The Sun. — London, England, 1868-03-19 00:00:00

COUNTER TH LL E CLOS FORS R LICENCE') VICTUA. THE only article really suitable for that purpose, ss. 6d. per dozen, hemmed, ready for use. Address LO5, Fleet-street, and 5, The Pavement, Clapham. GLASS CLOTHS SUITABLE tOR LICENCED VICTUALLERS, 7s. 9d. PER DOZEN. WILLIAM HOLDICH and CO., No. 105, Fleet-street, foot of Ludgate hill ; and No. 5, The Pavement, Clapham-common. FABLE CLOTHS, in every Width an d Len g th, expressly for Licenced Victuallers. Damask Napkins for Tray Cloths, Drills for Bar Ap , ons and Towellings of every description. Patterns gratis and post free. CARDIGAN JACKETS made expressly for Bar ‘...) use, Warm and Elastic, from 7a. 6d. each, for Ladies' awl Gentlemen's use. WILLIAM. HOLDICH and CO., LICENSED VICTUALLERS' DRAYEItS, 105, Fleet street, City, and No. 5, 'rho Pavement, Ciapham-common. 3NILIAAM HOLDICI-1 and CO., LICENSED V VICTUALLERS' DRAPERS, Established 1842, at 105, ficet-street, City ; Southern Branch—No. 5, The Pave mint, Clapham-conrnon. Patterns gratis and post free, vith Price List. TO LICENCED VICTUALLERS. ESTABLISHED 1842. WILLIAM_ HOLD ICH and CO., LICENCED VICTUALLERS' DRAPERS, No. 105, Fleet-street, corner of Farringdon-street ; and at No. The Pavement, Clapham-common (Southern Branch). Luxuriant and Beautiful Hair is the distinguishing badge of Youth." The following is EXACTLY what MRS. S. A. ALLEN'S WORLD'S HAIR RESTORER OR DRESSING WILL DO. By its use GRAY OR FADED HAIR is quickly restored to its youthful colour and beauty, and with the first application a beautiful gloss and delightful fragrance is given to the Hair. It will cause Hair to grow on Bald Spots. It will promote luxuriant growth. FALLING Hair is immediately checked. THIN Hair thickened. BALDNESS prevented. It makes the Hair rich, soft, and glossy. It invigorates, thereby strengthens the Hair. It keeps the Head cool and clean. It removes all scurf and dandriff. It contains neither oil nor dye. It will not soil white cambric. In large Bottles--price Six Shillings. ZYLOBALSAMUM (Mrs. S. A. Allen's). — This is a clear, transparent preparation without sediment; it far excels any Pomade or Hair Oil. To those whose hair is naturally dry, requiring frequent dressing, its cheapness and great value will be proved. Its early use on Children's Hair will insure an abundant and bountiful supply from YOUTH TO oLD AGE, In large Bottles—price Three Shillings. Sold by most Chemists and Perfumers EUROPEAN DEPOT AND SALES OFFICE, 266, HIGH HOLBORN, LONDON, ENG. THEATRE ROYAL, DRURY-LANE. Sole Lessee and Manager, Mr. F. B. Chatterton. THIS EVENING, will be performed ROB ROY. Mr. T. Powrie, Mr. Phelps ; Messrs. Harrison, E. Phelps, W. Wlntyre Barratt, C. Harcourt ; Mesdames E. Cross and Fanny Iluddart. To conclude with THE WONDER. Mr. Barry Sullivan; Mrs. Hermann Vezin. T HEATRE ROYAL, lIA YMARKET. Sole Lessee, Mr. Buckstone. THIS EVENING. THE BROKEN-HEARTED CLUB. Mr aordon, Mr. Braid, Mr. Vincent, Mr. Weathersby, &c.; Mrs. Chippendale, Miss Burke, Miss Dalton, Miss Wright, &c. To be followed by A HERO OF ROMANCE. Characters by Messrs. Sothern, Buckstone, Compton, Chippendale, Rogers, Clark, &c.; Mesdames Robertson, Fitzwilliarn, Chippendale, Dalton, Laws, and Daubigny. To conclude with MY HUSBAND'S GHOST. Commence at Seven. THEATRE ROYAL, ADELPHI. It. Sole Proprietor and Manager, Mr. B. WEBSTER. Directress, Mrs. Alfred Mellon. THIS EVENING, UP FOR THE CATTLE SHOW. After which, at 8, NO THOROUGHFARE. Mr. Fechter (his 73rd appearance here), Mr. Billington, Mr. H. Neville. Mr. R. Phillips, Mr. G. Belmore, Mr. C. J. Smith, and Mr. Benjamin We'lster; Miss Carlotta Leclercq (her 73rd appearance), Mrs Alfred Mellon, Mrs. Billington, Mrs. H. Lewis, &c. Commence at 7. R OYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE. Sole Lessee and Manager, Mr. Vining. Last Week of the Colleen Baum and the Streets of London THIS EVENING. a Grand Combination of TN, cs Great Dramas, THE COLLEEN BA'VN and THE STREETS OF LONDON. Mr. and Mrs. Dion Boucicault ; Mr. Vining; Messrs. Dominick Murray, G. F. Neville, J. G. Shore, Dan Leeson, H. Forrester, Maclean; Mesdames Elsworthy, Rachel Sanger, E. Barnett, and Mrs. Addle. Scenery by Mr. F I.loyds, and assistants. Doors open at half-past 6, commence at 7. Jeanie Deans ; or, The Heart of Mid-Lothian, on Monday, March 23. MEW QUEEN'S THEATRE, LONG ACRE. 111 Lessee and Manager, Mr. ALFRED MAN. At Half-past Seven, DEARER THAN LIFE. Mr. J. L. TOOLE as MICHAEL GARNER. At a Quarter-past Ten, LA VIVANDIERE. TA VIVANDIF,E,E.—Mont Blanc and Cha• mouni.—NEW QUEEN'S THEATRE, Long Acre. QUEEN'S THEATRE, Long-acre. Lessee and Manager, Mr. Alfred Wigan. THIS EVENING, A HOUSEHOLD FAIRY. Miss Ellen Terry. - - After which will be produced a New and Original Drama, entitled DEARER THAN LIFE. Michael Garner. Mr. J. L. Toole. To conclude with the Extravaganza LA VIVANDIERE; or, TRUE TO THE CORPS. The Scenery by Messrs. W. and T. Grieve, Johnson, and Assistants. Messrs. J. L. Toole, L. Brough, and Sanger; Misses P. Markham, F. Addison, Jordan, tilontgomery, Heath, Sylvia, H. Everard, and H. Hodson. Doors open at Half-past Six, commence at Seven. Acting M Inager, Mr. W. H. Liston. Box-office open daily from Ten till Four. ROYAL STRAND THEATRE. Sole lessee and Manageress, Mrs. Swanborough. THIS EVENING, at 7, ORASGE BLOSSOMS Messrs. D. James and Turner ; Mesdames Hughes and Gwynn°. Alter which, PARIS; or, Vive Lempriere: Messrs. Thorne. James, Robson, and Fenton; Mesdames Swanborough, Har land, Johnstone, Hughes, Holt, Gwynne, &c. To conclude with COAL AND COKE. Mr. F. Robson, &c. R OYAL OLYMPIC THEATRE. New Management. Sole Lessee, Mr. B. Webster; Manager, Mr. 11. Wigan. THIS EVENING, THE BEST W IY. Messrs. Ashley and H. Wigan; Miss L. Moore and Fitzhenry. After which, MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT. Messrs. Ashley, Stuart, Eburne, Romer, Geo. Vincent, Addison. Cooper, H. Wigan, ; Mesdames L. Moore, E. Farrell, &c. Commence at Seven. R OYAL AMPHITHEATRE AND CIRCUS, HOLBORN. THIS EVENING, at half-past 7 o'clock. SCENES iu the ARENA, by the wonderful Spanish Troupe. Mdlle. AzELLA, the Female Leotard. M. AGOI;ST, Champion Equilibrist of the World. LICENSED VICTUALLERS' GUARDIAN' R. GLENIE, of the SForting lA:nary. 4, C onn aught-terrace, Hyde-park, London, W., Legs malortn uis customers, and the Licensed Victuallers in general that he has been appointed Agent for the above-named paper iu addition to his agency for the Sporting Edition of " THE SUN and can supply-the same on Friday evening, if required, in town or country. G. R. G. begs to inform the Trade that he is Agent for the !LATEST EDITION of "THE SUN," and can supply it earlie >an any other man in London or Country the evening of publi cation. No connection with any other persons. Baby's, Rut's. Wright's, and M'Call's Guides. All the Daily Papers, Maga sines, and Periodicals as soon as published. Agent for the Joint Stock Coal Company. Orders by post attended to. *SHE LATEST EDITION of " THE SUN supplied, as soon as published, Every r vening, by W. AL f. XA Dr. R (late Brooks), Newspaper Agent, Ao. 4, Old Cavendish-street, Oxford-street. " rrHE SUN" NEWSPAPER.—" The Mitre" fit_ Tavern, New Church-street, near the Alpha-road, Pad dington. "TH . SUN " (Third Edition), containing the Latest Sporting News, Results of Races. Latest Parliamentary Debates, &c,, can be seen as above " P. II the year round." 'V' A well-selected and extensive stock of WINES, SPIRITS, WHO'S GRAINGER? LICENSED VICTuALLEES' TOBACCONIST, SHEPHERD'S-BUSH. The SPORTING ItDI 110 , 1 of "TH PI SUN " can be seen at ,}R. RINGER'S Establishment, as above, every evening by Eight a' clack. QPORTING.—JOIIN ROBERTS supplies the LATHS I' EDITION of "111 E SUN " as soon as pub ]fished.-4, Bath-street, City-road, E.C. THE LATEST EDITION of " THE SUN " supplied as soon as published, containing all the LATEST NEWS and SPORTING INTELLIGENCE, by H. W. HARRIS, Newspaper Agent, 4, Blackfriars-road, London, S. THE THIRD EDITION OF (4 THE KIN ) , giving all the SPORTING NEWS of the day, maybe seen at JEMMY M NTON'S house, "The Swan and Horse Shoe," Little Britain, City, E.C. VirlHE LATE EDITION of " THE 'SUN " a l JAMES SPEEDY'S, "The Wellington," Wellington-street Strand iIIHE LATEST EDITION of " THE SUN." T. HOLMES begs to inform his friends and the public generally that he supplies the LATEST EDITION of N. "TOE SUN " as soon as published.—ti o. 10, Hampstead-road, W. WITTE " SUN" N EWSPAPER.-G. R. GLENTE delivers the L ATE EDITION at Chelsea, 7.40; Kilburn, S: Starch-green, 8; Woolwich, 7.10; Uxbridge, 0.20; Watford, "QUN."--LATEST EDITION. -Mr. k. 7 M ‘RSHALL, of the "Neeld Arms," Harrow-road, op ppsite the Lock Hospital, takes the Edition of "THE SUN" con taining the result of the day's Racing, Latest Betting, Money Market, &c.—Omnibuses every half hour to and from the City. THE LATE EDITION of " THE SUN " at J. SMITH'S, 39, Bow-street, Covent-garden. THE LATE EDITION of " THE SUN " at W. slums, Camden Stores," 7 8 , Park - street , Camden _ town, METROPOLITAN DISTRICT RAILWAY. SIX PER CENT. DEBENTURES. The SUBSCRIPTION for this STOCK will CLOSE TO-MORROW (FRIDAY), March 20, after which no further applications will be received. GEO. HOPWOOD, Secretary.. EXCELLENCE COMBINED WITH CHEAPNESS EMOSES and SON, Ready-made and Bespoke • Tailors, Habit Makers, Woollen Drapers, Hatters Hosiers, Boot and Shoe Manufacturers, and General Out fitters for all classes. Every department is furnished with a large and varied Stock. List of prices, with rules for self-measurement, patterns and fashion sheet, forwarded gratis and post free. Every article is marked the lowest price in plain figures, from which no abatement can be made. Any article not approved of will bo exchanged, or the money will be returned E. MOSES and SON'S ESTABLISHMENTS are OLO:iED EVERY FRIDAY EVENINJ at sunset till SAT C ItDA.Y EVENING at sunset, when business is resumed till 11 o'clalk, The following are the London addresses of E. MOSES and SON:— • 155, MINORIES 156, MINORIES. 157, 31INORIES. 83, ALDGATE. 84, ALDG Tl 6. 85, ALDGATE. 86, ALDGATE. 87, ALDGATE, 88, ALDGATE. 89, ALDGATE. 506, NEW OXFORD STREET. 507, NEW OXFORD-STREET. 508, NEW OXFORD-STREET. 1, HART-STREET. 2, HA RT-S RE ET. 3, HART-STREET. 137, TOTTENHAM-COURT-ROAD 138, TOTTENHAM-COURT-ROAD. 283, EUSTON-ROAD. Country Branch: 19, BRIDGE-STREET, BRADFORD, YORKS. 20, BRIDGE-STREET, BRADFORD, YORKS. SPECIAL NOTICE. In consequence of frequent misrepresentations, E. MOSES and SON find it necessary to state that they do not employ any tra vellers or agents, and that their only Establishments are the alio ye-mentioned. HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. THIS DAY.—Morning, 10h. 37m.—Afternoon, llh. 17m, To-Mon.Row.-Morning, 11h. 51m.—Afternoon, Oh. Om , 47, Zl,?rg i t erox' SIM .tNIP LONDON, THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 1868. The discussion on Mr. ABEL SMITH'S Sale of Liquors Bill yesterday afternoon proved at least that the House of Commons is uniformly anxious to encourage temperance, and to diminish drunken- ness among the lower classes. If it were, as some mischievous agitators contend it is, the object of the upper classes of this country to keep the work- ing man in a kind of moral slavery, and to deprive him of all political power, they would not certainly trouble themselves about restricting the means of intoxication. Nothing could answer their purpose better than the habitual drunkenness of classes whom they wished to exclude from influence and authority ; and we know, for a fact, that in former days, w hen the drunkenness of the working classes was far greater than it is now, that their moral and politi cal weight in the scale was absolutely insig nificant. The House of Commons at the present is almost excessively anxious on the subject, and hon. members are so apprehensive of being thought indifferent to a great moral question that they are more inclined to legislate mischievously than to refuse to act. It was only one or two proverbially outspoken members who had courage last night to declare that any arbitrary interference with the comforts of the populace on moral grounds always does more harm than good. The end of the debate was that the bill was read a second time, on the understanding that the House was not pledged to its support, and referred to a select committee, whose duty it would be to consider the subject in all its bearings, licensing question and all. Before any :decision is arrived at we have no doubt that the public opinion of the country will make itself felt, since the subject is one on which common sense and expe rience have a good deal to say. We all know that the very last way to make a man go in any parti cular direction is to attempt to drive him, more especially if that man be an Englishman ; and if Parliament attempt to drive the whole community along the road to temperance nolens volens it is more than probable that the result will be diametrically opposite to their intentions. The working classes, as the advocates of the bill admit, are far more temperate than of old—indeed one of Mr. ABEL SMITH'S chief arguments is the desire of the majo rity of working men that fresh restrictions should be placed on the sale of liquors. About this we may reasonably feel somewhat sceptical, but there is nu doubt as to the fact of the improvement in sobriety Why, then, should we not trust to the gradual influence of those educational and elevating mea sures which have already done so much to better the moral and physical condition of the labourer ? We may depend upon it their agency, if slower, is far surer than that of any forcibly repressive mea sures. No one can for a moment deny the extra ordinary change for the better which has taken I place during the last fifty years in the habits of the upper and middle classes. Was this brought about by closing the clubs and hotels, and by limiting the sales of the wine merchant ? We may hope that those who come after us may be able to realise as marked a change which we may believe is already inaugurated. If we want to undo much of the good that has been done, to throw back the work and hamper the progress of the reformer, we shall attempt to practise that easy virtue of restraining the excesses of other people, and of those, moreover, whose temptations are dif ferent from our own, whose passions, if not stronger, are less disciplined, and who are naturally suspiciously sensitive of having their pleasures or habits controlled by legislation. We had a speci men of the sort of feeling excited among the usuhlly orderly and peace-loving mechanics and artisans of London by interference of this sort some years since in the reception of Lord ROBEP.T GROSVENOR'S Sun- day Trading Bill, of whose fate Mr. OsBORNE re minded the house last evening. The working man feels naturally indignant that a burden is to be put upon him which his richer neighbour is not called upon to bear, and Mr. ROEBUCK'S declara tion that, in the event of the bill's passing the second reading, he should. move that it be applied to the clubs of London, was full of shrewd sense. How many M.P.'s drink water on Sunday ? and if they would find the prohibition of their ordinary refreshment irksome and disagreeable, why are they to demand that the working man shall put up with it? It is the sober man who will feel the inconve nience, for the confirmed and wilful drunkard will never be without the means for his gratification. As has been often said, a bottle of gin may be had within the Limited hours, and consumed when everypublic-house is shut ; but the sobertan,return , THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, MARCH 19, 1868. in .g from his day's excursion or his country walk, dc •es not want ardent spirits. Mr. SMITH brings fo r ward four arguments, which he holds conclusive. Past, drunkenness is always in proportion to the fuility for its indulgence. Second, that all re straints have been attended by beneficial conse quences. Third, that a remarkable change has taken place in the wishes and feelings of the work ing men, to which it is expedient that Parliavient should give effect ; and, fourthly, that it is unde sirable to keep open public-houses on a day when every other shop is closed by law. It would not be very difficult to take exception to every one of these aphorisms. It may very much be doubted whether national drunkenness is always greater in proportion to the facilities for its indulgence. If it were so the Maine Liquor Law would not have been such an absolute failure, and we should not be congratulating ourselves on the im proved temperance of this country. Mr. SMITH made a great deal of the example of Liverpool, where there is almost free trade in beer, and where the amount of drunkenness is something frightful. But Liver pool is not a fair instance. Its large floating popu lation, its immense number of sailors just arrived from long voyages, its selection as a place of em barkation by emigrants, and all the excitement consequent on their parting from their friends—all help to swell the rate. Social philosophers may, if they like, go yet deeper, and trace some con nection between the proverbial unhealthiness of Liverpool and its prevailing drunkenness. The death-rate of the city is exceptionally high, and it may be asked whether there be not some affinity between the close courts, the crowded alleys, the exhausting toil, the deficient sanitary ar rangements, the foul air, and the excessive use of stimulants among the labouring population. There is more in this question of drunkenness than ap pears on the surface. The wise and well-meaning men who want to drive the poor man home vi et armis from the too fascinating bar have very little idea of the sort of home they are sending him to. It is perhaps a small and not too airy room, two or three flights up, looking on dismal roofs, where dirty, noisy children are crying and fighting, while the overworked and untidy mother is scolding all round. Perhaps she is busy over her wash-tub, and the place is full of the damp results, or still more likely she is out at work, and will come home very unfit for the cheerful conversation which moralists and Teetotallers believe in. We must not be too hard on those whose life is a constant struggle, to whom the daily loaf and the weekly rent are ever present troubles. It is deplorable, indeed, to see shillings wasted at the public-house while pence are wanted at home, but it is an evil which we cannot cure by force. We must weigh in the balance the working man's temptations, wants, and difficulties ; we must look at him and his home as they really are, and then try what remedial and elevating influences can best lift him from his de spondency and degradation. Much has been done already, much more may be done ; only we must remember, as Mr. ROEBUCK says, that it is wonder ul how good we can all be when we are legislating 'or others—not for ourselves. The French EMPEROR has enough to do just now, and the last effort he has made to restore confidence has been to issue a pamphlet, which will be read with interest in all directions, both on account of the quarter from which it proceeds, and also from the causes which have given rise to it. It seems as if it were rather an imprudent thing in some re spects to advert to the history of the Napoleonic dynasty after this fashion, because it may suggest to some ill-natured per,on that there is a want of security in the feeling of the authorities. Be this as it may the pamphlet has appeared, and of course it must be ❑oticed. The commence ment is very emphatically worded, for it states that the idea entertained is to unite in one single pub- lication " the various manifestations of the national will which have founded the Napoleonic dynasty under two Republics and two Empires," and the effect which it is expected this essay Rill produce is to give a great political lesson. In other words, we may presume that the intention is to influence the mind of France favourably with respect to the forthcoming elections, but how far this may answer the end in view it is impossible to say. It is certainly curious to notice the parallels here drawn between the first and second Empire, and the general popu larity which has attended the course of uncle and nephew ; and inferior as the second NAPOLEON is in some respects, to the first there is a striking similarity in their respective policies. The titles of the Napoleonic dynasty are, we are informed, thirty millions of approving votes signed by the French people. In rather exaggerated phrases this pamphlet then declares that the two N APOLEONS have " drawn France from abysses, and have both been hailed three times as her saviours." It is true that our Continental neighbours are far more in the habit of dealing in extravagances than we are, and sometimes treat a commonplace subject in the must excitable style. Still we do not see what hts happened to render it. advisable to resort to first principles after this fashion, and it is an unwise thing for the EMPEROR to let the world see that the disturbances which have been officially declared to be trifles have in reality been of sufficient importance to call forth all these protests and asseverations. It is perhaps a bold game, but then to play it shows that danger is apprehended and disaffection taken into account, and with jealous friends at home and crafty foes abroad, it is a mistake to acknowledge so openly that the kingdom is not in unity, and the house divided against itself. No one who has ever been familiar with the EMPEROR'S compositions can expect them to be otherwise than clear and concise in their statements, and powerful in their argu ments; so with this specimen before us, it takes ad vantage of the past to show the merits of the present policy, and points hopefully to the future as a sure illustration of the great services that the Napo leonic dynasty has rendered to France. There is a direct intimation in this pamphlet that the situa tion demands that some effort be made to meet it adequately ; and it is plainly said that at a time when the Constitution, which has been a " fundamental part between the EMPEROR and the people, becomes the object of more or less overt attacks, and the aim of all combined opposi tions, it has seemed to us advisable to bring it again before the public eye, and to recall the cir cumstances under which it arose." This is to the point, at any rate, and therefore worthy of respect, for nothing is so unsuitable as to have one meaning given of a thing when another is the correct version of the affair. If we were to seek to trace the source of the evil now existing in France, we might go back a long way and touch upon wany topic, but the origin of a great deal of the misc Lief was the Government policy of some years back. From the time when Prussia assumed so prominent a place in the councils of Europe it might have been seen that the French were annoyed. At first disappointed, they became indignant, and as time seemed to bring mystification on France, while the fortune of war inclined to her rival, the feeling was often expressed in more ways than one. This, among other things, led to the notion of reorganising the military system of France, but the remedy in itself gave cause for disquietude and discontent, and of late its unpopu larity has been notorious. It is not likely that any elaborate defence of the Constitution that may interest politicians to dwell upon will convince the people that they must risk a measure which they do not approve of ; but then they may be led to consider the facts of the case. The character of the Constitution, we are told, " implies progressive amelioration, and is capable of improvement," which has been attended by many improvements that have taken place of late years. It cannot be denied that the EMPEROR has just passed through the darkest years of his reign as yet, for with one thing and another his policies multiplied and diffi culties increased. If his efforts to remedy the evils have resulted in the introduction of a measure that is unpopular, it is indeed a chapter of accidents that we are perusing in following up the history Empire ; but it cannot be said that the Army Bill is the sole cause of the present unpopularity of the EMPEROR. Some harsh critics may perhaps inquire whether there bas been so much real progress made in the cause of justice as the assertions so broadly made in this pamphlet would justify us believing. When it is borne in mind that only a few weeks back we met with some most marvellous proofs of the arbi trary laws that restrict the liberty of the Press, it may be asked without undue curiosity if the grand sounding phrases are more than words that we so constantly meet with in this sort of composition. Perhaps it is enough in. the pre sent unsettled state of things abroad to be satisfied with results instead of inquiring too closely into prior circumstances and first causes; and let us hope, then, that the pamphlet, concerning which so much ado has been made, may gain the purpose of its author, though it succeed after a somewhat different fashion to what was intended. The French will act unwisely if they show discontent and disaffec tion to the Empire. It has faults of a serious nature, and most of its errors are not likely to be amended just yet, so it is of no use to say that they are only of short duration. But where can we find a better state of Government for the people of France just now than is offered to them by the distinguished man who, for many years, has exercised a rigorous rule, and often commanded the respect and admiration of Europe by his bold and spirited policy? When we think of the increase of power which Prussia has gained, the progress in constitutional rights that Austria has made, the new day of liberty that has dawned upon Italy, and other events of a significant character, we may well feel a disincli nation to see France again thrown into the tur moils of Revolution and the strife of Republicanism. Much may be done by moderation, and the EM PEROR and the people may take counsel together in order to mitigate any evil that exists, and to put a stop to any measures that press too heavily upon the resources and energies of the nation. The visionary may be disap pointed, and the restless spirit indignant, but the wise and patriotic will feel sure that the most effective services that can be rendered to the coun- try may be done quietly and with care and caution. It is to be hoped that France may be spared the horrors of war abroad, but the prospect of strife and contention within is far more serious, and it should be the earnest endeavour of all true patriots to prevent such a catastrophe. CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS. (PROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) PARIS, WEDNESDAY, March 18. Tie much-talked-of pamphlet came out this afternoon. As regards quantity, it is less than was expected, and I hear that it has %km cut down from eighty pages to its present size—fifty.zour pages. Its re, tto is, " Vox populi, vox Dei," and the writer, who is believed to be M. Conti, the Emperor's Secretary, justifies the adoption of that sentiment by recording the various occasions on which the popular will has declared itself for the Bonaparte dynasty, and the number of votes by which that will was ex pressed. In fact, we have an historical resume of the various plebiscites, beginning with the 15th of December, 1799, when General Bonaparte was elected First Consul by 3,911,007 votes to 1,562 ; and coming down to the plebiscite of November 1852, when the Prince Presi dent was elected Emperor by 7,824,189 votes out of 8,140,660. Six times altogether were the people appealed to, and the result is that from 1799 to 1804, Napoleon I. received 10,000,000 of suffrages ; from 1848 to 1852, Napo leon 111. received 20,000,000 ; " 30,000,000 of bulletins signed by the French people—these," says the pam phlet, " are the titles of the Napoleonic dynasty." The writer goes on to argue that the principles of the constitution are thus settled upon a fixed basis which cannot be altered without another appeal to the people. At the same time they admit of " progressive ameliora tions." The Constitution is " perfectible." " The Emperor openly proclaimed this on December 31, 1851, when he said that he intended to bring the country to a wise exercise of liberty. Let us add, that the decree of November 24, 1860, and the letter of January 19, 1867, have accomplished this promise." In other words, France must not look for any farther extension of liberty. At all events, the Emperor will appeal from the capital to the departments before he will grant it, from the cities to the communes —feeling pretty confident that another plebiscite would only confirm him in the course which he has adopted. It is thus I interpret the pamphlet. I see that Liberal journals like the Avenir National understand it in the same sense. The Paris papers are taking considerable interest in your parliamentary debates. M. Odysse Barret has a long article in the Liberte upon Monday night's. He says that Mr. Gladstone's speech recalls the best days of Chatham, Pitt, Burke, Fox, and Canning, and Mr. Disraeli's reply, far from detracting from it, only added to its brilliancy and increased its importance. Of the Premier, M. Barrot says, that in spite of the applause of his supporters he was killed on the spot (rate our le carreau), for he chewed himself inferior to the eminent post which he occupies, and below the formidable task which circumstances impose on him. M. Barrot is very severe upon the fact that the word " laughter " occurs thirty-four times in the course of Mr. Disraeli's speech, and says that jokes and epigrams are scarcely the way in which to treat the just complaints of a nation in mourning and in arms. The writer goes on to say that " power will doubtless not remain long in the hands of Mr. Disraeli. In England, with a people essen tially practical and serious, power cannot remain long in the hands of a flippant mau, who thinks of amusing instead of governing." , _ Some of the journals publish a very curious letter from Bismarck, justifying his conduct to a friend. He says : " Although I have very little spare time, I cannot refuse to reply to an inquiry addressed to me in the name of Jesus Christ by an honest heart." He goes on to express regret at being the object of scandal to many Christian souls. At the same time, it is impossible for a man in his position not to give rise to scandals. " Thank God," he adds, " I have upon my conscience no other sins than those with which the world is well acquainted, and for which I hope for pardon only through the blood shed by Jesus Christ. So far as I am a statesman, I am not sufficiently decisive ; I do not place myself sufficiently above conventionalisms. In my own opinion I am rather a coward, and I do not decide in questions which come before me with that clear ness which springs from confidence in God. He who accuses me of being a politician without conscience wrongs me ; before condemning me he should place himself in a position to put my conscience to the proof." He then goes on to defend himself with regard to the Virchow duel, and declares that when he entered upon it he was past the age when men are influenced by their passions, and that he consecrated his life to the cause of his country after long and painful conflicts and humble prayers to God. If he has been absent from church for some time, it is because he has been ill. He would like to go more of ten, but the state of his health forbids. Having thus explained his duelling and his non-attendance at church, he goes on to explain his supposed connection with Lucca, the opera singer. He declares that it was quite innocent, and that the taking of their portraits in the same carte was merely a pleasantry which he would not have permitted had he known that it would have hurt his friends. It is now expected that the Italian Ministry will be able to carry all its financial measures, and to this expectation is no doubt owing the recent rise of 2 per cent. in Italian securities on the London Stock Exchange. The tax upon grinding corn will reduce the deficit by nearly three millions sterling, and the substitution of a tax upon property for one upon income will give about the same amount, and it is anticipated that these, with other fiscal changes, will reduce the present deficit of £8,720,000 to about £2,000,000. In order to strengthen his position it is believed that General Menabrea will make overtures to the third party, which at present holds a place between the Government and the Opposition, led by Rattazzi. There has been a new excavation at Pompeii in honour of the visit of the American Admiral Farragut, whose nun ements are considered of sufficient importance to telegraph every day to all parts of the Continent. The site of the excavation was a room in one of the largest houses yet discovered, awl as the workmen dug up the hard massed ashes a circle of eager faces looked on intently. The revelations were gloomy enough, for an entire skeleton was found in one spot, while in another, though the form was apparent, one or two bones only were forthcoming. Here the operations were stayed, as it is the intention of Fiorelli to fill up the vacuum with plaster of Paris, so as to unite such portions of the bones as may yet remain and preserve at least the form. It was evident enough, however, that one of the victims lay crouched up in a corner as he died in his agonies ; while the other :ay prostrate as though death had terminated his sufferings immediately. It is a great pity that Garibaldi's friends cannot put a bridle into his mouth. Every year his statements become wilder and fiercer. He has just written to Karl Blind, the German refugee, from Caprera, March 10 : " To combat Bonaparte is to combat the Evil One. In my opinion, therefore, not only all Germany ought to withstand him, but Italy also. Nay, the whole world ought to make com mon cause against him." This from the founder of the 44 L e ag,ue of Peace and Liberty." The attempt to form a Confederation of the South German States, if it has been seriously made, has com pletely failed. Events in the political world are rapidly approaching a cr i s is. After full consideration the Liberal party has resolved to challenge the policy of the Government as to the Irish Church by a distinct resolution on the subject. To-morrow evening notice will be given in the House of Commons by Mr. Gladstone of a motion declaring that the immediate disestablishment of the Irish Church is necessary. The Liberal papers express the utmost confi dence as to the result, and have no hesitation in declaring that should the resolution be carried, the Government would have no honourable alternative but to retire from the position which they now occupy. It is argued that for the first time since the death of Lord Palmerston, Mr. Glad stone is at the head of his party. It is further held that the Irish debate and the speech of Mr. Gladstone have welded the Liberal party firmly together, while it is believed to be certain a large number of the Consdrvative hold aloof from Mr. Disraeli as Premier. The probability that the proposed motion will be carried is therefore thought to be very great. One thing is stated as certain : it will have the approval of the country, and no Libera'. who values his seat will venture to vote against it. On the other hand, the Conservative journals earnestl protest against any movement for embarrassing th Government during the swiftly-passing time of the dyit: Parliament. It is, they say, the conviction of the wise:, and best men of all parties, and especially of the Liben , party, that it is not desirable to have a change of Govern ment during the present session. The Liberals are no ready to form a Ministry that would give satis faction to their own party, and till they am accession to power would be a misfortune to themselves and to the country. Further, a party contest in th , present Parliament, elected as it was under circumstance now totally altered, can decide nothing ; and a dissolutioi before the work of Reform is complete and the nev system in full operation would be a public nuisance. Finally, a change of Government means the confusion o: the Reform question and the total waste of a session whereas if this Government remain in office till its work i done, it will be fairly open to the Opposition to appeal t, the country at the beginning of next year for a verdict of the respective claims of the two great parties, and, i successful, at once to carry out their own policy Mr. Gladstone's policy is denounced as harsh and violen and the " patriotism of the independent Liberals " i appealed to, with a view of checking the Opposition leader While hoping for the best, the Conservative organs reco:_ rise the possibility of Mr. Gladstone triumphing for a tune but with the certainty that a day of retribution speedily overtake him. " Once let it be understood, exclaims the Standard, " that the policy of the Liber . leader is to abase, cripple, and rob Protestantism in tl. interest of Romanism, and we shall be launched in religious contest which will act the whole empire in 4, I blaze.?._ LITERATURE. Atherstone's Fall of Nineveh. The Fall of Nineveh. A Poem. By Edwin Ather stone. A New Edition. Two Volumes. Long man and Company. A generation has passed by since this noble poem made its first appearance. Within its author's life time it has assumed its place in the Poetic Litera- tore of England as one among our very few great epic masterpieces. Forty years have now elapsed since, in 1828, the first six books of the Poem were published in an octavo volume. As many as one and-twenty years, since the entire production—ex tending to thirty books in all —appeared, in 1847, in two duodecimo volumes. Those two volumes now stand before us, side by side with the present re-issue of the work in two yet goodlier post octavoes, which may henceforth be regarded as the Standard Edition of the largest, the most highly elaborated, and in every sense the noblest product of Mr. Atherstone's imagination. Although he himself is content to designate the present re-issue of his " Fall of Nineveh " its Second Edition, we prefer—if only in remembrance of the splendid pro mise manifested through the precursory volume of 1828, comprising within it the first half-dozen books through whieji the work could even then be judged ex pede .Herculem—we prefer, we say, to speak of the present re-issue of the work in its ripened completeness as simply and vaguely —A New Edition. Whatever the actual num ber of the Edition—whether the Second or the Third —the present is in any case, as we have just now said, the Standard Edition of this great Epic Poem—an edition in every sense worthy of the work and of its author—of " The Fall of Nineveh," and of Edwin Atherstone. According to an emphatic announcement, inscribed upon the title-page, the work, as it is here submitted to the world, has been "diligently corrected and other wise improved." It extends, in these two hand some volumes, to as many as 634 post octavo pages of beautifully clear letterpress, embellished at the outset (in the shape of a frontispiece) with a highly effective engraving from John Martin's celebrated painting of the Destruction of Nineveh. Poem and Picture, by the way—it is interesting to recall to mind, now—were conceived and produced, quite independently of each other, but simultaneously, or rather contemporaneously, by the two friends —John Martin and Edwin Atherstone. Working together—as thelatter took occasion to remark as far back as 1828—working together in their respective arts upon the same subject, they agreed to treat it, each according to his own views and impulses. Con sulting together, and disputing together, they trod, each upon his own path. The Picture had fame in its day, and is still borne in honourable remembrance as one among many kindred manifestations of a genius remarkable for two, at least, of the attributes of sublimity—vagueness and vastness. however deficient he may have been in other respects as a painter of portentous audacity in his conceptions, John Martin surpassed, as we conceive, all other artists in his delineation of stupendous distances and of astounding multitudes. The poet's diviner art demanded, however, from the painter's friend and colleague—his rival in one sense and his some time contemporary—far loftier, grander, and more varied qualifications. Whereas the artist's endeavour involved merely the filling up of a single canvass—the poet's involved the building up of a whole epic, an epic in this instance extending, not to twenty books as in the "Jerusalem Delivered" of Tasso, not to four and twenty as in the "Iliad" of Homer, but to the thirty books of " The Fall of Nineveh," as that astonishing event has been re counted by the hand—almost we had said in prefer ence by the voice—of Atherstone. Thirty books ! An Epic Poem—in blank verse—extending to thirty books I In this age of hurry and pre occupation, when men converse with each other from opposite shores of the ocean by flashes of lightning, when they are whirled over the earth at the rate of a mile a minute, and accom plish in a single day work that would formerly have spread over a month—the reading of an epic icy thirty books, written in blank verse, and descriptiv, of an event as far removed from this present lion. and from all our ordinary sympathies (it might b. supposed) as the Fall of Niueveh—may seem to the generality to be a wholly wild and imprac ticable adventure. Frankly, however, we woui, now say—Put this seemingly wild au, extravagant adventure to the test ! Ope the first of these two goodly voluines—glane through the prelude—dip into the first book---turn. he le,aves—scan the numbers ; and certain are wt. that in the instance of the vast majority of his readers the Poet, like the Ancient Alariuer. In Coleridge's wierd ballad, will have his will ! He arrests us on the threshold. He hold, us with his glittering eye. We must needs tarry and hearken to the marvellous narrative herein recounted, when once that narrative has been commenced, —following its progress incident after incident, eagerly, breathlessly, until its august and appalling conclusion. If enthral ling interest is looked for, here, in this epic poem of " The Fall of Nineveh," it will be found as undeniably as in any (the most) sensational novel of the day, told in three volumes by the most popular o: living sensational-romance-writers! With this enor mous advantage on the side of Mr. Atherstone, as compared with that ephemeral romance-writer, the medium through which the former kindles it, his reader's mind, the glamour of this enthralling interest is—literature. And literature, too, at its best and loftiest. As an effusion of the truest poetry, both in conception and in treat ment, " The Fall of Nineveh" need shrink from no comparison. Mr. Atherstone comes no mon: into the same category with a Sir Richard Blackmore, than Canova could have been regarded In his art as coming into competition with a stone mason. The eloquence, the music, the sonorou, flow, the elastic adaptability of the blank verse in which this wondrous history of the "Fall of Nineveh" and of the death of Sardanapalus, is here related by Atherstone, afford as noble specimens of that highest order of poetry as can be found anywhere iu the whole range of our national literature. If, in the manner of his verse, he must neeis yield the palm to Milton, it .is mainly by reason of the earthlier character of the theme here selected by him for treatment, as compared with that, surely, sublimest theme that epic poet ever could have chosen, that supernal theme which so kindled in Milton's imagination " the vi- sion and the faculty divine," as to bear his eurap cured fancy, his very.soul, as it were, even wuile -ojourning here in the trammels of the flesh, into „he heaven of heavens. Extravagant thong' t may appear, to some, to speak of the epi, poem of a living contemporary as comparable, if. he majestic flow of its blank verse, to the Wald, 'erse of Milton, or to refer to the delineation of it, attle scenes as truly and wonderfully Homeric ueir vigour, grandeur, and variety, we hesitat of for one iustaut to speak thus—and quit: leliberately—of this " Fall of Nineveh," as it Pere described in thirty books by Edwin Atherstone. it is written throughout with an impassioned force - ,hat often rises to the height of sublimity, that sever once swells into bombast, or becomes exag ;erated into hyperbole. Everything is pro yartionately colossal throughout. When the • stupendous palaces" and " august temples" of iineveh are referred to by Mr. Atherstone, he hus grandly, by a single touch, conveys to us apon the instant a notion of their immensity ay describing them as— " - by the eagle alone In full beheld." • u a kindred spirit, again, he opens up to our view a single line the vast perspective of the proud ity's streets of edifices by depicting them as— " Straight as a sunb.,am ; w day's journey long." /nee or twice—but very rarely—he disdains not to mploy a colloquial, occasionally even a grotesque xpression : as where (vol. i., p. 79) he describes the .urliug down of a war steed — with loud squelch and jar unto the ground." )therwise, his language is always of befitting dig city or grace according to the varying requirement& his theme : now descriptive in mellifluous num ,ers of banquet scenes radiant with sung, and -dance, and revelry, and suffused with an atmosphere of intoxicating and bewitching voluptuousness —now delineative, in word-paintin gs of wondrous passion, fury, tire, and splendour, of the shock and glory of battle when the clashing hosts contend like serried armies of fiends incarnate, and their leaders like the demigods of Greek mythology. One solitary instance, selected almost at random, will here suffice to illustrate the astounding power of his words when recounting .the deeds of might done by the heroic combatants. Arbaces, in his war chariot, is bearing directly down upon the Assyrian monarch, in their first en counter, when Sardanapalus (happily for Arbaces with an erring aim) casts his deadly and ponderous lance against the Mede— "— With such fury flaw it, that, the car Striking in front —right thro' its coat of brass, And thro' the oaken plank, and inner plate, Crashing it burst ; and, in the gaping rout, Angrily gnarring, jarring, rocked to rest." Abundant illustrations of a similar kind might be readily adduced from other portions of this impas sioned narrative—ex uno disco owlet', however, the whole thirty books being sown as thickly with beauties of this description as a starlit night with constellations. It should be remarked especially, moreover, that the interest of the story is admirably sustained throughout—incident following incident in rapid succession and with a most natural sequence —the effect produced being often one of au enthral ling character. As to the principal personages de scribed in what might be termed without extra vagance this most veracious history—for Mr. Atherstone, in the broad outlines of his plot, is scrupulously faithful to the few cherished records of antiquity—they are discriminated with singular :elicity, the consistency of each being cleverly sus tained from first to last. Sardanapalus himself is especially noticeable among them all, as a mixture of good and evil far more consistent with probabi hues th,4u the last of the Assyrian kings as he is described to us iu ancient au nals. Viewed through Atherstoue's verse, the Monster disappears, and the Mau, the King, the Warrior, the Volup uuary, each becomes here distinctly, and vividly, and always piaturesquely visible—subordinate only, all through the poem, to the true hero of it, the royal, ueroic, peerless, puissant King of the Medes, Arbaces. Then, too, there are the priests : there is the Babylonian priest Belesis, and there is the Assyrian priest, Barak. Contrasting vividly with these, and with other similarly austere and majestic forms, there, moreover, are the beauteous shapes of Azubah, the concubine, of Atossa the Queen, and of Nehushta, the girlish daughter of Sardanapalus. There are likewise Salamenes, the King's brother-in-law ; Peresh, the royal leech ; Nebaioth, the captain of the guard : together with Almelon, the leader of the Babylonians ; Abdo lonimus, the King of Arabia; Rabsaris, once the dearest friend and afterwards the deadliest foe of Sardanapalus—Rabsaris being the father of the de ceived and fallen Azubah. There, too, are Ahab, the Bactrian, and Jerimoth, and Zimri, and Senna - cherib, and Adriel, and Abiathar, and Abijah, and a throng of other wise and valiant warriors, too nume rous here to be particularised by name, Medes, and Persians, and Arabians, and Assyrians, and Baby - lonians, men of all countries, customs, creeds, colours, costumes, and characters. As befits alike the nature and the general effect of a literary enter prise so considerable in its dimensions, so vast in the scale of its proportions, so densely peopled, and so majestically, and, upon the whole, so consistently conducted from its impressive opening to its impassioned close the in terest, the eloquence, the power, the passion, the enthusiasm of it all attain their climax (ai is but right in art) in the very last of these thirty books, in the noble passages which bring "the narrative to its conclusion, passages through the luminous beauty of which Mr. Atherstone portrays, as with a pen of fire, the appalling destruction of the great city of Nineveh. It rises, this ambitious descrip tion, by a grand crescendo, to the crowning, culmi nating catastrophe. From the first fall, out of the thickening, blackening atmosphere, of the portentous ice-bolt—a hailstone " large as a man's closed gaud"—and which smites one of the mail-clad sjldiers to the d st, deal upon the instant, to the Lpparition, after the self-immolation in flames of Sardanapalus among his cuucuoines, of tae dark .;loud, tnat every instant waxes huger and blacker— •• inward lightnings" gleaunug through and ,irough. "As within it fought Legions of fiery fiends" — All is lad of terroc, preternatural, appailing, yet never once straying, even by a dingle pnrase, alto extravagance. While Nineveh is still oue ~topenclous conflagratioa—its final doom ap proaches! ' "A loud blare Of thunder's trumpet told its coming on"— the poet exclaims in his thirtieth book : just as in his fourth book he had preluded his delineation of the opening battle, by sounding thus the advent of the warrior horsemen— " The fast-boating hoofs along the ground Made running thunder." At the toppling down of the enormous Tower of Ninus— " which for thrice five hundred years, Unharmed, had stood as though defying Time To lay bid rebel hand on its groat state " the poet writes— " The century-beat Of the Time-cycle's mighty pendulum,— Measuring the dates of empires and of worlds, — S wept by, and boomed its knell. Shuddering at heart, — Like some o'erboetliug cliff, on ocean's marge, Thousands of years by billows undermined, And worn by eturms,—it bent its giant knees; Bowed its great head ; and, death-struck, in a heap, Sank down together!" Whereupon the whirlwind, in its terrific vortex, is described as lifting up " high in the air"— " The burning ruins—in one monstrous wheel," out of which come— "- fiery driftings, like the dust of hell." After this, it is, that the " dire roaring" of the whirlwind, "strongest in dying," is described as re sounding, as in a death shriek, whereupon— " That dread voice Called up the awaiting earthquake. He arose In his deep regions ; and the plains and hills With a sharp tremor shook; for well they knew His terrible footstep. Gathering up his strength, He stretched his vast, far-reaching arms, and shook The solid earth, as winds the deep sea shake, In long, slow-rolling waves." Then, it is, that follows this magnificent description —which shall be out last fragmentary extract from a narrative that ought, for its adequate appreciation ~nd in simple justice to its author, to be read in its entirety :-- "The enormous walls, Like a fast-sinking ship, rocked heavily ; Writhing, and twisting, as they knew the hand Of death had struck them. Like a riven scroll, From summit to touudation-stoue they gaped, A hundred hideous fissures. Still they stood ; The ruin of a moment, yet so firm Iu their vast bulk, that ages long had lived The ghastly grandeur yet,—but that again The Earthquake shook; and lo! from north to south,--' Like some gigantic billow, eagle-swift, Running aslant in thunder and in foam Along the howling beach,—the eastern wall, Through all its length rolled inward." No wonder that the Edinburgh Review long since remarked upon the author of this Pomo, " his descriptions are magnificent ;" or that the late Earl of Carlisle, carried away by his enthu siasm, shrank not from pronouncing the work as, in his opinion, " the finest epic in the English language." Irrespective of, and wholly apart from, all Mr. Atherstone's other poetical writings--taking no account whatever of hi ° historical romance in three volumes of "The Sea Kings of England," or of his scriptural roman ce in three volumes of " The Handwriting on the Wall"—having regard alone here otherwise to the twenty-seven books of his " Israel in Egypt," to big " Midsummer Day's Dream," to his "Last Days 0 ,, Herculaneum," and his " Abradates and Pantheil —apart altogether from those other poetic fruit° of his imagination, our author has secured to hO l i self, by right of this one g reat p oem of "Th e Fall °f Nineveh," a lofty and ensluring place in our Bog" lish Walhalla. All receive with satisfaction the announcement, W`"," cons equence of the Reduction in Duty Horniman's .c`- Teas are sold Bd. per pound Cheaper. 2,500 Authoris h e e Agents—Confectioners in London and Chem ists in t proyincee—supply ilornimarfs Tea ofey in Packet'. LATEST INTELL CGENCE. (REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.) THE ABYSSINIAN EXPEDITION. SUEZ, March 17. It is reported from Zoulla, under date of the 6th inst., that Sir Robert Napier was about to make a dash on Magdala. INDIA, CHINA, AND AUSTRALIAN MAILS. MESSINA, March 19. The Nyanza, with the above mails, passed Mes sina at 8 p.m. yesterday, en route for Marseilles. PLYMOUTH, March 19. The French barque Fernand, of Cete, from Fecamp for Newfoundland, has been run down and foundered off the Lizard. The crew were landed at Brizham yesterday. FRANCE. BOURSE, March 18—Three o'clock.—The market closed as follows :- 41 per Cent. End of month... Itxl 4 an Loan 3 per Cent End of month 69 571 Mexican Loan ... 16 50 Credit Mobilier End of month... 260 Spanish Threes Credit Foncier —1472 50 Home Debt — End of mouth— Deferred — RAILwAYs• Account Orleans Northern Lyons and hlediterraaean Southern— 557f Western Eastern . — Sardinian Austrian 5531 Lombard 3Bu North of Spain 75 Saragossa Roman 45 NEW ROYALTY THEATRE.—The Prince and Princess of Wales, attended by their suite, visited the New Royalty Theatre last evening. A meeting, convened by the mayor, was held in the Council-chamber at Birmingham yesterday, to make arrangements for the visit of the Social Science Associa tion in October next. His worship presided. A very handsome subscription list was made up in the room. THE ABYSSINIAN EXPEDITION.--A private letter from the camp at Zoula, dated Feb. 18, states :—Great acti vity still prevails here, and long trains of mules daily start for Senafe, with forage, a mmunition, and other stores. B steel battery has not yet marched. They were inspected on the 10th, and the inspecting-general ex pressed himself highly pleased with the appearance and discipline of the battery. They are held in readiness to proceed on short notice, and take only one change with them, as they form part of the 2d brigade of the ad vanced division appointed to march on Magdala. It is generally expected here that it will all be over by July. Rumours are ver3 rife. The other day, when it was said that Theodore had released the prisoners, great conster nation ensued amongst the men lest they should have come to this place and have to go away again without " having a slap at the King." Everything is very dear: Butter, 3s. per lb.; cheese, 4s. per lb. ; jam, 3s. for a small pot ; and I am sure the pound weights are not larger than the half-pound weights in England. It has rained here for the last two or three days, but not heavily. It is the first rain, the natives assure us, that has fallen for four years ; consequently the grass has commenced to shoot up almost miraculously, and little wild flowers, such as we often see growing in England, have made their ap pearance. THE JOINT-STOCK COMPANIES DIRECTORY FOR 1867. —Among the many directories now published none certainly can be of greater utility to tho large commercial interests of the country than the Joint-Stock Com panies' Directory issued by Charles Barker and Co., of Birchin lane. The volume has been greatly en larged, thoroughly revised, and one of the great features of it is that it contains a treatise on the Companies Amendment Act, 1867, which has been spe cially prepared for the work, and the greatest care has evidently been taken also to revise the whole of the sta• tistics in order to bring down the information to the latest possible period. Through the effects of the late crisis numerous companies have been placed in liquidation. These also will be found specially recorded. The ap pendix presents the principal loan and financial operations which have been completed during the last few years, together with a classified list of directors, from which it will be at once seen that the book is a perfect volume of reference for all matters connected with Joint-Stock Convallier. lia In An Vance of for at 4 United Coloni price s ar quoted a 106 ; N e Zealand Cent., 1, In R, steadier, 63 good. Shire, 12 Eastern, 1141 tc ditto (~! to 32 ; to 4y ; 114} ; and Noi Forel; Penetial at 8 to The di the only Imperial prem. ; ex div. . 17 to 17 don and 33 to 34 42 to 43, Poreip allow s ar a t to Miscel at 14 t( at 5} 22i t , to tionai 13 Usin( District at 1 to 1 piehid coin for at th e 13, against r The st gold frou luiperatt £128,00 1 The of of Maur t he Purp declare Uotton Consul; for d Red ' 1;- , ( L iv e per cline o 104 3 , 4 : 111 e ch ah th 's 9 Rai t Vice roy's to pry I/ e elica n _v r 3 3. Ul Aff ; arid bi t q f —r op debenture k eeordi 3 4 . y, the I °e • Fir B] a «ovE h Pir b `4 , 11C. Accc N i ( ) l t ' r °oat. NA''' 3 Per - IV 24. b z ye] 4 u. ti es, Do Red t ,, e ' (d -"elizer o At b . • b o ' . 1! 1 1 .1) 0 :tc(,1i Ace p o 11131 Pet