The Sun. — London, England, 1834-03-29 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. giving_ antagonist privileges to another ; royal charters had been opposed by acts of Parlia ment, and acts of Parliament had been modified in their operation by royal charters : in short, the profession had been thrown into a mould of accidental formation, from which it came out in a shape which it had never worn be fore in any other civilized country, because in no other country has custom, prescription, or " the wisdom of ancestors," been pleaded against the obvious improvements suggested by the re sults of experience and the progress of reason, with the same force, or for the same duration, as in England. Hence it happens, that the greatest city in Europe, where medical education in all its branches must necessarily be most exten sively cultivated, has not a board which can confer a medical degree, but must obtain the qualifications of its college from two universi ties which have not a medical school ! Why the old . practice was abandoned, of obtaining degrees in medicine from the Archbishop of Canterbury, as in the time of Henry VII., it would be difficult, after this, to explain. Just at the eleventh hour of their fate, or when threatened with a Parliamentary inquiry or a Royal commission, tHe College of Physicians bethought themselves of this strange inconsis tency, and have now, as was mentioned by one of the witnesses, a petition before the Privy Council, praying for leave to grant degrees, as well as to confer the liberty to practise, on degrees granted, by other corporations I When the College—relying on its three cen turies of right to resist innovation had thus offered to become reformers, it is not surprising that we should have a large body of unprivileged individual projectors, who in pamphlets, and through the periodical press, make known their schemes of reform. We are glad to see that the most of these publications are characterised by one common idea—the abolition of corporate privileges, a higher stan dard of medical education, and a separation of the government of the faculty, or of the exa mining board, from the narrow interests of teaching or practising establishments. One of the pamphlets to which we have alluded, is the work of Mr. Green, professor of surgery at King's College, London, and one of the sur geons at St. Thomas's Hospital. It is en titled, " Suggestions repecting an intended piglit t o_f_ Medical Reform, particularly offered fdtoannk ,and the Profession." Th e to the Leil learned professor mariascre---4__bigher idea of his own " plan" than he can instir - i9lO the parties for whom it is intended, but, amid' good deal of professional pedantry, of quaint or not very intelligible language, and of fan ciful or fantastic distinctions and propo sals, his publication contains " suggestions" not unworthy of attention. Why he dwells so much upon the character of a gentle man in the medical practitioner, and insists upon having a kind of court of honour as an ad junct to a medical board, we are at a loss to de cide. Let a high standard of education be re quired in the profession—let quacks and empi: ries be excluded—and there is no reason why gentlemanly feelings and habits should be less cultivated in the medical than in other liberal professions. At least, a deficiency in such ha bits and feelings must be left to the punishment or correction of the world, and cannot be supplied by any general rules of medical education. Mr. Green's three requisites in the medical profession are—first, " The possession of technical know ledge." Second, " Scientific insight," or, as he goes on quaintly to express it, " the posses sion of the knowledge of those laws or rational grounds which form at once the principles an d ultimate aims of all professional knowledge;" and, thirdly, " the character of a gentleman," " that his conduct may be a pledge that he pursues his profession as a liberal science." Mr. Green, like every other man of sense, insists on a good general preparatory education in the can didate for medical honours, but probably most of our medical practitioners would think his stan dard too high. We ourselves would be ready to compound with the examining board for a competent knowledge of Greek and Latin in the medical pupil, in addition to the requisite scien l i - tific and practical attainments of a professional kind ; but our author demands still further, a knowledge of logic (he does not say whether Aristotelian or Baconian), of mathematics, and of Lord Chesterfield ! ! The following is his programme of study or qualification for a degree, expressed in his own words, and with his own italic characters : Few plans of reform have met with such general applause as that propounded by Lord Brougham for the administration of Criminal Jurisprudence in the Metropolis. The simpli city of the plan—the complete swamping of petty courts, ideal boundaries, and supposed demarcations—the contempt of local interests for the great result of public utility—and above all, the erection of a great criminal tribunal which will command the confidence and respect of the public, while it will attract a bar of greater talent and higher rank than that which now practises there—are all worthy of Lord Brougham's reputation. This bill may be con sidered as a sort of dredge to clear away the shoals and shallows which have long impeded the course of justice in and about the metro polis ; and it must be a matter of congratu lation, that there is at last a Chancellor who is of opinion that the law was intended to protect the public, and not to throw every possible impediment and obstacle in the way of punishing the plunderer. There is now a grand opportunity which ought not to be lost, for effecting that which, while it will impr - Ove the administration of Justice, will have the advantage of relieving a large body of the middling class of tradesmen from an onerous and painful duty, almost exclu sively pressing on them, and for the discharge of which they must be less qualified, and ought to be less exposed than those who are most impro perly exempted from bearing their share. As the unavoidable consequence of more frequent gaol deliveries must be an additional call on the time of the traders of the metropolis, the object of this article is to suggest such an amended method of striking petty jurors as will equalize the labour amongst that immense body really liable to serve. It has long been an anomaly of our law, that where property is at stake, ju 17;rnen of a superior rank and supposed superior talent may be summoned ; but on questions af fecting the life of a fellow-creature no such pri vilege is allowed. When a damaged cargo is the cause of action, a jury is composed of mer chants, ship-owners, and persons most conver sant with the g obect; but when the captain is indicted for murdering az g - toman, his life is sup posed to be perfectly safe in the tins of those who are considered incompetent to estimate it: l loss of a bale of cotton or a staved hogshead of sugar. At present the jurors -book, in very many parishes, is in a most defective and neglected state : it is handed over from each overseer to his suc cessor with less care than his gold-tipped wand, without any alteration or addition ; the conse quence is, that the juror's book of the sheriff does not contain the half of the names it ought, and of those that are inserted, one half is non est inventus ; so that from the neglect of overseers, the unavoidable irregularity of the sheriff's office, and the idleness of the sum moning officer, the petty jurors are generally taken from the parishes in the neighbourhood of the courts. It is seldom that a tradesman of opulence is seen on a petty jury. " They have no time ; so extensive a concern as theirs must be looked after ; and a douceur to the officer ge nerally settles the business ; and the arduous duties of the courts thus devolve almost wholly on those who, though they may not have exten sive concerns, have shops which must be looked after by themselves, whose time is their most valuable property, and who cannot, from their habits, be expected to be able either to weigh the niceties of evidence, or to bring an attention to the subject, wholly unoc cupied by matters, to them of the very highest importance. God forbid that we should insinu ate that they are either inattentive or careless in the discharge of their solemn duties ; but when it is notorious that, in long and intricate cases, the jury often mainly depend on the summing up—when we have heard them urging the Judge to prolong a protracted sitting, rather than call them away another day from their bu siness—we cannot help making these observa tions. Our remedy is briefly this—extend the simple and satisfactory machinery, not the prin ciple, of special juries to petty, by compelling an accurate revision and completion of the jurors book, by drawing ritimbers by lot, which num bers correspond to names in that hook—by bal lotting these numbers publicly, at the police office nearest the Sheriff's office—by allowing no permanent exemptions beyond those claimed at the present appeal day. The result would be, that, taking but 5 per cent. of the two millions comprehended in the new district as qualified (we need only have those who have intelligence and leisure), we should relieve those who have not the latter, though they may have the first, and yet call on the same person to serve twice only in thirty years, the time now being about two years and a half. At Brighton, where the magistrates have required more accurate lists, the results have been most satisfactory ; and in stead of clodhoppers, in smock frocks, endea vouring to distinguish between a larceny and robbery—a felony and a misdemeanor—they are relieved, and the duties distributed over an extensive body of wealthy traders, who have in telligence and leisure to qualify them for such solemn and responsible duties. We trust that Lord Brougham will consider this.—Morning Chronicle. " 1. The knowledge of words, their definite import and right use, as grounded in grammar, and evinced by a correct style. " 2. The knowledge of the elements of mathema tical science, as the discipline of the pure sense. " 3. The knowledge of experimental science, as af fording the requisite discipline of the senses. 4. The knowledge of logic, as the laws of right reasoning, the forms of all legitimate conclusion, and the criterion of truth and falsehood. " 5. The knowledges properly medical, grounded on physics, physiology, and psychology. " 6. The cultivation of the morals, and the formation of habits of gentlemanly feeling and conduct." To his proposition of a Government or Ex amining Board, greatly modified, little objec tion might be felt, but we have the utmost re pugnance to establish by law his higher and lower grades in the profession, under the names of " inceptor graduates of physiology," " gra duate in physiology," " doctor in medicine," " master in surgery," and " doctors in medi cine and midwifery," or any other title. All l i men let loose upon the world to practice on the bodies of their countrymen under the name of doctor, surgeon, or general practitioner, should be supposed by laNv_to be qualified for their bu siness by an average education—and all subse quent distinctions to which they may aspire, should be the consequence, not of their diploma or degree, but of their personal talents and pro fessional eminence. The poor must not be taught to suppose that the Government makes doctors for them with lower qualifications, and other doctors for the rich more highly instructed or gifted. Practitioners may attain the reputation of a Baillie, a Hunter, or a Cooper ; but it is only the examining board of public opinion, and the assenting voice of professional admira tion, that could confer such degrees. It is evi dent at least, that titles of this kind cannot be the coinage of a college or the creation of a medical board.— Times. It appeared evident from the announcement of a Parliamentary committee on the state of the medical profession, and even from the pro valent rumour of a Royal commission before that committee was appointed, that the rules of medical education and the privileges of medical corporations could not be long allowed to remain on their present footing. The examinations hitherto taken before the select committee since the commencement of its inquiry strongly con firm this confidence in a radical change. Scarcely one of the witnesses hitherto examined, though all fellows or licentiates of the College of Physicians, has expressed his own satisfac tion, or that of the faculty, in the existing ar rangement. The impolitic monopolies, of medical bodies, like other monopolies, often harshly exercised, and only restrained from greater rigour by the fear of provoking an aboli tion of their rights,—the conflicting. claims of different orders of the profession, mainly arising from these exclusive privileges,—the obstacles placed to the free circulation of medical practi tioners over the different divisions of the united empire by exclusive laws in each,—the fre quent neglect of the interests of the public and of the honour of the faculty, by the injudi cious grant of degrees, diplomas, or licenses, in some cases, and by their unjust refusal in others; these and many other evils have long been se verely felt, and only required the collection of a body of evidence, proving their existence and results, to secure their reformation. In the present patchwork system, which has never be fore undergone a general revision, one anomaly had been made to correct another ; one corpo ration had received privileges against the public interest which it was necessary to counteract by We are glad to find that the Lord Chancel lor's bill for improving the administration of criminal justice in the metropolis has met with a reception from the corporation which shows that men of all parties are likely to agree in its utility. The discussion which took place in the Common Council on Thursday last was altoge ther of a laudatory character. It betrayed none of the jealousy which corporations are too apt to feel, and which too often have been known to stand in the way of extensive improvements. It redounds much to the honour of the present Lord Chancellor, that with all his laborious ap plication to the duties of his high office, he still keeps his eye steadily on those great and neces-i ducing -a rea l i mprovement. W e do- not corn sary legal re f orms Mich his peculiar studies : plain of the Government for interfering upon and his comprehensive mind so well qualify : such an occasion ; on the contrary, we give him to deal with. That amongst the worst ' them credit for having done so. Their facilities specimens of the legal profession, those who ; are greater ; their responsibility is also greater ; live by th6 l tricks and evasions of the law, his ' and the importance' of the change required is effortsstO purify the course of justice will con- such as to justify the course they have pursued. tinue to be regarded, as they have hitherto But again, let u s remind the Solicitor-General, been, with dissatisfaction and enmity, is a who is the agent of the Government in this in consequence he must exp ec t ; b u t it is a part stance, that there is always, if not a strong of the glory which his talents and conduct suspicion, a passing doubt as to the motive have earned for him, to b e o b nox i o us to such with which people in power adopt the under men. They may abuse him in their little cir- takings of others, when it is evident, from the des for the mischief he has d on e them by sim- state of public opinion, that such undertakings plifying the intricacies and obviating the delays must be,,oto a certain extent, successful. It is on which they thrive. But in public let them not the mere suggestion of jealousy—for pru beware ; the cloven foot is soon seen ; and, dence speaks the same language—that whispers however moral the tone of their indignation in the public ear to watch narrowly the conduct may sound, people are not such fools as to over- of advocates who do not seem to have appre look that symptom in the endeavour to estimate ciated the urgency of the case until it had made their real motives. It is gratifying to find, some progress without them. There are two amongst the members of the corporation, indi- great evils consequent-upon the present state of viduals differing so widely in their politics as Sir the law, against which any bona fide amend- Peter Laurie and Mr. Charles Pearson concur- ment must be directed. The power which Go ring in approbation of the Lord Chancellor's vernment possesses through the machinery of bill. It is evident that party spirit alone can- ex-o,cio informations, and fictions and con not resist his progress in reform, when it lends structions of persecuting the press, and the its aid, as in the present instance, to applaud power which individuals of the worst conduct the advance, and, if it were necessary, to con- and character have of doing the same thing, firm the purpose by which it shall be carried though the press, in both instances, may not into full completion.—Morning Herald. be fairly chargeable with a single falsehood, or with any o th er mo ti ve th an a goo d one. To In the Paris and German papers, two subjects are commented upon of no incon- interfere with the present law, without af siderable importance, in a political point of view fording substantial relief in those particulars, —the first relative to the asylum granted to the will be mere meddling. Mr. O'Connell's Bill Poles in Switzerland, and the second to the —which, by the way, had the merit of bre treatment of the Porte by Russia, and the nature, vity and perspicuity, and was remarkably free lor rather the duration of the friendly under- from the technical verbiage of lawyers standing which subsists between France and his bill went too far in some respects. The 1 this country. Upon the former subject the idea of making truth a justification in all Constitutionnel remarks in a just and independent a door to much injury. The pro cases was certainly a stretch of principle that spirit, and asks upon what grounds the Germ an would open and Russian cabinets can possibly conceive that position sounds well at first—it sounds all the they have any right to prevent the Swiss Can- better for being the very reverse of that profli tons from dealing with the exiled Poles as jus- gate maxim of the law, which flagitiously pro tiee and humanity may dictate. claims, " the gr ea ter the truth the greater "In the British parliament," says it, " Lord Palmer- the libel." But it would be easy to put ston denied that the government had received a cir- cases in which the latter maxim would 1 cular said to have been addressed by the court of St. come nearer to the purposes of justice, Petersburgh to,the different cabinets, urging them not to notwithstanding its iniquity as a general rule, grant an asylum to the Polish refugees and afford them succour. If we are well informed, however, Cou n t than the former, when pushed to the extreme. Pozzo di Borgo has delivered a note to such an effect A case which has often been put is that of a to the Duke de Broglie, and is urgent for an answer. deformed person held up to ridicule on account We hope and believe that the answer of the Minister of his deformity. I n thi s i ns t ance , th e t ru th for Foreign Affairs will be prompt and dignifi e d. O ur aggravation of the libel. But would be an a territory is free, and France has never b een i n h osp i- gg table. The government certainly should, by means under the provisions of M r . O'C onne ll' s bill, f the regular police, take care that th e re f ugees d o th e t ru th o f t h e statement wou ld just i fy the noi'diat,urb public order, but this great n a t ion w ill scoun d re l w h o was capable of making such a never suffei - eae-u*ppy exiles from Poland to be re- use of it. The way to obviate th e diffi cu lty fused succour and suppoit':-:'.. - would 6 - e, --, ci-s - Mr: Rix - once proposed; to allow Really if Russia has set up su c h p i :eta - a : 3i n ; and is desirous of preventing the gallant men evidence of the truth in all cases, leaving the whom her cruelty, her oppression, and her jury to determine whether it should be considered usurpation have driven from their native land, as a justification or the reverse. Though • the from finding an asylum, it is high time that the bill to which we have been alluding is now laid free governments of Europe should take steps aside, it is evident that the main objects to to convince her, first, of her own comparative which it was directed must form, to a certain weakness, and, secondly, of their determination extent, the foundation of any effective measure not to be dictated to by her as to whom th e y shall for the improvement of the law. Mere techni or shall not grant hospitality. The attempt cal alterations will do nothing. The soul of the upon the Swiss cantons was no d ou bt a f ee l er ; tyranny must be plucked out. Wh a t e ver mi nor arrangements may be considered necessary to but if we may be allowed to judge f rom w h a t we see in the foreign journals, some of these the perfection of the system may then be adopted without exposing the Government or its repre small communities have behaved in a highly. sentative to the imputation of having under spirited and proper manner—disallowing the dic taken a popular measure, in the hope, and with tation of the Autocrat and his German satel the. determination, of frittering it down to no lites, and declaring it to be their opinion that they thing.—Morning Herald. ought to be allowed to treat these unhappy men with as much hospitality as their circum stances will allow. What then ought the Go vernments of France and England to do ? Are they who are bound to have protected them from the calamities which have unfortunately overtaken them, to yield to the demands of Russia, and to say to the unhappy Poles " here ye shall find no resting place'" Most shame ful was the abandonment of Poland, when Po land, as a nation, demanded and was entitled to their aid ; but baser still would be their refusal of an asylum to those who, if they had been but justly dealt with, would have been able to afford, instead of being in a situation to claim one. With regard to the second point, there is a long article from Prussia dated the 14th inst., in which strong complaint is made of the man ner in which some French and English journals speak of the conduct of Russia towards the Porte, and a threat held out that what is termed the good understanding " between France and England may not be of long duration." " In general," says it, " foreign policy seems to be the weak side of the Grey Ministry. Mistakes are every where made, but among the greatest may be reckoned the attacks directed against the treaty of the Bth of July. They have disclosed the weakness of England, but have shown even their cards to France, now their ally, but which will not always remain such, and may easily resume its old character of a rival." It is true enough that the weakest side of the Grey administration has been its foreign policy —and equally so that Russia is most anxious, upon the principle divide et impera, to destroy the amicable feeling which exists between France and England ; but it by no means fol lows that they will be foolish enough to allow the Russian Autocrat to become the dictator of the future policy and condition of Europe — and we are further somewhat of opinion that that high and mighty personage would find it prudent to draw in his horns, instead of making fresh claims, by their unnecessary and disgusting obtrusion, upon the hostility of England. No war in which this country could possibly engage, would be more popular than a war upon Russia —and we can assure M. Pozzo di Borgo and his coadjutors in the misrepresentation of Eng lish feeling, that it requires but a little more offence—a little more of the same species of conduct which has been shamefully submitted to during the last five years —to induce the people of England to compel the Government to effect a signal vengeance for all past wrongs, and hitherto unrequited usurpations and insults. —Morning Advertiser. We fully agree with an evening contempo rary (the Courier), that if the Solicitor-General goes to work like a mere lawyer in his reform of the law of libel, he will do very little good. People's minds are prepared for a radical c hange in the whole of that oppressive system, and any thing short of such a change will neither g ive satisfaction nor relief. It is not the correction of some of the most glaring anomalies in the theory, nor the alteration of some of the m ore palpable defects in the practical working of the system, that is called for. More must be done than merely to give a bett er f ace to tyranny an d in . justice—the tyranny and injustice must them selves be got rid of. This the present state of society requires, and any attempt to compromise with such a demand ca n on ly end in disappoint ment. As the subject is now taken out of the hands of Mr. O'Connell by the Government, it is particularly incumbent on the Government to show that they did not interfere with the mea sure introduced by that gentleman from any feeling of partiality to the existing law. The way to repudiate such a feeling will be by intro- THE DRAGOMANS. CONSTANTINOPLE, SEPT., 1833.—The diplomatic intercourse at Constantinople between the Sublime Porte and the Ministers of the Great Powers, is conducted by means of a body of persons called Dragomans, who, though being simply interpreters, arrogate to themselves a great deal of importance, and in the progress of time have become of some con sideration. They are in general deficient in intelli gence and the usual instruction bestowed upon poli tical agents ; few of them are competent to read and write Turkish correctly, but they have Con trived to make themselves indispensable to every embassy but that of Austria, which has had the good sense to establish interpreters of its own. Other nations have tried to imitate the example of that country, but none of them have as yet succeeded ; and the dragomans have grown into a close corpora tion, intermarrying with each other's families, sharing the State secrets of all the Powers of Europe, and looking upon the Ministers to whom they are at tached as persons inferior to themselves. I cannot altogether expose their weakness and incompetency, but I think I have the means of removing some part of the mystery with which they have contrived hitherto to envelop their proceedings. This system had its origin in the period when the European na- tind when, on s establishede ignorant relations of the Rit h the language,Ottomanthey Porte were;a obliged to employ Church Missionaries, to whom the usages of the country had become familiar. Greeks and Jews were subsequently employed ; and as the Porte considered these agents as protected by the laws of the country into whose service they were taken, the wealthy Jews and Greeks eagerly pur chased the office, or protections under the office, as a certain mode of securing their wealth. That sys tem having led to much abuse, other agents were employed, which, after several interruptions, settled down to that which is now in operation, and from the shackles of which Austria alone has been able to free itself. The principal dragoman families are of Venetian origin ; and there were several eminent ones de scendants of persons of that Republic settled in Tynos, Chio, and other islands of the Archipelago. The names best known are those of Franchini, Pi sani, Timoni, Navoni, Salzani, Testa, and Cherico. Some are of French descent, such as Chabert and La Pierre, but from the same islands, where they were called Taouchans, or rabbits, by the Turks, because they fled to caverns or rocks when the Ca pitan Pacha paid his annual visit to the islands to collect the taxes. Others are of Ragusan extrac tion, Skicpovich, and BasgoviCb, who were i the dra gomans of the free t own o f R agusa b e f ore t merged into the Austrian dominions. The Divan Terdseunzani, or Dragoman of the Porte, is independent of all these families, and pre vious to the Greek revolution, he was chosen from the principal people of the Fanar, the selection being, in latter times, made from four families only. It was sought after with great avidity, as it was consi dered the stepping-stone to the hospodarship of the principalities of Walachia and Moldavia, and several curious intrigues are on record of the competitors for these honours. Since the revolution Greeks are no longer employed, and none but a native Turk can now fill the office of Dragoman of the Porte. The present dragoman, Hald Esrca Elendi, is a tolerable good French scholar, and, it is said, cor ducts himself with great propriety. He has the assistance of two deputies, who are well acquainted with Arabic and Persian, and he has the charge of bringing up and qualifying for the office four youth s , from amongst whom his post is hereafter to be filled. The duties of the D ragoman o f t h e P orte ar e to act as interpreter for the R e i s Eff en di, when that Minister receives a foreign Ambassador who is always accompanied by his dragoman, as a check upon the agent of the Porte. He is also honoured by the interpreting for the Sultan, when his Highness grants an audience to a Foreign Am bassador—such as that which he allowed to Sir Stratford Canning—and which he so frequently per mitted to Count Orloff. He has, besides, the task * Atlas Ethnographique de Balbi, ' of translating into Turkish all important documents which may be sent to the Porte in French, as each embassy has its choice of forwarding its communi cations in French and Turkish, because the Drago mans are not always equal to drawing up notes of great moment in appropriate Turkish. He is fur ther obliged to compare th e T ur ki s h copy w i t h the , original French, which always accompanies each paper, as the Reis Effendi is determined to see that the intentions of the Ambassador communicating 1 with him are not misinterpreted or misstated by the ignorance of the Dragoman who had drawn up the note. has been educated for the purpose, and is an excel lent Turkish scholar, reading and writing the Jan' guage with fluency. The great evil of the system is, that a body ol men are employed in the secrets of government wlio have no national interest at stake, and on whom the force of public opinion at home cannot be brought to bear. There is no assurance for their goof' faith, and he that betrays one interest to-day, may be found to-morrow enlisted in the corp All thatd nra a- tion to which we h ave b een sacr ifi ce d. the gomans make a great mystery of their proceeding freel s, and scarcely con d escen d t o communicate y with the Ambassadors who employ them. It 1 , and each ha v i ng an i n t eres t i n th e 5 only among s t eac h o th er th a t th ey are confiden tia l , genera l good, communicate such portions of the most secret nee" tiations to the opposite party, as may enhance Or reputation of a b ro th er d ro man, who arrogat es himself gr ea t cre dit f or developing so much of th e affair. It is by means of this want of good faith, that hints of apparently close political transactions every day transpire ; and, with the exception o Austria, wh o , as I h ave s hown, has a corps of Ger mans, and of Russia, who pays largely for the secrecy of its officers, I believe a portion of the business transacted at the Porte is made known the day after its communication. The English Ambassadors know well how erroneous the system is, and they would gladly c hange it if the could, and one a them lately said that the American Govern ment deserved w e ll f or having had the spirit to break so early th roug h a monopoly which embarrassed oth er nations s o muc h . y It will n o t b e am i ss, as a conclusion to t hi s ar ticle, to give you a n exact li st of the Am b assa d ors , secre taries, and dragomans of all the European Power s at present at Constantinople. RUSSIA. —Mr. Butenieff, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Mr. Artinoff, Counsellor of the Embassay ; first secretary, Mr. Wolcoff; first ad joint, Mr. Giani ; second secretary, Mr. Gouriff; second adjoint, the Count Medea ; third secretary, 111 „:" Sitoff; third adjoint, Mr. Fok ; fourth secretary, George de Chirico; the Prince de Soltic off, attach 6; first interpreter, vacant ; second interpreter, Mr. Mat thew Pisani ; third, Mr. Deodati ; fourth, Mr. Mir a ,,, n; Chancellor, Mr. Paul Pisani ; deputy, Mr. Angc moni ; director of the Porte, Mr. C. Froding ; d e puty , Mr. Allnadi. AUSTRlA.—lnternuncio, the Baron de Sturrner fir j t secretary, Mr. de Wallenburg ; attaché, M. P arc ' n de Testa; attache, Mr. Kloff; Chancellor, the ; YMatcovic.hn_ Anthony de Testa ; deputy, M r . Thomas first interpreter, Mr. Adelbourgh ; s econd, Mr._ Pt f the ihony de Raab ; third, Mr. Skoezl ; director o f Porte, Mr. Strende ; deputy, Mr. Eizenbach. first DENmARK.---Minister, the Baron Hubsch; d, m a. terpreter, and chancellor, Mr. Crevoni ; sec'n P. Romani. secre- SPAIN.--Minister, the Chevalier Cor doba; • de Souza ; first interp reter,Mr E. Souzi ; ch ance ll or , M r . E step h a ni. ssader ; FRANCE.—The B aron d e R ou ssin, Amba... angs_ Baron de Cahorn, first secretary ; the Ba ron dorf, second secretary ; Mr. de Talleyrand, a al ttach d de- Mr. Arnelin, chancellor ; M. Olivier, fi rst can t fou r t h } ; camp to Admiral Roussin ; first interpreter, va second, Mr. La Pierre ; third, Mr. Dan ton ; At.= Francovillo three students. , Mr. ENGLAND.—I.ord Ponsonby, Ambassador ; 2 i.. Mandeville, secretary of the embassy (abse 1.-nte)neral ; Waller, attache ; Mr. Cartwright, consu g chancel- Mr. Comberbatch, vice-consul ; Mr. Moore, s econd, for ; Mr. Francis Chabert, first inte r preter ;; Ad fourth, Mr. Anthony Pisani ; third, Mr. G. Wood Mr. Calavro ; Mr. Frederick Pisani ; fifth, Mr. bert, Mr. Alex. Pisani, interpreter elect ; Mr. R. C ita R. Wood, and Mr. Etienne Pisani, students. ounsellor PRUSSlA.—Minister, Baron de Marten ; r r o v,c.. Mr. Matthew Stipovich ; second, Mr. John 0 g of the legation, M. Borgovich ; first inte third, Mr. Constantine Testa. ' d'affair es ; HOLLA No.—The Chevalier Testa, c harge_ first interpreter, Mr. Giustimani ; second, Mr• kla" zz third, Mr. Salsani. Sum ( ' M. NAPLES.—M. d'Errie, charge d'affaires ; Gra r' neri, first interpreter, Mr. Navoni ; second, I.s3ceter, The duties of the dragoman of the great powers may be divided into two classes, political and com mercial. The first and second dragoman are attached to the ambassador' s persons, and it i s their office to communicate sometimes verbally, and more often in writing, between him and the Reis-Effendi, when the Ambassador wishes to make his instructions known at the Porte. The first dragoman, if he be selected for that duty, for the Minister has power to call on whom he pleases, has access to the Reis- Effendi at all hours, though the Ambassador in whose service he is can only see that functionary by a special appointment. The answer to the com munication made by the dragoman is given either verbally or in writing, according to the mode which he adopted, and the negotiation is carried on by him to a conclusion. He has also the task of reducing into Turkish as well as he can the instructions of the Ambassadors, and as well of that of translating into French the papers which the Reis-Effendi may think proper to send him in Turkish. In short, the first dragoman, if selected for duty at the Porte, has in his hands the whole policy of the nation he repre sents, and if he be accessible to any influence but that of his master, it will be seen how easily its in terests may be betrayed. There are a thousand stories current of the intrigues and bad faith of many dragomans, but as I have not the means of authen ticating them, I will not mention the cases, more particularly as it is the s y s t em , an d no t theindivi duals, that I desire to expose. I think, however, the brief exposé which I make will be sufficient to show how remiss the European Powers have been in allowing such important objects to be committed to the care of men who have no principle among them of national attachment. The third and fourth dragoman serve in what is called the chancery of each embassy where vessels' papers and travellers' firmans are registered, and where all commercial disputes between the natives and foreign subjects, or those having foreign protec tion, are arranged for the inspection of the Grand Vizier, who is invested, by the several treaties be tween the Porte and the Great Powers, with au thority to decide them. The dragoman prepares the papers for his inspection, or verbally explains the nature of the case to him, and it is his custom never to hear a cause, or to give a judgment upon it, except in the presence of the official interpreter of the nation to which the litigating party belong. This is a considerable branch of dragoman's duty. As I suppose the Frank population of Pera, with the,Pri , i^ b ricaci; eilubt is to say Greeks or A rmen i ans , who are employed by Europeans, tuiLe rpee;ve from the respective Consuls certificates of protec tion, amount to 10,000 or 15,000 persons. Whether to save themselves from labour, or be cause they are more ignorant of the Turkish language than they are willing to admit, the dragomans of all the embassies are in the habit of resorting to a per son called a Kiatib—that is to say, scribe or writer, who prepares in pure language all documents for them, and who has always at hand a quantity of forms ready for ordinary business. The Kiatib is paid a salary by all the embassies, as the- greater part of the dragomans are obliged to seek his aid ; and unless the Ambassadors take especial care to transmit their notes to the Reis Effendi in French, it is possible that the state secrets of all the nations of Europe may be found in the bureau of Nedjeb Effendi, the French writer, from the positive ineffi ciency of the dragomans to draw up the necessary papers without his assistance. The only embassy that can really depend on its interpreters is that of Austria, who finds an adequate supply of native Germans from the school which she has established at Vienna, and from whence some highly eminent persons have proceeded. The internuncio, as the Austrian here is called, is most commonly selected from this corps. The late internuncio, Baron D'Ot tenfels, was a dragoman ; and the father of the pre sent Baron Sturmer belonged to the same body. It is generally admitted that no nation is so ably re presented or so efficiently served as Austria ; and if the Court of Vienna should separate its policy from that of St. Peteesburgh, as many persons think she may be induced to do, the superiority of her mode of transacting business here will soon be very evident. The official place of meeting for the Dragomans is at Constantinople, in an apartment within the gate called the Ottoman Porte, in a large quadrangular building, where all the public offices of the Turkish Government are united. The Dragoman of the Porte has his office at one side of a lower floor, and the apartment of the other Dragomans is immediately opposite to it. It is there where they assemble, in a sort of freemasons' lodge, and carry on the intrigues of their masters or their own ; and communicate just as much of the most secret business to each other as may be necessary to support the credit of all in their respective embassies. It was in this room that the Dragomans of the Porte used to assemble before the Greek revolution, and where so many in trigues were carried on towards attaining the grand object of their ambition—the government of the principalities of Walachia and Moldavia. The Dragomans of Russia are said to be intelli gent and tolerably well-educated men. The prin cipal, Franchini, who has died within two months, though unable to write Turkish, spoke it fluently, and, being a man of great natural abilities, acquired considerable influence at the Porte. He was the chief Dragoman of France when General Sebastiani was Napoleon's Ambassador at Constantinople. The second is Mr. Matthew Pisani, the third, Mr. Deodati, and the fourth, Mr. Paul Pisani. The suc cessor to M. Franchini is not yet appointed, but the nephew of one of the Hospodars of Walachia, who, with his father, escaped to Russia at the commencement of the Greek revolution, and only returned to Turkey in the suite of the Count Orloff the other day, is said to have the best chance, as it is generally understood among the body that all vacancies are to be filled up from Greek families, as the policy of Russia is turning a favourable eye towards those who are likely to be its future subjects. The place of the head dragoman of France is vacant, but M. La Pierre is the second, M. Dantin the third, and M. Francoville the fourth. England has, first on her list, M. Francis Chabert, with a salary of 1,000/. a-year--second, M. Edward Pisani—third, M. G. Wood—fourth, M. Frederick Pisani—fifth, M. Calavro, each with 500/. a-year, besides M. Alexander Pisani, dragoman elect, M. Robert Chabert, M. Etienne Pisani, and Mr. Richard Wood, students for the office, each with salaries or allowances. All these persons are acquainted with French and Italian ; few of them are Turkish scholars—that is to say, write it with correctness and elegance, though all can speak it fluently. The first and second dragomans of our embassy cannot speak English, and I believe they have generally a most satisfactory ignorance of our system and insti tutions. The English dragomans were formerly the servants of the Levant Company, but when that ,monopoly was broken up by Mr. Canning, they were transferred partly, as I have explained, to the service of the Ambassador, and partly to that of the Chan cery and Consulate. The salary of the first drago man is actually 8001. a-year, with an allowance of NO/. a-year to him, if he be in attendance at the Porte ; but it does not follow, of course, that the head dragoman is chosen for that purpose, as I be lieve it was in Sir Stratford Canning's time that the extra salary was taken away from M. Chabert and divided between the second and the third. They also receive a variety of fees on firmans, which, in some cases, fall to the lot of the head dragoman, and in others are divided at the end of the year among the corps. The American government has, with its usual good sense, adopted the Austrian system, an Mr. Hodgson, late Charge des Affaires at Algiers. ziani. SARDINIA.—The Chevalier Cherie° , charge deaf,aldi An faires ; Mr. Sumoneri, first interpreter ; M r. h6s• second interpreter; Mr. G a bbi and Mr. 'nice°, attac SWEDEN.-The Chev a li er , A ntony . de Testa, chal e . d George Timoni,'affaires ; Mr. Pa u l S erep i no , first interp reter ; it" interpreter elect. EAST INDIA SHIPPING• —ow- - The b —ay, from China, has arrived off the Isle Bolllu of Wight, sailed Nov. 25'; St. Helena Feb. 1. , c _ The Farquharson, from China, has arrived o ff tn Isle of Wight, sailed Nov. 19 • St. Helena Feb. !., , _ .The Bounty Hall, from Bombay, has arrived 13' Liverpool—sailed Nov. 7 ; St. Helena Jan.. 23. from Arrived at China—The Buckingh amshire; Bengal. Stockholm, i Arrvals at Bombay—The Ceres, fr om 3 ; 25 Nov. the the Oct.. ; the R parkfieid, from George, Liverpool from and London,mauriti 4th ; 1 Eliza, from London, 4th ; the Asia, from Liverprs; 6th ; the William, from Liverpool , Oct. 2 3, with c ° l. of foremast and part of her cargo thrown overboarb 1. Arrivals at St. Helena—The Bombay, free t .. w t a ho ing, Jan. 26 ; did not anchor • the Esther , fr°'" Mauritius, 28th, and sailed for' London ; the Coiling: wood, from the Mauritius, 28th, andsailed fo r °ve t .' ; sailed an pool ; the Grace, from Bombay, 29th, and L?ndon ; the Manderson, from Calcutta, 3 °„, th ;:" 3 sailed for Liverpool ; the Nyverheid, from Batavia, oth, and sailed, Feb. 1, for Rotterdam ; the Relianoth: from the Mauritius and the Cape of Good HePg' lb 9 and sailed for London the Gilmore, from J' ° ;ho a r. and the Cape of Good 'Hope, Feb. 1 ; did net Blonde, Arrivals at Madeira—His Majesty's ship ,e l " j from Portsmouth, in February ; the Bengal, freall t t i cj ; Clyde, 12th ; the Sesostris, from Portsmou the ; fito n the Elizabeth Moor, from Liverpoo l, 20th ; ' 1) for Castle, from Portsmouth, 3d, and sailed, sth, Bombay. ---- ---- SHIPS SPOKE N willt• Liverpool to Calcutta, Feb. 15 ' the Cape of GOOO 27,T lat.he H l9 u . d d N e . r s fi l e o l n d g , from 3 . Bv ß o . m ; b l a ah _ e v t W. ; the Iris, from Ceylon and t the Gilmore. Hope to London, was passed by sesuP,R.........ollllMlK•l•oo.sienafr l a Y 6 A few days since, while a butcher was h f e ll n i mhu n pi ges upon fnawanii melancholy i h hrog o l n yo en windowc o ot f ,n h ssh i a s easqv c hui o ,ne m gE pncodeapneai of fpe n di s c:h a : t en aoMarfetocenirdyt glass, er accident t n ab d r tr, e: ese j it a c t n o i o o • per. nine children, and a widow ens rote.—Part s f t olie . On Tuesday morning last a little girl le var icrf of the lodges at Mollance, the residence of Mr• ho io4 Herculean, t 2 -11° . N., long. 20; balker, with her grandfather's breakfast, vioreps' ploughing in a field on the domain. A boy as cot vied her, and when about two-thirds down the oo fre,' he observed that his companion's clothes wer e , e aeciP, and returned to the gate to tell what had haP a r c ifilllM The poor child in the mean time suffered are f the, and before long the flame, aided by the ae ticql ° r‘re ° ' l. air, literally burnt her clothes to tinder. eff A ort si : 7ri ti f e r: 3 l ; was procured very opportunely, but his a i o , 00 vain, for the sufferer, after enduring greati f vot be at mid-day. It is supposed that a spark h a w hich • t • s the girl's clothes before she left the ho use, D „, / f le air had afterwards fanned into a flame. Courier. On the 15th inst., at Madrid, the BIRTHS. lady of Henry 19 ' 5 c,air l of a son. j. jou On the 27th inst., at Stoke Newington, Mrs. r of a son MARRIED. • r-G e " ?' On the 3d inst.,at R the Baron De Lepel , I°3 • ° 11°/$1 Rome, to bi , „f tb cal in the Prussian service, Aide.de-Cainf " titer Highness Prince Henry of PrUssia, to Frances, dy",. serv i ce. t late Vim. Agnew, Esq., of the East India CoroPll con ilv DIED* A st reet, On the 27th inst., at his residen :e in Portion'''. , 0 101 , .!. .0 e o, c . nc ° ampton, T. Williams, Esq., in the 66th yea r of his.l On the 22d inst., at Fetteresso Castle, North 1 31.1%4 0 / Ii i Duff, of Fetteresso, Vice-Lieutenant and Convener of gr. 0. dinesh ire. tIA On the2Bth inst., Lucy Mary, younge st daughterdoveyeors R. Corner, of Canterbury-square, Southwark, age Sout h cr eed :4 three months. a sou--; for , On the 27th inst., at Bath, James Green, Esq.'," o i b bel'' " On the 23d inst., at Sidmouth, cent, Bedford-square, London, many years a disting e a lfW trait painter. afi el youngest son of Edward A nson, a Es -, of Bentley-i, Henry George , is county of Stafford. U 14411 --------) London: Printed and Publist;edby 1111.1111)`; Strad' at the Sun Office, No. 112'