The Sun. — London, England, 1863-01-13 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS• SPECTATOR.—The description which Swedish and Norwegian journals give of the present condi tion of Finland is perfectly horrible. The chief crops, potatoes, rye, and barley, having failed in two successive seasons, three-fourths of the popula tion of the duchy are in a state of starvation, and thousands are said to have already succumbed to famine. In some towns iu the interior, for instance the ancient Tavastehus, with its grand old castle on the margin of a vast lake, the formerly flourish • ing Kuopio, Heinola, and other places, all trade and commerce have come to a complete standstill, the shops being shut, and most of the inhabitants having left their houses to seek food as beggars at a distance. Hosts of wan and weary pilgrims flock in long files into Abo, Helsingfors, Kumo and Wasa; others try to creep along the shores of the Ladega Lake to St. Petersburg; and while some few reach the goaland find a scanty subsistence, many more perish on the road, to be devoured by dogs and wolves, who are swarming all over the country. Babies die on the breasts of their mothers for want of nourish ment ; children, with ghastly faces and hollow eyes, are met with everywhere attempting to stifle the cravings of hunger by chewing roots and the bark of trees ; and old people, helpless to move in the general ship wreck, crouch down in holes and corners to die a lingering, fearful death. While all these scenes of unspeakable distress, horror, and wretched ness are beheld on the northern shores of the Gulf of Finland, on the south side of the same inlet of the sea, the brilliant court of the Czar, surrounded by the elite of the Russian nobility, are revelling in luxury, with a display of pomp and magnifience as boundless as the m isery on the opposite coast. Balls, theatricals, and fetes of all kinds chase each other ; troops of Italian singers, brought from the far south, regar dless of expense" delight the ears o f a galaxy of princes and nobles, and the most per fect corps de ballet which even Paris could produce h a s arrived to turn pirouettes, at imperial price, on the borders of the Neva. There never was such a magnificent season as the present at the Russian ineropolis say all the letters from St. Petersburg. In Sweden and Norway, and particularly in Swe den, long connected in political union with Finland, the fearful distress under which the country has been suffering has excited the deepest sympathy. For the last three or four months house to house collections, in aid of the starving Finlanders, have been made all over Sweden ; the merchants on the Exchange of Stockholm have subscribed princely sums ; king and court and everybody down have set the example la the of generous charity, , lowest peasant, has contributed something to the Finland Relief Fund. In fact, the people of Sweden seem to have done, comparatively, quite as much for the starving Finnish population as we for our own Lancashire pour. In striking contrast with this behaviour stands that of the Russian Go vernment. All along, scanty and tardy relief only has been sent from St. Petersburg to the adjoining province in the north; and the policy of the Home Administration seems to have been rather to sup press facts than to incite the sympathy of the gene ral public, However, it was clearly impossible to carry out this system for any length of time; and seeing it fail, a month or two ago, the Imperial Go vernment had recourse to a new method for getting rid of its responsibility in the matter. The semi official _lnvalids Busse first announced to the public, and the other more or less dependent journals successively repeated the statement, that the " Grand Duchy of Finland" was en tirely independent of the control of the central Go vernment, and that its own administration was alone to be blamed for the insufficiency of proper arrange ments for stemming the current of famine. To give proof of this assertion, Baron de Langenskield, the head of the department of finances at Helsingfors, was sent to London in the beginning of December to negotiate a loan for Finland ; and, being pro perly backed by the Russian ambassador, succeeded in borrowing about three quarters of a million star ling from idesars.lt o thschild and Co., at the rate of I 5 9-10ths per cent. The sum thus obtained was honestly applied for the alleviation of the distress. It is satisfactory to learn from the last accounts, however, from St. Petersburg that the famine in Finland has now reached its culminating point, and is visibly abating. The price of the famine, too, seems to be really secured, for there are serious preparations made for assembling the Parliament of Finland at the beginning of April. The old constitution, which is to be recalled into life after the lapse of more than half a century, dates from 1772, and is similar to that of Sweden. It provides for a Diet of four estates, comprising deputies of the nobility, clergy, burghers, and peasants, each estate deliberating and voting separately, except in constitutional ques tions, when all four unite together. This somewhat cumbrous legislative machinery the Czar-Grand Duke intends working in a new way, by means of questions and answers. First, the Government is to ask a series of questions of each of the four Chambers, and these having been satisfactorily answered, then the Chambers in their turn are at liberty to interrogate the Government. Finally, the quintessence of all these questions and answers is to be shaped into constitutional formulas and propositions by the Governor-General of Finland, Baron Rokassowski, to be then either voted or re jected by the Diet. The new system will form a curious inauguration of Parliamentary Government in Russia. LONDON REVlEW.—Thousands of crimes are an nually committed, especially those of a minor cha racter, which are never detected or published, and thousands of criminals are charged to whom con viction cannot be brought home. For example, we find for 1861 50,809 crimes recorded, on account of which only 27,174 were app rehended. Of thes e on ly 16,764 were committed for trial, and only 13,879 convicted. Of the more ried serious crimes, or t indictable offences, such as are by juries at sessions and assizes, the number last year was, as we have seen, 50,809. Of minor offences , from vagrancy and drunkenness up to I ranging theft, and di s posed of summarily before magistrates, 4. er e were 394,717 charged, which resulted in the conviction of 263,500 persons. On the whole, therefore, it appears that nearly 500,000 of fences, large and small, come annually under the cognizance of the police, and that nearly 300,000 persons are punished for them. Great pains have of late been taken by the authorities to ascertain and keep an accurate record of that portion of the Population which is known to live by crime or vag f rancy, which last near l y always implies a course ver o petty pilfering, or of mendicancy approaching y nearly to th e sa me character. Nearly all these classes are p rett y well kn own to the police in their respective districts only include those and the re turns . now presented ting those who, who se trade is depredation, thoughomit ting they convicted, are may have been once a course of honest %dr' to be pursuing as follows, in round numbe a r trY. persons, ere of The list is and depredators, 30,000 ; receivers thieves 34,000 ; goods, 3,800 ; Suspectedstolen Vagrants and tramps, 23,000. Toth rZ e on E , a v u i s z t . add the number of criminals actually .esep —in local prisons,l6,6ol ; in convic t ln in r eformatories, 3,190. Making a p risons, ro "l,423 ; total of 116,723, whose business and habit it !to ile r society in one form or another. It must p r ey e a 3 l r lo u w pon d that the above numbers constitute a very consider able and a very formidable army—one nearly as large, in fact, as her Majesty's regular troops. Let us see, now . , what sort of a force we keep on foot for watching, defeating, and punishing this crowd of malefactors. It a mounts to about one-fifth of the criminals. 'The total is :—police and constabu lary, 21,413; establishment in local prisons, 2,334; establishment in convict prisons, 1,182. That is to al e Y l . we have 25,000 guard ians of the community to da th 120,000 enemies of it—a proportion which, well handled, ought surely to be adequate. The recorded cost of our repr essive and punitive esta blishments is as foll :—Police and constabulary, £ 1 , 579 , 222 ; outlay i n £542,30 6 ; outlay in convict prisounst al prisons, establishments abroad, £1715834131 ; cost of convict Against this sum we ought, p • e , total, £2,547,1 20 . :Ps, to set the estimated value of the prisoners" it is so mere an estimate that we confess though this with much misgiving. These earnings are , said to be :---In local prisons, £35,300 ; convict prisons at home, £lll,OOO ; ditto Bermuda and Gibraltar (?), £90,000; total, £236,300. On the whole, we cannot state the cost of convicted offenders to England and Wales at a lower figure than two millions and a half annually. The average cost of a prisoner in local gaols is £26 a year, in convict prisons it is £33. We believe that very few thieves and ruffians at large spend much less than 20s. a week. But we will take a more moderate estimate, and calculate their cost at 125., or the same as their incarcerated fellows, say £3O a year. At this rate the 90,800 regis- I tered pilferers and rascals at large cost us not less than £2,724,000 per annum. If we add this to the figures previously given, we shall arrive at the startling but undeniable result that our criminal classes cost us—in guarding against them, in detecting them, in punishing them, and in supporting them in idleness in and out of prison —not less than Five Millions a year, and this without including either Scotland or Ireland in the calculation. Now, £5,000,000 is about half the sum we expend upon our navy, and about a third of that assigned to our army. It is about the yield of the tea duty, the tobacco duty, and the sugar duty respectively. T i m E s.—The Speech with which the Emperor of the French has opened the last session of his first Parliament is such as we might rather have ex pected at its close. It embodies no programme of new measures, and few anticipations of the future. Instead of these it contains an elaborate review of the home and foreign politics of France during the last five years, and undertakes to show that the re sults of Constitutional Imperialism have been con formable to its grand principles. It is not, however, on the character of his Government abroad, but on the reforms which it has accomplished at home, that the Emperor has most reason to pride himself. We have never been among the flatterers of the Imperial system, and even where the ends professed by its supporters were laudable we have often had occasion to find fault with the means. Still, though liberty in France is even now trammelled in a way which appears to us childish, we cannot help seeing how much has been gained. "It is an usual thing to suspect in the acts of Sovereigns some secret mo tive or some mysterious combination." Far be it from us to admit that the Emperor has any right to complain of this tendency. His language has not always been so clear, or his policy so free from re serves and afterthoughts, as to justify him in claim ing the confidence due to transparent simplicity. Perhaps he has not been unwilling to profit by the reputation of profound cunning which men are wont to ascribe to those whom they hate or fear. Per haps he has slowly learnt the supreme value of plain speaking and the danger of over ingenuity in the conduct of State affairs. " Time, which changes men as well as things," and above all the conscious ness of a secure position, and the hope of leaving a good name to posterity, may have insensibly moulded his public character into a more constitu tional type. If there be still a powerful party in France which distrusts him and obstinately refuses to discern any difference in spirit between the First and Second Empire, we do not blame them. To them we leave the task of criticising this retro spect of domestic policy for the last five years. For ourselves, as Englishmen, we have no fault to find. So far as he has interfered in the concerns of other Continental States, the Emperor has but followed the example set him by those who have reigned over France under different titles for cen turies past. So far as he has assiduously cultivated, and risked some popularity to maintain, a good un derstanding with this country, he stands almost alone. We are, perhaps, too apt to forget that until the interests of all nations can be shown to be identical a certain degree of opposition must be ex pected from the most friendly of foreign Sovereigns. Every nation has its prejudices and its favourite objects; these lannot be neglected by its rulers, and in gratifying them the vanity and even the interests of other nations must sometimes be sacrificed. When Lord Russell :praised Lord Palmerston as pre-emi nently the Minister of England, he gave utterance to a sentiment which would probably have grated on the ears of a French audience. What he meant was no more than that an English Foreign Minister should take English, and not French or Russian, views of European questions; that his primary duty is to this country, and that it is not his busi ness to please others at our expense. From this point of view we are bound to judge such Sovereigns as Louis Philippe and Louis Napoleon when they ascend the Throne of France. They can have uo higher or more legitimate ambition than to leave France better than they found her. If this result be attained, it can hardly fail to follow, by a happy necessity, that she will be a more amicable and less suspicious neighbour to Great Britain. - • HERALD.—Goethe tells us "the great thing in life is to know on which side we stand, and where." What a pity Lord Russell does not study the pro found German writer; our position might not then be so very undefined as it now is with respect to all our foreign relations. Some of our contemporaries are anxious to know what possible subjects of dif ference can arise in Parliament. It must be that our easily-satisfied friends do not cast a glance on the map of Europe, or they would marvel how one night should be permitted to pass, after the open ing of the session, without Lord Russell being called upon to explain his strange, incon sistent, weak, and vacillating foreign policy. When Lord Palmerston was at the Foreign.office there was no mistake about his views ; he was at least consistent in his destructive energy. The red hand was in the shield ; the revolutionary steam was kept up all over the Continent ; coals were heaped on the republican flame. He acted the part of the bold, dashing agitator, until the name of Palmerston was terrible to monarchical ears as Marlbrook to French children in the days of Blen heim and itamilies. Thus we can well imagine the consternation at Broadlands a l t v e e ach all fr o e f sh u e s sca h p a a v d e e of the Foreign Secre tar y . laughed over the Bfoaxre,ewohfen‘: from ßo dreadand Cox, " dainsd sympathised with turbance, he invites Cox into his apartments, and then groans over the mischievous, meddling, fid getty qualities of his guest. So Lord Palmerston, to keep things quiet, welcomed Earl Russell at the Foreign-office, and ever since that hour must have mourned over his own want of forethought and sagacity. Of all annoyances in life the greater is to have to deal with a man of whom it can be said, " You do not know what he will be at next." We will defy any one to predict Lord Russell's policy. Ordinary men would have supposed that the time when the heir to the Crown was about to marry a Princess of Denmark would have been selected for the manifestation of a sincere and earnest interest in the fortunes and welfare of that ancient Royal I-- house —but great minds like Lord Russell's take a very different view of our relations. He is the evil fairy of the nuptials, and writes a despatch, not only inconsistent with all he had hitherto written or expressed, but conveying opinions so injuries and insulting to the Throne of Denmark acceptance of the Minister is That the the compelled to rep l y --" propositions made by Lord Russell would lead to the destruction of constitutional life in Denmark, and would soon even imperil the existence of the monarchy." This is a pretty g ood rap over the _ . knuckles f or L or d R usse ll, but this does not satisfy him. Anxiou s to be busy at something, be turns to Montenegro, and here mir abile dictu , al l his , theory of rights of nati ti o u n p s po d r i t s e a r ppears of mon archy i l and the stern, uncom promi sing springs t o view. W hat must h ave b E en Prince Gortschakoff's feeling s when he rece i ve d a folio of sentiments entirely op posed to all L or d R usse ll's principles. Wh a t i n the nam e of fortune has be come of the ca use f or w hi c h Sidney b den fell? Where ar e th e r i g h ts of peopl es? ledand Ramp n it Ac. cording to the do c t r i nes professed by says the Prince, " we ought n o t to contest the r i g htlan England," of Montenegro to the independence which that. country has maintained for above a century with , unconquerable energy." This is excellent—Lord Russell taught a lesson on constitutional principles by a Russian Minister; and Prince Gortschakoff does not mince the matter at all, and tells Lord Russell quite distinctly that he has now adopted v i ew s - entirely opposed to those which he formerly propounded. TEE SUN LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 13. 1863 THE BATTLE OF FREfIERICKSBURG. -- - (From the ;:we 'Void C"resii ~ OF GIEN °n :R n A " L LEE, SBITRG, DEc. 8. HEAD-QUARTERS gressive web, to such is at this walkTothin the moment the o ceaselesslypick up dropped in a stitches salle des Par la l tl er :T u r s °_ . 4 INtEoAfRa F co ß rr E es D p E on l d ' ent immured Nl l . l to im m it y s of h I e t h l e a t s t e just w b h e i e c n h brought t e during the latter half of October and at the commencement of November was sucsessful in making its exit from the Confederacy ; and such is the interest of events now passing or immediately imminent, that there is little temptation to endeavour to re-write such portions of the missing letters as might even now possess interest for the European reader. With two immense armies facing each other across an in significant river, and threatening momentarily to come into collision, the ear is strained to catch the report of the signal guns which will be the prelude to the thun der of 600 pieces of artillery; and there is every indica tion that not many days, perhaps not many hours, can elapse without bringing on a general engagement. Never was the Confederate army in finer heart, or better prepared for it. The interest is enhanced by the specula tions in reference to the destination of Gen. Banks, who is collecting a military flotilla of transports at Fortress Mon roe, nominally designed to enter the port of Brunswick, in Georgia, but by many supposed to contemplate a blow at a point much nearer to Richmond. The York and James Rivers, or the coast of North Carolina, are spoken of as the points of his possible attack—while by some it is fancied that the Washington Cabinet, wincing under the execra tion which General Butler's doings have elicited from the whole civilised world, is about to put General Banks in his place, and to withdraw from New Orleans a tyrant which has made Caligula or Alva seem mild and respectable, and who has added to hie appalling acts of cruelty the stain which is seldom absent even in the purest Yankee natures —the lust of gold " smartly" acquired, which in European phraseology means disreputably, if not dishonestly. There is hardly a man in the Northern States bat is aware that General Butler has taken advantage of his position in New Orleans, and has engaged in every description of surrepti tious and illicit traffic, from which his gains are already reputed to have reached a fabulous amount. The chosen instrument for conducting this masked trade is Gen. But ler's brother-in-law, once the keeper of a gambling -house in California, but now likely to issue from New Orleans sten. lionaire more plethoric than the gaming fraternity whose fine houses and high-stepping horses are the wonder and shame of New York and San Francisco. But does any one in the Washington Cabinet, whichcanno more absolve itself from the charge of complicity with General Butler's frauds than it could if they were perpetrated by Mr. Seward— does any one Northern individual, lay or clerical, in public or private, condemn and abhor General Butler's knavery ? " Pretty smart man, General Butler, I recken I" When Mr. Everett, or Mr. Henry Ward Beecher, or any other public speaker of authority shall dare to tell a popular audience that there is a Divine command ment which proclaims, " Thou shalt not steal," and which is of as stringent obligation now as it was 4,000 years ago, there will be a hope that the model Republic will cease to put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter, and that common integrity and guileless honesty will emulate the example of the precious metals on this continent, and will for the first time rise to a premium. But, in my judgment, the Federal Government cares no more for the hewl of execration of which Gen. Butler is the object than it does for the expression of indignation which has burst from every civilised nation on earth in reference to the recent ruthless murder by Gen. M Neill of ten Con federate prisoners at Palmyra, in Missouri. Gen. Butler will probably remain at New Orleans until the bags of gold have swelled to bursting, and until he thinks proper to go elsewhere to realise. I have noticed in former letters the ominous language of the lip and eye which follows the mention of Gen. Butler's name anywhere in the Confede rate States, and does net augur well for his tranquil enjoy ment of his acquired property in any part of the world where he may choose to reside; but all this is nothing to his Government, which chuckles when Gen. Butler an nounces to the citizens of New Orleans (as he did recently) that whereas last winter he lashed them with whips, he would this winter lash them with scorpions. In one of my missing letters I mentioned a story, communicated to me by Mr. Benjamin, which will bear repetition here. Mr. Ben jamin has two sisters and a niece who reside within five miles of New Orleans. One of the sisters and her daughter are both widows, the other sister is unmarried. Recently, about 8 o'clock in the evening, a Federal officer with a doien soldiers called at the house of these ladies, and in formed them that they must evacuate it there and then, as it was seized for military purposes. The ladies pleaded hard for a respite until the morning, which at last with the utmost difficulty they obtained. Meanwhile the officer told all their slaves that they were free, and in the teeth of their urgent remonstrances against this forcible emanci pation insisted upon their proceeding at once to New Orleans. The ladies were permitted to pack up a few personal effects for their own use, but, as they did so, the officer sat over them and frequently snatched from them with a jeer any object which took his fancy, alleging that it was required as a military necessity. At S the next morning these ladies and their boxes were turned into the road. Such is the terror which General Butler has inspired that none of the neighbours dared give them shelter. They made their way, weary and footsore to New Orleans, where they had no small difficulty, penniless (General Butler allows no "rebel" to draw his or her own money from a bank) and on foot, in procuring a temporary asylum. Such a system of warfare, which hunts out =offending and help- less women for torture, and vents its miserable spite upon them because they have an able and powerful relative, re quires no additional word of comment or remark. But to return to Virginia, it seems probable that Jack Frost, who took no part last winter in the fray, will reas sert his authority this winter, and interfere not only with the Potomac, the James, and York Rivers, but also with such streams as the Ohio, the Cumberland, and the Ten nessee, from the first of which, in its present low stage, the Federal gunboats will, perhaps, be unable to make their egress before they are clutched by the icy fingers of winter. This notion is encouraged by our climatic experiences here during these last few days. On Friday, the sth, it snowed hard, on Saturday, the 6th, the snow blew off' and the weather became clear and cold, and the nights of the 6th and 7th were unusually piercingly cold, the mercury falling close to the zero of Fahrenheit, with a bitter wind cutting to the bone. The ink in the carpet bag under my head froze solidly last night, and became like a lump of coal. The suffering of the army was terrible ; but we are uni versally assured that, in spite of their superior comforts, the sufferings of the Yankees exceed those of the Confederate soldiers. There is a rumour of six Yankee pickets being frozen to death on the night of the 6th. It is a repetition of the old experiences gained in Napoleon's Russian cam paign in 1812, during which the soldiers from Italy and the sunny South bore the rigour of that merciless winter far better than the soldiers from the North of Europe. There is only one man who seems utterly un conscious that it is not July—the Commander-in- Chief, General R. E. Lee. We breakfasted this morning, according to Gen. Lee's invariable custom, in the open air shortly after sunrise, and such a starved shivering com pany, with the exception of the General himself, as gathered round his table and partook of that wintry al fresco meal, it has never been my fortune to witness before. Many were the suggestions made and discussions indulged in by the General's Staff in reference to obtaining his approval of a requisition on the Quartermaster-General for a hospital tent, in which the headquarters' Staff might take their meals. Inasmuch as the General is greatly averse from in creasing the transportation requisite for himself and his Staff, I fear the latter will have no alternative but to con tinue to shiver. It rarely happens that such cold weather occurs in Virginia before Christmas without giving warning of an unusually severe winter. The Confederates are in high spirits at the prospect, as in many ways it is likely to be of great advantage to them, and a corresponding detri ment to their opponents. The apparent imminence of a battle has had its usual effect in heightening the spirits of the soldiers, and dispos ing the camp to such gaiety as life in a pine wood and a total absence of women may be supposed to admit of. The usual frolics at Gen. J. E. B. Stuart's headquarters are of nightly recurrence, except on the occasions when the Gene ral is absent upon one of his long scouting rides, which keep him out all night, and afford a respite to "General Stuart's headquarters' band," which consists of one excel lent banjo-player and one " bones," and is thus temporarily released from serenades and the discourse of other music But all other entertainments of the camp have for the moment been thrown into the shade by the perfor mances enacted two nights ago by General Hood's Texans, and which by particular desire will be repeated to-night, General Hood, a tall, sinewy, eager-looking soldier, is universally admitted to have led his Texan brigade into some of the hottest places which co , Id be found throughout this war, and if the palm of valour could by acclamation be voted to any one brigade there is little doubt that Virginians, Louisianians, and every other State would combine in acknowledging the superior and pare ) mount claims of Hood's fighting Texans. General Hood, who is much beloved by his men, knows that listlessness and want of interest and occupation in camp are fatal ob stacles, when the day for action comes, to efficiency in the field. lie has been at the pains, therefore, to encourage the o w l h a o b o a n nd s o a f tu lE rd th ay iop n i i a g n ht m d i i n s- - one so ldi er , successfully dressed up as a &in . —especially 3 12 alo i n n g n h u is m i b n e ern , course d very eloque nt music and elicited rapturous applause sOtrrgealslll,lSlrooioonr The long prepara tion w interest of the discussions which they subsequ entl y awaken, sc use, and conspicuous fhoricahrseunicahrkpaelarlyfonrmeaatnfcoeost eaxnadcat,nkthlee. a c re on g f r ea ea e t ra in cy c , the monotony of camp. life, and very is a great addition to the amusements of sol diersidents in to listless apathy as healthy s ti mu l a nts to men so dis p osed the Southern s oldier. It cann ot be questioned that the banjo, the nati ona l m usical instrum ent of the Southern c ampaign, and would be ben eficial in spiriting away some o f th e proverbial s pleen and dullne ss of the Bri tish soldier i n camp.aptitude for makes every tie music which Add to this the natural ap on a c a dance and song, an d t h ere aregro a musician and read y for elements of entertain ment which cannot be found i n connexion with any European army in the field, and are no slight circumstances in influ eating and elevating the spirits of the dejected, tatterde malion, lack-lustre, half-starved scarecrows who are nobly conducting this brilliant struggle for independence, which it is obvious to the least far-sighted observer they are on the eve of bringing to a successful issue. For, in spite of the ineradicable bluster of the Northern journals, what is the true situation of affairs ? For nearly three mouths those vast hosts which the North is never weary of parading have declined to attack their insignificant and exhausted foe, and are at last threatening General Lee in a position which they cannot carry without superhuman valour and the loss of 50,000 men. In the West, where the failure of Gen. Bragg has unquestionably deferred the inci pient gravitation of Kentucky towards the Confederacy, the appointment-of Gen. Joseph Johnston to the supreme com mand, a successful dash of Gen. Morgan, and the visit of President Davis to the West have restored public confi dence, while the enormous natural obstacles, which must continue to baffle much greater efforts than the North can set in motion. puzzle the will and dishearten the enterprise of leading Unionists. Even if Vicksburg is taken (and it must not be forgotten that Vicksburg was bombarded for six weeks in June an d July by one flotilla of gunboats above the town, and by another flotilla below it, and that all that was compassed by this costly and protracted fire was the death of 15 Confederates), and if the navigation of the Mis sissippi from St. Louis to New Orleans is reopened, how will the North and its commercial interests be benefitted thereby ? It is true that iron-clad gunboats will then go up and down the stream, but a single 6-pounder on any one of the bluffs will be a fatal bar and check upon any trading vessel. Until the North can change the whole heart and soul of men, women, and children in those States which are lost to Abraham Lincoln and his successors for ever, trade between New Orleans and St. Louis can no more be re opened than it can between Tyre and Sidon. For, even if trading vessels could be sent down the stream, with whom would they trade and what money would they accept ? Barter of cotton in exchange for Northern commodities would be declined by nine. tenths of the Southern popula tion, and frustrated by guerillas if ever it were attempted. It is marvellous that the North continues to blind itself to the fact that the compulsory restoration of the Union is as impossible of accomplishment as the subjugation of the in habitants of the planet Jupiter. The only other arrow in the Federal quiver, in addition to the defeat of Gen. Lee's army and the reopening of the Mississippi, is the destruction or occupation of Charleston, Mobile, and other seaboard cities. Not a day but strengthens the defences of thoso citios,and, if public rumour speaks truth, the Federals will have difficulty in maintaining their blockade after next spring. No glimmer of light is anywhere discoverable on the Federal horizon, and the indifference which is here ma nifested on the subject of that European intervention once so eagerly courted by the South, but now believed to be more zealously craved in secret by the North, is an earnest of the amended circumstances and growing confidence of that nation and army which has sprang into life, and main tained its existence through 20 months of unparalleled hard ship and difficulty. DEc. 11. A hurried visit to Richmond, which has served further to disclose to me the great difficulties, far exceeding any thing that I had anticipated, of successfully transmitting letters from the Southern Stater to England, has prevented my continuing this narrative until to-day, and I resume it under the increased excitement which the loud boom of great guns in the neighbourhood and the commencement of that engagement 'which has long been ardently desired by the Confederate generals have universally diffused around as e. At a very early hour this morning information was brought to Generals Lee and Longstreet that the Federals were engaged during the bright moonlight of Wednesday night, the 10th, and in the early morning of the 11th, in and gpo called Deepbridgesntoon n across the river at Fredericksburg at a creek into the Rappahannock a mile a w n h d i which half flows below from No opposition was dir ec t e d b y the Confe d era t e s against the builders of the pont oon b ridge at Deep R un , because the the the h town.so u t valley south of the river is in that spot bare and wide and flat, and entirely swept by the Federal cannon on the Staf ford heights. The bridge at Deep Run was therefore thrown without impediment across the stream, and was completed by noon on Thursday. The town of Fredericksburg was held by two companies of one of Barksdale's Mississippi regiments, serving as pickets, who opened a brisk fire upon the bridge-builders, and drove the survivors in confusion back to the northern bank. Instantly more than a hundred of the heavy Federal guns on the north bank of the river gave their response to the handful of Confederate sharpshooters on the southern bank, by opening furiously upon the doomed city of Fredericksburg and endeavouring to make the whole of it too hot to shelter a single Southern rifleman. A second time the Federals ventured out upon the pontoons and were a second time driven back by Barksdale's Mississippi Brigade, which had now come to the assistance of the two companies that originally held the town. It was not until many of the buildings in Fredericksburg had been battered down along the river bank, and until a hailstorm of shot and shell from the Federal guns on the heights, and of musket• balls from the Yankee sharpshooters along the bank, had riddled every plank and brick in the town that the Federals succeeded, about 5 o'clock in the afternoon of Thursday, in throwing their pontoons across the river, a feat the accomplishment of which they celebrated by shouts that made the hills vocal, and were taken up again and again by the mighty host of men whose tents whiten every crest on the northern side of the river, and give colour to the repeated allegations of Federal prisoners that 300,000 men are under arms and obedient to the command of General Burnside. It will be remarked that the building of the bridges was only opposed on one spot, and that on that spot it was only opposed by the musketry fire of a single Confederate brigade. The Confederate batteries on the Spottsylvania heights looked grimly down on the bloody work proceeding below them, but did not reply to the deafening cannonade of the Federal batteries, nor betray their exact position by opening fire. The sun dropped behind the hills, leaving 160 men of Barksdale's Brigade dead and wounded in the town, the town itself riddled from cellar to garret, battered down in many places, and burning in others. The resistance this day offered by Creneral Lee to the passage of the river by the Federals seems to confirm the opinion that it was his design to damage the enemy as they crossed, but by no means vigorously to oppose their passage. DRC. 12. ts of very l a rge armi es , invariably attend the movemen a strong ntemplated, con „I the Those who were unacqua inted wit h the delays which chosen position mies this morning at day- Confederate and the Federal ar heads, r break ; but, as was anticipated by more experienced t developing a Federal onslaught the day wore away without h t was fidently looked for the m omentous en collision between the The preceding night upon the Southern lines. employed busily in throwing dense masses of Northern at Fredericksburg and Deep Run, and one or two o th er bridges thrown across at oth er l os busy rumour,nfedera hardlye p 'ate. So numerous were t hese brid ges alleged to Le that b l ess i ma ginative and sugges ti ve among the u troops across the pontoons among their opponent s , es ti mate d o them variously at from 15 to 30. I believe that in reality they did not exceed three or f our . But as the bright and warm sun broke c h eer fully from the heaven s an d di spe l led the thick mist which for many h ours brooded over the plain Confederates tha and intercepted the view of objects distant not more th a n three or four hundred yards, it became more and more ob vious, even to the least experienced eye, what a magnificent position was occupied by the Confederate army, and how wisely and sagaciously the ground had been chosen byGen. Lee. It must have been a moment of proud gratification to Gen. Lee, and those captains who under him have gained ever-increasing distinction, when they realised be yond all question that the enemy was about to force an at tack under circumstances which would have insured defeat had the onslaught been made by the bravest disciplined ' troops of Europe, ani which reduced the rout of the dis heartened and loosely coupled troops of Gen. Burnside to an absolute certainty. As the observer stood on the range of hills which impend over Fredericksburg on the south, and glanced his eye down upon the town, and right and left, along the low swelling ridges which extend from the river on his left, and, forming the arc of a semicircle, strike the river again about six miles below on his right, he might have challenged the most deeply read student of military history to prsduce any precedent in which battle has ever been delivered under circumstances more unfavourable to the assailing party, or upon ground from which any great master of the art of war would more naturally have recoiled had the initiative remained with his own option. The Rap pahannock, in its course from west to east, is skirted, just at the point where Fredericksburg stands on its southern bank, by low crests of hill, which on the northern bank run parallel and close to the river, and on the southern trend backward from the stream, and leave a semicircular plain six miles in length and two or three in depth, enclosed within their circumference before they again approach the river in the neighbourhood of Massaponax Creek. Imme diately above the town, and on the left of the Confederate position, the bluffs are bold and bare of trees; but as the hills in their eastward course recede from the river they be- I come lower and are densely wooded, while low spurs covered with copsewood run down at right angles to the range of hills into the plain, behind and between which spurs the centre and right of the Confederate army was posted, stretching for a distance of six miles from the extreme left, and ending in the immediate neighbourhood of Massaponax Creek, which joins the Rappahannock some five roles be low Fredericksburg. It will be apparent to the reader that the left of the Confederate army, a portion of it sta tioned not more than 400 yards from Fredericksburg, occu• pied a much stronger position than the centre and right. There was not sufficient room for the Federal troops destined for the attack of the nearest Confederate batteries to deploy and form, except under a deadly Confederate fire; whereas the Federal troops who attacked the Confederate centre and right had a large plain on which to deploy and had much fewer disadvantages of ground to contend with, in asmuch as they advanced against 1 ,wer hills and had the long spurs of copse to assist them as points of attack, cal - culated to protect and serve as points d'appui to the Fede ral troops if they could once have succeeded in carrying and holding them, But even in its weakest points the Confederate line possessed great advantages of position ; and it is no wonder that ever ) Southerner, from the Com mander-in-Chief down to the youngest drummer-boy, un derstood and appreciated the strength of the ground, and contemplated the coming 8 44 of battle with serene con fidence and composure. in describing the ground upon which the battle subsequently took place, I should not omit to add that the railroad track from Fredericksburg to Rich mond runs diagonally through the semicircular plain described above, and crosses the Confederate line of battle three and half miles from Fredericksburg, at a point called Hamilton's Crossing. This point was strongly held by a part of the Confederate right, and it is manifest that against this point and along the railroad track it would have been wise if the weight of the Federal attack had been directed. It will be understood in conclusion, that the heights on the northern or Stafford side of the Rappahan nock, which for miles touch and impend over the stream, were surmounted by a long line of heavy Federal rifled cannon. Similarly, along the whole Confederate line of battle, nearly 300 pieces of artillery were in position or in reserve. There is no recorded battle of history in which anything like so many pieces of artillery took part (of course in this assertion I do not include sieges), and the reader will at once realize how inadequate language is to describe the thunder of so vast a number of cannon, or the deadly pelting hail of such an aggregate of the projectiles which modern ingenuity has succeeded in devising. It remains briefly to notice the disposition of troops along the Confederate line. P may be mentioned summarily that the Confederates are divided into two large corps &armee, and that on this occasion General Longstreet's corps was on the left, and General Stonewall Jackson's on the right. But, as the hottest work of the battle fell upon particular divisions and brigades, it should be further stated (although the position of each brigade cannot, for want of time, be given) that the Confederate divisions, starting from the lett of the line and proceeding towards the right, were posted as follows :—On the extreme lett the division of General Anderson ; next to it the division of General Ran som ; next to it that of General INl‘Claws ; next to it that of General Pickett ; and next to it the division of General Hood. Proceeding now to General Jackson's corps, the ground be tween General Hood's right and the railroad at Hamilton's Crossing was held mostly by the large division commanded by that excellent officer, Gen. A. P. Hill. Behind the line of General A. P. Hill the division of General D. H. Hill was held in reserve. To the right of General A. P. Hill, the division once commanded by General Ewell, who lost his leg (if I mistake not) at the second battle of Manassas, but nowcommanded by General Early, held tie woads right up to and across the railroad at Hamilton's Crossing. In front of General Early the powerful artillery of C.A. Walker was thrown forward, to fire, as was expected, into the enemy's flank. Across, or to the east of, the railroad, on the extreme Confederate right, General J. E. B. Stuart, with his cavalry and horse artillery, covered the flank of the Confederate line, his rear almost resting upon Massaponax Creek. As regards the disposition of the Federal troops, nothing more is known than that the three great bodies of troops were commanded, that on the Federal right by General Sumner, that on the Federal centre by General Hooker, and that on the Federal left by General Franklin. It is estimated that not less than 40,000 troops were engaged in the attack directed by General Sumner, and that 50,000 were employed on the Federal centre and left. Friday, the 12th of December, was employed by the Fe deral Generals in arranging and massing their troops for the next day's attack. Ac , ive skirmishing was kept up by the pickets on both sides for several hours, and in the after noon, with a view to feeling the Confederate position, the heavy Federal guns thundered across the river, and were only feebly replied to by the batteries on the Confederate left. The solemnity of the immediately approaching battle cast its shadow over the scene, and that earnestness and tranquillity of demeanour which, on the eve of momentous events, overtake even the most garrulous and thoughtless, reigned unmistakeably upon every countenance. At night as the pickets of the two armies were stationed within 100 yards of each other, the Confederates could hear the ear nest and impassioned speeches of Federal orators, rousing the spirit of their troops, and making vehement appeals to the sanctity of the " old flag." " The old flag is played out," shouted the Confederates in reply. " Some how," remarked one of the Confederates to me, "there must he a want of grit among the Yankees, otherwise they wouldn't want all this talking to." It is impossible not to contrast the spirit of the two armies—the Confederates, so calm, so resolute, so satisfied with their generals, so suffer ing, yet rejoicing to suffer as long as hardship is the price of liberty; the Federals, lashed into the field by the thong of golden bounties, and in the field lashed against the enemy by the invectives and appeals of able spokesmen, so dis trustful of their generals and each other, so pampered and yet so dissatisfied. The aurora borealis which overspread the heavens, and darted blood-red tongues of flame swiftly from the meridian down to the horizon, was accepted by the Confederates as the cross outlined on the sky was accepted by Constantine—an earnest of assured victory. DECEMBER 13. The morning of the 13th of December—a memorable day to the historian of the Decline and Fall of the American Republic—broke still and warm, while, as on the preceding day, a thick haze enveloped the town of Fredericksburg and the circumjacent valley, and delayed the opening of the fire by the antagonistic batteries until the sun had been up some three or four hours. It was strange to contrast Saturday, the 13th of September, with Saturday the 6th, and to com pare the intense cold of the earlier Saturday with the spring-like warmth and calmness of the latter. The day which I am describing was one of those outbursts of that Indian summer which lingers long and fondly in beautiful Virginia; the morning haze which shrouded heath, and plain, and forest, was the ordinary prelude to the warmth and glow of the sun at noonday. As the fog lifted about 10 in the morning, and the sun burst through the clouds, the long lines of the Federal army, which had passed the whole preceding day in deploying and preparing for the attack, were distinctly visible in the plain, and gave awful indications of the amount of the Federal host which had crossed the river. The Confederate army, wholly undaunted by the extravagant stories about the strength of their foe, waited calmly, drawn up for the moat part within the fringe of the woods, confident in their position and in the valour which has never failed them. And here it may be as well finally to dispel those illusions under which it is the custom of the Northern press to veil the disgrace of defeat, when the fact itself admits of no denial. The whole number of the Confederates in the field this day did not exceed from 80,000 to 90,000 men. Of these, some 26,000 men, taking the very highest estimate, took part in the fight. By the urgent entreaty of several of the leading Confederate Generals, it has long been sought rather to keep down than to swell the numbers of the Southern army. It is well known to the sagacious Gene rals of the Confederacy that such an army as obeyed Gen. , Lee's command this day, if well handled and imbued with a fine spirit, is more th an a ma t c h f or any number that can I be led against them. Th e s t a t ements of the Federal Sec , rectary of War, to the e ff ec t t h at h e has 800,000 men at this moment i n hi s p a y, carry comfort rather than dismay to the hearts of th e C on f e d erates. So cumbrous and un wieldy a machine as the Federal army but break down by its own weight and by the vast amount of transport which its pampered soldiery requires; and, in addition to many other testimonies to its immobility, the statement of the Prince de Joinville, that one railroad is not sufficient to supply such an army as General M'Clellan led against Richmond, will carry conviction to the European public. It is impossible for me to describe the position of each of the numerous Confederate batteries which stretched along the length of their six-mile line of battle. It will suffice if I indicate the batteries which were most hotly errgaged,and bore the brunt of the action. By fat the most i mportant position was occupied by the Washington Artillery, com manded by Col. Walton, of New Orleans, and posted on the heights in the immediate neighbourhood of Fredericks burg, not more than 400 yares from the town. These heights, which are precisely of that altitude which is most favourable for the play of artillery, are sur mounted by a brick house, now riddled by round shot, belonging to Mr. Marye, and are commonly called Marye's Heights. .At their b ase a road wind: protected on one side by the hills, and on the other by a solid stone wall, abont four feet ire height, over which a brigade of Confederates, themselves perfectly sheltered, poured the deadliest anti most effmtive of fires. A little fur ther back, to the south-east of Marye's Heights, stand, another and higher hill, from which the most commanding view of the entire field is obtainabie, and which, as it is the ' usual station of the Commander-in-Chief, is now known as Gen. Lee's hill. From this hill during a large portion of Saturday, a 3 0-pounder Parrot gun, cast at the Tredegar Works in Richmond, poured a destructive fire into the Fade rals. Suddenly, about 3 in the afternoon, on its 37th dis charge, this gun burst with a dreadful explosion, but hap pily did no injury to any of the bystanders. At the moment of its explosion Captain Phillips, of the Grenadier Guards (favourably remarked this day for his behaviour under fire), Major Venables, of Gen. Lee's staff, and Major Haskell were conversing within a few feet of the gun. Their escape without injury was little less than miraculous. As the Confederate line treads away to the right, the batteries of Gen. i Hood's divi s ion were actively engaged against the advancing I columns of Pennsylvanians; but next to the batteries on Marye's Heights and Gen. Lee's hill, I should say that the artillery commanded by Col. Walker took the most effec tive part in the action, as it poured a flanking fire into the enemy's left. One other battery deserves favourable men tion, which it obtained in the short and modest report of the battle which emanates from the pen of Gen. Lee. On the extreme right of the Confederates, in front of the posi tion occupied by Gen. Stuart's cavalry, a few batteries of Stuart's Horse Artillery were thrown forward, to flank the Federals, between Walker's Ar, illery and the river. Gen. Stuart ordered Major John Pelham, his Chief of Artillery, to advance one gun considerably towards the enemy, and to open upon him. Major Pelham obeyed, and pened the fire of a 12-pounder Napoleon gun with great precision and deadly effect into the Federal flank. The galling discharges of this gun quickly drew upon it the fire of three Federal field batteries, while from across the river two other heavy batteries joined in the s t r if e and wade Major P e lh am and his gun their target. For hours, not less than 30 Federal cannon strove to silence Major Pelham's popgun, and strove in vain. The unyielding and undemonstrative courage of Major Pelham, his composure under the deadli est fire, have long made him o , nspicu ous , but never were his noble qualities th e subject of more glowing eu l og y than upon this occasi on . G eneral Lee exclaimed, " It is inspirit ing to see such glorious courage in one so young" (Major Pelham is not more than 22); general ackaant rfAaarAcCl! " With a Pelham upon either flank I could vanquish the world." At half-past 8 a.m. General Lee, accompanied by his full staff, rode slowly along the front of the Confederate lines from lett to righl, and took up his station for a time beyond Hamilton's Crossing, and in rear of the batteries on the ex treme Confederate right. It would be presumptuous in me to say one word in commendation of the serenity, or, if I may so express it, the unconscious dignity of General Lee's courage, when he is under fire. No one who sees and knows his demeanour in ordinary life would expect anything else from one so calm, so undemonstrative and unassuming. But the description applied after the battle of Alma to Lord Raglan by Marshal St. Arnaud, and in which, noticing Lord Raglan's unconsciousness under fire, he speaks of his "antique heroism," seems to me so applicable to General Lee that I cannot forbear recalling it here. At a subsequent period of the day General Lee assumed his station on the kill which takes its name from him, and thence, in company with General Longstreet, calmly watched the repulse of the repeated Federal efforts against the heights on which he stood. Occasionally General Jackson rode up to the spot and mingled in conversation with the other two leading Generals. Once General Longstreet exclaimed to him, " Are you not scared by that file of Yankees you have be fore you down there ?" to which General Jackson replied, " Wait till they come a little nearer, and they shall either scare me or I'll scare them." The battle opened when the sun had let in enough light through the mist to disclose the near proximity of the Federal lines and field batteries. The first shot was fired shortly before 10 a.m. from the b ttteries in the Federal centre, and was directed against General Hood's division. The Pennsylvanian Reserves advanced boldly under a heavy fire against the Confederates who occupied one of the copse wood spurs, and were for a time permitted to hold it, but presently the Confederate batteries opened on them, and a determined charge of the Texans drove the Yankees out of the wood in a confusion form which notning could subse quently rally them. Simultaneously a heavy fire issued from the batteries of General A. P. Hill's ar.d General Early's divisions, which was vigorously replied to by the Ftdeial field batteries. The only advantage momentarily gained by the Federals in this quarter, and which is noticed in General Lee'e report, was on the occasion of the cal lapse of a regiment of North Carolina conscripts, who broke and ran, but whose place was rapidly taken by more in trepid successors. The cannonading now became general along the entire line. Such a scene, at once terrific and sublime, mortal eye never rested on before, unless the bombardment of Sebastopol by the combined batteries of France and England revealed a more fearful manifestation of the hate and fury of man. The thundering, bellowing roar of hundreds of pieces of artillery, the bright jets of issuing flame, the screaming, hissing, whistling, shrieking projectiles, the wreath of smoke as shell after shell burst into the still air, the savage crash of round shot among the trees of the shattered forest, formed a scene likely to sink for ever into the memory of all who witnessed it, but utterly defying verbal delineation. A direct and enfilading fire swept each battery on either side as it was unmasked, vol ley replied to volley, crash succeeding crash, until the eye lost all power of distinguishing the lines of combatants, and the whole plain seemed a lake of fire, a seething mass of molten lava, coursed over by incarnate fiends drunk with fury and revenge. Twice the Federals, gallantly led and encouraged by their officers, d .shed against the forces of General A. P. Hill and General Early, and twice they recoiled, broken and discom fitted, and incapable of being again rallied to the fray. The eager Confederates drove them with horrid carnage a mile across the plain, and only desisted from the pursuit when they came under the fife of the Federal batteries across the river. Upon the extreme Confederate right General Stuart's Horse Artillery pressed hotly upon the fugitives, and kept up a fire subsequently understood to have been very effective, until after dark. Upon the Con federate right, where the antagonists fought upon more level terms, the equality of loss upon both sides was greater than on the Confederate left; but even here the Federal loss in officers and men far outnumbered that of their op ponents. General Bayard, the best cavalry officer in the Federal service, fell dead almost on the eve of the day which was to have witnessed his nuptials ; General Jack son, of Pennsylvania, shared his fate. Many other gene ral officers were carried to the Federal rear, grievously wounded; whereas of the Confederates only one officer of rank—General Gregg —fell upon the right ; and only one— Gene, al Cobb —upon the left. Meanwhile, the battle, which had dashed furiously against the lines of Generals Hood, A. P. Hill, and Early, was little more than child's play, as compared with the on • slaught directed by the Federals in the immediate neigh bourhood of Fredericksburg The impression that the Con- federate batteries would not fire heavily upon the Federals advancing in this quarter for fear of injuring the town of Fredericksburg, is believed to have prevailed among the Northern Generals. Hew bitterly they deceived themselves subsequent events served to show. To the Irish division, commanded by General Meagher, was principally com mitted the desperate task of bursting out of the town of Fredericksburg, and forming, under the withering fire of the Confederate batteries, to attack Marye's Heights, lower ing immediately in their front. Never at Fontenoy, at AlLucta, ut at Watutivo was more uudoublad uuttrage dis played by the sons of Erin than during thcse six frantic dashes which they directed against the almost impregnable position of their foe. There are stories that General Meagher harangued his troops in imps ssioned language on the morning of the 13th, and plied them extensively with the whiskey found in the cellars of Fredericksburg. After witnessing the gallantry and devotion exhi bited by his troops, and viewing the hillsides for acres strewn with their corpses thick as autumnal leaves, the spectator can remember nothing but their desperate courage, and regret that it was not exhibited in a holier cause. That any mortal man c,uld have carried the position before which they were wantonly sacrificed, defended as it was, it seems to me idle for a moment to believe. But the bodies which lie in dense masses within 40 yards of the muzzles of Colonel Walton's guns are the best evidence what man ner of men they were who pressed on to death with the dauntlessness of a race which has gained glory on a thou. sand battle-fields, and never more richly deserved it than at the foot of Marye's Heights on the 13th day of Decem ber, 1862. An opportunity of sending this letter, with an encourag ing prospect of its reaching England, compels me to defer a further account of the gallant defence on the Confederate left of the town of Fredericksburg and of the battlefield until a subsequent letter. But it is important to add that, even at this early date, there are abundant evidences that the Confederates, themselves sustaining a loss of about 1,800 killed and wounded, have inflicted upon their enemy a defeat from which it will take him months and months to recover. Such was the demoralisation this evening of the Federal troops as they ran through the streets and cowered in the cellars of Fredericksburg, that hundreds of soldiers exclaimed, "You may shoot us down, may hang us, or do what you like, but back there," pointing at Marye's Heights, "we will never go again." I forbear to state the estimates of the Federal loss, which place it at an appalling figure, and yet are believed not to be far from the truth. It is not likely that the full details of this battle will be generally known in the North for weeks and weeks ; but if, after the failure of this last and feeblest of all the Fede ral attempts to reach Richmond, with the Northern army unnerved, demoralised, and starting asunder like a broken bow, the Irish and Germans are again tempted to embark in so hopeless a venture, then is the conclusion irresistible that, in addition to all the shackles of desptlism which they are alleged to have left behind them in Europe, they have left also that most valuable attribute of humanity, which is called oo mmon sense. RESPITE OF MARY Cox.---On Saturday morning Mr. Green, the governor of Durham 61,01, received a communication from Sir George Grey, the Home Secre tary, ordering that Mary C x ehould be respited until fur ther signification of her Majesty's pleasure. The prisoner, it will be remembered, was convicted along with her hus • band, John Cox, at the last urham assizes, of the murder of an old woman, named Ann Halliday, at a place called Broadatires, near the city of Durham. John Cox was executed on the 23d ult., but the sentence on Mary Cox was ordered to be deferred until after her confinement, a jury of matrons having declared her to be pregnant. The decision of the Heme Secretary was made known to the prisoner by the ttev. Provost Platt, Catholic priest, who has been in attendance upon her since her condemnation. STATUE OF LORD COCKBURN.—A statue to the late Henry Cockburn, the eminent Scotch barrister and judge, has just been placed in the Parliament-house, Edinburgh. Though comparatively little known south of the Tweed, Cockburn is a name familiar to every Scotch man. He was throughout his long life closely associated with Francis Jeffrey; especially in the institution of the Edinburgh Review, and in the early movements in Scotland for political reform. When Jeffrey became Lord Advocate on the Whigs coming i n t o o ffi ce i n 1830 , C ockburn was aprbadaetAcdkt - displaystill h i his e l o e f v t a .o t r i e o n n i t c o e t h l o e l ü b e ennaccreehevaei lrnroeohikrBeeea3dgr4ad. h s aets a o s p acw l mo e i t a otch d nh e g r hbit h gahr i h s et pointed Solicitor-General of S co tl an d , and held that office a m ia o d s t h s i t s r i judicial and decisionspersuasive admiration and respect. But it was as a patriotic and kindly S cotc h man, deeply attached to his country and his countryme n , that his memory is most revered in the North. As the biographer of Jeffrey, w hom he survived four years, he produced one of the most interesting books in Scottish literature. The statue, which is erected by subscription, is from the chisel of Mr. W. B. Brodle, R.S.A. It is a full-length figure, in the robe of Solicitor- Geaeral. The likeness is remarkably truthful and vivid, and the attitude very faithfully represents the placid but dignified deportment of the man. The work is undoubtedly the finest this able sculptor has produced. The following is the incription on the pedestal :—" Henry Cockburn, born October 26, 1779 ; Solicitor-General, 1830 ; Senator of the College of Justice, 1834 ; died, April 26, 1854," The figure is placed a little to the right of Roubillac's famous etatue of Lord President Forbes. The old Parliament house of Scotland (which has been since the Union an ad junct to the law courts) has now a series of seven statues, those of Lord Jeffrey, and Lord President Boyle, by Steell, being (=opting Cockburn) the latest additions. The Colliery Accident in Shropshire. The adjourned inquest upon the bodies of the twelve men and boys who were recently killed by being precipitated down the shaft of a pit belong ing t..) the Lilleshall Company, at Prior's Lee, Shropshire, was held yesterday at Okengates, a small town a short distance away from the scene of the accident. The first witness now called was Mr. John Lloyd, who stated that since the com mencement of the inquest the broken side of the spring-box having been tested by an hydraulic press had been fonnd capable of bearing a strain of 30 tons. A letter had also been received from the maker, in which it was asserted that the iron of which the box was constructed was of the Low Moor description, which had been always considered as the quality of metal calculated to bear the greatest strain. Witness knew that there were in existence several contrivances for securing a cage, even in the event of a breakage of the spring-box. Inasmuch as such contrivances were usually complicated and and easily liable to derangement, no one of them was in use at this pit. Had one been employed on the present occasion, and had it been in perfect re pair, there was every probability that the accident would have been preventad. He could assign no reason for the breakage of the iron in this instance. John Marrion again stated that a careful ex amination of the drawing apparatus had been made about a fortnight before the occurrence of the acci dent. No fracture of any part was visible. Sup posing that the cage had on any occasion been overdrawn, it was probable that a fracture of the spring-box would have been the result. Nothing of this kind had, however, occurred at the pit in question. Unless by a sudden jerk, no reason was apparent for the fracture by which the accident was caused. Mr. Wynn, the district inspector of mines, de posed that by one of the colliery rules the banksman was prohibited from sending down the shaft of a pit more than eight persons at a time. Respecting the cause of the fracture of the box he could give no positive information. As an opinion, he thought the reason might possibly be found in a sudden snatch of the cage from the bottom of the shaft, through injudicious hurry on the part of the engi neer on the surface. The safety contrivance before alluded to should, he thought, be applied in all cases. He had known many instances in which its use had prevented an accident, and had such a pre caution been taken at this pit there could be no question but that the lives of the deceased would have been saved. A verdict of accidental death was ultimately de livered, accompanied by an expression of opinion that sufficient attention had not been paid to the examination of the box and other apparatus in use at the mouth of the pit. COUNTRY MARKETS. ~~..__. COLCHESTER-JAN. 10. Best samples of wheat may be quoted the turn in favour of the seller. Fine barley was again scarce, and is over last week's rates. Beans and peas v!iere not plentiful, and sold slowly at last week's rates Wheat, white. 46s 5Zs Beans, Mazagan..3os 33s red 428 48s middle & small.3ss 42s Barley 4os 42s * Oats white . . . gray 358 388 . .• 3 0 s s 2 3 9 6 s Peas, s GLOUCESTER—Jsx. 10. To-day there was a good supply of English wheat, which sold at Jul y the same rates as last week. Foreign in brisk request. Malting barley also in request, and in some in stances advanced is per qr. Beans were dull. Oats wore rather firmer. CHELMSFORD—JAN. 9. A fair supply of wheat, and a few dry samples realised Is per qr advance ; other sorts were about the same. Good qualities of barley also may be noted is over the previous week's quotations. All other spring corn unaltered. Wheat, old white... 37s 54s I eas, Partridge. , 378 40s new ......37s 51s White 39s 40s old red....42e 508 Boiling 4OB 43s new ......38s 48s Dun 35s 38s Bailey 2 , 8 368 Ditto n ew .. — 8 —s Chevalier 2Bs 39s Beans, Tick, old ..348 39s Grinding 22s 31s Malt.... Chevalier . 6 6 4 1 s s 6 6 7 9 a s Harrow Ti c n n k e e s w w ... ... 135 a s s :40 : Oats 2os 28s Mazagan .......308 38s KIRKCALDY GRAIN—JAN. 10. A. moderate supply of wheat and barley at market, but good of oats. Sales not very ready, but prices were much the same as last week for wheat, and 6d to is per quarter advance for barley and oats. Wheat. Barley. Oats. First....27s Od I 22s Od I 18s 6d Second ..40s Od 25s 6d 21s Od Third....—s Od —8 Od —s Od COAL A. Pr►cee of Coal per Ton a ' s. d. .ARK ET. the close of the market. Walls End. Byass's Bebeide West Hartley ...16 Carway and Duirryn. Malting Do. Anthracite 20 Lambert's West Hart_ ley 16 Wylarn ..16 fan field Moor l3 Hastings Hartley lB Holywell Eden Main 17 s. d. Hatton .. l9 0 Tunstall Thorpe .. ..16 0 Caradoc Reugh Hall 17 3 Hedley 17 0 Framwellgate 17 6 Hartlepool 18 6 South Hartlepool 17 6 Braddyll's Hetton 18 3 Burn Haswell Keiper Grange.... l7 9 Stewart's 18 6 Cassop lB 0 Walls End. South Kelloe.. 17 9 Trimdon Hartlepool l7 6 Ships at market, 83 ; sold, 81. Foreign Mail Packet List. MAILS DUE. Australia and Mauritius, via Southampton. Jan. 18. Marseils Jan. 12. Brazil and Cape Verds, by via British pa le chet. Feb. 3. Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena.. Feb. 1. China, Penang, and Singapore, via Southampton. Jan. 18. via Marseilles Jan. 12. Falkland Isl a nd s Gibraltar, via Southampton India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampton Jan. 18. via Marseilles J an . 12. India (Bombay), via Southampton Portugal. via Marseille s Jan. 20. ... Feb. 3. Malta, Egypt, and Aden, via Southampton Jan. 10. Newfoundland via Marseilles Jan. 12. Oporto and Vigo U. S. and British N. America, ty Brit. packet.... Jan. 15. 'by U.S. packet b CJan. 16 W.C. of Af r i ca, M adeira, and Ty eneritle anadian packet. Jan. 10.. Bahamas, via New York Jan. 15. Mexico...... •••• An parts of West Indies, including Chili, Peru, Jan, 13. Californi a , an d B r i t i sh Columbia. [ADVERTISEMENT I — Holloway's Ointment and Pills.-- Scarlet Fever.—Thousands are daily telling around us pre maturely cut off by this fearful scourge. This ointment frequently and perseveringly rubbed upon the throat, will stimulate the vessels of the skin to throw out the bright scarlet rash, and to keep out till the dangerous crisis has passed. Holloway's pills should be taken with discretion, at the same time; they diminish the attendant fever, reduce the quickened pulse, cool the hot skin, and promote sleep• The patient, thus treated, will safely get through this afflic tion. This ointment at once strikes a death blow to the inflammation which threatens the throat with destruction, whose ravages often leave behind an incurable deafness terminable only with life itself. Births. COCHRANE.—On the 11th inst., at Swakeleys, Middlesex, the wife of Captain Thomas Cochran, Royal Navy, of a 802. CONSTABLE. —On the 11th inst., at Kirkdale, Sydenhamp Mrs. George W. Constable, of a son. D'OTLY.—On the 9th inst., at 15, Gloucester-place, Port man-square, the wife of the Rev. Charles J. D'OylYl of a daughter. Marriages. B LACKBURN—SING.—On the 11th inst., at St. Mary's, Hampstead, J.W. Vernon Blackburn, Esq., barrister-at law, eldest son of John Blackburn, Esq., coroner for the borough of Leeds, to Elizabeth Johanna Margaret, eldest daughter of F. Sang, Esq., of Leigh House, Hampstead. PRIOR—HADAWAY•—On the 20th Nov., at Saint Mary's Church, P,ona, Lieut.-Colonel Prior, 6th Innis killing Dragoons, to Nina Jessie, eldest daughter of S. M. Hadaway, Esq,, Deputy Inspector -General British Forces. Deaths. BODDINGTON.—On the Bth inst., at Burcher, Hereford shire, Reginald Brook Boddington, Esq., aged 53. BRENTON.—On the 9th inst., at Brigham Vicarage, De von, Harriet, Lady Brenton, aged 74. DAWSON —On the 10th inst., suddenly, at Great Munden Rectory, Herts, the Rev. Henry Dawson, rector of the parish. FELL —On the 9th inst., at Clapham, Edmund Fell, Esq., aged 42. IMRIE.—On the 10th inst., at Claremont, West Derby, Liverpool, Wm. Imrie, Esq., aged 67. PECRELL.—On the 10th inst., at Liverpool, suddenly, Augustus Pechell, Esq., aged 72. TAYLOR.—Henry Taylur, Esq., 17, Clement's-inn, barris ter-at-law, aged 43. London : Printed and Published by WILLIAM ANDREWS, of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at THE Sux Off i ce, NO . 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the County la dd l esex.—Tuesday, January 13,1583.