The Sun.
London, England, 1853-09-16 00:00:00

—and that great extortion prevails in some estab-
lishments is unfortunately but too certain, but
these form the exceptions, and not the rules. And
we believe that taking the general body of pro-
prietors throughout the entire country, it would
be difficult to find a more energetic and hard-
working body, or one more desirous of meriting
the public patronage, by a strict attention to their
business, and an earnest desire to combine reason-
able charges with good accommodation, so as to
gain fair remuneration for themselves (and who
will take trouble, and encounter the risk of loss
without such a prospect ?), and to give satisfaction
to their visitors. Let us strip the question of the
prejudices by which it is surrounded, let us take
a fair and unbiassed view of the subject, and we will
find that even in the worst cases there are faults on
both sides, and that the exhibition of less pretension
on the part of the traveller, and a disposition
to be more easily contented, would be met with a
corresponding movement on the part of the hotel
proprietors, who, we are convinced, would wil-
lingly meet any reasonable suggestions on the part
of the community.
In the first place, before lending ourselves to
the clamour that has been excited, and joining in
the outcry against a respectable and hardworking
body of men, let us consider the conditions under
which they are bound to carry on their business,
the time during which they are enabled to realise
handsome returns, and the general balance of
profit and loss on the entire year in proportion to
the capital embarked, the risks encountered, and
the labour that must be bestowed on the efficient
management of the concern. If we find that,
taking the twelve months one with another, the
Hotel-keeper does not obtain undue remuneration
when all these matters are taken into account,
that his occupation is not less troublesome or more
profitable than others in which he may embark,
we find that the loud complaints as to extortionate
charges fall to the ground, and that the supposed
extortioner is, generally speaking, a fair-dealing,
well-disposed man, quite contented if he can make
both ends meet, and set aside a moderate provi-
sion for a rainy day, to provide for the time when
old age, or failing health, or even a change of
fashion, may render himself and family dependent
on the savings of more auspicious seasons for com-
petent support. A slight examination will show
us that, as a class, the Hotel and Innkeepers have
sustained perhaps heavier losses than any other—
that families once moving in respectable spheres,
and enjoying every reasonable comfort befitting
their positions, have been reduced, without any
faults on their parts, by causes wholly beyond their
own control, to poverty and destitution from
comparative affluence—a simple fact, that should
induce them to enter on a dispassionate investiga-
tion of the subject, in order to ascertain if any-
where the fault really lies.
Placing aside, then, the differences of rent and
taxes to which the Continental and English Hotel-
keepers are subjected, but which will alone be
sufficient to account for very material alterations
in the charges to customers, we must make allow
antes for the brief harvest which the English pro-
prietor is enabled to reap. The person maintain-
ing a handsome establishment at a fashionable
watering-place, or in a district in which he can
only look to have his house filled during a brief
season, knows to his cost that it is only for two
or three months of the year that he can antici-
pate anything in the way of profit. For the
remainder of his time, at least nine months
out of the twelve, he will consider him-
self exceedingly fortunate if he can pay his way ;
if, in fact, his establishment meets its own ex-
penses. The interest for his capital, and remu-
neration for his labour, rent, taxes, and other
outgoings, must all be provided within the busy
time when he is reaping the fruit of what he had
previously sown. He would gladly hand over
his concern for the nine months to any person
who could give him sufficient security that the
character of his house would not be depreciated,
or his property injured during the time. No
reasonable traveller, then, will complain if, during
the Hotel-keeper's harvest, he himself should be
charged ls. for a chop sold by the butcher for
4d., or 6s. for a bottle of sherry, supplied by the
merchant for 3s. He will take into his consi-
deration the supply of what is too frequently a
perishable commodity, that must be kept in hand.
If he pays in Calais, Boulogne, or Ostend, or, in
fact, at any of the hotels of France or Belgium, 2i
or 3 francs for a bottle of Bordeaux, costing the
proprietor from 12 to 20 sous, why should he
complain at paying from 2s. 6d. to 3s. for a
pint of sherry, or port, costing the English
proprietor is. 6d. The cheap and moderate
foreigner makes from 200 to 300 per cent.
profit ; the extortionate Englishman from 70 to
100 per cent. Yet one is praised because
he can purchase his liquids and viands cheaply,
the other censured because he is obliged to pay
dearly for inferior commodities. But which is it,
the system of indirect taxation, or the landlord,
that is to be censured ? If we consent to retain
an iniquitous fiscal system, we must not complain
of those who are obliged to suit their dealings to
existing circumstances. The Frenchman, in his
private dwelling-house, has an excellent bottle of
light claret for a franc. He pays three francs at
a table d'hote for the same. The Englishman, in
his private house, pays 3s. for a bottle of bad
sherry. He gets the same at a hotel for 6s. The
advance to the Frenchman is 200 per cent., to
the Englishman 100 per cent. Which has the
greatest reason of complaint ? It is a fair way of
putting the question, ati.d the answer will go far
to decide the controversy.
But there is another point that must not be
lost sight of. The English traveller, while on the
road, is far more exigante than the Continental.
He requires an exhibition of plate and gorgeous
furniture that the other never thinks of obtaining,
and which he himself is not accustomed to at home.
He grumbles and complains without just cause,
and is then surprised if "it is all put in the
bill." In truth, he desires to pass for a much
greater man than he really is. He will not per-
mit his lady friend to go into the public room,
and grumbles at being charged for a private
apartment. Iles'll ask, perhaps, for " Moselle "
at a provincial hotel, for the purpose of impress-
ing the waiters and attendants with the notion
that no is a very important personage, and then
complains if they should be deceived, and esti-
mate him according to his pretensions rather than
to the actual state of the case. Let JOHN BULL
be less exacting on the road, and he will be better
and more moderately served ; and if matters
should turn out differently, and he should be
handed a heavy bill for bad accommodation, let
him, before he blames the hotel-keeper, consider
how far he is himself responsible for the objec-
tionable items.

there by the avowed enemy, and here by
the nominal friends, of the Sultan ABD-
17L-MEDJID —there by the known assailants,
and here by the so-called supporters, of the Otto-
man Empire—there by the one foe, and here by
the four allies, of Turkey. Let us examine into
the labour of the opposing forces, and then answer
which of the two has yet, up to this instant, ob-
tained the advantage—the Cabinet of St. Peters-
burg, or the Conference brought about at Vienna
between the Representatives of the British, French,
Austrian, and Prussian Governments. Examine,
we say, and then answer which of the two has
yet obtained the advantage? Why—so have
matters been conducted between Russia and the
allies of Turkey, that the cause of the CZAR has,
for the time, assumed the appearance of right,
of reason, and of justice. The Emperor NICHO-
LAS has so preserved his own consistency in the
midst of the flagrant and notorious inconsistency of
the Four great opposing Powers of Christendom,
that his position from having been the worse, has
become actually and unmistakeably the better,
more solid, more defined, and more tenable.
Argue the matter as you may, this fact, unhap-
pily, is just now beyond the reach of contra-
diction.

In a military point of view Russia has obtained
the
advantage--because, if the Turks have been
arming,
and
if the Egyptians have furnished their
contingent, the Cossack forces, under Prince
GORTZCIIAKOFF, have long since crossed the
boundary line of the Pruth, and formally taken
possession of the Danubian Principalities.
In a maritime point of view, no less than in a
military, Russia has again obtained the advan-
tage—because the advance of the seasons have
brought about the security of her fleets in the
Baltic, and the adroit application of her energies
have marvellously developed her warlike resources
in the Euxine—in her stores at Odessa, and her

dockyards at Sebastopol—while the Turkish line-
of-battle ships have been idly manoeuvring in the
Bosphorus, and the united fleets of France and
England have been more idly anchored in Besika
Bay, instead of being long since conducted to the
waters of Constantinople, through the channel of
the Dardanelles.

Finally, in a diplomatic point of view, yet
more than in a military or a maritime, Russia has
indisputably up to this moment obtained the ad-
vantage over her antagonists. Because—if the
original Note presented to the Divan by Prince
MENSCHIKOFF was refused by the Turkish Govern-
ment—if the Sened was refused, and then the
ultimatum, and then the ultimatissimum—the
proposal suggested by the Four Powers through
their representatives at Vienna, the proposal
submi' ted by England, France, Austria, and
Prussia, first, to the Government of St. Petersburg,
and then to the Government of Constantinople,
the Proposal accepted by Russia and rejected by
Turkey, has been so drawn up by the allies of the
SULTAN, that it secures to the Emperor NICHOLAS

more than his arrogant ministers through their
insolent emissary had, even in the haughtiest

moment of their pride, ventured to demand from
the Turkish Government.

Therefore, we repeat—Russia has in a military
point of view, in a maritime point of view, and
in a diplomatic point of view, obtained, as yet,
unquestionable advantages over her antagonists.
Military advantages in the lengthened occupation
of Moldavia and Wallachia ! Maritime advan-
tages in the simultaneous strengthening of the
fleets of the Baltic and of the Euxine, as well as
in the concentration and accumulation of the ma-
terials of war for the army at Odessa, and for the

navy at Sebastopol ! Diplomatic advantages in
so persisting in the CZAR'S first lawless demands
upon the SULTAN that the Four Powers are in-
duced at last to propose a compromise (!) grant-
ing more to Russia than was ever demanded by
the Cabinet of St. Petersburgh !
The real tendency of the Note emanating from
the conference at Vienna of the British, French,
f Austrian, and Prussian Representatives, might,
if in nothing else, be perceived clearly enough
from the diametrically opposite manner in which
it was at once received at St. Petersburgh and at
Constantinople. We have seen that it was forth-
with accepted by the Russian Government—ac-
cepted eagerly and unconditionally. Added to
this, we have observed that it was rejected without
delay by the Divan—rejected respectfully, it is
true, but positively and unmistakeably. Now,
we ask any man of common sense if these two
facts, taken together, are not in every way signifi-
cant as to the bearing of the Note forwarded from
Vienna to St. Petersburgh and Constantinople ?
We ask any impartial observer to decide
whether those facts do or do not imply that the
proposal is degrading to Turkey and truckling to
Russia, advantageous to the CZAR, and disadvan-
tageous to the SULTAN ? Of this, of course, the
Note itself is the clearest attestation ; but the
prompt acceptance of it by Russia, and the reso-
lute rejection of it by Turkey come in, we con-
ceive, as crowning corroboration.

MONEY MARKET

AND
CITY INTELLIGENCE.

CITY, TWO O'CLOCK.

The sales of cotton at Liverpool yesterday
were estimated at 5,000 to 6,000 bales, of which
1,500 American were taken for export and on
speculation. The market closed very flat with
prices of all kinds id. per lb. lower. The sales
include 130 Pernam and Maranham at 6id. to Bd.,
80 Bahia at Gid. to 6 d., 200 Egyptian at 61d. to
71d., and 1,000 Surat at 3d. to 3id. per lb. The
Railway Share Market opened flat, but closed with
a better tone.

Colonial produce was taken steadily for con-
sumption in the early part of the week, but since
the apprehension of a further increase in the Bank
rate of discount, neither exporters nor the home
trade have been very willing to buy, and conse-
quently some heaviness has been apparent. With
the exception of one or two articles, such as
tallow and iron, there has been very little specula-
tion lately, and the latter has materially declined.
Sugar has been rather cheaper, coffee firm, salt-
petre and rum in demand, cotton steady, hemp
and flax rather tending upwards, and tea quiet.
The advantage of a new means of communica-
tion between. Ireland and Great Britain has just
been practically tested by the running of a steamer
on an experimental trip between Belfast and Scot-
land. The point of departure was Lough Ryan.
The voyage was accomplished in three hours, and
will probably be made hereafter in two. A corres-
pondent writing to us from Belfast, upon this sub-
ject, remarks :
" Your paper has always looked closely into the mail
service. With two such natural harbours placed, as it
were, vis-à-vis to each other, and with boats built suit-
able for the station, the distance may be run in less than
two hours with regularity ; and then, it must be also
borne in mind that the sea-passage would be in that
case less than an hour ; in fact, with the shelter of the
Copeland Islands, placed as it were by nature to act as
the most perfect series of breakwaters, it would be a
misnomer if called a passage ; it would rather be a mere
steam ferry.
"At present the mail is brought round by Dublin,
and the time allowed for its conveyance from London is
18 hours. It will be done by the new route in 11 hours,
and if a short line '`of 20 miles were made to Girvan on
the Glasgow and Ayr line, it could be taken round rid
Ayr in 12 hours."
The advices by the Overland Mail, according to
the telegraph via Trieste, will be satisfactory in re-
spect to the extent of the business doing in imports,
although prices do not seem to have improved.
The Indigo crop is estimated at 116,000 maunds.
The progress of the war in China is apparently still
in favour of the revolutionists.
The minimum rate of discount at the Bank of
England was not advanced at an hour sufficiently
early to enable us to do more than record the fact.
Some thought the measure would be postponed for
another week, and the fact of a longer discussion
than usual having taken place in the Bank parlour,
shows t hat it was not considered immediately urgent.
Moreover it was the impression that there would
be an immediate jump to 5 instead of 44 per cent.,
and it would be advisable that all parties should
at once make their calculations to meet such a con-
tingency. Once up to 5 per cent., there will be
every prospect of permanency, unless something
very adverse occurs, and at last the foreign ex-
changes will get more in our favour, and loans and
other schemes be repressed. Our opinion has
already been expressed as to the Bank having for-
merly discounted too low, because when unable
to get more than 2 per cent. on Bills, it might in-
vest its surplus in Consols. Now, however, if the
bullion cannot be kept in the country, these rapid
advances are inevitable.

The English stock market has been without any
particular change, and with less doing. The wet
weather causes a dull tone to prevail, otherwise the
inclination would probably have been favourable.
Consols have been 95 to ,3 for transfer, and 951 to
-1 for account. East India Stock has been quoted
253. Exchequer Bills have fallen to 6s. to Bs. dis-
count, and India Bonds to 2s. discount to 4s.
premium.
Foreign Stocks have been rather firmer. Mexi-
can have improved to 24 Sardinian Bonds
have realised 93 to 94. Portuguese 4 per Cents.
have been at 42i to 43. Brazilian Old 5 per Cents.
have been done at 97. The Spanish Deferred.
Stock has been at 22t, and the Committee's Cer-
tificate is at 51-. Dutch 2i- per Cents. have been
at 63k.
Railway Shares have been generally lower, and
to the extent of to 1 per cent., North-Western,
Midland, South-Eastern, and Caledonian. French
shares have been duller, but not much lower.

The Gold Mines are steady, and the Australian
Banks lower. The Land Companies' shares are
higher.
The last week's railway receipts, ascertained up
to this day, are in round figures as under :

Great Western..

North Western

South Western

1853. 1852.
.. £26,067 £20,624

58,025 52,725

14,720 13,427

Brighton 14,474 14,474
Midland 26,759 25,129

South Eastern....

... 21;716 19,580

Caledonian and Edin. and Glasgow 16,154 14,266
Great Northern 17,529 13,313

Russia having thus so far succeeded, the young
Emperor FRANCIS JOSEPH is about, on the 23d
instant, to be lured into the perils of a personal
interview at Olmiitz with his Majesty the Russian
AUTOCRAT, of all living potentates perhaps the
most wily, astute, and experienced. Everything,
in fact, bodes mournfully at this moment for the
insecurity of the peace of Christendom—our
di

Lancashire and Yorkshire
20,704 19,038
York and North Midland, Newcastle

and Berwick, and Leeds Northern 30,132 28,010

BRITISH FUNDS THIS DAY.
( From the Official List.) _

Business done.
3 per Cent. Consols Annuities . 9si 5
New 31 per Cent. Annuities shut 97i
Long Annuities, Expire sth Jan., 1860 , —
Ditto 30 Years, Expire sth Jan.,1830 5 11-16
India Stock
fndia Bonds, XlOOO
Ditto, under £lOOO 5 p
Consols for Account 13th October
Exchequer Bills, ld.
£l000
Small
PRICE OF FOREIGN FUNDS THIS DAY.
Brazilian Bonds, 5 per Cent
Ditto New, 1852, 4i per Cer t 9B
Danish Bonds, 5 per Cent lO5 x d

Equador Bonds
Grenada Bonds, Deferred

Mexican 3 per Cent.
PeruN:an Bonds, 41 per Cent. 75-64 / d
Portuguese Bonds, 4 per Cent.
Russian Bonds, 5 per Cent.
Ditto 41 per Cent.
Sardinian Bonds, 5 per Cent 94 3 i
Spanish Bonds, 3 per Cent 46i i
Spanish New Defe-red, 3 per Cent 228
Spanish Committee Cert. of Coup. not fun Ni P a
Dividends on the above payable in London.
Belgian 41 per Cent.
Dutch Exchange, 21 per Cent.
Ditto 4 per Cent. Certifieates ......

THREE O'CLOCK.
95}
95a i

C0n5015.......................
Ditto October Account ...,

.oubts as to the future being none the less
gloomy from a knowledge that the Earl of ABER-
DEEN still continues, unfortunately, at the head
of her Majesty's Government.

THE DECIMAL COINAIE•

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SIR,—I have carefully read over your proposal for a
decimal coinage, in a leading article of The Sun of the
12th instant. As it is a very important subject, you
will, I hope, allow me to state some difficulties that
occur to my mind respecting the plan you recommend.
It would certainly be most desirable, if practicable, to
retain the present copper coinage ; and a system, com-
plete in all its parts, whereby this could be effected,
would deserve the name of the " poor man's decimal
coinage," for it would save him much inconvenience, and
perhaps loss. But, as far as I can judge, your system
would retain only one of our present copper coins, the
penny, for the halfpenny would be 2; mils, and of course
no fraction of the lowest unit can be admissible into a
coinage, and the mil, as you yourself admit, must be
substituted for the farthing. Now, let us see further
what loss we should have to set against the gain of the
penny, important certainly as this gain is. The units of
the respective denominations in your scheme, the moneys
of account, would, I conclude, be-1, the sovereign of
16s. 8d ; 2, the florin of ls. Bd. ; 3, the cent of 2d.; 4,
the mil. But what are to be the subdivisions of the units ?
I would venture to lay it down as an axiom for the framers
of a new system of coinage, that no plan, the main
subdivisions of which are not by halves and quarters, can
be successful. Now, the half of your new sovereign
would be Bs. 4d., and the quarter 4s. 2d. Of the florin
the half would be 10d., and the quarter sd. ; the half of
the cent id., and the quarter a halfpenny. Here, then,
out of nine coins, which your system would render
necessary, only two, the penny and the halfpenny, are
now in existence, and the halfpenny would be useless,
for the reason before mentioned. The mil, too, would
be a New coin. Now, will it be worth while to sweep
away all our present coinage to save the penny ? I go,
of course, on the supposition that the subdivision of the
units into halves and quarters (as in the present coinage)
is essential. I believe it to be so. I may, however, be
wrong, and your system would certainly have this to
recommend it, that all the existing coins which contain
2d. without a remainder could be expressed in it in the
form of a decimal and in mils. Still, you would have to
Persuade the committee of the expediency, nay, of the
possibility, of changing the value of the sovereign unit.
—I remain, Sir, yours, obediently,
AN ENQUIRER.

Cineas .
Orestes.

The touring season is at itslheight,
.4nd the
public mind is greatly agitated on what is for the
time being a question of considerable importance,
in which the would-be traveller feels deeper inte-
rest than on the various complications of the
Eastern difficulty. " What shall I do with myself
' .during the week or month that, according to ex-
.:lt-jug arrangements, is placed at my own disposal,
lii which lam totally free from the cares of busi- EXPECTED BREVET.—It is the general impression in
and can do as 1 think proper, without being tary circles that a brevet will shortly take
'iubjected to any control whatsoever ? Whither
lace. The 9th of Noyember is a day anxiously looked
naval and mili
shall I
-• P awl
for the 42
ettibans.balesen for by many gallant officers of both services, that day
how shall I turn the funds available being the anniversary of the Prince of Wales's birth, and
in the selected districts on the
that ii, trip to the best advantage, so as to see all the day on which it is expected the brevet will be issued.
most r THE NEW GOVERNOR OF BOMBAY.—LordC Elphinstone,
which many duringoftPresidency
tthe past month have asked the newly appoilnited Governor
batenßefitmobfa Bombay,
sprlooccael residence. The noble lord is
and hotel charges are
hemselves, and of course the well acquainted with the general resources of the East.
For many years he filled the office of Governor of
LMat-
instituted between fares
Co • dras. Lord Elphinstone is now in his 46th
.ypar. a -
trayeuin L. Comparisons are
terryhehasfilled the
and in this country, and ag-TllB 0a the Continent
tory to England is exeiteda_piril highly deprecia- Qull7llniv.lelPAL CORPORATION.—Among the acts iofwtihte
office of Lord-in-Waiting to the
in favour of the foreign pc-4302.317thing decided last session was one for makipg
own countrymen are unspart;i_thrs, while our respect to municipal
l corrpoi.ations in E
exempted or disqualifiedg from
sundryn provisions ionTs
ow!
unequivocally condemned. RIZ Tired and serving councillors
graraennclojuorlitte. Power is now given to mayors
lished with notes and comment
e.sterday
flattering to the proprietors' attendants °of meanst RISE IN THE PRICE OF COMMODITIES.—yesterday
_s, by illa.are Pub- of boroughs to appoint deputies to act for theym
British Hostelries, while no allowance is made the placel
al now selling
for the west-end of the metropolis, the o
the peculiar circumstances in which they are pla iat 8d Coals have also risen in price within the last few
d
another. rise in the price of bread tookEs'
throughout
and the difficulties which must be encountered' I
every the large sum of 4d. per cwt. Buller,
satisfy their over fastidious guests. Nor do-,e often Poorerocterseksinfedefiftilysoalvinonnees bmeiong esqevueareyyh, h
I as labour
hear of the very moderate charges f
r‘jr comfortable at the present time is very scarce. imgrat, and
accommodation that may, we begrieve, be found in neTwii:ctNoltnwh DUTIES ON HORSES LET TO
ilißfEro.—mTthhee
the great majority of cases, and which, consider- 10th of next or
month,aesl let toen hirethe
pwill
resenttakdeueffect
ties will cease.
in g the enormous duties r
in wine, spirits, and malt For
t awliir
iLse7tlo let out one horse or one carriage, the,
liquors the expensrA of licenses, and other twoyearriages 1211°.sioffera annum, and for two horses or
charges to which f:he Englishmen is subjected, or fifteen carriages, ;hen soie rutyupwtiVbween6tk.ho
Fores
while the forclign'er is exempted, might challenge every additionalten horses, 101. The act is not to
se stage or hackney carriages. A penalty
ex-
comparison with the best-re ulat I • 1 t
of the Continent. That g e establis
inlen g of 1001. is to be levied for letting horses for hire without
En there are extreme cases a license, or keeping a greater number of horses or car-
ingland—that great abuses n say be disco, rerep rh-ge
.1 6 than' the license authorises.

TREATMENT OF G. P. R. JAMES IN AMERICA.—The
Philadelphia correspondent of the Morning Chronicle
says :—" Two attempts have been made by incendiaries
at Norfolk to set fire to the residence of G. P. R. James,
Esq., the British Consul in Virginia. It appears that
there is a strong prejudice against him on account of a
song ascribed to his pen several years since, when there
was danger of war between England and the United
States, and in which song he suggests a liberation of
American slaves by British arms. Whether this feeling
prompted the cowardly and Assassin-like attempts at
arson it is difficult to say."

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 16, 1853.

DONCASTER RACES.

(T H I S DAY.)

(BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.)

DON STAKES.

Four ran. Won in a canter.
PARK HILL STAKES.

Mayfair
Boarding School Miss
Eight ran. Fine race. Won by a head
Rataplan scratched for Cup.
DONCASTER STAKES.

Balrownie 1
Sittingbourne
Won easy.
DONCASTER CUP.
Hungerford

LA FEST FOREIGN NEWS.

FRANCE.

It was reported on Wednesday evening and yes-
terday in Paris, that the Emperor of Russia, while
rejecting the modifications, has at the same time
declared that if the Porte even now accept the
Vienna note he will give orders to his troops to
evacuate the Principalities. The Paris correspon-
dent of the Times remarking upon this, in a letter
published in a second edition of that journal, this
day, says—" If the Emperor has really said so, it
is perhaps because he is convinced that the Sultan
dare not accept the note on these conditions, and
that compliance would very probably be followed
by a demonstration on the part of the army and
the population that would place his crown, if
not his life, in danger. The war party has cer-
tainly the upper hand for the present, and what-
ever may be the Sultan's personal wishes, he is
powerless before them."
It was confidently stated yesterday that orders
had been dispatched to the commanders of the cor-
vette the Serieuse and the brig the Mercure to
proceed to the Levant to reinforce the squadron
there.

The greatest activity prevails at present through-
out the marine department, and through the un-
remitting exertions of M. Ducos, the present
Minister of Marine, France will, when the orders
already given are executed, possess a more formid-
able navy than at any other period of her history.
She will have afloat before a year, according to
present arrangements, 50 ships of the line and
as many frigates, of which 15 are of the first class,
and most of them fitted with screws. _

The Emperor received, on Wednesday, a letter
from Duke George of Saxe-Altenburg, notifying
the marriage of Prince Ernest of Saxe-Altenburg
with the Princes Agnes of Anhault-Dessau-Cothen ;
also a letter from Duke Ernest of Sax-Altenburg,
announcing the decease of Duke George of Saxe-
Altenburg, his father. In consequence of this
death the Emperor has decided to wear mourning
for two days.
Prince Jerome has taken up his residence at
Meudon.

Prince Eugene of Savoy-Carignan, cousin of the
King of Sardinia, has arrived in Paris.
It appears that the approaching journey of the
Emperor and Empress will not be a private one,
like that of Dieppe. In all the towns which their
Majesties will visit, the most extensive prepara-
tions are making to do honour to the illustrious
visitors.

The Moniteur promulgates the convention en-
tered into on the 23d February, 1853, between
France and the United States, to regulate the
rights, privileges, and immunities of consular
agents in the two countries.
An imperial decree in the Moniteur orders that
for the present, until a different decision shall have
been come to, the import duties on cattle and fresh
and salt meat shall be fixed as follows per head
Oxen and bulls, 3f. ; cows and heifers, if. ; calves,
sheep, pigs, and goats, 25c. ; lambs, kids, and
sucking-pigs, 10c.—Meat (per 100 kilogrammes)
fresh, 50c. ; salt, 10f.
The return of Admiral Romain Desfosses to
France is the result of the change in the command
of the French squadron stationed in the Archipe-
lago, which was announced some weeks since. M:
Desfosses, who has been promoted to the rank of
Vice-Admiral, has been replaced by M. le Barbier
de Tinan, and will return in the steamer which
carries out his successor.

The Municipal Council of the Seine decreed in
its sittings of Wednesday that the measure which
fixes the price of bread for Paris at 40c. per
kilogramme shall likewise apply to the communes
of the department of the Seine. The Prefect is
authorized to make to the bakers of Paris and of
the communes around it the advances necessary
to cover the difference between the cost price
and the price of 40 centimes per kilogramme.
This arrangement is to hold good from the Ist
of September.
When the Prefect of Police ordered that the
price of bread should be continued as for the
last fortnight in August, although, according
to the price of flour in the Paris market, there
should be an increase in the assize, the bakers
were informed that they would be indemnified
for the loss that they would sustain by this
order. It was supposed at the time that this
indemnity would be made as was done, on a
similar intervention many years ago by keeping
up the assize when the price of flour would permit
a reduction until the loss of the bakers, by selling
under cost, should be covered. The Debats men-
tions a report in the corn market that this course
will not be adopted, and that the government has
made known its intention of paying the bakers in
a direct way the difference between the price of
flour and the price of bread as fixed by the order
of the Perfect.

The Constitationnel states that at the sitting of
the Municipal Council yesterday a credit was voted
to supply the funds necessary for delivering bread
tickets at a reduced price to the poorer classes.
A meeting of the principal sugar manufacturers
of the department du Nord is to take place shortly
at Lille, for the purpose of drawing up an address
to the Emperor praying for the removal, or at least,
the reduction of the duties on the manufacture of
home sugar.
A Geneva journal states that MM. Perrier and
Delley, who had been condemned to banishment in
consequence of the outbreak at Friburgh, but who
had been detained in prison in order to give evi-
dence in the affairs at Bulle, have since been con-
ducted to the French frontier under escort of the
gendarmerie.

The Bourse was firm yesterday. A report pre-
vailed, which was credited by the speculators, to
the effect that the Emperor of Russia, whilst re-
fusing to accept the modifications of the Porte,
added that, if the Sultan would accept the Vienna
Note purely and simply, he would forthwith eva-
cuate the Principalities. This fact, if true, would
leave the question still in the bands of the Confe-
rence at Vienna. The Three per Cents.opeued at
77f., fell to 76f. 75c., rose again to 77f. 15c., and
closed at 77f. for the end of the month. The Four-
and-a-Half per Cents. closed at 101 f. 60c. ; Orleans
Railway Shares, 1,222 f. 50c. ; Rouen, 1,050 f. ;
Havre, 505 f. ; Great Northern, 867 f. 50c. ; Paris
and Strasburg, 915 f. ; Paris and Lyons, 920 f. ;
Lyons to the Mediterranean, 762 f. 50c. ; Western
of France, 730 f. ; Bordeaux and Cette, 612 f. 50e ;
Great Central, 525 f. ; Shares of the Bank of Credit
Mobilier, 780 f.