The Sun.
London, England, 1863-08-13 00:00:00

TTTE sfTN, LONDON, 'rriUllcii) kit kVENTr.4O. AUGUST 13, 1863.

RMONCKTON MILNES, M.P.-
ICHARD
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rI,HE THIRD EDITION OF " THE SUN."
Containing: the Latest SPORTING INTELLIGENCE,
*an be had Every Evening- of
G. R. GLENIE, NEWS AGENT,
No. 4. Connaught-terrace, Hyde-park.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
Tins DAY.—Morning, lh. 30m.—Afternoon, Ih. 50m,
To-monaow.-Morning, 2h. 10m.—Afternoon, 2h. 28m,

The Weather—Sun Office, Aug. 13, 1863.
THERMOMETER.

This mominz
This day at Two o'clock

Barometer-30.02.
Wind—E. ; light, and fine.

gtt 21111 t,

LONDON, THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 1863.

The more closely these more recent events of the
American war come to be looked into, the less
apparent becomes the reason for the sudden exulta-
tion of the Federal multitude headed by their
President. Vicksburg has fallen it is true.
JOHNI3TONE has retreated. LEE has withdrawn his
army from Maryland back again across the Poto-
mac. The Confederate Commander-in-Chief has
retired indeed still further southward, having
passed through one of the convenient gaps of the
Blue Ridge on his road towards Culpepper, where,
assuming a purely defensive position, he finds the
enemy confronting him, though at a respectful dis-
tauce enough. 2.lEape's army of the Potomac
having returned to the old position held by them
(sometime before MEADE assumed the chief command
with such exemplary diffidence) on the line of the
Rappahannock. Granted all this, however, the
result above specified still remains behind, now
that we begin to look through all the hazy
vapouring of the Northerners, that, as Pro-
fessor LON GFELLOW has it, "things are not
what they seem," or at any rate not precisely what
they seemed only as it were bat yesterday. General
jOTENSTONE has retreated, but—he has not been
routed, His forces are not victors—but at the very
least they are not dispersed, being, on the contrary,
held admirably well together. Again, General
GRANT'S successful troops—described so very
recently as outnumbering their antagonists almost
overwhelmingly—turn out, in point of numbers, to
have been very considerably exaggerated. And
since this revision of the Federal statements as to
the relative strength of the forces respectively, at
this juncture, under the banners of GRANT and of
JOHNSTONE, it has been shrewdly calculated that
the predominance numerically must before much
longer, in the regular course of events, turn rather
in favour of the Confederate Commander. The antici-
pation, here, resting principally, it should be remem-
bered, upon the all but certainty, as we may call it,
of JOHNSTONE'S at present inadequate force being
nearly doubled by the simple exchange of the
Vicksburg garrison, now upon parole. A judicious
correspondent of one of our contemporaries main-
taining the probability of this " doubling-up" (in a
totally different sense from that intended so
recently by the Federals), this actual doubling-up
of the Confederate force under JOHNSTONE, by
reason simply of the circumstance of there being,
as the writer opportunely remarks, " a very large
number of prisoners due to the South on account."
Hence, because of these arrears alone in the striking
of the balance, this same anticipated doubling-up
of the Confederates under JOHN STONE in the
country of the Mississippi.
Westward of that river still remain fully
thirty thousand of the Confederate forces
in arms—biding their time, perpetually on the
alert for their (next opportunity, waiting
for the close of the last deleterious warmth
of the season, waiting for the recruits certain not
to be waited for in vain. Whatever yet has oc-
curred in these recent transactions disadvantage-
ously for the Confederates—Sumter has not fallen,
neither has Savannah, nor yet, again, has Charleston
Charleston was to have fallen for a dead certainty,
and yet Charleston still obdurately holds out. Be-
aides which, turning from isolated positions to the
situation and condition of the main army of the
South under their redoubtable Chief, General LEE
.--we hardly know in what terms,sufficiently igno-
minious were to be described the most fitly the situa-
tion into which the Confederate Commander-in-
Chief had been driven, and the condition to which
his main army had been reduced. Both of these
gigantic advantages being due, of course,to Northern
It °Neese, directed by the consummate generalship of
the new Federal Commander-in-Chief, General
MADE--at last, as head of the Northern
army, that almost despaired-of
exp rea desideratum " the
rowh the right '
jars
f_ rightl place." The demoralisation of
of thate lets,the utter discomfiture and craven flight
boasted. Captain of the South, were words
uentl
feebly
g the actual state of things subse-
and the subtleqy
°se of the great battle of Gettysburg,
'Naefe n hasty re-crossing of the Poto-
ei
mac by the ttea
and almost routed Confede-
rates. This--accordingonitotou the Northern flourish of
trumpets, audible
111'4111y upon the morrow,
so to speak, of Presid"tafti2enT''' rididieulous
serenade ! Facts, those hoerita--
waY stubborn things,
however, showed soon
ea
vgeani again the
ore
New York narratives had bee:Rd:so:al,
grossly than ever, exaggerated,
defeat at Gettysburg was it appears General Lea's
80 little of
de-
feat after all, that it turns out Simply to have
(contrary to custom with him it is true)—Nov. been
etory.
Flight there was none. Bout, as applied to any po=tion
of his valiant army, were a phrase simply ridiculous,
So far from anything whatever of that kind having
occurred, in relation to the Confederate troops under
LEE, those troops, we know now for an absolute
certainty, have been withdrawn by their Com-
mander quite deliberately, quite calmly, without
haste, or opposition of any kind, taking with them
not only the whole of the very considerable sup-
plies seized by them while in Maryland, but carry-
ing off scot-free in their train as many as fifty
pieces of the Federal artillery, captured by them
while on the other side of the Potomac r.
Meantime, there is one circumstance related about
the Federals, in regard to their most recent pro-
ceedings in the conduct of this deplorable war,
there is one circumstance so novel and Bo
cruel of its kind, as to be (we cannot but call it)
nothing less than a most dastardly innovation. A
circumstance, it is, moreover, that has already
twice of late called for words of the sternest re-
probation. These remarks having reference to the
"minent position in which the negro regiments

were placed in .he assaults made respectively by the
Federal forces, now upon Fort Wagner, now upon
Port Hudson. The unfortunate blacks being obvi-
ously placed in that conspicuous position, in both those
assaults, simply for the purpose, it would seem, of
distracting the attention of the foe from the advanc-
ing troops of the North, and of concentrating upon
the unhappy negroes the fire of the beleagured
garrisons! As the correspondent already alluded to,
signing himself S. in the columns of our principal
contemporary, scornfully remarks, "It is something
new, in an age like this, to drive white American
conscripts at the bayonet's point to the work of
invading and destroying their fellow-countrymen ;
but, beyond this, it will remain an indelible brand
on the future history of the Northerners that they
could not fight a people of less than a fourth of
of their own numbers without getting negroes to
help them." Remembering what the apologists of
the North affect to regard as the origin of this
miserable war, the course thus pursued by the
North in these two most disgraceful incidents, is
one not an iota lees contemptible of its kind than if
the Yankee warriors were upon each occasion
fighting behind the shelter of so many petticoats.

If a too active and officious Government has its
evils, as we are all ready toadmiateciiotnias nottobe
questioned that there are very
drawbacks
notd active
enough. It is very
attending an Adminaisntnraotyioinng tthoaht a ivse
manufacture harassed by constant inspection, and
restricted by meddlesome laws; to be unable to
pass from one town to another without wasting
precious hours at the bureaus of indifferent officials;
and we in England are so much in the habit of
trusting to private enterprise, and of watching with
a jealous eye any ne w assumption of Government
authority, that we seldom complain that our con-
stitutional authorities are doing too little; or, if we
do, we are very ready to accept the usual stereotyped
reply that it is not desirable for Government to
interfere. But there are cases in which King LOG
is nearly as bad as King STORK, especially if King
LOG refuses to let other people do his work. India
may place defective legislation in the very first rank
of her national drawbacks, and the hopeless view
which so many of her statesmen persist in taking
of her capabilities and prospects has helped much to
retard their development. It is better to be too
sanguine of the fortunes of a nation than not san-
guine enough. In the one case every chance will
be given to the national fortunes, in the other the
gifts of nature are neglected and left unused. The
recent Add ressadelivered by Sir ARTHUR COTTON
to the Calcutta Chamber, shows very clearly how
much this been the case in cur vast East Indian pos-
sessions. The subject of the eminent engineer's
discourse was the connection of irrigation and
navigation with the finances of India, and his re-
velations of the perverse indifference of the Govern-
ment to so wonderful a source of health, plenty,
and capital is really marvellous. The facts he
states are uncontroverted ; the arguments he draws
from them ace clear and logical; the evidence
which supports his views is open to any one's in-
spection, yet year after year the land is left waste,
alternately parched with drought and submerged
by floods, while fever, sickness, and famine prey
upon a population who might be living in health
and plenty on the produce of the land were it once
properly drained and irrigated. Some years ago
Sir ARTHUR COTTON was despatched to visit the
provinces of Cuttack and Pooree, that were endan-
gered. by the changes taking place in the great
rivers ; and having seen in Madras how cheaply
and easily districts liable to the double catastrophes
of flood and drought can be raised to proportionate
' prosperity and comfort, he drew up a comparison
between Cuttack and Tanjore, showing, he says,
"the comparative results of grievous neglect and
moderate care." His report was of course tossed
aside, disregarded, or, as he says, with well-merited
satire, " The report of a man who was writing the
results of nearly forty years' practical experience,
and who supported his propositions by confirmed
results over a vast extent of country, was submitted
for the decision of a gentleman not quite old enough
to be his son, who had never seen a weir or an im-
proved delta." Another report on the state of
the country .between the Hooghly and the
Ganges was treated in a similar manner,
and the City of Palaces has been left to
suffer the ills of bad water, delayed communication,
and a fever-stricken neighbourhood. The scheme
which Sir ARTHUR COTTON proposes by which to
regulate the flow of the mighty Indian rivers is a
very simple and comparatively inexpensive one ; it
is, too, one which Nature herself is the first to faci-
litate. He proposes to construct large tanks in the
upper basins of several rivers in which he has
reason to believe he can store any quantity of water
at a very
trifling cost ; and it is important to re-
member that such tanks answer a double purpose by
supplying
water in time of need and in diminishing
the floods in the country below. Those unfamiliar
with the subject are apt, says the engineer, to
conor
ttwr 00l
tfikoaotd ed.oeßsuttheitmi
sgeehni ee
,a 1
alyndo n
al y ho
flood
dl aesetl
suppose that works of great extent are needed to
lasts more than a few hours at its height ; so
that
a comparatively small body of water detained for a
time will divest it of its dangers. The materials for
the works are ready to our hand, The Soane alone
has water enough fora million acres in the
dry season, besides supplies from other rivers.
The money that is laid out in providing
for the passage of heavy floods through bridges in
the low country, might, says Sir ARTHUR COTTON
very justly, have been more effectually and satisfac-
torily spent in preventing the floods by storing the
water in the upper country, so that India at this mo-
mentmight havehadlargestoresof waterin the upper
basins of every great river, while in the dry season
a fresh and plentiful supply of one of the first ne-
cessaries of life would have been flowing through
the plains now parched and arid, while the demon
of fever would no longer find a potent agent in the
stagnant pools, from which the people are compelled
to drink, and all this without any additional ont-
,:lra de:l3iag—r
lay ! The greater part of India affords remarkable
facilities for such a scheme in the ratural basins
which only require small gorges to be closed to con-
nect them into vast water tanks. As a proof of the
comparative expense of the method proposed and
that now followed, we are told that water can be
thus stored at the rate of about half a rupee
for "e thousand cubic yards ; while at
present it .
is raised from wells in the dry
tilisi cost of
of
Tfrfhre
fresh
difference tawteor, taon
bdfietvthwe a
etrewunphe theec rupees
h fhpe
aer
sr.
season, at a
w
that fro
the to every evlturist
percolated the e
the Soane a line canal can be ust be well known
earth m
• In the plains south of the
Ganges, it isffondund
a dam thrown across
Allahabad, a distance led on a dead level to
of 170 miles „
for the supply of water to the , thus Providing
the mouth of the Soane and whole -
P aln west of
south
The profits resulting from such a Chan the Ganges.
incredible, but can be easily believed chance
are
those oat
who
have witnessed the disastrous effects of a "dryl3Z
eon." As a proof of the value of water in Inala,
we learn that a gentleman had a piece of land which
he let at six annas an acre ; he dug a well thirty
feet deep, when he let the same land at six rupees
is intended to irrigate
an acre. The oiine project

two millions and a quarter of acres, and to
bring a plentiful supply of water to Calcutta,
which by the provision of the necessary water power
will be raised to the highest hiddings. This will
add but little to the expense as a supplement to the
original scheme, while its advantages to Calcutta
will be incalculable. The Oude project is still
larger and less expensive from the nature of the
country.readil ysopTphley eenigghintemeris calculate
ilionsofacrotoha they can
int
thispro.
thence, nee eG,
asoog
etsh aat n tdh ethwehNoleortahr-evva forsotmeroßodhisitlrciuontod
ofto
Bengal can be irrigated and their produce brought
down to Calcutta for export to the foreign markets
—a result equally encouraging to British enterprise
and native industry. We are not surprised from
Sir CHARLES WOOD'S general policy that while the
local authorities encourage the scheme, the Govern-
ment have as yet done absolutely nothing with these
startling facts before their eyes. The accounts
leave the subject out altogether, though their reve-
coonoepvllaeterrhdgnem
haveee
bsdbtye most
not o
accordingp
dtphsg
most
, obi) shatti
on
lc
oateloon.
f.
preju-
dice importantrSoenuj cullndia.dh.
vodafei tcrhioevouynep
our possessions
sphi mootNysui
sogl
eadshncs
otdioonl cnio:e
no
onaybfov
et
pit nhoge
have submitted to such a rule, but advantage is
taken of native ignorance and indolence. Such con-
duct is the more extraordinary from its financial
effects. Sir ARTHUR COTTON, in his able and in-
teresting address, to which we shall return at an
early oppportunity, gives what may be called a
Budget of the irrigation expenditure and profit,
whose," unanswerable logic of facts" does not reflect
very creditably on the India office or the Calcutta
authorities.

According to all accounts affairs are progressing
most satisfactorily regarding the Congress at Frank-
fort, which is fixed to take place on the 16th of
this month. The Emperer of AUSTRIA has worked
wonders so far, and it is to be hoped that he will
go on prospering in his good work, and by uniting
divers interests and joining severed links in unity,
he may succeed in his grand design and realise his
noble project of rehabilitating the state of Germany.
Of course there have been some contretemps to en-
counter, and some difficulties that. would not be
surmounted, but that is to be expected in the
natural order of things when an important national
undertaking is set on foot, and where so many
rivalries and jealousies are perforce awakened. The
King of PRUSSIA has evidently aspired to the
honour of becoming the Marplot on this grand
decisiA3, and is determined that if any progress is
made no one shall say that it is his fault, or that he
had any share in the plot or plan. The interview
between the Sovereigns at Gastein, from which
event so much was expected to accrue, and of
which so many beneficial results were predicted,
seems to have been a failure. Count BIsMARK is
certainly King WILLIAM'S evil genius, he haunts
him like a shadow, and is ever on the spot to do
away with any good impressions made by others
and to insinuate his own views in contradistinction
to the opinions of new and better advisers. The
EMPEROR, it i 3 said, invited the KING personally
to attend the Congress. This circumstance
certainly renders th© refusal the more
ungracious, and gives a more marked charac-
ter to the already too significant denial. Of course
in a verbal explanation so much more could be said
and treated of than in a stiff and formal dispatch, and
therefore it can be from no lack of comprehension
regarding the object and intentions of the EMPEROR
that the unwise and unexpected denial was uttered.
The excuse given for the KING'S absence is most
absurd, and of course M. BIsmARK figures promi-
i nently as the cause. He, it i. said, desires the Mi-
, nisters to have a conference before the Sovereigns
do so. If the object of this unexpected alteration in
the programme be to preclude the Prussian Minister
from using any power or exercising any influence
in the deliberations that take place, and the plans
that are resolved upon, certainly the resolution to
decline the invitation is a wise one, and likely to
prove conducive to happy results. It is to be pre-
sumed that the enlightened statesman whom some
doubtless consider as a heaven-born minister pri-
' vileged to make or mar the fortunes of States, and
the arbiter to rule the destinies of princes, is highly
indignant at the want of respect and reverence
which has been shown to his demands, and the
ignoring of his request by other Powers. Aut
Ccesar aut Kihil is his motto, and since he may not
bring his skill to their counsels, and exercise his
eloquence to rule their actions, he will have nothing
to do with the affair, and uses his potent in-
fluence to bring his master to a wrong de-
cision, and thus an adverse course adopted.
It is very shortsighted, too, on the part of the KING
and his Minister not to see the grand chance they
are throwing away so recklessly, and the glorious
opportunity that may not occur again speedily, and
perhaps never in their lifetime. If Prussia now
draws back from this conference of nations she
will lose a place she may never afterwards regain,
and forfeit the chance of giving advice and impart-
ing influence on momentous occasions. It is stated
by the Nord Zeitung that they are in a position
to declare totally devoid of foundation the
report circulated that " the CROWN PRINCE had been
summoned to Gastein for the purpose of proceeding
on a mission to the Congress of German Princes to
be held at Frankfort." It is most probable that
the denial is true, for it is to be feared that the
King of PRUSSIA is not likely to choose his son as
his representative after the serious differences that
have taken place between them on the subject of
theeonf
oy
changes
Prussia.
realitycE; there could not be a better
v
than In
the PRINCE, appears duly impressed
with the importance of free institutions, and, so far
as can be gathered from his remarks on various
occasions, to entertain very correct notions re-
garding the maintenance of popular rights.
However, it is not very likely, for that
very reason, that the CROWN PRICE
will be selected as the representative of his country,
which had better not be represented at all if the
same misguided views and mischievous policy are
to rule and actuate her statesmen and be firmly
upheld by her King. It is said that the Emperor
of AUSTRIA is not influenced by personal desires of
ambition, but is solely actuated by the desire to
benefit Germany. It is to be hoped that this is the
tened policy that do him
ocfas
fie
r;
raa
nn
ecisscearnt
dainal
ny,
esnolfigar, he has shown a spirit
h,
infinite credit. His desire to improve the condition
of Germany is the more remarkable when so much
confusion reigns in the councils of the surrounding
I a placesp r u
stshi ea r, o
for a rien
srtaagn icneg,
tshuecrhe
issstt raaitnfe• estlananindvdeanarchy.some
feeling
of discontent now rife among
entail serious consequences. Poland is i
the people, and liable at any fresh provocnatia de-
plorable plorable state; and the present condition of Rus-
sian affairs is rife with discord, engaged as is the
Court of St. Petersburg in disputes with nearly all
the kingdoms of Europe. It is at this critical
r e sigil e d t:
juncture that the Emperor of AUSTRIA seeks to
restore Germany
renew some to her pristine power. The
graaa,o2
of FRapers the Second endeavours to
of the advantages and to revive the
greatnean tut
hag been
een decaying since his grand-
father
e Imperial crown of Rome. It is
.stated that the obi
""i Proposed by the Conferocv

is the union of the several princes, that every State
should keep its sovereignty intact, but that there
should be complete units &mug their several rulers.
If this result is achieved, the Congress now about
to take place will have Effected more good than
generally ensues from such meetings, that too
often begin and end in wordy warfare, and have
nothing stable or lasting to show for the result of
their vaunted intentions. FRANCIS JOSEPH has
come forward in an unexpected manner at this
time, and it is to be trusted that he will redeem
the pIE dges be his given of good will to the true
interests of all States, whether they be Em-
pires Kingdoms, or Confederations. He has
evinced • a desire to be ruled by the
principles of truth and justice in contra-
distinction to the arbitrary laws of despotic
Councils, and in doing so he has conferred signal
benefits on his own dominions. If he now seek to
impart the same influence elsewhere, and show to
those who are perplexed by distracting and diverse
opinions that union is strength, and that the twists
of all strong constitutions is the recognition of po-
pular rights, he will be doing the greatest service
in his generation, and earn for himself a place in
history that is only accorded to the benefactors of
their kind, whether they be crowned heads or
obscure individuals. When a powerful Monarch
joins the march of progress and follows enlightened
views, the best results are sure to ensue, and the
most propitious events nay be confidently ex-
pected,in, or the beholders foretelling a too flattering
without any undue hopes being indulged
augury.

Mr. Coxwell's Description of a Balloon Sur-
vey of Portsmouth, &c.

As my recent aerial reconnaissance at Aldershot
had been witnessed by Mr. Brown, the proprietor
of the Portsmouth Recreation Grounds, I was ap-
plied to by that gentleman to ascertain whether I
would attempt any experiment of a similar charac-
ter at this famous seaport. Having explained the
nature of my engagement at Aldershot, and that it
was in compliance with Government orders, Mr.
Brown decided to have a public ascent. I agreed
to make one or two conditions—Firstly, that it
should take place if the wind was fair for the Isle of
Wight; secondly, that I would offer no objection
it I could even skirt the coast or proceed somewhat

Mr. Douglas, the engineer of the gasworks, in-
tended to make very considerable preparations for
the inflation of my mammoth balloon, but time
would nct permit him to do so by the 10th, on
which day Mr, Brown had promised to have an
ascent.

It was doubtful even whether my balloon—the
Evening Star--could be filled, so that I borrowed
a small one from Mr. Gouens, and it was well filled
by the appointed hour-7 o'clock—the wind at that
time being fresh from the westward, which occa-
sioned much doubt as to whether I would make the
ascent or not.
Relying upon the careful observations I had pre-
viously made with chart, compass, and pilot bal.
loons, and allowing for local variations. I left the
North-end Gardens at 7.15, with full confidence as
to my probable course. The scene which opened
out in the space of five minutes was altogether
novel. Instead of the widespread landscape, so
familiar to aerial voyagers, with its variegated sur-
face of green and brown
com-
manding view of a beautiful island and of a town
and harbour fields, I now had a
so surrounded by water, with the
Channel beyond, that, had it not been for the re-
liance I had in the direction of the wind, appearances
C., by Negretti and Zimbra, and
would seem to indicate that I was likely to be blown
away due south, and to drift out to sea. Although
I was provided with an excellent barometer, ther-
mometer, &-
pre-
sented to me by Mr. Glaisher, I had very little op.
portunity of Using them Ire quently, and I felt how
-:
valuc.ble Mr. Glaisher'e presence would have been
in the car.

of
fneepi-r
0 fr
-t
Taiisseisdteisdtabnyce
- - —.
-What most engaged rey own attention was a gene-
ral survey of the town, fortifications, and shipping,
with a view of military applications for war pur-
poses. I was agreeably surprised, the atmosphere
being clear, how well I could perceive and count the
cannon mounted on the ramparts, the ships in ordi-
nary,whether corvettes, frigates, or
acocuolmd common
raelnadt,ivebysizthese,ir white streaks and portholes,
a naval and military stronghold
The bold and 'ending features
might have been canvassed in an interesting man.
line-of-battle
Portsmouth
man-
ner had I had companions, instead of being alone.
7.35—barometer 26.6, thermome-
ter very soon satisfied myself most thoroughly as
Gosport
and torn ordinary vision to the extent of objects visible to the naked eye
opera-glass. At
itteyrde4.6p—pier
saw through a glass the visitors on
have been less ail n seven or eight miles. I observed
also marines or soldiers of the line in front of a
guard house, and several steamers between
and Southsea Castle. Being soon over the water, I
had to withdraw my attention and look ahead. The
course of the balloon was direct to Chichester, but
a more southerly breeze began to alter my course,
and I hoped to reach Goodwood, where we so lately
descended after a scientific voyage from the Crystal
Palace. As the shades of evening came I found I
was making for several extensive woods on high
ground between Singleton and Arundel. As I
crossed the first wood a large meteor shot towards
but over the balloon from an easterly direction,
another quickly following; and although I relied
upon their supposed altitude, and felt
personal
security, yet I could not bat compare my situa-
tion to that of a ship which e
receives a shot or
two actress her bows, or perhaps a 241 b rocket
as a warning to haul to or alter course in obedi,
-
to the dictates of an enemy.

_
The late hour of the night, and the high ground
upon which Nore Wood is situated, compelled me to
ca high beech trees. Indeed,
Ihad to let all")
n g several
off gas and leave the balloon suspended
all night before I secured and packed it up. Several
gentlemen volunteered to assist me at daylight, and
we proceeded at 5 o'clock to the place of descent
with ropes, ladders, and hatchets, ready to lop off
st
anchor
boughs
the baloon.
or fell a tree, if necessary, rather than in-
jurel was obliged to return to terra firma down a
tree at least 60 feet from the ground. In the morn-
ing the balloon had quietly slid down through the
boughs, and was not in any way damaged.
The magnificent and complete bird's-eye view I
had of the Isle of Wight would occupy too much
space and time to describe. Altogether, my voyage
on Monday was most exciting, and in many respects
peculiar, differing, as it did, from previous trips. I
beg therefore to furnish you with my own account
of it, trusting that some few of your readers may
find it interesting,

CULTIVATION OF PEACHES AND NECTARINES.—
Peach and nectarine trees thrive well in the same
kind of border that is made for vines, and it is requisite to
lay a quantity of hard rubble or strong gravel beneath the
border to prevent their roots running down. In a span-
roof orchard-house plant the trees on each side of the centre
walk, at a sufficient distance from the walk, that the
branches will not obstruct the pathway, but they may be
allowed to extend over the pathway at seven feet high. If
both sides of the house are planted in this manner with
peach, nectarine, and
plum trees alternately there will be
a perfect grove, which will have a most enchanting effect.
hibberd's Gardener's Itagazine.
THE COMMISSION ON TILE HEALTH OF OUR
INDIAN TRooPS.—After getting together all the
evidence they could think of or desire, the investigating
comiLissionera put it into the hands of Miss Nightingale,
to whom the institution of thywhole inquity is in great
measure due—requesting
her to comment on it for their
guidance. They wisely and fortunately chose to print her
commentary with their report. It is to be hoped that it will
also be published separately, that it may convey some very
important knowledge to thousands of persons who never
dream of 'sitting down to th?, study of an enormous Blue-
book.— Once a Weeks

A YANKEE BULL.—A 'Massachusetts judge has
decided that a husband may open his wife's letters, on the
ground—So often and so tersely stated by Mr. Theophilus
Parsons, of Cambridge—that the husband and wife Are
one: 41101 that the I,w-laug is that one

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

HER MAJESTY'S JOURNEY.
BRUSSELS, AUG, 13 (Noon).

Her Majesty Queen Victoria and the Royal
children arrived yesterday ev3ning at the palace of

Lacken.

The King of the Belgians and the Duke and
Duchess of Brabant received the Royal party at
the private railway station.
The Queen's suite were conducted, to the palace
at Brussels.

A grand dinner was given at Lacken in honour
of her 2,lajeAy.

DENMARK.

REFUSAL OF THE KING TO ATTEND THE
FRANKFORT CONFERENCE.
COPENHAGEN, AUG. 13.

The King of Denmark has declined to be present
at the conference of the sovereign members of the
German Confederacy, to which his Majesty was
invited by the Emperor of Austria.
A grand military camp will be established and a
review held at the end of this month near Danno•
kirke, in Schleswig. The King will visit the
camp.

GERMANY.

VIENNA, AUG. 13.

Very animated conferences took place yesterday
at Gastein between the King of Prussia, the Crown
Prince, and Herr von Bismark.

It is asserted that Prussia intends to secede from
the German Confederation.
The Crown Prince left Gastein yesterday.

SPAIN,

MADRID, AUG. 12.

It is reported that the Council of Ministers has
approved of the new situation that has arisen in
Mexico, and will despatch a special envoy to Paris.
Senor Pacheco is spoken of as likely to be sent to
Paris, Senor Bravo Gonzales going to London.