The Sun. — London, England, 1865-02-04 00:00:00

THE CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA, (From the Times' Correspondent.) NEW YORK, Jan. 20. Ever since the surrender of Savannah the people of the North of both political parties have been in a state of excited satisfaction. The subsequent capture of Fort Fisher, cheaply purchased, they consider, with the lives of 1,500 or 2,000 men, has increased their delight, and if General Sherman and his gal lant army will march as successfully through South Carolina as he did through Georgia and seize upon Charleston as easily as upon Savannah, their joy will border closely upon delirium. They are told, upon high authority, to expect this great result within a very short period; and have already begun to calculate, as they think, for the last time, the number of weeks that must elapse before not only Charleston, the cradle, but Richmond, the throne, of the " rebellion," shall be theirs, and the flag of the restored Union float triumphantly over every fort and public building between the St. Lawrence and the Rio Grande. It must be admitted that in this moment of real and anticipated victory they make no threats of revenge, and breathe no whispers of extermination against the Southern people, nor even against the leaders. The only vindictiveness heard is the customary denunciation of England, coupled with a warning to that " perfidious Power" that when North and South join hands they will cement their new compact by a foreign war, and take the opportunity to humble the pride of Britain and reduce her to her true position in Europe—a little higher perhaps than Denmark, or a little lower than Turkey. And it is not alone the success of the Federal arms, but the statements and discussions of the Richmond papers which either support or oppose the Confederate Administration that fill the Northern people with such sanguine hopes of the approaching restoration of the Union. They see in those discussions a proof that the Southern leaders are prepared to listen to terms of peace, and all except the earnest Abolitionists are inclined to support Mr. Lincoln in making every possible effort at conciliation, even to the recogni tion of State rights upon the matter of slavery. They argue that slavery has received its death wound in the progress of the war—a wound from which it is Impossible that it can recover—and that there is con sequently no necessity to make any stipulations with regard to it. All that can be done, they think, is to leave it to time and to the action of the several States in which its perishing remnants shall continue to exist for a few months or years longer: Last week people attached but little interest to the missions of Mr. Blair, sen., or General Singleton, but the an nouncement to-day that Mr. Blair has departed for Richmond a second time has invested his movements with unexpected importance, and led most people to believe that both his first and second visits are not so wholly unofficial or personal as was once pretended. After his return to Washington, and prior to his second departure, Mr. Blair made no public an- nouncement, and suffered none to be made in his behalf, of the objects or results of his journey ; but the Richmond papers assert that he had a long, a cordial, and a confidential interview with the Southern President, and afterwards with the Minister of War; and that Mr. Davis expresged his willingness to send commissioners or ambassadors to Washington, to confer with any commissioners in that city whomthe Fedefal Government might appoint. In view of his second visit these revelations of the Richmond press acquire additional importance. But whether they mean much or little depends upon the interpretation which is to be put upon the intentions and views of Mr. Davis and his Government in consenting to negotiation. Every belligerent,, if he be not a savage, ought at any period of a war to be willing to discuss whether it be not possible and advisable to make peace ; and it by no means follows, from the - willingness expressed by Mr. Davis, that he is pre pared, as the great bulk of the Northern people sup pose, to yield the one great point of independence, or that he does not believe that the North is as weary of the war as he can be, and is prepared to recognise the South upon favourable conditions. There are, however, in the North almost as many opinions upon the subject as there are parties and interests. One class of people is convinced that the rece: victories of the Federal arms, especially the actual loss of Savannah and the prospective surrender of Wilmington and Charleston, have virtually made an end of the rebellion ; and the people are ready to return to their allegiance, and that •the leaders, seeing the hopelessness of further resistance, are will ing to make any terms that shall secure their per sonal safety. Another section, which does not be lieve that the spirit of the South is effectually broken, is of opinion that Mr. Davis, his Cabinet, his Generals, his Congress, and a large portion of his people are so disgusted with the heartlessness of Great Britain and France in leaving the South un recognised and unbefriended, to fight single-handed against its gigantic adversary, that they are willing to re-enter the Union, if slavery, wherever it now exists in the States, be solemnly guaranteed in an amended Constitution ; and that, if satisfied on this point, they will unite their armies with those of the North to expel the Emperor Maximilian from Mexico, and annex British America and the West India Islands, as well as Cuba, to the Federal Union. A third party insists that the South, so far from being exhausted or discouraged, is able to maintain its independence for 20 or even for 40 years against the whole power of the North, and that, too, without resorting to the last extremity of arming its able-bodied slaves ; but is willing for the sake of peace to come to terms with the North, on the basis of a highly advantageous commercial treaty, which shall include an export duty of ten cents per pound on all cotton intended for the Euro pean and especially for the British market. A fourth party, which may be small, but which makes up in intellectual foresight and sound statesman ship for its deficiency in popularity, treats all these suppositions baseless and unworthy of credit. It admits that Mr. Davis and his Government are willing, as Christians and gentlemen should be, to consent to a suspension of hostilities, to appoint commissioners, and to discuss all points at issue be tween North and South, and that they are now, as they ever have been, willing to treat with the North, as equal to equal, and to debate any and every pro position that may be made to them, except their re turn to the Union. A much larger, though less influential, party encourages the idea that th e " Re bellion," as the North persists in caning it, is the work of the Southern leaders alone, and that the people are now, and always have been, friendly to the old Union, and would return to it cheerfully, and without conditions, if the pressure put upon them by these leaders were removed. Some even go so far as to express their conviction that a counter revolution in the South is imminent, and that Pre sident Davis himself is so fully aware of it as to be more inclined to lead and take advantage of than to oppose it. These speculations help to show how contradictory and diversified are the opinions of the Northern people, and how little they appreciate the true character of the struggle in which they are in volved, or the opponents with whom they have to deal. If the politicians and people of the North, who reckon 'BO much on the bitter opposition that has manifested itself against President Davis, and upon the depressing effect upon the Southern mind of the brillia n t successes which have for the last three months attended the armies and navies of the North, would look back to the early days of the Re public, and study the history of the discourage meats, privations, and reverses that be fe 1 General Washington, they would disco ver that theirmoi‘dierl. hero and patriot was in far wor se straits than Jefferson Davis, and that he ultimately triumphed over obstacles much greater than have ever y et tried the patience and energy of the S ou th . T hey might also discover that France was the d e ;„ ex muchitict which enabled the colonies to foil th e power of the Government which considered the great Washington to be a rebel ; and remember that the same agency may become available for a similar purpose in the present day, if the Mexican question continues to be made a pretext for insult or hostility by the Federal Government, as many current indi cations seems to foreshadow. The gold-market, which exhibited unexampled steadiness on the first news of the fall of Fort Fisher, has been yesterday and to-day in a state of violent 1•III=0.1111.01~I excitement. The Treasury brokers, instructed by the Government to operate for a fall, succeeded, though not so easily as they expected, in bringing c' own the premium from 115 per cent., at which it stood on the departure of the Liverpool steamer cn Wednes day, to 109 last nigkt and to 1011 th's m orning. In the afternoon, however, a re-action occurred. The Treasury had sold all the gold it had to sell—the weak speculators were out of the "ring"—and the price steadily advanced to 107 k, at which point it stood at the close of the business. The bankers and brokers of Wall-street are not so sanguine as the public that the recent victories have done much to prepare the way for a pacification ; and the con sequence is that the market, as soon as it is left to the manipulation of people who understand their business, and is relieved from the extraneous agency of the Government, resumes its former condition, and gold points steadily upwards to the point from which it had been artificially depressed. The great question of the arming of the negroes of the South, and the certainty if they be armed and drilled and converted into good soldiers, zealous for the cause in which they fight, that the North will be com pelled to enforce a vigorous conscription, and cease to rely upon the precarious and insufficient recruit ments to be purchased by high bounties, loom darkly upon the vision of all who can see before them, and are not led away by the enthusiasm of the moment. The belief that the South will immediately have re course to this source of supply gains ground among all who wish well to the Southern cause in this city, and is also shared by large numbers of sincere Abolitionists, who would as readily accept the freedom of the coloured race from Southern neces sity as see it enforced by Northern bayonets. In short, it would seem at this moment as if the fate of the Confederates hung upon its decision in - this matter. So strongly is this opinion entertained by men who are in a position to form an accurate judg ment upon the question that it is openly alleged that Mr. Lincoln fears that the negroes will be armed and freed, and that the recognition of the South by all the Powers of Europe will immediately follow, is the reason why he despatches Mr. Blair to Richmond, to ascertain if he cannot make terms for a commercial, if he cannot restore a political, Union, or agree to an alliance offensive and defen sive with the Confederacy. _ January 21. Postscript.—The publication this morning of the letter of President Davis to the Georgian Senators who had expressed opinions in favour of a Conven tion of the States throws a new light upon the peace question, and gives unanswerable reasons why neither North nor South can settle their differences by this method. The letter, though dated so far back as the 17th November, applies with great force and directness to the peace rumours of the day, and effectually demolishes the hope entertained by many leading members of the Federal Government that if the South would not treat as a unit, it might treat with the North State by State. Mr. Davis declares that the first course of action is impossible without a surrender to the North of the whole principle for which the South has taken up arms, and that the proposal of separate State action is unwise, imprac ticable, and offers no prospect of good to counter balance its manifold injurious consequences to the cause of his country. It is yet too early to report the effect which the letter has produced on the public mind of the North; but that it will serve to dispel many fallacious hopes, and correct many erroneous ideas, is evident to every one who has had leisure to bestow a thought upon the subject. Mr. Gray, M.P., at Bolton. On Thursday Mr. W. Gray, M.P., delivered an address in All Saints' Schoolroom, Bolton, on the occasion of the opening of a news and reading-room, in connection with the East Ward Conservative Association. Mr. Marsden occupied the chair. In responding to several toasts Mr. GRAY said at present the army and navy might be said to be in a state of tran sition, as great alterations and improvements were being made in them. Neither of the services were ever in a more efficient state. Both were necessarily very costly, conse quent upon the changes which were being made. But so long as the money was well expended he was sure that the taxpayers would not begrudge it. ' He believed that the volunteers had been of the greatest ser vice to the country, and had been well supported in Bolton. It had not been his practice to give a formal account of his stewardship, nor did he think it was the wish of his constituents that he should do so. If such was their wish he should feel bound to comply with it. (Hear, hear.) It was a more honourable position for a member to occupy, when his constituents had such confidence in him that they did not require an exact exposition of his views, hut were satisfied that he would do whatever was right and proper, and the best for his town and country. (Applause.) He had, however, no objection to mention one or two public matters. The American war, he believed, had an indirect and very important effect on this part of the country. He could not conceive how a great many people could say that war was a contest to put down slavery. (Hear, hear.) He considered that our Government had taken a most wise course in not interfering in that war. There was always a feeling among Englishmen that the weaker party might to have their sympathy. He confessed that so far his sympathies were with the South—(applause) —but not because they were slaveholders. The North had no right to take credit to themselves for the intention to put down slavery. At his first election, President Lincoln said he had no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it existed ; that he had no lawful right, nor had he the inclination to do so. In Sept., 1862, when the North found that they had not conquered the South in 90 days, as they had anticipated, President Lincoln issued a proclamation by which he ex pressed his intention to declare free the slaves in any state the people of which were in rebellion. On that account he (Mr. Gray) contended that the North had no right to take credit to themsolVes for a desire to abolish slavery. That slavery would be done away with by, the were he was perfectly satisfied. That would be one of the advan tages resulting from the dreadful war now raging in America. Closely connected with that question was the cotton famine. They had had the greatest cause in Bolton to be thankful that they had been so lightly dealt with. He thought that Bolton had been less afflicted by the famine than most other towns which were engaged in the cotton ma nufacture, as was evidenced by the pro- portion of the relief fund which had been distributed in Bolton. With reference to parliamentary relorm he did not think that the public feeling was very much excited on that subject, notwitstanding the various meetings got up in order to create an agitation. When he first came be fore the electors of Bolton he expressed himself as favour able to a moderate extension of the franchise. He still held the same views: Moderate extension was not that which was proposed by Mr. Bright and his supporters. He (Mr. Gray) would be glad if all classes could be so educated as to be enabled to enjoy the privilege of voting, and use fully to exercise it. He believed such would ultimately be the case. We were now doing a good deal in the way of edu- cation. Some people said that £BO,OOO a year was a great sum to be voted for educational purposes. He thought that an nualsum u e f x p r e: o d u i s t y u r v e u t o e n d t fore a a r m be y t t e a r n d pur n a p .v o y s e . for this count r y it was very li tt l e, compare d w i t h the thTanhetrhee w e d a s u n n a o_ tional grant, and no equal amount would be more useful if the educational grant was properly expended. But there was a great number of schools that did not get a penny of that grant, which was enjoyed by only a small number—. 4,000 out of upwards of 11,000: and he welcomed the scheme proposed by Miss Burdett Contts, thinking that it would tend to remedy the evil. Coming to the considera tion of the Permissive Bill, he said that if it was not igno miniously rejected, it was at all events overthrown by a large majority. There was no wisdom in a measure which would leave the question of the sale of spirituous liquors in a district to the majority of the ratepayers. Such a step would be an injustice to the owners and occupiers of pub lic-house property. In his opinion the House of Commons took a very proper view of the bill ; and he would much rather, to quote the words of Mr. Bright (for he would do so when he and Mr. Bright agreed)—(laughter)—trust to the education of the people than to any such measure of legislation. (Hear.) If there was one tax which ought to bo . The anco Chancellor su repealed or reduced, i t was the duty on fire in t of the Exchequ er had dealt with it to a certain extent, but as a me mber of a Liberal Government he might lib e ral manner. It would have have dealt with it in a more, been wiser to have reduc ed the duty to 6d. per malt tax kinds of property, without an y exemption. Tr on all cent. e country • bhe did not much affect this p art of the , a reduction. ut tos The whom it did affect would attemp t to get o ith Chancellor of the Exchequer d id not like to interfer it, as it wa s a matter of six millions a year. Perhaps wine half of it might be remitted at some fu ture day. In all matters relating to Bolton he had had the co-opera tion of his honourable colleague (Mr. Barnes). A gen tleman had lately said that in their re p re sentatives they bad one man to say " yes," and another to say " no." (Laughter.) On the question of the ballot, and two or three s oth er questions, he differed with M r. B arne s. It e _ an ad vantage to th e t own t o h a ve one member on ach side, as whichever party was in office it gave them the ear of the Government. (La ug ht e r.) His colleague, he thought, h a d p the present Government, he hoped pr ecedence with Sol " day therewhould be a Government with which he (Mr. Gray) should gave him much pl easure to heave precedence. (Hear.) It celebrating the openin g of theiramong them that night in newsroom. They had taken a step in the right direction. If the Conservatives of Bolton chose to put forth their hands they might gain the whole power of the borough. As a rule the Conservatives, how ever,were not so much politicians asgentlemen on the other side. If there was a room in every ward like that which they were that night opening, a great deal might be done towards taking power into their own hands. (Cheers.) Several toasts followed, and the proceedings closed at a late hour. Lord Lichfield on the Question of Land Tenure, On Thursday afteenoon, at the Midland Farmers' Club, ;he discussion "On the Tenure of Land," introduced at a former meeting in a paper by Mr. R. H. Maslen, was resumed. The Earl of LICHFIELD, after some preliminary remarks, said, the club had come to certain resolutions which were calculated, as it appeared to him and to many persons, to interefere with the object which he had in view, rather than to assist it. He feared there was a great deal in the agreement they had been discussing which, if left as it was, and if .no further notice was taken of it by himself or others, might tend very much to deprive the tenant farmers of the country of the advantage which he sincerely hoped they might some day or other receive from the discussion which that question had already undergone. He was perfectly certain that there were both in the resolutions passed by the club and in the agreement they had drawn up, many points which would prevent the agreement from being generally adopted. He wished to dispel the notion that he was op- posed to leases and wished to set tenant farmers and land lords generally against leases. He was not opposed to leases, but they would bear in mind that whenever the subject of leases was mentioned the question of capital was always mixed up with it, and any one who had considered the sub ject must admit that for leases tenants with capital must be found. Mr. Masfen said in his paper that the capital would be forthcoming; but he must remind Mr. Masfen of the thing which Mr. Masfen would keep forgetting—namely, that the agreement to be decided upon was to be placed in the hands of existing tenant farmers, and it was undeniable that many of them had not the capital for leases ; therefore he was certain, and all men must be certain, that annual agreements were matters of absolute necessity. Therefore they had to consider a form of annual agreement, anditwas clear that no form would be generally adopted unless it was satisfactory not only to outgoing tenants and to landlords, but to incoming tenants also. (Hear.) His impression, derived from the resolutions passed by the club, from the agreement drawn up by them, and from the discussions that had taken place among them, was that they had only Looked at one interest—that of the outgoing tenant. (Hear. It was quite clear that if he was right in that impres• sion, their agreement would not be generally adopted and the fact that some of the members of the committee who drew up the agreement dissented from the reso lution upon which that agreement was founded, was not likely to cause the public to look with much confidence upon the result of all their deliberations. With reference to the remarks made by Mr; Newdegate, M.P., at the last meeting, his lordship said the hon. gentleman did not appear to have fully considered the agreement drawn up by the club, nor his (Lord Lichfield's) agreement either. Mr. New degate said he preferred the agreement drawn up by the club to that drawn up by him (Lord Lichfield), but he (Lord Lichfield) thought he should be able to convince Mr. Newdegate, if he had a short conference with him, that that was a mistaken preference. However, the visit of the hon. gentleman to the club had done some good, for it had attracted the attention of the Times, and that was a a great deal. The leading article that appeared in the Times did not throw much light upon the subject, for nobody could tell whether the writer of it favoured leases, compensation clauses, or anything else. But an article in the Times went a long way for all that. (Hear, hear.) The article he referred to, although not very explicit, would help to create an interest in the subject, and he for one was much obliged to the writer of it. When Mr. Newdegate said he was alarmed at his (Lord Lichfield's) agreement, he must have meant that by it too many claims for compen sation were admitted. He agreed with Mr. Newdegate that tenant-rights ought not to be made too heavy, so as to throw too great a burden upon the incoming tenant ; and therefore he could understand that Mr. Newdegate might have been rather frightened at all the claims that might be made for compensation. He had since written for one of Mr. Newdegate's own agreements, and he must say that it was a very good agreement. The only fault he found with it was that it left too wide a margin for arbitrators, and opened the door widely to the influence of what Mr, Newdegate himself in his speech condemned, viz., the "custom of the country." One of the main objects of draw- ing up an agreement was to get rid of " the custom of the country" altogether, and this could only be done by making the form of agreement complete, and then confining the arbitrators strictly to it. This could only be done by pro viding compensation in the agreement for everything for which the tenant could possibly claim. He now came to the objections he had to the agreement of the club. In the matter of repairs, they had put so much on tho landlord that they might as well have said at once that the landlord must do everything. The .tenant had only to provide the workmanship for the inside and for the gates, stiles, and fences. The landlord was to do everything else. This was contrary to the system hitherto pursued, and it was a very heavy obligation to put upon landlords at once. He could not say whether they would not be able to obtain these terms eventually under an improved state of agreements ; but for the present the landlords would not, he thought,be willing to undertake such heavy obligations. Again, in case of fire, the landlord was to do everything, although he was convinced that in nine cases out of ten fires were owing to the negligence of the farmer or his servants. He provided in his agreement that the tenant should draw the materials; and, considering what he had just stated, he did not think this was unreasonable. He did not provide in his agree ment that the tenant should insure, because he thought the landlord ought to be his own insurer. They proposed to allow the landlord to inspect the buildings and everything about the farm, but not to give him power to put anything into repair if the tenant neglected it. It was no very great privilege to allow him to see things in a bad state of repair if he could do nothing to put them right. The noble lord next referred to the clause about rabbits, and said the course adopted by the club with reference to this subject, so far from facilitating a satisfactory settlement of the ques tion, would have a contrary effect. They proposed that the tenant should have the right to kill rabbits in any way he liked. There must be an end to game preserving, for no landlord could preserve game if any other means than dig ging and ferreting were allowed for the destruction of rab bits. He was perfectly certain that no tenant who wished to be on good terms with his landlord would think of killing rabbits in the hedgerows and every place else at the time of year when game was breeding. Why, then, should they ask this privilege, seeing that he was sure none of them would make use of it ? Ought they not ratherto be willing to give the landlord power to protect himself against tenants who might not be actuated by any such good feeling ? No such provision for the destruction of rabbits as that contemplated by the club could be satisfactory to anybody. It would give rise to endless disputes between landlord and tenant. He declared that his experience was that those cases were quite exceptional in which game was preserved to an un reasonable extent, and he denied that as a rule the game question had interfered between landlords and tenants. What he proposed in his agreement was that the landlord should undertake to kill the rabbits both on the farm and in the covers, giving the tenant the power of protecting himself during certain months, and also giving him com pensation for damage done by game. But he wished it provided that notice of any intended claim for damage done by game should be given when the crops were in their early state, in order that the valuer might be able to distinguish between bad farming and what was eaten by game. He was advised by many that the question of damage done by game had far better be left alone, but he thought not, being convinced that, as he should place the agreement in his tenants' hands, that clause would never be acted upon. Now he came to the subject of restrictions, and he found that the club proposed to do away with restrictions altogether. He thought they had acted unwisely. Much had been said about agreements being for good tenants, and not for bad ones; but he thought that unless they made agreements for bad tenants they need not makelany at all. With the best tenants he would not care for any agreement. With regard to hay and straw, he was surprised to see that the club proposed to allow them to be sold without anything being brought back instead of . them. He provided in his agreement that the hay and straw should not be sold except with the con sent of the landlord, and good rotten manure being brought back instead. With respect to cropping, he thought it should, for the sake of the incoming tenant, be laid down very clearly the state in which the farm should be left in the last year. The strongest objection ho had to the club agreement was to the last clause which the schedule attached to it. It would not be possible for a man, having a schedule put into his hand describing the condition of a farm 10 or 15 years ago, to make anything like a fair estimate of the improvements or deterioration that might have taken place since. As re garded this part of the agreement, he would never adopt it himself, and he was certain that scarcely a landlord in the country would do so. He was now sorry that when he attended the first meeting he did not propose that his agreement should be discussed, and that amendments of it should have been suggested. He thought it would have been desirable if the club had confined them selves as far as possible to the discussion of his agree ment instead of drawing up an agreement of their own. If they had taken that course he might have been able to alter his agreement very much in accordance with their opinions ; but in drawing up an agreement such as the club had thought fit to draw up they had inter fered with the object he had in view. He firmly believed that the opinions embodied by the club in that agreement were not the opinions of the majority of the tenant farmers of this country—that was to say, of the tenant farmers who had really well considered the matter. (Hear, hear.) For the last two years he had received numerous letters from the best farmers in every part of the country, and although h e a cknowledged not one o f them a pp roved n o n f d a t l h l, ey th e e e y rta w ini er y e the whole of approved his rh a oe g e e deamit main in thee t r , ef sa yet, tv him with reference r e u t t r i a o k o n s i f n a g i l n 1 t t t h r h o e e d o u c p c l i n e n u s d i o b l e l y s 8, to the sale of produce. He felt that he had spoken very freely of the agreement and of the resolutions of the club, but he wished to be understood that he was extremely obliged to them for the assistance they had shown a dis position to give him in the matter, although he was of opinion thatthey had failed to do so. To show what was his position in this matter, he had, as it were, sucked the brains of everybody he could lay hold of—(laughter)—in eluding the members of that club. He intended now to withdraw his agreement altogether from any further discus sion. He had quite made up his mind upon the main points which he intended to embody in the agreement. There were one or two matters of detail which he proposed to alter in the agreement. For instance, he intended to give more encouragement to autumn cultivation, by allowing 20s. an acre for land left clean, whether cultivated or ploughed. He did not intend to insist on so large a portion of straw being left as was proposed by the club. He had been very strongly urged to make some allowance for the use of arti ficial food, and he thought he should in all probability de termine to allow for probably a third of the last year's con sumption. He had quite come to the conclusion that artificial manures were not to be allowed for. In many instances they not only did not leave much in the land but they took a great deal out of it to the injury rather than the benefit of the incoming tenant. If the tenant wished to make use of artificial manures, let him go to his landlord and make an arrangement as to whether an allow ance should be made or not. , He should insert a clause strictly confining the arbitrators to the agreement. (Ap plause.) Some discussion followed, in the course of which several clauses in the agreement introduced by the club were amended, and the draught, with the amendments, was ordered to be printed. Metropolitan Board of Works. This board held its usual weekly meeting yester• day at the offices in Spring-gardens. The President, J. Thwaites, Esq., took the chair at 12 o'clock. FINANCE. The cash statement for the current week shows a total general balance of £719,137 Os. 10d. STATE OF THE METROPOLITAN ROADS. The Board received a deputation from the Society 'or the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, to presen a memorial on the subject of forming and repairing the roads of the metropolis. The memorialists par ticularly specified the sufferings which cattle had to endure from passing over the roads where the gra nite was loose. The PRESIDENT informed the deputation that this was a matter over which the Board, at present, had no jurisdiction. The deputation then withdrew. THE WIMBLEDON PARK BILL. Mr. DOULTON, M.P., called attention to the Wim , . bledon-park Bill, and moved that the Bill should be referred to the Streets Committee for consideration and report. He said he took this step in order that the members of the Board might make themselves acquainted with the contents of this Bill ; but if he had adopted his own views he should have moved a resolution entirely condemning the measure brought forward under this title. It might be said that this Bill affected a district in which the Board had no jurisdiction, as Wimbledon-common was outside the metropolitan area ; but this was not altogether cor• rect, as a portion of the common was in Wands. worth, and so was in the jurisdiction of the Board. Supposing, however, that the whole of the common was outside the area under the Board's jurisdiction the common had been of special advantage to the metropolis in giving an open space where the people could have recreation and healthful enjoy ment ; and on that ground alone it would be advisable for the Board to consider the ques- tion. (Hear.) Among the many duties of the Board it had to form parks ; and it would have to pay something like £50,000 for Finsbury-park, and a like sum for a Southwark Park ; and when these two parks were formed he ventured to say no more parks would be needed for the metropolis, as, in addition to these two, there would be Battersea Park, Regent's Park, St. James's Park, and Vic toria Park. The Board's attention ought,.then, to be turned to the preservation of the natural parks— the open spaces round the metropolis ; and powers should be sought for placing those open spaces under the jurisdiction of the Board, or of some other body, for the use and enjoyment of the public. (Hear, hear.) The object of the Wimbledon-com mon bill was, he should show, to give powers for the enclosure of Wimbledon-common ; to sanction part of the common being built upon, and to form the portion which remained into a fashionable park like St. James's, where certainly the inhabitants could walk, but not where they were able to enjoy them- selves with the freedom which they now possessed on the open spaces. The preamble of the bill showed hat this was the intention, for it said, "Wimble dom-common is the resort of numerous gipsies and other wanderers, whence nuisances and annoyances result, and so large a tract of land open and unpro tected in the neighbourhood of London is liable to other annoyances and abuses." He took exception to this, and held that the common was not liable to annoyances and abuses. The third clause proposed to give power for drives to be made, trees planted, lakes and ponds to be formed, and, in fact, to form 'the common into a fashionable park, andit was pro posed to place over it a " protector" — a term he did not like at all, for there was something autocratic in it. (A laugh.) And the protector was to have the power of excluding anybody he liked from the park. By section 5 the park might be used for purposes of practical utility, but then only with permission of the that protector and with the sanction of the H ome Secre tary.o This " purpose of practical utility" d ou btl ess and referred hew t ° au h d e volunteer take oecas gatheringsoccasion to s ay h on at the h e common, flly ap preciated preciated all that Earl Spencer had done for the volunteer movement, and the noble earl had done a very great deal for that patriotic organisation ; but this fact must be looked at—that it would be com petent for Earl Spencer to retract his permission to the volunteers to have the use of the common, and no one had power over him if he did so ; or the next Earl Spencer might not have the same views as the present noble earl, and might put into force all the exclusive powers which the bill proposed to give him ; or the noble earl might sell his rights in the park when formed ; and as the protectorship would go with the purchase, the use of the park by the public could be stopped altogether by the purchaser. The fifth clause gave power to the protector to close the park and claim money for entrance, which no doubt related to the National Rifle Association meetings there, and then went on to say, " but the park shall not be used for the purposes of political meetings, nor for open-air preaching, nor for any meetings of clubs or benefit societies." This last exclusion he could only characterise as snobbish. The clause further gave the protector power to " permit the park to be used for all such games and pastimes, and at such times and in such places, and under such conditions and restrictions as he shall think proper ;" and he was to have power to make by-laws for the government of the park—by-laws which he was to be able to put into force without any intervening power, and to repeal when he thought proper ; and he might under the bill sanc tion a proceeding one day and countermand that sanction the next day. Another proposal of the bill was that the protector should be empowered to build a mansion on the most beautiful part of the com mon—namely, that part known as the " Windmill side," and he was to appropriate two acres of the sur rounding land as pleasure grounds to his mansion. It was, under the provisions of the bill, quite competent for Earl Spencer to say to the public, " You cannot enter the park only at certain periods of the day," and he might enclose any portion of it for his own pleasure. There was a notion abroad that Earl Spencer was giving up a great deal in offering to deal with the common in the manner in which by this Bill it was proposed to deal with it. But this was not so. If it was assumed that Earl Spencer had power to build over the common he would be giving up a great deal by the passing of this Bill ; but he had no such power. He had rights to sell the gravel, and he had pasturage rights; and this Bill not only proposed to give him these, but it proposed to give him the right to sell such portions as would cover the whole expense of forming the re maining portion into an ornamental park round his own mansion, and maintaining the park when it was formed, so that land now worth only 30s. an acre would be made worth £4 or £5 an acre. At present Earl Spencer had no power to build over the com mon ; and there were other rights besides his—those of the copyholders and commoners ; and this very fact brought him before Parliament, for these other rights took the land out of the catagory of freehold property. He (Mr. Doulton) had been told not to oppose a measure which proposed to give the rate payers a park for nothing, and in answer to this he said that the Board ought to have powers to maintain these spaces in their present state, which could be done without costing the ratepayers a shilling. He had learned something from the pro posals contained in this Bill, and that was—the powers which were sought to be vested in the "pro tector " ought to be vested in the Board, or some other body, he cared not which, and that body ought to have compulsory powers to acquire these open spaces, and having sold a portion of each to pay the costs, maintain the other portions in their natural state for the use of the people. (Hear.) He considered that Earl Spencer was wise in his generation in mov ing in this matter thus early; but he was only antici pating the action which Parliament was pledged to take by the decision on the motion of Mr. William Cox in the sesion before last, and on his own last session. If the board agreed to his motion the sub j ect could be fully gone into, and such steps taken as might be thought advisable. (Applause.) Mr. CARPMAEL seconded the motion, and said that legislation with respect to the common lands had been most unfair, inasmuch as the rights of the people had not been at all considered. Mr. NEWTON asked if anything was to be done with regard to the open spaces at the east of London —namely, in the Epping Forest question. The CHAIRMAN replied that this matter was now before the Government. Mr. LOWMAN TAYLOR spoke in favour of the mo tion, which was carried unanimously. THE COMPLETION OF THE MAIN DRAINAGE WORKS The Chief Engineer reported that he was now en abled to state that the whole of the main drainage works of the metropolis would be completed and in operation by the 29th of March next, with the ex ception of the Northern Low-level Sewer, which is being constructed in conjunction with the Thames Embankment, which sewer drained only about one seventh of the metropolis. Mr. FREEMAN moved that the report should be printed, and that the Main Drainage Committee should be empowered to make arrangements for the opening of the works. The motion was carried nem. con. THE THAMES EMBANKMENT. The Thames Embankment Committee reported that this undertaking was now proceedingvery satis factorily, with the exception that the supply of granite was not equal to the demand, and recom mended that the committee should have power to make arrangements for the better supply of this material. The report was approved. THE WESTMINSTER ACCIDENT. The Superintending Architect reported upon the Roman Catholic 'Free Schools, in which the terrible accident last week happened. He stated that the building was 70 feet long by 20 wide; with an upper story constructed with timber girders 13 inches by 121, bedded 9 inches at each end in an 18-inch wall, and spanning 20 feet, and in which joints of 2f were tennoned. The floor from the north to the south was divided into seven bays by six similar girders. On the day of the accident a platform was erected at the extreme north end of the upper room for the purpose of drawing a lottery, and the rest of the floor was crowded with spectators—between, it was said, 400 and 500. No doubt the part nearest the platform was the most crowded, and this was the portion which gave way, over an area of 400 superficial feet, and, supposing there were 120 persons on that space, with a weight of 71 tons. The report then went on to say that wooden girders of the thickness of those in the building ought to take a pressure of 40 tons before breaking, whereas this one had broken with a weight of about four tons, part of the weight being on the other girders. He thought the wood was American pine, a wood which should only be used for joiner's work. If the best Baltic timber had been used, as it ought to have been, a pressure of 20 tons could have been put on without danger. The report was referred to the Building Act Com mittee, and after the disposal of other business the Board adjourned, smir OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. --•- TIMES.—The argument in the case of " Feather v. The Queen," and the elaborate judgment which the Court of Queen's Bench yesterday delivered may fairly be regarded as the coup de grace of the Patent Law. The successful argument to which the Attorney-General lent the weight of his authority can only be taken as an expression of opinion on the part of the first law officer of the Crown and the head of the English Bar, that our Law of Patents ought to be immediately abolished as a hindrance to the development of national wealth and an ob stacle to the progress of improvement of our manu factures. It is true that no such opinion can be found explicitly stated in the speech of Sir Roundell Palmer before the Judges at Westminster; but it is impossible to suppose that he would use the argu ment which has proved so successful if he were not convinced that the Patent Law ought to be re moved from our Statute-book. Mr. Feather is the patentee of an invention for making ships impreg nable by constructing them partly of iron and partly of wood ; and it was assumed as a basis of argu ment, and may now be taken for granted, that his invention was at once novel and useful. Such being the case, he complained that the Lords of the Ad miralty, in the construction of the Enterprise, had pirated his invention, and he filed a Petition of Right for redress of his grievance. We may at once dismiss the answer that he had taken the wrong method for asserting his claims. At best, this would be only 'a dilatory plea, and, in fact, the judgment yesterday given was against Mr. Feather on the merits of his claim, and would have been the same whatever form of procedure he had followed. On the merits of the case the Attorney-General advanced two novel and highly ingenious reasons why Mr. Feather should not succeed in his action. The first was•that, allowing patents in general to bind the Crown, and to debar it from using the inventions specified in them without the consent of the respective patentees, yet this particular patent referred to an invention which concerned the defence of the realm, and the Crown under its prerogative was justified in disregarding it. It is conceded that the exclusive use of an invention is a proper subject of proprietary rights, and the argument, therefore, amounts to this, that the rights of ownership of private persons must, without any satisfaction by way of compensation, give way to the necessities of the State. No distinction can be drawn on this part of the case between the exclusive right to occupy a field and the exclusive right to work an invention, and the Attor ney-General did indeed, in support of his position, cite the authority of Coke, that the Crown might seize for the purposes of defence all the saltpetre in the realm. The Court of Queen's Bench were dis posed to pay very little attention to an argument which rested on no well-considered authority, and which, if sound, made such an Act as the recent Defence Act unnecessary and wasteful. That Act empowered the Secretary-at-War to compel the sale of certain plots of ground along the coast to serve as sites of fortifications ; but if the Attorney- General were correct, the Crown—without any con sideration or any formality of sale—might have en tered and seized upon these lands for such a pur pose, in virtue of its prerogative. It is, of course, possible that the Act was a blunder, but its machinery serves to answer the sole reason advanced by Sir Roundell Palmer in support of this branch of his argument. He is reported to have said that unless the Crown could appropriate to its use inventions of service in war, they might be communicated to our enemies and kept back from our own Government. No such consequence necessarily follows. The prin ciple embodied in the Defence Act and in every Rail way Act refutes it. Whenever the public service re quires a private owner to sell his property to the State, the Legislature can properly intervene to compel him to sell it at the valuation of his neighbours, and there is no necessity why it should be taken in any other way. Had Mr. Feather's claim been impeached on the simple ground that his invention concerned the defence of the realm, the answer could not have been admitted. The second argument of Sir Roun dell Palmer against Mr. Feather's claim was irresis tible. He denied that the Crown was bound by its Letters Patent. It could scarcely be asserted that letters patent, such as those granted by Queen Eliza beth to Sir Walter Raleigh for the importation of sweet wines, were anything more than privileges conferred by the Sovereign on one subject, in dero gation of the rights of other subjects, and of them alone ; but it would probably be a mistake to con fuse such grants with the Patents conceded since the Statute of Monopolies. This statute is, in fact, the Magna Charta of the rights of the people against patentees. The Commons, in the reign of James 1., clamoured against the profuse grants of monopolies, and at length obtained the Act in question for their own protection. It recites the great grievance and inconvenience suffered- by his Majesty's subjects, • and enacts, at their suit, that all monopolies are the Confederai cy thus ostentatiously ignored the; contrary to the law and void, with the sole e xce p tion authorit y of the Governs( int which they h"ethe of Letters Patent granted to the inven tors for the recentl y established. But it is not. alone on working or making of new manufactures. This ground of its b ein g i mpai 'tic tha t Mr. Davis 11! is the statute which to this day determines the posi- protested against indepen lent State action as tion of patentees, all later acts dealing only with endeavour to re-establish p eace. If, as the Soothe in. matters of detail, In form and in substance it is President observes, a cony( ration of States, concerned with no more than the rights wh ich one in g those both of the Nordand South, should 10:. subject can acquire as against another, and the re- agreed upon, either each ! separate State would. lotions between the Crown and a patentee are left serve the right of being me fettered by the decisieno untouched by it. Even if the ordinary canon of of the majority of the: men ibers of the conventior construction of Acts of Parliament, that the Cro wn or the reverse. But in tl Le former case that yey is not bound, unless specially named, were set aside , right fo r which the South has combated wou ld 9e it it could not be successfully argued that the rig hts expressly acknowledged, and such an admis siol which, whatever they might be, remained in t h 6 would be idle to expect from the Northern S tates, °e Crown upon the grant of a Patent before the St a- a nd in the latter case the .members of the Coded, tute of Monopolies, were affected by that statute. racy would, of necessity-,. be outvoted by those e The effect of the Statute was, indeed, no more than -UN rival Federation, and' A their fate would thus this, that the Crown was thereby appointed a dee;ded by a vote the issue' of which could 11° A minister, to confer, under certain conditions, a Pri - uncer,Lain. It is one of the ."oils of democrati c . vilegium to one or more of its subjects, in derogation vernmei.t that whenniatters no tp ro ceed siva° wil . of the rights of the rest ; and it is this function the fault invariably impute dto those in ed. w hich the Attorney-General, as the officer of the hands the sL: I t o il e preme authority is ;`or the time repo.S . _, o Crown, has discharged from the time of the statute, The local Le'gA.'slatures of the So uthern States !i li a c ' e and still discharges. Whether we regard the Patents become impatie h fi in consequence of the.; continua_ which has been granted since the Statute of Mono - of the wa r, and at fain to suppose 'that if the op' polies as concessions of the same character as those portunities for negotiating with Vile enemy,ht previously granted, or whether we look on them as afforded to them, all subsisting ~differences privileges of an entirely different order, resting on speedily b e arran g ed. The fallacy of such I: 6° : l e i r s the authority of the Statute, the short conclusion is is, however, exposed by Mr. Day is in a wa ll ow that a patentee has no rights against the Crown, and which, we are sure, ratzst carry 0. anviction w a _ the privileges conceded to him do not therefore pre- minds of all whose common sense =ld patriotism 4 vent the Crown from using his invention. The not altogether stifled by mistrust of a Governilufsr argument of Sir Roundel]. Palmer was ingenious which cannot perform impossibilitit Is. " The ll ' i tte v r, and successful ; but when we consider it apart of these resolutions," says Mr. Das is in his t vi e from all technicality, it is seen to be so destitute " and those who concur in his v iews„ appear 7 the of solid foundation that no Attorney-General to commit the radical error of suppc usingtillaapsire would venture to use it who had not persuaded obstacle to obtaining the peace wh ich we all ties himself that the Patent Law ought to be consists in the diffic ult y of findin g p roper agen _o , abolished. Sir Roundell Palmer has succeeded in for negotiating, so that the whole scopes of the, he , 0 showing that the Crown is not bound by Lette r s lotio ns ends in nothin g but su gg esting that 4,,fte Patent. But what is the Crown in this matter ? enemy will treat, the best agency would be ie and When it is said that the Crown can assume the use delegat es to a convention, whereas the ,ho of any patented invention without compensating the only obstacle is that the enemy will no t treat at . L, Patentee, the meaning is that the whole body of or entertain any ot her proposition than that4t taxpayers are relieved from a liability to which each should submit to their yoke, acknowledge 'fa one of them singly is subject, and the conclusion of we are criminals, and appeal to their mercy the Attorney-General, sanctioned by the Court of pardon." Queen's Bench, is that, though a patent binds each subject individually, it does not bind them collec tively. Mr. Feather may prevent any private ship builder any firm or company of shipbuilders, from using his invention, but he cannot interfere with its use by the Lords of the Admiralty, who are the agents of the nation. No show of reason or of justice can be advanced in support of this anomaly. If any one subject is rightly debarred from the use of Mr. Feather's invention without paying him for permission to use it, the whole body of subjects ought to be put under a similar disability ; and if the whole body can properly be allowed to use the invention without compensating the inventor, the same freedom ought to be conceded to every member of it. If any difference could be permitted between the rights of a single subject and the nation, it ought to be in favour of the subject, for the nation can compel an inventor to sell his privilege a power which the subject cannot put in action. Sir Boun den Palmer, in using the line of defence adopted in " Feather v. the Queen," must be held to express his opinion that there is no reason why Mr. Feather should be allowed to demand compensation from an individual. The substance of the transaction on the granting of a patent is that the inventor pub lishes his secret to t his countrymen, and gets in exchange a limited monopoly of its use. The form in which this substance is embodied is that the Crown, acting as the Minister of the nation, grants a monopoly. The Judges of the Queen's Bench have deemed themselves bound by the form of the transaction, but the Attorney-General could not have raised this novel defence, producing in the opinion of the Court some retrospective injustice, unlesshe was convinced that the transactionwas sub stantially impolitic. Itwould, of course, be improper in ordinary cases to identify the private opinion of the advocate with the arguments advanced by him on behalf of his client ; but when the argument is one of novelty, urged by the Attorney-General on behalf of the Crown, we are warranted in conclud ing that the advocate approves the defence as a matter of good conscience as well as of law. We shall not quarrel with the Attorney-General's con clusion. We are satisfied to welcome him not merely as an opponent of a system which works the despair of inventors and represses the improvement of manufactures, which does not stimulate in vention but which does hinder progress, and which adds to the cost of production, but as one who, after the fullest experience, has convinced him self that public convenience can be met by nothing short of the abolition of patents. POST.—The Southern States are confessedly anxious to make peace ; and it is not unnatural that they should cast about in order to discover the means by which this most desirable end is to be attained. However persons may differ in opinion respecting the precise objects with which the two sections of the once united American Republic have taken up arms, no doubt can exist respecting the willingness of one of these sections to desist from strife on the earliest opportunity. Whether the South is fighting, as some suppose, for political in dependence or for the perpetuation of slavery, it is at all events not fighting for conquest. It claims the right of separating itself from that league of which it once formed an unimportant part, and, if its claims are recognised, it is perfectly indifferent to the course which may be taken by those States with which it was formerly politically united. With the North it is different. The Federal Government still assert that they are the true and lawful repre sentatives of that entirety of States which consti tuted the American Union ;. and they deny to any of those States the right of forming themselves into a Republic independent of the authority which they profess to exercise. In plain language, the South simply asks to be let alone ; the North requires that it shall submit to its jurisdiction. It may be said that the South is the aggres sor, because by its secession, or, as some will have it, by its rebellion, it rendered aggres sion necessary on the part of the North ; but assum ing the legitimacy of its demands, it is content to lay down its arms if those demands are acceded to. From the commencement of the war the South have been ever ready to enter into negotiations for the re-establishment of peace, and, being the weaker of the_two belligerents, its anxiety to bring hostilities to a close has not diminishedi as the war proceeded. Sanguine of speedy and complete success, the North in the first instance underrated the vigour of its adversary, and the results of the first three years of the war only served to whet the animosity of those 'representing the established Government, whilst they failed to furnish any indication of the approach of that consummation which they so much desired. But, as the war proceeded, the disparity of strength between the opponents began to tell against the weaker one, and without flinching in the resolve by which it was actuated when the struggle began, it became still more anxious than before to arrange, if possible, on satisfactory terms the dispute which had already cost it so much. The Central Government of the Southern Confederacy failed to open nego tiations for peace, and some of the States of which that Confederacy is composed conceived the idea of effecting by separate action that which the united Governments were unable to accomplish. The scheme having been mooted, the opinion of the Southern President was sought in respect to its feasibility, and we publish elsewhere the reply of Mr. Davis to a communication on the subject made by. some of the members of the Legislature of the State of Georgia. Since his election to the responsible position of President of the infant republic, it cannot be denied that Mr. Davis has shown himself to be a very able statesman. His qualifications as a stra tegist have recently been called in question ; but in all matters relating to the government of the Confederacy he has evinced a sagacity which will entitle him to the esteem and admiration of his fellow citizens. It was, it would seem, suggested that Mr. Davis approved of independent State action in endeavouring to open negotiations for peace; and, in consequence of these suggestions, an expres sion of his opinion was sought as to the advisability of the Georgian Legislature taking the initiative in adopting such a course. His answer, as might have been anticipated, is one of complete disapproval. Indeed, it is not easy to understand how anything save a conviction that the Confederacy was unable to protract the struggle, and that the Federal Go vernment were determined in any event on refusing to acknowledge the competence of the Government at Richmond to open negotiations for peace, could have given rise to the idea that by separate action the Southern States could succeed in obtaining from the North that recognition of their independence for which they have hitherto contended with so much obstinacy. Mr. Davis had so little trouble in de monstrating the inutility, not to say absurdity, of the proposed scheme, that he excused himself for discussing the subject simply on the ground that his correspondents desired a full exposition of his views. The Confederacy must stand or fall as a whole, and unless the various States composing it were . unanimous in the opinions which they entertained in respect to the conditions on which peace should be concluded, in which case the Central Government would be the most appropriate organ for the expres sion of their wishes, independent State action could only lead to discord. " The immediate and inevit able tendency cif such distinct action by each State is to create discordant instead of united counsels, to suggest to our enemies the possibility of the dissolu tion of the Confederacy, and to encourage them by the spectacle of our divisions to more determined and united action against us." It is certainly difficult to understand how the Federal Government could arrive at any other conclusions if the several members o: s. d. COUNTRY MARKETS L I VERP OL.—PRIDAY. d4 l, We had only' a small attendanc e at our market 010- and the demand ,for wheat has been equally so, pricks g d „.,3 rally ruling a shaalg below this day se'nnight. Floo r d and the turn lower. Indian corn offered freolY, ale quote the decline fully 9 d per q r. on the week. steady. Peas and barley the turn cheaper. LINCOLN. —FRIDAY. 3 6 New white wheat, 40s to 445; r stone. Barley for malting, 30s 34s per qr ; t o new red, 36s to 39s . P . e „ n g, 29s to 328 per 30 stone. Oats, 21s to 245. Beans) 39s per qr. DERBY—FRIDAY: 'dings stone. New white wheat' l ' 42s to 45s ; new real, 38 s to 's.'dingt stone. Barley for malting, 30s to 33s per qr. • grpos 5 to 27s to 28s per 30 stone. Oats, new, 23s to 25s ; ° q l Q U' s to ° 27s per 24 stone. Bbeans,,old, 42s to 455; BeN r ; " per 38 stone. The wheat trade ruled dull, and the .—FRIDAY business alter been of a retail character ; prices have a downvirBr.* dency ; fine barley is in fair demand at late rates. diet The following are the averaes for the weelqa qrs., Jan. 30 :—Wheat, 1,391 qrs., at 38s 111 d ; barleY , at 31s 4jd ; oats, 43 qrs., at 21s 3-1-d ; beans, V s "' Od ; peas, qrs., at —s Od. S T AMP ORD.—FRIDAY. 9 6 4 V er qt) New white wheat, 40s to 425; new red, 386 to 2 5 4 to -, stone. Barley, finest samples, 32s ; other sorts , „`"i storl` . per qr. Oats, new, 18s to 245; old, 25s to 28s per Beans 36s to 39s per 38 stone. Peas as heretofore. BRISTOL SUGAR.—FRIDAY. The sales this week have been very small, and f tt sjf o li ,ll l l slightly in favour of buyers. Refined produce sells sa at last week's prices. Rum----Tamaicas at 3s to as readily the finer sorts are in limited demand. COAL MARE Price per ton at the .:ET, JAN. 30. close of the inarket. s. J o . 1 8 6 Kelloe .. . ... . ......... 19 ~ Walls End 'Jetta. 1 9 u 6 East Hartlepool ...... 11 0 Eden Main ............ 16 Holywell Main ....... West Hartley ..... .. . Davison's W. t, 17 ; sold, 15. Bowers West Hartley 15 0 Carway and Duffryn Malting 22 0 Cowpen Hartley Walls End Haswell l9 6 Lambert's W. Hartley 14 6 Walker Primrose l2 6 Hastings Hartley l5 0 Ships at market Foreign Mail Packet List. 8 , Australia and New Zealand, via Southampt on.• • • • Feb' g. Ditto, via Marseilles .......................... h, Brazil and Cape Verde, by British pan. et .......... Ditto, by British packet F ebr Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena...• F e-. 1 5. China, Penang,, and Singapore, via Sou hampton• F e " Feb' Ditto, via Marseilles Faikiand Islands .............. 1181: Gibraltar, via Southampton ....... ••• • • h lz . India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Scuthampton•••• }e'e"h' 12' Ditto, via Marieilles ... . ...... .. . ..... h • India (Bombay), via Southampton.. ................ Fe Feb.." 6. Ditto, via tdarseiiles .................... •• • h it , Mauritius, via Southampton ............... ..... • Ditto, via Marseil Feb 46 . Newfoundland Portugal •• •••• ••• .... ..... Ditto, by private ship to Lisbon:. ...... .•.,„"ri.: 9 , United States and British North America, bI P . gem tish packet .• • Ditto. by United States packet, via Southator _ •• tc,n l) 10 .. . ............... 1 0 : Ditto, via Cork • ' ...fe Ditto, by Canadian packet, v i a Londonderry. 0, West Coast of Africa, Madeira, and Teneriffe .• • • • West Indies and Pacific (except Bahamas, I g. and Mexico ................ ........ . . ........ •• • : t o. 15,. Bahamas, via New York. .............. ........... iff, Bermuda, ditto... Cuba and Mexico . •. 00000000 •:::...reb p The Messager du Midi states that rae a— t been found to terminate the negotiation relative t ° ,2 1 ,,, change of Roman prisoners against those who, Are `;0 11 ," 1 , in the prisons of the kingdom of Italy. As all the 1 tr t consisted in hindering the Italian flag from appea ri L 3s I 4e t port of Civita Vecchia, the French steamer Gregeim oo t" quality of a neutral vessel, will effect the transfeL fi tted sea. An Italian frigate is to make her appearance o u Vecchia, beyond the maritime limits of the StateS' Pope, where the exchange will be operated. THE SOUTH WALES IRON WORKS.—The 1 1 ' )I iroP, notice for a reduction in wages at the South W 3le il ev , Works terminated on the 31st ult., and the reports l' e t te a from the majority of the works are to the effect ili a i lb 'ef e : men have quietly accepted the reduction. It is 7 1 00 .4 1 that matters have been arranged in an equally P ti , s „,'! ' e c t l s manner at the remaining works, and thus the di 6 ' - e been saved from the disastrous consequences whieli attend a turnout. At Blanenavon a slight G101:11003.: arisen with the puddlers, but it is expected thg.t pute will be settled in a day or two, all the other f cc of the company having agreed to submit to the 1 ° r 11 reduction. [ADVERTISEMENT.] —Holloway ' s Ointment an d f not be too highly commended for the favourable '11f0.,, they exercise over the skin. In all eruptions, d he. t tions, and ulcerations, the astringent qualitie° ,i; guent render it so efficacious in first cleansing 9 ' iD e he fug the diseased part, then inducing renewed a t t o hid er action, as to ultimately leave the surface in , orrf health. Holloway's Ointment works the 1 31 ° 5 1 8 le'', fully beneficial results in bad legs, chronic s° rtl „ - ft o ,o l improving e and quickening the sluggish and in l r,, r so,l ulation, removing all corrupt matters, and in 'O l disposition to heal. Holloway's Ointment thro s it I° l4 terious drawback on the functions of the sk ili vtli efe festly augments its evaporation kncl perspirat iol l 0 1 pr) tit softness and pliability supplant its eviousl dry state. _O./2 Births. 11 1111 BARKER.—On the 2d inst., at Eliot Bank, F°rest-col i " John Barker, of a son. DAVIES.—On the 2d inst., at Pentre, the wife °I 9 1 Davies, of a son. 1 ,00/ DENTON.—On the 3d inst., the wife of James Rectory-road, Stoke Newington, of a daug'"-:047 HARBERTON.—On the 2d inst., at 1, Queen's-e the Viscountess Harberton, of a daughter. Marriages. . 4 10 0 ifteto DUNBAR—SLEEMAN.—On the 2d inst., a t All S'o,ltie o dington, Edward Dunbar, Captain 102 d I W ir f 0 11 fe Fusiliers, to Mary Esther, youngest datightel CY' 0 Major-General Sir William Henry Sleenla n, t ° gal Army, and Lady Sleeman. . os to- j oy SIMPSON—SENIOR.- On the Ist inst. at at I.ens i ( one . church, Charles Turner Simpson, of lii,ittte Mary Charlotte Mair, only daughter of t'e William Senior, Esq. , A le; . • Deaths. f % i r i 6 BIRD.—On the 31st ult , William Bird, Escl' , o t. c -t lo t 1, place, N.E., and of . 37, Basinghall-stre" fee' 65. Gro`l e- o, Dixox.—On the 2d inst. Mr. Thomas Dix° ° ' , o e ft 't Camden-town, aged 73.' ,,, , v h61 34 il i HAYEs.—Suddenly, at his residence 9, St.„-P,',7 P. -. , i i, 4 HamMersmith, John Hayes, Esq., of the -° 11 " --. ° V Co.'s C.S. - r( t, Joh $ ll LEMME.-011 the 2d inst., at Blackheath, —e„t, 17-' l l ' Lemme, Esq., of London and Antwerp, 3 t i o c ilss i " 7 , MATTHES.—On the 2st inst., at Zwolle , "'JO,. r: Matthes, late of 24, St. Jam . e ' s's-street, r icc' ' Sil‘7.' ''' SILVER.—On the Ist inst ,at Croydon PE'eP Silo Esq., M.A., Trin. Col ~0 son James of Kensington. . " ------ OVii, 1 1 0 i Lo r don : Pri .ted and Pubilehed by Vi'lL TV' 0 0ce , ad of No. 112, Strand, Pi in at TUB st/ 4 ,, 14 1)(14 Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, Middlesex. — Saturday , February_ 4, 18°4' THE SUN, _LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY I, 1865. C r (; ll] ti!