The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-16 00:00:00

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.

Tws DAY.—Morning, 4h. 50m.—Afternoon, sh. sm.
To-Moßßow.-Morning, sh. 40m.—Afternoon, sh. 40m.

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LONDON, MONDAY, JAN. 16, 1865.

The arrival of the Africa, which has been looked
for with some interest, brings us intelligence from
New York up to January 5. Military news is com-
paratively at a standstill, the Yankees having appa-
ently for the present had enough of great expedi-
tions. It is rumoured that GRANT proposed that
BuRNsiDE should command the troops in a fresh
assault by land and sea on Fort Fisher, but that
LINCOLN withheld permission. The mortification
of the recent failure has been too great, and the
step from the sublime to the ridiculous too rapid for
the President to risk another fiasco. It has been,
besides, a costly amusement, for the ammunition
consumed in the bombardment is valued at
$2,500,000. This is not to be wondered at,
since General BRAGG reports that over twenty
thousand shots were fired, and he does not include
That magnificent firework which was to have
sent Fort Fisher to the moon, but apparently went
-there itself instead, " Since all things lost on earth
Are treasured there." HOOD, as we expected, has
succeeded in crossing the Tennessee, and Nashville
despatches assert that his troops are in good order.
THOMAS has abandoned the pursuit, and HOOD is
still moving southwards, with what object is uncer-
tain. The expedition sent by SHERMAN under
l'itzPArfucx has returned to Savannah after de-
gtr°Ying part of the railway, but having been unable
to find the whereabouts of the Federal prisoners. In
. Savannah all i
rePurted tranquil. Gen. SHERMAN
.appears to
be using his victory with a moderation
which does him honour, and contrasts favour-
ably with the reign
of terror established by
other Northern
generals
The Government
has, it seems, resolved t:o
pprtropriate the cot-
ton found there, the pro
efreeature in it is
of European
merchants. The civil news
mimportant
than the military, and a prominent
Papers on the rela-
They assert that
the comments of the Richmond
tiOns of the South with Europe.
England and France would recognise the South on
the condition of negro emancipation, and urge that
such a proposition should be made. Now is the
time, therefore, for our Government to prove its
humanity and its statesmanship, and for Emancipa-
tionists to show their sincerity by coming forward
with such a proposal, and putting a stop to this
cruel and profitless war which is wasting the blood
• and treasure of a great people. The Richmond

journals add that should the South be ultimately
unable to maintain their independence they would
prefer the protectorate of England, France, or Spain

to reunion with the Yankees. Surely it is England's
place to be the mediator and the protector of the
people who speak her tongue, and we only trust her
rulers will prove equal to the emergency. The
Southerners must have lost much of their animus
against us to make such a proposal, and it is pro-
bable that by this time they understand that English
sympathies are heartily with them, with the one
great exception of slavery.

The wisdom of making a virtue of necessity has
just been demonstrated by Spain. The abandon-
ment of San Domingo, while, no doubt, very un-
palatable both to Crown and people, is undoubtedly
the most prudent, the most humane, and the most
reasonable course which her Ministry could pursue.
It is never a very pleasant task to confess a failure,
to give up an undertaking as hopeless, to admit
having made a conspicuous mistake, and having
made great and fruitless sacrifices before discovering
it. No nation would willingly accept this pro-
gramme, and the Minister who adopted it would
probably be sure to encounter a certain amount of
opposition and unpopularity. Yet, unwelcome as
the frank admission that the cause she has under-
taken is beyond her efforts may be to a country so
haughty and so self-contained as Spain, the
mortification is, -in reality, rather nominal
than substantial. Every one knows, at least most
certainly every Spaniard knows, that the subjugation
of San Domingo has proved a task of no ordinary
difficulty ; that mein and money are annually sacri-
ficed there, which Spain can very ill afford to lose ;
and that, far from the Spanish gaining ground, the
struggle is daily becoming more and more hopeless.
It is absurd to see a nation like Spain, which still
claims its place among European kingdoms, vainly
struggling to subdue a Western island, and the
spectacle offers no increase to the national dignity.
So far, then, Spain has nothing to lose by retiring
from a contest which she has no reasonable pretext
for maintaining, seeing that' the redoubtable decree
of 1861, the origin of all the mischief, was based on
the supposition that the majority of the Domi-
nicans anxiously desired the re-annexation of
the island to the mother country. On prudential
grounds the wisdom of the decision just announced
to the Cortes is very apparent. Among continental
nations who most of them are in no very solvent
condition, Spain occupies an unhappy prominence
for financial embarrassments, and the haughty
Castilian land, the abode of honour and high spirit
as it claims to be by history and tradition, is cer-
tainly nationally, if not individually, the represen-
tative of a bad debtor ! Even bad debtors, how-
ever, find some limit to their imprudence, or by
whatever polite term their proceedings may be de-
nominated, and Spain has proceeded headlong on
the road to ruin for so many years that she must
perforce check her career with the precipice in sight.
The embarrassments of the Treasury are in fact the real
cause of the abandonment of San Domingo, and we
cannot but applaud the sagacity and resolution which
have enabled a not over scrupulous Minister to adopt
such a practical means of righting the overburdened
vessel of the State. San Domingo bids fair to be the
rock to which the final crash would be due ; and,
by withdrawing from a rash and hopeless contest,
the Ministry will gain strength and dignity while
really losing no prestige whatever. When the first
moment of mortification has passed, Spaniards gene-
rally will be proud to admit that there was really no
choice open, and that no Minister who consulted
the interests of his country could for a moment de-
sire the continuance of the war. The bill presented
to the Cortes by Marshal NARVAEZ points out very
clearly that not only is the task of subjugating the
colony one of great difficulty, but that, supposing it
to be accomplished, no good end would be attained,
seeing that it would be necessary to hold the island
by military occupation ; and that, even supposing
that a portion of the people should favour the in-
vaders, the whole system of Government would have
to be established on a footing as much opposed to

the customs of the inhabitants as to the interests of
the colony. The motives which prompted the
undertaking in the first instance are, of course,
eulogised, and the whole course of the struggle re-
viewed in a favourable manner ; moreover, the
Ministry professes to have given prolonged and
careful consideration to the question on which their
minds have probably been made up for a consider-
able time, but the substance of the whole document is
contained in a few lines which assert, " That it was
a delusion to believe that the Dominican people, as
a whole, or in the great majority, desired, and,
above all, demanded their annexation to Spain ;"
and the consequent proposal to report the Royal
&eree reannexing the territory of the Dominican
Republic. •An important step has thus been taken
towards the relief of the national embarrassments,
and so far his country men have reason to rejoice
over the accession of Marshal NARVAEZ to the chief
political power.

Fortune certainly seems to favour the desires of
the Prussians for display and the delivery of ad-
dresses. The opening of the Chambers by the
KING in person, on the fourteenth, presented an
opportunity for again glorifying the wisdom that
has guided the councils of the State, and magnify-
ing the valour that has inspired the forces in the
field which has been so much in vogue lately. It is
wonderful to observe the ingenuity which charac-
terises the discourses of the KING and the despatches
of his Minister ; they are certainly, the one and the
other, models for study, and examples for copy to
any one who seeks to intimate a great deal by say-
ing a very little. Thus at the very commencement
of this address we find that the KING adverts
to an old grievance in so skilful a manner that
one might be fain to believe that he is
simply alluding to some important phase of
events that has occurred since last the Houses
were assembled. The bete noir, as the " organisa-
tion of the army," has hitherto proved to be in the
communications between the SOVEREIGN and the
Senate, is therefore very summarily disposed of after
this fashion, namely, the KING declares that its
present mechanism is perfect, and, indeed, that it
has conferred especial advantages upon the country ;
and finally, he sums up these remarks by giving it
as his opinion, that it is his duty to " maintain the
existing arrangements." This must be very satis-
factory intelligence to those who fondly imagined,
perchance, that some sensible alteration was to be
wrought in this respect, and that a new era would
dawn now that foreign affairs were based upon so
much more firm a footing. The inherent absolutism
of King WILLIAM peers out from behind the cloud
of statesma "p in which he has enveloped himself,
and the self-crowned heaven-ordained monarch an-
nounces his wishes and dictates his behests with all
the coolness and command that his power and posi-
tion can confer. He plainly intimates that he
expects both Houses of the Diet to assist him in
this desire on his part to maintain his army in statu
quo. It
might suggest itself to a casual observer,
presuming to criticise the sayings or doings of
Royalty, that it would
sia not to have
any be more consistent for Prus-
should not attempt to interfinelrttee
"tehheambers " at all, but that
the people, relying on
grity
with othf
eirthepirlarulns,erosr
molest their designs.
,
definite or that,de-
cide so far
de-
cided begathered
as certainly time
anything
from thi4 cloud

of words, it is very probable that any real
power will be vested in the Houses, or that their
assembling at all is merely to keep things quiet and
hoodwink those whose opposition might prove fatal
to Royal intentions and hostile to Ministerial tactics.
The development of the navy is a subject of great
interest with the KING, and indeed he considers that
" any sacrifices will be desirable for the furtherance
of so important an object." This is simply absurd,
because the " geographical position of Prussia"
points out exactly the contrary from what the
KING declares it does, and his subterfuge defeats
its own purpose by being too transparent. So well
satisfied and so highly elated is the KING with the
" doughty deeds" of his own troops that he can afford
to be generous, and to scatter the meed of his praises
far and near. Thus we learn that while remembering
the triumphs of her own army, Prussia "recognises
joyfully and heartily those of the Austrian forces."
Timorous individuals may well shudder to contem-
plate what would be the fate of the Great German
Powers if they were threatened by a formidable
opponent, since it has required the united efforts of
their allied troops and the exercise of so much skill
and forethought to vanquish the small kingdom of
Denmark and its disproportionate forces. It is a
poor compliment that these self-made heroes are
paying themselves ; and, so far as the Austrians are
concerned, it will turn out to be a waste of words
for the KING to exhaust the vocabulary of his lauda-
tions, for there broods deep and dire dis-
content in the Austrian mind against the
selfishness and overpowering nature of the
Prussian policy. It is all very fine to declare
that the two Courts are closely allied, and the bond
of union is " firmly and everlastingly based upon the
German sentiments of myself and my illustrious
ally." Unfortunately German sentiments, in the
abstract, generally mean to take all one can without
being much hindered by scruples or dictates of con-
science ; but there is a drawback to this theory
being put into practice when two wish to play the
same game. The result of all these unprincipled
attacks upon constitutional rights and public
liberties by Austria and Prussia will be that ere long
a decided rupture will take place between those
arch-conspirators of Europe, and the beholding
nations will thus witness a fine spectacle of retribu-
tive justice that cannot fail to point its moral and
tell its tale of unbounded avarice and extreme
self-assumption meeting its retributive doom. The
peace with Denmark, the KING declares, gave back
to Germany its disputed northern boundaries, and
still more wonderful to hear, " to the inhabitants of
those countries the possibility of sharing a national
, existence," a possibility that by the war is very
likely to become a probability, if not an absolute

certainty. Further on the KING confesses that it
will be the object of his policy to secure this acquisi-
tion by desirable measures, &c. What a contrast
is this avowal to the bold declarations, the de-
termined statements that were made relative to the
unbiassed, and impartial feelings which prompted
and actuated the allied Powers in taking up arms
to secure the rights of the duchies. Has all the
heroism ended in the acquisition of territory, and
all the independent support been a re-
petition of the fable of the fox and the crane.
Finally, the KING exhibits the benevolence of his
heart by stating that he wishes a friendly under-
standing to be come to between the Government
and the Chamber of Deputies. To give a brief
epitome of the meaning of the sentences which
furnish the peroration of this address, would be
to state that an entente cordiale will assuredly reign
if the Chamber concurs in the desires and follows

out the policy of the Government. We have yet to
learn if Prussian representatives will be supine
enough to do this, and relinquish their last chance
of redeeming their character ; but, at all events,
they are told to acquiesce in the Royal desires, or
to prepare for a storm, for the KING has not left
room for the glimmer of a doubt or the shadow of
an uncertainty. He has made up his mind, and told
them so pretty plainly, that the Government must

be firm and strong, and the " good understanding',
with the representatives can only be preserved by
their accordance with the policy of the Crown.
This is a novel mode of carrying out constitutional
principles, but we live in strange times, and the
King of PRUSSIA is not the only enigma that we
have to solve of a dangerous and difficult nature. •

HEALTH OF THE AUTHOR OF " TEN THOUSAND A
YEAR."—We have the sincerest gratification in an-
nouncing that the alarming rumours recently going
the round among our contemporaries, as to the shat-
tered health of the learned and gifted Master of
Lunacy, are not merely grossly exaggerated but
have, happily, had scarcely any foundation what-
ever. How really alarming to the learned gentle-
man's numerous personal friends, in all parts of the
United Kingdom, some of these rumours have been,
may be recognised upon the instant upon our trans-
ferring to our columns the following paragraph,
precisely as it was given in yesterday's Observer

" SAMUEL WARREN, ESQ., Q.C.—Mr. Samuel Warren,
Q.C., the Master in Lunacy, author of the Diary of a late
Physician and Ten Thousand a Year, and son of the late Rev.
Dr. Warren, of Manchester, is said to be in a state of
health that almost precludes the possibility of recovery."
The simple fact of the matter being—that, although
it is true the Master of Lunacy was attacked by a
rather serious affection of a bronchial character,
towards the close of lad November—an affection
from the ill effects of which he suffered more or
less severe)/ during several weeks afterwards—the
learned gentleman was, fully a fortnight since,
sufficiently recovered to admit of his resuming,
what he has ever since continued, namely, the
active discharge of his official duties at Lincoln's-
inn. Nay, as affording conclusive evidence of the
happy restoration of Mr. Warren's health, his
friends will be gratified to learn still further that
he has this very day left town (on official duty) for
Cornwall and Devonshire.

THE NEW BARONET.—Mr. Alfred Tennyson, the
Poet Laurate, upon whom her Majesty has graciously
conferred a baronetcy, is a son of the late Rev. George
Tennyson, M.A., rector of Somerley, near Grantham, and
a nephew of the late Right Hon. Charles Tennyson d'Eyn-
court, who was for many years member for the metro-
politan borough of Lambeth. He was born in 1809, at his
father's rectory-house, and, having been educated mainly
at home, proceeded to the University of Cambridge, and
entered at Trinity College ; but he does not appear, from
the published lists, to have taken either classical or mathe-
matical honours. In 1829, while an undergraduate, he
gained the chancellor's medal for the best poem in heroic
verse, and recited it in due course in the Senate-house
on commencement day. At the commmoration of 1855
the University of Oxford conferred on him the honorary
degree of D.C.L., and the master and fellows of his own
college have conferred an honour on him by placing his
bust in the vestibule of their library. It was in 1830 that
Mr. Alfred Tennyson published his first volume, entitled
"Poems, chiefly Lyrical." This was followed by " Mort
d'Arthur," " Locksley Hall," the " May Queen," the " Two
Voices," and other poems ; and upon the death of Words-
worth in 1851 the post of Poet Laureate was offered to him
and accepted. Since that time he has published many
works with which the public are familiar.
DEATH OF JUDGE BALL.--DUBLIN, Sunday
Night.—Judge Ball died this morning. The late judge
was born in 1791. lie was educated at Trinity College,
and called to the Irish bar in 1814. In 1830 he obtained
the silk gown, and in 1836 entered Parliament to represent
Tlonmel ; two years afterwards he was appointed Attorney-
General for Ireland, and member of the Privy Council in
Ireland ; and in 1839 was raised to the bench as one of the
judges of the Court of Common Pleas.

SACRED HARMONIC SO ClETY.—Spohr's oratorio
" Last Judgment" and Mendelssohn's "Lobgesang" are
announced for next Friday, the 20th inst. Principal voca-
lists—Madame Lemmens Sherrington, Mrs. Sydney Smith,
Madame Sainton-Dolby, Mr. Sims Reeves, Mr. Cummings,
and Mr. Patey.

THE ITALIAN CITY OF THE FUTURE is to be
Florence, and, in order to make it no less magnificent than
Paris, as regards streets and buildings, a company has been
formed, with a capital of forty million francs. The
Italians call this liaussmazinising their capital.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAM.)

AMERICA.

The royal mail steamer Africa, from Boston on

the 4th, and Halifax on the 6th inst., arrived at
Queenstown at 12.45 p.m. yesterday. She brings
104 passengers and 15,315 doll. in specie. She
landed 83 sacks of mails and three passengers, and
proceeded at 1 p.m., all well.
(Via Roche's Point.)

NEW YORK, Jan. 3, Evening.

General Butler's military expedition has arrived
at Fort Monroe from Wilmington. Richmond
papers assert that Admiral Porter's fleet has left
Wilmington, and that since its departure three ves-
sels had run the blockade.

General Bragg reports from Wilmington that no
damage (? danger) need be apprehended.
The expedition sent by Sherman towards the Al-
tamaha river has returned to Savannah.

Richmond papers state that Southern accounts
modify Thomas's success before Nashville. They
also assert that the military authorities in that city
contemplate a heavy concentration of troops in Vir-
ginia, to march northward to conquer peace.
Granger was within 30 miles of Mobile on the
19th ult.

The general expedition up the Roanoke river
had returned to Plymouth.
_ ...

The New York Times asserts that the Govern-
ment will sell the cotton captured at Savannah, re-
imbursing claimants if they prove their ownership
in the law courts.
The Governor of Missouri's message to the legis-
lature recommends the abrogation of all laws fos-
tering slavery.
The privateer Shenandoah has destroyed the
ship Kate Prince, the brig Susa, the barques
Eliana and G. Godfrey, and the schooner Charter
Oak.

The New York and Etna have arrived out.
COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.
NEW YORK, Jan. 3, Evening.

Gold, 2291. Exchange on London, 2501 ; Paris,
2.80 to 2.134, Stocks slightly firmer : New York
Central, 117 ; Illinois, 1268 ; Erie, 858 ; 5-20
Bonds, 108/.

NEW YORK, Jan. 5, Evening.
Admiral Porter's fleet is said to have left Wil-

mington.
Hood is believed to have crossed the Tennessee
river. Thomas's whole army is moving.
Rumours are current of the resignation of Mr.
Seward and Mr. Fessenden. Gold, 2274.

An unsuccessful attempt has been made to open
the Dutch Gap Canal; the earth fell in and closed
up the channel.
A meeting of the inhabitants of Savannah has
been held under the presidency of the mayor.
Resolutions were passed to the effect that the in-
habitants desire peace by laying down their arms
and submitting to the Federal constitutional autho-
rity. By laying aside their differences they would
endeavour to bring back their former prosperity and
commerce. The resolutions request the Governor
of Georgia to call a convention of the people to
vote upon the question of the continuance, of the
war.

General Sherman announces that Savannah and
the surrounding country will be held as a military
post. Peaceful inhabitants will be allowed to con-
tinue their pursuits, and commerce will be resumed
under certain rules to be issued by the Treasury
department.
Grant has refused to grant permission to Mr.
Montgomery Blair to proceed to Richmond on an
unofficial mission.

The Richmond Sentinel says the South would sa-
crifice slavery for European recognition. If the
South surrenders her independence, she would prefer
to surrender to England, France, or Spain, rather
than the North.

The message of the Governor of New York to the
Legislature recommends a vigorous support of the
war for the Union.

French Canadians have resisted the enforcement
of the Militia draft. Volunteers have been de-
spatched to enforce it. •

COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.

NEW YORK, Jan. 5, Evening.

Money easy. Gold advanced yesterday to 234,
but has since declined to 2274. Exchange on Lon-
don, 250. Stocks dull. New York Central, 119 ;
Illinois, 1261 ; Erie, 84/ ; 5-20 Bonds, 1081.
Cotton quiet ; middling upland, 122. Flour and
wheat dull. Corn steady. Provisions and coffee
quiet. Sugar, good inquiry ; molasses dull. Pe-
troleum, crude, 51f ; refined, 74.

PER TELEGRAPHIC NEWS ASSOCIATION.
• (Per the Africa, via Roche's Point.)
NEW YORK, Jan. 3, 6 p.m.
General Bragg telegraphs to Richmond that the
Federal fleet has disappeared, and that only the usual
blockading squadron remains before Wilmington.
Washington despatches also admit that the attack
is suspended. Thd fleet suffered severely from the
heavy gales, and the shore was strewn with fragments
of boats and other articles thrown overboard. It is
rumoured, that Grant asked permission for General
Burnside to command the troops in a renewed land
and naval assault upon Fort Fisher, but the Presi-
dent has declined. The ammunition consumed in
the bombardment of the fort is valued at $2,500,000.
The Tribune says the expedition has reached a
miserable conclusion. The IVilmington Journal says
no apprehensions are now felt in regard to any at-
tempt the enemy may make upon Wilmington.
General Bragg has issued a congratulatory address
to the army.
'Three steamers have run into Wilmington since
the fleet withdrew.

The Federal expedition sent up Roanoke River
has returned to Plymouth without having achieved
any material success.
The Richmond Sentinel urges the duty of strength-
ening the Confederate armies, and express the
belief that the brunt of the war now threatens to
fall upon General Lee.
The New York Times says the Government has
determined to sell the cotton captured at Savannah.
It asserts that the people of that city were well
satisfied with the entrance of the Federal army.

According to the Augusta Chronicle most of the
Government stores were removed from Savannah
previous to its evacuation.
The Richmond Whig ardently hopes Sherman will
come that way and measure swords with Lee.

Hardee is said to be in a position 15 miles from
Charlston.

The Hon. F. P. Blair, sen., and his son Montgo-
mery, left for Richmond last week on a supposed
" peace mission." Gen. Grant, however, refused them
a pass through his lines without authority from
Washington, and they returned yesterday.

Letters from New Orleans report that the Federal
General Davidson lost all his artillery, pontoons,
and waggons during his recent raid in Mississippi.
General Canby warns the Mississippi steamboat
of an expected re-appearance of guerillas.
The Confederates are sinking additional obstruc-
tions off Mobile. The Heroine is reported to have
run out of that port recently with a cargo of cotton
for Liverpool.
The Shenandoah has captured the ship Kate Prince
the barks Eliza and E. Godfrey, the brig Susan,
from Cardiff, and the schooner Charter Oak. The
liatk Prince was bonded.

The correspondence with trazil on the seizure of
the Florida is published in hill. Its main points have
already been made public. Mr. Seward declares his
Government not responsible for the sinking of the
Florida. Captain Collins is ordered to Washington
for trial.

The Diplomatic Corps paid their ustial New
Year's visit to the President yesterday.
Four of the Vermont raiders are reported arrested
in Connecticut.

The Boston Traveller newspaper establishment
was destroyed by fire yesterday.
The new Governor of New York calls upon the
citizens to fill up their quota of the draught.
Refugees from Charleston report the inhabitants
removing to the country.
The Federal pickets between gorth Howell and