The Sun.
London, England, 1854-02-20 00:00:00

LONDON, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1854.

War is no longer inevitable—it may be said to
have already commenced. England and France
are, however, respectively prepared for the strug-
gle—the enormous power of each being at this
juncture almost incalculably enhanced by the
cordial alliance of their Governments. That al-
liance is, happily, complete. Notes pledging the
two countries to co-operate in the defence of Tur-
key have been already exchanged between them,
according to the announcement made to the House
of Commons on Friday evening by Lord JOHN
RUSSELL. Those Notes will doubtless before long
be followed up by a solemn Treaty engaging
France and England yet more formally to aid
each other, not only in maintaining the in-
dependence of the Ottoman Empire, and in re-
pelling the aggressions of the Russian AUTOCRAT,
but in establishing upon a firmer basis the peace
of Christendom, and in furthering yet more the
threatened, and to a certain extent also, at this
moment, the retarded, interests of civilisation.
The importance of this memorable alliance of
France and England need not assuredly be indi-
cated. It is obvious on the instant to the
glance of the most superficial. It constitutes the
most solid of all guarantees to the Sublime Porte
that the lawless assailant of its dominions will be
repulsed in the end effectually. It does more.
It intimates to the rest of Europe that its tran-
quillity—at the close of the contest now begin-
ning—shall no more be endangered by the pride
of that one arrogant and ambitious potentate who
has come to regard himself at last as the un-
doubted arbiter of the destinies of the whole
world, of both the eastern and the western
hemisphere. Already, we cannot help thinking,
the dim shadow of the phintom of a doubt must
have fallen across the golden faith of the CZAR in.
his own supremacy. Already his Imperial Majesty
must have begun to question the reasonableness
of this belief in the predominance of his authority
now that he has listened to the candid and chival-
rous words of his " good friend " the Emperor
NAP°law lll.—those words which, through
all th •
elr studied courtesy and ingenious
compliment, breathe the tones of defiance to the
destroyer of the peace of Christendom. Howiever
this may be, the Russian AUTOCRAT is now known
to have answered the autograph letter by a negative,
conveyed,
we may presume, through the medium
of the French Ambassador, now on his way back
to Paris from his vacated
position at the Court of
St. Petersburgh.
The Moniteur of Saturday
announced the fact of this refusal by the Em-
peror NICHOLAS of the last
pacific proposals con-
through the temperate but resolute
veye 1 to him
and dignified communication penned by the hand
of the Emperor NAPOLEON. Therefore, the last
straw for the grasp of the drowning Hope of the
Cabinet has floated away at length, even we may
presume now to Lord ABERDEEN'S unwilling
acknowledgment. There is at last, actually,
an end of negotiation. The necessity of the oc-
casion is at last looked fairly in the face by the
Coalition. The absurdity of further delay is at
length perceived by the most cautious and dilatory-
-hut when driven, as now, to an extremity, let us be-
lieve alsoaresolute and energetic—Administration.
Germany, if not actually on the side of Turkey, is,
at any rate, neutral. France is with us—thanks to
the wisdom and the magnanimity of the Emperor
NAPoutosr 111. and his Government. Our own
Chwermin tat, as we have seen, is now formally

pledged to the adoption of active measures against
the aggressor—and the Cabinet thus pledged to
a course worthy of the Crown, and of the glory of
the Empire, has received assurance of the unani-
mous support of the whole body of the national
representatives.

bored with
_abhorrence, when SOllle instructor of

youth teaches the rising generation respecting
matters that cannot be considered as placing " the
wisdom of their ancestors" in a very striking
light. They will indeed only be regarded
as " the reproach of the times in which we lived,
and a disgrace to the civilisation of that age."

It is true that the measure which Lord CRAN-
WORTH introduced on Friday night in the House of
Lords, only dealt with the testamentary jurisdic-
tion, which it transfers in toto to the Court of
Chancery. There would still remain the power
in matrimonial disputes, in suits for jactitation of
marriage, restitution of conjugal rights, and di-
vorce a mensa et thoro matters relating to
Church rates and churchwardens, defamation,
Admiralty cases, and matters relating to Church
discipline. All these remain, for the time being,
untouched, and constitute matters for future
legislation. But, as was well remarked by the Hon-
ourable and Learned Gentleman the Member for
Plymouth, the testamentary jurisdiction was their
great source of nutriment, and if they were de-
prived of that all the rest of their functions in
course of time would cease. When that lucrative
branch of business was removed they would
speedily perish from pure inanition. They
could no longer support the idle and drowsy
staff that gathered a rich subsistence from the
accumulated abuses. They may exclaim, with
SHYLOCK--

What can be said for the minority crotchet? That
it is but a miserable substitute for the ballot. With
an obvious deduction or two on either side, it is to
give forty-six counties a Liberal member a piece,
and nine boroughs a Conservative one. We have
not given in our adhesion to the representation of
minorities in stating this. It is, indeed, a plau-
sible allegation that minorities of thousands hardly
beaten by majorities of tens, or of a hundred
perhaps, have some claim to be heard ; but it
seems fairly balanced by the counter allegation
that the cause must be a bad one indeed, or one
on which public opinion is but imperfectly ma-
tured, if it cannot find a majority anywhere
among the varied constituencies of Great Britain.
We think it clear that Lord JOHN has adopted
this novelty because he felt the claims of the
counties to increased representation, whether
viewed numerically or in point of property, un-
answerable ; while he yet felt that it never would
be endured by the country that forty-six landlord
nominees should be added to the long and weary
list. We beg, however, to remind his Lordship
that minority representation is an infinitely greater
novelty than the ballot—infinitely more un-
English. If we remember right his Lordship has
been amongst the foremost to cast that epithet in
the teeth of the advocates of the ballot ; we may
now retort it with a witness ! If the members of
our Courts-martial, of our literary or other clubs,
or even of our universities, be Englishmen, it is
either falsity or folly to call the ballot un-English.
But where, we would ask, do Englishmen settle
their business by minorities ? It was tried on the
Church-rate question, but, though bolstered up
to the uttermost by legal ecclesiastical ingenuity,
it would not do. It was unanimously rejected
by the Law Lords as unconstitutional trash.
Lord JOHN, indeed, seems to hope to save the un-
English principle by help of vulgar fractions.
Two-fifths is to be the Golden Fraction ; or, as
we are soon to calculate only in decimals, 0.4 is,
we suppose, to be the Golden Decimal. Might he
not compromise the Jew Bill, too, by the help of
fractions. The Hebrews will be propitiated if
their sacred number be introduced ; and perhaps
the Lords would cease to vex them " on the true
faith of a Christian,' if the Hebrew minority lad-
der to Parliament were made a little harder to
climb than that of Christians. Lord SHAFTESBURY
and the Bishops might think the equation a fair
one—a Christian + two-fifths of the poll = a Jew
+ three-sevenths of the same. Seriously, how-
ever, we shall not allow Lord John to play fast
and loose with his " un-English" argument. We
shall hold that he has recanted that for ever.

" You take my house, when you do take the prop
That doth sustain my house ; you take my life,
When you do take the means whereby I live."

The Ecclesiastical Courts, being without re-
sources and without employment, will speedily
die a natural death, or linger on nominally to en-
force the observance of discipline and morality
among the inferior clergy, but more for show than
any other purpose, just

" As fond fathers,
Having bound up the threat'ning twigs of birch,
Only to stick it in their ohildren's sight,
For terror, not to use."

It is, indeed, a rod that would verify the pater-
nal assurances so frequently added to the castiga-
tion, that the parent felt more pain that he was
inflicting, as the Bishops of EXETER and GLOUCES-
TER might testify, whose zeal occasioned some
heavy drafts upon their purse strings.
After the unequivocal condemnation heaped on
these tribunals, not only by the reports of the
several committees appointed to investigate the
abuses incidental thereto, but by the exposures of
several earnest and powerful writers, it was ma-
nifest that the tree that brought forth such fruits
could no longer be suffered to cumber the earth.
The only difficulty was as to the court to which the
jurisdiction should be transferred—whether a new
tribunal should be formed for the purpose, as pro-
posed by a majority of the commissioners ap-
pointed by Lord ST. LEONARDS, or whether the
jurisdiction should be entirely transferred to the
Court of Chancery, as suggested by the minority;
but that minority, consisting of such men as Sirs
JOHN ROMILLY, RICHARD BETHEL, and JAMES
' GRAHAM. Lord CRANWORTH has wisely and ju-
diciously adopted the latter course, and, in doing
so, has obtained the approval of the leading Law
Lords and the most zealous legal reformers in the
house, or perhaps in the world. Lords BROUGHAM,
ST. LEONARDS, and CAMPBELL have cordially
concurred in approving the course adopted by the
Noble and Learned occupant of the Woolsack.
Indeed, it would be impossible for any unpreju-
diced person, after hearing the cogent ar-
guments adduced by the Lord Chancellor, to
assent to the creation of a New Court,
which would speedily prove itself to be merely
an offshoot of the decayed trunk—a true " chip
of the old block." If the proposed Court of Pro-
bates were established—if the testamentary juris-
diction were still confided exclusively to the same
hands as heretofore, we would find the designa-
tion only was changed, and that the old abuses
would be, at least to a great extent, speedily
restored. We could hardly say that

There will have to be, we imagine, if Lord
JOHN carry this point, a new Parliamentary style
and title introduced. We shall hear of the mino-
rity members, or the two-fifth members, as a
class ; the Hon. Member for East Suffolk will
appeal to his honourable two-fifth colleague for
the same division, or to the Honourable Minority
Member for Manchester ; and in scrutinising the
Division Lists we shall be inquiring, amongst
other classes, how the minority members voted.
DOD, too, in future accounts of each member's
political fates will have to record, "sat, in such a
year, as minority member for --- ;" perhaps,
as variety is pleasing, he may style them members
third on the poll. Brevity, however, except in
Germany, is the soul of nomenclature, and we
think " minority members" will have it. At the I
hustings we have little doubt the designation will
be back-door members. But, supposing, as we
hope the measure as a whole will be proceeded
with, can Lord JOHN get the Sir ROBERTS and
Sir HARRYS to brook these minority colleagues ?
There is one argument which he will probably
whisper to them, through Mr. HATTER or some
other functionary, for it must not be " said in
his place in the House of Commons," that it may
stave off the awful ballot for years to come, and, per-
haps, by the grace of accidents, for this genera-
tion. It will run thus. The ten-pound county
franchise, 'tis at your peril to refuse. Well, if
you accept it, be assured, all the new voters
will not stand being swamped for ever by your
tenants at will; surrender one member out of three,
and you will save the other two. Moreover, no
Radical will ever get in for an ordinary county
while the poll-book is published; and we Whigs are,
as you have seen, as good aristocrats at the bot-
tom as any of you. Now, there is much to be
hoped for from this hob-nobbing in the lobby, and
it may be successful.

"The rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
There would be no fragrant odours arising. The
" vultures would. still batten on the garbage,"
making a prey of dead. men's estates, and still
feeding on the substance of the widow and the
orphan. There might not, indeed, be the necessity
of proving a will some three or four times, and pay-
ing exorbitant fees on each occasion. No man
might be required (as occasionally happened in
the olden time) to take out probate in Canterbury
and in York, in Scotland and in Ireland ; but he
would still have to appeal to a limited jurisdiction,
to that which had not powers sufficiently exten-
sive to adjudicate on the entire subject. This
would unquestionably have been the case with the
contemplated Court of Probates—for, although it
might pronounce in favour of the validity of a
will, it could say nothing as to its interpretation,
nor give any decree for its due administration.
Its decision would be but the preliminary step,
which would not prevent the necessity, or per-
ceptibly diminish the costs, of a Chancery suit.
It was, therefore, far the better course to vest
the whole, or at least, every litigated matter,
or what Lord CRAM WORTH termed the " conten-
tious jurisdiction," in the House of Lords. The
other matters, or what might be called the "non-
contentious jurisdiction," was clearly a mere mat-
ter of form, requiring only secure registration,
and this has been provided for by the proposed
appointment of local registrars. The details on
this part of the case are not, as yet, before the
public, and, therefore, at present we can only ex-
press an approval of the principle of the mea-
sure. No less important is another matter which
was not received with such perfect unanimity—
viz., the extension of the testamentary jurisdic-
tion to all kinds of property, real or personal. It
is, indeed, one of the most valuable features of
the bill, and we unfeignedly thank Lord CHAN-
WORTH for adopting a principle which will not
only lead to a great diminution of expense in all
controverted cases, but which by removing an absurd
distinction between land and money, or securities
for money, impeded and obstructed many im-
portant reforms, which, we hope and believe, will
ere long be brought into practical operation.

We should much like to have the issue fairly
tried by the country which it held to be
most un-English, minority representation or the
Ballot. We believe the universal verdict would
be that the former was utterly so ; and, we be-
lieve, that far more than " two-fifths"—full
four-fifths at least, would pronounce the Ballot
the most gentlemanly, the most fair, the most
straightforward, and, therefore, the most English
thing in the world. If the question were, Which
will you have, minority representation or the bal-
lot ? Lord JOHN knows that not a single public
meeting could be called in which his crochet
would not be repudiated, and the ballot de-
manded. He will do well to cast his eyes on the
county election just come off, the election of a
Lord, too. The questions and answers read thus—
Mr. WRIGHT.—WiII you vote for the five-pound
franchise or the ballot ?

Lord INGESTRE. —Certainly not. (Hisses and
uproar.)
Mr. WILLIAMS.—Is Lord PAGET in favour of
vote by ballot. _

Lod PAQET.—I am. (Cheers.)
Mr. Wrnums.—Are you in favour of the
five-pound franchise in boroughs ?

Lord PAGET.—If any proposition to that effect
is brought forward by her MAJESTY'S Ministers,
shall give it my support.
At the poll, the verdict was, Lord PAGET,
4,328 ; Lord INGESTRE, 2,769. It was a few
days too soon to ask will you vote for minority
representation, or the ballot ? The answer
essential to success cannot, however, be doubted.
It must be owned that Lord JOHN is rather a man
of make-shifts ; he tried hard at one time to en-
dow the Catholic priests in order to save the Irish
Church, but the bait, to the honour of the priests,
did not take. He tried an eight shilling duty ou
corn to dam out Free Trade for a time, but that
too was a dead failure ; and now he would con-
tent the county Liberals by a minority member.
Will that fare any better ? We should be inclined
as Liberal county voters to reply, We are not
really a minority ; let us vote as we please, and
we will soon prove that we are the majority. We
do not want our representatives to slink into Par-
liament at the back of those whom they ought to
precede. Our soreness is not so much that we
are unrepresented, as that we are forced to mis-
represent ourselves as a minority when we are not
so. Leave our landlords all the fair influence
you like, but leave us our own votes ; give us
none of your back-door members, but—THE
BALLOT.

Her Majesty will hold her first levee or reception on
Wednesday next, at St. James's Palace. It is expected
to be very numerously attended, as many of the field and
other officers ordered with their regiments to the seat
of war in the East will pay their respects to the Sove-
reign ere their embarkation.
The Duke of Leeds has returned to the Clarendon
Hotel from Hornby Castle.
The Marquis of Lansdowne entertained a large party
at dinner on Saturday evening, at Lansdowne House.
The Viscount and Viscountess Canning entertained
the Marchioness of Ailesbury, Mr. Dundas, and a select
party at dinner on Saturday evening, in Grosvenor-
square. _

THE RUSSIAN EMBASSY. —The Baroness Brunow
leaves London to-day for the Continent. The Count
Walhorski and the other secretaries of the late embassy
will also accompany the baroness. The splendid man-
sion in Chesham-place, which Baron Brunow has not
yet occupied more than six months, will remain for the
present in the possession of the Russian Government,
under the care of the consul general.
DEATH OF SIR THOMAS JAMES PILKINUTON, BART.—
This young baronet expired at Madeira on the 7th ult.,
in his 25th year, where he had been staying for the bene-
fit of his health. He was the ninth baronet (Scottish
creation, 1635). Succeeded his father, the late Sir
William, and was descended from the Rev. Dr. Edward
Pilkington, who was Bishop of Durham in 1560.
ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA.--It is rumoured On good
authority that Signor Lablache has at last joined the
company at the Royal Italian Opera, and that the sea-
son there will possibly be opened by Madame Alboni.
THE AMERICAN MINISTER AND THE ENGLISH COURT.
—lt gives us much pleasure to be able to state that the
Queen has most graciously intimated to Mr. Buchanan,
the American Ambassador, that it will in future be left
to his Excellency to appear at State balls and her Ma-
je-ty's dinner-parties, in whatever costume is most
agreeable to himself. The Lord Chamberlain has also
made a similar communication to his Excellency, rela-
tive to his costume on the opening or closing of the ses-
sions of Parliament. —A dvertiser.

Most heartily and sincerely do we congratulate
the country on the promised abatement of an in-
tolerable nuisance. The Lord Chancellor has

pursued a straightforward and judicious course
with respect to the Ecclesiastical Courts. He does
not prescribe petty remedies for an incurable
disease. He does not attempt to restore the limb
in which mortification has set in, but boldly
strikes at the root of the evil by the excision of
the decayed member. Yes ; the Ecclesiastical
Courts are to be abolished root and branch. The
monstrous excrescence that had its origin in the
dark ages, and grew during successive generations
to its present monstrous proportions, is to be era-
dicated !from the body politic. Henceforward,
the leviathan sinecures, the shame of the British
nation, will be abolished. The 386 distinct tri-
bunals, the
Archiepiscopal, Episcopal, Manorial,
Peculiar, Diocesan,
Diaconal, and a host
of other Courts of unintelligible denominations,
and even the Prerogative Court itself, will be
numbered with the past, or will only be remem-

EAST INDIAN IRON COMPANY.—The report of the
East Indian Iron Company, presented at their first an-
nual meeting to-day, states that of the 20,000 preference
shares of 101. each, originally issued as scrip, 8,115 have
been registered and the rest forfeited and re-allotted ;
that a proprietory of 16,000 shares has thus been created,
the remaining 4,000 being reserved for India ; and that
the call of 21. 10s. on the 16th of January has been met
to the extent of 12,255 shares. A. second call of like
amount is to be made in April, and the works of the
company are meanwhile being carried on by the old pro-
prietors, represented by 20,000 shares on which no divi-
dends are to be paid until the others receive 7 per cent.
In a short time the management is to be assumed by the
preference shareholders with new machinery, part of
which has already arrived out, when steps will be taken
for supplying the wants of the Madras Railway Com-
pany.

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 20, 1854.

A it
AND
COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.

e 1'

CITY, TWO O'CLOCK.

The sales of cotton at Liverpool on Saturday
were estimated at from 7,000 to 8,000 bales, of
which 1,000 American and 500 Surat were taken

on speculation. The market closed firmly at pre-
vious rates. The sales comprised 420 Pernam
and Maranham, at 6d. to Ind. ; 300 Egyptian, at
70. to aid. ;1,000 Surat, at 3d. to 44d. ; and the
remainder American. Railway Shares were quiet.
The Birmingham iron trade continues brisk, and
firm prices are current for all descriptions. Coal
and ironstone are scarce, and this, together with
the limited supply of labour, checks production.
The ship Plantagenet has arrived from Sydney.
Her advices are not later than November 4, and
the amount of gold is not yet ascertained.
The steamer Asia has arrived off Liverpool, but
we have no telegraphic outline of her news.

The negative answer of the Emperor of Russia,
although partly anticipated, has had an unfavour-
able effect upon the funds, Consols being 94, and
since 90k K. They have been as low as 90k for ac-
count, and rallied afterwards to 91, the bears being
anxious to buy back. The New 31 per Cents. have
realised 92k to 93, and the 3 per Cents. 91i to
Exchequer Bills have been 19s. to 225. premium,
being very firm. East India Bonds are at Bs.
premium.

Foreign Securities likewise are flatter. Mexican
Bonds have been 241 to 241, a decline of about 1
per cent. Spanish 3 per Cents. have been at 391
to 40, being Ito i per cent. worse. The Commit-
tee's Certificate is at 4 per cent. Russian 5 per
Cents. have fallen 11 to 2 per cent., being at 103.
French 3 per Cents. have been done at 68, with
the exchange at 25. Dutch 4 per Cents. have
been at 91k, and the 2-i per Cents. at 60-i.
_ _

BRITISH MlNES.—There are a few inquiries for
the favourite shares, but the market generally is
quiet, without any particular variation in prices.
The Gold Mine Shares are dull at the previous
rates. The Joint Stock Bank Shares are merely
nominal, and the Land Companies' are neglected.
Railway Shares have been comparatively well
maintained, and have not been very much affected
by the decline in the funds. Great Northern are
still in especial favour, and the A Stock has reached
78 and 79. Lancashire and Yorkshire, Brighton,
Great Western, and York and Berwick are cheaper.
French Shares have receded to Y.
The railway meetings announced are the fol-
lowing :

FIIE UAL hi) ofA iEb.

(BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.)
ARRIVAL OF THE ASIA.

LIVERPOOL, FEB. 20.
This morning, at eight o'clock, the royal mail
steam-ship Asia, Captain Scott, which was to leave
New York for this port on the Bth inst., with the
usual mails from the United States and British
North America, was off Holyhead, inward bound,
and will arrive in the course of the afternoon in the
river.

Her mails will be despatched to London by the
evening train, and will form a portion of the first
Post-office delivery to-morrow morning.

NOTTINGHAM RACES.

Company. Date. Place, &c.
Ambergate, &c Feb. 28, London Tavern.
Belfast and County Down Feb. 28, Belfast.
Birk., Lane., and Chesh. Jn Feb. 25, Birkenhead.
Bristol and Exeter
Buckinghamshire Feb. 22, Euston Station.
Cork and Waterford Feb. 28, London Tavern.
Direct London and Portsm Feb. 24, London Tavern.
Eastern Counties
East Kent
East Lancashire Feb. 22, Bury.
East Lincolnshire
Edinburgh and Glasgow Mar. 7, Glasgow.
Furness , Feb. 23, Office.
Glasgow and South-Western Mar. 8, Glasgow.
Graissessac and Beziers Mar. 14, Paris.
Great Northern Feb. 25, London Tavern.
Gt. South. and West. Ireland Feb. 25, Dublin.
Great Western
Hampstead Junction Feb. 28, Euston Station
Lancaster and Carlisle Mar. 3, Liverpool.
Leeds Northern Feb. 23, Liverpool.
Liverpool, Crosby, and South Feb. 28, Liverpool.
Llynvi Valley Feb. 27, Paddington.
London and Blackwall Feb. 21, London Tavern.
London and North-Western Feb. 22, Euston Station.
Loughar Feb. 28.
Lowestoft
Madras
Manchester and Southport Feb. 23, Liverpool.
Manch., Buxton, and Matlock Mar. 2, Derby.
Manch., Sheffield, and Linc Feb. 22, Manchester.
Maria Antonia Mar. 22, Florence.
Maryport and Carlisle Feb. 22, Maryport.
Midland
Blackburn Feb. 27, Blackburn.
Dublin and Drogheda Mar. 2, Dublin.
Dublin and Wicklow
Whitehaven and Furness Jn Feb. 27, Guildhall-chambers
Monkland Feb. 24, Glasgow.
Newmarket Feb. 27, London Tavern.
Newp., Aberg., and Hereford Feb. 23, London Tavern.
Newry and Enniskillen Feb. 28, Guildhall Coffeeho.
Norfolk Feb. 24, Guildhall-buildings
Northern Counties Union Feb. 24, London Tavern.
North and S. Watrn June._ Feb. 28, Easton Station.
North Devon Feb. 27, London Tavern.
North Metropolitan Feb. 28, Office.
North-Western Feb. 27, Leeds.
Oxford, Worcester, & Wolv, Feb. 22, London Tavern.
Royston and Hitchin
St. Andrew's & Quebec (Cl. A) Feb. 2, 26, Parliament-st.
Severn Valley
South Devon Feb. 28, Plymouth.
South Eastern Mar. 16, Bridgehouse Hotel.
South Wales Feb. 28, Paddington.
South Yorkshire
Staines, Wokingham & Wok Feb. 27, London Tavein.
Thames Haven Feb. 27, London Tavern.
Vale of Neath Feb. 25, Cardiff.
Waterford and Kilkenny Mar. 2, London Tavern.
Waterford and Limerick Feb. 22, Waterford.
West Cornwall Feb. 28, 28,Throgmorton-st.
W. End of Lon. & Crys. Pal Feb. 27, London Tavern.
Wharfdale Feb. 27, Skipton.
Worcester and Hereford Feb. 28, Euston Station.

BRITISH FUNDS THIS DAY AT ONE O'CLOCK.
( From the Official List.;

3 per Cent. Reduced Annuities 9ll
3 per Cent. Consols Annuities 9l soi 11
New 31 per Cent. Annuities 92 3 21 3 21
Long Annuities, Expire sth Jan., 1860
India Bonds, £lOOO
Ditto, under £lOOO 8 p
Consols for Account 16th March
Exchequer Bills, ld.
£IOOO
£5OO l9
Small l9
PRICE OF FOREIGN FUNDS AT ONE O'CLOCK.
%fexican 3 per Cent.

Ditto for the Account 24A
Russian Bowls, 1822, 5 per Cent. £ St lO3
Spanish Bords, 3 per Cent 4O 39A
Spanish Committee Cert. of Coup. not fun 4 p c
Dividends on the above payable in London.
French Rentes, 3 per Cent...
Butch Exchange, 2A per Cent. 12 Gull GOA
Ditto 4 per Cent. Certificates ..
Ditto for the Account

(BY ELECTRIC TELEGRA PH. )
ARRIVALS.—Jack Looming, Florist, Alp, Victress,
Squire of Malton, Salopian, Galileo.
The ground is very hard.

HALF-PAST TWO.

Consols 9G 1
Ditto March Account 9oi 1

METROPOLITAN IMPROVEMENTS.—The Commissioners
of City Improvements have obtained possession of the
the last portion of the buildings in St. Paul's-churchyard,
Carter-lane, Doctors'-commons, and Old Change, re-
quired for the formation of the new street from ing
William-street, London-bridge, to St. Pauls-churchyard,
and the demolition of these houses will forthwith com-
mence. It is intended to open this important line of
street for public traffic about the 15th March. Consider-
able progress has been made in the extension of Farring-
don-street for the opening to Islington, and a vast num-
ber of houses in Clerkenwell, Saffron-hill, Brook-hill,
tic., have been demolished, and this new street is ex-
pected to be opened for traffic as far as Clerkenwell-green
during the ensuing summer. On the Surrey side of the
Thames a new street, extending from the end of Stam-
ford-street, Blackfriars-road, through the borough of
Southwark to High-street, near the London-bridge rail-
way terminus, is, about to be constructed.
WELLINGTON I)OCKS.—The Admiralty report on the
proposed Wellington Docks, to be constructed at Rother-
hithe on the marsh lands adjoining the Greenwich Rail-
way, has been printed, and is of a favourable character.
No objection is made to the bill as regards its effect on
the navigation of the river, and it is pointed out that, as
the site selected is low and unwholesome for houses, the
conversion of such a district into docks and quays, be-
sides the facility it would afford to maritime commerce,
must prove a salutary measure to the metropolis.
OFFICIAL APPOINTMENTS.—The only appointments
actually sanctioned up to this tune, on the Staff of the
Expeditionary Force, ordered for active service in the
East, are Lord Raglan, General-in-chief ; Sir George
Browne and the Duke of Cambridge, Generals-of-Divi-
sion ; Col. Bentinck, Str Colin Campbell, Col. Airey,
and Col. Eyre, Brigadiers ; Col. Cator, Commander-in-
Chief of the Artillery ; Col. Steele, Coldstream Guards,
Military Secretary ; Mr. Baptist Smith, Mr. Gore Jones
and Mr. Moore Eyre, have been appointed Collectors of
Income-tax for Dublin. The Rev. Wm. Baxter is ap-
pointed Colonial Chaplain at Hong Kong.—Observer,
ARRIVALS OF SPECIE.— The specie arrivals of the
week have amounted to nearly 800,0001., chiefly in gold
from Australia. The shipments have been proportion.
ably large, the existing rate of exchange with Paris pre-
venting any gold from remaining. Henceforth, also, the
Government remittances to the East on account of the
army must exercise an influence.
THE ADELAIDE LAND AND GOLD COMPANY.—The
Adelaide Land and Gold Company, one of the numerous
English undertakings carried on nominally at Paris as a
societe en commandite to avoid the obstacles of the law
of partnership, have issued a report of theiriproceedings
up to the present date. Of the available capital of
66,0001., 30,0001. has been remitted to the colony, and
the lands thus purchased amount to 9,219 acres, at a
cost of 13,2411.
CRYSTAL PALACE ORGAN.—Mr. Jas. Rock, jun., writ-
ing to the secretary, says :—" Has it ever occurred to the
directors of the company to inquire what would be the
effect of placing the pipes horizontally, with their open
ends in the direction of the length of the building ? It
seems natural to suppose that they would be more effec-
tive as to sound, if placed in that position than in the
vertical one, which, for the sake of convenience as to
space, is generally adopted. Whether or not the musical
result would be equally good, is another question."—
Journal of the Society of Arts.

1,A:,;„.L, I ii'ulti.2'.-1N IN E .4: :6:

RUSSIA AND TURKEY.

ANSWER OF THE CZAR TO THE LETTER
OF LOUIS NAPOLEON.

The Moniteur of yesterday (Sunday) makes the
following important announcement :
" The answer expected from St. Petersburg
arrived yesterday evening. The Emperor Nicho-
las does not accept the proposals for an arrange-
ment which were addressed to him."
This intelligence will give the final impetus to
the preparations for war : everything will now be
pushed forward with the greatest rapidity. In
Paris yesterday the strongest excitement prevailed,
not only in the army, but throughout society gene-
rally.

The last accounts from St. Petersburg state that
all the Turkish consuls in Russia were about to
give in their resignation. Turkish subjects were
placed under the protection of Austrian agents, but
only for six months, dating from the declaration of;
war by the Porte.
The English and French ambassadors were still
in the capital, but it was daily expected that they
would demand their passports and leave.
There did not appear to be the slightest appear-
ance of more pacific intentions on the part of the
Emperor, and all idea of a settlement of the East-
ern question *had been abandoned by those who
had hitherto looked upon war as next to impossible.
The Czar Nicholas was considered as fully deter-
mined to maintain his present attitude, and to look
upon himself as sufficiently powerful to carry out
his projects of dominion against all Europe.
The warlike preparations were incessant, and the
return of Count Orloff from Vienna was looked for-
ward to with great anxiety. The war was far from
being popular in the capital. Foreigners were
leaving St. Petersburg and Moscow in numbers.
A financial crisis was at hand, and the Government
was about to raise a forced loan.
Money had become extremely scarce, and most
of the transactions had been adjourned. Trade
was completely paralysed. Nothing but paper was
seen, and the principal houses avoided engaging in
any important operation.
The best troops had been marched to the sea
ports, where immense quantities of munitions of
war were being accumulated. If a collision takes
place, it will be terrible and decisive, for Russia is
displaying all her resources.
In Moscow the war party is predominant, not
among the upper classes, but among the people.
The Czar is greatly esteemed by the multitude,
who have been persuaded that the Anglo-French
are determined to destroy the Greek religion and
the maritime prosperity of the empire. Enlist-
ments are easily effected ; provisions are everywhere
abundant, but arms and uniforms will soon be ex-
hausted in the Government stores.
The Journal de St. Petersburg of the Bth con-
tains a long list of promotions in the Imperial navy.
The journal of the 10th informs us that the new
Austrian ambassador, Count Esterhazy, had, in a
private audience, presented his credentials to the
Emperor of Russia.
Some of the Berlin journals, of the 15th, mention
a rumour that the Emperor of Russia had had an
attack of apoplexy, which had left him in such a
state as to compel him to keep his bed. This
rumour, however, does not agree with the account
in the St. Petersburg journal of the Emperor hav-
ing given official audience to Count Esterhazy, the
Austrian ambassador.

The Wanderer of Vienna announces that the
Emperor of Russia, in order to revive the courage
of his soldiers, who are completely disheartened, is
about to go in person to the army of the Danube.

A telegraphic despatch from Berlin mentions the
arrival yesterday (Sunday) in that city of Sir Ha-
milton Seymour, the British Minister at the Court
of St. Petersburg. The French Minister, M.
Castelbajac, also arrived at the same time in the
Prussian capital.

The authorities of Warsaw, says the Cologne
Gazette, lately arrested a tailor and several other
persons, who had in their possession English and
French journals containing the diplomatic docu-
ments on the Eastern question. They had been
introduced as packing paper.
Letters from Vienna say, that in political circles
iu that city nothing was spoken of but the pro-
positions about to be laid before the Diet of
Frankfort, on the part of Prussia and Aus-
tria, in reference to the approaching war. If
the account given of these propositions be cor
rect, the rumours for some time past in circulation
with reference to the hostile answer given by
Austria to the propositions made by Count Orloff
would appear, to say the least of them, to be exag-
gerated. It would appear that the Austrian and
Prussian Governments continue to declare their
firm intention to remain strietly and perfectly
neutral in the approaching struggle, and that they
have laid down a plan for their system of neutra=
lity, founded on the alliance of Austria and Prussia
with all the States of the German Confederation,
and with a view to the whole of the contracting
Powers guaranteeing their respective states against
all attack from without, from whichever side it may
come. For the purpose of enforcing this neutrality
an army of 300,000 men is to be raised, of which
Austria will furnish 100,000 men, Prussia 50,000,
men, and the other states of the Confederation
150,000 men among them. Allowing that it is
probable that such a treaty may be effected, it
seems impossible to believe that the object of it is
ultimately to remain neutral. It may be true,
indeed, it is most likely to be so, that the German
Powers will, in the first instance, assume a neutral
position ; but there cannot be a doubt that their
real object in arming Germany is to enable them
on the first opportunity to throw their weight into
the scale, and to force the belligerent Powers to
conclude a just and honourable peace. If such be
the case, the Western Powers, it is said, ought to
have little to fear from Germany, for, in the face
of the disapprobation, shown by all Germany of
the conduct of the Czar, and especially in the face
of the protocol signed by Austria and Prussia, as
well as by England and France, it is impossible to
suppose that those Powers will take up arms in
favour of Russia.

Emperor of Russia to excite an insurrection among
the Greek subjects of Turkey is fully confirmed.
Letters received from Servia state that Russian in-
trigue is extending itself in an extraordinary de-
gree in that country. It is believed that Austria
cannot look with indifference on those proceedings.
The opinions of the liovernment of Austria during
the late insurrection in that country were com-
pletely opposed to those of the Emperor Nicholas.
Letters from Malta, of the 15th, state that the
greatest activity reigns in that port. Transports
laden with military stores of all kinds were con-
stantly arriving. Magazines are established to
contain stores requisite for an army of 25,000 or
30,000 men. Measures were taken to establish a ,
vast military hospital.
Letters from Constantinople of the 3d, announce
that the fortifications of the city are progressing.
A supply of tools, &c., was expected from Europe.
The enthusiasm of the people was great. The
greatest activity prevails in the arsenals.

BULGARIA.
The following is extracted from a letter from a
special correspondent of the Times, dated " Tur-
tukai, opposite Oltenitza, January 12 :"
I am now. at this celebrated spot, having left
everything quiet at Rustchuk, although I learn
that demonstrations just enough to distract and
confuse the Russians in this quarter have been
made both there and at Silistria. All along my
road I have found that people have nothing but
the most vague ideas of what is passing 30 miles
off. From Matschin and Isaktchi to Widdin the
local despatches go direct to the head-quarters of
Omar Pasha, and if people have not the good for-
tune to be on the very spot at the time of an affair
they first learn its details through the Constanti-
nople journals. I, therefore, in this letter can
offer you nothing in the way of fresh news ; but I
confess to having felt a strong interest in examin-
ing the environs of this place, even in its present
peaceful aspect.
I have seldom seen on my route hither a more
commanding position than that of Turtukai ; while
the opposite part of Wallachia is a dead fiat, the
Bulgarian shore rises precipitously to a high ridge,
from which one sees the whole of the field of the
recent fight spread out as on a map. Snow having
entirely disappeared during the thaw, everything
is green and bright, and although all the regular
troops have been withdrawn, except a battalion of
infantry, the place is full of bustle, from the field
works that are going on, and from this being the
head-quarters of the irregular troops under the
command of Giafer Pasha, head of the Moslem
Arnauts, and Ahmed Pasha, who watches the
Danube line from Rustchuk to Silistria. The
town itself, lying ou the last steep slopes of the
hill next the Danube, is small, and every house
packed as full as it can hold of troops, mostly Tosk
Cham and Queque Arnauts, 'in their drab clothes
and kilts of Manchester cotton, which has now
universally superseded the native linen fustanella,
and, as it is rather a cold costume for winter
weather, I see a great many with the Russian great-
coats furnished by Oltenitza from the bodies of
poor fellows who will never march across the Pruth
again. lam happy to say that Giafer Pasha keeps
as good order among them as is possible, for per-
fect discipline is unattainable with a nation that
has still to serve an apprenticeship to meum and
tuum. A very few years ago Giafer Pasha was,
as the renowned Giafer Deen, one of those of the
old families who rose in revolt against the suppres-
sion of the feudal system ; now he has just been
promoted from Bey to Pasha, for his brave conduct
in holding the island of Mokanna against a far
superior Russian force operating from Giurgevo •
after the affair of Oltenitza. It is thus curious to
remark how the Pashalics of Janina and Egypt,
which in this century have given so much trouble
to the Porte, are now furnishing most valuable and
effective troops, and from being cancers are become
limbs of strength. Giafer Pasha now unites intel-
ligence and bravery with loyalty to the Sultan, and
I anticipate a brilliant career for him.

A telegraphic despatch, dated Vienna, the 15th,
sags :—" The question of peace or war cannot re-
main long undecided. If Russia does not adopt a
pacific policy, the Western Powers will terminate
all uncertainty by their measures.. The neutrality
of the other States is scarcely possible. Russia
cannot calculate upon the possible number of its
adversaries ; attacking the general interests, it
must look forward to a general resistance, and re-
main isolated, exposed to all the consequences of
its temerity. Prince Wassiltschikoff, Ai d e-de-
camp General of the Emperor of Russia, has ar-
rived at Vienna."

Another telegraphic despatch from Munich on
he 15th, states that Aust cia has declined to accede

to the project of a treaty put forth by Saxony and
Bavaria, in reference to a declaration of neutrality
in the Russian war. The treaty of the Germanic
Confederation has not, therefore, been ratified ;
and, moreover, Austria will cross the Danube with
its army, if Russia should cross it. This step will
not be taken to support the Russians, but to put
down the Servo-Russ movement, which threatens
to make the Austrian possessions the theatre of
war.

The town itself is anything but inviting, with six
inches of black liquid mud in the streets, as if all
the reserve stores of Day and Martin had been
poured out on them. To the east a battery is in
course of construction, which commands the whole
breadth of the Danube, just below the island point
near which the Argish has its confluence witk
the main stream ; and on the plateau above
Turtukai is a large redoubt, which secures the
town from a force attacking it either from the east
or west Danubian approach. This battery did
nothing for the Turks on the day of Oltenitza, and
is useful only as an aid to the naturally strong po-
sition of Turtukai itself. Balls directed from it on
the Russian columns across the river fell short and
struck the Turkish position in the quarantine on
the further Danube shore. Looking across with
the glass, I saw that the quarantine is a complete
ruin, and that the Turkish intrenchments have
been carefully destroyed by the Russians, the want
of a similar precaution by the Turks after the first
siege of Silistria having most materially contri-
buted to the success of the second years' siege.
The Cossacks are visible, cantering on the green-
sward on the other side of the river, but no signs
of war are visible here at present, except on occa-
sional conical ball aimed at the lodgings of Ahmed
Pasha or Giafer Pasha, and the bark of a tree fresh
peeled by one was pointed out to me by the latter.
The Russian force on the other side of the river,
between Giurgevo and Kalarasch, is estimated at
24,000 men, of which 18,000 or 20,000 are in and
around Giurgevo under General Semenoff, and
between 4,000 and 5,000 men under General Aurep
at Kalarasch. Turtukai is therefore well watched,
not only on account of its formidable natural po-
sition, but fromthe circumstance of its being the mid-
dle of the base of the triangle formed by Shumla,
Silistria, and Rustchuk, a considerable force may
be suddenly moved on it, and of this Omer Pasha
took full advantage in order to give elbow room to
Ismail Pasha at the critical period of the beginning
of the occupation of Kalafat.

The latest accounts from the Danubian provinces
state that General Schilder and Prince Gortscha-
koff had made three reconnaissances at Kalafat,
two at night and one in the day time, and had as-
certained that it could not be attacked in front
without great danger to the assailants. It was re-
ported that these generals were of opinion that the
position must be turned by passing, with or with-
out consent, by Servialt was not believed that
the attack on Kalafat would take place for a
month.
According to a telegraph despatch from Odessa
of Feb. 2, the first and last divisions of the Rus-
sian navy were then cruising in the neighbourhood
of li affa, observing Batoum. The third division it
was
supposed was probably observing Varna.
The Press of Vienna has the following from Con-
stantinople, 2d
"The weather is still very bad in the Black Sea, and
for some days past there have been very heavy gales.
The Turkish convoy which left on the 25th ult. for
Batoum and Gunieh only reached Jorospuii on the Ist.
Great importance is attached here to the revolt which
has broken out among the Samiots. The Ottoman Porte
has sent a commi.sion to the spot to institute an inquiry ;
the authorities of the island have demanded a reinforce-
ment of 5,000 men to protect the Turks against the
Greeks. The Government seeks to keep the affair
secret, fearing that other Greeks may follow the example.
Prince Vogorides, who is suspected of being connected
with this revolt, was arrested, but a, there was no
proof of complicity against him he was set at liberty ;
but a strict surveillance will be kept over him. The
day before yesterday two French and two English line-
of-battle ships arrived to reinforce the combined
squadrons."
A letter from Bagdad announces the capture of
Khiva by the Russians.
A letter from Berlin of the 15th inst. states that
a report current relative to the intrigues of the

•
Prom Silistria, January Bth, he writes :—" I
have arrived here through a country which is beau-
tiful in summer, every hill being wooded, but
every valley a marsh after the thaw. The first'
aspect of Silistria shows it to be a place of the first
military importance, every embrasure and pali-
sade being fresh, tidy, and fit for work ; while the
heights are covered with forts that sweep every
approach to this place, which is renowned beyond
every other in the annals of Danubian warfare. The
loss of Silistria would, in the event of a serious pro-
secution of the present war, be a great blow to the
Ottoman arms, for it breaks down an angle of the
triangle which it forms with Rustchuk and Shumla.
It places all the Turkish troops in the Dobrudja,
or tongue of land between Silistria and Sulina,
in a very disadvantageous position, and in danger
of having their retreat cut bff, while at the same
time Silistria becomes a tete de pont for opera-
tions on Shumla and Varna, which latter im-
portant post is the extreme right wing of the
second line of Turkish defence ; but even with the
rupture of the Danubian chain the heavy work of
the invader has still to come, for on the Balkan line
from Varna to the Servian frontier, the five great
passes near Varna Pranada, Osman Bazar, Ternova,
and Sumugh have been fortified so as to be all but
impassible. Adrianople being as I stated in one of my
letters, placed as it were created on purpose as a con-
venient camp of reserve for supporting the whole line
from Varna to the mountainous environs of Sophia.
Silistria is situate on the full breadth of the
Danube, just before it makes a little bend to the
south, and divides so as to form several islands.
It contains above 20,000 inhabitants, the houses
being mostly one storey high, built of wood. The
principal edifice is a large Greek church and con-
vent, begun during the years of the Russian occupa-
tion, Silistria being the chief pledge for the fulfil-
ment of the treaty of Adrianople. The Emperor
Nicholas twice furnished considerable sums for its
construction, but having learned that that his
liberality conduced rather to the fortunes of the
managers than of the church, it remain a new
ruin.

•
The present !garrison consists
of 11,000 men, and.
includes an Egyptian regiment of infantry, an in-
fantry regimentoftheln:capvearilray, an
Imperial Guadrd,al,f2uooll
artil-
lerymen, 300 irregular
regi-
mental corps, or " alai, of Sappers and Miners,
under the direction of the Colonel of Engineers,
Mehemet Bey, a Mulatto of Herculean frame. The
Egyptian troops are all tried soldiers of 30 or 40
years of age, such having been demanded of Abbas
Pasha. Their spirit is excellent, which certainly
was not the case in 1840, when engaged in a war
against the Sultan.
The command-in-chief of the place is held by .
Moussa Pasha, Director- General of the Turkish ar-
tillery of the Ottoman Empire--one of the most
distinguished men of the Ottoman Empire, the great
reformer of this arm, and the man whose persever-
ing and energetic support of the Prussian officers
for a number of years has made the Turkish
artillery what t is. Like every superior man, the
range of his knowledge is not confined to artillery
and fortification, and he has besides a most un-
Turkish industry and capacity for exact knowledge.
Silistria is nearly of a semi-circular form, with
five bastions on the river base and five on the land
side, or seven if the corner ones be included. All
the scarps and counterscarps are of solid stone-
masonry. There is no contregarde or other com-
plicated extension of the Vauban system. The
renovated strength of Silistria lies in the detached
forts, the chief of which is that of Abd-ul-Medjid,
on the hill of Akbar, the eminence from which the
Russians made themselves masters of the place in
the last war. It is situate at the back of Silistria
assuming the river to be the front, and is supported
on each side by other forts to the right and left,
the whole enclosing an oval apace:— Fcsitliabikula