The Sun.
London, England, 1863-01-05 00:00:00

thus he estimates his loss at eleven hundred killed
and nine thousand wounded. If these numbers be
correct, rumour has been more active than usual,
and in the opposite way to what we should expect.
Possibly, in time, we may know the truth.
Mr. LINCOLN, for his part, is equally courageous.
It will certainly never be said of him that he was
slow to back his servants ; he publishes a letter to
the Army, in which be thanks it, the survivors at
least—compliments the troops on their courage, and
asserts that the attempt to dislodge the Confede-
rates was not an error, nor a failure, other than an
accident ! We are told also that it is the general
opinion that the PRESIDENT will abide firmly by
his proclamation of emancipation. On this point,
[ however, a telegram of two days previous
represents him as less decided. He is said
to have told the Border State Committee
that he had hoped for good results from issuing the
proclamation of emancipation, but that if convinced
that contrary results would follow, he would modify
his position, " as he desired to do the best under the
circumstances." The tenacious retention of their
companitively small amount of slavery by the Bor-
der States, to whom acceptance of the compensa-
tion would seem every way advantageous, is a re-
markable feature in this struggle. Missouri, from
which it was least to be expected, is the only one
which has elected abolutionist representatives;
Kentucky, and even Maryland, do not bend to the
President.

No further military movements are reported on
the Rappahannock, unless it be that the Confede-
rates are strengthening their defences. There is a
report, probably it is nothing more, of a very bold
move of the Confederates—one from Western Vir-
ginia to the very heart of Kentucky. It is more
likely to be some guerilla threat, as DAVIS him-
self seems to have given up Kentucky. There is
also a report of the capture of eight Federal trans-
ports on the Mississippi ; from the West, however,
the accounts are conflicting. Some represent the
Federal General GRANT as in considerable danger
of having his communications cut off, while others
affirm that a large Federal expedition is proceeding
from Memphis to attack Vicksburg, and so to clear
the Mississippi. The mysterious accounts from
General FOSTER, and the Confederate General
EVANS, at Kingston, North Carolina, are now sum-
marised by General FOSTER as the gaining of four
victories, in which he " whipped the enemy hand-
somely each time." The reader cannot help think-
ing that the Confederates, like some other well-
remembered combatants, " did not know when they
were beaten."

Thus nothing in the war itself looks like the ces-
sation of it. Neither does anything occurring
among the politicians. Mr. LINCOLN'S adherence
to his proclamation—the bill before Congress autho-
rising the President to raise two hundred negro re-
giments—and the proposal of Mr. CHASE to raise a
loan of 900,000,000 dollars, nearly £180,000,000—
appear as if the end of this miserable contest was
yet far remote. If this be the case, the sooner all
parties affected here by the war adjust their course
accordingly, so much the better. The cotton-
growing question, above all, need be trifled with no
longer.

Sir STAFFORD NORTEICOTE'6 speech on Thursday
at Newton Abbott was a very spirited vindication
of his party. He discoursed at some length on the
general state of affairs, and in a lively strain and
animated manner elicited great applause from his
hearers. He commenced by stating the great differ-
ence that existed between the Conservative party
in this country and in other countries. Why is it,
he asked, that our party has been able to stand
' firm through such a tempest of revolution as swept
over Europe some twenty years ago, and again more
recently, carrying away some of the oldest and
firmest institutions of the Continent. He gave this
answer why in England we bad weathered the
storm which had devastated others:—" It has been
because in this country there have been men in all 1
ranks and all classes who have stood fairly by the 1
institutions of their country, and have not
fallen away faint-heartedly or retired from
public affairs when they thought things were go-
ing against them ; who have not submitted to
defeat when their cause seemed hopeless ; nor on
the other hand been obstinate and bigoted in ad-
hering to that which was unsuited to the time. It
is because you have had for the last 30 years a Con-
servative party established and well organised in
this country ; a party established at a time when
the aspect of affairs was most gloomy about 30 years
ago, when a torrent of revolution was apparently
sweeping away everything, and when the Conser-
vatives remaining in the House of Commons were
in point of numbers merely a contemptible minority.
Then it was you saw men of intelligence, of ability,
of experience, and of courage, coming forward with
moderate but firm counsel. They called upon the
1 country to support them in the stand they were
about to make, and to fight the battle of the consti-
tution in the registration courts. By adopting this
course, and by avaLing themselves of every
legitimate means of maintaining the conati -
tution in parliament, they by degrees commanded
the respect and then the admiration both of their
country and of their opponents in Parliament."
There is great truth in this. It is this mixing
of parties in England that ensures her equili-
brium. When one set or section of men have
sway it is always ruinous to their individual cre-
dit, and to the general welfare of the country.
The war now raging with sad disaster and suffer-
ing in America reminds us that republics, with all I
their boasted advantages, will assuredly fail in the I
abstract when once personal feelings are con-
Icerned ; and the liberty the chiefs are arrogantly
asserting to the world as their vital principle is
not permitted to their fellow countrymen to enjoy
absolutism
t i iss the
except as it suits their purposes. T
tyranny of republics as well as the
abhm of
despots to guard against, and from these dangers
the Constitution of this country is
perfect, as
far as human wisdom can foresee, from any
domestic riot or foreign influence, It is always an
advantage to have some in the land who are averse
to any sudden or startling changes ; then, if these
measures are of a violent nature the good sense of
the community will disallow their efficacy and their
ad°Ptir.',n will "be checked ; at the same time if they
are of an intrinsic merit they are sure of eventually
being carried. No popular reform has ever been
proposed that the sense of the country did not
finally succeed in adopting. This is surely a more
rational method than pulling up streets
after the fashion of our brethren u p rooti nage
rtohs es
tsho
ec iAal lit like
faeanbtri ourcic.
continental friends, or
Sir STAFFORD NoRTIICOTE paid a tribute to his
party about their successful exertions in the
Church-rate question. This suggests the idea
that the Liberal ranks might with advantage
copy the zeal and unanimity which distinguish
their opponents, We hear plenty said of the
bigotry and intolerance of the Conservatives, but if
the Ministerial side were really in earnest on some
of these questions, would not there be less oppor-
tunity for decrying their opponents. If they are so
strong, so confident in their own uprightness, and
in the integrity of their cause, why not rally round
it, and make 't the trial ground of their
strength and their ability. The Reform 1
question is a #tignia on the so-called deform

party. Many sincere well-wishers to the cause
must still deeply regret the part played by their
champion in 1859. Had the electors seen what
loomed in the future the majority of June might
have been on the other side. It is high time for
those professing liberalism to practise it if they
would retrieve their reputations, otherwise the
spoils of the triumph will be in the camp of their
adversaries. It is so very often at elections,
another point on which Sir STAFFORD NORTUCOTE
prided himself. It is rarely, if ever, that we see
Conservatives dividing votes, while times out of
number two Liberals appear. Such policy is sui-
cidal and shortsighted in the extreme. Making
allowance for the prejudice of party, and
other considerations that insensibly influence
men on these occasions to be a little exag-
gerated and enthusiastic, Sir STAFFORD NORTH-
COTE'S speech is certainly a straightforward oration
worthy of an Englishman who is proud of his
country, and a politician who is sincere in his prin-
ciples, and entertains a laudable and honest zeal for
his party and their prospects.

The Lady Susan Vane Tempest was yesterday
safely delivered of a son, at her residence, 33, Chester-
square,

THE PRINCESS ALEXANDRA.—A Copenhagen
letter of the 30th ult. says :—" The Hon. A. B.
Paget, the English Minister at this Court, and M. Hall, the
Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, who has received spe-
cial powers from the King on the subject, have commenced
the necessary negotiations relative to the marriage contract
of the Princess Alexandra. A sum of 100,000 rix dollars
(about £12,00C), to be voted legislatively, will be allowed by
Denmark to the Princess. A lady of honour is to accom-
pany her Royal Highness to London, but will only remain
with her during the stay of the Prince and Princess of
Denmark in England. Prince Frederick will probably stop
in that country for some time after his sister's marriage,
and he intends, it is said, to study for some months at Ox-
ford."

THE MlNlSTRY.—Viscount Palmerston remains
with Lady Palmerston, at his seat, Broadiands,
Hants. Earl Russell is at Pembroke-lodge, Richmond-
park. Mr. Cardwell went on Friday to attend the Queen,
at her Majesty's marine residence, Osborne, Isle of Wight.
Secretary Sir George Grey went, in the early part of the
week, to pay a visit to Lord Harrowby, at his seat, Sandon-
hill ; the right hon. baronet is expected to return to London
to-day. Sir C. Wood remains in the north. Mr. Glad-
stone is at Hawarden Castle; and the Duke of Newcastle
at his seat, Clumber-park, Notts. The Right Hon. C. P.
Villiers, President of the Poor-law Board, and Mr. Milner
Gibson, President of the Board of Trade, have been in Lon-
don during the week.

A communication from Stockholm says :—" A
certain emotion has been caused at the Swedish
Court and in governmental regions by the refusal of the
Norwegian Storthing to accept Prince Oscar as viceroy of
Norway, the constitution now in force declaring that
it is the eldest son of the sovereign who can alone exercise
those high functions. As Charles XV. has no son, it was
very natural that he should think of conferring the vice-
royalty en Prince Oscar, the heir to the crown. When his
Majesty was at Christiania a few weeks since, he commu-
nicated his intenti ns on this subject to the Ministers, who
drew up a bill to present to the assembly. The committee
recommended its adoption, but the Storthing, after a stormy
discussion, rejected it by 57 votes to 4S, as unconstitu-
tional."

It is generally remarked that the ceremonial of
the French Court is becoming more imposing, and the re-
gulations for the receptions of New Year's•day more pre-
cise each year. These rules are issued several days before-
hand, to give time to the persons who figure on these occa-
sions to study them carefully. Four-and-twenty quarto
pages are filled with the details of the ceremonial observed
at court on the Ist and 2d.

THE WORD GAROTTE.—In the field of La Punta,
in the Havannah, on the Ist of September, 1851,
General Lopez was executed by order of the Spanish Go-
vernment, who had captured him after almost hunting him
to death with bloodhounds. The Spanish mode of execu•
tion, by means of a instrument called the garrotta—a strap
fastened to the back of a heavy chair, in which the victim
is seated to be strangled—was rather fully described in the
newspapers, as the death of General Lopez was at that time
a subject of the deepest interest. This was probably the
first occasion on which the British public had heard of
the garrotta, and so great was the fascination of horror im-
plied by the mode of death so described that people took
the earliest opportunity of adopting the word, and the verb
to "garotte" was found useful to denote a method of rob-
bery which arose at about the same time, and of which
we have, unfortunately, heard a great deal too much ever
since.

SOMETHING USEFUL.—A young lady rf high
accomplishments, the family being without a ser-
vant at the time, stepped to the door on the ringing of the
bell, which announced a visit from ono of her admirers. On
entering, the beau, glancing at the harp and piano which
stood in the apartment, exclaimed, " I thought I heard
music—on which instrument were you performing ?" " On
the gridiron, sir, with the accompaniment of the frying-
pan," replied she. "My mother is without a servant, and
she says I must learn to finger those instruments sooner or
later, so I have this day commenced a course of lessons."

A LANCASHIRE BLESSING.—" Mary,—God bless
thee an thine ; aw meean yo're Bill—an' thi childer,
if ever theaw has any, bo' aw think theaw'rt getten too owd;
bless thi breadflake, an' thi porritch dish, an' thi bacon
hooks; may thi har'stone never be frozen o'er, bo' aulus be
as wot an' as comfortable as it is neaw. May theaw never
feel no little cowd feet i' bed, nor see no little meawths
yamruerin for summut ut thlaw conno' give 'em. May o'
at's abeawt thi prosper, just becose theaw likes seein foke
weel off, an' when theaws done i' this would, may God o'
Meoty tak' thi to th' side o' Him, an' put as mony creawns
o' thi yed as theaw's done good things i' this life, an'
theaw'll have 'em yept up as hee as th"feawer o' Babel,
an' a breek or two o'th' top on't. Amen.—Briarley's Tales
and Sketches of Lancashire Life.
GUNBOATS FOR COCHIN CHINA.—A letter from
Toulon of the 28th ult. states that the Christophe
Colomb, Sansonet, Alexandree, and Etoile, four merchant
ships chartered by the Minister of Marine, are embarking
in the dockyard of Castigneau in that part the eight gun-
boats taken to pieces for the purpose of being sent out to
Cochin China. Advantage is being taken at the same time
of all the vacant space to fill it with seve nundred casks
of provisions and military stores.
SHIPWRECK AND WONDERFUL ESCAPE.—The
brig Gipsy, James Dew, master, on her voyage from
Shields for Barking, had proceeded as far as the Suuth-
west Reach, at the mouth of the Thames, when her further
progress was stopped by the late heavy gale from the north-
west. She rode it out from Thursday, Dec. 13, till Satur-
day, when both cables parted and she drove on to the Bar-
row Sand. The crew, consisting of three men and two boys,
took to their boats, and after a very hard pull of upwards of
three hours succeeded in reaching a brig, the Eliza Robin-
son, of Sout h Shields, laden with timber, herself also a wreok
on the sands, but promising security for a time. Tho crew
were most kindly received and treated by the master and
crew of the Eliza Robinson, supplied with dry clothes,
and made as comfortable as possible under the circum-
stances. Here they remained until the evening of Satur-
day, having been joined in the interval by the crew of
another wrecked vessel. On Saturday night there was
every appearance that the brig would soon go to pieces; the
whole party on board her therefore took to the ship's boats
(the Gipsy's having been stove in)—the crew of the Eliza
Robinson, ten in number, and three of the crew of the
Gipsy, in the long-boat, the remainder, seven in number,
in the jolly-boat, each boat pulling four oars. The two
boats, after having kept together for some time, at length
parted, and there is every reason to suppose that the jolly-
boat foundered, and that all hands were lost. The
long boat had three of her oars broken very shortly after
leaving the ship, but the force of the wind was so
great that she drifted rapidly before it, passing about
a quarter of a mile to the leeward of the Goodwin
Light, which the men hailed, but in vain. Their
hope of being saved by passing vessels was more than once
disappointed, and all on board considered their destruction
certain ; all they could do was to keep the boat by the aid
of their single oar straight before the wind, and in this
manner they drifted, sternforemost, on to the French coast,
about a quarter of a mile east of Cape Grisnez. Just before
reaching the shore the boat capsized, completely, covering
the unfortunate men. Providentially, the next sea righted
the boat, and they were all able to scramble to shore. The
point thus reached ;was close to the Coastguard station,
where every possible kindness was shown to the poor half-
drowned fellows, who had been drifting for 15 hours in an
open boat during one of the severest gales and stormiest seas
ever known on this coast. The crossing of the Channel from
the mouth of the Thames round the Foreland and straight
to the French coast in about 15 hours, in such desperate
weather, may surely be considered one of the most remark-
able
escapes record. The survivors of the crew of the
Gipsy, who lost everything they possessed, desire most
anxiously to express their
heartiest thanks, as well to the
master and crew of the Eliza Robinson as to the men and
women at the Coastguard station, who so carefully and
assiduously provided for their wants and supplied them
with everything
necessary for their entire restoration. The
poor fellows were forwarded to Boulogne, where theyalso
met with every kindness, end were sort thence by steamer
to London.

EAST KENT ELECTION.—The nomination of can-
didates for the seat vacant by the death
of Mr.
Deedes, in the House of Commons, for East Kent, took
place this morning on Barham Downs. The candidates
were Sir Edward Dering, on the Liberal, and Sir Morton
Knatchbull on the Conservative interest.' A. poll was de-
manded,