The Sun. — London, England, 1852-12-21 00:00:00

eat ed, become a subject of serious embarrassment to the a change of policy, and that it is consequently our duty to Government. It is hoped, however, that a timely and just mingle in these contests, and aid those who are struggling provision by Texas may avert this evil. for liberty. "No appropriations for fortifications were made at the "This is a most seductive but dangerous appeal to the twe last sessions of Congress. The cause of this omission generous sympathies of freemen. Enjoying, as we do, the is probably to be found in s rowing belief that the system blessings of a free Government, there is no man who has of fortifications adopt e d in 16 1 6, and heretofore acted on, an American heart who would not rejoice to see these bles requires revision. sings extended to all other nations. We cannot witness the " The subject certainly deserves full and careful investi- struggle between the oppressed and his oppressor anywhere gAtion ; but it should not be delayed longer than can be without the deepest sympathy for the former and the most avoided. In the meantime, there are certain works which anxious desire for his triumph. Nevertheless, is it prudent have been commenced--some of them nearly completed.-- or is it wise to involve ourselves in these foreign wars? Is designed to protect our principal seaports, from Boston to it, indeed, true that we have heretofore refrained from New Orleans, and a few other important points. In re- doing so merely from the degrading motive of a conscious gent to the necessity for these works, it is believed that weakness ? For the honour of the patriots who have gone little difference of opinion exists among military men. I, before us, I cannot admit it. Men of the Revolution, who therefore, recommend that the appropriations necessary to drew the sword against the oppressions of the mother prosecute them to be made. country, and pledged to Heaven 'their lives, their fortunes, "I invite your attention to the remarks on this subject, an d their sacred honour' to maintain their freedom, could and on others connected with this department, contained in' never have been actuated by so unworthy a motive. They the accompanying report of the Secretary -at-War. knew no weakness or fear where right or duty pointed their " Measures have been taken to carry into effect the law way, and it is a libel on their fair fame for us, while we of the last session making provisions for the improvement enjoy the blessings for which they so nobly fought and bled, of certain rivers and harbours, and it is believed that the to insinuate it. The truth is, that the course which they arrangements made for that purpose will combine efficiency pursued was dictated by a stern sense of international jus with economy. Owing chiefly to the advanced season when tice, by a statemanlike prudence and a farseeing wis the act was passed, little has yet been done in regard to dom, looking not merely to the present necessities, but to many o the works, beyond making the necessary prepare- the permanent safety and interest of the country. They tions. With respect to a few of the improvements, the knew that the world is governed less by sympathy than sums already appropriated will suffice to complete them ; by reason and force ; that it was not possible for this na but most of them will require additional appropriations. tion to become a `propagandist' of free principles without I trust that those appropriations will be made, and that arraying against it the combined Powers o f E uro p e ; and. - Ws wise and b ene fi cent policy, so auspiciously resumed, that the result was more likely to be the overthrow of re will be continued. Great care should be taken, however, publican liberty here than its establishment there. History to commence no work which is not of sufficient importance has been written in vain for those who can doubt this. to the commerce of the country to be viewed as national in France had no sooner established a republican form of Go its character. But works which have been commenced vernment than she manifested a desire to force its blessings should not be discontinued until completed, as otherwise on all the world. Her own historian informs us that, the sums expended will in mast cases be lost. hearing of some petty acts of Parliament in a neighbouring "The report from the Navy Department will inform you principality ' The National Convention declared that she of the prosperous condition of the branch of the public would afford a succour and fraternity to all nations who service committed to its charge. It presents to your con- wished to recover their liberty ; and she gave it in charge sideration many topics and suggestions of which I ask your to the Executive power to give orders to the Generals of approval. It exhibits an unusual degree of activity in the the French armies to aid all citizens who might have been operations of the department during the past year. The or should be oppressed in the cause of liberty' Here was preparations for the Japan expedition, to which I have the false step which led her to subsequent misfortunes. already alluded; the arrangements made for the explore- She soon found herself involved in war with all the rest of tion and survey of the Chi nese seas, th e Northern Pacific, Europe. In less than ten years her Government was and Behring's Straits; the incipient measures taken to- changed from a republic to an empire : and finally, after wards a reconnoissance of the continent of Africa, east- shedding rivers of blood, foreign Powers restored her exiled ward of Liberia; the preparation for an Isarly examination dynasty, and exhausted Europe sought peace and repose of the tributories of the River La Plata, which a recent in the unquestioned ascendancy of monarchical principles. decree of the provisional chief of the Argentine Confedera- Let us learn wisdom from her example. Let us re tion has opened to navigation;—all these enterprises ' and member that revolutions do not always establish freedom. the means by whi c h th e y are p ropose d t o b e accomp lished, Our own free institutions were not the offspring of our have commanded nay full approbation, and I have no Revolution. They existed before. They were planted doubt will be productive of most useful results. in the free charters of self-government under which the "Two officers of the navy were heretofore instructed to English colonies grew up, and our Revolution only freed explore the whole extent of the Amazon river, from the us from the dominion of a foreign Power, whose Govern confines of Peru to its month. The return of one of them has placed in the possession of the Gover nmen t an interest- merit was at variance with those institutions. But Euro pean nations have had no such training for self-government, ing and valuable account of the character and resources of a country abounding i n th e ma t er i a l s o f commerce, and and every effort to establish it by bloody revolutions h as been, and must, without that preparation, continue to be which, if opened to the industy of the world, will prove an a failure. Liberty, unregulated by law, degenerates into inexhaustible fund of wealth. The report of this explora- anarchy, which soon becomes the most horrid of all despot tion will be communicated to you as soon as it is corn- isms. Our policy is wisely to govern ourselves, and there pleted. by to set such an example of national justice, prosperity, "Among other subjects offered to your notice by the and true glory, as shall teach to all nations the blessings of Secretary of the Navy, I select for special commendation, self-government, and the unparalleled enterprise and sue in view of its connexion with the interests of the navy, the cess of a free people. plan submitted by him for the establishment of a perma- "We live in an age of progress, and ours is emphatically nent corps of seamen, and the suggestions he has presented a country of progress. Within the last half century the for the reorganisation of the Naval Academy. number of States in this Union has nearly doubled, the "In reference to the first of these, I take occasion to say population has almost quadrupled, and our boundaries that I think it w ill grea tl y i mprove the efficiency of the ve been extended from the Mississippi to the Pacific. service, and that Iregard it as still more entitled to favour O ur territory is chequered over with railroads, and fur for the salutary influence it must exert upon the naval rowed with canals. The inventive talent of our country discipline, now greatly disturbed by the increasing spirit is excited to the highest pitch, and the numerous appli of insubordination, resulting from our present system. cations for patents for valuable improvements distinguish The plan proposed for the organisation of the seamen this age and this people from all others. The genius of furnishes a judicious substitute for the law of September, one American has enabled our commerce to move against 1859, abolishing corporeal punishment, and satisfactorily wind and tide, and that of another has annihilated dis sustains the policy of that act, under conditions well tame in the transmission of intelligence. The whole coun oradaptedand to maintain the authority o It fa s believed t command, and the try is full of enterprise. Our common schools are diffusing der of our ships. hat any intelligence among the people, and our industry is fast ac change which proposes permanently to dispense with this cumulating the comforts and luxuries of life. This is in mode of punishment should be preceded by a system of part owing to our peculiar position, to our fertile soil, and enlistment which shall supply the navy with seamen of the most meritorious class, whose good deportment and owing tothe-pollim. cmparativelv population ; but much of it is also p sparse institutions Pe under which we live, to pride of character may preclude all occasion for a resort to penalties of a harsh or degrading nature. The safety of a the freedom which - every man feels to engage in any useful ship and her crew is often dependent upon immediate pursuit, according to his taste or inclination, and to the entire confidence that his person and property will be obedience to a command, and the authority to enforce it protected by the laws. But whatever may be the cause of must be equally ready. The arrest of a refractory seaman, this unparalleled growth in population, intelligence, and in such moments, not only deprives the ship of indispens- wealth, one thing is clear—that the Government must able aid, but imposes a necessity for double service on others whose fidelity to their duties may be relied upon in keep pace with the . progress of . the people. It must parti such an emergency. The exposure to this increased and cipate in their spirit of enterprise, and while it exacts be dience to the laws and restrains all unauthoised invasions arduous labour, sin ce th e passage o f t h e act of 1850, has already had, to a most ob serva bl e an d i n j ur i ous extent, the of the rights o f neighbouring States, it should foster and effect of preventi ng th e en li s t ment of the best seamen in protect home industry, and lend its powerful strengthto the improvement of such means of intercommunication as the navy. Th e pl an now suggested is designed to promote a condition of serv i ce i n wh i ch this objection will no are necessary to promote our internal commerce, and longer exi s t. Th e d e t a il s of this plan may be established strengthen the ties which bind us together as a people. " It is not strange, however much it may be regretted, in great part, if not altogether, by the Executive, under authority of existi ng l aw ; b u t I h ave thought it proper that such an exub eran ce of ente r p r i se s h ou ld cause some in accordanc e w ith th e suggest i on of the Secretary of the Navy, to submit it t o your approval. individuals to mistake change for progress, and the inva sion of the rights of o th ers f or na ti ona l p rowess an d g l ory. " The enlistment of a corps of apprentices for the navy, The former are constantly agitating for some change in the orga or rging new and untried theories of human or boy s t o b e en li sted until they become of age, and to be tsni c law, . Th? lat u ter are ever ready to engage in any wild employed und er suc h regulat i ons as the Navy Department righ may devise, as proposed in the report, I cordially approve crusade against a neighbouring people, regardless of the and com men d t o your consideration ; and I also concur in j us ti ce o f th e enterprise, and without looking at the fatal the suggestion that this system for the early training of conse q uences to o urselves and to the cause of popular seamen may be most usefully engrafted upon the service government. Such expeditions, however, are often stimu our merchant m ar i ne . plimder or profit o f th e en t e rprise without exposing them ' The other p ro p os iti on o f the report to which I have referred —the reorganisation of the Naval Academy —I re- selves to danger, and are led on by some irresponsible foreigner, who abuses the hospitality of our own commend to your attention as a project worthy of your ment by seducing the young and ignorant to join in his Govern encouragement and support. The valuable services already scheme of personal ambon or revenge, under the false rendered by this institution entitle it to the continuance of your fostering care, and delusive pretence of extending the area of freedom. Your attenti on i s respect f ully called to the report of' These reprehensible a ggress i on s b u t re t ar d th e t rue progress " the Postma s t er -G enera l for the detailed operations of his of our nation a nd t arn i s h it s f a i r f ame . Th ey s h ou ld , department d ur i ng th e l ast f i scal year, from which it will therefore, recei ve th e i n di gnan t f rown o f every good be seen that th e rece i pts from portages for that time were citizen who sincerely lov es hi s coun t r y an d t a k es a pr id e less by $1,431,696 than for the preceding fiscal year, being in its sperity and honour. Our pro Constitution, though not perfect, is doubtless the a decrease of about 23 per cent. " This diminution i s a tt r ib u t a bl e t o th e reduction in the best that ev er was f orme d. Th ere f ore, l e t every proposi tion to change it be we ll we i g h e d, and, if found beneficial, rates of postage made by th e ac t o f M arc h 3 , 1851, which cautiously adopted. E ver y pa t r i o t w ill rejoice to see its reduction took e ff ec t a t th e commencement of the last fiscal year. authority so exerted as to advance the prosperity and " Although, i n it s operation during the last year, th e ac t honour of the na ti on , w hil e h e w ill wa t c h w ith j ea l ousy referred t o h as no t fulfilled the predictions of it s f r i en d s b y any attempt to m u til a t e thi s c h ar t er o f our lib er ti es, or i pervert its powers to ac t s o f aggress i on or i n j us ti ce. Th us to ncreasing the c o r respon d ence o f th e country in proportion the red uc tiO n o f postage, I s h ould nevertheless question shall Conserv a ti sm an d progress bl en d th e i r h armon i ous the policy o f re t urn i ng to higher rates. Experience action in pre serv i ng th e f orm an d spirit of the Constitu rants the expectati on th a t , as t h e community becomes ac- tion, and, at th e same ti me, carry f orwar d th e grea t im customed to cheap p os t age , correspon d ence will increase. movements o f th e coun t ry w ith a rap idit y an d energy It is believed that from this cause, and from the r a pid which freem en on ly can di sp l ay. growth of the c oun t ry i n population and business, the re- " In closing this, my l as t annua l commun i ca ti on, perm it ceipts of the department must ultimately exceed its ex- me, fellow-citizens, to congratulate you on the prosperous penses, and th a t th e coun t ry may sa f e l y rely upon the con- condition of our bel ove d coun t r y. Ab roa d it s re l a ti ons w ith tinnance of the p resen t c h eap ra t e o f postage. all foreign Powers are friendly, its rights are respected, and _ "In former messages, I have, among other things, re- it; high place in the family of nations cheerfully recog sPectfully recommended to the consideration of Congress nised. At home we enjoy an amount of happiness, public the propriety and necessity of further legislation for the and private, which has probably never fallen to the lot of Prote c ti on an d punishment of foreign consuls residing in any other people. Besides affording to our own citizens the United Stat es •t o revive, with certain modifications, a degree of prosperity of which, on so large a scale, I know the act o f th e 10th of March, 1838, to restrain unlawful of no other instance, our country is annually affording a military expeditions against the inhabitants of center- refuge and a home to multitudes, altogether without ex niinous states or territories ; for the reservation and pro - ample, from the Old World. tection f rom mut i lation or theft of p the papers, records, "We owe these blessings, under Heaven, to the happy and archi ves o f th e nation ; for authorising the su r pl us Constitution and Government which were bequeathed to revenue to be applied to the payment of the publi c d e bt i n us by our fathers, and which it is our sacred duty to trans advance o f the time it will become due ; for the establish- mit in all their integrity to our children. We must all silent of land offices for the s a l e o f public lands in California consider it a great distinction and privilege to have been and the territory of Oregon ; for the construction of a road chosen by the people to bear a part in the administration from the Mississippi valley to the Pacific Ocean • for the of such a Government. Called by an unexpected dispense establishment of a bureau of agriculture for the promotion tion to its highest trust, at a season of embarrassment and of that interest, p er h aps the most important in the coun- alarm, I entered upon its arduous duties with extreme fry ; for the prevention of frauds upon the Government in diffidence. I claim only to have discharged them to the applications for pensions and bounty lands; for the esta- best of an humble ability, with a single eye to the public blishment of a uniform fee bill, prescribing a specifi c corn- good ; and it is with devout gratitude, in retiring from pensation for every service required of clerks, district at- office, that I leave the country in a state of peace and pro. torneys, and marshals ; for authorising an additional regi- eperity, went of mounted men, for the defence of our frontiers against the Indians, and for fulfilling our treaty stipula tion with Mexico to defend her citizens against the Indians ' with equal diligence and energy as our own;' for deter mining the relative rank between the naval and civil officers in our public ships, and between the officers of the army and navy in the various grades of each ; for reorgan ising the naval establishment, by fixing the number of olicers in each grade, and providing for a retired list upon reduced pay of those unfit for active duty ; for the appoint ment of a commission to revise the public statutes of the United States, by arranging them in order, supplying de ficiencies, correcting incongruities, simplifying their lan guage, and reporting them to Congress for its final action ; and for the establishment of a commission to adjudicate and settle private claims against the 'United States. lam not aware, however, that any of these subjects have been finally acted upon by Congress. Without repeating the reasons for legislation on these subjects which have been assigned in former messages, I respectfully recommend them again to your favourable consideration. " I think it due to the several executive departments of this Government to bear testimony to the efficiency and integrity with which they are 'conducted. With all the careful superintendence which it is possible for the heads of these departments to exercise, still, the due administra tio n and guardianship of the public money must very much ' depend on the vigilance, intelligence, and fidelity of the ' nborclinate officers and clerks, and especially on those int rusted - with the settlement and adjustment of olaims and accounts. lam gratified to believe that they have generally performed their duties faithfully and well. They are %Tinted to guard the approaches to the public treasury, tatietnheY an positions that expose them to all the temp _ , .8 and seductions which the cupidity of speculators ;T i , landulent claimants can prompt them to employ. It " 1 Ele but a wise precaution to protect the Government caaganinbesidtobnat source of mischief and corruption, as far as it The lave s by the enactment of all proper legal penalties, therefore Bethis respect are supposed to be defective, and I ject, and t ( , 7 1 it my duty to call your attention to the sub- 1 the puni s h e e°Tronend that provision be made by law for t at but also o f th es eno t only of tho se w h o s h a ll accept bribes, give, to any of t lho shall eith er prom i se, g i ve, or offer to touching or relatin"e offi cers or c l er k s a b ribe or reward duty. g to any matter of their official action or 4 It has been the i it a f inekteeent its foundation to th, riu Policy of this Government, from day, to abstain from all in terference in the doerthalffairs of other nations. The consequence has be en h have been engaged in des s e at i w n ile the n a ti ons o f E urope ;zed prosperity and hap sued its peaceful course t o • miez jars, our country has pur piness. The wars in which we iel(seen compelled to en tinoonur of the country, gage, in defence of the rights aria en have been fortunately of short succeeded the rifle contest of nation against nation whi t o uring the ter ch l French Revolution, we were enabled la ide firmness of President Washingto n toa'atillet wisdom an d . trality. Whil e , other nations were draw,altiat:': t ohisur wneu sweeping whirlpool we sat quiet and unmoved Illaou our own shores. While the flower of their nam e? , us was Wasted by disease or perished by hundreds of thermos upon the battl e -fi e ld, th e you th o f this favoured lane were permitted to e; tjoy the blessings of peace beneath the p a t er Lal roof. 'Wh ile the States of Europe incurred enormous dc!)ts, nndor ague burden of which their subjects still gr oan, and whi c h rnwt absorb n o sma ll part of the product o f t he honest induitt of those countries for generations to come, i'. o TTnifed States have once been enabled to exhibit the proud Spectacle of a nation free from public debt ; and if rmitted t o 1. tiger in p es ce, we may pursue our pro s p erous wa y for a few year s But it ca flew said by do the same again. some that this policy must be changed. Enten t e is no longer separated from us by a voyage of monts, but steam navigation has brought her within a few' Aye sail of our shores. We see more of her movements, anti take a deeper interest in her controversies. Although no - o - ise proposes that we should join the frater ,st of potent who have for ages lavished the blood and . Ili '•"" lir ture of tkeir subjectsin maintaining 'the balance of rejlaig s i; yet itjs said that we ought to interfere between .. „ ~Po:olilai -, Vereigns and their subjects for the purpose of ope, and establishing in : s. t • rOicvl !i 0 monarchies of En s .. .. 1 ... ..:,.. . , j . , bluer' institutions, It is alleged that we . p / 1 .14 , 4 _ ~ tt... _itie. ; pursued a different course from sense of •#. e' - • •"` - f. 7 7 but that now our conscious strength a dictates X a. s " MILLARD FILLMORE, Washington, Dec. 6." SUPERANNUATED APPOINTMENTS Sir Fleetwood Pellew, in a green old age, has been appointed to the command of the naval forces acting in the Burmese waters, or rather in the Burmese mud. He has taken the place of Admiral Austen, an officer who was also so advanced in life when he assumed the com mand, that he rapidly sank before the combined influ ences of a pestilential climate and a responsibility of the most anxious kind. It is not a little difficult to discover what kind of principle presides over such appointments, unless it be the object of her Majesty's advisers at the Admiralty to kill off our aged sea-officers with the utmost possible dispatch. Something, indeed, we might venture to urge, as far as the interests of the public are concern ed, against this method of clearing up the navy lists. It is unreasonable to expect great energy from great age. How can it be supposed that a man who has not been afloat for the last thirty or forty years can have the nerve, the decision, the tact requisite for naval command, and that at a period when the fleet under his orders is engaged in active hostilities ? The censure should not be directed against the old men who are transferred from their easy chairs to the quarter-deck of a first-rate, but against the Government which can be so reckless of the public interests as to sanction such appointments. In the present case of Sir Fleetwood Pellew, we find, on referring to the navy records, that he has not been afloat for the last thirty-four years, and has, of course, had no experience of the management and manoeuvres of ships propelled by steam. The practice at present is—and no doubt it is a very proper one—to require of any sea officer who would take the command of a steam-ship that he should go through a regular course of steam-navigation. Now, it is far from our in tention to recommend that all our old Admirals should be sent to school again at the age of threescore, or thereabouts, but it is scarcely too much to ask that they should have seen a steam squadron afloat before they assume the vast responsibility of corn manding such a force in the face of an enemy. With regard to Sir Fleetwood -Pellew—the son of a gallant father—it is far from our intention to say a word which should painfully affect his feelings or the feelings of his friends. He entered the navy more than fifty years ago, and at the beginning of the century he appears to have distinguished himself. He was ga zetted in the years 1806-7-11. We said that his last 1818, must be ref erre d t o a per i o d l ong appointment, whi c h was t o the antecedentßevolutionnaire.in to the introduction of steam - in the Royal Navy. In poitit of fact, we should be justified in speaking of his last service as performed in the year 1813, when, in company with some other ships, he succeeded in cap turing a hostile convoy off Port D'Anzo. After this date came four years on shore, and then four years of summer sailing in the Mediterranean. We leave it to the public judgment whether or no, upon such a state ment as this, Sir Fleetwood Pellew is a proper person to he placed in command of the steam-squadron now lying fast in the mud of the Irrawaddy. A younger and more active colleague might, indeed, have puzzled the officer now in command of the land forces on that station— perhaps that is the motive of the appointment.—Tinzes. TIM WEATHER IN THE ATLANTIC. —The Hermann mail-packet, which reached Cowes on Snnday, from New experienced the most tempestuous weather ever known, o during the last three days of her voyage. Captain was obliged to heave her to at oHnieggtiin;iltse, f h e e r r lTh m o rn urs an : ler Th'e sea washed the stern boat to. atoms. The tempest experienced by the Hermann was also felt by the Orinoc . o on thedlh6etrhList.• although at th e ti me beat Orinoco NM lig an slaty feet hi g h , the sea over her stern, while_her bOWNPrit TM under water. THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 21, 1852 CHRISTMAS, GRAVESEND STAR PACKETS will Leave the BRUNSWICK WHARF, Blickwall, on the arrival of the following Trains front the Fenchurch-street Te rminus :—at 11, 23i; Terrace Pier, Gravesend, at 834, 1134, 134. N.B.—A PACKET will Leave the TERRACE PIER on CHRISTMAS-EVE, at FIVE P.M. ~,,I. No other Packets call at the Grays, Greenhithe, or Parfleet Piers. Star-office, Gravesend, December 21, 1852. DELL'S LIFE IN LONDON will be Published ALP on FRIDAY, in consequence of Christmas-day falling en Saturday. Advertisements cannot be taken after Eight o'clock on Tharsday Night. Office, 170, Strand. South Australian Copper Mining Co mpany, 17, Gracechurch-s reet. SOUTH AUSTRALIAN COPPER MINING - COMPANY. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that the Committee of Manage ment, appointed at an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Share holders on the gth inst., have Resolved as follows : Ist. That au Shares in the Company be duly Reg:stered In the cost-book of the Company. 2d. That notice of the same be given, by public advertisement, requiring the ahares to be sent into the office of the Company for registration accordingly. att. That a pro rata allotment of the unappropriated shares in the Company be made at par in respect of every Share so sent in for registration as aforesaid, on or before Tuesday, the 18th day of January, 1853, but that all Shares not sent in for registry ion as afore , aid on or before the said 18th day of January, be ab olutely excluded from all benefit of such allotment. Notice is therefore Given, that ail '-hareholders are requested to send io their Shares for registration accordingly. The Committee of Management beg to intimate to the Shareholders, that those only who are registered will be entitled to the bonus arising from the preminms realised on the Shares &ready sold, which under the au thority of a Meeting of the Shareholders, might be divided among them. Dated this 21st day of December, 1852. 17, Gracechnrch Stree:, London. By order of the Committee of Management, J. THOMPSON, Chairman. SAML. H. A.RM ITAGE, Purser. TO the SHAREHOLDERS of the AVE MA RIA GOLD QUARTZ MINING COMPANY.—On the 20th September last the Directors advertised that the Reports upon the progress made at the Ave Maria Mine were at the offices for the inspection of the Shareholders, in which it was stated, " that notwith standing many difficulties, the Company had obtained possession of the sett purchased on Colonel Fremont's Mariposa property." These reports were highly favourable, and the Directors placed the fullest confidence in them but, although satisfactory, the Direc tors felt great anxiety as to Colonel Fremont's title to the Mariposa property, a , ,d this claim being at the same time strongly contested they were induced to consider the most prudent means of protecting the interests of the Shareholders, and decided on procuring, if possi ble, a mine in operation, o indisputable title, the auriferous value of which had been already profitably tested. At this juncture, the Di- rectors bad offered to them an extremely rich Gold Mine (unequalled, they believe), situated in the Nevada district, and they entered into a conditional arrangement to secure an interest in this valuable property. They dispatched to California without loss of time (in the month of April last) Mr. IL C. Duke, their late Secretary, in whose prudence and integrity they had the greatest confidence, giving him instructions to obtain a faithful report of the Mine through the most searching scrutiny of the Company's Mining Captain, Mr. W. E. Gill, and several other competent miners, whose full and able reports are here appended, as received November last, fully proving the great richness of the Mine. By the same mail which brought the important dispatch, the Directors received less encouraging accounts of the Ave Maria Mine from their agent and superintendent, dated Mariposa, 27th August, stating that the veins alluded to in their previous reports proved not to be sufficiently auriferous to war rant the powerful machinery sent out per " Lyme Regis" and "Ellen Simpson," in July last, being put upon the location. Although the Directors have still reason to believe the sett con tains valuable auriferous veins, the works have been suspended in order to concentrate all their powerful machinery, without delay, on the Company's new and valuable property; and thus they trust the temporary delay will turn to the ultimate advantage of the Share holders, and that large profits will be made by immediately placing their heavy machinery at work on the new mine, which has during two years been worked by manual labour only, and has produced immense returns : the decomposed quartz being of the richest quality known in California. Under the arranzements made, the Company become entitled to work one thousand five hundred feet, to be approved by the Com pany's agent, of the New York Mine, of which one-fourth of the profits arising from the manual labour, from and after the 7th December instant, is reserved to this Company. The Directors do not deem it necessary to dwell upon the great value of the Mine, referring the Shareholders to the able and scientific reports annexed, and drawing their attention to the fact of the Mine being freehold, in quiet possession, water carriage to Marysville, and a good carriage road thence to the Mine, a distance of thirty-five miles, and to the advantage of the miners being now in California, in readiness to be placed on the Mine without delay. The Directors have further to inform the shareholders that, since the conclusion of the negotiation, arrangements have been made, by which the privilege of importing such quartz as that alluded to in tee report of Messrs CLAY and GILLMAN, h+s been secured, and a ship, now in California, has been chartered to bring to this coun try a cargo, at a low rate. The Company has also the privilege of sending out any additional machinery to be worked upon the Mine. The New York Mice is situated upon " Poor Man's Creek," Xe. vada, extending over 6,200 feet, exclusive of the dips and angles, through the whole of which veins of highly auriferous quartz have been traced, proving the supply to be inexhaustible, in confirmation of which the Directors annex copies of the reports of Mr. W. E. Gill, Mining Engineer of this Company, Mr. Carrington, (a gentle. man employed by the Carson Creek Company, to report upon their property,) and Mr. C. Duke, and Mr. Andrew Smith. By order. C. KELLY, Secretary, 124, Elshopsgate-street, London, 15th December, 1852. THEATRE ROYAL, HAYMARKET. Farewell Season or Mr. Benjamin Webster as Lessee and Manager, THIS EVENING Will be performed the popular and highly attractive Comedy of MASKS AgD FACES; or, Before and Behind the Curtain—by Messrs. Benjamin Webster, Leigh Murray, Stuart, and Parselle; Mrs. Stirling, Mlss Rosa Bennett, Mrs. Leigh Murray, and Miss Fanny Maskell. To conclude with the Farce of A CAPITAL MATCH. THEATRE ROYAL ADELPHL Open for the Season. Proprietor, Mr. B. Webster. —Directress, Madame Celeste. Last Night but Two before Christmas. THIS EVENING, The successful new Drama of SLAVE LIFE ; or, Uncle Tom's Cabin—by Messrs. Alfred Wigan, Emery, 0. Smith, and Cullenford ; iiadame Celeste, Miss Woolgar, Miss Collins, Miss Harding, Miss Laura Honey, and Mrs. Keeley. After which, the admired Farce of A MODEL OF A WIFE. To conclude with the Comic o,iera of GOOD NIGHT, SIGNOR TANTA LON. ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE, OXFORD-STREET. Under the Management of Mr. C. Kean. THIS EVENING Will be performed the new and original Play, in live acts, by West land Marston, Esq., entitled ANNE BLAKE. Principal characters by Mews. C. Kean, W. Lacy, and Addison ; Mrs. Winstanley, Mrs. Daly, and Mrs. C. Kean. 'Io be followed by THE CORSICAN BROTHERS. Principal character by Mr. C. Kean. To conclude with A ROLAND FOR AN OLIVER. Principal characters by Mem,. Lacy, Meadows, Add son, and Everett; Misses J. Marston, Vivash, and Leclercq. ROYAL OLYMPIC THEATRE. Lessee and Manager, Mr. Farren. THIS EVENING Will be presented ARELARD AND HELOISE. Abelard, Mr W. Farrell, Jun. ; Maximilian, Mr. Compton ; Heloise, Miss 11. Gordon: Jocette, Mrs. A. Phillips. Alter which, GO TO BEI), TOM. Thomas Gotobed Smith, Mr. Compton. To conclude with UNCLE TOM'S CABIN. Uncle Tom, Mr. G. Cook ; George Harris, Mr. W. Farren, jun.; Eliza, Miss Gordon. Box-office open from Eleven till Five, under the superintendence of Mr. Edward Chatterton. ASTLEY'S ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE. Proprietor and Manager, Mr. W. Batty, The greatest novelty of the season is Uncle Tom's Cabin. In consequence of the crowds unabla to obtain admission nightly, the Grand Spectacle of Uncle Tom's Cabin will be repeated till further notice. On TUESDAY, Dec. 21, and following Three Nights, the Enter tainments will commence with the highly popular Dratnatic Spec tacle of UNCLE TOM'S CABIN. To be followed by new s"enes in the Circle by Native and Foreign Artistes of the first celebrity. To conclude with, for the Last Fo l tz Nights, THE DEVIL TO PAY. noon] open at Half-past Six o'clock. Commence at Seven. Stalls, 58 ; Dress Boxes, 4s. ; Upper Boxes, 35.; Pit, 2s. ; Lower Gallery, Is; Upper Gallery, 6d. Half Price at Half-past Eight. .tos-ornee open daily from Eleven to Four. Stage Manager, Mr. W. West. NOTICE. --A. New Grand Equestrian CHRISTMAS COMIC PANTOMIME, by Nelson Lee, will be produced with great splen dour on MONDAY, December 27, Boxing Night. HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. 'lns DAY —Morning 7 min. after 10 I Evening 38 rain.aft. 10 ~- MORROW—Morning 8 rain. after 11 Evening 37 mi4.aft. 11 THE WEATHER.--SIIN OFFICE, Dec. 21. THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE. 54—highest since noon yesterday. 39—lowest this morning and during the night. 47—this day, at noon. BAROMETER, 30 . 14. WIND, W. by S., fine breeze, and sunshiny weather. We noticed on Saturday the extraordinary rise in the barometer in London. The following was the rise in Preston, from a memorandum copied from the register kept at the Scientific institution in that town "Atmospheric pressure at noon, Friday, Dec. 17 " Atmospheric pressure at noon, Satur day, Dec. 18 'lncrease of pressure In 24 hours DAILY 'WEATHER TABLE. TUESDAY, DEC. 21, 1852. State of the wind and weather at each of the following places at nine o'clock yesterday morning. The stations are arranged in order of latitude. HASTINGS--S.S.T W., fresh breeze—partially cloudy. FOLKESTONE—S.' ff., fresh breeze—overcast. `-; TUNBRIDGE—S. 1X T. , gentle breeze—cloudless. BASINGSTOKE-1 T.W., strong breeze—scud—rain.' GREENWICH—S. -I ff., hard wind—partially. cloudy. STROOD—S.W., s trong breeze—partially cloudy. SWINDON—W., strong breeze—cloudy. LEIGHToN—V, strong breeze—overcast. YARMOUTH —W., gentle fteeze—partially cloudy. The returns from the foil owing places indicate the state of the weather on Saturds. y morning at nine o'clock : LEIGHTON—N., calm— -partially cloudy. HOLYHEAD—E. gentle , breeze—frosty. artirti LANCASTER-li., cab a—cloudless. WHITBY—N., hard 'a And—principally clear. l DARLINGTON—W.7g .w., gentle breeze—cloudless, frost SNAP—N., calm— .overcast. tf. , 1,1" _ l / 4 4r . •y 4 m il i : dr ment. Everything considered, the eulogiums pronounced by the " coining men" upon the most prominent, if not the most gifted of their antago nists, bore the aspect at least of magnanimity. Referring to the EX-CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, Lord Jonor RUSSELL observed :—" I can only say for myself, I admire the ability and talent the Right Hon. Gentleman displayed on the part of the Government, and on behalf of their cause, and the struggle in which he has been for some time engaged ;" while Sir JAMES GRAHAM remarked— " I have never failed to admire the talents of the Right Hon. Gentleman, and the signal ability with which, under great difficulties, he has conducted the course of Government in this House." In a somewhat kindred spirit Mr. HUME spoke of the facilities afforded by the late Cabinet in the way of supplyingwhateverinformation had been desired, adding, upon his own experience—" I have met with civility in every department." Naturally enough the expressions which fell from the lips of Mr. CAYLEY were rather more fervent than those of the preceding panegyrists. Speaking of the late Leader of the House of Commons, he declared that " He entered the Cabinet with a high reputation, and he goes out of office with that reputation not only untarnished, but in creased greatly in the estimation of his country men"—an opinion which must have fallen grate fully upon the ears of the Right Hon. Gentleman the ex- CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, coming as it did from one who, in his personal capacity scarcely less than in his position as the Member for the North Riding of Yorkshire, is universally recognised as one of the most important re presentatives in the interests of the agricul turists. Meanwhile, the Noble Earl the Leader of the defeated M:nistfy was pronouncing in the House of Lords his authoritative eulo gium upon the Administrators who had avowed official allegiance to him from February to December as the chieftain of the Tory-Reforming Government. Nothing—and we say this as the dispassionate sympathisers with Liberalism—no thing could have been more worthy of the orator, or more satisfactory to the subjects of his very ear nest encomiums than the reference made, in the course of that remarkable speech, to the eminent and peculiar merits of several of the more import ant members of the late Administration. It was a speech, constituting not so much a direct com mendation of his more noteable colleagues indivi dually, as an indirect, and, to a great extent, a singularly successful vindication of the past acts and general policy of the departed Government. Especially and peculiarly may this be said in allu sion to the remarks made by the EX-PREMIER upon the conduct of the ex-Foreign Secretary—the Earl of MALMESBURY. " Our foreign relations," said the Noble Earl, " are on a far more friendly and satisfactory footing than they were when my Noble Friend near . me, the Foreign Secretary, assumed his office ; and I rejoice at havink this opportunity of bearing my testimony to the merits of one than whom no one has been more unspar ingly and more unjustly maligned than my Noble Friend, and to state that, from first to last, I have had no cause for anything but self-congratulation in having obtained the services of one who, with out previous political experience, has brought to bear diligence, ability, and good judgment upon affairs of great difficulty, which have reflected the very highest credit upon himself, and which, I may say without fear of contradiction, have ex torted the applause and admiration of old and experienced diplomatists, against whose views and wishes he more than once combated." A splen did, and, in several particulars, eminently well deserved panegyric upon the energy, the activity, the patriotism, the tact, and the determination displayed by Lord MALMESBURY upon more than one occasion, and that, too, sometimes under very trying and momentous cir cumstances ! Turning from the Foreign-office to the Court of Chancery, turning from the SECRE TARY of STATE to the LORD CHANCELLOR, the ex-PRIME MINISTER said :—" My Lords, if we look to the department of the law, we shall see that greater improvements and greater reforms have taken place in that department within the last helve months than had taken place for many previous years—reforms, the magnitude and im portance of which have been freely acknowledged by both sides, and for which the Government and the country are indebted to the unwearied zeal, the untiring assiduity, the distinguished talent, and pround professional knowledge of my Noble and Learned Friend on the woolsack, who, when he shall leave office, it will be difficult for any Government to find a successor that will not give rise to regret he has quitted it." Assuredly an eulogium the correctness of which no one will have either the ingratitude or the temerity to gainsay. Whatever we may think of their previous antagonism to Free Trade (an antagonism which they have now at length and for ever abandoned) ; however much we may re gret their lack of sympathy for the political aspi rations of the multitude (a lack of sympathy which they have virtually compensated for by their active and undeniable efforts at reform)—it would be unjust and ungenerous not to subscribe in the fullest extent to the accuracy of such tributes as the foregoing, offered to his colleagues by a states man like the Earl of DERBY, at the moment when he is announcing to the country, through the Par liament, the fact of his Ministerial resignation. Another portion of the ex-PnEminn's speech of last evening, we would here, iForeover, particula rise with the utmost possible distinctness. It is that portion which had reference to the measures adopted by the Legislature in compli ance with the suggestion of his Cabinet—mea sures affecting the national defences of the country —measures, let us add,, which would alone of themselves suffice to shed some degree of lustre upon this Tory-Reforming Government. Alluding to the circumstance of his Ministry having already carried those military and maritime improvements into effect, and speaking of them, moreover, with justifiable pride and really enviable satisfaction, the Noble Earl expressed his earnest hope in their regard as follows :—" I trust," said he, " those great elements of self-defence which we have suc cessfully called into operation will not be ne glected—namely, the completion of that constitu tional force, the Militia, and the increase of that naval force on which primarily and in the first instance the safety and the honour of this country depend." Mark that ! The Earl of DERBY has spoken of our naval force as the force "on which primarily and in, the first instance, the safety and the honour of this country depend." It is precisely what we our selves have insisted upon for years past—a truth now recognised by one of the foremost statesmen of the age, and proclaimed from his place in the Upper branch of the Imperial Legislature. Let his successors profit by the avowal. Let the Earl of ABERDEI7—if it must needs be the Earl of ABERDEEN who is to be thrust upon the nation as Prime Minister —let " Athenian ABERDEEN," " that dear ABERDEST," " that excellent ABER DEEN," remember that truth of vital import, while he is actually in the process of making his Ministerial a rrangements. R umours are afloat to the effect, th a t Mr. S IDNEY H ERBERT i s to be placed at the head of the Board of Ad miralty. What another civilian—presiding over the destinies of the Royal Navy of England ! Suppose a similar announcement were made in regard to the Army —suppose it were intimated that Mr. SIDNEY HERBERT is to be placed at the head of the Horse Guards ! What would our soldiers think ? And are our sailors of no account ? Hadn't we enough of Sir FRANCIS BARING 7 Is not the country sick of seeing these civilians in supreme command at the Admiralty ? We by no means disparage the abilities ef Mr. SIDNEY HERBERT. We believe him to be a very able and efficient Administrator. But we think he would more fitly be in place anywhere than at the head of the Maritime Department. No : we would see sol diers commanded by soldiers—sailors commanded by sailors. It is intimated, in some quarters, that Viscount HARDINGE is to continue at his post as Commander-in-Chief, notwithstanding the change of Administration. Then, why not have the Board of Admiralty still presided over .by the Duke of NORTHUMBERLAND ? If that be impossible, why not, instead of nam.. submit to. ing Mr. SIDNEY HERBERT his Grace's succes sor, place Mr. SIDNEY HERBERT at the head of some other department, and give the direction of the Board of Admiralty to an illustrious man like the heroic Earl of DIINDONALD ? Are there not other distinguished members of the service capable of presiding over its fortunes with honour to themselves and advantage to the country ? Is there not, for example, such a man in existence as Sir CHARLES NAPIER, the victor in the Tagus, and the conqueror at Acre ? And would not individuals thus eminent in their professions, and renowned for their brilliant achievements, be more qualified to conduct the affairs of the Admiralty than your mere civilian and red• tapist ? We are chagrined at having still to make the inquiry— as chagrined as your Salt-water JACK must be to see some black-coated Administrator lording it among the naval uniforms in our dockyards ! Briefly, iu this, as in many other instances, it would be well for the country if the Whig-Peelites took a leaf out of the book of the Tory Reformers —if the new ABERDEEN Administration took a hint from the late DERBY Government. What will be done with respect to the renewal of the Property and Income Tax ? That point must speedily be disposed of. The impost will expire at the termination of the financial year, on the sth day of April next. Five millions and a half will thus be lost to. the Exchequer, unless the charge be renewed, or a suitable substitute pro vided. The Legislature has unequivocally de clared itself against any addition to indirect taxa tion. The amendment proposed by Lord PAIr MERSTON to Mr. VILLIERS'S resolution, and carried by an overwhelming majority against the 53 dis sentients, is conclusive on that subject. The division of Friday morning will also prevent any tampering with the House Duties by those who rejected the first resolution, and thus refused their assent either to an increase of the rates, or any ex tension of the area of taxation. Something in the shape of a Property Tax must then be brought forward ; and the only question is, what will be the nature of the new measure. We strongly suspect, that the envenomed shir t of NESSUS was not a more fatal bequest to his Conqueror than the unsettled Income Tax will prove to the new Cabinet. It must be renewed. But in what form F The answer to the interrogatory is of vital importance. The welfare and prosperity of the country, the contentment of the industrious classes greatly depend on the answer. We believe that the Representa tives of the people will not consent to a renewal of the tax in its present unjust, unequal, and oppressive form, without change or modification of some kind, recognising the distinction between permanent and precarious income. The Libe ral party, whose opinions are represented by Messrs. HUMS and COBDEN, are solemnly pledged to obtain justice—or, at least, some ap proximation towards justice—for the industrious classes ; to resist, tots coelo, the equal taxation of all descriptions of income, without reference to the sources from whence it may be derived. The only objection to the proposition of Mr. DISRAELI, on this topic, was that it did not go far enough. The amendment of Mr. HuarE, whose efficient exer tions on the Select Committee were beyond all praise, proceeded on that assumption. A large proportion of the more immediate followers of Lord JOHN RUSSELL entertained similar opinions. It was the obstinate refusal of Sir CHARLES WOOD to listen to the voice of public opinion on this par ticular topic that led to the secession of many of his supporters, and the ultimate dissolution of the Whig Ministry. If, then, a large proportion of the ma jority which, by refusing its assent to the finan cial scheme compelled the resignation of the DERBY Administration, agree with the minority on the justice and expediency of distributing the burden more fairly on those by whom it is to be sustained, it is manifest that no Cabinet, based on a perti nacious resistance to that salutary principle, can hope for a long continuance in office. It is our anxious desire to show every degree of fair-play to the Ministry. We did so to the DERBY Government, even before they had fully and completely shaken off the slough of Protec tion, and we shall do so to any Administration that may be honoured with the Royal confidence, until they bring forward propositions not calculated to promote the welfare and prosperity of the country. " Measures, not men " has been, and ever shall be, our guiding principle, and by that we shall continue to be guided. We, therefore, deem it our duty emphatically to caution the Leaders of the new Cabinet against a per verse and obstinate determination to maintain the existing system. If they do so, it must prove a stumbling-block in their path —an insuperable obstacle to their retention of office. We repeat, what we have frequently and advisedly put for ward, that the strength and permanency of any Government must chiefly depend on its fiscal policy. The public attention has been strongly directed to that quarter ; and, although considerable in terest is also naturally felt with respect to ques tions of Parliamentary, legal, sanitary, educa tional, colonial, ecclesiastical, and other reforms, there are none of deeper or more vital importance than those affecting the collection of the public revenue ; or, in other words, the matters which fall especially within the department of the CHAN CELLOR of the EXCHEQUER. Now we confess that we listened with consider able alarm to the opinions expressed during the late debate by three Right Honourable Gen tlemen, who will naturally assume prominent positions in any Administration that may be formed under the presidency of Lord ABERDEEN. We willingly acknowledge the vast practical ex perience and great administrative talents of GRAHAM, GLADSTONE, and GOULBURN, and the effect of the prestige belonging to the most cher ished colleagues of the lamented Statesman whose name has become a household word in English families by English hearths. While the name of " PEEL " is respected and reverenced in every lo cality throughout the length and breadth of the land, considerable indulgence will be extended to his principal followers, who retained the opinions and vindicated the memory of their distinguished leader. But there is a point beyond which indul gence cannot be extended. If they refuse to listen to the voice of public opinion —to accord that which is a matter of simple justice—which is alike demanded by equity and expediency—they must abide the consequences. Even their names cannot avert the hostility of those whose principle it is to look to "measures " rather than to " men." If there is anything on which the mind of the community is firmly set, it is the extension of the principle of direct taxation on an equitable basis, and the gradual removal of the indirect imposts by which industry is unfairly clogged and restrict ed, and which cost far more to the consumers than finds its way into the public purse. Sir JAMRS GRAHAM, however, expressed himself strongly opposed to any measure of direct taxation, except in the time of war—that it should be expressly reserved for a period when we were opposed to some great European Power—for an . - extraordinary emergency, and to terminate with _ ... the crisis to which it owed its existence. On the other hand, Messrs. GLADSTONE and GOITLBURN objected—and that in the most energetic terms-- to any modification of the existing system, which would look to the source from whence income was obtained. It is therefore our duty, even before the Ministerial arrangements are finally completed, to direct attention to this subject of primary im portance, on which the fate of the future Adminis- Tation must greatly depend. It m a y i n d uce the Righ Hon. Gentlemen to whom we have alluded to modify their opinions while there is yet time, and not to act on views which, if attempted to be carried into practical operation, must lead to the destruction of the forthcoming Administration ; or, at least, to the serious damage which must at- tend the abandonment of propositions deliberately put forward—a damage and disgrace that the DERBY Government surrendered office rather than The trial - and condemnation of Mr. KIRWAN suggest some very serious questions respecting tiials involving capital punishment. We have none of that injudicious sympathy with the crimi nal which would endanger the lives of numerous innocent persons, either by acquitting in the teeth of the strongest circumstantial evidence, or by laying hold of some technical informality in the indictment. A jury or a judge who do this are answerable for all the blood shed afterwards by the human tiger whom they liberate amongst the defenceless and unsuspecting. Neither can we share the views of those who think capital punishments inconsistent with the Christian faith. If so, the Apostle PAUL set a very wrong example when he declared that he refused not to die if he had done anything worthy of death : and taught unchristian views of the Ruler's duty when he as serted that he was " GOD'S minister for good, not bearing the sword in vain, for he is the minister of GOD, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil." We think that the man who has proved himself dangerous to the lives of his fellow men has forfeited his right to liberty, and that he who has actually taken another's life has no claim to retain his own. We are met, however, by religious considerations, on the awful accountability of sending into eternity a man so obviously unprepared to enter it ; but, if the man be at large, how many more may he send thither without a moment's warning ? One wretch we have heard of, in South Wales, who escaped through some technical defect in the evidence, if we remember , right, when executed at last for another murder, confessed it was the ninth he had committed since his acquittal, all sent quite sud denly into eternity. We remember also •that a Governor of Malta, finding murders among the soldiers becoming frequent, and that the murderers appeared satisfied with the priest's absolution, de termined that the next time he would allow no confession and absolution. The culprit begged hard for a priest. " No," was the inexorable re ply ; " you sent your victim unshrived into eternity, and you shall go there unshrived yourself." The murders ceased from that time. Neither in Scripture, therefore, nor in the dictates of justice and humanity, can we find that the murderer has any claim to his life. On the other hand, we differ quite as much from those who would find in Scripture reasons binding us to execute the murderer, whether we think it for the good and safety of society or not. We are not to be bound in the nineteenth century after CHRIST by laws given to a nomadic patriarch, four-and-twenty cen turies before CHRIST. No ; we hold ourselves quite free to deal with the murderer in the way we think most likely to repress the crime of mur der. To hang him if it will most effectually deter others ; to imprison him for life, if that be found to render life more sacred in the eyes of those who might be likely to commit the crime. Now, we will freely own that we think the arguments of those who plead for life-imprison ment very strong. To a great many of the bru talised, animalised minds capable of murder, the idea of confinement, to a large extent, of course, solitary, combined with deprivation of their accus tomed low and sensual enjoyments, would be more terrible than death itself. Then the cessation of the sight or spectacle of judicial killing, which is of course manslaying, would deprive the spectators of the suggestion of manslaying. And nothing is more certain than the mys terious tendency in many minds, especially amongst the uneducated and excitable, to repeat any horrible, awful, or extravagant act which they have witnessed. The comparative certainty of conviction, too, when juries were aware that irre vocable, as well as awful punishment, did not depend upon their 'verdict, would, and must have, a most beneficial effect. Theorists may argue that a jury have but to keep to their oath, and that they are not responsible for the consequences ; fact, however, shows that men whose word no one would doubt, will violate an oath rather than have even the innocent share of a true verdict in depriving an undoubted murderer of life. Much more will most men magnify very small defects in evidence into ground for an acquittal. With such facts as these in their favour, those who would abolish capital punishment, even for murder, and wh o expect thereby to diminish the number of murders, have a strong case in their favour. It does not appear, however, that they yet carry the majority of the community any more than a majority in Parliament with them, while it is, nevertheless, notorious that many murderers do escape, who would not were the punishment not irremediable in case of mistake. It is this single circumstance which interferes with almost any one's self-possession in a capital case. It is known that, where the circumstantial evidence has been the strongest conceivable, the person executed upon the strength of it has proved to be perfectly innocent. Hence every juror feels that he may himself by possibility be instrumental, by his verdict, in what is really a most painful murder. He cannot think there is reasonable doubt, per haps, in the case before him ; yet so other jurors have thought, and, by acting on their thought, have agonised their minds in after years by the recollection of their innocent victim. If, then, the community does not see its way clear to abolish capital punishment, can nothing be done to remedy its admitted evils ? Mr. DICKENS made an earnest appeal to Lord JOHN RUSSELL to render executions private ; a practice adopted in some of the States of America, and of the Continent of Europe. This would, of course, put a stop to the dreadful scenes of every kind attendant on public executions, but would not lessen the tendency of jurors to acquit, if possible, in trials for murder. We venture to suggest the desirableness of giving the jury, in every trial for murder, a double form of verdict ; that they should be allowed to record in their verdict the nature of the evidence ; that they should declare the ac cused " guilty on ocular testimony," or "guilty on circumstantial evidence," and that in the latter case life, of course, should not be taken, but per petual imprisonment be the certain punishment, without discretion on the part of the Judge— leaving, however, inviolate the Sovereign's right to pardon. The effect, surely, must be to dispose prosecutor, judge, and jury to weigh without apprehension, all purely circumstantial evidence, and not to be looking out for some loophole in the evidence through which a guilty man might escape. We can hardly conceive a much stronger case of circumstantial evidence than KIRWAN'S. The impossibility of any one else being on the island ; the cries heard being in compatible with suicide ; the clothes being found after KIRWAN had returned to the men, in a place where they swore they had searched before ; and then the adequate motive, his consciousness of hav ing grossly wronged a beautiful young woman for twelve years, certainly present as strong a com bination of circumstances as we can well conceive of to prove his guilt. Yet there remains the bare possibility of her having committed suicide. Some minor incidents were indeed incongruous with it ; it might have been expected especially that she would have done so in her ordinary dress, more clearly to show that cruelty and grief had driven her to it. Accidental drowning seems most un likely of all ; the bare possibility of suicide, how ever, does remain, and we doubt not that it was a trying doubt to some of the jurors. Perhaps some jurors would even have considered the case not sufficiently proved. The course we have sug gested would have prevented even the hazard of an acquittal. No doubt, we shall be told that evidence has the same value and force whatever the results may be. It is sufficient or insufficient to convict, whether the conviction be followed by death or by a trivial fine. No doubt it is. So evidence may be sufficient to show a venture to be a good one, whether you would gain or lose 51. by it or 5,000/. Yet no one would make the venture in one case on the same evidence that he would in the other. Still less would he do so were his li berty or his life at stake. It is no more use to oppose legal theorising to people's intuitive per ceptions in this matter than for Mr. GLADSTONE to oppose his mathematical theory of the Income Tax to the intuitive perceptions of men of common sense, and the practical habits of the actuaries. We throw out the above suggestion with not a little confidence, that, in practice, it would be found to work well. Letters in our columns prove that some intelligent onions would have shrunk :fr om ~~ ~,:, LONDON., TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1852. Yesteraa a variety of graceful and deserved tributes w ere offered by the leading members of the Opposition, to the abilities diiplayed by the ters during their tenure of office under very dii %cult and discouraging. circumstances. These et )mplimentary remarks were, of course, apropos . of the ann unced resignation of the Earl Of DzatA\ ana agues in, the late GOireal- a conviction in KIRWAN'S case. We apprehend, however, that these very persons would have not been unwilling to convict if they had been certain of not committing an irretrievable mistake. A small pamphlet of 24 pages, entitled " A Synthetical View of the Results of recent Com mercial and Financial Legislation." has just been published by RIDGWAY, from the very able statis tical pen of JOHN MACGREGOR, M.P. for Glasgow , which will be at once appreciated by the public, not more for its timely production, -than for its clear, succinct, and admirable elucidation of our present financial position with regard to taxation in general and our commercial interests in pat cular. We may enlarge more to-morrow, but in the meantime we cannot refrain from giving Mr. MACGREGOR'S graphic picture of what would be the consequences of a national stoppage of credit The revenue for 1852 will probably e xceed that .of 1851 ; and if th e i ncome tax be continued, e i t h er in Its present or in a modified form, the duty on hops may , perhaps, be abolished, and the tea and wine duties be also reduced. But the public credit of the nation must be secured before any tax can be repealed or reduced. By farther, economy, and lo o ki ng f orwar d to the term i na tion of annuities in 1856 and 1860, we may get xid of mall obnoxious taxes. I n the meantime, it requires but little inquiry to be convinced that the calamity of a stoppage of the paY: ment of the dividends, or interest of the National Deb''' would break up every monetary and commerc i a l en gage . ment in the United Kingdom. The rights of propertY d ' whether in l an d s or moveables, would no longerbe sacre • Bank Stock, India Stock, and all other stock, togethe r with private b an k s an d pr i vate credit; would all be involved in the general calamity of a national failure. " In the City of London, and other large towns, fe w families keep more ready money in their houses than may be sufficie n t f or th e week's expense ; few have more e than the day's p rov i s i on i n their larders. As pry° d credit would fall with p u bli c cre dit, t h e graz i er will not trust the butcher, nor the latter the families he stir plied. The farmer would not trust the corn dealer, O r the latter the miller, nor the miller the baker ; con ned quently the latter must cease to supply his usual tomers. So on with all other trades and cr edits. Therefore, at whatever am oun t o f t axat i on, the ea ger credit of the British Empire must and will be 10111. tained." COURT CIRCULAR. OSBORNE, nto, 2 0 ., Her Majesty, his R o y a l Hi g h ness P r i nce Albert, tl Prince of W a l es , th e P r i ncess R oya l , P rincess Alice, and the Prince of Leiningen, attended divine service at OP borne, yesterday morning. The Ron. and Rev. G. Wellesley officiated. The Indies and gentlemen in waiting, and the domes- 1 household, were also present. A meeting of members of the House of Commons, supporters of the Earl of Derby's Administration, w as held at twelve o'clock yesterday, at the official residence of the First Lord of the Treasury, in Downing-street. The conference with the Earl of Derby lasted about one hour. Mr. D. Waddington, M.P., had an interview wi th Mr. Secretary Walpole yesterday, at the Home Office• Mr. Hall had also an interview with the Right 1 1 ° 11 ' Secretary. Dispatches were received at the Colonial Office yestC' day, from the Governors of the West India Islands. - PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS. (From Votes and Proceedin,qB of the House of Commorl 4 CONTROVERTED ELECTIONS. The SPEAKER acquainted the house that he had re' ceived Reports from the Examiner of Recognizance , stating that the recogn i zances to t h e elect i on pet ition g respecting the following places were unobjectionabl e, viz. : Cork. Carlow County. Ennis. Liverpool. DEATH OF LORD WILL O U GHBY DE BROKE.—The wait Hon. Henry Peyto Verney, eighth Lord Willoughby a ° Broke, died suddenly at his seat, Compton Verney, ° ll Thursday last, in his 80th y ear . Hi s l or d s hi p, th oug h 0 ,7 had been som e ti me i n an i n fi rm s t ate o f health, was as vie;"' as usual on W e d nes d a y even i ng, b u t a b out m idnight lad servants found that he was speechless, and on Thursday morning he expired. In politics the deceased peer w . 68 strictly conservative, but he had taken little or no part "` public affairs for several years past. GOVERNMENT PATRONAGE.—The Earl of Hardwick: has appointed M r . J ose ph L ong t o th e off i ce of P res ident of the Money-order Department of the Irish General Post office, in succession to Mr. Stephen Creaghe, deceased- The salary is 3501. per annum. Mr. Long, who was wholly unconnected with the Post-office, had for several year s taken an active part as unpaid agent to the Conservative party in Dublin, and the present city representatives are in no slight degree indebted to his exertions for their seats in the House of Commons. DEATH OF MR. PETER BORTHWICK.—We regret to record the death of this gentleman, who expired on Satur day last, after a long and painful illness. Mr. Borthwick represented Evesham in two Parliaments, and was a fluent speaker and a ready political writer. Mr. Borthwick, for the last three years, filled the office of editor of the MOW ing Post. ROYAL LONDON YACHT CLUB.—There was a very large assemblage of the members of this very popular and rapidly advancing club, at the Caledonian Hotel, Adelphi last night—the Commodor e , W. G oo d son, E sq., i n the Chair- The occasion was rendered peculiarly interesting, owing to the name of the Chief Magistrate of the City of London being at the head of the list of members proposed for ballot. Upon the motion of Mr. Lott, seconded by Mr. Tress lordship was unan i mous l y e l ected, and there is no doubt that his excellent example will be followed by a vast raw ber of the Corporation, many of whom are already mew bers. Captain Giles, R.N. ' having been elected Secretary , vice Mr. T. G regory , and some routine business having been disposed of, the club adjourned. SUICIDE OF A FEMALE FROM LOVE.—Yesterday, Mr' Baker held an inquest at the Vestry, John-street, Cam' bridge-heath, Hackney, respecting the death of Small Locke, aged 22, a single woman, who was found drowned on Saturday morning last, in the Regent's-canal, near Vic toria-park. She w as i n serv i ce i n th e family of a lady a t Streatham, and had been in a very melancholy state of mind for the last few weeks. She was much attached tell young man, who had been paying his addresses to her, axe• who suddenly broke off the connection. She has since, on three several occas i on , a tt emp t e d to drown herself. rer diet, " Found drowned." THE WELLINGTON TESTIMONIAL FUND.—The follow' ing complaint has been add resse d t o th e Ti mes Being an admirer of the fate Duke, I spell over every name in the subsc r ipti on li s t s t o the Wellington Testimonial Fund, and each name, as I read it, receives from me a sympathetic tribute of respect ; for as admirers of the same we may be said to stand in a parallel relation to one an' other. But I have come to one name which has disturbed all harmony of feeling— that of a gallant Colonel and M.P., who subscribes 201. Now, Sir, this very Colonel and M.P. owes me money, some 1501. or 2001., and at the risk of bein g th oug ht a h ar d man, I will coness to you, although the act might not be justified before a commit' ee at Stafford-house, that I endeavoured, after all other means had failed, to obtain payment by putting an execu tion into the M.P.'s house. The execution produced exactly* V. 3s. 4d. ! The sofas which he pressed, the plate he used, the horses he rode, were all hired, and his person was of coin-se protected ; but the sheriff ingeniously con; trived to seize a few books, including The Whole Duty of Man, which the M.P. had overlooked in his g eneral arrangements. Now, Sir, can you not rectify your list by inserting my name for the balance of the 301., after giving . credit for 21. 3s. 4d., inste a d o f th e name of my gallant and " honourable " debtor,_ and thus oblige y our o b e dient servant, THE EXECUTION CREDITOR." FIRST MEETING OF THE NEW BURIAL BOARD IN ST. PANcßAS.—Yesterday, pursuant to a notice signed by two of its members, the Burial Board, recently appointed under the New Metropolitan Interments Act, 15 and 1 6 Vic., cap. 85, met for the first time in the Vestry King's-road, Camden-town, for the purpose of taking the necessary steps to put in force the enactments of this salu tary measure. The Rev. Thomas Dale, the vicar, in the chair, and the other eight members of the board present, namely, J. P. Pierce and W. Billett, churchwardens ; Henry Stock, Esq., J. P., W. D. Cooper, F. Henley, Mor timore Timpson, H. Farrar, and R. F. Brittinghani. After some preliminary business, and the Rev. T. Dale having been nominated perpetual chairman, the board pro ceeded to appoint a clerk, the choice falling unanimously upon Mr. G. W. F. Cook, solicitor to the parish. It was also agreed that meetings of the board should be held on the first Monday of each month, and that an application should be made to the vestry for the use of offices in the vestry building wherein to carry on the affairs of the board. The board then broke up. THE BONAPARTE FAMILY.—In a list of the members of the Bonaparte family, which appeared in our columns, and in those of some other journals, a few weeks since, the names of five children were given as those of the Right Hon. Thomas Wyse, the present Ambassador of England at Athens, and of his rife, Letitia, the daughter of Lucien Bonaparte. We have authority for stating that there have been but two children (sons), Alfred Napoleon Wyse and William Charles Wyse, by that marriage. A legal separation took place between the parties in the year 1828. RAILWAY AND CANAL BlLLS.—Yesterday the first re port from the select committee on railway and canal bills was issued, stating, "that it is the opinion of this com mittee that all railway bills introduced into the house, during the present session, should, as a general rule, be made integral in themselves, and that the greatest caution should be exercised in admitting into them, otherwise than by specific enactment, provisions which repeal, continue, or extend the power of former acts, and that the attention of committees on private bills should be directed to this point." THE STEAM-SHIP GLASGOW.—This fine ship sail ed from the Clyde on Thursday evening, for New with 55 passenge rs , an d the most valuable cargo of ma nufactured good s w hi ch ever cleared out from Glasg?'o6 Custom-house the estimat e d va l ue in the books being 151,825/.York, [ADVERTISEMENT.]—A certain Cure are Holloway's Pills for Headaches, Lowness of Spirits, and Pains in the Chest.—A soldier who had seen much service abroad suffered for years from headaches, lowness of spirits, and pains in the right side, which had so debilitated that it was found necessary to discharge him from the service. Every attention had been paid to his complai nts both by th e army surgeons and in the hospitals ; at last it was decided that he was incurable ; but since his dig i ; charg e h e commence d t a ki ng Holloway's Pills, v 7l O, have been th e means o f res t or i ng h i m to that buoyannA of spirits and e xce ll en t health that he had not enjer for years.—Sold by all druggists, and at Professor 00 1. loway'a eatabliahment, 244, Strand, London. Westmeath. Sligo Borough. Sligo County. Louth. 8 of 1 at tag . ste Th( th e Le ery, an( th k th e • " 44arg e gol nfl d, erusi, i t Zodu( _! 11 al .!eld; O t ct at ave ra At rer Year t he ti Y fro this c}, te l 3 o - r1 I t 1) 1 , r eaid er t b atil e ,11 days ' 4 ll' l i ch E 4 !lit, kth,rblila t °' t `hot r .k f „noth 'J o e hi / . A,A, act tb-erei lo traii j e Or d v 4e 4 /31 1t 1"t .4 4 4 tate 11 , 4traii° k kt 11(1 11 1 4 th ( Aus ki llt, (l4 of , rt . a Pe r ' l tt , ) 4 4 • 441 41 h, Y % e t a ott:4(1 8 , kNole 1 111( Nl e , for (viler e', ij t 4 506 a 614 l i tiaal ; I t il . Pei 7ra b, 'Per CO; ItS to t Ikt Pres ?the op.ac( Ys and