The Sun.
London, England, 1854-05-26 00:00:00

SPAIN.

The Madrid Gazette of the 20th contains the follow'
ing royal decree*:—
"Oa account of the motives which have been set fora!
to me by the Minister of Finance, in accord. with tir
Council of Ministers, I decree- what. follows :—Axt• "
The civil governors, and Ly delegation, the administra
tors of provincei, will invite the tax-payers to subscribea
half-a-year of their respective land, industrial, an •
commercial taxes, deduction made of the part for ect;
nicipal charges, as an advance, to be reimbursed 1).7
the Treasury in eight instalments, on the 30th Jul:
and 31st December of 1855, •6, 7, and 8. Art. r
The subscription must _be closed thirty days aft
the publication of the present decree, and half of t'd
amount of the. subscription is to be effected in the month'
of June and July next, with a discount of 6 per cent. as*
premium, which shall be deducted from the respectif:
sums, the rest being paid into the public treasuries. Art.
Provisional receipts for the sums paid, including the Ps.r,;);
mium, shall be given ; and they shall be exchangeable •`""
Treasury bonds, subdivided in series, in virtue of the au
thorisation accorded to the Government by article 2 of th!
law of the sth August, 1851. Art. 4. These- bowls shall
bear an annual merest of 6 per cent., payable 115 b.
yearly from the Ist of June of this year, and those whist •
shall not have been presented for reimbursement it_
the dates fixed shall be admitted for their effective valej
in payment of all sorts of taxes clue to the Treasury, ell.
of all deposits or guarantees required by the adminlati;
tion. Art. 5. Any private person may take on his OA
account the subscription of the total taxes of one orsevw
provinces, and of one or several towns, with the exser
tion of the preference, accorded to their provincial or 13:,
nicipal corporations. (The remaining articles of the decry
give details as to the manner in which the loan is to
levied.) Given at the Palace, the 19th May.
(Signed) " THE QUEEN.
(Countersigned) " FELIX DwrENTEcEr,Minislor of
Finances."
Queen Christina was continuing to get better.

HOLLAND.
bi
The great work of draining the lake of Haarlerh, w--c
has been in progress for a long period, has thrown in",,,
-
cultivation land of the very richest quality. Large trac'''
have already been cultivated, and with the most satil;
factory results. On the 18th and 19th inst. the sixth
sale of these recovered lands took place at Ainsterdst'
and large sums were realised. Of the 3,750 bonejel-
put up for sale, 3,510 were sold, fetching 1,357,9°2'an''..
or more than 386f1. per bonnier. The sale of 239 vo°3-5
niers was suspended. Up to the present time 9," a
bonniers have been sold, producing 4,632,150 ft, -
about 4671 per bonnier.

•
NATIONAL BRAZILIAN MINING A SSO TIO, •
meeting of this association was held yesterday. It
stated that negotiations had been pending with 1;
Oxenford, who had agreed to transfer the whole of t
property upon payment of 35,0001., which he has el;
pended in working the mines, 10,000/. to be paid dell„;
and the remainder by instalments. A committee vful
appointed to reorganise the undertaking, to carry °
the proposed arrangement, and to raise additions
capital.
SAM SLICK'S NEW WORK, " THE AMERICANS AT
HOME ; or, Byeways, B tckwoods, and Prairies.,
Edited by the author of " Sam Slick." • 3 vols.-Td
fame of Judge Haliburton as a narrator of stories,
an annalist of men and manners in America, bubblit
over with the raciest wit, and sparkling with shrevvd°, eta-g.
of observation, as his writings do, is now extended far
and wide ; and whatever else he adds to the w The
already published can only enhance his reputation. ~,ts
present series of graphic
of those who people the byeways, backwoods, aello,
pictures of the lives and Erti_Ja
prairies of North America is gathered from many se°,„rc„ a
and is as rich and laughterprovoking as ever. -`"b a,
native genius, felicitous in its modes of illustration, hi
the use of a singular and expressive orthograPhY'
several shades and varieties of character are types ree:7l
nisable everywhere. Scenes of danger, of deadly rarnia
encounters with Indians, bears, or buffaloes, duel!„„,e
desperate affrays, together with examples that indi'do,
the vicissitudes of forest and, prairie life—these aref,.
Fctecl with most admirable fidelity. As sketches
-i
dividual character, they are inimitable. No one
peruse them without a sense of profound enjoytago' -
Ifolc/y Dispatch.