The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-11 00:00:00

TILE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, AUGUST 11, 1864.

dulged in to the usual extent, and was sharper than
usual in front of the 18th Carps."
" City Point, Virginia, Thursday, July 28, via
Washington, Friday, July 29.
" All last night and this morning (Thursday)
there has been very heavy firing on the other side
of the Appomattox. There is a rumour is circula-
tion here that one of the rebel rams has sunk one of
our gunboats, and that the rams contemplate an ex-
cursion to this place. If they do they will meet
with a warm reception. Two of our monitors have
gone up the river."
Respecting the second Confederate raid in the
Shenandoah Valley the New Fork limes says:—
" Nothwithstanding the exciting rumours which
still prevail in regard to the movements of the rebels
on the Upper Potomac, it appears to be tolerably
certain that the second movement up the Shenan-
doah Valley was solely for the purpose of driving
back the Union forces, in order to secure for the
raiders the unmolested occupation of the valley
while they gathered in the rich harvest. Well-in-
formed persons affirm that there is, to-day, in the
Shenandoah Valley breadstuffs enough to feed the
whole of Lee's army for a twelvemonth; and it is
obvious that a rebel force of 20,000 men could not
be more advantageously employed than in gather-
ing, for the famishing armies in Richmond, the
precious staff of life, especially as the railroad com-
munications of the rebel capital with the grain die.
tricts of the Confederacy have been severed, or are
procariously held. It is not unlikely, however, that
the rebels may send cavalry parties across the river
in order to distract attention from their agricultural
operations in the valley. We have but little tele.
graphic news from the reported new rebel raid into
Maryland, for th© reason that it is peremptorily
withheld by the military authorities."
" Washington, Wednesday, July 27, p.m.
"A gentleman who has just arrived here informs
us that Harper's Ferry has been evacuated by our
forces, and the rebels have their line of skirmishers
out about four miles distant from that place. He
cannot give me an estimate, but states that they are
in large force. H© also informs me that there was
more or less fighting on Sunday between Martins-
burgh and Williamsport, and that our forces fell
back sullenly and resolutely. Passengers from
Western Maryland who came down this morning
report that heavy filing was heard on Monday in
the direction of Martinsburgb, and yesterday firing
was heard from up the river, apparently in the di-
rection of Williamsport."
" Baltimore, Wednesday, July 27.
" The American, of this morning, has the follow-
ing:--f There is no confirmation of the report that
the rebels have re-entered Maryland by way of
Shepardstown and Sharpsburgh. It is hardly pos-
sible that General Early will poke his nose far in
this direction as ho must be aware that in doing so
be will speedily encounter• some very different fight-
ing material from the tired and broken down
columns of General Hunter. Harper's Ferry is still
in our possession. There has been no attack upon
that point as yet, and the rebels are believed not to
have entered Maryland. A scout, who left Martins•
burg at 7 o'clock last night, and crossing at Shep-
ardstown arrived here this morning, reports heavy
skirmishing at Martinsburg, between Gen. Crook's
forces and the rebels under Breckinridge on Mon-
day, up to 5 p.m. Our forces fell back to this side
of the Potomac, from Martinsburg to William's-
port—but the rebels evinced no intention of crossing
and refugees from Washington and other western
counties were returning to their homes. It was
generally supposed that the object of the rebels was
to keep our forces out of the valley while they
gathered in the harvest. Later reports assert that
we have reoccupied Martinsburg. General Wallace
has issued orders for the immediate enrolling of all
the ablebodied coloured men in this city, directing
that they be forthwith organised in companies and
regiments and armed and equipped. They are to be
drilled and furnished with arms. The officers axe
to ba appointed by the mayor, and the force w;'

„...
constitute a part of the military defence of the city.
The order warns disloyal masters and employers
not to interfere with these orders. The Leagues
are also engaged in perfecting their military organ-
isation. The order restricting the press here from
publishing anything relative to rebel movements is
still in force, much to the perplexity of the editors,
who do not appreciate the wisdom (?) of the order.
The statement in the special despatch to the
Bulletin that Harper's Ferry has been evacuated is
undoubtedly incorrect, as the telegraph to that point
is still working. The reported occupation of Mar-
tinsburg is generally credited.'”
" Baltimore, Friday, July 29.
"We have nothing later that is authentic from
the Upper Potomac. One thing is certain, and that
is that the rebels have not crossed the Potomac, but
had, at last advices, disappeared from the line of
the river. Oar forces are understood to be vigor-
ously pushing the rebels south of the Potomac.
General Wallace has informed the editors of news-

papers in this city that information was received
last night which renders it unnecessary to continue
any longer the restrictions upon the publication of
news, as heretofore ordered, except so far as it
relates to the movements of troops in this depart-
ment."

" Philadelphia, Friday, July 29.
"The Bulletin has the following special de
spatches

" Baltimore, Thursday, July 28, 11 p.m.
" Martinsburg is supposed to have been evacu-
ated by the rebels to-day. General Hunter sti
commands the department of Virginia, and General
Crook the troops in the field. The rebels are be-
lieved to be falling back, preparatory to an advance
in another direction. Our forces aro moving in
pursuit.'
" He rrisburg, Pennsylvania, Friday, July 29.
" The rebels have now possession of some of the
fords on the Potomac. They have crossed and re-
crossed at Falling Waters, and have again crossed,
or were crossing, yesterday and last evening. They
were in force, and aro said to be at least 4,000
strong. At Hancock they were also crossing, and
fears are expressed that they may get to Bedfard
Springs, where Governor Curtin now is."
"Philadelphia, Friday, July 29-
" The Bullettit has received tho following special
despatch from Lancaster :
" Official reports state the rebels are crossing the
river at Williamsport, Maryland, and the telegraph
operators at Hagerstown have left.'"
"The special despatch from Lancaster, announc-
ing that the rebels were crossing the Potomac at
IVilliamsport, is without foundation in fact."
" Baltimore, Friday, July 29, 10 40 p.m.
" The American s special, dated Harper's Ferry,
says:—

" There is an invasion going forward here, but it
Is not an invasion of Maryland, Harper's Ferry is
once again, in its varied experience during this
war, the scene of active military operations. Thus
much I may say without imparting any informa-
tion to the enemy, for by the time this goes into
print they will well know that before Maryland
can be invaded again, the question to be decided
is who shall be master in the valley of the
Shenandoah. Without touching on contraband
news by any reference to the troops which on
our side are to be employed in settling this problem)
their numbers, commanders, B:e., I may say that
the military authorities have pushed forward their
counter-movements against the schemes of the
rebels with an unusual degree of vigour, sagacity,
and secrecy. If the rebel force lingers anywhere
near Winchester, a battle is among the probabili-
ties within the next days. If fought at all, it will
be fought under circumstances that
ought to, and I
believe will, give us success. It will sot be
a fight
in which a portion of our forcee are exposed to th°
whole rebel strength. There will bo no whipping
us this time by detail. We shall not be obliged
to fight egeiest superior numbers of the
enemy, and also bad management on our part.
If we are whipped, the rebels will have
to show a larger force in the Shenandoah valley
than has yet been developed, except by rumour,
and they wiil also have to fight for what
they get. It is doubtful whether any serious
engagement wilt occur, unless, indeed, our move-
m
b,els by surpnts have been sufficiently rapid to take the re-
rise. We havf had abundant experience
of the nnfruitfulnese of a cha:e of the enemy up the
valley when they find it expedient to avoid giving

battle. There is a race for Staunton or some of the
gaps, in which the rebels have the advantage both
of start and distance, and as they generally lead us,
so lam inclined to believe it will be this time. There
is one other point to be taken into consideration,
and upon it may depend the whole question. The
enemy may be sufficiently in need of the crops of the
valley to make it an imperative necessity that they
should fight for them. It is undoubtedly the fact
that these crops have furnished to a very consider-
able extent the substance for the army at Richmond.
The question as to who is the master in the valley is
once more to be tested. There is nothing important
from up the river. The rebels withdrew their pickets
opposite Williamsport on Wednesday night, and yes-
terday Gen. Kelly reoccupied Martinsburg. Tele-
graphia communication with that point has not been
re-established, nor has any train yet returned up,
as the condition of the road and bridge at Opequon
Creek is not known. The bridge over Back Creek,
beyond Martinsburg, is reported to have been de-
stroyed. The train crossed the bridge into Har-
per's Ferry to-day for the first time since the last
rebel occupation. Harper's Ferry has been burnt
over again, this being the fourth or fifth time since
the war began. None of the private buildings of
the town have been injured. The general belief of
officers engaged in the recent fight is that Colonel
Mulligan was killed. He is known to have been
very severely wounded, and was left on the field.
An effort is in progress to learn his fate anti obtain
his remains, if he is dead."
The New Orleans Picayune publishes General
Forrest's address to his command :
"Head-quarters, Forrest's Cavalry, Tupelo,
Mississippi, June 28.
" Soldiers,—After along and laborious campaign
the Majors General commanding deems it an appro-
priate occasion to address you a few words of re-
capitulation, acknowledgment, and congratulation.
About the 15th of February last the campaign which
so gloriously terminated at Tishemingo Creek was
inaugurated. Majors General Sherman, with a large
and well-appointed army, undertook to penetrate
the central counties of Alabama and Mississippi.
His object was avowedly to capture Selma and
Mobile, and to desolate that productive region of
country, from which the granaries of a large section
of the Confederacy were supplied. Generals Smith
and Grierson had their duty assigned them, and
were to act a conspicuous part in the work of spolia-
tion and piracy. With a large cooperating cavalry
force, thoroughly armed and equipped, they were
to descend through Northern Mississippi, carrying
fire and sword with them. On they came, like
a blighting sirocco. At West Point you met
them. There you threw yourselves across
the rich prairies, a living bulwark to stay the
desolating tide. Compared with the enemy you are
but few in numbers, but every man became a hero,
for all seemed impressed with the importance of the
momentous struggle. You proved yourselves equal
to the expectations of the country. You met the
proud and exultant enemy. The result is known
to the world ; you drove him howling back in igno•
miny and shame, broken and demoralised. Sher-
man's campaign was thus brought to an abrupt
conclusion, and Mississippi and Alabama were
saved. The victory was a glorious one, and with
heartfelt pride the general commanding acknow-
ledges your unexampled gallantry. This great work
was accomplished by Col. Ball's brigade, commanded
by Col. Bartean, CoaM'Culloch's, and Col. Forrest's
brigades. But great as was this victory, it was not
without alloy. The laurel is closely entwined with
the cypress, and the lustre of a brilliant triumph is
darkened by the blood with which it was purchased.
It was here that Col. Barksdale gave up his life, a
willing sacrifice upon the altar of his country. He
fell in front of the battle, gallantly discharging his
duty. He sleeps, but his name is imperishable.
Here, too, fell the noble brother of the general com-
manding—Col. Jeffrey E. Forrest. Ho was a brave
and chivalrous spirit, ever foremost in the right. He
fell in the flower of his youth and usefulness. But
his dying gaze was proudly turned upon the victo-
rious field which his own valour had aided in win,
ning. Peace to the ashes of these gallant young
heroes. Gen. Grierson, not satisfied with this test
of your prowess, united with Gen. Sturgis, at the
head of ono of the best appointed forces ever
equipped by the Yankee nation—complete in in-
fantry, cavalry, artillery, and supply trains. They
came forth with threats of vengeance towards you
and your commander for the bloody victory at Fort
Pillow—made a massacre only by dastardly Yankee
reporters. Again you respond bravely to your gene-
ral's call. You met the enemy and defeated him.
Victory was never more glorious, disaster never
more crushing and signal. From a proud and de-
fiant foe en route to the heart of your country, with
declarations, both by negro and white troops, of
'Na quarter to Forrest and his men,' he became an
enemy beaten, defeated, routed, and destroyed. You
drove the boasted minions of despotism in confused
flight from the battlefield. 17 guns, 250 waggons,
3,ooostaud of arms, 2,000 prisoners, and killed and
wounded 2,000 more, are the proud trophies which
adorn your triumphant banners. The remainder
are still wandering in the bushes and bottoms, for
ever lost to the enemy. There was not over 3,00
of you that achieved this victory over 10,000
of the enemy. Had you never before raised an
army in your country's cause,
this terrible over-
throw of her brutal foe would entitle you to her
deepest gratitude. Again, your general expresses
his pride and admiration of your gallantry and won-
derful achievmente. You stand before the world
an unconquerable band of heroes. Whether dis-
mounted, and fighting shoulder to shoulder, like
infantry veterans, or hurling your irresistible squa-
drons on the living foe, you evicca the same coura-
geous_
bravery. Soldiers I amid your rejoicings do
not forget the gallant dead upon these fields of
d
glory, Many a noble comrade has fallen a costly
aacrifiee to his country's independence. The most
you can do is to cherish their memory, and strive to
make the future as glorious as they have made the
past. The smoke of your burning homesteads, the
screams of your insulted women, and the cries of
starving children, will
again nerve your strong
arms with strength. Your fathers of 1776 had much
to fight for, but how little and unimportant was
their cause compared with yours. They fought
not against annihilation, but simply to be in-
dependent of a foreign, yet constitutional and free,
uuvernment. You are strugulisg
against the most
odious of all tyranny for existence itself, for your
against your own enslavement, and children—
property, your homes, your Wives
against emancipaa

Aon, confiscation, and subjugation, with all their
attendant horrors. In conclusion, your command-
ing General
cougrAtulates you on the brilliant pro-
spEcts which everywhere pervades our cause. The
independence of the Confederate States is a fired,
accomplished,
immutable fact. The ray of peace is
glimmering like bright sunshine around the dark
clouds. Be true to yourself and your country a little
longer, and
You will soon be enabled to return to
your desolated homes, there to collect together once
more your shattered household gods.—By order of
" Major-Gen. N. B. FORREST.
" C. W. Anderson,
Acting Adjutant-General."
A despatch from St, Louis, dated the 28th ult.,
gives the following articulars of the alleged con-
spiracy for the creation North-Western Con-
federacy :
" The Demo of a
crat publishes a long account of the
conspiracy for the erection of a North-western Con-
federacy reported a few days since, The organisa-
tion'
Order of American Knights.'
engaged iu this conspiracy is known as the
and its real object
is to embarrass the Government conduct of the war,
and to overthrow the Government, if necessary, for
the supremacy of the Order. Its professions and
purposes are different in different States, proclaim-
:i6g a war policy in N3V7 York, Pennsylvania, New
The robe I
fw, Itatileiesinogrtihelelrmuosnedelwioans,
C
it is for pe:co, The Order is of Southern origin,
jb
ee
ti:::".'e rueaucdttehodotrho:tniretEs s.:eurina s States, while in the west
taghn
uodsl dateocnortniCircle.ds i
r a 0
eemn:ander. Vallandigham Pb-rrinciegihstssuopfretmhee
,of the
made supres_vue commander of the S.
him and
and ioto between
the East and the West,
the rebel
rebellion. Vallandigham's
Itt ehi :indsei suicgnh esCin:i enr
theia tdsLfli eSnwohtauwahstde:PSN'earlriecnc:dnr:tilnivehl principal,,
eadsrleolcoa::nl:. es
afterlht iii
1 thl some
f furthering
hi
ove
I:
iti
nhi
gr
in
Can 2,1;,,, and
' arranged for the establishmot 01 ~.

"'he

Order throughout the loyal States. The names of
all who visited him at the Clifton-house are known
to the Government, among whom were William B.
Reed, of Philadelphia, Pendleton and Pugh, of Ohio,
Kribben, of St. Louis, and Storey and Meyrick, of
Chicago, are published. The result of this confer-
ence was also known to the Government about the
Ist of January. Mr Vallandigham issued an address
to the lodges in the loyal States, in which he calls
upon the members to renew their vows. He says
the time is fast approaching which will test their
sincerity. He declares that the prosecution of the
war is a violation of the rights of the States, and
that President Lincoln is a tyrant and usurper. A
meeting of the grand commanders of the different
States was held in the city of New York, on the 22d
day of February, for the purpose of organising an
outbreak on the 10th of March, the day fixed for
the draught to take place, but no definite plan was
agreed upon. The names of these conspirators are
also known. The Commanders had a conversation
with the Supreme Commander at Windsor, Canada,
early in April, for general consultation. Among
those in attendance at this conference were the
Grand Commander at New York, Charles L. Hunt,
of St. Louis, and Lafayette Dealin, of InCtiana.
The programme adopted at this meeting was
that Mr Vallandigham should represent his dis-
trict in Ohio in the National Democratic Convention
to be held in the city of Chicago. Mr Vallandig-
ham, in the National Democratic Convention, was
to proclaim the doctrines of the Order of the
American Knights—namely, pronounce the existing
administration of the Government a power usurped
which the people had a right to expel by force if
necessary, in fact to inaugurate a rebellion in the
North, in which he was to be supported by the
Order. Each Grand Commander was to have fully
armed and equipped a body guard at the National
Convention in Chicago for the defence of Mr. Val-
landigham. This, it was thought, would precipi-
tate the people of the free States into an armed con-
flict, which was to be the signal for the Knights of
the American Order to unite against the lawful
authorities and kill or capture the civil and military
authorities. The Knights were then to seize the
arsenals, arms, and public property of all kinds,
and proclaim the Government overthrown. There
is most convincing evidence of the truthfulness of
this statement. The reason of Mr. Vallandig ham's
sudden return to Ohio was the fear of his being
defeated as a delegate to the National Democratic
Convention to be held at Chicago, and it was only
by his presence in the State that his election as a
delegate was secured. The numerical strength of
the Knights of the American Order is over half a
million ; 150,000 of this number are armed and
organised. The Order in Now York is called the
M'Clellan Minute Men,' numbering over 200,000
men. The Grand Commander in Missouri is Charles
L. Hunt, a nephew of James H. Lucas, and for
many year the Belgian Consul. The Deputy
Grand Commander in this city is Charles E. Dunn.
An officer in St. Louis has a long list of the names
of the members of the Order, together with all the
information concerning the whole scheme. The
whole affair has been thoroughly brought to light,
and the proof of it is in the hands of the author

ties at 'Washington, and will be given to the public
at the proper time."

Murder and Suicide,

At Reading yesterday morning it was discovered that a
young married woman had deliberately drowned her three
children in the Thames and then committed sufcido by
drowing herself. The deceased woman was named Emma
Legge, and she was the wife of James Legge, a journeyman
upholsterer, and her three children were—Flora, aged five
years; Louis, aged three years; and Napoleon, aged three
mouths. On Monday morning, Aug. 1, she, her husband,
and children arrived at Reading from Tunbridge Wells by
the South-Eastern Railway, and the man took lodgings for
them in the Rising Sun publichouse in the Forbury. He
seems, however, to have left them there, for ho went away
the same evening, and it has been ascertained that ho slept
at the Spread Eagle Tavern, in another part of the town.
From that time he abandoned his wife and children, she
having only a small sum, besides a few articles of furniture,
with which to provide the common necessaries of life. After
remaining at the Rising Sun a few days she removed to a
publichouse in Minster-street, where she remained until
Monday in the present week. The furniture she had she
disposed of on Monday for about 40s. She then paid or her
lodgings and a few small bills she had incurred, leaving her
with little more than half-a-crown for future maintenance.
On Tuesday evening she took lodgings at the Jack of New-
bury, Bridge-street, and slept there that night, On Wed-
nesday morning she rose soon after 6 o'clock, and dressed
herself and her children. A little before 7 she went to a Mr
Boseley, a furniture dealer, in Horn-street, and hired a
perambulator, stating that she wanted to give her children
an airing, As the weather was dull and threatening rain, Mr
Boseley told her he thought it was too cold to take children
out at so early an hour, but as she appeared determined togo
he allowed her to take the perambulator, into which she put
the children and went away, She was observed to go along
Caversham-road, and turn into the yard adjoining the White
Hart, Caversharn, towards the towing path of the Thames.
There was nothing in her conduct to excite suspicion, as it is
rather a favourite place for people to take an airing.
Some time aftc: wards the gardener at Mrs Monck's, on
the opposite side of the river, observed a perambulator on
the bank without any one in it, or even near it. While he

was looking to see what had become of the person in charge
of it he saw something like a human body floating on the
surface of the river. He thei, got into his mistress's plea-
sure.boat, pulled acrose the river, and within a few yards
of the bank he saw the three children and a woman lying
within a short distance of each other, all dead.

All tho bodies were removed to an outhouse belonging to
the White Hart Inn. The children were quite dead and
cold. As there was, however, a slight warmth about the
body of the woman, every means were used, under the direc-
tion of Mr. Bailey, surgeon, to restore animation, but with-
out avail.

Mr J. J. Blandy, the Coroner for the borough, opened
the inquest in the large room at the White Hart lan, Caver-
sham, in the afternoon. After viewing the bodies the jury
heard the following evidence :

Mr F. A. Bullet', surgeon, Reading, said,—About half-
past 9 o'clock this morning I was summoned to the White
Hart Inn, Caversharn-bridge, to attend a woman and her
three children, who I understood had been taken out of the
water just above the bridge. I attended immediately, and
found them lying in a stable adjoining the inn. Several
persons were actively engaged in endeavouring to restore
animation. The bodies of the children were quite cold, but
as there was slight remaining warmth in the body of the
mother, I requested they would continue their efforts for
some time longer, in which I assisted, but without avail.
Judging from the very slight warmth in the mother's body
when I first saw her, and the total absence of it in the
bodies of the children, I should say that they had been im-
mersed from half an hour to an hour before they were taken
out of the water. There was no appearance of violence on
the body of either child.

ei William Jacobs, the gardener, then described the man-
ner in which he bad found the bodies. He said—On near-
ing the bank, and when within seven feet of it, to my great
surprise I saw three children and a woman floating on the
surface of the wa",er. I took the children out of the water,
placed them in the boat, and called to my little boy 10 years
of age, and told him to go to Piper's and tell him to come
and render me some assistance, as there was some one
drowned. I lifted up the woman by the head, and held her
up, and shortly Piper and his man came in a punt and took
her out. They were all dead when.l found them. The peram-
bulator was about four feet from the water's edge. The
water is a dozen feet deep where the bodies were found. The
baby was floating on his back ; the second seemed to be the
same, and the elder one was dipping in the water with the
face downwards. The woman was in the same position as
the last mentioned child. They had all been immersed, and
on rising were kept up by their clothes. The children were
separated from each other, and the woman from all of them.
They formed a kind of group floating. Their hats were off
and in the water. I found a purse in the perambulator. It
contained only three halfpence. There were two paper
bags, in which had been broken biscuits, and at the bottom
of the perambulator was another halfpenny. The two older
children had been eating biscuits, and the youngest, from
milk coming out of his mouth, could only a short time be-
fore being thrown into the river have been suckled by the
mother.

James King, a respectable-looking young man, living at
Whittey, said the deceased Emma Legge was my sister,
I saw her on Saturday morning last at half-past 10 o'clock.
I saw the three children on the day mentioned, and that
was the last time I saw them all alive. I did not know her
husband, but I met a man in the street whom I supposed to
be him, from the description given of him to me. I spoke to
him, but he said he was not the man. Of my own knowledge
I do not know whether she was married. She said she was,
and I have reasm to believe she was stating the truth. She
gave me one day last week the address of her husband's
brother at Tunbridge-wells, and by her desire I wrote to him
to inquire if ho had gone back there to work, but no answer
was received. I was in Australia about 17 years. and re-
turned on the 19th of June last. Since that time I have
seen my sister four or five times. She came to Reading on
the let August, and her husband took lodgings for her at
the Rising Sun. Her husband did not stay there with her,
but went ant got a bed at the Spread Eagle. He did not
return to her again. She told me sho thought her husband
had gone away drinking, and that she had very little money
left, She did not know what he was going to do about

work, and she expected him back every hour. I asked her
if I got work in Reading if she would come and live with
me, and I said I would try to support her and the children.
She said she would not, for she would not be under obliga-
tion to anyone. On one of the occasions when I saw her
she talked of selling the things she had with her, and going
back to Tunbridge to see if her husband was there.
The Coroner—Did she state what her object or motive
was in coming to Reading ?

Witness—She stated that they were come to Reading to
live. That her husband was an upholsterer by trade, and
that he had sent goods or luggage, above 20 cwt., by rail-
way, and she and the four children were to follow it, as she
believed, to have a home there.
The Coroner—ln her conversation with you did she
speak in a way that led you to suppose she was in a despond-
ing- state ?

Witness—She appeared to me to be low spirited on ac-
count of her husband's absence and drinking as she sup-
posed. She was under tho impression that ho had gone
back to Tunbridge.
The Coroner said that was all the evidence he was pre-
pared to lay before the jury at that time, but, as it was de-
sirable to find the husband, an adjournment must take place.
In the meantime, Inspector Peck would communicate with
the police at Tunbridge-wells, and probably some informa-
tion would be obtained respecting him, and also other evi-
dence which might enable them to arrive at a verdict.

The inquest ;as then adjourned until next week,

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

TIDIES.—The absorbing affairs of Europe, the
embarrassments of the present, and the uncertain-
ties of the future have left us but little time of late
to consider events that are passing in other quarters
of the world. The civil war in America is now,
however; no longer the topic of absorbing interest
that it was before the war in Denmark. The Polish
insurrection has been finally trampled out, yet little
is said and less thought about the wrongs of a coun-
try which a few months ago almost monopolised the
sympathies of Europe. Under these circumstances
we need no apology to our readers for recalling their
attention to the local affairs of a dependency of the
British Crown which as yet at any rate is enjoying
the blessings of profound and uninterrupted peace.
The time is rapidly approaching when the complex
tion of the public buildings erected at Ottawa for
the reception of the Governor-General and the two
Houses of the Canadian Parliament will permit the
session to be opened in that remote locality. The
place was, as our readers will remember, fixed upon
by an award made in the name of the Queen for the
site of the future capital. Many were the murmur-
ings, bitter was the discontent with which this de-
cision was received. Quebec, Toronto, and Montreal
each had their advocates and supporters, Toronto
might plead that she was the capital of the wealthier
the more fertile, and more progressive part of the
colony; Montreal that she was situated on the con-
fluence of two mighty rivers, accessible to steam
navigation, and on the boundaries of the Upper and
Lower Provinces; Quebec could boast of her anti-
quity, of the unrivalled beauties of her picturesque
and commanding situation, of her historical renown,
and her long possession of the rank of capital. It
was not likely that persons actuated by these vio-
lent local jealousies should readily acquiesce in any
decision, but there was a large portion of the Cana•
dian public who, without any decided sympathy for
the three competitors for the rank of capital, were
nevertheless as much displeased at the selection of
Ottawa as those whose patriotism was more local or
municipal. They objected to a transfer of the
Canadian Parliament from civilised and thickly
peopled districts, from places busy with the hum of
commerce and presenting the attractions of settled
and civilised society, to a small town, placed, indeed,
in the neighbourhood of resounding waterfalls and
splendid woods, but recently founded, inhabited by
a rude and turbulent population, and remote from
the habitation of almost every member of the Legis-
lature which it was to receive. Placed high up on
a river the navigation of which is impeded by rapids,
and the mighty tributaries of which have not even
yet been all named and explored—with nothing be-
yond it, with no commerce but the lumber trade, and
few inhabitants besides those whom that rude and
primitive labour supports, there was. at Ottawa
something wild and repulsive which those authori-
ties who merely contented themselves with unroll.
in g the map and fixing upon the most central
position they could find between East and West
could scarcely conceive. Probably, also, there was
another feeling, less openly avowed, and perhaps
less consciously entertained, which made the
selection of Ottawa unpopular. There was a
time when Canada thought seriously of annexa-
tion to the United States, when, fretting over
imaginary grievances, she believed she would find
a remedy for them all in the bosom of the great
Republic. But long before the breaking out of the
present. civil war this feeling had cooled, if it had
not entirely passed away. The United States and
their institutions had lest their charms in the
sight of a Canadian placed en the spot, and there•
fore not to be deluded by these minding phrases
which SO long had passed current among English
Radicals. There was no wish to copy the American
Flan of selecting the capital of a State the most
insignificant and out of the way town that could
be found, provided its situation was only central.
They saw in the selection of Ottawa for the capital
of Canada a servile imitation of the strange policy
which forbids Baltimore to be the capital of
Maryland, Philadelphia of Pennsylvania, New
York of New York, Cincinnati of Ohio, Chicago
of Illinois, or St. Louis of Missouri. They thought,
not unreasonably, that the presence of good so-
ciety, the sessions of Courts of Justice, the assem-
bling of a military force,—that wealth, commerce,
and industry, with all their adjuncts, were more
fitting accompaniments to a Legislative capital
than logs, rapids, and Red Indians. This was, we
believe, the almost unanimous feeling of Canada;
yet, to the honour of Canada be it spoken, this
unanimous feeling did not prevail. The word of
the Colony had been given, and that word, though,
it must be confessed, not without many demurs and
much repining, has hitherto been honourably ob-
served. Not withstanding the embarrassment of the
Colonial finances, money has been found for the
erection of suitable buildings for the Legislature,
though others existed elsewhere, and the time is
rapidly approaching when the Canadian Parliament
will take possession of its new residence. A diffi

culty has, however, been started, which, so far as
we know, nobody had mentioned during the long
and acrimonious controversy to which the decision
of the Queen gave rise. It is asserted with con-
siderable snow of reason that the true basis of ope-
rations for the defence of Canada in case of invasion

from the United States must necessarily be the eea.
:rho frontier of the colony is long and low, running
in the Lower Province from north to south, and in
the Upper Province from east to west, along the
shore of the St. Lawrence and the great Lakes. It
is said, then, that it would be impossible to defend
the Upper Province, a long and narrow strip of
land, against the invasion of armies so numerous
as those which the American Government could
bring against it, now that the Northern States
have become a great military Power. As we
recede from the shores of the St. Lawrence there
is little to tempt an invading or to shelter
and support a retreating army. From this
point of view all those parts of Canada
which a British man-of-war cannot protect are
virtually at the mercy of the United States.
Among these must be reckoned the city of Ottawa,
which though situated on a mighty river is hag
accessible from the sea to ships of any burden on
account of the rapids which obstruct the naviga-
tion. It is therefore argued that to place the Par-
liament at Ottawa would be to place the Governor
and the Legislature absolutely at the mercy of the
Americans, and it is earnestly prsssed upon us that,
at any rate till the present danger is over, we should
retain the Legislature at Quebec. There is bat
one objection to this argument—that it proves too
much. If no place is fit for the capital of Canada
which is not accessible at all times to en English
man-of-war, we fear that Canada must go without

a Legislative capital altogether. Certainly, Quebec
is no such capital, for its port is closed by the ice
every year from the end of November to the end
of April ; and the same consideration, of course,
applies with still greater force tb the towns of
Montreal and Toronto, which lie higher up the
stream of the St. Lawrence. We have never aps
proved the policy of forcing a capital into existence
in defiance of man and of nature, and even though
this argument against Ottawa be not conclusive, it
may be allowed some weight in support of a view
against which, as it seems to us, there is really so
little to be said. At the same time, we hardly see
how in the present state of affairs the English
Government can very well take the initiative in

inviting the colony to break that p;c7nTniseto—which
they have hitherto insisted on holding it so fast.
PosT.—Macaulay's New Zealander is quite as
likely to find himself occupied, when the time for
the fulfilment of the prophecy arrives, with an his-
torical inquiry at some university at the Antipodes
into the number of Lord Paimerstons who governed
England during the nineteenth century, as to be en-
gaged in sketching ecclesiastical ruins from the
broken arches of the Thames. He will perhaps be
in much the same doubt as to the plurality of Lord
Palmerston that we are in as to the plural existence
of many a mythical hero the diversity of whose
deeds wo cannot attribute to any one man' The
New Zealander will
probably record that he finds
this Lord Palmerston in office during the first de-
cade of the century, that ho finds him Prime
Minister also in the seventh;
he finds him a young
man in 1804, he finds him still a younger man in
1864; he finds him a friend of Fox and Pitt; he
finds him again the energetic chief of a Cabinet
"Itaining men of the generation of Argyll, and De

• ••[
Grey and Ripon, and Hartington. Nor is this all
The New Zealander will not only conclude that
there were two or three Lord Palmerstons in the
course of the century, but that there must have been
more than one at the same time, and that they must
all have been very young men too. The proof of
this he will adduce from the fact that this Lord
Palmerston, even so late as 1864. appears to be in
various places simultaneously. One day he is stated
to be in Northamptonshire, the next day he is in
London ; again he is the subject of a public ovation
at Bradford, the next instant he is at half-aedozeo
other places, and before the distances could well bo
traversed he is again Prime Minister in London.
:Lord
Then there are 20 speeches, all purporting to Lora
livered within a fortnight of each other by a
Palmerston;" and it is quite clear that, even if one
man could have made them all, they are in as rasnY
varieties of style, and that they aro therefore the
speeches of different persons. No man could bungat
once an incipient Statesman in 1804 and a y
Prime Minister in 1864 ; nor can any man be in
twenty places and make as many speeches in as
many styles in half the number of days. The
de-
duction of the historical essayist in Nov Zeal at
will therefore be clear that there were not only:eve'l
ral Lord Palmerstons in England during the
niII -
teenth century, but that there were several simoi
taneously. It will be construed to be merely an
official title taken by many, and not dissimilar t
that which a French journal less pardonably ternied,
some time ago, 4. Lord Chiltern Hundreds, an ace
in her Majesty's household." We are very will_
to reflect that thee() is a limit to political activity Lud
producing public reputation, and that the haze otl
antiquity tends to lend a oubt whether a grea
variety of actions extending over a correspondiat,
variety of time can reasonably be ascribed to a sing!
individual. For ourselves, we have a good old Cori'
servative belief that there was one Hengist, one
Hercules, one Zoroaster—and only one ; and 6° oil.
But, nevertheless, we cannot wholly dispel our ar.
prehension that it may at some distant period be d'
favourite subject for college essays in New 7.4°31.813,
—" How many Palmerstons were there in the ovi n
teenth century ? and could there have been leo ilia
the col!:
three Palmerstons at any one time ?" It
verse of Whately's " Historic Doubts;" and the taorn
guments for the übiquity or plurality of Pahl'„ersthe
will beat all those that have been raised ler. 1,
vagueness of Napoleon. At Bradford, certainly'
Lord Palmerston has come forward in anytbitle is
the character of a Minister to whom busineB.B.o
wearisome or fatiguing. " The more the inerries,t.
is, in fact, the drift of his speech from first to 18ho
The first care of the hardest working Premier Wu.
has ever governed England was to expose RePof
lar fallacy concerning " the labours and ansietleseo
tarryoffice." He tells at once that he believes
labours and anxieties to be a sheer chimera. li.f.ct,
man's testimony is to be taken on such a social
the the verdict of a Minister who has had an c"-. as
experience of fifty years, and whose activity Albas,
absorbed all the duties of every office that bnen do
held, certainly ought to be conclusive. If Yo; bat
your duty, Lord Palmerston says in effect' - and
business have you to complain of labours fly
anxieties ? If yon don't, then, no doubt, Y°l2 may
very well be harassed. All this work and resP;oo,
sibility seems mere child's play to Lord palinerS,wa
It is only to be compared to roiling a stone di° so
hill. One thing, however, Lord Palmerston 61 °Bad
to harass even him. It is, whatever tirawebieh
opportunity prevent him from doing." Tliats..etis"
Ministers do, he tells us, is to them a source o',-)3iag
faction ; they are of the nature of anvils; tiee
wearies them ; nothing puts their adrainiStrt
ord
he
machinery out of gear. Can, again, this be vet',
Palmerston of sixty years ago ? Perhaps, b°';`' the
his lordship's character is best to be deecribed in cu.
words he has himself used to shadow out tea Penrds
liarities of the English people ; and these of
seems to have caught the fancy cf the peopeord
Bradford. " The English character," seY,is„l'stryr
Palmerston, " is marked by perseverance, ins that
enterprise, judgment, and courage in pars ten
, tb°
which has been undertaken." This, he Le- asen
people of Bradford, represents especially theirough
character, for they have done wonders Or „tea
perseverance and hard labour;
a great and barren moor into a great and thtsi has
commercial town, though in fact their progrooter
but begun, and Bradford is destined to See grrirad.
they have con icing
days. Al! this must be very pleasant to the B.
the
fordites ; bat, whatever may be the tulfilnient,',,as
prediction, there can be no doubt that, as les',,a
things have gone at present, Bradford
encomium passed upon it. With the sBin- dace
te I an'
Lord Palmerston passes on to other 5111j"hs ; told
ewers the Knight of Northamptonshire, w
him at Towcester that he had got all the halt') ent;;.
while his colleagues got nothing but kicks,bY eaYl a
that the merits of the Administration ,were
that
marked degree the collective merits of alit and tb"
fveresiiity
no other Cabinet ever possessed a greater prop tree;
of men of first-class intellect. Possibly this it 3 trtiiter:
but at the same time popular instincts are Ot
very wide of the mark ; and when evErybodiwThCOraici
bines to think that all these first-class men -„°,33es
do but little without Lord Palmerston, it bPc-
lh,ard to gainsay the universality of the
The country is generally inclined to think t-3,it to
owes more to Lord Palmerston than it has °cep re
any man since the Duke of Wellice•ton ; 0(177:1.
inclined to think that, however partial its disc
tion, its judgment is not altogether inaccurate.