The Sun. — London, England, 1866-01-29 00:00:00

Naval and Military Intelligence. • VALETTA, Jan. 24.—Her Majesty's despatch ves sel Psyche, 2, Lieut.-Commander A. R. Blane, which left for Marseilles on the afternoon of the 12th inst., conveying Major Clarke, Royal Engineers, Director of Admiralty Works, returned on the morning of the 18th, and has now resumed her former moorings inSliema Creek. The Chanticleer, 17, Commander W. H. Fenwiek, left Malta on the morning of the 22d inst. for Spithead. The Meeanee, 60, Capt. G. Wodehouse, left in the afternoon of the same day, also for Spithead. The Meeanee took as passengers Mrs. and Miss Wodehouse, Miss Denham, Lieut. Crowley, 32 soldiers, 7 women, 16 children, and two Maltese. H.M.S. Victoria, 102, Capt. J. G. Good enough, went out of port on the 22d instant for the usual monthly exercise of target firing, and will return on the 26th instant. The iron ships Caledonia, 35, Royal Oak, 35, and Enterprise, 4, left port on the following day for like practice. The last mentioned ship came out of dock on the 20th inst., and the other iron ship on the station, the Resistance, was admitted on the 22d. The Cale donia is to be docked in the course of the month. The Cossack, 20, Capt. R. D. White, lately returned from the coast of Syria, was inspected to-day, the 21th inst., by the Commander-in-Chief. The Fire fly, surveying steamer, Commander G. R. Wilkin son, which it was at one time thought would be sent home to be paid off and broken up, will proba bly be paid off here. The Skylark, 2, screw gun boat, Lieut.-Commander 11. R. Swinton, has been sent from Gibraltar to Lisbon to communicate with the British Consul. The following appointments have been made from the flagship :—A. D. Barnard, Sub.-Lieut. of the Phoebe, to the Chanticleer; J. A. Fraser, Sub.-Lieut. of the Enterprise, to the Caledonia ; G. W. Russell, midshipman, of the Chanticleer, to the Caledonia. Capt. J. White, commanding the English screw steamer Memnon, which arrived on the 20th inst. from Alexandria, reported that early in the morning of that day he fell in with the wreck of a vessel at a distance of about 35 milest south east of St. Elmo Light house. The direction indicated being as nearly as possible in the track of ships between Malta and Alexandria, the gunboat Tyrian has been despatched by the Commander-in. Chief to look for the wreck and bring it into port. I regret to state that the Malta and Alexandria Telegraph cable, so recently repaired, has again stopped working. The fault is supposed to lie about 50 miles nearer Alexandria than the one which has just been made good. The tele graph steamer Hawk, having returned to Malta on Monday, the 22d inst., immediately commenced preparations for another expedition, and left again for the vicinity of Alexandria to-day. Orders have also been despatched to her Majesty's steamer Peli can for her to repair to the scene of operations to render all the assistance in her power. Capt. J. G. Gooienough will, we understand, be the new flag= captain of Lord Clarence Paget on his lordship assuming the command of the Mediterranean squa dron in succession to Vice-Admiral Sir Robert Smart, whose time of service expires on the 20th of April next." • The departure from Greenhithe of the Peruvian armour-clad steam ram Independencia was an nounced at Woolwich on Saturday. It appears that she was under orders to call at Southampton to ship 300 seamen and officers to complete her ship's com pany, and then proceed to her destination. She was towed down the river in charge of a pilot by three I river steamtugs. Her Majesty's 17-gun steam sloop Zebra was on Saturday hauled into basin at Woolwich to be exa mined and prepared for service. The Vivid tender, Commander Timothy Sulivan, was also taken into basin, after examination and repairs, and will be provided with a chart-house on the bridge, sug gested by her captain . and sanctioned by the Ad miralty, as a shelter from the inclemency of the weather. The steam store-ship Industry, Staff-Commander YOuel, having been undocked, was on Saturday taken down the river from Woolwich dockyard by Commander Dillon, of the Steam Reserve, on trial, and afterwards went up to Deptford to receive a Cr() of victualling stores for Rio de Janeiro and Ase;_.nsion. The Salamis, 2, paddlewheel despatch vessel, Commander Francis G. Suttie, under orders to pro ceed to China, will sail from Portsmouth about the or 12th proximo, awl will call in at Devonport on her wa . r down Channel. The S 'Mails was tried over the in, , asurel mile course in Stoke's Bay, near Portsmouth, on Friday, in accordance with the Ad miralty regulations for ascertaining the speed of all her Majesty's ships prior to their departure from England on foreign service. The Salamis, on Friday, drew 10ft. liu. of water forward, and loft. 4in. aft, having six months' stores in her hold, and 166 tons of coals in her bunkers, and being in all respects complete and ready for sea. Six runs were made with full-boiler power, the respective speed of each run made being 12.721, 14.063, 13.091, 14.342, 13.091, and 11.402 knots ; the mean speed of the ship at full-boiler power, 13.619 knots ; steam pres sure, 251 b. Vacuum—forward engine, 25in. ; after engine, 26.5 in. Revolutions of the engine —maxi mum, 32 ; minimum, 31. With half-boiler power four runs were made over the mile, with the follow ing speeds-10.434, 12.203, 10.055, and 12.203 knots, the mean speed at half power of the ship being fixed by these figures at 11.224 knots. In trying the turning powers of the ship, by making circles to port and starboard, the following general results were arrived at :—With full power, to port, the half circle was made in 2 min. 46 sec. and the full circle in 5 min. 2 sec., the times respectively in turn ing to starboard being 2 min. 38 sec. and 5 min. 5 sec. ; with half-boiler power the circle was made to port in 6 min. 16 sec., and to starboard in 5 min. 59 sec. The trial gave every satisfaction. The en gines '1 of the ship are by Messrs. Ravenhill, Ilodg son, and Co., and are of 250-horse power nominal. The ship herself has gained some fame by her late drawn battle with the Helicon in their Channel race for speed. The Liverpool, screw frigate, Capt. R. J. Lam bert, arrived at Spithead yesterday morning from the Channel Fleet. The Oberon, paddle steam sloop, Commander Verney, which sailed from Spithead a few days since for the westward, en route for foreign service, made her number off Portsmouth avin on Saturday as sho steamed through Spithead from the westward and retraced her course to the eastward again with out stopping at Spithead. The screw steam frigate Topaze, 31, at Devon port, was put in commission on Friday, by Capt. W. M. Dowell, C. 8., for service in the Pacific. Sho burdens 2,659 tons, and has engines of GOO-horse Power, in charge of Mr. Andrew M‘Farlane. Her complement will be 515 officers and men. The screw steam gunboat Rainbow, having been thoroughly refitted at Devonport, was taken into Ply mouth Sound on Friday last to test her engines and machinery. The screw steam frigate Doris, 30, belonging to the first division of the Steam Reserve in llamoaze is ordered to be put in commission at Devonport for service in the West Indies. She has a burden of 2,483 tons, and has engine s of 800 horse power, under charge of Mr. Francis C. Alton. Mr. Torn B. Read is master, and she will have a complement of 490 officers and men. She is now in the basin at ICeyham, and will shortly be placed in dock. _ _ The screw steam tender Dapper left Pl ymouth on Friday to join the Britannia at Dartmouth. An order has been received from the llorse Guards directing the depot of the filth Regiment to be held in readiness to proceed to Dover early next month, to await the arrival in England of the service com panies now on passage home from India. The depot of the 56th Regiment is also expected to leave next month for Portsmouth to join the service com panies of the regiment on their arrival in England from India. A draught of one officer, one sergeant, one drummer, and 45 rank and file of the depot of the 84th Regiment are under orders to proceed to Malta to join the services companies. Lieut. Spreat, of the Coast Brigade, Royal Artillery, has com menced a tour of inspection of the forts and stations, as well as the detachments of the Coast Brigade, in the eastern district. The whole of the Infantry of the Aldershot divi- sion formed up on the Queen's-parade, North Camp, on Thursday, under the command of Major-General Russell, C.B. The troops were exercised in a variety of field movements and changes of position. They then marched past, in quarter dis tance column in quick time, counter-marched by ranks, and again marched past at the double ; after which they filed off to their respective quarters. The force on the field consisted of the 13th, 17th, 28th, 31st, 63d, 69th, 74th, and 92d Regiments. On the same day the Cavalry Brigade was exercised in route-marching. Brigadier-Gen. Campbell, C. 8., assumed the com mand of the 2d Infantry Brigade at Aldershott on Wednesday. The Brigade formed up in line of con tiguous columns on the parade in front of the barracks, and was inspected by the Brigadier- General. The troops then marched past in open column of companies in quick time, countermarched, and again marched past at quarter-distance from the reverse flank. They were afterwards put through a series of field movements. One wing of the 14th Regiment now at Ports mouth is under orders to proceed from that garrison to Weedon. The remainder of the regiment will fol low on the arrival of other troops at Portsmouth from India, now very shortly expected. Lieut. F. Tracey, Royal Engineers, has been or dered to do duty in the South Wales district, in ac cordance with instructions received from the Horse Guards. Pembroke dock has been included in the western military district by order of the Comman der-in-Chief. In consequence of the recent stormy weather in Milford Haven the detachment of Royal Artillery stationed at Thorn Island fortress could not put off from the island, and as no communication could be had with it from the port, the men suffered very much from the want of food and fuel. In the announcement on Friday in our naval and military intelligence of the distribution of medals and gratuities by Major-Gen. Warde, at Woolwich, the name of Sergt. Grooves was given in error, instead of Brigade Serg.-Major Groves, employed for some years past in the direction of the Royal Artillery post-office. The latter received a good conduct medal and a gratuity of £l5. Col. Maxwell, commandant of the Royal Marine Light Infantry, at Woolwich, received an order on Saturday from the Royal Marine-office to hold in readiness a detail of his division for service on board her Majesty's 30-gun screw frigate Doris, commis sioned at Devonport for the North American and West Indian stations ; and also two sergeants and three corporals for Ascension. The following officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates wereaccord ingly selected and paraded for inspection :—Capt. Allen, Lieut. Rutherford, 3 sergeants, 4 corporals, and 51 men. The officers of the division are desir ous of contradicting a report which has gained cur rencp—that two of their men were flogged a few weeks ago. This report is utterly unfounded. During the command of Colonel Maxwell, since June, 1865, not one case of corporal punishment has been deemed necessary in the whole division, nor has a divisional court-martial sat during the past two months. It may be likewise added that the division continues to maintain the high cha racter for sobriety and soldierly bearing attributed to them by the Lords of the Admiralty in their late half-yearly inspection. The Imprisonment of Jefferson Davis. -0- -- The following appears in the New York papers under date Washington, Jan. 10 : - The President to-day transmitted to the Senate a mes sage in reply to a resolution calling upon him to inform that body on what charges Jefferson Davis is confined, and why he is not brought to trial. The President encloses reports from the Secretary of War and the Attorney-Ge neral, and at the same time invites the attention of the Senate to that portion of his annual message which refers to Congress the question connected with the holding of circuit courts of the United States within the districts where their authority has been interrupted. War Department, Jan. 4, 1866. Sir,—ln reply to the annexed Senate resolution passed December 21, 1865, referred to me by you for report, have the honour to state : First - That Jefferson Davis was captured by the United States troops, in the State of Georgia, on or about the 10th day of May, and by order of this department has been and now is confined in Fortress Monroe, to abide such action as may be taken by the proper authorities of the United States Government. Second— That he has not been arraigned upon any indictment or formal charge of crime, but has been indicted for the crime of high treason by the grand jury of the district of Colum bia, which indictment is now pending in the supreme court of the said district ; he is also charged with the crime of inciting the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and with the murder of Union prisoners of war by starvation, and other barbarous and cruel treatment toward them. Third, The 1%-esident deeming it expedient that Jefferson Davis should first be put upon his trial before a competent court and jury for the crime of treason, he was advised by the law officers of the Government that the most proper place for such trial Was in the State of Virginia. That State is within the judicial circuit assigned to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, who has held no court there since the apprehension of Davis, and who declines for an indefinite period to hold any court there. The matters above stated are, so far as I am informed, the reasons for holding Jeffer son Davis in confinement, and why behas not been brought I. to trial. Fourth—Beside Jefferson Davis, the following persons, who acted as officers of the rebel Government, are imprisoned, to wit : Clement C. Clay, at Fortress Monroe, charged, among other things, with treason, with conspiracy in the murder of Mr. Lincoln, and with organising bandsof pirates, robbers, and murderers in Canada, to burn the cities and ravage the commerce and coasts of the loyal States on the British frontier; D. L. Yulee, at Fort Pulaski, charged with treason while holding a seat in the Senate of the United States, and with plotting to capture the forts and arsenals of the United States, and with inciting war against the government ; S. R. Mallory, at Fort Lafayttc, charged with treason, and with organising and setting on foot pi ratical expeditions against the United States commerce and marine on the high sear. Other officers of the . so-called Confederate government, arrested and imprisoned, have been released on parole, to abide the action of the govern ment in reference to their prosecution and trial for alleged offences, on their applications for amnesty and pardon. Among these aro G. A. Trenholm, Secretary of the Trea sury; J. A. Campbell, Assistant Secretary of War; J. A. Section, Secretary of War; J. 11. Reagan, Postmaster- General ; R. M. T. Hunter, Senator ; Alex. H. Stephens, Vice-President ; and sundry other persons of less note. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War. To the President. Attorney-General's-office, Jan. 4, 1866. To the President.—Sir,---I have the honour to acknow ledge the receipt from you of a copyof the resolution of the Senate of the United States of date Dec. 21, 1865. In that resolution the Senate respectfully request to be informed upon what charges and for what reasons Jefferson Davis is still held in confinement, and why he has not been put on hid trial. When the war was at its crisis Jefferson Davis, the commander-in-chief of the army of the insurgents, was taken prisoner, with other prominent rebels, by the mili tary forces of the United States. It was the duty of the military so to take them. They have been heretofore and are yet held as prisoners of war. Though active Hostilities have ceased, a state of war still exists over the territory in rebellion. Until peace shall have come in fact and in law they can rightfully be held as prisoners of war. I have ever thought that trials for high treason canwat be had before a military tribunal. The civil courts have alone jurisdiction of that-crime. The question then arises, when and where must the trials thereof be held ? In that clause of the constitution mentioned in the resolution of the Senate, it is plainly written that they must be hold in the State and district " wherein the crime shall have been committed." I know that many persons of learning and ability entertain the opinion that the com mander-in-chief of the rebel armies should be regarded as constitutionally present with all the insurgents who prose cuted hostilities and made raids upon the northern and southern borders of the loyal States. This doctrine of con structive presence carried out to its logical consequences would make all who had been connected with the rebel armies liable to trial in any State and district into which any portion of those armies had made the slightest incur sion. Not being persuaded of the correctness of that opi nion, but regarding the doctrine mentioned as of doubtful constitutionality, I have thought it not proper to advise you to cause criminal proceedings to be instituted against Jefferson Davis or any other insurgent in States or districts in which they were not actually present during the prose cution of hostilities. Some prominent rebels were perso nally l rsent at the inv as i o n o f M ar yl an d an d P ennsy l van i a, or nearly all of them, received military paroles upon the surrender of the rebel armies. While I think that those ‘h t parties have no ulti ma t e pro t ec ti on f or prosecutions for hi;:t,rolesreta:on,l prosecutehar thoseethougpchrtsiotns for would crimes be maesvibeolfaotiioenthoef thpo litical power of the Government has proclaimed that the rebellion has been suppressed. It follows, from what I have osathide,rtinhastulrgaemntsoofutghhet to opibne triediont in some of the St a t es or that Jefferson Davis a n d districts in whi c h th ey in 13e3,3rscohn.gespeciaTllhyoucogmhmittl active ec crimes with which th ey may hostilities and flagra n t war h ave not for . some time existed b e tween the United St a t es and the insurgents, relations between the Gover nmen t and the peoplepeaceful the States and districts in rebellion have n o t yet been. in fully restored. None of the justices of the Supremo Court have held circuit courts in those States and dis tricts since actual hostilities ceased. When the courts are open and all laws can be peacefully administered and en forced in those States whose people rebelled against the Government, when thus peace shall come in fact and in law, the persons now hold in military custody as prisoners of war, and who may not have been tried and convicted for offences against the laws of war, should be transferred into the custody of the civil authorities of the proper districts, to be tried for such high crimes and misdemeanors as may be alleged against them. I think that it is the plain duty of the President to cause criminal prosecutions to be insti tuted before the proper tribunals, and at all proper times, against some of those who were mainly instrumental in inaugurating and most conspicuous in conducting the late hostilities. I should regard it as a direful calamity if many whom the sword has spared the law should spare also ; but I would deem it a more direful calamity still if the Executive, in performing its constitutional duty of bringing those persons before the bar of justice to answer for their crimes, should violate the plain meaning of the constitu tion, or infringe in the least particular the living spirit of that instrument. I have the honour to be, most respectfully, JAMES SPEED, Attorney-General. Remarkable Letters of Stephens. The New York Daily News of the 13th inst. says: — "The following letters from James Stephens, C.E.I.R. will be read with intense interest by every every Fenian, in the United States and Canada. They arrived by mes sengers, from Europe, at Head Centre 011ahony's head quarters, yesterday, and their importance, as bearing upon the present condition of the F.B. here in Canada, has been deemed sufficient to warrant their publication in the New York Daily News. Were we at liberty to print the story of the way in which the messenger succeeded in securing the letters from the vigilant eyes and fingers of the eager au thorities, it would prove almost as interesting to many as the contents of the letters themselves : ." To John 011ahony, Esq., Representative and Financial Agent of the Irish Republic in the United States. --, Dec. 22, 1865. "Brother and Friend,— The only misunderstanding ever possible between you and rue has been occasioned by what I deemed your drag-chain policy. Knowing the absolute necessity for action within a given time, and aware that you did not agree with me in this, it has been a constant fear with me that,so far as the F.B. was concerned, the time would come and find us unprepared. This apprehension has kept me in a state of pain and irritation also, and so I have often said and written things which must have hurt you most keenly. For all this I now sincerely ask your for givenness. Let me add, however, that I would not do so, though you were on your dying bed, and I on mine, if you had not entered, albeit very late, on the only path of salva tion for our land and race. Treason and baseness in every shape have been at work around you, and to such effect as to have put the cause of Ireland in serious peril. Before my escape from Richmond Bridewell, I should have looked on the actual state of things as all but certain ruin. That event, for it is nothing less, hasgiven such marvellous strength to our work, and to me such influence, that I can now under take to hold our forces together for some time longer. Still it is of the utmost urgency to make this delay as short as possible ; for delay in our case is of more than proverbial danger, and I could not long hope to hold against tho strain of time ; but, as you are on the right path at last, I rely on your bringing affairs to a speedy issue —to break with treason and baseness of all kinds, to brand it, smash it was the policy—and I rejoice at your having made it yours. The manhood of Ireland rejoices at it with me, for it in dicates the justice of their judgment regarding a wretch, P. J. Meehan, whose advent to this country was an insuit to our reason, manhood, andpatriotism. Wishing to work harmoniously with the F. 8., I put a curb on my tempJr in presence of the shallow knave, and even risk my repu tation in order to set him fairly with my friends. His pro fessions and letter to you (were they sent ?) together with my representations, did away with much of the disgust and indignation stirred up by his presence. But, even before ho left, the cloven foot was again visible to all. He sneaked out of the country. Well, 1 saved his life, as Iso often saved that of his kindred carrion Cada. Brand him now without pity. It grieves me to hear that Michael Scanlan is in the ranks of cowardice; and treason; but what ever I may have cnco thought of him, or anybody else, the instant they prove false to Ireland, I would lash them away from me like so many dogs. Away with all such fools and rogues at once. If our ranks be somewhat thinned by this summary riddance of traitors, our reliable strength is but increased. By the way, some good men were sent over hero by Scanlan. We know how to appreciate them. But ho sent over others of so vile a kind that, at their first interview with me, they, in confidence, accused each other of robbery, and I know not what ! It may be that such scoundrels would fight; but, till we are actually iu the field, follows of their stamp would be a standing shame and danger to us. Thank Gud, they have sneaked away --some of them at the merest shadow of danger. May they never pollute our shores! Cut and hack the rotten branches around you without pity. This can be done safely at your side, because the stag is harmless then,. . . . " lam pressod for 61113. This is of little consequence, I hope, as almost all you could need to know will 63 found in the letter of the MC., brought out by General-, and anything that letter may lack the general is the very man to make good. " ' The accompanying document confers on you in Ame rica, Canada, &c., the absolute and unquestionable authority of representative and financial agent of the Irish Republic. —With the uld friendly feeling, I am yours fraternally, " JAMES STEMENS, C.E.I.R.' " "'To the Members of the Fenian Brotherhood and the Friends of Ireland generally in the United States of ' America, Canada, &e. " Dec. 23, 1835. " Countrymen and Friends - Aware that certain mem bers of the Fenian Brotherhood, and notoriously the " Senate" cf that association, have, madly and traitorously moved to a mad and traitorous end, raised the cry of " To Canada !" instead of the cry " to Ireland !" and aware that John 011ahony, known as Head Centro and President of the Fenian Brotherhood, has wisely and firmly, and in duty bound, opposed this mad and traitorous diversion from the right path—the only path that could possibly servo our country and our race—l, in consequence, hereby appoint the said John O'Mahony representativeand financial agent of the Irish Republic in the United States of America, Ca nada, &c., with amplo and unquestionable authority to.. . and in all other ways in whisk, to the best of his judg ment, he can serve Ireland--that land to which ho has devoted life and honour. I hereby authorise and call upon him to do so. " JAMES STEPHENS, C.E.I.R.' " THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, JANUARY 29, 1866. The Murder in Shropshire. CLEOBURY MORTI3IER, Jan. 27. Mr. John Meredith, the uncle of the deceased young man, Edward Edwards, is now in the lock-up in this town, charged on suspicion with being the murderer of his nephew. There was a desire on the part of the Shropshire police to arrest Mr. Meredith a week ago, but the magis tracy, through the chief constable having sent to Sir Richard Mayne for a detective, determined to post pone this step till such an officer had been upon the spot. The evidence upon which the arrest has taken place, and upon which the accused will be examined, is such as to make it far otherwise than certain that it can be shown that Mr. Meredith is the mur derer. It was shown at the inquest that Mr. Mere dith had made complaints of the deceased's neglect of his duty at the mill even on the Friday before the Sunday on which the murder was perpetrated, and that that complaint led to a dispute between them on that afternoon. And Mr. Meredith, in his evi dence at the first sitting of the coroner's jury, de posed that the day-book which the deceased kept at the mill was not made up as it ought to have been to the close of the week preceding the murder, and that he put in one or more omitted entries himself on the day after the murder. Mr. Meredith shows that he was at the mill on the morning of the mur der ; and blood, it was also shown at the inquest, was found upon his trousers and upon an overcoat belonging to him. Whilst the officer was examin ing the overcoat, the evidence is that Mr. Meredith said, " You surely can't detect blood after being washed." This coat, it was added, appeared to have been sponged. At one time it was stated that Mr. Meredith wore this coat when lie went to the mill in the morning ; but this is not now stated. The blood upon the trousers is conspicuous, and the opinion of the surgeon given at the last sitting of the jury was that it was not likely that blood could have fallen from the body as it was being taken upstairs, upon which occasion Mr. Meredith assisted by holding one corner of the sheet upon which the deceased was being moved. The garments are still in the possession of Dr. Taylor, the eminint chemist of London. Dr. Taylor has not yet completed his ex amination of the clothes in respect to the quantity ' of the blood upon them, but the examination has proceeded sufficiently far to enable him to say that there is human blood upon the sleeve of the over coat and upon the trousers. Against the sup position that Mr. Meredith is guilty of the fearful crime upon which he has been arrested is the fact, which is well known in the district in which he lives, that he is of a kind, hospitable, and charitable dis position ; ever ready in purse and person to prove a good Samaritan to his needy neighbours. He was, it is said, extremely fond of the deceased, and had cherished him from the age of six, since which tine he had been to him as his son ; and we are assured that, in the spirit of that affection, Mr. Meredith, who is a man of considerable property, has in his will left to his nephew the mill in which he was so cruelly murdered. SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. thoughts in clear and powerful words. Young men especially have a dangerous sympathy with intel lectual ability when they happen to possess intel lects of their own. The Government would be perceptibly stronger if it included within its ranks Mr. Lowe and Mr. Horsman. Orators who are not professedly hostile are formidable opponents when their own convictions compel them to depart from the official creed of their party. It is impos sible to estimate the power of Lord Stanley, because the direction in which it will be applied is uncer tain. Although he is still young in years, he has sat nearly 20 years in the House of Commons, and a prudent reticence maintained throughout the sit tings of the last Parliament has increased the general faith in his capacity and in his great attainments. A singular felicity makes it at the same time proper that he should be a Conservative, and natural that he should be a Liberal ; and neither party desires to alienate or to criticise too severely an actual or possible adherent. With the exception of Mr. Dis raeli, who will retain his accustomed rank, the older members of both parties will probably find that time has weakened their hold on theirpolitical supporters. Mr. Gladstone might have rendered rivalry impos sible, if he had declared his intention to form and to lead a moderate Liberal party. As a Reformer, lie may perhaps achieve equally brilliant success but there will be far more risk of failure. THE " SATURDAY REVIEW" ON THE NEW PAR LIAMENT.—The House of Commons which will meet for the first time on Thursday includes, as might have been expected after a Parliament of unusual duration, a large proportion of new members. About one-fourth has yet to acquire Parliamentary experience, and the entire assembly meets under new conditions. The outside world—or the laity, 9,5 . non-professional persons are ca ll e d b y t h e initiated—ahnost always undervalues the force of special' influences on those who are associated by a common vocation. The honour of the army, the etiquette of lawyers and doctors, the manners and customs of exclusive and refined society, command a respect and obedience which are less uniformly accorded to public opinion. In the House of Com mons, as in other organised bodies, one of the most cherished traditions prescribes habitual deference to old members, and more especially to recognised heads of parties. Political observers and theorists are often as competent as practical statesmen to ap preciate the balance of national interests, and to discern the general tendency of public affairs; but as long as Go vernmen t i s controlled by a delibera tive assembly, the characters of Parliamentary leaders 'will possess great importance. Veteran members probably overrate the qualities which enable a Minister to control the House of Com mons ; but the opposite error of believing in the supremacy of rhetoric and argument is more gene rally prevalent. Mr. Disraeli said, in his " Life of Lord George Bentinck," that although there had been greater statesmen and greater orators, Sir Robert Peel was, of all men who had lived in Eng land, the greatest member of Parliament. His tact, Insvigilance, and his sympathy with the motives which sway the House of Commons enabled him to exer cise commanding influence even at periods when his person and his policy were unpopular in the country at large. Lord Palmerston, whose speeches were barely grammatical, also approached to greatness as a member of Parliament. The flock which he guided is, for the present, scattered abroad, in uncertain expectation of a tolerably competent shepherd. Strong political excitement may for a time secure the discipline which is the necessary condition of vigorous action ; but inexperienced members find, with some surprise, that in ordinary Sessions the intentions of half , a dozen of their colleagues are more curiously scrutinised than the patriotic inspira tions of their constituencies. Like every club and corporation of Englishmen, the House of Commons a hierarchyin which the pretensions of new-corners are not readily accepted. Many successful candi dates who have lately announced their intentions of supporting moderate or sweeping reforms will find that their choice will be confined to two or three political alternatives, on which they will not have been themselves consulted. There will, indeed, be no difficulty in following the trail of the Liberal party, if it acts together ; but that the leader will not command a ready obedience has yet to be discovered. The distinct character which may be observed in almost every separate Parliament depends largely on the continuance or interruption of personal asso ciations. If new members find it necessary to select a leader, they may have the consolation of knowing that the dependence is reciprocal. The general can not rely as confidently on raw recruits as on hi 3 comrades in former campaigns. The effects of a general election on the internal discipline of the House of Commons were remarkably illustrated after the dissolution of 1852. From the date of Lord Althorp's retirement in 1834, Lord John Russell had retained, during three Parliaments, undisputed supremacy iu his party. As the leader of a feeble Opposition, from 1841 to 1846, and as Prime Minister from 1846 to 1852, he had not to add to other failures and disappointments the vexation of giving way to a rival. His imprudent rupture with Lord Palmerston, in 'the winter of 1851, first drove the Whig party from power, and then pro vided it with a more acceptable chief. It was re marked that the new members of 1852 knew nothing , of Lord John Russell, and that they willingly. ten dered their allegiance to his genial competitor. It is true that, on the formation of Lord Aberdeen's Go vernment, the former Prime Minister assumed the lead of the House of Commons, but in 1855 Lord John Russell was forced to take office under Lord Palmerston, and he never succeeded in re-establish ing their former relation. In 1857, when the un placed Liberals had coalesced with Mr. Disraeli and Mr. Cobden against the Government, Lord Pal merston obtained, by a dissolution, an irresistible majority which was pledged only to support his personal claims to power. The Parliament of 1859, though it was elected on a different issue, was even more steadily loyal to the Minister whom its earliest vote recalled to power. Mr. Gladstone, who, after Lord John Russell's promotion to the peerage, was Lord Palmerston's only competitor, was entirely unable to secure a personal following, even when the pros - e el-4y of his financial admini stration was most generally acknowledged. Towards the end of his life Lord Palmerston was more often outvoted in the Cabinet than in the House of Com mons. If lie had met the present Parliament, still retaining the vigour of his faculties, he would pro bably have succeeded in extending over the new generation the influence which would been once more acknowledged by the political survivors of the dissolution. Future calculations are complicated by the utter dissimilarity of the designated successor. to the statesman whose vacant place he occupies. Lord Russell in his elevated scat is a m e re name , which-to the majority of the House of Commons - conveys no impressive meaning. All politicians are waiting in anxious expectation to ascertain whether Mr. Gladstone has the gift of leading a party, and where he intends to take his followers. A great orator who advocates popular opinions human nature and of party chief if . lie is ma d y efic n i e e v n e t r t i h n el k e n ss ow f l ai ed l ge a o s f a the nature of the house of Commons. Mr. Bright, who is equal to Mr. Gladstone in eloquence a n d perhaps in general ability, will for the first time find himself the acknowledged leader of a not inconsi derable section. Experience will show whether the extreme Liberals have acquired additional strength by the unity of command which has been caused by the death of Mr. Cobden. Mr. B r i g ht i s a more powerful orator than his fri▪ end and colleague, and he is a more resolute and uncompromising partisan. On certain occasions, vigour and concentration of purpose are essential to success ; but a small mino rity has a better chance of holding the balance when it is inclined to compromise and conciliation. Mr. Cobden was, as compared wi▪ th his coadjutor, mode rate, dispassionate, and loyal to the institutions of his country. There is no reason to suppose that he preferred America to - England ; and it happened that, notwithstanding a constant political alliance, he disliked the sectarian peculiarities of Dissenters. If Lord John Russell had been bold enough to admit Mr. Cobden to the Cabinet in 1846, he would probably have converted him into a thoroughly Eng lish statesman. Had the same e x p er i men t b een tried upon Mr. Bright, its success wou ld h ave b een far more doubtful. It is yet uncertain whether the Radical party will have a second or rival leader in Mr. Mill. No new member will have a claim to equal authority if the tendency to dogmatism and the propensity to crochets, 'which may be traced in his writings, are suppressed in the House of Com mons. Mr. Mill is said to be a forcible and per spicuous speaker, and he will from the first com mand the attention which ordinary aspirants must earn. If the reconstruction of the Cabinet had been postponed for two or three sessions, Mr. Mill might possibly have occupied one of the seats which have been filled with so unaccountable a degree of difficulty ; but some time must, in any event, elapse before his character and influence will become an element of political calculation. Mr. Bright is unusually active and' prominent, regard ing perhaps with excusable indifference the desire of his Liberal friends that he should efface or conceal for a time the power which he undoubtedly exercises. Lord Russell would be deeply disappointed by the failure of -a Reform Bill which is to bring, as he hopes, the close of his political life in harmony with his earlier career ; but Mr. Bright would find much comfort in the agitation which might perhaps be kindled by a Parliamentary defeat. Weakness of parties, confusion of opi n i o ns, and frequent changes of Ministry would be eminently favourable to re volutionary designs. Th e doctrines which attri▪ bute great importance to the action of individual persons are countenanced by th e p r esent state of poli▪ tical affairs. If Lord Russ e ll had not thought it his business to be a Reformer, there would now be no impending Reform Bill; while, on the other hand, if Lord Palmerston had died three or four years sooner, the question would have been earlier mooted. It is by a mere accident that Mr. Gl a d s t one is not at this moment the Conservative leader ; and Mr. Bright consti tutes almost alone, both the strength and weak ness of the extreme Reformers. Unless Mr. Goschen's advance in Parliamentary influence cor responds to his rapid official promotion, no mem ber of the Cabinet except M r . Gladstone will pos sess any considerable power over the opinions of the House of Commons. The rising, members of the last Parliament will profit by the addition to the new house of a considerable audience whichis at the same time familiar with their reputation, and indif ferent to its recent origin. Lord Cranborne will possess with his party the authority which belongs influence which an established p os iti on , as well as the which follows the exhibition of great ability, joined to indefatigable industry and untiring vigour. Mr. Hardy's solidity will perhaps supersede, in Con servative estimation, th e more antiquated solem nity of Sir John Pakington. On the other side of the House, unsophisticated new-comers may perhaps show a surprising appreciation of Mr. Lowe's almost unparliameutary tendency to express independent THE " SPECTATOR" ON TIIE PROBABILITY OF DE FEAT TO THE COMING REFORM BILL.--The Minis terial organs, the journals which raise party etiquette into a creed, and all speakers at public meetings connected with the Government are ca rolling in somewhat reedy voices to the same scrannel tune. A Reform Bill is inevitable, and the first duty of the Ministry therefore is to intro duce a bill which shall be acceptable to Parliament. We deny it. Even if we accept Mr. Milner Gib son's astounding assertion that the Government " will propose a measure which at the present time will confer benefits on the public, and, with regard to the future, will leave the future to take care of itself, and leave other statesmen, if they think fit to deal with the question, to decide what is best for their time,"—an assertion which denies to the Cabinet not only the possession of foresight, but even a sense of the duty of exercising it,—still the proposition is untrue. The duty of ministers is to introduce that bill which shall seem to them calcu lated to do more good than any other likely to be accepted by the country at large. If they, believ ing universal suffrage to be the scheme best calcu lated to promote the interests of the empire, still perceiVe that the country will not accept universal suffrage, they are morally at liberty to postpone it in favour of a smaller Reform. But they are not at liberty to abandon the scheme in which they themselves believe, simply because Mr. Brand thinks, after a careful counting of heads and cal culation of the patronage at his disposal, that un less some presumably hostile section within the House can be secured, the bill will in all probability involve the defeat of the Ministry or a dissolution. This is what is meant by a bill being " unaccept able to Parliament," and it is by this consideration that the Cabinet appears to us to be at present guiding itself. A principle more unsound, both as to its morality and its statesmanship, was never openly extolled ; as to its morality, because the first duty of political leaders is to do the best they' can for the country careless of consequences to themselves ; as to statesmanship, because the ulti mate appeal on such questions must and ought to lie to a body higher than Parliament. It must lie, be cause whether the bill passes or not its introduction will be followed by a new election during which the country will pronounce an irresistible verdict ; and it ought to lie for a reason which we can make clear by an illustration. Suppose Parliament to pass a law allowing or ordering all existing members of the House of Commons to sit for life. Such a law is clearly within the legal competence of Parliament just as much as a law that they shall sit for seven years is within its legal competence. But does any one pretend to say that such a law would be con stitutional, or would involve a moral duty of obedience, or would be anything except a coup d'etat executed by arbitrary power? The reason is plain. Be the agent never so absolute in his agency, he can never possess the right to dismiss his employer, and Parliament with all its theoretic autocracy is, as regards the nation, and even as regards the enfranchised class of the nation, such an agent. As a rule no doubt it is far better that there should be no reference, that the silent adhesion of the country to the passed measure should be deemed sufficient, but when the question is one of the re distribution of power, of the virtual extinction of one set of employers in favour of another, the em ployers themselves have a Tight to be directly con sulted. Even if a bill like the Reform Bill could pass like an ordinary measure it would be highly inexpedient that it should so pass. We cannot imagine any change of feeling in the country more mischievous than the idea that the franchise is a matter of which Parliament has the absolute con trol, that it is open to the dominant party to modify it for its own convenience, or in order to secure its own permanent power without a reference back to the nation and the electors. We can conceive a dozen changes which the Houses might be inclined to accept, which yct would in their result stereotype, and, therefore, in the end destroy, the Constitution. It is, however, of little use to carry the argument back to the irst principles either of justice or of constitutional law. The plain matter of fact is, that the Catinet has on this question to look to the constituencies as the final arbiter. The non-electors are not enthusiastic -enough to coerce their trustees. The members of the Lower House are not in earnest enough to resist the biddings and warnings, and reprimands which will be contained in the shoal of constituents' letters which they will receive within a week of the publication of the bill. The Peers are not frightened enough to allow a measure they dis approve to pass. Consequently the Ministry has to look outside the walls of the Palace atWestminster, and outside it we feel convinced their one-barrelled bill, if they finally resolve to introduce it, will meet with no sufficient favour. We do not mean to say they cannot carry - an £8 suffrage if they choose without a dissolution, or one fixing the qualification at £9 9s. 91., or any meaningless measure of that kind, which nobody would dream either of resisting or approving, or considering, except with a languid contempt. But a real bill, which shall in a percep tible degree reduce the franchise, say to a £6 qua lification, and do that alone, will, we confidently believe, be under some form or another referred to the people. Whom among the electors is it to con ciliate ? Not the Tories, for they have been care fully instructed that the bill is only to be prelimi nary to a succession of bills which, after two pre cedents have been set at an interval of a generation must all advance in the same direction. Not the educated Liberals, for they, if they remain true to themselves, will reject any bill which, by fixing a mere qualification by rental, leads the way directly to the rule of numbers. Above all, not the immense mass of Liberal electors, who see clearly that phy sical force is outside the Constitution, who are heartily willing that it should be brought inside, but who are anxious while including it not to be ousted themselves, and are above all things desirous that the question should for this generation end. Such a bill will please only the Radicals, who hope that with the Conservative.voters reduced from one half of the borough constituencies to less than one third—this is Mr. Baines's own calculation—they shall be able to carry bills the existing constituency would refuse seriously to consider. Are the Radicals sufficient to carry the bill in the teeth of the secret dislike of all other classes ? We disbelieve it entirely, even had they the earnest sup port of the non-electors, and this they will not have. The English masses have never yet moved except under the inspiration of an idea, and what idea is to be obtained out of a £6 fran chise? The workmen will see that their represen tation is as far off as ever, their special views--and if they have no views, why represent afresh what is represented ?—being swamped in the overwhelming majority of the middle class, and no othCr non electors, except the smallest shopkeepers, will be enfranchised at all. The Reform Bill of 1832 in volved a redistribution of power, and the cry of " The Bill, the whole Bill, and nothing but the Bill I" showed that the nation felt this, but who is going to be enthusiastic for £6 instead of £lO ? A couple of dozen members perhaps like Mr. Baines himself, whose seats it will place beyond the possi bility of attack. Universal suffrage is an idea, so is household suffrage, so is the representation of workmen, but a £6 franchise ! what does that mean? Will any one constituency in England, supposing Mr. Baines's figures correct, be able if it choose to Send up a workman as its representative, or indeed do anything except return without a struggle the members whom it returns now with one? There will be no enthusiasm whatever, and without en thusiasm the secret consciousness of every con stituency that on the whole it would rather keep power, and the open consciousness of the little boroughs that the new Prrliament would execute them, will suffice to reject the bill. THE " EXAMINER " ON OUTRAGES IN RAILWAY CARRIAGES.—An engine-driver has risked his life, and the lives of all in the train, in protecting a poor girl against outrage, and a guard on the Caledonian line has miserably lost his life in the same manly endeavour. Upon the Eastern line the conduct of a man to a young female passenger excited the suspicions of the engine -driver, and he passed along by the buffers, holding on by the lamp-irons, to the compartment in whieh the two passengers were placed, when he saw enough to satisfy him of the intentions of the man and the unwillingness of the girl. The driver's appearance alarmed and stopped the ruffian for the moment, but.a•second visit which he made at the same rieks r thinking the attempt would be renewed, was only just in time to prevent the worst outrage. The fellow was taken into custody brought before an Essex bench, and fined £2O, which was paid forthwith. The scoundrelly defence was that the girl was a consenting party, a calumny which was clearly disproved by the evidence of the driver, who had seen her distress from the com mencement of the molestation. The falsehood and villany of the defence ought to have placed the ruf fian in the dock to answer the more serious charge of an assault with criminal intent, but this just course was not taken, and the fellow got off with a pay ment of £2O. We suppose the proceeding was for the breach of the company's bye-law in the moles tation of a passenger, but so bad a case should not have been dealt with under so inadequate a law, which awards only small pecuniary penalties. When the worst feature of it appeared, the false and in jurious defence, that line of proceeding should have been dropped, and a criminal prosecution substi tuted, which might have sent the fellow to jail and hard labour for some months. But it is astonishing how insensible and indifferent magistrates, and judges, too, are to the wickedness of false defences. They seem to think any defence fair, no matter how much it may aggravate the offence. For malicious prosecutions the law provides remedy and punish. meat, and why not also for malicious defence, such as that to which we are adverting. What could be more injurious to the poor girl than the base he of consent. It was calculated to ruin her character for ever, and may yet have its malignant effect, as there are people always prone to believe the worst, not withstanding the distinct and thoroughly trust worthy evidence of the engine -driver. On the Caledonian line a lady had complained to a guard of excellent character, named G. Hogg, of a man's attempts to take liberties with her, and Hogg de termined to keep a watch on the fellow. Hogg is supposed to have been walking along the top of the train to look down the lamp hole into the carriage, when, in passing under a bridge, which he had pro bably not observed, intent as he may have been on his generous errand, lie was knocked off and killed. Now one of these brave men risked, and the other lost, his life in furnishing the protection to female passengers which ought to be the business of companies. They object to the surest means of surveillance by the gangway plank along the line of carriages, that it endangers the lives of the `guards; but here we see that an engine driver could make his way along without the aid of any plank, while the poor guard was unluckily killed when walking'along the roofs of the carriages. The much talked-of danger to life from the external gangway amounts to this, that the Belgians report the loss of a man a year. But Belgians are not the most adroit of men, and it would be extraordinary indeed if our guards could not walk with safety along a plank a couple of feet wide, while our seamen can find a sure footing upon a surface not a fourth of that breadth, and gather in or spread a sail flapping with the force of half a gale of wind. This will be re marked, that all easy and practicable means of communication between passengers and guards com panies will discountenance on some plea or other; but the most preposterously absurd plans for the same object they will gravely entertain and con sider, simply because they must be rejected after a make-believe of a wish to come to a result. TIIE "LONDON REVIEW" ON TIIE ORATORICAL POWERS OF MR. GLADSTONE, MR. DISRAELI, AND MR. BRIGHT.—Mr. Gladstone possesses the copia dicendi in an eminent degree. His wealth of words is marvellous, and the unfaultering fluency with which they are poured forth. His ideas are also remarkable for clearness, order, and cohesion, and his general treatment of subjects may justly be called exhaustive. His divisions are sometimes a little too mechanical, and one cannot now hear of the regular " three courses" without a smile. A. great element of his power as an orator is his intense subjectivity. He so identifies himself with his sub ject, he so makes it, as it were, a cause to be con tended for tanquam pro aril et finis, that the depth of his convictions for the time being gives to his matter a force, and to his manner an earnestness, that never fail to make an impression. But this subjectivity is also a source of weakness when it leads him to propound what seem to him political or economical truths with a dogmatical authority that will not brook correction or dissent. He seems to convey in so defiant a manner his settled and im perturbable assurance that any one who presumes to differ from him must be wrong, and wrong with so hopeless an imbecility in error that further argu ment would be wasted upon him, that he often fails to convert to his way of thinking men whom a more persuasive and condescending style of reasoning would easily gain over. It is unnecessary to say how successful has been his management of the pub lic resources, or how frequently he has taken a Par liamentary majority almost by storm, and gained from all quarters the support of measures which had previously been regarded by many with disfavour. But, nevertheless, we do not consider his Budget speeches, as a rule, the best of his oratorical efforts ; and the " City men" who sit them out, in order to ' have the first and fullest exposition of his intended policy, generally complain of weariness at the close. They were more satisfied, on the whole, with Sir George Lewis, wretched speaker as he was ; but Mr. Goschen, whenever in the fulness of time he becomes Mr. Gladstone's Chancellor of the Exche quer, will be just the man for them. Mr. Gladstone may be . called, we think, the Tennyson of finance ; for he brings to his public expositions of it not only the powers of his reason, but also the resources of his imagination, and clothes them with a beauty of diction and richness of illustration which men de- I light to hear. Still it is not less true that a simpler treatment would generally be more effective, that subordinate parts of the subject are sometimes de veloped with too much diffuseness, and that the artist often prevails over the statesman in these elabo rate efforts. Mr. Gladsto ne ' s d e li very i s very good. i His voice, f not powerful, i s c l ear an d j u di c i ous l y modulated, his enunciation distinct, though natural and unaffected, and his gesture, though sparingly used, and not rema r k a bl y grace f u l , easy, an d ap propriate. Mr. Disraeli has few, if any, points of contact, and many of contrast, with his great an tagonist. Ilis great defect as an orator is the want of that subjectivity of which Mr. Gladstone has rather too much. That Mr. Disraeli is never in earnest, it would be unjust and absurd to think, and that there are many principles of public policy which he advocates from conviction is very pro bable. But the appearance of hesitation and effort with which he often speaks gives a disinterested and impartial auditor the impression that his words are not so much the signs of his inward ideas, as attempts, sometimes painful 2nd not quite suc cessful, to give expression to opinions that are struggling for utterance in the minds of others ; that he is speaking not exactly what he thinks, but rather what others may like to hear, or lie may wish them to believe. We have no doubt, how ever, that this hesitation is often affected, and we have remarked it at times when it seemed carefully designed to give more effect to keen invective or biting sarcasm. On comparatively rare occasions, when there is some great personal interest in that debate, or when the peculiar cuargcteristics of an opponent have led him upon some happy vein of humour, it is very pleasant to hear him. His man ner, so often languid and listless, becomes warm and animated, his face is lit up with a glow of comic enjoyment, his words come out freely and with a brisker emphasis—and the unhappy wight upon whom he is giving for the time, as it were, an anatomical demonstration, wriggles uncomfort ably in his seat, and adds, by his evident sen sibility under the operation, to the general amusement. No long ago, the Times reminded us of the confusion caused in Lord Aberdeen's Ca binet by the sort of moral psoriasis with which Lord Russell became afflicted in consequence of one of Mr. Disrael's sallies. The incident illus trates what we have just been saying, and is worth recalling. When Lord Aberdeen formed his Coalition Ministry, Lord John of course could not be left out, and yet was not able to make up his mind for the acceptance of any subordinate office. It was arranged, then, that for a time at least he should have a seat in the Cabinet without office: But a man of so active a mind, and who was besides the leader of the Lower House, was sure to have a great deal of not merely private corre spondence, and, after a while, an office was taken' for him in Lancaster-place, near Somerset House. This was an opportunity for Mr. Disraeli, who very soon took occasion to deplore most feelingly in the house the equivocal and incongruous position which a statesman of the noble lord's great eminence and services occupied in the new Administration. He really could not imagine what the noble lord's du ties were. He had heard of an office being taken for him in Lancaster-place. Perhaps the noble lord had been appointed toll-keeper of Waterloo-bridge. The house was convulsed with merriment ; but Lord John took the matter so seriously that a new distri bution. of Government offices had to be made at once, with great indifference to the convenience of the parties displaced, and the Presidency of the Council was the salve with which the wounded dig nity of the Great Unemployed was healed. In the same high rank with Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Disraeli, as a public speaker, Mr. Bright has un doubtedly a right to be placed. He does not speak nearly so often ix Parliament as either, but his style of oratory, either there or at public meetings, ab stracted from the subject matter of his speeches, is as worthy of admiration and imitation as almost any model in our language. As distinguished from Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Bright's best efforts have .more of Demosthenic power and concentration than of Cice ronian copiousness and finish. His English is pure, terse,. nervous, and masculine, clothing earnest thoughts in vigorous and telling words. He does not always or often carry the house with him, be- .. cause he too frequently shocks the strongest pre judices and most deeply-rooted convictions of the majority ; but if his hearers could divest themselves of personal antipathies, they would be forced to own that no one among them better deserves the palm of eloquence. Railway and other Companies. TEME VALLEY. This project is for a line of railway from Wor cester to Tcnbury, running up the valley of the Teme. The length is 21 miles, and it passes en tirely through an agricultural district rich in fruit, corn, and hops. The only towns which it serves are Worcester and Tenbury. At Newnham, three miles from Tcnbury, it is proposed to run into the Tenbury and Bewdley line, thence to Tenbury, or to make another line by the side of it. At Tenbury it is to unite with the short line running into the Shrewsbury and Hereford line at Woofferton. The railway route from Worcester to Tenbury at pre sent is 33 miles, via the Severn Valley and Tenbury and Bewdley lines. GRAND TRUNK OF CANADA. The traffic receipts on this company's li ne s for the week ending the 6th inst. amounted for local passengers to £5,707, for foreign passengers to £1,564, for mails, &c., £976, for local freight an d live stock to £10,433, for foreign freight and live stock to £1,886 ; total, £20,566, against £22,4 27 for the corresponding week last year, showing a de crease of £1,861. SOUTHERN AUSTRIA, LOMBARDY, AND OEN- TRAL ITALY. The traffic receipts on these lines, 1,658 miles in length, amounted for the year 1865 to £2,892,2 00, and for the year 1864, on 1,527 miles, to £2,726,1 31 7 showing an increase of 131 miles and of £166,063. PIEDMONT. The traffic receipts on these lines amounted on 649 miles for the half-year ending 31st Dec. last to £643,260; and for the same half of 1864, on 591 miles, to £649,712, showing an increase in the mile age of 55 miles, and adecrease in receipts of £6,452. PNEUMATIC DESPATCII. The report of the directors states that the tube to Holborn was completed and the engines were worked on Nov. 7th last. The directors bad hoped that the early completion of the Holborn viaduct would have enabled the tube to be carried over it to the City, but it now appeared that theplans are still unsettled. The tube from Holborn towards the City was WI/ laid as far as the corner of Hatton-garden, with th e exception of the brickwork curve out of the Holbert' station. The directors found it impossible to nego tiate the debentures of the company, except at ex orbitant rates, and the board and the contractors , having perfect confidence in the ultimate success of the undertaking, had therefore taken up debentures to the amount of £20,000, and advanced £12,0 00 on the security of the company's property. The de lay in the carrying out of the Holborn viaduct would render it necessary for the tube to be carried under the existing streets and over the Fleet sewer, which it was hoped would have been avoided by the construction of the viaduct ; and pending the con sideration and settlement of these points the direc tors had determined to test the cost and facility of working by a series of carefully recorded experi ments, which were now inprogress. COUNTRY MARKETS. LEICESTER—SATURDAY. The quantity of wheat on offer to-day was only mode rate, The demand was firm, and late rates maintained. Selected samples of barley sold readily at improved rates; common not much changed. Oats at last week's prices' For beans full prices may be written. Old white wheat, 55s to 56s ; old red, 49s to 52s ; new / white, 50s to 52s ; new red, 44s to 47s per 36 stone. Bar, ley, malting, 33s to 36s per qr. ; grinding, '27s to 29s per au stone. Oats, old, 30s to 34s ; now, 21s to 27sper 24 stone. Beans, old, 47s to 51s ; new, 42s to 46s per 38 stone. NORWICH-SATURDAY. There was a fair supply of wheat offering at this market, to-day, and the trade ruled. firm for all good qualities, al the extreme rates of last Saturday. Less barley is now offered for sale, and all descriptions met with a ready sa le on late terms. White wheat (weighing 631 b to 641 b), 50s to 54s • ro d , ditto (weighing 631 b to 651 b), 48s to bUs ; b es t malting barley (weighing 551 b to . b6lb), 34s to 36s ; runs ditto (weighing Mlb to 551 b), 28s to 30s ; distilling ditto (weig, l 4' : ing 521 b to 531 b), 25s to 27s ; oats, 24s to 26s ; beans, 8 to 39s ; peas (maple), 36s to 38s per qr ; flour, 33s to 04 per sack. Averages :—Wheat, 1,337. qrs., 44s lld ; barley, 6, 273 qrs., 32s 7d; oats, qrs., —s od. YORK-SATURDAY. The supply of wheat from the farmers was limited. Th e finest sorts of wheat met a tolerable sale at extreme rates' secondary lots unaltered. The supply of barley was fair' and prices have a tendency to advance. Oats in short supply, and unaltered in value. Beans at recent prices. New white wheat, 50s to 56s ; new red; 45s to 4 9 s P er 36 stone. Barley, for malting, 34s to 38s per qr ; grinding; 30s to 32s per 30 stone. Oats, new, 26s to 28s per 24 sten s. Beans, 40s to 42s per 40 stone. Malt, 62s to 645; * l4 30s per qr. Flour, 36s to 38s per sack of 2801 b. NOT TINGIIAN—SATunnAr. There was a rather better supply of wheat, but the re was considerable irregularity in the quality and condition of the grain. The inquiry was healthy at fully late rates. The supply of barley not large, the best sorts making small advance. Oats firm at previous rates. The shoo' ° beans was limited, and inquiry steady at full prices; Pe as lower. Old white wheat, 5Gs to GOs ; old red, 50s to 54s ; new white, 53s to 58s ; new red, 49s to 53s per 36 stone. 139 ' . ley, old malting, 32s to 40s per qr ; old grinding, 26s t° 28s ; new, -s to —s per 30 stone. Oats, old, 27s to Os ; now, 20s to 25s ; old foreign, 22s to 27s per stone. 1 30 .„. 1114 ' old, 48s to 52s ; new, 40s to 43s per 38 stone. Super Bow , 37s to 39s ; fine, 34s to 36s per 20 stone. CORK—FRIDAY. The following were the quotations this morning toted wheat,9s 2d to lOs 31 ; white, lOs 7d to lls Od ; barlen 4d to 8s ; oats, 7s 10d to 8s 3d ; black oats, 7s 7d to ,- 7 6 od bore, 6s Od to 6s 6d. DUBLIN.—FRIDAY. Market slow, but little business resulted. Home unchanged. Fair sale for barley. Foreign wheat unal tered in value. Indian corn dull. Fl our unse ttl e d ; buy"' views do not meet sellers. Oatmeal nominal. Foreign Mail Packet List MAILS DUE. Australia and New Zealand, via Southampton Feb. 10. Ditto, via Marseilles Feb. 13 * Brazil and Cape Verds, by British packet Feb. 4 * Ditto, by French packet Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena Feb. China, Penang . . and Singapore, via Southampton Feb. ?- Ditto, via Marseilles Jan. 21 ' Falkland Islands Gibraltar, via Southampton India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampton.... Feb. 2 Ditto, via Marseilles ........... ....Jan. 27 India (Bombay), via Southampton. Jan. 2 6 . Ditto, via Marseilles .. Feb. 1 . Mauritius, via Southampton Feb 13 Ditto, via Marseilles Feb. 7 • Newfoundland ... . Feb. 14. Portugal .....Feb 4. Ditto, by private ship to Li5b0n....... United States and British North America, by Bri tish packet .. .. . Jan. 31 . Ditto, by United States packet, via Southamp ton .. ........... ..... ....... Ditto, via Cork O •• • Ditto, by Canadian packet, via Londonderry. Jan. 20• West Coast of Africa. Madeira, and TenerifFo Feb. ii. West Indies and Pacific (except Bahamas, Cuba, and Mexico Jan. 29. Cuba and Mexico Jan. 29• Bahamas, via New York. Feb. 8 • Bermuda, ditto Feb. 14, Births. o f CALLOW.—On tho 26th inst., at Aldorshott, tho wife W. Callow, Esq., Royal Horse Artillery, of a son. ay TROUBRIDGE.—On the 26th inst., at 8, Q ueen ' s -gate, Troubridge, of a daughter. VERNON.—On tho 25th inst., at 42, Grosvenor-square, the Hon. Mrs. Greville Vernon, of a son. Marriages. Xll, CLARK—DANIELS.—On the 25th inst., at St. Paul's, ge n— p a r Yorkshire, Edward E. Clark, Esq., of Cowick, Su with, Yorkshire, t o Ell en , thi r d d aug ht er of the ' a James Daniels, Esq., solicitor, of Witham, Essex. PALLETT—COS.—On the 24th inst., at St. George's,..A 3 o , over-square, Mr. G. Pallctt, of Berner's-street, to os second daughter of Benjamin Cox, Esq., of rral street, Hanover-square. • Deaths. BLARISTON.—On board H.M.S. Isis, off Sierra Leone, C°lll - Peyton Blackiston, RN., aged 34. BOTLER.—On the 24th inst., a t L an d oug h Castle , t a .. - morgan, Lieut.-Colonel Robert Boteler, late Roya l gineers, aged 65. TAYLEIIR.—On the 25th inst., at Brynyffynon, near It tithint Denbighshire, Henry Tayleur, Esq., aged 53. N on. WEBB.—On the 22d inst., at Pau, France, Adraf' Webb, aged 70. WOOLLEY.—On the 25th inst., at his house, Ashby ' Islington, Henry Woolley, Esq., aged 65. ---- %vs London : Printed and P u bli s h e d by WM . LTA 141 AN 9 e, 1% of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at TM; SUN °fill ° . Strand, in the Preehtet of the Savoy. in the i tsut laiddleses.—Monday, January 20, 1866.