The Sun.
London, England, 1855-04-05 00:00:00

THE 9U?, LONDONw THURSDAY PiVIZNINGi APRIL 1458,

their Church, may find it pleasant to have, in
addition, the plea of political expediency.
We repeat, then, let all the friends of religious
liberty do their duty during the recess. Let them
use Easter better than we fear the managers of
the War are using it. Church Rates are doomed.
Their defenders know they must surrender
ere long. Why should the battle be drawn out
session after session because their opponents do
not unite for one general decisive assault ? If the
country now performs its part, every Liberal M.P.
will place his name, and place it aright, on the
division lists of the second reading. The Govern.
ment will contribute its weight, and the majority
will be one which the GLADSTONES and PARING-
TONS will not venture to tamper with in com-
mittee, nor the "Upper House to ignore. Let all
remember, too, that a first reading is not a final
victory. The same victory was achieved last year,
and then, as now, by a majority of two to one,
though in a smaller house. We have had our
Church-rate Alma ; we must now learn wisdom
from the Crimea, and summon ali our forces to
the assault at once.

Every one who can contribute practical sug-
gestions for the reform of the Civil Service, de-
serves the thanks of the public. Amongst the
most practical which we have seen are many con-
tained in a pamphlet just issued, " Our Govern-
ment Offices" (Ridgway). The author proposes not
a revolution, but a reform, and thinks he sees the
way from the present officials to bring unity, or-
der, and efficiency out of disconnection, confu-
sion, and inefficiency. He writes with evidently
experimental knowledge of the subject, and since
a thorough rout out of the Augeari Stable is, in
the utter absence of any political HERCULES, im-
practicable, his proposals are made deserving of
public attention. Our governing classes may be
well assured that less than he proposes will never
satisfy the demands of an aroused nation, and
that, unless thus much be conceded, very much
more will soon be required, and no denial taken.
We have row men of the stamp of Messrs. LIND-
SAY, LAING, and PETO amongst our representa-
tives, and the days of the " PETER DICKS " are
numbered ; either they must turn themselves
into something better, or be turned out for some-
thing better. We will not go on paying millions
a-year for officials to trip it to Greenwich in busi-
ness hours, or stand gossiping over the Times with
their backs to the fire, while a respectable mer-
chant must go away with his account unsettled.
Our author attributes the deficiencies of the
civil service to the fact that its members are
placed under " a system where they have few
honours, few rewards, and little fear of penalties
for want of zeal or ability." They know that ,
their situations are practically permanent, and if ,
the pay be low, and the promotion slow, yet they
are in for life. "Every man, when he enters the
civil service thinks he has got a safe berth." If
he attends from ten till four, and does not disobey
orders, he is secure against dismissal. We all
know that these statements are simple facts, and
certainly any system which must prove more fatal
to energy and the development of ability can
hardly be conceived. The three gentlemen we
have just mentioned, or the wealthy heads of any
four large commercial establishments, would have
been sent by it long ago into the Bankruptcy
Court, instead of the House of Commons.

In remedying all this our author begins with
the conciliatory proposal of using all the present
staff ; no man is to be dismissed unless, perhaps,
incurably idle or incompetent ; he would merely
winnow, sift, and sort the present materials, and by
altering their prospects, responsibilities, and super-
vision, would bring all the latent and varied talent
to light, employ it where it is most wanted, and
leave the ordinary minds for ordinary and routine
work. Unity in the service is the first thing.
Instead of a number of independent departments
he would make the whole service so far one, that
all the ability should be available anywhere, and
capacity for one department showing itself in another
should be on system transferred to the former. The
I first thing to be done, and here every man of
business will thoroughly concur with the author,
is to make the " chiefs of departments responsible
for the efficiency of their departments." He would
dismiss every man from a chief post, ho never
great his merits in other respects, who could not
make his clerks do their duty. The dismissal of
a few would encourage the others to sacrifice with-
out weakness bad clerks. It follows, of course,
that considerable powers of promotion, and dis-
missal, and of other rewards and punishments
must be placed in the hands of the chiefs of de-
partments. Unless the head of an office could
make his authority felt very much as the princi-
pals in a commercial firm can do, he could
not be held responsible for the conduct
of the office. The author does not enter very
minutely into detail, but quite sufficiently se to
show the thorough practicability of his plan, all
his minor arrangements being directed to obtain-
ing a faithful record of the ability and zeal of the
servants of the public, and of insuring them pro-
motion and pay in proportion. There is wily
nothing proposed which Lord PALMERSTON could
not set in motion to-morrow, while, to say the
least, the improvement must soon be great and
conspicuous.

There is one fault which he has not noticed al.
most peculiar to Government offices—we mean
official impudence. With many honourable excep-
tions there are not a set of clerks throughout the
kingdom so rude, unaccommodating, and "snobbish'

as those in the pay of the State. Men of busi-
ness require their subordinates to treat their cus-
tomers with respect, and to facilitate the trans-
action of business to them. Railway companies,
and even omnibus proprietors, would dismiss an
uncivil servant after the second offence. The
PETER DICKS of the Government offices, however,
send you about perplexed from one office to
another ; and when, after all your bewilderment
in lobbies and corridors, you have opened the
right door, ten to one but you have to wait the
convenience of the idle, or to be snubbed, and
told,
"We do not give information," by some
with the men. who eat the public
Puppy of the desk. Nothing disgusts the pub-
lbircealndotrhean the h
abs
ence of any apparent dispo-
sition to oblige. You must pay them money ;
you must go through their forms ; you
cannot go to a comp cling office ; they are thorough
monopolists of the business you have to transact,
and like most mono p olists they do not care for
you. The public will reasonably think that when
persons go to pay rut )ney for the public service
they ought to be trey ted civilly; that every neces-
sary denial ought tot ,0 in courteous terms, and all
information possible ad Forded ; but they find it too
commonly the very rE verse. The next remedy for
all this ill-behaviour, this looking upon the nation's
customers as if ti i‘ 3y disturbed the repose of its
and one step towards •
servants, is, to pr inish it ,
doing so would b e to require each clerk to give
t '
his card to any or ie who asked for 11 and to keep
in a prominent pl ace a " complaint book" as is
done by railway companies. If incivility stood
in the way of -prymotion, or were visited with
decided censur, 33 we should hear no more of it. 1

COURT CIRCULAR.

Prince Albert, attended by Colonel Seymour, went
yesterday morning to the Wellingto❑ Barracks for the
purpose of inspecting the drafts of the three regiments of
Guards under orders for immediate embarkation to the
Crimea. The Prince remained nearly one hour in the
barracks. The troops were then marched to Bucking-
ham Palace, and were formed in the Grand Quadrangle,
where they marched past the Queen, who was accompa-
nied by the elder Royal Family and the Duke of Cam-
bridge, the Prince and Princess Angustn3 of Saxe Co-
burg, the Prince of Leiningen, and Prince Ernest of
Leiningen.

The —Prince and Princess Augustus of Saxe Coburg
took leave of her Majesty yesterday and quitted Buck-
ingham Palace, on their return to Claremont.
The Queen and Prince Albert left Buckingham Palace
at five minutes past 3 o'clock in the afternoon for Wind-
sor Castle. Her Majesty and his Royal Highness were
accompanied by the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal,
Prince Alfred, Prince Arthur, the Princesses Alice,
Helena, and LGui-a, Prince Leopold, and the Prince of
Leiningen, and were attended by the Duchess of Athol],
Lady Caroline Barrington, Hon. Caroline Cavendish,
Hon. Flora Macdonald, Earl Somers, Colonel the
Hon. C. Phipps, the Hon. Mortimer Sackville West,
Lord Charles Fitzroy, Colonel Seymour, the Master of
the H,iusehold, and Mr. Gibbs.
The Queen and the Prince were attended to their car-
riage by the Duke of Wellington, the Marquis of
Breadalbane, Lord George Lennox, and Colonel the
lion. A. N. Hood.

The royal party occupied seven carriages, and was
escorted by a detachment of Carbineers to the Padding-
ton terminus of the Great Western Railway.

WINDSOR, APRIL 4.
Her Majesty and Prince Albert, with the Royal
Family and Princo of Leiningen, attended by the Ladies
and Gentlemen in Waiting, arrived at the Castle soon
after four o'clock this afternoon from London.
The Duchess of Kent arrived to-day at her residence,
Frogmore House, from town.

Lieutenant Edward C. Sim was presented to the Queen
at the Levee on the 26th ult., by the Inspector General
of Fortifications,

The Duchess of Kent, attended by Lady Anna Maria
Dawson, Lady Fanny Howard, Baroness de Speth, and
Sir George Couper, left her residence, Clarence House,
St. James's, for Frogmore, yesterday.
Lady Anna Maria Dawson has succeeded Lady Fanny
Howard as the Lady in Waiting to the Duchess of
Kent.

Prince Ernest of Leiningen left Clarence House, s
James's, yesterday afternoon, for Portsmouth.

A Cabinet Council was held at the Foreign•ofce,
Downing-street, yesterday afternoon, The Ministers
present were Viscount Palmerston, the Lord Chancellor,
Earl Granville, the Marquis of Lansdowne, the Duke of
Argyll, Sir George Grey, the Earl of Clarendon, the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir Charles Wood, the
Right Hon. Vernon Smith, Sir William Molesworth,
Viscount Canning, and the Earl of Harrowby.

A deputation of Yorkshire newspaper proprietors from
Leeds had an interview with the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer yesterday at his official residence in Downing-
street, for the purpose of laying before him their unani-
mous views in favour of a halfpenny stamp on newspapers
to free the poet, and of a halfpenny stamped cover to
entitle unstamped copies of registered newspapers to a
single transmission through the post. The deputation
consisted of Mr. Edward Baines, of the Leeds Mercury,
Mr. Kemplay, of the Leeds lntelligencer, Mr. Alfred E.
Hargrove, of the York Herald, Mr. Leader, of the
Sheffield Independent, and Mr. J. V. Walker, of the
Halifax Guardian.
The Right Hon. E. P. Bouverie, Vice-President of
the Board of Trade, left town yesterday for Kilmarnock.
Despatches were received at the Colonial-office yester-
day from the Governor of Canada, and also from the
Governor of Gibraltar. Despatches were sent yester-
day to the Governors of the Australian Colonies.

Sir Benjamin and Lady Hall have left London for
Llanover, near Abergavenny, where they will pass the
Easter holidays.
The Earl of Cardigan arrived in Portman-square on
Monday, from visiting the Duke of Rutland, at Belvoir
Castle, Leicestershire.
The Earl of Cardigan has consented to preside at the
forthcoming anniversary dinner of the Yorkshire So-
ciety. Many gentlemen, we understand, have already
signified their intention to be present in compliment to
the noble lord. •
Sir Charles Fitzroy, K.C.8., late Governor-General
of Australia, has arrived at Farrance's Hotel, Belgrave•
street.

Miss Bus dat Coutts is in Suffolk for a few days visit
inn, a relative.

Mr. John Burder, of Parliament•street, secretary to
25 of the English bishops, died at his residence at Nor-
wood on Tuesday.
On the 22d ult. 170 cases of cholera were reported
at St. Petersburg.
The sittings of the Germanic Diet will be resumed on
the 12th.

General Tories, the Peruvian Minister to this coun-
try, arrived yesterday at SouthamptOn in the Tyne, and
proceeded to Silva's Hotel. _

A notice wai issued from the General Post-office yes-
terday, ordering all country Post-offices to be closed on
Good Fridays and Christmas-days, the same as on Sun-
days—that is to say, at 10 o'clock in the forenoon. No
money orders are to be granted or paid on those days,
and enly one delivery of letters is to be made.
The following clergymen have been appointed chap-
lains for the seat of war under the auspices of the So-
ciety for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign
Parts : —the Rev. John Escreet, M.A., curate of Camden
Town Chapel, St. Pancras ; the Rev. James Wallace,
M.A., curate of Littlebuiy; the Rev. Wm. Sykes, M.A.,
late curate of Ingoldesthorpe, Norfolk ; and the Rev.
J. d'Arcy Preston, DMA., curate of Kenilworth.
CAPTAIN MATHEWS.—Captain Mathews, late of the
Great Britain steamer, has been appointed Lloyd's
agent in Melbourne. Captain Mathews and his family
will leave in the White Star for Melbourne, and will
carry with him the high regards which his conduct as a
gentleman and a sailor of many years has universally
secured him.—Liverpool ,!tandard.
DEATH OF THE AUTHORESS OF " JANE EYRE."—We
regret to announce the death of Mrs. Nicol, formerly
Miss Bront4, who, under the nom, de plume of Currer
Bell, established a lasting reputation by the publication
of "Jane Eyre." We have two other novels from her
pen, "Shirley," and " Vilette," and all are especially
distinguished for great power of conception and vigorous
portrayal of character. The unfortunate lady, who was
the last survivor of a family of six, died on Saturday
last, at her father's house, at Haworth, Yorkshire.—
Manchester Guardian.

DRURY-LANE TLIEATRE.—WiIIiam Dunn, Esq., the
respected treasurer and secretary of this theatre, died at
his residence, Crown Hill, Norwood, Surrey, last even-
ing. Mr. Dunn was fifty-six years an officer in this
establishment, and no person was more respected by the
committee and gentlemen, as also by the various lessees.
His death will be a great loss to the management and
the committee.

METROPOLITAN SEWERS COMMISSION. —A special gene-
ral court of the commissioners was held yesterday at the
Court-house, Greek-street, to allow deficiencies, hear
summonses and appeals, make improvement rates, re-
ceive presentments of nuisances and other routine busi-
ness. The Court sat some hours, but no point of the
slightest public interest arose.
NORTHERN CIRCUIT.—LIVERPOOL, April 3.—The
great will case, the Earl of Sefton v. Hopwood, was ar-
gued at length by Sir F. Thesiger. At six o'clock the
court rose. The case was resumed yesterday and again
adjourned.
OXFORD CIRCUIT. —GLOCESTER, April 4.- -Mary Ann
Bryant was charged with feloniously throwing a child
named Hannah Selman into the water, with intent to
murder her. The prisoner pleaded guilty to the charge.
The particulars of this distressing case will be in the re-
collection of our readers, having been fully detailed in
The Sun of Saturday last. Mr. Baron Martin said he
had no alternative, and must direct that sentence of
death be recorded against the prisoner ; but his lordship
intimated that the sentenos would not be executed.
Sentence of death was recorded accordingly.
HOME CIRCUIT, KINGSTON, April 4.—Wiraus v.
SMITH AND ANOTHER.—This was an action against the
registered proprietors of the Daily News, for the publi-
cation of a libel in that journal. Mr. E. James, Q.C.,
appeared for the plaintiff, and said that the only object he
had in view was the vindication of his character, and, as
the defendants had admitted that the article which was
the subject of complaint had been inserted through in-
advertence, and that there was no ground for any im-
putation upon the plaintiff, he would consent to a no-
minal verdict that would carry costs. A verdict for 5
guineas was then taken for the plaintiff.
DEATH AT SCUTARI.—The following letter (says the
Nottingham Journal) has been received by the friends
of a young man named Wainright, a native of Not-
tingham :—" General Hospital, Scutari, Feb. 27, 1855.
Mr. Wainwright,—l write to acquaint you with the
death of your son Frederick, not only because I believe
you would rather know the worst than be kept in sus-
pense, but more particularly because I am able to tell
you things of his last sickness, which it will be a con-
solation for you to hear. His disease was diarrhoea.
He walked into the ward on his arrival, and seemed in
good spirits, though looking very thin. I iemember
' remarking to an old soldier who was assistinehim, that
the lad kept up his spirits, and he answered very
heartily, 'Yes, he is fit for a soldier.' The doctor
said that his chance of recovery was nourishing food.
He was tried with this. I know that lam writing
to a parent, so I cannot speak too minutely. On
the last day of his life he took two eggs beaten
up with brandy, two gills of port wine, and a quantity
of beef tea. He bore his acute sufferings very uncom-
plainingly. I felt much drawn towards him by the pa-
tience and meekness he exhibited, as well as by his affec-
tionate disposition, lie was quite aware of the near
approach of death. He told me one evening that I
should not, he believed, see him in the morning. I said,
I think not, Wainright.' I observed that for a moment
he looked distressed, and I asked if he wished to live ?
He said, 'Yes, a little longer.' What for ?' I said.
He at once, poor boy, began to compare earthly and
heavenly things, and ended by remarking, You may
well say what for.' He told me that he felt confident
his dear mother was in heaven, and he often, from words
which fell from him, appeared to be dwelling upon the
thought of their meeting. He knew nothing of his
brother. Your last letter was read to him on the morn-
ing of his death. I feel quite happy with respect to
poor Frederick. I trust that 'be has entered into his
rest.'—Yours sincerely, MARGARET; of the Devonport
Sisters of Mercy."

LATEST NEWS.

THE SIEGE OF SEBASTOPOL.

VIENNA, W - EDNESDAY, APRIL 4.

According to reliable advices from Balaklava
of the 29th of March, the regular operations

were to commence on the 3d of April.

BERLIN, WEDNESDAY.

General Wedell has set out to return to Paris.

LordiJohn Russell and M. Drouyn de I'Huys
decline the King of Prussia's invitation to Berlin.

The following is Prince Gortschakoff's account
of the sortie of the 23d March :

In the night from the 22d to the 23d March,

we made a powerful sortie from Sebastopol, in
order to prevent the enemy continuing his ap-
proaches on the hinette Kamschatka.
The affair terminated in our favour, and the
works constructed by the French within the last

few days were destroyed.
The loss on both sides was considerable, but

the enemy's was greater than ours.
We have taken two French officers, an English
colonel, and an English captain, prisoners.

The telegraph wire between Varna and Giur-
gevo is complete, but the apparatus has not yet
arrived. The telegraph between Semlin and
A lexinitz, in Servia—a distance of about 170
English miles—will be opened in a few clayq_ The
British Government has a bad reputation for
forethought, and people here offer to bat that no
fire-engines have been sent out dto the wooden
town at Balaklava.

THE BALTIC FLEET.
DOVER, THURSDAY, 11.15 A.M.
The Baltic fleet is in sight, and will pass Dover

at about 1 p.m.
The weather is very fine, with a light easterly

breeze.

FRANCE.
FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
PARIS, WEDNESDAY EVENING.
The reception of the news from Marseilles rela-
tive to the sortie on the 22d, has caused great ex-
citement, as it is looked upon as "the beginning
of the end." I have nothing of particular interest
to communicate to-day, further than I have heard it
reported that the mission of M. Drouyn de I'Huys,
or rather the ultimates n sent by him, is the destruc-
tion of the forts of Sebastopol. His instructions
are further to insist that the erection of forts at
Varna and Sinope would but be a source of trouble
instead of a solid counterbalance to the power of
Russia in the Euxine. Ido not vouch for the ac-
curacy of this information, but it is the talk in well-
informed circles, and I send it you.
The following is from a letter dated Paris,
yesterday, 6 p.m. :
_ _

- The telegraphic despatch from General Canro-
bert, published in the Moniteur of to-day, has given
rise to a good deal of comment ; and, owing to the
interval between the occurrence of the facts and the
date of the despatch announcing them—at least
seven days—has excited some suspicion that the
Government has received intelligence which it
does not like to publish. If any additional facts
are known people will have it that there can be
only one reason for not giving them, namely—
that they are of an unpleasant kind. The despatch
is as follows :

:" BEFORE SEBASTOPOL, MARCH 29.

"In a sortie, which th.© enemy made in the night
of the 22d against our works in front of the Ma-
lakhoff Tower, they were vigorously repulsed, and
had 2,000 men killed or wounded. Our losses do
not exceed 600 men."

unabio to account satisfactorily for the delay of
General Canrobert in transmitting this intelligence,

it is suggested that the Aronitettr has made -a
mis-
take, and that the 9 should be 6, or that it should
be "Constantinople, 29," and not " Sebastopol ;"
but the Constitutionnel, that must have had its
infatuation from the Fore ign-office, also speaks of
news of the 29th from Sebastopol of the same na-
ture, but adds that the French "remained mas-
ters of the position taken by them." Of this last
fact the Moniteur says ne,thing. News from Se-
bastopol we could have of the 29th by Varna, but
the despatch from Marseilles gives only intelligence
from Constantinople of the 26th. It is possible
that the Government is keeping in reserve, and,
by way of a bonne bouch s, some fact of astounding
success—perhaps the rei tii sation of the rumour of
Sunday last. Such as the present one is,
I rather think that the utmost will be made of it
before the country, and I should not be surprised
if it were the subject of ,a good deal of triumph,
and given as an indisputable proof that, if we
wished it, we could take !Sebastopol whenever we
please ; and that, if we de not take it, it is because
we do not wish it. Soiree ithing may be made of it
at the Conference.
' Being in the vein of criticism, I cannot help
noticing the mutilation Which the despatch of Lord
Raglan, dated Sebastopol, the 20th, suffers in the
Moniteur's fourth page as if it was desirable to
keep it out of sight. This; is particularly cruel so far
as the noble lord's despartches are concerned, for
they are never over bulky . The greater part of the
second paragraph, which s ;peaks of the heavy fire
of musketry, and the few • of " consid.erable loss"
having been sustained by " oair Allies," is
omitted. In the third paragro,pll the words
" but the fire to which I have abcrve alluded was
Iso continuous," are also left out. T 'hese omissions,
having reference to the injury in flitted on the
French, have been noticed general, ky, and would
explain, if they do not justify, the ; suspicion that
there is something—good or bad—l• rhich does not
meet the public eye. Taking the fa cts as given in
the Moniteur, the affair must have been a sangui-
nary one, considering the number d probably en,
gaged. The loss is equal to, if it d oes not exceed,
that of Eupatoria, where there wi ;re upwards of
50,000 men engaged.
The following private telegrs ,phis despatches
have been received to-day :
MARSEILLES, April 4.—By the y Simois we have
received accounts from Constantinople to the 26th
ult. All the Allied vessels w hick had been at
anchor in the Bosphorus have 1 Jean recalled to the
Crimea, and were preparing 'to start. All the
troops encamped round the B: iy of Kamieeh had
been also ordered to take up a , position nearer to
Sebastopol_ Lottors from Ba, laklava of the 20th
announce that the health of th a troops had much
improved. The English an: 'Ly had been rein-
forced. The news of the deg ,th of Prince Mens-
chikoff is confirmed ; it took p lace at Perekop on
the 17th, from a wound in . his leg, which had
mortified. The Austrian am iy of observation is
about to draw nearer to the Pr uth and the Danube.
The departures of merchant vi )ssels from Constan-
tinople for the mouths of the Danube were very,
rare, in consequence of the ui scertainty which pre-
vails as to the intentions of th( i Russian authorities.
Further shocks of earthquake , were felt at Broussa
on the 22d, but they were ni 3t so viol ent as before,
although sufficiently so to cre ate great alarm. The
English General Williams, wb ois invested with full
powersby the Sultan, confirm rlshisinqiiiries into the
disorders of the staff of the eurkish esrmy of Asia.
Several colonels are to be prosecuted, and severe
discipline among the troops i will be Ire-established.
The Turkish Government • of Mossoul, having re-
ceived reinforcements, hat 3 retaken the town of
Zabo from the Kurd ins, elves tts. The Ottoman
Porte has ordered a levy tre ops in Syria. Ac-
counts from Athens state that King Otho is pre-
paring a palace for the Empers Napoleon. The
banditti continue their outrage tt; throughout the ;
whole of the country, and pith I ge in every direc.
tion."

(SECOND DESPA.TC ;H.)
MARSEMES, 4th.—The ?is steam-packet has
just arrived with accounts fro) n Constantinople to
the 26th. .A.ali Pacha, the 11.11inister of Foreign
Affairs, was to leave or. the 21i.th for Vienna. Rizza
Picha, Turkiish Minister of Ni rar, had resumed his
functions. 111ustapna Pacha, ex-Grand-Visir and
father of V ely Pacha, ex-A mbassador to the
French Gov( 3rnzent, has been exiled. (The des-
patch conch- ides with the accom it of the affair of
the night of the 22d, published in the Moniteur
to-day.)

MADRID f 3d.—Lord. Howden, the British am-
bassador r ht this court, has addresi;ed to the journals
a commu- AicatiQn in opposition to the Ministerial

declarations, relative to the violent vets r t)t.,
adopted against the Protestants of Seville. The
Spanish Government will, it is said, make a com-
plaint to the English Government on the subject.
A letter from Frankfort, in the Patric, says—
" The dissension which exists between Austria and.
Prussia on the Eastern question, instead of be-
coming smoothed down, appears every day to be-
come more aggravated. The recent note of the
16th of M. de Manteuffel is not regarded here in a
sense favourable to the policy of Prussia. It ap-
pears to have widened the line of demarcation
existing between that power and Austria. How-
ever that may be, a serious misunderstanding
between the two first powers of Germany at a mo-
ment when events may render the assembling of
all the military forces of the Confederation neces-
sary, cannot but tend to neutralise the results
which that assembling might produce on the desti-
nies of a great partof Europ?. It maybe easily seen
that the armaments which were ordered in the
sitting of the Diet, on the Bth February, are, in
general, carried on with much less activity than
when they were first decided on. The petty states
take advantage of circumstances to postpone as long
as possible the period when their contingents must
be fully armed. The mobilisation of the federal
army, which Austria so strongly urged only about
a month ago, now appears indefinitely postponed.
At several of the late sittings here the question
was not even alluded to."

It is generally remarked (says a letter from
Vienna) that Count Esterhazy, the Austrian en-
voy, isolates himself in a very marked manner from
all the official receptions ; he no longer makes his
appearance in the salons of our statesmen, and no
one here would be astonished at hearing that the
Austrian Government had granted him an unlimited
leave of absence.

Prince Jerome and his son Prince Napoleon paid
a visit yesterday to the interesting plan of Sebas-
topol in relief by Mr. Wyld. They requested to
have a private view. They arrived at half-past
1 o'clock, and remained till past 5. During this
long visit the Prince pointed out to his father the
scenes of the combats of Inkermann and Bala-
klava, and explained in detail the positions of the
Allies and the progress of the works, which are, it
appears, up to the latest date. Both Princes ap-
peared much pleased with the execution of the plan.
The Courrier de Marseille of the 4th inst. says :
—" It appears that fresh orders detain, for the
present. the battalions of valtiffeurs of the guard
at Marseilles and Avignon. It is the Ist regiment
of these fine troops which is in this city waiting for
embarkation. As to the foot chasseurs and the
two battalions of gendarmes of the guard their de-
parture has been momentarily countermanded,
and they remain in Paris."

BOURSE, APRIL 4.—CLOSING PRICES.
Cash. fr. c. End of Month.
4?i, per Cer ts 94 10 941. 50e.
3 per Cents 69 80 70f. 20c.
Credit Mobilier Bl7 50 Roman
Credit Foncier 540 Austrian
Belgian Five 5........ 95i— Spanish Threes
Piedmontese — Home Debt