The Sun.
London, England, 1864-05-24 00:00:00

superior courts. In conclusion, the noble lord expressed
the opinion that it would be more prudent to wi•hdraw
altogether froth the bill those clauses which related to the
depriving county court judges of the power of imprison-

men..
Lord LYVEDEN supported the second reading of the
bill, on the ground that the present system of retail credit
lay at the root of all the distress of the labouring classes.
Lord CRANWORTH approved of the provisions for
abolishing the power of imprisonment. Credit was very
important in the mercantile world, and even in transac-
tions between retail dealers ; but what imaginable advan-
tage could arise from erodit amongst the ;poorer classes?
(Hear, hear.) He agreed with every word which the
county court judges had said about imprisonment, for
if sums of or £2 were to be recoverable at all, surely the
present machinery was well calculated to effect that object ;
but we ought to push the inquiry further, and consider the
advisability of making small debts wholly irrecoverable by
legal means.
The LORD CHANCELLOR said it was a matter of
regret that a subject like the present, which was a social
question with which all their lordships were competent to
deal, should have attracted so few members to that house.
(There were about eight peers present at this time,) He
must say, with the greatest possible respect, that if they
went on neglecting to take an interest in such subjects they
would not long retain the high position which they had
hitherto held in the public estimation. He believed that
the system of credit which had grown up in this country
was a very great social evil, and held out a constant temp-
tation to the labouring classes to live beyond their means.
He asked their lordships to consider the consequences of
making a man acquainted with the interior of a gaol, whence
he went again into the world degraded in his own estima-
tion and in the estimation of his friends, When a creditcr
wished to imprison his debtor, he (the Lord Chancellor)
would like to ask him under what circumstances he gave the
credit. Another argument in favour of the bill was, that it
placed the poor debtor upon the same footing as the large
debtor, with respect to whom the power of punishment had
been abolished, except in cases of fraud. He had that morn-
ing received a letter from a tallyman, who said he was owed
thousands of pounds, stating that he was in favour of aboli-
tion of imprisonment for debt, but advocating the retention
of the clause which attached the future earninge of debtors.
The noble lord then read an extract from a communication
to the Solicitors' Journal of this week,showing how oppres-
sively the tally system had worked in the county court dis-
trict of Camberwell, and quoted the declaration of the judge
of another county court, that his court was the head col.
lector of the small tradesmen. The noble lord concluded
by observing that, if it was proper that the man who gave
credit should have the right, under all circumstances, to
put his debtor into prison, he had nothing to say for the
bill. But as he entirely disputed the right of the man
who gave credit wantonly to inflict upon society the further
injury of requiring it to furnish him with the means of
keeping his debtor in prison, he commended the bill to their
lordships, asking. Was it moral, was it expedient, that
such a thing should be permitted ? (Hear, hear.)
The Earl of DERBY pointed out that the bill would
deprive creditors of the means of enforcing payment from
a class of debtors who had the means of payment, and who
did not deny their debt, but who would rely upon the state
of the law to avoid the fulfillment of their just obligations.
The power of attaching the earnings of labouring men
must result in many a poor man being dismissed from his

tinct assurance from the Prussian Government that no
forced contribution should be raised after the 11th,
Mr. 'WHITESIDE : My question has not been an-
swered, I have asked what the terms of the armistice

were,
Mr. LAYARD: It was undoubtedly agreed that no
forced contribution should be made after the 11th.
Mr WHITESIDE—Is that instrument in writing, and
will it be laid upon the table that we may endeavour to
understand it ?
Mr D. GRIFFITH, whose rising was the signal for
laughter, said the question of the right hon. gentleman was
addressed to a higher authority than the hon. member. It
was addressed to the noble lord at the head of the Govern-
ment, whom they all rejoiced to see once more amongst them
fulfilling his high functions. There was a certain ambiguity
in the answer of the hon. member, and therefore he desired
to ask in what coin the provisions taken for the Prussian
troops would be paid for.
Lord PALMERSTON—I thought it better that my hon.
friend the Under Secretary of State would answer the ques-
tion of the right hon. gentleman, because it referred to
matters (1 departmental detail with which he is necessarily
better acquainted than I could be. With regard to the
question now put my hon. friend has stated the armistice
distinctly provided that no contribution should be levied
after the signature of the armistice, and that all things re-
quired and had by the Prussian and Austrian troops should
be paid for to the people who delivered them. Well, I am
asked whether that engagement has been fulfilled. My hon.
friend has stated that Count Bismarck, the Prussian Minis-
ter. has assured her Majesty's Government that it will be
fulfilled, and we cannot take upon ourselves to doubt that
the Prussian Government has the power of compelling its
local officers to obey the orders issued in pursuance of inter-
national engagements. The hon. member asks me how
payments are to be made by the Prussian authorities, but
that is a question beyond my'power to answer. The en-
gagement is that payment shall be made, but with regard
to the mode of payment, that is a matter which depends
upon the arrangements entered into by the Prussian Go-
vernment.
The motion for adjournment was then agreed to.
The Vacating of Seats (House of Commons), the Array
Prize (Shares of Deceased), and the Beer-houses (Ireland)
Bills were read a second time.
The Pier and Harbour Orders Confirmation Bill was re-
ferred to a select committee.
The Limited Penalties, the Chain Cables and Anchors,
and the Chief Rents (Ireland) Bills were passed through
committee.
In committee of the whole house, on the motion of Sir J.
HAT, the Chairman was directed to move the house that
leave be given to bring in a bill to authorise the Governor
and Company of the Bank of England to issue their notes in
Scotland, and to make such notes a legal tender there,
which they were not at present in any place north of the
Tweed. Subsequently leave was given to introduce the

A resolution was also agreed to in committee of the whole
house, on the motion of the CIIINCELLOR of the Excur,-
QUER, that it was expedient to enable certain banking co-
partnerships, which may discontinue the issue of their own
bank-notes, to sue and be mei by their public officer.
Leave was given to Si: 11. Butcn to bring in a bill to
alter the days for shooting game in Ireland, by assimilating
the law to that of England and Scotland.
The select committee on the Patent-office library and
museum were nominated ; and at 20 minutes to 7 o'clock
the house adjourned until Thursday,

THE CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA,

(From the Times Correspondent.)
NEW YORK, May 10
The bold as well as complicated movement agains
Richmond which Gen. Grant, srurred by the impa
tience both of the Government and the people, has
undertaken occupies all men's thoughts. It is now
seven days since the order to cross the Rapidan was
given, and though several bloody battles have been
fought and thousands have been killed and tens of
thousands wounded, the decisive struggle has not
yet commenced. There has been much less boasting
on this occasion than usual. Gen. Grant is a silent
soldier, and allows his deeds to tell their own story
after their accomplishment, and stands in favourable
contrast in this respect with the Popes, the Burn-
sides, and the Hookers. Nor has the press, with
one vile exception, which not to name is sufficient
to designate,been less sensible and reticent. Though
nearly all the journals believe that Grant has done
so well that victory must ultimately, though not
perhaps until after many a sanguinary contest, re-
ward his efforts, they know from past experience
how uncertain are all the issues of battle, and how
apparently small .a thing, or a circumstance totally
unsuspected, may even at the 59th minute of the
11th hour reverse the fortune of war, and convert
what looked like victory into defeat and humilia-
tion. The same temper prevails among the people.
They have been too often deceived to trust much
to appearances, and wait the results of Grant's
movements without fear, but certainly without
undue elation. The speculators and the pohti-
clans (and it should be borne in mind by English
readers that a politician in America is a man who
makes a trade of politics and depends for his
daily bread or his future prospects upon the success
of his party) are more excited. The speculators,
like other gamblers, to whom a battle is no more
than a pugilistic contest, or a race, or any other
larger or smaller event which by the uncertainty of
its issues offers an opportunity for staking a sum of
money upon a chance, are not all on the patriotic
side. If they were, how conld their operations be
carried on ? Some believe in Grant, and some in
Lee. Some base their calculations upon the capture
of Richmond, and some on that of Washington.
Some demand that paper shall rise to a par with
gold, and others fear that they shall be ruined if
gold do not rise to a premium of a hundred. The
politicians, though more remotely interested, are
not less keetly susceptible. If Grant achieve what
Scott, Mellewell, M'Clellan, Meade, and the three
smaller lights failed to accomplish, nothing can pre-
vent him from becoming President of the United
States, except his own unqualified and peremptory
refusal to accept the honour. As it is not in Ameri-
can human nature to believe such remarkable abne-
gation to be either possible or probable, Grant is
already considered President by that large propor-
tion of the people who think that Northern wealth
and numbers must in the long run be more than a
match for Southern patriotism. The only question
which remains in their minds is, who shall be Vice-
President in the new regime? Some are for Batter,
some for Fremont, and some for M'Clellan, the pre-
ponderance of sentiment and of judgment being
decidedly in favour of the latter.
It is natural that at such a time all sorts of
rumours should be circulated. Credulity, self-
interest, and that prolific parent of lying, the wish
that is father to the thought, combine with the
self-importance that sometimes invests and still
oftener exaggerates news to lengthen the tongues
of the idle and to keep the ears of the multitude
upon the stretch for the "latest intelligence." It
serves no real purpose to repeat these lies, unless it
may be thought that such voices out of the crowd
show the crowd's temper, and may therefore help to
a truer understanding of the varying aspects of the
day than might otherwise be attainable. Thus it
is asserted that Butler has entered Richmond as a
conqueror, that Lee has died the hero's death upon
the field of battle, covered with innumerable
wounds ; that Grant has met the same splendid
fate; that the Confederate army has thrown down
its arms and fled like a cowed and discomfited
rabble ; that the Southern President and his Cabinet
have escaped to Montgomery, Alabama, and other
figments born of gobemoucherie; or, perhaps, pushed
into existence by some too clever Secessionist, to
throw discredit upon the whole brood of rumours
that every hour brings forth. The real facts, as far
as they can be gathered from documentary evidence
and from the reports of eye-witnesses, appear to
extend to no later date than Saturday evening. On
Wednesday General Meade passed the Rapidan
without opposition. On Thursday the Army of
the Potomac was assailed by General Lee in great
force, the object being to crush the advancing
columns before they were in position, or within sup-
porting distance of each other. The shock was so
severe and the issue so doubtful that the reserves
under Burnside had to be ordered up. They arrived
in time, and saved the fortune of the day. The
number of killed and wounded on the Federal side
amounted, according to Federal authority, to up-
wardswea
ground,
sd t
ofh of t
near
artillery
Oar
and in s
On t 1
ei Oav
was brought
hof erethef
o intoookr pemrl
ea
ryl
lost
battle-
field e e.
day, and his reputation along with it, wan so
thickly wooded that cannon could not be used on
either side, and the conflict was hand to hand, with
the bayonet or the rifle. How stubborn it must
have been is evident from the number of the killed
end wounded, which, if at all balanced on the Con-
federate side, would not fall short of 16,000. The

battle, like that of the subsequent day, was fought
in a place called the " Wilderness." Both sides
claim the victory, General Lee on behalf of the
Confederates, and Mr. Stanton on behalf of the
Federals, for General Grant himself either sent no
despatch or it has been suppressed. As hitherto
General Lee has never been known either to exag-
gerate a victory or to claim one if he had not
achieved it, and as the same cannot be said of Mr.
Stanton, the probability is that the advantage rested
with the Confederates. The fighting was renewed
on Friday at daybreak. The battle raged for 14
hours with scarcely an interval of rest, still in the
thickly wooded, stubbly, and thorny region stretch-
ing from Caancellorsville to Mine Run. The car-
nage is described to have been more awful than in
any previous battle of the war, and to have been
attended with a loss of 12,000 men to the Federals
and as many to the Confederates. General Lee, in
an address to his army which found its way to the
possession of General Batter, and was by him for-
warded to Mr. Stanton, claims the victory on this,
the second, encounter, and thanks a merciful God
that every advance on Grant's part had been gal-
lantly and successfully repulsed. if Mr. Stan-
ton, who has promised to publish all authentic in-
telligence immediately it reaches the hands of the
Administration, had,instead of garbling and quoting
from General Lee's proclamation, sent the whole
document to the press, he would have enabled the
public to judge far better than it can now of the
of
fFmrlidssaiyon that General 's fighting. It appears from
true Gen suerraelLee's ad
severely a s
Longstreet—
who is almost as much beloved and confided in by
the
General Stonewall Jackson
us utedStoobhee—rn armywas
wounded, and Gen. Jen-
kins killed. On the Federal side Gen. Wadsworth,
formerly the military commandant at Washington,
and competitor with Mr. Horatio Seymour, in the
autumn of 1662, for the Governorship of the State
of New York, was shot in the forehead while lead-
ing his division, and instantaneously slain, and Gen.
-Webb, son a the United States Minister in Brazil,
was seriously wounded. Mr. Stanton, who alone
makes any official statement of these and the previ-
ous battles, General Grant being either too busy to
write despatches or too cautious to become the his-
torian of his unfinished work, reports to Major-
General Dix, for the information of the people of
New York," that the general result of the battle of
Friday may be considered as a success to our arms,"
and adds that "the fighting was the most desperate
known in modern times." The Tribune correspon-
dent and other eyeswitnetsts do not claim as much
success as Mr. Stanton, but state that the contest
was indecisive. On Saturday morning there was
slight skirmishing, but no general engagement;
both sides, doubtless, discovered that such a tangled
wild wood as that in which they had been murder-
ing each other from behind the shelter of trees and
bushes for the previous two days was not adapted
to victory, or to anything else but unavailing
slaughter. At noon on that day it was discovered
that the Confederates had retired, and Mr. Stanton
publisher, on the authority of a bearer of despatches
from Meade's army, that the retrograde movement
commenced on the midnight of Friday. It was no
sooner known to the Federals than a pursuit was
ordered. Lee fell back towards the strong lines of
the North Anna, and was followed—it does not ap-
pear how closely—by the division uneer General
Hancock, no doubt glad to halloo when out of
such a wood as " the Wilderness." What has
since happened is unknown or undivulged as
Lee retired in good order, unmolested, and at his
leisure, towards his own earth works and his chosen
position on the North Anna, it is more than pre-
sumptions in the Federal Government to cry "Vic-
tory," to think that its work is done, that the Con-
federate General is really defeated, or that tle is
even reduced to the extremity of taking refuge in
Richmond without fighting one, or, it may be, a
dozen battles on the intervening ground. Mr. Lin-
coln, carried away by the excitement of Washing-
ton, and thankful, perhaps, that Washington has
not been taken as an equivalent for Richmond—a
turn of the wheel of fortune—which was certainly
possible, and not many days ago looked highly
probable, has issued a proclamation to tha " friends
of Union and of Liberty, in view of the
great victory" which he cannot allege to have
been secured. He states that enough is known of
what has been done to claim the special gratitude
of the people to Almighty Gad, and enough
remains undone to demand their most serious
pray( re to and reliance upon Him, without whom
all human effort is vain ; and therefore recommends
all patriots at their homes, their places of public
worship, and wherever they may be, to unite in
common thanksgiving and prayer. Yesterday,
Monday morning, a despatch from General Grant
—the first received—was partially communicated to
the public by Mr. Stanton, before he had time to
decipher the whole of it. Whether there was more
in it than Mr. Stanton chose to divulge is not
known ; but all that he has as yet permitted to
appear is that the General is " On to Richmond,"
and that ha has taken 2,000 prisoners. A later
report, brought by a messenger from Acquia Creek,
states that a battle occurred on Monday at Spot-
sylvania Court-house with the rear of Lee's army,
in which there was great slaughter on both sides.
He also reports that the streets of Fredericksburg
were encumbered with the Federal wounded to
the estimated number of 15,000, and that they
lay on the public way for want of other accommo-
dation. Here, for
the present, all intelligence,
authentic or unauthentic, ceases of the fate or plans
of the main army ; while an intimation—more or
less official--from Washington warns the too im-
patient people that it may be a week before they
receive any further information. Why such an
announcement should be made, unless there is bad
news, of which it is desired to break the ill-effect by
dexterous manipulation is Mr. Stanton's office, sur-
passes comprehension. At all events, an unfa-
vourable interpretation has been put upon it—that
if the announcement be unofficial, it will be disa-
vowed. If the members of the Government have
good news they will not conceal the glory of it
under a bushel, but will flare its light in the face of
the public as vigorously as they can and at as early
a moment as the electric telegraph and the printing
press will permit.
General Butler has gained his first laurels as
a warrior by the occupation of a strong position ten
miles in the rear of Richmond and by his destruction
of a portion of the railroad communications between
that city and Petersburg. He was, however, nearly
captured by a sudden dash made upon him by a di-
vision sent out from Petersburg on Saturday last by
General Beauregard for that especial purpose, and
may congratulate himself on an escape which, in his
case, was not from captivity alene, but from the
mode of death which by his orders was inflicted upon
the unhappy man Mumford at New Orleans. But-
ler acts under the orders of General W.F. (or Baldy)
Smith, and seems to be in a position of consider-
able danger, although his friends and admirers in
this city do not cease to assert that for him is re-
served the honour of capturing Richmond, and of
afterwards governing it with a rod of iron or of
scorpions, such as he loves to wield over the heads
and backs of the defenceless. eneral Beauregard
however, has his eye upon him; G
and may hereafter
be able to give an account of him that maybe much
more acceptable for the Southern President to re-
ceive than for the Northern to be informed of. In
a despatch to the Secretary ?f War, which reminds
people more of Generals Pope and Hooker than of
Grant and M'Clellan, he states that he is safely in-
trenched at Bermuda, landing on the James River,
and that with proper supplies he can hold out
against the whole of Lee's army. He adds that
Lieut.-General Grant will not be troubled with any
further reinforcements from Gen. Beauregard to
Gen. Lee. In this, however, he protests too much,
and sets an example of boasting as well as of pro-
phesy which a good soldier ought to avoid.
General Sherman's movements in the West are
unintelligible as reported by the telegraphic opera-
tors. It is clear, however, that his army is on the
move, and that events in that region will be as im-
portant before many days elapse as those in Vir-
ginia.
The excitement produced by the war news has
almost wholly put an end to business. Nobody
either buys or sells gold or any other merchandise,
and gold, perheps for that reason, and not certainly
from any faith entertained in Wall-street or Wil-
liam-street that Grant has gained a victory, has
fallen since last night from 68.-1 to 671 per cant.

Royal Agric

of England,

The general meeting of the members of the Royal
Agricultural Society of England, was held yester-
day, at the Club-house, 12, Hanover-cquare; Lord
Feversham, president, in the chair. There were
also present Lord Portman, Lord Walsingham,
Earl Cathcart, Lord Chesham, Sir Henry Vavasour,
Messrs. T. Sutton Western, M.P., S. Dent, M.P.,

Dr. Voelcker, W. H. Pole Carew, Professor Wilson,
Fisher Hobbs, Corbett, &c.
Mr. H. DARE read the following :—" The council
have the gratification of announcing that since the
last general meeting in December his Royal High-
ness the Prince of Wales has allowed his name to be
enrolled is the list of your governors. Daring the

past five months the names of five governors and
136 members have been removed from the list by
death and retirement, while one governor and 232
members have been elected, so that the society now
consists of 78 life governors, 45 annual governors,
1,343 life members, 4,013 annual members, and 17
honorary members, making a total of 5,496, being
an increase of 53 names. The council have elected
Major-General the Hon. Alexander Nelson Hood
as a vice-president, in the room of Lord Ashburton,
deceased. The half-yearly statement of accounts to
the 31st of December, 1863, has been examined and
approved by the auditors and accountants of the so-
ciety, and together with the balance-sheet for the
whole year, 1863, and a statement of the country
meeting account for WOrcester, has been published
in the last number of the journal. The funded ca•
pital stands at £16,480 17s. 10d. in the New Three
per Cents., £3,000 has been placed on deposit at
interest with the society's bankers, and the current
cash balance in their hands on the:lst inst. was
£2,836 63. 61 Papers have been read at the
weekly meetings by Mr. Lawes, on ' Salt used as. a
Manure ;' by Mr. Hughes, on The Cultivation
and Management of Clay Farms;' by Mr.
Holland, M.P., on Agricultural Education;'
and by Professor Voelcker, on Nutrition
of Plants by the Atmosphere.' A committee
has been appointed to consider the measures which
ought to be taken for the improvement of the
education of those who depend upon the cultivation
of the soil for their support, this being declared by
the charter as the seventh national object to be pro-
secuted by the society. The Lords Commissioners
of Her Majesty's Treasury having applied to the
society for assistance in carrying out their design
of presenting some sheep to the Viceroy of Egypt,
who is anxious to improve his native breeds by
crossing, a selection was made under the direction
of the President; and a communication has been
received of the safe arrival of the sheep at Cair .
A special committee having been appointed to co a
eider the question of the dates of calving, the coun-
cil have approved their recommendation that any
alteration in the date of calving would be incon-
venient and thus unadvisablo. The arrangements
for the Newcastle meeting, to be held during the
week commencing Monday, the 18th of July, are
proceeding satisfactorily. The showyard will be
open as under ;—Monday, 108. ; Tuesday, 2s. 6th ;
Wednesday, 2s. 63. ; Thursday, is. ; Friday, ls.
The council have determined that the annual coun-
try meeting in 1865 shall be held at Plymouth. The
district for the country meeting of 1866 will include
the counties of Cambridgshire, Essex, Hertfordshire,
Huntingdonshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk.
The report having been adopted,
Lord PORTMAN, in proposing Sir Edward Kerri-
son , M.P., as the President of the society for the
ensuing year, observed that members of the Upper
House of the Legislature had generally filled that
office, but looking at the admirable manner in which
the present Speaker of the House of Commons had
presided over them, it was a good omen that an-
other gentleman from that House, and one so well
'nuld be called upon to fill the office.
-Toms seconded the nomination,

known, Su,-
Mr FISHER
which was carried uanitnee
nd council having
The trustees, vice-presidents, a...
been duly elected.
The noble CHAIRMAN said the council woula' be
very glad to hear any suggestions from the members.
Mr DENT, M.P., took leave to point out that an
iecreme in tLe number of judges would be advisable
at the forthcoming show, especially in the clasees of
Lincoln end Scotch sheep.
Mr FISHER HOBBS observed that the council had
only a very limited number of names before them,
and it certainly would be very advantageous that
the number of judges should be increased. Perhaps
gentlemen would be kind enough to rend in the
names of those who were qualified, and who would
serve, the first of June being the time at wLich the
lists would have have to be made up.
Mr BEAL BROWNE thanked the council for the
regulations which they had introduced as to sheep
being shorn before being shown, so that now the
judges could really see the quality of the sheep, and
the best would obtain the prize.
A vote of thanks having been proposed to Lord
Feverebam for his able presidency during the year,
the noble lord, in acknowledging the compliment,
remarked that the council had not been unmind-
ful of the observations that fell from some of the
members at the half-yearly meeting in December
last. The strictures that had been passed upon the
conduct of the journal of the society and the ob-
jections made had not been supported by any one
except the gentleman (Mr. Sidney) who cavilled
at it; and with reference to his opinion that the
society should spend their funded capital in erect-
ing a larger building than their present house, and
form a library of reference, a laboratory, a museum,
and other works, the council had not thought it
advisable to entertain the question, which would
involve not ohly the expenditure of all their capi-
tal, but in all probability a much larger sum with-
out the prospect of any corresponding benefit. The
remark made by Mr. Beckett, that the society had
failed to carry into effect the seventh article of the
charter, which bound them " to take measures for
the improvement of the education of those who
depend upon the cultivation of the soil for their
support," had been seriously considered by the
council, and a committee had been appointed upon
the subject, but their report had not yat been pre-
pared. His lordship hoped that the society would
continue to progress in sound practical enlighten-
ment of the agricultural interest of the country,
the principle of its organisation, and the practice
of science.
The meeting then terminated.

,~iely.

all through Tuesday, the battle raged with little in-
termission but what the darkness of night and phy-
sical exhaustion imposed upon the combatants.
Still, however, there was no decisive results. When
the last despatches left the field Lee retained his
position, and was said to have been reinforced,
while the aggregate losses of the Federals up to the
evening of Tuesday were reckoned, in killed,
wounded, and missing, 40,000 men. At this cries
tical point we are left to wait in suspense for fresh
intelligence. Never did American mails bring in-
formation more important than may been looked for
by the next arrival. Will Grant still advance, and
drive Lee within the lines of Richmond, or will he
fall back exhausted with his efforts, and admit the I
enterprise to be as impracticable to himself as it has
proved to others before him? It is hard to discern
any inclination of the balance, so evenly on the
scales appear to be weighed. On the side of the
North it must be owned that the expectations enter-
tained of Grant's prowess have received more confir-
mation than has usually attended the sanguine cal-
culations of the Federals. If he has not achieved ab-
solute success, he has bid for it more desperately
and approached it more nearly than any of his pre-
decessors in command. He has fully justified his
reputation for dogged and unconquerable tena-
city. After once breaking up from his camp he has
marched straight on incessantly closing with his
adversary, always offering battle, never declining it,
undismayed by losses, undeterred by the most im-
minent danger. For the first time in the history of
this war, a great battle has been followed by an im-
mediate pursuit, bringing on another battle equally
obstinate and bloody. Grant, though slightly
worsted in the actions of the 6th, refused to quit his
hold upon the enemy, or to plead any of the obvious
excuses for suspending the operations of the cam-
paign. It was this stubborness of purpose which
gained him his success at Vicksburg and his favour
with the Northern people. They never thought him
a military genius, but they believed him to be a
most determined man—a man who would bring
everything to the immediate issue of hard fighting,
and who might either beat or be beaten, but who
would never be hesitating or inactive. This estimate
of his character he has fully justified. He has
fought unceasingly, and has clung like a bulldog to
his work. Nor can it be added that he has fought
altogether in vain, for ho has advanced as he pro-
posed to advance, and is actually a few miles further
on the road to Richmond. On the other hand, it
now appears beyond all doubt that the successive
retirements of the Confederate commander were but
so many judicious and preconcerted operations of
the campaign. He fell back from the Rapidan with-
out troubling himself to strike a blow. He fellback
again from his second position at Wilderness,
though he is admitted to have had the best of the
encounter ; and the impregnability of his third
position, at Spottsylvania, has fully justified his
decision. In none of these movements was there the
slightest confusion or other evidence of inferiority.
'The game could be better played at one point than
another, and the advantage was not allowed to
escape, The whole road to Richmond, be it re-
membered, is a series of positions which have long
been studied and strengthened by the Confederates,
terminating in a capital fortified by all the defences
which modern art could devise through a period of
three years. Lee, if he falls back, is only falling
back from one strong post to another, till he finds
himself in the strongest post of all. Grant, if he
falls back ever so little, gives up the game, while it
he persists in advancing he discovers harder work
than ever before him at the end of each day's march,
and separates himself from his supplies in the same
proportion. Already, we are told, he has found his
communications intercepted by the Confederate
cavalry, and been compelled to change the base of
his supplies ; and it is intimated, indeed, that the
action of the 10th was not sought by him, and that
he had intended to postpone it for a few hours until
his supplies had come up. We have purposely de-
clined to complicate our survey of these important
operations by the reports of any subsidiary pro.
ceedings, but the reader will probably remember
that this famous expedition against Richmond was
to consist of advances from several directions all
combined in one plan. Such combinations usually
require for their success the co-operation of veteran
troops and skilful Generals under the direction of a
master mind, and these conditions can hardly be
thought to exist in the case before us. Part of the
scheme, indeed, was frustrated by the recent vic-
tories of the Confederates in North Carolina, and it
seems now as if the only important diversion would
be attempted by the advance of General Butler upon
Richmond aloag the line of the James River. But-
ler, who has always threatened that he—the out-
-1 lawed of the Confederacy—would be the first to
enter
their capital, is, if he has advanced to City
oint, nearer Richmond than Grant; but there is
a
many
~ had mile between him and the city ; he is
ed .by General Beauregard, and the
closely obse.7
that apprehenstons were enter.
latest advises state'
mined fur his safety. As to more remote points,
the Confederates were ret.,:‘ thing and improving
their advantages in Mississippi, were holding their
own in Tennessee, and had been eucca'ssi ul in some
naval encounters both in the James River and
Albemarle Sound. Finally, in concluding Cur thr-
sey, we must remark that the intelligence on wr,ch
we have based our speculations reaches us mainly
through Federal sources, and is, perhaps, coloured
somewhat favourably for the North. That com-
pletes the case for the judgment or divination of
the public. It seems to perplex the minds of people
in America. TE e proclamations of President Lin-
coln and the bulletins of Secretary Stanton speak of
Federal successes, but in terms so moderate and
language so qualified as to exprsss anything tether
than confidence ; while the premium on gold, which
was 73 when Grant began his march, and which
fell to 69 at one period, had risen to 77 at the latest
news, and was 75 at the departure of the mail.
Undoubtedly Grant is in a more difficult situation
than Lee, for if he falls back, which, if he cannot
dislodge his adversary, he must do, it will be under
disadvantage, and if ne advances either by force or
upon the retirement of the Confederates, it will be
under disadvantage still. But he is invincibly
obstinate, he has uncontrolled command, he has
exacted the unreserved !support of the Government,
and he has seen the Southern General retire before
him. He will, perhaps, renew his attack upon Lee,
but if he ever reaches Richmond with an effective
army he will have achieved a miracle of military
success. . ,

HERALD.—There is nothing lihe a practical an.
sever. Lord Palmerston formally condemned genera
theories on Friday night in the debate on our rela.
tions with China. He had ready one of those matter
of-fact rejoinders which dumbfound ordinary people.
"We must defend our treaty rights. We must pro.
tect our commerce." Of course we must. But Mr
Baxter, a merchant trading with China, and, it is
understood, the general body in the same interest,
are of opinion that Government is going the very
worst way to secure the prosperity of our Chinese
trade. And as to the t;Paty rights, the despatches
of Sir Frederick Bruce, on: own Minister at the
Court of Pekin, are sufficient ,4.51 dispose of that
question. This competent authority. has emphati-
cally condemned the policy Lord Pehuer,:on is pule.
suing in regard to China. The witnesses we
have
cited cannot be considered unfriendly to the Cabin' t•
If rumour speaks correctly the hon. member for
Montrose was offered a subordinate, but not unim-
portant, position in the Ministry on the retirement
of Mr Stansfeld. And as to our ambassador to the
Celestial Emperor, official duty and diplomatic skill
both prompt to acquiescence and approval where
the conduct of the Government is not flagrantly
iuconsistent and unpatriotic. The question arises,
why should we interfere at all ? This may be a
general objection, but it is one capable of local
application. The Imperial power of China is not
only barbarous ; it is notoriously cruel. The dynasty
is at the last stage of decline. No foreign aid can
sustain it much longer. Even the most despotic
rule, to last, must have the heart of the people, and
it is well known that the Government of Prince Kung
is most unpopular. In fact the Taeping rebellion is
the general uprising of the people—not well con-
ducted indeed, and in this akin to most revolutions,
but at the same time founded on a universal detes-
tation of the reigning authority, and, tnoreovcr, con-
firmed by a very remarkable career of suocess. The
set policy of this country is neutrality. We have
maintained the doctrine of non-intervention in an
astounding manner in regard to the belligerent
states of America and in the Dano-German war.
We adhered to it in the Polish outbreak, and it
was our boast during the revolutionary changes in
Italy. It is true much of this impartial dealing was
only a hollow pretence: We were never strictly
neutral, and, perhaps, it may be difficult for any
Government, in the face of the leanings of the
people, to be stoically indifferent to great public
questions. But our Cabinet, or rather our foreign
Minister, in opposition to the popular will and in-
clination in England, has sided with the Federal
Americans against the Confederates, and has, by his
weak confidence and wavering policy, effectually
aided the cause of Prussia and Austria against Den.
mark, However, it suits Lord Palmerston now to
declare that occasions may arise when neutrality
would be folly or cowardice, or both. We inter-
fered with Portugal, with Spain, with Turkey,
Syria, and Egypt ; and another great occasion hav-
ing arisen for the interposition of the Deus ex
machuza, we have interfered in China also. Of
course, the gravest reasons for this exceptional
intervention must have occurred. The Premier
sums up his lofty argument under two seductive
heads—our treaty rights and our commerce. We
are bound to defend the one and protect the other.
But the British aegis must be used with moderation
in both. A radius of thirty miles has been awn
outside the treaty ports ; beyond this line drawn
of
_ demarcation the civic strife may rage with the most

quiet
unmitigated barbarity. Clu.: Ater of diplomatic
is not to interfere. Such is the le,
instruction and agreement. But has been the
actual practice ? For the last eighteet2 mdilths.,°hr
two years vie have steadily co-operas,% WI"
ertars
~
the cruel and corrupt Mantchou I,
We violated the principle of neutrality in the
attack on Ningpo. The whole series of on.
operations of late in China exhibits an utter die*.
regard of the doctrine of noneinterfention,
may be said we are at open and constant war with;
the Taepings. The expedition of Capt. Osborn was
a clear admission of this, although Sir F. lime;
expressly objected to the employment of Britiste
officers in the Imperialist service. This despatce,•
which was written in June, 1863, about a twelve-
month ago, Mr. Baxter states, was suppressed by
the Foreign Office, in order not to convict Ministers
by the mouths of their own officers. We all know
the fate of Capt. Sherard Osborn's enterprise. The,
proferred aid was ignominiously rejected—and re-
jected, too, on just and reasonable grounds. One
would imagine there was some commercial chum:,
in Chinese affairs, which attracted our Government
to lend its countenance and active support to a
dynasty tottering to its fall. England will go great
lengths to advance her trade, and this is the supreme
argument urged in defence of our present Chinese
policy. New, in order to consider the bearing of
this view of the question, let us take the condition,
of Soochow, the silk district. While the Taepings
held possession the exports ranged from 60,000
bales to 83,000 bales per annum, but since we have
taken possession these exports have fallen to within
40,000 bales. And this is not a solitary instance,
but generally exemplifies the influence and results of
our intermeddling in the internal affairs of the coun-
try against the advice of Sir F. Bruce and of other
European Ministers in China, and against the ex-
press wish of those most interested in the prosperity
of our commerce, viz., the merchants engaged in
that special branch of trade. When the progress of
our mercantile enterprise in those distant regions.;
is spoken of it is as well to entertain definite,
ideas on the subject. Now, the great pro,
ducing districts of China had been in the hands,
of the Taepings, and to them we were mainly.
indebted, and not to the policy of her Majesty's
Goveanment, for any commercial successes open
to the energy and bold speculation of our great
capitalists and merchants. We have done our
utmost to destroy the Taepings, and to restore tbli
sway of the Mantchou dynasty throughout the,
whole empire. For this not only our treasure
but our blood has been poured out freely, and this
at a time when the doctrine of neutrality is upheld
where common humanity and British honour would
ssem to demand intervention. But we are told that
the power of the rebels is waning and their reign.
drawing to a close. Nothing can be farther from
the truth. The successes of the Taepings have been,.
very great of late, and the opinion of persons on the,
spot is that Gordon himself is in danger of being cut
off from the main force. The policy, then, of our
Government ie not only calculated to impair our
commerce but to endanger the very treaty righte.
for which it has been adopted. Our policy is op-
posed to the express counsel of our own ambassador,.
to the opinions of our naval and military comman
ders, and to the interests and the judgment of our
merchants who trade with China. Can any con-
demnation, we ask, be stronger than this ? But
there is something more than what may be called a.
material censure. There is a moral stain attached
to onr alliance with the Court of Pekin. The cruel-
ties and butcheries perpetrated by perfidious bar-
barians may well be laid at the door of civilised nee
tions in connection with them. It may be, too, that
we are doing our utmost to tread out some nascent
sparks of Christianity appearing in that dreary'
region. The Taepings profess a wild incoherent
creed, but in many points it must be superior to the
atheism and immoral Buddhism prevalent among
the millions in China. If Sir James Graham wee
night in warning the Rouse of Commons against
beginning a war with one-third of the human race,
that must be a shallow policy which would attempt
to grapple with the religious opinions most likely'
to sway throughout the vast empire. For so sure
as the Taepings succeed their strange theology will
mould itself into a form and become the general re-
ligion of China. These are questions which it mai
be very well to speculate upon ; but to meddle with
them actively, or to take either side in the inter-
necine struggle now going on between the Impe-
rialists and Taepings, can reflect no honour on the
wisdom or the humanity of any civilised nation.

COUNTRY MARKETS.

COLCHESTER—MAT 21.
We had a small show of wheat on offer at this market
to-day, but sufficient for the demand. An inactive busi-
ness, and last week's prices declined is per qr. Beans and
peas scarce, and fully is dearer.
Wheat, white. 42s 46s Beans,llazagan..2Ss B 2 el
red
Barley
88
Oats

NORTHAMPTON—Ii /a 21.
There was a fair supply of wheat on offer for the time
of the year. A quiet demand. The weather splendid.
—White wheat nt w, 33s to 425; new red, 35s to 378 9
,
old. 38s to 42s per qt.. Barley, new malting, 34s to 366----
grinding, 25s to Ns pet qr. Oats, Ns to 27s per 24 stone.
Beans, 32s to 375. Peas,i32s to 36sIper

GLOUCESTER--AIRY 21.
There was a fair supply of English wheat to-day froln
the farmers, which sold slimly at prices slightly in favour
of buyers. Foreign wheat it extremely moderate dot:usual
at a decline of is per qr. Noyphange in oats, beans) an
peas.

CHELMSFORD—KAY 20.
At this corn exchange to-day there was a fair 51101 .!
wheat, and in the few sales made last week's rates were "
per qr lower. In Spring corn a limite;l sale. 'SS
Wheat, old.white...3os 45s Yeas, Pantridge 36s „id
new
old red....34s 378 Boiling . 3Bs °I
new 36s 40s Dun
Barley 25s 33s Ditto new —s "....6
Chevalier ..26s 36s Beans, Tick, old ..34s 36'1
Grinding . .20s 28s hm..-0 ..-0
„g 1
Malt . 6ls 675 Harrow Ticks ..34s f...".
Chevalier 64s 68s new • • --S ,3$
Oats 20s 26s Mazagan ........235 ''

KIRKCALDY GRAIN—MAY 21. lea
We had a moderate quantity of wheat, oats, aud
bar
to-day. Sales slow. Wheat 6d to is decline. Barley 0."
oats unchanged.
Wheat. Barley. Oats.
Fir5t....338 Od 25s 6d 16s Od
Second ..35s Od 26s Od 17s Od
Third....36s 6d I 288 Od 18s 6d

COAL M.
Prim of Coal per Ton at

,I{,KET.
the close of the market. a,
14.

s. d.
Bates'sWest Hartley .. 14 9
Buddle'sWest Hartley 15 6
Lambert's West Hart-

Walls End.. ,6 9_
Hartlepool ....... ..• . 9,1
Kelloe
Braddyll' a Hetton .... •, 66 9_
East Hartlepool.... •
.1/ I
Hatton.
~6
Heugh ....... •. 16
South Kelloe. ....... 9
South Hartlepool.... • •.15 0
Whitworth '.ll 3
Haswell ..... . •
.16 9
Russel's Hetton .....
.11 6
South Hetton ...... • ••• 16 6
Stewart's ........... :16
Tunstall . ......... •
:et, 95; sold, 71.

ley 15 3
Tanlield Moor Butes l4 0
Wylam 17 0
West Wylaai l6 6
Eden Main ..15 6
Byass's Bebside West
Hartley ....15 6
Hastings Hartley ....16 6