The Sun.
London, England, 1864-12-26 00:00:00

AMERICA.

QUEENSTOWN, Saturday Morning.
The Cunard Royal Mail steamer China, from New
York on the 14th inst., has arrived.
The Canadian Court has discharged the St
Aiban's and Lake Elie raiders, on the ground of
want of jurisdiction.
In the House of Representatives at Washington
the original joint resolution in relation to the Re-
ciprocity Treaty, reported by the Committee on
Commerce last April, was again under consideration.
In April, it appears,---.
The preamble only was at that time acted on ; and this
among other things, declares that nearly all the articles
which Canada has to sell are admitted into the United States
free of duty; while heavy duties are now imposed upon
many of those articles which the people of the United States
have to sell, with the intention of excluding them from the
Canadian markets; and further, that the President of the
United States during the first session of the 36th Congress
caused to be submitted to the House an official report set-
ting forth the inequality and injustice existing in our pre-
sent intercourse with Canada, subversive of the true intent
of the treaty, owing to the subsequent legislation of Canada
with the view of carrying on commercial intercourse recip-
rocally beneficial and satisfactory to both parties. A reso-
lution was appended authorising and requiring the Presi-
dent to give notice to the British Government that it is
the wish and intention of the Government of the United
States to terminate the treaty, unless a new convention
shall before the end of ten years from the negotiation of
this treaty be concluded betwesn the two Governments, by
which the provisions shall be so modified as to be
mutually satisfactory to both Governments; also autho-
rising the President to appoint three commissioners
for the revision of the treaty, and to confer with other
commissioners duly authorised therefore, whenever it
shall appear to be the wish of the Government of Great
Britain to negotiate a new treaty. The preamble having
been adopted last session, the question recurred on the
adoption of the resolution, but this was superseded by a
substitute offered by Representative Morrill, merely request-
ing the President to give to the Government of Great Bri-
tain and Ireland the notice required for the termination of
the treaty, without any reference whatever to a new one.
The Senate has yet to act upon the subject.
The proposals for navy yards at New London and
League Island were by a majority of 30 ordered to
lie on the table.

information reached the Navy Department that
the Federal gunboat Otsego, Commander Arnold,
was sunk a few days ago by a rebel torpedo in the
Roanoke river, six miles above Plymouth, North
Carolina. The torpedo was attached to a log and
floated in the river, and as the Otsego was moving
up the river on a recounaisance, she struck the tor-
pedo, which txploding caused her to sink. There is
only six feet of water in the Roanoke river where
she went down. She will be raised and repaired
No person on board was injured.
The commercial steamer Maria was blown up on
the Mississippi, and 26 persons killed.

The Commercial Advertiser, a Republican paper,
announces the probability of another draught :
Although the country was assured by Solicitor Whiting
and by various other official outgiviugs just previous to the
Presidential election that the last draught had been success-
ful, and that the Government had obtained all the men and
even more than was needed to capture Richmond, cut the
railroad communication of the entire South, and end the re•
bellion, yet scarcely had the result of the election been an-
nounced, when the provost marshal general issued orders
for a revision and correction of the enrolment in all the
States ; and from this order and other official and unofficial
announcements and hints there is now a very general im-
pression in the public mind that another draught is soon to
be made.
The Advertiser adds :

The people are not generally aware of the fact (and it
would hardly seem that the Government itself is conscious
of it)t hat since the Ist of February last, a period of little
more than 10 months, the President has issued calls for
volunteers and ordered draughts to fill quotas not filled by
volunteering, to the number of 1,200,000 men.

General Dix hes requested the newspapers to re-
frain from giving descriptions of the defences of
New York, so that information may not be given
to the enemies of the Government.

The bloekade-runner Ella has been destroyed. A
fortress Munroe despatch of the 9th says :__,

To-day the news came that the steamer Ella, for Ber-
muda, was chased on the stia inst. by the gunboat Emma—
after having passed the outer blockade—and run ashore near
Smith's island, under the rebel batteries. A boat expedition
was fitted out from the Emma,under Ensign Samson,which
boarded the blockade-runner and fired her in a number of
places, so that she was soon enveloped in flames. The
rebel batteries on shore were meanwhile pouring a heavy
fire. The Ella, which was a splendid vessel, had a valu-
able freight of arms and munitions of war. They were all
destroyed, as it was impossible to bring them off.

The iollowing official despatch relating to Shet-
man's movement has been published

War Department, Washington, Dec. 13, 8 p,m.

TO MAJOR GENERAL DIX, NEW YORK.

The Richmond papers of yesterday report General Sher.
man at Bloomingdale, 15 miles from Savannah, on Satur-
day. He is reported by this morning's papers, as will be
seen by the following telegram from General Grant, to be
in line. of-battle not five miles from Savannah :

City Point, Virginia, Dec. 13.

HON. E. H. STANTON, SECRETARY OF WAR.

Richmond papers of to-day contain the following. The
Richmond Despatch says :

Sherman is near Savannah, probably not five miles
distant. He has not yet made an attack. It is still doubt-
ful whether he will do so, or make for the coast southeast Of
the city. It is very certain he has not opened communica.
tion with the coast, though he may do so very soon.

LATER.

A telegraphic despatch from below Charleston state that