The Sun. — London, England, 1854-12-26 00:00:00

NoRWICII ELECTION. DAY OF POLLING, THURSDAY, the 28th instant. The Liberal Electors from home are earnestly requested to return to Norwich, and vote for Mr. HAMMOND, on Thursday next. - . N ORWICH UNION FIRE INSURANCE SOCIETY.-ESTA.BLISHED 1797. Capital, 550,0001. It Is provided by the constitution of the Society that the Insured Shall be free from all responsibility ; and to guarantee the engage- Monts of the Office, a fund of 550,0001. has been subscribed by a numerou.s and opulent Proprietary, which fund has been further in creased by the accumulation of an additional reserve, now amount ing to 96,8001. Returns of Three-fifths of the Profits of the Company are periodically made to parties insuring, who have thus from time to time received from the Society sums amounting in the aggregate to nearly 380,0001. The Rates of Premium are in ne case higher than those charged by the other principal Offices making no returns to their Insurers. The business of the Company exceeds 62,000,0001., and, owing to the liberality with which its engagements have been performed, is rapidly increasing. The Duty paid to Government for the yeas 1853 was 73,9711., and the amount insured on Farming S tock was upwards of 8,974,6291. This Office is wholly distinct from the Life Office. For Prospectuses apply to the Society's Offices, 6, Crescent, New Bridge-street, Blackfriars ; and Surrey-street, 'Norwich. _ • DRURY-LANE.—Lessee, Mr. E. T. Smith.--. Reduced Prices as usual.— A Morning per f o rm Lill& Performance every 26, of ) GE Dec.D ORGE g BARNWELL. George Barnwe ll . Mr. Wednesday, at 2 o'clock.—To-morrow Evensint (Tuesday), d her Majesty's Servants will T. Mead Freeman, Mr. ',lngham; Thorogood, Mr. A. Younge ; Blunt, Mr. Walton ; Uncle to Barnwell, Mr. Morelli ; Ga oler, Mr. Inchford ; Millwood, Miss Jane Denson ; Maria, I original, extraordina r y, lite rary, traditionary, .After Miss Love : y am! May, Mrs. Selby. which will be produced an comical, egast ronomical, ntir and fantastic domes tic grand com i ic Christmas Pantcmime, entitled Harlequin King Mustard and the Four- JACK AND JILL; or, and-Twenty Blackbirds Baked in a Pie. The extensive scenery, en tirely new, by Mes srs. Nicholls, Cuthbert, Cooper, Gordon, Wilson, and Moore. The machinery by Messrs, Tucker. The extraordinat y properties, decorations, tricks, changes, and transformations by Mr. Needham. The choregraphic arrangements by Madame Louise. The overture and music composed and selected by J. H. Tully. Leader, Mr. Hayward. The whole of the designs, models and sketches A i r Mailed from the studio of Dikwynkyn, who for many weeks past has been personally Supervising their execution. The novel grotesque burlesque opening Invented and written by E. L. Blanchard ; and the waole arranged and produced under the immediate superin tendence of Ifr. Edward Stirling. Princlpal Ingredients in the Christmas Bill of Fare : --The Hall of Hypochondria in the Domains of Dulness.—Misanthropy (Genius of Gloom), Mrs. Belford. Fog, Drizzle, Taxes, Spleen, Indigestion, Quarter -day (his Ministers of Melancholy), Messrs. E. V. Dent, E. V. Wet, E. V. Load, E. V. Day, E. V. Weight, and E. V. Bills. Azure Diabolicala in attend ance, Messrs. Croak, Quake, Fret, Fidget, Worry, Flurry, Fume, Vex, Groan, Growl, Grumble, and Grizzle. Apparition ef Misan thropy on her favourite Nightmare, and Magical Appearance of Good Humour in her Christmas Car. Good Humour, Miss Alder; Lightheart and Sunshine (her Attendants). Misses Honey and Brown; Mrs. Glasse (the original "Cook's Oracle," sill the well known adviser of the " First catch your hare," &c.), Miss Rosina Collins. The receipt given to make a good pantomime, and its con coction accordingly. Cottage of Jill on the borders of Fairyland (by, Sunrise), with Enchanted Kitchen, Garden, and Region of Preserves. "Sing a song of Sixpence, "Pocket full of rye, "Four-and-twenty blackbirds, "Baked in a pie."—Ancient Nursery Legend. Jack (the interesting hero of the olden story, who went up the hill to fetch, &c ), teterwards Harlequin, M. Milano ; Jill (the heroine of the adventure, in love with - Jack) afterwards Columbine. Mdlie. Bolen° ; Marmalade (the Fairy Qw_en of the Preserves), Miss K. Warrington ; Pineapple, Raspberry, Lemon, Cherry, Apple, and Greengage (her Assistants), Misse; Clifford, Gower, Johnson, Love, Lunis, and Richardson ; Strawberry, Cranberry, Gooseberry, Cur rant, Apricot, Damson, Qiince, &c. (Fancy Preserves), Misses Grace Toney, Ellen Honey, Laurance, Louise, Therese, Charle•, Kinv, Sidney, Cordon, Barnes, Emily Barnes, Richardson, Eliza Richard son, Rose, Sidney, Emily Moore, Elizabeth Smith, Lille Ellis, Rosa Harrison, E. tiox, Tayler, Matilda 4,llsenley, Martiney, St. Clare, Fv ns, John Levities. S. Johnson, and Roberts ; Preserved Ginger their warm ally), M aster Pungent ; Fruit Blossoms by a Blooming Selection of Coryphees. The Will and the Way—the Talismanic Sixpence—The Change. Grand Baia. Principal Dancers, nine. Therese and Annie Cushnie, Therese, Smith, &c. The Four-and- Twenty Blackbirds, Masters Tweet Tweet, Toot Too, Loodie Loodie, &C. The Reading of the Wir— "Jill mast not a husband take, Tilt she a pie can make and bake." Interior of Jill's Cottage (by Moonlight).-Cole, Mr. Nobbs ; Bundle r of Wood, Mr. HalPeenny • Congreve Box, Mr. Fizzer ; Leathertongue ; Du'ch Oven, Mynheer Von Tan ; Rollinif Pin, air. Broadrim; Smoothpeste ; Gridiron, Mr. De Bar; Frying Pan, foyer's Three-legged Iron Pot, Herr Potluck. Cruet Mr. In the Table Cloth Territory (by Moonlight), and Golden Palace of Kin; Mustard.-King Mustard (afterwards Clown), h arry Boleno; Empress Vinegar (afterwa• ds Pantaloon), Herr Kohl ; Black Pepper and White Pepper (sentinels on duty at Cruet Castle), Mr. Husky and Mr. eneezams ; sweet Oil, Miss Florence: Cayenne, Mr. Capsi cum; Harvey's Sauce (attendant in waiting), Mr. Savoury ; the Army of Zests, Messrs. Indian Soy, Curry, Capers, Ketchup, Mushrooms, Shalot, Sweet Herbs, Potted Tongue ; Potted Beef, Potted Bloaters, Potted Anchovies, Potted Shrimps, &c.; Horse Radish (from the King's stab'e), by a Racing Na;. Grand Review-Ter rific Attack upon the Appetite, and Rally of the Religke-Great Progress of Jill in her Culinary Career. The Abode of Chutnee in the Province of Pickles (by Suuset).-Chutnee (Chief of the Pickles), Mr. Fiery Facies ; the Pickle Army, Messrs. Ondans, Walnut, Gher kins, Cauliflower, Red Cabbage, &e.; Small Jar, Master Piccalilli. Great demand for Pickles and determination of the Door to Stand a Jar. Interior of the Stupendous Salt Mine (by Moonlight). - Salt Rock (a bright White Sprite), Herr Willikind Moleno. Imminent danger of Jill in splitting upon a Hock of Salt- Treachery of Vinegar -Upsetting the Pail above, and Evaporation of the Saline Stalactite Columns, disclosing The Emerald Temple of Saled.-Magical Union of the Sweets and Sours, and " a Pie" termination of the Loves of Jack and Jill. The Transformation. -Harlequin, M. Milano; Columbines, Mille. Boleno and Mist Ellen Honey; Pantaloon, Mr. Cole ; Sprite, Herr Willikind Moleno ; Clown, the celebrated Harry Boleno (his first appearance in London for many years) ; Aerial Evolutionists, by the inimitable Italian Brothers. The Turk's Head Public-house and Hairdresser's Shop,--Hairdresser, Mons. Pomade; Publican, Mr. Billy Williams; Customers, Messrs. Rednob, Smockface, Owen Swift, Beardless, Whisker Want, Baron Nicholson, and Tom Steed; the British Pub lic by themselves; Policeman A. I, Mr. Vigilant. Approach of tho (treat Ragged Russian Bear-How he Whines after the Porte, which, being rather old, turns out somewhat crusty-A Dose of Turkey Rhubarb-A Don-e Cossack -Pure Circassian Cream-How one Sham 11l makes all well-The Great Beer turns out a Great Roar '-Russian Attachment to Grease--Clown Cats his Customer's flare and afterwards Dresses it a la Soyer-The Great Moustache Move ment -A Close Shave - Cl own s h ows his high A a p ttschment to the l sa Pole -Sadden Rise in Porter -An .T.M.P. o'clock-A Bona Fide Traveller -Ginger Beer anda43in wee ten c ti k ou a t to ge -A Mill, a leet,ght, a Regular Bow, and Station-house fur Two. I Great American Baby Show.-Arrival of the Infantry-sudden Squall-Ma's upon the Eve of Battle-General Attack-Awarding the Prizes-Clown and Pantaloon's Offsprings -The Prettiest Baby in the World-A Model Baby and a Spirit Child -The Wonderful Effects of Dr. De Jongh's Cod Liver 011-Clown's Great Prize Baby -Fresh Arrival of 300 more Babies-The Judge Confounded-Great Uproar-An Unwelcome Visitor to a Ladies' and Juvenile Party ' and Extraordinary case of Suspended Animation by the Ita lian Sprites. Scott's Oyster Shop, Newspaper-uillee, and Pursell's Biscuit Baking and Confectionery Establishment, Cornhill.-" Up rouse ye then, my merry men, it is our opening day"-A Hoister for one and a Lobster for two-A Mussulman and a Man for a Muscle-Duty and Custom-A Bride Cake and a Wedding Cake- First Edition and Second Edition-Left Out fur Want of RO' I/1 - Press of the Privilege and Privileges of the Press -" Oh, what a row, arumpus, what a rioting." Baker, Mr. Crusty; Fishmonger, Mr. Scales; Master Newsboy, Christmas-box; Printers, Messrs. Typo and Chapel; Editor, Mr. Cntemdown ; Critic, Cutemup ; Pas sengers, Messrs. Trot, Cosey, Strutaleng, Lounge, Loiter, and Walk about ; Boardman, Mr. Bobaday. Hosier's Shop and New Wing of Somerset-house.-Here we are-Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year-High Prices and Low Prices-Manchester Stuff-Eng lish Comforters-Stocks on Hand and Handsome Stocks-Ford's Eureka Shirts-Reform in the Civil List and Uncivil Treatment of the Clerks-Transfer-day at the Bank, and General Holyday at Somerset-house.-Hosier, Mr, Stocken ; Shopman, Mr. Early bird ; Boy, Master Toddles. foyer's Magic Kitchen.-Chef de Cuisine, Mons. foyer; Kitchenmaids, Misses Basteaway and Drippingsell; Guardsman, Corporal Longshanks ; Policeman, Sergeant Podger. Cupboard Lovers-Soy er's Last Soup - Where's the Knives and Forks?-Boiled and Unbolled Lob sters-Headless Swains-Lobster Patty and Giblet Soup-Clown Gone all to Pot-Harlequin Gets well Towelled and afterwards Mangled-Clown and Pantaloon In a Stew-A Regular Broil- Thou contest in such an unquestionable shape, that I will speak to thee (foyer, or rather Shakapeare)-Too Many Cooks Spoil the (Clown's) Broth-The scene finishes in a very spirited manner. An Illuminated Page of the History of England.-Grand Allegorical Tableau with Panoramic Effects, illustrative of the Triumphs of the Allied Forces. Young Jallien's " Allied Army Quadrille," by the doable bands of the English anti French. "God save the Queen," el Partant pour la Syrie," and " Rule Britannia." Daughter of the Regl neat, Miss Rebecca Collins, in which character she will sing the spirited patriotic eftbsion, published in "Blackwood's Mari eine" for December, and written by Corporal John Brown, of the Grena dier Guards, when the men got some drink for the first time at Balakiava, Sept. 25th :- "-Come all you gallant British hearts that love the red and blue, And drink the health ot those brave lads who made the Russians rue. Then fill the glass, and let it pass, three times three, and one more, For the twentieth of September, eighteen hundred and fifty-four. Vestibule of the Temple of Victory. The Tribute of England to the Brave Patriots. Distribution of Laurel Wreaths, Gorgeous and Electric Scenic Climax, with Revolving Columns and Variegated Illuminations. Terrific Flight of the Italian Brothers. The whole scene presenting a coup d'ce'l never Were witnessed on the Erglith stage. Admission :-Stalls, es. ; dress circle, 4a. ; second price, 25.; upper circle, 3s: ; second trice, Is. 6 d.; pit, 25.; second price, Is ; lower gallery, Is. ; second price, id. ; epper gallery, 6d.; private boxes, 10s. 6d , 155., 215., and upwards. Doors open at halt-peat 6, performance at 7 o'clock. Half-price a , 9 o'clock. The box office open daily, from II till 5 o'clock, under the direction of Mr. Edward Chetterton. Notice.-The following pi ccs are approved and in preparation, and will shortly be produced : -The Grand Christmas Pantomime, by E. L. Blanchard, Esq. ; a Drama, by Dion Board cault. Esq. ; Two Dramas, by A. Harris, Esq. ; an Adaptation from Meyerb Opera, L'Etoile du Nord, with new scenery, properties, and effects ; to be succ ee d e d by an E ng li s h v ersion (by Mr. Reynold - son) of Gluck's Iphigenta in Tauride. The Grand Historical Egyp tian Drama, many months in preparation, will also shortly appear. THEATRE ROYAL HAYMARKET. Under the management of Mr. Jtacketone. EVENING, Dan. 26, WM be performed the Comedy of PRESENTED T COURT. Principal characters by Niessrs. Buckstone, W. Farren, A and Howe ; Misses Reynolds, E. Chaplin. Grantham, and Lavine. Followed by a new grand Chr.stinas Pantomime. entitled LITTLE 80-PEEP ; or, Harlequin and the Girl who Lost her Sheep. Little 80-Peep, Miss L. Thompson; Harlequin, Mr. Chapino ; Pantaloon, Mr. W. Barnes; Clown, Mr. Appleby ; Columbine, Misi M. Brown. ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE. Under the Management of ltr, CHAarata KEAN. THIS EVENING, Dec. 26, Will be presented THE COURIER OF LYONS. Principal charac ter by Mr. C. Kean. After which will be produced a New Grand Christmas Pantomime. entitled, HARLEQUIN BLUE-BEARD; or, The Great Bashaw, , Harlequin, Mr. Cormack ; Clnwn, Mr.Hallne; Pantaloon, Mr. Paulo ; and Columbine, Miss Deaborough. THEATRE ROYAL ADELPHL Proprietor, Mr. B. Webster.—Directress, Madame Celeste. THIS EVENING, DEC. 25, Will be performed an entire new Rustic Drama called PIERRE THE FOUNDLING. Supported by Messrs. R. Webster and Kee. ley, and Mrs. Keeley and Miss Woolgar. After which, a new grand Eccentric Extravaganza, called ZIG• ZAG : Travels et Messrs. Danube and Pruth. To whisk will be added a new Farce, entitled THE RAILWAY BELLE. ROYAL OLYMPIC THEkTRE. Lessee and Manager, Mr. A. Wigan. THIS EVENING, Bac. 26, IFnlbe presentecia new Comedietta, called A WIFE'g JOURNAL. ,•PAracters by Messrs. Brown, Emery, Harcourt, and Leslie ; and ars. Frown, and Miss Macke 1. ravr Art A T V llo l, a new Fairy Extravaganza, entitled TRY, YELLOW Alias Marston AND THE OF TE GOLD MINE. Charac ters by ''"gOrir KING Miss Julia ll t. George, Miss E. Ormmide, , Miss Bromley, and Mrs. Fitzallan, whiCTo M conclud . e wtth. the Farce, called A BLIGHTED BEENG, In h r ' "4" wi ll al )pear.. ROYAL LYCEUM TEISATRE I:urinal:mot of liadaroe Veetris.. U n d e r the Sole Lessee Mr. C. Mathews. THIS Ev Dom. 26, Will be produced a new and originai.F titled PRINCE PIIETTYrET and Tnz Baal Extravaganza, en- To be followed by TWO HEADSA rTERFLY. I 'EaTEIt TIIA N ONE. Box-office open from ICJ until 6. Sole agent for Private Boxes, Mr. Alicroft, 16, _y ew Bond -street. ASTLEY'S ROYAL AMPHITDEATR,. ---- - Lessee and Manager, Ifr. wilimm Cooks. THIS MORNING ?toxin; day), A GRAND MID-DAY PERFORMANCE At Two o'clock! The ''Scenes in the Circle, with the first re presentation of the New c.n.,-i' Pantomime. Also on the Monday mornings of January Ist, Sth, a nd - 15th THIS EVENING, THE BATTLE of THE ALMA! After which, the SCENES In the ARENA! To conclude with an entirely new Hariequinade by nelson Lee, With new music, scenery, dresses, tricks, transformations, &e called, GELLI VER'3 TRAVELS THROUGH THE HORSE ISLANDS ; or, Harlequin and Isritannla! Boa-office open from Eleven till Four. Stage Manager, Mr. W. West. Acting Manage:, 31r. W. H. Colo. Equestrian Director , W. Wm. Cooke, jun. HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. Tu/S DAY —Morning 42 min.after 6 I Evening 10 min.aft. 7 To-Mossow -- Morning 42 min.a fter 7 Evening 11 rairt.aft. 8 THE WEATHER. --Sun Orins, Dec. 26. THEBBCOMZTZS, IN THZ Si*.HA 55—highest since noo . n yesterday. 44_lowest this mornlng and during the night. 47—this day, at noon. ri A go - KETER, 2992—rising again. wi , n3) Ng - S.W.—Light breeze, and beautiful sunshiny Boxing Day. >AIM . _ LONDON, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1854.• The Christmas Session has terminated, and four weeks from this day must elapse before Honour able Gentlemen again assemble at the Imperial Palace of Westminster to open the Parliamentary campaign in earnest. We trust that the interval may not be misapplied, but that the free and in dependent constituencies throughout the entire Kingdom may give clear and explicit instructions to their respective representatives, so as to pre vent the possibility of any future mistake. We have already had a deplorable illustration of the effects of a surprise. We have seen a proposition for the establishment of an unconstitutional force receive the sanction of the Legislature! We have seen, what we cannot help designating as a prac tical insult to the British army, carried by the same voices that passed a strong and well-merited vote of thanks to that army ! ! At the very moment when the brilliant exploits performed at the Alma, at Balaklava, and at Inkerman had proved that the soldiers of the present day were the worthy successors of the heroes of the Peninsula and of Waterloo—when the untried men had proved themselves equal, not merely in dash and bravery, but in steadiness and coolness under fire, to ex perienced veterans—the English Government was deciding on the measure, which implied that the honour and safety of the country could not be entrusted to these men, but that we should seek Swiss or German aid ! Engianl, forsooth, was not "a military nation." We should pay more warlike tribes to extricate us from the scrape in which we became involved through our undue interference with the will and pleasure of the AUTOCRAT. We must hire mercenaries to dis charge the duties which we cannot find natives of the United Kingdom able or willing to undertake. Will the German emigrants train more rapidly than the rising generation of England, Scotland, or Ireland ? Will they be qualified at an earlier period of their career to undergo the hardships of a campaign in the Crimea, or will they more steadfastly resist the attacks of a stubborn and powerful foe ? We believe that nothing but a deep and unreasoning prejudice, a thorough feel ing of " Germanism," could prefer the "HALBERT Buccaneers," as they have been appropriately termed, to our own gallant troops, prepared to 1 forfeit their lives, to shed their very hearts'-blood, for the honour of the country. What feeling in common can the hirelings who fight, not from patriotic feelings, but for pay or booty, have with them ? None. They are ready to draw their venal swords for any master. The beat pay, the most unlimited license, the prospects of successful plunder, are all they look to ; and so long as the produce of the Ural Mountains continue, NICHOLAS will obtain similar auxiliaries, ready at ary moment to sell the cause in which they are engaged to the 'highest 'bidder-4o carry the train ing and. discipline acquired while receiving the pay of Great Britain to the service of its oppo nents. It is unfair to compare those whose assistance we obtained in former wars with the class now sought after. They were Allies in the broadest sense of the phrase, and, although they received British pay, were engaged in a common cause, and had all their sympathies excited in our favour. But new Ministers have travelled out of their way to tell us that we are Rot to enlist Poles or 'Hungarians. That it is only " Swiss"—the name that has passed into a proverb to illustrate the mercenary of any class—or Germans, the highly. favoured people, who can alone hope to bask in Courtly sunshine, that are to be employed. We refuse the men who would join heart and hand, and seek for those who will only be attached to us by pecuniary ties, on whom our only reliance is founded on the pocket ! Let the electors think of these things, and unequivo cally teach their representatives the nature of the opinions which they entertain on the most ob noxious measure that was ever hurried—recklessly and indecently hurried—through .the Imperial Parliament. It has often fallen to our lot to protest ear nestly and emphatically against " red-tapism." The pert official sneer that contumeliously rejects anything not introduced by protegees of the de partment—that recognises no light unless that smuggled through official apertures may do very well for " the piping times of peace," but it cer tainly is not suited for " grim -visaged war," when our bravo warriors aro engaged in a struggle for life and death. It is true that, even when England was at peace with all the world, we lost the illustrious FRANKLIN and his enterprising companions, because the Admi ralty would not accept the freely- tendered assistance, or even act on the suggestions of a " mere civilian," although that civilian possessed the greatest experience, and had afforded the most satisfactory proof of sound judgment, and reasoning powers of a high order. But lamentable as was the loss of FRANKLIN and his companions, there is something of even higher importance at stake. Not only are the lives and liberties of the Allied Armies in the Crimea—of English and French " heroes," who have well merited the title—involved in the re sult—but future peace and tranquillity of Europe, and the security of the Western Powers ! These are important issues—on one side peace and plenty —on the other war, with the iumer ous attendant evils which she brings in her train. Not merely one hundred, or one hundred and fifty lives, albeit of the best and bravest that England could produce, but of thousands and tens of thousands of British subjects are placed in jeopardy, the welfare and prosperity of the na tion hangs in the balance, but still the old rou tine is obstinately persisted in. A letter, which appears in our impresssion of this day, points out bow, in 1854, we are suffer ing at Sebastopol from similar mistakes to those which led to the failure at Burgos in 1812 ; and, what is no less remarkable, that on both these ex traordinary occasions the engineering department wax placed under the control and direction of the same officer, Sir JOHN BURGOYNE. At the earlier period he was foiled by earthworks, " executed iii haste, and in defiance of all rule." A similar result has occurred after an interval of 42 years. The career of a victorious army has again been arrested by works of the most paltry character, constructed while we were lookin.. on. Had we dashed forward after the decisive victory at AlEa l Wa tight have realised the tit% on ' invented as to the taking of Sebastopol. But anything so contrary to rule as a rapid storm could not be tolerated—it would endanger the lives of too many men !—just as if a far greater mortality was not occasioned by awaiting the ar rival of Russian reinforcements while we were lying before the town for three weeks, receiving but not returning the fire of its defenders. As the writer of the letter alluded to states—" We are reduced to our present straits simply and solely because Sir JOHN, at the head of a large party of veterans, has, during the 40 years of peace, resisted every improvement in military science as a personal insult to their superior knowledge and experience, and they have, in con sequence of their position, been able to keep things pretty much as they were at the end of the last war." This is military red-tapiam----this is having " a safe man " at the head of affairs. Had we allowed the capture of Sebastopol to depend on the pluck and enthusiasm of our troops, when they were flushed with victory, and their opponents paralysed with unexpected defeat the matter would have been long since concluded. Not blood lessly, for the storm could not have been effected without the loss of many lives. But still the object of the campaign would have been accomplished. Russia would have been tho roughly awakened to a true sense of her situation, and compelled to sue for peace on our own terms. All these things we have forfeited, and yet there has been greater mortality, more terri?ole sacrifices, than if we had adopted the more daring and the less sanguinary course. England, which excels the world in civil engineering, appears to be far behind in military engineering—not through the defects of the young officers, but through the prejudices of the old, and the red-tapism that excludes the lights of science, and flings cold water on every invention, unless proceeding from legitimate quarters. These are matters that should be looked to in time, for the mischief arising from such grave mistakes becomes irreparable, and the nation is compelled to mourn in sackcloth and ashes the grievous error into which it has suffered itself to be betrayed. COURT CIRCULAR. WINDSOR, DEC. 25. The Queen and Prince, the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal, Prince Alfred, and the Princesses Alice and Helena, the ladies and - gentlemen of the Court and the domestic household, attended divine service this morninc , in the private Chapel of the Castle. The Hon. and Very Rev, the Dean of Windsor performed the service and administered the holy communion. The Duchess of Kent was also at the service. The Duke of Newcastle arrived yesterday and remains on a visit. The Viscount Canning has been invited, and is ezpected this afternoon. Despatches were sent yestenlay from the Foreign..effice to Lord Raglan, before Sebastopol. Sir De Lacy Evans, Bart., is hourly expected to arrive at Folkestone, where he will remain •come time for the benefit of his health. It h probable '.hat he will not return to his town house, in Bryanstone.square for several weeks. The Duke of Cleveland has expressed bia readiness to accompany the South Durham AlViitia to any quarter, and on any service, which her Majesty may require. DEATH OF Till MAECHIOr,ESS CAMDEN.—We regret to announce tho death of tirAe Marchioness Camden, who expired on Saturday morning at Wilderness Park, near Sevenoaks, Kent, after a short illness. By the lamented decease of this charitable !ady the families of the Earl and Countess of Kinnoull, the Bishop of Rochester, the Duke and Ducb'ess of Athol], Lady Mordaunt, &c., are placed in mourning. CHRISTMAS FESTI pi TIES. The Duke and Duchess of Bedford are entertaining a di4tinguished circle of friends at Woburn Abbey, Beds. The gaieties of the season will be prolonged until the close of the ensuing week at the ducal seat. The Duke and Duchess of Norfolk have a select party assembled at Arundel Castle, Sussex, for the holidays. The Duke and Duchess of Beaufort have a large party at Badminton. The Duchess Dowager of Beau. fort and the Ladies Somerset, Mr. and Lady Rose Lovell, &c., are among the visitors. The Duke and Duchess of Wellington are seeing com pany at Strathfieldsaye, Hants. The Duke and Duchess of Northumberland intend to receive a succession of guests at Alnwick Castle, Nor. , thumberland, during the Christmas holidays. The poor on the ducal estate, and also at Stanwick, in Yorkshire, have not been forgotten by the noble duke and duchess. The Duke and Duchess of Sutherland's party this Christmas, at Trentham, Staffordshire, is confined to a family circle, including the Marquis and Marchioness of Stafford, the Bari and Lady Constance Grosvenor, &c. The Marquis And Marchioness of Kildair are also stay ing with the noble duke and duchess. The Duke and Duchess of Cleveland have a select circle at Raby Castle, Durham. The Duke and Duchess of Richmond have a numerous family party congregated at Goodwood-park, Sussex. The Princess Edward of Saxe Weimar, the Earl and Countess of March, Lord Henry Gordon Lennox, M.P., Lord Alexander Gordon Lennox, M.P., &c., are of the party. The Marquis of Lansdowne is entertaining a small party at Bowood, Wilts. The Earl and Countess of Shelburne arrived there on Friday. Count and Countess Flahault, and the Hon. Miss Elphinstone Flahault are expected there. . -- The Earl and Countess of Derby have a select circle at Knowsley, near Prescott. Lord Stanley, M.P., joined the circle on Saturday. The Earl Fitzwilliam is surrounded by a large family circle this Christmas, On St. Thomas's Day the whole of the labourers and poor on the noble earl's estate, at Wentworth, were given an ample supply of the comforts of the seascin, agreeable to his lordship's annual custom at this period of the year. Lord Brougham is keeping up Christmas at Brcugham Hall, in "The good old English style," surrounded by a large party. Mr. and Mrs. William - Brougham and their children are staying with the noble and learned lord. The Right Hon. Sidney Herbert, M.P., and Mrs. Herbert, are dispensing their hospitality at Wilton House, near Salisbury. The Countess (Dowager) of Pembroke, the Earl and Countess of Clanwilliam, the Countess of Dunmore, the Earl and Countess Bruce, the Hon. T. and Lady Emma Vesey, &c., are among the guests of the right hon. gentleman. Sir Stf,phen Glynne, Bart., has a small party at H . award.en Castle. L or d an d L a d y L ytte l ton h ave ar rived there from Hagley Park, Worcestershire ; and the tight Hon. W. E. and Mrs. Gladstone, from town, THE CAPTAIN OF THE PRINCE. Mr. John Goodall, the captain of the fine steamer Prince, which was wrecked some time ago in the Black Sea, and all hands lost ex cept five, was not, as has been stated, a native of Forfar, but was born towards the end of the year 1823 at Peasiehill, in the parish of Arbroath, on the Panmure estate— a place within two miles of Arbirlot. At this place hia father and grandfather had been farmers, but his father also served the Crown as a captain in the 2d, or Qur,en's Own, Regiment during the Peninsular war. He was present at many celebrated battles, and we aye glad to learn is still alive. His son, the late captain of the Prince, while yet a boy, removed to Salisbury, of which place his mother was a native, belonging to a highly respectable family, and where he received his education. His antecedents, or qualifications as a sailo4 are given officially by Mr. Ellis, the chairman of the company in whose service he was ergaged. SEXAGENARIAN MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. —There are no less than 72 members of the House cf Commons who claim to be wholly excused on election committees on account of being more than GO years of age. The list includes the names of Sir T. D. Acland, Sir J. Bailey, Admiral Berkeley, Sir George Berkeley, Mr. Brotherton, Mr. Hume, Sir C. Burrell, Mr. B. B. Cabbell, Mr. Cofin, Right Hon. E. Ellice, Sir De Lacy Evans, Mr. W. J. Fox, Mr. Goulburn, Mr. Greene, Right Hon. J. W. Henley, Sir T. Frankland Lewis, Colonel Lowther, Mr. Masterman, Mr. J. P. Maunsell, Mr. H. Drummond, Mr. Muntz, Sir G. Pechell, Sir R. Price, Lord John Russell, Mr. Spooner, Sir G. Stricklaad, Mr. Thorneley, Admiral Walcott, Mr. W. B. Wrightson, and General Wyndham. SHIPWRECK AND Loss OF LIFE.—The Shepherd, a Welsh schooner, laden with 83 tons of oats, the pro perty of Mr. Thomas Boyd, proceeded from the quay, bound to Liverpool, on the evening of Tuesday last, in the charge of James Patterson; pilot. About six o'clock she passed the Bar in safety, but a heavy storm haviall afterwards come on she was lost in the gale. 'Yester day her rigging was seen floating near Enniscrone, and her hulk was discovered stuck to a rock on the Puna heeny shore. All on board, consisting of the master, three sailors, and the pilot, perished. The bodies have been washed on shore, and are now,lying at Pullaheeny. A gentleman who has just returned from the scene of the shipwreck, and who has frequently been witne.ss of the agitation of the sea after the effects of a storm, ta.ys that he has never seen such a convulsion of the watery element as that which he has just beheld on the iron bound coast of Pullaheeny. Poor Patterson, the pilot, has left a widow and four helpless orphans totally un provided with any means of support. We understand that a gentleman connected with the mere-intik trale of this town will immediately solicit subscriptions in their behalf, and we hope that the sympathising public will generally aid in mitigating their deep distress,—.Scalina LATEST NEWS. BERLIN, TUESDAY MORNING. According to accounts received from St. Peters burg yesterday, Prince Menschikoff reports that, up to the evening of the 16th, nothing particular had occurred before Sebastopol. The unfavour able weather hindered the progress of the works, and the enemy's fire was feeble, more especially on the side of the English batteries. THE CRIMEA. THE AFFAIR OF THE VLADIMIR. The Russian Government published, on the 17th instant, in an extraordinary supplement of the Invatide Busse, the following account of the naval sortie from Sebastopol on the 6th, an affair which was described in our letters published yesterday : "On the 6th of December two steamers, the Vladimir, Captain Boutakoff, and the Chersonesus, Commander Roudneff, were sent out from the road sted. of Sebastopol, for the purpose of doing some injury to the French steamer anchored off the bay. This enterprise was carried out with success enough ; for while the French steamer was making haste to sheer off, under the protection of another steamer, also French, ours succeeded in sending after it a number of balls, some of which went plump into its hull. A large English steam three decker, that came up to its assistance, having been lured on in pursuit, approached within range of the coast batteries, which carried away her main yard and injured h er pa ddl e -b ox. O n t hi s occasion we experienced neither loss in men, nor any parti cular injury to the vessels." The "paddle-box" of a three-decker ! The Czar has addressed the following rescript to Vice-Admiral Novossilsky : "Informed by the reports of General Prince Menschi koff that, since the commencement of the bombardment of Sebastopol, you have, as commanding officer of the second section of the line of defence, constantly set an example of courage and self-denial to those under you, and tbat by your prudent arrangements, under the heavy fire of the enemy, you have reduced to nought many of of St. Vladimir of th e F irs t Cl ass , th e i ns i gn i a o f w hi c h , w hi e s h a e tt r e e t w np it t h q we have named you Knight of th e O r d er transmit to you, remaining, with our im perial well wishes, your affectionate (Signed) "NICUOLAS." THE FRENCH ARMY. A letter dated from a French officer in the camp before Sebastopol, says : " Scarcely a day Passes but deserters and horses reach our outposts from the _Russian army encamped opposite ours outside the town ; for horses and men are alike dying from hunger and privations. We are neither in want of provisions, tents, fuel, nor clothing, and but for the rain and the atrocious mud which it causes we should be comfortable enough. We have dug pits after the manner of the Laplanders in order to shelter ourselves. If we had planks to build huts we should get on famously. The English envy us and ad mire the singular industry and facility with which our raen turn everything to - account for their com fort, We are here assembled to the number of about 80,000 men on a space of four square leagues, covered with tents on all sides and incessantly travelled over by a host of carts and horses. It is a curious and extraordinary moving scene. The poor horses alone suffer much from the want of shelter and from the mud in which they are constantly sinking. The greater part of the magnificent English horses have now become perfect rawbones and look miserably. The Arab horses are those which support better than any others the hardships of a bivouac. I have just had one given me to replace the one I have lost. It is the same with the uniforms. The richest and most elegant have become so grotesque that no mountebank would wear them. Officers and soldiers wrap themselves up as they can in skins, paletots, and cabana of every kind from wher ever they can get them." T URKEY. A letter from Constantinople, of the 11th, in tho Journal de Francfort, says " Yesterday 6,000 French left for the Crimea, and 2,000 are to proceed there to-morrow. The director of the Customs has been dismissed on the complaints of the Europeans. Mehmed Pacha is to replace Haireddin Pacha as Minister of Police. Several deserters have arrived from Trebizond." FRANCE. PARIS, MONDAY. Baron de Dcernberg, the Minister of Electoral Hesse, had an audience of the Emperor yesterday, to present a► letter from the Elector of Hesse, an nouncing the death of the Princess Caroline Frede rica Wilhelmina of Hesse, his sister. The Emperor has given 40,000 f. to make a pro menade by the seaside at Biarritz, the watering place where the Empress stayed so long last season. The Illoniteur publishes a decree, promulgating the convention concluded between France and Hayti on the Ist Oct. last, for the reimbursement of the Haytian loan of 1825. The greatest activity continues at Toulon for the embarkation of troops for the Crimea. On the 22d 1,630 men and officers of the 18th regiment of the line left in the Orinoco and the Gorgone. It has already been announced that Generals Canrobert, Bosquet, and Foroy have been deco rated with the order of the Medjidii Ist class. The Sultan has since decided that the order of Medjidie shall be given to all the generals, officers, sub officers, and soldiers of the allied armies whose names should be given in to the Sublime Porte by the Generals-in-Chief. The Moniteur publishes the official returns of the revenue for the last month and the eleven past months of the year. The receipts for November amount to 13,235,130 fr., being an increase of 1,101,171 fr., on the corresponding month of last year, and of 2,290,605 fr. on that of 1852. This being Christmas-day, the Bourse and pub lic offices are closed. PRUSSIA. A letter from Berlin states that Col. de Man teuffel is to proceed from Vienna to St. Petersburg, and that Prince do Hohenzollern-Sigmarin,en is to visit Paris to supp ort the m ission of M. 'de Use dom, at London. Another Berlin letter, however, says there is no truth in the report that Col. de Manteuffel is to go to St. Petersburg. A letter from Berlin also states that the Prussian Cabinet has declared in a note, dated the 16th, that it has carefully examined the treaty of Dec. 2d, and found nothing in it in opposition to the in terests of Prussia and Germany. Prince Gortschakoff has conferences every day with Count d'Arnim, the Prussian ambassador. RUSSIA. A despatch from Warsaw, of the 22d, states that an Imperial ukase, published in that city, sets forth, in consequence of the necessity of keeping up the army and fleet, a new levy of 10 men in every 1,000 shall be made, and shall be terminated before 12th March. This levy, adds the despatch, will give 200,000. The liamburgh Hews states from B er li n , 19th, that the last news respecting the health of the Empress of Russia is unsatisfactory, a dysentery having declared itself, which there has been no other way of stopping but by opium. A letter from St. retersburg contains interest ing particulars in relation to the Court and Im perial family of Russia. It says :-- " In consequence of the receipt of the affair •f the sth of November the Empress has had a serious and even alarming relapse. The courier found the Emperor in the apartment of the Empress, awaiting the news with feverish impatience, and when the truth was de clared to him, he could not restrain his feelings, but broke out into the strongest expression of dissatisfaction and anger against his generals and his army. One ex clamation which escaped him respecting his sons greatly alarmed the Empress, who was aware that they were with the army at Sebastopol ; she feared that some terrible calamity had befallen them seeing the acr'ita tation of her h us band, and she fainted away. She remained for some time insensible ; and it was with much difficulty that the Emperor and the attendants succeeded in restoring her to animation. Sho became more calm when informed that nothing had occurred to her sons ; !but her health has beriously suffered from the shock caused by the defeat of the army at Inker man, and she has now to struggle against an increase of debility and a low fever. The greatest alarm is felt for her, and her recovery is considered very doubt ful indeed. The solemnities of the anniversary of the accession to the crown were very limited this year • they were confined to a mere religious service in the churches. The St. Petersburg Journal contains the follow ing announcement of changes in the commands of Russian army corps : "1. General Murawieff I. from the command of the corps of Grenadiers to that of the special Caucasian army and vice-argaltz in the Caucasus, with all the powers previously enjoyed by Prince Woionzoff. "2. General Read, hitherto interim commander in the Caucasus, is appointed aide-de-camp general to the Emperor, member of the Council of State, and com mander of the 3d army corps. " 3. General Osten-Sacken I. is removed from the command of 3d to that of 4th corps, vice Dannenberg (disgrac ed.) "4. General Plautin to command Grenadier corps." AUSTRIA. A. letter from Vienna,, in the://amburj Corres pondent, says that the coronition of the Emperor of Austria is to take place in, March, and that orders have been received for the purpose by seve ral jewellers. The Universal German Gazette has the follow ing, under date of Prague, 20th :—" Although the Austrian artillery now reckons 12 regiments, equal to 12 corps of infantry, and a considerable num ber of field batteries (each regiment having 14 batteries of 8 gnus each), 20 new field batteries are being organised, and when to the above is added 20 rocket batteries, it will be seen that Aus tria has at her disposal a formidable force of artil lery. A number of these batteries are arranged to make use of the gun cotton, and great impatience is felt to learn the result of its use." GREECE. A letter from Athens, 12th, in the Maniteur, says : " The cholera has entirely ceased at Athens and the Pincus. General Kalergi has presented each of the French infirmary assistants with a gold watch, in acknowledgment of their important services, and on their departure they were escorted to the gates of the city by a de tachment of each corps in the garrison, headed by their bands. The Sisters of Charity have also left Athens, carrying with them the gratitude of the whole population. The Minister of Public Instruction, previous to their departure, addressed a letter to the Superior of the Sisters, expressive of his gratitude for, and admiration of, the im portant services they had rendered, and the de votedness they had displayed in the execution of their benevolent duties." SPAIN. The Spanish Cortes, on th© 19th, resumed the discussion of the address in reply to the speech from the throne. The Minister of Foreign Affairs announced the following as the programme of the Cabinet : "National sovereignty ; liberty of the Constituent Cortes to decree with sovereign power the basis of the Constitution, and to execute the object for which they are convolved; a constitutional throne with all the powers ne cessary to, and inherent in, such an institution ; the royal sanction for ordinary laws ; individual liberty, without any other limits than those required for the public safety ; the right of petition and other similar rights, subject to what the laws may decree ; equality before the law ; religious unity, but respect of other forms of religion than that established ; a strong Parliamentary power; organisation of the Parliament in two Chambers; the Parliament to meet at fixed periods, and the vote of the budget to be annual ; refusal of taxes not voted by the Cortes, and resistance to the payment thereof authorised ; ministerial responsibility; national guard ; enlightened decentralisation ; peace and friend-slip with all nations whatever may be their forms of go vernment ; •aisimila•ini of the colonies to the Pe ninsula ; such an army as may be nece: ,, s:iry ; judges nominated for life ; respect of the church and its min s• tees ; a general system of r tilways ; ci' it qtnlity as regards the distribution of paces ; special instiuc !on in arts and sciences in order to destroy the mania for places; a free press, tiial by jury for dace:ices." The Minister, after reading the programme, which was listened to with religious silence, warned the Cortes not to indulge the illusion of supposing that it could be carried into effect without calling for numerous sacrifices on the part of all. He re quested the Cortes to say whether after hearing it they considered the Cakinet entitled to continue the administration of affairs. General Espartero then spoke as follows : " Gentletnen,—Tho nation is fatigued with political convulsions, and it confides to the preseritCortes the task of consolidating it on solid bases. To realise this great un dertaking, it is necessary to put an end to all sorts of dis sension. The ministry over which I have the honour to preside will respect and cause to be respected the laws adopted by the Assembly. The Congress will adopt the laws which may be necessary for enabling the Spanish nation governed by the con sti!utional throne of Isabella 11. to march decidedly in the path of progress. If any one, for example, should wish to cause it to retrograde, I would place myself at the head of the national guard and the army to defend the laws. What I ask of you before all things, gentlemen, is to compose a compact and a good constitution." This speech was applauded, and several deputies warmly congratulated the General. The rest of the sitting was not of any interest, no deputy of note having spoken. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. We have received files of the Cape Town, Mail from the 7th to the 17th October inclusive. The Cape TO Wit Mail, of the 7th October, announces the death of Mr. Justice Musgrave. It says "The colony has sustained the severe loss of an up right judge and most estimable man in Mr. Justice Mus grave, who died rather suddenly yesterlay morning, as - , his residence in Wynberg. Mr. Musgrave arrived here about 20 yea' a ago, and practised for some time at the bar of the Suprenie Court. On the promotion of Sir Anthony Oliphant to the office of Chief Justice of Ceylon, he acted, before the appointment of Mr. Porte , ., as attorney-gene ral, and was subsequently raised to the bench. In every capacity he was highly esteemed by the profession, and enjoyed the unbounded confideace of the public." The same journal of the 14th October has the following : COPPER ORE IN THE DIVISION OF GEORGE. —Mr. Egbertus Berg has favoured us with a small specimen of a mineral, which, on examination, is found to be a salt of copper. It was discovered, he states, be tween the farms Dwaas and Zandfontein, of the George division, and is believed to exist in that neigh bourhood in large. quantities. We are informed, also, that a specimen has been forwarded to the Colonial Secretary." CALIFORN lA. SAN' FRANCISCO, Nov. 16.—Her Majesty's steamer Virago, Captain Marshall, arrived in this port on the 28th ult., in six days from Victoria, Vancouver's Island. On the same day the dis covery ship Plover, Captain M'Guire, arrived from a cruise in search of the Franklin expedition. On the clay following (the 29th) the frigates President and Pique, Captains Burridge and Sir F. Nichol son, arrived in 13 days sail, also from Victoria ; and the Amphitrite, Captain Conolly, arrived on ill. 7th of this month; .in 17 days, from Honolulu, Sandwich Islands. The President now bears the flag of Commodore Frederick (late of the Amphi trite), promoted by the death of Admiral Price. The Plover has been condemned as unseaworthy, and is to be sold here. Her officers and crew are to be transferred to the Russian prize ship Sitka, which was taken at Petropaulovski, and which they are about to take to England, with the Russian prisoners, for condemnation, dm. The Presiclentand the Amphitrite sail to-morrow for Valparaiso, I believe ; and the Virago leaves the following day for San Bias, coast of Mexico. Of course nothing more can be done in the North Sea against the Russians at this late season. , The last mail was brought from New York in 23 days and 13 hours, via Panama—an unusually qaick time. The French squadron, composed of the frigates Forte and Eurydice and brig Obligado, have been here since the 3d of October taking in supplies• and repairing damages sustained in the attack upon Petropaulovski, until a few clays - ago, when the Obligado sailed for Guaymas, coast of Mexico. The Forte and the Eurydice are to sail in a few clays. their destination not yet given out. The French Admiral has been very unwell since his arrival at San Francisco, and is still feeble. The United States' steam frigate Susquehanna, Capt. Buchannan, arrived on the 11th inst., from Japan, via Honolulu. She brings no later news from Japan than has been published already ; her dates from the Sandwich Islands are to the 28th of October. _ _ Proposals to dredge out the harbor" of Honolulu and to deepen the channel have been advertised fer by the Government, and an appropriation made by . the Legislature to pay for the work, but no con tract offered for it • so it is reported that the Go vernment will undertake this desirable job itself without delay. The American steamers Seabird and West Point, both from San Francisco, belong ing to the Hawaiian Steam Navigation Company, have been put into the inter-island trade with every prospect of success. The islands are making great progress in the rearing of stock and in the rearing of agricultural products. The number of visitors from San Francisco is large and increasing. The question of annexation seems to sleep for the present. By a combination between the Pacific Mail Com pany vid Panama, and the Nicaragua Company, via San Juan, we have a weekly mail now to and from the Atlantic States. An enterprising attempt has been lately made by the express house of Adams and Co., of San Francisco and others to run an overland " express" across Mexico from Acapulco to Vera Cruz. From these points the trip is to be made by relays of horses in 66 hours, which will bring intelligence and postal matters eight or ten days in advance of the mails, and reduce the period of transmission of letters, &e., to 16 days from. New Orleans to St. Francisco. The project is fea sible, and its execution is only delayed by the pre sent disturbed state of Mexico. Since I last wrote mercantile business has been quite brisk. The merchants have done a very good fall trade, and a great quantity of goods has been cleared off at advanced rates. Shippers should, however, avoid sending over supplies as usual, in the expectation of their meeting an equally good spring trade, for the stocks in the interior are un precedentedly large, and Sacramento, Maryville, and Stockton, the grea t d e p o ts of the m ining coun try, aLS well as the more remote trading posts, are largely supplied. If the arrivals during the winter do not again overstock San Francisco, a rcmime. rative spring trade may be expected. The credit system is gradually being adopted in mercantile dealings, in spite of the efforts of th e morolianto to cliscounteutwoo it, !Alio ix the effect of the keen competition caused by the enormous influx of merchandise pouring into the market over and above the actual wants of the population, and which forces the merchants to grant facilities to the buyers. The bankers even are obliged to give a short credit to the merchants for their bills of ex change—a course not adopted in countries where the credit system in commerce is established. The introduction of this system will lead to serious losses ; in fact, its evil effects are already f e lt. Credit is, of course, essential to the success of commercial enterprise in general and on a great scale ; but our traders are too speculative and have too little capital to justify its extension here. In consequence of tke absence of speculation in real estate, which continues dull, and of the influx of foreign capital beyond the wants of the country, money has accumulated to an extent which has lowered the rate of interest to 2/. per cent. per month. Money is quite abundant, and there is more than sufficient for all the profitable and safo investments that offer. In fact, the money busi ness has been overdone. The supply of gold dust has been limited of late, owing to the continued drought, which restricts the labours of the miners in the " dry diggings." The ruling price is $l7 40c. per ounce. Exdhange— London, sight, 46id. to 47d. ; Paris, 41. 85c. to 4f. 90c. and 4f. 950. ; Atlantic, sight, 3 *per cent. premium. THE MEDITERRANEAN. • MARSEILLES, DEC. 24. The last was one of the most remarkable weeks since the commencement of the war for the number of large ships which cleared out of this port laden with troops and ammunition for the army in the Crimea. Besides the two regular mail steamers, the Thabor and Hydaspes, which carried a full cargo of provisions for the army, and their decks crowded with soldiers, the Tage was despatched by the Mea sageries Imperiales eitra to Constantinple, to con vey a number of young English medical men to the hospital at Scutari. The Arabia, of Cunard's line, Captain Judkins, sailed on Thursday, with 33 officers and 1,100 men. She went off iu gallant style, the French band playing God save the Queen, and all the British seamen in the dock 'cheering. The 'Arabia received numerous visitors the day previous to her departure, who were kindly per mitted by the Captain to examine every portion of the noble ship so splendidly fatted up. The French visitors admitted that their dockyards lave never turned out anything to be com pared to the Arabia. One 'French gentleman, on seeing the accommodation prepared for the private soldiers, observed that they had never been so well lodged during their lives. Another declared that did his engagements permit him he would be happy to pass his life among the officers. What particularly struck everybody was the extreme cleanliness and perfect arrangement throughout every portion of the ship. The Orinoco sailed for Toulon, where she received General Duval, 41 officers r ancl 1,600 men of the 18th regiment of the line, and proceeded on her voyage to the Black Sea. The frigate Constitution and the large trans port Chandernagor have'likewise sailed, laden with an immense. quantity of siege artillery, ammuni tion, and artillery waggons. The British iron screw steamer M•auritins arrived here on Thursday, to receive troops. She made the extraorclindry long passage . - of:.10• days from Malta, in consequence of a heavy sea and violent wind in the Gulf of Lyons: A handsome frigate, called" the Nereide, arrived the same afternoon from Toulon, towed by the mail steamer Euphrate. The mail steamer Indus arrived on Thursday, three days behind her time, having left Constantinople on the 10th, 'the new arrangement for changing the days of sail ing not having commenced at her departure. She remained two days at the Island of Cerigo during a violent storm. The- Indus brought several wounded soldiers, mostly Zouaves, Chas seurs de Vincennes, and artillerymen. They were landed at the moment a battalion of the 4th were drawn up to be embarked on the Hydaspes. The appearance o 2 the wounded men, supporting them selves on crutches, produced a painful impression on the young soldiers about to be exposed to similar casualities. The large steamer La France, at present taking in ammunition for the Black Sea, has attracted much attention here, as she is the largest vessel yet worked on the mixed system, in vented by M. du Trembley. She was built lately at Toulon, and was inspected by a commission ap pointed by the Government, and assisted by Admi ral Delasseaux. In M. du Trembley's engines the steam, in place of being condensed with cold water, is brought in contact with-a vessel containing sul phuric ether, which being evaporated at the mo ment of the contact, absorbs the heat of the steam, condenses it, and orces it to work a piston in a second cylinder—thus giving an additional force to the first piston xorlied by the ordinary steam. This combination of steam produced by two boiling li quids at a different temperature, has given M. du Trembley's machines the name•of machines of com bined steam. During the trial in presence of the commissioners, La France performed nine knots an hour. The - great advantage promised by M. du Trembley is an enormous saving of fuel ; but I un derstand from a scientific person, who has paid great attention to the subject, that the theory is not altogether confirmed by practice. A letter from Toulon ; dated yesterday, announces the ar rival of the steam-frigates Caffarelli, Labrador, and Titan, from the Black Sea, with sick and wounded soldiery and sailors. An atrocious attempt to assassinate General Rostolan was made yesterday at, two o'clock in the afternoon, in the Place St. Fereol, one of the most crowded thoroughfares in Marseilles. The General was about to take his usual ride ; accom panied by an aide-de-camp and a picket of dra goons. As he entered the Place St. Fereol, he was approached by a young man wearing a blouse and a red cap. — The man fired a pistol, which missed the General, but ' the charge struck the aide de-camp in the leg, and inflicted a severe, though not dangerous wound. The assassin did not attempt to escape, and was immeliataly arrest©d by a dragoon; Another pistol fully charged was found ou his person. It is said that he was accom panied by another individual who fled after the shot was fired. The sanguinary act caused great excite ment through the town, asst was at first feared that it was the result of a political conspiracy. On ques tioning the young ruffian, however, it appeared that his object was to, avenge 'what he considered a personal insult in. haying been rejected several times when he offered himself as a military substi-* tute. He was labouring under great excitement, apparently from intoxication or insanity. His first exclamation after he was arrested was "He is not the last I will kill !" On pasiing through the streets on his way to the prison, he continued, to vociferate "Viva la France !" Vivo l'Armee . de l'Orient " The Lyciirgue mail steamer, which was t o h ave left Constantinople on Thursday last, according to the new arrangement, and was expected here yes terday, has not yet arrived. THE SAMARITAN INSTITUTION. Yesterday the pedestrian wilting to brave the terrors of mud and rain, between the hours of one and six p.m., might have seen how Christmas was kept at the Sama ritan Institution. This charity is located in Victoria. street, not fir from Field-lane, long the famous cntrepot of the more portable descriptions of stolen goods. Here, throughout the afternoon, the visitor might have seen a hundred persons of both sexes, and of various' ages, en joying the fare proper to the day--roast beef and plum pudding. The feasters, if they may be so called, were the very poorest of a very poor neighbourhood, but they were clean and well conducted, and really seemed to feel grateful, without being oppressed with any sense of de gradation. The food was cpld, but first-rate in quality. The raiding, &c., for the puddings had been presented by the grocers of the neighbourhood. There were I,ooolbs. of pudding, and dinner was prepared for 1,000 persons. Last year 1,600 dined there. At three o'clock yesterday 500 had already dined, and crowds were waiting outside, so that doubtless the platters were cleared.- The Samaritan Institution (of which Sir Fitzroy Kelly is the great patron) has for its object the improve ment of the sanitary, moral, and religious condition of the labouring poor, the prevention of mendicancy, and relief of destitution. The following are some of. the statistics :—Last winter relief in food was afforded to 34,376 destitute persons ; during the half-year ending in November, 13,193 attended divine service and re ceived scripture instruction ; 836 resorted to the free registry for procuring employment ; and 22,376 house lees poor bad the free use of the baths and lavatories, soap, blacking brushes, and razors being also provided for them. DEFENCES OF hvIT.--LFOliD th l! M AVEN.—Great n t progress has been lately made with Haven. The Stack Rock has been completed for some time, and the guns have been mounted an d the works gar risoned by •soldiers. Last week nine guns, 68- pounders, we re taken from the d oc k yard by the Prospero st eam er to Thorny Island, at the en t rance of the haven, where a fort has been newly erected. It commands not only the mouth of the harbour, but also the whole Haven u p to Milford. The extensive works at Dale Point, opposite Thorny, are progressing rapid:y. Wh en com pleted, this battery will be able to cross fire with the one on Thorny, and command the whole haven up to Pembroke Dock, if the guns have a range long enough. —(laver fordwag Telegraph. ROYAL COLLIi OF PHYSICIANS.--At the usual quar terly meeting of the Comitia Majors, held on Friday, Dec. 22, the following gentlemen having undergone the necessary examinations for the diploma, were admitted members of the..colleze :—Dr. Smith, Norfolk-terrace, Wet bourl , e.T.trovo ; Dr. Leared, Fiwbury-circus ; Dr. Tunsley, Millbrook-place, Llarrington-square ; Dr. Pratt, Upper Southwick-street, Hyde-park. Also—Dr, Griffin, Killarney ; and Dr, llendereon, Ramsgate, were admitted extra, lioentiate4. GENERAL SIR D. L. EVAIfS. Sir De Lacy Evans had an audience of the Emperor Napoleon nn Friday at 2 o'clock, and conversed a con siderable time with his Majesty. The particulars have not, of purse, transpired, but we may safely infer that the subject was the war in the Crimea. Sir De Lacy left Paris on Saturday night, at 9 o'clock, for England, via Boulogne. The conduct of General Evans in the Crimea is too fresh in the memory of the English people to permit a doubt as to the manner in which he will be received on his return, and even among some 0 the highest personages the opinion will be perhaps different from what it was when he retired from another service on a former occasion. Seventeen years ago General Evans returned from Spain ; and the criticisms which were passed on his conduct, during the time he commanded the British Auxiliary Legion, by the leaders of the Parliamentary Opposition of the day are nut yet forgotten. Some of those leaders are no longer living ; but such as survive would act well in making the amends honorable for the bitter censure they then expressed, not against the bravery of the man, for even the most rancorous party never cast doubt on that, but on his capacity for command. It must be always painful to an honourable, high-minded man to have his acts censured with injustice, his opi nions misunderstood or unfairly undervalued, and often the basest motives assigned for his general conduct. • It is no doubt consolatory to feel that time will, sooner or later, prove the purity of his motives, the soundness' of his views, and the propriety of his acts ; and when that ardently de. sired moment arrives his satisfaction must be great indeed. Those who affected to believe General Evans unfit even for the command of a brigade at the Camp of Chobham must now feel that they were grossly in error; and they who still more strongly denied him the most ordinary quality of a chief, when named to the command of the British Legion in Spain, would only do an act of justice if, in the very place in which that erroneous judge meat was pronounced, they now tendered a graceful re. tractation. It is cruel, however, that some of the best years of a man's life must pass before prejudice can be removed and atoned for. The Galignani says :—" We are happy to state that this distinguished officer has fully recovered from the effects of his wound, and that his geneml health, which had been much shaken in the Crimea, has greatly im proved. On landing at Marseilles he was still very ill, hut by devoting an entire week to the journey to Paris, the ,repose and change of air. almost restored him to his usual good state of health." SIR JOHN BURGOYNE. TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES. Sir,—lt is a curious coincidence in the history of one life, that Sir John Burgoyne should, in the prime and at the end of his military career, have commanded the Engineers in two great sieges, and twice have been foiled from the very same circumstances. In 1812, when the Duke of :Wellington advanced against Burgos, the town was unfortified, but an old castle hail been modernised, and the French had thrown up three lines of earthworks around the bill on which it stood. These had been executed in haste and in de fiance of all rule, but against these we fired, sapped, and mined in vain ; 2,000 French soldiers held the place against an English army commanded by a general unde feated up to that time, but who was then forced to re treat, to abandon his siege train, and the campaign of that year was a failure, After 42 years Sir John again commands before Sebastopol, and again the same thing occurs. -A few earthworks are throtvn up in haste before our very eyes, and the career of a victorious army is arrested. And why is this ? Had Sir John been able to read the signs of the times, the lesson so rudely taught him at Burgos would not have been thrown away. Our engi• neers would have known what earthworks were, and been prepared with means to destroy them, if such be possible.; or we should never have sat do'.tn before them as we have done, to run the fearful. risk .of failure. We are reduoed to our present straits simply and solely because Sir John, at the head of a large party of veterans, has, during the 40 years - of peace, resisted every improvement in military science as a personal insult to their superior knowledge and expe rience, and they have, in consequence of their position, been able to keep things pretty much as they were at the end of the last war. Sir John Burgoyne is pre-eminently what in official parlenco is termed a " safe man ;" he never troubled the Minister for money to make sientific experiments or to improve the education of the Engineers or Artil lerymen. . _ _ For every inventor be had a bucket of cold water administered in the blandest manner possible. He pos sessed, above all men, the art of keeping things smooth and quiet in Pall-mall, and rose in favour and in fortune accordingly. He hor)ed, of course, that these things would last his time, and so they would have done but for this ugly Russian war, which has destroyed all these visions of quiet; and we now find ourselves engaged in a struggle with the most barbarous notion of Europe, whose sol— diers are serfs, whose officers are half-educated, and whose military system is corrupt to the core, yet is every scientific point they have shown themselves as superior to us in military as•we are to them and the rest of Europe in civil engineering. Their artillery silences ours without difficulty. Their shells are larger and thrown with greater precision than ours, and their skill in fortification amazes our officers, who can make lie head against it. Their science in short, has made up for all their other deficiencies and neutralized all the intelligence and bravery of our noble soldiers ; and for all this we have to thank Sir John Burgoyne and his band of co-abstructives, who have reduced the skill of the most scientific and enterprising people of Europe below the level of the most barbarous. Will even the peo ple of England and Parliament, though generally so ignorant and careless on such matters, submit to this much longer ? It has required a war as dreadful se this one is to open our eyes to the absurdities of our military system ; but if it does se effectually, those who who have fallen beCause of the errors of their superiors will not all, at least, have fallen in vain. OMICRON. STEAM COMMUNICATION WITH THE UNITED STATES AND EUROPE, VIA PANAMA. Information has just been received that the splendid American steamer Golden Age accomplished the voyage from this port to Tahiti in thirteen days six hours. Oa examining the map, our readers will find that Tahiti is as nearly as possible half the distance between Mel bourne and Panama, and as the railway across the Isth mus, according to the last accounts, was to be completed in September, we Dirty take it for granted that the jour* ney across it can be performed in a few hours. Now, as it is ascertained that the voyage from Chagres or As pinwall, cn the eastern coast, is made regularly by the American steamers to New York in eight days, and di. met to Southampton, by the West India Uhl, in sixteeia days, we have data for calculating the exact length of the passage to England. The steaming time by,the two routes will be as follows : From Melbourne to Panama, ♦ia Tahiti, 26 days 12 hours ; from Panama to Aspinwall, say 5 hours . ; from Aspinwall to New York, 8 days ; from New York to Southampton, 10 days ; coaling and detention, say 5 days 7 hours ; total, 50 days. We are informed that by employing large paddle.. steamers the voyage across the Pacific may be made' without calling to Coal at Tahiti ; and if the voyage made direct from Aspinwall to Southampton, two days voyage will be saved. Supposing that two days' voyage and threo days' detention are saved, the distance be tween Melbourne and Britain can thus easily be accom plished, via Panama, in forty-five days ; but most people will gladly sacrifice two days in order to [have a peep at New York. This is a delightful prospect to the unhappy Australians, who have hitherto been made so bitterly to feel their separation from the civilised world. Should the mails by the Golden Age reach England within sixty days, and the enterprising company with which she is connected feel disposed to prosecute their design of establishing a regular line, we can guarantee with great safety that there will be no want of cordial sup port by the Australian c olonists.—Melbourne Argus of Sept. 7. WILD FOWL SHOOTIIfg AT WfIIT STABLE. The fowlers here bave commenced the work of destruc• tion among the wild fowl ; sportsmen are very nume- • roes, and being principally oyster dredgers, have abund ance of time t 5 devote to the pursuit of their game, and among them are some of the best marksmen in the county. The mode of shooting is peculiar to this place, and some notice of it may be interesting to many readers. A large and heavy gun is placed in a singularly constructed boat called a "pantooney, ' about 12 ft. long and 13 inches deep, flat-bottomed, stem and stern alike, the gun being laid flush fore anctaft ; the gunner observes a kneeling position, and propels his vessel with great rapidity by means of a double-bladed paddle, the use of which re- .• quires great dexterity. On nearing the bird he places him self at the bottom of the boat, which is only a few inches above the surface of the water, and is not to be seen until "within range of his object. In this position he forces himself along by means of two smaller paddles, and upon the birds rising he discharges the gun, by which as many as 60 birds have been known to have had their flight arrested. After picking up the dead, he proceeds in pursuit of the wounded, which, being excellent swimmers and divers, call into requi sition the use of a small gun. Great skill is required in the conduct of the sport, otherwise considerable danger is incurred. Another class of fowlers have also a peculiar method which is frequently successful ; at the commencement of the season a tub is sunk, at the ebb of the tide, sufficiently large to hide the sportsman, who there watches with great patience for the wild fowl, curlews, and hawk birds ; at the two last of which the great gunner disdains th e fire. , Many persons from r y b v t i i s t it 2 aisp a lmostlace foarlwtallyespudripsaopse. the surrout.ding count f rom not using one or other of these methods p of oi s n l t i e o d u , ting wild fowl , —in fact they seldom obtain a single bird.—Kentide Ocootte. THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER, 26, 181)4, I