The Sun. — London, England, 1855-02-05 00:00:00

.•ter__-~.~ 7.7=-„.........__ , z.L.--....;.__L....._,...---:-:-;-----' -.,_ , -,„,,pf=._:;.;.:,,..-- ---- :, - :........._ _ •_.,_ _ . ____:_-____ .._ ...... ' . .. e . , • ..-• , °.. A - . ~. , ,J , -'•,- :::--- : - "*" - ‘ 77 ,.2 , . _ . . , . , ... . . ~, ' -17 4 . 4 4- i3 : . ..•• "4 * 4 , ~. 01)1 • 3 2 - 40.. 4 1 : Ce - - - ..g.. 7 .ti . :. ,il,'; :.' • 4 , 1 1l :01- 1 : 4 .... . - ... ,_.• ' --., ,,,, ,t .„ (. .r--4, E.,..,4, :1; .., , . , , . ~.,__, 4 t r . :t ---- ,--,l‘. ,%,„.- , , t. -7, / - , 0 , A 5 1 1 ~- , s . -- ~.„.• ..-'1::,.7 ... .,,4: ,•-"j ,„,,r t ..fii. '. ' l '' P . I g' - • X 41 0 7 , ,',-;•,= -,-,k -1 ~- Il laki .1: -- ' ' l. % '- P.CIT. -s' 44 3 , ''• ...rialge .-:',- OR ' I , ----- _ " - :- , 4 - 0 , :0y .. 1 , . ~,, ,; , _ •,-,‘.r &-. , • (..i.) 1 , - ' ' 01 ' - j )IA. AL To. -t ERT 'SMITH'S MONT BLANC h. ; AILIGIIT at 8 o'clock, and Every Night (but Saturday). e.,orkille Gallery,3lorniny Reoresenta on_ rae MAY. Thursday, and Saturday, arg o'clock. cadilly, reputed his prefirinoo hi other 'wordy; excepting the mere, the reiteration of which was assential to the spirit of his opinion : " I speak ivy own mind, lent I certainly de feel that there would have been the appearance of a want of gene rosity to have turned round on a colleague who was acting most ably and laboriously in the office which he filled, and ejected him from that office to carry out a mere arrange ment for greater unity of action." That is to say, in plainer words, a more arrangement to supply almost everything that is now wanted, or at least for the sine qua nom of the efficiency of the military administration a the L )A l t f:4 gici'sTodi Lttrr m.itopoLITA.N .RAILWAy._ izZe iitiZrellmillary Deposit on Applications for Shares being liri t Zft the t ?' BeMood, Kennard, and Company's, the Directors tit -43 NrarY Removal of that Firm 0 the South Sea eadneedle.street. BY order; 111.. . Ti r r ,e Rb.OPOLITAN RA.I L W . A. Y.- 41 :1 Tp ,r tile ,_ Irecters, finding it necessary ,4ed itiP,,,Yrnent of the Deposit on Application for Shares, l ß E._ to afford farther _faacvie t,7gt.lipt,,fr Brokers, Messrs. Ellis abd Co., No. 2, Noy 'hks t , te r t, and the Secretary of the Company, No. 27, a Gr!at 'vestminster, to receive the same. BY order. W. MALIN3, Chtlingitul• LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 5, 1855. J. lIEUCHMAN, Secretary No. 19,4551 rPRICE SD. er P' PUBLICATIONS. A LETTER ON THE NEWSPAPER POSTAL STAMP. while I remain poor, you. will impoverish me yet further." • I newspaper belowa certain size and value. This prohibition the advocates of free discussion, the unsparing critics of public men and measures, the members of the "fourth estate," desire to maintain, on ethical and social grounds ; asserting that though the most unlimited liberty of the press is good down to a certain point, yet that for a mnall capitalist to get- up a journal, and for labouring men to take it in, is dangerous to the public morality. It is un charitable to assume that fear of competition, threatened interference with their existing monopoly, and somo lingering love of " protection," in their own busi ' ness, may have somewhat clouded their perceptions of right ? In truth, the arguments by• which yon sup port the Present law- aro in direct contradiction to ono another. For you affirm, first, "that tit() press does not possess any leLislati vo fav o u r , p ro t ec ti on, or monopoly wl at:mar ' and, next, "that the withdrawal of the stamp duty will supersede it by substituting a totally different and inferior class of papers." Therefore (according to you) English journalism is to be ruined by the withdrawal of privileges which (also according to you) English journalism does not enjoy. Tu reconcile these discrepancies is no affair of mine. tingency (for the prestige of the metropolitan press is great and would remain), and ih any case a simple result of free competition with which the law has no right to interfere. To the vague and angry decl ama ti on o f t h ose w h o cry— " You want to pull down English journalism, and substi tute au American press in its Placo, I scarcely hold it worth while to reply. The plain answer is—like people like prom The American press (which, by the Way, does not by any means universally deserve the bad character given to it in this country) reflects, faitlffully enough, the prevailing sen timent of 2'..mericau citizens. It is democratie-30 aro they. If it is often vulgar, violent, abusive, addicted to bragn thcio, and credulous of marvels—these are exactly tho faults, a little exaggeratad in the copying, of a young and growing nation, in which material prosperity has advanced faster than the arts and rciinements of life. If in the English mind thcre be a corresponding state of feeling, by all means let it be exposed rather than concealed. An evil fully brought to light is half remedied. But, in truth, the English character differs widely from the American ; and a popular prose, though ultimately it may help in forming, must follow, and be sited to, the bias of the popular mind. But presently afterwards, remembering that there. is such a thing as a public, and that though a Duke stands before all other considerations, yet that a Dike is not the all in all of England, he throws in the salvo : "Do not suppose that I think any consideration for a colleague ought to stand in the way of the public Interests." Why is not Sir George's favourite word here ? Why is it not the mere public interests ! Why are the public interests tr. ated with more respect than the arrangement meld!, conducing to them ; the word most aptly ex presses the aniuniF, the spirit cf suhordirating publid to oersonal considerations ; and t'u^h irons beuinning to end lit been the character of this affair, which has ovCr thrown a Government, placed the Crown in difficulty, disturbed an the external relations of the country, and jeopardised its domestic interests. P. t il t 1,1" A ------.-- 0,„, yo Ti r rs,,,l o ,.-NAL ASSQCIATION for P R O - 24,ith` '-, I, EPOR NI in the BRITISH ARMY. --` . litt,i'Rto o d o ."'N'juie the par mount necessity for a reformation in %till. .eettve system are requested to communicate their 40 .11-e . nBressing subject to GEORGE RUTHERFORD, Hon. Sec., 4, Torrington4 quare. ''',..„..,,,..,_._:&._ttreittlattee daily from 12 to 2 o'.lock. tit, N. ..7, , ET IC TELEGRAPH. ~ old /,,. LONDON OF VICES „k r , et ti;,o4fl-street (six doors from the Royal Evehange.) 41111,„oinn,a`,1-7, Ch alng-cross (oppod•e the statue.) CIL, °' tile th,"' e atioll by undcrgrounl wires with the princ i pal b 1 k , 1 4 , 14 ' Trr i ' ° .iv e ,:,, 4 Y Words, including Celivery, and address not r 11° '';'P l ' ° Zee 2 i , 4R c. t , , z , . ~.v.:11,1: 1 1:, rrn, 1 a :8, :. , 2:2 1 li e,} x lNi e na h 4n a ,i c e. g isi e at. i r : tere u lt i de l e d t. iTs •• • • . • 2s. 6d. .. ... .......... is.-od. " , I ,: Ore e g , w., °dice, 18, Exchange-mu ire.. •-• • • • 4c. Od. : 4 e1 4 , 4 , Ilion - f ,?. e k . , . Cathcart-wit:are. , „ 1 11^81,, , It ' , . Iligh-street ii M. ; „ ..If mt ~ 23. College-green. • ...... •• • • ', 7s : thi. "k, 1. Donegal -street qt 1 UN t. ,,, ,, , u ,I Pembroke•street 1 7s. 6d. • . The Quay EDWARD B. BRIGHT, Secretary_ Secondly, you rely on the parallel case of the letter postage, where ono uniform rate of charge is imposed for all distances. In this presumed sinology, as is natural, you triumph greatly. "You say, " the uniform penny postage on letters imposes the sam e p os t age on a letter going ac r oss the street as on one go i ng across the kingdom, ren d er i ng all Ireland and the Hi g hl an d s of Scotland a groat loss to the Yost-office, while the populous districts of the country rc.- turn a great profit ; yst nobody thinks of denouncing this • system as unequal or oppressive." I!:3rliaps nut ; fur there is no clasS of i)C1110113 whom these regulations- absolutely cut oil from a profitable and credit able employment as the writers and proprietors of low priced journals are cut off by the stamp duty. • There may be inequality—there is not injustice —at least, in any prac tical and palpable feral. I will giant you that the estab lishment of a post-office M some small And remote High land village, where the service must be carried on at a loss; is au undue favour thus accommodated—nsacritice made partly to practical - convenience, partly to unity of system. lint the penny-post system was established on a* principle of which, while citing its practical application, you do not seem aware—:one which may bo shortly embodied in the following propositlon On Wednesday, Fob. 7, In 3 vols., post Bvo., T B ki MOSLEM and the CHRISTIAN ; or, Adventures in the East. BY LORD STANLAY. 1 6 11(1 ,o bio eflcb; gA DIK PAST: A. Revised, with Original Notc. by (Mond Szyrma, Editor of Rovila tions of Slbef a. Hurst and Blackett, Publishers, suxessorl to Reny Colburn. • Royal 4to , price 215., THE POETICAL WORKS -of the late A CATHERINE GRACE•GOI)WIN. Edited, with Memoir, by. A. C. WIGAN. With Forty Illustrations by FOSTER JOHN GILOERT, &c. Faom •rue LITERARY GAZETTE.—" There are many striking and pleasing pieJcr in Airs. Godwin's collection of poetry; ~tid we think Mr. Wordsworth expri ssed a fair and caadid opinion of the writer's general merit when he said—' I have r.nd your volume (the Wan derer's Legacy, &c.) through with much pleasure. Wherever it is read such poetry cannot but do, you honour. It is neither wanting in feeling, nor in that much rarer gift et hich is the soul of poetry—, imagination. There is a great eeniutsui of islignage and fine ver sification.' " LORD RAGLAN. 03Si. ld to , 8. 3 0 40 1 „i . (11 SP, ri r, London : Chapman lola Hall, 193, Piccadilly, ilut (I repeat it once again) all these considerations of the result of enfranchising the press aro apart from the main point in dispute. The real questions on which the support or rejection of the stamp law must turn are two fold. First, is the law just from a fiscal point of view ? Secondly (if that query be answered in the negative), aa- Mitting it to he unjust, are you prepared to maintain this injustice for the sake of a political result; in other words, to affirm the principle of a consorship.—l remain , your obedient servant, STANI:E Y. " Buliver, the first novelist SIR EDWARD B 1 NOVELS AND Price Is. I n t, ' 4 ; i °44 1 1 ~6 1 P' P' 0• °1. f, •a, t°' 0 • • - • t:A 3," ), ','„.01:, J "" i ip°~ou ot. . - 1,1;01 Ivo „..1 1101 $ o niP 1 ",;tO ll lia l 'o P r p us - , ":;iOl 1 "'Z o 6 50 Jg ,to.ooo ,111 ° ` frcv r• fro st• fret• it' ll ' If. fro frt, o fr° it. fr°ll .fr° sl ' C O iy:$1,010 g fr. tot. , 109 1' fr ° ' frol , fr ° , .1, fr o- t, fr ° rlo tl 10 4 • g d o i ▪ • I 1 (10.7 f o'l , e 5 ► o o f N t c'ofl tA tb ° 11 ,4 0 , Oro 5 0 'tb° JO t ) tr . . , tr 4 4m y r of * Z N th 14,k NV T t, Ur , Tvvev. rot_ 11 A til ° ,„7 tho lii°l e $97 tf t,h to Ba rt io 0:"; cc, /A P aiso t PIZ street' s ref' f ie L 4, „tile lob ‘,lO fhe f 'Deo%et oitYo'r e r oe° et? ~„00, , 3to f l y o ,p 0 40 0, o° the 117 Z-11 ., b 4, t SR blit o kue e to a or ru le Order of the High Court of in a cause, LYLE v. LE BRETON, the t ;e4 , :tee, t 7 i ti , l lty et Ayivrin, of No. 5, Loraine-place, Bono t" by t 'aY Of A u ,"liesex, merchant, who died in or about the t. ry. 10 . tieir so) , ~uBt, one the sand eight hundred and fifty of to eobs n ' i tnra. on. or before the twenty-fourth day of I tey:e•bei k e Vi e "T ln and prove their debts or claims at the 16 . 414, Ogg, 1i c hancellor Sir Richard Torin Kinderdey, No. Y34, l) 'rere,p:iln s-inn, Middlesex, or, in default thereof, O tt eoci i the ilZernY excluded from the benefit of the said order. tittZtlet op n It th e n.tsY.hth Chambers,of February, 11155, at 12 of the 1111 8 tlth e er.,,L,Ld is appointed for hearing and T ite ent Z da . of January, 1855. • UGH, Chief Clerk. " • and O. T. WOODROOFFE, Lincoln's-inn, PialntifFs Solicitors. )l.rtitc.r OR IRON TANKS. Itt Ne4 ,, Dort r e t , v ?r the Comptroller for Victualling and r. teex, Somerset-place, 3d February, 1855. itt IliTnlSsloners for Executing the Office of 4 01 1 Admiral the United Kingdom of Great Britai e s t it h l \ ;i t , 'l rn. t , a c t ' oiineerecth",,, G i voe Notice, that on TIIUIISDAY , the I 1 6,Y he 1 ,,,', 1 uck, they will be ready to treat with such vic"t'ulaaig.to C ontract for supplying and delivering Ci tt "l krt ung Stores at DEPTFORD, all such 1, 44 1 1 4 ,kN eie , IRON . TANKS, • 1 , 1 4 4 1 " ed, una,,tl Articles for Repairs, as shall from time to t k411 , 3 the ex i uer a contract for three years certain, and after ',„4l.ltlie TL r ation of thr ee months' warning. ` u kil and Ar ticles MAY be seen at the Victualling 4 b c„ ' ,l l4 l ' er ay be form of the tender and the conditions of 1. 4 ; „", — .7, 1 nel at the said office, or on application to Liverpool, or the Collector of Customs at kk l / 4 114 *ill r a Ne ss "eired after O ne o ' clock on the day of treaty, nor S h 7/4„, rude m on the Pri n t ed form provided for the par- Abe ast le rt4 -e addressed to the Secretary of the Admiralty, qelly,r44at corner the words "Tender for Tanks," and Belerset-place. 11 4( 1 , 1 4 1 , T „ "3 CASINO, 1 1 1, Peb ARGYLL ROOMS.— Oak Nvii;`,". 1855 .—Dur1ng the course of this week 04, 4 4te, 'Mov e Played b y- Laurent's Orchestra :—Over -4,0), 1044,4. H,, Waltzes : Germania, Bernard ; Vermah- OAk,iletaert,4l4. Sultane Bosisio ; Le Carnaval de Venice ano pi,,,vl,tit Variations for all the principal per- VA Om time) Strauss; . Quadrilles: 1tN , „41k,„ ; Austerlitz, Carbon ; Le Rol du Pastel, Schottisehe. The Moldavian, Jullien. Out d ; 1 7 1 ; The Zouaves, 11. Laurent; Warshauer, n 4 No tost bafor m aurent. Pr incipal Cornet-a-Piston, ‘t ry ii,,e4,1011L relative to music to be obtained at Past, a ! the orch es t ra. D oors open a t Eight; —.l44 ; l l:talon, One Shilling. 404 1.4. r 1101T -4i RII E ALBERT. L e ,,_ ki p t ,... • • • PRINC E ,tip l ra , -.Droy,,„ 1 ns fresh deco ''iti, N 't, A'rto , "QM; Increased attract o , '4. '"ki I'uI'IE CRINTIC INSTI'I.' kc,o t . - ntk v , UTION. Itti,Nt'AsiktNilt 148 bY Miss GLYN. Thursday inning' y,.. CLAALtXtiZeilck, OTIIELLO iLbJecZttl,l? b-1,0-Lth‘!l sth lost., LECTURE to thd . INDUS btpoit ~a k g , - 7aitc Lis', L ecture f a Course on PIIY,I9L . OGY, F h etc.- - "l' Lt - . 41. 51' . .1 II? CA. I I , PZNTEIt, P.M., - . 1111 * '' liStitjaY, thiIA4I.I44TION% , p, l t, CNN.. ' Ith i ... &c. — the 11.1 : 1 1V tit ', at B . —Mrs. Fuimoiso in "ORAL „ " ar 4,, as Wilrlllt,,N,„ tthe 'LE.Pur.thi'. by Dr. BACHHOFFNEL giving such on \_4?l,lle'y tti, .1. if ',Qt.IRT by invisibTe performe rs gsor ~AttrLAr / **:"t' nn h % u. Esq" ill = n o ti f sO - 71 .1 D• '1,01.i1i.1;‘,311. pNlojindsBPLLitlit%Ar,.4 OPTICAL DIORAMA. from ' i t ' 41.1.43 ... 441 ,1 111 11 7' ' prt r A the t VOYAGES 9f Br end issr_thelevi,l`4llb.ncl iII r. T AItNIAGOICIA. EFFECTS, LTD. .8 83431 • . a ll", R s per Citrif ' I thrch now discharges ''''' E t S T A R PACgmTB. t ete t can et the Greetthitho and Purfleet ‘4°4-41111117EaPatri4jark,,,IestfL.Per 80.DATII. , ti , ~. I 4 I .1 . ' ;-; ^~ I 4 -.!-- 8% - 2 I- Station 1 1T ) n , Lit Mt.w e —" A, `. 45 Ft, of 4chUreh-: Pen. aura Street Cg n to all parts of London ni the Arrival of the fo -street Station. --:-. II 4% 'DAYS. rt it I " 4 l : 4 h c e f f,, t 'pei i ----2--- ---- I __________ .1 1' A ~..__ 411 (1 4 P, 4 ii Lo Fore Fore Cabin. 8, t 4 T Ana 4 ' 4 ekvv a i l "n •• • • ...... 10d. .. Is. '44, - ti's " Inte or Woolwich ad. •• Os, N O 4 , 2/: ..... r.v e , r!,, "Aii ate piers., 6d. .. Os, .V i or kr 0 3. ; to 7 Ntonths Months, 4 4, 4oek, e rr ifid of? the C . ollectors on boi ace rse. 31. Os. ; gird the 4 Z ll i t ed! 41 Plitx h, 114 23. OP YOUTH AND MATIJRIT Y. illustr + kt st 0 tr st a arn ' ed p Zith cases; free by post for 30 R ript o , DEBILITY; ty 1 „.11 ,futieV , „,_ana Care.—An Essay on SPer ),,,le„''M tret,. ''' B ervations on a safer and more h 3' th e 41 4 of the disease s in detecting and tf "eltbr„"lliDiain-r-"ination, the rea c cause and effect of b,?lsil'reb,,,,;:, Whether arising from solitary habits, ate, followed by practical remarks, founded vi,,,% 4 la the treatment of Impuissance, ey on-,Znegs. Spertnatorrhma, &c. To which h lsgger n „Loa P hYSlology of Marriage, with pre -414 rer no. 7 c urt tang from empirical practice, r 'lers. ""ts a dvocated by various writers on it F t 'kek t una one, „ SUE T b -41 1RRT, M.D. tr AR E, LONDO N, ,t1.41,,D0t, I,,,`'Ther oft, Afcmber of the University of Min 11.0114,_"'Jetir-lrias, ,;"° 1 ". on , lon Hospital Medical Society, t14pr„,..8 ° t . thi s " 41 4 London 81,e , &e. "N b s , t 4 c ,ire t!eatise is to po ' int . out the fearful lot ettir, ~Triore`ain habits, irregularities, and excesses, 1 6, i > rt4q4a, i k ooxy. misery in Youth, degradation in Man 'aa of Life, than, perhaps, any " t io N t, liti,„,'M t o - ta odern pathologists. Its perusal is Etr,d oho entertaining secret doubts of pr are conscious of having hazarded Rr i eeN4N, egea to which every human being is 43 ' °''‘ 4 lt ' t 'r/ ' t hat n ,kr v k ltli t :,ln % ' , l4 4 4e re men should know, that there are t he 44 , 1, 4 14 e N, whlch cannot be violated without yrs oo? ta t in " When 'Wisdom and regre. succeed I. th l erit,_ 4 4e7l ll t4,„ltiti e 7, ll.- `ndulg enee , how these penalties Nor has lecit 'f their bitterness may be removed, le * 74 t op , q th o .(l , 4 :enc es may be avoided, and above all, ' 4l,k ter' t iltlef',,q physical infirmity or functional t;a, * ) ,3' t,,s'Attt leh :eB of aid of science ealmot apply a cure. 1 k; ‘ ,1• 4 . ',, , 14; 1 to o '' Of th Years been engaged in an extensive s,'OtfOrt L 'el q r „gtrle r :,, a delicate complaints which have bgito,;at confided to the car.; of ignorant If' ' 9 . t," 'kr -4 ' on those who arc in used to place 1 1 t 4 , 1 tj, 2 3 rri eillk Pi t! :e et.'Nte r 3' be iti t Y' 'll, ar 4°,ter had, price 2v, of Messrs. Piper, 1 0 t op Nia n ,: r oW ; Ilannay , 63, Oxford - street; ttrl e „,, '"i fr o ,,,"' _ 39 . Cornbill; or free by post for "` 'no Author's residence, 37, Bed 4,tu the m Eleven till Two, and from JCL, Eit, % 14.,, 'lr tl. ...I.T A . 4 bert Ilkit,„101.0178NE88, DEBILITY, AND rt tgeiet',*ESTlOli. I lt s t N . 1. 3 4 41 :r Cons tipation, and Ilminorrhoids, li. 1/4, ,4t 4,i, 3%.,p05t ls. 6d. 8 k t• ) 1 110 % ' t llti , -uItIIK, AND AVOID. , 'l 4 :, n orltio. i ulnitt k tti -of the cUrantur morbi." 114 ,. 4 prPtelii,. b oVi h Pri nciPal causes (over and careless k ,%.;,,•114 ihe nl - ‘11.4, a„ arassing and distressing complaints, ‘c,' 0 4 ;41 i n ; to wi;l,,bcPular exposition of how we should ' at 4 i t r_ tteiloile;,,is added, diet tables for every meal ti(l,, •tw 'or the regimen and observance of 4,11 l elltY•four. Illustrated by numerous 1 1, 1 • 111, 4 ktt, 1. /4 1 ( tk N a htila STII)Pt. n ' t ,h % / Ni t hath „ 4 Or MARRTED LIFE. 1 L A ,1i,„ 4 11 ~,,i all d ea l' 'Mr, I hold him lost, epkilo\k: - "14.,::' Wind, ° 44 . Re that hath no child, klpitti„,ita ,a 1;„ haueer. N.,.'ibt),4 14,14Itte'ilc:Linplis and Neeessitiea—Development ,1114, e,,,11(1 i'X'gruitle,.._ reel itt, impelled, and retarded l lii i tq ti st siegi bafellititual llnsuitableness—clilenuta_ , 4444.14,1,_ae,.ta,ti0.i:--vonreecer:(1811:::::-c-AtIVatlt:::$ IC,detenri tt i , La w 4911 J ufelleito u a s r,Y l ß nf e e s r e tiTe, and all Unas h ' r lilt t , ,3 • ( 1 : 1', 4 4 t t D a , A z,, .=.B INFRINGEMENTS. tir: , it:,s hill:las° -Young Men. 1i' , 4,1 / 44 ,_ , e lm .etk e, , _ 8 .ne h.., -S--what improve, ciN.. ti!Rritri„',.. Athens ever heard:' ''''44 , l4 d',:•ltit ) ,• s ; l l . rou l infancy to old ego. The advent its infringetneet. 'the casualties of r (?) p °' 4,1 1 134 g01i l ,t,.. oe ae , otylih ilitisiratl,ms, vraphic, narrative, ' ,) ;4..p. ae of marriages, &c. 11 bil'.°ok43' their 4 c.. l 4' N' l ' (l l'4 4 3, ,i - A com `e e l t-rna nagement and Cure. ,s4r4, 1 ,. ,, iser„,,,____ls:, -iensive and poaular exposition ;412nary-4,•,4 ti.eir natur e an 1 treatment, coin lii Ntl ' alt and secondary symptoms, all forms ot t ~.,b, inicna 0 and s p er matorrhcea ; with 250 en -34% 8 l3 AtTn it a t ' 84,!. g . , e o „,, . , awl ItECTUN.— Comprising •01.,%_1(1 '7, ,47nt'll'atinn, and ILtinorrholds , , otir,x.r or b.antons to the meeeding.. "t'w tr . " ,7,,, a -41 X. I3OW TO ItE HAPPY. . ' 2 3, t, &tel l to f ude Vivere." 1 4.,lhp\bl, 41%.00atzr..,1„fait10—Shakespere. )4,°lti'i'r:ti'oArelTAßl277U; Ill.iN,'F.nitn,W39l,;LCT:rnhM ; or of lk Virj ',to."' Tweet thi NIO, AYCensul ting'Colleague of the I Velki l , l ,... t h en th:l3bll-12aee, Regent-atreet, London. 65,N,,, ti BP matters daily, from Ten till -4 ' o Yeli till Nie. OALCULA.TIONS ON THE MINISTRY. ‘_) :What:statesman can best guide the affairs of the nation, and minister to the exigencies of the times, is a question very justly can vassed. Comfort is ministered to everybody by the seasonable clothing manufactured by E. IfosEr and SON, That every one in the City, In the country, and in all parts of the world may have the ministry of the newest and most appropriate articles of dress, E. Mons and SON have recently improved the styles and quality, and reduced the pried of all goods they submit to the inspection of the public. At E. MosEs and SoN's the most commodious Clothing Hat, Hosiery,' and Root and Shoe departments, are connected with the most comprehensive Wholesale business in the world. This offers better investments for Merchants, Cap.alns, and Emigrants than any other merchandise can secure. SPECIAL NOTICE.—UntiI March 1,11155, E. MOSES and SON'S ESTABLISHMENTS will be CLOSED at EIGIIT O'CLOCK EVERY EVENING, except Saturday, when they will be open till 11 o'clock. C&UTION.—E. MOSES and SON regret having to guard ;.he public against imposition, having learned tlrat the untradesman-like falsehOod of " Being cernected w►th their Establishment," or " It's the same concern," has been resorted to in many instances, and fer obvious reasons, they beg to state that they have No CONNEXION WITH ANY OTHER HOV3Z IN OR OUT OF LONDON, except their own Establishments, as follows : London City Establishment, 154, 155. 156, and 157, Minories, 84, 85, and 86, Aldgate, opposite the Church. all communicating. London West-end Branch, 606, 507, 508, New Oxford-street, 1,2, and 3, Hart-street, all conamrnloatirT. Bradtord (Yorkshire) Branch, 19 and 23, Bridge-street. Sheffield Branch, 36, Fargate. _ Colonial Wholesale Branch, Melbourne, Am.tralia. Merchant Tailor, Clothiers, Hatters, Hosiers, Furriers, Boot an Shoo Makerg. and General Gottliters for Ladies and Gentlemen. IMPORTANT.—ShouId any article not give satisfaction, it will be exchanged if desired, or, if preferred, the money will be returned without hesitation. A'l goods are marked in plain figures, the lowest price, trom which no abatement can bo made. The Establishments are closed from sunset on Fridays to sunset en Saturdays, when business is resumed till 11 o'clock. ♦ now Book for Autumn and Winter. " The Commercial Cornu copia," containing fall lists of prices, our system et sell-measure ment, &c., may be had on application, or post-free. lei ron pule Francais. Hier unriebt man 'Dantean . . Qal si paria Italian°. Aqua sa habla Espano. An Illustrated Almanac for 1855 grAtisoli application ,or Dost free. So many erroneous statements regarding th'e augmen tation of the cAvalry have appeared that it may be well to mention the arrangements made. The Ist, 2d, 3d, 4th, Sib, 6th, and 7th Dragoon Guard , the let Royal Dragoons, S co t s G re y s , 3d an d 4th Light Dragoons, 6th (grmiskillea) Dragoons, 7th, Bth, and 11th 1 - Itissars, 13th Light Dragoons, 15th Hussars, and IGth and 17th Lancers, will be each angtnented to eight troops of 75 rank and file each, or, including staff; 640 per regiment. Six of diese troops will be despatched fur m.rvice in the Crimea, while the remaining two will constitute a depot to train recruits and horses, so as to keep up the strength of the six troops on active service. [ADVEATISEMENT.] — HoIIoway's Pills for the Cure of Indigestion and General Debility.—Copy of a letter from Miss Lab: Ila 13,)wse, of King Edward-street, Grimsby, dated July 27, 1954. To Professor Holloway. Sir, With gratithde I am enabled to testify to the wonderful virtues your pills possess, having derived conside ra bl e benefit fr o m u s ing them. For twelve months I was a severe sufferer from general debility, indigestion, loss of appetite, and altogether a very deranged system. I re sorted to various medicines without deriving any benefit: At last I was recommended to try your pills, and after taking thorn for a short period I was perfectly c u red: (Signed) Isabell a Bows e .--Sold by all Vendors. ofMedi eine, and at Prof essor H o ll o way's Establishments, 244, Strand, London, and 80, Maiden-lane, New York, [The subjoined letter was written by me in reply to a pamphlet, entitled "The Newspaper Postal Stamp," to which my attention was called by its author. The ques tion therein discussed being now again brought before the IlouKi of Commons, I area myself of this opportunity to make it public.—S.] London, January, 1855. Sir,—The subject on which you have addressed me may - be looked at in two lights—first, us replete the financial justice. of the change proposed, or rather the financial in justice of the law as it stands; secondly, in relation to the effect which will probably ensue from that change—l say " probably," for on this point we can arrive at no certain conclusion—on the general nature and eharacter of the British press. Of these two questions, the first appeari e to me by far the most important. I might go farther, and say it is the only one which in strict justice ought to be con sidered ; for, whether it be or he not true that the news papers of this country are, as you affirm, " incomparably the best in the world," it is certain that a financial measure having for its object either to give to the proprietors of those newspapers a special and exceptional privilege, or to take from them one which they share with other members of the community similarly circumstanced, would outstep the limits of equity. The Minister who lays on an income tax does not relieve one class of men from their share of that impost because, as a class, they areinthe habit of spending their incomes judiciously, nor does he tax another class doubly because they aro habitually wasteful or imprudent. Finance arbitrarily exercised becomes mere confiscation by a legal process, and to tune it to a political use, for the ar tificial enrichment of one set of men and impoverishment of another, is tyranny in its most naked form. For instance, if a tax were laid on incomes, according to an ascending scale of ten, twenty, thirty, forty per cent., so that no in come of more than I,ooot, a-year could exist, or contrary wise, if, as in France before the revolution, the estates of the nobility wore exempted from all taxation, Withei view to the permanence and power of their order every, rational men would say, " Here is an abuse of the fiscal power—a violation of the elementary laws by which finan cial operations are guided." You probably admit as much. If so, I say act upon your own rule. Strike out as surplu sage all these declamations about the - impending ruin of respectable journals, and the establiskment in their place of an inferior and dangerous class or literature,. Argue this question fairly. Consider not whether the present law is necessary to the support of existing journals, but whether it is strictly and abstractly equitable. If you are compelled to concede this point —if you allotv that there is a real inequality, a real injustice, and yet contend that to avoid certain political results it must be maintained on its present footing—we shall at least know on what ground we stand. A fallacy plainly stated is half refitted ; and, in the opinion of all thinking 'nen, it, is a fallacy, and a grave one, to affirm that what is financially inequitable can be politically advisable, that the exigencies of the com munity require, or can in any case sanction, the denial of right to the individual. I assort, therefore, that the second question raised by you, that of the effect upon the press of the proposed re peal of the stamp duty, is one really beside the matter in hand. Either the duty as now levied is fair, or it is un fair. Iff air, milt quastio, the case for the prosecution breaks down, and further defence becomes superfluous. If unfair, the law stands already condemned ; and argu ments drawn from the alleged success of its working can be pleaded only in palliation of its past, not in defence of its continued existence. -Into that second topic, therefore, I shell only go so far as is needful to dispel some prejudices and exaggerated apprehensions. The real battle must be fought on other ground—viz., on the two questions—(l.) Is the stamp law just? (2.) If not, can it be replaced by one that shall 'be so ? Te the consideration of these moot points I proceed. The existing dnty, as everyone knows, consists of a uni form charge of one penny, levied on all publications con taining "neaps," and appearing oftener than once in 26 days. This duty, as I believe all persons will allow, is not, in the strict sense of the word, a tax. In that respect, I admit, the name popularly given to it involves an erre neoes idea. For a tax, being defined, signifies a charge imposed on persona or property for the purposes of admin istration generally—excluding thus the idea of any special service, save and except that general one of Government, being performed in roturn. Now, in the case of the stamp duty, there is a specific and definite equivalent--vie., the transmission of the stamped journal through the post office without further charge. The impost, is, in fact (though originally devised with a very different intention), a postal charge, and is usually spoken of and defended as such. This fact, I think, materially simplifies the question at issue. It is not easy—some hold that it is not possible — to adjust with mathematical accuracy the incidence of taxation, so that each man shall contribute to the State chest just as much relatively to his means as his neigh bour, neither more nor less. But about the rules which should govern- the imposition of a postal charge there can be nu two opinions. Government undertakes to do that which would otherwise be done by private enterprise ; for the general convenience, it claims and assorts a monopoly; the public, in return, demands that its service should be efficient, its charges moderate and equal. It is a bargain— an exchange—between the State on, ono side and iudividusl citizens on the other; it Is, moreover, a barguin-in which, by the authority of ono of the contracting parties, the other is fill b'dden to go into the open market and accept auy offer from other parties. In making suck a compact, therefore, Government should be doubly cautious that all the condi tions of equity aro fulfilled. It is hound, and its defenders are bound to show that, bating such trivial irregularities as no nicety of human law can wholly remedy, the price paid is in each e:-se proportionate to the value of the service rendered ; the service being, moreover, efliclent and the price moderate. Here, then, the issue narrows to one of fact. I do not apprehend that any previous step of my reasoning will be objected to. It will be allowed (1) tha t the justice of the law the one thing material to be proved or disprihed ; (2) that the newspaper stamp is a postal charge ; (3) that a postal charge ought to be regu lated according to the definition just laid down. Does the uniform penny stamp comply with the three conditions therein stated ? . (1.) Is the postal service, as regards newspaper transmission, efficient.? (2.) Isitcheap ? (3.) Is "the price paid in e ac h case propor ti ona t e to the value of the service rendered ?" On the first and second of these queiies I raise no cavil. I have heard a complaint that newspapers are not safely and speedily delivered ; and, as regards the other requisite, I do not dispute your statement that the Post-office loses rather than gains by undertaking their carriage. As between the Post-office and the press, so far is the latter interest from having any thing to complain of, that it receives some advantage by the transmission of its publications under the cost price of such transmission. The inequality, the wrong, which I complain of, lies elsewhere. It consists in an unfair ad vantage given to one class of journals over another by the Post-ofice arrangements. It falls under- the third head of inquiry—the price in each case is not proportionate to the service given in return ; therefore, the enforced bargain is unfair. There are several modes of meeting a charge of this kind. It may bo denied, if that be possible ; the fact may be defended, or rather excused, as involving only a 'slight wrong, which is compensated by manifest expe diency ; or it may be regretted, but represented as inevit able. Let us examine tese defences one by ono. Denial of the fact will, I presume, not be attempted. I have.by me a small advertising sheet which appears in a neighbouring town (to save the law) monthly ; and which, but for the operation of the law, would probably appear fortnightly, if not weekly. Its weight, to judge by the quantity of paper which. it contains, does not exceed one twentieth that of the Times when the latter appears with its full sixteen pages of print. But it needs no reference to special instances to prove that a journal which is the organ of a small community, whether rural or urban, will be very un equal in bulk to the great metropolitan journals which circu late throughout England. Yet the two are charged equally for conveyance, though twenty numbers of the one only occupy in the mail-bag the space of one number of the other. • But this is not the whole case ; nor yet the wort part of it. This little local journal to which I have referred does not want the Post-office at all. If, living in a tows, I wish to send out 1,000 copies of a circular, I should certainly find it cheaper and more convenient to hire a messenger to distribute them than to pay St. 3s. 4d. for their circulation by the local post-office. In this case Government allows me the option. But if I issue a weekly or fortnightly cir cular, in the shape of a newspiper, I have no similar free dom w, ho w are tapierte dein of choice. Whether I me the postal arrangements which Government has provided , - or.dispense with there, is immaterial to the State ; but in either case I must pay equally. As a fact, I believe the y . are comparatively little used, copies of newspapers taken in in the town where they are published passing almost exclusively through private hands. But to sum up the statement of fact ; we have here two manifest breaches of the rule laid down. In the first place, equal charges are imposed for unequal service ; in the second, these charges are. enforced oven where no s ete o ysefti: p o oeus r 1 nt o srra v ett i nsi i s hds i ao o il i sciv i s rulia o eti f si dnt t ,ig h o, corresponding service is performed; i r hs m e i a se o u d h s i t j w t o eh i e f t h et t . h Ag e: s .thene tpamphlets,olhafa main ) a i d t; political defended opue:p appeared Is?aet results i ds: h l oo i nnae be lieve, ~ relied on seem to be the following : First, that the power of repeated transmission, without extra charge, compensates .for the overcharge in some in stances; and that, on the whole, Government loses instead of gaining on the transaction. This plea seems easily to be disposed of. No doubt, if every newspaper proprietor were in partnership with every other—if the whole fraternity of journalism had but one common purse—it might be fair enough for, the Chancellor of the Exchequer to say, " You publish collectively so many copies of newspapers—of this total number a certain fixed proportion may be assumed as likely to pass through the post—l assess you, therefore, at such and such a sum ; and you must settle it among -yourselves in what propor tion you shall pay." But the injustice complained of is not between Government and 'the newspaper press as a body ; it lies between various conflicting interests in that body, some of which are unduly fostered' by the operation of the law, others as unduly depressed. Refer once more to the case of the small local journal I have mentioned. Ono half of its impression, to take the moderate estimate, never goes near the post-office. On the other half therefore which does go .by post its proprietor may bo said to pay twice over. rurthor, on that half, weight for weight, he peys eight or ten times as much (I am again understating the possible case) as the proprietor of the Times. " Twentyfold my share of the postal charge !" he exclaims. " What then r answers the Government—" you have your compensation ; you may send every copy of your journal, if you like d four, five, six times through our Yost-office, .up to the ex piration of the assigned seven days; it is true that you don't want this privilege—that, so far as you are concerned, it is a dead letter—that no one reads, or is ever likely to road, your publication in any place except the town whose local affairs it discusses—but that is no business of ours. You should deal loss in local flows ; you should get the foreign correspondence ; compete with the London journals ; and then you would find the advantage of our regulations. Why, wo actually lose by every copy of the large metropolitan journals which wo transmit," " Thank you, replies the now enlightened complainant; "the comfort you give tne comes to this that if I can succeed in making my fortune, Your system of charges will help me to enlarge it; but "That fe. countries where the average density popu lationowtfhecrsoeiprtioen—hng,. theo rd: exceedsdistance morecertaintoia)wophui apopular, :thlei they thoughai t r ot transmittedhe ~, transmitting let ters is affected only in an infinitesietelly small degree by that i f n w tii l ee e ram s en s dbitytahrree railroad, r c a i In s terms, the chief orofr n i expenseenasitio-hcfeoletters, atch actual o u thefa insomuchcocconveyance n i t iv i Post-office, yt s sta- ini o a tc f fihe Beefingac e , when dealing with groat population is very dense, and the amount o g f iit c ner o g rr - deuce to lee dealt with consequently Very considerable,tho latter itetsa of expense (the cost of conveyance), when com pared with the former (the cost of arranging and sorting), becomes indefinitely email, and, as being inappreciable, may be struck out of the calculation. It is thus approxi mately, though not perfectly, true that the/ expense to ,40 Ge t v h e a r t rem of e se nt n o d f in ee g n i d t i anegroaslsetthtee rcrurnotasrytlatietehteis:rhectiemid stet or parallel, which you attempt to find for the unequal in cidence of the newspaper stamp charge, disappears ac cordingly. But again —your analogy, even were it excepted as good up to this point, breaks down where you need it most. Yon justify the unjust stemp,duty by what you - (I thifik mistakenly) assume to be the not less unjust letter duty. But remember that the very point for which we are can tending is, and always has been, conceded i n th e caso of letters. No person, eo far as I know, has ever proposed a uniform letter stamp for all weights as well as all di s t ances . Yet this is the boasted uniformity ofthe ne wspaper -stamp system. When a half-ounce letter and an eight-ounce parcel shall be charged alike, then, and not till then, may the one abuse bo pleaded as excusing the other. But is this likely to happen ? Nay, even the absurdity which I have here called into imaginary existence furnishes only half a parallel to that which *the cause of my writing. For even thus, a per son who did not send any letter by post, but communi cated with his friend solely through notes sent by private hand, might escape untaxed. But the stamp law, while charging one newspaper proprietor ten times as-highly as another in proportion to the amount of postal service re quired by each, forbids any to escape from the burden, however willing such person might be to forego th e advan tages of the post:office on condition of being released from its charges. Thirdly, you appeal. to the precedent of the stamp on receipts imposed last year. A plea which, as addressed to Mr. Gladstone may be a powerful argunsentunt ad n om e ncm, has with me, on that score, little weight. If the law, which you are calling on the Chancellor of the Exchequer to maintain be contrary to right, as between man and inan it is no vindication that the Minister to Whom yo n a peal has porpetrated another wrong of the samekind. Were a demonstrable certainty exists, no authority, no precedent, no force of public opinion, avail to make it untrue. The united voice of the whole newspaper press of England can not make five and five anythineelso than ten, nor falsify a problem in Euclid. But it is not necessary, in order to reply to you, to censure Mr. Gladstone. 1 tax, as I lesfore sail, is one thing ; a postal charge another. A tax, taken by itself, may be. inequitable in the highest degree ; yet, as forming a part of a general system of taxation, it may be perfectly fair. Its injurious incidence on one class may be balanced by a corresponding exemption of that class in some other respect ; and thus the general account, as be. tweeu tax-payer and tax-gatherer, bo squared. But in the , case of a postal charge no such compensation existe; and I the case which you defend is that of an mnequal postal charge. Can you sh o w that the small journals, crushed under tenfold wei g ht o f t a xation, receive any compon ' sating advantages from other sources? If not, what is your parallel worth ? I affirm, therefore, with a confidence unshaken, and un shakeable by-any plea to the contrary which I have either heart) or read, (1) that for equal service rendered by the Post-office in different cases, unequal sums are charged, while the injured patty, being restrained by the postal monopoly, is forbidden to make a better bargain else where; (2) that in point of justice no defence of this enor mous inequality can be set up ; (3) that this question, like every other in which financial interests are involved, is to be decided on equitable grounds, alone, without reference to possible polit cal results. " Truth has nothing to do with consequences," was tho noble reply of a philosopher when. rerneclthat au opiaiou, which- he h a d l og i ca ll y l worke out might be held to endsuiger oithoriox faith ; "justice hal nothing to do with cousequenues," should he the rule of a Linaneier who, unless ho acts on some such rule, becomes merely a licensed plunderer of the public. But, having first entered the above rirotest, I am willing to consider dispassionately the probable results of a modi fication of the law. And here, as is natural, I find the greatest ailment of opposition on the part of those averse to a change—ii being easier to epeculate on prospective and uncertain effects than to vindicate a system such as that which we have been considering,. The first objection raised is reasonable enough. It takes the form of a ques tion. " You complain of the stamp law as unjust—how do you propose to mend it ? You have exposed the unfair. nose of tho existing postal scheme —now substitute one of your own." This, no doubt, it is incumbent on a would bedown is pledged to build . passing, that if the working of a law be manifestly attempt. Hi and indisputably un reforiunperastoa;ant;terh just, any citizen living under it has a right to expose that injustice, without being necessarily bound by such protest to suggest the fitting remedy. Otherwise would all man's tongues be tied on the subject of their grievances, save only those of professional statesmen. Yet, as mere corn pleint is always easy, remedial legislation often difficult, I allow that the former without the latter becomes of little value;- and I readily accept the challenge thrown out by adopting in part the proposition of the Committee of 1851, in part that which you yourself Suggest. The evils demonstrated to exist aro mainly three :- 1. Undue favouritism towards the large or metropolitan journals by the priviledge of gratuitous retransmission. 2. Uudne favouritism towards the large journals by the uniform charge for all weights. 3. Injury to the local journalist, by compelling him to pay for the port-office which he does not use. Of these grievances you propose to remove, or at least greatly to alleviate, the second by the si mp l e plan of in creasing the charge for heavier, and reducing it for lighter weights. Here we entirely concur, Some additional la bour would no doubt be imposed on the Post-office, and possibly some opportunities of fraud afforded. But your proposal is merely a carrying out of the principle already adopted in the case of letters, and its obvious fairness en titles it to adoption. It involves no insuperable, nor in deed any considerable mechanical difficulty. I cannot, however, a cquiesce in the farther sne ges ti on t h at papers like the Atheneum, doncerning which it is questionable whether they contain " news" in the legal sense of the term, should be partially relieved from the stamp. What possible difference can it make to Government in its capa city of a public carrier—and it is only in this capacity that Government can deal with the question of postal conveyance —whether the printed contents of the sheet which it for wards be politics, literature, local news, or advertisements? I am not aware that any one of those, in a physical sense, is - weightierarticle t han an y other. In truth, the question • o f exe mptions lately raised shows in a stronger light than anything ' • else the perfectly illogical and arbitrary theory sie of the law as it stands., ut those exemption s are, in truth, mere attempts to prevent the law from breaking down, by relaxing it whenever the opposition provoked threatens to become formidable. The third cause of complaint—namel7, the prohibition of any unstemped journal whatever—s e one with which you do not deal, or rather which you do not allow to-be in any way a grievance. This fact, however, I assume as pre viously proved ; and the remedy. being obvious, via., to allow the existence of unstampod journals without postal privileges, it remains only to consider what obstacles can be pleaded against the establishment of such a sys t em. It is argued, first, that it will render necessary e large increase in the staff of the Post-office, with a view to pre vent the fraudulent transmission of unstamped journals. This inconvenience seems to me much exaggerated ; for those who urge it assume that no paper needs to be exa mined at the Post-office under the present xylem, all being alike entitled to the privilege of is this the fact? So far from it , two classes of fraud at once present themselves, against which the vigilance of the postal authorities it required to guard. First, the ptivi loge of the stamp expires after seven daysss so that no t merely must the easily-ascertained fact oft the stamp being duly affixed be attested by official inspection, but the date of that stamp must also be examined, a pre.oss requi r i ng much minuter examination. But next, it is no uncommon -trick for persons of an economical and not over-sc rupu l ous disposition, to correspond by means of old newspaper s , writing within the cover or on the margins, whereby the postal penny is evaded. Either these two frauds are gnnrded against or they are not. If they are, every news . paper posted must now undergo inspection, in which 'case the change suggested imposes no additional labour on any one. If the Post -office are not, the liability o f suffer from, 'fraud exists already, and w ill not be materi ally increased. Taking either alternative, the objection fails equally. But secondly (and thisis by the graver ob far jection), it is contended that an unstausped pre ss is in itself an evil "You will assimilate the journalism of England to that o the United States," . cry out alarmists, thereby asc r ibi ng all the merit s o f that pries which they extol as incompar able to the existence of a penny- steme duty. " You will make journalism lo c al, p o tty, naish'l'll ; you will deprive it of its present weight and influence in the State." Y e t what is it pr o p os ed t o d o ? To limit the right. of publice tion ? To i n t er f ere w ith th e organisation of the great me tropolitan journals ? No ; lut simply to allow that which the existing law virtually prohibits —the app earance of cheap local prints. Am I exaggerating whenl say that these a ro pr o hibit e d? Wh a t i s the rate at which they are charged for the postal privilege : A 9d.* paper pays, ad valorem, (hi. ~ 4d. „ ,I ~ 3 d• ~ 9, 2d. , . - which is manifestly a prohibitory datyl24 per cont. 20 • ~ ' 331 ~ r‘Oe , ~ 103 ~ ; and, accordi ng ly, we find th a t th ree p ence i s th e lowest price at which a newspaper can be published with any cbanee ofrepayment. Here, th en , we come t o a dil emma . Tho Legislature, by no indirect result of its measures, but by the simple pro cess of crushing , forbids any impost, man to publish a * The Speetator,• and I believe oue or two other weekly papers, apPOar At this "dee. At this point I may fitly consider a rather startling as sertion which appears prominently in your pamphlet. You say "the penny stamp on newspapers, entitling to transmission and retransmission by post, does not com prise in its nature the slightest infusion of the principle of protection ;" a proposition which you explain thus : "Protection is giving one class of producers or dealers an advantage over any other class producing or dealing in the same commodity." Therefore, if your view is to be ac cepted as correct, a postal charge so arranged as absolutely to prevent any ono from producing a newepaper at lees than a certain price, does not give auy advantage to the larger and wealthier establishments producing the same article. I do not, I confess, see how such an assertion is capable of proof. Suppose the principle of the stamp law applied to any other branch of trade. Suppose, for instance, that Govern ment, impressed with an idea that small retail shops sup plied inferior articles at exorbitant prices, and that it,fts -the — ditty of the State to check this evil by putting them down, were to •lay on every shop of whatever size an an nual tax of equal amount, such amount being not less than 100 per cent. on the gross receiptsof the smallest establish ments ; and, to make the parallel complete, suppose that in return for this charge it undertook to transport gratni tonsly all goods bought and sold by the taxpayers ;—what would be the effect ? Of course, to throw all business i n t o the hands of largo dealers, and to increase the profits of trade in proportion as it was conducted on a larger scale. Small traders would disappear altogether. The whole supply of the market would be vested in a limited number of great capitalists, residing probably in the metropolis, and carrying on their business by agents in all the smaller towns. And when men had become used to the system, and.vested interests had grown up under it, I do not doubt but that some one a these capitalists would be found—not merely to declaim Against the immorality of small traders, which would become the habitual language of the protected class—but to affirm, as gravely, as con scientiously, and as mistakenly as you do now, that in the law-as it stood there was not " the slightestinfusion of the principle of protection." It is, I apprehend, wholly indisputable that the effect of the stamp duty is to establish a financial censorship— one conducted on truly British principles. In foreign and despotic countries a journalist becomes suspected by rea son of his opinions ; in constitutional England he is re strained from periodical publication on the ground of po verty. The law is at least impartial. The most nnarchical and the most conservative of journals aro treated alike, if they fall below a certain. price. They are written for labouring men—they are circulated within a small area— their intelligence is defective and tardy—therefore, says the British Government, they shall not appear. Ia this an English or a Russian policy? But, after all, is there ao much danger of our press becoming ." parochial"—or, what is me an t by this vague threat ? As matters stand, the existence of local journalism in small communities is the exception rather than the rule. It is only the large town, or the populous district, which can support a high-priced stamped journal. Local affairs (call them " parochial " if you will) receive comparatively little notice from the public prints. I do not see why this is to be considered an advantage. If it is meant that a press dealing exclusively with such small matters will, by the operation of the proposed change, be substituted for ono which, as at present, discusser. imperial queetions, I deny the probability—indeed the possibility —of any such result. In journalism, as elsewhere, the demand creates the supply. There is in 'England a largo number of educated and intelligent persons who take an interest in the political affairs of their own and other countries. Of such parsons it has not been shown that the number is likely to diminish, or the taste to alter. The alternative, then, is apparent. Either (which is most unlikely) the unstlmped press will rival the stamped in the eralue of its information and the merit of its writing—and in that case it matters - not whether one or the other is most extensively patronised; or it will not —the high-priced journal will still maintain its superiority the cheap local prints will not drive it out of the market, but attract another class of ettatomers, those who at the present moment neither purchased nor read any paper, and thus flourish by its side without doing it injury. Take an illustration of the state of the ease. Suppose the same legislative sagacity which dictates the retention of the stamp duty to have prevented all cheap travelling on rail ways—to leave prohibited the railroad companies from taking second or third class , passengers—is it likely that the number of first class travellers would have been in creased by the number of those who now travel ill the lower priced curriagea Is it not clear that on the 2 estzietion being removed a vast at ul tittute of poreous would begin for the brat time to use the railways who never used them before ? So will it he with the press. Those who now take in the Times Daily News, Herald, or Adrertizcr, are not likely to substitute for these first-class journals, with their early intelligence and superior writing, the cheap penny print which will circulate among mechanics and labourers. I have uo doubt that a (limier may be had in various Lon don Taverns at a very much lower rate than is charge,t by the clubs; yet the clubs are not deserted in consequence? No ; as in all other branches of business, so in journalism, the customer who is willing. to pay the highest price can always command the bast article. I do'not quarrel with his taste, nor seek to limit its' indulgence; quite the con trary. But I protest against his measuring other teen's purses and ipclinations by his own. Ido not see that be ing wealthy and of refined ideas, he is on that account en titled to say to his poorer neighbour, " If you cannot afford a newspaper at sixpence you shall buy none, for cheap newspapers are worthless." _ , The apprehension, then, that journals of the most expen sive class will not be able to held their own seems wholly groundless. Each rank of society will find its own organ, the exponent of its opinions and ideas ; and this is desirable. But early intelligence—familiarity with the political ques tions of the day—eloquence and argumeutative power— are not to be had without paying for them ; and in these, though stripped of the artificial and unfair privileges which they now enjoy, the superiority of the large and long-esta blished journals will continue to consist. Nay, as it seems to me, the power and influence of such journals over the public mind will be not diminished, but augmented; for thouglithere is no political question on which an immea surable amount of nonsense and, verbiage may not be poured forth, yet the real arguments on which all such questions turn are comparatively few. A single night's de bate in Parliament suffices to exhaust them; at the utmost three or four nights do so. These arguments will in all probability be most pointedly stated and most thoroughly investigated iu the metropolitan press. Their articles— their comments—are now very generally copied by that of the provinces. They will beso still. The indirect circulation of the leading London journals will become enormously mul tiplied, while the direct circulation is only in a slight degree affected.. They will leap little, if anything, in money, and gain much in power. Their opposition, therefore, to the abolition of the stamp, and thus to thp calling into exist ence of a cheap press, seems as ;contrary to their own in terests as to those of the public. But hero a fresh objection is taken. We are met by a cry of piracy,- and a demand for copyright in news. I admit that in this question there are difficulties enough to furnish material for a debate anal to perplex a Parliament. It is hard enough to define copyright iu bodes, to say what is original and what borrowed, to fix the limit where the mere literary offence of plagiarisn ends, and the legal crime of copyright-breach begins. No doubt the intricacy of the problem is increased when dealing with matter of such ephemeral interest as news. The principle, however, that he who has gone to exp e n se i n obtaining information from an exclusive source should have an exclusive benefit in its sale, is toe manifestly just to admit of dispute • and its legal assertion is expedient also, because withou t protection it may be doubted whether the same efforts will continue to be made, as at present, to obtain priority of in telligence.* I readily concede that to define piracy in the case of newspapers will be no easy matter. Probably, let Parliament do the best it can,'any act likely to pass will leave large room for legal sophistries and couffictingjudg ments. But the difficulty, be it great or small, is none of our making. It exists already. if it bo contended that the necessity for a copyright law will become more pressing as the number of cheap newspapers increases, in conse quence of the repeal stamp law, I atiswor, the same result will follow when the number of newspapers increases, from whatever cause. In fact, the question must be settled, the difficulty faced, before long. At the worst, all that the repeal of the stamp duty can do in regard of it is a little to hasten the time of Parliamentary inter ference. Ido not not see in what way this result can be regarded as a formidable evil. One more argument remains to he dealt with. It is contended by the advocates of the present system that the privilege of retransmission (i. e., of sending the same newspapers backwards and forwards through. the Post-office during seven days) is inseparably con nected with that part of the law which requires every newspaper to be stamped. The connection, however, is not obvious, except so far as that the boon ac corded to the public on the one hand is pleaded as a set-off for the injustice done to a section of the public on the other. As a matter of justice, I perceive no claim that newsvenders can set up to send their, comparatively bulky , packets seven times through the post at the cost of a penny each, w hile if, w h a il s e a a m l a e t t t t e e r r, e f f or ee t u h r e ee ss ie ur n e ee s , u t r h u e , t p r e a b vr i l e s but once. to (r de ttt ri r the have it ro, no grave objection can exist, setr a i lw, cow tax-paying community and the newsp i a trine, become smtiullaintyoraerentsnaorry, out ei t 'a emit is i same. But of one poJkat instead of the other; the • , the gratuttoui retransmission But there is no reason why of newspapers should be stopped when the stamp made t a t x y teesi nearly, e. and y wi.1, 1 % 0 1 ;I: t two oruree regulation s, o n u s s the no is w iai l' i n ()6 l.l l7°. p r. rob l a th l e dy borrow much of l o wo p ac t ya i l o njalui journals ns interfere a t s e instead withw o h f , ‘ c o. o hn i n o their political matter from the metropolitan journals of the day before) increased in nnniber, the demand for retransmis4m of these latter would most likely diminish.f But this is a remote and doubtful' COM- Electric telegraphs 1e however, done much to equalise the advantages of London and the provinces in this repeet. Probably if a law of limited copyright in news were passed, the leading journals would agree to an exchange of intelli gence by mutual consent, and thus accommodate the public while protecting themselves against unauthorised copyists. t It is not an unnatural feeling that leads most people, even of the poorest, to prefer food purchased and prepared. for themselves, rather than the broken scraps and leavings of the most luxurious feast. It is quite possible that many would prefer a purchased cheap newspaper to AR eleemosynary dear one, T:me of hl3 time "—Blackwood. EJLWEE, LYTTON'S RO NIANCES. • 6d. each. Pelham. Rienzi. Disowned: G: dolphin. Last Days of Pompeii. Night and Morning. Paul. Clifford. Ernest Alaitravers. Eugene Aram. Pilgrims of the Rhine. is. Last of the l3arons. 2s. " When it came to the public ear that the novels of Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton had been purchased at a fabulous price, for a cheap reprint, there can be little doubt -that this great test of the great writer's popularity gave, in almost every mind, a certain stability and permanence to his fame."—Blackwood for Febr uary. London: George Routiedge and Co., 2, Farringdon• street. PARLOUR LIBRARY-FEBRUARY. THE STEP-MOTHER. By G. P. R. JAMES, Vsq. Price Is. 6d. * Junsas popilarity es a writer Is °Wing' to the fact, of which he justly boasts, that he never wrote a line that would cause a blush up, - in the purest face— hence bis works are univerealiy read by all classes. By the same Author, in this popular Series : Forest Days, Is. 6d. Darnley, Is. 6d. Heidelberg, Is. Gd. Robber, Is. Jacquerie, Is. Gd. Cowrie, Is. 6d. • Gipsy, Is. 64. Convict, Is. 6d, Brigand, Is. Gd. Agincourt, Is. 6d. Smuggler, I s Gd. Castelneau, Is. Sir Theodore Broughton, Is. Gd. Attila, Is. Gd. False Heir, Is. 61. Henry of Guise, Is. Gd. Charles Tyrrell, Is. London : Thomas Hodg. King's Higlnyay, Is. Gd. One in a Thousand, Is. Mary of Burgundy, Its. Morley Ernstein, Is. Gd. Whim and its Consequences, _ Is. 6d. Gentleman of the Old School, "Is. 61. Philip Augustus, Is 64. Henry Masterton, Is. 64. John Marston Hall, Is. 6d. Hugusnot, Is. Gd. Arrah Neil, Is. Gd. Forgery, Is. Gd. Arabella Stuart, is. 6d. Beauchamp; or, The Error, Is.6d. Russell, Is. 64. m, 13, Paternoster-row. • Ready, in small 410., 2s. Gd., bound in richly coloured Comic Cover, SOMETHING TO LAUGH AT. With nearly 200 Humorous Engravings, and Articles by tie best Comic Writers, forming a Book for all Circles and all Seasons. - Piper, Stephenson, and Spence, Paternoster-row. THE IIYGEIST ; or, Medical R dormer and Defender of the Right of Conscience and Private Judgment, for FEBRUARY, contains : Cholera and the New Bills before Parliament. Alleged Lunatics Case of Mr. Greenwood. Adulteration of Food. Another Letter from Captain Lamb. Captain Lamb and Punch. Small Pox. Cures effected by Mo ison's Pills. Report of Miss Watson, of B „ Mr. Macbeth, of Stockport. PP Mr. Otty, of Norwich. • „. , Mr. Havill, of Exeter ilygeiln bispensary. „ Mr. Nizholls, of Barbadoes, Remarks on the Hygeian System, by S.J. _ May be had at the British Col'ege of Health, New-road, London, on forwarding a postage stamp; at the Hygeist Office, 2G2, Strand; and of all the duly authorised agents fur Mr. Morison's Vegetable Universal Medicine. CS EN ERA L EVAN S. - COLNAG.B.I'S Vi AUTEIENTiC SERIES.—I ORTRIIT of lieutenant-General Sir DE LACY EVANS, K.C.8., M.P., Lithographed by permission of Lady Evans, by J. S. LYNCH. Price 35., proofs ss. Paul and Dominic Colnaght and Co., Pall-mall East, • Publishers to her Majesty. TIIE SEAT OF WAR, fIOLNAGHI'S AUTHENTIC SERIES.. J Now ready. dedicated by permission to her Majesty, the first part of 'or. WILLIAM Simrsort's Work, fmm Draw lugs taken in the Crimea (where ho 1, now residing) by permission of the Com mander-in-Chief. Price I 25.. or coloured 20s. Executed in the best style of Tinted Lithography. Contents : —The Cavalry Affair of the Heights of Bulganak, 19th September. 1854 ; Balaklava, looking towards the Sea ; The Gale off the rort of Balaklava, Lith November. 1851 —the Loss of "The Prince;" Beha topol from, thit * Rear of the English Batted s. Contents of Part 11.-Ihe Leavy Cavalry Cfi'arge, 25th October, 1R54 ; The Second Charge of the guards at the Battle of Inker malt ; lord raglan's Quarters at Khutor Karagateh ; A dotterel View of the Country befofe Sahastopol. rant and Dominic and CO., 13 and 14, Pail-mall East, Publishers to her Majesty. QUACKS UNMASKED. Tae Third e lition.—Just published, price 59., by post, free. 53. 6 d. 0 N TRUE 1r FA LSE SPERMATOUR EME A , with the View of distinguishing the Imaginary from the Real sufferers under this diseas3, and Correcting of wide-spread Errors in relation to their Treatment and Cure. • From the German of Dr. PICKFORb. With an Introduction by the Editor, containing a complete exposure of the system of terrorism and extortion pursued by the advertising quacks of the metropolis towards those who are credulous enough to seek their aid. " Dr. Pickford ¶s known to English readers by his frequent practi cal contributions to German medical literature. This is the first tune, he informs es, that he has addressed himzelf to the non-medi oat reader. tVe trust this may not he the last, If he shall detect any other equally flagrant evil wi , teh it mlty be In Ns • ower to cor rect."—London Medical Gazette. " The tribe of Quiet Sympathisers,' and 'Medical Friends,' arc mercilessly exposed; and if this book could find its way into the hands of those who suffer from the cov plaint of which it treats, we are satisfied that many hundreds would be saved much needless suffering, of body and mind, and what is e less importance, though it is that which the quacks most prize— much money...... This volume is well qualified to put an end to the empirical system of treating Spermatorrhosa, and to place the treat ment upon a more rational and physiological basis. It IS, therefore, likely to do much good." London: 11. 13alliere, 219. Regent-street. iRIES E MAR, protected by Royal Letterz Patent of England, and secured by the Seals of the Ecole de Pharraacle do Paris, and the Imperial College of Medlcino, Vienna. TRIESEMAR, No. 1, Is a remedy for Relaxation. Spermatorrhces, and Exhaustion of the 43, - stem, whether arising from excesses, accident. or climate. To those persons who are prevented entering the married state by the consequences of early errors it is invaluable. TRIESEMAR, No. 2, effectually, in`the short space of three days, completely and entirely eradicates all traces of those Disorders which Capivi and Cubebs have so long been thought an antidote for, to -the ruin of the health If a vast portion of the population. TRIESEMAR, No. 3, Is the great Continental Remedy for that class of Disorders, which info; tunately the English physician treats with Mercury, to the in evitable destruction of the patient's constitution, and which all the sarsaparilla in the world cannot remove. TRIESEMAII, No. 1,2, and 3, are alike devoid of taste or smell, and of all nauseating qualities. They may lie on the toilet table without their use being suspected. Sold in tin cases at I is. each, free by post, 2s. extra, divided into separate doses, as administered by Valpeau, Lallemand, Roux, he., &c.—To be had Wholesale and Retail in London of Johnston, 68, Cornhill ; Hannay and Co., 63. Oxford-street; and Sanger, ;50, Ox ford-street ; R. H. Inghr..n, druggist, 46, Market-street, Manchester ; H. Bradbury, bookseller, Deansgate, Bolton ; J. Priestly, chemist, 52, Lord-street, Liverpool; Powell, bookseller, 15, Westmoreland-street, Dublin ; Whmall. bookseller, High-street, Birmingham. THE GREAT EXPOSURE. (From tice Examiner.) The key to the whole questiok between Lord John Russell and Lord Aberdeen lies in the fact stated by theollrut — tht Premier "did not take any active part in the direction of the war." This is certainly at variance with Lord Aberdeen's repeated protestations, that though no member of the Government had been more anxious to preserve peace, yet no one was more devoted to the vigorous prosecution of the war ; but the truth now revealed certainly goes far to explain the late Premier's treatment of Lord John Russell's proposals for the better conduct of the war. Had Lord Aberdeen's heart been in the war, and his sympathies with our suf fering army, how insignificant would have been those personal considerations which, as we have seen, alone weighed with him. A profound indifference was obvi ously at the bottom of his replies to Lord John Russell's suggestions —an indifference not extending, however, to the Duke of Newcastle, sum- beyond the fate of some thousands of brave men, and the fortunes and honour of the country in this great struggle. • Lord John Rursell's first letter should be very care fully conned, for every word in it has import. "In order to carry on that war with efficiency, either the Prime Minister must be constantly urging, hastening, completing the military preparations, or the Minister of War must bo strong enough to control other departments. Every objection of other Ministers—the plea of foreign , interests to be attended to, of naval preparations nut yet complete, and a thousand others, justifiable in .the separate heads of departments, must be forced to yield to the paramount necessity of carrying en the war with efficiency of each service, and completeness of means to the end in view. . . If, therefore, the first consider ations here presented lead to the conclusion that the Secretary of State for the War Department must be in the House of Commons, the latter considerations points to the necessity of having in that office a man who, from experience of military details, from inherent vigour of mind, and from weight with the House of Commons, can bo expected to guide the great operations of war with authority and success. There is only one person belonging to the Government who combines these advantages, —my conclusion is that before Parliament meets Lord Palmer ston should be intrusted with the seals of the War Department." The alternative stated in the first instance, is thus either that the Prime Minister must himself conduct the business of the war, or that a Minister of War having the requisite qualifications and weight of authority, must be appointed in lieu of the acting Minister. As the latter branch of the alternative is at once adopted and urged by Lord John Russell, it is necessarily implied that the first was wholly out of the question ; and in this Lord Aberdeen seems tacitly to have acquiesced, for he does not pretend to say that his own supervising attention to the conduct of the war would dispense with the substitution of Lord Palmerston for the Duke of Newcastle. Mark well the reply : - - " Your proposal being founded on the supposed impro priety of Herbert moving the Estimates, and the conse quent necessity of the Secretary of State for War beino• in the House of Commons, rende rs th e remova l o f the Dukeb of Newcastle from his present office unavoidable. But, although you wouldregard this as the inevitable result 'of an official 'arrangement, it is not to be supposed that it would be considered in this light by the public, or, indeed, by any impartial person. The dislocation of the Govern ment would be so great, and the reason assigned for it ap parently so inadequate, that it could only bo considered us a mode of substituting ono man for another. Although you may be far from entertaining any such desire, the transaction could receive no other interpretation. In jus tice to the Duko, I do not think that his colleagues, with out very strong grounds, would wish to place him in such a position." The reason pronounced "so inadequate " for the change tva , , forsooth, nothing more or less than the efficiency of the military Rrvice, and the completeness of the country's means for the vigorous prosecution of the war. Bet what was this object, merely national, compared with the position of the Duke of Newcastle, • and a dislocation of the Ministry? Justice to the conitry, justice to the brave fellows suffering in the Crimea, these were as dust in the balance, or rather not of the weight of dust in the balance, compared with justice to the Duke of Newcastle. - Lord John Russell rejoins, and more plainly tells the Premier that the duty he does not perform himself is not discharged by the Minister to whom it is delegated ; and he again urges the remedy. "I come, therefore, having cleared the ground of all these obstructions, to tho real question, what are the re quirements of the great war in which we are engaged Setting aside all historical references, both on your part and mine, I think it is clear either that the Prime Minis ter must be himself the active and moving spirit of the whole machine, or the Minister of War must have dele gated authority to control departments. Neither is the case under the present arrangement. " The Cabinet has, it is true, in its recent meetings, done much to repair omissions ; but .a Cabinet is a cum brous and unwieldy instrument for carrying on war. It can furnish suggestions, or make a decison upon a measure submitted to it, but it cannot administer. What you want, therefore, I repeat, is a Minister of War of vigour and au thority. As the welfare of the empire and the success of our present conflict are concerned, I have no scruple in saying so. Keep up, if you think right, as a temporary arrangement, a Secretary at War. Make it clear that it is temporary—that is to say, only to last till more complete consolidation can take place ; but let Parliament and the country be assured that you have placed the conduct of the war in the hands of the fittest man who can be found for that duty." To this Lord Aberdeen made this astounding reply, treating the whole question as personal, which Lord John Russell had proposed for the interests of the ser vice and the successful conduct of the war :-- "After all, I think your letter plainly reduces the question to the simple issue of a personal preference, and the substitution of one man for another. In answer to my suggestion that some consideration was duo to the Duke on the part of his colleagues, you say that you under stood the Administration was founded ou the principle of doing what was best for the public service, without -re gard to the self-love or even the acquired position of indi viduals. Undoubtedly this was the ease; and I fully agree in thinking that the Dike of Newcastle would be the last man to wish for any exception to this rule in his .favour. But I must observe that at the formation of the Govern ment no such office as the War Department was con templated ; and when, subsequently, the Colonial office was divided, no objection whatever was mad* to the choice of the War departmeat by the Duke; nor, as far as I am aware np to this moment, to his management of the office. Now, I think that yon will admit that, although another person might perhaps have been preferred on the first con stitution of an office, it is a very different thing to displace a man who has discharged its duties ably and honourably, merely in the belief that another might be found still more efficient. Undoubtedly, the public service must be the first object; but, in the absence of any proved defect or alleged incapacity, I can see no sufficient reason for such a change, which, indeed, I think is forbidden by a sense b o e f justice and good faith. . . . On the whole, o then , be of lieving that any change like p t u h b a l t io, pr f or li s n e g d . doubttul advantage to t h e v w ery uld strongly that it would be an act of unfairness and injustice towards to weaken a a colleague, and thinking, also, that all such changes, un less obsoletely necessary, only tend _ Govern ment, I must repaid that I coul d not honestly recom mend it to the Queen." I It is here distinctly asserted that the most ef f icient man should net be preferred to the post of conducting the war, on the issue of which the fortunes and honour of this great country and the interests of the whole civilised world depend. For ordin ary cases and circum stances the rule of Lord A.berneen is just, that a man who competently discharges his duties should not be superseded by another of superior abilit y ; but this war is no ordinary case, and the application of a rule to it applied to ordinary circumstances, shows how little Lord Aberdeen understands the exigency and the duties be longing to it. The country wants the best man, the fittest in qualifications, at, the head of the War Depart ment, and should not be satisfied with any one in tbat all-important post, while a better for the office can pos sibly be found. Lord Aberdeen is not however, solitary in regarding personal considerations as paramount to national objects. Mack how Sir George Grey treats the question— " the Proposal (Lord John's) was made almost on the last day of November, and it was hot communicated to me till after thu notice appeared iu the Uu.:(tte for the meet it g of Parliament and 1 confess that I c o n s id ere d declO‘y what could be the effect if I concurred in a step by which one °f my colleagues would be summarily ejected 'rem an office which he held, merely on the notion that au im provement would thereby be made in the administration of the army." "Merely on the notion that an improvement would thereby be made in the a d ministration of the tinily." What words are these t Merely that a main cause of such disasters and disgraces as have occurred at Bala klava should not hereafter occur. Merely that thou sands of lives should be sav e d. M ere ly that the country 's character should be maintained in the eyes of the world. But what are these merely humane and national objects weighed against the susceptibilities of a ducal colleague. 1 And that there should be no mistake, Sir George Grey In the second of our own letters from the Crimea which we published on Saturday an expl ana ti on was o ff ere d o f a cireamstanee which had been noticed in our previous com munications from the camp, and which had been made the subject!of souse remarks at home. It had been observed that the Commander-in-Chief rarely showed himself to the troops, except in tine of action, and that the soldiers re maiued without that personal acquaintance with their General which they naturally desire. Our correspondent, in recurring to the fact, represented this practice at head• quarters as pursued epon.principle, and as being defended by the system, constitution, and usages of the British ser vice. The dicers in immediate attendance on Lord Rag lan—that is to say his personal staff—are said to maintain that this species of treatment is most suitable to the cha• racter of English soldiers, and that the discipline of the army is best preserved when the General is invested with the attributes of unapproachable superiority. We do-not stop to remark upon the inoidental marmot-, • . tion here given to the fact itself, which in one or two guar• tors there appeared some disposition to question but we must express our opini on th a t suc h v i ews , if rea lly enter tamed, proceed upon principles entirely mistaken. Wed. net deny that the usages of the military s:rvice, as main tained in peaoe, providing- as they do so strong a line of demarcation between the officer and the soldier, might naturally suggest the idea of an immeasurable distance be tween the soldier and the General ; but these usages, as we already learn, are not applicable to the realities of war. If the question fell within the scope of such kind of argu ment we might reasonably inquire what y cc aliarities could render the British soldier so different a 1 °lug from those of all other times and countries; -but we are per fectly convinced that no such difference exists, and the simple proof of the fact is to be found in the circum stance, that when this system has been pursued as at present in the Crimea, and in the last war under Welling ton, it was always rim:lorded as matter of complaint. In this respect the Duke of Wellington's practice supplies rather a warning than an example. It is one of the few drawbacks on the military character of that great com mander that he failed in conciliating the affection of his troops, nor could anything short of that unbounded con• fidence with which he inspired them have stood him suffi ciently in stead. . We may go, however, a step further, and observe that, if there is a single officer in the army who could afford, without risk of depreciating his dignity, to maintain this species of personal communication with his troops, that man is Lord Raglan. His known steadiness of feeling, his perfect self-posse sdon and control, his long habituation to command, and even his official tendency to reserve, all combine to produce a character entirely beyond the reach of impertinent familiarity or disrespectful ur goecy. We recollect, indeed, that during the stay of the army in Bulgaria anecdotes were related for public edification of the easy tact with which his Lordship re pelled or eluded any intrusive attempt to acquire his con fidence; nor can we think it credible that by any frequency or dire3tuess of intercour se w ith th e var i ous b ranc h es of the ermy ho could have exposed himself to the slightest loss of influence or position. And, even if this case were less clear than it is, it may surely be thought that the ex traordinary sufferings of the army and the emergency of the conjuncture were enough to justify any breach of tra ditional punctilio. For the rest, notwithstanding the information afforded by the correspondence now arriving more frequently than formerly from the scene of War, we look in vain for any adequate explanation of the misfortunes which have oc• currod, nor can there now, we should think, be any ques tion about the necessity of the inquiry which has been ' resolved upon . Those who charge upon the system rather than upon i ndividuals the miscarriage of our efforts shay certainly gather some justification of their opinions from the very universality of the evil.—Times. TIIE DOCK COMPANIES OF LONDON. The river Thames is called in legal documents "Her Majesty's Pelt of London." It is, therefore; a national property. The Queen is in the position of the collective nation. An attempt is being made which, if successful, wiil have the effect of making the Thames " The Dock Companies' Port of London." It is this which elevates the opposition male by the wharves to the movement in contemplation by the Docks out of the position ohs mere private squabble between contending interests. It is really a national question. The Docks made a bar gain with the nation. Give us peril - I;2.am' to use a porl tion of your great water-way, - and-we will racompesitie you by arrangements which will greatly facilitate cotn mercial operations. The nation gave the permission, but at the same time made express stipulation that not one single privilege which they possessed as the real owners of the great water -way should be given up. The portion of the river in the Docks was still to be consi dered as a part of " her Majesty's Part," and as suc h subject to all th e ru l es and regulations to which the remainder of the river is submitted. Have the Docks made a bad bargain ? Certainly not, as we shall presently show. The Duck shares are con sidered at the present moment one of the best invest ments for money. East and West India Dock stock was in January, 1841, at 96 ; in 1853 the same stock was :old at 170. London Dock shares rose in the same period from 67 t 3 128 i. St. Katharine's Dock shame experienced a rise from 951 to 100. In the same period the dividends of the East and West India Dock Com• psny experienced a rise of 4, per cent., those of the London Docks a rise of 2 per - cent. The business of the St. Katharine's Dock Company had increased 23 per cent. during the ten years ending in 1853. The Dock Companies, then, have made a good bar gain. They have created colossal fortunes for the shareholders, by means of the privileges granted them. If they could show that they had made a miscal culation, that the great expense of the works which they have erected for the accommodation of the public has diminished their dividends, and that. therefore, some modifications of the conditions to which they agreed is necessary, something might be urged in their favour. But i,i the full blush of their prosperity they come forward and say, we must have not only the use of the river Tha mes , b u t a p ro p er ty i n it. We consented, when we obtained our deeds of incorpora- tion, that the Rater in our docks should be considered a T art of the pert of London, but we desire to be freed from that stipulation. We have made a great deal of money ; we want to make more. And to do this, we want to levy a tax which neither the Government nor the Corporation of London have ever thought of levy ing. We must have the right of imposing a tax upon all lightermen who float their lighters upon that portion of the Thames inside our docks, although the great con• dition upon which our deeds of incorporation were granted was that we should not impose such a tax. Al though lightermen, presuming on the privilege so jea lously preserved to them in all Acts of Parliament rela tive to this subject, have, ever since the construction of the docks, removed the goods of their customers from vessels in dock, without charge, to wharves chosen by the consignees of goods themselves, we wish this privi!ege to be abolished. We want, in fact, to fine merchants fer landing goods on any other wharves than our own, although we admit that the only way : to get, to our wharves is by the means of that public highway which we have pledged ourselves to respect. It becomes, then, as we have raid, a question of na. tienal interest to decide whether the Docks shall be per mitted to rescind the solemn agreement they formerly made. The Dock Companies are great wharfingers. Their object is to be the o n ly w h ar fi ngers. If they sue ceed in their object every merchant wanting to use a private wharf will have to pay the Dock Companies a toll, if the vessel, of the cargo of which he has a frac tional share, happens to lie in the docks. Let it be re membered that the vessel has already paid all those dock dues which are c l a i med as being necessary to repay the company for its p ecun i ary i nvestment. A. consignee h av i ng on l y a f rac ti ona l interest i n a cargo can, of course, make no terms as to where the vessel containing it shall discharge. The vessel is met on its entrance into the Thames by touters on steam tugs belonging to the Dock Companies, who offer the skipper all kinds of adiantages, if he will make use of the docks ; or, perhaps, a large portion of the cargo may be consigned to a merchant who has a share in one of the docks. and has made a, stipulation that the goods shall be landed from the dock in which he has an interest. In this case all the other consignees, or at least such portion of them as wished to have their goods landed elsewhere, will have to pay the company for permission to do so. They can only avoid the tax by using the dock wharves. It is quite clear that Bich a process will confine the monopoly to the docks, and give them the exclusive use of the Thames. The rights of the Crown and the Corporation will thus be practically infringed upon, and the trade of the port will be extinguished under the blighting i n fl uence o f monopoly.—Daily e" It appears that the total dumber of merchant vessels of all classes up by the Government fur war pur. e tones; t l l7e s i baeveenra2goe6,coafolfl76a;:t6; tons, a t almost"tri e eenl s a e n o l f a tl 2 l 3: 4 : l t . , 3 o:o:: tons. In this total the number of sailing ship s i s 105, nd of aggregate burden of 91,02%5 tons, the largest being the Herefordshire, Conelza of 521 tons. Of .team-ships the slumber is 101, of an aggregate burden of 11 4,302 t o n s , 66 having been fu:n;slied by p r vate individuals and n 5 b y ui) ed (. r scompan companies.ies ss et ~cinlinZig"gthwe'foirecu°nertrtle acitri d 3 largest was the Prince, of 2,691 tons ; but the largest siow are the J:ocn and the Golden Fleece, of 2,500 tons each. The smallest is the Esk, of 359 tons. The ships furnished by the subsidised, own panics are 10 by the Peninsular and Oriental, - 'of an ag gregate burden of 17,020 tons; 6 by the Royal Mail Steam, of 12,343 tons ; 4 by the African Steam, of 4,008 tons ; 12 by the Cunard Company, of 13,185 tons; and 3 by the Liverpool South American Company, of 5,007 tons. The largest of these mail packets is the Himalaya, of 3,550 tons, now a Queen's ship ; and the smallest is the Rajah of 500 tons.