The Sun.
London, England, 1865-02-25 00:00:00

tjtyl.ll GPI,

LONDON, SATURDAY, FEB. 25, 1865.

The government of Ireland can never cease to be
one of the most interesting, as, unfortunately, it is
one of the most perplexing questions which come
before an English statesman. There are so /pan
ties which bind us to the sister island independently
of the mere political union—the natural qualities
both of the beautiful island and of its gifted,
enthusiastic people, are so attractive, and the sense
of a long course of unjust and ill advised legislation
is so present on both sides of the Channel, that an
Englishman comes to the consideration of. Irish
affairs under some difficulties. No one doubts that,
independently of the harsh measures adopted to-

•
wards Ireland in the early days
there have been years of misgovernment its
ernmsubenjteetizthn,
wilfully and ignorantly. The Cat'nolic Dis-
abilities were manifestly a grimous injus-
tice to a people who still retained their
old faith, and the hardship was the more se-
verely felt because the natural gifts of Irishmen
especially qualify them for distinguishing themselves
in public life. Their fiery natures, chafed under
their comparative degradation and obscurity, their
enthusiastic patriotism burned at the depression and
wretchedness of their beloved country, and various
local and incidental circumstances helped to foster
a state of things which England could not have
wholly averted, but for which she was made wholly
responsible. Matters have now improved. What-
ever may be their mistakes or mismanagement, ,
Englishmen are now unanimous in their
anxiety to do justice to Ireland, and to con-
sult the welfare of her people, and thoughtful
and educated Irishmen have long ceased
to raise the cry of wilful oppression and brutal
tyranny. The condition of the country is by no
means, however, such as we would have it, and the
difficulties attending any attempt at legislation for
a race and a religion dissimilar to those of the
governing country do not seem to diminish. The
picture drawn by Mr. POPE HENNESSY last evening
was melancholy enough, and it lost nothing of its
force by his advocacy. The hon. gentleman is an
earnest and eloquent speaker, and the misfortunes
and grievances of the Emerald Isle found in him an
able advocate. But while all parties agree in re-
gretting the absence of material prosperity in Ire-
land, there are some considerations that should have
weight with the impartial` observer. The crops, it
is said, have diminished during the last few years,
though this statement does not bear reference to
three very important branches, wheat, flax, 4nd
potatoes. The wheat crop has been good; the flax
cultivation, as we all know, has greatly increased in
consequence of the cotton famine ; while the yield
of potatoes, that great staple of the peasant's food,
has been reasonably good. Still, some kinds of
cereals, it must be frankly admitted, have made but
a meagre return during the last few years—a fact,
however, not to be attributed to English misgovern-
ment, but to deficient harvests. Even in 1863,
when the success of the English wheat harvest was
the cause of general rejoicing, the Irish harvest was
not of a first-rate character, and this season the hay
and oats.have been very deficient. This difficulty,
then, may be set down to an exceptional cause,
while there is a corresponding gain to be set
against the loss. The number of cattle
in Ireland, as those may remember who examined
the last official report, has very greatly increased
during the last few years, and a marked addition
may be also seen to the number of horses. These,
then, are favourable signs, and although the con-
stant stream of emigration that is going on from a
thinly populated country must be a matter of sincere
regret, yet we must bear in mind that an exceptional
cause has been at work there also. There can be
no doubt that the civil war in America has been
mainly instrumental in beguiling a large proportion
of the emigrants of the last two or three years across
the Atlantic. To an Irishman always poor, always
sanguine, and always warlike, the pictures drawn
by unscrupulous Federal agents have proved un-
fortunately fascinating, and those who might per-
haps have shrunk from the tender mercies of the
American army, had they known where they were
going, have often been enticed to the States by spe-
cious promises of profitable civil employment. We
may reasonably hope that the people are now getting
undeceived, and will not for the future be so easily
made the dupes of designing agents, and indeed the
reduction in the rate of emigration for 1864 en-
courages this expectation. Still the Irish difficulty
remains unsettled. The country is poor, the people
discontented and ill cared for, and yearly diminish-
ing in numbers, the crops are unsatisfactory, and
industry generally is not thriving.
Such, at least, is the picture drawn by the Irish
members, though some of their statements
are disputed by the members of the Go-
vernment. Mr. HENNESSY'S solution of the
question is a vote of public money for
public works, such as arterial draining and the re-
clamation of waste lands. Mr. GLLDSTONE'S answer
to this proposal brought forward several substantial
arguments. He pointed out the difficulties which
stood in the way of grants of the public money, and
showed that, except in the instance of Lancashire,
which was a case of peculiar temporary distress;
money was not generally lent to England or Scot-
land, unless at a very high rate of interest, not so
much in order to make the transaction profitable,
as to avoid unfair competition with private money
lenders. In Ireland, he said, they had been willing
to proceed on a different principle, and lend money
without any:view to profit. "With regard to advances
in the way of reproductive expenditure, his hon. friend
said that, between 1817 and 1863, these advances
amounted to £13,959,000 for Great Britain. Of this
BUM £7,658,000 and £3,500,000 had been repaid in
principal and interest. Within the same period
£26,292,000 had been advanced for public works in
Ireland, of which only £12,292,000 principal and
interest had been repaid." That pOint, said the
Chancellor of the Exchequer very justly, should not
)e overlooked, because it showed that Ireland had

Lot been forgotten, and he further pointed out that

the difference of taxation in the sister kingdom
was virtually a grant to the people. Perhaps the
most singular argument brought forward on either
side in the whole course of the debate, which after
all did not reach a conclusion, was the assertion
gravely made by Sir F. ITEYGATE and supported
by other
members, that many of the evils of
Ireland weie- attributable to Free Trade. Why
the increase of trade and commerce, the develop-
ment of manufacturing
and
mercantile'a in-
dustry, which are the
natural,r
industry
inevitable consequencesre of Free-trade
things which Ireland most wants. ;e the very
If r
stimulus to engage the interests
could have suffieient
of her people in developing
and employ the energies
the resources and capabilities of th • en' own land in-
stead of seeking other scenes of action—if a judi
cious outlay of capital could be followed with some-
thing like certainty by a fair return of interest, the
evils of which Ireland so justly complains would in
a great measure right themselves. Increased com-
fort and plenty would bring increased civilisation ;
and with the disappearance of the half-savage and
degraded poverty of some parts of the peasantry
would disappear the agrarian outrages, the wild no-
tions of opposition to the law, and self-administered
justice. These are the cures which Ireland wants,
and as gradually the prosperity and tranquillity of
the country developes itself, we may hope to see an
end to the evil of absenteeism and many other evils
which the rude and unsettled condition of the coun-
try now fosters and increases.

The great curiosity which has so ton
'
long prevailedkelp before
respecting the fate of the Duchies is h
very long to be gratified it appears, for there are
signs and. tokens that a crisis is impending' The
Prussian &xnbassador at Vienna has signified
to the
Austrian Cabinet the
nature of the Prussian
claims in respect to the Duchies. It will not, there-
fore, be very long before this important communi-
cation is made public, and meanwhile it is hardly

necessary to say that speculations will be rife on the
subject, and on dits the order of the day. In the
present instance there can be no doubt that there
is much more ground afforded for comment than is
usually the case in matters of this kind, for the
Berlin Cabinet has been at no pains to conceal its
intentions throughout, if indeed it has not gone out
of the way to brave opinion and to defy criticism.
Under such circumstances, then, we are fully justi-
fied in premising that a rare spoil will be made
by Prussia, and that she will retire from the contest
self-crowned with the honours of war, and largely
endowed with the trophies of peace. The more
selfish and grasping, the more grasping and calcu-
lating the people, the greater advantages do they
reap from these affairs. It is a notorious fact, that
England has always been backward in making
anything out of a war, but it is quite otherwise with
kingdoms like Prussia, and those infatuated indi-
viduals who have persisted in declaring all along
that King WILLIAM and Herr von BISMARK did
not design any wrong to the Duchies will find them-
selves wofully mistaken, and may hide their dimi-
nished heads in future when political prophecies
are in vogue. One very significant circumstance of
the affair is that Prussia is making most strenuous
efforts in the Duchies, and working her way slowly
but surely in those dearly-coveted territories.
There can be no doubt that it was on
account of some secret motive that the
settlement of affairs has been so long delayed,
and that the tactics of Herr BISMARK have been to
gain time officially while he made the best use of
his time in a private manner. As he knew from the
beginning what were the objects to which: he
aspired, it is all nonsense to say that he was con-
sulting on the necessities of the case, and dwelling
upon the chief points of the arrangements in respect
to their bearing upon future affairs. Such excuses
may suit, and they may be made to suit, but as for
being valid, they are no more so than the men who
make them are genuine in their professions or
honest in their views. The Prussian party is making
great efforts to secure the passing of resolutions in
favour of annexation to Prussia in the Duchies, and
for that purpose many attempts have been made to
influence and direct those who give an opinion.
Next week an assembly of delegates will take place
from the political associations of Schleswig and Hol-
stein, and from their expressions much may doubtless
be gathered of the tone prevailing there. It does not
at all follow that we should glean an accurate ac-
count of the real, true, and circumstantial opinion
of the people represented, because there is every
probability that Prussian policy has, to a great de-
gree, triumphed, and that 'evidence will be afforded
of the success of the artful dodges and deep machi-
nations of Herr BISMARK at this Conference. There
is little chance that the Austrian EMPEROR and his
Government will deem it advisable to thwart the
Berlin administration, but most probably they will
give vent to their irritated feelings by making a
protest which will serve to satisfy the scruples of the
nation, and thus another instance will be afforded
of might triumphing over right. It is certainly a
new style of alliance for one party to dictate terms
to the other, instead of both taking steps to pro-
mote the success of the predetermined object, and
by common consent acting in earnest on terms of
equality.

It is satisfactory to notice that Mr. NowroN has
been at some pains to inquire into the merits of the
prosecution which has been instituted against the
Canterbury Hall by the lessees of the regular
theatres. It is certainly the right way to administer
justice, to be well assured of all the particulars of a
case before deciding upon it, and when this informa-
tion can be obtained by personal observation so
much the better for the clearness of the decision,
and the just settlement of the dispute. At the
Lambeth Police-court, yesterday, Mr. NORTON de-
clared that he had attended at the Canterbury Hall
last Saturday, and that he had been much pleased
with the performances he had witnessed there. He
further mentioned that he had an opinion at the
outset as to the merits of the case on the evidence
brought before him, and his subsequent considera-
tion had served to strengthen that opinion. It
must be confessed that the decision which the
worthy magistrate came to was as good as could be
expected, and much better than would in all proba-
bility have been that of many in his position. He
proposed that the Lord Chamberlain should be
applied to for a license, which no doubt he would
grant, and, therefore, he postponed his " final adju-
dication" until the application was made. This is
the shortest and surest way of settling this vexed
question, into which it is impossible to say that
personal feelings do not in some measure intrude,
and over which trade interests must exercise a con-
siderable influence. Mr. NORTON gave the best
reasonfor his delay in giving judgment, in pronounc-
ing a high eulogium upon the character of the Can-
terbury Hall, and s'tating that for many years he
had not had a single complaint against it. So far
as the safety of the public is concerned, it has
been shown that the greatest caution has been
adopted, and that care has been taken to provide
ample means of security. There are four exits from
the place, which allow of a speedy clearance in case
of accidental fire, and precautions are taken that
the fireworks fall upon lead, water being in the
midst of it. It seems difficult to understand in what
precise manner the performances in the Canterbury
Hall can justify the complaints made against them
upon the score of offending public taste, or of not
providing suitable means for safety or convenience ;
and it is to be hoped that the Lord Chamberlain,
by granting a license, will put a stop to these alter-
cations, and remove the legal obstacle that may
interpose-to prevent the continuance of perform-
ances that have afforded great pleasure to the public
and reflected credit on those who have arranged
them, and carried them out in a spirited manner.

LocO3IOITVE ENGINES ON HIGHWAYS.--In accord-
ance with the decision of the noblemen and gentle-
men forming the deputation which recently waited on
the Secretary of State for the Home Department, request-
ing him to rescind the orders issued by him prohibiting
the passage of locomotive engines along the highways of
certain districts, excepting during very inconvenient hours
at night, the following regulations were drawn up and
recommended by the committee appointed on that occa-
sion for approval by Sir George Grey That in the
opinion of the committee appointed by the deputation
which waited upon Sir George Grey, Bart., upon the use of
agricultural lecomotives on the highroads it will be sufficient
for the protection of the public, under the Locomotive Act,
1864, if Sir Georno Grey requires the owners, or persons in
charget of such engines when travelling on the public roads,
nhye
engineo r p precededriverthe
wengine,
wohhoasevedsustsay sitprialslubetotoacsci=
deems it necessary to stop or slacken the speed of the
engine, and who shall be instructed to assist horses and
carriages drawn by horses passing such engines; and as a
further precaution it is recommended that the speed should
be limited to four miles an hour." The following is the
reply of the Homo Secretary:—" Whitehall, Feb. 14, 1865.
My Lord,—l am directed by Secretary Sir G. Grey to ac-
knowledge the receipt of your lordship's letter of the 14th
inst., forwarding a copy of a resolution of the Agricultural
Locomotive Committee in reference to the use of locomotives
on high roads; and I am to inform your lordship that Sir
G. Grey does not think he is empowered by law to impose
on the owners of locomotive traction engines regulations of
the nature proposed in the resolution of the committee; but
that he would suggest that the owners
is
of
.such engines
any district in which a restrictive order.
to in
force,
should
give public notice that
opt suc h
would
be and should ascertainthey are willing gtheira adoption
tion of the order.—l have the honour to be, my lord, your
be satisfactory, so as to admit of a revocation ormodifica-
WADDECGTON.—Tho Lord
lordship's obedient servant, H.
Kinnard, ILT, Ilvesie Priory, Inchture, .C 4 JO

LITERATURE.

Mr• Walter Thornbury's New Work.

Haunted London. By Walter Thornbury. Illus-
trated by F. W. Fairholt. One Vol., pp. 518.

Hurst and Blackett.

Prolific though Mr. Thornbury very conspicuously
is among our younger generation of authors or pro-
fessional men-of-letters, he can, when he so pleases,
write as pleasant a book as well could be. In the
present instance he has so pleased. The subject has
evidently had a fascination for him. He has, more-
over—while thus running it- cleverly through with
his steel pen and fixing it permanently upon paper—
" handled it as if he loved it," according to Izaak
Walton's famous recommendation. Already, within
these last few years, our author has contributed a
small library of his own to our bookshelves. Single
volumes in abundance of a very miscellaneous cha-
racter. Two-volumed books of travels, now in Tur-
key, now in Spain, just as the fancy of the hour
chanced to lead him. Three-volumed novels one
after another dashed off currente calamo. Criticisms
on art—commentaries on Shakspere, akin in some
measure to the very work here submitted to our
consideration, though relating to London, not at
all periods, but at one particular period, the period
that is of Shakspere individually. Now a labori-
ously elaborated biography of Turner, England's,
the world's matchless landscape painter—now a
brilliant anticipation of the same Life in a com-
pacter form for the new edition of the Encylojvdia
Britannica. Anything, everything, seemingly
has been as one to Mr. Walter Thornbury
during these last fourteen years or so--in sug-
gesting themes to him for the manifestation of his
plastic capabilities as a wonderfully industrious and
at the same time also an exceedingly popular contri-
butor to our light literature. Occasionally—in writ-
ing thus assiduously, almost, as one may say,
uninterruptedly, paper after paper, chapter after
chapter, volume after volume—he has failed to do
himself justice. As, in point of fact—considering
the number of his books—might be set down at
once as a thing inevitable. The fruitfullest land,
as we all know, requires either to lie fallow for a
while at intervals, or to have the greatest possible
care taken in regard to the regulation of the rota-
tion of its crops. As a cultivator of his own
powers, or rather, it should be said, of his literary
reputation at the expense of his powers—he has
occasionally, and almost inevitably, overtaxed the
latter, in spite of their natural vigour, vivacity,
and copiousness. In other words, among a number
of able and sometimes brilliant works, he has given
evidence, just once in a way, that he has written
too much, or—to put the fact more accurately—
too fast and too frequently. Not as a rule, has
it been thus with him, however. On the contrary,
we should add that it has been thus with him
purely as the exception. At his best, indeed—
few can be more delightful among the profes-
sional men of letters of his time. Let him but
select for himself a congenial theme—let him but
give himself reasonable leisure—let him but be in
the vein for the work he has thus taken in hand,
and no one, we repeat, can be more delightful.
And of this same propitious combination of mood,
and time, and subject-matter, the goodly book here
under consideration affords the happiest illustration
that could reasonably be desired. True, that
the self-same theme has been, again and again,
descanted upon already, and that, moreover,
in several instances by writers as charmingly
anecdotal as Leigh Hunt—vide, for example,
" The Town" and " The Old Court Suburb."
Nevertheless the theme is in itself one, in its way,
reallyinexhaustible. Antiquarians, anecdote-mongers,
collectors of unconsidered trifles, may yet follow
hard upon the heels of one another through this
wondrous, mazy province of streets called London,
without marring whatever may still have to be said
by any after-comer with the like literary intentions.
There are room and verge enough for all, in this
vast wilderness of the twin capitals of London and
Westminster. It no more matters to Mr. Thorn-
bury that Mr. John Timbs very recently, only a
year or two ago, in fact, brought out his book,
called " The Curiosities of London," than that
Mr. James Grant a long while ago, a good many
years since, brought out his hook called " The
Great Metropolis." Insomuch are the Histo-
rians of London apart from each other that we
might (were the two volumes but of equal size) put
Leigh Hunt's work " The Town," cheek by jowl
upon the same bookshelf with Walter Thornbury' a
" Haunted London." A capital title, by the way,
this last—the title of the book now immediately
under notice—Haunted London! Meaning by that
not merely localities like Cock-lane, but all Lon-
don. For, is it not Haunted, this London of ours T
Haunte,d—happily—by Ghosts of Memories that
will not be laid ! What footsteps have not tra-
versed these causeways, climbed these staircases,
inhabited these dwelling-houses, prayed in these
loved and loitered and
churches and cathedrals, wept in these graveyards,
laughedgeoacirdiscourses—shrewdlydueentte
ds i naAn tnhde,sper
oatheatres,fttl
edalin these,r
a a nt h 8
Ai
nirg observant f
fellow-crea-
ture. Thornburgll o
cmr e
aa
these green parks and
ke
liu,ksetudaeut
dmmayousenetembfaanikn,tpse
eeornadnudetcyoestuetrhmroenuggher,
skilledn
and
a t
rme
sasn,
of the world, gracefully
of letters, lovingly like a sy
asforaenyeoyue forget themtoth
the
l all.
endeit,Saunterwe wwiathcrehrimyoudo:un
ture. Courtier and playwright,
statesman
e am
streetan he and
—he
beyond any
be wiser than at starting—certainly,
doubt of it, you will have bHeiegnenateyain
our own street—(very naturally) this great thorough-
farert of THE STRAND—the Highway of
Taking
world,as
N. P. Willis called it once upon a time, so calling
it, by the way, not by any means hyperbolically,
this grand trunk-road connected London with
Westminster—turning into The Strand under the
guidance of Mr. Thornbury, what is there that
we want to know about the Strand that he leaves
untold ? If he pauses, for example, in it before Sir
William Chambers's noble palatial pile of buildings,
called Somerset House, he thus recounts to us
how the old palace that was wont to occupy
the same site, presented a singular spectacle when
the clearance for the demolition commenced. " At
the extremity of the Royal apartments," he says,
" two large folding doors joined Inigo Jones's 'ad-
ditions to John of Padua's work. They opened into
a long gallery on the first floor of the water garden
wing, at the lower end of which was another gal-
lery, making an angle forming the original river
front, and extending to Strand Lane. This old part
had been long shut up and was supposed to be
haunted. The gallery was panelled and floored with
oak. The chandelier chains still hung from the
stucco ceilings. The furniture of the Royal apart-
ment was removed into lumber rooms by the
Royal Academy. There were relics of a throne and
canopy ; the crimson velvet curtains for the audi-
ence-chamber had faded to olive colour, and all the
fringe and lace but a few threads and spangles had
been peeled off them. There were also broken
chairs, stools, couches, screens, and fire-dogs scat-
tered about in disorder." Again—there is the old
StrandMaypole,thatwe have all heard of—in regard
to which he tells us in so many words :
" Tho Maypole was Satan's flag-staff in the oyes of the
stern Puritans, who dreaded Christmas pies,- cards, and
dances. Down it came when Cromwell went up. The
Strand Maypole was reared again with exulting ceremony
the first May day after the Restoration. The parishioners
bought a pole 131 feet high, and the Duke of York, the
Lord High Admiral, lent them twelve seamen to help to
raise it. It was brought from Scotland-yard with. drums
music, and the shouts of the multitude ; flags flying, and
three men bare-headed carrying crowns. The two halves
being joined together with iron bands, and the gilt crown
and vane and king's arms placed on the top, it was raised
in about four hours by means of tackle and pulleys. The
Strand rang with the people's shouts, for to them the May-
pole was an emblem of the good old times. Then there
was a morris dance, with tabor and pipe, the dancers wear-
ing purple scarfs and ' half shirts.' The children laughed,
and the old
people clapped their hands, for there was not
a bigger Maypole in Europe."
Or, let us hear what he has to tell us about the
once famous but now almost forgotten Strand Ex-
change :
" Thomas Duffet, an actor of Charles ll.'s time, was
originally a milliner here. At the Eagle and Child,
in Britain's Bourse, the first edition of "Othello" was sold
in 1622. At the sign of the Three Spanfsh Gipsies lived
Thomas Radford, who sold wash-balls, powder, andgloves,
and taught sempstresses. His wife, the daughter of John
Clarges, a farrier in the Savoy before or filter gadford's

death, married drunken General Monk, became the vulgar
Duchess of Albemarle, and was eventually buried in West-
minster Abbey. At the sign of the Fop's Head lived, in
1674, Will Cademan, a player and play publisher, Henry
Herringham, the chief London publisher before Dryden's
petty tyrant, Tonson, had his shop at the Blue Anchor in
the Lower Walk. Mr. and Mrs. Pepys frequented the New
Exchange. Here the Admiralty's clerk's wife had "a mind
to" a petticoat of sarcenet bordered with lace, and probably
purchased it. Here also, in April, 1664, Pepys and his
friend Creed partook of " a most delicate dish of curds and
cream." Both Wycherly and Etherege have here laid
scenes of their comedies ; and here, too, Dryden's intri-
guing Mrs. Brainsick pretends to visit her " tailor" to try
her new stays.

How keen-wittedly and keen-eyed, too, Walter
Thornbury traverses the same paths already trodden
byLeigh Hunt and others, let his comment on a cer-
tain well-known, but as he here takes occasion to
designate, very foolish London tradition about
the statue of Charles the First at Charing-
cross, sufficiently indicate. " London," quoth he,
" Has its local traditions as well as the smallest vil-
lage. There is a village story that the sculptor of
Charles I. and his steed committed suicide in vexa-
tion at having forgotten to put a girth to his horse.
The myth has arisen from the supposition of there
being no girth, and retailers of such stories (Mr.
Leigh Hunt included) did not take the trouble to
ascertain whether there was or was not a girth.
Unfortunately for the story (like Charles ll.'s in
the pail of water) there is a girth, and it is clearly
visible !" Enough, however, in the way of illustra-
tive quotation from a book tempting us, let us
frankly confess it, to pilfer tidbits from it, thus,
unconscionably. There are abundant embellishments
scattered among the letterpress in the shape of
pretty little woodcuts, the pencillings of Mr. Fair-
holt. The whole work—printed as it is on the
thickest paper and bound in bevelled covers, richly
emblazoned—forming a very handsome volume, a
volume worthy of being pronounced to be an acqui-
sition either for the table or for the bookshelf of
any lettered Londoner.

MB. WILLIAM STEEVENS.—Our readers will be
surprised and sorry to hear of the death of this
well-known public character in connection with trials of
agricultural machinery at royal and other shows, and re-
cently as the inventor and patentee of the new steam
plough. Mr. Steevens died on Wednesday week, at his
residence, 6, Godolphin-road, Hammersmith, in his 56th
year. Mr..Steevens had many good social qualities, which,
with more leisure and easier circumstances, might have
proved highly valuable to society. These were demon-
strated by his being one of the originators and first movers
in forming the Royal Benevolent Agricultural Institution,
he having sought and obtained, through the courtesy of
leading officers of the royal household, an interview with
the late Prince Consort, and obtained from him the use of
his name and promise of patronage and support by sub-
scriptions. The subsequent history of this institution we
need not here relate ; but we feel assured we shall be ex-
pressing the sentiments of most of our readers by paying
this tribute to an ingenious, industrious, and a well-mean-
ing and trustworthy man.
THE LAW OF LIBEL.—The bill introduced by Sir
Colman O'Loghkn to amend the law of libel and
secure the liberty of the press provides that no criminal
proceedings can be instituted for libel, unless the object of
the libel has been to extort money or other valuable thing.
The bill also provides that in civil proceedings for libel, in
any public newspaper or periodical publication, " proof that
the alleged libel was a true report of a speech or part of a
speech spoken at any public meeting lawfully assembled for
a lawful purpose, open to reporters for the press, and that
the said report was published in the said public newspaper,
or other periodical publication bond fide without actual
malice, and in the ordinary course of business, shall amount
to a defence, unless it shall be proved that the defendant
declined or omitted, if required so to do, to publish in his
said public newspaper, or other periodical publication, and
in a portion of the same as conspicuous as that in which
the said alleged libel was published, an explanation or
contradiction of the said alleged libel, of not unreasonable
length, immediately after such contradiction or explanation
shall have been furnished to the said defendant by or on
behalf of the party complaining of the said alleged libel."
Farther, "proof that the defendant believed the alleged
libel to be true, and that the same was published without
any defamatory intent and with a lawful object, or,
bona fide as a fair comment on a matter in which the
public were interested, shall amount to a defence, unless
the plaintiff shall prove that he has sustained actual loss or
damage by the publication of the said alleged libel, :or un-
less the jury at the trial shall be of opinion that the alleged
libel is such as is fairly calculated to cause actual loss or
damage to the plaintiff by its publication." There are also
provisions for the payment of money into court as in other
personal actions, and that the defendant shall be entitled to
his costs where the damages do not exceed 20s. It is also
provided that a speech at a public meeting, reported in a
newspaper, shall subject the speaker to the same process as
a written libel. The privilege of Parliament or of courts
of justice, or of any other public body entitled to privilege,
in any way whatever, will not be affected by this bill. The
Act is not to extend to Scotland.

NARROW ESCAPE FROM DROWNlNG.—OnWednes-
day forenoon Mr. Roberts, a shipowner from Lon-
don, went on board the Baron Clyde, a large ship lying on
the shore at the foot of Messrs. Robert Steel and Co.'s iron
ship yard, to examine her, a couple of hours prior to that
vessel's sale by auction on board the ship. The tide flows
in and out of the vessel, and being then high water there
was about 12ft. of water in her, into which he slipped while
poking his way along the beams near the after end of the
ship between decks. There was no possibility of getting
out of the water, except up a ladder by the foremast, which
fortunately for him was there, but which he did not at first
see; and being a good swimmer he made first for the side of
the ship, hoping to climb up one of the large iron knees, but
not being an acrobat, and from the weight of his overcoat,
heavy clothes, and boots, he found that impossible, so he
at once determined to make a raft of a few pieces of wood,
of which there was a quantity floating about, and sit-
ting it out on his raft till the auction party should
arrive and relieve him ; but soon espying something
like a ladder in the distance, near the foremast, he
made for it, and ascended with some difficulty, none the
worse for his involuntary swim. There was not a person on
board or near the ship and had the gentleman not been a
good swimmer he must have been drowned, and nobody
would have known of it perhaps for weeks. The ship has
lain there for a year or more without any watchman. The
decks were covered with snow and ice, and Mr. Roberts
supposes a piece had stuck to his boot, and thus caused him
to slip in between two beams.—Glasgow Herald.
CRIME IN VICTORIA.—It is satisfactory to observe
that the criminal statistics for the year 1863 (issued
by the police department just before the departure of the
last mail) show that for five years crime in Victoria had
been steadily and largely decreasing. Within that time
the number of persons taken into custody decreased from
30,357 to 22,255 ; the summary convictions from 20,218 to
14,302 ; 'the committals for trial from 1,428 to 1,081; and
the convictions by the superior tribunals from 755 (in 1860)
to 653. Thus, though the population of the colony has
largely augmented since 1859, the crime as measured by
the commitment, has diminished by 24 per cent. In many
of the more serious crimes there has been a very marked
reduction in recent years. In the year 1863 the great ma -
jority of the offences were not of a serious character. Of
the 22,000 persons actually taken into custody,
68 per cent. were summarily dealt with by the ma-
gistrates, 31 per cent. were discharged, and not
more than .5 per cent. were committed for trial.
In England, in the same year, the total number of persons
apprehended was 452,273, and of these 62 per cent. were
summarily convicted, 32 per cent. were discharged, and 4.2
were committed for trial. Of the committals, 60 per cent,
resulted in convictions in Victoria, and 75 per cent. in
England, while the proportion of acquittals was 31 per cent.
in Victoria and 24 per cent. in England. It would seem,
therefore, that justice is more sternly administered in
England than in Victoria. As regards the character of the
crimes committed in 1863, it is satisfactory to find that the
offences against the person are largely in the minority. Of
the cases summarily dealt with, only 784 were of this class,
while there were 1,778 crimes in connection with property,
and 11,740 offences of a miscellaneous kind. In this latter
category are included 6,976 cases of drunkenness and disor-
derly conduct, and 1,036 convictions under the Vagrant
Act, making together more than two-thirds of the whole.
—Australasian.

THE MONT CENIS TUNNEL.—The Turin corre-
spondent of the Avenir National, writing on the 13th says :
—" The Mont Cenis works will probably be completed
sooner than was hoped ; rocks have been reached much
softer than those hitherto found, and the progress may be
calculated at the rate of 250 metres per month. Should no
unforeseen obstacles arise the tunnel might be opened for
traffic towards the close of 1868. I can guarantee the accu-
racy of these details, which interest the whole world."
CONSTANTINOPLE, Feb. 18.—The Government has
instituted a system of advanced schools, open free to all
classes of the native population. The question of the
secularisation of the Mosque property is again under the
consideration of the Government. Telegraphic communi-
cation is everywhere interrupted by the tempestuous
weather.—Reuter's 7'elegram.
ROBBERY AT A JEWELLER'S IN OXFORD-STREET.—
Last night, about 12 o'clock, it was discovered that
some persons had committed a robbery on the premises of
Mr. Nathan Woolf Jacobson, jeweller, &c., No. 312, Ox-
ford-street, a quantity of property (consisting of 80 gold
and silver watches, 17 bracelets, and a number of rings)
being carried off, of the value of £4OO. Mr. Jacobson's
foreman hearing a noise in the shop, the door of which had
been securely fastened, went upstairs, and then found the
shop door open, as also the show case, from which the
property had been taken. It is believed that the robbery
was committed by some persons secreted OA the premises.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAM.)

PRUSSIA.

BERLIN, Feb. 23.

The last number of the ministerial Provinzial
Correspondenz confirms the news already telegraphed
that the Ministerial Council has definitively drawn
up the conditions to which Prussia should adhere
in settling the question of the Duchies. These con-
ditions are also known to have been approved by
the King. The semi-official organ further denies
the statements of the Zeidlersche Correspondenz
as to the intended consultation of the notables of the
Duchies, and as to the communications the Vienna
Cabinet is said to have made here upon the Prussian
propositions. The official and complete notification
of the latter will not be delayed longer than the
ensuing week.
The Correspondenz endeavours at the same time to
complete the Government programme. It re-
peats that the Government cannot state any
opinion upon the person of the future Sovereign
until the Crown lawyers shall have sent in their
report. Under present circumstances it cannot
enter into negotiations with the various claimants
to the throne. It is essential first to settle the pre-
vious question, i.e., to come to an understanding
with the Austrian Government upon the relations to
be established between the Duchies and Prussia.
The choice of the future Sovereign must be based,
first, upon a solution of the succession question ;
secondly, upon the wishes of the inhabitants of
the Duchies themselves, and upon political conside-
rations. But before the designated Sovereign
is definitely recognised as in possession of the
Duchies the Prussian Government will make the
following conditions :-1. That he unreservedly ac-
cepts the programme of the Cabinets of Berlin and
Vienna, as to the relations to be established be-
tween the. Duchies and Prussia, and gives satisfac-
tory guarantees for its fulfilment. 2. That the
arrangement in question shall be definitively exe-
cuted with the consent of the representative of the
Duchies.

It follows from this that whoever may be ap-
pointed Sovereign will find himself at the moment
of taking possession in presence of an accomplished
fact ; in other words, will not be permitted to ascend
the throne until after the definitive settlement of
the relations between Prussia and the Duchies, and
until he has entered into a positive engagement to
observe the conditions agreed upon.
It is apparent from this programme that some
time will probably pass before the much-vexed
Duchies question is definitely disposed of. Looking
at the position of affairs, it is difficult not to acknow-
ledge the justice of a saying some time back set
afloat, viz., that the annexation of the Duchies to
Prussia was already effected—the only question left
was how to disanneY them.

THE PAPAL 11UNCIO IN FRANCE.
PARIS, Feb. 24.

Full and comp satisfaction has been given by
the Court of Rome to the French Government in
the matter of the Nuncio Chigi, and relations be-
tween the representative of the Holy See and the
Minister for Foreign Affairs have been replaced
upon their former friendly footing. A proof of the
excellence of these relations is afforded by the mar-
riage of the Princess of Castelcicalo, cousin of M.
Drouyn de Lhuys, having just been celebrated in
the Nuncio's chapel. The Foreign Minister himself
was the bride's first witness. His Excellency and
Monsignor Chigi were observed to be upon the most
courteous terms.

The following details upon the diplomatic nego-
tiations which have brought about this de'nouement
will be found authentic.

When M. de Sartiges, at Rome, received M.
Drouyn de Lhuys' despatch of the Bth inst., in which
the Emperor's Minister complained of the letters
addressed by the Nuncio to the Bishops of Poitiers
and Orleans, the Ambassador immediately repaired
to Cardinal Antonelli, who at once declared that he,
for his part, disapproved the conduct of Motisignore
Chigi. His Eminence, however, added that before
giving an official reply, it was his duty to consult
the Holy Father.
At his interview with the Cardinal, the Pope said
that he perfectly shared the opinion the former had
already expressed upon the act of the Papal repre-
sentative at Paris, and he desired Cardinal Auto-
nelli to assure the French Government nothing of
the sort should again occur. His Holiness added
that it was his desire that his representatives in
foreign countries should confine themselves to the
accomplishment of their duties, and should not com-
mit any act which might be considered as an inter-
ference in the internal affairs of the countries to
which they were accredited.
This satisfactory reply of the Pope was immedi-
ately telegraphed in substance to Paris, and the
Emperor was already in possession of the telegram
when he received the Nuncio at a private audience,
and gave orders for publishing the Note in the
Moniteur of the 19th, stating the explanation of
MOnsignor Chigi, which put an end to the matter.
The detailed despatch of M. de Sartiges received
here within the last few days, confirms the tele-
gram previously sent. It reports the words of the
Pope and of Cardinal Antonelli referred to above,
and is couched in terms which show that the Roman
Court has given the Emperor's Government all the
satisfaction in the question that could possibly be
desired.

The publication of the " Vie de Cesar" will, it
is reported, be delayed for a fortnight, the Viennese
edition not yet being finished. The Emperor,
however, has already received some 200 copies of
the French edition, magnificently bound, in which
he employs himself every morning in writing the
dedications to the distinguished persons to whom
he intends presenting the work. Although written
in a plain and simple style, it is said that the book
is very eloquent. The defence of Caesar is com-
plete ; and there are said to be portraits--that of
Cicero, for instance—to which it would not be diffi-
cult to find precedent in the contemporary history
of France.

BOURSE, Feb. 24.—The market is somewhat
unsteady. Threes, for the Account, having been
done at 67f. 50c., are now at 67fr. 45c. Mobilier
are unvaried at 917 fr. 50c. In Railway Shares
quotations remain about the same. The market
was firmer towards the c'
an upward tendency. Th

hose, and quotations had
following are the last