The Sun. — London, England, 1855-03-28 00:00:00

THEATRE ROYAL HAYMARRA.T. Under the management of Mr. Buckstone. THIS EVENING, Will be presented THE SECRET AGENT. Principal characters by Mr. Backstone and Miss E. Chaplin. To be followed by THE SPANISH DANCERS. To which will be added HIS LAST LEGS. To conclude with MAKE YOUR WILLS. ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE, OXFORD-STREET. Under the Management of Mr. Caasua KEAN. THIS EVENING, Will be presented the original adaptation of Casimir Delavigne's Historical Play, entitled LOUIS THE ELEVENTH. Principal character by Mr. C. Kean. To be followed by the popular new Farce, entitled A GAME OF ROMPS. Principal characters by Messrs. Harley and Chester ; Mrs. Winstanley, Misses Heath, Murray, C. Leclercq, Daly, and Ternan. To conclude with AWAY WITH MELANCHOLY. THEATRE ROYAL ADELPIII. Proprietor, Mr. B. Webster.—Directress, Madame Celeste. TIIIS EVENING, WM be performed a new and original Drama, preceded by a Pro logue, and called JANET PRIDE. After which, BETTY MARTIN. 5% To conclude with TIIE FETE OF NATIONS. 11.11 CAL OLYMPIO THEATRE. Lessee and Manager, Mr. A. Wigan. THIS EVENING, Will be presented the new Comedietta, called TIT FOR TAT, In which Messrs. F. Robson, A. Wigan, and Miss Maskell will appear. Followed by the Face entitled A BLIGHTED BEING, in Which Mr. F. Robson will appear. After which, a new Fairy Extravaganza, entitled THE YELLOW DWARF AND THE KING OF THE GOLD MINES. Characters by If% F. Robson, iss Julia itit. George, Miss E. Ormonde, Miss Marston, Miss Bromley, and Mrs. Fitzallan. ASTLET'S ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE. Lessee and Manager, Mr. Wm. Cooke. THIS EVENING, The Grand Romantic Eqnestrian Spectacle called TIMOUR THE TARTAR. After which, the incomparable SCENES in the CIRCLE, and the astounding evolutions of the Four Performing Elephants, with Herr Endersohn's accAnplished Performance on the Slack Wire. An Equestrian Spectacle of peculiar construction is in active pre paration for Easter Monday. Box-office open from Eleven till Four. Stage Manager, Mr. W West. Acting Manger, r. W. H. Cooke. Equestrian Director Mr. W. Cooke, Jan. NATIONAL SfANDARD. THIS EVENING, For the Benefit of Mrs. R. Bonner, Will be performed, LOVE. After which, THE SECOND BRUTUS. To conclude with ASMODEU , , or, the Little Devil. 17,01fL STRAND THEATRE. Toler the directlon of Miss Rebecca Isaacs. THI3 EVENING. be performed THE CRICKET ON TRF. NEU:TM Cha racters byl.l(ssrs J, Plalford, Eore•eou, and Kinloch ; and MiS3 Re becca Isaac , :hiss Beaumont, and Miss Somers. a After which. 'rwas I. Characters by Melsrs. Kin'och nd J. Howard; Nits Isaacs, NitS3 110:.111TIOnt, and Mrs. Laws. To conchtde with TRICK FOR TRICK.. HIGH WATER AT LONDON BEIDGt. Trvi DAT —.llfornn. F 12 ra'n.fittei 10 I EverinT 53 mirc.aL. 10 To-Yreg w..- teerni a. ra!n.aftcx 11 j gvenini: 0 anic.nft. 0 IVEA7lll!l3.—firm Orr,ck, March. 23. LIVIMOMETEE, IN TEE SEADE. 51—highest £ ince neon yestertay. 38 —;owest this morning, and daring' the night. 43—this day, at noon, RAILOMETER, 3014. WIND, E.—Light breeze, with rainy weather. 7 ( f lu CL;)., LONDON, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 1355. The chief and by far the most important of the Four Points is now under the consideration of the Conference at Vienna. Sinister rumours have been industriously circulated as to the nature and extent of " the humiliation of Russian power in the Black Sea" which may be insisted on by the representatives of France and England. It is positively asserted that the cession or even the dismantling of Sebastopol will not be pressed. In other words, that material guarantees will not be required, but that the merely verbal pledges of Russia will be accepted, and security for their due performance altogether dispensed with. Can this be possible ? Can Sebastopol be per mitted to remain a standing menace to Constan tinople ? A drawn sword impending over the head of the STJLTAN, to be released on the first favourable opportunity, when, by the chapter of accidents or the insidious intrigues of Russia, the cordial alliance now existing between the Western Powers may be impaired or dissolved. Is there to be an unceasing source"of uneasiness and ex pense to those who have made so many sacrifices in order to obtain a just, honourable, and pro bably permanent peace ? Must a fleet be con stantly maintained in the Euxine, to act as a counterpoise to the force which Russia had so improvidently been permitted to retain ? No, it cannot, it must not be ! After the enormous out lay that has already taken place, the heavy bur dens so freely sustained by the peoples of both nations—above all, after the many valuable lives which have been lost during the contest, the mat ter is totally and completely impossible. The blood of our departed brethren would cry from the earth for vengeance against those who per mitted it to be shed in vain by allowing the War to be brought to so lame and impotent a con clusion. We shall not, until it is no longer possible to resist the weight of unexceptionable evidence on the point, do Lords PALMERSTON and J. RUSSELL the injustice of supposing that there is any real foundation for these assertions. The very notion is sacrilege ; and as in this country every man is supposed to be innocent until his guilt has been clearly demonstrated we shall not lightly impute so serious a crime to men whom we once re spected—a crime which would involve the neces sity of a public impeachment, and the heaviest punishment sanctioned Ey the British law before it could be adequately expiated. We therefore now allude to the statement partly for the purpose of declaring that it seems too monstrous to be at all credible, and also for expressing what, with some rare and insigni ficant exceptions, seems to be the unanimous opi nion of the country on the subject —an opinion which has been promulgated through the public journals of all shades of politics, and which no Ministry could venture to set at defiance. In corroboration of these rumours it is said, and we fear on better authority, that Austria would not feel herself bound to fulfil her contract with the Western Powers by declaring war against Russia if the destruction of Sebastopol should be made a sine qua non, without which there could be no cessation of hostilities ! Is Germanism then, indeed, so rampant ? Is this to be the end of the Austrian Alliance, so long waited for, which to many sacrifices were made to achieve, and which was so loudly vaunted by the Joint-Stock Administration. when it was fondly imagined that it bad been attained? We, at least, were not among those w h o, by over credu lousness, invited deception. We felt from the beginning that no con fidence could beentertained i n the professions o f a Government th at still clutched a portion of the spoils of plunderedPoi an d with an iron grasp—a Government alike remarkabl e in bygone days for duplicity and grasping cupidity. Where selfish considerations alone have weight, either with a Government or an individual, it is impossible to place the slightest reliance on any profession that, in all human probability, will be disregarded the moment that safety and conveni ence is in favour of a total change of policy. We may now form some conception of the re• sults that would have attended the admission of a i Prussian Plenipotentiary into the Conference. Then, indeed, "confusion would be worse con founded." The German Powers, apparently op posed to each other, but really confederates, ready to pack the cards or cog the dice on every occa sion, would play into each other's hands, a n d ren der the proceedings interminable, unless, after dis gusting the French and English Plenipteatiaries MINN e ~~ ~~,; by vexatious procrastination, they might at length induce them, from sheer weariness, to assent to injudicious conditions and unreasonable stipula tions. That evil has happily been averted, chiefly because the conduct of Prussia, so graphically depicted by the Nestor of the British Senate, was too bad to allow of the concessions required byFREDERicK WILLIAM and his advisers. After many fruitless efforts to obtain the co operation of Prussia, we tardily shook off the in cubus, and placed her in the state of isolation in which she now remains, and where she must con tinue until the adoption of a more generous and high-minded policy by her Government. We must act in the same way towards Austria if her conduct require similar treatment. Had France and England acted entirely by themselves—had it not been for the futile attempts to obtain Ger man co-operation, the War would either never have commenced, or would have long since been brought to a satisfactory termination. As it is, we must make the best of a bad bargain ; but our representatives must be imbecile indeed if they suffer themselves to be deceived, not merely for the second, but the twenty-second time. The first NAPOLEON had a summary mode of convincing German diplomatists and inducing then to make up their minds as to the course to be adopted. We trust that his worthy successor will be equally decided in his proceedings, and that the represen tatives of England are too well aware of the value of the French alliance to endanger it by any further attempt to conciliate those who are not accessible to any but decided arguments. It would be altogether erroneous to imagine that the recent extraordinary changes effected in the Criminal Code by means of the Act 16 and .17 Vscr., c. 99, have necessarily conduced to any comprehensive or fundamental modifications in our system of Convict Discipline—either in regard to the principles of general management, or in reference to the details of home administration. It is not so. The matter deserves to be under stood by the multitude at large; and, to be so understood, it requires, perhaps, some few words 1)y way of familiar explanation. According to the letter and spirit of the new enactment, all that has been thereby effected by the Imperial Legislature, has been (immediately) the virtual, and (ultimately) the total and permanent, abolition of the secondary punishment of transpor tation. Correctly spaking, the 16th and 17th c. 99, has already put an end to the ex ii;tence of penal settlements in our colonial pos sessions. Botany Bay has long keen nothing more than a horrid memory of the past. Norfolk Island is henceforth to be, in its old capacity, as much a terra incognita to our judicial authori ties as even Cipango was to the medieval naviga tors, or the renowned Ultima, Tliule to the geopraphers of antiquity. The annual crop of felony reaped down in these islands by the two edged sword of justice is no longer to be con veyed away in ship loads to our antipodes, to be there threshed and winnowed under an elaborate system of penal discipline, and afterwards sown broad-east by tickets of leave far and wide over Van Diemen's Laud, or throughout the length and breadth of Western Australia. Instead of shoot ing rubbish after this horrible and wholesale fashion upon the shores of our distant colonies, we are from this time forth to gather it up care fully into certain spots selected for that purpose within the limits of the United Kingdom, there to discover what possible good can be brought about in its regard by a series of processes equiva lent to those of careful sifting and exquisitely cautious disinfection. Otherwise, let us say, we I have at length resolutely determined, as we ought long ago, in mere justice and humanity to have determined—not, as heretofore, to relieve our selves of a hideous burden and an almost over whelming responsibility by shifting it from our own shoulders to those of our unfortunate colonial populations. We have resolved in lieu of this, and, as it were, in expiation for our past miscon• duct towards our remote fellow-countrymen, to make the best of it ourselves—ourselves to sustain the weight of theburden, and to support, if possible, the consequent and. more cumbrous sense of the responsibility. As we have intimated, the CROWN, the Lords, and the Commons of England have done all this by the transformation of a Bill into an Enactment. That Enactment has already, we have observed, abolished the whole scheme of our penal settlements ; it has abrogated the entire of one branch in our groat system of secondary punishments ; it has totally done away, that is to say, with the secondary punishment of Transpor tation. But—while this recent act of legislation has done all this, it has by no means necessitated, as a further result of the change in the law, any radical or even superficial alteration either in the principle of convict management, or in tho de tails of home a,clininistra`ion. The principle of management Is now, in 1355, to all intents and purposes, identical with that defined thirteen years since, namely, in. 1842, by the Earl of DERRY, then Lord STANLEY, in his capacity as Colonial Secretary. The details of administration are at this moment precisely similar to those arranged five years afterwards, and consequently eight years from the present time, that is in 1847, by Sir GEORGE GREY, then, as now, the Minister pre siding over the affairs of the Home Depart ment. Wherefore it becomes manifest that all that has been effected by this notable Act 16 and 17 VICT., C. 99, is, as we have already intimated, the putting an end to the system of convict removal from this country to Van Die men's Land and Western Australia—and the substitution of release by " order of licence" at home for the plan of release with a " ticket of leave" in our remote penal settlements. That is all—voila tout ! The result is simple and easily expressed. But if it is so, it is at the same time most momentous. It involves, of course, an ex traordinary increase of responsibility upon those hitherto and still entrusted with the guardianship of our criminal population. It requires on their part a corresponding increase of vigilance, saga city, pr•ruptitude, precision, and determination. It taxes all their energies, in short, to the very uttermost. It calls largely, and, moreover, sud denly, upon all their abilities, upon all the re sources of their invention, upon all the stores of their cau ti ous and protracted experience. It is gratifyi ng to know that, up to the present junc ture at least, there has been no perceivable defi ciency in any ono of these particulars among the corps of officials directing the movements of the complicated machinery of our Penal Administra tion. Under th e adroit guidance and vigilant st theea dwhole an department o appears to ha ve wor k ed as supervision of the Surveyor-Geueral of Prisons, efficiently as ever —and. this, be it may pleas e t o call it, under that of an astonis hin g under the sha rpest teat, trial, or pressure of unexpected (rice:ind:inorbe:ehda,tever y tances. The fact i s pecu liarly honourable and fortuitous circum s entire Depart_to the went ; it is ll especia 3 honourabla the Dap y r y tenant nel -- ER JE as the Chief of other • t Colo now more particularly when so 1113 " branches of the public service have utterly broken down under equally stringent tests, trials, or ordeals of general and individual efficiency. Honour to whom honour is due—palinam qui meruit .ferat. While our comments must, in jus tice, upon Those, be sternly condemnatory—it may, fortunately, and with equal justice, upon These, be warmly eulogistic, laudatory without stint, and commendatory without extravagance. Public Opinion is happily endowed at these great crises in the national destiny, not merely with the consular authority, but no less with the Imperial prerogative. It retains to itself the privilege, that is, of distributing deserved rewards—while at the same time meting out merited punishments. As Justice holds in one hand the sword and in the other the balance, so it—Public Opinion—has in one the Civic Crown and in the other the Shell of Ostracism, SOUTH-EASTERN RAIL JVAY MECHANICS' INSTITUTION, ASHFORD. Yesterday evening, Mr. Charles Dickens gene rously did good service to the fund s o f thi s excel lent institution, and highly delighted a crowded audience, by reading his "Christmas Carol," in one of the railway company's large workshops at Ashford, fitted up for the purpose. With the great merits of the "Christmas Carol" the public are familiar, but the vitality given to it by Mr. Charles Dickens' extraordinary dramatic powers is indeed surprising. The audience thoroughly entered into the spirit of the tale, and more than once gave visible evidence of its pathos; while bursts of hearty laughter testified to its rich humour and the comic powers of the author. Captain Barlow, the General Manager of the South-Eastern Railway, who was to have presided, was unable to attend, and was replaced by the Rev. Mr. Pughe, the Company's Chaplain. LIVERPOOL ELECTION. (BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPIL) LIVERPOOL, WEDNESDAY, 12 O'CLOCK. The nomination of candidates for the representation of Liverpool, in place of Lord Ravensworth, late the Hon. H. T. Liddell, took placie yesterday moiling, opposite the Town•ha'l. E wart .. 9 o'CLocK. 10 O'CLOCK. 254 137 E ‘'ark Bonham 1,395-721 721 11 o'CLocx. Emart Bonham 9 ,554 1,42(3 f 11.30, Ewart 3,130 Bonham Majority -1,253 The contest appears to create comparatively little excitement. COURT CIRCULAR. --czy- - - The Queen and Prince Albert, accompanied by the Princess Royal and the Prince of Leiningen, visited the Duchess of Gloucester, at Gloucester House, on Mon d►.ay evening. The Royal suite consisted of Lady Churchill, the Earl of Listowel, Major-General Don verie, and Captain Du Plat. Prince Albert rode on hor.4eback yesterday morning, attended by Ins Equerry-in-Waiting, and visited Messrs. Robinson and Coltam's factory at Pimlico, and honoured Mr. Bacon by inspecting his cast for the statue of Men detc:,seho. Prince Arthur and the Princesses Helena and Louisa visited the Zoological Gardens, in the Regent's-park. The Princess Royal and the Princess Alice took equestrian exercise in the riding-school. Her Majesty had a dinner party in the evening. The company included the Duchess of Kent, the Duchess of Cambridge, and the Princess Mary, the Prince of Lei nit-Igen, the Lord Chancellor and Lady Cranworth, the Danish Minister and Baroness d'Oxholtn, Baron and 13aroness Usedom, Lady Fanny Howard, the Lady in Waiting to the Duchess of Cambridge, the Earl and Countez , s of Roseberry, Viscount Torrington, Lord Hey tesbury, the Right Hon. Pemberton Leigh, Colonel the Fion George Upton, and Baron Knesebeck, The Duchess of Atholl has succeeded Lady Churchill as the Laly in Waiting to the Queen. Earl Somers and the Hon. Mortimer Saekville West have relieved the Earl of Listowel and Sir F. Stovin in their duties as the Lord and Groom in Waiting to her Majesty. The Duchess of Kent, attended by Lady Fanny Howard and Sir George Couper, visited the Duchess of Gloucester, at her residence, Gloucester-house, on Mon day evening. The Duchess of Cambridge and the Princess Mary, and the Duke of Cambridge also visited the Duchess of Gloucester on Monday evening. The Lord Mayor attended the Queen's Levee on Monday, at St. James's Palace. A deputation from the Steam Shipowners' Assoc'ation of London had an interview with Lord Stanley of Al derley yesterday, at the Board of Trade. The deputa tion consisted of Mr. Anderson (chairman), Mr. W. J. Hall, mad Mr. Morgan (secretary). Dr. Paris had an interview with Sir George Grey yesterday, at the Home-office, to present his annual report. A deputation on the subject of the Central American Steam Navigation Company, consisting of the Right Hon. T. M. Gibson, M.P., Mr. Bright, M.P., Captain L. Vernon, M.P.. Mr. Jackson, M.P., Sir Gore Ouseley, Mr. Holroyd, Mr. William Morgan, and Mr. Young, (solicitor), bad an interview with Lord Stanley of Al derley, on Monday. The Queen, we understand, has been graciously pleased to excuse the Duchess of Sutherland, Mistress of the Robes, from all attendance at Court, until the family mourning far the late Lord Frederick Leveson Gower shall have expired. The Duke and Duchess of Cleveland, who have been entertaining a succession of visitors at his grace's splen did baronial seat, Raby Castle, are expected to arrive at Cleveland House, St. Jarnes'k -square, the second week in the ensuing month, for the season. The Earl aril Countess of Harrington, who have been seeing company the whole autumn and winter at Elves ton Castle, come to town shortly to Harrington House, Palace-gardens. Lord and Lady Gough are shortly expected at Loughcooter Castle. Lady Georgiana Burghley and youthful family have left the Countess of Longf)rd's, in Bruton-street, for Burghley House. The noble lord is doing duty as colonel commandant of the Northamptonshire Militia. The Ca,lcutts, with the Ist Royal Lancashire Militia, arrived at Corfu on Me 16th inst. By the ,leatli of Sir John Keane, and of the Rev. Dr. Parkes, 3,000 acres of land, near Lismore and Tallow, fall to the Duke of Devonshire. COURT-MARTIAL ON LIEUT. SANGSTER, R.M.—On Monday the court-martial re-assembled, and the defence of the prisoner was read by Lieut. Prynne. Several witnesses were examined, and the court adjourned to Tuesday. Mr. Paul and Mr. Hogarth had the honour yesterday of submitting to her Royal Highness the Princess Royal a proof of the " Field of Battle," from the Princess Royal's drawing, of which her Majesty and the Prince were pleased to express their highest approval. NEW PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY.—The second concert of this society takes place this evening at Exeter Hall, the proceeds of which are to be devoted to the use of S. Mary's Hospital. A surplus of some 4001. bas been already secured. SIR HENRY BISHOP'S CONCERTS.—Last evening Sir Henry Bishop gave an evening vocal concert at Exeter Hall, consisting of solos, glees, quartettes, and concerted music, seleciltsd entirely from his own works. We need not say that it was entirely successful. Mr. Sims Reeves was encored in the " Pilgrim of Love," and the same honours awaited Miss Birch in "Bid me discourse," and "Lo ! here the gentle Lark." The choruses were in the most efficient training, and the hall was crowded to excess. We believe aaother entertainment will be given on the 16th of next month. DEATH OF MR. W. B. GURNEY. —Mr, William B. Gurney, the short-band writer to the House of Lords and Commons, died on Mondaymorning, at his residence, Denmark-hill, Camberwell, in the 78th year of his age. His death was somewhat unexpected, as the state of his health was such as to encourage the hope that he wuuld be able, on the first Thursday in May, to lay the founda tion stone of the Jubilee Building of the Sunday School Union, of which, in 1803, he was the founder, and of which he held the office of President up to the time of his death. GAS MONOPOLY.—A very numerous meeting of gas consumers, south of the Thames, was held on Monday night, at the Southwark Literary Institution, Borough road, for the purpose of adopting measures to defeat the bill now before Parliament "for altering the districts within which the Phoenix, South Metropolitan, London, and Surrey Consumers' Gas Companies may supply gas within the counties of Surrey and Kent." THE MAILS.—SOUTHAMPTON, March 27.—The Penin sular and Oriental Company's steamship Madrid, Cap tain Cook, left this afternoon with the usual mails for Vigo, Oporto, Lisbon, Cadiz, and Gibraltar. She has on board 20 passengers, 32,1371. in specie for Lisbon, 38,2401. ditto for Cadiz, and a full general cargo. The Euxine, Captain J. Weeks, with the heavy portion of the India and Mediterranean mails, is expected about the 4th proximo. The Tagus, Captain Joy, with the India and China mails, is hourly expected. She will depart with the outward portion of these mails on the 4th of April. The Royal Mail Company's .stearn-ship Tyne, Captain Lewis, is due with the West India, Mexieln, and Pacific mails on the let proximo. The Tay, Captain Moir, will take the outward portion of these mails on the 23. The Solent, Captain Jellicho, is Vie next ship to arrive, with the mails from Buenos Ayres, Monte Vid e o, Rio do Janeiro, Bahia Pernam buco, St. Vinc e nt, Teneriffe, and Madeira. She is due on the 16th of April. The Great Western, Captain Beviß, conveys the outward portion of these mails on the 9th proximo. The United States mail steam-ship Washington, Captain Cavendy, will leave Southampton with the usual German, French, and English mails to morrow afternoon. LATEST NEWS. THE BALTIC FLEET. DEAL, WEDNESDAY MORN ING. The ships of the advanced squadron have weighed and proceeded for the Baltic, consisting of the Imperieuse, Euryalus, Arrogant, Cossack, Tartar, Conflict, Desperate, Esk, and Archer. VIENNA, TUESDAY EVENING. The political horizon has again become some what gloomy. It is said that yesterday's C inference, which was the first on the third point, was not satisfac- tory. Although the Western Powers do not insist on razing the fortifications of Sebastopol, they pro pose other conditions which are not agreeable to Russia. BERLIN, TUESDAY, MAncli 27. 4 telegraphic despatch from St. Petersburg, datcdthe 26th inst., states that the following despktch. had Veen..receiVed there : Prince (TortgAakoff 'arrived at Sebastopol on the 20th of March. On the 14th the Turkish cavalry at Eupatoria made a sortie, but were repulsed. On the 17th three battalions of Zouaves at tacked the new redoubts, and were driven back with great loss. MADRID, MATten - , 26. MM. Weisveiller and Sa,lamanea have made proposals for the new loan of 500 millions of reals. The discussion on the bill relating to the sale of the Church property is to coiumeuce immedi- ately. The last news from Cuba is satisfactory. THE VIENNA CONFERENCE. - - - The foreign journals received last evening refer to the abandonment by France and England of the demand that Sebastopol shall be dismantled as a matter of which there can be noquestion. When Prince Gortachakoff withdrew his troops from Silis tria last Juno, after a 40 days siege, the Journal do Pete;', , Aourg began to speak of " the sham siege of Silistria." The French Govorrimen t journ als have begen to affirm that the Western Powers are net seeking to destroy Sebastopol. The onslilationnel writes :—" The destruction of Sebastopol no longer figures in the number of the stipulations of the Allies relative to the Black Sea, for the reason that the siege of which this place has been the object has neve - Aeon considered otherwise than means and not as an ens by the Western Powers. What they pursue in common in the Black Sea with their fleet and army is not the ruin nor the capture of a military port—it is the reduction of the forces which Russia has maintained in these parts—it is the species of domination which she exercised, and the privilege she enjoyed there, to the detriment of all Europe, and, above all, of Turkey." VIENNA, March 24.—1 t was yesterday affirmed on 'Change that the preliminaries of peace had been signed, but nothing of the kind has happened. Very little transpires relative to what takes place during the Conferences, but one or two of the "ini tiated" men, who are renowned for their uncom promising hostility to Russia, have, within the last 24 hours, expressed their belief that a moans may be found of making Russia innoxious for the future without insisting on the destruction of Se bastopol. At the Conference of yesterday, which lasted four hours and a half, Baron Prokesch is said not only to have taken the lead, but to have kept it. This morning a Cabinet messenger was to have left for England with despatches. THE SIEGE OF SEBASTOPOL. (From a Second ' Edition of the Morning Berald.) ENGLISH CAMP, HEIGHTS OF SEBASTOPOL, MARCH This evening the Medway arrived with 300 con valescents, all of whom, I am glad to say, were in excellent health, and fit for any daty. This is the largest number of convalescents ive have yet re ceived, and, as I have said, all were in an admi rable state. The Trent left Balaklava, this even ing to purchase horses at Varna, and the Hope with ammunition for Eupatoria. Admiral Stewart has returned from the latter town, and resumed his old place in the fleet. General rumour reports that it is impossible to hold Eupatoria against any serious attack of the enemy. Netts verrons. 3KARcir 12. Sir John M'Neille and General Simpson, who are to - superintend the working of the staff and commissariat departments, arrived to-day. The country may rest assured that nothing will go right while our present Quarter master and Adjutant-Generals are retained. But for the positive obstacles thrown in his way Mr. Filder would have kept the troops on ample rations. This is no haphazard remark, but one which inquiry will fully bear out. Lord Raglan and General Airey are answerable for nine-tenths of the disasters which have fallen on our troops, and General Estcourt is far from being without his share of deep responsibility and blame. Yesterday evening Omer Pacha arrived at Kamiesh, and, accompanied by Admirals Lyons, Bruat, and Stewart, immediately proceeded to Lord Raglan's head-quarters. Shortly aftewards Generals Canrpbert, Bosquet, awl Sir George Brown arrived, and a long council of war was held. It is generally believed that the Turkish Com mander-in-Chief came to ask for reinforcements, and also to represent the impossibility of defending Eupatoria against a regular siege. The council lasted nearly four hours, and Omer Paella returned to Eupatoria this morning. Neither English nor French troops can be spared at present for the e of to-day the c h urc h b e ll s i n de fence of th t a h t e p w la h e o e l . Se D ba u s r t i o u p g ol have been tolling heavily, it is pre sumed for some religious service for the departed Em peror. For the first time our tramway was used to-day for the conveyance of shot and shell to the general depot in course of formation about a mile and a half from head-quarters. For some time past the line has been used for the conveyance of rations of all kinds; but hitherto-no very heavy traffic' has been attempted. About 6,000 shot and shell were to-day sent up to the heights over Karani, and thence for warded in our own and the French waggons to the trenches. None of the stationary engines are yet at work. Alaßau 13. This day the enemy at BalaklaVa made a smart attempt to cut off the wood party of French, who are employed in making gabions on the heights beyond the marine and rifle camps. About 1,000 French march down to this place each night, cut the wood, make their gabions, and re turn about the middle of the following day. Their usual route to camp is across the plain of Bala klava, and to-day, while the whole party were quietly trudging along each mau carrying his gabion, they w ere surprised by the sudden appear ance of about 500 Cossacks along the ridges of t h e \Voronzow road. A mus ket was fired, and at the signal the Cossacks instantly clesed up and charged down upon the French at a tremendous pace. Straggli ng in disorder over the plain, and e ncumbered. with their gabions, our allies still showed a bold front, and tried to collect in time to oppose their assailants, who came on with loud shouts ; but, as it happened, the Cossacks bad got too near, so th a t, in spite of themselves, the French were comp e ll e d t o throw down their gabions and run towards the shelter of our lines. The thousand gabions thus suddenly cast iu the path of the enemy impeded their movements considerably ; but still the consequences might have been serious to the French, but that the batteries of the Marines and highlanders instantly opened upon the Cossack line. The first shell fired fell right amongst them, killing two men and wounding a third. The other guns were too much elevated, but still poured such a storm of shot over the heads of the Russians as made them instantly wheel threes about, and re tire with all speed. At the first alarm a regiment of Zouaves on the heights were under arms, and advanced to the relief of their comrades. Sup ported by this force, the French gathered up all their gabions, without molestation from the enemy, who remained upon the hills. Oily ono Cossack advanced upon the French within 300 yards, and he was killed by a random shot which a Zouave took at him. All to-day the Russian guns over the northern heights of Inkermau have been firing heavily at the few stragglers who have ventured beyond our lines in search of wood. No casualties have occurred, as the enemy rarely fire at a nearer range than 3,000 yards. The Russian riflemen, in part of their works, annoy the French much, and have lately caused them some loss. Beyond this, and the usual 'pre parations which we are making to open fire in the way of getting up guns, shot, and shell, there is nothing to report about the progress of the siege. The last of our 13-inch mortars was brought up to head-quarters to-day, and the electric telegraph between head-quarters, Kamiesh, and Balaklava completed. The appointment of Generals Simpson andM`Neille to exercise a supervision over the coin missariat and general staff has given deep offence to the latter. Yesterday Lord Raglan, accompanied by General Canrobert, visited I_3alaklava for a short time. MARCH 14. Twice during last night the whole camp was dis turbed by a tremendous fire from the enemy's works. All the picquets and outposts were kept continually on the alert, and twice the Light and 2d Divisions were turned out under arms. The firing was caused by our allies making attempts to dislodge the rifle men, who, hidden in front of the enemy's lines, have lately inflicted considerablemischief. The first attempt was only made by a party of about 100 Chasseurs, who, after skirmishing with the Russian marksmen for some time, were, in the end, over powered an driven back by vastly superior numbers. The second attempt was made by a strong body of Chasseurs, supported by 200 of the covering party from the trenches. But, during this time, the enemy had received large reinforcements, and the second attack was repulsed with a loss to the French of 50 killed and wounded. The firing completely alarmed the whole camp, and within five minutes after the second attack had failed, two French regi ments, one of Zottaves and one of the line, advanced upon the contested point. Before this force the Russians, though still superior, or at least equal in numbers, instantly gave ground, and commenced a rapid retreat upon their batteries. During this retreat they suffered heavily from the musketry of our allies. As if they apprehended an immediate storm, the whole of the Russian lines ope ne d fir e . Their batteries discharged in regular volleys, which rent the air and shook the earth, as if some terrible convulsion of nature was taking place. The shower of shot and shell literally fell like hail, and from the state of the ground on the following morning, it is calculated that 100 tons of ammunition were fired during the half-hour the alarm lasted. Afore chance shots, fired in the dark, almost completely destroyed one of the English advanced works, and the whole of the 'remainder Of the night was occu pied in repairing it. During the heat of this iron shower the French lay close iu the holes and broken ground, from which they had driven the enemy. Thesethey occupied till morning; when from the position of the Russian batteries they were com pelled to retire. In these encounters the French lost in killed and wounded nearly 200 men. Tho loss of the enemy, who fought under cover, was probably much less. During to-day our right attack has fired some 10 or 12 rounds, to which the enemy have not attempted to reply. This unusual quiet ness has excited much speculation, as the Russians generally give us 20 guns for one. , Ali Boy, the celebrated Turkish gunner, has arrived here from Sinope, to superintend the ma nagement of some of the heavy artillery in the trenches. A new long 32-pounder has been added to the battery at the head of the harbour of Balak lava, and still. stronger additional batteries it is said are contemplated to secure our depots at that place. Tho Emperor Steam-ship starts from Bilaklava this evening for Genoa, to bring up the Piedmon tese troops. MARCH 15. A heavy fire was kept up by the enemy's batteries during the whole of last night, so as to completely shelter their riflemen from any fresh attack from the French. Beyond this nothing worthy of note occurred, except that, for the first time since the siege has commenced, the batteries at Inkermau fired during the night against our lines. All their shot fell short. The weather continues fine and hot, and fever becomes more and more prevalent each day. During the middle of the day, when the sun is warm, the stench in the camp is posi tively sickening. Some efforts are now beginning to be made to cleanse the ground ; but, like all other reforms, they come too late. The Russians seem very busy in Sebastopol, es pecially in tbeir advanced work in front of Mala khoff Tower, which it is supposed they are mounting with guns. Lord_ Raglan and General Canrobert made - a minute inspection of the works near Balaklava to day. Official rumours speak of the probability of a serious attack on that part of our defences. MARCH 16. Five heavy guns were brought up to the batteries by the French to-day. Two were long 32's, and throe long 56 poundors. Four 13 in.oh mortars were also get into position in one of our batteries, which I need not further specify. Lord Raglan visited our right attack (Gordon's Battery), and remained in it during the whole of the early part of the morning. While his lordship was present the battery fired repeatedly upon; the enemy, and succeeded in shelling out the Russian riflemen who lay perdu, in front of the lines. Three of them were killed by a shell as they ran in towards their own trenches. His lordship expressed himself highly pleased at the high slate of efficiency in which both men and guns appear. Strange to say the Russians scarcely returned one gun for ten of ours. A week ago and a single shot fired from any of the English works would have been replied to with such a volley as would have levelled our works; and to-day, to the intense surprise of every one, their riflemen were driven in almost without their batteries offering any resistance. About an hour after our lines had ceased firing, the enemy fired a few shots, but all fell some 500 or 800 yards behind our batteries. The Russian works appear in splendid condition, and quite crowded with troops, who show them selves without hesitation, even in the midst of the French fire. General Canrobert visited Balaklava to-day, and inspected the whole of our line of tramway. fl also visited the depDt and sanatorium on the hills, and afterwards rode to the out-picket post, from whence a good view of the Russian position on the Tchernaya can be obtained. , There seems not the least chance of our opening fire for the next ten days or a fortnight, and the results of our bombardment are ,still open to the widest conjectures. General Jones has done much to reform the system on which 'our batteries were placed, but in the presence of an active and deter mined enemy a mere change in the engineering de partment is not enough. Sooner or later the country will discover where the change is wanting. THE MEDITERRANEAN. MALTA, MARCH 22. By the arrival of the Canadian, the Eagle, and Colombo, from the Levant, we have dates to the 14th from the Crimea. The siege operations have not yet commenced, yet the preparations on both sides aro carried on with great energy. A letter from an officer to his wife is before me. It says, a poor fellow has just been brought in with a leg shot off by the opening of the guns of Sebas topol at noon. Orders have been given that, at 2, all our batteries shall open fire on the enemy. Thus may we believe the siege has begun. Oa the other band, another letter states that, at a council of war recently held, it has boon unani mously resolved not to attack, but to invest, the enemy's fortress. The army of Liprandi will be attacked without loss of time, and so of that of the other Generals. In the meantime the destruction of Odessa has been determined, and a large fleet, both of English and French, have been named for the work. Odessa fallen, the occupation of Perekop, Anapa, &c., will ensue, and the enemy be thus cut off from the means of sending troops to the assistance of Sebastopol. The names of the vessels to be engaged in the destruction of Odessa are, according to the correspondence of the Portafoglio Maltese, the St. Jean d'Acre, flag of Admiral Sir E. Lyons, Aga memnon, Hannibal, Princess Royal, and Royal Albert, of the line ; and the frigates Highflyer, Niger, Tribune, Terrible, Sidon, Wasp, Curacoa, Vesuvius, Sphynx, Inflexible, Valorous, Diamond, and Leopard. It is very currently reported here that.no im portant operations against the enemy will take place until the Sardinians have,reached. the East. .I** THE CRIMEA. A letter from Varna, in the Ost. Deutsche Post, says :—" The news from the Crimea come down to the 12th. The allies were then observing with great attention the proceedings of the Russian:: in the valley of Baidar, and were expecting an attack on Balaklava, particularly as they had learned that General Wagner had received reinforcements from the corps of General Liprandi. The Russian forces are said to be distributed as follows :—At Perekop is encamped the corps of dragoons; a division of light cavalry, and various other detachments, amounting in all to 20,000 men, under the com mand of General Pawloff I. At Simpheropol there aro about 45,000. men, commanded by General Read. Near the Belbeck, General Osten-Sacken's head-quarters.have been placed with 50,000 men, including the garrison of Sebastopol. On the Tchernaya is encamped General Liprandi, with 18,000 men; and in the valley of Baidar is General Wagner, with 9,000 men. It appears that the first operation which General Osten-Sacken had executed on his appointment to the chief command, ivis to have all the heights along the coast occupied and fortified from . Karabelnaya to the mouth of the Tchernaya. The heit,hts on the left Lank of the Alma have also been iortifi(d, and this defensive system seems to show that not only is Bakshi- Serai the centre of thegencral's operations, but that a greater importance is attached to the cornmuni tions of Bakshi-Serai with Sebastopol and with Arabat, than to thesepfthat:town with Perekop. The Russians, in fact, seem determined to defend to the last extremity the basin of the Salzir, as well as the ground extending from Simpheropol to Kaffa, their intention being, to all appearance, t o procure their provision s an stores - from the side of Auapa, and their reinforcements from Perekop. Should the allies think fit to enter into operations not immediately in the neighbourhood of Sebasto pol, it is not improbable that they will act against Baksh-Serai, the' centre of the Russian positions. Omer Paella has just arrived in Kamiesh Bay, to be present at a council of war." RUSSIA. We tare received the St. Petersburg journals of the 18th inst. The Journal de St. Petersboui g says : "The state of suffering of Aide-de-Camp General Prince Menschikoff has so increased of late that on the 2d inst. be was obliged to give up the command of the troops to Aide-de-Camp-General Baron von Osten- Sacken. A repert from General Osten-Sacken, dated the Bth of March, announces that the siege works of the enemy, against the fortifications of Sebastopol, advance very slowly. Their mining works are driven back by us with constant succesP, and turn to their own detri ment. • "On the 6th of March a French battery threw about 30 rockets into the town, but they did no harm. • "The artillery of our batteries, on the contrary, and that of our steamers act with great success." The Invalids Russe says : "The following report has been received from Lieu tenant-General Baron Wrangel, who commands the de tachment at Eupatoria, It is dated February 22 (March 6) : " Lieutenant-General Korff, in command of the de tachment which encompasses Eupatoria, informs me that on the 21st Fab. (March 5) the enemy made a sortie from Eupatoria with six squadrons of Turkish Lancers, and two squadrons of Bashi-Bazonks, add vigourously attacked the centre and teft flank c f oat - advanced posts. The Cossacks, who formed the advanOed line, fell back upon the main guard of the Lancers of the regiment of Novomirgorod.._ Lieut.-Col. Nikoritsa, in command of the advanced posts, ordered out half of the 7th squadron of the said re g iment, and sent for the Bth squadron of the Lancers of Novoarkhangel. The Turks, on approaching our Lancers, halted and opened fire. At this. moment, Lieut. Kozulkine, in command of the 6th squadron . of the regiment of Novomirgorod, who was returning from the advanced posts to his quarters, baying just been relieved, on hearing the fusllade, ordered his de'achment to wheel round, and, advancing under cover of a ravine, be fell suddenly on the right flank of the Turkish cavalry, with the Cossacks of the sth sotnia of the regiment of the Don, No. 61, of Jiroff. Simul taneously with this attack Lieutenant-Colonel de Wein ing, seeing the Bth squadron of the regiment of Novoar kbangel approach, charged the enemy in front with the 7th squadron of the regimert of Novomirgorod, while a portion of the Cossacks, the let, 33, and 6th sotnias of the regiment of Jiroff, commanded by Major Sdlivanoff, charged with the left flank of the enemy's cavalry. The Turks thrown into disorder by the vigorous charge, took to flight, and we pursued them for nearly 3 werstslby the Lancers and _Cossacks. Great confusion arose in the town ; the enemy's infantry in great force began to leave it, and form mitside. ' " ‘Lieutenant-ColonelNikoritsa then ordered the pur suit to stop, and the squadrons to return to their former positions at the advanced posts. " 'The enemy lost more than 40 killed during our first attack, and left many dead behind them during the flight. " We made eight prisoners, nearly all severely wounded. " On our side we had one Cossack killed and one Lancer of the Novomirgorod Regt. seriously wounded ; Lieutenant Tairoff, of the same regiment, and three Cossacks, were slightly wounded. . . " 'The cause or thi; brilliant success, with so small a loss on our side, is to be attributed to the rapidity of a simultaneous attack on three sides. " Without speaking of his intrepidity and coolness. Lieutenant-Colonel Nikoritsa showed on this occasion much talent and presence of mind. Lieut. Kozalkine also contributed to the success of the affair by hastening to the scone of battle without orders on hearing the fu sillade.' " FRANCE. PARIS, TUESDAY EVENING. The lioniteur publishes 'the official return of the oust( m revenue for last month, which amounted to 10,706,963 f. ; being 316,366 f. more than in the corresponding period of 1854, and 1,068,790 more than in that of 1853. The receipts for the first two months of the year have amounted to 23,208,957 f. being an increase of 3,784,336 f. over the corre sponding period of 1854, and of 4,625,235 f. over that of 1853. It has been stated that a bill has been presented to the Legislative Body authorising the inscription in the Grand Register of the Public Debt of 41 and 3 per cent. routes to the amount of 9,541,615 f. 55c. capital. The explanation of this measure, given in the expose des motifs, is to this effect : "When the loan of 500,000,000 f. for the war wa , called for, the subscriptions were so numerous that these of 500 f. of rente and under alone amounted to 850,000,000 f. It was therefore determined to accept such subscriptions only, and to reduce them from 850,000,000 f. to 500,000,000 f. The subscriptions of 10f. were, according to the conditions on which the 'loan was announced, accepted in full, but those of 500 E were subjected to proportional reduction. It was then found that each subscription of 500 f. would be a little more than 290 f. It was, how ever, thought that it would be more convenient, both for the public and for the Government, to make each subscription the round sum of 300 f., instead of an amount of odd figures. A measure to that effect having been resolved on, the total amount of the loan was raised to 509,541,615 f. 55c. The additional 9,541,615 f. 55c. will serve to pay the discount allowed on subscrip tions paid by anticipation, and certain unforeseen ex penses ; so that the 500,000,000 f. will be retained intact for war purposes." A short delay has taken place in the departure of the Imperial Guard for the Crimea. The fol lowing is the order in which the several battalions will leave Paris :—On the 27th, the Ist Grenadiers ; 28th, the 2d ; Ist April, Ist Voltigeurs ; 2d, the 2d do. ; 3d, the Foot Chasseurs ; and on the 4th the Gendarmery. All these battalions will proceed by the most rapid means. The Turin journals announce that King Victor Emmanuel will proceed to Genoa to be present at the embarkation of 'the Sardinian troops for the Crimea. General Prim, Count de Reuss, has arrived in Paris. The following private telegraphic despatch has been received here : "MARSEILLES, 26TH. " The Thabor has arrived from Constantinople, which place she left on the 15th. It had been found necessary, after an examination of General Monet's wounds on his arrival, to amputate two of his fingers. " The fort in advance of the Malakhoff tower was terminated. , " The intelligence from Odessa is to the Bth. A corps of Greek volunteers was forming there." According to accounts from the Crimea, brought by the Canada steam-frigate, the allies are said to have opened the fire against Sebastopol on the 14th. An enormous amount of projectiles had been prepared for that purpose. BOURSE, MARWf 27.—CLOSING rmuza. Cash. fr. c. End of Month. 4 per Cents. (ad).,. 94 --f. 3 per Cents 69 60 69f. 500. Credit Mobilier BOl 25 Roman Credit Fonder 540 Austrian Belgian Fives ...... .. 91 Spanish Threes — Piedmontese — Home Debt 32 RAILWAYS-I'OR CASH: fr. c. fr. c. Orleans' — Lyons Western 655 Ronen Cette 860 970 -- C H h a e v r r b e u r g — 5O Northern Mediterranean ' A letter from Vienna of the 22d, in "the Silesian. Gazette, says :—" As Ali Pacha cannot leave Con stantinople as soon as was intended, Riz9. Bey will be present at the conferences until their conclusion. Riza Bey, who for five years filled the post of first Secretary of the Turkish Embassy at Paris, is one of the most distinguished statesmen of Turkey. The Chevalier Timothee Knesewitch, the Envoy of Prince Alexander of Servia•, who is charged to re present the interests of that country in the present negotiations, has arrived here. This diplomatist has delivered a note to . Count Buol, in which the present state of affairs in Servia is fully described, together with such reforms as would be of equal interest to the principality and to the adjoining states. In this note Prince Alexander further pro poses that the above subject be taken into conside ration in conjunction with the negotiations now in progress respecting Moldavia and Wallachia.'! A letter f rom S t. Petersburg, in the Danube of Vienua, says :—" Dr. M an d t , h omoeopath i c phy si▪ cian to the late Emperor, Las left Russia in great haste and secretly. He is reproached with having too long concea l ed from the august deceased that his lung was attacked ; also with having himself prepared the medicines destined for the Emperor, instead of having had them prepared by a dru.g gi▪ st. 'Great irritation was manifested against him at St. Petersburg, and the Emperor Alexander himself advised him, it is said, v to leave Russia." A THE AFRICAN MAIL. PLYMOUTH, MARCH 28. The African Royal Mail steamer Retriever, Captain James Howard Rolt, arrived this morning at six o'clock. Her dates are from Fernando Po, Feb. 11; Cameroons, Feb. 12 • Old Calabar, Feb. 14 ; Lagos, Feb. 19 ; Accra, Feb. 21; Cape Coast Castle, Feb. 22 • Liberia, Feb. 2 6 • Sierra Leon e, March 2 ; Bathurst, March 7 ; dome, March 9 ; Tenerife March 16 ; Madeira, March 1 9 . She brings the usual mail, 12 passengers, and the fol lowing cargo ;-3,000 ounces of gold, 320 ivory teeth, 208 casks of palm oil, 204 packages of gum) 235 ditto of pepper, 116 bags of cochineal, 70 ditto of argol, and 50 casks of wine. Mock- Among her passengers are Captain W. E. 31 00 / . ter, 2d West India and Regiment; and Lieuts. Conn and Steele, Ist West India Regiment ; Aubyn and Surman, 2d West India Regiment ; and Hawra ham, 3cl West India Regiment ; Rev. S. N. De w " son ; C. F. Schlenker ; and lady of Lieut. Kysh, Geld Coast Corps. The Retriever left at Lagos the Dolphin, the Philomel, and the Antelope ; off Whydah, on the sth of February, saw her Majesty's ship Pluto ; on the 26th of February, off Monivia, the Liberia t ; and the Britomart, on the 22d of Febru ar y . the outward bound steam-ship Ethiope. All well, at Sierra Leone. The Scourge, bearing flag e l . Commodore Adams, at Bathurst River ; at Goree, the French men-of-war Heliopolis and Crocodile. The outward bound African steam-ship Cauk ce left Tenerifekr the Coast, 'on the 6th of M are"' THE LATE EMPEROR NICHOLAS. . - - ( From Galignani's Messenger.) The Moniteur has under the non-official head a article professedly on the death of the Emperor Nicholas, which, still more than from the qual, t , er whence it emanates, must, from the remark.autle faculty of condensation it displays, of its appreciation of character and circumstance, command general attention. It, in fact, resin :lie f ' in one page, not alone the character and care er c -if . that Emperor, but the history of Rilaida 'llers t e be since, her destinies first became attached to . co house of Romanoff, whose annals indeed have s in with the nice y composed the sum and substance of that history V" r: After some general introductory remark s, in the influences that particular dynasties have etletlt cised on the fate and fortunes of nations! an d ,I of the Romano as a case in point, are red, tudioLl I the Moniteur thus proceeds : a oral " This race of Czars, whose hiatorical ro'e anu ni c , the l character were not developed until the beginning n. e a 18th century, with the reign of Peter the Great, seem to have been fashioned by Providence upon the 'dcriTi F model of the nation which was to have been absorhe (If and represented by it. At one hundred y ears ranee Peter and Nicholas were perhaps its most ace'"lr. ! pushed types. Melange of eun:dng and force, of s u P e 0 stition and genius, of brutalitandgrace, of prinlenc y _ , c .,., 0 . and audacity, of calculation and abandon, of 1,1 -u• ;a rite rudeness and Greek finesse, this race had ercA l ,: e .• its nature, in it s imposing physiognomy, i n its W•;gi spirit, in its feverish activity, and even in llt. ~ u,,', gantic proportions, something which an nounc F a bas minion. I n see i ng th e p r inces by whom it , we been the most exactly personified in hist or •Y but recognised not only sovere'gns born to w hiner el g e ' beyond all made to command. The day on s 0 Peter the Great laid the first foundation of a fortre_s.,_ the mouth of the Neva, and masked also the site of, the capital which was to be called Petersburg, he raise. a v ir ,, only a defence to protect his empire against the ri S o .! of Charles XII. ; his foresight extended much frirethitorf and already se p e perspective en measured tive w h i e through ee t a i n nle op a e n n d ect spac e o ii th ka ns a b y i; tion. To found a marine, construct ports, open hie w e e f on all the seas, became the most ardent preocca this sovereign. An emperor was then seen Enak in ; ar id self carpenter, handling the axe and the c ompass e- __ wa s learning to build a ship. This carpenter a Saardaw r we r ()- just simply the sublime workman of the maritime V ith the a country which, aspiring to dominate the world ao unity force of its innumerable hordes, concentrated in 1 t 'the Se 3 of despotism, comprehended instinctively that le , for was designed as the field of battle of the str o ugg eal oag influence, of equilibrium, and of dominati'l Lapire nations. The Emperor Nicholas received the a,gran from the hands of his 'tli ail What has become of this important predecessors sw the 6 . wed. had drea d' isements which 11'glorious the pat o, lo bile. is ancestor i h t a ? nds u o a f s th h e is E r m eia p n ero e r o N nt i i c n h n o e l d as th l e H w a o s r i k s b ia e la—elinePereisli r e sli eit aspirationsp r e dece s predecessors s o f ? Peter the o f the C r ' s ,; n e g the about this man who has played aart so considerabi.e Id Europe for thirty years, and upon this destiny ra l/e ns th h e e, G f r o e r at hi ? s piverht,ataccompos_ sal motio with all the agitations of the age and all the con] of the new world, at one time to calm them, a' int 1848, of another time to excite them, as in the 15 ,' w ill bistorl. .11 days of his life ? There is a saying very flatteriog or the Emperor Nicholas, which a writer ascribes to the ' Count de la Ferronnays, ambassador of Charles X.- of ' St. Petersburg, at the moment when the .thir d son Paul I. came to ascend the throne, after having subdue d a formidable military insurrection. M. de la Perron nays n ha E d m b p ee er n o a r tr i o n n gth l i y is i i m m p m re i s n s e e n d t b er y is t i b s e . a h t e tit h u a d d e of the y L in him that majesty of courage which ' dominates the L masses, disarms wrath, ennobles combat, and he e x ' claimed, 'I now see Peter the Great civilised.' This ear ing of a day of enthusiasm was not absolutely a Battery, and there is a just conception in this pompous metaphor. Russian ambition purified by a political mind, exalted by* the religious sentiment,was about to reign with Nic h°l3 l This Prince, in effect, had in him all the robus qualities of his race. Nature, blood, tradition, educe. tion, had made him a ruler. His gigantic stature, ''''' haughty head, the straight - and hardy lines of his 0:11; tenance, his aspect severe, cold, and scrutinis in g , s""`e no sparkle of the soul ever lightedenp, and w hose froPt s e eibility never permitted a n .e mo tion of thej2eart to d. discernible ; his full atfti ibernrotiavoice, his cortiZi ing gesture, his gait_firna and rapid as hisf4iiilY, v l e i ' s thing in bins revealed his rank, his sOv*,_, l , g , n ;"(that h nl e iB w srl aT everywhere Dignity w t as he in sa -b m ica e; thethe - familiarities pomp private at life. the. la: always iw a s s b 1 ta d e Y e o6 : o f tis a ! rs : bm r t a e*l i s :i: s e - calm,acoewsn as d t e n de t simple, and cold, receive the homage of an% courtiers, or pass in the front of regimen i t f s, t o h r e P g as e. n e iu w s es e t f routes of his capitals; it - Seensed as royalty, spent and grovided•in certain rases -of ta , , in the had regained its sap, i“ firtStige, and its viri""J'ivilisa youth of a new people;;and born of yesterday to c a On' tion. . . Thera isi assuredly in this nator oiehes and seduces ; but there is wanting one defined something great and strong which as.° ° wet of th - , -filLeror; iatttirsibguotoedsnoefssm.anT,fiaebocveaarlthwatennetvheermr is' - - si ' bie ffis autocracy was not only absolute ; ardoned. to pity. It had for escort exile, confiscation, and 0 1 3 _1 vined meats. It was as impossible to touch as to , c n him, and his heart was as inflexible as his svili: ; vt The Moniteur, after a rapid and masterlY.,..r.cehvots of the vast designs which the Emperor2,led, of entertained, on the projects he had acT e dti ' ~,d to the states and communities he had suu which of his influence and interests by the refin ein t e w hich his policy, thus touches upon the great ev il ou tact it was inaoues an oh. brought the Emperor Napoleon 111. into 0 and conflict with him : empire i H n e se (t e h n e rel E y Emperor Nicholas) theolas) E thought t,havvreogly was ". ca per°, feeb le , comprehended ; he thought that France Was host ile. he believed Europe ta be depressed o were sun" He deceived himself. All his previsions lie she cessively belied by events. Turkey, which • ii r posed to be powerless, rose aga i ns t him 1 fes on despair, as a barrier, and compelled his -ar tn ece ieed the Danube to retire. England, which ha ; 00 10 0 to be irreconcilable with the name a • on al l, and the Imperial regime became the illtitittection to of France. Austria herself deserted his pro n _ . ass° . accept our alliance. The conic ience of Gern i. l o s _l o oe. ciated itself with one mind to this universal retired, Russia was caught in the snare she had P' "which and found herself shut up in the isolatiansvti:t‘ s hall she counted on reducing us . • • • /the d e:th be the consequence of this thunderstroke s illastriotia of Nicholas), which has laid low the 3 during' and glorious head in which have dw e their thirty years the traditions of the 05ar i;7 , 3 f brce thought, their ambition, and the e a , f, , P t a n this p be eto s r ai l d .: w t h h e a r t e of Russia, no one can yet say. -.---.,, at individuals count greatest nobles, of a nobility which its io % s aran' urbanity, and love of arts has not been o b sBl 4 i a sti:tv chise from servitude, are no more than the P - l ee, ao DlA''' . meats of despotism ; where there is no imP u the suP rern ' a s nothin, _doaion don, no activity, but that which derives frolt f the c z ar i n master ; where religion itself in the hands is such a f but a means of enslaving the consciencthe absenc e o e. empire, it is the sovereign who sunPli e° d the e ffac h institutions, the default of public morale, " t rian) mew, of character. . . . His death can providence. ntfofournded bowbere the But it will render more free, for no one ; for the hour was ordained by them in tau deference security, those whom the habit of a cone attached and still retained. The Empero.r ea r o f the enlightened by the serious lessons of the la st yet a g od s I reign of his predecssor, will comprehend ,t,..7 peri lous role is reserved for him. In renouncing 14' reet°re pea in affordingt jefersoce policy of his parent, it depends on him to the worl d,. I f to Russia, and to maintain her pla ce in date of t' P t li b e s making his accession to the throne the da . o f of recon c ili a ti on with the general inter European community."val° mfmm.,...........____..._....,_......--,.--..r0gtmi55..........'''.'' An other GENERAL SOREVir NAVIGATION COWAN!: vasterdl stormy meeting of this company took Plau r 7: After 0. afternoon to settle the election of directo repreg it and lengthened debate a conferencce between the ntd, tatives of the contending parties was ° PI% th 0 115 t c l, was then agreed to select four names Imo, ~r 3wf or e Mr. Raikes Currie and tLree from that of/u:'-'eg actorsth Mr. C. Morrison and Mr. E. Warner re1 n3 b 1.1 ,. 1 dire board as independent members. The ot e --ore• will now retire to make room for their succe7 te Le, 0 ; The whole country round about Basin e overe a ',pro?" dower, witl s n a o n w d 0 0 Itili Monday.Cr part s o f North Hampshire, have all agreed to close at five o'clock I? °ill continue EARLY CLOSING.—The booksellers in Pater i l s a 7,2 - rcloY evening succeeding the 7th of April, and sy, 4 " s priog to close at that hour on Saturday througa ,' and summer mouths. 0 r'~~ Illarl k vi I4NOT Ltith i qqativ 4 be. terrin N, EVENING, MARCH 2B, 1855 1 D