The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-21 00:00:00

SOUTH AMERICA.

(Per French Mail Steamer, via Bordeaux.)
BUENOS AYRES, Dec. 11.
The Era arrived yesterday evening with papers from
Uruguay to Friday. The four Brazilian gunboats began
to bombard Paysandu on Tuesday morning (the 6th) at 4
o'clock ; at 8 a.m. they had thrown 113 bombs into the
town, and at 5 p.m. 700. At the same time Flores with
3,000 men attacked the place by land, but was gallantly
repelled. The Spanish war vessel Wadrus, in concert with
the French and English gunboats, notified Admiral Taman-
dare to stop the bombardment, which he did, " not at their
request, but it being no longer necessary for the purpose
of General Flores."
Next day (the 7th inst.) the rebel guerillas recommenced
the attack, and the Brazilians landed all their marines with
several heavy guns. The latter captured the police barri-
cade, and several houses in the suburbs were sacked by the
rebels, but the garrison recovered the barricade and expelled
the enemy. Two ammunition waggons of the Brazilians
blew up. The batteries of the garrison were disabled by
the Brazilian fire, but after a couple of hours were again
made serviceable. Leandro Gomez had two horses killed
under him, and the mortality on all sides was great. Eighty
rebel infantry passed over to the Government. On Thurs-
day morning the fighting continued, the mortality being
then estimated thus :—Rebels, 600 ; garrison, 300 ; Brazil-
ians, 200. Every time that the rebels or Brazilians ap-
proached the batteries they were hurled back defiantly.
Armes sent a second envoy, accompanied by the com-
manders of the French and English gunboats, to arrange
a surrender, but the chiefs, Gomez and Ph-is, manfully
refused. A body of 400 Brazilians had penetrated to the
Plaza and seized several barricades, when they were crushed
and scattered by a sally of the garrison.
The town of Paysandu is reduced to a heap of ruins, and
the surviving garrison is estimated at 700. The fighting
on the 9th began with some brilliant sorties of the garri-
son, punishing the besiegers heavily. Flores had fired 300
shots from his three small -pieces, and the artillery of the
fort responded from various parts of the town. The rebels
confess having lost several good officers, but count on being
reinforced in a few days by General Netto, with 1,500
Brazilian filibusters.
Waldino Urquiza and Telmo Lopez surprised the rebel
garrison in Salto, and recaptured the place. Fausto Aguilar
had set out too late for its relief. General Saa, with 2,500
men, arrived at Arroyo Negro, on. march, to relieve Pay-
sandu, if Gomez still holds out.
Among the claims against the Brazilians for damages by
the blockade, Messrs. Cabal and Williams demand three
millions (X 600,000).
It is said that the French consul prevented the Brazilian
admiral from bombarding Paysandu. All the women and
children have left that town. It is said that two officers
and 12 soldiers of the garrison of Salto were killed after the
surrender. The approach of a powerful Paraguayan army
is confidently expected at once.
The province' f San Juan, where the recent gold disco-
veries were made, is still the centre of attraction, and hun-
dreds are crossing from Chili to explore the diggings. Ex-
perienced miners, however, there are none in the country,
and we doubt very much until -ire get some from Australia
or California, if any very important results will be arrived at.
The rather unfavourable news from Europe by the last
two packets, coupled with the political dangers which sur-
round us, has had an unfavourable effect on business.
Wools and hides have fallen considerably, and trade is dull.
Labour is at present very high, and hands scarce, owing to
the works on the railways and the shearing of the flocks.
Great fears are entertained that part of the wheat crop will
be lost (riving to the scarcity of reapers. We want labouring
men in the. River Plate ; 100,000 would find employment at
most remunerative wages either in this or any of the ad-
joining provinces. It is hoped that the utmost exertions
will be made in Europe to increase the emigration of
labourers to this country, which offers every inducement
to the sober, industrious, and persevering.
The sales of Saladero ox and cow hides duringithe last
15 days are 19,600 ox hides, at 381 reals to 341 reals. Last
prices, 341 reals 601 b. guaranteed ; sales since Nov. 1 last,
20,600 hides; slaughtered, 12,000 hides, to make 8,000. No
hides on sale. In Saladero tallow the sales are 440 pipes,
at 141 reals. No stock. In Saladero horse hides no sales, no
stock. Jerked Beef—Old stock, 10,000 qq. sold at 10 reals ;
stock, 5,00 G qq. New beef, 25,000 qq. sold at 12 reals;
stock, 7,000 qq. In matadero ox and cow hides no sales,
no Steck. In Fabuca tallow, 400 bordalesas at $49, cur-
rency, old. Mares grease worth $35 to $351 currency,
without cask. The total sales of dry ox and cow hides
during the fortnight are 32,500 hides. The total stock of
all classes remaining unsold, 164,000 hides. In American
hides no sales. Prices nominal, at 31 reals, for 201 b. average
for classified hides; stock, 40,000 hides. In German hides
the sales are 13,500 hides. Matadero ox, 49 reals for 2911 b.
average ; matadero cow, 3,837 reals, 2211 b. average ; camp
ox, 47 to 46 reals, for 381 b. ; camp cow, 37 reals, 2211 b.
Stock, 10,000 classified hides. In Spanish, French, and
Italian hides the sales are 19,000 hides; stook, 109,000
Wes, 30 to 311 reals for light, 171 b. to 491 b., 34 and 33 reals
Corrientes hides ; 38 to 36 reals Entre Rios ; 421 reals Pa-
raguay ; 34 reals Cordova.
Specie declined sensibly to-day, owing to the great
scarcity of paper. Patacons are dearer on time than for
cash, which shows the true state of the market. The sale
of national bonds at the reduced rate above quoted shows
too clearly the scarcity of money also ; in fact, the paper
currency in circulation is unequal to the demands of busi-
ness, and if the Bank claims any more paper without in-
troducing some other circulating medium the inconvenience
will be increased.
The rate of exchange on England is 494 to 49i. To-day
a number of first-class bills were negotiated at the latter
rate.
The wool-market continues in the most depressed state,
and thousands of arrobas of wool are going into deposit.
The buyers are holding off until the arrival of the packet,
which ought to arrive on Monday or Tuesday next.
On the morning of the 9th of December, the city of
Buenos Ayres was awakened by an explosion louder than
artillery, and comparable only to the sudden outburst of a
volcano beneath our feet. The Retiro barrack was blown
up ; 160 soldiers, dead or dying, were hurled into the air or
buried under the wins, and the shock was felt for half a_
mile round, smashing the windows as if the effect of an
earthquake. Nor is this the only disaster ; news arrives
of an alarming collision on the Western Railway, in which
three persons have lost their lives and numbers injured.
But the latter occurrence is almost forgotten in the awful
details of the Retiro tragedy, while mangled limbs and
headless trunks are carted off to the cemetery, and a line of
',Tea conveys the wounded to the various hospitals.

The Press Laws in Prussia.

The semi-official Nord-Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, the
organ of Herr von Bismark, publishes the following caution
to the Prussian press :
" Considering the tone again adopted in the proceedings
of the Chamber of Deputies, and especially in the speech of
Deputy Grabow on Monday last, it will not be superfluous
to call attention to the judgment delivered in March last
year by the Supreme Court with respect to the publication
of objectively punishable expressions in Parliamentary pro-
ceedings. Section 38 of the Press Law of the 12th of May,
1851, orders that reports of the public sittings of both
Chambers, so far as given in conformity with truth, are
free from all responsibility. This 'permission became the
subject of great abuses on the part of the press, all and
every reproduction of speeches and individual remarks
made in Parliament being considered unconditionally
allowed without risk of punishment. Certain jour-
nals reproduced under the 'leading and pretence
of Parliamentary reports only an arbitrary selection
of the speeches or remarks of individual deputies especially
favourable to their party interests, without taking equal
care to reprint the speeches made in their refutation. Again,
some Of the most obnoxious speeches partially containing
objectively punishable matter were given textually, uncon-
nected with the report of the sitting, and afterwards printed
separately. Finally, just the punishable expressions wero
quoted and repeated ad libitum in editorial articles of the
paper. The Supreine Court has decided that all these abuses
of tho above section of the press law are inadmissible. The
following principles are laid down in the judgment already
alluded to, from which may be seen what is to be fegarded
as a truthful report of Parliamentary sittings :—A report of
a matter is a plain historical statement of its progress. The,
object is simply to bring this progress into view. A report
of a sitting of the Chamber is therefore only a plain state-
ment of facts occurring in the proceedings, and of the
speeches made respecting them. It may bo allowed even to
reproduce the speeches in an abbreviated form. But the re-
presentation must in any case be both in. form and contents
of such a nature as to correspond to the character of a re-
port, and therefore simply to reproduce what has taken
place either in its entirety or its main features. The reason
and object of the law consist in affording to the country the
possibility of following the public acts of the Deputies, and
thereby obtaining full acquaintance of their speeches, but
hot in permitting the obnoxious contents of such speeches
to be especially reproduced ad libitum. We think the edi-
tors of newspapers will do well to exercise the strictest care
in observing these principles laid down by the highest legal
authority. The Government of the King will in any case
be prepared to put an effective stop to any renewed at-
tempts at illegal use of the punishable expressions of indi-
vidual deputies."

POLISH VICTIMS.—" A communication; from
Warsaw," says the Patrie, " announces the death
of M. Lasocki, nephew of Count Walewski, ex-Minister of
State. The deceased, a rich landowner, was a man of very
moderate opinions and a declared adversary of the insurrec-
tion. It happened, however, in the course of last winter,
that the police abused the right of illuminating houses on
any anniversary or Russian fete. He felt a certain repug-
nance to join in such manifestations when so many Polish
families were in mourning around him, and one day he re-
' fused. He was immediately summoned before the Grand
Master of Police, and was condemned for the offence to go
and reside in a small town in the government of Penza
at
the very bottom of Russia. Some time since he wrote to
his mother, and drew such a picture of what he had to en-
dure that tho old lady fainted on reading the letter, and
soon after expired. M. Lasocki himself has now died from
1 the priyations to which lie was reduced."