The Sun. — London, England, 1863-09-23 00:00:00

!THE AMERICAN WAR. A crowde• 3 meeting was held on Monday night in the Music-hall at Leeds, in support of the cause of emancipa tion in A.mi Irica, and the neutral policy of the British Go vernme•at. The presence of Mr. Forster, M.P. (who pres sided), and of the Rev. W. H. Chancing, from the United States,, :imparted an additional interest to the proceedings, which, were of the most unanimous and enthusiastic charac ter. There were also present on the platform the Rev. G. W. Co nder, Rev. John Adcock, Rev. George Mather, Dr. Green - how, Mr. John Jewitt, Mr. Joseph Lupton, Mr. T. B, Baines, Mr. Alderman Carter, Mr. Councillor Tatham, Mr. Councillor Nichols, Mr. W. Brown, Mr. Thompson, Mr. J. W. Smith, Mr. Harvey, Mr. DaNid Green, Mr. J. Andrew, and many other friends of the slave. Mr. J. LUPTON, in proposing that Mr. Forster should occupy the chair, stated that but for another engagement the Mayor would have been present and occupied that posi tion. (Applause.) Mr. W. BROWN seconded the resolution, which was car. Tied with acclamation. The CHAIRMAN was received with enthusiastic cheering, and after a few introductory remarks referring to the mis understanding which existed upon the question of the pre sent struggle, and of the fear that another evil might be added to it leading to a difference between England and America, he said—Just allow me to say one er two words upon this misunderstanding in both countries. First, as regards Ourselves. I think that a great deal of ill-feeling —which I am sorry to see--exists in America, arising from a consciousness, and in some measure a right-founded con sciousness, on their part, that we misconceive this great struggle in its very principle and in its foundation, and that we have, if I may so speak, underrated it. (Hear, hear.) Ido not mean that we underrate it in point of the numbers engaged in it. We tare quite im pressed with the tremendous extent on which the war is carried on. In point of numbers it is greater than almost any other civil war in any age. (Hear, hear.) We are aware also of the immense sufferings which it has caused in America, and which it has caused also in our own coun try, and we are aware of the tremendous loss of life and money; but many of us, I regret to say, are not alive to the tremendous importance of the principle which is at stake, which is, if I may put it in just one sentence, simply this, whether upon the continent of America the principle of allavery or the principle of freedom shall predominate. (Cheers.) Now, look back at history, and can you put your finger upon any war that was ever carried on in which a greater question was at stake than that? (Cheers.) Many persons say, "It is no use going to hear you; you are a strong Federalist." In answer to that I may say that I am not in every sense a Federalist. (Hear, hear.) lam not blind to the faults of the north. (Hear.) lam not blind to the inconsistency with which this war has been carried on, nor am I blind to the words which some of the statesmen and many of the papers have used towards this country. (Hear.) But I still remember this, that they are, many of them, it is true, quite unconsciously, yet that they are, fighting--and cannot help fighting the battle for freedom — against the Southern Confederacy, who, avowedly and de terminedly, and without any attempt at concealment, are fighting the battle of slavery. They tell me lam fanatical upon this question. Ido not feel that I owe an apology to an English audience for being fanatical on the ques tion of slavery. (Hear, hear.) As to whether there shall be liberty in this world is a question upon wh ich n o man can be fanatical. (Hear.) Of all political questions w hich can be brought forward—l will saynothing of philanthropic considerations—this question of freedom from slavery is the most important. (Cheers.) There are men—l confess it fills one with wonder and surprise—men who have done good service to the Liberal cause in past times, who have fought hard for that cause, yet who profess that it is fanaticism to care whether slavery shall or shall not rule over the conti nent of America. They go so far as to say that it is possible that there can be political liberty where there is domestic slavery. Now, I say that is a great mistake. (Cheers.) If men would learn the very alphabet of freedom they would see that wherever there is domestic slavery, wherever the first political right —a right even above and beyond all po litics—the right of man to the disposal of his own body and the government of his own soul—(cheers)—where that is denied by the law, political liberty is not safe. (Cheers.) If it be possessed by the master class, that class cannot keep it in safety, and the very words "political liberty" are a farce and a delusion. (Cheers.) History proves that it was because the old Republicans of Rome allowed themselves to be cor rupted into domestic slavery that the master class lost their own liberty—(hear) —and we find that in the South, where the slaveholder had power—to use Carlyle's expression —to hire their negro fellow-countrymen for life—not merely hir ing their labour, but hiring the chastity of the women and the souls and brains of the men—that is to do what they would with that honour, mind, brain, and soul —when they did that to one class they at the same time deprived their white fellow-citizens of the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, and almost of thefreedomof thou - 4ht. (Cheers.) There is no more true fact than this, and I do not care if I am again charged with fanaticism for repeating it, that if you look at this question calmly and philosophically, you will find that when the system of domestic slavery is once admitted in any social fabric whatever, it so fastens itself upon its framework that it is utterly impossible that it can live in peace with it unless it masters it. (Hear, hear.) It must master it, or it will go to war with it, and strive to break it up. (Hear, hear.) That was tb a case in America. Three years ago I looked forward to the future of the United States with fear and trembling. I did not know what punishment God would inflict upon them for having connived at this sin of slavery, (Hear, hear.) Every one saw that that slave-power had been first stealthily and then openly endeavoured to master the Union, and to use every power in the Union for the extension of slavery; that it hung upon the balance whether the great Republic of Ame rica WAS to be a great Power, for the spread of freedom, as we in England had hoped, or for the spread of slavery and its extension and perpetuation throughout the world, whether the whites of America themselves would not lose their freedom in selling themselves to the slaveholders of the South. (Applause.) The freemen of the North took - fright; they found out what was going on. They said, " This is no mere negro question, it is no mere philan • thropic question" and it would have been well for them and for their country if they had felt more strongly the philan thropic part of the question, and the just claims of the negro ; but at least they saw the danger to their country, and said, " We will not allow this slave-power to go on in creasing ; we will make head against it, we will take care that it does not rule us," (Cheers.) What followed ? The slaveholders, finding that they could no longer wield the Amerioan commonwealth to support the system of slavery, said, " We will break up and destroy the Union, and set up a Confederacy of our own." The men of the North, the patriots of the Union, said, " We will not submit to that ;" and we, many of us in England, who wore utterly reckless of money or life when we thought Russia merely threatened to stop the communication with our Eastern possessions— who were still more reckless of money and life to preserve our empire in India—when we know that there is scarcely one of us in this country, of any party, who would not, if it one to the dire alternative, use every power he possessed te, keep Ireland as a sister country in union with England —yet we who know that we have this patriotic feeling and would undergo the greatest sacrifices before we would allow our country to be cut to pieces or diminished, or to become a weak Power rather than a strong Power—we complained o f the North Americans and said to them, "You have entered upon a wicked war," because they would not allow the slaveholders of the South, in order to perpetuate and extend slavery, to break up their country, and make it a divided, a weak, and almost powerless country instead of a great and powerful one. (Loud cheers.) I say this, that I will g i ve many of those who argue thus the credit that if the same result or anything like it was upon the issue in England they would bo as foremost in desiring to prevent their country from being destroyed as the most ardent and fierce N ortherner at this moment. (Hear, hear.) That is the way in which this dreadful war has come to pass. I mourn over a —. s —, ever ; I lament it. I also think it a wicked war, but I age the wickedness upon those who began the war in the worst of all possible causes. (Cheers.) l a m willing to allow that even with them—for a strange thing is human nature —so m e of them may have forced themselves into the belief that they were in a good cause. I don't pretend to deny the valou r of the men of the South; I will not deny that they have alley, mazy fine qualities i n thi s war, I will go even furth er, and say that it i s very difficult for men, even in a bad cause, to have submitted to veal, the auffel4nfig::::: the sacrifices and self-denial which many men in the South out o f It Purified and better have undergone, without coming than when they went in. But while . that is the cease, I cannot forget upon which side the right is. far v•-oar., hear.) Though I lament more than I can is the result of this war, and the crimes which have been committed ou both sides, from the presence of ala American I cannot but say it would be well if the p u b lic opinion of America were raised more strongly against the atrocities committed in the Northern States as well a s i n the Southern. (Rear, hear.) l a m well aware that in a tremendous crisis like this there are strong temptations,and that even Chriatiau and patriotic people find it difficult to prevent war being carried on other than with that ferocity which, more or less always accompanies war ; still, great as are the temptations, Christians must not forget their duty. Nevertheless, I say, much as we lament this war, its sufferings and crimes, I do rejoice at what we may now hope will be the result of it. (Applause.) After many changes up and down—after it had appeared as if this s l ave power would be victorious and triumphant, and that 19th century, see successful the attempt we should, in this to raise a great new fabric, whose corner stone was slavery —(and such an attempt to retard the cours e of progress has not been attempted since Julian attempted to stop the progress of Christianity)—at last a change hats come. Look for a moment at what would have been the case if the slave power had succeeded , a nd we had been left to 111 r. Glad stone's hope , that in its success would be its failure. e be lieve there would eventually have been a failure it the South had been triumphant. They would have raised against them the public opinion of the world, and freedom would have been triumphant eventually, because there is a God that rules the world and not a devil. (Loud cheers.) Bat ter rible as is now the contest it would then have been even more terrible, for the slave power would have been stronger, and now that the contest has come, I rejoice that we can foresee this result, that, whatever else comes out of it— whether a restored union, which does not now seem impos- Bible, or a subordinate, hemmed up, weak, slave-holding republic in the cotton States, this, at least, is certain--the dream of the slaveholdera of a slave empire has din' peered, and out of the war we shall get this compensation, that on the continent of America the power and princ:ples of free dom will rule, and not the power and prin • t ; ~( r , of slavery. I think it just arises from our losing sight the question at issue that we have treated this American struggle in a manner which has not unnaturallyeacited ill feelingin that country, and I think the more we can hear from intelligent Americans who understand our country as well as their own, and who can tell us facts upon this American struggle, the more we shall be able to get to a good understanding of it, and therefore to remove that ill-feeling. (Hear.) I have now, what I scarcely ever had before, the opportunity of speaking to an American, and Mr. Channing must allow me to say a word or two to him, and through him to some of his countrymen. It may be that Englishmen do not quite understand the feeling of the Americans, and I think in America also there is some misconception and misunderstand, ing of the action of England. There is a feeling in America if we may judge by the papers and the statements of the leading men, that England has done them a wrong, an actual and positive wrong, which it is their business, almost their duty, to revenge when they have the opportunity. I say that is not the case. I dont mean that there have not been men in Eng land who have taken the side of the South. There have been many, especially in what are called the upper classes, but, after all, it is not for the speeches of men, even if they have " hon." or " noble" stuck before their names, that the coun try must be responsible, nor is it for writing in newspapers we must be held responsible. Mr. Channing would not like me to make him or his country responsible for the writ ing of the New York Herald. (Laughter.) I don't compare the IVew York Herald to the Times or Morning Herald — but I say the Americans should not make us responsible for anything written in the Times or Morning Herald. (Hear.) All we ought to be judged by is the action of the country, and as far as the action of the country is concerned—so far as we have acted in a national capacity, the Americans have little or no reason to find fault, and that is what they ought to bear in mind. (Hear.) They ought also to remember, when their hearts rankle at any expression made by many of the upper classes of the country, how their cause has been viewed by the great masses of the people. (Hear.) For every nobleman, for every man who ha s a title before his name who has taken the side of the South, there have been 10, 20, and even 100 hardworking men who have taken the side of the North and freedom. (Cheers.) And they have done so with every temptation and every inducement brought to bear upon them to take the other side. They have been told by ingenious men (I will not say sent for the purpose) that their sufferings—and many of them have suffered d ee ply—have been caused by this h war, F and . that the war ha s been caused by the action of the Federals , and yet such i has been their instinctive feeling — they know what lib er ty ' 's and ill will it be for England when the workin g men forget what liberty is—such has been their instinctive feel. jug that they have refused to be misled, and I do say it will ungenerous of America to rem em b er anything ga i n s be England, when we c an po i nt to that large meet -3 i ng of the half starving working men of Manchester i n the Free Trade Hall—(cheers)—when they took the lead in saying—" No matter what the sufferings we may endure, no matter what the sacrifices we may have to undergo, we will not allow our Government to de part from the strict principle of neutrality on behalf of the slaveholding Confederacy." (Loud applause.) Mr. Chan ning and his friends must also recollect that although there may have been expressions—talk in favour of the South, there has been no action. There has been talk in the House of Commons in its favour. I have felt, when in advocating a neutral policy I stated what I conceived to be the just claims of the North, I had not got the feeling of the House on my side ; but, on the other hand, if any one tried to get the House of Commons to press upon the Government to depart from the principles of neutrality and adopt the side of the South. the common sense of the House was proved to be against him. (Hear, hear.) I say, therefore, to the Americans, as wise men, you must pay little attention to mere talk or mere writing, you must go by actions, and, judging them, we as a nation have done nothing against you. On the contrary, I say, to the credit of our Govern ment—and not merely to the credit of the leaders of the Whig party, but also to the credit of the leaders of the Tory party, and to Lord Derby especially, who in his speech against recognition at the beginning of the Session laid down in language which it was impossible could fail to in fluence hie party, that any premature recognition would be a breach of international law—it is, thanks to the action of the leaders of both parties, that our Government has resisted the notoriously strong pressure on the part of France to depart from strict neutrality and recognise the South—(cheers)—and, therefore, instead of complain ing of us, the Americans should remember that, as a nation, we have in that matter stood their friends. We have done no more than we ought to have done, but there is no doubt of it that we had our powerful and influential ally pressing us to recognise the South, and our Government refused to do it. (Hear, hear.) lam well aware there is one matter in which we may appear to have departed from this neutrality, and that is in the sailing of the Alabama. That again was not the act of the Government. I think Earl Russell was caught napping—(laughter) —but I know he did not wish her to go out, and has done his utmost to prevent any others following her. I want to say a word or two on this shipping question. Let us forget that we are an anti-slavery meeting, and look at this purely as affect ing England's interests. I say that as a great maritime nation—the greatest commercial nation in the world—it is to our interests more than to those of any other nation that it should not be international law that ships may sail out of neutral ports to aid in belligerent operations such as the Alabama has engaged in, and which those two steam rams would do if they were not stopped. (Cheers.) I will just put a case in point. We had a war lately with Russia, and sent out the best fleet we could man under the best Admi ral we could find, to Cronstadt. Why did we do so ? It was net that we supposed that the fleet could batter down that fort. We also knew that in blockading Cronstadt we could net starve the trade of Russia, because it would only be a question of cost, and merchandise would be sent through Prussia by railway. But why we sent the fleet was that we wanted to make our own trade and commerce safe through out the world, and we said, " We will seal up the port of Cronstadt to prevent the Russian privateers and ships of war going out and destroying oar commerce." If we were to allow Alabamas to be the rule of international law for the future, such a course would have been a pure waste of money, because, instead of sending out privateers from Cronstadt, Russia could send them from New York, Phila delphia, Hamburg, Havre, or any other port in the world. If we allow this to become international law the result will be that whenever we carry on war we shall be obliged to do one of two things—either to blockade every large port of every nation in the world, as well as the ports of the nation with which we are at war, or else to give up our commercial trade and sail our marine under the flags of other nations. There never was a ease in which our interests was more clear than it is to have this stopped, and my great anxiety is lest this war should come to an end (which I trust it will do soon) before we have undone any harm which may have been done by our letting the Alabama go out; for, if we do not, depend upon it other countries will take advantage and use our own precedent against us. (Hear, hear.) lam glad that there is so large a meeting ; and I hope you will do your best to strengthen the neutral policy of the Government on this question of ships. I do not deny that there are difficulties, which I wish Mr. Channing to remember, and this is the great difficulty, that we have always felt it a point of honour not to alter our laws at the dictation of any foreign country, and although we see that we must make this matter plain for our own interests it is not an easy thing to do, but it is so evident that I feel persuaded the common sense of the country will insist upon it. (Hear.) Some people say, "What is the difference between sending out a ship of war and sending out cannon and muskets ?" I don't mean to say that we should supply belligerents with muskets ; but in this case both sides have got them. But cannon and muskets cannot be used for belligerent purposes until they get into the hands of the belligerents, and whatever quantity of cannon or muskets are supplied, either to the Federals or the Confederates, they are useless until they get on to Federal or Confederate territory. Consequently, the one belligerent Government has the chance of stopping, by blockading the ports of the other belligerent, and he may say if material of war enters it is their fault from want of power or activity to stop it. Bat they cannot guard thus against ships, because they never go into the ports, and if a neutral supplies such ships he is taking part in the war, and the only possible way in which the belligerents can stop this is by going to war with the neutral. What we have to aim at, therefore, is to prevent our subjects sending out from our ports armaments which are to be . used for belligerent pur poses before they go into a belligerent port. That is the problem our lawmakers have to solve, and which the com mon sense and interest of the country will compel them to solve. (Hear.) I trust you will strengthen the hands of the Government in that matter. Efforts have been made to secure a premature recognition ; they have been fruitless, and very much owing to the stand which Lord Derby and others took in the early part of the session. But another effort is ma ki ng, not so much in England as by our great ally the Emperor. We have hitherto avoided interference against all sorts of temptatio ns ; d on 't l et us be dragged into (Cheers.) To use homely language he has got into a mess with his expedition to Mexico. (Hear.) lam sorry we had anything to do with that Mexican business, but we had the sense to draw out very quickly. Mean) He went on with it, believing what was said in many quarters, that the Con federates were sure to succeed. It now appears by no means certain that the Confederates will succeed, and he finds him self with the new Mexican Empire on his back, does not know how to bear the load, and want s t o shove the burden on the English people. (Laughter.) D on ' t let us take any part of that burden. (Cheers.) I ant leo a dvocate of the Monroe doctrine, and think they hove uttered a great deal of nonsense in America respecting it, but it is no business of ours in any way to support the Emperor in his M ex i can cerequest, for it is nothing else. As to the declaration of the Mexican people that they desire a change of government, it is only a declaration of a few of the people afraid of the French bayonets. (Hear.) I see it stated, though I hope we shall have an explanation from Government, that we have something to do with pressing the Archduke Maxi milian to put himself in the position of becoming a French pensioned Emperor in Mexico, If an Austrian Archduke has not got that sense of family pride which would prevent his accepting the rule of a people by the help of the great rival of his family, don't let him hereafter be able to say, "You induced me to put myself in this false position." The fact is, that the Emperor of the French knows that when this war is ended he will find it difficult to keep up his power over Mexico, unless he has a Southern Confederacy between himself and the Union; so he starts a new idea for which he wants the French people to go to war. This idea, as it is expressed in a publication I purchased in Paris, and which is supposed to be written partly from his inspiration, is "to counterbalance the Anglo-Saxon race, and give the Latin race their chance upon the con tinent of America." (Laughter.) That may be a fantastic or a reasonable idea, but it is an idea foe which we are not going to lose any money or blood to carry it out in Mexico. Therefore I say, if there be, as I believe there are, attempts at this moment by the Emperor of the French to induce us now, even at the last hour, to recognise the South, there never was a clearer case than that our Government, which has preserved neutrality until this moment, should not be dragged into it by French intrigue to suit French purposes. (The hon. gentleman sat down amid loud cheers.) Mr. T. B. BAINES moved, and the Rev. G. MATHER seconded the first resolution, as follows : •' That in the measures of the Federal Government in relation to the negro race, and in the rapid spread and growth of anti-slavery feeling in most parts of the Northern States, this meeting cannot but recognise the fact that the present calamitous war, begun by the slaveholders to per petuate and extend slavery, is being overruled by Divine Providence for its destruction." The Rev. W. H. CRANNING, on rising to support the motion, NI as received with loud cheers. He observed that when the echo of their response to the powerful arguments and earnest appeals of the speakers who had addressed them was heard in the United States—and it would be heard-- (hear, hear)—the question woull come, why is not this response universal throughout Great Britain ? This was the wonder of wonders to them in America, and the cause, ne believed, was that touched upon by the chairman—viz., the misunderstanding of this controversy. He was anxious, in all kindness, to free their minds from the fog of prejudice, and to show them how they had been misled and bewil dered by the sophistries of those who desired to deceive them. In order to illustrate this portion of his argument, he referred to certain statements in the /tido; the slave holders' organ in England, in which it was denied that the late J. B. Floyd had done anything to encourage seces sion or betrayed the Union, and contrasted it with the speeches of men in the South who affirmed that the Con federacy could hardly ever repay the debt they owed to him. Adverting to the remarks of the chairman con demning the cruelties of the North in conducting warlike operations, he asserted that there was no war in history which had been conducted with a greater effort to make it as humane as possible than the war that had been re luctantly forced upon the unwilling people of the North, and that there was a prevalent feeling in the people and Government of the Northern States to temper its horrors to the utmost, to wipe them away instantly, to gladden the whole South with restored peace and prosperity, to raise up her down-fallen people, and to clasp them to their breast once more, in spite of their cruelties and atrocities, as brethren. (Applause.) He did not often quote the Times—(lsaghter)—but in confirmation of his statement he read an extract from the letter of Charles Mackay, the New York correspondent of that journal, in which he admitted that the Northerners had conducted hostilities in the most "chivalrous spirit." Nothing but the sternest truth would have extorted that from Charles Mackay or the London Times. (Applause.) He replied to the alle- gation that the secession arose from dissatisfaction with the tariffs, and showed by the votes given that the South themselves, and not the North, oonstituted"the majority in favour of these tariffs. He had the votes for the tariff of 1857, never changed until after the secession. In the House of Representatives, answering to the House of Commons, the Northern votes in favour of the tariff were 60, against it 65. The Southern votes in favour of it were 63, or three more than the Northern votes. What was the vote in the Senate, corresponding to the House of Lords in England ? The votes in favour given by the North were 14, and by the South in favour 19. The com bined votes of the South were 82, and of the North 74. ch w N e e e v e t r h e a g e tt a i u n e e I et of s t e te e m s s i h o n e a r. The h h a e t r i e t v . w g a e s n the m tariff en th ewnh re plied plied to another ajection—viz., that their armies were mixed and foreigners. In the army of one State of 26,000 men, 21,000 were native New Englanders and native Westerners. (Hear, hear.) For every wounded foreigner ho had seen in the American army he had seen ten natives. He had asked an Englishman who had been wounded while fighting in the American army why he had joined the service, and he replied " Why, sir, I came to strike a blow for freedom," (Cheers.) There were also in the American army noble-hearted and generous sons of Ireland, and Germans, and Frenchmen, and their desire was to strike a blow for liberty—(hear, hear)—and he thought the notion that the sentiment which actuated those brave men was not universal arose from misconception. (Hear.) Tho war was the result of a carefully prepared conspiracy by a slaveholding oligarchy. (Applause.) The civil war was nothing in its conception,and had been nothing in its career, but a conspiracy by a slaveholding oligarchy to trample under their feet the most glorious republic which humanity had ever seen, on which rested the blessing and hope of Providence. (Applause.) They wished to break away from the United States in order to establish a vast slave empire, holding the great lines of communication be tween the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean, which should enable them to dictate terms to the commercial world. They meant to overlap and to convert the free republic into a slave empire, (Applause.) The argument whim they used was this, that inasmuch as the constitution recognized the representation of three fifths of the slaves, therefore the constitution itself recognized slavery, and the constitution carried slavery with it wherever it went. Wherever the constitution spread, there, under its mighty dome, slavery was constitutionally established, (Hear, hear.) They did not simply assert this, but went on to say that constitu tionally established slavery was the common law of the land. He was not exaggerating, but was merely repeating their own words; and that was not enough, but they claimed the right to protect property in slaves, just as the people of England would protect property in horses or mules. (Hear.) Finally, they carried the question to the Supreme Court, and there obtained a declaration from a man who was a shame to his position—the Chief Justice of the United States—that the negro had no right which the white man could not overrule. The consequence of that was that free dom was gone everywhere. They had not one single inch of free territory. The alaveholder had simply to take his slaves into New York, Massachusetts, or Maine, and sell them as beasts of burden. They were free men no more, but were all slaves together, and yet the citizens of Great Britain wondered why they did not let them go. (Applause.) Let whom go ? (Hear, hear.) Did they mean let freedom go ? that they should banish and cast aside as nothing worth those liberties which had been handed down I to them ? that they should put their necks under the feet of the tyrant of the South and say, " It is constitutional ? " That was out of the question. (Applause.) The war was a s t rugg l e to preserve the life of the nation by preserving the integrity of the nation as a free united republic, for the question was, a universal slave empire on a universal free empire. (Hear, hear.) The Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln was an honourable and proper proceed ing. If ever there was a noble and generous offer, it was contained in that proclamation. (Hear, hear.) All who knew President Lincoln, all who had known him from his boyhood, who had known him as President of the United States, knew that he fully deserved the sobriquet that had been applied to him, " There goes old Honesty." (Cheers.) He was a simple-hearted and a simple-minded man, who zealously wished to be the organ and representative of the popular will, to be the people's sovereign, and nothing else, and when it was demanded from him that he should destroy the property of the rebels, he issued his emancipation pro • el ation. (Applause.) That proclamation had been a most effective instrument. (Hear.) Wherever it had gone it had at once quickened the hearts of that long-suffering, long patiently-waiting race, who had believed in the power of the republic to break their chains, (Applause.) H e gladly bore testimony to the noble qualities exhibited by the emancipated slaves. Never did he believe in the possibility of the combination of so much intelligence and simple hearted goodness as he had found in that long -prostrated p eo pl e . (Hear, hear.) In the valley of the Mississippi 70 plantations were being worked by free negroes, in the pro duction of cotton and sugar, and in place of the liberated slaves being an indolent and dependent race, they were everywhere active and energetic, and ready to take their place among civilised men, (Applause.) Those slaves who had become free and had joined the army, were conspicuous for their heroism, as if they were anxious, even by the sacrifice of their own lives, to secure the freedom which was being purchased for them. (Applause.) If he had time he could trace the results of the policy of the Federal Government, but he would merely say that the war was gradually tending towards a successful close. (Hear, hear,) He wished to express that feeling temperately, for , fhe told them all he thought and felt on the matter they would say he was rather wild and enthusiastic. He had by him facts which went to show what had been the im mense gains of the Union army, and he thought those facts ought to satisfy any man that the war could not end but in one way, and that was in the complete success of the Union army. (Hear, hear.) The Confederates claimed at first 1,200,000 square miles. That was soon reduced to 887,000 square miles, and now it was reduced to 335,000. The Con federates originally claimed 121 millions of people under the sway of oligarchic rule, and that number was now re duced to little more than five millions, and of that num• ber nearly one-half were slaves. (Applause.) If they could look at the territory which had been reclaimed, they would see that the Confederacy was now reduced merely to a portion of Virginia, just the corner touching upon Ten nessee, embracing North Carolina, which was actually trembling in the balance at that moment, resisting the conscription and longing to return; the inlands of Georgia and Alabama were entirely with the North. Mississippi and Charleston were practically recovered, and Mobile taken, and it seemed to him with all their courage and indomitable resolution—which he granted as earnestly and as readily as any friend of the Secession—in spite of all that ' the South must see that their cause was gone, and that it was entirely useless any more to struggle. (Cheers.) It was said that, nevertheless, it was possible to make a Tilt SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 23, 1863. boundary line. (Hear.) Where would they make it ? It was not a question of State lines at all—(hear, hear)—it was a question simply of highlands end lowlands ; a ques tion of the planting interest against the farming interest. It would be easy to prove that Secession had been entirely in proportion to the prevalence of slavery, and that being so, how could they draw a boundary line ? (Hear, hear.) They might think him a rash prophet ; but peace was spreading over the continent of America, and on that bow of promise sat a glorified angel of God—universal liberty. (Loud cheering.) The proposition was carried amid great cheering. Alderman CARTER moved the second resolution, as fol lows :—" That this meeting most strongly condemns the building and equipment of ships of war in British ports, to be employed against a nation with which this country is at peace, and especially if employed in support of a Slave holding Confederacy, as calculated to embroil Great Britain in war with a friendly Power —and as strongly approves of the action of the British Government in detaining such vessels from their mischievous destination, and declares its determination to support the Government in the neutral policy it has hitherto pursued in relation to this war amongst our American kinsmen." Councillor TATHAM seconded the proposition, and it was carried. It was reeved by Councillor NICHOLS, seconded by tho Rev. JOHN ADCOCK and carried, that the foregoing resolu tions should be signed by the chairman, and forwarded to Earl Russell on behalf of the meeting. On the motion of Mr. J. LUPTON, seconded by Councillor THOMPSON, a cor dial vote of thanks was carried to the Rev. W. IL Chan ning for his eloquent and instructive address. In re ponding, The Rev. Mr. CHANNING said that a strange delusion had taken possession of the minds of the people in this country in reference to President Lincoln's right hand man —Mr. Seward. It was said that Mr. Seward was wishing to create a war with England ; but that was not the ease. (Hear.) Mr. Seward had himself said—" The policy of the American people is the policy of peace at home, peace abroad, peace with all nations; the policy of freedom for ourselves, and in extending the empire in a manner to be conducive to the ultimate freedom of all classes and condi tions of men. (Hear, hear.) Whoever shall wage war against the American people will find themselves obliged not only to commit the first wrong, hut to become when they enter the contest, the enemies not only of order, peace, and progress on the continent, but of human nature itself." (Applause.) Before sitting down he had great pleasure in proposing a vote of thanks to the chairman. (Cheers.) He (the chairman) had once more been a peace maker, and a peace-keeper between two great peoples. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Forster was the first, as far as he was aware, to lift up his voice in Parliament against the recognition of the slave oli garchy, and his name was cherished in America with the dearest affection and respect. (Cheers.) He assured Mr. Forster that if he would, when the war was over, go to America, and take with him John Bright on his sight hand and Richard Cobden on his left, he would receive a most determined and earnest welcome. (Cheer.F.) The proposition was seconded by Mr. ANDREWS, and carried amid reiterated cheers. The CHAIRMAN, in responding, said thst while he was obliged to them for the kind manner in which they had re ceived him, which after all was no new thing—(laughter) —he was still more obliged to them for having gone to that meeting, and for having enabled it to be such a suc cess. That meeting had been a greater success than most anti-slavery meetings, for it had been just such a meeting as was likely to create a good feeling between this country and America. (Applause.) Although upon questions like that some of them might have rather up-hill work sometimes in the House of Commons, yet he should always feel that they had something behind them. (Cheers.) He should feel that he had only to come back to Yorkshire in order to obtain that support which would make even his poor words of some weight in the House of Commons. (Cheers.) The Chinese and their Prisoners, (From the Gazette of last evening.) FOREIGN OFFICE, SEPT. 22. A despatch, of which the following is an extract, from Major- General Brown, commanding the British troops in China, has been communicated to Lord :Russell by the Secretary of State for War : " Various statementfi having appeared in the several journals published at Shanghai, concerning the treatment of rebel prisoners, and alleged torture of some few taken at the capture of Taitsan, I have the honour to state, that a report was made to me by Capt. Murray, R A., co'cmand ing a Field Force in support of the attack on Taitsan, soon after his return to headquarters, of the Imperialists' cruel treatment of their prisoners. "I took the report to her Britannic ;Majesty's Consul (Harvey) without delay, and expressed my desire that the Foutai should be informed of the same, aied to urge upon him to send out an order at once to all his mandarins in command, forbidding any cruelty to be exercised upon cap_ tured prisoners ; and further, if any report was again made to me of a similar nature, I would cease to act with his of Chi nese troops. Lieut. R. Cane, R.A., who has been six y ear s in China, and has some knowledge of the Ch inese lan gu a ge and customs, was the first who reported the c ircums tance to Captain M u rray, and the letter of the former officer, called f o r by me for report, is here ann exed, a nd de tails, I think, everything most clearly. " I have no reason to believe otherwis e than t hat the Foutai is equally anxious to be as humane as p ossibl e to his prisoners; some hundreds were lately cap tured at Queng_ san, and so f a r from being cruelly or se verel y de alt with, have actually, to a great extent, bee n incfiofrtpyoroaftetdhebse by Major fo Gordon eome to beinto senth his down own to me from Qu regiment;andl have a l so asked eng.sau to beartillery drilled g w o wish, h L , and tis er s , attached which era to, under batteries rtb e command of th e usefuloffieer c e o n m d m etil an o d ie i n n t. "Major GordonL e e e was for so his lent by m commanding Royal Artillery , who reports t hem most drilled gun Q " n g'llau, and speaks most highly of t hem. I have now ao al attack one some On ly to d raw attention to ' eye witnes s ' statement, who w ould actuall y allow the public to believ e that men undergoin g extreme torture, such as he des cribes, with various wounds, fr om whence issued copious st reams of blood, and could not on ly exist from 11 a.m. till sun set, but then to be able to be l e d out for execution, leaving one to suppose th at he was pre sent the whole time; w hereas the editor, in his rem ar k s on the bishop's letter, to remove any apprehension as to the non-influence of British officers who were on the spot, states that the treatment the prisoners were under going was only discovered ten minutes before their execu tion. This alone, I submit, stamps the whole statement as highly coloured and greatly exaggerated., IL closure, Shanghai, June 11, 1863. Sir,—ln reply to t h e inquiry of the Major -G enera l Com manding I have the honourrk.to inform you that on May 3, 1863, I was present at NS " P I M ) as Acting Field Ad jutant to a force under c o mmand of C apta i n A. Murray, Royal Artillery . In the afternoon of that day I was taking a walk for exercise, w ith several other officers, along the main road towards Elo-lunga su n., and in passing between two Imperialist stockades our att en ti on was attracted b y seven • a number of men, I think or eight, naked and tied to posts. On approaching I found they were Changman pri soners, all with ver y long hai r (showing that they were rebels of long standing), and with the very peculiar com plexion and physiognomy which have been frequently no ticed as acquired by men who have spent much time among the Taepings. These men had evidently been sentenced to the punish ment of the " Ling-che," or "slow and ignominious death," what we call " cutting into a thousand pieces," and it was also evident that they had been spared as much as possible, and little more than the form of this horrible punishment carried out. Each man had a piece of skin, not flesh, about four inches by two, partly stri ppcd from one arm and hang ing down, and one or two arrows had been pushed (ap parently not shot) through the skin in different places. There was very little blood about the ground, and the men did not appear to be in p a i n _ one was crying out very loudly that he was a Shanghai Coolie and ought not to be put to death as a rebel; he had however very long hair. I asked a low Chinese officer present what they were, he told me they were old and well-known rebels, two of them officers, and they were about to be beheaded ; he said that they had been exposed from mid -day (it was about half-past four or five o'clock p.m., when I saw them). At the same time I :saw a n official approaching to superintend the execution, and not being anxious to witness the spectacle, which I had often seen before, I withdrew. From what: other officers who remained informed me, I gathered that decapitation was performed at once in the usual manner, except that the sword employed was blunt, and the executioner inexpert. I saw no other signs of torture whatever, and considered that these men were, taking into account Chinese law and customs, rather mercifully dealt with. A dead Changman l a y some distaace off, who had been treated in a similiar manner to the other, in addition a slight incision had been made from his breast to his groin, but, from the absence of blood, I think this was done after death. On my return to Waikong I reported what I had seen to Captain Murray, Co mmanding, who desired me to visit the camp next morning, and to take notice of the occurrence, which I did by mentioning it to a fourth rank military field officer, the senior in the camp. I told him we English did not like such punishments; that if a man deserved death we executed him at once, and did not expose or mutilate him, I expressed general disapprcval of what had been done, and said the English commanding officer was much displeased at it, and, if anything of the sort was attempted again, would march up and put a stop to it ; and that I hoped it would not again occur during our stay. Re replied that he did not himself approv e of it, but that I must recollect that a large number of the rebel prisoners taken at Taitsan had been pardoned by the nigh Imperial officers, permitted to shave their heads, and employed as soldiers or labourers; and that it was not possible to restrain the Imperial sol diers from taking some vengefw, for the treatment which the rebels had inflicted on 300 or . more of their comrades, who had been entrapped into Taitsan L -13. a false promise of the surrender of the place. These g 1312. he said, wore almost all put t o d eath, and very many of em had their L.. ' " bodies wou n d e d , and cotton put over their minds and %, set on fire," a n d were otherwise badly .3rLureii, t, This I understand was really the case.) He added that the Chinese General officer then in command at Waikongsum liwoh Ta jin was mercifully inclined, and anxious not to be severe with the rebel soldiers, many of whom had been carried away forcibly, and compelled to serve in the ranks of the Taepings.—l have, &c., (Signed) ROBERT EM MET CANE, Lieutenant, Royal Artillery. The Deputy-Assistant-Adjutant-General, Shanghai. N. 8.-1,100 men were sent up to take possession of Tait eau by the Foutai. They were entrapped, and out of the number only some 300 were rescued by Major Gordon on the fall of Taitsan. 350 are known to have been beheaded a few days before the capture, and the remainder are still unaccounted for. RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE, NORTH BRITISH. The report issued by the directors of this com pany is a lengthy document, of which the following is an abstract :—The half-year ending 31st July closes with an equal mileage compared with the corresponding date of last year, but, owing to partial openings, an accurate comparison of results cannot be made prior to the half years commencing Ist of August, 1862 and 1863. The comparative increase of traffic receipts in the past half-year gives a total of £34,152 ; and the balance sheet shows a surplus available for dividends on the ordinary stocks of £20,591, enabling the directors to recommend the shareholders todeclare dividends per cent. per annum of 14, on the North British, Bs. 4d. on the Edinburgh, Perth, and Dundee, and 2 on the Border Union ordi nary stocks ; leaving a balance to carry forward of £839. The directors consider these results satisfac tory. A year ago, when the dividends of the Edin burgh, Perth, and Dundee, Weet of Fife, and Silloth undertakings were net a burden on the North British, the shareholders only received a dividend of 1 per cent. per annum. Now, also, there are the dividends on Border Union and North British gua ranteed shares, and interest to capital expended on the Wansbeck, the Galashiels, the Peebles and Ber wickshire railways, hitherto totally unproductive, and imposing a dead weight on revenue. These did not affect the corresponding period, therefore to declare a better dividend on a largely augmented capital is satisfactory in the highest degree—more especially when it is further considered that in the immediately preceding half-year (always the more remunerative of the two) the dividend was I per cent. less than now earned. The Border Union revenue is slowly progressing, time being required for removing obstructions at Carlisle and Gretna. The damaging operation of the Eaglish and Scotch traffic agree ment, by which receipts to the amount of £50,000 per month are now pl a c e d i n sus p ense a t th e rail way clearing house, must, in the opinion of the board, be legally tested. The directors state they cannot acquiesce in the deduction that railways opened since the agreement was executed are at liberty to carry the traffic, but are not entitled to participate in the proceeds. The directors refer with satisfaction to the results of the parliamentary ses sion. All the bill s promote d b y t h e company were sanctioned by parliament, the directors only regret ting the cost of victory was so large. Some of the costs are charged to capital, some to revenue, some to the contingent account. In the latter is a sum of £3,753, paid to the various suf ferers at Mllaxton, where, in May, 1862, part of a train left the line. The directors, while refusing to admit legal liability, have endea voured to alleviate, by reasonable pecuniary com pensation, the sufferings of those who were per sonally injured by the accident. The share capital authorised to be raised in last session is: Border Union purposes, £500,000 ; Silloth and Belfast steam communication, £30,000; Queensferry route, £ 400 ,000 —total, £990,000. Of this it is intended to call up about one -half in the next 12 months, but the board advise the creating of the whole of the capital in £l2 10a. shares, at 5 per cent. per annum, in perpetuity, to be allotted to preference and ordi nary holders alike. The plan adopted is expected not to cause any undue strain on the resources of the company, the traffic receipts being steadily on the increase, and a considerable mi'eage of rail ways from time to time, to come into active and profitable operation. The Lensholrne nranch is to be completed in December; 17 miles of the Ber wickshire will be opened in October; the junction of the Wansbeck with the Border Counties will pro bably be accomplished in 1864; and the Galashiels and Peebles to lunerleithen on the Ist of July, 1864, and throughout by the Ist of January, 1865. Of the Queensferry route the directors intend com pleting forthwith about three miles, to connect their northern system with the Charleston Railway, and thereby afford a convenient shipping place for the Fifeshire minerals. The remaining works, the directors have no doubt, the authorised capital will fully suffice to complete, and leave a considerable margin for improving existing accommodation. The growing trade of Silloth points out the neces sity for provision whereby ships resorting thither may refit, and it is intended to spend £3,000 in the erection of a repairing slip. A tug steamer has been placed there, and it is expected that regular steam communication between Silloth and other ports will be increased. Since the last meeting, the Hon. T. C. Bruce, chairman of the Inverness and Perth Railway, has ceased to be a director of the North British, and Mr. Charlton, of Hesleyside, formerly chairman of the Border Counties Railway, has been elected to the vacant seat. The directors anticipate a consider able accession of traffic from the through opening of the Inverness and Perth Railway, and will lose no opportunity of cultivating friendly relations. The railways of the two companies, on completion of Queensferry, will form the most convenient and shortest route between Edinburgh and the north of Scotland. A special meeting of the Border Union section of shareholders will be held immediately after the general meeting, to enable them to assent to the amalgamation of their capital with part of the North British. HEALTH OF LONDON. (From the Registrar-General's Weekly Return.) In the week that ended last Saturday the deaths in Lon don were 1,186. The average number of deaths in 10 cor responding weeks--viz., the 38th week in each of the years 1353.62, with the omission of deaths from cholera in 1854, and a correction for increase of population, is 1,147. The mortality as exhibited in the present return does not much exceed the estimated amount. There were 36 deaths from smallpox, 14 of which occurred to persons 15 years old and upwards. It is stated that vac cination had been previously performed in 10 of the 36 cases, but the evidence on which such statements rests is not al. ways to be trusted. Only one death from smallpox occurred in the west districts in the week, and not more than four in the south. The deaths from scarlatina were very numerous in the week ; they were 130. This complaint is at the present time the most fatal in the list, with the exception of phthisis, which numbers 142 oases. Scarlatina seems to be rife in Kentish-town, whets there were eight deaths from it; in the sub-district of Haggerstone east, where there were five; and in that of St. Peter, Walworth, where there were seven. Four deaths were ascribed direatly to intemperance, be sides four to delirium tremens. Seven infants died of syphi litic disease. • Two widows died at the respective ages of 91 and 95 years. A man employed in lead works, aged 35 years, died from lead poisoning, which caused disease of the liver. Last week the births of 946 boys and 984 girls, in all 1,930 children, were registered in London. In the 10 correspond ing weeks of the years 1853-62 the average number (cor rected) was 1,846. At the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the mean height of the barometer in the week was 29.950 in. The barometri cal pressure was 30.20 in, on Monday, and it fell to 29.49 in. on Saturday. The mean temperature of the air in the week was 56.1 deg., which is 0.4 deg. below the average of the same week in 43 years (as determined by Mr. Glaisher). The mean temperature was below the average on every day till Friday. The lowest night temperature was 43'8 deg., on Thursday. The highest day temperature was 71.8 deg., on Saturday. The range of temperature in the week was therefore 28 deg. The mean daily range was 16 . 9 deg. '1 he difference between the mean dew-point temperature and air temperature was 8 deg. The mean degree of humidity of the air was 75, complete saturation being represented by 100. The wind blew during the week from the south-west. The mean of the highest temperature of the water of the Thames was 62 7 deg. ; that of the lowest was 60.5 deg. No rain was measured in the week. [ADVERTISEMENT]. Holloway's "'Ms. —Everybody's NV mh.—One of the many causes of the eminent success of this medicine is the great purifying effect it exerts over the circulation ; it watches over the new bloo d forming from the food, invigorates the distribution of tho maturer blood, and casts out the old which has done its duty, and whose further presence becomes detrimental. By taking Hollo way's pills agreeably to their accompanying instructions, every person may attain the best permissible state of health without interfering materially with the usual habits, plea sures, or pursuits. The weak and nervous will find them selves invigorated by judicious doses of this medicine, and by steady and persevering attention may confidently hope for increased strength, greater comfort, and better health, SPIRIT OP THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. Teetag.—Tt is impossible to watch without deep practical interest the character given to the arma ments in the American War. At a time when the nations of Europe are remodelling their ordnance and reconstructing their navies by the light of theories and experiments, America is adapting her actual practice to the necessities of present strife, and shaping her course by the lessons of real expe rience. This contrast of situations would be instruc tive in any case, but it has been rendered peculiarly remarkable by one prominent feet. What we accept the Americans reject, All our conclusions and de ductions they have either neglected or discarded, and have followed exactly the path on which we, after careful survey, have hitherto declined to ven ture. The result is much an extraordinary diver gence cf practice as may well arrest our attention. At this moment the Americans are attacking Char leston with a siege train every gun of which throws a 200-pound shot, whereas if we are engaged in a similar operation our most powerful cannon would probably be 68-pounders. If we are wrong in these matters, it would folio w that our artillery is no longer equal to the exigencies of modern warfare. The question is not an easy one to examine. On the side of the Americans it can certainly be urged that they are intent upon actual work with a tre mendous war upon their hands, and that the con clusions adopted under such circumstances must necessarily carry extraordinary weight. They are too much in earnest to regard anything but the object actually in view, and too sharply taught to re main long under mistake. This is certainly true, but we must remark that the Federals, 9f whose tactics we know most, seem never to have troubled them selves with any inquiries at all. They appear to have assumed ,characteristically, that the biggest gun must be the best gun, and that if they wanted a better gun than the last they had only got to make a bigger one. General Gilmore's batteries at Charleston are now armed with 200-pounders, but he has already received a couple of 300-pounders, and the manu facturer of these cannon is at present constructing a 500-pounder, and meditating, we are told, a 2,000- pounder. At first sight, too, there appears some justification for these views. The heavier the pro jectile, other things being eqnal, the greater must he its destructiveness, and just as we advanced from 12-pounders to 68-pounders in our sea service, and from 6-pounders to 18-pounders in our field artil lery, so, it would seem, we should advance, if we can, from these calibres to others still more formidable. The Americans have presumption as well as practice in their favour, and yet we cannot say that the superiority of their system is absolutely established. It must be remembered that, though the Federals have made no trial of our principles, we have to some extent tried theirs. We have had targets built to represent the sides of their Monitors, and have made experiments with guns as heavy as their siege guns at Charleston. It was after these trials, and with out, as we hope, any prejudice against the new designs, that we placed the old 68-pounders so high on the list. The larger guns, with one or two excep tions, failed to satisfy certain indispensable condi tions. Nor are we sure that the Americans have been really more successful. It was reported, though we cannot say on what authority, that many of the guns in Gen. Gilmore's batteries bad burst, and it is certain that his 300-pounder had nearly two feet blown off her muzzle at the 25th round. Again, though there is reason to suppose that the Confederates are employing guns far heavier than our own, they can make little or no impression on the Monitors, whereas, unless our experiments are delu sive, the old 68-pounder at close quarters would send her shot clean through their plates. When we read of the 440-pound ball with which the Wee kawken stove in the sides of the Atlanta we lay but little stress on the story, for a 40-pound Armstrong bolt would certainly have done as much ; in fact, a target like the Atlanta would be considered at Shoe buryness as no target at all. As regards iron-cased ships, therefore, the American practice gives us no conclusive information. The Confederates cannot destroy the Monitors, and the Federals have never met with any Monitors to destroy. No effect of a shot against an armour-plated vessel is reported which the old 68-pounder could not match. What ever Dahlgrens and Parrotts have actually done in this way our chief service gun could undoubtedly do. e4ut there is another branch of the subject re qiiiring our attention. The siege guns used against shore fortifications by the Federals at Charleston have certainly done what nobody would expect of any guns in our service. They have battered down a fort at two miles' range ; they have shelled a town at five miles, and we are assured they would be per fectly effective for the same work at seven mites. Here there can be no doubt about the practice, and it leaves the powers of our artillery far behind. Possibly some of the guns may have been disabled, and there may be other drawbacks from their general efficiency of which we are not informed, but the great fact remains that Charleston was shelled from five miles' distance, and Fort Sumter knocked to pieces at about half that range. Could our 68-pounders perform any such service as this ? It must be observed, too, that these enormous guns were brought from a considerable distance to the scene of action, and that all the necessary material had to be similarly transported. Such exploits open a new epoch in siege operations. We do not sup pose that Fort. Sumter was any fair specimen of a fortification, but that is of no importance to the moral. The moral is that guns of about three times the calibre used in our service have been successfully employed for breeching and bombarding purposes at a range hitherto unknown. Although, there fore, we cannot discover in the American war any incident which should immediately disturb the re sults of our own experiments, we must observe that these experiments have been directed to naval pro blems only. In those problems we have had to consider not only what a gun would do, but how the gun was to he carried. To apply the American experience we should require first to see the 15-inch gun tried against the Shoeburyness targets, and then to see the vessel on the decks of which she could be mounted. Whatever may be the powers of these guns, we are by no means convinced that they are good guns for ships. The Monitors have as yet only crept along the Atlantic coast, and not very confidently. The original model all but foundered on her first voyage, and actually foun dered afterwards. The others have arrived safely at the rendezvous, but we observe that their ar rivals are usually expected with some anxiety, and reported with considerable congratulation. Nobody supposes that they would form a sea worthy squadron, but this is what our ships trust do, and if they cannot carry large guns on such conditions they must carry smaller ones. As to the armour of the vessels, it is remarkable that though there is not a ship in the fleet the plates of which could not, according to our presumptions, he pierced by a 68-pounder, there is only a single instance of the destruction of an ironclad by the heavy guns of the Confederates. Dismissing, how ever, this branch of the question—not, indeed, as settled in our favour, but as still obscure and uncer tain—we are compelled to conclude that the Ameri cans are giving us a lesson in the capabilities of siege artillery. We cannot say what practice may be made with the Armstrong 110-pounder, but we do not imagine that we have any battering guns in our service which could send their balls through 26 feet of earth, or through nine inches of wrought iron backed by 24 inches of oak. Yet the Federals, if we are to accept their own statements, have actually made a gun equal to such work, and have placed it in position before Charleston. It may be said, perhaps, that other European nations are left in the rear, like ourselves, by these new discoveries ; but that may not be the case long. The Russians, we are told, have ordered as many as 4,000 guns of our manufacturers, none of which are to be lighter than the 68-pounder, and many probably very much heavier. This is proof enough that the new sys tem is thought practicable. We do not yet know that such ordnance can be successfully carried or worked at sea, but we do know that it is manage able on shore, and that its range and power are extraordinary,—a lesson far too important to be received with indifference. POST.—The Hapsburgs, as we all know, held the throne of Spain and the Indies for nearly two cen turies. It would have required singular boldness to have predicted to them a revival of any part of that inheritance since its definitive settlement on the House of Bourbon, by the treaty of Utrecht, a century and a half ago. Indeed, the unmistakable decline and threatening extinction of ail the branches cf this Bourbon dynasty would have made it less improbab'ie, ten yea rs s i nce , th a t the Aus trian pretensions might have revived at the Escurial than that the accidents of conquest and marriage should have now offered to the Hapsburg line the prospect of two imperial thrones on the other side of the Atlantic. We now learn that a marriage has been arranged between the youngest brother of the Emperor of Austria and the eldest daughter and heiress of the Emperor of the Brazils. The Archduke Louis Joseph Antoine Victor is now just twenty one years of age, and the Donna Isabelle Christine is seventeen. In this union the hope of the Brazilian succession will rest, and an Austro-Brazilian prince will some day in all probability ascend the impe rial throne of Rio Janeiro. That contingency, no doubt, is distant enough, for the Emperor Pedro 11. is not yet forty. The Austrian Archduke, however, when his princess ascends the throne, will probably take the title of Emperor, as the consorts of Maria di Gloria in Portugal, and of Isabella in Spain, took that of King. The Hapsburg succession in Brazil w'll probably become as established a fact as the Hapsburg succession in Mexico. Three imperial crowns in possession or in remainder fall to a single branch of one family that seemed, only thirteen vears ago, to be struggling for existence even in their hereditary dominions in Europe. These events, which affects so greatly the prospects of the House of Hapsburg, deserve to be considered from more than one point of view. No doubt they serve mate rially to weaken the Hapsburg succession in Austria itself, and more particularly the succession in the family of the Archduke Francis end Archduchess Sophia, in which it at presents rests. The present Emperor of Austria has three brothers —Maxi milian, aged thirty-one; Charles, aged thirty; and the youngest, Louis. Two, therefore, out of he three are likely to be taken across the Atlai; tic. I . ll e marriage of Louis does not of course so necee.ear.ll9. involve his continual residence in Brazil as the e lec. ' tion of Maximilian to the Throne of Montezu ma t will require his continual presence at Mexico. Butt probably the heiress-apparent and her husband will not find 'it easy to be absent from the Brazilian territory; and in that event, the Archduke Charles would remain the only brother of the Emperor Of Austria on whom the regency could devolve in the event of his death, the Archduke Rudolph, the heir apparent to the Austrian Throne, being now only five years of age, and thirteen years distant from his majority. It is probable that this difficulty, however, will be madelight of in theface of a temptation which offers the Austrian dynasty two imperial thrones I tl the New World. It is impossible not to perceive also that in this marriage consists an auxiliary guarantee for the stability of the throne of the Archduke Maxi milian in Mexico. A prince placed upon an imperial throne, newly formed, and though in consonance with the real wants, yet in opposition to the recent traditions of the nation, will be glad to repose upen the moral support and alliance of his neighbours. In a vast continent of republics, with the Anglo- Saxon race upon the North, and mongrel, half Latin and half Indian races to the South, it is of mutual advantage to Mexico and Brazil that the two imperial dynasties should be in such intimate alliance with each other. The Federal Government may not be hostile to the new Mexican empire ; the Confederates may recognise it from motives of self-interest; the South American Republics may have no more the will than they have the power to thwart a development of the French Emperor's policy; yet a dynastic alliance between the two Imperial Houses is one of the most permanent leagues which each can have for its support by the other; and it is one to which the misfortunes of the at present imperfectly developed Mexican empire cannot be indifferent. There seems nothing more vain than a speculation of the future of any one of the great reigning dynasties of Europe, even for a single generation ahead of us. Thirteen years ago the Bourbon family were to all appearance firmly seated on three European thrones. Now they are banished from two of them, with no sort of probability of their ever returning to either. Some thirty years ago what reigning House seemed more insignificant than the family of Saxe-Coburg Yet we now see them, in the male line, supplying the dynasties of England and Portugal, and another prince of their House, one of the astutest Sovereigns in Europe, on the Throne of Belgium. The little branch headed by Prince Christian of Denmark, which only eleven years ago came into prominence as the family then next entitled by a treaty of 1851 to the throne of Denmark, have since given, or are about to give, brides to the heirs apparent of England and Russia and a King to Greece. The ancient House of Savoy, after living for seven hundred years in hereditary insignificance ; has in the last four years acquired a dominion more popu lous, and not less powerful and important, than the kingdom of the Great Frederick. The Bonapartes have revived ; and almost in their former splendour. These and other such striking dynastic changes our own generation has witnessed; and the promised extension of the dynasty of Rudolph of Hapsburg over two Imperial Thrones in the Western World presents a coincidence of fortune which should ap pease the shade of the Emperor Leopold I. for the transfer of Louis XIV. of the dominions of his kinsman, Charles 11. of Spain to Philip V. in the rear of the Spanish succession. To a great extent the elder branch of the Hapsburgs are likely to regain the rule of the Indies, which fell to their younger branch on the abdication of Charles V• What is hardly less remarkable than the extension of the Hapsburg dynasty is the character for mode ration and practical statesmanship that marks the present generation of that Imperial House. COUNTRY MARKETS. LEEDS-TUESDA.Y. There is a better demand for wheat to-day, which may be quoted at tho currencies of last Friday, Barley is in good show, and at Is to 2s decline. LIVEItPOOL-TUESDAT. At our market to-day there was a better attendance of the trade, and rather more disposition to buy was evinced, Wheat, with a moderate consumptive demand, may be quoted 3d to 4d per cental lower than upon this day week. Flour dull, and offered at a decline of 6d per barrel. Oats a slow sale, and fd to Id per bushel lower. Barley and peas unaltered in value. Indian corn very dull—mixed may be quoted worth 26s 9d per 4801 b, MARKET lIARBOROUGH—TUESDAY. White wheat, 42s to 455; red, 40s to 44s per 36 stone. Malting barley at 335.t0 37s per qr.; grinding, 29s to 31$ per 30 st. Oats, old, 30s to 325; new,, 20s to 26s per 24 st. ; beans, 398 to 43s per qr. SHEFFIELD-TUESDAY. We had a large supply of wheat from neighbouring farmers, some of it of indifferent quality. Factors h ad a go od supply from the South in excellent condition. The attendance was large, but the demand waslimited, at is per load less than last week. Malting barley of good qualitY, w as shown for the first time for some months and sol d freely. Flour receded id per stone. Red wheat, per load of 3 imperial bushels...lss Od to 17s Od t White 2) ...18s Od to 19s 6d New red 9 ~ ..15s fil to 17s Od New white ~ ~ , ..17s Od to 18s Od Beans r,, 27 ...15s Od to 17s 611 Peas, per qr 4ss Od to 56s Od Grinding barley, per qr Malting ditto„, 34s Od to 38s ocl Oats ,t 22s Od to 278 04 Flour,ls sd, is 7d, and is 9d per 14 lb. MELTON MOWBRAY—TuEsDAY. Harvest operations are now completed in this locality. "Wheat is a first-rate yield, and the quality is also good. —The following were the currencies :—New white wheat, 43a Od to 46s Od; new red, 42s Od to 44s per 36 stone; beans, 39s to 44s for old-, new sorts, 37s to 42s per 38 at. ; barley, 34s to 38s for malting, and 29s to 32s per qr. for grinding; new oats, 20s to 32s Od per 24 stone. Full benefit of reduced duty obtained by pur chasing Horniman's pure Tea; very choice at 30. 4d. and 4a. "High Standard" at 4e. 4d. (formerly 4s. Bd.), is the strongest and most delicious imported. Agents in every town supply it in packets. [AnyzunsEntENT ]—Consumption, all nervous, bilious, liver, and stomach complaints, in every stage, are only lig' gravated and accelerated by drugs of every description, but perfectly curable by Du Barry's health restoring Bevalent Arabica Food, as proved by thousands of cases which had been considered hopeless. We quote a few.—Cure No. 62,01 4 ' Miss Lange, 18 years of age, cured after the medical men had abandoned all hopes of her recovery from the last stage of pulmonary consumption, with fearful cough, expectoratio n " , exhaustion, spitting of blood, perspirations, hollow cheek s ' emaciated to a skeleton. She is now, thank God, a perfectly healthy, blooming, fleshy girl,—N. Lange, Commisbaire do Police. Cure, No. 46,270. Mr. James Roberts, of FrituleY Surrey, of thirty years' dinased lungs, spitting of blood, li ve f, derangement, and partial deafness.—Cure, No. 47,1 21 . A l ' s " Elizabeth Jacobs, of extreme nervousness, indigestio n . gatherings, low spirits, and nervous fancies.—Cure, D C ' 54,816. The Rev. James T. Campbell, Fakenham, Norfolro of indigestion and torpidity of the liver, which had resisted all medical treatment. In tins, Ilb, 2s 9d; 21b, 4s 6d; sib. lls ; 121 b, 225; 241 b, 40s. Barry du Barry and Co.. No: 77. Regent-street, London ; also Fortnum and Mason; ab_cl o : grocers and chemists in every town of the United liinga • Births. DICIKSON.—On the 20th inst., at 42, Heriot-row, Edin burgh, the Hon. Mrs. Thom as G. Dickson, of a daugh- ter. - TAYLOR.—On the 2 1 st inst., at 99, Eaton-square, the wife of Colonel Taylor, M .P., of a son and heir. WRIGILTSON.—On the 22d inst., at 12, Trinity-square, E.U., Mrs. Leonard Wrightson, of a daughter. Marriages. BONDE—MARRYA.T.—On the 19th inst., at St. George's. Ranover-square, Gustaf Frederic, Count Bonde, of Biorno, to Ida Horatia Charlotte, the only daughter o f Horace Marryat, Esq., and granddaughter of the late General the Right Hon. Lord E. Somerset, G.C.B. HEY—CHAWNER.—On the 21st inst.. at Lincoln, the Rev. Charles Edward Hey, 8.A., Minor Canon of Winchester Cathedral, to Ellen, youngest daughter of Darwin Chaw ner, EN., M.D., of London. Deaths. ALLEN.--On the 19th inst., at Bath, the Rev. Henry Wm. Allen, 8.A., aged 30. ANTROBUS.—On the 20th inst., at Eaton Hall, Cheshire, Fanny, wife of John Coutts Antrobus, Esq. BLISS.—On the 18th inst., at the Vicarage, Bishops Ly. deard, Nathaniel Bliss, Esq., aged 70. BRIDGES,—On the 20th inst., the Rev. Geo. W. Bridges, incumbent of Beachley, Chepstow, aged 77. ELLICE.—On the 17th inst., at Ardochy, N. 8., the Right Hon. Edward Ellice, m.p., 80. FISHER.--On the 16th inst., at York, Andrew Fisher, Esq., late Major in the 35th Bengal NI., son of the late aged SO. Rev. Henry Fisher, Chaplain of the Ben g al Establish- went, aged 55. - KELSALL.—On the 17th inst., at Mount Auburn, Killing, county Dublin, Colonel Joseph Kelsall, late of the 70th Regt. WASHINGTON.—On the 16th inst., at Frascati, Havre Rear-Admiral Waslairgtou, F.R.S.) Hydrographer co the Admiralty, aged 63. London: Pr;nzed and Tlll,l.lshed by WILLIAM ANDIZEW of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at TnE SUN office No. 11'4 Strand, in the Precinct of the lavoy, in the County' a kitddlesezi—rWedneedith September 23, 1663, 1