The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-23 00:00:00

The Chinese and their Prisoners,

(From the Gazette of last evening.)
FOREIGN OFFICE, SEPT. 22.
A despatch, of which the following is an extract, from
Major- General Brown, commanding the British troops in
China, has been communicated to Lord :Russell by the
Secretary of State for War :

" Various statementfi having appeared in the several
journals published at Shanghai, concerning the treatment
of rebel prisoners, and alleged torture of some few taken at
the capture of Taitsan, I have the honour to state, that a
report was made to me by Capt. Murray, R A., co'cmand-
ing a Field Force in support of the attack on Taitsan, soon
after his return to headquarters, of the Imperialists' cruel
treatment of their prisoners.
"I took the report to her Britannic ;Majesty's Consul
(Harvey) without delay, and expressed my desire that the
Foutai should be informed of the same, aied to urge upon
him to send out an order at once to all his mandarins in
command, forbidding any cruelty to be exercised upon cap_
tured prisoners ; and further, if any report was again made
to me of a similar nature, I would cease to act with his
of Chinese
troops. Lieut. R. Cane, R.A., who has been six years in
China, and has some knowledge of the Chinese language
and customs, was the first who reported the circumstance
to Captain Murray, and the letter of the former
officer, called for by me for report, is here annexed, and de-
tails, I think, everything most clearly.
" I have no reason to believe otherwise than that the
Foutai is equally anxious to be as humane as possible to his
prisoners; some hundreds were lately captured at Queng_
san, and so far from being cruelly or severely dealt with,
have actually, to a great extent, been incfiofrtpyoroaftetdhebse
by
Major
fo
Gordon
eome
to beinto senth his
down own
to me from Qu
regiment;andl have also
asked eng.sau
to
beartillery drilled
gwo wish, hL, andtis er s , attached
which
era to,
under
batteriesrtb e
command
of the
usefuloffieer ceonmdmetilanodieinnt.
"Major GordonL e
e e was
forso his lent by m
commanding Royal Artillery, who reports them most
drilled gun Q"ng'llau, and
speaks most highly of them. I have now
aoalattack
one some
Only to draw
attention to ' eye witness' statement, who would actually
allow the public to believe that men undergoing extreme
torture, such as he describes, with various wounds, from
whence issued copious streams of blood, and could not only
exist from 11 a.m. till sunset, but then to be able to be led
out for execution, leaving one to suppose that he was pre-
sent the whole time; whereas the editor, in his remarks
on the bishop's letter, to remove any apprehension as to the
non-influence of British officers who were on the spot,
states that the treatment the prisoners were under-
going was only discovered ten minutes before their execu-
tion. This alone, I submit, stamps the whole statement as
highly coloured and greatly exaggerated.,

IL closure,

Shanghai, June 11, 1863.
Sir,—ln reply to
the inquiry of the Major-General Com-
manding I have the
honourrk.to inform you that on May 3,
1863, I was present at NS "PIM) as Acting Field Ad-
jutant to a force under command of Captain A. Murray,
Royal Artillery . In the afternoon of that day I was taking
a walk for exercise,
with several other officers, along the
main road towards Elo-lunga
sun., and in passing between
two Imperialist stockades our attention was attracted by
seven •
a number of men, I think or eight, naked and tied to
posts. On approaching I found they were Changman pri-
soners, all with very long hair (showing that they were
rebels of long standing), and with the very peculiar com-
plexion and physiognomy which have been frequently no-
ticed as acquired by men who
have spent much time among
the Taepings.
These men had evidently been sentenced to the punish-
ment of the " Ling-che," or "slow and ignominious death,"
what we call " cutting into a thousand pieces," and it was
also evident that they had been spared as much as possible,
and little more than the form of this horrible punishment
carried out. Each man had a piece of skin, not flesh, about
four inches by two, partly stri
ppcd from one arm and hang-
ing down, and one or two arrows had been pushed (ap-
parently not shot) through the skin in different places.
There was very little blood about the ground, and the men
did not appear to be in pain_
one was crying out very loudly
that he was a Shanghai Coolie and ought not to be put to
death as a rebel; he had however very long hair. I asked
a low Chinese officer present what they were, he told me
they were old and well-known rebels, two of them officers,
and they were about to be beheaded ; he said that they had
been exposed from mid-day (it was about half-past four or
five o'clock p.m., when I saw them). At the same time I
:saw an official approaching to superintend the execution,
and not being anxious to witness the spectacle, which I had
often seen before, I withdrew. From what: other officers
who remained informed me, I gathered that decapitation
was performed at once in the usual manner, except that the
sword employed was blunt, and the executioner inexpert.
I saw no other signs of torture whatever, and considered
that these men were, taking into account Chinese law and
customs, rather mercifully dealt with. A dead Changman
lay some distaace off, who had been treated in a similiar
manner to the other, in addition a slight incision had been
made from his breast to his groin, but, from the absence of
blood, I think this was done after death.
On my return to Waikong I reported what I had seen to
Captain Murray, Commanding, who desired me to visit the
camp next morning, and to take notice of the occurrence,
which I did by mentioning it to a fourth rank military field
officer, the senior in the camp. I told him we English did
not like such punishments; that if a man deserved death
we executed him at once, and did not expose or mutilate
him, I expressed general disapprcval of what had been
done, and said the
English commanding officer was much
displeased at it, and, if anything of the sort was attempted
again, would march up and put a stop to it ; and that I hoped
it would not again occur during our stay. Re replied that he
did not himself approve of it, but that I must recollect that a
large number of the rebel prisoners taken at Taitsan had
been pardoned by the nigh Imperial officers, permitted
to shave their heads, and employed as soldiers or labourers;
and that it was not possible to restrain the Imperial sol-
diers from taking some vengefw, for the treatment which
the rebels had inflicted on 300 or .more of their comrades,
who had been entrapped into Taitsan L-13. a false promise of
the surrender of the place. These g 1312. he said, wore
almost all put to death, and very many of em had their
L..'
" bodies wounded, and cotton put over their
minds and
%,
set on fire," and were otherwise badly
.3rLureii, t, This I

understand was really the case.) He added that the
Chinese General officer then in command at Waikongsum-
liwoh Ta jin was mercifully inclined, and anxious not to
be severe with the rebel soldiers, many of whom had been
carried away forcibly, and compelled to serve in the ranks
of the Taepings.—l have, &c.,
(Signed) ROBERT EM MET CANE,
Lieutenant, Royal Artillery.
The Deputy-Assistant-Adjutant-General, Shanghai.
N. 8.-1,100 men were sent up to take possession of Tait-
eau by the Foutai. They were entrapped, and out of the
number only some 300 were rescued by Major Gordon on
the fall of Taitsan. 350 are known to have been beheaded
a few days before the capture, and the remainder are still
unaccounted for.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE,

NORTH BRITISH.

The report issued by the directors of this com-
pany is a lengthy document, of which the following
is an abstract :—The half-year ending 31st July
closes with an equal mileage compared with the
corresponding date of last year, but, owing to partial
openings, an accurate comparison of results cannot
be made prior to the half years commencing Ist of
August, 1862 and 1863. The comparative increase
of traffic receipts in the past half-year gives a total
of £34,152 ; and the balance sheet shows a surplus
available for dividends on the ordinary stocks of
£20,591, enabling the directors to recommend the
shareholders todeclare dividends per cent. per annum
of 14, on the North British, Bs. 4d. on the Edinburgh,
Perth, and Dundee, and 2 on the Border Union ordi-
nary stocks ; leaving a balance to carry forward of
£839. The directors consider these results satisfac-
tory. A year ago, when the dividends of the Edin-
burgh, Perth, and Dundee, Weet of Fife, and Silloth
undertakings were net a burden on the North
British, the shareholders only received a dividend of
1 per cent. per annum. Now, also, there are the
dividends on Border Union and North British gua-
ranteed shares, and interest to capital expended on
the Wansbeck, the Galashiels, the Peebles and Ber-
wickshire railways, hitherto totally unproductive,
and imposing a dead weight on revenue. These did
not affect the corresponding period, therefore
to declare a better dividend on a largely augmented
capital is satisfactory in the highest degree—more
especially when it is further considered that in the
immediately preceding half-year (always the more
remunerative of the two) the dividend was I per cent.
less than now earned. The Border Union revenue is
slowly progressing, time being required for removing
obstructions at Carlisle and Gretna. The damaging
operation of the Eaglish and Scotch traffic agree-
ment, by which receipts to the amount of £50,000
per month are now placed in suspense at the rail-
way clearing house, must, in the opinion of the
board, be legally tested. The directors state they
cannot acquiesce in the deduction that railways
opened since the agreement was executed are at
liberty to carry the traffic, but are not entitled to
participate in the proceeds. The directors refer with
satisfaction to the results of the parliamentary ses-
sion. All the bills promoted by the company were
sanctioned by parliament, the directors only regret-
ting the cost of victory was so large. Some of the
costs are charged to capital, some to revenue,
some to the contingent account. In the latter
is a sum of £3,753, paid to the various suf-
ferers at Mllaxton, where, in May, 1862, part
of a train left the line. The directors, while
refusing to admit legal liability, have endea-
voured to alleviate, by reasonable pecuniary com-
pensation, the sufferings of those who were per-
sonally injured by the accident. The share capital
authorised to be raised in last session is: Border
Union purposes, £500,000 ; Silloth and Belfast
steam communication, £30,000; Queensferry route,
£400,000—total, £990,000. Of this it is intended
to call up about one -half in the next 12 months, but
the board advise the creating of the whole of the
capital in £l2 10a. shares, at 5 per cent. per annum,
in perpetuity, to be allotted to preference and ordi-
nary holders alike. The plan adopted is expected
not to cause any undue strain on the resources of
the company, the traffic receipts being steadily on
the increase, and a considerable mi'eage of rail-
ways from time to time, to come into active and
profitable operation. The Lensholrne nranch is to
be completed in December; 17 miles of the Ber-
wickshire will be opened in October; the junction of
the Wansbeck with the Border Counties will pro-
bably be accomplished in 1864; and the Galashiels
and Peebles to lunerleithen on the Ist of July,
1864, and throughout by the Ist of January, 1865.
Of the Queensferry route the directors intend com-
pleting forthwith about three miles, to connect
their northern system with the Charleston Railway,
and thereby afford a convenient shipping place for
the Fifeshire minerals. The remaining works, the
directors have no doubt, the authorised capital will
fully suffice to complete, and leave a considerable
margin for improving existing accommodation.
The growing trade of Silloth points out the neces-
sity for provision whereby ships resorting thither
may refit, and it is intended to spend £3,000 in
the erection of a repairing slip. A tug steamer
has been placed there, and it is expected that
regular steam communication between Silloth
and other ports will be increased. Since
the last meeting, the Hon. T. C. Bruce,
chairman of the Inverness and Perth Railway, has
ceased to be a director of the North British, and
Mr. Charlton, of Hesleyside, formerly chairman of
the Border Counties Railway, has been elected to
the vacant seat. The directors anticipate a consider-
able accession of traffic from the through opening
of the Inverness and Perth Railway, and will lose
no opportunity of cultivating friendly relations. The
railways of the two companies, on completion of
Queensferry, will form the most convenient and
shortest route between Edinburgh and the north of
Scotland. A special meeting of the Border Union
section of shareholders will be held immediately after
the general meeting, to enable them to assent to the
amalgamation of their capital with part of the North
British.

HEALTH OF LONDON.

(From the Registrar-General's Weekly Return.)

In the week that ended last Saturday the deaths in Lon-
don were 1,186. The average number of deaths in 10 cor-
responding weeks--viz., the 38th week in each of the years
1353.62, with the omission of deaths from cholera in 1854,
and a correction for increase of population, is 1,147. The
mortality as exhibited in the present return does not much
exceed the estimated amount.

There were 36 deaths from smallpox, 14 of which occurred
to persons 15 years old and upwards. It is stated that vac-
cination had been previously performed in 10 of the 36 cases,
but the evidence on which such statements rests is not al.
ways to be trusted. Only one death from smallpox occurred
in the west districts in the week, and not more than four in
the south.

The deaths from scarlatina were very numerous in the
week ; they were 130. This complaint is at the present time
the most fatal in the list, with the exception of phthisis,
which numbers 142 oases. Scarlatina seems to be rife in
Kentish-town, whets there were eight deaths from it; in
the sub-district of Haggerstone east, where there were five;
and in that of St. Peter, Walworth, where there were seven.
Four deaths were ascribed direatly to intemperance, be-
sides four to delirium tremens. Seven infants died of syphi-
litic disease.

•
Two widows died at the respective ages of 91 and 95 years.
A man employed in lead works, aged 35 years, died from
lead poisoning, which caused disease of the liver.
Last week the births of 946 boys and 984 girls, in all 1,930
children, were registered in London. In the 10 correspond-
ing weeks of the years 1853-62 the average number (cor-
rected) was 1,846.
At the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the mean height
of the barometer in the week was 29.950 in. The barometri-
cal pressure was 30.20 in, on Monday, and it fell to 29.49 in.
on Saturday. The mean temperature of the air in the week
was 56.1 deg., which is 0.4 deg. below the average of the
same week in 43 years (as determined by Mr. Glaisher).
The mean temperature was below the average on every day
till Friday. The lowest night temperature was 43'8 deg., on
Thursday. The highest day temperature was 71.8 deg., on
Saturday. The range of temperature in the week was
therefore 28 deg. The mean daily range was 16.9 deg.
'1 he difference between the mean dew-point temperature and
air temperature was 8 deg. The mean degree of humidity
of the air was 75, complete saturation being represented by
100. The wind blew during the week from the south-west.
The mean of the highest temperature of the water of the
Thames was 62 7 deg. ; that of the lowest was 60.5 deg. No
rain was measured in the week.

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by steady and persevering attention may confidently hope
for increased strength, greater comfort, and better health,

SPIRIT OP THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

Teetag.—Tt is impossible to watch without deep
practical interest the character given to the arma-
ments in the American War. At a time when the
nations of Europe are remodelling their ordnance
and reconstructing their navies by the light of
theories and experiments, America is adapting her
actual practice to the necessities of present strife,
and shaping her course by the lessons of real expe-
rience. This contrast of situations would be instruc-
tive in any case, but it has been rendered peculiarly
remarkable by one prominent feet. What we accept
the Americans reject, All our conclusions and de-
ductions they have either neglected or discarded,
and have followed exactly the path on which we,
after careful survey, have hitherto declined to ven-
ture. The result is much an extraordinary diver-
gence cf practice as may well arrest our attention.
At this moment the Americans are attacking Char-
leston with a siege train every gun of which throws
a 200-pound shot, whereas if we are engaged in a
similar operation our most powerful cannon would
probably be 68-pounders. If we are wrong in these
matters, it would folio w that our artillery is no
longer equal to the exigencies of modern warfare.
The question is not an easy one to examine. On the
side of the Americans it can certainly be urged
that they are intent upon actual work with a tre-
mendous war upon their hands, and that the con-
clusions adopted under such circumstances must
necessarily carry extraordinary weight. They are
too much in earnest to regard anything but the
object actually in view, and too sharply taught to re-
main long under mistake. This is certainly true, but
we must remark that the Federals, 9f whose tactics
we know most, seem never to have troubled them-
selves with any inquiries at all. They appear to have
assumed ,characteristically, that the biggest gun must
be the best gun, and that if they wanted a better
gun than the last they had only got to make a bigger
one. General Gilmore's batteries at Charleston are
now armed with 200-pounders, but he has already
received a couple of 300-pounders, and the manu-
facturer of these cannon is at present constructing a
500-pounder, and meditating, we are told, a 2,000-
pounder. At first sight, too, there appears some
justification for these views. The heavier the pro
jectile, other things being eqnal, the greater must
he its destructiveness, and just as we advanced from
12-pounders to 68-pounders in our sea service, and
from 6-pounders to 18-pounders in our field artil-
lery, so, it would seem, we should advance, if we can,
from these calibres to others still more formidable.
The Americans have presumption as well as practice
in their favour, and yet we cannot say that the
superiority of their system is absolutely established.
It must be remembered that, though the Federals
have made no trial of our principles, we have to some
extent tried theirs. We have had targets built to
represent the sides of their Monitors, and have made
experiments with guns as heavy as their siege guns
at Charleston. It was after these trials, and with-
out, as we hope, any prejudice against the new
designs, that we placed the old 68-pounders so high
on the list. The larger guns, with one or two excep-
tions, failed to satisfy certain indispensable condi-
tions. Nor are we sure that the Americans have
been really more successful. It was reported,
though we cannot say on what authority, that many
of the guns in Gen. Gilmore's batteries bad burst,
and it is certain that his 300-pounder had nearly
two feet blown off her muzzle at the 25th round.
Again, though there is reason to suppose that the
Confederates are employing guns far heavier than
our own, they can make little or no impression on the
Monitors, whereas, unless our experiments are delu-
sive, the old 68-pounder at close quarters would
send her shot clean through their plates. When we
read of the 440-pound ball with which the Wee-
kawken stove in the sides of the Atlanta we lay but
little stress on the story, for a 40-pound Armstrong
bolt would certainly have done as much ; in fact, a
target like the Atlanta would be considered at Shoe-
buryness as no target at all. As regards iron-cased
ships, therefore, the American practice gives us no
conclusive information. The Confederates cannot
destroy the Monitors, and the Federals have never
met with any Monitors to destroy. No effect of a
shot against an armour-plated vessel is reported
which the old 68-pounder could not match. What-
ever Dahlgrens and Parrotts have actually done in
this way our chief service gun could undoubtedly do.
e4ut there is another branch of the subject re
qiiiring our attention. The siege guns used against
shore fortifications by the Federals at Charleston
have certainly done what nobody would expect of
any guns in our service. They have battered down
a fort at two miles' range ; they have shelled a town
at five miles, and we are assured they would be per-
fectly effective for the same work at seven mites.
Here there can be no doubt about the practice, and
it leaves the powers of our artillery far behind.
Possibly some of the guns may have been disabled,
and there may be other drawbacks from their
general efficiency of which we are not informed, but
the great fact remains that Charleston was shelled
from five miles' distance, and Fort Sumter knocked
to pieces at about half that range. Could our
68-pounders perform any such service as this ? It
must be observed, too, that these enormous guns
were brought from a considerable distance to the
scene of action, and that all the necessary material
had to be similarly transported. Such exploits open
a new epoch in siege operations. We do not sup-
pose that Fort. Sumter was any fair specimen of a
fortification, but that is of no importance to the
moral. The moral is that guns of about three times
the calibre used in our service have been successfully
employed for breeching and bombarding purposes
at a range hitherto unknown. Although, there-
fore, we cannot discover in the American war any
incident which should immediately disturb the re-
sults of our own experiments, we must observe that
these experiments have been directed to naval pro-
blems only. In those problems we have had to
consider not only what a gun would do, but how
the gun was to he carried. To apply the American
experience we should require first to see the 15-inch
gun tried against the Shoeburyness targets, and
then to see the vessel on the decks of which she
could be mounted. Whatever may be the powers
of these guns, we are by no means convinced that
they are good guns for ships. The Monitors have
as yet only crept along the Atlantic coast, and not
very confidently. The original model all but
foundered on her first voyage, and actually foun-
dered afterwards. The others have arrived safely
at the rendezvous, but we observe that their ar-
rivals are usually expected with some anxiety,
and reported with considerable congratulation.
Nobody supposes that they would form a sea-
worthy squadron, but this is what our ships
trust do, and if they cannot carry large guns on
such conditions they must carry smaller ones.
As to the armour of the vessels, it is remarkable
that though there is not a ship in the fleet the plates
of which could not, according to our presumptions,
he pierced by a 68-pounder, there is only a single
instance of the destruction of an ironclad by the
heavy guns of the Confederates. Dismissing, how-
ever, this branch of the question—not, indeed, as
settled in our favour, but as still obscure and uncer-
tain—we are compelled to conclude that the Ameri-
cans are giving us a lesson in the capabilities of
siege artillery. We cannot say what practice may
be made with the Armstrong 110-pounder, but we
do not imagine that we have any battering guns in
our service which could send their balls through
26 feet of earth, or through nine inches of wrought
iron backed by 24 inches of oak. Yet the Federals,
if we are to accept their own statements, have
actually made a gun equal to such work, and have
placed it in position before Charleston. It may be
said, perhaps, that other European nations are left
in the rear, like ourselves, by these new discoveries ;
but that may not be the case long. The Russians,
we are told, have ordered as many as 4,000 guns of
our manufacturers, none of which are to be lighter
than the 68-pounder, and many probably very much
heavier. This is proof enough that the new sys-
tem is thought practicable. We do not yet know
that such ordnance can be successfully carried or
worked at sea, but we do know that it is manage-
able on shore, and that its range and power are
extraordinary,—a lesson far too important to be
received with indifference.
POST.—The Hapsburgs, as we all know, held the
throne of Spain and the Indies for nearly two cen-
turies. It would have required singular boldness
to have predicted to them a revival of any part of
that inheritance since its definitive settlement on
the House of Bourbon, by the treaty of Utrecht, a
century and a half ago. Indeed, the unmistakable
decline and threatening extinction of ail the
branches cf this Bourbon dynasty would have made
it less improbab'ie, ten years since, that the Aus-
trian pretensions might have revived at the Escurial
than that the accidents of conquest and marriage
should have now offered to the Hapsburg line the
prospect of two imperial thrones on the other side
of the Atlantic. We now learn that a marriage
has been arranged between the youngest brother of
the Emperor of Austria and the eldest daughter and
heiress of the Emperor of the Brazils. The Archduke
Louis Joseph Antoine Victor is now just twenty-
one years of age, and the Donna Isabelle Christine is
seventeen. In this union the hope of the Brazilian
succession will rest, and an Austro-Brazilian prince
will some day in all probability ascend the impe-
rial throne of Rio Janeiro. That contingency, no
doubt, is distant enough, for the Emperor Pedro 11.
is not yet forty. The Austrian Archduke, however,
when his princess ascends the throne, will probably
take the title of Emperor, as the consorts of Maria
di Gloria in Portugal, and of Isabella in Spain, took
that of King. The Hapsburg succession in Brazil
w'll probably become as established a fact as the
Hapsburg succession in Mexico. Three imperial
crowns in possession or in remainder fall to a single
branch of one family that seemed, only thirteen vears
ago, to be struggling for existence even in their

hereditary dominions in Europe. These events,
which affects so greatly the prospects of the House
of Hapsburg, deserve to be considered from more
than one point of view. No doubt they serve mate-
rially to weaken the Hapsburg succession in Austria
itself, and more particularly the succession in the
family of the Archduke Francis end Archduchess
Sophia, in which it at presents rests. The present
Emperor of Austria has three brothers—Maxi-
milian, aged thirty-one; Charles, aged thirty; and
the youngest, Louis. Two, therefore,
out of he
three are likely to be taken across the Atlai; tic. I.lle
marriage of Louis does not of course so necee.ear.ll9.
involve his continual residence in Brazil as the elec.'
tion of Maximilian to the Throne of Montezuma
t
will require his continual presence at Mexico. Butt
probably the heiress-apparent and her husband will
not find 'it easy to be absent from the Brazilian
territory; and in that event, the Archduke Charles
would remain the only brother of the Emperor Of
Austria on whom the regency could devolve in the
event of his death, the Archduke Rudolph, the heir-
apparent to the Austrian Throne, being now only
five years of age, and thirteen years distant from his
majority. It is probable that this difficulty, however,
will be madelight of in theface of a temptation which
offers the Austrian dynasty two imperial thrones I
tl
the New World. It is impossible not to perceive also
that in this marriage consists an auxiliary guarantee
for the stability of the throne of the Archduke Maxi-
milian in Mexico. A prince placed upon an imperial
throne, newly formed, and though in consonance
with the real wants, yet in opposition to the recent
traditions of the nation, will be glad to repose upen
the moral support and alliance of his neighbours.
In a vast continent of republics, with the Anglo-
Saxon race upon the North, and mongrel, half
Latin and half Indian races to the South, it is of
mutual advantage to Mexico and Brazil that the
two imperial dynasties should be in such intimate
alliance with each other. The Federal Government
may not be hostile to the new Mexican empire ;
the Confederates may recognise it from motives of
self-interest; the South American Republics may
have no more the will than they have the power to
thwart a development of the French Emperor's
policy; yet a dynastic alliance between the two
Imperial Houses is one of the most permanent
leagues which each can have for its support by the
other; and it is one to which the misfortunes of the
at present imperfectly developed Mexican empire
cannot be indifferent. There seems nothing more
vain than a speculation of the future of any one
of the great reigning dynasties of Europe, even for
a single generation ahead of us. Thirteen years
ago the Bourbon family were to all appearance
firmly seated on three European thrones. Now
they are banished from two of them, with no sort
of probability of their ever returning to either.
Some thirty years ago what reigning House seemed
more insignificant than the family of Saxe-Coburg
Yet we now see them, in the male line, supplying
the dynasties of England and Portugal, and another
prince of their House, one of the astutest Sovereigns
in Europe, on the Throne of Belgium. The little
branch headed by Prince Christian of Denmark,
which only eleven years ago came into prominence
as the family then next entitled by a treaty of
1851 to the throne of Denmark, have since given,
or are about to give, brides to the heirs apparent of
England and Russia and a King to Greece. The
ancient House of Savoy, after living for seven
hundred years in hereditary insignificance; has in
the last four years acquired a dominion more popu-
lous, and not less powerful and important, than the
kingdom of the Great Frederick. The Bonapartes
have revived ; and almost in their former splendour.
These and other such striking dynastic changes our
own generation has witnessed; and the promised
extension of the dynasty of Rudolph of Hapsburg
over two Imperial Thrones in the Western World
presents a coincidence of fortune which should ap-
pease the shade of the Emperor Leopold I. for the
transfer of Louis XIV. of the dominions of his
kinsman, Charles 11. of Spain to Philip V. in the
rear of the Spanish succession. To a great extent
the elder branch of the Hapsburgs are likely to
regain the rule of the Indies, which fell to their
younger branch on the abdication of Charles V•
What is hardly less remarkable than the extension
of the Hapsburg dynasty is the character for mode-
ration and practical statesmanship that marks the
present generation of that Imperial House.

COUNTRY MARKETS.

LEEDS-TUESDA.Y.

There is a better demand for wheat to-day, which may be
quoted at tho currencies of last Friday, Barley is in good
show, and at Is to 2s decline.

LIVEItPOOL-TUESDAT.

At our market to-day there was a better attendance of
the trade, and rather more disposition to buy was evinced,
Wheat, with a moderate consumptive demand, may be
quoted 3d to 4d per cental lower than upon this day week.
Flour dull, and offered at a decline of 6d per barrel. Oats
a slow sale, and fd to Id per bushel lower. Barley and
peas unaltered in value. Indian corn very dull—mixed
may be quoted worth 26s 9d per 4801 b,

MARKET lIARBOROUGH—TUESDAY.
White wheat, 42s to 455; red, 40s to 44s per 36 stone.
Malting barley at 335.t0 37s per qr.; grinding, 29s to 31$
per 30 st. Oats, old, 30s to 325; new,, 20s to 26s per 24
st. ; beans, 398 to 43s per qr.