The Sun. — London, England, 1861-01-01 00:00:00

I TILE LAUNCH OF THE WARRIOR. (From the Times.) The successful launch of the Warrior may be thought to open a new chapter in the history of the British Navy. We cannot, indeed, regard the theory of iron-cased ships as absolutely established, but there is certainly sufficient reason for concluding that such fabrics must hereafter enter largely into the composition of our national marine, and repre sent a most important element of our naval strength. Perhaps in the end they may be classed simply as floating batteries for the defence of our shores ; perhaps they may be found more available for more distant service • but to same extent it may fairly be presumed that ships of war will in future be protected by armour exactly as they have come to be propelled by steam. Iron may not entirely super sede wood s any more than steam has superseded sails, but in one shape or other it may be confidently expected that the new system will last. The par ticulars of this remarkable event we have already recorded, and we have put the public in possession of the principal details connected with the structure itself; but there are two points of the subject which deserve further notice in these columns. The War rior is not the first iron -cased frigate that has been launched, but she is the , largest. The former of these facts expresses a very familiar feature in the Administration of our Navy, the latter indi cates a material reform. We are always behind in the work of discovery, and are even slow in applying the inventions of others. We had exactly the same opportunities as the French in this matter. We constructed our floating batteries for the Russian War just as they did ; we saw, as they did, the actual results of the experiment. The difference between us was that they availed themselves of the lesson with true practical wisdom, whereas we did our best to ex plain the lesson away . . We spent infinite time and pains in endeavourin g to convince ourselves that iron armour was no protection to a ship's side, and when, after a dozen shots, we had succeeded in piercing a 4-inch plate, we chuckled over the ex ploit without remermbering that 11 shots out of the 12 had been repelled. We asked ourselves simply whether iron-cas ad ships could be rendered impreg nable, and, havbag contrived by indefatigable exer tion to provide fo. negative answer to the question, we were in a fair way of dropping the subject if our neighbours, had not set us a different example. It was preciaeity the same thing in the case ofsteam instead of sails, and of screws instead of paddles. Our authorities are so terribly anxious to find out the weak points of a new invention that they over look its real strength. They ascertain to their own satisfaction that the scheme isnot perfect, and then, dismiss it ; whereas, upon a fair balance of advan tages and disadvantages, it might have been found. decidedly eligibl e . Th ere i s a l wa ys something to be said against a novel theory, but if we had listened exclusively to such predictions we should never have had gas in our streets or loccimotives on our railroads. It is no matter of wonder, therefore, that the Warrior should make her appearance only some four months after " possession of the seas" had been taken by the Glorie. That is a very natural expres sion of British usage in such matters, but what is by no means so ordinary an affair is the powerful character in which our first iron frigate has ap peared. In the present generation we have, at any rate, unlearned one of our national faults. From the first days of modern shipbuilding our vessels of every rate were uniformly smaller than those of similar rates in rival navies. At the beginning of the Revolutionary Wars a French 74 was usually about one-fifth larger than a British 74 ; and so universally did a similar feature prevail throughout our fleets that James, the naval historian, speaks of the " contracted size" of our ships and the " re duced scale" of their complements as national cha racteristics, to be explained by some broad refer enco to policy or principle. It was certainly not from want of better models that we persisted in these customs, for the Spaniards as well as the French set us an example of more sensible archi tecture; but the old fashions kept their ground as long as we were on the winning side, and would have flourished perhaps undisturbed up to the present day 'had it not been for the rough lesson administered by the Americans. In the short war with the United States we found, to our cost, that big ships were very likely to beat little ones, and that when a frigate was built with the dimensions of a 74 she became pretty nearly a match for the 74 in action. That lesson we.n not lost upon us, and the capture of the Pre sident was the great event that revolutionised our system of shipbuilding. From that time we have kept well abreast of every rival in the dimensions of our vessels. We did not imitate the questionable models of the Merrimac and the Niagara, but neither the !americans nor the French have outstripped us of late in the power and size of oar men-of-war. The Duke of Wellington was fully as strong as the Bretagne, and was launched three years earlier; the Orlando and the Mersey aro the most formidable frigates afloat; the Ariadne and the Jason are unmatched in their respective classes; and now the Warrior, in speed, capacity, and armament, has outdone the Gloire. The Great Eastern has so unsettled our concep tions of magnitude that even the dimensions of the Warrior seem moderate in comparison ; yet the engines and coal alone of the new vessel are almost equal in weight to the entire tonnage of a British three-decker in 1815, and her armament is equally extraordinary. If it were not that she combined in herself illustrations of defensive and offensive power together, we might be at a loss to imagine what fabric could resist her attack. As it is, we are left equally at liberty to wonder whether any attack could overcome her powers of resistance, and the great problem of war f are seems to b e rendered moreinsoluble than ever. On which side have the resources of modern ingenuity been most effectively displayed ? Which are we to regard with the greatest surprise, —the Armstrong 100-pounders dealing death and destruction at three miles' distance or the tremendous ribs of iron and teak, impene trable to the heaviest bullet ? The whole achieve ment seems really to express a contradiction. We have been at work upon a ship which no projectiles are to be capable of damaging, and we have armed her with guns which no ship is to be 'capable of resisting. Have we been most successful in the means of attack or in those of defence ? Does the reality lie in the armour or the armament? Both can hardly be so powerful as we think, but the combinations of the two has given us, beyond doubt, the most formidable ship of war ever yet seen. The cost of this terrible machine is proportionate to its power. It will certainly not be less than £350,000, whereas the cost of our largest ships of the line has hitherto been but about half that sum. On this point, however, there is room for consider able reassurance. It does not follow that the aggregate charge of the Navy will be increased because the charge is greater in particular ships. On the contrary, it has been found by experience that in proportion as single vessels are made more powerful and expensive the number of vessels de clines. We have now as strong a fleet as we ever had, but it consists of many fewer ships than were afloat 50 years ago. To put the case in a practical form, we may compare the actual expenditure upon the Navy in two years of war—in 1813 and in 1855. In the former period a ship of war cost very much less than in the latter, and yet it was the more expensive period of the two, for the Navy Eomates were then nearly £22,000,000, whereas in 1856, the heaviest year of the Russian War, they were but £19,000,000. It is clear, there fore, that what we spend upon single specimens we may save in numbers, and the fact may lead us to contemplate even a fleet of Warriors without much alarm. (From the Morning Herald.) The Warrior is launched. The great iron monster which was designed to e clipse the French Government i s sop the vessel of which proud is at last a float ing fact. The Warrior is the largest the fighting vessel that was e ver b u ilt, being two-thirds of length i of the Gre a t E as t ern , and n shape not unlike her : 420 feet long, 58 feet wide at the beam, and carry ing 36 gnu s o f th e h eav i est ca libre, she will prove, if manageable, quick, and invulnerable, a tremen dous engine of offence. In the building of this shii-p and others like it the new theory of the necessity. of iron plating to the protection of a ship's side against modern artillery has been actednpon. Plates, of wrought-iron of 4 to 5 inches in thickness, have been found to resist the impact of the solid shot of a 6 8-pounder, even i when aimed from very near.. This has been known for years past, and it is sonic time since it was first proposed to construct invulnerable vessels by coat ing a ship's side with such a layer of iron. The Emperor of the French co nstructed floating batteries on this plan in 1855. The 77 were used with effect in the bombardment of Kinburn, but were found ex tremely unwieldy and unmanageable in a heavy sea. There were still tto , questions fur naval archi tects to solve, even sup posing the value of iron plating admitted. The first was, could a perfectly seaworthy and fast ship be built with this iron mail. This possibility has been long stoutly denied. The immense accession of weight given by the iron must proportionately in crease the displacement, render it difficult to carry a heavy armament, or enough coals, make her unmanageable in a heavy sea, stow at all times, and sure to si n k if a b reach were made in her sides. So it was argued by the advocates of wooden ships as preferable to iron ones. However, there were naval architects who declared themselves ready to overcome all these difficulties ; the Emperc.r of the French, while we were arguing, was building a mail-clad Yessel, The question of weight was simply a matter of calcula tion, and some of the other objections to the new plan were set aside by the results of exf eriments made by the Admiralty. The second question to be answered was, had we arrived yet at the maximum of invulnerability ? It was soon found that the plan of coating a wooden vessel with iron would not answer at all against heavy metal. Though the 68-pound shots directed against the mail of the Trusty and the Sirius only made a dent in the iron itself, the concussion to the framework of the ship was more serious in its results than if the shot had entered the side. The beams and framing were so broken and splintered that the vessel would have soon sunk if not taken into dock. So an iron skin to a wooden ship was not the desideratum. But it was found that iron supported by iron gave the maximum of invulne rability desired. Perhaps the long bolt of a Whit worth 68-pounder gun might pierce such a plate so supported if aimed at it from a short distance, or striking repeatedly on the same spot. But this is a danger to which the new ships are not likely to be exposed, and it is considered by those who de signed the Warrior that the 20 inches of fine teak wood interposed between the 5-inch plates and the iron framework will render her sides impenetrable to all engines of war. With her magnificent engines of 1,250-horse power, it is calculated that the Warrior will steam 14 knots an hour; whereas the Gloire is said to accomplish but 13 1 . Should this be so, the builders of this ship and the Admi ralty will have reason to be proud of her. To Sir John Pakington is due the honour of having initiated this great experiment in naval defence; it therefore fell to his lot to christen the vessel on Saturday. Of course many critical eyes are already busy in pointing out the defects of this fine ship. The enormous weight of her casing is such that only the lowest row of plates was rivetted on before launching. The rest will be fixed when she lies in the Victoria Dock. It was thought that the strain on her sides would be too excessive when she was out of the water. Some immediately ask, what will then become of her when she rolls in a heavy sea, lifting a whole broadside above the wave ? La Gloire is said to roll so much that the water comes into the ports when the weather is stormy. Yet, with a weight of 1,000 tons in armour plates alone, it is said by others that the defence is insufficient. The plates extend only five feet below the water line, arid Mr. Whitworth boasts that he van penetrate the side of a vessel at a much lower point than that. The 213 feet of the broadside bear 5-inch plating, but the bow and stem, more than 100 feet each, are more thinly caeca in iron of 11 inches. The interior is divided into water-tight compartments, and it is said that if a bow and stern were entirely shot away an im pregnable floating battery would still remain. But we fear that in a feu d'enfer sufficient to do such damage as this some shot would enter a port-hole, or otherwise find means to cripple the hull, even if its plates held out. We believe that the upper deck has been much strengthened recently, and made more capable of resisting vertical shells or red-hot shot. Further, the ports, which are now 4 f ee t square—very dangerously large—are to be dimi nished to 2 feet. One more fault is, that the War rior has no special protection against boarding, and may thus be carried by an enemy superior in fleet ness and numbers. All reflection on thiS matter convinces us that vessels of this stamp are, after all, but an experi ment, which may or may not succeed. The seagoing properties of the mail-clad ship have to be ascer tained, and then her power of fighting, which can only be definitely settled in actual n ar—unless, in deed, we are prepared to risk a million of money, and moor the Warrior at Spithead as a target for the inventors of rifled ordnance, and other projec tiles. Some day, for all we know, a means of pro pulsion may be discovered that will send a ball through everything. By that time we shall, no doubt, be a head of the French, as we are now, having spent some 30 or 40 millions in m a il c l a d vessels. They will then be useless, and much more useless than wood ; but so we shall go on. When the screw was invented sailing ships were consi dered out of date ; if the impregnable succeeds, the poor wooden walls will be discarded in a heap. We must certainly not be distanced by the French in shipbuilding. And yet, just at present, the matter is so 'entirely an experiment that we are almost glad that our Government is only building four of these ships, two of them smaller than the Warrior. The French talk of building 16 ; but they would do well to wait until the theory of protection by iron has been more thoroughly tested than it yet has been. Those who looked at the elegant lines of this majestic ship on Saturday must have experienced a feeling of something like jealousy when their memo ries reverted to the beautiful frigates and three deckers w hich they had gazed on with such triumph at Spithead or at Cherbourg. No more shall Bri tannia quell the floods with the " thunders from her native oak," that her sons boast of in their songs, if this usurping iron monster is to take the place of our " Dukes," " Royal Alberts," and " Euryaluses." The newly-hatched fledgling, already so big and so masterly, looks in our navy yards like a young cuckoo that is reared in a hedge-sparrow's nest. Like it, the Warrior bids fair, if a success, to destroy its feebler companions. When we think of our 70 line-of-battle ships, and how grandly, by exertions that seemed superhu man, we have distanced the French in the deve lopment of our steam navy, it is a sad thing to have, after all, to go back to our starting point, and commence the race anew. We do trust that these iron ships will not prove so incontestably superior to the wooden ones as to put our magni ficent navy altogether out of the field. if it shall prove that wooden vessels, on their part, possess certain advantages which the iron ones cannot attain to, the case will not be so bad. GALLANT LIFEBOAT SERVICES. A gentleman writing from Ardmore, on the coast of Waterford, thus details the gallant ser vices of the lifeboat at that place, belonging to the National Lifeboat Institution : " Ardmore, Dec. 26. " I beg to communicate a circumstance, which I am sure will afford all supporters of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution sincere pleasure ; the lifeboat of its branch here being, under Di vine Providence, the means of saving from a wreck that occurred in the bay this morning, seven men of the schooner Diana, William Mathreich, captain, from Bordeaux, laden with wheat and brandy, struck on a low reef of rocks in this bay, about 600 yards fl.om high-water mark; the wind blow ing a whole gale ,from the south-east. Between 10 and 11 o'clock a.m., the tide being full out at the time, the coast-guard, under the superinten dence of chief boatman Halse, promptly fired off rockets to the vessel, but unfortunately they fell short of her. " The lifeboat was then called for, when, the two first men who volunteered to go in her were Mi chael Twiney and James Fletcher. Mr. John Roderick, a young gentleman on a visit here, anal nephew of S. Bagge, Esq., also came forward im mediately, and in a short time a volunteer crew, composed of the f o ll ow i ng men, had the boat launched and went in her :—Mr. Roderick Halse, chief boatirvAn ; Sheppard, boatman ; Stewart, commissioned boatman, coast ; guard ; Michael Twiney, James 'Fletcher, Garret Keane, Corbert, coxswain of the life-boat. They proceeded to the wreck: wider the management of the coxswain, Corbe - ct, and nothing could exceed the steady cool ness, daring intrepidity, and utter abnegation of self, that actuated this crew in the performance of what they considered a sacred duty, and heroically they went forward in the face of a sea that might 'nave daunted many a stout heart. The boat twice filled with. water, but soon emptied herself, such being the force and fury of the waves, which broke at the same time clear over the wreck. After having me.de several attempts to near the •fessel, they 'found it utterly impracticable to reach her with any hope of saving life. In the meantime they ohs) 3rved that the crew had attached a rope to their ow n small boat, and had cast it adrift so as to reach th e shore. This small boat swamped before it reached the shore, but three or four men rushed out in the surf to their necks and caught the rope and hmiled her in. Then the lifeboat returned, brought back, with skill and judgment, through a surf and sea that I have scarcely seen equalled after a resider ice of 22 years. The warp of the rocket apparat us was then got to attach it to the rope from tt Le vessel (here it was that the skill and ,judgme . nt of chief boatman Halse, and commis sioned boatman Stewart, were apparent). The ropes rere then made fast and secured to the lifeboat , and at a given signal from the s h ore to the.iivreck, the crew of the latter hauled away at the rope, and the life-boat was directed to the eck, he men on shore bolding steadily their rope. Never was beheld anything more fee ful than the attempt of the unfortunate cr- ..r -drop into the lifeboat when she got to ft the sea running m ounta i ns high, and ' -Lie ing i n fast; one b y one,were r eno in t hfreoal lifeboat,a fall literal) y were tumbled into he- _ anen t r i s k, they ,-elvsel ; to i r • the tide corn r - got a s evere contusion of :a , and one poor fellow into th 9 boat. Seven r - ,no shoulder w the ret na i n i ng mar en v tirnidik y on his 4 was left b e hi nd, whether from being ;; a the . own part, o r th e l i ves of the rest .4 not b eel , balance, for I do believe, had the rop e woe' Cut by them at the m oment it was, they ?lave been lost, the boat was so fearfulelyy i l an c 4 ,e ! been by the sea, striking th e vessel every The men from the shore, the instant they saw the rope cut and the lifeboat free, hauled away with a will, and in a brief space we had the heart felt satisfaction of beholding seven men rescued from a watery grave. " The tide coming in fast, and the sea, if possible, greater, the wreck, after a little while, drifted in nearer to the beach, and when from 200 to 300 yards distant, the remaining man flung himself off the wreck, on a small raft, and endeavoured to reach • the shore, which he happily did, by the assistance of two men, who deserve the especial notice of the Lifeboat Institution. The poor sailor was evidently exhausted, being tossed by the surf in his anxiety to retain his raft, when two men, commissioned boatman Stewart, followed by the coxswain of the lifeboat Corbert; rushed into the surf, caught hold of him, and brought him in safe; a third man, named Foley, also aided in bringing him in. When all composing the crew I have named evinced such skill, forethought, steadiness, and humanity, it would be invidious indeed to make any selection, or draw comparisons, but I cannot help particularising on this occasion, where there was such evident risk of life, the clear thoughtfulness, prompt decision, and intrepid con duct of coxswain Corbert, chief boatman Halse, commissioned boatman Stewart, and Mr. John Roderick, as deserving of all praise. I should remark that the Rev. Mr. Wale, the Roman Catholic clergyman of the parish, exerted himself particularly, and afforded valuable aid in making the people on shore render themselves useful. All spoke in admiration of the lifeboat, and expressed the greatest confidence in her." FILEY, NEAR YORK, Dec. 30.—During a heavy gale of wind this morning the brig Gloucester, of South Shields, coal laden, from Shields to South ampton, ran ashore in this bay. The lifeboat of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution was imme diately manned and launched. She soon reached the wreck, and took from her, to their great joy, the crew of seven men, who were afterwards safely brought on shore. The lifeboat behaved very well on the occasion ; and her transporting carriage, sent here by the institution about a week ago, answered admirably. The vessel had since broken up completely. About six weeks since this valu able lifeboat was also instrumental in saving the crew of six men, of the brig Flying Fish, of Whitby, which was totally wrecked during a heavy gale of wind, in this bay. FOWEY, CORNWALL, Dec. 29.—We to-day, for the first time, practically tested the utility of our new lifeboat, the Catherine Rashleigh, belonging to the National Lifeboat Institution. She behaved most admirably in one of the severest gales we have had on our coast for a long time past. Early this morning the Coastguard discovered a schooner at anchor in the middle of St. Austell Bay, the wind blowing a perfect gale from S.S.E. making all the western part of the bay a l ee shore, and without the possibility of the vessel running any where within the bay for shelter, or attempting to weather the Gribbon so as to reach Fowey Har bour. She laboured heavily at her anchors. The gale continuing to increase, the sea running high, and the vessel pitched still more heavily, we decided to launch the lifeboat, which, amid the • cheers of the villagers, dashed over the foams crested waves in gallant style. Her progress was watched with great anxiety as she stretched across the bay in the teeth of the gale and piercing showers of sleet, until, the dusk prevented any fur ther observation. The lifeboat, after great diffi culty, reached the vessel about 5 p.m. She proved to be the Liege, of Goole, in ballast, bound for Charlestown, in the bay. The poor fellows were glad to see the lifeboat, but declined then to aban don their ship. The boat returned to the shore at 6.30 p.m., when she was again put on her carriage and made all ready, and the crew remained in the boat-house during the night. This morning (Sun_ day), the wind having changed, the vessel was found to bo out of danger. ALLOCUTION OF POPE PIUS IX. The following Address was pronounced in Secret Consistory on the 17th of December, 1860 : (Translation.) Venerable Brothers,—The Church, from its origin assailed by fierce and continual tempests, is in our day the sad object of the attacks of enemies so great and so numerous that their hatred, long since exist - ing, their rage, swollen to its height, appear to be let loose all entire against our Pontificate. There is no need, venerable brothers, to repeat one by one the sad and cruel events , A hich have come to pass within a few years, and the recollection of which fills with anguish our heart and yours. We cannot deceive ourselves that, without pre judging the impenetrable designs of God, no bounds have yet been placed to calamities so great. In fact, - we have to deplore the invasion of perverse doctrine which, sprung from the principles of the disastrous Reformation, has acquired almost the force of public law, on the one hand by the perversity of impious men, who pro claim themselves the sons of the Church, and whom we must call the sons of darkness, and on the other hand by the fury of the Pagans, which, in the lands of the East, has burst forth with such vehemence as to cause the massacre and extermination of the faithful. In truth, it is impossible not to deplore in how many countries of Europe have penetrated the most pernicious errors on the power and rights of the Church. In one they labour incessantly to invali date the Concordats concluded .by the Apostolic See on ecclesiastical matters; in another they de vote all pains to prevent for the future the conclu sion of Concordats with the view of regulating the affairs of the Church, or at least that the civil au thority should interfere for the conclusion of such treaties. We have experienced all these recent contrarieties, venerable brothers, not without seri ous regret. During the last year, as you know, while fulfilling a duty of our Apostolic charge, in order to improve the condition of the Church in the Grand Duchy of Baden, we concluded a treaty with his Serene Highness the Duke of Baden, and after its ratification we waited, as was just, until it should be executed. But, in presence of the opposition given by the Chamber of this Duchy, an edict was published by the Grand Duke in virtue of which the Concordat lost all its force, and a law was substituted for it which is in the highest degree contrary to the liberty of the Church. This state of things, as we know, is the result of the false doctrine of the Pro testants, who think that the Church is a sort of corporation (collegiunt) existing in civil society, enjoying no right with the exception of those which are granted to it by the civil power. But who does not understand how much such a conception differs from the truth? In reality the Church has been instituted by its Divine Founder as a true and per fect soelety, which is not circumscribed by the bottadaries of any State, or subject to any civil power, and which exercises its power freely, and for the salvation of men, in all quarters of the world. In truth, those solemn words addressed by Christ our Lord to his Apostles have no other significa tion :—" All power has been given to me in heaven and on earth; go and teach all nations, instructing them to observe all that I have ordained to you." Inflamed with these words, the heralds of the Gospel, the Apostles, despite of kings and princes who opposed them, despite of threats and punish ments, exercised courageously the ministry which had been imposed upon them. We, also, most anxious for the preservation of the salutary rights of the Church, no sooner learned that it was attempted to invalidate the Concordat ' in question than we sent letters to the Grand Duke, exhorting him to remove that scandal ; and we have given the necessary orders to the Cardinal charged with foreign affairs to remonstrate with the 'Go vernment of Baden, in order that the Concordat should be put into execution, as of right. But, as all our endeavours and all our aniiety have come to no result, we have deplored in your midst, as is our duty, that that Convention had been abolished, contrary to all the laws of justice, and without the consent of the other party, and we have protested, within the limits of our power, against the rights of the Catholic Church and of the Apostolic See being violated— outrageously annihilated. We have ordered that these protestations should be transmitted to the Government of Baden, and we have prescribed to the Bishop of Fribourg the conduct he ought to pursue to the midst of these difficulties. We could not sufficiently recommend to that illustrious chief and his clergy to protect with constancy the liberty of the Church, and we have full confidence that they will not fail even in circumstances the While a lively grief had setted us on aecouti, of a most infamous the state of the Church anew source of grief, produced by anc 6 , anew placed in peril in the Paris, h as cp . . pamphlet lately published in publicat;- ~me to add to our sadness. In that oppp -on there arc so many things so completely _ ,oed to truth, so many absurdities and contra „actions combined by the author, that it is more fit ting to throw aside and despise it than to refute it. What is, however, intolerable is the audacity and impiety of this writer, who, not having feared to attack the Civil and Ecclesiastical Principality of the Roman Church, has endeavoured to contrive a par ticular species of Church, to be founded in the French Empire, and organised so that it should be removed from the authority of the Sovereign Pon tiff and completely separated from it. But what else is this than to overturn and rend the unity of the Church ? Behold the words which Christ our Lord has addressed to His Father on the necessity of for those :0 be unity o n e who , pray not only for them, but also shall ‘ believe in their words, that all f :---‘ I A Thou, my Father, Thou art in me and I in Thee." But the pover and economy of this unity imperiously demand tat all the faithful dis persed over the different pacts of the globe should be united and joined to the Roman Pontiff, the Vicar of Christ on earth, as the members to the head. It is for this reason that ilerome, a Father of the- Church, has written to Damascus, our predecessor of holy memory—" I am united to your Holiness by the communion of the See of Peter ; I know that the Church is built on this rock; also that whoever shall eat of the lamb out of this house is profane." What injustice does the author of the aforementioned pamphlet not do to the most illustrious French nation in believing that that nation, the most attached to Catholic unity, could let itself be drawn into schismatical errors ! What boldness must not that writer have who dares hope to detach from obedience and faith to the Holy See the clergy of that nation, and, above all, the illustrious bishops who count among the number of their predecessors St. Ireneus, Bishop of Lyons, who has written these words— " It is necessary that the whole Church, that is to say, the faithful of all places, should turn towards the Roman Church as being the principal Church" —these bishops who, by word and writing, have not ceased to combat for our rights and those of the Holy See, and have vindicated them with out letting themselves be moved by any fear, without regard for any peril! Certainly, they have not neglected any occasion of furnishing us with proofs of their attachment. We cannot but give well-merited praise to them and to the other bishops of the universe for their pastoral zeal, their vigilance, and their firmness; and, although we know them to be spontaneously most zealous for the defence of the Catholic faith, we cannot re strain ourselves frem exciting, in these days of iniquity, a zeal—which is so much the greater as assaults of the enemy are becoming more impe tuous—to oppose to them more firm resistance, and to exhort the faithful to take care of the tricks and snares employed by most audacious'men to tear them from the bosom of the Church. In this condemnable pamphlet the author and those who partake of his opinion have dropped the mask, and unveiled the plan they are pursuing to overturn the civil authority of the' Holy See; yet they have no other end but to sap the foundations of our holy religion. We groan to see these wicked men going to spread the doctrine through the pro vinces unjustly taken from our government, as well as through the other countries of Italy. Be hold the end of these translations of the sacred books, everywhere scattered to corrupt the/faith— this host of most shameful books, made to poison the morals of youth—of this licence without rein, of this contempt for the Church, trampled under foot, of this violation of sacred immunities, of the removal from the authority of the bishops of the education of youth, and of the inspection of doctrine and morals. To the same end tend those men, super intendents of instruction, who hold opinions hostile to the Church ; this decree, published in Umbria, ordering the expulsion of religious congregations from their convents, the annihilation of collegiate chapters, the abolition of benefices of every kind, and the occupation, by a supreme injustice, of the property of pious associations. It is to attain the same end that they have cast into prison ecclesiastics and even bishops, among whom we have lately seen our venerable brother the Archbishop of Urbine, who has been conducted to prison in the midst of soldiers. Another venerable pastor, clothed with the dignity of cardinal, IFirmin, was taken from his see, aid prevented from all contact with the flock confided to his charge. Many bishops of the king dom of Naples were either cast into prison or were obliged to take to flight. It is, also, the same ten dencies which make them erect Protestant temples in many cities of Italy, and erect public schools, in which they teach doctrines the most pernicious and hostile to the Catholic religion. Finally, the same end is assigned to the decree promulgated in Um bria, by which the sacrament of marriage, declared great by the Apostle, is submitted to purely civil forms, which remove marriage from the ecclesi astical authority, and which are combined with the intention of making a civil institution, and, whish is most displeasing to God, of transforming it to a legal concubinage, to the great injury of souls. Conformably, then, to the dutiee of our apostolic mission, we reprove and condemn, we declare null and void everything committed against the rights of the Church and its patrimony, against the per sons of those consecrated to religion and against their property. And where, indeed, is the man who will not .de plore with us the disorder which has seized upon both public and private affairs, the terrible agita tion which reigns throughout Europe, the revolt which rages like a fire from Heaven from end to end of Italy ? Considering these numerous and deadly wounds inflicted on religion and on the city itself, we are forced to cry out with the prophet, " The earth is infested with its own inhabitants, because they have transgressed the laws •, because they have falsified the right and torn the eternal pact." This multitude of evils can only be attri buted to those who, styling themselves the promo ters of public happiness, have, in order to extend their power in Italy, laid a sacrilegious hand on all laws, human and divine; and who have left in their track but ruin and desolation througl their impious fury. May they, returning to sentiments of honour, at length understand that without religion there is no longer any protecting refuge for society, that religion is the sole desirable bond of nations, and it' they proceed so far as to burst this bond peace and secu rity would be ever banished from the World ; may they be convinced that the Catholic religion is one, that it is it alone that disseminates virtue, especially those virtues which make man attached to man, a good citizen in a tranquil and prosperous kingdom; in fine, may they remember that the Apostolic See has never shown itself hostile to the true and solid happiness of peoples, but, that at all times and under all circumstances, it has made the happiness of all the chief aim of its labours. History is open to all—let it be consulted. Has it not been the See of Peter which has civi lised barbarous nations by . teaching them the commands of the true religion, allaying strifes in the world, everywhere introducing civilisa tion and refknement ? Was it not the Papacy which foundeJ those charitable / institutions where the poor found is daily bread, where the sick re covered their health ? Was it not also the papacy which, aildressing :tself to peoples and to kings, has promulgated and established, even in the midst of the greatest political perturbations, the principles of justice and of honour Yes, we repeat it, thi See has rendered the greatest service to humanity, and there are in existence numerous monuments of its wisdom ; and history, which has enrolled them, even in our own days, will not fail in its task for the future. But our paternal heart has not forgotten the evils by which the Church in the East is afflicted, evils which only the palm of the famous martyrs, whose blood the land of the East has drunk, could demand. We wish to speak, venerable brothers, of the kingdom of Corea, of the Chinese empire, and the countries bordering on the tropics, where torments and punishments of all kinds have not been able to shake the confi dence of the Christians in the faith of Jesus Christ. We wish to speak of the kingdom of Cochin China and Tonquin, where the bloodthirsty cruelty of the infidels has sworn the annihilation of the Christian name and renewed the infamous per secutions of the first years of our era. Will it be necessary to point out to you the col leges, the convents, the temples, the public and private buildings razed to the ground or delivered up to the flames ? Will it be needful to exhibit the torments which were experienced by the Faithful of every age, of every sex, of every condition driven from their homes, despoiled of their wealth, drag ging out a wretched .existence from hiding-place to hiding-place, or groaning in dungeons, exposed without relaxation to the impious fury of the im placable enemies of the Church, Oh ! these chil dren of our holy Mother, who suffer with hope and resignation all punishments for the honour of our Divine Master, will possess the part of the glory of the olden martyrs of the faith. The pitiable situa tion of the Christians in Syria does not less deeply touch our soul. These unfortunate people, who have escaped with difficulties from the massacres which have decimated their numbers, are a prey to a continual fear of seeing full career given once more to the rapacity and cruelty of the infidels, by the retreat of the military forces of Europe. In order to aid as far as possible those great miseries we have Wished, despite of the state of our treasury, to trans - eztit to the Christians in Syria a considerable , t " the sum which the piety and liberality of portion , etions have presented us with. And the Catholic, ike. sion which is here offered us we profit by the cm,. een homage to the touch to render public and sole , .- • our well-beloved ing example of the charity whit_ they opened children have recently given, when . "en in their purse to the allotted poor, their brete- • Syria, and to rejoice within our soul at provin once again that that virtue has not declined which the Divine Redeemer of the world has given as the principal mark of the Christian religion. We have just exposed the state of affairs, sacred and pre fane, in calling your attention to the subjects of of and to the causes of joy which it presents to us. This state, venerable brethren, inspires us with well-founded fears it agitates us deeply, and fills our soul with sadness. We do not doubt that you who are called to par take in our mfb'siol took also your part of the great affliction which ;18:3 overtaken us. But, let us not become disheartetod—let us, on the contrary, raise up each day our 'yes and hearts towards that celestial mount whence f rue succour must ar rive to us. God will be ever with his Church ; He will cease not to be with His humble servants. 1 gull of strength from on high, we will never f 'ail in our apostolic ministry, and neither shall ther e b e fear capable of making us despond, nor misfortLi.n ijs sufficient to make us doubt ourselves and Him' who has sent them to us. May the innocent blood of the Christians expended on the Eastern soil mount towards the Lord as the odour of an expiatory sae rifice, and may He turn aside the calamities to whi , 3h we are so long a time a prey and those which st 11 seem at this moment suspended over our heads May the Lord, through the intercession of the mos t blessed Mother of God, ever Immaculate, and at the prayer of the happy Apostles, Peter and Paw 1, accord victory to His Church over her enemies f May the Lord arise to judge the world ; may He ; repulse and disperse with His avenging arm the mei ones of His name, who plot the ruin of religion, I Ind who make the exter mination of the Church 111 3 object of their dark intentions ; or, rather, m yHe and those whom we invoke with fervour, gm 'ant to our supplications that Divine grace may dea tend upon them, and the Infinite Mercy make th em re-enter the path of justice and of truth! MURDER I.LV GLASGOW. About one o'clock on Sunday morning a fight seems to have been going- on on the west side of High-street, Glasgow, a short distance from the Cross, between two men, one named Wm. Clark, alias Neil Coyle, the nano e of the other being un known. Coyle was knoe ked to the ground once or twice, and a young man r lamed John Gall, who does not appear, from anything we have been able to learn, to have been. in cor apany with either the one party or the other, but :merely one of the crowd, stepped out to take Coy le's part, saying it was a shame that he shel aid be so used, and that he was not getting► fair pl. ay. He then turned to Coyle, and putting his ha nd on his shoulder and clapping him advised him tc )go home. Coyle, without any previous notice, tui •ned abruptly round, and, lifting his hand, was seen by the bystanders to strike Gall with considerable force about the belly. Gall im mediately doublect up, and cried out, "I am stabbed; for God's sake go I )r a doctor !" He then, with his hand on the wouuc 1, ran down the street, through the arch under tb., e Cross steeple, and catching a lamp-post at the co rner of the street, swung round it once, and thou i ;fell flat on his face. The aid of Drs. ChaltutArs and Finlayuon was promptly procured, and these gentlemen immediately ordered the wounded man to ) be removed to the Royal In firmary, where he expired about four o'clock on Sunday morning. It was found that deceased had received a blow with a sharp instrument in the groin, which had severed the femoral artery, and resulted in his bleedling to death. Immediately after dealing the fatal blow Coyle made off down Salt market, followed by a number of the crowd. He ran up close No. 18 ,o f that street, where his further progress was obstructed by an iron gate, which was locked, and he was then . apprehended by two eon stables. The close was afterwards searched, and a clasped knife, much stained with blood, was found within a yard or two of the spot where Coyle was arrested. He is a returned convict, and has only been at liberty some three months after having un dergone seven years' penal servitude. His charac ter and nature may be guessed when we state, that while he was undergoing that sentence he was the terror of all in any way brought into contact with him, both wardens and fellow prisoners. Since his apprehension Coyle has maintained a dogged silence, not dropping one word either as to his guilt or innocence. The deceased, who was 23 years of age, was an engine-fitter to trade, and was a quite, sober, inof fensive youth, and not given to interfering in street brawls. He resided in Clyde-street, Anderston, with a widowed mother, of whom he was almost the sole support.—. North British Mail. THE EXTRA ORDINARY Al TEMPT AT MURDER 1N DUBLIN. The Freenzan's Journal of Saturday contains the following additional details. of this extraordinary affair : "In connection with local affairs in Dublin, since the murder of the Italian boy and the trial of Spollen for the assassination of Mr. Little, nothing has excited such an amount of general and painful interest as the attempt which was made on Thurs day evening to deprive an unoffen ding man of his life, for the purpose of gaining possession of some £8 or £9 worth of wearing apparel. This was a thing so foreign to Irish crime, which is generally characterised by the ' wild justice of revenge,' that even the slowest of comprehensions could perceive that a foreign agency was at work when murder was sought to be carried on with profit, and re duced to the system of a mercantile speculation. AU Dublin was alive yesterday to the horrors con tained in the narrative, which was given in the Freeman's Journal, of the most diabolical attempt ever placed on record in this country of a conspi -1 racy to make an ordinary transaction of mercan tile business the means by which murder and rob bery could be perpetrated. Men and women were to be seen in groups in the streets discussing this occurrence, happily novel in this country. Per ; sonages in high places wondered at the terrible daring of the scheme, which only failed in its perfect success by the fact of the associates of a j T ave r,jle assassin failing to be present to assist him in the a trocious deed. It has been already stated that if the pf.uter (Mulholland) had arrived at the time when he, was expected, his quietus would have been made, .and his body would have been ' paved into the pit prepared for it.' Fortunately for himself he lingerod on his way, and thus escaped the doom of being ' too carc.y.' " For some time past a ,-,umber of the English swell mob have attracted the attention of the detec tive police. These parties have be° , eie closely watched, but notwithstanding the vigilance of the police, a number of portmanteaus, travelling bags, &c., be longing to persons passing to and from Digland, have been stolen. Railway companies attri;rated to foreign imported ' genius' the loss of a great deal of valuable property, which loss should just i3' be attributed to a looseness in the transit manage ment of luggage traffic. During some months past the losses sustained in this way were so many and so great that the police were induced to exert all their energies to discover the plunderers, but were quite at fault in trying to account for the number of railway robberies which were reported to have oc curred. Ordinary up and down trains, mail trains, and express trains, were closely watched with lynx eyes ; but it was forgotten that the dexterous thief could dress himself as like a gentleman as possible, swagger on a platform, or appear hurried and ex cited on the street-way as if urged on by honest business, at the same time his object being to seize upon and carry off the luggage and goods of unwary travellers. At length a number of ' fast' looking individuals, dressed extravagantly in the prevailing mode, and wearing a quantity of showy trinkets, excited the suspicion of the ' detectives,' and, as has appeared from the police reports, several of them have been arrested, and a large quantity of valuable property traced to their possession. A young man, the son of a respectable trader in the city of Dublin (the name it is advisable to suppress for the present), was remarked to be frequently in the company of those parties. But the parents of this young man being known to be so respectable and above all reproach, he was not suspected of being in collusion with the dubious persons. In quiries were instituted into his character and ante cedents, and it transpired that he had received a liberal, even a collegiate education, and had been destined for a profession. This fact, in addition to other circumstances, disarmed all suspicion. This was the young man who hired the stable off Black hall-parade—who dug the. grave, and at tempted to murder Mulholland. This ' young man was of studious habits, and was wont to pore over the romances of Dumas and Sue in secret, even on the roof of the house where he dwelt, in order to escape detection. Doubt less, imbued with the prurient ideas of this school of vicious romance, he received the notion of esta blishing a novel system of murder and robbery, perhaps incited by his cosmopolitan acquaintances. The stable was hired by this young man through ' the medium of a ' go-between in the person of a boy who has been arrested, and is now in police custody. The honest, industrious father of this youth repudiated him, but his mother, influenced by kindly and maternal feelings, sought to reclaim him, and one of the things which led to the dis covery of his perpetration of the diabolical attempt to deprive a fellow-creature of life was a kind and affectionate letter, written by his afflicted mother, in which prayers for his conversion were more apparent than blame for his previous misconduct. The poor mother besought this misguided young man to abandon his evil courses. She told him that • father's house was open to him if he entered in his _ - cnirit. The poor woman, wall knowing a proper - 1 writing would be recognised by her that her liana.. not affix, her signature to the unhappy son, did ._ "ed in the morocco-leather letter, which was discove._ '.o found the gun pocket-book, wherein were a,... - , 1 for the de powder and percussion caps intenn,... I .e. shown s t r uction of the victim,l On thi s letter be li b _ , ;t to the afflicted woman she a dmitted at once thtti• was written by her hand, and had been addressed by her to her unworthy Two pawn . -offc . e in the stable, which, in son. duplicates were also found l testimony, p aced beyond conjunction with other who doubt the identity of the assassin, ,it is stated, his life in America an d kis spent no 471411 part of in England. On the alarm being given on Thurs day night of the attempted murder, Mr. Superin tendent Ryan, of the G division, proceeded without a moment's delay to organise a series of cordons of police around every passage or outlet through which the culprit could escape from the city. Men were placed at every railway station and at every steamer about to start, either from the No .7th-wall or from Kingstown, during the entire of yesterday, but it is feared, from the fol lowing circumstance, that the assassin has gained an Alsatia' amongst his English confederates. Shortly before the mail-boat started from the pier at Kingstown, on Thursday evening, the coal trimmer, who had been engaged in coaling the steamer about to start, saw a young man rushing down near the St. George Yacht Club-house, in the direction of the pier. He was deadly pale, and in a state of great excitement. He inquired if a steamer was about to start for England. He was answered in the affirmative, and, from the descrip tion given of him by the parties who saw him, there was little doubt that he was the person who had fled from Dublin after having failed in his projected attempt a murder and robbery. The electric wires have been Actively at work in the service of the police, and, ,doubtless, during the course of this day or to-morrow, the inventor of one of the most terrible and villanous schemes for the perpetration of a series of murders and robberies in the centre of a populous city, w)1 1 1 be in the hands of justice to answer for his miscleeds." POLICE INTELLIGENCE—Dec. 31. S OUTHWARK,—SKITTLB dressed young fellow, of rather gentlemanly ap pearance, who gave the name of Joseph Hobbs, was charged with being concerned, with two others not in custody, in defrauding Samuel Belt of four sovereigns and a valuable gold watch and chain under the following circumstances : The prosecutor, a simple-looking man, said that in July last he kept a beershop in Harper-street, New Kent-road, which he had a desire to get rid of. About the 6th of that month the prisoner came to the bar, and witness served him with a glass of ale. While he was drinking it he asked whether he wanted to part with the house, and on being answered in the affirmative, he told him that he e knew of a customer, and he could introduce him to the party if he went with him. Witness consented, as he believed the prisoner to be a respectable man, and they went to a beerhouse in Long lane, Ber mondsey. He (the prisoner) said that the party was not there, when he quitted that place and went to another beerhouse at Star-corner. They entered the parlour and had some ale, the prisoner telling him that the party would be sure to meet them there. While they were there two men entered—one like a sailor, and the other had spectacles on. They had some ale, and one of them said he was a good shot with a rifle, and he would not mind shooting with anybody fora £5 note. The one with spectacles on said he had just come up from the country, but he would bet him anything that he would hit the hull's eye 18 times out of 21. A bet was made for five dozen of stout, andthey asked witness to go with .them to see fair play, and help them to drink it. Prisoner advised him to go, saying he would be sure to sell his house for him. He consented to go with them, and after traversing several streets they passed through the turnpike, and went into another beer house, in which was a skittle-ground. Witness ex pressed his surprise at this, as prisoner said that the rifle gallery was there, but in explanation he said that the house had been altered since he was there last, and he advAed a game of skittles. It was ultimately arranged that he and the prisoner should play against the other two men, and in a very short time witness lost four sovereigns. After that they played several games, and he staked his watch and chain, and lost them. He played £5 against bis watch, and £5 against the chain. Mr. Burcham asked if the prisoner lost as well as he did. Witness replied that he did, and apparently paid ()Ter money to the others, but he suspected that it was all flash money, and that they all acted in con cert to defraud him. As soon as he had parted with the watch and chain, the other two men left the ground, and the prisoner said he suspected they were skittle-sharpers, and he would go and stop them. He also went out, and witness saw nothing more of him until Saturday afternoon, when he met him in the Borough, and as soon as he saw witness he took to his heels, but the constable pursued him and took him into custody. The prisoner here seemed anxious for the appear ance of his solicitor, whom he had sent for. Mr. Burcham said that if the prosecutor had not more evidence against him, there was nothing that he could interfere with. He asked the prosecutor if he had related all the circumstances to him ? Complainant replied that he had, but if he was remanded for a few days, no doubt his companions could be apprehended. The prisoner was known to be a notorious skittle-sharper. _ _ Mr. Burcham told him he could not remand the case under the circumstances, as it was similar to four men playing at whist, and two losing. He must, therefore, discharge the prisoner, but he should caution him to be careful or he would be caught in his own net. WESTMINSTER. MORE MILITARY OUT RAGES.—George May alias Harris, and William Wheeler, privates attached to the Military Train, were charged with the following various offences : Henry Emmons, 15, Leader-street, Chelsea, tripe dresser, said between half-past 11 and 12 on Satur day night Harris came up to his shop, dashed his hand through a pane of glass, and took out from the window a piece of glass which he threw to Wheeler, who then also broke a square of glass. Prosecutor followed them to the house of a neigh• bour, Mr. Valens. Alfred Valens, 80, Leader-street, Chelsea, grocer and cheesemonger, said that shortly before twelve on Saturday night he heard cries of " Murder," and immediately afterwards Harris made his uppear ance, took up a large piece of bacon, and wantonly dashing it into a case of eggs broke about 200, to the value of £l, and the prisoners also broke two squares of glass. They then laid hold of prosecutor, and Wheeler held him while Harris struck him fepeatedly, calling out " Kill the ; dash the front of his - head in." Prosecutor added that aboNt four years ago Harris came to his shop and obtained some bacon for which he refused to pay. The veighbours on that occasion punished him severely, and one of his comrades received 14 days' imprisonment ; and Harris referring to that, said on Saturday it was his turn now, and he would murder every one. Alfred Jones, 20, Leader-street, oil and colourman, proved that the prisoners also visited his shop, and, breaking the windows, threw out into the road and destroyed £2 worth of starch, washing powder, &c. William Lucker, shoemaker, in the same street, also proved that they broke his windows. Mr. Paynter asked if a woman was present who had been assaulted by Harris. The police intimated that she was not, but A witness stood forward and said she had been seriously assaulLed without any provocation what ever, and Police-constable i„ . 'lnnell said Mr. Valens h a d Police bled copiously f rom t h e : effects of the punish men t given by Harris. at Harris had fre- It having been intimated L.l' game (R s_hill Bt,quently been in prison under the e on °f May divi- A constable from Shooter' sion) produced a warrant for his apprehe:lsion for manslaughter, signed by the coroner for Kent: They were remanded till Thursday. SMASHING EXTRAORDINAB.Y.—Jane Dyer and Simm Connor were prosecuted by the Solicitor to the Mint for wholesale uttering of counterfeit coin. It appeared from the evidence of Henry Leeson, barman to Mr. George Eason, the Queen's Head, Marsham-street, that the prisoners came in together on the 22d ult. for some beer, and Dyer afterwards called for some gin and tendered a bad shilling, which was :detected, and she was seen to take out another, upon which a policeman was fetched. Dyer then held her hand out to Connor behind her, but the barman placing his hand there, received a glove, which was afterwards found to contain 16 counterfeit shillings and a counterfeit half-crown. They were committed for trial. FATAL RAILWAY ACCIDENT AT KIDDERMIN STER, YESTERDAY.—An accident of an appalling kind took place near the Kidderminster station of the West Midland Railway, by which a platelayer immediately lost his life. A fast train leaves Worcester at 10.25 a.m., only stopping at Kidderminster for passengers booked to the north. Yesterday morning the weather was rather misty, and it was perhaps owing to this cause that the accident occurred. Thomas Smith, the platelayer in question, was on the Hoo Brook viaduct, a mile south of Kidderminster, when this train came up. He was evidently aware of its approach, for he had signalled to another man on the line below him to get from between the metals. He himself, however, neglected to do so in time. The consequence was that the front part of the engine, caught him, and he was hurled on to the line. The train immediately passed over him, cutting off his head and one of his arms, and otherwise mutilating his body in the most frightful man ner. The train was proceeding at the rate of about 35 "'q an hour at the time of the accident, and was pulled 111110. up about tt quarter of a mile from where it occurred Death was, of course, instantaneous. An engine was sent from the Kidderminster station to pick up the poor fellow's remains, and they have been removed to an inn, where the Lulled will be held, SKIPPING STATISTICS. Messrs. Cunard, Wilson, and Co. have issued the following annual circular : " Liverpool and London Chambers, Exchange, " Liverpool, Dec. 31, 1860. " Sir,—The sales of sailing ships at our port may be reported as fully equal to those in 1859, but we are unable to quote any marked advance in prices. In one or two exceptional cases we have obtained as much as £9 per ton register for very superior new British colonial-built vessels, classed A seven years; ' but the general price may be quoted at from £8 to £8 15s. per ton, as shown by the sales of 15 new vessels during the past month. The prices of British built high-classed vessels are still lower than for some years past ; and this, with the high price of labour and material, has caused many builders to cease building for the market, and to lay down vessels only that have previously been contracted for. Iron shipbuilding is increasing, though gene rally only to order, and moderate-sized iron vessels suitable for China and the West Coast of America are much inquired after. The sales of such vessels during the year produce an average rate of £l5 per ton, builders' measurement; and at this price we are still enabled to effect contracts for vessels to be built, by eminent builders, classed A 1, 12 years, at Lloyd's, with a complete East India outfit. There are now 61 vessels for sale in this port ; the greater number of which are colonial-built, and their aggre gate tonnage is 29,408 tons, being 12 ships and 8.480 tons less than on the 31st Deo., 1859. We shall have a larger supply of new tonnage from the colonies, but only a small proportion can arrive before August or September, and we do not appr.- hand the whole will be more than necessary to mai the losses of the year aid the rapidly expanding trade of the country. Vessels from four to ten years old, both British and colonial-built, that have not yet lapsed from their original class of A 1, are always in demand, and for those of a lower class, suitable for carrying timber or cotton (of which there are very few for sale), there are, particularly at this season, numerous buyers at advanced prices. The steam tonnage of the United Kingdom has, within the last five years, increased in a much greater proportion than that of sailing vessels, and in a much greater ratio than that of any other nation. While at the end of 1855 it amounted to 88,956 tons, it increased in 1859 to 389,515 tons, being about 35 per cent. more. There is appa rently a tendency to substitute the rapid and com paratively certain power of steam for the more un certain power of wind, and this tendency will be come stronger, should the various experiments for economising fuel prove to be as successful as they are expected. A large business has been done in the sale of steamers during the year ; several im portant sales having been made on foreign account. For the trade of our country there has been a good demand, the increased traffic of some of the leading railways having induced an opposition by screw steamers, whereby both purchasers and charterers have been brought into the market. With regard to the value of steamers for employment, we may quote the rates at which we have chartered steam , ers during the year, which vary from 19s to 23s per ton gross per month, on the Government form of charter, and from 13s to 15s 6d per ton in cases . where the charterers pay all expenses, the boats being insured at the cost of the owners. For one I very fine screw steamer we obtained 16s 8d per ton." COUNTRY .111ABRETS. COLCHESTER—DEc. 29. A short show of wheat, in good condition, and buyers still evincing more eagerness to purchase. Beet wheats is brisk demand, and prices may be quoted at 2e above late rates; inferior samples were at former quotations. Fine malting barley in improved demand, and is dearer. In ferior sorts unaltered, with a fair trade. Wheat, white 6os to 68s 1 beans, Mazagan.. 36s to 42s red 44s to 60s I Middle & small 44s to 50a Barley 4os to 50s White peas 4Bs to 62s Oats 22s to 28s Grey, .. 42s to 48a NORTHAMPTON—DEC. 29. At this corn-market to-day wheat was in middling sup ply, with a fair demand, prices ranging from 64s to 68s for white, and 52s to 60s for rod. In barley a good business malting 40s to 445, grinding 32s to 35s per qr. Oats is small supply, and prices as before—quoted at 24s to 38s per 24 stone. Beans, old, 54s to 56s ; peas, 44s to 545. Rye, 37s to 425; malt, 68s to 725 ; flour, 33s to 34. per sack CHELMSFORD-Dm. 28. A. fair supplyol;leatNsas brought into the market to day, and best samples realised is to 2. over former curren cies, inferior is. Fine barley in request for malting, and is up. Old beans and peas the turn dearer. Wheat, white 43s to 648 j Peas, Partridge ..43s to 44e red 525 to 645 j White 435 to 460 Barley 335 to 43s ' Boiling 435 to 470 Chevalier ....36s to 465 Dun 39s to 428 Grinding 31s to 38s Beans, Tick ....38s to 468 Malt.. 615 to 67s Harrow Ticks 398 to 490 Chevalier 648 to 69. , Mazagan 325 to 438 Oats 26s to 31s I KIRKALDY—DEC. 29. We had a largo supply of barley to-day, but small of oat and wheat. Sales were ready, and prices were is over late rates. Wheat Barley Oats First.... 36s Od 32s Od 23s Od Second.. 56s Od 42s Od 28s 6d Third .. 66s Od 46s Od 30s Od COAL MAR] (rrioea of Coal per Ton at 8. d. Davison's West Hart- ley . ..17 Buddle'sWest Hartley 17 Holywell 18 Byass's Bebside West Hartley 17 3 Wylam l9 6 Ships at marks .ET—DEC, 31. the close et the market s, d. Hastings Hartley ....17 6 Walls End. 61Hetton .. 24 0 Belmont 23 0 South Durham 22 6 Hough Hall 24 0 24,; sold, 15, TILE MAILS. MAILS DUE. Australia, Ceylon, and Mauritius (via South ampton) .. .. Jan. 18. Do. (via Marseilles) Jan. 12. Brazil and Cape Verds .. Jan. 4. Buenos Ayres, Monte Video, &c. Dec. —. Bahamas and Havana (via New York) .. Dec. —.. Cuba and Mexico Dec. 29 Canada, &c. (via Galway) .. Dec. —. Cape of Good Hope, &c. .. Feb. 1. China, Penang, and Singapore (via S'ampton) Jan. 2. Do (via Marseilles) Jan. 12 Gibraltar (via Southampton) .. Jan. 2 India (Calcutta), Ceylon, &c. (via Southampton) Jan. 2. Do. (via Marseilles) Jan. 12. India (Bombay), (via Southampton) .. Jan. 10. Do. (via Marseilles) .. Jan. 4. Lisbon Jan. 1 Malta, Egypt, and Aden (via Southampton) Jan. 2. Do. (via Marseilles) Jan. 4. Vigo, and Oporto .. .. Jan. 1. United States, California, &c. Jan. 3. Western Coast of Atrica, Madeira, Taneriffe Jan. 10. West Indies and Pacific, Carthagena, Cuba, &c. Dec. 29. NOT SO FAR WRONG,—A schoolboy being asked to define the word " admission," said it meant " sixpence." " Sixpence," echoed the schoolmaster, " what sort of a definition do you call that ?" " I don't know," replied the boy, "but I'm sure it said so on the bill at the show in the fair." " Yes," said another boy, "and children half price." THE FROST IN THE LAKE DISTRICT—KESWICK, Dec. 29.—During the week the frost (severer than it has been known for the last 20 years) has been most intense in this vicinity. Skiddaw, Saddleback, the Catbells, and the amphitheatre chain of mountains visible from Keswick are shrouded in snow and ice, and the whole extent of Der wentwater Lake, which is three miles long and one and a half in breadth, congealed by the frost, presents the appear ance of a vast marble floor, offering an arena for skaters tvhich the members of the Skating Club would be delighted to fnld more south. From Friar's Crag to beyond Lodore, the casc,ade immortalised by Southey, the petrified stream has been thfOuged, and on Friday and Saturday quadrille orties tripped on the lake to the accompaniment of the brass band of the Skiddaw Grays Rifle Corps. On Winder. mere, which is also a pathway of ice, a melancholy accident happened on Friday. Robinson Martin, a young man 18 years of age, the son of the landlady of the Stag's Head, Bowness, and Thomas Benson, were crossing the lake from Bowness to the ferry, when, venturing on some new ice, where a boat had been drawn the night previous, they fell through and were both drowned. Benson has loft a wife and family to mourn his untimely end, BIRTHS. CARIIICHAEL.—On the 27th ult., at Castlecraig, Peebles.. shire, Lady Gibson Carmichael, of a son. Coors —On the 23d ult., at Florence, the wife of Eyre Coote, Esq., of West Park, Hants, of a daughter. FOLEY.—On the 29th ult., at Leamington, the wife of the Hon. Fitzgerald A. Foley, Captain Royal Nary, of a daughter. MARRIAGES. BRADSrAW—HALKETT. — On the 27th ult., at Twicken ham, Thomas Bradshaw, Esq., of Linco ln ' s-inn, to at the British Le ga . Emily Isabella, only child of the late Colonel F rederick :Mow, Cornwall, an d Ilitlkett, Coldstream Guards. P o t i u o T E A , L T - -; u tz z n . - e - - v O . n G the eor g 2 06 tihotfaulyinond Portal, re c t or of K t • l A a t l b e u A r v y i , l I S i a u m r r e j y ) , a I t i o b u Helen q. lsl , ar y Charlotte, wid ow o f t h e niece of his Exc e ll enc y Sir James Hudson, • T S. ANDREWS.—On tho 30th ult., at Anerley Villas, Penge, Surrey, George Andrew s, Es q ., late of Friday-street, g - - city, aged 53. HALLILAY_.-0 11 the2.9th ult., at B a th, Richd. HaMays Esq., R.N., aged 75 PO a the 29th ult., a t E ast Moseley, Surrey) E EL.-- W . N I E . p en non, Esq., aged 96. PEGLEI" -- On the 28th ult., a t I s li ngton, Stephen P eg l er , Esq., aged 76. LorrPON : Printed and Published by MURDO YOUNG, of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at THE SUN Office, No. 112, Strand in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the County of Middleitz SL'ucsday, January 1, 1861, 3li. Aft Ar( fro] Cri and tad, Pro pa tho,: tion • Gen. t Colons Gener Henr3 Colon, Lieute Lieutc Gener Andre Lieutc Liente F. V. 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