The Sun. — London, England, 1867-05-04 00:00:00

..--- the Government, in which the question of residence was stated to be looked upon as a vital principle in the bill, asked if it was a general letter written by the right hon. gentleman? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQEIJER said the hon. gentleman was an excellent judge of style, but be (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) did not deny being the author of t e pe letter, and also he would say the letter ex pressed the feeling of hiscolleagues. Although he di l not feel it was right he should be called upon to answer every word be might write to hispolitical friends in a moment of great political emergency. (Hear, hear, and laughter.) He would not attempt to enter into a discussion of what a vital principle was at that particular moment. (Hear, hear.) He was not ashamed of the letter, and moreover he consiiiered it a very good one. (Loud laughter.) 7.1 R. OSBORNE'S "MARE'S NE-)T." Mr. OSBORNE gave notice that on an early day be should call up , ,n the hon. member for Swansea to produce the erigioal memorandum which had been referred to the other evenimr. TIIE PROPOSED MEETING IN HYDE PARK. Mr. BRIGHT said—After the questions put to the Home Secretary at the commencement of the evening, I was a little doubtful whether it would be desirable for me to bring forward the question of which I have given notice in a more direct form before the house. On further consi deration, and communication with some friends, it has been thought better that something more should be said on a question which is exciting great interest, and, from what has transpired to-night, some alarm—though I hope much less than that manifested within these walls. I beg to as sure the right hon. gentleman that I do not rise to make any attack on him, or to increase the difficulty of dealing with a question which has been and is now before him. In looking at the question as one of legality and right, I shall not undertake to say whether the members of the Reform League and others, who propose to hold the meeting in Hyde-park on Monday, are acting with strict legality or not; nor shall I undertake to say whetherthe Government are right to forbid the meeting in the park. I should say, from the notice which the right hon. gentleman gave last night of a bill to define the rights of the people to admis sion, that neither he himself nor his colleagues are by any means satisfied ef the clearness of the law on which they act in preventing the meeting. Well, I presume—l will as sume generally that nobody has a right to close the park on any day and occasion, but that that right is one which can only be ex Teised in accordance with the public interest and for the public good. (Hear, hear.) It is quite clear that, though technically and legally there may be right, yet practically there is no such right. The Government cannot or dare not attempt to close the gates against the public on any frivolous pretence, and therefore a right to close the park any day is of no effect, was one never intended to be exercised, and never has been exercised. Nothing can be more clear than this, and if the right hon. gentleman is candid—and no one can doubt his candour—he will not say that it is not lawful for any number of men to enter the park ; and further, that when in they may stand shoul der to shoulder; and further, I am sure he will say that it is not unlawful to speak in a loud voice in the park. (Oh, oh, and laughter.) We shall presently have an opportunity of hearing what his opinion is, anal think he would say it is not illegal for those present to listen. (Laughter.) My own impression is that the Government will act on the opinion that none of these things are illegal. But itmay be said, with a certain show of reason, that a great meeting may be attended with danger to the public peace, and that therefore it is the business of the Home-office to prohibit the meeting. That is a doctrine which many persons hold in this house; but then this house is timid—one section is very timid—l mean gentlemen opposite. The timidity is not on the Treasury benches, but lower down at this end, whence ccme those clamours as if some great danger threa tened us. Now if we had been bred in Paris this might be a reasonable fear. We know that one intended banquet there was deemed very perilous, and because it did not hap pen peril came. Men might learn wisdom from these events. But in England great meetings have never been found pro ductive of breaches of the peace. (Murmurs from the Mini sterial side.) I defy you to found any argument from the experience of history to show that great public meetings have been attended with breaches of the peace. Well, there was one in 1819 in Manchester, when men met to ask this house to reform itself, and to repeal the corn laws. But the breach of the peace was brought about by foolish magistrates, whose conduct every ono now condemns; it was a breach of the peace on thepartof the yeomanry, and not of the people, and it has left a feeling rankling in the minds of the people of that great city to this day. If what I have said on the question of legality be true, I am forced to say the course taken by the Government was not only unwise but an illegal course. It was altogether unnecessary, and led to a disturbance ; and if the right hon. gentleman had acted otherwise I am quite sure the meeting iu June last would have passed off as peaceably as any of the nine hundred and ninety-nine in the thousands of great meet i rigs in the history of this ountry. Having read the pro clamation, or rather notification, of the Home Secretary with respect to the proposed meeting on Monday, the hon. gentleman continued : I have great sympathy with the persons who enjoy the parks. I have no means of know ing how many persons are likely to use it in an ordinary way next Monday; I probably go beyond the mark in stating the number at 5.000. But suppose that 50,000 or 100,000 should hold a meeting there for a couple of hours, I confess I do not see that there would be any grert sacri fice on the part of the comparatively few who ordinarily enjoy the park in allowing their fellow-citizens to express their opinions on a great public question. We here are occupied night after night on this question of a Reform Bill —making the future history and decreeing the condi tion of a great empire. Why are the people, who have an interest so great as to be debarred from an opportunity of expressing their opinions? If they had not a strong feeling on the subject, you would not be legislating on it ; and surely it is a reasonable thing that they should wish to meet to express, it may be, their sense of gratitude to Par liament —(laughter)—it may be to express their views on particular points. We have had meetings all over tire bountry since the time when you throw out the bill last year, and they - will not cease until this or some mea sure in settlement of the question of Parliamentary Re form passes both Houses of Parliament and receives the Royal assent. Wliat takes place elsewhere ? Where do you get the facts on Which to found your fears? I was in Birmingham when the whole population of the town appeared to have turned out. There was no special con stables there, but the Mayor was there, and the head of the police helped to marshal the procession at a meeting judged to have fallen not much short, if short, of 300,000 persons. (Much laughter from the Ministerial benches.) I . will say this, at any rate, that ft was a meeting much larger than any which has assembled in London any time this session. Great meetings were likewise held at Bradford, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leeds, and and other towns, and if they could be held without the slightest breach of the peace, why should there be any ap prehension now ? I was very sorry to hear what was said, that persons had been to the Home-office to ask for the ap pointment of special constables. I believe this sch3me has arisen with a few lawyers. A proposal on the subject, I hear, was handed about the courts, and I am sorry to find that there are wigs and gowns with so little courage and wisdom. I should say that to bring the middle classes as constables to resist or disperse the people, or to put on any attitude of defiance, would be one of the most unwise things that any Henna Secretary or magistrate could do. (Hear.) It would be to set class against class with a ven geance. What, then, is the duty of the Government ? I hold the duty of the Government to be to offer no kind of opposition to the peaceful entrance of the people into tLe park, and when in the park to take no part whatever in endeavouring to prevent what I believe will be the legiti mate and peaceful proceeding.; of the day. If in Birming ham and Leeds, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Manchester, you can have these great meetings, it is quite impossible there can be that difference between the temper of the people of the metropolis and the temper of the people of the other great cities of the empire to make all those meetings perfectly harmless and to make the meetings in the metropolis one of imminent hazard and danger. De pend upon it, in coming to a meeting like this—for a great national object, for a great object connected immediately and directly with their rights, for a great object, mea sures with regard to which are now under discussion in this house—they will come there with sentiments ennobled by the feeling which annimetes them, and you may have double reliance upon it that there will be nothing done about which any of their countrymen need be ashamed. 1 hear sometimes gentlemen opposite speak of the President of the Reform League with a feeling akin to contempt. (Loud Conservative cheers.) I have gone through a good deal of that myself. (A laugh.) I have known hon. gentlemen opposite use language of me in pub lic—l say nothing of what is said in private—(a laugh)— with regard to my political views sometimes even in this house, but oftener when I have not been present ; yet I find, though they have terribly abused me one year for my dangerous views, they next year embody those views in an Act of Parliament. (Loud Opposition cheers.) I ventdre to say this of Mr. Beales that there hes never been con nected with any political agitation in our time a more honourable man than he is. (ilear, hear.) I judge from W'rry years' personal, and some years rather intimate, akcoqueintance with I judge from what al l those who 11.. sat .3,y of hi :n ; I judge fro:a the general con duct which ho has ho has been pursued during the last two years when prominently before the public in connection with a great agitation.lie has suffered from that connec tsitl3kiiiep ohas n the principle had cut off from him an honourable office. He Tie which he holds ; and he has now, as I know, the intense. satisfaction o f see i ng th a t the right hon. gentlem an t h e Ch ancellor colleagues are gradual' dragging,of the Exchequer and his inviting, aliti:ing, Coax Yin,: or it may be drawing, great e t ,. i. coercing, but in some way or other bringing the pia opinions party of England into intimate alliance withfilal O siiion cheers.) Now, s i r, l et me sap oninifothse. rigttouhdon?gPrnT tlernan the Home Secret ary th at I believeiiaenrof the nature there frin is it uno dutiesnan who ever filled his office mor e anx i ous to house. with moderation aud justice on a ll quest po of that on which I am now add ress i ue the What ever took place last year I am sure the right tl - man regretted the momentary turmoil as much as I did, or as much as any of us did. I believe now that he will act upon another and a wiser principle; that he will believe as I believe, that you will find on Monday that almost every man who goes to Hyde Park will consider himself a guar dian of public liberty—(a laugh from the Ministerial side, and Opposition cheers) —at the same time a protector of the public property. (Hear, hear.) shall be very much sur prised indeed if there be any harm done to anything within the park; and I believe this, at any rate, that the character of the English people for love of order will not be tar nished by the transactions of that day. (Hear, hear.) When I look at the difficulty with which the right hon. gentle man has to labour through this house, with its contending parties, with this bill which he has introduced, I say it ought to be a pleasure to any man in favour of a grand settlement of this great question to know that there are 100,000 men in the metropolis of this empire who can meet calmly, if not to discuss, at least to consider a great ques tion in which they are so much interested, and to talk upon, perhaps to aid, the attempts that are now being made to introduce such a large portion of the people to the privi leges of our ancient and noble constitution. (Hear, hear.) I say, then, it is the business of the house not to scruti nise too narrowly the question whether the law officers of the Crown could discover a flaw in the right of the people to meet in Hyde Park, but rise above that, consider the grandeur of the question, the grandeur of the intense interest of the people, and then consider how strong must be the feeling with love of order also, which induces thorn to come out in tens, twenties, and may be hundreds and thousands to assist Parliament in passing a just mea sure. (Hear, and a laugh.) I was just going to sit down ; but, after the laughter of hon. gentlemen opposite, I will add one more senteuce. Is there a man among you, if there is let him got up when I sit down, who does not feel you could not be in the position you are now with this great bill, with the progress you are making, with the in terest felt, if it had not been for the assistance of these great demonstrations of public opinion ? (Oh, ob, and hear.) Why, sir, the thing is notorious ; and if there be any man incapable of seeing it, I shall not waste my time, or the time of the house, in discussing it. (Hear, hear.) I say such are the obstacles in the way of a great measure like this that it cannot be adjusted without the aid of the great body of the people, and I trust the Parliament of England will regard the question in the same spirit. (Cheers.) Mr. NEATE moved the following resolution :—" That her Majesty's Government, in refusing the use of Hyde Park for the purpose of holding a political meeting, have asserted the legal right of the Crown, and deserve the sup port of this house in so doing ;" and strongly condemned a design which, considering the house was now engaged on a bill much more extensive than any which had yet been before Parliament, had no sort of justification, and could only spring from a desire to establish a permanent agitation—a sort of Parliament in the streets. Had the Government assented to the claims of.the League, which were clearly illegal, they would have deserved impeach ment. Mr. D. BROMLEY maintained that the leaders ought to be held responsible for any damage done, and Mr. T. Hughes having explained the circumstances of his con nexion with the Reform League as Vice-President, and professed his readiness to take his share of all responsibi lity for the consequences, though he did not approve the proposed meeting, • Mr. WALPOLE commenced by remarking that Mr. Bright had avoided the real question at issue,which was not the right of public meeting, which no one disputed, but the propriety of insistingon meeting in a forbidden place. That the Crown had a right to permit certain things to be done in the parks and to prohibit others was as clear as any point of law could bo, and the Government was about to bring in a bill, not because the right was doubtful, but to provide a more convenient mode of enforcing it, which now could be done by handing offenders out of the Park as trespassers. After what had occurred, the Government, he urged, was justified in wanking the League not to hold their meeting in a prohibited place, and that warning they might have accepted without discredit, but if they insisted on going into the Park on them would fall the responsi bility of what might follow—a breach of the peace. The Government would offer no provocation ; the gates would be open, but if they entered the Park he hoped those gen tlemen would show more respect for the law than to insist on holding a meeting. Mr. Walpole alluded also to the defiant language used at the recent meeting of the League, to which no Government could submit with a due regard to public interest, and after again assuring the house that there was no intention to prevent discussion on Reform, provided it were held in a fit place, he exhorted all those who had influence with the League to press them not to persist in their illegal design. Mr. GLADSTONE, while deprecating Mr. Neate's mo tion, which was an unnecessary assumption by the house of responsibility for the acts of the Executive, assumed it as a matter of course that both sides of the house would join in supporting the Ministers of the Crown in the ad ministration of the law and the maintenance of order. No doubt it was a nice question to determine whether the Government should stand on the strict right of the Crown ; but they were the proper judges, and if they decided not to waive the right it was not the duty of individuals to come into conflict with -them. Whatever might be the measures the Government meant to take;to uphold the law —though he could not exactly understand their nature (and this Mr. Gladstone repeated, notwithstanding Mr. Walpole made a second explanation)—it was the duty of the leaders of the League to acquiesce in them, and if they disputed the legality of the power assumed by the Govern ment, to take steps to test it before the proper tribunal. Mr. Gladstone concluded by an earnest entreaty to the Leaguers not to persevere in their illegal design. Mr. WHALLEY argued that the people had a right to meet in the Parks, and Lord Elcho pressed for more defi nite information as to what the Government meant to do, if the League insisted on holding a meeting in the Park, to which • The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER replied that ample precautions had been taken to preserve the public peace, and to repress disturbances, tut it was impossible to say more precisely what they would do under circum stances which they could not foresee, It must depend on what happened in the Park. Sir G. GREY, while expressing an earnest hope that the League would abstain from committing an act which must put them in a wrong position, thought there was still an obscurity hanging over the iutontious of the Govern ment, which ought to be cleared up. Mr. SELWYN insisted that Hyde-park heel been se lected as a place of meeting fur the purpose of intimida tion ; while Mr. P. A. Taylor argued in favour of the legality of the determination of the League, and Mr. Otway and Mr. Denman joined in pressing for more ex plicit information as to what would follow in the event of the meeting being held, and Captain Hayter asked whe ther a sufficient military force had been provided to pre vent the people entertn; the Park in procession with bands playing and flags flying. Sir J. PAKINGTON declined to say more than that sufficient provision had been male to preserve the peace, and hinted that stair; had already been taken to evade arrange ments which the Government were supposed to have been made. Mr. LO WE urged that it was only fair to the people to tell them what would happen if they held their meeting, and, quoting Mr. Walpole's language, asked whether they I would be treated as trespassers and handed out of the Park. No answer was given to this question, and, Mr. Neate having withdrawn his motion, the subject dropped. Among other subjects discussed on the motion for going into supply was an address for an inquiry into the diffe rence betweea contagious and infectious diseases, moved by Sir J. C. Jervoise ; the rules by which the grants for the promotion of elementary instruction are to be distri buted ; the hardship of depriving Aberdeenshire of its share in the giants for compensating the owners of cattle compulsorily slaughtered under the Cattle Plague Orders in Council ; and the propriety of adding two professional architects to the committee appointed to select a design for the new Courts of Justice. Mr. HUNT, on behalf of the Government, intimated that they would not object to the two architects who now acted as assessors being added 'to the committee if the Judges concurred in it. Mr. MONCRIEFF asked for some specific information as to the intentions of the Government relative to the Scotch Reform Bill, and dwelt on the importance of an early introduction of the bill, as Irons the circumstance that there were no compounders iu Scotland, the borough fran chise must either be household suffrage pure and simpl e , o r there must be a " hard and fast line" drawn at £4, and it was right that this should be known at the earliest moment. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER acknow ledged that there had been delay, but urged in extenua tion the difficulties the English bill had had to encounter, and the fact that the Government had not had the assist ance of a Lord-Advocate in Parliament. But the bill was printed, and he hoped to introduce it on Thursday. It was founded on the same principles as the English bill, the borough franchise was identical—household suffrage with personal payment of rates—and it would provide a fair and ample incleasa of the Scotch representation. The Bankruptcy Bill was committed pro forma. ➢lr. WALPOLE brought in his bill for better secu►ing the use of the Hoya,l parks for the recreation of the people, and explained that it did not alter the law, but merely pro vided better means of enforcing it. It provided that no public meeting should ho held in the metropolitan parks without the Queen's consent, and subjected those conven ing or taking part iu such meetings to a penalty of .£lO, or two months' imprisrnmient, on conviction before a police magistrate. Several Orders of the day were forwarded a stage, and the house adjourned at five minutes past ono o'clock. A MAIIOMEDAN CALLED TO THE ENGLISII BAR.— Last Tuesday evening there was a call to theßar at the Inus of Court. At the Middle Temple one of the students called is a Mahomedan—Budroodeen Tyabje?. He is the first person of that persuasion who has been called to the Eng lish Bar. The oaths of allegiance, Sic., were administered to him iu the usual terms, but he was sworn on the Horan. We understand he intends to p:-actise at the Bar in Bom bay. In that province thero are Vake.lls who are Mussul mans, but Budroodeen Tyabja.) will be the first member of the Bar hi India who is a disciple of the Prophet, THE SUN, LoriiioN, SATUEWAY EV ENING, MAY 4, 1867 MISCELLANEOUS FOREIGN NEWS. (From Correspondents of " The Anglo-American Times.") PARIS, May 2. We shall know definitely in a few weeks whether we are to have peace or war between France and Prussia on the Luxembourg question. The state of suspense which has been and is now paralysing con fidence throughout Europe cannot remain much longer without a solution ; and whether that solu tion be the signal of a struggle for supremacy the most formidable in its probable results which has been waged since the days of the first Napoleon, or the re-establishment of harmony and good feeling as the consequence of respect accorded to legiti- mate claims, it must transpire ere another month has passed. France demands it in justice to her own tranquillity and the wishes of her, whole people. She has shown a spirit of conciliation and disinterestedness by withdrawing from negotiations for territorial aggrandisement, which were spon taneously offered and in no way sought by her. She now confines her , representations to the evacuation of the fortress of Luxem- bourg by the Prussians, since the unaccountable oc cupation thereof menaces continually the security of Holland and herself. She renounces for the time being any idea of acquisition to her domains by consenting to accept the neutralisation of the Grand Duchy as a basis for settlement ; and far from seeking pretexts for war has encouraged with the most loyal goodwill overtures made by England, Russia, and Austria in order to maintain peace. She can do nothing more but insist upon the recog nition of claims which are regarded by every disin terested European Power as equitable and neces sary. Prussia feels the importance of the termina tion of a state of uncertainty, which, from the ex pectant policy of the French Government in not abdicating its right, and being at liberty to urge it at any moment, places her under the neces sity of either acting on the offensive, and assuming the responsibility of war, or delaying longer and longer, thereby endangering still more, her doubtful claims to the occupation of the fortress, and engendering in European Powers a moral sentiment of disapprobation, which must ultimately expel her from the Grand Duchy. De lay on her part only renders a refusal to accede to the requirements of France more palpably unjusti fiable, or a compliance therewith seemingly more compulsory. Hence her anxiety for the Issue, whether it be peace or war, provided the former does not detract from her exalted idea of national honour, or the latter compr omise her peaceful relations with other powers besides France. Europe is particularly anxious for a solution of this question, which has produced such painful suspense in diplomatic circles since its first introduction on the political tapir. Commerce is suffering, inter national intercourse is, becoming embarrassed with certain reserves, and gloom is prevailing among all those mutually interested in the preservation of peace between the disagreeing governments. Any thing is better than the present feeling of ex , - . pectancy, and be it peace or war, all , depire to knosfi and know soon, what thoy t orc 49yVA upon. 'i . Rumours of a probable p - a - 04c seitlepent arc cur til'l, rent now, and it is generally believed that the negor, tiations engaged in by the three great Powers — England, Russia, and Austria—had ended in a proposition for a Conference, to be held in London, on Tuesday next, in which France and Prussia would take part. Many think that Prussia would submit to the demand, or rather judgment, of this Conference, which will in all probability pronounce the occupation cf the for tress abnormal, and therefore illegal. It is affirmed by several journals that Prussia is disposed to evacuate Luxembourg, and agree to its neutraliza tion, conditionte Powers of collectiveaaigning th eguaranteetreaties being on, o g n ive t n he he her by the of 1839. Once in the way of concessions, she will perhaps make others, so that, after all her bragga docios and menace, she may yet choose the better part, and seek some better cause for fight than the Luxembourg question. It would seem that a na tural desire for the consolidation of the work of German unity would prompt Prussia not to under take at present a struggle with a great Power having the moral support of nearly all Europe — knowing, as she must, that failure would be attended with the most disastrous consequences to her cher ished dream of a united Germany, with King William, Emperor, Bismark anything he wishes, Bce. There can be but little doubt that both France and Prussia are prepared for any contingency. They have foreseen the possibility of a rupture since the battle of S tdowa, and have been arming and equipping for it. The day Austria was humiliated, and German unity became a fact, Prussia became a formidable rival to France, and Frenchmen as well as Germans have looked forward to a struggle for the championship of Europe. Where each power is jealous of the other's pretensions and efforts for ex tension of territory, and constantly on the look-out for some challenge to combat, it is no wonder that a " bone of contention" has been found thus easily. Prussia's intolerance and presumption have afforded France a long list of grievances, and given her ample came for quarrel. A less pacific Emperor than Napoleon 111. would long since have accepted the defiance ; but, if war is undertaken, Napoleon is determined that the responsibility shall rest with Prussia. " They that take the sword shall perish with the sword " will very likely be the case if Prussia does commence the fight. Diplomacy may succeed in averting the struggle threatening at present, but a trial for supremacy will surely come off at some future time, ere peace may be said to be durably establishel between the two now rival Powers. I gave in a previous correspondence a statement of the actual strength of the French army, at the present time. I now gather from the Gpinione Nationale a few items in regard to the Prussian army. This army is composed of 304 foot batta lions, 256 squadrons of cavalry, and 150 batteries of artillery; in all, 240,000 men, of whom 175,000 are infantry. Supposing that the calling out of the reserves and landwehrs would triple this amount, we then have a total of 720,000 men, but since much of this fefee would be required for garrison ing the fortresses of countries annexed in spite of themselves, such as Saxony and Hanover, the real fighting strength of the Prussian army would not exceed, if it equalled, that of France. Of all the States annexed since the battle of Sadowa, only Brunswick and Oldenburg have adopted the Prus sian arms and system. The former furnishes 1,500 troops, and the latter 3,000. In response to a demand for interpellation rela tive to the Luxembourg affair, signed by several prominent members of the Corps Legislatif, the Minister of State, Mons. Rouher, addressed a letter to the President of the Chamber, stating, that al though the Government the e Le t t o s ex pose to its legislators an d felt th everyinclination countrye all re l a ting to the question of the Grand Duch y , cer tain negociations favo urable to the maintenance of peace, which were now under way, imposed the greatest reserve on the part of the Government of the Emperor, which had to propose with regret the adjournment of the discussion until some more opportune time. As soon as circumstances per mitted, it was resolved to treat the important sub ject fully before the Legislative Chamber. The members, realising the importance of silence at pre sent on the question, accepted cheerfully the pro posed postponement. Before discontinuing my remarks on thp; Luxembourg difficulty, it may be well to add that Queen Victoria has addressed a letter to the King of Prussia, in which she appeals to his sentiments of family, his Christian senti ments, and his feelings of humanity, and exhorts Lim to preserve the peace of Europe by respecting the just susceptibilities of neighbouring Powers. This personal and spontaneous intervention does credit to the good sense of the Queen, and will perhaps have a good effect upon the Cabinet of Berlin. An English paper says that orders for 40 thou sand breech-loading muskets have been received by English manufacturers from the French Government, and that a large number have been delivered, while the remainder are being completed with the utmost expedition. There is much talk here now of a new portable copper cannon, of extraordinary power, which was recently invented by an artillery captain in the manufactory of fire-arms at Saint Cloud. Great secrecy has been observed in the experiments with this arm, and it is evident that its construction; modus operandi, &c., aro things to be withheld from the public yet awhile. All that has been learned concerning it is, that it is composed of three barrels, manufactured separately, and then so arranged as, by means of an ingenious tourniquet, to enable the person handling it to fire as many as 50 shots per minute. The projectiles employed are said to do murderous execution at 2,000 yards distance. Pro digious results have been obtained from experi ments made and its efficacy seems to be settled be yond all doubt. When " wars and rumours of wars" are the order of the day such a weapon derives additional consideration from the possibility of its being, at an early day, brought into useful service against the enemies of France. In the collection of cannons which decorate the Prussian section at the Universal Exhibition is now shown a monster specimen, which weighs, waggon included, over 110,000 lbs. To prevent damage to the railways a..special waggon was constructed for its transportation. After considerable detention en route it has been safely landed, and is now exposed to the admiring gaze of spectators as a specimen of what Prussia can do in the way of fabricating death-dealing machines. I have heard some ac count, almost fabulous, of the quantity of powder necessary to charge the immense gun, but have now forgotten it. On Sunday the Prince Toko-Gawa-M,in-Bou- Taion, son of the Tycoon, Emperor of Japan, was received in public audience by the Emperor and Empress, surrounded by the grand officers of the Crown. The young Prince was accompanied by the plenipotentiary and chamberlain of the Tycoon, his preceptor, and different civil and military officers of his suite. Through the medium of an interpreter he assured the Emperor of the friendly sentiments en tertained by Japan for France, and announced that he had come to France to witness the Universal Exhibition, and complete his education. In reply, the Emperor expressed his sympathy for the Japanese Government, and thanked the young Prince for his visit to France. A letter, enclosed in a leather box, and fastened by an enormous loop of red silk, was then presented to the Etnperor on ba half of the Tycoon, and afterwards the party re tired, bowing, a reculons out of the room. The pre sents sent by the Tycoon to be delivered on this, occasion were far from princely in their value or appearanee. They consisted of three stnalt houses, one in wood and paper, and two in crystal drops or balls, for the Emperor; pieces of silk for the Em press, and a large sabre for the Prince Imperial. That the World's Fair is not a failure is proved beyond all question by the immense multitudes that are daily flocking to the Champ de Mars. On Easter Sunday 62,000 persons were admitted, and sent. Considering that it was the opening on Monday following more than 100, 000 were pre:. inbnth, the weather 134g:ben exceedingl7 disagreeable the' zreater part of the ,time, this .% stately enorrnons._ . 'What will it be, when the,,crbwa4;r9,s4ool l : B 3 :,gt •:/ire to come, hav4rri,‘ ve 4 d, and t1itt*,141,0,147, 164 ': slue trains from the fovinces cli)F-dt49 11 ;CO: hotirly landing:theirJiosts in the eitiiital. 7 - ' The 'reserved' garden of the Exposition was inaugurated a, few days ago by the Empress, who has taken the most charming and agreeable part of the park under her patronage. In this garden are collected the rarest shrubs and flowers from the hot-houses of Paris, the aquariums of fresh and salt water, cascades, basins, and a minia ture river. Concerts of military music are to be given there every day hereafter, as also in the cen tral garden of the palace. A series of official fetes, in honour of the Ex hibition, commenced last Saturday, the Minister of State, and vice-president of the Imperial Com mission, giving the opening one in his magnificent saloons at the Louvre. About 5,000 of the elite of the city were present, numbers of distinguished foreigners, &c. The next took place at the Minister of Marine's, and from the 15th of May to the 15th of June the Tuileries will open its splendid halls frequently on the occasion of the fetes. The King of Greece is now on a visit to Paris. The King and Qieen of Portugal are expected in a few days, and the Viceroy of Egypt and Victor Emmanuel abiut the middle of next month. These are the only sovereigns whose visits are looked for ward to with certainty at this time. NEW YORK, April 22. The cession of Russian-America has been the grea topic of the past few weeks. Did we know the Russian mind, I dare say the Romanoff nation fancies it has made a good bargain. Had every transaction suc ceeded as well with the Czar of all the Russias, had he been able to gain two thousand per cent. by every sale, the Russian exchequer would not be as unfilled as it is. The Cossacksellsforten mill t ion e dollars in gold what he p urchased for sevent y thousand pounds sterling. Independentlyof h pecu niary view connected with this sale, the Russian fancies he is shaking hands .with the only nation that rivals his own in broad expanse of terri tory. The New York papers love to exhibit the progression by which the Union has attained it present magnitude, and to hint at the infinitesimal series of developments which are to be effected by the future life of the Union. Louisiana, Texas, California are, it may be, mere fragments iu comparison with the vast stripes of territory which the Union is to acquire. Already by the acquisition of Russian-America the map of the Union looks def ormed and ill knit to g ether ; Canada is an eye-sore, and the Union has a broken unity, till the stars and stripes flutter to in e t co o A ldw m il e id n s .o o a n o thee icy hills that tre ad awa y into the Arctic Ocean. li Then there is anothe r feelin g h mind which the c ession of Russian- America has whichit t of the s with 14 . h h the e called Union into blends life —namely , f and fusesat n e l yos, togetherutehore fanacse heterogeneous ti m ele mentsueien u i p n h to eld o z n i nod thehomg pee homogeneous o facilityy s Washing ton powers vindicated over the autonomy of State Government, the Aumem-migriahcatttnerbseods a n h o l thow se n m o inal unity meroosor grasp the wh o l e w orld es w i t t a h b i l n is i h t e s d a r w m h s i . c h Population ; it easily o m f ar w ei h ie a s t e so e r d t er th t e governed hefelasef the Union banner. Local legislatures can consult for local wants and pander to local prejudices, b u t power at Washington, while it 'the great directing jurisdiction remains intact. Hen army extended, likewise feels that sees e its e t l h e e o: Vj u n i s a n g u s i supremefaus govern Esquimaux, but if the work of the cold north is to be done, those sons sedge onsoft to traversehecoldmust harness the reindeer to Mountfrozen steppes s t. Eii the brother Jonathan, In Elias in endanger their lives to explore of Mexicoio forwarding the interests of to the same agency of In pr t i h n e eip s l a e m , e th w , ay h , y a h n r d id by rae th es e who shall far shalt thou be welded on and cohere Americanism i s may h e o e u ntralising Union. Aggressive say to the order of the day, and is certain, that the re • American lovesand no farther? One thing this aggressive Americanism — Thus. t o h picture institutions knows roPag( from pole to bounds,to himselfa n and r o a h m o w t he r earth s pole, and from ocean to ocean. The shall fade away, and all men of all races and colour, from the man of Caucasus to the descendants of , Ham, shall arise . blessed with equal rights, powers, . and prerogatives, borrowed from the institutions of To-day he deems the thought no day , dream, nor does ".1, . consider the time of its realisa tion far distant that an era shall come when he may transport himself in i't to the Capitol, and behold rl . the whole North American Continent one compact Republic. „. . His banner shall float from the waves of the Mexican Gulf to the ice-bound coast of the Arctic, and be brightened by the sun in his course from ocean to ocean. Countless families shall mul tiply in his vast te • rritory, cemented together by the agencies of steamboat railroads, and telegraph wires. Leviathan ' men-of-war shall scour the ocean • on either side, and causethe sea-going nations of the earth to flag of 1 bow M ore the Columbia. Limitless resources, boundless territory, number less inhabitants, unapproachable power, and excel lence—these • . are th e ideas of destiny. Such are the thoughts conjured up by of the cession Russian America, and these of the American. There in no love of ice, or cold, or walrus, or Esquimaux, or cod, or whale ; but there is the thought thatAnierica shall be the most overshadowing nation the world ever saw—and that by destiny. NEW ENTERPRISES-THEIR TRUE POINT OF DEPARTURE. advent of the Spaniards, they had disappeared, ex cept in Mexico. They seem, however, to have been gathered into a nation, and to have maintained themselves to a much later period in Kentucky than elsewhere. The name means the " Dark and Bloody Ground," and it was there, that the only tradition remained of the extirpation of the prior inhabitants. We give entire the concluding re- marks on this subject in the Edinburgh Review : " It is proverbial among Transatlantic travellers that he who has seen one tribe has seen all, so clOsely do individuals of every family resemble each other, notwithstanding their immense geo graphical dissemination, and those differences of climate which embrace the extremes of heat and cold ; and after devoting a lifetime to the inves tigation of their linguistic affinities, the late vene rable Albert Galatin arrived at the same conclu sion. llowever differing in their vocabularies,' he remarks, th&.e is au evident similarity in the structure of all the American languages.' From wha';ever land the Aboriginal population of North America proceeded— from Eastern Siberia, by the passage of Behring's Straits, or by the Aleutian Islands, or which we conceive to be much more probable, from the Bactrian heights, or Hindus tan, by the Indian and Pacific Oceans—the in fluence of their genius, mythology, and civilisa tion has not wholly declined to this day. Hence many have likewise been led to believe in the unity of the American race. Without impeaching the justice of this opinion, so far as it affects the tribes of native Red Indians, we cannot but think that the original occupants of the soil 'disappeared long before the advent of the Spaniards. So far as is now known, the highest civilised races at the era of the conquest were restricted to the territory falling within the 10th and 25th degrees of north latitude, and to , that smaller region which is watered by the Rio Colorado and the Rio Gila, and their tributaries. Every other portion of the Continent, with one notable exception, was occu pied by indigent and semi-barbarous tribes, widely scattered, and subsisting for the most part on the produce of the chase. The exception was Kentucky, bearing the ominous appellation of the dark and bloody ground, which had long been shunned by every Indian with super stitious dread. According to the traditions of the locality, the now attractive banks of the Ohio had been the scene of a frightful carnage many cen- turies before the arrival - of the European. An entire nation, both physically and morally distin guished from the red skins—white men—and who bad been settled in the country from time imme morial, were unexpectedly assailed and overwhelmed by their enemies. The manifest incompletion of several of the monuments in the valley betoken a sudden cessation of labour on the part of their con structors, and thus far confirms the terrible reality of the Indian legends. If those ill-fated people were not the true Aborigines of the soil, they were undoubtedly connected with them, as may be in ferred from the peculiarity of many of their struc tures, the relics exhumed from their tumuli, and, above all, from their primeval mode of sepulture. " In the absence of documentary proofs and posi tive evidence, it is extremely difficult, and often impossible, to determine the aboriginal migrations of a people. The primary immigrants of, North America are no exception to this general rule. They arrived in the New World, we believe, by various routes and at various epochs. That comparati v ely narrow. territory which stretches from the Pacific Oce4to the (lull of Mexico, and which is so especially ih stupiliaous and highly-decorated monuments, malty 'of ..theme bearing indisputable marks of the hoariest,' antiquity, was the first abode of the civi ii.sed nations. Those nations, as Mr. Taylor argues on a priori grounds, brought their civilisation with them, it was not of indigenous growth ; and the Abbd Brasseur de Bourbourg, who has laboured long as a missionary in that part of the Continent, as well as in the interests of ethnographical science, inclines to the opi n i on th at the Mayas of Yucatan are their degenerate descendants. Thence popula tion was diffused, and radiated through the immense regions of the North. Almost the same combina tion of mounds, terraces, and pyramids is found throughout the Valley of the Mississippi, as at Copan, Palenque, and Uxmal ; a fact which goes far to prove that the inhabitants of the interior de rived their civil as well as their religious institu tions, and such knowledge of the arts as they pos sessed, from Central America. The one, no doubt, was a modification of the other. By one of these refluxes, which were so common in the early his tory of mankind, the tide of population returned to its original source, but by a circuitous or north westerly channel, commingling in its passage with several streams of later immigrants to the Continent by Bhering's Straits, or the Aleutian Isles. Hence the cause of those national changes and revolutions which may be faintly traced on the face of the most primitive monuments, and which are most distinctly portrayed on the more modern ones. The mild religious services of the first ages were superseded by the sanguinary ritual in vogue at the time of the conquest ; political domination had completely succumbed to sacerdotal rule ' • the Inca added to his other functions th ose o f supreme pontiff. No doubt there were many intermigrations of more or less importance, the order of which, however, it is impossible to indicate. In connec tion with these we may remark, by the way, that no existing tribe of Indians, located east of the Mississippi, lay claim to the monuments surround ing them. According to their several traditions they found them much iu the same condition as they now appear, when their forefathers, centuries ago, arrived from the- West and possessed them selves of the county. Old societies had utterly perished ages before, leaving posterity ignorant, not only of the extent of their dominions, but also of their very titles. The Atlantic sea-board, from New England to South Carolina, would seem to have been but sparsely peopled till within a com paratively recent epoch. The remains on that long slip of territory are much less numerous than else where on the continent, and for historical deduc tion almost valueless. Nearly the whole of them are the supposed works of the Iroquois and their affiliated tribes, and do not possess, it is reported, an' antiquity very far back of the discovery.'" The real cause of the failure of so many new enterprises is, after all, quite simple. Those who originate them mis take their true point of departure. They forget that it is They heed not ndispensable to begin at the beginning. he wisdom of the old couplet— Great oaks from little acorns grow ; Large streams from little fountains flow. Finding always people with more money than brains ready to invest their surplus capital in some new scheme suggested by the success of similar schemes, they ig nore the fact that the latter have reached their actual prosperity only by the slow but sure processes of growth, and they deem it sufficient to dazzle out siders by merely emulating the external show of those well-established rivals with whom they are ambitious to compete. With marble fronts and glittering signs, and With desks and safes and counting room, and all the ap proved paraphernalia of business, they try to start at a point which their prototypes have reached only after pass ing through a long and difficult ordeal of experiments. Now, the credulous public may be temporarily dazzled by such illusory appearances ; but the reality too often, and usually too soon, is found by the unhappy stockholders in such enterprises to be naught but failure ; and the public quickly learns the result. Such is the case with those splendid failures which have been directly occasioned by the success of the older well-established express companies. The most ingenious combinations, with the military fame of General Joe Johnston and an army of ex-officers to boot, could not prevent failure in one conspicuous instance; and in no other in stance can success be predicated in violation of the rule which we have indicated. Such is also the case with numerous unsuccessful newspaper enterprises on this and on the other side of the Atlantic. Enough capital is secured to issue a few numbers of a journal which confi dently announces its intentions to vie with—nay, to sur- pass—the old favourites of the pubic that have won the die- tinction only after long years of persevering efforts to satisfy the increasing demands of our progressive age. The new claimants for public favour drag on a weary and precarious existence for a few brief months, and finally sink beneath accumulated difficulties. The spell of what they fondly deemed their " open sesame" is broken, and the doors to success remain closed and her metically sealed. - They learn, that magic is im potent, and that they must succumb to the painful pressure of facts. In London, for instance, the Daily News began with a capital of two hundred thousand pounds sterling, and with the prestige of genius as well as talent in its favour; but, neglecting from the outset the simple but • essential prerequisites of success,-it has gradually dwindled to its present insignifiance, which is all the more striking by way of contrast to its - "great: expectations" in com mencing its career. Nor can we safely predict any better fate to the journal which, we hate been privately in formed, is to be Started as a rival to the London Times. We have not yet been made acquainted with all the details of this new enterprise, but we have heard enough of its extravagant anticipations of surpassing the' Times as an organ of news and public opinion on both sides of the Atlantic to inspire us with distrust of its splendid pro- COmpetition, however, is the life of trade, and hethgt: the riO* - jai l i a l;f l itif die s will dCpend upon its . toiSserting the simple Vtit:inveriabln law which we hatii' laid-down. In'Prance - , - the..guCcess ,Petit jinbro . ak Which was, fonnded 7 "-netbirig tf,&*,and- which' still holds its - bibs-ja g ' a .* ( 4l4* Wailitloihrpughout the ,e,mpire, is alto ge th e r turn it litts had torapetitors whoSe'ltittibi Is legion but Wry forisurviN'e to illustrate, -like it, 'the ~ pritikipre 'Under Consideration And in New York several nondescript evening journals have recently been started, which, we fear, will only swell the number of exceptions that prove our rule.—Neto York Herald. OLD AMERICA.* (From the Anglo-American Times.) It is not surprising that various theories should he started on the origin of these nations who have passed into oblivion, leaving no written account either in parchment or in stone. There can be no question that their history reaches back to the remotest period, and it is probable that one phase of civilisation followed on another. There are per sons who suppose that in different parts of the world different nations have developed, at the same time, identical tendencies in organisation, art, and theology, though wholly unconnected with each other. But those who have studied these antiquities are unanimous in ascribing them to an Asiatic source. The Edinburgh Reviewer is clearly of opinion that the people who inhabited America before the discovery were descended from Asiatics who crossed from. Behring's Straits, or by the Aleutian Islands, or, what he considers more probable, from the Bactrian Heights or Hindostan by the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and that their religion came from Java. He believes that Buddhism was established in America closely about the same time as in Java, and he maintains that it is shown that a connection exsited in olden times between Japan and Central America, as shown by Japanese records and maps. That a large trade was carried along the coast of Asia, extending from Japan to Hindostan in periods of remote antiquity, can be readily believed. Nor would there be any, difficulty in extending that trade by the Aleutian Islands to the Western shores of America. 4 , Associated with Sabin - worship in former times wits that of the lingham or phallus. This well attested fact leaves little room for doubting that the aboriginal Americans derived their religious system in part from the East. The worship of the lingham was flourishing in the cities of Pomeco and Thtscalla, in Mexico, at the period of the conquest; and Mr. Stephens observed at Uxmal, in Yucatan, certain ornaments upon the external cornice of several large buildings, the meaning of which was too plainly sculptured to he tnisunderstood(7ravels, vol. i., p. 181). Nor was tlis revolting worship re strictedto the territories just indicated ; it appears to have been equally prevalent in the Gulf States, and as far north as Tennessee, where innumerabl characteristic images have been ploughed up ; sonic formed of clay, and others carved out of a kind of am t hibolic rock, the toughest of all stony sub stances." Remarking on this passage the Spectator says, "All that is very unsatisfactory. Supposing the natives, autochthones, which we by no means assert, it would be as natural for them to conceive produc tion the highest work, and therefore to wor ship the Sun and. the Liugham as the first em blems of productive force, as for the Hindoos to do so. A similarity of that kind proves nothing except the identity of the human intellect everywhere, but .a similarity of buildings proves a great deal, and opens up a rare field for archaeological or ethnologi cal exploration. The reviewer hints at a theory that an Asiatic tribe driven out from the islands about 450 8.C., or driven back from the islands, crossed the Pacific, reached Central America, and gradually diffused their creed and their civilisation. But he obscures this theory by observations upon a still previous civilisation, which he believes, or seems to believe, identical with that of Egypt : the great pyramid on the plateau of Caerna vac.t, and known as Xochicalco, the house of flowers,' is report e d to b e scarcely distinguishable from the ordinary type of those in Lower Egypt. Its position and configuration show it to be one of the group of adjacent hills. It b truncated and divided into four terraces. . • . Want of space precludes our pursuing these architectural analogies any farther; suffice it to say, therefore, that the distinction between the earlier and later pyramidal temples of the New World is quite as remarkable as that between the ancient Egyptian structure and those erected by the Greek colonists under the Ptolemies. No doubt very many of the earliest piles have been modified in subsequent ages, to suit the particular necessities or tastes of the people ; yet, in every such instance, the archaic type has been - but slightly departed from, whilst the primi tive example in the decorations without, always emblematical of the worship conducted within, has been scrupulously followed to the last. This is very apparent in the magnificent ruins of Yucatan, where, according to the unanimous reports of Mr. Stephens and later travellers in that wonderful country, the serpent entwined about the stem of the lotus is frequently repeated on the friezes of the temples; and at Palenque, also, ' a rectangular square is surrounded by cloisters . . . and lighted by windows bearing the exact form of the Egyptian face.' " * American Archaeology, Edinburgla Review, April 1 1867. Lops:taus, London. The facts connected with the monuments of the Mississippi Valley attest the remote antiquity of the remains there found. Ages upon ages must have passed, and the river sunk much lower in its bed sineo these mounds were erected. Many show that they were once acted on by the floods, though now they are far removed beyond the reach of the highest. Au additional river bank had been con structed long after they were formed. These mounds assume the most curious shapes. Some are in the regular outline of octagons, circles, and other geometrical figures ; but they occasionally take another form. For instance, there is one in Adam's County, Ohio, of the form of a serpent a thou sand feet long, extending in graceful curves, and termi nating in a triple coil at the tail. The mouth is open, and apparently in the act of swallowing an oval figure, which rests partly within the jaws. Dense as must at one time have been the popula tion which reared these monuments —long before the II YDROPHOBIA. (From the Indianapolis Journal.) Some eight weeks ago-Miss Selina Eller, an in telligent young lady of 22 years, daughter of Mr. Ilarvey Eller, residing at Beck's Station, .on the Peru Railroad, in Hamilton county, some 15 miles north of this city, was bitten by a rabid dog while she was endeavouring to drive him out of the house. The wound was on the finger, and so very slight that it excited no alarm, although the dog was known to be mad. As usual in cases of hydro phobia she thought nothing more about the matter until the morning of Monday, the 25th ult., when on going to wash her face the touch of the water made her shudder," as she described it. The fearful truth flashed on her instantly, but being a lady of great self-command, she simply said to her sister, "I am going to go mad; I can't live ;" adding that she would, however, " finish spinning the rolls" she was engaged upon. She worked on during the day with some increase of the horrible symptoms, but nothing visible to others ; and the next morn ing, on sitting down to the table, she remarked to the family, " You must take that water from the table, or I can't eat anything." She ate but a little, and got up saying she would go to work again. She continued through that day as before, but with a decided strengthening. of her repugnance to water, of which she said, " the very sight sent a tingling feeling all through her." She also complained that the glistening face of the clock affected her in the same way. On Wednesday she was too far overcome to work, and while standing on the floor speaking to some of the family she began grinding her teeth, and directly after fell down in a fit; the foam working out of her mouth, her teeth gnashing, and her body frightfully convulsed. Some of the younger children who were with her at the time ran out in great alarm, and the neighbours hurrying in found her 9n the floo r near the fire in the same terrible condition ; but she bit so furiously at every one who touched her that it was impossible to do anything with her. The fire was removed, so that she might not inju re h erse lf by it, and sbe was left lying until the spasm had passed off. She was then , placed upon the b e d, an d Dr. Rooker called in. When he arrived she was again convulsed and senseless, uttering short, bark ing sounds, and snapping at everything that ap proached her. A bloody froth was constantly issu ing from her mouth, which she tried to spit at those around her. Ile caused her to be tied down in the bed, and proceeded to administer morphine to re lieve her agony. In a lucid interval slie remonstrated, sayi ng , cc I must die. I know it, and I want to die iu toy s enses , so don't stupify me with medicine." After another fit the doctor proposed another dose of morphine, and at last she consented, but added, " You must give it to me with water." But this remedy pro duced little effect. The awful paroxysms contin ued, with the same frighful suggestions of doggish sound and the same frantic efforts to bite. She bit her hands terribly, and bit pieces out of th e p ill ow and bed clothes. Dr. A. G. Ruddle was also called in, but his assistance was as unav a ili ng as that of Dr. Rooker. This, we believe, was the next day, Thursday, but at all events on that day Dr. Rooker determined to try the effect of bro mide of potassium, which had been recommended by some European physician in cases of hydrophobia. Dr. Ruddle happening to have a small quantity with him it waa at once administered, and the treatment has been steadily kept up since, till nearly two ounces had been given. The symptoms continued with little or no appa rent abatement till Sunday or yesterday, when they were considerably less marked. The fits occurred less frequently, and with less severity. The unfor tunate lady had ceased biting herself, and had sufficient knowledge of her situation to wrap ber arms up tightly in the bed clothes, when she felt the spasm coming on, to keep them out of danger. Though very far from being out 'of danger, the abatement of the symptoms has been so decided as to create some hope of her recovery, which, if real ized, will make this one of the most remarkable cases on record. A great many physicians and hundreds of the people of the vicinity have visited her, and some of our city physicians, we under stand, will visit her to-day. COUNTRY MARKETS. LINCOLN.-FRIDAY. Our market to-day was seasonably supplied with wheat, and fine samples brought rather more mouey. Barley was scarce, at extreme quotations. Oats met with a healthy de mand, and prices advanced. Beaus is dearer. Peas not in request. New white wheat, 69s to 72s ; new red, 54s to 64s per 36 stone. Barley for malting, 49s to 54s per qr ; grinding, 32s to 36s per 30 stone. Oats, 24s to 365. Beans, 48s to 50s per 38 stone. DERBY-FRIDAY. There was not much wheat on offer to-day; the trade ruled rather inactive, at last week's prices. Barley wag scarce, fine samples at former quotations. A moderate show of oats ; best qualities sold at extreme rates. Beans Is per qr. higher. New white wheat, 70s to 74s ; old red, 56s to 68s per 36 stone. Barley for malting, 41s to 48s per qr. ; grinding, 34s to 38s per 30 stone.. Oats, new,.24s to 325; old, 34s to 36s per 24 stone. Beans, old, 58s to 60s; new, 41s to 513 per 38 stone. LIVERPOOL.-FRIDAY. We had a fair attendance at to-day's market, and there was only a moderate demand for wheat, at the prices of .Tuesday last. Flour in moderate demand at last week's rates. In barley, beans, and oats no change in value or demand. in oatm.al there was a quiet business doing. Indian corn was steady at previous rates. RIPON-FIUDA.Y. White wheat, 8s 6d to 9s 3d per bushel ; red, Gs 6d to 75 9d ; beans, 7s 3d to 7s 9d ; oats, 258 to 33s per qr ; barley, 35s to 44s Od. STANFORD-FRmAT. With a moderate show of wheat the demand ruled very steady, and realised an advance of is per qr. Barley was scarce, and at recent currencies. Oats a healthy trade at 6d to is more money. Beans limited, at higher rates. New white wheat, 63s to 70s ; red do., 58s to 64s per 86 stone. Barley, malting, 40s to 50s • griding, 27s to 3 53 per qr. Oats, new, 24s to 28s ; old, 28s to 32s per 24 stone. Beaus, 52s to 54s per 38 stone. Peas as of late. WAKEFIELD.-FRIDAY. On our market to-day English wheat was not in great demand, and fine fresh qualities maintained their value. Beans and oats rather dearer. BRISTOL SUGAR—FRIDAY. The demand for raw and refined sugar keeps steady, and ,he business done has been done at late rates. COAL MARKET. Price per ton at the closeof the market. s. d. s. Holywell Main. 16 6 Walls End Hetton 19 6 Aaswell Arabs End Gosforth 16 9. Heugh Hall l7 6 Ships at market, 81—sold, 30. Foreign Mail Packet List. MAILS DUE. Australia and New Zealand, via Southataptoa.....May 2). Ditto, via Marseilles . .. May .4. Brazil and Cape Verde, by British packet. ..... ....May 5 . Ditto, by French packet May V. Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena May China, Penang, and Singapore, via Sondiampton May 3 Ditto, via Marseilles Falkland Islands Gibraltar, via Southampton India, via Southgmptou May 3. Ditto, via Marnilies May 8. THE MISSISSIPPI LEVEES.—Failing in their efforts to secure an appropriation from Congress, the people along the Lower Mississippi went vigorously to work to repair their damaged levees and construct new ones. The spring freshets, however, appear to have overtaken them in the midst of their work, and entailed the accustomed loss and destruction. The New Orleans Picayune is apprehensive that a portion or all of the city may be submerged' owing to the " critical" condition of the' levee at and above and below Carrolton. A week ago to-day, Colonel Clai borne telegraphed to Governor Wells, from Point Coupe' —" Big crevasse at Grand Levee. No chance to close it." At the same time the water was reported to be breaking through the artificial banks at various other points. We are now informed by a despatch from New Orleans that the richest portions of South-western Louisiana will be devastated ; seven parishes already are overflowed. The grand levee of the Morgan Sea, one of the largest works of the kind in the world, has given way, while another has broken, nine miles below Baton Rouge, which will occasion "immense damage." It is a source of regret that the people delayed so long to begin the task of repairing their defences, in the hope that the general Government would perform the work for them. Had operations been commenced earlier in the season, the present destruction and ruin would have been averted. SMELTING IRON WITH PEAT.—The Fishkill Iron Company have used peat at their furnace for about eleven „ weeks, and report the results as " entirely satisfactory' During a portion of the time they used one-half charcoal and one-half peat, and subsequently increased the propor tion of peat to three-quarters. W. S. Dudley, Esq., o f Fishkill, writes to the Iron Aye: —"Our peat was not sufficiently dry, as we did not house it until late in the fall, but the results gave the fullest satisfaction, as our heat increased very perceptibly, and the amount of lime stone for ffica for the same was much lessened in con sequence; and we could, therefore, make the iron much faster, and at a saving of fully twenty-five per cent• less cost, than with either charcoal or anthracite ; and the quality of the iron, is pronounced by the proprietors of some of the largest foundries in this section equal, if not superior to, any iron they ever saw ; so that I feel myself warranted in saying that good peat, properly prepared, will smelt iron ore equal to any fuel now known ; and it is our present intention to commence to get in operation again this spring, as early as possible. Thin 'uel must become valuable in this and some of the adjoin- ing counties; as they abound with a very superior quality of both the hematite and magnetic ores ; and I belie" that peat is destined to become valuable wherever it ill found of good quality." OLDEN TRAVELLING.—On the 20th of February' , 1797, Thomas Jefferson left his home to be inaugurated President of the United States. A leaf from his memorial" dum book of expenses furnishes an opportunity for e comparison between the time and money needed for * trip from Alexandria to Philadelphia, then and now. Air' Jefferson's memorandum is as follows :—" Left Alex andria after dinner, February 23, and reached Baltimore on the 26th. The fare, $4.75. Thence reached Philadelphia , March 2. Fare, $7. Whole amount of travelling el penses from hence, including $l2 to send Jupeter and the horses home from Alexandria, $49.03." Fare from Ales' andria to Philadelphia now, $5.50. Time, 41 hours.-- Alexandria Gazette. MANUFACTURE OF SILK IN NEVADA.—A Nevado paper announces that there is a project on foot to plant mulberry trees and introduce the. culture of silk. It saYs : " The mulbeiry has been grown with enire success. The few that have been planted flourish as if this was the home of the tree. We do not know that the silk worm has been tried as far up in the mountains as this in Californi a + but we do know that silk worms do exceedingly well ill worse climates than this. There seems to be no reason in the world why silk may not be an important branch of industry in this region. We should say that the country about French Corral and along up as far as North 5° 31 JURR, in fact the whole of Bridgeport township, is 11' splendid field for the introduction of the mulberry." Births. CAMPBELL—On the 2d inst., at Cairnhill, Ayrshire, t he wife of Major Hamilton Campbell, of a daughter. LUBBOCK - On the 3d inst., at Gorings, Downe, K en t, the wife of Henry Lubbock; Esq., of ailiughter: SCOTT—On the Ist inst., at Gosport, the wife of Capt. A' De (Jourcey Scott, Royal Engineers, of a son. Marriages. BESSEMER—TETLEY—On the 2d inst., at Christ Church, Forest-hill, Alfred George, younger son of H. Besse mer ' Esq.. of Denmark-hill, to liary Jane, third daughter 0" Edward Tetley, Esq., of Forest-hill. MEDLEYCOTT MEDLEYCOTT— On the 2d inst., at 31ilbornef Port, Somerset, John T. Medleycott, Esq., only son the Rev. John T. Medleycott, of Rocketts Castle, titer of of Waterford, to Florence Caroline, fourth daughter Sir Wm. C. Medleycott, hart., of Von, Sotnorset. Deaths. ABBOTT —On the 2d inst., at West Green Lodge, Wef3t green, Tottenham, Mr. James R. Abbott. CLIFFORD —On the 2d inst., at Tjgbrooke, Cbudleigb, Derri the Hon. Edmund C. H. Clifford, aged 9 years ash months. HEATH—On the 24th March, at Kurrachee, E ast lnd ion ieg, Major-Gen. J. C. Heath, commanding Scindo Divis Bombay Army, aged 60. MOBERLY—On the Ist inst., at Portswood, near South ampton, Wm. H. Moberly, Esq., aged 61. Nrurros —On the 3d inst., at Lower Norwood, Newton, Esq., of 10, Lancaster-place, Strand. London: Printed and Published by WILLI9,II ANDUBW,I4; of No. 112, Strand, Printer,• at THE SU N °Mee, No t ' 1 ` ',,, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the c o uuY ' , blidcUesex.—Saturday, May 4,18e7. 1