The Sun. — London, England, 1863-02-23 00:00:00

PRUSSIA AND POLAND. BERLIN, Feb. 19. The interpellation of Messrs. Schulze and Car lowitz, signed by 175 Deputities—whether a treaty had been entered into by the Prussian and Russian Governments with respect to assistance to be ren dered by the former Power for the suppression of the Polish insurrection, and also regarding the con tents of any such existing treaty—was brought forward in yesterday's Chamber, in consequence of the attempt made by the Polish Deputies to extract that information from the Ministry. On the question being put by the President, in the usual form, whe ther, and when, the Government would reply to the interpellation, M. On Bismark replied that it declined doing so, but alleged no motive whatever for its refusal. This caused great sensation in the Chamber. The debate that ensued was rather of local than general interest. Waldeck made a telling speech, and declared that the whole civilised world would disapprove the loan of Prussian troops to assist in the perpetuation of Russian Absolution, The blood of Prussia's sons was not to be poured out to support an arbitrary policy in favour of a foreign Government. The system of the Bismark Cabinet was that of the Elector of Hesse, in the last century, who sold his subjects to be slaughtered in America. The speech was received with great ap plause, in which the galleries ventured to take part, and were threatened if the offence were repeated. M. von Bismark protested that his feeling for the honour of Prussia was at least as strong as that of Deputy Waldeck. Dr. Virchow declared it highly desirable that Government should reply by a ne gative to the statements that had obtained circula tion and credence to the effect that not only had the Prussian Government agreed to cross the Russian frontier, but the Russians were to be allowed to cross that of Prussia and to wage war against the insurgents on Prussian soil. The Cham ber had a constitutional right to make inquiries on this head. He (Dr. Virchow) expressed sympathy for the population of the kingdom of Poland—a sympathy shared by the whole civilised world, The Government would have acted more wisely by coun selling that of Russia to mildness towards the Poles than by entering into such a convention. M. von Bismark declared his disapproval of the idea of giving advice at St. Petersburg. Such a step, he said, might easily lead to reciprocity; at which the Chamber laughed very much, probably taking the ambiguous remark of the Minister-President as a naive admission that his Government did things which even Russia might be justified in denouncing. The committee on the Budget proceeds actively with its labours. When deliberating on the budget for Foreign Affairs the Government Commissioner (a functionary of the department, who attends at the proceedings of the committee when the corre sponding Minister is not present) declared that the elevation of the London and Paris Legations to Embassies had taken place on general political grounds, and that there was no present intention of increasing the salaries (31,000 thalers, and 10,000 for house rent in London ; and 25,000, and a house free in Paris), although it had already been acknow ledged that such incomes did not correspond with those of the representatives of other countries. The salary of the London mission was, as you may remember, increased by anticipation, while Count Bernstorff was Minister of Foreign Affairs, but the augmentation has never yet been consented to by the Chamber. The Berlin papers announce that Professor Plotx, of Charlottenburg, who exerted himself at the last elections on behalf of his party, the "old (moderate) Liberals," has been deprived of his office of examiner in the French language of persons desirous to pass for the diplomatic service. The Prussian censure has adopted the plan of blotting out with printers' ink objectionable pic tures and paragraphs in foreign journals, after which process these are delivered to the persons to whom they are addressed. This blackening process has recently been applied to Punch and to the Deutoa„. LGZOtitc,.y. The following advertisement has been published in the Kreuz Zeitung : " Among the honoured guests whom Berlin will receive within its walls on occasion of the festival of the 17th of March, there will be the lady who, 60 years ago, offered the hair of her bead as a sacrifice to her country, Miss Ferdi nande von Schmettau. It is proposed to present to her, as a mark of acknowledgment, an album with photographic por traits. All those persons who are disposed to take part in this project are requested to send to my care their photo graphs, with their names signed under them. " The General Field-Marshal, VON WRANGEL. "Berlin, Feb. 16, 1863." This certainly seems rather an extraordinary pro ject of the worthy and eccentric Field-Marshal. Does he propose to bind up all the photographs that are placed at his disposal, or will he make a selection of the same ? The Browns, Joneses, and Robinsons of Berlin will doubtless come to the front by the thousand, eager for presentation to a heroine by a Field•Nlarshal, and it will be a monster album in deed that will hold the multitude of aspirants for the favourable regards of the lady who, just half a century ago, exchanged her bright tresses for four stout defenders of her country. To-day's _National Zeitung says that Graef's picture of her sacrifice, recently mentioned in my correspondence, has been purchased by a Mr. Wittich, himself formerly known as a painter, who proposes presenting it to the Prussian National Gallery. Mrs. Jachmann (who, as Miss Wagner, was once the cause of strife among London managers, and v ho now, as a tragic actress, is performing in Berlin; has met with an unfortunate accident. During a rehearsal of "Macbeth," and owing to a door hav ing been left open which should have been closed, she fell from a heigth of 12 feet, and hurt her shoulder. As fat es is yet known she has not fur ther injured herself, although said to be near her confinement. The most recent news received here from Poland seems generally unfavourable to the insurgents. The column commanded by Langiewicz is said to have been again scattered, but too much importance not to be attached to such dispersion, it forming, apparently, a rule of tactics with the insurgents to scatter themselves on the approach of a superior force, and again to assemble when the danger is past. In Warsaw some small disturbances took place on the 15th, the day for which th© fears of the Russians had predicted a general rising. The Revolutionary Committee had forbidden the popu lation to go to church on that day, because it was believed Russian agents were to provoke that con flict. Nevertheless, in two Catholic churches revo lutionary songs were sung at mid-day mass. The police did not interfere, but a troop of Hussars, galloping through the streets, caused a panic. The terror was so great that all those persons who had opened their shops on that day (Sunday last) has tened to close them again. The Hussars, however, were proceeding to the Cracow suburbs, where a great crowd had assembled, which they dispersed by their approach, coinciding with that of 100 in fantry from the citadel. It was said that the two churches - would be closed in which national songs had been sang. The report of an approaching massacre was maintained, and several rich persons had sent their plate for safety to the bank, where there was a strong military guard. Very rigorous orders were issued by Baron KoriT, the general commanding in the Warsaw military district, con cerning the delivering up of arms and ammunition, and the punishments incurred by those who failed to do so within 48 hours. A letter from the Polish frontier in the Ostsee Zeitung describes the fight at Siernatyce as one of the bloodiest scenes that has yet occurred in this insurrection. It beg an at 2 p.m. on the 6th, and lasted until late at n i g h t. The beaten insurgents retired into the city, where they were next day attacked by the Russians, who stormed the place after a short bombardment, A struggle, the fury and bitterness of which are said to defy de scr ipti on , then took place. Poles and Russians fought hand to hand, and even strangled each other with their hands and bit with their teeth. The savage conflict did not last long ; the flames of the burning town brought it to a close. The insurgents gave way and fled ; only 23 houses are still standing. Mr. Fanshawe's mansion and the churches are heaps of ruins. The shrieks and wailings of the inhabitants, driven from their houses by the flames, are described ti 6 heartrending. THE CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA. (From the, Correspondent of ?h's Times) NEW YORK, Feb. 10. Mr. Horace Greeley has taken a position on the war question which makes him for the time being the most prominent politician and statesman in America. Those who understand the temper of the people, and study the current of events, see at a glance that his logic leads to peace. Consequently, all who are in favour of the war, whether because they are making money by it, whether they are theorists who love the idea of union because they think that the restoration of the Union, were it pos sible, would in 20 or 30 years make the United States the most powerful nation on the globe, or whether they are idealogues who would exterminate the Southern people in the name of the negro, and think they did God and humanity good service, unite in denouncing Mr. Greeley as a traitor and secessionist. But Mr. Greeley's argument stands firm, and is not to be refuted. He expresses his opinion that if the North will unite heartily in the prosecution of the war, that if Republicans and Democrats will forget or sink all their differences to support the President, that if the Democrats, more especially, will cease to embariase the Goverment by complaining of its every act—financial, social, or military ; that if they will forbear complaining of emancipation and throwing obstructions in its way ; that if they will abandon the question of State rights, and direct all their energies to the fighting out of the battle to the last extremity,—it is possible to subdue the South. He for one is in favour of fighting upon this basis, and believes that victory would speedily crown the Nortt ern arms if hostili ties were so conducted. But he takes care to state at the same time that if no great and overwhelming defeat can be inflicted upon the South before the , term of enlistment of the two years and the nine months' Volunteers expires, that if the Democrats of the North and West will persist in thwarting the Government, that it they will coutinue to complatu of arbitrary arrests, of breaches of the Constitution, of the premium on gold, of the alarming increase of the public debt, of the corruption of officials and contractors, of the emancipation of slaves, and of the employment of negt me as soldiers, and that if they will obstinately decline to place faith in the honesty and capacity of Mr. Lincoln and his Ministers, the cause of the Union is lost; and that it is the duty of true patriotism to make the best terms it can with the enemy, in the interest of commerce, humanity, and civilisation. " The nation," he states in his un answerable letter to Senator Doolittle, is dying not of his or Senator Doolittle's mistakes, " but of some thing vastly more formidable—of the persistent and widespread defection from her service in this trying hour among those who profess to be loyal to the Government and the Union." It is because these words are true the they rankle so deeply in the minds of the war party ; and that the fiery and fussy demagogues. who are fattening upon the war call for Mr. Greeley's- arrest and incarceration in Fort Lafayette. But Mr. Greeley will not be touched. The Provost-Marshal will not lay a finger on him. He has no authority to speak for Mr. Lincoln, or Mr. Seward, or Mr. Blair, or General Halleck, or Mr. Chase, but he speaks their convictions. He feels as they feel ; he knows what they know, and defines their position in a manner which their official position will not allow them to confess. Mr. Greeley, though he is the enfant ter rible of political life, and has a child's ignorance of the mischief he may do to his friends and associates, is entitled to the praise of civic courage in a higher degree than any other man in the country. He speaks the whole truth, careless who he may offend, what plans he may disarrange, what ambitions he may thwart, or what schemes he may impede. He compels people to think. It was he who more than anyone else forced the President to issue his procla mation of Emancipation, and it will be he, more than any other writer or speaker in America, who will urge him—if he be in a position to be urged— to incline his mind to the acceptance of European mediation. The Federal Government is in a dilemma. It has the courage to go on with the war without the ability to conduct it. It has the ability to pro pose terms of compromise without the courage to name them. It is afraid of a public opinion which it misunderstands ; and would rejoice to accept any respectable proposal for peace, suggested by friendly Powers, that should spare its own self-love and that of the American people. The manner in which the last new proposition of the Emperor of the French, reported in the telegra phic despatches from Halifax by the Europa, which arrived yesterday, has been received by the public, shows the change that is gradually working. The New York limes sees no harm in the proposal that commissioners from the North and South should meet A. Montreal to Mecums the whole subject in the light of the existing situation—hos tilities meanwhile proceeding without interruption —while the Journal of Commerce thinks the propo sition entitled to a respectful, perhaps even to a grateful, consideration. - Every indication from the North-West, as well as from the Eastern and Middle States, betokens that the Democratic party, which forms the large ma jority of the people everywhere, has lost the little heart that it ever had in the war, and that Mr. Lincoln's proclamation of freedom to the slaves has been fatal to the Union, The negro was never be loved in America. He had his theoretical friends who desired that he should cease to be a chattel ; but he never had friends affectionate enough to de sire his intimacy, or who were prepared to grant him social equality. The recent agitation of his claims to unconditienal freedom has not increased the number of his admirers ; but, on the contrary, has excited a feeling of hatred against him in mil iions of breasts which, but for the war and all its bitter questions and bitter calamities, would have been content to tolerate him in the country as a useful servant. But all this has been changed. In the North-West the pre-existing antipathy to the African has been largely envenomed ; and in the Middle States the assertion that Washington in tended to found a republic of white men—and that white men in our day ought to have more common sense than to quarrel about black men—has become the watchword of a party which beyond all possi bility of doubt will certainly carry the next Presi dential election, whatever may be tke issues of the war. And the negroes know it. The mulattoes, who do all the thinking of the race to which they belong, see clearly that the white man looks npon them with no favour ; and that, come what will out of the feuds of the superior race, the inferior will profit nothing. Mr. Frederick Douglass, theorator of the coloured people, and a man of true eloquence, was advertised to speak on Friday last at the Cooper Institute, on the subject of the President's procla mation; and I attended the meeting that I might learn what the leader of the negro mind thought upon the war, and the prospects of his people ; and that I might see what sort of an auditory would congregate to listen to him. The large room was about half full. There might have been 1,200 or 1,500 persons present. But the faces of the great bulk of them were white. Not more than a hun dred and fifty of them were negroes. The rest were of pure Caucasian blood, and considerably more than half the number were women. Mr. Douglass spoke for an hour and forty minutes, and for the whole time never allowed the attention of his auditors to flag. He was witty as well as wise, drew upon a copious fund of anecdote and illustration to support his arguments, and completely carried with him the sympathy of the crowd. He was earnest and em phatic in his denunciations of the evils of slavery, and loud in his praise of Mr. Lincoln for the pro clamation, but he was equally decided in his denun ciation of the hypocrisy of the Northern people, who pretended to love the coloured man but treated him as a social outcast. He said there was nothing that the coloured race in the North so much desired as to take up arms for the liberation of their Southern brethren, and that if the people of the North really required the aid of negro soldiers to save the Repub lic, they could have it on condition that they would act honestly to the negroes and do them impartial justice. But he denied that the North desired any thing of the kind. Fashionable preachers from New York who maintained that slavery was not condemned either by the Old Testament or the New might preach in any of the pulpits of New England ; but Dr. Cheever, the negro's friend, was not allowed, even in Boston, the use of a pulpit to declare that slavery was unchristian. Governor Andrew, of Massachusetts, was offered the aid of the coloured men to raise a regiment for the war, to be commanded by their own officers, but he politely declined. Governor Tod, of Ohio, was equally courteous in acknowledging a similar offer, and Equally earnest in declining it. The negroes tho roughly understood what they were about. They would only enlist in the war on condition of per fect military equality with the white man. They would have the same pay, the same chance of pro motion—even to the very highest military offices — or they would stay at borne and attend to their business, and leave the white man to fight his own battles and save his own Republic. These asser tions were made with great fervour of manner, and completely carried the sympathies of the audience. Many, both o f the wh i tes and blacks, rose to their f eet and cheered vociferously, but the whites were, for the most part, Baptist, Independent, and other clergymen of unfashionable churches, wielding no influence over the public mind of this city. There is, as everybody knows, an i mmens i ty o f B uncombe oratory in America, and of that " high-falutin" in which Mr. Robert J. Walker, Mr. George Francis Train, and the Rev. Mr, Beecher so greatly excel; but there is none of it about Mr. Douglass. He not o nly speaks infinitely better than any of the Bun combe charlatans who impose on the good-nature of speech-loving public, but is worthy to rank as noes as choice high as Mr. Wendell Phil He u English and 83 copious a flow of the exact words that stir the heart and sway the reason of the mul titude as that gentleman, and has immeasurably the advantage over him when he speaks of the wrongs, of the negro.—because he speaks as the sic tiin of the oppression of which Mr. Phillips is merely the limner; and if this able and eloquent mulatto really speaks the sentiments of his people, is not the Administration to be pitied in its conduct of a war which, on its own confession and that of its most enthusiastic friends, must either be supported by the negroes, or come to a disastrous end P But though recruiting among the negroes may languish, there is no lack of white candidates to command them. There are at least a hundred Brigadier and Major Generals ready to organise and command a black army, and there are more subordinate officers, from the rank of colonel down wards to that of lieutenant, ready t o t a k e p a y an d assume position in black regiments than there are black soldiers to drill. 112 r. Frederick Douglass ought to know what the negroes wish. Between his desc r ipti on o f t h e op i n i ons an d feel tags of his people, and that given by an Aboli tionist writer is the Tribu ne o f thi s morn i ng , there is a vital difference. The Tribune's correspon dent, writing from Norfolk, in Virginia, a place which he describes to be overrun with negroes, of whom 10,000 are ablebodied men in the prime of life, reports, as the result of his observation, that they are all anxious to fight. But even he, negro lover as he is, will not tolerate theidea of black offi cers. "A low rate of pay," he says, " ought to be given to the negroes. They ought not to be paid as well as white men, or in any way placed on an equality with them. The Government is now in directly, and in some cases directly, supporting this great mass of contrabands, and is unable to find em ployment for them. Let us make food for powder of them." Frederick Douglass has different notions from this gentleman, and so perhaps have the negroes of Norfolk, who may not feel so much in clined to be made food for powder of as their cruelly kind friend supposes. However this may be, the Northern people are strongly imbued with the pride of race, and are coming gradually to the conclusion that if white men cannot save the white Republic its doom is fixed; and that the sooner they make terms with their white brothers of the South, the better for them and their posterity. Even the triumphal character which General M'Clellan's recent tour in New England has assumed is due in great measure to his known opinions on the slavery question. General M'Clellan is an opponent of slavery, but he denies the right of the Federal Government to intermeddle with or abolish it, considering it wholly a question for the people of the several States in which it exists act ing through their own Ext cutives and Legislatures, to retain, to modify, or to abolish, as they please. In this respect his opinions are in perfect accord with those of the Democratic party of the North and North-West. For this reason, as well as for the fact that he has been made the victim of aboli tionist intrigue and persecution, he has become the most popular man in the country, and would be elected President to-morrow if the election were pending. If there be any other as popular as he, it is General Stonewall Jackson, " old Stonewall , " as he is affectionately called, whose praises, rebel though he be, are upon all tongues, and whose portrait graces the windows of all the book shops and photographic stores of Broadway. To General M'Clellan—disagreeable as the fact may be to the President and his Administration, and to the Re publican party generally—the eyes of the whole people are turned. He has never sought popularity, but he has won it. He has never obtruded himself on attention; he has always been patient and dig nified ; he has always avoided Buncombe, and even the fair retaliation which he might have inflicted upon his opponents; he has invariably kept a single heart for his duty, and done his best; and the result is, in connexion with the popular belief in his military talents, which may or may not have been overrated, that his reputation obscures that of every other man in the country. The Army of the Potomac has ceased to be an army in the true sense of the word since he was removed from its command, and is fast falling to pieces from desertion, discourage ment, and demoralisation. Were the President to re-appoint him, that army might possibly be re stored to its old efficiency, and gold in Wall-street would fall 5 per cent. on the mere announcement of the intention. For the last ten days there have been constant repetitions of a report that the President, wiser and more forgiving than his Ministers, had resolved upon this course, that he had actually proposed it to his assembled Council, and that every member of the Government, with the exception of Mr. Seward, had threatened to resign if he persisted, and that thereupon he had ceased to argue the question. The story has ob tained all but universal credence ; but those who best know the President attach the least importance to it. Mr. Lincoln is a shrewd man, and he knows that to take M'Clellan back again at this moment of despondency would be to take back a master. Public opinion may point to M'Clellan as the com ing man, but the President does not believe it, and there are those around him who think that the real coming man" sits at the Council Board at Wash ington; that the day and the hour are the day and the hour of the lawyers, and not of military dicta • tors ; and that M'Clellan, onc e go t r id o f, s h ou ld b e got rid of for ever. - The future historian of the great Rebellion will have copious materials for an interesting chapter on the action of the clergy in a time of civil strife. The noble army of Puritans, Baptists, and Indepen dents, aided by the lay lecturers who strive to indoctrinate with intolerance the American mind from the platforms of Lyceums, institutes, and lec ture-halls, have in this struggle ranged ihemselves en masse against the right of private judgment, and in favour of a bloodthirsty prosecution of the war. One of them declared at a " Christian" meeting on Sunday evening last that it ought to be considered high treason, and a crime justly punishable with death, to caricature or speak in disparagement of Mr. Lincoln ; while the once tolerant Dr. Bellows, who declared that ministers of the Gospel ought to frequent the theatre, if they took any pleasure in dramatic representations, went the length of declaring that. Abraham Linco!n was in himself the State, and might say with Louis XIV., " L'Etat, c'est rnoi," " The President," he argued, "represented both the constitutional and the re served rights of the people"—his oath of office was binding not only on him but on the people for whom he took it—that his will in a time of public danger was a will having an official right to respect and obediehce ; that it was the duty of all people to rally around him without dispute or question ; that he was the official judge of the national peril and necessity, and that if his testimony were not ac• cepted there was nothing to trust to." "This war," added the bellicose doctor, "is no longer a war in defence of the Union, the Constitution, and the en forcement of the laws ; it is a war to be carried on no longer with the aim of re-establishing the Union and the Constitution, with all their old compro mises. God means not to iet us off with any half way work. lam now convinced, and I consider it the most humane, the most economical, and the most statesmanlike policy, now to take the most radical ground possible, to assume that this is a war for the subjugation,l or the extermination, of all persons who wish to maintain the slave power—a war to get rid of slavery and of slaveholders, whether it be constitutional or not." When sentiments like these are uttered by one of the most eloquent and accomplished scholars and orators in America, all that can be said is, that if the American people are not ripe or ripening to endure a despotism, it is not the fault of some of their ablest teachers. The man who is the slave of a theory is a tyrant at heart—whether he be a New England priest or a Spanish inquisitor. Unhappy is the country which, in a time of civil commotion, is encumbered with the advice or assistance of many such citizens—whether they be lay or clerical. New York has for the whole of this day been in a fluster of excitement. Broadway has swarmed with crowds that blocked the passage against pedestrians, unless they chose to take the middle of the road and mingle with the stream of omnibuses and car riages. At Grace Church there was a jam of vehicles, and the police had the utmost difficulty in preserving order amid a multitude of almost frantic women, clamouring, shouting, and pressing to force their way into the sacred edifice. Opposite the Metro politan Hotel was another multitude, gazing up at the windows and refusing to move or. until they had obtained a s i g h t of some highly-popular if not great personage. In the evening there was a serenade to another crowd. What, it may be asked, was the mat ter ? Was Richmond taken ? No. Was Charleston captured, and had the victorious Admiral Dupont returned to receive the laurel wreath at the hands of his countrymen ? No. Had Mr. Jefferson Davis held out the right hand of fellowship to Mr. Abraham Lincoln, and restored the Union, and were both these mighty personages in secret session, waiting to show themselves at the proper time to the impatient and grateful people ? No. It was but the marriage of a male and a female dwarf, under the auspices of Mr. Piaineas T. Barnum, that set the mob of New York wild with delight and enthusiasm. General Tom Thumb, 31 inches high, had married Miss Lavinia Warren, 27 inches high, and Barnum had given away the bride. President Lincoln, General M'Clellan, and Mr. Seward might have walked down Broadway arm in arm at the time, and ex cited no notice. The heart of New York was not in them, nor in the war, but was set on the marriage of two lusus nature, under the auspices of a charlatan. If it be true that every tragedy ought to have the elements of a farce in it, the tragedy of the great American Civil War conforms to the aesthetic ne cessity, and the philosophic observer may laugh or a cep at the e x hibi t i on, us his nature prompts aim. imE- SUN, LONDON, 11IONDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 23, 1863. - HERTFORD DUILDING COMPANY, (From the Hertford Mercury.) The aLnual meeting of the Hertford Building Company was lately held at the Town Hall. Amongst those present were :—M, Gosselin, Esq. ; Hon. and Rev. Godolphin Hastings; R. Dimsdale, Esq. ; Rev. D. B. Bevan, Rev. C. B. Pearson ; J. W. Chesshyre, Esq. ; Rev. E. Bartrum ; Jasper Gripper, Esq. ; Rev. H. Demain ; Mr. Ludlow, &c. Mr. Gosselin having been called to the chair, the report was read by Mr. R. Dimsdale, the Managing Director. The CHAIRMAN said he might congratulate the share holders on the presentation of so satisfactory a report. The Building Company had two objects—first, to improve the dwellings of the working classes; and secondly, to give a moderate interest to the shareholders. Unless they had kept the commercial aspect of their project in view, they would not have prospered. They had, however, succeeded in both their designs ; on two occasions they had paid dividends of 3i per cent., and had largely increased the number of houses in their possession. It was encouraging to find that, in the improvements effected on property purchased by them, they had always kept within the estimates, which was much to the credit of their architect, Mr. Smith, who gave the company his time and skill for nothing. He (the ehairmas) did not know whether country gentlemen were likely to take advantage of the company's offer to build for tLem on a commission of 5 per cent. ; but he hoped they would do so when they found that the company could build good cottages ; and could also make good out of bad, which was still more difficult. (Cheers.) The Chairman concluded by moving that the report be received and adopted. The Hon. and Rev. G. HASTINGS, in seconding the motion, said the movement superintended by this com pany, was one of those efforts for the benefit of the labouring classes which had emanated from the Labourer's Friend Society, and for which they were entirely indebted to Mr. Dim dale. The object was to provide houses fit for Christian people to dwell in—wanting which the wife and children of the labourer became slat ternly, and the man, instead of becoming attached to his home, sought refuge iu Ulu publiehouse. It was important that the company should (Elect its attention not BO much to building cottages as to the improvement of cottages already in existence. They might build pretty cottages outside towns, but they would do little good unless they improved and reconstructed the wretched places to be found within the towns, in which people would live so long as such places existed. There were some such residences in Hertford, which reflected but little credit upon it. He was glad to find that the society did aim at the improvement and recon struction of cottage property. When the company was first started, there were many persons who never expected that it would pay a dividend, and who were now, doubtless, much surprised to find that it was able to give the shareholders 3 per cent. each succeeding year. That fact would be a great inducement to persons, who had money they wished to put out at interest, to take shares in the company. (Cheers.) The resolution was then agreed to. The Rev. C. B. PEARSON briefly proposed that the re tiring directors be re-elected. The Rev. H. S. WARLEIGE. slid he had much pleasure in seconding the resolution for their re-election. As a town clergyman he wished to record his gratitude to the directors for what they had done and were now doing, in order to improve the accommodaion of the poor. What town clergyman was there who did not know that the wretched cottage accommodation provided stood at the very threshold of his usefulness? He could not urge upon the poor, with any effect, to observe the dem,- cies of life or to cultivate private prayer. As to clean liness in many houses it was °it of the question. Since he had been in Hertford, hit heart had ached many times when he had gono into cottages--nay, not cottages—hovels--not hovels, but rather styes of the poor ; and he could not understand how any gentleman could allow himself to be the owner of such wretched places as dwellings for human beings. He was happy to find that some of the miserable cottage: in his parish were to be pulled down, and others, worth 7 of this society, were to be erected in their stead. The resolution was agreed to Mr. It. DIMSDALE said he hac a pleasing duty to perform, in calling attention to that porion of the report in which the directors recommend a divilend of 3 per cent. On a former occasion it was stated la! some of their friends that the dividend was paid out of soirces which were not legiti mately applicable to that purpee--being the proceees of a successful sale, and not the rentals of the property; but on the present occasion such an oljection could not be made, because the receipts from tenants amounted to about LA which, after paying all expense, would leave a sufficient amount to pay the proposed diridend. There were two or three matters on which he wised to say a few words. In the first place he agreed with hr. Hastings that they should devote their attention principally to the conversion and im provement of old houses rather than to the building of new houses. If they built a number of additional houses in some districts, and left the old houses as they were, they might, do more harm than good. lo do any good they must get rid of the filthy, wretched tenements at present existing. This was what they were trybg to do at Hertford, where there was cottage property of the worst description; but which, perhaps, he had better tut venture to describe, as he had been called to account for wing so last year. As they got more money at their command they hoped to do more good. It had been stated that if £5,000 were raised for every 1,000 inhabitants, cottage property would in time fall into the hands of cottage improvemeit societies. That had been done at Hastings; but it was too much to be expected to be done here. No doubt it was biter that it should fall into their hands, than that it shodd be in the hands of small proprietors. It would be a greatbenefit to the poor if their cottages could be transferred frapa the preseut owners into the hands of kind-hearted land'ords. (Hear.) A subject which had occupied the coaside:ation of the society was the importance of providing suitable accommodation for single men. It was well known that it vas very difficult to pre vent people taking in lodgers. It was easy to say that they ought to make stringent regulations that their tenants should not take in lodgers. It was qui e clear that the single men must go somewhere. At present they very often had nrill ventilated rooms at a public - home, where they were likely to get more harm than good. If this difficulty were to be met, it must be by providing sone syst em o f l o d g i ng h ous e s. rwo classes of lodging - houses wsre required in this town. in the cooble place to neigh bourhoodhFai r v s e t, t heir omeals f lodging-housesea lsin, Hertford , a h forsingle dwaog oro n working e ci ciu bA eed room to sleep in. a comfortable Ano ther and inferior description of lcdging-houses was required for mere tramps. No less than 9,100 or 10,000 tramps passed throught Hertford every year, End they lodged in places which were very objectionable. Both these descriptions of lodging-houses the society hop 6 to carry out in Hertford in course of time. There was another question which had come before them from time to tine. It had been said they were doing a good deal for the 'own, but nothing for the country. If they could avoid this they would be glad to do so, for they received support flora the country as well as the town. But the society could sot go into the rural dis tricts and say to a landlord, "give us a piece of land, and we will build suitable cottages." But they provided plans and estimates for any gentleman wishing to avail them selves of such assistance; and they also offered to build cot tages for any gentlemen at a commission on the outlay of 5 per cent. The society had endeavoured to establish dis trict societies, but up to this tine had been unsuccessful. If in any town there were a number of gentlemen who wished to form a society of th's kind, by becoming a district society in connection with this, they would have the advantage of saving the who:e of the preliminary expenses, the clerk's salary, and the expenses of an office, &c. With regard to the future of this society he must say that as they had already done some good, it was clear they would do more good if they were able to purchase more houses of a bad and inefficient character; and he hoped that the dividend they were able now to pay would be an inducement to others to join them. Although the divi dend was but a moderate one, yet, at the present time it was not easy to get a safe investment which would pay more than 3 per cent, And he believed that they might fairly calculate on soon being able to pay 5 per cent. If the whole of their capital of £5,000 v. ere paid up, and judiciously ex pended, it would yield a rental cf £350 a-year. Of this sum £250 would be sufficient to pay the shareholders 5 per cent., leaving £5O for working expenses, and £5O a-year for re pairs. He thought the time had now come when persons might safely and profitably invest a small portion of their money in the society, and by so doing they would confer great benefits on the vicinity. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Dimsdale concluded by proposing that a dividend of 3 per cent, on the paid-up capital be declared. Mr. J. W. CHESSHYRE, in seconding the resolution, said he agreed with Mr. Dimsdale that eventually, if they got a larger number of shares taken, they would increase the dividend considerably; because their expenses would not then be nearly so large in proportion to their income. At present they amounted to nearly 40 per cent, on their whole receipts, whereas then they would be reduced to a merely nominal sum. The resolution was agreed to. Mr, JASPER GRIPPER proposed the re-election of the auditors, with thanks for their past services. Mr. HATCHARD seconded the resolution, which was car ried unanimously, Mr, ARMS rßoxa and Mr. POLLARD respectively re turned thanks. The Re s v. Mr. RUSSELL proposed the thanks of the share holders to the managing director, the honorary architect, and the bankers, He said they could not be too thankful at any cost to succeed in the object which the society had in view, which was the improvement of the dwellings of the poor ; but still, as a general rule, they could not expect a large number of persons to subscribe their money to a work of this kind without a prospect of getting some return for it ; and therefore great thanks were due to those gentlemen on whom the care and labour of the society falls, and who had so managed its affairs as to prove to the public that, while it was doing a great deal of good, it was at the same time an investment which yielded a fair return. The Rev. E. BARTRUM, in seconding the resolution, said the mana ging - director—their friend Mr. Dimsdale—had i given abunda n t proof that he took the deepest i nteres t n the society, and that he devoted himself energetically to the carrying out of it s o bj ects. As to Mr. Sm i t h, th e architect, the demands on his time must be very great and pressing, and they were much indebted to him for undertaking the work of the s ociety without remuneration, He (Mr, Bar- trum) should like to see more clergymen take up with the society. Dr. Livingstone had said, in reference to the heathen, before you attempt to preach the Gospel you must first introduce civilization. He did not say that he entirely agreed with that; but he certainly believed that a clergy man would find the hearts of the poor open to his religious teachings, if their dwellings were better provided with um_ forts and conveniences. (Hear, hear.) In country parishes if there was no resident proprietor, cottages were generally overcrowded, ventilation and drainage were neglected, and frequently the result was that contagious diseases broke out. But here this society might be of great use, not only by 1 providing proper cottages,but by drawing public attention to the matter, which was of much importance. Mr. Dimsdale had spoken of lodging houses for tramps. Probably Mr, Dimsdale, who was at Oxford, would remember that at that town there was an institution for the reception of tramps— lodging houses, in fact, in which tramps were received in the evening,compelled to wash themselves,provided with supper and with breakfast the next morning. That answered well, and something of that kind seemed to be wanted here. Mr. Dimsdale had said that 9,000 tramps passed through this town every year. That seemed an incredibly large number, and it was certainly of importance to do something for that , class. The Rev. Mr. RUSSELL observed that they had at Cam bridge a similar institution as that at Oxford. It was called the Mendicit7 Society, and the officers ascertained whether the applicants were mere beggars, or were passing from one place to another in search of work. Tickets were given, and the mere beggars and vagrants did not like the tickets, for they only wanted money, and moreover they could not bear the ablutions. The society had the effect of reducing the number of professional beggars in that town. Mr. DIMSDALE, in acknowledging the vote of thanks, said that when the society was first established Mr. Ches shyre was the treasurer, and the society owed its success principally to the attenticn he had devoted to it, and to the assistance he had rendered him (Mr. Dimsdale) by his ex perience. With regard to the architect, it was due to Mr. Smith to say that he devoted a good deal of time to the interests of the society, and that his estimates were always prepared with so much care and judgment that in no one instance had the costs incurred on any work exceeded the estimate, while in some instances they were considerably below it. (Cheers.) He would take this opportunity of saying that the Hastings Society had established an excel lent benevolent fund in connection with the society, though independent of it. They said a contribution of 18. per share from each shareholder would enable them to establish a fund for the assistance of their tenants in times of dia. tress. The thing was found to work well, and was calcu lated to promote a kindly feeling between the shareholders and their tenants ; and moreover it promoted prompt pay ment of rent. If any of the shareholders of this society would like to join this movement, he should be happy to receive their subscription for that purpose. Mr. HATCILARD said, in reference to the large number of tramps said to pass through this town, that the figures did not actually represent the number of individuals who passed through the town. If, for instance, a tramp re mained in the town a week, which was very often the case, he would be entered seven times, and thus the number would appear much larger than it really was. Mr. LUDLOW proposed the thanks of the meeting to Mr. Gosselin fcr his kindness in taking the chair, and for the assistance he rendered to the society at the various meetings of the board of directors. He hoped Mr. Gosselin would long remain amongst them as a useful man and kind neighbour. Mr. AUSTIN, in seconding the resolution, said it was a matter of congratulation that gentlemen of the neighbour hood came amongst them to take part in meetings of this kind. With regard to the number of tramps passing through this town, he had tried as a member of the Cor poration to get the actual number of individual tramps who slept in the town in the year, but he had not been able to do so yet. The Government only equired of the Corpo ration a return of the number of persons who slept in the lodging-houses in the year, and as that included, in many instances, the same individuals a number of times, he did not see what good the return was. He still hoped to succeed in getting the actual number of different individuals passing through the town in the course of a year. The motion having been agreed to, The CHAIRMAN briefly acknowledged the compliment, and the proceedings terminated. Serious Charge against a Member of the Stock Exchange. On Saturday, Mr. John Bruce, a stockbroker, carrying on business at 4, Bank-chambers, Loth bury, surrendered at Guildhall, on b a il, be fore Al •ierman Humphery, a warrant having been previ ously issued for his apprehension, on a charge of fraud, to answer the complaint of Mr. J. H. B. Vivian, of King's Bench-walk, Temple, and Morden Lodge, Tulse-bill, Brixton, who alleged that the defendant had misappropriated the sum of £1,726, he proceeds of certain London, Chatham, and Dover stock entrusted to him to exchange for some shares in the Recife and San Francisco (Pernambuco) Railway. Mr. Pawle, of the firm of Pawle and Lovesy, o New Inn, Strand, conducted the defence. Mr- Folkard, instructed by Messrs. Cardale, Itiffe, and Russell, appeared for the prosecution, and stated the leading facts of the case ; and added that it was under feelings of a most painful charac ter that Mr. Vivian had adopted proceedings, as he and the defendant had been schoolfellows together, and intimate from childhood; but the de fendant, having abused the trust reposed in him as a broker, although no one would be more pleased than Mr. Vivian if a satisfactory answer could be given to the charge, it became his duty to ask that the case be sent before another tribunal. Mr. Vivian, who gave his evidence in a very ex citable manner, said—On or about the 22d August last I requested the defendant to go the the Stock Exchange and ascertain how many Pernambuco Railway shares he could obtain in lieu of 48 £lOO shares in the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway and when he returned he said he could only pur chase 100, covering all expenses for commission stamp duty, &c. I allowed him a commission o 61 per share on all purchases, but nothing on the transfers, the same as I paid my regular broker. I wrote out an order on my bankers for the delivery to the defendant of all my London, Chatham, and Dover stock, and waited in his office while he sent his clerk with the order to the London and West minster Bank. When the clerk returned he brought with him London, Chatham, and Dover stock to the amount of £9,500, £4,800 of which I handed over to the defendant with instructions in writing to sell it, and to apply the proceeds in purchasing 100 Pernambuco Railway shares. I was about depart ing for Spain on the Ist of September, and I there fore gave him directions in writing to the effect that if he could not make the purchase before 1 left he was to purchase the shares for nie in his own name At the same time I signed some blank transfers, to be used in the sale of the London, Chatham, and Dover stock, as the defendant said it would be more convenient to sell and deliver the stock, and trans fer at once, without troubling me to come to town about it. On the 25th of August I found that my bankers had not delivered up all my London, Cha tham, and Dover stock, and I handed to the defen dant a further quantity to the amount of £2,000, mak ' in g a total of £6,800, representin g 68 £lOO shares, and requested him to purchase 40 more Pernambuco Railway shares with the proceeds of them. Alderman Humphery —What was the market value of the £6,800 London, Chatham, and Dover stock Witness—L2,943 10s. I saw defendant repeat edly between the 22d and the 30th of August, and he gave me an account of the purchases he had effected, but I have since lost it. In it he stated that he had sold the London, Chatham, and Dover stock, and had purchased 140 Pernambuco Railway Shares at £l9 17s. 6d. each. They were £2O shares. I went to Spain on the Ist of September, and was away for six weeks. On the 13th of January, having sold the 140 Pernambuco with other shares for the account, I went to the bank for the certificates or transfers, and then discovered for the first time that I had only 65 instead of 140 Per nambuco shares. Aldermin Humphery—Did you not count them when the defendant gave them to you? Witness—No, sir. I believed there were 140 shares, and took them direct to my bankers, and they did not count them. When I asked for them I remarked that there was a deficiency, and the bank clerk said he had only received 66ehares. Alderman Humphery—What price did you sell them at for the Recount ? Witness—From £lB 10s. to £lB 12s. 6d. per share. On ascertaining that there was a deficiency of seventy-five shares 1 applied at the Pernambuco Railway-office, and examined the transfer books and found a similar deficiency . there. I then w ent to the defendant and showed him the account he had given me, and told hi m I had discovered a defi ciency in the number of my shares, He said i t was all a mistake, and that if . I would go to my b an k ers and look over my transfers I should find the certi ficates for all but about ten shares. I told him it was not the case ; but not desiring t o h ave any words about it, I wished him good night, and on my return to my chambers I found I had lost his account which he gave me in August. On the fol lowing C3oFnlyg I went to my bankers, but did not find the missing transfers. I then called on defen dant again, i and told I had lost th e ac count, and asked him t he had it, as I thought I left it in his office on the previous n i g h t. He denied having it, and refused to give me a duplicate. I told him the result of my visit to my bankers, and he then told aie a very different tale. He said that I bad given trim authority to use the shares for his own pur -1 pubes, and that I had lent them to him for that pur pose. H e said that I had gi ve n him the transfers signed in blank to enabl e hi m t o convert the shares ro his own use, which I had never done. I never save the defendant any authority to apply the pro ceeds of the London, Chatham, and Dover stock to his own uses, nor to use the blank transfers for any purpose but that of dealing with the London, Chat ham, and Dover stock. Neither have I ever autho risi,d him to use the Pernambuco shares for his own purposes. I never offered to lend him £1,700, or any other sum. Mr. Vivian underwent a long cross-examination, and several witnesses were examined for the purpose of showing that the defendant had been authorised to appropriate the shares to his own use. Mr. Vivian had some difficulty in remembering the weaning of a letter he had written to the defendant, at one time saying that the letters P. R. meant the Pernambuco shares, and afterwards that they stood for Paternoster-row. Ultimately an offer was made by Mr. Pawle to hand over the whole of the amount received by his client for the deficient Pernambuco shares, which Mr. Vivian said he should only be too glad to receive. Alderman Humphery said, from all he had heard of the case, that would he the most rational termina tion of such a charge under such peculiar circum stances. Mr. Pawle said Mr. Vivian wanted a profit of £4OO in the transaction, taking the shares at the value named in the transfers instead of the market value. _ _ _ Alderman Humphery said a letter of August 22, which had been read ; might be taken two ways— either to buy shares, and hold them for Mr. Vivian, or to deal with them on his own = ccount. That being the case, he thought it would be better if the matter could be arranged. The case was then adjourned for a week. SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. SATURDAY REVIEW.—Lord Derby prohesied that we should have a humdrum session this year, and his prophecy is coming true. He is, indeed, in a position dear to prophets, and can largely assist in bringing about what he predicts. There never, probably, since a Reformed Parliament dat at West minster, was so complete an absence of important measures proposed to the consideration of (he two Houses. The Lords, as usual, can get nothing to do at the beginning of the session, and what is worse, they cannot this year learn that anything is coming for them to do a little later. Lord Derby made a formal appeal on Monday to the represen tative of the Government in the House of Lords, and asked whether there were any measures which the Cabinet had to propose this year. The Lords do not like hard work, but it is dreary for them to have the prospect of a session lasting some months, and nothing to do, or think, or talk of in it. Lord Derby's question was, therefore, a very natural and a very proper one. The country, as well as the Lords, is interested in the answer. Lord Gran. ville was able to assure the Lords and the country that, although the Government had not many im portant measures to propose, still there was one. The session of the Lords was not to be an absolute blank. One great scheme had occupied the atten tion of the Cabinet, and the House and the country would be invited to carry out the conclusions to which, after much anxious deliberation, the Cibi net had come. Her Majesty's Ministers were pre pared to bring in a bill to put down smells. This was the one great measure which was to make the session illustrious. But the width and grandeur of the subject, as it first loomed in its vastness before the vision of the Lords, were too overpowering; and the - Ministry anxiously explained that it was not all bad smells that were to be dealt with, but only smells of a peculiarly alkaline charac ter. To suppress alkaline smells is the ambition of the servants of the Crown, and on this one great effort they have concentrated all their resources. If they still hold office at the end of the session, although they have done nothing to improve the machinery of English justice, or to simplify the tangled mass of English law, or to lessen the dis cordant absurdities which disfigure the jurispru dence of the three countries represented in Parlia ment, still they will be content. They will go with light hearts to shoot grouse and partrides, for they will have worked a great work. England will smell a little sweeter, and they will be the men:sho have sweetened it. In the long run, this timidity defeats its own object, and the country gets ;ired or a Government that exists merely to exist. It is not by calculated inaction that great names are made and great results obtained. We might have expected much more from many of the members of the pre sent Government than they give us. More espe cially, the Lord Chancellor is a source of iessonabte disappointment. Hitherto he has not fulfilled the sanguine anticipations with which a large portion of his profession welcomed the accession to the wool sack of a man who was far the most accomplished and weighty advocate of the English bar, who had often expressed a strong desire to impress a wider and more philosophic character on English law, and who had given a considerable impulse to whatever has been done for the improvement of legal educa tion in England. The appointment of near relatives to every vacant office, and the production of a Bank ruptcy Bill which requires already the tinkering which all Bankruptcy Bills appear in succession to require, are not very splendid results of the change by which Sir Richard Bethell passed into Lord Westbury. SPECTATOR.—Counted head by head, the Tories and their allies have, probably, if not a majority, at least a force competent to throw out the Government, or to sustain a new one in an appeal to the country. They have, too, as a body, a strong bias against the course they believe the Government is pursuing, and some few but distinct ideas of the road on which they would rather move. Yet they are almost power less, or powerful only to lock the wheels of the coach They menace, and talk, and consult, but as to action. they " wait reinforcements." Their organisation on points is excellent, so good that they hart doctored the registers into partisanship, and are winning at every turn new and contested seats. They even seat their own men for the closest Go vernment boroughs, and Mr. Ferrand was received in the House with as much enthusiasm as if he htld been in himself a working majority. Daily the Tory muster creeps up to the figure which ought to sig nify victory, and yet the army grows no stronger, the chiefs are just as reb ctan c to set t he battle array. The Liberals are almost as weak. They have in internal affairs for the moment no scheme of action whatever, except to defend Lord Palmerston on account of his foreign policy, which Tories approve as completely, if not as cordially, as themselves. Their chief confines himself to abstaining fr..m offering points of attack. They have therefore no interest in the game, except when a test vote is near, and feel besides that if they found one, they might only heal the disputes which prevent the . enemy's charge. They have postponed the idea of Reform, and can rouse no fight on free trade, have no enemy to contend with on foreign affairs, and do not affect to care much for administrative or judicial ad vance. In other matters a kind of carelessness, pro duced chiefly by Tory weakness, has taken posses sion of their minds. They fulfil their pledges on Wednesdays, but even ecclesiastical measures scarcely excite them to actio n , an d th e fif ty re f orms really wanted in this department of life obtain only an approving decree of indefinite postponement. Like the hands of some men who do no work, they are still strong but flabby, and advance and recede as if either were an annoying waste of power. They know they must be beaten if they break up for action, and prefer, on the whole, an anxious chaotic quiet. The consequences of this state of affairs are, on the whole, disastrous. The Cabinet, though unable to move, still feels itself safe from attack, and per forms the work of the hour in a desultory shiftless way. It is a garrison all in undress. Lord Rus sell makes a blunder in Brazil, and is almost too indifferent to manufacture a telling defence. Sir George Grey lets crime go on almo s t w i t h out ap pearing to'hear the public cry for protection. Mr. Layard can hardly be bored to explain why new trades have not been opened by treaties easily framed ; and Lord Granville ca l m l y remar k s t h a t as to forthcoming measures—why, the Cabinet in tends most seriously to put down all bad smells. Lord Palmerston d oes not care to expla i n w h y M r . Elliot told all th e G ree k s that they ha d o b ta i ne d a king when the crown had never begin taken, and Mr. F. Peel thinks himself hardly used because he cannot sell Epping Forest without a metropolitan fuss. Even Mr. Gladstone lets his big cat out of the bag so far, that he is obliged to reduce a d u t y b e f ore his budget is ready; and Lord Granville seemed in clined to swear because asked to deal with endowed schools. Not that Ministers, or their followers,are enjoying an unaccustomed repose. The lassitude does not proceed from sleep or anything else enjoy able, but simply from weary feebleness, which yet is not fatigue. On the other side,the Tories, aware that they cannot punish, are disposed to let things drift, mutter about extravagance, and highhanded foreign policy, and reckless interference in China, but bear them all,rather than risk the annoyance involved in a contest. Nobody attacks in earnest, and so nobody defends, or acts as if he thought he should ever be called upon for defence. The lassitude for Parlia mentary feeling is creeping into executive action, and all that is not delayed is carelessly performed. There is an aspect of weakness in all things, a , looa like that of a convalescent ho s pital, and while it lasts nothing will be attempt e d b e y o nd a criticism offered by critics who, all the while, want no change. LAW TIMES.—The L or d Ch anc ellor is settling a bill for a partial c h ange i n t h e c ircuits ; so it was stated in the House of Commons by the Attorney- General. But the great and really desirable recon struction originally planned has been abandoned through the difficulties throw'? in the way of the projected changes by the leading counsel, and the reform is to be limited to the division of the North ern circuit. The Lord Chancellor seems to hays lost all the courage t'iat has hitherto distingushed him as a law reformer. Though differing from him muca in his bankruptcy - scheme, and entirely in his regis: ration of title scheme, we have always admired and applauded the unflinching courage, as well as the consummate ability, with which he has fought the battle of law reform. .It is, therefore, with no small regret that we see Man now apparently halt ing in his course , d oin g nothing and promising nothing, and permitting ate measures proposed by others to be clipped and moulded to the conveniences of private interests, instead of looking only to the wants of the public. Anti yet there remains abun dance of good work to be the done. A ansion new law to law re gulate trusts mid trustees, exp of the of evidence?, the improveme nt of the p rocedure in magistrates' courts, the airle,adment of the jury sys tem, are ail demanded, and were looked for from him who had done so much at. ready. There is yet time for the session not to b 4 uite a blank in the improvement of the law. LONDON REVIEW.— William Ates.:Bnder King lake, at the breaking out of the ern. w -a i,ondon.n War, was practising as a chancery barrister in About twenty years before he had travelled is the East, and about ten years after his return home I,:e had published in one small volume an. account of his travels, which, from the playful and sub-sarcas tic style in which sacred topics were therein dealt with, and the carefully-elaborated sarcasm in which. the book abounded, obtained a marvellous success. Since the publication of that work—which Mr. Kinglake with dubious scholarship had called Ed hen—he had retired upon his easily-eained laurels and had remained a silent and apparently an indolent member of society. Re was of a shy, silent, studious habit; not addicted either to field sports or athletic exercises; and remarkably short-sighted. When war was declared, Mr. Kinglake chanced to be spencVng his summer vacation abroad, and directed his steps to the E hat with the view of wit nessing the operations of the allied armies. He ac companied the expedition to the Crimea, landed at Old Fort, and on the morning of the battle of the Alma rode on to the field of action. He was pro bably tht first who fell on it. His pony, not being itself much accustomed to the saddle, en discover ing possibly, that its rider was in the same predica ment, ran away with him, and deposited him on the ground almost at the feet of Lord Raglan. The kind old soldier, on learning the name of the distill - . guished writer who had thus singularly introduced himself to his notice, repressed the smiles of his aides-de-camp, rendered him what assistance he could in his calamity, allowed him to accompany his staff throughout the action, and finally invited him to dinner when the hittle was won. To judge from Mr. Kinglake's obviously exaggerated account of the dangers to which he was exposed during the fight (see pp. 264 to 266, vol. ii.), he cannot be said to have been in a frame of mind very favourable to calm observation, even if he had not been physi cally disqualified by his detective eye-sight for the task. lo saying this we by no means desire to insinuate anything derogatory to Mr. Kinglake's personal courage, which we are convinced is of the very highest order. We wish he was not so ready to impute cowardice to others. We only mean to imply that the obvious personal interest which he appears from his narrative to have taken in the ar tillery practice of the Russian gunners was not par ticularly calculated to render him a reliable eye witness of the general conduct of the battle by which he was surrounded. He himself points out the disadvantage which resulted to the Light Divi sion from the defective sight of its three leaders; and accounts for the short-comings of Prince Gorts chakoff, by " the concussion of a fall" which that general hid from his horse, and which, according to Mr. Kinglake's suggestion, may possibly " have clouded his judgment,"—without seeing that the arguments which he uses to account for the errors of others may with perfect fairness be turned against his own claims to accuracy. COITNTRY MARKETS. NORWICH—SATURDAY. There was a fair supply of wheat to-day, but the de mand was still limited, and prices were in favour of the buyer. Barley in moderate show, and brought high rate& Not much doing in other art!cles. Flour easier. White wheat. 4s to 50- I Red wheat 42s to 46 0 Malting barley ... 37s to 40s I Chevalier barley 35r to 360 Distilling do. 32s to 34s I Oats.. Flour, 34s Od to —s Od per sack from the miller. NOTTINGHAM-SATURDAY. White wheat, from 44s to 628; red w heat, 44s to 540. Barley—malting, 348 to 435, grinding, 28,, to 30s. Uilto old, at 25s to 31s Od ; new, 22s to 275. Beans bold at 320 to 45s per qr, Flour, 33s to 435. YORK- SATURDAY. At to-day's corn market the supply of farmers' wheat was moderate, with a slow trade, at the prices of last week, Wheat, red 42s to 46s i bats.... 2os to 24& White do .50s to 52s i Beans 36 to 429 Harley .28s to 35s I l'eas „,„,--,4 to ---- 0 Malt, 64s to 66s per qr. ; rye, 34s per qr ; flour, 3 1' to 39s per sack. LEICESTER-SATURDAY. Old white wheat, 52s to 61:1 ; new, 48s to 50s per 36 stone. Old red, 52s to 54s per 36 stone. Barley, nialtingt new, 34s to 38s per qr., grinding, 27s to 30e; oats, 27s to 30s; new oats, 21s to 25e per 24 stone. Beano, new, —s to —s ; old, 42s to 44s per 38 stone. NORTHAMPTON-SATURDAY. New wheat, 43s to 50s; old, 48s to 555. Barley, 28s to 42s per qr. New oats quoted at 22s to 27- ; old, 280 to 35s per 24 stone. Beans, old, 39s to 425; new, 328 to 36-. Peas, 34s to 40s per qr Foreign Mail Packet List. MAILS DLL. ius . .ralia and Mauritius, via Southampton. Mar. 21. via M arseilles Mar. 15. ,irazil and Cape Verds, by British packet. Mar. 6. ape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena Mar. 3. , • Nina, Penang, and. Singapore, via Southampton Mar. 4. via Marseilles Feb. 21. 1: alkland Islands.. ,ibtaltar, via Southampton ..... Feb. 25. ,-,,iia .Calcutta), and Ceylon, vita Southampton Mar, 4 via Marseilles Feb. 21. ndia (Bombay), via Southampton Feb. 26 via Marseilles Feb. 20. Portuga1.... ~aita, Egypt, and Aden, via Southamptoi , Feb. 20. via Marseilles Feb. 2 6 N ewthundland >port() and Vigo V , S. and British N. America, ty Brit. packet.... Feb. 26. • .. • _ by U.S, packet by Canadian packet. Feb. 20. W.C. of Africa, Madeira, and Teneritle Mar. 10. ,ahamas, via New York Mar. 1 2 Nlexico. .• • , Feb . 28. All parts of West Indies, including Chili, Pcru, 1 Feb. 2 8 California, and B r iti s h Columbia.. a • • • • A GOOD DAY'S WORK FOR A YOUNG FELLOW* —Just before the hunting season closed, he was UP early and rode to cover, 16 miles ; had a run of about 40 miles with a good pack, and rode 16 miles home agairt—' thus probably making a good 70 miles at least. H e pre• aided at a dinner party in the evening, the gayest and most sparkling of the company. After coffee with the ladies, be retired with a friend to the billiard-room, and played fur two hours. An ingenious parson once calculated how many miles a man walked who played billiards for so many hours). In two hours, probably three miles might be accomplishe d ; and thi• at the end of such a day's ride. &c. —making at least 16 hours out of the 24 of real physical and mental er ertion. The "young fellow" who did this was our South" ful Premier, Lord Palmerston.—Court Journal. ADVERTISEMENT.I—A Lady supposed to be on the Point of Death cured by Holloway's Ointment ani Dosor, of Grundy-hill, Harwich, certifies on Feb. 2d, 186 3 , that she was literally covered with sores from head to t oot ' and that her case was so dangerous and malignant that he r dearest friends dared scarcely touch her for fear she shollio, die whilst under their hands. After every likely mean e° ' giving relief had been tried in vain, a believer in the OW cacy of Holloway's remedies proposed the adoption of the't but was ridiculed for her pains. At length, however, ointment and pills were used, and to she surpise of her' eh t and relatives a decided amendment appeared and perfeC recovery ensued, Births. --- CORNEWALL.—On the 19th inst., at Kingston-on-Than 3eo, Airs. Herbert Somerset Comewall, of a son and heir. IRBY.— On the '/Oth inst., the Hon. Mrs. I r by, The Grange, Taplow, of a daughter. WILLIAMS.--On the 20th inst., at Golder's - green, Tien' don, the wife of F. J. Williams, ESQ., o f a son. Marriages. BAILY—ADDISON —On the 21st inst., at St. George° , Hanover-squsre, T. Farmer Baily, EEq., of Hall-platet Tonbridge, J.P. county of Ken t, to Ger trude Sarah , the youngest daughter of the late James Addison, Esq. THOMPSON—RAYNEENT.—On the 19 th inst., at All t- ainte Church, Hertford, Ebeneze r Henry , only son of Ebene zer Thompson, 181, Sloane - stre et, to Sarah, youngest clang'''. ter of the late J. R. Rayment, Hertford. Deaths. BELL.—On the 19 t h inst., at Downham-market, Frede ric IC 58, t R Lincoln, James Bruce, Ellq .P aged C II ISLETT.—On the 21st inst., a t j ew i n-street, c ity, I°' .3 e . Bell, th e Esq., lBt i a n g s e t d. a George Chislett, aged 52. B t r ,o . 81 EVERARD.—On the 18th inst., at Amboise Mansion, Pe w. , l4 bridge Villas, Capt a i n It. Nugent Everard, of , town, co. Meath. EATON.—On the 20th inst., at Kensington, Mr. Ge orge Eaton, late of the firm of Lockyer and Eaten, 14, Gres' ham-street, city, aged 37. MACPHERSON.—On the 21st inst., at Barnsbury, A1 °612.. der Macpherson, Esq. WELSH.—On the 20th inst, at at 11, Park-road, Stec — k of Edwin Welsh, Esq., Assistant Secretary of the Ben England, aged 53. London : Printed and Published by WILLIAM ANDR— so. of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at THE SUN Off , 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the Cow of bilddloses.—Mouday, February 23, Ib6l