The Sun.
London, England, 1863-04-02 00:00:00

TEETH.-By MR. ESKELL'S INVENTION
(Royal Seal granted 17th July, 1860), Sets or partial
Sets of Teeth, exquisitely enamelled to nature, are made and
fitted in a few hours by means of his patented soft elastic and
imperishable base of the colour of the gum, to which it ad-
heres with wonderful tenacity, dispensing with springs or
unsightly fastenings, and defying detection by tne closest
observer. The peculiar attribute of Mr. Eskell's invention
is, the readiness with which these teeth can be re-adapted to
any change of the mouth (even by the wearer); and as they
act independently of all disturbing causes which affect teeth
of ordinary construction, they are guaranteed to last a life
time, as well as for mastication and articulation. Mr.
ESKELL'S TREATISE, which fully explains his invention,
post free for seven stamps.—lnspection of specimens and Con-
sultations free. Terms strictly moderate.-8, Grosvenor-
street, Bond-street, London ; and 39, Bennett's-hill, Bir-
mingham.

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

TIMM—The commercial world has recently been
startled by the capture of a British vessel under
circumstances not apparently calculated to lend even
a colour to the proeeeding. The Peterhoff, a British
screw steamer, trading between this country and
Matamoras, in Mexico, has been made prize by the
Federal squadron under the command of Admiral
Wilkes. The report of the case informs us that the
vessel left Falmouth in January last with a cargo,

not contraband of war, for Matamoras, and that
she arrived in duecourse at St. Thomas's, into which

port she put for the purpose of coaling. In those
waters she was boarded by an officer from the Fe-
deral cruiser Alabama, who examined her papers
and passed them, decliningto endorse them with the
notification of his search, but allowing the vessel to
proceed. During her stay, however, at St. Thomas's
Admiral 'Wilkes entered the harbour in his flag-
ship, and is alleged to have declared at once
that the Peterhoff should have been seized.
Matamoras is undoubtedly a Mexican port, but it is
on the frontier of Texas. end Texas is one of the
Confederate States. From Mexico to Arkansas and
Nlisseuri is a long and painful journey, but it is a
journey which may be accomplished with the neces-
sary perseverance, and there seems to be little doubt
but that the Confederates have obtained some sup-
plies by this overland route. Admiral Wilkes, there-
fore, looked probably on the Peterhof'', cargo as a
cargo which, though consigned to a Mexican port,
would find its way ultimately to a Southern market,
and he stopped it on its way. It is even probable
that be had received direct instructions to act in
this manner, and to seize the Peterhoff wherever he
found her, pretty much as he might seize the Oreta
or the Alabama. The Federal Government, Mr.
Laird has assured us, has its spies all o ver England.
" I believe," he said, " there are spies in my son's
works at Birkenhead, and in all the great establish-
ments in the country. A friend of mine had detec-
tives regularly on his track in consequence of some
circumstances connected with his vessels." It seems
that some "circumstances connected" with the
Peterhoff brought the Federal Admiral on her track
with special orders. Th, ship was one of a regular
line of steamers advertised to run between this coun-
try and Matamoras, but the line was not advertised
till recently, or since the outbreak of the American
War. Whether the American Minister at our Court
thought this advertisement suspiciously timed, or
whether he had any more particular reason for mis-
trust, we cannot say, but it appears that in com-
municating to Lord Russell a list of "suspected
vessels "he included the Peterhoff by name. Now,
as these suspicions were, doubtless, communicated
by Mr. Adams to his own Government as well as
to ours, and as the officers of Federal cruisers have
made no secret of their orders to capture certain
vessels wherever they were foam, we shall pro-
bably be not far wrong in assuming that the
Peterhoff was on the black list, and that Ad-
miral Wilkes made prize of her accordingly as
soon as he ascertained her name and destination.
But a very grave question has thus arisen. As
far as regards the Peterhoff herself, it is antici-
pated that she will be restored to her owners, since
the Magicienne, a vessel captured under similar
circumstances, and taken also into Key "W est as
prize, has been just now released. Bat what is to
be said of the practice, and of the principles on
which the capture was hazarded ? Assuming, for
the sake of argument, that the necessities of the
Southern States do actually create a demand in
Mexico, and by those means in this country, is the
trade between this country and Mexico therefore
liable to interruption? The new doctrine appears
to be that any cargo consigned not merely to a bel-
ligerent port, but to a port from which it may after-
wards reach a belligerent port, is exposed to cap-
ture. On these principles, for example, all trade
with the Prussian ports in the Baltic might have
been forbidden during the Crimean war, as well as
all trade with the Russian ports, for a land journey
would have sufficed to carry the goods from Dantsic
to St. Petersburg, just as goods might be carried
from Matamoras to Vicksburg. It was one of the
arguments recently urged against the right of
blockade that railway communication had rendered
it ineffectr.al, since all that was now necessary was
to run to the nearest neutral port, and thence de-
spatch the cargo overland to its destination. But
the pretensions of the Federal Government would
upset this argument, for a blockading squadron
might seize a cargo, whit hersover consigned, on the
mere calculation that, sooner or later, it would find
its way to belligerent hands. We have no doubt,
in short, that Admiral Wilkes carried precise in-
structions to capture the Peterhoff. We believe,
also, that, she may be released after more or less de-
tention, and compensation perhaps paid on demand.
The Ft derals will find their own recompense in the
command acquired over the commerce of the seas,
and the alarm communicated to traders, but it can
hardly be denied that such proceedings call for
serious attention on the part of our own Government.
PosT.—lt is rarely that any subjtct, however in-
teresting, is thoroughly ventilated in the Upper
adjouHousehlhtoauCampbell
protracted of Parliament. The nominal time for the
rnment of the House of Lords is before dinner
I
tha
consequently
d itsapf
et
after
rei is
ha
theffs
which,oe
hrl
dda
enodmd sme indeedaofttnthierdiffor
arnt)
dhnp
aaoe
yti
great
rtawe t
aeo dt:eks
obu: aer
Lord
oeroei
rksi
dse.
inaugurated what he hoped might have
proved a debate on the question of the Southern
Recognition, only elicited a reply from the Secretary
for Foreign
seatr Affairs.WheanrrEarl Russelllnien,redstin
thefatl hour had iv
usage of the house, two causesemtleycl
his Independently,
however, of the
con-
tributed very materially to curtail what must other-
wise have proved an interesting debate. The one
was the absence of the noble earl who leads her
Majesty's Opposition and the other the rather sin-
gular entreaty with which Earl Russell terminated
his speech. He begged his brother peers not to pro-