The Sun.
London, England, 1862-03-24 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, MARCH 24, • 1862.

IHE NAVY.

On Saturday, the 22d, a preliminary trial of her
Majesty's screw steam frigate Arethusa, 51 guns,
took place at Sheerness. The ship was built at
Pembroke, about 17 years ago, from designs by Sir
William Symonds, then Surveyor of the Navy, as
a sailing frigate, but has since been converted into
a screw frigate at Chatham dockyard. The altera-
tions which she has undergone consist in her being
lengthened amidships 41ft., and having had her
stern altered and lengthened 12ft., to adapt her for
the screw. Her bow still retains its original bluff
form. The extreme length of the vessel between
perpendiculars is now 252 ft.; length of keel for
tonnage, 217 ft.; extreme breadth, 52ft. Bin.; ditto
for tonnage, 52ft. 2in.; depth of hold, 17ft. lin.;
burden in tons, 3,142. The Arethusa is
the second completed of three vessels, the
machinery of which has been made with the view
to certain results in accordance with orders from
the Admiralty. The vessels chosen for the trial of
these experiments are the Octavia, 51, the machi-
nery of which has been completed and officially tried
by Messrs. Maudslay, Son, and Field ; the Arethusa,
which has been fitted with machinery by Messrs.
John Penn and Son ; and the Constance, which is
being fitted by Messrs. Randolph ani Elder. The
peculiarity in the machinery of these vessels is that
they are fitted each with a pair of engines of 500
horse, which are to effea a greater amount of power
at a less working cost than any yet introduced into
her Majesty's navy. The Arethusa is fitted with a
pair of expansive trunk engines, with two cylin-
ders, 864 inches diameter, the trunk being 33 inches
diameter, and the length of stroke 42 inches, with
surface condensers containing nearly six miles of
one-inch tubing. The boilers, four in number, with
four furnaces to each, are fitted with super-heating
apparatus. The propeller is Griffiths' patent, pitch
20 to 26 feet, present pitch 23 feet. The performance
of the machinery during the trial was most satis•
factory both as to the working of the engines and
the results produced. The ship left her moorings in
the harbour at one o'clock, and proceeded to the
measured mile in charge of Capt. Thompson, of the
steam reserve at Sheerness ; Messrs. W. Price, in-
spector of machinery afloat, and Samuel Townsend,
foreman of engineers at Sheerness yard, being pre-
sent to observe the results. The engines were under
the superintendence of Mr. Thomas Holliday, and
and there were also present Mr. Mathews, one of
the partners in, and other gentlemen connected
with, the firm of Messrs. John Penn and Son. After
the ship had been taken to the measured mile (a
distance of 12 miles from port), the engines work-
ing most of the way at full speed, it was considered
advisable (as this was the first time there had been
an opportunity of testing the qualities of the ma-
chinery at full power) to give the engines a
thorough examination previous to the trial on the
mile; this having taken a considerable time, and
the vessel having left the harbour so late in the day,
it was found impossible to satisfactorily complete
the trial that day, consequently four runs only were
made on the mile, the average results of which were
12.654 knots; pressure of steam, 24; revolutions,
63 ; vacuum, 281. The force of wind during the
time was from sto 6. The circle was turned in 6
minutes ; the diameter of circle about five times the
length of the vessel. The average temperatures
during the day were—engine room, 54 deg. ; fore
stokehole, 83 deg. ; after stokehole, 87 deg. The
regular official trial will shortly take place.
In the new foundry at her Majesty's Dockyard,
Portsmouth, on Saturday, a very successful casting
was made, under the superintendence of Mr. A.
Murray, of a four bladed screw, intended for ex-
perimental purposes with the Shannon screw fri-
gate, Capt. J. B, Wainwright. The screw is of the
same pattern as the one introduced into the French
Imperial navy. Its blades are affixed to the boss in
pairs, standing parallel with each other. A six
bladed screw is also in course of preparation for ex-
perimental purposes, and will also be tested by the
Shannon. The blades on this are fixed at equal dis-
tances round a sphere of precisely similar nature to
the sphere used by Griffiths to his patent propeller.
Similar trials have been previously made at Ports-
mouth, but with a small gunboat, rendering them
of no real value whatever.

The contractors' trial of the engines of the Albion,
80, took place on Friday last at Plymouth. This
ship, which measures 3,005 tons, was built on the
new ground at Devonport dockyard about 15 years
since, and was first stationed in the Mediterranean.
She was subsequently laid up for a long period in
Hamoaze, when it was determined to supply her
with a screw, for which purpose she was placed in
dock. So much rotten timber was discovered in the
fore part that her repairs were suspended by the
local authorities until instructions were received
from the Lords of the Admiralty, who resolved that
the work should proceed, and she was accordingly
repaired and altered. In her sailing days she was
described as the " rolling Albion," through her
unsteadiness at sea. She has what is termed
a pegtop bottom, in consequence of which it is ne-
cessary to raise her machinery, so that a man can
walk about underneath. The area of the midship
section, which is very angular, is 710 ft. Her
engines, by Messrs. Humphreys, Tennant, and Co.,
are of 400-horse, of the same kind as those in the
Liverpool, which are of 600-horse power. They
are horizontal, direct acting, exceedingly simple and
compact, and any part can be approached while
they are in motion. The screw shaft is 90ft. long
by 121 in. in diameter, the diameter of the screw is
17ft., and the pitch, 19ft. The draught of the ship
forward is 18ft. 9in., and aft 21ft. Gin. Capt. Key,
Mr. Steil, of the Indus, and Mr. Ward, assist.-en-
gineer from Keyham-yard, were present on the part
of the Admiralty. Mr. Humphreys represented
the contractors. The average speed, attained with
full boiler-power, after six trials at the measured
mile, was 11 knots ; revolutions, 69 per minute ;
pressure, 201 b ; vacuum, 27in.; half-boiler power,
8-887 knots ; revolutions, 54. The ' results of the
experiments were considered very satisfactory. It
is much feared that notwithstanding all that has
been spent on this vessel the Government will find
great difficulty in discovering a use for her which
is suitable. Could the altered character of naval
warfare (which has developed itself since her con-
version was determined on), brie been foreseen,
no doubt the Albion would have remained as she
was. Now she may possibly be adapted for a block
ship or be used in the service of the Coastguard.
To compensate for the sharpness of her bottom her
decks are exceedingly low. Her cabin fittings are
not yet put up, and it is hoped that the Admiralty
will, in the event of her being required, carry out
the plan of giving a portion of the gunroom to the
assistant-engineers, instead of placing them in a
dark and inconvenient position on the orlop deck.

The paddlewheel steam sloop Styx, 6, Comman-
der Ward, left Plymouth Sound on Saturday morn-
ing for the West Indies.
In order to improve the sailing qualities of the
iron-plated frigate Warrior, 40, Capt. Cochrane,
now at Plymouth, she was unmoored from her berth
in Hamoaze on Saturday and towed to the sheer-
hulk, when her bowsprit was taken out after which
she will be replaced at her moorings. The Warrior
will be supplied with a bowsprit much shorter, and
her bower anchors will be stowed further aft. It is
expected that when these alterations are completed
she will plunge less.
The screw steam storeship Snpply,2, Master Corn-
in3.nder W. H. Balliston, from Malta March 7, and
Gibraltar on the 16th, arrived in Plymouth Sound
on
ther Saturday evening. She experienced moderate
we a
until Wednesday while passing across the
Bay of Biscay, where strong N.T. winds prevailed.
The Supply brings home several pensioners and

other supernumeraries from the fleet in the Medi-
terranean, and some Government stores, part of
which will be landed at Devonport and the rest
taken to Woolwich. She left at Malta H.M.S.
Queen and Alacrity, and at Gibraltar the Scylla

and Procris, the French war steamer Coligny, and
a Swedish frigate. The Confederate steamer Sumter
was in the bay, and the Federal steamer Tuscarora
continued off Algesiras, on the Spanish coast.

The following appointments have been made at
the A dmiraltr—Captain Michael de Courcy, to the
Ajax, vice Captain Iteatheote, superseded; Lieut.
Spencer P. Brett, to the Majestic ; Lieut. Thomas
Stackhouse and Lieut. Bernard J.Cooper, additional,
to the Excellent; Lieut. Arthur J. Villiers, to the
Revenge; Lieut. J. D. Curtis, to the Marlborough;
Lieut. Arthur Thomas Brooke, to the Mullet; Lieut.
Colin W. Dundas, to the Dart, J. Jillard, chief en-
gineer to the Fisgard, as additional for the Adven-
ture; Thomas G. Slade, promoted to chief engineer;
Henry Cooper, engineer, to the Cumberland, for the
Rattler; Wm. Thomas, confirmed as first class assist.
Edward Judge, promoted to
-engineer in the Falcon ;
actingc engineerha rlefiHri
first
tll the Fos; r
ma
assist.-engineer
8
t.as second class assist-engi-
neer in the Kestrel; J. Franklin, confirmed as second
class
in the Melpomeno ; R. B.
Nicholson,
as second class assist.-engineer
in
h e N nfir gri
the
Nimble ; John Green, acting
tl tssii t
e., confirmed
for
n an assist.-engineer
d r
acie
second class assistant-engineer, to the Cumberland,
as supernumerary; Thomas W. Hancorn, second
Henry Wilson, assist.-
us
additional,
to then
Victory; Alex. Scott, act-
ingassrassist.-paymaster,
Master,
a,
s. to the
saty ns uarsgt to the Mullet ; Hay H. M'D Grant,
i,
rgi to ne ;
tht Cumberland; Philip E.
Manger, master's assistant, to the Trafalgar ; Edwin
R. J. Williams, master's assistant, to the Revenge ,
W. H. Hutton, master's assistant, to the Mullet ;
Jas.ie oT. Price, P
andric e,
j le. h. Ward, ,
to the Royal Adelaide ; Chas.
N
Ward, assist..clerks, to the
Revenge ; Geo. Liddell, assist-clerk, to the Royal
c
Adelaide ; F. Carver, assist-clerk, to the Cambridge;
F. M. James, assist.-clerk, to the Pembroke; A.
Court, assist.-clerk, to the Cornwallis; Henry G.
Fisgard ; H. Williams,
Cocks, assist.-clerk,
catilseestori
hskwtid.tv:oiniec,trthakoes:s
yits.ot
Tribune-
tchl ee assist.-clerk,
and
nu ds the;

THE CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA.

(From the Special Correspondent of the Times.)

WASHINGTON, MARCH 7.

The next mail may convey most important news
to Europe. If the present fine weather continues,
the roads will be fit for the march of troops in a day
or two, and I am aware that the orders for the
various divisions are in readiness. Councils of war
have been held, officers have been consulted, the
, and commissariat
and in a short time
dheepadarstomfetnhtes
iimacvdeicbaele,ntiwunasrpnoerdt,
the army of the Potomac will be in the field. To my
eyes there is no reason why it should not he suc-
cessful. There are no grounds to anticipate a se-
cond Manassas or Bull's Run. But it is obvious
that, unless Gen. M,Clellan means to attack the
Confederates directly along their front (of which
no he must execute some
o hazardousne he
ma
uvrestoe extricate his army out of
thinks n
eim capable),
its lines in front of the capital. He will be fortu-
nate if he succeeds in doing so without 'Winging on
a general engagement. It would be very unwise to
move his troops, no matter what confidence he may
feel, straight up to the works which the enemy are
said to have thrown up at Centreville. The right of
the Confederates is supposed to rest on the wooded
and difficult country over the right bank of the
Potomac, about Pohick Creek and Occoquan River,
from which there are roads to Manassas. It would
be rather rash to try them along the river, unless a
gunboat flotilla could co-operate to clear the woods
and cover the advance, and I am not all certain
snch a flotilla may not make its appearance from
some part or other. The Confederate centre is sup-
posed to be at Centreville. recent explorations
towards Fairfax having failed to ascertain the
existence of any force so far in advance. Their
right stretches from Manassas Gap Junction line
along the railroad towards Bull's Run Mountain,
and in the rear at Manassas itself their reserves
are posted. Speculation will be set at rest
in four or five days more. Meantime I
send, in my diary below, all I have to say of
matters which have happened since my last,
always excepting the great Fremont controversy,
into the merits of which I have not been able to
look as yet, for the papers, the defence, the speeches,
and the evidence, are all voluminous. Life is short.
It will be seen that a wet blanket has been placed
completely over the eyes, mouth, and ears of the
American press ; they are restricted to the chronicl-
ing of facts which afford no information to the
enemy, and not much to their friends, and in their
acquiescence they give the best proof of a patriotic
desire to restore the Union

MARCH 4.

The snow of Sunday, followed by the rain of yes-
terday, has made a joint alliance with the mud,
which is, however, drying up to-day under the in-
fluence of a brisk breeze and a sun which now and
then comes out as if he had made a mistake of a
couple of months in the time of year. It was this
day twelvemonth that Mr. Lincoln was formally in-
stalled as President of the United States under the
most remarkable circumstances which ever attended
the inauguration of the chief magistrate, for half
the Northern States were philosophizing over the
threatened rebellion of the South, the rest luke-
warm or apathetic, and the knife of the assassin had
menaced the Cesar before he entered the gates of
his palace, the capital of the Federal Union was in
danger, and the choice of the people was ratified
under the protection of such hasty and insignificant
military preparations as could be made by the corn-
mander of a vacillating and scattered army. The
States' Rights doctrine and secession were then
maintained on every side. I heard with wonder on
arriving in New York men who had been Governors
of States, or who held high office, or were well-
known politicians, laying it down as indisputable
that each State might secede ifit liked, according to 1
their theory of the Constitution, and that it would be
quite beyond the law and the compact to use force to
keep them in and to prevent their going out. Ad
these good gentlemen are now crying out for " Our
Union ! one and indivisible," and not a word of the
old story passes their lips. The sword has cut all
their logical knots. The Constitution is to be re-
written with the point of the bayonet. Mr. Lincoln
has passed through an eventful year, but the Repub-
lic itself has gone through still greater trials and
dangers, and it would be bold to say it has come out
a over remote
unscathed or untouched in principle. Instead of
700 an army not much
larger ment around h
an adivision he Capitol,sow and n
b
ro
dcast
timesarmed men almost in
w of the as many moving
v frontiers,ie
slowly
over
the city, aresurface
ofioov,cs 00
the body of the re_ rOi
into
t o
hellion. In lieu of the navy of a fourth-rate Power,
there is a rapidly increasing fleet, which for coast
defences, at all events, will place the means of the
United States among those of the first-rate maritime
Powers. 'when this war will
end.onlet itshiimngposissibplelationsaeynou
enough—the season
during which active operations in the South can be
prudently undertaken is fast approaching, and Mr.
Jefferson Davis must have reliance on some sources
of resistance which are not visible to most of us
s the war will last for years. The towns
Mobile, Savannah, and Charles-
is every sign of the
Confederates being driven back on the original
Slave States, when they will make a desperate stand
wotofhneNnaerhweeisnOarydlaenangser, and there
if their unanimity be true, or fall to pieces should
there be a large Union sentiment in their midst.
It must be remembered that when the States con-
tained little more than 3,000,000, with a large
loyalist population, England held the seacoast and
the Continentals maritime
New the number of
men in arms, if the figures are credible, is so great
o submission. for year
that neither section can pay them for any length of
time. But the Continentals were often paid with
paper moocy, which was never redeemed. Mr.
Davis asserts that he has 400 regiments of infantry,
with a suitable cavalry and artillery 4rce. Tha

United States do not pretend to have more than
50 regiments in excess of the Confederates. They
possess, however, this advantage—that they can
raise another army if this one be 'beaten or worn
out, always supposing the North continues in the
same mood ; whereas the South may be considered
as having done its utmost in arraying its forces,
and as having nearly drained the sources of enlist-
ment.

WEDNESDAY, March 5.

An excursion in the camps across the river to-day
satisfied me that it will not be possible, without
great good fortune in the weather, to advance the
army for the next ten days or fortnight. The soil
towards the Potomac is deep and soft. Wheels and
horses' hoofs have turned it into deepest mud, and
in the roads there are holes almost worthy of the
main street of Balaklava. There is nothing, to be
sure, so rich, so sticky, and so profound as the
" bad bits" about the Col, but there are very credit-
able specimens of Virginian manufacture in that
line all over the country. Great changes have
taken place since I was last here: The bed of the
aqueduct at Georgetown has been converted into
a road across the river ; a steam ferry has been es-
tablished a little below; and the railroad from
Alexandria has been laid down over the Long
Bridge. There is a sensible relaxation about
passes, though they are still necessary at all
important points. The men themselves, in spite of
mud,look all the better for their winter experiences.
As we rode through Georgetown a battery of artil-
lery was moving out towards the Chain Bridge, and
I was informed two more had preceded it in the
same direction. This, again, looks like reinforcing
the right in order to try the enemy's left. The
battery in question was well horsed, the men were
young and strong looking, carriages, caissons, forge
carts, all seemed in good order, the pieces all of the
same calibre-3-inch Parrott's, throwing a 10lb.
shot or shell, and rifled—each with six horses at-
tached, and spare horses following the ammunition
carts. They moved easily over the paved road, but
it would have been quite impossible to take them
to Arlington House at the other side of the river,
as it was as much as one could do to get there
on horseback; now and then there were regular
bogholes, into which it was more easy to get than it
was to escape thence again. Arlington looks deso-
late enough. General M'Dowell has done his best
to save the fine trees which surround the house, but
their leafy honours will be thinner this year than
when first I saw them in April. The General
v, as in Washington, and so we pushed on through
the cleared ground, which was spongy that horses
sank to their hocks in many places, passing the camp
of the 3d Harris Cavalry, who were being drilled
in the black plain below us, and who, considering
the time they have been embodied and the nature of
their exercise and parade ground, were acquitting
themselves most creditably, and reflected credit on
the pains and skill of their officers. The Major, I
believe, is an ex-officer of French cavalry. The
country hereabouts is cut up by cart ruts and turned
into a paste by incessant waggons and horses, and
the neighbourhood of the camp reminded me of
Kadikoi. All the tents, however, were smoking
merrily; the abundance of wood has done much to
render the army comparatively comfortable during
the winter. What would not the Allies have given
in 1854-5 for a few acres of the timber lying stacked
up or ready to be cut in all directions here ? It
is probable that when the army moves its marches
will be long and rapid if fortune favours their at-
tempt to outflank and defeat the enemy. The Ger-
mans will, no doubt, do their part well here, as they
have done it in the West, where they claim
a large share of the fighting and the victories
achieved by the Federal armies. They are well
equipped with Springfield and Enfield
well clad, and comprise a very fair proportion of
vigorous, well-grown men, though their ranks
might be weeded of some very small men, too young
or too old and weak for hard campaigning. The in-
terior of the tents was comfortably arranged with
plank beds and rough seats and tables, and here
and there were huts of earth and wood, with glass
windows, which had been " found" in houses in the
country around. The field hospital, which was
about being emptied of its inmates for transport to
Washington, was well provided, arranged, and ven-
tilated ; it stood on the site of a stable or outhouse
and had been enlarged and built up an additional
story. The wooden stretchers, beds and trestles,
the mattresses, blankets, and sheets, seemed clean
and of good quality, and Dr. Root, whom we found
working away in his shirt sleeves, superintending
the reputation of his patients to the ambulance, has
the reputation of being an accomplished and able
medical officer. He told me that but for the enlist-
ment and retention of men who were not fit for
military service, the average sickness in the brigade
would be wonderfully small—not more perhaps than
3 in 200 ; as it was, the avertige only reached 3 per
100 on the strength. Thence we paid a visit to the
general's quarters, which were "fixed " in a small
wooden cottage, neatly fitted up, rooms papered and
warmed, windows glazad—so comfortable, so soon
to be exchanged for the "tentless" field. But all
arc confident of victory. As a ruddy-faced, blue-
eyed English major—one who served the Queen a
long time ago, and who is now fighting sturdily for
the Republic—said between slow whiffs of his cigar,
"When we march this time we'll never come back
beaten, depend upon it. If we don't win we'll stay
there." But how little car. any man foresee the
events of the battlefield or the course of his conduct !
I have no doubt that the Briton will keep his word.
And so we parted, and a cold slow ride through the
mud and over the Long-bridge brought us back to
Washington. The complement of batteries to each
division is fixed at three. This would give 39 bat-

teries to the corps d'armee of the Potomac, without
counting the reserves—a very formidable artillery.
Blenker's division has two cavalry regiments at-
tached to it, but the cavalry proportion is not the
same in all the divisions. The news of the evacua-
tion of Columbus, for which we have been prepared
since the capture of Donnelson and the retreat
from Bowling Green, was officially communicated
yesterday in a despatch from Brigadier• General
Cullum. The Confederates must have left
it in a hurry, as " quite a number " of
guns and carriages, ammunition, and a
large quantity of shot and shell, anchors, chain
cable, &c., were not destroyed. The river is now
open down to Island No. 10, where the Confederates
seem to have gone as a mouse into a trap, or, if
they like it better, as a lion into his den, and Bishop
General Polk has called for 1,000 negroes to work
on the defences. Martinsburg, in Western Virgi-
nia, has been occupied by Banks. This place lies
north of Winchester about 25 miles, under North
Mountain, and is on the Baltimore and Ohio Rail-
road, which is in course of reconstruction. General
Jackson is at Winchester with a force estimated at
35,000 men, prepared to hold the place, but Banks
seems more anxious to cover the railroad which
communicates with the Western Virginia road, and
by an elaborate system with Richmond itself, the
West and the South, than to risk an immediate
action. Working round in that manner on their
left must perplex the Confederates exceedingly, not
to speak of the loss of stores, woollen mills, the
capture of prisoners, such as Richard Washington,
and the like. The continued retreat of the troops
on interior lines does not cause any infirmity of pur-
pose. The Federals admit that Nashville, which is
once more in communication with Louisville, is
Secessionist, and that not a trace of Union feeling
exists on the Cumberland River banks, though they
assert there is a considerable amount of it along the
Tennessee. At Memphis Home Guards are orga-
nised, and preparations made to burn the city rather
than surrender it. The sentiment of the people is
expressed in the Avalanche, which says, in refer-
ence to the military chiefs :--.
"If they say fight, we I say fight •if f... 12:- y.• retreat,
ey
WO acquiesce, hOWOV.
4."-- it maY a burn
,var up the railroads, so say we; if theY fl 7

..4d.
STAMPED ....sd.

the bridges, burn them; they order the country
to be laid waste, execute the order ; if they com-
mand the city to be laid in ashes, lay the city in
r.shes, and plough up its foundations, and sow salt
over them."

There is an outcry raised, which will probably be
irresistible, to burn the cotton and tobacco which
may he in danger of falling into the Federals' hands;
and the Richmond Whig exclaims, "If the selfish
policy of foreign Governments leads them to seek
their interests by aiding in our ruin, let us show
them we will not fall unavenged, but can and will
spread ruin over the earth!" What will become of
the Confederate bonds based on cotton ? The Go-
vernment is going to undertake the culture of that
important staple on the estates gained in South
Carolina ; but the produce of this scheme, even if
successful, will be but a poor compensation for the
loss of the crop in Confederate lands.
The condition of the slaves, who have fallen be•
tween two stools, is miserable enough. An effort,
which in all likelihood, will be successful, is now
being made to free the slaves in this district of
Columbia and in the city of Washington, but there
is a strong opposition to it, particularly on the part
of members of the town Councils. The weather is
fine again to-day.
MARCH 7.,

Another fine day, frosty with a bright blue sky
and brisk breeze. To be sure the frost gives a de-
ceitful aspect of dryness to the ground, but still it
is better than mud. If the weather continues like
this the Federal army will move in a few days.
Every one is discussing M'Clellan's plans, guessing
at them, and waiting events. The corps under
Banks is receiving reinforcements, and has ad-
vanced to Banker's-hill and Smithfield, on the road
to Winchester, which is strongly held by Jac'Eson
and defended by earthworks mounted with 60
guns. Deserters have come in, among whom is
reported one officer, and the Federals say that the
country people arc now bringing in provisions
more freely and are not so ill-disposed towards
them. The rumours of declaration of martial
law and arrests in Richmond are confirmed. Mr.
John Minor Bolts has been arrested as a Unionist
conspirator, together with others who have been
very outspoken since the recent Northern suc-
cesses. The newspapers are dumb as to facts, and
are buried with abstract questions. The State of
Illinois has evinced its sincere desire to benefit the
negro, by adopting a resolution to prevent black
men or mulattoes entering within the State. The
constitutional Convention approved the resolution,
and the Convention agreed on the report by a
majority of 45 against 15. Ohio is equally libe-
ral. No necessity now for Fugitive Slave Laws
or Personal Liberty Bills in States which adopt
these principles.

The South is determined the Northerners shall
not get King Cotton into their hands. He is worth
20 cents. and more a pound in Boston ; he is only
worth a third of that in Charleston. There is pow
talk of reopening trade with the South, which can
only be done by licence from the President, issued
through the Secretary of the Treasury, in order
that the North may derive a revenue from the sale
of Southern produce. Mr. Chase's
plan of appoint-
ing certain persons to carry on this trade does not
meet with much favour. But really it will be neces-
sary for the financial cooks to remember the injunc-
tion, "First catch you' hare;" and we who live in
Washington know how very difficult it is to effect
that operation.
The care of the Labuan is likely to create embar-
rassment in the relations of the two Governments
unless Mr. Seward acts in the spirit of fairness and
conciliation which ho says he is anxious to pursue.
She is a British vessel, chartered by merchants in
Manchester, who are owners of a quantity of cotton
in the town of Matamoras, which is situated on the
right bank of the Rio Grande, dividing Mexico
from Texas ; and she was lying at anchor in the
port of that place, and loading with that cotton,
when she was seized by the United States' cruiser
Portsmouth, and sent into New York for adjudica-
tion on the ground that she was taking in a cargo
of Texan cotton. Lord Lyons addressed a note on
the subject to Mr. Seward, who has not yet sent a
reply on the merits of the case, or on the course to
ne pursued by his Government, but, as he has pro-
mised that the United States will make reparation
if in error, it is probable the vessel will be released,
and compensation made for her detention if the state-
ment of the master be found substantially correct.

ECONOMIC LIFE ASSURANCE--'-'-

CO itIPA NY.

The annual general court of the proprietors in
this company was held on Saturday, at the offices
of the company, 6, Bridge-street, Blackfriars, for
the purpose of receiving the auditor's annual report,
and for the re-election of the retiring officers. R.
Biddulph, Esq., occupied the chair.
The SECRETARY (Mr. Macdonald) read the general ac-
count for the year 1861, which showed :—" Receipts—
Assurance premiums, £194,616 19s lld ; less commission,
£6,419 3s 4d—X188,197 les 7d; interest on investments,
£51,900 12s 2d ; less income tax, £3,240 4s Gd-178,660
7s 8d; total, £266,858 4s 3d. Paid—Assurance claims,
£129,968 19s ; annuity claims, £1,040 lOs ; purchase of
policies, £B,llO 17s 4d; reassurance premiums, £290
193 9d; office expenses, £7,557 is lld ; medical fees, £269
Gs Gd ; general law charges, £291 19s 7d ; balance carried
to investments, £119,328 10s 2d ; total, £266,858 4s 3d.
" Assurance fund—To balance, Ist January, 1861, con-
sisting of—Funded property, £728,418 15s 8d; loans on
policies, £74,935 lOs ; mortgages, £994,161 4s 4d; life
interests, £65,818 Os 3d; reversions, £27,982 17s Gd; cash
on hand and on deposit, £20,189 Os 6d—£1,911,505 8s 3d;
to balance from general account, £119,328 10s
.2d. ; total,
' £2,030,833 18s sd. Cr.—By terminable annuities, &c.,
£341 12s Gd; by balance,£ 31st December, elcseamBbderlol=B6sl,onco
policies,ns t t n g
of—Funded property, 66
£78,323 3s; mortgages, £1,194,185 Os ld ; life interests,
£57,734 17s 9d; reversions, £27,994 8s 9d ; cash on hand,
£3,627 lls 8d—X2,030,492 5s lld ; total, £2,030,833
188 sd.

" The number of proposals received in 1858 was 675 ; in
1859, 865 ; in 1860, 629 ; and in 1861, 539 ; policies issued
in the same years respectively, 465, 723, 501, 443 ; proposals
declined, 68, 88,68, 56 ; not completed, 39, 54, 60, 40 ; sums
assured by new policies, £323,670, £530,427, £374,835,
X 312,240; amount of new premiums, £10,273, £18,354,
£13,036, £11,135 ; total premiums received, £182,430,
£192,178, £199,445, £199,242; number of policies remain-
ing in force at end of each year, 7,818, 8,256, 8,471, 8,617 ;
amounts assured thereon, £6,216,647, £6,645,457,
£6,697,572, £6,802,158; amount of bonus outstanding,
£391,759, £638,192, £609,568, £586,188 ; total liabilities,
£6,608,406, £7,183,649, £7,307,140, £7,388,346 ; invested
capital, £1,805,518, £1,815,696, £1,911,505, £2,030,492.
The claims in 1858 were on 151 policies assuring 123 lives,
£148,167 ; in 1859 on 163 policies assuring 134 lives
£162,326 ; in 1860, on 128 policies assuring 105 lives,
£134,909; and in 1861, on 167 policies assuring 132 lives,
£141,861, including bonuses in each case. Tho amount of
new business transacted in 1859, being a bonus year) was
larger than that of ordinary years."
The CHAIRMAN, addressing the meeting,
Although we have not done so much businessthis
last year as in some former years,
which
I believe
has been the case generally with said—
offices owing to the difficulties that have assurance
ave arisen
abroad, and the small profits that have been made
in business, which we feel perhaps more than any.
body else, still the results, as stated in the raper
circulated among the policy holders, will, I think,
be considered satisfactory. We have in the course
of the year issued 443 new policies, assuring in the
aggregate £312,240. The premiums received on
these new policies amount to £11,135, Amongst
these there are six of £5,000 and upwards, one be-
tween £5,000 and £4,000, twelve between £4,000
and £3,000, twenty ,between £3,000 and £2,000,
ninety between £2,000 and 1;1,000, 124 between
£l,OOO and £5OO, and 188 of £5OO and less, We
have arising from premiums an income of .V. D 4,000
—say £200,000 in round numbers, antl
from in-
terest upon investments n
4,81,000. T !at is the cre-
ditor side of the account. ,
ccount, On the either side we have
lost by afath 167
policies, assuring with bonuses
4' 1
A. upon 132 lives; of these 138 assuring
£101,017, Carrying bonuses of £20,296. There is a
singular fact in reference to these which deserves
14tie01tZ., that in Addition to the £20,296 absolute