The Sun. — London, England, 1854-03-28 00:00:00

THEATRE PtOYAL DRURY LANE, Lessee, Mr. E. T. Smith. THIS EVENING, MAncs 28, Will be performed LEONTE. Principal characters by Mr. Elliot Cater and Mr. Henri Drayton ; Misses Lowe and Featherstone. After which, THE FEAST OF THE DRAGON, and Magical Performances of the Chinese Troupe. To conclude with a new Ballet, entitled THE STAR OF THE RHINE, introducing those favourite Artistes, Mddles. Therese and Annie Cushnie, Miss M. Charles, Monis, Milano, and Gr. nd Corps de Ballet. THEATRE ROYAL HAY MARKET. Under the management of Mr. Blackstone. THIS EVENING, ?Alma 28, Will be performed MONEY. Characters by Messrs. G. Vanden hoff, Tilbury, Howe, Buckstone, Compton, H. Corti, mid W. Farrell ; Mrs. L. S. Buckingham, Mrs. Fitzwilliam, &c. After which, WILLIKIND AND HYS DINAH. Supported by Messr3. Buck.stone and Corti ; AIL 33 Louisa Howard, Mrs. Fitzwil liam, and Mrs. Caulfield. To conclude with POPPING THE QUESTION. ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE, OXFORD-STREET. Under the Management of Mr. CRARLEJ SEAN. THIS EVENING, Menai 28, Will be performed THE MARRIED UNMARRIED. Supported by Messrs. W. Lacy, Ryder, and Cathcart; and Misses Heath and Ma rray. After which, THE CORSICAN BROTHERS. Principal cha racter by Mr. C. Kean. To cenclude with A STORM IN A TEA-CUP. Principal cha racters by Mr. and Mrs. W. Lacy. LYCEUM THEATRE. Under the Management of Madame Vestris. THIS EVENING. Meacii 28, Will be performed WANTED, A SHE - WOLF. Characters by Messrs. Charles Mathews, F. Mathews, and Baker; 311 58 Oli ver. To be followed by A CHARMING WIDOW. Concluding with NUMBER ONE ROUND THE CORNER. Aft er w hi c h . t he popular Fairy Ex travaganza, entitled ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WERE TWO KINGi. Characters by Messrs. Roxby, F. Matthews, and Bland; Madame Vestris, Misses St. George, Evanten, Mason, Martindal e , Ells, Wadham, and Foote: THEATRE ROYAL ADELPIII. Proprietor, Mr. B. W ebster.—Directress, Madame Celeste. THIS EVENING, MAsca 28, will be performed TWO LOVES AND A LIFE. Supported by Messrs. C. SelbY, Leigh Murray, facnjamin Webster, Keeley, and 0. Smith; Miss Woolgar and Madame Celeste. To conclude with THE SERIOUS FAMILY. Characters by Messrs. D. Webster, Leigh Murray, Parselle, and Keeley ;, Mrs, L. Murray, misses Woolgar, Fanny Maskell, and Laidlaw, and Mrs. Keeley. ROYAL OLYMPIC THEATRE. Lessee and Manager, Mr. A. Wigan. TIIIS EVENING, Mlaca 28, Nall be performed PLOT AND PASSION. Principal characters by Messrs. A. Wigan, F. Robson, Emery, Leslie, Franks, and 11. Ccoper; Miss E. Turner, and Mrs. Stirling To conclude with TILE LOTTERY TICKET. Characters by Messrs. Emery, and F. Robson; Mrs. Chatterley, and Miss Ellen Turner. STRAND TIIEATRE. So'e Lessee, Mr. F. W. Allcroft.—Directress, Miss Rebecca Isaacs. THIS EVENING, lisacia 28, Will be presented "NO IRISH NEED APPLY." Principal characters by Messrs. G. Hodson, Warren, and Herbert; Misses 11. Noel and Hammond. Followed by WHY DON'T SHE MARRY? After which, THE BLUE JACICET3. Follovied by THE PET OF THE PUBLIC. To conclude with Malone's Travestie of MACBETH. Stalls, 55.; Boxes, 35.; Pit, 11. 6d; gallery, 6d.; Private Boxes, It. I ts. 6d., to be had of Mr. Alteroft, 15, New Bond-street. ASTLErS EUROPE'S NATIONAL AmparrIIEATILE. Lessee and Manager, Mr. William Cooke. • THI3 EVENING, Msaca And during the week, will be presented the new, grand, and romantic spectacle entitled THE WOODNIA.O4'S MORSE; or, The Fates Knight—the Woodmen's Horse by the pet steed, Beauty, expressly trained by Mr. William Cooke. After which, the incomparable Scenes of the ARENA. To conclude with BE3S OF THE BELL. Box-office open from Eleven till Four. Stage Manager, Mr. W West. HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. Tate DAY —Morning 46 min.after 1 Evening 8 min.aft. 2 To•3losaow--Morning 25 min.after 2 l Evening 44 min.aft. 2 THE WEATHER.--BUN OFFICE, HARM 28. THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE. 55 —highest since noon yesterday. 44 —lowest this morning and during the night. 60—this day at noon. BAROMETER, 30'42. WIND, N.—Gentle breeze, and fine weather. ~~~ 4..cav ^ ~ i\'. ~ j e r ~~~ R V LONDON, TUESDAY, MARCH 23, 1354. England and France are at length at war with the Russian AUTOCRAT. Yesterday the announce ment of this important event was made at Paris and at London simultaneously--,to the Lords and Commons by a Message from the Quimr—to the Senators and Legislative Body by a Message from the EMPEROR. According to those memorable documents, every effort to bring about a pacifica tion has utterly failed, and there is, actually, an end of mere negotiation. A collision has, there fore, become inevitable, and the responsibility of that collision rests, of course, notoriously, not with the French, or English, or Turkish, but entirely and exclusively with the Russian Govern ment. It rests thus entirely and exclusively with the Russian Government, because, from the first step to the last in these deplorable transactions, the Russian Government has been the aggressor. It is a fact, patent to the knowledge of the whole world, that with the Chief of that daring and flagi tiousAutocracy, the cause of quarrel now about to be committed to the dread issues of battle, origi nated. It originated in his insatiable cupidity, in the lust of his ambition, in his greed of ag grandisement. As fax back as the time of PETER the GREAT, the policy of the Russian Cabinet has been directed towards the absorption of the Otto man territory and the ultimate seizure of Constan tinople. During the reign of the present AUTO CRAT, that lawless policy began to attain at last its point of culmination. Nay, so long ago as ten years from the present date, in 1844, circumstances so propitious appeared to indicate the approach of this point of culmination, that the Czar NICHOLAS deemed it advisable as a preliminary movement to visit this country himself for the purpose if possible of securing the complicity of England by secret consultations with the heads of the then dominant Administration. Thwarted for a while hY unavoidable incidents, the Emperor - NrcsoLAs deemed it advisable to postpone the attempt at a c onsummation of his wishes, consoling himself, however, for the delay by embodying the result of his adroit machinations so far, in the ingenious and confidential memorandum, penned by the hand of the astute and experienced NESSRLRODE. Subsequent efforts were made to bring about the desired arrangement as to the partition of Turkey, but each of those efforts in succession as ineffec tually as the one, already particularised. It was i n this manner, for example, that the Russian troops were conduct e d across the river Pruth, and marched into the heart of the Danubian during th at Pro vinces in 1 848, agitating period of revolutions. Occurrences mu l t i plied ; the hour was not encouraging ; the r _ ossacke were with drawn into Bessarab ia ; the aggressive p o li c y o f the Czar NicHoLAS was again doom e d t o an un- willing postponement. At length the hour so long, so eagerly, an d hitherto so vainly looked for, appeared to have arrived. The Cabinet of Vienna had. been bound over by ties of gratitud e to the CZAR, Whose forces had trampled out the flame which h a d threatened to consume the throne of the Hapsburg Dynasty, the flame kindled in Hungary by the genius of KOSSUTH into the conflagration of the War of Independence. Austria was, moreover, , 0 apArently at the moment, pre-occupied by the , 0 ~aftitioiAtraonc, the marauding people of Monte- • zmir.O. 741). t o binet of Berlin was well known to kri.a beep pledged by family bonds to an obsequi ous Ockiiii With whatever imperious mandate • , 4 might myttii4te from the King's imperial brotheTein4a* at St. Petersburg. Austria thus tranamelled by gratitude and Prussia by mar riagc—there remained only for the consideration of the Czn:, among the great Powers of Europe, France and England. And France and England seemed to be at loggerheads. There appeared at least to be every cause for estrangement be tween their Governments. NICHOLAS knew very well that England was agitated from one end to the other by the dread of a French invasion —that, in consequence of this panic, there had been effected in the national system of the militia a con siderable extension and a thorough reorganisa tion. He knew, moreover, that while the most friendly feeling was maintained between the British Court and the Orleans Princes, several of the members of the British Government had so far forgotten the dictates of prudence and of statesmanship, as to vilify at pub lic dinners and from the elevation of the hustings the thrice-elected ruler of the French population. Everything, indeed, seemed to intimate the abso lute impossibility of a cordial. alliance being brought about between the two Governments. Besides, the CZAR manifestly observed, with no common degree of satisfaction, at this most de sirable moment, the installation of the complaisant Foreign Secretary of 1844 as the Prime Minister of England, the chief of a powerful Coalition. Evidently at that moment the pear was ripe, ac cording to the belief of the Russian AUTOCRAT. It was so ripe that it had only to be shaken down with one bold move by the rude and daring hand of a Russian noble of the old school like Prince MENS CHIKOFF. The question of the Holy Places had just been settled amicably—in consequence of the magnanimous concessions made, at the instance of the Cabinet of St. James's, by the French Im perial Government. Nevertheless, NICHOLAS was resolved even then to bring the aid of religious fanaticism to bear upon the development of the designs of his political enterprise. Thereupon arose his demand of the Protectorate. Prince ATENSCHIKOFF was sent to Constantinople. The dream of PETER the Great was at last to be rea lised. The project of 1844 was, before the arrival of 1854, to be fulfilled. Again—but this time not as hesitatingly as in 1848—the Cossack hordes were led across the Pruth into Moldo- Wallachia. Thereupon the European Powers interposed, by their emissaries, between the as sailant and the assailed. In the desperate hope, even then, of preventing the horrors of a general war, after nearly forty years of almost uninter rupted tranquillity, they exhausted every de vice of diplomacy, every effort of negotia tion. During the course of which protracted endeavours more than twelve months sped by-- , twelve months not altogether lost, how ever, seeing that within the interval, for the first time in the history of the two countries, a really cordial alliance was effected between France and England, while gigantic and almost un paralleled efforts in the way of warlike preparations both by sea and by land, were being made simul taneously by their respective Governments. It is at that moment that we have now arrived. That is literally our present situation. The twelve or thirteen months spoken of, have just now elapsed. The last device of diplomacy has failed signally and definitively. The nego tiations so long persevered in have at length ter minated. The fact of their having terminated, no less than the consequent fact of open war being the next necessity, has been formally stated by a Message addressed (each by its respective Sove reign) to the French and British. Legislatures— stated thus as recently as yesterday. So that, to-day at last, for the first time for nearly forty years, we are brought face to face not merely with the dread necessity, but with the actual fact, of war—and no little war either, but a great European conflict : on the one side Russia, on the other England, France, Turkey. A war, too, not coming, but actually arrived. Arrived, moreover, with intelligence as 'startling and incit ingas the advance ofa Russian army 30,000 strong across the Danube, opposite Ibraila, in pursuit of the Turkish forces, then retiring upon Adrian ople. Intelligence such as this, coming to us at a moment like the present, cannot but act as a timely incentive to the allied Governments. It cannot but impel those Governments upon a course of action so prompt and energetic that the great war, entered upon by them with such humane re luctance, may, with corresponding rapidity, be gloriously and brilliantly consummated. The QUEEN has announced to both Houses of Parliament the termination of negotiations with the AUTOCRAT, and that "she feels bound to afford active assistance to her Ally the SULTAN against unprovoked aggression." Her faithful and efficient collaborateu r th e E mperor N APOLEON V III. has made similar declarations to the Corps Legislatif of France, so that at this moment we are in a state of war. The Temple of Janus has thus been re-opened after the thirty-nine years during which its gates rusted on their hinges. We must now be prepared for an arduous struggle, on the results whereof depend the destinies of civilisation. It cannot be a "little war" in which the principles of liberty and despotism are engaged, and each struggling for existence. We cannot doubt the result, nor do we feel the slightest. hesitation in accepting the unprovoked challenge. Boldly we enter on the contest, which we spared no effort, becoming men of honour, and lovers of peace, to avert. But while we shrink not from the encounter, it would be an act of the most cul pable folly to undervalue the enormous powers and almost miraculous resources of the adversary. Let us not lay the " flattering unction to our souls," that we can "double up Russia like a sheet of paper," that a single campaign will decide the contest, or that the increase of the income tax for six months will be the only primary sacri fice necessary to the honourable solution of the great problem. No, we must be prepared to strain every nerve—to spare no exertion to bring matters to so auspicious a conclusion. But we must, at the same time, while making those vigorous efforts, act as if hostilities should be pro tracted for an indefinite period, and should husband all our resources, so as to render them available for the grand struggle in which we are embarked. Our attention, then, is specially directed to the state of the Money Market, and the position of the nation with respect to " the sinews of war," the great means of carrying on our operations vigorously and efficiently. When, then, does the Chancellor of the Ex chequer mean to do to arrest the stream of bullion departing from our shores ?—to prevent a monetary crisis of unparalleled magnitude ? We know to our cost what he has done to strip the Exchequer of the large balances that would, at the present moment, be of such peculiar value. We know the direct loss he has occasioned to the nation by the attempted conversion of the South Sea and other Stocks, despite of warnings that might have deterred any man of ordinary prudence from ven turing on so hazardous an experiment. We are, therefore, entitled to ask, what he means to do ';o repair the enormous damage he has inflicted on the country by the ill-advised and injudicious attempt. It is, indeed, time that the currency question should be ventilated in Parliament, not merely by a casual allusion flung forth during a debate on another subject, but by a sub stantive motion. The question as to the ap plicability of the Bank Charter Act of 1844 —while we aro engaged in hostilities with such a nation as Russia —while the • Colossus of the North is defying tho mazitime Powers—must be calmly debated, and seriously considered. It requires no extreme views, no strong opinions in favour of monetary reform, to perceive that the time has arrived when something must be done. Those who at other times, and under very differ ent circumstances, supported that unwise and in judicious law, must now feel that its modification in some respect is imperatively required. Even the Times itself, the organ of the Moneyocracy— the bullionist champion—many weeks since—in the middle of February—admitted that " the diminution of 700,000/. that has taken place since 1844, in the paper circulation of the country, partly through the failure of pri vate bankers, and partly from their having entered into agreements to substitute the notes of the Bank of England for their own, was a cir cumstance that was not intended, and which should be remedied forthwith." After such an acknowledgment, it is manifest that the question is merely one of degree that as something ought to be done, the nature and extent of the fitting alteration should be taken into considera tion without a moment's unnecessary delay. It was universally admitted that but for the suspension of cash payments, and the enactment of a Bank restriction law, we could not have car ried on the protracted and formidable contest in which we were engaged at the close of the last and the beginning of the present century. How much greater would the difficulty have been if there was not merely a necessity for maintaining the convertibility of the Bank note, but also if small notes were absolutely prohibited, and the power of issuing the larger denominations re stricted within very narrow limits, and subjected to the most stringent regulations? If Sir ROBERT PEEL were now living, he would be the first to recognise the necessity for an immediate change, and that before an enormous amount of unne cessary mischief was inflicted on the trade and commerce of the country, and great, and in many instances, ruinous losses occasioned to respectable families. Let his surviving friends act as they believe he would have done if his services were still available to the country. It is on Mr. GLADSTONE that his mantle has descended. It is to Mr. GLADSTONE that we look for relief by means of measures suitable to the crisis. Every day's delay is injurious, and be fore many weeks have elapsed the damage may be irreparable. To use a homely but expressive maxim, it is but little good " to shut the stable door after the steed has been stolen." Let not Great Britain be driven to the futile and ridiculous expedient. While we have some gold still left, let us adopt means to stop the leakage, or to provide an adequate substitute. We have already pointed out the mode in which it may be effected. Great relief might be given by permitting the issue of notes to any extent on adequate security—still greater by the issue of the smaller denomination of notes, which would liberate thirty or forty millions of sovereigns now absorbed in the transactions of every-day life. But greater than all would be the creation of a National Bank, whose notes would be the only medium for the satisfaction of fiscal demands, and which would, therefore, be useful to the full extent of our taxation. We have no doubt that the value of this potent instrument of finance will bo fully recognised long before the present generation has passed away, and that the rejection of a paper currency will be regarded in a similar light to the proceedings of the opera tives when they broke up and destroyed the machines intended to economise and diminish manual labour. The reasoning in one case is not in any respect. more tenable than in the other, and we have no doubt that before the close of the 19th century, the Acts of 1819 and 1844 will be referred to as affording additional and most conclusive evidence of " the little wisdom," or rather the absolute want of wisdom, with 'which the affairs of great nations have been mismanaged. DEATH OF THE DUKE OF PORTLAND. A telegraphic despatch, received from Doncaster to day, states that the Duke of Portland died on Monday, at Welbeck, near Worksop, at 4.50 P.M. For some time the health of the Duke had been seri ously declining, and great anxiety had been felt by his family, his many friends, and the numerous tenantry to whom he had always been a most generous and liberal land!ord. Within the last few days his Grace became much worse, and a disposition to fits of fainting gave great alarm to his medical attendants. His daughters, Lady Harriet, and Lady Mary Bentinck, and Lady Howard de Walden, and Lady Charlotte Denison, were at Welbeck Abbey. The Marquis of Titchfield, who is himself very much indisposed, had been sent for from London, and his remaining son, Lord Henry Ben- tinck, had also been informed of his illness. His Grace was in his 86th year, and was one of the few remain ing political characters contemporary with Burke, Wyndham, Fox, and the great men of that day. THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, MARCH 28, 1854. COURT CIRCULAR. The Queen and Prince Albert, attended by Colonel the Hon. Charles Grey and Captain the Hon. Dudley de Ros, visited the Duchess of Gloucester yesterday afternoon at Gloucester House. Her Majesty had a dinner party last evening at Buck ingham-palace. The company included her Royal High ness the Duchess of Kent, the Archbishop of York and the Hon. Mrs. Musgrave, the Duke of Newcastle, the Marquis of Cholmpndeley, Lady Fanny Howard, Lady Frances Bruce, the Baroness de Speth, the Earl of Car digan, Lord and Lady John Russell, the Right Hon. T. B. Macaulay, Brigadier-General Pennefather, Briga dier-General Buller, and Count Henkel. Mr. Pratt had the hononr of exhibiting in Bucking ham Palace gardens his tubular life boat and tubular collapsing boat to his Royal Highness the Prince. Chevalier Bunsen, the Prussian Minister, transacted business yesterday at the Foreign-office. fifer Majesty will hold a Privy Council to-morrow (Wednesday) at Buckingham Palace. A Cabinet Council was held at the Foreign-office, Downing-street, yesterday afternoon, which was attended by the whole of her Majesty's Ministers. The Council sat two hours. THE CRYSTAL PALACE.—We understand that her Majesty has signified her gracious intention to be present at the opening of the Crystal Palace, which, as at present contemplated, will take place on or about the 24th of May. ACCIDENT TO THE KING OP PRUSSIA.--The Rine- met with a slight accident on the 22d inst. at Charlotte:burg. Whilst walking in the Palace garden, as is his Majesty's wont, at night, he struck his face against a projecting branch of a tree, and hurt the skin beneath the left eye. His Majesty's extreme shortsightedness will make the possibility of the accident very intelligible. The casualty has produced a low fever, for, which his Majesty has been advised by his medical attendants to keep his bed. DESTRUCTIVE FIRE AT THE WEST INDIA DOCKS.— (THIS DAY.)—This morning, between three and four o'clock, a most destructive fire raged on the banks of the Thames, at the Pier Head, West India Docks, Black wall, creating the utmost consternation amongst the shipping. The building is extensive, and is used as the master's office and storehouse. The alarm was given by one of the officers on duty, and messengers were im mediately despatched for the engines ; but, owing to the combustible nature of the stock in the storehouse, the flames made terrific havoc, the reflection of which was the medium of alarming nearly the whole of the metropolis, so that the police on the bridges sent intelli gence to the fire station before the messengers had time to arrive, and reached the fire in a quarter of an hour, and.got to work in admirable style, under the direc tion of the district fireman, Messrs. Gogo, Ferrad, and Henderson. All the shipping lying in the river near the docks sent their crews to assist the firemen, as great fears were entertained that some of the vessels lying in the decks might share a similar fate, from the hugo flakes of fire flying over the rigging. After great exer tion on the part of all present, the fire was at length subdued. The cause of this calamity was the upsetting of a naphtha lamp. Building and contents not insured. The master's offices and storehouse entirely destroyed. PERU.—The private letters from Peru by the last arrival seem to indicate complete political disorganisation throughout the country. Revolutionary outbreaks con tinue, that of Caxamarca, in the north, having been followed by another at Arequipa, in the south. The contempt for the Government is alleged to be daily in creasing, and their financial malversations are described by their opponents to be both shameless and notorious. It is asserted that all their recent surplus has been squan dered without any measures having been taken for call ing in the base coin in circulation, and that the 200,000/. raised in England a year ago, with the ostensible ob ject of paying off specific liabilities to that extent, had not been so appropriated. So long as they retain Power, it is added, every effort will be made to pro mote the sale in the markets of Europe of those por tions of the sterling bonds of the domestic debt in which the heads of the Government, its favourites, and the contractors may be personally interested, and it is pointed out that, inasmuch as the manner in which the debt has been increased by the creation of the bonds may cause them at a future time to be declared illegal, the utmost caution will be necessary on this side. With regard to the various contests by which the Republic is ravaged the latest intelligence is that Belzu was renew ing his preparations for a Bolivian invasion, and that the insurgent leader Elias, after his - defeat at Ica, had gone south with his cavalry, and would doubtless join the malcontents at Arequipa, whither also General Castillo, the former President, had proceeded, 1 AiIONEY MARKET AND COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE. CITY, TWO O'CLOCK. The sales of cotton at Liverpool yesterday were estimated at 4,000 bales, all to the trade. The market was heavy, and prices had a downward tendency. The sales comprised 3,000 American, 140 Bahia at Gd., 300 Egyptian at Gd. to 91d., 200 Surat at 31d. to 4d., and 130 Sea Island at ls. to 2s. Bd. per lb. Railway shares were heavy at rather lower prices. The letters by the Overland Mail are expected this afternoon, the mail having arrived at Dover. The accounts from NewYork.state that the foreign goods market was firm. Breadstuffs were active, but rather unsettled in price. Rates to Liverpool tended upwards. The last weekly return of the City Banks showed a contraction in every depart ment. The discounts decreased 278,427 dots., the deposits 1,749,092 dols., the circulation 72,275 dols., and the specie 727,917 dols. From California we learn that the markets con tinued depressed. Gas had been introduced in the streets of San Francisco. The mining opera tions had been favourable. The following is a translation of an order issued at Cuba, and which may be interesting to the coal trade. "Ist. Vessels entering the port of this island with mine ral coal, having on board an equal or greater quantity than the number of tons stated in their registers, shall continue enjoying the benefits and exemptions that were hitherto granted to them, even when they brin g o th er me r chanchise besid es . " 2d. Vessels importing coal solely, but in lesser quan tity than their measure, shall have the relief only upon the portion occupied by the coal; and the difference between this portion and that which may result from the ad measurement to be effected, will be subjected to the pay ment of the full tonnage duty ; but the vessels are allowed no other exemptions. "3d. Vessels havingon board, besides coal in any quantity to their measure, other cargo in any quantity, and in the same case respecting the tonnage dues, but will be sub jected to the payment of ponton and health dues, visits, registering, and other usual charges. "4th, and last. Such vessels as after being discharged shall give a result of twenty per cent. less than the quan tity manifested and certified by the respective consuls, lose the right to any exemption, and will be subjected to the charges established for other trading vessels. It is also her Majesty's will that the exemptions specified are to be understood for the term of one year, to be reckoned from the date of the publication of this order, within which time its effects are to be marked, so that, with a full understanding of the subject, the measure may be defi nitely confirmed at the proper day, or revoked, as may be convenient." Public securities have gone down again consider ably this morning, and all are sellers, compara tively to former periods. Consols, after being 8611 have been as low as 85k, and are now only 86 to It seems strange that the desire to sell should so suddenly possess the public mind, and that the funds having long since bee n t oo high compared with the increasing value of money, and the politi cal incertitude, should not sooner have adjusted themselves to what might be considered a fair stan dard, but this in part arises from the erroneous views which some of our capitalists and annuitants have entertained, and the impression that the Em peror of Russia would give way at the last moment. The fact that there is not a good balance in the national treasury, and that Government will be in convenienced, or will have to press upon the Bank of England for accommodation, has an injurious effect. Exchequer Bills have continued at 2s. dis count to 2s. premium. Foreign Stocks are very dull and tend downward. Russian 5 per Cents. are 82 to 824„ being lower ; and in the 4-?. per Cents. there have been no deal ings. Portuguese 4 per Cents. are steady, at 34 ; and Mexican have declined nearly I per cent., being 22 to Spanish Deferred are inactive, at and the Passive Converted at 3.. Dutch 22 per Cents. are i lower, being 511,- ; and the 4 per Cents. under yesterday's price, being 82. In Railway Shares there has been a further de cline of about per cent„ and with an indisposi tion to do business. Among those dealt in are— Great Northern, Lancashire and Yorkshire, York and Berwick, Eastern Counties, and South-Wes tern. French shares are about 10s. lower, but Belgian tolerably firm. The Mining shares have been quiet, but at about former rates. In Banks there is not much doing. The Land Companies' shares are steady. BRITISH FUNDS THIS DAY AT ONE O'CLOCK, (From the Official List.) lltisines• demo 3 per Cent. Consols Annuities BG a 3 5 2 6 Consols for Account 18th April 863 I 53 GA Exchequer Bills, 2d. £l000 £5OO 2 d 2 p Small 2 d 2 p PRICE OF FOREIGN FUNDS AT ONE O'CLOCK. Mexican 3 per Cent. - 22 , 1 3 - Portuguese Bonds, 4 per Cent 34 Russian Bonds, 1822, 5 per Ceut. £ St B2 x d Spanish'New Deferred, 3 per Cent. l6f Ditto Passive (Converted) Dividends on the above payable in London. Dutch Exchange, 2i per Cent. 12 Guil Ditto 4 per Cent. Certificates B2' HALF-PAST TWO. Consols B6 a Ditto April Account B6 INDIA AND CHINA. —The overland telegraphic intelli gence from India and China yesterday appears very satis factory. The long-looked-for fall in the rate of exchange at Shanghai has at length taken place, the quotation, which was 6s. 4d. on the former occasion, being now ss. Bd. The drain of silver from England is likely, therefore, to be effectually checked. AUSTRALIA.—The Australian advices by the overland mail are 49 days later from Sydney than those received on Monday last by the Sydney steamer, and 44 days later from Melbourne, and 43 from Adelaide. SEIZURE OF COMBUSTIBLES.—On Saturday the officers of Customs seized a vessel in the Thames laden with saltpetre and sulphur consigned to a Russian port. It is understood that the government intend to enforce the penalties against the shippers.---Times.--[We have made inquiries, but cannot learn that any vessel with such a cargo has bien seized here. We find, however, that a Spanish cutter, laden with 100 tons of guano and naval stores—v., four new anchors, two chain cables, and one smaller one, was seized by the Thames police, off Hanover-hole, Rotherhithe, in the course of Satur day. It is said that the anchors, &C., were concealed under the guano. The particulars of the seizure have been laid before the Board of Customs this morning.— Shipping Gazette.] ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION OF A CLERGYMAN OF THE CHURCH OF ENnAND.—The Rev. Mr. M cot,o/Easton lodge, Stamford, was shot at on Thursday evening last. The assassin wks traced by an Irish bloodhound belong ing to the rev. gentleman. He is a farmer at Ketton, Stamford, and will be brought up forthwith to account for his crime. Mr. Moore is domestic chaplain to a nobleman, and highly -connected. The affair is most mysterious, as /Ir. Moore knew nothing of the ruffian. A BRUTE.--kt the petty sessions held at Watford a few days since, Mr. H. H. Burchell presiding Septimus Henry Moate, a farmer, was charged with having cruelly tortured a cow. From the evidence it appeared that the animal belongei to the defendant, and had been brought with a young calf to Watford market for sale. While in the market tie cow became very much excited, and to prevent its eßtape defendant ordered its horns to be secured by ropes to the tail of a cart. This act still fur ther maddened tie poor beast ; and one horse being in sufficient to drag it along, Moate ordered a second to be attached. By t'cis means the animal was forced on wards some distaace, until its moans and evident severe suffering caused the police to interfere, and it was at length slaughtered in the street. The bench considered the charge fully proved, and fined the defendant 10s., and 2/. 3s. 6d. costs. ATTEMPT ON THE HOLYWELL PROVINCIALIBANK.—A desperate attempt to break into this bank has just been made, and through the cowardice or carelessness of a police officer the burglar has escaped. Several attempts on the bank having of late been made, the utmost cau tion has b een o b serve d. F rom a backt window in the house the burglar was observed by the manager busily engaged in removing the bricks of the yard wall, with a light glimmering beside him, it being after midnight. This wall being a yard and a half in thickness, he was allowed to proceed with his task. A police officer being quietly sent for meanwhile, led by one of the female servants to the spot from the front, was instructed to keep his eye on the thief till he was joined by the manager at the back, so that the capture might be securely effected. Prior to entering the yard, the official insisted on havincr a light, and while the servant ran for one he became alarmed and allowed the thief to pass through the door he professed to guard and make his way down the street. The officer closely pursued him, but in about ten minutes returned with the intel ligence that the burglar had escaped into the woods at the lower end of the town. BUSINESS IN THE COURT OF CHANCERY.—The Courts of Chancery will rise for the Easter recess on Wednesday next, and will not sit again before the first day of Easter term, which falls this year on the Wednesday in Easter week. Nearly all the causes set down for hear ing in the respective courts are disposed of, and there will not remain in any one court, at the termination of this sitting, more than ten causes. Such a scarcity of business has not been known at this period of the year for a considerable time. An application has been made to the Lord Chancellor by the members of the bar, and also by the United Law Society, to induce his lordship to continue the sittings of the Court of Chancery throughout the year at Lincoln's-inn, instead of at West minster. His lordship has expressed himself willing to to take , any course most agreeable to the profession. There can be no doubt as the wishes of the profession upon this subject, and it is to be hoped that the absur dity of removing the courts to Westminster for six weeks in every year, and taking barristers, solicitors, and clerks away from their chambers and from the public offices, to the great detriment of their clients' interests, will at length be finally abolished. LATEST FOREIGN NEWS THE WAR IN THE EAST. PASSAGE OF THE DANUBE BY 30,000 RUSSIANS. A telegraphic despatch, dated Ibrail, March 23d, at noon, received via Vienna, says : "Eighteen thousand Russians have crossed the Danube near Gedshid. The Turks retreated before them. 30,000 will have crossed by nightfall. Ge neral Luders supports these movements from Galatz." This is said to be authentic. It is partly con firmed by an announcement made by the Frem denblalt, which we inserted in this journal yester day, to the effect that at Bucharest on the 21st, Russian officers stated that on the 18th General Luders crossed the Danube near Isatchka, and stood with 45,000 men in Bulgaria. The circumstance of the two accounts not agreeing tends rather to confirm their general accuracy than to throw any doubt upon it. As they come from dif ferent quarters, and therefore from different sources, it is not to be wondered at that they should vary in their statements respecting such an occurrence ; while, if they are fictitious and have been circulated by Russian authorities to alarm the enemies of Russia, it is singular there should not be greater agreement between them. MORE FIGHTING, AND TWO THOUSAND RUSSIANS KILLED. Since writing the above, we have received a telegraphic despatch from Vienna, under date of this morning, which says :—" It is positive that 35,000 Russians crossed the Danube, near Mat shin, on the 23d, without meeting with any resistance." The Morning Post, in a second edition to-day, publishes the following telegraphic despatch, dated Bucharest, March 27 : " Prince Gortschakoff has attempted to occupy the island in face of Turtukai (Mokanon), but the bridge which he threw across the Danube has been destroyed by the Turks, and 2,000 Russians slain." The Morning Chronicle, in a third edition, gives advices from Belgrade of the 27th, which are to the same effect. They state that on the 15th Prince Gortschakoff attempted to take the island opposite Turtukai. His troops already covered the bridge which they had established, when the fire of the Turks brought it down, and it was carried away with all the men on it. The loss of the Russians was estimated at 2,000 killed and drowned. The loss of the Turks was insignificant. The following is from an Ibraila letter of the 9th inst. :—Notwithstanding the rigour of the season— for the ground is still covered with snow, and the nights are bitterly cold—the Turks have esta blished within the last few days a small camp in the plain of Matschin, near enough to their batte ries to protect them against a new attack by land. The typhus abdominalis had broken out iu the Russian hospitals. To-day the captain who com manded the above-mentioned attack was buried. There is a complete panic amongst the commerce of our port ; the storehouses are full of grain, and few vessels are expected ; the result is that the merchants, foreseeing the sad events of which this town may be the theatre at any moment, endeavour to save a portion of the property by sending it into the interior of the country. Unhappily this is ren dered almost impossible, as all the bullock-waggons have been called into requisition by the army of occupation ; they are not to be found at any price. To judge from the preparations which are being made on a large scale, the Russians have not aban doned their long-cherished plan of crossing the Da nube. Their last plan is said to be the following : —By means of the bridge now under construction in the timber-yards of Galatz they will cross the river opposite that town ; there they will establish a battery to defend their bridge, and, crossing the plain at Zatoha, they will follow the road along the foot of the mountains which leads directly to Matschin. At the same time the flotilla, consisting of two steamers and 8 gun-boats, carrying in all 32 guns, namely 4 on each steamer and 3 on each gun-boat, will attack Matschin in the flank, by doubling the Wallachian island at the point called Goura-Jalo • mitza. Independently of these two attacks, simul taneous on different points, tho batteries on the Wallachian island, taking advantage of the con fusion, will attack the Turkish batteries on that side. A letter from Bucharest, 10th, says :—" M. de Laurin, Consul-General of Austria, has received a notification from Baron de Bruck, that the Turks will respect steamers navigating on the Danube under the Austrian flag. Prince Gortschakoff, in a visit to M. de Laurin, is said to have declared that Russia would do the same so long as Austria shall remain neutral. The sending of steamers to protect and save Austrian property in those coun tries is, however, about to be prevented, by the circumstance that the Russians are about to throw bridges across the Danube in furtherance of their preparations." NEUTRALITY OF THE GERMAN POWERS. A telegraphic despatch from Vienna says, the ostensible object of the treaty between Austria and Prussia, a draft of which was sent from Vienna to Berlin on the 23d, is the maintenance of the neutrality of the two States and of Germany ; but, in fact, the treaty is the instrument of an offensive and defensive alliance. The terms, however, are not yet definitively settled, but the Austrian Correspondenz, in refer ence to this subject, says that there is no reason to doubt that a closer alliance, and a more perfect understanding, will be the result of the intercom munications of the two cabinets. We stated yesterday that Baron Hess left Vienna on the 26th on a mission to Bertha, with regard to the treaty. We extract the following from a St. Petersburgh letter of the 19th :—" I learn from a good source that the Court of Russia has recognised the neutrality of Austria and Prussia, and that the more readily as he had never expressed a desire to see them act differently. The Russian Govern. ment is convinced that it is sufficiently strong to await all eventualities. Up to the present moment, it has given assistance to others, but has never de manded any. There is no question of a new attempt at mediation. Notwithstanding, the Russian Go vernment is not altogether pleased with the attitude assumed by Germany." A Berlin letter of the 24th says :—" In the com mittee on the loan, M. de Manteuffel is endeavour ing to combat the objections brought forward against the policy of the Government, by saying that the Government has not manifested, in the course of the negotiations, any preference for Russia, . and would not allow itself to be carried over to that side. The proposition of the deputy Keller to limit the publicity of the pro ceedings in the Second Chamber will, it is thought, bA adopted. According to it, on the motion of the President or of two members, the chamber is to form itself into a secret committee to decide if the sitting is to be a secret one or not. This proposi tion is probably intended to prevent the discussions on the loan from being made public. As a pendant to the new Portafoglio, which Russian diplomacy has had printed at Berlin, and containing the notes of Russia on the affair of the East, the first number of the documents of Russian diplomacy has appeared. Th e mos t i mportant i n the collection is the secret and confidential circular addressed to the Russian diplomatic agents in Ger many, in 1839, and contained in the diplomatic revelations published in February, 1851. The ob ject of this circular is to make known that the demands addressed to the Germanic Confederation, both as regards its position at home and abroad, have for object to take Russia as its protector. THE BALTIC FLEET. ------ - A letter of the 22d inst. from Copenhagen states thtt on the 20th Sir Charles Napier arrived there in the Valorous steamer, Captain Buckle. The Danes were excessively pleased with him for taking off his hat on landing at the Custom-house stairs. Sir Charles then paid a visit to Mr. Buchanan, our Minister, and with him proceeded to pay his re spects to the Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs. II is said that the King of Denmark refused to see the gallant admiral, on a plea of ill-health, but, in reality, from an indisposition to offend the Rus sian party, which is rather strong there. On the morning following Sir Charles Napier returned in the Valorous to Mingo Sound, and it was expected that the fleet would enter the Baltic on the 23d, and pass the Great Belt in a day or two. Tlo Ministry is in a wretched state, but still they day in in spite of their unpopularity, which has iicreased tenfold since they refused to leave office, Th► Diet has voted a sum of 400,000 rixdollars as anadditional war credit, and this money is to be sVnt by a Ministry in which the Chambers have manimously declared that they have no con fidence• Verily there is " something rotten in the Stateof Denmark." A elegraphic7despatch, dated Nyborg, March 27, sop The fleet under Admiral Napier, 23 vessels in all, anchored here yesterday, and has just sailed for Kiel. The weather is fine." PASSAGE OF THE GREAT BELT. By telegraph we learn from Kiel, also under date of yesterday, that yesterday morning the fleet, 23 strong, had all passed the Great Belt, steering for that port. Tile Miranda was still taking soundings in the Baltic. A letter from Stockholm, 17th, says :—" Coun cillor of State Wollenherz yesterday announced to the Diet that 21 European and two American go vernments have replied to the notification of the neutrality of Sweden. The Brazilian government is the only one that has not sent an answer. Greece and Tuscany have confined themselves to acknowledging the notification of the declaration. The other governments have approved of it. The recognition of Russia is dated the 7th, two days after the audience given by the Emperor to Gene ral Nording, the Swedish ambassador." THE BLACK SEA. A despatch from Odessa of the sth states that a division of the Russian fleet had just left Sebastopol with the object of provisioning and reinforcing the Russian forts on the Circassian coast. Letters from Constantinople also state that, on the 13th, two steamers of the allied fleets had come in with in formation that the Russians were in the act of conveying 12,000 men to Redout Kale. CONST ANTINOPLE. Advices from Constantinople of the 16th inst. state that the convention relative to the rights and privileges which the Sultan has engaged to confer on the Christians of his empire was not signed at that date. From this circumstance it has been inferred at Vienna that some serious and perhaps insurmountable difficulty has presented itself, arising from Ottoman exclusiveness. In fact, how ever, no unreasonable delay has taken place. The reforms contemplated.by the Sultan involve a com plete reconstruction of the civil and administra tive institutions of the empire and the prepara tion of a new code; it is not, therefore, astonishing that the whole business has not been settled with a stroke of the pen. For the rest, the Sultan has given his word to the powers, and the reforms will certainly be carried out. Another letter of the same date from the Turkish capital, states, however, that the conven tion between England, France, and Turkey, was signed on Monday, and forwarded for England the same night by her Majesty's steamer Banshee. This convention will be kept very secret, for different reasons, and especially because war has not been formally declared by France and England against Russia, as also in order not to awaken any susceptibility on the part of Austria and Prussia. The con ven ti on con t a i ns a ll t h e particulars about the conditions of the alli ance—what active aid the Western Powers will give Turkey against Russia, and in what. manner— at the same time plainly and positively renouncing all ambitious views of material or exclusive advan tage and territorial aggrandisement. As regards the stipulations made in favour of the non-Mussul man subjects of the Sultan, they will form a sepa rate note, comprising the different points, but attached to the treaty, on the basis which the Porte has already admitted--of ameliorating the whole administrative system of the empire in fa vour of the non-Mussulman subjects of the Sultan. In this note, which is attached to the treaty, the particular conditions on which the rayahs will be permitted gradually to participate in all civil and political rights will be specially enumerated. The same letter says :—" When will the French and British forces be here ? There is not much time to be lost. It is the general belief that the Russians meditate a passage of the Danube in a large body very soon. suppose Omer Pacha's army beaten (which it is to be hoped will not be the case) ; it will require a ready force of French and English to stay the march of the Russians upon Constantinople. Where are the British troops going to land ? The general opinion is, either at the Gulf of Eynos or the Dardanelles. When? Nobody knows. Will they immediately proceed to Adrianople ? In sending 20,000 men, England is sending as many soldiers as she can spare. But 20,000 men are but a handful. The people of England must not imagine that the Rus sian empire is to tremble before such numbers as these. Let us rather regard the present expedition as the advanced guard of twice that number, who are to follow. A war with Russia is no small quarrel, especially if a decisive result is to be ob tained ; and the object of a great war can only be to obtain a great end, for which great measures must be adopted." FRANCE. FRENCH DECLARATION OF WAR. In the sitting of the Corps Legislatif yesterday Monday), the Minister of State was introduced, and in the name of the Emperor read a message, announcing that the last resolutions of the Cabinet of St. Petersburg had placed Russia in a state of war with France, the responsibility of which en tirely rested on the Russian Government. The assembly received the announcement with acclamations. The President, in reply to the Message, said that the Emperor might rely on the unanimous assist ance of the Corps Legislatif, as well as of the whole country. The acclamations were renewed, and the as sembly broke up amid repeated cries of " Vive l'Empereur." The same announcement was made to the Senate, where it was received with the same enthusiasm. The Moniteur of to-day publishes the following declaration : " Art. 1. A delay of six weeks, dating from this day, is granted to Russian trading vessels to leave French ports. Consequently, Russian trading ves sels actually in our ports, or those which, having left Russian ports before the declaration of war, shall enter French ports, may enter and complete their cargoes up to the 9th of May inclusively. " Art. 2. Such of these ships as should be cap tured by French cruisers, after having left the ports of the empire, shall be let free, if they can prove by their papers on board that they were making direct for their port of destination, and had not been yet able to reach it. (Signed) " DROITYN DE LIMY& "March 27, 1854." The Moniteur also declares that Russian subjects may continue to reside in France under the pro tection accorded by the law to all strangers, on the sole condition for them to respect it. The text of the Convention of Alliance between Turkey, France, and England was received yester day morning at the Foreign-office. It is believed that a communication to that effect will, without much delay, be published in the Moniteur. It is stated that Prince Demidoff, who for several years past has resided in Florence, has written to the Emperor Nicholas, placing at his Majesty's disposal " his fortune and his sword." The Prince is the husband of the Princess Mathilde, daughter of the ex-King Jerome, and consequently- first cousin to the Emperor of the French. The bands of several regiments of the garrison of Paris have been for some time practising the air, " God save the Queen," in order to play it on the arrival of the English auxiliaries, whose bands will, no doubt, return the compliment by playing the now appropriate air of " Partant pour la Sync." A Paris paper of yesterday morning takes upon itself to announce that on the 22d instant orders had been despatched from London to Sir Charles Napier, giving him directions to commence hostili ties against Russia as soon as the weather would permit. It is hardly necessary to say that the paper in question gives no authority (but its own) for the statement ' • but, alth oug h it must ev id ently be incorrect, in the present feverish state of the public mind it created great uneasiness at the Bourse, and a further fall in all public securities was the consequen ce . It appears that in the affair of M. de Motalem bert, the Government is determined to have mat ters pushed to extremity. M. de Persigny has had an interview with the president of the committee, and declared to him that the intention of proceed ing against M. de Montalembert was unchange able. It is even said that he made use of the fol lowing words with reference to this affair :—" We have as yet met but one stone on our road, and it must be crushed." The Emperor has refused to receive a deputation which was desired to request him to renounce the proceedings, and there is now scarcely any hope of the authorisation being re fused, as the G overnmen t rec k ons on 180 vo t e s, at the very least, against M. de Montalembert. The Patrie announces last evening officially that the English cavalry are next week to pass through. Paris. The Havre journals publish the following impor tant telegraphic despatch from the Minister of Marine to the chief of the maritime service at Havre : " Paris, March 25. " Inform your Chamber of Commerce that letters of marque will not be delivered by the United States, and that the Federal Government has formally de clared to the representative of France that acts so contrary to international law will not be t o l erated on the territory of the Union : " All the securities again declined yesterday on the Bourse. The Three per Cents. opened at 63f, 850., rose to 64f., and fell to 63f. 55c., th e closing price for the end of the month. The Four-and-a-Half . per Cents. closed at 90f. 25c. ; Orleans Railway Shares, 1,065 f. ; Rouen, 840 f. ; Havre, 435 f. : Great Northern, 717 f. 50c. ; Strasburg, 690 f. ; New Shares, 515 f. ; Lyons to Paris, 787 f. 50c. ; Lyons to the Mediterranean, 650 f. ; 'Western of France, 565 f. ; Bordeaux to Cette, 5121. 50c. ; Great Central of France, 410 f. ; Lyons to Geneva, 430 f. ; Bank of Credit Mobilier, 515 f. ITALY. ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION OF THE DUKE OF PARMA. We learn by telegraph, from Vienna, under date of yesterday, that on the 26th, at a quarter to 5 in the evening, the Duke of Parma was stabbed at Turin, with a dagger, in the stomach. The Duke is not dead, but there is little chance of his reco very. The assassin escaped. Some arrests have taken place. The Grand Duke of Tuscany has conferred the decoration of the Ist class of Military Order of Merit upon Field-Marshal Radetzky, Lieut.-Mar shal Prince Lichtenstein, and other distinguished officers in the Austrian army. The same decora tion has been conferred upon the hereditary Prince of Tuscany. The Caiollico of Genoa publishes an encyclic letter of Pius IX. to the bishops of the Armenian Catholic sect, in which his Holiness defines certain ecclesi astical controversies, and gives some instructions for drawing a line between the Armenian Catholics and Armenian heritics, but allowing certain pecu liar rites and customs belonging to the former. Prince Frederick William of Prussia left Naples on the 13th for Sicily. MI SPAIN. In the Madrid Gazette of the 22d, contains a notification that the Queen has ordered two Post office vans to be constructed for the railway from Madrid to the Meditteranean. A school of practical navigation is about to be established on board the man-of-war the Soberano. Colonel Garcia Munos, who was arrested in the recent events, had been sent off to the Canaries. The Queen, accompanied by the King Don Fran cisco and by the Princess of the Asturias, was to go on the 23d, in grand ceremony to the Church of Atocha, to decorate the statue of the Virgin with the Collar of the Golden Fleece. This will be done to fulfil a vow made by her Majesty. The Three per Cents. were done at 34.50 ; the New Three per Cents. at 18.30 ; the Debt of the First Class at 8.10 ;,and that of the Second at 4.30. MALTA. FURTHER ARRIVALS OF TROOPS. The following is from Malta, dated March 17 :—The Orinoco steamer, which left Malta (after landing the Coldstream Guards) on the 4th for Gibraltar, returned on the 15th, bringing Lieut.-Colonel the Hon. A. A. Spencer ; Majors Staveley and Fielden ; Captains MacMahon (lady and two children), Spring (lady and three children), Browne, Fen wick, Faussett, Robinson, Howard, and Hon. C. Agar; Lieutenants Green, Cooper, Streatfield, Preston, Caulfield, Fletcher, Thornton, Hon. H. Handcock, and Hoskins ; Ensigns lagham, Eyre, Wood, Bradford, and Horey ; Paymaster Bennett ; Adjutant Gregory ; Quartermaster Walsh ; Surgeon Swittenham, and Assistant-Surgeons Thomson and Gibbons, and 923 non-commissioned officers and privates, five women and three children, of the 44th Regiment, which were immediately landed, and marched to the encampment prepared for them at St. Clements, within the Cottonera district. The hired transport Orient, Captain Lawrence, followed on the morning of yesterday, the 16th, in twenty-five days from Cork and seventeen from Gibraltar, bringing Lieutenant-Colonel Trollope ; Captains Tyler, Dickson, and Daubeney Lieutenants Wilkieson, Gwynne, Cook, and Hay ; En signs Gilpin and Cubitt ; Paymaster Drought; Adjutant Sanderson ; Quartermaster Nowlan ; Assistant-Surgeon Young, 428 non-commissioned officers and privates, 29 women, and 42 children, of the 62d; besides detach ments for the 9th and 49th Regiments. The 62d was landed on the same afternoon, and marched into the Floriana Barrack, being intended to form part of the local garrison. The detachments joined their respective head-quarters. These arrivals bring up the number of troops stench have reached this island, by nine steamers and three transports, since the 28th of February, .t 3 286 officers, 8,109 non-commissioned officers and pri vates, 251 females (including officers' wives), and 111 children. Total, 8,757. The troops under tents have had two nights of very heavy rain, which cannot but have drenched their bed ding. _ An order has been issued for the medical officers of regiments destined for Turkey to instruct daily the bandsmen and drummers in binding up wounds and such other surgical and medical assistance usually ex acted from this class of auxiliaries in the field. A subaltern has been ordered to mount guard at sunset at the Porto Reale, or principal town gate of Valletta, and a sergeant's guard takes the Marina gate at sunset, relieving the police stationed there throughout the day. Several cargoes of bullocks have arrived from Tunis, Tripoli, and other ports of Barbary, but firewood and straw continue wanting. The com missariat department has been reinforced by another as sistant and three other deputy-assistant commissaries general, making up the entire staff to fourteen. The Leander frigate, Cyclops steam-frigate, and Apollo store-ship, sailed for Beycos Bay on the 15th, with stores and provisions for the fleet still at anchor there, on the 13th inst. Eregli, in the Sea of Marmon., is spoken of as a place at which there is a probability of the English troops being disembarked; but this would be in case of the Austrians being undecided. If they were to declare an armed neu trality, or an active union with the Western Powers, our troops would then be landed at Varna or in the Crimea. Nothing but the destruction of Sebastopol can give per manence to any settlement of the present difficulties; and whateven‘ we may choose to do at first, that great object must be always kept in view. It is not true that any Russian ships have made an attack on Chevketil since the allied fleets entered the Black Sea, so that the blame attached to them by the English papers for suffer ing such a thing is without foundation. The Russians have placed a boon across the Sulina mouth of the Danube, and the Retribution had been or dered to go and ascertain the truth of this matter. Un fortunately we have no steamers which can enter the Danube, or even the sea of Azof. There are none, ex cept the Ardent or Triton, drawing less than sixteen feet, which is too much for the latter place ; and for the former, vessels of the Nemesis kind would be re quisite. It is to be hoped that steamers of such light draught of water are being built, or can be easily ob tained, for when the war begins they will be absolute necessaries. Besides what they might do with their own armament, they would be the very life of boat attacks when at a distance from the fleet, and in watering, pro visioning, &c., would rend er essent i a l service. An orer has been received from the Admiralty that all supernumerary midshipmen and cadets shall be sent to England to complete the complements in the ships fitting out for the Baltic fleet. New charts of the Black Sea, on a large scale, with the latest information re garding Sebastopol, &c., have been distributed from the Ilyd rographic- office. OXFORD UNIVERSITY INTELLIGENCE. MAGDALEN' HALL, March 24.—The Lusby open scholarship has been awarded to Mr. C. H. boole, from the Islington Pro prietary School. DEPARTURES FOR AUSTRALIA.—The departures from the port of London for the Australian colonies during the past week show a great decrease. They have com prised only three vessels— one to Port Philip, of 314 tons ; one to Adelaide, of 592 tons ; and one to Laun ceston, of 292 tons. Their total capacity was conse quently only 1,198 tons. The rates of freight, which have been heavy, exhibited a firmer tendency yesterday, owing to the favourable nature of the advices from Aus tralia by the overland mail. SHOCK OF AN EARTHQUAKE.—On the night of the 19th inst., at half-past ten o'clock, a smart shock of an earthquake was experienced at St. Sebastian, north coast of Spain. The walls of houses trembled, and the horizontal oscillations which accompany such pheno- . mesa were apparent. This is the second shock which has taken place at St. Sebastian within the last s ix months It was felt for several miles round St. Sebastian. ASTLEY'S ROYAL AmPHITHEATRE —Mr. W ill. Cooke (proprietor of A s tl ey ' s R oya l A m phitheatre), i n accord ance with the v er y genera lly expressed wishes o f a nu merous circle of friends and patrons, purposes taking his first annual complimentary benefit on Monday, April 3, when it is hoped that the response will be such as unequivocally to evince that his managerial efforts in catering for the amusement of the patrons of " the first amphitheatre in the world" have not yet been in vain. the princip a l resources ill he well-app rec i a t e d n e d m , br f a ro ce in o l f `h e t be entertainments establishment, w efforts of Mr. Cooke, we are quite sure that he will not fail on this occasion to present to his patrons such a display of artistic horsemanship as will secure him a long term of general approbation and public support. BUSINESS OF the THE PORT OF LON DON.— I n the gene ral es of port of London during the past week there has been great activity, the supply of grain which has come to hand having been larger than for a long time. The number of ships reported inward was 467, being 251 over the previous week, and the total quan tity of grain reported was 224,225 quarters, including 113,260 quarters of wheat. The number of vessels cleared outward was 105, being 8 less th an i n th e pre vious week. Of these, 24 were in ballast, and three, m above stated, for the Australian colonies. The total of vessels on the berth loading for those colonies on the 22d inst. was 84, being the same number as on the 22d ult. Their destinetion is-10 for Adelaide, 6 for Gee- Mlong, 12 for Hobart Town, 3 for Launceston, 11 for e lbourne, 3 f or N ew Z ea l and, 14 for Port Philip, 1 Portland Bay, 23 for Sydney, and 1 for Swan River. THE COINAGE or 1853.—There was coined at the Mint in 1853, 10,597,993 sovereigns, 2,708,766 half sovereigms, no crowns or half-crowns, 3,919,950 florins, 4 ,256,188 shillings, 3,837,930 sixpences, 16,038 four pences, 36,168 threepences, 4,752 silver twopences, and 7,920 silver pence (of these last two coins the same num ber is printed every year for Maunday money, we be lieve), 1,021,440 pennies, 1,559,040 halfpence, 1,028,628 farthings, and 955,224 half-farthings. The total value of the coinage of the year was 12,663,0001. ; the average of the previous five years was only 4,000,000/. ♦enous ing, as project beyond escape were perfect knives, them uniniti are eat where duced I pearan source water, drop. of a qt . stnnge The h< gratifie artisteE and ac of the and fol tableat CO U 1 ALLO This and to• applim to defr the ac( The that t assigns for his • Mr. signee: hard t which His for the paring ther al Mr. agains A pi far bac was pa of Lim of inte His proof c This Wight exatni: The mencir to crec 1L -;P Mr. the asE satisfao • Mr. said th The MAJ AR Ryan, brougl to pici aftern4 pri pi two i in his follow looked eepara circus, the as custod Ryan knows Cofi about tence( Boy charg( the in, and hi ship t up his ^ The Mr, and c( Bush Suc The q East barrel 58 tie 2,542 Col the E Rur: West taken porter 5,003 SPI in at peppe per W clove: TA: of Ma maieo TA TE. sm: ditto, A ma Cu ditto, Sapp ditto, Truth LLi Lo gent! Dc Fees ing No• with colli! 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