The Sun.
London, England, 1863-12-23 00:00:00

vealed) by whose agency the deadly crime of this
most cruel and gigantic of civil wars is safe eventn..
ally to be avenged.
, Another year has been run out in the maintenance
of the struggle against the incursions of the North
by the Confederates. Another year ! In that simple
fact—the lapse of another year—lies the greatest
advantage gained to the cause of the Confederates !
For, as surely as another twelvemonth has thus been
traversed by the contending Governments without
bringing the ferocious contest in which they arc
engaged to a conclusion, or even, we will say, to
the faintest prospect of its proximate conclusion,
so surely aro the Federals brought nearer
and nearer to the inevitable bursting at
last of the financial bubble which is for them
the NADAR-Geant by which they are sus-
tained and carried onward. It is fearful to
reflect, no doubt, that upon either side, upon the
side of the Federals no less than upon the side of
the Confederates, within this ghastly lapse of time
throughout which the civil contest has been main-
tained with such unparalleled ferocity, with such in-
creasing and increasing mutual hatred, sixty thou-
sand men have been violently swept from the face of
the earth, sixty thousand Federals, sixty thousand
Confederates. The solace to the South, in the
perpetual consciousness of the peril in which it
stands in being opposed by a power BO vastly out-
numbering it—the solace to the South, in the re-
cognition eventually of this formidable dispropor-
tion, is discoverable, however, in no way—in the
miserable or, fur that matter, the appalling fact
that the losses of the belligerents in men are, thus
as nearly as may be equivalent. It is discernible
rather in the consideration of the still astound,
lug, the still all but incredible truth that
by this lengthening out their dreadful civil
war by their heroic resistance to Northern
invasion, the Confederates have caused the
Federals to add recklessly to their already
stupendous debt the gigantic sum of two
hundred millions sterling ! The mere lengthening
out, still further, of the time occupied by the war
must of itself, therefore, obviously forward the inte-
rests of the Confederates—[at a dead loss to them-
selves no doubt, but still to the eventual vindica.
don triumphantly of what is worth any conceivable
expenditure, their independence !]—must of itself,
we repeat, obviously forward th 3 interests of the
Confederates—if, no otherwise, by hastening on the
period when the financial crash, so long impending
over Washington, can no longer be averted.

A most shocking case has lately occurred in
Tottenham-court-road Chapel ground. It is a very
disgraceful thing to desecrate the bodies of the dead,
and it is very much to be regretted that in conse-
quence of the ground not being consecrated, the
case could not come under the cognisance of the
Ecclesiastical Court. It is well that it should be
generally known that the offence, even in this form,
is punishable by common law, but the powers
given to magistrates in such cases is far too limited.
Mr. COLLIN s, chairman of the Sanitary Committee,
very truly remarked that all that could be done was
to .nflict a penalty of ten pounds, and it is worthy
of notice that in this case referred to the fine ad-
judged was but half that sum. Five pounds is not
at all an adequate sum to be awarded against such
an act. The affair was rendered the more unjus-
tifiable, from the fact that due notice was given at
the time of the sale that the parish would protest
against any bailding taking place on the spot, as
the ground was full of bodies. It seems, then, un-
accountably outrageous that the purchaser should
thus violate the pledges given, and break the com-
pact entered into at the time of the sale. Some
further particulars were furnished at the meeting
of the St. Pancras. Vestry, in which it appeared
that the ground was crowded with the bodies of
those interred there. A former sexton deposed that
since he had ceased to be employed there the
" bodies were buried, not within two feet, but
within six inches of the surface.'' Of course this
rendered the proceedings all the worse, for it would
be totally impossible to make any alterations or
changes without disturbing a great many bodies.
The details of the transaction, as they were related
at the Marlborough Police-court, are perfectly re-
volting, Mr. COOPER, the solicitor to the Vestry
of St. Pancras, deposed that the human remains
were not separated from the earth and rubbish ;
they were dug up with spade and mattock, and
placed in a heap quite exposed to the view of
passers by. Some persons had gone about exhibit-
ing bones and skulls. In a civilised land, to say
nothing of a Christian country, it is fearful to think
such things can be tolerated, and for all this only a
fine of five pounds was inflicted. It is a pity that
the idle time which is so wasted in Parliament
during the session cannot be filled up by taking
such cases as these into consideration, and seeking
to devise some appropriate remedy, thus to put a
decided stop at once and for ever to the recurrence
of such scandalous proceedings, and to render it
nearly, if not totally, impossible for the repetition
of such an offence to occur. As one of the gentle-
men who attended the vestry declared, the police
law is a farce, for no one who was engaged in any
large building concerns would care for the penalty
of ten pounds or double that amount. It is very
important that some change should be made at once,
for it is highly necessary for the maintenance of
public decorum and decency, and the furtherance of
the principles of morality, that these evils should
be checked at once with a strong hand. Too much
attention cannot be given to this subject, as it is
one which is immediately connected with those
feelings of respect and reverence which should be
cherished and encouraged, and the neglect of which
cannot fail to exercise a most degrading effect, and
to impart deleterious influences on the people who
Practice them. Laws which relate to such subjects
t
shhat ot, .
I'4 be stringent, and carry out the principles
actuated all nations from the earliest ages,
w hoho wept
forth to fight "for the ashes of their
fathers 4,14 the temples of their gods."

The close of a Danish Rigsraad has given the
KING the ePPortu,it
Y of addressing his people on
the anxious and trliu
g position of the national
His MAJEsTr,
a_
ddress is quiet and mode-
-1 neither threats nor
recriminations, although is,
mode-
rate its tone, indulgina
Intel, and eon-
- Points out that the -
Diet are neither
pre-
tensions of the founded on reason
the members
King CitnisTlAN reminds
.constitutical
nor right.
Was thought
assembled in 185:,viist
that when they
that the long-vexed question of
definitely
relations of the monarchy was de
elusively settled. Such ought to have benuthe
case,
and we should have heard no more of that political
bugbear, the Schleswig-Holstein question, had it
not been for the secret influences of German ambi.
tion. The KING explains that the Constitution of
the 18th of November—the Constitution, that is,
which he has just given his assent to for Denmark
and Schleswig, and whose withdrawal is now being
made a sine qua non by the Germans—is founded
on the same basis as that of the Constitution which
is at present in force for the whole monarchy. By
the old and the new alike are the common affairs
of the kingdom distinguished from those specially
concerning its several provinces individeally. In
neither is the Rigsrmal directed to interfere in
matters only concerning the provinces; and it is,
consequently, difficult to see upon what ground-

the malcontents of the Duchies base their objection
to the new Constitution. King CHRISTIAN declares
it to be a misunderstanding on the part of the
treaties on account of the of the 18th of
Powers which prevents them from recognising the
edict
November ; but we are glad to see that he an-
nounces no intention of withdrawing that edict with
the view of conciliating his enemies. He says,
boldly enough, that a desire to dismember
the Danish monarchy has arisen in Ger-
many, but expresses a hope, though not
a very confident one, that Europe will maintain his
rights. He further tells the Rigsraad that although
he does not recognise the Federal execution as jus-
tifiable, he has thought it advisable to withdraw his
troops across the Eider to avoid a collision. It is
to be hoped that the Danish Government will take
that river for a limit beyond which the invaders
must not be suffered to pass, and England should
intimate pretty plainly to her German allies that
she will not regard the passage of that boundary by
armed troops as a casus belli. Had she done so years
ago, when the Pruth lay between the Russians and
the Danubian provinces, she would have spared
Europe the Crimean war. Another struggle, in-
volving many Powers, and stimulated by many con-
flicting interests, is now imminent. It may be
averted by a bold and manly policy on the part of
our Government, but will they act in such a spirit ?
How have Lord PALMERSTON'S frank and straight-
forward words, at the close of the Session, been fol-
lowed up by the foreign policy of his Cabinet ? A
representative of their views has been sent to Den-
mark, indeed, to congratulate King CHRISTIAN on
his accession to a troubled and doubtful dignity.
All that has yet been learned of the mission of Lord
WODETIOUSE is that he has counselled conciliatory
measures, and recommended important modifica-
tions in the constitution of the 18th of November.
If this is the best aid that England can give in such
a crisis her Prime Minister should not have spoken
so boldly. If his denunciations of German ambition,
and the vision of a German fleet riding in the har-
bour of Kiel, as the real motive-springs of the dis
satisfaction with Denmark, were to be Vox et pre-
terea nihil, they havo merely served to mislead the
nation which trusted his good sense and clear judg-
ment to take more active measures when occasion
called. Whether, like the old story of the lion, he
thought it advisable to let the Germans into the
Duchy for the pleasure of turning them out
again, we cannot say, but it is certaim that
being in virtual possession of Holstein the Germans
will be troublesome customers to dislodge. The
public enthusiasm in the Fatherland was in no way
diminished. At a public meeting of the members
of the different German representative bodies held
in Frankfort on Monday, 900 members were present,
as well as great numbers of the public. The reso-
lutions passed were unanimously in favour of the
Prince of AUGUSTENBURG. In the Prussian Upper
House it was on the same day boldly proposed that
Prussia should withdraw from the London Treaty.
l wast however, happily for Prussia, sufficiently
supported.o
lt
It is therefore not too soon for England
and her representatives to assume some decided
attitude, and the sooner she does so the more effica-
cious will her aid be to the Danes, and the better
for the credit of Lord PALMERSTON'S Government.

There is no quality which Englishmen think more
of than fair play, and in cases where it is grossly
violated the offender is certain, sooner or later, to be
called to account pretty sharply. A more notable
instance could not be given of bias and prejudice than
that evidenced by the conduct of our Government
with regard to the policy of neutrality, as it is
called, towards America. President DAVIS may
well speak of the "marked partiality of England
towards the Federals," and the strange inconsis-
tency which pervades their conduct in respect to
the purchase of supplies by the belligerents. A
glaring instance of this has recently come to light.
All the employges of Government at the dockyard of
Sheerness who volunteered to fit out and equip the
Rappahannock are discharged, fur breaking the
laws of the country which apply to neutrality. Also,
it is stated, that those of the Royal Naval Reserve
who belong to the Alabama, Florida, and Georgia
are struck from the list, with the loss of all pay and
pension. Now this may suit the vies% sof those in
authority at present, but while a spark of their old
fire animates the minds of Englishmen, it will be
pronounced as truckling policy and arbitrary use
of power, which should only be entrusted to those
more worthy of exercising it. The Government do
not withdraw their support from the establishments
which furnish arms and ammunition to the Federals,
so that their hard and harsh decrees have not even
the merit of consistency to bear them out, and can-
not lay claim to being the result of a strict scrutiny
into the justice of the case. Such conduct is so
unfair that the most bitter opponent to the Minis-
terial cause will feel more regret and shame as
Englishmen that such an order should emanate
from our Statesmen, than satisfaction at the con-
viction that they are dealing a blow to their own
reputation, such as no rival could inflict or contem-
porary occasion. It comes to this, if we are to have
one law for one belligerent and another for the other,
w© had better leave off all talk about our indepen-
dence as a nation and our impartiality as a Go-
vernment. Nothing can be more extraordinary
than the measures which have been lately adopted
in regard to America ; and it is to be hoped that
when Parliament meets a strict investigation will
be made, and the honour of the country vindicated,
even if it should be at the eleventh hour that the
affair is taken up in the right spirit.

BRAIN SPECTRES.—The brain makes ghosts both
sleeping and waking. A man was lying in troubled
sleep when a phantom) with the cold hand of a corpse, seised
his right arm. Awaking in horror, he found upon his arm
still the impression of the cold band of the corpse, and it
was only after reflecting that he found the terrible appari-
tion to be due to the deadening of his own left hand of a
frosty night, which had subsequently grasped his right
arm. This was a real ghost of the brain, which the awaken..
ing of the senses and the understanding explained. M.
Gratiolet narrates a dream of his own which is singularly
illustrative of how the brain makes ghosts in sleep. Many
years ago, when occupied in studying the organisation of
the brain, he prepared a great number both of human and
animal brains. He carefully stripped off the membranes
and placed the brains in alcohol. Such were his daily occu-
pations, when one night he thought he had taken out his
own brain from his own skull. He stripped it of its mem-
branes. He put it into alcohol, and then he fancied
he took his brain out of the alcohol and replaced it in his
skull. But, contracted by the action of the spirit, it was
much reduced in size, and did not at all fill up the skull.
He felt it shuffling about in his head. This feeling threw
him into such a great perplexity that he awoke with a start,
as if from nightmare. M, Gratiolet, every time he prepared
the brain of a man, must have felt that his own brain re-
sembled it. This impression awakening in a brain imper
fectly asleep, whilst neither the senses nor the judgment
were active, the physiologist carried on an operation in his
sleep which probably had often c ccurred to his fancy when
atthehii: work, and which had then been summarily dismissed
vary frequently. A pursuit which had at labt become one
of routine, and the association of himself with his study
estettaitt the bizarre and ghastly dream of M. Gratiolet. A
on from the gripe of a cold hand, misinterpreted by
a'atmation acting without the aid of the discerning
faculties ace°
“ullsfor the ghastly vision of the other sleeper.
AND
Year Round."
ahs
rooermCsgeeAi lea hStoeAN
e satisfactionantd
beNor Dns
taaAn
rE: DE S —We learn with
111,cit,Lheat Lord St. Vincent has with-
drawns
n
wahuiltbeu, Beau and Archimedes, come-
fide
bisddhaving also claimed those
huipsoenlaiumaptain
Lord Stamford will, we
ptainw enadljthaiisn lordshipSl hi
tWhite
htihsecleaffianil;
the mattienrgsw
haerrpa
ruogi,eeded.. The public
and between the gLllant
has been conveniently and athicably
this
be suffered to siuk into oblivion,—Sporting i now
darueb,iohuoswaeuveert•i,otuhtoarnoudghwlyo tiredtrust
that

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

THE PAPAL STATES.
CONDEMNATION OF BOOKS.
ROME, DEC. 22.

The Congregation of the Index has condemned
all the works of Georges Sand, and different works
, and Italian authors.
of various French, German

LETTER OF PRINCE CZARTORYSKL
BERNE, DEC. 21.

Rumours having been recently current in the
press that General Mieroslawski had been dis-
missed by the Polish National Government from
his post as General Organiser of the Polish forces
out of Poland, the following letter of Prince
Ladislaus Czartoryski to the Polish agent here may
not be thought devoid of interest :
PARIS, Dec. 16.
"Dear Sir,—To your inquiry whether I know
anything of the dismissal of General Mieroslawski,
I hasten to reply that I have received no credible
information with regard to the matter. The
despatches received here a few days ago from
the National Government, not only contained
no allusion to any such dismissal, but manifestly
retained General Mieroslawski in the official cha-
racter with which he was formerly clothed.
" I avail myself of this opportunity to repeat the
declaration I have already previously made, that I
consider myself and General Mieroslawski officials
of the National Government, and that the General
may
full r e c k
xcra t
e upon
t of
my
yhe assistance in every respect to
the instructions which have
en
'received.

" Receive, &c.,
" Prince LADISLAUS CZARTORYSKI,
Diplomatic Agent of the National Government."

SAN DOMINGO.
MADRID, DEC. 22.

A stearucr has arrived at Cadiz with news from
San Domingo to the 20th ult., confirming the defeat
of the Insurgents, and stating that a great number
of them had asked for pardon.

THE SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN QUESTION.
HAMBURG, DEC. 22 (Evening).
It is positively stated here that Hanoverian troops
will relieve the Austrians quartered in this city,
and that the whole of the Austrians will march into
Holstein.

THE EXECUTION IN HOLSTEIN.

BERLIN, Dec. 21.

The Federal troops are to enter Holstein the day
after to-morrow. Then will be the time to exclaim,
" Jacta est alee," for those who still maintain that
the conflict is certain of pacific solution are either
deceived or wish to reassure the fatnt-hearted at
any price.

The German public generally will feel extremely
disappointed if the Danish quarrel terminates simply
with execution, and diplomacy succeeds in bringing
about one of those arrangements characterised in
Germany as "einenfoulen Frieden" (a rotten peace)
The Germans are bent upon the independence of
the two Duchies, and mean to achieve it, if their
Governments do not stand in the way.
It is not easy to set Germany in motion, but it is
less easy still to arrest its progress where it was
once commenced to move. It will be difficult for
Prussia and Austria to permit the Danes to hold
their lines of fortifications at the Schleswig frontier
upon Holstein territory; and it is by no means
certain that, considering the excitement of the
population of Copenhagen, King Christian will dare
to order the evacuation of those military points. It
will be still more difficult for the Federal troops to
prevent the popular meetings which will proclaim
Duke Frederick as soon as the Danes have left.
The French papers Constitutionncl and La France
point out that this embroglio is one proof the more
of the necessity of a Congress. Could such an as-
sembly have met immediately after the death of the
King of Denmark to discuss the question, it might
have succeeded in finding a pacific solution, but it
is now too late, and public opinion in Germany is
vehement against the idea of any interference what-
ever of foreign Powers in the nationality dispute.
It would be hazardous to rely upon the firm
resolution of the Cabinets of Berlin and Vienna to
oppose the impetus of the German nation to the
end. They have left themselves a loophole iu re
serving the succession question. It is well known
at Vienna that the assistance of Germany in certai❑
other eventualities is only to be reckoned upon if
Francis Joseph determines to *satisfy the public
wish in the present dispute. It is even reported
that confidential communications in this sense have
been made by Bavaria and other German States
who act with Austria. As regards Prussia, it is
positively stated that the military party is urging
on the King, and that his Majesty's resistance is
more apparent than real.

PORTUGAL.

LISBON, DEC. 22.

The Government journal affirms that Ministers
will bring in a bill next session abolishing the to-
bacco monopoly.
The Federal corvette Saint Louis has arrived
here.

d1.1.••••••..0.....

FRANCE.
REPLY OF THE EMPEROR TO THE ADDRESS
FROM THE SENATE.

The following is the actual text of the reply of
the Emperor to the Senate, as printed in the
Moniteur

0 Monsieur le President,—As the organ of the
first body of the State you address me in language
which touches me profoundly.
" I see with pleasure that the most opposite
speeches are absorbed in the unanimity of the vote
of the Address, and testify the same confidence—
and you shall not be disappointed. Good is the
sole motive of my actions. At home and abroad I
desire the appeasement of passions, concord and
union. I direct all my wishes to the moment when
the great questions which divide Governments and
peoples will be pacifically solved by European ar-
bitrament. This wish was that of the chief of my
family when he cried from St. Helena that to fight
in Europe is to make civil war.' This great idea,
once Utopian, may it not tomorrow become a
reality ? However this may be, it is always
honourable to proclaim a principle which tends to
cause the prejudices of a former age to ciistppear.
Let us unite our efforts with this noble view, and
let us study how to conquer obstacles, and to con-
found incredulity.
" Please to be, Monsieur le President, the inter-
preter of my thanks to the Senate."
M. Hubaine, Prince Napoleon's secretary, Las
written a letter to the Nation, emphatically con-
tradicting the authenticity of the curious letter
published by that paper last night. The denial
runs thus:—

Messieurs,—The Nation yesterday published an extract
from a letter ascribed by a foreign paper to Prince
Napoleon. I am directed to deny in the most absolute
manner the authenticity of this pretended letter. There is
not a word of truth in it, either in form or substance. The
opinions of the Prince are sufficiently welt known; he has
openly and clearly expressed them in the tribune. They
may be summed up iu two words--Liberty and Nationality,
As regards Italy more especially, her unity before all—
first in the interest of France and next in her own. Allow
me to remark that, before reproducing this absurd and
highly improbable letter, it would have been easy to ascer-
tain its authenticity, and thus have spared yourself this
contradiction. _ _

The French Court has gone into manrning for
twenty-one days, from the 20th inst., for the de-
cease of the King of Denmark. The first eleven
days are to be ordinary mourning, the last ten,
half.

BOURSE, Dec. 22.—The market has been without
much animation, but quotations, in the limited
amount of business doing, show a slight improve-
went. Threes, for the Account, are now at 66f. 45c.
Mobilier Shares are also rather higher, being last

quoted at 1,037 f. 50c. R
firm. The market closed

%ilway Market quiet, but
as follows
Italian Loan Loan 7l 70
Do. end month —
Near ditto .....
Do. end month —
Russian
Austrian
Spanish Threes 52
Rome Debt
'Deferred

41 per Cents 94 10
Do. end
3 per Cents-
Do. end month 66 40
Credit Mobilier 1033 75
Do. end month 1033 75
Bank Shares 3350
Credit Ponder l2lO
Roman —

RAIL'

'AlfB.
Cash. Account.
970 .. 967 50
965 .. 965

Orleans
Northern ....
New ditto
Lyons and Mediterranean
New ditto
Geneva
S althern
Western
Eastern
Sardinian ..
Austrian
Lombard
North of Spain
Saragossa .....

925 - .. 926 25

• • .-...--

677 50 .. 678 75
503 75 .. 505
475
400 397 50
403 75 40.5
518 75 .. 521 25
517 b 0 .. 517 50
617 50 .. 617 50

Ditto to Barcelona

302 50

THE CALCUTTA MAIL.

Messrs. Glass, Elliot, and Co., have received the
following telegram from Suez, dated Dec. 22,
6 p.m..

" The Calcutta mail, due Suez, 18th inst., not
yet arrived."

THE PROPOSED CONGRESS.

The French Minister for Foreign Affairs has sent
the following circular despatch to the chiefs of the
French diplomatic missions abroad:—
The Sovereigns have replied to the letter of the Empe-
ror, and in their replies all have rendered homage to that
bold initiative which, laying bare the dangers of the situa-
tion, proposed the most pacific and loyal means to appease
them.

As you know, the greater pot Lion of the Courts have ad-
hered without reserve to the proposition of France; others
have accompanied their adhesion with certain restrictions in
requiring that the French Cabinet should lay down in ad-
vance the programme of future deliberations. The German
Sovereigns, personally favourable to the idea of the Con-
gress, have been compelled to make their conduct subordi•
nate to the collective resolution of their confederates. The
reply of the German Diet has not yet reached us. One sin-
gle Power, England, has refused.

Under these circumstances it was our duty to express to
the British Cabinet all our regrets, our gratitude to the
Sovereigns who have accepted unconditionally, and to ren-
der an explanation to those who have required it.
_ _

The French Government did not believe itself to be
authorised to confine the high jurisdiction of Europe to a
programme; it was far from the idea of the Emperor to set
himself up as an arbiter. It is superfluous to enumerate the
perils which menace the peace of the world : these perils
are evident. It is only for Powers united in a Congress to
decide the questions which ought to discussed and those
which should be discarded.

The declaration made by the Emperor nn the sth Nuvem-
ber Edmitted two hypotheses : an unanimous acceptation
and a partial acceptation.

In the first case, minds would be greatly appeased, and,
if even all the difficulties should not be resolved, a better
understanding would be established between the Sovereigns.
Daily meetings at which each could exchange ideas, express
his desires or his fears, might silence many susceptibilities,
remove many mistakes, and cause many prejudices to dis-
appear. The probable result of these conferences would
have been a salutary and honourable transaction,
France, which had no advantage to gain for herself in
the eventuality of a general Congress, would have made
common cause with all the enlightened Governments to
bring about reconciliation, extinguish rancours, and esta-
blish those indispensable ameliorations which prevent revo-
lutions or war.

Was this a Utopia ? Recent events have proved to us
the contrary, and to justify sooner than we believed the pro-
visions of the Emperor. The King of Denmark dies ; pas-
sions are aroused, people become agitated and undecided,
Governments balance between the letter of treaties and the
national sentiment of their country. A Congress could alone
conciliate the duties of Sovereigns bound by conventions
and the legitimate asuirations of the peoples.
The refusal of England has, unfortunately, rendered im-
possible the first result which we had hoped from the appeal
made by the Emperor to Europe. The second hypothesis
now remains—the restricted Congress. Its realisation de-
pends on the will of the Sovereigns.
We should be able, after the decision of the British Cabi•
net, to consider our duty as accomplished,and for the future,
in the events that may arise, only to take account of what
may be suitable to us, and of our private interests. But we
prefer to take cognisance of the good dispositions which
have been manifested towards us, and to remind the Sove-
reigns who have associated themselves with our intentions
that we are ready to enter frankly with them on the path of
a common understanding, An agreement of views and of
conduct between the principal Powers of the Continent who
comprehend with us the dangers of the present, and the ne-
cessities of the future, would be of great weight in future
events, and would prevent the abandonment of alliances or
resolutions to chance.

When a general Congress was in question the Emperor
could not, without falsifying the part traced out by himself,
draw up a programme, nor take concert with some of the
Powers to subsequently submit to the others a plan agreed
upon in advance, and thus prelude by a separate negotia-
tion the negotiations where it was decided to present one-
self without preconceived ideas, and free from private
engagements. But as this meeting cannot now be com-
pleted, it will not have the judicial authority which would
have belonged to a European Congress. We understand
from that time that, before meeting personally, the
Sovereigns will charge their Ministers for Foreign Affairs
to come to an understanding on the questions which should
be discussed, in order that the Congress natty have more
chances of terminating in a practical result,

You are, then, authorised, according to what precedes, to
explain the intentions of the Ewperor to the Court near
which you are accredited, and to leave a copy of this de.
spateh with the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Receive, &c , DROUYN DE LHITYS,

Official Prussian Idea of the Liberty of the

English Press.

From the .National Zeitung, of Dec. 9, 1863, we
learn that in the House of Representatives, on the
discussion on the Secret Service Money, a member
asked how the sum proposed to ba voted was to be
expended.
MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR—The money will be de•
voted to the press.

SYBEL—The press will be influenced for party purposes.
I therefore shall vote against the proposal. The question
is whether money shall be voted by the Chamber to be
spent abroad in carrying out the London Protocol (Danish
Treaty).
MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR —On what is the patti-
sanship of the English press for Denmark founded ? On
this—that the Danish Government was wise enough and
rich enough to pay the English journals. If we had had
the same means, the press and the public opinion of Eng-
land would have taken a very different view. In regard to
the ordinance respecting the press, it would not have been
necessary if we had had 300,000 instead of 30,000 thalers
to expend upon it.

We have much pleasure in stating that the sub-
scriptions collected by W. N. Rudge, Esq., amongst the
members of the Stock Exchange, on behalf of the Royal
National Lifeboat Institution, now exceeds X5OO.
MARKED PARTIALITY OF EARL RUSSELL.--
" TRAVELI,ER," in a letter to us says :—President
Davis has every right to complain of this in Earl Russell's
permitting the Northerns to get everything they want (not
requiring ships), but preventing the Southerns to get what
they do want—ships—and in doing so breaking the laws of
his country by illegal seizures. Earl Russell will get from
the House of Commons on this question his own language
on the Conspiracy Bill with a little compound interest.
" Nolumus leges Anglia mutari" being our motto in reply
to the demands of any foreign Power. How can Lords
Palmerston and Russell refuse recogition to the Confederate
States after recognising Belgium, in rebellion against Hol-
land for a few months, when only for recognition the revolt
would have been suppressed ; or the expubion of the sove-
reigns of Naples, Modena, and Tuscany at the will of their
people, when they will not act in the same spirit to our own
" bune and sinew." The Government have shown a marked
partiality to the North, when, in justice, they should have
shown fair play, and, in the old British spirit, backed the
weaker party.

LONGEVITY.—On Sunday was buried at King's
Heath, Ann Fereday, who had attained the great
age of 101 years. The old lady, it seems, had been a resi-
dent at King's Heath up to September last, when she came
to reside at the b 101 of 12, Brearley-street West. With the
exception of a paralytic stroke, which she had suffered
during the last six months, and a slight deafness, she was
in possession of all her faculties, and dttriog the last three
years had survived a fracture of the arm and a dreadful
worrying by a dog.—Birmingham Post,
A CIintISTMAS SUMMER.—In Yorkshire the mild-
ness of the season is unusual. The gardens, many
of them, retain the scarlet geraniums and stocks of summer
yet in bloom, and roses still keep their foliage. Gooseberries
are in leaf partly, and about Scagglethorpe, in full south
positions, have actually flowered, and rhubarb is rushing
in the open ground. Altogether there hrore not been more
than 12 hours of slight frost. In the fields the wheat cropsd
are remarkably forward—" proud," as tb.e farmers say, and
the breadth of wheat sown—thanks totb e open weather—is
very large. Turnips have hardly ceasol growing yet—the
season, indeed, is more Mehaelmas c4ristreas.