The Sun.
London, England, 1839-03-26 00:00:00

DUTCH MAIL.

THE Ehnen, MARCH 22.—The First Chamber of the
States General in its sittings to-day agreed to the first
project of the law, relative to the current coin ; second,
that for a loan to cover the expenses of embanking and
draining the Lake of Haarlem.
Count Orloff, Aid-de-Camp to his Majesty the Em-
peror of Russia, who has been appointed to fill the office
held by the late Prince Lieven in the service of his Impe-
rial Highness the Crown Prince Alexander, is expected
in the course of this week at the hotel of the Russian
Ambassador. We hear also that the Grand Duke on his
arrival here will alight at the Palace of his Royal High-
ness the Prince of Orange.
The Journal de Luxembourg of the 16th has the fol-
lowing article:—" We learn from the interior of the pro-
vince that a complete change of opinion is taking place
among the inhabitants. Most of the public functionaries, even,
are said to speak in terms of indignation against the Go•
vernment at Brussels. So far back as last April the
Ministers were aware that the arrangements were defi-
nitively irrevocable, and even till within a few weeks they
have induced the public functionaries and officers of the
civic guard to take steps that might compromise them
with the royal authority, and which are become ridiculous
in regard to the inhabitants. The latter mock bitterly at
the euthors of the pretended popular demonstrations, the
lies and absurd boasting by which they endeavoured to
make them succeed. The illusions 'are dispelled. Many
persons look at themselves and are ashamed of the part
they have been made to act to promote the interest of some
intriguers. The functionaries who,have abused their au-
thority inaihis comedy, have lost all credit. Everybody
places implicit confidence in the truly royal clemency of the
King and Duke ; everybody does justice to the elevated
sentiments and the paternal intentions of the Monarch.
The private correspondence of the Handelsblad, dated
Brussels, 20th instant, says :
" Now that the vote of the Chamber is generally known,
everybody congratulates himself on the issue of this affair,
and even the Deputies and other partisans of resistance are
satisfied at it, for the majority of those representatives who
voted against the acceptance of the Treaty were induced
to do so rather on account of the prevailing opinions which
they were unwilling publicly to recant, than by any
sincere conviction of the propriety of their vote.
" All the Journals, except the Belge, acquiesce in the
result, with the expression of profound regret, real or pre-
tended, for the inhabitants of the provinces to be given up.
c‘ The merchants and manufacturers especially rejoice at
the good faith of the majority of the representatives, and
the speech of M. Libeau, on Monday, is a proof of the cur-
rent desire of Belgium to revive its commercial and friendly
relations with Holland, the upright and pacific intentions
of which have been so long misunderstood.
" One question, which seems serious, remains—viz., the
execution cf the treaty; but be assured it will not be at-
tended with any difficulty ; for it will be insensibly effected
by the force of circumstances. Besides the inhabitants are
calm and indifferent on this point ; and hitherto every
thing indicates that the change will be made without the
slightest disturbance. "—Dutch Papers, March 33.
BERLIN, MARCH B.—The Allgenteine Zeitung of the Ist
of this month contains an article, dated from Prussia,
and marked with two X X, to which several German
journals have attached a high degree of importance,
though it contains nothing but a political reasoning
which refutes itself. Not only has it gone the rounds of
a great number of journals, but a South German paper po-
sitively declares, that the articles from Prussia, marked
X X, which appeared' from time to time in the Allge-
mine Zeitung, came from the most authentic source. We
cannot indeed judge of the source from which the
Allgemeine Zeitung derives its correspondence, but with
respect to the article in question, we can affirm that they
have by no means the authentic character ascribed to them,
nay, there is reason to believe, that they are not written in
Berlin, or even in Prussia.—Prussian States Gazette.

" LADY-DAY," MARCH 25.—This ancient
Roman Catholic festival of the annunciation, is commonly
called in England, " Lady Day," an abridgment of " Our
Lady's Day, or the Day of our Blessed Lady." At Rome
it is observed as a " gaudy day," a procession being made,
first of divers detachments of guards on horseback in their
solendid full-dress uniforms,
.then a bareheaded priest on
a white mule ; after follows the Pope, also on a white
mule ; and all the Cardinals in their magnificent robes of
state mounted on mules. On this, an eye-witness to the
pageantry of last year observes, "As the EminentissimP
are for the most pert not very eminent horsemen, they were
fastened on, lest they should tumble off." At the Church
the usual ceremonies take place when the Pope is present ;
and it is described as being altogether a very entertaining
sight.
PERCUSSION MUSKETS.--The superiority of
tic percussion musket over that in ordinary use has been
strikingly exemplified in the recent trials which have taken
place at Portsmouth, from which it would appear that,
whilst in the course of 2,000 discharges from ten percussion
muskets the cap missed fire only eight times and the load-
ing failed to ignite in nine instances, in the same number
of attempts with the flint musket the priming missed fire
822 times and the loading 70 times after the priming had
exploded. A great advantage is also gained as it regards
expedition by the use of the percussion musket. Thirty
rounds discharged by platoon with the percuscion muskets
occupied twenty minutes : the same number of reports with
the old muskets twenty-six minutes. We can readily be-
lieve everythiog that has been asserted by Colonel Mit-
chell and others of the inefficiency of the musket.— United
Service Gazette.
ARTHUR WOODS.-011 Monday, a second
comnauniei:tion was received from the Secretary of State's
office, intimating, " that upon a full consideration of all
the circumstleces of the case, Lord John Russell regrets
there is no sufficient ground to justify him in recommend-
ing the prisoner ( Weals) to her Majesty for any extension
of the Royal mercy." The execution will, therefore, take
place at Dundee on Monday the lst.—Scotsman.