The Sun.
London, England, 1855-01-13 00:00:00

taut change in the general relations of Europe is the
the two leading States of Germany are directing their
policy in opposite directions; that the efforts which have
been made with, rosre or less sincerity in the course of
the last year .to secure the union of Germany have failed;
and that; while the connexion with Fiance is rap:dly
extending its influence over the South, including Austria,
Bavaria, and Baded, the North of Germany will be re-
duced to the albernative of total isolation or a Russian
alliance. I' is by the pressure of that alternative that
the dominant parry in Berlin hope eventual:y to reduce
the country to submit to tho ascendancy of Russia, and
by rekindling the old familiar passions of jealousy
against Austria and of hostility against France. From
the aspect which affairs have recently assumed, we
shall not be surprised to find that advantage is taken
of the present conjuncture by the men who surround
the King to bind him more closely to Russian interests,
although at this very moment an eminent Prussian
diplomatist has been sent to London and Paris to ex-
plain the King's intentions in a very different manner.
We have recently read with considerable surprise an
address delivered by the Prince of Prussia to the
officers of the garrison of Coblentz, in which that
personage, whose own sympathies and opinions are
known to be favourable to the Western Powers, stated
that he did not anticipate that the present year would
pass without compelling the Prussian army to enter
upon active service, but that it depended solely on the
will of the King whether these gallant troops were to
face to the East or to the West—whether they were to
bo employed in fighting the battles of Russia by
plunging all Europe into war, or to join the confederacy
of the other Powers in obtaining solid guarantees of
pease, We do not dispute that the army is a blind
instrument, and that it must obey the commands of the
Government it serve? ; but it is impossible not to com-
ment with great pain on such a speech as this, which
seems to denote that the heir presumptive of the Crown
is himself ignorant of the course of policy in which his
country is engaged ; and that, though he thinks war
will :ensue, he knows not against what enemies or
with what allies. Such is unhappily the real
state to which Prussia has been reduced by the
unstable character of the King, and by the systematic
intrigues carried on around him. While Frederick Wil-
liam has been flattering himself that he was destined to
play the part of the great pacificator of Europe, and to
interpose his military power or his diplomatic influence
to arrest the sheding of blood and the strife of nations,
he has not only lost all claim to that respect which could
alone have invested him with the character of a mediator,
but he stands almost as isolated as the Czar of Russia
himself, and he may be exposed ere long to more posi-
tive dangers. Russia, after all, can recede within the
recesses of her empire, and may hope by great sacrifices
to exhaust the energy of her foes. But Prussia is, in a
strategical point of view, the most defenceless state in
Europe, and she owes her present existence to the
treaties and alliances of 1815. For her to evade those
treaties or forfeit those alliances, but more especially her
good understanding with Austria and with England,
implies a degree of infatuation which may lead to most
disastrous results. Every day brings her a step nearer
to the alternative of an alliance with one party or the
other in this contest. The ground of neutrality leaves
her altogether isolated and powerless. Yet the Russian
alliance, with all its perils, almost turns the scale of in-
fluence against the Western Powers, and by endeavour-
ing to risk nothing Prussia may lose all.—Times.

IRELAND.

DUBLIN, Friday Morning.
PANIC IN THE PROVISION TRADE.

This morning's accounts from Cork announce
that the news of the peace negotiations has pro-
duced a panic in the provision trade there, and
that already a serious fall has taken place in the
prices of pork, as well as of all kinds of grain.
The following is from the Constitution. of yesterday
morning :
" On Tuesday the buyers who had previously made
considerable purchases held back, and the farmers who
brought pigs to market could rot effect sales. The re-
suit was, that out of about 450 pigs nearly 200 remained
unsold. The remainder (273 in number) were sold at a
reduction of fully ss. from the previous day. Pork, which
had previously fetched 435., had to be sold at 335., which
was the top price obtained. 0 win; to the large num-
ber which remained unsold, the scrovcs in the market
were quite inadequate to store them, and they had to
be crowded on ladders, where they remained during the
night. The receipt of news, either confirmatory or in
denial of the previous intelligence, was anxiously looked
for, but no information could be obtained. The conse-
quence was that yesterday the panic continued, and the
sellers were forced to dispose of the stocks in market at
a ruinously low figure. The top price for prime pigs
was only 365. 6d. or 375., which sum, the parties allege,
was totally inadequate to renumerate them for their
outlay. One person from Fermoy stated that on a
lot of 100 pigs his loss was over 151. Should the
news of peace prove true, the consequence to the
large provision houses in this city will be serious. They
have had heretofore difficulties to contend against, one
of which is the great scarcity of casks. The journey-
men coopers have been at cross purposes with their em-
ployers, and frequently a bounty of 5/. or 6/. has had
to be given to a good workman for consenting to enter
on an employment. The consequence of the scarcity of
casks has been, that in the stores of the principal pro-
vision merchants the provisions are piled up, uncasked,
in immense quantities. It is stated also that, while the
contractor is bound to supply to Government the re-
quisite quantity of provisions, Government are not in
any way bound to the contractor, but can purchase
his provisions or not, just as they please. If five
casks in any 'lot' is condemned by tho examiners, the
entire lot may be refused. It is also stated that from
the casks in which the provisions are packed being
made of new timber the pickle quickly turns black,
and
iho
wphroeadtuctersadaen
kpep a
file
an
tt
of
pork,discoloration
ceedingly 'The quantity as yet sent into market
has not been large, as farmers were holding off in the
expectation of a rise in prices. The receipt of the news
which was published on Tuesday, however, will, it is
expected, cause a considerable quantity to be immedi-
ately thrown on the market, and, consequently, unless
the receipt of fresh warlike intelligence should give 'a
new turn to affairs, the prices of pork, wheat, and
oats may be expected to keep down for a few days.
Wheat was on Tuesday sold at 395. 6d. c currency,'
while the previous day's price was 425. ; and yester-
day's market gave a currency' of only 395. Oats
are going down in a similar ratio. The opinion, how-
' ever, among the merchants is, that the present circum-
stances are more of a panic than a reality ; and, giving
every reasonable degree of credence to the telegraphic
report, the general expectation is that ere long prices
will again be to the previous level."
The Cork Reporter, published on the evening of
the same day, adds—
" Pending the definite settlement of those ' Four
Points' which are just now bewildering the minds of all
agriculturists as well as statesmen, the markets will
continue in an unsettled state, and be characterised by
a want of confidence which cannot fail to have an in-

jurious effect on the provision trade. The immediate
declaration of a peace,. although a thing greatly to be
desired by the general community, it is thought would
be attended with serious results to parties largely en-
gaged in the provision business in this city, some of whom
obtained a large proportion of the late Admiralty an-
tracts, and have been actively engaged for some time
past in making preparations for the fulfilment of their con-
tract, notwithstanding that, by the terms of it, the Go-
vernment is not bound to take any portion of the lot for
the supplying of which the contractor 'is bound under
heavy penalties. To-day the markets were inactive,
awaiting further news from Vienna, or Borne warlike in-
telligence from the Crimea. The tendency, however,
was upwards, and the desponding tone which marked
them since Tuesday morning appeared to be passing
away. The banks are cautious notwithstanding. It is
stated that the scarcity of casks and the reluctance of
coopers to work have had an unsatisfactory effect on. the
pork trade. Salt, although there are no arrivals by
water, is not scarce. The price, however, has advanced
ls. or 25."
All the country cern markets have shared more
or less in the prevailing " panic." At Mullingar,
yesterday, oats fell from 16s. to lls. per barrel,
and other kinds of gain met a proportionate reduc-
tion.

A dividend of 2 per cent. for the half-year was also
declared at the meeting of the Commercial Dock Com-
pany held yesterday on the capital stoat, and also on
the New Four per Cent. Preference Stock, which would
be payable on and after the 22d inst.
sELOPEMENT AND MARRIAGE EXTRAORDINARY.—The

adage of " truth being sometimes stranger than fiction"
will appear from the subjoined brief narrative of a love
affair which has been communicated to us by a corres-
pondent. A certain farmer, a widower, who resides in
the county of Armagh, thinking that the only balm for
his grief at the loss of his wife would be to supply her
place with another, bethought him of a fair cousin, a
lady in her teens, residing in the county of Down, who,
according to report, was to have a round sum of cash
in her own right, bequeathed her by a deceased relative.
Full of this idea, the gay widower paid a visit to the
father of the fair one, by whom, as a relative, be was
hospitably received, not at all suspecting that the object
of his visit was to become still more nearly allied to bim.
As he was a relative, no danger was apprehended from
' allowing him to spend an occasional hour with the young
woman on whom he had placed his affections. This op-
portunity the wooer turned to so favourable an account
that after a few days he succeeded in getting her to
elope with him, he having procured a post car for the
purpose. The intended bridegroom, regardlese•Of the
caution against selecting the fox as a sentinel, brought
his intended to the house of a friend, a blacksmith, who
resides not a dozen miles from Coagh. This man also
was a widower, having no iacumbrance but one boy,
of about a year old. Between him and the young wo-
man a sudden attachment sprang up, and the son of
Vulcan, probably on this account, became enamoured of
the good-natured young girl, and being more youthful
and sprightly by far than the man she had eloped with,
at the expiration of the ten days, the time necessary to
fix their residence and to get the marriage license, when.'
they proceeded to Cookstown for that purpose she pre-
ferred sitting on the side of the car 'with the blacksmith,
who managed his point so well that he contrived to leave
the first wooer satin in the inn where they stopped,
and, accompanied by the frail one, procured the license
in his own name, leaving the county Armagh man to
proceed home alone, a sadder it not wiser man than
when he left. Ultimately the father of the young wo-,
man, accompanied by a friend, arrived in Coagh in Or•
suit of her, and finding how matters stood he gave his.
consent, and had the blacksmith and the girl married;
This romantic affair came off about.ten days since.—
. Tyrone Constitution.