The Sun. — London, England, 1853-12-29 00:00:00

THEATRE ROYAL DRURY-LANE. Lessee, Mr. E. T. Smith. THIS EVENING, Dzc. 29, Will be performed GWYNNETH VAUGHAN. Characters by Messrs. Belton and Morgan, Miss Featherstone, &c. After Which, DELICATE ATTENTIONS. To conclude with KING HUMMINGTOP ; or, Harlequin and the Land of Toys. THEATRE ROYAL, HAYMARKET. Under the management of Mr. Bnekstone. TillS EVENING, Dzc. Will be performed THE HOPE OF THE FAMILY. Characters by Messrs. Chippendale, Compton, Buckstone, and W. Farren ; Mrs. Buckingham, Mrs. Poynter, Mrs. Fitzwilliam, and Miss E. Grey. After' which, a Grand CHRISTMAS PANTOMIME, called HARLEQUIN AND THE THREE BEAR.; ; or, Little Silverhair and the Fairies. Columbine, Miss M. Brown ; Harlequin; Mr. J. Marshall : Pantaloon, Mr. W. A. Barnes; Clown, Mr. H. Marshall. ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE, OXFORD-STREET. Under the Management of Mr. Cueßizs KEAN. THIS EVENING, DEC. 29, Will be performed THE LANCERS ; or, The Gentleman's Son, Principal characters by Messrs. Meadows, Ryder, Everett, H. Mellon. and D. Fisher; Mrs. Winstanley, Miss Daly, and Miss C. Leclercq. After which will be presented a new Grand CHRISTMAS PAN TOMIME, entitled HARLEQUIN AND THE MILLER AND HIS MEN; or, King Salamander and the Fairy of the Azure Lake. Harlequin, Mr. Cormack ; Clown, Mr. Huline ; Panta'oon, Mr. Paulo; and Columbine, Miss Desborough. LYCEUM THEATRE. Under the Management of Madame Testes. THIS EVENTING, Dzo. 29, Will be performed A BACHELOR OF ARTS. Characters by Messrs. C. Mathews, F. Matthews, and Baker; Miss F. Hughes. After which, an original Fairy Extravaganza, called ONCE 'UPON A TIME THERE WERE TWO KINGS. Principal cha racters by Mr. Wright and Madame Vestris. To conclude with PATTER VERSUS . CLATTER. TREATRE ROYAL ADELPHI. Proprietor, Mr. B. Webster.—Directress, 'Maritime Celeste. Rare Christmas Amusements—The Great Attraction of London— ". One of the Sights of London"—The Sea of Ice and Marvellous Adelphi Effects in the exciting new Nautical Drama of " THE THIRST OF GOLD," every Evening—A new Grand Fairy Spec tacle, NUMBER NIP. THIS EVENJNG, Dze. 29. And during the Week, the Popular New Nautical Melo-drama , In five tableaux, with new scenery, the Sea of' Ice, &c., new dresses and appointments,- called THE THIRST OF GOLD ; or, THE LOST SHIP AND THE WILD FLOWER OF MEXICO. Principal characters by Messrs. B. Webster, Keeley. Paul Bedford , 0. Selby, Parselle, Marsden, &c. ; Madame Celeste, Mrs. Lei g h Murray, Miss F. Maskell, &c. ; with an entirely new grand specta cular legendary Christmas piece, in two act., with new scenery, • dresses, machinery, and appointment., called NUMBEIt NIP, or THE SPIRIT BRIDE. Principal characters by Madame Celeste, Mrs. Keeley, Miss Woolgar, Miss M. Keeley, M iss Cuthber t , Miss C. Hardtng ; Messrs. Paul Bedford, J. Roger'. Romer, G. Lee, &c ROYAL OLYMPIC THEATRE. Lessee and Manager, Mr. A. Wigan. THIS EYENECG, DEC. 29, (And during the week), Will be performed PLOT AND PASSION. Principal characters by Mr. F. Robson and Mrs. Stirling, After whi .h, a new historico-geographical CHRISTMAS PAN TOM ME, called HARLEQUIN COLUMBUS; or, The Old World and the New. • Harlequin, Mr. F. Moreland; Pantaloon, Mr. W. Rechez ; and Columbine, Miss Wyndham. STRAND THEATRE. Sole Lessee, Mr. F. W. Allcroft.—Directress, Miss Rebecca Isaacs THIS EVENING, DEC. 29, The Performances will commence with the Opera of THE IRISH EMIGRANT'S DREAM. Principal characters by Miss G. Hodson, Mr. 11. Manley, Miss R. Isaacs, Miss Fanny Reeves, &c After which, a new grand Comic Christmas Pantomime entitled HARLEQUIN AND KING NUTCRACKER; or, The World of Toys. Clown, by the inimitable Flexmore ; Harlequin, Mr. Bologna; Pantaloon, Mr. Griffiths; Columbine, Miss Goward. After which, THE PET OF TEIE PUBLIC. Principal characters by 2dademoise:le de Laney and Miss Rebecca Isaacs. Stalls, 55.; Boxes, is.; Pitt, 25.; Gallery, Is.; Private Boxes, U. Is , to be Lad of Mr. Aileron, 15, New 13°nd-street. ASTLEY'S EUROPE'3 NATIONAL AMPRITLIELTRE. Lessee and Manager, Mr. W. Cooke. Grand combination of attraction for the Holidays. The only Eques trian Pantomime iu the Metropolis, and the wonderful Performing Elephants. THIS EVENING, DEc. 22, (And during the week.) The New Grand Equestrian Chinese Spectacle, entitled " THE WISE ELEPHANTS OF THE FAST; or, THE MAGIC GONG-- in which Mr. W. Cooke's wondro is Elephants will appear. Followed by a series of Mr. Wm. Cooke'a matchless scenes of Equestrianism in THE CIRCLE, by the talented artistes of this establishment. After which, a New Grand Equestrian CHRISTMAS COMIC PANTOMIME, written expressly for this Theatre, by Mr. NELSON LEE, entitled BILLY BUT CON'S jOURNEY TO BRENTFORD ; or, Harlequin and the Ladles' Favourite. New scenery, dresses, decorations. and appointments, magnificent Car of Industry, &c. Harlequin, Mr. H. Hemmings; Columbine, Mdlle. Christine; Pantaloon, Mr. Lehman; and Two Clowns, Mr. C. Adams and Mr. Croueste ; Sprites; Masters Gee and Bradbury. A MORNING PERFORMANCE on Jeri. 2, commencing at two. Juvenile Niglit on THURSD JAN. 5, when the Comic Panto mime will commence the Performance*. Box-ofliee open from Eleven till Four. Stage Manager, Mr. W. West. DAILY WEATHER TABLE. THURSDAY, DEC. 29, 1853. State of the wind and weather at each of the following places at nine o'clock yesterday morning. The stations are arranged in order of latitude. TUNBRIDGE—N.W., strong breeze—partially cloudy. GREENWICH—N., strong breeze—cloudless. STnOOD—N., strong breeze—partially cloudy. The returns from the following places indicate the state of the weather on Tuesday morning at nine o'clock : LIMERICK—N.E., calm—cloudless—frost. MIILLINGAR—N., gentle breeze—partially cloudy. FOLKESTONE—N.W., gentle breeze -overcast. GREENWICH—N.W., gentle breeze—cloudless. HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. THIS DAY —Morning 27 min.after 12 I Evening 52 min.aft. 12 To-Nolutow—Morning 20 min.after 1 I Evening 46 min.aft. 1 TILE WEATIIER.—Sus Omen, Dso. 29. THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE. '33—highest since noon yesterday. 26—lowest this morning and during the night. 34—this day at noon. BAROMETER, 30.25—risen half au inch since yesterday. WIND, N.E.—Moderate breeze, and fine, clear, sharp frosty weather. ~~ ~ ti/ ni LONDON, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1853. Some of our Liberal contemporaries appear to us to place themselves in a false position ; they practically argue for Government by a m i nor it y, and they do so through fear that the majority of the country, though Liberal , is officered, like the Wallachian militia just.now, by the enemy it would rather fight. Boroughs are to be disfranchised, spare Members are to be allotted afresh, of course they must be allotted, say the Manchester Libe rals, and many others too, to fresh boroughs. They are Borough Members, and the boroughs ought not to lose the proportion they have always enjoyed. The unavowed reason for this argu ment is, that the Liberal and Free-trade party would be great losers by increasing the number of County Members ; an avowed reason, and one, on a certain hypothesis, of great weight, is that the towns contain the intelligence, the education, and the life of the country, and ought, therefore, to have the large predominance of Members which they at present enjoy. Now, it is pure Conservatism, rather high Toryism, to appeal to prescription. The very same principle which demands that the numbers of borough members should be unaltered, might with equal consistency have demanded that old Sarum and Castlerising should return their two members a-piece as of old, or that Evesham and Thetford should continue to enjoy their Parlia mentary honours. Our Conservatives, on the other hand, open the door to the widest of all reforms, when they demand more members for the counties (small towns included), on the score Of their population. Both Liberals and Conser vatives, however, in thus exchanging weapons, have a good present and practical reason f or do ing so. Liberals think they should c't e more 0 votes in Parliament by, an appeal to prescription Tories by an appeal to the new principle of r epresentation being squared with population. Thi s is, however, really unworthy of both parties. Nor is any stress to be laid on the fact of the superior intelligence and education of the towns, unless it be admitted that a Ref orm Bill rea ll y should undertake t o secure a rep resentation of the wisdom of the country, or of all the classes into which its population may be divided. We think any such attempts perfectly chimerical. press the former, and it would resolve itself into a search for the wisest individual, who, if he could be fou n d , would, on the principle of wisdom being the °nettling politically needful, be better than a whole lio ns , of representatives. It unfortunately happens, however, that the very condition of our nature, which chiefly necessitates government, deprives us of all guarantees that the possessor of wisdom will always use it. England can never forget that the wisest of her sons has been equally iminor :.;' "talised. for his meanness. It would also, we think, .-" tibe aTtiheer impossibility to represent classes. How e..we I°,.classify. Is property or nature of pr0 „...t.„.. „... t. „.. ort ic y,:incorne or nature of income trade, profes -10 it; , w h at,, to be the principle of class], .1 „ A ; , r •,• 7 1 dr -4 t, n .., -ov hen any new branch of commerce 4 , - ' , .s. '- . ' S P l / 4 iS ' y to be provided for ? Of the thousand . 3 XL.T.... . ~...... "11N.1 , 1,11 b.r` THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 29, 1853. occupations of the people, are some to be - lumped together, and others to enjoy the honour of dis tinct representation? Are soldiers and the Royal Navy to be classes, and policemen and sailors not ? Are bankers to rejoice in an adequate supply of M.l).'s, and pawnbrokers to be denied the honour ? We believe all such devices to be mere paper schemes, utterly incapable of reduction to practice. To come to the point, we think the good old simple idea of representative government, the go vernment of the majority, to be the only true one. Not only are Englishmen used to it in every de partment of life, from a book club to the House of Lords, and even, thanks to the House of Lords, in a Church-rate meeting, but it is the only stable equilibrium for a commonwealth—we may indeed say, the only plan which places the social pyramid on its natural broad base. Of course majorities may err to the full satisfaction of complacent aristocracies and autocrats, but then they have only themselves to thank, and are not likely either to repeat their errors very often, or to rise, in insurrection, against themselves. Moreover, the aristocracies and autocrats too plainly enjoy no immunity from vulgar errors. We do not plead infallibility, but nature and safety on behalf of real majorities of men. One grand advantage of abiding steadily by this principle is the course to which it prompts the minority. If conscious of being in the right, morally or intellectually, it must vigorously corn mence the desirable task of enlightenment. It must use the press, the platform, and the Parliamentary debate till the moderate are gained, till the light is too strong to be faced without blenching by the obstinate ; and we have seen this done so recently in the Catho lic, the Reform, and the Free-trade controversies, that no reasonable man, with a good and important cause, should despair of readily converting an igno rant and prejudiced majority against him into an enlightened majority with him. Our contemporaries to whom we have alluded perplex themselves and • fall into inconsistency, through an oversight, sometimes a willing one, of the single condition of a straightforward discus sion of the subject ; that is the independence of the electors. Grant unintimidated yoting in the counties, and, after the abolition of the small boroughs, unpurchased voting iu the large towns, and Liberals need to care but little to claim a prescriptive number of Borough Members, nor would landlords be much• concerned to add to those of the counties. The first point, as we have repeatedly maintained, for the Liberal party is, to claim • that voting should be free ; obtain this, and it will find the votes of freemen in counties as liberal as those in the towns. The heart of the country is as sound quite, as that of the town, and its intelligence is not so different as urban and suburban vanity would have us believe. Could it but -breathe freely at the polling-booth its sturdy love of in • dependence and its sound common sense would be speedily apparent. The tenant-farmers could not, as now, be utterly unrepresented, nor would they be ashamed of their representatives beside those of London or of Manchester. Even as the case now stands, we do not believe the Liberal party would lose by carrying out the apportionment of the Members of the dis franchised boroughs amongst populous counties as well as towns. Looking over the list of eighty-nine boroughs under the line of five hundred voters which we gave the other day, nearly all of them will be found recorded in Dod as subject to ducal, lordly, or untitled territorial " influence." Their members are, for the more part, notoriously county members already. Not only that, but the boroughs were made or retained for the territorial aristocracy by the authors of. the Reform Bill. However, the country understood it. Lord JOHN, as he afterwards avowed, had this object dis tinctly in view. Hence we think the Liberal party can lose but little in any case, while they must gain something by the unavoidable enfran chisement of many large town constituencies. They should, we think, therefore concede the point of members being proportioned .to electoral popula tion, and throw their whole strength in one de termined phalanx into the struggle for free voting. in demanding this as the necessary condition of the other, they will be consistent, and ultimately must be victorious. The Ballot first, and then as many county members as you like. The operatives on " strike" are still madly per severing in the perilous course on which they entered some four months since. They still "harden their hearts," imputing acts which originated merely in feelings of kindness and compassion to timidity and vacillation. They are told that they have only to continue firm a little time longer and that the masters must yield, and they are, credulous enough to place some degree of confidence in the statement. They are exhorted not to throw away the effects of the sacrifices already made—the privations already endured. Gorgeous visions of future enjoyment are conjured up !to silence the querulous and strengthen the hesitating. The tastes of all are studiously con sulted by the ingenious framers of the glitteridg scenes. Steady middle-aged fathers of families are informed that their leisure hours are to be spent in " Jerry shops," perpetually singing that " Britons never shall be slaves ;" while their wives, dressed in silks and satins, are to be their entire time at home, superintending domestic arrangements, cultivating their minds, or amusing themselves ; while play ! play ! play ! an unre mitting round of play, is held forth to the juve niles of both sexes, who, notwithstanding their seventeen weeks' holiday, are " not tired of play ing yet !" Such are the temptations held forth to the malcontents, who do not, like MAHOMET, defer the promised rewards to another world or an after life, but excite the most fervent hopes of their speedy, if not immediate, realisation. That many, very many, of the parties implicated in these unfortunate disputes are but too well aware of the dangerous position in which they are placed,and would gladly effect a reconciliation Ivith.their justly -offended and indignant masters, is certain. U nfortunately, however, prudent coun sels are seldom listened to at a period of excite ment, when actual collisions have taken place. Themereviole o n s t, wh o ar e , generally speaking, the most energetic, strenuously urge their opinions, that an insignificant mi nor i ty frequently prevails over a decided majority. Th e d e l egates, too, w h o are so strongly interest e d in the continuance of the struggle, lend all their influence and all their e l oquence to prevent the favourable reception p acific overtures. Intimidation, so-calledtoo,atron, is practised of on an extensive scale. The free me n , who are too proud and independent to acc e pt any suggestion from their employers, are to yield an implicit and unreasoning obedience to the ukases of their despotic rulers ; and woe betidg the m an who ventures practically to assert the free exer cise of his own opinions," if those opinions run counter to the views of the well-paid delegates and committee men, or of their faithful henchmen to whom the duty of terrifying and coercing the unruly is entrusted. We do not, however, despair, notwithstanding these inauspicious influences, of some symptoms of returning sanity becoming speedily visible. We can not forget that the turn-outs are Englishmen, and therefore though they suffer themselves to be de ceived 'and misled for a time, we entertain a hope that they will suffer that sound practical common-sense, which is the chief characteristic of their countrymen, to come into operation, and that they will, eventually, revolt against the des potism to which they are subjected. Let them but calmly and deliberately consider the results of all the protracted " strikes" that have taken place, and they will find that they have invaria bly been most injurious to the working classes in the broadest signification of the phrase. All have suffered deeply. The masters have had to sustain • severe pecuniary losses, not (infrequently termi ; nating in the total loss of the capital invested, and their own bankruptcy. But as such results would inevitably follow if th ey submitted to demands which would destroy the entire trade of a district, they might as well keep their establishments altogether closed as open them for a brief term. The workmen have, however, been by far the greatest sufferers. The masters may have to surrender some of their luxuries, possibly of their comforts ; but it is the ( necessaries of the operatives that are placed in ijeopardy. It is impossible to depict the scenes of misery and wretchedness that are of daily occur rence, the attenuated and care-worn aspect of wives and children, constantly reminding the actors in these matters of the fearful price that they are paying for the indulgence of their evil passions. The consequences of success are no less to be deprecated than those of failure. Indeed, we believe that they would be more pernicious. The de feated operatives, although much sadder, would also be wiser men. A certain security would be afforded that those who had been taught in the school of bitter experience would not again in volve themselves in such a predicament. Capitalists would advance their money freely, and trade would speedily resume its ordinary course—while the effect of a victory would be its stagnation and cessation. Men, although they might keep at work for a short time, for the purpose of winding up their concerns, would speedily withdraw the remnants of their property into safer speculation—while none •ould he found able and willing to assume th• positions thus vacated. Trade would not flourish while its destinies were under the control of men who ignored the laws of supply and demand, and were prepared to vote for an advance in wages— not because the masters could afford to give it, but because they thought society ought to be re modelled. There is a natural law, which no enactment of a Labour Parliament could repeal, and that irrevocable law proclaims that trade to be prosperous must be free—that its transactions must be carried on without impediment or restric tion, and that there must be no undue interference between them. A scale of prices might be agreed on, but if that was above the market value, it could not long be maintained. Of this the ope ratives may rest assured that they cannot perma nently raise, nor can the masters depress, wages beneath the natural level, and every attempt to do so, on either side, can only terminate injuriously to all those who are already inflicting formidable blows upon each other, although their true in terests are one and indivisible. MONEY MARKET AND COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE. CITY, TWO O'CLOCK. The sales of cotton at Liverpool yesterday were estimated at 7,000 bales, of which 1,000 American were taken for export and on speculation. The market closed firmly, at previous rates. The sales comprised 5,500 American, 100 Pernam and Ma ranham, at 6gd. to 61d. ; 100 Bahia, at 6/11. ; 4000 Egyptian, at 51d, to nd. ; and 100 Surat, at 3d. to 3d. pei lb. Railway Shares were flat. The six weeks' average price of wheat is 71s. Bd., and the last week's, 70s. The quantity of wheat sold last week, in the markets that make official returns, was 71,764 quarters. There is an absence of late arrivals with news of interest from any quarter, and in business circles generally an appearance of dullness prevails, pecu liar to the closing week of the year. From present indications, however, there would speedily be a revival of activity, if the course of political events should not prove adverse. Silver is in more demand, and not super abundant. The last week's railway receipts ascertained up to this day are in round figures as under : 1853. 1852. Great Western North-Western South-Western Brighton 10,898 11,158 Midland South-Eastern 14,145 14,141 Caledonian, and Edin. and Glasgow 13,937 12,683 Great Northern Lancashire and Yorkshire 17,862 17,755 York and North Midland, New castle and Berwick, Leeds North- 27,520 24,438 ern These returns are most satisfactory in most in stances, and considering how well the traffic has for some months been kept up, it is obvious that the discouraging circumstances of a tight money market and adverse politics do not operate so seriously upon the income of railways, as upon some other branches of industrial enterprise. The wonder with many shareholders will be, that they •do not get better dividends. The English funds have been firmer within the last hour, Consols, which were marked 93i 1, being now 93i . There is, however, scarcely any busi ness doing, and the speculators, although taking a bad view of political affairs, are afraid to operate boldly for a fall unless the public precede them by making real sales. The New 31 per Cents. have been quoted 95 to I, and the 3 per Cent. Reduced Annuities 93i to Exchequer bills are 4s. to 7s. prem., a slight improvement. Foreign securities have been rather heavy again. Sardinian Bonds have been marked 90 to 901. Spanish 3 per Cents. have realised 46k, and the Deferred 211 to 22. Portuguese 4 per Cents. have been marked 42i. Equador Stock is at 4i. Bra zilian New Stock is marked 92i. Russian 4 3 / 4 per Cents. are 98k, and Dutch 21 per Cents. 641. This is " ticket" day in the Railway Share market, and the business is principally confined to arrangements for the settlement. The charge for carrying over is mostly very light, and in some cases the arrangement can be made "even." Prices rule lower in some instances. Great Northern have declined 10s. to 1/. ; Caledonian to nearly a simi lar extent ; North British, and Oxford, and Wol verhampton, each 10s. ; and York and North Mid land, 15s. to 11. ; Norfolk are down 1/. to 2/. In Foreign Shares there is scarcely anything doing, but Luxembourg are rather cheaper, and Northern of France have receded 10s. to 15s. Rather more is doing in Mining Shares, but those of the gold companies have not improved. Linares are about ss. to 10s., and United Mexican i t to ± lower. The Joint Stock Banks are dull, and the Austra lian Agricultural Shares have been down 1/. to 2/. The, current rates of freight by sailing vessels are, according to the General Weekly Shipping List, for fine measurement .goods, with the accus tomed primage in each trade, per ton of 40 feet, as follows : LONDON. s. Australia— Gijon 3O Adelaide 9os to 100 Hamburg ..12s to 14s dd. wt. Hobart Town BO Havannah Launceston 9O Hong Kong BO Melbourne or Geelong lonian Islands 4O Wharves 120 s to 130 Jamaica 30s to 40 Melbourne or Gee- Leer l3s to 15 long 90s to 95 Leghorn New Zealand ...30s to 100 Lima 5O Portland Bay 120 Madeira Port Fairy 120 Madras 120 Swan River 7os to 80 Malta • 25s to 30 Sydney 80s to 100 Malaga 35 Alexandretta Alexandria 2ss to 30 Masulipatam Algot), Bay Alicante Ancona 6O Messina Antigua - 6O Antwerp Athens 3O Natal Barb adoes Barcelona... 4O Odessa Batavia 6O Palermo Beyrout Bil boa 35 San Francisco 75s to 100 Bombay Buenos Ayres 6O Shanghai BO Cadiz 30s to 35 Seville Calcutta Canton BO Smyrna 3O Cape Town, Cape of Good St. Vincent 3O Hope 45 St. Kitts and Nevis Carthagena Ceylon Constantinople Copenhagen 2O Tobago 3() Danube (Galata and Trieste Ibrail 4O Trinidad Demerara 3O Valparaiso Genoa 3O Valencia Gibraltar l5 Venice The Liverpool rates are thus given : Africa Alexandria Antigua Arica and Islay Australia— _ Lima 7O Lisbon Madras 5O Malaga 35 Malta Maranham 40s to 45 Manilla 9O Messina 35 Monte Video 50s to 60 Montreal Naples New Orleans ......... 15s to 20 New York ( payable abroad) lss to 20 Oporto 2os to 30 Palermo Panama 9O Paranagua Pernambuco 35s to 40 Philadelphia ( payable abroad) 25 Port Natal Rio de Janeiro 4O Rio Grande .........50s to 60 San Francisco 80s to 100 San Sebastian 4O Santa Martha and Car- Sydney 65 Hobart Town 75 Port Philip (Wharf) lOO Melbolrne and Gee- • long 7os to 95 ...... Do. Wharf Bss to 100 Adelaide Azores Bahia Barcelona 4os to 50 Batavia and Sourabaya... 50 Beyrout 274 Bilboa and Santander 45 Bombay 40s to 50 Boston (payable_ abroad) __ 178 6d to 20 Buenos Ayres sos to 60 Cadiz and Seville 40s to 50 Calcutta Cape Town Ceylon Charleston Cienfuegos Demerara 5O Gibraltar Guernsey 2O Havannah 35s to 40 Jamaica, Kingston 35s to 40 „ Falmouth 40s to 45 Jersey lss to 17i Laguayra and Puerto Ca- thagena 4O Savannah 2O St. Thomas 35 Seville Singapore 6O Singapore and Penang Smyrna 2O Tercea Trinidad 35s to 40 Valparaiso Vera Cruz .e as follows : hello Leghorn and Malta 2O At Glasgow freights ru Australia— Melbourne Wrf. 90s to 100 Lisbon San Francisco B5 Stettin' 3O Sydney, N.B.W 9O St. Croix 4O St. John's, Newfoundland 30 St. John's, N. 13 3O Trieste Valparaiso ............50s to 60 Geelong 9os to 100 Barbadoes Boston, U.S. Genoa Halifax and New York 6O Hamburg 2O Lima 6os to 70 BRITISH FUNDS THIS DAY. (Prom the Official Litt.) Badness done. 3 por Cent. Reduced Annuities 9 31 New 31 per Cent. Annuities 95/ 5 1 India Bonds, £lOOO . ........... • ..... •••••••••• Ditto, under £lOOO t• 3 P Consols for Opening 18th Jan. 9 34 iiii radio. Stock for Account 245 x d Exchequer Bills, ld. £lOOO £5OO 7 4 p Small 7 4 p PRICE OF FOREIGN FUNDS THIS DAY. Brazilian Bonds, 5 per Cent. — Ditto New, 1852, 4gi per Cent . Danish Bonds, 1825, 3 per Cent — Ditto 5 per Cent . Equador Bonds Grenada Bonds, Deferred Mexican 3 per Cent. Portuguese Bonds, 4 por Cent Russian Bonds, 1822, 5 per Cent, .£ St 11 242 Ditto 4i per Cent 9B 7i I Ditto Small Sardinian Bonds, 5 per Cent 9O i i Spanish Bonds, 3 per Cent 461 Spanish New Deferred, 3 per Cent. 2li 2 Dividends on the above payablo,in London. Belgian Bonds 4A per Ceut. ex. 25 fr Dutch Exchange, 24 per Cent. 12 Guil Ditto 4 per Cent. Certificates ..... THREE O'CLOCK. Consols for Opening 18th January 93ili x d LATEST FOREIGN NEWS. RUSSIA_ AND* TURKEY. A telegraphic dlespatch, dated Vienna, Wednes day evening, says : " The Russian steamer Pruth has set two Turk ish villages on fire, by throwing redhot balls into them." A telegraphic despatch from Constantinople, dated the 19th inst., received rid Vienna, says : " Negotiations on the peace project have com menced. The Porte manifests a pacific disposition. The combined fleets are still at Beycos." A telegraphic despatch from Vienna, of the 23d, in the Augsburg& Gazette, states that the corps Of General Dannenberg was advancing towards Lesser Wallachia. An occasional correspondent of the Times, writing from Syra, Dec. 18, says :—" Lord Dudley Stuart has preceded us to Constantinople, on board the Liverpool screw steamer. It is said that his Lord ship's intention in visiting Constantinople is to persuade the Sultan to accept the services of the Polish refugees, it being believed that a general desertion of Poles serving in Russian regiments would take place if they were sure of being received in a corps of their own countrymen on entering the Turkish territory. It is also reported that his Lordship advocates a levee of the Christian subjects of the Porte, a step which would certainly settle the question as to the Russian or Turkish leaning of the Rayahs. Desertion to the Russians from such a corps would perhaps be as frequent as Polish desertions from Russian regiments.'? Letters from Constantinople of the 15th instant mention an attempt of the Russians to set fire to the allied fleet at the entrance of the Bosphorus. A fireship was sent, but it was seen from the forts, and stopped by their artillery. A statement such as this, which is as yet unconfirmed by Constan tinople letters of the same date, must be received with the utmost caution. Intelligence has been received from Constanti nople that the last note of the Vienna Conference has been accepted by the Porte. The propositions embodied in that document, were submitted to the Grand Council of the Empire, discussed at much length, and were pronounced by the majority of members to be such as might be accepted by Turkey without dishonour or humiliation. There is no doubt that the representatiyes of the Four Powers employed their best efforts to produce that decision. It remains to be seen what Russia will do. Will she, now that there is no longer the shadow of a doubt as to the good understanding subsisting be tween England and France, consent to send her plenipotentiary to the conference, and to stand on equal terms with Turkey at the bar of Europe ? This no one ventures to affirm positively ; but the same despatch which announces the fact of the acceptance of the Vienna propositions adds that, if Russia still maintains her arrogant demands, refuses to negotiate, and continues hostilities, as at Sinope, the Powers will, without any delay, assume the attitude of energy which becomes them, and which, in fact, however we may soften the phrase, means nothing more or less in reality than war. The despatch bringing thisNimportant intelligence was transmitted without loss of time to London. A letter from Constantinople of the 15th inst., states that the captain of the British merchant vessel sunk at Sinope by the fire of the Russian ships of war had arrived at Constantinople on board the Retribution. He immediately addressed a com plaint to Lord Stratford de Reddiffe that the Rus sian Admiral had not given him notice previous to the engagement, with liberty to withdraw. Letters received at Constantinople from Teheran, state that Count Simonich, who was many years Russian Ambassador to the Court of Persia, and is now attached to the Foreign-office at St. Petersburg, is the real director of Persian politics. It was by his means that the 'difference was created between the British Minister and the Persian Government, although to the last the Russian Minister professed the greatest friendship for the Government of Great Britain. After the battle of Sinope, the following letter, says the Independance of Brussels, was addressed by the Russian Admiral Nachimoff to the Austrian Consul at that place : "Monsieur le Consul—Permit me to address myself to you as the only European representative whose flag I see flying, in order that you may make known to the authorities of the unfortunate town of Sinope the sole object of the visit of the imperial fleet to its roadstead. Having been informed that the Turkish vessels which were continually proceeding to the coasts of Abazzia to stir up the people to revolt against Russia, had taken refuge at Sinope, I was driven to the deplorable neces sity of attacking them, at the risk of causing damage to the town and the port. I sympathise with the sad fate of the town and of the inoffensive inhabitants, for it was only the ob s ti na t e d e f ence o f t h e hostile in habitants, and particularly the fire of the batteries, which compelled us to employ shells as the only means of silencing them more promptly ; but the greater part of the damage to the town certainly arose from the burning timbers of the Turkish ships, most of which had been set fire to by their own crews. As soon as the enemy's fire permitted, I sent a boat with an officer as a flag of truce to explain my real intentions to the autho rities of the town, but the officer was an hour before he could find any person. During the whole of Tuesday nobody appeared except a few Greeks, who said they were deputed by their countrymen inhabiting the place, and who supplicated me to take them on board the fleet. My instructions being to act only against Turkish ships, I referred these unfortunate men to the European Consuls. I now quit the port, and I reckon on your good offices to make known that the imperial squadron had no hostile intention against the town or against the port of Sinope." A letter from Vienna of the 23d, in the Augs burg Gazette, says :—" Several foreign journals have propagated the intelligence that the Moldo- Wallachian militia was to be incorporated in the Russian army. We learn from a certain source that the General-in-chief has given the two hospodars a formal assurance that these troops should not be employed against the enemy, and that they should be sent back to their own. towns if the Turks should make an incursion. Up to the present time these troops have only been used as police. The Walla chian artillery, however, has not been kept in the Russian quarter-general, but has been sent to Braila, where they are placed under the orders of Russian officers." The Triester Zeitung learns from Varna that the campaign for this year appears to have been ter minated. On the 29th ult. Omer Paella was at Schumla. Several Englishmen had also returned from the scene of hostilities to Varna, in order to proceed to Constantinople. Colonel Barkley, a dis tinguished officer in the Indian army, had arrived, but too late to take part in the autumn campaign, and, with three companions, was likewise remain ing at Varna. From the lower Danube, the same journal also learns that the Turkish garrison at Belgrade has been strengthened by 200 artillery men from Widdin. Under the supposition that the city might be bombarded by the fortress, Prince Alexander had proposed to the Senate to remove part of the public treasury to Kragujevatz. The measure was approved of by the latter, and 100,000 ducats had been transferred to the above place. The following is from Belgrade, Dec. 18 :—" The population of Belgrade looked forward to this day, the fete of St. Nicholas, with the greatest anxiety and curiosity. Itj had always been the custom on this day to celebrate the fete-day of the Emperor of Russia as the powerful protector of Servia. To day no signs were visible of the usual festivities. No salvos of artillery announced the dawn of this, to every Servian, important day. No military music resounded, no military parade was held, no illumination took place in the evening ; the day passed over in quiet and dulness which in former years was rejoicing and revelry. The name of the protector was not even mentioned in the service in the cathedral, and it sounded like irony when the bishop offered up prayers for the welfare of the Most Gracious Sultan Mid- ul-Medjid and for Prince Alex ander. By this political demonstration, the Servian Government has publicly declared its contempt for the protectorate of Russia and the view it takes of the Eastern question. The Russian consul-general, M. de Muchin, who is living at Semlin, did not receive a congratulatory visit from any of the Ser vian primates. The Prince of Servia is still in the interior of the country. It is quite evident that he purposely remained away from Belgrade that he might not be in the way of this demonstration on the part of the Servian Government on the fete days of St. Andrew and St. Nicholas." From the Montenegrin frontier, the same jour nal states that on the 12th ult. Ibrahim Begh Alajbegorick was about to march with 6,000 re gular and irregular troops towards Grahova. It was thought that a body of Russians and Monte negrins, stationed at a Greek cloister in the vicinity of the above place, would make a descent upon the neighbourhood. Affairs in that principality are constantly becoming more' and more complicated. The Presse has intelligence from Jassy, under date of the 16th inst., which says : " During the three preceding days large additional bodies of troops had reached that city, en route for the Danube. Including the divisions of General Osten- Sacken's corps, which had previously arrived, their num ber could not have been less than 9,000 men. The Moldavian Governmen. by command of Prince Gorts chakoff, had made preparations for additional arrivals of troops until the middle of January, 1854. The troops on march for Jassy belong. to the Bth and 9th divisions of the Osten-Sacken corps. An artillery brigade belongs to every division. Thus far, the troops had been allowed to halt one day at Jassy. The men were generally in a robust and healthy. con dition. The Bth division was to move towards Wal lachia, vid Waslin and Berlad ; while the 9th division would march in the direction of Roman and Bahau. Both divisions will be concentrated in the districts of Tehuczer and Putnaer, and then march into Wal lachia. The anniversary of the birthday of the Emperor Nicholas was to be celebrated at Jassy on the 18th inst. Good health prevailed in both the principalities. The murrain, however, had proved very destructive, espe cially in the southern districts of Moldavia. An infantry brigade, belonging to the Osten-Sacken corps, entered Lesser Wallachia on the 20th inst." A letter from Bucharest, under date of the 15th inst., states that no decisive operations on the side of the Russians will be commenced until the arri val of the different divisions of the Osten-Sacken corps, which according to the most reliable accounts cannot take place before the close of January. A. letter in the Medicinische Wochenschrift gives the effective Russian force in Wallachia at 87,000 men, and states that preparations are being made for an additional number of 54,000 troops. We learn also from the same source that hecatombs of Russian troops are daily falling victims to hard ship and disease. The Russians have already lost one-tenth of their troops from the above causes. Another letter from Bucharest, under date of the 15th inst., informs us that two battalions of riflemen, as also the pontoon trains stationed at Bucharest, had been ordered to Braila, probably with the intention of fortifying the several islands situated in the vicinity of that place. Adjutant- General Anrep, the commander of the advance guard of the army of occupation, was still at Bu charest on the 14th inst. The news that Persia was about to declare war against Turkey, and that the combined fleets had not entered the Euxine, reached Bucharest on the 10th inst., and caused the greatest joy among the Russians. THE WAR ON THE DANUBE. The subjoined is from a letter of the special cor respondent of the Times, dated Kalafat, Dec. 6, and giving an account of a visit to that place : " A busy scene presented itself at the quay, with timber loading for the new subterranean log bar racks, the café filled with Moslems, bargemen, and soldiers sipping their liquor or smoking their pipes in taciturnity, while the neighbouring Wallachian wine shop was crowded with Armenian contractors or Jew slopsellers in their winter furs, the latter discussing or bargaining with wonted loquacity. Kalafat, rising gradually from the water's edge, is one of those straggling places that one sees in these Danubian regions, composed of farm houses, mercantile establishments, and residences of small landed proprietors, all scattered hither and thither—a town without a street, but most of the houses having a new fresh look, characteristic of the development of wealth and prosperity in Wal lachia that gradually followed the cessation of the obligation to send corn to Constantinople as their sole market—a barbarism inconsistent with the old Turkish principles of free trade ; nor must we omit to mention the quickening this improving impetus received from the abolition of our corn laws, whence the intelligent Wallach expatiates with pleasure on the name of Sir Robert Peel as high in the list of his country's benefactors. " We now ascended the hill, walking for about half-a-mile among the houses, and then came to open ground, studded here and there with encamp ments, the soldiery actively engaged in completing the forts, the lines, and the winter-quarters, which extend over a great space of ground several miles in circumference on the main land alone. By refe rence to the map you will see that the Danube makes a great bend at Widdin, and, instead of flowing east ward, it flows south-west, being turned out of its course towards the Black Sea by the ridge of heights extending north-east from Kalafat. On this irregular plateau have been erected works which astonished me from their extent and the rapidity of their con struction. In the time of the old Turkish wars there were three forts or redoubts on three hillocks, but now the whole has been circumvallated with breastworks supported by 13 earth bastions or re doubts, several of them with heavy long-range artillery, so as to make Kalafat not a mere en trenched camp, but a fortress of a very peculiar character, for there is no part of the simple breast work glacis that is not swept in traverse by the heavy artillery of the mud forts and bastions. " But works so extensive cannot be covered ex cept by a very large force, for which Kalafat offers no accommodation. Tents are already out of the question, and the sudden change of the temperature has produced many fatal dysenteries. Recourse has therefore been had to a resource at once economi cal and effectual. Spaces equivalent to a long bar rack-room have been dug, out of the earth and covered in. Suppose a log house of one storey sunk to the eaves, the solid ground forming the floors and walls, and the ridged roof sloping down to the ground considerably beyond the perpendicular beams, and you will have an idea of these winter barracks. The rain and damp are thus carried away from these earthen walls ; light and ventila tion are secured by garret and gable windows, fires burn to consume the earthy odour, mats act as arras, and the soldier is comfortable in winter's cold or summer's heat. I visited one, and . found brick mangals at appointed distances ; a clear space in the centre for passage, and on either side each soldier's blanket and kit ; the centre supporting beams were ranged round with well-burnished muskets, and the drums at the gables, ready to beat the alarm and send the artillerymen to the fort, the infantry to the breastworks, while the cavalry await the decisive moment to clear the &leaches. " All these works bear no resemblance to the inartificial Turkish entrenchments, such as one has frequently seen elsewhere. All are constructed on the most modern principles of engineering science ; their wide extent, and the extraordinary activity displayed in so short a time, have struck me with astonishment. I believe that since Torres Vedras, no lines of so striking a character have risen, as if by magic in execution, but clearly showing no hurry in plan or selection. This revolt of the Turks against their own habitually sluggish nature, this union of a burst of Asiatic energy with the science of Europe, compels my mind frequently to recur to the similar phenomena of the Hungarian war with the satisfactory difference that the present move ment is on the side of legitimate right. " I certainly do not think that it would be safe for Russia to pay a visit to Kalafat with less than 50,000 men. But their is an opinion in the camp that Russia may attempt a coup de main during the winter. " On paying a visit to Ahmed Pasha, the Com mander-in-Chief, we found him in a tent sunk in the ground, sitting on a " camp divan-bed, a 1:d in front of him a marigal, or charcoal chauffeur, com posed of four long bricks. He speaks German fluently. There is a rayon of villages under direct power of the Turks occupying Kalafat, who, from all accounts, are in a very unpleasant position be tween Turks and Russians. General Fischback, as Ahmed Pasha informed me, seizes the elders of villages as hostages, to prevent their furnishing supplies, of which Ahmed Pasha complained bit terly, as a most unjustifiable proceeding against de fenceless villagers on the territory of the Sultan,and contrary to the usages of war as practised among civilised nations. "In consequence of this state of affairs, there is every week some sharp skirmish between the Cossacks and the Turkish Irregular Cavalry, in which some fall on both sides. The Cossacks are, after all, the flower of the Russian army, from their shrewdness, courage, and übiquity. But the Bashi-Bozouk is a fair match for him. Armed with a rifle, slung over his shoulder, he takes aim and often hits a man of the opposing horde at full gal lop. He then throws behind the rifle, draws a long scimeter, and in the melee parries with it the Cossack lance, and, if successful, has all the ad vantage from his short weapon. " The scientific General at Kalafat is Ahmed Pasha ; the fighting General is Ismael Pasha, a man of the most determined bravery and great natural sagacity in military matters, having made successively the campaigns of 1828-9, those of Me hemet Ali in Syria, from Nezib to Acre, of Kur distan, of the revolts in Albania and Bosnia, and lastly of Montenegro. He looks every inch a sol dier—nor must we forget to mention, in concluding our notice on Kalafat, the valuable assistance which the army there has received from the order and fertility of resource Sami Pasha has shown in bringing up and getting over the materials requi site for these important works." COURT CIRCULAR. . WINDSOR, DEC. 28. There was no addition to the royal dinner party yesterday. Prince Albert, with the Prince of Wales and Prince Alfred, skated in the Home Park this morning. Her Majesty was present. The gentlemen in waiting skated with his Royal Highness. The Earl and Countess Granville, and Lord and Lady John Russell have been invited, and are expected at the Castle to-day. Lord John Russell left his residence, in Richmond Park, yesterday for Windsor Castle. HER MAJESTY'S NEW-YEAR'S GIFTS.—The Ist of January falling on a Sunday, her Majesty's customary New-year's gifts to the poor inhabitants of New Wind sor and Olewers will be distributed on Monday next, in the riding-house, Windsor Castle. The gifts consist of beef and plum-pudding, varying in quantity according to the families of the recipients, and 25 per cent. added to the subscriptions of the poor in the purchase of articles of clothing. The expense is defrayed by a grant of 1501. from the Lord Steward's department, and a grant of 1001. from the Lord Chamberlain. The distri bution takes place in the presence of her Majesty and the Royal family, and is under the management of the Hon. and Rev. Gerald W ellesley, chaplain to the Queen, and a committee, consisting principally of the parochial clergy. The Earl de Grey, who has been suffering lately from rather indifferent health, is keeping the holidays in St. James's-square. The Earl and Countess of Wilton, and a few select friends, are passing the holidays at Egerton Lodge, Melton Mowbray, where the sports of the field have been interrupted during the last fortnight by the incle mency of the weather. The Hon. Captain and the, Lady Elizabeth de Ros are expected to join the party after the expiration of the gallant officer's " wait " on Prince Albert, at 'Windsor Castle. The Viscount and Viscountess Canning have left Grosvenor-square to join the party assembled at the Marquis of Lansdowne's, Bowood Park, Wilts, where his lordship is entertaining a large circle of v!Wsitors... The Earl of Derby, who has lately suffered from his old complaint, the gout, at Knowsley Hall, is, we are glad to hear, convalescent. The noble ex-Premier, we hear, intends to be in his place in the House of Lords the first day of the session of Parliament. The precise day of the re-assembling of the Legislature, it is understood, will be fixed at the Privy Council to be held by her Majesty to-day, at Windsor Castle. The Earl of Jersey continues to improve in health, at Middleton Park, where his lordship and the countess are staying in retirement. Viscount and Viscountess Villiers are staying with the noble earl. Lord and Lady Robert Grosvenor and the Hon. Miss Grosvenor, who are staying on a visit to the Marquis of Salisbury, at Hatfield House, are expected to leave that seat to-morrow, for Moor Park, Herts. A large circle of relations and friends are assembled at Blenheim to celebrate the anniversary of the birth day of the Duke of Marlborough. The Duke yesterday completed his 60th year. The festivities are to be kept up during the whole week. The Marchioness of Blandford does the honours. FUNERAL OF THE LATE MARCHIONESS WELLESLEY.—• The funeral of the late Marchioness Wellesley was by her own expressed desire strictly private. Her remains were conveyed from the palace, Hampton-court, to Cossey-hall, the seat of Lord Staford, for interment in the vault of the domestic chapel, adjoining the hall. They were received at the chapel on Friday, the 23d inst., and conducted to a space before the altar ; and after the chanting of the Miserere psalm and the pre scribed prayers, ware deposited in the chapel for the night. The funeral obsequies began at half-past eight on Saturday morning. The service, consisting of the Office for the Dead, the Mass of Requiem with solemn music, and the final absolution or burial service, was per formed by the Very Rev. Dr. Husenbeth, many years chaplain to the noble family at Cossey Hall. The funeral was attended by Lord Stafford, Messrs. Alex. MaCtavish, Alfred Montgomery, John T. Down, and the Rev. Dr. Smith. There were also present her Grace the Duchess of Leeds and the Dowager Lady Stafford, sisters of the departed Marchioness. The funeral being private, the attendance of several noble relatives was respectfully declined. In accordance with the good old charitable practice, a dole of bread was given to the poor of Cossey on the occasion of the funeral. The deceased was most benevolent and kind, and her loss will be deeply lamented. FUNERAL OF THE COUNTESS OF MAR.—The funeral of Lady Mar took plaoe on Thursday, at one o'clock, and was conducted in the most private manner. The com pany, numbering about 12, assembled in Alloa Park mansion, where devotional exercises were conducted by the Rev. Mr. Brotherston, minister of the parish. The remains of the deceased were then borne on the shoul ders of six men to the mausoleum in Alloa Churchyard. Here the episcopal funeral service was read by the Rev. Mr. Franklin, incumbent of St. John's Church, of which the late Countess was a member. The body of the deceased was then consigned to its last resting place, enclosed within three coffins the second being a leaden one. The exterior coffin was covered with the richest cloth, and the mountings were of the handsomest description. Engravers on the coffin-plate were the words—" The Right Hon. the Countess of Mar and Kellie. Died 15th Dec., 1853.." There were present the Rev. Francis Stuart Menteath and Alex. Stuart Menteath, Esq., brothers of the de ceased ; Edward Wilmot Chetwode, Esq., Lord Mar's brother-in-law ; the Rev. Charles Erskine, incumbent of the Episcopal Church at Stonehaven, cousin to the earl ; James Johnstone, Esq., of Alva, M.P. ; Robert Robert son, Esq., of West Grange ; James Moire, Esq., J.P. ; W. Bennet Clarke, Esq., sheriff-substitute ; Andrew Jameson, Esq., the Rev. Mr. Franklin, the Rev. Mr. Brotherston, the Rev. Mr. M'Call, James Syme, Esq., surgeon. The earl himself remained at home from in disposition.—Alloa Advertiser. _ _ _ VISCOUNT MELVILLE.—It will be noticed from our Indian news that this nobleman has been appointed to the command of the troops in Burmah, vacant by the death of General Godwin. Lord Melville has already seen good service in the field, and his present appoint ment may b e l oo k e d on as an ac k now l e d gmen t b y th e Indian authorities of his thorough qualification for this important command. MORE DEATHS FROM BURNING.—Last night Mr. payne h e ld three inquests at St. Bartholomew ' s Hos pital on person s w h o h a d b een acc id enta ll y b urnt, makingin etahrelyl last twenty fortnight.cases The brou fi g r b s t t e before a t s h t e hat o same f i a woman named Virtu e G o ld, w h o li ve d at I nga l- p l ace, Hornsey-road. It seemed th a t last Thursday week, between nine and ten in the mo rn i ng , a l o d ger i n t h e coroner same house heard cries coming from the deceased's room, and she ran to render assistance. Finding the room door fastened she burst it open, and then saw the deceased lying on the floor, with her clothes all in lames. She was unable to remain in the room from smoke, but she called a policeman and another man to her as sistance. The poor woman was dragged out, and subse quently conveyed to this hospital. She was subject to fits, and it was supposed that whilst in one of them she had fallen against the bars. She died on Tuesday last. The next case was nearly identical in its main features. It was that of Eliza Lloyd , who lived at No. 55, Little Sutton-street, Clerkenwell. A person in the house heard her screams on Tuesday night, burst open her room door, and found the deceased on her knees on the floor, all in flames. She was subject to fits, and once before had fallen into the fire. She got assistance, and the people threw water over her. She was after wards taken to the hospital, where she expired on Wed nesday morning. The third case was that of Joseph Tiller, a boy eight years of age, living with his parents at Chatham-gardens, City-road. On Monday week he was left in bed with two younger children, and during the temporary absence of the mother from the room, the deceased went to the fire-place, where his night-clothes caught fire. He died on Tuesday morning. The jury, in each case, returned a verdict of "Accidental death." FRANCE. The rumour is circulated in some Legitimist or Fusionist circles that the Count de Chambord has been intted to the English Court, and that the visit wMtalie place in the month of March next, when the — ex -Queen of the French has returned from her visit to Spain, and when the united family will be received by her Britannic Majesty. It is added that a letter to that effect has been received in Paris from Frohsdorf from a well-known noble man personally attached to the household of the Count de Chambord. There is no truth in the rumour already alluded to, but several persons pro fess to believe it. It is said the good understanding between the English and French Governments on the Eastern Question has been further cemented by a very im portant act. In virtue of the line of policy agreed to between the two Governments, a draft was sent to London on Saturday last of a declaration to be drawn up by the two Governments, and communi- cated to Russia in their joint names. In that de claration it is intimated that France and England will not permit Russia and Turkey to make war against each other in the Black Sea, and that they accordingly interdict them from doing so. An Imperial decree, dated Saturday, enacts that the Universal Exhibition of Agriculture, Manufac tures, and Fine Arts, which is to commence at Paris on the Ist May, 1855, shall be under the di rection and surveillance of a commission, which shall be presided over by the Prince Napoleon ; and that the following gentlemen shall be members of the commission M. Baroche, president of the Council of State ; M. Elie de Beaumont, senator, member of the Institute ; M. Billault, president of the Legislative Body; Blanqui, member of the Institute, director of the Su perior School of Commerce; M. Eugene Delacroix, artist, member of the Departmental Municipal Com mission of the Seine ; M. Jean Dollfus, manufac turer; M. Arles-Dufour, member of the Chamber of Commerce of Lyons ; M. Dumas, senator, member of the Institute ; Baron Charles Dupin, senator, mem ber of the Institute ; M. Henriquel-Dupont, mem ber of the Institute ; Count de Gasparin, mem ber of the Institute ; M. Greterin, councillor of State, director-general of Customs, and of Indirect Taxes ; M. Heurtier, councillor of State. director general of Agriculture and Commerce ; M. Ingres, mem ber of the Institute ; M. Legentil, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Paris ; M. Leplay, chief engineer of Mines ; Count de Lesseps, director of Con sulates and of Commercial Affairs in the Ministry of Forei g n Affairs ; M. M4 r i m 6 e , s en ator, member of the nstitute ; M. Michael Chevalier, council lor of State, member of the Institute ; M. Mimerel, senator ; General Morin, director of the Conserva toire Imp4rial des Arts et Mdtiers ; Count de Morey, ' deputy of the Legislative Body, member of the Superior Council of Commerce, Agriculture, and Manufactures ; Prince de la Moskowa, ; senator Duke de Mouchy , senator member of the Superior Council of Commerce, Agriculture, and Manufactures ; Marquis de Pastoret, senator, member of the Institute ; M. Emile Pereire, president of the Council of Administration of the South ern Railway ; General Poncelet, member of the Insti tute ; M. Regnault, member of the Institute, director of the Imperial Manufactory of Sevres ; M. Sallan drouze, manufacturer, deputy of the Legislative Body ; M. de Saulcy, member of the Institute, and keeper of the Mussum of Artillery; M. Schneider, vice president of the Legislative Body, member of the Su perior Council of Commerce, Agriculture, and Manufac tures ; Baron Achille Seilliere ; M. Seydoux, deputy of the Legislative Body ; M. Simart, member of the Institute ; M. Troplong, president of the Senate, first president of the Court of Cassation, member of the Institute ;- Marshal Count Vaillant, grand marshal of the Palais, senator, member of the Institute ; M. Visconti, member of the Institute, architect to the Emperor. The decree enacts that the commission shall be divided into two sections —one of fine arts, and the other of agriculture and manufactures; that the section of fine arts shall consist of M. Baroche, M. Eug6ne Delacroix, M. Henriquel-Dtl - M. Ingres, M. M6rim6e, Count de Morey, Prince de la Moskowa, Duke de Mouchy, Marquis de Pastoret, M. de Saulcy, M. Simart, and M. 'Vis conti ; and that the section of agriculture and com merce shall be composed of M. Elie de Beaumont, M. Billault, M. Michel Chevalier, M. Jean Doling, M. Arles-Dufour, M. Dumas, Baron Charles Dupla, Count de Gasparin, M. Greterin, M. Heurtier, ML Legentil, M. Leplay, Count de Lesseps, M. Mimerel, General Morin, M. Emile Pereire, General Poncelet, M. Regnault, M. Sallandrouze, M. Schneider, M. Seil liere, M. Seydoux, M. Troplon g , Marshal Co un t Valiant. The decree further enacts th a t, in case of the absence of Prince Napoleon, the commission, in general assembly, shall be presided over by the Minister of State, or by the Minister of Agriculture, Commerce, and Public Works ; and, in their absence, by a vice-president, who shall be nominated by ballot in the first sitting ; that the section of fine arts shall be ,presided over by the Minister of State ; that of agriculture and manufac tures by the Minister of Agriculture, Commerce, and Public Works ; Aid that each section shall choose vice-president. The decree concludes by appointing M. Arles-Dufour, secretary-general of the commission ; M. Adolphe Thibeaudeau, assistant-secretary-general ; M. de Mercey, chief of the section of Fine Arts in the Ministry of State, secretary of the section of fine arts ; M. Andiganue, chief of the bureau of Manufac ture, and M. Chemin-Dupontes, chief of the bureau. of Navigation in Foreign Commerce, secretaries of the section of agriculture and manufactures." Another decree enacts that Lord Cowley, ambas sador of her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain at Paris, shall be a member of the commission of the Exhibition. This nomination is followed by these remarks in the non-official part of the Moniteur " Lord Cowley, ambassador of her British Majesty to his Majesty the Emperor, has been nominated a mem ber of the Commission of the Universal Exhibition of the productions of Agriculture, Manufactures, and Fine Arts, which is to take place at Paris on th e Ist of May. 1855. It will be remembered that at the Universal Ex hibition of London, M. Drouyn de Lhuys, at that time ambassador at London, was nominated by the Queen member of the commission presided over by his Royal Highness Prince Albert." The dividend of the Bank of France for the second half year of 1853, is fixed at 84f. per share, payable on and after the 2d January. The Paris papers of yesterday had not arrived when we went to press. We have, however, re ceived the following telegraphic despatch M. Fortoul, Minister of Public Instruction, and M. Thayer, Directer-Gen era l o f th e P ost , are gazetted as Senators. The Imperial decree sanctions the amalgamation of the junction of the Rhone and Loire and the Great Central Railway Companies. The Bourse of yesterday was heavy, in come quence of the announcement that Consols had de clined in London. The Three per Cents. closed at 74f. 10c., for the end of the month. , The Four and-a-half per Cents., closed at 101 f. ; Orleans Railway Shares, 1,170 f. ; Ro uen , 1,050 f ; H a vre, 500 f.; Great Northern, 875 f. ; Paris and Stras bourg, 812 f. 50c. ; Paris and Lyons, 912 f. 50c. ; Lyons to the Mediterranean, 747 f. 50c. ; Western of France, 687 f. 50c. ; Bordeaux and Cette, 620 f. ; Great Central, 515 f. ; Lyons and Geneva, 51% 50c. ; Shares of the Bank of Credit Mobilier, 735 f. ITALY. From the Ticino Gazette, we learn the Federal Government has obtained from that of Baden a modification of the severe regulations existing . in that duchy with regard to the transit of arms tended for the Swiss cantons. The declaration of the canton to which the arms belong, signed bl the Charge d'Affaires of Baden, need now n° longer be sent to the central government for er proval, but it will be suf f icient to show it to the local authorities. GERMANY. The Cassel Gazette says :—" The attache o f the • Ambassador of France, at this Court, Count Eugene de Belcour, has informed his government in a special note of the 28th of November, of the conditions on which Hessian subjects can emigrate to Algeria, without running any danger of being sent back to France. If they want to purchase land in the colony, each emigrant must prove that he possesses 2,000 f. ; but if an emigrant mereli, wants to work for others, he mus t h ave 400 f., 1' with a family, and 200 f., if a single man." The Carlsruhe Gazette of the 23d says :—" Th e Government has b een i n f orme d t h at the bishop of Frieburg has ordered the cures of his is ll ° - cese to explain to their parishioners, for three con secutive Sundays, the differences which have ails° between the Episcopacy and the temporal power' The Government has no intention to oppose th se explanations being given i n a ca l m an d temper manner, but if the priests should profane t churches, and excite th e i r h earers aga i ns t the eGo vernment and authoritie s , e ith er b y di s t or ting truth or by false statements, the punishment Whic h they merit will undoubtedly fall on them." A Berlin letter of the 23d says :—‘, The Gove rn ..: ment had the intention of extending the tar t accorded for the free imp or t a ti on o f r i ce and whn' to Sept. 1, 1854. B u t th e cus t oms con f er encen' s in not consented as far as r i ce i s concerne d ; i consequence the duty is to be levied from the Is e January, 1854, as previously. From the st - , date the cavalry is to assume its new unife,, Several Spanish officers have arrived here tostuar:: the military institutions of Prussia. It Is ~a O O flounced to-day that the Prince Regent of . B.au is to ask for the hand of the Princess Sidonieic, Saxony ; and as the Princess is a Roman Ca ° she as well as all the Royal family of 5ax 0 . 133 % in would have to embrace the Protestant order to marry the Prince. TERRIFIC RAILWAY ACCIDENT.—The D.ff Vale way has a branch from Merthyr to Dowlais. than a mile of this is an inclined plane, rising 400 feg l that distance. This is worked by a stationary exig o ; The officials yesterday neglected to attach the rope ''_,. the mid-day passenger train before starting it. It co F_ sequently dashed down the incline with prodigiou_s:i increasing velocity as it neared the bottom. The g_ 13 0 5 0 , leapt off the break soon after the carriages o f menced their descent, and was uninjured. N" e the passengers were, however, enabled thu s to esek' as they were all locked in the compartments, an d their ;shrieks while passing along the bridges o ver the roads near the town were most appalling,', 3 , B in branch joins OR to the main line at the bottom 0 1 '" ee. rai t l: cline by a sharp curve. The train abandoned th the carriages separating into shreds, the at this spot, leapt clear up into the air a great passen gerliT4 thrown out, and, with the debris of the train, falling'''. - f a der a shower into the Taff river and on the adjoiningoeience, tips. Notwithstanding this extraordinary 11 I cow' some of the passengers were enabled to walk aw a d t wo paratively unhurt ; others are much injured, the women are dying—one having her back broken,. e lf are other a fracture of the skull, besides which gad the frightfully lacerated and torn almost to ts speed been brought orked p to a stand, or, a t all even train been w with a proer, brea P k ie , c i e t t s. c s'asi to a/Old down the incline would have bee n so reduce d the fearful results of the catast ro p he• ou ld have .....,_.... W EL xL orj Arrive(ba )-1111' The a ° Iclite arge Wind Arriv e 64, 0 , (BY Wind Xi!? iv Z Sailed- Wind No arr P o g EN r the IV, In sPecto Pe? limp, witEA 70, 11 s 81. INEAT. Is Oct I Wheat, 7 : 8 41: 11 : A tto, 41 A. e ttmi nltt o s upply 1 , 41 W ditto, RIT 41 T rade ra NENve ruled gt Beef, fr Peal, the carc SOUT] to-d ay 48 follol 8 s Od • 81bs,to 4 , ROm; toe quo 4vi folio, to 5s 21 Per 81b NURL cr uc i Whic were their