The Express.
London, England, 1866-11-05 00:00:00

TRADE AND FINANCE.

The Daily News refers to the last Board of Trade re-
turns to show the partial character of the late commercial
crisis, and for evidence of the fact that, however much
banking and other monetary institutions Lave suffered, the
great body of werchasts have escaped without serious in-
jury. At the worst we have remained stationary,
while in many particulars we Lave actually made au
advance. It is abundantly clear from the returns
that whatever we have supplied to the United States has
been amply paid for, even without counting the large
amounts of government securities that have been readily
bought upon this side. Although we can fairly congratu-
late ourselves upon the manner in which general commerce
has passed through the late crisis, still it would he useless
to disguise that there are some grounds for misgiving. It
is impossible that a convulsion such as we have lately ex-
perienced can go by without causing some individual suf•
feriug and loss. The wonder is that there has been so
little ; yet there is no doubt that trade is in a wore satis-
factory and sound position than has happened for years
past, and the proof is at once apparent in the general im-
munity with which a ci isis, almost equalling that of 1825,
has been borne. Thus far, although there may be some-
thing to be guarded against, there is little to fear.

MISCELL,eI-NEoUri TorICS.

Discussing the Prussian military system, the Dail, Sews
allows that there are periods in the life of a nation when
the adoption of such a system is politic and even neces-
sary, but England is not now in one of those straits.
The conclusive argument against it is to be found tu the
nature of the demands on our military service. Unlike the
Prussian, and even the French army, the bulk of our forces
are never at home, and their absence is only practicable in a
free country with an army raised by voluntary enlistment..
Of what use, with our empire, would be recruits enlisted
for three or five years? A soldier would have no sooner
reached a foreign station than his time would be
up, and he would have to be brought home again•
Our existence is not at stake ; and when it is, and a
• conscription is needed to save us, the price of it must
be an extension of popular power in the parliament of the
nation, and the COLICtSbiOn to the private soldier of
freedom to rise, if he can, to the very top of the army.
The real improvements to be accomplished, enabling us to
secure possession at the right moment of an adequately
trained body of men, without infringing upon either our
political or economic system, must be effected in the regulars
and militia.

In Crete a warfare in the mountains may still, in the I
opinion of the Tilllo, be kept up, but the backbone of the
revolt is broken, and every chance seems removed of a
spread of the movement to other provinces of the Ottoman
Empire. Time must determine of what organisation the I
East may yet be capable. Under the shade of the decay-
ing old tree some young sapling may yet sprout up to cast
ea broad a shade as that which now overspreads that
eastern ground. Western policy will hardly find it either
practicable or advisable to do much towards retarding or
hastening the Turk's downfall. Matters will simply be
left to take their own course.
The Herald can suggest no better protection against the
, excesses of ritualism than the good sense and discretion
• of the congregations, by whom such matters are better
settled than by any outside tribunals. It is hopeless to
expect uniformity of practice within the church of Eng-
land. Indeed it would be a bad sign of the church if there
were not periodically some of these movement. within its

body.
The Stawlard proclaims its conversion to the views of the
liberal politicians here who have always contended that
reparation was due from us to America for the ravages of
the Alabama. The escape of the vessel, it now says, was
due to official neglect, and it adds that there can be so
discredit in submitting to arbitration the question how far
that accident was the result of lath,, on our part, and
how far this renders us responsible for the consequences.

We (Times) regret to hear that the state of Sir
James L. Knight Bruce's health during the last week has
been very unsatisfactory. Bird. L. Knight Bruce him been
a lord justice of appeal in Chancery ever since the creation
of the office in 1851. He Iris made a vice-chancellor in
1811, and has, therefore been a judge for the last quarter of
a century. His resignation hail caused the Gott change
which has occurred for the last fourteen years among
the permanent judges of the Court of Chancery ; but we
understand that several further changes will be made

during next year, when the two junior viawahanaellogs win
complete the fifteen years' service which entitles them to
their pension.