The Sun. — London, England, 1871-02-04 00:00:00

INIONE'Lk.RY REPORTS.-YESTERDAY, Beyond the first sitting of the Conference on the Black Sea question, and the refusal of M. Jules Favre to be pre sent, nothing has transpired in the political world to-day, to affect the stock markets. Nevertheless the tone throughout has been irregular, and some anxiety has been expressed to learn the tendency of the discussion on the Eastern Question, thereby engendering much caution in concluding business. Money continues in request, and the quotations rule firm ; but at the samb time capital is not scarce. English railway stocks, after undergoing a period of depression, closed with mot steadiness, and an advance of 4 per cent. is frequently noticed, whilst North-Eastern consols, owing to the an nouncement of a dividend at the rate of 81 per cent. have risen 1 per cent. The foreign bond market, on the other hand, has been dull, and although no important change has taken place, Italian, Turkish, and French scrip have been lower in value. In English Government securities not much business has been doing. Consols have been quiet at 91 to 914 for delivery and the account ; Reduced and New Three per Cents., 914 to 92 ; Bank Stock, 241 to 243 ; Exchequer Bills, 10s. to 15s. ; India Five per Cents., 110 to 1101; and India Bonds, 225. to 275. prem. During the earlier hours of business the market for English railway stocks was depressed, and prices gave way, but latter in the day there was a reaction, and prices improved. North-Eastern Consols rose 1 per cent, or to 1461 to 1474 on the announcement of a dividend at the rate of 81 per cent. Caledonian, Great Northern .A; Midland and North-Western have been 4 better, and Great Western shews a rise of 4 Metropolitan is quoted at 661, 66! ; Caledonian, 872, 884 ; Brighton, 431, 431 , South-Eastern, 771, 78 ; Great Northern A., 1341-, 135 : Great Eastern, 394, 394 ; Midland, 1274, 1271 ; North- Western 1294, 1291 ; and Great Western, 724, 721. Indian railway stocks have commanded but little attention. Bombay, Baroda, and Central India, 1031; Carnatic, 1014 ; East Indian, 1094, ; Great Indian Peninsula, 105 ; Madras, 1034, 4 ; and Scinde, 101 to 1014. Canadian shares have been flat. Foreign shares have been dull. Bahia and San Francisco, 19 ; Great Luxemburg, 124 ; Lombards, 144. In the foreign bend market no feature of importance has transpired. The tendency has been towards depres sion, but no material alterations have taken place. Italian (1861) have fallen 4 ; and Turkish have been lower. Peruvian (1865) are quoted at 892, 904 ; Egyptian (1868), 73t, 74 ; Italian (1861), 532, 54 ; Spanish, 30, 304 ; Turkish Five per Cents, 412, 414; ditto (1869), 514, 524 ; Mexican, 134, 134 ; United States Five-Twenty (1882) Bonds, 901, 90 ; ditto (1885), 894, 904; French scrip has been flat, 4, 4 pm. Bank Shares have been quiet. Agra A, 84 ; Anglo- Egyptian, 221 ; Imperial Ottoman, 11 ; London and County, 51/ ; London Joint Stock, 371; London and Westminster, 621 to 63 ; and Union of London, 394 to 4. For Telegraph Shares there has not been much inquiry. British Indian Submarine, 64; Falmouths, 94, 94 ; French Cables, 134 ; Silver's Indiarubber, 51; and Constructions, 264. Miscellaneous securities have been neglected. Berlin Waterworks, 16 ; Credit Fonder of England, 21 ; Gene ral Credit and Discount, 74, 7 9-16ths. In the discount market to-day, there has been a fair supply of capital. The demand for accomodation has been steady, and three months' paper has been charged 21; with isolated transactions at 24 per cent. The Seine has taken £17,150 for the West Indies. The bullion operations at the Bank to-day were con fined to the withdrawal of £lO,OOO in sovereigns for Alexandria. There has been rather less demand for bills to-day, and the rates of exchange have been rather firmer. At Mark-lane to-day wheat was quiet, but firm. American flour was in request, and barrels were quoted at 30s. The dividend on the Great Northern Railway will be 84 per cent. for the half year, against 7i for the corres ponding half of 1869. On the A stock the dividend will be 54 per cent. for the half year, and on the B 3 per cent. At a second meeting of the creditors of Mr. J. 'Wolsten croft, bleacher, Chadderton, held yesterday, the resolutio - i pasted at the first meeting, to accept 2s. 6d. in the pound, payable in six months, was unanimously confirmed. The creditors also unanimously passed a resolution expressing the most entire sympathy with Mr. Wolstencroft, whose misfortune has been purely unavoidable. The Manchester Courier of to-day says that a meeting in bankruptcy of the creditors of Messrs. Higson and West, merchants, was held yesterday for the purpose of receiving proof of debts and the appointment of a com mittee of inspection of the bankrupts' estates. It was stated that the liabilities amounted to £170,000 and various debts were proved to the extent of £84,000. Messrs. Pixley, Abell, Langley and Blake thus report on the state of the bullion market :—Gold : The demand for the Continent has sensibly declined the past two days, and we look for an influx to the bank durinz this week of some portion of the late arrivals. There were some with drawals of gold from the bank in the early part of the week, before the undermentioned supplies came on the market, amounting to £77,000, and sovereigns to the value of, £201,000 have also been taken out for Egypt. Silver : Fine bars remain as last quoted ; the demand is entirely for Holland, and there are buyers at 601 d, per oz. standard. The Nile has brought £45,900 from the West Indies. Mexican Dollars : From the West Indies and New York we have received during the week about £llO,OOO of this coin. With the exception of a few trifling orders for China, they have been taken for refining pur- poses. At a meeting of Hooper's Telegraph Works (Limited) it was shewn that the net profit for the year had been £24,782. Of this sum £6,250 was distributed in July last, leaving £18,532 unappropriated. A dividend of 10s. 6d. per share, being at the rate of 15 per cent. per annum, was declared, after payment of which there will remain a balance of £5,407 to be carried forward. A prospectus has been issued of the Glasgow and Cape Breton (Nova Scotia) Coal and Railway Company (Limited) with a capital of £lOO,OOO, in shares of £lO each, to construct a line 21 miles in length, and thus bring the most important coal mines of the Cape Breton district within reach of an mproved harbour. It is stated that three of the coal companies have offered to guarantee a traffic of from 50,000 to 100,000 tons per annum., and the Government of Nova Scotia have granted, as a bonus, a lease of one square mile containing the most valuable seams in the locality. The directors of the London and South-Western Rail- way Company have resolved to recommend to the pro prietors, at the half-yearly general meeting on the 16th instant, that the dividend for the half-year ending 31st December, 1870, should be at the rate of 51 per cent. per annum on the ordinary capital stock of the company, carrying over a balance of about £13,200. FOREIGN EXCHANGES.—Amsterdam, three months' date, 120, 1201 ; ditto, short date, 11171, 11 181 ; Rotterdam, three months', 120, 1201 ; Antwerp, ditto, 25 35, 25 40 ; Paris, short date, ditto, three months' date, nominal ; Marseilles, ditto, 25 50, 25 60 ; liamburgh, ditto, 13 10k, 13 101 ; Frankfort -on-the-Maine, ditto, 120, 1201 ; Vienna, ditto, 12 671, 12 72} ; Trieste, ditto, 12 671, 12 721 ; St. Tetersburgh d itto, 30k, 30;1 ; Madrid, ditto, 48a, 48„ ; Cadiz, ditto, 491-, 491 ; Leghorn, Genoa, Naples, and Palermo, ditto, 26 774, 26 821 ; Lisbon, 90 days' date, 52k, 52i ; Oporto, ditto, 521, 521. LONDON STOCK EXCHANCM-FBIDA LATEST . PRICES.-AFTER OFFICIAL HOUR The prices under the lines indicate the business done, GOVERNMENT SECURITIES. fbree per Cent Consols 911 911 Vla6 pc Jan &July 1891 113 114 911, / DoAtoril So let 188.1-85.. 112 11.1 Do for Account 911 Viet spc Jana.) illy 1854. 131 132 three per Cent Reduced 911 22 Brazilian.lBBs. 5p o .... 931 54! 92, 11, a, 11 941. 31 New 3 per Cent 92, 1/, '2l Do Rail Dairen 7p o .. 99110 01 Exchequer Bills, March 10 15pin 921 p Italian, 1865, 5 p a m Do, June lO 15pm Peruvian. 1865, 5p 0 .. pm 909, i. 1. 84 90 Hank Stock '242 Russian. 1862, 5 p c.. ~ 8 4 1 85 India 5 per Celtic 110, 4 Do Nicolas 4 p c 68 li:dis Bonds — 27s pm Spanish Can - 6 pc J aii&JulylB77-84 104 115 301, 30 Do March &:lept. 104 106 Turkish, 1354, 6p a 79 81 Do 5 - p c Jan & July ~98 99 Do, 1865. 5p a 931 411, 1, 1 Do Inscribed Stock .. 9 7 99 Do , 1365 6 p c Min of Can 5p c 1003 .. 99 100 611, 9, 1 Ceylon 6 p c Maar' anti 1.5.13.5.20 lionds,6 p a 1382 909 90. November 1378 lO6 103 90 2. 9 Mauritius t; p c Jan and Do do 1885 90 90. July 1873.........,,. 102 104 901 New SAValesr,p c 1371-70. 100 101 Do 10-40 Hods, spa 101/ 89 89 100/ 8 99, 1 New Zealand f', pc 1811 lOB 110 Central, all paid 1 , 0 z . 5 p a Do 5 p c 5, 99, 981 991 1099, 10, 91 992, 85, 91.- tp 9 Atlantic and (4 W neon DoSp OW &Sepsl99l 109 111 Mortgage Bonds Do Juno & Dec 1891 108 110 RAILWAYS. Bristol and Exeter 9l 13 Do 2 nd do Bonds .... 85 87 911 Do Ist Pre! 80nu5.... 58 59 Caledonian 88 421, 2 Great lillt stern 391, 88, 9L 9, 1 Grand Trunk of Canada Great Northern Do A 133 134 Great Indian Pen g 5 , c 10411051 133 105, / Great Western 721 728 Great Western of Canada 15 151 7 2 8, 1. 1,1 1)0 op c Bonds, 1873.. 99 100 Lancashire & Yorkshire 135 136 Do 51 do, 1877-8 95 97 1358, 1 Do 5p o met issued 80 par ZinnLon, Briali. and S Coast 44 431 521 431, 8, 8 Madras guar 5 p c Lou, Chat, and Dover .. 14 141 1031. 1 141 N. Railway of Canada, Lou and N ortb-Western 129 1291 6p o Ist Prot Bonds 1291, 8L 9/ Gude and tilkund g Lou and South-Western 93 1 94 1 s p o 91, f, 38, 41 1011 Man, Slief, and Lincoln 44 8 4 4 &hide, Punjaub, and 45 x d Delhi guar 5 ii c Metropolitan 661, 1 Bahia and San Francisco Midland .. 12711278 g 7 p o 1278, I 19, 1, 188 North British 341 Buenos Ayres G t Stlirn .. *:5B 261 North-EnsternOonsols 14511461 Duuaburg and Wltepsk 181 181 147, 61, I, 71 11, 19 South-Eastern m7B Dutch-Rhenish 22 23 Atlantic and St Lawrnoe 76 78 Eastern of France lB 20 Bombay, Baroda, and Great Luxembourg Central India, g 5 p c.. 10211031 12, 1 1031 Lemberg Czernowitzgua Buff and Lake Huron .. 41 41 7pc Do 51 pc 80nd5,1872-3-4 80 82 Northern of France Cape guar 6p c East Bengal guar 5p c lO3 104 Recife and San Francisco East Indian, g 5 p c 1091, 1, 1 211 Grand Trunk Canada Do Equip Mortßnd 1 South Austn & Lom-Ven 148 15 charge 6D o 921 Southern of Trance .... 19 2t 103 104 BANKING COMPANIES. Pd Pd 1 Agra Bank (L) A Bl 9 10 Imperial Ottoman .. la 11pin 81, 9 111, 1 25 Alliance IL) 10 Auglo-Austriati 20 Anglo-Egyptian (Id 221 228 518 228 15 London Joint-took Z 7 '8 50 British N A mer ican 51 52 37i. tx d 20 Ch of India, Austrlia 131 141 20 Lou and Westmuster 62 1 62 i 138 63, 21 x d 8 8 25 Char ere of India 22 23 10 Metropolitan M 23 81 10 City . . ............. 11 111 20 Midland (L) _• 2 Colonial .. .. ..... 50 52 20 New South Wales 4 Consolidated (L .. . ion 34 20 Eng. Scot. and Aus . o 161 171 25 Orntal BankCorporn 411 42 361 25 Union of Australia 391 40 2'' Imperial ,L) 391.8, 1 par 1 pm 36 TELEGRAPH COMPANIES. L'd I'd 1 00 A ng lo-American L) 7 3 75 6 Great N. China, and 10 Anglo-Meditru (L) llB 120 Ludo Extension.. 8 8 100 Atlantic — 5 Enropean (L).. 10 12 100 Do 8p c — 10 Marseilles, Algiers, 10 British AustrainlLl 3l :31dis and Malta IL) .... 5) 6 10 British Ind Erten IL). 61 6) 10 Mediterrn Ex IL) .. 44 5 10 British Indian Sub- 2) Pmnaaud S. Pcfc(L 4 3 dis marine, (L) • 6) 8 Renter's 10 China Submarine IL) 5 414 is 20 Soo Trans France (L) 131 14 le Falmouth, Gibraltar, 13) and Malta (Li 9 3-16, I, 5-16 Do Scrip 2l 2' 10 Great Northern .... 11) 111 10 W India ScPanama(L) 6 6) 6 MISCELLANEOUS SECURITIES Pd Pd Anglo-A ustriau Bnd- 5 InternlFinan SoelL) 21 Us holders' Certificate 2 4 20 It Irrig Can Cavour 31 10 BerlinWacerworks(L) 16 161 100 Do 6 p c Bonds. re -16, 1, i deemable 1870 . 62 64 30 Bolekow-Vaughan L) 31 36pm 30 London Fin A ssoc(L) 19 18di ,, 100 Boston City (U.S. 4 Lon Gen Omnibus .. n 21 p c Sterling Loan 9 4 96 2/ 4 Brit it Fgn Marine Ll4l 41om 2 Lon &Prov Marine L) 1 11pin 25 Canada Company. ~ 72 75 100 Madraslrrig. &Canal 10 Ceylon Company L) 31 31dis gso e by Ind Gov. 100 102 35 City Offices (L) 251241 dis 2 Mauritius Land (L) 11 dm 20 Colonial (Li 5 Corn Union Assuruce 45 41pm 21 N Zealand Loanand 91 Mere Agency L 1 1 Pin 5 N 10 Crdt Folic of Eng (L) 21 21 Zealand Loan and 21 Trust (Ll . ll it Inr. 100 Crystal Palace 100 Do fret 100 Do 6p c Pero Deb lO9 114 50 P and 0 Steam 45 47 271 Ebbw Vale Steel L).. 91 %die 45 100 Viceroy of Egypt 7p a 10 Do do New. 1867 3i MIR Mortgage Loan.... 78 80 50 Rhymney Iron 78; 15 Do New 9 91 100 Egyp 9 p dirroy Loan, 60 Royal Mail Steam guar by Egyp Gov.. 97 99 12 Tel (ion and Main L) 261 2 61 970. 1 261 13 Fore-st Warehouse IL) 8 9pm 2 Thames and Mersey 8. Ipm a all Marine litany (L 100 Fgn ainl Colonial Gov 41 Trust 6o c Bonds.. 98 100 Tobacco 6 c Loan. 991 1 gnar by It v alian Gov 88 90 71 Gen Creilt &Disiit (L) par Ipm 5 Trust and Loan Co of 1 1 pm 71, 9-16 Upper Canada . 14 Gen Stui Navigation 28 29 5(I Marine, Lvpool IL 5! 51pin 7 Itooper's Tel Works /dig par 20 Union Steamship (L) 23 '25 17 Hudson's (lay B/ 81 6 United Dis Corpni (T. Wig par 45 Indrbbr.(lnt Per, and 5 UnivMarinelnsur ( L) 7 7/pin Tel Works L) .... 501 511 121 51, 1 12 Warrant Finance.... 9 7 (Us MARKETS. LONDON CORN EXCH 4.NGE, FRIDAY.-Less animation was noticed in the grain trade at Mark-lane to-day, and the trans actions actually concluded were far from being extensive. Prices, however, were without any important alteration from Wednesday last. There were limited arrivals of both English and foreign wheat on sale, the condition of which was generally inferior. The trade ruled quiet, and some difficulty was expe rienced in realising previous currencies. There was a good show of malting barley, which sold slowly, at barely recent rates, Grinding descriptions were unchanged. Malt was dull, and prices were nominal. The market was scantily supplied with oats. The inquiry was inactive, but prices were unaltered. Beans and peas ruled quiet, but values were sustained. There was a moderate demand for barrel flour, for whl4h full rates were obtained Town and country marks were quiet, but un changed. Arrivals :-English.-Wheat, 550 qrs. ; barley, 1,520 malt, 870 ; beans, 250 ; peas, 200. Foreign.-Oats, 2,240 flour, 3,460 brls. METROPOLITAN MEAT MARKET, FR.DAY.-Moderate supplies have been on sale. The trade has been quiet, at our quotations. Per 81b. by the carcase :-Inferior beef, 3s. Bd. to 4s. Od; middling ditto, 4s. to 4s. 4d.; Prime large ditto, 4s. 6d. to ss. Od. ; prime small ditto. 4s. Bd. to ss. Od. ; inferior mutton, 3s. Bd. to 4s. Od. ; middling ditto, 43. 4d. to 4s. 6d ; prime ditto, 4s. 6d. to ss. 2d. ; veal, ss. 4d. to s s. B d. ; large pork, 3s. 66. to 3s. 10 d. ; small ditto, 4s. Od. to 4s. 4d. BOROUGH HOP MARKET, FRIDAY. - Business in the Hop Market has been again on an extensive scale, the transac tions concluded being at the extreme rates previously current, and in some instances more money has been obtained. Mid and East Kent, £2 Os. to £7 Os. per cwt. ; Weald of Kent, £2 Os. to £3 lbs.; Sussex, £1 15s. to £3 10s.; Farnham and county, £3 15s. to £5 12s. ; olds, £1 Os. to £2los. BOROUGH AND SPITALFIELDS POTATO MARKET, FRIDAY.-These markets have been well supplied with potatoes. The demand has been quiet at our quotations. English regents, 70s. to 90s. ; Scotch regents, 60s. to 90s. ; rocks, 555. to 755. COLONIAL AND FOREIGN PRODUCE MARKET, FRI DAY.-Sugar : The market is quiet, and prices tends towards a reduction: Demerara, 383. to 395.; Berbice, 365. 6d. to 373. ; Natal middling yellow, 325. 6d to 335.; brown to low sof t yellow, 245. 66. to 30s. 6d. ; Porto Rico taken in at 375. to 37s 66. per cwt. Coffee is moderately inquired after, and prices of all descriptions are well maintained. Tea: The marketis quiet, and rates are un changed, Rice is active and firm. Bengal good middling to good, 11s. 66. to 12s. ; Madras,lOs. Metals : Tin firm, at £133 to £134 for Straits and Banca spot. Copper likewise firm, at £74105. to £75 for Chili bar. Oils : Linseed steady, at 30s. 3d. to 30s. 6d. Lon don. Rape continues dull, at 465. to 465. 3d. for English brown spot. Tallow : The market is less active. Y.C. spot, 455. 6d. to 455. 9d.; March, 455. 9d. to 465. ; last three months, 465. 6d. per cwt. MANCHESTER TRADE REPORT, FRIDAY.-There has been I a decidedly quiet tone in the market to-day, and some irregu larity in prices prevails. There seems a further curtailment in the demand for both goods and yarns, accompanied by a ten dency towards slight reduction in the values of both staples. The amount of business for the past week has been unusually small ; and the re is no appearance ()rimy increase in demand, owing to the quieter state of the cotton market. Buyers keep back in hopes of getting in at lower prices shortly. The telegrams from China being unfavour able, there is little doing for that quarter. For Bombay there is also little buying. The demand for extra yarns for Calcutta is fair ; and also for the low qualities of shillings and similar goods ; but for the better qualities, being already heavily bought, there is not much inquiry. Home trade yarns are dull, the coarse an d medium counts are easier to buy, but fine counts remain very firm. For domestics, medium, and cloths, there is little in quiry, and prices are hardly maintained. Printing cloths are in fair request, and prices for best makes are rather dearer. Spinners on the whole are more easy to deal with at present than manufacturer's, as the former are induced to sell freely when their engagements are light, owing to the quiet state of the cotton market. SOUTH WALES TRADE REPORT, CARDIFF, FRIDAY.-The terms of peace said to be demanded by Prussia have created a I most unfavourable impression as to the future of our trade. Business in almost every branch is dull, and merchants and manufacturers alike are indisposed to enter on fresh transac tions. Were it not for the active demand from the United States, the rail mills would have very little to do. Bars and plates are in fair request-the latter for shipbuilding purposes. Pigs are rather more inquired for. In tin plates a slight improvement has taken place, the reduction in the price of tin being in favour of makers. The steam coal trade remains unchanged, no ap preeiable effect having as yet been produced by the armistice. House coals are in good request. The projected South Wales Coal and Metal Market, is to be held at Newport on Wednesday, and at Swansea on Saturday in each week. The first market will be held on Saturday, the 4th of Marsh at Swansea. There has long been need of such a market to bring trade together. LIVERPOOL CORN MARKET, FRIDAY.-Opening Report.- This market opens quietly to-day, without change in prices for flour and grain of all descriptions. Closing report.-There was a thin attendance at this market to-day. Wheat was quiet at a decline of 16. per cental. Flour was 6d. lower, but the total business transacted was very moderate. Maize was slow at fid. less money. Beans and peas were a shade in buyers' favour. In oats and oatmeal there was no change. LINCOLN CORN MARKET, FRIDAY.-At this market to-day wheat had a slow sale at ls. per qr. higher. Barley firm at late rates. Peas, beans, and oats are ls. dearer, and Indian corn is from ls. 6d. to 2s. dearer. WAKEFIELD CORN MARKET, FRIDAY.-Wheat is held firmly for the extreme prices of last Friday at this market to day, but the business passing is of a retail character. For barley the trade is quiet at last week's prices. Beans and oats were fully as dear. Some sellers were asking ls. to 2s. higher for wheat. DUBLIN CORN MARKET, FRIDAY.-There was no altera tion in the price of Irish wheat at this market to-day. Foreign wheat was firm in tone, but very little was sold. Flour was not so active. An advance of 3d. in the price of black oats. Maize was steady. Barley was slow. LIVERPOOL COTTON MARKET, FRIDAY.-Opening Report. --This market opens very quietly to day, and the depression still continues. Sales 8,000 to 10,000 bales. The week's sales amount to 69,000 bales, trade 45,000 bales, export, 13,00 0 bales, imports. 69,0 00 . Closing Report.-Sales, 9,000 bales, including 1,000 bales of Rio on speculation and export. The market con tinues dull and irregular. Prices a shade easier. GLASGOW PIG IN MARKET, FRIDAY.-This arket was s teady to-day. BuyeßrsO ~51s. 6d. to 51s. 7d. No business reported. CORK BUTTER MARKET, FRIDAY.-Ordinary firsts, 1485.; seconds, 148 s. ; thirds , 1335. ; fourths, 118 s. 104 firkins in the market. Mild cured, no change. No supply. 84 901 General Caballero de Rodas has had an interview with the King of Spain, to which some importance is attached. It is thought he may be appointed Captain-General of Madrid. THE FLIGHT OF FRENCH FAMILIES TO JERSEY. —The immigration of French families to the Channel Islands has entirely ceased, and many have already re turned, via St. Malo and Granville, to their homes in the provinces removed from the scene of hostilities. Th e steamer for St. Malo, on Thursday, in addition to numerous passengers, carried several bales of goods for the sick and wounded, contributed by the inhabitants of Jersey. THE SUN, LONDON, SATU RDA Y, FEBRUARY 4, 1871. AUSTRIA. AND PRUSSIA. There was an animated discussion in the Austrian dele- 1 gation at Pesth on the 31st ult. The order of the day was the extraordinary credit for the increa se of the military forcer M. Klaczko, a Polish deputy, the well known writer in the Revue des Deux Mondes, strongly sup poked the motion. The Austrian army, he said, must not be inferior to the Prussian. He expressed great scepticism as to the sincerity of an Austro-Prussian alliance, and retained his old conviction that Prussia had an understanding with Russia. Some other speakers differed from this and declared that Count Beust's neutrality policy was the only wise and popular course. Count Beust then spoke, and in answer to M. Klaczko he said the policy of vengeance never bore good fruits. Replying to the other speakers, hs said that doubtless they would do all they could to avoid war, but the desire to avert a Canis Belli must not be the first consideration. It was, possible cases might arise in which the decision as to war or peace would be unanimous. If he spoke of the critical nature of the situation he might, under present circumstances, be accused of pessimism in order to obtain from the Chamber what the Govern ment wanted. " Our policy," he said, " will be a policy of prudence and reserve, and at the same time of energetic efforts to maintain and consolidate the friendly relations established with the great neigh bouring empire. But who can venture, in presence of the unlooked for transformations which have arisen from recent events, to trace according to his wishes and his hopes the limits of his future requirements? Under such circumstances it is not sufficient that a State which has no other object than its own preservation, I should content itself with the knowledge of its own in offensiveness towards its neighbour. Security is only assured when this policy is not the consequence of weakness, but when it is recognised as the expres sion of free will, and while we undertake nothing which interferes with the reorganisation of Germany, while we give a friendly welcome to that reorganisation, we must endeavour to regulate our relations with the neighbouring empire in a friendly spirit, while guarding our own interests. If then we have acted towards another state as a friendly neighbour who respects her independance, and if we have not been afraid of wounding even honourable feeling in our own country, it must be understood that our alliance is perfectly genuine so long as we are not attacked on our hearths, but it must be understood also that we shall always be found ready to defend our selves. The most precious result of the late events is the recognition of this situation, and of its exigencies, in the two divisions of the empire." Later on Count Beust said, " Although I adhere to the opinion that we have nothing to fear, because we are very friendly with Germany, it is necessary the Government should exert itself to maintain and consolidate its forces. It is not enough that the new friend should know that he is neither feared nor suspected. Care must be taken not only that one friend does not fear the other, but also that he esteems him, and it is this esteem which we want, to perfect an alliance with the new friend." In the Chamber of Deputies at Pesth, a day or two previous, the relations between Austria and Prussia had been also discussed with animation. One of the Hungarian deputies had asked Count Andressy'whether the Austrian reply to the Prussian despatch on the reorganisation of Germany was concerted with the Hungarian Government. Count Andrassy replied that it was the result of a common agreement. This despatch contained the complete and unreserved recognition of the new German Federation, as well as of the re-establishment of friendly relations with that Federation—neither more nor less. Cheers followed this announcement, which was regarded as an official denial of the rumour of an Austro- German alliance. Another question bearing on the, same point was put by the same deputy, M. Stratimirovics, who inquired whether the Hungarian Government intended to combat in time the dangers which threaten Hungary from such an alliance, which favours the natural development of Teutonism, and to oppose such an alliance. Count Andrassy replied that he could not see in the organisation of Germany or in the renewal of friendly relations the danger of a Teutonism which menaced Hun gary. The Hungarian Government had no in tention of interfering with either of those objects. The deputy then asked whether, supposing such an alliance to be inevitable, the Hungarian Government would endeavour to prevent any evil consequences towards France, and would see that no pressure was exercised in favour of Prussia at the close of the struggle. Count Andrassy answered that Austria and Hungary had done all in their power to prevent war, and having failed had adopted a strict neutrality. This had prevented any pressure on either belligerent. It was the interest of the monarchy td preserve this neutrality, and there was no reason to fear that Prussia would desire to exact any partial act from her, as she had not done so hitherto. Several of the organs of the Peak party at Pesth blame the irritability of the Magyar Delegates, who should, according to them, accept the political situation of Austria and Hungary, and their relations will be harmonious. k. TRADEGY IN PERUVIA. A private letter received at Selkirk, Scotland, gives particulars of a horrible affair which took place at Callao, on the night of the 21st December, involving the assassi nation of Seotchman, and serious injury to his wife. The murdered man is Mr. Robert Goodfellow, 27 years of age who was formerly manager of the gas works, at Longford, and left there in July last, having received the appoint ment of manager of the gas works at Callao. He had been there for some three months, and he and his wife had enjoyed a quiet, comfortable life, up till the night in question, when a band of men, said to have numbered about forty, invaded the gas works, which stand in a somewhat lonely place outside the town. Just as Mrs. Goodfellow had gone to bed, and her husband had undressed, three of the ruffians entered their bedroom, and tired at the latter. Mr. Goodfellow, who had a loaded revolver at hand, returned the shot, but seemingly without effect. He then rushed from the room, outside the door of which he was subsequently found dead, having been killed by a shot in the chest. Mrs. Goodfellow had in the meantime got out of bed, and on her crying for assistance, she was bound and mercilessly beaten. The murderers afterwards proceeded to plunder the house. Eventually assistance arrived, when the whole of the des perate band madeoff; four men being afterwards apprehended on suspicion of being concerned in the affair. That the persons who took a hand in this affair had some other, and more comprehensive object than the murder of the mana ger of the gas works, and the robbery of his house in view, would seem to be the fact, for says the person writing to the friends of the sufferers, " the British Consul at Callao is endeavouring to make out that the baud consisted of an armed mob, and that their visit to the gas works was a step in some conspiracy, which by cutting off the supply of gas at the works, and thus placing the town in darkness, they might nave attempted to carry out. At all events, there would seem to be serious apprehension of some plot being planned, as the authorities of Callao had placed the gas works under military protection after this affair." Mr. and Mrs. Goodfellow both belonged to Selkirk, and had been married about two years. THE KING OF SPAIN AND FOREIGN POWERS. — The King of Spain has addressed a letter to the several European sovereigns, in which he declares his resolution to devote all his energies to the welfare and prosperity of the Spanish people. One of the principal means of doing this is to ',reserve harmonious relations with foreign countries.,; therefore, he proffers his friendship, and hopes to main tain the best understanding with the Power he is addres sing. To the Pope he sends a special letter. He begins much in the same form as to the others, and then says, " Born and brought up in the bosom of a Church which recognises your Holiness as its visible head and monarch, of a Catholic nation, the majority of whose citizens, though free to choose and to practice what religion they please, preserve the faith of their fathers, our principal care will be to watch with respect and attach ment to your Holiness, that the relations existing between your Holiness and this generous nation are such as the spiritual father of the faithful ought to maintain with his true sons. Let your Holiness, then, consent that after having notified to you our accession to the Throne as was done on the 2nd of this month, after having taken the oath to make the Constitution of the Monarchy respected, one of the first acts of our reign should be to protest our filial affection and profound veneration." The King con cludes by asking for the apostolic benediction, and signs himself his Holiness's very humble and devout son Amadeus. [ADVERTISEMENT.]} Holloway's Ointment.—This Won derful ointment acts like magic in the dispersion of all sores and eruptions of the skin. When rubbed on the sur face it penetrates, and, purifying each tissue in its passage, exerts the most wholesome influence over the internal organs. It is an invaluable application for all ulcers, sores, burns, and scalds, and in the various c utaneous eruptions incidental to childhood, Holloway's ointment always effects a thorough cure. Rubbed on the parts affected it reduces tumours, glandular swellings, and similar enlarge- I ments, and is the bbst remedy for diphtheria. In bad legs, k old wounds, scrofula, and scorbutic eruptions, Holloway's cooling, and healing ointment will readily bring about a cure, without irritating the nerves, weakening the system, or occasioning danger. THE WAR. THE FALL OF PARIS. THE CONVENTION OF SURRENDER. The following is a translation of the full text of the Convention between Count Bismarck and M. Jules Favre CONVENTION' • Between Count von Bismarck, Chancellor of the Ger manic Confederation, stipulating in the name of his Majesty the Emperor of Germany, King of Prussia, and M. Jules Favre, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Go vernment of the National Defence, both furnished with regular powers, have been determined the following arrangements : ARTICLE I.— A general armistice over all the line of military operations in course of execution between the German and the French armies shall begin for Paris on 'this very day, and for the Departments within the term of three days. The duration of the armistice shall be for twenty-one days, dating from to-day ;so that, unless it shall be renewed, the armistice will terminate on the 19th of February, at noon. The belligerent armies will preserve their respective positions, which will be separated by a line of demarcation. This line will commence from Pont Eveque, on the coast of the Department of Calvados, and be continued upon Lignieres, in the north-east of the Department of the Mayenne, passing between Briouze and Fromentel. Touching the Department of the Mayenne at Lignieres, it will follow the limit which separates that Department from the Departments of the Orne and of the Sarthe, to the north of Morannes, and will be continued in such a way as to leave in German occupation the Departments of the Sarthe, Indre-et-Loire, Loir-et-Cher, Loiret, and Yonne, as far as a point at which, to the east of Quarr6- les-Tombes, the Departments of the Cote d'Or, the Nievre, and the Yonne touch each other. Setting out from this point, the tracing of the line will be reserved for an understanding which shall take place as soon as the contracting parties shall be informed as to the actual situation of the military operations which are being executed in the Departments of the COte d'Or, of the Doubs, and of the Jura. In any case the line will pass through the territory composed of these three De partments, leaving to German occupation the Depart ments situated to the north, and to the 'French army those situated to the south of this territory. The Departments of the North and of the Pas de Calais, the fortresses of Givet and Langres, with the territory which surrounds them to a distance of ten kilometres, and the peninsula of Havre as far as a line drawn "from Etretat in the direction of St. Romain, will remain outside the limits of the German occupation. The two billigerent armies and their advanced posts on eith4_4tle will remain at a distance of at least ten kilometre the lines drawn to separate their positions. I ach of the two armies reserves for itself the right of maintaining its authority in the territory that it occupies, and of employ ing the means which its commanders may judge necessary to attain that end. The armistice applies equally to the naval forces of the two countries, adopting the meridian of Dunkerque as the line of demarcation, to the west of which the French fleet will remain, and to the east of which, so soon as they can be warned, will withdraw the German ships of war which find themselves in western waters. The captures which are made after the conclusion, and before the notification, of the aAlnistice, will be restored, as well as the prisoners who m ay be taken in the interval indi cated. The military operations in the territory of the Departments of Doubs, Jura, and Cote d'Or, as well as the siege of Belfort, shall continue independently of the armistice, until an agreement shall be arrived at regarding the line of demarcation —the tracing of which through the three departments mentioned has been reserved for ulterior understanding. ARTICLE ll.—The armistice thus agreed upon has for is object to permit the Government of National Defence to convoke an Assembly, freely elected, which will pro nounce upon the question whether the war shall be continued, or on what conditions peace shall be made. The Assembly will meet in the city of Bordeaux. Every facility will be given by the Commanders of the German armies for the election and the meeting of the Deputies who will compose that Assembly. ARTICLE lll.—There shall be immediately surrendered to the German Army by the French military authorities all the forts forming the perimeter of the exterior defence of Paris, as well as their material of war. The communes and the houses situated outside that perimeter, or between the forts, may be occupied by the German troops as far as a line to be drawn by military commissioners. The ground between this line and the fortified enceinte of the city of Paris will be interdicted to the armed forces of the two sides. The manner of surrendering the, forts, and the drawing of the line already mentioned, will form the object of a protocol to be annexed- td . the present Con vention. ARTICLE IV.—During the armistice the German army shall not enter the city of Paris. ARTICLE V.—The enceinte shall be disarmed of its guns, the carriages of which will be transported into the forts designated for that purpose by a Commissioner of the German army. ARTICLE Vl.—The garrisons (Army of the Line, Mobile Guard, and Marine) of the forts and of Paris, shall be prisoners of war, excepting a division of 12,000 men, which the military authorities in Paris will preserve for service inside the city. The troops who are prisoym 4 war shall lay down their arms, which will be ccigetAin. the places designated, and given up according to arraukeinents made by a commissioner in the usual manner: troops shall remain in the interior of the city, of which they will not be allowed to pass the enceinte during the armistice. The French authorities bind themselves to take care that every individual belonging to the Army/ and to the Mobile Guard shall remain in the interior of the town. The officers of the captured troops shall be designated in a list to be delivered to the German authorities ; and at the expiration of the armistice all the combatants belong ing to the army confined in Paris will have to constitute themselves prisoners of war to the German Army, if before that time peace is not concluded. The officers made prisoners will retain their arms. ARTICLE Vll.—The National Guard will retain its arms. It will be charged with the protection of Paris and the maintenance of order. The same will be the case with the gendarmerie and the assimilated troops em ployed in the municipal service, such as the Republican Guard, the Douaniers and the Pompiers—the whole of this category not exceeding 3,500 men. All the corps of Francs-tireurs shall be removed by ordinance of the French Government. ARTICLE VIII. —Immediately atter the signatures of these presents, and before the taking possession of the forts, the Commander-in-Chief of the German armies will give every facility to the Commissioners whom the French Government will send, whether into the Depart. , ments or abroad, to take steps for the revictualling, and to bring to the city the commodities which are destined for it. ARTICLE IX.—After the surrender of the forts, and after the disarmament of the enceinte and of the garrison, stipu lated in Articles 5 and 6, the revictualling of Paris will be effected freely by transit upon the railroads and the rivers. The provisions intended for this revictualment shall not he drawn from the districts occupied by the German troops; and the French Government engages it self to obtain provisions outside of the line of demarcation which surrounds the position of the German armies, ex cept in the case of an authorisation to the contrary effect given by the commander of the latter. ARTICLE X.—Every person wishing to quit the city of Paris must be furnished with regular permits, delivered by the French military authority, and submitted to the visa of the German authorities. Free passes will be granted, in right of their position, to candidates, to the provincial deputations, and to the Deputies to the Assembly. The free movement of the persons who have received the authorisation indicated will be permitted only between six in the morning and six in the evening. ARTICLE Xl.—The City of Paris shall pay a municipal contribution of war amounting to two hundred millions pf francs. This payment must be effected before the 1 day of the armistice—the mode of payment to be deter mined by a mixed German and French Commission. ARTICLE XII.— During the armistice nothing shall be taken away from the public objects of value which may serve as pledges for the recovery of the war contribu- THE DISTRESS IN CENTR A.L FRANCE. The accounts received of the distress existing in the North and East of France produced a most: painful im pression in this country, but unhappily they are now fully equalled in horror by the narratives of travellers through the central districts, The Army of the Loire has played such a prominent part in the campaign that the names, not only of the chief towns, but even of the villages in.the Orleannais, Touraine, and the department of the Loire, are familiar as household words. In the midst of the ex citing records of marches and sieges, however, few have stopped to picture the desolation which followed on the track of the contending armies. The supplies of the dis trict, which is purely agricultural, and one of the most fertile in France, have been eaten up by the combatants, and what is worse, all means of present and future provision have been destroyed. The crops which were not consumed for food by the troops have been burnt by the invaders ; the farmers' horses and carts have been seized by the endless Prussian requisitions, and the ploughs and other instruments have been broken up for firewood. The villages have been so thoroughly pillaged that their starving populations are thronging into the towns. Those that have escaped with their lives may think themselves fortunate, for the country is dotted with the ruins of burnt villages and homesteads. But when the ruined and hungry agriculturists pour into the towns the citizens have nothing to give them, for they are themselves drained of all resources by the requisitions, the levies, and the fines. Orleans has been fined 600,000 francs for an offence given to an individual German, while Tours is under threat of bombardment because it cannot raise the required two million francs. The beautiful and fertile country on the banks- of the Loire, the favourite resort of tourists, is scarcely recognis able with its neglected vineyards, its wasted fields, and burnt and plundered villages. The melancholy wanderers from the joyous and plentiful farms of a few months since now stand in the streets of the towns in crowds begging fcr aid from the passer by, and accept the smallest gift with painful gratitude. GARIBALDI AT DIJON. An occasional correspondent of the Daily News, writing from Dijon, gives an interesting account of the repulse of the Prussians. Near midnight, on the 21st ult., the cry was raised that the Prussians were within two miles of Dijon. The Gaiibaldians held strong posi tions at Talant and Fontaine. The Prussians occupied the village and chateau of Daix, the farm of Chancy, the village and hills of Hauteville, and the fields between Daix and Fontaine, resting their right on the height round Plombieres. Canzio, Garibaldi's son-in law, headed the sth Brigade, composed of some 500 Italians, and Ricciotti Garibaldi led the Francs tireurs. From two till five p.m. these had to bear the brunt of the battle, the balls falling so close in their ranks that the wounded were with difficulty carried off, and the bearers were frequently struck down as they bore them off the field. The scattered houses were crowded with wounded, as were the ambulance waggons, but the fighting went on with unflagging energy. About half-past five Garibaldi came down from Talant, his troops still maintaining their hard-fought positions. At this time the correspondent, who was attached to the ambu lances, met with an awkward adventure, for having entered a house by the wayside to attend to some Italian wounded, he and one or two assistants were surprised by a band of Prussians, who took possession of the group of houses, and kept the hospital attendants in with bayonets, fearful lest they should tell the French where they were. A French ambulance stopped at the door, believing the house was still in the hands of the French. Seven wounded men were in it. "Their shrieks while being unceremoniously hoisted down passed all bearing ; and in sheer desperation I gave a Prussian lieutenant to understand that if he thus violated all laws of humanity his wounded com rades in Dijon would have to pay the costs. So he let me carry three of the poor, fellows, one mortally wounded in the intestines, the other two with smashed thighs, into a house above. I cannot say what were the number of this band of Prussians near us to a few hundreds, but I could see masses behind. Certain it is they dared not advance a step towards Dijon to ascertain where the Garibaldians were. Night wore on. The soldiers pillaged the houses, took all the mattresses, cover ing; wine, even empty bottles, from the scared villagers. Once a lieutenant, in return for my services to one of his soldiers who had fallen down from a wall, gave me permis sion to go on to the houses at the top of the hill, where the mass of our wounded lay; but the soldiers again thrust me back with their bayonets, crying, `Nix, nix, teufel." ' Soon after, however, the lieutenant an nounced that they were going to carry all their wounded further back, and every available con veyance, as well as all the ablebodied villagers, were pressed into the service. On the following day the Prussians had all retreated, leaving many dead and wounded, and all the ambulance material. The ambulance officer went down to the Ferme de Chancy, at the entrance end of the village of Daix, where bands of Mobiles and Franc-tieurs were already claiming the spoils, and Prussian surgeons and nurses were pale with terror. There was some ground for alarm, for a rumour was current that the Prussians had murdered in cold blood the surgeons and nurses of the Saone et Loire battalion at Hauteville. The English. man gave strict orders that nothing should be touched, and no one injured, while he rode back to Dijon for Garibaldi's written directions. Having obtained these, the Prussian wounded who could be moved were taken to Dijon, those that could not, were supplied with provisions. The surgeons were lodged at an hotel, and sent back to Switzerland. The success was indisputable. Garibaldi's order of the day begins with the words, "Three days of fighting, and three days of victory." The third day was conclusive. The Prussians had advanced on Dijon from the north, that is to say, on the road from Langres, with eight or ten pieces of artillery, and for seven consecutive hours were held at bay by Ricciotti's Franc-tireurs and a portion of the 3rd Brigade. They were beaten back at every point with great slaughter, leaving their dead and wounded on the field. Ricciotti's Franc-tireurs, besides horses, swords, knapsacks, helmets, k4pis, and spoil in general, took the colours of the 61st Regiment, and this trophy restored them to good humour, as on the two previous days all the honours were carried off by the Italians. Unfortunately among the killed was Ferraris, Garibaldi's own doctor and cherished friend, who was struck in the brain by a bullet while galloping to the front with an order from Garibaldi. The grief of his comrades was great, but they feared to tell the General. When all was over, and the victorious Italians bad re turned to the Prefecture, Garibaldi was giving the neces sary orders. "Send me Ferraris," he said. Some one 'altered out that he was wounded. No one dared tell him. ,he truth that night. . • tins. ARTICLE XIII.—The transport into Paris of arms, of munitions, or of articles entering into their manufacture, is forbidden during the terms of the armistice. ARTICLE XlV.—lmmediate steps shall be taken for the exchange of all prisoners of war made by the French army since the commencement of the war. For this end the French authorities will hand, as promptly as possible, nominar lists of the German pri soners of war to the German 'military authorities at Amiens, at Le Mans, at Orleans, and at Vesonl. The liberation of the German prisoners of war will be effected upon the points nearest to the frontier. The Germiln authorities will deliver in exchange on the same points and in the briefest possible time, to the French military authorities, a like number of French prisoners of war of corresponding grades. The exchange will extend to civil prisoners, such as captains of ships of the German mer- the last two months the national confidence " has ken with been chant navy, navy, and the civilian French prison ers who have dually giving way. "I have," e says, sp been interned in Germany. no Frenchman, of whatever rank, during the last six ARTICLE XV.—A postal service for letters, not sealed, weeks who did not admit the urgent necessity of peace, will be organised between Paris and the Departments, and who was not prepared for any sacrifice to obtain through the medium of the headquarters at Versailles. it. Frenchmen told me Gambetta should have a safek - -, In faith of which, the undersigned have appended to conduct given him to go through the occupied provinces; - 1 the present Convention their signatures and their seals. as he would then certainly conclude peace." Done at Versailles, the 28th of Januari,4B7l. The Daily News' correspondent at Bordeaux says the -• BISMARCIC. news of the capitulation of Paris had been received there FAVRE. with philosophic resignation. Although it was Sunday, there were no groups in the streets, and no monster meet ing in the theatre was talked about. In one of the cafes some National Guards and Mobiles looked " most jolly over their cards and dominoes, and could not conceal their delight at the prospect of fighting being over." M. Gam betta, however, had twice been noticed in tears during the day ; and our correspondent has seen a good deal of sob bing in some of the public offices. People, too, htiotW skaken him by the hand, but could not trust themselves to speak. The Allgemeine Zeitung thinks it a fortunate circum stance that peace was not concluded immediately after Sedan, as a durable peace, the only reasonable object of the war has only just become attainable. " Had we made peace after Sedan," it remarks, "we should have conquered only the Emperor and his marshals, not France. France would have been in its own opinion the real victor, and would eventually have taunted us with having re treated out of fear of the genius and vigour of the Republic. Now, however, when the Generals of the Re public, as many as have confronted us, have been just as little able to keep the field with the rapidly mustered levies of the Republic as the Emperor's marshals and armies were—indeed, still less so—when not a single general witnesses the end of the struggle as a victor, when not a single stronghold has been able to resist the German attack, France, the French people, is con quered." TREATMENT OF FRENCH SOLDIERS.—SeveraI of the Macon Mobilised Guards have sent the following letter to the Courrier de Saone et Loire :—" Having left Macon with shoes made for the market with paper soles, with bags only tacked together, not sewn, and our other equipments in similar condition, we have spent each from his own slenderly-furnished purse 4f. or sf. to put these necessaries in order. We had been promised 10fr., such of us as did not receive shoes or trousers ; we have received neither one nor the other. We set out with courage and honour to be able to de fend our country. Will the committee of Macon take it to heart? We are told here that there is now a mili tary committee ; so much the better ! We know that with a committee a centime is a centime. Why has it not been sooner appointed? We should not have been duped as we have been • we hope in it, and that a com mission of earnest men 'will be appointed, who will look into these trickeries, and force our contractors to reim burse the expense we have been at to have our bags sewn and our cooking utensils put in order. Nothing was ex amined ! We have received at Macon for a month, not meat, but bones ; we are informed that it was our shoe maker who became our butcher, and that he bought at Saint Laurent all the meat he required for his contracts. We are assured that a cow which had died of disease was among the meat sent us, and we are told that one of our contractors had made a profit of 100,000 f. If he were forced to give up half, he would still be richer than we are, and we should receive some moiety of justice." THE GERMAN TERMS.-If the version of the German conditions given by the Times Berlin cor respondent is authentic, Count Bismarck's ideas as to the future are easily divined. Germany and Russia are either to fight for the military supremacy of Europe, or to join hands and enjoy the spoil in common- England, as we have been told by a writer in an official journal, has already effaced herself. Austria, Italy, and Spain are not likely, either together or separately, to meddle so long as they are not meddled with. France is to be effaced by the conqueror. With a line of German fortresses threatening her eastern frontier, and Metz ready at any moment to launch a German army upon her capital, with her navy destroyed, her territory ravaged, her towns impoverished by requisition s and burdened by loans contracted to satisfy them, with her national debt raised to an amount not much less than double our own, what place will be left her on the Con tinent ? For the next generation she will not be even a second-rate Power. As far as material resources go, she will be deprived of everything that makes nations strong. She will count for nothing in the councils of Europe. The Germans may make what combinations they please without stopping to think how France will be affected by them. On their western frontier there will no longer be any Power to check their designs ; it is only on their eastern frontier that they, will be com pelled to give so much as a thought to their neighbours. No nation in modern times has ever held a position of such undisguised superiority. At the height of the First Napoleon's success he had this country continually in arms against him. In the best days of Louis XIV. he had at least a coalition to contend with. The prospect for Europe is darker in some respects than it was during either of these great struggles for continental. empire. The danger may have been as great or even greater then than now, but it was seen more clearly. England, at all events, had not been lulled int) forgetful ness alike of her duties and her interests by dreams of perpetual peace. She had not surrendered her claim to mke her voice heard on the Continent and to be consulted in a every rearrangement of the European system. — Pail Mall Gazette. A regular agreement was made between the Swiss and the French previously to the entry of Bourbaki's army into Switzerland. The French gave positive assurances that no attempt would be made to resist disarming. The Prussian Mercantile Marine have forwarded repre sentations to Count Bismarck with a view to obtaining compensation from France for the losses they have sus tained by the war. More than 100 ships have been captured, and 3,000 have been reduced to inactivity. The Courrier de St. Quentin says that all the arms and other matters picked up on the battlefield round St. Quentin were placed on Wednesday, the 25th ult., in the Hotel de Vill, whence they they have since been taken to the Faubourg d'lsle, and thrown into the great pond. 314.9igwy is a hexagon fortress of six bastions and two cavaliers, with barracks for a garrison of 6,000, and with powder magazines constructed, like those of Phalsbourg, in the rock, both being famed for the dryness of their , chambers. The one fortress is almost a duplicate of the other. The Courier de Lyon of the 26th says that 4,000 French soldiers who had either been wounded or had escaped from the battles of the 21st, 22nd, and 23rd . January, under.the walls of Dijon, had arrived at the railway station at Lyons. Among them were a number of Garj baldians.. The Franche Comte says that some fifty Prussian prisoners, who were being conducted to the railway to be sent thence to Lyons, succeeded in escaping. Only a score of them have been recaptured. " Wewish to remark that this deplorable event scarcely surprises us. This morning we saw eighty prisoners arrive, guarded by only four Mobiles. This proportion of guards to prisoners renders attempts at escape comparatively easy." A correspondent of the Cologne Gazette, who has since the beginning of the war traversed the departments occu pied by the Germans in various directions, and has had intercourse with people of all classes, states that during THE LICENSING SYSTEM IN IRELAND. On Wednesday evening the Marquis of Hartington, Chief Secretary for Ireland, received a deputation from the council of the Irish Permissive Bill Association in reference to the liquor traffic and the licensing system in Ireland. It was introduced by Mr. Thomas M'Clure, M.P., Belfast; and amongst those present were Messrs R. Peel Dawson, M.P., Derry ; William Johnstone, M.P., Belfast ; Sir John Barrington, D.L.; James Haughton, J. P.; Thomas Henry Webb, Dublin ; William Malcomson, Portlaw ; J. N. Richardson, Bess brook ; Thomas Webb, Henry Wigham and others. Mr. George Foley stated the objects of the deputation, and after several gentlemen had spoken in their support, the Chief Secretary said that he was obliged to them for the information they had given, and for the kind way in which, they had answered the questions which he thought it right to put to them. He had great pleasure in admitting or recognising, as his predecesso r on one occasion, he was informed, felt called on to do, the highly important representative character of the gentlemen composing the deputation. Of course they would be quite prepared for him saying that he WO placed in a position where it was his duty to exercis e an alm- , st exceptional reserve—because, in addition to the ordinary reserve which would make him hesitate before saying anything that would pledge or embarrass his colleagues in the Government,they were aware that the Government had been, and was at that momen t s considering the whole subject of the licensing laws' and therefore any indiscreet expression which h e might let fall would probably raise expectations more or less well founded, and might embarrass that membe f of the Government whose duty it would be to lay a before the House. He was quite willing, however, admit that the desire—the growing desire that had be e- 4 shewn in the growing majorities of the House of C ot ranon which had been alluded to — and the growing desire en the part of the people to exercise at least some control, n ot 0 0 much control as now asked for, in the, matter of t ae regulation and licensing of public-houses, had 0 1 . 1 b d ; a very great impression on the Government. it without in the least anticipating what scheme would be, he thought he could assure the'; that the expression of that desire had bee n taken into viia sideration in the counsels of the G overnment, and ii°'‘) received due attention. The bill for England would ! l o doubt be first introduced. He did not know whether tllv exigencies of public business would a llow it to be illt'os duced quite immediately, but it would be as 500n., 4 possible—probably before he could have an opp ortu,, of introducing a measure for Ireland. It did not f 011!...," that the two measures — for there must b e two measur . would be identical, and in that r es p ect the y in I,irei3 land would have some adv anta g e. They 00.00 have the opportunity of learning what were l , views of the Government on this questi on ; they woulcli'io able to have more time than their friends in Unglai'cre• consider those views, and he (the Chief Secretary) to p r esenting the Government, should, he hoped , be nin.;ara give assistance and a good deal of information with rec,oo to the Irish bill, from the expressions of public op lo` ey which would be elicited no doubt by the English il l to sure. He did not know that he had anything iner,e n ll say, except that he could assure the de p utation thab _ oo the observations which had been made had been. 0t ca carefully listened to, and would be as carefully consici [)y him. BIHS. vil f A e On the 2d inst., at 11, Stratto ßT n-street, Piccadilly, t1,..e, or ~ Sir Archibald Keppel Macdonal d, Bart of a 00 ' heir. it . th e On the Ist inst., at 22, Park-square, Regent's-pair't gr. wife of Arthur Kekewich, barrister-ataw, of a U5l ter. . MNRR 141(1 0 ' lAGES. 3 On the Ist inst., at Christ Church, Battersea, er f til e Stanford to Constant Mary, youngest daught ° late William Hewer, of Battersea. of flu J" Bt, On the Ist inst., at St. Andrew's Ch urch, Haw, 33fieet' Rice, eldest son of James Ho lro y d, Esq, Surrey, to Emily, second daug hter of Willi o am Esq., of Ham. DE XTHS. 0 1 On the 2d inst., ' all at Brighton, Edward A . Wilde, ;'go College-hill, late of Heath House,_ Twickenla s ' 84. Viiiiit° On the 2d inst., at 130, Westminster -bridge-road, Collins, Esq., aged 71. ~ of London : Printed by GIDEON ACLAND 13 017;C iAto rn °.: No. 112, Strand, Printer, and Published bI,P O I 0/ THE. SUN Office, No. 112, Strand, in the Precino Savoy, in the County of Middlesex. Saturday, February 4, 1871; .=