The Sun. — London, England, 1857-12-17 00:00:00

HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE, THREE EXTRA NIGHTS. Piecolomioi, Spezia, Giuglini,lletti, Rossi, Vialetti, and Aldigbieri. Tuesday, Dec. 29—Thursday, Dec. 31—Saturday Jan. 2. The following favourite operas will be given : Tuesday—lL TROVATORE. Thursday—LA TRAVIATA. Saturday—LUClA DI LAMMERMOOR. Prices :—Pit Stalls, 12s 6d; boxes (to hold four persons), pit and one pair, 2/. 2s ; grand tier, 3/. 3s ; two pair, 1/, 55.; three pair, 158; gallery boxes, lOs ; gallery stalls, 3s Gd pit, 3s tid; gallery, 2s. E tREA M T A C j L E AS S S T IC CY'S E Positively the Last Night but Two. Vocalist, Madlle„ Jetty Treffs (her last appearance but two, M. Remenyt THIS EVENING (THURSDAY, December 17th), will be produced the New Grand Descriptive Composition, by M. Jullien, entitled THE INDIAN QUADRILLE, and GENERAL II AV E LOC K'S TRIUMPHAL MARCH, performed by M. Jullien's Orchestra, assisted by the drums said fifes of the Grenadier Guards, the Coldstream Guards, and the Scots Fusilier Guards ; and a Grand Chorus, " Rule Rat-amnia," and "God Save the Queen." Selections from Mr. Macfarren's Cantata, "The Sleeper Awakened." Ger. man Lied, " The Kiss " (second time), Madlle. Jetty Treffa. New Fife Polka, by M. Jullien, with double Orchestra. The magnificent decorations which were prepared for the Bal Masque will remain during the continuance of these Con °et ts. The whole theatre will be ornamented with wreaths and garlands of flowers, in gold, silver, and colours. The dec orations have been prepared by Messrs. Chabot and Co., who were charged with the decorations for the grand ball at the reception of the Emperor Napoleon 111. at Stuttgart, and who were engaged, at a great erpence, for the express rurpose of arranging at her Majesty's Theatre a display which will be seen for the first time in this country. The Concert will commence at 8 o'clock. Peaces of Admission—Promenade, is ' • Upper Rims, le. 1 Gallery, ls. ; Dress Circle, 2s. 6d.; Private Boxes, 10s, tld, and upwards. _ _ Prospectuses, with full particulars, may be had at the Box. Olice of the Theatre ; of all the principal libraries ; and al Jnllien and Co.'s, 214, Regent-street. ITER MAJESTY'S THEATRE.— M. JULLIEN'S GRAND BAL M AS Q U B.—ln consequence of the great success of the Bal Masque), M. Jullien will give a SECOND, and positively the Last this season, at the end of the Second Series of Concerts, on MONDAY, Doc. 21.—Applications to be made at the Box Mee of the Theatre. T HEATRE ROYAL, HAYMARKET, Lessee—Mr. J. B. Buckstone. THIS EVENING, to commence at Seven o'clock, with a new Comedy, entitled AN UNEQUAL MITCH. Princi pal characters by Messrs. Bnckstone, Compton, Chippendale, W. Farren, Miss Amy Sedgwick, Mrs. Buckingham White, an Mrs. E. Fitzwilliam. After which, a new farce, by the author of Box and Cox, entitled TAKE CARE OF DOWB, in which Mr. Buckstone will sustain an original eh Lracter. To be followed by THE STAR OF ANDALUSIA. Orchestra Stalls (which may be retained the whole of the evening), 6s. each. (No charge for booking.) First Price. s. d. Second price. s. d Dress Boxes 5 0 Dress Boxes 3 0 Upper Boxes ....... ........ 3 0 Upper Boxes 2 0 Pit 2 0 Pit 1 0 Lower Gallery 1 0 Lower Gallery _ 0 6 Upper Gallery 0 6No half-price to Upper Gallery. ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEA.TRE. The public is revectfully informed that the play of RICHARD TILE SECOND will shortly be withdrawn, and WILL NOT BE AGAIN REPRESENTED in this Thsatre, with the exception of a few nights towards the ex piration of Mr. C. Ke,an's period of management. It will be repeated every evening during the week, and on Wednesday next, 16th inst., for the 100th time. It OYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE. Proprietor, Mr. Charles Kean. THIS EVENING; will bo performed Shalcspere's Tragedy of KING RICHARD H. King Richard 11., by Mr. Chas. Komi ; Queen, by Mrs. C. Kean. Preceded by a new farce, in one act, entitled A CASE OF CONSCIENCE. T HEATRE ROYAL, A DEL PHI, Lessee—Mr. Ben. Webster. THIS EVENING, will be performed THE GREEN BUSHES, in which Madame Celeste, Mr. Wrigkt, and Mr. Paul Bedford will perform. Followed by the original Apropos Sketch, entit:ed THE DRAPERY QUESTION ; or, Who's for India I Messrs. Wright, P. Bedford, C. Selby; Miss M. Wilton and Miss )lary Keeley. ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE.—Lessee, Mr. Dillon.—Under the joint management of Miss LOUISA PYNE and Mr. W. HARRISON. THIS EVENING, will be pe formed Balfe's new opera, THE ROSE OF C ASTILLE. Characters by Miss Louisa Pyne, Miss Susan Pyne, Miss Marian Prescott, Mr. Weiss, Mr. A. St. Albyn, Mr. G. Honey, Kr. Wallworth, and Mr. W. Harrison. Conductor, M. Alfred Mellon. To conclude with the new Farce, entitled A PAIR OF PIGEONS. Mr. G. Honey and Miss Cuthbert. Private Boxes, £2 12s. ed., £2 25., and £1 lls. Ed. ; Stella, es. ; Dress Circle, ss. ; Upper Boxes, 4s. ; Pit, 2e.; Gallery, ls.—The Box Office is now open daily, from 11 to 5, under the direction of Mr. Chatterton, jun. ROYAL OLYMPIC THEATRE, Lessees, Messrs. Robson and Emden. THIS EVENING, will be performed a new and original eomediotta, by Sterling Coyne, Esq., called WHAT WILL THEY SAY AT BROMPTON? Mr. Robson, etc. After which, LEADING STRINGS. To coaclade with /30 , iTS AT THE SWAN. Mr. Robson, Mr. IL Wigan, and Mrs. Emden. Commence at half-past Seven. STRAND THEATRE.—Lessee, Mr. T. Payne. —THIS EVENING, will be performed BLACK-EYED SUSAN. A Ballet Divertissement. Followed by FOUNDED ON FACTS. After which, the highly-successful and original burlesque, written by Leicester Buckingham, entitled Lk TRAVIATA; Or, THE LADY CAMELEON. Miss Craven, Miss Vieter, Mr. F. Charles, Mr. G. Bolton, Mr. J. Howard, and Mr. J. Clarke. Commence at Seven. Stalls, 45. ; Boxes, 35.; Pit, Is.; Gallery 6d. ROYAL SURREY THEATRE. Lessees, Messrs. Shepherd and Creewiek. THIS EVENING, will be performed AMBITION : or, The Throne and the Tomb. After which, THE BARRISTER. To conclude with WELLINGTON FIGGS. CANTERBURY HALL, Westminster-road.— OPEN EVERY EVENING.—The follow nz company of Vocalists are engaged for the performance of S loctions from all the popular OPERAS, MADRIGALS, CHORUSES, GLEES, DUETS, &c., viz.:—Miss Russell, Mrs. Badzey, Madllo. Marietta, Mrs. Palmyre, Miss Bru nel!, and Madame Marietta; Herr F. Jonghmans, Mr. }lenshaw, R. Grover, T. Farrant, S. Jones, J. Barker, W. Melling, Senor An',onio, E. L. Hime, and Mr. St. A:byn ; Messrs. S. Collins, W. Critchfield, and E. Mack ney. Pianoforte, Mr. Cecil Hicks; harmonium, Master Williams ; Director, Herr F. Jonghmans. Commence at 8.3•011 o'clock preciSely. Suppers, (Ste., until twelve o'clock. HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. THIS DAY —Morn., 20 min. aft. 2—Even., 39 mln aft. 2 To-MORROW—Morn., 56 min. aft. 2—Even., 15 min. aft. 3 THE WEATHER—SUN OFFICE, DECEMBER 17. THERMOMETER, IN THE SHAME. 56—highest since noon yesterday. 53 —lowest this morning and during the night. 56 —this day at noon. BAROMETER, 30.18 rising. WIND, S.W. ; rather fresh, with mild muggy weather, sad partial rain. 147 .41 ex 4.704 , ,A> s 4e.^ 70 t• ;I v - LONDON, THURSDAY, DEC. 17, 1857. What is popular sovereignty ? To simple minds it would seem to be that the will of the great ma jority of the people of any country, legitimately expressed by themselves or their representatives, should become the law of the land, and that such law should be ,subjected to revision at any time that it became, distasteful to the majority for the time being. • The framers of Constitutions in America seem, however, to entertain very extraordinary notions on the subject. According to their judgment an irregularly d constitu e t • convention, merely acting provisionally, can frame irrevocable laws, which, like those of the Medea Persians s ad can never be altered. These, too, are not to receive the ratification which ii reg ar d e d as essential to give validity t o a ll prejimivary constitution,, namely, that of a public voti o f approbati , ,,u by the great body of the Peopl . Th e pre,-:slavery p arty, ohow ever, were detJrmiued, Per / I ( v.e /3`tkottni:T.Z to Ten der Kansas a slave state. (Unary proceedings that took plac e, and by means whereof a packed legislature was selected, whose opinions were in total opposition t ) those of the Community at large. The bona ji le voters were prevented by violence from recording their suf frages—while gangs of armed ruffians from Mis souri occupied their places. It was a mere thockery of an election ; but still it was permitted to stand for the time being, and it is the parties who were thus illegally returned, who attempted IHE SUN, LONDON, TlitilSDA iv II7EN NO, DEC E MBER 17, 18NI. to introduce the preposterous regulation that their wishes should bind all future generations. The free soil party had become so numerous that there was no possible chance of their being out-manoeuvred or out-numbered, either by the fraud or violence of the planters in the neighbour ing States, and thus the last convulsive effort was to retain Kansas as a slave State, despite the decided objections of an overwhelming majority of the people. Two of the sections of the quasi-constitution are so extraordinary that we shall repeat them here. They are to the following effect : " Section 1. The right of property is before and higher than any constitutional sanction, and the right of the owner of a slave to such slave and its increase is the same and as inviolable as the right of the owner of any property whatever. " Section 2. The Legislature shall have no power to pass laws for the emancipation of slaves without the consent of the owners, or without paying the owners previous to their emancipation a full equi valent in money for the slaves so emancipated." We have heard in the olden time of " the right divine of kings," and, against that claim, " the pilgrim fathers" and their descendants and suc cessors, boldly and manfully protested. From that protest sprang the model Republic. It is the very foundation of its constitution, to which "Statesmen" refer with just pride. But a new de scription of divine right is to be substituted. It is the right of man to seize his fellow-man and re duce him to the most degraded position—not su perior in any degree to the beasts of burden— with whom he is associated. The language is carefully selected so as to show the feelings with which he is regarded. "The right of the owner of a slave to such slave and its (sic) increase is the same, and as inviolable as the right of the owner to any other property whatever." Could any phraseology so vividly depict the condition of the unfortunates, who are submitted to the tender mercies of men, we beg pardon, of planters capal3le of framing such a clause. Then comes, however, the great attempt after laying down the principle (!) which may be re garded as the preamble of the Act, they declare that the Legislature shall have ne power to pass laws for the emancipation of slaves without the consent of the owners, or without paying the owners, previous to their emancipation, a full equivalent in money for the slaves so emancipated ! No power ! A Legislature without power seems an absurdity. The law abhors a perpetuity, and there must rest a power somewhere to repeal or modify any law ever enacted, or that can be enacted. America is said to be the land of pro gress : and there we should find the doctrine of " finality " less favoured than in this country. But here it was only asserted that there ought to be no interference. The right to do so, if the Legislature thought fit, was never questioned. The Ness York Herald, which gives a sensible, straightforward article on the point, very perti nently inquires, " Where did these LECOMPTON philosophers derive the power to supersede the sovereignty of the People ?" adding, "If this Con vention could assume and stretch its power as an absolute despotism for seven years, why not for 70 or 100 years to come ? They might just as well have said that the people of Kansas shall have no authority to alter their constitution till the year 1964, as the year 1864." 1 The act appears to contain contradictory pro visions. In a schedule it is stated, that on the 21st of this month the people are to vote by bal lot for " the constitution with slavery," or "the constitution with no slavery." In the latter case, however, there is a strange exception, that " the right to slaves now in the territory shall in no manner be inter fered with." The people vote for no slavery, but still there shall be no interference with the right to slaves now in the territory ; and in other parts it recognises the right of the slaveholders of other states to settle in Kansas, with their pro- perty ;" was there ever so flagrant an attempt at establishing a pro-slavery despotism, in opposition t..) the will of the people 7 It is manifestly, however, a spasmodic effort of the planters to obtain a final advantage. It is alike opposed to every principle of common sense and constitutional law, and will be set aside with the ridicule it so eminently merits. And Prince ADAM CZARTORYSKI—of whom we spoke on Monday evening—surely every one who knows anything at all about Poland, knows per fectly well who is Prince ADAM GEORGE CZAR TORYSICI 1 The world's history has record of his antecedents. They extend in a conspicuous manner over an interval of considerably more than half a century. During sixty years of his protracted and illustrious life, the Prince has been before Europe vividly either in power or in exile—always as a patriot—often as a statesman—long under the bitterest load of misfortune—never disheartened. Briefly to sum up the particulars of this re markable career by an enumeration of its most notable incidents, let us here add a catalogue of the principal events marking the life of t his honoured and revered chief of the great Polish Association. Prince ADAM GEORGE CZARTORYSKI, then, is mainly entitled to the consideration of his con temporaries, and to the remembrance of posterity, for inasmuch as he will survive in the annals of his native land as the some time President of the National Government of Poland. When Poland last existed as a nation, he was the foremost among her rulers—less her CROMWELL or hsr BONAPARTE, than her HOFER or her WASHINGTON. Between the twenty-ninth and thirtieth of November, 1830, the signal was given for the last grand rising of the Poles. It was struck in the ancient Cipital of Poland, and the hand that sounded it was the hand of CZARTORYSK[. Twenty-seven years have since then gone by, but that occurrence is not in any way forgotten, either by Poland or by Europe. And long, very long, yet please GOD, will it be cherished by the former—th e memory of that last patriotic explosion, when for a brief interval the compatriots of SOBIESKI and KOSCIUSKO regained their existence as a people, once more under the leadership of one having a hereditary claim upon the confi dence, and even be it said in a measure upon the allegiance of the Polish population. For the Pt file° ADAM CzARTORYSKI—ex-President of the National Government of Poland—is lineally de scended from a branch of the sovereign house of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, a family ulti mately seated upon the throne of Poland, in the fourteenth century, under the title of the dynasty of the Jagellons. But alto gether apart from his august ancestry, this your raLle patriot has claims of a personal character upon the grateful notice of his fellow countrymen, second to those of no Polish Prince now surviving. In ievidence of the commanding nature of these per• what ni a c h la as i mbse been n f his, already it is only said dof necessaryth the last t s o i reiterate xty y years lu s of his existence, that in the cause of Poland 01Ey have been passed in anperpetual vici s sit u d e . la yids t situde so str ange hequered. as to read more like romance than reality. Instance this the ex tremes of those sixty ye ars ' public servi ce ! At th e close under h o t fl e reign an exile in th e capital of France of one Emperor NAPoLi torr . A t the commencement of the nineteenth centuiy, during the sway of another Emperor, the man designated by France, and afterwards by the world at lsrge, NAPOLEON le Grand—what ? What at the beginning of this last half-century was Prince ADAM CZARTORYSKI ? Is it forgotten The mere appearance of the incongruity of his position, and of his character, will, of itself, be sufficient surety, one may well imagine, that the former (namely, his position nearly sixty years ago), can not speedily be lost to the popular recollection. And that ?—Was it not the position of the per sonal and intimate friend, and associate, and minister of the CZAR of all the Russias, the then reigning Autocrat ALEXANDER ? Already, in 1788, he (Prince ADAM) had completed his education, and had then traversed, in succession, Germany, France, and England—noting well, in the latter country, during the days of WILLIAM PITT, and CHARLES Fox, and EDMUND BURKE, the evidence recognizable even then of the beneficent influence (in spite of all the storms of party warfare) of a purely constitutional Govern ment. Enrolled in 1791 in the ranks of the Polish army, then struggling to vindicate against the legions of Russia their national independence and the integrity of the newly organized consti tution, CZARTORYSKI during the campaign of the following year was decorated, in conside ration of his heroic services, with the mili tary cross of Poland. The CZAR PAUL not long afterwards witnessed with peculiar chagrin, almost with dismay, the intimacy which soon sprung up between the young Polish Prince and the heir to a power wielding a sceptre of the most perfectly irresponsible despotism over sixty millions of the human race ! Out of that strange friendship between the Czar ALEXANDER and the Prince CZARTORYSKI sprang the power of the latter at St - . Petersburg, and the hopes of his country for many years afterwards. Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs in 1803, CZARTO RYSKI continued to hold that high and responsible position until 1806, when beholding his com patriots en masse ranging themselves under the banners and attaching themselves to the fortunes of NAPOLEON the GREAT—the Polish Statesman (patriot above all things) threw aside the Russian portfolio. Everyone knows that in 1812 it rested with the Emperor NAPOLEON, by a word—by a stroke of the pen—to have summoned Poland once more as a king dom int) existence. That word—unhappily for Poland (and for NAPOLEON also !)—was not spoken. Eighteen years sped by, and again the hopes of Poland were revived. Again, for one brief and glorious interval, it was actually visible again to Europe as an independent Government, and at the head of that Government was CZARTORYSKI. Twenty-seven more years pass by—the patriots of Poland all the while in exile—and year by year at Paris are the words of consolation and encou ragement addressed to his heroic and' afflicted countrymen by the venerable Prince, who is re cognised by them as Chief among the Champions of their Nationality. Surely, surely, a spectacle this entirely commanding our sympathy —one to which our hearts at once offer instinctively the unaffected homage of our respect and of our ad- COURT CIRCULAR. OSBORNE, DEC. 16. rezular and satisfactory. The interruption of diplomatic relations with a neighbouring state, arising from causes which Europe has been able to appreciate, still exists, but it leads to no cessation of the ordinary intercourse between the two countries in civil and commercial mat ters. " I have ordered my government to communicate to you s , :me new treaties concluded with Spain, Denmark, and Persia, in the interest of justice, navigation, and commerce. The development of our commercial interests in foreign countries has rendered a better organisation of our consular service indispensable, and a measure will be brought before you for the purpose, 4 ' My Ministers will submit to your consideration va rious bills relatieg to questions of internal administration. It will be possible, by means of a rigorous economy, to maintain in the budget an equilibrium between the ordi r ary receipts and expenditure, notwithstanding the un favourable events which have impeded the regular develop ment o' the State resumes. It will, however, be necessary to have recourse to a loan for the purpose of meeting the expense of the great works commenced at Spezia and Mount Cenis for the defence of the State, or for the honour of the country. (Applause.) "Senators and deputies, ten years have elapsed since my august father, anxious for the liberty of his people, accorded them our present constitution. Endeavouring to make every act of my life in conformity with that high-minded act, I consecrate all my strength to carry out and enlarge the idea which had suggested it. (Loud applause.) May his memory, which, this day symbolised iu marble, I confide to your veneration, inspire all your deliberations for the welfare and glory of Piedmont and of our common land of Italy." (Immense cheering.) LATEST NEWS AMERICA, ACCIDENT TO THE VANDERBILT. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) LIVERPOOL, THURSDAY MORNING. The steam-ship Vanderbilt, from New York, for Southampton and Havre, was passed yesterday off °ark, disabled, her rudder being damaged. PARIS, THURSDAY, Dec. 17, 8.30 a.m. An Imperial decree in the Moniteur announces that foreign brandies have to pay on impoitation into France a duty of 25f. per hectolitre of pure alcohol. A despatch from St. Petersburg, dated the 14th December, announces that General Jeffolo Kimoff has just gained an important victory over the Tcherkesses—a great number of the latter were killed In this affair a number of the villages of the Tcherkesses were burnt. BERLIN, WEDNESDAY. The e xistence of a Russian despatch, addressed to the Danish Government, on the question of Holstein, and favourable to the demands of Ger many, has been confirmed. This despatch was expedited at the beginning of the current month (December). It is said that this has been viewed in Copen hagen as a slight from the Court of St. Peters burg. HAMBURG, WEDNESDAY. The Burgesses of Hamburg have just authorised a new loan. The loans contracted now amount to about 40,000,000 francs. A sum of 1,950,000 francs has beon advanced by the Bank of Denmark to a house charged to maintain the relations between the banks in Dan mark and Germany. The attempt at Berlin to obtain a loan of 10,000,000 mares banco in silver on the part of Hamburg has totally failed. A like want of suc cess has marked their endeavour in Dresden. The commercial crisis in Norway is still very severe. Two delegates from the Government went to Hamburg, some days ago, with money to support the firms there whose failure would be prejudicial to Norwegian commerce. The sitting of the Belgian Chamber of Repre sentatives, on the 15th, was very calm. For the Presidency, M. de Verhogen is the Government candidate. It is thought that he will be elected. A letter from Teheran of the 3d ult., in the Presse of Vienna, says :—" War and rebellion still continue in the country, near the districts of the Turcomans. The governor has assembled considerable forces at Mesched, the chief town of Khorassan, one of the principal provinces of the country, and almost inhabited by the Sunnites, whom the Akindji of the Turkestans were exciting to rise. The Akindji were most anxious to pillage Mesched, where all the riches of the Imam Rizt are deposited, but the governor-general of Ashera bad advanced against the Turcomans at the head of a battalion of the guard, two battalions of the line, a battery of artillery, and 600 cavalry, and came to a sanguinary conflict with them near Ban nerie. The Persians, although having 400 of their men placed hors de combat, compelled the I Akindji to rectoss the Amon-Deria. Another Persian general is preparing to march to the re l" I tef of thegarrison of Bugiamurd, which was closely _ _ _ _ hemmed in by a body of Tureomans. The Shah is now residing in Teheran. FRANCE. PARIS, WEDNESDAY. The Moniteur prints the postal treaty between France and Austria. It contains 29 artides of the usual character, a series of tables of rates of postage, and is signed by Count Walewski'and Baron Hub ner, and ratified by the Imperial hand Theindependance of Brussels says :—"The cam paign opened in France by the Courrier de Paris for the formation of an opposition camp in the midst of the institutions of the empire has come to an end for want of combatants, after having caused a considerable sensation in the public mind. It has procured us the good fortune of receiving a l e tt er front M. Emile de Girardin. This gentleman does not deny being the author of the articles attributed to him in the Journal just named, but he confines himself to rejecting the asser tion that he had purchased i a part of the jour nal which has developed his ideas, a n d th e inten tion isaitttirvibeußteoddytoashidmepuofty for Paris. A wishing to en t er th e Le candi dateship, he says, was offered to him, but refused. The Revue Municipale announcas that the muni cipal council of Paris has unanimously declared itself against the adoption of the project emanating from the Council of State for the introduction of free trade in butch?re' meat. The Academie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres has elected M. Leopold Delisle as member, in the room of the late M. Quayem ere. midnight vßy Cardinal Archbishop of Paris, order of be celebrated on Christmas-eve in all the churches in the capital. Mgr. Morlot will officiate p on tifically at Not re D ame. The French government, in o r d er t o prevent a repetition of the mistake which occurred at the Bourse the other day, in transmitting by t .legraph the quotations of the Stack Exchange at London, has ordered that henceforth the quotations shall be transmitted in words instead of fi gures. The Moniteur e3ntains an i m p er i a l d ecre e making several promotions and nominations in the m upper ote s Another decree pro motes o s f u t r i g le ec in n a s g o is f t t r h a e cy first class in the navy to the rank of principal surgeon, and a third makes five nominations to the rank of knight of the Le gioßnouofilsilE,onour. Dec. N.—Securities have been in good demand, in consequence of a report that the Bank of France would to-morrow reduce the rate of dis count to 6 per cent. The following were the last quotations Cash. ff• End of Month. 4. per Cents 3 per Centa 66 80 67 Bank Shares 3150 Credit Foncier 530 Credit Mobilier 735 Roman - Do. Account 731 Austrian Belgian 44 - Spanish Threes 4l riedraontese (5) 9O Home Debt RAILWAYS—FOR CASE. fr. C. f r C. 0 neans Northern 5 — Now Ditto 760 Strasburg Lyons and Med 843 Grand Contral ...... 635 New Ditt 0... Geneva 630 Austrian Com 678 i THE A PRINCIPALITIES. Vienna letter, in the Universal German Gazette, says :—"There exist now three difftreat projects on the subject of the organisation of the Principalities, one emanating from the Porte, another from France, and the third from England and Austria. The French project has met with strong opposition on the part of the Porte, Austria, and England relative to the election of the Hos , poda,rs, those powers not being willing to admit universal suffrage in such a case. As to the other two project 3, it will not be difficult t 3 make them agree ; and the more so aq, i n drawing up the Turkish one the advice of M. do Prokesch and Lord Stratford de Redcliff e has been followed on ma n y points. The question on w hi c h the principal dif ference of opinion exists is . :hit of the princ el y dig nity being hereditary. A ustr i a an d England are in favour of its being so, as they consider that sys' et n to contain the best co n diti ons o f stability. Tho Porte is also disposed t o ' len d er the dignity here ditary, but it makes it s consent d e p e ndent on con ditions which Russia and France absolutely reject, and which the other powers will not readily con sent to." SARDINIA. The following is the speech delivered by the King of Sardinia at the opening of the Chambers, the principal points of which we published when received by telegraph : " Senators and DaPuti es ,—l n aga i n finding myself among you, after the late e l ect i ons , it is agreeable to cue to express my entire confid ence th a t the new legislature will fulfil its mission with a patr i o ti s m and prudence equal to those displayed by that which preceded it. " I have not the slightest doubt that I shall find among you the same energetic and loyal co-operation that I always obtained from your predecessors for the applica tion and development of liberal principles, on which reposes henceforward in an immutable manner our na tional policy. (These words, pronounced with great emphasis,. were hailed with loud cheers.) " Our intercourse with foreign powers continues to be SPAIN. The Madrid journals of the 12th make many speculations as to whether the Government will or will not dissolve the Cortes ; but the Hoja' a semi official authority, states that no dissolution will take place, except in the event of the cabinet not meeting with a fair measure of support. A disso lution in the opinion of that journal would enable the Ministry to obtain a large majority. The Queen, it was said, had definitively resolved on opening the Cortes in person ; and, in conse quence, it was likely that the opening would take place a few days later than originally intended. M. Mayans, M. Pidal, and M. Martinez de la ROM were spoken of for the presidency of the Cortes, but the Government had not made its choice. Gen. San Miguel had manifested a desire to retire from the command of the Halberdiers, one of the highest posts of the court, and Count de Lugena (O'Don nell) was named as likely to succEed him. Other changes at court were also considered probable. General San Miguel is stated to be writing a His tory of the Revolution of 1854. A convention be tween France and Spain relative to the right of fishing in the Bidassoi was about to be signed. The Valencia papers say that the export of oranges is this year extraordinary large. AMERICA. ARRIVAL OF THE ATLANTIC. LIVERPOOL, WEDNESDAY. The United States mail steam-ship Atlantic, Captain Eldridge, arrived in the Mersey this after noon, bringing 61 passengers, and 1,700,000 doll. in specie. She left New York on the sth inst. ; her advices are consequently three days later than those re ceived by the Niagara. The Royal mail steam-ship America, hence, had arrived at Boston. There is little political news by this arrival ; at tention was fixed on the approaching meeting of Congress. The city of Washington was becoming crowded with members and strangers. It is gene rally conceded that Governor Fitzpatrick, of Ala bama, will be chosen president pro tern. of the Senate. The President had received an authentic copy of the Kansas constitution. He is said to consider it not only unexceptionable in its features, but one of the most perfect instruments of the kind he had ever read. There is a general feeling to stand by the President on the Kansas question. The Message recommends the construction of a Pacific railroad, and the immediate organisation of the territory of Arizonia. The Secretary of War recommends an increase of the army by the addition of five regiments. It wasexpeoted that the house would effect an organisation on Monday, the 7th, when the Message would be delivered. The New York papers print in extenso the copy of the Kansas constitution. It is a very lengthy document. The following are the principal sections relating to slavery : " Section 1. Tbe right of property is before and higher than any constitutional sanction, and the right of the owner of a slave to such slave and its increase is the same and as inviolable as the right of the owner of ; a r property whatever. "Section 2. The legislature shall have no power to pass laws for the emancipation of slaves without the consent of the owners, or without pay- ing the owners previous to their emancipation full equivalent in money for the slaves so eman cipated._ The New York Herald makes tho following comments on the constitution : "We publish, to-day, in full, the famous Le compton Kansas State Constitution, and, after perusing it, we suspect that most of our readers will be puzzled to comprehend how it is that this thing has created this new and prodigious Kansas sensation throughout the country, and this fearful mutiny which has so suddenly developed itself in the democratic camp. In its general provisions, and in most of its details, this constitution, with au exception or two, is the very essence of 4 popular sovereignty.' But there was one little omission on the part of the convention which, according to Governor Walker and Mr. Douglas, is a fatal omission : and there are some little hitches and catches in this constitution and schedule on slavery, which make the whole thing a bill of abominations to the Free-state party. "The omission referred to was the failure of the convention to submit their constitution bodily, and every part of it, to the vote of the people. As we have shown, however, that upon this point the only really important practical question is submitted to the popular vote, we adhere to our opinion that the objections of Governor Walker and Senator Douglas in the premises are only those nice ab stractions and technicalities which amount to nothing compared with the desirable object of getting this Kansas squabble out of Congress. "Next with regard to the alleged thimble rigging upon the slavery question, let us see what it amounts to. The constitution recognises the inviolable right of the slaveholder to his slaves and their increase, and the right of the slaveholders of other states to settle in Kansas with their slave property so long as slavery shall be fully recog nised in Kansas. If this part of the constitu tion shall remain as it is, Kansas, thus admitted to all intents and purposes will be a slave state. But the appended schedule provides that on the 21st D,camber the people, in a general election, shall vote by ballot for the ' , Constitution with slavery,' or the 'Constitution with no slavery,' and that if a majority of the legal votes cast at said election are in favour of The Constitution with no slavery,' then the article providing for slavery shall be stricken from the constitution by the pre sident of the convention, and slav er y shall no lon ger exist in Kansas.' "Thus far the case is perfectly clear; but although the schedule thus declares that ' slavery shall no longer exist in Kansas,' this exception immediately fol ows—' except that the right of property to slaves now in this territory shall in no manner bo inter fered with.' The schedule further provides that after the year 1864 there may be a reconstruction of the constitution, and prescribes the forms to be pursued, but re itera.es the exception that no alte r thou shall be made to affect the rights of property in the ownership of slaves.' " Here, we are told, lies "the cat in the meal tub ;' and if these assumptions of this convention could be made binding upon the people of Kansas, we should be compelled t o a d m i t that popular soverignty' is a great humbug. The fact is, how ever, thtt all these pro-slavery reservations, and this withholding from the people the right to amend their constitution till 1864, are all sheer clap-trap and nonsense. According to an honest and common-sense interpretation of the election between the constitution with slavery' and the - cons itution with no slavery,' should the result be no slavery,' there will be no slavery in the now stat,. " But if a no-slavery' constitution should be officially construed to mean a constitution recog nising the perpetuity of slavery, the 'sovereign' right of the people to change it forthwith will still remain. Who c-in doubt it ? Where did these Lecompton philosophers derive the power to super se le the sovereignty of the people ? And if this convention could assume and stretch its power as an absolute despotism for seven years into the future, why not for seventy or a hundred years to cense ? They might ju,t as welt have said that the people of Kinsas shall have no authority to alter their constitution till the year 1964 as the year 1864. " The Free-state patty in Kansas are overwhelm ingly in the ascendency, and from the latest reports from that quarter we should not be surprised if, before Christmas, by a decisive coup d'etat of some sort, they were to give an entirely new Shape the cull); olio." Tha Baltic, which left Liverpool on the 25th ult., had not arrived at .Ntfw York. The aspcot of commercial affairs at Now York was much the same as at the last advice% sterling bills of exchange for the Atlautic wore at Si to 9- 441 " HONgSTY 1,, THE BEST POLIO • prem. The distrust of bills was very great. MEXICO. The news from the west coast of Mexico is im portant. The operations of the united force of the Generals Alvarez, father and son, had been successful, and the revolutionary troops under Generals Vicario and Juan Antonio were utterly routed at Chelapa, after most severe fighting, which endured for about four days. The elder Alvarez had previously driven Vicario from the city of Chilpanzingo with a small force of artillery. When Chelapa was taken Alvarez ordered it to be sacked, after the most approved fashion of vengeful soldiers. He was well obeyed, for the most fright ful excesses were committed by his man. Neither age nor sex was spared. General Antonio died after his defeat, and Vicario was at Yguata in pro secution of his plans of revolt. Cuarna,vaca city had declared for him. A RAGGED SCHOOL ENTERTAINMENT. By W. H, MILLER, of Lambeth. Last evening between 8 and 10 o'clock p.m., this really admirable entert a i nmen t was re peated in the principal room of the Rag ge d S c h oo l, Doughty-street , Lambeth-walk, before another crowded and enthusiastic gathering of spectators, conspicuous amongst whom"' the honoured guest of the night—was no less distin guished a patron of the Ragged School System than the Earl of Shaftesbury. From the very commencement to the very close of the whole delightful performance, Mr: William Henry Miller—the Originator of this inimitable species of Elevating and Instructive Amusement for our poor ragged school children—was applauded (as the phrase is) to the echo, was observed and listened to with evident and unaffected admiration. We do not, is speaking thus earnestly, employ in any way the lea' guage of mere complimentary exaggeration. As afford• ing conclusive te s ti mon y th a t we d o no t, we may here mention at once the terms i n w hi c h L or d Shaftesbury himself, immediately upo n th e conc l us i on o f the enter tainment, proposed ye s t er d a y a vo t e o f th a nks to the artist, poet, singer, actor, orator, and, above all, Moralist-Humorist, to whom the audience had jus t become indebted for that varied store of pleasure and instruction—" Honesty is the best policy." The noble earl, among other things, observed that he thanked God who had inspired Mr. Miller with the idea of this poets• liar kind of entertainment, and with the genius to realise his own de=ign ; adding a hope that he might be spared for many y e ars to come, exercising his abilities for the delight and improvement, of the poor Ragged-school children, and have ultimately inscribed over him the encomiastic verses written by David Garrick in commemoration of Sir Joshua Reynolds ! Every syllable of this earnest praise being greeted by those who were there last night to hear it, with something very like enthusiasm. The occasion, indeed, was exceptional. It was the inauguration—for we will not regard it as anything less—of a perfectly novel description of entertainment destined, let us hope, to improve in time the low, squalid, obscene, and hideously demoralising penny gaffs infesting so many of the bye-ways of this vast metropolis. Anyone who shall help to rid the more populous parts of London of that most appalling and detestable abomination will necessarily take high rank indeed among the practical benefactors of the poorer classes among our uneducated population. And already to this noble purpose we do believe that this small end of the wedge of reform has been well driven in by the autho r of `.‘Honesty is the best P olic y . Read, first of all, if you can—and supposing you are able so far to do vi o l ence t o t h e h o li er i ns ti n cts of your nature, it will only b e w ith an a b so l u t e' s s ickening shudder of abho rrence as you g l ance d own the page Read, first of all, th e f ear f u ll y v i v id d escr i p tion of what a Penny Gal really is, as depicted by that microscopl.o daguerreotypist of crime, Mr. Henry Mayhew, in hill "London Labour and the London Poor" (vol. i• PP• 42)—and then witness Mr. Miller's admirable entertain' went, full of song, and dance, and jest, and fancy half pictorial and half colloquial, a performance r t. fectly exhilarating from first to last, and provocative throughout of shouts of laughter I And from your ia' most heart, if you have one in any way worthy of the name, you will assuredly say—God-speed to the Giv er, . and, we will even add, th e Di scoverer, o f this new kind of attractive and instructive Entertainment I Mr. Mille r is his own artist—havi ng p a i n t e d, i n ill us tration of the Enacted Story of "H ones ty i s th e B ea t P o licy," a serie s of panoramic pict ures , some o f th em rea lly charming—Of for example, that one of the li g hth o u s e, and that other on e pourtraying a beautiful rural church with a villagegree n in the foreground. Mr. Miller is more than this : he is hie own song-writer and his own song-singer—his own drama: tist (for the narrative of John Reynolds's Vicissitudes ill eminently dramatic in its character)—above all, he is his own dramatic company l As the hero of his tale he appears successively in various disguises—first of all as a country bumpkin, turning his first penny by selling Catch 'em Alive 0 ! fly papers, with an uncommonly comic song—then as a street shoeblaok of the Yellow Brigade, with a penny whistle, and another droll little incident to match the comic song of the flycatcher. Finally, he is transformed into a gallant young tar, who meets with divers adventures, and ultimately contrives to reconquer his better fortunes at St. Petersburg. It is during his voyage up the Baltic that he hears a regular sailor's yarn told by one of his mess. mates, an old man-of-war's-man, one Jack Dareall—the spinning of which yarn was altogether the moat triumphant hit of the evening. It was interrupted, in the telling of it, with genuine roars of merriment. Laughter as loud and hearty as that which afterwards greeted each successive apparition of Mr. Miller's head from a railway carriage (during the uproar of a stoppage) —first of all, as an afflicted passenger with a severe cold, and his face tied up in a handkerchief; then, as a frac tious widow lady ; then, as an exceedingly polite and good-looking Frenchman ; then, as a phlegmati• tally satirical Scot ; then : an unmistakeable yokel or chaw-bacon - ; and, finally as dapper Jack Reynolds himself coming home from the seas, with his little fortune made, to help his old mother out of the workhouse. As yet " Honesty is the best Policy" has only been performed twice, and (upon each occasion) before adult friends and teachers of the Ragged School Children. Heartily glad shall we be to announce ire first performance before the Ragged School Children themselves. When the evening arrives it will be the commencement, we do sincerely believe, of a new era of social improvement among the humbler ranks of our London population. May that anticipation be speedily and signally realised. The Right Hon. S. Herbert, M.P., and Mrs. Herbert, leave Belgrave-square, to-day, for Wilton House, near Salisbury. A large circle of distinguished friends ar• about to assemble there. MISSIONS IN INDIA.—A. meeting was held yesterday afternoon at Willis's Rooms, St. James's, in aid of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, which proposes to extend its labours in India when peace shall be restored in that dependency. The chair was takes by the Bishop of London, and among those present were the following :—The Bishop of Jamaica, Lord John Manners, M.P. ; Mr. J. G. Hub bard, the Rev. Professor Slater, of Bishop's College, Calcutta ; the Venerable Archdeacon Abraham, of New Zealand ; the Rev. W. H. Goy, of Gwalior, India ; Mr. T. P. Wright, the Revs. N. Wade, J. Bowmen, J. V. Povab, R. C. Smith, Dr. Biber, H. Clissold, T. Wood, A. Joseph, B. Tyr whitt, &c. Resolutions in accordance with the objects of the meeting were carried unani mously. At Hamburg the rate of discount has receded to D per cent. The Exchequer-bills recently issued can be nego tiated at 6or 7 per cent. • About 115,0001. of gold was taken to the Bank yester day, of which 50,0001. was Ruiaiian. JUVENILE REFORMATORY.—An earnest appeal has . been made to the benevolence of Roman Catholics, in behalf of the institution called St. Mary's Agricultural Colony, Mount St. Bernard's Abbey, Leicestershire. This reformatory institution is capable of accommoda ting 300 boys, but it appears that within the last fort night 10 boys convicted by magistrates to the colony have been refused admission ; because from want of funds it has not been possible to complete buildings in course of erection. It is stated that this appeal, which has been approved by the Abbot of Mount St. Bernard's Abbey, would not have been made at this critical time had it not been absolutely necessary for the present well being and future prospects of the colony. ROYAL COLLEGE Os' SUB,GEONEL—The following gen tleinen, having undergone the necessary examinations for the diploma, were admitted reetnbets of the College at the meeting of the Court of Examiners on the lith inst. :—Messrs. George Bentley, Halstead, Essex; Pierce Morris Crosbie, Tralee, county of Kerry ; Wilton Everet, Stepney ; Wm. H. Smith, Clapham-road; Robt. Luther Bagley, Eignbrook, Hereford ; John Soden, Mo bil!, county of Leitrim ; Edward Wynne Thomas, Os westry ; James Galloway, Penritb, Cumberland ; and Richard Morrie, Aberystwith. The following gentlmen have just passed the preliminary examination (in classier, methematics, and French) for the Fellowship of the College : —Messrs. James Herbert Brown, West-street, Brighton ; Frederick Fawsou Lee, Charles-stree t, Trevor-square; Francis Mason, Bedford-place; and Walter Gilson Walford, Cambridge. ACCIDENT TO MR. WIDDICOMB, AT THE SL/11821. for per THEATRE.—ShortIy before the conclusion of the mances at the Surrey Theatre, on Tuesday ni ght, the audience vvere.somewhat alarmed in consequenos of the following accident to Mr. Widdicomb, the w ell-known and popular comedian :—Whilst the company were enacting the farce of " Wellington Figgs," and we r e the audience were screaming with laughter, their mirth was suddenly stopped : Mr. Widdicomb, who trek the part of the hero of the piece, is concealed behind a screen, and one part of his performance is to throw down the Miss E. , W j e u b s s t t e a r ; w 3s h r o . is dressed when n s Widdicomb had laid hold of the corner of the screen to an i soaffit attacked e d u b n y f throw it down, Miss Webster, by some mistake, in. stead of striking the screen with the sword, struck the band of the hero of the farce with such violence as to cut through the nail of the middle finger, laying it bare to the bone. ExJessive hemorrhage followed, and Mr. Widdicomb booming exceedingly faint, he found it imp-ssible to proceed further with the performance, and - the audience was informed of that fact. Mr. T. ge Donahoo, the surgeon of No. 3, Westminster-road, was at once sant for, and that gentleman dressed the wound, and after some tune he was enabled to go home with his hand io a sling. It is to be hoped that Mr. Widdicomb may be speedily enabled to resume his pro fissional duties. The Ide, ot Dos tolls were yesterday put uP to auc tion by the truste g es of them, at the Guildhall Hotel, King-street, Cheapside. Last year they realised 700 l Yesterday a considerable competition t ook p lace betwee n them, and they were eventually parted with to Messrs. Macnamara and Bolton for 900/. ►niration. His Royal Highness the Prince Consort and the Prince of Wales went out shooting yesterday morning. Prince Arthur went over to Alverbauk to visit Prince Alfred. The Queen and Prince Consort drove out in the after noon, accompanied by Princess Alice, Princess Helena, and Prince Leopold. The Prince of Wales rode on horseback. Major-General the Ron. Sir James Scarlett and the Rev. G. Prothero had the honour of dining with her Majesty.. - - - - - idisa - Susan Durant had the honour of submitting to her Majesty a marble bust of his Highness Toussoun Pacha, son of the Viceroy of Egypt. THE CONTINENTAL COURTS. PARIS, DEC. 14. Queen Christina arrived two days back at Marseilles by an express train, on her way to Rome—the imperial carriage belonging to the Mediterranean Company hav ing been placed at her disposal. Her suite consisted of 25 persons. Count August Valabreque de Lawosaine, Prefect of the Palace to the Emperor of the French, has been no minated Knight of the Order of Merit of St. Joseph by the Grand Duke of Tuscany. The Sultan hai c)nterred the order of Medjidie o the second class on Baron Seebaob, Saxon Minister al the Tuileries. TEE LEVIATHAN. The launching experiments were resumed yesterday, but with only a small modicum of success. The presses were set to work at an early hour, and at ten o'clock a slip was made of 33 inches aft and 16 inches forward. This, al'hough not much, had the effect of placing the vessel straight in the ways, and of removing any suspi cion than an obstruction between the rails might exist, arid . so effectually bar her progress. As in the case of former experiments, the works were interrupted by the bursting or breaking of machinery, a result which now appears to attend every attempt. The morning opera tions were brought to a standstill by the bursting of a cylinder, followed by the breaking of one of the immense river chains, and finally by the destruction of the great crab-winch, upon which the pressure was so great as to stave in the iron drum or axle. These mishaps all occurred at the head of the ship, and aro 43 in spite of the most careful and skilful precatrion-„ This end of the ship, which is under the control of Mr. Prowse, _.Captain Harrison's chief assistant, has been most admirably managed throughout, but nothing, it appears, is strong enough to resist the inert force of the immense vessel. At one o'clock the pumps were again applied, but no further movement could be obtained, the only result being that another cylinder burst, and another cLajn gave way, when further effort became impossible. The last cylinder that burst being one of the principal ones, Mr. Hepworth, the master shipwright, was com pelled to announce that nothing more could Le attempted for at least two or three days. Mr. Robert Stephenson came down early, and remained a long time in consulta• tion with Mr. Brunel. Dr. Livingstone, the African ' traveller, was also ansongs* the visitors. AMERICAN VIEW OF THE STATE OF THE INDIAN M UTINY. —The fuller details of the latest news from In dia, brought by the Vanderbilt, confirm the substancia value of the successes won by the British before Delhi and Lucknow, and reinforce the conviction we have already expressed, that the menacing importance of the sepoy revolt has been thoroughly dissipated. The muti neers, under the inspiration of their Mahomedan leaders, made this outbreak from the first a contest of race with race. They challenged the superiority of the rulers to whom, for a century, they and their fathers had sub mitted. Doubtless many recollections of the Affgban oisasters, and n.ariy vague impressions of the checks ie fliAed upon the ever-victorious English in that great Russian war, of which vague histories were trausmit:ed to Bengal along the mysterious channels which penetrate and permeate the societies of Asia, mingled in the minds of the soldiery of India with the instigations of the Oudean aristocracy, upon whom events are more and more distinctly fastening the chief responsibility of the rebellion. But, by whatever motives excited, and ani mate' with whatever hopes, it is certain that the muti neers of Meerut, the Defenders of Delhi, the assassins of Futteyghur and Cawnpore, fully counted upon humiliat ing the " narrow-souled, yellow-faced infidels, ' upon routing them in the field, upon disgracing them in defeat. These expectations have been signally disappointed, and in this di-appointment England has made herself mis tress of the position. This cardinal point has been won, t more rapidly one with a Liss exhaucing display of power than was anticipated even by the most songuine of English statesmen. That the English armies in India, however small in numbers, would be able to hold their own until the arrival of reinforcements from home was conceded from the first by all who pos ses ea any proper intelgence of the relative value,: of the opp ising parties, and any authentic infor mation of the general attitude of the country. But the Eugliih artmes in India were not content with holding their own. They assaulted the mutiny in its centre at Delhi, besieging a garrison of quadruple their own strength, and finery taking the city by storm aft r a sanguinary contest of nearly a week with a greatly su► e rior force, in the streets and r•.luares of a hostile capital, and under a September sun. They repaired the errors of ncornpetent csmnoanders along a line of neatly 900 miles, and succeeded in so balancing the scale of chances in their favour at an early stage of the disturtances as to command the adhesion of all th e native princes most im portant to their cause. And, finally, at the expiration of a little more than 4 months from the beginning of their troubles, they had virtually restored the threatened supremacy of their race throughout the Peninsula, and were only awaiting the arrival of the great armament despatched to their assistance to complete the great work so nobly begun.—New York Times. CANADA. MONTREAL, Nov. 30. Tho parliament of Canada is dissolved by pro clamation of the Governor-General, and writs for a new election, returnable on the 13th of January next, are issued to-day. The parliament just dissolved liAd one more session to run, but it had passed all the great questions it was elected to decide upon, and the re tirement of Colonel Tache, the late Premier, to private life, invol ve d th e recons t ruc ti on of the cabinet, which, with the reason I have above given you, made the Governor-General and the new ministry think a new election desirable. I subjoin a list of the new ministry, the members of which have just been sworn in : John A. M`Donald, Attorney-General for Upper Canada, and Premier. , William Cayley, Inspector-General. Robert Spence, Postmaster-General. Geo: E. Cartier, Attorney-General for Lower Canada. Jos. C. Morrison, Receiver-General. P. M. Vankoughnet, President of the Council. Louis V. Sicotto, Commissioner of Crown Lands. N. F. Belleau, Speaker Legislative Council. Charles Alleyn, Chief Commissioner of Public Works. T. J. J. Loranger, Secretary of the Province. CROSSED CHECKS. The decision in the Court of Common Pleas, described on Friday last . , which practically esta blishes that any person may remove the crossing of a check, and that no banker is liable for any loss that may arise from his paying it after such erasure across the counter, has caused great uneasiness among all the principal houses in the city. Among the various usages of commerce none has been found of greater service in imparting security to every transaction and removing temptations to fraud than that of crossing checks, so as to render it indis pensable that they should be paid to some banker, thus preventing their payment on presentation to any one who might purloin or find them. A few years back the value of the practice was much injured by a decision which invalidatedthe supposed effect of what was called a specific crossing—that is to say a crossing with the name of an individual banker ; but at the same time the system in its general form, under which assurance could be obtained that payment would not be made except to sonic banker, was felt to be so important that a statute was framed expressly to settle, as was supposed, all doubts of its binding nature in this latter respect. The not uufrequent result, how ever, has been experienced that the Act, through an imperfection in its form, has destroyed the very safeguard it was intended defini tively to establish. The crossing of a check, it has been decided, does not, according to the phraseo logy of the statute, form part of the body of the check, any alteration in which would be an act of forgery, but is simply a direction which any holder may affix, alter, or cancel at pleasure, the only duty of the banker being to follow any such direction that may not have been removed from the check at the time of its presentation. The present judg ment was delivered by Mr. Justice Cresswell, but the Lord Chief Justice in concurring with it stated that he did so with some hesitation. The matter is of such moment that there has been a hope the plaintiff would resolve to appeal. After the next Meeting. of Parliament an amendment of the statute will doubtless bo proposed, but in that case all business would be subject to continued risk for several months. It woull be much better if the matter could be settled by a new trial, and if the plaintiff is indisposed to encounter the possibility of further loss , the commercial public, whose ques tion it really is, should subscribe the comparatively trifling amount that would be wanted for the pur pose. Some correspondents have suggested the we of checks with printed crossings, that could not be obliterated without destroying other parts ; but if the decision lately arrived at is properly understood, it gives any one the right to erase a crossing by simply striking his pen through ft.—Tin/es. MARKra NEWS.—(This Day.) CORN,EXCHA.NGE. GENERAL AVERAGE PRICES OF BRITISH CORN For the week ended Dec. 17, 1857, made up from the Re turns of the Inspectors in the different Citios and Towns in England and Wales, per Imperial Quarter. WHEAT I BARLEY I OATS I RYE BEANS PEAS 49s 5d 36s 5(1 23s 3d 34s id 41s ld 41s 21 THE SIX WEEKS' AVERAGES. WHEAT BARLEY I OATS I RTE I BEANS 1 PEAS 50s 6d 39s 10 d 24s 3d 34s 5d 43s 2d , 42s 2d ENGLISH GRAIN SOLD .LAST WEEK. Wheat, 100,416; barley, 95,654; oats, 10,266; rye, 134; beaus, 5,225; peas, 1,754 quarters. MEAT MARKETS. NNINGATN AND LEADENHALL.—Each kind of meat sold sloWly, at our quotations :—Beef, from 3s Od to 4s 4d ; Mutton, 3s 2,1 to 4s 8d; Veal, 4s Od to 58 Od ; Pork, 3s 6d to 5s 2d per 81bs by the carcase. SOUTFIALL, Dec. 16.—There was a good supply of fat stock here to-day, but the demand ruled heavy, as follow: — Beef, from 3s 6d to 48 10d ; Mutton, 3's 6d to 5s 2d ; Veal, 4s 01 to 5s 01; Pork, g s Od to 58 Od per 81bs, to sink the offal. RODIFORD, Doc. 16.—T0-day's market was rather ex tensively supplied, and most kinds of stock moved off slowly, at our quotations;—Beef, from 3s 44 to 4s 10d ; Mutton, 3s 6d to 5s 4d ; Veal, 4s Od to 5s Od ; Ark, 4s Od to 5s Od per Sibs ; Mulch Cows, —/ to --1; Suckling Calves, —s to --s each, HAY MARKETS. ------- Smmmun.—Moadow hay, 2/ 108 to 41 03; clover, 31 123 to 5/ 53; and straw, 11 Gs to 11 103 per load, A fair demand. CUMBERLAND. —Meadow hay, 21103 to 4/ Os; clover, 3/ 103 to 51 03 ; and straw, 1/ 6s to 1/ 103 per load. Supply good, and trade steady. WHITECHAPEL.—Meadow h%y, 2/ 103 to 41 03 ; clover, 31 103 to 51 53 ; and straw, 11 Gs to 1/ 103 per load. A fair average supply, and a fair demand. LLOYD'S SHIPPING.--(This Day.) L 0 WON, Dec. 1 7.—Wind this day at noon, S.W.; moderate breeze and cloudy, with rain. COWES, Dec. 16.—Wind VV. --Arrived—lnfliaman, from Callao ; Mernuna Parentium, from Havannalt for Ham burg. SOUTHAMPTON, Dec. 16.—Arrived—Charles Napier, from St, Michael's, with loss of spars. Sailed—Arago (s), for New York. PLYMOUTH, Dec. 16.—Wind W.—Arrivoi—James P. Keelie, for i Simderland for New York. PORTSMOUTH, Dec. 16.—Wind S.S.W.—Arrived H. Ledwine, from Akyab. GLOUCESTER, Dec. 16.—Wind S.W.—Arilved—Cali foreia from New York ; Malakhoff, Princo Edward's Island. BEAUMARIS, Dec. 14.—Wind S.W.—Arrived—Mes senger, from Liverpool for Monte Video, with loss of fore topmast and jibboom. HOLYHEAD, Dec. 16.—Wind S.W., fresh gale.—Ar. rived—Math Saesa, from Liverpool for Gibraltar (BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.) LIVERPOOL, Thursday Morning. Wind W.S.W. Arrived—Robert Ritson, from Mauritius. Off—Thomas H. Perkins, and Underwriter. Sailed—ileidelberd, for New Orleans; Jijon, SL Mi- chael's ; Neva, Constantinople ; Volutina, San Sebastian ; William Peen, Philadelphia ; Nonpareil, Savannah. QUEENSTOWN, Dec. 15. Wind S.W. Arrived- -Anna Robertson, from Taganrog. SOUTHAMPTON, Thursday, 10 a.m. Wind W. blowing hard, with rain, Arrived—Wonder, (s), from Jersey ; James, and Mary Ann, Newport; L 3 Coq, Cherbourg ; Alli ance ( s ) , litiveo; Othello, Newport. Sailed —Arago ' (a), for New Y or k ; D espa t c h, ( a ) , Jer sey; Havre, (s), Havre; L'Etoile, Carentan. (BY SUBIIIRINE AND BRITISH TZLEGRAPH.) GRAVESEND, Thursday Morning. ; tide one hours' flood ; fine. Arrived, Dee. 16.—Leon, from Gravelines. Arrived, Dec. 17.—Moselle, from Rotterdam; Baron Osy, steamer, Antwerp; Earl of Auckland, steamer, Rot terdam. Sailed. Pee. 17-- -Lord John Russell, steamer, for Dun kirk ; Sir Ed. Banks, steamer, Calais ; Holland, steamer, Ostend. Di At, Thursday Morning. Wind W.S.W. ; strong. Passed—Sea Walker brig, from westward, for London ; Cargey, brig, from westward, for northward. Authored—princess Royal, from Moulmoin, for London. The pringfield, Captain Strood, has sailed for London to repair damages sustained by getting on shore at Dudgeness. The Centurion has arrived from Sydney with 10,OCO sovereigns and 107 ouocee of gold, together worth 10,428/. A large proportion of the 100,0001. brought from New York by the Niagara consisted of sovereigns which have been taken to the Liverpool brano'a of the Bank of England.