The Sun.
London, England, 1863-12-03 00:00:00

FRANCE.

BOURSE, Dec. 2.—The market has been without
animation, and prices show a slight decline, Threes
for the Account being now at 67f. Mobilier are
also lower. Railway market firm, and some of the
lines show a slight improvement. The Market left
off as follows:

41 per Cents. 94 35
Do. end month
3 per Cents
Do. end month 66 95
Credit Mobilier 1022 50
Do. end month 1017 50
Bank Shares 3360
Credit I, ender 1240
Roman -
RA.ILI

Italian Loan 7l 80
Do. end month 7l 95
New ditto
Do. end month....
Russian
Austrian
Spanish Threes 52
Home Debt
Deferred

rAYS.
Cash. Account.
965 .. 962 50
962 50 .. 960

OrleanB
Northern ..
New ditto
Lyons and Medittaranean
New. ditto
Geneva
S Althorn . .
Western
Eastern
Sardinian ..
Austrian
Low bard
North of Spain
Saragossa
Ditto to Barcelona

912 50 .. 915
880 - - -
493 75 .. 500 -
680 - .. 677 60
503 75 .. 507 50
480 - 475 -
395 - 385 -
390 - 390 --
510 - 603 75
512 60 .. 610 -
610 - .. 605 -
297 50 .. 300 -

THE CALCUTTA AND CHINA MAILS,

SOUTHAMPTON, Dec. 2.

The Peninsular and Oriental Company's steam-
ship Poonah, Captain Field, with the heavy portion
of the above mails, arrived this morning. She
brings 48 passengers, seven packages specie, value
£2,600; also a general cargo, including 2,400 bales
raw silk, valu,e £200,000.
The Poonah left Alexandria on the 19th ult.
On the 21st she spoke the barque Heroine ; 23d,
the s.s. Gladiator, s.c. Euxine, and barque Princess;
25th, a Swedish frigate, name unknown; and on
the 29th, the s.s. Delta, with the outward mails of
the 27th.

Her Majesty's ships Gibraltar, Pbcebe, Icarus,
Foxhound, Caradoc, Medina, and Hibernia were
at Malta ; and at Gibraltar, the s.s. Valetta,
Euxine, Iberia, and her Majesty's ship Procris.
Her Majesty's' screw corvette Racoon left Cediz
on the 23d for Tangier.

The Spanish sceamer Cubana, with troops for
Havana, left Cadiz on the 24th.
The American corvette St. Luis was at anchor in
Tangier Bay on the 25th.
The French war steamer Talisman left Cadiz on
the 20th, to rejoin the French experimental squa-
dron of ironclads on the coast of Teneriffe.

The building of ships of war in the various
arsenals of Spain is carried on as fast as possible,
There are now in course of building three screw
frigates, each to carry 50 guns, four armour•clad
ships, and three screw ships.

GIBRALTAR, Nov. 27.—The Spanish papers an-
nounce the complete and satisfactory settlement of
the Melilla boundary question. Prince Muley
Abbas has succeeded in quietly removing the Rif-
fiins from the district ceded by the Sultan to Spain,
wisely making use of the Sultan's coin instead of
his cavalry. He was engaged three days in paying
the indemnity to the owners of the vacated lands,
and then destroying all their dwellings and a
Moorish mosque situated in the ceded lands; he
superintended the making out of the new limits
and placing landmarks at the seventeen stations
in which they had been fixed in toe month of June
last, and from which the RiffiAns had removed
them. The Melilla question may thus be considered
settled, at least for the present.
The news from Tangier says that the Saffi affair
has been followed by other cases of harsh treat-
ment. It is alleged that two Jews, who had a
trivial quarrel with the Moorish groom of the
Spanish consul, were severely flogged on the de-
mand of the consul.

Exchange on London, 90 days' date, is 49-1 to
50; Paris, sf. 25c. ; Marseilles, sf. 26c.; Genoa,
sf. 29c. ; Madrid, 8 days' sight, 4 prem. ; Cadiz,
par to a dis.; Seville, die. ; Malaga, par ; Baru,.
lona, I prem.; Almeira, par ; Valencia, par to
prem.; Alicant, par. Freights without alteration.

ACCIDENTS FR&M FlRE.—Between seven and
eight o'clock last night loud cries of "Fire," and
" Help," were heard proceeding from No, 3, Princes-street,
Lambeth, the basement story of which was found to be on
fire. In the course of a few minutes the engine of the
parish, Hedge's distillery, and the London Brigade from
Waterloo and Southwark- bridge roads attended. The
flames, ho wever, had previously to the arrival of the
engines been extinguished, but it was found that John
Conelly, aged 66, and Margaret, his wife. aged 60, were so
seriously burnt that they hod to be removed to the hospital,
where they remain without the least hopes of recovery.
About the same time an alarm was raised that a fire bad
broken out in 'Willow-court, Union-street, Borough: The
firemen of the London Brigade quickly repaired from
Southwark-bridge-road station to the court referred to.
where they found a girl named Sarah Fry with her clothes
on fire. The firemen extinguished the flames, and Mr.
Baynes, a surgeon, attended the girl, but so serious were
the burns she had received that the surgeon advised her
immediate removal to the hospital. It is not known how
her clothes caught fire.

USEFUL SOLDIERS.-.—ln the French army every
recruit is supposed to know a trade on joining the
army. If he has not yet learnt a trade, he is taught some
occupation alter joining his corps. Should he be ignorant
of reading and writing—or, knowing these, should he wish
to improve his education so as to qualify himself for pro.
motion—he goes to the regimental school for four hours
every day when he is not on guard or on fatigue duty. Once
his schooling is over, he is put to work at some trade or han-
dicraft ; or, should he not know one, he is put to learn one.
In every French regiment there are regular gangs of butchers
bakers, cooks, carpenters, masons, gardeners, builders,
labourers, cart-drivers, watchmakers, silversmiths, tailors,
shoemakers, blacksmiths, and what not. All these trades
or handicrafts are under their regular head men, and every
soldier when he can work, may, and does gain a certain sum
per day, by working in the shop of his trade. In Algeria,
the whole of the Government work is done by these military
artisans, who, as well as the State, are gainers thereby. The
men tints earn extra pay, and the Government get work
done better and cheaper than they could do by employing
the people of the country; besides treasuring up the vast
advantage of always having a corps of workmen at com-
mand. The system of regular organised workmen is the
true secret why the French army get on so well when on
service, In tho English army we have nothing of the kind,
excepts as regards the tailors and shoemakers, and (in cavalry
regiments) the saddlers and farriers. There are many good
workmen who enter our ranks, but through want of practice
they soon forget what they knew. In Algiers, I have seen
a whole pile of barracks, large enough to contain three
thousand men, that was built entirely by a regiment of the
line, from the digging of the foundations to the making of
glass for the barrack windows, and not a day's drill or
manoeuvring had been neglected while the work was going
on. Throughout Algeria, miles upon miles of excellent
public roads have been made entirely by the troops : the
men being paid a small additional sum by the state while
so employed. Thus the government gained by getting their
work better and very much cheaper done than could have
been effected by private contractors, while the troops gained
a very comfortable addition to the regular pay.—.Dickens'
" All tine Year Round."

" THE SMITHS." John Smith—plain John
Smith—is not very high sounding; it does not suggest
aristocracy ; it is not the name of any hero in dieaway
novels; and yet it is good, strong, and honest. Transferred
to other languages it seems to climb the ladder of respecta-
bility. Thus—in Latin it is Johannes Smithus ; the Italian
smooths it off into Giovanni Smithi ; the Spaniards render
it Juan Smithus ; the Dutchman adopts it as Hans
Schmidt; the French flatten it into Jean Sweets; and the
Russian sheez.s and barks Jonloff Smittowski. When John
Smith get 3 into the tea trade at Canton, he becomes Jailor]
Shinamit; if he clambers about Mount Recta, the Icelanders
say he is Jahne Smithson; if he trades among the Tusca-
roras, he becomes Tom Qa Smittia ; in Poland he is known
as Ivan Schmittiweiski; should he wander among the Welsh
mountains, they talk of Jihom Schmidd ; when he goes to
Mexico, he is booked as Jontli ; if of classic turn,
he lingers among Greek ruins, he turns to 'lon Sinikton ;
and, in Turkey, he is utterly disguised as Yoe Seef,