The Sun.
London, England, 1863-02-26 00:00:00

friend of Mr. Lincoln, but who urged his friends to vote
the Democratic ticket at the November election as the only 1
means of saving the Union. In consequence of the pro-
ceedings of the Democrats, the Abolition members have
seceded from the Legislature, and threaten to revolutionise
the state. Kentucky has also appointed commissioner sto
the Louisville Conference in March, and it is believed
that all the loyal Middle and Western States will be re-
presented. The revolutions in the Indiana Legislature
demand the establishment of an armistice as soon as practic-
able, and a convention of all the States, including those of
the Confederacy, to be held at Nashville, Tennessee, on the
let of June. The New York Assembly, by a vote of 95
against 4, has authorised the governor to invite General
M'CLELLA N to visit Albany as the guest of the State.".

The grand army of the Potomac is no more. The
mail attempt of General BURNSIDE, urged on by the
"No-nothings" of Washington and New York, in
spite of the prudent refusal of General M'CLELLAN
the only able commander of the North gave it its
death-blow. Disorganised and demoralised as it had
been for some time previous to the removal of its
favourite general and a disastrous defeat, coupled
with the loss of upwards of 10,000 of its best
soldiers, left it but a disorderly rabble, and now
weakened as it is by the desertion of thousands we
learn that 35,000 men will be detached from it to
proceed ;to: Suffolk, Virginia, under the command
of General BURNSIDE, thus but a comparatively
small force be left to hold General LEE in
check, and so protect Washington. The grand
army, which was got together at such an enormous
expense, and from which so much was expected, has
dwindled down to a mere advanced guard to protect
the capital. Its only attempts to subdue its adver-
saries having resulted in a disastrous retreat and
a crushing repulse. These bloody conflicts and
this unnatural war are fast coming to a termina-
tion. Money and men are failing in the North.
It is impossible for love or money to raise another
fifty thousand men, while with gold ranging from
50 to 60 per cent. premium, the monied men are
loath to speculate on Government security seeing
how imbecile the cabinet of President LINCOLN is.
The general disaffection of the Border States and
the distrust and opposition that the President's
mighty Proclamation has caused in the North-West
and South-Eastern States foreshadows too plainly
that the day of President LINCOLN'S supre-
macy are numbered. He was hailed as the
saviour of the Republic, he has proved to be its
destroyer, by his obstinate determination to preserve
the Union at any cost, and refusing to a few
Southern States the right of secession, he has laid
the foundation to the separation of the North-
Western States, and hampered the country with a
debt that will for ever oppress it. Meanwhile the
publication of the correspondence of 111essrs. SEWARD
and MERCIER is creating excitement in New York
and Washington. Mr. SEWARD repudiates the
idea that he ever requested M. Mercier to visit
Richmond, in order to endeavour to bring about a
reconciliation with the South, thus disavowing the
only really public act for which he has yet deserved
credit. A few days may bring us intelligence of
the result of the impending attacks on Vicksburg
and Charleston, success to the Northern arms, if such
should chance can but protract the war, and raise
vain hopes in the bosoms of a few deluded mortals,
their repulse—which is more than probable—will
virtually end the war.

The progress of railways had much to encounter
from the very beginning. Prejudice and self-
interest went hand in hand against the un-
known intruder. People in the country were
wise beyond their fellows as to the utter
uselessness of such an unheard-of innovation.
What could railways presume to do that the
noble and willing horse could not achieve ? Their
forefathers did very well without such encum-
brances, and why should not their sons jog on like-
wise ? Such was the argument of pedantry, igno-
rance, and self-conceit against the introduction of
railways in days gone by. Even the atmosphere of
t heLegislature was then tainted by sympatheticcre-
dulity—for few listened with patience to the tale of
professional belief in the magic wonders yet to be.
The improvement was far too good to be true,
and genius in this, as in many other inventions, had
to mourn the obstacle which obstinacy thrust in
his way. But we must persevere, as GEORGE
STEPHENSON said to those who despaired of ever
crossing the Chat Moss in making the line along
that unfathomable bog—we must still persevere,
and lo ! perseverance conquered the supposed im-
possibility. Such was a sample of some of the
wise people of that day, who seemed to have for-
gotten the prophetic fervour of DARWIN in his en-
thusiastic strain :

" Soon shall thine aid, unrivalled steam, afar,
Urge the slow barge, or drive the rapid ear I"

Seeing is believing, they say, but some will per-
sist in their own nation,—and persuasion were as
hopeless as it would be unprofitable. No wonder,
then, at the difficulties encountered in the very out-
set of any enterprise, however promising. The idea
is chimerical, says the party indisposed to counte-
nance the project, and thus throws cold water on the
eager temperament of the sanguine enthusiast.
"Anything but money or helpl—you shall have my
best advice"—and so on. What wonder, then, that
public improvement ever sees the light of day but
for the daring devotion of the indomitable mind
rising in proportion to the difficulties interposed.
And so it was, and ever will be. Genius is as in-
comprehensible as it is impnlsive,—treads on
thorns while it confers with Divinity. It conceives
and plans, and explains, but all beyond the concep-
tion of those who hear, but will not, and often can •
not, understand. Hence the ever-recurring indif-
ference of the world to the man who labours to
improve the condition of his fellow-men by the
development of his invention.
Even so it has been with railways in the country
andti
the
very
er
ryy
against— a d
ao w
retmheed
intheLyonhdaovne
igs r ireavi as en
dc
e
hue
eor
been complaining of day and night for some years
past. As the population increases, the streets seem
to decrease. Your course is blocked up wherever
you turn by vehicles of every description, or ob-
structed by dense crowds wbi3rever you go.
To
widen the communications would be expensive to
the public, while it would be ruinous to individuals
during their construction. There is no help for it,
but to grumble. That's some satisfaction, at least
to him who delights in abusing what he will not
tolerate any more than his irritable neighbours.

Poor Joiax BULL !—too rich to be happy, and too
proud to be taught. It is a national weakness, and
he likes it all the more, because he can grumble to
his heart's content while plodding on to indepen-
dence. He likes railways in the country, but
cannot bear them in the town—and to go under-
ground would be like seeking the valley of the
shadow of death. Thus reasoned Ole doubting
mind when 10, after mach burrowing through devious
drains and unmentionable curiosities, the Metropo-
litan Underground Railway emerged on the won-
dering disbelief of London. And if one line
from West to East relieve the public pressure,
why should there not ba other lines diverging from
all points of the compass, and converging in one
or more central localities—as it may suit the
public convenience, and so relieve the general ne-
cessity ? It is but the application of common sense
to supply a common remedy. It benefits all to the.
injury of none. Yet prejudice and motives, which

we shall not characterise, must petition Parliament
to arrest the very remedy indispensable to the pub-
lic convenience—now that London has overgrown
itself above ground, and must seek relief below like
the wild ducks diving to avoid the breaking billow
towering over their devoted heads. What instinct
teaches the duck in the stormy water, reason ought
to suggest to the wayfarer in the crowded street.
But neither reason nor instinct avail with people
determined to be obstinate.

We have lying before us an excellent map of the
Metropolitan Railways, Bridges, Embankments,
&c., by Mr. STANFORD,* of Ordnance map celebrity
and other useful surveys, which displays the pro-
posed improvements in and about London with a
particularity and distinctness so arranged that he
who runs may read the picture of metropolitan im-
provement with an eye of wonder and admiration.
It exhibits not only the squares, parks, Royal and
metropolitan, but the streets in all their multitu-
dinous variety, stretching for miles on miles out of
town along the roads, till the metropolis loses itself
in sylvan scenes and alleys green. This map ex-
tends from Wanstead Park on the north-east to be-
yond Richmond on the south-west, and from Wem•
bly Park on the north-west to Sunderidge Park and
Elmstead ood on the south-east. Then coming
home to the focus of stirring life in the City and
West-end, we have on the broad face of London the
proposed railways and other plans brought before
Parliament for the present session, also the rail-
ways sanctioned and those in operation, all inter-
secting the great city over bridge or under
ground. The proposed embankments on either
side of the Thames are broadly marked, with
other improvements, such as the Royal Arcade, pro-
posed to join Broad -street and Regent-street, under
cover from sun and shade, which rears its mimic
head on the map. Altogether this map is London
itself covered with railway panoply, and will be
valuable for reference to men of business as well
as to visitors to the great Babylon of commercial

enterprise.
We have, besides, another map similar to Mr.
STANFORD'S, but more restricted in extent,
being rather a skeleton of London and the vicinity,
published by VACHER and Sons, t of Parliament-
street, displaying no less than 24 of the several
lines for which several bills have been deposited
for the present session. Several of these proposed
lines ma into the very heart of business localities
from remote districts, and promise when executed
to shorten both time and space within a span as
it were, bringing the vast circumference to the
very centre of a radiating circle. Surely there can
be no legitimate or well-founded objection to men
of business being brought nearer to the places of
their several avocations. Perhaps those living in
the thoroughfares above ground may apprehend
some loss of custom from the passers-by choosing
the lower line of ingress and egress, but that Is a
trivial consideration when weighed with the general
advantage. We can understand that the proprietors
of omnibuses and other conveyances Inly have ob-
jections to any improvement tending to interfere
with their monopoly; but the universal public re-
quire more space to allow the daily-increasing traf-
fic fret r scope ; and if any real damage be done, let
there be just and prompt compensation awarded.
Perhaps, as speculation may have run riot in this
as in every other obvious improvement, it were well
that a comprehensive scheme were submitted to a
competent tribunal, so that one proposition might
not be permitted to run counter to the other from a
spirit of jealousy and rivalry. What is for the bene-
fit of all should not be allowed for the advantage of
any particular party, because it will militate, like
all monopoly, against the public interest.

* Stanford's Map of Metropolitan Railways, Bridges,
Embankments, &c., including the proposed railway and
other plans brought before Parliament for session 1863 ;
also the railways sanctioned and in operation. By Edward
Stanford, 6, Charing-cross, 23d February, 1863.
tVacher and Sons' Parliamentary Map of the Metropoli-
tan Railways, showing the lines in existence and in pro -
gress, and all the proposed railways for which bills have
been deposited for Session 1863. Published by Vacher and
Sons, 29, Parliament-street, S.W., and Letts, Son, and Co.,
8, Royal-exchange, E.C. Price 2s. 6d, Lithographed on
a large sheet,

The ceremony of the Levee, held yesterday by
his Royal Highness the Prince of WALES, was not
without an interest, seldom attaching to mere Court
ceremonies or forms of etiquette. It was the first
occasion on which the Prince of WALES had ap-
pehred before his future subjects in that position
of dignity and authority which, for the future,
belongs to the youthful heir to the Throne. It
was also the first Levee held for two seasons, owing
to the bereavement of ber MAJESTY, and it was
felt to b 3 an inauguration of that happier and brighter
time which her MAJESTY'S loyal subjects earnestly
trust to be in store for her and her illustrious family.
It was an opportunity of testifying that ready
loyalty towards the young Prince which, for his
parent's sake as well as his own, all classes of Eng-
lishmen are so ready to accord to him, and the
eagerness with which the opportunity was seized
showed the general desire to do honour to the
youthful Heir apparent, in whom, at the
present moment especially, the public feel so
warm an interest. The commands of her MAJESTY
placed the PRINCE for the time being in her place,
and it was felt that paying homage to the son was
the best way to afford gratification to his Royal
mother. The consequence was, that the number
of presentations yesterday exceeded those on any
occasion since her MAJESTY'S accession, while the
throngs of spectators in the parks received the
PRINCE with a cordial enthusiasm that he
must have found most gratifying. The feel-
ings with which the nation watches the career
of the eldest son of ALBERT and VICTORIA
are as different from the national sentiments towards
our last Prince of WALES as, we trust, their careers
will be distinct and opposite. Our present PRINCE
is entering life under the fairest auspices—shadowed,
it is true, by the memory of his recent loss of the
counsellor whose interest in his welfare was the
deepest and sincerest. He has but to fulfil
the expectations we have formed of him—to be
worthy of his parents and of his people, and the
throne of England will still remain unshaken by
the convulsions of neighbouring States—a position
whose security despots may look upon with envy,
and democrats with unwilling admiration,

MERCHANT SEAMEN'S ORPHAN ASYLUM, SNARES-
BROOK.—The Elder Brethren of the hon. corpora-
tion of the Trinity-house have signified their intention of
presenting to each boy and girl in this institution a silver
medal, in commemoration of the marriage of his Royal
Highness the Prince of Wales. The medals will each be
appended to a rosette, in order that they may be worn by
the children on tho 10th of March.

MARRIAGE BY TELEGRAPH.—The American
papers assert that a lady in Syracuse has been mar-
ried to a soldier in a fort near Washington, the two being
400 miles apart, and the vows spoken by telegraph
took two hours to do the work up complete, and the tele..
gram from the chaplain to the lady announcing that she
and the soldier were man and wife is the bride's marriage
certificate."

ENGLISH NEWS VIA SOUTH AFRICA,—In the Cape
Argus of the 6th ult. we find the following :—" It is
stated that the Queen of England has just published a book
in which she examines with deep criticism sundry of the
religious questions which are now prominent in the Chris-
tian world, and that the views of her Majesty accord
greatly with those of Bishop Colenso. It would appear
from a notice in one of the Natal papers that the book has
been received theref but the wording of the notice is not
very clear."

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAM.)

PRUSSIA.

RESIGNATION OF COUNT BISMARK.

BERLIN, Feb. 25, 9 58 p.m.

In a Cabinet Council MM. Eulenberg and
Muhler declared against the Russian Convention
and the attitude of Prussia in Polish affairs.

Count Bismark consequently resigned. His re-
signation is as yet neither accepted nor withdrawn.
BERLIN, THURSDAY, FEB. 26.
Since Friday last rumours of a Ministerial crisis
have been circulating on the Bourse,

Up to the present, however, they have not
received any confirmation.

GREECE.

ATHENS, Feb. 25.

The Assembly elected the Ministry yesterday. It
is a compromise. Valbi is President ; Smolensk,
Minister of War ; and Dimitri Macrocordato,
Minister for Foreign Affairs.

ITALY.

TURIN, FEB. 25.

In the sitting of the Chamber of Deputies to-day
the debate upon the bill authorising the new loan
took place.

Signor Mordini combated the policy of the Mi-
nistry, which he declared, by its opposition to all
members of the party of action, was spreading in-
difference and general scepticism throughout the
country, and continued,—
" I consider the policy of Italy too subservient to
foreign interests. If we were to display more inde-
pendence towards France we should obtain the more
efficacious friendship of England."
Signor Crispi also spice against the loan. He did
not approve the financial and administrative system
of the Ministry.
The debate still continues.

NEWFOUNDLAND.

ST. JOHN'S, N. F., FEB. 14.

The ship Rothsay, which went ashore near here,
has been sold, and will probably be got off. The
wreckers cut away her masts and plundered the

cabin and cargo.
The ringleader in the afftir has been arrested.
The weather is very severe, and the inhabitants
of the island are suffering very much in consequence.

FRANCES

PARIS, FEB. 25.

The Constitutionnel of this evening publishes an
article signed by M. Buniface, the secretary of the
paper, saying :

" The exaggerated fears as to the result of the
Polish question, to which we alluded on Monday
last, have now disappeared. The Bourse, which
gave way yesterday to a species of panic in no way
justified by circumstances, surveys the position of
affairs to-day with greater coolness and reason.
At the commencement of the insurrection the
unanimous sympathy of liberal Europe, and the re
presentations of the great Powers, migat have suf-
ficed to arrest this painful conflict; but the conven-
tion between Prussia and Russia has transformed
the question into one of European interest. That
'IIF, convc:ntion would ev.ke universal reprobation
Ind cause an understanding between France, Eng-
land, and Austria was certain, even before the
treaty was concluded. This understanding is a sure
guarantee for the maintenance of peace. It became
evident that the way was open to conciliation, and
that right and justice were to triumph by peaceful
means. Public opinion now seems to understand
this, and we are happy to note the change."
The Siecle and the Opinione Nationale have
opened subscriptions for the benefit of the Poles.

The Opinione Aationale states that the struggle
between the Russians and Poles is continued with
the same intensity, and that whatever the official
despatches and the Russian correspondence may
say to the contrary, the insurrection is augmenting
its forces, and now comprises in its ranks the whole
nation. In France, in England, in Italy, in Prus-
sia, in Germany, in Austria, and, in a word, in all
Europe, the sympathy of the people for the Polish
cause, and their indignation against the Cabinets of
Berlin and of St. Petersburg increases every day.
Public opinion is unanimous, and the Governments
which desire to sustain in the world the grand
principles of justice and humanity will find it diffi-
cult to resist this influence.

The Pays observes that the policy which the
Cabinet of Berlin has now adopted in external
affairs has succeeded even less that which it followed
in internal matters. In signing the convention of
February it has ended in exciting against it all
liberal Europe, and in calling down upon it a uni-
versal reprobation. The Steele announces that a
subscription is opened at their office for the cause of
Poland, and calls upon all to aid to the utmost of
their power this attempt to put down an odious
tyranny.
BOURSE, Feb. 25.—The market has recovered
from its panic of yesterday, and almost regaineci
what was lost, Threes, for the Account, being now
at 69f. 50c. Railway Share Market also firmer.
I'he Market continued firm to the close, and left off
as follows :

It per Cent 5....... 98 50
Do. end month....
3 per Cents ...... 69 75
Do. end month.... 69 55
New 3 per Cents ..
Do. end month.... —'
Credit Mobilier.... 1160
Do. end m0nth....1172 50

I Bank Shares 3370 - -
• Credit koncier
Piedmontese Fives. -
Italian Loan 69 70
• Russian
• Austrian .. —
Spani,h Threes 52 50
Rome Debt .. 49A -
,AVAYS.

BAIL

Orleans ...

Casti.
109') 50
_ _

Accuant.
1095

Northern ....
NOW ditto

Lyons and Mediterranean 1177 50 .. 1183 75
Geneva....
outhern
Western
Eastern •.• .
Sardinian
Austrian
LOW bard
North of Spain
Saragossa 6BO .. 685
Ditto to Barcelona

UNITED STATES MAIL.—"The Inman stfamship
City of Baltimore sailed yesterday from Liverpool
for New York, with the United States mails. Besides the
mails and a large cargo she also took out 35 cabin passengers.
CHINA AND THE SEWAGE QUESTION.— When we
havo to announce any new discovery, or refer to any
ancient one which has greatly affected mankind, we have to
acknowledgethe Chinese as the earliest originators, Print-
ing, gunpowder, the mariner's compass, and half a dozen
other great inventions were well known in the flowery land
long before tkikisland had emerged from barbarism. But
it seems stranger still to add that the simple expedient by
which one of the largest empires, counting upwards of
400,000,000 inhabitants, possesses, and has possessed for
hundreds of generations, the most productive soil in the
world, should only be known among our sharp-witted
farmers. If, according to a new theory, a slow exhaustion
of the vegetable mould were really going on, we °ugh,
certainly to look to China for the strongest evidence of the
fact ; but mother earth is as strong there, possibly
stronger, than she has boen for a couple of thousand years,
and the secret of the eternal vigour lies in this, that the in-
habitants never fail to return to tke soil those materials that
they have taken out of it. Every morning the market gar-
dener, who brings the day's supply of vegetables, takes away
the sewage of the house. It may not seem very savoury to
our ideas to find the produce and the producer thus nakedly
and perpetually brought into contact before our eyes, but it
is in this rapid circulation of the fertilising agent that the
whole secret of the wonderful productions of this vast em-
pire is based .—Once a Week,.

LAW OF PARTNERSHIP.—Mr. Scliolefield has re-
produced his bill for allowing a person to lend money
to a trader on the terms of receiving for interest a share of
profits without becoming a partner, the loan being regis-
tered in a public office ; allowing,'also, clerks to be paid a
bpeo rrteiogni
registered
ecprofitsat twithout
Joint-stockb ecomincgo
m p partners.anies Registration-
office. clause in
the bill requires that, where the style of a firm does not
contain the full names of every partner, their names must
office. There are also clauses providing that partnershipistration
disputes shall be referred to arbitration in the manner set
forth in the bill, except where a partnership deed contains
provisions ss to the mode of deciding such disputes,