The Sun. — London, England, 1856-01-24 00:00:00

Svo, is cloth, price 2s. 6d., just published, - - - - - LETTER , to the Right Honourable Lord JOHN RUSSELL, M.P. Public Granaries, and the - Cycles of the Seasons, and of Trade r nd Agriculture ; the price of Bread and Agricultural Statistics dis cussed ; and also the Bank Act, 1844 ; an amendment suggested by the Monetary Governor. By Calkatzs FOSTER COTTERILL. Published by Effingham Wilson, 11, Royal Exchange ; also may be had at the office of the Author, 27, Great Winchester-street (City), and forwarded by post (free), on receipt of 30 penny stamps. THEATRE ROYAL, ADELPHI.—Grand MORNING PERFORMANCE. TO-MORROW, January 25, by general desire, and on this the first and only occasion, a Grand Morning Performance of the Burlesque and Comic Panto mime if JACK AND THE BEAN STALK ; or, Harlequin and Mother Goose at Home Again. Jack and Harlequin, Madame Celeste. Mother Goose and Columbine, Miss Wyndham. Clown, Mr. Garden. Pantaloon, Mr. C. J. Smith. Doors open at half-past 1; commence at 2, and conclude at 4 precisely. THEATRE ROYAL, DRURY-LANE. Lessee. Mr. E. T. Smith. THIS EVENING, THE GREAT GUN TRICK. After which, BCY DIDDLE DIDDLE; or, Harlequin King 'Nonsense and the Seven Ages of Man. THEATRE ROYAL, HAYMARRET. Under the Management of Mr. BuCkstona. THIS rimmiro, SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER. After which the New Comic Christmas Pantomime, entitled THE BUTTERFLY'S BALL AND THE GRASSHOPPER'S FEAST; or, Harlequin and the Genius of the Spring. To cln:dade with ONLY A HALFPENNY. ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE, OXFORD-STREET. under the Management of Mr. Criaaras KRAL TO-MORROW EVENING, KING HENRY THE EIGHTH. Queen Katharine. Mrs. C. Kean; Cardinal Wolsey, Mr. C. Kean After which, kRT,EQUIN AND THE MAID AND THE MAGPIE ; or, the Fairy Paradisa and Hanky Panky, the Enchanter. Harlequin, Mr. Cormack ; Clown, Mr. Haline ; Pantaloon, Mr. r tstlo ; and Columbine, Miss Caroline Adams.. THEATRE ROYAL ADELTHT. Proprietor, Mr. B. Webster.—Directress, Madame Celeste. VHS EVENING. DOMESTIC ECONOMIC. After which. lIRGENT PRIMATE AFF &IRS. To conclude wit .ACIC AND THE BEAN STAGE; or, II udequin and Mother Goo3e at Home Again. fn which Meaara. J. And, P. Redford, M aflame Celeste, Miss Wfn'tham, and Miss E. Arden will appear. ROYXL SURREY THEAVRE. Lessees, Messrs. Shepherd and Cheswick. THIS EVENING PARIS IN 1792. To conclude with A PROTCE OF P ZARL3 ; or, Harlequin and Jane Shore. ROYAL STMAND THEATaIi . Under the direction of Mr: Paine. THIS EVENING, TIIE lIOLLY TREE INN. Followed by A PLAGUE ON BOTil YOUR HOUSES. After which, NOEMIE ; or. The Foster Sisters. To conclude with NOT TO BE DONE. R)YAL OLY \IPIC THEATRE. Lessee and Mans ;er. Mr. Alfrel Wigan. THIS EVENING. THE JEALOU3 WIFE. After which will be produced a New and denbly-moral, though e cessl vely old, Melodramatic Fairy Extravaganza, entitled TIM DISCREST PRINCESS; o-, the Three Glass Distaffs. n which Messrs. Emery, F. Robson, 11. Cooper, MII3 Marston, and Miss Maskell will appear. AATLEY'S ROYAT. AMPHITHEATRE. Lessee and Manazer. Mr. Wm. Cooke. FIVE GRAND JUVENILE NIGHTS, by particular desire. THIS EVENING, A Grand Equestrian Comic Pantomime, called HARLEQUIN AND ST. GEORGE AND THE DRAGON; or, the Seven Cham pions of Christendom. After which the unequalled Eahileltion of EQUEiTRIAN ART in the CIRCLE, insludlng the performance of Miss Kate Cook, la leur de l'Arene. The sagacious Elephants will appear. To conclude with the faithful portraiture of one of the most popular Romances ever written called ROOK WOOD; or. TURPIN'S tt IDE to YORK. Roa•offlce open from Eleven till Four. Stage Manager, Mr. W. West. Kqaestrian Director. Mr. W. Cooke, jun. HIGH WATER. AT LONDON BRIDGE. T4i i DAT—Morn. 28 min. aft. 3—Evening 44 min. aft. 3 T•'-14foRnow—Morn. 1 min. aft. 4 —Evening 16 min. aft. 4 THE WEATHER—SuN OFFICE, JAN. 24, THERMOMETER, IN TRH Sulam 55 -highest since noou yesterday. 49 -towest this morning and during the night. 52 -this day at noon. BAROMETER, 29. WIND, W.S.W.—Light, with showery and sunshiny weather. tiAV (co l 4-34: 4 1 $/<l* cir. 6 LONDON, THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 1856. -~-. What would we not all give for a peep into two mysteries —the interior of Russia and that of our Cabinet ? The second mystery is just now the more important one. If we knew the state of our antagonist's resources to be the most calami tous conceivable, we have been already pledged by our Cabinet to a certain extent ; and such is the native honour of JOHN BULL that it would be hard to persuade him to take undue advantage after he had agreed to fundamental terms. He would "abide by his bargain." Tell us, bow ever, what our own Cabinet is really driving at, and we might let them know our mind to some purpose. If appearances do not deceive us, the final terms of the present peace depend on the atti tude of the English people. We will give our reasons. We shall assume, what the most recent appear ances indicate, that Russia begins to feel she must make peace ; be it, which we think most probable, that she is in a most deplorable social and mili tary condition, or that the more independent airs of some little German subordinates begin to tell upon her—or that she fears an irresistible coali tion and our immense preparations in the spring —be it any or all of these reasons, it does seem that she would like to get off now ; plainly fore seeing very different terms as the ultimatum of another winter. In that case the English people are the only power which can turn the miserable Vienna minimum to the best ad vantage. The French people, and we own it freely, are not so earnest on the terms of peace as we are. England is practical, France chivalrous and impulsive. The latter is satisfied with military glory, and her troops have gained it for her already ; we, on the other hand, want a solid result also. France is, we doubt uot, therefore ready to make peace on much easier terms than we are, now that Russia con fesses to defeat, and that her arms have had the most brilliant share in its infliction. We cannot, therefore, number France amongst the f orces which would assert the utmost against Russia in a Peace Conference. Her Emperor is so com pletely the Emperor of the people that he must, whatever his personal views, aim to carry ou t theirs ; but we do not know that there is any rea son to think the Monarch's sentiments and those of hi s people materially differ. On the other hand both France and the EMPEROR, of France are so heartily and honourably in alliance with us that they would, as w e believe, fight f or t en years longer rather than concede to Russia a peace dis tasteful to us. They have fought side by side with us in the fiell, and the enemy will not find them divided from its in the Council Chamber. Hence, so far as France is concerned, much de pends upon what we, her ally, are earnest in desiring. Of course net a sinui e potentate of ereruiany, 1 We have al rea d y po i n t e d ou t some o f t h e incon bread—and th at very cop i ous ly b u tt ered. from a ten-acre D u k e to the magnates o f B er lin and Vienna, want the best terms from Russia ; sistencies and self-contradictions of "Mercator." they want them for her. T o the lazy, selfish, and I Every additional l e tt er a ff or d s suc h a b un d ant cowardly Teutons, however, and the despots under ; materials for similar exposures, that we are whom they smoke and drink i n qui e t , the will of i labouring under "Pe/Marna du riches," a super the English people is no trifle. They will urge abundance cf data on which to frame our argu ro Lich higher terms on Russia if they think meats and to form our conclusions. It is, how raglitud will not Pu* up with lower ones. They i eve; an act of supererogation to do so. We would like to have peace again at any price. They I have already convicted the Inzionist cham- THE SUN, LONDON. THURSDAY EVENING, JANUARY 23, 1856 , pion out of his own mouth, have defeated him with weapons provided by himself. We are, perhaps, wrong in styling him the " bullionist champion," for many eminent men, such as Mr. JAMES WILSON, M.P., to whose ad mirable views in reference to an increased issue of bank notes, more especially of the smaller de nominations, we yesterday directed attention, insisted on " convertibility" as an indispensable condition, while they prove, beyond the possibility of doubt, the perfect security of the operation. " Mercator" starts with a weighty postulate— a heavy demand on the national credulity —per haps " gullibility" might be the more fitting term. He declares that " the subject is not intricate or obscure ; the public will find it to be simple and intelligible, if they will only believe it to be so." This, however, is simply a demand to surrender their minds into the control of " Afercator"—to accept all that he lays down as indisputable truth. Every argument used is equally applicable to an exclusively metallic circulation—the scarcely concealed object of "Mercator." The 22, 000, 0 00/. issued by the Bank of England and the private banks, without a deposit of bullion, should, ac cording to this "high financial authority," be altogether withdrawn, and, if he could have his way, not a single pound could be circulated that hall not an equivalent in specie safely deposited in the Bank coffers. The process which he advocates is one opposed to the best in terests of the nation, wholly inconsistent with anything approaching to permanent ease. It is condemned by the nation—and it cannot be continued to gratify the caprices of any elderly nobleman —or to enable the sevenfold millionnaire to ride his hobby, without regard to the sufferings and privations of myriads of his fellow-subjects, who should be ground into the dust that he might make further accumulations to his already over-grown wealth. RUSSIA'S MOTIVES FOR ACCEPTING PEACE. The following is from the rims' (Second Edi tion) Paris correspondent's letter dated yester day:—" I am aware that it would be wrong to attach much importance or implicit credit to telegraphic messages containing mutilated sen tences from the newspapers. But if they are substantially correct, they would justify a sus picion that some attempt at trickery is meant, though I have no doubt that the French and Eng lish Governments are fully prepared for all emer gencies, and are carefully on the watch against treachery. I have not seen M. de Nesselrode's circular, but I think it is not difficult to state, without its help, the " motives for the moderation of Russia." Russia has signified her intention to accept our conditions of peace because she can not help herself. She has been driven to the verge of ruin by the war, and the fact is admitted by Russians themselves, who literally shed tears over the humiliation which has fallen on their country, and which she has no choice but to bear. Russia accepts peace simply because she cannot carry on the war, and because she hopes with the help of her ally (Prussia) to make the best bargain she can under the circumstances. If the efforts that are now made to introduce that Power into the conferences be successful, the shame will be as great as is the impudence which can advocate or justify such an intrusion. A good deal of sentiment will, no doubt, be expended in favour of Russia, and much argument employed on the cruelty of humiliating so interesting a Power. But when did Russia ever spare from humiliation a State on which her grasp was laid ? For whom or for what, in her long career of tyranny and crime, has she ever shown tenderness or mercy ? No weakness has ever dis armed her wrath, no innocence her cruelty, no help lessness her brute force. We have extracted the talons from one of the monster's paws ' • it is a pity we cannot do the same by the other. If it be de cided that Cronstadt is not to follow the fate of Sebastopol, at least let us take care that it shall not be dangerous. We have had some trouble in throw ing the monster oil he ground ; we have our hand on his throat, and'. we loosen the gripe till he is powerless for mischief the fault is our own." The Right Hon. L. Strutt, M.P., has sustained a se vere domestic bereavement by the death, on Saturday last, at Bonn, on the Rhine, of hie eldest son, aged 17. Sir Charles Wood has bestowed the out-pension of Greenwich Hospital on Captain John Reeve, and on Captain Richard D oug l as , vice Rear-Admirals Philip Westphal and R. Pridham. The small steam squadron which was lately despatched to the Baltic is now on its way home again, and may be hourly expected. It is rumoured that the pending peace negotiations have influenced the recall of these vessels. The Egyptian yacht Mustapha Bey, which left South ampton last week for the river Nile, in Egypt, returned to that port yesterday. She had been lying in Yar mouth Roads in consequence of the boisterous state of the weather. DEATH OF CAPTAIN SlCKES.—Captain Thomas Sykes (retired under her Majesty's Order in Council of 1851) died, on the 17th inst., at his residence, No. 3, Stan hope-place, in the 82d year of his age. DEATH OF COMMANDER ROWLATT.—Commander W. Rowlett (1849) died at Belfast, on the 18th inst., after a few days' Illness, in the 47th year of his age. The whole of the Australian postal traffic is estimated at 1,500,000 letters and 2,280,000 newspapers, and the gross revenue is!about 47,0001. The officialrecord of what has been done at St. Peters burg is not likely to reach the English and French Go vernments for three or four days. FATAL CAB ACCIDENT IN WELLINGTON-STREET, STRAND.—Yesterday an inquest was taken by Mr. W. Payne, at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, on the body of Frederick Bevall, aged 15, a clerk in the establishment of Messrs. Robinson and Fisher, lace warehousemen, No. 12, Watling -street. On the evening of the 7th inst. deceased was knocked down by a cab crossing from Upper Wellington -street to Waterloo-bridge. Verdict —Accidental. Death. Said-Effendi, jester to the Sultan, and who has held the same post under four Ottoman Emperors, has just died at the age of 120 years and 7 months. Notwith standing his extreme age he retained, it is said, the use of all his faculties to the last. He has been sometimes heard to relate anecdotes connected with facts of such an old date that persons were at a loss how to believe his assertions. THE RUGELEY POISONINGS.—The Wolverhampton Chronicle of yesterday says that " a book has been found in Palmer's librarT, which treats of poisoning by strych nine, and in one pagli of this book there are a number of marginal notes in Palmer's handwriting, descriptive of the symptoms and effects of strychnine, which ex actly, in every particular, correspond with the symptoms exhibited by the late Mr. Cook immediately before his death. This book is in the possession of the police, and will be produced at the trial." EXTSAORDINARY ACCIDENT.—A very extraordinary accident, serious in its nature, and which might have been very fatal in its consequences, occurred at Bath early on Tuesday morning. A large vat of beer, con taining nearly 400 barrels, belonging to Mr. C. Bracher, of the Portland-brewery, exploded with such force and noise as to shake many of the neighbouring houses, and induce a beliefamong the inhabitants that an earthquake had taken place. The detachment of Royal Artillery in charge of the trophies from Sebastopol is daily engaged in superia- L3nding and assisting to land the various objects on the wharf at Woolwich. The gun-carriages, limbers, and ammunition-waggons are riddled by the bullets and shot of the enemy, and thereby rendered objects of great curiosity. It has been suggested that one of the cap tured bells (weighing 2 tons) should be raised in a con spicuous part of the Arsenal grounds, in order to com memorate the event of their being landed there, as well as to answer the purposes of the establishment. The men have been inspected by General Whinyates, the commandant of the garrison, who assured them how much he and the whole nation felt themselves honoured by the achievements which they had been se instrumen tal in accomplishing, and which had so redounded to the glory and renown of the army in general, and of the Artillery and Engineers in particular. THE VICARAGE or PENN.—The Ven. Archdeacon Moore having been presented to the vicarage of St. Mary's, Lichfield, by the Dean and Chapter, has resigned the vicarage of Penn, near this town, and of Eccleshall, near Stafford. We understand that the Rev. F. H. Paley, M.A., who has been curate of Penn for the last five years, has, without solicitation, been appointed vicar of that parish by the Lord Bishop of the diocese.— Wolverhampton Chronicle. WEST COAST OF AFRICA.—The following notice was issued from the General Posli-office yesterday, viz. :—The departure of the Ethiope from Plymouth has been post poned until the Ist proximo. Letters and newspapers for the west coast of Africa will be in time if posted in London up to the evening of the 31st inst. THE MOZART CENTENARY,--Preparations are being made in Germany to celebrate with great pomp the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Mozart, which will fall on the 27th June next. At Gotha, Berlin, Vienna, Munich, Dresden, Carleruhe, Darmstadt, and Hamburg, the Governments have devoted ample funds for the purpose. A t other places musical festivals will be 'held, which will last two or three days, and in which all the philharmonic societies of Germany will assemble. The receipts of these festivals will be de spatched to the Mozart Society at Gotha, the object of which is to facilitate the extension of music amongst the lower classes of society, THE MURDER IN tIVERPOOL.—Tho inquest on the body of the unfortunate girl, Sarah Drummond, closed about 6 o'clock on Tuesday evening, when the jury re turned a verdict of "Wilful Murder against John Fer guson," who was committed un d er th e coroner 's warrant to take his trial at the next assizes. During the inquiry the prisoner, who is a miserable looking undersized man, with a remarkably small head, displayed considerable emotion. THE SUPPOSED MURDER AT HAM.—The inquiry re specting the death of M ary A nn P eacoc k, o f which some particulars have appeared in The Sun, was resumed yesterday at Ham by Mr. Carter, the coroner. Two bargemen named Ford and Jackson have been taken into custody. The evidence given yesterday, however, did not elicit any positive information upon the matter, and the inquest was again adjourned. THE ALLEGED MURDER AT BATH.---The inquest upon Eliza Howell was resumed on Tuesday, at Bath, before Mr. A. H. English, the coroner, and, after some addi tional evidence, the jury returned a verdict of " Man sleughter " against James Howell, the husband. The prisoner underwent another examination on the same day before th e B at h magistrates, who committed him for trial on the charge of wilful.murder. VALUE OF SLAVE LIFE. I —A few weeks ago two in toxicated Kentuckians found a negro asleep in an hotel at Cincinnati, an d , for amusement, they took a camphine lamp, and, pouring the fluid over his whiskers, ignited it, and the poor fellow's head and neck became instantly wrapped in an intense blaze, which continued until the fluid seas consumed. The sufferings of the victim were dreadful in the extreme. No refinement of torture could have produced more excruciating misery. But, strange to say, death did not release him from torment until after the lapse of two weeks. No legal investigation took place, and the young men arratmed the matter by paying the landlord of the h o t e l I,2oo'dols. for the loss of his ser vant.—American Paper. VISIT OF FRENCH OFFICERS TO BRIGHTON.—On Thursday a French war screw steamer, Le Faon, ar rived off the town on her way to Newhaven. On the intelligence being communicated to the Duke of Rich mond, his grace despatched an officer to the French com mander with an invitation for himself and his officers to dine that day at the mess. The invitation was accepted, and the captain (Martine) and two officers, a lieutenant and a midshipman, came from Newhaven, where the ship is at anchor. Besides the officers of the Royal Sus sex Militia, there were present on the occasion the Rev. Thomas Cooke, Dr. Pickford, and J. Lawrence, Esq. The healtli of the Emperor and of the French officers, proposed by the Duke of Richmond, was drunk with enthusiasm. The French captain (who was decorated with the Cross of the Legion of Honour an d th e C r i mean medal) thanked th e gentlemen for the manner in which they had drunk the toast, and expreved a hope that the two countries might never be separated, but that they would be more closely united by ties of mutual esteem. The French guests were present at the military ball at the Pavilion in the evening, and on their entering the rooms the band struck up " Partant pour la Syrie."— Brillytott Ex.:Vatter. the full approbation of Mr. Cobden and men of the like kid hey : "If party spirit on the other side of the Channel should again endeavour to bafft) the efforts male by Austria to give peace to the world, a cry of indignation would be raised throughout Europe, and it would soon be seen that the most powerful of British Ministers would be unable to oppose the unanimous longing for peace which is felt throughout this quarter of the world.' fea r what may come of an emancipated Poland, an. emancipated Lombardy perphaps, and, it may be a war of nationalities. They have kept in sal ug quarters already, but if the War goes on t bey could hardly do so much longer Even with t hem, therefore, the most decided tone, on our p art, will be of the greatest service. If they k mow we will have all that can be honestly got °Jut of the present terms, we have no doubt they will beg Russia to content these unmanageable British. All, therefore, shows that England must be the one to make the stand for no concession, if we are to make the best of this shabby business ; this miserable composition of half-a-crown—perhaps we should have said, a shilling in the pound. But is it not clear that the stand made by Eng land depends on the people ? Parliament is meeting, and there are some wko expect much from it. We, too, are glad of it, but it were folly to deceive ourselves. Faction party spirit, and aristocratic bias will render the majority any thing but really desirous to carry out the national wish, or a firm and noble foreign policy. Inter rogations will do some good, but Parliament has tolerated the appeal to " inconvenience" and " the interests of the public service," till deeds of darkness can be carried on with wonderful facility even while the house is in full 4e3siou. The people must keep their so-called representatives up to the mark. As to the Cabinet—the mystery of mysteries— there can be no doubt of what is needed for keep ing that to its duty. The general fear as to the majority of its members could hardly have been universal without reasonable ground. The Pre mier and the few members who may desire a firm and a really European policy can carry their views only by a degree of decision on the part of the people, to which the Russianisers in Parliament and in the Cabinet must equally bow. In Down ing -street, in the Royal closet, and in both Houses of Parliament, Lord PALMERSTON must be able to say that England requires him to do his duty. If the negotiations proceed, every effort of ingenuity and cunning will be put forth, no intrigue will be too base, no plot too dark, to bend the representative of England again, to his own dis grace and that of his country. What we urged on the first receipt of the news, is what we urge still as the essential in a plenipotentiary for this occasion—inflexible firmness for the demands which ought to be made. The cunning of a TALLEYRAND would, of course, be of great value, but in 1815 the determination of ALEX DER was more than a match for it. Shall not history for once record that England was not to be beaten in a Congress ? Shall she not in this one, at least, win the laurels for her obstinacy— if they like to call it so—in the council as well as in the camp, or on board her men-of-war ? We cannot beat the subtle protocollers, of the Continent in their own way, but we can beat them in ours. Let us send a man who can pit English immoveablity against Russian cunning and German word-splitting. No one can doubt the res - ilt. Well—our public men are, and in one sense properly, what the people would make them. Let us show all the world what we now expect of them, and they will not fail us. And was there ever a better cause ? If Englishmen will not now bestir themselves, when will they ? Thrice national apathy has resulted in disastrous results, all leading to the one under which we now smart. First in 1815, when, England looking on, Poland was sold to the greedy, smooth-faced hypocrite ALEXANDER. Next, in 1831, when we, and Lord PALTILERSTON too, acquiesced quietly in the incorporation of Poland ; lastly, in 184 B,when we, under the advice of Mr. Con- DEN and Lord J. RUSSELL allowed Russia to trample Hungary under Austria. But for these villanies we might have been saved this War. Shall we slumber again on Manchester cotton bags ? Already it is mere than whispered that no in demnity for War expenses is to be demanded ; that the ports on the Black Sea are to remain and be rebuilt ; that Nicolaieff is not on the Black Sea, and therefore its arsenal to be kept up ; and not a word is uttered of requiring that Poland shall be restored, even according to the arrangement made at the Treaty of Vienna, or on behalf of the inviolability of Circassian territory. Even the fort of Chotym, itself the most impor tant in the ceded territory, is to be left with Russia, and a strip of country demanded hardly bigger (and worth much less) than the district we already hold in the Crimea, to say nothing of Eupatoria, Kertch, and Kinbourn. When things appear to be taking this turn, and when we re member the cost we have already incurred, and our existing preparations to gain a really ser viceable peace, it is high time that the country should tell Parliament and the Cabinet that it demands' the most ample interpretation of the accepted terms. " Ecce iterum Crispinus." " Mercator" is again in the field. He has once more entered the arena, in the almost forlorn hope that the com munity can still be humbugged in reference to the impolitic and ,iniquitous enactments, which in 1844 were made part of the statute law of the land. He labours with indefatigable pertinacity in the cause with which he has identified himself, and for which he is in a great degree, if not entirely, responsible. It is scarcely necessary to state that " Mercator" (the nom de plume of Lord OVBRSTONE, better known as Mr. SAMUEL JONES Loyn) is the putative parent of tho last Bank Charter Act, which has been universally condemned by every unprejudiced and disinterested person, and that therefore the most strenuous efforts on his part may naturally be looked for to preserve his own political reputation, as well as the pecuniary interests which, as a sevenfold nzillionnaire, he must feel in a system which so materially enhances the power of the moneyocracy, of which he is, and has for a considerable period been,member. "Mercator " look s a t the question a leadinguestioni n a very different point of view from that in which it will be regarded by the indus trious classes, who had not the opportunities of acquiring wealth at the time when " pig upon bacon" passed into a proverb in Lancashire—the reason whereof it is unnecessary to explain to Mercator. For many reasons, therefore, he is one of the last persons who should obstinately push himself forward on a topic of paramount aad vital importance to the natio n . H e has, contrived to do so for some time however, past, but his spasmodic efforts only show that he feels that the system with which his name is identified is seriously imperilled, and that like DEMETRIUS, the silversmith, he is still prepared to raise an out cry similar to that of " Great is the DIANA of the Ephesian.," for by that craft he gains his LATEST NEWS. BERLIN, JAN. 23. M. do Budberg has this day received a circu lar from Count Nesselrode, by which the Chan- cellor makes known to the representatives of Russia in foreign countries the motive for accept- inn the propositions of Austria, and gives an exposé of the intentions of the Russian Govern- meat in reference to the future nigotiations. The circular of the Russian Government de- Glares that Russia has made concessions with a view to the re-establishment of peaoe, out of deference to the representations of friendly Powers, but not at all because the interest of Russia calls for the conclusion of that peace. The acceptance of the' Austrian propositions has been published officially at St. Petersburg. The announcement stated that the chief condi tion is the neutralisation of the Black Sea, to be secured by a treaty between Russia and Tur key. Russia is ready to discuss the other point?. THE TURKISH CONTINGENT. KERTCH, Dec. 29.—We are fairly locked in here now. A herd of elephants could promenade on the ice in the bay, and the strongesp parts of the current in the straits are now covered. But here it forms and breaks up. A large continuance of frost will enable us to cross. Report has it that General Wrangel has been reinforced to a consider able extent atArabat ; but whether with the in tention of coming on here or crossing the bay is not known. The Tartars have it that he comes here with 50,000 men, and his brother awaits the formation of the ice to cross with 20,000 more. They will both get a warm reception when they do come. Powerful batteries have been placed on the commanding heights and on the seaboard, and the Turkish soldier has proved that he will not yield without a severe struggle. A deep fosse has been dug, and a parapet 12 feet high has been raised all round the town of Kertch and the defences of St. Paul's and Yenikale, within which the troops are all comfortably hutted. Except in the article of fuel there is a good stock of everything, and, were the ice to break up at St. Paul's to enable ships to approach, the force would want for nothing. The troops have now had their new clothing issued, and look remarkably well. An amazing im provement has taken place in their appearance and gait. They have become very partial to their new commanding officers, and, now that so many of them can communicate with them in their own lan guage the become quite domesticated one with the other. Many officers have already passed in the language and received the honorary reward for so doing. Now that the men are all hutted, and the entrenching works near at an end, parades are con stant. The other day two guns were fired and the alarm sounded. Fancying the enemy were upon us, I instantly pulled on my boots, buckled on my sword, and rushed out. I found the troops all turned out, and the artillerymen at their guns. It was a false alarm, done possibly to try the troops. They turned out with admirable alacrity. The General is everywhere. He looks generally to the efficiency of his force in all departments. He is most popular with all, and deals out justice with out favour or affection to any one. With our allies the French he is on the best of terms. FRANCE. PARIS, WEDNESDAY EVENING. The Emperor yesterday received the reply of the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar to the letters of cre dence of the Viscount des Meloizes-Fresnoy, as French Minister Plenipotentiary at the Grand Ducal Court. We read in the Moniteur :—" The President of the republic of San Salvador has just charged its representative at Paris to offer his most cordial congratulations to the French government on the taking of Sebastopol, and to state that that great event had caused a feeling of admiration as well as an expression of great delight in the state of San Salvador." " We are assured," says the Courrier die Havre, " that an order transmitted from Paris this after noon (Tuesday) has directed that the loading of the vessels intended for the Crimea shall be provision ally suspended." The Debuts publishes an article on the question of the day, which contains extracts from the letters of its Vienna and Berlin correspondents, with comments on the same. We select the most re markable passages of the article : " Whilst M. de Seebach laboured at St. Petersburg to re-establish peace, the King of Prussia despatched to Vienna Colonel Manteuffel, who, according to our cor respondents, was charged with the mission of assuring himself if Austria would fulfil the engagements she had taken in the Ist article of the treaty of alliance, offen sive and defensive, signed with Prussia at Berlin on the 20th April, 1854, by which Austria was to consider every attack directed against the German or non- German territories of Prussia as an hostile enter. prise directed against her own territory ; if, conse quently, Prussia could count on the action of Aus tria to protect her rights and interests, already touched by the menace of a blockade of her ports. He was also to demand explanations on the subject of the memorandum agreed to the 28th December between the cabinets of Paris, London, and Vienna, which bad excited just alarm, at Berlin, because one of the clauses excluded Prussia from future negotiations if she hesitated longer in conforming to the policy of Austria, and sup porting formally the last propositions made at St. Petersburg. This mission of Colonel Manteuffel ex cited numerous and difficult questions, and was cal culated to cause much embarrassment to the cabinet of Vienna. The colonel demanded oaterorical rep;ies, which Count Buol did not hasten to afford him. At last, after reiterated demands, the Prussian envoy obtained satisfactory explanations. . . Austria was far more engaged with the Western Powers than was supposed by the King Frederick William. Not only had she promised to recall her minister on the 18th Jan., if the Cabinet of St. Petersburg had not accepted purely and simply the propositions she advanced, but was ready to conclude with France and England a military convention which would have re ceived its execution in April. Thus in the spring Austria would have given to the Allies the assistance of her armies, which would have made a useful diversion by operating on the Gallician frontier. As soon as the King of Prussia became acquainted with these views, he perceived that no ground for hesitation existed either for himself or for Russia. It is said that the King hastened to acquaint the Czar with the information re ceived from Vienna, which confirmed accounts received from elsewhere, and counselled him with firmness to accept without restriction the proposals of Aus tria, declaring for his part that he could not permit Prussia to run such terrible chances, and should be obliged to modify his policy in approaching towards that of the Western Powers. Two pressing letters written in this sense to the Czar and to the Grand Duke Constantine are spoken of. The letters of the King of Prussia explained the motives, hitherto obscure, whi c h had anim a t e d th e con d uc t o f Austria ; and the advice of M. de Seebach was remembered by M. de Nesselrode and the Emperor Alexander. All these circumstances, skilfully presented by M. de Nesselrode, struck the most decided partisans of war, and the most declared enemies of peace ; and the Emperor, supported by the Council of State, accepted those very conditions which had been declared a few days before not admissible. It is believed that the preliminaries of peace will be signed shortly at Vienna." The remainder of the Paris journals contain no articles worthy of particular mention. BOURSE, Jan. 23.—The following are the last quotations : Cash. fr. e. End of Month. 4i per Cents 94 —f. -c. 3 per Cents 6B 25 68 70 New Loan 6B 85 Bank Shares 3250 Roman Credit Mobilier 1415 Austrian Belgian Fives. .... ... 95i Spanish Threes Piedmontese (5) . B5 Home Debt RAILWAYS-108 CASH. c fr. c. Orlgans Northern .. 9OO Strasburg ....... Lyons ...1180 New Ditto 775 Rediterranean ...... 1310 G ran d C en tral Lyons Geneva. . CetteBoo 7007 Austrian lee Corn.... AUSTRIA• VIENNA, Jan. 20.—The prevalent report that the Generals of the hostile armies have received telegraphic orders to suspend hostilities is false. It would be contrary to all diplomatic usage to issue such, orders before the prelimi naries of peace have been signed, and that they will hardly reach this city before the 23d inst. It is credibly related that neither the British nor French Minister at this Court has yet received from his Government powers authorising him to sign the preliminaries. The seat of the future Peace Congress is not yet fixed on, but some out-of-the-way place is likely to be chosen, where the diplomatists will find good food and lodging, and nothing to distract their attention from their important duties. The Vienna Presse, which, is said to be the favourite organ of his Excellency the Chief of the Police, contains a lengthy article on the prospects of peace that closes with the following menace probably meet with against England, which will GREECE. Letters from Athens of the 10th inform us that a ball had taken place at the palace, being the first which had been given since the death of the Em peror Nicholas. The members of the family of M. Boudoura, who had been carried off by the bri gands, were restored, after a ransom of 60,000 f. demanded by these freebooters. In three or four months' time the elections for the Chambers will take place. The Queen was using her influence with the mayors and persons in authority to throw every difficulty in the way of those who wer e known to be attached to the policy of the Western Powers, in opposition to the Russian party. Should her Majesty succeed, the Greek Chambers will not certainly represent the people, and, on the con trary, favour the intrigues of the Court. The Queen was using the utmost courtesy, however, to the representatives of England and France, who have lately made very strong representations to Government on the subject of brigandage. THE BALTIC. HAMBURG, Jan. 22.—The arrival of as many as 300 vessels laden with salt and other neces saries from the various German, Swedish, and Danish ports at Russian harbours, principally at Revel, Riga, and Baltic Port, is announced in our journals, which mention that the quantity of salt alone has been about 1,500 lasts, reducing the price of that article considerably in conse quence. It is further stated, however, that very few ships have been enabled to reach Russian ports with colonial produce, so much required ; that many vessels had taken in cargoes for Cronstadt and St. Petersburg again from the , e places, but with the questionable probability of reaching those harbours, in consequence of the weather having changed to hard frost again. On the 15th inst. 20 degrees of Reaumur had been re ported to be the state of the barometer in St. Peters burg, which will render it impossible for any vessels to approach the coast. Very large quantities of corn (chiefly rye) were ready for shipment at Riga, and some vessels laden therewith were frozen in in the harbour with cargoes taken on board for St. Petersburg. The reports from St. Petersburg state that much severe weather had been experienced in the Crimea, and that heavy snow had fallen in the vicinity of Simpheropol. In order to reduce as much as pos sible the amount of the civil list, the Emperor had given orders that all vacancies occurring in the Imperial Court appointments should, for the future, not be filled up as heretofore, until his or ders were made known on the subject. This ukase proves that all due regard is not paid to th e strictest economy in the State expenses. All troops organised from among the Bashkir tribes are henceforth to be called soldiers of the " army of the Bashkirs." The weather continues very mild and rainy hero, and steamers have commenced running again. THE SOUND DUES. The Sound. dues conferences were formally opened at Copenhagen on the 4th in=t., but the business transacted consisted of little more than the presen tation and verification of the different credentials. The Russian Commissioner, Tengoborski, was the only specially nominated deputy there. The Danish papers for a long time observed the most perfect silence on the subject of these conferences, and it was not till the 14th inst. that the Dagbladct favoured the public with a few particulars from a private source. According to this statement the Minister Von Scheel opened the proceedings by announcing that Herr Bluhme, the ci devant Mini ster for Foreign Affairs, was deputed by the Go vernment to represent Denmark, after which com mun ication he withdrew. The assembly was composed of the representatives of twelve States. Herr B . luhtne proce e d e d t o d eve l ope a plan for the capitalisation of the Sound dues, and of the other incidental payments, based upon a mixed calculation of the imports and exports of the various nations. At that part of his speech in which he described Denmark as having come for. ward to meet the others half-way he was inter rupted by Herr Tengoborski, who maintained that it was Russia that came half-way to meet Denmark, seeing that the former bad no desire at all to capi talise her share ; Hamburg and Mecklenburg had also already declared they had no desire to com mute their payment of the Sound dues for a fixed sum down. The speech of the Danish representa tive was answered by Baron Lagerheim, the re presentative of Sweden and Norway. As all the materials had not been collected that the members thought necessary for their deliberations, more particularly the reports or the Sound dues from the years 1841 to 1847, the conferences were ad journed till the end of this month. The delibera tions seem hitherto not to have been conducted in the most regular and tranquil manner possible, for it is mentioned that it took considerable trouble to get a protocol or minutes of the proceedings drawn up and agreed to. Letters from Vienna state that the Esterhazy prepositions are ifeerpreted by the Russian party there to permit the maintenance of Nicolaieff, and also of the Russian forts on the Circassian coast, as well as the re-edification of those which have been partially destroyed. Several of the foreign ,journals allege that the Czar sent orders to Prince Gortschakoff on the 18th to suspend hostilities. The courier expected at Vienna from St. Peters burg, with the despatches containing the acceptance of the peace propositions, was to arrive in the Aus trian capital to-day. A letter from Vienna of the 18th, in the Pose Ampt Gazette, says :—The armistice will be con cluded, it is said, for three months, because it is hoped that by that time the negotiations for peace may be sufficiently advanced to allow their result to be foreseen with certainty. ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM IN AMERICA.—The fol. lowing letter, which has been addressed by Richard B. Connolly, Esq., the county clerk, to his subordinates, will exert a salutary influence in securing their atten tion to the public duties required of them. The example thus set by .I,fr. Connolly may be followed with profit by the heads of other departments :—" County Clerk's Office, New York, Jan. 2.—Dear Sir,—The under signed embraces this mode of informing each clerk in the office, or under his direction, that he has observed for som e ti me past a great want of attention to the busi ness of the office on the part of a number of tho clerks ; and as all such clerks who have failed to perform their duty must b e aware of the fact, th i s note sin tended to a d v i se t h em that no considerations of a politi cal or other nature will induce the undersigned to tole rate a neglect of official duty ; and as each person ad dressed fully knows the hours prescribed by law for the performance of the duties of the office, he begs to say that hereafte r h e w ill require the faithful attendance of each clerk from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ; and further, th a t a non-compliance with this request will be considered as a resignation. Clerks who shall he assigned to perform duties in the several courts are required to attend at this office when not on actual duty in courts.—Respect fully yours, RICHAND B. CONNOLLY. —New York Courier wsd Enquirer. CHARGE OF ROESERY AT THE EXETER POST-OFFICE.— Mr. Edwin Hyett, a clerk in the Exeter Post-office, was charged before the Mayor and magistrates, sit ting at the Exeter Guildhall on Monday, under the lst Victoria, cap. 36 , secs. 25, 26, and 27, w i t h abstracting money from a letter while in co urse of transmission through the Post - office. The prisoner i s respectably conne cted, and has a wife and three children. Some years ago he was charged, i n conjunction with his b ro ther, with robbery at the Exeter Post-office, and, although they were acquitted, Mr. Edwin Hyett, the prisoner, was suspended f rom his situation for two years. In the meantime a letter-carrier named Harrapp was apprehended on several charges of robbery at the same Post-office, and, being convicted and sentenced to trans portation, he confessed to have committed the robbery with which the Hyetts had been charged. On this being made known to the Post-office authorities Mr. Edwin Hyett was restored to his situation. The cir cumstance of the present charge, as sworn to by a letter -sorter in the Exeter Post-office, named Elliot, were these .--On F r id ay, the 18th inst., Mr. Hyett was on duty as superintendent fo r th e d ay. The north mail hav ing arrived, Elliot put the paid letters into their usual places previous to " sorting," and tank the unpaid let ters to Mr. Hyett, for the purpose of having them checked, Elliott then took bundles of letters to sort, leaving one on a counter. Shortly afterwards he alleged that he saw Mr. Hyett come over to the counter, feel several of the letters, and ultimately take a coloured one, with two or three others, to his desk, this being no part of his duty. While at his desk Elliott said he dis• tieetly saw him open the coloured letter, and just as he had done so the postmaster, Mr. Teesdale, came in tothe office, when M r . H yett re-folded the letter. Elliott stepped forward and said " That's not sight, Mr. fly ett, and took th e l etter in 'question from his hand, giving it to Mr. T ees d a l e, and telling him the circumstances. The letter was f rom Toronto, and contained three one of them being wrapp9d in a piece of paper which contained the words "This is for mother." When Mr. Hyett was charged with the offence he indignantly denied it, and said that the letter, as it often happens, was opened, and that he was about to go to Mr. Tees dale and tell hi n of it when he was accused by Elliott. The letter was sealed with three wafers, but had the ap pearance either of not having been securely sealed, or that the person who opened it did it so very carefully, as there were no pieces of paper sticking to the wafers. The magistrates committed the prisoner for trial at the next antes, but accepted bail, " TUTI QUI PROVIDI." It is now some fifteen years since we first had the pleasure of calling public attention to the institution whose motto stands at the head of this article the " Provident Clerks' Association." Since that time the subject of our notice has gra dually enlarged its operations, until it may now fairly claim to be ranked among the most import ant and useful societies in the country. Its mana gers may justly pride themselves upon the fact, that in the Life Assurance Department more than 5,000 Policies, assuring somewhere about a MIL LION sterling, have been issued, while the pub licity given to every item both of receipt and ex penditure show how full and how well justified is their confidence in the financial position of the association. The accounts, unlike those of many offices, are open to the world, and as long as this is the case there is but little fear either of malver sation or of extravagance. An attempt was in deed made at the meeting on Monday to throw suspicion upon the position and conduct of the office, but it was promptly, ably, and suc cessfully refuted. Indeed, in the face of such figures, a refutation is almost superfluous. It is not as an assurance office alone, however, that we would speak of the Provident Clerks' Association. Its Benevolent Fund, the only in stitution of the kind belonging exclusively to the clerks, has been the means of relieving a large amount of suffering and. privation, and this, too, among a class who are on many grounds peculiarly entitled to sympathy. By the vicissitudes of com mercial life numbers of clerks are ruined or seri ously embarrassed from circumstances over which they can have no control. Few are so highly paid that they can, by mere saving, accumulate a sufficient provision and yet maintain a "re spectable appearance," while, at the same time, from education, habits, and social position, they constitute a class on whom the pressure of aetual poverty tells with doubly painful effect. If this be true of the clerk, even while health and ability are spared, when the opportunity of employment is denied him, how much more true is it of those helpless beings who are too often left to mourn the loss of him whose labour was their sole dependence, and who by one stroke are not only plunged into domestic affliction, but are reduced from comparative affluence to actual want. A few weeks since it was our duty to record a painful case of this nature, and we have reason to know that, on the matter being brought before the directors of the Provident Clerks' Association, the widow was promptly and liberally relieved. That this is not a single case the annual balance-sheets of the Association clearly show. We learn from them that between eight and nine hundred pounds is paid in annuities to distressed members and widows—that more than 1,1001. have been given away to meet cases of urgent necessity, and that 22,0001. have been lent in small sums for the relief of temporary difficulties. We cannot doubt that these facts, widely known, as they deserve to be, will gain for the Association the cordial sup port, not only of the clerks, of whom some 4,000 have already joined its ranks, but of that wealthy and important class to whom the welfare of the clerks is, or ought to be, an object of real and heart-felt interest. A Cabinet Council was held yesterday afternoon at the Foreign-office. The Ministers present were—Vis count Palmerston, the Lord Chancellor, the Marquis of Lansdowne, Earl Granville, the Earl of Harrowby, Sir George Grey, the Earl of Clarendon, Mr. Secretary Labouchere, Lord Panmure, the Chancellor of the Ex chequer, Sir Chas. Wood, the Right Hon. R. Vernon Smith, Lord Stanley of Alderley, the Right lion. M. T. Baines, and the Duke of/Argyll. The Council sat three hours. Their Royal Highnesses the Duchess of Cambridge and the Princess Mary honoured the performances at the Haymarket Theatre with their presence last evening. Their Royal Highnesses occupied the Queen's box. The Duke of Leeds has left the Clarendon for Hornby Castle, near Catterick, Yorkshire. The' Duke of Rutland is still receiving company at Belvoir Castle. The Earl of Aberdeen left town on Tuesday, on a visit to her Majesty at Windsor Castle. The Earl and Countess of Mountcharles have arrived in town from visiting the Duke and Duchess of Bedford, at Woburn Abbey. The Countess Dowager of Morley has arrived in town from Saltram, Devonshire. Lord Panmure was sufficiently recovered, yesterday, from his recent attack of gout, to attend the Cabinet Council held at the Foreign-office. Lord and Lady Edward Fitzalan Howard have ar rived in town from Arundel Castle. Sir George Grey left town after the Cabinet Council, yesterday afternoon, for Windsor Castle. The Right Hon. Sir James Graham, Bart., M.P., and his three sons. are a t present staying at the Ullocks Royal Hotel, Bowness, Windermere. Sir Alexander Spearman had an interview with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, yesterday, at his official residence in Downing-street. A deputation, consisting of Mr. James Harvey, Mr. H. Potter, and Mr. A. Wilson, had an interview with the Right Hon. E. P. Bouverie, yesterday, at the office of the Poor•la w Board, on the subject of the affairs of the West London Union. A deputation from Datchet, respecting the roads made by the Government in that parish in pursuance of the act of 1848, had an interview with the Right Hon. Sir Benjamin Hall, M.P., yesterday, at the office of Public Works in Whitehall-place. The deputation con sisted of the Rev. H. Hall, Vicar. of Datchet ; Mr. C. S. Cantrell (guardian), Mr. W. Statham (churchwarden), Mr. J. Jaques (surveyor), and Mr. W. H. Dickman (inhabitant.) MANSION-HOUBE.—Yesterday the Lord Mayor enter tained at din ner th e di rec t ors o f th e L on d on an d West minster Bank and a p ar ty of p r i va t e f r i en d s . A mong the guests were, Mr. H. Bosanquet, the Right Hon. Sir T. F remantle, Bart., Sir J. Kirkland, Mr. Alderman Farncomb, Mr. W. Haigh, Mr. T. Chapman, Mr. H. Bu3kle, Mr. B. Cohen, Mr. J. G. Cattley, Major Rey nolds, Mr. Ranson, Mr. de Vitre Mr. Matthew Mar shall, Mr. P. Radow, Mr. J. W. Gilbart, Mr. Ford, Mr. Roy, M r . Welbore Ellis, Mr. B Drew, Mr. G. Drew, Rev. Dr. Mortimer, D.D., Mr. Cookney, Mr. Baddeley, Mr. Capron, Mr. Parnell, Mr. Henderson, Mr. Vile, Mr. Woldon, Mr, Ewings, Mr . Kingsford ) ito. THE BA K CHARTER ACT. TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES. Sir,—Permit me, through your columns, to make one more effort to clear away the mists and obscurity which bare been thrown around the question of the Bank Charter Act, and its effect upon the present state of our bullion reserves and of commercial credit. The subject is not in itself intricate or obscure ; the public will find it to be simple and easy intelligible, if they will only be lieve it to be so, and will approach it free from all pas sionate feelings, and from that impression of mystery which creates the evil it dreads. The act of 1841 was passed as a complement to the act of 1819. Its purpose was to secure effectually the maintenance of cash payments, by rendering the absolute exhaustion of the bullion impossible. It had direct reference only to the safety of the mo• netary system. By its effects in this respect the success or failure of the act must be tested. The effect of the act upon credit and speculation is in cidental only. Could it even be shown that it produces no effect on these, still the expediency and necessity of the act would remain unaltered. But, no doubt, the contraction of notes as bullion is withdrawn does act indirectly upon credit, speculation, and prices —the extent of the effect thus produ ce d vary ing according t o o th er concomitant circumstances. We have had a practical illustration of both these effects of the act, the direct and the indirect effects, in the present state of monetary affairs. The store of bullion has been effectually maintained, notwithstanding a pressure upon the exchanges, from various causes, of the severest character. And this has been accompanied by a gradual restrictive influence upon credit and speculation, the utility of which few reasonable persons will deny, and the c)nnexion of which with the present safety of our monetary system must be obvious to all who remember the insecurity of our monetary system on former occa sions, previous to the act of 1844, when no such restric tive influence was brought into play during the early period of a drain of bullion. But, it is said, issues cannot be contracted so long as bankers are liable to be drawn upon by depositors, and are subject to demands from their customers for dis count. It is surprising to what an extent a plain and simple matter may be obscured and mystified by random asser tions couched in ambiguous terms. It might as well he asserted that, notwithstanding the deficiency of the supplies which Providence may furnish, the foo 1 of a people cannot be contracted so long as hun ger prevails, and men must be fed. The total amount of bank-notes is now made by law to correspond to the total amount of bullion. If the amount of bullion is diminished by foreign drain, the amount of bullion is diminished to an equal extent by law. The aggregate body of bankers in that case can command a less amount of bank-notes with which to work their business. What, then, are they to do ? Their depositors draw upon them. At first they endeavour to meet these demands from the hank-notes in their till—i. c., from their banking reserve. Bat as the total amount of notes issued has been dimi nished in proportion to the drain of bullion, the reserve of each banker, already restricted by this process, will bear no further pressure. The approaching exhaustion of thi- fund will compel them to resort to other mea sures, through which they may be enabled, notwith standing the decrease in the amount of notes issued, still to meet their outstanding liabilities. They will necessarily proceed to realise their securi ties, and to contract their credits and their discounts. It is idle to deny the possibility of this ; it is what must occur by the very necessity of the case; it is what has occurred on former occasions, and what again is now in progress, acting most beneficially, because the pro cess e')mmenced early and has proceeded gradually. But the present state of commercial affairs, we are told, requires an increased issue of bank-notes. Let us consider what would be the certain and imme diate effect of such increased issue if resorted to. The exchanges are at this moment barely maintained at par. Bullion is on the point of going out of the country ; indeed it is still subject to gradual diminu tion. This affords conclusive proof that our circulation is not too high in value, and therefore is not deficient in amount when compared with the circulation of other countries. If we now prooeed to a further issue of bank-notes, this will at once render our circulation redundant oom pared with that of other countries ; the exchanges will be relaxed, and bullion will pass from us to those places in which there has has been no corresponding increase of circulation. The process will go on so long as this additional issue of notes is maintained at the increased amount. It was by a persistence in this very process that on occasions of adverse state of exchanges, before the act of 1844, the bullion was reduced to an alarming ex tremity. By the act of 1844 a recurrence to this fatal process was rendered impossible ; hence the comparative safety of our monetary system at this moment, and the satis factory state of commercial credit, as contrasted with the state in which it was found at former periods of ad verse exchanges and consequent pressure. Let it be clearly understood that no additional issue of bank-notes can, under present circumstances, settle down into a real increase of the circulation, if cash pay ments are to be maintained. Our monetary condition, stated in round numbers, stands thus : The issue department holds 10,000,0001. of bullion and 14,000,000/. of securities, against which it has isßued 24,000,0001. of bank-notes. In this state of things the unsettled state of the ex changes tells us that the circulation is rather in excess than otherwise, compared with that of other countries. Suppose, then, we issue more bank-notes--say 4,000,0001. Bu'lion will at once begin to leave the country, until the equilibrium between the amount of our circulation and that of other countries is estab lished. W e shall then stand thus : The i , sue department will hold 6,000,0001. of bullion, and 18,000,000/. of securities, against which it will have issued 24,000,000/. of notes. We shall still remain with the same amount (24,000,000/.) of notes issued ; the only difference being that our reserve of bullion will have been diminished, and a corresponding increase will appear in the amount of securities. (Joon the supposition now under discussion—namely, a further increase of bank -notes under present circum stances —we are inevitably brought into this dilemma : —lf the increased amount of circulation be maintained, the bullion will immediately leave the country, and a snsperpion of cash payments must ensue. If the in crea.ed amount of circulation be not maintained, we then revert to our former position ; the advantages an ticipated from an increased amount of circulation will not have been obtained, while our protective reserve of bullion will have been seriously diminished. I must not trespass further to follow out these views to all their legitimate and not unimportant consequences. Their duty must be performed by the public on its own account. I have endeavoured to indicate the tine course of inquiry, and to state the case in the shortest and most simple form. In the terrent of discussion with which this subject has been overwhelmed, we have bad toa many words and too little of clearness and simplicity of views. Truth, however, is in its nature always simple and clear ; and so it will be found in this case, even by our imperfect faculties, when we seek it with singleness of purpose and free from the misguiding influence of prejudice, self-interest, and impatient passions. The present confusion of tongues, we must hope, is the pro cess through which truth will in the end be elaborated. MERCATOR. IRELAND. DUBLIN, WEDNESDAY MORNING. STATE OF THE CORN TRADE. The country grain -markets continue to show a down ward tendency. In Dublin, too, the decline in prices has been even more marked, and at the Corn Exchange yes terday there was a further reduction to the extent of 2s. on wheat, with a proportionate fall in other kinds. Altogether the market was an extremely dull one, and speculation is quite at a standstill, and will doubtless remain so until something decisive transpires with respect to the actual progress of the negotiations Dow pending. A Kilkenny paper of this day reports as fol lows : " A serious panic was created among the farmers gene rally by the sudden intelligence of a final peace last week, but the altered tone of the newspapers has restored con fidence in some measure. But, at the same time, we would admonish our agricultural friends not t o h old back their produce when first-rate prices are off ere d i n the market in the hope of obtaining others better still. They might suffer severely from such rash . spe cu l a ti on. " At Dundalk, another important gram•market wheat fell yesterday 2s. 6d. lower than on Friday, and business being extremely depressed, quotations for all kinds were merely nominal. In fact, so far, the reaction in favour of the consumer exceeds the general anticipation. The fall in the price of the loaf, nevertheless, is scarcely worth mentioning. WRECK OF AN AMERICAN BARK. The following account of the wreck of a fine American hark on the north-eastern coast of Ireland appears in Saunders of this day ".DROGHEDA, Tuesday, Jan. 22.—This morning a splendid American bark, the Independence, of Bath, State of Maine, Capt. Marshall, was wrecked on the strand, near Bettystown, north of the Nanny river. The vessel was returning on her first trip to New Orleans from. Liverpool. She was 1,300 tons register and 2,000 tons burden, having at the time a crew of 30 hands, and carrying 700 tons of salt in bags. She struck on the abo ve strand about 4 o'clock a.m., a, brisk breeze blowing inwards at the time, and which continued during the day. About an hour afterwards one of the Drogheda steamers, the Foig-a-Ballagb, Captain Heeney, coming from Liverpool, opportunely arrived, saved all the hands, and had them safely landed at the Drogheda quay. The Sir Wm. Stainer, of Maryport, Captain Bluff, coming towards the Drogheda port im mediately afterwards, is described as having sailed lite rally th roug h spars and rigging belongin g t o t h e i ll-fated vessel, but owing to the heavy sea running at the time, and the darkness of the morning, no attempt could be made to secure them. The wreck at present lies on the banks, and the wind continuing as described, there is every probability of her being broken up.! Th (1,00 prisir with for rn on Su 30 B: 3,000 Bid. was I declara tient o coal r t 36,098/ The to this Great North-1 Booth-V Irighto Midlan ( South-E Caledon Great N Lancast Manche Rail: buoyan Great Wester higher The F but thl tion. firmer. Min. has bel don is, are stet the rei BRIT] Bank St B per lit 3 per C NOW 3 1 Long A Ditto India B Ditto, Consols' E Eli xro Ditto Ditto PRICE trazilia Ditto Buenos Chilian %oak 1 deltic:ll Ditto Peruvia Ditty ?ortugi Dittc Rard inii Ditto Spaniel] Ditto Ditto N)anist Turkiet Ditt4 Ditto Ditto Ditto Vonezt Ditto Dutch