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

THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY, (FROM THE TIMES SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.) ATLANTA, GEORGIA, FEB. 28. It has been stated that, in spite of the legisla tion of each individual State, Southern planters would give evidence of their belief in the proxi mity of peace by sowing a breadth of cotton sufficient to yield two-thirds or three-fourths of an average crop. It is obvious that such is also the apprehension of the majority of Southern journals, which teem with earnest appeals to the planters not to be deluded by anticipations of an early peace, which would lead them to expose the country to the appaling alternative of starvation or surrender. There is little doubt that if the Yankees knew it, the next four weeks, during which it is doubtful whether military operations on a large scale can be carried on, might be fraught with danger to the very existence of the infant Confe deracy. Everywhere in this section the conviction is paramount that, if an armistice were once con cluded, active hostilities would never again be re sumed. An offer at this moment by the Federals of an armistice for three months upon favourable terms would be apt to be accepted, and neither argument nor entreaty would avail to prevent large crops of cotton being planted. The suspension of the blockade for three months would not be as fatal to the North as might at first sight be imagined. All the Northern war ships upon the sea cannot prevent the arrival in Southern ports of an average of at least two vessels a-week, and I have been astonished to notice how the stock of all kinds of imported goods has grown since my first acquaint ance with the Confederate States, five months ago. Many luxuries, such as wines, brandies, silks, muslins, and books, would be gratefully welcomed if the blockade were temporarily lifted ; but they are not vital to the salvation of the young na tion. What is vital is th a t p l enty of food should be grown within the b oun d s of the Confederacy, and anything which militates against the devotion of the next few weeks to the preparation of the ground for cereals would be of more advantage to the North than half a million of men. Happily there seems to be a growing sense everywhere of the danger arising from a scarcity of the great staples of food ; but there is nevertheless a tendency in the cotton States to plant a greater breadth of their great staple, as also in Virginia to plant more to bacco, than is consistent with the safety of the en tire community. Fortunately, the opportunity for arresting the growth of cereals by the offer of a temporary armistice has not been perceived by the Federals—it will be too late to make any such over ture when these words are read in the Northern States. But, in the interim between the present time and the wheat harvest in July, it is shrewdly suspected in Northern, and generally admitted in Southern, journals that there will be a pressure upon the Con federacy to find a sufficiency of meat and bread for each of the large armies which have sprung from the soil. It is known universally, and I may there fore be permitted to mention, that the wheat crop of 1862 was an unusually poor one in the Confede rate States, and, although a sufficiency of grain for the year's supply of food was grown, the limited means of transportation possessed by the Confede rates are taxed to the utmost to convey this grain from remote corners of States to the spots where it is wanted for consumption. In no other item has the pressure of the blockade's grip been so heavily felt as in its prohibition of the import of English iron. With the ample command of labour which the slave population furnishes to this Go vernment, many fresh railroads would have been made had rails been forthcoming for their tracks. In one or two very important cases an hzatus in an extensive internal system of communication has been supplied by the Government. For in stance, one of the great internal highways from east to west has been completed by the link of railroad from Selma, on the Alabama River, to Meridian, in Mississippi, which supersedes the ne cessity for the long detour by Mobile, and renders nugatory any attempt to cut off communication be t ween east and west by destroying the railroad which connects Montgomery with Mobile. It is astonish ing that no such attempt should have been made from Pensacola, which has long been in Federal hands, and is distant not more than 40 miles from Pollard, on the Alabama and Florida Railroad. The opportunity thus afforded of isolating the east from the west, and of impeding the circulation of an important aorta of the Confederate heart by an aneurism at Pollard, has never been seized during nearly two years of warfare. The open ing of the railroad from Selma to Meridian has frustrated a policy which might have seriously damaged the Confederates, and which obviously ought to have suggested itself to the Washington Junto. The measuring tape by which to compute and account for Confederate success has long struck me as being not so much the sagacity and energy of the Cabinet at Richmond as the singular blindness, incredible want of enterprise, and general incapa city of the Cabinet at Washington. Another instance in which the Confederate Go vernment is completing an important link of rail road is to be found in the line which they are building between))anville in Virginia and Greens borough in North Carolina (a distance of less than 50 miles), and which will be comp'eted this summer. By this operation they absolve them selves from a dependence upon the line of railroad which runs from Richmond through Petersburg and Weldon, and which has for years been the great highway of connexion between North and South. By opening another approach to Richmond, through the heart of Southern Virginia, the Confederacy is giving but another evidence of what strikes me at every turn—the progressive and ceaseless increase of their power of stiff-necked resistance. There is but one skeleton in the Confederate closet—the aspe t Ull L ki tiler thorn will nut lie Lu unit suffer ing to be endured from shortness of commons be tween this time and the let, of August. No such spectre has ever haunted the imagination as that the South will be starved into the terms of Messrs. Seward and Sumner, who, rightly or wrongly, are here regarded as the twin instigators of a war which, although loving each other little, they coincide at fomenting. But it will perhaps gratify these gen tlemen to learn that the seven or eight millions of their brethren whom they are aiming to win back by such love philtres as the plunder of ancestral plate, china, pictures, and servants, the desecration of family burying-grounds, the shamless outrage of women, will during these next few weeks suffer severely. If hunger and want, and even in some cases, famine, however, could avail to break the spirit of this people, there would not now be hun dreds of thousands of ardent Confederate soldiers in the field. Nor can any such pressure, it is be lieved, be hereafter experienced as will do more than make the next few months exceptionally con spicuous as periods of more than usual suffering. Debit Deus his quoque finent. There may be still in store for these sore-tried States further draughts of the sup of misery, which must be drained before the goal is won. That it will eventually b e won neither man, woman, nor child among the thousands I have conversed with entertains a shadow of doubt. It is unquestionably competent to the Federals to increase the pressure of want by their possession of some of the finest grain-growing districts of the Confederacy. All the Northern moiety of Virginia, the fruitful valley of the Shenandoah, the Eastern section of North Carolina, produce in ordinary times most of the grain which supplies bread to the South, or is exported throughNewYork to Brazil and South America. Upon each of these districts the iron heel of the invader is planted. Furthermore, in that portion of Tennessee which is in the Federal grasp General Rosecrans has forbidden every kind of agri culture, and aged men and women and children (the sole denizens left in that region) who reject the oath of allegiance are driven down South at the point of the bayonet, to increase the number of mouths which the Confederacy has to feed. Another grf at source of supply is cut off by the suppression of the North Carolina fisheries, which ordinarily yield millions of herring and shad, salted on the spot t.y large gangs of male and female negroes. In this re• bpta the North Carolina herring far surpasses the Seotian, which is caught out at sea, thrown into the hold of a ship, and not salted for many days after it is. secured. The salt herring of North Carolina is here asserted to be the finest in the world. A gentleman who owns one of these fisheries told me that he had caught at one draught enough herrings to fill 180 barrels. The offal of the fish is valuable as manure, and the yield of Indian corn from fields sprinkled with the heads and entrails of the shad is said to be something fabulous. It has been customary to feed the ne- groes upon salt fish, which, as well as salt pork, they infinitely prefer to fresh meat. tut this great staple of Southern food has been cut off by the Fede ral possession of Albemarle and Pimlico Sounds. Nevertheless, such is the wealth of the interior waters and bayous and lagoons which still remain to the Confederacy, that it is doubtful whether, if only transport could be commanded, the whole population might not be supported on fish alone. For instance, the bay of Mobile seems literally paved with oysters, not less delicious than the bi valves of the James River, with which Richmond is bountifully supplied. The "shell roads" at Mo bile and New Orleans, constructed of oyster shells, testify to the abundance of the Yield in the neigh bourhood of those cities. Again, the extraordinary affluence of game and deer and wild ducks through the Southern States assists their commissariat, and support hundreds of families in remote country dis tricts. For some time the scarcity of shot mili tated against the destruction of small game, but recently a wooden shot tower has been success fully established at Petersburg, in Virginia, and shot is becoming cheap and abundant. It is extravagant to fancy that enormous districts, teeming with the richest gifts of nature, and blessed with a climate incompatible with the con sumption of an Englishman's allowance of animal food, are inadequate to the support of a sparse po pulation, even though agriculture be partially sus pended. The sole difficulty is to bring the food and the mouths together. This is the enigma with the solution of which until the whe at harvest of July scatters plenty over the land the Confederates States will have to grapple. It would materially assist them if twine for making seines and fishing nets could be brought in through the blockade. Atlanta, the town from which this letter is dated, is one of the mo s t ac ti ve an d pus hi ng c i t i es o f t h e enterprising State of Georgia, numbering already about 16,000 souls, the growth of less than a dozen years, which have seen a network of railroads spring into existence, with Atlanta as their meeting point or centre. "No one goes anywhere," says a South ern proverb, " without passing through Atlanta." At this moment Atlanta may be considered as the base whence the fine army of Gen. Johnston, situated some 160 miles away, at Tullah oma, in Tennessee, draws its supplies. Circumstances at this moment disable me from paying a visit to Chattanooga) where are Gen. Johnston's head-quarters ; but the opportunity of conversing here daily with officers and men fresh from his army enables me to speak of its condition and prospects with almost as much familiarity as if I had visited it. It is but justice to Gen. Bragg, who, as a strict and uncompromising disciplinarian, has done much good, but gained much unpopularity, to say that his troops are in admirable heart and condition, considerably stronger numeri cally than when they fought the battle of Murfrees borough, and stationed in a carefully chosen and strongly-fortified position, which is little likely to be carried even by a vast superior force. But it is also my duty to record that, so far as can be judged from the Confederate lines, there is every indication that General Rosecrans's army is in a fine state of disci pline, that it is impregnated with much of the spirit of its able commander, who is far more valued in ,his section than any other Federal leader, and that the stories of its demoralisation and disaffection are such stuff as dreams are made of. The indications of the future from the existing condition of affairs seem to me these :—lf a battle is fought between the two armies as they now stand, there is little reason to think that the force which has been or ganised by Gen. Bragg, and will be handled by Gen. Johnston, can be forcibly expelled from its strong line of defences, which reach from Tullahoma to Manchester. On the other hand, it appears to me doubtful whether Gen. Johnston can do more than hold his own, and still more doubtful whether he will be able, in view of the largely superior force of Gen, Rosecrans, to push his enemy after he has repulsed him, and whether the impending battle will not add another to the long list of bloody and inconclusive skirmishes which an able English military critic calls attention to and deplores. It would gladden many hearts in the Confederacy if a few thousands more men, who might well be spared from many points, could be placed at Gen. John ston's disposal, and a victory thus insured which would paralyse even the elasticity of Yankee cupi sity. There is every reason to hope that such a victory gained upon soil bitterly hostile to the in vader, and taken advantage of by the immense cavalry force under Generals Van Dorn, Morgan, Wheeler, Warton, and Forrest, might for once be turned into a rout, and Tennessee and Kentucky wrung from the invader. It would be doubtful whether all the powers with which a sycophantic Congress has armed Mr. Lincoln—who is at once its master and its creature—would suffice, in face of such a crushing reverse, to crowd more armies into the field. There is much in the character and temperament of General Joseph E. Johnston to induce the belief that he is likely, if he gets a chance, to strike a crushing blow. In tactical knowledge he has no equal on this continent. Thoughtful and meditative, and well read, especially in military history, his conversation is eminently bright and suggestive. But it is upon the field and under fire that he is said to appear to most advantage, as he guides and directs the hurricane of battle. Upon those imme diately about him General Johnston exercises that electric influence which is always inspired:oy strong aracters. The great obstacle to an immediate move on the part of General Rosencrans—an obstacle which, in my opinion, will not be removed until the end of March, if then—is the ocean of mud with which the surface of Tennessee and Kentucky is thickly coated. Of all the different textures and com plexions of mud throughout North America there is nothing to equal the viscuous, glutinous slime of these two States. Such has been its tenacity these last two months that the operations of the Confe derate cavalry, which was expected to have been active this winter, have been retarded by it. It is raining this day harder than ever; every little creek and rivulet is brimful and running like a mill race ; the big rivers are swollen to bursting. The Mississippi has driven the Federals at Vicksburg from the neighbourhood of the puny ditch through which he diedains to flow, and has burst his wonted bounds, and all this time the misguided and long suffering people of New York are told that Rosen crans (all the horses in whose army could not move a heavy gun for a mile) is advancing or manceuv ring, when he and his staff can scarcely ride five miles from their own tents. If it were possible for one who has looked on us at this war from its com mencement to feel surprise at anything, assuredly the chronic gullibility of the Northern public would move his wonder and contempt. At this moment the New York press teems with assertions that the canal at Vicksburg is deep enough for gunboats; that the attack on Charleston is imminent, if not com menced ; that a new road into the . Yazoo River, and thus to the back of Vicksburg, is on the point of being opened through the Yazoo Pass; that Rose crans has made some astonishing move ; that Vicks burg is about to be evacuated. As for the disposition and numbers of the Confederate armies, and the whereabouts of leading Confederate Generals, every speculation and surmise save those which probabiiity suggests are unweariedly indulged in. If there was the slightest chance of the English people, after 22 months of experience of the war press of the North, giving credence to what they read, it might be de sirable to add a few words of general warning. But it . will be enough t or th e present t o repea t t h e opi nion I expressed three weeks ago—that the canal at Vicksburg is cut in the wrong placd, and will con tinue to be a failure, unless an infinity of labour, of which the Mississippi's overflow at present forbids the application, is expended upon it. The attack on Charleston has not taken place, does not appear to be imminent, is beginning to be generally disbe lieved in, although patiently awaited and vigilantly guarded against. It is known that a bitter disagree. ment has taken place between Generals Hunter and roster; that the latter, Who has considerable repu tation as an engineer, is averse to the attack, and thinks failure certain, and that this opinion of his has become widely known among his troops. In repard to the assertion that a new road through the Yazoo Pass can be opened, and the Confederate navy yard at Snyder's Bluff, on the Yazoo River, approached by vessels entering the river from above, suffice it to say that heartily gratified would the Confederates be to see such an attempt. The Yazoo Pasa, long since disused, is entered out of the Mississippi river, of which the levee has re cently been cut about 100 miles below Memphis. Thence by a tortuous and intricate route of inter nal navigation, through lagoons and bayous and small shallow, winding streams, a light vessel might be punted into a river which eventually joins the Yazoo. It is hardly necessary to discuss the probability of the accomplishment of such a feat. A tree felled across any of the streams would check a vessel's advance; it might chance to find that another tree felled behind it would check its retreat. General Rosencranz is as unlikely to move at present as is Vicksburg to be evacuated. Vicksburg is believed to be impregnable. In re g,.rd to Charleston, in spite of General Beauregard's proclamation advising non-combatants to leave the town, ladies swarm upon the Battery, and pick their way daintily among the frowning guns. Nor would they desert the town though its bombard ment were to commence to-morrow until they knew its destruction or evacuation to be inevitable. Destroyed it may possibly be; evacuated and aban doned to the enemy, so long as one brick stands on another, it will be never. The possibility of Fort Sumter, which was built before the present enor mous projectiles were in fashion, being battered down by-the Federal ironclads is the vexed question of the moment. Opinions from those who are worth listening to seem to incline to the belief that the fire of the guns of Fort Sumter is more likely to be fatal to the ironclads than the fire of the ironclads to Fort Sumter. No attack is for a moment to be dreaded which is conducted by less than six ironclads,—more, I believe, than the Federate now have off the harbour. But let it not be thought that the fall of Fort Sumter and the fall of Charleston are synonymous. All round the harbour,—at Fort Ripley in its centre, at Fort Moultrie on its flank, on the Battery, which is the apex of the city,—big guns have been mounted, and they must be dismounted or silenced before the town can be shelled effectually. The abortive at tempta which the Yankees have directed at Sa vannah against a much weaker work—Fort Al'Alis ter—are little encouraging as indications of the damage which they are able or likely to inflict. The great bugbear of the Southern people 12 months ago, the ironclad gunboat of their enemy, is losing all its terrors. Cavalry and light artillery attack them fearlessly and successfully upon the small rivers. Barges and cotton boats swarm round them on the Mississippi between Vicksburg and Port Hudson ; the lightest of horse artillery guns close the Rappahannock against them below Fredericksburg. _ _ If any evidence that the pressure upon the Con• federacy for food will hereafter not be unendurable was sufficient to pierce the judicial blindness of the Washington Cabinet, it might be found in the fact that none of the overtures of General Banks at New Orleans to give in exchange for cotton whatever the Confederates needed,—whether boots, or cloth ing, or coffee, or provisions,—have bei n for one moment entertained. It will have been observed by attentive readers of Mr. Seward's despatches to the Federal Ministers in London and Paris that among his redundant and unfulfilled promises none is more confidently preferred than the pledge that England and France shall receive abundance of cotton through Southern ports in Northern hands. How far he has hitherto been able to redeem this promise let the history of New Orleans since its formal occupation by General Butler, on the first day of last May, unequivocally declare. It is stated to me that in 10 months not more than 20,000 bales of cotton—the amount frequently shipped in peaceful times in a single day—have issued from that port. Is it hoped that larger sup plies will be forthcoming hereafter ? The Confede rates are able to send out from such ports as still remain to them as much cotton as is suf ficient to give them ample credit in Europe. More than this they have no occasion to ship. And it may safely be predicted, be the scarcity of food what it may, that some other way of making good the deficiency will be found than bartering for Yankee provisions the equivalent for European gold. There is at this moment in the Port of Wilmington a small Scotch steamer, veliose name it is not necessary to mention, swift as an antelope, drawing 41 feet of water, and able to run into any inlet along 2,500 miles of coast. What is to hinder the importation, in similar steamers, of cargoes of provisions, should necessity demand ? Nor are there wanting other methods of supply which will suggest themselves to any intelligent man who is not blinded by the amaurosis which seems epidemic in Washington. As I write, February is passing away. It cicsed in 1862 upon the deepest depression and the darkest hour that the Confederacy has as yet seen. Forts Donelson and Henry had just been surrendered ; Nashville with vast stores and munitions abandoned to the enemy ; one of the strongest points on the Mississippi—Columbus in Kentucky —which ought to have emulated the subsequent fame of Vicksburg, had been, without resistance, evacuated ; Manassas in Virginia was about to be occupied by General M'Clellau. Every where panic and retreat, and eva cuation and surrender, marked the policy of the Confederates. The ears of residents in Washington were deafened by the ceaseless cry of "Another Federal victory." Yankeedom was jubilant, inso lent, aggressive. A year has passed, and it is difficult to conceive that one is on the same con tin, nt. Richmond is no longer threatened, or so feebly that buildings and improvements progress with more than the activity of peace. February has passed without any disaster to the Confederacy, although every little stream in the country is flush with its banks, and navigable by gunboats; Charles. ton and Vicksburg and Port Hudson mock at their daunted and hesitating assailants ; Generals Lee and Johnston await an attack with the calm confidence of conscious strength ; there is feebleness, vacilla• - tion, timidity in the counsels of Washington and in the attitude of its generals in the field. The lesson which it seemed to me that the battle of Fredericks burg could not fail to teach must, however, be burnt deeper into the Ftderal heart before fruit is borne of it. Can that lessen be taught in any other way than by an assumption on the part of the South of that attitude of aggression which they have so long been satisfied calmly to repel, but which it seems likely that their enemy's pertinacity and inaptitude to learn will leave them no option but to end by espousing ? THE COAL AND IRON DISTRICTS.—It is rather surprising to record that the emigration from the coal and iron districts of South Wales at the present time is larger than has ever been known. At several of the prin cipal works as many as 30 have left at one pay, and not a week passes without a few leaving. The majority of the emigrants are able-bodied young men, and it is more sur prising still to mention that the destination of nearly all of them is New York, or some other port of the once United States. Higher wages and ready employment are the rea sons given for emigrating, but as the state of things in the Northern States is so well known among our working popu lation, the matter has naturally excited suspicion, and it i s feared that agents are at work holding out inducements to the emigrants with the view of making them eventually seful in the prosecution of the war against the South. THE DUKE OF BEAUFORT'S WOLF-HUNTING EXPEDITION.—The Duke of Beaufort's first day's wolf -hunting in Poitou turned out a failetre, for the simple and rather to be expected reason that his well-trained fox hounds took no more notice of a wolf than they woßld of a donkey, and positively declined to . run after it. A very large varie s from field, 250 oe to estimate s 4 t i o m o ,a turned e u r n of e d w o h u i t c o h n Easter lin th the local Tuesday,local journals brim ful peer's pack. After drawing a cover for two hours, a fine wolf was routed out by some native dogs. The pack got a wt beoo rk their dorenle good view of him, but, " Och hone 1 wierastrie I" he was from their indifference, The huntsman is going to try notw the what ant game e c w a n suc ceed. Foxhounds may wolves close to their noses, In ' cur dog to a red herring. A sport, as soon as the remaining g great races man of , u a in y ir e e s tah , a e nd no hallooing could rouse them time he will doubtless suc bcc,,fwmatayhdeoemf t,o educating hunt turning rann.iyn t tg h h e ionu h gt e , utfnrradopms trapped Jockey Club are, going to join the Duke y o me the chance of are over,—Paris Letter. • • th n e spring mbrs season fasthone SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, APRIL 15, 1863. THE MALT TAX. Yesterday a very influential deputation of members of Parliament and gentlemen interested in the repeal or re . __ _ _ duction of the malt tax waited upon the Chancellor of the Exchequer to impress upon him the advisability of abolish ing, or, at any rate, reducing the tax upon malt. Sir FITZROY KELLY opened the proceedings by reading a memorial to the Chancellor of the Exchequer from the Central Anti-Malt Taxation Society. It stated that the anomaly of a high duty on malt surviving the repeal of the duties on corn and hops, and being almost the only remain ing tax upon a production of the British soil, must be ap parent to men of every political creed. Next to wheat, barley is the most important production of our farms, and yet it is loaded with a duty, when converted into malt, of upwards of 50 per cent,, being 21s. Bd. per quarter. At present only the finest qualities of barley can be profitably malted ; but under a reduction of duty the inferior qualities would also be converted into malt, and the consequent re- duction in the cost price would induce an enormously in creased consumption. Thus, a substantial reduction of duty would not severely affect the revenue, whilst the farmer would have a sub: titute equal, if not superior, to oil cake and other condiments, besides being the produce of his own soil and industry. The Chancellor of the Exchequer ad mitted in 1862 that it would be a powerful argument for the repeal of the duty if it could be shown that malt is well adapted for feeding purposes. The heavy duty is a bar to very extensive experiments, but enough has been done to answer this question in the affirmative. The malt duty in flicts great wrong and injustice upon the public generally. Beer is a necessary of life to the working man, and he ought to be able to drink it as free from taxation as the bread he eats; abandon the high duty, and there will be an end to adulterations which destroy health, and to the numerous other evils which accompany high-priced beer, whilst the general use of untaxed malt for feeding cattle would sensi bly lower the cost of producing the food of the people. The close relation between a high duty and a diminished con sumption, and vice versa, is most clearly proved by the statis tics of production and consumption during the last 100 3 ears. In 1750 the consumption amounted to 6 bushels per head of the population, the duty being 4s. per quarter; whereas in 1858, the duty being 21s. Ed., the consumption was only 1 bushel per head. Sir F. KELLY then said—As there were some gentlemen present who would venture to address a few words to him (the Chancellor of the Exchequer), he would not detain him but for a moment. He reminded the right hon. gentleman that the malt duty was a war tax, and when it was imposed it was under a pledge that it should be repealed when the war ceased. That pledge had been violated and the tax continued. It was a tax that fell heavily on the poor, for it was a tax upon those necessaries which to those people were at once a comfort and a luxury. The reduction of the duty would, in his opinion, result in an increased consump tion, and if the reduction were extended to 10s. or 12s. the revenue would not suffer by it. (Hear, hear.) Col. BARTTELOT said this matter had been warmly taken up in the country because the people felt they were aggrieved by the imposition of the tax. If the malt duty were decreased there would be an increase in the growth of barley. There was a great deal of land that was not capable of growing the best barley, but if the duty were decreased they would be enabled to grow an inferior quality of barley, which would do very well for malting, and therefore the revenue would not suffer by it. They felt that as wheat was at a low price everything should be done to improve the condi tion of the agricultural community, and they called upon him (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) to do it. (Hear.) Mr. DODSON said there was no duty the reduction of which would injure the revenue less than the malt duty. It had been found by experience that, whenever the duty had been increased, the consumption had been checked, and when it had been decreased the consumption had been stimulated. If the trade in barley were free, he had no hesi tation in saying that there would be an increased produc tion of that article. Mr, BOOTH, from his own experience, assured the Chan cellor of the Exchequer that there was a great difference between raw and malted barley for feeding purposes. The latter had been very extensively used by his father and him self in fattening cattle for the various cattle shows, and they found it was the best feed they could use, but they were restricted in the use of it on account of the high duty upon it. B e could get good barley for £7 per ton and could malt it for £1 per ton more, and that would be better for the cattle and so much cheaper that they need not then use oilcake. Mr. ARKELL said the farmers considered themselves in jured above other classes in the prevention of the consump tion of the article. They felt aggrieved in not being able to malt the second quality of barley. if the duty were reduced the consumption would be increased, as was shown by the fact that when the duty was 45. the consumption was five bushels per head, and now that the duty we s high the con sumption was only one bush€l per head. There were some who thought that the duty only affected the barley growers, but he contended that it affected all the agricultural in terests. Mr. ALEXANDER said that he should like to turn some of his premises into malting premises for his own stock, but the high duty prevented it. So strongly did it operate against him that he could not afford to give his men the beer they ought to have. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER observed that it was the same price now that it had been 20 years ago. Mr. ALEXANDER replied that that was true, but he com plained of it then and now. (Laughter.) It had been said by some people that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had succeeded in giving the middle and upper classes the stomach ache—(laughter)—but he hoped the right hon. gentleman would give the poor man his beer. Mr. PUNNETT said he now took up the same position that he did when he attended with a deputation on the hop duties, but unfortunately the malt tax was in a much worse position than those duties had been. They were in a peculiar position, for supplies of the raw material had been increased, while they had the same heavy penalties for manufacturing it. Mr. WILLIAMS also supported the memorial. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, in reply to ad dresses which had been made to him, said that was not an occasion in which they could discuss some of the questions that had been alluded to there, but he would say a few words on some of the remarks that had been addressed to him. Mr. Punnett had expressed a hope that he would deal as fairly with the malt tax as he had with the hop duty; but he could tell them the reduction of that tax was not so sure of a favourable consideration in the House of Commons as it was in that room. In certain quarters of the house where the malt duties did not bear so heavily as upon the agriculturists, there were interests involved which pointed to other taxes to be taken off before they thought of any re duction on malt. Some gentlemen had spoken of reduc- tion, and Borne of repeal, and they were both legitimate objects to attain, but there were formidable obstacles in the way which they must look in the face. If they went for repeal it was a question of between five and six millions, and if they went for reduction it involved nearly three millions. Some people thought that indirect taxation should be removed, and direct taxation substituted for it; but how ever that might be, there were none of them present but would allow that it was an alteration that might not be expedient or desirable. There were other articles to be taken into consideration. They must now examine the question of the number of beverages which they had at their command, and consider that when the question was brought before Parliament those who were interested in the reduction of other taxes would oppose the relief they sought, and he must say that in a comparison with them malt would not holl a favourable position. There were tea, coffee, and sugar, on which reductions were being sought, and they would be pressed upon the attention of the House of Commons. He would not speak of spirts, because he thought they ought to be taxed much higher. These were questions which they would have to consider, and to work up all the information they could to lay before Parliament, as it would be on the floor of the House of Commons that the battle would have to be fought and won. With regard to the malt duty, there was an increase in the amount of it during the Russian war, and he was convinced that it caused a decrease in the consumption, but he was convinced that there would be no increased consumption in it to any extent if they were to reduce the tax, say to one half, until atter the first year at least, and there would, consequently, boa loss to the revenue of not less than two millions of money. It would be a strong point for them if they could show to Parliament that the malt duty pre cluded the free use of malt in the feeding of cattle, and agriculturist to feed h is that if they were able to f ee d c attle with malt it would be the means of enabling th e English beasts cheaper and bett er th an on the raw grain. That would be one great point gainers, and the next strong point would be to put the malt tax in competition with other duties. Mr, DODSON asked whether there would be any objection to making malt duty free for feeding cattle, the same as the distillers were allowed to make it for distillation. The CHANCELLOR of th e E XC HEQUER said it was his de sire to facilitate such a plan, as it would very much relieve the taxation, but he could not give an answer to the sugges. tion without consulting their experienced officers. He would however say that in th e case o f the distillers making malt duty free for the purposes of distillation it was all done under the eye of the Excise but that would not be the case if the farmers were allowed to make it duty free. He then recommended them to consider the points he had sug• gested, and to bring them prominently before the House of Commons. Sir F. KELLY, in thanking the right hon. gentleman for his courtesy, also thanked him ' for the promise he had giver them, slight as it w as, that the tax wou ld ultimately be re duced or repealed. The CHANCELLO R o f the EXCHE QUER begged to say he had not held o ut th e slightest hope of anything of the sort. After his experi ence of the promises th at had been made seeing hon. with regard to th e i ncome tax he h a d care f u lly avoided holding out any h opes of the kind. Sir F. KELLY said, then he hoped to have th e p leas u r e of the right gen tl ema n again, and to storm the castle until it yield e d at discretion. (L aug ht er .) The deputation th en withdrew. Importing Tea without colour on the leaf pre vents the Chinese passing off inferior leaves as in the usual kinds. Horniman's Tea is uncoloured, therefore, always good alike, Sold in packets by 2.280 agents. SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. TIMES.—The House of Commons transacted no business yesterday. It adjourned to pay a signal mark of respect to the memory of one of its mem bers; and well might it do so, for the country has, indeed, sustained a heavy and irreparable loss. Sir George Cornewall Lewis died on Monday last at his family seat in Herefordshire, whither he had gone to seek relaxation from the labours of the session, but where he was seized with the disease which has abruptly terminated his useful and laborious life. We have been recently drawing attention to the great longevity of our statesmen, and the death of Sir George Lewis, in his 58th year, come to rebuke us for speculating on the duration of human life, and to remind us how frail is the tenure by which we bold the servicesof the most valued and respected of our fellow citizens. But it is by no means to his political services alone that Sir George Lewis owes his great and well-deserved reputation. Before he had taken any part in politics he was an earnest and devoted student, labouring, if ever man diC assidu ously and conscientiously in the pursuit Of truth, and loving every species of knowledge with a pure and unselfish devotion for its own sake. At Oxford he attained the highest honours in classical litera ture, and from that time up to the very latest mo ment of his life the study of the great models of an tiquity was his delight and relaxation. He has written much and ably on many subjects, philoso phical, literary, and philological. He enjoyed a high reputation throughout Europe, and probably has done more than any other critic to draw a clear and strongly defined line between what is fabulous and what is authentic in Roman annals. For many years he has contributed to the instruction of the public, and even a few weeks before his death he gave to the world an elegant and candid dialogue on the best form of Government. Had Sir George Lewis been nothing but a literary man he would have filled a considerable space in the eyes of his con temporaries, and he would have established claims to the regard of posterity. But his death would not have been that grievous loss which every one intui tively perceives it to be. Sir George Lewis has lived from his youth upwards a double life, one-half of which was devoted to literature, and the other to practical business. To anything like oratory he never made any pretension. Calm and unimpas sioned himself, he addressed himself almost exclu sively to the reason of his audience. His voice was agreeable, his manner simple, yet courteous and conciliatory, his illustrations apt, his knowledge wide and accurate, and his manner of dealing with his subject plain and straightforward. He conci liated confidence, he disarmed opposition, and spoke with a weight and authority which is seldom at tained by more ambitious and rhetorical speakers. Such were his usual characteristics, but those who have listened to his happier efforts, such as his ad mirable speech on the transfer of the Government of India from the Company to the Crown, will net deny to him a species of eloquence of his own, aris ing from clearness of arrangement, simplicity of language, and a certain conviction that he was in the right, which he created in his audience. Raised to the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1855, Sir George Lewis discharged its duties during three eventful years greatly to his own honour and to the advantage of the country. All his abstract speculations and all his classical researches had not weakened him in that never-failing practi cal good sense which commended him alike as a safe guide to the theoretical economist and the prac tical man of business. Without making any pre tence to ingenuity, subtlety, or novelty, Sir George Lewis, by the clearness and candour of his state ments, and by the simplicity and straightforward ness of his financial measures, thoroughly satisfied the country that its affairs were in discreet as well as able hands. He has never since then held an office so congenial to his character and talents, but he has up to the last moment of his well-spent and honourable life never lost his hold upon the esteem, we might say, the partial attachment, of the great assembly of which he was an ornament and a fa vourite. Under that mild and unassuming exterior, those simple and unaffected manners, that plain and straightforward utterance, was concealed a power rare and valuable at all times, and never more needed than at the present time. No man sought less for popularity; no man studied less to bend and shape his opinions to meet the temper or the pre judices of his audience; and yet no one ever more entirely achieved that very popularity for which he disdained, or at any rate forbore, to struggle. Among all the persons with whom he was brought into contact in the course of an active and checkered career, Sir George Lewis never made a single enemy; nay, more, it was very difficult to be brought in contact with him without wishing to become his friend. He inspired with the utmost confidence not only his own party, but his political opponents. Always ready to admit large practical modifications of speculative truth, or to acquiesce in the wisdom of pursuing his objects with temperance and mode ration, he had the rare felicity of enjoying the con. fidence and esteem of all parties. He was regarded on all sides as a safe and discreet practical guide, as the man who knew better than any other how to conciliate theory with practice, and to play the part of the Statesman without forgetting the principles of the philosopher. These qualities made him above all men the probable nucleus of some future coalition; the person qualified beyond all others to draw together discordant parties and interests, and to unite them in the pursuit of the public good, at whatever sacrifice of personal prejudice or predi lection. The time has not yet come, but no one can say how far it may be distant, when we may learn, by sad experience, the full amount of the loss which we have sustained in the death of a statesman trusted by all, and the obleetOFfear and jealousy to none. Sir George Lewis hasdied, and left the mis sion which all men of foresight attributed to him un accomplished. Yet it can hardly be said that his life was incomplete or imperfect. Into those 57 laborious years he had crowded and concentrated centuries of labour. He knew no relaxation 'but 1 variety of intellectual employment. The duties of his political position called him from his study, and their intermission restored him with fresh relish to his books. His was no light or perfunctory method of investigation. The notes to his works bear tes timony to his untiring diligence and to the vast mass of authorities which he conscientiously and carefully consulted. People smiled to see a Chan cel:or of the Exchequer investigating the fabulous annals of early Roman history, and a Secretary of State detailing with a most conscientious minute ness the astronomical aberrations of Grecian philo sophers. Yet there was in all this the most perfect simplicity and sincerity, no affectation of versatility, no desire to surprise by the variety of his knowledge or the immensity of his labour. To vanity, whether of ability or industry, the simple and philosophical mind of Sir G. Lewis was entirely superior. He read because it was his delight to acquire knowledge—he wrote because his mind was full, and it was a pleasure to impart it. It has been his felicity to confer; dignity on lite rature by showing how happily it may be blended with political eminence, and to honour and adorn public life by showing that its highest prizes may be honourably won and firmly grasped without re nouncing the pursuit of abstract truth or the culti vation of a liberal spirit of inquiry. But all this unremitting exertion would have re.luired for its longer continuance a frame made of other materials than the frail tabernacle in which the soul is de stined to dwell. The spirit was 'ever willing and eager, but the body was unable to answer the de mands thus incessantly made upon it. It aasbroken down, and all the treasures of varied knowledge and wisdom collected with such unceasing labour in a single mind are-scattered to the winds. But if the public have such reason to mourn the loss of Sir G. Lewis, what must be the feelings of his private friends ? Cold and unimpassioned, as he seemed, no man possessed more the art of attracting and retain ing the regard of others—no one was more steadier in his friendships, no one kinder or more winning in the social relations of life. Of spotless honour, uniting simplicity and sincerity with high ability and immense knowledge, and adorning these solid qualities with genuine wit and unfailing cheer fulness, how could a man so capable of gaining the esteem of his opponents fail to wind himself into the innermost affections of his associates and friends ? HERALD.—EarI Russell has been making April fools of Greece and Europe. He recommended the Greeks to elect Prince William without the sanction of the father and guardian of the Prince, without the sanction of the King or Government of Den mark, and without even the knowlodge of the Danish Minister in London. The first inkling the world got of this strange mad proceeding was the complaint of Earl Russell's organs that Prince Christian had set up sime impossible con ditions, and the declaration of a Danish newspaper that Denmark could only give her consent upon terms which it was quite im possible to accede to. The astonishment was general. It appeared quite incredible that Earl Russell could have invited the Greeks to elect the Prince without having first assured himself that the persons entitled to impose conditions fully acceded to the nomination; but Earl Russell had done so, and Mr. Lay ard tacitly admitted as much last 'tight. Lord Henry Lennox asked the n 1 der Secretary last night whether it wa s b y the reieom mendation of the English Government that the National Assembly of Greece nad proceeded to the election of Prince William of Denlark , secondly, whether it was with the co nsent of the King and Government of Denmark, and full knowledge and consent of Prince Christian, not that so decided a step s was taken ; and thirdly, so, whether it was after consultation with th e D anish minister in Lon don ; or, if not, by whose authority the step had been taken. Td these questions Mr. Layard refused to repiy, and when Lord Henry Lennox intimated his intention to repeat them to-day the - tinder Secre tary had the coolness to say that he would not an swer them even_then. This most unprecedented conduct upon the part of the Government is suffi cient evidence that the recommendation was given without the consent of the King and Government, of Denmark, without the full knowledge and con• sent of Prince Christian, and without the know ledge of the Danish ambassador here. But we can go beyond this evidence, and state most decidedly the step was taken without the consent or knowledge of Prince Christian, of the King of Denmark, or of the Danish Minister. What condemnation can be too severe for such an escapade ? The Greeks have been tricked again. Prince Christian has been per sonally insulted. The Danish Government and people have been wantonly outraged. Prince Chris tian said he would consider the subject. He told Earl Russell that in any case the content of the Danish Government must be obtained. Earl Russell, with out waiting for the condition, without asking the Danish Government for its consent, recommended the Greeks to elect the Prince. We are at a loss to discover what excuse can be offered for such an outrageous piece of folly. Mr. Layard is, no doubt, attempting to evade all explanation, in the hope that some influences may be brought to bear upon Prince Christian and the King of Denmark which will re pair this madcap freak of his chief ; but the country will not submit to have its prestige destroyed by these follies, and Parliament will, we trust, enforce a full explanation, and follow it up by an emphatic censure. LONDON GAZETTE—Yesterday. WAR-OFFICE, APRIL 10. The Queen has been graciously pleased to give orders for the appointment of Major John Clayton Cowell, of the Royal Engineers, the Governor to his Royal Highness the Prince Alfred, to be an Ordinary Member of the Civil Division of the Third Class, or Companions, of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath. FOREIGN-OFFICE, APRIL 13. The Queen has been pleased to approve of Mr. Julius Achenbach as Consul at Bombay for his Majesty the King of Sweden and Norway. The Queen has been also pleased to approve of Mr. Edwin G. Eastman as Consul at Cork for the United States of America. WAR-OFFICE, PALL MALL, APRIL 14. 35th Regiment of Foot—Major-General Simcoe Baynes to be Colonel, vice General Sir George Leigh Li - oldie, K.C.8., deceased. let Regiment of Life Guards—Assistant-Surgeon Owen William George, M.D., to be Surgeon vice Surgeon- Major James Cockburn, who has retired upon half-pay. sth Dragoon Guards—Forster Mayers Clarke, Gent., to be Cornet, by purchase, vice Frederick Betty, who retires ; Robert Stickney Blaine, Gent., to be Cornet, by purchase, vice Langley, transferred to 11th Hussars. 6th Dragoon Guards—Cornet Owen Phibba to be Lieu tenant, by purchase, vice William Edward Dakin, who retires. sth Lancers—Comet Edward Henry Saunders to be Lieu tenant, by purchase, vice Richard Moore Sadlier, who retires ; Charles Hanbury, Gent., to be Cornet, by pur __chase, vice E. H. Saunders. ,th Hussars—Cornet Henry William Langley, from sth Dragoon Guards, to be Cornet, vice Saunderson, pro moted. 13th Hhssars—Staff-Surgeon Cornelius Clark Rutherford to be Surgeon, vice Surgeon-Major Robert Carew Ander. son, M.D., who exchanges. Royal Artillery—Second Captain Peter Macfarlane Syme, to be Captain, vice Tyrwhitt Pulman, deceased ; Lieu tenant David MacFarlan to be Second Captain, vice Syme, Gentleman Cadet Stratford Charles Halliday, to be Lieutenant, vice Henry Mon tague Hozier, appointed to the 2d Life Guards. To be Quartermasters—Troop Quartermaster Robert Knox, Sergeant-Major David Cummings, Quartermaster- Sergeant Bernard Ashbee, Sergeant James Wolfe. Royal Engineers—Sergeant-Major Alexander Richardson to be Paymaster. Grenadier Guards—Lieutenant and Captain Edward Wil liam Lloyd Wynne to be Captain and Lieutenant-Colo nel, by purchase, vice Brevet Colonel Charles L. B. Maitland, who retires upon half-pay ; Ensign and Lieu tenant Leopold Richard Seymour to be Lieutenant and Captain, by • purchase, vice Wynne;; James St. Vin cent Saurnarez, Gent., to be Ensign and Lieutenant, by by purchase, vice Seymour. Bth Regiment of Foot— Staff-Surgeon Thomas Brady to be Surgeon, vice John Irvine, M.D., appointed to the Staff, 17th Foot—Captain William Henry Earle to be Major, by I purchase, vice Richard John Ross O'Co nor , w h o ret i res; Lieut. John Theophilus Bolton Mayne to be Captain, by purchase vice Earle ; Ensign Henry Francis Dent to be Lieutenant, by purchase, vice Mayne ; Sydney Robert Glennie Hobson, Gent., to be Ensign, by purchase, vice Dent. 21st Foot—Francis John Webber, Gent., to be Ensign, without purchase, vice Graves, transferred to 23d Foot. 23d Foot—Lieut. Gustavus William Henry Bussell to be Captain, without purchase, vice Robert Philip Arm strong, deceased ; Ensign Henry Olivier Lloyd to be Lieutenant, without purchase, vice Bussell; Ensign Thomas Bayley Graves, from 21st Foot, to be Ensign, vice Lloyd. 25th Foot—Captain William Henry Henzell, from 37th Foot, to be Captain, vice Hill, who exchanges; Samuel Philip Lucas Konarski, Gent., to be Ensign, by purchase, vice Smith, transferred to 85th Foot. 37th Foot—Captain Charles Edward Hill, from 25th Foot, to be Captain, vice Henzell, who exchanges. 49th Foot—Ensign Edward Foot Gilbert to be Lieutenant, by purchase, vice John Holmes, who retires; Charles Barter Bogue, Gent., to be Ensign, by purchase, vice Gilbert. 66th Foot—The second Christian name of Major Watson is Vincent. 85th Foot—Ensign Gilbert Joshua Spencer Smith, from 25th Foot, to be Ensign, vice Arthur A. Capel, who retires. 108th Foot—Ensign Algernon Seymour Tollemache to be Lieutenant, without purchase, vice Musgrave Henry Lushington Harris, who, having been appointed to the regiment under a misunderstanding, is allowed to with draw from it, and to revert to the 11th Madras Native Infantry. UNATTACHED.—Captain and Adjutant Frederick Beswick, from a Depot Battalion, to be Major, without purchase, such promotion not to carry half-pay prior to Ist April, 1863. MEDICAL DEPARTMENT.—Surgeon-Major Robert Carew Anderson, M.D., from 13th Hussars, to be Staff Surgeon- Major, vice Cornelius Clark Rutherford, who exchanges; Surgeon-Major Alexander Gibb, M.D., from a Depot Battalion, to be Staff Surgeon-Major, vice Thomas Clark Brady, appointed to the Bth Foot ; Surgeon John Irvine, M.D., from the Bth Foot, to be Staff-Surgeon, vice Wm. Tydd Harding, appointed to the 19th Foot. PURVEYOR'S DEPARTMENT—Purveyor Augustus William Pigott to be Principal Purveyor, vice Wm. Henry Clapp, placed upon retired pay. BREVET. Captain and Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel Edwin Beau mont Johnson, C. 8., Royal Artillery, having completed five years' qualifying service in the rank o f Li eu t enan t- Colonel, under the provisions of the Royal Warrant of 14th October, 1858, to be Colonel. Lieutenant-Colonel William Polleafen Radcliffe, of the 20th Foot, having completed five years' qualifying service in the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel under the provisions of the Royal Warrant of 14th October, 1858, to be Colonel. Lieutenant-Colonel Win. Falconer Hay (local rank) to have the local rank of Colonel whilst holding the appoint ment of Commandant at Worley. Paymaster Henry Peacock, Rifle Brigade, to have the honorary rank of Captain. Paymaster Maurice Hartland Mahon, 9th Lancers, to have the honorary rank of Captain. The following promotions to take place consequently on the decease of General Sir George Leigh Goldie, K.C.8., Colonel of the 35th Foot, on March 26, 1863: Lieutenant-General Mildmay Faue, Colonel of the 54th Fool, to be General. Major-General William Booth, Colonel of the 15th Foot, to be Lieutenant-General. Lieutenant-Colonel and Brevet-Colonel Thomas James Galloway, from the 70th Foot, to be Major-General. Captain and Brevet Lieutenant -Color el Francis Perry Nott, half-pay, Ist Garrison battalion, Staff Officer of Pen. sioners, to be Colonel. Major John Peel, half-pay, Depot battalion, to be Lieu tenant-Colonel, Captain Augustus William Ord, 20th Foot, to be Major. COMMISSIONS SIGNED BY THE QUEEN. East Yorkshire Regiment of Militia—Captain John Edward Btodhurst, late 4th Dragoon Guards, to be Adju tant, from Feb. 21, 1863, vice Maunsell, resigned. Royal Glamorganshire Light Infantry Militia—Francis Goodfellow, Gent., to be Quartermaster, from Jan, 30, 1863. BANKRUPTCIES ANNULLED. David Amis, commercial traveller, Kennington William Rounding, miller, Bempton, Yorkshire BANKRUPTS. The following are the only bankrupts of any importance which appear in the Gazette : Andrew Donato, cabinetmaker, Victoria-park George Lowthian Hill, artist, Kensington Thomas Gilbert, maltster, Storrington, Sussex lireorge Painton, farmer, Barming, Kent Isaac P. Lines, cabinet maker, Birmingham homas Griffiths, farmer, Kentchurch, Herefordshire Jchn Butler, baker, Darlaston, Staffordshire William Gough, brass founder, Walsall Alfred Fowler, grocer, Birmingham Charles Driffield, commission agent,Lozells, Birmingham John Roberts, jun., fishmonger, Billingsgate John Payne, builder, Fulham • Angela Hanson, lodging-house keeper, Hastings John Henry Hill, traveller, Pentonville, Middlesex Charles Flint, grocer, Dalston John Ward, licensed victualler, St. George's•street, St. St. George's-in-the-East John Reader, commission agent, Eden-terrace, Battersea John Hadley, coal merchant, Sittingbourne, Kent George Knight, commercial traveller, Camden-town Mark T. Cooke, jeweller, Clerkenwell-Green Henry Harvey, saddler, Kennington-r oad Evan Williams, engine fitter, Battersea-park Thomas Venner, grocer, Dalston Francis Bell, milliner, High-street, Southwark Joseph Wheeler, plasterer, Kensington Thomas Bennett Pinyon farmer, Northam terJpsahhmiirlieeps Teague, coal prop r i e t or , Hayloe-house, Glouces - Heise, farmer, West Lee, Devonshire Benjamin Naylor, builder, Leeds William Robert Jones, c ew d farmer, George Sibson Pill, builder, Birkenhead arn arvonsh r e a l woollenl, Townyn, draper, C Liverpool Paull Ogden, plumber, Manchester William Callaway, plumber, Exeter John G. Fletcher, baker, Bi rmin g ham Berkshire Thos. Dunne, farmer, Pertahybeenc William Handel!, bricklayer , Kmtbur y , hd le Lancaster , George Moore, butcher , R ek ford James Holden, dyer , Roc Frederick Pearson, m achine agent, Nottingham John Simpson, plumber, Manchester George Rogers, bookbinder, Manchester John Shaul, grocer, Bath Joseph Simpkins, jun., surgeon dentist, Bath George Bragg, potter, Stoke-upon •Trent Thomas Charles Kirkman, grocer, Leeds John Rapley, butcher, Shipley, Sussex William Tweedie, drapery Leeds John Bradshaw Platt, bookseller, Bolton DESPERATE ENCOUNTER. On Friday morning early, Leaves-house, the resi dence of Mr. John Elenderson, one of the principal partners in the firm of Messrs. Henderson and Co., carpet manufacturers, Durham, was broken into by burglars, evidently adepts in the profession, and a quantity of silver plate was taken out of the draw ing room, with some wine and brandy. A terrier dog that had been allowed to go at large in the house was found half stupefied in the kitchen in the morning, having been drugged. There have been several burglaries committed in the neighbourhood of Newcastle, Durham, and Shields during the win ter months, and the police of the district have for some time suspected a ticket-of-leave convict named ' Daglish of being concerned in them. A party of notorious thieves, among whom was Daglish, had taken up their residence in Gateshead, but they had been so closely watched by the police that they betook themselves to Newcastle, taking up their residence in Hindhaugh-street, near the barracks. With a view to satisfying himself that Daglish was staying in Hindhaugh-street, Detective Leitch, of the Gateshead police force, along with Detectives Parker and Thorburn, of the Newcastle force, pro ceeded to the house on Sunday afternoon. On knock ing at the door it was opened by a woman, who on seeing them appeared to be much alarmed. The officers pushed past her, and she made off into the street with considerable alacrity. They proceeded upstairs, and on entering the room found Daglish, the man they were looking for, and another ticket of-leave man, who afterwards gave his name as Brown, two other men, and two women. The two latter-mentioned men and the two women made their escape while the conflict that immediately took place was going on. One of the men got out of a back window, slid down a spout into a backyard, and so got off. As soon as Daglish saw the officers, he seized a poker, which at that time was in the fire, and aimed a murderous blow at the head of Leitch. Parker, however, was too quick for him, for he caught the poker before it could reach Leitch'S head, though he burnt his hands severely thereby. Daglish let go his hold, but seized a brace and bit, with which he struck Leitch over the head, inflicting a severe wound, and the blood flowed in streams. Leitch closed with him, Daglish resisting his apprehension with tremendous strength; but Par ker assisted Leitch. In the desperate affray that ensued Leitch got hold of the brace and bit, and in- dieted some severe blows upon the burglar, whose face was covered with blood. The struggle was most desperate, both the officers and Daglish being covered with blood, but Parker at last got the latter by the neck and completely overpowered him. Thorburn in the meantime had been engaged with Brown, a big powerful man, who, like Daglish, resisted his apprehension with much desperation. Thorburn, however, was helped by a civilian who looked in, and bis man was overcome. The two prisoners were shortly after removed to the West gate police station, followed by a large crowd, and both burglars and policemen had to be immediately attended by a surgeon. Upon searching the house in Hindhaugh-street, the silver plate stolen on Friday from Leaves-house, Durham, Mr. Hew derson's mansion, together with a quantity of other valuables evidently the proceeds of former robbe ries, and some pick-locks were discovered by the police. The prisoners were brought up yesterday before the Newcastle magistrates, and were re manded. The capture of Daglish has given great satisfaction in the northern towns, for he was known to be a most desperate fellow, and the fact that he had been liberated upon a ticket-of-leave in the early part of the winter caused very great dissatis- Aiction. There appears to be little doubt that im mediately upon reaching the north he had resumed his old ways, for coincident with his appearance in his former haunts the police began to receive infor mation of burglaries committed in detached houses. COUNTRY MARKETS. ,~. LE ED S-T UE S DAY. The market very slow, except for fine qualities of neW English wheat, which sold readily at former currencies. The supply of wheat only moderate. Foreign barley wail in better supply, and the prices scarcely equal to last week. Beans, cats, and other articles unchanged in value or de mand. MARKET HARBOROUGH—TUESDAY. White wheat, 49s to 52s ; red, 43s to 47s per 36 stone. Malting barley at 355,t0 38s per qr. ; grinding, 30s to 31s per 30 at. Oats, old, 265, to 28s; new, 21s to 23s per 24 at. ; beans, 37s to 43s per qr. SHEFFIELD—TUESDAY. There was a fair show of wheat to-day, for which last Tuesday's rates were about realised. Red wheat, per lead of 3 imperial bushels...lBs Od to 19s Od White ...21s Od to 23s Od New red 7 .158 Od to 16s oa New white ' I ...19s Od to 20s Od Beans II ) f ); ); ...16s Od to 19s 6 d Peas, per qr Grinding barley, per qr 28s Od to 30s 001 Malting ditto, If 34s Od to 406 Od Oats 2os Od to 27s Od Flout, is 7d to 28 2d per stone. LIVERPOOL-TUESDAY. At our market to-day there was a quiet trade, with fair attendance of the town and country trade, but fa buyers from a distance. Wheat was in moderate request for consumption, and no change in price. There was littlo business doing in flour, and prices were very irregular• For oats and oatmeal the demand was small, at late prices. Indian corn firm, at 3d per qr advanee on last week. Bar, ley and peas in favour of buyers. Egyptian beans is pet quarter higher. MELTON MOWBRAY-TUESDAY. Tho followin 6 - were the currencies :—New white wheat! 47s Od to 536 Od ; new red, 44s Od to 48s per 36 stone ! beans, 40s to 42s for old; new sorts, 37s to 40, per 38 st. barley, 36s to 39s for malting, and 22s to 25s per qr. for grinding; oats, 22s to 30s Od per 24 stone. Foreign Mail Packet List. MAILS DUE. Aus'aalia and Mauritius, via Southampton „Apr. 18. via Marseilles Apr. 12. brazil and Cape Verds, by British packet. May 4. Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena May 3. China, Penang, and Singapore, via Southampton Apr. 18. via Marseilles Apr. 1 2 ' Falkland Islands Gibraltar, via Southampton India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampton... Apr. I F,' via Marseilles Apr. India (Bombay), via Southampton .. Apr. 10 via Marseilles Portugal.... Malta, Egypt, and Ad en , v i a S out h ampton AP pa r r .. 1 2 :: Newfoundland via Marseilles May. Oporto and Vigo UU. S. and British N. A mer i ca , by B r it. p ac k e t.. .. .AApprr.:ll6s6'.. , by U.S. packet. A.. W.C. of Africa, Madeira, and I b ' y en C e a ri n ff a e d ! ... Apr. 10. Bahamas, via New York May % Mexico All parts of West Indies, including Chili, Peru, ) Apr. 13. California, and British Columbia.. packet.Apr. 10. Births. BUCKLAND.—On the 13th i nst., at Laleham Chertsey, th e wife of the Rev. M. H. Buckland, of a deli' ghter. , DESBOROUGH.—On the 9th in s t., at Plumstead, neariirool with, the wif e o f Lieut.-Colonel Desborough, R.A., of a daughter. STEPHENS.—On the 13th inst., at Lee-road, Blackheath , Mrs. W. R. Stephens, of a son. STEPwIL., EN M SO rs. N.— st O ep n h t e h n e so l n 3 : h of in a st s . o , n a . t 67, S. George's-square' S.W., Marriages. BATIMRST—BAUTTON.—On the 14th inst., at St. James'Ot Norland, the Rev. W. A. Bathurst, M.A., eldest son of the late Commodore Walter Bathurst, R.N., to Emm a Mortimer, youngest daughter of the late Major John. Bruton, R.M.L.I. ECKFORD—FORREST.—On the 13th inst. a t K en sington , Lieut.-General J ames Eckford, C. 8 ., , to Mary, 0111 ! daughter of Arth ur Forrest, Esq., late of Forest Ledg 4 Binfield, Berks. Deaths. ADAMS.—On the 13th inst., suddenly, Mr. James Wip er Adams, of the Union T a y ern, Air-street, Regent-stre et, aged 44, BRODRICK. —On the 12th bast., at Bath, the Hon. C 1 2 8" lotte Brodrick, aged 62. BOROUGH.—On the 12th inst., at Dublin, the Lady Eliz a ' beth Borough, wife of Sir Edward Borough, Bart. FIDDES.—On the 13th inst., at his residence, Oakfl , --- Cheltenham, Lieut.-General Fiddes, aged 82. FOWLER.—On the 13th inst., at Milford, near Salisb l l' Dr. Fowler, aged 98. GREENHILL.—On the 13th inst., at Barnes, G. Greenhi ll° Esq., of Bury-street, St. J ames ' s, aged 67. GRAY.—On the 14th inst., at Hackney, Mr. Wm. 01141 builder, aged 83. WRIGHT.—On the 13th i nst., Matthew Wr i ght, E s q., CO Albion-road, Stoke Newington, aged 77. London : Printed and Published by WILLIAM ANDltim /$ of No. 112, St ran d , P r i nter, a t T HE S uN Off ic e, No. •"' Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the CountY ° Middlesex.—. Wednesday, April 15, 103.