The Sun. — London, England, 1861-12-09 00:00:00

ROYAL ENGLISH OPERA, COVENT GARDEN. Unier the management of Misa Louisa Pyne and Mr. Wm. Harrison, Sole Lessees. THIS EVENING, THE PURITAN'S DAUGHTER. Miss Louisa Pvne, Miss Susan Fyne; Messrs. Santley, A. St. Albyn, Corri, G. Honey, Patey, Lyall, W allworth, T. Distin, E. Dussek, and W. Harrison. Conductor, Mr. ALFRED MELLON. To conclude with THE TOY MAKER. Mr. H. Haigh, G. Pyne; Mesdames Susan Pyne and Thirlwall, Commence at Seven o'clock. The Box-office open from Ten to Five daily. No charge for bouking, or fees to Box-keepers. THEATRE ROYAL, HAYMARKET, Lesgee, Mr. J. B. Buokstonc. THIS EVENING, OUR AMERICAN COUSIN. Lord Dandreary, Mr. Sothern. Mr. Buckstone, Mr. Farren, Mrs. C. Young. &c. After which, MY AUNT'S ADVICE. Mr. Howe, Mr. Sotheran, Miss Oliver, &c. To be followed by BOX AND COX. To con hide with FAMILY JARS. Mrs. E. Fitzwilliam. Mr. Compton and THE SUN. LONDON, MONDAY, DEC. 9, 1861. The American Press is most unfortunate in changing its tone. We all remember that when Mr. DISRAELI had declared the last Reform Bill to be not worth opposing, and it seemed likely to walk the course in the Commons, Mr. GLAD sTONE significantly told the House that ho had done what he could in abolishing indirect taxa tion, and that next year the representation would be in the hands of those who would certainly incline to placing taxes on property rather than on articles of consumption. Such, at least, was the drift of his half triumphant remarks. What followed we know. Those who had something to save, from a fifteen or twenty por cent. income tax, took the alarm, and the bill which Mr. GLAD STONE and Mr. BRIGHT might have worked for that purpose never even reached a third reading. The American press is imitating Mr. GLADSTONE. It has found but that the North cannot well fight England just now. It is busying itself therefore in finding out honourable and advantageous rea sons for giving up the prisoners ; but, as if to show that whatever the pretexts it yields to neces sity alone, it intimates that when the war with the South is over, it can fight it out with us at leisure. In other words it says to England, Stop till we are stronger, for we mean to have war with you sooner or later. Thus the New York Tribune wishes the timorous in Great Britaia to be assured that " Great Britain not only has no direct pretext for fastening a quarrel upon us, but that President LINCOLN will take good care that she shall not get one—at least till we shall have settled our little account with JEFF. and COMPANY." W e fear there is much of this cun ning bitterness towards England in America, and it is too obvious not to invite us to treat Americans rather according to their meaning than their acts. One thing is now certain from the last mails— those of the 26th from Newlork by the Niagara-- the four prisoners had not then been delivered up. The LINCOLN Government has thus lost the only opportunity it had of d oin g t h e thing nobly, an d - in a really peacemaking spirit. They seem as e , Government Incapable of foresight and of large.. hearted acts. All through their dealing with the South, circumstances have "led them by the nose;" never once have they taken a bold and independent step as a Government. In the pres ent case they had a splendid opportunity of making friends of England by the wrongful act of their own officer. He has relieved them of responsibility by declaring that he • acted on his own judg ment only. Hence, they were free to disavow the act. Next, as they got no despatches, the per- A sons of the prisoners were of little worth to the Government—JEFF. DAVIS, no doubt, has " within his realm ten thousand good as they." Yet, thus free to act, and with nothing to gain by retaining the men, the Government had, up to the time of the departure of the mails , madQ no communication to lota, t aws $ who, up to that time, had Ile " official " knowledge of their capture! How differ ent must the effect have been here, and all over the civilized world, had the news been, that as soon as their law officers could give an opinion, the Govern ment had placed the men, with an apology for the violation of law, in the hands of Lord LYONS. The wrongful act, would have then become a right ful ground of commendation. Repairing the wrong nobly would have done the Government far more good than its disavowed commission could have done them harm. It would partly have re deemed them from that contempt into which they have justly fallen by their swaggering and ill-bred diplomacy. We should have felt that America was beginning to respect herself, and we should pro portionably have respected her. On Thursday, probably, the PRESIDENT will re ceive our communication. Any time previous to its reception would be better than any time after, for the necessary surrender, though none could equal the first few days for that purpose. We do not expect that the LINCOLN Government will do anything so dignified and conciliatory. We should not be surprised at a good deal of lawyer-like nonsense being the first reply we shall receive. We trust, however, that if it be, Lord LYONS will be its bearer, as even the Americans themselves are beginning to perceive that legally they are in the wrong. One thing the last arrivals show at least, that the hot haste to get into a war with Great Britain is fast evaporating, and only seeks excuses for surrendering the prisoners with out humiliation. It seems rather late in the day to give a resume of the last Parliamentary session in December— just in anticipation of Christmas. Yet this is really what was done the other afternoon by Lord FER MOY in the exordium of his discursive address to his Marylebone constituents. And it is a remarkable fact that the character of that session, the further we recede from it, appears to brighten under the scrutiny of these retrospective analyses of it by our popular representatives. Hardly were the Lords and Commons dispersed by the Royal Speech at the time of the prorogation —but one after another member rose in this part of the country and in that for no other purpose, it seemed, than to turn the then recently concluded legislative labours down at Westminster into ab solute ridicule. It was " incontinently" dubbed a Do-Nothing Session. The Commons especially were declared to have been more than ever infected by that contagious Parliamentary malady that may be most accurately designated, perhaps, under the title of the cacoethes loquendi. One industrious gentleman, in fact—[of course, himself A Silent Member : just possibly the vivacious contributor, under that nom de plume, to the columns of our weekly contemporary, the Lon don .Review]—actually took the trouble to count up the number of times such and such another mem ber had spoken during the course of the late sittings of the Imperial Parliament. The statistics thus accumulated—statistics very valuable in themselves, and certainly to all appearance rather spiteful, as it would seem, in their origin —served their purpose so far for the time being, that they went the round of the newspapers, making almost everyone laugh " consumedly," if not with the true Homeric gusto appertaining by right only to the truly witty or the exquisitely humorous, that is to say, of course (everyone knows the phrase who knows the Iliad), " inextinguishably." Other rer:esenta tives, with the indigestion due to BELLAMY'S still weighing heavily upon their spirits—causing them to take a decidedly atrabilious view of political affairs in general and of Parliamentary affairs in particular—protested against the last dead and gone session as about the most discreditably useless session probably within the recollection of the Father of either House of the Legislature. Gradually, how ever, as the autumn has ripened, and ripened until its final decay into winter, the retrospect has tome to be regarded less and less gloomily. It was only the other day at Durham that the right hon. gentleman the Leader of her Majesty's Opposition, took occasion to vindicate in a really signal manner the character of the British House of Commons, in combining :the labours of pro longed and outspoken debate with those of earnest and practical legislation. And now the noble lord the member for the great metropolitan constituency of Marylebone, has followed suit con amore, speak ing of the last,session, while so doing, more in de tail, and less in mere complementary generalities. Lord FERMOY certainly goes far to justify both his own remarks and those of Mr. DISRAELI, as to the useful industry in the way of , hard work as well as of pretty " talk, talking " manifested during the session of 1861 by the much vilified Commons House of Parliament. One after another he adduced—in the acts passed during the late Session—proof positive of all this. " First," said Lord FERMOY, " the country had obtained a recognition of the fact that the privilege of imposing and continuing taxes on the people belonged to the people's house, and that the functions of the House of Lords consisted in registering the decisions of the House of Commons on financial matters. Having in 1861 repealed the duty on paper they had, as far as men could do, reasserted and re covered the rights which had been invaded in 1860." Again, "By the consolidation and amend ment of the criminal law a reform of the most useful character had been effected," he argued, remarking conclusively in evidence of this, " In some seven bills more than 100 statutes had been repealed or altered, and the criminal law of the country had been placed upon a sounder and a better footing." Then, observed Lord FERMOY, with comprehensible exultation, " They could point to the reform of the bankruptcy law, by which they had practically abolished imprisonment for debt, given to the creditors a speedy and cheap means of obtaining possession of the debtor's property, and abolished all distinctions between traders and non traders." Besides all which, " They (the two Houses) had established cheap and safe savings banks for the people, which would enable thrifty working men to deposit their savings securely when they were fortunate enough to have any. The Irre movable Poor Bill," he remarked, " was a step in the right direction, reducing as it did the term which gave the poor man a right to a settlement from five years to three years." The Affirmation Bill was then referred to—and after that the three Indian Bills—and, after those, the act regulating the voting at the University Election, " which," said the noble lord, "he had been at first in clined to oppose, but afterwards supported, in the belief, as Mr. HENLET declared, that it would lead to vote by Ballot " ! Added to these recollected doings of the late session, there flitted pleasantly across Lord FERmov's remembrance the ever memorable Commercial Treaty with France, negotiated by our unadorned plenipotentiary. An these being genuine Pleasures of Memory both to Lord FERMOY and to the mass of his liberal and sym p a thising in constituents. Old though the s t ory hits become by this time it is still agreeable enough to listen to, after a ll the senseless diatribes that have been indulged in against the session of 1861, as a mere blank in the way of practical legislation. Granted (unhappily !) that it gave us not the ary reform, it 'dill Am4lleat modicum of parliAment effected much that was useful, and for doing so— organised—in its own way—a lasting title to the grateful remembrance of the nation. Lord CANNING will be remembered in India when the mutiny and his share in suppressing it are both forgotten. Victories, especially the vic tories of a kind of civil war, are known only to the readers of history; but for hundreds of years at least every freeholder, every proprietor of a landed estate which he calls his own, will trace up his title to an act of Lord CANNING'S. His Land Code will be remembered when Delhi and Lucknow will be forgotten. The year 1862 will mark a new era in India. At this moment we believe that there is not a freehold property in India, but the two or three acres of land which the Danish Government gave to the Serampore mission aries, when the Company refused them protection ; which land the KING expressly stipulated, on the cession of the island, should be their property for ever. All the rest of India acknowledged the Com pany as its landlord, and now acknowledges the Crown, while the Land-tax is the most trusted source of revenue. In the days of the Company the object was double—to keep out interlopers, that is to dis courage European settlement, and to wring the utmost possible amount of tax from the ryots, villagers, or zemindars. The Civil Service could not endure the pressure of outsiders, who saw and could expose their incompetency) and the extravagance of their incomes. They had also a notion that to screw the utmost possible out of land was the perfection of taxation. Even after the Company passed away, the civil service remained, with all its maxims, jealousy, and ob structiveness. It may be that Lord 'CANNING has preferred the last year of his Viceroyalty for the accomplishment of a measure, certainly not inferiar in importance to the emancipation of the serfs in Russia. He will at least escape the murmurs of the Covenanted Civil Service. Freehold will, before long, become probably the customary tenure of land in India. All the waste lands are to be at once offered at a few shillings per acre, without reserve, and every facility provided for their sale and purchase. A writer in the Spectator, well acquainted with India, thus de scribes its waste lands : "All over India the Government possesses vast tracts of land which have never been peopled, or from which the wave of population, the traces of which are still left, has from some cause receded. All the mountains, to begin with, belong to them, and the lakes, and the forests of heavy timber. Almost all Assam, a province just twice the size of England, nearly half Chittagong, a third of Arracan, nine-tenths of Moulmein, nearly the whole of Pegu, great part of Cachar, Sylhet, Tipperah, the slopes of the Himalayas, which extend three thousand miles in an unbroken circle, about a third of Nagpore, all the Gond country and Bheel coun try, territories, in short, equal to kingdoms, belong to them not only as rulers but as proprietors, and are as yet without inhabitants. They have inherited not only the general rights of the Mogul which gave them the mountains and the rivers, but the estates of a hundred princes, lands like the Nerbudda banks, with their quarries of snow-white marble, and the Malabar forests, with their million acres of teak. These districts are still unpo pulated, for the Hindoo will not, as a rule, break new soil, and some of them are among the most culturable in the East. Assam, for example, with its glorious river, which for a thousand miles is broader, deeper, and swifter than the Ganges, will grow tea from end to end. So will the slopes of the Himalaya, the teas of Kangra ancfbarjeeling being only kept out of the mar ket by the prices Indians are willing to give for a leaf which surpasses that of Assam as much as the Assamese surpasses that of Shanghai. The Chittagong hills, Cachar, and Sylhet, suit the plant equally well, and the tea-growing land may at this moment be estimated at an acreage which we may best describe as equal to five Great Britains. The hill-slopes of Southern India are the natural home of the coffee-plant, while in the great desert province which stretches from Calcutta to the sea, in Orissa, and on the wilds of Nagpore, cotton grows to the perfection which Li verpool believes to belong only to Sou' hem America. There is no deficiency of labour, for the native, who will not com mence the work, will and does follow the European, and the wild tribes always ready to emigrate are willing to labour for pay. They have no caste, and consequently do not come into conflict with the European contempt for pre judices which interfere with work. Hitherto, in all these great regions, no European could safely invest his capital. He could never acquire a title." To future ages it will seem incredible that a country having such possessions should tolerate " stupid old Indians," in retaining a governmental proprietorship in the land which prevented its colonisation by the capital and intelligence of its population at home. India has abundant labour and land on which to employ it—but it wants the capital ;it wants the superintendence. We had both to spare, their value was seen, but sheer commercial selfishness and obstinacy would not concede the reasonable terms essential to obtain them. The districts asked for were the most healthy for Europeans, they were uncultivated by natives, yet the single concession could not be obtained, that the land should become the pur chaser's own. We may now hope that Manchester will do its duty. It has been insisting of late, and not more than it ought, on the question of land tenure—the land is now open to it. And not only is the waste land procurable on such excellent and easy terms, but the land tax can also be redeemed, and the estate converted into fee simple, all improvements being for the benefit of those who make them. The quantity of land which may be thus redeemed is indeed limited at present, but that is merely for trial of the experiment, and to prevent any shock to public credit, in a ques tion of revenue. The revenue, however, is most effectually protected. The land tax is re deemed at a price which pays as much of the in terest of the Indian debt as was paid by the taxes on the land sold. A £lOO is received for the land, and liability for the interest of £lOO Government debt ceases therewith. So far as we can judge, all the details of this double measure appear to be framed at once in the spirit of liberality and caution, and, we may add, of regard for native right. In the redemption of the land-tax special care is taken that none of the sub-rights should be in any way infringed. The legacy which Lord CANNING Will bequeath India in quitting it will be a very dif ferent one from that of the annexation of Oude by his predecessor. Lord DALHOUSIE gave to India a new province and a mutiny—Lord CANNING will give her the emancipation of her land, and with it, we doubt not, an increase of prosperity hitherto un rivalled. The Duke and Duchess of Sutherland have arrived at Lilleshall, Salop, from their estates in Scotland. The duke was to go on Saturday to Trentham, to receive a select circle of friends for partially clearing the game pre serves. The Earl and Countess of Ellesmere have left Bridgewater House for Barwood Park for the winter. The Earl of Macclesfield and Viscount Parker, who have been visiting the Duke and Duchess of Marl borough at Blenheim, returned to Sherborne Castle on Friday last. Lord Dufferin arrived in town on Friday from visiting the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough at Blenheim Palace, near Woodstock. It is rumoured that her Majesty's Theatre will positively open next season under the direction of M. Bagier, of Madrid. We regret to hear that Mr. Wigan is shortly to secede from the management of the St. James's Theatre. After Christmas his admirers will be deprived not only of his chwatg ipplo9lool9P )?lit tbßso 9tlgif talcAtecl wile! Commence a' 7. ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE. Manager—Mr. Edmund Falconer. PITH; EVENING, the nertorraanoes will commence with THE DAY AFTER THE WEDDING Mr. Walter Lacy and Mrs. St. Henry. After which, at a quarter to Eight (28th time) the new and original Drama, entitled PEEP O'DAY ; or, Savourneen Deeltsh. Messrs. Walter Lacy Hermann Vezin, Charles Edmun Falconer ; Mcs. , D. P. Bowers, Miss Clara Weston. To conclude with AN UNPROTECTED FEMALE, in which Miss Lydia Thompson will Dance the Volunteer Step. Acting Manager-51r. F. B. Chltterton. Prices as usual. Doors open at half -past 6, to commence at 7. Box-office open daily from 11 till 5. RoyAL PRINCES S'S THEATRE...— Lessee and Manager, Mr. A. Harris. Tii IS EVENING, JEANETTE'S WEDDING. Miss IL Barris and Mr. H. Widdicomb. After which, at Eight o'clock, Shakespelre's tragedy of OTH ELLO, with new scenery, dresses, and appointments. Othello, Mr rechter Ai EW THEATRE-ROYAL, ADELPHI.- I - it Sole Proprietor and Manager, Mr. B. Webster. Mrs. Lewis. Great Attraction for the Cattle Show Week.—Mr. and Mrs Dion Bouc cault in two pieces. THIS EVENING, commencing* at 7, the great American drama of THE OCTOROON; or, LIFE IN LOUISIANA; Mr. and Mrs. Dion 13oucicault, Messrs. Billington, Emery, Phillip 4, Jamison, Stephenson, Smith, Romer. Lewis, Mrs. Billington. Mrs. Marston, Miss C. Denvil, Miss Latimer, and Mrs. 11. Lewis. At 20 minutes past 9 o'clock the great Irish drama, TAE COLL NEN BAWN. Mr. and Mrs. Boucicault, Mr. Fisher, Mr. Emery, Mr. Billington, Miss W ool4ar, Mrs. Billington, Mrs. H. Lewis. Doors onen at half-past 6—Commence at 7. Box-office open from 10 till 5. No charge for booking. NEW ROYALTY THEATRE Dean-street, Oxford-street. Under the Direction of Mdlle. Albina di Rhona. THIS EVENING, to commence with THE GOVERNOR'S WI FE. After which, Mdlle. di Rhona will appear in CA3IELIA, and Dance two National Dances. After which, BAMBOOZLING. To conclude with LES PIERROTS. Box-office open from 11 to 4. Doors open at 7—Commence at half-past 7. CANTERBURY HALL CONCERTS, AND FINE ARTS GALLERY. MR. SAM COWELL at Eleven o'clock in several favou rite Sons, including " THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT." Grand Selections from STEADELLA and LA TRAVIATA, By Miss Russell, 31is . s . Ernst, Mr. Herbert, and Signor Tivoli, with a poWorful Chorus. The Comic department :—Mr. Sam Cowell ; Mr. Marshall, in his new song, "John Bull, you don't bamboozle me ;" Messrs. Harvey and French (the Nerves); Mr. Wood and his talented son, the best negro delineators of the day; and Miss Harriet Coveney Musical Director, Mr. Jonghmans. Admission —Hall, 6d. ; Stalls and Balcony, ls. 1 • HE 0 X F O R D, 6, OXFORD-STREET. EVERY EVENING. Selections from "LA CIRCASSIENNE," "Simon Booca nmra," and " Ernani," by Miss Russell, Miss Ernst, and Madame Enderssohn; Messrs. Albert, %V. Morley, Greene, and Greville. Full Band and Chorus.—Conductor, Mr. F. Jonghmans. Balfe's new ballads by Miss Russell and Madame Enderssohn (composed expressly for them). And Varied Comic Entertainments by Miss Harriet Coveney, Messrs. W. Randall, Sam Collins, Harvey and French (The Nerves), E. Marshall, and SAM CO WELL. Hall, Bd. ; Balcony and Stalls, is ; Private Boxes, 10s. 6d. HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. T FIB DAY.—Morning, 7h. sm.—Afternoon, 7h. 28m. To -MORROW.-Morning, 7h. 57m.—Afternoon, Bh. 28m. THE WEATHER.-SUN OFFICE, DECEMBER 8, 1861. THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE. 50 —:_ighest since noon yesterday. 42—lowest this morning and during the night. 43 —this day at noon. BAROMETER-29.61. WlNT)—Westerly ; light, with fine weather. Heavy rain during the night. DEC. 9. THERMOMETER, IN THE SHAM 48—highest since noon yesterday. 43—lowest this morning and during the night. 50—this day at noon. BAROMETER-29.93 ; rising. WlND—South-Westerly; rather fresh, with fine weather. More rain, but slightly, in the night. r -rim ._..:y A3l `)iT)•( rt ,~~r~ 4, 1 ? .`W 4, ' „ 4 - THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, DECEYIBER 9, 1861. BIRKENHEAD ELECTION. THE PRIESTS AND THE CATHOLIC ELECTORS. The nomination for Birkenhead is fixed for to day. The candidates are—Mr. Laird, Conserva tive ; and Mr. Brassey, Liberal. The Liverpool Mercury says:—" The four Roman Catholic priests of Birkenhead, who have for some unknown reasons sold themselves to the Tory party, naturally wished to carry with them into Tory bondage the whole of their flock, and in order to carry out this project they issued a circular to a portion of the Roman Catholic electors, inviting them to meet at the schoolroom in Grange-lane, in order to pass resolu tions which, it was hoped, would be looked upon as binding upon the consciences of the absent. Only trustworthy Tories were invited; and the Liberals who presented themselves were browbeaten, abused, and thrust out of the room by brute force—the Rev. Canon Chapman exhibiting in this department of his priestly calling surprising dexterity and strength. It seems, however, that there are, amongst the Roman Catholic electors of Birken head, many such men as Mr. Milner, who are not prepared to submit to the political guidance of the priest. These independent Roman Catholic voters have, therefore, issued an earnest pro test against the partial and unconstitutional method taken by the priests to ascertain the opinion of the Catholic electors—a method which, as they justly say, is calculated to cast odium on the Catholics as citizens of a free country. That protest is signed by 326 persons (electors and non electors)." A novel test has been applied to deter mine the relative merits of the two candidates. A phrenologist, having examined the heads of both gentlemen, has stated the conclusions at which he has arrived. " Mr. Brassey had, phrenologically speaking, large moral and intellectual powers, an excellent memory►, and possessed withal a profound judgment, which pre-eminently qualified him for the position he sought to attain ; Mr Taira contrasted very unfavourably with his opponent, and was so far disqualified as an efficient repre sentative." The movements of the Court are again rendered uncertain by the indisposition of the Prince Consort. Her Majesty and the royal family were to leave Windsor Castle on the 16th instant for Osborne; but unless his Royal Highness shall have perfectly recovered from the severe cold from which he is suffering, the departure will be post poned. His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge received a select party of military officers at dinner last evening, at Gloucester House, Park-lane. The Duke and Duchess of Manchester have left Kimbolton Castle, to visit the Earl of Sandwich, at Kinch ingbrook Park. Lord Palmerston has recently suffered from an attack of gout, but the noble viscount, we are happy to state, was better yesterday. His lordship is staying at his town residence in Piccadilly. The Caduceus, Captain Cass, 102 days from Hongkong, has arrived with a cargo of 1,240,0001 b. of tea. From St. Petersburg the quotation of exchange is 33d., showing a further unfavourable movement, which must accelerate the resumption of gold exports from that city. Commander Williams, R.N., the Admiralty agent of the Trent, it is said, has received a letter from the Govern ment approving of his conduct. The next examination by the Council of Military Education of candidates for direct commissions will com mence at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, on the 27th of January next. We understand that the Grenadier Guards have received orders to h . old themselves in readiness to embark immediately for Canada. The three battalions will muster about 4,000 men. , Now there are two Liberals in the field for the vacant seat for Nottingham, Lord Lincoln and Sir R. Clif ton. RECRIIITING.—Orders have been received from the Horse Guards to recommence recruiting in the Glasgow district for upwards of sixty different corps. This looks like an intention to deal with the American question in earnest. —Glasyow Herald. THE AMERICAN SHIP LADY FRANKLIN.—The New York ship Lady Franklin, which was scuttled in Ply mouth Sound to put out the fire in her hold, is still aground on Jennycliff beach. Attempts were made with Govern ment lighters to raise her on Saturday, and will be resumed to-morrow. It is expected that Mr. Alderman Copeland M.P., being now the senior alderman, will be appointed President of Bridewell and Bethlehem Hospitals, which appointment was held by the late Sir Peter Laurie since 1833. It is rumoured that Mr. Ayrton, M.P. for the Tower Hamlets, has, or is about to accept an Indian judge ship. The British and North American Royal Mail steamer America (in lieu of the Australasian), sailed from Liverpool on Saturday for New York. Besides the usual mails the America also took out upwards of 40 pas• sengers. _ _ _ At the Marylebone Police-court on Saturday a woman named Puzey was sentenced to two months' impri sonment for stabbing Ellen Breen, who had been a witness in the charge against the husband of the former, who is in custody for being concerned in the attempted murder at Paddington. COURT OF DIVORCE.—In the case of Seddon v. Seddon and Doyle on Saturday, the jury, after a short de liberation, found that the respondents had committed adul tery with each other, that the petitioner bad committed adultery with Martha Finlaison, and that he had been guilty of such neglect and misconduct as had conduced to his wife's adultery. They assessed the damages sustained by the petitioner at one farthing, the amount he had claimed being £3,000. The verdict was received with some ap plause, DEATH FROM CRINOLINE.—An inquest was held onFriday last before Mr. Coroner Swann at Eastwood, near Nottingham, on the body of Mary Ann Rowley, a young married woman, 20 years of age, who died on Wednesday last from injuries she had sustained from burns. It ap• peared from the evidence of the witnesses that on the morn ing of the 19th ult. the deceased, who is a collier's wife, and was wearing at the time an extensive crinoline petti coat, was stooping down to take her baby up, when her clothing came in contact with the fire, and almost instantly she was in a blaze. She at once ran into the house of a neighbour, who got her into the yard, and attempted to extinguish the flames with a wet towel. In this, however, she was unsuccessful, and another neighbour came to her assistance with a blanket, which proved more effectual, and the fire was got out, but not before most of her clothing had been consumed, and she was severely burnt on the breast, arms, neck, and other parts of her body. She was at once taken to bed, and the surgeon attended her daily, but his efforts were unavailing, and she died on Wednes day. The jury returned a verdict of "accidentally burnt." FATAL RAILWAY ACCIDENT.—Mr. Noakes, the Portswood Station-master on the South-Western line, was killed on Friday night. In saving a woman from being run over by the train that left London at 4 p.m., he slipped on the rail, and his body was cut to pieces, Portswood is a new station which has just been opened near the ruins of St. Deny's Priory, about two miles from Southampton. PRAYER FOR THE PRESERVATION OF PEACE.— Yesterday it was announced from the pulpits of a large number of churches and chapels of the metropolis that on Thursday next—being the day on which the message of the British Government to that of the United States is ex pected to arrive at its destination—an aggregate meeting of Christians of all denominations will be held in Exet, r-hall, to beseech Almighty God in His providence to guide the counsels of the two governments, and preserve to both countries the priceless blessing of peace. THE LATE EXPLOSION AT CAMDEN-TOWN.—Alfred Jones, one of the victims to the destructive explosion of a cask of Paraffin oil, which occurred at Mr. Masters's oil and Italian shop, College-street, Camden-town, on Mon day last, died on Saturday, after enduring great agony from the effect of the burning oil. His fellow-sufferer, Thomas Bailey, remains in the University Hospital, and although the injuries he sustained are extensive, and of a dangerous character, hopes are entertained of his ultimate recovery. DEATH FROM CHLOROFORM.—On Saturday Mr. Brent held an inquest on the body of Charles Gibbs. De ceased, on the 3d inst., had, whilst intoxicated, met with an accident by which one of his ankles was fractured. On being taken to University College Hospital, it was deemed necessary to administer chloroform while the fracture was being reduced, and under its influence he died. Verdict — "Accidental death from chloroform, administered in a sur gical operation." SOMNAMBULISM AND PROVIDENTIAL: ESCAPE.— On last Saturday night Lydia Burton, aged about eight years, daughter of .Mr. George Burton otil Rocester (near Uttoxeter), got up in her sleep, opened the window of the attic in which she slept, and leapt down into the street, a height of many feet. Her parents, who had not retired to rest, rushed out on hearing the noise, and found her prostrate on the pavement. Fortunately she was not se riously injured by the fall. Staf f ord Advertiser. THE SEIZURE OF THE TRENT.—The members of the Royal Western Yacht Club at Plymouth will, on Thursday next, entertain at dinner Commander Williams, who was the agent in charge of mails on board the Trent at the time of the capture of the Southern commissioners. This dinner has been got up in order to express their admiration of the conduct of Commander Williams on Mid ti AT EST NEW S. ENGLAND AND AMERICA. PARIS, DEC 9. The Moniteur in its bulletin of to-day says : "The American journals credit the idea that England who, until now, has been so accommo dating to all pretensions of the United States will yet yield in the affair of the Trent. This arro gance offends British pride and deters it from any desire to modify the conditions upon which an arrangement may be effected. To know, however, what will take place, it is necessary to await the hour when the illusion of the A merican people will be dispersed, when they will know per tinently that England demands, before all, repara tion and the release of the prisoners." THE CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA. NEW YORK, Nov. 26. (Per Niagara, via Boston and Queenstown.) Messrs. Mason and Slidell were landed at Fort Warren, Boston harbour, on the 24th inst. The municipality of Boston waited upon Com mander Wilkes and tendered him a welcome. In reply to an address from the mayor, Com mander Wilkes said—" I am deeply sensible of the great kindness you have shown me. I depended upon my own judgment in doing what you all flatter me was correct, and lam exceedingly grati fied with the manifestations of approval I have met, and which have been, I may say, a spontaneous outburst from all parts of our country. I have only to say that we did our duty to the Union, and are prepared to do it again." This speech was re ceived with immense cheering. A complimentary dinner is to be given to Com mander Wilkes at the Revere House, Boston. It is stated that nn depatehes of any description were found in the baggage of Messrs. Mason and Slidell. The New lark Herald of the 26th, referring to the speech of Mr. Adams at the Lord Mayor's dinner, says : " The response which it elicited from Lord Palmerston is marked by better feeling than any thing that has dropped from him in reference to us since the beginning of the war. The news of the arrest of Messrs. Mason and Slidell will alter for the moment this agreeable state of things. There will be a vast expenditure of indignation and hard words on the part of the journals that have been working so assiduously in the rebel in terest, whilst those who are well affected towards us will be taken aback by the boldness of the step. " When the facts of the case, and the legal autho rities and precedents bearing upon it, come to be investigated, it cannot, however, fail to have the best effect. No people are greater admirers of pluck than the English, and they will see in this readiness to beard the British lion just as he is beginning to indulge in incipient growls at us, an unmistakeable evidence of our contempt for his ungenerous menaces, and of our determination not to be intimidated from prosecuting our just rights wherever and by whomsoever they are contravened." The Richmond Inquirer, in an article on the arrest of Messrs. Mason and Slidell, says:— " This extraordinary act of the Lincoln GoAltio ment must be followed by important consequences. It is impossible for the English Government, without disgrace, to fail to exact the fullest reparation. If Commodore Wilkes acted under orders, we do not see how Lincoln can possibly escape the most seri ous complications with the English Government. If it be said that England in 1812 claimed the right of visitation of our national vessels and seizure of our subjects on board, it will be replied that our Government denied the right and resisted it with war, and that England, in consequence, abandoned the practice. Nay, so sensitive have we and so deferential has England since been on this point that even suspected slavers sailing under our flag have been protected by it from English visitation, although we agreed with England in denouncing the slave trade as piracy. " Can England, after conceding all this to our claim, and after having so long abandoned the exer cise, if she has not disavowed the right of visita tion and seizure, now submit to the hardships of a theory the benefit of which was denied her, and that, too, at the hands of the Government which denied it ? Will she allow what still claims to be the Government of the United States to have the benefit, and herself the disadvantage, of both sides of the question. It is not possible. " England has acknowledged us to be a belliger ent Power, and declared that she would maintain a neutrality. To allow her mail steamer to be stopped on the ocean and persons taken from under the protection of her flag by a jurisdiction as to whose quarrel she is neutral, is as much at war with all her practice and traditions as it is opposed to her honour. England, like America, has ever been a house of refuge among the nations, and the stranger under her flag has always found the pro tection due to her own subjects extended with all the generous sensitiveness of an honourable host. Lincoln will have to apologise and restore the status, or fight. We see no other alternative." The World says : "We look for little more logic and much less courtesy in the treatment of the affairs of the Tren t by the London journals. We look also for contra diction among themselves, and between them and their continental neighbours; but beyond ample and acrimonious discussions to which the affair will give rise, we expect no serious consequences. Con fident that the strength of our position will be acknowledged by the equity of England, however unwelcome it may be to find those doctrines of the law of nations turned against her as a neutral Which she has done so much to establish for her own advantage as a belligerent." The Message of the President will not be long. It is intended to be a plain business document, setting forth the condition of public affairs and the policy of the Administration, and referring for de tails to the reports of the several heads of depart ments, which are to be unusually full and complete in all particulars. The report of the Secretary of War will be com pleted to-morrow. It will show the cost and varied operations of that department of the public service since the 4th of March, and the estimates of what will be required for the maintenance of the im mense army now in the field and expected to be brought into active service, and for the vigorous prosecution of the war to a successful termination. The report of the Secretary of the Treasury will not be completed for several days. The prepara tion of the details of this report has required a great deal of labour and careful attention. Mr. Chase has not yet prepared any portion of the report relating to the public policy of the Government. It has been intimated that the Secretary of the Treasury and the President would recommend the establishment of a new fiscal agent in the nature of a national bank; but in view of the aid rendered by the banks in the first 150 millions of the new national loan, it is not probable that any proposi tion will be made to set up a Government institu tion that will be oppressive to them. The financial ability and ingenuity of the Secre tary will unquestionably suggest same plan for the maintenance of the public cred;t, and the satisfac tion of all the requirements of the Government, without injury to the institutions that came most promptly to the relief of the Government in the hour of need. It is stated upon reliable authority that the esti mates of the requirements of the Government dur ing the next fiscal year will make it necessary to call for appropriations amounting to 1,060 million dols. (160 millions ?) General Dix has received despatches from General Lochwood announcing the capture of three rebel officers and seven cannon, the latter all new and in good order. All traces of disloyalty appear to be disappearing from both Accomiac and Northamp ton counties. About midnight on Friday last the gunboat Cam bridge, one of the flotilla at Fortress Monroe, pro ceeded up the Jame river as far as Warwick, where oho engaged a rebel, which she succeeded in bilwing after a spirited interchange of shots, in which the Cambridge sustained no particular damage. The retreat of the Union forces under General Schoeff from their advanced position near Cumber land Gap to Lancaster, was in consequence of a report that the rebel general, Johnston, was ad vancing with 40,000 men, and threatening Louis ville, Lexington, and Cincinnati. The order to retreat is said to have come from General Nelson, through General Thomas, but there appears to have been no cause for it. The retreat appears to have been a very disastrous one, both to the men and to the property of the Government. It is believed that 20,000 men and 5,000,000 dols. will not now put the campaign in Kentucky in so favourable a con dition as before the retreat was ordered. It is reported from Osceola that Price has already again crossed the Oregon River at Hoffmann's Ferry, and that his advance guard was expected at Osceola on Saturday last. The—Richmond Inquirer says that the Confede rate Congress has passed a bill for the removal of the capital from Richmond to Nashville, and that the Congress will soon assemble there. Joshua R. Giddings, Consul-General for the British North American provincee, has accom plished the object of his visit to Washington, namely, the removal of the delay and inconvenience attending passports to British subjects on taking passage for Europe at Portland, Maine. Hereto fore passports were required to be countersigned at the State department, but that business is now to be performed by a Government agent. The 37th Congress convenes at Washington on Dec. 2. Mr. Purviance, of Pennsylvania, recently ap pointed Consul-General at Calcutta, has declined. The steamship North Star, from Aspinwall, Nov. 15, arrived at New York on the 25th with 829,807 dols. in specie. The intelligence from New Granada is unimportant ; the foreign consuls have been officially notified of the change of the title of the Republic of New Granada to that of the United States of Columbia. The Richmond Inquirer confirms the statement of the arrival of the steamer Fingal at Savannah. Her Britannic Majesty's gunboat Nimble arrived at New York on the 25th Nov. Gen. Fremont is shortly expected at Washington. The burning of Warsaw, Missouri, has been con firmed. A deserter from the rebel camp came into Ge neral Blenker's camp yesterday, He reports the rebel force about Centreville, where head-quarters are established, as numbering 60,000 men, and as many more all along the Potomac lines. Centre ville, he states, is well defended, but has no siege guns. At Manassas, however, there are some heavy guns. He describes the troops as being in good spirits, pretty well fed, clothed, and armed, and under the impression that the war is one of subju gation, devastation, and abolition. This impression they receive from their officers and chaplains. It is the intention of the Government to put all the coast defences of the Northern States into com plete working order immediately for protection against foreign foes, in case that such defence should become necessary. The governors of the States are authorised to carry out the work. This precaution is highly commendable. (LATEST BY TELEGRAPH TO HALIFAX.) NEW YORK, Nov. 28. Beaufort was still unoccupied on the 20th inst. The Federals have taken the island of Tybee, at the mouth of the Savannah River. Commerce in Missouri below St. Louis will be co*klucted by the Federal Government only. A despatch in the New York Times states that the withdrawal of the Federal Forces from Western Virginia has commenced. HALIFAX, Nov. 29. Her Majesty's ship Himalaya, from Portsmouth, arrived here on the 26th inst. COMMERCIAL. NEW YORK, Nov. 28. Exchange dull; bankers' bills, 1091. Stocks advancing ; New York Central, 784 ; Illinois, 601 ; Erie, 311. Cotton buoyant; Middling upland, 251 c. to 26c. Breadstuffs active, but lower. Pro visions quiet. NAPLES, DEC. 8. The official journal of to-day says :—" Nanio has offered to surrender. In the event of his doing so, he would be sent before the tribunals, on account of the many crimes he has committed. The citizens who fled from several places are returning to their homes." TURIN, DEC. 7. The debate on the Roman question continued to day in the Chamber of Deputies. Baron Ricasoli gave some additional explanations regarding the state of public security in the city of Bologna, which he said was not so bad as had been represented. Count Bastogi, Minister of Finance, refuted some erroneous assertions which had been made by Signor Ratazzi, in reference to the state of the national finances. Signor Carutti, in the name of the Government , declared that in drawing up their plan of arrange ment with the Pope, the Ministry had no inten tion of making a diplomatic document, but simply an appeal to public opinion on the pretensions of Rome and Italy. Dr. Bertani made a lengthy speech against the Ministry, which drew forth loud protestations and many questions from several deputies. Dr. Bertani having, in the course of his speech, asserted that on some occasions the Administration had been guilty of opening letters passing through the post, the Ministry demanded that the eharge should be investigated by the Chamber. After a long discussion a committee was appointed to receive the depositions of Dr. Bertani. TURIN, SUNDAY. In the Chamber of Depaties to day Signor Spaventa, having asked permission to reply to a personal ques tion raised yesterdaybyDr.Bertani,reviewed at some length the acts of his administration at Naples. In this retrospective view Signor Spaventa made several recriminations against Dr. Bertani and his political friends, who frequently interrupted him with protestations. After some other speeches, also relating to per sonal questions, the debate on the affairs of Rome and Naples was resumed. The documents relative to the affair of the Nea politan archives have been published. VIENNA, SUNDAY. The Oesterreischische Zeitung of to-day, in an nouncing that the Budget will be submitted to the Council of the Empire immediately, says : " It is not in consequence of the finances being in a desperate state that the Government is about to take this step, because the wants of the state for the next few months are provided for, and the taxes are coming in better than ever. " The deficit scarcely amounts to 50,000,000 florins, to meet which means are not wanting. The Government only desires that the Budget may be examined by the representatives of the people. "A bill on ministerial responsibility will be pre sented at the same time as the Budget." PES rir, SATURDAY. Advices from tho south of Hungary state that any functionary refusing to co-operate with the Govern ment, will have eighteen soldiers lodged in his house until he resumes his functions. THORN, SUNDAY. Bialobrzeski, the substitute of the Archbishop of Warsaw, has been condemned to ten years' trans portation to Siberia. SoTen Jewish and eight Christian students of the medical faculty of the University of Warsaw have been condemned to serve as common soldiers in the Russian corps d'artnce in Orenburg. Great excitement prevails at Warsaw. FRANCE. PARIS, SUNDAY. The Moniteur, in its summary of news, says : " The attitude of the people of England and of the London press increases in firmness and resolution. The dilemma which could not be avoided has been aeccpted without hesitation, and, by the force of arms, that satisfaction will be acquired which could not be procured by diplomatic means. Discussion is left aside. To the arguments of General Scott these simple words are replied—' Give back the guests of England whom you have made prisoners, and then we will discuss the point with you.' " The Constitutionnel, in an article on the Ameri can question, says : " What interest has France in this Anglo-Ame rican question P We do not know of any. But we know that England is our ally, and that, on the other hand, the American Union is connected with France by bonds which cannot easily be severed. It is the Anglo-Saxon blood which runs in the veins of the North Americans, but it is France which gave them their political existence their independence and nationality. How can we do otherwise than remain neutral in such a con flict ?" The Patric, Journal des Debats, and several other French papers, say that in the event of a war be tween England and America, France would remain neutral. The Patric, of this evening, asserts that the members of Congress present at Washington, being about half the total number, have unanimously de cided that the arrest of the Southern commissioners on board the Trent was legal. The Paris papers of Saturday evening assert that the English Cabinet, in reply to petitions from the great manufacturing districts, has declared that the cotton crisis will be of short duration, and that by February next at the latest the Southern ports will be open for the exportation of cotton. The Patrie asserts that Mr. Seward has declared to Lord Lyons that the Cabinet of Washington adopted the opinion of its legal advisers, who de clared the arrest of the Confederate Commissioners to be legal. The Pays denies the statement made by some French papers, that President Lincoln had proposed to refer the differences between England and the United States to the mediation of the Emperor _ Napoleon. The French papers state that the Government of Brazil has decided upon sending three vessels of war to the waters of Vera Cruz. BOURSE, DEC. 7.—There has been but a limited amount of business doing, but the prices of yes terday have been pretty well maintained. The Three per Cents. are quoted to-day ex dividend. The quotation is now 67f 50c. Railways quiet. The following are the last quotations : 41 per per Cents 95 Do. end month 95 10' 3 per Cents Do. end month 67 50 Bank Shares 2975 Credit Mobilier.. , 725 Do. Account 727 50 Credit Foncier llBO --- Belgian 4f lOO -- Piedmontese Fives 67 90 Roman Austrian Spanish Threes 4O , Home Debt .. 47a EXILWAYB. Cash. Account. Orleans l3Ol 25 .. 1302 50 Northern . .. New ditto _ • • -- -- Lyons and Mediterranean 1005 .. 1007 50 Geneva 347 .. 348 75 Southern Western Eastern Sardinian Austrian Low bard 5OB 75 .. 510 RUSSIA. The Journal de St. Petersbourg publishes an im portant document. A Council of Ministers is to be formed to which will in future be trusted the direction of affairs, thus modifying the isolated and almost subordinate action of the Ministers of the Emperor. SPAIN. The Madrid journals of the 3d contain long reports of the debate in the Senate on the preceding day, on the Address in reply to the Speech from the Throne. The policy of the Government towards Italy, the Loja affair, and the state of the finances were the topics principally dwelt on. The Clamor Publico says that the Marquis de Corvera has been nominated Governor to the Prince of the Asturias. Some sensation had beon occasioned by a Council of Ministers having been held at an unusually late hour on the Ist, but the Correspondancia says that the Council only deliberated on the postal treaty with France which is about to be carried into effect, and that the reason why it met later than ordinary was that the Ministers might not neglect the business of their departments, and be able to attend the Senate. Is IF POSSIBLE THAT WAR WITS ENGLAND IS A FOREGONE CONCLUSION? (From the Money Market _Review.) We find, in a recent number of the United States Economist, the annexed letter from Quartermaster General Meigs to a Boston merchant. It is worthy of attention from the evidence it affords of the vehemence with which the American commercial community assert their claim to have the whole of the huge Government disbursements made at home, and of the jealousy with which they regard the despatch to England of even the small orders apologetically admitted by the Government officer to have been sent out. The humble tone in which the official letter is couched is characteristic of the consciousness of weakness felt by the Government. Their policy is always subject to be moulded by pressure from without. Its malleability suggests at the pre sent crisis many grave reflections. Now that the prominent question of the day has become tint of " Peace or war with England," according to the choice that may be made by the Americans, will the stronger pressure be put upon the Government by the lower orders, unreflecting, pugnacious, and with little to lose, or by the upper classes, including the merchants and bankers, the former of whom, as we see, can speak loudly enough in a matter of Government blanket contracts, whilst the latter have strong inducements to deprecate a quarrel with England, if only on account of the vast mass of Government securities held by them ? Upon the answer which events shall give to this question, very much may depend. Meanwhile, we beg the particular attention of our readers to the strange and ominous words which occur in the last paragraph of the official letter. What is meant by the remark—" I believe that a year hence you and all others will be satisfied that, if the de partment has committed a fault, it is in not sending out (to England) earlier ?" Is this to be regarded as another indication that war with England is a foregone conclusion in the mind of the American Cabinet ? i 4 Quartermaster General's Office, Washington City, October 29, 1861. cg I have another letter from you in reference to the prices and contracts and supply of army cloths. The matters to which you refer have been subject of anxious thought here, and are not new to us. - The orders for abroad have been greatly exaggerated. Should the factories in this country supply us, we will b uy, an d put t h e f ore i gn goods aside for a rainy day. I have a demand at this mo ment for the instant issue of at least bO,OOO suits of clothes, which I cannot supply, and by the time these are sup plied, other 50,000 will be needed; and yet we take all the cloth, and even all the clothes, offered, except some of those at extravag an t pr i ces f rom t h e W es t . Th e sum sent a b roa d is not 60,000,000 dole., as published in Boston, or 25,000,000 dols., as in Philadelphia, but 800,000 dols., for purchase to supply immediate necessity. If our factories supply us as you think, and I hope they will, no more orders will go abroad. I shall be able, by an order sent in August to England, to supply 200,000 men with blankets, at 2 dols. each, 40 cents per lb., and save the United States, on late prices for the same goods, near 400,000 dole., and still the blanket mills will probably find profitable employment. I have not time farther to discuss this question, however; but I believe that a year hence you and all others will be satisfied that, if the department has committed a fault it is in not sending out earlier.--Respectfully yours, (Signed) M. C. MEIGS, Q.M.G.U.S.A. THE Loss OF THE NORTH BRITON STEAMSHIP. The uncompleted inquiry into the loss of the screw steamer North Briton was resumed on Friday at Liverpool before Mr. T. S. Raffles, stipendiary magistrate, and Cap Min. Harris, R.N. One or two additional witnesses were examined, and at the conclusion of the evidence Mr. Raffles expressed the opinion of the Court. It was to the effect that they considered Captain Grange was zuilty of tho omission in not taking soundings at 1 a.m. on the sth of November as he intended to do. The Court, therefore, deemed it their duty to forward his certificate to the Board of Trade. In all other respects, however, they should report in such terms of Captain Grange's conduct that they trusted their Lordships would take the most favourable view of the