The Sun. — London, England, 1855-12-20 00:00:00

MADAME JENNY GOLDSCHMIDT-LIND. EXETER-HALL, THURSDAY EVENING, December 27. Mr. MITCHELL respectfully announces that Haydn's Oratorio of THE CREATION will be repeated on Thursday, Dec. 27, in which Madame Goldschmldt will sing the principal - oprano part. The Choras and Orehestra will consist of more than GOO performers. Conductor, M. Benedict. Doors open at Seven, to commence at Eight o'clock. Prices of admission.—Seats in the Area, Seven Shlllings West Gallery and Body of the Hall, Ten Shillings and Sixpence ; Reserved and Numbered Seats, 11. 13. Correct Books of the Oratorio will be given with the Tickets. Tickets and full particulars may be obtained at Mr. Mitchell's Royal Library, 33, Oki Bond-street. Due notice will be given of the first. Miscellaneous Concert. MR. W. S. WOODIN'S OLIO of ODDITIES, illustrated by 50 instantaneous Metamorphoses of Voice, Character, and Costume, and a moving Panorama of the beautiful Lakes of Westmoreland a nd Cumberland, ever y evening, at 8. A representation of the celebrated tragedienne, Mile. Rachel, as Camille In Les Horaces, with other new features, have been added to the alcove entertainment. During the Christmas Holidays Mr. W. S. Woodin will give two morning performances only—Saturday, Dec. 29, and Saturday, Jan. S. — Polygraphic-hall, IQng William-street, Charing-cross. THEATRE ROYAL, HAY3IARICET. Under the Management of Mr. Buckstone. THIS EVE/TUG, Will be performed THE BUSY BODY. Characters by Messrs. Howe, Chippenda e, Rogers, W. Ferran, and Buck.stone ; Misses Reynolds and E. Chaplin. After which, the Spanish Dancers. Followed by THE LITTLE TREASURE. After which, a BALLET, by the Spanish Dancers. To conclule with A DAUGLI TER TO MARRY. ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE, OXFORD-STREET. Under the Management of Mr. CnisLits KEAN. THIS EVENING Will be performed the Historical Play of LOUIS XI. Louis (King of France), by Mr. C. Kean. To conclude with THE MULETEER OF TOLEDO. Principal characters by Messrs. W. Lacy, Harley, Everett, Raymond, and Cooke ; Miss C. Leclercq, Mrs. W. Daly, and Miss Murray. TIIEATRE ROYAL ADELPHI. Proprietor, Mr. B. Webstor.—Directress, Madame Celeste. THIS EVENING, Will be performed JANET PRIDE. Characters by Messrs. B Webster, P. Bedford, Selby, Bland, Moreland, Garden, C. J. Smith, and Keeley ; Madame Celeste, Miss Mary Keeley, To conclude with BETSY BARER. E)YAL OLYMPIC THEATRE. THIS EVENING, Will be performed THE JEALOUS WIFE (compressed into three acts). Followed by £d REWARD. To conclude with CATCHING A 3IER%IAID. ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE. Lessee, Mr. J. H. Anderson, IS, Norfolk-street, Strand. LAST FEW DAYS. Increased Attractions, and success in equal ratio ! THIS, AND EVERY EVENING, at Eight o'Clock, Will 5e presented, with entirely New and Siagniflcent Appoint ments, MAGIC and MYSTERY, in twelve acts, arranged in two parts, by Professor Anderson. After which, the startling illustrations of Spirit-Rapping. II \LF AN-FIOUR WINE THE SPIRITS, being the most surprising an I interesting series of experiments ever given within the walls of any theatre. Revival, in an improved form, of the astoundinz novelty whi,h tartled London 10 years ago, the GREAT GUN TRICK ! Prices of admission:—Private Boxes, Id. 119. 6(1. and 11. Is. ; Orchestra Stalls, 45.; Dress Boxes, 35.; Upper Boxes, 24.; Pit, li.; Gallery, lid. ve Half-price. Box-office open from 11 to 5 daily. Grand Morning Perfbr.nanca on Satarday Next at Two o'Clock. Doors open at Ilalf-past One. ASTLEY'S ROYAL AMPHITIISATRE. Lessee and Manager, Mr. Win. Cooke. Itrunelse success of Roeknood This spirited and exciting Hippodrolne (with Tarplies Ride to York) embra.les the principal events of Ainsworth's Rookwood. THIS EVENING, The successful Equidrame called TURPIN'S RIDE. to YORK ; or, the Heir of Rookwood. After which tho Varied Equestrian ACTS in the CIRCLE. To conclude with UNE FOLIE POUR ItIRE ; or, Mirth-Moving Entertainment. Immense preparations are makin; for the Christmas Comic Pan tomime, written by Mr. Nelson Lee, called Harlequin and St George and the Dragon, or the Seven Champions of Christendom. itos...orflee open from Eleven till Four. Stage Manager, Mr. W. West. 'Equestrian %)irntor. Si:. Coolrs, Jun. HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. Thig DAY—Morn. 18 min. aft. 11—Evening 47 min. aft.ll 'J O. 0 min. aft. 0 —Evening 14 min. aft.l2 THE WEATHER—SUN OFFICE, Dec. 20. THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE. 34 - since noon yeaterchy. 27 —lowest this morning and during the night. 33 —this day at noon, BAROMETER, 30 . 13—falling again. ITTNr, F.l.E.—Fresh, with bitter cold, fine, frosty, sun shiny weather. " - LONDON, TLIURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1855. A very important Treaty has just been con cluded between Sweden and Norway and the Western Powers. The ratifications have been duly exchanged, and the terms will appear in due course in the Gazette. The chief conditions are to the following effect :—" Sweden and Norway shall never cede any portion of their territory to Russia ; and in the event of that Power making proposals to the Cabinet of Stockholm of such a nature that these shall be immediately communicated to England. and France. The Western Powers, on the other hand, engage to supply Sweden with the necessary naval and military means for resisting Russian aggression, and undertake to guarantee the territorial integrity of Sweden and Norway." It is impossible to estimate too highly the ad vantages to be derived from this very satis factory arrangement, which effectually limits the aggressive propensities of Russia. She is, in fact, thereby virtually checkmated, and must either abandon a very important portion of the traditional policy handed down by PETER and by CATHERINE, or be prepared to meet the combined forces of Eagl3.nd, France, and Sweden. It would, indeed, have been well for Europe had such a guarantee existed before Russia was per mitted to accomplish a considerable portion of what she has been pleased to consider her " mis sion," by the plunder of the Baltic Provinces, of Finland, and the Isles of Aland. It would have been sufficient had a decided stand been made in 1831, when the father of King OSCAR was de sirous of entering into a cordial alliance w ith France and England, and obtaining their moral, and, if necessary, their physical, support against the unwarrantable demands of the CZAR. But the name of BERNADOTTE was too closely associated with that of NAPO LEON to be pleasing to any branch of the House of Bourbon. The advances so freely made met with a very frigid reception, and the KING, disappointed in not receiving the encouragement ho had a right to expect, was compelled; to a cer tain extent, to throw himself into the arms of the' AUTOCRAT, and to submit with the best possible grace to propositions which, under existing cir cumstances, had all the force of demands. For tunately, however, Russia had not at that time found it expedient entirely to fling aside the mask. She was contented to advance gradually, every acquisition oily stimulating her appetite for more. She was willing to bide her time, fi x i n g her gaze steadily on the next point which she had resolved to achieve. There is, therefore, time to check her further progress, before she can arrive at the goal towards which she has lone directed her attention. From the days of PETER, one of the great objects of Russia has been to obtain free access to the different oceans, so that her ships of war might move in any direction. At that period sh e had but ono ocean port, Archangel, and that was closed up by impenetrable ice for the greater por tion of the year. A blockade, more effectual than any that could be established by the greatest maritime powers, was inevitable for some two thirds of every year. To avoid this restriction was her great object. Hence her aims against the Euxine and the Baltic, both of which she endea voured to convert into Russian lakes. Happily, however, there are entrances and sounds through w i i i c h she must pass before obtaining asce „,, t o the different sari or ocean il Th ;LV.L vL THE SON, LONDON, THURSDAY EV.!N11446-y DECEMBER 20 1855 Bosphorus, strongly fortified, prevents the approaches to the Mediterranean, while the Cattegat was a formidable obstacle to the free , movements of the Baltic Fleet. Archangel was, as we have shown, hermetically sealed up by frost for two-thirds of the year, and the Sea of Okhotsk, besides the same inconvenience, was too remote, opening on the North Pacific—admission to the Atlantic being the great object. A mode was, however, open, by which she might accomplish her wishes. There was within sight, almost within her very grasp, a port which would fulfil every necessary condition, and the possession whereof would achieve the great desideratum. Varanger Gulf or Bay, although within the Arctic Circle, being situated about 70 deg. north latitude and 30 east longitude, is generally open during the entire year. It possesses great natural capabilities for being converted into a first-class naval station, of almost impregnable strength. Not more earnestly did AHAB covet the vineyard of NABOTH the Jezreelite than did the CZAR, the small addition to his already over-grown dominions, which would give him perpetual access to the Atlantic without any portals which other nations might be entitled to close against him. It was to him like the " rot) ma" Of ARCHIMEDES, the possession whereof might enable him to realise his most audacious conceptions. A boundary question was therefore raised with Sweden, and a portion of territory, ix itself barren and of but little value, was disputed. This would supply a pretext for a quarrel at any time that might prove convenient for Russia—a quarrel ix which Sweden, if unaided by the Western Powers, should necessarily succumb to her powerful an tagonist, and surrender all that could be required. Other efforts were also made, apparently of a very moderate character, to introduce "the sharp end of the wedge," by obtaining even a fishing station on the coveted coast. If that were conceded, however, we should behold a transformation far more extraordinary than any that even the Wizard of the North could display. By a waive of the magic wand the fishing station would vanish, and a port and arsenal substituted, exceeding in power either Cronstadt or Sebastopol, and calculated, indeed, to become "a standing menace to Western Europe," and one from whence the British Isles and France would be peculiarly open to attack. The Treaty above referred to has now for ever disposed of this expectation. Sweden is firmly pledged, not only not to yield any portion of her territory to Russia, but to give immediate notice to the Allies of any proposition tending to such a result ; which, on the other hand, France and England have bound themselves not to permit. And this guarantee also applies to the Islands in the Baltic, as well as those on the Norwegian coast. Finmark is thus for ever preserved against Muscovite machinations ; and a great step has been made towards securing the active co-operation of Sweden, the terror which might have induced her to abstain from offending so dangerous a neighbour being now completely removed. It is, we repeat, a very decided stop in the right direction ; but we believe that fur ther arrangements must be come to before we can hope to see the gallant Swedes fighting on the side of the Western Powers, against their ancient foe, the plunderers of so goodly a portion of their dominions. It is singular to see how completely the PEELS and the PERLITES have parted company. Sfr ROBERT and Mr. FREDERICK in office under PAL MERSTON, aid hot fer humbling Russia, while ABERDEEN, GLADSTONE, GRAHAM, and HERBERT are simpering about the sorrows of war, the bles sings of peace, the dignity of Russia, and all the pretty things which delight the COBURGS and the great cotton-spinners. Sir RO BERT in office actually denounces the do-nothing policy of the Admiralty, and breathes quite an English wrath against the oppressor of Poland and Hungary. But Mr. FREDERICK has most surprised us. Essentially a red-tapist and a trimmer, what could bring him out so last Friday when addressing his constituents at Bury. He might have passed muster in the native district of his family, in the place where they earned their wealth, and where public-house signs witness their popularity, without launching out half so far. Was he thinking of a dissolution ? If so, it showed that he foresaw what even a manu facturing constituency in the present state of trade required ; he deemed it necessary to canvass by the most out-spoken declamation possible to his character and position. For him his language far transcended that of his more ardent and free hearted brother, and his constituents were evi dently gratified at the unexpected manliness of his speech. His seat is safe if Parliament be dissolved. But there may have been another and more proximate stimulant to the oratory of our mecha nical and calculating Under-Secretary for th; War Department. Prince ESTERHAZY and the Vienha ultimatum are steaming it and sledging it to St. Petersburg. No peace is possible but by the frank and unconditional acceptance of these pro posals. Mr. FREDERICK was supposed to be a peace man in the Ministry, and as the sub to a Russellite Whig, and a PEEL too, the supposition was natural. He may therefore, and others with him, have come to his senses. He may see that there is po sitively no alternative but the acceptance by Russia of the present terms, or inflicting on her such a chastisement as she ought to have received at least this spring. He indicated distinctly, re ferring to the rumours of peace, that "if Russia humbled was ready to offer suitable conditions, he was willing to accept them, whether coming directly, or through another." But he declared quite as distinctly that "if she was not content to sue for peace, and make terms that would satisfy us for the future, then our course was clear enough; we must redouble our efforts ; we m us t so employ the time during the winter as to com mence in the spring with a still more powerful effect." Such was the language of Mr. FREDERICK PEEL He even e xpressed openly his sa ti s f action the ! "with the spirited speech of Mr. Fox, the that he Maa l . regret ber for Oldham," and hinted some restraints of office prevented him also from speaking out more plainly ! Can all this, from such a quarter, arise dssi f o r i o: any less causes than the probability of a tion, or from the conviction that Russia must either be frighte ne d i n t o t erm s, which weconfess, though insufficient enough, must vet be very galling to her ; or that if she will not yield now, the next campaign must be such a one as will effectually bring Russia to her knee ? It really seems to us that the Cabinet must have obtained licence to make peace on the proposed terms, or to cripple Russia next year—thence the Palmer stonian organ is utrenuous in asserting that not a gun-boat the less will be launched on account of Prince ESTERHAZY'S mission ; that no juggling like that practised by Vienna and Russia last spring will be tolerated ; and that for Russia and a ll Russianisers it is now or never. We are, we con f e ss, somewhat apprehensive that Russia may show the better part of her valour. The valuable announced result of the CANROBERT mission to Sweden, and the probable unannounced results, to gether with the ascendancy of English over Coburg • uozukta, utu vv J)di.11,.. al Et and German policy, may effectually intimidate her. The intervention of such contemptible Govern ments as Bavaria and Saxony, as pleading with Russia for peace, looks in the same direction. It is, howeyer, useless to speculate. A few weeks will decide. The chairmanship of the Metropolitan Board of Works is not likely to go abegging. The scene at Burlington House yesterday, on the first meet ing of the Board, assures us of that. It was ex ceedingly rich, not to say farcical. The reader may remember a wicked invention we have seen somewhere—a story showing what a voluble and bewildering cataract of applicants a solitary gentle man of the metropolis, who advertises for a re spectable housekeeper, brings down on his inno cent head. The street, if we mistake not, in the instance adduced, was shown to have been crowded, the door besieged, the hall crammed, the landing-place invaded, the dog delirious with excitement, the charwoman in the pangs of as phyxia, the wretched advertiser frantic with ap prehension, and the neighbours powerless with laughter. Whether this would have been paral leled in the house and neighbourhood of the chairman pro tern. of the Board, had it not been wisely determined that every candidate must find a proposer and seconder among the members of the Board, may perhaps be doubted ; but we in cline to think it would, judging by what took place in the meeting, and the opinion of a member, that there would not be fewer than 1 5,000 applicants outside. It is somewhat difficult to preser►e any degree of decent gravity while contemplating that scene. " Wanted a Chairman"—that was a want easily to be supplied ; but wanted a chairman pro tern., who would abjure all pretension to the perma nent chairmanship, that was a different matter. Up starts Sir JoHN SHELLEY, and, wickedly or otherwise, proposes Mr. THWAITES. Mr. TAY LOR is instantly on his legs to object—Mr. THWAITES is a candidate. Mr. THWAITES, on the whole, is of opinion he is, and feels it to be his duty to give himself a good character. Sir JOHN SHELLEY'S motion, having no seconder, falls to the ground, and Mr. TAYLOR proposes Mr. Deputy HARRISON. The worthy deputy looks grave, and discreetly refuses to take the required pledge. He cannot be guilty of the injustice of pronouncing himself incompetent for the office. Sir JOHN whistles almost inaudibly ; two worthy gentlemen look as if they had had au escape ; several seem anxious ; and, finally, one gentleman is found without an appetite for " a permanency." Busi ness commences, and everybody having agreed to the amount of salary, the question of election comes up again. Everybody almost wants to know all about it. Sir JOHN SHELLEY modestly expresses his willingness, not to accept 1,5001., but to fulfil the duties of the office which every third man, to all appearance, would grudge no labour to have a chance of doing ; and, finally, it is determined that the meeting shall adjourn to Saturday, up to which tine the names of candi dates shall be received. The reader will pardon us if we have not done justice to the scene. We have no desire whatever to ridicule the pro ceedings of the Board, and would not have said so much as we have had not the temptation been irresistible. So far from entertaining a desire of this sort, we willingly confess to having expe rienced considerable gratification at the tone and resolutions of the meeting in other respects. The limitation of the salary of the future Chairman to 1,5001. per annum, and the resolution that h• shall devote his whole time to the duties of his office, look like business, and give us hope of the interests of the ratepayers being duly attended to. None are more anxious than we are that the Board should work well, and most heartily, in conclusion, do we wish its members God-speed in their honest labours. MR. BRIGHT AT MARSDEN. We have received a letter from " A Manchester Manufacturer," in reply - to our remarks on the speech of Mr. Bright at Marsden. The contents, however, being neither more nor less than a farrago of falsehood and absurdity, and the pre sumption that the writer (an engineer) is in the pay, or, at all events, pecuniarily interested in the welfare of Russia, being exceedingly strong, we content ourselves with acknowledging its receipt. THE QUEEN AND MISS NIGHTINGALE. We are happy to state that her Majesty the Queen has, in a manner honourable to herself as it must be gratifying to her people, been pleased to mark her warm appreciation of the unparalleled self-devotion of the good Miss Nightingale. The Queen has transmitted to that lady a jewelled ornament of great beauty, which may be worn as a decoration, and has accompanied it with an autograph letter—such a letter as Queen Vic toria has ore now proved she can write—a letter not merely of graceful acknowledgment, but full of that deep feeling which speaks from heart to heart, and at once ennobles the Sovereign and the subject. COURT CIRCULAR. OSBORNE, DIM 19. The Queen and Prince, with the royal family, took ,heir usual walks and drives in the grounds yesterday. Mr. Bromley had an interview with the Chancellor of the Exchequer yesterday at his official residence in Downing-street. _ Lord Stanley of Alderley has left town for his seat, Alderley-park, Cheshire. A deputation from the Committee of Civil Servants appointed in 1853, composed of Messrs. E. Scanlan (Customs), Archibald Campbell (Customs), E. Raith (War Department), C. R. Taylor (General Post-office), J. Easthope (Admiralty), D. H. Harris (Customs), and W. W. Dalbiao (Inland Revenue), had an interview with the Chancellor of the Exchequer yesterday on the sub ject of superannuation. Despatches from the Governors of the Cape of Good Hope and the Colonies on the West Coast of Africa were received yesterday at the Colonial•office. Despatches were sent last evening to the Governors of the Mauritius, Ceylon, and Hong Kong. His Excellency the Ambassador of France and the Countess de Persigny on Tuesday received at dinner Viscount and Viscountess Palmerston, the Swedish Mi nister and the Countess Hochechild, the Portuguese Minister and Madame Lavradio, the Danish Minister and Madame Oxholme, the Countess of Tankerville, the Countess and Mademoiselle de Flahault, the Earl of Westmorland, Lady William Russell, Sir Roderick Murchison, Dr. Ferguson, and Mr. Norman Macdonald. The Marquis of Lansdowne has arrived in town, from a visit to Lord Ashburton, at the Grange. The Earl and Countess of Hardwick° and the Ladies Yorke have arrived at Deane Park, on a visit to the Earl of C ar di gan. Captain Seymour Darner and the Hon. Mrs. Darner have left t own to join the party assembled at Deane Park, Northamptonshire. A general ordination will be held on Sunday, at the Chapel Royal, Whitehall, at 11 o'clock, by the Bishop of Colombo, who will officiate for the Lord Bishop of London. TUN POBT-OPPICII AND TDB AUNT IN Ti EAST. The roi st oney-order ted K Kingd o m, g o do offices a a f t o r Constantinople, the Duke of Argyll has decid e d t o send out immediate in strections to the officers of th e A rmy Post-office in the East to transmissionScu tari, f money Head-quarters of the Army, and B a l a kl ava. On Tuesday, the marriage of Mies Blanch e S eymour, to open the youn ges t daughter of Rear-Admiral Sir Michael Sey mour, K.C.8., to Captain E. S. F. G. Dawson, of the 93d Highlanders, was celebrated at the parish church of Stoke Damerel, Devonport, by the Rev. Sir John C. H. Seymour, Barb., the uncle of the fair bride, assisted by the Rev. R. Seymour. A new church building effort in relation to the me tropolis is in progress, Lord Robert Grosvenor being the moving spirit. The list of subscriptions commences with the Crown, 10,0001.; the Duke of Bedford,lo,ooo/.; the Marquis of Westminster, 10,0001. The entire HA, when the value of the sites and promised churches are reckoned up, reaches a total of more than 60,000/. The churches object is to (I,olleot 500,0001., and to build 10 0 . LATEST NEWS. THE TREATY WITH SWEDEN. PARIS, DEc. 20. The Moniteur publishes the treaty concluded on the 21st of November between. France, Eng land, and Sweden. It is declared that the treaty is concluded to prevent every complication of a nature to trouble the balance of power in Europe. By Article 1 the King of Sweden engages him self not to cede to Russia, nor to exchange with her, nor to allow her to occupy any portion of the territories belonging to the Crown of Sweden and Norway. " His Majesty the King of Swedon and Norway engages himself, moreover, not to cede to Russia any right of pasturage, or fishing ground, or of any other nature whatsover, as wall for the said territories as for the coast of Sweden and Nor way, and to reject any claim (pretention) Russia might raise to establish the existence of any of the above-named rights. Art. 2. In case Russia should make any pro position to his Majesty the King of Sweden and Norway, or any demand with a view to obtain either the cession or exchange of any portion whatever of territory belonging to the Crowns of Sweden and Norway, be it the permission to occupy certain points of the said territory, or the cession of fishing or pasturage rights, or of any other, on those same territories, or on the coast of Sweden and Norway, his Majesty the King of Sweden and Norway engages himself to communicate immediately such proposition to his Majesty the Emperor of the French and to her Majesty the Queen of England ; and their said Majesties take on their part the engagement to provide his Majesty the King of Sweden and Norway with sufficient naval and military forces to co-operate with the naval and military forces of his said Majesty, with a view to resist the claims or aggressions of Russia. " The nature, the importance, and the destina tion of the forces in question shall, the case occurring, be decided by a common agreement between the three Powers." HAMBURG, Dec. 19. The Borsenhalle states that the treaty just ra tified at Stockholm concedes to France and Eng laid the privilege of establishing depots and hos pitals on Swedish territory. In return, the Western Powers undertake to maintain the in tegrity of Sweden against Russia, should the latter treat the conduct of the Swedes as a breach of neutrality, and declare war. BRUSSELS, DEC. 19. It is believed that a treaty of offensive alliance exists between England, Fraice, and Sweden, but will not be made public until the time for active 00-operation in the spring. The Jourdain, whose arrival at Marseilles we announced yesterday, brings accounts from Con stantinople to the 10th, and from the Crimea to the sth inst. The return of Rosebud Paella to power and the 1 formation o f a new Ministry here are considered probable. Baron Prokesch-Osten, the Austrian Internuncio, is expected on tho 14th. It is rumoured that important dislocations of troops in the Crimea are about to be made. 3,000 troops of the Egyptian Contingent have embarked for Asia. The weather in the Crimea has been most severe. The Tchernaya has overflowed. A suc cession of violent tempests have levelled some of the army huts, but no loss of life occurred. On the 14th General Mouravieff summoned Kars to surrender. A Council of War was held, General Williams presiding. They requested de lay, and sent Colonel Thompson to Erzeroum. Selim Pacha, who was expected to relieve Kars with 10,000 men, had not moved from Erzeroum. Three thousand Egyptians, part of his force, embarked from Eupatoria, were too late. Colonel Thompson returned on the 22d. The, garrison was reduced by famine. The horse-flesh oven was reserved for the men in the hospitals. On the 24th General Williams had an interview with General Mouravieff. They agreed upon the terms of an honourable capitulation. The 8,000 sur viving Turks were surrendered prisoners of war. MARSEILLES, WEDNESDAY. By advices from Constantinople, just received, we [earn that, after a battle, Omer Pacha had taken posses,sion of Khoni, which is five-and-a-half leagues from Kutais. He found in the place twelve thousand furs. He had pushed on to the banks of the Rion, and had made preparations to attack Kutais. PRUSSIA. BERLIN, Dec. 18.—The King returned on Satur day last from a visit of a day or so that he had paid to the Court at Neu Strelitz ; whether any other motive actuated this visit than the pleasure of a long sledge drive, of which the King is very fond, is not known. A person acquainted with the Court says that the Grand Duke has been for many years accus tomed to pay the King a visit at this time, but now, having been disabled by age from encountering the cold and the fatigue, the King pays him the attention of going to him. The Court of Mecklen burg-Strelitz is notoriously Russian in its sympa thies ; as this circumstance was alluded to just as the King was about to start off thither, he replied, " Who knows but what I may return quite Wes ternly disposed?" Certainly nothing is better calculated to turn a clever man, with a lively sense of the ridiculous, into an opposite direction, than to hear any parti cular views advocated by the grotesque oldG rand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, wh o , in addition to that leaning for Russia which all petty despots have, is the more inclined that way from the cir cumstance of his youngest son George having mar ried a Russian Grand Duchess, Catharine, the daughter of the late G ra nd Duk e Michael ; and being, moreover, a Major-General in the R uss ian service, Duke George of Mecklenburg-Strelitz is the Envoy Extraordinary, par excellence, of the Em peror to the various Courts of Germany, whenever anything unusual is on foot. He has just received the public thanks of the Emperor for his admirable execution of a commission entrusted to him by the Emperor, but what that commission was is not mentioned. On Saturday evening, after his return from Strelitz, the King gave audience to Baron Von Manteuffel, and also to Count Munster, who re turned that same morning from St. Petersburg. It is not known whether the Count has brought any document with him beyond a letter from the Emperor to the King. On Sunday morning we had no news here of the fall of Kars ; it has been ascertained, how ever, since then, that the Russian Embassy had received a despatch of this tenour on Saturday night, which was communicated to this Govern men in the course of Sunday ; it must, however) have been known in Vienna at least 36 hours earlier. This may have arisen from the circum stance of the Russo-Prussian telegraph by way of Konigsberg having been out of order for the last week, without the cause of its interrupted action having been able to be ascertained and re moved, or it may be part of the system of reticence that seems to have been adopted towards this Go vernment by all the Governments interested in the present war. Another contribution to the his tory of intrigue and spying' was furnished here lately in the instance of a Prussian retired officer and quondam police spy, of the name of Hassenkrug, who procured a passport for Francs, and a commission from the French Embassy here to spy out Russian machinations in France, and then hired himself to the Russian Embassy for the purpose of procuring French information in Paris. The French Em bassy, having some suspicions, had him watched in Paris ; and the result was that the individual very soon found his liberty of motion circumscribed by the four walls of a prison. Though a Prussian sub ject he is not likely to be reclaimed by his own Go vernment. It is confirmed that the Russian Vice-Admiral Glasenapp's mission to Stockholm is for the purpose of entering on his functions as Naval Adjunct to the mission there, as General Bodisco is the Alin tary Adjunct ; of the mission of the Staatsrath Tengoborski to Copenhagen it is not so clear that it has for its sole object the conference on the Sound duos. All Sardinian subjects still abiding in Russia have been put under the protection of the representative of Bavaria there, as had been already the case with all French subjects ; our own countrymen, ag will be recollected, are under the protection of the Danish Minister. A merchant in Cologne, who " does " largely in metals, has just received the unpleasant news that a ♦essel of his, laden with load, and bound for Hamburg, has been captured by a French steamer, as she came out of the port of Malaga. The lead is declared to be for Zollverein con sumption ; but the French authorities have stated their conviction, from statistics, that the Zollve rein produces lead enough for its own purposes, and to prevent any possible deficiency of the article arising elsewhere they will take it where it cannot be exported to Russia. For the present both vessel and cargo have been carried to the coast of Africa. The Russian loan, for which Mendelssohn's house here, as the agents of Stieglitz in St. Peter:, burg, have undertaken to receive subscriptions, will not be issued till after the turn of the year. The introduction of this now loan at 8G has had the effect of driving its predecessor down to 84i, and the Russo-English loan to 834 It is worth notice that the national debt of Russia had in creased between 1844 and 1853 by 205,870,000, and between 1853 and 1855 by 120,024,000. Silver roubles. The amount previous to 1844 was 8a3,024,000 Between 1844 and 1853 ...... . 205,870,004 Between 1853 and 1855 Present total 1,158,918,000 FRANCE. PARIS, WEDNESDAY EVENING. The propositions which Count Valentine Ester hazy is carrying to St. Petersburg are completely adopted by the three Powers—France, England, and Austria. I have already informed you that what ever difference existed between the two former has disappeared, and however we may doubt as to the conduct of Austria in the event of their rejection by Russia, it is certain that for the present she is with us, and that she thinks the conditions are such as Russia ought to accept. It is calculated that it will take eight days from the departure from Vienna of Count Esterhazy to his arrival at his destination, and several days more must elapse be fore anything can be known respecting the decision of the Russian Government. The opinion gene rally entertained here is that Russia will not ac cept those conditions. The question next occurs, what will Austria do ? Very probably she will re call her ambassador from St. Petersburg and send Prince Gortschakoff his passports ; but that the re fusal of Russia will be immediately followed by a declaration of war on her part is not believed by well-informed persons here. Our readers will be surprised to hear that Russia has been beforehand with us, and has herself made a proposition, to which, as it h as th e p r i or ity, th a t carried by doun t Esterhazy must be considered a counter-proposition. A few days since Prince Gortschakoff waited on Count Buol, and with much emphasis delivered a proposal which he declared must certainly render tho further prosecution of the war impossible. How be could have done so with a grave face it is difficult to imagine. He pro posed that the Conferences of last year should be renewed at the point where they left off, declared that his Imperial Master no longer opposed the neutralisation of the Black Sea, and proceeded to explain a plan for effecting this object, which has certainly the merit of novelty. He proposed that the ships of war of all nations should be excluded from the Black Sea, except those of Russia and Turkey ; and that it should be left to those two Powers to decide upon the amount of force which each required. What answer Count Buol gave to this strange proposal, whether he treated it as a bad joke or not, we are unable to say, but at least he transmitted the scheme, as in duty bound, to France and England, who had no difficulty in framing a very decided reply. It is impossible, under such circumstances, to say what Austria will do next year. If Prussia acted as she ought—acted even as Austria acts— the war would soon be brought to au end. It is barely possible that Austria will at last summon up resolution to enter the lists ; but this will per haps depend on the result s o f he next campaign. For the present her action consists in adopting in common with us the conditions on which we accept peace from Russia ; but it does not go further than a hope, if not a possitive promise, to suspend di plomatic relations. - The Moniteur will probably say something in a few days. Up to one o'clock on Tuesday no official intelli gence had been received by the French Government announcing the occupation of Kars by the Russians, though there exists no doubt of that disaster having occurred. The following appears in yesterday's Moniteur : .--.." The Minister of War has received, through his Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the sum of 1,0001., the proceeds of a ball organised by Count de Chabrellant, Consul of France at Mel bourne (Australia), and also of some gifts of indi viduals—the whole being intended for the wounded of the French army of the Crimea. His Excellency Sir Charles Hotham and all the members of colo nial and municipal government showed upon this occasion a cordial sympathy for .our soldiers, co operatinfr with our Consul most energetically. The Minister of War has begged his colleague, M. the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to testify to them his lively gratitude." AUSTRIA. --- VIENNA, Dec. 16.—Those Austrians who, being of an age to render military serv i ce, intentionally maim themselves, are to be severely punished, and then employed in the baggage train or in the mili tary hospitals. The Archbishop of Vienna, as sisted by four priests, has made a draft of a law relative to marriages, but no lawyer was consulted on the matter. The draft must be submitted to the Imperial Government before it can become the law of the land, but no one doubts that it will be approved. When the Empress appeared in the Opera, after her recent misadventure, she was received with great enthusiasm by the audience. The Vienna Medical Gazette learns from War saw that Dr. Oppolzer has received every attention from those attached to the person of the Viceroy. He was met by one of the Prince's Adjutants on the frontiers, and is lodged in the Palace. The diagnosis of the famous physician is, that Prinoe Paskiewitch is suffering from a cancerous ulcer in the stomach (perforirendes Magen-geschwur). His prognostic is the more unfavourable, because a carbuncle of the size of a man's fist has formed near the spine. DESTRUCTIVE FIRS AT LAMBETH.—Yesterday, be tween the hours of one and two o'clock, a very serious fire broke out in Charles-street, Oakley-street, Lambeth. The fire originated on the premises of Mr. A. Beatrice, dyer. The workshops were composed of wood, which, once ignited, blazed up with amazing rapidity. Fortu nately the London Fir* Brigade and West of England engines were ie full play within ten minutes after the firo burst forth. Notwithstanding the exertions of the firemen, the building was burnt down, and the adjoin ing premises of Mr. H. Galland, coach builder, and the houses in James•place, were also ♦ery considerably da. maged by fire and water. The origin of the misfortune is unknown, but the premises are insured in the London Fire office. I EXTRAOHDINAMY SUICIDE IN TEE ClTT.—Yesterday morning Mr. William Payne, the coroner for the city of London, recaived information of the death of Samuel Wheatley, aged 31 years, Belmont-street, St. George's road, who committed self destruction under the follow , ing circumstances :—lt appears that the deceased had been keeping his birthday at a house in Lime street, City, when he became excessively intoxicated. From some cause, which cannot be clearly ascertained, he suddenly tbrew himself out of the second-floor window, a height of 40 feet, fracturing his skull in a frightful manner. He was picked up by the City police from a pool of blood, in a state of insensibility, and conveyed to Isaac-ward, St. Thomas's Hospital. He died shortly after hie admieDion, THE BURNOPFIKLD MV NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, Dec. 19.—Yesterday Richard Rayne was again brought before the magistrates at Gateshead County Police-office, on the charge of being engaged in the murder of Mr. Sterlincr, the surgeon at Burnopfield. A man named John Cain, alias Whisky Jack, was also placed in the dock, charged with being an accomplice in the murder. The magistrates were Messrs. G. Hawks, C. Bulmer, and T. Bramwell. _ _ Mr. Stoker, of Newcastle, appeared for the prisoners. Mr. Stobart, the cattle drover, repeated the evidence he had formerly given, and added—l believe the pri soners are the men I met in Swailes•lane. I met a p er . son and spoke to him. He spoke to me in Scotch. Ann Watson said—l am a servant with Mr. Raine, a pawnbroker in Durham. O❑ Friday I saw the prisoner Rayne, between 3 and 4 o'clock in the afternoon, at my master's shop. He was very urgent. My mistress came, and he offered her a watch fur 30s. He had his back to me. I heard nothing of the murder till a week after wards. The man seemed like a pitman. I know him to be the prisoner Rayne by his features. Samuel Bennett deposed—l am chainmaker at Winla ton-mill. On the Saturday after the murder I was at Rowland'a Gill. I found there a blue button or stud. (The button or stud was produced.) I gave it to Ser geant Turnbull the same day. I did not know the pri soners. I might have seen them. Sergeant Turnbull deposed—The button or stud . was found three yards from where the body of Mr. Sterling was foetid. Superintendent Squire deposed—l searched the pri soner Cain's house, and found a waistcoat, which thepri ■oner Cain admitted to be his, arid which I produce. (The waistcoat had on three buttons of precisely similar description to the one found by the witness Bennett, near the spot where the body was found, and was minus one button.) I apprehended Cain, and he said he, did not know where the murder was committed, and had never been there. Alice Raine deposed--I am wife of 'William Raine, pawnbroker, of Gilesgate, Durham. On Friday, Nov. 2, a man came to my shop with a watch to pawn. Ile asked 30s. upon it, and came down to 4s. The watch had a silver face with gold letters. The man was dressed as a pitman. There was no chain to the watch. It bad a guard of worsted, about 6or 8 inches long. The man was very urgent. I think he would have taken ls. He had not large whiskers. He had a fresh appearance. 1 thoiislat he wanted to pawn tliti .catch fo r drink, because his face looked dissipated. lam certain that Richard Rayne, the prisoner at the bar, is the person who ten. dered the watch to me. The prisoners were then remanded till the 26th inst., but they will be taken to-day before the adjourned in- quest at Burnopfield. In addition to the above facts, it is known thatßayne's house was the depot for the sugar used by Cain in dis tilling whisky. THE SUSPECTED POISONIIvG CASE AT AUGBLEY. FURTHER PARTICULARS. We understand that circumstances have transpired tending to establish other charges against William Pal mer, the surgeon, who has been committed to Stafford gaol on a charge of poisoning Mr. F. P. Cooke (as for merly reported). It is said that Palmer insured his wife's life for 1,000/. She died shortly afterwards, and upon the upon' probate being produced the money was duly paid by the office. He then induced his brother Walter Palmer to insure his life for a similar sum, and afterwards obtained the transfer of it on an alleged debt of 4001., which he (Willia:n Palmer) stated was due to him by his brother. Palmer made every endeavour to further insure this life ; but in consequence of an anonymous letter from Stafford it was declined. The brother has since died, and the usual demand was made for the money. The large amount, and the previous death of Palmer's wife, having excited the suspicion of the numerous insurance offices concerned, they deemed it prudent to place the matter in the hands of Inspector Field's (late of the Detective Police) Private Inquiry office. Mr. Field, with his assistant, Mr. Simpson, pro ceeded at once to Stafford and the Isle of Man, and after the most searching investigation, extending over a periiA of upwards of six weeks, reported to the various insurance offices certain startling revelations, which induced the offices to form a "Defence Fund" for the purpose of mutual resistance to these attempts. Mr. Field baying gathered certain information that Palmer had endea voured to effect an insurance for 25,0001. upon the life of "a gentleman," whom Palmer reported to live " on his estate" in the locality of a village in Staffordshire, Proceeded there and found that other persons in high position had conspired with Palmer to falsely represent the standing in life of the individual, who was in fact no other person than Palmer's occasional groom, renting a bed-room at 2s. per week ! THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS IN THE MERCANTILE HOUSES. The Lord Mayor has transmitted letters, of which the following is a copy, to the principals of the firms in some manufacturing towns on the subject of the movement for making the 24th inst. a elose holiday in the metro polis, as well as the 25th : " Dec., 1855. " Sir—ln reply t o y our l etter, requesting my sanc tion and support to a movement for making the 24th inst. a close holiday in the metropolis as well as the 25th, as is now attempted at and other provin cial towns, I beg to say I should rejoice in the success of any endeavour to obtain for all classes at this festive season of the year the advantage to be derived from an additional holiday, but I venture to suggest whether your efforts should not rather be directed to th© surrender of the 26th, the day following, rather than the 24th, the preceding Christmas-day. "The 24th of December has hitherto been one of the heaviest business days in the year. This year it falls on Monday, a double post day, and a day when some of our principal London markets are held. To provide beforehand for three consecutive days' consumption by the inhabitants of all classes of the great metropolis of whatever they require, appears to me not very easy ; if, therefore, your proposed holiday were general, it would inconvenience more than it would relieve ; and should it not be general, those who did not keep the holiday would gain a profit at the expense of those who did. As I trust there would be few who had not a surplus on Christmas-day, the 26th might be acceptable to everybody, masters and servants, employers and em• ployed. For myself I should be delighted in having an official holiday on three or more consecutive days, and would rejoice at a commencement on the 224 and a con tinuation to the 26th or 27th, including of course your suggested holiday, the 24th ; but, before giving any official sanction to your proposition, I must look at it practically, and s ee h ow i t i s likely to bear on toe various classes of which this great metropolis is com posed, and I fear that—however practicable it may be in provincial towns—it would not be feasible in the metropolis. " You are at liberty to give publicity to these views, so that those who are interested may determine the question for themselves. "I remain, Ace, &,:, • 1 (Signed) "DAVID SALMONS, Lord Mayor," THE MANCHESTER STRIKE. The seventh weekly meeting of the minders and piecers on strike at Manchester was held on Tuesday evening. The Secretary said the masters bad offered to agree to the average of the Ashton prices, and the operatives ha,l agreed to accept the average of the working wages of hton and Oldham, but this proposition the employers had rejected. Although the operatives might be suffer ing by the strike, the masters were also injured by their mills being idle, and they were endeavouring to create divisions among the operatives, so as to bring about a general reduction of wages. We recommended the ope ratives to be united, and before making any terms, or taking anything for granted, to consult with the commit. tee, so as not to be entrapped into anything but an honourable settlement of the question. If the men were dictatorial the masters had forced them to be so, by at tempting to reduce wages without assigning any reason. He referred to the alleged injustice done to the men in the weighing of their weft, and said the operatives had shown themselves prepared to submit the question be tween them and their employers to arbitration, but the employers feared arbitration, because they knew it would place the position of the minders and piecers in such a light as the world had never seen it in before. A few more delegates had last Sunday resolved to support the men of Manchester. The hands of New Islington Mill were to resume work yesterday morning, and he advised those who had not turned out from that mill to k from it, so as to let th ose w h o had worked eep away therep previously have the first c h ance of resuming wore( there. A delegate from Oldham, who had been a spinner 42 years, recommended union, sobriety, and orderly con duct on the part of all on strike. The operatives of Old ham, who were all united, were subscribing for the Man chester turnouts. At Oldham they were not cheated as at Manchester, because they could either see their work weighed, or else it was measured lineally by "re. gulators " without reference t o we i g h t. The average wages Of the self acting minders in Oldham were 225. per week. An operative said it appeared the ()Wham wages were 53. 6d. per week above the Manchester average. Here in 1847 he got 275. or 285., and now only 15e. 6d. He should like to know where the difference had gone to. On the recommendation of the Secretary, the meeting was then dissolved, instead of adjourned again, as the operatives could reassemble publicly, when necessary, after the holidays. In the meantime he said there would bo meetings of the turn-outs, and the committee had a great deal of work to do. M iDEAMISELLE RACHEL. A letter from New York was published a few days hack in a Bordeaux journal stating that when the packet was about to sail a rumour was prevalent at the former place of the death of Mdlle. Rachel, the actress, and mentioning that the event was said to have taken place at Philadelphia. The Entr'acte contradicts the report in the following terms :—" We have positive intelli gence of Mdlle. Rachel in tf-letter written by herself to her mother. 'There is, consequently, no truth in the account published in some of the journal 3 of her death, and we aro happy to be able to thus tranquillise the nu. merous friends and admirers of our great performer." MI TROPOLI TA MAvAGEMENT ACT. Yesterday a deputation of district surgeons of St. Mazylebone end St. Pancras parishes waited on air Ben jamin Hall, with the object of obtaining from him an ex pression of opinion respecting the approaching appoint ments of health officers under the new act. The deputa tion consisted of Messrs. Joseph, Mushett, Clapp, Head, Sutherin, Adams, Joffreys, and Wilbore. Mr. JOSEPH urged upon the right honourable baronet that the district surgeons were indispensable to the pro per working of the act, and had, moreover, peculiar ad vantages in the familiarity with localities, which they necessarily acquired in the performance of their present duties. He also said that the district surgeons would feel it derogatory to them and to the profession to which they belonged were persons possessing only the same qualifications as themselves, occupying only the same or perhaps an inferior position in the profession, to be ap pointed to the high office provided for in the act, who would reap all the honour and errolun est , whi'st the entire of the hard work would devolve uvou the district medical officers. Sir BENJAMIN Ilan pointed out that, on receiving a former deputation, he had said nothing to limit the full exercise of the powers conferred on the local boards. On that occasion it was suggested that the officers should be elected by examination, and he had remarked that in that case they could not do better than follow the precedent of the East In lia Company's examinations. For himself, he had, in drawing the clause on this subject in the act, had in view the appointment of such men as Mr. Simon and Dr. Letheby, men of high standing in the profes sion, under whom the officers of unions could act with pleasure. He trusted that the local beards would per form their duties conscientiously, and irrespective of all personal or party feeling—in which case the cause of local self-government would be viewed in a favourable light. But if these boards did not make the very best u-e of the powers entrusted to them, that principle would be brought into great disrepute. Mr. CLAPP said that Simons and Lethebys were not to be found for each district ; the parishes, moreover, would not pay the high salaries such men would require, and it would be physically impossible for one man to take a ♦ast district like St. Pancras or Marylebone. An examination they (the deputation) would think beneath their position. If one man was appointed to the office, the work of necessity would devolve upon the district surgeons, and it was entirely out of the question that they should be expected to have all the responsibility without the honour and emoluments. Sir B. HALL said that a rate of one-seventh of a penny would in Marylebone produce 510/., being 1001. more than was paid to Dr. Letheby. It was, therefore, merely a question for the local authorities and the rate payers to consider whether they should pay an infi nitesimal fraction of a penny in the pound more in order to secure the services of gentlemen of the position he had indicated. Mr. ADAMS remarked that the clause in the act al luded to the appointment of one or more medical officers for each district. Sir B. HALL said he could only state that it was not for him to enter into what would be done. He was see tisfied with the clause as it stood. That clause or a similar one also existed in the City Sewers Act of 1848, and in the Liverpool Sanitary Act of 1845 ; and in the great borough of Liverpool, with a population of 470,000 persons, one medical officer was found quite sufficient to superintend the district. He believed that the same was the case in many other of the largest towns in the king dom. The great point really was that the authorities should choose men of eminence, and men with whom, from their station and reputation, the officers of unions could feel pleasure in acting. The deputation, after some further conversation, thanked Sir B. Hall fit the courteous reception he had given them, and retired. AUXILIARY SCREW STEAMERS. The commencement of the new monthly line of anxi• liary screw steamers from Liverpool to Melbourne, pro• jested by Messrs. Gibbs, Bright, and Co., is to take place on the 17th of next month. The company have a royal charter of limited liability and a subscribed capital of more than 200,0001., and their object is, instead of relying exclusively on steam power on the one hand, or sailing speed on the other, to com• nine the two in a more efficient manner than has hitherto been attempted. The originators of this ex periment had already tried with what success a full powered steamer could perform the voyage, and had found the expense and delay of laying down coals at the different stations such as to forbid the hope of any permanently satisfactory results, while the ordinary auxiliary boats, being without a force of steam to com• pensate for deficient sailing properties, had at the same time proved inefficient. In the latter case it is con tended, owing to the importance given to the steam machinery notwithstanding its inadequacy, the vessels were under-rigged, and their masts fixed in wrong places, And they were accordingly uncertain in their time, and constantly beaten by clippers ; while these, in their turn, in consequence of the calms to be passed through, have also failed in rept larity. The aim has therefore been to unite the methods in such a way as not to neutralise the possibility of ex cellence, and hence the present ships have been con- eructed especially for fast sailing, yet with enough steam power to meet the difficulty of calms. The first of the - line is named the Royal Charter. Her burden is 3,000 tons, and her spread of canvass 15,000 yards. With this she has a screw and engines of 200-horse power, which, although to r small to damage her general cora -1 4truction, have proved, it is said, capable of moving her, when not under sail, at the rate of nine knots an hour, with a consumption of coal equal to only 20 tons per day. It is proposed that there should be no stoppages of any kind on the route, and that the communica tion should be confined to Melbourne, the mails being despatched thence to the other colonies by the ordi nary means. In this way the company state they fully expect to realise an almost uniform passage of 55 days, GUANO IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN. Statements have occasionally appeared in the news' papers respecting an immense dep Alit of guano recently discovered in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean by an American sea-captain, with allusions to a company orga nixing fur the purpose of rendering it available for agri cultural purposes. The latter project is now so fully matured, and the co-operation of the United States' Go vernment has been so effectually secured, that two ships have been despatched by the company—one from the Atlantic and one from the Pacific, and a vessel belonging to the United States' Pacific squadron has also been or• dered to convey two agents of the company to the island to protect the interests of the company, survey the har bour, and estimate the character and quantity of theguanos Goo of the ships referred to is the Corea, which sailed from New London on the 18th of August last, with orders to touch at Talcuhan, South America, to take on board the agent of the Company. The association under whose auspices these two vessels have been despatched is the American Guano Company ; A. G. Benson president. The interests of the company are now considered so far secured as to be beyond the reach of injury from any pub licity that may be given to its affairs. One of the disco verers of the island made a.n affidavit before the members of the Cabinet at Washington, that " in the year 1882 he discovered and landed on a certain barren and uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean more than 500 miles from the mainland, and that he had been cruising in those seas an terior to the time of the said discovery ; and the said island was wholly unknown (as far as he has been able to ascertain) prior to the said ahove•mentioned dis covery." He also landed on the island on two or three subsequent occasions, one of which was for the purpose of burying a deceased seaman. The island is uninha bited, and of a coral formation, from eight to nine miles ' in circumference, extending in a northerly and southerly direction ; is quite low, not rising more than 20 feet to 30 feet above the level of the sea, its shape nearly cress cent. Being situated in the easterly trade winds, a large number of ships can safely lie and load on the leeward s•de at most seasons of the year. It was the resort of myriads of birds, and its entire surface presented a light ish crust, sufficiently hard in seine places to walk upon, ar.d in others quite porous. There was found no trace of vegetation. It was on the authority of information thus received that Secretary Dobbin addressed Commodore Mervaine, of the Pacific squadron, directing that one of the ships under his command be despatched, " with a view to ascertaining the correctness of the information, of protecting our citizens in their rights, and taking Cara of the interests of our country." The island is claimed to possess unequalled advantages for anchoring and loadin g vessels. Flom the Chit - lois Islands, which have no harbour, there were exported last year over 400,000 of unano.—Neta York Journal of COMII2CrCe. I ST. JA.IIIES'S THEATRE. An entertainment is announced to take place hero to-morrow (Friday) evening, for the benefit of the fa mily of the late Mademoiselle Julie, the danseuse, whose untimely death was recorded in this paper a few days ago. The promoters of the benefit are Messrs. Cramer, Beale, and Co., the musicsellers; and amongst those who have interested themselves on the occasion are Mr. Markwell, Mr. Arcedechne, and the other gentlemen who were instrumental in arranging the performance which took place the other evening on behalf of Mrs. Macnamara. Several of the most popular actors, in. eluding Mr. Harley, Mr. Leigh Murray, and Mr. Frank Matthews, have volunteered their services, and a con. cert is to be giv en , i n w hich Madame Caradori, Mad ame Awadei, Miss Poole, Miss R I s f he i o v r r d ec , k a A n daoSigner(in whichSivori are to take pa r t. The dramatic performance s w ill consist of A Game of Romps, and the principal characters will be sustained by amateurs whose reputations are almost " professional"), and will conclude with a ballet, to be supported by Madame Louise, Miss Rosina Wright, and the other ladies from Drury-lane Theatre. A benefit so conducted, and with Isaorgesharepr aiseworthyof public abc patronage,nliobject,iscearntadintlyhedreasecravn be no deserving doubt it will be cheerf u ll y awarded. Mr. H. Drummond's speech is praised by Ls Nord as aussi sage que Nardi. Grist AND JENNY LIND.—It is a fact worthy of record that the two greatest lyrical artistes in the world are at Vile moment residing within three doors of each other, Jenny Liud at th e B e df or d H o t e l, an d G r i s i i n a man sion close to her, wheret !le latter will remain till afte her confinement, the acaouchement of " La Diva " beinl daily expected, Mario retarned to Brighten from Pule* on Saturday last; and is still hero.--Brisettot Gatrogtc• no to a I of Rtfl C be i yest Exe any late] ni vz that loan, will cogn loan Man the 1 to ti taim &CCO viou to tl Nor Sou Gre We: and non inac Banl pel a pal New Tilt Cone Port Sari Sip S pal Tul we Cor tun Cur the Cori WOE Con WOO