The Sun.
London, England, 1864-03-07 00:00:00

THE CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA.

(From the Times Correspondent.)
NEW YORK, Feb. 19.
The extreme severity of the weather appears
during the last four days to have impeded military
operations in every quarter except in Florida.
General Grant has not been heard of during the
week, and the positions of Longstreet and Joseph
Johnston are surmised but not known. Ru-
mours continue to be abundant, but the facts that
might support. them are vaguer and more shadowy
than themselves and will not bear scrutiny. Many
people in high position are of opinion that General
Grant has taken the initiative in a movement that
will either make him the greatest soldier of his
time or consign him to the limbo of the numberless
dead reputations of the war, which no power can
revive, and no galvanism startle into even the
eblance of activity. A much larger class are
sae-
mpression that a new invasion of North-
under '
er the .
ern soil will be attempted by General Leo as soon
as the weather shall
p-lermit—the scene of operation
this time to be I(entuck
and Ohio, instead of
;
Maryland and Pennsylvania.
But if warlike operations offer no ps2int of pre-
sent interest, the state of political affairs is se',7gest-
ive of coming danger. Whatever may be the oar;`'
in other portions of the Federal States, there is no
enthusiasm in New York, city or State, for the re-
election of Mr. Lincoln. The jobbers, brokers, and
gamblers of Wall-street, and the contractors who
wax rich and insolent on the profits wrung out of
the needs of the army and the carelessness of the
Administration, are the only persons who seem
very earnestly to desire a prolongation of his term,
The mass of the people are indifferent, mainly for
the reason that they think any agitation of the
subject will be premature during the next two or
three months. Mr. Simeon Draper, ex-Provost-
Marshal, convenes meetings in support of his
favourite candidate, but cannot, by all the art
of advertising, draw 50 people together to Hope
Chapel to hear any eloquence of which the themes
are the virtues and the patriotism of the President.
The clergy are shy of supporting his claims, and
even Mr. Henry Ward Beecher deprecates the
nomination of any one at present, on the ground
that there is as yet no candidate before the public
whose name is a tower of strength to rally around
it the heart and the judgment of the people. Mr.
Wendell Phillips thinks Mr. Lincoln pretty good
as far as he goes, but by no means good enough,
and hints that if he be re-elected it will not be be-
cause he is the best man to be found, but simply
because at some unexpected turn of events he may
prove to be the most convenient. "The error of
our politics," said he, in recognition of a fact that
has long been known to every foreign observer of
American history, though it was never very gene-
rally recognised in America, " is that we take the
available man always instead of taking the best.
The available man is the last convert to our opinions
—the man who is not so obnoxious to our enemies
that they hate him, and one that we ourselves can
forgive. What is the result ? The bias of his old
opinions we do not know, but they will always
influence him, and the consequence is the man is
trusted before he is known, and he al ways deceives
you." If the opinions of the press of this city can
be taken as an index to the public sentiment, Mr.
Lincoln must be placed among the most unpopular
of all the candidates. The herald mocks and gibes
at him. The Daily News denounces him with sound
arguments and literary. diA nity. The World ardently
supports General M'Clellan. The New York Times
hesitates to recommend anybody, least of all Mr.
Lincoln. The Tribune, which did more to make
him President by defeating Mr. Seward's nomina•
tion at the Chicego Convention in 1860 than a hun-
dred thousand voters could have done, cautiously
refrains from saying a word in his favour. 'I he
Journal of Commerce is openly hostile. The Express,
like the World, is strong for M'Clellan. The Evening
Post, the editor of which derives large emoluments
from an office in the Navy Yard, to which he was
appointed by the present Administration, has not
yet mustered courage enough to support Lis patron
to any greater extent than to collect into one
focus all the presentable and printable jokes which
are attributed to him, and publish them for
the amusement of the people, that they may know
what kind a genius they have chosen to rule over
them. This, however, is an electioneering device
which may possibly do more harm than good to the
cause it was intended to promote. The only other
daily paper of any note is the New Yorker Stoat
Zeituny, printed for the Germans, and which is said
to have a circulation of about 40,000. This journal
advocates the pretensions of Gen. Fremont, as far
superior to those of any other candidate. The Irish
have no daily paper exclusively devoted to their
interests, but the weekly Roman Catholic journals,
which more particularly address themselves to foster
Irish sentiment, are all in favour of M'Clellan.
But Mr. Lincoln, like all Americans, knows too
well how easily the New York press can be managed
by the wire-pullers of party to give himself much,
if an.- trouble on the score of its present hostility
or indifferent.e His plan—or that of the persons
tieir own power and importancs
who would prolong
so much political as
by prolonging his—is nom. i oction by the vote
military. He would prefer re-es..
:eably: ren-
of a clear majority of the people, peb
dered, if such a result were possible ; but as /.. his
is
not likely, whether the fortune of war be favour-

able, the plan is, as I believe I have already men•
tioned, to favour the nomination of many candidates,
so as to split up the popular vote and throw the
election into the House of Representatives. As in
such a case the representatives would vote by States,
and as Mr. Lincoln has already a majority in the
House, it will make assurance doubly sure if he
can add to the number of States by the means de-
scribed in bis recent proclamation. It is for this
purpose that General Banks is hectoring in Loui-
siana and declaring " indifference to be a crime."
It is for this purpose that a military expedition
has been sent to take possession of Florida—
a point of no military value ; and it is for this
purpcse alone that Arkansas and Tennessee have
sent or will send representatives to Congress
on behalf of that decimal minority of " loyal "
people—to whom Mr. Lincoln, without any
authority bat such as he derives from the war
power, has deputed the privilege of electing State
officers and representatives. With the same end in
view it is suggested, although Congress has but 15
days longer to sit, that the outlying territories of
Nebraska, Idaho, and others, and even the Mormon
Paradise of Utah, should be formally admitted as
States of the Union before the adjournment, But
the Americans are not so wholly absorbed by the
passion of war or the greed of gain as not to, be
aware that this is a dangerous game, and that, as
Mr. Lincoln's election produced one secession and
one civil war, his re-election by means like these
may produce a second secession in tae North or
West, and a second civil war as sanguinary as the
first. A Republican representative, Mr. Winter
Davis, of Maryland, and not long ago a strenuous
supporter of the Administration, has already
sounded the alarm. In opposing the right of a
newly-elected representative of the Third Congres-
sional district of Arkansan to take his seat in the
House, on the ground that his election was illegal
sid unconstitutional, he took the position that there
could be no civil government in a State that had
seceded; at least, no civil government that the Pre-
sident of the United States could recognise; and,
consequently, that no representative of such a State
could be deputed to or sit in Congress. He de-
nounced at the same time the appointment of mili-
tary Governors in portionsof seceded States, charged
with the duty of influencing regulating, and con-
trolling elections by the intermediation of a
minority, called the President's Proclamation of
Amnesty, from which the supposed right was de-
rived, a piece of waste paper, and manifested so bitter
a spirit of hostility to Mr. Lincoln's pretensions as to

A/ S PAPE R
-rT7-4,
v.:.
take the House by surprise. Had Mr. Davis been- 4 ..' 1:4!
Democratic, and not a RepublicWtnembst,:e".: i..;),.:14/
opposition would have excited no eittLktion azni.', : ,„;Z,7
the serene inns abler who form the working rif -. s
jority ; but coming from an associate and former
friend, it fell like a thunderbolt from a clear sky,
and suggested both to friend ^nd foe the danger
that Mr. Lincoln's pers. 'rig re-election
may lead to a schism that may not only defeat his
purpose, but break up the Republican party.
The anti-slavery journals ;,have not yet said a
word on the subject of the extraordinary re-enslave-
ment of the black population of Louisiana by Gen.
Banke. It cannot be alleged that their attention
has not been directed to the subject, for no less than
three of the most important and influential of their
number approve cordially all those portions of the
document that relate to the duties of the white race
in the approaching elections. The Tribune thinks
Gen. Banks entitled to special commendation for
declaring that in his proconsulate indifference titiall
be treated as crime, "For our own part," it says—
though the words seem str.:,,ge in a journal that is
avowedly edited by Horace G rceley—" we heartily
approve Gen. Banks's order, and wish the rule
were universal and imperative that every man en-
titled to a vote should vote or pay a smart fine.
We have often found fault with Gen. Banks, but
this order is right." The New I' erk Times (equally
emphatic) asserts its belief that the doctrine of Gen.
Banks is sound, and hopes that he will resolutely
carry it out. Mr. Wendell Phillips, who is not a
professional politician like ',these writers, and is
therefore not so easily led from the paths of prin-
ciple into those of party expediency, ignores the
only portions of the general's "order" which his
quondam fellow-labourers in the cause of emancipa-'
tion have thought worthy of notice, and denounces
.` the man Banks, who in the third city of the em-
pire (it, used to be called a republic) had picked up
the chains of the black man which Mr. Lincoln had
thrown off, and with them refastened his feet to
the ground."

Whisky has more than once pleased an important
part in American politics. In the infancy of the
Republic there was a " whisky nista rection" which
it somewhat troubled the great Washirigton to sup-
press. Mr. Lincoln has also a whisky tt ouble oa his
hands, which threatens to bring him into personal
difficulty with some of his most cordial frVnda and
supporters. It was known to the world bet.ore the
assembling of Congress that Mr. Chase wouid be
compelled by the necessities of his financial posit, on
to make an effort, more or less statesmanlike, t.'
raise a larger revenue from taxation than he had yet
succeeded in drawing into the Treasury. It was,
known, however, to none but a very select few that
he would propose a considerable increase of the
whisky duties. These few formed themselves into
what is called a " ring," and bought up cautiously
at low prices the whole stock of whisky and other
spirituous liquors in the country, with the exception
of the comparatively small quantity in the hands of
the retail dealers. The quantity thus purchased was
equal, it is reported, to no less than two years' con-
sumption. When the bill increasing the duty to
60e. per gallon was introduced into Congress, Mr.
Fernando Wood moved an amendment to the pro-
spective clause. Ho argued that, as the object of the
Government in imposing the duty was to raise a
revenue, that object would be defeated if the stock
of whisky on hand were not subjected to the impost ;
that the people would be made to pay a price during
two years enhanced by the whole amount of the
duty ; and that not a cent of advantage would accrue
to the public Treasury. Ho therefore moved to tax
the stocks in hand, and the amendment was carried
in a thin house. The whisky interest took the
alarm, but soon recovered its lost equanimity. A
select deputation of the "Ring," with unlimited
greenbacks in their possession and full authority
to spend them as they pleased for the advantage of
the common cause, was despatched to Washington.
The deputation understood its men. It knew the
power of the dollar that it wielded, and the
weakness of the morality that would resist it, and
wrought accordingly. Dinners at Willard's and
elsewhere; private parties and re-unions; earnest
confabulations in quiet corners ; and an unusually
full and active lobby were the results. In duo
course the bill reached the Senate, and that august
body, forgetting for awhile how much Mr. Chase
needed money, struck out the amendment of the
Lower House. But the battle was not yet won. The
Senate having made an alteration, the 13111 had to bo
returned for consent or disapproval, as the case
might be. The greatest interest was forthwith ma-
nifested at every bar-zoom, hotel, and place of public
resort the national capital to know whether the
representatives of the people would allow their
patriotism or their cupidity to be the strongerin the
contest between duty and dollars. It is presumed
that dollars gained the victory, for the House re-
versed its former action and voted, by a majority of
77 against 73, not to tax the stock of spirits in
hand. By this means, if the President do not eau.
rise his privilege of veto, Mr. Chase will lose five
millions of dollars per annum for two years ; and
the ten millions thus lost to the Government will
go into the pockets of the speculators who have so
adroitly managed the business, at a cost of no one
knows how much, but probably of less than a mil-
lion out of the ten. The representatives, aware that
in a matter of this importance they would be liable
to be called to a strict account by their constituents,
would not vote by "yea" and "nay" in the usual
manner, and allow their names to be ;taken down,
but by " tellers," or counting of heads. Conse-
quently no record remains of the side on which the
whisky patriots voted, and no means are left of
showing who was the knave and who was the honest
man in this remarkable transaction. Tho Tribune
is indignant at this barefaced job, and calls upon
the President to veto the Bill, and send it back for
reconsideration. It is not doubtful what course ho
ought, but some who do not pretend to be his eno •
mie: appear to consider it doubtful what course he
will e, grounding their uncertainty upon the
fact thatPu rb 2soro of the whisky speculators are as
ardent as their MO liquor in support of Mr. Lin-
coln's re-election.

THE MURDER FOURTEEN YEARS AGO.—The ex•
traordinary charge upon which a tradesman named
Weekly Ball has been committed for trial fa Northampton-
shire for murdering a woman named Lydia Atlee 14 years
ago has been already reported in The Sun. The charge was
based upon the discovery of a skeleton in a lane near the
village of Ringetead, the supposed scene of the murder. A,
missing tooth was the link by which it was sought to identify
the skeleton found as that of the missing woman, but a dim-
culty in the way of this theory was that no bones of an in-
fant were found, as would be expected from the condition of
Lydia Atlee at the time of her death. It was suggested in
ono of the local newspapers that possibly a further search in
the same spot might disclose the remains of an infant. While
i‘nvocmheilbwelao:rfowunhedreanthotehesrkeskl.ectioentonfwtashedisscuopTpoors:eli
acting upon this suggestion the police
l 8 inches
of this skeleton was, on Friday evening
Unexpected by them
.
About it discovery which was totally
to the skeleton
tpereetvhious y found, only 18 inches
:Alio,lhubfeoor
duopettorolei
pre-
servation. Mr. Lest© w ,
previously
nearly as possible, foot
deeper in the soil. The
as
sent for
inmaedpisetrefeclytt sataadte, oofnpre
ex-
amination of the skeleton, pronounced it to be that of a man
about six feet in height, but, singularly enough, the bones
appeared to have
bones previously fboeuenndi.n tihn
e groundmuch longer than the
connection
c9O overy it may be stated that an 011 man named Williamson,
years of age, has frequently stated that a gipsy was
buried near that spot many years ago, and, indeed, the place
seems to have been a gipsy's burial-grouud. The bones of
the skeletons are now in the possession of the police.
Persons who have been in the habit of paying weekly a
borrowers of Sewing Machines will do well to apply at once
and become members of Messrs. Watts and Co.'s Sewing
Machine Clubs. By so doing they will not only save the
money they now foolishly throw away, but at the same time
secure to themselves the possession of one of tile best :Ind
most celebrated sewing machines in the world. Every in-
formation given on application; or by letter addressed, with
a stamped envelope, to Messrs. Watts and Co., 12, ISeaufert-
buildings, Strand, London, W.C., where mein rs arc eu-
rolled daily between 10 and 4 ; Saturdays, 10 anti
[ADVPltTrSEMENT.]—liolloway's rifle are admirably
adapted for the removal of all discasee which have their
origin in disordered digestion. They are well suited to all
classes and conditions—as competent to give comfort to the
wealthy as ease and strength to the poor. They will bo
be found an agreeable and efficient remedy by invalids
whose minds and bodies aro enervated and exhausted from
excess, over anxiety, or foreign residence. Persons liable
to bilious attacks should take these pills ; they cause each
seizure to be less severe, the nausea and biliousness will
gradually be removed, and good digestion, with complete
health, be regained. To add to the merits of Holloway's
medicine no risk or danger attends ,its use, no weakness
follows its employment.

LONDON, MONDAY, MARCH 7, 1864.

The closing paragraph of this last letter of
" Manhattan's" should be turned to, as really worth
leoking at, it is so distinctly suggestive 'Within a
very brief compass of the actual position occupied
1n the world's eye by the Federal Government.
" ha.
va news,', Troth this rough-and-ready re-
porter of events, writing hot-and-hot from New
York, -we have
!lows this morning of tho fighting
of half a dozn battles, All favourable to us, of
course. They were r
P epared by orders from
Washington, and intended steamer. The to out by this
y will be contradicted t o-
morrow."
The antidote appears to have already, to a slight
extent, been forwarded to
us
taneously with the bane, that ia here
•A
the false Intel-
in Europe simul-
n ligce, despatched with the lastl 'N
mals _.om,menca
per the China. Whereas wo read on one hand as
follows 4, A doubtful rumour h
—as e
b -
tel
graphed from Alabama that SHERMANeen had d
feated POLK near Bandon, capturing 12 e-
,OOO
pri-
soncs. Mobile dispatches to the 15th r
instant
announce that Admiral FAERIG UT S fleet had
passed eastward through the Sound in the direc-
tion of Grant's Pass." We read on the other
by way of revision to the foregoing :--" The
Kehmond Inquirer of the 18th instant states
that the War Department had received dispatches
announcing that the Federals had been repulsed
with great 1035 at Grand Pass, 35 miles from
Mobile." Of the relative value of these two contra-
dictory announcements we can readily enough judg:,,
for ourselves. Betwcen them, we can find a clue to
the truth from past experience. The credence attached
to flourishing accounts of victories, corning, under
the most dubious circumstances, from the sideof the
Federals, we should suppose was by this time small
enough in England. In regard to their systematic
accounts of success upon success, the Federal
Government has, in truth, long since fairly over-
reached itself. Sca:cely any one is disposed to
credit its assertions. It has erivd:SUCCebo so often

when the success' so-called *has turned out to be
diametrically the reverse, that, even when the
success really does come once in a away, the
majority shrug their shoulders still to
the last (and no wonder) thoroughly incrc-
dulous. In the body of. " Manhattan's " letter—
of which letter we have here quoted merely the
closing parag,ragh--there are abundant indica-
tions, moreover, of the lower and yet lower
depths of unpopularity to which Mt. LINCOLN and
his colleagues in the Government have fallen under
the deadening weight of their own cross stupidity.
A crowning ignominy to which the unfortunate
President has been subjected, in the shape of a
most scurillous onslaught upon himself in the
iYetv York Herald, is mentioned by " Manhattan "
who—after mentioning it—remarks, that if Mr.
LINCOLN and his supporters don't notice it, he
(that is, the President) will stand forth in so de-
graded a plight before the whole city of New York,
that before another six months are gone, the entire
administrative fabric must inevitably collapse.
There is a touch of hyperbole, of course, in these
expressions, and a general extravagance in the mere
utterance of distinct predictions of this character.
But, when expressions of regret are openly uttered at
New York that JEFFERSON DAVIS and not ABRAHAM
LINCOLN had been elected to the Presidential chair
in 1860, some notion may be formed of the utter
failure of the latter as a statesman or as an adminis•
trator, since he unhappily assumed the headship
of the American Republic, immediately afterwards
dwindling (upon the disruption of the Union) from
being President of the United States to be Chief
of the Federal Government.

It has often been remarked by acute observers,
that the Government of England has at all times
been distinguished for the pertinacious neglect and
marked indifference with which it treats great men.
Except for political purposes, it is rarely that we
find any mirk of favour, any emblem of distinction
conferred on those who nevertheless possess consi-
derable claims to public favour. There can hardly
be a greater mistake than this, and it must tend to
deteriorate the character of our country in the eyes
of foreign nations to find our rulers so ignorant, so
ob' use, or so indifferent. A glaring instance of
this kind of proceeding was witnessed the other
evening in the House, when Lord PALMERSTON
made answer to Sir W. MILES respecting the ques-
tion as to whether the Government intended to
recognise the great services "of Captain PEKE in
opening Equatorial Africa to the knowledge of the
world." The tone of Lord PALMEESTON'S reply
was characterised by that damaging quality known
as faint praise. It is alnaost incomprehensible why
the noble lord should set himself to work thus to
disparage the services and disallow the merits of a
man who has won for himself so deserved a renown.
Tne fact is, the Government are too mean to
attempt anything in the way of distribution of
honours or any particular badge of merit ; these
they greedily keep for the benefit of their own p rti-
cular partisans, hence they must perforce affect to
misunderstand the services and deny the merit of
those who have; done their country good service out
of the arena of politics, and in a form that does not
come under the immediate cognisance of Cabinets.
It would be difficult to decide as to which of the
Premier's reasons or objections are the most un tenable
or the most inconsistent. In the first place,
he states that there is no immediate practical ad-
vantage to be derived from the discovery made by
Captain SPERE. Allowing this for the sake of
argument, there are many attainments which ought
to be recognised and appreciated if they do not bear
immediately on a commercial view of the matter,
In foreign countries great composers, great artists,
receive honorary distinctions for efforts which Lord
PALMERSTON would certainly call non-essential to
the business of the world. It must be questioned,
however, how far this statement is founded on fact.
Many parsons well calculated to give an opinion
have declared that Captain SPEKE has done great
service to mankind. He evidenced this himself the
other day in a speech, when he pointed out to the
Miasionary Society in what direction their under-
takings should be made in order to effect the
greatest benefit in refining and humanising the
population. Lord PALMERSTON then enumerates
the list of those who have achieved equal if not
superior results to the discoverer of the sources of
the Nile. Dr. LIVINGSTONE, in particular, was
cited. It must appear, on reflection, that this is no
reason why a precedent of non-recognition should
be put forward. On the contrary, it is a disgrace
to all concerned that these eminent men did not re-
ceive any recognition of the great benefits they con-
ferred on their country. According to this idea, if
a mistake is ever made in any instance, the error is
never to be rectified. It seems a great disgrace to
the rulers of the land that the chief of the Govern-
ment should acknowledge as a fact that nothing
had been douo to distinguish those men
who had worked hard under• difficulties and ob.
tained results which had been "interesting and
advantageous to mankind." Had these adventurous
individuals confined the sphere of their exertions to
narrower limits, and performed services that were
interesting and advantageous to Ministers, we
should find greater perspicacity evinced in discover..
ing their merits, and greater zeal exhibited in re.
commending them as fit subjects to receive the
" favour of the Crown." Sir W. MILES said ho
would on an early day move for papers and make a
motion on the subject. This is very satisfactory in-
telligence, and it is to be hoped that an opportunity
will thus bu afforded to other members of express.
ing their opinions on the subject. It cannot be in
accordance with the feeling of the country that
when men who have sacrificed so much time and
strength, who have incurred such great risks,
and encountered so many obstacles to carry
the name and fame of their native land to
the uttermost regions of the earth, return
to announce viva coca their successful explore.
Lions into unknown regions, or their important die.
coveries of long hidden places, that they should be
neglected by the Government, and that neglect
should attempt to screen itself behind unworthy
disavowal of their services and pa'try attempts at
justification, on the plea, that other deserving men
have been passed over. Captain SPEKE did not
require Lord PALMERSTON to tell him that he was
not alone in his position. There have been a goodly
number of those who swell the ranks of unrequited
merit. The poetess has truly remarked in some of
her beautiful verses—.

"Wave does not foam nor wild wind sweep
~Vh2re rest not England's dead ;"
hut of these Rallant sans who have immortalised
their country's glory to the remotest regions, and
braved perils of every class and kind in the further-
ance of their exploit, how inagy have been neglected
and passed by by the Scornful ones who hold the pee-
session of power at

We are not surprised that the 'louse of Commons
should he anxious to gain some information relative
to the service of British subjects under the Impe-
rial authorities of China. Of late auch service has
been anything but eatisfactoTy. The vessels built
and fitted out in this country under the command
of our able and experienced officer—Captain
SHERARD OSBORNE—had scarcely reached their

destination when dissensions arose. According to
made by Mr. L4r, who had
th earrangements
been
the
h agent in the matter, Captain
OSBORN was not to be bound to receive any com-
mands except those of Prince KUNG, thus pre-
serving him from the necessity of joining the Impe-
perial Generals in any of those acts of treachery or
cruelty which are only too common among the
Chinese, however repugnant they may be to the
moral sense of Englishmen. Whether he was
really unwilling to allow a foreigner so much lati-
tude, or whether the recent successes of the Impe-
rial arms rendered Captain OSBORN'S aid a matter
of indifference, Prince KUNG refused to fulfil his
part of the treaty, and accordingly negotiations
were broken off, and the war vessels remained
under English authority. Scarcely had the particu-
lars of this failure reached us when we wore startled
to hear of a cowardly and treacherous proceeding
in which the good faith and honour of an English
officer had been made use of to entrap the victims
to their fate. The slaughter at Soochow excited
the warmest indignation among the European resi-
dents in China, and a meeting of Consuls took place
on the 16th of December at the British Consulate,
at which a resolution was unanimously passed,
denouncing, in strong terms, the act of the Futai,
declaring that such conduct must tend to alienate
the sympathies and prevent the further aid of
Western nations. To this resolution Cul. SYKES
called attention, on Friday evening, with a view
of eliciting the intentions of the Government, in
the matter. Col, SYKES complained that the
British authorities in China had by no means ful-
filled the instructions of the Foreign office to be
strictly neutral, as by the disposal of their forces
they had left Major GORDON free to push on with
all his men to Soochow. The capture of Soochow
was believed to be essential to the tranquillity of
Shanghai, and there the British Consul and mili-
tary authorities were willing to go some lengths to
secure it. The hon, member reminded Lord PAL-
MERSTON that more than once he had told the
House that instructions had been issued to maintain
strict neutrality beyond the 30 mile limit from the
treaty ports. Lord: PALMERSTON, in his reply,
announced, amid cheers, that both orders in Council
hal been revoked—the one authorising Captain
OSBORN'S expedition, and the other giving a general
permission to British subjects to enter into the ser-
vice of the Chinese EMPEROR. The repeal of the
latter will not make so much actual difference to
the Imperialists, since, according to Lord P
ALLIER-
STUN, only two or three persons have availed them-
selves of it. The noble Premier expressed great
indignation and disgust at the proceedings at Soo-
chow, and stigmatised the conduct of the Futai as
barbarous and abominable. With regard to the
great question of our interfering at all in the matter
Lord P ALMEP.STON'S views are somewhat curious.
Possibly they may throw little light on the some-
what perplexing character of our political neu-
trality, and afford some explanation of those eccen-
tricities of foreign policy which harsh critics
have styled inconsistencies. It is for our in-
terest, says the noble lord, that the rebellion
should cease, and therefore, we are willing to
assist the Imperial Government in any way
we may think proper. "It cannot be for the ad-
vantage of those who trade with China that the
country should be in a state of war." If this is to
be accepted as a maxim of policy it will disarrange
a few of our preconceived notions. According to
this, if Ice had commercial dealings in Warsaw
which were affected by the revolution, we should
tend material aid to the Russians in subjugating the
Poles. If our interests were affected by a commo-
tion in Venice or Hungary, we should be ready to
come forward to assist the Austrian troops. If we
accept the principle that we have no right to in-
terfere in the internal disturbances of other nations,
we must carry out that principle in Asia as well as
in Europe. It is not allowable for us to do among
uncivilised nations what we are unable or unwill-
ing to do in Europe. If the Poles, the Italians, the
Danes, are to fight their battles unaided, let the
Chinese do the same. Since we have not come for-
ward on behalf of right and freedom, on the side
of people whose long-suffering and fortitude have
evoked the admiration of the civilised world, let us
not b 3 the primary agents in doing the work of a
Government whose faults in the words of the First
Minister of the Crown are cruelty and perfidy, If
it be true, as has been stated, that the rebels have
no desire to interfere with our commerce, nay, in
their attack on Shanghai were scrupulously careful
to avoid injuring the British merchants residing
there, there is no reason or excuse for our active
opposition to them. The Imperialists have cer-
tainly forfeited all claim to our regard. Let us see
what their unaided efforts will be worth. In the
meantime, are we to find a clue to our foreign
policy in Lord PALM ERSTON'S answer? Is it only
where "the interests of those who trade in foreign
parts is involved that the sword of England, which
neither right, justice, nor humanity can draw from
its sheath, is so readily thrown into the scale ?

THE PRETENDED INSURRECTION IN GALICIA.—
The Cologne Gazette publishes the following inte-
resting notice from the Polish National Government :--
" Department of the National Government for Austrian
Poland. The national government has clearly defined the
p6mition of Galicia as a province giving aid in the war against
Russia. The dilatoriness and terrors of some and the follies
of others have facilitated the spread of reports of an armed
iusurrection against Austria. An insurrection against
Austria under present circumstances could only be wished
for by Russia, or by the partisans of anarchy, and by the
latter only because they act in opposition to the will of the
national governm nt. The evocation of these bugbears
comes opportunely to justify the canards of the Austrian
organs. The indifference, credulousness, and cowardice of
a few inhabitants strengthen the party which only inspires
them with terror. The above-named department of the na-
tional government, strong enough not to deviate by a single
step from the course laid down for it both by the national
government and its own conviction, declares all efforts tend-
ing to provoke an armed insurrection against Austria to be
acts of high treason, and that it will proceed against the
offenders with all the severity of the law, February 1-1,
1861."

CAPTURE OF TIIE TOWN OP OPATOW BY THE
POLES.—The Ost Deutsche Zeitun9 publishes the
following report of the Polish General Bosak on this sub-
ject :—" I have the honour to announce, pending the arrival
of more detailed reports, that the town of Opatow has been
taken by our men under Colonel Topor, commandant of the
Cracow division. The Russians were driven back at all
points. After our men had remained six hours in the town,
they evacuated it in perfect order, taking with them all
their wounded and upwards of 100 rifles, with two waggons
tall of ammunition and linen.—The Chief of the 2d Corps
d'Armee, Generall3osAu. AWEICEA Adjutant.—Feb.
23, 1864,"
TYPOGRAPBICAL SYMBOLS.—." Manhattan" says
—ln Philadelphia they have a paper devoted to
typography, called the Adeer.fiscr. It is the only one in the
United States. Contains typefounders advertisements, It
contains the following ingenious list of typographical sym-
bols, and I send it to your excellent printers, They can
keep it for private use or publi,h it :
The type of a Glazier should be Diamond,
Tho type of an Oyster should be Pearl.
The typo of a Jeweller should be Agate.
The type of an Honest Man should be Nonpareil.
The type of a Citizm should La Bourgeois. •
The typo of a Schoolmaster should be Primer.
The typo of a Bull should be English.
The typo of Freedom should bo Columbian.
The type of a Maiden should be Paragon.
The type of a mother should be Double Paragon.
The type of a soldier should be Canon.
The typo of an Author should be Script.
The typo of a Preacher should be Text.
Tho typo of Aristocracy should be Title.
The typo of a Baby should be Small Cape,
The typo of a hussy should bo Boldface.
The typo of au Alderman should be Extended.
The type of a Drunkard should be Bookelope.
The typo of a Barber should be Hairline.
The type of our Foundry 81z9u1d EAcelelor,