The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-04-23 00:00:00

BELLIGERENT-.RIGHTS AT SEA.

Mr. W. S. Lindsay, M.P., reopens this - discussion
kith a vievt to- haYiug the question more thoroughly
sifted, find also of ascertaining the actual state of the
law on the point. He peints out the effect of what.
was done at the Paris Conference in 1856 :
The parties to the cOnfeience declared privatcering to be
' abolished. Cinieurrently they estatlcsbed the long-contested
rights Of neutrals, and declared that the neutral _flag made
free goods. and that neutral goods, with the exception of
contraband of war, were not liable to capture under the
enemy's flag. But they made no attempt to solve the difficult
problem as to what goods were to be considered contraband,
so that, practically, the plenipotentiaries did little to effect.
the very laudable objects they appear to bare had in vier.
The effect, however, of the declaration has been that upon the
mere rumour of war, the neutral maritime powers least likely
to be involved in hostilities command a decided preference in
the carrying trade of the world, to the injury of the British
ehipowner, and oonsequently of the nation at large.
Mr. Lindsay adds :
"In considering this question, only t-vc =uses appear to rzn

to bE, aim to us. Our shipowners have either a right to be pro-
tected in the prosecution of their otherwise hazardous occupa-
tion during war, or the' have a right to demand that private
propeity shall be as free from capture traversing the ocean is
their ships as it would be in the vessels of any other nation."

Ile argues that our colonies will especially feel the dii.
advantage in any maritime •tar, and continua :

"We are in a grave dilemma. We must either abrogate the
dealariiti6n of 13:% or adVinCe a step further, and endeavour
to secure the immunity of our merchant ship?, from capture in
time of war. To this latter alternative I sin a4iiri that many
objections have been raised. It has been said that as We are
essentially a great naval people, pre-eminently mighty in mari-
time resources and power, we should forego the advantages we
at present possess of burning, capturing, and destroying an
enemy's vessels. But the answer to this appears to me to be,
that our risks on the seas are more than commensurate with
cur naval resources and power. The chance of loss far exceeds
the chance of gain. We have much more property afloat than
all the ether nations of Europe put together, and consequently
we are more intelesthd ,than city other nation in the main-
tenance of any internatioarll 'hi eh would protect that
property from capture. This is radt shipowner's
question.' It is a national one of the highest order. G.Ur
merchant shipping is the nursery of our naval strength, and
the maineoUree from which our royal navy is replenished."
As to the United States :

" The Amerioan Government w•ae willing to agree to the
propoiitioni trained by the plenipotentiaries at Parie,
inclu-
tbe s'treft:Ca~af pfivateeriag, with the preliminary
con-
dition that pritste piWrferty. at sea should no longer be sub-
ject to capture. But, on the auitOrity,of Lord Palmerston.
in his reply to me in the Bonze of Corirtione i it 357, Lana
sorry to find that the Government of. the United States had
expressed a wish to recede from the declaration of Mr. Marcy
and President-Pierce, and that Mr. Buchanan made a com-
Mttutcation that 'he did not wish that any answer should be
Made ►e the Direouitinn a his preaeces,or_•,•

In donchision, Mr. Lindsay says :
"At all Oesitsifiet tis know in what position we stand. Is
the bitBj9ld deattrw.inii inticte in Paris cognisable by cur prize
courts without the Queen's especial giaeliniation Will any
learned jurist among your readers answer that quegtion It
is of the gravest import. If our judges of the admiralty courts
ignore or are competent to ignore that declaration, ought not
the shipowners to be apprised of the state of the law as it
will operate if a war should unhappily break out! The diffi-
culties which suggest themselves under the state of uncer-
tainty vitioh exists are incalculable."

BARNUM'S LAST SPEECH AT NEW YORK.

The other evening Mr. Barnum appeared, and made
iii stilistiAte the following retherks, at the closing of
his museum, N'ew York, fdr si slick recess
LADIES. AND GENTLENUN,—The Anterldar_ iiuseem dill be
clOsed to-night for a week, in order to thoroughly ft:Mob:he,
decorate, and enlarge it, as well as perfect important rehearsals,
which have been in active, progress for months. My own
persona/ connection with the Museum, as its sole proprietor,
allow mein aid, is now. resumed, and I avail myself of the
circumstance to explain why that proprietorship was ever
interrupted. Never did I feel stronger in my worldly pro-
Sperity tEartin KePtember, 18.55. Three months later I was
SO deeply emhdiras;id th‘it 1 felt Certain of nothing, except
the uncertainty of everythingr. A cdniblndtiOn of singular.
efforts and :circumstances tempted me to put
faith in a certain clock manufacturning company; rind
placed my signature to papers which tultimately broke nie
-down. After nearly five years of hard struggle to keep my
head above water, I have touched the bottom at last, and here
te'night I am happy to announce that I have waded ashore.
Every clock debt of which I have any knowledge has ben
provided fir% Perhaps, after the troubles and turmoils I have
experienced, I shoUld f6el no desire to re-engage in the excite-
ments of thisiriess ; but a marl like niYself; less than fifty years
of age; and enjoying robust health, is scarcely old enough to
be einbalmed and put in a glass cuss in the Museum Us one
its millioii Of curiosities. "It is better to *Car out than rust
(MO' Beeidesi if a iian of EictiVe temperatnent id not busy; he
.is apt to get into mischief. To avoid evil, therefore, and since
business Activity is a necessity of my natilfd, hde 1 dill Ohm
more, in the Museum, and among those with whom f lidve
been so long and so pleasantly identified. I am confident
of a cordial welcome, and hence feel some claim to your indul-
gence, while I: briefly allude to the means of my present
deliverance from utter financial ruin. Need.l say, in the first
place, that I am somewhat indebted to the forbearance of ,
generous creditors. ln the next place, permit= to speak of
sympathising friends, whose volunteered loans and exertions
vastly aided riiy resent. When my day of sorrow came, I first
.paid or t,ectirediVery cleft I coved ctf g-personal nature: This
done, I felt bound in liendtft to glve df my property
that remained towards liquidating my " cldelvdebtt."
placed it in the hands of trustees and receivers for the oenefit
of all the "clock" creditors. But, at the forced sale of my
Connecticut real estate, there was a purchaser behind the
scenes of whom the world had little knowledge. In the day of
my prosperity, I made over-to my wife much valuable property,
inelu.ling the lease of this Museum buildmg-- a lease then having
about twenty-t•vo years to run, and enhanced in value to mere
than double its original wsrth. I sold the Museum collection to
Messrs. Greenwood and Bailer, subject to my wife's separate
interest in the lease, and she has received more than eighty
. .

thousand dollar, over and above the sum-, paid to the er?!nere
of the building. Instead of selfishly applying this amount to
private purpteeed, my family lived With a due regard to
economy, and the saving! (stide:flY &longing to my wife) were
devated to buying in portions of my estate at the. salience'
sales, and to purchasing " clock notes " bearing my enderse-
mente. The christian name of my wife is Charity. I may well
acknowlede-e, therefore. that I am not only a-proper "subject
of charity," but that " wit:iont Charity, I am nothing.'
But, ladies. and gentleman, while Charity thus laboured in my
behalf, faith and hope were not idle. I have been anyebids
hilt indolent during the last four years. Driven from pillar
to post, and annoyed beyond description by ell sorts of legs
claims and writs, I was perusing protests and summonses by
Say; and dreaming of clocks ran cloWn by night. My head was
e'er tctiir.. iii with dislocated cog-wheels and broken Mai-
nsprings, mY Whole mind (and my credit) was running upon
tick, and everything pressing ob. Me like a dead weight. In
this state of affairs I felt that I was cf ad hat on thie side of
the Atlantic; so, giving the pendulum a swing; and edeing
time by the forelock, I went to Europe. There I fdrtively
pulled the wires of several exhibitions, among which that of
Tom Thumb may be mentioned for example. I inanagod a
variety of musical and commercial speculations in Great
Britain, Germany, and Holland. These enterprises, together
etieth the net profits of my public lectures, enabled me to remit
large sums to confidential agents for the
,purchase of my ohlie
gations. In this manner I qUietly extinguished, little by
little, every dollar of my clock liabilitieK. * • a a
There is one other point on which I wish to ssu. a few words.
Many people have wondered that a man Considered so acute
as myself should have been deluded into embarraeements like
mine, and not a few have declared, in short metre that
" Barnum e.*as a fool." I eau only reply that...l never made
pretensions to the 'sharpness of a paWnbroker, and I hope I•
shall never more entirely lose confidence in 111.:tnin nature as
to confider every man a scamp by instinct or a ilgue by
necessity. "It is better to be deceivad sometimes than to
distrust always ;" so says Lord .Bacon, and I agree with him.
Experience is said to be a hard schoolmaster, but I should be
sorry to fell that th's great lesson in adversity has notbrought
forth frnits.of some value. I needed the discipline that this
tribulation has given me. and I really feel, after all, that
this, .like • many other " apparent evils," was only a
"blessing in disguise." Indeed, I may mention en paszent
that the very clock factory which I bui:t in Bridgeport, for the
purpose of bringing one hundred workmen to that city, has
been purchased and. quadrupled in size by the Wheeler and
Wilson Seeing Machine Company, and is now filled with
intelligent New England mechanics, whose families add two .
thousand to the population, and who are doing a great work
in building up and beautifying that flourishing city. 6o that
the same concern which prostrated me seems destined as a
most important agent towards my recuperation. In conclu-
sion, I beg to assure you and the public, that my chief plea-
sure, while health and strength are snared me, will be to cater
for you and their healthy ttansementand instruction. I have
established connections in Europe which will enable me to
produce here a succession of interesting novelties otherwise
inaccessible. Although I shall be personally present much of
the time, and hope to meet many of.my.old acquaintances, as
well as form many new ones.

CATS.—At the expense of being considered hyper-
critical, and following up in the wake of fine financial
calculations, I would, with all deference, recommend
our renowned Chancellor of the Exchequer to impose a
tax on that universally favourite animal, the cat. A
tax of 2s. 6d. per annum would aid the public funds to
Si extent which I shall hereafter attempt to calculate.—
Correspondent of the Manchester notes.
GIFT TO MRS. HARRISON.-011C of the passengers by
the steam-ship Canada brought a beautiful gift to the
widow of the late Captain Harrison, of the Great
Eastern, from a number of the citizens of Boston. The
present consisted of a black enamelled brooch and ear-
rings, all richly set with diamonds, arranged in wreaths,
round a large centre brilliant. Upon each of the three
pieces is engraved the words "Presented to Mrs. Har-
mon, from the friends of Captain Harrison in Boston."
THE CALORIC ENGINE.— fIIC consumption of coal
for an 18-inch piston ,two-horse power engine, working
ten hours each day, for a week, would be about 3401b5.
It takes about thirty minutes to fire up, and after the
engine is put in motion it recc.iires no other care than
to supply the ;rate with coal, and to keep the machinery
properly oiled. Its management cen be entrusted to
any careful person, however inexperienced. The cost
is about £llO.
A CHINESE BATTLE is as good as a farce. Some of the
little fights at Shanghai were very amusing. One day,
when a great many soldiers went out, I saw more of the
combat than was pleasant. Having got into the line of
fire, I was forced to take shelter behind a grave, the
bullets striking the grave from each side every second.
Why they et ne my way it was difficult to discover, for
they ought to have passed on the other side of a creek,
about twenty yards distant, to the people they were
intended for; but to see the dodging of the soldiers,
then of the rebels, each trying to evade the other, was
almost amusing. One fellow, ready primed and loaded,
would rush ep the side of the grave-hillock, drop his
matchlock o:er the top and without taking aim, blaze
away. There is no ramrod required for the shot they
use ; the bulet or bar of iron is merely dropped in loose
upon the polder. There was a fine scene on an occa-
sion when tie Shanghai rebels made a sortie ; one of
the men wet cut off by an imperial skirmisher, who had
his piece loafed. The rebel had no time to charge his,
so he ran round and round a grave, which was high
enough to kep his enemy from shooting him when on
the oppositeside. Hare hunting is nothing to it. Red-
' cap described hosts of circles, and the Royalist was fast
getting blovn, when the gods took pity on his wind,
for, by some unlucky chance, the rebel tripped and fell.
The soldier was at him in a moment, and to make sure
of his prize, put the muzzle of his matchlock to Red-
cap's head, fired, and took to his heels as fast as he could
go ! It is lifficult to say who was most astonished
when Mr. led-cap did exactly the, same ! The bullet
that droppid down readily on the powder, fell out as
easily 'whet the barrel was depressed. The rebel got
off with a pod singing of his long hair.—TweNe Years
in Gana,

MUSICAL, DRAMATIC, LITERARY, AND

ARTISTIC NEWS AND GOSSIP.

- The Pyne- and Harrison English .Opera Company
will appear at the Theatre Royal, Dublin, this evening,
in Meyerlyeer's opera of " Dinorah."
Every conceivable kind of musical: artist seems bent
on spending this season in Landon. -,Herr Schneider,
who bade fair, some years since, -triltcome one of the
best moderii German tenors (as readers may recollect),
has been there. 31dile. Jenny Meyer has come again—
let us hope, with an enlarged repertory. Madame
Schumann advertises another visit. Herr Lubeck, whose
specialty is the piano-forte, has played " 11 Cavaliere:"
Angelo Marian announces ‘' intentiotts" of settling in
England—his, art being for the moment in a moribund
state throughout Piedmont. Should this be so, it is not
Viotor Emmanuel, conjointly with the Emperor of the
Freneb, who has killed it so much as " Il Maestro" -
Verdi.

There are to be rretzla plays again this spring at the
St. James's Theatre.
Mr. Macready, says the Era, has rcceired so many
pieces of plate that large quantities were stowed away
out of sight, and a testimonial, costing MO guineas,
presented to him in America, had not been seen by his
family or friends for some years until it was being
packed up the other day for removal to Cheltenham,
where he now resides with his young bride.
Mr. James Hudson, the Irish comedian, has arrived
from Melbourne in the clipper ship Suffolk, after an
absence froni Fmglund of 17 months. He has had a most
successful and temmiefatite tour all through Australia,

and return in the best of healtit and spirits.
Mr. -and Mrs. Barney Williams keep on a prosperous
career at Niblo's .New York. No matter what pieces

they play in, they are always sure to bring a crowd
together.

The brothers John and Lionel Brough are giving their
new entertainment, entitled " The Photographic Studio,"
in London. and the provinces.
ft is riot nnitersa/ly known in England the the Eng-
lish language has of late besenne a compulsory branch of
education in public schools in Yorwaq.
To-day, both Societies of Painters in Water Colours
open their exhibition to the public, and initiate the
pleasantest part of the season so far as the picture-seeing
public is concerned.
Mr. Cousens has resigned the commission to engrave
Wiriterlialtefs portrait of her Majesty, his share of the
joint undertaltiag itith Mr. Benin, to which we referred
recently, and the tatt will be azesutcd by Mr. Sim-
monds.

The twenty-sixth annual Exhibition! 6f the Yew.
Society of Painters in Water Colours was opefftcl to pri-
vate view on Saturday, previous to being opened to the
public to-day. The exhibition, as a whole, is equal to,
but not exceeding, an average in point of merit. Some
works there are, licritever, of rare beauty and of extra.-
ordinary power ; equal, irtdee, to any yet exhibited by
this society. The number of proctlctions on view is
three hundred and seventy-two in all.

It may be needful to remind lovers of paintings that
the state apartments at Hampton Court Palace are open
to the public on every day of the week, except Friday,
*then they are closed for the purpose of being cleaned.
The hours are from ten o'clock in the morning until six
in the evening, till the Ist October, and the remainder
of the Teat from ten until fottr.
By order of the French Emperor, a monument will
be erected id the memory of the Maid of Orleans, on
the right shore of the Elver Oise, near the old bridge of
Compiegne, where the heroine wan taken prisoner by
the English, on the 23rd of May, Il3d. The monument
is to consist of a statue of Jeanne d'Arc, end will be
executed after the well-known work of the Prineess
Marie of Orleans.

The Royal Academy has voted the sum of £5O in aid
of the rentale School of Art in Gower-street. This act
(says the AtArwe,fia) is not only valuable to the Gower-
street Institution on account of its generosity, but also
on account of its exattiple. Government has withdrawn
from this school its small grant in aid. The school
must, therefore, for the present, work on ita own re-
sources, or not at all. Among the prompt and muniffeent
Mends of a very useful institution we are glad to mark
the members of the Royal Academy.