The Sun. — London, England, 1861-12-07 00:00:00

P 0 YAL ENGLISH OPERA, CO VENT GARDEN. thlicr the management of Miss Louisa. Pyne and Mr. Wm. Harrison, Sole Lessees. • THIS EVENING, THE PURITAN'S DAUGHTER. bliss Louisa Pyne, Miss Susan P_yne; Messrs. Santlcy, A. St. Albyn, Corti, G. Honey, Patey, Lyall, allworth, T. Distin, E. Dussek, and W. Harrison. Conductor, Mr. ALFRED MELLON. To conclude with THE TOY MAKER. Mr. 11. Haigh, G. Tyne ; Mesdames Susan Pyne and Thirlwall, Commence at Seven o'clock. The Box-office open from Ten to Five daily. No charge for bouking, or tees to ki3x-keepers. Stage-Manager, Mr. Leigh Murray. Acting-Manager, ➢lr. Ard Murray. - 1 1 HEATRE.ROYAL, HAYMAItKET, Lessee, Mr. J. B. Buotstone. THIS EVENING, FAMILY JARS. Mr. Compton and Mrs. E. Fitzwilliam. To be f01i0.% ed by OUR AMERICAN COUSIN. Lord Dunrireary, Mr. S Ahern. Mr. Buckstone, Mr. Farren, Mrs. C. Young. &a After which, MY AUNT'S ADVICE. Mr. Howe, Mr. Sotheran, Miss Oliver, &e. To con hide with A. KISS IN THE DARK. Commence at 7. ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE. Manaqcr. —Mr. Edmund Falconer. THIS EVENING, the nertormances will commence with THE DAY AFTER THE WEDDING Mr. Walter Lacy and Mrs. St. Henry. A 1 fet• which, at a quarter to Eight • (25th time) the new and original Drama, entitled PEEP 0' DAY ; or, Savourneen Deelish. Messrs. Walter Lacy, 'Hermann Vezin, Charles S , •lby, Edmun I Falconer ; Mrs. D. P. Bowers, Miss Clara Weston. ------- To conclude with AN UNPROTECTED FEMALE, in which Miss Lydia Thompson will Dance the Volunteer Step Acting Manager—Mr. F. B. Chatterton. Prices as usual. Doors open at half-past 6, to commence at 7 Box-office open daily from 11 till 5. ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE.- Lessee and Manazer, Mr. A. Harris. TMg EVENING, THE MERRY WIVES OF WIND SOR. Sir John Falstaff; Mr. Ryder (his 9th appearance in that character.) Messrs. G. Jordan, H. Widdicomb, &e. To conclude with BLUE JACKETS. NEW THEATRE-ROYAL, ADELPHI.- Sole Proprietor and Man:tear, Mr. B. Webster. THUS EVENING, THE PRETTY FIORSEBREABER. Mr. J. L. Toole, Mr. P. Bedford, and Miss Woolgar. After which, the new drama, entitled THE OCTOROON; or, LIFE IN LOUISIANA ; written by the author of "The Colleen Bawn." Mr. George Jamison, from the Winter garden, New York; Miss Latimer, from the provincial thea tres ; and Miss Denvil, from the Lyceum. The other prin- Opal characters in the drama will be performed by Messrs. Emery, Stephenson Billington, Paul Bedford, Romer. Mrs. + iillington. Mrs. Marston, &c., &a Entirely new scenery by ressrs. Dalby and Thompson. To conclude with DOMESTIC ECONOMY. Mr. Toole, ntiss K. Kelly, &c. Doors onen at half-past 6—Commence at 7. Box-office open from 10 till 5. No charge for booking. NEW 4 R OYALTY THEATRE Dean-street, Oxford-street. Under the Direction of Mdlle. Albina di Rhona. THIS EVENING, to commence with THE GOVERNOR'S WIFE. After which, Mdlle. di Rhona will appear in CAMELIA, and Dance two National Dances. After which, BAMBOOZLING. To conclude with LES PIERROTS. Box-office open from 11 to 4. Doors open at 7—Commence at half-past 7. C INTERBURY HALL CONCERTS, AND FINE ARTS GALLERY. SAII COWELL at Eleven o'clock in several favou rite Songs, including " THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT. " Grand Selections from STRADELLA and LA TRAVIATA, By Miss Russell, 111i , ui_Ernst, Mr. Herbert, and Signor Tivoli, with a poWerful Chorus, The Comic department :—Mr. Sam Cowell ; Mr. Marshall, in his new song, "John Bull, you don't bamboozle me ;" Messrs. Harvey and Wrench (the Nerves); Mr. Wood and his talented son, the best negro delineators of the day; and Miss Harriet Coveney Musical Director, Mr. Jonghmans. Admission—Hall, 6d. ; Stalls and Balcony, Is. T H E 0 X F 0 It D, 6, OXFORD-STREET. EVERY EVENING. Selections from " LA CIRCASSIENNE," "Simon Balea ric-9;ra," and "Ernani," by Miss Russell and Miss Ernst ; Messrs. Albert (his first appearance), Morley Greville, ctc. Full Band and Chorus.—Conductor, Mr. F. Jonghmans.— Balte's new ballads by Miss Russell and Madame E ders sohn (composed expressly for them). And Varied Comic Entertainments by Miss Harriet Coveney, Messrs. W. Ran dal:, Harvey and French (The Nerves), E. Hsi-shall, and SAM COWELL. Hall, Bd. ; Balcony and Stalls, is ; Private Boxes, 10s. fid. 'HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. Tins DAY.—Morning, 511. 27m.—Afternoon, sh. 50m. To-monucw.-Monaing, 6h. 14m.—Afternoon, 6h. 38m. THE WEATHER.—SUN OFFICE, DECEMBER 7, 1861. THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE. 50—',ighest since noon yesterday. 42—lowest this morning and during the night. 4S —this day at noon. BAROMETER-29.42. It must be stormy somewhere near at hand. WlND—Westerly ; light, with dull weather. :~,~'-: `rye ~ ~; ~- k, __~~'- _ efia . t .-:.a,-,-;; qz- N. - A .`i., , :_t-47 ..,' , F , ' \ a' (c ' "444,11 w \ ,0 5 ,` ,, -- - THE SUN. LONDON, SATURDAY, DEC. 7, 1861. The ordinary details of Federalist and Confede rate movements to which we formerly looked with so much interest seem almost trivial while we are waiting for the President's answer to the English demands ; they are, however, of interest still though, as hitherto nothing decisive is effected on either side. The last from the Potomac and Washington is not indeed much more than opinion. We are informed that it is a mistake to suppose, as we have thought not improbable, that the grand army will go into winter quarters without any important advance this year. That, neither the policy of the Government nor the tempo'r of the people will per mit this. The people, however, have been taught by Bull's Run that temper is a bad general, and policy must bend to military necessity. The question of arming or emancipating the slaves--a vital one in regard to that of final success —still wavers in the balance. Recent intelligence found a General speaking strongly in its favour, and a secretary, Mr. CAMERON, endorsing his lan• guage at Washington itself. This tithe we are told that the Secretary of the Interior, Mr. SMITH, has disavowed Mr. CAMERON'S policy, and declared that it is not the policy of the Administration. But as if to show that the question was passing into the hands which control American secretaries, the Democrats themselves are taking up the opinion that to crush the rebellion the slaves must be made use of, and this view is rapidly making way amongst them. It is even said that that once om nipotent party sees in this policy their way to re gaining their lost political superiority. Mr. LIN COLN was forced into fighting,though preferring a war of technical pleas. He may be obliged at last to meet military necessities and popular demands by consenting to emancipation. The facts of the war are few. We read of the reinforcement of General SHERMAN at Port Royal ; the fitting out of fresh expeditions ; of twenty-five vessels prepared by loading them with stones to block up some Southern harbour ; of a grand review, though not of a grand march; of the occupation by Federal troops of the long peninsula, forming the eastern shore of Chesapeake Bay, th e greater part of which belongs to Virginia; and of large quantiti es of cotton being " gathered" at Beaufort on account of the Federal Government, though we had supposed the time for gathering cotton was pretty well past, and of the bombardment of Pensacola. In Missouri the Confederates still appear to be the aggressive They have burnt a town to prevent their opponents using it during the winter; and the ex- Governor JACKSON and the Rump Missouri Legis lature, as we suppose it must be called, have passad a Secession ordinance. General HALLECE, successor to FREMONT, is already reversing his predecessor's policy, and is prohibiting any more fugitive slaves from entering the Federal camp. Tho reason or pretext assigned is, that they carry valuable in for mation to the enemy. Of the state of feeling in reference to the seizure of the Trent we have not anything which affords aP.v clu e The opiutieowr ohfitt i will be done by th e G overnment. knew b e f ore ; tsars. EV ERETT and SUMNER we '- that of the latter we know to be an entirely mistaken One . he being in error in regard side. Whatever the opinion at Washington, the opi nion at Richmond on the seizure of the Confederate Commissioners was certain enough. Mr. JEFFER SON DAVIS has, we must say, however, in his Mes sage to his Congress, made the most clever and dignified use of it conceivable. He hardly mekes it a substantive part of his Message ; it is introduced as one among many violations of law and right on the part of the Washington Government. Of these he rehearses a list, looking at which he represents the South as now regarding the North only with " contemptuous astonishment," and as rendering the aversion of the South from reunicn with such lawless wretches as more determined than ever. Following on a long list of contemptible and cruel violations of the laws of civilised freedom, comes the extension of their injuries to the South even under the jurisdiction of a neutral nation. Mr. DAVIS does us the honour of accepting the positkin we took from the first—using even the identical illustration—" These gentlemen," he says, " were as much under the jurisdiction of the British Government, upon that ship and beneath its flag, as if they had been on its soil, and a claim on the part of the United States to seize them in the streets of London would have been as well founded as that to apprehend them where they were taken. Had they been manufacturers ; and citizens even of the United States, they could not have been arrested on a British ship or on British soil, unless under the express provisions of a treaty, and according to the forms therein provided for the extradition of criminals. But rights the most sacred seem to have lost all respect in their eyes." It may be objected that Mr. DAVIS is not a more impartial judge than Englishmen are. That may be so. Still he is at least an independent thinker on the same side. Mr. DAVIS, with admirable dignity and tact, abstains from any appeal to us, He merely states the fact as one of many Northern crimes—in this case against the sacred character of an ambassador and the rights of England ; but he does not betray in a single word the exultation he must feel that we should thus be converted into enemies of the North, or at least a nation wronged by it. On the contrary, he explicitly declares that they have asked no aid from foreign Governments, and mean to ask none. He affirms as fact that their army has protected them hitherto, and in the face of every difficulty has won a series of re markable victories; while with every month of the war they are becoming more and more compe tent to provide their own arms, and in everyway to depend on their own resources. If they are debarred from intercourse with the nations, they are at least becoming every day less dependent on them. Mr. DAVIS seems still to labour under the de lusion that " Cotton is King." He thinks the in jury done to European communities fourfold greater than that inflicted on the Southern States ! He seems to have no idea that the wisest of us believe it will be for the advantage of the cotton manufacture, that the American monopoly of raw material should cease, and that England, at least, knows that it will be for her permanent advantage that she and other nations should be driven to India and to other nations, not cursed with the hateful institution which makes Mr. Davls's State a reproach to himself, to his people, and to civilisation. Mr. DAVIS may rest assured that England has no sympathy with him or his Ambassadors. Had they got safe here they would have had, perhaps, a sorry time of it, as the Representatives of a State which avows that slavery is its corner-stone. And most assuredly, while we regret that our demand is for the liberation of two slaveholders, we should have exulted to reclaim any slaves of Messrs. SLIDELL, MASON, or DAVIS himself, who had become freemen by getting aboard a British ship. It is a deduction from our interest in seeking the liberation of the captured men, that they are themselves kidnappers by profession, or at least buyers and sellers of their fellow-men, who have an equal right, as all Eng lishmen think, to buy and sell Mr. DAVIS and his Commissioners. We scout the Southern cause, while we respect the naval territory of England. In our impression of Thursday evening, we took occasion to refer incidentally to the speech recently delivered by the Hon. JOSEPH HOWE, clown at Ashton under-Lyne. The speaker being the Prime Minister of Nova Scotia—and the audience an im mense gathering of the working classes in this country. Those remarks of Mr. HOWE'S, upon which we briefly commented only the day before yesterday, it may be borne in mind, by those who glanced down our leading columns of that even ing, bear reference, in a particular manner, to the sentiments with which the deplorable Civil War, now raging between the Federalists and the Confe derates of the American Republic are regarded by the population of our. North American Provinces. The observations, however, which had been pre viously made by the same distinguished speaker, in the course of the harangue delivered by him on Tuesday last, at the important meeting which had then and there assembled, for the express purpose of welcoming him down . at Ashton-under-Lyne —the introductory remarks uttered by Mr. HOWE immediately upon ri s i ng to address his Lancashire audience upon the subject of the American War, although bearing but very indirectly indeed upon that subject, were of a character so important that we cannot but deem them entitled to a somewhat more than merely passing consideration. We hesitate, therefore, not for an instant in recalling attention to this speech of Mr. HOWE'S at Ashton under-Lyne, while the vibrations of his earnest voice are yet fresh in the recollection of those who on the 3d instant had the satisfaction of listening to him. They agree so entirely, those observations of the Nova Scotian Prime Minister, with the argument we ourselves have very recently been maintaining in these columns—in a series of articles, that at least, with all their shortcomings, possessed the double merit of being thoroughly heartfelt and carefully deliberated—that we re joice to note this anticipative coincidence of our own opinions with those which were articulated so very impressively on Tuesday last, by that emi nent Transatlantic Statesman and Administrator. The observations to which we would here more particularly direct the attention of the labouring classes in this country were uttered by Mr. HOWE, to all appearance, in a manner perfectly unpreme ditated. ,They were elicited, in fact, by a chance re mark addressed by the Chairman to this meeting of Lancashire labouring men at Ashton-under- Lyne, to the effect that " when he (Mr. HUGH BROWN) looked at the fact that during the last 10 years upwards of 2,000 British people had left these shores to settle in the United States of America, and when he looked at—he would not say the pro bability—GOD forbid that he should even contem plate the possibility of that great outlet for their redundant population being shut up, for the work ing people of this country it would be the greatest calamity that could happen"—viz , any collision between this country and the Northern Republicans. It was in reference to what had been thus said by the Chairman on Tuesday, that the Nova Scotian Prime Minister at once observed—almost upon the instant of his rising, that while the Chairman had spoken thus of "the possibility of the English workman being shut out from the United States and from homes in the New World, he (Mr. HowE) was glad to be able to inform them, that if the United States had the power to close their frontiers upon the people of this country to-morrow, there was in the northern provinces of their own empire a country larger than the United States open to them all !" "It was a mistaken notion to suppose," the speaker went on immediately to say,—[and really and truly many appear to argue as though this were the most reasonable supposition in the world !]— " It was a mistaken notion to suppose that Repub lican America owned the whole continent ; for the flag of England floated over more than one half of that vast country ! The British subjects who lived in that northern portion of the continent of America," Mr. HowE reminded his hearers, " were 3,000,000 of people now, and they had homes for 100,000,000 if they would come!" In testimony of which it was only necessary to remark en passant that the northern provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfound land, Prince Edward's Island, and the territory of the Hudson's Bay Company, contain within them in round numbers an extent of country not less al together than 4,000,000 square miles ! In other words, as Mr. HOWE put it, these North American provinces of Great Britain " are larger than the United States before those States were divided. And it could, therefore, be seen," he insisted, " that there would be ample room and verge enough for all the stray British subjects who might wander across the Atlantic for centuries to come"—within the limits of our transatlantic dominions! Let this argument of the Nova Scotian Prime Minister be laid well to heart among our industrial population. More particularly, he said explicitly—almost in so many words—these, our North American posses sions, " Could give a home and 100 acres of land to every spare man in Lancashire, and not feel that their territory was much diminished." Descending to particulars, Mr. HOWE directed the attention of his hearers in an especial manner to the temptations to emigration held out by that province of our em pire—with the capabilities of which province he is more intimately acquainted than with any other—a province, remember, over the affairs of which, it may be said, he presides at this moment in his respon sible capacity as its chief administrator ! Refer ring to Nova Scotia, "he might remark," he said, "that it was 350 miles long, and nearly surrounded by the ocean. The country was most like England of any country on the face of the earth. It was like England in possessing inexhaustible mines of coal and iron; and where these were combined no country could be despised. They had, besides, lime and gypsum, and, in point of fact, every mineral ore, and ochre was to be found in this little penin sula. Last spring the people began to dig gold ; and he had brought over nuggets in the shape of huge buttons that would not be a bad ornament for a Court suit. The quartz had been pronounced by the savans of England to be as promising as that produced in the early history of the mines in Cali fornia and Australia; and if they should not prove to be so rich eventually, they were less difficult to get at, and would not entail privation and suffering on the miners, the mines being accessible by deep sea navigation, by navigable rivers, or by railways." With sufficient reason might the Prime Minister of Nova Scotia remark after this, as he did remark on Tuesday, that " He sometimes smiled that they took the trouble to send Englishmen to the far ends of the earth, when they had a cheap and easy journey to so eligible a country, where personal liberty was secure." Where not only personal liberty was secure, but where, although "they had their fights and struggles for political position, they could nevertheless show, as they had shown, that the constitution of England could be transplanted, con solidated, and confirmed wherever the Anglo-Saxon race was to be found." Again, we say, let these earnest and truthful and most impressive remarks of one of the leading administrators of one of our splendid North American provinces be laid well to heart by the labouring population of England. THE WARD OF ALDERSGATE.—The requisition to Mr. Besley, the eminent type-founder, to allow himself to be put in nomination for the vacancy in the representation of the Ward of Aldersgate, to which we referred c,n Thurs day, has already been so numerously signed as to preclude the possibility of any other candidate coming forward. What we stated on Thursday, namely, that Mr. Besley's succeeding to the vacant alderman's gown was certain, is now placed beyond a doubt.—Morning Advertiser. REINFORCEMENTS FOR CANADA.—The Cunard steamship Persia has been chartered by Government for the conveyance of reinforcements to Canada. She will sail, along with the Australian, in about 10 days. The destina tion of both vessels will probably be the Riviera dn. Loup or the Island of Bic. The vigorous preparations which are being made by our Government in anticipation of war with America have produced considerable sensation. At Portsmouth and other dockyards there is a degree of activity that has not been witnessed for many years past. It is understood that the Guards have volunteered for foreign service. We learn further that Government have sent out a number of non commissioned officers for the purpose of immediatel7 drilling the Canadian Militia. Considerable anxiety prevails as to the period which will be allowed for mail communication with Ame rica in case of a declaration of war. This matter, however, has been well provided for in a convention cmcluded be tween the two countries, dated the 15th of December, 1848, when Mr. Polk was President of the United Stites and Lord Palmerston was at our Foreign-office. By this it is stipulated that, in case of war between the two nations, the m hos a noa i m l stT p hte a heea c eemp i n c r e aois t acuo s elnvd o oit f the two services shall continue their navi gation " without impediment or molestation until six o weeks after a notification shall have been made on the part of either of the two Governments, and delivered to the co her, that the service is to be discontinued, in which case they should be permitted to return freely and under special protection to their respective ports." I The bar silver brought by the Mexican packet ch a he t t aas G vi I nfe i re i dh . mo p f woe Buenos o vtuh u eere n n, coteas, lastkshowing e. stateai n n t a n d te v h t an n tte interval Transactionso v f a oat d t 6ploisdal. frTomhoGdoenllearrasialrjeninuoitzayteot scoeldn.eralm and President,h i s eo-eper referreda t co-operation nbyinG e t n h e e ra r l e-e i l i e t c r t e io t n o o l f * tr a e,offering peace Congress enos A r a e n an d the Government, had been favourably received, and Zit an agent had been despatched to General Urciniza's head quarters in Entre Rios. It was believed that General Mitre had abandoned all idea of invading the interior pro vinces, Tr E 'T IN THE CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA. PRESIDENT DAVIS'S MESSAGE. (PER THE EDINBURGH, via QUEEN STOWN.) NEW YORK, Nov. 24. The following is the text of President Davis's Message to the Confederate Congress : " TO TIIE CONGRESS OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES-. " The few weeks which have elapsed since your adjournment have brought us so near the close of the year that we are now able to sum up its general results. The retrospect is such as should fill the hearts of our people with gratitude to Providence for His kind interpositirn on their behalf. Abun dant yields have rewarded the labour of the agri culturist, whilst the manufacturing industry of the Confederate States was never so prosperous as now. The necessities of the times have called into exist ence new branches of manufactures, and given a fresh impulse to the activity of those heretofore in operation. The means of the Confederate States for manufacturing the necessaries and comforts of life within themselves increases as the conflict con tinues, and we are gradually becoming indepen dent of the rest of the world for the supply of such military stores and munitions as are indispensable for war. " The operations of the army, soon to be partially interrupted by the approaching winter, have affor ded a protection to the country, and shed a lustre upon its arms, through the trying vicissitudes of more than one arduous campaign, which entitle our brave volunteers to oar praise and our gratitude. From its commencement up to the present period the war has been enlarging its proportions and ex panding its boundaries so as to include new fields. The conflict now extends from the shores of the Chesapeake to the confines of Missouri and Arizona, yet sudden calls from the remotest points for mili tary aid have been met with promptness enough not only to avert the disaster in the face of. superior numbers, but also to roll back the tide of invasion from the border. When the war commenced the enemy were possessed of certain strategic points and strong places within the Confederate States. They greatly exceeded us in numbers, in available resources, and in the supplies necessary for war. Military establishments had been long organised, and were completed. The navy, and, for the most part, the army, once common to both, were in their possession. To meet all this we had to create, not only an army in the face of war itself, but also mi litary establishments necessary to equip and place it in the field. It ought, indeed, to be a subject of gratulation, that the spirit of the volunteer, and the patriotism of the people, have enabled us, under Providence, to grapple successfully with these dif ficulties. " A succession of glorious victories at Bethel, Bull Run, Manassas, Springfield, Lexington, Leesburg, and Belmont, has checked the wicked invasion which greed of gain and the un hallowed lust of power brought upon our soil, and has proved that numbers cease to avail ,when directed against a people fighting for the sacred right of self-government and the pri vileges of freemen. After seven months of war the enemy have not only failed to extend their occupancy of our soil, but new states and ter ritories have been added to our Confederacy ; while instead of their threatened march of unchecked con quest they have been driven at more than one point to assume the defensive, and upon a fair comparison between the belligerents as to men, military means, and financial condition, the Confederate States are relatively much stronger now than when the struggle commenced. " Since your adjournment the people of Missouri have conducted the war, in the face of almost un paralleled difficulties, with a spirit and success alike worthyof themselves and of the great cause in which they are struggling. Since that time Ken tucky, too, has become the theatre of active hostili ties. The Federal forces have not only refused to acknowledge her a party to the war, but invaded her for the purpose of attacking the Confederates States. Outrages of the most despotic character have been perpetrated upon her people. Som e of her most eminent citizens have been seized and borne away to languish in foreign prison, without knowing who were the accusers, or the specific charges made against them, while others have been forced to abandon their homes, their families, and property, and seek a refuge in distant lands. " Finding that the Confederate States were about to be invaded through Kentucky, and that her people, after being deceived into a mistaken security, were unarmed, and in danger of being subjugated by the Federal forces, our armies were marched into that State, to repel the enemy, and prevent their occupation of certain strategic points, which would have given them great advantages in the contest—a step which was justified not only by the necessities of self-defence on the part of the Con federate States, but also by a desire to aid the people of Kentucky. It was never intended by the Confederate Government to conquer or coerce the people of that State ; but, on the contrary, it was declared by our generals that they would with draw their troops if the Federal Government would do otherwise. Proclamation was also made of the desire to respect the neutrality of Kentucky,and the intention to abide by the wishes of her people as soon as they were free to express their opinions. These declarations were approved by me, and I should regard it as one of the best effects of the march of our troops into Kentucky if it should end in giving to her people liberty of choice, and a free opportunity to decide their, own destiny according to their own will. " The army has been chiefly instrumental in prosecuting the great contest in which we are engaged; but the navy has also been effective in full proportion to its means. The naval officers, deprived to a great extent of an opportunity to make their professional skill available at sea, have served with commendable zeal and gallantry on shore, and upon inland waters, further details of which will be found in the reports of the Secretary of the Navy and Secretary of War. "In the transportation of the mails many diffi culties have arisen, which will b 3 found fully deve loped in the report of the Postmaster-General. The absorption of the ordinary means of transportation for the movement of troops and military supplies, the insufficiency of the rolling stock of railroads for the accumulation of business resulting both from military operations and the obstruction of water communication by the presence of the enemy's fleet, the failure and even refusal of contractors to comply with the terms of their agreements, the difficulties inherent in inaugurating so vast and complicated a system as that which requires postal facilities for every town and village in a territory so extended as ours, have all combined to impede the best directed efforts of the Postmaster-General whose zeal, industry, and ability have been taxed to the utmost extent. Some or these difficulties can only be overcome by time and an improved condition of the country upon the restoration of peace, but others may be remedied by legislation, and your attention is invited to the recommenda tions contained in the report of the head of that department. 1 "The condition of the Treasury will, doubtless, be a subject of anxious inquiry on your part. I am happy to say that the financial system already adopted has worked well so far, and promises good results for the future. To the extent that Treasury notes may be issued the Government is enabled to borrow money without interest, and thus facilitates the conduct of the war. This extent is measured by the nthoet e p s o e r ati fieldne n of be thus eums thead made to field to of occupied oceud pe circulation pye.nd,sr h again g pa irno pwhichuthese proportion no n t hof e amount of the debts for which they are receivable, and dues not only to the Confederate and State Government, but also to corporations and individuals, are payable in this me dium. A large amount of it may be circulated at par. There is every reason to believe that the Confederate Treasury note is fast becoming such a medium. The provision that these notes shall be convertible into Confederate stock being eight per cent. interest, at the pleasure of the holder, insures them against a depreciation below the value of that stock, and no considerable fall in that value need be feared so long as the interest shall be punctually paid. The punctual payment of this interest has been secured by the act, passed by you at the last session, imposing such a rate of taxation as must provide sufficient means for that purpose. " For the successful prosecution of this war it is indispensable that- the means of transporting troops and military supplies be furnished, as far as pos sible, in such manner as not to interrupt the com mercial intercourse between our people, nor place a check on their productive energies. To this end the means of transportation from one section of our country to the other must be carefully guarded and improved ; and this should be the object of anxious care on the part of the State and Confederate Go vernment, so far as they may have power over the subject. " We have already two main systems of through transportation from North to the South—one from Richmond, along the seaboard; the other through Western Virginia to New Orleans. A third might be secured by completing a link of about forty miles between Danville, in Vir ginia, and Greensborough, in North Carolina. The construction of this comparatively short line would give us a through route from north to south in the interior of the Confederate States, and gives us access to a population, and to military resources, from which we are now in a great measure debarred. We should increase greatly the safety and capacity of our means for transporting men and military supplies. If the construction of the road should, in the judgment of Congress, as it is in mine, be indispensable for the most successful prosecution of the war, the action of the Government will not be restrained by the constitutional objection which would attach to a work for commercial purposes ; and attention is invited to the practicability of securing its early completion, by giving the needful aid to the com pany organised for its construction and adminis tration." "If we husband our means, and make a judicious use of our resources, it would be difficult to fix a limit to the period which we could conduct a war against the adversary whom we now encounter. The very efforts which he makes to isolate and invade us must exhaust his means, whilst they serve to complete and diversify the productions of our industrial system. The reconstruction which he seeks to effect by arms becomes daily more and more palpably impossible. Not only do the causes which induced us to separate exist in full force, but they have been strengthened, and whatever doubt may have lingered in the minds of any must have been completely dispelled by subsequent events. "If, instead of being a dissolution of a league, it were indeed a rebellion in which we are engaged, we might find ample vindication for the course we have adopted in the scenes which are being enacted in the United States. Our people now look with contemptuous astonishment on those with whom they have been so recently associated. They shrink with aversion from the bare idea of renewing such a connection. " When they see a President making war without the assent of Congress—when they behold judges threatened because they maintain the writ of habeas corpus, so sacred to freemen—when they see justice and law trampled under the armed heel of military authority, and upright men and innocent women dragged to distant dungeons—when they find all this tolerated and applauded by a people who had been in the full enjoyment of freedom but a few months ago, they believe that there must be some radical incompatibility between such a people and themselves. With such a people we may be content to live at peace, but the separation is final, and for the independence we have asserted we shall accept no alternative. " The nature of the hostilities which they have waged against us must be characterised as barbar ous whenever it is understood. They have bom barded defenceless villages, without giving notice to women and children to enable them to escape, and in one instance selected the night as the period when they might surprise them most effectually, whilst asleep and unsuspicious of danger. Arson and rapine, the destruction of private houses and property, and injuries of the most wanton charac ter, even upon non-combatants, have marked their forays along their borders and upon our territory. "We ought to have been admonished by these things that they were disposed to make war upon us in the most cruel and relentless spirit, yet we were not prepared to see them fit out a large naval expedition with the confessed purpose not only of pillage, but to incite servile warin our midst. If they convert their soldiers into incendiaries and robbers, and involve us in a species of war which claims non combatants, women and children, as its victims, they must expect to be treated as outlaws and ene mies of mankind, There are certain rights of hu manity which are entitled to respect even in war, and he who refuses to regard them forfeits his claims, if captured, to be considered as a prisoner of war, and must expect to be dealt with as an of fender against all law, human and Divine. " But not content with violating:our rights under the law of nations at home, they have extended these injuries to us within other jurdisdictions. " The distinguished gentlemen whom, with your approval at the last session, I commissioned to re present the Confederacy at certain foreign Courts, have been recently seized by the Captain of a United States ship-of-war, on board a British steamer, on their voyage from the neutral port of Havana to England. " The United States have thus claimed a general jurisdiction over the high seas, and, entering a Bri tish ship, sailing under its country's fiag, violated the rights of embassy for the most part held sacred, even among barbarians, by seizing our Ministers whilst under the protection and within the domi nions of a neutral nation. " These geutlemen were as much under the juris diction of the British Government, upon that ship and beneath its flag, as if they had been on its soil, and a claim on the part of the United States to seize them in the streets of London would have been as well founded as that to apprehend them whore they were taken. Had they been manufac turers, and citizens even of the United States, they could not have been arrested on a British ship or on British soil, unless under the express provisions of a treaty, and according to the forms therein pro vided for the extradition of criminals. But rights the most sacred seem to have lost all respect in their eyes. " When Mr. Faulkner, a former Minister of the United States to France, commissioned before the secession of Virginia, his native State, returned in good faith to Washington to settle his accounts and fulfil all the obligations into which he had entered, he was perfidiously arrested and imprisoned in New York, where he now is. The unsuspecting confi dence with which he reported to his Government was abused, and his desire to fulfil his trust to them was used to his injury. "In conducting this war we have sought no aid and proffered no alliances offensive and defensive abroad. We have asked for a recognised place in the family of nations ; but in doing so we have de manded nothing for which he did not offer a fair equivalent. The advantages of intercourse are mutual among nations, and in seeking to establish diplomatic relations we were only endeavouring to place that intercourse under the regulation of public law. "Perhaps we had the right, if we had chosen to exercise it, to ask to know whether the principle, that blockades to be binding must be effectual, so solemnly announced by the great Powers of Europe at Paris, is to be generally enforced or applied only to particular parties. " When the Confederate States, at your last ses• sion, became a party to the declaration reaffirming this principle of international law, which has been recognised so long by publicists and Governments, we certainly supposed that it was to be universally enforced. The customary law of nations is made up of their practice rather than their declarations, and if such declarations are only to be enforced in particular instances at the pleasure of those who make them, then commerce of the:world, so far from being placed upon the regulation of a general law, will become subject to the caprice of those who execute it or suspend it at will. If such is to be the course of nations in regard to this law, it is plain that it will thus become a rule for the weak and not for the strong. "Feeling that such views must be taken by the neutral nations of the earth, I have caused the evi dence to be collected which proves completely the utter inefficiency of the proclaimed blockade of our coast, and shall direct it to be laid before such governments as shall afford us the means of being heard. " But although we should be benefitted by the enforcement of this law, so solemnly declared by the great Powers of Europe, we are not dependent on that enforcement for the successful prosecution of the war. As long as hostilities continue the Con federate States will exhibit a steadily increasing capacity to furnish their troops with food, clothing, and arms. If they should be forced to forego many of the luxuries and some of the comforts of life, they will at least have the consolation of knowing that they are thus daily becoming more and more inde pendent of the rest of the world. If, in this process, labour in the Confederate States should be gra dually diverted from those great Southern staples which have given so much of the commerce of man kind into other channels, so as to make them rival producers, instead of profitable customers, they will not be the only or even the chief losers by this change of their industry. " Although it is true that the cotton supply of the Southern States could only be totally cut off by the total subversion of our social system, yet it is plain that a long continuance of this blockade might, by a diversion of labour and investment of capital in other employments, so diminish the supply as to bring ruin upon all those interests of foreign countries which are dependent on that staple. "For every labourer who is diverted from the culture of cotton in the South, perhaps four times as many elsewhere, who have found subsistence in the various employments growing oat of its use, will be forced also to change their occupation. " While the war which is waged to take from us the right of self-government can never attain that end, it remains to be seen how far it may work a revolution in the industrial system of the world which may carry suffering to other lands as well as to our own. In the meantime we shall continue this strug gle, in humble dependence upon Providence, from whose searching scrutiny we cannot conceal the secrets of our hearts, and to whose rule we con fidetitly submit. For the rest we shall depend upon ourselves. "Liberty is always won where there exists the unconquerable will to be free, and we have reason to know the strength that is given by a conscious sense not only of the magnitude but of the righteous ness of our cause. " JEFFERSON DAVIS. Richmond, Nov. 18, 1861." The New York Herald of to-day, alluding to the message of President Davis, says : " As a summary of the rebel view of the position of the belligerent parties since the commencement of the civil war, it is interesting, and contains some bold statements concerning the condition of the South which will be received with no little sur prise, and will certainly be accepted with no cre dence whatever. To say that the document is re plete with misrepresentations as to the object as well as the conduct of the present war, would do no injustice to the composition of Mr. Davis. He endeavours to present to the misguided people whom he addresses the fact that the South is invaded by a horde of barbarians, who are carry ing on the war in a fashion contrary to the usages of civilised nations, He represents the condition of the rebel States as progressing in manufactures and other branches of industry, in spite of the troubles which have overtaken them, but he is unwillingly compelled to admit that the chances of assistance and recognition from abroad —upon which their hopes of success rested—are very small, if not absolutely frustrated. It is, upon the whole, a weak and wavering document, more indicative of doubt and fear as to the future than of hope and confidence in the cause of which he is the representative. The message is viewed by the Government in Washington and by all intelligent persons as a singular intermixture of bombast and falsehood, and as such it will be considered by every one who peruses it carefully, and compares its loose statements with the facts developed by the incidents of the war from its commencement to the present time. NEW YORK, Nov. 23. (Per Nova Scotian, by telegraph to Father Point, and via Londonderry.) The army of the Potomac has not yet been ordered to march, nor have orders yet been given for it to be hutted for the winter. The apprehension felt by some that the enor mous machinery gathered together for the sup pression of the rebellion will be unused before six months is groundless. Neither the policy of the Government nor the temper of the people admit of placing an army of half a million in winter quar ters. Mr. George Francis Train has addressed a letter from London to the New York _Herald, de claring that a number of vessels are fitting out at English ports with ammunition for the South. He makes a violent attack ou the British Go vernment, and declares that England's neutrality is contemptible. The Secretary of the Treasury has announced that he will want no more money until February next. Large quantities of Sea Island cotton will soon be gathered on Government account in the Beaufort district. Large reinforcements for General Sherman's naval expedition and two new expeditions under Generals Butler and Burnside will move in a few days. PARIS, DEc. 7. The Moniteur, in its bulletin of to-day, says : " A letter from Beyrout, which we publish in our columns to-day, confirms the news of the arrest of Joseph Karam. " Fuad Pasha and Daoud Effendi seem to have acted on thit , occasion in accord with the European Commissioners assembled at Beyrout, in order to insure the execution of the new organisation of the Lebanon, which has received the sanction of Europe." TURIN, DEC. 6. The debate on the Roman question was resumed to-day in the Chamber of Deputies. Baron Ricasoli said that the advice given to the Government during the debate had already been adopted. He refuted the arguments of several members who maintained that the only enemy of Italy was France, and declared that he could easily prove the contrary. "The principle of non-inter vention," he said, " having been agreed to by France, proves that her friendship is free from all pretension to supremacy. Italy is grateful to France. She must, however, place herself in a condition to act alone and without any foreign aid. The state of things in the interior of the kingdom is such as it must always be in a country that is still in a state of revolution. The revolution in Italy is more fortunate than those which have occurred in other countries. No serious disturb ances can be cited, as none but common offences have been committed. Public security certainly leaves nothing to be desired. Although during the last two years we have been compelled to occupy ourselves more with political questions than with questions of the administration of the country, the forces of the little State of Piedmont could not suffice for the new kingdom. The mili tary and police of the former Government were corrupt, and could not be employed. We have formed new elements." Baran Ricasoli then spoke of the increase of the Bersaglieri and of the changes which had been made in the personnel of the high functionaries. With regard to the state of things in the Southern provinces, he confirmed the statements contained in the circular addressed to the diplomatic agents of the Italian Government abroad, and said that General Cialdini had pre vailed over the brigandage, and had retaken the Basilicata and the territory bordering on the Pontificial frontiers. Baron Ricasoli announced that a treaty had been concluded with France for the repression of brigandage.:,The abolition of the Lieu tenancy of Naples, he said, was the result of the adoption of the principle of administrative unifica tion. The Lieutenancy of Sicily would also be shortly abolished. Touching the Roman question, he said that the transformation of the Papacy must be effected by Italy in accordance with France. It was . necessary to persuade the Catholic mind in favour of this project of arrangement. This he was striving to do. France had not disapproved his project; she only thought it was not an opportune moment for presenting it to the Pope. Baron Ricasoli concluded by asking the Chamber for a vote, either frankly approving or blaming the policy of the Government. After Baron Ricasoli had concluded his speech, the Minister of Justice rose and defended himself against the attacks of the Opposition. The Minis ter explained the state of the judicial Administra tion, and announced that he would shortly submit a new general code for the approval of the Chamber. The Minister of War said that he preserved all that he could of the old Bourbon army when in a state of dissolution. The army of Southern Italy, which was composed of volunteers, dissolved itself, but the regimental lists had been maintained. By means of these lists an army of 40,000 men could easily be organised, more especially if Garibaldi, as the Government hoped, would take the command. The regular army numbered 262,000 men, 20,000 of whom were on active service. The new levy would give 94,000 in March next, when we should have 300,000 combatants. These, however, would not all be trained soldiers. To make soldiers, particularly for certain military branches, armies of long stand ing were necessary. If another war of independ ence were to break out, we should have recourse to an appeal to the national enthusiasm. The nation would find sufficient men for its own deliverance. The Minister of War, in conclusion, said that Italy had 120,000 National Guards, and arms and military equipments in abundance. The Minister of Public Works, who had just returned from a visit to Naples and Sicily, gave a long explanation respecting the condition of the Southern Provinces, which was received with con tinual applause. The speech produced a great sen sation. The Minister of Marine then spoke, and in the course of his speech assured the Chamber that Italy would shortly have a navy almost twice as strong as that of Austria. Signor Petrucelli della Gattina afterwards at tacked the Government on the Roman question. It is asserted that Garibaldi will return to-morrow to Caprera. The Nationalites of to day announces that the financial report which Signor Bastogi, Minister of Finance, is about to present to the Chamber of Deputies will show a difference in the expendi ture of 200,000,000 f. compared with the ordinary Budget. to the facts he cites. The other's is also merely the opinion of an irresponsible person, and of one little more competent to give an opinion than any of us. Hence, we are told that in spite of such opinions the subject, nevertheless, causes an universally uneasy feeling in the public mind in respect to the relations of America with England. That the Government itself does not feel very easy may be inferred from the fact, if it really be one as stated, that the Secretary of War has notifiei to the Governor of Maine that an officer will immediately be appointed to report on the sea-coast defences of that State. Maine, it will be remembered, is the State which is not only contiguous to British terri tory on the north-east corner of the United States, but that in which we were completely juggled out of territory not really needed by that State, but all important to us, since it separates New Brunswick from Canada, or at least makes the communication between our provinces very circuitous. Our neighbour would certainly think it a case for the " rectification of boundaries." We have, however, no Atlantic telegraphs. Oa Monday the PRESIDENT must have adverted to the subject in his Message to Congress, and we must wait till we see how he has contrived to meet the difficulty. It ought to have been met by liberation of the prisoners before a word was heard from England. THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVE NI NG, DEC E VIB ER 7, 1861. FRANCE. BOURSE, DEC. 6.—The arrival of the English funds with a fall has given an increased strength to the downward tendency apparent in this market yesterday. Threes, for the Account are now at 69f 20c. Railways heavy. The following are the last quotations : ft per per Cents 95 10 , Do. end month 95 20 3 per Cents Do. end month 69 10 Bank Shares 2975 Credit Mobilier 727 50 Do. Account 730 I RAILWAYS. Credit Foncier llBO -.- Belgian 4; lOO Piedmontese Fives 67 75 Roman Austrian - Spanish Threes 49 50 Home Debt Cash. Account. Orleans 1316 25 .. 1317 60 Northern New, ditto 917 50 .. Lyons and Mediterranean 1012 50 .. 1015 Geneva 346 25 .. 347 60 Southern Western Eastern Sardinian Austrian Lon" bard CANADA. There is much needless display of anxiety as to the threats of Mr. Seward with respect to an attack on the province. Now, Mr. Seward merely talked of annexing Canada as usual, forgetting that there are two parties to a bargain. It is well known that the British and French Canadians are united in their contempt of the institutions of the vaunted Republic, which have long degenerated into mob law. The Canadians of French origin adhere to the Roman Catholic religion. The Church possesses a great amount of real property, which the priests and the people well know is safe under British laws, but would be confiscated under Yankee Puri tan rules ; they don't forget the burning of the convent at Boston, and they describe the Yankees as brigands. They remember how, when Canada only numbered half a million of British subjects, they thrice repulsed invasion, and took Generals Scott and Cass prisoners. They are now two-and-a-half millions of people full of loyal to the British Crown, Troops, arms, and ammunition can be sent to St. John's, New Brunswick, and on by rail to Frederic ton, and then by sedges to Riviere du Loup, the terminus of the Grand Trunk Railway. In the middle of December the St. Lawrence is closed by ice, and, although open in the middle of the stream as low as the Island of Bic. ice forms out for about a mile from the shore. The only inconvenience Canada would suffer in winter would be the delay in despatching mails to St. John's, instead of Port land.—Liverpool THE VOCAL ASSOCIATION.—The Right Hon. the Earl of Dudley is expected to preside at the annual general meeting of the Vocal Association during the present month, His lordship,who is always a liberal patron of the fine arts, has contributed greatly to the success of this society since he has consented to become the president, by the establishment of the annual convcrsazioni, which is certainly one of the most brillian' and interesting of the season. The society com mences its rehe Arsals for the season, 1862, under the direc tion of M. Benedict, immediately after the general meeting is held. NEW LIFEBOATS FOR SPAlN.—Yesterday some satisfactory experiments were made with three powerful lifeboats in the Regent's Canal Dock, Limehouse. They were built by the Messrs. Forrest on the plan of the National Lifeboat Institution, for the Spanish Government. The boats are respectively 35 feet and 32 feet long. The usual qualities of self-righting and self-ejecting of water of this class of lifeboat were most satisfactorily accomplished in the presence of a large number of persons, including the rector and curate of Limehouse and some members of their families, the Secretary of the National Institution, the Messrs. Forrest, and the Meests. Ritherden and Thornton, the lifeboat surveyors of the Spanish Government. The boats are to be stationed forthwith at Corunna and two other places on the coast of Spain. Messrs. Forrest are building three additional lifeboats for the Government of that country. They have also in hand six or seven life boats for the National Lifeboat Institution. It is earnestly hoped that the Emperor of the French will, over his sea board, extending about 1,000 miles, follow this very laud able example of she Queen. of Spain.