The Sun.
London, England, 1860-12-14 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY `'EVENING, DECEMBER 14, 1860.

..---40,...., —, -., ....-....------ ~..........
tb Le) return of the twelve released prisoners, the
A ilies may be said to have enjoyed the satisfaction
of; retaliating in some small degree at last upon
th e fugitive chief of that vast nation of barbarians.
If, was upon the 11th of October that the Emperor
a CHINA'S Summer Palace at Pekin—those pala-
tial halls of delights and luxuries the Yuen-min-
vuen—fell into the possession of the French and
Eoglish, being looted or sacked and ravaged from
root' to basement, yielding to its captors spoil of
imme.'se value in coin, jewels, and apparel of
Orientill magnificence. The British share alone
has been estimated at the value of some 90,000
dollars, which in our money would give a return of
some £20',000; this, remember, being merely a
portion of the spoil taken at the ramsacking of a
single structure, as it would appear the extramural
Summer Palace of the Chinese EMPEROR.
The capital of the Empire being now actually in
the hands of the Allies--the EMPEROR himself
having fled into Tartary or otherwise into
Manchouria—it appears startling, upon the very
marrow of the capture of Pekin, to learn that the
Commanders•in-Chief meditate wintering not at
Pekin but at Tien-tsin ! Whichever place they
may definitively select for their winter-quarters
we may rest quite certain of this, that they will
know far better than any of us here at home which
place of the two should be preferred—and they
, will act accordingly.

And now for the responsible diplomatic
labours opening up before the French and English
Ambassadors. With whom can their Excellencies
treat under these new and astounding circumstances
—namely, with Pekin as their own standing
ground, and with the feeble, effete, faineant
EMPEROR vanished far away into the dim wil-
dernesses of Tartary ! With that fugitive chief
of the old expiring dynasty, it would almost be
ludicrous to open up our next negotiations.
Why not turn our attention now rather to that far
more youthful and vigorous power wielded by the
new KING, having his Court and Government
during these several years past in the old Chinese
Capital of Nankin—the Moscow of the Chinese !
He is a rebel, and a leader of rebels, not a doubt of
it. But in whose estimation ? In that of the feeble
fugitive, now fled away towards that vanishing
point in the picture of the Chinese dynasties, Tar-
tary ! What to us, his conquerors, are these petty
considerations. He has gone, and there is an end
of him. Let us turn our regard now towards
the so•called rebels, the Taipings. They are
powerful enough to deal with us. And if
they hesitate to do so, we may possibly come
to terms with their new rivals at Shen-si ;
for it turns out actually now, by these last advices
from China, that there is a choice before us in that
land of revolt—positively a most tempting choice
before us—between two great divisions of triumphant
Revolutionists.

What means this gradual but perpetual extension
of French occupation in Italy ? It seems as if
France must be making herself consequential, or
of serious military consequence, everywhere. Now
we hear of a French Colony established in Monte-
negro. Frenchmen have, we know, little aptitude
for colonisation, and it would be no unfair supposi-
tion that occupation, a protectorate, or something
of that kind, is to follow colonisation. Then, again,
as to Syria, we have continual hints that a
longer stay than six months may be neces-
sary; if not to the safety of the Christians,
yet to French influence. But in the Roman
territories, even in parts by no means neces-
sary to the defence of Rome, and which do not
form even a part of the " Patrimony of ST.
PETER," the Sardinians are required to withdraw
from the charge of their Italian brethren who
invited and welcomed them, and the unwelcome
French are ordered to enter whether the inhabi-
tants like it or not,

What means, also, the French pertinacity in
doing all it can to mar the Italian revolution ?
Pertinacity so availing for mischief, that the
rejected Bourbon actually thanks the parvenu and
illegitimate monarch, by way of bitter taunt and
reproach, in a circular to all the great legitimate
monarchs of Europe. Those thanks are, however,
earned by causing useless bloodshed in Italy.
LOUIS NAPOLEON is really responsible for the
greater part of whatever loss of life there may be
before Gaeta or in it; since, but for his perverse
intervention on the sea side, the fortress would not
have held out so long as Ancona did. It is indeed
most probable that the KING, if he had seen his
retreat invested both by sea and by land, would
have come to terms without fighting at all, or that
his army would have compelled him to do so.
Still worse, in some respects, is his sending home
the troops which had entered from the Papal
territory. Had he prevented them from entering
they would have been harmless prisoners, for the
present, in the hands of CIALDINI. Had he kept them
till the war was over they would have done no mis-
chief ; but to send into the Neapolitan territories a
host of disbanded Royalist soldiers—men; most of
them, beyond doubt, the scum of the population,
and who had long lived upon the wages of
the KING because that begging or brigandage
was their only means of getting bread—was just
to create all the disturbance ho could, and to throw
the northern part of the Neapolitan kingdom into
bloody turmoil. We see, unhappily, from almost
all the accounts that there are continually civil
commotions originated by the dispersed Royalists.
They exist in sufficient numbers merely to harass,
and to produce the impression that things will be
long in settling down ; and it is to be feared that
this is just what is well pleasing at the Tuileries.
A NAPOLEON was not wanted by Italy at
Florence, at Genoa, or at Naples—if so, then let
them see what they get by rejecting the blessing
of BONAPARTE rule ! We do not, indeed, like to
admit such ungenerous suspicions ; yet when we
see conduct which admits of no other interpretation,
what can we say ? The French EMPEROR can
have no reasonable political reason for de-
fending Gaeta, or for sending hungry brigands
into the Abruzzi when he had them
safely in his keeping. We wait for some more
honourable explanation of his otherwise inexpli-
cable conduct than that of the merest jealousy and
spite. Italy certainly has not bowed the knee to
the NAPOLEON to wham she is willing to show all
honourable gratitude for the opportunity his cam-
paign in Lombardy afforded her. She thought
gratitude enough, and she might have been willing
to aid him as a grateful nation in any reasonable
policy; but she did not see fit to " ko-tou" to his
MAJESTY, and his MAJESTY therefore, like the
Chinese we read of to-day, appears bent on show-
ing the Italians how much they are in his power,
by malting them bite the dust.

A contemporary this morning, in an angry
leader on the Chinese war, tells us that two things
we can never do, though we have got to Pekin, and
perhaps may remain there as long as we like. One
of the two things is, that we shall not get either
as an indemnity, or in any other shape, the money
we have spent in the war. We have remarked
before, and
we yet see nothing to contravene the
vieW, that it is in the power of the Allies to get

back every farthing of the cost, if they please, and

that without pressing ruinously, ex even very pain-
fully, on the Chinese Exchequer. It may be done
by the very same process by whica loans have been
raised frequently in Europe, and by which the
Turkish Government is at this moment offer-
ing security for the repayment of a loan
as well as for the payment of the interest—the
security of the Customs Revenues.

The indemnity must of course be repaid in a
series of years ; it would not be of the least
consequence that the payment should be extended
over ten years or more, if necessary ; it might
then be a very light impost on the immense
foreign trade which must spring up if the country
were thoroughly opened to us, the anti-commercial
policy of the Mandarins completely nullified by
their humiliation, or their overthrow, and all the
large cities accessible to European and American
vessels at once thrown open to the trade of the
world. The late Return shows that the
trade of Shanghae alone amounts to about
£9,000,000 of exports, and £15,000,000
of imports annually. Five per cent. on this
alone would give us about a million and a
quarter per annum ; but, of course, the average
customs might be higher than that, though per-
haps the lowest duties the Chinese would think
reasonable would be best, as we can hardly
doubt that the foreign trade with this industrious
and thoroughly commercial people would be im-
mense indeed, were it perfectly free. So strong
are their trading tendencies that, as we see at
this very moment, neither the general war with
the EMPEROR at Pekin nor the local war between the
rebels and the Mandarins in the neighbourheod of
Shanghae itself, could, hinder an immense business
from being transacted. Some indeed urge this as
showing the folly of going to war at all, represent-
ing it as being merely a diplomatic war. But it
must be remembered that it was a war, not at all
more necessary, which gave us Shanghae itself and
all the additional ports in China, and delivered us
from ignominious restriction to a narrow strip of
ground in Canton; and that the result of this war
will as certainly be to carve a way for our commerce
to an extent which it has never known before.

As to the position and difficulties of our troops,
we have little anxiety on that score. Supplies of
the necessaries of life they will find in abundance
in a city of such immense size, where if money
would not, as it certainly will, command anything,
force would; but there will be no need for that.
JOHN CHINAMAN, though not his Tartar Master,
will bring out anything he has for the omnipotent
Dollar. Can we blame him ? Why should he
lose a good bargain to forward the objects of his
Tartar Masters ? As to the cold, we have now
authentic information. It is that the Winters of
Pekin are OR the average ten degrees colder than
those of London, and the Summers nineteen degrees
hotter. Though the cold is occasionally very
severe, and the heat occasionally excessive, there
can be little difficulty in sending to Pekin,
either from India or from Europe, all the
military supplies which may be needed, and
if the Peiho be frozen we must remember that the
muddy soil will also be frozen, and transit overland
proportionally easy. Should the army, however,
winter at Tien-tsin, of course there will not be
much difficulty in communication with the
coast, and we shall have shown the Mandarins
that we are ready any day to re-enter
Pekin, and, if they have not come to
their senses, to send to Nankin for an Emperor
with an army of Tae-pings at his back, who will be
quite ready to make a treaty with us, and who
already regards trade with foreigners as the best
policy for the Empire he desires to govern. We
need not long want an Emperor and Government
with whom to treat.

Viscount and Viscountess Sydney have arrived
in Cleveland-square from visiting the Countess Cowper at
Wrest Park, Beds.
Mr. William Wilson, of Kinneil, and Mrs.
Wilson, have left Fenton's Hotel, for York.
Lord and Lady Edward Thynne left town on
Monday to join the family circle at Longleat, the Marquis
of Bath's seat in Wilts.
King Victor Emmanuel has ordered the Court of
Turin to go into mourning for a week for the Count of
Syracuse.

According to a circular of Messrs. Arles Dufour
and Co., of Lyons, the activity which recently prevailed in
the silk market has subsided, owing to the unfavourable
accounts from the United States. Many orders for that
country have been cancelled, and buyers have expressed
their intention of refusing any goods delivered behind time.
Still prices have not experienced any sensible decline.
On Thursday morning the schooner Primrose,
with a cargo of coals, ran on the Doomed Bar Sand. The
crew were taken off by the Plaistow life-boat.
Advices from the manufacturing districts report
continued activity.
About 2,000 artisans, mechanics, and labourers
are out of work at Southampton, owing to the slackness of
ship and house building.
A meeting of costermongers was held yesterday
in the sale-room of Messrs. Keeling and Hunt, when a
petition to the Court of Aldermen were agreed to, asking
for protection while vending their goods in the City.
ROBBING A 'VOLUNTEER RIFLEMAN.--William
Thomson was yesterday charged at the Southwark Police-
court, with defrauding George King, a member of the
North London Rifles of his watch. The Volunteer was
simple enough to accompany the man to a skittle ground
and stake his watch against £3, the watch was lost. The
prisoner was remanded.
The usual assembly for the distribution of prizes
at the Royal Military Academy, will take place on the
18th. The Duke of Cambridge will preside.
The Russian Government are taking means to
re-people the Crimea. A number of families have been
sent there from Koursk.
THE CIIRISTMAS HOLIDAYS.—SeveraI of the
large city firms, amongst whom are the Messrs. Leaf and
Sons, Ellis, Everington and Co., Morley and Co„ Brad-
bury and Greatorex, Goodyear and Son, and Allen and
Badger, have determined to close their establishments on
Monday the 24th, thus giving their assistants three days'
holidays.
The London Glee and Madrigal Union, whose
concerts of old English vocal music obtained last season an
eminent success, will resume their entertainments, under
the auspices of Mr. Mitchell, at the Dudley Gallery Egyp-
tian, for one month only, commencing on Monday, Jan. 7.
EXTENSILE ROBBERY.—On Wednesday night
the shop of Mr. Jacobs, jeweller, of Bristol, was entered
by thieves, when 80 watches, mostly gold, 20 or 30 neck
and watch chains, nearly 100 rings, and a quantity of plate,
was stolen. The loss is estimated at several thousand
pounds. No clue to the thieves has been discovered.
THE ROBBERY OF £5,000 OF JEWELLERY.—
William Giles, the errand boy of Mr. Henderson, was fully
committed yesterday for trial.
It is said that the cost of the Chinese expedition
will be alleged as the reason for raising the new and con-
siderable loan which is expected to be required soon in
Paris.

THE THREATENED STRIKE OF MINERS.—The
strike in the Adwalton and Gildersome district has com-
menced, the men employed in the Cuckoo Colliery having
suspended work on Tuesday, because two of their number
were discharged by the employer.
The subject for the Chancellor's gold medal at
Cambridge this year is " The Prince of Wales at the Tomb
of Washington."
SOUTHWARK ELECTION.—A meeting took place
at the Queen's Head Inn, High-street, Borough, last even-
ing, for the purpose of adopting measures for defraying the
expenses of Mr. Layard's election. The meeting was
numerously attended, Mr. G. Newman in the chair.
Resolutions were passed appointing a sub committee for
the purpose of receiving subscriptions. Nearly 200 guineas
were subscribed on the spot.
HIGH TIDE IN THE THAMES.—Yesterday a very
unusual high tide for new moon springs occurred in the
Thames, several of the wharves and landing-places on the
south side of the river, West Shadwell and Limehouse, on
the Middlesex shore, having been overflowed. The water
rose within a few inches of the top of the quay walls at the
Custom House and Billingsgate ; and the horse-road be-
tween the Adelphi arches and the river overflowed to the
depth of several inches. In Lambeth the water covered
the road near Church-street, and forced its way into the
cellars and basements. This extraordinary rise is attri-
buted to the recent heavy rains and land floods, which have
swollen the tributaries so as to overflow their banks. The
afternoon's tide did not rise so high as that in the morning,
nevertheless precautions have been taken to preveat damage
should the tide of this morning increase in height.
COUNT PERSlGNY.—Whenever Louis Napoleon
is about to do anything, or to enter upon any course of
policy which is really for the good of France, he sends for
Count Persigny. Whenever he intends an act, or a course
of policy which makes the judicious grieve, the first thing
is to get Count Persigny out of the way. This Count Per-
signy is a Frenchman to the heart's core, which is his
praise. He is a Bonapartist by political conviction, and who
shall blame him for sticking fast to his party. More than
this, he is a personal adherent of the French Emperor, tried
and found faithful through years of penury and adversity.
Thus he has earned a right to speak out, and he
does speak out. If Louis Napoleon never heard a word of
truth from the lips of any other man, he would hear it from
Count Persigny. The late French Ambassador to the
Court of St. James's, and actual Minister for the Home
Department at Paris, has shown that neither by threats
nor by favour, neither by appeals to his fidelity, nor by
apprehensions for his own future, can he be induced to give
the sanction of his name to a course of policy which he
deems injurious to the Emperor and the Imperial cause.
Louis Napoleon knows this, and he knows the value of the
man.—Once a Week,.

SCOTTISH COMMERCE.—The usual official returns
with reference to the Scotch banks show an average weekly
circulation of £4,574,077, being an increase of £290,564 on
the previous month. The banks were £1,824,806 above their
fixed issues, and held bullion to the amount of £2,578,803,
or an increase of £104,117 on the previous month. Scottish
railway traffic, so far as the 12 principal lines are concerned,
shows an increase of upwards of per mile per week. Last
week's shipments of pig-iron were 8,779 tons, as compared
with the 10,398 tons in the corresponding week of 1859. The
Customs' duties received at Port Glasgow were £12,643,
being a great increase on the corresponding month of last
year. The Dundee linen trade is reported d favourably;
a good many sales have been made on Brazilian account
and the demand for the home trade keeps up pretty well,
especially for fine goods. The importations of flax at Scot-
tish ports this year have been 37,433 tons, as compared
with 34,486 tons in 1859.
GREAT BIRD SHOW AT SOUTHAMPTON.—The
second annual show of the Hampshire Ornithological Asso-
ciation has taken place this week at Southampton, and has
proved a groat success. Between 300 and 400 cages, contain-
ing in all about 1,000 birds, were sent to the exhibition,
which was held at the Victoria Assembly Rooms. It in-
cluded specimens of every known variety of canary,
which formed the leading feature of the show, and there were
also on the stands a number of, cardinals, cockatoos, par-
rots, paroquets, love birds, waxbills, and other British and
foreign cage-birds. The birds were arranged in 72 classes,
and about 120 prizes were awarded among the competitors.
The fine band of the Southampton Volunteer Rifle Corps
was in attendance on Wednesday and Thursday evenings,
and played choice selections of sacred and classical music.
The ah-,,,w was well attended on each of the throe day; and
all present were well repaid by an inspection of the beauti-
ful specimens of the feathered tribes collected on the occa-
sion. Many of the gentry of the town and neighbourhood
were numbered among the contributors:

Swiss Cows.—Almost every cow in Switzerland
has a large bell suspended around her neck ; and, in
passing through the valleys or wooded slopes of the
mountains, it is very pleasing to hear the continuous
tinklings of these bells from a large herd, more especially
when approaching, as they often do, from a considerable
distance. The finest black cow is adorned with the
largest b.-11s, and the two next in appearance wear smaller
ones. It is surprising to see the pride and pleasure with
which the cows stalk forth when ornamented with their
bells; and, though it would be hardly expected that such
animals would be sensible of their rank, and affected by
vanity and jealousy, yet such appears to be the case. If
the leading cow is deprived of her honour, she indicates her
sense of disgrace by lowing incessantly, abstaining frorg
food, and losing condition. On the other hand, the happy
rival on whom the badge of superiority has been placed,
becomes the object of her vengeance, and is butted, wounded,
and persecuted by her in a furious manner, until she re-
gains her bell, or is entirely removed from the herd. The
herd are frequently adorned with a harmonious set of
bells, chiming in accordance with the celebrated Rana des
Vaches.—Cassell's Popular Natural History.
A CURIOUS STRATAGEM.--In order to increase
the number of the Crusaders, St. Louis had recourse to a
pious fraud, of which, as it bears upon the subject of
costume, we shall give the details. At Christmas it was
the fashion to give new dresses to the gentlemen in wait-
ing. The king caused an unusual number of dresses to
be prepared, and on the shoulder of each of these dresses
the cross was secretly sewed. He invited his courtiers
to be present at the midnight mass. Each received
his new garment at the door, and put it on with-
out observing the symbol that adorned it. When the first
rays of day penetrated into the chapel they perceived the
cross on their neighbours' shoulders without knowing that
they also bore it on their own. But at length they dis-
covered that they had been piously entrapped by the king,
and, as it would have been disgraceful to lay down the cross,
they said that the King of France had gone on a pilgrim
hunt, and had found out a new way of otoiring 141011.--3'h`
Zadils' Treasury.

L
E F
,

THE WAR IN CHINA.

We have this morning received files of papers
from India, China, and Australia, in anticipation
of the Overland Mail.

The mail has brought the most exciting news
that has ever reached these shores from China.
Pekin has fallen, without a blow having been struck
in its defence, and the allied flags now wave from
the walls of the imperial capital.
The following are detailed accounts of these most
stirring and important events, extracted from the
China Mail, the .North China 'Jerald, and from the
letters of correspondents at the seat of war :

(From the China Mail.)

The intelligence from the seat of war is of the
highest importance. Two of the gates of Pekin
are in our hands. Mr. Harry Parkes and Mr. Loch
have been safely returned to us by the Chinese.
The army of San-ko-lin-sin is still in the field.
The Emperor has fled to Tartary. Pekin has sub-
mitted to us. The wintering of the whole force
either there or at Tientsin is now resolved on,
In our last Overland we mentioned that the
allied army was in a hostile attitude, seven or
eight miles from Pekin, waiting for the siege guns,
and demanding the release of the captives who had
been taken. There does not seem to have been any
change in the position of matters from the 22d of
September till the 3d of October, when an advance
was made in search of the Tartar army, which only
resulted in a few pickets of the enemy being seen
and driven back. On the 6th a further advance
resulted in an earthwork near Pekin, where no
defence was made, being taken by our troops; and
the Yueng-min-yuen, or summer palace of the
Emperor, was taken, and completely looted, afford-
ing immense spoil. The chief share of the plunder
appears to have fallen to the French, who had the
first ransacking of the rich ornaments, jewels and
clocks, and watches, the rich robes and embroidered
silks of the Son of Heaven ; but a quantity of the
treasures which was taken is to be divided between
both French and English. Some privates are said
to have sold their shares for about 30,000 f. The
entire British share, including both treasure and
private loot, is estimated at about 90,000 dols.
Next day, in reply to a demand for the release of
the prisoners, Messrs. Parkes and Loch were given
up, together with a French officer and seven or
eight prisoners.

On the 12th everything was prepared for the
first great event of the war—the assault or the
occupation of Pekin, the unviolated capital of
China. The siege guns and other artillery were in
a position to bombard the town, unless it should
be surrendered by noon of the 13th, and the fol-
lowing general order was issued by Sir Hope Grant
for the disposition and control of the forces under
his command :

Head Quarters before Pekin, Oct. 12, 1860,