The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-04 00:00:00

FRANCE.

THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT AND THE
PRIVATEER FLORIDA.
PARIS, SEPT. 4.

The llloniteur of this morning says :—" The pri-
vateer Florida, sailing under the Confederate flag,
has entered Brest to repair damages. Her recep-
tion was in accordance with the ordinary principles
of international law. At the opening of the war
the Emperor's Government, in accord with other
Powers, recognised the Confederates in the cha-
racter of belligerents, and declared its intention of
observing a strict neutrality between the two
parties. In like cases it is the right as well as the
duty of neutrals to permit the vessels of belligerents
to procure themselves means, not for fighting pur-
poses, but for navigation. It has, therefore, been
decided that the Florida could be permitted to pro-
cure all that was indispensable to maintain her in
vaa gakod and n
eopurehaseasvitga
enbdliengstatoter, theweriuitouht beraeriog able
mament toot.

war."

BOURSE, Sept. 2.—The market has again be-
come buoyant, and a good amount of business has
been done at improved quotations, Threes, for the
Account, being nuw firm at 691. sc. The Railway
Share Market has been equally well supported, and
prices are up to this time generally higher. The
market closed as follows :

4t per Cents . . 98
Do. end month ~
3 per Cents ...... 68 90
Do. end month.... 60 05
Credit Mobilier...,l2lB 75
Do. end m0nth....1217 50
Bank Shares...... 3385
Credit k oncier ....1400

Italian Loan 74 05
Do. end month 74 10
New ditto
Do. end month 74
Russian
Austrian
Spanith Threes —
Home Debt

BAIL.

ritYB.

Cash. Account.
Orleans lO4O .. 1045
Northern 996 25 .. 1000
New ditto
Lyons and Neditarranean 1047 60 .. 1050
Geneva 493 75 ..
Southern
Western
Eastern
Sardinian 428 75 .. 425
Austrian
Lorr.bard
North of Spain
Saragossa 657 50 .. 690
Ditto to Barcelona .• • • • •

Lord Russell and the Steam-rams in the

Mersey.

The following answer to the memorial on the
subject of the steam-rams 5n the Mersey, addressed
by the Emancipation Society to Earl Russell, was
received last evening :

"Foreign-office, Aug. 31, 1863.
" Gentlemen,—l have received your letter, calling my
attention to a subject of very grave and pressing importance
—namely, the fitting out and equipping of two powerful
iron-plated steam-rams, which you are informed are in-
tended to commit hostilities against the Government and
people of the United States of America.

"My attention has long been directed to this subject.
Both the Treasury and the Home Department have, at my
request, made the most anxious inquiries upon the subject
of these steam-rams.

"You are aware that, by the Foreign Enlistment Act, a
ship is liable to be detained, and its owners are subject to
penalties, when the ship is armed or equipped for purposes
of war, and its owners intend to use it against some State or
community in friendship with her Majesty. It is necessary
to prove both the equipment and the intention. But in
order to prove the equipment and the intention it is neces-
sary for conviction in a British court of justice to have the
evidence of credible wit nesses. I was in hopes, when I began
to read your memorial, that you would propose to furnish
me with evidence to prove that the steam-rams in question
were intended to carry on hostilities against the Govern-
ment and people of the United States of America ; but you
make no proposal of the sort, and only tell me that you are
informed' so and so, and ' it is believed' so and so.

"You must be aware, however, that, according to British
law, prosecutions cannot be set on foot upon the ground of
the violation of the Foreign Enlistment Act without affida-
vits of credible witnesses, as in other cases of important
misdemeanours and crimes,

"Such, likewise, is the law in the United States o:
America.

" I have the honour to be, gentlemen, your most obedient
humble servant, RUSSELL.
" Messrs. Evans, Taylor, Malleson, and Chesson."

A LADLE-FULL OF PUNCH.

Apropos to the last " JOB at the Foreign Office," says
Punch, "And so Sir James Hudson is chok,,d off to be
superseded by an Elliot 1 It is a wonder that Earl Russell
is not tired of finding places for the Elliots, of whom there
are so many. He must be very patient. The continual
task of placing out those Elliots is enough to tire the patience
of Jon."

A Curious Equestrian Feat—is gravely thus announced :
"A well-known licensed victualler the other day seen can-
tering up Rotton 'row upon one of his owt Screws.' "
Under the bead of "Hydrostatics; How to move a body
of Water," we are told, "go out into your garden, and drag
the pond from one end to the other 1 "
"RATHER, A KITCHENY WAY OF PUTTING IT."—John
Leech funnily illustrates, in reference to this underground
confabulation :—''Housemaid.—' Oh—but it couldn't a bin
'er I' "—." Coolc.—' I tell yer it were— she called upon missus
this morning, and she 'ad on a Pork Pie 'at, and half a
pheasant stuck in it.' "

STREETS OF PARIS.—One of the sections of the
report of the committee on the nomenclature of the
Paris streets, just presented to the Prefect of the Seine,
refers to the different terms nsed to designate the public
thoroughfares according to their form, dimensions, situa-
tion, or importance. Thus the we of the word Square,
which had been adopted from the English, will be discon-
tinued, and that of Place in future applied to all open
spaces, whether planted as gardens, like the ground before
the Arts-et-Metiers and around the Tower of Saint-
Jacques, or left entirely open. The Barrieres no
longer existing, that word will be abandoned, as also
those of Route, Chemin, Sentier, Chemin de
Ronde, Allee, and Chaussee. The name of the Rue de
la Chaussee d'Antin, which is so universally known, caused
the committee to hesitate a little before deciding on the sup-
pression of the latter word. The name Chaussee-d'Antin
being applied not only to a street but also to a whole dis-
trict,.the determination was come to, to preserve it for the
latter, as an exception, and restore to the street the name of
Mont-Blanc which it had previously borne. That street has
in fact often changed its name, and been successively
called Chemin de l'Egout-de-Gaillon, Chemin des Porch°.
rons, Chemin de la Chaussee-d'Antin, Rue de I'llotel-
Dieu, hue de la Chauss6e-d'Antin, Rue Mirabeau, and
Rue du Mont- Blanc. The Empress Josephine occupied
the house No. 62, before her marriage with Gen. Bonaparte,
and Gen. Foy died in the same residence in 1825. Close
by was also the hotel of Cardinal Fesch. The use of the
wend boulevard is also to be circumscribed. That term
generally signifies a rampart, and should only be applied to
roads which follow the line of the ancient fortifications, or
which at least run in a circular direction, and suppose
more of less the traces of an old municipal boundary. The
wide thoroughfares which traverse the city in en oblique di-
rection, or run from the centre to the circumference, are in
reality Avenues, The designation Boulevard as applied to
some of the transversal thoroughfares recently opened in the
centre of Paris will however be retained. The attention of
the committee has also been directed to the abuse of certain
names in the nomination of the streets or public places, not
less than 18 bearing the title of Eglise, 7 of de la Mairie,
16 that of Marie, and the words Notre Dame forming part
of the appellations of 16 others. Such a state of things call
loudly for reform, and will shortly be remedied.
FATAL BOAT ACCIDENT OFF THE ISLE OF MAN.

—A fatal accident happened in Douglas Bay, Isle of
Man, on Tuesday afternoon. Six young men, visitors, of
respectable connections, hired one of the slight rowing gigs
(named the Willie) which are let to persons desirous of
visiting the numerous picturesque little creeks which
abcund in the neighbourhood of Douglas Bay. The
names of the young men are Henry Whiteside, of Liver.
pool ; Henry Hollands, of Manchester ; E. G. Henshaw, of
Shrewsbury; Armstrong, of Ormskiik ; Byers, of
Ormskirk ; and J. S. Cooke, in the employ of Messrs. B.
Smith and Sons, Back-square, Manchester. At the time
they rowed out into the bay it was blowing a stiffish
breeze from the south west. They proceeded to the
northern part of the bay, opposite the Castle Mona Hotel,
which portion of the bay, under the influence of the wind
blowing from the quarter mentioned, is generally covered
with short chopping seas, peculiarly dangerous to small
rowing boats, especially if they are manned by inexpe-
rienced amateur boatmen, such as these were. They
were turning the little craft, scarcely broader than a plank,
with a view of returning towards the harbour, when,
caught by a wave, she swamped, and the six young men
were thrown struggling in the water. Their screams for
help attracted the notice of a Mr. J. P. Thomas, of Man-
cheater, who was in a sailing boat about a hundred yards
from the scene of the disaster. He immeliately steered
his boat towards the drowning men, five of whom were
endeavouring to keep their heads above water by means
of the oars, two being attached to one oar, while the other
scrambled on to their boat, which was turned bottom
upwards, but he was washed off three times, and as often
struggled back again. Mr. Thomas, with the aid of two
harbour boatmen, named William Kernan and John Todd,
who were in his boat, succeeded in picking up all the
young men except Whiteside, who sank within six minutes
after the accident, and did not riseagain. The unfortunate
young man,
we are informed, was an assistant in the Liver-
pool branch of Messrs. Copestoke, Moore, Crampton, and
Co. - Liverpool .Mercury.
MELANCHOLY CASE OF DROWNING AT LEEDS,—
Mr. Blackburn, borough coroner, held an inquest
on Wednesday, on the bodies of two boys, one of whom was
drowned whilst bathing, and the other in attempting to save
ithe life of his companion. The names of the deceased were
Squire Broadbent, aged 13, and George Edward Shippen,
aged 12. On Tuesday evening they went to bathe in a re-
servoir adjoining Mr. Parker's mill at llunslet, and when
they had been in a short time Broadbent went out of his
depth, and being unable to swim began to sink. Shippen,
who could swim, seeing that his companion was drown-
ing, dived in to his assistance. Unfortunately, he came
in contact with Broadbent before reaching the surface of
the water, and the drowning lad seized him and held him
so tightly that he was unable to liberate himself, and
both remained under water for some moments. At length
Broadbent rose to the surface, called out " Mother 1" and
sank. Immediately afterwards Shippen was seen. On
reaching the surface of the water he tried to swim, but was
completely exhausted, and went down aft 2r the companion
whom he had so bravely attempted to save. At that mo-
ment a young man named Joshua Watkinson, who lives in
the neighbourhood, and who had dressed himself up for a
walk after his day's work, was informed that two lads were
drowning, and he ran to the reservoir, and without remov-
ing any of his clothes, jumped into the water. The bodies
of the deceased were found lying about a yard apart, but
life was quite extinct. The jury returned a verdict of acci-
dental death, and it was ordered that the reservoir should
be fenced off.—Leeds Mercury.
GROSS SUPERSTITION.—In one of the streets of
Taunton there resides a man and his wife who have
the care of a child. This child was attacked with scarlatina,
and to all appearances death was inevitable. A jury of
matrons was, as it were, empanelled, and to prevent the
child "dying hard," all the doors in the house, all the
drawers, all the boxes, all the cupboards, were thrown wide
open, the keys taken out, and the body of the child placed
under a beam, whereby a sure, certain, and easy passage
into eternity could bo secured. Watchers held their vigils
thronghout the weary night, and in the morning the child,
to the surprise of all, did not die, and is now gradually re-
covering.— Bridgewater Mercury.
LAUNCH OF AN AUSTRALIAN PASSENGER STEAM-
VESSEL.—Yesterday afternoon, at five o'clock, a
splendid iron screw steam-vessel, named the Nuffield, was
launched from the premises of the builders, Messrs. James
Ash and Co., Isle of Dogs, Poplar, in the presence of a large
number of spectators. The ceremony of christening was
performed by rrlt s. Stewart, and after the launch the vessel
was removed into dock, to be fitted with her machinery
and boilers,. previous to being forwarded to her owners in
Australia, where she will be used for river passenger traffic.
The Nuffield is 1,770 tons burthen ; length, 215 feet; and
breadth, 25 feet 6 ine)not

Naval and Military Intelligence.

THE NAVY.

The following vessels have been chartered by the
Government for the conveyance of troops and stores
to India and the colonies, namely the Canning, 923
tons, and the Percy Douglas, 781 tons, for Bombay;
the Saladin, 865 tons, for Calcutta ; the John Ban-
field, 508 tons, for Hong Kong ; the Fontabelle,
637 tons, for the Cape of Good Hope ; and the
Frances, 310 tons, for Trincomalee.

The French Imperial screw yacht Jerome Napo-
leon, Captain Da Boisson, at anchor off Ryde, Isle
of Wight, hvd her steam up at seven p in. yester-
day, in readiness to convey his Highness Prince
Napoleon over to Havre or Cherbourg. The Prince
was expected to embaik from Ryde last evening.
The following appointments were made yester-
day at the Admiralty :—Commander Chas. A. J.
V. Robinson, Inspecting-Commander of the Coast-
guard, to the Ajax ; Commander John Murray,
Inspecting-Commander of the Coastguard, to the
Cornwallis ; Thomas H. Hayman, master, to the
Indus for the Royalist; and Friend Stow, chief
engineer, to the Indus for special service.