their Bishop are charged before God with the account of every soul in their flock. They are bound ex justitia, to all the offices of their cure, and to residence by a strict obligation. All other Priests labouring in the diocese are assist ants of those to whom the cure of souls is entrusted, and from whom the account will be required; but on them as yet this personal responsibility has not been laid. They serve, ex caritate, kr the love of souls, and in obedience to the Bishop who sends them to their work. It is a consolation to us to be surrounded by such a body of Priests, in whom we know that the love of souls, and the account they will have to give, is always active. And it is a consolation to them to be assisted by a still greater number of younger Clergy working under their direction, and by the help of so many devoted Religious, of manyvenerable Orders, and Congregations. That the life of a Pas tor is not a life of peace or ease, you already know. But what is its toil, anxiety, and fear, you cannot know. None but they who are called to it can un derstand what presses upon them day and night. There is, in the mercy of our Divine Master, a grace which attaches to every state, and a help which fol lows his Disciples in every reed. And this is mea sured to our trials, and is est when the burden is heaviest. It is not, therefore, from fear or anxiety that we have thus spoken : but, as has been already , said, to rouse as powerfully as we can your con sciences and your hearts. St. Paul says, " Obey your Prelates, and be subject to them ; for they watch, as being to render an account of your souls." (Heb. xiii. 17.) In pursuance of. this great commis sion, and with the intense realisation of its office which characterise the only and true Church of Jesus Christ, the Council of Latern imposes upon all the faithful every year to receive the Sacrament of Penance. It is a precept of the Church that every one shall communicate at Easter. Every several soul is therefore bound before God to present itself to its Pastor once in every year. In Catholic coun tries where the parochial order is unbroken, the Paschal Communion must be made in the parish church. In our country, where the fewness of churches and of parishes or missions renders this difficult, the precept of the Church is satisfied if the faithful make their Paschal Communion in any public church. Still, the law of the Church, which imposes upon the pastor a personal responsibility for every individual soul of his flock, is equally sustained. The Catholic Church does not contentitself with preach ing to the masses ; it deals with each one in the mass as if none other existed in the world. It casts its net for a draught, but it draws it to the shore to separate the fish from each other one by one. Preachers cast the nets, but confessors separate the good from the bad. Nothing less than this is the Mission of the Church in London. It is sent to ga ther out first the two hundred thousand Catholics who are dispersed in nearly three million of souls, and to take account of them one by one. But we are sent also to this whole people, to this " City of three ' days' journey." (S. John, x. 3, 14.) They are our brethren, separated indeed from the unity of the Blood, but redeemed in the Blood of Jesus. It is of such that he emphatically says, " Other sheep I have, that are not of this fold ; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one Fold and one Shepherd." (Jonas iii. 3.) Upon the statistics of the Missions the Bishop must depend for the details and particulars required of him every fouryears by the Holy See. By express and reiterated command of the Pontifical law it is laid upon his conscience to make a full and distinct return under the title of Relatio Status Dioecesis— including all its institutions and the state of souls, not as of ma.sses s butof individuals, not only in thou sands, but so far as possible one by one—to the Pastor of Pastors. It is one of the dangers of our over crowded state, that we content ourselves with gene ral and superficial efforts, in the place of numerical and particular care of our flocks. The Church requires its Pastors to know their sheep, as the Good Shep herd says, "lie calleth his own sheep by name;' that is, one by one, in all the particularity of their state, and with a personal relation to each. " I know mine, and mine know Me." (S. John, x. 16.) These words of our Divine Master seem impossible, and yet they must be obeyed. But you may well ask, how shall this be done in such a population as this? Perhaps in this and the next generation it may never be accomplished. But that does not relax by a single hair's breadth the obligation which is upon us to be always aiming, always tending to this only true and complete dis charge of the cure of souls, in which not one shall be knowingly or willingly passed over. Impossibility is the excuse of unwillingness. Whatsoever is right is possible ; not all at once, but in itself ; and at last it will be done. But it will be never done unless we begin ; it will never be begun unless we recog nise the full breadth and length of the work that is upon us. In order to do this we need only to take the laws of the Church as our guide. The Pastoral office is regulated and surrounded by a whole system of directions, from the office of the Bishop to that of the Parish Priest and of his assistants. It is by conforming ourselves as closely as we can to the mind of the Church, expressed in the - order of its discipline, that we shall do the most extensive and permanent good. "Wisdom is justified by her children" (S. Matt., xi. 19) ; and the provisions by which the Church has regulated the office of its Pastors, if at first sight it appear in anything to be minute or needless, in the end will be found to be the dictate of an experience which reaches beyond that of any individual, and the consul of a super natural prudence. It may indeed be true that in a Missionary country such as this, it is not easy to apply literally certain details which are of easy ap plication in Catholic countries. Nevertheless, the sooner we begin to act upon the same general princi ples, the sooner we shall attain a more normal state. The removal of our lamented Cardinal closed a period. It may truly be called the period of our foundation. Like a skilful architect he marked out the foundations of the Hierarchy, and completed its great outlines and its chief constructive parts. He found London a Vicariate, he left it a Diocese. Before, it consisted of individuals without organisa tion, with isolated centres and little mutual rela tion. It is now complete in outline and in the chief members of the Diocesan order. But we have now entered upon another period ; that of filling up the outline, or organising what has been gathered together in abundance, and carry ing out to its full result the work which he began. The normal state of a Parish or Mission is that the Curate should be assisted by a number of Priests proportioned to the number of the Flock. The Council of Trent (Council. Trid. Sess. xxi. De Re form. cap. 4) lays upon the conscience of the Bishop to judge of this sufficient proportion. Such a. Mis sion ought also to have Schools proportioned in number and in quality to the number of children in every class. But, in fact, it is to be feared that many of the most populous Missions of the Diocese possess neither the number of Priests nor of Schools which are required ; and, earnestly as the Priests of those Missions have laboured and are labouring to fill up these urgent needs, theyarehindered by the burden of poverty from accomplishing - To complete the organisation allga ni!at it. To the Diocese in all its members,ietaa. s r M issions or Parishes, will be the work of many yßut it is our first duty. On you, Reverend and dear brethren, who bear with us the cure of souls, the burden presses first. Let us not be afraid : for lie who laid it upon us will sustain us. If we fully appreciate what is to be done, and with an intelligent and persevering zeal give ourselves to the work, we shall see it ac complished, or at least we shall have prepared for its accomplishment. It is the practice of the Holy See to approve of the erection of a Parish wheresoever the flock amounts to a thousand souls. Well were it if every thousand souls in London had its Pastor, Church, and Schools, But this is not yet possible. Fora long time we shall have to contend with two great difficulties : the unwieldy masses of our people, and povertywhich limits the number of our Churches and of our Clergy. Nevertheless, much may be done by so organising each Mission as to give it an in ternal subdivision, while it still remains under one head. We may hope gradually to increase the num ber of Prie s t s in each Mission until they shall be able to count their sheep by number, and know them all by name. And we confidently trust in the love and grace of the Good Shepherd that Ile will move the hearts of our people to assist us in all way s in their power to this end. Hitherto we have been turning the earth with the plough. We must henceforth cultivate it by the hand. The heavy ploughshare tills the field, but it is the spade and the hand that makes the garden. It is with this view, as well as to record with grate ful and affectionate memory the name of our great Cardinal in the traditions of Catholic England, that we have entered with all our heart into the work of erecting a Cathedral. It is absolutely necessary that there should be a church proportioned to the offices of the Metropolitan See, and to the the magnitude, both material and moral, of the city in which we are. The diocese of Westminster will lack its adequate manifestation until it has a cathedral in which the solemnities of the Church and the Synods of the diocese can be duly celebrated. The voice of the Catholic Church will never be adequately heard by the population around us, so long as it is audible only in our narrow and humble churches, which are not sufficient to maintain half of the Catholics of London. It is therefore as the material head of the diocese, and as the centre of its spiritual and intel lectual action upon both those who are within and those who are without the unity of the fold in this vast city, that we regard the erection of a Cathedral church as a work of primary obligation. And 7 - 11 we are permitted to say is the judgment of the So vereign Pontiff, who has in express and ample words I blessed the work, commending it to the alms of the faithful in all the world, and recording this supreme approbation by the gift of a Monstrance set with stones of singular beauty and richness for the service of the altar. Nor is this all. In order that the spiritual build ing of the diocese may at the same time be ascend ing in its symmetry and perfection, the Sovereign Pontiff has granted a Plenary Indulgence and the Apostolical Benediction, to be given on the first visit we make to the Missions, Convents, and other ecclesiastical or charitable institutions of the diocese. Of this due notice shall be given. And lastly, the Holy Father has been pleased to extend to us his most powerful and efficient help in bearing the burden of souls which His will has laid upon us. In order to awaken the compassion of the Faithful towards the thousands of children who are exposed to every kind of danger, and we fear perishing every day in the streets of this great city, and to kindle more and more the love of souls and your zeal for their salvation, the Supreme Pastor has been pleased to grant to all who will unite themselves with us in this intention and work a plenary indulgence, to be gained on the usual conditions, on the day in which they associate themselves by giving in their name ; and a plenary indulgence three times a year, to be gained in the Octave of the Epiphany, in honour of the Divine Infant to whom these poor little ones belong ; on the second Sunday after Easter, or " Pastor Bonus" Sunday, in honour of the Good Shepherd who bids you to seek out for Him His lambs that are lost, and on the Feast of the Mater nity of our Immaculate Mother, under whose inter cession we have placed all our labours for the salva tion of souls ; and lastly, an indulgence of an hun dred days as often as those who associate with us in this work shall co-operate in it by any means in their power. The Sovereign Pontiff, in granting these spiritual gifts, wrote with his own hand the words, " Suffer little children to come unto Me" (S. Matt. xis. 14). " For their angels do always behold the face .of My Father who is in Heaven" (S. Matt. xviii. 10). Under this highest authority of the Chief Pastor of the flock on earth we make our appeal to you, dear children in Jesus Christ; and we urge you, rich and poor, of all ages and states in life, to unite your selves with us in this association, which we dedicate to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. There is none so poor or so busy in the works and service of life who can not help us by prayer, by seeking out these poor children, by kindly and persevering influence with their parents, by visiting the homes of the poor, by visiting the schools, by encouraging the teachers, whose work is often heavy and disheartening ; by giving of your abundance alms proportioned both to your powers and to this vital work of charity, or of your poverty the two mites which make a farthing. S. Cyprian defines the Church to be " Grex Pastori unitus." " The Flock united to the Shepherd." It is the great and supernatural gift and power of united hearts and wills that we above all desire. With this we may move mountains. With this we shall soon see the living organisation of the diocesegrow ing up to all perfection and realising the order and discipline of the Church. With this the care of souls would rest lightly upon us, and every day would bring back to the fold sheep which were lost. The two most urgent duties of our pastoral minis- I try are without doubt the administration of the last Sacraments to the dying, and the training up of children in their baptismal grace. The former is exclusively in the hands of your Pastor ; the latter is to a great extent in yours. how is it that Chris tians who believe in the supernatural grace of Bap tism can neglect the Christian education of their children, and can even endure to see helpless, un conscious souls robbed of their faith, and cast down from the grace of children of God ? And yet such is the spiritual havoc perpetuated every day upon our poor Catholic children who are perverted in work houses and schools, or corrupted in the streets of London. If any one appreciates for a moment the worth of one soul, its value in the sight of God, its beauty in infancy and in grace, its deformity and its misery when stained or stripped of its-dignity as a child of God ; if any one really lays to heart the words heaven and hell, eternal life, or eternal death, it would be impossible that we should look so calmly as we do upon the thousands of children in our streets who hardly know their right hand from their left. In the name of God, then, and for the love of Jesus and of His Blessed Mother, we call upon you to give us the help of all your strength, and prayers, that we may never slacken until the name of every Catholic child is inscribed in the books of our schools, and not one shall grow up, so far as we are answer able, without a Christian and Catholic education. We call upon the devotion and zeal of the families of S. Dominic, S. Ignatius, of B. Paul of the Cross, on the Order of Charity, on the Congregation of the B. Mother of God, under their many titles, and of S. Philip and of S. Charles, all of whom have already la- boured well in this great work ; and lastly, upon the more than 30 Sisterhoods who are labouring day and night for the salvation of these little ones, to take courage, and to unite with us in this Association on which the Vicar of our Lord has bestowed his especial Benediction. Hereafter we shall hope to publish a definite form and order for this work. All those who at this time are labouring for the education of children in poor schools or Ophanages, Reformatory or Industrial Schools, all who contribute to their support, and all who in any way promote them, as especially the Brothers of S. Vincent of Paul and the members of the Immaculate Conception Charity, are qualified to become partakers of the spiritual benefits of this Association, which embraces all existing works for the children of the diocese, and is intended to pro mote them all, and to bestow additional indulgences upon the works in which you are already engaged. For the present all we ask is that you give to the Rector or Priest of the Mission where you reside, or to any Religious who may be your ordinary Con fessor, to be transmitted to us, your Christian and Surname in writing before Christmas day, which day we hereby appoint for the first Plenary Indul gence on admission. In the Pontifical Benediction the Pallium is called the " Symbolum unitatis," " Caritatis vinculum ;" the symbol of unity, the bond of charity. It is the con sciousness of the cure of souls which naturally binds the shepherd to the flock and the flock to the thisshep ilrist sp b r o e n a t ( l is w t l i i i i r c o l u i g b i e l o g u i n t s th f r e o m in h o t l h e e w V , o i r c l a d r , h o e f . r J d e . sus A C ll 1 ( binding fast all the Pastors upon earth to His Sacred Person, and then through them the sheep and the lambs wheresoever they be scattered abroad. It is this, against which the gates of hell cannot prevail ; the supernatural unity of intelligence, heart, and will by the illumination of faith, and by the union of obedience and charity. Such was England when the jurisdiction of Peter rested with its ensign upon the shoulders of its chief Pastors. In those days S. Ansehu walked barefoot to the Altar that he might receive it ; and S. Thomas laid down his life for the jurisdiction it conveyed. A slight thing may represent a vital law, and on THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENERG, NOVEMBER 25, 1865. that law the mightiest consequences may depend. On this obedience to the successor of S. Peter depended unity and truth ; and on these depended the divine grant of jurisdiction over souls, on which again de pended the authority of the Pastors over their flock, and the obedience of the flock to the Pastors. With the Shepherd's garment all these come or go. The divisions of England, external and internal, spiritual and intellectual, show that with the symbol de parted also the reality. These thoughts forced themselves upon us all the more the other day in the beautiful Catholic city of Florence. Again and again the incoherences of the Reformation• endeavoured to wind their way into Italy. They who translate and print Protestantism for the use of the Italians know little of the people of Italy. Christ or Anti-christ is an intelligible alternative : the " Summa" of S. Thomas or the philosophy of Voltaire ; the Christianity of the world or the naturalism of the human reason ; the Sacrifice of the Mass or no divine worship ; the Pastoral jurisdiction of two hundred and fifty Pon tiffs or every man his own guide. This is intelligible and coherent. But a religion without supreme power, a theology in fragments, a Christianity out of square with the Christian world, ministers without Priesthood, or Priests without Altars, or obedience without a divine jurisdiction—these things are only not ridiculed because of the courtesy which lets them pass, or the venality which feeds upon them. What remains now of the Synod of Pistoia except the Bull " Auctorem Fidei" ? What will spring from this tampering with its faith but a new, indignant, and authoritatve declaration of the Catholic religion of Italy ? The people of Italy are profoundly Chris tian and Catholic ; of which their calm, and mutual respect in this season of prolonged and terrific temptation is abundant proof. May God in His in finite mercy send them peace. And who that has seen their churches more full at this day than ever before—and more full, above all, in those very cities where the revolution has fallen heaviest—can doubt that the prayers of Italy are heard ; and that if scourges are impending, those scourges will restore to it that which is above all price, the perfectunion of all hearts in the paternal love of the Vicar of Jesus Christ. It was but the other day that, with the voice and heart of the Good Shepherd, he called once more those who are wandering to return to his pastoral care ; and at once a million voices were raised up to answer with a protestation of fidelity. Thus much, dear Children in Jesus Christ, we have been almost forced to say, with the cities of Italy fresh before us, the centres of so many glories of the Saints, the Statesmen, the leaders of Italian history, and therefore of the Christian civilisation of the world. And if this had not been enough, another memory would constrain us, the image of the Vicar of our Lord, whom a few days ago we saw in the majesty of his confidence and calm, with all the sorrows of the Church full upon him, greater in the isolation of his poverty and in the freedom of his speech, to which all nations listen, than Pontiffs who in the height of power led the monarchies of past ages, because more like to their Lord and ours in humility and loneliness of heart. In him the whole Christian world may learn to trust in justice and in God, and to measure the perils of this hour as we do the stress of a little storm, sharp for a time, but soon overcast. For what are the sorrows of a Pontificate in the eighteen centuries of the imperishable See of Peter, the sole fountain of jurisdiction to the Pastors of Jesus Christ. And may the God of Peace, who brought again from the dead the Great Pastor of the Sheep, our Lord Jesus Christ, in the blood of the Everlasting Testament, fit you in all goodness that you may do His will : doing in you that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom is glory for ever and ever. Amen."—Hebrews 20, 21. Given at Westminster this Fourteenth day of November, 1863, and ordered to be read in all Churches and Chapels of the Diocese on Sunday the 19th instant, being the Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost. t HENRY EDWARD, Archbishop of Westminster. American Financial rews. THE AMERICAN PUBLIC DEBT. According to the official statement of the public indebt edness on the 31st of October, there has been a further decrease of $4,092,967 in the national liabilities since the close of September. The total debt on Nov. 7 was $2,740,854,759, as against 62,744,917,726 a month ago, and 82,757,689,571 on the 3ist of August—showing a clear reduction of $16,831,812 within the last two months, or at the rate of 8101,008,875 a year. The outstanding legal tender issues of the government on November 6 amounted to $633,709,581, as against $678,126,940 at the close of the preceding month, showing a reduction of 'nearly forty-four and a half million dollars in this import ant item, within four weekS, or at the rate of over eleven million dollars a week. TIIE AMERICAN REVENUES. The income of the National Treasury from internal revenue, during the month of October, amounted to $30,457,983, making a total of $124,178,403 received from this source in the first four months of the current fiscal year, commencing from July 1, or equal to a yearly ag gregate of about three hundred and seventy-three million dollars. Up to November 10, the internal revenue of the Government has been up to the high daily average of two million six hundred thousand dollars, which would give an aggregate of nearly sixty-eight million dollars for the whole month of twenty-six business days. From July 1 to the end of the first week in November Government derived an income of one hundred and thirty-one million dollars, or an average of about one million two hundred and sixty thousand dollars for each of the hundred and four business-days embraced in that period. This average, carried through the whole of the current fiscal year, would yield the marvellous amount of about three hun dred and nintey:million dollars. The receipts from inter nal revenue amounted on the 7th November to upwards of two million of dollars. WORK AT THE MINT. The Secretary of the Treasury has received the follow ing statement of deposits at the Mint of the United States, Philadelphia, during the month of October, 1855: Gold deposits, $455,733 31; silver deposits, $62,695 64, Total deposits, $518,428 95. The coinage during the same period was ; Gold, $266,685 83 ; silver, $38,885 12 ; cop per, $62,330. Total, $367,900 95. The Customs revenue of the Government through the port of New York, during the week ending Friday Nov. 9, amounted to 52,805,000 or a daily average of $467,500. The sales of gold and stocks made by New York city brokers during the year ending the 30th of June last exceeding $6,000,000,000, yielding a governmental revenue of $3,500,000. It is said. that $1,020,000,000 have been paid to the United States army alone since the commencement of the war. THE RESTORED POSTAL SERVICE IN THE SOUTHERN STATES. The following exhibit of the newly restored postal ser vice in the Southern States has just been made up in the General Post Office Department.. The whole number of routes restored is 241, which includes 18,558 miles of ser vice. The cost to the Government by the late contracts is $897,796 less than by the contracts in existence at the outbreak of the rebellion for the same amount of ser- rice : No. of miles. States. of service. COst. Saving. Virginia 2,192 $102,337 $118,780 West Virginia North Carolina 2,089 44,843 51,626 South Carolina 1,798 68,904 97,777 Georgia 1,788 74,255 92,250 Florida Alabama Mississippi Arkansas 1,707 30,375 :76,406 Louisiana.. Texas .... Tennessee -2,017 74,958 151,592 ..2,630 89,597 77,997 -1,320 52,752 49,317 UNITED STATES SECURITIES IN EUROPE. Tho Nem York Times of the 9th instant says:—" Mr. J. D. F. Lanier, the well-known banker of New.. York, who recently returned from Europe, whither he went some time ago on a confidential mission for the Govern ment in connection with the national finances, yesterday had an interview with the President and the Secretary of the Treasury, to whom be submitted a verbal report of the results of his mission. Mr. Lanier everywhere found the best of feeling prevailing in financial circles with relation to the United States, particularly on the Continent, and great confidence in our public securities. At Frankfort on-the-Maine he addressed at length a large meeting of capitalists, embracing representatives from nearly every leading house in Germany. The complete and utter over throw of the rebellion was a matter of equal surprise and congratulation, and the demonstration made of the power and wealth of the North was a subject of universal ad miration. But, the war being ended, the expectation was confidently expressed by the European holders of our securities, that we wou ld i mme di a tely commence a return towards specie p a y men t s, however gradual the progress in such a direction might be. Such a step, it was repre sented, was absolutely necessary to the maintenance of confidence in our securities and in the policy of the Govern ment. The ability of the country to bear all the burdens of the war was not questioned, especially with the rapid progress of the work of reconstruction, which bids fair to restore political and social unity to every portion of the country. With a wise and correct policy there will be no limit to the demands for our securities, not only to the Continent, but in England, where our military successes were fast opening the eyes of the people as to the value of our bonds. But the feeling against any further increase and in favor of a steady contraction of the currency was universally expressed as the sole condition on which our credit abroad could be maintained. It is understood that the views of Mr. Lanier were heartily responded to both by the President and the Secretary of the Treasury." SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. TIMES.—The Head Centre of all the Fenians of Ire land, Mr. Jas. Stephens, alias Power, who was ap prehended only a fortnight ago, has just escaped from Richmond Prison, probably by the connivance of some of the prison officials. As the Government has offered £l,OOO for his re-capture and £3OO more for information, he will probably be soon again in custody; but the event is likely to cast suspicion on the fidelity of an important body of men, and to in crease the caution with which the Irish Government deals with these troublesome conspirators. Stephens, who has been raised by the Fenian authorities, or has raised himself, to the office and dignity of chief of the Republican plotters, was, we believe, origi nally connected with Mr. Smith O'Brien, and learnt treason in the school of the rebels of 1848. He has, however, only emerged into history since the scheme for making Ireland independent by American aid has been formed on the other side of the ocean. As a man endowed with more than the usual Fenian education, he took the lead, and attained at once the high position which, unless he succeeds in mak ing his escape from Ireland altogether, is likely to give him an unpleasant pre-eminence in punishment. But for the present he seems to have baffled justice. While the lawyers of the Queen's Bench were discussing the question of a certiorari at a length which encumbers our columns, Mr. James Stephens moved a more effective certiorari himself, and postponed his trial before the Special Com mission by the simple expedient of breaking prison. We have as yet no means of knowing how he made his escape, and how far any one at the Richmond Prison is connected with it. But Mr. Stephens is a man of such ability and resource that he would have no difficulty in taking advantage of any favourite disposition on the part of a turnkey, whether it arose from political sympathy or readi ness to pocket a bribe. The Fenian Exchequer has been so flourishing, owing to the prosperity and enthusiasm of the brethren across the Atlantic, that any reasonable number of sovereigns would, no doubt, be forthcoming. It now remains for Mr. Stephens, having made his escape, to avoid a second capture. The reward offered for his apprehension will make the chase after him very hot, for it is not often that in any country a prize of £l,OOO is held up before the eyes of the police. But, to judge from his past exploits, he is quite capable of giving his pursuers some trouble. It is related that on the night of the seizure of the Irish People he changed his appearance with peculiar readiness, and, procuring a pair of crutches, made his way to a place of shelter. This was Fairfield-house, Sandy mount, which he occupied under the name of James Herbert. It had been furnished with much elegance, no doubt out of Fenian funds • the garden and greenhouse were complete, and il2 worth of plants were purchased from a neighbouring nursery on the very day of the capture. The preparations of the police for taking him and his companions were very elaborate, but it turned out that. the work was much easier than they expected. They entered well armed, with pistols in their hands, but Stephens thought fit to submit quietly, and was arrested with Miekham, Duffy, and Brophy, who were all in bed at the time. The work has now to be done over again as far as Stephens is concerned. He has pro bably not got far from Dublin ; indeed, the most reasonable supposition is that he is lying hid some where in the city, and will there continue until he thinks the storm of pursuit is blown over. It is superfluous to suggest that there should be a strict inquiry into the mode of his escape, and the alleged complicity of some one in the prison. Such an offence by a person in the employ of Government is most serious, and should be punished with all severity. Post—The Court of Queen's Bench, as might have been expected, has given judgment for the Crown in the matter of Mr. Churchward's Petition of Right. The members of the court were unani inous, and we may therefore assume that the poin . _ at issue has now been finally determined. The judg ment delivered by the Court will be seen to have turned almost entirely on the particular interpreta tion given to the contract which furnished the basis of the petitioner's suit, and the question of consti tutional law which would have been brought into prominent relief had the contract - been differently worded did not therefore call for solution. The public are interested not so much in learning whe ther, under the terms of a certain agreement, the person aggrieved is entitled to seek compensation from the Executive for the loss which he has, sus tained, but whether under a contract, however worded, which is entered into on behalf of the Crown, and the consideration-money of which is to be voted by Parliament, a claim for damages caused by the rescinding of such contract can be success fully maintained. Now, it cannot be said that this point has been determined by the judgment deli vered yesterday in the Court of Queen's Bench, and although Mr. Churchward is held to be precluded from claiming compensation because the authorities entrusted the carriage of the mails between Dover and the Continent to some one else, after Parlia ment had refused to appropriate any money for payment to him under the terms of his contract, non constat that under different circumstances he might not have succeeded in establishing his claim. On the one hand, contractors with Government are entitled to know whether, even although their remuneration is made conditional on the approval of Parliament, they are not justified in seeking compensation for the damage occasioned by the repudiation of their contracts ; and, on the other, the public may justly feel curious as to the liability which may be cast • upon them of making large pay ments to contractors in the form of damages which they cannot be compelled to pay as a subsidy. In the case which has just been argued and decided at Westminster, it cannot, however, be said that either the rights of contractors or the liability of the public have been ascertained. The decision has mainly turned on the terms of Mr. Churchward's contract with the Adniiralty, and it will not, there fore, constitute so valuable a precedent as might have been expected. The essential elements .of the agreement entered into between Mr. Churchward and the Government in April, 1859, were that the former should supply certain steamers for the car riage of the mails between Dover and the ports of Calais and Ostend, and that the latter should pay to Mr. Churchward an annual sum of £lB,OOO out of moneys to be provided by Parliament. In June, 1863, the House of Commons passed a resolution that no further moneys should be paid to Mr. Churchward under his contract, and that resolution was subsequently embodied in the Appropriation Act passed at the close of the same session. The Government thereupon terminated the contract, sent the mails to the Continent by other steamers than those of Mr. Churchward, and paid that gen tleman up to the date fixed in the Appropriation Act. Under these circumstances, the contractor sues the Crown for damages which he sustained by the rescission of the contract, and in effect says : " Although•l cannot call on you to pay the subsidy agreed upon, because that is made conditional on the votes of Parliament, still I am entitled to ask you to continue to send the mails by my steamers. By so doing I shall be enabled to retain that pas senger traffic which I at present possess, and shall besides be in a position to ask Parliament to remu nerate me for services rendered." The whole ques tion, therefore, raised for the decision of the court was, whether an engagement on the part of the Lords of the Admiralty to entrust the carriage of the mails to Mr. Churchward could be implied from the terms of the contract on which the suppliant rested his case. That no such agreement was ex pressed was conceded by Mr. Churchward's counsel; and that it was not implied is, we think, shown to demonstration in the elaborate judgment delivered by the Lord Chief Justice. The general rule of law in the interpretation of contracts is that no engagement on the part of any of the contracting parties will be implied contrary to the general tenor of the agreement. Now, it must be manifest to every one that the Government, in contracting with Mr. Churchward, had no other object in view than to secure the services of efficient steamers for the conveyance of the mails, so long or under such cir cumstances as they might deem it expedient to use such steamers. They never intended to preclude themselves from transmitting the mails by vessels of a different class in time of war, or making such other arrangements as might be deemed essential for the public service. The fair reading of the contract, therefore, is that the Admiralty simply engaged themselves to employ Mr. Churchward's vessels for the transmission of mails whenever they should require them ; in any case Mr. Churchward being paid £lB,OOO a year, provided that sum was appropriated for the purpose by Parliament. And the evil consequences of a different rendering of the contract are pointed out by the Lord Chief Justice as furnishing still more conclusive proof that the construction contended for by the suppliant could not be sustained. If Mr. Church. , ward had been employed by the Government, not withstanding therefusalof Parliament to appropriate any sums of money for his payment, he would, it is true, have been in a better position to apply to Par liament for remuneration than by merely showing himself ready and willing to perform his contract. But the result would have been that the Govern ment would have been acting in direct antagonism to the Legislature. The House of Commons, on the one side, as the guardian of the public purse, would by formal resolution have declared that a certain in dividual should not any longer be paid for services which he had been in the habit of rendering ; whilst, on the other, the Government would have continued to require at his hands the discharge of those duties, knowing their inability to offer in return any re muneration. To adopt such a course would, as the Chief Justice said, have been derogatory to the Crown. It cannot, therefore, be seriously urged that the Government were obliged under their con tract to act in a manner which wovld not only have brought them into collision with Parliament, but would have exposed them to well-merited contempt. But the refusal of the Admiralty to act thus, in truth, furnished the sole ground on which the peti tioner based his claim against the Crown. Whether a Petition of Right may not lie for a breach of con tract by the Government the court was not called upon to decide, though the balance of opinion appears to be in favour of its doing so ; but in the case under consideration it was not necessary to determine that point. The Execution of Captain Wirz, The execution took place, on the 10th inst., of Captain Wirz, who was convicted of practising murderous cruelty on the Federal prisoners of war under his charge in the Confederate prison at Andersonville, of which he was governor. On the evening of Thursday, Nov. 9, the pri soner was informed that he was to die on the morrow. He appeared unmoved at the information, having fully ex pected it, and, after eating his supper as usual, retired to rest, and slept soundly during the night. After breakfast on Friday morning he took leave of Winder, who had been associated with him in the management of the prison at Andersonville, and other friends, and at ten o'clock he was informed that it was time to proceed to the scaffold, erected in the prison yard. His demeanour throughout was quiet, and devoid of any exhibition of fear or ner vousness. Referring to the black shroud, he remarked that he " hoped to have a white gown soon." Tho officers pro ceeded to pinion his arms behind his back, but found the handcuffs would not slip on to his right arm, itbeing much swollen. His limbs were therefore all left free until he reached the scaffold. As they were leaving the room, Wirz turned to the mantel, and with as much nonchalance as if ho had been in a bar-room, took up a bottle of whisky, and pouring out a draught, drank it withapparent relish. Then, taking out a chew of tobacco, he took his place in the pro cession, which was led by the Provost Marshal, after whom came the two priests, then Wirz, the guards next, and Capt.. Wallbridge in the rear. Thus they mounted the scaffold, the prisoner exhibiting much steadiness in his movements. Stepping upon the trap, he seated himself upon a stool, the noose dangling over his head. Major Russell then proceeded to read the order, reciting the finding of the court, and the approval of the sentence by the President. The order stated that the prisoner was found guilty of the second charge, viz., murder, in violation of the laws and customs of war, and guilty of all the specifications, except the fourth, tenth, and thirteenth, which three set forth that he killed a prisoner by shooting him with a revolver ; that he ordered a sentinel to fire upon another with a revolver ; and that he shot another with a revolver, so that he died. The reading was finished at 10.20, and Wirz was directed to stand up. Major Russell asked him if he had anything to say publicly, to which he replied " No." Father Boyle then recited the service of the Catholic Church for the dying, to which Wirz responded in a low tone. During these few moments shouts could be heard from the soldiers in the tree tops of "Hang him," "Andersonville," "Re member Andersonville," and others not calculated to in crease his calm demeanour, but ho paid no attention to them, and preserved his cheerful expression of countenance throughout. At thirty minutes past ten, his hands and legs having been pinioned by straps, the noose was adjusted by L. J. Richardson, military detective, and the doomed man shook hands with the priests and officers. At exactly thirty-two minutes past ten, Sylvester Ballou, another detective, at the signal of the Provost Marshal, put his foot upon the fatal spring, the trap fell with a heavy noise, and Wirz was dangling in the air. There were a few spasmodic convulsions of the chest, a slight move ment of the extremities, and all was over. When it was known in the street that Wirz was hanged, the soldiers sent up a loud ringing cheer. After hanging fourteen minutes the body was examined by Post-Surgeon Ford, and life pronounced to be extinct. It was then taken down, placed upon a stretcher, and carried to the hospi tal, where the surgeons took charge of it. No sooner had the scaffold and the rope been relieved of their ghastly burden than relic-seekers began their work. Splinters from the scaffold were cut off like kindling wood, and a dozen feet of rope disappeared almost instantly. Only the in terposition of the guard saved the whole thing from being carried off in this manner. The surgeons held a post mortem, and an examination of the neck showed the ver tebrse to be dislocated. Ms right arm, which had been the chief cause of his physical misery, was in a very bad condition, in consequence of an old wound having broken out afresh. His body also showed severe scrofulous erup tions. Agreeably to a request from Wirz, Father Boyle received the body on the following day, and delivered it to an undertaker. The condemned man's counsel, Mr. Schade, had made strenuous efforts to save him. In connection with. these the following statements are included in the Washington despatches of the 10th : Mr. Schade again called upon the President this morn ing to make a final effort to save Captain Wirz from the death penalty, but at that time, unknown to him, the pri soner had been hanged. The President, however, could see no reason for changing the sentence, and stated that Mr. Schade was lhe only one who made an earnest appeal in behalf of the prisoner. When, between 8 and 9 a.m., Mr. Schade took leave of Capt. Wirz, the latter expressed his thanks for what he had done for him, and regretted it was not in his power to reward him. Mr. Schade said he trusted he would die like a man; to which Capt. Wirz re plied, ". It is hardly necessary to tell me that ; I intend to die like a man." Mr. Schade says he was called upon by several persons last night (as was also Father Boyle), who communicated information, purporting to come from a member of the Cabinet, to the effect that if Wirz would acknowledge that Jeff. Davis was connected with the atro cities at Andersonville his sentence would be commuted. Although Mr. Schade did not place full confidence in the reports, he considered it his duty to relate what the priso ner, at his last conference with him, said. Capt. Wirz, in reply, said, "Mr. Schade, you know I have always told you I did not know anything about Jeff. Davis. He had no connection with me as to what was done at Andersonville, and if I knew ho had I would not become a traitor against him or any one else to save my life." Among his last acts Capt. Wirz addressed a letter to Mr. 0. S. Baker, one of his counsel, in which he remarked he had not said a word that could be construed into a reflection upon him. He merely stated that he had not solicited him as his counsel at first, but accepted of his services cheerfully. He concluded as follows :—"I will say again, as 1 have said before, that I believe you have done all you could for me, and therefore accept my thanks—the thanks of a dying man." The following letter was written by Wirz before mount ing the gallows :—" Old Capitol Prison, Nov. 10.—Mr. Schade.—Dear Sir,—lt is no doubt the last time I address myself to you. What I have said to you often and often, I repeat. Accept my thanks—my sincere, heartfelt thanks—for all you have done for me. May God reward you ; I cannot. Still I have something more to ask of you, and I am confident that you will not refuse to re ceive my dying request. Please help my poor family— my dear wife and children. War, cruel war, has swept everything from me, and to-day my wife and children are beggars. My life is demanded as an atonement. I am willing to give it ; and I hope after a while I will be judged differently from what lam now. If any one ought to come to the relief of my family, it is the people of the South, for whose sake I have sacrificed all. I know you will excuse me for troubling you again. Farewell, dear sir. May God bless you.—Your thankful, H. Wm." The following singular narrative of an attempt alleged to have been made by Mrs. Wirz to pass some poison to her husband is supplied from Washington. In one of the in terviews between Captain Wirz and his wife, at which General Baker was officially present, on October 27, the lady on her departure advanced to kiss her husband. "It was not a quick, passionate kiss," says the Washington narrator, " but General Baker noticed that they occupied longer time than necessary, and that the movements of their lips were rather peculiar for a kiss. As their lips parted General Baker was convinced that she had passed something from her mouth into his, and that he was about to swallow it. He sprang towards Wirz, and caught him by the throat, partly choking him for the instant. General :Baker commanded him to open his mouth, and as ho did so he spat out a little ball, which he had partly crushed, and which General Baker had picked up. It was somewhat smaller than an acorn, and was ascertained to be strychnine, enclosed in oil silk, and coated with liquorice. It is now in General Baker's possession. In getting up Mrs. Wirz had probably dexterously conveyed it to his mouth. In an instant more Wirz would have swallowed it, and as soon as the outside coating bad dis solved in his stomach, it would have caused his immediate death. Mrs. Wirz was not again allowed to visit the cell. She left the city nearly two weeks ago, not waiting either to hear her husband's sentence, or to see him again before his death." Gen. Longstreet, while in Washington recently, declared that the rebellion could and would have succeeded had it not been for the incapacity of Jefferson Davis, whose intermeddling destroyed all their hopes ; and that on several occasions he prevented the rebels, from taking Washington and making it their base for offensive ope rations. COUNTRY MARKETS• LIVERPOOL.-FRmAy. . _ At this day's market there was a thimattendance of the trade. and only a small business was done. Wheat mot with a slow sale, and must be quoted 2d per 1001 b. lower. Flour also difficult to move at 6d per sack lower. Oats and oatmeal in limited request though offered at id per 451 b. and is per load decline. In barley, beans, and peas no change. Indian corn pressed, cx ship, and 29s taken for fair qualities of mixed American. DERBY—FRIDAY. New white wheat, 50s to 53s ; old red, 50s to 53s per 36 stone. Barley for malting, 32s to 40s per qr. ; grinding, 27s to 30s per 30 stone. Oats, new, 21s to 26s ; old, 28s to 31s per 24 stone. Beans, old, 50s to 525; new, 44s to 453 por 38 stone. WAKEFIELD.—FRIDAY Wheat trade slow, but no material change in the value of either old or new. Barley, unless fine, rather cheaper. Beans and oats improved in value. Averages, November 17—Wheat, 1,647 qrs, at 51s 30; barley, 740, at 36s 31d ; oats, 67, at 25s std. S TAMFORD.—PnIDAY. Old white wheat, 50s to 52s ; red do., 42s to 48s per 36 stone. Barley, malting, 32s to 36s ; grinding, 27s to 30s per qr. Oats, new, 22s to 28s; old, 25s to 27s per 24 stone, Beans, 41s to 54s per 38 stone. Peas as of late. LINCOLN.—FRIDAY. New white wheat, 52s to 565 . ; new red, 42s to 48s per 36 stone. Barley for malting, 35s to 40s per qr ; 27s to 29s per 30 stone. Oats, 26s to 30s. Beans, 41s to 51s per 38 stone. MONMOUTHSHIRE—TxuRsDAY. At the markets of the county during the past few days there was a decided improvement in the quantity of far mers' wheat on offer. There was also a good supply of foreign wheat, prices in buyers' favour. Malting barley: in steady demand at last week's rates, and superior foreign for grinding purposes realised an advance. Oats and beans at late quotations. The following are the average quotations :—Wheat, 50 6d to 5s 9d per bushel ; barley, 3s 3d to 3s 8(1 . ; oats, 25 ld to 2s 7d. BRISTOL SUGAR.-FRIDAY. Tho sales this week have been very small, and priced are rather in favour of the buyer ; to-day there has been a slight improvement in the demand. Ruin steady at late rates. COAL MARKET. Price per ton at the close of the market. s. d. , 0. d. Hastings Hartley l9 0 Carway and Duffryn Hartlepool Walls End Haswell... 20 0 Hetton 2O 0 Tees Ships at market, 22 ; sold, 20. Foreign Mail Packet List. MAILS DUE. Australia and New Zealand, via Southampton Deo. lg Ditto, via Marseilles Dec. 13. Brazil and Cape Verde. by British paoLet ...... Dec. 4• Ditto, by French packet Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena... Dec. 22 China, Penang, and Singapore. via Southampton Dec. 2. Ditto, via Marseilles Faikiand Islands Gibraltar, via Southampton . . Nov. 26. India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampton.... Dec. 2 Ditto, via Marseilles Nov. 26 India (Bombay), via Southampton. Nov. 2 6 . Ditto, via Marseilles Nov. 26 Mauritius, via Southampton Ditto, via Marseil:e3 Newfoundland ... . Dec. 6 Portugal Ditto, by private ship to Lisbon United States and British North America, by Bri tish packet .. Nov. 31 Ditto, by United States packet, via Sonthamp- ton Ditto, via Cork . Ditto, by Canadian packet, via Londonderry..Deo. 1 West Coast of Africa. Madeira, and Teneriffe Deo. it. West Indies and Pacific) (except Bahamas, Cuba, and Mexico .. Nov, 24 Cuba and Mexico Nov. `,B. Bahamas, via New "York. Deo. 14. Bermuda, ditto . . Deo. 20. It is stated that John Mitchell, who was recently releas.ed from Fortress Monroe, has given his parole not to leave the State of Virginia. WOOLLEN TRADE OF THE UNITED STATES. The woolgrowers of the United States have lately held A meeting at Philadelphia, at which the following facts were elicited, showing the importance of that interest to the country : —The revenue for 1864 in scoured wool was ei the value of $120,868,250. The number of woollen fac" tories returned so far this year is 746 ; wool used 116,729,6011 b., of which 84,285,5501 b. were produced at home; number of sheep in the loyal States, 28,617,269' Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania aro ree e largely in the woollen manufactures. Massachusetts, i ll 1861, used 43,000,0001 b. ; New York, 18,000.0001 b. ; Penn sylvania, 12,500,0001 b. ; these three States doubling their consumption the last five years. Next stood Connecticut, using 11,500,0001 b. ; Rhode Island, nearly 9,600,0001 b. ; Now Hampshire, nearly 8,000,0001 b. ; and Maine and Vermont, nearly 4,000,0001 b. each. Iu Massachusetts , in 1864, the value was over $40,000,000; in New York, $14,000,000, and Rhode Island, $11,000,000. Wool grouting and wool manufacturing are increasing in all sections of the country.—American Paper. PRO-SLAVERY AND ANTI-SLAVERY MOVEMENTS IN MADRID.—It is reported in Madrid that the sum o f $125,000 (£31,000) has been sent there from Paris, to be employed insuch a manner as to obtain that the projecte d emancipation measures in relation to Cuba shall not pre judice the slaveowners of that island. It is added--en d this has excited much indignation—that this sum is to h° devoted especially to gain over the public journals, either to defend slavery or to observe silence on the subject o f its abolition. La Carrespondencia, of the 7th current, repod i ' ates the transaction in its own name, and that of its ea' leagues, and states that the course it, and they, have already taken in favour of emancipation, will suffice to absoliro them from any suspicion as to the motives which influenc° their course. The credit for the above amount has been opened on a well-known firm in Madrid, and in favour of an equally well-known representative of the Cuban slave holders now in that city. Great efforts are being mad e by the pro-slavery party to induce the Government to re: call General Duke, the present Capt.-General of Cuba, but it is asserted that the determination of the Government 0 to keep him there. GOLD-BACKED NOTES.—Mr. Secretary McCil lA loch has finally determined to put in execution the f°l*. lowing clause of the act of Congress, passed March °i 1860: "And it be further enacted, that the Secretary of th e Treasury is hereby authorized to receive deposits of gol d , coin and bullion with the Treasure; or any assist IM treasurer of the United States' in sums not less tha n twenty dollars, and to issue certificates therefore in de; nominations of the United States notes. Tho coin and bullion deposited for or representing the certificates et deposits shall be retained in the treasury for the pro° of the dame on demand. And certificates representi n g coin in the treasury may be issued in payment of interes t on the public debt, which certificates, together with thosa issued for coin and bullion deposited, shall not at any time exceed twenty per centum beyond the amoun t coin and bullion in the Treasury ; and that the certi; cates for coin or bullion in the treasury shall be received at par in payment for duty on imports." In pursuan ce of this authority, Government will hereafter receive g old on deposit, without interest, and issue therefor What are called " gold-backed certificates of" the denoratne tions of $2O, $5O, $lOO and $5OO payable to boarc P The certificates of $l,OOO, $5,000, and $lO,OOO aro 0 1 1 payable to the order of the depositor. [ADVERTISEMENT.]—HoIIoway's Pills and Ointmen t. Rheumatical Pains.—Many thousands of martyrs fr e ," rheumatism have found human life but one long dis e "'ii, and after consulting all the most eminent medical tneo t, vain, and trying all sorts of supposed remedies with°, relief, have grown weary of existence, and ceased to 11T. for comfort on this side of the grave, until some lucky a cident has called their attention to Holloway's Pills si l o Ointment. Those are genuine remedies indeed ! Pers ° • bedridden for months with rheumatic pains and swelliegl after the Ointment has been well rubbed into the aff.,,e i t i e s , parts, and the blood purified by the course of these 1 - . 1 . 0 ; have found themselves restored, in an incredibly short ow to perfect health. Births. BRADNEY.—On the 23d inst., at Tubney House, Berko, eon wife of John Bradney, Esq., late 14th Hussars, of A and heir. KNATCIIBULL-HUGESSEN.—On tho 21st inst., at pm- a near .Ashford, Kent, the wife of E. 11.Knatelibil Hugessen, Esq., M.P., prematurely, of a son, StilibOrliL, RENNLE.--On the 24th inst., at 56, Gloucester-terrs7,l Hyde-park, W., the wife of John Keith Bennie, 9 41 a daughter. Marriages. BUTLIN—NBWALL.—On the 23d inst. a t Clifton = t l P cin o i Dunsmore, Warwickshire, George Allen Butlin,: s t l to N Braunston, Northamptonshire, late Royal Dragoon,ll6 11, Lydia Maria, eldest daughter of the Rev. S . e " M.A., vicar of Clifton-upon-Dunsmore. ROBINSON—WHITE.— On the 21st inSt ,at fl ow thorpe. r y, shire, Charles Thomas Robinson, .of 26, Buck lersbu oe 8.C., and Southery, Downhatn Market, to binceciB3ltor oi the only daughter of the Rev. Thomas White, r Cawthorpo. Deaths. filli ° OLOWES.—OII the 23d inst., at 1, Inverness-teirace) - Clowes, Esq., aged 44. usr° DATIES.—On the 22d inst., suddetily, William Th o ~, Davies, Esq. ! M.R.C.S , of Agincourt House, Surrey, aged 26. ro - ocl - DAvis.—On the 20th inst., at Abbey Wells,Cast ~;d3. hay, llants, Robert Davis, Commander R.N., ag ed ; l er. GORDEN.—On the 22d inst., at Bromley, ICebt, al ° - Alexander Dundas Gorden, aged 43. , A s o . ' HARDING.—On the 23d inst , at his residence, A ' l ' 3 ' . avenue, Camden-road, lir . . Joseph Harding. n istoo/ KEW.— On the 20th inst ,at 84, Albion-road, -ii-ia' Henry Kew, Esq., aged . 74. ______......_____.....!---' York-toY, 5. London : Printed and Published by VVIL LLAII o. of No. 112, Strand, Plinter at VIZ SW ( Oule`r,,' j, nty c' # Strand, in the Precinct of ' the Savoy. in the —ll 1411theaeL—Saturday, November 25, 180.