The Sun. — London, England, 1854-04-26 00:00:00

TEIEATRE ROYAL DRURY LE, Lessee, Mr. E. T. Smith. TO-MORROW EVENING, APRIL 27, Will be peribrmedDEß FREICRUTZ. Characters by Madame caradort, and Millie. ; Herr Reichardt, and Herr Formes. FulicAved by a BALLET DIVERTISSEMENT, entitled LES FAVORITES DU SULTAN. THE ATRE ROYAL HAYMARKET. Under the management of Mr. Buckstmic. TO-MORROW EVENING, APRIL 27, Will be performed LONDON ASSURANCE. Supported by Messrs. Chippendale, Rogers, Howe, Vandonhoff, Coinpten, and Bnckstone ; Miss Featherstone, and Miss L. Howard. After which, the entirely new and original extravaganza, entitled MR. BIICKSTONE'S VOYAGE ROUND TUE GLOBE (IN LEI CESTEI:•SQUARE), written by J. R. Planche, Esq. Principal characters by Mr. Buckstone, Mr. W. Farren, Mr. Clark, Mr. J. Marshall, Mr. H. Marshall ; Mrs. Fitzwilliam, Mrs. Caulfield, Miss E. Grey, Miss Lydia Thompson, Miss Laura Morris, and Miss Featherstone. To conclude with THE PORTRAIT OF CERVANTES. Prin cipal characters by Mr. Compton and Miss E. Grey. ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE, OXFORD-STREET. Under the Management of Mr. Clies.i.ra TO-MORROW EVENING, APRIL 27, 'fill be performed THE MARRIED UNMARRIED. Characters Messrs. W. Lacy, Ryder, and Cathcart ; and Misses Heath and Murray. Followed by FAUST AND MARGUERITE. Characters by Messrs. C. Kean and David Fisher ; Mrs. Winstanley and Miss C. Leclercq. After which, AWAY WITH MELANCHOLY. Characters by Messrs. Meadows, D. Fisher, and Satter ; and Misses Murray and Daly. THEATRE ROYAL ADELPHI. Proprietor, Mr. B. Webster.—Directress, Madame Celeste, TO-MORROW EVENING, Apaii. 27, Wlll be performed TWO LOVES AND A LIFE. supported by Messrs. C. Selby, Leigh Murray, Benjamin Webster, Keeley, and 0. Smith ; Miss Woolgar and Madame Celeste. Followed by THE MOUSTACHE MOVEMENT. Principal cha racters by Messrs. 0. Smith, Keeley, and Parselle ; Mrs. Keeley, and Miss Mary Keeley. Followed by THE. OVERL kND JOURNEY TO CONSTANTI NOPLE, AA UNDERTAKEN BY LORD BATEMAN, WITH INTERESTING PARTICULARS OF THE FAIR SOPHIA. LYCEUM ,THEATRE. Under the Management of Madame Vestrls. TO-MORROW EVENING, APRIL 27, Will be performed A .CHARMING WIDOW. Principal charac. tare by Mr. C. Mathews; Miss Talbot and Miss Oliver. After which, USED UP. To be fbllowed by GIVE A DOG IN ILL NAME. Prlncipa characters by Messrs. C. Mathews and F. Matthews. Concluding with A HOU'SE OUT OF WINDOWS. ROYAL OLYMPIC THEATRE. Lessee and Manager, Mr. A. Wigan. TO.MORROW EVENING, APRIL 27, Will be performed THE HAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE. Cha• racters by Messrs. F. Robson, J. H. White, Leslie, and Vincent Mrs. Chatterley, Miss P. Horton, and Miss Marston. To be followed by TO OBLIGE BENSON. Supported by Messrs. Emery, Robson, and Leslie; Mrs. Stirling and Miss Wyndham. To coneude with the Farce of THE WANDERING MINSTREL Jem Baggs, Mr. F. Robson. STRAND THEATRE. Sole Lessee Mr. F. W. Allcroft.—Directress, Miss Rebecca Paace TO-MORROW EVENING, Avail. 27, Will be performed THE ENCHANTED LAKE. After which, THB BLUE JACKETS. To be followed by WIVES BY ADVERTISEMENT. Concluding with the new burlesque on RICHARD THE THIRD. Stalls, 55.; Boxes, 3s. ; Pit, 15. 64 ; Gallery, 6d. ; Private Boxes, .C 1 113. Gd., to be had of Mr. Allcroft, 15, New Bond-street. ASTLEY'S EUROPE'S NATIONAL AMPHITHEATRE. Lessee and Manager, Mr. William Cooke. Great attraction and powerful Novelties for the Easter Holidays. TO-MORROW EVENING, APRIL 27, Will be presented the new grand Nautical and Equestrian spec tacle, embodying novel and extraordinary effects (written by Mr. Nelson Lee), entitled A TALE OF THE SPANISH WAR ; or, The Horse of the Wreck. Tha horses expressly trained by Mr. W. Cooke. Followed by an entire change of the Scenes of the CIRCLE, intro ducing Miss Kate Cooke, Mks Emily Cooke, Mr. Alfred Cooke, and the most talented Equestrian and Gymnastic Artistes in Europe. Concluding with a popular FARCE. Box-office open from Eleven till Four. Stags Manager, Mr. W• West. fl Rill WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. Tgli DAY —Morning 23 rnin.after 1 I Evening 41 min.eft. 1 T..Vlcimow--Nloraing 57 naln.aitcr 1 1 Evening 15 min.aft. 2 THE WEATHER.—Sus Orvwx, APIUL 26. THERMOMETEII, IN THE SHADE. 52 —highest since noon yesterday. 43 —lowest this morning and during the night. 36—this day at noon. BAROMETER, 30 . 45—falling. WIND, N. to N.:.V.W.—Light breeze, with heavy clouds, and sunshine occasionally. DAILY IfEATIIER TABLE. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 18.54. State of the wind and weather at each of the following places at nine o'clock yesterday morning. The stations are arranged in order of latitude. TUNBRIDGE—N., gentle breeze—partially cloudy. GREENWICH—N., strong breeze—partially cloudy. STROOD—N.E., gentle breeze—partially cloudy. SWINDON—N.E., light breeze—cloudy. CAM BILIDGE—N, gentle breeze—cloudy. BIRMINGILk3.I—N.W., gentle breeze—overcast. YARMOUTH—N.B., hard wind—overcast, SEt AP—S.E., calm—overcast. The returns from the following places indicate the state of the weather on Monday morning at nine o'clock : HOLYHEAD—E., gentle breeze—partially cloudy. WHITBY—N.E., gentle breeze—cloudless. DARLINGTON—W.N. W., gentle breeze, overcast—frost —slight showers —snow. SHAD— N., calm—principally clear. be _-., ce7, ''% ' LONDON, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 1854. The Greek Court would seem now to be fairly in the rut of the insurrection. Like this globe of ours in the dream of Mr. TENNYSON, it appears to be " spinning down the grooves of change," and that too with such remarkable velocity as to be suggestive of the last change being one of itself—a change resulting sooner or later in its total disappearance. The " proofs" spoken of by Lord JOHN Russznn, on the 6th instant in the House of Commons, are multiplying rather rapidly—proofs of the KING and QUEEN of Greece having given the 8,000 insurgents in Epirus and in Thessaly the greatest encourage ment. Of the fact of that encouragement there cannot any longer be any doubt whatsoever. The reception accorded to M. METAXA at Athens is in itself sufficient testimony. That ambassador is no sooner expelled from Turkey in common with the rest of the Greek subjects resident in the SULTAN'S dominions, than he rises to an authority in the councils of his sovereign, such as he could never have anticipated duri n g his diplomatic career at Constanti nople. Added to which, the circular of NESSEL RODS, dated 2d of March, 1854, from St. Peters burg, arrives, appropriately enough at Athens, at the very time of the Greek ambassador's return thither from Constantinople. That circular, it will have been remarked, is a direct incentive to the Greek insurrection in Epirus and Thessaly —a direct incentive to this insurrection from the Russian Government. Its arrival at the Hel lenic capital appears to have excited among the Russian intriguers in that metropolis the liveliest enthusiasm—if we may believe in the accuracy of a very curious letter recently pub lished in th e S emap h ore of Marse i lles, and thence tr ansferred to our own columns, as may have been observed in our Monday evening's impression. Everything, indeed, that for some time past has come to light in reference to the course pursued by the Greek Government as in favour of the CZAR, and a s opposed to the SULTAN, and, therefore, for both those reasons, as decidedly inimical to the rest of Europe, and especially to the Cabinets of France and England --everything, we maintain, that has recently come to light in regard to the policy of King OTHO and Queen AMELI A h as yielded full corro boration to the charges directed against them by the Leader of the British House of Commons, and has, consequently, justified entirely the hints which had been previously thrown out in the same direction by her Britannic MAJESTY'S Ambassador at Constantinople. Everything, therefore, we need scarcely add, proves the imperative necessity for the publication of the promised Blue-Book in refe rence to the course which was long secretly, an d which is now openly, carried out by the KING and QUEEN of Greece and their Government. The explanatory documents, which will be comprised in that official revelation, we cannot but await consequently with the utmost ergerness. We shall expect the country win require from her MAJESTY'S Ministers that these important papers shall be laid forthwith upon the tables of the Legislature, and that the whole subject, as soon as possible after the close of the Easter holi days, shall be brought under discussion in both Houses of the British Parliament. The internecine conflict between the masters and working people in the manufacturing districts is still waged with undiminished vigour. The siege of Preston is still maintained, and the un fortunate inhabitants have endured all the gs privations and sufferin incidental to so de plorable a state of affairs for no less than thirty-six weeks, or nine lunar months. During this protracted period, the costly machinery has remained rusting for want of use, the expensive buildings closed, and the whole capital invested idle and unproductive. But neither power-looms nor buildings consume exciseable commodities. They require neither food nor clothing to keep them in good condition, capable of resuming work at any moment after the restoration of amicable relations. All that the masters whose mills are still closed can lose will be the interest of the capital embarked in their re spective concerns, and that may easily be p rov id e d for by a subscription among their fellow-masters, who will not altogether lose the amount of their contributions, inasmuch as they will reap consid erable profit from the diminished competition, which, by reducing the supply, must necessarily enhance the value of their goods. But it is very different with their opponents. The " human machinery" cannot be flung aside for a protracted period. Thews and sinews must be kept up by daily supplies, and without adequate nourishment flesh and blood will pine away and decay. It is true that those who sympathise with the working people have subscribed liberally to the cause. But, still at the best, but a poor and scanty provision is afforded. The turn-outs are obliged to forego all the comforts of life, and to be contented with a miserable supply of bare necessaries. Parents are not only compelled to endure bitter priva tions themselves, but to see their helpless children crying for the food which they are unable to bestow, and to steel themselves against the cries of their unhappy offspring. How different is their lot from that of the masters ! How unequal is the contrast on that ground alone. The mas ter has every comfort and luxury—the men hun ger, thirst, cold, and all the evils incidental to sharp and biting poverty. Again, as to the contributors to the funds from which the " sinews of war" are supplied to the respective belligerents. As we have shown, the masters subscribe from their abundance, and obtain some kind of equivalent. The hands, on the contrary, give up that for which they have but too many calls. Should they be so for tunate as to be able to pay their contributions without curtailing any of their wonted indul gences, they must at least relinquish the idea of saving anything for a rainy day. When sickness or want of occupation may deprive them of their ordinary earnings, it may be that they would have to sacrifice the fund by which they could " better their condition " and rise to independence and fortune, as many men have done from as small beginnings. The turn-outs may not be " tired of playing yet." They may be satisfied to eat the bread of idleness, although compelled to stint their appetites and submit to half, or even little more than quarter rations ; but will their fellows be contented to keep up the supplies, and to divert a considerable percentage of their own hardly-acquired earnings to the continued maintenance of an unproductive body. No. The enthusiasm of the movement may operate fur a time, but when i t is seen that the sacrifice gives an additional prospect of victory, they will withdraw from the unprofitable contest, and, although sadder, will become much wiser men, from their dearly bought experience. But there are other matters, all of which must exercise no inconsiderable influence in bringing these untoward disputes to a speedy termination by the total and unqualified submission of the working people. It requires no extraordinary skill—no prolonged period of learning to work in the mills and factories. The masters find that, although the old hands should continue obdurate, they may still find persons capable of working their machinery and producing calicoes. They may import labour as a substitute for that which can no longer be obtained from the inhabitants of the town. The vast importance of this step was so fully recognised by the delegates and Committee-men, that they risked the proceeding which has been made the subject of accusations still pending. The masters are, how ever, still importing " hands," while the "gentle persuasion," which made many of the interlopers return to the places from whence they came, can no longer be safely used. This very decided step on the part of the masters led to what we cannot help regarding as ~ he last convulsive effort on the part of the ope- They employed the services of the ratives. Mediation Committee, a body of kind-hearted, well-intentioned gentlemen, anxious to put an end _ _ to a state of affairs so truly deplorable. The masters however, rejected the interposition, It could scarcely be anticipated that at the moment when their triumph was certain, they would consent to abandon the fruits of victory, and to patch up a hollow and precarious peace, without obtaining any guarantee for its permanence. This move, then, on the part of the men :otally failed, and now a further a nd ver y for .. . _ _ midable blow has been inflicted. The men of Stockport have entered on hostilities on their own account. They have had a turn-out of their own, and have strong claims upon the funds to which they formerly so liberally contributed. Not only then is that assistance withdrawn, and the fund so far diminished—but more is required ; the turn-outs of Stockport must be fed as well as those of Preston. The demands are materially in creased, while the resources are diminished in an inverse ratio. Let the operatives ponder these things deeply, and submit to inevitable defeat. THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, APRIL 26, 1854. CAPTURE OF ANOTHER RUSSI AN SHIP. THE ADMIRALTY AND THE HORSE LATEST FOREIGN NEWS GUARDS. (BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.) The statement that Mr. Cunard had offered to carry 000 horses to Gallipoli has been denied point blank by that gentleman himself. The assertions of the Morning Hlei•ald respecting changes in the Admiralty Board have likewise been contradicted on authority. In thus correcting two misstatements of our contemporaries, we take the opportunity of saying that strongly as we have been led to criticise the administration of the Navy on certain points of detail, we have pleasure in bear ing testimony to the readiness with which the present Board have adopted many sound suggestions offered them by the Press. It must not be forgotten that during the rule of Sir James Graham and Mr. Bernal Osborne over the Navy we have sent forth the finest fleet that ever sailed from the shores of England, and that if Admiral Dundas, who has control of another noble collection of our ships, has not yet been so energetic as the public in their anxiety have wished him to be, the fault is not fairly chargeable on the Admiralty as a department, but rather on the Cabinet as a whole. Compared with the Horse Guards the Admiralty Board is a perfect company of Crichtons. Sir James Graham is worth a dozen Lord Hardinges, at all events. And sinoe we are giving a public department its due, in spite of grumblings at certain drawbacks, let us add that upon the naval ad ministration of this country—as upon most willing horses—there has always been a tendency to bear too heavily. Why, for instance, should the Admiralty have to choose hay ? Horses are not a part of the Navy—the marines being foot soldiers, not horsemen, the popular joke to the contrary notwithstanding. Why then, we say, should a salt -water department have to arrange the niceties of upland or meadow grasses, dry or moist, good or bad ? This is surely the business of the Commissariat, if not of some person deputed by colonels of cavalry themselves. Sailors don't eat hay, and therefore the Admiralty should have nothing to do with the selection of such stores. Again, the slowness with which the troops have been landed in Turkey is also a sin at the door of the Ministry rather than of its naval branch. The troops themselves have been most anxious for active service —the carriage of the men and the steam-ships which have been employed has been prompt. It was not the Admiralty who originated the plan of dropping them all at Malta as a kind of half-way house. The Cabinet must bear that blame. Whilst blaming the Admiralty for their own sins, therefore, let us be just, and not visit them with the sins of others.— Daily News. THE WAR. PLYMOUTH, Wednesday, 10 a.m.—The Avon steamer returned during the night, having succeeded in effecting the capture of the Russian merchant ship reported as being in the Channel yesterday. It proved to be the Carlos, Captain Backe, 400 tons of Finland, from Lisbon, to a Rus sian port in the Baltic. She left Lisbon on March 25, and has been beating about in the Channel since. She was captured yesterday at half-past one, about twelve miles south of the Start. She is built of fir, laden with salt, and is a splen did vessel ; her crew number fourteen men. The French fleet were about four miles distant, bearing E.S.E. She was compelled to hoist her flag, and was brought in with the English ensign flying at her peak end, and the Russian Black Sea flag under. She made no resistance. Several other vessels havelleft Spanish ports with similar cargoes. The Portland frigate has just returned from the South American station, but before coming to she was ordered,to proceed to Spithead with all haste. She left immediately. The following telegraphic despatch has just been received : " The Bertholde, which left Gallipoli on the 18th, has arrived at Toulon. " Eighteen thousand troops had landed in Galli poli. The health of the troops was excellent. " The squadron under Admiral Hamelin was at Baldchik. The Russians were not advancing. They were fortifying themselves in the Dobrutscha. Omer Pacha's retrograde movement was to concen trate his troops. " Besides the camp at Gallipoli, the English are establishing one at Buyukdere. " The St. Louis, 90-gun ship, was launched at Brest yesterday." A telegraphic despatch from Vienna, of the 24th April, announces that a sharp combat took place on the 16th before Kalafat. Sixteen squadrons of Hussars and eight squadrons of Cossacks, with six cannon, having come to reconnoitre the Turkish lines, the Paella sent two regiments of regulars, some Bachi-Bouzouks, and six cannon against them. The combat last three hours. The Rus sians were driven back vigorously : they lost five hundred men. The Turks had fourteen raexi killed and thirty-three wounded. BERLIN, TUESDAY.—Partof the fleetis blockading the Gulf of Finland, and part the Gulf of Bothnia. The Tribune brought in a Russian barque as prize to Copenhagen on the 22d. CONSTANTINOPLE, April 14.—Odessa has been bombarded. The town is partly destroyed. This is confirmed by letters via Brody. VIENNA, April 25.—Accounts from Bucharest state that Prince Paskiewitsch has ordered the evacuation of Lesser Wallachia, the cutting-off of communications with Servia, and the disbanding of all the free corps. ST. PETERSBURG, April 18.—An ukase directs that, before the 20th of May, a naval force, com posed of volunteers for the defence of the coasts of Finland, shall be organised. All sailors on leave of absence are required to return to duty forthwith. Letters from Jassy of the 12th state that Prince Paskiewitsch had inspected, on the frontier of Bes sarabia, four cavalry and six infantry regiments, in all 24,000 men, on their way to the principalities. Letters from Odessa state that troops of all arms are continually passing through that town. A letter from Semlin, of the 20th, says The Vladika of Montenegro has published a prodama tion preaching a religious war against the Turks. Six thousand volunteers have already enrolled themselves. The moment for attack is not fixed." The Lloyd contradicts this statement, on the autho rity of letters from Cattaro and Cettinje. The Vladika, it says, has given assurances of neutrality to Austria. The Ost Deutsche Post of Vienna has the follow ing from Bucharest :—" The Russians will cross the Danube below Giurgevo to take Rustjouck by assault. They also intend crossing the river near Rassuva. The two banks are occupied by four divisions of infantry, two of cavalry, two of artil lery, and the 3d and 4th corps with eighteen bat teries. Prince Paskiewitsch, who arrived here on the 16th, will be present, it is said, at the passage. The flotilla of the Danube will second the opera tions. The positions of Kalaradsch and Giurgevo are to be visited by the Prince. The accounts from the Turkish army at Kars, in Asia, are far from satisfactory. General Guyon had indeed succeeded in forming new cBrps, and pro ducing bodies of well-organised troops, out of the discordant and heterogeneous elements with which he had to deal ; but what could even he effect against famine and its attendant sickness, which were continually sweeping off some of his force ? The winter meanwhile continued with unabated severity there, and thus precluded any relief from reaching there from the land side. Even at Erze roum itself there was the utmost difficulty in pro curing provisions at any price. board the Government ships built on purpose to convey them. They are stowed away in these vessels in the spaces left unoccupied by cargo, partitions, coals, &c.; instead of being placed between decks- with plenty of hammock room, and the comfort of the officers in fin e saloons and ample berths is gained at the cost of com fort on the p ar t o f th e men. I n the same way , w henever the soldiers are obliged to land, they are subject to the delay, discomfort, and even danger of ill-managed shore boats instead of being carried drily and comfortably in paddle-box boats, or in men of war launches. Then the sailors complai n o f b e i ng penne d up b y t h e m en, a nd_of the great increas e o f l a b our i n was hi ng and cleaning the vessel, as well as o f many o th er things which the marine habit of fault-finding with sojers' will suggest to the fancy. A d an dy new ship, all brass work and paint, with gold an d map l e and papier mache drawing' rooms, is certain to suffer when employed as a trap-' port for 1,000 men, w ith ammun iti on and arms. If vernment dockyard engineers could only build engine that would keep in order now and then, or if the Li: . afaue- 9 , vernment would always employ men like Penn, lay, or Napier, they ought to maintain a fleet of 12 goo steamers to act as transports. There will be plenty t 0 be done with them as long as we have colonies and ch tant empires to manage. We have always troopes7l sea, troops coming h ome or go i ng ou t, and a Pow n . e , maritime nation lik e ourse l ves s h ou ld t a ke shame to other nations doing that which we are unwilling to a . ef fect. At thi s ver y moment there is a good de _l . , _ 1 anxiety felt her e concern i ng th e o ffi cers an d men 01 the Rifle Brig a d e , w h o sa il e d i n t h e Si r G eo rge Polloex sailing vessel the other day from Malta. "No one would be at all uneasy if it were known they had embarked i n a man o f war — even t h oug h it was the Simoom. The French, however they ms•nage it,are able to send very muc h greater numbers of men, th ou g h they pack their ships too much, and have small and in sufficient vessels in use. sera " On Thursday there was a geteral hunt for g uar de d through the town. M r. Calvert, the Consul, at tended by dragoman and interpreter, and a train of l od ga seekers, went from house to house but it was not the eye h a d got accustomed to they gener al style of the buildings an d fit t i ngs that any of them see med wil , ;oe. ato accept the places offered them. The General got a very fine place in a beau quartier, with a view of an old Turk_ . on a counter looking at his toes in perpetual perspecti7 Colonel Sullivan and staff were equally sucees ehl t .., From one learn all. The hall door, which quated concern—not affording any particular resistance to the air to speak of —opens on an apartment with clay walls of about 10 feet high, and of the length and bre° of the whole house. It is garnished with the odds a nd ends of the domestic deity—with empty barrels, " e casks of home-made wine, buckets, baskets, &C. it ' t side a rough staircase, creaking at every step, condo fit one to a saloon on the first floor. This is of the plai ne o f pr ints possible appearance. On the sides are stuck is an an the Nicolaus ho basileus,' and of the Virgin au! Child (after th e G ree k sc h oo l) , w i th won d er f u l 0 4 1.5 - '1 ings from Jerusalem. There is no other furniture. may be observed, that as the schism between the Gr eek Catholic and the Roman Catholic Churches arose out of the discussion of an intricate question on the s ubtlest point of theology, th ey fight bitterly o n matters of veil fine distinction y e t. Th us the Greeks are iconoclasts, and hate images, but they adore pictures. A Yer Jonah, in a crimson whale with fiery entrails, is favourite subject for these artists, and doubtless beare some allegoric a l meaning. From this saloon open the two or three r o o ms o f the house—the kitchen, the diva n ' and the principal bed-room. The floors are covered with matting, but w ith th e exception of the cus hions on the raised pl a tf orm round the wall of the r e°Ee (about eighteen inches from the floor), th e re is noth in g else in th e rooms o ff erred for general competition to the public. Above are dark attics --voila tout? ...DIY apartment wo u ld f orm a study for Dr. Reid or .51 Gurney. If they wan t to understand the true pri nci p le of keeping up a current of fresh air everywhere, let them at once come ou t t o Gallipoli, and become my suc ees. sers in the p ossess i on o f this remarkable chamber. True, the walls are of mud and straw, and the staircase has been devised expressly for the purpose of entrapPil the first he av y T ur k who may happen to stride up. -„ is the thinn es t wood-work possible. Water is som e w e ' off, and th e philosophers if not provided with servant who can speak the language, and an allowance of ratio'ns from her Majesty's stores, may be seen soon after their arrival stalking up the street with as much dignity es is compatible with the circumstance of their carrying a sheep's liver on a stick in one hand, some lard i n the other, and a loaf of black bread in their arms—at least your correspondent had to adopt that course or die of hunger the other day. There is not s uch a thing as a pound of butter in the whole country, meat is very scarce, fowls impossible, but the country v ine is fair enough; eggs are not so rare as might ";," imagined from the want of poultry. Lieutenant -Gene ral Brown is in one of these houses ; Colonel Sullivan and staff in another. Officers coming out here shout,. know what they have to expect. Let them provide themselves with e v er ythi ng t h ey are likely to wan t, for they will find nothing at Gallipoli. The nights am' mornings are cold even yet, and the thermometer in t i r shade does not mark beyond 57°. Indeed the s pring l e not near so far advanced as it is in England, and t he trees and shrubs are only just beginning to bud. Ther e is no chance of getting horses at present for love or money—indeed, comfort or necessary accommodation ja out of the question. In every respect the French an teach us a lesson in these matters. While our sick men have not a mattress to lie upon and are literally without blankets, the French are well provided for. We have no medical comforts none were forwarded from Malta—and so, when a poor fellow was sink ing, the other day the doctor had to go to the General's and get a bottle of wine for him. The hospi tal sergeant was sent out with a sovereign to buy coffee, sugar, and other things of the kind for the sick, but he could not get them, as no change was to be had in the place. After this it is annoying to visit the French hospital, and see them so well prepared. Everything requisite is nicely made up in small p a ckages; so that they can be carried on mules' beams and are marked with labels, so that one can lay his hand on what is wanted in a minute. They are very troublesome in getting what they wan t ' and already some little difficulties have arisen from their desire to lay hold of everything. Dr. Alexander has managed to get beds for about 200 patients in different houses, and lie goes down to-day with Mr. Calvert to the Dardanells to look at the building which is destined for the principal medical establishment. I regret to say* there are two cases of smallpox in hospital, b u t they are going on f avoura bl y ; t h ey came from the Golden Fleece. The French and English are generally very healthy, and th e t own an d ne i ghbourhood are said to enjoy great freedom from sickness and disease. Friday last th e G enera l v i s i ted the site of the camp, an d quarters were appropriated to various officers of the staff in the town. forms about two feet from the ground, by the water's Ige or up the main streets, as well as in the shops of the bazaar (one of the passages' or arcades already de maribed), see that they have no slippers on, nothing but stint woollen hose, their feet gear being left on the ground below ; shawl turbans (one or two being green, For the real descendant of the Prophet), fur-lined flow ing coats, and bright-hued sashes round the waist, in which are to be stuck silver-sheathed yataghans and or namented Damascus pistols—don't let them move more their eyes, or express any emotion at the sight of any thing except an English lady ; then gather a noisy, pic turesque, and active crowd of fez-capped Greeks, in baggy blue breeches, smart jackets, sashes, and rich vests—of soberly dressed Armenians—of intellectual looking Jews, with keen flashing eyes—Chasseurs de Vincennes, Zouaves, British riflemen, Vivandieres, Sap pers and Miners, Nubian slaves, camel drivers, commis saries, officers, and sailors, and direct them in streams through the streets round the little islets in which the smoking Turks are harboured, and you will do much to populate the place. It will be observed there are no women mentioned, but children are not by any means wanting—on the contrary, there is a glut pf them, in the Greek quarter particularly, and now and then a bundle of clothes, in yellow leather boots, and covered at the top with a piece of white linen, may be seen moving about which you will do well to believe contains a woman neither young nor pretty. Dogs, so large, savage, tailless, hairy, and curiously-shaped, that Womb well could make a fortune out of them if aided by any clever zoological nomenclator, prowling along the shore and walking through the shallow water, in which stands a herd of bullocks and buffaloes, waiting till the araba or cart is ready for them—six French steamers, and three French transports, with the tricolor flying, and the paddle-box boats full of troops on their way to land —a solitary English steamer, with the red ensign, at anchor in the bay, and some Greek polaccas, with their beautiful white sails and trim rig, flying down thestraits, which are here about threeand a half miles broad, so that the villageson the rich swelling hill of the Asia Minor side are plainly visible ; all these must be added, and then the picture is tolerably complete. In truth, it is a wretched place--picturesque to a degree, but like all picturesque things or places, horribly uncomfortable. The French came first, and like all first-comers they are the best served. When the Golden Fleece came in on Thursday night there was no pilot to show her where to anchor, and it was nearly an hour ere she ran out her cable in 19 fathoms water. No one came off to her, for it was after midnight, and there was something depressing in thiS silent reception of the first British army that ever landed on the shores of these straits. As we entered the portals of the Dardanelles, and rushed swiftly up between its dark banks, crowned with mountain ridges looming through the darkness, we tried to catch their form and discern the outline of the villages on its shores. The sentinels on the forts and along the ridges chal lenged loudly—shouting to each other to be on the alert —the band of the Rifles all the while playing the latest fashionable polkas, or making the rocks acquainted with Rule Britannia,' and God save the Queen.' But al/ these things ceased at Gaillpoli, and when morning, came we only felt sorry that nature had made it a desir able place for us to land at. The tricolor was floating right and left, and the blue coats of the French were well marked on shore, the long lines of bullock carts stealing along the strand towards their camp making it evident that they were taking care of themselves. As it happened, our active, intelligent, and able Consul had gone to the tower of the Dardanelles to look for us, but we had escaped him in the dark. The first thing that happened after the visit of the commissaries was charac teristic. The General desired to send for the Consul, but the only way of doing so was by water, and the only vessel available for the purpose was a small Turkish Imperial steamer near us. The consul's dragoman, a grand-looking Israelite, prepare& to go on the expe dition, but the engineer on board had just managed to break his leg. He therefore requested the loan of our en gineer, as no one could be found to undertake the care of the steamer's engines, and after a successful cruise he re turned in the evening with the Consul, Mr. Calvert, on board. Now, will it be credited, that no instructions were sent to the Consul to prepare for the reception of this force at Gallipoli ? And yet lam assured such is the case. The only steps taken by 'the authorities' were to send two commissary officers, without interpre ters or staff, to the town a few days before the troops actually landed to make provision for them. These offi cers could not speak the language, nor were they fur nished with any facilities for making themselves intelli gible—their proceedings, therefore, in all matters of purchase, hire, or contract, were necessarily very slow, and considering the pressure of the French demands it is very wonderful they were so successful. However, the English Consul was, fortunately, a man of energy ; he came to . Gallipoli, and found the French had literally got hold of the town from the Turkish Council. It is affirmed here, indeed, that so vigorously did General Canrobert speak in making requisitions for his army, that the Pasha asked him whether the French were come as allies to assist, or were come to treat them as a conquered province.' The story further goes that Gen. Canrobert next day sent an aide-de-camp to the Pasha to say 'he was in command of an army and a soldier, and had perhaps spoken too warmly ; 2 and that the Pasha (Roostum) replied, that he too was a soldier, and had been in command of an army, but that he never could have considered these circumstances justified the use of such language.' This by way of parenthesis. Mr. Cal vert went to the Turkish Council, reminding them that there were British troops yet to come, and succeeded in having half the quarters in the town reserved to him for their use. Next day he visited and marked off the houses ; but on his return the French authorities said they had made a mistake as to the portion of the town they had handed over to him, and he of course had to yield and give them up. They have the Turkish part of the town, close to the water, with an honest and favour able population—the English have got the Greek quar ter, further up the bill, and perhaps the healthier, with dexterous' tradesmen, and a population which hates them bitterly, and regards them as foes quartered on them by force of arms. Mr. Calvert was aided con siderably in his efforts by an officer of Royal En gineers, the Hon. Captain Wrettesiey, who has been surveying this neighbourhood and the surface of the isthmus since the departure of Sir J. Burgoyne. I have great hesitation in expressing an opinion on a subject of such difficulty as the selection of a position for an army of occupation or defence, but in one or two important particulars the site (said to be fixed upon by Sir J. Burgoyne and Colonel Ardent) seems in my eyes unfavourable. It is obviously difficult to get supplies to the men defending it from the country—they must be brought by sea or across from Asia Minor. Next, it is not well provided with water ; and, thirdly, there is a want of wood as well as of shelter. The line of entrenchments which are to be thrown up across the neck of the Isthmus will take three months for our dis posable force to make. Some alterations in the original plans are said to have been proposed in General Vail lant's office in Paris ; but it is understood, that at or near the line passing right across the front of the British 'camp from the Straits to the Gulf of Saros are to be erected a series of field works and entrenchments of con siderable magnitude. The camp I speak of is that occu pied by the Rifles and Sappers and Miners, within three miles of the village of Bulair (or Blejar). It is on a gen tle slope of the hilly ridge which runs along ,the Isth mus, and commands a view of the Gulf of Saros, but the sea of Marmora is not visible from it. Sanitary and certain other considerations may have rendered it advis able not to select this village itself, or some point closer to it, as the position for the camp ; but as far as I can see, the Isthmus is narrower at Bulari, could be more easily defended, would not require so much time or la bour to put it into a good state of defence, and is better adapted for an army as regards shelter and water than the position chosen at present. Of course I say this with great deference to the opinion of the very high authorities who chose the ground, and I would not ex press it at all were I not emboldened to do so by the fact that I heard it stated Sir John Burgoyne was not engaged more than 10 minutes examining the spot. Bulari is 101 miles from Gallipoli, so the camp is about 71 from the port at which its supplies are landed, and where its reinforcements arrive. However, they are talking of building some works on the coast, - so as to enable troops to be disembarked within a couple of miles from the camp ; and the engineers have also drawn out a plan for a new pier at Gallipoli, at which boats could come close up and land men and horses with greater facility than at present. " Sir George Brown, commanding First Division Bri tish Expeditionary Army, Colonel Sullivan, Assist.- Adjutant-General, Dr. Alexander, first-class Staff-Sur geon, Captain Whitmore, Aide-de-Camp, &c., the Rifle Brigade, and two companies of Sappers and Miners, under Lieutenant-Colonel Victor, arrived as we have seen on Wednesday night (Thursday morning), but it was mid-day on Saturday ere the troops were landed and sent to their quarters. Why was this ? Because nothing was ready for them ! The force consisted of only some thousand and odd men ; and small as it was, owing to the fault of 'somebody or other,' it had to lie idle for two days and a half watching the sea gulls, or with half averted eye regarding the ceaseless acti vity of the French, the daily arrival of their steamers, the rapid transmission of their seamen by the paddle box boats of their vessels to shore, and the admirable co mpleteness of all their arrangements in every detail hospitals for the sick, bread and biscuit bakeries, wag gon trains for carrying stores and baggage, every ne cessary and every comfort indeed to be had the moment their ships came in—not a British pendant was afloat in the harbour ? Our great naval State was represented by a single steamer belonging to a private company. Well might a Turkish boatman ask, 'Oh, why is this ? Oh, why is this, young man ? By the beard of the Prophet, for the sake of your father's father, tell me, Oh, English Lord, how is it ? The French infidels have got one, two, three, four, five, six, seven ships, with fierce little soldiers ; the English infidels, who say they can defile the graves of th ese F rench (may Heaven avert it !), and who are big as the giants of Asli, have only one big ship. Do they tell lies ?' (Such was the translation given to me of my interesting waterman's address). It is all very well to talk about the fine moral effect of developing the energies of the country and relying on the effects of private enterprise, but the thing is not understood abroad (perhaps not much at home either), and experience convinces me, as it has convinced every one who has seen the system at work, that it would be far better for the G- vernment, even at an increased expense of some" thousands a year, to keep up an efficient steam transport navy in time of peace, than to derange the operations and channels of commerce, and disturb the communications and work ings of our great mercantile associations, by seizing on their ships in times of war. Soldiers suffer by it—sailors complain of it—the officers of the ships don't like it— and the companies grumble internally, and talk auout the damage and loss they sustain in consequence of their best vessels being engaged as transports. The soldiers suffer by . .he system, because they never are so well pro vided with sleeping and other accommodation on board the very best and largest of these vessels as they are on " On Saturday the Rifles and Sapper's and Miners commenced disembarking, and were ready by, tverc ; o'clock f or th e route. They reached the camp au°,u_. five o'clock. an d p i tc h e d their tents in a hurry ere dusk' The three leading companies, however, missed their way; and went th ree m il es too far. At night the co ld I severely felt. Lady Errol, who accompanies her bus" band, and lives under canvass with him, was an object of great curiosity and wonder to the Turks as she rode off from the beach. The 44th pitched their tents close to the town last night, but will move off to-day. All the neighbouring hills are dotted with the tents of the French. As M. Sabatior bas given it as big opinion that th ere i s only water at Bulari and the lines for a brigade, General Canrobert has proposed that the works should be carried on by three rinaants from each army at a time, the English to be reli t by till French, and so on. Captain Wrottesley has discovs rea a stream som e way f rom the site of the larger camp . The Kangaroo is landing her men to-day. She came in, after a goo d run, last night, and re ports a barq ue like the Sir George Pollock in the Doro passage. The Vulcan, having disembarked the 44th and 50th, returns this evening to Malta. We are, cheated horribly in the exchanges. The French, - however, have stuck up a tariff of prices, and have even established a restaurant for the officers, &c., where they can dine and breakfast at reasonable rates." LETTER FROM THE BLACK SEA FLEET. When it was known that Admiral Dundah w ould have to enter the Black Sea, Captain Brock, an officer well acquainted with it, was sent out to the Admiral to assist in its navigation. The captain is related to some of the most distinguished families in Guernsey. The following is an interesting extract from a private letter from Capt. Brock to 0 , relative in that island, and which was published in the Guernsey Star, of Saturday last : " Kavarna, Black Sea, March 28, 1854. "We had a most interesting cruize in the Black Sea, and on my return I bad circumnavigated the Black Sea, the only Englishman in the fleet that can say so , thanks to my havi ng b een kept going. We coasted in the Sampso n t o reconnoitre the Russian forts along the coasts of Georgia and Circassia, and were witnesses of the Circassians burning a Russian fort, which we after wards learnt had been evacuated by the Russians it was a b eaut if u l sight, and with the magni fi cen t scenery in the back-ground, formed „ aplea did spect ac l e . W e did not then know that i i the R uss i ans h a il evacuated the place ; and, of courae , upposed that th e Ci rcass i ans h a d stormed i t and plitZi_ to the sw or d ; b ut we were a f terwards undeceive d . "' saw some oth er f or t s i n fl ames , an d at l ast, my p a tience being exp en d e d an d cur i os i ty exc i ted to the utm ost, I prevail e d on th e ca pt a i n t o g i ve me a b oa t, spite of the prognostications th a t t h e Ci rcass i ans would take us for Russians, and shoot us. In vain did I try to make the interpreters accompany me ; at last, in despair, I was going alone, wh en t h e i nterpreter o f the French steamer in company with us, went with me. IC was then dark, which increased the risk, but it was neces sary to obtain some clue to their extraordinary rzeceed ings. We pulled in close for the burning fort ; when within musket shot they began firing pistols and muskets to warn us off ; but I stood up and waved the boat's ensign ever my head, and held out my alms, shouting as lr.aid or louder , than they. We pulled right on shore ; they seemed uncertain what to do, and after many signs a man ad vanced on a white horse, and firing his arms in the air and reloading them before he came neer, dis mounted and came into the water, with an axe in his hand. Before even knowing what I wanted I jumped on his neck and made him carry me on shore, which be did to his and my great astonishment. I have no doubt I. must have astonished his weak mind by my weight, arr./ his comrades by my appearance. Being called, however they ran to me, and I told them we were friends to tLem and enemies to Russia. This set them all alive, and such embracing and kissing were never seen. We learnt from them thht the Russians had, of their own accord, evacuated this fort the day before, and that therefore they had destroyed it as a hatred sign of the oppressor's rule. I never before MIT 'inch a fierce looking set, be This is a day of national humiliation. It is a fitting opportunity for the sacrifice of the pride, which alone induces them to prolong the hope- ess contest. Let them yield, then, with , good grace. If th e y d o , th ere are abundant grounds for legislative inquiry, and for the enact- ment of laws calculated to place the relations of labour and capital on a just and proper founda- WINDSOR, TUESDAY. —The birthday of her Royal Highness Princess Alice was celebrated here to-day with the customary honours. A Royal salute was fired at noon from Fort Belvidere, which was answered by the Adelaide frigate on Virginia Water. A Royal salute was also fired from the Corporation Ordnance by the Town Bombardier in the Bachelor's-acre, and the bells of St. George and St. John's churches sent forth their merry peals at intervals throughout the day. The Duchess of Sutherland, accompanied by the youthful Lords Albert and Leveson Gower, arrived yes terday at Stafford House, St. James's, from Clifden House. The Duke and Duchess of Hamilton, who have been visiting her Grace's maternal parent, the Grand Dowager Duchess Stephanie of Baden, at Paris, and participating in the Imperial hospitalities at the Tuileries, are ex pected in town. NEW ORDER IN COUNCIL.—The publication of the new order in council, distinctly specifying the articles to which the prohibition against the export of munitions of war is intended to apply, gave great satisfaction in the City yesterday. It promises entirely to remove the perplexities lately complained of by the firms in the iron trade, as well as by the shippers of copper and other metals, and, if carried out in a rational spirit by the Customs authorities at the various ports, will bring the inconveniences to be sustained within the narrowest possible limits. - A WAR GAZETTE.-----The Naval and Military Gazetta says :—" We have been informed that the promotions consequent upon the recommendations of the commis sion will appear in the Gazette on the 28th instant, and that an annual full-pay retirement will be granted, in fixed proportions, for each branch of the service. We are, however, inclined to think that whatever promotion is contemplated will not appear before the Queen's birth day, on the 24th of next month. However, many speak confidently that the Gazette of the 28th instant is to be the first great Gazette of the war. We give the news as we have heard it." POST -OFFICE RETU RNS. — According to the Parlia mentary returns, there are in the United Kingdom 986 post-offices and 6,612 receiving -houses for letters ; 1,810 of these post-offices and receiving -houses are money order offices. The number of letters which pass through the post-office department in the course of a year is nearly 400,000,000. The number of miles which mails travel over railways in a year is about 7,000,000. The length of the English ocean mail lines is 55,000 mi l es . The English ocean mail packets traverse 1,600,000 miles annually. The number of money orders issued yearly is 5,000,000. The number of ap plications for missing letters during twelve months is nearly 10,000. The net revenue of the Post-office is now above 1,000,0001. a year, and the cost of manage ment 1,400, 001. ; the pay to year,railway d companies steam packet ime for conveying mails is 320 , 000/. ment a packet companies 8510,0 is nearly oOl. oThl,o The amount and the o o u o nt l o f money orders issued annually yearly revenue derived from orders is 80,000/. The value of propertycommissioncoonntaimneodneiny missing letters during twelve months is about 200,000/. THE OVERLAND MAIL. MARSEILLES, Tuesday.—The Indian. Mail arrived at 6 a.m. AUSTRALIA. PLYMOUTH, Tuesday. —The Statesman, Captain Godfrey, arrived off Falmouth this morning, and landed a mail in a pilot boat, which was forwarded by the mail coach to Plymouth, thence by mail train to London. She brings 10,000 ounces of gold on freight. The dates by the Statesman are to the 26th January, and are therefore old. ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA. r It was in the Elisir d'Amore of Donizetti that Madame Bosio made her first appearance in this country, and Adina no doubt will always be one of her most popular and attractive characters. To the skill and flexibility of Persiani this excellent vocalist adds a richness of voice which her celebrated predecessor never had. Whatever reservations in praise her earliest performances coun selled they are assuredly not necessary now. Singing more perfect or more beautiful than that of Mdlle. Bosio last night could not have been experienced from mortal vocalist. There was nothing more to be done in the shape of executancy ; and the airy music of Donizetti, so gay, so pleasant, and so felicitously associated with the vola tile personages who figure i❑ the story, floated in the ears of the listener with every grace that art could give it. The acting of Mdlle. Bosio was also another ele ment of success. She delineated the village coquette with easy and lively freedom, and made the lovelorn Nemorino jealous with the prettiest cruelty imaginable. Since the days of Persiani we have had no representa- tive of this pleasant heroine so well enabled to be stow upon the music its most sparkling charm. Ronconi's Dulcamara has long since exhausted praise. This prince of buffos has carved out a portrait of the great charlatan which, in its way, we can never hope to see equalled. It is as unlike the reading of Lablache as possible, whose sublime and patronising magnificence gives place to petty waggery, the multitudinous conceits of which, notwithstanding the close affinity they have to the arts of the farceur, are provocatives of mirth that the gravest would find it difficult to resist. Ronconi was as comic as ever last night. His humours were as profuse as they could well be ; and the spectators laughed as of yore at his extempore drolleries in the "LT dite, u dite, o rustici," when he sings the virtues of his nostrums, and practises tooth-drawing on the lout who is standing by. His vocalism was, as it invariably is in these broadly buffo parts, admirable ; and we have met with few of his particular class who preserve the music so exactly amid the half-spoken grotesqueries with which he clothes it. Tagliafico was the Belcore, and Luclsesi the Nemorino. We have had the latter part better filled no doubt, but Luchesi has much improved since he was here in 1353. BAYIVIARKET THEATRE. London Assurance, a comedy the dash and animal spirit of which always exhilirates an audience, was re vived here last night, and the only noticeable point is the cast of the characters, although it is very well put on the stage as regards scenery and furniture. The chief character of the play on its original pro duction was amongst the women—Lady Qay Spanker. written for the charming laugh and elegant gaiety of an actress no longer on the stage. Her animal spirits, without coarseness—her abandon of manner, with the Perfect innocence of a Diana-like woman—and her love of mischief; without malice or vice—were peculiar to her. For a young actress to undertake a part so espe cially associated with so great a favourite, is perilous ; but Miss Featherstone has the one great qualification, a natural hilarity of spirit, and her beaming eyes and laughing voice are animated by a spirit naturally and innocently joyous. With this she carried her audience with her, and gave the gaiety, if not the high finesse of the part. Time will do much for her in such characters, if she only acquires power to improve her elocution, and elaborate the various niceties such a part affords the actress of genius. Sir Harcourt Courtley was, formerly, also a remarkable portrait, as given by Farren—a mix ture of artificiality and animal passions, with a tone in it that smacked of the old school. Mr. Chippendale gave a very fair version of the debauchee of fine manners and reckless morals, and made up capitally. There can be no doubt that, if this sensible and observant actor had a full opportunity of displaying his talents, we should have a finished and characteristic actor. His version of the old rake was effective, and appreciated by the audience. Mr. Buckstone's representation of the cypher husband of Lady Gay Spanker was good in its drunken imbecility. Mr. Howe was extremely successful in Charles Courtley, and Mr. G. Vandenhoff was the Dazzle. Mr. Rogers was hearty as Sir Max Harkaway, and Mr. Clark made a character of Carl. Mr. Compton gained the usual amount of laughter in Meddle, and Miss Howard, as Grace Harkaway looked ladylike. Mr. Chippendale spoke the tag very effectively, and the curtain went down to great applause. The house was good, and her Majesty and Prince Albert were present. The new burlesque, and the Portrait of Cervantez, concluded the evening's entertainment. CRIMINAL OFFENDERS FOR THE MILITIA. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. SIR,-It has been suggested that prisoners of a certain class might be taken from the gaols of the kingdom, and made to perform the duties of militiamen. The sugges tion is a most excellent one, and if it should be adopted offenders against the game laws should be at once se lected. It is notorious that the gaols in the rural dis tricts give shelter to large numbers who have been con victed (and perhaps for the first time) of this offence, and many of them are doubtless otherwise honest and industrious men. Once convicted of poaching, farmers, in too many instances, are deterred from giving the offenders employment, lest they might be supposed by their landlord to be countenancing the offence. Being then without the means of obtaining a livelihood, poach ing is again resorted to. Hence fowl-stealing, sheep stealing, &c., until they become the most hardened offenders. The game laws have produced more rural thieves than all other causes put together. The Peter borough city gaol is generally largely supplied with poachers from the estate of the Marquis of Exeter, &c., and the county is put to much expense by their main tenance in gaol and their families in the union-house. Easton, near Stamford, April 25. air EXTENSIVE FIRE NEAR THE BRITISH MIISEIIM.—A fire of a very destructive character, and nearly attended with the loss of several lives, happened on Tuesday morning in the premises occupied by Mr. Davenport, a wholesale chemist, carrying on an extensive business at No. 33, Great Russell-street, Bloomsbury, near the British Museum. The discovery was made by police constable 90, of the E division, who lost no time in arousing the inmates, but by the time they were made aware of their impending danger the whole of the lower part of the house was enveloped in flames, so that it was utterly impracticable for any one to descend by the stair case. Fortunately, a neighbour named Mitchell, together with two others of the names of Morris and Lane, suc ceeded in saving, by means of a timber plank, a person living in the first-floor, and also another who had descended from the top of the premises to the before-named com partment. The escape of the Royal Society for the Pre servation of Life from Fire attended with as little delay as possible, and several engines of the London Brigade and that of the West of England followed in rapid suc cession, and, owing to the praiseworthy exertions of the conductors of the escape, the whole of the persons remaining in the upper portion of the house were carried down in safety, and thereby escaped a most fearful death. The engines under the superintendence of Mr. Colt and Mr. Connerton went to work in a most admirable manner, but the flames could not be conquered until nearly three o'clock this morning, and not until the premises in which the disaster originated were all but destroyed, and the adjoining houses on either side considerably damaged by fire, water, and hasty remo val. The total loss must amount to a considerable sum, as the building in which the fire began was six floors high, including the basement. Mr. Superintendent Foxlove and Inspector Wilkinson kept a great crowd of spectators out of danger, and also out of the way of the firemen. THE BALTIC. COPENHAGEN, Tuesday, April 25:—Helsingfors is nearly open. Eighteen prizes have been taken in the Baltic. HAMBURG, April 24. Yesterday the English cruizers captured three more Russian merchant vessels. It was affirmed at Copenhagen, that among the prizes last made two of them were found to be freighted with war materials. Admiral Napier, it was said, had lately received information from Eng land that several vessels had been recently freighted in different ports with projectiles or other contra band of war, for the purpose of taking them to Russia. The first appearance of the English fleet before the Swedish island of Gothland gave rise to a mis take which might have had deplorable results. The Swedish Government, resolved on causing its neu trality to be respected, had given instructions for the purpose to the various officers in command of the troops. When the English fleet appeared at Fahro Sound, some one told General Dahstrom, the governor of the island, that English soldiers would soon laud. On the instant the general ordered his troops to repair to different points along the shore, so as to oppose such an attempt by force. The fleet, of course, did not make any such attempt, but stood away to the offing. THE WEATHER IN THE BALTIC. Subjoined are the latest advices received in re ference to the state of the navigation in the Baltic : HELSINGFORS, April 13.—The navigation has com menced very early, but the part of the bays and narrow waters are still covered with strong ice. BOLDERAA, April IG, (a.m.)—The open spaces in the sea ice are getting larger, and several vessels are under sail in them. The sea channel is still firm. The Duna River is completely free of ice as far as above the White Church. The drift of ice is but slow. Wind W. Depth of water in the fairway, 134 feet. Temperature, three degs. of warmth, (p.m.) There has been a drift of ice hire for a few hours, but the stream was so slack that the ice drifting down had not power enough to break through that in the Channel to sea, which continues firm, and the bay and mouth of the river are filled with ice, and the ice near the Poderas seems as though it had heaped. The wind blowing fresh at N. has driven the large masses of ice, and the vessels enclosed therein, close to the coast, and has enclosed all the open spaces. 17th.—Since yester day afternoon the state of the ice has not changed. The vessels remain closed therein, and several of them are close in on the Courland coast. The ice is drifting down the river, but slowly—and that which comes down runs in the mouth of the river and bay. The channel to sea remains firm. Wind N., depth of water 13 feet, 3 degs, cold. MALTA. MALTA, APRIL 22.—Generals Evans, Campbell, Eyre, and Pennefather have arrived. The 88th, 7th, 23d, 95th, and 13th regiments have left. Three battalions of the Guards left this morning for Scutari. Prince Napoleon and General Prim arrived on the 20th, and left on the same night. THE BRITISH EXPEDITION. The following is from the Constantinople correspon dent of the Times : " GALLIPOLI, APRIL 10.—Take dilapidated out-houses of the farmers' yards in England, remove rickety old wooden tenements of Holywell-street, Wych-street, and the Borough—catch up, wherever you can, any seedy, cracked, shutterless structure of planks and tiles that have escaped the ravages of time in our cathedral towns —carry off sheds and stalls from Billingsgate, and add to them the huts along the shores of the Thames be tween London-bridge and Greenwich, bring them all to the European side of the Straits of the Dardanelles, and having pitched on the most exposed portion of the coast, on a bare round hill, sloping away to the water's edge, with scarcely tree or sh ru b , tumble them higgledy piggledy' on its declivity, in such wise that the streets may resemble, on a large scale, the devious traces of a bookworm through some old tome—let the roadway be very narrow, of irregularly varying breadth, according to the bulgings and projections of the houses, and filled with large round slippery stones, painful and hazardous to walk upon—here and and there borrow a dirty gutter from a back street in Boulogne —let the houses in parts lean across to each other so that the tiles meet, or that a few plank s th rown across from over the doorways unite and form a sort of passage' or arcade--steal some of our popular monuments, the shafts of various national testimonials or Irish round towers—surround them with a light gallery about 12 feet from the top, put on a large extinguisher-shaped roof, paint them all white, and having thus made them into minarets, clap them down into the maze of buildings,—then let fall . big stones all ov er t h e place—plant little w i n d m ill s with odd-looking sails on the crests of the hill over the town —transport the ruins of a feudal fortress from northern Italy and put it in the centre of the town with a flanking tower extending to the water's edge — erect a few build ings of wood by the water-side to serve as cafe, Custom-house, and Government stores—and when you have done this, you have to all appearance imitated the process by which the town of Gallipoli was created. The receipt, if tried, will be found to answer beyond belief. To fill it up yo u mu s t, however, catch a number of the biggest b reec h e d , longest b ear d e d, dirtiest, and stateliest o ld T urks (to be had at any price in the Ottoman empire), p rol id e th e m with pipes, and keep them smoking all day PA little wooden stages or plat COURT CIRCULAR. The Duchess of Kent paid a visit of congratulation to the Queen at Buckingham Palace, early yesterday, the birthday of her Royal Highness the Princess Alice. Her Majesty and his Royal Highness Pi ince Albert, accompanied by the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal, Prince Alfred, and the P r i ncess Ali ce, went at one o'clock to pay a congratulatory visit to the Duchess of Gloucester, at Gloucester House, on the return of her Royal Highness's natal day. The Queen and Prince were attended by Lord Charles Fitzroy, Lieut.-Colonel F. H. Seymour, and Mr. Gibbs. The Queen and Prince Albert left the palace at half past three o'clock, for the Crystal Palace at Sydenham. Her Majesty and his Royal Highness were accom panied by the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal, the Princess Alice, and Prince Alfred, and were attended by Lady Caroline Barrington and the equerries in waiting. The royal party returned at half•past six o'clock. Her Majesty and his Royal Highness Prince Albert, accompanied by the Princess Royal and the Princess Alice, honoured the Haymarket Theatre with their pre sence last evening. The royal suite consisted of the Countess of Charlemont, the Hon. Lucy Kerr, Lord de Tabley, Lord Charles Fitzroy, and Lieutenant-Colonel F. H. Seymour. The Countess of Charlemont has succeeded the Coun tess of Desart as the lady in waiting to her Majesty. Lord De Tabley and Colonel the Hon. A. N. Hood have relieved the Earl of Listowel and Major-General Berke ley Drummond as the lord and groom in waiting. Her Majesty's private band was in attendance in the palace on Monday evening, and played the following selection . I Overture, " Idomeneo" Mozart. Selection, " Marco Spada" Auber. Romance, "Guido et Genevra" Halevy. Gruss im Alpenlande—march Hubner. Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent visited the Duchess of Gloucester yesterday, at her residence Glou cester-house, Piccadilly. The Chancellor of the Exchequer had a dinner party last evening at his official residence in Downing -street. The company consisted of Lord Ernest Bruce, M.P., Mr. Keogh, Mr. J. S. Brickwood, Mr. R. Phillimore, M.P., Mr. Monsell, M.P., Lord John Thynne, Mr. John Wood, Mr. Delane, the Rev. Mr. Cureton, Mr. Anderson, Mr. Shelley, Mr. Greenwood, Mr. Cowper, M.P., and Dr. Jelf. Despatches were received at the Colonial•ofsce yes terday from the Governors of Australia. HER MAJESTY'S VISIT TO THE CRYSTAL PALACE. Yesterday her Majesty, accompanied by his Royal Highness Prince Albert, the Princess Royal, the Prince of Wales, Princess Alice, and Prince Alfred, and attended by Lady Caroline Barrington and the Equerries in Waiting, paid an unexpected visit to the works of the Crystal Palace and grounds. Her 3fajesty, whose in tention to visit the works was only announced a few moments before her arrival, was received at the building by Mr. Laing, the chairman ; Mr. Fuller, the ma naging director ; and Mr. Scott Russell, one of the directors of the company ; Sir Joseph Paxton, Mr. Belshaw, Mr. Milner, and others. Upon entering the building, her Majesty, who had not yet had an opportunity of seeing the central transept after the re moval of the scaffolding, appeared to be highly pleased with the bold proportions and magnificent appearance of this portion of the structure ; and the contractors, in the person of Mr. Cochrane, were highly compli mented on the completion of their arduous and diffi cult undertaking. The Royal party next visited the various courts of ancient art, through which they were conducted by Mr. Owen Jones, and the Greek and Ro man courts, with their classic beauty and exquisite colouring, and the effectively arranged statues, received in the most marked manner the approval of her Majesty. Those colossal emblems of power, the winged human headed bulls, with their striking red and black colours ; the profusely foliated columns of Persepolis, and the gorgeously-decorated ceiling and cornices which form such prominent features in the Assyrian Court of Mr. Fergusson, was examined with much interest. Cross ing the nave, Mr. Digby Wyatt led the Royal party through the courts devoted to Christian art, pointing out the most remarkable of their highly interesting contents. Her Majesty having expressed a desire to visit the grounds, proceeded along the upper and lower terraces, and with some difficulty, but with evident delight, tra versed the rough, stony walks, the uneven tramways, the deep cuttings, the unformed slopes and hollow basins, and mountains of loose earth, which now abound in such interesting variety in the park, until she arrived at the bottom of the lake which the antediluvian monsters have selected as the place of their abode. There Sir Joseph Paxton and Mr. Waterhouse Hawkins had an opportu nity of explaining in concise terms all the technicalities of primary, secondary, and tertiary formations, and the mysteries of antediluvian existence. A giant ich thyosaurus, rejoicing in a grand sy s t em o f un fi n i s h e d iridescent lecoration, with several men working busily on his screw-propeller tail, did not fail to attract due notice, and to lead to some inquiries as to the particular style of colouring which the animal would ultimately display. The theory of Mr. Owen Jones with respect to the decoration of these monsters is, that those of them which were preyed upon by others ought to be a dull colour, in order that they might not attract the notice of their devourers, while those which were accustomed to chase their interesting dinosaurian brethren ought to be of a gay or lively colour. This is conformable to experience ; for the Nimrods of the present day are decorated with scarlet coats and white breeches, but the stag or fox is deficient in those vivid colours. On returning to the building, Mr. P. Delamotte, the eminent photographer, presented to her Majesty two splendid collodion plates of the nave and exterior of the building. These plates, 24 by 18 inches, are the largest that have yet been taken. We do not remember ever to have seen plates of such excellence. Up to the very roof of the building, the smallest detail was distinctly marked, every sash, bar, and fracture in the ten thousand squares of glass were as plainly and distinctly shown as in a photograph of the ordinary size. The view of the nave of the building was not less beautiful, and the groups of statues, the network of the roof, and the lattice girders were admirably pourtrayed. Some idea of the extent of the plates and of the difficulty in procuring a perfect representation will be formed from the fact that the diameter of the lens employed in the camera was not less than eight inches. Mr. Delamotte has been for the past eighteen months almost daily employed in taking views of different parts of the building and of the most remarkable of the statues and works of art, and copies of the most interesting of these will be placed in the building for sale, at such prices as will place them within reach of the humblest class of visitors, who will thus be enabled to replace those wretched prints and coloured daubs which abound in the dwellings of the poorer classes for accurate repre sentations of works of art. Her Majesty expressed herself highly pleased with the plates, and Prince Albert made several practical inquiries as to their mani pulation. Her Majesty and the Royal party were loudly cheered, on leaving the building, by a large concourse of persons who had assembled round the Royal carriages. As we intimated on Monday, it is intended to open the Crystal Palace on Saturday, the 27th of May. It was also decided yesterday that the company should undertake the supply of refreshments in the building. Mr. Horne, of the Lord Warden, of Dover, has been appointed superintendent of the department. The part of the building to be occupied by the refreshment rooms are at the end and along the sides of each wing. MILITARY SAVINGS BANKS.—From a recently printed return, it s eems th at the funded proper ty b e l ong i ng t o military savings banks amounts to 219,0451. 3s. EDUCATIONAL EXHIBITION.—The subcommittee for classification met at the rooms of the Society of Arts on Tuesday, at 5 o'clock,—present—Professor Willis (in the chair), the Rev. J. Barlow, Mr. Chester, Rev. S. Clark, Mr. C. Wentworth Dilke, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Ed ward Hughes, Mr. J. Reynolds, Mr. T. Twining, jun., and Mr. J. Waley—when it was determined to issue forthwith a classified list of objects for exhibition. The sub-committee for correspondence also met on the same day ; present—Lord Ebrington (in the chair), Lord Berriedale, Mr. Joseph Kay, Mr. F. R. Sandford, and Mr, E. C. Tufnell. grimme bearded by the destroy ing up t darkneE parted all unal but the] they we inform a ships re eontinui With all respite, returnee and hen the Rus takin g c PREN Arta is Out, as for ce su