The Sun. — London, England, 1864-05-05 00:00:00

TRIAL OF GUNS, The two guns which have become k aown to naval men and artillerists by the distinctive names of the " Somerset" and the " Frederick" have undergone at rortsmouth a very interesting competitive trial of their armour plate piercing powers, in the presence of several members of the Board of Admiralty and a number of naval officers, including Vice-Admiral Sir F. W. Grey, K.C.8., Rear-Admiral Charles Fre derick, and Rear-Admiral R. S. Robinson, Con troller of the Navy, from the Admiralty ; Captain J. C. Caffin, C. 8., Director of Ordnance, Vice- Admiral Sir M. Seymour, G.C.8., and Rear- Admiral Superintendent G. Elliot. The firing was conducted, as usual, under the superintendence of Captain Astley C. Key, C. 8., commanding the gunneryship Excellent. The two guns are simply Armstrong guns, and the fact of their being generally known by the names of the First and Third Lords of the Admi ralty is owing to the great interest which has been taken by the Dake of Somerset and Rear-Admiral .Frederick in the development of the powers of these two weapons, which are undoubtedly the most per fect of their kind the country possesses for general service on board ship. The " Somerset" gun is a coil-built, smoothstore, has a diameter of bore of 9.22 in., and weighs six tons. The "Frederick" gun is also coilabuilt, but is rifled on Sir William Armstrong's shunt principle, has a diameter of bore of 7 inches, and weighs 6 tons 13cwt. 3 qrs. The smooth-bore presents no external difference from others of Sir W. Armstrong's muzzle-loading guns, `ant the shunt gun, from the greater weight and disposition of metal at its breech, assimilates some what in form at that part to the American Dahl gren gun. Both guns were mounted on board the Stork gunboat, tender to the Excellent, and the plates to be fired at were bolted on the port side of the Amerf.ca target-ship, the gunboat and target ship being moored in positions at 200 yards distance in the upper part of Portsmouth harbour. The plates, or rather pieces of plates, that were fired at had been specially selected for this trial, on ac- count of their known superior qualities, and from their methods of manufacture—one being the sound end of a plate that had been previously tested in the ordinary way, and which, now that it was cut off from the main body for tha present trial, mea sured 9ft. 1 lin. in length by 3ft. Bin. in width, and was 51in. in thickness. It was of rolled manufac ture, from the firm of John Brown and Co., of the Atlas Works, Sheffield. The second plate was also the sound end cut off from a plate previously tested. It measured Bft. 10in. in length by 31t. Sin. in width, and was also 51in. in thickness. It was of hammered manufacture, from the works of the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company. The practice commenced soon after noon, with a steel spherical shot from the 9.22 in gun, fired with a 30-pounder charge of powder at Messrs. Brown's plate, the weight of the shot being 1151 b, The shot struck the plate full on its right centre, and partially turned round in the plate and broke up, its broken outer surface being flush with the plate's outer surface. The shut had thus failed to do its e,, it had destroyed itself in cutting its way into the plate, and it had not made its way into the ship. Inside the ship the only visible da mage was a piece of the inner planking at the back of the plate, about 9 feet in length, started from the ship, and standing out at an angle of 20 de grees. The shunt gun was next charged with an elongated steel shot weighing 98 pounds, and 251 b. of powder, and laid at the same plate. Uafortus nately, this shot took effect on a peat of the plate which allowed of no correct comparative results being arrived at between the two shots, this one striking not quite with its whole diameter on the plate's left edge and about 15 inches below the left upper corner. It was a weak spot, and, althoegn the shat destroyed itself, com mensurate effects were produced. The shot was broken up about seven inches in the ship's side from the plate's outer surface, while the diameter of the hole by which the shot entered the plate was nine inches. In board two of the strakes of inner plank ing at the back of the plate eight feet in length and two feet in width were started and bulged in ward some inches. Oa the deck, 20 feet distant from the ship's side at the back of the plate, where they had been fixed and formed part of the ship's structure, lay a massive iron and a wooden knee which had had their nuts broken from off the ends of their bolt fastenings, and then ben hurled to the (Est :nee named by the force of the blow. The iron knee was broken in two pieces, and the deck was covered with splinters of iron and wood within a radius of 20 feet sufficient to have killed or seriously wounded every man who might have stoe , d within that area in time of action, This shot having, however, been so unfortunately planted, it was determined to send another from the same gun and against the same plate, in order to arrive at definite results ; for, as there are no unsupported edges of armour plates on an ironclad's sides, except on the outer lines, the re salts of the last shot could not be looked upon as definite in any valuable sense. The second shot, by a singular coincidence, struck in the immediate vicinity of the last, their edges overlapping, and consequently the result, so far as related to the object of the trial, was nil. The backing of the plate at this end had been destroyed by the previous shot, and the present one striking in the same place passtd simply through the shattered side into the ship, and out again through the opposite side. The next shot was a spherical steel, and fired from the smooth-bore with a 301 b. charge, and was directed against the Thames Company's plate. Unfortunate circumstances also attended this shot, it striking close upon the lower edge of the plate and within two inches of a bolt. It drove the broken pieces of plate 14in. into the ship's side from the plate's outer sur face, extending the fracture through the bolt hole and lower edge of the plate, and destroyed itself in the broken debris of the plate. Inboard the inner pl a aj za ing at the back of the plate was started sft in ', ength by 3ft flin in width, and bulging inwaras at its greatest part 15io. An elongated steel ariot was next sent against the same plate from thrashunt gun with a 251 b charge, and the same un.aatisfactory kind of result followed, for the shot again struck on the plate's edge, only this time on the upper edge. It broke the plate into the ship's side 18in. beyond the plate's outer surface, and afterwards passed through into the ship, where it was picked up lying on the deck, and but little altered in form, its di ame t er a t the end where it struck the plate having been in creased bat one inch and eight tenths, the openings in the metal radiating from the centre of the point of impact being at the same time but very slight. This wan certainly a shot that had done its work prop er l y, in having expended its force in cutting i ts wa y into the ship and in not destroying itself. This plate had as yet re ceived but two shots, and both of them were edge blows, and as it was requisite to plant a shot fully on it and clear of th e e d ge ' s weakness of parts, another steel boat was sent at it with a 251 b charge from the shunt gun. On examining the plate after the shot had been fired the base of the latter was found to be standing outwards sin, from the plate's outer surface, it being thus embedded half its own length in the plate. It was not easy to explain how this bolt came to be sticking only half way in the plate when all others h a d gone through that is through the plate's thickness of metal, if they had not gone through all and into the ship. Th e mys tery was, however, solved on inspecting the inside of the ship, for here it was found the shot had struck immediately upon a knee the fastenings of which had stood firm under the shock of the blow, and hence the non penetration of the shot. This shows the value of a good backing. The firing at the two selected plates concluded with a 981 b. steel elongated shell,a new pattern Armstrong,containin g a bursting charge of 11b. 140 z., fired at Brown's plate, from the shunt gun. It struck the plate close to the upper edge, and, bursting by the force of its o vn blow on the plate, sent up en immense column of smoke in the air, while its broken parts came flying back towards the gunboat. As had been anticipated, however, with all this noise and smoke but very little damage w as done . The indent on the plate at the deepestpart was only 4in., and although the shell must have exploded at the mo ment of reaching the deepest part of its indentation into the plate the metal was but iusignifieantly affected by it ; in fact, this shell only proved to be what shells in general have often proved before— harmless against armour plating. In addition to the shots fired from the two guns at the selected plates, aceording to the programme of the day's trial, a steel shot from each gun was fired at a 6 inch plate manufactured at the Millwall Ironwork for the Bellerophon iron frigate, the charge of powder being in each instance of the same amount as had been used in the previous firing. The spheri cal shot from the smooth bore gun made a hole in the plate 104 in. in diameter and drove the broken parts of the plate in Bin. from the plate's outer sur face, the shot striking full in a central position on the plate and in front of a knee, and failing to get through into the ship, as much from the resistance offered by the knee as its own weakness, broke up and fell overboard. The elongated shot from the shunt gun also struck fully on the plate, and enter ing by a hole Bin. in diameter buried itself among the debris of the broken plate in the ship's side, with its base, 41in. in from the plate's outer sur face, Inboard, the ship's side was bulged in at the back of the plate. The broad results of the day's trial between the two guns may be taken to be, that, although at short range no great difference may exist, the balance of destructive power, if any, must be awarded in favour of the smooth bore. Beyond 500 yards, however, the shunt gun would take the lead, while the smooth bore would become comparatively ineffective against ironclads. With regard to steel shot, it will at once be seen that they did not succeed in making their way into the ship through her armour-plating, as they have done on former occasions, both at Ports mouth and Shoeburyness, and this want of success on the part of the shot can be only attributed to the quality or temper—perhaps both combined—of the steel of the shot, and not to the guns. The majority of the elongated shot, and certainly all the spherical ones, exhibited the radical weakness of destroying themselves in the process of destroying the plates. The spherical shot had been hardened in oil, but they could have no cohesive power imparted to them by the operation. With our present information on the subject, it is almost, if not altogether, impossible to say what are the best conditions of temper under which steel shot can be supplied by the makers to the Government authorities. This knowledge can only be arrived at by experiments on a comprehen sive scale with shot produced under different condi tions of manufacture. At present the cutting powers and cohesive strength of steel shot is very uncertain, and they are also very expensive; but they are the only projectiles that will penetrate ironclad ships or forts, The Court of Aldermen and the Stock • Exchange. On Tuesday, at a meeting of the Aldermen of London, held at Guildhall, and presided over by the Lord Mayor, an important question was brought ender consideration, affecting as well the jurisdiction exercised by them, as magistrates, over the whole body of brokers in the city, as the interests of the brokers themselves, and still more, it is said, the interests of the public. From time immemorial the Court of Aldermen has exercised a very stringent control both as to the admission of per sons to exercise the calling of a broker, and, to use an expression in its own regulations on the subjeet, with regard to their " honest and good behaviour" afterwards. The power to admit or exclude, in fact, res!s solely with the Court of Aldermen, and every person applying for admission must show to their satisfaction his respectability and fitness to act as a broker, by a certificate signed by re spectable merchants and others, not fewer than six in number. No certificate or recommendation is allowed to be signed by an alderman of the city, and particularly no person is to be permitted to buy or sell on his own account any article in the sale of which he acts as a broker. Etch broker on admission enters into a bond, himself in the penalty £l,OOO, and two sureties in £260 each, for the due and just execution by him of his cffice and employ- I meat, and he takes a solemn oath before the whole Court that he will truly and faithfully perform the office " between party and party, and in all things appertaining to it, without fraud or collusion, to the best of his skill and knowledge." A bill is now before Parliament, promoted in the interests of the brokers, who are a very numerous and influential body in the city of London, the object of which is entirely to abolish the jurisdiction now exercised over them by the Court of AAlerniec, and with it certain annual fees exacted of them, and which, in the aggregate, form a source of revenue to the corporation. Yesterday, on the Court being constituted, Alderman RosE, M.P., called their attention to the subject, remarking, first of all, upon the absence from the meeting of the Remembrancer and the City Solicitor, whose departments it more particularly concerned, and also of the Recorder and Common Sergeant. He expressed his great surprise that when the bill in question, which concerned an ancient privilege of the Court, conferred with a view to the public interest, was before a committee of the House of Commons a few days ago, only three of their brethren, the aldermen, and those three being men who took a strong partisan t, i _ terest in the subject, and held views upon it r',, amee trically opposed to the great majority of 4 .:ne Court, should have been summoned to give e ' . idence before the committee. (Hear, hear.) r em. hea r i ng t h at circumstance he im me di a t e ) - 1 proceeded to the c House of Commons with he view of t en d er i ng himself as a witness. He there learnt that the time at which it ".as competent for him to give evidence on the subject had passed, an d h e was therefore pr ; e l u d ed from doing so. He no w pro tested arAnst the one-sided statements upon which the n - ammittee had decided in favour of fee pre. arreole of the bill. The control which the Court of r Aldermen had for generations exercised over the brokers of the city of London was one in which he contended the public was very largely interested. The Court was mostly composed of men variously engaged in trading undertakings on a large scale, and therefore peculiarly fitted to exercise that con• trol, and to constitute an independent and intelli• gent tribunal for adjudicating upon questions re lating to trade and commerce, and particularly with reference to transactions between buyer and seller which it was the legitimate business of a broker to conduct under certain prescribed condi -1 tions. At all events, it was a far more reliable and independent b o d y , as regarded the protec tection of the 'public than the Committee of the Stock-Exchange, who might be suppesed, with a tendency common to men in general, to regard such matters too much from their own point of view. He might mention a case in point. The Committee of the Stock Exchange had recently to adjudicate upon questions relating to a lar g e shipping company,and it was broadly asserted that some of the Committee were themselves largely interested in the questions they were called together to consider. It was true that those particular members did not vote, yet they sat in judgment with those who did upon the mat ters in issue. (Hear,) L was of the utmost import ance to the public that where a man employed a broker he should be satisfied that he had employed an agent who, while entitled to remuneration, was bound under some strict supervision, such as was exercised by the Court of Aldermen, that he should Lot himself be a dealer as well as a broker at the same time. (Hear, hear.) The case of a solicitor and client was one in point. A solicitor was almitted to p ractise his profession on proof of skill and knowledge ; he had to take out an annual certificate and p a y an ann ual fee , and he was answerable to a superio r authority for the man• . n er in which he conducted himself in the exercise of his profession. Trustees and various other per sons acting in the capacity of agents for others were equally amenable to law. For reasons founded in the public interest the Court had invariably held that a broker who received a Corn nii3siol, and who acted between buyer and seller, should be prohi bited from acting in any other capacity than that of an agent, and he thought that arrangement should not be disturbed. Alderman COPEL.iND, M.P., felt much hidebted to his hon. friend (Alderman Rose) for calling at tention to this subject, the importance of which, in hie opi lion, could scarcely be overrated, Notwith standing the corporation had a Remembrancer and a Solicitor whose business it was to keep a watch over !egislation affecting its interests, he had also been taken by surprise by the manner in which the bill in question had passed through a select committee. If he had known that it was in con templation to abolish the supervision of the Court of Aldermen in this matter, he, as the senior mem ber of the Court, should have tendered himself as a witness before the committee, and given evidence, founded on records of the corporation, showing now beneficial that supervision had been all along to the public. If the City Solicitor had searched the re• cords of that Court he would have found ample proof of that, and been armed to repel that attack upon its jurisdiction. He thought, too, that the Remembrancer and the City Solicitor ought to have informed every member of the Court who held a seat in the House of Commons that such a thing was in contemplation, and of every stage of the bill. (Hear, hear.) He did not know why three of the alder men only, and those three adverse to the existing supervision of the Court, should have been sum moned to give evidence. It was a sort of partiality which to him was wholly incomprehensible that they, the only tribunal to which the brokers were amenable, should have been altogether ignored. (Hear, hear.) If the bill went before a committee of the House of Lords, he should divest himself of the character of ar alderman of London for the time, and offer to give evidence as a merchant, a manufac turer, and a tradesman, and he believed that they would listen to him. At all events, whatever the result might be in this case, he trusted that in future whenever the interests of the corporation were imperilled the Remembrancer would call the attention of every alderman of London who had a seat in the House of Commons to the matter, in order that they might aid and assist him in the maintenance of those interests, and that they should not be surprised as they had been in this instance. (Hear, hear.) Alderman BESLEY said if this bill passed into a law there would be no such personage as a broker in the city of London, pure and simple. Brokers would cease to exist as such, and would be con• verted into dealers. There could be no doubt that they had been all along a very useful body of men; they went between the merchant and the con sumer, and therefore the public had a manifest in terest in the preservation of the class, with their present limited and well defined functions, and their responsibility to an independent tribunal. For the present, it was desirable that the Court should be in possession of the evidence given by the three selected members of their body, and he therefore moved that a copy of the bill, witii the evidence adduced before the select committee, be furnished to each member. Alderman GABRIEL thought the more serious question for them to consider was how the mischief had been done—how a bill sacrificing revenue of the corporation to the amount of .£5,000 a year, and, what was of greater importance, affecting the prerogatives of that court, should have been allowed to pass through its principal stages, with evidence of three picked members of their body admitted on the one aide, aad none on the other. He confessed he should not have thought such a thing possible, and it was certainly one calling for explanation. (Hear.) Alderman WILSON reminded thecoart that every broker in the city of London, under the existing supervision, was pledged by oath, while acting in that capacity, never to buy or sell on his own ac count. Once that wholesome restraint was removed, a broker, he said, would cease to stand in the posi tion of mutual protector as between buyer and seller, and might be palming off his own merchan dise for reasons of his own upon the client who employed him in the belief that he was acting as an agent in his interest in the ordinary way. The alderman also complained of the manner in which a bill vitally affecting the interests of the merchants of the city of London had been so far smuggled through the House of Commons. Alderman Sir ROBERT CARDEN said he received Speaker's warrant the day before he gave evidence, and he went most unwillingly before the committee. He was bound, however, to obey, but he told the chairman that he;attended reluctantly. The committee wished him to volunteer evidence, which he declined to do, but stated at the same time that he would an swer any questions that might be asked him, and he gave his evidence in that way. With regard to the brokers of the city of London, taking them as a body, he believed them to be as honourable a class of men as vas to be found in any other profession or business. (fLar.) If a broker acted fraudulently, the person wronged could appeal to the law of the land, which was preferable to coming to the Court of Aldermen for redress, or, if he chose to act in the double cap- . ,_ city of broker and merchant, his clients woul:: soon find him out, and his business would Buff er in conse quence. With regard to the ste. ement that the corporation had been surpris-,a- in this matter, it was right to say that b0. .1t the Recorder and the Common Sergeant w are retained to defend their interests. Alderman LUSK said he had als o b een summone d to give e. .iidence, and could not help hi mse lf . H e had, hcivr . .,ver, tried to bring about a compromise between t .ne promoters and the opponents of the bill, but in vain. It was useless to talk of the public advantage of the supervision exercised by that Court over brokers, seeing that half the men who acted as brokers in the city were not licensed at all. Nor could the Court have been so ignorant with respect to the bill and its stages as some of them professed, inasmuch as one of its own committees, presided over by Sir Francis Moon, was charged with the duty of reporting upon it. The REMEMIRINCER (Mr. COrrie), who had en tered the court during the discussion, volunteered to make a statement on the subject, but before be did so, asked that strangers should withdraw. Alderman ROSE indignantly protested against the exclusion of strangers after the discussion had gone so far, at,d in that he was supported by the Court. Eventually, on the suggestion of Alderman Sir S. MITEGROVE, it was arranged that the Remem brancer should state what he had to say before the committee of the Court charged with reporting upon the matter ; the motion of Alderman Besley was unanimously adopted, and the subject dropped. RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE, RAILWAY BILLS. Yesterday, in Lord Stanley's committee on the proposed metropolitan and suburban railways, the bill of the London, Chatham, and Dover, for diversions of existing railways at or near Battersea, called the Battersea works, and for cer tain railways and alterations of authorised railways of an aggregate length of three miles at Herne-hill, was passed. The bill for the Battersea extensions of the London and South• Western was rejected. The southern works section of the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway, for a widening for a length of one mile from the Wandsworth-road to Shep herd's-lane, Brixton, was subsequently opened by Mr. Davi son and Mr, Round. Mr. Adair has been appointed chair man of the second committee on metropolitan railways, His committee will meet on Monday, and take up the metropo litan Railway (Notting -hill and Brompton Extension), and Metropclitan and St. John's -wood Railways. Mt. H. Scott and :dr. Phinn occupied the attention of Mr. ScholefiAd's committee with the consideraton of the Louden and South- Western Railway Company's proposed extensions in North Devon. These extensions are three in number—the first, of a length of seven miles, from a junction with the North Devon Railway, which is leased to the South Western, at Chittlehampton, near Umberleigh station, to South Hol ton; the second, of three miles, from South to North Mol ten; and a second junction spur between the first line and the North Devon. This will require an additional earn of £120,000 as new capital, and £40,000 loan. The traffic case was considered. The case for the Gnat Northern Company's proposed extensions between Lincoln and Bourn is concluded, and the committee heard Mr. Burke for the competing lines of the Great Eastern (Northern Junctions) Railway, which proposes to raise a capital of £1,500,000, of which £750,000 may be subscribed by the Great Eastern, and£soo,ooo be raised by mortgage or debenture stock. The new lines proposed are, first, a main communication, 108 miles long, from a junction with the authorised line of the West Riding and Grimsby Railway at 0 wston, passing by the west of Gainsborough and of Lincoln, then to the east of Sleaford and Bourn, west of Peterborough, by Ramsey and east of Somersham, to a junction with the St. lye's and Cambridge line of the Great Eastern at Long Sutton, with 14 branch railways of 21 miles, to unite with various inter communicating lines in Lincolnshire. The main line will cross the rivers Don, Idle, Trent, Welland, and Nene, by viaducts and bridges. The preamble of the bill for the Clyde Navigation was passed, with the exception of that portion of it relating to the landing stages, Mr. Sinithells, traffic manager, was examined at great length on the Blackburn extensions of the Lancashire and Yorkshire. Earl Stradbroke (chairman), the Earl of Yarborough, Viscount Hardinge, and Lords Digby and Dartrey assem bled to consider the bill of the East and West Junction for a railway of 32 miles from a junction with the authorised line of the Northampton and Banbury at Towcester, passing near Byfield, to near the Stratford-on-Avon passenger sta tion of the Great Western, and a branch to the Evesham and Redditch Railway. The capital required is £350,000, and £116,000 loan. The case was opened, and witnesses were examined by Mr Staveley Hill for the promoters, and the committee adjourned. NORTH DEVON. A special general meeting of this company was hold yes terday, at the office, Gresham House, Old Broad-street-- Mr W. Tite, M.P., in the chair. Mr Harris, the secretary, having read the notice conven ing the meeting, The CHAIIMAN said they had had several discuesions with members of the South- Western board, and everything connected with the amalgamation was now settled. The Solicitor read the heads of the agreement entered into between the directors of the London and South-Western Railway Company and the directors of the North Devon far the amalgamation of the latter with the former company. The amalgamation was to take place ou the Ist of January, 1865. The debenture debt of the North Devon was to be assumed by the South-Western Company, who would issue debenture stock in place of it. The £38,000 6 per cent. preference shares of the company had been purchased and commuted by the South Western Company. The last £B,OOO of it had been exchanged for a 5 per cent stock. The A stock of the North Devon was to be exchanged at the rate of £lOO stock for £l9 12s of South Western ordinary stock. The original agreement was £2O for every £lOO of North Devon A stock, and £5O South Western ordinary stout for every £lOO of North Devon original stock. It was now £49 of South Western original stock for every £lOO of North Devon original stock, and £9B of South Western original stock for every £lOO of B stock. The CHAIRMAN said the alteration in the terms was, in fact, a discount paid for getting the amalgamation sooner than was originally proposed. The Soucrrou said the liabilities beyond a certain amount were to be declared by two of the directors and the secretary, and in case of dispute it was to be settled by arbi tration. The clauses of the bill authorising the amalgama tion made the heads of agreement binding on the two com panies. The South Western Company would issue ordi nary stock, in the proportions above specified, to the holders of the North Devon ordinary, and A and B stocks. On the motion of the Chairman, a formal resolution, approving a bill for the amalgamation of divers railway companies with the London and South Western, so far as it affected the interests of the North Devon, was carried unanimously. On the motion of Mr. Hartridge, the best thanks of the meeting were awarded to the directors. BIDEFORD. A special general meeting of this company was held yes terday at the office, Gresham-house, to consider a bill now before Parliament —Mr. G. Braiginton in the chair. The Solicitor read the heads of an agreement between this company and the London and South Western Railway Company for the amalgamation of the Bideford under taking with that of the South Western Company. The amalgamation was to commence on the Ist of January, 1865, the debenture debt of £lO,OOO was to be assumed by the South •Western Company, and in lieu of the £55,000 ordinary stuck of the Bideford Company the South-Western would issue £55,000 4 per cent. preference stock, with the proviso that only 311 per cent. per annum should be paid to the holders until the year 1869, after which the full 4 per cent, would be paid, unless in the meantime they were re deemed at par. The CHAIRMAN, in moving a formal resolution approv ing a Bill for the amalgamation of divers railway companies with the London and South-Western Railway Company, so for as it affected the interests of the Bideford Company, said that no alteration had been made in the terms originally agreed upon between the two companies. Mr. TITE, MP„ seconded the resolution, and it was unanimously adopted. _ . On the motion of Mr, MORTIMER, the best thanks of the meeting were voted to the directors for the satisfactory arr ingement concluded between the two companies, SPORTING INTELLIGENCE, CHESTER RACES—WEDNESDAY, THE CUP DAY. The Cup day at Chester, like the Derby at Epsom, is the carnival of the densely populated districts of Lancashire, Cheshire, and Shropshire. It is needless, therefore, to refer to the features of the occasion, or the tens of thousands who congregate annually on the picturesque Roodee. With the racing public the meeting has long enjoyed great popularity, and the decision of the Cup, from the great amount of bet ting and the important Interests involved, attracts to the spot turfman from all parts of the country. Betting upon the event has presetttvd such a constantly fluctuating aspect that public curiosity has been much stimulated thereby, and perhaps led to oue of the most monster demonstrations in the annals of Chester. And yesterday will long be remem bered as a red letter day, inasmuch as it was stated that his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, who had arrived over night at Lord G rosvenor ' e seat, near Crewe, intended to honour th e course w i t h hi s presence, an announcement re ceived with keep satisfaction by all grades of sportsmen, who were greatly disappointed at the Prince's non-arrival on the course, Dariug the early part of the morning lain fell hee',ily, and continuing up to noon, the course became hei, ay, whieh was all in favour of th e o l der heroes, a cir cumstance which Foduced its effect upon the betting, and, as will be seen, Accident became a better favourite as the time approached for the 'race. From the earliest hour im mense crowds swarmed into the city, blocking up the quaint gabled "rte.es," and rendering locomotion in the streets a task of great difficulty. Special trains arrived in rapid euc cessior., and the people walked in " umbrellaed" regiments towa r d s the comae ! Watergate• street being the main artery through which the masses streamed. The scene on the Roodee cannot well be described in these columns—the ancient walls, the Stands, and enclosures being densely packed, Indeed, the excitement centred in the Cup was never exceeded on any previous anniversary, We may mention here that Mr. Topham's handicap gave universal satisfaction, and received testimonials of praise from the leading patrons of the meeting. Although the rain held off shortly after midday, the remainder of the afternoon was dark and cloudy, and the atmosphere close, and in the ring quite oppressive. It may be mentioned that the traneaetions at the rooms in the morning presented no noteworthy fea ture, the only remarkable movement being the incr eased in vestments on Accident, who was wonderfully fi rm a t 4 t o 1. The sport commenced at 2 o'clock with the Biennial Stakes, for which six came to the post, Mr Merry'sfilly,Eftie, being made favourite at 6 to 4 ; but after making the running to the tttru she was joined by Fisherman's Daughter, Wel beck, and Cutaway, who came to the front in the straight, and a most magnificent race resulted in favour of Cutaway by a short head, Welbeck being only defeated a neck for second place, The Welter Cup, which followed, furnished three runners, and 6 to 4 was betted on The Clown, and another splendid struggle ensued, the favourite just getting done by a head, entirely owing to rordham's fine hereemetbe ship on Despair. The Cup was appointed for 3.40, and as the hour for the decision of the race approached the excite ment became intense, and every available spot on the walls and steads were crammed, presenting a most extraordinary spectacle. The preliminary canters were watched with vast interest, a half-suppressed roar swelling forth as each of the prominent favourites was recognised. The telegraph board tiisplayed 20 runners, and all were in readiness some time before the hour appointed on the card, and when the horses were well together some failures were caused owing to the eagerness of certain light weights to get away, and in one of the false starts Flash-in the-Pan br, ke away, and ran a mile round the course at a great pace before young Morris could stop him, which considering his after success was most remarkable. A somewhat tedious delay occurred, and in the meantime rain fell heavily, and a mass of umbrellas sprung up among the spectators like gigant i c mushrooms. The latest bettin g j ust prior to the start will be found below; and in reference to the race we may say that the issue was one of the most remarkable surprises in the history of the Cheater Cup. All the favou r it es we re beaten by old Flash inethe-Pan, w h o had, according to the statement o f h i s jockey, the race i n hand at any moment, an d came away his opp onen t s, won , about half a mile from home, and, making a terrible exhi bition of all d, pulling double, by ten lengths, the ra ce being literally a case of" hare and hound," as all the fi e ld were in hopeless pur suit. Little Stag, it will be seen, confirmed his high trial by beating all the 3-yr olds, and two of John Day's—Tippler and Lord Zetland— finished third and fourth. Tremendous cheering awaited the winner on his return, as the bookmakers landed largo stakes. Flash-in -the-Pan is the property of Mr. T. Hughes, of Epsom, who is noted for a stable of cast-offs, which have been derisively termed " yearlings," aged. Mr. Hu g h es on the wins £4O, from their being all 000. Subjoined are de tails of the running : The Biennial Stakes of 10 soya each, la ft, with 100 added, for 3 -yr-olds ; colts, Sat 101 b; fillies, Bst 71b; penalties and allowances, eirosvenor course, about a mile and a quarter. 16 subs. Mr. Barbe r ' s C utaway, Sat 41b ( J . Snowden) 1 Mr Merry's Effie, test 71b ...(A. Edwards) 2 Mr Hargreaves'B Welbeck Bst 101 b,. (S Rogers) 3 Mr Stev ets ' s Fisherman's Danghter, Bst 41b (Fordham) 4 Duke of St. Albans' Warhead, Bst 71b (F. Adams) 5 Mr R. C. Naylet'e Little Saxon, Bst 71b (It. Smethurst) 0 , Bettite---6 to 4 agst Effie, 5 to 2 agtt Welbeck, 4 to 1 agst Fisherman's Daughter, 7 to 1 agst Cutaway. Effie made play at an excellent pace, followed by Mem head, Fisherman's Daughter, and Cutaway, Welbeck bring ing up the rear to the railway arches, where he passed Little Saxon. Proceeding along the Dee side, Mamhead dropped away beaten, and Cutaway, Welbeck, and Fisher man's Daughter joined Effie, the four running abreast head and head to the distance, where Fisherman's Daughter was in distress ; a fine race, however, with the other trio ensued, Cutaway wi nning a capital finish by a short head; a neck separated the second and third, and the others were beaten off. The Welter Cup tf 5 soya each, wi t h 50 added, for 3-yr•olds and upwards; penalties and allowances. One mile and a half. 10 subs. Lord Bateman's Despair, 5 yrs, 11st 101 b... , (F or dh aml 1 Mr Barber's The Clown, 3 yrs, 9st 101 b • . (J. Snowden) Mr Saunders's Belle of the Ball, 4 yrs, lOst 61b (S. Rogers) 3 Betting--7 to 4on The Clown, 2to 1 agst Despair. The two favourites took up the running from Belle of the Ball, after going a few hrtr_dr?,:. 4 . 7tl - cls, and the pair, keeping clue c - cmpany throughout, finished a capital race, which was wen by Despair by a short head ; a bad third. The Tradesmen's Plate of 200 sovs, added to a Handicap Sweepstakes of 25 sovs each, 15 ft, and 5 if declared, for three •yr"olds and upwards ; winners extra. Ctp Course, about two milee and a ruatter. 1:51 subs, 77 of whom • - declared, Mr Hughes's Flash-in-the-Pan, aged, Est 41b.. (Morris) 1 Mr J, Osborne's Little Stag, 3 yrs, Est Marquis of Hastings's Tippler, 4 yrs, 7st olb _ (H. Grimshaw) 3 Duke of Beaufort's Lord Zetland, 3 yrs, bst 121 b (in 51b) (F. Clark) 4 The following also ran t—Oldminster, Knutsford, Change, Canary, Earl of Surrey, My Mary, Accident, Lancashire, Muezzin, Bacchus, Gordian Knot, Tooi Tool, Rose, Hersey filly, Greenland, and Vacuna colt. Betting-4 to 1 agst :Accident, 100 to 15 agst Hersey filly, 100 to 12 agst Little Stag, 9 to 1 agst Change, 10 to 1 agst Gordian Knot, 12 to 1 agst Canary, 15 to 1 agst Lord Zetland, 20 to 1 each agst Bacchus, Muezzin, and Oldinin ster, 30 to 1 each agst Tippler and Flash-in•the-Pan, 100 to 3 agst Tooi Tooi, 40 to 1 agst Earl of Surrey, 50 to 1 each agst My Mary and Vacuna colt, 1000 to 15 agst Knutsford and East Lancashire. Before the time for starting had arrived the front rank broke away ; Flash-in-the-Pan, Greenland, Gordian Knot, and the Vacuna colt ran to the half-mile post, Accident and Muezzin being pulled up at the workhouse turn, whilst Tippler and several others ran to the enclosure. At five minutes to four o'clock they were capitally started, and upon passing the stand Bacchus, Accident, and My Mary were in front ; at the head of the second division were Gordian Knot, Hersey filly, Change, Little Stag, and Rose, next to whom were Muezzin and Earl of Surrey, the last lot being Flash in-the-Pan, Canary, Oldminster, and East Lancashire, After rounding the top turn Gordian Knot pAed his way to the front and took a slight lead of Bacchus, Little Stag going on third, Hersey filly fourth, with Accident at her side. These were followed by Rose, Change, and Earl of Surrey, Tippler being at the head of the next division, and My Mary, who had dropped from the front, formed one of the rear lot. Passing the stand the second time, Gordian Knot held a slight lead, Bacchus going on second, Little Stag third ; Hersey filly, Earl of Surrey, Change, Accident, Rose, the Vacuna colt, and Tippler following in a body. After rounding the far turn towards the Dee side, the Hersey filly dropped away beaten, and Bacchus took a slight lead of Gordian Knot, Little Stag being third, and Flash-in the-Pan (who had gradually overhauled his horses) occupied fourth place at the half-mile post, where Tippler and Lord Zetland were well up. At the Grosvenor turn Flash-in-the Pan rushed to the front, came completely away from his opponents in the succeeding couple of hundred yards, and won ono of the hollowest races ever witnessed by ten lengths; four lengths between second and third, and a neck between third and fourth; East Lancashire was fifth, Accident sixth, Bacchus seventh, and Gordian Knot eighth. The last lot were Oldminster, Change, Muezzin, and My Mary. Knutsford broke down, and walked in. A Handicap Plate of 40 sovs, for all ages; winners extra Half a mile. 11 subs. Mr Crook's Airedale, 4 yrs, 6st 1016 (Loates) 1 Lord Uxbridge's Erythia, 4 yrs, 7st 61b.... (T. French) 2 Lord Bateman's Gipsy Girl, 4 yrs, Bst 21b,...(Fordham) 3 The following also ran—Dualla, David, Menotti, Lady Knight, and Rejection. Betting-5 to 2 each agst Erythia and Airedale, 4to 1 agst Gipsy Girl, 8 to 1 agst Dualla. Won by a neck; a length between second and third. The Members' Plate of 60 sovs, added to a Sweepstakes of 5 soya each—weight for age—winners extra—allowances. Three quarters of a mile. 5 subs. Captain Christie's Lady Clifden, 6 yrs (Fordham) 1 Mr Clark's Garotter, 3 yrs (1, French) 2 Mr Archer's Vindicta, 4 yrs (Danielle) 3 Betting-5 to lon Lady Clifden. %ion by four lengths—the same between the second and third. BETTING AT MIDNIGHT. THE DERBY. sto 1 agst General Peel (taken) 7to 1 agst Scottish Chief (taken) 10 to 1 agst Cambuscan (taken) 100 to 7 agst Paris (taken) 15 to 1 agst Coastguard (taken) 16 to 1 agst Prince Arthur (taken) 20 to 1 agst Blair Athol (taken) 20 to 1 agst Baragah (taken) 40 to 1 agst Copenhagen (taken) 1000 to 15 agst The Major (taken) SCRATCHINGS.—Ob the 4th inst., at 5 p.m., La Toucques out of the Stewards' Cup, and Hymettus out of the Dee Stakes, at the Chester Meeting. SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. TINIEB.—The members of the Conference upon the affairs of Denmark assembled at the official residence of the First Lord of the Treasury yesterday, but very little progress was made towards the solution of the question upon which they had met to delibe rate. Not even the preliminary difficulty of an armistice was adjusted. The representatives of the belligerent Powers accepted the proposals of the neu tral Powers only that they might be transmitted to their respective Governments, and the Conference then adjourned till Monday next, by which time it is hoped that the Courts of Vienna and Berlin will have provided their representatives with sufficient in structions. In the meantime it must be remembered that a practical suspension of hostilities obtains, though no formal armistice has been concluded. It is hard to wait for the completion of formali ties which should have been foreseen from the first, but time, if it does not bring us nearer to the goal of our wishes, give us better opportunities of esti mating the motives of those who are engaged, with more or less bad faith,in playing out the melancholy interlude of the fall of Denmark. Never was snch information more needed. Never did the co*duct of kings and emperors appear more incomprehen sible to the eye of ordinary intelligence. Never was there so much need of some explanation of the hidden springs by which they are put in motion. There is not a single power that appears at first sight to be acting according to its real interest or traditionary principles. Take Austria, for ex ample. Austria had established a considerable re putation in Europe for fidelity to her engage meats. Tenaelcue of what she possessed, but as respects other nations unenterprising and un aggressive, she was regarded as the balance wheel of the European state machine, as a Power that could always be counted on by those who limited their ambition to the maintenance of the European status quo. Her differences with the discordant nationalities composing her Empire have descended to her through centuries of turmoil and conflict ; and her finances are in a state of confusion and embarrassment which might damp the hopes and paralyee the energies of the most enterprising and aggressive tloterirtnent in the world. It is under these circumstances that Austria embarks in a war from which it is impossible sat Should reap any direct advantage whatever. She jo:na in the attack on a Power from whose conquest she could singly gain no honour; but whose conquest When shared with another great military monarchy, be comes something little short of ignominious. And what are her objects ? A wish to conciliate the smaller German States, in which, so far as we can see, she has not in the least succeeded ; a jealousy of Prussian in fluence, and a determination not to allow her rival to monopolize the laurels which are to be gained by the overthrow of an enemy scanty in numbers, poorly armed, ill sheltered, overtasked, and possessing only an old-fashioned artillery as little able to contend against the modern improve ments which the poverty of Denmark forbade her to adopt as the catapults and ba'istas of the ancients. Even now we learn, from a source in which we place considerable reliance, that Austria does not view the glories, such as they are, of the storm of Dyb bol with absolute equanimity, and that she is an xious before an armistice is concluded, to revive the memory of her exploits of February by some new feats of arms at the expense of a puny adver sary, which seems made for the purpose of giving great Powers the opportunity of winning little victories at small risk. We hope that the Danes will be wise enough not to afford Aus tria the opportunity of gratifying this de plorable ambition. She has shed blood enough, and has now more glory to win by fairly encoun tering her creditors than her enemies. The case of Prussia is much simpler, though not more credit able. 'I he monarchy, under the guidance of a Mini ster absolutely reckless of consequences, had ad vanced to the very verge of destruction. The Go• vernment had deliberately violated the Constitution in its most important point—the power of the As sembly over the public purse. Successive dissolu tions only showed, each more clearly than the other, the resolution of the people not to submit tamely to this usurpation. Things had come to the lest ex tremity when fortune flung in the way of a despair ing Government a means of safety which they little looked for. The extraordinary agitation of the Germind mind on the subject of the Duchies, the desire to deprive Denmark of her continental pos sessions and to vest them in some German Prince, the opportune death of the King of Denmark, and the opportunity which her obstinacy gave of concealing the projects of Prussian ambition under the mask of zeal far Federal rights, came just in time to save Prussia from internal revolution by what we should havecalled,were it not of ever-recur ring use and invariable success, the stale and worn out device of a foreign war. The people of Prussia rushed headlong into the mare. They forgot their liberties. They forgave their wrongs. They sub mitted themselves with the docility of children to the guidance of a Minister wh om a li tt l e while ago they were almost ready to tear in pieces. They suf fered themselves to be amused by the poor device of setting up a Pretender, to be d ro pp e d when he had answered his purpose for the mightier Pretender whose manoeuvres he had served for a while to con ceal. There is now little doubt about it, and the truth may as well be spoken out at once. Prussia seized the Duchies on behalf and in the name of the German Confederation. But it is not on behalf or the derman Confederation that she intends to hold them. She condescended for awhile to amuse herself and Europe with the Duke of Augustenburg. But it is not for the sake of the Duke of Augusten burg that she has expended her troops or b ur d ene d her finances. She is fighting for her own hand. She is anxious to offer Schleswig-Holstein and per haps tutland to her own Assembly in exchange for the trampled down and efl'aeerl liberties of the country. There is no doubt that the offer will be received in a spirit of becoming humility and thankfulness, and that Prussia will have nothing to deny to a Minister who can by any means give lustre to her arms or extension to her territories. Cherishing these intentions, we must not be stir prised to find Prussia unwilling to enter into any engagement which might snatch from her the prey she believes to be already within her grasp, and force her to take account of those pro fessions with which she entered on the war, and which she has successively discarded as occasion offered. She is firmly persuaded that for the mo ment she has nothing to fear, and in this faith she pushes on her successes with merciless rigour, levies ruinous war contributions on the poor and inoffen sive population of Jutland, bombards towns with out notice, and exercises, in the plenitude of her insolence, to the most extravagant limit, every pri vilege which modern civilization has left to belli gerents. In the meanwhile France makes no sign. So far from going to war for an idea, she will not unsheathe her sword for a reality. That same France which in 1859 went to war to protect Italy from a servitude to foreign nations under which she had groaned for three hundred and fifty years has neither sword nor sympathy to spare for an old and faithful ally, destroyed, dismembered, and ob literated from among the nations unwept and with out a crime. The case is the stronger since in behalf of Denmark there was no occasion for France to do more than notify her will. In the present state of European affairs, and with the known dis positions of England and Russia, France had nothing to do but to express a wish, and it would be obeyed ; a single word would rescue an ancient and honour able nation from destruction, and that word will. not be spoken. We hear much of the pacific dispositions of the French Legislative Assembly, of the desire of the nation for peace, of the unwillingness of the Emperor to nip the rising prosperity of France . in the blossom,—excellent arguments, if it were em possible to save Denmark without war, or if per mitting Prussia with the assistance of Austria to possess herself of the Cimbric Peninsula held out any hope of maintaining peace. No one knows better than the Emperor of the French that this is Dot so. The opinion of Europe, which now finds expression in words, will one day make itself felt in deeds, and Prussia will dearly rue the outrage on public opinion which she now, with so much arro gance, commits. She is sowing, but another will reap. It may devolve on the very Sovereign who now looks on with so much complacency at this great public crime to constitute himself the execu tioner of the indignation of Europe, and redress by a ruinous war a spoliation which, but for his unac countable forbearance, could not possibly have been accomplished. POST.—Not the least of the circumstances which tend to redress the balance of inequality in the Ame rican war, and compensate the South for their great inferiority of numbers, is the superiority they enjoy over the North in -a knowledge of the enemy's move ments. This circumstance comes out prominently in the letter from New Orleans which we printed on Tuesdly. into the cause of this superiority it is not relevant to inquire, further than to remark that the defenders of a fortress who have shut them selves up in it are better able to see the movements of the besiegers than these are to penetrate the plans of the garrison. Of course, if in addition to this the Confederates have faithful friends within the Northern lines who keep them, as the phrase is, well "posted up" in the schemes and operations of the Federals—who are destitute of any similar ad vantage—it is only another exemplification of how little " Union sentiment" there is in the South, and how much "disloyalty" there is in the North. Our correspondent's letter is dated about the time of the Federal defeat at Pleasant Hill, which doee not appear, from what he says, to have been known at New Orleans. What was known there, however, except, perhaps, to the Federals, was that the Confederates were eagerly waiting in the full confidence and with ample preparations made, of which General Banks must have been in total ignorance, for inflicting upon the North that over whelming defeat which they are now known to have sustained. We remarked before that, al though the battle was evidently won by a masterly generalship, still the Confederates might have had a much stronger force in the neighbourhood than vekat they actually employed to crush and anni hilate t ;:e head of the Federal advance, but kept their real !LI mbers concealed for obvious pruden• ' tial reasons. It 17. ow appears that this was u ct ua ily . so. The Confederttes, we are told, were i n a thousand men upon k nlace them in line to position to concentrate ~l'x tY any point they chose, and o oppose the Federals in their att,:mpt to penetratee‘.ked upon th e the country. The Confederates l defeat of Banks as a certainty. If he would only advance and give them battle upon the h:, 9 ld they had previously determined, says our correspoe'dent, the Confederates had no doubt of being able to In flict a disastrous defeat upon him. To that end they were determined to force him to a pitched battle. Now this, which it was foretold in the South would happen, is just what we are told f rom Northern sources actually did happen. The Fede rals advanced to Pleasant Hill (which they will not henceforth call by that name), the Confederates falling back before them, skirmishing as they did so, for about half a dozen miles. Suddenly they turned upon their pursuers, who, without notice or expectation, all at once found themselves attacked by superior forces, before which, aft er a d espera t e struggle, they were driven back with an admitted loss of two thousand men, and their artillery and their train, and were only saved from being all cut to pieces or taken prisoners by the timely arrival of a strong army corps to their aid. Now it must be remembered that Louisiana is the only State in which the Federals claimed to have restored the Union. They have treated this State as having been reclaimed from secession and reconquered to the North. Yet it appears that out of New Orleans, which is really held by the Federal navy, there is not an acre of ground they can properly call their own. In this reconquered State, where the reor ganisation of society, of slavery, of the Union has been going on for two years under such adepts as Butler and Banks, there is a force of sixty thousand Confederate troops close to Banka's headquarters, a force of which the Federals knew nothing; a force which, however, can be concentrated on a single noint at a short notice, and which has just fel.- melee. evidence of its presence and e ffi c i enc y, as well as of :he enterprise and ability of its leaders, by inflicting a t zrible ., defestt upon the North by generalship alone. Any, her instance State and theof the übiquity of the Confederate forces this he following ; facility of their movements is Banks having advanced 30 miles iron; Alexandria, leaving a garrison there, and the river have, ,`fallen to such an extent that the gunboats had to u !op down 20 miles below that town, it immediately be gan to be threatened by Confederate Gen. Taylor, " who had got into Banks's rear. The streets were barricaded, but the garrison feared capture, not being able to fall back upon the gunboats." Such is the condition of things in the very heart of Gen. Banks's commaid. Of course it may be pleaded on behalf of Banks that he had no means of knowing the strength or position of the Southern armies; that he is in an enemy's country where nobody will give him a word of information about the move ments or plans of his foe, while everybody is ready to tell all they know about him to the Confederates. But this is precisely the reason why he ought to have exercised more caution and judgment in his advance. It is to meet and overcome such difficulties as these, and provide against surprises, that a general is placed at the head of an army. But for this the troops might just as well be left to themselves, to advance or retreat, to fight or not, as might seem good to them. Still Banks is a general quite up to the average standard of the best Northern comman ders. All of them have been Napoleons, Alexanders, and Hannibals, until their first battle, and then the one talent, wherewith they all showed themselves pre-eminently endowed, was that of making rapid and sudden strategic movement s to the rear. Banks has shown himself no worse a general than Sherman, or 111‘Clellan and his half-dozen rivals, who emulated him at firs: in pre mature fame, and ultimately in the celerity with which they moved strategically to the rear directly after setting out upon the march which was only to terminate at Richmond. Banks and Sherman have been beaten in the South and West, just as the Popes and Hookers, the i\PDowells and Burnsides have been beaten in Virginia. Maryland, Penn sylvania, Washington itself have been threatened, and are threatened even now, with occupation by General Lee's army. It is not in Virginia that the Federals believed themselves strongest. Yet, in the West, which they did think was their, strongest posi tion, from the advantage they possess in their gun boats, they have suffered u serious reverse on the very banks of that Mississippi which is thus again practically commanded by the Confederates. A chain is no stronger than its weakest link, and the Mississippi is lost to the Federals through the loses of a single paint on its shores. It is, however, righ to point out that the capture of Fort Pillow mercly wrests an important and well-chosen position for a fortress from the North. The Mississippi hae never really been open to navigation for commerce eince the war commenced. The capture of Vicksburg re moved the great impediment to the transit of gun-. boats, but left the river just as dangerous to com merce as before. Nothing was easier than for fy ing artillery to destroy any merchant vessels that; might venture up or down its waters. In Tennes see, too, the Confederates are recovering territory from the invaders. And all this is in the West and South, where it was given out that the Federals were undisputed masters of the situation; yet it is in this quarter that they have suffered some of the most serious of their reverses. And this is the third year of the war, with gold ranging from 69 to 71 premium,with a debt which, if exactly ascertained, is perhaps three or four hundred millions sterling, and with a gross expenditure of something like a hundred and fifty millions sterling a year. But, as if all this were not enough, we are told that the Federals will not be satisfied until they have brought a war with France on their hands. "No substantial gains have been made since the occupation of New Orleans, and there is no prospect of any gains. There is no further hope of plunder within the Federal lines, or within the waste border lands between the oppcsing armies, for the country has been plundered, sacked, and devastated until nothing remains but the land,and that is fast relaps ing into the savagery and solitude of primeval nature." An example this, by the way, of the sort of Paradise to be sought for in those parts of the South where the " Unics. is restored." So "colonels, lieutenant-colonels, majors, captains, and lieutea nants," down to the rank and file, appear to be yearning " for new fields of conquest and plunder." To this end they are "enrolling in the organisation known as the defenders of the Monroe doctrine," of which Colonel De Borden, of the Mexican (Juarez) army, is president, and General A. J. Hamilton, the Federal military Governor of Texas, is the vice president. Every officer in Banks's command is said to be a member of this society, and the general himself is its grand patron. It is a secret organisa tion, with a ritual, grips, signs, and pass-words. It makes no concealment of its aim—the expulsion of tke French from klexico." Mr. Hahn, the " free State Governor of Louisiana," openly advocates this project in his journal, the Delta, declaring that it is a " necessity of self-preservation." This, how ever, was prior to Banks's late crushing disaster. Generals Taylor, Magruder, and Kirby Smith will probably give quite enough occupation to the Federals without another war, in which they would be brought face to face with the veterans of Solferino and Magenta, and have their monitors smashed by the Gloire. COUNTRY MARKETS. LYNN-.TUESDAY. At to-day's market there was a very moderate show of wheat, and last week's prices were realised. White wheat 42s to 44s I Barley 32s to 36s Rcd .. Beans .328 to 34s I Oats Small HULL-TUESDAY. At to-day's market there was a fair average supply of English, wheat, which sold at is over lrst week's rates. Foreign met a slow inquiry, at late prices. Malting bar arley was inquired for. Grinding barley slow to sell, and. sold at forwer rates. Beans 6d per qr dearer. Peas were neglected. Oats held for last week's advance, which pre.. vented business. Wheat.... Old whiti per qr. 42s Od to 44s Od Old red New white .. 7 , New red ... „ Barley.... English malting 27s Od to 34s Od Grinding. 24s Od to 258 6d Saal and Oclerbruck Holstein and Danish Grinding Oats English, old 22s Od to 24s Od Archangel and Itiga, per at Friesland and Dutch Swedish and Danish Beans ....English, old, per qr. New pigeon 42s Od to 41s Od New tick. Egyptian Peas Foreign boilers . Grinding Tares .... Spring —s Od to —s Od Indian Corn Linseed, feeding crushing Linseed cakes (Hull) Foreign: 8 15 0 to 9 0 0 Rape cakes Bones DUBLIN—TuEsp,tY. Irish wheat and barley unaltered. A slow trade, and the prices of last week were made. s.d. s.d. Wheat, white., 24 0 to 26 6 Do., red 2l 6 to 24 0 Do., new Barley Oats Do., black --0 to 0 d. 8. d. Oatmeal lO 0 to 13 0 Beans.. 0 to 0 Bere Rapeseed Bakers' flour 14 oto2o 0 Indian corn COAL hi Flues of Coal per Ton at the close of the market. s. d. North Pelton Ga 5..... 12 9 Eden Main . 16 9 Wylam 18 0 Walls End. s. (14 Walls End. Hetton lB 0 Caradoc l7 6 Hartlepool ..18 0 Stewart's l7 6 Ships at marker Hough Hall 17 6 East Hartlepool 18 0 South Kelloe ... l7 6 Haswell Braddyll's Hetton 17 3 1 Tunstall Gosforth l6 0 South Hetton 18 0 t, 61; sold, 39. Foreign Mail Packet List. MAILS DUE. Australia and Mauritius, via Southampton May 19. via Marseilles May 13. Brazil and Cape Verde, by British packet. May 4. Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena May 22. China, Penang, and Singapore, via Southampton May 19. via Marseilles May,l3. Falkland Islands •• 11 Gibraltar, via S ou th amp t on .. 4 May India (Calcutta), a n d C e yl on , v i a Southampton May 19. via Marseilles May 13. India (Bombay), via Southampton May 12. via Marseilles May 6. Portugal.... May 4. Malta, Egypt, and Aden, via Southampton May 12. via Marseilles May 6 Newfoundland Oporto and Vigo .... U. S. and British N. America, by Brit. packet.... May 5. by U.S. packet.... by Canaan Ma 10. W.C. of Africa, Madeira ' and '1 eneriffe di packet May y 10. Bahamas, via New York ....... June 2. Mexico. . All parts of West Indies, including Chili, Peru, I may 14. California. and Briti s h Columbia.. Persons in debt may obtain instant protection against imprisonment or seizure of their goods, and an entire release from all debts and liabilities without publicity, by application. to Messrs. Marshall, solicitors of the Court of Bankruptcy. Charges under £5 payable by easy instalments. Offices— (established 1830), 12,11atton-garden. City branch -6, Moor gate-street, Bank—Anvr. [ADVERTISEMENT.] Holloway's Pills Vigorous Health.—All diseases affecting the nervous system arises from impurities of the blood or vitiated secretions. Hollo way's Pills are invaluable for removing all poisonous ele ments from the body, and are famed for curing indigestion, flatulency, and costiveness, as well as palpitation , pain i n the side, and other , morbid feelings. The neuralgic pains attendant on the nervous class of diseases soon yi e ld to these purifying Pills; the sensations of anxiety and alarm daily diminish under their use; sound sleep s u p ersedes n;phtsof watching and calm repose displaces hideous dreams. Holloway's Pills are the best correctives of tainted breath and disagreeable tastes in the mouth; they soon clean the furred tongue, augment the body, and invigorate both body and mind. Births. ASPINALL —On the 3d inst., at 27, Lowndes-street, grave-square, the wife of Robert A. Aspivall, Eaq., of a daughter. BAXER.—On the 3d inst., at Bury St. Edmund's, the wife of Captain Charles 0. Baker, Royal Marines Light In fantry, of a daughter. COBB.—On the 3d inst., at Clifton, York, the wife of 1V 11. Cobb, Esq., of a daughter. Marriages. BEALE—CHILD.--011 the 3d inst., at All Saints', Upper Norwood, Edward John Beale, Esq , of High Holborn, and Teddington, to Susannah Jane, second daughter of Thomas Child, Esq., of Ilfracombe. LENZDSEY—LINDSEY.—On the 3d inst., at West Brompton, J. Mainwaring Lindsey, Esq., .Dep,-Assis. Com,-Gen., to Annie Mary Harriette Lindsey, fourth daughter of Captain Lindsey, R.N., of Milborne-grove, West 13romp ton. Deaths. COOPER.—On the 2d inst., Miss Mary Ann Cooper, of Waltham-lane, Waltham Abbey, Essex, aged 71. Cnoss.—On the 2d inst., at Bath, Lady Cross, reli c t of the late Hon. Sir John C r oss, Chi e f J udge of the Court of Review in Bankruptcy, aged 82. PRIDHAM.—On the 3d inst., at hi s res id ence, 6, West Hoe terrace, Plymouth, Vice• Admiral Richard Pridham, aged 85. SHONE.—On the 3d inst., at Woolwich, Lisa Marian, only child of Colonel Ackers Shone, R A. WALLACE,—On the 2d inst., suddenly, at Bath, Colonel It. T. Wallace, late Madras Army. WATT.--On the 3d inst., at 63, Upper Bagot-street, Dub lin, Lieut.• Colonel Edward Watt, late of the 6th Bengal Light Cavalry, aged 62. London : Priraed and rrblished by WILLIAM ANDREWS, of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at TAE Surf Office No. )12. Strand, da the Precinct of the "Savoy, n the cehniy of Mildluog. -- Thursday, May 5, 1361, THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, MAY 5, 1864, } 1 I