The Sun. — London, England, 1863-12-15 00:00:00

THE SOUTH .ERN CONFEDERACY. (From the Sloe cial Correspondent of the Times.) RICHMOND, Nov. 14. The Confeder ette States are evidently approaching a stage in the s war which will test more than ever ' the stub borne .ess and tenacity of their temper and patience, an? A can only be successfully encountered by a nation , Al spirit as systematic as it is resolrate. Their enee ay, with as much pertinacity, and far more saga city than heretofore, hems in the edges of the " rebe Ilion" on every side, avoids the frequent recurretaro, of pitched battle and general engage ments, p ounces with hawk-like swoop upon isolated and inadequately supported bodies of men, evinces possession of admirable secret information, keeps the Confederate generals eanstantly on the rack, and, harrassed by irruptions of cavalry, makes his supe riority of numbers, and still more his abundance of supplies for horse and man, more and more felt, and finally is investing the ports of Secessia with a cor don of veesels so numerous as for the first time in 30 months to make access to the Confederate coast really dangerou s and difficult. On the other hand, in rebeldoee itself the Federals have a powerful ally in ehecumstances which, to my thinking, have from the beginning quadrupled the magnitude of the Confederate task. No one who has been con versant with the Northern States during the 2/ years can have failed to notice with astonishment the fai th stronger than death which the Northerners have exhibited in their " star," their " manifest destiny," their " religion," their Alpha and Omega, their dream of dominion from sea to sea, and (to quote) Mr. Everett's words) " from the icy Pole to the flaming belt of the Equator." No parallel faith has ever been exhibited by the Confederate States in their future. Six great Southern victories in the field and three drawn battles, exhausting the nine principal collisions of the war, the entire absence of any such panic routs as Bull Run or Claicamauga, the tried inefficacy of the Federal blockade, the un molested pr e d il t or y fli g ht of Alabamas and Floridas at sea, hive a2ttogetber failed to inspire the masses of the South. w i t h a tithe of that confidence in them selves whic'a neither defeat, nor disaster, nor hope deferred, u ,or illusions dispelled, have ever shaken out of the Northerners. Deny it who may, there is somett' lug sublime in this shadowy earnestness and mis'zy magnificence of Northern faith and self relianc ee Would that I could see promises of future and final Southern triumph in any corresponding quF,'.ity of the Southern mind! In many fashions So atnera unfaith crops up and recoils upon the Con te:aerate Government, making, for instance, Mr. m emee inger's task, though he takes his stand upon re.w material worth 60 or 70 millions of pounds sterling, Herculean as compared with Mr. Chase's, who issues vsetiy larger promises to pay on a security of breadstuff exports worth only 60 or 70 millions of dollars. 'There are, of course, other reasons to account for the fact that three dollars in " green backs" wil I buy two dollars in gold, while it requires 30 paper 'dollars of the Confederacy to buy a like sum ; but, this fundamental explanation of the dis crepancy in value of the irredeemable paper issues elf the two sections lies in the vastly superior faith to themselves of the Northern people. For months we have heard throughout the Confederacy the cuckoo cry, " D something to arrest the deprecia tion of the currency, or we perish ;'' bat hitherto nothing has been done, and, as is now seen by every body, we are on the brink of a precipice. It is univer- S ally admitted t hat the country is richer in everything that constitutes wealth than it was 12 months ago; that there is a sufficiency of meat and far greater abundance of cereals than last year; that fruit and vegettebles has been granted us in unusual abundance, that Ctichmond has supplies of coal and weed vastly in e xcess of those laid in against last winter—in proof of which I may mention that the streets are now as well lighted as those of London, whereas last year their Cimmerian darkness was a favourite V:eme ,of the New York. Herald; but in spite of these facts unfaith in Confederate currency grows apace, the farmers refuse to part with their crops on any terms, flour fetches 100 dols. per barrel, and is rising, bacon is close on 3 dols. a lb., everything is proportionately dear, and nothing plentiful, save Confederate currency, until at last a woman going to market has been heard to exclaim, "I carry a *basket to market to hold my mouey, and I carry a pocket-book to fetch home the slice of beef which it bays." In this emergency all eyes turn to the Confede rate Congress, which meets upon the 7th of Decem ber ; and never was grAver question submitted to a deliberative assembly than that which awaits its immediate discussion. Some 800 or 900 rnilliontvot dollars are afloat in a community which could with difficulty sustain a circulation of 200 millions, and, worse than all, Mr. Memminger's paper mill is harder at work than ever, until the dorair, which now represents a value of fourpence English, pro mires shortly to be worth only four * farthings. The redundant currency has somehow to be funded, fresh issues to be suspended, a limited amount of circulat ing medium to be put forth, and a solemn pledge given that this amount shall not hereafter be ex ceeded. I am bound to record thct the people are id a temper to stand extravagant taxation. For m any weeks past the Confederate Cabinet has been e :erly engaged in di s cussing and e xcogitating a '" ale of relief, and a financial convention of the presidents of Southern banks is to assemble at Augu ste otl tho 16th inst. I have reason to think that soa ve : each plan as the following has found favour in tic i;1 be giv t e l'e eyes of influential men. Authority n to the Secretary of the Tr e asury to issue 1,000 millions of 6 p er cen t. c ou p o n b on d s , and simulta nee Y to impose an annual tax of 5 per cent. on real and personal estate capitalised, of which tax one-b5l a _:s . to ba paid in currency and the other half i n loan. There Will or coupons of the 1,000 million per e be indu ce m en t s o ff ere d (such as a bonus of 5 r o t-) at once to buy up or so much of th e existi ng conver t currency into this, eireu h lt , x and it is hoped that redt ti e on will be quickly retired as wil l immediatel y e prices , and admit of a limit being put to the outstandi ng currency. Other details of this scheme tli a „. d its outline. ein abundance but, concisely state is not far from what ' I have sketched. My own appreh ension is that it will not be prompt and drastic enou gh in its opera tion to sweep away at once the vast r edund ancy of the currency, to inspire confidence in a distrustful people, and to bring supplies promptly . into muse... If it fails there is no alternative left for the ( - s rver !_ meat but to seize and impress whatever. it Wa nts it will b e i t : . with a high hand, and to this step Yankee, by the pelled, rather than yield to the hated almost unanimous voice of the Confederate people. It was long ago remarked by Machiavelli that no people once embarked in war is ever forced into peace by reason of pecuniary inanition, and never were there nations less amenable to considerations of cash than the two sections of a sundered republic, which three years ago exhibited an average of indi vidual wealth among its citizens such as could be found nowhere else upon earth. The embarrassments of the Confederates in adjusting their currency, in getting the supplies which abound in distant Florida and elsewhere up to the mouths which need them, and in introducing through an increasinglystringent blockade all that is vital for the continued struggle, 144 y be, and probably will be, grievous and per- Vezi_ng that they will be such as to extinguish or paralyse future resistance will not be lightly cre dited by one who knows what difficulties have already b e en surmounted, what shortcomings sup .T.,leint„.e_T what energy and ingenuity di s pl a y e d. ported .capture of the two principal G vernment v e ,, sele o engaged in runt 7eich have since January last been /Bede. nearly fifty the blockade, and which have doubtless be held ul, r oan t d voyages between them, will -eat instance of , ) aa tigland by Mr. Seward as ee vigour; and yet it re galia rgu charity o e „. e. , as effective such a aS has been f or I' l 7 bUilia and Ginsa month s pierced at will by the ,--or a ors as she has recent! u c ,i , L ee Robert E. L„ tocm _ recently c.t te less fresh - vessels will soon b e 0143, Go vcrnme Yleg the behests and in of the Ordnance Bureau, the teeancrne such is the glut of blocgading goods ietrod_ecei in to u t u h ! e ' by the vessels belongi ng to Confederacypriv ate that I understand there dre , h . e n m p , ullB nao_ wristnous ed We e ,- fl Cr en cargoes they meal in.' a rise :Li prices b e fire are offers tor vor since the t-Ftiih i ih!i7f'n2 or Ameri e , te „, ,;, tit bran. a gr SCN. LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 15, 1863. dies and wines in Richmond, Augusta, and many other cities as at this moment. The blockade-running seems about to be intermitted, not so much by reason of the increased energy &I the blockading squadrons as of the fact that the Southern market is glutted by the goods already introduced. The principal alteration since I left the army of Gen. Bragg is the capture by the Federals of Racoon Mountain, and the erection by the Confederates of batteries on the summit of Lookout Mountain. Three weeks ago when I was there, the Confederate batteries were not more than half-way up the mountain, and were principally directed against the Federal batteries on Moccasin Bond. But the necessity of sweeping the valley between the two mountains, and of commanding the stream called Lookout Creek, which divides Lookout and Racoon Mountains, and across which the extreme Confederate left now faces the extreme Federal right, rendered it necessary for the Confederates to haul artillery to the summit of Look out—a laborious feat, which was successfully accom plished by Colonel Alexander, Acting Chief of Artillery to General Longetreet, an active and valuable officer, But I cannot conceal my own in], pression that very little energy has been shown by the Confederate Government in their operations against Knoxville and Eastern Tennessee, Suc cesses have been gained at London by the Confede rates, and it would seem that nothing more was re quired to drive Burnside out of Knoxville than a hearty and harmonious co-operation between Gene ral Stephenson, who is at London, and General Sam Jones, who is in Western Virginia. But no energy, no enterprise, has in this quarter been exhibited, although I am assured by officers attached to Jones's command that, in their opinion 10,000 Confederates could sweep East Tennessee clear of Federals. I fear that the harmony of action between the armies of Generals Lee and Bragg, which has been repre sented in England as existing, is as imaginary as the transfer to and fro from Virginia to Tennessee, and back from Tennessee to Virginia, of General Longstreet and his corps. They who have witnessed the slowness and difficulty which accompany the movement of army corps, who are cognisant of the weeks which such an upheaval exacts, will under stand the impossibility of any such strategy as the Confederates have been credited with. Great as has been the acumen exhibited by the English press throughout this war in sifting Northern versions of the news,—an acumen which has often been com mended in my hearing since I came to the South, — you have yet to learn that in regard to the number of the Confederate troops engaged, and to the Con federate generals in command, there is often in Northern accounts of battles not one grain or ves tige of truth. General Lee is lying in his intrenched camp to the south of the Rapidan, threatened alarmingly by the thunders of the Northern press, and feebly by the movements of Gen. Meade. We are promised a battle from day to day by the editors of either section. I have myself the greatest doubts whether an action is imminent. Nevertheless, there is no manner of question that Meade is urged forward from Washington in very much the same fashion as was Burnside 12 months ago. Possibly Meade's resent success against two Confederate brigades (Hoke's and Hay's), which were left in an exposed position to the north of the Rappahannock River, may tempt him on to a battle. If he attacks Gen. Lee a repetition of the battle of Fredericksburg assuredly awaits him. But there are indications that Meade would rather be displaced than forced to initiate battle against his better judgment. His sudden pounce upon Hoke's and Hay's brigades on the 7th inst. was admirably conceived and executed, and resulted in placing in Gen. Meade's hands a larger number of " butternut " prisoners (about 1,700) than have ever hitherto been captured by Federal Generals in Virginia, Assuming that Gen. Langstreet's operations against Gen. Sherman are successful, I incline to the belief that rain and snow will put an extinguisher upon active operations East or West, without any such battles as Frede ricksburg or Murfreesborougb, which signalised the last December ; and that a long winter of discontent is about to settle down upon both sections, of which the coming drift and complicated history lie hidden more deeply and inscrutably from human ken than ever yet was the future shroudec from the eys of men. The French in the Mediterranean. -~ - A letter from Nice, dated Dec. 10, says : What has become of English enterprise ? our countrymen are asking. It is not only M. Ferdi nand Lesseps who seems bent on realising the grande idee of converting the Mediterranean into a French lake ; every month sees the formation of some new steam packet service, conducted with Frerch capital and with an unusual amount of French energy. The Messageries Imperiales, pos sessing a fleet of excellent boats, have long had a kind of monopoly of the Mediterranean traffic; and at last, now when competition is created, strange to say, it owes its origin to the French and not to the English. Posted up on every wall may be seen programmes of the new companies of Valery and Frassinet, who undertake to traverse the whole Mediterranean. There is not a port of any im portance on the Spanish and Italian eoast which is not daily visited by one or other of these great rival companies. The people begin to asso ciate the tricolour with anew commercial era. All the passengers are English—all the boats are French. It is to. France that the tourist tribe are indebted for the means of gratifying their classical tastes, and for converting every sheltered olive and orange-clad nook on the shores of the Mediterra nean into an English colony. It is truly to be regretted that this ample field for English enterprise has been, strange to say, ne glected. We might fairly have imagined that these energetic Englishmen in wide-awakes and wide pockets, who elbow their way through the Conti nent, would have carried some of their love of mari time speculation with them. Wherever they can plant their foot their money is scattered broadcast around them, but they seem to mistrust the treach erous blue waters. On the mountain side, on the glittering, glistening coast of the littoral, every rood of ground, worth anything for profit or residence, maintains its Englishman. Monster hotels are found in secluded dells, Protestant churches and even chapels of ease invite the eloquence of our itinerant and consumptive countrymen along the southern shores af France. From Marseilles to the new_ geographical boundary of F ra nc e , b eyon d b lentone, the English language in all its v ar i ous dial ecta and patois is alone spoken. On the rail- I N'S the engineers are English; the guards, the porters,• yelle r dialog e , boys, those En mterpret in English the wishes of the t the Conti B n l e l l ' i li vi le il. he is looking out in his guide for the - cab dzitela shall express his wants; donkey Anglais pour vaudeville, the at the h re, anit e t omnibus conductors, indulge in hotel ene:diPtrhreeastasiulAnsngwhich are associated on rire j eer familiar conversation. The mii:izdatill the style of the French lais the welcome guest English alone are the , s an . e. The English and the vellouseccentricities ar : f : )r _il i eged class ; their mar or enthusiseti:ltveelle ; where low-hatted Frenchtusht off by a sergeant-de-villa, me an, would be taken e!Rcial exclaim s , " Bob ciest un Anglais, and pass e i But once on the sea, the Enaiite m, , element, it is very different. Where he eh natura l ould be most at home, he f eels himself a stranger; all hi e swagger about the "flag that braved a. thous and years," Sze., must be forgotten ; he i s Prot • by the tricolour, and walks on French planks; h protected must forget his English hours, his English habits al.o e and for the time suppress his in tense natio nality' It is hard to find ourselves driven away from th e high road of the East and to know that, f rom Gibraltar to the Bosphorus, the French are fast being considered the dominant maritime race. The annexation of Savoy and Nice has been at tended with inure important consequences than we anticipated. Nice and the smaller towns on the coast afford to foreigners proofs of the wonderful results of French skill and French progress; the public gardens spring into new life, touched by the hand of French taste; the Var, whose banks have so often witnessed th e s p ec t ac l e o f r i val arm i es , which saw the gallant gathering of the gentlemen of Provence, when, under the Marshal Belleisle. They drove the Austrians across the turbid pr.d swollen river, must be surprised to find its torrent confined by immense dykes which oppose a barrier to the floods which in winter devastate the plains, All this is the work of the French, and the Italians are beginning to appreciate the advantages of their civilization. It is true that it costs them dearly. One cannot belong to a country full of les grandes tdees without paying a high price for it. The poor myriads, having pilfered all their lives, find theirgend gendarmery a e e r n y r e o f t a F k e r n from a ne r e o in a t k h e e mTh t . h e ei r e g troops and those hose happy days when they were the governing race, before the Frenchwere sp c o a il l s le . d in to take the lion's share of the English Lord Clarence Paget on the Naval Reserve. A large and fashionable company assembled yesterday afternoon on board the Thames Marine Officers' training ship Worcester, off Erith, to witness the presentation of the prizes to the young cadets of the school by Rear-Admiral Lord Clarence Paget, C. 8., M.P. The ceremony took place on the main deck, which was appropriately decorated with flags and evergreens. Sir Jas. Duke, M.P., was called upon to preside—and in addition to Lord Clarence Paget there were present, Mr. Henry Green (the Chairman of the Committee), Admiral Hall, nr. W. Phillipps, Capt. Lean, R.N., Mr. W. Bullivant (the Hon. Secretary)—.and a number of the officers of the Royal Naval Reserve attended in uniform. The young cadets (about 50) were ranged in the middle of the deck. The CHAIRMAN briefly opened the proceedings. Mr. BULLIVANT, the Hon. Secretary, read the report of Mr. Muggeridge, of Greewich, as to the examination and proficiency of the lads. Captain DOMETT, of the London Local Marine Board of the Port of London, the other examiner of the boys, also gave the result of his examination of the boys, which was highly satisfactory. Lord CLARENCE PAGET, who on rising was received with considerable applause, said he had been engaged during a somewhat long life upon various public objects, and could safely say that he had never undertaken a duty with greater and more sincere pleasure than the duty which he was about that day to undertake. Having adverted to the success of a similar institution at Liverpool, which had led him to aid, in concert with the late Mr. Richard Green, in estab ishing one also in the Thames, he said it was almost unnecessary for him to dilate upon the great importance of such institu tions as this in their great naval ports. There could be no doubt that hitherto they had been somewhat behindhand in the matter; for when they considered the vast amount of their commerce, the enormous size and the vast number of their merchant ships, every lover of his country would agree with him that it was high time that such institutions as this were established at all the principal ports, and it was with feelings of great gratification that he now witnessed there that day what had long been witnessed in Liverpool, and what he trusted he should witness in other great ports of the country. After a few words of exhortation to the youths before him on the nature of their future career, and warning them against the dangers and temptations to which they would be exposed, he proceeded to impress upon them the importance of attending to their studies, more espe cially as regarded mathematics and mechanics. In continu ation, he charged them all to attend particularly to the use of the steam-engine, and to lose no opportunity of making themselves acquainted with its details. There were also many other branches of mechanics eminently useful, and he trusted that, inasmuch as they had no such advantages of education in his (Lord C. Paget's) younger days, they would so benefit by them as to arrive at the highest possi ble position which they could attain in the particular branch of service to which their attention would necessarily be de voted, lie might add a good deal more with respect to other branches of science equally important; but he must remind them that there was one thing of greater importance than all science, and his last words to them should be the expres sion of a hope that they would remember the Giver of All Good, for no man he believed could be happy then, and he was certain that no man could be happy hereafter, who did not love his God. (Hear.) Therefore he recommended his young friends strongly, while they were pursuing their worldly studies, not to forget that other and far more impor • taut study, the study of the Word of God. He had the greatest confidence in the success of an institution conducted and supported as this was, not only by the individual sub scribers to the institution, but by public opinion as to the necessity of such institutions in this country. Of its ultimate success he had no doubt whatever, and he ear nestly requested the committee, for reasons which he should advert to in addressing the Naval Reserve, that they would not omit to teach and show the science to those young men which was becoming most useful, namely, the science of gunnery, This was the first public occasion on which he had, so to speak, had an opportunity of making personal acquaintance with the officers of the Naval Reserve, and he could assure them that it gave him the most sincere pleasure to be enabled on the present occasion to meet them all face to face. (Cheers.) They were aware that they had in the creation of this magnificent force many difficulties to en counter, and he was sure that they would give him the credit for being an earnest and a zealous supporter of this great and important movement. They could not, of course, expect to arrive at perfection all at once. They (the Go • vernment) had had various difficulties to get through, and many prejudices to get over. He was sure that when he stated in a few words some of those difficulties, so far from having any cause for dissatisfaction, they had every cause to be perfectly satisfied with the progress which the move ment had made. Assuming, however, that there were some who were a little dissatisfied with the terms on which they entered the service, or the severity of its drill, yet he Was persuaded that they would, all patriotic and public spirited 88 they were, waive any little feeling of dissatis faction, and make common cause with the Government, doing everything that lay in their power to forward the movement ; while, on the other hand, he could assure them that the Government were most anxious to meet their wishes on every point consistently with their duty to the public interests. For instance, he knew they were put to inconvenience by repeated drills, He was quite aware, and the Government were perfectly aware, that an intelli gent body of educated men, who were quite equal in all respects to the officers of the Royal navy, when they set to work with a will and were determined to master the subject, it needed not that they should treat them in the matter of examination in the same manner in which they would treat those who were beneath them or who did not move in their position in life. They were all aware that when they had once made themselves masters of the subject, it would be quite sufficient that, in order to receive their annual certificate of competency, an examination of a much less irksome nature would be sufficient. Of these things they (the Government) were perfectly aware, and her Majesty's Government had at that moment a code of regulations whereby they were endeavour ing to get over such difficulties of detail as he was describ ing. (Cheers.) There were other matters, on which perhaps he had better not enlarge upon the present occasion, viz., the question of the flag they should carry. He would state generally what the Government desired. They desired to see a British ship carry a flag by which, whatever port she might enter, whether she be a ship belonging to the Royal navy or to the mercantile marine, it should be known that she was manned by the first officers and the finest seamen in the service; and they knew what would be the result of that. The desire of the Government was that their grand merchant ships should enter ports all over the world, the officers being everywhere recognised as belonging to the Naval Reserve. (Cheers) There were other matters, matters connected with promotion, and so on. They were perfectly aware that in whatever position of life they were placed, every man must look forward to some promotion—it was inherent in the nature of man that he should do so. All that he wanted them to know was that these things were not negleeted. The Government asked them to look ahead, and to believe that if their services were performed faithfully and honestly to the Crown promotion would be granted to them. (Cheers.) Those were matters upon which he entered with them frankly as a friend, because he would tell them that from the very first he had looked on the reserve as the main stay of the country. He did not want to be mistaken. He trusted that they would not think for a moment he wished any one to suppose that he thought the Naval Reserve should supplant the navy. It must be an auxiliary to the navy. That was the position of the Naval Reserve. He would tell them what he looked forward to see. and that was the broad sea covered with British merchant ships car rying rich cargoes hoisting the invincible reserve flag, and which would not any longer want convoys, but should convoy one another. He looked forward to the day when every captain of a large ship and his officers should possess a thorough knowledge of gunnery, so that no hostile vessel should dare to meddle with them, and if at any time an enemy had the temerity to come near, they (the Govern ment) should find in their hands and arms the very safety of the country. He believed that they must go on, and they were going on. True it was they did not shaw such a mag nificent force as the volunteers who were performing drills in public every day, and therefore were constantly before it and got remarked upon ; but he assured them that the very highest personage in the realm took the deepest possible in terest in the Naval Reserve. (Cheers.) No one took a d o id re a , ie v, s t . : deeper interest in its success than did her Majesty the Queen, and her inquiries were constant as to its progress. (Cheers.) He was sure that of itself was quite sufficient to induce them to come forward ; and when they heard of pre judice in regard to matters to which he had adverted, do not let that prevent. them coming forward in the present condi tionand he thou of this noble institution. (Cheers.) The noble and gallant lord then presented the prizes to the successful can- Alfredr" their difficishft,4 n tii T a rt il TRIVET begged,nebinob l e l 0 r d a skarn theoffi officer exertions otnhse hehadNaval R madee - ttee, the in establishin e reserve and assisting them in overcoming Theyh now wanted nothing more than a head, officers and men o f ht would gladden the hearts of all the yal Naval Reserve if his Royal (C cmitted them to enrol his august n aLe te a r t s t o h m ei e r head. a from Highness Princ e Admiral Hall and Mr. 11. Green, usual vote of thanks to the chairman of the ie c tl eta th t : Ship she an b y lnd of Mr. Green' the chairman closed the proceedings. ng cadets manned workmen played the yiut liaenotaihpe COURT OF SESSION. PTN.--F. R. SIM (SINE'S FACTOR.) This petition was presented last week by a judicial factor appointed under the Pupils' Protection Act, for the pur pose of hating his bond of caution cancelled, and a new bond by the National Guarantee and Suretyship Associa tion taken in its stead. The case was reported by Lord Barcaple, on account of the importance of the question whether bonds by a company of limited liability could be accepted by the Court. Counsel was beard in support of the application. It was maintained that, as this company was registered in terms of the " Companies Act, 1862," it came under the provi sion of the 27th section of the Pupils' Pretection Act, which provides that the Court shall authorise, if they deem it expedient, " bonds or policies of the British Guarantee Association, or other public company incorporated by act of Parliament or Royal Charter, carrying on business within Scotland, to be accepted and taken instead of bonds of cau tion by private individuals." Under the 18th section of the Companies Act, this company must be held to be " incor porated by act of Parliament." This view has been taken by the Parliamentary committees, who now deal with banks registered under this act as in the same position as " banks established by act of Parlia ment or Royal Chartei." One obj€ct of the act was to save companies the expense of obtaining a private Act of Parliament for themselves ; and it is expressly provided by sec. 18 that upon registration of the memoran dum of association the subscribers shall thereupon be "a body corporate." Accordingly, Mr. Thomson argued, the Court has power to take the bond of this company, the only question remaining is—ls it expedient to do so ? Now, that must be ascertained in the usual way, which is by remitting to the accountant of court, and getting his report. In the present case that has been done, and the report of the ac countant is in every way favourable to the application. He is satisfied of the respectability and responsibility of the company, and both he and the Lord Ordinary concur in thinking that their bond may be safely taken. In the pre sent instance there seems to be only one element of difficulty This is a company of limited liability. This is not thought by the accountant to present any practical difficulty, and in that view the Lord Ordinary concurs. In the case of a pri vate cautioner, the accountant can only satisfy himself from the ostensible character or supposed circumstances of the person at the time, and these must frequently prove deceptive. Even where the sufficiency of the party is at first undoubted, unfortunate circumstances too often occur to alter his position. Again, where the circum stances of the party are positively known to be suffi cient for the obligation undertaken, and likely to continue so, it remains unknown how many other cautionary obligations he may have undertaken. None of these objections apply to a public company, and accordingly, so far as the question is one of general expediency, th ere seems no doubt of the desirableness of substituting b on d s by a public company for those by private persons, Th e re sponsibility and sufficiency of a company may be j u d ge d o f and ascertained in the same way as that of a private person. In the present case, the factory funds are not large, and there seems no doubt that the association is amply sufficient for the amount. Mr. Thomson also read to the Court sta tistics of the present financial condition of the company. The Lord President said he had great difficulty about the case, It was a novel one, and the whole system of com panies with limited liability was as yet untried. There was here a cautioner already, and he thought that at present the safe course was to refuse the application. Lord Dees doubted whether a company merely incorpo rated under the Companies Act could be held to be " in corporated by Act of Parliament" in the sense of the Pupils' Protection Act. There appears to be no doubt of the per fect respectability of this company, but the last-mentioned Act seems to contemplate a company with a private Act of its own, as to whose condition the Government has satis fied itself. Mr. Thompson has very properly admitted that the British Guarantee Association had a private Act, con taining very express provisions, and its shareholders were liable to the full extent of their fortunes. I do it with re luctance, but it seems to me that, looking to the whole cir cumstances of the case, we must refuse this application. Lord Curriehill concurred, and observed that he was glad that in this case they were able to decide on principle, with out suggesting any doubt as to the perfect respectability of the company. He was unable to hold teat where the liability of the shareholders of a company was limited to the amount of the shares, its bonds =ld be accepted by the Court. Counsel for the petitioners, Mr. Comrie Thomson; agents, Messrs. Duncan and Dewar, W.S. and without the least temptation, as to the time the act was committed he was in the receipt of wages to the amount of two guineas per week. He then sentenced him to be im prisoned and kept to hard labour for 12 months. John Double, 53, was charged with bigamy. Mr. Laly prosecuted; and the prisoner was defended by Mr. Collins. This was a very remarkable case. It appeared that the prisoner was married to his first wife at Ipswich in 1842, and that they lived together for 16 years, when they separated. The prisoner was married a second time in March, 1859, and it appeared that the brother of the first wife was pre sent at both the marriages, and gave both the brides away, and he said that he explained to the second wife that the prisoner had been married before, and that his wife was living, but notwithstandiag this she persisted in having the ceremony performed. The second wife said she had no complaint to make against the prisoner, and that he had been a good husband to her; and it appeared that she and the prisoner had co habited together for 12 months previous to the second mar riage. The jury found the prisoner Guilty. The prisoner was sentenced to a month's imprisonment. THE MURDER IN THE WATERLOO-ROAD. At the close of the business, the Grand Jury brought in, amongst others, a true bill against Samuel Wright, for wilful murder. This is the melancholy case which took place on Sunday morning last, the prisoner having been examined and committed at once upon that charge. The Recorder informed the Grand Jury that as there was no more business for them, he would release them from further attendance, which he had great pleasure in doing at so early a period. One of the gentlemen of the Grand Jury thanked his lordship, and asked permission to mention a matter which might perhaps be deemed rather absurd, but nevertheless he could not help mentioning it. He, with his brother jurymen, were glad at being released so soi,n, and they thought with him, that when they came to serve their coun try, it was rather hard that they should be charged such enormous prices for refreshments. They had been called upon to pay the sum of ls. for a sandwich, for which, any where else, they ought only to have paid 21d. It was a paltry sum in itself, and it was not the money that they looked at; but it appeared to them to be a principle which ought not to pass without observation. The Recorder said it certainly was a large amount for a sandwich, and it was very desirable that the subject should have been mentioned, as the witnesses were, no doubt, liable to the same overcharge. CRIMINAL COURT.—Dec. 14. Richard Parnham Ridley, 33, a gentlemanly-looking man, described as a soldier, and who, it appeared, formerly held a commission in one of her Majesty's dragoon regiments, was charged with having unlawfully:obtained, by false pretences, the sum of £3OO from a society called the British Mutual Loan and Investment Company, with intent to defraud them of that amount. There was a second charge against the defendant of hav ing unlawfully and wilfully made a false declaration. The defendant pleaded not guilty to both charges, and and the learned counsel for the prosecution elected to pro ceed upon the last-mentioned one. Mr. Giffard and Mr. M. Williams prosecuted, and Mr. Sleigh defended the prisoner. The learned counsel for the prosecution, in opening the case to the jury, explained to them that the charge was pre ferred under one of the sections of an act of Parliament passed in the reign of his late Majesty William IV., the ob • ject of which was to abolish the system of making voluntary oaths, and authorising, in lieu thereof, the m a ki ng o f decla rations, when such instruments were requi re d f ur t h e pur pose of perfecting o r explaining th e t i t l e to property ; and which at the same time enacted that any false statement upon a material matter made wilfully in such a declaration rendered the party making such false statement amenable to a charge of misdemeanor. It appeared that in the month of April of the present year the prisoner made an applica • tion through his solicitor, Mr. John Strutt, to the prose cutors for a loan of £3OO, and the security he proposed to give was his interest in one-fourth part of the sum of £3,000, to which he was entitled under the will of an uncle, and which would come into his possession upon the death of his mother, who was seventy years of age; and he stated in his proposal that the money was vested in Go vernment stock in the names of two trustees, his uncles, one of whom was dead. The propoaal was entertained by the company, and in the course of the negotiations that took place the defendant appeared to have expressed a wish that his uncle, the surviving trustee, might not be made ac quainted with the fact of his endeavouring to obtain money upon his reversion, as it might offend him, and damage his future prospects. The company having ascertained that the defendant was a person of respectability, consented to forego . the usual proceeding of giving notice to the trustee, and re quired, in lieu thereof, that the defendant should make a declaration that he had not previously encumbered the pro perty in any manner, an d he accordingly made a declar a ti on before one of the Masters i n Chancery appointed far thi s a n d h a d never encumb ere d t h e reversionary in other manner purposes, that h e i n which he declar e d i n t h e most positive terest in question in any way. Upon this being done the the prosecutors advanced the money, the arrangement for the repayment being that a certain sum should be paid by the defendant every month. No payments, it appeared, were made by the defendant, and this of course led to in quiries being made, which resulted in the discovery that on Nov. 6, 1860, the defendant had made an absolute sale of his reversion to the share of the funds in question for the sum of £l2O, and that the gentleman who purchased the reversion made a re-sale of his interest in it two years after wards by public auction for the sum of £125. A warrant for the apprehension of the defendant was then obtained at Guildhall, which was placed in the hands of Foulger, the City detective, but he was unable to execute it until a con siderable time afterwards, and it appeared that upon his meeting the defendant in the neighbourhood of Kilburn he ran off, and w as no t apprehen d e d un til a ft er a long chase, and when th e warrant was rea d to hi m he d e clared that hie name was not Ridley, and that he was e ntirel y i g norant of the transaction. Some evidence having been given, The Recorder summed up, and the jury almost immedi ately returned a verdict of guilty. His Lordship, in passing sentence, said that it was im • possible for the jury to have come to any other conclusion than the one they had arrived at. There could be no doubt that at the time he made the declaration he was fully entitled to the reversion to this money, that he must have known perfectly well that he had disposed of it, and had no right to make such a declaration ; and under the circumstances he telt it his duty to sentence him to be imprisoned for eight months. George Green, a respectable -looking elderly man, surren dered to take his trial upon the charge of having obtained money by false pretences. Mr. Metcalfe and Mr. Codd conducted the prosecution. Mr. Sleigh was counsel for the defendant. The prosecutors of this indictment were the trustees of a friendly society called the Journeymen Millwrights' Trade and Friendly Society, which holds its meetings at the Swan Tavern, Fish-street-hill. By one of the rules of this society it appeared that any member who has paid up his subscrip tions was entitled, when out of work, to be paid 10s. per week ; and the case on the part of the prosecution was, that the prisoner, during the months of February and March of the present year, had claimed and received several payments of 10s. weekly from the society, upon the representation that he was out of work, the fact being that he was in re gular employment at the time and in the receipt of two guineas per week wages. The evidence completely esta blished these facts against the prisoner. Mr. Sleigh said that, after the evidence that had been ad duced for the prosecution, he did not feel himself justified in occupying the time of the jury by addressing thew ; but he called some witnesses to speak to the character of the pri soner. The Jury having, without any hesitation, returned a ver dict of guilty. The Recorder addressed the prisoner, and said that he had been convicted of a most gross fraud. As a member of this society, it was his duty to have protected their funds, and prevented the society being imposed upon; but instead of doing this, it had been clearly proved that he had obtained several sums of money to which he hod no claim whatever, DESPERATE ENCOUNTERS. The Birmingham Daily Post gives an account of a des perate encounter with burglars early on Saturday morning last, at the residence of Mr. James Chivers, 45, Hagley road, Birmingham. It appears that Mr. and Mrs. Chivers, and their two daughters, had been sitting up late on Friday evening, and shortly beim e 12 o'clock they heard footsteps on the gravel walk in the front garden. Mr. Chivers looked out and saw two men on the causeway in front of the gate, and thinking it somewhat suspicious, he sat up while Mrs. Chivers and the daughters went to bed, and he took the pre caution to bring out a life-preserver which was in the house. A second time he heard footsteps behind the house, but the noise he made in unlocking the gate alarmed them, and they went away. As it was unlikely they would return after being disturbed twice, he returned, threw off his coat, waistcoat, and trousers, and sat down in an easy chair in the front sitting-room, toying with the life-preserver, while listening for further noises. In this position he must have fallen ar leep but how long he slept he knew not, as he was awakened by the barking of the dog. He felt very cold, and the life preserver in his hand reminded him of the previous fears. His first thought was that while he had been sleeping the thieves might have broken into the house. There was only a small nightlight burning in hie room. Mrs. Chivers was asleep, and all the other members of the household had re tired to rest. He believed and fancied he heard stealthy footsteps upon the landing outside. Without a moment's hesitation he opened the door, and in the darkness he dis cerned a man coming out of an ante-room which communi cates with the schoolroom. On the impulse of the moment, Mr. Chivers went towards him, put his hand upon his shoulder, and said, " Halloa." The fellow turn ed round, and striking Mr. Chivers a blow upon the head, made for the stairs. Fortunately the blow did not take the desired effect, and Mr. Chivers returned it with interest. Standing two or three steps above the burglar as he was descending the stairs, Mr. Chivers struck him such a swinging blow with the life-preserver upon the head that the fellow dropped, and would have fallen head foremost down the stairs, but that Mr. Chivers held him by the collar. It was almost a pity that Mr. Chivers showed so much considera • tion. For a few seconds the fellow was stunned, and Mr. Chivers thought he had killed him ; but he rallied suffi ciently to have an idea that the sooner he got out of the place the better, and, gathering himself up, he said, " 0, let me go." He staggered down stairs, bleeding profusely from the wound upon his head, and made for the kitchen, where the gas had been lighted, followed by Mr. Chivers. He went towards the scullery door, and there he fell down the steps, apparently confused by the effects of the blow, and Mr. Chivers fell with him. As soon as he found that Mr. Chivers was upon the ground, it seemed to occur to him that his best chance of getting away would be to disable that gentleman, and he rolled over him again and again, struck him in the mouth and upon the head, kicked him in a vital part, and tried to wrest the life pre server from him. He had tried to lay hold of a heavy wooden bar, which had been forced off in breaking open the scullery door, but Mr. Chivers kicked that out of his reach. In fact, they had a most desperate struggle upon the ground. Mr. Chivers thought he was pretty sure of his man, so he let him get up, telling him that it he did not keep quiet he would get another taste of the lite-preserver. The fellow then went into the yard, apiarently.with the intention of departing over the wall by the same way that he had got iu, but finding him self too weak for this he returned into the scullery, and sunk exhausted into a chair, Mr. Chivers still keeping close to him. At that moment a second burglar, who had up to this time, unknown to Mr. Chivers, been " getting a few things ready" in the front room, and had most probably only just heard the interruption, dashed into the kitchen, seized a heavy pair of tongs, and brandishing them over his head, said " You --, I will split your -- skull open if you come near me." Mr. Chivers had, on hearing the entrance of burglar No. 2, run up the steps from the scullery into the kitchen. He saw that the crisis had come, and without pausing to parley or even to consider, he dashed in at the fellow, and administering with his life-preserver such a crushing blow upon the fellow's shoulder that he dropped the tongs, his arm fell powerless, and he also sunk down writhing with agony. Mr. Chivers thinks he must have broken the ruffian's collar bone, for the contortions of his face were horrible. Two burglars were thus placed hors de combat, and the odds were all in favour of Mr. uhiveis,when the tables were turned by the entrance of a third burglar,who must have come from down stairs. At a glance this fellow seemed to comprehend the position of affairs. He saw one of his comrades almost senseless and smothered with blood, and another writhir g with a disabled arm. He picked up the tongs which the second man had dropped, and swore that if Mr. Chivers approached him he would make him a corpse at his feet. In this position they stood for a few seconds, looking at each other, and hesitating whether the deadly attack, for deadly it immediately would have been, would begin. This third burglar was a bigger and a more power ful man than either of the other two, and Mr. Chivers began to feel exhausted by the struggle. His mouth was so parched that he could not open his lips. He went back into the scullery, and held his mouth under the water tap to refresh himself. In that brief time the burglars had determined that they had better get away as soon as pos sible. On returning to the kitchen he saw the two last comers helping their broken-headed comrade into the hall, and out they went by the front door, which, by the way, they had previously unfastened to make good their escape it disturbed. Mr. Chivers followed his visitors to the door, watched them across the road, and saw them climb a wall on the opposite side. Mr. Chivers went back into the house, intending to dress and follow them, but a reaction after the ' previous excitement set in, and he became violently sick and ill. He remembers nothing turther until he found himself in bed next morning, his face and hands scratched, his body bruised, and his shirt smothered with blood, which had flowed from the head of the first burglar. The most singular thing is that neither Mrs. Chivers nor any of the family heard anything of the struggle. On coming downstairs and examining the premises, the operations of the thieves could be traced from beginning to end. They had made themselves at home in the pantry, paying great attention to the wine. From almost all the rooms they had Lken various articles, and had them packed up ready for removal. The probability is, that after having had their supper the three men made a thorough overhaul of the rooms down stairs, and having made their selections, burglar No. 3 was left to pack up while the other two went to reconnoitre and pick up waifs and strays in the upstairs department. Burglar No. 2 must have been on his voyage of discovery when the first man was caught, and No. 3 was so busy in getting the spoil together that he did not hear the struggle until the second man was disabled. As it was they had their labour in vain, and two of them have got a sound thrashing into the bar gain. It is fortunate for Mr. Chivers that he did not come upon the three men together, or he might have got roughly handled. The stairs, tne passage, the kitchen, and the scul lery wore literally covered with blood which had flown from the head of the first robber. Mr. Chivers has a few bruises and scratches, but nothing of serious moment. Its stature Mr. Chivers is below the average of small men. Horniman's Tea is choice and strong, moderate in price, and wholesome to use. These advantages have secured for this Tea a general preference. It is sold in Rackets by 2,280 Agents. [ADVERTISEDIENT.i—HoIIoway's Ointment and Pills. — It is admitted by every one who has personally tried these noble remedies for any eruptions, sores, ulcers, &c.. or who have witnessed their purifying and healing effects on otlaer! d suffer ing from such maladies, that nothing mo re can be e sired than these medicaments possess. The ointment re laxes and in laxes the swollen muscles, diminishes both red flammation, assuages pain and alleviates eve:41:1111er which Holloway's may have lasted for months or even ,! breauective singly— excellent preparations are stated resistless in conNnation—and havtheteobeen recommended by aflate_rnatives when all grateful patients to be sought as ilea, Their action other means of regaining health have is temperate—not violent or rodr SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS, TlMES.—Within a few hours the troops of the German Confederation will enter the Duchy of Hol stein as the army of execution of the Frankfort Diet. The Saxon contingent is on its march north wards, to be •followed by that of Hanover, and behind both are the Austrian and Prussian reser\ es of 52,000 men,to act as supports in case the Govern ment of Denmark should attempt to offer any re sistance. The Danes will not, we trust, provoke a collision with the great military Ps were of Ger many, and peace may still be preserved; though to occupy a neighbour's territory is, in the present state of Europe, a dangerous approach to hostilities. As in 1848, " War" is the word in Berlin. The Prussian army thirsts for an opportunity of dis tinguishing itself. Then, as now, the death of a Danish Sovereign precipitated a crisis it was pos sible for the Prussian Government, involved in a political conflict with the people, to turn to its own advantage. Then, as now, the Prussian army was moved to insure other objects than those avowed. As another chapter in the military history of Prus sia appears about to be opened, the incidents of the campaigns in the Duchies of 1848 and 1849 may have some interest if recalled. The Russian and Italian wars, Sebastopol, Solferino ' and the san guinary battles of the American Republic have been fought between the first German and Danish conflict and the present time. As military events, the engagements in the peninsula of Jutland do not make a large figure in the retrospect; but in 1848 Europe had been at peace for thirty years, and was startled by the first battles in the West since 1815. A Schleswig-Holstein war opened the era of strife through which we are now passing, and revives again to complicate its dangers. Frederick VII., over whom the grave has just closed, ascended the Danish throne on the 20th of January, 1848.' The Prussian revolution broke out in Berlin on the 18th of March. Between those two dates occurred the insurrection in the Duchies which produced the appeal to the Prussian Government for assistance. The Danes were not prepared to resist the movement in Holstein. The Go vernment had made no military preparations to meet it. The opinion had prevailed which the best policy was to trust the mass of the people and the loyalty of the local troops. It was believed that they would not be drawn into actual rebellion. It proved a mistake in the case of an insurrection begun by the officials, who were to the masses the representatives of authority. In its early stages the movement was the easiest of revo lutions. On the 23d of March, 1848, a Provisional Government of the Duchies was formed. On the 24th the garrison of the fortress of Rendsburg was summoned to surrender by the Prince de Noer and a handful of men. Left without instructions, and told that the King of Denmark was a prisoner in the hands of the revolutionary mob of Copenhagen, the troops made no attempt to resist, and gave up the place. It was the first and last military achieve., meat in which good fortune was entirely on the side of the Provisional Government. By this stroke the insurgents gained possession of a strong fortress, a supply of arms, and £300,000 in money, which gave them the means of holding out till help could be obtained from Germany. When the intelligence of the loss of Rendsburg reached Copenhagen, on the 26th of March,the Danish Government roused itself to action. Troops were collected on the northern frontier of Schleswig, and, in military enterprise, the Prince de Noer went farther and fared worse. From Rendsburg he led an incursion into the northern Duchy. By this time the movement had attracted a host of volunteers from Germany, whose motives were as questionable as their appearance. Under the name of " free corps" they made the war support them, and soon became the most unwelcome of liberators to the inhabitants. The most indifferent half German farmer became fiercely Danish in defence of his henroost and bacon store, and the Provisional Government itself was at last compelled to discourage these irregulars, enlist them in the army afterwards orgakised, or otherwise get rid of them. It was by a body of these volunteers that the first defeat of the insurrection in the field was sus tained. They were attacked by the Danish troops near Flensburg on the 9th of April, and easily dis persed, losing 850 killed and wounded. Iu this engagement the first blood of the war was spilt. The Danes, at this juncture, could have recovered Rendsburg and suppressed the revolt, had the Pro visional Government been their only opponent. But at the date of this first battle Prussian troops had already entered Holstein. On the sth of April, 1,500 of the Prussian Guards took possession of Rendsburg. The satellites of Prussia assisted her, as they are doing now, and by the middle of April a regular German army of 21,000 men occupied Holstein. Denmark protested against an interven tion on behalf of an illegal and revolutionary Go vernment, but offered to accept the mediation of Prussia in respect of Holstein on condition the troops did not invade Schleswig. This offer was rejected, and, authorised by the expiring Diet of Frankfort, which ceased to exist a few weeks after wards, the Prussian General Bonin was ordered to occupy Schleswig also. To carry out his orders he had to fight the battle of Schleswig, on Easter-day, April 23, 1848. The Danish army, of 11,000 men and 30 pieces of artillery, held the town of Schles wig and the line of the ancient fortification called the Dannevirke. In recent years it has we believe been repaired and strengthened, but was then little more than a long mound, stretching from the narrow creek of the Baltic that runs up to the town of Schleswig to the marshy ground on the Treene, small river falling into the North Sea. It nearly crosses the peninsula, but though described as a work of great strength, there were great gaps worn in it, rounded and grass grown, through which any cavalry could pass at the charge without the slightest difficulty. Along this line, on the ground to the north of it, between the work and the town of Schleswig, and in the town itself, the battle was fought. The Prussian and German army numbered 27,500 men, with 72 guns. The fighting was obstinate, bat the Danes were compelled to retreat northward, with a loss of 1,200 men. From the beginning of May the whole Duchy was occupied by the German troops. The Danish army retired to the island of Als, and the Germans, now under the command of General Wrangel, advanced far into North Jut land. He issued a prociamation on the 18th of May calling on the inhabitants to pay £500,000 within ten days, but before the term expired he re ceived orders tot withdraw from Jutland, and no part of the contribution was ever paid. Two months of negotiation for an armistice ensued, all the great Po seers advising peace. On the Ist of August Den mark declared a blockade of the North Sea, and on the 26th hostilities were formally suspended. In April, 1849, the war commenced again. On the oth of that month the Danes lost a line-of-battle ship and a frigate which had ventured up the nar row inlet of the sea at Eckernforde and could not return. One was burnt, the other captured. On the 13th the Germans attempted to attack the Danish position in the island of Ale, but could not force the narrow sound between Dyppel and the island. The were repulsed with the loss of 150 men and two guns. The war extended northwards again into Jutland, and the Schleswig-Holstein army invested Fredericia, which they bombarded. But the Danes, bringing troops into the place by sea, made a sortie, took the insurgent's camp and works, captured 31 cannon, and compelled them to abandon the siege. On the 10th of July a second armistice was concluded, and for twelve months the whole question was kept in the hands of diplomacy. Prussia, finding the war rather an embarrassment than an advantage, withdrew from it altogether by the " separate peace" with Denmark concluded at Berlin on the 2d of July, 1850, and the Provi sional Government of the Duchies was left to fight for its existence as it could. Its army was com manded by a Prussian General, Willissen ; many of the officers were Prussian, butino Prussian force re mained in the field. Then came the end. Oa the 14th of Juiy, 1850, the King of Denmark issued a manifesto, exhorting the Provisional Government to yield to circumstances, and lay down their autho rity, with a full amnesty for the past. Having, however, still an army, they determined to throw for a last chance. The Schleswig-Holstein troops took up a strong position a few miles northward of the town of Schleswig, on some wooded hills, and a line of small lakes on the south edge of the heath of Idstedt. The Danish army, advancing from Flensburg, drove in the German outposts in a skirmish on the 24th of July, and began the decisive battle at daybreak on the 25th. Thirty thousand men on each side Were engaged. At midday the Danes had broken the German centre, and the battle was irretrievably lost. The Holsteiners retreated to Rendsburg, and the Danes would not pursue them territory. In the few weeks of desperation o attacks on followed the Holstein General axnde, the other at etswpien:ation that the Dauisa line, one at Missend issvas disastrously de- Fredericksburg, but in b y sketched, both Duchies after the c onfl ict feated, and s h s authoritye fib r attiteeflre d and over our setr.able prospect of a second w ar 1 3 . fez:l:tut) the interest. POST. If our national pride in ey are never theless o c n e . aT p c r o c s a s s e e s s d i °buys, th h L e eicteut and t h e less not without their drawbacks.un a b q i o u n i a t y l c o o f n o s q ur The same mail wa i c h has brought us intelligence upon the Peshawur frontier, i n s ix thousand men w ere more or le which upon our side, bri ngs us ne se di a column of re o c f tly an engaged action ws also of disturbances in New Zealand which are monopolising the whole energies of a f orce at least equ a l in nt_imbe r . rs, t and ae composed exc l us i vely of E counts indicat e d the probab u i r liotpe o a f es ; i-fu departure a upon ne part or the M auries from their ancient tactics, and of a concentration of the main body of the Waikatoes and their insurgent allies at a stronghold called Meremere, within no great distance from Auckland. The present mail brings but a partial confirmation of a rumour which we always feared was too good to be true. When the steamer left there was indeed a " shave" that this mountain for tress had been assaulted with success. But the re port, such as it was, needed confirmation, and all that was known for certain was that Gen. Cameron had received succours from all the Australian colo nies, and that another sloop of war, theEsk, had been added to the force already upon the New Zealand sta tion. If, however, good news was scarce, as much, unfortunately, could not be said for tidings of an opposite character. In two different quarters col lisions with the natives had taken place, and in both all the advantages of the skirmish had rested with the insurgents. It would appear that upon the Bth September a party of Te Wheoro Wheoro's men, one of the few chiefs who has sided with us upon the present occasion, were despatched in canoes down the Waikato River, to convey some stores to a " pah" called Camerontown, which was manned by their companions for Queen Victoria. In at tempting to land they fell into an ambush of the enemy, who fired upon them with such deadly effect that oat of 20 friendly Maories tour alone escaped. Mr. Armitage, the resident native police magistrate, fell at their head, and no less than 40 tons of con. missariat stores were the reward of this daring on slaught upon the part of the insurgents. Nor wag this all. Immediately upon the receipt of the news, a detachment of the 65th Regiment, stationed of Tuakau, was despatched, under the command of s captain and subaltern, to intercept the attacking force. Why, with a knowledge that his opponents consisted of some 200 old warriors of the Ngatirna niepoto tribe, a party of 50 men only were detailed for this perilous service, we are not informed. The result seems to have been that this ill-fated band were taken in their own snare. Before they had advanced far through the bush they were made aware that they were in close proximity to an unseen enemy. They were immediately " thrown into ambush ;" but, after waiting some time, resumed their march with fixed bayonets: UnfortunatelYt their concealed adversaries, either with more pa tience or more good fortune, bided their time, and upon the reappearance of the party, fired a close volley into them. The commanding officer fell shot through the heart, and a running fight en sued which proved fatal to two more men, and placed several others, as well as the remaining commissioned officer of the party, hors de combat. Darkness alone, and the steadiness of the sergeant,' lett in command, seems to have saved the whole party, who, even as it was, had to hide the lifeless body of Catain Swift in the bush, as the only means of saving it from insult at the hands of the Maories. Ten days later another affair took place on the old battle-ground in front of New Plymouth. A column of Maories, 1,000 strong, suddenly ar peered before the place. Col. Warre, in order to prevent an attack, ordered a sortie in the direction of the Bell Block, and successfully repulsed the enemy. In the meantime, however, a small detach" ment of the 57th, with Capt. Swift's party " vying in ambush" upon the south side of the town, found themselves, like him, circumvented by the Maeda. In due time they were reinforced by the main body of the troops, but not before several casualties had occurred, while the diversion thus created proved successful, and Col. Warre was compelled again to abandon the Bell Block. Indeed,so little impression seems to have been made upon the insurgents by the demonstration, that, when the mail left, fears were entertained of a night attack upon the town, for the protection of which the force stationed there was said to be barely adequate. At bead-quarters Gen. Cameron appeared to be steadily pursuing big original tactics. There was no doubt that the flying columns had succeeded to a considerable extent in driving the Maories within their own lines, and they were now said to muster about 2,000 strong at Meremere. There, if anywhere, the principal struggle would take place. The great fear, how ever, confirmed by the very latest advices, was that no stand would in the end be made anywhere, and that the first symptoms of a regular assault being contemplated upon Meremere would be the isles' tor a general dispersion of the Maories into an in definite number of scattered and predatory bands. It is needle's to say how serious would be the com plications involved were such a system to be pur sued. The one sole advantage possessed at tb® present moment in New Zealand by her Majesty troops over their opponents in such a warfare is the superior quality of their arms and the greater facility which they have of obtaining beamene lion. In knowledge of the country, in in dependence of commissariat arrangements, in fleet ness of foot, and in the lightness of his equipment, the Maori is indubitably the superior. Should sedi tion draw to a head, it will be comparatively easy to deal with it. But, split up into detached parties, the insurgent bands can do an infinite amount of mischief, and harass the troops out of their lives, without presenting any very tangible point of re sistance. The war itself may be—nay, we believe, is --inevitable, but it is not the less to be deplored. While it drags its slow length along the best inte rests of the colony are languishing, and a serious check has been placed upon all its expansive ten dencies, That it will take a different turn we rather hope than expect. In its present phase it is simply a proof of the proportions to which a " little war may attain when it is waged by a savage and ns scrupulous race against those who mast be guided more or less in their proceedings by the maxims of civilised warfare. COUNTRY MARKETS. COLCHESTER—Dm. 5. There was a moderate supply of wheat at our market to; day, and quite sufficient for the demand. Trade quiet, I.ol' is per qr cheaper. In barley, which sold slowly, priceo were barely maintained. Other grain heavy. Wheat, white. 44s 50s Beans, Mazagan..2Bs 3 ,` 2° red ..40s 448 middle & 5ma11.323 3us Barley Oats GLOUCESTER—Dsc. 12. There was a moderate show of English wheat to -days with a dull trade, and the currencies of last week is lower. Foreign wheat also dull, and no advance on the prices of last week. Oats, barley, beans. and peas were dull, but unaltered in value. RD—DEC, 11. Ay there was an inactive bus!' as . week were reduced by - 11$ Barley also dull, and is to 2 0 ides prices unchanged. n , Peas, Partridge 36s 37 ' White 38s 39° Boiling 39s 41° Dun 33s 36° Ditto new —s Beans, Tick, uld 34s 39 ! new —s Harrow Ticks 3ss 4 ". new --s Mazagall 3os 38° CHELMSFO At this corn exchange to-da nese done. The prices of 11 to 2s per quarter for wheat. down in price. For other arti Wheat, old white 30s 46s i new 44s 49s I old red.... 34s 39s new 38s 41s Barley ..27s 37s Chevalier 2Bs 39s Grinding 22s 31s Malt.. .. .. Chevalier . 64s 69s Oats 20s 28s KIRKCALDY GRAIN—DEc. 12. We had large supplies of barley and oats at our mo l l to-day, but small of wheat. Sales were slow for barley al', wheat ; oats brisk. Wheat at the currencies of last wee" , barley is down, and oats 6d up. Wheat. Barley. Oats. :First....3ss Od I 25s Od I 16s 6d Second ..37s Od 26s Od 178 6d Third....4os Od 29s Od 19s 6d " ESSAYS AND REVIEWS."—On Saturday the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council conclu ded f the sittings, and the judgment in the long pending C BBe sp ° the "Essays and Reviews" was deferred. The 09)°,1 the peared in the printed list of their lordships' sitting, an • judgment was expected to be pronounced, but it must no" necessarily stand over for some time. The Lerd Chancellor will have to give the judgment of the committee, and hie lordship will sit in the Court of Chance*" f or some time logger. Hilary Term will begin on Santos's' 11, an. d judg ment- in the "Essays and Reviews" Iv oi no 6 be given until after next term. Portugal-street, GroSie•• at St. Andries, Lady Adana Births. BOYLE.—On the 12th inst., at 9 , the 13th inst., a . t Carisbrook-vill a ' '2lrs: Henry P. Goldsmith, nor-square, Viscountess Boyleo,ll.odfsmatith, Mary .mestotzoff f . son . of a son. H ° I - 1 6 0 33 0 . Z oOfnatislon.l2th lust" GOLDSDLITI I . —On 9 a St. Petersburg, th° , o a daughter. It ol3csol,r3uocnkiLTtzeod:rtpmh. Marriages. B ARNE . T—QtricK.—On the 10th inst., at St. James's, W I ," William Henry B arney, of Bishopstoke. to M art h a , 0 .„." daughter of Ja mes Q uick, Esq., of Cl i fton-v ill a , w • Southampton. THIIRSVIELD—SIBLEY.—On the 12th inst., at St. Jo 1 1; Notting•hill, Lond on William Edwin Thurstield, ' Broseley, to Charlotte B. ~'7.ibleY• Deaths. B A u T e E n S ry . W ll 0 . t ß h a e te l s 2 , th Es in ri sit.,atßyder - street, St. James et BARNARD.—On the 13th inst., at Southwick-crescent, T. Barnard, Esq., aged 75. ELSTONE.—On the 12th inst., at Aldershot Locl&e, Jam e° Elstone, Esq., aged 64. FITZGIBBON,—On the 12th inst., at Lower Ward,W inde ? r Castle, Colonel James Fitzgibbon, late of the 49th 'leg" aged 83. OODFREY.—On the 12th inst„ Mr. Chas Godfrey, Band master of the Coldstream Guards, aged 73. LYsTnn, —On the 12th inst., at Rowton Castle, SaloP, Lyater, Esq. LuNiv.—On the 12th inst., at Grand Parade, 13righ t°r4 r Joseph Lunn, Esq., formerly of Craven - stree t, Lon doO aged 79. w , London: Prin zed and Pub.9. s hed by vVILLIAALANDR.•-ce ~. of O. 112, Strand, Prin ter, at THE SUN Office 3NO. 11 Strand, in the Precinc t of the `savoy, in the Couch" bliddicaex.--Wuesday, December IN 1863. I PR( attj Lon TI if s e Lon mitt Dee* In Bon lasu Per , at it Mr at c Atte F( tbol 4,0 n dols ever Ofll( ter all i ment bu r Dar PAZ -r] Am SCA libel Loy En; Po;1 In/ GRi dine m, Bloi , 1 1 Tl 1 011 c MA' DE s-hrj and Al Celel ?L k 4/ CO W. 1 bus T 1 1110S1 Or and 1 AI inch Sl ar best 4-ton Di Mai, EPj 1 tie ] Fi t Orc Se ee ear Intl eo u hu t Arc Drc its