The Sun. — London, England, 1863-10-19 00:00:00

THE CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA, (Fro;n the Special Correspondent of the Times.) NEW YORK, Oct. 6. The siege of the defences of Charleston has re commenced. General ROSEIICTaIIZ is closely belea guered in Chattanooga, and the army of the Poto mac has been deprived of abDut half of its available strength to reinforce him. In other quarters little is doing ; but there is sufficient uncertainty with restrict to the three points here indicated to keep people's minds in feverish suspense, and to operate unfavourably on the money-market. Charleston gives the least anxiety. The belief is that if the Federal army and navy cannot capture they can destroy the city, and in the worse case they can calve the siege and leave Charleston to itself for the winter. General Meade's position inspires more doubt. llis army has been depleted, in the hope rather than in the certainty that General Lee had Aufferecl a similar diminution for the reinforcement of Generals Joseph Johnston and Bragg. If it should turn out, however, that Lee is in as great force as ever upon the Rapidan, he may seize the opportunity to attack Meade and renew the old alarm for the safety of Washington. As regards Rosencranz, the public is every day informed with a loud flourish of trumpets that his position is im pregnable ; that his army is in the best spirits ; that the enemy dares not attack ; that everything is going on better than could have been expected ; and that he will infallibly gain a great victory in a very few d ays. B ut the more t h e Govern . m . e . nt protests th e more t h e peop l e di s b e lieve ; until t he impression is ho ur ly ga ining strength th at Rosen cranz is in a position of imminent peril. rela tions bet ween F rance an d the Federal i he Government, arising out of the turn which events have taken in Mexico, also cause considerable inquietude, which not even the presence of the Russian fleet in the harbour of New York, the departure of Mr. Mason from London in disgust, and the alleged soli citude of the British Government to prevent the sailing of the Confederate rams from the Mersey and the Clyde are sufficient to alleviate. Another cause for discomfort has been discovered in the defencelessness of New York and Brooklyn against a naval attack. The ordinary entrance to the Bay of N e w York is by Sandy Hook, and through the Narrows—the route which is taken by the Cunard and Inman steamers, and ninety-nine out of every hundred vessels that trade with the port. This entrance is defended at the Nar rows b y Forts Hamilton and Lafayette on the right, and by Fort Tompkins, not yet completed or mounted with artillery, upon the left. But there is another and equally available entrance, by way of Long Island sound, which is not defended at all, and through which a hostile fleet can enter with the greatest ease. "It was only the other day," says the New London Star of the Ist inst., "that five Russian men-of-war of the largest class, Bonze of them draw ing 27 feet of water, appeared off Montauk, steamed through the narrow passage between Fisher's and Gall's Islands, usually called the Race, went up the Sound, and were quietly at anchor within shelling distance of the city of New York before any one was aware of their presence. Had these been the fleet of an enemy instead of a friend, the cities and towns on the seaboard of Connecticut and New York city itself might have been laid in ashes." It appears that the people of the city of New London have long been urging upon the Government the necessity of erecting strong fortifications at the points indicated, but hitherto without effect. Accustomed to deal with all sorts of jobs and jobbers, the Administration thought that nothing but a job of greater magni tude than usual was intended, and, as there was no electioneering strength to be pined by favour ing it, the consideration of the matter was postponed or pooh-poohed. Perhaps, however, the prospect of a foreign war, which never since the secession of South Carolina appeared so imminent as now, may indace the Federal Government to look to this un fastened back door before the steed be stolen. The official organs of the Government have been instructed to contradict the report that the failjre of the last draught to produce soldiers—although it produced abundance of commutation money—has impressed Mr. Lincoln and his secretaries with the necessity of a second conscription, in which no com mutation shall be allowed. The statement, which originated in one of those violent Abolitionist jour nals that, " with the best of motives," are doing their best, or worst, to drive the country to destruc tion, is denounced from Washington as a malicious invention. But, if there is to be no new draught, how is the government to be carried on ; and how is Mr. Lincoln to continue the war ? He has not, by 500,000, as many men as are necessary to the safe prosecution of the task before him; and as ne groes cannot be got in sufficient numbers—and white men scarcely at all—there must either be a break down that will surprise the world, some mira culous interposition of Providence, or some equally miraculous succession of strokes of good luck by sea and land to prevent the North from exhibiting a Spectacle of helplessness such as has rarely been witnessed among nations. But, perhaps, the secret of the disclaimer is not so difficult to fathom as ft appears. For the next five or six weeks the elections of Governors or other high officials will be in pro gress in the Western States, as well as in New York and Pennsylvania, and it may therefore not be politic on the part of the Government to incur the unpopularityof ordering a new draught until they are co ncluded. ln all probability this is the true ex planation Of the denial. Doubtless, if Mr. Vallan dighen be defeated in Ohio, Judge Woodward in eans ylvania, and the Democrats generally in New York, where there is no election for governor this year, the Government will take heart and allow the rumours of a new w troublin g its conscription to be reviv e d w ith ou t elf to contradict them. Upon the tem per in which they shalt b e received by the p ress an d public will d e p end the future action of Mr. Lincoln and his black Republican advisers. But it is not only the want of soldiers but of sailors that begins to embarrass thelExecutive. N t daily s tanding all the va un t s that are aa• ° made of the indomitable navy of the Northeeeet:ieh with its re sistless ironclads and m on i tors is, i a ov ever r a y p r w ith Groat Britain, to sw ee p the ocea n of e that carries a hostile flag, the Administration has the greatest difficulty in procuring seamen in sem cien t numbers to send even a moderate flee u t r t o o p s e sa. Perhaps, in case of actual war with any European p o wer, especially with Great Britai n , that Whiachil p e wer, might grow into a n i mpossibility is now a diffic ult y Ireland a nd Germany have offered immen se numbe r s o f volunteers and substitutes, and sonic few Con scripts, to the army; but these resources would fai l the Federal Government in a naval war. Neither the Irish nor the Germans make good sailors, or take so naturally to a maritime as to a military life, and the naval force of the United States is either com posed of native-born Americans, or of English men,N Scotchmen, and N o rwegians. In what proportion the foreign stands to the native element is not clearly known, thoug h it is surmised by these who, from their position and opportunities, Ought to know, that less than one-half of the able• bodied seamen on board American merchantmen or ships of war are natives cou etr do not and citizens of the Y. As Englishmen and Scotchmen entertain that theological hatred against the British Government whioh animates the Dish Roman Catholics, and ha ve b een ma i n l y i n d u ced to enter the Fed eral service by the high wages o ff ered , it i s probable that in case o f a war with Great Brita in the patriotis m of thes e men would prove greate r be left to fight th eir own and that the Americans would aid as the Scandinavi an s sea battles with such small candina y . might afford. However this may be, the present need of sailors t o ma n the fleet is urgent ; and th e Fe deral seriously incomm o d e d in Government is theca efforts tunr which it would gladly make, if it could, to the Florid as an d Alabamas, which so disturbveieequanimity of the mercantile community. It hi g been represented to the Naval Department that considerable numbers o f willing recruits for the navy could inducements eprocured a mong the Cape cod fishermen if p roper w ere held out to them at the cl ose a the fi e h ing seas on, the frigate Sabine, under th e command of Commodore Ringgold, was despatched to the coast, and arrived at Provincetown, Massachusetts, on the Bth of September. The Commodore made known bis mission to the seafaring population, and offered such terms of pay, bounty, and chance of prize. money as were thought sufficiently attractive. Ves sels from the cod fisheries arrived daily at Province town, but not a sailor volunteered to serve. The Commodore remained a fortnight on the station, with the same unsacccss ; and it is new reported that the Sabine will have to be laid up for the win ter for want of men. No consideratises of the un popularity of the commander can be brought to explain the failure, for Commodore Ringgold is not only a good seaman, but a gentleman in the highest sense of the word, and beloved alike by his officeis and his crew. The steam frigate Niagara, recently completed, and described as being ono of the very finest ships in the world, is in the same predicament. She lies at Charlestown, near Boston, prepared to start in pursuit of the Alabama and the Florida, but unable to move for want of a crew. The sailing ship Saratogo, with a heavy battery, w hich would bo use ful before Charleston, Mobile , o r Wilmi ng ton, has been ready for sea for three mon,rthuse,rebunitaityhbaes,baeuen found impossible to man h er. d p ci s ty in ha a e similar predicament, thong doubtless are, many other h Fe a d s e y r e a t l n w o a r p u s b h l i i been given to the fact s. The Naval Department knows not what to do. One set of advisers, undis mayed by the glaring failure of the conscription, boldly urges the Government to introduce into Con gress in the first week of its sitting an Act for the ~ impressment" of seamen, while another class in sists that many thousands of volunteers could yet be procured if the bounty offered were increased, and, above all, if the ordinance were repealed whi c h deprived the sailors of their "grog." It is asserted that the increase of pay, to the amou n t o f s c. per diem, which has been granted to the sailor as a solatium for the loss of his usual stimulant, is not satisfactory, and that as long as this restriction upon the free will and upon the tastes and habits of the sea-going people is continued, so long will the Fe deral Government suffer for want of seamen. What ever remedy may be adopted, it is so uncertain in its operation, that the Government may well be ex cused if it do not see the expediency of a war either with Great Britain or France. An Impressment Act would be odious to the people, which might not signify much to a Government that seems deter mined to establish a despotism; bat it might fail in its object, which is a contingency that no Govern ment can afford to despise. As for the "grog," it is likely that the severity of the existing discipline will be relaxed, and that "Jack" will be allowed his coveted modicum of rum or whiskey; but whether in the event of war with Great Britain any consider able number of British sailors in the present service of the Federal Government will consent to be trai tore to the land of their birth admits of the gravest doubts, The fact seems to be that the United States, or what may remain of them, on the conclusion of peace, may be a great military, but never can be come a great naval nation. Their territory by its very vastness is inland, and must breed an inland, not a maritime population. It requires the sea to beget a love of the sea. The boy that is to be a sailor when he is a man must sport upon the shore when he is a child ; and this can be the destiny of but few Americans. If the coast line of the Federal States, leaving California out of the calculation, be measured from Norfolk in Virginia (somewhat more, perhaps, than will be allowed after a settlement between North and South) to the boundary line in the Bay of Fundy, between the State of Maine and the British colony of New Brunswick—the one in lat. 32 deg., and the other in lat. 45 deg. 25 sec. N., —it will be found that the maritime population of the Federal States only exists upon a length of about 900 miles of coast. Compare this with the coast line of the British isles, and it may be esti mated that the sailor-producing power of England and Scotland, to say nothing of Ireland, is at least twice as great as that of the Northern Union. Had it not been for British sailors, the American navy, national or mercantile, could not have been what it is, and the "Buncome " orators of vast inland re gions, 1,000 miles from the sea, would have had much less reason to boast of their ability to cope with the greatest maritime Power that the world has even seen or is likely to see. A short letter addressed to the President by the Hon. Josiah Quincy, of Boston, Massachusetts, the only living American of any note who was born before the Declaration of Independence, and who was once in consequence a British subject, has ex cited considerable attention. The private and public character of this venerable gentleman stand deser vedly high. He is in his 02d year, in full possession of his faculties, was long a member of Congress and of the Legislature of his native State, and has been president of Harvard College and Mayor of Boston, was on terms of intimacy with Washington, Lafayette, and most of the earlier as well as later Presidents, and is author of several works, of which the life of his relative John Quincy Adams is the best as well as most recent. It might be thought that if the voice of any man in America would be raised in favour of blessed peace it would be that of a man so sage, so calm, so experienced, and so pat riotic. But it is not so. The abolition of negro slavery, though the land should' be deluged with blood for 50 years in the attempt to enforce it, has such entire possession of his mind that ho has no advice to give to the President or the people but to fight on. He insists that compromise is impossible, and believes that the final victory of the Federal Government is inee itable. He, too, so far beyond the ordinary age of passion, shares the passion of his countrymen for extent of territory. The " Union" is the God of his idolatry. And yet this Josiah Quincy was the earliest dis-Unionist known, He declared so far back as 1802 that the purchase of Louisiana was unconstitutional—that it was fatal to the stability of the Union, and sufficient ro justify the secession of Massachussetts, and every other State, if in pursuance of the Act of Congress, of the undoubted rights of the South under the constitution and of the solemn decision of the Supreme Court, the officers of the Federal Executive, charged with a legal warrant, should presume to lay hands upon a fugitive slave on the soil of that commonwealth. This only shows how great was the original incom patibility between North and South. When Aboli tionism was in the minority, it threatened disruption of the Union, rather than obey a law which it did not approve. Its maxim then, as now, was "rule or ruin ;" and Mr. Quin c y, it s o ld es t, if n ot its ablest apostle, is powerless to emancipate himself from its thraldom. He declares the South to be " mad;" but, if so, he might well ask himself whether Washington were not mad also, and all the men who acted with hi m , i nc l u di ng J os i a h Q u i nc y. It was i n thi s correspondence, some mont h s ag o, that the B r iti s h existence people were first informed of the in this country of a mysterious political Society called the Finnian, Fenian, or Phinean Brotherhood, whose members were all Irishmen, and whose objectwere the inva s io n of Ireland and the establishment s of an Irish R e p u bli c . It a ppears that the tr ue name ; that the of this organization is the Fenian Brotherhood secrecy which formerly en veloped th e i r proceedings is and a o r t no longer to be insisted upon, and th a t the "Read Master, is on e C York, now a loyal Co lonel John Cent re ," or Grand _ _ ah _ oney, of New O , M the Unit e d S tates , b u t citize n formerly of Dublin, n autho rity of Great Britain, under Nellr against the the cabbage -garde n . I n ob edi. Smith O'Brien in ence numerously signed by the , to a requisition " eentr of the Brotherhood at Philadelphia, es ' or local chiefs Chicago,L • e ille, and other large cities to the n umber of 60 or 70, this functionary has convened a general meeting of the body to assemble at the Feni an Hall in Chi cago, on the 31 of November next, to debate on "grave and pressing m itters." It is stated that Mr. Seward, Archbishop Hughes, and all the poli ticians in the Union, who are accustomed to court the Irish vote on occasions of emergency, are well a ware of the objects of t he so ciety , and what is hi g hly important if it be true, that no Irishma n can obtain a commission in the Federal army unless he can prove his affiliation to the Fenians and his sympathy with their designs. It is hinted that immediat el y on the recognition of the Southern Confederacy by Grea t Britain, or on a de claration of war on the grievance of the Confederate rams, the Fenians will he let lo ose upon Ireland, to stir up insurrection; that the Federal Government (if it do not in the interval tumble to pieces) will im mediately recognise the Irish as belligerents, and that the shipbuilders of Boston, Brooklyn, and Philadelphia will construct rams, monitors, and 1 iron clads to break any blockade of the Irish coast which the British Government may establish, and that in one way or another at least 200,000 Irish and Irish-Americans will enrol themselves in the enterprise, in two armies of 100,000 men each, one under the command of the ex-rebel, General F. T. Meagher, and the other under that of the ex-rebel and rutn•seller, Gen. Michael Corcoran. The whole story is narrated in one of the sensation journals of this city, with all the magniloquent phraseology awl magnificent bounce, bluster, braggadocio, and ex aggeration o d w e i o t e h d f h itehevery is to re receive e y a n othe s f kind attention from people with appetites so palled and jaded with highly seasoned "buncombe" as those of the great bulk of the Americans. Ireland's deliverance is pro phecied as close at hand ; the English aristocracy is declared to be in mortal terror of the approaching storm, and the British Government to be ready to yield anything to Mr. Seward Mr. Laird's rams , or any othe o r n th t a h t e m qu a e y sti a o r n is o e f , rather than incur the threatened onslaught of the terrible Fenians. British Archmological Association. LEEDS, Oct. 16. The weather yesterday was very unfavourable for excur sions, but a large party, nevertheless, led by the President, Lord Houghton, went to Wakefield, and thence to Ponte fract. At the railway station, at Wakefield, they were met by the mayor and corporation, and the party thus strength ened visited, in the first instance, the chapel of Edward IV., built on the bridge over the Calder, which at that point spreads out into a wide stream. The chapel was built by Edward IV., on the site of a former one, in memory of his father, Richard, Duke of York, and those of his party who fell in the battle of Wakefield. It is, or rather was, a fine specimen of richly de corated Gothic architecture. It is somewhat remark able that, exposed as it is to observation, and, seem ingly, inviting assault, it should have been suffered to re main almost uninjured by the devastations of civil war and of religious fanaticism, which destroyed so many of the Norman castles and ecclesiastical buildings in this county. About 50 years ago time seemed to have been the only ravager, but even then it was covered in and habitable; the occupant of the ancient chapel being an old woman who was renowned for her cheesecakes throughout the juvenile world of Wakefield. It was afterwards converted into a warehouse, and received much damage, and in 1847 it was thoroughly " restored"—so thoroughly, indeed, that the only remaining portion of the original building is a small fragment near the old altar. The work of restoration, however, requires to be repeated, for the Caen stone em ployed is fast crumbling away. The chapel is ten yards long and about eight in width, and is supported on sterlings projecting from the centre of the eastern side of the bridge. The party passed along Kirkgate to inspect some ancient wooden houses in that street, and a short paper was read. giving an historical description of the buildings, which are supposed to have been erected in the time of Queen Elizabeth. ' The fine old parish church was next visited, the spire of which is one of the highest in the kingdom, and has recently been restored. The chancel, erected in the reign of llenry IV. by Sir John Pilkington, particularly attracted attention. The members proceeded from the church to the Town Hall, where their official reception by the corporation took place. The MAYOR made a speech expressing his gratification at receiving the members of the Archceological Association in Wakefield, under the presidency of Lord Houghton, to whom he addressed some compliments on his distinguished literary attainments, and thanked him for the readiness he had shown on all occasions to assist the educational efforts of the town. Lehi HOUGHTON thanked the corporation, on behalf of the association. for their kind reception, and expressed their regret that they could not remain longer there. Th e wealth, the credit, and the position of his family, he added, were mainly owing, not only to their residence in Wak e " field, but to the honest trade they pursued there in old times —(applause)--and in which they contributed much, he be lieved, to the prosperity of the borough. That was an origin of oEnglishman eushouglhdt to h ever be prbeaesuhd. (Hear,amed,of eewhich, indeed, Englishman from the commerci a l c l asses t h at j us tly sprang the It was hi e e h n best portion of their nobility, and it was thus that all classes in England,from the highest to the lowest, were always in timately connected ; and a man felt, when elevated to any other class, that he lost nothing of the privileges of the class from which he was elevated. (Cheers.) Mr. WILSON then read a paper on the ancient chapel on the bridge, and, after the exhibition of some antiquarian relics, the party left Wakefield by the railway train for Pomfret, by which name, under the correction of the Pre sident of the Archaeological Association, the borough he re presented must now be known. They first visited the Old Hall, supposed to have been commenced in the reign of Elizabeth, as a residence for the Harewood family, but it ‘YAS never completed, and it remains a fine premature ruin, which attracts much observation. After a short visit to the church the party repaired to the castle. The ancient glories of Pomfret Castle are most incorrectly symbolised to the present generation by the representation of its gates, with a dove perched on the top, impressed on that most refined of all preparations of liquorice, " Pomfret cakes." The gates there shown bear no resemblance to any part of the remaining structure, and the bird of peace is a most unfitted emblem of the deeds of murder and bloodshed perpetrated within i s walls. Lord Houghton directed at tention to those portions of the building which have most historical interest, and the Rev. Mr. Hartshorne pointed out the chief architectural features, though there are now few remains of the once famous fortress. It stan ds on a high hill, and the most perfect parts that are visible aro the walls of the keep, which, being of extraordinary thickness, h ave hvea best withstood the ravages of the destroyers who worked its ruin. Th e w hole area occupied by the cast le was seven acree, and it is now chiefly used for growing liquorice, for which purpose the great dept h of so i l renders excursion having teen completed, the members pr oceeded to it peculiarly staitable. The archaeological objects of d th ed e p to or t t h e e d T by ow H n ou H g a h ll to , n wh an e d re p a r.o sumptuous collation h provided by the corporai!ion. The Mayor preside d, sup- After the usual loyal toasts ha been drunk, oposed the the of The MAYOR, in eulogistic terms, 1.7 "Lord Houghton, the President," who 1::scl been lthrepr,eh oes, a . oli o repre sentative of that borough for 25 years, and NV " - peesid (ex-Presiden t ) . he had been elevated to the peerage, they could e.. 4111 receB - as a neighbour and friend, (Cheers.) Lord HOUGHTON, who was warmly cheered, observe. . that, during the long period he had been associated with that borough, he had witnessed many interesting scenes in that hall. There he was first elected a member of Parlia ment, now about a quarter of a century ago. Since that time therelhad been great mutations of empires and great historical events in the world; they had seen the fall of Ministries, changes of Governments, deaths of good men in whom they were all interested, the loss of many friends,, and many other things had occurred which were beyond , their circuit to inquire into. During that period he had seen in that hall many different assemblies, met for different objects, but hitherto no such event had occurred as the arrival of a literary and philosophical society in that town, to be entertained by the mayor and corporation. (Hear, hear.) He was sorry the elements had net been propitious, but he should be glad if anything had happened to obli terate the memory of the darkness and damp, and that they would carry away with them some warm feeling towards the borough of Pontefract, for no town in England was mere worthy of the attention of such a society as that most ancient borough. (Hear.) Archteelogy, instead of making the best of everything, now made the worst of everything, and the oppenness of Mr. Hartshorne's statement had very much diminished the personal respect he had for him, (Laughter.) He thought he might have concealed the fact that there were larger castles than that of Pontefract, but he told it with an archaeological love of truth which might be very virtuous but was rather discreditable. (Laughter.) There might have been fortresses greater than theirs, but they would all agree with him that there was hardly one that had gone over so varied a space in British history, or which illustrated in such a singular manner the changes of our constitution, our manners, our habits, our religion, and our laws. (Applause.) In conclusion the noble lord proposed the health of his predecessor in that office, Dr. Lee, who, he said, was an antiquary of great reptile in the south of England. (Cheers.) Dr. LEE returned his grateful thanks for the compliment, and referred with satisfaction to the change of public opinion respecting archaeological pursuits. Formerly people re garded them with suspicion, but now they were welcomed by corporations and civic authorities wherever they went. They felt greatly obliged to the Lord Mayor and corpora tion of Pontefract for their kindly reeception, and ho begged to propose their healths. (Cheers.) The MAYOR having briefly responded, Mr. Puieeirrs proposed " The Borough Members," Mr. WATERHOUSE returned thanks, honourably defending the corporation from the censure which the noble president had cast upon them in his inaugural address respecting their negligence of the castle, which, he said, belonged to the Duchy of Lancaster, and not to the borough. Some other complimentary toasts and speeches were pro posed and responded to, and the party returned by train to Leeds, highly gratified with the proceedings of the day despite the untoward state of the weather. I rottahieneAvebnbienyg,,,mweehtiienhgwMasr. ill 3 a . H t :a t ; d s r b e y a d a a l a p r g a a p egrr ground plan of the building, the various parts of which he explained. To give more extended interest to the subject, he exhibited plans, drawn to the same scale, of several other distin guished Cistercian monastic establishments, including seve ral of those in Ireland, which were all of much smaller di ' mensions than the English monasteries. The paper was followed by a discussion, in which Mr T. Wright, Mr Hartshorne, Mr Planche, Mr 0' Callaghad, and Mr Roberts took part. Mr. O'CALLAGRAN, the local honorary secretary, then read a paper describing an ancient canoe discovered at Giggleswick; in this county, which is now in the Museum of the Philosophical Society of Leeds. The canoe was dis covered in May last, by a workman who was employed in draining 'ant ties() to the margin, of it drained lake that was called Giggleswick Tarn, but which is now cultivated land. The canoe was found lying on a rock of laminated clay. It is roughly formed from the hollowed trunk of a pine tree. It is S feet 5 inches long, 2 f:et in extreme breadth, and 1 foot 7 inche4 inside; the outer depth bcing 1 foot 9 inches, and the inner depth 1 foot 5 inches. It is flat-bottomed, with upright sides, and the stem and stern are very rudely shaped. Attached to one of the sides was a triangular piece of timber, fastened by wooden pins to the outer side of the gunwale, running nearly its vrhole length ; a similar piece of wood had fallen from the other side, and was broken into several fragments. It was at first supposed that these pieces of timber might have been used as weatherboards; but as they were not movable, it was concluded that they were in tended to give more bearing or stability to this very unsteady vessel. These were no traces of rowlocks, and the probability is that this boat was propelled by a single paddle or pole. A piece of roughly-made plank is fastened over the taffrail, which looks vary like a seat. There is also a similar but narrow piece of plank, fastened across the upper part of the bows, as if to prevent the splitting of the open-grained pine wood. It was stated that since this curious ancient British boat has been deposited in the museum the evaporation of the water with which it was soaked has caused it to decay, and there was some discussion among the members respect ing the best method of its preservation, but no plan satis factory to the curator of the museum was proposed. A paper by Mr. Cumieg, " On weapons of ancient tribes of Yorkshire," was read in his absence by Mr. Gronoz WRIGHT. It was illustrated by drawings of numerous weapons made of stone and bronze, which had been found in the neighbourhood. Ths meeting then adjourned. PRUSSIA. (From the Correspondent of the Times.) &ALIN, Oct. 15. The King returned to Berlin yesterday morning, and was received by Marshall Wrangel and the Commandant of the city. M. von Bismark and the chiefs of the civil and military cabinets had arrived the preceding even ing. A meeting of the Ministers took place at noon at the Foreign-office, and afterwards a council was held at the Palace, which lasted three hours. This, and the King's sudden return, gave rise to fresh reports of a change of Ministry, for which, however, there appears to be no better foundation than for others that have arisen at intervals for some time past. The Kreuz Zeitung says, and it is pro bably true, that the council was busied exclusively with foreign affairs—Poland and Austria. The attitude of the French Government with respect to Poland causes uneasi ness here. It is believed that the Emperor Napoleon entertains the idea of a recognition of the Polish insurgents as belligerents. It is not doubted that Prince Czartorvski had been authorised to communicate to him the arguments of the Polish National Government to that effect. Of the moral force of the insurrection there can be no doubt, but I have it from Polish sources that its material force in the field is very small, and that it daily finds greater difficulty in maintaining itself. The seizures of arms and supplies sent to it have been so numerous and extensive, that every weapon now in the hands of its supporters, may be looked upon as having cost twenty times its original price, and the frontier is so strictly watched that a rather considerable corps, which had been formed outside of it, was lately com pelled to abandon the idea of crossing, Information that reaches me from Warsaw tends to show, that the whole in surgent force under arms does not number more than 15,000 men, while fully ten times as many Russian sol diers are engaged in restraint and suppression. Still, the determined spirit of the population seems in no degree to flag, even under the unexampled rigours of the Russian military Government, of which we have just had fresh examples in the confiscation, at Warsaw, of the Grabowski house, and in the imprisonment of the Bernardino monks, in whose convent a chest of gunpowder was alleged to have been found. To return to domestic matters. The King's non attendance at the consecration at Cologne is to be accounted for only in- one way, although attempts are here making to put a less unpleasant colouring upon it. The °Pied Gazette of this date gives an account of his Majesty's passage through Cologne, of his reception by the civil and military authorities, of the speech he there made, regretting that his late brother had not lived to wit ness the completion of the work he had ordered, of the con gratulations he offered to the Cardinal Archbishop, and of the further regrets he expressed that " urgent business of State" prevented his remaining for to-day's ceremony. The whole took place, as the French say, entre ehien et Loup, just as twilight was setting in ; his eminence the Arch bishop conducted the King through the church, a short choral was sung, and the official journal adds, there was a loud hurrah from the crowd as his Majesty left the build ing for the railway station, where he dined, and whence he departed for Berlin. Urgent affairs of State are of course just as good an excuse for a Sovereign as urgent private affairs for humbler individuals. It is, however, well known, that M. Pommer-Esche, Over-Presi dent of the Rhine Province, and M. Moller, Government-President of Cologne, were ordered to report on the state of feeling of the population of that city, with a view to a decision being come to as to the Royal visit. It was proposed to get up a procession, which the clergy and certain Ultramontane societies were quite ready to promote ; the charity children, the workmen employed in the cathedral, &c., were to be paraded for the occasion. But cuch efforts would have had but poor results in the ab sence of co-operation and sympathy on the part of the po pulation, and those, it was ascertained, would positively be wanting. The people of Cologne would have remained at home, the Royal visit would have been a failure. As it is, the break-down is sufficiently annoying, and it would have been far better to have declined the invitation in the first instance. As the King sleeps away, the princes of the blood do the same, and so does the Duke of Mecklen burg. Schwerin, who was to have been present on the occa sion. The publication in the I&euz Zeitung of this date of a letter from the King to the Corporation of a little place in Silesia called Steingrund is, perhaps, intended as a refuta tion of the reports above referred to, that a change of Mi nistry has been in contemplation. The worthies of Stein grund had addressed his Majesty in somewhat fulsome terms, saying that, were it possible, they would have se lected him as their Wahlmann—their delegate to vote in the election of a deputy to the Chamber. As this could not be, they begged to know whether, by choosing men who support the present Ministry, they should be doing what was agreeable to the King, or whether it were true, as some would fain persuade them, that his Majesty was not fundamentally agreed with his advisers. Tho extremely loyal but undecided Steingrunders had but ono wish, and that was to do what their Sovereign desired, and to go up to the elections with the old Prussian cry of " Long live th q King 1" To this application the King replies, that, if SteinClind desires to testify its fidelity to him, it can do so on ly by electing such men as are firmly deter mined to support his Ministers in the carrying out of the tasks assigned to them by him. "A hostile bearing to wards my Government," he continues, "is incompatible with fidelity to my person." And he insists, above all, upon the necessity of fixing the military institutions of the country on a firm basis, as essential to the security of the country, and declares that the exertions of his Ministers to that end aro in perfect accordance with his wishes and in tentions. The letter or declaration is one of those which are written for the King, which he is prevailed upon to sanction, and to which :20 not unfrequently afterwards re grets having affixed his sigaaature. It will hardly have much effect upon the result of the e. l qcti°ns• These, accord int; to all the information that reaches me, he are likely to be in a ve r y ra di ca l sense. Th e f requen t m eetings O f ori g i electors (urrealder) held in Berlin prove this as f ar as t!le capital is concerned. Everywhere the Fortschritt is in the ascendant, and uncompromising opposition is shown to the moderate Liberals. It is pretty certain that the Chamber will not gain in respectability by the new elections. As for the next Assembly being found more tractable than the last, that is not for a moment to be anticipated. What, then, is to be the upshot of this long and painful quarrel between K:ng and people ? Assuredly the present condition of the Prussian State is not one that can be viewed otherwise than with the deepest regret by the friends either of the nation or of the dynasty. At a moment when the immediate future of Europe is enveloped in uncertainty and even in gloom, one beholds in Prussia divided councils and general discontent, a detested Ministry, an unpopular King, a Parliamentary Opposition most violently embittered, a general sentiment of profound irritation throughout the whole country, At what a disadvantage does not Prussia thus drift on towards the chances of an European war in spring. Rent and en feebled as she is by her internal quarrels, what respeat can she hope for her power abroad, and what value can she ex pect to be set upon her alliance? Those who, as must be generally the case with English p o liti c i ans, only desire to see the Prussian people prosperous, happy, and free, and the house of Hohenzollern beloved, respected, and firm upon its throne, cannot but grieve to remark what injury the present state of things is doing to the prospects both of the country and the dynasty. The defiant bearing and arbitrary acts of the Bismark Administration have aroused in the Liberal party a feeling of irritation border ing on fierceness. Many of the things one daily hea rs sa id aro better left unpublshed. The arbitrary restrictions im posed upon the press by the ordinances of the Ist June have had the usual Effect of pro ducing a host of e pi grams and lampoons, passed from mouth to mouth. One may trace in individuals the advance that public feeling has made in a democratic direction. gost persons (not of the small party which still upholds the prese nt re g imen ) are disposed to go farther now than] they were six months ago, and it is de • plorable to find the ideas of conciliation scented ly many who, up to a comparatively recent date, desired no better than to behold it realised. The reported spy, or Russian agent, murdered in the Hotel de l'Europe, at Warsaw—the crime which caused the expulsion of all the inmates of the house and its conasca tion by the authorities —appears to have been a singular and mysterious adventurer. According to letters in the German papers, he was a medical man, and his name was Dr. Hermani. Some two or three years ago, such a person was seen in Vienna and its environs, and was reported to be the correspondent of an English journal. It appears that there, as elsewhere, he gave himself out to have served as surgeon with the English forces in the Crimea, and also to have taken part in the Italian eampaip of 1859, A letter from Munich says that he was there about six weeks ago, under the name of Hermann Bartholdi, and that he then came from Stuttgart, where he had been for a considorable, time, and had published a small newspaper. Both in Stott-' gardt and Munich he spoke much of his relations with highly-placed persons in Russia, and in both places he at last excited suspicions as to his true character. SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. - - SATURDAY REYTEW.—The election for Tamworth undoubtedly has its disagreeable side when looked at from a hlinisterial point of view. It was intended as a mortification for Sir Robert Peel, and it has probably carried out its intention. As no such symp toms of discontent ever manifested themselves be fore he entered upon his present office, it is pro bable that it is to his performances as a statesman, rather than es a landlord, that his faithful con stituency take objection. His position as a states man is very peculiar. He does not occupy his seat upon the Treasury Bench as the representative of any school of opinion, for no other thinker is nimble enough to follow in the course of so brilliant but so wanderings light. Nor has he been so selected for his utility in debate, for he rarely opens his mouth without exasperating into rebellion some sup porter of the Government to which he belongs. He sits by the more secure title of Lord Pal merston's peculiar favourite. According to the ru mours that universally prevailed, his admission to the Ministry was resisted by all the other members of the Cabinet, and was effected by the potent voice of the Prime Minister alone. And Sir Robert Peel has done his best to prove himself worthy of this distinction. He always acts and speaks as though he bore no allegiance except to his patron, and makes a point of ignoring the other Ministers alto gether. Ho proclaims a fixed policy of No Surren der upon the question of the Irish Church, not in name of the Government, but in the name of " him self and his noble friend ;" and he fights the battle at Tamworth, not for the Government of which he is a member, but only for Lord Palmerston. But Sir Robert Peel is not only a faithful adherent of the Prime Minister; he is a disciple in the strictest sense of the word. It is not Lord Palmerston's brain, so much as his good digestion and strong backbone, and unflagging animal spirits, that have recom mended him to the nation. They like to see such a dis play of physical strength as that of a statesman who at the age of nearly eighty cats ride out in a pelting rain, make twelve speeches in three days, and poke fun at his antagonists in the House of Commons with untiring gaiety at three o'clock in the morning. This is evidently Sir R. Peel's theory, and in his mind it bears no unpractical fruit. The arts by which his patron has climbed to fame are not only a study to be admired, but an example to be fol lowed. Sir Robert has compared the muscular with the intellectual plan of statesmanship, and has come to the conclusion that the former is at all events the best suited to his own natural gifts. Accordingly, he has devoted himself to the task of copying his great original, and has cultivated the rollicking style with some success. If it be true that in these days a consi derable muscular development and ajaunty reckless ness of manner are the true road to fame, it is highly probable that Sir Robert will be as great a man as his father. To be Bute, the style is somewhat different. It is doubtful whether the late Sir Robert Peel would have attempted to influence an election by knocking down the electors, or would have publicly exhorted his friends to "bonnet" the other side. And it is possible that, in those less advanced days, neither Sir Robert nor his friends would have been equal to the feats of muscular prowess which have shed so much glory on his son. But every age has its o een way of looking at these matters, and it would be very unfair to measure one age by the standard of another. Muscular politics, like muscular Christianity, had not made their ap pearance in the days of the late Sir Robert Peel. At the same time, it must be admitted that the re nown which his son is likely to win is still in the future. Though it is easy to see that there is in his conduct during the last two years great promise of the qualities which constitute political merit in our time, still he is at present a mere tyro in his art. His proceedings at Tamworth show that he is still far removed from a perfect comprehension of the secrets by which his great exemp'ar has succeeded. His practice is too violent. Good humour is essen tial to a rollicking politician. Lord Palmerston might possibly have given the order to bonnet the refractory elector; bat at the same time he would have taken very good care that it was not obeyed. And he would never have knocked down a voter over a pail. Sir Robert Peel has formed too fero cious a conception of his part. The elector who fell under Sir Robert's fist has earned a title to dis tinction which falls to the lot of few men. Probably there is not another man in the three kingdoms who has been knocked down by a Privy Councillor in an election row—still less is there one who can boast of having afterwards broken his cane over the said Privy Councillor's back. The paths to fame are very various. One man was feted inLondon because he had been shut up by a Chinese mandarin, another because he had stood face to face with a gorilla. If the gentle. man who was knocked down by Sir Robert Peel, and afterwards caned him, would come up to town next February, we have no doubt he would be the lion of the season. Such a position really is a great rarity, and ought to be prized accordingly. Officials holding important offices, and trusted with a consi derable share in the government of the United Kingdom, usually avoid pugilistic encounters with their political antagonists. The sons of illustrious statesmen, the' bearers of a name which nations honour, are generally careful not to drag it through the mire. Powerful landowners ordinarily think that they owe it to their own dignity not to attempt to replace a waning influence by the intimidation of personal assaults. The victim of Sir Robert Peel's violence—if such a term can be applied to so fortu nate a man—has been in himself the subject-matter of a departure from all these sacred rules. It is a great honour to befall a man ; for such an event is like the transit of Venus—it does not occur three times in a century. Before next election, he will, no doubt, be considerably improved: He will have learned that bonneting his opponents and knocking them down over pails is too practical a form of jauntiness. Possibly be may have practised him self a little in jokes, and learned a pun or two ; for at present his only. efforts at fun consist of Ns rough horse-play, and it is impossible to be jaunty without jokes. Perhaps, too, he will have culti vated gallantry towards ladies, in which at present he is lamentals!y deficient. Amorous compliments to electors' wives are much more efficient weapons than menaces to electors. So acute an observer cannot fail to have noticed how abundant a resource this has proved to Lord Palmerston in those mo ments of extreme need which befall a public man when he is called upon to speak at a public din ner. But it is the duty of the inhabitants of Tam worth to lend themselves to this training. They must not object to occasional bonnetirsgs, or other exhibitions of musc u l ar statesmanship, if such way ward frolics should acorn to be a necessary part of the training of a Jaunty politician, It will be an undying honour t o t h em it they can contribute by their patience to provide a due succession of rol licking rulers, to carry on, whenever unhappily the need shall arise, the traditions of Lord Palmerston. SPECTeTott.—The Peels, unlike the Peelitee, are politically failures. Lord Russell's Government, in 1861, Wok the very first opportunity of introducing one of the family into official life, and for an instant the country half hoped he might wear his father's mantle. It Was soon perceived, however, that the old wine had lost its body. Mr. Frederick Peel was as grave as his father, but not with the weight of thought; as formal, but not as accurate; as full of self-confidence, but without the administrative l i ability, which, more than his many other capacities, justified Sir Itobert Peel in refusing any place less than the first. A manner which annoyed all who assailed or criticised his department increased the , disfavour, members voted him pedantic, and out siders discovered that there was nothing beyond routine work to be expected from the member for Bury. Still they turned with some hope to the elder son, the member for Tamworth, He, at least, was no prig, and though clubs talked, clubs always talk, and a man's youthful history is, in politics, very seldom indeed recorded against him. Sir Robert spoke brusquely, his enemies said insolently, but what he said was often forcible, and he had the courage to say very frequently things which wanted saying, but which everybody else had shirked. The outside world, at all events, did not wonder when Sir Robert Peel was made Secretary for Ireland. Every month, however, diminished his political status. The scene with the O'Donoghue annoyed the house, and the speeches in which the partial distress of Ireland was palliated or denied wearied all who were conscious of the real state of affairs—a weariness which rose to disgust when Mr. Gladstone flatly contradicted all the smooth things put forward by the Irish Department. Blunders in Ireland, however, rarely attract oven their due attention, far less excessive obloquy; and it was not till the Tam worth election that Sir Robert's total unfitness for office became manifest to the world. There can, however, be no further disguise. Wholly apart from his action as member and landlord, Sir Robert Peel has broken ail those offi cial etignettes which have fhe force of laws, and are usually far more important. Ministers, _ one Minister, all know, do influence elections, and Minister, at least, tho Cabinet holds his peat grace of his skill as an electioneering agent. t S Peers, though they are forbidden by law . inter fere in any way, but the open interposition of a member of the Government in any ele r coi r i but his obe . t own is as unusual as it is inexpedieut. Peel, however, not only broke through the useful Peel, decorous rule of reticence, but actually entered into a contest with refractory electors, alum; coin naanded his audience to support Lord Palmerston's stepgrandson, and told an interpellant in the crowd that, "f he could get at him, he would soon let him know who he was," and, despite the great influence of his family, lost the seat. to his party by a majority of fifty-seven. Everybody understands that the seat is lost to the Liberal party, which, and not Lord Palmerston's personal sway, is the real object of interest to English liberal men. Wholly apart from all questions of personal taste, and political propriety, and official decorum, that result is a failure, and escapades are forgiven only when they succeed. A. scene like that,' at 'Tamworth election never increases English respect far its actors, but when it results in defeat scorn deepens very rapidly into active annoyance. Had Sir Robert Peel done what any other Minister would have done, accepted a Peel as candidate with pleasure. but deprecated family mon o p o l y; l e f t a shrewd agent to conciliate votes, but kept himself wholly out of the fray ; there was strength enough in the o ld organ i sat i on , hacked by R tenhatn and D raven Manor, to have carried the" Liberal" candidate. It must be added that Mr. Cowper helped his friends as little as he could. Ho did not, of course, conciliate Tories, and genuine Liberals are sick of this repetition of " Pal merston," as an equivalent for a Liberal creed, this eternal demand for homage instead of alliance. Mr. Cowper had, however, nothing better to offer, did not propound a doctrine or express an opinion which gave him any character whatever except that of the Premier's relation. The result is that with votes be coming of vital importance, and a rising feeling that the Liberal cause is still worth strong exertion, the Liberal papers all over Great Britain are exulting in the loss of one seat for Tamworth, simply because they hope that it may end in the ultimate loss of the other. Sir Robert Peel himself admitted that his own seat would be attacked, and the strongest friends of the Ministry cannot honestly hope that his apprehension may be unfounded. This is a severe defeat for both Mr. Cowper and his patron, Sir R. Peel, whose unpopularity has lost the seat to the Liberal party. It is reported that so bitter is the feeling in the locality, that at the next general election Sir Robert himself will lose his seat, and the rumour is confirmed by a valedictory speech, in which that gentleman informed his friends that when his trial came he should expect them to rally round him. No true Liberal will mourn should Sir Robert's fear prove true. A member of her Majesty's Government who personally interferes in any elec tion bat his own, bandies 'jests and threats with a mob, and finishes by knocking an elector into the coal scuttle, is only suited to the constituency of Tipperary or Marylebone. Bernal Osborne and water is a trying dose for Liberals, but Osborne and vitriol is simply unendurable. WEEKLY REGlSTER.—Wherefore the defeat of Lord Palmerston's stepson in Tamworth ? Free trade and ribbons and the French Treaty were not even mentioned during the contest in the Stafford shire Borough • and yet the Premier's candidate, and that candidate a member of Lord Palmerston's own family, is ignominiously beaten, though sup ported to an extent inconsistent with decency, and, we believe, with law, by the Secretary for Ireland and Lord of the soil. It is possible, indeed, that Sir R. Peel's conduct at the election may have caused the defeat of his friend, Mr. Cowper ; but there can be no doubt of its having swelled the majority against him. We believe the records of electioneering do not furnish a parallel for such conduct on the part of a Minister of the Crown. Lord Byron, speaking of the late Lord Castlereagh, said that he supplied the first instance of a Minister who dictated to the House of Commons in the language of Mrs. Mala prop. Borrowing the idea, we believe we are jus tified, by what has lately occurred at Tam worth, in saying that Sir R. Peel furnishes the first instance of a member of the Government of this country, a Privy Councillor and a Secretary for Ireland, who exhibits on the hustings as a buffoon and a bully. Lord Palmerston is proverbial for his adherence to those whom he treats as his friends, but we question if the task of sustaining Sir Robert Peel in cifice, after the degrading spectacle at Tamworth the other day, be not too great even for Lord Palmerston's chivalry. The Times, in its zeal for the Premier, adroitly endeavours to avert public indignation from the outrageous conduct of the Irish Secretary by making it a subject for badinage and laughter. But that trick, though clever, won't do. The country will not tolerate the disgraceful spectacle of a mem ber of the Government riotously interfering, with freedom of election—knocking down electors be cause they think fit to oppose his nominee, and, in the slang language of the prize ring, telling his hireling mob to " bonnet" a man for daring to exer cise his electoral franchise in favour of the Opposi tion candidate. Sir Robert Peel may play the mountebank—may act the flashman and the pugi list if he pleases, and as often as he pleases; but the Secretary for Ireland must eschew the blackguard and behave the gentleman. It is sad enough that he should bring shame and ridicule, and in Tam worth, too, and in view of his illustrious father's statue, upon the name which that father had made great and memorable ; but he must not be allowed with impunity to degrade the rank of a Privy Coun cillor, and to draggle the high office of Chief Sec retary for Ireland in the mud. If he have the smallest modicum of common sense, and the slightest regard for Lord Palmerston, he will relieve the Go vernment from the embarrassment of his presence before Parliament meets, for assuredly if ke be in office at the meeting of Parliament, the House of Commons will feel it to be its duty to censure the Cabinet for retaining in office a man who has committed the gross outrages upon law, decency, and the Constitution that characterise Sir Robert Peel's conduct at the recent Tamworth election. LONDON REVIEW.—The Opposition journals are naturally much elated at the result of the Coventry and Tamworth elections. Nor do wo deny their right to reckon the first as a substantial victory. Mr. Treherne is, indeed, hardly the man of whom a great party ought to be proud, but he will vote as Mr. Disraeli orders, and that is all that is expected from him. If we were to accept him as the delibe rate choice of Coventry, we should be driven to conclude that a political reaction had indeed set in in that borough, for .his political creed is no mild and neutral tint of Conservatism, but the real old " true blue" of Eldon and Sibthorp. The truth is that his election represents little or nothing but the resentment of the electors at the Treaty of Com merce with France, which they ignorantly suppose to have caused the falling off in the demand for ribbons. At the same time, although it may be easy to account for each Alinisterial defeat, taken separately, in a manner which may deprive them of much importance, it is impossible to overlook the fact that the necessity of accounting for defects seems at present to be imposed only on one site. It is, to say the least, extraordinary that the special circumstances should al ways be on the aide of the Coeeervatives, The Ministerial majority sitting on the Liberal benches is by this time merely nominal, if indeed it exists at all. And although Lord Pal merston has hitherto found some of his best friends on the other side of the house, it is by no means car tam that they will be either willing or able to help him if Mr. Disraeli is once in possession of an actual majority. But even if the Premier be per mitted to remain undisturbed during the remainder of the Parliament, there-can be no doubt the power is gradually slipping away from the Liberal party. We do not consider the result of theTarnworth elec tion as a proof of this or of anything but the irre claimable rowdy iem of Sir R. Peel. There was little or no difference between the two candidates, but the hon. baronet's unpopularity in the borough, joined to his violence and indiscretion, were quite sufficient to secure the defeat of whichever he might happen to support. Unfortunately for himself that hap pened to be Mr. Cowper. The Government cannot, however, attribute it to mere ill-luck that his patron is Chief Secretary for Ireland, nor can they wholly escape the consequences of the indiscretion which converted a local feud into a question of confidence in the Premier. EXAAIINER.—After all the noble proprietor of the wayside inn at Maata has good cause to complain of the summary justice done him by the Irish Go vernment in removing him from the commission of the peace on the ground of being politically crazy. About the fact there can indeed be no question, and if the Irish executive were constituted upon the nar row and exclusive basis of politics, there would be a certain consistency in limiting the magistracy to men who are not thus mad. But a department which is represented in the House of Commons by the right hon. buyer for Tamworth is hardly en titled to be nice about provincial acts of incohe rency. Refusal of bed and board for a night in Conemara to the Viceroy of Ireland, in revenge for some fancied neglect or slight, is, no doubt, an act of imbecility and indecency, which affords a fair presumption of general unfitness for public trusts of any kind. Yet no one will seriously contend that one rule in these mattera ought to be laid down for justices of the peace and another for privy council lors, or that obvious incapacity and flagrant inde corum are immaterial traits in the character of a minister, while they unfit a man for being a magis trate. If tomfoolery, and turbulence, and rodo montade disqualify an Irish peer for sitting at petty sessions, they surely must be h e ld still more to dis qualify an English baroAct for being sent to Ireland to frame laws for the government of that country, and to superintend their execution. When Sir R. Peel was pulsed Chief Secretary we entered our protest against Lord Palmerston's choice, and ex pressed our anticipations as to the contempt into which he was likely to bring the Administration. We were gravely assured, however, that the selec tion was pre- eminentiY a wise one, because tain of our contemporar i es protone-" as cer .s the blackguards in Irelae-) . ny observed, all her for Taum.-" love a row, and the mem- W. was never likely to be out of one. ‘ook the reproof with all humility, and awaited the development of this horr eea pathic mode of treating the unruly. It seemed to us somewhat hard that the well-disposed and indus trious majority of our neighbours should have to endure and to pay for such an official blister; but we were gravely reminded that it is not the righteous, but sinners, that need loud calling to repentance; and the knowing people said that, if the new Chief Secretary could so amuse or amaze the factious and feather-headed among the Irish as to keep them in order, the sober and steady-going mass of the community would only laugh and be thankful. We remember muttering something to ourselves at the time about bad example, the danger of infection, and so forth ; but remonstrance was plainly useless, and we held our peace. Sir Robert went to Ireland and speedily realised our anticipa• tions. One escapade followed another until every Orange lodge rang with frantic cheers, and the Ei also of Commons seemed in danger of being made to resemble Bedlam or a bear-garden. Wherever the Chief Minister for Ireland appeared, his presence proved the omen of confusion, or the signal for roars of laughter; everywhere save at Tamworth, where the cold shade of his father's statue still sub dued any tendency to commotion, and where his successor's power as a landlord to overrule and overbear all pretension to free thought or judgment seemed irresistible. And irresistible it would un doubtedly have long continued to prove under ordi nary circumstances. The real Sir Robert always returned himself for the borough as a matter of course, and sometimes returned as a matt er o f course likewise som equ i e t, unobjectionable follower who happened to want a seat in Parliament. In his later years, and after he had broken with the of a Whi g as Tory party, h e more than acquiesced in the return his colleague in the representation. But all this h e did i n h i s usual circumspect and dignified way, never deigning in public to appear conscious that Tamworth had or could have any other representative in Parliament but himself. Sir Robert the mock seems t o b e fi re d w i th the maniac ambition to be in everythin g as un lik e hi s father as common sense is to uncommon nonsense. Upon the recent vacancy caused by Lord Townahend's death he was not content with trying to requite his own elevation to office by procuring the return of Mr. Cowper, but he would insist upon ramming that luckless young gentleman down the throat of one of the most passive constituencies in England, and accompanying the performance with such gesticula tions, threats, and flings as never before had been witnessed in the poor little town. What nothing else could have done, he thus effected. Human na ture could not endure such humiliation. To be super.. ciliously stepped upon by a great statesman once in seven years the tradesmen of Tamworth could bear, and, for the sake of the name and other moral real considerations, they had not refused to endure his burlesque of a son. But to be made sport of wan tonly, in the face of the whole kingdom, by their incoherent master was too bad. They kicked and. threw him. Whereupon, not having sufficient rea son to pick himself up and make off to Drayton quietly, he enters anew into the election fray, knocks down one of his supposed subjects, bids the rabble about him bonnet another, and keeps up, in short, his round of deplorable antics until an over whelming majority of incensed electors recorded their votes against his unfortunate protégé. All this may be right, or it may be wrong, seemly or unseemly, decent or disgraceful, We are aware of no arguments or illustrations that could make the matter clearer than it is. But we would respect fully ask why, in the face of these things, should the comparatively harmless imbecility of Lord Leitrim be punished as a public offence ? Mad on one public subject, we suppose his lordship to be ; but what is to be done with a man who does not appear to be sane upon any ? COUNTRY MARKETS. . N 0 RWIC }l SA.TURDAY. There was a fair supply of wheat to-day, and for all samples late prices were maintained. There was a toler ably good show of barley, and sales were made at late rates. Flour in favour of the buyer. White wheat. 46s to 47s i Red wheat 43s to 44s Malting barley ...Ws to 38s 1 Chevalier barley 36s to 37 0 Distilling do . 33s to 35s I Oate. 24s to 28s Flour, 31s Od to —s Od per sack from the miller. GRANTHAM—SATURDAY. Old white wheat, 40s to 44s ; red, 40s to 438:per 36st. ; new white, 42s to 43s ; red, 38s to 40s. Malting barley, 34eto 38s per qr ; grinding, 238 to 30s ; oats, old, 288,t) 30s ; new, 208 to 24s ; beans., 408 to 428; peas, 368 to 388. NORTFI.A.MPTON—SATuRDAy. White wheat, 40s to 'l44s ; red, 35s to 42s ; fine, —8 to --s per qr. Barley, 35s to 39s—grinding, 28s to 30s; Oats, 28s to 32s per 24 stone. Beans, 38s to 425. Peas, 34s to 40s per qr. LEICESTER--SATURDAY. We were moderately supplied with new wheat to-day. •—New white wheat, 44s to 465; red, 42s to 44s per 36 stone. Old red, 428 to 44s per 36 stone. Barley, malting, new, 36s to 38s per qr.; grinding, 29s t o 32 5; o ld oats, 25s to 30s; ne w oats, 22s to 25s per 24 stone. Beans, old, 38s to 42s per 33 stone ; flour, 305 to 35s per 20 atone. YORK—SATURDAY. The supply of wheat at market to-day was moderate, and a fair attendance of the trade. Wheat, red 36s to 39s Oats.... lBs to 203 White do .40s to 45s Beans 40s to —s Barley .30s to 32s P eas ....—s to —s Malt, 62s to 64s per qr. i lye, 32s per qr ; flour, 30s to 32s per sack. NOTTINGHAM—SATURDAY. There 'was a fair show of wheat to-day from the farmers. —White wheat, from 41s to 45s ; red wheat, 35s to 425. Barley —malting, 33s .to 40s; grinding, 28s to 31s. Oats old, at 24s to 31s Od ; new, 22s to 265. Beaus sold at 38s to 43s per qr. ; new, 38s to 425. Foreign Mail Packet List. MAILS DUE. Australia and Mauritius, via Southampton. Oct. 19. via Marseilles Nov. 12. 4razil and Cape Verds, by British packet. Nov. 4. Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena Uet. 29. China, Penang, and Singapore, via Southampton Oot. 19. via Marseilles Oct. 27. Falkland Isl an d s ...... Gibraltar, via Southampton Oct. 19. India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampt on O c t. 26 via Marseilles Oct. 27. India (Bombay), via Southampton Oct. 26. via Marseilles Oct. 21. Portuga1.... Malta, Egypt, and Aden, via. Southampton Oct. 19. Newfoundland — via Marseill es O ct. 21. Oport ) and Vi go U. S. end British N. America, by Brit. packet.... Oct. 22, by U.S. packet.... b Canaan Oct. 3. W.C. of Africa, Madeira, and T y eneriffedi packet. Nov. 2 19. Bahamas, via N ew Y or k Oct. 22, Mexico.. All parts of West Indies, including Chili, Peru, .1 Oct. 29. California. and British Columbia. [ADVERTISEMENT.]—Consumption, all nervous, bilious, liver, and stomach complaints, in every stage, are only ag gravated and accelerated by drugs of every description, but perfeeJy curable by Du Barry's health restoring Revalenta. Arabica Food, as proved by thousands of cases which had been considered hopeless. We quote a few.—Cure No. 62,914. Miss Lange, 18 years of age, Cured after the medical men had abandoned all hopes of her recovery from the last stage of pulmonary consumption, with fearful cough, expectoration, exhaustion, spitting of blood, perspirations, hollow cheeks, emaciated to a skeleton. She is now, thank God, healthy, blooming, fleshy girl.—N. Lange, Commissaire do Police. Cure, N o. a perfectly 46,270. Mr. James Roberts, of Frimley Surrey, of thirty years' diseased lungs, spittingof blood, liver derangement, and partial deafness.—Cure, No. 47,121. Miss Elizabeth Jacobs, of extreme nervousness, indigestion. gatherings, low spirits, and nervous fancies.—Cure, No. 54,816. Ihe Rev. James T. Campbell, Fakenham, Norfolk. of indigestion and torpidity of the liver, which had resisted all medical treatment.• In tins, 11b, 2s 9d; 21b, 4s 6d; Mb, lls ; 121 b, 225; 241 b, 408. Barry du Barry and Co., No. 77, Regent-street, London ; also Fortnum and Mason; and all grocers and chemists in every town of the United Kingdom. Births. Boldero, of a s on . BOL i D eu E t ß . o. On the 13th in s t., at Stirling, the lady of BER ard Berne NEY.—On the 16 th bast., a t C roydon, the wife of Ed wy. Esq., of a son. OGLE.—On the wife of 16t inst., at S e d geford Vicarage, King's- Lynn, the h the Rev. J. A m b rose Ogle, of a &ugh ter. PAYNE.—On the 16th inst., at 32, Mrs. Wyndha m P ayne, of a son. Rensington•square, Marriages. ERSKINE- - RBEg.—On the 14th i nst., at St, John's, Edinburgh PO , Walter Henry, the eldest son of Lieut.-Col. Erskine, C. 8., to Mary Anne, eldest daughter of Wm. Forbes, Esq., of Medwyn, Peeblesshire. STEW ARD —Cox.—On the 14th inst., at Saint Helen's, Bishopsgate, Edwin Syder Steward, Esq., of Bracon dale, Norwich, to Kate Jane Bell, eldest daughter of the Rev. John Edmund Cot, ALA., F.S.A., vicar of Saint Helen's, Bighopsgate. Deaths. AnKLAND.--On the 16th inst., Mr. Benjamin Ackland, of Phoanix House, Rotherhithe, aged 44 ATTREE.—On the 15th inst., at Brighton, Mr. W. Attree, town councillor. FLETCRER,—O the 13th inst., at Broomfield, near Man.. cheater, Sarauel Fletcher, Esq., aged 79. GOULD.—On the 15th inst., at 69, St. Paul's Churchyard, Mr Charles Gould, aged 65. HAVERS. —On the 12th inst., Thomas Havers, Esq,, of Ksh Thelton Hall, N orfolk, aged 77. er KERSRAW.—Ou tie 15th inst., at Biggleswade, B e d s , M r . 8414 ' aw,x. — .late of Hitchin, Herta, aged 70. .0n the 17th inat., Mr. Wm. Sal mon , o f 449, Oztord-street, W.C., aged 75. London. Printed arid PuMished by WILLIAM ANDREWS, of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at 'DIE Surf Office No. 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the county of Mt leoex ,— Mvn~ay, 0091,)ei: 19, 1t63.