The Sun. — London, England, 1863-07-22 00:00:00

THE JUDGE and the JOURNALS—John Orrell Lever, Esq., M.P.—England on Chinese Plates, in FUN this week, One Penny. THE DUKE'S MOTTO. :HU NDR I , AP. 1.) FIFTY-NINTH NIGHT, and Last Week but Two of the present Season. -ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE.- Under the Sole Management of Mr. FECHTER. Last Week but Two of the present Season. THIS EVENING, to commence with an Original Sketch, entitled A SUDDEN ATTACK. Messrs. Shore, Garden, Widdicomb, Miss Henrade, and Mrs. Lee. Alter which, at a Quarter-past Eight, the 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, aupported by Messrs. J. G. Shore, G. Jordan, J. Brougham, Widdi,cmbe, F. Charles, Garden, Raymond, Dawson; Mis see Carlotta Leclercq. Kate Terry, E. Lavenue, and JElErworthy. Doors open at 7, commence at half-past. Acting-Manager, Mr. H. Barnett. ItOYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE. Sole f•essee and Manager, Mr. G. Vining. 1.4 THIS EVENING, at Eight o'clock, Shakespere's Play of ROMEO AND JULIET. Romeo, Mr. Walter tiontgromery; Nercutio, Mr. G. V•ning; Friar Lawrence, Mr. H. Marston; Apothecary, Mr. Tielmore ; The Nurse, Mrs. H. Marston ; Juliet, Mdlle. Stella Colas. To be preceded by the new Comedietta, entitled COUSIN TOM. • N'l l l-i EA I'RE-RO YAL, ADELPHI Sole Proprietor and Ntanazor. Mr. B. Webster. THIS EVENING, THE IRIiH TIGER. After which, at Eight o'clock, a new drama, entitled THE HAUNTED MAN; OR, T E GHOST'S 13A RGAIN, in which will be exhibited Professor Pepper's adaptat!on of the Great Spectral Illusion. Messrs. J. L. Toole, R. Philips, Sefton C. J. Smith; Mrs. Alfred Mellon and Miss [l. Simms. Followed by a new Burlesque, ent. fled ILL-TREATED IL TROVATORE. 51( ssrs. Toole, P. Bedford, R. Phillips, 14;bnrne, C. J. Smith, Romer ; the Sisters Nelson, Carry and Sari, and Miss K. Kelly. Commence at 7. ROYAL STRAND THEATRE Manager, Mr. W. H. Swanborough. TO-NIGHT WHILE THERE'S LIFE THERE'S HOPE. Messrs. W. H. Swanborough, Parselle, Vollaire, G. Honey Misses Ada Swanborough, L. Thorne, F. Hughes, Manders, and E. Button. Followed by (rth time) THE MOTTO, " I'M ALL THERE." Messrs. Honey, Turner, E. Danvers, Collier, Clifton ; Mesdames Ada Swanborough, F. Josephs, Maria Simpson, Wallace, and Jenny White. To conclude with LOVE IN LIVERY. Commence at 7. THE THIRD EDITION OF " THE SUN," Containing the Latest SPORTING INTELLIGENCE, Can be had Every Evening of G. R. GLFNIE. NEWS AGENT, No. 4, Connaught-terrace, Hyde-park. The Weather—Sun Office, July 22, 1863, THERMOMETER. This morning This day at Two o'clock Barometer-29.46. Wind—S.-1V ; fresh, with heavy rain., HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. ['HIS DAY.—Monaing, sh. 50rn.—Afternoon, 6h. 9m. To-moaßow.-Morning, 6h. 30m.—Afternoon, 6h. 50m. • .:7;';'`l 4 Z-tig LONDON, WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 1863, Nothing could be grander, prompter, or more resolute than the course pursued by Austria in re ference to Poland immediately upon the publi2ation of the Despatch from Prince GORTSCHAKOFF. The determination at once arrived at by the Viennese Cabinet, upon this momentous question, at this most critical juncture, is one in every way worthy of a Great Power, hitherto known (until, as it were, but yesterday) as an implacable and unreformable Oli garchy, but now, to-day, aspiring to assume a posi tion in the gaze of Europe as a distinctly Constitu tional Government. The announcement flashed to us this very morning from the Capital of Austria, goes far to justify the brightest and the most sanguine hopes yet expressed in regard to the future of that vast empire by the hon. and learned gentleman the member for Sheffield. In the midst of the ambiguity, and the hesitations, and the doubts and the delays of our vaunted diplomacy, it is abso lutely refreshing to witness the clear precision, the prompt decision, with which Austria goes directly to the point, in the avowal of her policy upon these most delicate and complicated questions relating to Poland—upon the very instant, we might almost say, of the receipt of Prince GORTSCHAKOFF'S despatch. Scarcely has that document reached the Im perial Council Chamber at Vienna, when a pre liminary note in reply is addressed to Russia by the Austrian Government. It is dashed off without one instant's glimmering of anything like a timorous hesitation on the part of either the KAISER or any one of his MAJESTY'S advisers. And to what effect ? To the effect, as Mr. REUTER'S telegram expresses it, in so many words, under date " Vienna, July 22nd," viz., THIS DAY—that Austria cannot abandon the line of conduct she has pursued, in this matter of course, up to the present moment! Language could hardly be plainer than that, as indi cative of the nature of the resolve, unhesitatingly arrived at. But, in her preliminary note, the one just now despatched to St. Petersburg in reply to this most unsatisfactory missive recently received from Prince GORTSCHAKOFF, the councils of Schoenbrun are more explicit. Austria declares at once that she, for one, rejects the proposal of a conference between Russia, Prussia, and Austria, as thrown out byPrince GORTSCHAKOFF in his at once truculent avd insi dious document ! The document of which we re ceived a copy from the Foreign-office yesterday, and of which in our Columns l ast evening. Not merely, however, does the preli • minary note just despatched from Vienna to St. Petersburg, in answer to Prince GORTSCHAKOFF, announce thus distinctly the de termination of Austria to persevere in the line of p conduct she ha s hi therto interests of Poland ; ursued in regard to the not merely does it in dicate quite positively that she will not take part in the Conference proposed by Prince GORTSCHAKOFF in the name of his but it Imperial Master th e C ZAR, goes yet farther by proclaiming t h at Austria maintains the Six Points ! As she is quite ma • nifestly bent upon main taining them, intact to the very last, a s th e phrase is, to the end of the chapter, of this the History of Poland ---o new chapte r i n Pound —.one at the head of which, or we are all very much mistaken, even those who run may read, inscribed there • luminous characters, in characters of blood and fire gt RESURGAxt !" From th e closing sentence of this self-same telegram flashed but an hour or two since from Vienna to London, we learn that simultaneously with the despatch of the prelimi nary note to St. Petersburg, other diplomati c noti fications have been forwarded by the Austrian Go vernment to the Western Powers, that is to France and to England, declaring—that, come what may, Austria will still continue to act loyally and consistently, in concert with them, and that in so doing she has arrived at the fixed de termination of firmly maintaining the Six Points. Almost superfluous, it was, to add that last clause in a sentence already complete in itself, because im plying it. Yet—although thus in a manner supet fluons—it is here manfully added, nevertheless, by the Austrian Government. A course so resolute, so unhesitating, so instant in its promptitude, so bold and uncompromising in the very mode of its manifestation, might, so to speak,kindle a soul under the very ribs of death, might rouse, at last, from its protracted torpor the almost comatose foreign policy of our own Government. Here, at any rate, is another most signal opportunity now presenting itself to that eccentric, but, occasionally, admirable incarnation of the " Complete Letter Writer," the Noble Earl at the Head of the Foreign Depart ment. England will look with profound Interest, particularly after this inspiriting resolu tion manifested by the Austrian Government, Eng- _ land will look with profound interest and with a certain eager solicitude, for the Despatch now being prepared by Lord RUSSELL in reply to this last haughty and intolerable missive from the hand of Prince GORTSCHAKOFF. After the many defeats which it has been their lot to encounter this session, the Government have won a most discreditable triumph. Thanks to what Sir J. ELPHINSTONE styled the " persistent opposition" of the President of the Board of Trade and the continuous objections taken by Mr. LIND SAY, the Anchor and Chain Cables Bill was so altered and mutilated in committee that no course was left to the member for Birkenhead but its with drawal. To have suffered it to pass in the condition which alone, it seemed, would meet the approval of these gentlemen, would have been to have hin dered the good cause instead of furthering it, since Mr. LAIRD announces his intention to introduce the bill only next session, when it is to be hoped that a larger House will be more open to reason. A House which barely reckoned enough numbers to avoid a "count out" is scarcely to be taken as a test of the real opinions of the Legis t l h a e tu s r e e c , on an d d re t a n d e . decisive majority which car ri ed ing of the Commonsofthebillwould is opposedseemto t indicate this catethatthe sense factious opposition. We do not o have en virtuallyvy the re thrown flection u s of those he h t os e hon. gentlemen who foarnoththeeeromyienagr stormyw h when they se as season. .e a I t t la w e a l e is v t er o y f b d wi e rl s le i c r kf i r le that the measure should be carried this session, and if it was found to require amend ments they could have been easily intro duced after submitting it to the test of practice. It was soon evident, however, by what spirit the opposition to it was actuated. When, after two divisions, and the omission of three clauses out of the first eight, Mr. LINDUAY rose to object to the ninth clause, Sir J. ELPHINSTONE, with natural indigna tion, called upon Mr. LAIRD to withdraw the bill, and denounced the conduct of the Government as most extraordinary. It is especially so, if we re member the recommendations of the committee who sat upon the subject, and the startling evidence ad duced before that tribunal. Mr. FERRAND very pro perly reminded the House of the disregard shown by the Government of these important revelatons, which dispose of the flimsy arguments brought against the measure, and are alike unanswered and unanswerable. Eighty-two per cent. of the cables tested were proved defective, consequently 82 per cent. of the accidents arising from defective chains and anchors would be prevented by the passing of this measure. In the face of facts like these, who can heed the platitudes of Mr. LINDSAY about in terference with trade, and the objections raised by Mr. MILNER GIBSON to the additional work im posed upon his Board. Where trades endanger men's lives interference is not only permissible, but imperatively necessary. If bakers were found to be using poisonous flour, we presume the Legislative interference would be sanc tioned, and if the ordinary course of trade is insufficient to keep in cheek a system that an nually endangers thousands of lives, it is time for official regulations. But Mr. MILNER GIBSON ap pears to approve of the principle which induced many poor persons to insure their ailing children in a burial club, and made them inclined to regret the child's subsequent recovery. The right hon. gentleman observed that, while it was true that 21 per cent. of the lives lost by shipwreck might be saved by good iron and good workmapship, the bill would materially lessen the chances of getting damages in case of disaster. According to this principle the wise men of Gotham, who" went to sea in a bowl," were highly to be commended, pro vided they were properly insured, and, in truth, this is the secret which too often lies at the bottom of the tragic history of our coast disasters. The singular thing is, that while Mr. MILNER GIBSON is opposing the measure in Parliament, the Board think it necessary to submit all the Admiralty anchors and cables to the required test. It is to be concluded, therefore, that the life of a man-of-war's man is worth considerably more in official esti mation than the lives of ordinary seamen. Whether the general public are inclined to adopt this view of the case may be questioned. With regard to the plea of extra official trouble, that is scarcely worthy of notice. What do we have a Board of Trade for if its members and employes are incapable or impatient of fulfilling their duties. If a little extra work frightens these gentlemen so much as to outweigh in the mind of their President the importance of rescuing many brave men from death and their families from consequent distress, it is time they looked out for easier and less respon sible situations. Mr. LAIRD had good reason to complain of the manner in which he had been treated, having been given to understand that the Government, on certain additions being made, would have given their support to the measure. The re sult, as we have seen, was that Mr. MILNER GIBSON, opposed it throughout, and gave a very willing assistance to Mr. LINDSAY. whose deter mined opposition is worthy of notice. Mr. LAIRD reminded the house that the bill had been opposed at first on the ground that Lloyd's and the London Shipowners Association were against it. He had shown that they were in favour of the measure, but the opposition still continued unabated. That there is something very wrong in this important branch of trade is evident from the fact that the Admiralty can only procure small chains to their satisfaction from one firm. No one pretends to deny that scores of ship are lost annually on our coast from the causes referred to, yet no steps are taken to protect the men who are the real sufferers, and very often the only ones en- tirely blameiess in the matter. The cure, however, lies in a great measure in the hands of the unthr writers, and if the Government refuse to do their part, they must undertake the duty. They are greatly the losers by the fraud or carelessness of shipowners and it would be refused to insure as to th ose o f t h e seamen if they to their interest as well any ship without her chains and anchors having underg one t h e requisite tests. , spe e dil y b ring about a better state of things, an d This plan would we apprehend that we should hear less about the right s of trade, and the injustice of compulsory legislation, if the loss fell on the shipowner instead of on the underwriters. Such an arrangement would quicken his appreciation of the merits of his vessel and her fittings, and he might be then as eager for the introduction of this measure to protect him from the dishonesty of the workmen, as the underwriters would be to obtain security from fraud or heedlessness. At present matters remain where they were, in a very unsatisfactory condition ; but we are not without hopes that some private and independent movement of the kind may bring the Legislature to reason, and secure the crews of our coasting vessels against a system which rashly imperils life and property, and then looks to the insurance to cover all risks, The existence of such a state of things is a disgrace to our mercantile marine, and we cannot but hope, in spite of Mr. GIBSON and Mr. LINDSAY, that some change will be speedily effected. SYDNEY SMITH'S famous receipt for reform is scarcely likely to be ried, as it is not very probable that any memberb of the Board of Trade will take a trip round the coast in a trading vessel, especiall. atter the an. pleasant revelations of the Committee ; but if the public attention is once fairly aroused on the sub ject, and cause and effect are pat together, Mr. LINDSAY may have to lament over the passing of a more stringent measure, while the President of the Board of Trade regrets the saving of life effected at the expense of the additional labour imposed upon his department. The Commissioners appointed to consider the reco m subject m o en f d t e r d an s v p a o r r io t a u t s io a n it a e n r d at p io e n n s a , l w s e h r i v e i h t u df for e h a t h v e e most t a h p i pe a s o rto n eb b de e e a d o s ia p r te b d l e at. o l n t e e i very "that the p rn ciple already recognised by the law, of subjecting reconvicted criminals to severer punishment, should be more freely acted on." The great laxity that has prevailed on this point has really been a tacit encouragement to crime, and has been the fruitful source of garotters. When o.,ce those hardened criminals were convinced that they might go on with impunity in their reckless course, they grew , perfectly callous, and seemed to try to excel etch other in crime, resting assured that they would at the worst only return to their previous easy form of imprisonment. It is high time that some strin , gent course be adopted, and a decided check be put upon these proceedings altogether, and the result will be that it will become necessary to revert to the arbitrary discipline that prevailed formerly in our prisons, and which, while it may stop the com mission of crime, must exercise the most injurious , effects on the minds of the prisoners. Also the Commissioners recommend that convicts should be placed for nine months in separate imprisonment. This is a very wise suggestion, as during that lengthened period they must naturally calm down and become more likely to attend to the rules of the prison, and so fit themselves for a more respec table course of life when they emerge from its walls than if they mingled at once with the same style of characters as those with whom they have re cently come in contact before conviction. It is suggested that all male convicts who are not dis qualified for removal to a colony should be sent to Western Australia during the latter part of their punishment. This will no doubt be a wise plan, as it must remove them from the immediate influence of those who before have been mixed up with them ; but it is a pity that the recommendation did not extend to the female convicts as well, as previous experience has shown the desirability of such a course. It is reccmmended that those who remain in this country and are discharged under license should be placed under strict supervision, which plan has indeed become imperative, in consequence of the late events. It appears strange that no mention is made of the necessity that exists for maintaining a stricter discipline while the convicts are actually in the prison. All accounts, public and private, agree as to the great errors that are con stantly made in carrying on the system of secondary punishments. It would have been far better if the whole question had come before Parliament and been thoroughly sifted ; but as it is, the recommen dations of the Commissioners are well worthy of consideration. If they are strictly acted on, they must be productive of some benefit, and great re sponsibility will rest on those who persist in shut ting their eyes to the evils of the present system. It is a reproach to our Legislature that notwith standing the enormous sums that are paid for the purpose, our prisons are apparently productive of evil, and hold out an inducement to the outcast to enter them, instead of being, as they should be, the object of terror to the criminal. The account of the late serious accident that occurred to two gentlemen in a railway carriage, naturally suggests the importance of devising some remedy for the recurrence of such disasters. It is time that some means of defence be provided for the protection of passengers, who are placed in pecu liarly awkward circumstances when such events occur. Many patents have been taken out and several schemes suggested for effecting a communi cation throughout a train, either between guards and drivers or between passengers and guards. The objection that many urge against the adoption of this wise plan is, that advantage will be taken of such facility for the purpose of amusement by reck less persons; and also that timid or ignorant parties will be sure to give a great deal of trouble and occupy unnecessarily the time of the officials, to the hinderance of the strict performance of their duties and the general discomfort and disarrangement of ell concerned in the transit. On these grounds it is easy to understand why the companies are slow to entertain the matter, but a little reflection will prove that these difficulties can be easily obviated. On the Continent the carriages are so constructed that the tickets are collected while the train is in motion, as the guards are enabled to walk round it. What reason can exist that prevents the English railway carriages from being similarly constructed ? Why should not footboards extend from carriage to carriage, and thus enable the guard, if summoned, to repair at once and in safety to the point of call to ascertain what may be required, and not needlessly stop the train. Fortunate was it in the late serious encounter on the Eastern Counties that there hap pened to be two gentlemen in the carriage, for had Mr. WORLAND been alone his death must in evitably have resulted. Asitwas, MACLEAN prevented such interference of Mr. auch a catastrophe, but even with that result gained and the maniac secured, the consequences were serious. The wounded men had for a long time to hold the maniac while their wounds were in great need of being attended to, the train, an express one, stopping at no intermediate stations. Thus for forty miles they were placed in a perilous position, while assiatanee, although in close proximity, was unavailing to them. Railway companies while they cater for the convenience and necessities of the public, have always in view the prospect of remu nerative dividends; a short sighted policy too often induces the directors to act on the penny-wise and pound foolish system, which not only defeats the ends they have in view, but entails disgrace upon the company end lose of profit upon the shareholders. It is useless to look to the present administration to expect any good in this matter, but we think that the common sense of the eminent engineers and practical managers of our great railway companies should induce them to forestall a legislative enact ment by the adoption of some remedial measure which would enable passengers in railway trains to communicate, when necessary, with the officials in attendance. Across the Atlantic there is but one class of carriages. At first sight this may seem a dis advantage to the fatidions, but it has the merit of a thorough communication, the guards and ticket col lectors being able to pass from one end of the train to the other. In winter the trains are heated by stoves, and passengers who wish for fresh air are indulged in it at either end of the cars, and can likewise ob tain refreshments on long journeys at their leisure. In Germany the second-class carriages are equal, if not superi or ; t o th e fi rs t c l a ss of this country. Why should it b e th a t th e country that gave birth t o ra i lways, and which at the present day suppli es engineering struction o f talent and capital for the con ines throughout both hemispheres, should be so ae o nily comfort of the wi n i e e g m l p ec ir t e. fu l of the safety and thousands who daily travel through the confines of its LATEST INTELLIGENCE. (REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.) THE POLISH QUESTION. PARIS, JULY 22 Prince Gortschakoff's reply to the French note relative to the Polish question has been published to-day. It agrees in substance with that addressed to England. It moreover insists on the moral solida rity of the Great Powers in presence of the evident action of the revolutionary element of all countries concentrated at present in Poland, stating that this gives the question an European character. Prince Gortschakoff says We are so much the more compelled to call the attention of the French Government to this fact, since one of the principal focuses of the agitators which exists is in Paris itself. The Polish emigrants, profiting by their social relations, have erganised a vast con spiracy, destined to mislead public opinion in France by a system of misrepusentation and calumny, and to keep alive disorders in the Kingdom of Poland by assisting it with materials, by the terror of a secret committee, and, above all, by propagating the conviction that aetive foreign intervention will take plsce in favour of the most senseless aspira tions of the insurrection. "This intelligence," adds Prince Gortschakoff, " is at present the principal source of the agitation, which, without it, would be overtaken by the ac tion of the law in presence of the indifference or opposition of the masses. " Herein lies the moral cause which tends to prolong the present painful state of things, for the prompt cessation of which the French Government like ourselves, appeals in the name of peace and humanity. _ _ " We have pleasure in believing that the French Government will not permit its name to be abused for the advantage of the revolution in Poland and in Europe." AUSTRIA. REPLY TO PRINCE GORTSCHAKOFF VIENNA, JULY 22, Austria has despatched a preliminary Note co Russia, in reply to the despatch of Prince Gorts chakcff on the Polish question. This Note announces that Austria cannot abandon the line of conduct she has pursued up to the pre sent. She rejects the proposal of a Conference of Russia, Prussia, and Austria ; maintains the six points ; and declares that in any further steps she may take she will protect her own interests only. Notes have been simultaneously despatched by the Austrian Government to the Western Powers, declaring that Austria will continue to act in concert with them, and will firmly maintain the six points. RUSSIA• BERLIN, JULY 22, According to letters received from St. Petersburg the Emperor has agai❑ inspected the batteries, for tifications and vessels of war, as well as the camp of the troops at Cronstadt. THE AMERICAN MAIL. SOUTHAMPTON, WEDNESDAY MORNING. The North German Lloyd's steamship America, sailing hence to-day with the United States mails, takes out 69 saloon and a limited number of steerage passengers, also a fair cargo, including a large quantity of tea from London, and 45,036 f. value in jewellery from Havre. Among the America's pas sengers are the Hon. B. %%ood (of New York), Mr. T. Canisius (United States Consul at Vienna), W. H, W. Derby (United States Consul at Dusseldorf), rind Dr. Leymar. (of Pittsburg). The Campagne Generale Transatlantique have established an agency at this port, under the direc tioe of Messrs. Keller, Wallis, and Postlethwaite, for their steamers from St. Nazaire to Mexico, the West Indies, &c. SPAIN, MADRID, JULY 22. The Government has instructed its representative at Paris to bound the intentions of the French Cabinet on the subject of fresh negotiations con cerning Mexico. Tranquillity prevails at Malaga, Valladolid, Seville, and Granada. FRANCE. THE BOURSE, July 21.—The market opened this morning below the closing prices of yesterday, but a rally soon took place, and Threes, for the Account, are at 67f. 95c_ Mobilier have slightly improved, and are now at 1,120 f. The market closed as fol lows : 11 per Cents .. 96 90 Do. end month.... 97 20 Italian Loan 7l 50 Do. end month 7l 45 New ditto Do. end month 7l 85 Russian .. 3 per Cents Do. end month 67 85 Credit 11Iobilier 1110 1)o. end month 1112 60 Bank Shares 3412 60 Credit 1 oncier Austrian Spanish Threes~, Rome Debt .. — RA IL WAYS. Cash. Account. Orleans lOl2 50 .. 1010 Northern New. ditto Lyons and Mediterranean 1020 .. 1020 Geneva 490 491 25 Southern 655 .. 652 50 Western eastern .... Sardinian Austrian Lombard North of Spain Saragossa .. Ditto to Barcelona POLAND. FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT. CRACOW, JULY 18. Great dissatisfaction prevails among the peasants of Voihynia. It appears that when the insurrection first broke out they had been informed by the Rus sian agents appointed by the Government for the purpose of gaining them over to its side, that the Czar had determined to give them the land on which they worked, and to place them under the Govern ment of a new independent kingdom of Poland, whose King was to be the Grand Duke Constantine, and that it was in order to prevent the execution of these benevolent intentions of the Czar that the Polish landowners had risen in rebellion. These falsehoods wore easily circulated and believed in a country which is almost completely shut out from all communication with the rest of Europe, and among a class which has been purposely kept by the Russian Government in a state of bratal ignor ance. After having thus paved the way, the agents disclosed their real aims. They offered the peasants arms and pay, and exhorted tt em to put down these disturbers of the public peace and enemies of their prosperity and wellbeing. You know the result. A sort of militia was raised among the very lowest classes of the population, who gave abundant evi dence of their low state of civilisation by the com mission of shocking atrocities upon the landowners and insurgents. At length these poor benighted people are beginning to perceive that they have been deceived. Finding that they are still under the Czar, that no attempt is made by the Govern ment to give them the land on which they reside, and that the insurgents are fighting for the very same objects as themselves, many of them have re turned to their vill ages , an d t h e rest h ave a dd resse d a petition to the Military Governor-General of the province, asking for the fulfilment of the promises made to them when they were enlisted to fight against the insurgents. The result of this petition has been the following circular addressed by the Governor-General, Prince Drucki Sokoiinski, to the local authorities of the province : " The peasants of the Government of Volhynia frequently address petitions to me, saying that as they are compelled unceasingly, by day and by night, to pursue rebellious Polish bands, and take all possible means to assist in pursuing and exter minating them, they are not at present in a position strictly to fulfil their duties towards their landlords, and they therefore beg to be clearly informed as to their relations with regard to their landlords,whether they still owe any corvees to them, or have been liberated therefrom. " Considering, that the duty now imposed on the peasants, the prevention, both by day and by night, of the assemblage of suspected persons, may render them incapable of properly fulfilling the duties required from them by law, I have the honour to request that you will call upon the nobles of the Government of Volhynia, in return for the protec tion of their estates by the peasants, not to exact the fulfilment by them of their duties before th4o disturbances in the country are put down, and, in view of present circumstances, not to prevent the peasants from liberating themselves from their cor v ees in the usual manner—by payment. The nobles should also observe that a peaceful arrangement with the peasants is likely to be more beneficial to them than measures of compulsion, which, moreover, would be improper, for the peasants, being occupied in protecting quiet inhabitants, loving the throne and their country, and risking their own lives against the criminal acts of the rebels, have a right to expect consideration from the landlords and the Government. (Signed) "Prince DRUCKI SOKOLTNSKI, The Governor." The cynical assurance of this decree, which speaks of a horde of half-drunken peasants, pillaging and murdering every noble they can find, as defenders of the peace of the country, and protectors of the nobles, is evident on the face of it. As for the liberation of the peasants from the corvee, any pea sant may be so liberated, in the most complete manner, by the national Government ; but it is too much to expect of a Polish nobleman to grant even a partial benefit to his peasants, when they destroy his estate, threate❑ his life, and hunt to death the soldiers of the only Government which enjoys the confidence of the Polish people, LITERATURE. The _Rang of Anzasis. From the papers of a German Physician. Edited by Owen Meredith. 2 vols. Chapman and Hall. Owen Meredith has the soul of a poet. There is passion and there is power in the conception of his work, but he does himself grievous injustice in its execution. During the last ten years a sad fata lity has befallen the world of literature. Our Poets and our Novelists, not content, like the great masters of the art who had preceded them, with Truth and Nature, with 'Sentiment and Simplicity, have made choice of the Sensational and the Strange tor the subjects of their stories, and have mistaken rhap sody and incoherence for eloquence. When Bon Gualtier brought forward kis spasmodic tragedy, we could afford to laugh. The extravagance of " Firmillian" was a legitimate subject for our ridi cule ; but with very different feelings do we witness the self-immolation of some of the most promising writers of our day— " Who but would laugh if such a man there be, Who but must weep if Atticus were he." As an example of this extravagant and rhapsodical style let anyone take up the first volume of this " Ring of Amasis," and opening it at random, what will he infer from passages like the fol- ,owing : And when the priest . . . our union, did I not see in hers . . . that froze the marrow of my bones ? . . . She herself, had she not seen it sparkle I' And then • , . the frightful secret suppressed for years with the force of a giant, and endured with the fortitude of a martyr in a moment of mad delirium Ay, from the lips of fever and burning breath of hell streamed into her heart, and seared all pity in it, and hardenedit for ever . . . . for ever Such strivings after effect have no real power to produce sensation. They are like the turnip-head and the sheet, which even fail to frighten children . No real spirits are conjured thus. And yet if the bewildered reader, or rather beholder, of pages like this passage, throws down the volume in despair, he will do wrong. He will lose much. Side by side with these fantastic flourishes, strangely alter nate sound sober sense, and homely wit, and wisdom ; while, as for sensational effect, there is a scene in the second volume, a panorama of a river floating by, and two figures in agony of life or death, that will long haunt the memory of the readers of this romance. It is because we so heartily appreciate and because we so cordially admire this power at d this capacity of the author of " The Ring of Amasis," that we are indignant with him for his injustice to his own gifts. "Like one in whom two natures are contending," he is alternately swayed by Truth and Affectation, now inspired by genuine feeling, and now carried away by an effort after effect. A great por tion of the machinery of this tale is clumsy and wholly unnecessary. The introduction about the legend of the Loreley, extravagant in itself, is quite out of character with the details of the story when these details are revealed to us. The story itself, however, when its human interest can be disentangled from the maze of mysticism that enfolds it, is full of pathos and full of power. Count Edmond R-- and his brother Felix, and their young foster sister Juliet, grow up together in a happy German chateau. Then Felix, gay and thoughtless, goes to the wars, and Edmond, sedate and serious, departs on his travels. In his researches in Egypt the latter learns the secret history of Amasis and Sethos, the sons of Theileris, the King. Amasis, the younger son, having discovered the interpretation of a talismanic ring, his father leaves to him the kiugd uch notom. " D wi is turb not the ha nd of destiny. Toth earthly finger the hand of fate." So Amasis read the writing, and Sethos obeyed it to the letter when, some time after, his brother, the King, who had supplanted him, met his death by drowning, Sethos stretched not forth his hand to interfere with fate ! This legend makes a deep impression upon the visionary Count Edmond, who takes possession of the ring from the finger of the mummy. On hi s return home, the fair, light -hearted Juliet seizes u p on the ring, and declares that it shall be her ring of betrothal when her time arrives. Uitimately she is engaged t o Felix, a nd she gives him the myste rious ring. Meanwhile a powerful passion has been developing itself in the breast of the visionary Edmond. From all save the eyes of his mother Edmond conceals his love and his despair. A brief while after the betrothal the brothers are together in a boat, and an incautious movement of the im petuous Felix realises the legend of the Egyptian b ro thers — "Against the whirling water he beat, fast and weak, with desperate arms. His soaked clothes and heavy boots were dragging him down. The light boat glided on. " Suffocating and exhausted, he gasped, 'Enough, Ed mond 1 For Heaven's sake, enough I I am sufficiently punished. My strength gives way. lam sinking. T - Can no more.' • 0 • " . Cold as the spectre of his own thought, erect, unmoved, immoveable, with folded arms he stood, and looked. "Looked on his drowning brother. "Then, into the eyes, and over the face, of Felix there came an undefinable terror. "It was not the terror of death. It was not the vague alarm of a drowning man. "He had understood the face of his brother, Edmond. "He had read in that face the meaning of a thought which sufficed in a second of time to congeal with horror the essence of his soul. "And Felix slviddered. "So the angels must shudder when they gaze into the depths of Hell. _ " With a voice that was the death shriek of man's faith in man, he cried, Ed mo nd ! Edmond l' "It was the sad receding message from a world of love submerged. "side by side, the fleeting river bore them on, those brothers. "The one safe, unmoved, ereot. "The other, convulsively struggling with baffled and broken efforts amidst the thousand curling, cold, and silvery meshes of that liquid loom of death. "Side by side, the river bore them onwards yet, Side by side, eye fixed on eye, with speechless lips and speaking looks. "A dreadful inutterable dialogue was passing then be tween the eyes of those two brothers. They understood each other." The situation is powerfully conceived and most vigorously depicted. We had intended to say more of the admirable working out of the moral, but we forbear rather than betray the secrets, of what is, at first, an over-complicated, but eventually a wholly enthralling plot. Over any minuter analysis of the work, however, than has been here attempted, we are in no way whatever disposed to loiter. From the gifted hand of Owen Meredith, we look for far nobler and worthier manifestations of a genius that, to a very great extent, appears in some sort to be hereditary. While saying this, how ever, we would add that the originality marking may of its loftier attributes is unquestionable. The hand of Owen Meredith, howbeit, will wield the pen, we doubt not, more freely and far more effectively, .now that by .the completion of these dreamings in an unwholesome atmosphere—it is lightened of the perillous weight of this balefully glittering Ring of Amsis. A Manual of Popular Physiology. By Henry Lawson, M.D. One vol. pp. 168. Hardwicke. When we can say, as we do, that Dr. Lawson's "Manual of Popular Physiology" is worthy of a place upon the same shelf on which Already stand Dr. Andrew Combe's well-known treatise upon the same subject, Mr. Lewes's two larger and more philosophic volumes upon a kindred theme, and that charming little anonymous book called " The House I Live In," we have spoken in high praise, indeed, of the work now under consideration. It is deserving of this praise, however, if only by reason of the exceeding simplicity of its general arrangement. The outlines of the subjects here t•ketchE d, as those selected for delineation, are well drawn: but, more than that, they are well filled in, so to speak, with an easy but buld and delicate pencilling. What Dr. Lawson has here at tempted to do in this book is, as he himself' tells his reader, nothing more and nothing less than to explain the Science of Life in untechnical lan guage. The text of the w or k t h roughout, there fore, is singularly familiar, is, we might almost say, from the first page to the last, purely conversational. And the descriptions given, in themselves remark able for their lncidity, are rendered yet more in stantly comprehensible to the unlearned, or, as we may say, unprofessional student, by a great variety of cleverly -Executed woodcut illustrations scattered about the pages among the letter press. One habit the author has, unhappily, dropped into, in common with so m an y other 'writers of nowadays—the profuse in dulgence here and there of extravagant peri phrases, evidently under the mistaken idea that it has about it some!hing irresistibly humourous. For example, in this very preface, instead of saying, in so many plain and compre hensible words, " Give a dog a bad name and hang. him" (he wants, in the passage referred to, quite incidentally to make some passing allusion to the old saying) Dr. Lawson insinuates a hint at the proverb he has, at the moment of writing, in his mind's eye, he insinuates a delicate hint at it by this astounding display of circumlocution! "There is an old and familiar proverb," he says (and so far so good, but then—listen !) " regarding the stran gulation of that number of the canine genus which has through some mischance been deprived of its fair reputation." And so forth—the whole of this same, unhappily but too frequent, twist or trick in writing, being clearly a mistake the most eggregious on the part of our otherwise highly meritori As author, the writer of this "Manual of Popular Physiology." If Dr. Lawson would but take our hint in good part, he would carefully eliminate passages of this faulty kind from any future editions of a work that, really and truly, to our mind, is deserving of being very frequently reprinted. He would do this for certain if he would but take our word—here very confidently whispered by us in a sort of stage " aside "—that the fault of style alluded to is to the last degree tedious and intolerable, instead of being in any way humorous or emfailiarating. THE AFRICAN EXPLORERS. The following intelligence of the Livingstone ' Expedition has been received at the Cape of Good Hope, and is published by the South African Advertiser of June 20 : " Her Majesty's steamer Gorgon, Commander Wilson, recently arrived in Algoa Bay, bringing the Rev. Mr. Stewart and other passengers from the Zambezi, with detailed intelligence from correspondents in that quarter, of which the following is the substance : " From Quillemaine, after parting with the Rapid, Dr, Livingstone returned to the Zambezi mouth, and reached Shupanga in the middle of December. After a delay of about three weeks there, occcasioned by some repairs re quiring to be made tb the Pioneer, the doctor proceeded up the river to the Shire on the 10th of January, the steamer Lady Nyassa being taken in tow by the Pioneer; and on the 27th of February (the date of the latest advices), he was within 30 miles of his destination—the lower end of the Murchison. Falls, where, unfortunately, both ships were said to be fast on a sandbank, near the Upper end of the Ele phant Marsh. Hopes, however, were entertained of a rise in the river, and that the vessels would shortly be got off. "There was a considerable amount of fever and sickness among the crew, but up to the date mentioned there had been no fatal cases. From the Murchison Falls it was under stood that Dr. Livingstone would endeavour to push over land with his own little steamer, the Lady Nyassa, for the further exploration of the great Lake Nyassa. " Of the Rev. Mr. Stewart's movements, it appears that after arriving in the Zambezi, about this time last year, he waited five months at Shupanga, in hope of accompanying Dr. Livingstone when he ascended the river. In the be ginning of July, when he found that there were to be fur ther delays, he resolved to start alone; and, having secured a canoe and a crew of natives, he ascended, partly, of course, on foot, to within 50 miles of Lake Nyassa, where he was stopped by the simple impossibility of procur ing food Ho then returned and went eastward to Mago nero, the former station of the Oxford and Cambridge Mission. During his stay at the miss on station he speaks of having received every possible kindness ; and in the jour.. net's he made in the surrounding country had always the advantage and pleasure of some one of its members accom - ponying him. After leaving the station, in September, he ascended the Zambezi beyond Tette as far as the Kabra basa Rapids. There the same obstacle that prevented his going further on the Shire—namely, scarcity of food, again encountered him, and obliged him to return. From Ka bradasa he descended the river Quillemaine, and came on to Mozambique. From the Portuguese authorities g enerally he met with every civility ; and from his Excel lency the Governor-General of Mozambique he received the substantial kindness of a good airy house to live in while waiting there for a ship." The Advertiser also publishes extracts from letters received from the station on the river Shire, by which it appears the Universities' Mission has fallen into great difficulty and distress in conse qUence of a famine that prevails throughout the whole of that region. The Rev. H. C. Scudamore died on the morning of New Year's-day of exhaus tion, produced by fever. His death is a great loss to the mission. The famine is caused by a drought and in some districts is aggravated by native wars. The Rev. Mr. Rowley says, " the deaths from starvation must have been beyond conception frightful." He adds : " About us, where war has not been, and a little corn has been grown through the year on their lands and banks of the river, one-third at least of the people have died from want of food. The villages are either in ruins, or, where there are inhabitants, they are the weak, the aged, and the young child, en, who are day by day dying off. Frequently the dead lie unburied in the huts, the air being pestiferous with the rotting corpses. The stronger are roaming about the country in search of what they can pick up or steal for food, but in most cases their search is in vain—they lie down and die by the wayside. so numerous are such deaths that one cannot, I think, go along any path from our place without coming across human remains; we know that several corpses are now lying within two miles of us. " The Shire has been literally the river of death. The pool creatures miming about in search of food are reckless of.consequences ; they try to steal the corn growing on the river banks or islands; but the owners, wolfishly alert, generally detect them ; and, as these small crops have been for a long ti me their only hope, they are pitiless, and either cut the thr oa t s of the thieves an d t h row th em into the river, or throw them in alive. I believe hundreds have perished in this way. Dead bodies are repeatedly seen floating down." It is feared that the Mission must be abandoned, and that the missionaries will return to Johanna, Natal, or the Cape. A* 64 eirtigat HER MAJESTY. OSBORNE, July 21. Their Rota: Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales, attended by the Marchioness of Carmar then, Lieutenant-General Knollys, and Captain Grey, arrived at Osborne yesterday evening on a visit to her Me.jesty. The Prince and Princess traxelled to Southamp ton, where the Royal yacht Fairy was waiting to convey them to Osborne. The Judge•Advocate-General arrived yesterday and had an audience of the Queen this afternoon. PRINCE ALFRED IN THE HIGHLANDS.—The Scotsman says :—On Sunday afternoon the Racoon, with his Royal Highness Prince Alfred on board, which is now corning southward along the west coast, went up Loch Linnhe, coming to a little above Coran Ferry. It was ex pected yesterday his Royal Highness would fish the Lochy ; but the continued drought has rendered the water so low, that anglers are in despair, and slight hope was entertained that he would win any remarkable success. The Prince and Princess Troubetzkoi, accom panied by their family and a large suite of attendants, arrived at the Brunswick, Jermyn-street, last night, from St. Petersburg. The Duchess of Roxburghe and Miss Dalton have left the Clarendon Hotel for Scotland. The Earl and Countess Jermyn leave town on Monday next on a visit to Lord and Lady Wharncliffe, at Wortley Hall, Yorkshire. The Earl and Countess de Grey leave Cirlton gardens on the Ist pros. for Studley Park, near Ripon. Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales will be the guests of the noble earl and countess from the 4th to tke 6th of the month, when their royal highnesses will rroceoa. to Abergeldie, in Scotland, for the shooting season. Lard Lyttelton and family have left town for Hagley Hall, Worcestershire, Tne marriage of Mr. Des Vceux and Lady Alice Egerton (youngest daughter of the Earl of Wilton) will take place about the middle of the ensuing month. Sir Alexander and Lady Arabella Bannerman left town yesterday for their seat in Scotland, The Countess d'Apponyi and the Countess Marie Paumgarten will leave town early in the ensuing week for Germany for the autumn. A marriage is arranged and will shortly take place between Lieut.-Col. Gordon, Scots Fusilier Guards, son of the late Lord Francis Gordon, and Miss Constance Lennox Peel, only daughter of Mr. Laurence and the late Lady Jane Peel. Mrs. W. E. Gladstone and Miss Gladstone will leave town either on Saturday or Monday next for Hawar den Castle, Flintshire. The Right Hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer will join Mrs. Gladstone and family at Ha warden directly after the close of the Parliamentary session. ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA, L'ELISIR D'AMORE. This delightful comic opera, which so strikingly illustrates the variety of Donizetti, was produced at this theatre last evening, in order to enable Madlle. Patti to add another success to the list of her unrivalled comic achievements, in the character of Adena. This rustic coquette, who carries out into greater exuberance and force the charac teristics of Zerlina, ►ill be thought by many to rank next to it in the hands of our young favourite. All that piquant and playful humour by which she is so peculiarly distinguished, was exhibited last evening, in union with the personal fascination wt.ich makes everything she does so pleasing. Nor was her treatment of the music un worthy that of the character. In the popular duet with Dulcaulara, in the cavatina, "Della crudel isotta," and more especially in the scene where she expects the proposed philtre, she fulfilled every expectation that had been formed of her perform ance, and was rewarded with the most genuine applause and admiration. Mdlle. Patti was admirably supported by the Duicamara of S gnor Ronconi, which has ever been the richest embodiment the character has had—not even with the exception of that of the great blache—and which was so hearty on this occasion and so replete with sterling humour, that it fairly atoned for the vocal deficiency which was at times, we must own, apparent. The only drawback to the night's impression was the non-appearance of Signor Mario, as announced, in Nemorino, who thus added to the disappointment of his absence from "Don Pasquale." Mons, Naudin, who replaced him, was even less at ease in this than in the former substitution, though he sang the music very well, and especially the duet with Belcore. With every abatement, however, the entire performance wes very gratifying; and we have no doubt will figure frequently in the pro gramme of the ensuing year. The house was tole rably full. THE FALL OF VICKSBURG.—The Missouri Demo crat publishes a despatch from Vicksburg, dated June 25, which states that the Federal pickets captured a messenger that morning bearing letters from the town, and the fol lowing message to Johnston :—" Can hold out ten days. If not sooner relieved will be obliged to surrender." RAILWAY AND PUBLIC COMPANIES IN PARMA - MENT.—Yeaterday, in committee of the Lords, the bill for the Scottish Central, North Eastern, and Dundee and Arbroath Amalgamation was passed with some amendments in connection with the clauses. The bills passed in the Commons were those for the Northumberland Central Rail way, St. Ives and West Cornwall Junction, Dundalk and Greenore and Irish North Western Railways. THE MOORS AND FORESTS OF PERTHSHIRE. — The weather has recently been very favourable for the young birds, and they have improved greatly since the beginning of July. A number of the hills have now been tested to some extent, but keepers are somewhat disinclined as yet to disturb the broods. Where they have been exa mined, the prospects for the 12th are more promising than usual. Broods eight and ten strong have been risen by the gamekeepers, and the general strength of the coveys seems to be from six to eight. The birds are well grown and much more advanced than at this season last year. On one or two of the ranges there is a slight appearance of disease among the later broods. This is, however, local, and not to such an extent as to cause any anxiety. On the extensive ranges of Blair Atholl and Breathilbane there is a superior crop. On the hills of Upper Strathearn the birds are nume rous and well grown. On the moors of Callender, Bal quhidder, and the eastern parts of Argyleshire, good shoot ing may be anticipated. The low covers look well. The partridge covers of Strathtay and Earn are well stocked, and will afford excellent sport during the season. The pheasant broods were somewhat thinned by the heavy thunder plouts after incubation, but the preserves are much better stocked than last year, when there was but an indif ferent crop and indifferent sport. Other kinds of game are generally abundant. All accounts agree that the forests have not held out better promises for stalkers for some years. The weather has been warm and favourable during fawning, and the lawns have been abundant. The deer are in splendid condition, and are expected to be free from the vascular skin much earlier than usual. Pasture has this year been early and plentiful, which, with the open winter, early spring, and genial summer, has been much in favour of the deer and all other kinds of game. A number of the sportsmen have arrived at their sporting lodges.—Edin burgh Courant. IPICKFORD'S HORSES.—At Camden Town—in variably abbreviated in Pickfordian langu age i nto Camden—Pickford, who is the recognised agent of the London and North-Western Railway Company, has enor mous premises adjoining the goods station, and is to be seen in full swing. Employing more than nine hundred horses in London, he keeps three hundred of them at Camden. Going into these stables, we are at once struck with an air of substantiality in connection with Pickford, which is different to anything we have yet seen during this tour of inspection of the ways and means of " Aiding London." There is special potentiality in his stables, with their asphalte pavements and their large swinging oaken bars, in his big horses, in his strong men, in his enor mous vans. Most of the herses are splendid animals, many of them standing over sixteen hands high, and all in excellent condition. They are all bought by one man, the recognised buyer for the establishment, who attends principal fairs throughout the country ; the average cost price of each is £45. They are fed on a mixture of bruised oats, crushed Indian coin, and peas, which is found to be capital forage. Each horse, when bought, is branded with a number on the front of his fore feet hoofs, and is named ; name and number are entered in the horse-book; and by them the horse's career, where he may be working, and anything special relating to him, is checked off until he dies or is sold. Pickford's horses last on au average seven or eight years, and then they are killed . ; but in many instances, when no locger fit for roughing it over the stones—for what the dealer poetically describes as the " 'ammer, 'amraer, 'ammer on the 'ard 'igh road"--- they will be bought by some farmer for plough-work, and i after a hard London life will pe a ce f ully end their days n; some secluded village." — Dick ens's " 411 the Year Round.' About 30 pickpockets have entered Southamp ton to attend the races in that town this week. I ' I 'f