The Sun. — London, England, 1871-01-09 00:00:00

MONETARY REPORTS.-SATLTRDAy, Much quietness has been noticed in the Stock Exchange to-day. In all classes of securities the transactions have been on a very moderate scale, but the bulk of the alter ations have been favourable. In the railwhy market, Metropolitan, and Great Northern-, haVe improved ; but Brighton and South Eastern have ruled easier. As regards foreign bonds, Turkish have commanded the larger share of attention, and a fractional improvement has taken place. Egyptian also. being rather better, but Mexican have slightly receded in value. Home securities have been in request. Consols have risen * per cent., being quoted at 92*, 921 for delivery, and 92 3-16ths, 92 5-16ths for February. Reduced and New Three per Cents, 921, 921, Bank Stock, 232, 234; Exchequer Bills, 10s., 15s. prem. ; India Five per Cents, 110, 1101 xd ; and India Bonds, 225., 275. prem.' For Colonial Govern ment securities the demand has been inactive, but the quotations have ruled firm. The market for English railway stocks has been in a quiet state, and prices have been without important move ment. Metropolitan and Great Northern have risen * and 1 respectively ; but Brighton, South-Eastern, and North-Western have each fallen 1. After official hours Metropolitan was quoted at 631 to 634 ; Caledonian, 87 to 871; Brighton, 41 to 411; South-Eastern, 76 to 761; Great-Northern, 1241 to 1251; ditto A, 1354 to 1361; Great-Eastern, 391 to 391; North Eastern, 1251, 126 ; Midland, 1291, 1294 ; North-Western, 1291, 1291; and Great Western, 721, 721. Indian railway stocks have been in moderate request. Bombay, Baroda, and Central India, 1031 ex div. ; East Indian, 1081, 1084 ; East Indian Peninsula, 1051, 106 ; Scinde, 107 g ex div.; Grand Trunk, 121; Great Western, 151. Foreign shares have been quiet. Central Argentine have sold at 204 ; and San Paulo, 214. Nothing of interest has transpired in the foreign bond market. During the earlier hours of business, Turkish were purchased somewhat freely, but the activity soon subsided. Turkish 6 per cent. (1865) have risen 1; ditto 5 per cent, * ; Egyptian 9 per cent, 1; but Mexican have fallen *. After the official close, Brazilian (1865) marked 921 to 93 ; Peruvian (1865) 89 to 901; Egyptian (1868) 781, 781; ditto 9 per cent" 951 96 ; Italian (1861) 533, 541; Spanish, 29 11-16ths, 29 13.16ths ; Turkish (1865), 591, 59 ex div. ; ditto Five per Cents., 431, 44 ; ditto (1869), 501, 501; Mexican 13k,14 ; United States Five-twenty (1882) Bonds, 891, 89g ; ditto (1885) 891, 891; French Scrip, 12, 11 die. ; and German, 11, 11 prem. In the market for bank shares the transactions have been restricted. Alliance have marked 131; Anglo- Egyptian, 211; Consolidated, 41; Imperial Ottoman, 111; London Joint Stock, 36 ; London and Westminster, 631, 41. For telegraph shares there has not been much demand. French cables, 131, 1; British-Indian Submarine, 61, 7 ; Constructions, 241. Miscellaneous securities have been quiet. General Credit and Discounts, 71; London Financial Association, 121; National Discount, 12. The discount market has be en fairly supplied with capital. There has been only a moderate inquiry, and three months' paper has been taken, at 21 to 21 per cent. The Russia, from New York, has brought £9,000. The bulliOn operations at the Bank of England to-day consisted of the withdrawal of £50,000 in sovereigns for South America, and the sale of £3,000 bar gold. The Ceylon takes out £37,911 in specie. LONDON STOOK EXCHANGE.-SATITBDAY, LATEST PRICES.-AFTER OFFICIAL HOURS. The prices under the lines indicate the business done. GOVERN3IENT SECURITIES. 'lice per Cent Consols 92/ 921 DoApril &Oct 1883-85.. 112 113 :21, 2, 1 a d 1121 Do for Account Three per Cent Reduced 92/ 92 1011, fa d 92, 1 Brazilian. 1865, 5p o .... 92 93 New 3 per Cent 92, 1 Egyptian 1862, 7po .. .. 79 81 0 Excliequei Bills, 51 arch 10 15pm Uo Rail Deben 700 .. 9 9 10 pin 100, 991 x d Do, June lO 15pm Italian, 1865. 5p o pm Peruvian, 1865, 5 p o Bank Stock India 5 per 235 Cents 305 a d 1101 x. d Russian. 1862, 5 p a.. • • 84 85 1 mils Bonds B4 pm Do Nicolas 4p o Can 6 po Jantatilyll77-84 10311041 Spanish 6, 1, 1, 1 1041 Jr d Do March & Sept. 104 106 2 95, t. 3x (I Do 5p o Jan & July .. 97 98 Turkish , 1854, 6p c 7B 80 971, / x d 791 Do Inscribed Stook .. 96 98 Do. 1815. 5p a Dom of Can 6p o 1909 .. 98 100 431, 41 Ceylon 6 p c May and Do, 1865 6pc Islovember 1878 lO6 108 U. 5.5.20 Bouds,6 p o 1881 89/ 891 Mauritius t p a Jan and 891 July 1873 lO2 104 Do do 1883 89/ 891 New S Wales 5 p 01871-76 lOO 101 891 New Zealand 6p c 1891 lO6 108 o°lo-40 finds, spc 190 i 871 881 Doiipo Do 5p o Consolidated 100 101 ErieSha,loo dols, all paid 1001, 1 Illinois Central Shares .. 11311141 Do 6p chlar &SeptlB9l 109 111 1141 Do June dt DeclB9l 108 110 Atlantic and OW 11 Con Via 6pc Jou &July 1891 113 114 Mortgage Bonds — RAILWAYS. Bristol and Exeter B9 ill Do Ist Prat 80nd5.... 58 59 Caledonian 871, 2, 1 Grand Trunk of Canada Great Eastern 39/, 1 Great Northern 1251 Grand Trunk of Can ada 'Do A . iii 172 Great Western 72 722 Great Indian Pen gsn a 105 106 Lancashire & Yorkshire 1341 1 1 5 1051, 6 x d 1342 Great Western of Canada 15 151 Lou, Brigh. and S Coast 41 41 2 15 411 Do Op o Bonds, 1873.. 98 100 Lou, Chat, d Dover 141 lanDo 5 p c pref. issued 80 par lom Lon and N or th-Western 129 12.12 Madras guar 50 o 1291 N. Railway of Canada, Lou and u th-Western 91 92 6p a I st Pret Bonds 911 So Gude and Rohilkund g Man, Shef, and Lincoln 45 45} 5p o Metropolitan 631 1 Delhi guar 5 p o Midland 12911291 100/ x d 1292 Bahia and San Francisco 19 19.1 North British 9/ North-EasteniConsols.. 1451 146 1 1 145 1 1 ,1 Belgian B Junction South-Eastern 76 761 Buenos Ayres Gt Sthrn.. 25 26 761 D un aburg and Witepsk 18 1 19 4.tlantio and St Lawrnce 75 77 Dutch-Rhenish 22 22 , 3ombay, Baroda, and Eastern of France . - Central di Ina. g 5 p c.. 10211031 Great Luxembourg .. • • 103) x d Lemberg Czeruowitzgua Buff and Lake Huron .. 4 41 7pa Do 51 pc 80nd5.1872-3-4 79 81 152 Cape guar 6p c East Bengal guar 5p c 10221032 Ottom (Smyrna , to A idln) 42 51 East Indian. g 5 p c 1081, 2, 1,1 x d (Limited) guar 7p a .. 141 151 Grand Trunk Canada 121 211 Do Equip Mort Bnd 1 South Austn & Lom-Ven 141 15 oharge 613 o Do 2nd do Scrip 85 x d .• BANKING COMPANIES. I'd Pd 1 Agra Bank IL) A 7sh 10 Imperial Ottoman .. 11 11pre 25 Alliance (LI 13 l 20 Lou Car of &tastelia 23 24 10 Anglo-Austrian 20 Arglo-Egyptian (L) 211 21t 501 50 British N American Si 52 15 London Joint-Stock 351 61 511 36 20 Ch of India, Austrlia 13 14 20 Lou andWestmnster 631 641 25 Char Mere of India 221 231 631, 41 10 City 25 Colonial 521 20 New South Wales .. 33 36 4 Consolidated IL .... I llpm 25 Orutal BankOorporn 401 411 20 Eng. Scot. and Aus C 151 16 1 411 161 25 Union of Australia.. 41 42 20 Imperial 1L) 18 MARKETS; LONDON HAY AND STRAW. . , SATVII.DAY.—Mr. Charles James Easton thus reports on the state of the hay market. There have been fair supplies of hay on sale at the market to-day. The trade has been firm, and prices have slightly improved. Prime meadow hay, 130 s. to 1405.; inferior ditto, 110 s. to 1205.: prime first-cut clover, 130 s. to 1455. ; inferior ditto, 115 s. to 1255. ; prime second-cut clover, 126 s to 1355. ; inferior ditto, 105 s. to 1155.; and gra% 83s. to 42s per load TELEGRIPH COUPANIES. Pd Pd 100 Anglo-American Ll 74 76 6 Great N. China, and 75, 6 Japan Extension.. 8 81 10 Anglo-Meditru (L) ll7 190 5 Indo-European (L).. 10 12 100 Atlantic — 10 Marseilles, Algiers, 100 Do 8p c — and Malta (L) .... 51, 6 13 British Australn (L) 5 41dis 10 Mediterr n Ex (L) .. 41 5 31 2; Pnmaand S. ?deg, 4 3 die 10 British Ind Exten (L). 6 61 dis 8 Reuter's 10 British Indian Sub marine. IL) 7, 6 15-16 x d 131, 1 China Submarine (L) 52 51dIs 100 Submarine 237 242 10 Falmouth, Gibraltar, Do Scrip 2l 2Y and Malta (L) 10 Great Northern MISCELLANEOUS SECURITIES Pd Pd Anglo-Austrian find- 100 Do 6p c Bonds. re holders Certificate 21 31 deemable 1870 62 64 10 BerlinWMarworks(L) 146 151 30 London Fin Assoc(L)l B / 1 79dis 30 Bolckow-Vaughan L) 23 3.3pna 1 12 100 Boston City (U.S. 4 Lon Gen Omnibus .. 21 3 p c Sterling Loan 93 95 2 15-16, 941 2 Lou & Prov Marine L) 1 1 pin 4 Brit & Fgn Marino LI 313/pm 100 Madnuarrig. &Canal 25 Canada Company. 7l 73 gSI , e by Ind Gov. 100 102 10 Ceylon Company L) 31 31dis 2 Mauritius Land IL) f 1 di:. 35 City Offices iLI 251244 dis 5 Naiad DisctComp LI llf 12 20 Colonial (L) 5 Com Union Assumes 41 46pm Mere Agency IL) .. fi pm 91 5 N Zealand Loan and 10 Crdt Polio of Eng (L) 2 21 Trust IL) 100 Crystal Palaco 100 Do Pref 100 Do 6p c Perri Deb lO9 114 t() P and 0 Steam 46 43 271 Ebbw Vale Steel 14.. 91 9/dis 10 Do do New. 1867 3 2 dis 171 x d 50 Rhymney Iron 100 Viceroy of Egypt 7p a 15 Do New Bl 91 Mortgage Loan.... 79 81 60 Royal Mail Steam 100 Vgy p 9 p &Troy boan, 12 Tel Con and Main L) 241 241 guar by Bgyp G3V.. 94 96 241 96 2 Themes and Mersey 13 Fore-stWarehense ILI 8 9pm Marine Insur IL 100 Fgn and Colonial Gov Tobacco 6 p a Loan Trust 6p 0 Bonds.. 08 100 guar by Italian Gov 86 88 71 Gen Credt &Diset (Li ;dis par 88 x d 71 5 Trust and Loan Co of 14 Gen Stm Navigation 274 284 Upper Canada 7 Hoofer's Tel Works 1 Idis 5 (.1 . Marine, Lvpool IL 4.4 41;ns 17 Hudson's Ray 7f 8 20 Union steamship (L) 23 25 45 Indrbbr,Gut Per, and 6 United Dia Corprn (L Llis par Tel Works LI .... 45 46 5 Univ Marine brim (L , 6; 7pm 5 Intern' Final , SociL) 14 lfdis 12 War .- act Finance.... Ii 7 dig 20 It Irrig Can Cavour 34 4 Nearly every vestige of the snow had disappeared on Saturday in London, not only from the streets, but from the fields in the suburbs. The weather was mild ; the temperature in the morning being 41 degrees. A good deal of floating ice remains in the Thames. LONDON itmt AND SKIN. - • L SATMIDIIt.-111atiret hides 561bs. to 641b5., 30 to 30. ; 641bs. to 721bs. 30. to 30.; 721bs. to 801bs., 30. to 4d. ; 801bs. to BSlbs., 4d. to 41d. ; 881b8. to 961b5., 40. to 40 ; 961bs. to 1041b5., 40. to 40. ; 104Ibs. to 1121b5., -d. to -d. Horse hides, 102. ed. to 12s. ; tlalf skins-light, 2s. to 4s. ; full, 78. 6d. Sheep skins-polled, 7s. 6d. to Bs. 6d. ; half-breds, Os. Od. to 6s. Id. ; Downs, 4s. to ss. 6d. CORN MARKETS. READING, SATURDAY.—This morning the supply of corn was very scanty at this market, and wheat Was mostly damp, and out of condition. Trade Was so eXeeedingly dull and flagging that it was difficult to ascertain the exact state of prices, and at the present we can only report wheat as nominally the same as last week, with a slight tendency downwards. Barley and oats of the best kinds were inquired fer and firnily maintained at former rates. Beans and peas were dull, but value unchanged. LEITH, SATURDAY.—A this market to-day, wheat was firm at late rates. Flour was rather higher. Barley brought extreme rates. Oats were at full prices. Beans were steady. Arrivals for the week amount to 2,711 quarters wheat, 70 quarters barley, 668 quarters oats, 2 quarters beans, 1,339 quarters peas, and 514 quarters tares. DONCASTER, SATURDAY.—There was a large supply on sale here to-day. A fair amount, of business was transacted, at a reduction of 6d. per load. The best wheat realised 21s. to 225. ad. ; other sorts 19s. to 20s. per load. There was not much doing in other cereals. KIRKCALDY, SATURDAY.—There were fair supplies of wheat, barley, and oats, and prices for the various kinds were without material change. Wheat, 495. to 575. ; barley, 31s. to 385.; oats, 21s. 6d. to 28s. CATTLE MARKET. DONCASTER, SATURDAY.—AIthough there were only limited supplies of beasts and sheep on sale the business doing was small. There was a good show of pigs, Which changed hands quietly at about late rat% LIVERPOOL COTTON MARKET, SATURDAY.—Opening re port : This market opens quietly to-day, with a drooping tendency. Sales, probably 10,000 bales. CORK BUTTER MARKET, SATURDAY.—Ordinary firsts, 1465., seconds 1375., thirds 120 s. fourths 1065., fifths 985., sixths 635. 200 firkins in the market. Mild cured, firsts 1525., seconds 1465., thirds 130 s. 20 firkins in the market. iHr SUN►, LO,NDoN MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 1811. exonerated, with the exception of General Desvaux, who throughout demanded that a last effort should be made to save the honour of the army. In conclusion, General Deligny protests against the idea of a Bonapartist resto ration, which he declares to be preposterous, as the offi cers and soldiers of the army of Metz would never con sent to support it. young man took a gentle expression in death ; around him were the grave faces of our soldiers, who in solemn silence leant upon their weapons. Through the high trees came a glimmering light ; they stretched their mighty branches over us, as if they would conceal with their protecting arms man's cruel deeds from the eyes of the unseen God. In his breast-pocket we found several letters from his old mother, and the portrait of a young lady —probably his sweetheart. His address was in his pocket-book. I took possession of the different articles, cut off a lock of his hair, and sent the things as soon as I possibly could to his mother, a lady of position in Lyons. She, poor soul, perhaps little foreboded that her son - lay cold and stiff under the tall trees, and that .tand was raised to prepare him a last resting-place. THE CHARGE AGAINST GENERAL TRO CHU.— An article which appeared the other morning in the Siec/c has excited great attention at Bordeaux. It gives bold expression to the doubts which have long been entertained as to the capacity, and even the loyalty, of General Trochu, to whose absolute command in-chief the defence of Paris has been confided. "In conversation on the boulevard people naturally speak with less reticence than the newspapers, and those who do not attribute Trochu's ill success to incapacity openly charge him with criminal intentions. They say the Governor of Paris only seeks to save appearances, and executes mock battles and mock sorties in order to exhaust his ammunition, and then one fine day, when the Mobiles have no longer a cartridge to put in their Chasse pots, he will capitulate, making terms with the King of Prussia for the restoration of the Comte de Paris, who, everybody knows, is the King's great-nephew. We are loath to attribute dark projects to the citizen whose first proclamations, as Paris must remember, were extremely frank and loyal. But we do not hesitate at all to say that we seek evidence of the capacity of this general. Competent military men reproach him with many short comings, and assure us that he alone has made more mis takes than all the marshals of the empire put together. Ist. Against the most elementary rules of the military art he assembled in a place about to be besieged all the disposable forces of the country. 2nd. He neglected to send into the provinces a single military organiser or ad ministrator. 3rd. While well knowing that there was nobody in the provinces capable of directing war opera tion, he left us for many months without any plan what ever. 4th. Instead of going resolutely forward, as the circumstances and the plan agreed upon imperatively commanded he made platonic sorties on November 30 and December 2, leaving the, exterior army, which he had left at the enemy's discretion, in a ridiculous position. sth. And finally, he has now again made a sortie in the style of Bazaine. Everybody must now feel the neces sity of adopting a new system. The provinces are organised and in line of battle. On two different points it is ready to aid Paris. Let Paris now do its duty. Heroism does not consist in a feigned resistance. The thing to do is to walk through the enemy and penetrate into the provinces. That is the ardent desire of Paris, as well as the provinces. The provinces now send their desires to Paris. Let Paris enforce its will." THE PROVINCIAL ARMIES OF FRANC E . —A. Frenchman writing from Bordeaux on the last day of 1870 declares the military situation of France to have im proved. " Our provincial armies," he says " which were dispersed after the affair at Orleans on the 4th of December are now reformed. There was but one, there are now two, and in dividing them they have doubled, for reinforcements came in from all parts. The army of Brittany has joined that part of the Army of the Loire which General Chanzy rallied towards Mans. The army gathered at Cherbourg to protect the town against an attack by land also supports Chanzy now that the Prussians are falling back towards Paris. At the same time the other corps of the army of the Loire, to which Gardes Mobilise& from all parts are attaching themselves, has rallied under Bourbaki's orders. There are 200,000 men on this side and 200,000 on that. All these troops are not experienced, and some defections may occur, but experience proves that recruits who recoil at the first fire behave very well the second time. And how could itbe otherwise ? How could it be expected that men drawn from the plough, from the counter, from the lawyer's desk, to be sent into the midst of fire, could face without flinching that Prussian mitrailleuse, which pours shot like hail, and which must be waited for immovably? Nevertheless those bat talions of Mobiles, which fled at the first en counter, flinging away their guns and their knapsacks to run the faster, stood their ground admirably the second time. The situation then has improved since the rout at Orleans. At that time our forces were so scattered that they were powerless to arrest the enemy's progress. They were able to come to Blois, to Tours, to Poitiers like an inundation. They could do, in short, what they liked. A month ago we had Paris on one side, block aded, but resolute, and on the other the Army of the Loire. To-clay we have still Paris no less resolute, and two armies, one on the west and one on the east, ready to take the field ; three stakes instead of two, without count in g the Army of the North under Faidherbe. The December just over, then, leaves us stronger than November, and how much stronger than September, at the fall of the Empire ! If Paris, which is the key of the whole, holds out another month, the chances are in favour of her deli erance.' NAVAL AND MILITARY INTELLIGENCE. The Broad Arrow says Vice-Admiral G. G. Wellesley, C. 8., the officer in command of the Channel Fleet, will be president at the court martial which is to be held on the ships' stewards who are charged with having defrauded the Government —ln consequence of the death of Lieu te nant-General Lord Frederick Paulet, C. 8., Colonel of the 32nd Light Infantry, the following promotions in the army will take place :—Major General R. Parker becomes a Lieutenant-General ; Colonel the Hon. St. G.G. Foley, C. 8., half-pay, late 44th Foot, becomes a Major-General; Major J. P. H. Crowe, 10th Foot, becomes a Lieutenant Colonel; and Captain Schaw, Royal Engineers, becomes a Major. The Army and Navy Gazette says :---We should be all the better for an additional supply of at least two thou sand blue jackets to our Navy, and it is to be hoped that, as the feeling of the country is decidedly in favour of our having an efficient Navy, the coming Estimates will be so framed as to enable the Admiralty to enter either more men or boys—or both. The authorities of the War Department have received an intimation from the Admiralty that all re serves of guns for her Majesty's ships must be delivered in the financial year 18714872. Ships aro now kept longer on foreign stations than is prudent simply from the fact that our reserves are so miserably low that we have no vessels to despatch for their relief. The Lords of the Admiralty are blameless in the matter. They are anxious to repair and build, but they are restrained by those in whom is entrusted the disbursement of the public money. There must be soon a day of reckoning. An unexpected check has been experienced in the development of the new scheme for the reconstruction of Sandhurst, one of the thirty-five young gentlemen who had accepted the invitation to undergo a course of study at that place having announced his intention.of accepting a civil situation offered to him in India until the time should arrive for obtaining his commission. We under stand that in consequence of this untoward event the Engineer Department have been called upon to submit a revised estimate of the charges that will be necessary to prepare the buildings for the reduced establishment they will now have to accommodate. Halifax, Nova Scotia, will in future be regarded as the military head-quarters of the North American colonies, both as respects staff and departmental officers. The United Service Gazetth says :—Lieutenant-Colonel Crease, Royal Engineers, is to relieve Colonel Bent in the command of the Royal Engineers at Gibraltar.— 1 Orders have been issued for the supply to the Plymouth Divisien of the Royal Marine Light Infantry of a 100-pounder smooth-bore gun for drill purposes.—The Admiralty have directed the trial on board her Majesty's ships Excellent and Cambridge- of the short Martini-Henry rifle and short cartridges. Captains Boys and Foley, of these ships, are respectively called upon to report whether the long Martini-Henry rifles and long car tridges or the short rifles and short cartridges are in their opinion the best.—We are sorry to learn from Gosport that the gallant 88th Connaught Rangers have suffered much from bronchitis, colds, and coughs since they arrived from India, and that many men have died of lung disease. The Rangers landed at Portsmouth in a snowstorm last month.—The Admiralty have directed the centre of gravity of H.M.S. Hotspur, to be obtained at Devonport under the superintendence of an official from the depart. ment of the Controller of the Navy, Whitehall. From India the death is announced of Lieutenant Parry, 37th regiment. LIFEBOAT SERVICES.—TSVO schooners, the maid. of Tire, of Inverness, and the Oxalis, of Macduff, were recently totally wrecked off Boulmer, Northumberland, in a heavy sea and bitterly cold weather, the first named early in the morning and the latter in the after noon of the same day. The Boulmer lifeboat, the Robin Hood of Nottingham, went out to both wrecks ; but the crew. of the Maid of Tire, who had previously left the vessel in their own boat, managed with great difficulty to land on the rocks. The other crew of four men were met pulling towards the shore. They were in great peril, but wqre taken on board the lifeboat and saved. During a squall on Thursday a fishing-boat capsized off the. Dog gerbank, the two me n who were in her being rescued from drowning by the Wex ford lifeboat Civil Service. CURIOUS WILL OF AN OLD CITY WORTHY. On New Year's-day a sermon is London-brillpreed tl r ector of the united parishes of St. Magnus, o ge ; St. Margaret, New Fish street; and St. Michael, Crooked lane, in conformity with the will of Mr. Henry Cloker, a late member of the Grocers' Company. The will is dated 1573, and contains some singular cla uses, one of w h ich being that the master, the wardens, and court of assist ants of the Coopers' Company shall attend divine service, and a sermon preached on New Year's-day, in the afternoon, for ever. The property consists of two small estates, the proceeds of which are divided amongst the clergymen and the officers of the company, and for other purposes. One of the most singular points in the will is, that in the event of the Coopers' Company failing to carry out the various bequests without showing suffi cient reason, the property shall be forfeited to the Grocers' Company. At the conclusion of the sermon, the clerk to the Coopers' Company reads the will, after which the curiously antiquated proceedings terminate.—City Press. ANOTHER NEW OCEAN CABLB.—The latest a, counts from Heart's Content describe the weather there as of the most boisterous character, and that all attempts to grapple with the broken cables had up to that time proved unsuccessful; but it was hoped that, should the weather become less tempestuous, the endeavour to raise both cables would be attended with more success. A few days since we noted that a company, which had been in corporated in 1866 in New York for the purpose of laying a cable between that place and France, but which had remained in abeyance up till December last, had at length determined to lay an Atlantic cable from New York to Russia, the Government of the latter country having agreed to grant all the requirements necessary for the success of the new expedition. Another cable, however, is to be laid, this time commencing from the western shores of America, across the Pacific to the eastern coast of Asia. The New York Chamber of Commerce has taken ' the matter in hand, and witkevery appearance of speedily carrying out the grand project. NEW FIELD GUN.—Great interest is excited in military circles by the prospect of a new field gun of un wonted power being introduced into the British army. It is a somewhat remarkable coincidence that the close of the year 1870 witnessed the completion of two new and experimental pieces of field artillery, one designed for the army and the other for the navy, each gun intended as an advance on the magnitude and power of previous wea pons. The difference of bulk is doubtless great, when we compare the new field gun with the ponderous 700-pounder which crushed the Arsenal railway out of gauge and slipped down quietly between the rails. But the lighter weapon iq, nevertheless, quite as great an advance on its predecessors as the naval ' gun of 35 tons. The field gun which is now coming to the front is a handsome-looking weapon, having a nominal length of 74 inches, or 78 inches over all. It is rifled with three grooves, having a twist equal to one complete turn in 30 calibres, the diameter of the bore being 3 . 6 inches. The charge of powder will be three pounds, and the weight of the projectile 16 pounds, the gun weighing 12 cwt. It is constructed on the Fraser principle, consisting of a steel tube , reinforced for about half its length in the rear portion with a jacket of coiled wrought iron.— Western Morning News. CAN I AFFORD IT ?—Pay your Stationer 6d. for a reply. Map of the World gratis in all Lett s ' s Office Diaries. Letts's 6d. and is. Diaries give most value for your money. Letts's Housekeepers' and Ladies' Diaries are much improved. Letts's invisible Ink for Postal Cards, ad. per bottle. THE INUNDATION AT ROME. (FROM THE CORRESPONDENT OF THE CENTRAL PRESS.) ROME, December 31. As my house has been one of those longest under water, it was only late yesterday afternoon I was able to leave it, the inundation having reached the whole of the lower stories. The terrible catastrophe which has fallen on Rome is not susceptible of exaggeration, and nothing like the present inundation has taken place since 1805. The flood began on the 27th with a warm sirocco wind, which appenrs to have suddenly melted the snow on the Sabin. mountain; and occasioned a flush of water in the Tiber above Corrise, which during the night took more alarming proportions, and the water soon rose very high in the Ripetta, Borgo, and the Ghetto. On the afternoon of the 23th the scene became awful. The bridges of Ponte Molle, Saint Angelo, and Ponte Sisto were all under water, and the Tiber running with frightful rapidity, carried down on its surface countless vestiges of the ruin it had made in the country above Rome. Cattle, carts, horses, pigs, and here and there entire cottages were borne on its torrent. Casks of oil were staved in, and their contents spread on the surface. Flour, drift of every sort, trees, and whole stacks of fire wood, hay and straw were every moment seen passing the Ripetta stairs. From the Pincian the whole country to Monte Mario presented one sheet of surging and whirling water, and at Ponte Molle, on the roof of the casino, or eating-house, were distinctly visible a group of unfortunate occupants, making frantic signals for help, which I much fear was unable to reach them. On attempting to return to my own house in one of the lower streets between the Geni and Minerva, I found the entire Piazza of the Rotunda floodehalf-way up the column of the Pantheon, and the Coro impassable from the Popolo and Piazza Colonna. The Ghetto was, however, the Worst quarter, the water reaching the third storey in many parts. At Borgo Pio (near the Vatican) the whole balustrade was carried away, and part of the fane of the fort, by the violence of the water, and We flood soon inundated the neighbouring hospital of St. Spirito, where the sick had to be transported to the second storey in hot haste. The water stopped short in the Piazza of St. Peter, where the rise in the ground commences, and the whole Borgo was under water. At Trastevere the danger was very great, as the boats were frequently carried away by the violence of the stream while attempting to rescue the inmates of the poorer quarters in the lower part of the town, and especially near the Ponte Rotto. How Ponte Sisto stood the force of the current is a matter of astonishment to all who witnessed the weight and force of the current. Save the new iron bridge, which is reported as unsafe, none of the Roman bridges appear to have given way. On reaching the neighbourhood of my own apartment I found the water already three feet deep in the lower storeys, and having, fortunately, a fourth floor, contrived to reach it without further damage than a complete cold bath, and as half an hour after the river reached the first and half of the second story, all further exit was completely out of the question till yesterday evening. All through the night the cries of the drowning reached us from the adjoining Ghetto. Two poor women, at tempting to cross to the Gaetani Palace in a cart, were over turned into the flood, and washed away. They were saved by the fire brigade, who showed great courage, as well as the National Guard, and indeed every class of citizens. The horse, however, was drowned, and was lying in the street a few minutes' since. The cries for bread from the citizens, who had no supply of food, were another curious and dreary feature of the scene. On the highest roofs men, with the tin horns used here for carnival, attempted to make their wants audible, and about three p.m. a cart full of bread, manned by a National Guard and an agent of the municipality, went down our street and distributed rations to each house gratuitously, according to the ancient Roman usage. This was unfortunately very partially distributed, and many poor families, of my own knowledge, are literally dying of starvation in Trastevere and the Borgo especially. Public subscriptions are being set on foot, and Princes Aldobrandini and Sarsana have headed that of the Roman Patriciate with 1,000 francs (240) each, and the Rectors of colleges and the heads of religious orders, held a meeting at tho Gesh yesterday, in order to take measures for a general subscription. The loss of life as yet cannot be calculated, but it is very great, as fresh bodies are found every hour as the waters retire. The Pope is busily occupied in organising a subscription for the persons left homeless by the flood. The damage to property amounts to many millions of crowns, and is as yet incalculable. All the shops in the Corso, Candolti, and Campo Marzo, have been deluged, and their wares rendered unsaleable. King Victor Emmanuel sent the following telegram to the Municipal Junta :—" To Signor General Marmora,— I wish to contribute to the relief of the losses which the extraordinary inundation of the Tiber has caused in the lowest quarters of Rome, and I send the sum of £BOO as a contribution towards the most immediate wants. I beg, General, that you will request the Municipality of the city to keep me informed with respect to this most de plorable accident." THE SINKING OF SHIPS AT DUCLAIR. The melancholy story of the sinking by the Prussians in the River Seine of a whole squadron of English colliers has, says the Army and Navy Gazette, now been well cir culated throughout the country, and we must confess that we are not a little surprised, not only at the want of sympathy exhibited generally towards the immediate sufferers, but at the absence of an expression of public indignation at the insult offered to our flag. The law of nations may or may not be in favour of the aggressors in this instance. It is evidently a moot point, and consequently we are thoroughly justified in seeking for a prompt reparation. We ought to deal with the new Kaiser's advisers as we would deal with a Belgian or Dutch Ministry, if, instead of in waters under the control of the Germans, the late tragedy had been enacted in the Scheldt or in the Maas. There is, unhappily, a feeling widely spread through the length and breadth of the land that the conduct we pursued when Don Pacifico exclaimed. or some one else exclaimed for him, " Civis Romanus Sum," still pervades our councils, and that we are too apt to bluster when we havea difference with a weak Power, and too much disposed to cringe to a strong one. It may be convenient, but unquestionably, in our opinion, it is unfortunate for Ministers that Parliament is not sitting at present. It is convenient because they may choose, without being found fault with, their own mode of proceeding, and it is unfortunate because they cannot find a precedent for assuring the public day by day that the national honour is safe in their hands, and will be protected, at all hazards, against all corners. The life of an Englishman has been lost in consequence of the seizure and destruction of the vessel to which he belonged, and according to the law which would be laid down by our judges, supposing the act had b en committed within the jurisdiction of their courts, a crime of great magnitude has been committed. The fact that so little value is placed upon human life pending the murderous warfare now carried on in our un fortunate neighbour's territory, that a poor boy's life is taken as a recompense for having ferried his murderers over from one side of the river to the other, may possibly be regarded with contempt by those who are accustomed to look with a composure either forced or real, on an amount of carnage disgraceful to the age in which we live. The French, however their exhibition of patriotism may be regretted by those who are longing for a termina tion of the war, may still persist in their endeavours to drive the invader from their soil, and the Prussians may still be resolved upon declining to enter into any peace negotiations until Paris is prostrate at their feet. All this is the business of the belligerents, but it is our business to watch with a jealous eye over the doings of either party, so far as British interests are concerned. A large amount of property has been forcibly taken posses sion of against the protests of the representatives of its owners. We are not so unreasonable as to suppose that it would not be possible to justify the means used on this occasion by the end, but much would, of course, depend upon the manner in which the transaction was carried out ; but the death of George Simpson, the rob bery of the seamen, and other acts of the assailants, are more serious matters, and cannot be explained away, and demand the most rigorous investigation. Our Ministers may be acting in every way as we could desire, but we, like the rest of the world, are kept in the dark. THE DEPOT SYSTEM.—TIIB authorities are pretty well at their wit's end what to do with the depots of regi ments serving abroad. Thus much, we believe, has been decided : the affiliated depot system is to cease, and no Depot Battalions are to be re-established. The de pas of Scotch regiments will be quartered in Scotland. It h as been generally proposed that the depot of a regiment shall be stationed in the county wherein the regiment, was originally raised, but a difficulty presents itself in the carrying out of this plan in the want of barrack accomo dation.—Broad Arrow. KINAHAN'S LL WHISKY.—This celebrated and most delicious old mellow spirit is the very cream of Irish Whiskies, in quality unrivalled, perfectly pure, and more wholesome than the finest Cognac Brandy. Note the red seal, pink label, and cork branded " Kinahan's LL Whisky." New Wholesole Depot, 6A, Great Titchfield street, Oxford-street, W. THE WAR. FROM THE BESIEGED CAPITAL. PARIS, December 30. Melancholy news has been received in Paris. Fart I Avron has been evacuated under the fire of eight bat teries. There are in Paris large numbers of killed and wounded, but through the effect of the famous Krupp guns is incontestable, they do not do the same mischief in the forts where the defenders are sheltered under casemates. The news of the loss of Avron has made an unfavourable impression on the public, but it has not modified the general determination to fight to the last. Some persons even think that the determination with which the enemy is fighting, proves his increasing anxiety to make an end of the war ; but in any case the bombardment must be a good deal heavier before it produces the slightest effect on the surrender of the town. There has been, however, a growing feeling of impatience at the Government delays, which has been exhibited in the Council itself. Some of the civil members of the Administration demanded that Trochu should exhibit more energy, and even talked about his resignation. Jules Favre and Picard, according to one report, spoke strongly in this sense, but Trochu keeps firm to his "original plan," and his confidence in it is in no way diminished. There is a feeling in many quarters in favour of daily movements, which should keep the enemy on the alert, and compel him to retain all his besieging force round the capital, so as to prevent him from reinforcing the troops opposing the Army of the Loire. Several journals have taken this up, and there bas been a talk of popular demonstrations on the subject. Hitherto there has been nothing of the kind ; and it may, therefore, be hoped that the common sense of the public will prevail. This morning there is an extraordinary unanimity in the press. All the papers demand more vigorous action. General Schmitz, whose very name is unwelcome from its Prussian sound, irritates the people by the despond- ing tone of his reports as head of the staff, and seems ' to be affected by that exclusive spirit which is scarcely willing France should be saved by new soldiers and a Republic when she was ruined under the empire and the armies of the old school, At any rate, if they have not yet achieved success, the French have at least under the Republican rule recovered theirhonour. The feeling of dis content is in fact growing dangerously strong, and if Trochu does not take some energetic action within the next few days, he will be overthrown, not by the rioters of the streets, for there are none ; not by the poorer classes, who endure their sufferings unflinchingly ; but by the more enlightened classes who have hitherto been his chief support. The hardships of the change of weather press on both belligerents. Bavarians are said to be constantly surren dering, and give terrible accounts of the sufferings they endure from cold and sickness. The requisition of "horses of luxury " continues. Auber has been allowed to retain one, and Theophile Goutier has asked permission to keep his. THE EFFECTS OF THE BOMBARDMENT The Times correspondent in Paris gives a most inte resting account of the effects produced by the fire of the Prussians on the 29th. He had the good fortune to get outside the city, in the immediate neighbourhood of the forts, and therefore saw all that went on. First, he and his companions came to Nogent. A deserted house, within about 150 yards of the fort, offered a good point of observation, so we went up into the top room, and thence got a view of a great part of the interior of the fort. It was not then answering the batteries at work upon it, and so all the garrison were hidden away under shelter. Not a sign of human life could we discover. Half a dozen horses huddled together in the inner moat to protect themselves from the cruel cold were the only living things we could see. The first shot I saw drop into the fort happened to fall near them, and there was a momentary panic and general scamper, but not one was touched. The shells were coming at about the rate, I calculate, of two per minute, and with a precision which struck me—this being my first experience of bombardment—as very marvellous, until a little later on, at Rosny, I saw firing far superior. Nearly all struck some portion of the fort, and yet I could not see that any damage was done. A few did not burst ; others struck harmlessly mounds of earth, some times burying themselves in it, sometimes scattering showers of it high into the air. Many fell into the paved courtyard, and exploded with a noise and vibration which seemed to shake the house we were in from roof to base. As far as I could judge, they were of enormous size and weight, and I was considerably surprised —having very vague notions of what a bombardment ought to do—to see that they did apparently so little mischief. They might have killed and wounded to any extent if there had been anybody to kill and wound, but, as the fort guns were not being worked, the men were, I presume, stowed away in safe corners ; at any rate they were out of sight, and the deserted aspect and death-like stillness of the fort, broken only when every now and then a shell burst like a thunder-clap in the middle of it, had a most singular effect. I looked in vain for the breached walls, crumbling ramparts, or dismounted guns which I had always imagined to be among the effects of bombarding so vigorous as I was then watching. "You may go on in that way for two years," said one of a few Mobiles who shared our obser vatory. It seemed to me that they might "goon in that way" for twenty years unless the continuous dropping of shells upon a fort produces anything like the effect which the constant falling of drops of water on the head is said to work on the brain. Yet the firing was first-rate, so good that we had felt in no sort of danger until at last one shell came out of the usual line right in the direction of our house, but luckily falling short. The writer next came to Fort Rosny :—This was being bombarded far more vigorously than that of Nogent. The shells were coming in at the rate, I should think, of four a minute, and pitched, as a rule, with a precision perfectly marvellous. A few of the Fort pieces were answering, though by comparison very tamely. But their flash gave the enemy an easy and advantageous mark, and shell after shell came flying within a few yards of them, though I never saw one actually struck. The earthwooks in front of and around them proved an invaluable protection, and many a shell which, if it had struck a hard substance, might have done serious mischief, disappeared harmlessly without bursting. Here again I was struck—even more than at Nogent—by the disproportion between the terrific character of the bom bardment and its apparently harmless results. The shells were whizzing in at about the rate of four a minute. They were of enormous size, judging from one I saw which had not burst. They scarcely missed hitting some portion of the fort, the target they were firing at. Directed against troops in the open field, without shelter, I could easily imagine their effect positively irresistible. The noise alone of a bombardment so fast and furious might have demoralised any but seasoned troops. Long before one could see the shell one heard the whizzing, hurtling sound it made through the air, something like the close rush of an express train by night, approaching at the rate of a hundred miles an hour, and it seemed impossible to make out whether it was going to light upon one's head until one had the satisfaction of seeing it burst f ar aw ay. I was not surprised to hear, after half an-hour's experience of such a bombardment as the Prus sian, that the Plateau d'Avron had been abandoned during the night, and the guns had been got away with difficulty. I don't know what may be its value strategi cally, but the repulse of the French troops may produce awkward political effects in Paris. After so much talk about the sortie which was to scatter the Prussians, the Parisians won't relish the notion of being obliged to aban don their own ground, and being driven back themselves, instead of driving hack the enemy. Some of the retreat ing troops passed by us on their way to Vincennes, and they looked by no means amiable. I heard remarks about Generals Trochu and Ducrot which they would not thank me to repeat. THE CHARGE AGAINST MARSHAL BAZAINE. General Deligny, who was with ine in Metz, and has now published a detailed account of the capitulation, arrives at the following conclusions. That Bazaine was not equal to his military task, and that be was unfaithful to his duty towards the country and towards the army, by leaving the open country. That, seeing too late the error of his calculations, he endeavoured by policy to with draw himself from the position his imprudence had placed him in. And that, absorbed in intrigues, which he was endeavouring at the same time to make answer their purpose, and to conceal from his army, he left the latter throughout in ignorance of the true state of affairs, and conducted it to its ruin before it knew the danger. The responsibility of the fatal d6nonement rests altogether with the general-in-chief, notwithstanding his efforts to share it with the commandants of corps d'arrade. The latter, however, cannot be altogether ADVENTURES OF A COURIER. A courier who recently made his way with great diffi culty, and after a long delay, into Paris, with despatches from Tours, has given an account of his eventful journey, from which it appears that he left. Tours on the 24th November. and proceeded to Rouen, from whence he went to Vernon, and then to Meulan. Passing through Poissy, in company of a friend, he arrived at St. Germain on the 29th, and next day attempted to reach Paris by way of Bougival, but the strong forces occupy ing this portion of the lines compelled them to desist from their intention, and they went into Versailles. On the Ist of December they proceeded to Ville d'Avry and Sevres, and after having examined the positions in these quarters, decided on attempting to cross the lines on the next evening. The night unfortunately was one of bright moonlight, and after getting near the old manufactory of &tyres they were seen by a sentinel, who fired upon them. They leaped over some boundary walls, and were making for the bank of the Seine, when a score of Prus sian soldiers came from behind a hedge and arrested them. The packages which they carried were taken from them, and they were taken before a Prussian officer, who spoke French, and who they told that they had tried to return to Paris to see their wives and children from whom they had been separated for two months. They were taken for the night to Chaville, tobe conveyed to Versailles next day, and were separated from one another, and the hero of the tale contrived to get out of the loft in which he was con fined and to drop down a height of about twenty feet ; not, however, without feeling the effects of the fall. After wandering about in the woods for the night, he entered Versailles next morning by Montreuil, and as he had with him 100 f. concealed in the lining of his paletot he was enabled to purchase some necessaries, and to have himself shaved. He next procseded to Saint Germain, where he remained concealed in an auberge for three days, after which, on the sth December, he, with another companion, set out for Chatou, where he hoped to cross the Seine. This time the Franc-tireurs fired upon him and roused the Prussians, who began also to salute him in the same fashion. He saved himself by running along the road to Saint Germain, but was followed by horseman, whom he escaped by entering the wood of Vesinet. Here he hid for a couple of hours, and at length venturing out reached a village unknown to him, where he made out the curt, who kept him safely until the middle of the next day. On the 7th he tried by way of the Quarries, but with similar results. He returned to St. Germain on the Bth, and two days later obtained a pass for Meulan. On the 12th he was at Evreux, and reached Lisieux with some difficulty on the 14th. While yet 13 kilometres from this town, and while breakfasting in an auberge, he was arrested by the National Guards and conducted to Lisieux as a Prussian spy. The Prefect was from home, but the Procureur de la Rdpublique opened and read his despatches and con signed the bearer to prison. Here, after having been very badly treated, he was released next day on an order from the Government. The Bordeaux correspondent of the Daily News says he has reason to believe that if M. Jules Favre goes to Lon don, M. Gambetta will very likely go also. The French Commission of Armaments has eupplied the country with 430,000 .rifles and 76,000,000 cartridges within six weeks. An unfortunate pork-butcher at Bapaume, who had the honour of entertaining some German officers of rank, expressed himself as follows :—" Monsieur, the unluckiest news I can receive is that of a French victory ; for as sure as I hear of it, so sure do the Prussian troops enter my house four hours after." Blois is still in the possession of the Prussians, and, according to the latest accounts, the population is reduced to the last extremity of distress by requisitions which the inhabitants are utterly unable to meet. A letter says that the German soldiers go so far as to stop people in the streets and take off their shoes. The Rappel says that the aspect of Paris at night in con sequence of the extinction of the gaslights is very singular. Many persons find it convenient to carry lanterns, and for their accommodation a new kind of lamp has been invented, which is carried easily by being suspended from the button hole of the coat. The official journal of the besieging army at Versailles has just taken stock of the defensive and offensive capa bilities of Great Britain, and the conclusion at which it arrives is as follows :—" Without military reorganization _ _ it is perfectly idle to discuss the attitude which England should take in view of future continental complications. Its present military system allows it but one attitude, that of dbliteration." A resident of Roubaix, who travelled to Germany for the purpose of conveying clothing and assistance to his countrymen who are prisoners of war, writes that he found most of them suffering horribly from cold. He was present on the arrival at Berlin of prisoners from Orleans, who had been travelling for fifteen days and fifteen nights in cattle waggons while most scantily clad ; seventeen of these unfortunate fellows were frozen to death. A German soldier says that in order to perform the heavy duties which fall to it, the German army in the Vosges requires a supply of clothing. Almost everything is wantinr. " Most of onr men have to endure the greatest privation ; they have actually no shoe% to their feet, some have to run barefoot, and that in the deep snow, and con tinual mounting guard is no joke. Although fresh sup plies of clothing have long been ordered they have never reached us. Who is to blame for this I know not. How we are off for coats and trousers you can easily imagine to yourself from the story of my inexpressibles—they were as rotten as tinder." Attention has been directed to the rampart guns which the Prussians are using. There are numerous depots of these guns at Cologne, Coblentz, and Mayence, but they have only recently been forwarded to the Prussian forces now besieging Paris. Their weight prevents them from being used in a battle, but they are of great service when they are supported by battlements or ramparts. The balls are elliptic in shape and abeut the size of an olive. From a letter published in the " non-official " part of the Staats-Anzeiger, and written by General Fransecky, chief of the 2nd Corps, and commander of all the troops in the affairs of the 30th of November and the 2nd of December, it seems that the counter-attack on Champigny was of even a more formidable character than had hitherto been reported Three of the four brigades of Fransecky's corps, and the whole of his artillery, sup ported the Wurtembereers. Nevertheless, the general admits with great distinctness that half the village re mained in the French possession. Champigny is divided by a wide and deep road perpendicular to its main street, which road became the line of demarcation at the end of the fight. The Germans never lodged themselves across it. KARL BLIND ON THE WAR.—The German democrat, Karl Blind, has made some remarks respecting his recent article in the Fortnightly Review. He says that while Professor Von Sybel is in favour of the revival of an Empire, he deplores such a result of the war. He regrets that the new Republic was imperilled by the con tinuance of the war, through Jules Favre's uncompro mising resolve that France should not part with her for tresses. He has been exiled from Germany and France— from the former for having aided the Republican cause, and from the latter for supporting Ledru-Rollin. Karl Blind does not think that the same sentiments prevail among French and German democrats. The Germans disclaim the notion of supremacy on the part of any nation; but the case is very different with the French. Victor Hugo desired a rectification of frontiers on account of the " in tolerable aggrandisement" of Germany, and hardly any members of the Corps L4gislatif refused the war supplies to the Emperor Napoleon. The German nation cannot forget these things, and the democratic meetings and jour nals in France declare the " march to Berlin" to be still the real programme. He fears that if peace is not con cluded shortly . the French Republic will pass into a mili tary dictatorship, or that monarchy will be revived. He cannot understand how Republicans can offer the French people such fatal advice as to fight on until their strength is quite exhausted, more especially when they see the determination of the German people. AN INCIDENT IN THE EAST.— letter from a German soldier, speaking of a skirmish between Gravy and Besancon, says :—" One young fellow attracted our notice particularly. Springing from tree to tree, and con tinually firing, ho had already done us much harm when an under officer, renowned as a good shot, who had already aimed at him several times without effect, said, Herr Lieutenant, I shall hit that fellow yet, and stop the jumping of that French harlequin.' At the next shot our adversary rolled in the snow. I was quickly at his side ;he was a handsome youth with the first dawn on his upper lip ; his white hands did not appear to have ever done an hour's hard work. The ball had penetrated his breast, and the blood gushed in streams from the wound. As we con sidered the fight at an end, and had completed our task, I remained st bis side, and sought to raise the groaning form. Ho could speak no more ; suddenly he seized me con vul sively by the hand ; his limbs quivered—his whole form seemed to stretch itself out—his eyes appeared about to burst from their sockets—a deep groan—and he was no more. Slowly I let his body glide down on the snow. It was a weird and ghastly scene ; the pale countenance of the THE SUPPLY OF SNIDERS. Mr. Cardwell, in his letter published in the Times, holds strictly to the affirmative reply given to the question of Sir J. Pakington, asked in the House on the 2nd of August, as to the "regular army " being then supplied with breechloaders. But we have just seen a letter from a line officer serving in the Punjaub, who, writing on the 18th of November, states positively that not a man of his battalion had even seen, much less handled, a breech loader. The correction of his letter made by Mr. Card well in the Times, on Thursday, may possibly mean that the Indian Government is responsible for the extraordi nary blunder which leaves Snider rifles lying here in store, and the regiments on our weakest frontier armed with the old muzzle-loader. If this be so, the responsi bility should be clearly put upon the right shoulders ; for some one is certainly very much to blame for the fact that the arms are forthcoming, and yet that men there were still, half a year nearly after the famous discussion, uu provided with the new weapon, and apparently likely to remain so. The number of passengers conveyed over the Metropolitan, the Metropolitan District, the Metropolita n and St. John's - wood , and the Hammersmith and City Railways during the Christmas holiday week (Decembe r 23rd and 29th inclusive) was 1,034,861, an increase on the previous year of 140,685. 'THE IRISH CHURCH.—A fresh list of contrib' tions to the Sustentation Fund of the Church appears ill the Dublin Church papers. The list commences with , s i,t donation of 220,000 from the Earl of Egmont, 26,U( ' each from the Duke of Abercorn and Lord Clermon t, £5,000 from the Duke of Devonshire, £3,000 from Messrs; Kinahan, of Dublin and London, Mr. Mulholl and, (Belfast) £2,000, with a number of sums of £ l , OOO and I £5OO. BRICKYARD CHILDREN. - A letter has been acl; dressed to the Home Secretary . by Mr. George Smith, .°,„' Coalville, asking whether the Government intends du rdl the next session to take into consideration the condition of brickyard children. Mr. A. F. 0. Liddell, in reply' writes that he is instructed by Mr. Bruce to state that th e subject will be considered in the next amendments of OW Factory and Workshops' Acts, but that it i s doubtfni whether a bill for the purpose referred to can be into duced during the next session. p,e' a SC HO OL BOARD ELECTIONS.—Orders were isn on Friday from the Education Department for the ele tion of a school board in each of the following boroughs' besides the district of the local board of Oxford :—Ashton' under-Lyne, Barnsley, Bath, Batley, Bodmin, Brecon. Carlisle, Chesterfield, Dartmouth , Devonport Exeteirj Huddersfield, Ipswich, Kingston - upon - Hull , N ewark Newcastle-on-Tyne, Newport (Monmouthshire), F,"' mouth, Pwllheli, Scarborough, South Shields, 'Pottle, Wakefield, Walsall, Worcester. A VOLUNTEER SENT TO PRISON. - A t the Itati, ston Petty Sessions, on Wednesday , Amos C . Ashes £l was charged with refusing to pay his subscription of to the 31st Lancashire (Oldham) Volunteer Corps for the year 1870. The defendant, having failed t o make hino e , efficient, was by the rules of the service required to Pa to subscription of the amount named, and as he declined ra, do this when applied to in the ord inar y course, a elio,l mons was taken out against him. After the charge been stated, the defendant said he had "nowt to El" He was committed to prison for one month. [ADvEwrisEmENT.]—Holloway's Ointment and Pla i n Reliable Remedies.—ln wounds, burns, sprains, glanatio swellings, enlargtd veins, neuralgic pains, and rhenollbe tortures, the application of this soothing ointment t 0 se affected part not only gives the greatest ease, b u t like w t l i e cures the complaint. The pills genially promote, be curative action of the ointment. Both remedies rdafiiia used by the most inexperienced nurse. They shoal , hey a place on every toilet, and in every hurserY. successfully supersede the use of all dangerous cosrd e „ to and render the skin soft and silky. It is unnecesedApt expatiate further on the excellence of Holloways '-'o"ps ment and Pills whose merits have kept them ~,ro' before the public, and secured for them universal al bation. BIRTHS. f,el , On the sth inst.,. at Trehill, the wife of John IleurY.- Esq., of a daughter. On the 3d inst., at Haredene, Albury , the Hon. firs' ~.._ . Burne, of a son. MARRIAGES. IA On the sth inst., at Bridekirk, Cumberland, CaP t ' titer o 0 i F. D. Donnelly, R.E., to Adeliza, second (lane' the late Frecheville Lawson Ballantyne Dykes, -v-' 54. ' of Vs D o venby Hall, Cumberland. t h e On the sth inst., at Rugby, Thomas Caldecott, r o I, The Lodge, Rugby, to Elizabeth Mary, daught e , to late A. Stewart, Esq. , K. H., and widow of the Hume, Esq. DEATHS. ,i• 0 11 On the 4th inst., at Clap ham-common, Lewis Arl.l6' Esq., aged 80. 111iii ' .1- r On the 4th inst., at The Field, Leek, William Esq., aged 85. f $, o t London : Printed by GIDEON ACLAND BOY,,C10: i'„ No. 112, Strand, Printer, and Published by ...„; f 0 - THE SUN Office, No. 112, Strand, in the Precinct " Savoy, in the County of Middlesex. Monday, January o,lBg.