The Sun. — London, England, 1861-02-21 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 21, 1861. pOY AL ENGLISH OPERA, COVENT-GARDEN. - 11 - 11 ) Under the Managemen tot Miss Louisa Fyne and Mr. W. Harri, Sole Lessees. THIS EVENING, the First Act of BIANCA, THE BRAVO'S BRIDE: Mr. W. Harrison, etc. Followed by Auber's LE DOMINO NOIR. Miss Louisa py n e, Miss Thirlwall, Miss Leffler ; Messrs. H. Haigh, H. Corri, A. St. Albyn, and Horncastle. To oonclnde with a Divertissement. Conductor—Mr. Alfred Mellon. Commence at Seven. THEATRE -ROYAL, HAYMARKET. Levee, Mr. J. B. Backstone. THIS EVENING, the pertormanee;will eotanirmse with the cmedy of THE BABES IN THE WOOD. Messrs. E. Villiers, Buckstone, W. Farren, Mrs. Wilkins, and Miss F. Stirling. After which, a new Pantomime, QUEEN LADYBIRD AND HER CHILDREN. The Pantomimista by the un rivalled Leclercqs, Herr Cole, and Fanny Wright. Commence at 7. OYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE.- Lessee and lifanazer, Mr. A. Harris. THIS EVENING, the Farce of A.S.S. To be followed by DON CA:SAR DE BAZAN. I)on emsar, Mr. Fechter. Supported by Messrs. Basil Potter, F. Matthews, J. G. Shore, Miss M. Harris, miss C. Leclercq and Mrs. Weston. After which, a new Christmas comical pantomime, entitled ROBINSON CRITSOE ; or, 'Harlequin Friday, and the King of the Caribbe Islands : in which Monsieur Espinosa and Mdlle. Marie Dumilatre, of the principal cantinental theatres will appear. Clown, Mr. A. F. Forrest. THEATRE - ROYAL LYCEUM, So:e Lessee and Directress, Madame CELESTE. THIS EVENING the new drama, THE HOUSE ON THE BRIDGE OF NOTRt DAME. Principal characters by Mr. G. Vining, Mr. J. Johnstone, Mr. Villiers, Mr. Clifford, Mr. John Rouse, Mr. Forrester, Mr. Morris ; Miss M.Ternan, Miss K. Saville, Miss L. Thompson, and Madame Celeste. Alter which, the Lyceum Christmas Comic Extravaganza, CRYSTABELLE ; or, The Rose without a Thorn, showing. THE VISION' OF A ROSE, ITS FADING AT EVE, AND THE MAY-BLOOM OF THE WILD BRIAR. To conclude with a new Divertissement. Mie s L ydia ....1 Thompson, Ace. A DELPHI, NEW THEATRE-ROYAL, Sole Proprietor and Manager, Mr. Benj. Webster. THIS EVENING, AN UGLY CUSTOMER. Messrs. J. L. Toole, C. Selby, and Warde ; Miss K. Kelly, and Miss E. Thorne. Alter which, THE COLLEEN BAWN. D. Iloneicault, D. Fisher, Billington, Falconer, Stephenson. C. J. Smith, Romer. Miss Agnes Robertson, Migq Woolgar, Mrs. Billington, and erg. Chatter ley. To conclude with a new Burlesque Extravaganza, entitled JILUE BEARD FROM A NEW POINT OF HUE. Messrs. J. L. Toole, P. Bedford, C. J. Smith ; Miss Woolgar, K. Kelly, Laidlaw, and 1 4 :. Thorne. Doors open at half past 6—Commence at 7. Box-office open from 10 till 5. No charge for booking. Private boxes, £2 25. ; Family Boxes, IL Orchestra Stalls, ss. ' • Balcony, 4s. ; Front Circle Stalls, 3s. ; Pit Stalls, 21.; Pit , is. 6d. ; Amphitheatre, is ; Gallery, 6d. Acting Manager—Mr. Wm. Smith. A STLEY'S ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE.-- Proprietor and Manager, Mr. Wm. BATTY. Immense success of " Turpin's Ride to York." The Last Morning Performance will take place on Friday, Feb. 22, when the Boys of the Duke of York's School will attend with their splendid Brass Band, commencing at two o'clock with the Pantomime and Scenes in the Arena. THIS EVENING. will be reproduced TURPIN'S RIDE TO YORK, Aril) THE DEATH OF BLACK BESS, in which the Brothers Edwin will appear with their celebrated Steed Black Bess. To be succeeded by Scenes in the Arena, supported by talented Parisian and British Artistes. Concluding with Batty's Prize Equestian Comic Panto mime, for Good Little Boys and Girls, by T. L. Greenwood, entitled HARLEQUIN AND THE WONDERFUL HORSE ; or, Percinet and Grociosa, the Ugly Duchess and the Greedy King, produced with Gorgeous Scenery, by Mr. Cuthbert, new Costumes and Appointments, and introducing in the comic scenes Ratty's Prize Equestrian Flarlequinade, and the celebrated Old Bob Ridley. Box-oftice open daily from II till 4 Stage Manager—Mr. W. WEST. Director of the Arena—Mr. Pearson. Commence at 7. CANTERBURY -HALL CONCERT S !! A Grand Selection from Verdi's Opera, IL CORSARO, consisting of the following Morceaux:— Preludio. Coro Scena edAria. "Tutto parca Sorridere" Coro di Odalische Cavatina " Vola talor dal Carcere" Coro ed inno Scena ed Aria Terzetto Finale " Voi tacete io non" will be performed EVERY EVENING, in the origthal key and Italian language—in addition to the usual attractions. Mr. F. JONGHMANS, Musical Director. Also, in preparation, Selections from Verdi's New Operas,. Un Ballo in Maschera," "Simon Boccanegra ;" and Flo tow's celebrated Opera of " Stradella." HIGII WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. DAY.—Morning, 10h. 22m.—Afternoon, 11h. Om. TO-MORROW. -Morning, 11h. Wm.—Afternoon, h. am. THE WEATHER.—Str OFFICE, FEB. 21, 1861. THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE. 53—highest since noon yesterday. 43—lowest this morning and during; the night. 51—this day at noon. BinomETER-29.47. WlND—South-Westerly —rather fresh ; it blew a gale in the night. Slight rain now. 4-,'R ... • g •rf • •' ' s ) . 4 . .., * a : ,-,- ( , - .4 :i2. , _..,, , , , ,), - - r : <- ;,,,,, , ~ -...L. ," 4 ., c4.1...-- - _,. - .,-,,,r...a... ' • ,$ r„, -- r.-..,4 - ' •« 4 . 'l' • - ti o _,N 'AFOS7SLii,,,I,T , . ;;' ~~~ ~ _: THE SUN. LONDON, THURSDAY, FEB. 20, 1881. Nothing could have been better put, under the circumstances, than Mr. HUBBARD'S case on Tues day evening when moving for a Committee of Inquiry upon the matter of the Income-tax, with a view to its more equitable adjustment, and especially in the hope that Schedule D might in future be regulated by a less cruel, a less unjust, and a less demoralising mode of assessment. The hon. gentleman obviously had reason on his side when dividing incomes into three classes—namely, fixed and permanent incomes, or incomes derived from positive property, and, strongly contrasting with these, two species of precarious and fluctuat ing incomes —incomes, that is to say, derived from positive labour, whether of the brain or of the muscles, labour distinguished, each from each, as skilled or unskilled. The last-mentioned, the third and lowest class here mentioned, he at once sets aside as untaxable, he summarily dismisses it from the argument, and restricts that argument entirely thenceforth to the two previous classes of incomes enumerated—First, the fixed and permanent incomes derived from positive property, whether money in the funds or landed possessions ; and, secondly, the precarious and fluctuating incomes derived from skilled labour, from the toil of the Heads of Houses in the higher pur suits of the community, and the different learned professions. Having defined the distinction between these two widely contrasting sources of taxation, the ex-Goverrior of the Bank of England, in the course of his speech on Tuesday, quoted in reference to the second class, to the class whom he would now have only (too tardily) relieved by Par liament, to the class whose incomes are so very cruelly, unjustly, and demoralisingly taxed under Schedule D—Mr. HUBBARD quoted, in reference to this class, the opinion emphatically expressed in their regard, in regard to those precarious and fluctuating incomes, by one of the most logical and philosophical intellects of the age. Mr. JOHN STUART MILL had said upon this point, remarked Mr. HUBBARD-66 I would tax temporary or pre carious incomes at a lower scale than permanent or certain incomes (not because of their lower selling v alue) , but because their possessors are liable to be called upon to save something to provide for their own future years, or for those dependent on them." And almost immediately after this, while admitting that th e scheme suggested by the late eminent economist Mr. JosEPH HumE was apparently upon the surface altogether opposed to the modifications inferentially- proposed by Mr. MJLLs' definition of the anomaly, the ex-Governor of the Bank intimated, with perfect truth, that both one and the other had is the end identically the same result, leading to the same kind of equitable adjustment. Differences night reasonably arise in the argument of this questi on as to the proportion in which incomes of this class, incomes of this pre carious and fluctuating character, should be taxed eventually, some placing that proportion at one-half, and others again at one-fourth of the total amount annually realised. But all those who have looked at the matter dispas sionately, all those who have not the flinty hearts of our Chancellor of the Exchequer, hearts that are case-hardened by an abstract consideration of the balanced totals of national income and national ex penditure—have admitted the need of making some distinction : though where the line should be drawn may have continued, has actually continued, up to this moment matter of debate and difficulty. When Mr. GLADSTONE observes, with a sneer, that according to Mr. HUBBARD'S calculation " You recover and recoup the one-third of the tax leviable under Schedule I), surrendered by law, in conse quence of the honesty of the taxpayers, moved by this appeal to his feelings," and adds in a tone of derision " The offer must be of precisely 33 per cent.—that is the standard, that is the temperature which is necessary to bring him up to par in morality"—his witticism is of the pettiest and most superficial kind imaginable. The returns of the Income tax collectors during all this score of years past have proved beyond the possibility of denial the fact that some modification is essential under Schedule I) to bring a formidably large proportion of those who are taxed under it (according to the phrase adopted in Mr. GLADSTONE'S Stock Ex change ethics) "up to par in morality !" And Mr. HUBBARD specifying one-third, specifying precisely thirty-three per cent., no more lays him open logically to a jibe of this kind than his selec tion of any other percentage from one to ninety nine ! Turning from this point in the argument, however, to another, that told admirably in the House on Tuesday evening, and that must have an equally telling effect far and wide over the land among the taxed earners of precarious and fluctuating incomes, who will fail to admit that Mr. HUBBARD had his great antago nist, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, "upon the hip" when the former came to specify what he justly called, what he distinctly claimed as his precedent ? "In 1852," said he, " the question of a revision of the income tax was mooted in that house, and in the following year a new Income Tax Act was passed under the auspices of his right hon. friend." Mr. HUBBARD adding—" In the 54th clause a concession was introduced for the first time —that a saving of one-sixth out of any income, if invested in the purchase of a life or deferred annuity, should be deducted from the income before it was, brought under the incidence of the income tax." No wonder with that in his recollection, in the vivid recollection of the House and of the country, no wonder Mr. HUBBARD puts his finger on that 54 clause, under date 1852, and asserts his right to it in the argument as at once his precedent and his justification ! "Parliament," as he happily remarked at this point, "had no right to treat the whole industrious classes as chil dren, saying to them that if they were economical and saved their money and invested it in a policy of life insuranee, or a deferred annuity, a special in dulgence would be given to them. The industrial community had a right to exercise the economy in any particular channel. Having once admitted the principle of a deduction, Parliament haa, no light to tie them down as to the way in w14413j11,py should exercise their economy for the purpose of receiving the amount of deduction conclided." It was with no less telling effect that, lia,ving said this, the ex-Governor of the Bank added a reminder to the House that the same indulgence conceded by that 54th clause in 1852 had no' very recently been allowed to the same class of :Incomes by the Income Tax only the other day imppsed upon her MAJESTY'S subjects in Hindos tan.. So that, as he insisted with pitiless perti nacity, the principle to which he was thus direct ing the attention of the House was in several successive stages adopted, allowed, admitted by the members of her MAJESTY'S Government ! It is almost idle, however, at this point to loiter over the consideration of anomalies we have so often before now discussed in these columns; particularly remembering that Mr. HUBBARD'S motion on Tuesday was successful, and that conse quently, in spite of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in spite of the whole opposing authority of her MAJESTY'S Government, the cruelty, the injustice, and the frightfully demoralising influence of the pre sent mode of assessing precarious incomes through the medium of that financial bed of Procrustes, Schedule D will now come under the consideration of that committee of inquiry, to whose wisdom and justice and humanity how many millions are now looking in hopeful expectancy ! Mr. BERKELEY has this year changed somewhat the terms of his notice. He will ask on the sth of March for leave to bring in a bill for the better protection of electors in voting for members of Par liament." We cannot object to this variation in the form of his notice—indeed, it has several advan tages; a prominent one is that, if the proposal itself be, as it may be, solely regarded, few can deny that better protection is needed for voters. Mob violence in Ireland, and in some places in England, too; undue influence, the existence of which, even those who use it, are not hold enough to deny, and the temptations of money and drink, all demand that, so far as practicable, the elector should be pro tected from compulsion, and from unworthy appeals to his fears and his hopes. When Mr. BERKELEY, therefore, offers a bill for "the better protection of voters, there is no prima facie reason why fair minded men should not give it a hearing. In voting for a first reading of it they would merely acknowledge the preamble as proved—that better protection is desirable. The principle of the bill would be discussed on the second reading. Of course it would be presumed that Mr. BERKELEY'S, like Mr. WYLD'S Bill of last year, which reached a second reading, was substantially a Ballot Bill. That, however, would not be the point then before the House. Consistently with the notice of motion, and with we presume the in tended preamble, it would be competent to members to expunge any clauses which made the voting secret, if they thought them not calculated to afford the proposed protection. We do not therefore see why the proposed Bill should not,r ; like that of Mr. LOCKE KING and Mr. BAINES, be read a first time, nemine contradicente. It has not, it is true, in its favour the fact that any Government has yet for mally proposed the secret voting which must be expected to form its essence, but it is true that most Governments and both parties havehada o g f o c o o d r d r e u a p l t , ostensibly, to do with the " Prevention Practices at Elections." As the Government in this case will not be asked in point of form to do more than sanction a private member's attempt to aid them in their own work, they may be fairly asked to assent to a first reading of the bill. But even if Mr. BERKELEY did not so kindly smooth the way for Lord PALMERSTON and for Lord JOAN RUSSELL—who hates the Ballot itself with the bitter fanaticism of a " pervert " from , his own creed of thirty years ago—the Govern ment might be reasonably asked to assent to the first reading. When so large a majority of its Own supporters votes regularly for the Ballot— it is mere decent respect to them to permit them to place their measure before the House. " Courtesy " seemed to be the order of the day last Tuesday, it ought to be so when Mr.. SZAKELEY makes his motion. If a Goyernment with such a miserable majority as the present one now has, does not care to be courteous towards the most liberal section of its followers, we can only hope that they will avail themselves of the first fair opportunity to walk out of the House on a division, and to leave them to the tender mercies of the Tories. The Government will richly deserve it. There is one practical reason why the fairness we demand for Mr. BERKELEY should be shown him. The Ballot is voted against as a bugbear. Members and people generally hear such strange stories and absurd misrepresentations about the Ballot that they are really confused, and have no reasonable conception of what is asked by the Eng lishmen who have devoted most time and attention to it. They have heard of the American Ballot, and the French Ballot, and the Belgian Ballot, and the Savoy and Nice Ballot, and the Australian Ballot—and they are told of some of them that they are solemn :farces, and of others that they are no pattern for us, till they many are in perfect igno rance of what a fair and honest Ballot Bill really would propose. If only for this reason it is desira ble that, by the first reading of their bill, the advo cates of the Ballot should be able to point to an au thorised document, and thus be in a position to say to a large class of opponents—do not talk to us of the Ballot here or there —of the Ballot where rapidity of voting is more an object than secrecy—or of the Ballot where Government agents have sole charge of the urns in which are placed the votes for and against their own nominees—speak to us of what we ask. Here it is—show that any man would be endangered, or his liberty infringed on by it— show that great numbers would not vote more freely under it—show that the canvasser, .briber, or in timidator, with such an Act in the electors' favour, would not create general disgust, and endanger his own cause, by resorting to his unworthy "corrupt practices." With so much reason for such a course, then, may we not hope that Government will accept Mr. BERKELEY'S conciliatory offer, and as he comes half-way to meet them, show their good sense and fairness by accord ing him a first reading. It is not our intention just now to repeat any of the arguments for the protection of secrecy, to the voter, but we just remark in concluding, that all testimony worth attention fully corroborates the arguments of those statesmen who prefer to base representative constitutions on the thorough inde pendence of the voter. And we must be pardoned in holding an honest ballot as being identical with the electoral independence of the many. We pub lishedyesterday an interesting letter from Mr. JOHN LAZAN "the returning officer for the city of Adelaide, and our readers would see how clear and straight forward is the testimony of this business-like official to the good results - of the Ballot there. It was predicted that the electors would not care to vote if they voted secretly, the result proved that these assertions were without foundation ; it was said that the less educated would be unable to use • •-- the ballot, this Mr. LAZAN found to be equally a mistake ; a w advertisements made all plain to . , the humblest capacity. He describes-Abe-plan adopted, whiai - was obviously both simple and effectual ; and . the social and moral results were such as even Lord JOHN RUSSELL would think worth something,' if not worth the surrender of aristocratic coArol over electoral independence. Mr. LAZAN'S concluding words are worth re peating : " During the whole of the day the most complete order and decorum prevailed; this proved a very great con trast to the previous elections under the old system of epen voting, which was marked in many instances with the most disorderly (and I may say outrageous) conduct. I have therefore no hesitation in saying that if the purity of election is to be maintained, the ballot is the only system to secure it. I say this from the experience I have gained up to the present time, having superintended five elections, and all with the same successful results." May English Returning Officers be soon able to record the same experience ! Mr. GLADSTONE may console himself for his well merited defeat on the Income-tax, by his trium phant victory over Mr. WILLIAMs. There is, to be sure, the slight take .off that he was triumphant over justice in the first division, which will one day revenge herself even on him, and beaten by justice in the second, which seems as if her step was not to be quite so tardy as that ascribed to her by poets. In opposing Mr. WILLIAMS he had the great advantage of speaking to a house of landlords, who, almost to a man, were interested in the barefaced injustice which Mr. WILLIAMS attacked; he found his account in appealing to their pockets, and he tried the same appeal against Mr. HUBBARD. Luckily the proof was net quite so plain that ceas ing to rob Schedule D would lay a heavier load on Schedule A. It was well known, for instance, that taxation could be materially lightened, and Schedules A and D be relieved together, as it was not proposed to augment the per tentage paid by the former. Altogether different was Mr. WILLTAMS'S pro posal. It was, if anything, more conspicuously just. Mr. GLADSTONE quibbled, indeed, about the terms, but what Mr. WILLIAMS really demanded, and Mr. GLADSTONE know it well, was, that whatever probate duty was paid by one class of property passing at death to another person, should be paid by all propekty. It was simply childish of Mr. GLADSTONE to play a kind of thimble-rig argu mentative game with the terms " real and personal property," and to lay stress on the fact that only property passing by will came under the probate stamp duty. Indeed we think the sophistical tone of reasoning taken by Mr. GLADSTONE affords Mr. WILLIAMS the opportunity of moving another carefully drawn resolution, of which the purport should be this—that, as it is desirable all property should be taxed equally as far as practicable for the public service, whatever duty is now paid by property administered under a will, should be paid by all property of every kind, on passing by the death of its proprietor, bona fide, into other hands, Mr. GLADSTONE found no difficulty in valuing property for his succession duties, which themselves are but a partial concession to equal taxation of the landlord class, and there would be no kind of difficulty in demanding, as in the case of probate, an affidavit of the value of property which came into any one's hands by the death of its former proprietor. The ingenuity of landlord's advocates, like Mr. GLADSTONE, may find up plenty of complicated cases in which ordi nary arithmeticians would be a little puzzled to say what each beneficiary under another's death actually received; but he might also find plenty of persons able to tell him in a few minutes the equitable pro portional charge on each. We hope Mr. - 11'1111,1ms will not sit clown by this vote of the landlords to button up their own pockets. Nothing but perseverance, and putting the subject in every light will make the owners of real pro ea m fi e n d d of e t u h r e i army rfeudalestimates e m p ti o s v e_r h t e 3 n ' e , ff h e c e t w u e a v l l e y r ashamed re tained at a war standard during peace, and that not wit i i t s h h st i a g n h d t i On the prop r i e t ors o f th e so il, in the good old times, i n in g e a th w a h t o f i e e u a d r a ra l e y xe o m f p effi tio c n ie s n s t ho v u ol l u d n c t e c a e s r e s : lay the onus of providing the national army ; ex emptions were fair then. But it is not fair that they should saddle the country with the cost of the army, and refuse still to be taxed equally with their fellow citizens. ARREST OF M. MIRES. The following telegram has been received through Mr. Reuter's office :—" Paris, Fob. 20.—The pay ments of the Caisse des Chemins de Fer of Messrs. Mires and Co. have been suspended (qjournes) until the inventory of the state of the bank is com pleted." The writer of the Times' City Article says : " The Constantinople bills on M. Mires falling due yesterday and to day amount to about 1280,000, and a strong hope was entertained that, owing to the State having charged itself with the administration of his affairs, provision would be duly made for them. A telegram from Paris late yesterday afternoon announced, however, that de fault had taken place. Ultimately it was notified that a suspension of payment has been ordered pending an examination into the condition of the Casse des Chemins de Fer. The financial letters mention that several persons connected with the transactions of M. Mires have been arrested. Some reports circulated yesterday afternoon of large amounts of M. Mires's draughts being held by par. ties connected with the London money market are totally without foundation. The circumstance is thus noticed by the Morning Herald:— The arrest of M. Mires, th e grea t P ar i s i an financier,will, it is feared, be followed by disastrous consequences. He will be arraigned on charges of forgery and misappropriation, which, it is said must lead to a variety of curious revelations. The allegation is, that M. Mires will be prosecuted for having diverted the funds subscribed to support the Turkish Loan, and those paid on account of the Rom an railway s , t o hi s own purposes. Other individuals are asserted to be compro mised in the charges brought against him, and the expectation is entertained that the French Go vernment will find it prudent to interfere to protect several houses interested, and to prevent a deprecia tion in securities, which if realised would not cover either the advances made upon them or the accru ing interest. The liabilities of Messrs. Mires and Co. represent, it is said, about £2,000,000, but this total may be exaggerated. The extent of mischief which this disaster may occa sion cannot for the present be accurately estimated, though it is believed that Greek esta blishments will prove the principal sufferers,through arrangements endeavoured to be made to success fully float the late Turkish loan. During yesterday several absurd reports were circulated with respect to the supposed connection of London houses in the operations of Messrs. Mires and Co. They, how ever, were of such a ridiculous character as almost to carry with them their own refutation. One especially, which alluded to the engagements of a firm on behalf of M. Mires as representing £1,000,000, is authoritatively asserted to have not the slightest found a ti on , i n f act, no transac tions having ever occurred between them. THE BALLOT SOCIETY.—The weekly 'meeting of the Executive Committee was held on Tuesday, at the offices, 5, Guildhall -chambers—Mr. Mark E. Marsden in the chair. Mr. Whitehurst, Mr. Sydenham Nodes, Mr. Elt, Mr. Man, Mr. F. Clowes, &c., were present. Dr. R. F. Lees (Leeds), Mr. Councillor Smith (Leeds), Elihu Finnie, President of the Leeds Working Men's Reform Association, and Mr. R. Tregamas (Pembroke), were elected members of the council. Amongst other business transacted, a cor respondence was read relative to the approaching election for the Pembrokeshire boroughs, and it was resolved " That the recent election for Pembi eke county was disgraced by intimidation beyond even the ordinary course of county elections, and as Sir Hugh Owen, the defeated candidate for the county, and now candidate for the Pembrokeshire boroughs, declines to support the ballot,,though he com plains of the undue influences lately used against him, and admits that the ballot would be a - remedy for such-mal practices, this committee earnestly recommends the friends of the ballot in the Pembrokeshire-borouglig to from voting for Sir Hugh Owen." A - kb-committee was ap pointed to watch the arrangements for the debate and divi sion on Mr. Berkeley's motion for a bill to provide protec tion for the voter, and further arrangements were made for the public soiree to be held on the 6th March. A MONSTER MAIL FOR AUSTRALlA.—Yesterday morning the largest mail ever despatched from London to Australia:was sent from the General Post-office, in St. Mar tin's-le-Grand. It consisted of 1,100 boxes, each 2 feet long by 1 foot broad and 1 foot deep, and required 19 omni buses and one cab to convey the vast mass of letters, news papers, and book parcels to the railway terminus. Notwith standing its bulk, however, no delay took place in the de spatch. From the sizes above given it will be at once seen that not less than 30,000 letters, parcels, and newspapers would be sent out by this despatch alone. THE TABU FORTS.—The following is from an officer left with a detachment of the 31st in the South 1 _ _ Taku Fort :—" The fort we are in is the one we tried to take in 1859, and, unless they have strengthened it im mensely since, it was almost impregnable. Towards the sea there is, first, a pallisade of stakes driven into the bed of the river, then, about a hundred yards of soft mud, then a bed of bamboo spikes, then a series of, pitfalls about 10 feet deep, with a path of soft mud about a foot wide be. tween them, then more stakes and spikes, then a wet ditch about 10 feet wide, more spikes, and an abattis of trees, another wet ditch, and more spikes and stakes, and then •the walls of the fort ! This Admiral Hope expected to take under a heavy fire with about 800 men and a few gunboats ; showing either want of pro per information or singular audacity. The land side is very little better. There are wet ditches, mud, and stakes, the only approach being by a causeway, which was, of course, commanded by heavy guns." FRIGHTFUL ACClDENT.—Yesterday morning an explosion, which it is feared will proved fatal, took place at a leather manufactory, at West Ham. A 'man named George Grogan was boiling oil, whenfrom sale unexplained cause, the boiler burst, and the man was dreadfully scalded by the boiling liquid. He was conveyed to Guy's Hospi tal, where he remains without the slightest hope of recovery. CANTERBURY HALL.—The lesees of the London theatres have made an onslaught on Mr. Morton, the pro prietor of the above well-conducted place of amusement. An application was made yesterday on behalf of Mr. Ben jamin. Webster, the lessee of the Adelphi Theatre, to the magistrate at Lambeth Police Court, for a summons against Mr. Charles Morton, the proprietor of Canterbury Hall, calling on that gentleman to show cause by what authority he permits stage plays to be performed on his premises in the absence of a licence to do so from the Lord Chamber lain. After hearing the gentleman, Mr. Elliott at once granted the summons as requested. Mr. Dentu, the well-known publisher at Paris, has protested against the act of piracy committed by several French journals, which published the whole of M. de la Guerronniere's pamphlet, and thereby enabled the public to buy for three sous that which would have cost them thirty at his shop. He abstains from a prosecution this time, but givos it to be understood that he will not be so indulgent in future. There can be no doubt that M. de la Guerronniere's profits have been considerably diminished by the piracy in question. FRENCH SPOILS FROM CHINA.—The articles taken from the Summer Palace at Pekin, and offered to the Empo ror and Empress by the army in China, are now exhibited in the gallery of the ground floor of the Pavilion Marsan, in the Tuileries. Visitors especially remark among them several gigantic vases in enamel of different colours; a magnificent pagoda in bronze gilt, chased, and several idols in gold and enamel, with singular features and postures; also a figure seated on an estrade, with the splendid costume of a Chinese Emperor, consisting of several garments placed one above the other, some decked with gold, others with steel, and all surmounted by a silk mantle of the imperial yellow colour, richly embroidered, and decked with buttons of gold and precious stones, and on the head of the figure is a helmet of gold and steel, having somewhat the shape of a tiara, and terminating in a long steel point. Two sceptres of gold, ornamented with jade, are to be seen ; they are in the form of the letter C very much lengthened. There are likewise two figures of monsters in gilt copper, each of which weighs at least 300 kilogrammes, and is of such com plicated workmanship that wonder is felt how it could have been cast in one piece, as it evidently has been. Among various admirable articles in porcelain attention is attracted by a large vase of the imperial yellow, ornamented with representations of branches of a tree of a charming green colour. Some blinds of extraordinary dimensions are also remarked. The same gallery also contains the fine collection of ancient armour of Europe which belonged to the cabinet of Prince Soltikoff. A suit of steel armour, inlaid with gold, of the most beautiful workmanship, is more particu larly to be noticed. There are in all about 40 suits, which occupy all one side of the gallery. THE SHERIFF SUBSTITUTE. — The Sheriff substi tute of —shire is one of the most facetious members of that order. 11 e has fallen into the habit of crooning, or whispering in an under tone, some of the more popular Scottish airs. A youthful panel was, in his Court, found guilty of larceny. After pronouncing the sentence of im prisonment, the Sheriff added, "Take care you don't come here again, or --" he closed the sentence by humming the tune, " Owre the water to Charlie." The hint was no doubt understood. A tailor was summoned before his court, charged with having unjustifiably dismissed a ser vant from his service. The defendant pled that the girl was so enormously voracious that he could not keep her in food. " Will four and sixpence a week (the usual amount of board wages allowed a servant) keep her ?" inquired the judge. "No near," replied the defendant. " Will six shillings do ?" requestioned the Sheriff. " No, that wadna keep her." "Now, take care," said the judge, "and answer cautiously. Will seven shillings do ?" "It will tak eight," said the persisting defender. "Then," said the Sheriff, "I decern that you pay eight shillings a week to the girl till the ex piry of her engagement." The justice of the decree was unquestionable,—Dr, Boyers' Familiar Iliostrations. LATEST NEW S. (REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.) CONSTANTINOPLE, FEB. 16. The _Levant .Herald states that the Hasne Ta vilis are to be renewed for 14 years. It also says that a general suspension of the Galata bankers and merchants is threatened. PESTH, FEB. 21. The Judicial Conference demands the immediate re-establishment of the Hungarian laws relating to letters of exchange. The municipality of Buda has resolved upon excluding all non-Hungarian residents in that city from the exercise of electoral rights. TURIN, FEB. 20. The Opinione gives a denial to the rumours of negotiations between Sardinia and Rome. Admiral Persano and General Cialdini, with troops, have left for Messina. General Mezzacapo, with a body of troops, has proceeded to wards Civitella, on the Tronto. Both fortresses will be attacked immediately if their commanders refuse to surrender. ST. PETERSBURG, FEB. 20. The Emperor has appointed his Aide-de-Camp, General Count Stackelberg, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Russia at the Court of the Queen of Spain. MADRID, FEB. 19. The Epoca says-t--" Spain and Morocco have 'agreed that the Moors shall immediately complete the payment of 200,000,000 reals." The Customs of Tangier and Mogador will be mortgaged to the Spaniards as a guarantee for the payment of the remainder of the war indemnity. The evacuation of Tetuan will take place at a fixed date. THE PENINSULAR MAIL. SOUTHAMPTON, THURSDAY. The Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamer Alhambra, Capt. Steward, with the above mail, arrived off the Needles at 12.5 p.m. THE CITADEL OF MESSINA. General Fergola, the officer whom Francis 11. placed in command of the Citadel of Messina, is hitherto undaunted by the fall of Gaeta, and has refused to surrender, declaring that he will defend the fortress to the last extremity. Admiral Per sano's squadron has consequently embarked Gen. Cialdini and a body of troops for Messina; and active operations will immediately be undertaken for the purpose of reducing the citadel. General Mezzacapo has likewise left Gaeta with some troops for Civitella del Tronto, as the Bourbonist Commandant of that fort persists in declining to .surrender. THE OPENING OF THE ITALIAN PARLIAMENT.' The following is the speech of King Victor Emmanuel at the opening of the Italian Parliament. An abridgement has already been published : 44 GENTLEMEN SENATORS, GENTLEMEN DEPUTIES I "Free, and nearly entirely united, by the won derful aid of Divine Providence, the concordant will of the peoples and the splendid valour of the armies, Italy confides in your virtue and wisdom. " To you it pertains to give her common institu tions and a firm foundation. In endowing with greater administrative freedom peoples that had various usages and institutions, you will take care that political unity, the aspiration of so many cen turies, may never be diminished. " The opinion of civilised nations is favourable to us ; the just and liberal principles, now prevailing in the councils of Europe, are favourable to us. Italy herself, too, will become a guarantee of order and peace, and will once more be an efficacious in strument of universal civilisation. " The Emperor of the French, firmly upholding the maxim of non-intervention---a maxim eminently beneficial to us, nevertheless deemed it proper to recall his envoy. If this fact was a cause of grief to us, it did not change the sentiments of ear grati tude nor our confidence in his affection to the Italian cause. " France and Italy, having in common their origin, traditions, and customs, formed on the plains of Magenta and Solferino a bond that will be indissoluble. " The Government and people of England, the ancient country of freedom, loudly took part for our right to be the arbiters of our own destinies, and they had lavishly bestowed on us their good offices, the grateful remembrance of which will be im perishable. " A loyal and illustrious prince having ascended the throne of Prussia, I sent to him an ambassador in token of respect for him personally, and of sym pathy with the noble German nation, which I hope will become more and more convinced that Italy, being constituted in her natural unity, cannot offend the rights or interests of other nations. " Gentlemen Senators, Gentlemen Deputies, I am certain you will be anxious to supply my Govern ment with the means of completing the armaments by land and sea. - Thus the kingdom of Italy, put into a condition of not fearing offence, will more easily find in the consciousness of her own strength a reason for opportune prudence. Once my words sounded bold ; it being as wise to dare in season as to wait in season. Devoted to Italy, I have never hesitated to expose my life and crown, but no one has the right to risk the life and destinies of a nation. "After many signal victories the Italian army, increasing every day in fame, acquired a new claim to glory by capturing one of the most formidable fortresses. I console myself with the thought that here will close for ever the mournful series of our civil conflicts. " The fleet has proved in the waters of Ancona and Gaeta, that the mariners of Pisa, Genoa, and Venice, are revived in Italy. " Valiant youths, led on by a captain who has filled with his name the most distant countries, have made it evident that neither servitude nor long misfortunes have been able to weaken the fire of the Italian peoples. " These facts have inspired the nation with great confidence in its own destinies. I take pleasure in manifesting to the first Parliament of Italy the joy I feel in my heart as King and soldier." BELGIUM. The report of the committee of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives charged to examine the proposition of M: Dumortier for giving French gold coins a legal currency in Belgium at their nominal value, has just been distributed to the members. The committee in its examination, has found itself in presence of four systems, which are thus described : " The first of those systems was set forth in the following proposition French gold shall be received in the public offices at a rate to be fixed by the Government every six months, according to the price in the Belgian money markets. The Government may, however, modify the rate when it shall think proper. This proposition was, after a long discussion, rejected by a majority of four to three. The second sy stem was contained in the fol lowing words It is decided to give legal cur rency to French gold at a rate to be determined by the Legislature not oftener than once a year. This was rejected by a majority of five to two. Tne third, which was warmly opposed and rejected like the other two, proposed a Belgian gold coinage of of 8-10th fineness. The fourth proposed that the French gold coins which in the proportion are made of one kilogramme of gold to 15 kilogrammes and a half of fine silver should De admitted at their nominal value as a legal tender so long as they should retain their currency and value in Fume, It proposed, moreover, to authorise the Government to coin 20fr. and 40fr. pieces in con formity with the monetary law of 1832, and of 10fr. and sfr. pieces of the same weight and di mensions as those of that value in France. This system was also rejected, as was also the propo sition of M. Barthelemy Dumortier, by a majority of four to three." No system can be either developed or supported as being adopted by the Central Committee unless a unanimous opinion is come to on one point—that it is urgent and necessary to make a change in the present monetary situation. This is not enough, in our opinion, and we cannot but express our regret at seeing it present itself disarmed before the discussion which is about to open, when a clear and definitive decision was expected. FRANCE. The news given in several foreign journals of M. Thouvenel having sent a diplomatic circular, giving reasons for a continued occupation of Rome by a French army, is said at the Foreign Office in Paris to be untrue. Letters from Marseilles say that detachments to reinforce the army of Rome are continually em barking. Baron Gros, the late French Plenipotentiary in China, arrived at Manilla on December 22, on board the Duchayla, and left on the 28th for Suez. He is expected to arrive in Paris very shortly. The Corps Legislatif, on Monday, annulled two elections in Upper Savoy for illegality. The Pre fect had only kept the poll open one day, whereas the law prescribes two. A new gunboat, constructed on a very novel plan, is expected in Paris from the ironworks of La Ciotat, near Marseilles. It is oval in shape, and constructed on the angular target principle, so that a shot cannot strike its side at right angles, and must consequently slant off. Experiments are expected to take place before the Emperor, at St. Cloud. BOURSE, Feb. 2.—The market has been heavy, and, stock having been rather offered, prices are slightly lower. Threes, which opened at 68f 15c are now at 68f 10c. The following are the last quotations :- 4i per per Cents 9B Do. end month, 97 95 3 per Cents Do. end month 6B 15 Bank Shares 2880 Credit Mobilier 666 25 Do. Account 668 75 RAILWAYS. Cash. Account. Orleans l4lO .. 1407 50 Northern New ditto 892 50 .. 892 50 Lyons and Mediterranean 932 50 .. 932 50 Geneva 3BO .. 373 75 Southern 527 50 .. 528 75 Western Eastern .... Sardinian • 380 380 Austrian Low bard 475 477 50 Credit Fonder 930 Belgian 4/ 99 25 Piedmontese Fives 76 25 Roman Austrian Spanish Threes 4B: Home Debt INDIA. By the arrival of the Overland Mail we receive papers from Bombay to January 26, and from Calcutta. :via Bombay, to January 18. There is very little news from either place. The principal topic is the famine. The Calcutta Gazette informs us, on the autho rity of the Lieutenant-Governor of thr North-west Provinces, of F, Williams, Esq., the commissioner of the Meerut division, and of J. H. Prinsep, Esq., collector of Allygurh, of such distressing facts as the following :—" Except in the tract at the foot of the Hills, and those lands which can be irrigated from canals or wells, the new crop has been a com plete failure." " Not a green blade is to be seen in any direction, save, perhaps, half a dozen fields of stunted crop, about as many inches as it should be feet high." " From Anoopshur to Muttra, from Meerut to the South-Western boundary of the division, the same unmitigated state of drought exists." " The khurecf crop is almost a total failure for miles and miles ; no more than a few ,scattered fields of stunted jowra, bajra, and cotton were visible." The rubbee prospects are extremely discouraging, the springing crop barely above the ground, and in every instance that came under the Lieutenant-Governor's view had a yellow sickly appearance. Courts-martial on the officers charged with in sulting conduct in a mosque at Cairo had been held at Calcutta, but had not been concluded at the de parture of the mail. BOMBAY COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE. BOMBAY, JAN. 26. . Since our last advices both our export and import markets have considerably declined. Although a slight animation was observable on the receipt of the last English mail in our cotton sales, prices soon declined, with a further down ward tendency. We now quote cotton, old, its. 122 ; Broach, old, Rs. 122; season 1861, Rs. 140; and Oomra wuttee, old, Rs. 111; season 1861, Rs. 135. Freights to Liverpool, £2 12s. 6d. ; London, £2 7s. 6d.; and China, Rs, 17 per candy. CALCUTTA, JAN. 25. The Bank of Bengal raised yesterday its rates 1 per cent. all round. GOVERNMENT SECURITIES.—Fours, 19 to I9i dis.; Fives, 44. to 4f dis.; Five-and-a-Halfs, Rs. 1/ to Its. 14- prem. ; on Bombay, 99. THIS DAY'S MARKETS. CORN EXCHANGE. bif ERIAL WEEKLY AVERAGES. Wheat, 54s ; barley, 38s lld ; oats, 23s Od ; rye, 35s 7d ; beans, 408 Od ; and peas, 44s 7d. THE SIX WEEKS' AVERAGES. - Wheat, 55s 10d ; barley, 40s Od ; oats, 22s lld ; rye, 35s 2d ; beans, 41s 5d ; peas, 43s 3d. ENGLISH GRAIN SOLD LAST WEEK.—Wheat, 63,538 ; barley, 64,688 ; oats, 16,691; rye, 99; bean5,.3,747 ; peas, 979 quarters. METROPOLITAN CATTLE MARKET. Our market to-day was very moderately supplied with all breeds of beasts ; nevertheless, the beef trade was in a sluggish state at Monday's currency. The show of sheep was by no means extensive, yet the mutton trade was somewhat heavy at Monday's decline in value. Calves, though in short supply were dull, and 2d per 81bs lower in price. Pigs moved off slowly at late rates, and there was scarcely any demand for mulch cows. The general quality of the stock was by no means prime. Per Blbs to sink the offal. s. d. s. d. Crse. & inf. beasts 3 0 3 4 Second quality do. 3 6 4 0 Prime large oxen 4 2 4 6 Prime Scots, &c. 4 8 4 10 Crse. & inf. sheep 3 8 4 0 Second quality do. 4 2 4 6 Lambs, Os I Suckling calves, 19s to 23s 23s to 395. R. d. s. d. I Primecrs-wool do. 4 10 5 6 Ppm. S' thdown d o 5 8 5 10 Large orse. calves 4 6 5 0 Prime small do 5 2 5 6 Large hogs 4 0 4 6 Small porkers 4 8 5 0 ld to Os Ocl. and quarter .old store pigs, FOREIGN SUPPLY Beasts Sheep Calves Pigs .... TOTAL SUPPLY. Beasts B5O Sheep and lambs 3,220 Calves Pigs MEAT MARKETS. :NENVGATE AND LEADENHALL. The supplies of meat, are only moderate, and trade is inactive as follows : Beef, from 3s Od to 4s 2d ; mutton, 3s 4d to 4s 6d ; lamb, Os Od to Os Od ; veal, 4s 4d to 4s 8d ; pork, 3s 6d to 4s 8d per 81bs. by the carcase. _ _ _ SOUTHALL, Feb. 20.—A fair average supply. Trade heavy : Beef, 3s 4d to 4s 8d , mutton, 4s Od to 5s 8d ' • lamb, Os Od is Os Od ; veal, 4s Od to 4 s 6 d ; pork, 4 s Od to 4s 8d per 81bs to sink the offal. ROMFORD, Feb. 20. —A heavy sale, as follows Beef, from 3s 6d to 4s 8d ; mutton, 4s Od to 53 10d ; lamb, Os Od to Os Od ; veal, 4s Od to 4s 4d ; and pork, 4s Od to 48 8d per 81bs; suckling calves, 19s to 228 ; quarter old store pigs, 22s to 29s each; and milch cows, £l5 Os to £l9 Os each. HAY MARKETS. SMITHFIELD.—Meadow hay, Z 2 Os to £5 Os Od ; clover do., £3 Os to £slos ; and straw, 10s to 18s per load. Trade dull. CUMBERLAND. Meadow hay, £2 Os to £5 clover, £3 Os to £ss 10s Od ; and straw, 10.; to .£llBs per load. A slow demand. WIIITECHAPEL. —Meadow hay, £2 N to £5 Os Od ; clove!, £3 Os to £5 15s Od; giad straw, £1 10s to Cl lEs per load. Supply good and trade (lull. A meeting of the Oriental Inland Steam Com pany was held yesterday, Col. J. Grimes in the chair, when the report was adopted after a protracted discussion. The point principally referred to was a trial by 'Messrs. Penn and Napier and Captain Small of the new steamer Jumna and train which took place on the Clyde on the 30th of last month. It appears from their report that a satisfacloi y rate of speed was attained, and that by a few small altera ticns an increase can be effected. It also appeared that there is no difficulty in steering or managing the train. Captain T. 0. E us ti ce, formerly in the service of the Indian navy o n the Indus, likewise reports in favour of the appli cability of the train system to the navigation of that river. A meeting of the Southampton Dock Company took place yesterday afternoon, when the proposed dividend of 10s. for the past half year, making a total distribution of al per cent, for 1860, was agreed to, I NTERNATIONTLiIi lIIBTTIII 7 , 1862. The following letter from the Commissioners for the Exhibition of 1862 has been received by Sir Thomas Phillips, Chairman of the Council of the Society of Arts : " Council•office, Feb. 20, 1861. " am directed to acknowledge the receipt of Mr. Foster's letter of the 16th of February, en closing the charter which has been granted to the Earl Granville, K.G., the Marquis of Chandos, Mr. Thomas Baring, M.P., Mr. C. Wentworth Dilke, and Mr. Thomas Fairbairn, incorporating them as Commissioners for the Exhibition of 1862. " The Commissioners, on the 22d of November last, agreed to act after a guarantee had been pro mised to such an extent as to show a strong opinion in the public mind that the time for holding a second International Exhibition in this country had arrived—after the guarantors had expressed an opinion that the absolute control of the under taking ought to be intrusted to five gentleman named by them—and after the Commissioners of the Exhibition of 1851 had intimated their appro val of the project, and their confidence in the pro posed mode of management, and had promised their support and assistance. The Commissioners, there fore, gladly accept a charter which conveys to them her Majesty's gracious assurance that she is ear nestly desirous to promote the holding of an Inter national Exhibition of Industry and Art in the year 1862, and that she is pleased to sanction the proposed arrangements. " The powers conveyed by the charter will, how ever, be practically inoperative until the deed of guarantee has been executed. When this has been done the Bank of England has agreed to advance the necessary loan of money on liberal terms. The Commissioners therefore desire me to request that you will represent to the Council the necessity of having the deed signed as soon as possible. " The Commissioners, unwilling to lose valuable time, have, during the interval required for the preparation of the requisite legal powers, taken sueh provisional steps as their position permitted. " The most pressing point was the building re quired for the Exhibition. In 1850, notwithstand ing the possession of considerable funds, and the assistance of the most eminent architects and engi neers, seven months elapsed before a design was adopted. The Commissioners therefore left that if they postponed the consideration of this subject until they were a legally constituted body, the cost of the building would be greatly increased, and a serious risk incurred of its non-completion by the appointed time. The arrangements made by the Society of Arts, when negotiating for a site on the estate of the Commissioners of 1851, and their announcement that the Exhibition was to include pictures, a branch of art not exhibited on the former occasion, rendered it necessary to contemplate the erection of a building in some parts of a more substantial character than that of 1851. " A plan was submitted to the Commissioners by Captain Fowke, R.E., who had been employed by her Majesty's Government in the British Depart ment of the Paris Exhibition of 1855. This design was adapted to the proposed site, and was intended to meet the practical defect which experience had shown to exist both in the buildings in Hyde Park and in the Champs Elysees. It appeared well adapted for the required purposes, and its principal features were of a striking character, and likely to form an attractive part of the Exhibition. The Commissioners submitted the design to the compe tition of ten eminent contractors, four of whom took out the quantities. Three tenders (one a joint one from two of the contractors invited) were sent in on the day named in the invitation, but all were greatly in excess of the amount which the Commissioners could prudently spend, with a due regard to the interests of the guarantors. " The Commissioners have, therefore, had under their consideration modifications of the plan, which, without destroying its merits, would materially reduce its cost. " The Commissioners having learnt that the French Government had applied, on the 3d of November last, to the Foreign-office, to know whether it was intended to hold an international Exhibition in England in 1862, entered into private communication with that Government, from whom they have received satisfactory assurances of sup port, accompanied by a statement that it had been the intention of the Emperor to hold an interna tional Exhibition in Paris in 1862, had the project not been entertained in England. " The Commissioners also requested the Duke of Newcastle, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, to announce the design entertained of holding an Exhibition, and the intentio n o f th e promoters to apply to the Crown for a charter • and the Commis sioners have been inform e d that his Grace has addressed a communication to that effect to all the governors of her Majesty's colonies. "The Commissioners have had under their con sideration the revision of the rules laid down in 1851 respecting the award of prizes, the constitution of juries, the affixing of prices, the distribution of space, the mode of classification, and also the orga nisation of the additional department of the fine arts. " When, therefore, the guarantee deed has been executed, the Commissioners hope to be able to pro ceed at once with the construction of the buildings, and to announce the rules and regulations for the arrangement of the Exhibition. " I have the honour to be, sir, " Your obedient servant, "F. It. SANDFORD." Dr.ATH OF M. _EUGENE SCRIBE. The death of this celebrated French dramatist is announced. The following sketch of his career is taken from Knight's Cyclopedia : " Augustin-Eugene Scribe, one of the most fer tile and successful of the French dramatic writers, was born in Paris, on December 24, 1791, the son of a merchant, who on his death left him a considerable fortune. His first studies were directed to the law, but his dramatic talent was indicated so early that his guardian, the advocate Bonnet, recommended him to abandon the bar for the stage. His first drama was produced in conjunction with his school fellow, Germain Delavigne. It was entitled The Dervise,' and was performed in 1811 with great applause. His course has been uninterrupted ever since, and the number of his productions almost innumerable. Ho has not only supplied the French stage, but through translations, adap tations, and suggestions, the stages of the greater part of Europe, and especially that of England. Scribe's productions are of a peculiar character. He is by no means a dramatic poet though he possesses facility of invention it is shown more in the clever development of his plots than in the imagining of the higher and nobler description of character. Where he has attempted this he has failed. His distin guishing merits are a remarkable ingenuity and inexhaustible variety in the construction of his plots, a ,lightness and ease in their development, the conversational fluency and point of his dialogue, and a correct conception and vigorous delineation of character in what may be called the outside , circles of civilised—or rather, Parisian—life. In his operas, for many of which he has produced librettos, he has well adapted his language to the music, but, as we have said of his other writings, he t d h o e es po n e o ti t cal. reachH—isprobably has se been not ani not less than his industry, and he is said to have received immense sums for many of his pieces, and to have realised considerable wealth. It would not be easy to enumerate all his pieces, as many of them, vaudevilles especially, were originally issued under assumed names ; but among those by which he will be known to Eng lish readers we may mention Le Comte Ory,' Le plus beau Jour de la Vie,' ;La Muette de Portici,' Fra Diavolo,' Robert le Diable," Les Diamants de la Couronne,' Bertrand et ItatoL,' o ' L u s a V e others,r re d 'E h a a u v , ' e all beenof which, reproduced as well a t as numer theatres. A s e l ec ti on from his works wEasngpluisbh lished in 1843 in seven volumes ; and a romance of his has been translated and published in England, called The Victim of the Jesuits.'" TILE ROLL OF THE LORDS.—The roll of the Lords, spiritual and temporal, has just been printed. There are 30 spiritual lords and 427 temporal, reckoning Lord Auck land among the former as Bishop of Bath and Wellc. The spiritual lords are 26 English prelates and four Irish, the Irish prelates on the roll this session being the Archbishop of Dublin and the Bishops of Down, Ossory, and Cork. Of the temporal lords three are of the blood royal—the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cumberland (King of Hanover), and the Duke of Cambridge. There follow 20 dukes, 22 mar quises, 131 earls, 28 viscounts, and 223 barons. This, how ever, is reckoning them technically, aceerding to the titles by which they sit in the House. For instance, the Duke of Buccleuch is placed among the earls because he sits, not by his Scotch title, but as Earl of Doncaster in the English peerage, and the Duke of Argyll is reckoned only among the barons (Baron Smadridge) ; the Earl of Roden is Lord Clanbrassill ; the Marquis of Clanricardo, Lord Sornerhill ; Lord Panmure also remains among the barons, his newly inherited Scotch title of Earl of Dalhousie having no seat in the House annexed to it. Assigning all such peers to the rink and title by which they arc commonly known, and spea ki n g popularly, the tculpiral lords are--a prince, a king, 27 dukes, 37 marquises, 170 earls, 31 viscounts, and 162 barons. The whole number in the House, therefore, i5:457; a generation ago it was not 400. 014 4 1111 (dd .-- '''" --=- j---,- C / I