The Sun. — London, England, 1856-02-19 00:00:00

ROYAL PRINCIPAS'S THEATRE, OXFORD-STREET. Under the Itanagernerit of Mr. CHAsUiI YEAR. THIS EVENING, KING HENRY TEE EIGHTH. Queen Katharine. Mrs. C. Kean; Cardinal Wolsey, Mr. C. Kean. After which, HARLEQUIN AND THE MAID AND THE MAGPIE ; or, the Fairy Paradisa and Hanky Panky, the Enchanter. Harlequin, Mr. Cormack ; Clown, Mr. Italica ; Pantaloon, Mr. Paulo ; and Coltunhine, Miss Caroline Adams. TITZATRE ROYAL ADELPECI. P:oPrf stcs:, lit. E. Webster.—Dlrectress, Madame Celeste. THIS EVE/TING. -.BETTY MARTIN. After which. BETSY BAKES. To be followed by THAT BLESSED BABT. To conclude with ACK AND THE BEAN qTALICI or, .Itiarleqntn and Mother Goose at Eon* Again. which Mews. J. BUM. P. Bedford. -Madam Celeste, Miss Wyndham, and Miss E. Arden will appear. ROYAL OLT ANC THEATRE. Lessee and Manager, Mr. Alfred Wigan. THIS EVENING. STAY AT HOME. After which will he— produce-I a N'ew and denbly-moral. though exoestively old, Melodramatic Fairy Extravaganza, entitled TFIE DISCREET PRINT JESS ; o - , the Three Glass Distaffs. In which Messrs. Emery, F. Ro4san, H. Cooper, Miss Marston, eel Miss Maskell will appear. ROYAL SL - ZREY THEATRE. Lessees, Mews. Shepherd and Cresniek. TIIIS EVENING JASPER LINGTON ; or, A Duel to the Death. To conclude - .with A PRINCE or P ;ART A ; or, llarlevin and Jane Shore. ABTLEY'S ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE. Lessee and Manalier, Mic. Win. Cooke. TIII3 EVENING, First time, a grand Oriental Equestrian Spectacle, called THE ARAB OF THE DESERT AND TITS FAITHFUL STEED. The principal character by Mr. W. Cooke, jun. After which the SCENES in the CIRCLE and the performance of the Stupendous Elephants, one of which ascends uncontrolled upon a narrow inclined plane from the centre of the ring to an elevation 12 feet above the stage. To conclude with HARLEQUIN AND ST. GEORGE AND THE DRAGON. Box-office open Prom Eleven till Four. Stage Manager, Mr. W. West. Equestrian Director. Mr. W. Cooke. inn. EMMA STXVLEY'S SEVEg MISS OF WOMAINT, Every Evening at S, and on Saturdays at 3. Pronounced by the unanimous voice of the press. and by nightly increasing audiences, to be the Greatest Artistical Triumph of the day. SAINT MARTIN'S HALL. Long-acre. Area, ls. Reserved Chairs, 23. Ed. HIGH WATER. AT LONDON BRIDGE. Tam DAY—Morn. 19 min. aft. I—Evening 49 min. aft. 1 Tn-Sionaow—Morn. 59 rain. aft. I—Evening 19 min. aft. 2 THE WEATHER—SIII4 OFFICE, FE8.19. THERMOMETER, IN TRIM SHADE. 40—highest shme noon yesterday. 38—lowest this morning and daring the night. 39—this day at noon. BAROMETER, 2916. WIND, N.E. Fresh, with bitter cold, hazy weather. . 1 - • t - f. -.••,-,..... • ---, N *5 (:':';'' * - 1 - .. •- '-'- ,-„ , , ~. ,r, „......„,,,i:,,, (,•.„,..0 ,§IZ, LONDON, TUESD&Y, FEBRUARY 19, 1856 The Chancellor of the Exchequer has made his demand. Five millions sterling by way of loan, and a funding of three millions of Exchequer Bills is all that the Financial Minister requires for the time being. The diminutive offspring of the teeming mountain scarcely excited greater con tempt and ridicule among those who had in gaping expectation awaited its advent. There was cer tainly no great "welcome for the little stranger." A feeling of astonishment was perceptible on every side when the paltry announcement was made. Was it for that the capitalists were convened, some of whom might take the entire amount with but little difficulty ?—was that the thunderbolt which had fallen on the money market, and frighted the Isle from its propriety, causing a monetary panic, and a general fall of nearly 2 per cent, on all classes of securities, public and pri vate. Many of the parties who yielded to the first impression must have felt deeply humiliated at the position in which they have placed themselves and the country by their fruitless apprehensions. The loan of 5,000,0001. is clearly insufficient. It is neither one thing nor another. It disturbs the money market, without seeking for any ade quate result. If all the preparations for war are to be carried on without cessation, an additional loan, and for a much larger amount, will be inevit able. This is still kept hanging over the market ; the inevitable result being to depress quotations, and injuriously affect public credit. All that could be elicited from the Chancellor of the Ex chequer was, that "no similar financial measure will be taken during the period in which the pre sent loan and funding are in progress"—that is to say, until the 24th of April next, when the last instalment will lzm payable. The only respite given is for two months, and during that time the public must draw their own conclusions, which can scarcely be very favourable to the financial department of the Government. It is to be regretted on many grounds that so favourable an opportunity for replenishing the National Treasury, and rendering the Exchequer perfectlyindependent of the Bank was disregarded. It seems as if the Government had resolved upon peace at any price, or on any conditions, and thought that the additional amount that must be required, could be obtained on'issore favourable terms after a t e mporary peace had b een pa t c h e d up. It is needless to sh ow how injuriou s ly this supposition must affect the interests of Great Britain. Had we placed ourselves in a perfectly easy position in pecuniary matters, much greater weight would be attached to the arguments of our representatives. Unequivocal testimony would be afforded that England was at length in earnest, and would display the inflexible deter mination which could alone prevent any attempt at diplomatic trickery and evasion of pledges deliberately and advisedly entered into. It is, in fact, so far as any reasonable opinion can be formed, a foll ow i ng up of the GLADSTONE financial policy, that was attended with such pre judicial consequences to the best interests of the nation, and which had no trilling effect in forcing on the War. At the very tim e when the late ArrocsAr was dropping ominous hints as to the division of the Sick Man's assets, Mr. GLA.DsIoNE THEATRE ROYAL, COVET-GARDEN Lessee, Mr. J. 11. Anderson. THIS EVENING LA SONNIMBULA. To be followed by WHAT DO YOU WANT? Ts conclude with VECOSSAIS FRETILLANT. THEATRE ROYAL, DRURY-LANE. Lessee, Mr. E. T. Smith. THIS EVENLNG, THE GREAT GUN TRICK. After whleb, TAKING BY STORII. To ccnaude with KEY DIDDLE DIDDLE; or, Harlequin King Nonsense and th e Seven Ages of Man. THEATRE ROYAL, HAYMARKET. llnler the Management of Mr. Backstono. THIS EVENING, THE BEAUX' ST MELT AGEIf. Followed by THE BALANCE OF COMP OUT. /liter which the New Comic Christmas Pantomime, entitled THE BUTTERFLY'S BALT , AND TILE GRASMOPPER'S FEAST; or, Harlequin and the Genius of the Spring. THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING FEBRUARY 19, 1856 was mat' aring his plan for denuding the Exche quer o: Z its balances by paying off some ten millions of the . public debt. This " valuable financial demon stration," as it was termed, which was only less in jurious than the intentional destruction of a la - rg:e proportion of our navy, on the ground tha'G we could fight Russia with what remained— cos vinced the CZAR that we could not be in ear nest in our seeming opposition to his wishes. He col isequently persevered until too late to with draw without a loss of prestige which he was not prepared to relinquish. Thence in a great degree they crossing of the Pruth, and the measures which eventually led tc; hostilities. During the first year of the War, it was starved because Mr. GLADSTONE refused a loan, and wishing to disgust the people subjected them to intolerable fiscal burdens. Last year his succes sor asked too little, and the same evil was clearly perceptible, and now he disturbs the Money Mar ket for a paltry five millions. This won't do ! and we earnestly hope that the grievous mistake may receive the censure which it so eminently merits from the guardians of the public purse, the controllers and directors of the National Ex penditure. There is yet time for an expression of opinion by the House of Commons before the terms be finally concluded. Sir R. AIRE; together with other notable offi cers in the British Army, including among their number two Cavalry Earls and a Court Colonel, may be regarded as, at this moment, virtually on their trial before the highest court of judicature in the realm—i.e., Public Opinion. Anything calcu lated in the smallest degree to throw additional light upon their proceedings—proceedings im pugned so very seriously by the deliberate accusa tions recently put forth by Sir JOHN M`Nnin and his co-Commissioners—cannot, we conceive, be re garded as otherwise than of the very first import ance. Here are distinguished members of the service, men entrusted with high authority, upon whose shoulders the weightiest responsi bilities have devolved by reason of their nomi nation to positions of extraordinary difficulty, solemnly charged—charged directly and explicitly with the wanton destruction of the forces en trusted to their safe-keeping--either by the most wilful cruelty or by the most lamentable incom petence. The accusations lately directed against Sir R. AIREY need not be here recapitulated. Any more than it need be recounted in this•place, all over again, what are the particular faults, now of commission, now of omission, imputed by Sir J. M`NEIL and his coadjutors in the inquiry, on the one hand, to the Earl of LITCAN, as the Chief of the Cavalry, and, on the other, to the Earl of CARDIGAN, as one of the most re sponsible of his Lieutenants. The dreadful narrative of the winter of 1854-5 is familiar to every one—the awful narrative of suffering and death, of exposure and starvation by which the flower of the English army was considerably more than decimated, was actually, in several instances so to speak, wholly annihilated. The Committee, in No. 17, gave us last session, noon after noon, the miserable particulars. Those particulars have since then been massed together in a blue book of portentuous dimensions, giving us proof after proof, categorically, of the heinous and criminal incapacity of the leaders of our troops under the walls, or rather under the earthworks, of Sebastopol. Nobody wants to be told now about the green coffee served out to the unfortu nate soldiers—about the seven miles of impas sible slush separating them from shelter, clothing, and provisions—about the planks sent out for the making of huts without the vestige of a nail or of a hammer—about feet unshod and frostbitten in the snows of that disastrous season—about sum mer uniforms in rags in the midst of a Crimean December, and furs, and overcoats, and bearskins tailing up at last when the crocuses were budding among the ruins of Inkerman and over the grassy slopes of Balaklava. Every one remembers all the details to this effect, by the piecemeal revelation of which the mothers, and wives, and sisters, and daughters of the heroic sufferers in the East were horrified at home, and panic stricken even through their first bewilderment of mingled incredulity and indignation. The record of the horror existed throughout England at the disclosure, demands at this moment no repe tition. It is remembered vividly as a thing of yesterday. It has been burnt into the popular recollection by the caustic eloquence of the Times Correspondent to be afterwards seared anew upon the national heart by the fiery ordeal of Mr. ROEBUCK'S Committee of Inquiry into the State of the Army before Sebastopol. What is required now, is not a recapitulation of facts already proven and catalogued, but some thing (may be) in the way of supplemental illustra tion of the neglect branded afresh upon the memory of us all by the burning words recently pronounced by Sir JOHN M'NEIL and his brother- Commissioners. Can anything be added to what has already been declared in these matters by the authorities empowered to investigate and pro nounce by her MAJESTY'S Government—anything, we mean, in t'se way of this same supplementary or illustrative corroboration ? Let us see ! And, remember ! we are speaking hese by the card, and not at all at random—what we are about to add nut having yet to our knowledge anywhere made its formal or printed appearance. Suppose—for we will put it only in the way, of course, of a cursory supposition ! Sup pose such provident wiseacres as General AlRErand Colonel GORDON so m is- man aged affairs generally, in the midst of the winter 1854-5, that they caused twelve pairs of long boots (at the time when there were thousands of such hoots in store) to be issued to 500 men, say of the 77th Regiment, those 500 men being, then and there, actually nearly allot them barefooted ! Suppose the colonel of the regiment (and imagine him, just for the sake of argument, to have been a gallant, noble-hearted, glorious soldier, such as the famousllfero of the Rifle Pits, the dauntless and lamented EGERTON)—suppose, we say, the colonel of the regiment to have taken these twelve wretched pairs of boots to Colonel AIREY (the brother of the sagacious Quar termaster-General), then acting as Assistant- Quartermaster-General of the Light Divi sion, and to have thereupon asked (we will presume as a mere matter o f cur i os ity), what in th e name of fortune was to be done with this dozen pair of long boots among 500 bare- Suppose the aforesaid Assi s tant o f o f o thet ec 1 soldiers aforesaid Q ua rtermaster-General to have responded in terms of befitting imbecility, and appropriate insouciance, and kindred absurdity —to say nothing, of course, about such hard truths as cruelty and criminality—" Why, I should give th em, if I were you , to the men o n sentry!" I Suppose the Colonel thus answered (still we wil l presume him to h ave been, simply, to be sure, for the sake of argument, Col. EGERTON, the h ero i c leader of the gallant 77th, suppose him to have retorted, with soldier -like bluntness, — " So ! the men going on sentry are to walk out barefooted to their posts, strip off the other men's boots, and let them walk back to the trenches in the same way !"—a reply brin g i ng t h e w h o l e a ffair to the true reductio ad abgardum. Suppose all this, we repeat ! Well, and what then ? Why that you will have supposed an incident which , actually did occur before Sebastopol. And which we here commemorate as one, alas ! in every way painfully significant and frightfully characteristic. The agitation in the Sabbatarian camp in creases, and numerous as have been the petitions in favour of the existing monopoly, the cry in the House of Commons still is " They come." So be it. " Truth is great, and must prevail !" Despite oceans of froth, some appeals of a higher order, barrowsful of petitions, gallons of black ink, and thousands of signatures authoritatively invoked or ingeniously manipulated, the move mentparty have the satisfaction of knowing that the victory must be theirs before long. The goodness of their cause becomes only the more manifest as the hubbub increases. Their arguments are still intact, and even more cogent than before, and for misrepresentation and calumny they can expose the one, and have virtue enough to despise the other. The great cry of the Sabbatarians is that the opening of the British Museum and similar insti tutions on a Sunday involves the secularisation of the Sabbath, and will inevitably lead to the emptying of churches, chapels, d7c., on that day. A humiliating admission truly, and provocative enough of sarcastic comment. What are the facts ? The movement party, who neither make nor wish to make any profit of the Day of Rest have made inquiry into the condition of the working classes who most need it, and to their sorrow have discovered that in the metropolis at least they are debarred from moral and intellectual recreation during the week, and only celebrate the Sunday as a day of recrea tion from animal toil. Wholly dissatisfied with such a state of things, they have sought for some means to raise them from their degraded condition, and have found in the institutions in question at once a lure and a lever for the purpose—a lure in that the novelty of the sights there to be wit nessed is sure to attract them, and a lever in that it is impossible to witness such sights without being drawn out from their heathen materiality and led to reverence the DIVINE power and goodness in crea tion, and in the labour of the chiefest work of His muds. This lure and lever, far from setting n rivalry with the lure and lever of Revelation, ;hey are only desirous shall be put in action in ;he interval between morning and evening service —a period at present not so satisfactorily em ployed as they, whatever may be the case with the Sabbatarians, can approve. In this lure and lever they cannot discover, and the Sabbatarians are unable to point out, anything sinful, unless it be a sin to see a collection when there is no sin in seeing a part—a sin to inspect curiosities of nature and of art, gathered from every quarter of the globe, and no sin in witnessing the wonders of nature and art scattered broadcast over and about the metropolis of their own country. Yet this lure and lever the Sabbatarians will not have employed. To open the doors of the British Museum, &c., for the moral and intellectual ele- vation of the masses is, forsooth, to "secularise the Sabbath." To raise the noblest handiwork of the CREATOR from the slough into which he has fallen, and from which they are confessedly impotent to so large an extent, to lift him by their chapels and churches, to hold out an innocent lure that will succeed where theirs, as they employ it, no toriously fails, this is to " secularise the Sabbath" —to do a work which is to shake honesty, virtue, and. religion to their foundations, and bring down on us the wrath of HEAVEN I Might one not ask whether, receiving fat incomes and showing little or no Christian harvest for them, is not better worthy of being designated " secularisation of the Sabbath ?" " Oh, but," say the Sabbatarians, "if you open these places you must open others, and where are you to stop ? The end will be that the workman will have to give , seven days' labour for six days' pay," To this we reply, no more places need be opened than those to which the groundsrof appera of the movement party will apply, and no 12,1 ace should be shut to which they do ; and, so tar from there being valid reason to apprehend the catastrophe indicated, the only danger, if any, to be appre hended in this direction is from the unchristian virulence of the Sabbatarians themselves. Before man and GOD, the British labourer is worked hard enough and paid badly enough already, and it will be something more than an illogical conclusion which will get more labour out of him when all the logic in the world would not suffice. Those who point to the Parisians, by way of warning on this head, show, iu our humble opinion, a profound igno rance of the subject—the Parisian workmen not being nearly so hard-worked, and having more opportunity for recreation during the week ; while the Parisian shopkeeper, it is notorious, takes care at all times to make business pleasant. DEATH OF THE DUKE OF NORFOLK, LG. We deeply regret to announce the death of the Duke of Norfolk, which took place yesterday morning, at Arundel Castle, the ancient baronial seat of the illustri ous family in Sussex. 1- 1- 2. s Grace during the last two years has been in an unsatisfactory state of health, which has occasioned un 9- ..sitiess to the members of his family, but not alarm. :it appears his Grace was seized wit t serious symptoms yesterday morning, which caused toe utmost al"...rm to the Duchess, and at a few minu,es be fore 10 o'clock tk e no bl e D u k e exp i re d . T'lo deceased, Henry Charles, Duke of Norfolk, Earl 0.1 Arundel, Surrey, and Norfolk, and Baron Fitzalan, Clun, Oswaldestre, and Maltravers in the peerage of England, the Premier Duke and Hereditary Earl Mar shal, was the only child of Bernard Edward, 15th Duke of Norfolk, by Lady Elizabeth Bellasyse, third daughter of Henry, second and last Earl of Fauconberg, which marriage was dissolved in May, 1794. The deceased Duke was born 12th of August, 1791, and married 27th of December, 1314, Lady Charlotte Leveson Gower, eldest daughter of Granville first duke of Sutherland, and sister of the present Duke. By that marriage the late Duke had issue three sons and two daughters-- namely, the Esrl of Arundel and Surrey (now Duke of Norfolk), Lord Edward Fitzalan Howard, M.P., mar ried to Miss Talbot, niece of the late Earl of Shrews bury, Lord Bernard Howard, who died in Egypt a few years ago ; Lady Mary, married to Lord Foley, and Lady Adeliza, married last autumn to Lord George Manners, M.P. His late Grace, when Earl of Surrey, was the first Roman Catholic who took the oaths and his seat in the House of Commons after the passing of the Roman Ca tholic Emancipation Act in 1829. The bill received the Royal assent on the 13th - of April, and Mr. R. H. Hurst, M.P. for Horsham, resigned his seat, and the Earl of Surrey was returned for that family borough, and took his seat in the House of Commons on the 6th of May following. He was again re-elected for „:„Hors ham at the general elections of 1830 and 1831. At the next general election, in 1832, be was returned, in con junction with Lord George Lennox, for the Western Division of Sussex, and continued its representative up to 1841, when his Grace was summoned by writ to the House of Lords, during the lifetime of his father, by the title of Baron Maltravers, one of the ancient titles of the family ; and on the 16th of March, 1842, he succeeded to the dukedom on the death gf his father. His Grace had filled several offices in her Majesty's household. In July, 1839, he was appointed Treasurer of the Queen's Household, and made a Privy Councillor, having succeeded Sir W. H. Fremantle, who had dis charged the duties of that office more than 20 years. On Sir Robert Peel's retirement from office in July, 1816, he succeeded the Earl of Jersey as Master of the Horse, which office he held until the formation of the Earl of Derby's Ministry. On the Earl of Aberdeen taking office he was made Lord Steward of the Household, but soon afterwards relinquished that place to Earl Spencer, in December, 1853. In politics it is almost unnecessary to say his Grace was a staunch Whig. He was highly incensed at the Papal aggression, and the same year his Grace renounced the Roman Catholic faith, and passed over to the Anglican Church. _ _ The deceaselduke is succeeded in the dukedom and ancient family honours by his son Henry Granville, Earl of Arundel and Surrey, born Nov, 7, 1815, and married on the 19th of June, 1839, to Augusta Mary, daughter of Admiral Sir Edmund Lyons, G.C.8., Commander-in- Chief of the Mediterranean fleet, by whom he has a youth ful family. The present Duke was formerly in the Royal Horse Guards, and on his retirement from the army, in 1 837, entered the House of Commons representative for Arundel, which he sat for in several Parliaments. He also sat for the city of Limerick for a'fevv month•. The duke is a Roman Catholic, and highly esteemed by the Romish clergy. The laze Duke was a Knight of the Garter, a Fellow of the Royal Society, and several other societies. The hereditary office of Earl Marshal, so long con tinued in the Norfolk family, is descended by the female side from Thomas. De Mowbray, Elrl of Nottingham, the first Earl liaralaal of England. MR. AND MADAME GOLDSCEMIDTS MORNING CONOB 7', This concert was precisely similar in arrangement and character to previous evening coneerts given by Mr. and Madame Goldschmidt et the ilanover-square Rooms, and attended by an equally crowded audience. Madame Goldschmidt's performances, as usual, were calculated to display her powers in all their variety. She sang the grand scena from Don Giovanni, containing the air, "Non mi dir," uniting the most biilliant execution to the]most passionate expression, in a manner of which she alone, of all the singers of the present time, is ca pable ; then, with Signor F. Lablache, Rossini's duet "Per placer alla Signora," from the Turco in Italia, which she made the very perfection of gay and graceful comedy; next, Meyerbeer's lovely air, "Quando lasciai la Normandia "—the air in which she first delighted the ears of the English public when she made her debut on the boards of ber Majesty's Theatre ; Benedict's song, "The 2Eolian Harp ;" a Dalicarlian melody, full of the wild beauty of the Swedish national music ; and a very original and charming French duet by Meyerbeer, called "La Mere Grand," which she sang with Miss Dolby. We never heard her sing more splendidly, nor did we ever hear her more rapturously applauded. Miss Dolby (besides the above duet, in which she sustained her part with her usual judgment and fine taste) sang Stradella's air, "Oh, del mio dolce ardore," one of the most beau tiful specimens of the pure Italian melody of the seven teenth century. Mr. Swift sang Cherubini's " Ave Maria" and Verdi's romaaza, "Deserto sulfa terra," with much finish and expression. The only solo instru mentalist was Mr. Goldsclimidt, who performed Men delssohn's concerto in D minor in a manner worthy of his high reputation as a pianist. LATEST NEWS. BERLIN, FEB. 18. Count Orloff arrived here early this morning, and is expected to leave again this evening for Frankfort. HAMBURG, FEB. 17. The carrying into effect of the Constitution of 1840, in place of that of 1849, has occasioned a Ministerial crisis at Hanover. Several members of the CAbinet have tendered their resignation to the King. MADRID, FEE. 16. The Cortes have adopted the bill for calling out 16,000 men to fill up the ranks of the army. The affair cf the Puerta del Sol has not yet been settled. THE CONFERENCES. In the Vienna correspondence of the Independ ance Beige we read :—A. few hours before his de parture, Count Buol had the honour of a private reception by the Emperor. It is stated that the Sovereign, at this final interview, gave to his Minister new proofs of confidence as honourable to the one as to the other. "My dear Count," he said, " you know better than any one else the policy which I have followed in the present ques tion, and the intentions by which I have all through been actuated. In replying then to one and to all, do not adhere to the strict letter of your instructions ; all that you do will be well done if you contribute, as I hope, to re-establish peace upon a solid basis, and which will therefore be honourable to all parties." The Paris correspondent of the same journal says :—Russia concedes the non-reconstruction of Bomarsund, but she desires the neutralisation of the Isle of Heligoland, and wishes, in order to avoid their destruction, that the works on the north side of Sebastopol be considered as a land ' fort, the complete ruin of the south side of the city having removed all that affect its maritime cha racter. As to Nicolaieff, Russia, it is said, does not expect that the suppression of this important dockyard (which can be devoted the more exclu sively to merchant vessels, since it was at Sebasto pol that the vessels hitherto were armed) will be insisted upon. Nicolaieff can no more be consi dered as belonging to the coast of the Black Sea than Rouen, in France, to that of the Ocean. Besides, the consuls of the Maritime Powers would be able to insure a rigorous observance of the treaty. THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE CRIMEA. (Front the Times Correspondent.) CAMP BEFORE SEBASTOPOL, FEB. 4. A bright sun rose this morning upon the camp before Sebastopol, and the snow was crisp with frost. My earliest observation of the thermometer gave 8 deg. Fahrenheit below freezing point, but the sun bad then been up an hour and shining on the back of the wooden wall against which the thermometer hung, so that the quicksilver had probably been some degrees lower before daybreak. As the morning advanced the frost surface every where gave, and the camp and roads around it be came deep and muddy. Nevertheless, soon after noon a great number of officers were seen riding and walking in the direction of Sebastopol. At about half-past 12 o'clock Marshal Pelissier, in his carriage, drawn by four greys, attended by his staff and followed by his escort of Chasseurs, drove through the Light Division camp along the Wo ronzoff-road. Just about the same time up came General Codrington and his Staff, and a group of Sardinian officers of rank. General Codrington went on to the Redan ; Marshal Pelissier paused in frgnt of Picket-house-hill, on a slope which com mands an excellent view of the town. Here were assembled a large number of officers, English, French, and Sardinian, and to the right and left, on every elevated point, numerous groups wore seen, while Cathcart's-hill was crowded with spec tators too busy or toolazy to go further from camp. The cause of this unusual muster was an expected explosion. Fort Nicholas was to be blown up at 1 p.m. The French engineers were punctual to their time. Marshal Pelissier had been little more than a quarter of an hour chatting and pacing about on a bank he had selected for his station, and General Codrington could have been but a few minutes in the Redan, when a double burst of smoke fixed everybody's eyes upon the fort. This is (I should now say, was) of a curved shape, forming nearly a quarter of a circle, one extremity of the arc point ing south and the other east. The two extremities were first blown up, and the principal explosion seemed to be that of the eastern end, which was in the form of a round tower. The effect of the rising smoke was very striking and peculiar. The day was extremely fine, the sky nearly cloudless ; the white masonry of Sebastopol, beautiful even in those ruins with which the well-preserved but doomed fort conspicuously contrasted, lay silent and seemingly abandoned in the embrace of the bright green sea. Suddenly, forth gushed the smoke, not rapidly, but in heavy billows, rising and rolling one above the other, as if the vapour were so dense that it bad a struggle to ascend. Slowly it rose ; so slowly that it was easy to imagine fantastical forms, melting away but gradually. Immediately over the eastern explosion there hung for some seconds what seemed a mighty gray lion, with head, mane, end body perfectly defined in shadowy delineation. Others besides myself re cognized the fanciful image, acceptable as the emblem of dissolving Russian strength, and pre sently replaced by other vague shapes. Upwards of 20 seconds elapsed before the explosions were audible in front of Picket-house-hill. There was so little wind that the smoke rose to a considerable height before it began to drift off in a south westerly direction, and it rose, not in columns, but rather in heaps or domes such as are sometimes seen in the sky when clouds are piled on each other. The lower parts of these heaps of vapour joined, and the scattered summits dispersed and mingled before the light north-easterly current, sooner than the centres blended, and so there re• mained a sort of loophole in the smoke, through which was seen a patch of the emerald water glit tering in the brilliant sunbeams. The effect, of course very transient, was extremely beautiful. The whole mass of smoke then began to clear off, and the spectators impatiently awaited the moment when the windward extremity of the fort should be disclosed to their gaze. A sort of low gray spit was presently seen, but was almost immediately again overclouded by other explosions which now rapidly succeeded each other. There were seven in all, none of them much louder than the report of a very heavy piece of ordnance. When the explosions in the docks took place, on various occasions within the last two months, there was always great alarm, commotion, and plungingamong the horses tethered in the rear of the dockyard wall, and, notwith standing the great difference of distance, some thing of the kind was anticipated among the nume rous chargers and ponies assembled this morning on the hill in rear of our old trenches. Few of them, however, appeared to notice the explosions, and those showed but slight uneasiness. When all the mines lied been fired and the smoke cleared off, we saw how completely the French engineers had done their work. The long, massive, stone fort—certainly the most prominent object in a bird's-eye view of Southern Sebastopol--had totally disappeared, and in its place was a low flat bank of gray ruins, as nearly as might be of the same colour as the smoke that had jest been blown away from it, and of which some lin gering remains still oozed and curled out from the rubbish. So important a feature was this fort, that its removal has made quite a change in the physiog nomy of the town. Before the explosion the Rus sians had been firing from the north batteries —not heavily, perhaps at the rate of a shot per minute ; and we fully expected that, on witnessing the de struction of one of . their finest forts, they would open an angry fire, as they have done on many former occasions, in hopes of damag in g the troo p s and engineers they supposed to be in the town. But they did not do so, and fire d less after than before the explosion. One shell bu rst hi g h over the Mala khoff, and another from the battery east of Fort Constantine over the town, and one or two of the Inkerman batteries sent a shot or two in the direc tion of our lines, but that was nearly all, and, after waiting awhile in hopes that they were mute only from astonishment and would presently make up for the delay, most of the spectators, whose feet were by- this time getting benumbed in their stir ruin, turned their horses' heads homewards. I have not yet ascertained with certainty the quan tity of powder used to blow up the fort, but, judg ins from the extent and great solidity of the build ing, and from the completeness of the destruction, it must have been very large. I was told to-day that it exceeded the quantity destroyed iu the un fortunate explosion of the French left siege train. The destruction of the western and last remaining dock was completed last week, without noteworthy incident. great deal of the ruin has been effected with the Russians' own powder captured in Sebastopol. The explosion I have described is the only inci dent of importance that has broken the monotony of camp life since I last wrote. A shocking murder was committed last week in one of the Light Divi sion hospitals by a soldier of the 77th Regiment, a youth of 11, named Day. He was hospital orderly, and was in attendance upon an artilleryman who had been badly hurt when the French siege train blew up. The artilleryman, grateful for his care, took a purse, containin g cr about 121., from under his pillow, and gave him ss. The sight of the gold was too strong a temptation for Day, who, it is said, was a London thief before enlistment. He took a crowbar and dealt a violent blow on the artilleryman's head. The poor fellow shrieked " Murder !" when a second blow fractured his arm. His cries brought in the other orderlies, and, after a most violent resistance, Day was overpowered and secured. The artilleryman is since dead. The money-order offices at Balaklava and Head quarters have now been a week open, and the use that has hitherto been made of them more than justifies the most sanguine anticipations of those who predicted that they would be accepted by the army as a boon and great convenience. On Mon day, at Head-quarters' post-office orders were given to the amount of 170/. ; on Friday to that of 3001. On Wednesday, at Balaklava, 300/. of orders were issued, and on Saturday, 5001. This gives a total of 1,2701. sent home in one week by the army in the Crimea, in sums varying from 1/. to Si. There were few cases where the same man sent home more than Si. (by taking two or more orders), and a few others where sums of less than B. were sent. If we take 21.105. as the average amount of the or ders, we find that upwards of 500 men have availed themselves of this cheap and ready means of remit ting money to their families. There can hardly be a doubt that a very large portion of the money thus sent is rescued from the canteen men and other sharks, who prey upon the soldier, and into whose hands it would othmtwise fall. The army is much indebted to the Post-office authorities in Constantinople and in London—by whom, as I hear, the plan was simultaneously suggested—for extending to it ,the benefits of an institution the introduction of which of course gives a good deal of additional trouble to post-offico employes in the East, but which will tend to diminish drunkenness and to improve the character of the soldier—to say nothing of the comfort it will be to many a poor family in England having father, husband, or bro ther serving in the Crimea. The senders of the money are from all branches of the service, in cluding the men in the Army Works Corps, among whom, as we have had abundant opportunities of seeing upon the roads and in the neighbourhood of their camp, there has hitherto been a good deal of drunkenness, owing in part, no doubt, to the very high wages they receive. It would perhaps save trouble, prevent crowding at the post-office, and prove an accommodation to soldiers, whom duty may prevent from getting to Head-quarters or Balaklava during the hours of issue, if a sergeant of each regiment were to take the money from the men, the list of names and necessary particulars, and procure the orders. But doubtless the com manding officers of corps will make such arrange ments of this kind as are most fitting and conve nient, and best calculated to induce soldiers to remit money to England instead of squandering it in the Crimea. FEB. 5. Nothing new to-day. Weather fine ; cold mode rate ; 22 deg. Fahrenheit this morning at 8 o'clock. 3001. post-office orders given yesterday at the Head-quarters post-office. THE TURKISH CONTINGENT. KERTCII, Jan. 29.—The arrival of her Majesty's steamer Stromboli on the 24th inst., with Lieut.- Col. Adye, C. 8., on board, raised the thermometer of Kertch life from zero almost to boiling. With him arrived two very opposite reports—one of peace ; the other of an attack on Kertch by 60,000 Rus sians, who were actually on the march. Opiniox was soon divided in the garrison—and while some believed peace impossible and the threatened attack equally fallacious, others were found to believe both ; others again accredited the rumours of peace, but totally disregarded all such of the advancing hosts of the enemy. Each theory had numerous followers, and yet none had decided partisans ; so the reports are still viewed in the light of " shaves." There are some who say (without giving decided faith to the statement) that the sources from which the rumour of an attack originated are to be relied on, as they come from a quarter that "never failed." Others dis i ute the likelihood of the l3,ussian Generals hazarding the loss of a number of men in the attain ment (which at best is only possible) of an object unproductive of final result. Be the truth as it may, our reports here are very much in favour of peace, and to-day some Tartars came in from the Russian encampment, where, they said, the ru mour had also readied, so that the believers in peace are rather on the increase. Lieutenant-Colonel Adye's opinion of our fortifi cations is of course a secret, though people are not wanting to attribute words to the Colonel which he may or may not have used ; however, a strong reinforcement of English troops is daily ex pected, and preparations are being made for their reception. Active measures to increase the strength of the place are in motion. TERRIFIC SNOW STORM IN ASIA. We read in the lifoniteur de la Flotte :—" Our private correspondence, received via Constanti nople, brings accounts from the coast of Asia of the 3d instant. A snow storm had continued dur ing ten hours with frightful intensity, and proved fatal to a Russian convoy on its way to carry provi sions to the small garrison left at Kars by General Mouravieff. A detachment of 75 men perished in the snow, which accumulated as high as the walls of the place. It was said that the divisions of the Russian army encamped in the mountains had also greatly suffered, that their communications were interrupted with the remainder of the country, and that their supplies were nearly cut off. The English steam-corvette Miranda was within sight of the coast, coming from Sebastopol. She was said to have been placed at the disposal of General Williams, whose exchange was demanded by his Goverment. The health of the General and of the other English and Turkish officers, take❑ prisoners at Kars, was excellent. The situation of the Ot toman army, commanded 14y Omer Pacha, and encamped at Batoum and Redout Kaleh, was all that could be desired. These troops were abun dantly supplied with provisions, and had satisfac torily got over the winter." FRANCE. PARIS, MONDAY EVENING. The Emperor yesterday received the Earl of Clarendon, English Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Plenipotentiary to the Conferences which are about to be opened at Paris. The Earl of Claren don was introduced to his Imperial Majesty by the Grand Master of the Ceremonies, and presented by Lord Cowley, the British Ambassador. Count Walowski, Minister of Foreign Affairs, was in at tendance at the presentation. In the course of the day, the Emperor also rece ived at a public audience Baron de Grancy, who has heretofore exercised the functions of resident Minister of the Grand Duke of Hesse, and the Baron had the honour of pre senting letters accrediting him to the French Court as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipoten tiary of the Grand Duke of Hesse. We read in the Constitationnel—" For an ob ject which may be readily understood, some foreign journals, in announcing the arrival in Paris of Baron de Brunow, have related that on enlering the railway terminus the Russian Plenipotentiary was the object of a kind of ovation, and that the police were even obliged to interfere for the pur pose of dispersing the numerous assemblages which had collected there , and in front of the hotel where M. de Brunow alighted. It is needless to insist on the absurdity of these recitals, which are com pletely untrue. M. de Brunow arrived in Paris at ten o'clock at night, when the terminus was deserted, and immediately, without beino , in any way remarked, entered the carriage of M. de See bach, the Saxon Minister." , - - BOURSE, Feb. 18.—The following were the last quotations : Cash. fr. e. End of Month. 4i per Centa 96 —F. —c. 3 per Cents 73 20 73 83 New Loan 74 15 Bank Shares e - - ROMIII Credit Mobilier 1,590 Austrian Belgian Fives — Spanish Threes Piedmontese (5) B9 Home Dobt ......... RAILWAYS—NMI CASE. fr. c. tr. C. Othans Northern Lyons .... . 1,240 New Ditto. .......... . 840 Mediterranean 1,100 Grand Cent& 65) Lyons Geneva 765 Tests...... 740 Code 767 Austrian Corn...". 910 AUSTRIA. Count Buol, who left Vienna on the evening of the 12th, had hastened his de p arture by a day in order to have time to see M. do Beust at Dresden, and to spend a few hours with his relatives at Frankfort and Mannheim. On taking leave of the Emperor his Majesty is reported to have addresst d him nearly in these terms : "You, my dear Count, know as well or better than any one the policy I have followed in the present question, and the intentions which I have always entertained. In order to carry them out you need not adhere entirely to the letter of your instructions. All that you do will I know be wel done, if you contribute, as I hope, to the re-esta blishment of peace on a !solid basis, and which wil be realised if it be a peace honourable for all parties." A letter, in the Universal German Gazette, sa ys :—" The Emperor Francis Joseph has charged Count Buol with an autograph letter addressed to the Emperor Napoleon. The intimacy which now exists between the Courts of Paris and Vienna is the subject of general conversation in our official circles. It is rumoured that an Austrian regiment will be given to the Emperor Napoleon ; and the Cuirassiers are spoken of as likely to bear the name of the Emperor of the French." A letter from Vienna of the 13th says :—" Our young Empress yesterday met with au accident, but fortunately it was not attended with any serious consequence. The spring of her Majesty's carriage broke while she was taking an airing, and she was compelled to alight and return to the palace in a private carriage which happened to pass at the moment. This is the second accident of the kind that has happened to the Empress, and the Emperor hal ordered the person to whose negligence it is attributed to be severely punished." COVENT-GARDEN TBEATEE. Last night the first of a series of English operatic per formances took place, and Professor Anderson could not have made a more judicious selection to commence with than Balfe's beautiful cmposition " The Bohemian Girl." Miss Lucy Escott represented the part of Arline, and though she was evidently suffering from a severe cold, she acquitted herself to the admiration of the whole of the audience. In the celebrated ballad, "I dreamt that I dwelt in marble balls," she created quite a furore. The great fea ture of the evening, however, was the appearance of a new tenor, Mr. Win. Haigh, - as Thaddeus. This gentle. man's success last night was most decided. His voice is one of mach sweetness and compass, and in the sing ing of " You'll remember me," be won the most rap turous applause. Indeed the enthusiasm of the audience was scarcely satisfied by even a third repetition of that exquisite ballad. "When the fair land of Poland" eli cited an almost equally warm encore. The other songs from that to the end of the opera which belonged to the part were executed with the same facility and spirit. In fact, we feel no hesitation in saying that Mr. Haigh will prove a valuable addition to the musical talent of the metropolis. Tne entire opera passed off with great eclat, and should the others which are announced be produced in the same liberal and spiriied mxnner, we have no doubt the well-meant attempt of Professor Anderson- 7 an attempt which has been ried with but little success— to popularise the English opera, will redound, not only to his credit, but to his alvantage. The performance concuded with a ballet, in which Mr. Flexmore and Mdlli. Anriol acquitted themselves in their usual artistic mauler, and were enthusiastically called for ward to receive their well•won applause. DRURT-LANE THEATRE. For forty-two nights ;his theatre has been crammed to see the "Great Gun Tnek" and the great Pantomime, and there was no apparent slackness in the throngs that thus came to an these oft repeated performances. Some necessity we must, howevn, suppose there was to inter rupt the uniformity of the play-bill (which, by the way, might have been stereotyped), for one of the for:ner Lyceum popularities, " raking by Storm," was last night added to the entertsinuient. The house was kept in a continual roar, ly the elastic spirit and rapid hilarity of their great favourite, and everything Mr. Charles Matthews appears in is sure to be popular. Several novelties are aumunced, though at present there seems to be but little watt of them. SURREY TREA TEE. Last evening a new limn% entitled "Jasper Langton" was produced at this tbettre with the most marked and decided success. The some of the play is laid in Lon don during the reign of Charles the First, and the chief incident turns upon the levotion of the wife of Jasper, who is condemned to suffer death by hanging for having killed the asperser of his wife's fair fame in a duel. The acting of Mr. Creswick as Jasper Langton was ad mirable. He seemed perfectly to identify himself with the character, and the result was one of the most finely pourtrayed parts we hare y et seen this accomplished actor perform. The othsr parts in the drama were very excellently sustained by Messrs. Calvert, G. Yarnold, Widdicombe, Miss Mariott, and Miss Saunders, who each exerted themselves to the utmost to secure the success of the drama, wlich never was for a moment a doubt. The entertainments of the evening concluded with the splendid pantomime, which seems to increase rather than diminish in attraction. The house wag crowded in every part. ASTLEY'S THEATRE. A new equestrian spectacle, in two acts, was pro• duced here last night, under the title of The Arab of the Desert and his Faithfil ~teed, the piece being specially designed for the introduction and exhibition of one of the most accomplished metnbers of - .111. Cook's stud, his white horse Reindeer. The piece belongs to a class which is peculiar to this establishment, consisting of a series of tableaux and "situations," thrown together with a view to particular effects and requirements, rather than any attemrt at dramatic coherence. There is a grim tyrannical .Pa.cha, apparently afflicted with a mod unamiable tempe, who is incessantly talking of cutting off heals and flinging victims from the castle walls, with other and humane practices. This agree able personage has falen in love with the wife of an Arab of the Desert, aid deputes a Mameluko retainer to carry her off. The Mameluke, however, is troubled with that mast unorioatal weakness, gratitude, having been preserved from (loath by the Arab whom he is sent to betray. After various adventure., terrific combats, &c., in all which the Arab's horse plays a conspicuous part, the piece ends with that strict moral justice which almost invariably characterises an Astley's drama. The tyrant and his myrmidons are slain, and the Arab chief and his wife are triuupbant amidst the blaze of red fire. The piece is good of is hind ; containing some picturesque grouping and effectiie tableaux, and it exhibits to ad. vantage the extraordinary training and docility of the beautiful animal whifa plays so prominent a part. The equestrian scsnes in the circle are varied by some very extraordinary performances by two elephants, whose feats are, if pist.ible, even more surprising than those of their equine coadjutors; and Astley's still main tains its character as a specialite among our theatres. MR. SELWEANT WILKINS. We are happy to be enabled to state that the attack with whici this learned gentleman was yesterday seized was by no means so severe as had been supposed. He has already greatly re covered from its effects, and there is every rea son to hope that within a day or two he will be enabled to return to the discharge of his profes sional avocations. The Countess dePersigny has issued cards for a grand ball at the Fiend Embassy on Tuesday next. The countess will be prevented " receiving" this evening, as usual, his Excellency and herself having been invited to dine with the Queen at Buckingham-palace. The Earl and Countess of Cawdor entertained at dinner, at their residence in South Audley-street, last evening, the Marquis of Lansdowne, the Viscount and Viscountess Emlyn, Lord and Lady John Russell, Sir David Dundas, Captain Egerton, Miss Balfour, Lord Glenelg, Mr. and Mrs. Ellice, &c. The Countess Craven has issued earls for an evening party on Thursday-next. The Earl and Countess Cowper arrived in Stanhope street, last evening, from Tewin•water, Herts. The Earl and thuntess of Meath, Lord and Lady Charles Wellesley,Mr. and Lady Millicent Barber, and Mr. and Mrs. Nevlle have arrived at Claridge's Hotel. The Earl and Cruntess of Stamford and Warrington have returned to Eaville Hall, Staffordshire, from Paris. Major and Lacy Adela Ibbetson have arrived at Middleton Park, oa a visit to the Earl and Countess of Jersey. The Speaker's levees are appointed to be tell ca the Ist and Bth proxino. THE LATE MR. 3ADLIER, M.P.—The coroners inquest on the body of this unfortunate gentleman was held nth morning at the Vorkhouse, Hampstead, but at the hour our despatch left the jury had not returned their verdict. ANOTHER CASE OF CHILD MURDER. —At Marlborough street Police-courtthis morning Hannah Bramwell was charged with wilfdly destroying her illegitimate child, by throwing it intothe Serpentine. She was remanded. THE LATE GOAD ROBBERY IN THE ClTY.—This morning Mr. Join Hall was again placed before the Lord Mayor charted with being concerned in the gold robbery, in May last. It will be recollected that an immense amount tf gold was stolen while it was being conveyed by the Smith-Eastern Railway to the Messrs. Spielmann and Co, bullion dealers, in Lombard-street. He was again renanded, in order that witnesses on a fresh charge might be in attendance. Bail was refused. The Austrian Government has decided to allow the completion of the rtilway called the Empress Elizabeth, which will reach the Bavarian frontier, and thus com plete a comrnunica,ion between Vienna and the ocean. The concession is for 99 years. Major-General Sir W. Colebrook°, late Governor of Barbadoes and the Windward Islands, had an interview with Mr. Secre.try Labouchere, yesterday, at the Colonial-office. The New York papers of the 4th state that the steamer Black Warrior, which left the Havana on the 28th ult., had brought to that port Bidlie. Rachel, whose health was still very delicate. She would leave at once fur Liverpool, on her way to France. Despatches wers sent, yesterday, from the Colonial office, to the Governor of the Cape of Good Hope. De spatches were received from the Lord High Commi eion,,r of the lonian Mande. RUSSIA. A letter from St. Petersburg, of the Bth, in the rebats, says :—" A sum of 11,000 silver roubles (44,000 fr.) has been appropriated . to the construc tion of fortifications on the coast near Archangel. Part of this sum is to be taken from the reserve and the remainder raised by a loan. The two last numbers of the Gazette du Senet contain fresh de crees, condemning several officers to military de gradation, and to the loss of their nobility, for peculation." The Post Ainpt Gazette contains the following information from Odessa; of the 3d :—" General Luders has inspected the five Russian corps d'armee in the Crimea, and found them only in a tolerable condition. The men are well lodged, but the scurvy is making great ravages among them. The accounts from the Turkish army of Asia are rather more favourable to the Turkish cause. Ismael Pasha, Churched Pasha (Guyon), and Osman Pasha, Commissioner of the Porte, have arrived at Erzeroum, where a large army is to be concen rited. The Russians have evacuated a part of the pachalic of Kars, and have withdrawn a por tion of their advanced posts, which had been ex tended on the side of Erzeroum, so that Hassan Ka'. has since been occupied by the Turks." SARDINIA. The Piemonte of Turin of the 15th publishes some of the speeches delivered at the banquet given to General de la Marmora by the Deputies, on the preceding day. That of Chevalier Bon compagni, president of the chamber, was as fol lows : " Some time ago, a powerful voice issuing from Paris proclaimed the principle that public opinion is the su preme judge in political matters. Piedmont may safely await the verdict of that tribunal, which will not over look the fact, that of all the powers which occupy Italy, one only, a constitutional monarchy, animated by the breath of liberty, has served the cause of Europe by deed as well es by word. Yes, we way have confidence in the opinion of the most civilised nations ; for it is the same that invoked war against Muscovite supremacy, in defence of those elements of civilisation which are destined to develop themselves for the benefit of liberty, and to uphold the rights and guarantee the interests of the constitutional monarchy of Savoy, as well as those of Italy, too often neglected." The Piedmontese Gazette publishes a law autho rising the admission of civil engineers and students of three years' standing to the corps of artillery, in case the military schools of Piedmont could not during the present war furnish a sufficient number of officers. Sporting Intelligence. TATTERSALL'S-MONDAY. A somewhat brisk " cross fire " was kept up during most of the afternoon by the respective friends of Yellow Jack and Fly-by-Night for the Two Thousand. At one time 3 to 1 was taken about eaeh, and 1,000 even and 500 even were betted between them ; afterwards they alternately fell back to 4 to 1 and advanced again to 100 to 30. Yellow Jack bad, however, the vantage ground at the close, as the subjoined quotations will show. For the Chester Cup and the Derby he experienced a decline, 15 to 1 being laid to 150 against him for the former event, and the same odds to 1251. for the latter. Ellington was backed for the Derby at 9 to 1 and 8 to I—the less odds were taken to upwards of 150/. 7to 1 was taken to 1001. about Wentworth, anti 10 to 1 freely offered against Fly•by•Nigbt. Most of the investments on the Liverpool Steeplechase were only in small sums. Sir Peter Laurie, notwithstanding the position which was assigned him in the City betting on Saturday, was backed for 751. at Bto 1. Harry Lorrequer was merely inquired after. CLOSING PRICES. LIVERPOOL STEEPLECHASE. 8 to 1 aget Sir Peter Laurie (taken) 9 to 1 agst Emigrant (taken) 20 to 1 agst The Seaman (taken) 25 to 1 agst Jemmy the Black (taken) 25 to 1 agst Jean du Quesne (taken) 25 to 1 agst Freetrader (taken) 30 to 1 agst Potter (taken) 100 to 1 apt Minerva.(taken) LIVERPOOL SPRING OUP. 9to 1 aget De Ghinkel (taken) 9to 1 agst Omer Pasha (taken) GREAT METROPOLITAN STAKES. 15 to 1 agst Pyrrba (taken) CITY AND SUBURBAN HANDICAP. 100 to 7 agst Boer (taken) GREAT NORTHERN HANDICAP. 7to 1 aget Fandango (taken) TWO THOUSAND GUINEAS STAKES. 10 to 3 agst Yellow Jack (taken) 7to 2 agst Fly-by-Night (taken) Bto 1 agst Polaioodie (7 to 1 also taken) CHESTER CUP. 15 to 1 agat Yellow Jaok (taken) 500 to 15 agst Caurtenay (taken) 1000 to 15 agst Cockatoo (taken) DERBY. 7to 1 agst Wentworth (taken) Bto 1 agst Ellington (taken) 10 to 1 agst Fly-by-Night (offered) 15 to 1 agst Yellow Jack (taken) 15 to 1 agst Ragerthorpe (taken) 1000 to 10 ag-t Barbarina colt (taken) DOUBLE EVENTS. 30 to 1 agst Yellow Jack's winning the Two Thousand and Ellington the Derby. P.P. BETTING.—At the committee meeting which was held this afternoon, with the view of settling the much- .. vexed question of P.P. Races, the proposition which is most likely to be the lex scripta of the betting-ring com prises the following events :—The Epsom Derby and Oaks, the Doncaster St. Leger, the Ascot Cup, the Goodwood Cup and Doncaster Cup, the Two Thousand and the One Thousand, the Cesarewitch, and the Cam• bridgeshire, and all handicaps of the value of 200 sovs. each. the conditions of which respectively specify two forfeits—the forfeit fur non -acceptors being not less than 5 sovs. each. TO THE EDITOR OF TUE SUN. Broad-court, 19th February, 1856. Sin,—My attention has been called by several of my friends to an article in The Sum of last evening, signed " A Fresh Man," wherein, after referring to a " Charles Mather," he concludes with— " A fellow, I understand, who calls himself Frederick Smith, at present has cards wherever [whereon, I pre• some, he means] 'George Mather ' is printed. The pur pose for which respectable names are assumed by adven turers is patent, and every case of such attempted impo sition on the public shall be unsparingly exposed by "A FRESH MAN." I beg to inform you that I was for upwards of two years clerk to Mr. George Mather, of Great Russell btreet, Bloomsbury, and during that period I performed the duties assigned to me to his satisfaction, and on nay leaving his situation he made me a handsome present. The attack on me is, therefore, most unjustifiable and cruel. I inclose one of my cards, by which you will see that I do not for a moment intimate that I have any connec tion with Mr. George Mather. It is merely "mow Mr. George Mather," and even in the printing there is nothing to mislead. Is it not a common everyday occurrence in business for a man to paint over his door, and to have printed on his cards, A B, from C D I am, sir, . Your very obedient servant, FREDERICK SMITH. In justice to Mr. Smith, we willingly give insertion t• his letter. Mr. George Mather's advertisement, which a ppeared in the Era and ether newspapers, distinctly stated that Mr. George Mather " had no connexion with Frederick Smith, who had George Mather printed on his cards." On this statement, which has been allowed to go uncontradicted, the Fralh. Man formed his opinion of Mr. Smith. We are glad that we have afforded Mr. Smith an opportunity of placing his character in a fair light, and removing from it the unjust inferences which might have been drawn frost Mr. Mather's statement. A FRESH MAN. Racing Fixtures for 1856. FEBRUARY. Litwin 12 Liverpool Spring 26 Derby Spring l9 MARCH. Nottingham Spring 4 Catterick .24 Warwick Spring 10 Coventry 24 Salisbury l3 Northampton 26 Essex lB AP Doncaster Spring 1 Thirsk 3 Croxton Park ......... 3 Epsom Spring lO Durham . 14 Newmarket C 1 York Spring 2 Malton 24 Newmarket F S 2g _,_.-: M an in, that fiv e newt; th e 0 1 Butner, con sun partitif under i The re Pinanc out S p of the The went of Lion i n Which 8 the thr follows The for tore f or Past y e , 4 n)550, more th War cont le expect Pressure z ailuenci] aspect of The ht Wa y CoM 81a n took year Was 15adeben1 available Was some ;r a m,. r j The pla of th e E x , generally a mount if a tirritle r 1 410" ' , a b . stock a K r tent, Red r Cent C o li tt * Der Can Lon 21 per Cei Ind! Aonuitiem :0 30 Yea B teek tkoula 1 O n 1 ` 10 , 'ander ;11tiole tor Ace, 4 eheqor £lOOO .. 4500 *** erne ....... bik p a Benda, or A ec uit te to Ne ° Ditto Acweoucr Divid en , 2 i Per D oh -Vat° E 44 ac per haur 41440 4 per C C 011 14(411 DIU° 144 trifirr 1! 1 2 11 to 6f r ilj; %cif! , rather do 4/ 211(BR/twat] ,?el to 61 104 Lair demand: ,i W RITE 0 HAPI eII4. 4/ 88 to 6/ PPly good, 111 e TB4 • —The ix legy of COngoll q r , /I °t.ed At 9d tat'' 4ll . — A x deal i t'a t o the 0 f ewi r° act with to ': rai hiactioni ntinces in 0( Pre 0 i be r e :: 1 0 : t . m1 1 '1: 1,1,41 t.? rather ti hit 1 " has heel ittlakeo place. ar e o ,9 l L—The n it ' a limited Prie l3L— The i t gallOt. ti o rtLOW.--Nr, 64 t:r.peculati w. tom Th with rates