The Sun.
London, England, 1862-03-10 00:00:00

A MISTAKE AND MORTIFICATION.

In no place in the world has an on dit such chances of a
complete and full circulation as in the French capital.
Only a few days ago a very curious anecdote connected
with the recent Anglo-French operations in China started
on its gossiping journey. It is this. During the attack
upon the Summer Palace at Pekin, General Montauban, in
directing the looting of the Chinese Emperor's abode, fan
tied for his own share of the plunder the caskets of the
Empress. The General, it is said, filled his pockets with
the glittering treasures. Amongst other ornaments there
were two necklaces, one of which was made of a very rare
kind of dark grey pearl, and the other of diamonds, eme-
ralds, and gigantic rubies. On his return to Paris, not
knowing much of the real value of such things, the Gene-
ral made a present of the pearl necklace to the Empress,
who, not liking the setting, sent it to her jeweller to be
broken up, and also desired him to let her know its value
in money. As it was during the financial crisis that the
message was forwarded, the jeweller supposed that money
was scarce at the Tuileries, and offered 1,800,000 francs for
the precious ornament. Montauban, in the meanwhile,
offered the other necklace, which rumour says is the more
valuable of the two, to the Duchess of Malakhoff, who, un-
derstanding the value of such things very much better than
the General, said she could not accept it till she had shown
it to the Duke. The Duke could not act until he had ex-
hibited to the Emperor. The latter soon settled the mat.
ter, " Since (said he) the Empress has accepted another
nearly as valuable, I don't see why the Duchess should not
do likewise ;" and the Duke accordingly put it into his
pocket. The enormous value of the presents soon got
abroad, and the General is now mortified beyond raeasulY
to know that a magnificent fortune has slipped through h's
fingers, and that he even had some difficulty in gettingo
SC-
cepted as presents jewels of the value of franca.4,ooo,
—.Literary Ciazeetc.

(Vrom the Money Narket Review.)
The question of an adequate supply of cotton to
Lancashire, equal to the ordinary qualities of Ameri-
can slave grown, is of the highest importance to com-
merce, to the welfare of civilisation, ehristianity,_
and humanity. Recent accounts from India bring
the cheering intelligence of success attending expe-
riments by Europeans for improving the quality of
its cotton, both from indigenous and from foreign
seed. Correspondents who have passed up and
down the Nile, between Atfee and Cairo, and the
Ganges, between Calcutta and Benares, in the dry
season, testify that the vegetation upon the banks
of either river appears to be upon a par with the
other, yet Egyptian cotton is longer in the staple,
and brings a better price in out markets than that
of India. The soil of Egypt, generally, cannot be
superior to that of India, and has been under culti-
vation from time immemorial, while land In In dia,
unde' the poor farming of the natives, with no
manure, gives from two and a half to three and a
half quarters of wheat to the acre. Seeing also
that India has the advantage over Egypt in possess-
ing a rainy season of some four months' duration,
one is at a loss to comprehend why its cotton, both
in quality and quantity to the acre, should not equal
that of Egypt. India, however, has greater proxi-
mity to the sea, the air from which is said to be so
beneficial to the full development of the cotton pod.
The want of European superintendence, skill, and
enterprise must be the real cause of the inferiority
of Indian cotton ; the rulers of Egypt of late years
Limte availed themselves of the services of Euro-
peans in developing the resources of that country.
As Egypt without the Nile would be a barren waste,
all the cotton it produces must be grown in the im-
mediate vicinity of the river, and chiefly by means
of irrigation, after the fall of the Nile, from the
river, while the greater portion of the cotton grown
in India is by irrigation from wells, far distantfrom
any river ; and well water, we know, does not con-
tain the same amount of fertilising matter that
river water does. Hence the necessity for canals
in India to distribute the waters of its rivers
for the irrigation of the soil, and the improve-
ment of the quality and quantity of its cotton.
The full effect of irrigation in a rainless climate
may be seen at the Pasha's garden at Shubin,
near Cairo ; everything there grows in wild
luxuriance, and the fiery atmosphere is sof-
tened by the exhalations from the moist soil,
through which little streams of water run in all
directions.
In a pamphlet written by Mr. Fowler, respecting
cotton cultivation in Egypt, he says :—" On the
Miseoweh cotton land the plants are watered seve-
ral times at certain periods of their growth by arti-
ficial irrigation; but on the Belieh cotton land the
means of doing so do not usually exist, and the re-
sult of the crops is strikingly illustrative of the
great benefit of artificial irrigation, both in the
quality and quantity of the cotton produced ; for
while the Belieh land usually gives only two to
three conturs (941 b. each) per feddan (nearly an
English acre), the Miscoweh land will produce
three to five, and often seven to eight conturs per
feddan . . . by sufficient irrigation, and those
other appliances of improved husbandry referred to.
. . . Belieh land is watered only by the inun-
dation when the Nile rises to its greatest height."
If Mr. Fowler's statements are facts, which there
appears no reason to doubt, they are conclusive as
to the vast benefit to be derived by cotton cultiva-
tion in India from artificial irrigation with river
water.
In the Cotton Supply Reporter of December last
there is a letter from a French gentleman in Alge-
ria respecting the cultivation of cotton there. He
complains of the want and dearness of money as
being the obstacle to the extension of the cultiva-
tion. He says :—" With money the clearing of the
land, canals, irrigation, and the sowing of cotton
will be effected, and we shall see our produce in-
crease a hundred fold." If such can be effected in
Algeria with no river of any importance, what
might there not be done in our eastern empire with
its numerous rivers and adequate population P
Emancipate the 4,000,000 slaves in the Confederate
States, suppress the slave and coolie trade effectu-
ally, and there would be no lack of capital and en-
terprise for India, where labour is plentiful; and
probably for Algeria also.
Of the capabilities of India, the following, taken
from " Generals Rose and Stewart's Indian Cam-
paigns," by T. Lowe, will convey some information
He says :—" No man can form an idea of the phy-
sical beauty and grandeur of Indian scenery whose
experience is limited to the arid districts of its
coasts. Once removed from the scorching, daizl-
ing, arid climate of the sea-board, and over
the ranges of the mountains which divide Central
from Southern India, a totally different climate is
entered, and every feature of the country is al-
tered. Here is, indeed, a land suited to European
colonisation and enterprise at least a thousand-
fold better than the torrid, swampy, pestiferous
deltas they appear to have tried and failed in.
Every kind of vegetable required by man and beast
flourishes—the plains are like extensive parks, the
jungles very often like mighty forests—the rivers,
to which our rivers in England are but rills, are
beautiful, and burdened with wealth—and the hills
are clothed with stately trees, sweet smelling
shrubs and plants, rich in perfume and medicinal
virtues • iron ore of the most superior quality
abounds in many districts, but is only worked in a
rude way. With such rivers and tanks, hills and
verdure, such richness of nature poured out so
lavishly for the scanty care the swarthy sons of
India bestow upon her, one is perpetually con-
strained to exclaim What a lovely country 1' and
what would it not produce were Englishmen
blessed with such a charge."
In a letter written by Mr. Temple, secretary to
the Chief Commissioner of the Punjaub, it is stated
on the authority of the Friend of India, that wheat
was selling in the Punjaub at two maunds, of 801bs
each, per rupee (25.) which is less than one-third
the price quoted for the like produce at Kur-
rachee. . . . But thePunjaub, unlike Scindh,
has no remunerative outlet for her surplus produce.
We are authoritatively informed that " In a sea-
son of superabundance there is not a sufficient mar-
ket to secure its sale at remunerative prices." Here
is shown the want of railways to bring the surplus
produce of the interior to a market or shipping
place. Land that will grow wheat in :India will
the
also grow sugar, cotton, tobacco,
two maunds, or 1601bs. of wheat at 6s. at
the same quantity of
rachee, the shipping place,
wheat at the rate of 6s. the bushel of 6Qlbs. in Eng-
land would realise 13s. 4d., thus leaving ample
margin of profit, after paying freight and charges
to England, on wheat bought at the above prices
at Kurrachee ; and no better bread has man ever
tasted anywhere than in India.
Mr. Low also says :—" There is a striking simi-
larity, in many respects, between the climate of
Scindh and that of Egypt. The common characters
are, great summer heat uninterrupted by rain, great
winter cold, a dry soil, and similar geological for-
mation. These characters, says Dr. Stock, in his
able report, ' determine the wild vegetation, which
is the same. Both Central and Upper Scindh are
almost out of the range of the monsoon, but the
annual overflow of the Indus makes up to a certain
extent, as does the overflow of the Nile, for the de-
ficiency of rain above noticed. The borders of the
Indus, like those of the Nile, are charged with fer-
tilising matter.' "
With such varied climes, such land and rivers as
India possesses, any other country save our own
would have done its utmost to develop its vast
resources to their fullest extent, and to make
itself independent of slave labour, which does not
reciprocate fairly with commerce. Let fro labour
we say be pitted against the wretched slave sys-
tem in far more genial climes, where cultivation
can 'be carried on at much less expense. Hitherto
we seem to have tried to reduce the profits of the
cultivator of the soil in India to the lowest point,
and thus to disable him from reciprocating with
and extending the commerce of Englan dd.
thSus uch
appears to us to be the policy pursued, an is
slavery protected in the equalisation of the duties
on its produce.
In his instructions to the Duk
ivee of Wellington
ones,
who was England's representat at
gress of Verona, Lord Castlereagh said,
those general questions, England had some of
her
own, which the statesman who is to represent her
at the Congress will bring forward. Foremost
among them all is the suppression of the slave
trade, either by general declaration from the allies
that it should be treated as piracy, or by obtaining
from them an engagement that they would not ad-
mit into their markets any article of colonial pro-
duce which was the result of slave labour." Lord
Castlereagh here points out the obvious way to de-
stroy the iniquitous and cruel slave system, and
which has, since be wrote, assumed so portentous
an increase through the dishonourable encourage-
ment given to it by Great Britain, to the injury of
her own colonies and possessions, and to none
more than to India.

" Matters here wear anything but a pleasant
aspect, and if negotiations do not soot: come' to a
conclusion the greater portion of this ail ied force
will find a resting-place at Campo Santo beforelhey
receive marching orders for the interior. The
officers are very anxious to get their men away from
here, and twice have decided to march for the in-
terior ; but, for reasons best known to themselvee,
their decisions have been changed, and they still
remain here. The French Admiral, however, has
given orders for his forces to be ready to march on
the 22d of the present month. This city long has
been called the City of the Dead. It never was in
such a filthy condition as at present, the Spaniards
having voted and stolen all the money they could
find to furnish General Prize's residence, and the
city is the sufferer ; but if these troops are not soon
removed this ominous name will be too sadly true.
The French are daily expecting reinforcements from
Martinique and Brest, and report says that General
M,Mahon is to assume the command. The Spaniards
are daily receiving additional forces, but in limited
numbers—hardly enough to counterbalance Uhl num-
ber of sick returned to Havannah. General Prim
still rules with alhigh hand. They have commenced
confiscating Mexican property, of whatever nature
and wherever found, without regard to the protests
of the owners and occupants.
French interfere The English and
ly in behalf of their own citizens.
Sir C. Wyke, the Britsh Minister, is the advocate
of General Prim and his gg-between.
The fellow
appears to be perfectly nugl, and has been condemned
by all the English residents of the interior, who
have petitioned the Government to have him re-
moved from here as being an enemy to their inte-
rests. The French Minister is the anly.one who
keeps to a consistent course in all this business. He
adheres to the original programme of ti2e three
Powers, and refuses to have anything to do with the
intrigues of Prim. The Mexicans have 500 women
in the field, from Guadalajara, dressed as Zouaves,
and armed with the lance and lasso, who, if allowed
to come into ac 0913, will do good service. They also
have several very flno volunteer companies in the
field, composed mostly of young men of both
wealth and influence. The Mexicans do not com-
plain of want of men or money. They gre in good
positions, and have but remain firm and ;gait the
movement of the Allies, and they will oblige this
great expedition and the inventors of it to show to
the world that either they, have made a great
mistake or that they relied too much on diplomacy
and too little on force. Mexico and the friends of
Mexico hardly begun to congratulate the English
upon their happy and successful capture of the arch
traitor Miramon when they were astonished and
chagrined to learn that he was to be taken to
Havannah and liberated. Their reason for so doing
fish claimed that they
is not known. The English
the English Government, that Mira-
y
arrested Miramon upon an order issued more than
on should be taken prisoner whenever found, ea
board any English vessel or English ground, and
that this act was done without any connection with
their present position. If this is true, why do
a year ago b
they give him up ? He is certainly a criminal.
They know. that Mirarnon is one of Mexico's
greatest enemies ; that his mission here was to
ferment and revolutionize tL's country ; that he
brought with him, to assist him in his nefarious
designs, a party of fellows that have ;seen guilty in
this country of every crime committed bj
man, and
who are here still waiting but for their leader ; that
the act of capturing and holding Miramon wax of
the most vital importance to the interests of Mexico
and the peaceful accomplishment of their own ends,
and an act that the world would have justified.
Still, in face of all these, they have quietly placed
him on board her Britannic Majesty's war
steamer Phaeton, for Havannah, where he will be
set at liberty. And the result will be that Mira-
mon will be in this country before a month ; and,
unless a change is made-in matters here,spain will
carry the day."

THE GALE.

PLYMOUTH, SUNDAY.

Yesterday afternoon Admiral Fitzroy's signals
were hoisted at all the various stations—a drum,
with an inverted cone beneath, indicating " dan-
gerous winds—a gale probably from the south-
ward." A very severe gale from S.S.W. has been
blowing throughout last night, accompanied by
constant heavy showers of rain, which fell occa-
sionally like hail. At noon to-day the wirEd veered
more to the westward, but there was very little,
abatement in the severity of the weather. The*
breakwater is one white foam from end to end, and
all the base of the lighthouse is at times enveloped
in spray. The ships in the Sound have their top-
mastse
l
Hope,
in
was
thestruck.
har
detainedbNono rharbours.
Theudamageuti has
Royaleoccurreds
m yesterday
ai either
c (Saturday),
tmet steamship
n art
ahs
aheyir
Athens, Captain H. R. Clarke, which should have
sailed on Thursday afternoon for the Cape of Good
when she took her departure.

6 P.M.

During the storm this morning a mackerel boat,
making for the western entrance, shipped two seas
while crossing the Knapp and Panther shoal, and
went down immediately, when all on board perished.
From the character of her spars and the apparent
size of her water barrels some of the fishermen con-
jecture that she is French, while others conclu
Hest d©
that it is the Palace, William Pomphrey, of
tinge. The Palace and the Crystal Palace, also of
Hastings, are the only boats not returned out of 11
which left Plymouth yesterday for the fishing
ground, from which they were driven this morning.
The Christiana came back with loss of masts, the
Emily and Alice with broken bulwarks, and the
Mary Ellen with loss of 20 nets, punt, &c. These
three belong to Worthing. Pilot Glynn, in the
cutter Drift, went out nobly from Cawsand Bay to
save the crew of the foundered boa, but was
driven back by the storm with his 1315111 was
down to two blocks.

Edwinamß Chatfield, I{enry
Bates 7 P.M.
Several portions of the wreck of a mackerel boat
have been picked up this afternoon in the Sound.
They belong to the Crystal Palace, and there is now
no doubt that she is the boat
which foundered
outside the Breakwater this morning. The Crystal
sPkailpap
ec erb, e I:3ne go dg te:
Sargent ojbobsee,plhl a s
Cs aria,
ma ;Id, Whemb be s
atheboDyo.w wnil,li
of Hastings ;and her crew consisted of George Page,
Swain,tneiron: Williamand the

PORTSMOUTH, SUNDAY, 5 P.M.
It has blown a hard gale here all the fore part of
to-day from S.S.W. to S.W., accompanied by a con.,
tinuons rain. Since 4 p.m. the wind has greatly
moderated and the rain ceased. The barometer,
one of Negretti and Zambra's seacoast, now marks
29.6 ; thermometer, 51. Yesterday, at 10 a.m., the
card indicated—barometer, 29.6 ; thermometer, 48.

LIVERPOOL, SUNDAY.

The screw steamer Annie Childs, from Wilming.
ton, South Carolina, for Liverpool, with cotton,
rosin, and tobacco, put into Queenstown on Satur-
day, short of coals, having run the blockade. She
has on board the crew of the Kitty Cords, aban-
doned on the 23d of February. The Marian, ar-
rived at this port to-day from Bombay, fell in with
on the
the brig Esperio in lat. 22 N., long. 40 VI.,
6th of February, three months from London for
New York ; the crew starving. The Marian sup.
plied them with provisions and water.

SOUTH-EASTERN R Y.-1: he contest for a
AILWA
seat at the South-Eastern board, between Mr. John Barlow
and Mr. Coles Child, bas terminated in favour of the for.
mer. Mr. Barlow'
~ majority was £1,844,010 in stock and
21,504 in votes. The official declaration was made on
Saturday afternoon by the IIon: James Byng (the chair•
ge 1i01,1,60 iiotel.
man of the company), at the Brid

MR. and MRS. CHARLES KEAN will
APPEAR at the Theatre-Royal Drury-lane, THIS
EVENING (MONDAY), March 10th, in HAMLET.
On Tuesday, 11th, the Merchant of Venice ; Wednesday,
12th, (for this night only) Much ado about Nothing ; on
Thursday, 13th (for the Benefit of Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Kean),
Othello ; Friday, 14th, Louis XI. ; and Saturday, 15th, The
Wife's Secret.

OYAL ENGLISH OPERA,
1-10 COVENT GARDEN.
Under the management of Miss Louisa Pyne and Mr. W.
Harrison.

THIS EVENING, THE LILY OF KILLARNEY.
Misses Louisa Pyne, Susan Pyne, Jessie M`Lean, and
rropham; Messrs. Santley, H. Haigh, E. Dussek, C. Lyall,
Patey, Wallworth, And Mr. W. Harrison.
To conclude with HARLEQUIN GULLIVER ; or, Giants
and Dwarfs. Messrs. W. H., F., and H. Payne, H., E., and
Lauri, and Miss Jenny Lauri.
Conductor, Mr. ALFRED MELLON.
Commence at Seven.

iteMr.
TEIEATRE— s u i., .
Buc ka Htone;AYMARKET
Lese, A
J. B
THIS EVENING, to commence with OUR'AMERICAN
COUSIN. Lord Dundreary, Mr. Sothern ; Asa Trenchard,
Mr. Buckstone.
After which (first time) a Household Picture, under Two
Lights, entitled
MTrs. C.
WIFE'S PORTRAIT. Mr. Howe,
Mr. W. Farren, . Young, ,tc.
To conclude with FAMILY JARS.
Commence a 7

_ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE.
Manager—Mr. Edmund Falconer.
THIS EVENING, 100th time of the new and original Drama
en titled, PEEP O'DAY ; or, Savourneen Deelish. Messrs
Walter Lacy, Hermann Vezin, Charles Selby, Edmund Fal-
coner ; Mrs. D. P. Bowers. Miss Clara Weston.
After which, a new and original Burlesque Extravaganza,
entitled LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD ; or, The Fairies of
the Rose, the Thistle, and the Shamrock. Principal charac-
ters by Mr. Chas. Selby, Mr. Warlow, Miss Cicely Nott, and
Miss Lydia Thompsoti,
Acting Manager—Mr. F. B. Chatterton.
Ptices as usual. Doors of en at hall-past 6, to commence at
7. Box-office open daily from 11 tills.

ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE
Lessee, Mr A. flares.

THIS EVENING, CASH V. CUPID. Mr. Widdicomb,
Mr. Shire, Miss Maria Harris, &c.
After which, at Eight o'clock, OTHELLO. lago, Mr.
Pechter ; Othello, Mr. Ryder.

NEW THII'ATRE-R0 VAL, ADELPHL—
Sole Proprietor and Manager, Mr. R. Webster.
THIS EVENING, THE CENSUS. Mr. J. L. Toole.
After which, THE LIFE OF AN ACTRESS. Mr. and
Mrs. Dion Boucicault, Messrs. Emery, J. L. Toole, Billington,
Stuart, Eburne, Set ton, Powell. C. J. Smith ; Mrs. Billing-ton,
Mrs. Harlg.nd, Mrs. H. Lewis, Miss Laidlaw.
To conclude with THE PRETTY HORSEBREAKER.
Messrs. J. L, Toole, P. Bedford ; Misses Woolgar, K. Kelly,
Laidlaw, Mrs. IT. Marston. Commence at 7.

E ROYALTY THEATRE,
Dean - s treet, Oxford-street.
THIS EVENING, GOOD FOR NOTHING.
Followed by MONSIEUR JACQUES. Mr. Ben Barnett.
A Ballet Divertissement.
After which, the succesful Opera Buffo, entitled LE MARI
AGE AUX LANTERNES. Mr. John Morgan, Mesdames
Stanley, Payne, and Mason.
Commence at half-past 7.

A'TLEY'S ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE.-
Sore Proprietor and Manager, Mr. W. Batty.
ContinVed arid Triumphant success of the stupendous Per-
forming, E:ephants, whose wondrous feats on the stage,
nd of rerwards fu the circle, have created the most genuine
enthusiasm.
THIS EVENING, the Grand Eastern Spectacle of THE
RAJAH OF NAGPOHE, with new and splendid dresses,
sc?nery, and decorations. intfOducing Mr. Bell's trained Ele-
phants, acknowledged by the Pfess and the Public to be the
most wonderful animals ever exhibited.
To be followed by brilliant and daring feats of Horse-
manship by the Troupe of Foreign Equestrians.
Concluding with a new Ballet of Action, introduchrT Mr.
harry Croueste, the Misses Gunnis, and the whole of the
Corps de Ballet.

Stage Manager, Mr. W. Searle.

CANTERBURY HALL AND FINE
ARTS GALLERY.
VICTOR JULIEN, "THE FLYING MAN,"
At half-past Nine, in new and extraordinary feats.
Grand Selections from "La Sonnambula," "Dinorah,"
and " La Circassienne, " by Ntellle. Negri, Mr. Greene, Mr.
Jlerbert, and full Chorus, at Ten o'clock.
Last Week of
"TITE ENCHANTED HASH,"
By Marshall, at a quarter-past Ten, performed 70 nights,
•
comTo—Mr. Randall, Mr. Frederick French, Mr. J. G.
Forde, Mr: Marshall, and ;hiss Harriet Coveney.
Musical Director, Mr. Jonghmans.
Aclmiooll—Hall, 6d.; Stalls and Balcony, Is.

THE OXFORD. 6, OXFORD-STREET.-
EVERY EVENING.
HENRI and PFAU, In their intrepid Double Feats on the
Flying Trapeze.
Two Operatic Selections alternately from " Ernani,"
" Macbeth," "Il Trovatore," "La Traviata," "La Circas-
Menne," &c., by Miss Russell, Madame Enderssohn, Messrs.
Morley, Greene, C. Greville, and Albert. Full Band and
Chorus—(Conductor—Mr. F. Jong,,hmans.) Violin Solos—
Mr.Viotti Collins, and other Vocal and Instrumental attrac-
tions. The Comic portion by Miss Harriet Coveney, Messrs.
Sam Collins, Ha Ivey and French (the Nerves), E. Marshall,
and W. Randall.
Hall, 6d. ; Stalls and Balcony, Is. ; Private Boxes, 108. 6d.
A Grand Morning Entertainment every THURSDAY,
at which HENRI and PFAU and Ihe whole of the Company
appear. Doors open at Two o'clock.

:HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
This DAY.--Morning, Bh. Bm.—Afternoon, Bh. 50m.
To..jsc,RROW.-Morning, 9h. 36m.—Afternoon, 10h. 20m.

THE WEATHEIi..,—Sux OFFICE, MARCH 9, 18452.
THERMOMETER, IN TILE SHADE.
68—highest since noon yesterday.
43—lowest this morning and during the night.
46—this day at noon.
BAROMETER-29.63.
WIND—Westerly ; fresh, blowing a gale in the Channel.
MARCH 10.
THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE.
57—'*ighest since noon yesterday.
48 —thisl
41—yaowest this morning and during the night.
noon.

Bsa.ommTEß.--30.06.
WnrD—North-Westerly ; fresh.

"
k
4• r!f:
,• s-
,rte;-I*tcl'i
""" 4

THE SUN. -
LONDON', MONDAY, MARCH 10, 1862.

Tardy through the appearance undoubtedly is of.
the blue -book reccunting the history of the dipio_ \
matio negotiations coaduetod three years since by
Mr. GLADSTONE, with a vies to the lociication of
the lonian Islands, its publication at the present
moment is singularly opportune. Since the failure
of the memorable enterprise undertaken to that
end by the right hon. gentleman in his capacity as
Lord High Commissioner Extraordinary, the issue
of this remarkable correspondence could not by any
possibility have been more welcome than it is at the
present moment. During the interim, it will be

borne in mind, that Sir EDWARD LYTTON'S final
selection as representative of the SOVEREIGN out
at Corfu, to wit, General Sir HENRY STORKS, has

remained in power there uninterruptedly. His
soldierly and vigorous hand has ever since grasped
firmly enough the reins of constitutional govern-
ment. Weakness in the Lord Commissioner, whom-

soever he might have been, civilian or military, could
have been nothing less than fatal to the peace of the
lonian Archipelago. There among the leng-irg.tated
population of these islands may be found any
day all the inflammable elements of an in-
subordination, in a revolutionary epoch.
All that is wanting there to bring the
fact that it is so, vividly to light, is the accidental
dropping of the spark of an opportunity. The
best of opportunities, in this way, for the would-
be insurgents, must manifestly be the evidence
on the part of the one there supreme in command, of
the very weakness of which we have spoken. That
weakness, at any rate, Sir HENRY STORKS would
be about the last man in the service of the
Crown to show. His conduct has proved this
distinctly ever since he has been in authority.
His policy has, from first to last, been firm
though conciliatory. He has made, as yet, not
one weak concession. Nor is there any indica-
tion, as yet, that he has the smallest intention
of doing anything of the kind. At the same
time he has never evinced a reluctance to listen
to anyone and everyone coming before him
in that character, which may be said to be
in a manner übiquitous among the lonians, the
character of a man with a grievance. Hitherto
the tranquillity of the Archipelago under this judi-
cious military-constitutional regime has been in no
way disturbed. But now that insurrectionary
movements are beginning to agitate anew the neigh-
bouring kingdom of Greece, it is as well, perhaps,
all things considered, that the public and the Par-
liament here at home amongst ourselves should at
length be placed au courant in regard to the diplo-
matic sayings and doings of Mr. GLADSTONE three
years since in his eccentric, and grandiose, and, as
it unhappily proved in the end, utterly abortive
capacity as the Lord High Commissioner Extraor-
dinary. It has been advisable until now that in
regard to those sayings and doings of the now
once more Chancellor of the Exchequer—the Colonial
Office should observe a discreet and rigid reticence.
No good could obviously have come, hitherto, from
the ventilation of the subject, either within or
without the walls of the Legislature. For in
regard to this still dormant lonian difficulty, this
still pending anxiety at Corfu, this still unsolved
though yet we believe perfectly soluble problem of
that classic archipelago—so long as the public
peace can be preserved there under Sir HENRY
STORKS' authority, it would obviously be advisable
above all things to leave well alone. It is true,
we can still rejoice to know for an absolute cer-
tainty, that the peace of the lonian Islands yet
remains wholly undisturbed—Sir HARRY STORKS
still presiding them at Corfu over the Constitu-
tional Government, in his delieate and difficult
character as Lord High Commissioner. But, if the
flame of insurrection is in no way kindled at Corfu,
at Zante, or at Cephalonia—an armed rebellion
has lit once more the beacon of civil war
upon the neighbouring coasts of the Kingdom
of Greece. And it at last became obvious, even
to the slowly moving Official Mind, that silence
had best be broken at length, without any fur-
ther delay, in regard to Mr. GLADSTONE'S memo-
rable and mysterious negotiations. Hence the
issue now, and only now, three years " after
date," of the diplomatic correspondence penned—
here in Downing-street by Sir BULWER LYTTON,
yonder at Corfu by Mr. GLADSTONE—in reference
to the hopes, and fears, and deep heart-cherished
and, alas! also, many of them fierce heart-
burning aspirations of the lonian multitude.
Among all the Blue•books that have for a
long while past been dropping heavily
with a ponderous and alarming Bumph upon
the tables of the Lords and Commons,
of private members, and of Journalists, from the
hands of the messengers from the Government
printing-office, this newly-published tome, contain-
ing the correspondence here referred to, will be
found in every respect to be among the most read-
able and interesting in its whole character. It is
a correspondence remarkable at once for its states-
man-like lucidity and for its scholarly eloquence.
Nor can this be matter in any way of surprise, when
the genius of the two men who principally con-
ducted the negotiations, the one in his supreme
capacity as Secretary of State and Minister of the
Crown, the other in ha exquisitely respon-
sible capacity as a plenipotentiary, if the exact
phrase be preferred, as Lord High Commissioner
extraordinary, is borne for an instant in recollec-
tion. The Imperial Legislature, we doubt not, will,
before long, afford us ample opportunity for examin-
ing, and analysing, and collating the lonian Blue-
book, containing within its luminous pages this
masterly interchange of ideas between BULWER and
GLADSTONE upon a theme peculiarly suited to their
high capacities. For the present, we content ourselves
with simply noticing, with satisfaction, the circum-
stance of its publication—a publication, as we have
not failed to note upon the instant, singularly
tardy, but also, we cannot but repeat, just at this
moment, singularly opportune.

It can be no secret that the fate of the Mar-
riage Bill, this session, lies in the hands of Lord
DERBY. In the Houses of Parliament the subject
has been fully argued out, little, if anything more,
can be urged on either side, and the question is
now, simply, when will the Conservative leaders
consent. If the party in favour of repealing the
existing law put forth their full strength, they
could probably always carry the Bill in the Com-
mons by larger or smaller majorities; but as cer-
tainly, the leader of the Opposition in the Lords
could as regularly procure its rejection there. His
consent that it should pass, this year, or any
year, would settle the question in the only way in
which it can be ultimately settled. We do net,
therefore, make too much of an individual, if we
appeal to Lord DERBY as the statesman with whom
the settlement of this question now rests. We
appeal to him as a constitutional statesman only ;
not as a theologian, nor even as a moralist.
We have only to deal with the question—will it
not be wise for the leader of the Opposition to allow
this bill to pass P Lord DERBY knows that The
Sun has not been a party journal. Our motto
has always been the old one of measures, not men.
We have as often and as heartily supported him,
therefore, as his opponents; hence we may ask his
candid consideration to a few general observations
on the practical position of the subject.
And, first, as we have been earnest supporters
of the liberty claimed by Mr. MILNEs' Bill,
his lordship will know that we are likely
to be better aware than he is of the
determination of its proMoters. We may
assure
him, then, that there is rot the
slightest hope that Sir GEORGE GREY'S wish
the bill be rejected thiosfsessi
for the cessation futureon,
ill
b be agitation,
fushould
fulfilled.
o On
the contrary it is certain to increase. English con-
stituencies are pretty well enlightened already. We
fin little doubt that four ofm, 0
.13v every bun-
. ,

tired Englishmen, and English women too, would
sign a petition for the bill, were it presented
to them. Already the signatures for the Bill are
seven or eight times as many as those against it-
-1,095,814 against 142,137. But in accordance with
the vote of last session, Scotland and Ireland are
now included in the bill, and it is resolved, if neces-
sary, to 'enlighten those countries on the subject,
the leading Catholic and Presbyterian divines hav-
ing already given a favourable opinion. We are con-
fident that agitation on the subject will only be ex-
tended and intensified by prolonged refusal of the
demand; and therefore, whether its agitation be
an evil or a good, it is certain that it can
be stopped by concession only. The remark is
by no means intended as a threat. It is brought
forward simply as a fact, because it is with facts
that the statesman has to do.
There is one circumstance connected with the
demand for liberty to marry a deceased wife's sis-
ter, which, to some extent, excuses the ignorance
of many of our aristocracy as to the real state of
national opinion respecting it. It is this, that while
considerable numbers of the aristocracy have been
favourable to permission of suck marriages, the pre-
judice, or the sentiment, or the religious opinion
unfavourable to them, is chiefly confined to the
aristocracy, and to persons much under the influ-
ence of the clergy of the Church by whose canon
law they are prohibited. To this we attribute the
hesitation of Lord DERBY and others to
admit the fact that English women as
well as English men, are favourable to a change of
the law. Though the present state of the law is
entirely due to the effort to place beyond attack
the legitimacy of a noble Duke, yet, on the
whole, members of the House of Peers and
their very numerous connections in the
House of Commons, would probably hear from the
females of the circles in which they move, that
women are averse from such marriages. In that
circle they are in fact unfashionable, or objected
to from sentiments formed on clerical dicta. But
had his lordship the knowledge which we neces-
sarily have of all grades of the middle classes, he
would be aware that with them feminine objections
to the liberty asked are as rare as those of the other
sex, while with the poor objection is unknown ;
no attention whatever is paid by them to a prohibi-
tion which to their perceptions appears simply
absurd.

Even among Church people of the middle and
humbler classes the vast majority acknowledge no
moral or religious obligation in the prohibition, and
under circumstances strongly tempting them to
hazard the legal consequences of the Act of 1835
would certainly do so. But to these must be added
the vast body of Nonconformists of every sect, who
constitute so large, so religious, and so moral a por-
tion of the middle and poorer classes. Their churches
and religious teachers may be said to be unanimous
in favour of the right claimed. Hence the position
of the question to the Statesman's view, must, it
would seem, be this. First, practically speaking,
these marriages were not prohibited till 1836.
Next, ever since then, the prohibition has been
evaded, it was supposed till lately, legally, by
marriage abroad, in the case of those who could
afford it, and in the ease of those who could not
by marriage at home, the facilities being so great
for escaping notice. Again, ever since the act of
1835, there has been unceasing agitation to '
procure for all who desire it the rights con-
ferred on his grace the Duke of BEAUFORT, and
numerous others, by that act, but by a perverse
inconsistency refused to all similar cases in future.
It turns out that those whom it concerns will not
patiently submit to a line drawn so harshly, so
wholly without reason, in favour of one set of
persons, and to the prejudice of all others. If it be _
alleged that the new law ought to have taught the
complainants better, the latter show, partly by their
marriages, and very numerously by their petitions,
that it is vain to oppose an artificial prohibition
to what is felt to be a natural sentiment and right.
We would appeal to Lord DERBY'S unprejudiced
judgment, whether the bill of Mr. MILNES would
not leave the national practice very much where it
is; the advantage being that unequal penalties
would not be incurred by those who do not think
the law of 1835 on such a subject binding on them.
The majority of the upper classes, deterred by
the fashion or the sentiment of their class,
would rarely violate it. The habits of their
circle and the canons of their Church would be
their law. The great majority of the middle class,
Dissenters with hardly an exception, would act
more freely on their known belief, and would be
released from what they all regard as an infraction
of their religious liberty. As to the allegation of
its operation as a check on the visits of aunts to
the homes of their sisters, this would not be the
case where the habits of the circle were
opposed to such marriages, because there a law
stronger than that of 1835 would be in force ; and,
if law be requisite, this would be law enough. But
the fact is that the women of England need no such
law to preserve them from unworthy sentiments.
It were a libel on them to think so ; and we appeal
to Lord DERBY whether our own sex is so depraved
that we need such a law to guard the purities of
home during an aunt's visits to our house. It is
quite certain that before 1835, the association of
husbands' wives, and wives' sisters, under the same
roof was as chaste, yet as affectionate as it now

We will not do Lord DERBY the injustice to
suppose that he would be seriously influenced by
party considerations. We know, however, that,
like other statesmen, he cannot afford to overlook
them altogether. At first sight it might appear as
if the more active ecclesiastics among his party
would be displeased with him for giving way to
what has become almost a national demand. Not one
of them, however, would forsake or even distrust
him on that account. He could so easily show them
that as a matter of Statesmanship the time had
come to concede to all sects and individuals the
right they demanded; that no one was compelled
to do what he deemed wrong; no clergyman to
marry those who, as he thought, ought not to be
married ; that the canons of the Church could not be
fairly made the basis of civil legislation for a na-
tion of such divers sects and creeds, and that there-
fore, without the Legislature even doing a little
wrong, it would enable thousands, without
penalty, to do what they deemed greatly
right. On the other hard, while from the merely
party point of view Lord DERBY would suffer no
injury, he would do away with a sense of injury on
the part of at least all the Dissenting Churches of
the land, as well as on that of the majority of his
own Church. We dislike to mention party conside-
rations in such a matter, and would not, were they not
introduced by others. We dismiss, therefore, the
topic with the expression of our opinion, that if
Lord DERBY saw fit to give way this year, he
would not lose a single supporter, while he would
conciliate very general good-will.

OFFICIAL APPOINTMENTS.—Mr. W. C. San
geaunt, of the Colonial .office, has been appointed one of the
Agents-General for Crown Colonies, is the room of Mr. B.
Barnard, deceased. By the Colonial Vice List, lately pub-
lisbed, we observe that Mr. Sargeaunt entered the Colonial.
office in 1848, was Colonial Secretary at Natal IM3 to
1858, and administered the government of the Island of St.
Vincent 1859-60. Mr. Loftus Hughes has been appointed
r-ofdce.—Oherver.
a Clerk l 4 tip Forei