The Sun. — London, England, 1863-04-15 00:00:00

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 1863. In the House of Lords yesterday the Mutiny Bill passed through committee. The Post Office Savings Banks Bill was read a third time. The Marine Mutiny Bill passed through com mittee. On the motion that the Augmentation of Bene fices Bill be referred to a select committee, Lord ST. LEONARDS stated his reasons for believ ing that, as the privileges of the Crown were affected, the assent of the Crown was required before proceeding with the bill. He concurred in the principle of the bill, but briefly intimated in what respects be thought the proposed measure in sufficient for carrying it into practical opera tion, and his objections to the bill. The Earl of DERBY called attention to some of the main features of the scheme, upon which he also entertained doubts, and criticised generally its de tails in reference to the object contemplated. The LORD CHANCELLOR, in reply, explained and defended the provisions of the bill. The motion was then agreed to, and the select committee nominated. Their lordships then adjourned. In the House of Commons, at the time fixed for the commencement of public business, Mr. WAL POLE announced the sudden decease of the Secretary for War, Sir George Cornewall Lewis, and as a tri bute to his memory and devotion to the public ser vice, moved the adjournment of the House. Lord PALMERSTON in a few broken sentences ex-' pressed how deeply he felt upon the occasion. The motion involved a well-deserved tribute to the memory of the colleague they had lost, and he thought he should best show his respect for his memory by simply seconding the motion. Mr. DISRAELI, in the course of a brief but earnest eulogium upon the late Sir George Lewis, said that the Queen had lost one of the ablest of his subjects, and one who, in his entire devotedness to his country, might be taken as a model by rising Statesmen. He cordially supported the motion. The SPEAKER having put the question, the motion was unanimously agreed to, and the House adjourned. The Government has sustained a heavy loss in the death of Sir G. CORNEWALL LEWIS. There is something peculiarly startling and painful in such a doom overtaking one who, but a short time before, was mixing in our busiest circles, and filling a prominent place in th e s ti rr ing arena of political life. "In the midst of life we are in death " has been told as on Divine authority, and each day brings forward pro minent evidence of its accuracy, but still human nature seems resolved to shut its eyes to the fact, and it is only when some notable member of the community is struck down that the reality seems to dawn upon men's minds. The scene iu the House was most affecting, and the relatives and friends of the departed statesman could not have desired a better tribute to be paid to bis memory. Mr. WALPOLE proposed the adjournment of the House, " out of sincere respect to the m emory of the late Secretary of War." No one better than Mr. WALPOLE could have proposed this, alike from his friendship for the right honourable baronet, "knowing him," as he said he had done, " from an Eton boy," as for his urbane qualities and uniform gracious demeanour, which render him peculiarly fit for such an office. The right hon. gentleman observed that one " more thoughtful, more conside rate, more conciliatory, and more beloved did not exist in that house. The motion was seconded by Lord PALMERSTON, who, under deep emotion, accorded his testimony to the truth of the tribute that had been paid by Mr. WALPOLE to his departed col league. All must have sympathised with the noble lord under the trying circumstances in which he was placed, and he showed his usual discernment in making no comments of his own. At such a time these came more fittingly and appropriately from his political opponents. Mr. DISRAELI followed the noble Viscount, and displayed that feeling and consideration which always distinguish him on such occasions. There is no public man who is so ready as the Leader of the Opposition ever is to acknowledge the merits of his rivals o n the stage of public life, and when death has come between and interposed its dread distinction, no one is more willing to accord homage to the memory of the departed. The right hon. gentleman observed that he bad not been aware until within a few minutes of the calamity which he might say had fallen on the country. The QUEEN had lost one of her ablest servants, and the Beam a member who possessed universal respect and regard. After stating that he never knew a man w ho combined the facnlt y of arriving at a Inland opinion on all public matters as Sir GEORGR Lxwls, concluded in these the right hon. gent leman eloquent words;—" Although he W _a man most remarkably free from prejudice and passion, that exemption from sentiments which are supposed in general to be necessary to the pos session of active power, had not upon him that effect which they generally exercise ; and he was a ►uan who, in all the transactions of life, brought a great organising faculty and a great power of sus tained perseverance to the transaction of public affairs. Sir, lam sure that the rising statesmen of both sides may take him as an example that, in many particulars, may be remembered and followed with advantage ; and I am quite sure that his name will never be mentioned in this house without feel ings of deep respect and unfeigned regret for what may be deemed an untimely loss, which I think the country can ill bear." When the first stunning shock of the sudden calamity is over, and the friends of the departed baronet consider the influence that his career has exercised upon those among whom his life was spent, they will recur with gratification and reflect with pride upon these tributes to hie memory which have been rendered by those to whom he was ordi- I narily opposed in public life. " His mourners were two hosts, his friends and foes," sang the great poet over the grave of his 1(34 relative, and a better epitaph can no man desire. Sir G. COBNEWALL LEWIS was a remarkable man in many respects. He was an ornament to literature, and would have been distinguished for his attainments and contri butions had he never filled the more arduous post and undertaken the heavy responsibilities of a statesman. There was nothing brilliant about him. His ac quirements were solid and sterling, his language terse and businesslike, and his opinions always stated in a simple and unassuming manner. But it is not always the most dazzling that are the most missed, and of that fact the Government which has sustained his loss will soon be aware, and the House from which he has been so suddenly removed will long miss the patient investigation, the accu rate intelligence, and the calm judgment that particularly characterised its late Secretary of War. It might have been wiser had the right hon. baronet been more cautious in his undertakings, and tempered zeal with discretion. The cares of State, the toils of senatorial duties are in them selves sufficiently overwhelming without assiduous attention to studies of a grave sort, and unflag ging energy in abstruse pursuits. Yet, if taken thus early from his friends, and if his con temporaries lament his untimely end, it can not be said that he has died too soon for his fame, and his character could never have stood higher than it does at present. "To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die," may be the consolation of those who regret his premature removal from the arena where he might have occu pied a more prominent place and gained still greater renown, while those who mourn his loss in private must feel that those qualities which gained him universal respect and regard from contem poraries, and riveted the lasting attachment of his friends, are not bounded in their influence by he limits of this transitory state, and cannot perish with the dissolution of the earthly house of their tabernacle. Few of our public men can desire or expect more general appreciation of their lives and labours, more regret for their loss, or more respect to be paid to their memories, than has fallen to the share of him whose death to-day will occupy the minds of so many in the various circles where it will be known. The moral and physical wellbeing of our soldiers must always be an object of great importance. On their health and training depends the efficiency of our forces in time of war, and it would be idle to expect men of imperfect health and enfeebled con stitutions to endure the vicissitudes of climate which a soldier is exposed to, or to undergo the hardships of a campaign. The cost of a standing army is doubtless a heavy demand on the national resources and it would seem to be in every way the object of the state to preserve its military force in the highest state of efficiency. Yet the reality by no means corresponds with this anticipa,ton. It is a notorious fact that the rate of mortality and disease among soldiers is extremely high, and social reformers have loudly protested against a state of things which in great measure arises from preventible causes. A recent Parliamentary paper, published in the form of an appendix to former reports directs our attention to one at least of these remediable evils. The bad effects of over crowding are in these days of advanced science and extended knowledge almost universally recognised. The want of free ventilation brings in its train a host of dire complaints, all indirectly traceable to the continual inhalation of vitiated air. Fevers and epidemics of every class reign triumphant in such quarters, and medical skill and science are powerless before the effects of an overcrowded, ill drained, ' dwelling where cleanliness is disregarded and fresh air a thing unknown. The inspectors of English prisons being well aware of these facts, recom mended that not less than 1,000 cubic feet of air should be allowed for each prisoner, and though this allowance was very liberal, still as air is cheap and plentiful enough, there is no reason why even cri minals should be stintad. As usual, however, the felons have the best of it. Their advantages are not confined to footstools and treacle pudding, for even in the common luxury of fresh air they are far more favoured than honest men, The dwellings .f our labouring classes have long given much concern to the philanthropist who feels that it is hopeless to deal with the mind while every influence is fighting against the body; but there are many difficulties in the way of improve ment, and prominent among them the obstinacy or Indifference of the sufferers themselves. No such obstacles stand in the way of the regulation of official establishments, yet the condition of our barracks as described by the report referred to is as disgraceful to the country as it is injurious to the men. The construction of these buildings is often so bad that the healthiest and most airy sites s how the highest rate of mortality. At Edinburgh Castle, at an elevation of 300 to 400 feet above the level of the sea, the deaths from fever and chest complaints is 10 per 1,000. At the barracks two miles off the deaths from similar causes are less than than 3 per 1,000. This diffe rence is acc oun t e d f or b y th e bad ventilation and excessive crowding of the castle where there is only 181 cubic feet per man in one of the rooms, and the maximum is 302. This is in the new bar racks where the greater portion of the men are I situated. The old barracks, where 134 men are located in a space only suitable for 93, are naturally still worse. In London things are no better, the newly-built bar racks being constructed on plans that combine the largest amount of dead wall with the smallest supply of space. In the new Kensington cavalry barracks the men are located over the stables, \ while in the Portman-street barracks the mini mum of air allowed to each man is reached, leav ing a discrepany of 226 cubic feet for each man, between the directions given to the medical offi cers and the existing fact. Cleanliness, we have all heard, is next to godliness, and it is to be hoped that the excellent maxim is properly impressed on the mind of the soldier, though how he is to put it in practice in the Wellington Bar racks, where there aro five baths for 1,500 men we do not very clearly see. The walls and ceilings of all these paces are left blackened with gas and smoke, while the kitchen arrangements, or lack of arrangements, would fill SOYER with horror. The Tower bar racks are partly supplied by Thames water—a fact sufficient to account for the prevalence of cholera there when that epidemic raged in London. The laundries are mere washhouses without any appa ratus for drying, so that wearing damp clothes is no uncommon thing. So then, with overcrowding, bad ventilation, and sometimes no ventilation at all as in the case of those rooms which do not open outwards, bad drainage, dirty walls, ill-ccoked food, and damp linen, we are certainly doing our best to decimate our army. Added to all these evils is one perhaps greater and more disastrous than all. We refer to the enforced idleness of a soldier's life. 0 Idleness is the mother of mischief" is another truism that seems to have been forgotten in the copybooks of our military authorities. They gather large numbers of able-bodied men together—most of them restless or excitable spirits who have been attracted by the seeming gaiety of a soldier's life; they place these men in aboCes ouch as we have described above, and condemn them to bodily inaction and mental vacancy. What result can be hoped for, save the one that is but too common ? Vice and dissipation follow fast on such a training, and the moral and physi cal condition of the boasted English soldier is re duced to the lowest level. Let our Legislature look to this. They vote the supplies; let them exercise some wise control over the expenditure. A comparatively trifling outlay would provide reading-rooms, gymnasiums, tennis courts, or crieket clubs, anything that will give healthy exercise to the frame and ob jects of interest to the mind. Let the officers interest themselves in the welfare of their men, and afford every encouragement to honest and rational employment. Meanwhile, the sanitary condition of oar barracks should be immediately seen to. Oar soldiers have a right to demand fair considera tion for their health and comfort, and Englishmen will certainly not begrudge it to them. Tfl EATR E-R QYA L, DRURY - LAN E,- I Lessee and Manager, Mr. Edmund Falconer. THIS EVENING, April 15, for the 355th time in London, PEEP O'DAY. Illestrs. Henry Lorraine, Walter Lacy, C. Verner, Addison, J. Graham. G. Spencer, T. Neville, so. ; Misses Cleveland, Clara Weston, M. Hudson, To conclude with MAGIC TOYS. Valentine, Miss Lydia Thompson Conunence at THEATRE -ROY Al:, HAY MARKET. Lessee, Mr. J. B. Bnckstone. THIS EVENING, to commence with MUCFI ADO ABOUT NOTHING. Hero, Miss Ellen Terry; Beatrice, Louisa Angel. . . _ Atter which, an apropos Dramatic Sketch, introducing a Panorama of the Tour of the Prince of Wales in the East. To conclude with BORROWING A H USBAND. Pamela Miss Maria Harris. Commence at 7. THEATRE -ROYAL LYCEUM OPEN, under the Sole Management of Mr. FECHTER. THIS EVENING, at 7, to commence with an Original Sketch, entitled A SUDDEN ATTACK. Messrs. Shore, Garden, H. Widdicomb, Mss Henrade, and Mrs. Lee. Atter which, at a Quarter to Eight, a New Romantic Drama, in Three Acts, and Pr3logue, entitled THE DUKE'S MOTTO, by Paul Feval and John Brougham. The principal character will be sustained by Mr. Fechter, sunported by Messrs. G. Vining, J. Brougham, H. V , 1,1 4 - oombe, W. 111`Intyre, F. Charles, Garden, Raym ond. Butler, Dawson; Misses Carlotta Leclercq, Kate Terry, B I avenue, and Elsworthy. Stage-Manager, Mr. G. Vining. Acting_manager, Mr. H. Barnett. p OYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE 1.1 Lasse(s, Y ess s. Lindnt and Vining. THIS EVENING the drama of AURORA FLOYD. MIA Amy Sedgwick.3liss Henderson, and Mrs. Simpson ; Messrs. K. HoxbY, G. Melville, G. Belmor e, C. Seyton, Wallace, and Cathcart. After which, KILLING ?DIE. Mr. Geo. Vining, Mr. c. seyton, and Miss Amy Sedgwick. To conclude with a new whimsical Extravaganza, entitled BEAUTIFUL HAIDE IC ; or The Sea Nymph and the Sallee Rovers. Misses M. Oliver, Helen Howard, Hudspeth, Hen &run, and Murray ; Messrs. C. Seyton, G. Belmore, Fitz- James, Moreland, and Cockerill. NEW THEATRE-ROYAL, ADELPHI, Sole Proprietor and Manager, Mr. B. Webster. THIS EVENING, THE TRIAL OF TOMPKINS. J. L. Toole, P a ul Bedford, Sefton, Miss Kate Kelly, a nd Miss A. Seaman. After which, at Eight o'clock, AURORA FLOYD. Miss Avonia Jones, Miss H. Simms, Mrs. Billington ; Mr. Benj. Webster, Mr. Paul Bedford, Mr. R. Phillips, Mr. Billington, Air. Stuart, Mr. Sefton, Mr. Romer, Mr. C. J. Smith. Commence at 7. 111 HE THIRD EDITION OF " THE SUN." _j Containing the Latest SPORTING INTELLIGENCE, can be had Every Evening of G. R. GLENIE, NEWS AGENT, No. 4, Connaught-terrace, Hyde-park. The Weather—Sun Office, April 15, 1863. THERMONETE II . Highest since Noon yesterday. .. 53 Lowest during the night This day at Noon . Wind• —•Varying from N.W. to N.E. ; very light and changeable. HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. Tius DAY.—Morning, —h. —m.—Afternoon, 12h. 12m. To-monnow.-Morning, 12h. 42m.—Afternoon, lh. sm. g ea". THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVEINENG, APRIL 15, 1863. THE AFFAIR, OF THE PETERHOOF. The subjoined communication furnishes an ex ample of the questions that will be forced upon our Government by the affair of the Peterhoff, and the general conduct of the United States' squadron under the command of Admiral Wilkes. The point to be determined is whether the British Cabinet in tend to initiate and uphold the doctrine that any belligerent Power may seize neutral vessels trading between neutral ports on any pretext they may think fit to devise. No respectable British ship owners would protest against the right of search or the right of seizure on any obvious and reasonable plea ; but an intimation lately given by ►,he Foreign effice seems to indicate that in the opinion of the law officers of the Crown the United States' Govern ment, provided they "allege a legal pretext, no matter whether it be totally unsupported by direct proof or even rational assumption, will be fully en titled to carry off our vessels for adjudication in t heir prize courts." It is seen by the commercial classes that if a precedent of this kind is to be definitely admitted it will virtually put it in the power of any belligerent to stop and embarrass our trade with the whole world, since there has been no attempt to modify the doctrine by any distinctions, such as to the effect that a voyage is illegal between the neutral ports of England and Mexico, but not between other neutral ports. Of course, any such attempt would be absurd, but unless the distinction be made it then logically follows that the United States would be justified in seizing a vessel crossing from Dover to Calais. Even, however, if the doc trine could be restricted to the trade with the neutral ports of Mexico, we mast not lose sight of the fact that any Power that may hereafter be at war with the- United States will then be entitled to seize, detain, and harass every ship that leaves our shores for Nova Scotia or Canada. It will, there fore, be well to weigh the tremendous consequences that may arise at some future day to our commerce from recognising such a legal right, and placing it as a weapon in the hands of any nation, how. ever small or poor, that may be at war with another nation, and may wish with impunity to insult and to vex us. The fact that damages may be claimed would very little alter the case. Nothing that the owners of the Peterhoff are likely to obtain will compensate them for the disturbance of their arrangements, and in cases where seizures were effected by an insolvent Power the prospect even of obtaining such insufficient sums as might be awarded would be almost valueless. The feeling of the mer cantile public of London is as strong as ever in its approval of the prudence of our Government in straining every consideration to the utmost that may allow the Washington politicians to carry the enterprise they have in hand to an end without its being disturbed by even a single glance of foreign intervention ; but they have also a lively sense, which has been greatly strengthened by the expe rience of our Chinese and Russian wars, that there is no surer method of rendering peace hopeless than that of permitting direct wrongs to pass unnoticed. Few persons can doubt that if the Trent outrage had been tolerated it would have been followed by acts which long before this would have brought us into war, and there are many who believe that what ever danger may now exist is more likely to arise from our forbearance on that occasion, in not de manding the removal of Admiral Wilkes, than from any other cause : " Sir,—A singular difficulty has arisen between the mer chants and charterers and the owners of a steam vessel on the berth' for Matamoras in consequence of the corres pondence with the Foreign-office respecting the Peterhoff, in which the law officers of the Crown appear to admit the right of a belligerent to capture any neutral vessel on an alleged suspicion. The owners of the steamer in question have applied to the authorities for some assurance that their vessel, being bound on a legal voyage, should not be de • tained on any frivolous pretence, as its predecessor had been. Failing to obtain any such assurance, they decline to let the vessel proceed on her voyage. The charterers and mer chants whose goods ar© on board, and who were very large losers by the delay, insist on her leaving, and threaten the owners with law proceedings and a heavy claim for dam ages in case they do not fulfil their contract. The owners reply that they engaged to send the vessel to Matamoras, believing it to be a neutral port and a legal voyage; and that if it is, the law is bound to protect them in the prose cution thereof; but the law officers of the Crown state that the law is powerless to do so, and that therefore it cannot be a legal voyage, consequently the law cannot enforce a con tract the execution of which is not legal, and cannot compel the owner to despatch the vessel on a voyage beyond, limits to which its protection extends. Can you, Sir, elucidate this knotty point, and tell us who is right and who is wrong ? " I am, sir, yours faithfully, " London, April 13. " D." LIVERPOOL, Tuesday.—The iron screw steamship Tien-tain, built by Messrs. Laird for service in China, left here on Saturday night for Plymouth. This is one of the vessels supposed, but erroneously, to be intended for the Confederate service. SHIPBUILDING ON THE WEAR.—The market for new vessels, notwithstanding the flatness of freights generally, continues pretty active, the recent heavy losses not having been yet altogether replaced. Lloyd's quarterly list of ships building on the Wear shows that on the Ist of April inst. there were 100 vessels on the stocks, 53 of which were sold, and 47 unsold. The state of the : s_ome former years will be gathered from m de tahtethesubjoined tatebl in Year. Building. Sold. Unsold. 1860 1861 samedate 28 1862 1863 There are now 13 vessels building of iron, with an aggre gate tonnage of 9,037, an d on l y two o f these vessels are unsold. At th e p resent time, when most of the private dockyards in the coun t ry are understood to be wa t c h e d by Federal spies, it may be as we'l to mention that in the port of Sunderland, the largest shipping mart in the empire, there is not a single vessel at present in course of construc tion about whose future employment the remotest suspicion can be entertained. Out of the 100 vessels on the stocks only five are steamers, all iron, and utterly unsuited for the sort of work that is being performed by the Alabama and the other Confederate rovers, HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE, I PURITANI. A striking performance of this most melodious of all Bellini's operas was given at this theatre last evening, and served to confirm the brilliant im pression made by the opening night of the season. Its attraction was also enhanced by the fact of its leading feature possessing somewhat of the zest of novelty. Though Elvira is a cha racter Madlle. Titiens had already assumed • in England, she had been seen in it so seldom that many who witnessed it on this occasion must have been lel to view the effort in the light of a debut. Our admiration of that effort is scarcely weakened by the exceptions which may be taken to its merit. Elvira is certainly not to bs numbered among the conceptions most adapted to the powers or soul of this great singer. The florid style of its music as little accords with her ideal training, as the subtler expression demanded by the light and shade of the demented scenes is in harmony with the more massive depth and fervour of her genius. Elvira is a being whose mental fragility yields at once to the shock of a great suffering, and who wakes our sympathy in the very measure that her frenzy sports with her hopes and happiness. She is the passionate wreck that the fitful wave lifts and plunges down at will. With Mdlle. Titiens, on the contrary, she rather combats the shock than yields to it, and lays b ire the depth of her misery, rather than displays the force of her madness. Never theless, such is the mastery with which this view is put before us that we cannot for the time reject the impression of its close approach to truth. We may object to her delivery of the polacca— that, like a singer ill at ease, she overlays its fiori ture, in order to show how she can command it —and that she is also over-tanciful in the caba letta of the " Qui la voce," considering the expres sion it is meant to convey of a mind entirely crushed by grief; but we are compelled to admit that in her superb share of the noble finale of the first aet she reveals a depth of passion that elevates the character far above its intended level, and not lees in the affecting duet of the last act, the " Nel Mirarte un solo in stente," and its culminating transport, "Parole d'amor," her voice and feeling make us conscious only of a spirit worthy to sustain and to be requited for its trial. Her Elvira may not be classed with ner Lucrezia Borgia or her Leonora, but it has a power after all which is only to be found in Mdlie. ritiens. The Arturo of Signor Guiglini is, on the contrary, to be numbered among his happiest assumptions. It has all the mingled force and tenderness which the character demands, and which, supported by his splendid voice, gives him at present, in serious opera, his peculiar distinction. This was exhibited in his share of the exquisite " 0, Te Cara"—in his vigorous sup port of the encounter with Riccardo before the Queen—and more especially in his entire rendering of the music of the last act, every note of which was given with a truth that was only equalled by its fervour. Hie delivery of the passionate de nunciation of his pursuers, " Elle e Tremante," as he defends and points to their tenderer victim, Elvira—mingled a pathos with i:s fury which has not been given to it in our knowledge since it was first poured out by Rubini. The Riccardo was Mons. Gassier, whose excellent voice and superior skill always render him so acueptable in every thing he undertakes, and whose good qualities were never more manifest than on this occasion. His one aria—the Fior D'amore—was given with a degree of tenderness that contrasted strikingly with the vigour of his singing throughout the night. Of the band and chorus, saving that at times they were a little too emphatic, no praise can be too great. The miss en scene is also entitled to com mendation. On the whole, this was a performance which did great credit to the theatre, and amply deserved the approbation which it elicited throughout. It is to be repeated on Thursday evening, when it will be followed by the new ballet," La Farfaletta, in which Nlad tie. Ferraris will make her first appearance, and the entire resources of the establishment will be brought into play. RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE. DEMERARA. The ordinary general meeting of the shareholders in this company was held yesterday at the London Tavern—Mr. J. A. Tinny in the chair. The Secretary read the report as follows : "The directors have great pleasure in informing the shareholders that the arrangements for the conversion of the bonds and old preference stock have been carried out with the most complete success; every bond has now been settled, and ample funds have been provided for the com pletion of the railway in accordance with the colonial ordi nance so as to secure the cancellation of the government mortgage ; the company stands virtually in the enviable position of being without a single creditor. " In pursuance of the scheme which had been devised, the affairs of the company were brought to a point on the 30th of September, 1862, all interest on the one hand, and traffic receipts (which for the three months ending 30th Septem ber were £4.655 125.) on the other, being brought into con struction acCou n t, and the general balance-sheet to that date shows that the result of this arrangement was to place £40,2224x, ld, i n stores an d cash at th e di s p osa l o f the di rectors for working the railway and completing its exten sion to Mahaica. " Following this general balance -sheet to the 30th Sep tember are the general balance-sheet and statements of capi tal and revenue accounts for the three months ending 31st December, 1862 ; the capital account exhibits the further progress which had been made to that date i n th e a llotment of the new p re f erence s tock, and the further sum required for the purp oses o f the company has s i nce b een sub scribed. . _ "The revenue account shows a net profit upon the quarter of .Z 3,790 17s. 11d., b u t the shareholders must bear in mind that this embraces the period of the largest returns, and that the rate of working expenses is proportionately light; the receipts of the railway, however, continue to exhibit improvement, an d as it is morally certain that they will amply provide in future for the preference dividends, and leave a fair margin, the directors have no hesitation is disposing of the balance above alluded to ; the sum required for dividend on ihe preference stock to the 31 st of Decem ber, 1862, is £1,605 4s. 5d., leaving £ 2 , 185 13 s. 6 d., out of which the directors propose that a dividend of lk per cent should be paid on the original stock, which will absorb £1,688 155., and leave £496 18s. 6d. to be carried forward to the credit o f th e reve nue account of the current half - year. " On the 9th Ma r ch th , manager writes :--.‘ I am glad to say that our traffic receipts confinue to compare favourably with last year, and that the trains are running punctually, and without accident. I made a beginning last week at Lancaster with the new e mbankment, and at Hope and Dochfour with bridges across the side line trenches for the extension line to M a haica.' " The members who now retire by rotation from the general committee are H. Bruce, Esq., and G. H. Loxdate, Esq., and from the local committee, Thomas Garnett, Esq., all of whom offer themselves for re-election." The CHAILMAN, in moving the adoption of the report and accounts, said it was highly gratifying to the board to meet the shareholders on this occesion. It afforded a pleasing contrast to former meetings, when ho considered how often they had met in this place and left the meeting sick of hope deferred. He was sure they must all feel grat ified at the position of the company, and at the receipt o f a divi dend. Their traffic in good s an d passengers was dai l y in creasing. He hoped bef ore th e end of the present year that the line would be compl ete d in all its integrity , when its resources would become fully developed. The reports of the manager were extremely favourable as to the new ex tension, which was rapidl y progr essing, and most of the materials were on the spot. He trusted that all parties in the colony, seeing the strenuous efforts which were being made to fulfil all obligations, would stand firm by the com pany. He thought credit was due to the deputy chairman (Mr. Chambers) for his exertions to pro mote .he financial prosperity of the compa n y, an d he would request that gen . tleman, in seconding th e reso l u ti o n, to make some observa tions on this subject. B e f ore con cluding . , he had pleasure in reading an extract from the manager's letter of the 23d of March by th e pac k e t just arrived :—gi The works for the extensi on are going on favourably, and I hope in the course o f a cou ple of months to be ready to open up the Clonbrook (11 m iles), so as to get the pas senger traffic from the villages of Ann's Grove and Bee Hive. The embankment across Lancaster is also progress in the course of ten days ing favourably; the co n t ractors pro mise to have it finished or a fortnight ; when that is done I intend to go on with th e work a t Mosquito Hall, and by the time we finish the re I hope to have posse ssion of th e remainder of the land " You - ill see from the r eturns th a t the traffil is still lo o ki ng up, w Mr. CHAMBERS. in a conding th e motion, entered into a full explanation of th e finances of the company, which were most satisfactory. He h a d a l ways felt confident that the s line would be uttireatelY successtul, and its p resent posi tion proved that his faith was well foanded. T he co mpany was entirely free f rom d ebt, and the f un d s for compl e ti ng the eitation in dispo s i ng of * line had been provided there was c o nsequently no h revenue account. the balance exhibited by the Mr. H. 11. MAtuE an o lied for some informa tion as to the r o lli ng stock' w hi c h was furnished by the chairman, and i n reply to an i n quiry why there was no resolution for the PaYtnent of the preference d i v idend, he was informed that thi s dividend has ma d e a charge upon he earnings of th e railway by the Colonial Ordinance , which further provided that if the funds; to meet, it were inadequate in any h ß lf -year, the talance wou ld be a lie u upon future revenu e . The motion was unanimously a greed to. Messrs. Bruce, Loxdale, and Garnett were r e-elected as directors, and M r . Bankatt as auditor, and a resolution chat the best thank s o f the company b e g i ven to the chair man of the Gen era l and Demerara Comm itt ees , an d t o their co-directors, to th e auditorm, a nd also to the secretary, general manager and other officers , ' for the zealous attention which they have dev o t e d to the interes t s o f the company, concluded the business of the meeting. LATEST INTELLIGENCE. (REUTE R'S TELEGRAMS.) THE POLISH INSURRECTION. REJECTION OF THE AMNESTY BY THE INSURGENTS. THORN, APRIL 15. Intelligence received here from all parts of the seat of the insurrection shows that the amnesty has produced a bad impression amongst the insurgeits. The revolutionary Government has declared that the insurgents will not lay down their arms until they have obtained the independence of Polund. They forbid the inhabitants to pay taxes to the Russian Government, and order the Poles in the Russian army to come over to the insurgent ranks. The Governor of Gradno has reported to the Russian Government that 4,000 peasants in his dis trict have expressed their intention to return to the United Greek Church. It is now stated that neither the Grand Duke Constantine nor the" Marquis Wielopolski will leave Warsaw. SPAIN. THE POSITION OF PARTIES, MADRID, APRIL 14 (Evening). In to day's sitting of the Congress, Senor Vaha monde, in reply to a question of Senor Gonzales Bravo, declared that, the moderate section of the Liberal union and the Progrebieta party being at variance, they would not be able to form a Ministry. The present Ministry will not continue the policy of the former Cabinet, but will act in accordance with a policy of its own. RUSSIA. ADDRESS OF THE MUNICIPALITY TO THE EMPEROR. ST. PETERSBURG, APRIL 14 (Evening). The Journal de St. Petersbourg of to-day pub lishes an address presented on Easter Day to the Emperor by the mnnicipality of St. Petersburg. Similarly to the address of the nobility, the docu ment expresses the devotion of the municipality to the Sovereign, and its desire to promote by every means in its power the integrity of the Empire. AUSTRIA. VIENNA, APRIL 14, The General Correspondenz of today says:— " Preliminary negotiations are taking place be- tween Prince Christian and the Bavarian Court, which will form the basis of further negotiations with the Protecting Powers." A fresh attempt on the part of some Russian Cossacks to violate the Austrian frontier has been frustrated by Austrian Hussars. Several of the Cossacks were taken prisoners. ITALY. TURIN, APRIL 14. The Opinione of to-day publishes an article deny ing that the Government had demanded the removal from the Canton of Ticino of the conspirators of the Party of Action. The Italian Ministry, in a note dated March 26, merely informed the Federal Government of the preparations that were being made by the Party of Action. This measure had been adopted with a view of warding off from the Swiss Government the unpleasant complications which might have ensued in the event of armed bodies from Swiss territory invading the neighbouring country. The same journal positively denies the statement published by the Vienna Presse, that the Italian Government had warned Austria against the at tempts which had been set on foot against theltalian portion of the Tyrol. FRANCE. " The Academy of Sciences," says Le Pays, "bas three elections to make just now—to replace Messrs. the Count de Gasparin, Deprez, and Bravais." Le Constitutionnel, after commenting upon the apparent diversity of opinion expressed by the London journals upon the subject of the Russian amnesty to Poland, says that, in reality, English sympathy for the Poles has hardly been modified at all by the issue of that document. BOURSE, April 14.—The market has lost a little of its firmness, and quotations are rather lower. Threes, for the Account, ining now at 70f. 15c. The Mobilier has also receded. Little doing in Railway Shares. Sales for realisation continued to keep up the retrograde movement to the close, when the market closed as follows : it per Cents ... 97 Do. end month.... 97 25 3 per Cents Do. end month 7O 05 Credit Mobilier 1460 Do. end month 1458 75 Bank Shares 3377 60 Credit k oncier 1515 EA IV Italian Loan 72 85 Do. end month 72 30 New ditto Do. end month 73 50 Russian Austrian Spanish Threes..., 52 50 Home Debt .. 5O 50 'AYS. Cash. Account. Orleans 1026 25 .. 1025 Northern lO4B 75 .. 1050 New. ditto .. . Lyons and Mediterranean 1193 75 .. 1197 50 Geneva 445 .. 445 Southern BO5 800 Western Eastern Sardinian .. Austrian Lombard North of Spain Saragossa 760 .. 760 Ditto to Barcelona THE MURDER IN ST, GILES'S. Another day has passed over, and no satisfactory clue has been obtained towards unravelling the mystery which hangs over the brutal murder which was perpetrated in George-street, St. Giles's, on Thursday last. Yesterday the police were in con stant communication with the friends and associates of the murdered woman, Emma Jackson, and al though they have not received such information as justifies them in fixing their suspicions upon any particular individual, yet they are hopeful that the scraps of intelligence which are being constantly furnished to them may lead lo something conclu sive. A reward of £lOO, which it is understood will be cffered to-day, by the Home office, for such information as may lead to the arrest of the mur derer, may serve as a stimulus to persons who have knowledge to communicate, if indeed the awful secret is not locked in the breast of the murderer himself. Yesterday, Dr. Weeks, of High-street, Bloomsbury, to whom the coroner committed the duty of making a post mortem examination, com pleted his task, and the body has been removed from George-street, for interment. It is understood that Dr. Weeks is convinced that his first impressions were correct, and that the deceased could not have by herself inflicted the wounds which caused her death. It is also understood that he has not found on the body of the deceased any traces of poison, as was at first supposed to be the case. How the man got out of the house, while the door of his room was fastened, is still a point of difficulty with the police. They seem rather inclined to the opinion that the murderer did not drop out of the window, as suggested ; but that there being a door leading into the front room, where two girls were sleeping, he availed himself of that means of effecting his escape. Sergeant Lambert and Sergeant Thomson, who have the case in hand, are indefatigable in their exertions to bring their investigations to a successful issue. TOM HOOD'S ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENTS.— The "Essay on Agricultural Distress would only increase it." The " Tears of Sensibility had better be dropped.:: "B is surely hunaining.' The "Echo will not answer." The " Sonnet to the Risi ng S un must have been written for a Lark." WA Fl,:flP ttO Itte ,;14,141frifa uwr Cunirt C HER MAJESTY, WINDSOR CASTLE, Tuesday. The Queen, accompanied by her Royal Highness the Princess Beatrice, attended by Lady Augusta Bruce, walked and drove in the grounds this morn ing. His Royal Highness Prince Arthur, attended by Major Etphinstone, arrived at the Castle from the Ranger's Lodge, in Greenwich Park, and returned in the evening. Today is the anniversary of the birthday of her Royal Highness the Princess Beatrice. Their Royal Highnesses Prince Alfred and Prince Louis of Hesse rod© yesterday afternoon. The Prince and Princess of Wales. SANDRINGZIAM, Monday. The charming weather of the last day or two his led to their Royal Highnesses taking several equestrian excursions in the neighbourhood of Sndringham. Oa Saturday afternoon his Royal Highness rode on horseback, after taking a drive with the Princess. The Rev. G. B. Moxon, vicar of Sandringham, had the honour of preaching be fore their Royal Highnesses on Sunday. In the afternoon, the Prince and Princess of Wales walked in the grounds, According to present arrangements their Royal Highnesses leave Sandringham on Saturday next, and proceed by special train, via Lynn and Wisbech. At the latter place great efforts are being made by all classes to give their Royal Highnesses a cordial reception. Their Royal Highnesses will receive an address from the corporation. After receiving the address the special train will proceed to March, and thence to Windsor, where the Prince will stay on a visit to the Queen for a few days, after which his Royal Highness will take possession of his town residence, Marlborough House. Immediately after their Royal Highnesses leave Sandringham the hall will be partialky un roofed, and a large number of workmen, under Messrs. Holland and Son, will proceed to make the extensive additions that Lave been decided upon. KING'S LYNN, Monday. The ancient and loyal borough has this afternoon been honoured by a visit from their Royal High nesses the Prince and Princess of Wales. Their visit being expected before their arrival, the princi pal streets of the town were crowded with the in habitants, and flags floated from nearly every win dow. Their Royal Highnesses drove in an open phaeton, drawn by a pair of greys. The Mayor of Lynn, mounted on horseback, acted as a guide to his Royal Highness. Their Royal Highnesses were received with acclamation at every point of the route as they passed through the town. Huod speaking of the poor poet whose ambrosia may be sure, but whose bread is very uncertain, says, "Pure fame is a glorious draught enough, and the striving for it a noble ambition ; but, alas 1 few can afford to drink it neat. Across the loftiest visions of the poet earthly faces will flit; and even while he is gazing on Cas taly little famili.r voices will murmur in his ear inquiring if there are no fishes that can be eaten to be caught in its waters." And, there being no fish in Caataly, he had to angle in other streams ; and so he laughed and coughed, laughed and spit blood, laughed and made the public laugh, as we say, till the tears ran down its face at last; for it learned at length that this wa3 "a fellow who could play the fool " to a higher purpose than it had thought. He will touch the heart yet, as well as tickle the ear. There's a barb to his arrow, and when he has driven it well home, you will scarcely feel inclined to play with the feather at the other end, which winged it to the heart. You invited him to a banquet of mirth, and it went on merrily, as though the fe ist would end. You asked for a jester to jingle the bells on Folly's cap, and he did your bidding bonnily. But he will also show you that motley is not the only wear. He is no longer Puck or Clown or Jester. You look up and see a quiet man in black, with a face gradually whitening and waning in the death-shadow. There is a set sternness about his mouth, a grim earnestness lights up the eye. He has another story to tell now ; another song to sing, Ho has risen to his highest stature—lengthening in death— and in his grandest character, to plead the cause of the poor. No longer the funny favourite of the draw ing-room, he is out in the street singing a song that will thrill through the heart of England. There is something ,singularly touching in the sound, as of a voice almost choked with tears. There is something doggedly stein in the march of the measure, as though it must be uttered thus to „et it out at all. He sings the " Song of the Stahl," and you must listen. It is now twenty years since Hood sang, with a heart aching for humanity, his famous " Song f the Shirt" and "The Bridge of Sighs," but they left echoes in the heart of his country which can never die. The rich and poor have in many ways, and through many doors, looxed more closely into the face of each other than they had ever done before.— Athertzum. ANECDOTES OF THE LATE MR. BUCKLE. —.Th e Atlantic Monthly contains a paper entitled " Per sonal Reminiscences of the late Henry Thomas B eckle," by some American, who does not give his name. Tee reminiscences are in the form of a journal of ten days spent by the writer in Cairo (February 6-15, :862), during which ie had the good fortune several times to meet Mr. Buckle, who was then on his tour in the East for his health, and, as it proved, within three months and a half of his death. The reports given of Mr. Buckle's conversation seem quite authentic, and are very interesting. Thus, being asked whether the strong opinions of his book had subjected him to personal hostility or anything like social ostracism, he said they had not, and added naively —" In fact, the people of England have such an admiration of any kind of intellectual splendour that they will forgive for its sake the most objectionable doctrines." He thought Alisen's History "the worst that was ever written." He regarded John Stuart Mill "of all living men, as possessing the greatest mind in the world." He seems to have been communicative about himself; and the following account of what he said on this head, if not new, contains new particulars :—" When he was a boy, he was so delicate that it was thought he could not live; the celebrated Dr. Abernethy, who was a particular friend of his father, saw how important it was to keep him from mental excitement, and begged he might not be troubled by lessons. Accord ingly, he was never sent to school at any time, except for a brief period to a clergyman who had directions not to make him study ; and he was never regularly taught anything. Until eight years of age he hardly knew his letters. At the age of 15 he found out Shakespeare and read him with great zest. At 17 he conceived the plan of his book, and re solved to do two things to make himself fit to write it ; first, he resolved to devote four hours a day to the study of phy • sical science, in order that he might be able fully to ueder stand and unfold its relations with history ; 2dly, he resolved to devote an equal portion of each day to the study of English composition and practice in writing, in order that he might b 3 able to set forth his opinions with force and perspicuity. To these resolutions he adhered for 12 years. . . . He has long since abandoned the practice of writing at night, and now does not put pen to piper after three o'clock in the afternoon. When at home, in London,he walks every day, for about an hour and a half, at noon; frequently dines out, and reads perhaps an hour after corning home. He goes exclu sively to d inner pat ties, because they take less time than others. When he is engaged in composition he walks about the room, sometimes excitedly, his mind engrossed with his subject, until he has composed an en tire paragraph, when he sits down and writes it, never retouching." Here is anotl..er auto biographic passage :—" He told me about his library in London, which is surpassed (among private libraries) only by that belonging to Mr. Van de Weyer, the Belgian mi nister, whose wife is the daugter of our Bostonian Mr. Bates, of Barings. Buckle has twenty-two thousand volumes, all selected by himself; and he takes great plea sure in them. He spends eight or nine hundred pounds a year upon his lib. ary." AMERICAN DINNER PARTIES.—The latest bit of up-town fashionable news is the partiesex c given ee i su tu ou sness of two successive dinnertotwinpo be trothed ladies by a wealthy bachelor of their acquaintance, each party numbering about 20 persons, and the latter one including General and Mrs. M'Clellan among its guests. One very expensive and exquisite difference from ordinary parties consisted in the novel furnishing of the table. It was oval-shaped, but with the white cloth only circling its outer rim, the whole inte being an exquisitely ar ranged parterre, filled with baskets of the most costly and sumptuous flowers, set in wet sawdust and moss, and the air being thus laden with fragrance, while the dinner was handed round in a dainty succe, , sien of choice dishes, accord. ing to the beautifully printed cat to distributed to all. At the close of the dinner each lady guest took, as a present from the host, one of these costly and superb baskets of flowers which had ornamented the centre of the table.—New York Home Journal. recoinage of silver money," says the Saiut Public of Lyons, which is about to take place in France, is to be applied to two franc, one franc, fifty centime, and twenty centime pieces. The standard for this new issue of coin will be 835 thousandths of pure silver. This is rather inferior to the old standard, but has been adopted to prevent the carrying away of trench silver money by the Belgians, Germane, and Swiss, who collect it and sell it abroad at a premium. The emission of new coin is fixed at 250,000,000 f."„ LITERATURE, The Brigantine. A Stony of the Sea. 2 vols. Bentley. A story of the sea is usually attractive to all. There is generally a freshness and vivacity in the theme, and there is always such an entire variation in the scene as to render a nautical romance a plea sant change to the novel reader. In works of this kind adventures and hair-breadth perils abound, and they occur as a matter of course, not being dragged in merely for a sensation, The character of the sailor, moreover, is for the most part so frank, so genial, so honest, and so English, as to render our hearts of-oak national favourites, both in real life and in the world of literature. In some respects " The Brigantine" possesses these general claims to our attention. It is, but not entirely, a tale of the sea, and its pages recount many brilliant exploits and many perilous encounters by land and water. The sailor hero is not, however, one after our heart. The Brigantine, be it known, is a smuggling vessel, and its Captain, Harry Grasper, is insatiable in his:love of lucre. The scene of the story is partly in Bur mat). The hero and heroine, Aun qua and Domea are two young Burmese lovers, converts to Chris tianity, and pupils of old Momien, also a native Christian. Momien is described as a beautiful character, singularly simple-hearted and unselfish. Although he had never quitted his native shores he seems to be tolerably well acquainted with the cha racters of the civilised world. Talking of the idolatry of his o wn countrymen, in Burmah, he tells Captain Grasper " there are more Shoodagons than one, and there is as mach idolatry in the kingdoms of the West as in all Burmah." This idea is dwelt upon again when, describing the worshippers in the heathen temple, the writer reminds us how often in a Christian assembly, when the knees are bent to a true God, the heart and the thoughts are en grossed by vanity, and avarice, and ambition, and. the other strange gods of our idolatry. The tyrannous Boa of Burmah, the high priests of Shoodagon, Beyring, the Burmese warrior, sur named the Tiger-mask, and many other • native heroes, are introduced in the main part of the story. When we return to England with Captain Grasper, we find in his English home so much duplicity and domestic treachery that we are glad to turn again to the distant land of grateful Aun qua and his Domea. The fate of the Brigantine, and the ultimate fortune of its captain, we shall not reveal; those who peruse his history will be grad. fled at least with an original story laid in an un ramiliar locality, and abounding with incident and adventure. Philip of Konigsmarkt, and Other Poems. By Maresco Pearce, B.A. Pp. 322. B. M. Pickering. Somebody has said that from the first dozen lines, from the first half-page of any new volume of Poems, he could tell the quality of his author. If the rule were applied in the present instance, the skilled critic from whose lips it fell would find himself, or we are much mistaken, at fault, or at least to a very great extent bsflled. The Tragedy opening the work, and filling up the first hundred and odd pages of it, being penned in that tesselated style which Shakespere, the master dramatist of all, ' occasionally indulged in with such consummate suc cess, written now in prose, now in verse, at uncertain and unequal intervals—opens with prose of the very prosiest ! Later on come songs, ballads, love ditties, and so forth, racy of the soil of Parnassus, anti many of them justifying Mr. Pearce's name to the title of poet. Love has much to do with the con tents of the volume, as a matter of course. There is . now a poem on " Love and Death." Now the - singer discourses melodiously on " Pure Love," and now on the less congenial theme, we may be sure, of " Forbidden Love." Then, again, " Old Love Let ters" set him musing ; his accents thereupon being "most musical, most melancholy." Another while " Love" stands alone—a wholesome fear of any comparison with Coleridge's " Genevieve" not oeing before our author's eyes. Throughout it is— " Love, Love, nothing but love still more : For 0 Love's bow Shoots buck and doe, The shaft confounds, not that it wounds, But tickles still the sore!" Simplest themes, ever old, but also, it should be said, ever new, are among our writer's favourites-- ex. gr. "Tears," " Farewell," " Song in Sorrow," " The Artist's Child," 't The &rine by the Way side," are among his happiest efforts. Parting with tom at the close of his volume, our hope is for our Next Meeting—as Writer and Reader, or, to put it iess prosaically, as Hearer and Songster. Cassell's Bible Dictionary. Part I. Cassell, Petter, and Ualpin. One of the must splendid, as it is also one of the most ;ambitious, of the cheap illustrated periodi cals of the day has here been commenced. The work, when finished, will be a sort of scriptu ral encyclooe lia. Published in sixpenny monthly parts, it is brought fairly within the reach of all— ot cottager and artisan, no less than of the more well to-do farmers and manufacturers. Here, in truth, are variety and uniformity in their coin pletest aspect. Tue whole world of Biblical lore is herein illustrated by pen and by pencil. By issuing this beautiful work at such a price the pub ushers are conferring nothing less than a benefao non upon the eommanity. THE ETHNOLOGICAL SOCIE LY. A crowded meeting of this society took place yesterday, the attraction being a paper " On the Antiquity of Man," by Mr. J. Crawford, the Presi dent. The author objected to the recent work of Sir Chanes Lyell, in respect to certain branches of the subject on which he had bestowed special atten tion. He stated at once his own conviction that the presence of man on the earth had an antiquity far beyond the usual estimate, and that them was no question as to his having been the contemporary of the fossil elephants, lines, and rhinoceroses. 11 0 opposed Sir C. Lyell on the points ot the unity of the human race and the Aryan theory of language, and the origin by transmutation of man from the apes. On the first point Mr. Crawfurd concludes that there is no shadow of evidence for the unity of the human races, and none for any having under gone any appreciable change of form. if 1,000, or 4,000, or 10,000, or 100,000 years, supposing the last the age of the skeletons of the Belgian race con temporary with the Mammoth, have yielded no differences from the present European type, it is, he believes, reasonable to consider that multiplying any of these sum s by a million of y ears would y i el d nothing but the same cipher. On the second point, tie said that Sir Charles's object, following the philosophers of Germany, woulc. seem to be to reduce ail languages to a small number of primordial ones, in the same manner as the authors of the theory of transmutation of species would reduce all the species to a few monads. It there were any truth iu the Aryan theory thus advocated, it 'would, Mr. Craw ford says, of necessity follow that there would be no language at all in Western Asia or Europe, ancient , or modern, and that Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, with all the modern languages, would be reduced to the rank of mere dialects, or zubdivisions of one primor dial tongue—the airy and fabulous Aiyan, the mere creature of Teutonic itn.ginetiou. On the thud point Mr. Crawfurd conressedly took only a popu lar view. lie considered that man was mailed by - . 4 superi or i ty ot i ntellect, by having the power et speech and the capability of framing languages, and that although monkeys have an cutward and evert a structural resemblance to man beyond all other animals, it was nothing more than a mere resew blance, and that why nature had bestowed on them this similarity was a mystery beyond our under standing. In the animated discussion which fol lowed Sir C. L3ell, Sir H. :Murchison, Protessor • Busk, Mr. J. Wyatt of Bedford, Dr. Coilier, Pro fessor Macdonald, and Mr. Mackie took part. 16 was stated by Sir C. Ly ell that, by a letter he had received this day, he had heard that M. B. de Perthes had found a human jaw iu the flint bearing beds of Abbeville, but ou the other hand it was said that Mr. Prestwich had seen the specimen, and was; not convinced of its genuineness. Nothing certsail seemed to be known about this relic.