The Sun. — London, England, 1865-02-17 00:00:00

Th e Wil m ington Failure—General Butler's Explanation. At a meeting at Lowell General Butler made the following statement in regard to the Wilmington failure : " His Honour the Mayor, my friends and neigh bours, I propose, with your leave, to recall to your minds what has happened to the army in the field, and especially what has occurred within the nar rower circle where I have endeavoured to serve the interests of the country since I left you a year ago last November, called by the partial kindness of the President to take command of the Department of Virginia and North Carolina. Upon reaching Fortress Monroe, and looking about to see what duties devolved upon me, I found therein, in the first place demanding immediate attention, 80,0t00e freed men, women, and children, who had escaped from slavery, and thrown themselves as wards upon the guardianship of the United States. There was no departmental organisation for their care, main tenance, protection, and education. My first duty, then, upon assuming command, in the absence of active military operations, seemed to be toward the helpless beings thus cast upon our hands. I knew what you would have said ought to be done under the circumstances, and I did as I thought you would have done. I established system, order, and organi sation of labour, so that the freed man who would work could work, and those who would not work might find means whereby they should work, and o that every free man, woman, and child should have what, thank God, we always have had in Mas sachusetts for all—food and raiment and protection from the inclemency of the weather." (Appla .) After reviewing the system of exchange between the two Confederacies, the general continued :—" On the Ist April last two large armies lay face to face opposed to each other -on the Rapidan. A small army of about 18,000 men, 6,000 of whom were negroes, lay in and around Fortress Monroe ; 20,000 men more were ordered from the department of the South to join that little army. Looking over the whole field it seemed to me to be the part of wisdom to move that army upon Bermuda Hundred, and establi.hing there a base for opera tion as strong and as easily available as Fortress Monroe—a base not to be interfered with or lost while the war lasted—and where the army lies with its hand fastened upon the throat of the rebel capital. (Great cheering.) This proposition was submitted to Gen. Grant and approved by him. This was done on the 4th day of May, the Army of the James, 35,000 strong, with its artillery, its cavalry, and its supplies for 30 days, was put on board ship, and seemed at first to threaten the enemy up the York River, within 30 miles of the capital, but within 24 hours that army was within 12 miles of Richmond, where it has held its position ever since—a position to - which it advanced without the shedding of a drop of blood. On the same day the Army of the Potomac, under the command of Gen. Meade, more than 100,000 strong, started from the Rapidan, also towards Richmond. I need not repeat what you all know of the march of that army ; but I have a right to say, because now it has passed into history, that the intention with which that army set out on its march was to move round the north side of Rich mond, above Mechanicsville, strike the James River above the city of Richmond, and there, forming a junction with the Army of the James, which was to move up towards Richmond on the south side of James River, get around the city on the south side, and thus cut it off. Now, perhaps you can understand what may have slightly puzzled you heretofore, why the Army of the James was demonstrating toward Drury's Bluff on the 16th of May, while the Army of the Potomac was coming down from the Rapidan on the north side toward Richmond. But the Army of the Potomac never reached its destination on the north side of the James, nor did the Army of the James succeed in reaching the James above Rich mond on the south side. Indeed, there was no call for the Army of the James above Richmond if the Army of the Potomac could not join ; but if the Army of the James failed to accomplish all that it hoped for, at -least it met with no disaster. We held the lines that we took up from the Appomattox to the James, and we hold them to this day—the advanced lines of all the armies ope rating against Richmond. (Renewed applause.) Beside doing this, after fortifying our position, the Army of the James sent 17,000 men to the aid of the Army of the Potomac, and saved the battle of Coal Harbour. Pass with me now to the next movement of the Army of the James—the attempt to take Petersburg on the 9th of June. Upon that occasion the orders of its commander was not obeyed, and the projected assault on Petersburg was not made; but you will observe, if there was failure there was no disaster. On the 15th of June the column of the Army of the James having returned from the relief of the Army of the Potomac, another move ment on Petersburg took place, which resulted in the capture of the outer, and at that time only line of defensive works around Petersburg, which works, held by the Army of the James, are the advanced lines of the armies operating upon Petersburg to this day. The strongest of these works was cap tured by a skirmish line of negro soldiers, and no troops have advanced a step beyond their position in that direction, after seven months of siege. On the 29th of Sept. the Army of the James crossed the river in two columns, one at Varina, the other at Deep Bottom. One attacked Battery Harrison, the skirmish line being gallantly led by a Lowell boy, Col. Donahoe, who fell wounded. That column captured Battery Harrison, the strongest work of the rebels in their 60 miles of entrenchments around Richmond. On the same day, crossing at Deep Bottom, the -10th Corps, under the lamented Bir ney, advanced its negro division, 3,000 strong, and a column of the division with muskets right shoulder-shift' with not a cap on a single cbne of a gun, charged through a swamp over a breastwork covered by double lines of abbatis like a flash, in the face of 800 rebels, who never stopped running for five miles. The question as to whether the negro would fight was there settled before the eyes of every doubter in the army, and their masters from that time forward asked not the question, " Will the negro fight ?' but Will they fight for us ?' I have thus enumerated all the assaults that were ordered by the commander of the Army of the James —one against a strong but ill-defended work, Fort Harrison, and another against a very stormy and well defended work. The assault made by negroes was ordered for the high and noble purpose of demonstrating for ever the capabilities of a race in arms resting under every prejudice. The com mander of the army felt that for such a cause he could take the respo nsibilit y of risking the loss of the men by the assault, as they lay there as he rode past them with their faces upturned to God in mute ap peal for His approval of t he necessary sacrifice in so A holy a cause. (Cheers.) And thus, my friends, I felt that I had a right to say when I left the Army of the James, I have refused to order the sacrifice of such soldiers uselessly,' and I think the declara tion ought not to be taken as a criticism upon any One, but simply as a statement of the facts of my owu manner o f conducting operations. On the I st October Gen. Lee, concentrating his forces, made a very fierce and savage attack upon Battery Harrison, in which the whole of a North Carolina brigade was swept away, seven regiments being entirely cut to pieces in a vain effort to retake what our forces 2 had captured on Sept. ,so th a t th e A rmy o f t h e James lies safely entrenched within six miles of Richmond, w hi c h again is the th advanced position of all our forces operati ng against the rebel capital. best movement of th e A rmy of the James, except that of Oct. 27, when it m a d e a demonstrationanes, l to ward Richmond, for the purpose of holdinge Po enemy in their trenches while the Army of th tomac attempted to turn their left at Hatcher's Run- was that which has caused some little discussion in, the community of late—the attempt on Wilmington —to some of the leading points in regard to which I now wish to direct your careful attention. As early as August last a fleet under Admiral p orter commenced to assemble at Fortress Monroe. Imme diately upon the appearance of the fleet in Hampton Roads, instead of any attempt being made to keep the expedition secret, there commenced a flourish of trumpets about it which is only equalled by the cackling of a hen when she is about to sit on a single egg. (Laughter.) So that nearly every man in the country, North and South knew all where n th ew e fleet t was going. You all knew, the rebels it was fitting out to be sent to Wilmingt3n. Indeed to such an extent was the publicity on ried, and aolfththouegxhavGealnßerrallgadWee, i t h z a e s w e i n t ht to G e r n e e e r ( a n n l e G it r r a h e a m, the vicinity of Port Fisher, yet General Grant concluded that the enemy were so informed of the purposes of the expedition that it was best not to send any men at that time, and did actually refuse to do so, leav ing the fleet lying in Hampton Roads for months claiming to be ready, and boasting what they would do to Wilmington. Afterward, for the purpose of trying an experiment, and of allowing the question to be tested what would be the effect of the explo sion of a large quantity of powder in the neighbour hood of a fortification, to see whether it would have the destructive effect which it was claimed by some it would have, or whether it would result in com parative harmlessness, General Grant determined to send 3,000 men in aid of the navy, and after learning that the enemy were detaching forces to meet Sherman, he increased the force to 6,000, one half of which were negroes, hoping to surprise Fort Fisher, upon the supposition that General Bragg had carried off his forces to meet Sherman, and therefore the fort would be undefended by any con siderable force. General Grant also hoped that a portion of the fleet would run by the fort into Cape Fear River, and then, by landing the troops and entrenching across the peninsula, between the river and the sea, blockade running at least might be stopped. It was said that there was not sufficient depth of water to go up the river, but as since the fort has indeed been silenced, there seems td have been no considerable difficulty in getting most of the gunboats up the river. I am inclined to the opinion that it was another want, rather than the want of water, that prevented the gunboats from going up the river by the forts while they were in possession of the enemy. Farragut was not there. Although Admiral Porter telegraphed to me, which telegraph I have, that he would be ready on the Bth of December — and the troops were ready on that day—yet we waited for the fleet at Fortress Monroe until the 14th day of December, when we sailed from Chesa peake Bay at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. We arrived at the place of rendezvous, appointed by Admiral Porter's printed order on the night of the 15th, and there we waited three days, while the sun never shone more brightly in the heavens, while the sea was never calmer, while the wind was never more zephyr like, until the 18th ; but still Admiral Porter did not come, and the fort at that time was sub stantially undefended, as its reinforcements did not arrive till the night of the 24th of December. Judge, then, of my surprise when I read one despatch, first, that the army was not ready soon enough ; in an other, that we sailed too soon ; and again, in another despatch—for they seem to be fruitful of despatches —that the powder-boat was prepared by me, and that we waited for it. Fellow-citizens, I have lived with you, man and boy, for 30 years, and :I am going to live with you, if you will have me, for 30 years longer. (Great applause.) I have stood before you many times, and I hope to stand before you many times more, to advise with you upon that which is for the good of the country ; but, often as I have met you, no man can say that I ever misre presented a fact, and when I tell you that I never saw that powder-boat, that all I had to do with it was to order my ordnance officer to turn over to the navy 150 tons of powder, and that the whole thing was under the charge of the navy, and was arranged exactly as the navy desired, when they wished and how they wished, you can judge of the truth of the despatch which states that I proposed the powder boat. Whoever states it, there is no truth in it. But the powder-boat, it is said, was a failure. Granted, as the powder in it never was wholly set on fire. It was intended that there should be exploded more powder than ever was exploded before. Powder enough, in my judgment, to have done very great damage, so much, in fact, that I have the written advice of Admiral Porter that I should stand about 25 miles, let off the steam and draw the fire from the boiler of my boat before it went off, lestthe explosion should blow me up even there.(Laughter and applause) This suggestion, I say, I have in writing; yet Porter would intimate I had too much faith in the efficacy of the powderboat, and that he bad no belief in its effect. Certainly, it is admitted that he got his fleet so far away from the scene of the explosion that for that or some other reason he could not get back again under ten hours thereafter to fire the first shot at the fort after the powder-boat exploded. There was a very large quantity of powder, and I am still confident that if it had gone off it would have done great damage. It was intended to place it in bags with fuses running all through it, so that it might be instantaneously exploded in every part. But how was it done ? The clock work, the candles, the fuses, everything prepared to ignite it, failed, and the only way that it was got off at all was to set fire to the ship at the bow and let it burn up to one end of the mass of powder, the explosion of which sent the other part into the water without being burnt. So that, in my belief, not more than one-tenth of the powder on board ever did burn, making an ex plosion indeed which is described as hardly more than would have been felt from a 15-inch gun. You see, therefore, the experiment was not tried. Some day it may be. At all events the explosion, such as it was, did not hurt, because I was 65 miles off, in the harbour of Beaufort, coaling and watering my transports after the storm, relying upon the promise of Admiral Porter, made to my officers, that he would give me notice, so that I could be present with the troops when it should be determined to blow up the powder-ship, to land and attack the fort under cover of the injury and demoralisation caused by the explosion ; yet the admiral blew it up, when he knew I was 65 miles off, out of tender consideration for my safety, I suppose, for I know no other reason why he should have failed to keep his promise, except perhaps believing that the powder-boat would blow up a steamboat 25 miles off. The admiral supposed it would utterly demolish the fort and garrison, and he would only have to land his marines, and put on the works David Porter, his " X" mark, and hand it over to the army when they arrived, with a claim for prize money. Let me say a word or two about the explosion. In the first place, the powder was expected to at least paralyse the men in the for tification, and it was intended that the army should thereupon immediately land, and take possession of the work. Such being the plan, why explode the powder when the army was 65 miles off ? Again, the ittimpaerafloyrstehd theexeploesn e explosion did was any damagetobesochosetno thethat works, it might be promptly taken advantagew of by landing the army an d an attack by the na; hy then, blow up th e p ow d er at 1 o ' clock at night,t, fail to fire even the fi rs t gun from the navy until ye l2 o'clock next day, thus giving the enemy 11 hours to get over being stunned and to repair any damages that might have been caused by the explosion? Well, a bombardment was opened upon Fort Fisher, and it seemed to be conducted with considerable skill, the fire being directed with considerable accuracy, This for one day. Arriving at night, I sent my staff officer to Admiral Porter to say that I W o u ld consult with him about the attack to be made in the morning of the next day. The admiral se n t me word that he or r o m t y se e e ffi m e e erg tha as t night, but tha t he would a d n s d ee co m ul e d early the next mor nin g as we were ready. Intend ing to attack a fo rt, and having, as we thought , a day's work before us , w e did, as we generally do in Lowell, get about it at daylight. Generals Weitzel and . Comstock went on board the Malvern at 6 not up. They arranged, o'clock, but the admiral w as however, that we should attac k at 8 o'clock, but it was 12 o'clock before the navy reported that they I landed 2,200 men. It was a beautiful had cove r ed the shore so that we could m ake a land ing.smooth sea when we landed, but a storm was coming on, and within eight hours after we began landing the surf rolled so high upon that beach that no man could get on or off. Not a gun had been landed save boat howitzers. I sent the ablest engineer officer that I knew, General Weitzel, accompanied by Lieutenant -Co l onel Comstock, engineer of the by the lieutenant staff of General upon this expedition, and gerit wal h h im o se h l a f d tobegeon with h tail m ed e who did go. I sent those two o ffi ce rs on shore to me that the face of e and they both reported the fort was uninjured, and that in their judgment it was useless to assault. Judge, then, whether I was derelict in my duty to 'my superiors and to the country, and whether I ought to be hounded down, and a price almost set upon my head, like a wolf because I did not order an assault which two of the best engineer officers in the United States advised me not to make, and in reference to which one of them said to me, I use his very expression. If you order it, general, it will be murder.' Suppose I had made ;that assault, after these well-instructed officers had advised me against it, and it had failed, ought not Ito have been tried for murder ? And I should have been guilty of that crime in the sight of my God and in the eyes of every honest man. Every one would have a right to join in the cry in that case. Ah, he was a volunteer general; he would not take the good ad vice offered to him by well-instructed army officers. Rash fool, see the result. You, sir, who had lost a brother — you, madam, who had lost a son in such an assault, could I have looked you in the face if I had ordered it ? Again, it has been said that I was not to go with the expedition— that it was to be commanded by General Weitzel. Upon that question I might shelter myself under the fact that the department under re 4, command was the department of Virginia and North Carolina s and that the operations were within my department, and so I had a right to go. But I scorn all subterfuge or indirection. I accompanied the ex pedition with the full knowledge and consent of General Grant, verbally given. Nay more, if you will examine his orders for the expedition to me, you will see that he says, The execution of the details of this order is entrusted to you and subordinate officers under your command, not to Gen. Weitzel alone.' Still further, as I have said, Lieut.-Col. Comstock, engineer of General Grant's staff, was by him self in person detailed to go with me upon that expedition, and left General Grant's headquarters to go with me down the river on the same boat when I started on the expedi tion. Again, I lay at Fortress Monroe from the 9th of December till the 14th, receiving frequent telegrams from General Grant, which have been published, while my answers have been suppressed. If you will read these tele grams you will see that each and every one of them says, When will you get off ?"When will your expedition sail?' and though I have had frequent conversations with Gen. Grant upon this, for me, unhappy expedition, yet never by letter, despatch, or by word, has Gen. Grant inti mated to me that he did not expect me to accompany the expedition, or chide me for going with it. And last of all, on the 20th day of December, while I lay in Beaufort har bour, as commander of the expedition, I sent a report of progress to Gen. Grant, which he forwarded to Washington without a word of dissent that I was not duly authorised commander of the expedition. The first intimation from any quarter that I ever had that I was not properly there was when I read in the New York Herald an endorsement upon my official report, which endorsement is in the hand writing of a staff officer of Gen. Grant, and was not filed in the War-office till seven days after Gen. Grant's letters to the President, asking for my relief upon other grounds than any action of mine in regard to the Wilmington expedition, but which reasons I am not permitted to state to you, and five days after my farewell order to the Army of the James, the context of which may have been misunderstood, and possibly given offence. What was done there was exactly what Gen. Weitzel advised. Why was it worse for me to do what Gen. Weitzel advised and thought right to be done than it would have been for him to do the same thing him self if he had been there alone? Answer me this and I will take the blame. Now, let us see what it is to assault a fort. Let us see what the commanding general and admiral has to do in sueh a case. At Fort Fisher the admiral was on board his vessel. I was on mine quite as near the fort as he was, and that was not at all too near for either of us. Upon such an occasion the only duty of a commanding officer, stand ing at a safe distance with his glass in his hand, is to pass his eye over the whole field, and when he thinks the time has come to say to his men, " Forward, make the assault !" Certainly it does not require much personal courage in a man to give such an order; but it does require some little courage to follow the dictate of one's own judgment and save the lives of his men, when that judgment tells him that to order an assault would be to sacrifice them. This is indeed trial—this is temptation ! At Fort Fisher I did my duty, and as God lives and I live, if it all had to be re peated, with all the knowledge I now have, even unto the stream of obloquy pouring upon my head, as it has poured ever since, I would do so again, if He would give me strength in answer to my prayer, Lead me not into temptation,' to act according to the dictates of my con science and judgment, for there was every temptation to make the assault at Fort Fisher, and thus take the chance to win honour and glory at the sacrifice of my men, and none to forbear to make it and come away. (Great cheering.) But some gentleman may say, why, having determined not to make the assault, did you not stay there and entrench ? For three reasons. Let us examine them in a few minutes. But first bear in mind that I have not gone into the newspapers in explanation of this subject, I have not been porter or reporter of it again and again. (Laughter.) No, I have come home here to my neighbours, whose hands I have taken in friendship, with whom I must live, whose children are to grow up with mine, and here I make the explanations that I have to make, then caring not a rappee what is thought of the mat ter elsewhere. I have encountered worse storms than this before, and have lived through them, and I shall live through this also. (Good, good, and cheers.) Now, then, why did I not be upon the beach ? In the first place, I had made only a partial landing of one-third of my men, and none of my artillery. The sea arose so high that no more men or guns could be landed, and you will see that the rebel General Whiting, in his report, states that a great storm came up that night, which injured his garrison very much. The garrison having been under arms all night to meet our approach, I put on shore 2,200 men, and eight hours afterwards the storm was so severe that I could not get a gun or even a box of bread on shore except by heading the latter up tight in a cask and sending it ashore on a raft. Again, if you will look in one of Admiral Porter's last reports, you will see that he having expended in the bombardment almost the last shot and shell which I had with me, I found it necessary to go back to Beaufort to get a new supply. I should have looked very well, would I not, planting myself upon that beach with a handful of men, with a body of the enemy behind me (Hoke's division from Richmond), larger than my whole army, my only support being a navy without ammunition, which was as useless and idle as a 'painted ship upon a painted ocean.' It took Admiral Porter until the 14th of January (18 days) to get back from Beaufort with his new supply of ammunition, and if my troops had stayed there and waited for him, what do you suppose would have hap pened to us during flit time that he was away ? But again, if nothing was to be gained by it, what was the use of staying there at all, and hazarding my men ? I had no siege train, yet Lieut.-General Grant agrees that my pre parations and instructions were all correct. I could not besiege the fort. I had only 12 light guns, and I had 17 heavy guns bearing upon me from the fort ; therefore, I could not besiege. What, then, could Ido ? Perhaps you will say that I might have stayed there and tried to stop up the river, by opening my guns upon blockade-runners as they passed up and down the river ; and I know it seems so from the map; but there was a mile and a half of marsh between me and the river, and notwithstanding all that I could have done the enemy could hav9 reinforced and provisioned Fort Fisher at pleasure, and landed men on all sides of me, and the blockade-runners could have passed backward and forward almost as freely as the rebel rams passed up and down the James River the other day in spite of the navy. (Laughter.) What else could . I have done ? Ought I to have stayed there and maintained a landing, so that troops could be landed again ? The fact is, I saw that at any time when there was a smooth sea a landing could be easily effected under cover of the guns of the navy ; and you remember that General Terry landed his troops without the loss of a man. What, then, was the use of my staying there ? There was none. But, besides, Hoke's division was there ; I captured 65 of them, and if I had stayed there I would have been exposed to an overwhelming attack, and lost my men with out benefit to the service. Besides, by staying there I only kept the enemy there ; by going away the enemy went away, supposing the attack to be abandoned, and thus we found no sufficient force to oppose General Terry. And now, fellow-citizens, let me state, speaking with the full knowledge that what I say is to be heard abroad over the country, that I am here to-day on the written letter of the lieutenant-general to the President for my relief, in which letter no word is said of Fort Fisher, nor is there anything alleged against me in relation to the Wilmington expedi tion as the reason for my being here now, instead of under the log roof of my log cabin, about seven miles from Rich mond, where I have spent most of the winter up to this time. I repeat it, no word is said of Fort Fisher, no word is said of Wilmington, no blame on account of Wilmington is laid upon me in that letter asking for my relief. Why I am here I cannot tell you now, because I am not permitted to give the reasons until it shall please the War Depart menttsu,lhhfriendsecaailtheir reasons (Laughter claim he o oat t l s oen e hrt s sound auson t gnl hldi published, ur glory applause.) 31 oyi published.bhuountew:zw. butthe I application have applied has notto been granted, and in the meantime, as I am not Porter, I f :ho t a ri uri m enupgf p eo e artas t--- tu,satnh a ua t etlnte l e e :c a t s h t Foal a oav g rtiero ai lp n at s tehis t elh o yoe r yrorg d .B e odi r n. s tle: upon th understande other that h e r side, there ide, w a h r e e those sneer who o m w e e ya r s e t among ohnegr hero f old g Bethel and Fort Fisher. I accept the title ; they do me honour overmuch. What was Big Bethel ? It was a skir mish, in which twenty-five men were killed and wounded. But Big Bethel was not Bull Run ; Big Bethel w a s not Fair Oaks; Big Bethel was not Seven Pines; Big Bethel was not the Chickahominy. Big Bethel was a failure but it was no disaster. No West Poi n t general coin' manded there. I claim credit for this, that when we of the volunteer army of the United States make failures we do not make disasters. Stop a moment and compare the battles I have named with Big Bethel. Why, at these there were more men slaughtered and homes made desolate than there were leaves on the trees and the forest around Big Bethel, not to be numbered. But lam the hero of Fort Fisher, too. Well, Fort Fisher is not Fredericksburg ; Fort Fisher was not Chancellorsv ille ; Fort Fisher was not the o Wilderness Fort comni Fanisdheedr atw aFsortnoFtisChoelr at dHarbour. ac A ln each attack. One was without result, but no disaster. The last was a v success. All honour to general Terry and h i s brave volun teerileedr geensesral ; soldiers. Again it is charge d u p on us that we didnot Maki) so big a hole in the Dutch Clap Canal as we ought to HIE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 17, 1865. have made. It may be that we did not, although the Dutch Gap Canal was a success, make so large a hole as was made by the explosion of the mine at Petersburg last summer ; but, thank God, 'neither did we fill uselessly that hole up with American dead until it ran blood. (Renewed applause.) lam therefore content, nay, I claim to be the hero of the comparatively bloodless attack on Big Bethel, and the wholly bloodless failure of Fort Fisher ; and though I do not claim to be the source of Fredericksburg, of Chan cellorsville, of the Chickahominy, of the Wilderness, of Cold Harbour, nor of that charnel-house of useless dead in the mire before Petersburg, I am prepared to take the issue, and hereafter, fellow-citizens, when you bear me to that little enclosure on the other side of the river, which I hope for as my last resting place, I pray you put over me for my epitaph—' Here lies the general who saved the lives of his soldiers at Big Bethel and Fort Fisher, and who never com manded the Army of the Potomac.' I ask for nothing else. (Great applause.) My connection being severed with the Army of the James, the telegraph informs us that it is to be incorporated with the Army of the Potomac, and its history as a distinct organisation has ceased probably for ever. Of the wisdom of that incorporation I will express no opinion, and, mark, I have criticised the act of no man. I beg your pardon ; I have criticised no army men, I have defended myself, explained' my own acts, and contrasted them with others. They may be right, while I was wrong; although I have thought fit, in the course of my remarks, to blow off with a breath the froth which is always the accompaniment of lively porter. (Laughter and applause.) And now, passing from that which is personal to my own actions, you perhaps desire that I should say something upon the prospects of the country in the future. Mark me, my friends, whatever happens to me, will only incite me to renewed efforts in behalf of my country. If she wants any services at any, at all times, in any capacity, however humble, they may be as freely rendered in the future as in the past. And whatever mistakes I have made—whatever mistakes other generals have made—whatever mistakes the Administration may have made—it is not for us to remem ber these, or allow them for a moment to affect our actions. It is the country we serve—it is the Union to which our allegiance is due, and however men in power to-day make mistakes, it is no reason why we should hold back a single effort in support of the war. If all men had been perfect this rebellion had not existed. It was the imperfection of men that brought it upon us ; and through imperfect men it must be brought to an end; therefore let every man gird himself for still greater efforts ; do not be carried away by any delusive cry of peace, for the time of peace is not yet come. All attempts to get peace by negotiation until the army of Gen. Lee either capitulates, or is whipped, is as useless as to attempt to break down the stubborn spirit of the child who successfully resists your authority. Therefore this cry of peace should lull no man into security. See to it that the armies are filled up ; see to it that recruiting goes on of good men who will stay in the army after they get there—such men as you send from Lowell, good men, true men. I see no desire for peace on the part of the rebels in the appointment of General Lee generalissimo, nor in the recent raid by the rebel ironclads down the James River upon the communications of General Grant. These are not peaceful movements. They mean war, and bitter war, for another, and I trust, a last campaign. But though I speak thus of the cry of peace, I have no doubt of our ultimate success, neither have I any doubt that the rebel mas ters will arm their slaves. Let me tell you the negro makes a very excellent soldier. There is little doubt, on the other hand, that the negro soldiers of the rebels will not fight the negro soldiers on our side, and we have the advantage of being first in the field. Even discipline will not bring him to this, although it may bring him to fight the white sol dier of our side. This movement will be the last, the final blow struck by the rebel lion, and in my judgment the blow will be unsuccessful ; and from this we shall have a lasting peace, provided we deal justly by all men, white and black. (Loud applause.) And upon no other terms, my friends, can you have peace, fair play, justice, equality be fore the law for black and white. A peace on that basis will stand. Without that basis it will never stand. There fore, my friends, I say again, not looking to peace, but to ellinPgreYaidliencant as to th s 7h t e a. a l l us do t e a v in ery th t the ultimate result of the next campaign, gird on your a a rra nd o t u o r s , the ofthe Govern ment. ovo Government, rn ment. He is honest, patriotic, capable, and able ; and will do all he can in his position for the country." (Loud and long continued applause.) The Great Jewelry Robbery at Manchester. Yesterdaythe prisoner apprehended on suspicion of being implicated in robbing the shop of Mr. Howard, Market street and Corporation-street, Manchester, on the sth or 6th inst., of between £3,000 and £4,000 worth of jewelry, were brought up before Mr. Fowler and other magistrates at the City Police -court for examination. Their names are John Kay, Dominick Daly, John Hartley, John and Lucy Moores (man and wife), and Elizabeth Moores. Another prisoner, named Esther Ann Robinson, was not placed in the dock, having had to be removed to the workhouse in anticipation of an early accouchement. • Mr. Edward; barrister, instructed by Capt. Patin, chid constable, appeared for the prosecution ; and Mr. Tom bar rister, and Mr. Ernest Jones, barrister, appeared on behalf of the prisoners. The depositions were taken by the magistrates' clerk as the case proceeded, and the proceedings occupied the greater part of the day. Mr. Edwards made an application at the outset to have John and Lucy Moores set at liberty, with the view to their giving evidence on behalf of the Crown. Mr. Torr objected, and cited a case before Mr. Baron Bramwell, in which the learned judge held that it was not right to set any of the prisoners at liberty until evidence had been taken to show to what extent they had been im plicated in the offence, on the ground that otherwise it might turn out that the chief offenders had escaped. Mr. Fowler overruled the objection, and ordered that The two prisoners should be removed to the witness-room. The evidence, which was very voluminous, was theD gone into ; and it was shown by Henry Mitchell, a hairdresser, that his employer, Mr. Monie, occupied a shop paftly over Mr. Howard's shop and partly over a hatter's shop next door ; that on the evening of Saturday, the 4th irkst.,witness left the premises at half-past 7 o'clock, securing the door of Mr. Howard's shop by means of two shutters and a pad lock. He returned at half-past Bon Monday morning, when he found the two shutters removed, and rested up against tho door. On entering the premises he found the doors had been forced, and there was 0. hole in the floor over a sunlight in Mr. Howard's shop. The hole was large enough for a man to pass through, 'and a rop e h a d b een formed made of towels and aprons, tv,risted and knotted to gether, which was hanging throngla the aperture into Mr. Howard's shop, and along with. it a detached iron-plate, which formed part of the ceiliDf; of the shop. The only property of his employer that Yue missed was a false pair of whiskers and a false moustufue. Edward Leadbeater, a wo.,•king jeweller in Mr. Howard's employ, proved that he made up the shop of Mr. Howard on the evening of the 4th, at 5 o'clock, softer putting part of the jewellery and watches in an iron safe, together with the keys of some cases in which jewellery was left, locking the safe, and placing V i le key in a place known to himself and Mr. Howard. A, tittle after 8 o'clock on Monday morn ing, the 6th inst., b e unlecked the.premises, and found the shop had been robloed. The iron safe had been forced, to gether with the glass cases, and jewellery to the value of £3,000 had been taken away, including seven gold watches, a Geneva watch with gilt case, rings, bracelets, breast pins, lockets, go ld c h a ins, and Alb er t guar d s . S o me Of the jewellery. had small parchment tickets on them with the prices marked. The only property left was a carbuncle locket, a gold pencil case, and a topaz , stone. He imme mediately sent to the police officer, and Sergeant Hodgson arrived soon after, and he saw him find a small crowbar, which had been left behind, and a part of a drill which had been broken off in a drilling hole through the safe. Sergeant Hodgson stated that he examined the premises and found among other things some steel drills which had been left behind on the floor, and a piece of a broken drill in the door of the safe. He also found a dark lantern. Police -constable Sutcliffe stated that in consequence of information he went to the house of the prisoner Elizabeth Moores, in Mill-street, Ancoats, Manchester, and asked if she had not some property which did not belong to her. She pointed to a carpet-bag and basket under a bed, in which h e f ound several jemmies or crow- b ars, 16 steel-drills, a life-preserver, a hammer, and nearly 100 skeleton-keys. • Am ong the tools were severa l w hich had since been found to fit th e marks le f t i n f orc i ng th e premises and safe, and i n th e carpet-bag was found a bro k en d r ill, which correspond e d w i th and appeare d to h ave been broken from the end of a drill found in Mr. Howard's safe after the robbery. Prominformation as to how the implements came there he went to the house of the prisoner Daly in Howard street, Ancoats. After remaining there some time (about 1 o'clock), Lucy Moo res came i n w ith tho prisoner John Kay. Domi n i c k D aly came soon afterwards and was charged with the robbery. He was searched and £ l4 in money was found upon him. (Daly had been porter, employed in Marsd en - square, at 18s. per wee k, an d h a d ab sented himself fro m hi s employ on the S a t ur d a y b e fore the in robbery, and was seen on the Monday with the prisoner Hartley at a publichouse, having shaved off the bean I he had worn before the robbery.) Among other evidence give n, it was shown that a gen tl eman who was in Market-stree t , a t half past 3 o'clock on Sunday afternoon (previous as is supposed to the robbe r y) saw f our men near Mr. Howard ' s s h op d oor, and who identifi e d Ki ng Evidence was given and Daly as two of the men. He was strongly of o pi n i on that they were two o f th e men. showing all the prisoners , together immediately aft er th e robbery, and Lucy Moores . s t a t e d that on Monday morn i ng(the morning the robbery w. is dis covered) she was at home, when a man came and ask, id for her husband, that she called him downstairs, and tha t the prisoners Daly and Hartley and another man came into- the house, bringing with themthe implements found in the. car pet-bag and basket, they also had with them abi mine, which contained jewelry, including seven gold watches. Two of the men had false whiskers and moustaches, Ivhich they took off and burnt in the fire. They also took tickets off the jewelry and burnt them. They took away the jewelry, but feft the housebreaking implement's fountl at Elizabeth Moores'. The prisoner wall shortly ma remanded. Inquest on Townley, the Murderer. Yesterday afternoon Dr. Lankester, the coroner for the Central Division of Middlesex, opened an inquest at the House of Detention, Pentonville, on the body of George Victor Townley, the murderer of Miss Goodwin. We an nounced the fact of his having committed suicide a few days ago. The jury having viewed the body, which presented a frightful appearance, the front part of the forehead being almost broken to pieces, the following evidence was taken The Coroner in this case said it would be better for the jury to dismiss from their minds any previous history of the individual in question, but to pay attention to the evidence to be brought forward to-day. Samuel Hill, examined, said—l am instructing warder baker. On Sunday last, about five minutes to five o'clock, I was in the centre of the hall, underneath the landing, when I heard a shout from above, and the deceased fell at my feet. I do not know whether any one was in the gallery from which he fell. I went immediately for the doctor. I saw deceased removed to the infirmary. He appeared to be insensible. By a Juryman—l do not know who shouted from above. I did not see the deceased after he was removed to the surgery. Mr. R. P. Green said—l am warder of 3 D ward in this prison. I was on the top of the circular staircase on Sun day about five. I was superintending the prisoners coming out of chapel. On the prisoners coming to B division there was a stoppage, and I ordered them to walk on quicker I While I was addressing them there was a shout, and saw a prisoner lying on the central hall floor bleeding. Some of the prisoners cried out, " Poor fellow, poor fellow, he has killed himself." I ordered the prisoners to go to their cells. The deceased belonged to the C division, and all went to chapel. Geo. Barman—l am a prisoner here. I was sitting to the right of the deceased in the chapel on Sunday last. He was very quiet until the last, when he sang the 319th Hymn very loudly. He never did that before. He came out of chapel, dropped his Prayer Book, put his hands on the rails, put his feet on the steps and threw himself over the rails. He fell down on his face, and cried " Oh !" • By a Juror—l have not had any conversation with any of the officials of the prison on this subject. All the pri soners were singing when the deceased sang. The deceased was not in the habit of singing. He never told me he wished to destroy himself. The deceased sang the two last verses of the 319th Hymn. Samuel Homegard—l am a prisoner in this prison. I was coming out of chapel before the deceased. While the minis ter was reading the sermon the deceased was very quiet. It was about five minutes to five—l was looking at the clock—when my eyes caught the deceased. He was making the second heave to go over the rails. I said to him last Saturday, "How long ?" He said " Ten." I meant how long he was in for. He sang very loudly the last hymn. I have no fault to find with the treatment I have received in prison. Mr. Bradley, surgeon to the prison—On Sunday I was called to the deceased. He was breathing heavily. There was a wound over right eye-brow, which presented a frac ture of the bone. There was a cut on the right eyebrow. There was an extensive fracture of the skull. The base of the skull was broken up. The brain was lacerated. There was a compound fracture of the knee. I believe he died from the injuries done to the brain. He fell a distance of 27ft. The brain was healthy. There was no evidence of any disease in the brain. Its weight was 55 ounces, rather above the average. His age was 25 when convicted. He was insensible from the time he fell until his death. He was received from Bedlam in this prison on the 3d of Feb ruary, 1864. He appeared to be in good health. I assumed if anything strange occurred it would have been reported to me. I have seen nothing to induce me to believe that he was insane. There has been no indication of insanity in him. I have observed nothing unusual in his habits and manners. He weighed less on the 13th of January than on his admission, and I ordered him extra diet. On a subsequent occasion he thanked me. Cases of recurrent insanity, especially of homicidal or suicidal ten dencies, are constantly attended with lucid intervals. I think the correspondence which passed between the deceased and his family will show that there was hope in his mind. Mr. Sherwin, the chaplain of the prison, deposed—l ob served the deceased, and during the first 12 months I observed nothing approaching to insanity in him. The dreadful act he committed in my opinion showing insanity. From conversation I had with him on the subject which sent him to prison I believe he was morally insane. He admitted his crime, but denied his guilt. From his letters I should say he was insane. His last letter but one was not sent to his friends, as it was not written in conformity to the rules of the prison. The rev. gentleman, at the wish of the jury, read the letter in question : I " Bth February, 1865. "My dearest Mother,—My writing gets worse and worse partly, I suppose, from want of exercising it, and partly, from the steel pen ; however, you won't mind, I daresay. Letter paper is only issued on Wednesdays now, which is the cause of the delay ; had I been aware of the new rule you might have had this last week, tho' it is doubtful. What can I say to you for your birthday any more mum ? Little, I fear, to the purpose ; as for hopes and wishes ; but altho' these are useless, there is still love ; would that my love and gratitude were in any way sufficient to repay you for all you have gone through for me; but I must sit here Job's "comforter. A pretty way, indeed, of wishing you many happy returns ! The fact is, mum dear, as is usual with me, and lam muddled. I turn my brain inside out, and there is nothing there—stagnant. It is true I find what some people would call kind wishes, but then that's all rubbish, so what can I do ? I can only give you my best and kindest love, and tell you that I am just as usual—no difference whatever, 'and what I have already said, viz., that you must not trouble yourself about me or my state, what we are all doing, and what's the object of it, we can have no notion of it; it looks very nonsensical, but that's no business of ours, and at any rate we have had nothing to do with it, and perhaps we really do only see the wrong side of the carpet. This, however, is trite ; what I mean is, that such being the fact, past and future being equally beyond our control, never mind what happens to my body (you know law and society only pro fess to vent their spleen on the body), and consider that, after all, it is only with me the loss of a few personal com forts, being dressed queerly, and made to look a greater fright than ono naturally is, and condemned to live among disagreeable people ;. whereas with you it is very different and far worse, for I have tried to put myself in your place, and have seen all that you would suffer, and fancy all sorts of things, I cant exactly enumerate ; but if you only saw how coolly I take it, and what little trouble there is in one's life here, I really do think, my dear mum, you would take heart. Remember, it is not with mo as with most ; I have no one depending on me. lam provided for for life, I may say, therefore I have really no cause to take thought for the morrow. You know the peculiarities of my temperament. Idiosyncracies—l suppose Mr.What's his-name would say—and where it not for the trouble that my present position causes all of you, there would, I think, be little to regret. It seems, odd, certainly, that when all parties may be suited so easily, this wretched bit of clay continues to eat, drink, sleep. &c., for no earthly object. But here, again, we get beyond our depth, so wisely stop ; and, after all, I would finish this (did you get a lock of hair I sent you with the last lot of books—it was in French), by wishing my darling mother as many happy returns of the day as possible with such an un lucky wight of a son. By the way, I did not forget Kate's birthday. I forgot to tell you so. I had a foolish dislike to mentioning the birthdays at all, and half hoped she would forget mine. Many thanks for the last two letters and the cards which I have, and which the autho rities were good enough to let me read. I need not say how glad I am to hear of your uniting with kind friends. I won't say what comes uppermost in my mind, for this reason. I have found the Scotchman's prayer useful. By going on the opposite tact one only puts a stick into the hands of one's fellow Yahoos to break one's own head with. One gains experience here, and those coming into the outer world will doubtless not fail to profit by it. Should they happen to have been troubled with an excessive bene volence they wall find it understood, while those two ex cellent and useful-qualities—secretiveness and self esteem —wlll be correspondingly developed. About visiting— from something Kate said—l fancy you and she are think ing of coming. It is very, very good of you both, and I don't knowhow to thank you: but, my dear mum, it must not be. I told the governor so. I suppose he had not mentioned it. Remember you would never have thought of such a thing had it not been for a misrepresentation, and I am so far from being grateful for the same that—well, never mind what ; but you shall certainly never be exposed to any thing of the kind again, and I may tell you that the very notion of your being within these walls, or in contact with this place in any shape or way, is perfect torment to me, and infinitely worse than anything else I have to bear. I daresay there is not a man in the prison of any respecta bility who would not be heartily glad if the stupid and cruel mockery of visiting were totally done away with. When you can see me without insult to yourselves, well and good ; but that is unlikely. Pardon me, dearest mum, if this is abrupt. I would have said more—and more kindly —but have no space. I would rather not more than two came, and you can fix upon whom you would like to accom pany the governor: After all, one can say nothing at such an interview, it must be unsatisfactory. And now, I must thank you for the eight books the governor brought me, especially for the Gil Blas' and Silvio Pellico.' I am charmed with the latter. Do you know he sometimes re minds me of you ? You would see, for any one else would, what I mean if you read it. Charley had it in French. Gil Blas' I have nearly finished, and have had many a good laugh over it. What a nice edition. But I am sorry you should have got it for me purposely. Don't bring any books for me, and don't send me any you are likely to want for yourself. Many thanks for the Sunday Magazine. I like it exceedingly, so thoroughly Catholic in its tone. Thank you for Pascal and 011endorf ; the latter does not at all matter being bound together. I think you had better not send me any more books that will have to be returned, excepting, perhaps, the magazine ; but I will speak to the governor about it when I see him. There is always some trouble about signing a paper. I don't think it will be necessary to leave my books behind me when I go from here. I will do so if you like ; but we can speak about it. fancy other MINA have generally taken theirs. i Ana nearly sure I should not be allowed to write when leaving, besides, there might be no time; you never know when you are going. Tell the governor this, with my kind love. I don't think you (the governor) need be in any particular hurry about seeing me. I have a notion I shall not go yet awhile, but of course I know nothing, and it would be use less asking. Here I am, you see, at the end ; there are plenty of other things I wanted to say, but I have crammed in as much as I dare. My best love to Charles and Katy. I always laugh a your and her letters. Did you see her last? it was so like her. Thank you for the German characters, and whoever was so kind as to copy them out so carefully. With all my love, and thanks for your dear letters, ever my own mother.—Your affectionate son, (Signed) " GEO. V. TOWNIEY." In answer to a question from the jury, the witness said the deceased the first six months he was in the prison was employed in weaving, and afterwards at shoemaking. Mr. Townley, the father of the deceased, who was in court during the inquiry, and who at times was moved to tears, inquired if his son had, during his avocation, the un controlled use of tools ? He was answered in the affirmative. The question was put with the view of showing that the deceased had opportunities of committing suicide previous had he contemplated it. The Coroner said that if the jury thought they had suffi cient evidence to enable them to come to a verdict he would go no further into the case. They knew that the insanity of the deceased had been Much discussed, and if they re quired evidence as to insanity having existed in the family he would, if they thought proper, call Mr. Townley. The jury did not desire to inflict this pain upon that gentleman, who, however, stated that there had been no less than 11 cases of insanity in the family. Mr. Bradley, the surgeon, was here recalled, and said—l forgot to mention that upon examining the body I found marks of indention in both arms, and from that I think he attempted to bleed himself. There were wounds on both arms. They were quite recent. I mention this to show that there had been some kind of suicidal feeling upon him ,on the Sunday morning. He was seen by the warder when he was washing on that morning, and those wounds were not there then. The jury then retired to consider the verdict, and after an absence of a quarter of an hour returned the following verdict : " That the deceased destroyed himself by throwing him self from the gallery of the Model Prison, whilst in an un sound state of mind." They append the following to their verdict : "The jury regret that the letter was not sent, as they find nothing in it contrary to the rules of the prison." The Governor said that it should be forwarded to the directors of convict prisons. The inquiry then terminated. SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIO JOURNALS. -.- TlMES.—After one wistful glance at peace, which, it would almost seem, is not to be in our time, the Americans have flung themselves once more into that ghastly duel of which we can only find the like in a nightmare, or in the personal encounters one hears of in their own half-settled borders. We have to recall the not uncommon case of two combatants, without either the power or the wish to escape, inflicting the most horrid injuries one on the other, and indifferent to their own wounds so long as they had a chance of striking the last fatal blow. From the two ships lashed together as if in mockery of the old forced and ill-sorted Union, the American eye now passes to many a point of presumed weakness in the enemy's defences, to open port, to deep inlet, and rapid river, and mountain range, and broad valley, wherever the vast continent may haply be pene trated. Every day it hopes to read the sweet tidings of devastation and massacre in places whose very names were sacred but the other day, and whose flourishing statistics were taught to children in the State schools. So utterly is the instinct of a whole race changed, we may say in a day, and the very spirit of self-immolation infused into the vast mul titude just before plethoric with wealth, saturated with enjoyment, and intoxicated with vanity. Thus far there is not the least sign of any real movement in the direction of peace, in two successive and pro tracted interviews. So long as one side insists upon a Union as thorough as that which the sword has divided, and the other insists upon thorough inde pendence—sweetened possibly, though we do not yet know this, by promises of political co-operation there can be no peace. According to the old super stitution, the rust of the spear alone can heal the wound which the point has made. Neither of the belligerents is now master of his actions. He is the victim of a terrible though self-imposed necessity, which shows how a man may be a slave without the excuse, the honour, and the comfort of a master—a slave to a base passion, a slave to a horrid purpose, a slave to a fearful movement that can never be arrested, however wantonly set going. It is the white man who now must finish his task. It lies before him a huge pile of unknown and still increasing bulk. Upon this he has to toil incessantly under a burning sun, and every element venting its worst spite on body and soul. He has to hack and to hew, to beat and to tear—to strain every sinew, rack every joint, and exhaust every nerve. Bleeding at every vein and every pore, aching, withered, and prostrate to the last limit of consciousness, he has to go on, and on wards still, upon a labour inexhaustible and ever self-renewing. But it is a work of blood and fire, to unmake all he has made, to depopulate and blacken the paradise it was his glory to have created. This is his slavery. He cannot work his own deliverance, and there is none—so at least he feels in his despe ration—to buy him out of it. To be the slave of an idea is more or less the fate of individuals and com munities. Men cannot indulge themselves in golden anticipations as to the future without finding them selves before very long occupying the place rather of the captive than of the charioteer in their own triumphal car. The dream of a world-wide Con federation, united only for convenience, defence, and endless aggression, had taken, as it is now found, too strong a hold on the American mind. It had grown up into the intensity and scarcely responsible form of a monomania. It had become a new law of justice and truth, _ that all nations were to bow to, although ever so harshly propagated. We may now afford to pity a mental possession than which none had more excuse, but which surpassed all example. In every age there have been Powers which could not be content with their old limits, or even the older and more modest forms of political association, and which accordingly aimed to conquer the world or a continent—to establish a new system, or impose new principles of government. They have all run through more changes than their authors ever expected, and much more rapidly. The two greatest and most en during nations of antiquity have left grand tradi tions of art, science, and religion, but political ele ments of disunion rather than union. The Capitol of Washington may not disdain to learn something from the fortunes of that other Capitol on the Tiber. That State was in succession a monarchy, an aristo cratic republic, a triumvirate, an empire ; first ag gressive, then standi ng on the defensive ; then two Empires ; then the arena of universal and continual warfare by migratory races ; then a spiritual do minion, then two spiritual dominions ; then a centre of religious authority, recognized with severe limita tions and immense exceptions by some States of Western Europe and some large communities in the rest of the world. The Government which repre sents the United States, of course, thinks its foun dations de e p e r i n moral truth and human necessity than Rome. It starts with a new continent, in which there is no considerable rival. The natural secession of new colonies and dependencies from the parent State, and the natural rejection of Old World trammels, which has produced the independent com munities of America, is only the first step, so it seems, to their confederation. Everything favours the presumption that America has a destiny beyond the ken of worn-out loyalties and.exploded bigotries. We cannot wonder, we ought rather to admire, that this new family of mankind, passing over the flood, and resting on its own sacred mount, high and dry from Old World violences and corruptions, should indulge in such a dream, so comprehensive and so glorious and so large. We admire, but envy not. It is , dream-land, and no more. The dreamers walk as in a trance—political somnambulists--bound by their own spell, serving a tyrant of their own inven tion, and running the course of inevitable ruin. The great machine tears along, and, though the work of their own hands, they cannot stop it, or even miti gate its fearful speed. It was made to distance all, and to crush all, besides themselves ; but mankind looks on aghast, and sees its makers the victims. It is the immense scale of this fatal prepossession that cuts off remedy and escape. The idol of American worship embraces a continent—nay, a world ; it in eludes all the future ; it claims to subjugate the entire realm of human thought. It is treason and heresy to stop short of the whole visible and speculative sphere. The world is to be regenerated in this new model— the New World, then the Old. Accordingly, pre sent holders of this august destiny can give up no thing. It was decapitation in China to doubt that the Emperor was brother of the Sun and Moon, and it is political death in America to doubt that all nations will receive the law from Washington, an nex themselves to its mild realm, and bow to its easy yoke. In the Old World—which has been battled, and buffeted, and beaten by hard facts, if not into wisdom, at least into submission—when a conquerer is defeated he gives up his conquest ; when a State cannot fight the world, it says so and gives in. By the same rule when a private man has played for great stakes and lost he sits down and makes the best of it. He knows that it is possible to exist without a large fortune, without a high position, without a dignified employment, without many friends,without an acre of land, without even a house to call his own. He congratulates himself if he has not lost honour and sunk into a cast below . his habits and natural ingtinctg. The most ever 804 weening and overstepping ambition may en d bt commodating itself to a very humble place and finding happiness in self-respect and self -eon There are few, indeed, that have not had •to ,rhs—; render a good deal of their early day-dreams. '— American cannot do this. The dream, which othel on this side the Atlantic can better describe its grandeur, is too strong a reality for him. on ing worshipped it and obeyed it, —having laid ble its shrine all he held dear, he is now its hum % slave. He must do as it bids him, an d go thil e blood and flames to enforce its dire behests. be partial sacrifice will appease it. All or nething de , asked for; all or nothing it demands at hi 51193 1,0 So long as that idol stands on its pedestal , the ear I must rage on ; and we see no symptom of its c " . overthrow. DAILY NEWS.—An extension of the area of ratingoi so far as applies to unions, will probably be one the leading features of the new Poor law Bil l t f s e u t laid before Parliament this evening. Th e P r— D a system, with its hamlets filled with labourersqlog its parishes without a single poor man d , vv ,, i e for within their precincts, is obviously respen aw l . oht many of the painful anomalies which come from time to time. The squires and landoleir who, acting in concert with neighbours of ou own station, decline to have a single cottage ney their estates, and whose ground is conseclu, e- ee s tilled by labourers residing at some miles dis' s o f from their daily work, virtually shift the duty„,, providing for their poor on to other shoulders wing t their own. This, combiued with the dread of ju sent back ignominiously to their native Parw:ill, the event of breaking down from mischance Iresi health, prevents many a struggling labourer._,„,e seeking employment elsewhere than in the le seeking diate vicinity of his birthplace. The po or hate the deeply-rooted a horror of being handed back tcwis. workhouse of their own neighbourhood whe ° , B of i . fortune overtakes them as some of the ri ch a ny seeing cottages on their land. Though a siu u - , A . clearance of these objectionable dwellings conyte ratively rare, a tacit understanding between 11!;ces and steward that they shall under no circumsw ee s be repaired is not uncommon. Thus bi d eg, r v ith they fall into ruin, and are finally swept awai,, es se other rubbish, leaving their late tenants to : he re themselves as best they may, in parishes L t of labourers' cottages are still tolerated. Th e .f; de the number of houses of this character havi n g creased throughout the country in inverse Pi-esoi,, tion to the increase of population, is adval l . c is to support of this statement, and certainly poui_ o tt, the crying necessity for change. It is tho fi u the e therefore, that by equalising the rating a ° l s ee parishes within each union, and by, at th_,Ao time, extending the area of settlement to a extent, both ratepayers and paupers PI • W tically benefited. When the landowner has of 01 his quota towards relieving the pauperism rest to fifteen parishes, it will be no longer his in te er tbe thrust those likely to become chargeable eviteate. boundary line within which his estate Jw is Having to assist the poor in the distant ceuing exactly the same proportion as the poor U o f ell almost at his park-gates, the inconvenien ce walk ploying ill-housed labourers, who have ° w ill 17 . e 1 : some miles to and from their day's work, r ow come strongly apparent, and the probae h ition s, will be a withdrawal of the present Pr of s and as a natural consequence the erectieolit better class of labourers' cottages threngll g ent country. This is in itself a strong a „rP tha t favour of the bill, and it is to be regretted n ot b e particular improvement to which it pointsc aliseti°ll shared in by the metropolis. Neither 9,°, I' theta' of rating nor extension of settlement win d: 4 the selves have much effect on the dwelli n g& ifi th London poor, and we must content ourse systeo the knowledge that some approach to a fair,°_„r ( wed; • of levying poor rates is likely to be The ninety-eight parishes composing t'l e he ar t' l " London Union, for example, will have t° f sePa; burden of their poor collectively instead aslv rately ; and the Bank of England—fornw'., vtitselV believe it does, almost an entire parish 11-s will probably be charged at a higher rate tu - w ill Pa c i while its poor and populous fellow parisr t her a c t benefited in a proportionate degree. will material modifications of the existing law but the improbably be submitted to the clauses making the ratepayers of differentrssig co-equal in responsibility , and which are °' t he,' as,,be to indirectly benefit the labourer as fully w ill will protect the interests of the pauper , aids t f readily recognised as important efforts Ww, ier ue solution of one of the hardest social Pr°'' the day. House,, A; striCtea COUNTRY MAILICETS _ ----- -- - 'of BRISTOL—Tx IIEsD * pit m o d e rate sup 0, At our market to-d was a English wheat, which m ay et a there fair sale at last week 8 .rtivel Stocks of foreign are light; but being held at con l l 33ra e , ulte A higher prices than English, only a limited busirie sB r Malting barley a fair trade, at full prices. Buyers ° c i en t P . ; ing, having freely supplied themselves from the r e n ol cent arrivals, hold off for the present, and the dent., wit° slow, at an advance of 6d per qr. Oats fully as 1 : Df a good consumptive inquiry, especially for blac Afia. sold in retail, without alteration in value. Beaus ."'" BIRMINGHAM— THURSDAY. vat, At this day's market there was apriac which sold readily at last week's iers,sublipitip ifrirefarci:(i'voit: could be obtained on any descriptions . Less beans offering. Rather more in c l uirY o A I red, B e/1 ley tending upwards. to •x-s ; • din 8 1 Currencies :—English wheat, Oatsf r !peas. iii; white, 40s ~, grin ‘l. 28s to 60 ; ..ch 19s to 24s P e to 41s per 36 stone. Malting barley, 22s to 25s per qr. Oats, 24s to 30s ; l'Zi, 420 per qr. 30 stone. Beans, 38s to 42s ; and peas? "--- ° BURY ST. EDMUND'S- I; " N . E n s i l A jy, al lc1 i l e l ; At to-day's market wheat was in fair lc Bar n .. trade ruled very dull, at the was in good supply, and fine sorts were ill r e q t , OW °- prices of last live u e es 't at PR vious rates ; secondary and inferior kinds ine 1 00 at last week's rates. 85s to 980; 08 Talavera wheat, 44s t o 465; red ditto, 28s to 345 ; s econ d ary ditt o , 24s to 26s Per ci r ' r iep Averages :—Wheat, 688 quarters., 37s 9d; qrs., 32s 4d; oats, qrs., —s Od. , 1 0 MANOHESTER--TnunsDAS. fag IA Our market this morning wheat met a moderate demand at the curreneY °l i i it of 8 ; 0 1' was fairly attended;iast 0.1% T difaC tS 1°44 V' while foreign was neglected. Flour was and must be quoted 6d per sack lower. -n_° 4 a o Is r t meal there was no alteration. Beans were 6 0 . ' dearer. Indian corn ruled steady. iotd EDINBURGII _ w ....spAy., of ot ti „, , At our market there was a large supply :0 L wheat, which sold well, and prices w e re rattier ' of last week. n 4 4 ,1111 ,; Wheat on the top, 2s Od up average, 44 os A 0 ~ g, Barley on the top, Os 6 d up average , 0 , - P r- Oats on the top, is Od up average, 15 2d d° Beans on the top, is Od down average, 136 _ Average prices. a Wheat, 35s 5d Oats, ........ 18s10 a i Barley, 2ss 7d Beans', ........ 33s1° Total supply and sales. 980 1 Wheat 1278 qrs ............sold Barley 1609 q rs ............ c';` jfieo Oats 2281 qrs ............ L 0 4 A Beans 347 qrs ............ sow ocii esiv Town -made flour sells as follows :—Wllit e36° superfine, 34s 6d ; s u p er fi ne , 33 5; fine, 3 1 s 6,L GLASGOW—WEDNEsmiar• u,,d 0 We have had severe frost since last week. desin, sly has undergone no material change either rtteu, cle fiso ll value. This day's m ar k e t was t o lerably we' r ` o though there was littl e passing, a ll articles We— at last week's price s . ri jl4 LADVERTISEMENT.] Holloway's OintnieltteirLrairl3efil counteract most diseases. Causes wilich_„l7l be e o' re: health or sickness of large communities shod re re l9 o itl' investigated, and when possible they shoul"„ t aa l lloi l l Where this is impracticable, baneful effects se ers as f 1 0 ' 1 gated by such well-known purifiers and heaotods of way's pills and ointment. They prove in ti1 ° , 1 , 43 obj e stf e ; sufferers the greatest boon when - health is tb ; ou l , g ire o ; search, and when immediate restoration is Bov cal,,"irevr t y guard against continued indisposition. - 14°- ,• - a ble ef e ,,To dies will succeed under the most unfave_,lllooiorg, stances in casting out all impurities, streng' a ctio n oP weakness, and regulating any disordered medicine can equal them for advancing the o l ;l9 and protecting delicate persons from tinnece' ..______ —..--- tV Births. ~ , BUCHAN.— On the 15th inst., at Kelloe, Pe.r-whtc uoi,, er . a l : wife of Colonel Fordyce Buchan, a a cla u6 t reet , ,,,oi LINSDAINE.—On the 14th inst., at 55, Quee is l L - 0 6 1 4 . Y1 burgh, Mrs. Lumsdaine, Lathallan, Fifolu.`"' tr son. ril , See ° oil' MILDMAY.—On the 14th inst., at Marsoell,,, 01 5 - wife of the Rev. Arundell St. John gildni tiji 109,14," Marriages. . Mon , 134 11 '1 SHinuErr—RlCE.—On the 15th inst., at 1 311 - end ' gll' Moor Shirreff, Esq., of 9, Fenchurch-street; - s(-1 3 .t00' Surrey, to Sophia, widow of the late J. ft ,f e leel viii 4 youngest daughter of John Simpson, 84-I. ' v. ore o' ! " place. c ae fS 0 SINDALL--CAMERIDGE —On the 14th in . et , 1; E S s 4 ";. ° O lge Hanover-square, Robert Langford S daughter °' therhithe, to Ann Brown, the eldest,.o. Cambridge, Esq., of Wimpole, CarabridgeoPl ..eAt 0 t Deaths. nekg r A fle t ' BASNETT.—On the 13th inst., .11 Walthan i a' ,ill .e• ° Grimsby, Lincolnshire, the Rev. Thoraa o ''''' 'el' M.A., aged 72. Or‘ •,11 DALTELL.—On the 16th at his residellOir,in,lV4ll'' inst., t . ,_„, v ... p with Hospital, Sir William CunninguarttliP € D l alyell, Bart., of Binns, Linlithgowshiro, - age . d 81 n n o,to . 4 DARE.E.—On the 13th inst., Mr. John Dark°, C O- • y. the Wharves, Paddingto, aged 73. So l3ll De rO, MARTIN. —On the 14th inst. at Abingdon, 4. , e ff Martin, Esq., aged 60. ' • n ot(YAC I I $"- NEEDHAM.—On' the 14th inst., at East %A - -.el l ' Mrs. Sar a h F rances N ee dh a m, a ged 9 2 . ........,, j3o o ' VINCENT.—On the 14th inst., at Lilly bom' ..," Henry William Vincent, Esq., aged 692............../ ;Vic af ......................••• 11 0 0° ' »1 London : Prin' ed and p u bli s hed by WIL 1.1.A...- ea , e , 10. 4 0 , of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at Viz SIN u v 010 1 " Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, ill Middlesex.—Friday, repruary.l7, 1805.