The Sun.
London, England, 1867-04-15 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONUON, MONDAY EVENING, APRIL 15 1867.

Mr. Wason said that he knew he did not, but he
could not go against one without the other.
Sir John 'Musgrove referred to " Russell on
Crimes," page 326, and read the following para-
graph :—" The members of the two Houses of Par-
liament, by reason of their privileges, are not
answerable at law for any personal reflections on
individuals contained in speeches in their respective
house ; for policy requires that those who are by the
Constitution appointed to provide for the safety and
welfare of the public should in the execution of their
high functions be wholly uninfluenced by private
considerations." And again, at page 330, it laid
down as a rule that, " Though the publication of a
proceeding in Parliament will in general be consi-
dered as privileged, and protected from being deemed
libellous, the presenting and delivering a petition
to members of a committee of the House of Com-
mons, being according to the order of proceedings
of Parliament in their committees, has been held to
be justifiable."
Mr. Wason said he had nothing to do with that.
Sir John Musgrove thought it was a question for
the Bench- to consider.
Alderman Sidney said the question was whether it
was true or not, for if true there would be no libel.
Mr. Wason said that was so.
Alderman Sidney asked whether, if they had only
published that which was true, that would not be an
answer to the charge.
Mr. Wason said it would not. Although it was
,true the speeches were made in the House of Lords,
the matter in them was not true ; and although the
speeches in the House of Lords were privileged, the
publication of them was not.
Alderman Sidney said then, if he understood the
application, Mr. Wason did not complain of any-
thing lil,ellous that had been said in the House of
Lords, but of the publication of it.
Mr. Wason said that was so.
Alderman Sidney said then they would have to
decide upon that point.
Mr. Martin advised the magistrates that the ques-
tion they had to consider was whether the speeches
were libellous, and then to consider whether the
7 fries was justified in publishing them.
Sir John Musgrove said that, after all Mr. Wason
might say, his brother alderman and himself must
consider whether the report was libellous or not ;
and, supposing that they should consider that it
was not, they would not be justified in granting
him a summons.
Mr. IVason said that undoubtedly it would be
libellous if it were not true; but it was true.
Sir J. Musgrove said they would consider the
question, and give hiin an answer on a future day.
Mr. Wason replied that their time was his.
Sir J. Musgrove observed that he was very ac-
commodating and they would give it their best con-
sideration. He, however, would like to ask Mr.
Wason whether the pamphlet he had handed to him
was his.
Mr. Wason said it was.
Sir J. Musgrove read the titlepage as follows:

dition

The Luxembourg affair has been temporarily
quieted by the resolve of the King of Holland to
desist from further negotiations with France for the
sale and alienation of the Grand Duchy. This de-
termination was influenced by the rather menacing
attitude assumed by Prussia, who, although declin-
ing to express any positive official opinion on the
subject, still gave unquestionable evidences of her
disapprobation of the whole proceedings. Holland
fears Prussia, and loves tranquillity and independ-
ence. She knows that, in the event of a struggle
between France and Prussia, her contingent of
60,000 men would be too important an addition to
either side for her to be permitted to remain
neutral. A considerable military success gained by
either party, on account of the Grand Duchy affair,
would entail consequences ultimately menacing to
the independence of Holland; and while the Dutch,
in case of suck an alternative, would unhesitatingly
choose the rule of France in preference to that of
Prussia, they like their present independence better
than either, and will not by any dangerous foreign
negotiation compromise it.
Under the old Germanic Confederation, Prussia
had the right to garrison the fortress of the Luxem-
bourg ; but as that Confederation no longer exists
the right ceased to exist with it, and Prussia's pre-
sent occupation is unjustifiableto an extent amount-
ing to usurpation. Should France acquire Luxem-
bourg by purchase, Prussia would have to evacuate
the fortress, or resist the transaction, and declare
war with France. The Power holding this almost
impregnable natural fortress would have the advan-
tage it guarantees, in commanding the whole valley
of the 'Moselle, and threatening at the same time
Treves, Aix-la-Chapelle, Bonn, and Cologne. Its
possession would be incalculably important to
France if she ever should attempt the annexation of
the left Bank of the Rhine, by affording her advan-
tageous means for the invasion of the Frans-
Rhenane province of Prussia.
The House of Hohenzollern is aware of this, and
of the great importance, in a strategic point of view,
of this fortress. Prussia is casting a covetous eye
upon the Duchy, and is doubtless entertaining hopes
of embodying it in her dominions. It is quite cer-
tain that France will not suffer this, and it may be
equally certain that Prussia will not submit with-
out a struggle to its acquisition by France.
The question of the cession was in all probability
first mooted by the King of Holland, who sup-
posed that it could be accomplished without diffi-
culty. France, desirous of obtaining a fortress,
erected, in part, by one of her great generals, and
proving one of the strongest strategical positions on
her north-eastern frontier, hearkened readily to the
overtures of Holland's King, and was proceeding to
benefit by the opportunity offered, when Prussian
grumblings and Prussian interference put an end to
the negotiations. This question will be renewed by
France at some more opportune time. Stung to
the quick, she will treasure up in her long account
of grievances, this additional one, to be settled at
some future day with her neighbours beyond the
Rhine. Prussian Ministers and journalists are jubi-
lant now, but they may soon find that their rejoic-
ings and braggadocios have been premature.
Monsieur Schneider has been appointed, by the
Emperor, President of the Corps Legislatif, in the
place of Count Walewski resigned. The members
of the Assembly expressed themselves satisfied with
the appointment, and welcomed with considerable
applause the address pronounced on his taking the
President's chair. Schneider has filled creditably
many offices under the French Government. He was
sent in 1845 Deputy from Saone and Loire; inlBsl
Minister of Public Works, and in December of the
same,year, one of a consulting committee, organised
to act with the President of the Republic, for the
purpose of preparing the Constitution. In 18c2
he was Deputy to the Corps Legislatif, and then,
Vice-President, was re-elected by an overwhelming
, majority in 1863.
The Senate is discussing the advantage and
necessity of discontinuing the burial of the dead
within the limits of Paris, and of establishing a vast
cemetery for the purpose at some distance from the
capital. The three cemeteries—Pere-la-Chaise,
Montmartre, and Montparnasse are too re-
stricted and insufficient in circumference for the
increased population. The earth of these burial-
grounds is already saturated, thereby endangering
the health of the city. A committee, appointed by
the municipal council, for the purpose of studying
the subject and selecting a suitable spot for, new
places of sepulture, reported in favour of Mery-sur-
Seine, where suitability of soil, atmospheric cur-
rents, &c., joined to its remoteness from habitated
spots, rendered it above all others the most desirable.
The municipality, acting upon these representa-
tions, purchased a considerable quantity of ground
at Mery, where it is intended that all burials here-
after from Paris shall take place. A railway run-
ning from the centre of the city, and connecting by
branches the existing cemeteries, will be esta-
blished, and conduct the funerals to the new ceme-
tery. A station is to be built in each Paris ceme-
tery, with chapels sufficient to contain all the corpses
the train can carry. The funeral will take place in
the usual manner ; the body will be carried to one
of the three ;great cemeteries, and from thence
taken by rail to Mery. In the front of each mor-
tuary carriage will be a saloon for the transporta-
tion of the family and mourners of the dead. For
the poor, transportation will be gratuitous, and for
other classes, reasonable enough to prevent dissatis-
faction. The Paris cemeteries will be preserved,
and open to visitors, but no more interments will
be allowed in them.
The brother of the Tycoon of Japan has arrived
at Paris, accompanied by his suite, consisting of a
minister, officers, and servants. 'lbis prince, heir
to the temporal throne of Jar an, is not quite 15
years of age. He is small, and appears to possess a
serious disposition and an observing mind. His
suite maintain in his presence the strictest ceremony
and deference. Near him, a Japanese nobleman
holds a sword always unsheathed and elevated. He
and his cortege are clothed according to the customs
of their country. The Prince comes not only to
visit to the Exhibition and study it in its various
details, but to pats five years in France, to learn
French, and complete his education.
The tailors and shoemakers in Paris have been on
a strike for some time, and are still heroically hold-
ing out. It is almost impossible to have anything
done in the way of covering for the body and feet,

and were there not a good supply on hand, the visi-
tors to the Exhibition would find us not clothed a la

derniere mode, but in a seedy and dilapidated con-

Three hundred and fifty handsome basket car-
riages are preparing and will soon make their ap-
pearance on our streets ; a decided improvement on
the clumsy, dirty vehicles now doing service in
Paris, and one that will be welcomed by the cab-
riding public. The omnibus company is about to
establish a line of vehicles built on a new model,

and capable of containing 50 persons each. They
will start from the Palais Royal every five minutes
and run to the Bridge of Jena, conveying visitors

;3 the Exhibition. Other lines have been consider-

ably increased, so that th-cre arc now in Paris over

seven hundred omnibuses.

I must now give a few jottings relating to the
Exhibition. Much has been said about the exorbi-

tant prices for living►, which the Exhibition, with its
immense influx of visitors, will entail upon all classes
in Paris. To remedy this as much as possible a
grand popular restaurant has been established under
the patronage of the Imperial Commission ; the
prices will be fixed and remarkably cheap. A meal,
consisting of bread, soup, meat, vegetables, cheese,
and decanter of wine, will cost from 17 cents to 20
cents. The cooking is said to be excellent, and the
accommodation all that could be wished by those
desirous of living economically. Another praise-
worthy establishment is an infant asylum destined to
receive the children of the labourers from the various
nations. Children under three years will be admitted
and taken care of gratuitously, during the stay of
their parents in Paris. A solemn inauguration of
this charitable institution will shortly take place,
and we shall then expect to see a multitude of pretty
little cribs and cradles, tiny white sheets and hand-
some furniture, all graced with the smiling faces of

numerous cherubs.
In the square placed in the centre of the Exhibi
tion building, an elegant pavilion will display the
Crown jewels of France. A circular glass enclosure
around the crystal pavilion will contain coin,
money, stamps, and medals struck in France
during the reign of Napoleon 111. By an ingenious
mechanical contrivance the pavilion sinks into the
ground after the closing of the Exhibition. The
opening is masked by the soil, and protected by a
roof of impenetrable cement.
One of the chief attractions of the Exhibition
will be the International Theatre, which has
announced its opening representation for the 15th
of April. There will be 1,300 places, elegantly
and conveniently arranged for spectators. Repre-
sentations will take place every evening at eight
o'clock, composed of operas, ballets, &c., in which
the theatrical " stars" of different countries will
appear. From two to four in the afternoon ex-
hibitions of all kinds, pantomimes, concerts, chil-
dren's balls, &c., will be given. The orchestra is
to be composed of 50 musicians, the opera troupe of
40 chorists, and 60 dancers; all young and pretty.
The 20 Indians sent over from America are to
make their datit in this theatre.
The total number of exhibitors enrolled for the
World's Fair =mats to 42,000. France has
11,645; the Ottoman Empire comes next, with
4,496, and Great Britain third, 3,609. I have not
learned the number of American exhibitors. Up to
this time they have made but little show in their
section. The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is last
on the roll, having only 10 exhibitors.
Since the completion of the great works of the
Champ de Mars, and the Trocadero, from 8,000 to
10,000 workmen have returned to their regular
labours in the city, and the activity of the gigantic
public works has recommenced.
The price of entrance to the Exhibition has been
reduced to one franc per head. Weekly tickets are
issued at the rate of six francs, giving admission to
the palace, park, and grounds at Billancourt, with
the privilege enjoyed by season visitors of entering
as early as nine in the morning. The photograph
of the bearer must be posted on the ticket, having
the face exposed.
Thomas Hill, the American artist and painter of
the " Yosemite Valley," has arrived in Paris from
Rome. 11. G. Bispham, also an American artist
of some note, is visiting Paris for a day or
two preparatory to starting for home. Messrs.
.John 'Munroe and Co., the Paris agents for the
Great Eastern, have ref3eived a despatch from New
York, stating that the " big ship" arrived there
safely on the 9th.

PARIS.
I am very much afraid that all the nations of the
world who are expected in Paris between this and

he end of May will find the French nation out of

town. People are scampering off to the chateaux
with all the Parisian fashions packed up in large
arches as if they were determined to hide the trea-
sures from the imitation of invading barbarians.
Others mean to make a good speculation out of the

Exposition visitors by letting their houses furnished

to the highest bidder, including even their own ser-
vants, horses, and carriages, which it will be so
convenient to have kept at the expense of others,
while the happy owners are at Dieppe or Trouville
dining at the table d'hote, living on a fourth flat, and
declaring that Paris is so intolerably full they could
not put up with foreigners any longer. This is not
very truthful, and the only natives I see any real
objection to are those of the Celestial empire, in
which elevated region it is not customary to use
pocket handkerchiefs, as far as I have been able to

judge at least, but then in a country where inhah
tants must naturally hold their noses very high
pocket handerchiefs may be superfluous.
allde sot our a seacil o
un
gaennda ce e rzteapi
hnyirts i s
aret h a t
notth the
vreariyn
The weather is the great topic of conversation in
,limveuld;
My impression is that the sun is confused ; he finds
all his favourite haunts jumbled together round the
Cllamp de Mars, and when he shines on the
Egyptian Temple he suddenly comes across Gus-
tavus Vasa's cottage in Sweden, which makes him
recede. Thus it is he gets into the Russian izba,
and does not find his way out again. I do not
wish to say anything disrespectful of the Exposition,
but I do not think the Park can be finished till the
said exposure is over. A permanent standing
ought to be voted, considering what labour the
highly worked ornamentation will cost. The fol-
lowing is the result of my observations in the dif-
ferent departments I have visited. An excursion
through France leads one to a firm conviction that
her machinery, porcelain, and jewellery are not sur-
passed by those of any other European nation. Her
crystal, bronzes, and tapestry are perfect, but her
ironmongery cannot come up to England, even though
she is trying hard on stilts. The arrangement of
her articles is more effective than that of the British
section.
The Fine Arts of England, our pride, are not
excelled by the works of Italy, Spain, or France.
Prejudice alone is blind, but connoisseurs are cos-
mopolitan ; they love art for itself, and all are unani-
mous in praise of our English paintings. Men of
talent do not inquire what was the birthplace of a
landscape-painter before they discover the beauties
of his production. The unenlightened are those
who, on being told that they are in the English Fine
Arts Court, shut up their eyes, sneer, and call our
green, spinach " our flesh tints," pastry our azure
" washing blue." Ignoramuses of this description
remind me of the Asiatic who went to the opera to
hear " Dame Blanche," and on being asked at the
end how he had liked it, said the finest part, in his
opinion, was the first piece that had been played.
The leader was requested to have the overture
executed over again in honour of the guest, but the
Asiatic said they were not playing what he meant.
After fruitless endeavours to hit on the particular
part, as he called it, that had taken his fancy, the
musicians all set to tuning their instruments anew,
and the foreigner exclaimed in ecstacy that that was
the first piece he had heard. And so he had, and
so every one does at the opera before the leader puts
an end to the unearthly groaning of violincellos,
violins, and all the other wailing, let loose by dis-
cord before the unwelcome tuning is over.
Such are most judges of the fine arts, the first
impression is the lasting conviction, and as impres-
sion exists abroad that all the English are either
lords or stable boys, created for the sole purpose of
buying choice wines and rearing all the best race-
horses, of course painters and paintings are out of
the question, the more -s9 as the sun never F4hilaea

in England ; there is not a flower to be got, not a
peach to be seen ; all the women are tall and
thin, wear ringlets, and red, blue, and violet at the

same time.
I conclude that the greatest infliction a man
could make his worst enemy undergo would not
be, if in Paris, to take him to the Champ de Mars
on the top of an omnibus, and when there to keep
him on his legs till five without giving him any
refreshment ; far worse would it be, if in London,
to drive him out to some of our lordly seats, and
there to sit before the usual amount of food that is
laid out on our English tables, food of native pro-
duce, not forgetting our hothouse dessert, home-
nia3c bread if possible, and home-brewed beer,
vegetables from our kitchen gardens, fruit from
our well-kept orchards ; and when he had tasted
of all, to let him crawl up to his room a victim of
English native produce.
But to return to the Exposition. Prussia and
Austria are acting like sisters; they are both be-
hind. Russia is in a pretty mess with all the
powers, but America seems inclined to help her.
Italy is not in decent order at all. Spain cannot
look up, she never will now ; it is too late to mend.
Turkey is heart-broken, very much in want of a
main-spring in my opinion ; whereas Sweden and
Norway are on the look out in an advanced state
of progress.

ROME, April 2.
The last few days have borne little resemblance
to the delightful weather previously enjoyed. Cloudy
skies, heavy rains, and damp cold winds have sug-
gested what is called a " sea-turn" on the further
shore of the Atlantic. Such a period must be dreary,
for nature then has little beauty, ruins cannot be
visited, or if they were, most persons would probably
think more of the present mud than of the Caesars'
past magnificence. I doubt if the Coliseum
viewed from beneath an umbrella would seem ma-
jestic even to a Byron, while all painting and sculp-
ture require the sunlight to add a finish beyond the
last the artist can give. Sculpture, of course, en-
dures the trial best, losing only something of dis-
tinctness of light and shade.
One cannot but wonder if the streets of ancient
Rome, in the days of its magnificence, were as
narrow and as dirty as most of them are
to-day. Doubtless some of them were, for:
the poor then were probably much like the poor
now, only not so numerous. But one cannot but
fancy that better streets led to the forum than
now lead to St. Peter's, and that the sound, common
sense of that sturdy race would have objected to
splashing in mud their embroidered sandals when
there was labour enough at hand to clean the
streets and money enough to pay the labour. It is
pleasing to find that on at least one of their roads
they had a side-walk, paved and guarded, a thing
which can scarcely be said to exist in modern Rome.
This, in fact, is only a part of the problem con-
tinually forced on one's mind here, whether the
Romans of to-day fairly represent the conquerors
of the world. We feel sure they do not. These
people, glad to serve for a more or less honest
profit the inhabitants of what was once
the distant and savage island of Britain, or,
still better, of that wider country which lies
where their ancestors supposed the shades of the
departed to dwell, cannot compare with those men
who subdued all the shores of the Mediterranean,
fought their way through France, and subjected
the greater part of Britain to their dominion.
Cicero's eloquence would hardly find a fit audience
to tempt it, if he were alive, to wield the Italian
tongue. At least so it seems to a foreigner's per-
haps too limited observation. It is a view we are
pleased to take, for it is hard to believe that mere
force of circumstance determines whether the same
spirits shall command or cringe, gain new conquests
for literature and art, or allow those already won
to fade utterly from their remembrance. This is,
in fact, an impossible thought, for greatness, in
any adversity, and under whatever oppression, will
still be great. I was much interested during a
recent visit to the Capitol in noticing the many
heads and busts, of which we know only that they
are portraits of persons whose very names are now
forgotten. We may suppose them, then, to repre-
sent an average of the better classes of ancient
society here, and to show something of that sub-
stratum of character on which the greatness of
Rome was founded ; and they are faces and heads
such as we should look to for valour, intelligence,
and virtue now. They are beyond all expression
superior to those prelates, with whose portraits
Raphael and others of the old masters in painting.
and in sculpture, too, were forced to deform their
compositions. So we can believe our conviction that
the ancient race corresponded to the ancient
deeds, to rest on a foundation as solid as
the marble which has survived Vandal violence and
mediaeval oblivion.
It is especially pleasing to meet in the female
faces thus preserved that nobility of expression, a
self-respecting, self-reliant dignity, which does not
destroy feminine gentleness and tenderness—a cast
of countenance so common in America and Eng-
land, but elsewhere, if not rare, rarely seen.
One has good opportunities here to compare the
faces of various nations. It seems fair to presume
that the great body of travellers from each are of
about the same relative position in their respective
lands, and Americas and English faces can be dis-
tinguished half-way across St. Peter's, and a com-
parison of them with those by whom they are sur-
rounded is seldom such as a citizen of either country
need be reluctant to make, even if his national
pride is as high as each declares the other's to be.
thatO Our language
ceaseslangu age is here so surprisingly common
to
be surprised at it. You hear it
around you thoughtlessly for a while, until at length
the reflection arises " these people are speaking
English, and we are in Rome." In a moonlight
visit to the Coliseum, indeed, some of us were a
little startled at the general laugh raised by a jocose
reference to Byron's description, for the ruin and
the moonlight made all seem so intensely foreign,
as to make it surprising that others there could
comprehend the language of our distant land, but
we soon found that of all the crowds which trod
the arena and the galleries on those bright evenings
there were few who could not read Byron without
translation. The progress our language is making
abroad is striking, though hardly wonderful. It is
true, the number who speak it is not great, but the
number who attempt it is considerable. The pains
that waiters and tradesmen take to bring out their
little store of half a dozen words of our tongue, and the
pride they evince when they find themselves under-
stood, are amusing in the extreme. All around the
streets are placards announcing that one " Signor"
teaches " Inglese,"
or that from another it can be
learned completely in six months ! One tradesman
is expecting the return of a son who has been a
year in England, and will speak the language per-
fectly ; another forces upon your notice the f 2 ct that
he himself uses it " a leetle." Of course no hotel s
appointments are complete without at least one
English-speaking attendant. The euphemistic
French may long continue the language of the
'
fashionable world and of diplomatists, who may well
shun a speech so logical and determinate as ours ;
b• t the time must be near, if it has not already
come, when one to whom it is native may travel
round the globe and find it everywhere sullicient.
Nor will it be found in itself unworthy of the im-
perial position which the greatness of the nations
who own it is preparing for it so speedily and so
surely—unless some inconceivable catastrophe shall
break the power of both America and England.
Among the few incidents which are worthy of
record at this quiet period, the most interesting was
the complimentary dinner of the resident American
artists of Rome, in honour of W. C. Bryant, given
both as a testimonial of personal esteem, and in
recognition of his long and earnest advocacy of the
claims of art. At the well-furnished tables at
Nazzari's, some twenty artists gathered, including,
of sculptors, Messrs. Rogers, Mozier, Rein-
hardt, Stone, Ives, and llaseltine--of pain-
ters, Messrs. Freeman, Vedder, Inman, Coleman,
and F. 0. C. Darley. General King, the
American Minister, presided, and among the
guests were the Consul, Mr. Cushman, and Dra.
Gould and Burridge. The toast of the evening was
given by Gen. King. Mr. Bryant, in his brief reply,
referred to the progress of art in America within
that when 14 Rim own recollection, stating

young man the nunper of American artists was
small, and their position one slightly esteemed, while
at present not only were their numbers very consider-
able, but they enjoy high consideration in all culti-
vated society. He was very happy to believe that
he had contributed in any degree to such an ad-
vance. The occasion, though not furnishing many
long speeches to report, was one to be pleasantly
remembered by all present—an agreeable tribute
from the brotherhood of the pencil and the chisel to
that of the pen, which they have found a faithful
and powerful ally.

NEW YORK, March 15.
It is now nearly a month since I reached New York,
and passages across the ocean are matters of such every-
day occurrence that it hardly seems worth while to say
much of my voyage, yet there are one or two points which
deserve mention. I was passenger by the noble steamer

Virginia, Captain Prowse. We had an exceedingly rant

passage ; indeed one more severe and trying is seldom

made. From the day of sailing until we neared the Ame•

rican coast we encountered incessant headwinds, and 1_ ale

of great violence, amounting on one occasion to a hurri.

cane of twelve hours' duration, with a sea which Captain
Prows() pronounced the heaviest he had ever experienced
on the Atlantic. The behaviour of the Virginia, however,
was splendid. Very few seas came on board, although
our cargo was principally dead weight—a decidedly dif-
ferent experience from that which I had, on a previous

passage, when I crossed in a smaller ship, the waves often

breaking over the vessel, flooding the saloon, and making
everybody on board exceedingly uncomfortable. At that
time I determined that whenever I crossed the ocean again
should be in one of the largest and best sea-going
vessels ; and the selection of the Virginia proved a most
fortunate choice. She and her companion craft of the
National Line are among the largest passenger steam
vessels in the world, their average measurement being
over 3,000 tons. Their great length and• beam enables
them to ride the sea much more easily than smaller
vessels can, while their passenger accommodation is of
the best order as regards comfort, convenience, and
safety. Families and those who value such quali-
ties as these, as well as reasonable rates, rather
than high speed and high prices, should remember the
" National " Line. Captain Prowse and his chief
officers did all in their power to make the rough voyage a
pleasant one, and so far as I could observe, they were all
admirably qualified for their respective positions.
Every traveller who has written an account of
this part of the world has described the mag-
nificent harbour, which gives New York its commercial
1 importance and its pre-eminence among the cities of the
New World ; but there cannot be too much said of its
beauty, even in winter. The clear and smokeless
atmosphere—contrasting strongly withthe fogs of London
—enables the voyager as he comes up the bay, 25 miles
in circuit, to take in at a glance all the leading features.
Upon landing the traveller notes first the marked contrast
between the New York Docks, which are simple wooden
structures, and the splendid docks which afford such
facilities for commerce at Liverpool and London.
Numerous schemes are already discussed for building
structures around New York which shall accord
11 with its wealth and dignity, and before many years elapse

some of them must take definite form.
A characteristic of New York is its din and ex-
citement. Everything seems to be done in a hurry. The
people one meets in • the streets have a restless,
anxious look, which* comports with their hurried
walk, seeming to say, that darkness will overtake them
before their day's work, is half done. In their talk, too,
one notes extravagant adjectives and expressions, which
well accord with the high pressure under which they
seem all the time to be labouring. Street railways
have been reduced to a science. The horse cars traverse
almost every street, over three hundred miles of
tramways being in operation in the city, and with the ex-
ception of Broadway the omnibuses have entirely dis-
appeared.
Broadway—famous among the noble avenues of the first
cities of the world—presents its usual thronged and
bustling appearance. Various plans for relieving the
crowds that daily push and surge through this and the
other great arteries of New York are proposed, with a fair
prospect of success. The most comprehensive of the dif-
ferent plans contemplate the addition to the city of a great
avenue underneath Broadway. It is proposed, first, to ex-
cavate the entire street, and construct another below it at
the depth of 15 feet, with two tunnels in the centre for
railways, with sidewalks on either side, making into
shops what are now the basements of the buildings. The
old street level is then to be replaced as before, supported
by arches. Light is to be afforded to the sub-street, or ar-
cade, by openingsbetweeu the upper windows and the side-
walks, enclosed with iron railings. Steps at each crossing
will lead from these openings to the substreet, and pedes-
trians will be sheltered from storms as well as from the
summer sun. Pneumatic railways are also tallied
of, as a means of communicating different points
in the city, as well as for passing under the north and east
river to New Jersey and to Brooklyn ; and considerable
interest is felt in that now being constructed under the

Thames.
Political affairs are just now in an anomalous condition
It is customary when the term of one Congress ex-
pires, for the Senate alone, to reorganise immediately,
and hold a short extra session in order to act upon any
nominations the President may send in. For rea-
sons which your readers fully understand, Congress
passed a law before adjournment, that the New House of
Representatives should organise simultaneously with the
new Senate, immediately upon the dissolution of the old
Congress ; and, on the 4th inst., accordingly, both branches
of the national Legislature reassembled, and organised for
business. The House selected as Speaker the Hon. Schuyler
Colfax, who has served two terms, or four years, in that
capacity, with great credit. The Senate chose as its
presiding officer Senator Benj. Wade, of Ohio, a Radical Re-
publican. Some importance attaches to this office just now,
because he who occupies that position, will be Acting
President, in the case of Mr. Johnson's death- Or removal
from office, by impeachment or otherwise. The new
Congress is the fortieth since the organisation of the
Government. The thirty-ninth (which has just been
dissolved), before its adjournment received President
Johnson's vetoes of the measure known as the Military
Governments Bill, also of the Tenure of Office Bill. The
latter deprives the President of much of his appointing
power, and prevents him from removing from their
places any of the civil officers whose terms of service are
not limited by law, without the advice and consent of the
Senate. The Military Governments Bill you fully under-
stand. Both measures were vetoed by thu President on
the ground of their alleged unconstitutionality ; each
was immediately passed, over the veto, by much more
than a two-third vote. The fortieth Congress is even
more strongly opposed to the President, politically, than
its predecessor was, and Mr. Johnson will find it
harder to deal with and utterly impossible to manage.
Probably it will soon adjourn until next December, whiln
it will be known whether the Southern States have
accepted or rejected the ultimatum just submitted to
them. Then the reconstruction question will come up in
a new shape.
General business has been stagnant during the
last few weeks, merchants were so uncertain of the
future, in consequence of the doubt which rested upon the
fate of the Tariff Bill. Since that has been shelved,
DA a whole, trade may revive, but many insist, that there
must be a fall from the present extravagant prices,
before any permanent improvement can take place.
Great preparations tire making for the Paris Exposition,
whete twelve thousand American exhibitors will repre-
sent the ingenuity and industry of their country.
Double the space allotted to America in any previous
exhibition has been appropriated, and will be well filled.
Steam engines, caloric engines, locomotives, lightning
printing presses, type-setting machines, sewing machines,
agricultural machines, musical instruments, American
watches, Jo., will compete with those of European
manufacture. The Fine Arts will be represented by
paintings and statuary, many private citizens having
lent their choicest specimens for the purpose. Cerial
products win be sent from every State in the Union.
The improvement made in firearms during the late war
will attract no less attention than the neecile.gun.
Western life in America will be illustrated by an Illinois
farm-house, fifty feet square, to be erected in the park.
The chief representatives, however, will be human.
Seventy thousand Americans will visit the Exposition.
Every steamer crossing the Atlantic from this country is
crowded with passengers—the state-rooms being
all
engaged for months beforehand. Numerous excursion
parties are being organised, and Paris is the destination
of them all.—G. W. B.

EMIGRATION TO NEW YORK.—Tho New York
Commissioners of Emigration state in their report to the
Legislature that in the course of- the year 1866 294,357
passengers landed from foreign countries at that port, being
37,066 more than in the year preceding. 60,939 were
citizens of the United States ; of the other 233,418 it is
stated that 106,716 were from Germany, 68,047 from Ire-
land, 36,186 from England, and 22,469 from other countries.
97,607 reported their intended destination to be the State of
New York, 32,751 Pennsylvania and New Jersey, 18,743.
New England, 71,485 Western States, 5,333 Southern States,
2,932 Kansas, Nebraska, Canada, Sco. The commissioners
state that 12,487 were temporarily relieved with board and
lodgment, and 10,771 were provided with situations
The vary large sum of $132,495 was received by the com-
missioners in the year from relatives and friends of immi-
grants to, aid in forwarding them to their destinations.
3,829 cases, including 438 births, were under medical treat-
ment ; the percentage of mortality among them was
8.13. In the medical hospital alone the mortality was
11.64 per cent. on the cases treated, or 14.41 on the dis-
charges. The average number of patients in the hospital
was 648 ; the deaths were 788. The average number of in-
mates in all the institutions--refuge, hospital, &c.—was
1,081; the total number in the year 10,306, including the
438 births ; the deaths were 871. The cost of the support
of the institutions was $142,749. The Commissioners de-
sired to express their thanks to the Sisters of Charity for
their invaluable services in the dangerous duty of attend-
ing the cholera eases.