The Sun. — London, England, 1863-02-17 00:00:00

IMPEL lAL PARLIAIVEENT HOUSE OF LORDS-.-Last Evening. The Lo.D CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack at the usual hour. BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE. The Earl of DERBY said a question had been put the other evening by a noble friend as to the bills it was pro posed to proceed with at au early period of the session. Undoubtedly, it would be of the highest importance that some exact information should be given as to what those measures were which were dimly shadowed forth iu her Majesty's Speech. He should, therefore, like to know the title of the bills that were to be taken into consideration before Easter. There was also another subject that was exciting great interest: he alluded to the Brazils. Had the noble earl the Secretary for Foreign Affairs been in his place he should have asked him when it was likely the papers connected with that subject would be laid on the table of the house. He would not, in his absence, press for the opinion of the Go vernment as to the conduct of their agent, but he hoped they would be ably to disprove those charges of arbitrary and unjust conduct, which appeared to be well founded. Earl GRANVILLE said the papers on Brazil were being prepared with the utmost despatch. The noble earl had himself said there were very few measures which could be proceeded with before Easter, but there was one which would be introduceJ, and that was with respect to the pol lution of rivers by noxious vapours, and reform of chemical works. Lord STANLEY of ALDERLEY explained that the measure in question would be confined to the refuse dis charged from alkali works. Their lordships then adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS—Last Evening. The SPEAKER took the chair at four o'clock. NEW MEMBER. Lord GEORGE MANNERS took the oaths and his seat for Cambridgeshire. THAMES CONSERVANCY BILL. The second reading was postponed until to-morrow. UNIVERSAL TELEGRAPH. The third reading was postponed until Friday. TRAMORE EMBANKMENT BILL.' The second reading was postponed until the 22d March. PETITIONS. FIRE INSURANCE. Lord HENLEY, in favour of a modification. AN HoN. MEMBER, to the like effect, and that farm stock may no longer exempt from its operation. EPPING FOREST. Mr. COX, in favour of the retention of the forest for the use of the public. SALMON FISHERIES (IRELAND). Mr. LANGFIELD, from various parts of Ireland in favour of this bill. Col. DUNNE, from Blackwater, near Dublin, to the like effect. SUGAR. Alderman SIDNEY, from Stafford, for an equalisation of the sugar duties. _ INCOME TAX. Mr. G. PACKE, complaining of the inquisitorial nature of this tax, and in favour of its modification. The Confederate Blockade Squadron. Mr. BENTINCK gave notice that he should to-morrow ask the noble lord at the head of the Government whether he was in possession of any official information upon the subject of the reported defeat by the Confederates of the blockading squadron in Charleston harbour, and whether it was of such a nature as to raise a question as to the legality of the future blockade of that port. NEW WRITS-CHICHESTER AND BANDON BRIDGE. Motions wero made to the effect that new writs be issued for the eleccion of members for these places, in the room of Col. Bernard, deceased, and Mr. H. W. Freeland, resigned. COMMITTEE OF ACCOUNTS. An HON. MEMBER gave notice that he should to-morrow move the appointment of the committee on public accounts. MADRAS IRRIUATION COMPANY. Mr. SMOLLETT asked the Secretary of State for India whether he had made any further concessions or given a guarantee for further interest on the capital of the Madras Irrigation Company, beyond the sum of £1,000,000 sterling to which the guarantee of interest was previously limited ; and whether he would be prepared to produce all the papers and correspondence explanatory of the Government con. nection with this Joint Stock Company ? Sir C. WOOD replied with respect to the first question that nothing as yet had been done. Proposals had been made and negotiations were now going on; in fact, the whole matter had been referred to the Government of Ma dras, and until the Government received its reply he could give no answer to the question, nor express any opinion upon the subject. CONVERSION OF THE QUEEN'S PRISON INTO MILITARY BARRACKS. Mr. LOCKE asked the First Commissioner of Works whether it was intended to convert the Queen's Bench Pri son into a military prison; and, if not, what were the in tention of the Government with respect to the site of that building ? Mr. COWPER replied, that when the Queen's Prism was discontinued, it was the duty of the Cicvernment to consider the best use to which the building could be appro priated to the public service ; and it appeared, on inquiry, that it would be an economical purpose to apply it if it were converted into a military prison, With this view the building had been handed over to the War-oflice,at the close of last year. FIRES IN THE METROPOLIS. Mr. HANKEY asked the Secretary of itate for the Home Department, whether he would bo prepared to bring in a bill for the better protection of life and property against fires in the metropolis ; and, if so, when he would introduce it ? Sir G. GREY replied that he hoped shortly to lay on the table of the house a bill en the subject ; but, in order to avoid misapprehension, he wished to state that the bill would not be exactly in accordance with the terms of the report of the committee of last session of which the hon. member was the chairman. The bill he meant to introduce would, he believed, considerably strengthen the system at present in force for the suppression of fires, and thus be fully equivalent to the wants of this metropolis. CHURCH RATES. Mr. HOPWOOD asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the Government intended to bring in a bill on the subject of church -rates this session ? Sir G. GREY replied that the Government had no bill prepared to lay on the table of the house. ittiSSIAN AND FRENCH ENCROACHMENTS IN CHINA. Colonel SYKES asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether any information, official or otherwise, had reached the Foreign Office to the effect that the Rus sian diplomatic authorities in China had entered into arrangements with the Tartar Government to aid in taking the cities of Nankin, Soochoo, and Hangchow, on condition of having ceded to the Russian Government Chusan and the adjacent islands in the mouth of the Yang-tse-Kiang ; whether the Toutai of Ningpo had issued a proclamation announcing that barracks were to be prepared for 2,000 Russi in troops at Ningpo; whether it was true the French were appropriating land at Ningpo; were raising a body of Chinese troops under French officers ; and, whether the customs duties at Ningpo were being collected by an officer of the French navy ? Mr. LAYARD replied that reports had reached this country and her Majesty's Government of the nature specified ; but there was reason to believe that they were n-t based on truth. He believed that French', officers had been employed to discipline Chinese troops. He was not aware that barracks were lately prepared for Rus sian troops, nor that the French were appropriating land at Ning,po ; indeed ho did not believe there was any founda tion for either of the rumours. It was quite true, however, that the Chinese authorities had called in the aid of the French and the people of other nations to help them to col lect their customs dues. POSTAGE—NEW ZEALAND. Mr. MAGUIRE asked the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies whether any correspondence had passed be tween her Majesty's Government and the Colonial Govern ments of Australia and New Zealand, respecting a new postal service between those colonies and the mother coun try via Panama; and, if so, whether there was any objec tion to lay such correspondence on the table of the house ? Mr. C. FORTESCUE replied, that no correspondence had taken place in the matter worthy of .being laid on the table of the house. The Legislature of New Zealand had Passed an act for authorising a postal rate by way of Pa nama; but th e L eg i s l a t ure o f Vi ctor i a h a d not, according to the last accounts, favoured the project. BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (IRELAND) BILL. This bill was read a second time. ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN (IRELAND) BILL. This bill, after a few amendments, passed through cora mato:). -- - DRAINAG E (IRELAND) BILL v Report brought up and agr ee d to. POST-OFFICE SAVINGS BANKS. Report brought up and power given to bring in a bill thereon. CUSTOMS ACTS (TOBACCO DUTIES). Report brought' up and power given t o b ring in a bill thereon. THAMES EMBANKMENT. Mr. COWPER moved for leave to bring in a bill to autho- rise the Metropolitan Board of Works to construct a great thoroughfare between Blaekfriars-bridge and the Mansion house. He believed that every one in the house would agree that this was one of the most urgent wants of the metro polis. At present the Strand was inadequate to the traffic passing from west to east, and when it reached Temple-bar the real difficulties commenced. Afterwards,when it reached Ludgate-hill, the traffic had already reached there from many quarters, and the greatest delay was the result. In St. Paul's-churchya r d was the next pressure, and then in Cheapside; and when Cheapside was reached it was found that the traffic poured in there not only from Charing-cross but from Holborn and Oxford-street, and the Poultry and Cheapside were totally inadequate to keep up the cammuni cation between the east and the west end of the metropolis. What was absolutely required was, another distinct tho roughfare, which would enable persons to pas-, from the centre of commercial activity—from, he took i , to be, the open space between the Mansion -house and :he Bank to Charing-cross and Westminster Hall. The aireet to be laid out to make this new thoroughfare was cons:c'ered last year in a bill for the embankment of the Thame '. The commit tee to whom that bill had been referred had not had time to censider the objections and details, and the question was therefore deferred to the present year. The Commissioners on the Thames Embankment scheme had had an opportu nity of examining witnesses and fully considering the mat ter, and he understood they had reported in favour of the street which he had proposed last year, and thought there was no preferable alternative. The first alternative would be to carry the embankment further east from Blackfriars bridge. The bill of last year provided a spacious thorough fare from Westminster-bridge to Blackfriars, leaving 13 acres for garden ground as a place of recreation for the inhabitants of those crowded districts. But the thorough fare would not be of much use if it stopped at Blackfriars. The question to consider - was, whether the embankment could be carried further east. It happened that below Blackfriars there were many very valuable wharves, which would cost a great deal of money in the way of compensa tion, and as the business was very important which was car ried on in them it would be wrong to deprive the commerce of London of that advantage. Even if the road were carried through the wharves it would not be the most direct thoroughfare to the centre of the City. It would be more circuitous, as it would proceed about so far as Queenhithe, where it would leave the river and go in a northerly direc tion to the Mansion-house and Charlotte-row. It was thonght that some advantage would be derived by widen ing Walbrook, but that would be a very costly work. It would be impossible for an impartial inquirer not to see that there would be no advantage in adopting the embankment in preference to the more direct line, though no`doubt a promenade on the side of the river would be very agree able ; but it would be very costly, and the public conve nience would not be so much secured as by the proposed line. They might, no doubt, in place of a solid embank ment have a viaduct on arches, which ,would allow barges and other craft to pass under; but such a viaduct would do great injury to the wharves, and entail a large expense in the way of compensation, while the architectural effect would not be so good. The other alternative was a line from Blackfriars-bridge direct to St Paul's Cathedral, which he would greatly desire, as it would have the advan tage of opening out that noble work of art, which was at present so much hidden from the view. But that would be a difficult thing to accomplish, as St. Paul's stood on ground so much higher than Blackfriars-bridge, and a very large sum of money would be required to widen St. Paul's church • yard. It was therefore not thought desirable to carry out that plan. The street he proposed making by the bill which he now asked leave to introduce would be carried from Chatham-place, Blackfriars-bridge, to Charlotte-row. It would not be a very expensive street, as it would not interfere with the frontage of any street. It crossed existing thoroughfares di igonally, and would not interfere with any street in which any retail trade was carried on, so that the amount of compensation required would not be very large. It passed from Chatham• place, crossed Upper Thames-street, followed the line of Earl-street, crossed Can non-street, and debouched between the church in the Poultry and Charlotte-row. He had encountered a certain amount of difficulty. As he had already stated, the Poultry was choked up with vehicles, and another line of traffic carried there would create greater difficulty; but there was power given in the bill to widen the eastern end of the Poultry. The expenses of making the proposed street would be drawn from the Embankment and Metropolitan Improvement Fund which was created by the bill of 1861. That fund, as it was constituted, would not be sufficient to meet the new charge for this street, which it was estimated would be about £600,000, though the first outlay would probably be about a million. The course which it would be necessary to adopt would be to allow the coal duties to continue for ten years more, from 1871 to 1881. All he would ask the house to do would be to allow the Metropolitan Board of Works to borrow money at once, upon the security of those duties. It would be greatly to be desired that some portion of the Surrey side should be embanked from Westminster-bridge,andt hat portion of it was especially required from Lambeth Palace to the gasworks at Vauxhall, in accordance with the report of the commissioners, and a bill was under consideration for that purpose. The next important work which was required was the raising of the valley of Holborn-hill, that portion which was under the Corporation of the City of London, to and from Smithfield market. In that way the coal duties could be made serviceable in effecting that and other much needed improvements. As to the embankment recommended to be carried from Lambeth Palace,that work would be very useful for the traffic from the Nine-elms and Vauxhall rail way stations. He thought he need not say more in asking for leave to introduce a bill, as the alterations he had made in the bill of last year were not very great. The right hon. gentleman concluded by moving for leave to bring in the bill. Mr. LOCKE said that probably the right hon.gentleman was not aware that the improvement he spoke of making from Blackfriars-bridge to the Mansion House was by no means a new idea. Some 12 or 15years ago the Corporation of the city of London proposed making a similar improve ment, and he wished to know whythe right hon. gentleman wanted to transfer the making of that improvement from the Corporation of London to the Board of Works. The Corporation was very'proud of the alterations they had made in Cannon-street, which, if not a Parisian improvement, was at any rate very well done. As to the bridging over the valley of Holborn-hill, that was a thing which had been talked about for years. The city of London got 4d. out of the 13d. coal duty, and he wanted to know what was the state of the fund. The question had been asked last year, and if the right hon. gentleman could not inform them, per haps the Lord Mayor, who was present, could. As to the cost of the new street, he would warn the right hon. gentle man that it would cost much more than he had stated in his estimate to the house, if it did not Cost double that sum. He believed that the Metropolitan Board of Works had given the right hon. gentleman no encouragement in regard to this matter. Last year an objection was raised that any new street ought to be made by the City, and for that reason the Thames embankment was stopped at B lackfriars bridge. If the scheme were carried further, it ought to be done by the City out of the 4d. coal duty, and the other 9d. left for other improvements in other parts of the metro polis. Mr. WALPOLE rose to a point of order. According to the statement of the right hon, gentleman he proposed to collect the duty on coal until the year ISBI, and out of the money so obtained he hoped to get a sufficient sum to carry on the proposed works. He (Mr. Walpole) wished to know whether in that case the bill ought not to have been intro duced in committee of the whole house. Mr. COWPER said he was afraid he had not made him self sufficiently understood. This bill proposed to give the Metropolitan Board of Works the power of appropriating money of the Thames embankment for the purpose of these works. The bill would not go beyond the powers of the Nletropolitan Board of Wr orks. and it could not be viewed as a bill to levy a tax on the inhabitants. It was his inten tion to ask leave on a future occasion to bring in a bill to replenish and increase the Thames embankment fund, if it should be found necessary. He had followed the precedent of last year, and he believed that he was perfectly in order. Mr. HENLEY said it was a very inconvenient state of things for a Minister of the Crown to come forward with a bill for the purpose of carrying out a certain scheme, and state that at a future time he would proposs a plan by which to raise the funds to pay for it. That was placing the house in this position, that they would now assent to the scheme being carried out without knowing how the money was to be raised. He was of opinion that the two things should be considered together. The scheme proposed might be a very good one, but it was hardly fair to ask the house to pledge itself to the measure, and at the same time say, "I will upon a future day call upon the house to assent to the continuance of a tax to pay for it." The SPEAKER said that no doubt some inconvenience might arise; but if no new charge was to be imposed by the bill, the present proceedings were not out of order. In point of form he did not think it would be necessary to introduce the bill in a committee of the whole house. MI. DOULTON asked the right hon. gentleman to post pone fora week or two the introduction of this bill, as the Metropolitan Board of Works was to meet on Wednesday next to consider whether it would be advisable to abandon a great portion of the proposed street. It would be inconve nient if the house should assent to a scheme which the Board Works might consider should not be proceeded with. He also understood that the City authorities were divided in opinion as to whether the lower part of the street should be made. He was opposed to the principl e o f paying for this new street out of the ninepenny coal duty, and another rea son why the matter ought to be postponed was, that the en gineers whom the right hon. gentleman employed and the engineers of the Metroplital Board of Works differed in opinion as to the course and gradients of the street, and also as to what the cost of the works should be. On the latter point the variance extended to some hundreds of thousands. The LORD MAYOR said that the hon. member for Lambeth had truly described the proposed new street as part of the City scheme to continue New Cannon-street to Blackfriars-bridge, in order that it might form an outlet to the Thames embankment. But that was not proceeded with from want of funds. The 4d. fund had been entirely fore stalled by the cost of the street already made. The time had come when there must be an outlet for the enormous City traffic; but the City had got no funds to make the street. The right hon. gentleman now proposed to continue the 9d. coal tax, in order that a street should be made not only from Blackfriars-bridge to Crtnnon-street, but to the , Mansion-house, and if that were not done the traffic would come to a dead lock. He objected to the Metropolitan Board of Works being i n t ro d uced i n the City of London. (Hear, hear.) The corporation had done their work well and faith fully, and if the house thought it wise to continue the 9d. coal tax, they could not do better than give the City autho rities the power of carrying out the scheme now proposed. Mr. W. WILLIAMS thought the right hon. gentleman should bring in a bill for the embankment of the Surrey side of the Thames. (Laughter.) The inhabitants on that side of the water were very much inconvenienced and suffered a great deal from inundations, and something was absolutely called for to prevent the destruction of property. The noble THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 17, 1863. lord at the head of the Government had stated that the em- bankment of the Surrey side of the Thames was, more re- quired than that of the north side, and he was perfectly cor rect. Before anything were done with respect to the new street, funds should be provided to pay for the scheme. Mr. HANKEY advocated the introduction of the bill. The Lord Mayor's arguments were directly in favour of such a course, and the suggestion of postponement by the hon. member for Lambeth might be a reason for deferring the second reading of the bill. Mr. CU BITT hoped there would be no postponement of the measure, as every day was of the greatest importance, having regard to the increasing traffic. Tha embankment of the Thames had been entrusted to the Metropolitan Board of Works, and it was to be desired that the proposed new work should proceed simultaneously. The question was one purely of pounds, shillings, and pence, and he hoped that leave would be at once given to bring in the bill. Mr. CRAWFORD said that the bill contained some good points, and some that required critical examination, and on the whole he thought it could be best considered by a select committee. The inhabitants of the metropolis at large were as much entitled to share in the management of these im provements as the city of London. The improvements already effected by the Board of Works did them infinite credit and justified Parliament in entrusting them with the construc tion of the new street, An hon. gentleman, in alluding to the pulling down of houses in the Poultry, observed that there was no property in the city for which so large a com pensation would have to be paid. He was desirous that the house should have an opportunity of coming to a well-con sidered judgment on the question. (Hear.) Lord FERMOY complained that the city of London had taken the 4d., which bad been spent and hypothecated, but of the manner of its expenditure no clear, distinct, and busi ness-like account had been given. (Hear.) He represented in that house a constituency not so fortunate as the city of London, for instead of having four good members they had only two inefficient ones. (Laughter.) He protested against the city putting their hands into the pockets of his consti tuents to get the means of paying for city improvements. This street was a serious matter. The hon. member for Lambeth (Mr. Doulton),who was also a member of the Board of Works, said the difference between the estimates of the engineer of the Board of Works and those of the Government engineer amounted to hundreds of thousands of pounds; then what must be the grand total in all the improvements, if the difference in this one is so much ? He had assented to the embankment improvement, ..hough his constituents would not derive any more advantage from it than persons resid ing 20 miles from London, because the work was one of great necessity and advantage to the metropolis ; but, at the same time, he could not approve of all the proposed im provements being carried out on the same principle, espe cially the Holborn-valley improvement, which would cost upwards of £1,000,000. If all that money was to be paid out of the coal tax, when, in the name of common sense, would his constituents be able to lay a finger on a penny of that duty P We had been already going on mortgaging that tax, but we should not do so any more. (Hear, hear.) He hoped his right hon. friend would withdraw his bill until he was in a position to inform the house as to the source from which the money was to be derived. Mr. NORRIS said the 4d. was an immemorial right of the city of London, and did not belong to that category of duties which came under the supervision of the House of Commons. (Dissent.) Whether it was immemorial or not, they had performed the obligation of spending it—(a laugh) —in works of public utility, for which they deserved great credit. By an txpenditure of £330,000, Holborn valley, which was now in a disgraceful state and dangerous to man and beast, might he improved. He hoped no single plan of improvement would be adopted until all the projects of im provements were before the house, and considered together and made to harmonise. (Hear, hear.) Mr. H. LEWIS hoped the Government would postpone the bill for a fortnight, and bring in both bills together. He was as anxious as any man could be to see the contemplated metropolitan improvements carried out; but he was con vinced if this bill be now brought in it would be discussed with a total absence of all necessary knowledge. He thought the general feeling of the house was in favour of the post ponement of the bill, and as respected that part of the me tropolis which he had the honour to represent, he felt very great objection that it should be called upon to contribute to the cost of improvements in other parts of the metropolis far beyond its limits. Lord PALMERSTON said if his right hon. friend who had asked for leave to bring in the bill was appealed to on the third reading in the manner he had been at present, the appeal would be made with some foundation, because then it might be said, " It is desirable to postpone it until we see our way as to what should be done." (Laughter.) But his right hon. friend had solely asked now for leave to bring in the bill, and at a future stage its provisions could be considered and discussed. He thought if his right hon friend were to postpone the bringing in of the bill on the grounds of objection raised to it in relation to the sum of money it may cost it would be unwise. His right hon. friend's duty was first to ask leave to bring in the bill, and the course he had taken was perfectly Parliamentary. His right hon. friend would also bring in another bill relating to the south side of the river; but let them have "one thing at a time " —(laughter)—and as it was impossible to know the bearing of the two bills at once, and to make "a double barrel" of the measure—(laughter) he hoped the house would permit his right hon. friend to introduce the bill now before them. It had bean said that the expense of improving the City should not be defrayed by taxes upon the metropolis; but it struck him that the improvements to be made were not entirely to be made for the City of London; and surely no man would say that the burden of the approaches from the West-end was to be entirely borne by the inhabitants of the City of London, the convenience to be obtained being for the whole of the inhabitants of the metropolis. At present the time they spent in going from Charing-cross to the City was two or three hours, and it took them other two or three hours to get back from the City to Charing cross. :(Loud laughter.) His hon. friend the member for Lambeth (Mr. Doulton) objected to the introduction of the bill because a bill was not introduced for the south; but, let them begin one thing before another, and then he agreed with his honourable friend the member for Lambeth that it might be desirable to take into con sideration the necessity for improving the south side of the river, and preventing the tides from flooding the poor people's cellars. (Hear, hear.) A great deal had been said about the difference of calculation as to cost that was certain to: take - place between the different en gineers who had examined this matter ; but he bAleved the difference of expense would not exceed £lOO,OOO. The noble lord concluded by hoping the house would allow his right hon. friend to introduce the bill. Leave was given, and the bill was brought in and read a first time. BILL TO EXTEND THE TIME OF PAYMENT OF A PORTION OF THE EXCISE DUTY UPON MALT. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, in mov ing for leave to bring in a bill to extend the time of pay menton a portion of the Excise duty upon malt, said, as regarded the general arrangement in relation to the credits for the malt duty, he thought it was not liable to impeach ment in point of equity, because the average of the last nine 1 weeks was given to the maltsters without calling on him to pay between the time the duty was charged and the time he had usually sold his malt. But there was a particular part of the year, namely, that in which the brewing was almost suspended, when it might be said the measure caused some degree of inconvenience which it was desirable to alleviate. During the first period of the financial year there was a very considerable demand indeed for the malt which the =Oster had made, and he was, in consequence, liable to pay the duty on:the malt before..he could sell it. He (the Chan- Icellor of the Exchequer) now proposed to introduce a bill which would have the effect of establishing a fair equili brium between the time when the duty is charged on the mister and the period when ho has the power to get it back from his customer. The financial year was divided into eight periods called rounds, consisting of six weeks and a half each. Under the present system the malt duty was levied on the next round but one after it had been charged. Consequently the malt duty charged in the first round was levied on the third round. The duty amounted to about £BOO,OOO in the first round, and he proposed to authorise the Government to grant to malsters (if they thought fit to avail themselves of it in the usual manner—a bond being taken, and paying 4 per cent. during the period) an additional cre dit of three months. That would enable them to postpone the first payment until the fifth round of the financial year in the October quarter. The title of the measure would be " A Bill to extend the time for payment of a portion of the Excise Duty upon Malt." In conclusion, he moved for leave to introduce the bill. Mr. PULLER expressed great disappointment on the part of his constituents engaged in the malt trade because his right hon. friend had not proposed a Lill to give them a more substantial measure of relief than that which had just been shadowed out in the speech he had made. The maltsters would be likely to obtain a better price for their commodity if they were not driven by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to pay the duty on a certain day,and, to aggravate the difficulty, they were compelled to manufacture within seven • months the quantity required for the whole year's c onsumption. He c on t en d e d th a t th e measure proposed by his hon. friend was most delusive, and he hoped his right hon. friend would reconsider the subject. Three years ago, when the right hon. gentleman brought in his bill for the extension of the malt duty, he (Mr. Puller) expressed an opinion that the plan would ruin the small maltsters, and he believed his right hon. friend would concur with him that to some considerable extent he was correct in that opinion, and the small misters were diminished to the extent of four hundred. His right honourable friend had told them truly that the malsters had not sufficient time allowed him for his payments in each financial year; but the fact was, that during the whole of the year the master was placed at a very great disadvantage, be cause of the charges to which he was subjected, and the shortness of the malt credits in relation to those charges. And here ho might remind his right hon. friend that al though this was called a tax upon malt, it was, in point of fact, a tax upon beer; and the parties upon whom the burden of payment fell ultimately were the drinkers and consumers of Leer. Therefore, when his right honour able friend tallied of extending the time till the malt comes into the market, he ought to extend the time, also, till the beer comes into the market. It might be that at one time the tax fell upon the malster, and at another time on the brewer; but under the old financial system it was a most rare case that they ever lost any part of this duty. Under that system they gave 18 weeks' credit to the malster, and the malster gave three months' credit to the brewer ; but the maltster was now placed more at the mercy of the brewer than he ever was before, and the brewers knew perfectly well that the maltster must sell without being able to wait to get his full price. The maltster was compelled to manufacture for seven months the article which he sold for twelve. The fact was, that the quantity rEquired for the year was spread over seven months, and during that time he had a quantity of malt on his hands for which he was obliged to pay duty to the Excise without getting due credit. If the right hon. gentleman would give up the other six weeks, and make it twelve instead of six, he would improve the measure which, as it now appeared, was, he (Mr Puller) must repeat, most illusory. (Hear, hear.) Mr. DODSON, who spoke in a low tone, begged to ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he could not, without loss of revenue, collect a smaller duty upon the malt after it had been made into beer, instead of as now before it was made into beer. The CHANCELLOR of the EXC EIEQUER said his hon. friend invited the attention of the house to matters of a much wider scope than were included in the bill which he had just moved for leave to introduce. On the subject of the reduction of the duty he (the Chancellor of the Exche quer) would say nothing, for that was a subject of very great financial extent and importance, and could only be considered in conjunction with the financial arrangements necessary for meeting the public expenditure of the year. He admitted freely that in many points of view the second proposition was most desirable; but, ore the other hand, the objection to the change suggested by his hon. friend was indisputable. Under the system now in operation the Excise survey was applied to 7,000 or 8,000 men, but if they made the change suggested by his hon, friend they mutt establish a similar supervision quite as stringent over a body of 40,000 men, for the brewers were in number not less than 40,000. Then they should, after making such a change, give to every person who choose to brew in private the power of brewing without paying any tax at all, or they must carry the Excise supervision into every private brew house in the country. The motion was agreed to, and the bill was brought in and read a first time. The following bills were also brought in and read a first time, namely, the Tobacco Duties Bill, the Post•oice Savings Bunks Bill, and the Thames Embankment New Street North Side Bill. The house then adjourned at 8 o'clock. THE INSURRECTION IN POLAND. A letter from Vienna, dated Feb. 12, says :—A short time ago the Prussian General von Alvens leben was sent to Warsaw to inquire into the state of affairs in Poland, and it must he supposed that the information he obtained was alarming, as a convention for the suppression of the Polish insur rection has been concluded between Prussia and Russia. It is probable that this Government will be invited to assist in restoring " order" in Poland, but there is in Austria such a strong feeling in favour of the inhabitants of that unhappy country that it would be bad policy should Count Rechberg accede to the Russo-Prussian treaty. The ferment in Galicia is great, but men in office feel convinced that there will not be any revolutionary movements in the province, and they are, therefore, at a loss to understand why the Berlin Cabinet should be so alarmed about the grand duchy of Posen. About 80,000 men will soon be concentrated in the eastern part of Russia, and it is here believed that they are to serve a double purpose—to keep the Poles in check on the one side, and the Prussian Liberals on the other. It is evident that M. von Bismark is trying to play off the German subjects of King Frederick William of Prussia against the Poles in Posen, but it is not very likely that the representa tives of the former - will allow themselves to be persuaded to grant extraordinary supplies for an army which is to be employed in upholding abso lutism and tyranny. A few days ego the Russian Cabinet forwarded to its diplomatic agents abroad a circular, in which it was said that everything I l mnst be done to induce the different foreign Go vernments to keep a strict watch over the Polish emigrants. It is here stated that a copy of the circular in question has been read by M. von Balabine to Count Rechberg, but the General Correspondence says the report is incorrect, and I believe that it speaks the truth. Austria is bound by a military convention to surrender deserters to Russia, but the Holy Alliance has ceased to be, and she is therefore no longer obliged to render material assistance to her tyrannical and overbearing neigh bour. The Imperial Government has prorogued the Galician Diet in order that it may not denounce the policy of Russia in Poland, and it strenuously en deavours to prevent its Polish subjects from crossing the frontier, but it is not inclined to render any ac tive assistance to a Power which has long treated it with respect and contumely. The Russian accounts of their doings in Poland obtain no credit here, as the Austrians have not forgotten the lying bulletins which the St. Petersburg Government published during the war in the Crimea. A few days ago the military authorities at War saw stated that the troops had killed 1,000 insur gents at Wouschock and had themselves lost no more than 12 men, but at Lemberg and Cracow it is positively asserted that there has been no action of importance at the place in question. The insurgents under Langiewiez retreated into the woods as soon as they saw the Russians advancing, and they were not pursued, as the Imperial troops were soon busily employed in setting fire to the town and ill-treating its unoffending inhabitants. At Wegrow the un disciplined Poles fought so bravely that even the Russians are obliged to do them justice. They re peatedly made fierce attacks on the Russian bat teries, and although great gaps were made in their ranks by the heavy fire of the artillery, they could not be induced to retreat until they had been re peatedly charged by three squadrons of Smolensk lancers. As the Poles had no artillery at Wegrow it must be concluded that the report relative to their using guns of oak bound with hoops of iron is in correct. Russian telegrams have repeatedly spoken of the " taking" of Tamaszow, but we have positive information that there has been no fighting in that place, as the insurgents bad sought shelter in the woods before the Russian troops arrived. The battle of Olexince, about which the Russians have said so much, was neither more nor less than an in surrection of the peasants living on the estates of Count Rzyszcenzki, in Volhynia. These peasants kept the troops at bay for more than a day and a-half, but it is not known how the matter ended. From the Galician frontier we learn that the Rus sian troops put ten persons to death when they took possession of Tomaszow, and that one of them was a Russian oWcer , who was lying ill in his bed. The commander of the troops who is at the head of the artillery department in the fort ress o f Z amasch, have the soldiers permission to 'emir the place, and it need hardly be said that they took every possible advantage of such a favourable opportunity for en riching themselves at the expense of others. At Cracow it is related that 80 Polish women have been killed by the Russians at Kiel ce , b u t i t i s very possible that the report is totally unfounded. Great preparations are now being made at Kielce for an attack on the insurgents who are collected on that part of the Prussian frontier which is nearest Cracow, but it is not unlikely that some time may elapse before the blow is dealt. Several Russian officers of rank have fallen into the hands of the insurgents, but not one of them has been illused or even treated with indignity. The insurgents have plid flying vista to Balimov and Maczki, and carried off considerable sums of money belonging to the State. After having laid violent hands on the tele graphic apparatus the Poles, " who were well clothed and shod, and tolerably well armed," dis appeared in the direction of Dabowa (close to the Prussian frontier), where there are coalmines and ironworks belonging to the Russian Government. A few days since a Russian cavalry officer, who had just returned from Lapy to Warsaw, stated that when he was engaged with an insurgent corps which was stationed near the first-mentioned place, " be suddenly found himself opposed to more than a com pany of Russian soldiers who fought desperately." During the last three or four days the Lemberg telegraph has sent much incorrect intelligence into the world, and it is here suspected that some agent of the Russian Government has established a paper in the capital of Galicia. In the non-official part of the Wiener Zeitung is a letter from St. Peters burg, in which it is said a little work by Herzen (the editor of the Ifolokol) entitled "Songs for Soldiers," is now in circulation in the Russian bar racks. The author (says the writer of the letter) has displayed a skill in the composition of the songs which is " truly diabolical." On the whole the public is well content that the Galician Diet has been prorogued,but all the organs of the press are of opinion that it must be allowed to continue its sittings "as soon as the ferment in Galicia hes subsided." The phrase quoted means but little, for it stands to reason that the political ferment in Galicia will continue as long as the in surrection lasts in Russian Poland. In order t, prevent their emigrating to Poland the military authorities have ordered all the Galician furlough men to ,join their regiments immediately. Tne Vienna Presse contains an able leader on the state of affairs in Russian Poland, in which it is said that. the European Cabin e t s are mora ll y b oun d to ra i se their voices in behalf of a nation which has been so grossly wronged. The object of the Russian frigate which tried to get into the Guif of Cattaro was to land " bell," or, rather, gun metal for the Montenegrins. rnportiug Tea without colour on the leaf pre vents the Chinese passing oft inferior leaves as in the usual kinds. Iforniman's Tea is uncoloured, therefore, alwaYs b'eoce alike. sold in packets by 2,280 agents- THE ESCAPE OF THE SUMTER. The Gibraltar Chronicle of the 7th inst gives the following interesting particulars connected with the departure of the Gibraltar (late Sumter) steamer, the arrival of which at Liverpool was reported in The Sun of yesterday The Sumter has got away at last,' was very generally the first remark that struck the ear of those who went into the main street this morn ing, —and, true enough, her place in the anchorage knew her no more. The evasion took place, it is said, at half-past 6 o'clock yesterday evecing, in the dark interval between sunset and the rising of the moon. When the Sumter was sold by auction some time ago, it was understood that the Govern ment of the United States would not recognize the sale. Parties who had been previously in treaty for the steamer withdrew their offer on being made acquainted with this fact, and she was knocked down at the auction to a gentleman sent from England to purchase her. This person was the envoy of a Liverpool firm who were the financial agents of the Confederate Government, and the Federal Government, coming to the very natural conclusion that the Sumter had been purchased, either on account of the Confederate Government or as a private speculation, for the purpose of being freighted with a cargo to run the blockade, in structed the commanders of their cruisers to keep the most vigilant watch upon the Sumter, and seize her should she put to sea. Her escape last night adds one more to the proofs the American contest has already furnished that it is impossible for any single steamer to prevent another leaving a port, and that the latter has only patiently to wait that concurrence of favouring circumstances which in sures her eluding the vigilance of her enemy. The United States' gunboat Chippewa has for the last month or two been as watchful as a lynx, cruising at the entrance of the Bay, and never losing sight of the Sumter. The consequence was that the latter dared not make the attempt to put to sea, even dur ing the long moonless nights of last month. But a conjuncture of circumstances that promised success to the attempt occurred yesterday, and the Sumter took advantage of the opportunity. A hard south east gale compelled the Chippewa to leave the dangerous anchorage at Algesiras, where a heavy surf rolls on a dead lee shore, and to take refuge in Orange Grove Creek, at the head of the Bay. In stead of the two steamers leaving their anchorage abreast in a race for the Straits, this move gave the Sumter a couple of miles' start, her anchorage being so much nearer to the entrance of the Bay. The easterly gale favoured the Sumter in other ways. She is light and goes well under canvass, but can not trust her machinery, and, with the aid of the gale astern, would probably have fore-reached upon the Chippewa if her departure had been discovered and she had been chased. But the strength of the gale, the thickness of the atmosphere, and the darkness of the night made it next to impossible that her move ments should be seen; and, moreover, whether by accident or design, another steamer, the Hope, with her funnel painted exactly like the Sumter's, anchored near her. The Sumter yesterday was warped alongside the Britannia steamer. It was re ported in the town that she had dragged her anchors and sustained serious damage from collision with another vessel. Carpenters were sent from the shore, and it was said that she would not be ready for sea for a week at least. Many believe that the anchor-dragging, collision, and carpentering were all parts of an ' artful dodge' to throw the Chip pewa off her guard. If they were so, the dodge would probably have had the opposite effect of rous ing suspicion and stimulating the Chippewa to extra vigilance, Darkness and the gale were the real friends that favoured the escape of the Sumter. We last hear of her off Cape Spartel, which she was passing under a press of sail and steam at half-past 10 last night, when met by the Pactolus steamer. No doubt the telegraphic wire has started American cruisers from Cadiz and Lisbon to intercept the Sumter, but the sea is a wide place, and by keep ing a little out of the usual track she will probably run the gauntlet of her foes in safety. We have spoken of the vessel as the Sumter, the name by which she is best known. Her proper designation since she was sold is the Gibraltar, and her new Owners doubtless hope she may prove, like Gibral tar, rather hard to take." Half-an-hour on Board the Alabama. The Alabama arrived at Port Royal on the 20th of January, 11 days from Galveston, and the follow ing morning great excitement e xi s ted in Kingston when rumours spread that she had recently been engaged with a Federal gunboat, and had sunk her after a short engagement. The following account may generally be relied upon ; it has been gleaned from a personal examination of the vessel and ar mament, and from actors in the taking of the Hat teras,Federal gunboat : The Alabama screw steamer, of wood, copper lined, Captain Semmes commander, of 1,015 tons burden, 300-horse power, capable of being worked up to 1,200, 210 feet long, and 32 Let beam, painted black outside, with a round stern and sloping bows, bark rigged, witb wire ropes and furnished with every necessary for a quick sailing vessel, draws 15 to 16 feet of water and has an armament of nine guns—namely, one long 68-pounder smooth bore (8-inch) and one 100-pounder Blakeley sun, both pivot guns, the latter rifled with nine grooves and of 72 inches calibre ; six long 32's, smooth bores; and one James's rifled field piece, 11 grooves, with a sharper twist than that of the 100-pounder, and carrying a 25-pound projectile; this gun had been captured with the Ariel (a Californian steamer) off Jamaica, in the beginning of January. Crew 137 officers and men, all told; the latter, with the ex ception of eight, are said to be Englishmen, and have in many cases been collected from the ,, hands , taken on board the prizes. The majority of the offi cers have been educated at the United States' Naval School, near Chesapeake-bay, and are well informed in naval and military sciences. Average speed 12 knots, with a pressure of 111 b. per square inch. We now come to the circumstances which led to the Alabama seeking shelter at Port Royal. Cap tain Semmes, having heard that Galveston, on the coast of Texas, was to be a tt ac k e d b y the Federals, and believing that a fleet of transports would be off that . town, conceived the pl an o f cutt i ng out some of the troopships and damaging or destroy ing the others. With this intention he made to wards the port, and about four o'clock p.m. on Jan. 11, the coast being very low, made out the masts of the Federal vessels, before any land could be dis tinguished; here ho intended to lie to until dark ness would favour the execution of his project, but fortunately, perhaps,—for it turned out that all the vessels at Galveston were men-of-war, heavily armed, and that none of the troopships had arrived —the Hatteras, Northern gunboat, espied the Ala bama, and gave chase, under the impression that she was a merchantman running the blockade. The Con federate, as an officer on board graphically described it, baited the gunboat as a hunter baits a hog with corn to lure it from its lair, by lying to until the Hatteras approached, and then taking advantage of her greater speed to get well ahead again. This game continued for several hours, and the ruse had succeeded so well that by 8 or 9 o'clock p.m. the gunboat had been allured some 25 miles from her consorts ; then the Alabama waited in earnest the approach of her enemy. At this stage accounts vary ; some say that the Hatteras on being hailed replied, "her Majesty's gunboat Petrel," while others state such to have been the answer from the Alabama. However, the Hatteras, on coming within 200 yards, was received with a broadside from the Alabama, which the Federal vessel immediately re turned; and the firing continued without intermis sion for 17 minutes, at distances varying from 70 to 320 yards. Then:the Hatteras fired two guns from the off side, and otherwise signified an intention to surrender, having been totaily disabled; several parts were on fire, the engines damaged, and a hole on one side, about two yards in diameter, made by the bursting of an 8-inch shell. No time was lost in removing the prisoners to the Alabama, and scarcely had thiee quarters of an hour elapsed from the first shot being fired beforo the Hatteras sank beneath the waves amid the c heers of the vic torious Southerners. The Hatteras was a paddlewheel steamer, com manded by Capt. Blake, of 1,200 tons, and supposed to have been a river steamer of no great stability converted into a gunboat, and armed with nine guns —viz., three rifled 68-pounders, four 32's smooth bores, one rifled 20-pounder, and a 12-pounder howitzer. Her crew consisted of 17 officers and 102 or 103 men. Tne casualties on board the Hat teras were two killed and 17 missing; in the Ala bama one wounded. The Alabama fired all shells, except from 32's, with percussion fuzees for the rifled and concussion fuzees for the smooth-bore projectile, but many of them passed through both sides of the Hatteras without bursting, in consequence of the close quar ters at which the action took place. The 68- pounder pivot-gun, in charge of an Englishman, who had served his time in the royal navy, and passed in gunnery on board the Excellent, fired under his direction seven shells during the every A , en gagement, and with wonderful precision s hot hitting about the Water line. Th e was struck on the starboard side of thestelranbpaonista, immediately above the. screw, by apparently a 32- pound shot, by three 12-pounder shot on the same side amidships, by a shell on the port-bow, causing a splintered aperture, and by a 32-pounder projec tile through the funnel and one of the boats, a splinter from the former having caused the only casualty they suffered. The men are paid from to £6 a month, and the prize money already accumulated is very great, a lieutenant's share being 17,000 dole., atfd the captain's between 200,000 and 300,000 dots. On capturing a vessel every precaution is taken to insure a just valuation of the cargo, ship, &e., by assembling a board of officers, the proceedings of which are duly recorded, and any articles ap propriated are taken charge of by the purser, and regularly issued to and paid for by the crew. We may anticipate hearing more of the Alabama by the next mail, f or it i s b e li eve d th a t C ommo d ore Wilkes, of Trent notoriety,"and squadron are watch ing the exit from Port Royal, two steamers, re porta to be Yankees, having been seen during the day of the 23d cruising in the offing. Captain Semmes proposes to sail on Monday or Tuesday next, and states that his intention is to fight any Yankee vessels that may waylay him in going out of harbour or near the coast. SPIRIT OP THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. TlMES.—Rulers have often succeeded in turning away the thoughts of their subjects from domestic misgovernment by dazzling them with the bril liancy of some foreign enterprise. It is an old de vice of kingcraft ; but then it requires for its ac complishment an able, strong-willed monarch, a rival nation with whom a war would be popular, and a belief among the people that they are about to do something that will make them famous and admired. These being the conditions under which such a design can be successful, we do not think that William 1., King of Prussia, is destined to di vert the attention of his subjects from his breaches of the Constitution by engaging them in a war for the suppression of the Polish revolt. Our readers will have seen the announcement that the Conven tion between Prussia and Russia on the subject of the insurrection was signed a few days since. The King, animated by the praise of the Royalist depu tations, and triumphing in his masterly reply to his Chamber, actually takes the Russian Empire under his protection. He assumes towards the revolted Poles the position of the Emperor Nicholas to the Hungarians in the days of that Potentate's great ness. How splendid a destiny, to place under an obligation the Imperial House which for so long has prided itself on conferring favours and not re ceiving them ! The Romanoffs support Legitimacy, but K:ng William supports the Romanoffs. So let the triet,ds of revolution tremble all over the world, Let the disobedient Poles give up their guns and scythes, and throw themselves on the mercy of the paternal Government the honcur of whose mili tary service they have failed to appreciate, for the King of Prussia, who defies a majority of his own Legislature, will show his neighbours how to deal with insubordination within their frontiers. If Russia cannot control her revolted subjects, then let her appeal to King William, and his powerful arm will rescue her. When Poland is " tranquil lised," and its unruly sons are marched off to the extremities of the empire under the guardianship of Russian bayonets, the lesson will not be lost on the Liberals of Berlin. They will know what it is to withstand the powers that Heaven has placed over them. The example of one legitimate ruler thus nobly aiding his brother tocrush rebellion will terrify the souls of demagogues for ever. There is but one obstacle to the accomplishment of this notable project, and that is the Prussian people itself. The King of Prussia has hastened to con clude with the Russian Emperor a Convention, the object of which is to help him to reduce once more to slavery the gallant people who have again risen against his Government. No doubt the stipulations are mutual, and if any disturbance takes place in Russian Poland the King will have a right to call on St. Petersburg for assistance. But for the pre sent the war is confined to the Russian territory, and the only meaning of the Convention is that the troops of the Prussian Monarchy should be em ployed against the Poles beyond its own frontier. We have not the details of the Convention, but, as will be seen by our correspondence, 80,000 men are being concentrated in the eastern provinces of Prussia, and, if the insurrection lasts, may be ex pected soon to cross the frontier. In the meantime, the Russian troops are permitted freely to enter the Prussian territory in furtherance of their military operations, and they receive all the aid the King's officers can give them. This alliance indicates that in the opinion of the two Governments the insur rection is an event of the very highest importance. Were it, as represented by the Russians, merely a class movement, or confined to one or two districts, there would be no necessity for so humiliating a con fession of impotence as is involved in a Convention with the Court of Berlin. It must have been no small trial to the pride of the Russian family thus to follow the example of Austria, struggling at once with Hungarian and Italian revolution, and sinking into the gulf of bankruptcy. But, apparently, the spread of the rebellion has forced the Czar to lay aside any such fastidiousness. The country is covered with armed bands, which increase in num bers every day. The oui break of the insurrection we know to have been sudden ; and it is now said that it was totally unconnected with what is called the Central Revolutionary Committee. The con scription, in fact, drove the young men of the coun try desperate. In a few weeks almost every educated youth in the principal towns would have been hurried off to the army, and the nation decapitated, as it were, by the latest and most atrocious act of Russian policy. Accordingly, all over Poland those subject to conscription turned out, determined to perish in the woods and swamps rather than resign themselves to the fate which tyranny prepared for them. The southern parts of the country are repre • sented to he now entirely in the power of the in surgents; the Russian commanders hold only one or two towns in each, and the ground on which their troops may happen to be encamped. It is a war in which the fatigues and hardships will be many, the chances of glory nothing, while cruelty and horrible retaliations will cause every man of real military feeling to shrink from taking a part in it. And this is the war into which the King of Prussia would thrust his subjects, without allowing them to judge whether the matter concerns them, or whether the strength of one of the most civilised nations of Europe should be devoted to the destruction of an unhappy people who are fighting for the last liber ties of human beings! Cultivated and enlightened Germany is to be enlisted on behalf of a tyranny so unbearable that to avoid it multitudes of young men brought up in comfort have fled at this inclement season from their homes and taken refuge in woods and morasses. What has the Prussian army to say to the noble campaign which King William designs for it ? Are the citizen soldiers of a constitutional country ready to become the conscript-catchers of the Russian Government? Whatever feuds there have been between German and Pole in past times, we cannot believe that any section of the German people will give its sanction to so foul an attack on national and human rights. Certain it is that such an intervention as the King purposes will destroy every sympathy that exists between him and the English people. If this be the end for which the Prussian Power exists—if a Holy Alliance more un scrupulous than that of a former generation really crushes the last hopes of Poland—then Englishmen will see without concern any calamity which may fall on the Prussian Monarchy. But that such an intervention will take place we cannot believe. The King forgets that he has a Chamber to check him, and that both Germans and Poles are in terested in forbidding the extravagance which he con templates. HERALD.— The good faith or the bad fortune of the Confederate States has hitherto secured to the North the possession of the sea, and for the most part of the navigable rivers of the South. When the cotton states seceded from the Union they seized the forts and arsenals garrisoned by Federal troops within their frontiers, for these belonged to them as completely as any other part of their territory ; but they made no attempt to seize United States ships in their harbours. That would have been an act of war. The State of Virginia did seize the vessels in the dockyard of Norfolk which the Fede rals failed to destroy; for when Virginia seceded war had already been commenced, though not de clared, by President Lincoln. Southern officers in the Federal service did not attempt to carry over their ships, which would have given some colour to the charge of treason against them ; they simply threw up their commissions. And thus, though the Union lost its ablest officers and not a few of its best seamen, it was left in possession of the whole or nearly the whole of its navy, only one or two vessels falling into the hands of the Confederates. Consequently, the North has enjoyed on the water an advantage for which as yet the skill and courage of the South have failed to compensate. On land the enormous superiority at first possessed by the belligerent who had the whole of the regu lar army, the whole of the military stores and artillery of the Union, and who had the means of arming unlimited numbers of men far better than the best-provided troops of the enemy, has been wholly neutralised by the pluck and perseverance of the Southern chivalry. But hitherto the Confe• derates have been unable to create a navy. When they have got a single vessel, or one or two vessels afloat, they have done such deeds as their adversa ries would never have dreamed of attempting. The Sumter and the Nashville—mere shells, which (me or two well-directed shots would have sent to the bottom—were for months the terror of Northern commerce. The Merrimac, almost single-handed , gained the only victory of the war. The Arkansas, on the Mississippi, proved almost as terrible an anta t i gonist. Everywher e th e C on f e d erates h a ve proved their personal sup er i or i ty to the i r enem ies a t se aas on land. They h ave t h e d ar i ng , th e skill, t he dash_ ut in which the F e d era l s are so terr ibly deficient. But they have had no ships, and without is not often ships naval successes are hardly possible. It that cavalry can gain a naval victory, even by sr .r -prise, and gunboats are not more than once to be captured by .email steamers protected by cot' ton b-i les. The Confederates, however, have laboe red with great ingenuity and obstinacy to create Et fleet capable if not of disputing with the enemy it supremacy at sea, ~set of doing good service to the. 1 r country, and iullictsng serious though only par' eiel damage on the enemy. The Alabama and the Florida have done enormous harm to the North. Rumours are ri.re of preparations for a naval contest on the Mississippi. Reports hone reached us from time to 1 \ime of the presence of formidable floating batterres in the James River. And at Charleston the ire' irovised squadron, con cerning whob, e existence the friends of the North have professed themselves s ceptical, has tendered essential service, a nd achiev ed a brilliant, if not a decisive success. It is true that, in their over weening confidence, :he Yankees dreamed of main taining the blockade wt.`h ships t hat could not fight, except against defenceless' merchantmen—ships of which it is said that the t Ziajarity could not fire their own broadsides Nithout sinking. But never theless the achievement of the Sc .utheruers is one which would have added tO the fan le of a Napier or. - a Cochrane ; and if it produces no great practical re sults, it will not, on that accouot fak l to be remem bered as among the most honour,able of the many daring exploits which have cast a leetre on the arms of the nascent nation. A question eo' mart:irne law, which may amuse the curious, hereup,en arisee. An interruption of a blockade requires a resumption and formal notification to foreign powe,"s in order to its legal re-establishment—some say , a notifica tion of sixty days. Now, what will be the lega l rights of a vessel bound for Charleston bet,'lre such notification is received from the Federal Clovern" ment ? Would her capture be illegal ? In other words, was there such an interruption of the telock ade as to justify the application of the rule requir ing formal notice of its re .establishment ? The que,s' tion has not much practical importance for Englieh• - men, inasmuch as it is the invariable practice of Lord Russell to consult in such cases, not the law of nations, but the wishes of Mr. Seward ; and if the blockade of Charleston had been sus pended for a week he would not recognise the fact unless it were first officially admitted at Washing• ton. But in the present instance we are bound to say that—so far as we can judge from the statement of facts at present in our hands—right and common sense are in favour of the view which our Foreign Secretary is certain to te.ke. Cessante rations cessat et ipsa lex. The purpose of the rule re quiring notification of the re-establishment of an interrupted blockade is the protection of neutral ships which may have sailed for the blockaded port during the interruption with the bona fide belief that it was still open. Now, in the pies( nt in stance no ships can have sailed for Charleston, be cause the news of the resumption of the blockade must have arrived even at the neaPest neutral ports simultaneously with or immediately after the news of its interruption. If, indeed, during the afternoon of the 31st January, a British vessel have left or entered the port she cannot legitimately' be cap tured, for she has broken no blockade. BO unless some such unlikely case should arise we can hardly think that it would be desirable to asser.t too stringently what may possibly be the letter of the law against what, so far as our present knowledge goes, appears to be the fair and equitable vtew-- - that the blockade of Charleston still subsists, and that the temporary success of the Confederates MO not invalidated it. COUNTRY MARKETS. t..- COLCHESTER-FEB. 14. A liberal supply of grain, but trade dull, and prices ra ther cheaper. Wheat, white. red 42s 48s middle & small.3ss 42s Barley Oats GLOUCESTER-FEB. 14. - - -- To-day there was a - moderate supply of English wheat from the farmers, which sold at prices much the same as last week. Foreign was in limited demand, and in some instances 6d per qr less money. Barley and beans were unaltered. Oats also were at late prices, IRD-FEB. 13. •day there was a dull trade same as last week. ... teas, Partridge., 37s 400 White 39s 400 Boiling 4os 430 Dun 358 380 Ditto new .. —8 -- -9 Beans, Tick, old 34s 39s new —s --g Harrow Ticks 3sa 40a Mazagan . 3w . I . e -8 308 5.: GRAIN—FED. 14. (lies of wheat, barley, and oath• rer prices. Barley. Oats. CHELMSF , At this corn exchange to. in grain, and prices about the Wheat, old white...34s 62s new ..36s 508 old red....40s 498 new 36s 47s Barley 2 , s 36s Chevalier ..28s 39s Grinding ..22s 31s Malt.... Chevalier . 64s 69s Oats 20s 28s KIRKCALDY We had moderate suppl Sales slow. Wheat at lows Wheat. Fir5t....358 Od 26s Od I 213 Od Second ..41e Od 28s Od 22s Od Third.... 333 Od 29s 6d 23s Od COAL ARKET , rfoeff of Coal per Ton a' s. d. 'Walker Primrose 12 9 Byass's Bebside West Hartley ...14 0 Ltunbert's West Hart- the close of the market. `Walls End. • I µ•... A... 1.4.4.. • lb d• South Kelloe l5 6 Hartlepool.. l6 3 South Hartlepool 15 0 eassop Heugh Hall 15 0 Tximdon Hartlepool l6 3 Riddell. ... 13 6 South Hetton 17 0 Brvddyll's Hetton 15 9 K. elloe Gosforth ........•• 13 6 Haswell .. l7 0 Framwellgate 14 6 140; sold, 80. ley 14 0 Davison's West Hart- ley 14 6 Nectlew6rth Primrose 12 6 Buddle'sWest Hartley 14 0 North Pelt on Gas... . l4 0 West Hartley 14 0 mien Alain l4 6 Walls Etm Tunstall l4 3 Ships at market, Foreign Mail Packet List. MAIL DUE. A us..ralia and Mauritius, via Southampton. Feb. 18 via Marseilles Feb. 12. brazil and Cape Verds, by British packet. Mar. 6, Calm of Good hope, Ascension, and St. Helena., Mar. 3. China, Penang, and Singapore, via Southampton. Feb. 18. via Marseilles Feb. 12. Falkland Islands Gibraltar, via Southampton India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampt on Feb. 18. via Marseilles Feb. 12. India (Bombay), via Southampton Feb. 10' via Marseilles F e b. 20' Portugal Mar. 6 . Malta, Egypt, and Aden, via Southampton . F e b. 10. via Marseilles Feb. 10. Newfoundland ..Feb, 18. Oporto and Vigo • U. S. and British N. America, by Brit. packet Feb. 12. 'by - U.S. packet by Canadian packet Feb. 13. W.C. of Africa, Madeira, and Teneritle Feb. 10 . Bahamas, vi a N ew Y or k Mexico Feb. 28. All parts of 'West Indies, including Chili, Peru, l California, and Briti s h Columbia.. } Feb. 13. How TO GET RID OF VISITORS.—A good-natured fellow, who was nearly eaten out of house and home by the constant visits of his friends, was one day complaining of his numerous visitors. " Shure, and I'll tell ye how to get rid of 'em," said an Irishman. "Pray, how ?" it Lind money to the poor ones, and borrow money of the rich ones, and nather sort will ever trouble yoh again." [ADVERTISEMENT ]—Holloway v s Pills—Strength Re stored.—At t is season many persons suffer from prostra tion of strength, arising in general from some disturbance of the digestion. In such cases, the alterative properties of Holloway's Pills exert the happiest effects in renewin,g digestive vigour It is wonderful t o w it ness h o w the pale and emaciated gain colour and w e i g h t un d er a course ° these purifying Pills. They stimulate the appetite, aug . ment the secretion of gast r ic j u i ce , regu l ate the II! cleanse the kidneys, and a ct as gent l e yet e ffi cien t aperients. without griping, weakening, or i nconven i enc i n g the from tem. In a vast majority of cases of d e b i lit y, a rising ir no perceptible cause, Holloway's Pill s , j u di c i o usly taken , slowly and certainly restore order, an d th e i n valid o° o becames stout and strong. Births. CRAWFORD.—On the 11th inst. at Redford Lodge , 14 ° ,9 1 Tyrone, the wife of C a pt a i n B. Crawford, R.N., son. LINDSAY.—On the 15th inst., at Brecon, the Hon. Mrs. H. Gore Lindsay, of a son. BLIGII.—On the 15th inst., at The Close, Salisbury, the wife of the Hon. Henry Bligh, of a daughter. Marriages. FIELD--.PEACOCK.—On the 16th inst., at St Martin's-in the-Fields, Sam H. Field, Esq., of Clifton, Bedfordshire, to Emily, eldest daughter of Henry Peacock, E sq ., o f Sunderland, Biggleswade. JONES—WALTEM.—On the 10th inst., at S a t. it ik e l r i s c , h E ae E l c 's q , Chester-square, Major Thomas Jones, 4th Dragoon Gds., to Anne Eliza, eldest daug hter of Ralph Walters, , Eaton-square. Deaths. E d e s n q c . : , formerlyll Dow e n a - p s t t . reet, Picca dilly, Foot, aged 76. BR d A. il D ly 7 R T o E b . ert A v t treet Aldgate, aged 66. n --On the 14th inst,, at Little Hadham, High's ' BULLAS.—On the 16th inst., Mr. George Bullas, of 58, Herts, BA.unE • Mr , Stephen Barker, farmer, aged 73. DELANEY.—On the 13th inst., John Davies, the eldest son ra n d is fut r e e , si D ot John Delaney, Esq., 70, Mark-lane, aged 28. ROLANDIs—On the 7th inst., at Naples, Mr. Pietro R°' landi, many years resident in Burners -street, London , aged 62. ST. CLAIR.—On the Bth inst., at Scarborough, the 1 - 1 011 ' Charles St. Clair, Commander R.N. WYCHE.—On the 13th inst., H.Wyche, E late of Grove hill, Camber we ll, aged 89. sq.' _—.. London : Printed and Published by WILLIAM ANDItEtP: of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at THE Sux Office , 1 7: 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the Comi t y 01 Middlesex.—lueactay, February 17, 1803. rag san dig A( sui Di, Pri