The Express.
London, England, 1852-10-16 00:00:00

the erpreoo.

TO CORRISPONDINTS.
• Mad lain et The 11apeeik" eessekfte the ewe eveshere
ale "Orehheihpebelied every Therlay sal Mew Night. Is lei
per.
Weetimesioliamied fat "Tim &pros." Lamas amine esprr,
shel he stir 0054 11), Ileivirieeereet, /4 Tem Veleek sir,
Sig ei

MOH WATIS AT LONDON BILIDOIL
Teo D 4-1111andba. 4b. lbw
Tosisanr—Souniteg. 41. Wm.

LONDON, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16.

WHATEVEH reason there may be to doubt that the
Yankees beat " theold country" in all possible domains,
there can bo no hesitation in saying that they " lick
them to immortal smashes"—and— to use another of
their own expressive terms, they " estawampously
chew the Britisher, up" in all supersensuil matters.
Gnat as they undoubtedly are on solid earth. in
Mexican wars, in ritio shooting, yacht building,
daguerreotyping, gin-sling, and a host of terrene
achievements of like nature, still greater are
they in their mastery over the details of
the spiritual world. they are like the in-
tellectual victor celebrated by the poet, not
only do they "conquer worlds," but they "imagine
new." Mormonism, which in England dwelt in
unclean platy% unknown to Commissioners of Sewers,
and lifted up its voice in back streets only, where it
was drowned by the adult brawls and the infantine
screams of " surplus population," is elevated into •
power in the Vatted States. 'There it chooses
governors, enacts laws, makes war. " Revivals,"
which in England tremble at the shaking of a police-
man's club, in America convulse states, overawe
power, lead thousands captive. In America,German
transcendental philosophy, which is eo sickly
an exotic in England, takes vigorous root,
becomes an clement is the public mind, flourishes
in transcendental magazines like "The Dial." finds
VOiOef in wonderful women like MAZGAZET FULLER,
or erratic philosophers like RALPH WALDO Ext.ksON.
All this points to an extreme sympathy in some
portion at least of the American population w*
everything that relates to the world beyond die
senses. The old Puritan belief in the existence of
magic which expressed itself in the burning of
witches so decidedly that it was difficult to Lind an'
old woman in Nevi England, has come down to the
modern descendants of the ilgrim fathers " with •
difference." There are numbers ready still to believe
in communications with the unseen world. The
grim form, however, of the old Puritan faith, which
had something sublime in it, is changed for
the benefit of modern believers into something
rather pleasanter, and as it appears to outside infidels
something intensely comic. To some portion, how-
ever, of the American population there is nothing at
all comic in the matter. They have taken the thing
up seriously, and patriotically, and determining to
hiring spiritual influences as well as all others, wain
the boundary of republican forms, they have lately
held a spiritual Conrention. The American papers
tell us that at Worcester, in Msasachussetts, several
hundred believers in spiritualism convened in the
Horticultural Hall, on September the twenty-ninth,
and commeneed.—after haying in a most matter-of-

feet some, chosen a chairman,—to discuss gravely
all sorts of questions which relate to the spiritual
world. The report of the meeting shows that no
subject was forbidden, that had in it any elements of
impossibility, or was contrary to the diitatts of com-
mon sense.
A Mr. SPEtft commenced the entertainment. This

gentleman edified the meeting by telling them that
"he seemed to hare the power of helping persons."
It may be es well to say here that we incline to the
belief that Mr. SPEAR must be excepted from the
sweeping condemnation of folly which attaches to
most of the actors in the scene to which we are
alluding. He seems to have known remarkably well
what he was about, and his exordium was admirably
well calculated to excite the greatest sympathy
amongit a crowd of persons, who it is mere charity
to suppose were not very well able to help them-
ma'am Mr. SrrAa then hints very cunningly that
such persons may be very pnix!!!!:, a flock des-
tined for his peculiar care. "He seemed to have
the power of helping persons. His hand moved
without his will towards the seat of diseases,
and they were instantly relieved." Here is a
direct bid to be elected physician in chief to the
spiritual incapables. " The spirits," he continued,
" sent him on distant missions, telling him he would
have his expenses paid, and it Was mayor; so." Who
can doubt, after this, that Mr. Brea' will turn up at
Paris next year comfortably settled in the Rue Rivoli,
with the run of the Boulevards generously secured to
him by the spiritualists ? If not seen at Paris, link
for him at Baden, or Munich, or Naples,
or any locality which hiaeonvenienoes for garnering
that somewhat indistinathst grateful product called
" the fht ef the land." Mr. SPEAR is a wise man
in Ms geematise, end emsred his hearers at the con-
cludes at Ms speech that "he thought some great
geed would meek to the wadi metis gilt, if
be was allowed Mew animas to it.' Who I
doubts that graet psi weld result—at least to that
ems froths tithe wield represented by Mr. J. M.
fruit P
'lle dimness seeds. wee attended by 800 people.
• beam sammiiise" upset
resolutions re-
ablinhatiolvsounsmosignostiboropthectloobedlt,evetrhsi;
Ihnnatim 1 splelbml tides, and " raviolis
ether masse 11 kriging down heaven to
earth, as& lifting makap to heaves." The
reporter, who dose set mar to have tom duly
struck with the purr quest= et revertant, le-
gume es rather Meek &et " s geed gml a is-
coherent ilsemelns hillowell about ommuhtit nor
toting. *gift tal smog tem hoe
In the eveeing. at 7 erieely Os LB ono aids
too oldmoilo." do_ lepookr,
a ti VW &ogled et the bor." We
saes sears ig lisle bememe, that les EMI is dear
fora " beiallesit et the next wadi ;11 and we me
not nub smgeing that isdivignebt lbws=
lieving the pemiltility d
fee sash a hang-took, ebedeistifiaglele to
invest the sum aentiosed Is the
XL AN Dlr. JACKSON Dam WU rah=
of the evening, and condoned his efforts to
mystify his hearers on the next day. Not
impair at hand a guide to the literature of the
spiritualists, we are not quite awe whether Mr.
Dime is the " Poughkeepsie Bser " who published a
volume of folly and blasphemy of portentous dimen-
sions some time back. The style, however, of the
epoch and the book are so much alas, that they
would appear to betray a mama pares age Mr.
DAVIS read to the convention a EMS ILDK faithful
record of visions he had semi, and communications

b. bad received from en inhabitant of the *it
spheres. Mis angel showed him a arm of badmen
impended in the air, and slim great Golds of peemilirem
electric (immesh and nitwits dues, and told
that the law of gravitation wen ne( rot well under-
stood. The spirit, said the philosogiL l Mr. DAVIS.
showed him these things to peeve OM spiritual
bodies, which were matter *ingrained. mull walks
move, and hare their being in the vspwise siesta
without any violation of natural laws. NMI o.
.ophy to theology was but a jump, sod Mr. DAVIS
accomplished this by telling his hearers that the
spirit commanded him to go and call men to re.
pentanes and life, for the kingdom of Heaven was
at hand ! . . .

The neat transaction seemed to indicate that the
Mr. BPRAR mentioned above, and Mr. I/Avis, are
moving in spheres which interfere, and that each
is making a desperate bid (or the captain-generalship
of the Spiritualists. We have shown above how
cleverly Mr. Si.r.Art appealed to the interests of his
hearers, and how slyly he put the point of his,
meies. His friends, not contented
wither ht forward a most convincing series
"Mr. Hawn reed a communication written by
the spirit of limit liaggeotw, whielt was grimed
Ithe sitts of GEORGE WASHINGTON, rATRICH
.NRT, ER SticumArg, and BENJAMIN FRANK-
LIN. It said that Mr. Sew' was yet to be the
wonder of the world. He would go forth to heal the
sick and to many marvellous things do." The reporter
ill-naturedly tells us that " ions HA/groat, &c.,
seemed to have forgotten their grammar." The ac-
cusation, however, is probably true, inasmuch as •
Seotchman present told the meeting that the spirit
of JOUN HANCOCK had just told him that certain

words had been used is the eoelteadattioa read by
Dr. Hewirr, which he did sat approved
The meeting forms a curie's item in the history
of fanaticism, and derive' ineavaeedimetree from
the fact of its occurrence in • county , portions
' of the population of which seem pe v incliaed
1 to be attacked with visitations similar both in kind
and degree. We generally and justly look upon Ame-
rica as a great nationality in which the true spirit
of LOCKE and BACON has become incarnate. But
cool-headed, clever, and calculating as Brother Jona-
than commonly is, we find him at times indulging in
strange pranks—as Mormons and Spiritual Conven-
tion-men show.

Ora hands are tolerably full in the Eut. A tele-
graphic despatch, received ria Trieste, and dated
Trebisond, the 25th of September, states that " a
force of nine thousand men had been landed by the
English authorities on the shores of the Persian
Gulf near Bender-Buschir—their destination under-
stood to be Herat." On the day whichbrings us this
intelligence we have also the Indian mail, by which
we learn that our operations in Burnish arc dragging
their slow length sluggishly along in a may that
greatly strengthens the views we formerly expressed
upon this question. The present estimate is, that our
force will not reach Ave till March next !--and mean-1
while the Burmese have full opportunity for strength-
ening the various positions that stand between Ran-
goon and the capital. Prome, which only the other
day was taken almost without resistance by the
steamers under Captain TA RLETON, is now said tabs
filled by an army of from ten to fifteen thousand
Burmese soldiers, whilst other considerable bodies of
the enemy have been stationed at the where
they miy best impede the operations of British.
The force under General GoDwIN has now been
swelled to over 17,000 men. If he stops much longer
inactive where he is, he may need 27,000, or any other
number, to finish the work entrusted to him. Ile
seems inclined to sleep away the time till the waters
WI, and then he must march by land. Capt. TA !ILL-
TON, who made the dash up tho Irrawaddy, and
demonstrated how the war could speedily be brought
to a close, has, it is said, been superseded in his
command. Why is this? Why should the officer
who has performed the smartest service on these
waters be prevented from pursuing the success he
eehindancl helping to secure the greater successes
ihr w he pointed out the way ? From time im-
memorial pipe-clayed incompetence has always been
but too ready to thwart rising military and naval
talent. Let us hope that this may not be another
flagrant illustration of that sort of sin.
Oao thing is quite certain—that the pub-
lic will require to be satisfied why Captain
TantevoN has been superseded, should it prows
true that the commander of the expedition has reel
ventured to remove the conductor of the Promc expe-
dition from his post on board the war steamers. It
may be that this removal is under pretence of
making Captain Taatxrox more useful elsewhere;
but such flimsy pretexts, should they be offered, will
not suffice to cloak any more subtle and mischievous
motives. The chief commander being a military
man, may not perhaps desire that the naval
arm of the expedition should put a speedy termina-
tion to the strife in hand. Such professional jea-
lousies have before,—and may again—do infinite
mischief to the public service; and.of this the officers
whom it may concern should be reminded. We have
so much quarrelling on hand in India, that no time
should be lost in deciding our differences with the
court of Ava. On the north-west frontier there are
new commotion. " On the 19th of August (says one

correspondent), in consequence of -a rumoured
gathering of the Momunds, under their chief Sa•Dur
IRAN, • considerable British force proceeded from
Peshawar, and advanced as far as Bhublcudr, on the
Cabal river, but halted there, as no signs of an enemy
were apparent. Probably our military demonstra-
tion prevented the threatened b ruption by Baavur
KHAN. Next day, however, in another direction, a
party of hill men, under a chief named Afoot
YUAN, succeeded in plundering one of our villages,
notwithstanding the presence there of a 'local'
detachment in British pay. The robbers were pur-
sued by a British Miser, with a troop of cavalry,
but the alarm had been given too late, and they
easseeded in ',NetaQ with their booty. The
SIM MOM viU I. all=ility bring the usual
ausesssion tit bender which may provoke
government into retaliation on a large sale, and
may even lead to a war of extermination es the only
means of securing the quiet of our frontier."
Meanwhile, sr what in regarded as a deceptive
saint in the Punjaub, " rumour has of late been pre-
valent that a conspiracy had been concocted there
Ise the subversion of British rule." The Beikla are
mot zet subdued. With all these quarrels in hand,
and an prospect, it behoves us to settle quickly the
war in Bermah, bliecuring the free navigation of the
Irrawaddy, and preferring rather security
and enlargement our commerce, than any further
extension dour Indian territory.