The Sun.
London, England, 1864-02-04 00:00:00

THE Alirvl.Y.

The various classes of the Gentleme.n Cadets studying at.
the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich were resumed
yesterday morning, at the close of the Christmas vacation.
The new pupils who have passed their examination for ad-
mission to fill the vacancies created by the late commission
will join on Wednesday next.
A notification has been received at Chatham garrison
from the Horse Guards that the next examination of can-
didates for the medical department of the army will com-
mence at the Royal Military Hospital on Tuesday next,
the 9th inst., before Major-Gen. F. W. Hamilton, C. 13.,
Vice-President, and the members of the Council of Edu-
cation.

The alterations and improvements suOgested by the Army
Sanitary Commissioners on the occasion of their visit to St.
Mary's Casemated Barracks, Chatham, oil that establish-
ment being evacuated by the invalid depot, have now been
carried into effect, and the building,which will accommodate
about 1,200 officers and men, will be ready for the reception
ite
of troops during the coming summer. In order /O render
the barracks more healthy as quarters for troops, th‘.7ven-
tilating arrangements in each of the casemated rooms have
been very materially altered and improved, while the
accommodation will be still further increased by placing
smaller number of troops in each of the compartimuts.
Should the barracks not be requirel to 1) occupied Ly one
of the depot battalions at Chatham garrison, it is probable
that one of the Indian regiments which will arrive home
during the coming summer will take up its quarters at St.
Mary's Barracks.
The military invalids and time•expired men who arrived
at Spithead on Tuesday in the John Lidgett, from Hong
Kong and the Cape of Good Hope, Were disembarked yes-
terday, and the ship afterwards sailed for the Thames.
Another of Capt. Blakely's 9-inch guns, manufactured
for the service of foreign Governments, was yesterday tested
at the proof butt in Woolwich Arsenal, under the special
direction of Major P. Bedingfield, officiating Assistant-In-
spector of Royal Artillery, Mr. Campbell, representing the
Blakely Company, being also present. The charge, as on
former occasions, was 451 b of powder and a cylinder of 3cwt
and lqr. The enormous amount of cast steel with which
the gun is built up weighs upwards of 12 tone. The breach-
piece, absorbing nearly the whole of this huge mass of metal,
is surrounded behind the trunnions by a ring of the same
material, 3in broad by 3in thick, and which from its posi-
tion is destined to resist the whole force of the concussion.
This ring was found to have split at the first round, and on
examination a very perceptible flaw was detected in the
metal. A similar occurrence took place in one of the guns
proved last week. The proof was, however, continued with
the consent of Mr. Campbell, and a second round was fired
with the same charge. The success was then pronounced
to be perfect. Nothing had moved. It was therefore sug-
gested that the ring which had given way, and which l% us
considered an unimportant one,should in future be dispensed
with. A number of guns of smaller dimensions, it was
stated, are in readiness for shipment by the Blakely
Ordnance Company for Denmark, and others of the same
class as those proved yesterday will be shortly ready for
Russia.

[ADVERTISEMENT.] Holloway's Pills—Excellent Re-
vivers.—The resources of medicine and chemistry were lung
and fruitlessly tried before they yielded a remedy which
could overcome disorders of the storahch end Derve",
ttfl
Professor Holloway discovered his purifying and tonic pills.
They are the tiniest and surest correctives of indigestion,
heartburn, flatulency, torpidity of the liver, twitchings,
nervous fancies, despondency, low spirits, and declining
strength. Holloway's pills supersede all erroneous actions
in the body, and so strengthen and support the system that
disease departs, and leaves the patient little if at shaken.
This is the grand aim ~nd object of medical art—t© regulate
disordered functions without damaging the constitution by
the remedy; and admirably is this end attaincd i/011.0.
ways pills.

H E OPENI NG OF PARLIAMENT—The
3IODERN A UGUSTUS, ac., in FUN This Week.
One Penny.

BONNET'S S 1 LKS a LYON.—Every Article of
commerce tal; es its title either from the inventor or
'manufacturer, and ,the more perfect the production the
greater is the credit which attaches to the originator.
BONNET'S SILI are said to be incapable of identifica-
tion in England ; but the fallacy of such an assertion is ex-
pos z d by the very trade mark of the firm, as exhibited by
Messrs.. JAY, of Regent-street.
The following interwoven mark may be seen at the end
ofeaeh piece :—" Mani dacture de C. J. Bonnet et Cie., it Lyon
eta Injurieux." We guaranteed.

MOSES rna SON respEctfnllv Pall attention
J to their Large and well-assorted STOCK of JUVE-
NILE CLOTHirG. The newest fabrics are combined with
the latest and most fasnlonable designs, and the brat work-
xnarship. E. Messes and Son aive particular attention to this
important branc h of their business, and they cm with confi-
dence affirm that; the prices are such as must • atisfy the most
ecomicawhich will bl. 'nil:. department is in a distinct part of the
prenomises, e found a great convenienze for ladies
and children.

M 0S E S And S 0 N
Erespectful ly invite public attention to their lar4e and
well-aseortcd IV INT El:, STOCK.
______-------

INT 0 S E and S 0 N'S
E• SANDRINGHAM" WRAPPER (introduced by
them) is the newest and most fashionable s:yle of overcoat
lot the season

MOSES and SON'S
111 READY-MADE and BESPOKE CLOTHING, for
all classes and all ages.

M OSES and SON'S
celebrated `• rNDISPEN SABLE" SUIT, from 30s.

M OSE S and S 0 N'S
IHOSI'FIRY and DRAPERY, HATS and CAPS, and
IWOTS and ;, iIIOES, for all classes and all ages,

M OSES and S O N'S
OUTPITS for all class s, all ages, and all climates.

DZ 0 S E S and S 0 N'S
LONDON HORSES.

156, 157, Ifinoi ies ; 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, Ps, Aldc,,ate.
13451 E 507, soR, New Oxford-street; 1,2, 3, Hart-street.
137, las, Tottenham-court-road; 283, Euston-road.

Also at
Bradford, Yorkshire.

_ --
Arl-4 NI 0S E 5 and SON'S
_...i • Establishments are closed every Friday evening- at
Sunset until Saturday evening at sunset, when business is
resumed until 11 o'clock.
A ll articles are marked the lowest price in plain figures.
Any article) not approved of will De exchanged or the money
returned.
List of prices, with rules for self-measurement, fashion
card, and our n ew pamphlet " On Modern Costume" (a sequel
to " Gos,ip on Dress"), gratis and post tree.

HERCULES INSURANCE COMPANY
(Limited).
94, Cannon-street, E.C.
y IRE INSURANCES at non-tariff rates Yo New and Equit-
able Plan of Assuring Diseased Lives, see spectus.

LONDON' AND PROVINCIAL MARINE
INSURANCE COMPANY.
NOTICE IS HERE BY GIVEN, That the Half• yearly
Dividend, at the rate of Ten per cent. per annum, free of
Income Tax, will be payable at the London and County
Bank, Lombard-street, on and after the 9th Day of February.
By Order. J. L. DANIELL.
2, Royal Exchange-buildings, London,
February 3, 1864.

LONDON and LANCASHIRE FIRE and
LIFE INSURANCE COMPANIES.
Fire Capital—£l,Co ~000.
ife Capital—,£loo,ooo.
London: 73 and 74, King William-street, E.C.
Liverpool : Brown's Buildings, Exchange.
With Home and Foreign Branches and Agencies.
CITAIRMAN—F. W. Russell, Esq , M.P., Chairman of the
:National. Discount Company.
Fire—Kr. Alderman Dakin (Messrs.
Dakin Bros.)
DEPUTY-CHAIRMEN Life—.J. H. Mackenzie, Esq., Gres-
ham-house, Old Broad-street.
Insurances Against Loss by Fire on every description of
Property, both at home and abroad, at moderate rates.
Mercantile Insurances at Reduced Rates.
Foreign Insurances undertaken and a discount allowed.
Low Rates of Premium.
FrePdom from Extra Premium for Foreign Residence.
Non-forfeiture of Life Policies.
Four-Fifths, or 80 per Cent., of the Profits divided amongst
Participating Policy-holders.
For explanations see Book Prospectus.
Commission allowed to Solicitors and others introducing
Business.

W. P. CLIREHUGH, General Manager.

OYAL INSURANCE COMPANY.
JIA, 29, Lombard-street, London, and Royal Insurance
Buildings, Liverpool.
Total Annual Revenue exceeds £500,000.
Accumulated Funds in hands over £1,000,000.
DISTINGUISHED for PROMPTITUDE and MBE-
BALT Y in the SETTLEMENT of CLAIMS.

FIRE BRANCH.
ANNUAL FIRE REVENUE EXCEEDS £300,001.
No Fire Office has, under any circumstances, ever before
attained to a similar Revenue in eighteen years from the
time of its establishment.

LIFE BRANCH.
Sum Assured on New Business in 1562,
UPWARDS OF £700,000,
An amount seldom attained by even the most successful

Offices

Large Bonuse 3 declared 1855 and 1860—£2 per cent. per
Annum.
The Greatest Bonus ever Continuously Declared by any
Company.
PERCY M. DOVi•', Kftnager and Actuary.
JOHN B. JOHNSTON, Secretary in London.

FE OVIDENT CLERKS' MUTUAL LIFE
ASSOCIATION.

EstaDlished IS4I
TRUSTEES.

Thomas Baron„ Esq., M.P. I Wm. Geo. Prescott, Esq.
Thomson Hankey, Esq., M.P. Baron L. de Rothschild, M.P
This Associarion now numbers more thin 7,0,0 members of
every class of society.
The Annual Income exceeds £56,00000
The Invested Fund exceeds
Bonuses have been added to the participating
policies to the extent of lOO,OOO
It comprises all the best features of purely Mutual Assur-
ance—

Economy of Manazement.
Publicity of Accounts.
Promptness and Liberality in Payment of Claims.
Especial attention is cirected to the system of Paid-up
Policies, by which all loss is avoided on discontinuing an
assur ,uce.
The Board are prepared to appoint active and influential
Agents in places where the Association is unrepresented
Chiet Offices, 15, Moorgate-street, E.C.
WM. TILOS. LINFORD, Secretary.
January 1, 1864.

OLDRID GE'S BALM of COLUMBIA
Established upwards of 40 years, is the best and only
certain remedy ever discovered for Preserving, Strengthen-
inz, Beautifying, or Restoring the Hair, Whiskers, and
Moustache, and preventing them turning grey. Sold In
bottles, 3s. id., 65., and Ils., by C. and A. Oldridge, 22,
Wellington-street, Strand, London, W. 0., and all chemists
and perfumers. For 4 hildren's and Ladies' Hair it is most
efficacious and unrivalled.

COLOSSEUM.—Hotydays.—GRAND
SHADOW PAN 1' °MIME ENTERTAINMENT,
fzunded on the much-read story of Little Red Riding Hood,
narrated and musically illustrated by Mr. GEORGE BUCK-
LAND, written by Ellis Reynolds, Esq., and entitled Ye
Goblin Wolfe ; with novel, mechanical, and optical effects.
nerr ANIL th • great conjuror; Master Powell, drum soloist;
Miss Amy Wilson, voc Met. colossal Pictures of London,
Lisbon, and Paris, All the other exhibitions and entertain-
ments of this institution enhanced for the holydays. Morn-
ing, Vto 4 ; evening, 7to 10. Admission to the whole, le. ;
children under 10, 6d. Acting Manager, Mr. A. Nimmo.
Friday is the last day for the toy distribution to the young
people,

3p.. snd Mrs. GERMAN REED. with Mr.
JOHN PARRY, will appear TO NIGHT, at 8. for
the fourth time, in an entirely novel ANGLO-EGYPTIAN
ENTERTAINMENT, entitled "The P Y RA NI I D, or FOOT-
PRINTS in the SAND," written by Shirley Brooks, Esq.
s 'enic effects by Mr. William Telbin. Royal Gallery of
Illustration, 14, Regent-street, EVERY EVENING (except
IBaturday at 8 ; Saturday Morning's at B.—Admission, Is.,
; stalls, 3s, Stall spring chairs, So., should be secured
early at the Gallery—no fee for booking-,—and at Cramer and
Wood's, 201, Regent-street.

THEATRE ROYAL HAYNIARKET.-
Sole Lessee and Manager, Mr, Buckstone.
THIS EVENING, OUR AMERICAN COUS IN : Messrs.
Sothern, Buckstone, Chippen,tale, Braid, Gordon, Rogers,
Clark, Cullentord, ; Mesdames Angel, Snowden, Terry,
Lindley, Hill, Arc.
Atter which, KING ARTHUR ; or The Days and Knights
of the Round fable. Messrs. Chippendale, Compton. Braid,
Rogers, ilb u ry,Mesdames L. Keeley, Brough,
nght, Terry, Lindley, Rogers, Ste.

Commence at 7.

ROIAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE.—
Sole Lesee and Manager, Mr. Geo. Vining.
THIS EVENING, DONNA DIANA.
After 10:1
nne Lady of Banbury
tell, -HARLEQUIN LITTLE TOM TucKEu;
or The
Cross, and the Old Woman
who Lived in
to a Shoe and Had so Many Children she didn't
fulow what do

NzNsvoi,, priroHr,,,E,„,NorT..-an-R4 75,11ZY AL, ADELPHI.—
THIS EVENING, ICI ON p”, ,i.
...u. . . M. B. Webster.
J L. Toole, LE FRANCAIS ; Mr
At i to Eight, the New Drama of Lp 5,..,
14:Phillips, Ra-
man, supported by Messrs. Arthur stirlin'--. : Miss Bate-
biton, Stuart, Stephenson, Eburne
Phillips,
Airs. Billington. ,Missn• Sirarti, and
To conclude with LADY BELLE BELLE. n, .L.,
and his Seven :liagi3 Men. Messrs. J. Clarke, ' °lltinio
Stephenson ; Miss NVoolgar, Miss K. Kelly, iiiss Patti
Josephs, Miss L. Laidlaw, Miss Seaman.
Commence at 7.
LEAH.—EyERY
MISS BATEMAN.

NIGHT.

-
r_ra7il,SAEctVreEssNl;iii?v;
I(._
,IltShSe
16B8tAhTE M A N. -L E A H.-. 7
BATE- MAN, in thetuecri?.aarnacceteorfot _, 1-;,r; rA ze 91 t.
f rlii c'onsequence of
tho unbounekd success with which Miss finteman's imper.o.
nation of the pritcipai character in the new Five Act Drama
of LEAH has been attenied. Mr qebstek begs to announce
that it wilt be performed EVERY EVENINU until further
notice.

ROYAL ST. JAMES'S THEATRE, under the
Management of Mr. B. WEBSTER.
Crosded with rank and fashion.—The New Comedy of THE
SILVER LINING every Evening.--Mr. and Mrs. Charles
Mathews, Mrs. Stirling, sirs. Frank Matthews, and Mr. J.
L. Toole every evening. The following eminent artistes are
pngag,erl :—Mr. Benjamin Webster, Mr. .T. L. Toole, Mr. Paul
Bedford, Mr. Fiederic Robinson, Mr. Ashley, and Mr. Chas.
Mathews ; Mrs. Stirling, Miss Herbert. Mrs, Frank Mat-
thews, Miss A. Cottrell, Miss Fanny Josephs, Miss Went-
worth, and Mrs. Charles Matlews.
THIS EVENING, and dining the Week, at 7 o'clock,
an entirely new Comedy, in 3 Acts, by Leicestpr Duckin,-
ham, Esq , entitled THE SILVER LINT Charles
Mathews,. Mr. Frederic Robinson, Mr. Ashley, Mr, John-
stone, Mr. Montague; Mrs.' harles Mathews, Mrs. Frank
Matthews, Miss Cottrell, Miss Wentworth, and ..llra. Stirling.
To he followed by .11r, Charles Matheays just translated
from the French)in his characteristiccharacter of Un Anglais
Tiroide, entitled COOL AS A CUCUMBER.
To conclude with 1861; or, THE SENSATIONS OF
THE I'AST SEASON : Mr. J. L. Toole, Mr. Paul Bedford,
Mr. A. Cottrell, and Miss Fanny Josephs.

LONDON, THURSDAY, FEB. 4, 1864.

As we remarked by anticipation a few days
since, this session of Parliament for 1861 opens
under circumstances almost unparalleled. A
European war actually commenced News of
Battle coming to us from the banks of Eider—
where are arrayed against each other in deadly
conflict the troops of Denmark on the one side,
and, on the other, the banded soldiers of Austria
and of Prussia, the invading armies, in fact, of the
two chief Powers of the Germanic Confederation !
Although our own soldiers have not been there upon
the foughten field of Missunde—upon the one hand,
as the royal chief of the victorious Danes, Eng-
land recognises not only CHRISTIAN IX., the
patriotic King of DENMARK, but, in his person,
also, the sire of our beloved Princess, nearer and
dearer now than ever to the heart of England, as
the mother of the heir of the Heir Apparent to the
Crown of these Realms. And yet—while our
thoughts fly thus in instant sympathy to the Bile of
the Danes, as viewing in them not only a race akin
to our own, but the vindicators just now of the
imperilled rights of Denmark, and, beyond that
even, it may be, the stability of the whole fabric of
Danish independence—we are principally conscious,
meanwhile, that there are, in truth, also dynastic
reasons for our not looking with unperturbed
satisfaction at the result of the recent conflict
before Missunde. Reasons indicated pretty plainly,
as it happens, by one most significant announcement
among the telegrams received from the seat of war
this very afternoon. That announcement being, as
will doubtless here be instantly conjectured, the
wounding of a:Prince of. PRUSSIA : not, it is true, of
the Prince of PRUSSIA, Her BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S
son-in-law, but of a member of his Royal House,
the Prince FREDERIC CHARLES ALEXANDER. And
it is in the very midst of this just beginning war upon
the European Continent that Parliament has this
afternoon assembled again, down at Westminster.
It may safely enough be asserted, and asserted in
truth with perfect confidence that never once before
this day's Royal Speech was delivered by Commission,
has there been a Speech from the Throne so entirely
Delphic in its character. The Royal Speech has
often before now—has, indeed, it may be said
mostly before now—been enigmatical as any riddle
of the Sphinx. But never—certainly not within
our own recollection has the utterance either by
the lips of the SOVEREIGN, or in the name of the
SOVEREIGN, been so entirely and completely
enigmatical from first to last. Scanning it, how-
ever closely, it is a matter of absolute impossibi-
lity to learn from any syllable in it whether
Abroad we are to have War or Peace—whether At
Home we are to have the smallest further modicum
of Reform of any kind, or the smallest further doling
oat of additional boons in the way of Retrench-
ment. The War now afoot between Denmark and
Germany is clouded over with a very haze of words,
The Measures about to be submitted to the Legisla-
ture are vaguely spoken of in the plural in terms of
the most studied generality. As to A Policy of any
description, it remains to this moment entirely invi-
sible. What Ministers are going to do—even if
etwhaaensynioantrdeeevagennoiitneg bjefto do anything—we know not, we
before conjecture.
re t.da'
ol to-day—it
t is Administrative
rendered futureif
pos-
sible still more so now that the Programme (ye
Gods !) has been delivered this afternoon by the
Royal Commissioners in the name of her most gra-
giOUS MAJESTY. And this—byway of inaugurating
what will prove, nevertheless, we believe (and small
thanks to the Cabinet when eventa shall demon-
strate it to be as here predicated), in some respects
one of the most momentous sessions of the Legis-
lature since the date of the accession of VICTORIA
to the throne of England.

The TOWNLEY case seems destined to establish a
precedent, so far as warning goes; in the future con-
duct of the authorities with regard to those crimi-
nals charged with murder, and concerning whose

sanity or insanity such doubts are entertained and
such suspicions engendered. The last intelligence
on the subject is most important, and will doubt-
less afford considerable satisfaction to those who
have all along been indignant at the lax and un-
business-like fashion in which the whole case has
been managed. It was an unfortunate coincidence
that the case of WRIGHT should have occurred
when it did, since many have been led to believe,
and some have boldly avowed, that justice appears
under different aspects to the rich and the poor.
The conduct of WRIGHT'S trial was most precipi-
tately arranged ; but there is no reason to declare
that be was not guilty. In the instance of TOWN-
LEY, however, there were cogent and weighty rea-
sons for questioning the decision arrived at, and
deprecating the course pursued by all who
took an active part in the affair. The
present decision of Sir GEORGE GREY to
ignore the previous declaration of lunacy, and sub-
ject the prisoner to penal servitude for life, is u very
excellent act, and it is to be hoped that it will be
received in a right spirit. Under the circumstances
no better arrangement could have been come to, for
it would be of course imPos'fole now to carry into
execution the extreme, penalty of the law, and at
the same time to leave things in statu quo would be
a prostite,',lon of justice. While, however, com-
menting this resolution arrived at by the Home
Secretary, it must be remarked that this solution is
but a dexterous contrivance to be extricated from
a difficulty which ought never to have occurred, and
that the last paragraph of the commission sent to
the visiting justices of Derby is only an avowal
which makes a virtue of necessity. It is not the
wisdom of the Cabinet, the astuteness of the law
officers of the Crown, nor yet the skilled intelligence
or practical experience of the Home Secretary, that
has discovered the urgent necessity and the vitai
consequence of a change of the features of the act
" under which the certificates of insanity in this case
were given." It is the indignant expression of
popular opinion, the public censure that has been
affixed to the whole transactions that related to the
case of the Derbyshire murder, that has called
forth the change and given rise to the alteration.
Therefore the declaration of suggesting a change
comes all too late to do honour to the perspicacity
of our rulers, or to save their reputation for fore-
thought, skill, or judgment. There was no reason
why Sir G. GREY should have lent so willing an
ear to the representations of the magistrates regard
ing the supposed lunacy of the criminal. A due
inquiry should have been instituted. Why were
not the gentlemen whose names appear now at the
end of the inquiry, then engaged to make assurance
doubly sure, and to expose the errors and certify
the blunders into which well meaning but most mis-
guided individuals had fallen in respect to the im-
portant fact of the responsibility of the condemned
criminal ? The truth is that negligence,
over consideration, and most mistaken notions
prevailed. They have sufficed to create a
state of things which must not again be
suffered to occur. The majesty of the law,
the cause of justice, and the sacred claims
of honour demand imperatively that the truth be
at all times avowed in a case of this kind. There
must be no mistakes, and more thah that there must
be deep research, accurate testimony, and sound
judgment employed to guard against the possi-
bility of such an anomaly again occurring as that
which has just now caused our Secretary of State
for the Home Department to waver in this way,
and vacillate after the fashion which the last few
weeks have recorded. The fact is that this
TOWNLEY case has been a great blunder through-
out, and adds another to the long list of offences,
grievances, and short-comings with which the
present Ministers must face Parliament. Seldom
have a Government appeared, at the opening of
a Session, with such a sombre catalogue of charges
arrayed against them ; but this one in particular,
which now forms one of the chief topics of the
day, as regards home questions, is of great
importance, and must not be thrust aside, or
slurred over, because foreign affairs of moment en-
gage the attention of our legislators. There is a
time for all things, and no one in public or private
matters ever succeeds better in great undertakings
because he neglects the smaller or more trivial
ones. Not that this subject of criminal procedure
is at all a trifling one, but some may rank it as
secondary to questions which concern events that
in future generations will rank foremost in the
pages of history. It is to be considered whether
we can discuss a more solemn thing than the right
disposal of those unhappy men who are charged
with the gravest offence of which man can be
guilty. As the law is at present constituted, or at
11 events carried out, we seem to waver and alter-
nate between the unseemly haste with which we
hurry on the immortal soul, unfitted to die, all
unprepared, into the presence of its Maker, to await
the audit of the final judgment, or else there come
the conflicting claims, the twofold arguments, and
the complicated asseverations to prove guilt guilt-
less, which end in the defeat of justice, the unfair
treatment of the prisoner, and the general confusion
of ideas which cause the whole affair to become a
by word and a reproach. All that appertains to
the carrying out of sentences, and the execution
of the law concerning criminals charged with mur-
der must be entirely changed, and the footing on
which it is based be of so solid a structure that
mistakes may be of unfrequent occurrence, and
errors impossible.

The latest intelligence received from Shanghai
fully confirms the account which had reached us in
telegraphic outline of the treachery and cruelty of
the Futai and his men, and of the rupture between
him and Major GORDON consequent upon events
attending the surrender of Soochow. Matters indeed
have reached such a crisis as to render the imme-
diate withdrawal of Major GORDON'S services from
the Imperial cause a very probable occurrence;
while the glaring breach of faith and deliberate in-
sult to a British officer on the part of the Futai and
his fellows have called forth an emphatic protest
from the whole body of foreign consuls. It appears
that the rebels, who were holding Soochow, were
much disheartened by their defeat in the attempt
to repulse Major GORDON'S attack on the earth..
works at the eastern side at the close of November
last. CHUNG-WANG, whose palace is within the
city, called a council of the Wangs, or chiefs, and
proposed to surrender not only Soochow but all
other cities held by the rebels in the province of
Kiang•sn.. Most of the councillors agreed with him ;
bat there was one important dissentient—AlowANG,
the commandant of Socchow. lie declared he
was able to hold the city although the entire
works were captured, and his determination pre-
vailing the assembly parted. Whether the com-
mander could have carried out his promise under
the assault of disciplined troops led on by an
English officer, may very well be doubted, but he
was not put to the test. CHUNG WANG left the
city the very night on pretence of getting rein-
forcements, but he took his troops with him and
returned no more. 11l0-WANG still remained firm,
but one of the other chiefs opened communication
with GORDON and the Imperialist General with
a view to the surrender of the city. Before this
was arranged, however, another council of the
Wangs was called, at which, after a stormy die-