The Express.
London, England, 1864-12-23 00:00:00

C:OPPLEGATE.

Mears. Gower, 241; Pickering, 4.33 ; Cuthbert, 219 ;
Smith, 212 ; IS; 111/11, 01.); Turner, ; Reed, 183; King,
167 ; Morisse, 146.

TOWEL
Meagre. J. Young. 128 ; J. Alakelte, 121 ; H. Heath.
119 , J. S. Beinnog. 115 ; T. B. Humphrey. 109 ; J. North-
way, 11G ; E. 3WIIII. ri ; C. Ilegtobothan3, 8.5 ; B. Corco-
m 83; J. Forster, t 0; H. /lite, 42. the tint eight were

A legacy of 100/. has been left to the London
Soriet, for the Protection of Yonne Females, by the late
OalaMl Onalow Baker. Mies C. Hall has also bequeathed
ail., and toe Rev. N. F. spliabury jut., to the .awe society.
Those legacies have been left during this month.
ZOOLOoICAL So tray.—At the monthly general
meeting' bald yesterday, at the society's house in Han sever.
squaw ; Robert 11 udeou, Lan I'.!Ls., in the chair; the
Duke of Sutherland, Sir Reginald Aylmer Barnwell, Bart.,
the Hon. Sidney Roper Curzon, Major-General Gasooigne,
Colonel J. A. Lambert, Lieutenant-Colonel Reads RevelL
Captain the Hon. H. Leslie Pepe.. Captain H. Cornwall
Legh, Dr. Samuel Fenwick, the Lady Elizabeth Bryan,
Mrs. Emma blitclion Rev. W. S. Symood, and Messrs. F.
Cops, A. Goldsmid, A. Levi.. S. Miudel, T. ISroadwood, H.
Maudorley, H. Stafford O'Brien, C. W. Shepherd, Famett
C. Burnett, J. Paton Watson, T. G. Fardill, W. Bowman,
W. Cover:Web, J. H. Barneby, J. J. Orgill. W. Shipman,
H. Bury, 1). O'Connell, J. Ridpath. T. Wyatt frnecott,
H. Weblery, C. J. Mackenzie' J. If.. Gardner, were elected
Fellows ; and Professor G.. 1. Allman, Dr. Gustave Jaeger,
Mr. R. B. N. Walker, and Lieuteeant R. C. leaven, cor-
responding members of the society. Eleven candidates were
proposed for election at the neat meeting in January. The
report of the council stated that the number of visitors to
the society's gardens from the commencement of the year,
up to the c:ose of November, lied amounted to 481,529,
being an increase over the whole year 1863.
AN ASILUM FUR IDIOTS Volt THE NORTHERN
Cousrms.—A malting was held at Lancaster, on Wednes-
day. in support of an object which must coo:mend itself to
public sympathy. It is proposed to establish at Lancaster
an asylum for the reception of idiots from the Northern
counties. Some time ago a gentleman belonging to the
Society of Friends offend give 2,0004 towards the rea.
ligation of this project ; and since thee sulscriptioos have
been received to the amount of from 3,000/. to 4,000/. It
well to further this movement that the meeting was held
on Wedueolay. Sr.!. P. Kay•Slinttleworth occupied the
chair • and among times present wets Colonel Wilson
Patter; and Mr. Feowick, M.P.
THE SOUTH STAFFORreIHIRE IRON TRADE.—BIR-
HEXEReti, DEC. 22.—At a very large and important meeting
of the South Staffordshire iron trade, held hens today,
attended also by representatives from North Staffordshire,
Derbyshire, Yorkshire, and the North of England, it was
inanimately resolved, that fourteen days notice be given
ou the 31st Matsui cf a reduction of Is. per tor. iu puddlers'.
and 10 per cent, in millmon's wages through all the ihatncts
repree•atad

bINLIAY GOODS TRAINS IN SCOTLAND,—Up
Wednesday night, a public meeting was held at Kirkcaldy,
convened in oomoliaoce with • requisitioa, at which rasa.
lutions against the running of goods trains nu the Sabbath
in that neighbourhood were adopted. The meeting wee
announced to is held in the Town-hall, but it wu found too
small t accommodate the people. and the place of meeting
was accordingly changed to the Free Church. That
build-
ing, however, proved much too large for the ramstiog, as the
church was scarcely half filled.
THE LIVE/Mt/oh Bo11.01:ON BANK IN LIQr !DATION.
—The liquidators of this bank yesterday presented a report
'to the stockholders. At the meeting in Mt:A, they bad ex-
premed the hope that they would be able to mike a further
return of not less than 51. per share, out of the assets then
is imam of collection. They have, however, raised the
sum to he. mid, per share, making the whole amount repaid
2fiti.44%/. Ss., or 21. 14s. per share. They are not able to
my how soon they will be able to make a further return ;
but they mention that the principal remaining asset consists
of • debt for which security is held upon mortgaged pro-
perty in Salford ; end that as the sales made have now
nearly extinguished the prior mortgagee, further realisation
will become available for division amongst the creditors, of
whom the bank is by tar the largest.
SEE tore Sea YrOLD ACI'l DEN T. --1-esterclay a
serious accident took place in the Hungerford.road, rear
the Brecknock Tavern, by the fall of a Liras scaffold at
some buildings that are is the coulee of eonstiuction there.
At the time of the occident all the men in the employ of
Mr. Wilmott, the builder, had just resumed work after
dieter, aid at that time the scaffolding appeared safe.
Almost directly after the bricklavers and labourers bad
ascended the onifolding attbe e'er of one of the O&TOISIMIS,
and were at work on the top story, • dutaoce of about 32
feet from the turf, one of the " ledgers" broke, and pre-
cipitated the whole of the roes to the ground. It may he
stated that a ledger is are of the transverse poles oe which
the " pudlocks" rest, and on the " pudlocks" lie the
boards on which the men work. The consequence of the
ledger breaking was that the whole of the scaffolding came
to the ground, bringing with it the whim-moats men at
work on it. As speedily as possible* number of men were
got to work under the rersogral superiotendeoce of Mr.
Wilmott, and the injured men were extricrded and imme-
diately conveyed to cobs to the Royal Free Hospital,
Omy's-ion.road. All five men were found to be so
:evenly Wend, that it was necessiu7 to pot thorn to bed,
and some of them have sustained such iejtuiee thatit will
be some time before they will be able to leave the hospital.

I •

R'DUMBER! we wait Supper for you after
the Covent Garden Opera. at EVANS • MI not.

/Me erin'efSli•

HAYMARKET.

Tel num. THE SCANDAL Menem
Ntidateme, CMpqmdsdc Howe, Porno, Roam; Meedwwee
Angel, Snowdon, 4111 Mewl'llam.—NO SONO NO SUPPER,
ILL Compton and Miss Leeley.—And OUR MARY ANNE.

PILIZCZIWS.

TIM imam BORN TO GOOD-LIICK -Mr. D. Murray.
Lad VIZ STRZETS Or LONDON. Maws. Vining, J. W. Bay,
0. Maher. D. Murray, J. Nation. IL forriatar, and H, Mallon •
Mrs B. Marston. Mims Barnett mad Gs7ana.

LYCZUM.

OX BOXING NIGHT, MY WlPs'B OCT. Mr. Widdieocob.
RUT RLAS. Mews. Feebler. Ryder. Fitzpatrick. Charles, Ray-
mond, Mclntyre, Moreland. Collett, Clifford Slim C. lechircq.
—And RARE/ACED IMPOSTORS. Mr. Widdicomb.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON-BRIDGE.
TITI DAY Noralag, Stns.
10-itozzow Morning 100. 40.....Atteru00e,1011. :sou.

LONDON, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23.

THERE are some striking points in President
LINCOLN'S Message ; but the deepest impression
will be made by the simple composure of its tone,
so well suited to the magnitude of its topics and
their range. While the war so engrosses the in-
terest of some foreign observers that they actually
complain of the unexciting character of the Mes-
sage, because it treats of the conflict as only one
of many topics, there is to others something pro-
foundly impressive in the disclosure of the whole
panorama of the national interests of the Republic.
The telegraphic line from the West is growing,
passing from Asiatic Russia across Behriug's ;
Straits, to be carried on over the wilds
of the broad continent to the Atlantic. Lower
down, the Pacific Railroad is advancing in the
other direction, opening a passage from the fertile
Mississippi valley to the gold regions of California.
On the way, the new State of Nevada is estab-
lished, offering in its incomparable wealth of mines
silver to balance the gold of Australia and
California together. New territories, hitherto un-
known to Europe by name—such as Idaho and
Montana—are becoming peopled by American citi-
mut, who are beginning to claim their rights under
the constitution. The government and protection
of the Indians are attended. it as if no war were
raging iu the rear of the trains of white settlers,
coming to plant themselves in the interior valleys. I
The surveys of the public lands of the Republic
are rapidly prosecuted, so that, after four millions
of acres have been settled in fifteen months,
133 millions more, ready for occupation, have I
been prepared for the ever-extending population.
The Homestead Law, which seemed intended
for use in a prosperous season of peace, has
been the means of settling families from 1
the States on more than a million and a half of
acres ; and, besides all the agricultural fertility
thus created, the mines in the new regions have
yielded a hundred million dollars worth of the
precious metals. No exhaustion of the older
States has followed thisextension of the inhabited
area ; for the number of the voters in them
has steadily increased up to the date of the
election of last month. The increase since the i
beginning of the war has been nearly 146,000 in
an aggregate of four millions of voters—without /
considering the tens of thousands of citizens who,
being with the armies, cannot, by the laws of their
own States, vote so far from hone. Wherever 11
men are, in that fertile new country, material
resources grow faster than the population ; and
thus, after all the havoc of a three years' war, the
Republic is richer in men and in wealth than it was
at the beginning. As immigration must be
largely concerned in this, the welfare
of immigrants is • matter of great
importance ; and we see that Congress is advised
to provide for the protection of immigrants against
any practices which can interfere with "a free
" choice of avocations and places of settlement" ,
The liberality of European States which leave emi-
gration free is to be met by • policy of welcome
and protection on the American side. Again, we
find a perpetual creation of new mail steamers,
across the ocean, along the shores, and up the
large rivers, and a corresponding development of
commercial enterprise within and without the Re-
public. We find It growing interest in Liberia,
and an intention of providing her with a gunboat,
in order to put down the slave trade on that part
of the African coast. Moreover, Congress is in-
cited to render it legally impracticable for slave- I
traders to effect a lodgment and to pursue their I
calling in the United States. Besides all this, we
find a strong practical interest expressed in the I
transit route across Central America, and in the
opening of China and Japan to the trade of Chris-
tendons ; and unconcealed opinions on the revolu-
tion in Mexico, and the troubles created by Spain in
Peru and St. Domingo. All these great interests
ate independent of the war ; and while the Go-
vernment and people of the United States have
thought and feeling to spare for them, the rest of
the world should at least see that there is some-
thing going on in America besides the war, if they
hays no admiration to spare for the magnanimity
which can offer and accept such a picture of the
interests of the time.

The spirit and tone of the Message manifest the
same kindly and honourable temper towards our
country as towards the rest of the world. The
PRESIDENT gives England credit for honourable
and pacific intentions. Our Government will not
stultify this confidence ; and if any of our citizens
should defy or betray it, through cupidity, vanity,
or the partisan spirit of ignorance, they will have
to answer for it through centuries of evil repute.
This Message marks a critical period in the history
of civilization ; and to take the side of force against
the freedom of industry and social justice is to
choose everlasting ignominy. That such a choice
is possible for Englishmen it is most painful to
believe.

We are all proud of our English liberty, hut
there are certain liberties connected with the

streets which we may undoubtedly eonsent to part
with. The liberty which we enjoyof being knocked
down by a furious Hansom or butcher's cart, the
liberty of breaking our legs on the snow-slide which
our neighbour has allowed to be established
at his door, the liberty of stepping into mud
uncle deep when we attempt to croon the street,
are British privileges which we would willingly
surrender. Every householder is bound by
Act of Parliament to clear away the
snow from the footpath opposite his house. No-
toriously, however, not one in ten ever performs
this duty. The consequence is that when a
snowfall is succeeded by a frost, the streets are
impassable to all but the active or the practised
skater. Then comes the daily London thaw,
and the pavements are covered with slush. The
singular thing in all this exercise of liberty is, that
it is not only against the law, but against the per-
sonal interests of everybody. The shopkeeper
who allows snow to be before his door loses cus-
tom, and every one else loses time and possibly
health. It would be worth to each of us in mere
money a great deal more to have the footways clean
than it could cost us to sweep in front of our own
doors. But what is not enforced on all is
evaded by each. There is no use in giving a few
pence to have our own portion of ithe footpath put
in order if our neighbours all down the
street are permitted to leave theirs untouched.
Thus this is a matter in which the police alone can
help us. We shall all grumble on being served
with a notice or a summons, for grumbling is
another of our loved liberties. But when we find
that the law has been enforced on everybody, and
that in consequence we have clean footpaths every-
where,we shall all be silently gratefuL
It must be admitted, however, that this com-
fortable result will not be thoroughly attained
unless our street authorities also will a little bestir
themselves. When they leave mud in the road-
way, it is splashed by the wheels and carried by the
feet beck upon the pavement. But why
should they leave mud or snow to accumulate
to the horrible extent from which we have been
lately suffering ? There can be no reason, except
either indifference or economy. The former is not
an excuse at all ; the latter is a false excuse.
Clean streets are worth money to everybody. All
keep indoors who are not forced to go out when
they are in their present disgusting state. Ladies
will not shop, nor t►ke their children to shop, when
they must step into filth, and probably will be be-
smeared with filth. As for those who must go
abroad wet or dry, they can only catch colds and
lose their temper. A penny • day to a crossing
sweeper is not thought a bad investment, and we
should willingly pay more than that sum in
extra rates if we could get our streets seasonably
swept. In truth, this London of ours can afford
least of all to be dirty. It repels and depresses
sufficiently by the gloom of its heavens above, with-
out adding the horror of chaotic mud beneath.