The Sun. — London, England, 1868-12-29 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. The Telegraph asks why our legislators should be assembled in the depth of the winter recess to transact some formal business which only occupies a few minutes. The uninitiated may not readily understand why the Commons did not finish the work of ordering new writs when they were about it a fortnight ago. By ancient usage the writs for fresh elections during the con tinuance of a Parliament are issued under the Speaker's warrant. But there is another rule, that the writs are not to be issued where a petition is pending in which the s:at is claimed. Hence the writs are not moved for until the time for petitioning is expired, and as these servants of the Crown who sat for county seats might yet have been petitioned against, it was re solved that the House should re-assemble after the day allowed for challenging the first elections, and should then order the necessary writs to be issued. The procedure is highly legal, constitutional, and proper ; but is it not somewhat circuitous ? It is possible to get from Temple-bar to Charing-cress by way of Islington, Hoxton, and St. John's-wood, but such a course would be considered by most Londoners rather devious. If we follow step by step the process of reason. ing which induced the House to adjourn till the 29th of December, we shall find more cause for admiring the fidelity to ancient usage, than for indiscriminate laudation of the usage itself. Mr. Bright in office has become a favourite theme with the Liberal journalists, says the Standard. The political apotheosis of the Radical hero has caused great excite ment in various quarters, while some are surprised that the British Constitution has survived after having accom plished the feat of making Mr. Bright a Cabinet Minister. A man or a system can only conquer at the expense of something, and there must be a victim to every victory. In the present case it is not very clear • what enemy has been overcome by Mr. Bright's preferment. As one of those who have con sistently opposed Mr. Bright, we are not desirous of being weighed down by any sense of discomfiture at Mr. Bright's elevation. On the contrary, there are many reasons why, without changing our opinion of Mr. ,Bright, we should approve of his accession to office. Some of those reasons concern the welfare of the Constitution ; others, we do scruple to say, have reference to the interests of our party. In the first place, Mr. Bright had not only earned a right to a place in the Government, but he had incurred an obliga tion duly to discharge that right. It was merit in him that he sacrificed his personal convenience to his duty. It would doubtless have been more agreeable to himself, and more consonant with his own tastes, to keep himself free from the responsibilities of office ; but a man who had spoken so much and so bitterly of the conduct of others in power was bound by every principle of fairness to give the world an opportunity of judging of his own superior behaviour. There could be no parliamentary government in the true sense, unless every man who took a part in the discussion of public measures was ready to take his share in the business of carrying them out. Every leader of a party in England is, by the theory of the Constitu tion, potentially a Minister. There is no question here of any personal ambition or private convenience. The State requires everyone who is in the place of criticising the acts of a Government to take his turn at government when it comes to him in the due course. It may have no demand for a Layard, but it can fairly claim a Bright. The Daily MUM examines into the ruling principles of our Government, and finds that the aristocracy still rules England, though no longer in its own name, but through the people, and in the main for the people. If any one doubts where the instrumental and executive part of the Government still resides, he has only to think of the personnel of every recent Administration. It will be enough, indeed, to glance at the names of the newly formed Liberal Government. While the Camp bells, the Stanleys, the Cavendishes, the Russells, and the Cecils exhibit the qualities which their present representatives display, they do not seem likely to be deposed from their administrative ascendancy. We neither approve nor quarrel with the fact—we simply state it. The aristocracy, we repeat, governs England still ; but it governs it, not in its own name, or by its own right, brit as the agent of the people, whose mandates it receives, whose instructions it obeys, on whose favours it depends, and to whom it acknowledges responsibility. Much of this power and influence still retained by the heads of our great houses is attributed by the Daily News to the in fluence of historical traditions, but the privilege of birth is only of value so long as those who claim it have not declined from their ancestral virtue and capacity. It will no longer give success to marked inferiority. Even the Premier Duke and Premier Earl of England, the chief of all the Howards, whose majority was on Monday cele brated with all - the honours, will not find the blood in his veins enough. There must also be vigorous brains in his head. The Times, in entering at some length upon the best mode of dealing with professional money lenders, thinks that no doubt can exist of the extent or the reality of the evil. Not only all young gentlemen going to college, but all young officers joining the army, and all young civil servants on receiving their appointments, are tempted by voluntary offers of money from regular usurers on terms more or less attractive. The path to ruin is made smooth and easy, the unpleasantness of asking for loans avoided. The circulars suggest extravagance which might otherwise never have been committed, and it is not impossible that in some cases these usurers may thus be really responsible for the destruction of a life's career. Still it would be difficult to make money lending a punishable crime, or to enact that money lenders should be debarred from the ordinary commercial privileges of advertising their terms of business, though it would be hard to find words too strong for the conduct of those who trade on the possible weakness or ignorance of youth. It was stated the other day that in one instance a money lender was found to have made a list of promising young customers, with the amount and value of their respective expectations, duly appraised, set against each name. In two or three cases also it will be recollected with what success such concerted plots were carried out : but the examples are rare, and the trade, as we have heard, is not, upon the whole, a lucrative one. It is said that even the enormous gains occasionally realised do not in the long run cover the losses incurred, and that money-lending at 60 per cent. is rarely a profit able business. The more thoroughly, however, the subject is understood the better. Knowledge is the beat safeguard in such matters. Exactly in proportion as the information or experience of youth can be improved will that weakness disappear on which moneydendera mostly trade. They represent their offers of accommodation as easy, pleasant, and confidential. If those who . receive these Communications will but remember that there is a pitfall in every line of them,- they will be in little danger of succumbing to the stratagem. There, at any rate, lies the best security at present available, and it is with this impression that we have now recalled the subject to the attention of the public. The Herald, in commenting on the death of Sir Richard Mayne, remarks that a general regret ensues upon the death of a man who for forty years has been a zealous and efficient public .servant. At 33 he became an assistant commissioner of poliCe ; and the police, not of London only, but of the whole kingdom, was then in a most un settled condition. It had to be organised, disciplined, directed, • when the new force was in a middle state between expectation and unpopularity. From the year. .1829 until the close of 1868 he was scarcely ever absent from his arduous but peculiar post at Great Scotland-yard, and he was there the day before he died, in the ripeness of age and, let us fairly add, in con siderable honour. But the system he was wedded to must now, under a new chief, be seriously modified. It has been evident for a long time that life and property are insufficiently guarded. It arises, then, as a most urgent question who shall be Sir Richard Mayne's successor, and upon what principle shall he be appointed. Is he to have the same arbitrary powers? Is he to continue in office until the energies of his mind descend to razzias among harmless dogs and prohibitions against sports which are pleasant to children? Above all, is he to go on making soldiers in one sense, and laughing-stocks in another, of the constabulary? These points are not yet ripe for final settlement. It may be found necessary to increase the rank and file as the population increases—a supposition which seems reasonable enough ; to enlist men of better ascertained character for fixed and more lengthened periods, reconciling them to their bond by better pay ; to enforce a stricter discipline, although in that respect, considering the total of police offences, we hardly think there is much to be charged against the force ; and to provide w staff of subaltern officers intermediate between the present superintendents and the commissioners, to secure that the rounds of London shall be duly gone through every labyrinth and ramification wherever there is property to tempt or life to assail, or the peace to be disturbed, or public morals to he offended, by night and by day. If the new Chief Commis sioner happens to be a man prepared to undertake this task, he will find it a gigantic one, and those who clamour most loudly against the police ought to be foremost in desiring that the difficulties of their work, and the neces• city for aiding them to the utmost in their work, should be acknowledged. RESPITE.—On Sunday morning the governor of Ta - :inton Gaol received a communication from the Holy e Orrice to the effect that tire prisoner Robert Sweet—con victed with Bisgrove for the murder of a navvy at Wells-- be respited. Sweet, who has always strongly protested that he was innocent of the crime, and has frequently expressed bis belief that he would not be hanged, received the intelligence with great calmness. Bisgrove still elheres to his • statement that he alone committed the Sweet was sitting on a s til e close by murder, although 5 Li m a t the time, BisgrMs.W4 l . 4c9 1 .14.4 nest AtQladem AMERICAN THIRST FOR "GAB." The Hartford Courant recounts a visit made by General Grant to Providence, Rhode Island, where he was the guest of General Burnside. A band of music, accom panied by a large crowd, appeared before the dwelling, and, in response to their anxious demonstrations, General Grant appeared in an open window and bowed his acknow ledgments. But the crowd wanted more, and, American like, shouted for a speech. The General bowed again, and was about retiring, when a voice high in the upper key shouted, " Just two words, General." General Grant : " No, sir !" (Great applause and laughter.) This was his only speech in Providence, and was taken verbatim by the anxious reporters of that city, who had followed him in vain thrcugh all his travellings during the afternoon. The crowd then passed through the house, entering at the front door, and going out through an oppo• site passage, General Grant standing by the front parlour door and receiving each person with a shake of the hand. The crowd, once outside again, insisted upon speeches from the window. General Grant, who was quietly smok ing a cigar, said to General Burnside, who stood in the window, " General Hawley is here; he can make a speech." The crowd caught it up, and cried for " Hawley," who appeared and said, " Why, gentlemen, it is utterly impossible to make a speech here. I made all my speeches during the campaign, and I thank God that I was able to do so." There were loud calls then for Mayor Doyle, and that gentleman came forward and "got out of it" by informing the crowd that Colonel Deming was in the house, and, having been a mayor, could speak ap propriately. So the crowd called for " Deming," who went to the window and said : " Gentlemen, I appear here as a substitute for Mayor Doyle, and I wish to say that among the great benefits which I anticipate from the administration of General Grant, the greatest is that this everlasting thirst for gab will cease. (Applause and laughter.) No gentleman, with any reputation as a talker, can escape being called upon on all sorts of occa sions. Why, it is a fact that a friend of mine in a horse car in New York was called upon to respond to a resolu tion of thanks to the driver." (Great laughter.) STEAM TYPE-COMPOSING MACHINE. During the past three weeks a machine, driven by steam, has been at work in Manchester setting type automati cally. Leading machinists pronounce it a decided success. The inventor, Mr. Mackie, a native of Dundee, and who has already made several machines for distributing and setting type—machines of singular ingenuity— claims for the one to which we refer as follows : 1. All brain work, except " justification," may be done anywhere, and by persons who never need see a type. 2. Narrow paper is perforated by a tiny machine with 14 keys only for 100 kind of letters, and 20 keys for 200. 3. This perforating can be done at the rate of a Times column of minion per hour. 4. rihe actual composing of the type is done by a hon. zontal wheel machine, having on its rim as many kinds of type as required, which are placed one on the top of another in endless lines, at the rate of 200 a minute. 5. The composer is driven by steam, by foot or hang, and when the endless perforated paper is attached to it, it works automatically. 6. The justification will be done by stickfuls, ana matantaneouily. 7. The paper used for the perforations may be old copies of the Times; new paper costs id. per column. 8. Errors are reduced to a minimum. The composing machine makes none, and the perforating one only when the operator is careless. 9. Duplicates may be perforated at one time, and lent, sold, or used on two or more machines, and for different sizes of type. . . 10. The same perforations distribute the type automa• ttcally. _ _ 11. The perforated paper may be used years after for future and corrected editions. Stereotyping is, therefore, not needed. 12. One edition may be set in nonpareil and another in pica from the same perforations. 13. Small type is set with the same rapidity as large. 14. An author may do his own perforations, and thus save the chief cost of his work. 15. Intelligent women may perforate at home, for offices any distance away. - - 16. Authors may send perforated slips instead of " early sheets" abroad, and by putting on a number of composing machines a foreign publisher might have an ordinary volume out in a day or two. 17. The reserve force which these machines will give is worthy of attention. Six perforators and three composers will set a Times page in an hour. An office, therefore, having six of such machines in stock—and they take up little room—could run up two pages of late matter in an hour. 18. There are no tapes, elastics, or gravitation move ments to get out of order. That the machine has all the capabilities mentioned there can be no doubt. But, as at present it is like a Hoe's eight•feeder with only one attached, its production is limited ; and we shall wait with interest the advent of the completed one, guaranteed to be ready in three months. Mr. Mackie proposes to call it the " Bonnie Dundee."— Dundee Advertiser. THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURER IN A USTRALIA. The Melbourne correspondent of the Times has been moved by the Rev. Canon Girdlestone's description of the agricultural labourer in England to inquire into the condi tion of the same class in Australia. He betook himself to some races, held outside Melbourne, that he might observe the labourer. After giving Canon Girdlestone's descrip tion of the labourer in this country, the correspondent continues :—" Contrast with the above terrible descrip tion—the description of a mere serf in all but the name —the condition of our working men. The roughest and least skilled labourers earn their ss. a day ; skilled artisans nearly as much again, the cost of living being so cheap that if they are sober and provident they may easily put by half their wages, Your common shep herd gets his £4O a year and his rations, and if he be a man with any brains—especially Scotch brains—he net unfrequently developer into a full-blown squatter. Farm labourers grow into farmers on their own account, and skilled mechanics into contractors. There are few of the better sort' who have not their little build ing society shares or other modes of saving. With their increased means they soon acquire addi tional tastes and desires ; and so much the better. They and their families have their Sunday suits and their little holiday finery, and most of them take in a weekly paper, and many of them a daily one. It cannot surprise us, therefore, to find these classes largely represented at the Melbourne races. Most of them, if in England, would regard such an amusement as somethingbelonging to another condition of existence. Why, then, instead of meeting the Rev. Canon Girdlestone's plain speaking with 'excited in terruptions of dissent '—how expressive and significant the phrase of your reporter—why not form emigration committees for assisting your redundant labourers and their families to leave England for these shores? If Canon Girdlestone's hearers will not see or acknowledge the existence of the ugly subject of his discourse, let them quietly export it to Australia. With millions of acres of untilled land, with a superfluity of everything necessary to the existence of man, you cannot easily overdo this country with human hands. Independent of the bene ficent works of transforming a struggling and suffering creature (always on the edge of starvation) into a prosperous colonist, with a future before him, there is the economical fact that an English pauper is by the same process converted into a good Australian customer of Leeds and Manchester. Among the various duties which will devolve on our Agent-General in England, Mr. Verdon, this business of recruiting our population from without is, I think, the most important. With a plethora of money-seeking investment, all we want is population, and upon this point I believe all classes of politicians are now pretty well agreed. A Q UERY.—Is it merely a coincidence, or a condi tion of our parliamentary representation, that not a single member of Mr. Gladstone's Cabinet sits for an English or Scotch county ? Mr. Chichester Fortescue is the only county member in it, and he represents an Irish county.— Birmingham, Post. THE BALOT.—An M.P., writing from the House of Commons to an evening contemporary, says that three objects must be effected by the ballot, or it will fail entirely to be any improvement on the present system of 'taking votes Practical secrecy, or it will be no defence against intimidation or bribery. 2. Practical security against fraud, whether on the part of the return , ing officer or the voter. 3. Secrecy as to the result, until the close of the poll." The writer considers that the last named object would furnish the real advantage of voting by Ballot. He asserts that nineteenth -twentieths of the bribery ho has seen or heard of took place while the candidates were neck and neck ; and that nine-tenths of the intimidation, "pressure," &c., is exercised between ten and twelve, while "half-hourly states of the poll" drive men's minds mad with excite ment, and for " a gain of five in the next return" they will run any risk of discovery and disgrace. With the ballot no one would be permitted to issue lists even of those who had or who had not voted. No one would know which side was winning, and so (concludes the writer) "adieu to `striking off sheets,' and frantic agents fetching indifferent voters, and the old freemen and their friends waiting in the back room of the public-house till the ' three o'clock return' decided blues' or yellows' to pay tthc 'market price'', SPORTING INTELLIGENCE• RES FOR 1869. 'ARY. • 1, 2 UARY. Nottingham Spring,"23, 24 Chelmsford.... 25, 26 Derby Spriug 25, 26 RACING FIXTI JAM' Manchester FEBK Streatham 11, 12 Lincoln l6, 17 Harrow lB, 19 I Mansfield 18 MA. Liverpool Spring 2,3, 4 Shrewsbury spring 5, 6 War wick 9, 10, 11 Kingsbury l2, 13 Northampton l6, 17 AP Bromley 1 '2 Aldershot l, 2 Catterick Bridge... l, '2 Thinsk 6 7 Streatham. 8 9 Chester 4, 5,6, 7 Winchester ll, 12 York... 11, 12 St. Albans Salisbury 13, 14 Doncaster 13, 14 Croydon... 2,3, 4 Newton 2,3, 4 Ascot . .8, 9, 10, 11 Liverpool Summer —l5, 16 Windsor 15, 16 Hampton l7, 18 Worcester l, 2 Newmarket July 6, &c. Kingsbury . 9, 10 Pontefract 12, 13 Nottingham 13, 14 AUG Brighton 3, 4 Brighton Club 5 Loves 6, 7 Egotun lO, 11 Wolverhampton lO, 11 Windsor 12, 13 St. Albans Stockton lB, 19, 20 SEPT] Warwick... 7, 8 Abingdon 9, 10 Doncaster 14, 15, 16, 17 Richmond 21, 22 Lichfield OCTI Bedford 5, 6 Edinburgh 6, 7, 8 Leicester 7, 8 Newmarket 2d 0ct...11, &c. Chelmsford l9, 20 NOVI Worcester 2,3, 4 Liverpool 9, 10, 11. 'l2 CH. West Drayton lB, 19 West Somerset 18, 19 Margate 29 Durham 29, 30 Epsom 30, 31 IL. Newmarket Craven...l2, &c. Eastbourne l9 Lewes 20 21 Croydon... 22, 23 Newmarket Ist Spring . 2G, Sze. West Drayton l7, 18 Rath 18, 19 Manchester l9, 20, 21 Croydon 20, 21 Harpenden 4) Epsom Summer .....25, Newcastle 22, 23, 24 Oldham 22 Bibury Club 23 1 Stockbridge 24, 25, 26 Chelmsford Sutton Park .....29, 30 LY. Reading 15, 16 Huntingdon 2O, 21 Southampton 22 23 I Stamford 22, 23 1 Goodwood 27, 28, 29, 30 UST. lOxford Canterbury .. ... 24, 25 York 24, 25, 26 Ply mouth ...26 Windsor August l2, 13 Derby Summer —.31, Sep. 1 Weymouth 31, Sep. 1 MBER. Western (Ayr) 22, 23 Kingsbury... 23, 24 Monmouth... •. 23, 24 Newmarket st 0et....28, &c. /B ER. Cheltenham l9, 20 West Drayton 2l, 22 Hereford 2l, 22 Monmouth 23, 24 Newmarket H'ton ...25, &c. ,MBER. Shrewsbury 15, ite Leamington Hunt ....23, &c IRISH. MARCH. Baldtyle First Spring 18, 19 MAY. Baldoyle Second Spring 11, 12 STEEPLECHASE FIXTURES. JAN VARY. Hopgrove 1 1 Coverdale 6 Manchester l, 2 1 St. Albans l9 FEBRUARY. Birmingham -, 9 Harrow I Lincoln l6, 17 Derby • • ••• ....18, 19 MARCH. Liverpool 3 Cambridgeshire M 18 Rugby (Grand 8, 9 West Drayton lB, 19 Kingsbury 12, 13 ere wkerne 18, 19 APRIL. Aldershot 1, 2 I Croydon 22, 23 Bromley. l, 31 xY. St. Albans JULY. Kingsbury 9 AUGUST. St. Albans ..__ _. - West Drayton OCTOBER. 21, 22 WATERLOO MI J3E TIN G- FEB. 17. linear.) the Earl of Sefton. ,600 in specie, by subscription wiener to receive X5OO, and (Over Patron - Right Hon The Waterloo Cup, value £l, of .£25 each ; 64 subs; the the second £2OO. 1. Mr C. F. Allison 33. 31r J. Ingleby 2. Mr J. F. Armistead 34. Mr R. Jardine 3. Mr J. Bake 35. Mr F. Johnston 4. Mr W. J. Barden 36. Mr J. Johnston 5. Mr F. Bartholomew 37. Mr H. B. Jones 6. Lord Binning 38. Mr W. J. Legh 7. Mr J. Blackstock 39. Mr S. C. Lister 8. Mr J. S. Bland 40. Mr J. Lonsdale 9. Mr G. Blaoshard 41. Lord Lurgan 10. Mr W. G. Borron 42. Mr S. Mallabey 11. Mr T. Brocklebank 43. Mr C. E. Marfleet 12. Mr J. Brundrit 44. Mr W. H. Massey 13. Mr R. B. Carruthers 45. Sir C. Molyneux 14. Mr C. J. Chesshyre 46. son. C. C.Molyneux 15. Mr W. H. Clark 47. Mr T. Neville 16. Mr E. Croft 48. Mr R. Paterson 17. Mr J. Cunningham 49. Mr T. L. Reed lg. Mr W. D. Deighton 50. Dr Richardson 19. Mr James Dunlop 51. Mr J. Savage 20. Mr J. Evans 52. Mr N. Saxton 21. Lord Genies 53. Lord Sefton 22. Mr J. Gibson 54. Mr T. Smith . 23. Mr W. M. Gilmour 5,5. Mr J. Spinks 24. Col. Goodlako 56. Lord Stair 25. Mr A. Graham 57. Mr E. AV. Stocker 26. Mr T. Green 58. Mr S. Swinburno 27. Mr C. A. Hailey 59. Mr G.A. Thompson 28. Capt. Hathorn GO. Mr R. Todd 29. Mr J.,Haywood 61. Mr B. W. Trinder 80. Mr J. Hodson 62. Mr R. C. Vyner 31. Mr J. Hole 63. Mr R. H. Williams 32. Mr J. Hyslop C 4. Capt. Wyndham The Waterloo Purse, value £260, in specie, taken from the Cup Stake, for the 32 beaten dogs in the first round for the Cup; the winner to receive £lOO. The Waterloo Plate, value £lOO in specie, taken from the Cup Stakes, for the 16 beaten dogs in the first ties for the Waterloo Cup. The Great Waterloo-Cup, 64 subscribers, at £25 each - the money £1,600-to be divided as under:-- 1. Winner to receive ... 1. Second ditto ... ~, 2. Dogs to receive £5O each... 4. Ditto ditto 30 ditto... 8. Ditto ditto 20 ditto... 16. Ditto ditto 10 ditto... ...£5OO ... 200 ... 100 ... 120 ... 160 A. 160 1,240 The Waterloo Purso and Waterloo Plate 3GO £1,600 The Waterloo Purse, for the 32 dogs beaten in the firs course for the Waterloo Cup, amounting to £260, to be divided as under:- 1. Winner to receive 1. Second ditto 2. Dogs to receive £l5 each.. , 4. Ditto ditto 10 ditto.. 8. Ditto ditto 5 ditto.. ....£lOO ... 50 16 £260 The Waterloo Plate for the 16 dogs beaten in the second ties for the Cup, amounting to £lOO, to be divided as under: 1. Winner o receive ... 1 coact ditto 2. Dogs to receive £7 lOs each ... ... 15 4. Ditto ditto 5 ditto ... 20 £lOO COURSING FIXTURES. JANUARY. Border Union (Longtown) .. h, &c. Kenilworth (Warwickshire) 5, 6. Neptune Open (Lytham) Lancashire 6, &c. Couto (Cork), Ireland 7, &c. Anuan, Dumfriesshire 8 9. Wigtownshire Club 12, &c. Third South Lancashire 13, &c. Altcar Club, Lancashire... 13, &c. Mere Down, Wilts Baldock Club, Herts 20, 21. Spelthorne Club (Ashdown Park) ...21, &c. Barton-on-Humber, Lincolnshire 25. Ridgway Club (Lytham), Lancashire 27, &c. Creagh Open, Ireland 27. FEBRUARY. Powderbarn Everleigh Club, Wilts 2, 3. Rufford Open, Lancashire Cardington, Beds 3, &c. Wenvoe Cas tle ..... 3, 4- Ludham, Norfolk 11, 12. Brampton, Cumberland ll, 12. Waterloo (Altcar), Lancashire l7, &c. MARCH. Ashdown Park, Herts Fourth S. Lancashire (Champion) County .Louth (Champion), Ireland 18 & c . Scottish National Open, Lanark ......30, &c. OCTOBER. Aucaster and Willoughby, Lincolnshire 5 6 , . . Ormesby - - 19 , &c. Huntingdon Club.. 26, 27. NOVEMBER. Sun dorne, Salop Cothan and Eston . 2, 8. 9, &e. DUNVILLE i and Co., Belfast, are the largest holders of Whisky in the world. Their Old Irish Whisky is re commended by the medical profession in preference to French Brandy. Supplied in casks and cases for home use or exports tion. Quotations on application to Messrs. Danville and Co., Belfast; or 4, Beaufort•buildings, Strand, London W.O —[Ad vertisem ent.] THE MANUFACTURE OF WATCHES AND CLOCKS.— A. most interesting and instructive little work, describing briefly but with great clearness, the rise and progress of watch and clock makin , has just been published by Mr J. W. Benson, of 25, Old Bond-street, 09, Westbourne-grove, and the City Steam Factory, 58 and 60, Ludgate-hill. The book, which is profusely illustrated, gives a full description of the various kinds of watches and clocks, with their prices, and no one should make a purchase without visiting the above establishments or consulting this truly valuable work. By its aid persons residing in any part of the United Kingdom, India, or the Colonies, are enabled to select for themselves the watch best adapted for their use, and have it sent to them with perfect safety. Mr. Benson, who holds the appoint ment to the Prince of Wales, sends this pamphlet to any address on receipt of two postage stamps, and we cannot too cttotigly recommend it to the notice of the tutwaciiag purcbsier MISCELLANEOUS NEWS. 'ME BOIITH DERBYSHIRE ELECTION. The political leaders in South Derbyshire' appear to have resolved upon trying their strength once more. As already stated, Mr. Evans, one of the defeated Liberal candidates at the last election, will be the champion of his party, and he will be opposed by Colonel Wilmot, at whose house the late member, Sir Thomas Gresley t died. The gallant gentleman was a brevet-major m the Rifle Brigade, and won the Victoria Cross at the gates of Lucknow. Since his retirement from the army he has commanded the Ist battalion of Derbyshire Volunteers, and is ex tremely popular with all classes. ELECTION PETITIONS. .. list has been published of all the election peti tions known to have been presented up to the time of publication. There are ninety-nine members whose election is . challenged—fifty-two of them Liberals, forty-seven Conservatives. Seventy-six English, seventeen Irish, four Scotch, and two Welsh mem bers are petitioned against. SILL RICHARD MAYNE. Forty years since, Sir Robert Peel brought before the House of Commons a scheme for the better watching of the metropolis- by an organised staff of policemen. His proposal was met by a cry of " un- English " from those whose argtiments against any thing new may be summed up in that phnse. But he carried his bill, and the force of " Peelers " was established. A head was found for the new organi sation in the person of a " quiet " but energetic young barrister, the son of an Irish judge, hight Richard Mayne, who has held the situation of First Commissioner of Police till his death, just announced. He has not been very popular of late, it is true. But his services as organiser were invaluable when Scotland-yard first sprang into existence. His work, too, in managing the Exhibition arrangements in 1851 was well done. Of late, however, age and feebleness have crept over him. An abscess was too much for his strength; under it he has succumbed. Sir Richard Mayne was the fourth son of the Hon. Edward Mayne, judge of the Court of Queen's Bench in Ireland from 1817 to 1820, and was descended from a branch of an old Kentish family which settled in Fermanagh and Monaghan in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. He was born in Dublin in 1796, and married in 1831 Miss Georgiana, eldest daughter of Mr. Thomas Carvick, of Wyke, Yorkshire, who survives him, and by whom he leaves four sons and two daughters. His eldest son, Captain Richard C. Mayne, R.N., C. 8., is at present at Rio, commanding her Majesty's ship Nassau. THE REDUCTION OF THE ROYAL MARINES. The proposed reduction of the Royal Marines is causing great excitement in professional circles. The Times publishes two letters in whichthe step is strongly censured. "A Captain RN." writes that a marine is not only a good soldier, but more than half a sailor; after three years' service on board ship he is fit for anything. It would be far better to reduce the second battalions of the first twenty-five regiments, and let Malta, G ibraltar, the Cape, Bermuda, and Halifax, and all home ports if necessary, be garrisoned by artillery and marines, the latter taking their turn of sea duty once a year in the squadrons on the station, in order to keep up their nautical knowledge. The writer has not the smallest faith in the Naval Reserve, and describes it as an imaginary force kept up at an expense of nearly half a million a year. "Q. C.," writing on the same subject, proposes that the whole division of Marines at Woolwich shall be transported to the colonies, and that the barracks shall be given up to the Household troops. Neither writer seems to contem plate the contingency of withdrawing our troop, from the colonies as well as reducing the marines. GIBRAITAIL V. CEUTA. Major-General Walpole writes to the Times a letter, in which he entirely disagrees with Admiral Grey upon the proposed exchange of Gibraltar for Ceuta. General Walpole says : "Itis an axiom of engineers that all fortifications constructed by art without natural defences must yield in a given time to an attacking force of sufficient strength, if properly provided with the means of attack. Now, the peculiarity of Gibraltar is that the land front, the only part open to regular approaches, is impregnable in consequence of its natural defences ; a large portion of the sea front is equally unassailable ; the portion of the sea wall which, being artificial, might be breached, is so protected that an assault would be extremely diffi cult from causes which it is not necessary to state in detail here, and this portion of the works might and should be still more effectually fortified by iron turrets and other means. Ceuta, on the other hand, could not possibly be made as strong as Gibraltar either on its land or sea fronts, nor would it be sufficiently garrisoned with double the number that would suffice for Gibraltar, and, moreover, the expense of such works as might be constructed to strengthen the place would be enormous, and no matter what expense was incurred, it would still be liable to be taken by Land if a force sufficient for the purpose were dis embarked, and by sea, if we lost for a time our naval supremacy." We imagine that if the question of abandoning Gibraltar is entertained at all, it will not assume the form of a bargain, but of a free gift, as in the case of Corfu. LOSSES . : AT SEA AND THEIR PREVENTION. Admiral Elliot has addressed a letter to the Daily News respecting the total loss of the steamship Hibernia) which foundered from an accident to her screw propeller occasioning a dangerous leak. This is no uncommon disaster in merchant ships, and very recently the Columbia lost her screw propeller in a gale. Admiral Elliot strongly urges the necessity of employing - the hydraulic engine, by means of which vessels might be effectually protected from the effects of any leak. These - accidents to the screw and screw shaft generally occur from heavy pitching in bad_ weather, but the hydraulic engine is not effected by heavy motion. In case of a leak, howevef, in a vessel of 200-horse power, the hydraulic engine would discharge 400 tons of water a minute from the hold, and the discharge-pipe is too large to be choked. Admiral Elliot asserts also that the hydraulic engine would be invaluable as a means of preventing collisions, by giving the power to stop the ship within her own length. It would also be useful in extinguishing fire. Finally, its adoption would lessen the cost of construction. THE " PROVINCE OF HOUSES." The annual report of Sir John Thwaites's Parlia ment, otherwise the Metropolitan Board of Works, shews what a prodigious city London has become. The new sewers are 82 miles in length, and these drain an area of 117 square miles, the result being such a marked improvement in the condition of the Thames, that fish were seen during the late hot summer ' where just ten years ago the river was so foetid that hundreds of tons of chloride 4f lime had to be thrown in by way of destroying the horrible odour. The Thames Embankment is fast approaching com pletion, and its cost may be imagined when we state that the sum paid for only one section is nearly a quarter of a million. The new street from Black friars Bridge to the Mansion House, about three fifths of a mile in length, has involved compensation for property to the amount of very nearly two millions. Two new parks, one in Finsbury, one in Southwark, have been made, each costing over £50,000. Since the formation of the Boardi more than 1,300 new streets have been sanctioned, 200 of which were during last year. Finally, the Board has a very respectable debt, amounting to nearly seve millions DISTRESS• IN THE EAST-END OF LONDON. Distress is again being felt in the East-end dis tricts, and although in Poplar and other parishes there is a decrease in the out-of-door relief, it is only in the figures of last year—which were exceptional— and the condition of the poor is so precarious, that this diminution may be speedily replaced by a;large increase. • The mildness of the weather has contributed to keep a better condition of the poor, and has prevented the East-end of London from exhibiting extreme pauperism. Among those industries which suffer the most depression may be mentioned silk-weaving, shipbuilding, and sugar-boiling. Since the financial crisis of 1800 some minor trades have been in a state of stagnation, and these employed women and chil dren. The East-end of London still suffers from the effect of that panic, and will suffer for some time to come. In Hackney, which is one of the m os t prosperous of the East London parishes, there were a few days agq no fewer than 4,800 summonses for payment of poor rates. Lancashire never exhibited a more deplorable state of things during the cotton famine than can be seen in the Isle . of Dogs. The desire for emigration is becoming stronger in the face of all these evils. The relief committees have resumed operations in concert, and have re solved to leave the chronic element of pauperism to be dealt with by the parochial boards. WORKING MEN'S EXCHANGES ----- Some suggestions have been made by a member of council of the Working Men's Club and Institute Union, Strand, which are worthy of notice. One of the difficulties is the want of education in the unem ployed class for whom the exchange is required. The rant of funds among working men to establish and keep such exchanges will also be found difficult to surmount. It is proposed that a general system of registration and local offices bt adopted, and among supplementary methods it is said that reading-rooms may he established for the working men.- The Peabody trustees might also find it desirable to establish a common meeting-place in all their premises, by forming a library for the inmates. Such meeting-rooms might be made clubs and labour registers at the same time. Another plan is suggested with respect to the poor employed in the metropolitan workhouses—that the daily newspaper may be put before them, so that they may see what opportunities of work may pi,sent themselves. The exp . ense of this arrangement would not be sreat, What-WI AdVantaMiltialikLbajacalCillaa.....and- wouta be a valuable means of restoring the unem ployed to labour. TRADES UNIONISM IN SCOTLAND. We are sorry to find that trades unionism is assuming its most objectionable form in Scotland. A few . days ago a case of " rattening " occurred at Greenock,- and since then a worse instance has been exhibited. A number of the pitmen in connection with the Glasgow Ironstone Company have been out on strike for more than twenty weeks. Several men, however, disapproved of the strike, and con tinued their work. The unionists on strike were much incensed at this, and since in their opinion no measures are too severe for "blacknobs," two of them lay in wait for one of the miners at work near Maryhill, and beat him with life-preservers on the head. Unfortunately, they have not vet been secured. PENNY READINGS. The Solicitors' Journal contains some observations on the confused state of the law as applied to the use of public rooms for reading purposes. In many cases clergymen and trustees have declined to allow school rooms and vestry-halls to be used for penny readings fearing that they would be subjected to penalties if the readings were enlivened by music, as they generally are. The arguments of the Solicitors' Journal tend to chew that there is no occasion for these fears, and that the real question is whether or not there. has been an habitual keeping to the purpose of public music. If this test be applied, it will be seen that the statute does not apply to the case of penny readings that are enlivened by nmsic, in a place that is devoted to scholastic or parochial purposes, for the first-men tioned use is only incidental. THE POSTMAN. The postmen made a noise some time ago and agitated for more money. Parliament granted £13,000 extra as an annual grant. But the men are not satisfied, and, if what they say is correct, no wonder. Previous to the parliamentary grant, a letter carrier after sixteen months' service received a pound per week, which was increased an additional shilling per week until his wages were 2 , 55. Before another increase was made to his wages he had to wait for several years. But under the new scale 18s. is the starting point, and instead of a man's receiving a pound in sixteen months, two years must elapse to entitle him to that sum. The greater part of the parliamentary grant, we are told, has been absorbed by what is called the " major " class of post-office officials, and the "minor," which includes the postmen, has been left out in the cold. FREEMA SONItY. Lord Dalhousie is an enthusiastic lover of Free masonry. At a meeting the other day held at Glasgow he lauded the mystic society of Solomon to the skies. Ile then went on to shew the uses of the organisation. " Believe me, there is nothing by which our order can be more exilted, nothing by which its interests can be more or better advanced, than by the liberal practice of opening the benevolent hand. The poor we have always with us ; and we should be always ready, if possible, to relieve them. But, brethren, it must be distinctly understood that while these benevolent societies exist in masonry, masonic lodges should not be looked upon as benefit societies. It is true we hold out the hand of assistance to those brethren among us who may be overtaken with misfortune ; but we invite not brethren to come among us for the purpose simply of finding a refuge in our charity. There is another thing in masonry which I would recommend all to cultivate, and that is obe dience to the constitution and laws under which we live and by which we are governed. There is nobody in this country so loyal as a good mason. He is loyal to his sovereign ; he is loyal and obedient to the laws; and he is loyal to the craft and to the authorities of the craft to which he belongs. If a man is a good mason, you may rely upon it that that man is in every respect also a good citizen." MR. CARLETON, THE IRISH NOVELIST. • We are glad to notice that our Dublin contempo raries contradict a statement which has appeared in nearly all the public journals, to the effect that the Irish novelist, Mr. William Carleton, is dead. MI% Carleton is " not even hopelessly ill." THE RITUAL JUDGMENT AND THE LONDON CHURCHES. Sunday was the last Sunday of the year ; it fell during the octave of Christmas, and it was a saint's day. Under these circumstances the ritual at the " advanced " churches was, if possible, more elaborate than before. There were processions with banners, whether " waved" or not we cannot under take to say ; the altar lights were burnt for the last time, we understand ; and in some instances—at St. Mary Magdalene's, Pad dington, for instance—the famous hymn, " Now my tongue the mystery telling," was sung by choir and clergy as they marched up the body of the church to the sanctuary. The occurrence of St. John's Day gave an oppoLtunity for a good deal of ingenious reference to Christ walking amid the seven golden candlesticks, and for special application to the altar lights of which the English Church is about to be deprived. We understand that Mr. Skinner, formerly curate of St. Barnabas, Pimlico, now rector of Newland, near Malvern, has declared that imthing shall induce him to comply with the recent judgment of the Privy Council, so far as this particular is con cerned, and that he will continue to use this, as he deems, essential symbol, even though the use should involve his committal to prison. On the other hand, the Rev. Edward Stuart, of St. Mary Magdalene's, Munster-square, who was the first to introduce lights and incense, has determined to discontinue both, considering, we presume, that obedience is better than sacrifice. The Bishop of Salisbury is somewhat better. The Bishop of Sodor and Man is officiating for him, The Bishop of London, who ceases to hold that office on the 30th,has - :.appointed the select preachers al St Tat - Ws-special services for the last time. Bishop Atlay, CanOn Miller, and Canon Gregory are the best known of those who have been chosen. FOREIGN NOTES. The Mcle insists that the result of the municipal elec• tons in Spain has been a great triumph for the Republi. sans. They have polled the majority in seventeen capitals sad provinces, including the large towns of Barcelona, Toledo, Valladolid, Valentia, Saragossa, Malaga, Seville, and Cordova. They have divided the repre• sentation at many other important places, such as Burgos, • Badajos, Salamanca, Bilbao, and San Sebastian. The Monarchists have carried only Madrid, Gerona, and Pampeluna amongst the important towns. There is something in these estimates ; for though the Sikle is the French representative of Republicanism, yet even the Constitutionne/ confesses that the issue " has been more favourable to the Democrats than was at first thought." The number of voters enrolled at Madrid is over 70,000. Hardly 25,000 took part in the election. This disparity is, however, in great measure to be accounted for by the system employed, which was so defective that 30,000 voting papers remained unclaimed. CUBA. The Legitimate forces have been defeated in the battle which took place at Las Minas. Important despatches which had been prepared in Havannah for transmission to the New York press, were held back by the Cuban Government—a significant symptom—but the truth oozed out. The Spanish General had 1,500 infantry, 200 cavalry, and eight guns. The conflict, which was desperate, lasted all day, and at night the regular troops retreated at all points. An insurgent general was, however, captured AUSTRIA. Counsellor Schwab, a retired judge of the Supreme Court of Vienna, has been sentenced to six years' hard labour for forgery and embezzlement. Seldom has a worse case of fraud and deception in high places been revealed. A lady of rank had invested a large sum of money in mort gage bonds, and bad entrusted it to the care of this expounder of the law in order to save it from her credi tors. The counsellor appropriated the whole by forging deeds of transference. Worse than all, he fruitlessly endeavoured to throw the blame upon his wife, who had recently died, IJ,Any revelations which bad no direct bearing on the'ease were, perhaps not injudiciously. sun 'tressed by the court. REPUDIATION. It is strange that foreign Governments will persist in a financial policy which no individual would venture to enter upon without being prepared for a total collapse of credit. The Portuguese Government has broken faith with capi talists who have embarked in railways, and the immediate result is that Portugal is unable to raise money in any European capital. In Spain even the proinise of justice to foreign bondholders has been secured only by the revolution, and hence the loan which is now required has not been realised to the extent of one quarter. The holders of Greek securities have not received a shilling for forty years. The enormous sums required for war preparations must in consequence be raised in Greece. Through the mere fear of repudiation, America has to pay twice the interest required of England. These Governments are more foolish than the village shopkeeper, for he knows that he must meet his obligations or put up the shutters. INDIA. Lord Mayo Las already got into some little trouble with regard to Indian matters. He has been rather too enthu siastic on the great irrigation difficulty, and has given his opinion that " if the same principle that guided the pro ceedings for the improvement of laud in England were applied to India, the work would be easihy accomplished." The Times of India replies that "this statement must provoke a smile here, where every one knows that the conditions of the two countries are totally different. It reminds us of the Marquis of Tweeddale's desire to drain the paddy fields, and to introduce heavy English ploughs to furrow the soil, regardless of the physique of; the ryots and their cattle. `This .or that AtimitkAinkiNcgwe we clo it in England' is a sentiment white a budding liovernor-general may indulge In on first arrival in Calcutta, but which a few months' experience of the country will effectually dissipate." On account of " its being very dull at home in his village," a mild Ilindoo named Ramadheen, 21 years of age, betook himself to the amusement of poisoning. His career in this occupation lasted about a year and a half, during which period he poisoned twenty-seven persons. Strange to say, most of his victims were Brahmins. It is rumoured that a lifoniteur is to be established as the official organ of the Indian Government. The Times of India strongly urges the substitution of a cold for a silver currency in India ; in other words, to de the rupee and set up the sovereign in its stead. The fitver money has become altogether too cumbersome as the ~ ± .;l:dard of value, and a change in a few years will be an ute necessity. This is evidently another argument , lisposing of the question of international coinage. • hese changes must be made they might as well be final. THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE. (From the Anglo-American Times.) President JOHNSON'S Message being little better than rubbish, and having no political weight, would still be produced by us had it not gone the rounds of the English papers. We cannot afford space for a document nearly all our readers have already seen, of little material or historical importance. Secre tary MsCulloch's Report we give in full, es it much more concerns the American people, reserving com ment for the next issue, as it requires time care fully to read and think over. The question sug gested by the PRESIDENT'S Message is if ANDREW JOHNSON wrote it, who wrote the last ? And if ANDREW JOHNSON wrote the last, who wrote this ? forif both express his tone of mind they do so very differently. The Message of 1867 was an able and statesmanlike document; written with such force of argument and such appropriate language as to materially strengthen a bad cause by producing a strong effect on th country. Perhaps then it is not to be regretted, on the contrary, it may be a subject for congratulation that the PRESIDENT'S injudicious opinions are feebly backed by illogical ar guments, as nothing so imposed on Europe as the masterly manner in which he upheld in previous Messages his side of the question. He assumed the shape in European imagination of a moderate, deep thinking, patriotic, Conservative statesman, devoting himself to the defence of a Constitution the Magna Charta of American liberties, against a usurping Legislature. When we spoke of the " cussed ness" of his nature, doubtless many English readers attributed what we said to a partisan ani mus. Yet the word truthfully expressed the PRE SIDENT'S tone of mind, if it can be applied to those who conceive vicious or plainly erroneous opinions, and pursue them the more doggedly because op posed by all good men. Such a disposition in pri vate life may be productive of much family misery ; but, however good in other respects may be the public man when one so constituted attars to great power, he must become a curse to his country, injuring it in proportion to his ability in advocating his opinions, and to the respecta bility which marks his conduct in all other re lations of life. We are not sorry that Mr. JOHN SON, with his characteristic pig-headedness, has insisted, against the advice of his friends, in writ ing his last Message as it stands. Had he de sired to defend Congress he could have produced nothing more to the point. Henceforth when the Fortieth Congress is called on to show cause for its bitteriopposition it will produce this Message, and ask How can you deal with a " cuss " like its author ? Had ANDREW JOHNSON not committed himself to this miserable production, he might have puzzled Euro pean philosophers, who would have regarded him as one that narrowly missed becoming a great man through some unfortunate moral obliquity or screw loose in his composition. The, disposition which made him in Tennessee, marred him in the White House, leaving a heavy balance of evil after the total good he has done in life has been subtracted from all the bad. The reason is that, though he has more of the necessary obstinacy or firmness, or what ever it may be termed, for great men, he has less of the ability required for such men. lie is, in truth, no better than a provincial politician, trained in a bad school, who, through the exertions of able allies, imposed on the outside world for a grasp of mind he never possessed, which his present Message will not only undo, but open European eyes to the re ison of the opposition and annoyance he has so long raised in the great body of the Ame rican people. From beginning to end the Mes sage is an attack on Congress. It commences by asserting its legislation to be unjust and arbi trary. The Reconstruction Laws have substantially failed and proved pernicious. The attempt is to place the white population of the South under the dominion of negroes, and has ended in animosity and bloodshed, estranging the hitherto kindly re lations of the races. He had successfully carried almost to a conclusion the work of restoration of the South when Congress intervened, frustrating all, and leaving, after three years' agitation and strife, the object further from attainment than ever—such baneful legislation should be abrogated. The Tenure-of-Office 8111 is another fatally injurious measure, due to party passion and sectional preju dice. The Act of March 2, 1867, interferes with his Constitutional functions as Commander-in- Chief, and denies some States the right to raise mili tia ; and, finally on this subject, he asserts the na tional desire for " at least a partial return to the fun d miental principles of the Government, and an indi cation that hereafter the Constitution is to be made the nation's safe and unerring guide. These mea sures can be productive of no permanent benefit to the country, and should not be permitted to stand as so many monuments of the deficient wisdom which has characterized our recent legislation." It must be remembered that these words were addressed, not to the Legislature only, but to the very individuals who had strenuously supported the laws thus un sparingly censured. Four-fifths of the members of each House must have felt the remarks personally di rected against themselves, and the wonder is that they were borne so patiently. But if, in this portion of his Message, ANDREW JOHNSON displayed his lack of judgment and tact, in the next great subject he handled—the Currency—occupying little short of half the Message, he showed a want of finan cial knowledge and honesty. which would disgrace any Tennessee stump politician. So ill-digested are his opinions, so injurious is their expression to the na tional credit paralyzing the power it is his duty to strengthen, so shamefully dishonest is their concep tion demonstrating his want of statesmanlike judg ment, that Americans must blush to know the charge can with truth be brought against their institutions of having elevated such a man to such a post. It is a schoolboy thesis on the " Public Debt," displaying a moral obliquity with a total want of ability to ap preciate the common laws which bind societies toge ther whereon nearly all the material transactions of mankind are based. It never suggests itself to the President that there are two parties to a contract and two to a loan--the lender and the borrower that the conditions are settled before the loan is made, and that it is opposed to every consideration of justice and expediency to permit the borrower, after he has spent the lender's money, to bring up the conditions of the loan for mdiscussion or settle ment. But he does not confine himself to this. He not only brings up the conditions, but he excludes one -side, the lenders, from any voice in the matter, allud ing to them as if they had no rights, that what they were to receive was solely a question for the borrower to decide. He sees on the one hand a bloated money aristocracy; on the other, a down trodden people, Wing in the yoke to drag the car of oligarchical extravagance. g given freedom r n ac h e a ; vi i n t will then be our to‘f‘oWurre m no il ‘ l v io p n r s id o e f the ourselv e s colouredu p o shame that forty m illions of people, by their own tolera tion of usurpation and profligacy, have suffered them selves to become enslaved, and merely exchanged slave owners for new taskmasters in the shape of bondholders and taxgatherers. Besides, permanent debts pertain to monarchical Governments, and, tending to monopolies, perpetuities, and class legislation, are totally irreconcilable with free institutions. Introduced into our republican sys tem, they would gradually but surely sap its foundations, e ventually subvert our Governmental fabric, and erect upon its ruins a moneyed aristocracy." What imagination could have depicted a President of the United States deliberately penning such a passage in his annual Message about a class to whose open-handed loans and energetic efforts to supply the Government with the sinews of war, is, next to the patriotic self-sacrifice of many thou sands of American citizens, due to the fact that the Republic is now likely to embrace the Northern continent of America, instead of being split into rival nations, annihilating the grand hope of man kind, that the continent may be maintained as its refuge from tyranny, freed from all the restrictions which haveimpeded theprogress of Europe. Various plans, says Mr. JonNsox, have been proposed for the paymen! - , of the public debt, and it would ill become the author of " My Policy" if he passed away without leaving one behind. We would like to have seen the face of him whose fortune was invested in United States Bonds on reading the Johnsonian scheme. The PRESIDENT first shows how much or rather how little of what the bonds represent the Government received, and he arrives at the con clusion that the national banks at least had received an aggregate of 17 per cent., and in view of such large profits he thinks they would not be averse to a settlement such as he proposes, which would give them a fair remuneration, while just to the tax payers. lie opens his little scheme of total repudia tion by remarking " our national credit should be sacredly observed," and then he proceeds to assert that it would be "Just and equitable that the six per cent. interest now paid by the Government should be applied to the reduc tion of the principal in semi-annual instalments, which in 16 years and eight months would liquidate the entire National Debt. Six per cent. in gold would at present rates be equal to nine per cent. in currency, and equivalent t' the payment of the debt one and a half times in a frac tion less than 17 years. This, in connection with all the other advantages derived from their investment, would afford to the puplic creditors a fair and liberal compensa tion for the use of their capital, and with this they s hould be satisfied. The lessons of the past admonish the lender that it is not well to be over-anxious in exacting from the borrower rigid compliance with the letter of the bond." Having thus wiped out the debt by paying the interest for sixteen years and eight months, he pro ceeds to show what grand results would ensue. He believes the capital invested in these securities to be so much money locked up that would thus be come released, and such a fertilizing inundation as must then pour over the laud would have a wonderful effect in reviving its wonted pro sperity, infusing activity and vigour into the paralyzed energies of the people. Mr. JOHNSON errs in supposing he is the only debtor who has predicted a .wonderful revival if able to shake himself clear of his liabilities, and a mor e direct means to accomplish this could only be de: vised by the man who exclaims, " Bother this lo years and eight months' interest ! they have had quite enough already—do not give them a farthing more." To argue with a man like Mr. JOHNSON i 5 vain, and Congress very properly replied by t he almost unanimous resolution that repudiation in a' forms was hateful to the American people. '' cannot understand why the Cable did not state that the PRESIDENT in his Message advocated an open and audacious repudiation. But perhaps it is better as it is, for timid holders might have been frightened until they learnt that ANDREW JOHNS°I4 only harms the interests he advocates, and benefit: those he attacks ; and if he wanted to give the 152 kick to repudiation, he could not have better ar plied it. It is not a little remarkable to find 3 PRESIDENT of the Great Republic asserting that Republican principles could not survive under n burden of debt just half as heavy as that borne lightly and buoyantly by effete Britain, while thh e lively little island moves on a very Democratic path' He first invokes the national indignation agai nst the bondholders as a mo n ied o li garc hy, foreign and native, sustained by the fruits of the people's labou r ' to whom the citizens will hmonie mere slaves, ab se ; lutely likening their condition to the negro cha tte formerly held by the South. He then goes on w ith a consistency peculiar to ANDREW JOHNSON to diS t : CUSS these same bondholders as of no account vih n ever, not having a voice even in the reimbursem ent of their own loans. This he discusses as a ques tion for himself and the Legislature to decide, as if th lenders had petitioned the Government on Clair s o the equity of which had to be considered. O s could believe on reading his remarks that he Wa discussing men who had accepted the tenders of th e Government earnestly pressed on the citizens to Or ply funds in a great national crisis, the conditio ns being then specified and sanctioned by law. l ie further talks of bonds as the property of n e unchangeable class, instead of being c irculating pledges of the United States thro ug h the wo rld with enfaced conditions, though if true, for the rea; sons above given, there is no class to whom m orn consideration would be due. One bond may have b 3e 0 received from the Treasury and held in the s in/ hands till now, but the mass are perpetually cha lig : e ing hands at a fluctuating price fixed by the se ll ,, e `, l and buyers. When he discusses the o r iginal 101 , as having received a larger amount than his illy rr es he ment he appears blind to the real position. j or primary lender took his chance of the succes s be failure of:the war, and reaped the gain, just as t . , ci lender to the Confederate Government took his his lost the entire capital. The former backed u judgment, ran the risk, and reaped the fruits. Then e/ he sold, making way for Trust Funds for the of widows and orphans, for the savings of w orkEn e and the securities on which men rely for the s tl e P; port of themselves and their families when t P retire from business. The original holder was the speculative man who believed in the success of t he United States ; the present holder is more the P er, manent investor, who believes in the good faithof the United States, but the latter buying an ea t3 it lished security paid a much higher price O r than the former. Mr. JOHNSON'S argument the n ; if it had force, which it has not, against the orig', nal holder, is inapplicable to the mass of th e Pre sent possessors. Indeed this portion of his Message is below contempt, and only worthy of the °P ie . we give it as showing what a " cuss" the roan „ 0 We will perhaps continue our remarks hereaf ter other portions of his Message. Twenty-eight fishermen of Gloucester, A d have been drowned this year. Seventy-five were dr o A n od year. ne' gentleman received an unpaid letter conole the ing :—"Sir, your letter of yesterday bears upon its fac e t he stamp of falsehood." His answer was brief and tore purpose:—" Sir, I only wish your letter of yesterdal,' n a upon its face a stamp of any kind." Apropos of this or not generally be known that wherever an unpai d ' t3 „ - the is sent simply to put another to annoyance and exp eas " Post-office will return the money. se ° From this year's new Directory of San Fran e , l .- 0 it appears that the total population is 147,950, of only 138,950 are permanent, the remaininc , 9,00 0 1 2V 3 00 transient boarders, soldiers, sailors, &c. There are 5 ' , 1'11 0 males over 21 years of age, to 30,000 females over 1 8 : 0 , 13 0 school census of July, 1868, counts the number of cil","t,il under 15 at the extraordinary figure of 39,728. The w or e number of houses in the city is 18,009, of which 13,9 12 wood and 4,097 are brick. „ ro c! [ADVERTISEMENT.] Holloway's Pills.— The -„,3'3 Requisites.—Nobody will deny the assertion that for 0 ;03 comfort and happiness pure blood and a sound stosifely rank among his first requirements. Both may be al l i e tt and inexpensively secured by these admirable pills, vr ,„1,0 ~ act gently on the weakest frames, and cause no I",pe shock to the most sensitive system. Holloway's pills ittt proved themselves competent to deal constitutionally those infirmities which descend from parent to offsP r ; o o , which often mar the brightest prospects, and throw a„slidS stunt gloom over youth. These pills purify both the s ' - ' O 5O and fluids of the body, and by that salutary process q't,o4 every organ to perform naturally its proper funct l " every nerve its proper duty. Births. t he LEGH —On Christmas-day, at 38, Bolgrava-scig ar ' wife of WJ. Legh, Esq., M.P., of a daughter. wife, Lo o s f n h i a O rr n y tte b 2 b 7 , th E i s n q s , t. o , f at tw P i ie n l s d H s .0 . Harrow, the o set MAciNDREw— o On the 27th inst.. s at Westwool '- Essex, the wife of Wm. Macandrew, Esq., of a so u ' Marriages. BELCHER— BEARD —On the 26th hist , at the parish c % s til e- Kensington, the Rev. Henry Belcher, M.A., to _ rine Emilie, second d .ughter of John Beard, kis c l' THORN —PUDNER—On the 24th inst. at St. George'`, oar( over-square, William Edmond Thorn, of 70, O rc) o . s h - ter street, Grosvenor-square, to Jane, youngest d 3u p - Richard Pudner, Devonshire. Deaths. Of ANNING —On the 27th inst., William Arming , Vsclq Stockwell Villas, Clapham-road, aged 63. BINDER—On the 27th inst, at 97, Park-street, Gros's': otli square, Joseph Binder, Esq., aged 82; and suddenly, Joseph. his eldest son, aged 46. f GROVE —0 n the 22d inst., John Grove, Esq.). o„dis Buckinghamshire, and 6, Henrietta-street, -1)9 ' 1. `" - square, aged 94. °cO fjt HocKIN -At Heavitree, mar Exeter, Captain P'' 8.N., aged 74. c , i ,vll ollll HUMPHEHY—On the 27th inst., at 2, The Cedars, s-••• - John Humphery, Esq., aged 43 London : Printed and Pablished by WIT.T.TAN 01 3, 10 a l of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at TRH SUN 0 1110 ;011 Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, the V 2 iliddlesex.—Tuesday, December 29, 1808. li Th prize It Sol th© A Oh , han's N ADV hold &Me Forn Al Adele And till t, chat D. ring' Jam will FIN men witl Adv the full at r; orde trq,(l Hew Co, fesE wei bin est: nis anC Lal Cal sti for roc XP, TI U SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 29, 1868.