The Press.
London, England, 1857-12-19 00:00:00

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LONDON. SATURDAY, DEC. 19, 1857.

POSTSCRIPT.

THE BANK OF FRANCE.
PARIS, Friday.
The Bank of France bas lowered the rate of dis-
count to six per cent. on all bills.
Three per Cents

Intelligence has been received from Constantinople
to the Bth. M. I'elissier, French Commissioner for
settling the frontiers on the Asiatic side, was about
to return to France ; Sir Henry Bulwer, English
Commissioner at Bucharest, was also preparing to
take his departure. The commercial crisis was con-
tinuing at Constantinople.

The meeting of the Spanish Cortes is postponed
to the 10th of January, when the Queen will open
the session in person.

THE WEST INDIA MAILS.
SourtiamProN, Friday Morning.
The Royal Mail Company's steam•ship Parana,
Captain Bevis, with the West India mails, has
arrived.
The St. Lucia Legislative Council was in session.
The country round Mexico, particularly towards Vera
Cruz, was in a very unsettled state.
News from Granada contained little of interest,
the expected reappearance of General Walker being
the principal topic of conversation.
The official paper of Granada publishes a declara-
tion of war against Costa Rica, for the purpose of
pressing its rights to the whole line of transit from
San Juan del Norte to San Juan del Sul, as well as
the district. of Juanacosta. The same paper names
the Provisional Government during the time that
General Maratines and Xeres take charge of the
army.
The commercial distress at New York was being
felt at Colon and Panama.
The United States steamers Wabash at Colon, and
Saratoga at Greytown.
At Callao the National Convention had been dis-
solved.

THE INDIA AND CHINA MAILS.
(By Electric Telegraph.)
SOUTHAMPTON, Friday.
The Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamer
Nemesis, Captain Black, has just arrived in the river
(10.30 a.m.). The despatches not yet ashore.—
Second edition of the Times.

A Supplementary Report, signed by the Right
Hon. Edward Ellice, M.P., Lieut.-General Winyard.
and Major-General Bentinck, upon the question of
purchase in the army, has been published. The
report is in the shape of a protest against that
published some months since, and signed by General
Evans and the rest of the commissioners, recom
mending the abolition of purchase in the a► my. The
present protest points out that the system of pur-
chase is incompatible with an amended system of
education in the army, and that if it is to be abolished
we ought to begin at the first step instead of the last
in regimental promotion. The protest points out
with great force the hardships that would be inflicted
by the abolition of purchase on the officers of certain
regiments who, after a long period of foreign service,
might see officers by selection placed over their
heads.

THE TREATY OF PARIS, AND CIRCASSIA.
THE time appears to be approaching when the
neglect of our Government to insist on the freedom
of the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the period
of the conclusion of the Treaty of Paris, will be pro-
nounced one "of the greatest blunders " ever com-
mitted by a British Ministry. The Constantinople
o ircespondent of the Times, of Tuesday, writes to
say that instead of rebuilding and reoccupying their
former chain of forts on the eastern coast of the
Black Sea, the Russians have only reoccupied
three—namely, Rebut Ealeh, Suchum Xaloh, and
Anapa. " But," he adds, " you must not imagine
from these new arrangements that the Russians
have given up their claims on the Circassian
coast ":

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