The Sun. — London, England, 1870-01-26 00:00:00

COMMISSIONER WELLS' REPORT. (From the New York Nation.) In the, compositiou of this incendiary pamphlet, Mr. Wells starts with •the astoundine but hardly queetionable assertion, that the cost of the v. ar was nine thousand millions of dollars; and this of itself is, it must be admitted, a good deal to recover from. To meet it, however, we have had, since the outbreak of the war, au immigration amounting to 1,664.363. Since the termination of the war. too. thi r t e en thousand miles have• h. ell actiel l to ie rail , oa is of the eon. try ',pi-I,g up , „ virgin soil har t e. :h . • ie a ee , the telegraph lines e received an increase o, e i g hteen thouse.nd miles of wires. Moreover, the South mayto ' fairiy,-aid to have recovered. The cotton crop has a._ & ato reached its old wa Tjt n i dard iu quanti - y, and is supe rior in quality., w same ‘ thin , / may be said of tLe , crops peculiar prices have furnislisd it th e South, white the high once more with cali7.al, of wi.ich the close of the war found it to ally bereft. ar. Wells estimates tai total number of perseps now engaged in add ing directly to the wealth of the country by their labour es 10,e00,000, out of a population of 39,000.001), and the total annual product of their labteir at $6,82.5,000,000, or $682 50 etch. Of this total product, about one-halt is to be attributed to agriculture. The cotton manufacture only counts for $71,500,000 ; the woollen manufacture for 666,000,000 ; the iron manufacture, $119,950,000 ; the leather manufacture. $222,600,000 ; and the -ailway service, $360,000,000. It will thus be seen that the iron industry, which makes most of the disturbance over the tariff, is only fourth in the order of importance, and ranks far below the leather industry, which has been seriously injured for its benefit. Of course, the country is growing in every way, but Mr. Wells holds that it is not growing as it ought to grow, and as it would grow in the ab- Fence of a vicious system of currency and taxation. Be says, when we leave the region- of general esti mates and descend into others in which we have exact figures, the prospect is not pleasing. The deposits in savings banks have not increased in proportion to the increase in population, and there is every reason to believe that the depositors no longer belong exclusively to the working classes. Moreover, the increase in the number of houses has not kept pace with the increase of population, which means not only that fewer families have homes of their own, but that a greater number of persons are crowded under one roof. In short, though wealth increases, it is not increasing in anything like the old ratio, and it is not distri buted with anything like the old equality. The direct effect of the bad currency and bad system of taxation is to put a premium on the talents of the broker and speculator, while lessening the rewards of the producer; so that, while the great capitalists and exchangers find things very pleasant, the work ing man finds things very unpleasant. In other worde, the more complicated your system of taxa tion is, and the more variable in value your cur rency is, the more call there is for shrewdness and smartness in the transaction of business, and the less chance is there for simple industry and energy. Tee banking, brokerage, insurance, and commis sion businesses thrive. They draw into them all that large and able class of the community who are skilful in dealing with uncertainty, while the dull plodders, on whom the country is after all mainly dependent for solid additions to its wealth, go to the wall.. To this state of our currency and taxation Mr. Wells ascrib:s, too, the listlessness, the dislike of labour, and the determination to do as little as possible, which are now reported as prevailing in nearly all branches of industry ; but this theory is shaken by the fact that the same phenomena show themselves in nearly every civi lized country. They are, in our opinion, mainly the result of growing social ambition, and a growing feel ing of equality on the piirt of theworking classes ; and the discontent of these classes is stimulated by the sight of the immense rewards which the capitalist classes have reaped from the application of steam and electricity to industry and commerce within the last thirty years, and in which thus far the working classes can hardly be said to have shared. But the disadvantages of the working man's con dition, all things considered, are perhaps greater here now than elsewhere, and would be greater still sf it were not for the resource offered by the abundance of fertile land. Another cause which t%lr. Wells looks upon as seriously impairing the rapidity of national accumulation as the condition of the foreign trads of the country, though, as he states the case, the condition of the foreign trade appears rather as evidence that we are not accumulating rapidly than as an agency preventing rapid accumulation. lie thinks that there are now about $1,400,000,000 of American securities of all kinds held abroad, drawing annual interest to the amount of about $80,000,000, and this indebtedness to foreigners gees on increasing, owing to the now annual adverse balance against us in our dealings with Europe. I est year this balance amounted to about $210,000,000, and this is, Mr. Wells calculates, the average sum which now stands against us every year, and is settled by the transmission of bonds and other promises to pay. Now, the conclusion Mr. Wells draws from this is that, if we had either the gold or the goods to pay with, we should pay with them as we did in old times, but not having them we pay in bonds. "Of course, we have not the gold"—some one will say—" but why have we not the goods ?" For the simple reason, that the cost of production in this country now, owing to our system of taxation and the con dition of our currency, is so great that we cannot afford to furnish goods at prices which foreigners will pay for them. We make hardly anything now which cannot be found cheaper or better made else where. In other words, the process of protection, as now carried on, is very like, in its effects on the national industry, the process of training to go without food to which the man subjected his horse by cutting down his allowance every day, and which was giving every promise of success, when the horse unfortunately died. Under this stage of things, not only have we ceased to export our products to foreign countries, but we have almost entirely lost the carrying trade, which was once the pride and glory of the country. The American shipowner cannot compete with foreigners, any more than the America manufacturer, so that Mr. Wells calculates that the loss to the country from this source alone is equal to $24,000,000 per annum. In 1859, American ships did two-thirds of our total foreign trade; in 1869, they do one-third. Losses by the Alabama will not account for this The painful truth is, that we cannot build a new ship and sail her at a profit iu competition with Euro peans ; and new ships would have been needed, even if Semmes had never sailed the sea. Mr. Wells has collected a great deal of evidence, also, as to what he calls " the diversion and demoralization of industry"—that is, the propulsion of capital and labour itito unprofitable channels, and the decline of zeal and diligence on the part of workmen. Moreover, he confirms the statements made by the Nation two years ago, and which excited so much hiltrity at the time amongst some of our contem poraries, as to the decrease in live stock, and its value as an indication of a change in the relations which production formerly sustained to . consump tion and population. In the State of Ohio, for instance, for the agricultural statistics of which greater accuracy is claimed than for those of any other State, the official report for 1869 shows that, as com p tried with 1868, the number of sheep has decreased nearly a million and a half, the hogs nearly four hundred thousand, the cattle over twenty thousand. Indeed, the Department of Agriculture estimates the decline in the number of sheep all over the coun try at 25 per cent. But we must reserve for an other article Mr. Wells' account of the Iscariot , of the existing financial situation on the farming po pulation—that is, be it remembered, 50 per cent. of the population of the United States. N a The University of the South, established at Swanee, Tennessee, just before the war, under the aus pices of the ten Southern dioceses of the Episcopal Church, suffered severely during the rebellion, all its buildings h a ving been destroyed, It has now been thoroughly re organized, with an able corps of professors, and has one hundred students. The University owns by grant and purchase a tract of ten thousand acres, on a high plateau, in a healthy region, and accessible from all points of the South. After the war the institu tion received important aid from England —a subscription headed by the Archbishop of Canterbury having yielded $20,000, and the University of Oxford having presented five thousand volumes of valuable books, as a commence ment of a library. Efforts aro being made in the South to increase the number of buildings of the University, so as to provide for two hundred applicants for admission, who cannot now be accommodated. 10,000 PRESENT 3, from 2s. 6d. to £5, at Parkins' and (lotto's. Portrait albums, writing cases, dressing eases, travel ling bags, with dressing and writing materials, envelope eases, derpatch boxes, blotting books, 6k stands, desks, stationery, work bczes, tea-cadiles, band bags and Lrti caze3. purses, scent-bottles, cigar cases, card La' kets, pocket books, c'eetrc -gilt and elegantly mounted goods; ornamental articles for mantel shelf and table ; bagatelle boards, chess and draught hoards, and ram, and evening games of every kind. Bibles, prayer books, and hureh services, in every t: pe —Perkins and G otto, 24, 25, 27, and 28, Oxford-street, London. PORTRAIT ALBUMS are now an established article of interest whether in the palace or cottage, and are to be found ou almost every sitting room table. No article is more welcome as a gift. When first introduced they were badly made, but are now got up in the most perfect style and strongly bound, so that they will last f, r years, and at extra , mlinary low prices, by Parkins and (lotto, 27 and 0, Oxford-street, London, W. MISCELLANEOUS NEWS TEE QUEEN. Her Majesty, we regret to say, is still extremely unwell. The attack of neuralgia which she has en dured so many months has now become very acute. On Monday the Queen was unable to leave her apartments. THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. The revived rumour, which we mentioned yebter day, on the authority of the Advertiser, to the effect that the Duke of Cambridge has resigned his post as Commander-in-Chief, turns out to be untrue. The Telegraph speaks of it as "absurd," and declares that it has not the slightest foundation in fact. A RUMOUR FOR NAVAL OFFICERS. The rumour respecting the Duke of Cambridge having turned out to be untrue, it may be hoped for the sake of naval officers that the report alluded to by the Pall Mall Gazette is unfounded also. Our contem porary says that a feeling of disappointment prevailed at the professional clubs on Monday, in consequence of a rumour that the scheme of naval retirement, propounded by Mr. Childers with the sanction of his a illeagues, had not met with the approbation of the Treasury, on account of the largeness of the sum (exceeding £1,250,000) required to carry it into execution. "The report (remarks the Pall Mall Gazette), may not be true, but it met with general belief." The Echo says positively that this rumour is untrue. BRISTOL. The Hon. F. H. F. Berkeley, the member for Bristol, and one of the oldest members of the House of Commons, is about to retire. Mr. Berkeley was born in 1794, and has sat for Bristol since 1837. He is well known for his exertions on behalf of the ballot. Regularly every year did he bring up his motion on this subject; but it seems that he will quit the parliamentary arena before his policy pre vails. Mr. Robinson, a paper manufacturer, Mr. Lewis Fry, a solicitor, and a member of the Berkeley family, are each spoken of as the Liberal candidate. NOTTINGHAM. It is believed that Colonel Wright, the Conserva tive member for Nottingham, will issue his farewell address in a few days. The local politicians are get ting plenty of candidates ready for the event. It is expected that a Conservative will stand, though the name has not been announced. The Liberals have invited Mr. T. W. Evans, the Mayor of Derby, who sat for South Derbyshire from April 1857 until November 1868, when he was beaten by the Conser vatives, Mr. Rowland Smith and Sir Thomas Gresley. On the death of the latter, Mr. Evans tried again last January, but was once more defeated by Mr. Wilmot, both contests being very close. South Derbyshire has evidently deserted her ancient love, and now Mr. Evans will try Not tingham. The Independents of the borough, with strange notions of the fitness of things, have invited two candidates—Mr. Roebuck and Mr. Digby Sey mour. zs - oniviClf. What is called a political revival is on foot in Nor wich. The local wire-pullers are looking out for candidates. Sir R. J. 'Harvey is talked of as the Conservative representative, whilst Mr. J. H. Tillett, who lost the contest in November, 1868, is looked upon with favour by the Liberals. Why an election for Norwich? Well, the return of Sir H. Stracey, the Conservative member, was petitioned against, and he was unseated in January last. Since then the privilege of Norwich to contribute towards the gathering at St. Stephen's has remained in abeyance. The local politicians think this hard. Their doings in November 1868 were only mild for Nor wich ; if the enormities of former years were over looked, the peccadillos of the last general fight ought not to be heavily visited. They are, therefore, in hopes that the writ will soon be issued. It will be well for them not to be too confident. INDIRECT BRIBERY. Tho reports of a speech made by Sir Sydney Waterlow on Monday night agree in attributing a most discreditable attempt at indirect bribery to that candidate for Southwark. The accounts differ, but the substance is in all cases the same. Sir Sydney , said that he was the chairman of the Improved In dustrial Dwellings Company, which had some £lOO,OOO or £120,000 at its command, wait ing to • be employed; and he hinted not obscurely that his influence might be exerted to procure the building of four or five hundred cot tages in Southwark. Such cajolery would be obnoxious under any circumstances ; but with Mr. Odger, a poor man, as his adversary, Sir Sydney has been guilty of most reprehensible conduct. It is to be hoped he will be able to disclaim these unhappy remarks; but if he does, he has been misrepresented with singular unanimity. THE UNION. Great educational meetings continue to be held all over the country. The field seemed for a while to be left mainly to the League, but now the Union is coming into very active play. At Torquay, Bishop Temple has expressed his opinion that religious in struction is the highest and best, though secular training is in itself a good thing enough. At Man chester on Monday night a great demonstration was held in favour of the Union. The •Hon. Algernon Egerton, M.P.. Mr. Cawley, M.P., and Mr. Hugh Birley, M.P.; made speeches. A letter was read from the Bishop of Manchester, expressing his belief that the League and tho Union might take up a definite common ground. " I have no particular love for denominationalism as such, but I have the strongest possible desire to preserve the religious character of the education given in our elementary schools. But, sorry as I should be to see us drift into secularism, I hold that any form of religion, even if it be partial enlightenment, is both better itself and more hopeful for the rightly understood interests of religion than the darkness of igno rance in which such large masses of our population live." There was a great meeting, too, at Wolverhampton, on Monday night, in favour of supporting and ex extending the present system. The Earl of Dart mouth presided, and a large number of clergymen were present. Lord Lyttleton sent a letter express ing his agreeruent with some of the principles of the Union, and his dissent from divers league proposi tions : I am strongly disposed to make the principle of the Factory Acts universal, by prohibiting any child from labour for wages under a given age, and with out evidence of a minimum of instruction and knowledge. I strongly object to gratuitous education as a rule, or except as the reward of merit in some form. Mr. Fawcett put the right principle very clearly at Manchester, and I only regret that he did not attach enough importance to it to make him decline to join the League, with which he is at direct issue. Parents are as much bound to have their children taught as to have them fed ; and none should be excused except on the ground of actual and proved inability, the one being physical, the other moral pauperism. The argument that parents would pay in paying rates could just as well be used to prove that a parent might throw his family on the poor rate (to which he contributes), and yet not Le a pauper. Lord Lyttelton added that he would likewise strongly object to secular schools as a rule. The Earl of Har-owby also sent a letter condemning the League scheme. The Earl of Dartmouth spoke at length. He did not believe that the mere reading of the Bible, by permission of the ratepayers, for a certain number of minutes, or even hours, durinc , the week would be sufficient to explain to the scholars what the teachings of the Scriptures were. THE LEAGUE. On Monday evening Sir John Pakington presided at the weekly meeting of the Social Science Associa tion, at which compulsory education was the topic.. The Conservative statesman once more avowed his confidence in Mr. Forster, and declared in favour of a certain degree of compulsion. In fact Sir John, though not strictly a partisan of the League, seems rather more partial to that body than to the Union. As to compulsion, he thinks it better to follow the line of the Factory Acts and the Workshops Acts. On several extensive estates in the rural districts the principle of these measures has been tried with success. At Canterbury the League had a field night, under the presidency of the Mayor. Resolutions in favour of the free, compulsory, and unsectarian plan were passed, and it was decided to organise a local branch for Canterbury. THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE. The Irish National Conference at Dublin on the land question is fixed for the 2nd and 3rd of February. Every effort is being made to secure a representative gathering. It is likely that those efforts will be suc cessful. The various public bodies in the country have responded to the call. ANOTHER, LP.ISII M.P. UPON FIXITY OF TENURE. It is somewhat difficult to keep pace with the overflowing amount bf expressions of opinion upon the land question. It may briefly be noted, however, that the Earl of Hunt ington, Mr. Bagwell, and Mr. Henry Matthews, MT., have agreed to attend a tenant-right meeting at Dunpryan (county Waterford) the - prospectus of which includes fixity of tenure. Mr. Edward de la Poor, one of the county members, was also asked to attena ana sign a request calling the meeting, but he wrote a letter declining the invitation. "My reason," he says, " is that the requisition recommends fixity of tenure, which would, h my opinion, most decidedly interfere with the rights of property. It is hardly necessary for me to add that a fair tenant-right bill —one that, while protectin: , the tenant in his just rights; does not interfere with those of the landlord— will have my strongest support." ME. GLADSTONE ' S LAST cuuncH APPOINTMENT. Mr. Gladstone's latest appointment is again that of A member of the school to which he has seemed to lean throughout his episcopal patronage—the " Broad High Church" school. He has pre sented Dr. _.l.r.ousi. Vicar_ of. Branantou. _to the bile FHE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENIN9,-. JAN E TARY 26, IRO. rectory or Waditighare, Lincolnshire. The doctor's present living is worth £640 a year; the value of Wadingham is set down at £O3O. per annum. Dr. Irons is very singular in his opinions. While he is a pronounced High Churchman, he would yet be declared a Rationalist by the Record in many of his doctrines. Though, ..for instance, he would retain the Athanasian Creed, he preaches against the verbal inspiration of Scriptures. His very nume rous writings are well known. ny-ana-nye ne so exasperates mem mar - tney au ti rushed from the hall in a body, and left him speaking to empty benches. Councillor Thompson ought not to mind that proceeding if he only cause the coun cillors to moderate their thirst on the next occasion of going to church. ;NEW RUSSIAN:LOAM Messrs. Rothschild and Son biro ifliif t ip plicatiotis for a new Russian Loan for £12,000,006, the proCeeds bo devoted to the extension of the rail way syste 'xi: in the empire. The price of issue is eighty, ond the rate of interest five per eelA , bonds will beireimbdrsed at par in eighty one yard by annual drawiAgs. £5 must be paid on application and £l6 on salcrtmiint, and the imainder in five instalments, extending up . 5o the 6th of. Octobei.• TECHNICAL EDUCATION. Dr. Lyon Playfair, 111. P., in lecturing on " Techni cal Education " to the members of the Edinburgh Philosophical Institution, said he believed the panic cry to be true that England was losing her position among manufacturing nations. He argued the question on general principles to show that the attention given by foreign states to the subject of education arises from a necessity of modern civilisation, and must be followed by England. The true education of a labourer is to make him an intelligent being, not a mere dexterous manipulator, so that he may have he moral dignity derived from a knowledge of the work on which 'he is engaged. Dr. Playfair compared the condition of England with that of Switzerland, and attributed the prosperity of the latter country to the high education of her people. Whilst educational reforms were the order of the day in England, be hoped Scotland would not bo found sleeping ; and with regard to Ireland, the secondary education of her people in practical subjects was the quickest remedy for all the ills that afflict her. THE THAMES SUBWAY. Those persons who remember the expense, diffi culty, and loss of life accompanying the excavation of the celebrated Thames Tunnel will probably be amazed to learn that the Thames Subway, the com mencement of which we announced not very many months ago, is completed. Within a year the scheme which NS , as propounded by Mr. Barlow has been suc cessfully carried out—and that cheaply; for the cost has not exceeded £lB,OOO. Thus are the excessive labours, the apparently useless extravagan cies, and seemingly resultless anxieties of one gene ration consecrated to the blessing of another. THE SCOTCH LUNACY BOARD. The Earl of Camperdown having been appointad to inquire into the Scotch Lunacy Board, a corre spondence has taken place between him and Lord Kinnaird, in which the latter nobleman endeavours, by giving the history of this board, to shew that con stituted as it is at present, it is a useless expense to the country. Some years since the attention of Par liament was called to the unsatisfactory state of the provision made for Scotch lunatics. A Board of Commissioners was then appointed, to exist for five years only. Their appointments were afterwards made permanent, at a cost -of from £4,000 to £5,000 per annum. Their duties being too small to warrant such an expenditure, Lord Kinnaird hopes that the subject may be gone into at the coming inquiry, and he asks why any difference should be made between the " small fry" at the Ad miralty and the " big fish " of the Boards ? THE ADMIRALTY AND THE " COUNTESS." At last the Lords of the Admiralty have been roused by the conduct of the " Countess of Derwent water" to issue an explicit notice, in which it is set forth that previously their lordships did not think the matter of sufficient importance to call for further intervention, as long as no danger to the public peace was involved by the acts and declara tions of " the person calling herself the Countess of Derwentwater." Now, however, that she has pro ceeded to violence, and set the law at defiance in seizing and carrying away cattle under pretence of levying a distress for rent, their lordships have de'sermined to take immediate and decisive measures for the vindi cation of the law. They have, therefore directed criminal proceedings to be taken against all those who were most prominently concerned in the late disturbances, and have directed their solicitor to issue writs out of. the court of Queen's Bench against all those who have possession of the cattle illegally sold. The notice concludes with a declaration that the claims of this woman to any portion of the estate formerly belonging to the Earls of Derwentwater are perfectly frivolous, and without a shadow of foundation in law or equity, THE CENSUS OF 1871. Dr. Begg, of Edinburgh, urges that at the approach ing census of 1871 some attempt should be made to gather information which has been hitherto neglected. A. project was set on foot in 1861 to get an account of the number of persons belonging to the various religious denominations in the kingdom. The proposal, however, met with great jealousy. But why not take an educational census of some kind ? There might bo difficulty in such a scheme, says Dr. Begg, and no doubt there would be ; but the information would be extremely valuable if it could be got. Dr. Begg recommends another useful and much more practicable collection—a return respecting the state of the people's houses. This has been done in the case of Scotland, and the following was the curious and instructive result :—llouses without windows, 7,904; houses of one room, 220,723; of two rooms, 240,601; of three rooms, 75,933; of four rooms, 37,180; of five rooms, 19,980; of six rooms, 15,278; of seven or more rooms, 37,101 total houses in Scotland, 066,786. These details are not only very instructive, but Dr. Begg assures us that they gave a great im pulse to social and sanitary improvement in the city of Glasgow. It would be an excellent thing, he says, to extend the plan to the whole kingdom. * The worst of it is that in such a place as London the return would afford no clue to the condition of the people. There the houses have "rooms" enough, truV ; but the disgrace is that several families in .:abit one room which is not fit for any human beings whatever. THE BETTING-HOUSE CASES. The decision of the Court of Queen's Bench on Saturday in the cases of the turf commission agents is made the subject of a long letter by " Legalis " in the Daily News. Those who deplore the final decision of the illegality of such establishments as those of Messrs. Wright, Smith, and Morris are made to understand that the words of the enactment under which the proceedings were taken were plain and explicit, and, therefore, there was no chance for any attempt at evasion, after the prosecu tion was once set on foot. Whether the law, when passed, was intended to embrace the points which have now arisen, or not, is a matter of indifference. It must be carried out according to its wording. The judges have held that the receipt of money through the post is sufficient proof of the infraction of the Act, if there is evidence to skew that it is the consideration for an undertaking by the person who receives it to pay upon the happening of a certain event. " Legalis " vindicates this decision ; and the latter part of his argument alludes to Tattersall's, and says it is important to consider whether that and similar establishments do not come in the same category as those of Messrs. Wright, Smith, and Morris. "There must," ho says, "be no drawing of distinctions between institutions and individuals, but the penal consequences of the statute must be applied vigorously and without favour." THE MARQUIS TOWNSHEND'S LATEST DOINGS There are popular orators and popular orators. some appeal to the lowest, others to the hardened, others again to those who think slightly, and not a few to the sentimental. The Marquis Townshend, feeling that a few peers is not the extensive audience which a gentleman of his talent should endeavour to influence, has taken to haranguing the paupers on Clerkenwell-green. His lordship, it seems, thinks the casuals of the metropolitan workhouses are ill-treated, and he tells them so. He was sorry, he said in his address to about 200 of them, that after they had had breakfast they were kept in the workhouse till noon to pay in labour for board and lodgings. His lordship urges that they ought to be let out early, as it is difficult for them to get work so late in the clay. He advised. the shivering ill-clad men to whom he spoke to make up a deputation to Mr. Goschen, to ask audience of that gentlemen at Gwydyr House, and to protest against the hardships to which they were subjected. Probably Mr. Goschen would•have some thing to say before he consented to receive such a deputation ; and it certainly might be submitted to the Marquis that the assembling at Whitehall of a crowd of the class which usually occupies the metropolitan casual wards, is not quite what a legislator, hoping for peace and. order, should endeavour to bring about. We cannot say that the Marquis's speech is calcu lated to do the casuals any good ; but he gave them a threepenny dinner of stew afterwards, and that may have done so. REFRESHMENT FOR TOWN COUNCILLORS. The ratepayers of England are apt occasionally to grumble when they find their contributions towards the local expenses in part consumed in the shape of refreshments by their guardians and town councillors• They may, perhaps, derive some consolation from the fact that their brethren of Scotland are sometimes compelled to do the same thing. The Stirling town council presents. a case in point. That body the other Sunday officially attended the kirk twice in the day. In the interim they refreshed themselves; and at their next meeting they had to pass the bill. It demanded payment for four bottles of whiskey, several bottles of wine, and a largo quantity of ale. A town councillor, who, it may be concluded, neither attended Church nor luncheon, pro tested against the quantity drunk. It is only fair to say that when they saw " the reckoning," the other members did seem ashamed of themselves. Nevertheless, they made as good a defence as they could. They did not satisfy Coun cillor Thompson, however ; he still continued to accuse them of extravazauce. and Aounthinz worse. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT. When M. Guillotin introduced his invention to the French National Assembly, he said—" Gentlemen, by my instrument I will whisk off your heads in an instant, and you will feel no pain." Doubt less decapitation has its advantages as a method of inflicting capital punishment, but there is a certain undefined horror connected with it which will ever prevent us from adopting it in preference to our present mode of execution. Hanging (says the Scotsman) is an ancient practice. We hear of it amongst the Jews, and far back in the mists of the Homeric ages we read of the twelve faithless handmaidens of Penelope who were hanged at the suggestion of Telemach us. Criminals were first hanged in England about 1241 A.D., though different, and in some cases, very brutal forms of execution were practised after that date. There is little doubt that if properly performed, and according to the rules of science, as little pain attends death by hanging as that accompanying death by the guillotine. We have seen occasionally how the clumsy or uncal culating conduct of the executioner has inflicted needless suffering on the criminal; but in every case this may be avoided, and in the cause of mercy must be avoided, by a careful attention to those details, of an unpleasant nature to enter upon, but which impe ratively call for due consideration on every occasion when the last sentence of the law is to be carried out. NEW FOAM OF IDIOCY. It is a charity to hope that a certain person who is guilty of a disgraceful hoax in London is insane. Some madman or heartless idler has taken to the amusement of sending cheques for large amounts to the metropolitan charities, the bank upon which the cheque is drawn holding no corresponding account. A cheque of this kind for £l,OOO was received at King's College Hospital, duly acknowledged in the Times, and rejected by the Bank. Another for an equal sum raised the hopes of the St. James' Diocesan Home Committee, until application at the bank undeceived them. FOREIGN NOTES THE SPANISH ELECTIONS. The results of the second day's elections at Madrid and in the provinces seem to have been generally favourable to the Monarchists. At Madrid, on the third day, the votes were 19,018 for the Marquis Perales, and 15,559 for Senor Guisasola. The Correspondencia anticipates the election of three Absolutists (General Cabrera being among them) four Republicans, and nineteen Monarchists. The result of the elections in Murcia is not yet known. THE AUSTRIAN MINISTRY. A telegram from Vienna states that rumours were current of serious dissensions between Count Beust and tho members of the Cisleithan Cabinet respecting the speech made by the Chancellor in the Chamber on Saturday. It was subsequently stated that harmony was restored, and the reorganisation of the Cabinet was ex pected to take place at the end of this week. AUSTRIAN DIFFICULTIES. The Monde publishes a letter from a correspondent at Vienna, on the state of Austria. Three important ques tions will, it says, come before the Chamber very shortly. Herr Grocholski has again presented the Polish resolution in the name of the Galician Diet. If he does not obtain a satisfactory reply he will resign his post and his countrymen will follow his example. Prince Sanguszko has made a similar declaration in the Chamber of Nobles. Then there is the Czech declaration which threatens, unless a compromise be arrived at, to 'involve the Ministry in a conflict with Bohemia. After these two problems comes electoral reform, which was proposed by the late Cabinet. One party de sires to 'introduce direct elections for the Reichsrath, and this, in the opinion of the correspondent, would pro duce a political and social revolution. He believes that the extreme Liberals are conducting Austria to a 1789 — the prelude of a German Empire for the profit of Prussia. TURKEY AND EGYPT. The Levant Herald of the 12th of January states that the Khedive has replied to the Porte's derhands with respect to the breech-loaders and iron-dads. His answer was not altogether satisfactory, but the Grand Vizier has deemed it prudent to regard it as sufficient. The prevailing opinion in Egypt is that the Viceroy's "humiliation " was more apparent than real. A corres pondent of the Levant Herald writes from Cairo, on the 3rd inst., and says that the Viceroy's answer might easily have been sent before, but that he wished to gain time and push on his military preparations. On this point energy hls been redoubled; at Cairo, as at Alexandria, at Aboukir, and all down the coast, the batteries have all been new furnished with the heaviest modern cannon. Immense stores of ammunition are being prepared. The- troops are drilling as they have never drilled since the days of Mehemet Ali, and on all hands nothing but armament is going on The correspondent has been informed, on good authority, that on no account will the surrender of the breechloaders and ironclads be thought of until the money for their payment has been lodged, and, as the Porte will make difficulties about this, more time will he gained. As regards the ships, they are already more than replaced by a couple of Monitors, which have arrived from America, and are al mad with two of the heaviest cannon yet mounted on ships, and for defensive purposes are far more powerful than the broadsides claimed by the Porte. The • conviction seems to be gaining ground that the Viceroy holds the winning cards, and before the present year is out he will have won the game. A RAY OF HOPE FOR MANCHESTER. The Pioneer states that at the last meeting of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India, some samples of cotton grown at Entally and Tangra, were laid before the associa tion. They were furnished by Mr. Galstier, who said that his garden contained two thousand plants, all in full bearing, and more promising than the crop which produced the samples he had for warded. " Lower Bengal," he continued, "has never at any time, had a fair trial for cultivating cotton, although natives in several districts grow it in small patches for their own consumption, but none for exportation. From inquiries I am fully convinced that, under proper care and management, Bengal will be found to be suitable for the growth of the finest cotton in India, and in any quantity; and: should I be favoured with the assistance from the public and the Government, which I am about to solicit, I will within three years, God sparing my life, prove that Lower Bengal alone can export at the least 200,000 bales of cotton annually of the best and cheapest description the English market can ever wish for." TIDE SAN DOMINGO TREATY. It seems by news from Washington that the treaty for the annexation of San Domingo has been definitely con cluded between President Grant and President Baez. The governing motive for the acquisition of San Domingo by the United States, is its geographical position as a means of national defence, as well as its general maritime advan tages. Some Senators assert that San Domingo is as important an acquisition to the States as Cuba, and that the one will lead to the other. The following are the principal items of the Treaty. 1. The United States stipulates to pay the sum of $1,500,000. 2. This money is to be devoted to the liquidation of all the obliga tions of the republic, including the redemption of its cur rency. 3. In case the obligations exceed the sum specified, the public lands of SmiDomingo are to be pledged as security. 4. The obligations are to be liquidated by com missioners. 5. San Domingo cedes to the United States all forts, docks, custom-houses, public buildings, arsenals, &c., and complete jurisdiction over the territory. 6. San, Domingo to be annexed as a territory, not as a State, and to be subject to the legislation of Congress in the same manner as the territories of the United States. 7. The treaty to be valid when ratified by the Senate of the United. States, and confirmed by a vote of the majority of the citizens of San Domingo. FIJI. The Fiji Times contains particulars of ,the niurder of three white men, and the drowning of two hundred and fifty naives. Captain Field, of the Mary Anne Christina, arrived at the Island of Poree some time ago, and was informed that the captain and first mate of the French barque Morea, and Mr. Latten, who was on board, had been murdered, and that the greater part of the savage murderers, in trying to swim ashore, were drowned. Mr. Latten had transhipped from the barque Annat about eighty natives, and had entered into a sort of partnership with the captain. The crew of the barque were natives of Tahiti, and took no part in the murders. The second mate, who escaped the savages by hiding below, was left on board, and the vessel may yet turn up, if he understands navigation. Captain Field is of opinion that the chief part of the abovemaybe relied on, as he had one of the natives on board his vessel, and cross examined him. The ' ship Herald, which left Cardiff for Rio Ja neiro on the 23d of December, has been abandoned in a sinking condition at sea. The captain and eleven of the crew have been picked up and landed at Gibraltar, but a boat which contained the second officer and thirteen men is missing. The wife of Mr. Taylor, a commercial traveller, has been burnt to death at Barton. She was lying on tho floor in an unfurnished house with her feet towards the fire, when her clothes caught in a blaze. The family had only just got into the house, az:4,llor, furniture had n9t Or' A SALVAGE SUIT. Sir It. Ph tll imore gave judgment on Tuesday in an appeal from the C ity of London Court, which involved a ques tion in salt' age eases. The owners of the Queen Victoria had been e pployed to render assistance to the Aztia, and were nonsuited on the ground that there was no danger to the vessel, and,':,hat an agreement made had not been suc cessfv7. His 'lordship said it was a mistake to suppose that a verse! must be in danger to entitle salvors .to compensati olt, that because an agreement could not be carried out 4 so remuneration was to be awarded. In this case, from, a tempest; it was impossible to take the ship to Harwich. 4 nnd she proceeded to Gravesend. He should award Sr , to the salvors and costs. Mr. Butt asked for leave to; appeal to the Privy Council. Sir H. Phillimore said ho had. considered the matter. and should not grant an appeal. THE LIVERPOOL CATASTROPHE. some ':further particulars about the dreadful disaster which happened at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Chapel on Sunday night are furnished by the Liverpool papers. The whole of the neighbourhood has becn agitated by the event. From an early hour in the morning the dead-house and the Northern Hospital were besieged by anxious inquirers, and even up to a late period of the day, when only one body remained to be identified, a large number of persons waited around the building where the corpses lay. The early mass on Mon day morning was very largely attended, nearly every seat being occupied. The most contradictory stories prevail among the people as to the origin of the calamity. A general concurrence of evidence points to the fact that the panic certainly arose from the alarm of fire, but whether the giving of that alarm was the result of mei e folly or deliberate malice is a question which is much discussed. The real history of the accident is substantially the story which was told onMonday. The sufferers who have escaped alive from the immediate crush are still suffering from the effects of the shock to such an extent as to be able to give no account whatever. Sixteen deaths in all are reported. On Monday an inquest was opened on the bodies of the deceased, and adjourned till Friday. MR. ANTHONY TROLLOPE ON PROSE FICTION. Mr. Anthony Trollope, the well-known novelist, on Monday evening delivered a. 1 ecture at the Royal Institution, Hull, on the congenial subject of "English Prose Fiction as a Rational Amusement." Mr. Trollopo said that no man could work long at any trade without considering whether its tendency were good or evil, and he had often asked himself the question. He then proceeded to vindicate his profession from the frequent attacks made upon it by preachers and writers of high moral utanding. He traced the history of the modern novel from the days of the inanities of the Minerva Press, And the inauguration of a new literary epoch by the Waverley novels, to the present time. The two great ob jections urged against novel reading were, that time was given to amusement which should be given to work; and, secondly, that novels were false and untrue. To the first of these objections, he replied that if it might be urged against athletic sports and every occupation of the kind. The second ho contradicted on the ground that fiction might be as true as fact. A novel need not be false because it dealt with an imagined world. If it gave a true picture of life and manners, though fiction, it was not false. In conclusion, the lecturer denounced those novels which were founded on the foibles of men still living, which were, he said, unpardonable. A vot... of thanks was carried by acclamation. THE TICHBORNE BARONETCY CASE. In . the Probate Court on Tuesday some interesting proceedings in the cause (Ware of " Tichborne v. Tichborne," came before Lord Penzance. Dr. Tristram who, it will be remembered, is counsel for Sir Roger Tichborne, said that in June last his lordship appointed an administrator pendent lite. That person was Mr. Richard . Humphreys, who was also the receiver under the Court of Chancery.' The Vice-Chancellor had made an order that Mr. Humphreys should realise the personal property and jewellery of Lady Tichborne for the purpose of liquidating her debts and funeral expenses. Now, there was a sum of £1,034 3s. id. in hand, and the debts proved and claimed were £1,255, and his client was willing to place £3OO for the purpose of paying these debts as he was very desirous that the personal ornaments of the late Lady Tichbourne should not be sold. If the administrator insisted on a sale, he had to ask on behalf of "Sir Roger Tichborne" that more goods should not be old than was necessary to pay the debts, and that those goods should be selected by Sir Roger, - and that that gentleman should go before the registrar and say what articles he would prefer being sold. The Solicitor-General said that the present application was likely to bring the Courts of Chancery and Pr obate into conflict. If the personal estate was all sold it would not pay the debts. The creditors now asked for their money, and had a right to be paid; they had nothing to :do with the contested suit. The administrator was Bordered to sell for the purpose of paying them, and why'. should the Court of Probate interfere? Mr. Bridge on behalf of .several creditors said they wanted their money, Dr. Tristram said he had anticipated difficulty from the ap pointment of Mr. Humphreys as he was in terested, which was shewn by Mr. Donaldson, now instructing the Solicitor General on his behalf. Lord Penzance could not see, that he had a right to inter fere, and even if it were not ultra vires for him to do so, it would be mischievous as bringing the Court of Probato in conflict with the Court of Chancery. The proposal made by Dr. Tristram to pay the £3OO was no doubt a good one, and it would doubtless be hard if the claimant could not by this means prevent the jewels and personal ornaments being sold.—Mr. Bridge said that he could buy them at the sale if he thought proper.—Dr. Tristram said he should go before the Chief Clerk in Chancery with the offer.—Lord Penzance declined interfering, and allowed the Solicitor-General the costs of the motion. LAW AND POLICE. CluniA.on OF Goons BY SEA.—In the case of "Hoare v. White," argued in the Court of Queen's Bench yesterday, a point of some interest was raised in regard to buying and selling goods. The defendant purchased a quantity of bones for the plaintiff, the terms of the contract being that they should be delivered " in a dry and merchantable condition," at Stockton, Notts. The defendant, however, agreed to undertake the carriage of the bones in his own ship, and the property being lost at sea, he refused to pay for it. For the plaintiff it was contended that the defen dant, having taken the property on board his own vessel in London, it was delivered to him there, and he was con sequently responsible for the loss on the voyage. Their lordships (the Chief Justice, and Justices Mellor, Lush, and Hannen), however, were of opinion that the carriage of the goods by the defendant in this case was merely a subordinate arrangement ; and that as it was impossible that the plaintiff could now fulfil his contract to detain the goods in Nottinghamshire, judgment must be given for the defendant. RATE COMPOUNDING CASE AT LEED3.—A case of consi derable importance between the corporation and tho com pounders of rates has been heard at the Leeds County Court. Mr. George Graham made a claim to recover £3 alleged to have been overpaid to the corporation in respect of rates, and the Town Clerk appeared on behalf of the corporation. Mr. Graham had conpounded with the corporation in 1856 for a decreased payment. There were subsequent communications on the subject, and a notice was produced in court which had been given by the plaintiff last March, stating his desire to pay a reduced rate for his tenements for one year whether they were occupied or not. It was intimated that it was optional in the corporation to accept the offer of the owner, and Mr. Graham said he had no notice whether or no they would accept this offer. His last rates had been paid under protest. The town clerk admitted that the plaintiff had been charged 75 instead of 50 per cent. 43 might have been allowed under the Act of 1856, and pro ceeded to explain the objections which the corporation held to be fatal to the claim. The 36th rection of the Act of 1861) repealed the section of the Act of 1856, under which the agreement was made. His Honour held that an agreement made under an Act of Parliament repealed was worth nothing, provided nothing had been done under that agreement. Up till May, when the section was repealed, no rate had been made, and how, after the passing of the new Act, could the agreement be enforced? After a great deal of discussion on the several points raised, his Honour said that he was so far in favour of the Corporation. The 38th section of the A'.ct of 1856 was repealed, and there was no authority to make the agreement. The defendants were entitled to a verdict, but a case would be granted on two points havinf reference tolhe contract and the question of appeal. 0113INET COUNCIL.—All..were preoopt at the' Cabinet Council on Tut/x.1146 1%0 dioitt the et Abigli . flu:taming. "NEW TIMCKS 11V NORTH AMERICA." (From the Anglo-American Tames.) This work is comprised in two well-illustrated vo lumes, descriptive first of the track from the Missis sippi River to the Rio Grande del Norte; next the na tive races of Mexico and Arizona ; the third, from the Rio Grande del Norte to the Pacific Ocean; and fourth, the Pacific Railways, of which there are three, two projected or in course of formation, and one completed ; the Omaha line, the Kansas Pacific, and the Northern Pacific. The introduction con tins an elaborate description of the physical geography of the Mississippi Basin, with the water shed of the Rocky Mountains, as well as of the Colorado Basin, and of the Great Basin, indeed, generally of the geographical features of the conti nent. Part of the first volume carries the tra veller through the valley of the Kansas, and of the Smoky Hill to Fort Hays, which in the spring of 1867, when Dr. Bell wrote, was an isolated Go vernment post in the heart of the most exposed and dangerous portion of the Red Indian country. Now the Kansas Pacific Railroad is completed up to Fort Wallace, and will soon be completed to Denver, 200 miles beyond. Nothing strikes those best acquainted with the country, so much as the rapid change wrought in a few yea's. Many ie glancing through the illustrations will be shocked by a woodcut hom a photograph entitled " The Mutilated Sergeant " 11 1 y4arns was an Etonian, the process of whose wi d oat sowing placed him as a sergeant in the U. S. Army at Fort Wallace, shortly before Dr. Bell's arrival. Our readers may remember that the year 1867 was marked by a com bination of the nomade Indian tribes to stop the pro gress of the Pacific Rail ways, and roll back the white men over the Missouri River. The railway vigour ously progressing, and intended by Government first forcompletion,was the Union Pacific, therefore the Government put a military pressure along the road through Nebraska, which had the effect of con centrating the attack on the Kansas Pacific as well as the settlers along the Smoky Hill route. On leaving Fort Hays the exploring and surveying party, to which Dr. Bell was attached, entered a very unset tled country. Fort Wallace was found to be the theatre of sanguinary engagements, which are pic turesquely described, and one of the victims was Sergeant Wylyams. The mutilations are signs showing the tribes which formed the attacking party, and are not, therefore, meaningless barbarities. The Cheyenne mark is a cut arm ; the Arapahoe, or " smeller tribe," slit nose ; the Sioux, a cut throat, the Comarche imitates the crawling of a snake, and so on. The arrows, varied in make and colour, as well indicate the tribes, and one for each was left in the sergeant's body. Now this lonely station, but little over two years ago the point of these ferocious assaults, is passed by the Kansas Pacific Railroad, and Sheridan, the town, not far, is a sort of white pandemonium of civilisation. From Fort Wallace the surveying party had to strike across country for the Arkansas river, the survey com mencing from Fort W a ll ace . In reality the junc tion of the Denver branch with the Pacific branch will not take place at Fort Wallace, but 50 miles beyond. Hence the preliminary survey described by Dr. Bell did not avail the company, as the road is to run direct from Cheyenne Wells to Fort Lyon, some distance above the old Fort Lyon on the Arkansas, below which the first survey struck that river. The interest of the work mainly consists in its graphic description of the " new tracks" over which the author travelled. When the explor ing party left the Smoky Hill route, the regular mail line to Denver, it crossed over a desert but little known. The survey had to be executed with extraordinary rapidity, for there was no water be tween the rivers, a distance of 72 miles. Notwith standing the skill which enabled the surveyors to map the country with such speed, a woodcut conveys the result, as it depicts the rush of the mules with all their harness on them into the Arkansas, which they reached on the fourth day, the animals being in a condition ready to drag waggons and all into the river, unless quickly released, to satisfy their burn ing thirst. Not many miles west of Fort Hays vegetation begins to suffer from the diminution in the rainfall, dry arroyas taking the place of streams, and no fuel is to be found. Both to the north and south this line of demarkation exists, as the author says, " between the well-watered plains to the east ward, and the more arid regions separating them from the Rocky Mountains. To the north the line deflects eastward, and to the south it diverges to the west, so that a greater portion of Nebraska is dry and unproductive than of Kansas, while Kansas, taken as a whole, is less fertile throughout than the Indian Territory south of it." Now this is what we have always said, that the eastern portion of Kansas is of the same character as the Indian Ter ritory, while Eastern Nebraska is of the same char acter as Eastern Kansas, the difference being that the good land of Nebraska runs to a shorter distance vl'estward than does that of Kansas, and of Kansas than of the Indian Territory. But what the character of the western soil really is has not yet been satisfactorily settled. Where buffalo grass abounds it binds the earth into a hard surface, its close,thickly matted fibres, preventing the rain from penetrating. It is a delicate grass, with beautiful bunches of pink stamens and curious clusters of pistillate dowers which stand the In avy tramp of the buffalo herds ; but as these are replaced by do mestic animals, the coarser, more vigorous, and deeper rooted grasses destkay it, looseni ng the sod and retaining the moisture7vhich before had run off as from. a slate roof, producing sudden and violent inundations: This effect has lately been asserted, though it may not yet be fully settled, but there is another claimed regarding timber. Almost due west of Fort 'Wallace, Dr. Bell speaks of a pine -covered spur as jutting for 40 miles into the plains, and curi ously enough beneath the soil is a grand bed of coal. Around this district the moisture is abundant, the vegetation luxuriant, and the country beautiful. It. is an established fact in theffest that as corn is planted and trees grow the rainfall increases, and Salt Lake is given as a striking illustration, the rainfall there since the Mormon settlement having more than double]. There is much dif ficulty in protecting the young trees, for the buf falo not only eat the tender shoots, but pull down numbers of trees along theriver banks when shedding their coats. Almost the only tree to be found in the district of which Dr. Bell then wrote is the cotton wood of the willow and poplar family, so called from its white downy seeds. It grows rapidly and gives avery plentiful shade, but it as quickly rots, the timber being unsuitable for domestic purposes. But, again, as settlement advances, this tree gives place to the alder and ash, and more slowly following behind come the heavier timber of the Missouri. Often the shady leaves of the line of cotton-wood, on each bank of a stream deceives the traveller into the idea that he is approaching a vast forest. These streams are numerous, coursing through the country for two, three, and even four, hundred miles, re maining small enough the whole way to jump across. The banks of dark rich clay are low, the water muddy, alkaline, and often reddish. But such streams cannot make their way through the arid western district near the Rocky Mountains, where they become absorbed. The only rivers of magni tude sufficient to get through are the South Platte, the Arkansas, and the Canadian ; the Rio Grande in reality deriving its waters from the western slope of the Rocky Mountain shed. Theparty which Dr. Bell accompanied excited much attention and interest in America at the time it started, and its progress was frequently mentioned in our columns when intelligence from the explorers reached civilized parts. We then mentioned that the young Cantab was compiling a work which could not fail to be of the deepest interest., unless he failed in the ability to handle his subject ; but we are happy to say he has been equal to the task both with pencil and pen. The country through which the party penetrated is not only what Dr. Bell de scribes it, New Tracks, but among the most inte resting left open to the explorer This does not arise from the fact alone that a portion of it is the most extraordinary to be found in the world ; but that it was inhabited by races now almost extinct, and which furnish to the American archaeologist his richest, most plentiful, yet least known relics. We are in the habit of regarding the Red In dians of the plains, nomade savages of an irreclaim able type, as the only dwellers ever in the land, yet here is a 'country stretching over a domain which in magnitude would swallow up such em pires as France or Germany, covered with the ruins of its ancient inhabitants. There are the ruins in the Rio Grande Valley, on the southern tributaries of the San Juan River, on the Colorado Chiquito and tributaries, extending throughout New Mexico and Arizona. " There is scarcely a valley in the Rio Grande Basin in which the stone or adobe founds times. of villages are not to be found ; there is scarcely a spring, a laguna, or marsh upon the plateau which is not overlooked by some ruined fortress. Usually these relics crown a command ing eminence, not always in close proximity either to the fertile land which supported the community or even to the spring which supplied them with water. If a stream runs near them the remains of acequias or irrigating canals are generally to be found. There are many places, however, where cultivation had been successfully - carried on without them, the rainfall alone being relied npon, while some ruins show signs of reser voirs and terraces similar to those still in use among the Moquis." These ruins Dr. Bell classes under three heads—those of many storeyed Indian strongholds ; those evidently constructed under Spa nish rule ; and those of which the foundations alone remain. East of the Rio Grande there are, besides others, the ruins of four towns of the first order, Pecos, Quarra, Gran Quivers, and Abo, all, how ever, containing remains of 4,paniAli as well as of In dian origin. The only conspicuous buildings in the ruins of Pews are the Spanish church and the Mexican temple ; where for a century the two reli gions probably flourished side by side, inceme aicending from the altar of the one, and the fire of Montezuma burning day and night in the estufa of the other. But a remnant only of the inhabitants DOW dwell at Jemez. The next class of ruins are on the Colorado Chiquito, but the most extensive are on the Rio Gila. The Rio Verde, one of its tri taries, was explored by Leroux in 1854, and along its fine rich valley the river banks were lined w ith the ruins of stone houses and regular fortifications. the work of a very civilised race, but uninhaited for centuries. li e f oun d a well-built fortified town ten miles distant from the nearest water. When the Rio Gila leaves the Santa Rita and other ranges it meanders for 100 miles through a wide open valley, which is studded throughout with deserted pueblos, and one of the guides, %Om knew the ground well, gave it as his opinion that there dwelt there at one time at least 100,000 people. Curious illustrations are given of many Astec ruins and the plans of the forti fications. These Astec tribes were driven out by the nomade Indians, principally tl Navajo Band the.Apa' ches ; the Navajos to the north and east of New Mexico warring for plunder but not for ruthlt ss death, the Apaches throughout Arizona and northern Sonora never sparing life, and capturing only to torture to death. They are the hereditary enemies of all cul tivators, whether Astec, Mexican, or Anglo-Saxon , and on the decline of the Spani,h power in Mex'eo the raids of these bloodthirsty savages increased till gradually they swept away what the Spaniards had left of the former inhabitants. A stormy discussion has probably been raised in Congress after it met on the 11th regarding a new appor tionment of Congressional representation between East and West. Mr. Judd's bill, fixing the representation at 300, will furnish the opportunity for a fight between the Eastern and Western members. The census will be taken this year, and by law the representatives are then apportioned in accordance with the population.. Suppos ing 241 members were retained, by the new census the New England States will lose 6 and the %Eddie States 7 the Western States gaining 14, and the Southern 4. Tho re' presentatives do not increase because the population in creases, but the number is lessened in one State and in creased in another in relation to the population. What the Western members desire is to have the whole number of representatives increased, Mr. Judd's bill fixing it at 300. This would give an addition of nearly three score after Texas and Mississippi are brought into the Union, Virginia having been admitted by a v o t e of the Representatives last Saturday by 149 to 49, the preamble of the bill, declaring, that the State had conformed to all the requirements of the Re construction Act. The Constitution provides that a census shall be taken every ten years in such manner as Congress shall decree ; the number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every 30,000; but each State shall have at least one Representative. Except in the instance that every Representative shall have a constituency of at least 30,000, no numbers are specified, and the Western States now express a desire to . enlarge the number of the Ile presentatives sent to Congress. It is asserted that the constituency has.grown out of all proportion to what the Constitution named, 30,000 represented to 1 Representa tive; the population of the United States being now close on 40,000,000, while the Representatives have only been in creased by the addition of new States to the Union. If Mr. Judd carries his Bill 40,000,000 of men, women, and , children will have 300 representatives, which would give a constituency of about 130,000 to each. The effect of the Census will be to reduce the representation of the Eastern States and to increase that of the Western, inde pendently of Mr. Judd's Bill, but we will learn more of the merits of the dispute when we hear what both sides have to say. The railroad car prepared for the removal of George Peabody's remains from Portland to their last resting. place in the cemetery at the town of Peabody has been arranged as follows : —The seats have been removed , and a raised dais, ten feet in length and two feet square, has been erected in the centre. It is covered with black velvet, bordered with silver braid, and festooned with massive silver fringe, studded with massive silver rosettes and tassels. On this dais the coffin is to rest, securely fastened. The car is lined with alternate stripes of black and white alpaca. At' each end the cross of St' George and the flag of the United States are hung, and are covered with black crape, so that the colouis are dimly seen through it. The Miantonomah, Terror, and Alaska are at Boston awaiting the Monarch with the re" mains of the philanthropist, expected on the 18th at Port land. The Monarch was to take the post of honour with the Plymouth, and other ships of war following in line ensigns at half mast, in conjunction with the British flags- Admiral Farragut is to command, and Mr. Thornton is to represent the Queen at the obsequies. During the dis embarkation the minute guns will be fired from the 15-inch artillery, and the body when landed will be surren dered to the authorities of Maine, and the funeral escort from Portland to Peabody will be accompanied by do' legates and officers from many parts of the Union• A sad accident occurred to the tug Maria when convoyr ing the Miantonomah from the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Tile Miantonomah steered wildly in the heavy swell, and the Maria, which had burst a feed pipe, passed ahead of the monitor, which reduced speed to give the Maria time to repair damage. Thinking the Miantonomah had stopped , the Maria attempted to turn to ascertain the reason, when it was discovered that she was quickly approaching, and the tug could not get out of the, way as her steam was nearly exhausted. The blow struck by the monitor al most knocked the tug to pieces, killing a man, who was oiling the engine, which it utterly wrecked, dashing every thing inside into a confused mass and setting the vessel on fire. Four men in the Maria were killed or drowned, and the rest were saved with difficulty. It was impossible to lower a boat in the sea-way, and the tug only kept afloat $ few minutes by hanging on to the ram. The fires which occurred in the United States daring 1869, where the losses exceeded $20,000, have caused a destruction of property amounting to $40,684,000. The losses for each month were as follows ; January, $2,294,000 ; February, $2,637,000 ; March, $2,892,000 April, $4,672,000 ; May, 3,830,000; June, $1,060,000 ; July, $1,677,000; Aug., $6,838,000 ; Sept., $3,2.42,000; October, $2,792,000 ; November, $2,650,000 ; December, $4,900,000. It will be seen that the heaviest losses occurred in August, and this fact is due to the fire on the sth of August at Patterson's block, Philadelphia, at which the loss is placed at $4,000,000. The next heaviest loss took place on the 14th of January, the fire Caldxvell's store, Philadelphia, at which the loss was $1,300,000. Tho fire at Galveston, Texas, on December 0 0A , 0 1p 0 1r O ti o c o c f u April,rre d o a n t a t h a e n c 2 o 9 e t k h , m M i a c r h c i h g a a n t •; S o t • 3d, involved a loss o f $1,000,000. Fires involving a Louis; loss i 2 so B ; f t h o 18 0 5t f 0h at Helena, Montana Territory; May 10, at Pater son, N ew J ersey ; on May 25, at Hunter 'e Point, New Ycrk ; on December 27, at Syracuse, New York. The losses by fire for the last fourteen years, be ginning with 1856, amounted to $380,229,000, or an average of $27,130,646 per annum. During these four teen years the least loss occurred in 1858, when it amounted to $11,561,000, and the greatest in 1866, when it amounted to $66,410,000. LADVERTISEMENT. I—Holloway's Ointment and Pills. Scrofula and Skin Diseases. - In no disease is more early or constant vigilance required than in the treatment o,f scrofula. Early c u r a ti ve measures save great r i s k s and much unnecessary suffering. The nurse or parent mus meet the first approach of the foe, or his defeat will be difficult. Enlarged glands about the neck, flying pains through the limbs, a d irritable skins warn us of the pre' sence of this hereditary malady, and not a moment should be lost in the employment of Holloway's anti scorbutic remedies -to throw out from the blood at once the morbid cause of all future disfigurements. These wonderful reme dies leave the system pure and vigorous, so' thoroughly do they banish the poison. LADYERTISEMENTJ—Henceforth no one will doubt the valuable properties of Du Barry's health-restoring Revalenta Arabica Invalids' and Infants' Food, since to the thousands of blessings it has already received from Invalids whose position had been deemed hopeless, we may now add that of his Holiness the Pope; whose health has been perfectly restored by it after thirty years of unsuccessful medical treatment. We quote from the "Gazette do Midi," July 25th:—" Rome, July 21, 1866. The health of the Holy Father is excellent, especially since, abandoning all other rem'' dies, he has confined himself entirely to Du Barry's Revalenta Arabie,a Food, of which he consumes a plateful at every meal. It has produced a surprisingly beneficial effect on his health, and his Holiness cannot praise this excellent food too highly." We extract a few out ofmore than 68.000 cures :--Cure No. 58,216, of the Marchioness de Brehan, of seven years ' liver complaint wasting away, debility, nervousness, with a nervous palpitation , all over, bad digestion, constant sleeplessness, and the most in tolerable nervous agitation. Cure No. 1,771: Lord Stuart de N Dec o. i 4 e 9 s :B3 L 2 o : rd , - , L F i i e ft u y ra te y n e a a nt of Waterford, of many years' dyspepsia , indescribable agony from dyspepsia, nervousness, asthma, cough, constipation, flatulency, spasms, sickness, and vomiting —Maria Joly " Cure No. 46.270: Mr. James Roberts, of Frimley, Surrey, of 30 years' diseased lungs• spitting of blood, liver derangement, and partial deafness. Im portant Caution —Beware of the many unsavoury and more than sloppy imitations to which, without authority, Baron Liebig' o name is most audaciously attached. In tins, at s d; Ilb 2s 9d; 2lb 45 6d; slb 11s; 121 b 225 24 lbs 4''s,—Also I , u BARBY's RDNALENTA RABICA CacCOLATII PowDER is packed in tin canisters : for 12 cups at 2s, for 24 caps at 3s 6d, for '8 cups at 6s, for 2eB cups at 30s, for 576 cups at 550 —being about one penny per cup. • The 30s and 58 tins are seat free of carriage in England on receipt of Post Office Order.-- BARIty Du BARRY and Co., No. 77, Regent-street, London; and a 1 Grocers and Chemists. BIRTH& LAWSON— On the 24th inst., at Brayton, Carlisle, the wife of Sir Wilfrid Lawson, Bart., M.P., of a daughter. MAUSPELL—On the 21st inst., at Thorpe Malsor, Mrs. Cockayne Maunsell, of a daughter. MARRIAGES. - - BETHEL!. MANNING— On the 25th inst., at The Oratory, Brompton, Charles Ithell, third surviving sou of the late John Bethel!, Esq., to Charlotte Alice, daughter of Charles John Manning, Esq., of 15, Prince's•gardens, Princes gate, W, LAIRD—LEE-0n the 2r.th inst., at All Saints', burgh, Lieut.-Colonel D. Laird, of Strathmartine, to Ellen, widow of the late Captain Henry U. L ee , of the Madras Army. DEATHS. - LRDYARD —On the 24th i ns t ., at — Holt Hill, Cheshire, B. 0. Ledyard, Esq., aged 57. TAYLOR - On the 20th inst., Mr. William Taylor, of No. 6, Carey-lane, city. London : Printed and Published by WILLIAM ANDREWS , of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at T HE SUN Office, 0. 112, Strand• in the Precinct of the Savoy, ha the County of Middlesex.'`• if3TQI K r , 0 , P Hold t th e Eiger M° if, g DVAN 'Aid or wee ' tine I EST The fusions Weekly biped establia This nised b and it Lady ] Car Olin ;• All i ten or Subs Treasu TH' J receive anal I) Puni The manna A pt When tressed Ap otherp The Fire 11 The rr Bonus value render leave i thirty T " road. Ti pi this 11 The enable names helple Ilan street Under wherel Girls o the kir The ieh ed and lai wise anitabl The entire] SI Mem lane E.O. P Ni' °m e ~~ FUN . Gl- 1 Th establ free. Bay street Sec., Lc Pr. Trea solid ()ape at 'w SE Nati, _ TI froi r ; llngl Q.l 4ovi desti and pros stitu" end( aseif• Si het its T T Seal 11 er