The Sun. — London, England, 1857-03-12 00:00:00

developed at all, because we had not laid our railway down. We bad not opened our slips, or extended our cutting, and other things. The property was in a very different state. Mr. Liuklater—l w,ll ask you until I get an answer. Do you or do you not believe that you were making an honest represeu6tion to the shareholders in telling them that the Welsh mites were an available asset to the amount of 120,0001.1—1 can only make the same answer that I made efore. With that answer lam not satisfied.—l cannot give you any other. I can only say that at that time we did not be lieve amongst ourselves that there would be a loss upon that property. There is no question as to its lost power of deve lop ment The Commissioner—You would have sold it for 53,000/. if you could ?—But since that time we have done a good deal. We made a very Large extra outlay upon it. After 1554 ?—ln fact the principal outlay wad subsequent to that periotl. Subsequent to We expected sale of Messrs. Fuller and Co. ? —Yes. Perhaps while we are upon that property it may not be considered germane to the question to say, that the valve of the zuineral property depended almost entirely upon the railway communication we could make to it. Had we suc ceeded, which we fully anticipated doing, in introducing our coke fairly to some of the leading railways, I think that there were the elements of redemption on that account, and, indeed, it is that feeling, Mr. Linklater, which makes me hesitate to give you a strightforward answer, which you think I am shirking, which is no such thing. I repeat it, the coal was of great value for railway purposes, and had we been in a position to have opened a free access to the Great Western, the South Devon, or to the South Wales, or even to run up to the Midland, such a new and important feature would have been impressed upon the whole thing that I do believe, and we believed up to that very time, within a week of our stoppage, that there would be the chance of ulti mate realisation, and, therefore, you must not press me to say whether I am prepared to admit that we were making an honest statement. In the balance-sheet ending the 30th of June, 1856, sub mitted to the shareholders on the Ist of August, did you not represent the bank as solvent ? It is impossible to say we were not deficient. We were sanguine of surmounting the dif ficulty by the extension of business and increase in capital. Was you not aware that the whole of the subscribed capital was lost ?--/ can't deny but that we were in jeopardy. I can't say lest,' while there w's a chance of redeeming the Welsh property anti realisieg Mr. Humphrey Brown's secu rity. Mr. Linklater—How much out s—lt would depend on the estimate at the time of the value of the securities. Mr. Linklater several times asked if the account given in Febru , ry, I 856, was true or false ; and Mr. Esdaile said he could not deny that it conveyed an erroneous impression. Did ru, Mr. Esdaile, as governor, sanction those accounts, knowing them to be false ?—A long pause, and no answer. Question repeated—No answer. I again ask whether you did not know the accounts to be false ? Mr. Esdaile (warmly)—By this question you are charging ree with an untruth, which is foreign to my nature. I will not answer the question in that way. Mr. Linklater —ln your anxiety to protect the sharehold ers, did you not give a statement which was Lase ?—lt was not strictly justified by truth. Mr. Linklater—l find in the accounts ending the 30th of Juno the gross profits, after making allowance for bad debts, interest on promissory notes, ac., amount to 15,0691. 153. 6d. Was tl e.e any profit ?—Yee. Mr. Linkla er—Were not bad debts to 100,0001. taken cre dit for as as-ets I—You mean including advances to direc tors. Question repeated Adding reserved fund and in creased capital there was a large mat gin. Mr. Linklater—Was not the representation untrue ? —lt was certainly not borne out by the analysis. Did you believe it made a sufficient reduction in the bP.d debt ?—No ; but in the course of years we hoped to fine. it sufficient. The Commissioner—You wanted to throw the present losses on future generations. Mr. Linklater—ln the 810,000/., were not del:4s included as assets which had been bad for years? —ThorJght as doubt ful. We received 13,000/. last year. Mr. Linklater —But a large amount ?-7 es. Mr. Linklater—Knowing them to be hs' d, did you not insert them as good, intending th e y shoulc-.1 extend over future years ?..7-.Yes. Mr. Linklater—Did not the bad. r 150,0001. I—They mu s t h ave. Ad doubtful debts exceed You knew that in August, 18.514 1 —yes. And in December and June. '1855 I—Partially. Mr. Linklater—Then those statements made to the share holders were untrue ?—Yes, with some explanations. Then you knew there &.Y iuld have been no division of pro fits in 1854, 1855, and, 7 185 G ?—lf we are governed by the principle of meeting e . very obligation that appeared on our books. Question repeated- y es. At the time Mr, T ...addison, the solicitor, wrote to the Board of Trade for a cer cificate under the supplemental charter, did you not know ou were in a state of hopeless insolvency ? No ; only em),arracsment. The Comm! ssioner—You could not have paid your way without vie , ,r capital ?—No. Mr. LinY.later You became governor in Juno, 1855, and did you %hen believe all the capital to be lest ?—Mr. Esdaile : Wa beli eyed we should have recovered Cameron's debt, and that P_umphrey Brown would pay. In June, 1855, he did not know all the capital was lost, but believed it to be com. promised. Went on paying dividends after that. Believed Alderman Keunedy was not aware of the position of the bank, but could not say he did not kw ow it to be insolvent. The new shares were issued at a premium. After some further examination of a less important char "' ter the sitting broke up. THEATRE 111,WAL, LANE.— Lef.iner i , Mr. E. T. Smith. Acting Ms.nager„, Mr. C. Mathews. Stage Manager, Mr. 11, Roxby. Scenic Artist, Mr. W. Beverley. Last Se,ven Nights of the present Season. The eminent 'Comedian, Mr. Charles Mathews, every evening, and Mr. and Mrs. K ee l ey. Last 7 Ni 7 Us of the Grand Christmas Pantomime, the most niagnif,cent ever produced on the English stage. THIS E T /ENING, her Majesty's Servants will perform the Popular CAmedy, I CURE FOR THE HEARTACHE. Characters by Messrs. C. Mathews, Keeley, Vincent, Til brig. Templeton, Carter, Walton ; Mrs. Frank Matthews, Miss Cleveland, and Miss %I. Oliver. alter which will be produced SEE, SAW, M.I 4 .IIGERY DAW ; Or, harlequin Holiday, and. time Island of Ups and Downs. The reduced prices as follows, varying throughout the house to suit every one;—Galleries, lid. and is.; Second Circle of Boxes, ls. fid e , ; Pit, 2s. ; First Circle of Boxes, 2s. 6cl. ; Dress BOIV3, 3s. ; Stalls, is. ; Private Boxes, 10s. 6d., I'. Is., 11, lls. 6d., and 21. 2s. ROY A L PRINCESS'S THEATRE. T 117,3 EVENING, will be perforrued Shakespere's trlgedy of BIN( RICHARD THE SECOND. King Rie/iard 11., Mr. C. K an ; Queen, Mrs, C. Kean. Preemb.d by MUSIC BATH CHARMS. T er d.F3ATRE ROYAL, 11,),YMARKET. THIS EVENING, to commence at Seven, with the successful new Comedy, Ir, three acts, entitled, DOUBLE-FACED PEOPLE. Char, eters by Mr. Buckstone, Mr. Chippendale, Mr. Compton, MT : . W. Farren, Mr. Rogers, Mr. Clark, Miss Reynolds, Mils. - Poynter, and Mrs. E. Fitz- After which, A WICKED 'WIFE. Followed by LEND ME YAVE SHILLINGS. To conclude with M.or.orieff 4 coati° (Lama of THE IRRESISTIBLES, THEA.TRV, ROYAL, A DELPHI. LeaF ec—Mr. Ben. Webster. THIS EVENV,G, will be performed the popular drama of IRELAND. AS IT IS. Mr. and Mrs. Barney Williams. After whic',, A NIGHT AT NOTTING-HILL, in which Mr. Wrigb►, and Pawl Bedford will appear. Follow•.d by a new Piece de Caraetere, entitled IN AND OUT PLACE. Mrs Barney Williams. To conclude with the new original comic drama, called BA:ri,NEY THE BARON. Barney O'Tcole, Mr. Barney R OYAL SURREY THEATRE, Lessee?,, Messrs. Shepherd and Creswick. THIS EVENING, a new drama, entitled FRAUD AND ITS VICTI Messrs. Creswick, Shepherd, dre. After w 1.13 eh, an original farce, entitled, THE SERIOUS YOUTH, To do•.iciude with LES ARTISTES RIVAUX. Mr. F. Cloves Mr. Tapping, dte. 71HEATRE ROYAL, SADLER'S-WELLS, at Under the Management of Mr. Phelps. THIS EVENING?, PETE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR, Sir John Fnlstaff, Mr. Phelps. Th conclude with THE HANDSO;ME HUSBAND. STRAND T HEAT IVr.—MAn ag - er, T. Payne.—ThiN Er ening will be per:on - tied THE LAMPLIGHTER. Affer which, THE DEATH OF EVA, in which the Howard Family will wdpoar. Followed by TRE BLUE' JACKETS. To conelndo MA . D OR WIFE. Comm-n ee at T . Gallery, 6,1. ...,even. St a ll s, 3 s. ; B oxes, 2s. ; Pit, Is. ; R 0 Tic -1" ° LI 11,1 THEATRE. Plfrldevirigan. .Lesetee, M r , r THIS EVENING, 1 (s. new ; ,Tv !ailed THIEVES ! TWIEVESRobson The new drama, by Torn Taylor Vining, &c. WOLF'S CLOTHING. , Esq., A SHEEP IN , Followed by the new farce, 1, 3 . g ail,e Bernard , E sq., called A SPLENDID INVESTMENT. And, A CONJUGAL LESSON. Lullaby, Mr . p . Robson. Commence at half-past Seven. ASTLErS ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE, Lessee and Manager, Mr. W. Cooke. TLis Evening., with its manifold romant ic equestrian effects, invented..)y Mr. Wm. Cooke, the operatic drama of ROB ROY, with the original music, the last week of its performance.. Rob ktoy, Mr. James llollowa.v. After which, the Equestrian EVOLUTIONS in the ARENA.. To conclude with the equestria. harlequinade called PAUL PRY ON HORSEBACK Commerce at seven o'clock. Dre3s Boxes, 4s. ; Upper Boxes, 3s. ; Private Boxes, from it no'char e for booking ; Pit, 2s. ; Gallery, is. ; U pper Gallery,. dd. g Box-office open from El even till Four. Stage Manager, Mr. W. West. Equesti:an Director, Mr. W. Cooke, jun. CANTERBURY HALL, Westminster-road.-- OPEN EVERY EVENING,—Ti, e follow ing company of Vocalists are engaged for the performance of Selections from all the popular Operas, Madrigals, Choruses,. Glees, Duets, &c., viz.: Miss E. Pearce, Mrs. J. Caulfield. Miss Brunel!, Miss Summers, and Madame Marietta; Mr. J. Caulfield, Herr F. Jongbmans, R. Grover, T. Farrant, Jones, J. Barker, W. Melling, P. Corii, Senor Antonio M. de Sella, and E. L. Hime • Masters Austin, Bennett, and Corgi; Messrs. Sam Collins, E. Mackney, and C. J. Wilkins.. Pianoforte, Mr. Cecil Hicks; harmonium, J. Caulfield, jun.;; director, Mr. J. Caulfield. Commence at Seven o'clock pre• cisely. Suppers, dw., until twelve o'clock. Tll E SUN; LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, MARC.FI 12, 1887. R OYAL LYCEUM THEATRE. Lessee, Mr. C. Dillon. THIS EVENING, will be performed the romantic drama of DON' CrESAR DE BAZAN, with new scenery, c),,umes, &c. Don Caesar, Mr. Dillon. Followed by the gorgeous burlesque of CONRAD AND MEDORA. Miss Woolgar, Mr. J. L. Toole, &e. After which, a new farce, entitled MY FRI SD FROM LEATHERHEAD. Mr. Toole, Miss Wilton, and Mrs. B. White. The box-office open daily, from 11 to 5, under the super atendenco of Mr. Chatterton, jun. Carriages conveying parties t a the Private Boxes to set down at the State entrance in Burleigh-street. .Inua WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. rl3lB ;)Al.—Morn. 10 win. aft. 3—Evening 24 mid. aft. 3 l'n-"'oitl4uw—Morn.37 min. aft. 3—Evening 51 min.eft. 3 WEA.THEI).-SoN OFFICE, MAnat 12. THIZEMOAMER, IN THISI SHADS. 44 - hlgtebi. elute noon yesterday. 33 -:owest this morning and during the night. 45 -this day at noon. RAnourrsm, 3006. WIND, Westerly—Light, with dull weather. Two o'CLocic.—Wind, S. W.—Slight rain. y • 4 („1 7ti 4 C §Ult of the land. A little exertion will also secure the satisfactory adjustment of Church Rates. We trust that the necessary steps will not be omitted to secure these great objects. Major-General, rather Colonel, THOMPSON, once more for Bradford ! No announcement of pos sille changes will give genuine Reformers, and grateful Free-traders, more pleasure than tbis. His failure at the last contest in Bradford was unhappily due to a piece of Ecclesiastical revenge. The Catholics, for whom he had laboured so effi ciently to procure Emancipation, could not for give him his opposition to what went by the name of " The Papal Aggression." We will not revert afresh to the discreditable stratagem, by whici), under archiepiscopal direction, they ejected, on a petty quarrel, the man who had done so much for them in the great contest. Suffice it to say that Catholicism is, we trust, on the one hand not im placable and ungrateful, that Liberals are not unforgiving ; and that an opportunity is now offered to the Catholic voters of showing that they remember great services, although, unwisely and unkindly we think, they resented at the last elec tion a then recent affront. As the consequence they then procured the return of a man who, however worthy iu other respects, was one of the " No- Popery school," and who would, certainly, rather have put some of the old fetters on Catholics Again than have granted them fresh liberties. Mr. MILLIGAN, a thoroughly consistent Liberal, retires, the demand on his health being too severe ; an opeaing occurs, and the Liberals have prepared to contest the borough with Taus SALT, Esq., the noble-minded proprietor of the world famous Saltaire manufactory, and Col. THOMPSON, for their candidates. A mo re unexceptionable choice for this great centre of the worsted trade could scarcely have been made. No one can better understand the business details and requirements of the trade of Bradford than Mr. SILT ; while ao living Free-trader can be mentioned with Col. THOMPSON, as the philosophical populariser of Free-trade principles. A better combination of theory and practice could hardly represent any business constituency in the kingdom. Some hints have been dropped of the more Con servative Whigs supporting Mr. WICKMAN, the Tory candidate. We trust that they will not thus, ,o far as Bradford is concerned, set the Example ,)f weakening and dividing the Liberal interest. The wealthy manufacturer of Saltaire —a Liberal, -00, as consistent as wealthy —may well satisfy ;he most Conservative of the Liberals ; and in borough with such a large amount in it of Radi calism as Bradford, it is but fair that Radicals should return one member. When the choice of the latter rests on a candidate renowned through ,ut Civilisation for his literary attainments and writings, even the old-school Whigs may well be proud to keep all Liberal electors together by Aiding in the return of a Candidate who will , to them more honour than they can do him. They are" nob asked to vote for a demagogue, but for an .i.uthor to whose writings on Free Trade Bradford owes perhaps half its present prosperity. Even if his Reform principles do go further than theirs, they may comfort themselves with the certainty of their not being carried out in the new Parliament elected under the auspices of Lord PALMERSTON ; while the whole town, and every manufacturing town in the kingdom, owes him a debt, which RICHARD COBDEN himself and JOHN BRIGHT would tell them they could never repay. If they pass over this opportunity of doing honour to the A.poetle of Free Trade another may never occur; the town did well to honour a departed nun, but it would do better to honour a living TmomrsoN. Why should death be necessary to open people's eyes to the merits of men whom they neglected when living ? LATEST NEWS. THE OVERLAND MAIL. CHINA AND INDIA. TRIESTE, MARCH 11. The steamer Calcutta arrived here to-day at 3 p.m. in 114 hours from Alexandria. The India mails had arrived as Alexandria, with advices from Bombay to the 6th of February ; Calcutta, 7th of February ; Madras, 13th of February ; and Hong Kong, 30th of January. At Hong Kong the attempt to poison the com munity. hid caused great consternation. One partner of the baking establishment had been arrested and committed for trial with nine other Chinese. " Admiral Seymour had withdrawn from the Gardens and Dutch Folly Fort. "As a reprisal for the treacherous attempt against the British, the Western suburbs of Canton have been burnt down. " Exchange at Hong Kong, 4s. Bid. to 4s. 91d. `• At Foochow teas were arriving slowly and prices were high. " At Shanghai holders were looking out for a further rise. " Silk settlements were 2,000 bales, with $lO advance. " Exchange, 6s. Bd. Tho i.t.UTgence from Bushire is to the 23d of January. The general health of the army was good, and supplies were plentiful. No further military operations had taken place. General Outram had not yet arrived. The Conferences between Sir J. Lawrence and Dost Mahomed broke up on the 28th of January, when the Ameer left for Cabul. It is asserted that a British Residency is about to be established at Candahar. The Bombay money market was easier. Imports were steady. Exchange, 2s. lid. At Calcutta exchange was 2s. 2id. The improvement in the import market was well maintained. The New Five per Cent. Loan was progressing very slowly. It is said that the Emperor Napoleon has offered the Spanish Government to act as mediator in the differences with Mexico. Some French ships of war have been ordered to cruise off Vera Cruz. The Colombo arrived at Alexandria on the morn ing of the 11th inst. At that time the Euxine from Marseilles was not yet in sight. A Paris letter, in the Nord of Brussels, says : " The French squadron in the China seas is about to be reinforced, and an arrangement has been con chided to that effect between Count Walewski, Lord Cowley, and Admiral Hamelin." The correspondents of foreign journals (says the Constitutionnel) speak of what has taken place at the two sittings held by the Conference on the Neuchatel question. Their remarks on the subject can only be mere conjectures, as the pleni potentiaries have come to an understanding to keep secret all the details of the negotiation. The repre sentative of Switzerland has not yet taken ary part in the deliberations, because as long as the only matter before the Conferenge was the principle of renunciation the Swiss envoy was not convoked to the sitting, but he will be called on to take part in the deliberations as soon as the details of the question are entered on. The conferences will pro bably be resumed this week, 'and there is every reason to hope that they will lead to a favourable result." FRANCE. PARIS, WEDNESDAY EVENING. The Moniteur contains a decree allowing a num ber of French officers and others to accept an d wear different foreign decorations. A telegraphic despatch from Constantinople of the 4th announces that the bank had just been con stituted. BOURSE, Afirch 11.—The following were the las ' quotations : Cash. fr. c. 44 per Cents 3 per Cents 7O 90 New Loan — Bank Shares 4,200 Roman Credit Mobilier 1,420 Austrian Belgian Fives — Spanish Threes Pied wontese (5) ...... . 91 50 Home Debt RAILWAYS —FOR CASH. End of Month. —fr. ---c. 71 25 fr. C. fr c Orleans 1,450 Western Northern 982 50 Strasburg .. 853 Lyons 1,480 NOW Ditto Mediterranean ......1,9 50 Grand Central Lyons Geneva Cette THE STATJ? OF CHINA. BY SIR J. BONING. The following letter, addressed to the Registrar- General, London, by Sir John Bowring, has been published in the "Journal of the Statistical So ciety :" "Government house, Hong Kong, July 13, 1855. "Sir,—l wish it were possible to give a satisfactory reply to your idquiries as to the real population of China. " There has been no official census taken since the time of Ilia King, 43 years ago. Much doubt has bee❑ thrown upon the accuracy of these returns, which gave 362,447,183 as the total number of the inhabitants of China I think our greater knowledge of the country increases the evidence in favour of the apprt ximate cor rectness of the official document, and that we may with tolerable safety estimate the present population of the Chinese empire as between 350,000,000 and 400,000,000 of human being.% The penal laws of China make provi sion for a general Fy3tem of registration ; and corporal punishments, generally amounting t 100 blows of the bamboo, are to be inflicted on thi se who iwglect to make the proper returns. Tho machinery is confided to the elders of the district, and the census is required to be annually taken ; but I have no reason to believe that the law is obeyed or the neglect of it punished. "In the English translatio❑ of Father Alvares Se medo's 'History of China,' published in London, A.D. 1655, is the following passage : " This kingdom is so exceedingly populous that, having lived there 22 years, I was in no less amazement at my coming away than in the beginning at the multi tude of the people. Certainly the truth exceedeth all hyperboles ; not only in the cities, towns, and public places, but also in the highway there is as great a con course as is usual in Europe ou some great festival. And if we will refer ourse:ves to the general register book wherein only the common men are enrolled, leaving out women, children, eunuchs, professors of letters and arms, there are reckoned of them to be fifty-eight mil lions fifty-five thouand one hundred and four score.' The minuteness of the enumeration would seem to show that the father quoted some official document. " I forward herewith two tabular statements which I have copied from Dr. Williams's Middle Kingdom,' one of the bent bootie on'ehina. The first (No. 1) gives a list of the various estimates :from A.D. 1393 to 1812, with the authorities quoted. The second is a rearranged statement of censuses taken at different periods (No. 2). "As there are few Men in China more diligent or better instructed than Dr. Williams, I thought it desir able to communicate with him in order to ascertain his present views as to the credit which may properly be at tached to the official statistics of China. I send a copy of his letter (No. 3). "I do not know that there is any safer course than to reason from details; to generals, from the known to the unknown ; and I have taken every opportunity which my intercourse with the Chinese I-as afforded me, to obtain, if not correct, at least approximative, infor mation as to the true statistics of the country. It may be affirmed without any hesitation that, as regards the Five Ports and the adjacent districts to which we have access, the population is so numerous as to furnish ar guments that the number of inhabitants of the entire empire is very much greater than is represented by the official returns. These localities cannot be taken as fair averages ; for, naturally enough, increased commercial activity has brought with it a flow of new settlers, and there can be no doubt that some of the ancient seats of commerce have lost much of their population in losing their trade ; but whether ail the causes of decline in par ticular spots have much counteracted the fecundity of the Chinese races, considered as a whole, may well be questioned. "Some years ago I had an opportunity of discussing the subject of Chinese population with the mandarin at Ningpo, who was charged with making the returns for that district. Ningpo can scarcely be called a progres sive place—it is dec►dedly the least so of the five treaty ports ; but I found, generally speaking, that the real returns were considerably in excess of the official esti- mates. "And I would remark that, in taking the area of the 18 provinces of China at 1,318,870 square miles, toe census of 1812 would give 268 persons to a square mile, which is considerably less than the population of the densely peopled countries of Europe. "According to ancient usage the population in China is grouped under four heads-1, Scholars ; 2, Husband men • 3, Mechanics ; 4, Merchants. There is a numer ous class who are considered almost as social outcasts, such as stags players, professional gamblers, beggars, convicts, outlaws, and others ; and these probably form no part of the population returns. In the more remote ' rural districts, on the otber band, the returning officer most probably contents himself with giving the average of more accessible and better-peopled localities. "I have no means of obtaining any satisfactory tables to show the proportions which different ages bear to one another in China, or the average mortality at different periods of human life ; yet to every decade of life the Chinese apply some special designation. The age of 10 is called the Opening Degree ; 20, Youth Expired ;' 30. Strength and Matriage ;' 40, Officially Apt ; 50, ' Error-knowing ; 60, 'Cycle-closing ;' 70, Rare Bird of Age ;' 80, Rusty-visaged ;' 90, Dtlayed ;' 100, Age's Extremity.' Among the Chinese the amount of reverence grows with the number of years. I made, some years ago, the acquaintance of a Buddhist priest living in the . convent of Tien Tang, near Ning , po, who was more than a century old, and whom` people of rank were in the habit of visiting, in order to show their respect and to obtain his autegrapb. He had the civility to give me a fair specimen of his handwriting. There are not only many estab:ishments for the recep tion of the aged, but the penal code provides severe pu nishments for those who refuse to relieve the poor in their declining years. Age may also be pleaded in ex tenuation of crime and in mitigation of punishment. Imperial decrees sometimes order presents to be given to all indigent old people in the empire. I am not aware of any detailed statistics giving the number of such recipi ents since a return published in the time of Kanghi (1657). Kienlung (1785) directed that all those claim ants whose age exceeded 60 should receive 5 bushels of rice and a piece of linen ; those above 80, 10 bushels of rice and two pieces of linen ; those above 90, 30 bushels of rice and two pieces of common silk ; and those above 100, 50 bushels of rice and two pieces, one of fine and one of common silk. He ordered all the elders to be enumerated who were at the head of five generations, of whom there were 192, and, 'in gratitude to heaven,' summoned 3,000 of the oldest men of the empire to re ceive Imperial presents, which consisted principally of embroidered purses, and badgc3 bearing the character skau, meaning longevity. "The Kanghi tables show the numbers of those who enjoyed the benefit of the edict ; but as the returns bear no proportion to the general population of the country or to the relative extent of the various provinces, many fortuitous and local circumstances must have caused the obvious incongruities. For example, in the adjacent provinces of Kwantung and Kwangse, in which the whole mass of population is in the proportion of two to one, the recipients are as 46 to 1 ; and as regards age, while the propoi don of those above 80 is represent- d at 19 to 1, those above 90 are only a little more than 5 to 1. In all these matters the greater or less co-operation of the local authorities is one of the most important ele ments in producing a result. Kwangse is extremely mountainous, and bordered on the north-west by the countr; of the Meant -•az, or aborigines, the districts adj fining which are but in a half-reclaimed state, and governed by officers of a character and denomination distinct from thae of the provinces. But it is inexpli, sable that the prov!nce of Pechile, in which Pekin is situated, should exhibit but a small proportional return, especially as c onspared with the adjacent province of Shantung. Hookwang, wi h a Opulation of 26,250,000 has 37,354 indigent persons above 70, while Szschuen, the population of which is 21,500,000, presents only 176 persons in that category. " I think there is abundant evidence of redundant popu lation pressing more and more heavily upon, and suffering more and more severely from an inadequate supply of hood. Though there are periods when extraordinary harvests enable the Chin( to to transport rice, the principal food of the people, from one province to another, and sometimes even to foreign countries, yet of late the importations from foreign eounOies have been enormous, and China has drawn largely on the Straits, the Philippines, Siam, and other p!aces, to fill up a vast deficiency in supply. Famine has, notwithstanding, committed dreadful ravages, and the provisions of the Imperial granaries 'have been whilly inadequate to provide for the public wants. It is true that cultivation has been greatly in terfered with by intestinal disorders, and that there has been much destruction by inundations, incendiarism, and other accidental or transitory causes ; but without reference to these, I am disposed to believe that there is a greater increase in the numbers of the population than in the home production of food for their use. It must be remembered, too, that while the race is thus augmenting, We causes which lead to the destruction of food,—such as the overflow of rivers, fires, ravages of ' locusts, bad seasons, and other calamities—are to a great extent beyond the control of human prudence or human exertion. It would be difficult to show what new ele ment could be introduced which would raise up the native supply of foot beyond its present productivene 8, considering that hand husbandry has given to cultiva tion more of a horticultural than an agricultural cha- racter. " The constant flow of emigration from China, con trasted with the complete absence of emigration into China, is striking: evidence of the redundancy of the population ; for though that emigration is almost wholly confined to two provinces, namely, Kwantung and Foo kien, representing together a population of probably from 34,000,000 to 35,000,000, I am disposed to think that a number nearer 3,000,000 than 2,000,000, from these provinces alone, are located in foreign countries. In the kingdom of Siam it is estimated that there are at least 1,500,000 Chinese, of which 200,000 are in the capital (Bangkok). They crowd all the iihr.ris of the Indian Archipelago. In Java, we know IT a correct census there are 136,000. Cochin Chien. teems with Chinese. In this colony we are seldom without one, two, or three vessels taking Chinese emigrants to Cali fornia and other pllces. Multitudes go to Australia, to the Philippines, to the Sandwich Islands, to the western coast of Central and Southern America ; some h tve made their way to British India. The emigration to the Brithh West Indies has been consid era ble—to the Ha vannah greater still. The annual arrivals in Singapore are estimated at an average of 10,000, and 2,000 is the number that are said annually to return to China. "There is not only this enormous maritime emigra tion, but a considerable inland efflux of Chinese towards Mantchouria and Thibet ; and it may I e added, that the large and fertile islands of Formo.a and'Hainan haN e been to a great extent won from tho aborigines by suc cessive inroadi of Chinese settlers. Now, these are all males ; there is not a woman to 10,000 men ; hencf . s perhaps, the small soci4 value of tho female infant, Yet this perpetual outflowing of people seems in no respect to diminish the another of those who are left behind. Few Chinamen leave their country, without a fixed purpose to return to worship in the DJ, cestni /3tll —to bring sacrifices to the tombs of their fedi , rs : but it may h e denbted if one ie ten revisits his netive las& The loss of life from disesse, from bad arraegseeenfe, from shipwreck, and oth•r casuellie, amounts to a fright- . ful percentage on those who emigrate. " The multitudes of persons who live by the fisheries in China afford evidence not only that the land is culti vated to the greatest possible extent, but that it is insuffi cient to supply the necessities of the overflowing popula tion ; for agriculture is hell in high honour in China, and the husbandman stands next in rank to the sage or literary man in the social hierarchy. It has been sup posed that neatly a tenth of the population derive their means of support from fisheries. hundreds and thou swede of boats crowd the whole coast of China—some daises acting in communities, sometimes independent end isolated. There is no species of craft by which a fish can be inveigled which is not practised with success in China —every variety of net, from vast seines, embracing miles, to the smallest hanefilet in the case of a child. Fishing by night end 11 , Ling by day—fishing in moon light, by torchlight, arid In utter darkness—fishieg in boats of all sizes—fishing by those who are sta tionary o❑ the rock by the seaside, and by those who are absent for reeks on the wildest of seas,—fishing by cormorants,—fishing by divers,—fishing with lines, with baskets,—by every imaginable decoy and device. There is no river which is not staked to assist the fisherman in his craft. There is no lake, no pond, which is not crowded with fish. A. piece of water is nearly as valuable. as a field of fertile land. At daybreak every city is crowded with sellers of live fish, who carry their com modity in buckets of water, saving all they do not sell to be returned to the pond or kept for another day's ser vice. And the lakes and ponds of China not only supply large provisions of fish—they produce considerable quan tities of edible roots and seeds, which are largely con sumed by the people. Among these the esculent arum, the water chestnut (sciipus tuberosus ) and the lotus ( nelum,bium) are the most remarkable. " The enormous river population of China, who live only in boats, who are born and educated, who marry, rear their families, and die—who, in a word, begin and end their existence on the water, and never have or dream of: any shelter other than the roof, and who seldom tread except on.. the deck or boards of their sampans—show to what an extent the land is crowded, and how inadequate it is to maintain the cumberers of the soil. In 'the city of Canton alone it is esti mated that 3Q9,000 persons dwell upon the surface of the river ; the boats, sometimes twenty or thirty deep, cover some miles, and have their wants supplied by ambulatory salesmen, who wend their way through every accessible passage, Of this vast population some dwell in decorated river boats used for every purpose of liceese and festivity—for theatres—for concerts—for feasts—for gambling—for lust—for solitary and social recreations ; some craft are employed in conveying goods and passengers, and are in a state of constant activity ; others are moored, and their owners are engaged as ser vant sor labourers on shore. Indeed, their pursuits are probably nearly as various as those of the land popula tion, The immense variety of boats which are found i❑ Chinese waters has never been adequately described. Some are of enormous size, and are ufed as magazines for salt or rice—others have all domestic accommoda tions, and are employed for the transfer of whole famil'e , , with al their domestic attendants and accommodations, from one place to another,—some, called centipedes, from their being supposed to have 100 rowers, convey with extraordinary rapidity the more valuable cargoes from the inner warehouses to the foreign shipping in the ports —all these from the huge and cumbrous junks, which remind one of Noah's ark, and which represent the rude and coarse constructions of the remotest ages, to the fragile planks upon which a solitary leper hangs upon the outskirts of society —boats of every form and applied to every purpose—exhibit an incalculeb!e amount of population, which may be called amphibious, if not aquatic. "Not only are land and water crowded with Chinese, but many dwell on artificial islands which float upon the lakes—islands with gardens and houses raised upon the rafters which the occupiers have bound together, and on which they cultivate what is needful for the supply of life's daily wants. They have their poultry and their vegetable 3 for use, their le wers and their scrolls for or nament, their household gods for protection and worship. In all parts of China to which we have access we find not only that every foot of ground is cultivated which is capable of producing anything, but that, from the value of land and the surplus of labour, cultivation is rather that of gardeners than of husbandmen. The sides of hills, in their natural declivity often unavailable, are, by a succession of artificial terraces, turned to pro fitat•'s account. Every little bit of soil, though it be only a few feet in length and breadth, is turned to ac couat ; and not only is the surface of the land thus cared for , but every device is employed for the gathering toge ther of every article that can serve for manure. Scaven gers are constantly clearing the streets of the stercorace• oas filth ; the cloacae are farmed by speculators in human ordures ; the most populous places are often made offensive by the means taken to prevent the precious de posits from being lost. The fields in China have almost always large earthenware vessels for the reception of the contributions of the peasant or the traveller. You can not enter any of their great cities without meeting mul titudes of men, women, and children conveying liquid manure into the fields and gardens around. The stiruu- !ants to production are applied with most untiring in dustry. In this colony of flung Kong I scarcely ever ride out without finding some little bit of ground either newly cultivated or clearing for cultivation. "Attention to the soil—not only to make it produc ... tive, but as much productive as possible—is inculcated as a political and social duty. One of the most ad• mired sages of China (Yung•chin) says Let there be no uncultivated spot in the country—no unem• ployed person in the city ;' and the fourth maxim of the sacred edict of pang -hi, which is required to be read through the empire on the Ist and 15th day of every moon, in the presence of all the officers of State, is to the ful!owirg effect Let husbandry occupy the principal ilace, and the culture of the mulberry-tree, so that there may be sufficient supply of food and clothing.' Shin Nung, the name of one of the most ancient and honoured of the Chinese Empe rors, means the Divine Husbandman.' " The arts of draining and irrigating—of preserving, preparing,, and applying manure in a great variety of shapes, of fertilising seeds, indeed, all the details of Chinese agriculture, are well deserving of note, and all display evidence of" the inadequate proportion which the produce of the soil bears to the demands for the con sumption of the people.* "The Chinese, again, have no prejudice whatever as regards fuod ; they eat anything and everything Pram which they can derive nutrition. Dogs,- especially puppies, are habitually sold for food ; and I have seen in the butchers' shops, large dogs skinned and hanging with their viscera by the side of pigs and goats. Even to rats and mice the Chinese have no objection—neither to the flesh of monkeys and snakes ; the sea slug is an aristocratical and costly delicacy which is never wanting and. mere than the edible birds' nests, at a feast where honour is intended to be done to the guests. Unhatched ducks and chickens are a . favourite dish. Nor do . the early stages of putrefaction create' any disgust ; rotten eggs are by no meanie condemned to perdition ; fish is the more acceptable when it hes a strong fragrance and flavour to give more gusto to the rice. " As the food the Chinese eat is for the most part hard, coarse, and of little cost, so their beverages are singu larly economical. Drunkenness is a rare vice in China, and fermented epirits or strong drinks are seldom used. Tea; ixay be said to be the national, the universal beve rage; and though that employed by the multitude does not cost more than from 3d, to 6d. per lb., an infusion of liss costly leaves is commonly employed, especially in localities remote from the tea districts. Bath in eating and thinking the Chinese are temperate, and are satisfied with two daily meals—' the morning rice' at about 10 a.m., and the evening rice' at 5 p.m. The only repug nance I have observed in China is to the use of.miik— all extraordinary prejudice, especially considering the Tartar influences which have been long dominant in the land ; but I never saw or heard of butter, cream,, milk, ,or whey bring introduced at any tiative Chinese table. While so many elements of vitality are in a state of activity for the production and sustenance of the human race, there is probably no part of the world in which the harvests of mortality are more sweeping and destructive than in China, producing voids which require no ordi- . „nary appliances to fill up. • Multitudes perish absolutely from want of the rneans of existence—inundations destroy towns and villages and all their inhabitants ; it would not be easy to calculate the loss of life by the typhoons or hurricanes which visit the' coasts of China, in which boats and junks are sometimes sacrificed by hundreds and by thousands. The late civil wars in China must have led to the loss of millions of lives. The sacrifice's of human beings by executions alone are frightful. At the moment at which I write it is believed that from 400 to 500 victims fall daily by the hands of the headsman in the province of Kwang-tong alone. Reverence for life . there is none as life exists in superfluous abundance. A dead body is an object of so little concern that it is sometimes not thought worth while to remove it frern the spot where it putrefies on the sueace of the earth. Often have I seen a corpse under the table of gamblers ; often have I trod aver a putrid body at the threshold of a door. In many parts of China there are towers of brick or stone where tooth less--sprincipaly female—children are thrown by their parents into a hole made in the side of the wall. There are various .opinions as to the extent of infanticide in China, but that it is a common practice in many pro vinces admits of doubt. One of the most elo quent Caisese writers against Infanticide, Kwei Chung Fin professes to have been specialiy inspired by 'the God of literature' to call upon the Chinese peel le to re frain from the inhuman practice, and declares . that the Gad' hid filed his house with honours, and given him literary descendants as the recompense for his exe rtions. n Yet his denunciations scarcsly go further t han to - nounce it wicked in those to destroy their female children who have the moans of bringing them up ; and some of his arguments are strange enough ; fp destroy daughters' he says, is to make war upon Hea ven's harmony' (in the equal number of the rax,a) • the more daughters you drown, the wore you havewill ; and never was it known that the daughters drowning of daug'ite I's led to the birth of sous, lie recommends abandoning children to tirir fate r on the way s id e, ' as preferable to drowning them, and thun says, 'There are instances of children so exp osed havin g been n u rsed ais3 reared by tigers.' `Whereshould we have been,' h e as k s, fthief their rur in fancy.'gra m And he q , u °*"B and m others had bee n d r)wned in oOs two instanee e o f t h e pu• nishment of mothers who had destroyed their infants, one of whom bad a blood-red serpent fastened to her thigh, and the other her four extremities turned into " * See a valuable paper on Chinese Agriculture in the Ohhiese Repository,' vol. iii,, pp, 121.27. L -- I't tN, THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 1857 Many of the Coalitionists will speedily expiate the factious and un-English vote given on the Chinese question. The leaders themselves will not escape scatheless. Mr. COBWIN himself, the mover of the obnoxious resolution, has received a very decided notice to quit from his constituents. He will not be allowed further opportunities of spouting the twaddle of the Peace Society as member for the West Riding. He was selected for that important and honourable position as & recognition of the vast services he had rendered to the cause `of Free Trade ! But greatly as the electors valued the results, to the attainment whereof T ae had contributed, they are not prepared to sacri fice th e prestige of the United Kingdom, or to svcfer their native land to descend in the scab of 'nations. It is not that they love free trade less, but that they love the honour and interests of their country still more. And as the Hon. Gentle has proved incorrigible, as his re-election would be considered equivalent to an approval of the fac tious policy of the mongrel coalition, they are prepared, albeit with respect, to exclaim— "Richard, we loved you well, but never more be officer of ours." The Hon. Gentleman, rightly deeming discretion to be the better part of valour, will not venture to show himself on the hustings. In this he acts wisely, for an overwhelming majority would cover with confusion himself and the cause of which he has so unfortunately become the advocate. Lord JOHN RUSSELL, the leader of the scanty remnant of a once powerful party, will meet with a similar fate in the City of London. It is to be hoped, for his own sake, that he will imitate the prudence of his recent ally, and retreat from a contest in which victory is wholly out of the question. In memory of byegone days we would not desire to see the Ex-Premier disgraced in the sight of the country. The days are past and gone when he could come forward as the honoured representative of a large and inde pendent constituency. Should he still desire to take part in public affairs he may "hide his diminished head" in some nomination borough, where there is what is euphoniously termed " a prevailing influence." It is indeed deplorable that the once popular Reformer, the proposer of the modern Maria Charta, should be "so fallen from high estate," with "none so poor to do him reverence ;" but he has only himself to thank for this untoward state of altars. So long as he advocated an English policy minor errors might be disregarded ; but his offence is rank, and can not be endured. He has been permanently dis qualified for the representation of the City of London. It is also by no means certain that "Focia, junior" will retain his appellation as " the Oxford Pet." Of all the parties to the recant compact the Peelites may be regarded as the worst, and the already attenuated clips will be reduced to infinitesimal proportions in the next Parliament. For some time they were looked on as a species of legislative engineer corps—all officers without soldiers. But the " half-pay list" will probably receive a large addition, and many, if not all, will be transferred to the non-effective branch. GLAD STONE, CARDWELL, GRAHAM, PALMER, &C., Sic. , have their work fully cut out for them, and it it is more than doubtful that they will be per mitted to appear again in the same character. The great point to be decided is the foreign policy of the empire. But although that is the primary, it is not the only consideration 1 There aro many questions in which the voice of public opinion must be legitimately expressed at the hustiegg. Men may be sound on the Chinese question, but ♦ery unsound on other matters of vita consequence to the welfare and prosperity of the nation. It is necessary that candidates should be strictly catechised ou many other points. Never, perhaps, was there a time when so many interest ing topics were oa the tapis, to pass which cannot bedisregarded or slurred over. The iniquitous Bank Charter Act will be renewed for a further term. The commercial, manufacturing, and all the vari ous industrial interests will be condemned to penal servitude for a weary period of ten years, unless they speak distinctly and unequivocally while there is yet time. "The light cloud is rapidly passing from the face of the moon," and if the gollen opportunity bo ne4leeted or misapplied, they will mourn "in sackcloth and ashes" their culpable apathf and indifference. The day of retribution will unquesti)nably arrive, and the cup that will be bitter, inde d, must be drained to the very dregs by those who conceive the question too abstruse for satisfactory solution. Parliamentary, fiscal, finan cial, and legal 'alarms must also be pressed for wards ; the last traces of bigotry and intolerance must be eradicated from th• national statute book. No restriction on civil and religious liberty can be to- lerated. Marriages must be rendered free, and the unfounded prejudices of one sect or party cannot be permitted to fetter the freedom of choice in the most important relation of life ; that on which the happiness of so many respectable and conscientious persons greatly depends. If can didates whose views on the Chinese question are satisfactory cannot be induced to entert Lin whole some opinions on these and many other points, to hick we cannot allude this day—others may and will be found —who are "allright" in every respect. Generally, every elector must press for categor: cal replies, and not suffer the candidates to ride off on vague generalities. We earnestly hope that d to votew power, for,th no Dissenter will gi ve hi s vote for any person who only ple nigeea himself in his po will not but a.t to - r a i d a v g a e ri s cebyevery Affinity Bill," brou g ht i n b y the Earl of St. GERMAIN& A gentle pressure on that poi n t will prove very effectual at the present emergency. It must be admitted that the Act of 1835 is not only a disgrace to the national statute-book, but a libel on the religion of every Dissenter from the Statcireligion throughout the length and breadth RECOVERY OF THE TYNE. (BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.) SOUTHAMPTON, TRUILSDAY. The Tyne (steamer), from the Brazil; which went ashore off St. Alban's Head on the 13th January, came off this morning, and proceeded at 7 30 a.m. for Southampton. THE PENINSULAR MAILS. (DE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.) SOUTHAMPTON, THURSDAY. The Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamer Sultan, Captain Cook, arrived here this morning, from Alexandria and Gibraltar, with a small cargo and two passengers; being only au extra steamer, she brings no mails. From Gibraltar we learn that the Admiralty agent of the Madrid, wrecked at Vigo, delivered the mals correct and undamaged at Lisbon on the 27th ult. The British 'screw steam-ship Tbalia, Captain J. W. Wilson, from Glasgow, was immediately char tered, and on the Ist instant, at 7 in the morning, left Lisbon with the mails for Cadiz and Gibraltar, and arrived at Gibraltar on the 4th. The Madrid's passengers were left at Vigo, by their own choice, to await the arrival of the next packet from Southampton. DEATH 01 THE RIGHT HON. THZ EARL OP FIFE . --- We stop the press to announce that this much-esteemed nobleman died at his residence at Duff House, last night, at five minutes past eleven o'clock He is succeeded in his estates and his Irish tides by James Duff, Esq., M.P. for Banff-hirs.— Banffshire Journal. Rear-Admiral his Grace the Duke of Northumberland, K.G., has consented to take the char at the annual general meeting of the Royal National Life-boat Insti tution, to be held at the London Tavern on Thursday neat, the 19th inst., at two o'clock. A Ere* drama is in preparation at the Haymarket Theatre; from the pen of Mr. Bafe Bernard. We are informed•on good authority that the Bishop of Norwich ha 4 gone to London, and tendered his resigna• ton, in umsequenee of his continued indisposition. The animal meeting of * , bareholders in the Alliance Bank ii called for tLe 14th inst. at Paris. A further sum of 40,0001 in gold was taken from the Bank yestei day for exportation. The Rockwall has arrived from Melbourne with 81,000 mares of gold, valued at 324,0001. A large pro. portion of it is expected to be sent to the continent. Miss POOLF.—This agreeable and popular English sing-T hag announced a concert to take place early next month at the Hanover-square Rooms, at which numerous vocal and in,trumental artistes are engaged. Among the firmer the names of Madame Gassier and Madame Anna Thillon appear ; among the latter, M. Sainton and Signor Giulia Regondi. _ _ believed teat the next Indian mail will take ou about 600,0001. in silver. We are authorised by Lord Panmure to state that the assertion made by Commissary-General Felder, in a pamphlet published by him, that Colonel Tulloch, when sent int to the Crimea, carried with him a commission to supersede Mr. Filder as Commissary-General of the army, is without foundation. Colonel ToPoch was armed with no commission to supersede any officer, and could have no personal object to attain by the removal of Mr. Fader from his office. Mr. Beale's troupe of Italian artistes have been per forming with great success in Manchester and Liverpool. Amongst the ❑ovelties in the representations has been the first appearance of Herr Formes as Don Pasquale ; and the resu►t has been such as to realise the expecta tions that might ❑aturally be formed by those who had witnessed the great basso's performance of Leporello. He played the part according to a conception of his own ; and the audience were much amused at the ease and lightness displayed by an artist whom they had seldom seen in other than characters of the most sombre hue. Madame Gassier, as the heroine, is described as having fairly revel'ed in the sparking beauties of the music ; and the papers state that this favourite artiste was never heard to greater advantage. GREAT Loss OF CATTLE.—The steamer Countess of Lonsdsle, which arrived at St. Katherine's Wharf on Tuesday afternoon from Hamburg, reports having expe rienced a most terrific passage. About an sour before dayhrtak on Monday morning she was struck by a sea, whies carried away the port paddle-box, and swept oval board 203 sheep, 35 r xen, and 5 hort.e, , „ THE CIVIL SERVICE ESTlMATES.—Yesterday was pub lished a statement of the Civil Serve Estimates for the year 1857, ending 31st March, 1858, showing the total estimate and the sum proposed to be voted "on ac count" for each service. The whole amount required is 4,448,9681., and the sum to be voted is 1,553,2001. SPAIN. We have received the Madrid journals of the 7th. According to the Espana the English and French Governments have declared that Spain, in the event of making war on Mexico, will be war ranted in calling on the United States to maintain neutrality. MALTA. VALE TTA, MA.RCH 5. The European and Australian steam-ship Etna arrived from Southampton yesterday morning, hav ing been only seven days and four hours on the voyage. This is inauguratin g the new line With rapidity indeed. It is stated that the captain ex pects to be 12 hours shorter in his next run. The Cambria came in this morning from Marseilles, bringing a London mail of the 28th ult. ; and the EtnA proceeded for Alexandria. Tae Peninsular and Oriental Company's steam ship Colombo arrived on Saturday from South ampton, with the heavy portion of the India mail; and the Euxine, with the overland mail of the 26th ult., came iu on the 3d inst. Both vessels proceeded a few hours afterwards to Alexandria. H. M. steam-ships Spiteful, Magicienne, and Des perate arrived during the week from the East. The corvette Miranda arrived on Friday from Corfu, on her way home to be paid off. The Recruit left on Sunday for Corfu and Patras with a mail. She is ordered to remain on the Patras station and look out for piratEs. Amongst th e p as3engers by the Peninsular and Oriental C ompany ' s steam -ship Ripon, which left on Friday l as t f or E ng l an d , is the youthful Marquis of Hastinp, who has beers staying a few months ' in Malta with his step-faCtie-A Captain Yelverton, commanding H.M.S. Conqueror. The Duke and nicheLs of • Norfolk are expected here shortly on a I regret to state that an accident has occurred to Mr. Charles M'lver, one of the principal pro prietorA in the Cunard Stean 1-shipping Company. A pony kicked him on the arm, fracturing his elbow, and causing a severe con.tusion.. A serious accident also occurred on Friday last to Captain Goodenough, R. A., aide-de-camp to his Excellency the Governor. Whilst riding, his horse stumbled, and falling upon the rider's leg, caused a fracture of the small bone. Both L Tentlemett are doing well. By the arrival of her Majesty's ship Miranda, fr om Corfu, on the 27th ult.,,there from the Piraeus, . I learn that the 91 st Regiment was daily expected -,there as also a regiment from M a l ta. S ir A. Damaschino, K. C.M. G., has been nominated President of the Senate of the lonian Islands, vice Count Roma, G. C. M.G. A re=olution of the Senate lens been published, giving the cruisers of his Hellenic iktajesty the right to search suspected vessels under the Greek flag, when anchore I in any port of the Ic avian States, or on any pact of the lonian waits. .4 \ . - re ciprocal act is grant Al by the Grcek Government to British cruisers to search lonian vessels in thb harbours and coa=ts of Greece. Drs. Zervo wad Monferrato, who have been suffering exil3 for several years, have hem generously pardoned by Sir J. Young, l and they can now return to o phaionia without condition. The ten e l ec t ors o f that island peti tioned the Governor 611 th e sub j ' , ea immediately after their election, and :lave exprb. spa them s elves very sensible of their prayer having keen listened to. Nothing more of any importance'.- cow's feet.* Father Ripa mentions that of chat ilonti clpHren the i•epti , , , ed in Pekin alone not !egg than 3,000 yearly. I Lave wen ponds which are the habitual receiyical of female infants, whose boles lie floating ob-ut on their surface. "It is - by no means unusual to carry persons in it state of exhaustion a little distance from the cities, .to give them a pot of rice, and to leave them to perish of starvation when the little store is exhausted. Life and death in China, beyond any other region, seem in a state of perpetui 1 activity. The habits of the people, their traditions, the teachings of the sages—all give a power ful impuiee to their procreative affections. A childless person is deemed an un!iappy, not to say a degraded, man. The Chinese moralists set it down as a law that if a wife give no children to her husband she is bound by every tie of duty to encourage and to patronise a concu bine, threigti whom his name may be preserved, and provision made that when he leaves the world honours wid be done to his manes. One of the most popular of Chinese writers says, There are in the world wives whe t never having borne boys, or nourished girls, even when the husband has reached the age of 40, prohibit his bringing home a concubine or entertaining a handmaid for the purpose of continuing his posterity—they look upon such a person with jealous hatred and malig nant ill will. Alas ! do you know how fleet is time Stretch as you may your months and your years, • they fly like arrows ; and when your husband's animal spirits and vigorous blood shall be exhausted,—then, in deed, he can never beget children, and you, his wife, will have stepped the ancestral sacrifices, and you will have cut off his generation—then repentance, though you may exhibit it in a hundred ways, will indeed come too late.-- his mortal body wilt die—his property, which you, hus band arid wife, have sought to keep together, wig net descend to his children, but be fought fur by multitudes of kindred and relations ; and you will have injured not one person—not your husband only—but even yourself ; for who shall take charge of your coffin and your tomb Who shall bury you or offer sacrifices / Alas your orphaned spirit shall pass nights in tears. It is sorrow ful to think of. There are some wives who do control their jealousies, and a:low their husbands to take concu bines to themselves ; but they do so (ungenerously) as if they were drinking vinegar, and eating acids—they beat Betty by way of scolding Belindat—there is no peace in the inner house. But I beseech you to act as a prudent and virtuous woman. If you have no children, provide with openness and honesty a concubine: for your 1114 - band. If she bear him children, to you he will owe that the arteries and veins of his ancestral line are continued ; his children will honour you as yonr mother; and will not this comfort you I Give not way to the malignant jealousy cf a wicked woman Prepare not a bitterness which you yourself must swallow.'§ " Generally, however, the wife willingly coincides with the husband in introducing into the household any num ber of concubines whom he is able to maintain, since she exercises over them an undoubted authority, and the child of a concubine is hound to pay higher respect to the first wife than to its own mother. The Chinese illus trate all the domestic relations by imagery, and are Wont to say that, as the husband is the sun, and the wife the moon, so the concubines are the planets and the stare of the domestic firmament. “ And it has been often truly observed that, though the Chinese may be called sensualists, there is no deifi- cation of the grosser sensualities such as is found in the classical pantheons, and in many of the orientcl farms of faith. Tales of the amours of their gods and heroes seldom figure in their historical books or traditional 1 3 ' gends. The dresses and external habits of the women in China are invariably modest ; and on the whole the social arrangements must be considered friendly to an augmentation of the human race. The.domestin age' tions are strong. Parents are generally fond and proud of their children, and children obedient to their parents. Order is, indeed, the first law of Confucius— authority, and submission the apex and basis of the social pyramid.. "The sentiment of dishonour attached to the extinct on of a race by the want of descendants through whom the • whole 1 ne of reverential services (which some have called religious worship) rendered to ancestors is to be perl 3l ” • tual is by no means confined to the privileged classes in China. One of our female servants—a nominal Chris tian—expressed her earnest desire that her husband, should have another w if e i n h er a b sence, and seeme d quite surprised that any one should suppose such an arrangement to be in any respect improper. • "The marriage of children is one of the great coll' cerns of families. Scarcely is a child born in the higher ranks of life ere the question of its future espousal be• comes a frequent topic of discussion. There is a larg e body of professional matchmakers, whose business it i 0 to put all the preliminary arrangements in train, to settle questions of dowry, to accommodate differences, to report on the pros and cons of projected alliances. There being no hereditary honours in Chinas-- except those which reckon upwards from the die tinguiahed son to the father, the grandfather, and the whole line of ancestry, which may be ennobled by the literary or martial genius of a descendant—the distinns tions of caste are unknown, and a successful student even of the lowest origin would be deemed a fit match for the most opulent and distinguishable female in the cominus city. The severe laws which prohibit marriages within certain degrees of affinity (they do not, however, interdia it with a decea•ed wife's sister) tend to make marriages more prolific, and to produce a healthier race of children So strong is the • uection to the marriage of blood relss anise that a max and woman of the same Sing or family name cannot lawfully wed. " Soldiers and sa9.ors are in no respect prevented from matrying. I expect there is, from the number of male emigrants—from the greater loss of men by the various accidents of life, and their abstraction in many circunl• stances from intercourse with women—a great die proportion between the sexes, tending naturally enough to the lower appreciation of womrn ; but correct stags: tics are wanting in this, as indeed in every other part ot , the field of inquiry. " The proportion of unmarried to married people 111 (as would b e d e d uce d f rom the forego i ng o b servat i o ns) exceedingly small. To promote marriages seems e very: body's affair. Matches and betrothings naturally enough occupy the attention of th e y oung, b ut not l ess th a t of the middle-aged and the old. A marriage is the gross event in the life of man or woman, and in China is 5 4.3. sociated with more of preliminary negotiations, cerezno- • nials at different steps of the negotiations, written cor• respondence, visitings, protocols, and conventions, than in any other part of the world." * Doubt has been sometimes expressed as to the practice of infanticide in China on any great scale ; but abundance ° f evidence of the extent of th e usage may be found in Chines ° books. The following is a translation of a decree of the Emperor Kanghi, entitled,— " Edict prohibiting the drowning of Children..—When °' mother mercilessly plun ges b enea th t h e water the ten d er off spring to which s h e has given birth, can it be said that . owes its life to her who thus takes away what it has je t begun to enjoy. The poverty of the parents is the cause of this wrongdoing ; they have difficulty in earn' ing subsistence fo r themselves, still less can they pay unr B e" * and uncle, take all the necessary expenses for their children; Thus driven to despair, and unwilling to cause the death of two persons to preserve the life of one, it comes to pass that a mother to save h er h us b an d' s lif e consents to destro y her i children. Their n a t ura l tenderness suffers ; but they at length determi ne t o t a k e thi s part, thinking th em selves ow ,. liberty to dispose of the life of their children, in order to pro long their own. If they exposed these children in some nn' frequented spot their cries would move the hearts of the PI" rents. What, then, do they ? They cast the unfortunat e babe into the current of a riser that they may at onc e lose sight of it and in au instant deprive it of life, You have given me the name of father of the people. Though I cannot feel for these infants the tenderness of the parents to whom they owe their being, I cannot refrain from declaring to you with the most painful feelings, that I absolutely forbid such homi cides. The tiger, says one of our books, though it be a tiger, does not rend its own young; towards them it has a feeling breast, and continually cares for them. Poor as you 1:01 be, is it possible th t? a s t olf y tp o i u iset s ye h ., o s, l b l e d Lwe b ty e te e r o ae m srs e Eel the murderers of than h r t o h w e n v c e h ry ild b r e e as n i pp. 101-2. ± Chang for L ee, i .e.—they punish thleieflasc vants to be re venge d on the concubine. .1: Genesi s xxx , 1-13. From the P er f ect C o l lect i on of Household Gems. more , b u v i 12 n o .en:fixt x IRELAND. DUBLIN, WEDNESDAY MORNING. CONFIDENCE IN LORD PALMERSTON. At two o'clock on Monday a special meeting of the committee of merchants of the city of Cork was held at their rooms in the Commercial-buildings, under the pre siiency of Mr. Thomas S. Reeves, for the purpose Of addressing LArd Palmerston on the decision come to bY the House of Commons on Mr. Cobden's motion. After some conversation the following address . was drawn VP and unanimously agreed to : . "TO THE BIGHT HON. LORD VISCOUNT PALMERSTON. "Cork, March 9. "My LOrd,—The committee of merchants of the city g Cork beg leave to address your lordship on the extraordi* nary event which has just taken place in the adrninistra• tion of the country, and to assure your lordship of our sin cere regret that anything should occur to endanger the lose ' of your valuable services to the Government; because the nation is indebted to you - for the decision and a bility with which you brought, under Providence, a mi g ht y an d fear' ful war to a successful issue; because we b e li eve th e late decision of the House of Commons on Mr. Cobden's motion was based on combination, factious and unpatriotic ; and because we 'have the 'utmost reliance on the. honour and high-mindedness of your lordship, which we believe to be superior to personal considerations,and only concerned for THE MURDER 0 ‘ the honour and welfare of th e un i ted kingdom. " Signed, on behalf of th e C ommittee of Merchants: "T F HOS. S. SARAHR Ev E K S E , Chairman. The memory of thi s a l most f orgotten butchery wee re ' vived at the close o f t h e Westmeath Assizes yesterday , when appli ca ti on was made to Chief Justice Morates on behalf of M r. George Strevens to discharge him from his recognisan ce , into which he entered last assizes, te, attend at th e present ass i zes to answer the charge cf having been concerned in the murder of Mrs. Sarah Lily on the 6th of April, 1856. No bill had bees found, and under the Habeas Corpus Act Mr. Str e. rens vas entitled to his discharge after two assizes, al lass good reason were shown upon affidavit. The motion was oosed on the ground that the Ifabeaa Corpus Act d id p not apply to a case of bail ; and the ChiefJu tine said he was a opinion that he ought nct to interfere in this case. He would therefore leave Mr. S revens to apply to the Court of Queen's Bend' , if he thought fit so to do. He abstained a dvisedly. from stating his reason, but, knowing the nature o f the case and the difficulty on the part of the CroV : .of obtaining i n form a ti on , he was of opinion that h. should not interfere. It might be different if the party were in custody, but the gentleman was not is cu e tody t and he could only say that he would not ado: nim to surrender and go to prison, as possibly,' .if _ did, he might fell it to be hie duty to keep ban there