The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-07-30 00:00:00

country, „The:.cereal crops of the West promise to
_afford" a :very large yield, and the abundant return,.
it is hoped;: Will enable that region of . country to
extricate itself, completely from the financial difficulties
with which the panic of 1857 surrounded it, and from
which it has not since been wholly relieved.: In plain
Words, we hope this year of plenty will enable the West
to pay its debts. -The cotton crop of the South for the
past year has been a very lucrative one, and the reports
for this year indicate that it will not fall short of, if it
does not exceed, the yield of 1859.

The failure of the Atlantic cable, has given birth to
several now projects, and whilst a company in this
country is having soundings taken for a route by way
Greenland, a different project has been engaging the
attention of parties in America. Mr. Collins' recent
mission to St. Petersburg was to procure the sanction
and co-operation of the Imperial Government in the
construction of telegraphic communication between
Russia and the United States, via. Asiatic Russia,
crossing to America by or near Behring Straits, to or by
the Alintian. Islands. The Russian Government has
already authorised upon this line the construction of
seven thousand miles of telegraph, from Kazenthe, the
eastern termination of telegraphic communication in
European Russia, to their military and naval establish-
ments at the mouth of the Amoor river. The govern-
ment could not agree to construct a line of telegraph
beyond the point named at present, but have authorised
Mr. Collins to survey a route from the mouth of the
Amoor, over the Russian possessions in Asia aad
America, a distance of about thirty-five hundred miles,
on the proposed route to San Francisco, the whole dis-
tance being about five thousand miles. The plan is m-
doubtedly feasible, for the line from the mouth of the
Amoor to California, via Behring Straits, will require
but a single cable, and that not longer than sixty mills.

An important question is pending in France at the
present moment, touching the validity of a large bequest
in land and money, by the Marquis de Villette to the
Count de Chambord. Some interesting particulars
respecting the suit are given in the letter of our Pans
correspondent.
Louis Napoleon has the reputation of interesting him-
self very much in the press of this country, and he has
here and there a solitary defender. A country paper in
Ireland has secured his special approbation, and this in
a significant way. The following letter appears in
Saturday's issue of the Tipperary Examiner, the editor
of which has repeatedly declared his dissent from the
charges of enmity to the Pope, which were made
by many of the Irish Catholic journals against
Napoleon 111. The letter is introduced at cot-
siderable length by the editor, who gives it as a
complete justification of his own 'views of the French
policy in Rome. Following is the translation :—" Tie
Emperor's Cabinet, Palace of St. Cloud, July 6th, 186)•
Sir,—When, In a country, the press passionately persists
in forgetting itself, in order to calumniate and mis-
represent the intentions of a foreign sovereign, nothing
can be more pleasing or even more consoling than for
a clever and disinterested writer to rise up sponta-
neously to defend him. You, sir, have been that writer ;
you have had the singular merit ; and in resisting the
general overwhelming impulse to oppose a conscientious
judgment to false interpretation, and a calm voice to the
clamours of malevolence, thus success has gradually
crowned your efforts, and if the error be not totally
`destroyed it is at least *eady much enfeebled; so mach
power does truth bestow on -him whom she animates
with her inspirations. I have, then, with real satisfac-.
tion, submitted various articles published in. your
esteemed journal to the Emperor, and his Majesty
entertains for them the sense of gratitude the sincere
expression of which he charges to address to
Accept, sir, assurance of my most distinguished con-
sideration,—The Emperor's Secretary, chief of the.l
Cabinet, MOCQUARII. A. W. ,llarnett, Esq., proprietor
and editor of the Limerick, ,Tipperary, and Waterford
Examiner, Clonmel, Ireland."
A Parliamentary return was issued on Saturday,
giving statistical information with reference to the
reformatory schools of the United Kingdom. The total
number of reformatories in England is 47, of which 4 are
for Catholics. The 43 Protestant institutions have accom-
modation for 2,162 boys and 367 girls. The 4 for
Catholics can receive .586 boys and 200 girls. The
actual number of inmates is of course less than the pos-
sible number. The Protestant buildings at present
contain 1,634 boys and 552 girls ; those for Catholics
485 boys and 161 girls. The total number of reforma-
tories in Scotland is 27, capable of accommodating 800
boys and 314 girls. The nine reformatory institutions
in Ireland have accommodation for 330 boys and 195
girls. The actual numbers occupying them are 189
boys and 78 girls.
According to the Army and Navy Gazette, the umber
of new regiments of the line to be added to the army,
in consequence of the extinction of the local European
force in India, will be nine altogether, of which three
will be cavalry, and six infantry. In these regiments
promotion will not be regulated by the purchase system
in operation in the rest of the line.
The diagrams prepared by the registrar and his
assistants for the year 1858, disclose, as usual, some
curious facts. For instance it appears that in the
year 1858, three girls of 15 were married to youths of
18 ; one of 16 was married to a boy of 17 ; a yoing
woman of 19 was wedded to a lad of 16 ; 12 girls of
the age 1.5 were married to men of 21; in all, 1€ of
the wives were only 15 years of age. One hund-ed
and ninety-four were 16 years ; 1016 were 17. The ige
at which the greatest number of women marry is 20.
A greater number marry at 30 than at 19 ; indeed, more
marry at 30 than at 25 or 21 or 18. Five venerable old
dames of 75, all of them widows, found husbands, one
catching an active bachelor of 55. A girl of 17 was
" sacrificed " to a man of 62; and another young creature
of 20 to an old fellow of 75. Three men at the age of
80 were married to women of 50. A spinster of 70 was
wedded to a bachelor of 65 ; but the large majority of
the women who marry at that period of life of course
are widows.

The CoMmissioners of the Great Exhibition of 1851
have, aftep maturely considering the proposals for hold-
ing an exhibition in 1862, offered to let to the pro-
moters 16i acres of the land at Kensington Gore, for
the purpose of erecting upon it the required buildings.
They stipulate that certain portions of the exhibition
buildings shall be of a permanent character, and that a
sum of £lO,OOO shall be paid to them out of the profits
of the undertaking, to be appropriated for future exhi-
bitions. The guarantee fund now exceeds £340,000,
and it is made up of guarantors who have put down their
names for sums varying from £lOO to £lO,OOO.
Another Cabinet Council was held on Saturday,
which was attended by nearly all the Ministers, and
Lord Palmerston went by invitation in the evening to
dine with the Queen.

The recent increase in the spirit duties by the
Chancellor of the Excheouer. has, as might be expected,
excited no little hostility towards him on the part of
the licensed victuallers of the metropolis. They charge
the right hon. gentleman with a direct intention to
ruin their trade, and they say that this last movement
in respect to- the spirit duties strongly indicates • what
his feelings are in the matter. However this may be,
it is a fact that the efforts made by the licensed
victuallers to meet the increased duty by placing an
extra penny on the quartern of gin and other spirits
has caused a great decrease in the sale.

SCANDALOUS STATE OF PUNIC

AFFAIRS !

IT is impossible for any one capable of forming
an opinion to survey, even cursorily, the general
state oT business in the House of Commons, what-
ever may be his political sympathies, without
coming to the conchision that owing to some
cause or another that branch of the Legislature
is now in a Col34it}o/1 which is remarkably un-
satisfactory, if not altogether unprecedented.
Although the present session commenced some
time before the usual period, there is every pros-
pect of itS being protracted to an unusually long
date ; and, after all, it, promises to be immortalised
for its unparalleled barrenness. If the people of
this copntry, are not as insincere and indifferent to
their best interests as those who are truly respon-
sible for this enormous waste of a whole legislative
year, they will thank those who point out to them
the circumstances which have led to this disas-
trous result. We would make an impartial appeal
to facts rather than induige in merely political
recrimination ; and, in tracing the cause to the
•
circumstances under which the Present Govern-
ment acceded to °face, Re do So, not in a 'mere party