The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-18 00:00:00

The Price of Gold.

The quotation of gold at Paris is about 2 per milk; pm., and
the short exchange on London is 25.171 per £1 sterling. On
comparing these rates with the English Mint price of £3
I7s. 100. per ounce for standard gold, it appears that gold is
about 2-10ths per cent. dearer in Paris than in London.

By advic:s from Hamburg the price of gold is 423 per mark
and the short exchange on London is 13.4 per £1 stcrlin...:.
Standard gold at the English Mint price is, therefore, at
abo t the same price in London and Hamburg.
The course of exchange at New York on London for bills at
60 days' sight is about 249 per cent., and the premium on
gold 127 per cent. At these rates there is a small profit on
the importation of go d from the United States.

THE POST MAGAZINE ALMANACK AND INSURANCE
DIRECTORY FOR 1865 is an exceedingly useful pub-

ication. It contains a vast amount of intelligence respect-

ing Life and Fire Insurance Offices in general, in addition

,o the information usually found in best commercial alma-

nacks.

TESTIMONIAL TO DR. JOHN CAMPBELL.—Yester-
day morning Lord Shaftesbury, who was supported
by a considerable number of influential members of the
Nonconformist party, and admirers of the Rev. J. Camp-

bell, D.D., presented to that gentleman, at Radley's Hotel,
. . _ _

a testimonial amounting to £3,000. The presentation was

accompanied by several speeches, expressing the highest
respect•and admiration for the character, long labours, and
services to the Nonconformist body of the rev. recipient.
The occasion chosen was Dr. Campbell's 70th birthday.
The amount was contributed by several hundreds of ad-

wirers, scattered over Europe, America, and Australia, as

well as in Great Britain,

AN ENGLISH DWARF.—The Lyons joarnals state

that a diminutive lady, of English birth, calling herself the
Countess Gayton, has just made her appearance at the Cafe
do Paris in that city, where she takes part in the concert by
singing English songs. The editor of the Salut
whom the countess honoured with a visit, states that she
is 20 years of age, of a good figure, and shorter than Gen.
Tom Thumb. He adds that she looks very intelligent, but
that their ignorance of each other's language did not allow
him to test her conversational powers.

STRIKE AT MESSRS. LAIRD BROTHERS' YARD.-
The shipbuilders of this neighbourhood have resolved to
reduce the wages of their shipwrights from 7s,to. Qs. per
day. In consequence of this 200 of Messrs. Laird's men
struck on Friday. We believe this is only part of a gene-
ral movement amongst the men on both sides of the Mer-

sey to resist the reduction.--Liverpool Courier.
THE APPROACHES TO OLD PALACE-YARD AND
THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT.—Yesterday workmen were
engaged in laying out the approaches from Parliament and
Bridge-streets to the Houses of Parliament. A carriage
and footway are being run diagonally from the corner of
Bridge-street to the entrance at Westminster Hall, thus
superseding the former inconvenient detour to that point.
A portion of the intermediate space between Bridge-street
and the cab-stand will, it is'understood, be formed into an
ornamental inclosure.

TOTAL Loss OF THE ELLEN SOPHIA—LOSS OF
ALL ON BOARD.—LIVERPOOL7 'Jan. 17.—A tele-
gram received in this town to-day, states that the ship
Ellen Sophia, under command of Captain Birkett, bound
from Demerara to Liverpool, was totally lost off Dingle
Head, near Cork, early on Sunday morning. When last
seen, the Ellen Sophia was scudding before the wind, and
had signals of distress flying. She was evidently endea-
vouring to enter Smewick harbour, but missing stays, she
ran full on to the rock near Dingle, and went down almost
immediately. Not a soul on board, so far as we can at pre-
sent learn, has been saved.

LONDON, BRIGHTON, AND SOUTH COAST RAIL-
WAY.-The board of directors of this company have de-
cided upon recommending the payment of a dividend for
the half-year of £3 per cent. on the consolidated stock of
the company, making the total dividend for the year amount
to 51 per cent.

A Stockholm journal mentions that the King and
Queen of Sweden, the Queen Dowager, and other members
of the Royal family, were present at a ball given in honour
of the new year at the Stockholm Exchange. It is the
custom at this annual ceremony for the citizens to invite
the Royal family. The ball is by subscription, and any
person of the middle class may obtain tickets. The ladies
are all dressed in black, even those of the Court ; the latter
have, however, a white satin insertion in the upper part of
their sleeves to mark the distinction. The proceedings

commence with the singing of the national hymn, after
which the King walks about conversing with different
persons, and finally dancing commences.
LORD PALMERSTON'S HANDWIITING.-0 ur octo-
genarian Premier is not above enlarging on the ad-
vantages of cultivating a plain, large, legible hand, " with
good thick up-strokes as well as thick down-strokes." It
cannot be said that Lord Palmerston does not practise
what he preaches on this occasion at least. In a complete
collection of franks of a Parliament some five-and-twenty
years ago, which lies before us, the handwriting of his
lordship is, if not the very boldest, at all events one of the
boldest in the entire volume, and the envelope of a letter not
many weeks old which fell into our hands a few weeks
since, with " Palmerston " in the corner, serves to show
that his "up-strokes" and " down-strokes " are as bold
and thick as they were then, though perhaps a trifle more
shaky.—Guardian.
THE IMPROVED OMNIBUS.--I am bound to say

that in many respects the omnibuses and their men
are greatly improved during my experience. The thirteenth
seat, that awful position with your back to the horses and
tour face to the door, where, in a Mahomet's coffin-like
attitude, you rested on nothing, and had to contemplate
your own legs calmly floating before you, very little below
the faces of your right and left-hand neighbours, has been
abolished; a piece of cocoa-nut matting is generally sub-
stituted for that dank straw which smelt so horribly and
clung to your boots with such vicious perseverance ; most
of the windows are, what is termed in stage-language,
practicable, and can be moved at pleasure ; and a system of
ventilation in the roof is now the rule, instead of, as in my
early days, the singular exception. Thirdly, by da salu-
tary rule of the General Omnibus Company, aided by the
sharp notice which the magistrates take of any impro-
priety, the omnibus servants, the coachmen and conduc-
tors, from insolent blackguards have become, for the most
part, civil and intelligent men, while the whole " service"
—horses, harness, food, Sm.—has been placed on a greatly
improved footing. —Dickens's " All the Year Round."
A curious incident took place on Saturday at the
sitting of the Court of Assizes of the Seine. M. Lachaud
was speaking in defence of a woman named Paul, accused
of having abstracted certain securities belonging to the sue.-
cession of a person named Paulmier, by whom she was
employed
whohad several. attendant, when one of the jury-
men, times shown his feelings by
a s
seval
significant gestures, said in a low voice, but distinctly
enough to be heard by the learned counsel, " That
circumstance is of no consequence !" M. Lachaud
immediately stopped, put on his cap, and declared
that after such an improper manifestation he could not con-
tinue the defence. On the President asking M. Lachaud
what course he intended to pursue, the latter replied that,
considering the words used by one of the jurymen as an
expression of feeling hostile to the prisoner, lie requested
the affair to be put off to another session. That course was
accordingly ordered, and the case will come ,on again to-
wards the end of the month.