The Sun.
London, England, 1853-01-15 00:00:00

met in sufficient numbers ti transact business.

No further retrenchment ; had been made by any
of the numerous dictatorial decrees published in the
Lisbon Gazette.

Our Oporto letter, of the..loth inst., contains the
following
The exchange has been dove at 54-id. and id. for
bills on London at 90 days' date ; Brazilian paper has
been latterly in the market, and on the whole a go, I
deal of business was done both for this and the lak,
packet. We have had no arrivals latterly from England.
The weather for some time past has been rainy and
boisterous, and there are very few British vessels in :',e
Douro. Business, both in the cotton and woollen trail
rather flat. Brandy is now at 110 milreis and scar-
Very few wines have been changing bands lately. Me
late change in the British Ministry seems to give satisfac-
tion. The Portuguese are beginning to learn the mei;t3
of a strong government. No news in politics ; every-
thing quiet."
The accounts from Gibraltar are to the 6'zh inst.
inclusive. The following British ships of war were
in the bay :—The Britannia, Albion, Trafalgar, Bel-
lerophon, Arethuss, Samp-on, Reti:butkm, Niger,
and Antelope. The Peninsular and Oriental Com-
pany's ship Euxine, five and a half days from
Southampton, arrived at Gibraltar on the 2d irst.
and proceeded to Marseilles. The screw steamer
Arno, nine days from Liverpool, arrived on the 2d
inst., and left for Naples on the 3d. The screw
steamer Arabian, 10 days from Smyrna and five
days from Malta, arrived at Gibraltar on the 6th,
bound to London.

In reference to the recent acts of piracy on the
north coast of Morocco the Gibraltar Chronicle of
the Ist instant contains the following :
" It appears that the coast of Riff is as insecure as
ever. A Melilla letter, of the 13th ult., states th..t,
three days before, a merchantman happening to be be-
calmed within about fifteen miles of the land, a boat
manned by eight Moors went alongside, but perceiving
that the crew consisted of from 18 to 20 men, and that
an attempt to board the ver-el was likely to fail, the
pirates contrived to prevail upon the master to admit
them, and, when on deck, their le., der ordered him to
steer his course towards the coa.sL. The master refused ;
the leader insisted ; and the rohner, directing hi;
sailors to arm themselves wit's knives or razors, took up
a large one himself, and went to the latter, who, on
seeing him advance, shot him dead with a pistol. A
young sailor, exasperated by such treacherous conduct,
fell upon the leader with a knife in each of his hand.
and wounded him, but was, in his tut.i, shot at and
wounded by another Moor, and jumped into the sea,
evidently preferring the death that awaited him there

the torments which he knew those barbaeans inflict
upon their victims. The sailors, who were apparently
unprovided with firearms, then betook theinselves to the
hold. Thither the pirates durst not follow them, but,
going to the cabin, plundered if, taking away, among
other things, four trunks fulii of clothes, a case of
sulphur, two watches, and a spyglass; and subs - luently
left the vessel without searching her more minutely,
being probably afraid that the crew in the hold would
ultimately oppose their departure_"

THE ISLAND OF MADEIRA.
SOUTHAMPTON, J. N. 14.
The packet brig Brilliant, Captain Allan, has
arrived here in seven days from Madeira.
The Brilliant reports the following arrivals at
Madeira : The Norwegian schooner, Decemb3r
30th, 41 days from Hartlepool, bound to Rio de
Janeiro ; the British bark Sir Williaaa Holks, 30
days from Ply.,nouth, bound to Port Philip ; the
bark Lancashire Witch, 43 days from Sunderland,
for Cuba ; the bark Phantom, 53 days from Lon-
don, for Jamaica. January I.—The British brig
Pekin, 36 days from Hartlepool, for Demerara.
Jan. s.—The brig Richard Cobden, 40 days from
Newport, for St. Thomas' ; the Hamburg bark
Aleda, 63 days from Hamburg, for New Yo-. 1, ;
the American ship Europe, 39 days from
Liv:•;--
pool, for Philadelphia—short of water. Jen. 6.--
The British steamer Pirate, 24 days from Glasgow-,
for Sydney—left on the 6th for her destination.
The outward African mail steamer was observed
standing into Funchal at noon on the 7th instant.
The homeward Brazil mail packet was hourly ex-
pected.
By recent resolution of the Cortes, promulgated
in Madeira, all vessels arriving at that island for
refreshments or passengers are to be free of port
dues.

The iron steamer City, of New York, Captain
Hart, arrived here to-day from Oporto with a cargo
of cattle. Owing to very heavy weather she lost
upwards of 40 beasts on the voyage, and had to

put into Portland for provender and water for the
150 which remain alive.

THE FRENCH EMPIRE.

The Council of State held a general sitting on
Thursday, at which the Emperor presided, when a
bill on civil pensions, another concerning found-
lings and poor orphans, and a project of a decree,
having for its object to modify the statutes of dif-
ferent religious communities, were presented for
consideration.

M. Fournier des Ormes, advocate, has been
named chef du cabinet of the President of the

Senate.

The budget of 1854 has been sent to the Counc-a
of State, so that the Legislative Body will be able
to enter on its examination during the first days of
its sittings. By the terms of the Senatus-Consultum,
the budget is to be presented by chapters.
From the monthly returns which have just been
published of the state of the Bank of France, it ap-
pears that the metallic reserve has declined 224
millions of francs in Paris, and n millions in the
branch-banks. The discount accommodation has
increased 22-i millions in Paris, and 20 millions in
the departments. The advances in public securi-
ties of France has fallen off 8 millions in Paris, and
/of a million in the provinces. The advances on
railway securities have declined 3k millions in
Paris, but have increased 2-i millions in the pro-
, ;nces. On the side' of the liabilities, the notes in
circulation have advanced 8 millions in Paris, and
6 millions in the branch-banks. The account-cur-
rent of the Treasury has advanced 8f millions.
Private accounts-current are 10 millions less ia
Paris, and a million less in the provinces. The
whole amount of the metallic reserve is at present
4824 millions, to 686 millions of notes in circula-
tion. . _

.....,....
The Moniteur publishes a long report from the
Minister of Marine on the re-organisation of " the
administrative service of inspection " of that de-
partment. The Minister states that a system of
control of the construction, fitting out, and arming
of vessels, and of the accounts, purchases, awl
operations of all kinds, was established for the
navy by Colbert, was improved by his successors,
and was completed by the First Consul, by decree
of the 7th Floreal, an VIII. This decree, says
the report, "worthy of meditation, like everythi'ig
which emanated from the genius of the extra,' r-
clinary man wilo then governed France," esta-
blished maratime prefects, and under the name of
inspection, a modification or Colbert's system t.f
control,
which inspection was dependent on t:),
Minister alone and corresponded with him. In 1815
re
-established redr buer
in
ny
1828 the
controltahnedsyastemo
pre-
fectureswas was restored with modifications, and the
control
was re-oro•anised with the name of " in-
spection." In
nearly 1863
sulpBpures a body called the " Commis-
sariat de la Marine,"
control was unitin 0. the corps of adminis-
tration and that of
,
inspection was formed, and the
great abuses, ssmed.accßorudtantcheatwilteh the
dto
and in
wish of the Chambers, the administrative services
1 of the navy were reconstituted.
Although, how-