The Sun. — London, England, 1857-02-26 00:00:00

THEATRE ROYAL, SADLER'S-WELLS. Under the Management of Mr. Phelps. THIS EVENING, will be performed THE RIVALS. Characters by Messrs. Phelps, H. Marston, F. Robinson, L. Ball, C. Fenton, Belford, Haywell ; Mesdames Eburno, Atkinson, Travers, and Mrs. H. Marston. To conclude with THE COMEDY OF ERRORS. R OYAL OLYMPIC THEATRE. Lemee, Mr. Alfred Wigan. This Evminz, the new drama, by Torn Taylor, Esq., called A SHEEP IN WOLF'S CLOTHING. A CONJUGAL LESSON. Lullaby, Mr. F. Robs ; Mrs. Lullaby, Mrs.. Stirling. Followed by the new farce, by Bayle Bernard, Esq., ailed A SPLENDID INVESTMENT. Commence at half-past Seven. ALSTLEY'S ROYAL AMP El ITH EATRE. Lessee anti Manager, Mr. W. Cooke. Continued and unabated Success. This Evening, will be presented the theme of the most flattering eulogiurn from the whole of the press, the operatic dri ma of ROB ROY, with Equestrian Illustrations invented Lv Mr. Wm. Cooke, and with the original music, Rob Roy, Mr. James Holloway. After which, the Equestrian SCENES in the CTRCLE. To conclude with the equestrian comic pantomime of PAUL PRY ON HORSEBACK. tommet.ce at seven o'clock. Dress faxes, 4s. ; Upper Bores, 3s. ; Private Boxes, from 1/., no charge for booking ; it, 2s ; Gallery, Is. ; Upper Gallery, 6d, uol office open from Eleven till Four. Stage Manager, Mr, W. West. Equestrian Director, Mr. W. Cooke, jun. ANTERBU RY HALL, Westmiuster-ro:►d.— / OPEN EVERY EVENING.—The follow ing company of Vocalists are engaged for the performance of Selections from all the popular Operas, Madrigals, Choruses, Glees, Ducts, &c., viz.: Miss E. Pearce, Mrs. J. Caulfield], Miss Brunel], Miss Sommers, and Madame Marietta; Mr. J. Caulfield, ff err F. Jonghmans, 1 - ',„ Grover, T. Farrant, S. Jones, J. Barker, W. Melling. P. Corri, Senor Antonio M. tie Solidi., and E. L. Hiroo ; Masters Austin, Bennett, and Corti ; Messrs. Sam Collins, E. Mackney, and C. J. Wilkins, Pianoforte, Mr. Cecil Hicks; harmonium, .T. Caulfield, jun.; director, Mr. J. Caulfield. Commence at Seven o'clock pre. esoly. Suppers, &c., until twelve o'clock. T HEATRE ROYAL, DRURY LANE.— Lessee, Mr. E. T. Smith. &et 31quager, Mr. C. Mathews. Stage .',lanager, Mr. P Ilexhy. Scenic Artist, Mr. W. R3ve - ..ley. The eminent Comedian, Mr. Charles Mathews, every evening. Great Success of the Grand Christmas Pantom . tee, the most magnificent ever produced on the English stage. THIS EVENING, her Majesty's Servants will perform the popular Comedy, A GAME OF SPECULATION. Characters by Messrs. C. Mathews, A. Youuge, R. Roxby, Vincent, Tilbnry, Templeton, G. Honey ; Miss A. Oliver, Mrs. Selby, Miss Barnes, and Miss E. Wadham, After which will be produced SEE, SAW, MARGERY DAR' ; Or, Harlequin Holiday, and the Island of Ups and Downs. The reduced prices as follows, varying throughout the house to suit every one :—Galleries, 64. and ls. ; Second Circle of Boxes, ls. Ed. ; Pit, 2s. • First Circle of Boxes, 2s. 6d. ; Dress Boxes, 35.; Stalls, is. ; Private Boxes, 10s. 6(1., 1/. ls., 1/. 11s. 6d., and 2/. 2s. ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE. THIS EVENING, will be performed A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. After which, a new ►rand Christmas Pali%mime, called ALADDIN AND THE WONDERFUL LAMP; or, Harlequin and the Genii of the Ring. Harlequin, Mr. Cormack ; Clown, Mr. Hull= ; Pantaloon, Mr. Paulo ; Co lumbine, Miss C. Adams. IHEATRE ROYAL, LIAYMARKET. THIS EVENING, to commence at Seven, with the successful new Comedy, in three acts, entitled, DOUBLE-FACED PEOPLE. Characters by Mr. Buckstone, Mr. Chippendale, Mr. Compton, Mr. W. Farren, Mr. Rogers, Mr. Clark, Miss. Reynolds, Mrs. Poynter, and Mrs. E. Fitz wil lam. Followed by (9th time) a new drama, called A WICKED WIFE. After which IsSth time) the new comic pantomime, entitled THE BABES IN THE WOOD, or Harlequin and the Cruel Uncle. The scenery of the opening story painted by Mr W. Callcott, The pantomime produced under the direction of M. Milano. Harlequin, M. Milano;Columbine, Fanny Wright; Pantal oon , M r. M ac k ay ; an d Clown, Mr. Driver ROYAL LYCEUM TELEATRE. Lessee, Mr. C. Dillon. THIS EVENING, will be performed the new play, in five acts, tiy Westland Marston, Esq., entitled A LIFE'S RANSOM. Lord Reyesdale, Mr. C. Dillon ; Bancroft, Mr. Stuart ; Felicia Revesdale, Mrs. C. Dillon. After which, a new farce. entitled MY FRIEND FROM LEATHERHEAD. Mr. Toole, Miss Wilton, and Mrs. B. White. To be followed by CONRAD AND MEDORA; or, Harlequin Corsair and the Little Fairy at the Bottom of the Sea. The burlesque opening by W. Brough, Esq., nunded upon the ballet of Le Corsair, as produced at Her Majesty's Theatre. The harlequinado upon things in gene ral. The new and magnificent scenery painted by Mr. F. Fenton. Conrad (the Corsair) bliss Wooigar Birbarto (his lieutenant) Mr. J. L. Toole Mg.hlora Mrs Charles Dillon C!owns Mr. If. Mai shall The box-office open daily, from 11 to 5, under the super stendence of Mr. Chatterton, jun. Carriages conveying parties t 3 the Private Boxes to set down at the State entrance in Burleigh-street. T HEATRE ROYAL, ADELPHI. Lessee—Mr. Ben. Webster. TO-MORROW, will be performed the popular drama of IRELAND AS IT IS. Mr. and Mrs. Barney Williams: After which, A NIGHT AT NOTTING-HILL, in which Mr. Wright and Paal Bedford will appear. Followed by a new Piece de Caractere, entitled IN AND ourr OF PLACE. Mrs Barney Williams. To conclude with the new original comic drama, called BARNEY THE BARON, Barney O'T,:ole, Mr. Barney OYAL SURREY THE AT RE, Lrmse-s, Messrs. Shepheri awl Creswick. THIS EVENING, VIRGINIUS. Virgiuius, Mr. Creswick After which, HARLEQUIN AND THE SUMMER QUEEN. Harlequin, Mr F. Clover ; Clown, Mr. Buck ; Pantaloon, Mr. Bradbury; tb Four Sprites, the Finis Fa mily; Columbines, Mesdames Marie and Agnes. MGR VTATIUt AT LONDON BRIDGE. MIS DAY—Morn. 13 min. aft. 3 - - Evening 31 Mid. ift. 3 I'4-licanow—Morn. 50 min. aft. 3—Evening 10 alin.aft. 4 rdE WEATHER—SUN OFFICE', FEBRUARY 21 TEIERIIOII3TER, IN THE SHADE. 45 -highest since noon yesterday. 37 —lowest this morning and during the night. 47—this day rt noon. BAROMETEB, 30 54--a very sudden rice this morning. WIND, N.—Light and fine. ,f. V 4,.. ), • • 4. - _ L . .:3-`•44 LONT)ON, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 18t7 The VICTORIA CROSS has been distributed. A glorious cat ilogue of names and deeds—published in a supplement to the L'mlon, Gazette of Tues day eveninz,, the 24th of February—notifies this fact to the general cpmnunity of Englishmen. A catalogue including in it all ranks and all branches of the two great warlike professions— Private S9ldiers and A.B. Seamen, Colonels, Commanders, Lieutenants, Qamtmnasters, Cor porals, a Boatswain, a Gunner, a Bombardier, a Stoker, an Ensign, and a Midshipman. For once -- family and favour have been alike forgotten. Merit, or rather valour, personal daring, or indi vidual prowess being alone looked to. It is the ornage to Pluck—this VICTORIA CROSS—given to the Heroes of the War in the name of the Crown and of the Country, Gallantly have the rc oipients won this badg e of their bravery. Gm ciously has it been accorded to them. Long may each survive to enjoy the privilege of wear ing it upon his heroic breast as the visible tribute of gratitude and admiration accorded t o hi m conjointly by the Nation and th e SOVEREIGN It is very interesting to note inscribed con spicuously on this catalogue of dauntless gentle men--men distinguished above their fellow s b y the tokens of preeminent courage—the name of Capt. WILLIAM PEEL, R. N., a younger son of oneof the greatest statesmen who ever presided over, awl not only presided over, but materially and beneficially influenced, the destinies of the British Government. It is still more interesting to note that this gallant young Tar has been thus distinguished in a peculiar manner, not merely for one Act of Valour, but for three successive and very remarkable Acts of Valour, evidencing an extraordinary degree of self-posse;- tion and self-sacrifice. Firstly, on the 18th 0,- tober, 1854—" for having, at the greatest possible risk, taken up a live shell, the fuze still b • urning, from among several powder cases, outside the magazine, and thrown it over the parapet (the shell bursting as it left h hands), thereby saving THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 26, 1857. the magazine- and the lives of those immediately round if." Secondly, on the 511 November, 1854 —" for having joined the officers of the Grena dier Guards at the B .ttle of Lakerman, and assisted in defending the colours of that regiment, when hard pressed at the Sandbag Battery." Thirdly, on the 18-,,h June, 1855—for " having volunteered to lead the ladder party at the assault on the Redan, and for carrying the first ladder until wounded." Honour to the gallant young sailor—the brave scion of a house already great in the annals of his country.. Captain WILLIAM PEEL'S case, however, although conspicu ous, is not—let it be understood at once—in any way exceptional. We have simply particularised his name in the first instance, because it is a name already dear to the hearts of Englishmen, and because the claims of the young commander hap pen at the same time to be threefold I If he was brave, he was brave simply among the brave. His prowess, heroic as it was, was a prowess in which be shares the glory with many worthy com petitors. Take the first of these evidences of his pluck. He was not alone in it. There was Lieutenant Lucas (also of the Ruyal Navy), who, in the Baltic, no less coolly and heroically took up a live shell and threw it overboard ! And there was Private WHEATLEY (of the Ist Battalion of the Rifle Brigade) who, in like man ner,* picked up a live shell and threw it over the parapet of the trenches before Sebastopol I Both being rewarded for the deed of daring with a Vic toria Cross I Or take the " second" of Captain WILLIAM PEEL'S claims for the cross—his volun teered participation iu the deadly struggle at In kerrnan. Was he not accompanied—. does not the London Gazette tell us immediately afterwards that he was accompanied to the field of bat le on the sth of November by a young mi idy (EDWARD DANIELS), acting as his aide-de-camp ? While in regard to his third claim, in regard to his volunteered share in the perilous attack upon the Redan on the 18th of June—was he not attended thither by that same midshipman as his aide-de-camp ?—the young middy " tying a tour , niquet on his (Captain Run's) arm on the glacis of the Redan, whilst exposed to a very beavy fire !" Was there not, for example, on that aame 18th of June, at the Redan, the brave Lieutenant JOHN KNOX, of the Rifle Brigade (2d battalion), who, not only volunteered for the ladder-party, but " behaved admirably, remaining upon tlie field until twice wounded." Lieutenant KNox having previously risen from the ranks, winning fortune at the point of his sword, when, as a Ser geant in the Scots Fusiliers, he showed himself " conspicuous in reforming the ranks of the Guards at the battle of the Alma," on the memorable 21st of September It It appears almost invidious, however, to par ticularise any of the names inscribed upon this glo rious catalogue—taking them even in a manner hap-hazard for the mere purpose of illustration. Not a single one among these recipients of the VICTORIA CROSS but has nobly earned the glory and the privilege of wearing it. excited the national disgust and indignation, for that was (as Sir G. C. LEWIS asserts) a more accident, of which he emphatically dc clared he would scorn to take advantage. But th Lt respecting the tea duties originated in his own answers, and if these were so framed as to deceive the parties he must be held responsible for the consequences. We therefore sin cerely hope that Mr. GLADSTONE'S resolution may be affirmed, and that the House will refuse to grant any addition to the rates chargeable by the Customs Duties Act of 1855 on the ar ticles of tea and sugar. But should that just and salutary proposition be rejected there can be no doubt that Lord jomr RUSSELL'S amendment will be a vast improve ment on the course indicated by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The loss to the revenue will be comparatively trifling ! No less than 1,640,0001. will be levied on tea more than could be raised under the existing law. This is a handsome dividend even on the sum asked by Sir G. C. Lewis. It is true that less will be received during the present year. But he has still to receive a moiety of the war Income Tax of 16d. in the pound, and has been able to indicate a considerable surplus during the coming year, while it will give him a large amount in 1859, when the Treasury will be very weak, there being every reason, as we have already pointed eut, to fear a serious deficiency. To the importers and dealers it will be a vast boon, affording them an opportunity of getting out of a considerable portion of the losses they may other wise sustain. The duty at Is. 4d. will, for the present year, only occasion as extra payment of 184,5001. more than would be levied under the Act of 1855, and although 778,000/. additional will be received in each of the follow ing years, the parties will have ample time to make arrangements for the reduction of their stocks, or such other course as they may deem advisable. Besides, as we recently explained, the public will receive an immediate benefit when sd. per lb. is taken away. The retail dealers must give the benefit of at least 4d. thereof to them, while two successive falls of 21. per lb. would not be noticed, save so far as empty assurances of an improved quality were concerned. On every ground, then, we trust that Lord Jolor RUSSELL'S amendment may be carried should the Chancellor of the Exchequer refuse the slight concession de manded. Every professing Liberal should give it an earnest and hearty support on the merits. We fear, however, that plea does not receive much attention just at present in the representative branch of the Legislature. The interests of party have greater weight with the quasi independent members than the welfare and prosperity of the people. "Read and you will learn," was the advice re peatedly given by the mother of Sir W. JONES to the incipient philosopher in the days of his boy hood. " Have you read my book," was the surly question with which, according to report, the late Dr. ABERNETHY frequently accosted his patients. Well, we have obeyed Sir GEORGE CORNEWALL Lzwrs—we have read his report as he told us ; wh•tit we learned is another question. Elaborate enough it is, in all consciencP, and re quires us to calculate with him to thirds and ninths of a penny to six hundred and sixty sevenths and thousandths, and t me) thousands of the value of the property ; but we must decline to trouble our readers with what they will as surely skip as they do thirds and ninths, and much more than that, of a Budget :speech. Business men and practical men do not value their taxes like actuaries; they have a much more rough and ready way of deciding on these incidences, their unfairness, and on where the shoe pinches. An actuary could ran a pin into us and prove to demonstration that it did not affect a milli , in'.h part of the superficies of our body, but if he did not pull it out faster than he put it in, be would run the risk of seeing much more than a millionth part of his own skin black and blue. * Several other dauntless f,ll)cvs distinguished them selves at different times, it should be here remarked, in precisely the same manner by throwing live shells over the parapets : among others rewarded for this deed of daring by investiture with the Victoria Cross, being Privates I\l`Corrie, Strong, Lyons, Coffey, and Sergeant Ablett. ± It is observable that this brave s. flier—who bad already, as we have seen, won his commission as lieu• tenant in her MAJESTY'S Army, by his distinguished gal lantry on the heights of the Alma—has never yet re ceived the wilt merited recompenco of his daring as a volunteer (as one of the ladder party) in that " forlorn hope" the attack of the 18. h of June upon the Roden. A. recompense (his captaincy) to which he was none the less entitled by the circumstance of his losing an arm upon the occasion. Lr , l d JOHN RUSSELL gave notice on Tuesday that ho would, in the Committee of Ways and Means, move an amendment to the proposition of the Chancellor of the Exchequer respecting tea, that the duty should be ls. 4d. per lb. for the year 1857, and continue the same for the two following years. This was the compromise sug gested at the meeting of the importers and dealers in t3a, and brought by the deputation therefrom under the consideration of Sir G. C. Litwrs. The Right Hon. Gentleman at the time seemed favourably disposed t)wards it. BuF, as it is impossible to say what'course he may ul mately adopt, it is right that the question should be placed in such a form, that the opinion of the House may be taken thereon, in the event of Mr. GLaDSTONE's resolution that " The House will not grant any addition t 3 . the rates chargeable by the Customs' Duties Act of 1855 on the articles of Oa and sugar," being re- We were somewhat amused, by the bye, at the facility with which Sir G. C. LEWIS'S attorney could argue from values of property when his ob ject was to maintain a tax ; and the uttsr impos sibility of reasoning on such a basis, when the question is one of applying an Income Tax to precarious and permanent incomes. Least of all could we find in the report any conclusive grounds for his flourish in the House on the 13th of this month, when he somewhat pompously declared, " that it is a duty which falls exclusively on realised property, for which reason it ought to receive the support of those gentlemen who wish to trans fer all taxation to realised property ; that is a duty which adapts itself with singular felicity to the circumstances of the taxpayer, which is heaviest when the insurance is lightest, and lightest tehen the insurance is heaviest So far as he could judge, he believed it to be one of the list duties which ought to be relinquished." Now, we must think, the elaborate report of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's advocate fails in all the important points which are regarded by the public. It is a tax on realised property, it is true—but only on a comparatively small portion of realised property, and a portion of it which has the most reasonable claims to exemption. Goods, the most costly subject of fire insurance, are a kind of property of somewhat precarious value ; but omitting that consideration, it should be borne in mind that they are but a part of the realised property of the country, and a part, by its very nature, especially liable to all kinds of risks and contingencies. This property pays largely already to the direct times of the country through bill and receipt and postage stamps, as by its being constantly changing hands it is more obnoxious to those charges than other kinds of real property. We should think it pays its full proportion, and more than its proportion in that way. jetted. We have already explained that the duties on tea and sugar are two of the most objectionable, in every point of view, that could be adopted. They are the chief domestic comforts of the la bouring population—indeed they may be classed amongst the necessaries of life. Theypromote a taste for quiet family enjoyment, and constitute the best antidote to the seductions of the beer shops and gin palaces. The retention of a high scale is there fore of a very demoralising character, and there is perhaps no fiscal charge which the philanthropist wou!cl more urgently desire to see either altoge ther repealed or greatly reduced in amount. If the duties were greatly diminished there can be no doutt that the consumption would increase in an inverse ratio. The truth of the proposition has been confirmed by experience in every case where the experiment was tried. But we have additional evidence in favour of tea—for it is found that in the Channel Islands the amount required is more than double what it is in this country, while in Amtralia the demand per head is more than quadrupled. The reduction to Is. per lb. would therefore by no means occasion a proportionate loss to the revenue— ands t no as every additional lb. of t ea use d would te x i r extra re quire 41bs. of sugar, to say nothing of r e h qu supply of dumplings, pudding, s argument to show that a similar result would fol low with respect to " the Corn of the Tropics !,, But, in addition to these powerful reasons against a retrograde policy in the matter of indirect taxation, the Ministerial faith is pledged to the importers and dealers in ba. Not only had the question been disposed of in 1853, but when it became essential, in consequence of the exigencies of the war, to disturb the arrange ment then entered into, a specific time Wi plain, clearly an d di s ti nc tl y fi xe d b y P ar li amen t when the reduced duties should come into operation. T o ma k e assurance dou b ly sure a t o the straightforward Chancellori interrogatory t e o r ft a h t s o winch r ece i ved an answer so satisfactory dressedyEx i we n haes e q v u e e r r y : respect that the parties interested had no hesitation in acting upon the supposed authentic information, entering into extensive contracts and largely it t pcttifogging quibble , creasing their stock s . It i s a " • • of the most despicable description to assert tha t • in consequence of the answer being couched in. a tax which now hazardous property escapes ? The ambiguous terms, the Financial Minister is LOW grass partiality of the tax dooms it to follow the justified in repudiating the honourable under- GLADSTONE Income Tax. st tnding, and victimising those who reposed eon- There is another very pretty epigrammatic fidence in his assertions. It is far worse than i statement, relative to the tax falling heavily•or that respecting the Income Tax, which so strongly ( lightly, i n mos t f a i r l y di scr i m i nated proportions. But there is one grand distinction between two classes of property, that of being combustible or incombustible, which surely ought to exempt the latter from Government charges, founded upon the very circumstance which makes it a more hazardous kind of property. Our Chancellor's advocate himself gives us estimates of the value of incombustible property—which, omitting the Funds, and much other property not liable to damage by Fire, amounts to the enormous total of two thousand seven hundred and fifty millions of property which pays no duty at al'. If this property paid the same duty to Government as that which is exposed to the risk of combustion, it would realise the enormous sum of nearly 4,500,0001. ; and, were all property included, it would not be less than about 7,000,000/. per annum 1 Can any ingenuiky of any Edinburgh reviewer, aided by all the report-writers in the world, convince the public that property in its nature hazardous should for that very reason pay It has only the slight disadvantage of being uAerly false. Confounding in their minds the difference between the value of the property and the sale of the premium, the reporter and his master tell us that the tax adjusts itself in beau tiful proportions to the value of the property ; the truth being, that if a man's property be so risky that he pays three guineas per cent. to the llnsurance-office, he still pays as much as if he paid the office but Is. 6d. per cent. Of course the duty is less relatively to the premium, but relatively to the property it is a greater hardship. The owner of a first-class house who pays is. 61. is surely better off, and premium, plus 3s. duty, feels the tax less than the man who has to pay three guineas before he pays the duty. Beautiful adjustment of incidence, certainly, which the more a man has to pay for a guarantee of his 1001. worth of property, leaves him the same duty to pay as if the office had charged him the lowest rate. One hundred pounds of property, worth three guineas less because of its risky quality, must pay the same duty as 1001. worth, worth only ls. 6d. less from the same cause. Surely, equity would demand that, when the insurance and duty together would be above the lowest rate, 4s. 6d., the duty should fall till no one, on the whole, paid more than 4.. 6d. We have not space just now to notice some minor errors, especially that of overlooking the payment of insurance by the same goods, in all their stages of manufacture, till they are entirely consumed. But it will seem to many readers almost incredible that the Chancellor of the Ex ' chequer's report attempts to persuade us that the Fire duty is, in no peculiar sense, a tax on pru dence ; it is as obviously so as the GLADSTONE Income Tax is a tax on conscientiousness. Few, if any other taxes, are paid on what the payer feels to be so peculiarly an act of prudence. In deed almost all his other prudential acts save him from taxes. If, to meet the wants of a rising family, he keeps neither horses, carriages, nor n d of fire, rates dogs, he escapes asse sse d t axes . If he takes a cheaper house for th e same reason , he pays lower t house ionof d theuty a self-denial saves a tax. But, if he denies himself the a v c e , ment steps in and mu l cts hi m on th e a verage one hundred per cent. f or th a t ac t o f prudence ! No some shillings or p oun d s f rom p ru d e nt considera tion hazards forthwith almost every Go t Govern , of. sophistry, not even should Mr. GLADSTONE him self come to Sir G. C. LEWIS'S help, will ever I persuade any insurer that Government does not 1 by the Fire Duty levy a tax on his prudence. LATEST NEWS. AMERICA. (BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.) LIVERPOOL, THURSDAY MORN/NG. The Cunard steamer Alps is in the river, with he New York mails of the 14th instant. WRECK OF THE PENINSULAR STEAMER MADRID. We have received the following communicaticn from the office of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company : "FEB. 26. "A telegraphic message has been received here this morning to the effect that the steamer Madrid, conveying the outward Peninsular mails of the 17th, struck on a rock at the entrance of the port of Vigo on the 20th inst. All on board were saved. "No further particulars are known." The Paris correspondent of the Times (second edition) says : "On the Persian question I can only add that, as I am informed, the articles of the proposed convention with England specify that the latter Power shall henceforth be treated as the most favoured nation, that is, as Russia, with.respect to commercial advantages ; and, moreover, that she shall have a right to found an establish ment in the isle of Karrak and another in Or muz. These conditions would appear to be independent of the evacuation of Herat by the Persians, and the abandonment of Bushire by the English. The English Government had demanded the right to appoint a Consul at Balfrush, a port of the Mazanderan on the Caspian Sea, but the Persian Envoy alleged that the existing treaties with Russia contain a clause prohibiting foreign diplomat;c agents from residing on the shores of that sea, and no other foreign Power has an agent there. But she may enjoy the right of having Consuls on several specified points in the interior of Persia, and on the shore of the Per sian Gulf. If the conditions to be submitted to the English Government be accepted, Feruk Khan will probably go to London, merely for the ratifi cation of the treaty between us and Persia." TRIESTE, FEB. 25. Accounts from Hong Kong, of the 15th of January, state that a numerous Chinese fleet had attacked the English squadron, and subsequently retired in good order under the forts of Canton. Admiral Seymour had disembarked troops and burnt the greater part of the suburbs of Canton. Tho fleet belonging to the Chinese rebels had formed a junction with that of the imperialists at Whampoa. Perhaps one of the most singular arguments alleged in favour of the duty, is, that it is quite satisfactory to those who collect it. The offices receive about 5 per cent. for performing that duty ; and it is not matter of surprise, therefore, that they should desire its cbntinuance. In a large office it goes far towards paying the office expenses. A still stronger reason, however, is, that it is to some extent a check on competition. It is practically found as disadvantageous to a new office as beneficial to an old one. This the Reporter himself plainly states. Most duties are in this way found to cause a partial monopoly in any manufacture, and hence it is rarely the case that the manufacturers themselves desire their repeal. The Reporter adverts to the tendency of in surance to encourage arson, and observes that it may not therefore be a saving to the community as a whole ; he forgets that it equally discourages incendiarism, since the incendiary has no spite against an office. The remark is, however, but an illustration of the determination of the Re porter to make out his casa even by self-contra_ dictory arguinent3. We have little doubt that the law in respect to arson in its bearing on in surance might be much improved. Many a claim would be forfeited if the insurer had t ) remove all fair grounds of suspicion. The legal evidence of arson may be wanting in many cases, where a jury would say that a man ought not to be paid till he gave better proof of innocence. MADRID, FEB. 21. The decree for the reduction of some public salaries, and the abolition of others, is gazetted, and is to take effect in May next. Gonzales Bravo has left for London. FRANCE. PARIS, WEDNESDAY EVENING. The Debuts thus replies to au article in the Univers deploring the principle of equality which forms the basis of French legislation in matters of hereditary transmission of property : 'The Legislative Corps, it is known, is engaged in examining a bill which confers on Marshal Pelissier an hereditary pension of 100,000 fr. If we allude to this bill it is iu order to applaud the sentiment which bestows on the conqueror of Sebastopol a reward for services rendered to France. But we owe a reply to the obser vations made on this subject by the Univers. The great prize pie of equality before the law, °fa quality before justice, which that journal dislikes, is the key-stone of modern society, of the society founded by the French revolution. To demand the restora tion of ancient privileges, of the ancient inequality, is to ex ict the destruction of the society in which we live ; it is tantamount to levelling the tree planted by our fathers in the night of the 4th of August, 1789. We are inspired with no democratical prejudice ; we f ee l no inclination for the brutal and blind equality which only results in the dissolution of social bonds and in an absolute levelling. But without disguising the im perfections and weak sides of society such as the revolu tion and the civil code have made it, we preler it im mensely to the society of the ancien r6gitne,' to the so. ciety founded on the right at primogeniture, the right of male succession, &c. We are aware that a society consti tuted on the principle of civil equality is more difficult to govern than a society founded on privileges and on bie rarchiosl distinctions. The right of primogeniture, we admit, possesse'l certain advantages both for individuals and for society • but the said advantages belong to the same order of ideas as those now invoked in the great American rep' lie in defence of slavery. Slaves are so happy t is the saying beyond the Atlantic ; younger sons and seas were so happy! say the partisans of the right of primogeniture and the admirers of the middle ages. We are only very slightly affected with this happi ness an 1 with similar advantages. We accept and we regard the principle of civil equality as an im mense progress of reason, justice, and humanity, as a conquest which is equally profitable to the mate rial prosperity and to the personal dignify of mankind. Happily, this principle is now an institution which de fends and maintains itself by its own strength, and which will not be pr judiced by the puerile declamations of the Univers. The whole world comprehends the variety of those reactionary pretensions and utopias which have for aim to resuscitate laws, customs, insti tutions, and a whole society dead and buried some 60 years ago. What would become d the principles of 'B9, guaran teed by the existing constitution, were all the reactionary interpretations, all Vie arbitrary distinctions which are daily offered, to be accepted The world is now swarm ing with individuals who have the pretension to correct and modify the programme of 'B9. The Univers would fain deprive it of the principle of equality ; others would retrench all liberty. The revolution is thus ex posed to two fires, and is menaced with the fate of the individual in the fable, who, between his young and his elderly wives, lost alike his grey and black hairs. The result is easily to be foreseen ; were care not taken, the whole programme would vanish, and the revolution would be entirely despoiled. What we seek and desire is the integrity of the programme ; we do not distinguish equality from liberty ; we have ever defended, and Ne shall continue to defend, with all our power those two grand principles, without distinguishing one from the other, or without sacrificing the first to the second' Tile Union cottains the following reflections on' the triumph of the Palmerston Cabinet in the divi sion on the budget. ‘,‘ Notwithstanding the imposing majority which has been obtained by the English Cabinet, clear-minded in dividuals will still question the duration of the adminis• tration headed by Lord Palmerston. We will not enter into conjectures which may appear hazardous. We will confine ourselves to stating that, in our opinion, the skirmish on the motion of Mr. Disraeli will neither prove to be the most terrible nor most decisive of the trials re served for the British Cabinet. Other straggles await it ; other dangers menace it on a ground purely .political. It has only entered the arena where various oppositions are prepared to engage it ; all depends on the attitude of its competitors, and, in particular, on that of the frac tion of Tories." HOLT, NORFOLK-RABBITS AGAIN ! TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. Sin, —Generally the minds of persons, however tyran nically inclined, are acted upon by public opinion, but in " The great Holt Rabbit Case," the craniums of those 'who shoal I be influenced appear too thick for public opinion to have any effect upon. It will hardly be credited that, after so strong and general expression of disgust by the press in this case, another prosecution could have taken place ; but it is, nevertheless, the fact. John Hagon, one of the men imprisoned for the last case of alleged trespass, has re ceived another summons this morning, and will appear beforo the magistrates on Saturday next. The informer is servant to George Barker, E , q., and the summons is signed by W. Hamilton Pemberton, E3q., of Holt Hall. The man will be defended. How the magistrates will act remains to be seen. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, A VOICE FOR THE POOR. Feb. 25, 1857. The Marquis of Exeter arrived i n t own on M on d ay from Burghley, near Stamford. The Countess of Jersey is expected in town on Mon day from Middleton Park. His lordship and the rest of the family are expected on Wednesday. The Earl and Countess of Caithness have arrived at their residence in Hill-street for the season. Lord and Lady Eiward Thynne have left town for Hampshire, where they will remain till after Easter. Lady Wallscourt and the Hon. Misses. Blake have taken a house in St. James's -place, late the residence of the Earl of Sandwich. The Baron and Baroness Riso have left the Clarendon for Paris. Lady O'llanel and Miss O'llara have arrived in town for the season. Lady Bdresford has left Parid for her residence al Versailles. Lord Normanby gave a grand ball on the 17ch at F1o• rence. The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess and their family honoured his Excellency with their presence on the occasion. Baron de Bourqueney, ambassador of France at the Court of Vienna, according to a letter from Vienna of the 19th, in the Borsenhalle of Hamburg, applied fur and obtained a leave of absence. The marriage of the Archduke Ferdinand-Maximilian with the Princess Charlotte of Belgium will becelebrated at Milan in the mouth of June, and the Archduke Francis Charle s an d t h e A r chduchess Sophia, the parents of the bridegroom, intend to be present at the ceremony. At the meeting of proprietors of the English, Scot tish, and Australian Chartered Bank yesterday, a divi dend at the rate of 5 per cent, per annum was declared, free of income tax. The dividend declared by the Submarine Telegraph Company yesterday at their meeting was at the rate of 7 per cent, per annum. The first annual meeting of the shareholders of the Bank of Egypt is caged for the 24th of March. That of the Ottoman Bank shareholders is expected to be shortly convened. BOURSE, Feb. 25.—The following were the last quotations : Cash. th c. End of Month. ali per Cents 3 per Cents ZO 70 25 New Loan — Mr. H. Berkeley, M.P., will bring the subject of the ballot before the House of Commons after Easter. Mr. S. Warren MA'. , has given notice of his inten tion to bri ng a bill bef ore the .House of Commons after Easter, to empower the House of Commons and its com mittees to take evidence upon oath. Mr. Heywood has paired with Sir B. Burrell until the 3d of March. Bank Shares 90 Belgian Fives .. Spanish Threes __ Piedmontese (5) ...... 91 --Home Debt ___. RAILWAYS—FOR CASH. tr. c. I r c Orleans 1,410 Western Northern 945 Strasburg Lyons 1,425 New Ditto Mediterranean 1,820 Grand Central Lyons Geneva Cette CANTON CORRESPONDENCE.—There were issued yes terday correspondence relative to the entrance into Can ton (1850-1855), and further correspondence relative to the operations in the Canton River. It appears that another small dividend is about to be announced to the creditors of Messrs. Whitmore, Wells, and Co., bankers of Lumbard-street. This firm failed about 20 years ago, with liabilities to the extent of 350,0001. Dividend s to the amount of 15s. or 16i. i n the pound have alr ea d y b een pa i d. It is estimated that the shipments of specie by the Peninsular and Or:ental steamer for India and China en the 4tti will be about 750,000/., principally silver, a con siderable quantity being engaged for Shanghai. A petition against the return of Mr. Weguelin, for Southampton, will be presented to the House of Com mons to-morrow evening. An imperial ukave just issued at St. Petersburg allows the importation of foreign salt into Bessarabia during the present year. PARLIAM&NTARY BILLS. Mr. Whiteside's two bills for the reform of the Irish Court of Chancery, as regards the titles of purchasers and the appointment of regii• trars, were issued yesterday. The efforts to awe the Royal Mail steamer Tyne have ben resumed , and she was on Monday morning h tilled ten feet astern. I t i s to b e hoped that with wore water next tide th e resu lt w ill be succeesfal. place on pretext of the deames3 of food. In virtue of the state of siege all the inhabiiarits hld i-e-n ordered t 3 give up their arms, unekr pain of being brought to trial before a military tritamal. It is stated in a ministerial organ that tle number of vessels about to be sent by the government aga,mst Mexico is, including transports for 10,000 men, to be between 20 and 30. " The country," says this journal, " may be assured that the national honour shall receive complete satisfaction." The Opinione of Turin of the 231 status that the Austrian Government has given orders to refine passports for Turin daring the Carnival. The _Risorgimento of Turin of the 22.1 mentions a rumour current at Florence to the effect that the Grand Duke is about to urant an amnesty, from the operation of which MM. Guerazzi, Montanelli, Pigli, and Montazio alone are to be excluded. The Count de Chambord arrived at Parma on the 20th, on a visit to his august sister and royal nephews. SINGULAR DELUSION.—Mr. Spooner has got into his head the curious notion, and nothing apparently will ever get it out again, that he is an Apostle Spooner.— Punch. The session of the Danish Chaml-er3 closed on the 23d inst. The Grand Council of the kingdom (R;ge Ran , ) will be convokei in March. THE LATE GAROTTE ROBBERY NEAR BIRKENHEAD. — Thomas Begley, an oyster seller having a stall near St. John's-market, Liverpool, has been committed for trial at the next Chester assizes, charged with being concerned in the garotte robbery and attempt at murder committed on Mr. Henry Saxby, a young medical student at Rock Ferry, near Liverpool, on the 14th of January last. THE SUPPOSED POISONING BY LOCUST NUTS.—Yes terday Mr. N't akley concluded the adjourned inquest on the boy whose death was attributed to eating some "locust nuts," a fruit recently imported from Eapt. It appeared on analysis that the fruit is not poi sonoui, and the jury returned a verdict of death from natural causes, BANKERS' RETURNS.—A. second supplement to the London Gazette of Tuesday, published yesterday evening, contains a copy of bankers' returns, made in pursuance of the Act 7th and Bth Victoria, giving the names of all the partners and shareholders in the various banking firms in London. The list occupies 150 pages of the Gazette. EMIGRATION TO THE WESTERN CONTINENT.—LIVER roma, Wednesday.—The screw steam ship; North American, Cap'. Grange, for Portland, and the Kan garoo, Capt. Jeffrey, for New York, sailed to-lay, the former at noon, with the Canadis i mails, 84 passengers, and a full cargo of merchandise ; and the latter with a small mail, 246 passengers, and a moderate, but valuable cargo. At the Southampton Dock Company's meeting yes terday a dividend at the rate of 4 per cent. per annum was declared. It was mentioned that the gross earnings last year exceeded those of 1855 by 1,7371. TRADE ACCOUNTS.—The return fir January, 1857, was issued yesterday. The exports shop, an increase of 1,000,0001. over the corresponding month of 1856. Some additional particulars have been introduced into the return, such as distinguishing the countries whence the principal articles are imported, and to which British productions are exported. DENSE FOG.—Yesterday morning a fog of density unusual at this advanced period of the season came over the metropolis, suspending for the time ali occupations for which artificial light was not available. Shortly after noon the fog suddenly cleared off, and the remainder of the day was light and clear. Advices received at Lloyd's yesterday from Constan tinople, dated the 11th inst., state that boisterous weather bad been experienced, which had interrupted navigation. The French steamer from Marseilles was over due two days, and other trading vessels were also out of time. THE REV. W. SINCLAIR.—The Rev. W. Sinclair cl ised his labours in connection with St. Geerge's Church, Leeds, on Sunday morning last, after discharg ing the duties of the incumbency for upwards of 19 years. On the following morning the rev, gentleman was ente:- tained in the Wellington Hall by a large number of his friends, and was presented with a cheque for 500 guineas, and an elegant silver tea and coffee service. THE SILENT SHELL.—A. puff in the corner of a newt paper, pretending to be a critical paragraph, commences withithe statement following :—" The narrative of Ad miral Napier's Baltic campaign has burst upon the poli tical and naval world like a bombshell." Yes ; very much like one of those bombshells which the gallant Ad miral poured into Cronstadt The explosion has made a wonderfully small noise. --Punch. THE RECrortY OF ST. GILES'S.—On Tuesday the Rev. A. W. Thorold, late Curate of Trinity Church, Maryle bone, who has been appoieted by the Lord Chancellor to the Rectory of St. tiles'e-in-the-Fiel Is, in succession to Dr. Bickersteth, Bishop of Ripon, formally read himself in, having been inducted by authority of the Bishop of London, on the previous day. REPRESENTATION OF THE CITY OF GLASGOW.—The writ for the election of another member for the city of Glasgow, in room of Mr. John Macgregor, was received by the Sheriff of Lanarkshire yesterday, and the nomi nation will probably take place early next week. Two candidates have been already proposed—viz., Mr. Walter Buchanan, of Stiaadon, and Mr. Humphrey E. Crum Ewing. Both are Liberals. The Lord Provost is chairman of Mr. Buchanan's committee. It is thought probable that Mr. Ewing will decline the honour in the circa rust inces. CRUELTY TO CHILDREN.—We stated in The Sun of Friday that an inquest had been held at Dawlish, Devon shire, on the body of a girl, aged 14, who was alleged to have died through the it -treatment which she received from her father, a shoemaker named Newberry. The coroner's jury did not consider the evidence sufficient to justify them in returning a verdict of manslaughter, but requested the coroner, Mr. W. A. Cocker, to censure Newberry for his brutal conduct to the poor child. Since then the magistrates for the division have caused him to be apprehended, and on Saturday after hearing evidence, they committed him for trial at the ensuing assizes on the charge of manslaughter. ETON COLLEGE AQUATICS. —The boating season usu ally commences on St. David's day, but in consequence of the let of March falling on Sunday, and the tri:Jl.4 taking place at the college on Monday, in which many of the aquatics are corn petitors, Tuesday, the 31 prox. has been fixed for the several craft to take the water, on which day it is expected eight long boats will be launched. The rafts laid up in ordinary during the win ter months have already been placed in their respective positions, off Goodman's, Searle's, and Tolladay's. Cap tarn Baring's eight have been out daily during the week, in the Victory. THE GUARDS —On Monday and Tuesday next the following changes of quarters of the Foot Guards will take place :—The 24 Battalion of Coldstreain Guards, which have been doing duty at Windsor Castll since July last, will march from the Sheet-street Barracks, under command of Colonel Cocks, for Wellington Barracks, London. The 31 Battalion of Grenadier Guards, under the command of Captain C. Alexander, will march from the Wellington Barracks to rtlieve the Coldstream at Windsor ; and the Ist Battalion of Coldstream will leave the Tower for the camp at Aldershot, under the command of Colonel Lord F. Paulet, Dr. Skelton, battalion surgeon of the\ Coldstream Guard• is lying dangerously ill at th e Sh ee t- street Barracks, Windsor. THE CRIMEAN COMMISSIONERS.—At the meeting of 'the E linburgh Town Council on Tuesday the Lord Provost moved, "That the Coancil resolve to present a petition to the House of Commons, praying them to take measures for marking the sense which the public entertain of the important services rendered to the country by Sir John M`Nelll and Colonel Tulloch, in their inquiry into the causes of the disasters that befel our troops in the Crimea, and in the valuable report submitted by them to Government." His lord ship remarked that the zeal, intelligence, ability, and intrepidity displayed by the commissioners in the Cri mea had been universally acknowledged and appreciated throughout the country, while their services had been most beneficial to the army, and what they had to re quest of their representatives in Parliament was that they should take some steps whereby the names of the o m Tule si oners should go down to posterity as benefac tors of their country, and that they should show that such labours and services as theirs would always com mand the gratitude of their fell >w-countrymen. The motion was unanimously and cordially approved. THE CRIMEAN ARMY —Some returns just published give the following details respecting the army in the Crimea. It appears that the total number of cavalry who joined the army in the East amounted to 4.819, of whom 386 were killed or wounded ; the R. , yai Artillery to 7,032, of whom 794 were killed or wounded ; the Sappers and Miners to 403, of whom 140 were killed and wounded ; and the total infantry to 43,276, of whom 13,297 were killed or wounded. Thus, the general total of all arms was 55,530, and of these 14,631 were killed or wounded. A. separate return shows that up to the Ist of June, 1856, 2,755 officers and men (Including 157 officers) were killed in the Crimea, and that 515 officers, 579 non-commissioned officers, and 10,782 men were wounded. Of the wounded 86 officers, 85 non-commissioned officers, and 1,848 men died; while 147 officers, 574 non-commissioned officers, and 15,320 men died from sickness, and 1,137 non-commissioned officers and 13,531 men were invalided at the end of the war. 2,627 horses were lost, of which 401 were killed. Ts BMAILS. SOIITHAMPTON, Wednesday. The United States mail steamship Hermann, Captain Hig gins, sailed h ence t o -l ay w i t h the German Frenoh, and English mall for New York, 60 passengers, $lO,OOO in specie, and about' 400 tens of cargo. A very handsome silver snuffbox has been presented to captain Higgins by the six captains of the new European and American Company's steamships who went across to Bremen ii the Hermann a fortnight since "in remembrance," as the inscription states, "of a happy cruise in his ship, and admiration of his qualities as a sa , l , ir and a gentleman." The Hamburg and Brazilian Company's steamship, Petropolis, Captain Gcele, sailed this afternoon for Lis bon, Pernambuco, Bahia, and Rio Janeiro, with about 70 passengers, 80,0001. in specie, and a valuable cargo, in all about 900 tons, of English, French, and German merc!iandise. Among the passengers are 26 sisters of Mercy, of whom 10 are des fined for Rio, 10 for Bahia, and six fur Pernambuco), and two priests. The Petrc polis has about 1,800 tons of coals on board, and will roceed, without taking in coal at any intermediate sta tion, to Rio. The Belgian Transatlantic Royal yjail Company's steamship BAgique, Captain M. S. Traut n 8.R.N., left her e on Tuesda y afternoon, on her second 30 i zI u r e d B voyage to - New Yo rk, with the Bel gian sengers from this p oit . and ne a r 100 from Antwerp, and a full general c ar g o. The S p at.ish screw stea fil l , e ce l ona , Captain Brunets, gaol for Hamburg on SPAIN. The Madrid journals of the 20th and 21st have reached us. The Duke and Duchess de Montpeis sier had left Seville for Madrid. It was said that M. Gonzales Bravo was to set out the next day for London as ambassador, and that after presenting his credentials he was to return to take part in the labours of the Coites. M. Martinez de la Rosa, who had been seriously ill, was getting better. The monument erected to the memory of Arguelles, Ca'strava, and Mendizabal had been inaugulated with some pomp, and their mortal remains depo s ted in it. Out of regard to the memory of the d3ceas,d, the progressist journals, with the excep tion of the Clamor Publico, had appeared with black borders. The trial of General Prim had en coustered the delay, the case having been referrel anew to the public prosecutor. The military governor of Andalusia had declared the distr.ct of Almaden in a state of siege, owing to reports hav ing been spread that an insurrection was to take THE QUARTERLIES. The Quarterly Review. No. CCI. The new number of The Quarterly has already reached a second edition. We arc not surpti ed at it. It is altogether a mist remarkable number. Full of interest, f u ll o f nove lt y , rep l e t e w i t h evi dences of refired and elegant scholarship, and abounding with information. There are eight se parate contributi , .n., making up the contents of the present ins'aiment. The first of thee eight articles being a very elaborate and, as it proves when once fairly adventured upon, a singularly readable sur vey of the topographical IThours of Messrs. Baker, Bridge, Fuller, S oneberg, Hudson, Whellan, and Hartshorne, in illustration of the "History and Antiquities of Northamptonshire " Next we have—very pleasant reading for Mr. Harry Brad bury—a genial paper upon "Ferns and their por traits—Nature Print ng," in which the reviewer not less eagerlythan the reviewed evinces a readiness to.m. "Hie to haunts right seldom seen, Lovely, lonesome, cool, and green, Where the morning dew lies longest, Where the Lady Fern grows strongest:" according to Sir Walter's exquisite sylvan 'descrip tion. Later on, guided and companioned by ano ther critic in the Quarterly, we wander off, in a pleasant Waltonian essay, in quest of that Emperor of Fish " The Salmon." Another reviewer de scantivg upon "The Rat" merrily reminds us at. the outset of his treatise upon it, how— " Boswell relates that the wits, who assembled at the house of Sir Joshua Reynolds to hear Grainger's poem on the ' Sugar cane' read in manuscript, burst into laughter when, after much pompous blank.verse, a new paragraph commenced with the invocation— " Now, Huse, let's sing of rats.' " _Adding— " But if a mean topic for the bard, they aro an interesting subject to the naturalist, an anxious one to the agriculturist, and of some importance to everybody." Previously, however, to these two eccentric, but instructive and entertaining, papers anent " The Rat" and " The Salmon"—we are indebted to a '" gifted and 'scholarly- critic in the Quarterly for a masterly disquisition upon " Homer and h's Suc cessors in Epic Poetry." A disquisition in which —setting aside not only the great mass of Epic Poets (Secondary and Subordinate), but with them even Milton with his " Paradise Lost," and Dante with his "Diving Comnaedia"—the Reviewer con trasts, and weighs in the balance, and analyses, with the subtlest tokens of taste and judgment, Homer's " Iliad " and " Odyssea," Virgil's " Eneid," and. Tasso's " Gerusalemme Liberata." Before enter ing, however, upon this more detailed examination of the great masterpieces of Homer, Virgil, and Tasso, the Quarterly Review observes incident ally of Danta as compared with Milton, that while he is in the Purgatorio and Paradiso more heavenly than Milton, he is throughout the t Divina Comrnedia' " truly and profoundly human." Subsequently, in illustration, or rather verification, of the remark that " the immense power of Virgil as a poet had been demonstrated before he wrote the ‘lEn.eid,'" the writer observes, very admirably, "He had shown their full splendour in the Geor gics ; though the nOoe or (so to speak) the heart, even of that great work was touched with paralysis by his Epicurean and self-centring philosophy." It is added, however, a little later on—as regret fully as truthfully—that about the only Touch of Nature in the whole of that grand epic of the Aneid is the simile (viii., 407) of the mother la bowing with her maidens at night " Castum ut servare cubilo Conjugis, et possit parvos educere untos." As a magnificent specimen of Hornet's descriptive powers, we have, excerpted, his picture of the first great mental cinvulsion of Achilles : W e oaro 1171XEi(om axon yivur, iv (34 of irop cr7-40Eacriv Xacriotat atavatxa pEpitiptZev, it bye opciayavov pvcreretAsvoe rap& impoil ro'c µiv rivacrrllcruev, o a"Arpanv ivapttot, ?ji x6Xov iralicretev, ipqrziffeti re Ovit6v. While, as a crowning tribute of homage to the ge nius of Tasso, the whole of this really masterly cri- Vcism upon Epic Poetry closes with these earnest remarks of the reviewer :—That while— " It must be confessed a great and sharp descent from the stature of Homer as a creative poet to that of Tasso—yet hi too is a classic of Italy, and a classic of the world ; and if for a moment we feel it a disparagement to his country that she suffers in this one comparison, let her soothe her ruffled re collection by the consciousness that though Tasso has not rivalled Homer, at least no other poet of a modern time and couut2y has rivalled him; none has erected, upon similar foundations to his, a fabric so lofty and so durable, so full of beauty and of grace ; so well entitled, if not to vie with the very greatest achievement of the ages that went before Lim. at least to challenge or to win the admiration of those that have succeeded. To lose the match against Homer is far more than to win it from another competitor. Few indeed are the sons of genius, and elect among the elect, who can be brought into comparison with that sire and king of verso; and Tasso we are persuaded would bear us no grudge for thus far, in his words, limiting his honours : " e cio fia sommo onore ; Questi gia con Gernando in gars venue." The tone of the very admirable biographic criti• *ism upon " Sir Charles Napier" —upon th 4 Sir Charles Napier upon the great Sir Charles Napier, the Conqueror of Scinde, and the Hero of Meannee and Hyderabad, may at once be conjectured from the subjoined preamble to it— This,' says Sir William Napier,' shall be the story of a man who never tarnished his reputation by a shameful deed—of one who subdued distant nations by his valour, and then governed them so wisely that English rule was reverenced and loved where before it had been feared and execrated.' This we may add is the story of a man who united in his person qualities as fascinating as were ever combined in a hero—of a man who joined to the chivalry' of a soldier the sensitiveness of a woman--whose soul seemed by turns to be flaming with fire and melting with tenderness—whose life presents a singular combination of romantic adventures with domestic virtues—of memorable) deeds with the unfailing commentary of sagacious reflec tions and touching sentiments." And rightly is the Life of Charles Napier penned in this spirit of love and admiration—whether writ ten "at large" by the pen of his heroic and gifted brother Sir William,* or " in little" by the hardly less congenial critic in the Quarterly! For—to speak of Charles Napier, as he ought to be spoken of e as he has been hitherto so seldom spoken of, in the words of Truth, is literally to speak of him in the language of Panegyric ! From the preceding arti cle—a biographic criticism, or as it might perhaps, be more correctly designated the posthumous apology of " Lord Raglan " we extract the following interesting memento of the tranquil manner of the demise of a gentle and gallant; soldier. Premising that the reviewer has just im mediately before this observed that Lord Raglan had only taken to his bed on the 26th of June, 1855 " The evening after he was thought to have improved, and. by no means to have gone back on the morning of the 28th, but about four o'clock in the afternoon it became evident to everybody that he was rapidly sinking. His nephew, Lord. Burghersh, whom he loved for the bunny disposition Congo. (dal to his own, which he retained in the midst of danger and, trial, informed him he was growing worse. With that reso lute mind which had attended him through life, and which. succumbed to nothing, he affirmed that he was better. As he seemed, however, not to wish to talk he was left undis turbed till about eight o'clock, when General Airey, to rouse him, told him that his nephew was in the room. He woke up and said, ' Francis, come to the other side,' Francis, give me your hand,' and then repeated several times Francis, lift me up.' They were the last words be spoke. He expired twenty minutes afterwards in such perfect quietness that the bystanders could hardly tell he was gone,—dying with the same simplicity with which he had lived. Providence who had visited him with so many afflictions to fit him for this happy hour, spared him the sorrow of apprehending his danger and the bitterness of the pang which would have come over him when he thought of the relatives and friends far away in his native land. His entire life may be said to have been a preparation for death. To the eye of the observer his char acter seemed without a single flaw, and many a time have his friends been beard to say that, if ever a perfect being existed in the world, Lord Raglan was the man.' That he was chosen solely for his qualities in his early youth as a bosom friend of Sir Arthur Wellesley, and that he retained this pre-eminence. without a moment's interruption, to the death of the Duke— a space of mere than forty years—would be evidence of itself that he was possessed of extraordinary worth." The eighth and concluding article relates to "Our Political Prospects—Domestic, Foreign, and Financ:al." * It may be permitted to us here briefl y to rem ar k that our comments upon the latest h i s t or ic masterpiece of Lieut.-General Sir William Napier, Vols. L and 11. of his glorious brother's biography—" The Life and Opinions of General Sir Charles James Napier, G.c . B” 4 yob ,. 12 mo. Murray : . London—are only postponed until such time as a pause in the heavy debates of Parliament may afford us Aliterally) space in our columns for their publi cation.--lED. SUN.] Last Mr. S. . theCowell, l wh o three o a r s b four ee months, "starring reap peared t ng in th for one night at hi s old favourite place of amuse• meet, the Canterb ury H all. ep n ro ig v h in t ces M So enthusiastic was his reception that the audience were reluctant to part com• pang, even after Mr. Cowell bad sung four of his famous comic songs without the slightest intermission. The re appearance of this favourite comic singer was entirely unexpected, as Mr. Cowell, having to pass through Lon don on his way to Scotland, determined to spend an evening with his old friends. He gave his services gretu tou•ly ; thus showing the respect and good feeling Existing between him and Mr. C. Morton, the worthy proprietor of this establishment. FATAL FIRE.—On Saturday morning, about 11 o'clock, a fire broke out in a portion of a mill at Kirkheaton, near Huddersfield, known as Levi's mill, and the pro' pert) , of Mr. Sbeard, of Huddersfield. While a man of weak intellect named William Smith was willowing cotton and wool together, in the teazer, or willow room, the friction of the machinery ignited the cotton. Smith drew the burning cotton out of the machine and three: it upon a mass o f woo l an d cotton lying by, which wa s thus ignited. The fl ames s p rea d w ish great rapidity, and, befor e they c o uld b e ex ti n guis hed, damage to the extent of about 2,0001. was done. The charre d and burnt body o f S m ith was afterwards found, crouche d behind some oil casks. An inquest was held upon th e remains of the unfortunate man, and a verdict of "Acct . dental death " was returned.