The Sun.
London, England, 1863-01-12 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVgNING, JANUARY 12, 1863

•
0 YAL ENGLISH OPERA, COVENT-
u GARDEN.
Under the Management of Miss Louisa Pyne and Mr. W.
Harrison, Sole Lessees.
THIS EVENING, to commence with RUY BLAS : Miss
Louisa Pyne, Miss Susa,, Pyne, Miss Thirlwall. and Madame
Laura Baxter; Messrs. Santley, Patey, Lyall, AynsleyCooke,
E. Dussek, and W. Harrison.
Conductor—Mr. A. Mellon.

After which, the Grand Comic Christmas Pantomime, en
titled SARLEQUIN BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.
Doors open at hall-past 6—Commence at 7.

THEATRE-R Y A 14, DRURY-LANE.-
Lessee and Manager, Mr. Fdmnnd Falconer.
THIS EVENING, the Comio Drama of THE NEXT OF
After which, the Grand Pantomime of LITTLE GO DDT
TWO SHOES. . _

Commence at 7.

THEATRE-R 0 YAI HAY MARKET.
Lessee. Mr. J. B. Buckstone.
THIS EVENING, at Seven o'clock, will be performed
Lilt AMERICAN COUSIN. Asa Trenchard, Mr. Buck-
stone ; Lord Dundreary, Mr. Sothern.
After which, a new and original Extravaganza, entitled
RASSELAS, PRINCE OF ABYSSINIA; or, The Happy
Valley. Rasselas, Miss Louise Keeley.
Concluding with MRS. WHITE.

THEATRE-ROYAL LYCEUM OPEN, under
the Sole Management of Mr. FECHTER.

THIS EVENING (NIONDAY), January 12th, and every
evening during the week. to commence with an Ori.anal
Sketch, entitled A SUDDEN ATTACK. Messrs. Shore,
Garden, H. Widdicomb, Miss llenrade, and Mrs. Lee.

After which, at a Quarter to Eight, a New Romantic
Drama, in Three Acts, and Pr)logue, entitled THE
DUKE'S MOTTO, by Paul Feval and John Brougham.
The principal character will be sustained by Mr. Fechter,
supported by Messrs. G. Vining, J. Brougham, H. Ni Iddi-
combe, W. M'lntyre, F. Charles, Garden, Raymond, E.
Butler, Dawson ; Misses Carlotta Leclercq, Kate Terri, •
Lavenue, and Elsworthy.
Mr. Phelps and Mr. W. Montgomery are eng,aged,
and will
shortly appear,
to commence
Doors open at half-past Six, perform/01,r
net £2 2s. Places
at Seven. Private Boxes, £2 12s. dd.. 7;- ss. sd. ; Upper
C
registered. Stalls, 6s. 6d. ; Dress I
61.4 ; 'Dress Circle, Cs.
Circle, 4s. 6d. Prices at doors—Ste ila,
is . No half-price. Box-
Upper Circle, 4s. ; Pit, 2s. • GailerY,
office open daily from The publio are entreated to
11 t 1141.5..
de the occupants of boxes,
take notice that no char IV - al bitls or for the safe keep-
box places, or stalls, either to that ay
and the attendants in all parts
ing of hats and cloak* -..
of the house are forbid; eau Vining.eceive any gratuities whatever
.
Mr. G. Acting-Manager, Mr. H.
Stage-
manager,
Barnett.

_ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE,
Lessee and Manager, Mr Lindus.

THIS EVENING, THE TRIPLE ALLIANCE. Mr. H.
Marston, Mr. Wallace ; Miss Constance Aylmer, Miss M.
Oliver. and Mrs. B. White.
A fter which, the New Grand CHRISTMAS PANTOMIME,
A‘ RIQUET WITH THE TUFT; or, Harlequin and Mother
Siiipton." Mr. G. Belmore, Mr. C. Seyton, Misses Gray and
fi udspeth, Mr. Milano, Mr. R. Power, Miss A. Collinson, and
Mr. Raiford.

IVEW ITIRATRE-R0 YAL, ADELPHI.-
-1-1 Sole Proprietor and Manager, Mr. B. Webster.

THIS EVENING, THE LI I TLE THE X SURE. Mr
Billington, Mr. R. Phillips, and Miss Marie Wilton.
After which, A TICKET OF LEAVE : Messrs. J. L.Toole,
r. Bedford, and Mrs. Billington.
To conclude with " GEORGE DE BARNWELL
or, Harlequin Folly in the Realms of Fancy." Miss Woolgar,
Miss K. Kelly, Miss Seaman ; Messrs. J. L. Toole, P. Bed.
ford, S'Sephenson, C. J. Smith. Harlequin, Mr. John Lauri
Columbine, Miss Caroline Adams ; Clown, Mr. W. Hildyarda
ntaloon, Mr. J. Paulo. The celebrated Arthur an'
ertrand.

Commence at 7.

The VTBATHER.—Sun Office, Jan. 11, 1863.

THERMOMETER.
Highest since Noon yesterday
Lowest during the night
This day at Noon .

Barometer-29.85.

Wind—North-E.; light, with dull rainy weather.

JANUARY 12.
Highest since Noon yesterday .. 37
Lowest during the night .. 26
This day at Noon
- -

Barometer-30.14.
Wind—S.-W.; light, fine but cold.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
THIS DAT.—Morning, 6b. 25m.—Afternoon, 6h. 47m,
To-monnow.-Morning, 7h. 9m.—Afternoon, 7h. 30m,

4 4,,
H.l

qb
..-TZ I It

LONDON, MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 1863,

"Water," quoth that old Sea Porkypine and
genuine Yarmouth Bloater, Mr. PEGGOTTY, in the
penultimate chapter of David Corperfield," water
('specially when 'tie salt) comes nat'ral to me ; and
friends is dear, and I am here.—Which i 8 verse,'
said Mr. PEGGOTTY, surprised to find it out,
though I hadn't suds intentions." A whimsical
correspondent of our esteemed contemporary the
Examiner has just now " found it out" for us.
Meaning by it precisely such another undesigned
breaking forth in rhyme: what some among the
rhymsters of the last generation were wont to desig-
nate by the euphonious and sesquipidalian title of
"unpremeditated verse." Our own 'opus salami,
in this wise, running the words into jingling har-
mony with each other, upon New Year's day, of
all good days in the year—in celebration, as it
happened, of the unusually propitious financial
situation for the current twelvemonth. Reading
our own words as they come echoed back to us in
the columns of the Examiner of Saturday, by
the facetious voice of its observant correspondent
" X," we can only exclaim, surprisedly, in the
language of Mr. PEGGOTTY, " Which is verse—
though I hadn't such intentions ! " Descending,
however, again to humble prose, as to a medium in
every way more befitting the theme descanted
upon, as well as more suitable to the unambitious
manner of a Journalist, we cannot but still rejoice
in unrhythmical accents over the unusually fair
prospect immediately opening up just now before
the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

After a year of gloom, and even of disaster, there
is a reasonable probability of the right hon. gentle-
man finding himself much more agreeably prepared
to open his Budget before the House of Commons
than circumstances have permitted him to be during
several past seesions. A twelvemonth of royal and
loyal mourning, of political stagnation, of mercantile
calamity and social privation throughout the north-
west provinces of England, of fierce conflict among
the divided States of the North American republic,
of continued expenditure upon an enormous scale
in all our warlike departments ! A twelvemonth
thus painfully characterised from first to last has
nevertheless closed—with a balance-sheet left in the
r ands of Mr. GLADSTONE, showing something like
a round surplus of two millions, upon a comparison
of the national incomings and the national out-
goings. The uppermost thought with everyone on
realising which especially gratifying fact—a fact
especially gratifying, as we have intimated, from
the circumstance of its coming to us at the end
of so many and of such protracted privations—
the first thought with everyone will be in
the words of the Novelist ordinarily sitting
opposite Mr. GLADSTONE, the Novelist who
once upon a time sent this very Mr. GLADzTONE to
Corfu in a moment of difficulty, as Lord High Com-
missioner Extraordinary—the first and foremost
thought with us all will be, " What wall
do with it ?" With this surplus
." looming up so
agreeably before the nation, to the extent of some-
where about £2,000,000? A surplus tolerably
sure of being still further enhanced by certain
as yet undetermined modifications in the extent, as
well as in the distribution, of the National Ex-
penditure. For, without iu any way diminishing
cur military or maritime forces as they are at
present constituted—a diminution, this, which no
true 'yin- lot amongst us cAn be in any way
desirous of witnessing—it is still perfectly within
reason that there should be divers abatements in
t "Se gigantic disbursements that we all wot of
but too wall—disbursements that have drained
qar
the Exc.:he ,of late, so lavishly and copiously :
but that need drain it now no longer, at tiny

rae, upon the same gigantic scale. v Enhancing
the actual surplus that may be found in hand,
when the right hon. gentleman, the Chancellor
of the Exchequer, shall have unfolded his final •
cial scheme for 1863-'64, enhancing the realized
£2,000.000 by(say)another£2,ooo,ooo realizable by
some rational determination at last to economize--11
" What will he do with it ?" He, the Chancellor
of the Exchequer, with it, this doubly-welcome ant.-

plus of, we will suppose (not unreasonably let us
Lope), a substantial total of £4,000,000 ? It is ann-

ther only of the more agreeable kind of dilemmas in
which a Chancellot of Exchequer (always in
dilemmas of some sort, good, bad, or indifferent)
gladly groans to find himself! What remissions
will he make under these pleasant contingencies
And how w ill he make them ? While Mr. GLAD-
STONE'S plans are yet determining, in his
mind, in his own heart, and judgment, and
conscience, it is allowable, and at the same time can
hardly be either idle or impertinent, to conjecture
by anticipation.

There are those cruel war duties still levied,
pertinaciously upon tea and sugar,during
years for England (happily andthanks bt e
be to
heaven !) of peace. Duties that, upon tea alone'
might readily enough with such a surplus as we
hand—be dropped at once
to the extent of
an annual million and
are talking of in
a half. Mr. GLADSTONE has done so much of late
years for the increase of the comforts of all th e
wine-bibbers in this community that, ifjonly by way
of compensation to the genius of sobriety, he might
facilitate the access now of poor and rich alike, but
especially of the hard-working poor, to "the cup
that cheers but not inebriates." There is then,
we repeat, a possible, nay, we will venture to
express it a probable diminution of the tea
duty at any rate, to the extent of an annual sum of
£1,500,000. The war duty on sugar might, in some
way also, be modified. And as affording another
and a very considerable section of the industrious
classes in this country the opportunity of more
readily smoking the calumet of peace in celebration
of the peace, the Chancellor of the Exchequer may
even find it in his heart to lower the import duty
upon tobacco—doing this even, we might suggest
to him, to the material advantage of the revenue.

Above all there is the abhorred, and with many,
we fear, the almost accursed Income-tax. Levied
during this last year at the rate of three and
three-quarters per cent., or ninepence in the pound
sterling, upon the incomes of the population, it has
yielded, rather surprisingly, a sum of upwards of
£11,000,000 altogether. Surprisingly, we say,
because in the calculations made for some years
past in regard to the proceeds of the Income-tax,
that Tax is well known upon the average to yield
for every penny £1,100,000 or thereabouts. Conse-
quently ninepence in the pound would at this rate
ordinarily pour into the Exchequer £9,900,000, or as
near as possible £10,000,000 altogether. This year
it has produced, however, as we have said, more than
£11,000,000, probably from the circumstance of
certain hitherto unpaid arrears dropping in. How-
ever this may be—there is the fact—and there, in con-
nection with that fact, comes back to us the all wel-
come reflection that now at length Mr. GLADSTONE
has before him a portion at least of his long looked-
for and, for some time past, almost despaired of
opportunity. He may ease the boot precisely
where it most sorely pinches the goutiest member
of poor burly old overburdened JOHN BULL. Re-
mit the War Tax among War Taxes, this Income
Tax in toto (meaning no pun)—he cannot be ex-
pected to do, of course. But modify it—allay the
cruelty of it—he may very readily now do, if he so
pleases. Dropping twopence from the ninepenny
rate at present imposed upon the community, he
would relieve the nation at once to the extent of
about two millions sterling. A ninepenny Income
Tax still securing a goodly sum to the Exchequer
of nearly £8,000,000 altogether. Before the
momentous evening can arrive when the House of
Commons shall again have mustered in unusual num-
bers to listen to the great annual oratorical display
of our Arch Financier, let Mr. GLADSTONE "think
well on 't," and that betimes. All his shortcomings
of late years—and they have been numerous, Heaven j
knows, in regard to the revision of the Income Tax,
if in regard to nothing else—may at length, if he
but wills it, be swept out of view and forgotten.
In which event—though we affect not in any way
to be numbered amongst his more infatuated ad-
mirers—none would rejoice more he artily than
ourselves.

The Scotia brings ns news which completes the
American year. The details both military and

political are of some interest, but we cannot see in
them, as some do, anything indicating an approach
to the termination of this monster war. It is singu-

lar that we receive at the same time a solemn long-
worded proclamation of JEFFERSON DAVIS against
General BUTLER and all his commissioned officers,

and the announcement that General BANKS has

arrived at New Orleans to supersede BUTLER, and,

doubtless, to inaugurate a better reign over New

Orleans and Louisiana. The proclamation of DAVIS
is one of the weakest things we have yet seen issued
by that able man. Its principle is retaliation for
injuries to rebel citizens of New Orleans, the proof
of which must be very imperfect, while to resort to
vengence on other innocent persons is a precedent
equally bad and futile. It can but embitter the war
without doing anything towards expediting its
termination. With one consent in England we have
reprobated some acts of General BUTLER; but the
one which excited such indignation here was ex-
plained in a very different sense to that in which it
was at int understood. Let, however, any of our
readers turn to the undeceiving accounts of
New Orleans, furnished by the invaluable,
because impartial, as well as graphic pen
of the Times' late correspondent from America, Dr.
RUSSELL, in his book recently published, and he
will see that Gen. BUTLER has had to keep in order
what was little better than a rebel Sodom. Dr.
RUSSELL, we must confess, opened oar eyes to the
meaning of the New Orleans bitterness against
BUTLER, and we cannot believe it to have, in the
main, any other source than that of ruffianism and
rascality finding itself suddenly brought face to
face with a sharp but half-humorous fellow who
would " stand no nonsense."

In all probability BUTLER was very fond of the tit-
for-tat sort of school-girl treatment of the un manage-
ables whom he had to control. His reported pro-
ceedingstherefore, too much of the air of
smartness for the doings
of a public administrator.
have,
I'll be even with you, and have the laugh on my
A rather undignified
side," seemed to be his motto.
one for a General governing
by martial law and
commanding the army of the Gulf. yet it is re-
markable that even the letters
of complainants
which have reached us from New Orleans have be-
trayed that the individuals who smarted under
BUTLER had endeavoured first to make him
smart, all they could. In many cases his re-
tribution wanted dignity, or was too severe,
but, by the informant's own showing, in no
case was it unprovoked. The aew General and the
old one met as old friends. From the antecedents
of BANKS, whom we knew before as Speaker in the
House of Representatives, and as a General since the
war, there is no reason to expect anything from
him of the undignified irritation and tit for-tat'
policy of BUTLER. His proclamation, on taking
the command, is couched in conciliatory language;
all possible respect to private rights and feelings is
promised, and half his remarks are devoted to rea-
soning with the people. He adopts, of course, the
Washington view, and shows that the vast Valley
of the Mississippi will never consent to be deprived

of its outlet to the ocean. He calls, therefore, on
the people of the South-west to accept the condi-

tions imposed on them by geographical and com-
mercial necessities, and thus to become the entre-
pots of the wealth of such a vast region.
The war in the South-west—now becoming as
important as that on the Potomac, perhaps more so
—is in a doubtful position. BANKS' squadron was
plainly intended to strengthen the expedition which
is to attack Vicksburg, and to complete the opening
of the Mississippi. It has already begun to operate
• for that purpose, and Baton Rouge and Port
Hudson, still higher up the river, have been
occupied by an expedition from New Orleans.
The military and land news is not, however,
favourable to the Federals. The destruction and
evacuation of the works at New Madrid by the
Federals can scarcely have had other than stra-
tegic reasons, as they are so near Cairo, and so easy
to be supported thence. Bat General GRANT, though
not surrounded, as was at one time feared, had been
compelled to fall back, to make Memphis itself,
instead of a more advanced position like Holly
Springs just captured by the Contederates, the base
of his operations, and thus the military aid which
he could render to the expedition about to move on
Vicksburg is considerably delayed. Perhaps he
may be effectually kept back, and it must be remem-
bered the fleet alone, last year, could not capture
Vicksburg. Perhaps, as reinforced by BANKS, it may
be, however, strong enough for that purpose. We
find also the Confederate Generals again at Corinth,
and also holding the railroad between Columbus
and Jackson ; that is, cutting off an important line of
communication of the Federals in Kentucky and
Tennessee. In this quarter we also read of balanced
successes ; General MORGAN, the famous Guerilla
Captain, captures Elizabeth Town, quite in the
north of Kentucky, destroys a portion of the rail-
road which connects it and Louisville with Nash-
ville, the capital of Tennessee, still occupied by the
Federals, and rides off with 600 prisoners. On the
other hand, General HERRON, in Arkansas, captures
the town of Van Buren, much war material in that
far west state, and 100 prisoners; both successes
occasioning more temporary in convenience,probably
than altering at all the relative position of parties.
On the Potomac all is quiet enough, if we except
the beating up of the Federal quarters, their rear
we should rather say, by STUART and his cavalry
once more. This is the second time since BURNSIDE
has been on the Rappahannock that STUART has
visited .Dumfries far in the rear of the former. Bu
he visited also other places yet further north,
towards Washington; Accotick, the most northerly
not being more than twenty miles from it. BURN-
SIDE has the river to keep up his supplies, but the
Washingtonians will hardly like to have the Con-
federate ca., alry riding almost up to their gates.
The Alabama continues her " raids" at sea, which
must be very galling to the merchants, as it has
sent up marine insurance two per cent.

We have no authentic information respecting the
Proclamation for the Ist of January. The Demo-
crats are doing their utmost to denounce it, and to
prevent its appearance. They have summoned a
convention of the loyal States—requesting New
Jersey to take the lead in an endeavour to arrest the
war; the proposed place of meeting is Louisville, in
Kentucky, by which it appears the Border States are
to be made prominent in the proposed convention.
The time proposed is "February next," but by that
time events may have occurred which will only
fan the flame yet hotter. If the Mississippi should
by that time be quite opened, or if the proclamation
should have been issued, and begun to tell on the
Slave States, it is hardly probable that the North will
be likely to listen to any terms of accommodation.
On one point the PRESIDENT is showing
his usual caution. He hesitates to sign the
bill constituting Western Virginia a sepa-
rate State. His Cabinet are formally con-
sulted on its constitutionality and expediency.
It is in truth a ticklish question, on the constitu-
tional ground the PRESIDENT has always taken ;
and so strong is his feeling in that direction that it
is expected he will veto the bill.

The announcement that Parliament will meet on
the sth of February naturally disposes one to think
of the prospects of the future. At a momentous
epoch like the present what might appear to the un-
initiated trifles light as air become to the more ex-
perienced proofs of confirmation strong. It seems
a significant threatening of some change in the
political horizon, this list in the Gazette of a new

" batch of Baronets." Of course there is nothing
official or orthodox on which rumour can speculate,
but as straws show which way the wind blows, so
this trivial occurrence may be the precursor of an
event that is of some importance.

We have often seen how shortly such a circum-
stance as this has been followed by the retirement
of the Ministry who conferred the dignities. Know-
ing too well the secrets of the situation before a

minutest hint has been whispered in outer circles they

at once seek to secure the services of those whose

aid and assistance may stop the fall, or at least
avert its consequences. There is nothing to find

fault with in this ; and, if there were, it would be
one of a universal kind, for all parties follow the

same course and adopt the same tactics. It is a

natural feeling in human nature to avail oneself of
every opportunity before the day for the exercise
of power has gone by. In some of the instances

referred to there is every reason to be pleased with
the selection of Ministers. Foremost among these
is Mr. WILLIAM BROWN, of Liverpool. This gen-
tleman's name is too well known to need much
comment, and his merit is too well recognised for
the new dignity conferred to increase its lustre.
Such a man imparts more honour to his title than
the acquisition can confer upon himself. The
establishment of a Free Library et Liverpool was a
noble act, and he could hope for no better
monument to be a lasting testimony to
his name and fame throughout the
length and breadth of the land. Mr. FRANK
CROSSLEy of Halifax is another local benefactor.
He gave a fine park adjoining the town for the
benefit and recreation of the working classes. The
1
other gentlemen are doubtless estimable men in a
private capacity, but it is to be questioned if they
have not been chosen for this honour more on
account of their probable services to Government 1
I than of their claims on public gratitude, or peculiar
aptitude for high places in the community. If
merit had been made the sine qua non in the selec-
tion,a there are many' others more deserving of the
rs as if those in authority had
honour. It bppt4
gone as far as
poz3ible to seek for recipients of their
favours, and in every instance it is in politics,
that honours have been taken. No other claim has
been allowed to weigh in the balance,
but that of the
candidate being qualified to prove his gratitude
afterwards in the letter as well as the spirit, It
may be that nothing more will transpire of this
accession to the Baronetage of the United Kingdom
and when the on dits of the nine days' wonder are
over, the affair may lapse into oblivion, and be only
regarded as a minor event. It may be, however,
and only time can prove the contrary, that it is the
forerunner of greater things, and will hereafter be

ranked among the signs and tokens that herald the
advent of coming changes.

It is a melancholy fact that both the Admiralty
and Board of Trade have failed to enact regulations
to prevent collisions between vessels. Stringent
laws have been passed regarding the lights to be
carried by steamers, sailing vessels, and ships at
anchor. The rules for the steering of ships meet-
ing, or in proximity, are strict; but, notwith-
standing all this, a sort of secret magnetic influence
seems to prevail—we should call it the attraction
of collision, which in an unaccountable manner
causes vessels to come in contact, although
they may have sighted each other a mile
apart. A fatal accident occurred last Friday
in Southampton Water, by which three lives were
sacrificed and other individuals injured. It would
be unfair while the inquest is unconcluded to make
any comments on the conduct of those concerned.
The probability is that nobody was to blame, but
that the accident was brought about by some mis-
conception of the course taken by one of the vessels,
or some deviation from the course laid down to be
followed by the respective ships. The question then
' aris?s, are the regulations as clearly defined as is
necessary for the safety of human life and valuable
property. The pilots of all our ports have to pass
a strict examination to test their competency before
they can obtain a certificate, and it is but natural
to suppose that they understand their duty. But the
question may be asked—dothey not stand too much
upon punctilio, as to the rights of the vessel they are
for the time being in charge of. We do not suggest
that in the above accident such was the case. Two
of the unfortunate pilots lost their lives in the dis-
charge of their duty ; but how should the collision
have come about in fine weather on a clear morning,
or night, for the collision
o o morek
place properly,t 20 minutes
and the morning is
perhaps,
to even,
reported to have been a beautiful bright one. The
t
facts are simple. The Peninsular and Oriental li
Company's steamship Ceylon, which had just ar-
rived from Alexandria, ran into and cut down the
brig Ridesdale, which was being towed out of the
river on her way to the West Indies. The
Ceylon sustained but little damage; the brig
foundered in a few minutes. How was it
that this collision could not have been
prevented. Perhaps some light may be thrown on
the matter before the Coroner. In the meantime
can no plan be thought of and applied to enable
steam-ships to speak to each other, or give warning
of their proximity in the dark, and thus call atten-
tion to their lights, as a locomotive railway
engine can ? Surely their lungs are as powerful,
and all Europe, and in fact all the world,
is by this time acquainted with the
whistle of a steam engine. Why could not signals
be arranged to signal the whereabouts of a ship the
' same as of a train ? They Ilug • ht be laid down, for
instance, at Southampton, for all steamers rounding
Calshot Castle to give
a particular whistle, and
although perhaps incomprehensible to lands-
men, a " boatswain's pipe" would be under-
stood by pilots and seafaring men. A fog shell
is a nautical institution, yet we doubt if it can be
heard nearly so far off as the whistle of a railway
engine. Some alteration, and that speedily, is re-
quired in the system which enables vessels in clear
weather to try conclusions as to their powers as
rams, as it would seem, without the authority of
their commanders or crews.

LYCEUM THEATRE.

MR. FECHTER'S MANAGEMENT.

The great theatrical event of the day, to which all play-
goers have been looking forward for several months with
so much interest—Mr. Fechter's entrance on management
—occurred at this theatre on Saturday evening, under
every circumstance of success. As it was known that Mr.
Fechter had associated Mr. Phelps with his experiment, and
was also in treaty with Miss Helen Faucit, our most poetic
tragic actress, it was supposed he would commence with
Shakspere, in which he had won so much celebri, y, both
with the view of confirming his position in the highest
pathway of the drama, and also carrying out in a general
system of production that peculiar principle of a refined
realism which is so distinctive of his genius, and which has
given rise to so much controversy. The particular period,
however, at which he opens, and his inability to produce a
Christmas novelty, owing to the alterations required in the
theatre, seem to have rendered it more politic that he should
commence with a romantic drama, as a prelude to the more
honourable and arduous efforts of the season.
Mr. Fechter's first step has been to entirely renovate the
theatre. At the hands of Mr. Hurwitz, well known for
his taste and cleverness, he has transformed one of the
dirtiest into one of the most elegant houses in London.
Adopting the style of the Renaissance, with white and gold
for the prevailing tints, upon a ground of rose and cream
colour, he has adorned the front of every circle with a
series of medallions and enrichments which are not more
remarkable for their breadth and their distinctness than their
delicacy. Tho ceiling is, especially, quite a triumph of
artistic grace. On a ground of rose colour graduated from
its light eentre to its deeper edge, is painted an imitation of
white lace falling over a robe of fluted silk, which, with its
divisions, formed by ribbon bows connecting gold curds
that run from the centre, compose one of the most novel and
attractive ornaments that we have ever seen employed.
The ceiling is also divided into twelve compartments,
containing the names of our greatest dramatists—the let-
ters being very ingeniously interwoven in the lace work ;
and, together with the richness of the proscenium, and the
design of the drop curtain, which is a repetition of that of
the ceiling, the entire effect has a grace and lightness that
could scarcely be exceeded. Nor has the comfort of the
audience portion been forgotten amidst its beauty. The
private boxes have been given an obliqueness which adjusts
them to the line of sight ; the dress circle has been given
space by a diminution of the seats; whilst the stalls and
pit seats present every feature of ease and elegance. The
lighting is also a great improvement, being the substitution
of a central " crystal sunlight," which diffuses a radiance
equally soft and brilliant for the row of blinding chandeliers
which used to surround the upper boxes. Another great
improvement is—in accordance with the good example of
the English Opera and the Adelphi--the abolition of fees
to boxkeepers, each seat being numbered and secured to its
possessor for the evening.
The drama Mr. Fechter has commenced with—after the
prelude of a slight farce, which might have been more
lively—is an adaptation by Mr. Brougham of the present
Porte St. Martin novelty, by Messrs. Anicet Bourgeois
and Paul Feval, which, under the title of "Le Bossu,"
has been running for several months. This drama is one
of the best of its class that has been presented for some
time. It is full of incident and picturesqueness—and, in
addition to its general merits, has a leading character which
affords unusual scope to Mr. Fechter. Mr. Brougham,
whilst tie has generally adhered to the outline of the origi-
nal, has, in some respects, improved it, by compressing, in
the first place, its six acts, including the prologue into four
—by uniting three of its miner agents into one, whom he
makes an Irish soldier of fortune, and by introducing as a
real personage the character of the Hunchback, which, in
the original, is simply an impersonation by the hero of
the piece. The interest of the story may detailed as fol-
lows :—Henri de Lagardere, a captain of cavalry,
in the reign of Louis the XIV. has an appointment to fight
a duel with Phillipe Duke de Nevers, in the fosse of the
Chateau de Caylus, adjoining the Spanish frontier. The
Duke is secretly married to Mademoiselle de Caylus, and
they have an infant, who is to be given to him on the night
of the encounter. Henri, on arriving at the spot, discovers
that the Duke is about to be assassinated by a band of ruf-
fians in the pay of the Duke's cousin—the Prince De Gon-
zague, who proposes, by this method, to get possession of
the family estates. The Prince is awre of the secret mar-
riage, and also the secret interview, and mistaking Henri,
in the dark, for one of his own people, sends him to the
chateau to receive the infant, whom he intends
also to dispose of. Henri goes, and giving a sig-
nal, "I am here," which is "The Duke's Motto," and
which forms the title of the play, is mistaken for the Duke
by Madlle. do Caylus, and put in possession of the child.
The sight of the infant and the Duke's peril disarm Henri
of all hostility; and on his antagonist arriving for the en-
counter, he acquaints him with his position, and tells him
it is his intention to defend him. This heroism establishes
a mutual friendship on the spot : the assassins enter, and are
speedily dispersed by the swor is of the two associates, when
Gonzague, who has watched the struggle, fires a pistol at
his cousin, aad the Duke, expiring, calls on tienri to guard
his child and avenge his murder. Thus terminates the
prologue, which is full of life and character ; and, com-
bined with its striking scene, the fosse of the cha-
teau, gives to the opening of the drama a more than
ordinary interer. Twenty years are supposed to elapse
before we arrive at the first act, during which the Prince
has married his cousin's widow, but has been unable to
obtain the estates, owing to the necessity of proving the
death of her daughter, who is their heiress, and whom,
faithful to his trust, Henri has carried off to Spain. At
the opening of this act, which occurs in the
Pyrenees, Henri is returning to France with his charge
in order to establish her rights—in company with a party
of Spanish Gipseys, and during their momentary halt sees
Gonzsgue also arrive after a further search for the missing
girl, attended by his people, One of them is an Irish sol-
dier of fortune, who is secretly the friend of Lagadere;
the other is a Hunchbabk, who has been celebrated in
Paris as a fencing master, and who recognises Henri
in his Spanish dress as one of his old pupils.
The Irishman warning the latter of his danger, Henri
confronts, in order to avert it—insults the Hunchback, and
is challenged by him—and they retire for an encounter, in
which the latter is killed, and from which Henri returns
assuming the Hunchback's dress and bearing. Undetected
by the Prince, he is thus enabled to obtain his confidence,
and learns that the latter, not being able to find the miss-
ing heiress, whom he has promised to produce at a family
council which is about to be held in Paris, has resolved to

provide a substitute in the person of one of the gipseys,
whom he tempts to her unconscious ruin by the bribe
of wealth and rank. Whilst the Prince there-
fore proceeds with the false heiress to Paris, Henri
dispatches the true one in the charge of his friend
the Irishman, and we then arrive at the family
council, at which the Regent Orleans himself presides, and
where the Prince presents the missing daughter, to see
her to his great amazement rejecied by her mother,
who has been apprized by Henri as the Hunch-
back, that her child will be presented to her that
ec ening, at a ball given by the Regent. Here the se-
cond act concludes, and with an amount of interest
which raised the audience to an unusual height of
excitement, the curtain falling on its close amidst very
vehement applause. In the following acts, which are
full of incident, but which rather too long delay the catas-
trophe, Blanche de Nevers, the true heiress, is discovered,
and secured by the Prince, whilst Lagardere is thrown into
prison, from which, however, he escapes to resume his form
as the Hunchback, and to succeed at length in the
fulfilment of his trust by the retoration of his charge to her
mother, and by the avenging her father's murder in an en-
counter with the Prince.

The acting of this drama was singularly good through-
out. Mr. Fechter in its leading character found scope to
break on the audience with a very gratifying surprise. As
the young and buoyant captain of cavalry, who so
happily embodies the spirit of the daring and ad-
venturous time of the Regency, he exhibited of course all
his usual, and, need we say, wholly unrivalled characteris-
tics. The ease, the grace, the picturesqueness, the vivid
and elastic mode of treatment, which give to everythitz
he does so much significance as well as beauty, were here

applied in the presentment of a character, that made it in the

highest degree historical. Still for this we were prepared.
It was in his assumption of the Hunchback that he took
its entirely by surprise, and not merely in tho external traits
of a bent back and a crippled gait, but in the furtive look
and sinister speech which seemed to harmonize so
thoroughly, the mental and physical deformity. This con-
trast was also assumed with such rapidity as well as force
that the two beings stood before us—soldier and Hunchback,
hero and villain—in the light of the two halves of humanity
—spiritual and animal. It wsg s, mo,t original conception,
and its au eess was equal to its merit. Mr. Pechter was
. _

received with the greatest exahttelasav on his ant eutranoe

in the drama, and loudly called for at the close of every
act, as well as at the end. He was admirably
supported by Mr. George Vining, in the Prince ; Mr.
Brougham in the Irishman, and Mr. Widdicomb in a
cowardly retainer; and even more by the various ladies—
by Miss Elsworthy's most affec.ing and most striking
portrait of the mother ; by Miss Kate Terry as Blanche
de Nevers—a moat graceful and engaging effort ;
and by Miss Carlotta Leclercq in the young
Gitana, which was full to the lips of piquant vivacity.
The drama was placed upon the stage with extraordinary
beauty and completeness—every dress and every scene
contributing some happy illustration, and achieved a great
success with an audience which, we need not say, crowded
the theatre to the very roof.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

FRANCE.

PARIS, JAN. 12.

The Moniteur of this morning announces that
Monsignor D.rboy, Bishop of Nancy, has been ap-
pointed Archbishop of Paris.
The Moniteur, in its bulletin, remarks that the
movement in favour of peace is acquiring increased
strength in America.

The Opinion Nationale of this morning has the
following remarks on the opening of the Chambers :
—" The new session opens with a crowd of impor-
tant questions for debate. The affairs of Italy and
of America will doubtless give rise to very ani-
mated discussions, since the country, however tran-
quil, is impatient to know precisely the policy of
the Government on these two questions, which in-
volve such great principles and such important
interests.

" Matters relating to the Isle of Madagascar will
most probably be btought under discussion, and
the Chambers will certainly not fail to give its
careful consideration to the Eastern Question,
which may perchance one day startle us by a
general outbreak among the Slave and Greek na-
tionalities. Besides these topics there are others
that concern us more nearly. The suffering among
us is great; the distress has reached many of our
chief centres of industry, and grave and earnest
discussions will be held on this subject. The EM-
PEROR will, it is said, leave for Rouen immediately
after the opening of the session, and a bill will be
presented without delay to the Chamber, opening a
credit of 12 millions for the relief of the labouring
classes in the Seine-Inferieure."

The French Ministers held a Council at the
Tuileries yesterday, at which the Emperor presided.
The grand gallery of the Louvre was closed yes-
terday owing to the preparations being made in
the State Saloon for the opening of the Sessio❑ of
1863.

BOURSE, Jan. 10.—Stock has been offered from
the opening of the market, and the business done
shows a further decline, Threes, for the Account,
being now at 70f. 40c. The Railway Share Market
also heavy, and quotations generally lower. The
market closed as follows:

11 per Cents. 9B 40
Do end month
3 per Cents
Do. end month 7O 45
New 3 per Cents -
Do. end month —
Credit Mailier..., 1150
Do. end month 1145

Bank Shares 3425
Credit oncler 1485
Piedmontese Fives
Loan 7O 40
Russian
Austrian
Spaniel' Threes 5l 75
Home Debt

BAIL'

'AY&

Cash. Account.
Orleans lO9O 1087 50
Northern
New ditto
Lyons and Mediterranean 1185 1187 50
Geneva.. 370

Southern BlO .. 810
Western

.
Eastern ....
Sardinian
Austrian
Lou.bard

ITALY.
* TURIN , JAN. 10, Evening.
The committee appointed to inquire into the
causes and extent of brigandage has arrived at
Naples.

The national subscription for the relief of the
sufferers from brigandage has been a complete

SUCCPSS.

The municipality of Milan have appealed to their
fellow-citizens to join in the subscription, and thus
by an act of charity repeat the plebiscite in favour
of the Constitution of Ira y,

The Remains of John Hampden.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE BUN.

Sir,—l have been much shocked by reading in
your excellent journal of the 3d inst. (which is
always read with much interest in this place) of a
wanton insult offered to my esteemed friend, John
Hampden, in July of the year 1828.
With characteristic reticence Hampden had never
mentioned the matter to us ; and, but for the hardi-

hood of the man Smith in publishing an account of
so gross a transaction, it might probably have alto-
gether escaped us. It appears that on the 21st of
July, 1828, the said Smith, Mr. (afterwards Lord)
Denman, and Lord Nugent presented themselves
at the door of Great Hampden Church, where they
were met by the Rev. Mr. Brooks, the rector, and
others. Immediately upon entering they fell to
rummaging the graves, and finally determined upon
forcing a coffin, without name or date, which they
had struck upon four feet below the floor. A snort
inspection convinced them that they had secured
the object of their search—the remains of my re-
vered friend.

After cutting off some of the hair from the head
of the corpse, and manipulating the body in the
grave, for greater convenience, " the coffin was
raised, and set upon tressels in the middle of the
chancel. The body was placed in a sitting posture,
with a shovel to support the head. The shoulde 7„,
and arms were then carefully inspected, and the
result proved that Lord Nugent's foregone con-
clusion' that Hampden's death was occasioned by a
gunshot wound in the shoulder, was at once dissi-
pated. There did not appear any discolouration, or
the slightest injury to the shoulders or arms; but,
in order to be perfectly satisfied, Lord Nugent him-
self, with a small pocket-knife borrowed from me
at the instant, made several incisions in the parts
adjacent to the shoulder-joint, without finding any
fractare or displacement of the bones." Further
examinations of the hands, &c., are detailed, and all
appears to have been done to gratify the curiosity
of my Lord and others as to the truth of their
speculations upon the precise cause of death.
Now, sir, I wish to ask you, as the representative
of good sense and the upholder of right in the British
nation, ought we, who did our best, for the old coun-
try, and held life cheap for it, or actually offered it
as a sacrifice—ought we to be considered fair game
for antiquaries or literati ? Is this to be added to
the other penalties of greatness, that our corpses
should be probed and incised by the pocket-knives
of the curious ? Is the dictum which protects the
graves of the obscure, " Let him alone, let no man
move h:s bones," to fail of protecting those who,
ss happy, have earned a name inscribed in their
country's annals? And does your establishment
tolerate that a parson such as Master Brooks should
offer so unholy an entertainment to his friends, and
dare, without fear of penalty, to preside at such
dismal orgies ?

Pray, sir, let us know the best or worst of this
—whether our countrymen have lost all sense of
reverence for the deal, or whether they execrate
this deed of desecration.

If you cannot give us satisfaction upon this
point you may at least permit those who hereafter
have greatness within their grasp to think twice
before they subject themselves by their achieve-
ments to such post mortem butchery and dishonour.
—I am, sir, your constant reader,

THE SHADE OF PYM.

Hades, Christmas Eve (Old Style).
P.S.—Roundhead and Royalist feel that they
must make common cause i❑ this matter, and Vis
cunt Falkland begs me to state, in the hope of
saving► himself from the hands of the curious, that
he was shot in the stomach at the battle of New-
bury.

Another Confederate Raid into Maryland.

Stulrt's cavalry has made another raid. The
Washington Star gives the following version of the

" A force of rebel cavalry.with a battery of artil-
lery, suddenly appeared at 8 a.m. on Saturday
(27th) in front of Dumfries, then held by our sth,
7th, and 66th Ohio Volunteers, with a section of
two pieces of Mthvey's battery. The rebels were
at first estimated at 4,000 strong. They cut the
wires leading to Falmouth, attacked our troops,
who had three men killed, and were driven off. In
the meanwhile information reached these head-
quarters, per telegraph, before they succeeded in
cutting the wires leading in this direction. Troops
from this quarter were instantly put in motion to,
if possible, cut off their retreat. To that end Gen.
Geary marched from Wolf Run immediately to the
relief of the troops engaged at Dumfries. After
being worsted before Geary's arrival they pushed
directly for Occoquan, where they had a slight en
gagement with 1,500 troops stationed there under
Col. Candy, resulting in considerable loss on either
side, ours maintaining their position. They next
decamped up Bull Run, crossing it at Wolf Run.
Thence they went to Annandale, via Burke's sta-
tion, where they encamped on Saturday night, thus
avoiding points where we had troops stationed. At
daybreak yesterday morning they were again in the
saddle, making for the vicinity of Vienna. In the
meantime our troops at Fairfax Court house did
their best to head them off in that direction, but,
being infantry, could not get up in time to do so.
They were last seen in the vicinity of Lewinsburg,
where their number was estimated at but 1,000
cavalry and tour pieces of artillery, at nightfal
yesterday, when they were under whip and spur,
evidently bent on escaping in the direction of Lees-
burg. Trey certainly got nothing for their pains
but 15 empty waggons belonging to Col. Kellogg's
cavalry command. Throughout the line of their
raid they had occasional skirmishes with Col.
Kellogg's cavalry, who, though forced to fall back,
exchanged many shots with them, with no damage
to his command that we have been able to hear
of. His heaviest skirmish with them was at
Accotink. At one time they had possession of one
of our guns at Dumfries, but were forced to aban-
don it to us again in their retreat.

" Latest.--We have just received reliable infor-
mation that the rebels were badly repulsed on Sa-
turday at Dumfries. On their retreat they fell in
with our troops under General Geary,between Dum-
fries and Wolf Run, and were driven by them south
of the road. They aimed to take the direct road to
the shoals. They took the telegraph operator at
Burke's station and his instrument, and burnt the
Orange and Alexandria Railway bridge at Accotink,
an inconsiderable structure. Besides the 15 empty
waggons of Colonel Kellogg's command that fell
into their hands, they took eight or ten sutlers'
waggons, which they came across, the drivers in
nearly all cases having succeeded in escaping by cut-
ting the traces, mounting their teams, and flying
before them. They seized all the citizens along
their path who they thought might give prompt in-
formation of the proceedings. They passed through
Vienna at about 12 last night, their rear guard pas-
sing there about 3 a.m. They had 5 guns and
about 25 waggons and ambulances, nearly all of
which they had doubtless picked up. They went
from there to Hunt's Mills, and then struck over to
the Ox Road, at Frying Pan. Including the citi-
zens they caught, they were carrying off about 40
prisoners in all."

A Washington despatch of the 29th says :
" There was great excitement in Alexandria late
yesterday evening, growing out of the hurried ar-
rival there of several of our cavalrymen and team-
sters, the latter being mounted on horses cut from
their own waggons. They represented that Stuart's
rebel cavalry, with some light artillery, appeared
at Pohick Church, several miles from Mount Vernon,
on Saturday night, and on Sunday proceeded to
Accotink, which is only 12 miles from Alexandria,
and there attacked two or three companies of our
troops, and that they captured a waggon train at
Oceoquan on Saturday. There is difficulty at
arriving at the precise truth, owing to the many
conflicting rumours in circulation in regard to the
matter. But that a rebel reconnoissance appeared
in that neighbourhood is beyond question, and that
the rebels created much alarm is equally certain,.
Military men who have seen brief official telegrams
from Dumfries say that it was the same rebel force
which, several miles from that place, made a recon-
noissance, driving in our cavalry pickets, and
killing four or five of them. The rebels, fearing
capture by our troops, which at one time was pro-
bable, left for Occoquan and Accotink, where they
made their alarming demonstration. Due allow-
ance, it is claimed, must be made for the statements
of frightened teamsters and others, as all such ac-
counts are unavoidably exaggerated. The bold
raid of Stuart along the Potomac, in a line from
the Rappahannock to Leesburg, was not as success-
ful as previous ones, though equally rapid and
desperate. The frightened teamsters who came in
reported that the entire rebel army was moving to-
wards Washington, which led to much excitement
and innumerable rumours yesterday and to-day.
Beyond the capture of a few prisoners, several
army waggons, and the burning of one small rail-
road bridge, this raid does not amount to much."
A despatch of the 30th says:—
" Intelligence from Alexandria represents that
Stuart's cavalry force, with artillery, were yester-
day encamped 12 miles from that city, not far from
Burke's station, on the line of the Orange and
Alexandria Railroad. Two rebel cavalrymen,
wearing uniforms similar to our own, came into and
rode about Alexandria on Sunday. They did not
remain long. A telegram from head-quarters of
the army of the Potomac says matters continue
quiet on the Rappahannock."

The New YorkkTribune has the following special
despatches :

" Stafford, Virginia, Dec. 30.
" Information was received yesterday that Stuart's
cavalry, after leaving Wolf Run Shoals on Sunday
passed to Burke's station on the Orange and Alex-
andria railroad, and from there between Fairfax
Court-house and Annandale to Vienna. Yesterday
they were at Chantilly, and to-day report says in.
the vicinity of Warrenton. Last night the wires
were down between this place and Washington."
" Washington, Dec. 30.
" In the recently cavalry raid to Dumfries, Occo-
quan, &c., the 2d Pendsylvania Cavalry lost 50 men
killed, wounded, and missing, and three officers.
One of these was the surgeon, who stayed behind to
take care of the wounded. An officer of Major Stagg's
command, who, in the fight five miles across the Oc-
coquan, was thrown from his horse and lay concealed
i❑ the bushes, counted the enemy, and reported
them to be about 4,000. Two rebel officers were
killed at that point, one of them a major. His horse
and equipments are here. Several privates were
shot, too, while crossin,,, for in the several skir-
mishes where the enemy's cavalry stumbled on our
Iforces, or were heaped by them, they lost about a
( hundred_ Now for news that gives a peculiar inte-
rest to his raid. A prisoner taken, belonging to
the 3d Virginia Cavalry, and now in the Capitol
Prison, says that Lee, Stuart, and Hampton left
Ginney's station on the 24th with 7,000 cavalry
and six pieces of artillery. This force was divided;
Stuart with 1,000 and two guns Went to Dumfries,
Hampton and Lee with 6,000 and four guns went
—where ? A despatch received this afternoon
irom an officer near Monocacy, iu Maryland, states
that a large body of cavalry was crossing the Poto-
mac at H rrison's Island—that is, about 17 miles
this side of Harper's Ferry.

Mr. RUSSELL was told in America that a bird
about the size of a thrush with a yellow breast and
a harsh cry was "the skylark," and on his complaining of
the sharp noise it made, a young lady exclaimed, " Oh my I
And you not to know that your Shelley loved it above all
ether things I" In like manner a colonel drew his attention
to the use of the telegraph in the camp as a splendid Ame-
rican invention. Mr. Russell replied that Lord Clyde had
always used a telegraph wire in the same way in India.
To which the colonel rejoined that he believed that Mr.
Russell would say next that "your General Clyde and our
Benjamin Franklin discovered lightning simultaneously."
Importing Tea without, colour on the leaf pre-
vents the Chinese passing off inferior leaves as in the usual
kinds. Horniman's Tea is uncoloured, therefore, always
good alike, Sold in packets by 2,280 agents,