The Sun.
London, England, 1856-04-10 00:00:00

R 0 Pit PH U-
.8 ri A Y le, V Eibilt:-'9 PR IL 189 1814,:__

ROYAL OLYNIPIC THEATRE.
Lessee and Manager, Mr. Alfred Wigan.
THIS EVENING
STILL WATERS RUN DEEP.

After which will be produced a New and doubly-moral, though
excessively old, Melodramatic Fairy Extravaganza, entitled
%HE DISCREET PRINCESS; or, the Three Glass Distaffs.
I which MesSrs. Emery, F. Robson, 11. Cooper, Miss Marston,
and Miss Haskell will appear.

ROYAL StTUREY THEATRE.
Lessees, Messrs. Shepherd and Creswick.
THIS
Will be performed a new Drama, entitled
HOW WE LIVE IN THE WOILD OF LONDON.

Followed by
THE POSTMAN'S KNOCK.

To =dude with
TUFFLEILAUSEN; or, The Lawyer's Legend.

tOYAL STIZANIJ TiLEATRE.
Under the direction of Mr: Pay ne

THIS EVENING,
MY WIFE'S COUSIN.
After which,
THE' LOS 7 DIAMONDS.

Followed by
A Da'let Divertissement.

After which,
GOOD QUEEN /1,-.SS.
To conclude with

NO! .NO!! NO!!!

ROYAL MARYLECONE THEATRE.
THURSDAY, April 10,h, last night but one of Mr. CHARLES
MATHEWS' Engagement.

This Evening will be performed, THE GAME OF SPECULA-
TION. Mr. Affable Hawk, Mr. Charles Mathews.
After which, THE GREAT GUN TRICK. The Wizard of the
S.S.W., Mr. Chas. Mathews.
To conclude with KATHERINE AND PETRUCHIO.

Boxes, 2s. ; pit, Is. ; gallery, 6d.
Acting and Stage Manager, Mr. E. Stirling.

Awn Era ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE.
Lessee and Manazer, Mr. Wm. Cooke.
TIII3 EVENING,
That unique and unparalleled Rencontre Equestrienne, a GENU-
INE ENGLISH STEEPLECHASE 2- •
Also, the Oriental Spectacle, THE ARAB OF THE DESERT
AND HIS FAITHFUL SPEED.

After which, the WONDERS OF VIE ARENA, by riders of
first-rate talent.

To conclude with a Drama of Peril, Exc:tement, Laughter, Mis-
haps, Crossings, Jostlings, and Adventures, with Terrific Leaps from
the stage to the ring, in ENGLAND'S HARVE3r HOME an
NATIONAL SfEEPLECHASE.

Box-office open from Eleven till Four. Stage Manager, Mr. W
West. Equestrian Director. 31r. W. Cooke, tun.

EMMA STANLEY'S " SEVEN AGES OF WOMAN."

The Manager respectfully announces the THREE LAST MORN.
ING PERFORMANCES of this most popular and amusing Enter-
tainment, Saturday. the 12th, Wednesday, the 16th, and Saturday
the 19th, at half-past two.

Evening performances as usual, on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays
and Fridays, at gi Velock.
Admission—Back Seats, is.; Centre Seats, 2s. ; Stalls, 3s.
SAINT MARTIN'S lIALL, Long-acre.

HIGU WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.

THIS DAY—Morn. 8 min. aft. s—Evening 31 min.aft. 5
- Tn-14foRito w—Morn. 53 min. aft. 5 —Evening 17 nib. aft. 6

THE WEATHER—Svx Comex, APRIL 10.
THERMOMETER, IN THE SEISM
55—highest since noon yesterday.
48—lowest this caorutag anti due.ng the night.
60 -this day at noon.
BAROMETER, 23.22—n0w up to 29'33.
WIND, variable from S.W. to W.N.W.—Fresh and
squally, with dull, rainy weather in the morning; now
fine.

f"tie
tj
,iy

C.l ~'S'^~ i~'.

LONDON, THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 1856.

Peace has been officially recognised both at
home and abroad. The naval blockade has been
raised. Russia has authorised the admission of
the vessels of the Western Powers to her ports,
and has removed the prohibition on the expor-
tation of corn—while orders in Council have been
published, permitting the clearing and departure of
vessels for Russian ports, and allowing the expor-
tation of the various articles comprehended within
the designation of materiel of war. And all this
time the Parliament and People of the United
Kingdom are kept profoundly ignorant of the
terms and conditions of the Treaty. They mint,
forsooth, await its formal ratification before the
slightest information can be doled forth. This
is manifestly a deliberate and wanton insult. P,
is intended as an intimation that neither of the
hereditary branches of the Legislature have any-
thing to do With the questions of Peace or War,
beyond :voting with cheerful and unhesitating
readiness the sums demanded by or on behalf of
the Executive. They are required to acknowledge
the Royal Prerogative to an extent fully equal to
what was demanded in the days of the TUDORS :
and to admit that, in these matters at least,
there is no limitation to the power of the British
Monarchy, but that it is to all intents and pur-
poses as absolute as the despotic sovereignties a
the Continent.

And yet no English representative has pro-
tested against this anomalous state of affairs
has demanded even the recognition of his order,
or an official intimation of the cessation of hoE-
tilities. If peace is placed beyond the possibility
of doubt, a message to that effect, stating the
terms, should have been forthwith communicated
to both Houses ! If not, the prohibitions against
the exportation of the contraband of war should
not be removed. Ministers are thus placed in a di-
lemma,on one horn or the other of which they must
be tossed, but still the members of both branches
of the Legislature are contented to hug their
collars, and to consent to the abdication of their
constitutional functions, in pursuance of the
highly-prized German models ! We confess that
we had anticipated a greater display of in-
dependence on the part of our represen-
tatives—bad hoped that the objectionable
precedent could not have been establish( d
without some appearance of opposition. We fancy
that the several constituer.cies will participate
in these opinions, and feel that those whom they
have elevated to honourable positions have not
adequately defended the privileges that should be
attached thereto.

Nor is it officially only, that the symptoms of
peace aro already manifested. Not only are we
to send our sterling gold—on the possession
whereof so much depends, under the existing
monetary code—in exchange for Russian pro-
duce, but we aro to raise capital for the
Construction of Russian Railways. Had

the railways, now in contemplation, existed
before the commencement of the War, the result
might have been very different. Men and sup-
plies could have been poured into the Crimea
from the interior of Russia, and the difficulties
which proved insuperable would have been com-
pletely got rid of. In fact there is but too much
reason to suppose that Russia has merely post-
poned, not abandoned, her cherished policy. It is
now perceived that NICHOLAS had made a wrong
calculation, and that his attempt was decidedly
premature. His successor can, however, afford to
bide his time. He clearly perceives the difficul-
ties by which he was defeated, and can direct all
his energies to their removal.
The alliance between France and England was
his most formidable obstacle, and that he will
endeavour to destroy or weaken. Very decided
manifestations have already been made, all tend-
ing in that same direction. The Philo•Russian
journals all flatter the EfPEROR, and lavish
praises on his subjects, while England and the
English are unsparingly abused. They strive to
establish an entente cordials with France, while
they are really hostile to England, and pretend
to be so towards Austria. The construction of
the military lines of railway in the interior of the
empire is another point to which they are
directing attention ; and, as we have seen, it is
with English capital that they hope to achieve
the desideratum. Thus doubly injuring this coun-
try, by increasing the strength of a nation which
has very recently, and may again speedily, be
arrayed in arms against her, and withdrawing
the bullion on which the national industry is de-
pendent.

Were the Lours NAPOLEON of 1854 on the
Imperial Throne, we should entertain but trivial
apprehensions respecting the possibility of a Russo-
French Alliance. But circumstances have changed
New dynastic considerations are in operation that
may possibly, and at no very remote period, lead
to a truly Imperial fraternisation very injurious
to the cause of liberty and civilisation throughout
the entire world. We earnestly pray that the
alliance between France and England may be
perpetuated, that every day may strengthen the
bonds by which the two greatest monarchies of the
earth are connected ; but we cannot remain blind
or indifferent to the insidious attempts that may,
and we fear have already been made to separate
and disunite them.

While matters are in this state, and while we are
still ignorant of the terms of peace, the nation is
to be amused with a naval review to show the
power that we really possessed when too late to
direct it to any useful purpose. They may talk
of "shutting the stable-door after the steed has
been stolen," but the English Government has
been guilty of equal absurdity. So long
as gun-boats were urgently required, when
their services would have enabled us to maintain
the maritime supremacy of which we were accus-
tomed to boast, and to inflict heavy, and possibly
fatal, blows against the enemy, we could not ob-
tain them ; but the mome*t that wa were really
in a position to adopt decisive measures—that we
were in possession of all the necessary means and
appliances—then. a humiliating truce is patched
up, which gives neither compensation for
the past nor security for the future. We shall
have the exhibition of the costly farce as
the sole compensation for the many serious
sacrifices so cheerfully and unhesitatingly
submitted to by the tax-paying commu-
nity. And then we suppose that they will be
laid up in ordinary as enduring monuments of
British folly in the latter part of the nineteenth
century. Well may we be made the laughing-
stock of Europe, when the ridiculous subservience
of the once formidable British Lion to its Ger
manic keepers is noticed, and when it is also shown
that for two years we are accustomed to defer
the preparations essential to success, and when
we have obtained them are ready to close with the
first advance towards a reconciliation, although
all the objects of the War may remain unaccom-
plished! We are sold ! we are sold ! And by
whom ? and for whom ? Let the insidious but
ungrateful German answer !

A popular author says somewhere that there is
a passion in human nature to hunt something,
and really the tenacity with which the Oath of
Abjuration is maintained lends some sort of coun-
tenance to the remark, so far as the members of
the Legislature are concerned. Here is an oath,
whieh, however well or ill calculated originally to
operate as a safeguard against a positive danger,
has become practically useless for its avowed ob-
ject, through the utter extinction of that danger,
still enforced and defended, not because the non-
existence of an heir to the PRETENDER is doubted,
but because the oath is so worded as to exclude
an industrious and inoffensive body of religionists
whom it was never designed to exclude, and
whose only fault, so far as we can discern, is—
they believe in the Old and not in the New
Testament. All sorts of restrictive and
persecuting laws the present century ha 4
seen repealed Dissenters and Ronan Ca-
tholics have alike been relieved of their civil
and religious disabilities yet the luckless
Jew remains to this hour excluded from a seat in
Parliament. And this notwithstanding the citi-
zens of the metropolis have elected and re-elected
a Jew as one of their representatives, and he for
nine long years has sought admission, during
which period successive efforts have been made in
the House to have such admission granted ; not-
withstanding, too, the execution of the last dread
penalty of the law has been entrusted to a Jew in
the capacity of High Sheriff ; and, since Novem-
ber last, a member of the same long-persecuted
race has occupied the chair of Chief Magistrate of
the metropolis of the kingdom, and has had the
insignia of the highest civic dignity borne before
him. The remark of the, author referred to may
be an exaggeration; but to a large proportion of
the members of the Legislature the hunting of a
Jew would seem to afford a singular gratification.
Sir FREDERICK THESIGER, it is true, discovers
in the wording of the Abjuration Oath a formal
recognition of the Protestant succession to the
Crown ; but, with all deference to his lawyer-like
ingenuity, that, if,
as he asserts, not to be found
elsewhere, might readily be provided for without
maintaining intact an oath unintentionally produc-
tive of so gross an injustice. That the terms of tLe
oath, "on the true faith of a Christian," were not
originally directed against the Jews he himself
admits, but would have it inferred they were
designedly included in its meshes afterwards, of
which there is not the shadow of a proof. This,
we suppose, was thrown out to get rid of the
grave imputation of countenancing the perpetua-
tion of an admitted wrong to obviate the re-
motest possible danger. Still more apparent was
the real animus of the opposition to the bill in his
introduction of the hackneyed and utterly absurd
argument, that the admission of Jews would un-
Christianise the house. Is there any special con•
tamination, it may well be asked, in a Jew that
he should effect what infidels, givers of bribes,
and forgers and robbers (Sammu, for instance)
have been unable to do ? A Jew at least believes
the Old Testament, and professes to be bound by

the moral law. The fact is, the Opposition well
know that a wrong was accidentally done to the
Jew by the wording of the oath, and the spirit of
religious persecution is so strong in them, that
they must persist in perpetuating that wrong at
whatever expense to their moral and legislatorial
character. The majority obtained in favour of
the bill, it is to be hoped, will teach them that the
period is gone by, in this kingdom at least, for
religious persecution, if recent events have failed
to convince them this is not a time for the
perpetuation of causes of immorality, which need-
less oaths undoubtedly are.

Our readers will have seen in The Sun of yes,.
terday that the Liverpool Financial Reform Asso-
ciation has taken up vigorously the report, on
which we commented the other day, of a dowry
of 70,0001. per annum for the Princess Royal,
on Ler marriage with the Prins() of Prussia. In
an address which every constituency in the king-
dom ought to read, they exhibit the extravagance
of the proposal in its right light. We are glad
they have done so. If public opinion display
itself as may be expected, a question asked by
some successor to Mr. HuarE, "in his place in
Parliament," will receive the reply that
the report is a report merely, having no
foundation whatever. If no stir be made we
shall assuredly have a repetition pretty nearly of
the 100,0001. a-year to Queen ADELAIDE. It is
really very unwise in our Ministers to teach
' and cherish avarice in the Royal Family. Why
should they compel the nation to regard
the young creatures as so many burdens, and
prompt the remark, on the death of each,
"So much saved to the country !" Mode-
rate incomes_for each no one grudges. The Royal
Dukes of GEORGE 111. had, if we remember right,
about 20,000/. each—a comfortable living, in all
conscience, for those who neither toil nor spin.
But as to the Princesses, we trust the nation will
refuse to maintain them abroad. Prussia has
surely pocketed enough at the cost of this country
by her transit trade with the enemy, in addition
to her millions saved, like Austria, by her cowar-
dice or despotism, refusing to fight in the interest
of Europe. If our young Princes want German
wives, as very likely they will, we wonder how
much the Duke, or Margrave, or Landgrave, or
Count, or nobody knows what, will allow his
daughter ? We take it, England will have to
maintain both, and perhaps give the husband a
sinecure Colonelcy, intended for the reward of
special services, or a Marshal's baton, for service
in the field of deer-stalking. Let Prussia do as
we must do, if against the wish of England she
will have our Princess Royal.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer's Bill to pre-
vent our insuring in French offices is now pub-
lished, as our readers will have already seen. Sir
CORNEWALL LEWIS, no doubt, thinks he has ex-
tinguished French insurance here as completely
a 4 ho thinks he has the regal history of Rome.
Looking at his bill we will not deny that it is well
calculated to prevent open agency on behalf of a
foreign company. All that the surplusage of
legal phraseology and heavy penalties can do Sir
CORNEWALL LEWIS has done. Any person in any
manner negotiating, &c., &c., the insurance is to
be considered an agent for a foreign company,
and must be licensed, under a penalty of 1001.
per day ! Every insurance also, wherever the
policy or note be issued and signed, or if there be
uo policy at all, must pay the policy stamp and the
duty of cent. per cent., or of one hundred and fifty
per cent. ! Surely the net has not a single hole
in it—much less, to use Lord ELDON'S phrase, can
a coach-and-six be driven through the Act.
Yet we are confident that very little ingenuity
will suffice to evade it extensively. Nothing for-
bids, or can well forbid, advertising a French
office in the English papers, and direct correspon-
dence on the part of the insurer with the French
office. There is no person appointed to receive
the duty from insurers, nor could each insurer be
required to bring the duty to Somerset-house or
the Stamp-office. No person need act as an agent
in obtaining the proposal for insurance. It could
be made so full in its particulars that wrong de-
scription would be impossible; and as wilful mis-
description renders a policy void, the insurer
would not venture on fraud of that kind ; the
cheapness of the insurance, and the penalty in
case of fire would secure correct proposals. In
cases of fire, it would be no difficulty whatever
to have reliable valuers of losses in every locality,
and the bill does not, and cannot, make a valuer
an agent for insuring. Direct communication with
France is now as easy as between English towns,
and will frustrate all attempts to maintain
exorbitant duties.

His Royal Highness Prince Albert honoured the Cri
mean Exhibition, 121, Pall-Mall, with a visit yesterday...
Sir James Duke was on duty at the Old Bailey Ses-
sions till 5 o'clock, and reached the house just too late
to vote in favour of Mr. Gibson's bill.

The Attorney-General for Ireland was reelected for
Ennis on Tuesday without opposition.
Mr. William Evans, late M.P. for Derbyshire, died
at his residence, Allestree-hall, Derbyshire, after a short
illness, at about four o'clock last Tuesday morning.
A new college is to be erected, at a cost of 30,060/.
at Llandaff. for female orphans of the clergy, in connec-
tion with Hord's Charity.
The Hon. Leslie Melville, one of the directors of the
East India Campany, died on the evening of the Bth,
after a sudden attack of paralysis. This event places
another seat in the direction of the disposal of the
Crown.—Sraith and Elder's o,;erland Mail.
THE BAND IN KENSINGTON GARDENS.—Orders have
been issued by the authorities at the Horse Guards that
the band of the Royal Horse Guards Blue shall play on
Sunday next in Kensington Gardens from 4 till 6, wea-
ther permitting. A band will play on each succeeding
Sunday, and the time of the performance will probably
vary as the season advances.
THE EMBASSY AT CONSTANTINOPLE.—We have the
best grounds for stating that there is no truth in rumours
which have lately been current, to the effect that Sir
Edmund Lyons is about to replace Lord Stratford de
Redeliffe as British Ambassador at Constantinople.
Sir Edmund has gone to the Mediterranean for the
purpose of resuming his command. Lord Stratford,
there is no reason to doubt, will retain his post.--
Morning Post.
Tne geld brought by the Red Jacket on Tuesday is
understood to amount to 448,0001., instead of 402,7001.,
as stated. There was also between 20,0001. and 40,0001.
in the hands of passengers. The whole will be taken to
the Bank of England, and the arrival is opportune, the
sums withdrawn for transmission to the East during the
last week or two having been very heavy.
EAST INDIA-HOUSE.—Ye•terday a Court of Directors
was held at the East India-house, when the thanks of
the Court were voted unanimously to Mr. Elliot Mac:
naghten, chairman, and Colonel William Henry Sykes,
deputy-chairman, for their great application and atten-
tion to the affairs of the East India Company during the
past year.
KING BOMBA AND HIS INSULTS TO ENGLAND.—We
read in a letter from Naples ;—" The French Minister's
ball will take place on the 14th inst., and the King
has signified his intention to be present, having de-
clined so to honour the ball of the British Minister,
Sir William Temple. The contrast in the mode of
treating the several legations is but too significant of
the Royal feeling—he fears and respects the one country,
bywhilsta
setrbies of little grievances eotherheh has been permittedand
annoyances.to
longo
Theinsult
French Minister, M. Brenier, regards this as rather a
diplomatic triumph, and not a little plumes himself
upon it."
THE LATE BOILER EXPLOSION IN PORTSMOUTH DOCK
YARD.—The coroner's inquest upon the bodies has been
thrice adjourned, and again postponed till this evening.
An inquest was held yesterday, at Haslar, by the county
coroner, Longcroft, Esq., and a respectable body of
jurymen. The facts were clearly stated. It was proved
in evidence that the safety-valves were in proper order ;
that the gauge cocks had previously to the accident been
tested. The driver (Edwards) stated that he was at a
loss to account for the deplorable result, at which time
he was within a few feet of the boiler, This man has
been in the service nearly eight years, bears a most
excellent character, and has always been accustomed to
high-pressure engines. The coroner, in summing up,
delivered an impressive address to the jury, after which
they gave a verdict of "Accidental death." The abol e
inquest was held on Parrot, who had subsequently sunk
under the shock:

TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION WITH CONSTANTINOPLE.
—The following information respecting the Ottoman
Electric Telegraph between Shumla and Constantinople
has been forwarded to us for publication :—" The Otto-
man electric telegraph between Shumla and Constanti-
nople is now open for the transmission of private
despatches. Every despatch must be superscribed
Vole d'Adrianople.' By reason of the breaking of the
line across the Danube, which cannot be remedied until
the return of fine weather, such despatches must all bear
the indication, Gouverneur de Roustchouk.' The
zonal distance from Giurgevo to Shumla is three zones ;
that from Shurnia to Adrianople two zones ; and that
from Shumla to Constantinople three zones. The tele-
graphic offices in England will, on sending such
despatches, receive the total charge not only as far as
Giurgevo, but through to their final destination, not-
withstanding the indication Gouverneur de Roust-
chouk, ' which is merely intended to insure their trans-

mission across the Danube.—Ottoman Embassy, Lon-
don, April 8."
CHIPPENHAU ELECTION.--The election of a represen-
tative for this borough, to fill the vacancy caused by the
death of the late Mr. Joseph Neeld, took place yesterday.
There was only one candidate, and the matter created very
little interest. After the usual preliminaries, the Mayor
(Mr. T. A. Fellowes) briefly opened the proceedings. Mr.
W. Cjlborne, the late Mayor of the borough, then came
forward, and, after paying a touching tribute to the me-
mory of the late Mr. Neeld, proposed Mr. Robert Parry
Nisbet, of Southbroom-house, in the county of Wilts, as
a fit and proper person to represent the borough in Par-
liament. The nomination was briefly seconded by Mr.
Wilson, and, no other candidate appearing, the Mayor
deciared Mr. Nisbet duly elected. Mr. Nisbet then ad-
dressed the electors, and, after thanking them for the
high honour conferred upon him, and making a few re-
marks upon local topics, he stated that, although a Con-
servative, he was willing to support all measures of sound
reform that might be brought into Parliament, and was
prepared to support any plan that would place the vexed
question of church-rates on a more satisfactory footing.
A. vote of thanks was then given to the Mayor, and
three cheers for the Queen and the new member, and
the pr,ceedings, which did not occupy half an hour, ter-
minated.

NEW ROCHESTER BRIDGE.—On the conclusion of the
meeting of the bridgewardens at Rochester Castle, on
Friday last, the wardens held a private meeting at their
usual place, when the subject of the approaching com-
pletion of the new iron bridge was taken into considera-
tion. Sir W. Cubitt, the engineer of the works, was
directed to prepare plans and statements for taking down
the old bridge, with the view of their being laid before
the wardens at the next meeting, on the 15th of May,
for their approval, the wardens being desirous of com-
mencing the taking down of the present bridge on the
same day that the new one will be opened. An opinion
was also expressed that the old bridge should be re-
moved as speedily as possible, and it was stated that
there appeared to be little doubt that every part of that
structure would be removed and cleared away by Christ
was next. The bridgewardens have also acceded to the
request made by the inhabitants of Strood and others,
and have given directions for stairs to be erected on the
Strood side of the river, which will be of great conveni-
ence to persons having occasion to use the river. We
understand that the precise day for opening the bridge
has not yet been named ; but there is every reason to
believe that it will take place some time in the last week
in June. There appears to be a pretty general belief
current that his Royal Highness Prince Albert will be
present at the ceremony, but the bridgewardens have
not been assured that such will positively be the case.—
Sbuth-Eastera Gazette.
, elm SERVICES, No. V.—The estimates for Civi

Services, under the branch " Colonial, Consular, and
other Foreign Services," have been printed. The
amount
r iroywe
Igoe:
be
e fead
d3e2 coo:,
e2a6t
shseet year
ofagainst
,ao 7n0181t.5362T8ih,s stated
itemsal . ted
, last
sibtny th
e
Treasury eutadree,
12,0001. for the support of captured negroes, 11,0501.
for the " Suppression of Slave Trade Commissions,"
167,4981. for consuls abroad, and 25,0001. for "extra-
ordinary" expenses Ministers at foreign Courts. The
ecclesia.tical establishment of the British North Ameri•
can provinces figures for 7,3971., including 1,9901., the
salary of the Bi-hop of Quebec, and 2,7621. for foreign
missionaries of the Society for Propagating the Gospel.
The civil establishment on the Western Coast of Africa
figures for 10,2301., of which 2,000/. is for Sierra Leone,
4,2301 for Gambia, avid 4,0001. for the Gold Coast. The
isle of St. Helena costs tee country a sum of 10,856/ ,
principally for pensions and retired allowances), and that
of Heligoland 9601. The Falkland Islands figure for
2,9011. For expenses of emigration from this country
14,582/. is required. 3,3291. is demanded for the es
tablishment of a new consulate at Bangkok, in Siam,
under the new treaty, the consul to receive a salary of
1,2001.
RGSsIAN RAILWAYS.—The prospectus of the first of
the anticipated Russian railway companies has been put
forth, the line being one that was about to be introduced
just beforce the commencement of the war. It is to he
called the C icomercial Railway of Russia, Rica, and
Dunahurg, and the capital required is 1600;000/. in
20,000 shares of 1001. each, to be issued at 80. On these
shares the Russian Government guarantee a minimum
interest of 4 per cent., which to subscribers at the price
of 80 will yield 5 per cent. The dividends are to be
payable half-yearly in London, St. Petersburg, and
Riga, and the sum proposed to be raised covers a pro-
vision, for the payment of interest during construction.
An additional half per cent. is also guaranteed to form a
sinking fund to redeem the shares at par within 56
years, The concession was granted to the committee of
the Riga Exchange, comprising the foreign mere:mute at
that place, by whom all the requisite surveys and esti-
mates have been procured, and the company are to have
absolute control both as regards construction and ma-
nagement. The length of the line will be about 140
miles from Riga to Dunabure, where it will join about
mid way the great line from St. Petersburg .to Warsaw,
now in progress. The chief advantages c intemplated
are those to be derived from its power of transp atine
the produce of the interior and central province to the
port of Riga during the long period in which the river
navigation is closed by ice ; and a belief is stated in the
prospectus that it must become the main commercial
trunk line from the north and west of Russia. The Lon-
don Board of Directors consists at Preeent of a few mer-
chants Lirgely connected with Riga, and Mr. John
Hawkshaw is to be the engineer. The terms
granted furnish an illustration of the determina-
tion of Russia to obtain whatever amount of
British capital she may require to promote the
growth of her ports and develope the power and
resources of her territory ; and, as Austria intends
to follow a similar course, and both are likely to be
imitated by all the German and other continental
States, no forebodings can be too great with regard
to the drain to which, with the progress of specu-
lation, we are likely in a year or two to be exposed.
THE RECENT COLLISION AT GIBRALTAR —ln The Sun
of Tuesday we gave an account from the Gibraltar
Chronicle of March 29, of thecollision between thesteam-
ship Mino and the British sailing transport Minden.
The Chronicle of the 31st of March contains the state-
ment made by the master of the Minden relative to the
accident. He describes the weather as being very hazy
at the time. Those on board did not apprehend any dan-
ger of collision, and he therefore did not think it neces•
sary to alter the course of the ship, as the vessels would
have passed quite clear of each other if they had both
continued their respective courses ; but within a minute
or two after the master caught sight of the steamer the
latter suddenly altered her course by porting her helm,
which caused herto shoot under the bows of the Minden.
The jibboom of the latter, coming in contact with one of
the masts of the steamer Mino, was carried 'away, and
the bowsprit knocked down the steamer's funnel. The
stern of the Minden then struck with a severe shock
against the broadside of the steamer. The master of the
Minden rendered all the assistance he could, and his first
boat had just succeeded in reaching the steamer when she
sank, stern foremost. Capt. Marshall procesda to say
that the boat saved 21 persons, viz., 2 ladies and 2 gen-
tlemen (passengers) and 17 of the crew, including the
second engineer, the boatswain, and • la !second steward.
The time that elapsed from the collsion to the sinking
of the steamer did not exceed ten minutes. The beats
remained for three-quarters of an hour near the spot in
the hope of saving mere lives, the ship being hove to all
the time, with her main and inizen topsails aback and
her head to the northward ; the bearings of Tarifa light
at the time of the collision being W. and by N., Europa
light bearing N.E. and by. E. half E. The ship immedi-
ately began to fire guns, and continued to do so at in-
tervals for an hour, firing 27 rounds in all, and burning
blue lights and rocket@ in the hope of geteing assistance.
At 4 a.na. the boats returned with the persons saved,
and they had every assistance rendered them on board
the Minden. They informed Captain Marshall that the
onhe bhoaadr dr,e
received
engineeredne
er
ae ttetahmeevrahmaed
tunealt(s greetnhaear 0 r
k 1
in9g
ders to stop the engines, but that he stopped them him-
self after the collision of own accord.
THE NIGHTINGALE FOND.—The total sum subscribed)
up to the present time to this fund, intended as a re-
cord of national gratitude to Miss Nightingale for the
invaluable services rendered by her to the sick and
wounded of the British forces during the recent war,
and raised to enable her to establish an institution for
the training, sustenance, and protection of nurses and
hospital attendants, is very little,. if at all, short of
30,000/. The more recent contributions include 1,8721.
from M. and Madame Goldschmidt-Lind ; 8001. from
the citizens of Manchester ; 6501. from Oxford ; 4001.
from Edinburgh ; 3001. from Bath ; 2551. odd from Bol-
ton ; 1111. from Winchester ; 3361., a further remittance
from the British army in the Crimea ; and 1741. from
the officers, chaplains, and soldiers stalhned at Scutari.
The committee for managing the fund acknowledge with
much gratification the contributions of a large number
of the clergy of various denominations, the aid they have
received, and are receiving, from British ambassadors
and consuls in various parts of the world ; and refer with
pleasure to the large sums contributed by the army at
home and abroad. A letter from Lord William Paulet,
which conveyed the subscriptions from the Crimea, bears
testimony to the ready and hearty manner with which
the whole army there had responded to the appeal
made to it on behalf of the objects of the fund ; and he
adds that, judging from the amount subscribed by
the several divisions and departments, the committee
of which he is the chairman have reason to believe that
every officer and soldier had contributed a day's pay
towards it ; and they feel that the unanimity and wil-
lingness with which these contributions had been made
afford the strongest testimony both to the value of the
services which Miss Nightingale has rendered to the
army, and to the appreciation in which those services
are held by those in whose behalf they were undertaken.
The committee are also in communication with the au-
thorities in the colonies, from many of whom they have
received offers of co-operation, and they especially direct
attention to the:results already obtained from the ag-
gregate of small subscriptions colleoted throughout the
kingdom.

LATEST NEWS.

OUR ARMY IN THE CRIMEA.
(From th,e Times Corresponded.)
CAMP BEFORE SEBASTOPOL, MARCH 28.
The occupations of an army during a cessation of
hostilities differ but little from those of our mili-
tary training-schools at Aldershott or the Curragh,
and, but for the vicinity of our enemy, the traces
of the late protracted conflict, and the severity of
the Crimean spring, there would be little to dis-
tinguish this vast camp of English, French, and
Sardinians from the ordinary standing camps which
are more commonly seen upon the continent than
among ourselves. All the open spaces on the pla-
teau are covered every morning with our battalions
at drill or exercise. The day that is not for a di-
visional inspection is sure to be devoted either to
brigade or regimental drill, and there is no doubt
but that the British army is now fast assuming
that rigidity and regularity which our military
men so much admire, but which in this war at
least has on no occasion been of service to us.
The Light Division, broken in two almost by
the abstraction of the 77th and 88th at the
Alma,_ charged the Russian batteries under the
very nose of Sir George Brown in such formation
and order as would have insured every officer and
man weeks of extra drill from that gallant officer in
peace time._ The 30th, 65th, and 95th of Evans's
Division were also speedily deprived of their orderly
formation. At lukernaan the regiments were broken
up and fought man by man or in little groups, meet-
ing the surge of the Russians by so many shifting
points of steel and fire ; and in the attacks on the
Redan there was no formation at all, from the time
the men left the trenches till they returned, and
the place was attacked by a brave and devoted
armed mob. Same considerations connected with
these matters might tempt our chiefs to consider
whether our drill might not be submitted to some
modifications. No military man dares to propose
the revision of our squad books, but there is not
one of them who could not point out faults and ab•
surdities in them.
TUESDAY.—As yet I have only seen two Russian
officers across the Tchernaya, and that was yesterday
at the races ; but it is affirmed that one or two have
ridden into Balaklava, and that some others have
been taken to Kamiesh and entertained by
French officers, greatly to the anger of the Marshal.
The Russians do not disguise their joy at the pro-
spects of peace, and, indeed, they must have suf-
fered enormously in the siege. They say that the
shot of the allies sometimes struck their boats full
of men, crossing from the north side, and sunk
them, and they take pride in relating the horrors
of the siege. Some of them will never be known.
Mr. Deane, the diver, has, however, brought
others to light. Close by the ruins of Fort Paul,
whence the bridge started to the north side, he dis-
covered, at the bottom of the harbour, a battery
of field-artillery, horses, men, and all entangled
in the harness, and with their skeletons just hang-
ing together in the network of leather. He has
fished nprfive field-pieces and two howitzers. They
are filled with mud, but they can soon be made fit
for Woolwich. The wood of the carriages has been
utterly destroyed by the teredo navalis, or what-
ever it is which lives on such hard fare or in such
hard quarters as the best old oak affords. On the
skeleton of one of the horses there were the bones
of a driver held together by the rags of his uniform,
rend with his foot still in the stirrup.
The Candia has arrived with Captain Gardiner's
troop of Royal Horse Artillery • but they have
been ordered not to land for the present. The
mail has arrived, and it is rumoured that the ar•
mistice has been extended to the 10th of April.
WEDNESDAY.—" Returns" are the order of the
day. One which has been ordered, of the names of
all officers who have been present with their regi-
ments without leaving the Crimea since the 14th
of September, 1854 (Old Fort), to March 20, 1850,
has excited an immense amount of hope and con-
jecture among the very few lucky men whose names
will appear in it.
There was a review of about 40 French batta-
lions and of two regiments of Cuirassiers to-day
behind the Feduikhine heights on the plains of
Balaklava. The whole of the army of the Tcher-
naya was under arms, and presented a very mag-
nificeut spectacle. The Marshal and a large staff
of Generals and many of the English and Sardinian
staff were on the ground, and, notwithstanding
the coldness of the day, many spectators watched
the evolutions of the troops and the charges of the
cavalry for several hours.
THURSDAY.—Last night the performances at the
Fusilier Theatre, Light Division, were attended
by Sir W. CArington, and went off with great
success. There was the usual drill of several bri-
gades of the English army to-day, in spite of the
extreme cold. The French surgeons are visiting
our hospitals, and are said to bo loud in
. praises of our arrangements. I regret to state
that Miss Nightingale has received a slight
injury from the upsetting of a vehicle, in which,
with other sisters, she was coming up to the front
from Balaklava. Her back is hurt, and she is at
present at the Castle Hospital. We all hope for
her speedy and complete recovery. Col. M'Murdo,
of the; Land Transport Corps, has arrived, and is
busied with the arrangement of his department,
, which the news of peace has in some degree pa-
ralysed. The soldiers are going back to their regi-
ments in some cases. What is to become of the
. non-commissioned officers who have received com-
missions from the line which have not yet been
confirmed at home ? But, above all, how will
those deserving officers who have received the
brevent rank of Major in the Army for their ser-
vice in the corps be treated ?
FRIDAY.—The north wind continued to blew
throughout the night up till eight o'clock this
morning, and at six a.m. the thermometer was
down' to 12 deg. Fahrenheit. Soon afterwards a
change took place, and the thermometer rose to 24
deg. The conduct of the north wind is the more
provoking • that we have a bright sun daily, and
, between them both one must be very tough or very
clever to escape some species of catarrh. The un-
fortunate crocuses, snowdrops, and other bulbs
which have shot up their buds to greet the warm
sun have received rude welcome and scant en-
' couragemrnt from the cold aLd nipping air.
About 11 o'clock a.m. a strong division of the
Russian army appeared on the parade ground above
the heights of Inkerman, on the north side, and
were engaged for a couple of hours in performing
the ordinary manoeuvres of a field-day ; within
sight of them the 2d Brigade of the Light' ivision
was occupied in a similar manner ; and all that
flash and show of glittering arms were the more
pleasing to the spectator that they heralded no
bloodshed and augured no coming battleeqeld.
Rumours of peace fly swiftly through the camp,
and the extension of the armistice to the 10th of
April is regarded as its certain preliminary. All
thoughts are turned towards Lome, but it cannot
be denied that the sudden prospect of peace has
given
a trbued
armistice
r ah
iosctki e
eto
but thoseas a eagerbreathing-time
soldiers who re-
gardedto the enemy, and to those newly-at-ea el depart-
mentsgiven which, forced to an exuberant development
in the hotbed of our necessities, will now possibly
be deprived of the measure u favour and encourage-
ment which the civility, devotion, sincerity, and
zeal of those who organised and adopted them have
unquestionably entitled them to expect.
SATURDAY.—The weather has again changed.
The thermometer, which fell 18 degrees last night,
has risen this morning to 39 degrees, with a light
southerly breeze and cloudy sky. The Brigadiers
have taken advantage of the weather, and the
various brigades are now drilling on the plateau
overlooking the Tchernaya.

TURKEY.
CONSTANTINOPLE, March 31.—The commercial
world of Galata is just now thrown into a state of
considerable excitement by a rather curious lawsuit
between an English merchant and an Austrian
banking firm. Both parties are reckoned among
the most respectable houses of this place, and they
have been for years connected in business. Only
lately they transacted together some very exten-
sive business as contractors for the French army,
and it is from this latter business that the lawsuit
has arisen. They undertook last year to supply
cattle and lost a great many by epidemic. This
year the English house alone concluded under
very, favourable terms a contract with the
French Intendance to furnish several thousand
heads of cattle per month, and has in
consequence of it at this present moment
a claim for 24,000/. upon the French Con-
missariat. Now the Austrian firm comes forward
with a bill for 1,000,000 piasters, and asks on the
strength of it the sequestration of the 24,0001.
The English house raises the objection that the
bill was only one for accommodation, which can
be easily seen from the accounts current between
the two houses.

As the case is between an English and Austrian
subject, the usual custom of the place, which fol-
lows:French law in this respect, admits the seques-
tration, and the English Consul-General has, at
the request of the plaintiff, locked up the 24,0001.
until the question has been decided.
This morning the sound of 101 guns announced
to us that peace had been signed. As the end of
thelarmistice approached rumours of the most dif-
ferent nature began to circulate—now that the
armistice had been prolonged—then that the news
of the actual conclusion of peace had arrived—and
again that unforeseen but not insurmountable dif-
ficulties-laving arisen the war would be continued
as well as the negotiations. The salute this morn-

ing put an end to all these conjectures. Although
the whole commercial world here was interested in
the continuation of war, the belief especially during
the latter part of the negotiations was more in
favour of peace. Although only fragmentary and
ofte# very apocryphal news reached the public
about the progress of the conferences, yet the tele-
graphic orders sent out to cease warlike prepara-
tions and the settling of contracts somehow or
other transpired, and helped to confirm people's
belief in peace.

The grand review of the English troops at Scu-
tari, which had been fixed for Saturday last, has
been postponed on account of the bad weather. As
that day was not fine the Sultan named to-day
(Monday). The rain yesterday and tc-day, how-
ever, caused it again to be postponed to an inde-
finite period.

A very suspicious epidemic has broken out
among the Artillery horses belonging to the bat-
tery stationed in Galata-serai. On Wednesday
last the horses were as usual taken to be watered
at the troughs erected within the enclosure of the
building ; soon after they returned, the horses,
which had been quite well before and in excellent
condition, began to show symptoms of uneasi-
ness ; they refused to eat, and became rest-
less. This restlessness soon turned into a
spasmodic- nervousness ; the horses began to
trenibfe "in all their limbs, and the palpi-
tations of the heart were so violent that they
could be distinctly heard. In spite of the efforts
of the veterinary surgeons attached to the battery,
these symptoms in some of the horses soon changed
into a state of the mast acute agony. They stood
up erect on their hind legs, or threw themselves in
violent convulsions on the ground. The muscles
seemed to become rigid in some, while others
swelled to an enormous size. By next morning 13
of them were dead, while all the horses which had
gone out first to water were more or less ill. Seve-
ral of the horses were opened, but nothing was
found except a congestion of the intestines, scarcely
sufficient to cause death. Since then the intes-
tines have been sent over to Scutari to be chemi-
cally examined by an analytic commission formed
for the purpose. Of course, until this inquiry is
concluded, it is impossible to say what the cause of
this sudden illness and death was, but all the cir-
cumstanees which have hitherto come to light seem
to point out a case of poisoning on a large scale.
The first idea suggested was that some poison-
ous plant might have impregnated the hay, but
on examination not only no trace was found of this
—but likewise, although all horses received the hay
indiscriminately from the same bales, there were
many which were not attacked. All the horses
that died and that were seriously attacked belonged
to the first batch that was taken out to water.
When they bad drunk, the water in the troughs
was removed, and the second batch, the troop of
Captain Oakes, of the 12th Lancers, which drank
from this water, showed indeed symptoms of ill-
ness, but none died. A detachment of Artillery
horses and the other troop of the 12th, that had
been out drilling, came in late, and which were
only watered in the afternoon, when the water
had again been removed, were not attacked at all.
Besides this, all the horses which died were those
which drank from the troughs in the middle, where
the water runs out from the fountain, while those
more towards the end escaped altogether, or were
only slightly attacked. One driver deposes that, of
the two horses in his charge, one which seemed very
thirsty and drank a great deal, was one of the first
dead, while the other, having tasted the water,
refused to drink, although repeatedly brought to
the trough, and this horse never was ill. What-
ever the cause was, the effects showed themselves
on the muscular and nervous system especially,
although the symptoms were of the most different
character. Up to this morning 20 horses have died,
and several more are expected to die. All these
horses were attacked at the same time, and not
one case showed itself since the first day, which
puts epidemic out of the question. The symptoms
ienaind one very much of those lately so much dis-
cussed, of strychnine. The absence of any visible
cause of death in the dissected horses suggests the
same idea. Every measure has been in the mean-
time taken to clear up this case, although the
absence of the necessary means for a chemical
analysis may render this rather difficult.

RUSSIA.
THE IMPERIAL MANIFESTO.

The following is a translation of the Imperial
Manifesto, published at St. Petersburg on the Ist
of April, to announce the signing of the treaty a
peace :

"The obstinate and sanguinary struggle which, for
nearly three years, has subverted Europe, has at last
ceased. It was not Russia that commented it. Even
before it broke out my late august father, of imperish
able memory, solemnly declared to his faithful subjects,
and to all the foreign Powers, that the sole object of his
desires and of his efforts had been to protect the rights
of our co-religionists in the East, and to put an end
to the persecutions to which they were subjected.
"A stranger to all interested views, he never expected
that his just complaints (reclamations) would have re-
sulted in the scourge of war; and considering its calami-
ties with.a deep feeling of sorrow as a Christian, and as
the father of the people entrusted by Providence to his
care, he did not cease inandesting his inclination in
favour of-peace. But the negotiations which were opened
shortly before his death, on the sutject of the conditiers
of that peaoe, which was a necessity for us all, remained
without success.
" Tee Governments which have formed a hostile coali-
tion against us had not d'scontinu'ed their armaments ;
pending the negotiations they had even increased them ;
the war had to follow its course, and we continued it
with firm hope in the protection of the Most High and
firm confidence in the unshaken devotion of our well-
beloved subjects. Our expectations were justified.
During that period of hard trials our faithful and brave
soldiers, as well as all our people, without distinction
of class, proved themselves, i s always, worthy of their
high calling. Along the whole extent of our empire,
from the shores of the Pacific Ocean to the shores of the
Dallis and Black Sea, one single idea, one single impulse,
aniinat.id all, and made them spare neither life nor for-
tune in the defence of their country. Labourers, leaving
the plOugh and their fields, eagerly took up arms f
our holy cause, rivalling in courage and self-denial our
veteran soldiers. New and Arising deeds of renown
have marked this last struggle with powi rful adversaries.
" The enemy has been driven back from the coasts of
Siberia and from those of the White Sea, as well as from
the ramparts .of Svveaborg ; the heroic defence for 11
months of the fortifications of the south side of Sebasto-
pol, erected in the fees of and under the fire of the as-
sailants, will be handed down as a record to the remotest
poaterity.
"In Asia, after the glorious victories of the two pre-
ceding campaigns, Kars was compelled to surrender with
its numerous garrison, forming the whole army of Anato-
lia, and_the elite of the Turkish troops sent to relieve the
place were compelled to retreat. Nevertheless, by the
impenetrable and wise decrees of Providence, a fact was
preparing conformable to the wishes of our well-beloved
august father, to our own, and to those of all Russia,
and which realised the objects of the war. The future
condition and the privileges of all the Christians in the
East are henceforth guaranteed. The Sultan solemnly
recognises them, and, consequent upon this act of jus-
tice, the Ottoman Empire enters into the family of
European states.

"Russians ! Your efforts and your sacrifices have not
been in vain. A great work has been accomplished,
although by other and unforeseen means, and we may
now with a quiet conscience put an end to those efforts
and to those sacrifices by restoring to our dear country
the inestimable blessings of peace. To hasten the con
elusion of the treaty of peace and to dispel, even for the
future, the very idea of ambitious views or projects
which might be attributed to us, WA have onnuelited to
the adoption of certain precautionary measures destined
to prevent a collision of our ships of war with those t:f
Turkey in the Black Sea, and to the estab.ishment of a
new frontier line in the southern part of Bessarabia,
nearest to the Danube.

"These concessions are not great when put in com-
parison with the charges of a prolonged war, and the
advantages promised to us by the tranquillity of the
'Empire; the destinies of which it has pleased God to
entrust to us. May all those advantages be obtained
by our efforts, united to those of all our faithful
subjects. May, with the aid of the Almighty, who
has always protected Russia, its internal organisation
be consolidated and perfected ! May justice and
clemency preside over its ju Igments—may t'ie advance-
ment of civilisation and of all useful activity spread with
renewed force—and may every one enjoy in peace
the fruits of his labour under the protection of laws
equally just and watchful for all I Finally—and this is
the most important and most ard -nt of our hopes—may
the salutary light of faith, by enlightening the wind and
strengthening the heart, maintain and improve more
and more that social morality which is the surest pledge
of order and happiness.
"Given at St. Petersburg the 19th March (31st),
1856, and in the secOud year of our reign,
"ALEXANDER."

A letter from St. Petersburg, of the 31st
in the Constitutionnel, says:—" A telegraphic de-
spatch, received last night, brought us the happy
news of the conclusion of peace. The Journal de
St. Petersbourg, about midnight,
i published an ex-
traordinary supplement, in which t said A
telegraphic despatch from General Count Orloff has
announced to the Emperor that the treaty of peace
was signed at Paris on the 30th at one o'clock.'
The clubs, the coffee-houses, and the public places
were thronged during this day by persons com-
menting on the news. The sensation produced
was profound and immense. All the journals
which have appeared this morning have printed
the nunsin large types at the head of their
columns. I was present this morning at one of
the finest military spectacles that could bo given
to the public. A grand review was held of all the
corps of the reserve and of the guard, of the crews
of the fleet, and of the active divisions of St. Pe-
tersburg, and the corps of cadets and the militia,
in presence of the Emperor, who returned two days
before from his journey to Finland. His Majesty
arrived on the ground accompanied by the grand

dukes his brothers, and. passed along the ranks of
the troops, which were not less in number than
75,000. The imperial party was hailed with the
most enthusiastic cheers. In the afternoon there
was a reception at the winter place, and to-morrow
a re Deum will be sung in the chapel."
A letter from Si. Petersburg says that in his
visit to Finland, the Emperor of Russia, after
leaving Helsingfors, went to the little town of
Burgo, where he laid the first stone of a monument
to the fisherman Beukels, of Biervliet, in Vlanders,
who in the fourteenth century discovered the art of
salting and packing herrings, and who, after intro-
, ducing it into his own country, went into Finland,
and established it there, from whence it spread to
all the Baltic provinces.