The Sun.
London, England, 1863-01-09 00:00:00

N°. 22,006.

OPENING OF THE METROPOLITAN
RAILWAY.
PASSENGER TRAINS will run on and after SATUR-
DAY, the 10th January, as follows :

WEEK DAYS.
Trains will depart from the Terminal Stations at Bishop's-
road, Paddington, and from Farring-don-street, in the City,
calling at all intermediate stations, at 6 o'clock a.m., and
every 20 minutes following, until 8 o'clock a.m. After that
hour at each quarter of an hour following, until 8 o'clock
p.m. After that hour at every 20 minutes following, until 12
o'clock at night.

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, JANUARY 9, 1863

Now ready at all the Libraries, in 3 vols..

`LAVES OF THE RING;
►J OR, BEFORE AND AFTER. By the Author of
"Grandmother's Money," &c.
" ' Slaves of the Ring' is superior to any of the author's
previous works. It is developed with great skill."—Post.
Hurst and Blackett, 13, Great Marlborough-street

SPIRIT OP THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

TlMES.—Commercial ISiosjvilty,we are told, is apt
to cut its own throat, and certainly there are instances
to that effect rather fresh in our remembrance. But
England has now been assailed in what is at once
her strongest and her weak( at point, in the very
backbone of her trade. " Cut off cotton," it has
been said twenty times, "and the giant will col-
lapse." Cotton pays taxes, cotton keeps up con-
sumption ; cotton tills the land and pays the rent,
and builds the ship, and digs the mine, and doubles
the city, and lays down the rail, and does every-
thing. This was a precarious basis for an empire.
One was reminded of that sulphur plain in Italy,
where you have but to stamp on the ground and
you become aware that you are on the thin crust of
an extinct volcano, with perhaps an unfathomable
abyss, perhaps eternal fires, but at all events sul-
phureous vapours below you. "Beware how you
trust yourself in the power of a rival and, perhaps,
a foe." We have often been warned. "Do not
commit your very existence to the winds and waves
of the Atlantic. Do not let Washington be the
master of your destinies." These prophets of
ill did not exaggerate the direct influence of the
supply of cotton ; but they overlooked our other
vast and various resources ; and they overlooked
also our immense wealth, credit, stability, mutual
confidence and sympathy. They were blind to every-
thing but the problem on the paper before them.
We have now had a year, sad more than a year, of
the visitation which was first deemed as fatal and
insurmountable as the failure of provisions or fresh
water in an emigrant ship far from land. As for the
people themselves directly concerned, they are in
health and strength; so we dismiss them, and pass
on to standard
ordinary signs and tests of our
These are to be found in the
national
prosperity. a n
Financial Returns, and in the private but widely
circulated and very authoritative Trade Circulars,
from which we give extracts to-day. They tell us
exactly how we stand ; and, in matter of fact, they
inform us that the year 1862, just ended, has been a
very good average year, and that the great British
family has, with the one great exception, done as
usual, bought and sold as usual, and kept things at
very fair average prices. Indeed, it is still an open
question, and a very curious one, whether the cotton
famine has done us any mischief at all,—whether,
indeed, as one respectable firm expressly asserts, it
has not come in the very nick of time, and done us
a very opportune service by averting the mercantile
collapse and universal bankruptcy of credit that
were coming on us by over production. The
linen trade at home in the earlier part of the
year was somewhat affected by the unfortunate
condition of so many customers, but afterwards
improved so much that on the whole the home
trade of the year has been nearly as good as that
of any before. The foreign trade has been much
better than usual. For the first eleven months
the value of piece goods exported was £4,152,725,
compared with £3,335,771 in the corresponding
period of the previous year. There was also

Now ready, at all the Libraries, in 2 vols., 215.,
ATISTRESS AND MAID.
1. By the Author of "John Halifax, Gentleman."
",A good, wholesome book, gracefully written, and as
pleasant to read as it is instructive." Athenaeum.
Hurst and Blackett, 13, Great Marlborough-street.

Ready in a few days, Crown Bvo. cloth, price 65.,
POEMS. DESCRIPTIVE and LYRICAL.
Illustratins of of Troical Scenery, and
Sketches of Objects the
of Interest Beauties ;
with Notes, Historical and
kxplanatory. By the Author of "The Nuptials of Bar-
celona."

London : Robert Hardwicke, 192. Piccadilly.

THE QUARTERLY REVIEW, No. CCXXV,
will be Published on WEDNESD AY NEXT.
CONTENTS.

I. Travels in Peru.
11. Institutes for Working* Men.
111. Constitutional Government in Russia.
IV. Editions of the Greek Testament.
V. The Ticket-of-Leave System.
VI. The Art Loan Exhibition.
VII. Life of Christopher North.
VIII. The Stanhope Miscellanies.
IX. Three Years of a Reform Administration.
John Murray, Albemarle-street.

LIVES of EMINENT STATESMEN
in FUN, every week. One Penny

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4,ZECOND half-yearly VOLUME of FUN, with
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ous Articles by the following distinguished writers:—
W. Bailey, Esq. W. S. Gilbert, Esq.
W. Barber, Esq. T. Hood, Esq.
E. L. Blanch .rd, Esq. T. S. Jerrold, Esq.
G. W. Brid,eman, Esq. W. J. Prowse, Esq.
F. (.. BJIIIIBII,I P.:sq. Godfrey Turner, Esq.
H. J. Byron, Esq. &c., &e., &c.
Office, 80, Fleet-street, London.

R 0 SAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT
INSTITUTION
(Inoorporated by Royal Charter).
PATRONESS—Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen.
PRESIDENT—Vice-Admiral his Grace the Duke of Northum-
berland, K.G., F.R.S.
CHAIRMAN—Thos. Baring, Fsq., M.P., F.R.S., V.P.
DEPUTY-CHAIRMAN—Thomas Chapman, Esq., F.R.S.,
APPEAL.
The Committee of Management have to state that, since
he beginning of the year 1860, the Royai National Lifeboat
Institution has incurred expenses .mount ng to £27,260 on
various Lifeboat Establishments on the Coasts of England,
Scotland, and Ireland.
During the same period the Lifeboats of the Institution
have een instrumental in rescuing tne Crews of the follow.
ing Vessels :
Barque Vermont, of Halifax, U.S. .. 16
Schooner William Keith, of Carnarvon .. 2
Brig Flying Fish, of Whitby • •• •• 5
Smack Elizabeth Ann, of Lyme Regis .. .. 3
Steam Dredge, at Newhaven .. 9
Schooner Admiral Hood, of Rochester .. 6
Schooner Susan and Isabella, of Dundee .. .. 5
Schooner Rose, of Lynn •• •• •• •• 3
Brig Prodroma, of Stockton 11
Brig Eliza, of Middlesborough
Brigantine Freia, of Konigsberg 6
Brigantine Diana, of Fredrikshamn
Brig Gloucester, of South Shields .. .• •• 7
Brig Lovely Nelly, of Seaham
Brigantine Nugget, of Bideford .. 5
Schooner Prospect, of Berwick .. 6
Schooner Ann Mitchell, of Montrose .. 1
Schooner Jane Roper, of Ulverstone .. 6
Brig Pallas, of Shields .. .. 3
Ship Ann Mitchell, of Glasgow 9
Smack John Buhl, of Yarmouth .. .. 5
Schooner Catherine, of Newry
Barque Niagara, of Shields .. 11
A Barge of Teignmouth
Brig George and James, of London
Brig Zephyr, of Whitby •• •• •. •• 6
Coble Honour, of Cullercoats
Schooner Eliza, of North Shields .. .• .. 7
Barque Oberon, of Liverpool
Brigantine Nancy, of Teignmouth g
Smack Wonder, of Teignmouth .. • . .. 2
Brig Scotia, of Sunderland .. .. 6
Sloop Three Brothers, of Goole .. 5
Sloop Charlotte, of Woodbridge .. .. 5
Brig Ann, of Blyth .. • • •• • . 8
Spanish Barque Primera de Torreviega (saved ves-
sel and one of the crew) .. • • .. 1
Sloop Hope, of Dublin •• •• •• •• 3
Schooner Druid, of Aberystwyth •• 5
Schooner Hurrell, of Penzance (saved vessel and
crew) .. .. • • • • •• .. 4
Brig Anne, of Plymouth (saved vessel and crew) 8
Schooner Betsy, of Peterhead (saved vessel and
crew) .. .
Smack Merrion Lass, of Abery
and crew) ..
Schooner Fly, of Whitby (saved vessel and crew 4
Sloop Thomas and Jane, of St. Ives
Fishing-boats of Whitburn
Brig Arethusa, of Blyth • •
Schooner Dewi Wyn, of Portmadoo
Flat Cymraes, of Beaumaris .
Schooner William, of Morecambe
Smack Gipsy, of Newry • • • •
Schooner Margaret Anne, of Preston
Brig- New Draper, of Whitehaven
Schooner William, of Liverpool ..
Lugger Nimrod, of Castletown
Brig Providence, of Shields ..
Brig Mayflower, of Newcastle
Schooner Village Maid, of Fleetwood
Barque Guy Ina, of Glasgow ..
Brig Roman Empress, of Shields ..
Brig San Spirid,one, of Galaxide .. 2
Schooner Voador du Vouga, of Vienna 8
French Brig La Jenne Marie Therese .. 6
Barque Perseverance, of Scarborough .. .. 5
Schooner Elizabeth, of Bridgewater .. 4
Ship Danube, of Belfast 14
Schooner Hortensia, of Hanover .. 4
Schooner Oregon, of Stonehaven .. 4
Brig St. Michel, of Marano .. • • .. 8
Schooner Epimachus, of Amsterdam 5
Barque Druid, of Sunderland •• .. 9
Schooner Bellona, of Red Bay.. . • .. 1
Brig Pioneer, of Carnarvon 1
Schooner Princess Alice, of Ipswich 5
Brig Minerva, of Workington
Schooner Elizabeth and Hannah, of Newburgh .• 6
Brig Sisters, of %1 hitby 9
Brigantine Matilda, of Stockholm .. .. 4
Brig Jane, of North Shields .. 10
Brig Trial, of Poole ~ .. • • 7
Schooner Liberty, of Dublin .. . .. 3
Schooner Sylphiden, of Nakskov (saved vessel and
crew) 7
Barque Frederick, of Dublin .. 1
Barge Peace, of London • • .-
Lugger Saucy Lass, of Lowestoft ..
Smack Adventure, of Harwich.. ..
Pilot clatter Whim. of Lowestoft .. _ __ •
Barque Undaunted, of Aberdeen. , • •• 11
Wrecked boat on Blackwater Bank, on the Irish
coast •• •• •• •• .• ••
Schooner Skylark, of Folkestone ..
Brig Lively, of Clay, Norfolk ..
Schooner Rook, of Liverpool • • ••
Barque Robert Watson, of Sunderland ..
Schooner Auchincruive, of Grangemouth ..
Schooner Friends, of Lynn
Schooner Eliza Anne, of Dublin ..
Brig Content, of Sunderland .t
Smack Ellen Owens, of Cardigan ..
Barque Cedarine, of Bermuda
Smack Frodsham, of Liverpool ..
Sloop William, of Liverpool ..
Sloop Elizabeth, of Teignmouth
Portuguese Barque Cruz V. ..
Ship Annie E. Hooper, of Baltimore, U. 5...
Barque Henry Everest, of Rochester

'stwyth (saved yes- _

.. 8

.. 4
.. 4
.. 8
.. 5

.. 4
.. 19

.. 11

- 1
.. 6
- 5
.. 3
.. 5
- 6
.. .. 4
.. .. 5

a great increase in yarns, thread, and hosiery.
The exports to the United States alone amounted
to £1,387,611, compared with £605,453, or con-
siderably more than double. The wool trade,

if not quite so flourishing, has been in a satisfactory
state. On the whole, a very steady business has
been done throughout the year, the extended export
trade to France having, in a great measure, made
up for the falling off in other qua! tees. The eta.
tistics of the silk trade are remarkable. There has
been an increase of 995,46:31b. in the imports ; an
increased consumption of 1,573,2881 b.; a decrease of
103,574tb. in the stock in hand at the close of the
year ; and a rise of 10 or 15 per cent. in the prices.
There has been the largest delivery of the material
upon record. As it is believed that much of the
manufacture has not been remunerative, it is in-
ferred that the manufacturers ran the risk of loss
in order to keep their mills open, though it does not
seem certain that they hive suffered by their bene-
volence. Linseed, it has often been said, is a test
of both manufacturing and agricultural prosperity,
the oil being used for machinery and the cake for
cattle. This year, however, the supply has not been
equal to the demand, and prices have been high, but
fluctuating. In the oilcake trade there has been a
considerable demand for America, and several thou-
sand qua rters are now in course of shipment. The
leather trade has been slowly recovering the bank-
ruptcies of 1860; but the legitimate trade has been
good, the stock of leather in the hands of the fac-
tors has been low, scarcely any "stale" goods are to
be met, prices have been unusually steady, and the
manufacturer is now in a better condition than a
twelvemonth ago. In the wine and spirit trade the
course of the market, we are told, has been uniform
and steady. Low wines, as a rule, have been in
abundant supply, and have somewhat yielded in
value, while fine wines of all descriptions, and espe-
cially sherries, have shown a decided advance,
which seems likely not only to be maintained, but
even increased. In the comparison of the last year
with the previous the imports have been 109,350
pipes, against 103,300 ; the home delivery 92,220,
against 101,852 ; the export delivery 92,220, against
101,852 ; the export delivery rather more, the stock
in hand rather less. It is observed that Hungary is
the only country that seems to have made use of
the International Exhibition to offer us a reasonable
prospect of a new source of supply. The character
of the continental vintages is beside our present pur-
pose of comparing the two years, but, in general
they have not been such as to depreciate the value
of existing stocks. The tobacco trade is now a war
question; and we know not whether the consumers

.. 8
..134
.. 2
.. 6
.. 3

.. 14
.. 18
.. 4

Total .. 762
For these and other Life-boat services the Institution hap
oted £2,158 as rewards to the crews of its Lifeboats. It has
also granted re wards ',mounting to £572 for saving 562
-hipwrecked persons, by shore-boats and other means. mak-
ng a total of 1,302 persons saved from a watery grave during
the last two years and a half.
The number of lives saved by the Life-boats of the
Society, 4nd other means, since its formation, is 12,690;
for which services 82 Gold Medals, 71% Silver Medals, and
.£16,000 in cash have been paid in rewards. The Institu-
tion has also expended £64,300 on Life-boats, Life-boat
Transporting-cart iages, and Boat-houses.
The public cannot but sympathise with the vigorous efforts
now being made by this Institution to save the lives of Ship-
w reeked Crews. Their help was never more needed than at
he present time, when, through the extraordinary exertions
he Society has made within the past few years, it has now
One Hundred and Twenty-three Life-boats under its man-
igement, for the maintenance of which, in a state of thorough
efficiency, a large permanent annual income is absolutely
needed, if its humane mission is to be perpetuated.
The Committee gratefully acknowledge the following con-
tributions

of the weed will be grateful for the intelligence, but

it appears we are able to do withoat Virginia much
more easily than was ever anticipated. The " pro-
duce" markets are in as satisfactory a state as could
possibly be expected. Sugar stocks have increased

about six per cent., and prices have become weak in
proportion. The fluctuations, however, have not

been severe; the lowest WES reached in November,

and the market, though inactive, has since had a

better time. In the cheese trade there have not

only been increased production and an immense

importation from America, but also a larger demand.
At present, however, the prices of cheese, as well as
of butter and bacon, are somewhat lower than a
twelvemonth ago. Turpentine and petroleum have

4 e. d
Her Majesty the Queen .. annual SO 0 0
A Lady at . eith, per W. G. Slater, Esq.. don. 100 0 0
Clerk. Colonel, R.A. .. annual 1 1 0
Cotton, Sir St. Vincent, Bart.. •• don. 25 0 0
Coutts and Co., Messrs., Bankers .. annual 10 0 0
Erle, Lord Chief Justice .. .. don. 10 10 0
Fanshawe, Vice-Admiral Sir A., K.C.B. .. 2d don. 25 0 0
Harvey. Rev. G. G. and Mrs. .. don. 30 0
Lambton, Messrs. W. H. at Co., Bankers .. don. 21 0 0
Lanesborough, the Earl of .. annual 5 0 0
Legacy of the late Wm. Lupton, Esq., of
Salford.. 100 0 0
Martin, Sir Henry, Bart. 7th don. 10 0
Moore, Rev. G. M .. don. 15 15 0
Robartes, T. J. Agar, Esq., M.P. annual 5 0 0
Stirling, Col. Sir Anthony, K.C.B. .. annual 2 0 0
Trench, Lady Helena .. don 30 0 0
Donations and Annual Subscriptions will be thankfully re-
ceived by the Bankers of the Institution, Messrs. Willis,
Percival, and Co., 76, Lombard-street; Messrs. Coutts and
Co., 59, Strand; Messrs. Herries, Farquhar, and Co., 16, St.
James's-street, London ; by a l the Bankers in the United
Kingdom; and by the Secretary, Richard Lewis, Esq., at
the Office of the institution, 14, John-street, Adelphi, Lon-
don. W.C.

exhibited the most extraordinary fluctuations,

owing to the alternate currents of the former from

he United States and the novelty of the latter

material. Here our list ends. It would be diffi-

cult to conclude from these returns, did one not
happen to know it beforehand, that tie people
whose markets we are describing had just been over-
taken by a calamity long since thought certain to
plunge them in utter ruin. The thirty million
victims on whom the overhanging rock of Tantalus
has at last fallen go on, as a whole, very much as
usual, eating, drinking, working, enjoying them-
selves, prosecuting their several industries, and
holding their ground in the commerce of the world.
Misfortunes so borne is more dignified and more
demonstrative of the national stability and the
soundness of our institutions than those violent
flushes of prosperity which statesmen have some-

fOYAL FREE HOSPITAL, Gray's-inn-road,
in the immediate vicinity of the Great Northern Rail-
way Terminus, at Ring's-cross.
of Patron—The QUEEN.
President—The Duke of BUCCLEUCH, K.G.
capable of ad
Treasurer—Edward Masterman, Esq.
This was the first hospital to introduce the principle of free
and instant admission to the destitute sick, without the for-
malitythe casual sick
paoiloendinbyitssmickonstespsitiaanbdledfiosrmeas—e:riazn.,dthisatnwohwichof
governors' letters. It is entirely devoted to desti-
funds
rder t of
have at. With adequate support, issuarciemni
magnitude th
ohaarnd f e el it it may be rendered
litti% into its wards a very large proportion of
it gratuitously anordites great metropolis. It requires but the
these themost Ntir'reUe NO beds available for the reception of
d of our fellow-creatures. Moreover,
3.rcil.oeodlcal advice and medicine to more,
drhee outpatients_ipb f
oar week.
eir imperative duty to make an
on the
Waveeerkalgye,nt
EARNEST APPEAL tali
to enable them to admitcontinued support,
daily present themselves. 11 ve the distressing cases that
Contributions are received by the T
Esq., Nicholas-lane; also by fetirer. Edward
Messrs. Coutts and
ote and Co.; Smith p o. ; Ransom and
CO. ; Prescott, Gr ,
and Co. Barclay ayne. and Co.; Giyn
CMoa.s;teDrmruanri;mond and'Terries and
and Co. ; Jones Loyd t ,
J. Baedvaard—' `l"ll2e3r. and
Co. ; Nisbet and Co. ; Messrs. n Co., Liverpool ;
and at the Hospital
and. Co. ; W lliams, Deacon, and Co.;, e aa.nd,Cs.);_z___• Denis=
'QIWfi!S. §lLlTECiaeoretary.

times been tempted to tell us are the ordinary and
legitimate result of wise legislation.

DAILY NEWS.—Oar social science has really put
in our power far more simple and far more effectual
methods of dealing with fire than we have yet

chosen to use. In raising and storing water to such

effectually by the accumulated exertion of the
great pumping engines of the water companies.
These last have already raised water from the
Thames to the amount of a hundred millions of
gallons a day, and to a height exceeding that to
which any fire-engine can throw it, and they have
stored up this enormous quantity in such a way
that a child, by turning a tap, could apply the
whole wherever it is wanted. There are two ways
in which such an application might be arranged.
The one is the system of " constant service," or the
keeping the mains constantly charged with full
pressure. This system the companies are bound by
statute to adopt in any district in which it may be
demanded by a certain maj aity of the inhabitants.
But it involves the necessity of a pretty close and
frequent inspection by the officers of the companies,
in order to see that the water is not allowed to run
to waste, and for this and some other reasons it
has not been generally adopted. But the result
might as easily be obtained by less objectionable
means. If every house were compelled by law to
have a cistern of large capacity immediately under
the roof, there would be a supply abundantly suf-
ficient for any ordinary fire, and even in extraordi-
nary cases enough to last till the mains could be
turned on. An iron pipe led from this cistern down
the inside wall of the house, fitted on each floor with
a " union" by means of which a short indiarubber
hose could be attached in a moment, would enable
a stream to be directed on the flames within a few
minutes of their discovery. Every policeman
should be instructed in the manner of doing this;
and if it is thought too much to require each house
to keep a hose, it might at least be a regulation
that every licensed victualler's, or public-house,
should keep one, which the policeman of the beat
might without delay obtain and carry to the place
where it is required. It is obvious that a very mo-
derate degree of regular inspection would preserve
this simple apparatus in ready working order, and
as it would furnish a copious and immediate supply
of water available for every part of the house ex-
cept the roof itself, where fires scarcely ever origi-
nate, it is quite certain that it would succeed in

rendering them a thousandfold less destructive, and
would speedily repay its cost by the reduction which
it would enable the insurance companies to make in
their rates. That a system so easy has in very few in-
stances been already voluntarily adopted is probably
due in a great measure to the absurdity of the
rules by which we have authorised the water
companies to tax us. These bodies, not content
with a rate according to the rental, are entitled to
charge a further sum for every cistern which a
house contains. So, though the fire cistern might
stand for 20 years without a drop being drawn from
it, there would still be an annual fine of 10s. charged
for filling it ! This pernicious rule is, however,
the creature of law, and might by law be abolished
or modified. There is no more difficulty in measur-
ing water than in measuring gas, and there is no
greater reason in the one case than in the other
why we should pay for more than we consume.
Nor can any sound objection be taken to a munici-
pal regulation which should enforce the adoption of
such means of security against fire as we have indi-
cated. We already invade the Englishman's castle
so far as is necessary to compel him to build it sub-
ject to certain rules, and to fit it up with suitable
drains. To require him to keep a receptacle for water
in a position where it will cause him no inconvenience,
and to allow an occasional inspection to see that it has
not leaked, and that the pipe and " unions" are in
proper order, is a very trivial attack upon his fiber.
ties. If indeed he were to claim only the right to
burn himself down, we might not think it worth
while to interfere. But the privilege of being the
incendiary also of his family and servants, his
neighbours, and perhaps his whole street, is more
than he can reasonably demand of the British con-
stitution. We commend,. therefore, to the public
the consideration of the means of security we have
suggested. The question resolves itself into the in-
quiry whether they will continue a system which
at the best leaves a conflagration a lull half hour
before it can be grappled with, and then involves,
even if the fire is checked, an immense destruc-
tion of property by the volumes of water re-
quired for its extinction ; or whether they will
enforce the adoption of precautions which would,
while interfering with no other remedy, permit
the first discoverer of a fire to direct upon it,
without the loss of five minutes of time, a mode-
rate but probably sufficient stream to prevent its
extension beyond the first apartment in which it
had broken out.

The Great Frauds upon the United States

Government.

elevations as are required for the supply of the
highest houses in the City, we are furnished with

a constant force, by which we can apply it in-
stantaneously to the extinction of burning
materials, and which far transcends the capa-

:From the New York Evening Express of Dee. 26, 1862.)
The recent heavy frauds by contractors who fur-
nished rations to the soldiers in this city, led to the
appointment of Mr. Olcott as a special commissioner
to investigate the circumstances connected with each
case in which the Government was swindled. The
commission was merely intended to collect evidence
to bring the guilty to punislment in the ordinary
courts, if civilians. The military officers who are
involved in the frauds are to be the subjects of
courts-martial. Commissioner Olcott having kindly
invited the members of the press to his office this
afternoon, to note the progress made in the investi-
gation, furnished each reporter present with the
basis of the following report :—" The commission
was opened on the lst of November, since which
time nearly 200 witnesses have been examined. The
interpreters, a secretary who has taken notes of
the examination in short hand, several copyists and
detectives have been employed. The bills examined
were those presented ostensibly for the board and
lodging of troops previous to their being sworn into
the United States service,and formed into companies.
For this object 20,000,000 dole. were appropriated
under the heading, for recruiting, organising, and
drilling soldiers into the United States services."
The frauds which Mr. Olcott succeeded in bringing
into public light are of a startling character,which
show that there was a conspiracy to swin‘,le the
Government by several of its sworn agents, who
may be numbered by hundreds. It was not until
after the commencement of the present year twat
the frauds which are the subject of the present in-
vestigation occurred. In the spring of this year the
swindling was extensive, as that time there were
numerous squads of troops scattered over the city
who were not mustered into the service of the
United States for some time. There are two classes
of contractors—one who have an agreement with
the State authorities or United States, by proposals,
to furnish soldiers with rations—the other, the spe-
cial contractors, who provide squads of men newly
recruited, and not organised into companies or mus-
tered into the United States services, with board
and lodging. The frauds belong to the latter class
and their abettors. As soon as the commission was
opened, Mr. Olcott sent to the Disbursing-office and
obtained all bills over 100 dole. for lodging and sub-
sisting troops. The commissioner then had
the contractors brought before him, when
in many instances the startling dlscovery..
was made that the names of many
papers
this class had been forged on the necessary
papeln
to obtain the amount of the fraudulent bills.
many instances the names of private c
for theirizens who
were in no way connected with providing
troops were placed on the necessary papers; and
paid. The
the amounts thus fortified were at once pa
investigation, so far,
has disclosed the fact that the
frauds commenced
in the followi▪
ng manner. A large
numberat the
of contractors, who wai▪ ted for weeks and
Disbursing-office to receive the
months
amount of their bills, were compelled to sell them
to brokers. This circumstance opened a new avenue
for the thrift of the latter class, and they soon em-
ployed agents to run round the small contractors of
this city and purchase their bills at about 25 per
cent. discount. The claimants vv ere principally lager

city of the most powerful fire-engines. These,
in fact, only accomplish, in the feeble degree re-

presented by a dozen men at the handles, or at

most by a steam-engine of a few horse power,

What has been accomplished a million times more

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1414616 et,,e„„et BRUIT. c.
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PRICE..... -..4d.
STAMPED ....sd.

beer saloon-keepers, with whom the soldiers had
boarded. When one of the German contractors
would endeavour to get his bill cashed by a broker,
the brokek would state there were several informa-
lities in it, tearit up, and prepare a new one. If
the amount was, say, 25 dole., the broker would
alter it to 2,500 dole., and having the contractor's
signature, obtain the amount without any questions
being asked at the DisburEing-office. Over 1,000:
persons are at present implicated, and the i
gation has not yet been closed. Over 50 per cent.
of the six millions of dollars which has already been
spent out of the fund of 20 million dole. is supposed
to have been paid on fraudulent claims throughout
the he country.

(From the Amy York IP orld of Dec. 27.)

Col. H. S. Olcott is the special commissioner ap-
pointed by the Government to make the investig.-
Lion. He hos employed an interpreter and a short-
hand writer. The investigation has been private,
for the reason, it is alleged, that if public the parties
most guilty would run away from the city before
they could be secured. The results of the inquiry
show, Col. Olcott thinks, that out of the 1,600,000
dole. which has been paid out in this city for the
subsistence of soldiers, over 700,000 dole. has been
paid on fraudulent accounts. The means by which
these frauds have been accomplished have also been
developed, and show, it is said, that nearly 1,000
persons have been engaged in them, though all are
not criminally implicated.
Such a mass of evidence has been accumulated as
will, it is thought, secure the conviction and pun-
ishment of the parties who have been robbing the
Government. The evidence collected in the case
is to be given to the Government counsel, to be
presented to the civil courts where the parties im-
plicated are civilians, and to courts-martial in the
case of army officers. The investigation has been
mostly confined to frauds in the subsistent depart-
ment. The frauds in this city are allowed to be a
sample of what is going on all over the United
States in the one item of subsistence and lodging,
though in fact it is going on in every department.
Similar investigations have been instituted in
other places by Judge Holt, Judge Shipman, and
Col. Owen. It is hinted by those who ought to know
that perhaps a great deal of the fraud is connived at
by the Government disbursing officers. It will be
remembered that when the war broke out Congress
was not in session, and no appropriation had been
made for defraying the expenses of recruiting the
regiments of volunteers. The expenses of recruiting
the regiments that were raised in this city were
paid either by the friends of the colonel and regi-
mental officers of each, by a general subscription
from citizens, or subsequently by the Union Defence
Committee. But some time in August, Congress being
then in session, made an appropriation of 20,000,000
dole. " for recruiting, organising, and drilling vo-
lunteers, and by the provisions of the act the Adju-
tant-General's department was the custodian of the
fund, and the mustericg officers in the different
cities were made disbursing officers.
Col. D. B. Sackett, then inspector in the United
States army, was detailed on duty here as muster-
ing officer, assisted by several other army officers.
In the lush of volunteering in answer to the Presi-
dent's call, these gentlemen were overwhelmed with
business, and so a building was hired in White--
street especially for the disbursing business, The
first appropriation received was 5,000 dols., which
was exhausted in three or four days; for as soon as
it became known that the Government was prepared
to pay the recruiting, the contractors came down
upon Col. Sackett in a swarm. The 5,000 dole. used
up, he received no more money for three or four
weeks, and during this time the bills were accumu-
lating in his office by scores daily, and the o ffice
was crowded with people clamorous for pay. Finally
he received another cheque from Washington for
about 100,000 dols., which he paid out; and then,
late in November, came a further instalment of
about an equal amount. The bill for subsistence and
lodging of recruits comps ices a specific statement of
the number of rations and of lodgings furnished on
separate accounts; and, moreover, a general state-
ment of the aggregate of the whole is required.
These should be certified to by the recruiting offi-
cer, and the special contractor, and endorsed as ap-
proved by the colonel, but in the haste and confu-
sion of the moment, in some cases the colonel's name
was omitted. Col. Sackett, on assuming the busi-
ness, wrote to the Comptroller of the Treasury ask-
ing how far the certificates of the volunteer officers
should be taken, and whether their affidavits should
not be required. In the regular army, as is well
known, the word of an officer was as good as an-
other man's bond, and his certificate was conclu-
sive with a disbursing officer, but whether the
same rule should be followed with volunteer officers
was questionable. Colonel Sackett received no
reply from Washington ; the letter was referred
by the Comptroller to the Secretary of War, who
did not notice it. Colonel, Sackett being thrown
upon his own judgment, acted as he thought best
under the circumstances, requiring affidavits in
most cases.

Ascertaining the amount of the bill, he would offer
about 75 per cent. for it, which being accepted, he
would bring the papers, get the contractor's signa-
ture, and then on the paper a bill would be made
out for 2,000 or 3,000 dols. Not content with grind-
ing the Government in that way, they would take
at random some man in the city and forge his sig.
nature, and also the signature of the colonel of the
regiment, and the recruiting officer and broker
would divide the spoils. Evidences of many cases
of this kind have been developed. Thirty or forty
forgeries have been discovered in the course of the
investigation.
Three classes of forgeries have transpired; one
where the special contractor is induced to sign
blanks; another, where the names of the special
contractor and the co:onel of the regiment are forged;
and a third, where a man has a small bill against
the Government-100 dollars or so—goes to the
broker, and the broker, looking at his paper, tears
it, saying it is not correctly made out, buys the claim
for 50 dollars, then says to the man, " You come
here at such a time and I will have your bill rightly
made out." The man, when he comes, is shown one
leaf of the bill; on that is about the amount of
money he claims, and he is told there are other bills
to put with it, when is fact his bill is made out to
amount to 2,000 dollars or more.
was iodated to sign his
name to a bill which he
In one case a Germ„,,
supposed was for 25 dols.,
when in fact it was•for 1,600 dols. No part of the
paper was shown him, except where he was to sign
his name, Then he was told he must
swear the bill
was correct. The notary, without swearing him or
asking him any questions, made him sign his name,
and then the notary affixed his notarial seal.
There are cases where the Union Defence Com-
mittee had paid regularly 44 cents per ration to con-
tractors, where the contractor was pledged to pay
to the colonel of the regiment 5 cents per ration,
and to give the quartermaster 10 per cent. on his
gross receipts. It has transpired, too, that officers
have ordered orderly sergeants to return each day a,
larger number of men than was actually subsisted.

After this investigation had been for some time
in progress, the Secretary of War placed in Colonel
Olcott's hands a bill which had been presented at
Washington by the officer of a New York regiment
to the correectness of which he had made a sworn
affidavit. The bill was accompanied by a dozen sub-
vouchers, which Col. Olcott found on examination
contained only two real names among the whole,
and these two names were forgeries. The colonel
had perjured himself and perpetrated a forgery be-
sides. This led to an investigation concerning him,
and it was found that he had swindled the Union.
Defence Committee, swindled many citizens of New
York who had subscribed largely for him, and
swindled also the general government and the offi-
cers and soldiers of his regiment, and that ho had
made out of his frauds probably 100,000 dole. He
had turned officers out of the regiment on frivolous
pretexts, had systematically sold commissions, and
been engaged in wholesale swindling.
Col. Olcott has received orders to thoroughly in-
vestigate the history of the organisation of other re-
giments. The regiment above referred to is now in
the service, with the veritable colonel at its head.
When the particulars of the developments in that
case comes to the public, as they soon will, they will
show some rich and racy as well as extraordinary
transactions. The colonel is proved to have run the
career of a chevalier d'industrie for several years,
and yet has received indorsements from some of the
best men in the service.

Within a week after the commission had com-
menced its investigations false bills to the amount
of many thousand dollars, that had been prepared,
were withdrawn and destroyed, and one bill for
6,000 dols. was ready for presentation, so that much
has been saved to the Government by the investiga-
tion, besides being instrumental in bringing the
guilty parties to justice.

A ROMANCE IN THE COUNTY COURT.

A case involving particulars of a singular and
somewhat mysterious nature was tried in the
Brighton County Court on Saturday. The plaintiff
was William Moncrieff, a cabinet maker in the ser-
vice of Messrs. Hall and Harding, North-street, and
was represented by Mr. Penfold. The defendant
was Dr. Alfred Hall, for whom Mr. Lamb appeared.
It seems that about five years ago Dr. Hal called
upon the plaintiff respecting the care of a child
whose parents plaintiff knew nothing about. Two
sums of £3O and £25 had, under an agreement, been
paid for the maintenance of it, and the child be-
coming attached to plaintiff, defendant agreed to
give him £7O to entirely adopt the child, and pro-
mising that, if all went well, he would in the coutso
of 12 or 18 months give an additional £lO. This
£lO was the point in dispute. Evidence was given
by the plaintiff and his wife as to the terms agreed
upon by the defendant. In defence, Dr. Hall de-
posed that by the instructions of other parties, he
introduced the chile in question to plaintiff and.
his wife, and it was registered as their child, and
from time to time he paid the money to them
which he had received from the principals for its
support. The duty being somewhat disagreeable,
and fearing that he might be mixed up with
it, and become liable for the payments he
asked plaintiff's wife whether, if he could get a stun
down, she would adopt the hild, at the same time
telling her that the mother of the child was a young
lady, dependent upon a grandmother, who was a
widow of limited means, and that the father was a
married man, dependent upon his wife's income.
The sum of £5O was mentioned, and she consulted
with her husband. It was declined, and he
Hall) then obtained £7O, which they agree(Dr.
d to
accept, and gave an acknowledgment for it, at the
same time offering £lO for professional services
which had been rendered to himself and wife, but
which he (Dr. Hall) refused to take, and said, as
they had been 50 kind to the child, he would if he
could at some at some future time get another £10!
but he was sure the
grandmother had had great
d that £7O together. He (de-
fendant)iffiucitY hienarsderPnS
nothingai- of plaintiff for three years
after the £7O was paid. In answer to Mr. Penfold,
Dr. Hall said he did not wish to give the names of
the parents of the child, as the mother was still
living, but the father was now dead. Still he would.
do so rather than have the paternity fixed upon
himself, and would only do so then for the sake of
his professional reputation. Mr. Penfold said under
those circumstances he would not press for an an-
swer. The judge was of opinion that the plaintiff'
accepted the £7O in full of all demands, and gave a
verdict for the defendant.—West Sussex Gazette.

There are two kinds of army contractors, the
general contractor who puts in his bid in answer to
' the advertisement of the United States officers, who
is paid at regular intervals, and who gives security
for the performance of his contract. The special
contractors are keepers of lager-beer saloons, board-
ing-house keepers, and these are the ones who have
perpetrated the frauds, or who have been made the
instruments for their perpetration. These men
boarded recruits till officers had obtained men
enough to take to camp, and under various other
circumstances. When the tremendous pressure re-
ferred to came upon the disbursing office, and there
was no money to pay these little bills, the owners
of them would become impatient, and many were
finally driven to negotiate with brokers, and dis-
pose of their claims at a discount. These brokers
commenced this business a little over a year ago in
a small way, sharing bills for ten per cent., and
sometimes for fifteen, or even as high as 75 per
cent. The broker, by the time the disbursing officer
would get an instalment of money from Washing-
toe, would have advanced money on a large number
of bills, which he would present in one batch and
get a cheque for the whole amount. The disburs-
ing officer endeavoured, it is stated, to protect the
Government as much as possible from fraud, requir-
ing in many cases an affidavit from the special con-
tractor, and employing a detective to go about the
city and inquire about the probable validity of the
claims presented for payment. If the recruiting
officers and these detectives had been honest, it
is averred that there would have been no pay-
bar, and during
dia":etelnwtheent on 1
ment of fraudulent claims. But this
the case. Colonel Nichols relieved
s
Sackett on the 11th of
al: the
lo notne l
relievedee
a wgCae
latter part of his term of 0
he
e and
Midsummer, when Captain Laa
busi-
ness was in full blast, larger
tookand
• assumed the duties on the
larger until He
continued till the 26th of August,
charge of
fofuwnt
when beLieut.-Col. Reeve, who is
now in charge. About the commencement of the pre-
sent year the brokers came to have a large business
connexion,
employed runners to go about the city
and get up fair bills and make out false ones—not
satisfied with the enormous profit they were making
from the discounting of bills. They soon entered
largely into the making up of bills that were wholly
bogus, A clerk would make out an imaginary ac-
count and get a man to sign it through false repre-
sentation. A special contractor (in most cases an
ignorant German) would be asked to sign a blank
as a matter of form, and then the blanks would be
made into a regular bill and presented for payment.
Sometimes the recruiting officer would be in league
with the broker, and in other cases his name would

A FRONTISPIECE TO A CHRISTMAS ANNIIAL.,—.
The only establishment in the city of London where the
ces for Christ.
right ancient custom still exists of surrencleriz the shop to
ig
executed the
employes
mlOYdeesl
f a
shown a Phiz-like talent, s well I year
the entire control of its foreman and
apprenti
mas decora.ions, appears to be that of Osborne's provision
warehouse on Ludgate.hill.ia
This
some latent meaning lurks in.
haveo
Hunting Field. Perhaps
" the meet," " the bounds giving tongue," and the good
looking " chap,. who are riding. There is one amongst
the latter--a right royal rider—who giving " Ham" the
cold shoulder, saves his " bacon" by a rash leap, and thus,
avoid. is:,' rasher." Perhaps in " Tally Ho" we have the
Tally, formerly used in this trade, and in the shape of
the cheese the 0 1 while the ensemble may bo symbolical
of the t( hunts', which housekeepers take to " find" the
best '‘ cover" for provisions, but this would scarcely apply,
if it be true, that the Osborne preserves cannot be
" beaten."

be forged. The following was another mode of
swindling extensively practised. An agent of a
broker would go about the city and find lager-beer
saloon keepers And others who had boarded recruits.

EXTRAORDINARY CASE OF ARGON.—Great
citement was occasioned at King's Lynn on Wed-
nesday in consequence of a bookseller (who for many years
has maintained a :respectable position in the town), named
John Robinson Smith, having set fire to his premises, with.
the intention, it is supposed. of burning his wife alive.
Smith, who has of late years bun somewhat reduced in
circumstances, seems to have been much annoyed because
of:his inability to get possession of some property which his
wife has in her own right. The poor woman appears to be
bed-ridden, and he had been heard to threaten to kill her.,
On Wednesday morning he proceeded to carry his threat
into execution, by lighting a bonfire of papers, books)
writing-desks, &c., in a back room with a boarded floor
into which the stairs led, so that there could be no way of
escape but through the flames, if even the poor invalid
could have crawled out of bed. The attention of :•ergeant
Butcher was attracted by the smell of fire, and by noticing
the smoke issuing from the shop door at about four o'clock
on Wednesday morning. He tried the door, found it un-
fastened,thefasten edand there discovered Smith watching the progress
offlames, which were spreading to the furniture and
woodwork of the room, ready, it is supposed, to decamp so
seen as the fire had gained a sufficient hold. To the officer's
query, 4; What ate you about ?" he replied, " Warming
the house." Butcher at once set to work, found some
water, and by almost superhuman effort succeeded in ex-
tinguishing the flames. Smith in the meantime decamped.
The poor woman, his wife, was almost suffocated by the
smoke. Smith has been taken before one of the boroughh,
magietratee, and remanded ou the charge of arson,