The Sun. — London, England, 1861-12-30 00:00:00

TILE RIGHT =`s OF NEUTRALS, OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE. The following correspondence has been published Qt Washington . " Legation of the United States, London, Aug. 23, 1861. " Sir,—l have the honour to transmit a copy of a tote addressed to me by Lord Russell, transmitting to me a copy of a declaration which he proposes to make upon signing the convention embodying the articles of the Declaration of Paris, in conjunction with myself. " I have waited to communicate with Mr. Day ton until I now learn from him that M. Thouvenel proposes to him a similar movement on the part of France. " This proceeding is of so grave and novel a cha racter as, in my opinion; to render further action unadvisable until I obtain further instructions ; and I find Mr. Dayton is of the same opinion on his side. I propose to address a letter to his Lordship, stating my reasons for declining to proceed, as soon as possible ; but I fear I shall not have time to get it ready and a copy made in season for the present mail. I shall, therefore, postpone any further elu cidation of my views until the next opportunity. I do so the more readily that I am informed by Mr. Dayton that you have ceased to consider the matter as one of any urgent importance.—l have the honour to be, Sir, your obedient servant, " CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. " Hon. W. H. Seward, Secretary of State, Wash angton." (Enclosure.) " LORD JOHN RUSSELL TO MR. ADAMS. " Foreign-office, Aug. 19, 1851. Sir,—l have the honour to enclose a copy of a declaration which I propose to make on signing the convention of which you gave me a draught, embody. ing the articles of the Declaration of Paris. " I propose to make the declaration in question in a written form, and to furnish you with a copy of it. " You will observe that it is intended to prevent any misconception as to the nature of the engage ment to be taken by her Majesty. " If you have no objection to name a day in the course of this week for the signature of the conven tion, Mr. Dayton can, on that day, and at the same time, sign with M. Thonvenel a convention iden tical with that which you propose to sign with me. " I have the honour to be, with the highest con sideration, sir, your most obedient, bumble servant, " C. F. Adams, Esq., &c. "RUSSELL." " DRAUGHT OF DECLARATION. " In affixing his signature to the convention of this day between her Majesty the Queen of Great Bri tain and Ireland and the United States of America, the Earl Russell declares, by order of her Majesty, that her Majesty does not intend thereby to under take any engagement which shall have any bearing, direct or indirect, on the internal differences now prevailing in the United States." B ' 6 TUE QUESTION OF NEUTRALITY.--DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING THE QUEEN'S PROCLAMATION. " MR. ADAMS TO MR. SEAWARD, (Extracts.) "Legation of the United States, London, June 14, 1861. " Sir,—l have to acknowledge the receipt of your despatches No. 10, dated the 21st May, and No. 11, dated on the 24th, with a copy of a letter from Mr. 0. Vandenburgh, and also a printed circular from the Department, of the 20th May, relating to purchases made here of articles contraband of war. " The intelligence of the feeling expressed in America upon the reception of the Queen's procla mation was fully expected by me, so that it excited no surprise, and much of the course of your argu ment in your despatch will be found to have been already adopted in my conference with Lord John Russell, an account of which is before this time in your hands. " However this may be, my duty wag plain. I applied for an interview with Lord John Russell, and he appointed one for 10 o'clock on Wednesday. the 12th, at his own house. After some prelimi nary talk, I observed to him that I had been in structed to press upon her Majesty's Govern ment the expediency of early action on the subject of privateering; that in the present state of excitement in the United States, consequent upon the measures which it had felt necessary to adopt. I did not know of anything which would be so likely to allay it as an agreement on this point. His lordship then said that he did not know whether I knew it, but the fact was that Mr. Day ton had made a proposition to France for negotia tion on the basis of the articles as agreed upon in Paris. France had communicated the fact through her Minister, the Comte de Flahault ; and he inti mated that there had been a Cabinet conversation on the subject, without arriving at a decision. I then referred to what had passed at our former in terview. I mentioned my proposal to negotiate, and the inclination shown by his lordship to leave the subject with Lord Lyons, with authority to ar range the only point in dispute as the Government at Washington might desire. There I had left the matter. His lordship replied that he did not mean to be quite so understood. His intention was to say that having agreed upon the three Articles he should be ready to cousent to the omission of the fourth Article if that would be agreeable at Wash ington. I said that I had not so understood him, and from my present recollection I am confident that my report of his language was not incorrect. . "I next approached the most delicate portion of my task. I descanted upon the irritation produced in America by the Queen's Proclamation, upon the construction almost universally given to it, as de signed to aid the insurgents by raising them to the rank of a belligerent State, and upon the very decided tone taken by the President in my despatches in case any such design was really en tertained. I added that from my own observa tion of what had since occurred here I had not been able to convince myself of the existence of such a design. But it was not to be disguised that the fact of the continued stay of pseudo Com missioners in this city, and still more the knowledge that they had been admitted to more or less inter views with his lordship, was calculated to excite uneasiness. Indeed, it had already given great dis satisfaction to my Government. I added, as mode rately as I could, that in all frankness any further protraction of this relation could scarcely fail to be viewed by us as hostile in spirit, and to require some corresponding action accordingly. " His lordship then reviewed the course of Great Britain. He explained the mode in which they had consulted with France prior to any action at all, as to the reception of the deputation from the so-called Confederate States. It had been the custom both in France and here to receive such persons uno ffi cially for a long ti me back. Poles, Hu ngarians, - Italians, &c., had bees allowed in terviews, to hear what they had to say. B u t this di d in imply re cogn iti on i n than d their case any moreme:s. H e a dd e d th a t he had seen the gentle once some time ago, a n d o nce some time since ; h e had no expectation of see ing them any more. " I shall continue m y relations here unt i l I dis cover some action app aren t l y in conf lictwith it , Or rec eive specific orders f rom the department dictat ing an opposite course. I ventured to repeat my regret that the procla mation had been so hastily issued, and adverted t o the fact that it seemed contrary to the agreement said to have been proposed by Mr. Dallas, and con curred in by his lordship, to postpone all action until I should arrive, possessed with all the views of the new Administration. But still, thou g h I felt that much mischief had ensued in the creation of prejudices in the United States, not now easy to be eradicated, I was not myself disposed in any part of my conduct to aggravate the evil. My views had been muah modified by opportunities of more extended conversation with persons of weight Great Britain, by the improved tone of the r i ress, by subsequent explanations in Parliament, op the prohibition of all attempts to introduce prizes into British ports, ard, lastly, by the unequivocal expression of sentiment in the u Of Mr. Gregory when the time came for him • ,u l s motion of recognition. I trusted that nothing new might occur to change the current again, for nothing was so unfortunate as the effect of a recurrence of reciprocal irritations, hc.wever trifling, between countries, in breaking up the good understanding which it was always desirable to preserve. "His lordship agreed to this, but rep arked that he could not but think the complaint of the procla mation, though natural enough perhaps at this moment, was really ill-founded. He went over the ground once more which he occupied in the former interview—the necessity of doing something to re lieve the officers of their ships from the responsi bility of treating these persons as pirates if they met them on the seas. For his own part, he could not believe the United States would persevere in the idea of hanging them, for it was not in conso nance with their well-known character. But what would be their own situation if they should be found practising upon a harsher system than the Ameri cans themselves P "Here was a very large territory—a number of States—and people counted by millions, who were in a state of actual war. The fact was undeniable and the embarrassment unavoidable. Under such circumstances the law officers of the Crown advised the policy which had been adopted. It was de signed only as a preventive to immediate evils. The United States should not have thought hard of it. They meant to be entirely neutral. " I replied that we asked no more than that. We desired no assistance. Our objection to this set was it was practically not an act of neutrality. It bad depressed the spirits of the friends of the Go vernment. It had raised the courage of the in surgents. We construed it as adverse because we could not see the necessity of such immediate haste. These people were not a navigating people. They had not a ship on the ocean. They had made no prizes, so far as I knew, excepting such as they had caught by surprises. Even now, I could not learn that they had fitted out anything more than a few old steamboats, utterly unable to make any cruise on the ocean, and scarcely strong enough to bear a cannon of any calibre. But it was useless to go over this any more. The thing was now done. All that we could hope was that the later explanations would counteract the worst effects that we had reason to apprehend from it; and, at any rate, there was one compensation, the act had released the Government of the United States from responsibility for any misdeeds of the rebels towards Great Britain. If any of their people should capture or maltreat a British vessel on the ocean, the reclamation must be made only upon those who had authorized the wrong: The United States would not be liable. " I added that I could not close the interview without one word upon a subject on which I had no instructions. I saw by the newspapers an account of considerable movement of troops to Canada. In our situation this would naturally excite attention at home, and I was therefore desirous to learn whether they were ordered with any reference to possible difficulties with us. His Lordship said that the country had been denuded of troops for some time back, and it was regarded only as a pro per measure of precaution, in the present disordered condition of things in the United States, to restore a part of them. He said he did not know but what we might do something. He intimated a little feel ing of uneasiness at the mission of Mr. Ashmun, without any notice given as to his purposes; and he likewise said something about a threat uttered by your if to Lord Lyons to seize a British vessel on Lakentario without ceremony. To this I re plied, that, inasmuch as I had understood Mr. Ash mun's mission had been made known to the Gover nor of Canada, it did not seem to me that it could be of much concealed significance; and that as to the other matter, if there was any reality in the threat, it surely was an odd way of proceeding to furnish at once the warning in time to provide against its execution. "I did not touch at all on the subject of the blockade, as referred to in your despatch No. 10, for the reason that I do not now understand the Go■ vernment as disposed in any way to question its validity, or to obstruct it. On the contrary, his Lord ship, incidentally referring to it in this interview, said that instructions had been sent out to the naval officers in command to respect it, and never themselves seek to enter into any of the ports blockaded, unless for some urgent necessity to pro tect British persons or property.—l have the honour to be, sir, your obodient servant, " CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS." " REPLY TO THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT TO THIS PROPOSITION. " MR. SEWARD TO MR. ADAMS. " Department of State, Washington, Sept. 7. " Sir,—l have received your despatch of August 23 (No. 32). It is accompanied by a note which was addressed to you by Lord Russell on the 19th of the same month, and a paper containing the form of an official declaration which he proposes to make on the part of her Majesty on the occasion of his affixing his signature to the projected Con vention between the United States and Great Bri tian for the accession of the former Power to the articles of the declaration of the Congress of Paris for the melioration of the rigour of international law in regard to neutrals in maritime war. The instrument thus submitted to us by Lord Russell is in the following words :—' Draught of Declaration —ln affixing his signature to the Convention of this day between her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and 'lreland and the United States of Ame rica, the Earl Russell declares, by order of her Majesty, that her Majesty does not intend thereby to undertake any engagement which shall have any bearing, direct or indirect, on the internal diffe rences now prevailing in the United States. " Lord Russell, in his note to you, explains the object of the instrument by saying it is intended to prevent any misconception as to the nature of the engagement to be taken by her Majesty. " You have judged very rightly in considering this proceeding on the part of the British Govern ment, as one so grave and so novel in its character as to render further action on y our part in regard to the projected Convention inadmissible until you shall have special instructions from this department. " Long before the present communication can reach you, my instructions of August 17, No. 61, will have come to your hands. That paper directed you to ask Lord Russell to explain a passage in a note written to you, and then lying before me, in which he said :—' I need scarcely add that, on the part of Great Britain, the engagement (to be con tained in the projected convention) will be prospec tive, and will not invalidate anything already done;' which explanation I stated would be expected as a preliminary before you could proceed further in the transaction. " You have thus been already prepared for the information that your resolution to await special instructions in the emergency is approved. " I feel myself at liberty, perhaps bound, to as sume that Lord Russell's proposed declaration, which I have herein recited, will have been already regarded, as well by him as by yourself, as suffi ciently answering the request for preliminary ex planations which you were instructed to make. " I may therefore assume that the case is fully before me, and that the question whether this Go vernment will consent to enter into the projected treaty with Great Britain, subject to the condition of admitting the simultaneous declaration on her Majesty's part, proposed by Lord Russell, is ready to be decided. proposed declaration is inadmissible. " I am insiructed by the Presid e nt t o sa y th a t th e " It would b e virtually a new and distinct article andcmoritpoernaetheda new wto article oiclp r ojected convention. To forfb and adjust it s e to p erm i t a the first time in the history of the United States, foreign Power to take cognizanc e of relations upon assumed internal and ° purely differences existing within our own coun. domestictry. " This broad consideration supersedes any neces sity for considering in what manner or in what degree the projected convention, if completed, either subject to the explanation proposed or not, would bear directly or indirectly on the internal differ ences which the British Government assume to be prevailing in the United States. " I do not enlarge upon this branch of the subject. It is enough to say that the view thus adopted by Mg SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 30, 1861. the President seems to be in harmony equally with a prudent regard to the safety of the Republic and a just sense of its honour and dignity. " The proposed declaration is inadmissible, among other reasons, because it is not mutual. It proposes a special rule by which her Majesty's obli gations shall be meliorated in the bearing upon internal difficulties now prevailing in the United States, while the obligations to be assumed by the United States shall not be similarly meliorated or at all affected in their bearing on internal diffe rences that may now be prevailing, or may here after arise and prevail, in Great Britain. "It is inadmissible, because it would be a sub stantial and even a radical departure from the de claration of the Congress at Paris. That declration makes no exception in favour of any of the par ties to it in regard to the bearing of their obliga tions upon internal differences which may prevail in the territories or dominions of the parties. "The declaration of the Congress of Paris is the joint act of 46 great and enlightened Powers, de signing to alleviate the evils of maritime war, and promote the first interest of humanity, which is peace. The Government of Great Britain will not, I am sure, expect us to accede to this noble act otherwise than upon the same equal footing upon which all the other parties to it are standing. We could not consent to accede to the declaration with a modification of its terms unless all the present parties to it should stipulate that the modification should be adopted as one of universal application. The British Government cannot but know that there would be little prospect of an entire reformation of the . declaration of Paris at the present time, and it has not even told us that it would accept the modi fication as a general one if it were proposed. "It results that the United States must accede to the declaration of the Congress of Paris on the same terms with all the other parties to it, or that they do not accede to it at all. " You will present these considerations to Lord Russell, not as arguments why the British Govern ment ought to recede from the position it has as Burned, but as the grounds upon which the United States decline to enter into the projected conven tion recognising that exceptional position of her Majesty. " If, therefore, her Britannic Majesty's Govern ment shall adhero to tae proposition thus disallowed, you will inform Lord Russell that the negotiation must for the present be suspended. q I forbear purposely from a review of the past correspondence, to ascertain the relative responsibi lities of the parties for this failure of negotiation, from which I had hoped results would flow bene ficial, not only to those two nations but to the whole world—beneficial, not in the present age only, but in future ages. " It is my desire that we may withdraw from the subject, carrying away no feelings of passion, pre judice, or jealousy, so that in some happier time it may be resumed, and the important objects of the proposed convention may be fully secured. I be lieve that the propitious time is even now not dis tant; and I will hope that when it comes Great Britain will not only willingly and uncanditionally accept the adhesion of the United States to all the benignant articles of the declaration of the Congress at Paris, but will even go further, and, relinquish ing her present objections, consent, as the United States have so constantly invited, that the private property, not contraband, of citizens and subjects of nations in collision shall be exempted from con fiscation equally in warfare waged on the land and in warfare waged upon the seas, which are the com mon highways of all nations. " Regarding this negotiation as at an end, the question arises, What, then, aro to be the views and policy of the United States in regard to the rights of neutrals in maritime war in the present case? My previous despatches leave no uncertainty on this point. We regard Great Britain as a friend. Her Majesty's flag, according to our traditional princi ples, covers enemy's goods not contraband of war. Goods of her Majesty's subjects, not contraband of war, are exempt from confis cation though found under a neutral or disloyal flag. No depredations shall be committed by our naval forces or by those of any of our citizens so far as we can prevent it, upon the vessels or pro perty of British subjects. Our blockade being effective, must be respected. "The unfortunate failure of our negotiations to amend the law of nations in regard to maritime war does not make us enemies, although, if they had been successful, we should have perhaps been more assured friends. " Civil war is a calamity from which certainly no people or nation that has ever existed has been always exempt. It is one which probably no nation ever will escape. Perhaps its most injurious trait is its tendency to subvert the good understanding and break up the relations existing between the distracted State and friendly nations, and to involve them sooner or later in war. It is the desire of the United States that the internal differences existing in this country may be confined within our own borders. Ido not suffer myself for a moment to doubt that Great Britain has a desire that we may be successful in attaining that object, and that she looks with dread upon the possibility of being herself drawn into this unhappy internal controversy of our own. Ido not think it can be regarded as dis respectful if you should remind Lord Russell that when, in 1838, a civil war broke out in Canada, a part of the British dominions adjacent to the United States, the Congress of the United States passed, and the President executed, a law which effectually prevented any intervention against the Government of Great Britain in those internal differences by American citizens, whatever might be their motives, real or pretended, whether of interest or sympathy. I send you a copy of that enactment. The British Government will judge for itself whether it is sug gestive of any measures on the part of Great Britain that might teed to preserve the peace of the two countries, and, through that way, the peace of all nations.—l am, Sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, " WILLIAM H. SEWARD. " Charles Francis Adams, E , q., &c." "EARL RUSSELL'S EXPOSITION OF THE ACTION OF THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. " Foreign-office, Aug. 28. " The undersigned, her Majesty's Principal Secre tary of State for Foreign Affairs, has had the honour to receive the note of the 23d inst. of Mr. Adams, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States. "Mr. Adams has accounted satisfactorily for the delay in answering the note of the undersigned of the 19th inst. Her Majesty's Government in all these transactions has acted in concert with the Go. vernment of the Emperor of the French, and the undersigned cannot be surprised that Mr. Adams should wish to communicate with Mr. Dayton at Paris before replying to his note. " Tho undersigned is quite prepared, following Mr. Adams, to recapitulate the particulars of this negotiation, and ho is happy to think that in mat ters of fact there is no ground for any controversy between them. He need only supply omissions. "Mr. Adams at his first interview with the under signed, on the 18th of May last, mentioned the sub ject of the Declaration of Paris as one on which he had power to negotiate, and the undersigned then told him that the matter had already been commit ted to the care of Lord Lyons at Washington, with authority to agree with the Gsvernment of the United States on the basis of the adoption of three of the articles, and the omission of the first, being that relating to privateering. So far, the statement of Mr. Adams agrees substantially with that here made. But the representation of the undersigned was strictly accurate, and in faith of it he subjoins the despatch by which Lord Lyons was authorised to negotiate on the basis of the three latter articles of the Declaration of Paris. Lord Lyons, however, was not empowered to sign a convention, because that form had not been adopted by the Powers who originally signed the Declaration, nor by any of the numerous States which afterwards gave their adher ence to its articles. " At a later period, when Mr. Adams brought a copy of his full powers to the Foreign-office, the undersigned ask , ed why the adherence of the United States should not be given to the same form as that of other Powers, and he was told, in reply, that as the constitution of the United States required the consent of the Senate to any agreement with foreign Powers, that agreement must neces sarily, or at least would most conveniently be made in the shape of a convention. " The undersigned yielded to this argument, and proposed to the Government of the Emperor of the French, with which her Majesty's Government have been acting throughout in complete agreement, to concur likewise in his departure from the form in which the Declaration of Paris had been adopted by the maritime Powers of Europe. " But the British Government could not sign the convention proposed by the United States as an act of Great Britain singly and alone, and they found to their surprise that in case of France and of some of the other European Powers, the addition of Mr. Marcy, relating to private property at sea, had been proposed by the Ministers of the United States at the Courts of those Powers. "The undersigned concurs in the statement made by Mr. Adams respecting the transactions which followed. Her Majesty's Government, like Mr. Adams, wished to establish a doctrine for all time, with a view to lessen the horrors of war all over the globe. The instructions sent to Lord Lyons prove the sincerity of their wish to give permanence and fixity of principles to this part of the law of nations. " The undersigned has now arrived at that part of the subject upon which the negotiation is inter rupted. " The undersigned has notified Mr. Adams his intention to accompany his signature of the pro posed convention with a declaration to the effect that her Majesty does not intend thereby to under take any engagement which shall have any bearing, direct or indirect, on the internal differences now prevailing in the United States.' " The reasons for this course can be easily ex plained. On some recent occasion, as on the ful filment of the treaty of 1846, respecting the boun dary, and with respect to the treaty called by the name of the Clayton-Bulwer. Treaty, serious diffe rences have arisen with regard to the precise mean ing of words and the intention of those who framed them. "It was most desirable in framing a new agree- ment not to give rise to a fresh dispute. "But the different attitude of Great Britain and of the United States in regard to the internal dis sensions now unhappily prevailing in the United States gave warning that such a dispute might arise out of the proposed convention. " Her Majesty's Government, upon receiving in telligence that the President had declared, by pro clamation, his intention to blockade the ports of nine of the States of the Union, and that Mr. Davis, speaking in the name of those nine States, had de clared his intention to issue letters of marque and reprisals; and also having received certain infor mation of the design of both sides to arm, had come to the conclusion that civil war existed in America, and her Majesty thereupon proclaimed her neutrality in the approaching contest. " The Government of the United States, on the other hand, spoke only of unlawful combinations, and designated those concerned in them as rebels and pirates. It would follow, logically and consis tently, from the attitude taken by her Majesty's Government, that the so-called Confederate States, being acknowledged as a belligerent, might by the law of 'nations arm privateers, and that their pri vateers must be regarded as the armed vessels of a belligerent. "With equal logic and consistency it would fol low, from the position taken by the United States, that the privateers of the Southern States might be decreed to be pirates, and it might be further argued by the Government of the United States that a European Power signing a convention with the United States, declaring that privateering was and remains abolished, would be bound to treat the privateers of the so-called Confederate States as pirates. " Hence, instead of an agreement, charges of bad faith and violation of a convention might be brought in the United States against the Power signing such a convention, and treating the privateers of the so-called Confederate States as those of a belli gerent Power. "The undersigned had at first intended to make verbally the declaration proposed; but he considered it would be more clear, more open, more fair to Mr. Adams, to put the declaration in writing, and give notice of it to Mr. Adams before signing the convention. " The undersigned will not now reply to the rea sons given by Mr. Adams for not signing the con vention if accompanied by the proposed declaration. Her Majesty's Government wish the question to be fairly weighed by the United States Government. The undersigned, like Mr. Adams, wishes to main tain and perpetuate the most friendly relations be tween her Majesty's kingdom and the United States. It is in this spirit that her Majesty's Government decline to bind themselves without a clear explana tion on their part to a convention which, seemingly confined to an adoption of the declaration of Paris of 1856, might be construed as an engagement to interfere in the unhappy dissensions now prevailing in the United States—an interference which would be contrary to her Majesty's public declarations, and would be a reversal of the policy which her Majesty has deliberately sanctioned. "The undersigned requests Mr. Adams to accept the assurance of his highest consideration. " C. F. Adams, Esq., &c." " RUSSELL. Should the difficulties between the two nations be satisfactorily arranged, British shipping, though still prohibited from trading to Southern American ports, will be able to carry cargoes at the usual risks only, thereby neutralising the advantages which foreigners would otherwise possess. In the event of the Federal Government continuing its hitherto unsuccessful efforts for the subjugation of the South, and the war promising to be prolonged to an indefinite period, to the vital injury of the trade of foreign nations, the Anglo-French Govern ments may feel themselves called upon to interfere with a strong hand, and by an official recognition of the South as a Power, compel the cessation of hostilities; but with such uncertainties before us at this particular crisis, and in the absence of definite advices, we regret we cannot but take a somewhat unfavourable view of the prospects of shipping for the ensuing year." THE SHIPPING TRADE. Messrs. Cunard, Wilson, and Co., of Liver pool, in their annual circular say :—‘, Liver pool, Dec. 31.—Reviewing the business of the year in the sales of shipping, we estimate the number of vessels sold at 410, equal to 193,821 tons, or about 10 per cent. less than that of 1860. This decrease may to some extent be accounted for by the fact that a number of second-class vessels, familiarly known to ship buyers as ' timber and cotton ships,' and which periodically traded to the Southern ports of America, have been lost, and that in con sequence of the blockade interfering with such em ployment these have not been replaced. A notice able feature in a review of the past year is the large amount of United States' vessels sold to British subjects and to foreigners. These, which are in cluded in the above estimate, exceed 80 vessels, amounting to 78,000 tons British measurement. Of the vessels launched in the North American colonies since the Ist of July last, 61, amounting to 42,588 tons, have been classed at Lloyd's, and the majority of these have been disposed of in Liver pool at prices varying from .E 7 to £8 10s. per ton ; but there still remain on sale in this port 13 new colonial vessels, equal to 13,019 tons, the class of which will date from the Ist of July, 1862. The total number of sailing vessels of all descriptions now for sale here is 72, amounting to 37,640 tons. Iron ships increase in favour; more have been built in this than in any previous year, and we are glad to notice a marked improvement hoth in the models and finish of East Coast built vessels. We quote the prices of these vessels, classed 12 years A 1, with a full India outfit, at from £l6 to £l7 per ton, according to measurement and finish, and we are of opinion that they cannot be built for less without loss to the builder. Steam vessels are in demand, and a large business has been transacted with foreigners. The enormous losses of the year, the requirements of Government, and our increas ing coasting traffic, all tend to enhance the value of this description of property. In the face of our complications with the United States and their un certain issue it is difficult to form an opinion of the prospects of shipping for 1862. Should the present misunderstanding result in war, and the conse quent raising of the blockade of the Southern ports by the British naval forces, the transport of cotton stored up by planters will give em ployment to a large amount of tonnage; but this to a very considerable extent depends upon the ability of our cruisers to Keep the sea clear of national vessels and privateers. In any case, however, should affairs become more complicated or hostilities ensue, neutral bottoms must have the preference, especially in the case of cargoes intended for distant seas, where our eruisers are comparatively few and scattered. Already the war premium demanded by underwriters is operating injuriously on British shipping engaged in the India and Pacific trades. THE INDIAN LOAN. In the commencement of the current year, al though the cash balances on hand reached the large amount of £11,448,135, it was anticipated that, from short revenue receipts and additional expen diture consequent on the famine in the North west, the amount available in India would fall short of the requirements, although after the re ductions in the army, and in expenditure gene rally, which will come into force during the year should be fully carried out, it was considered the revenue would more than meet the demands upon it. It was taking this view of the financial position of the Indian Government that induced Sir Charles Wood to come to its assistance by remitting as a loan X 1,000,000 in bullion, of which two-thirds were designed for Calcutta and one-third for Bombay. But while advising the Government of his intention in his despatch of the 2d of May, 1861, that, at the time of writing, the first consignment, amounting to £167,556 4s. 4d. to Calcutta, and £92,782 17s. Bd. to Bombay, had already been forwarded, Sir C. Wood distinctly warned the Government that, as the resources for the whole year were sufficient, he should expect to be repaid the amount then itt course of remittance towards the close of the financial year, when it was anticipated the receipts from all sources would considerably exceed the expenditure. The amount remitted on the 9th inst. by the Govern ment of India to the Secretary of State for India amounted to but £130,000. This was doubtless the first instalment of the amount requisite for the re payment of the loan. Madras will be called upon to take part in reimbursing Sir C. Wood out of ber surplus revenue, and Bombay will have to liquidate her own share of the debt. It argues well for the finances of the country that the Government should be able, at so comparatively early a date, to com mence the adjustment of this loan. We are now only in the seventh month of the official year, and as yet neither the accomplished reductions in estab lishments, military and civil, can well have made themselves felt, nor can any very great increase of revenue from new taxes have flowed into the trea suries. We can, therefore, only ascribe the ability of the Government thus early to denude itself of a portion of its cash to the beneficial results arising from strict and judicious economy in the State ex penditure, and from the estimates of revenue justifying the conclusion that the annual receipts will be in excess of the expenditure. We own to having taken a much more hopeful view of the financial prospects of India since the publication of the report on the estimates for 1862.63. The subject entered on was so fully and ably discussed, that it cannot have failed to have inspired in others the con fidence we have ourselves gained, that there is a po licy fairly adopted in the management of the State's finances quite capable of controlling them to the eventual advantage and prosperity of the country. The more intimately we become acquainted with the powers of the man who now at last rules the affairs of India, the more we regret that he should for so long have concealed the light that is in him, and that it is only on the eve of his departure from among us that he should have shone forth with the new power that now characterises his actions.— Calcutta Englishman. TIIAMES EMBANKMENT. A bill for the Thames embankment has been printed, and pretty generally circulated during this week; and the plans and sections are deposited with Clerk of the Peace and other authorities under the standing orders. From these documents we learn the general character and extent of what is now proposed, and which is as follows :—The em bankment starts from the lower side of the New Westminster-bridge, ranging with the face of the abutment of the new bridge, and continues in a curved line, following what is generally called Page's line, to the back of the first abutment of Waterloo-bridge. It then starts again from the lower side of Waterloo-bridge at the corresponding point, and proceeds in a similar curved line until it terminates abruptly against Blackfriars-bridge, 21 chains nearly, or about 100 ft. into the river beyond the present wharfs and houses. The embank. ment is solid throughout, and the projec tion into the river, in some cases very consider able, is to be filled in by soil taken from the Thames or otherwise obtained. The height of this new wall from Westminster-bridge to the east side of the Temple is to be 41ft. above Trinity high-water mark. From that point the embank ment ascends rapidly by a steep viaduct to the level of Blackfi iars-bridge. This viaduct, we presume, would stand oil the level of the embankment, and would be 40ft. above low water mark. On the sur face of the land thus gained there is first to be a public road 190 ft. wide from Westminster-bridge to the Temple, where it is to become 70ft. wide only. In addition to this road or street, property is also scheduled for the following new streets—viz., first, an entirely new street from the Banqueting-hall at Whitehall down to the river ; secondly, Whitehall place is to be continued down to the river, and will form part of a quite new street between the Strand and the river, terminating at Waterloo-bridge, just opposite the new wing of Somerset-house; thirdly, Norfolk-street, Surrey-street, and Arundel -street are to be made to join the river by a common com munication to the new road; and lastly, from Blackfriars-bridge a new street is shown from th 3 bridge to the Mansion-house, joining also New Cannon-street. This street proceeds first obliquely, and then nearly parallel to the river, avoiding the limes office, the Equitable office, and Apothecaries'-hall; where it goes off at an obtuse angle, and is continued across New Cannon-street, to the front of the Exchange and Mansion-house. The bill constitutes a Board for carrying these enor mous works into effect, consisting of the chairman and four members of the Metropolitan Board, and two members of that Board returned by the Cor poration of London, thus forming a Board of seven members in all; it empowers the borrowing of one million and a half of money, and gives compulsory powers of purchase, sale, &c., in the usual way. It enables the Board to deal with the Chatham and Dover Railway and bridge, but the Hungerford, Blackfriars, Westminster, or Waterloo bridges are not to be interfered with, and the levels appear very embarrassing. Houses may bo built on any of the vacant lands, subject to the approbation of the Board, but none are to be built in front of the Temple. The solicitors for the bill are Baxter, Rose, and Co., and the engineers M'Clean and Stillman. Both these appointments have been matters of some remark, and surprise has been expressed why the solicitors and engineers of the Government or those of the Office of Works should not have been in trusted with these preliminaries. The sum provided also appears inadequate for the completion of such an enormous undertaking, and we understand the constitution of the Board is as strongly objected to by the Corporation of London as it is by the Me tropolitan Board, and that the public may possibly demand a voice therein. The low-level sewer is but slightly referred to, the only clause relating to it being one empowering and directing the Board to facilitate its construction.—Observer. BENSON'S WATCHES AND CLOCKS.--" Perfection of mechanism."—Morning Post. Gold watches, sto 1(0 guineas; silver watches, 2 to 50 guineas. Benson's new Illustrated Pamphlet, free for two stamps, descriptive of every conatruo tion of watch, enables persons in any part of the world to select with the greatest certainty the watch best adapted to their use. Watches sent free and safe by post on receipt of a remittance. —J. W. Benson, 33 and 34, Ludgate-hill, 0 and 7 r Cornhill, London E,C. Established 1749. THE CONVICTED MURDERERS. The unhappy boy Richard Reeve. who was con victed of the murder of his sister in Drury-couvt, at the November session of the Central Criminal Court, and who was left for execution, but who has since received a respite during her Majesty's plea sure, still remains in Newgate, and the Govern ment have not as yet given any intimation of their intention with regard to what is to be done with him, and there is no foundation for the statement that has been made public, that the capital sentence has been communted to one of penal servitude for life. He was evidently a good de relieved when the first notification was made to him that his life would be spared, but since then he has exhibited the same indifference of demeanour that charac terised him all through the proceedings, and now that he knows that there is no chance of his life being sacrificed, he evidently cares very little what may be done with him. He is employed like the other convicted prisoners in the occupation of oakum picking, and it appears that he has never upon any occasion made allusion to the crime of which he was convicted, or to the circumstances which induced him to commit it. Another prisoner, named William Maloney, who was convicted of the murder of his wife in West minster, and who was also respited during her Majesty's pleasure, likewise still remains in New gate, pending inquiries, which it is understood are still being made in reference to his case. It will be remembered that this prisoner was convicted under very peculiar circumstances, the principal evidence against him being that given by a man named Saun ders, who represented that he happened to go into the court where the prisoner and his wife lived, to look for lodgings at the time the murder was com mitted, and that he actually saw the prisoner plunge a knife into his wife's throat. It appeared that he did not mention what he had seen until the follow ing day, and although the jury convicted the pri soner, the Home Secretary felt it his duty to recom mend that the capital sentence should notbe carried out. The prisoner, it will be recollected, declared when he was taken into custody, that his wife com mitted the act herself, and that he was entirely in nocent of the crime of which he was accused, and he still adheres to that statement, and under the peculiar circumstances of the case, it appears that the authorities at the Home Office have great diffi culty in deciding what course shall be taken with regard to the prisoner. CHILD AIURDER NEAR ABER Y 6TWI 1H On Saturday, a young woman, named Eliza Davies, but who was more generally known in the neighbourhood by the nickname of Crug-y-Wheel, was charged before the bitting magistrates, Messrs. John C. Hughes and Thomas Jones, on suspicion of having wilfully murdered her infant child. It ap pearedthat on the previous Tuesday, a lad named David Woolcock, while on his way to school at Llanbadarn, was met by a woman, who told him that there was something in the water. Just before he hid got to that point he met the prisoner on the bridge, at about 100 yards distance. On his looking into the pool he saw something wrapped up in a bundle, and half underwater. The witness gave nitice of what he saw, and soon afterwards a gar dener, named David Davis, and a man named John Davis, brought the bundle on shore, and found that it was tightly wrapped up. The bundle was wrap ped in an old shawl, and there was a large stone in the bundle, which had evidently been introduced for the purpose of sinking it. The police, on being informed of the discovery, took possession of the body, and caused it to be submitted to the examina tion of Mr. John Rowland, surgeon, of Aberystwith, who found that it was a full-grown male child. It was evident that it had breathed, and that it had been placed in the bundle without receiving the at tentions shown to infants whose births are properly attended to. The police having made inquiries respecting the occurrence, their suspicions fell on the prisoner, who is the mother of four other illegitimate children, and who had been observed by the neighbours to be in the family way. Upon her being arrested she solemnly denied that she had been pregnant or had given birth to any child ; but upon her being sub jected to a medical examination by Mr. Rowlands and Mr. Jacob Roberts, surgeons, it became evident to both gentlemen that she had been confined within a comparatively short period. Evidence was ad duced of the prisoner having been seen wearing a black shawl without any fringe or border, and pre cisely answering the description of that found on the dead body of the child. A woman named Mary Williams, the wife of Jenkin Williams, who occu pies a cottage adjoining that in which the prisoner resides, was amongst the witnesses who spoke to the fact of the prisoner having been enciente, and she also stated that she had seen the prisoner with a handkerchief which she believed to be that found in the bundle, although there was no pal titular mark on it by which she could swear to it positively. The magistrates having consulted, said they con sidered that a case had been made out calling on them to send the prisonPr before a jury; and the pri soner, who declined to say anything in her defence, was fully committed to take her trial for wilful murder at the next assize for the county. The matter, as may be supposed, has given rise to a great deal of excitement in the neighbourhood. THE BRUTAL MURDER NEAR CARLISLE. CARLISLE, DEC. 28. Wm. Charlton, engine driver on the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway, was today brought before the county magistrates at the court in this city, charged with the wilful murder of Jane Emmerson on the 21st November last, and the subsequent robbery of her house. The old woman kept the gates at the Durran Hill level crossing on the line, and was at the time living alone in a cottage hard by. On the night in question she was murdered, being apparently felled with an iron bar, and mur dered with a hedge slashing knife, and her house was afterwards broken into and robbed. The prisoner was apprehended on Sunday, the 22d, and formally remanded until to-day. He is of slim build, and was very respectably attired. Inspector Taylor, of the county police, the first witness examined, stated that on the morning after the murder he observed several footsteps near the old woman's cottage. There were two behind the post of one of the crossing gates, as it a man had been concealing himself there, and then he traced the footsteps along the line and across to the old woman's house, and back again in the same direc tion. Those returning were as if the man had been running, the reach from one step to another being longer. There was a mark of the same foot indented on the door by a kick. There was one impression in the garden, near where the hed;e•slasher was found, and another in the pool of blood which had flowed from the old woman. Some of the other footsteps were bloody. Mr. Pickering, sculptor, was sent to take casts in plaster-of-Paris of tne foot prints. [Witness now produced the casts and the indented door.] He continued—l have since mea sured the shoes with the casts I have produced, and also compared them, and they correspond. The heel of one of the boots corresponds very distinctly with the heel of one of the casts. There are three parti cular nails in the heel of one of the shoes which are also upon the impression. I have carefully compared the cast with the heel, and it is the same size of caulker, and shows those three nails very distinctly. Besides the nails round the shoe, there are nails in a semicircle round the broad part of the foot, and across the toe there are three tiers of nails—that is, two rows round the shoe, three rows at the toe, and two semicircles in the tread of the foot. There are marks on the tread of the foot where nails have been but are now out. There are 13 on one side and 14 on the other. I have counted the marks on the casts, and they are the same. The nails have not been burned out. There is nothing to account for them being out. Witness also stated that he had examined the house of the deceased. The door had been burst open and was marked with a pick-axe, which he found under the bed, the shaft covered with fresh blood. The drawers had also been broken open with the same implement and rifled. He found a hedge-slasher outside the window in the garden. The window had been broken with it, but the frame- work was of iron. It was coverd with blood and glass, and had on it one grey hair. The garden gate fastening was a peculiar one, and could not have been opened by a stranger. There were eight wounds on the head of the deceased, some of which might have been caused by the slasher, and others by an iron bar used for fastening the gates, which was found on the line marked with blood. Witness:described the apprehension of the prisoner, who, before he was taken into custody, in describ ing his whereabouts, said that on the morning after the murder, after going to his work, he had re turned home for a knife he had forgotten. Joseph Pickering, who took the casts of the foot prints, said—The casts produced are those I made, and I am prepared to state that they are exact im pressions of the footprints. I made 13 altogether, but they were not all perfect. I am in the habit of taking casts from models, and I am able to state, when I compare a model and a cast, whether the one corresponds with the other or not. I made a treeing from the casts upon tracing paper. I compared one of the shoes with the casts. (The tracing was pro duced showing the nails dotted black.) I have com pared the left shoe with one of the tracings, and I consider it to he the same shoe as the tracing repre sents. I examined the shoe this morning with the casts, not very minutely, but as far as I observed they corresponded. The nails in one of the shoe heels corresponded with the casts I have taken., From the examination, so far as it has gone, it is my opinion that these are the shoes which made the impressions from which I took these casts. I saw a footmark upon file panel of the door, and in my opinion that also c orresponds. Medical evidence h:+ving been given, John Irving Mitchell, fireman for the prisoner, was examined. He said - tat they were going f r om Carlisle with a mineral tra:ti about 4 o'clock on the morning after the murder. As they were passing the place where the murder had been committed, the prisoner drew his attention to a field of cabbage on the opposite side of the line, although it was so dark he could not see them. lie had also told him to throw fuel on the fire. A few days after he complained that the nails had come out of his boot, that he had burned them. On the morning after the murder the prisoner stated he had seen the old woman in the porch as he paseed. The evidence was concluded at this stage today, and the prisoner was f urther remanded. FATAL .411RA1 IV - 3AR PLYMOUTH. (From the Plymouth fournal.) A murder has been committed at the new fort at Tregantle, which is the westernmost and one of the principal forts of the new line of fortifications for the harbour and arsenal of Plymouth, and the dock yard at Devonport. It is on the coast of the west of Whitsand Bay, and will, when complete, be one of the strongest fortresses in England, with a barrack attached. The contract is in the hands of the Lon don firm of Kirk and Parry, and the works are now in an advanced condition. There have been for many months past and still are some hundreds of men employed on the works. Amangst these, of course, there are, especially as nay vies and hod-car riers, a number of Irishmen. Christmas is pre-emi nently a time of peace and good-will, but too fre quently men's passions and evil habits make it a season of quarrels, strife, and too often of bloodshed. On the works of Tregantle there are two blocks of huts, one of which, erected by Mr. Rice Mennie of Plymouth, is principally occupied by Irishmen engaged on the works. This block of huts was the scene of the occurrence we have now to record. It appears that the Irishmen engaged on the works, from affection or other circumstances, made up par ties to celebrate Christmas. One of these parties on Christmas Eve assembled in the hut of a man known as Johnny Sands, and amongst the party was a man whose Christian or common name was Allen. This party had made themselves jolly with good eating and potent drinking, and had brought themselves to a dangerous and excitable condition, wnen some difference arose between dill rent members of the party. Johnny Sands and Allen involved them selves in the debate, and the foul words in the then condition of the men soon led to blows. Johnny Sands, forgetting the sacred laws of hos pitality, and all regard for human life, in his maddened rage caught up the poker and struck Allen on the head a ferocious and terrible blow, by which he was stunned, and, as the event proved, death-struck. The others present, possibly familiar with shillelah blows and fights for love, thought the poor fellow badly struck, but had no doubt that, through an Iriohman's tenacity to life, and his power of sustaining blows, he would get all right again presently, and they therefore did not send for a medical gentleman, or make the police man of the works acquainted with what had taken place. There is a policeman stationed on the works. The contractors, in order to have civil help on any emergency, have made an arrangement as to the payment of costs, by which a member of the Corn wall county constabulary is always at hand. The policeman on this occasion was no more consulted than the doctor. The unfortunate blow does not seem, so far as we have been able to ascertain; to have broken up the party. What was deemed best was done for the wounded man, and with the hope that all would be well, the remainder of the party continued their jollification. Time wore on, and Christmas-day was passed; but between 12 and 2 on Thursday morning the poor sufferer was released from his mortal woes by the arrival of death. On this sad termination of the event of Christmas-eve coming to the resident policeman's ears, he commu nicated to his superior, Mr. Superintendent Ste phens, at St. John's, and Sergeant Foot, of Torpoint, was despatched to Tregantle. The man Sands was apprehended on the charge of murder, and about 3 o'clock on Thursday he was brought into Torpoint by Foot, and was placed in the lock-up there. So far as we have been able to ascertain, the blow by which the fatal result was produced was not pre meditated. It does not appear that there was any ill-feeling between the prisoner and deceased before the unfortunate drunken wrangle on Tuesday night. CO UN .7.R1 MA )5. _.._.1.. NORWICH—Dza. 28. Wheat to-day was in fair supply, and in moderate con dition, but sold freely at the prices of last week. A fair quantity of barley, which fully supported late rates. Flour was the turn easier to buy. White wheat 66s to 68s I Red wheat 62s to 651 Malting barley....3Bs to 39s I Chevalier barley 371. to 38s New d 0.......... 37s to 39s Oats.... —+ to —s NORTHAMPTON - DEC. 28. At this corn-market to-day the supply of wheat was not large. The tone of the trade was moderate, and the quotations for all sorts were at recent rates-60s to 618 for old, and 58s to 64s for new. A fair business in barley— malting 33s to 38s, grinding 28s to 30 : , , per qr. Oats in moderate show, at previous prices—quoted at 22s to 36s per 24 stone. Beans, old, 39s to 465; peas, 378 to 455. Rye, 37s to 425; malt, 70s to 74s ; flour, 40s to —s per sack. LEICESTER—DEc. 28. The supply of wheat to. day was small for the season, and the attendance of farmers and factors only moderate. Trade dull, and quotations as before. White, 63s to 66s —red, 56s to 66s per 36 stone. Barley active, w ith a scarce show, grinding, 30s to 325; malting, 33s to 37s per qr.; oats, 24s to 35s per 24 stone. Beans were unaltered— new, 40s to 420 ; old, 43s to 48s per 38 stone. Fine flour, 488 I Seconds, 45s I Thirds, 43s per 20 stone. CAMBRIDGE—DEc. 28. There was a iiii;iiTdsupply of wheat to-day, and the trade ruled healthy—the prices being about the same as last week's rates—white, from 60s to 65s ; red, 56s t 0.618., Barley in active demand—malting, 34s to 40s grinding, 30a to 335. Oats were steady, at 2214 to 28s. Beans were sold, at 40s to 44s per qr. YORK- DEC. 28. The supply of wheat at this market to-day was short, and a limited business was transacted, at about the same prices as last week. Barley a limited show, and in better request. Oats in small supply, but a steady inquiry, at late rates. Beans supported previous quotations. Wheat, red 60s to 64s I oats.... 2os to 26s White do .64s to 68s Beans ..48 to 52- Barley .30s to 385 Peas „,.—s to —s Malt, 68s to 70s per qr. ; rye. 36s per qr. ; four, 46s to 48s per sack. FOREIGN MAIL PACKET LIST. MAILS DUE. Australia and Mauritius, via Southampton. Jan. 164. via Marseilles Jan. 12. Brazil and Cape Yards, by British packet. Jan. 4, Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena. Jan. 1. China, Penang, and Singapore, via Suuthampton.j an . 2. via Marseilles Jan. —. Falkland Islands Gibraltar, via Southampton .... Jan. 2, India (Calcutta), awl Ceylon, via Southampton Jan. 2. - . ' via Marseilles Jan. —. India (Bombay), via Southampton Jan. 10. via Marseilles Jan. 4. Lisbon Jan. 1. Malta, Egypt, and Aden, via Southampton Jan. 2. via Marseilles Jan. —. Newfoundland Oporto and Vigo U. S. and British N. America, by Brit. packet Jan. 2. , , . by U.S. packet by Canadian packet Jan. 1. W.C. of Africa, Madeira, and Teneriffe Jan. 10. Bahamas, via New York Jan. 16, Mexico All parts of West Indies, including Chili, Peru, 1 Dec. 30. Califomia,and British Columbia.. BIRTHS. SMITH.—On the Eth Nov., at Sealkote, Punjaub, the wife of Captain Charles Francis Smith, 71st Highland Light Infantry, of a son. MATTHEW. —On the 14th Nov. ' at Citta Vecchia, Malta, the wife of Mr. Matthew, Staff Surgeon-Major, of a daughter. FREELING.—On the 21st inst., at Gibraltar, the wife of Capt. Freeling, R,A., Colonial Secretary, of a daughter. SANDILANDS.—On Christmas-day, at Cheltenham, the wife of the Rev. Percival Sandilands, of a son. MATHESON.—On the 26th inst., at Ardross Castle, Boss shire, Mrs. Matheson, of Ardress, of a son. MARRIAGES. AVERY—TnOWER.—On the 26th inst., at Battle, Sussex, by the Very Rev. the Dean, Mr. Thomas Avery, of Nel son- quare, London, to Mary, second daughter of the late Mr. John Trower, of Street, Sussex. SHERRARD—MANINGTON.—On the 27th inst., at the parish church of Old Swixford, Worcestershire, by the rector, the Rev. C. 11. Craufurd, M.A., the Rev. Hugh Sherrard, M.A., incumbent of St. Thomas's, Stourbridge, to Sarah, eldest daughter of Thomas Manington, Esq. DEATHS. PERRENS.—On the 17th inst., aged 61, Esther, relict of the late Mr. Thomas Perrens, of Careles -green, near Stour bridge. MORESBY.—On the 17th inst., at 21, Great Stanhope street, Bath, Anna Maria, relict of Richard Moresby, Esq., Lieut. 'R.N., aged 79. Torms.—On the 23d in 4 , at St. Omer, Mary Toplis, relict of J. Toplis, Esq., aged 88. HENRY.—un the 25th inst., at his residence, Lambridge, Bath, Lieut.-Colonel Graham Henry, in his 78th year. FERGUSION.—On the 26th inst., at 19, Princes-street, Hanover-square, London, Lieut.-General William Fel.- gusson, K.C., aged 82, late Commandant Royal Marines, Plymouth. ADAMS.—On the 26th inst., at 11, Pier-road, Rosherville Mr. George Adams, aged 57. LONDON : Printed and Published by AWED° YOUNG, of 1 No. 112, Strand, Printer, at TIIE SuN Orrice, No. 112,StraL d, . in the Precinct of the Savoy in the County of ?iliJdleFes, Monday, December 30, 1861. 4