The Sun.
London, England, 1858-12-27 00:00:00

" Art. 9. 'Those parts of .the frontiers between
China and Russia hitherto not satisfactorily laid
down shall be settled without delay; for which
purpose commissioners of both Governments shall
be immediately 'appointed who shall examine and
survey the-disputed tract and fix the boundary line
by a -separate treaty. Maps and a detailed de-
serition of the frontier shall be made by them,
mutually signed,' and to be considered in future as
iucontestible documents by both Governments.
" Art. 10. The residence of the Russian ecclesi-
astical mission at Pekin shall no longer be considered
temporary, and their members may return at any
time. Their travelling expenSes, as well as those
of other official persous, shall be borne by Russia,
The Chinese authorities are bound to afford them
the most perfect protection.
" Art. 11. A regular postal service shall be im-
mediately organised between Kiachta and Pekin.
For this purpose a Chinese carriage shall run once
a month, .and shall deliver the mails at each place
in not more than 15 days. Besides this a convoy
for heavy goods shall be organised to go once every
three months each way, and not td be longer than
one month in performing the journey.
" Art. 12. All political, commercial, and other
privileges accorded by China to other countries
shall be immediately, and without atiy—further
treaty, extended to Russia.
" The ratifications of this present treaty shall be
exchanged at Pekin within 12 months from the pre:
sent day, or earlier if possible. The original is
written in the Russian, Mantcb.u, and Chinese
languages, but it is specially agreed that the
Mantchu text shall be considered as the basis for the
interpretation of the Articles in case of any dispute.
Done, at Tien-tsin, 13th June, 1858.
(Signed) " COUNT EUTHEMITTS POUTIATIN.
" KWEI-LIANG.
" HWASHANA."

BRITISH COLUMBIA,

(From the Times.)
The copious and faithful accounts transmitted
by our correspondent from the Fraser .River dis-
tricts have now placed the natural riches of that
territory beyond all question. At first, as in the
case of all gold discoveries, the reality was exagge-
rated by rumour, and a " rush" was made from all
parts to the new diggings, without reason or in-
quiry. This excitement was, of course, followed
by a reaction, and then the value of the newly-
opened mines was depreciated in proportion. The
lapse of a few months, however, has brought us ac-
curate representations ofthe facts, and it can nalonger
be doubted that British Columbia must be added to
the gold producing regions'of the world. The ex-
ploration of the country is still incomplete, but
the banks of the river for many miles together yield
supplies of the precious metal abundant enough to
enrich and satisfy all but the Californian emigrant,
whose cupidity has been stimulated by a long ca-
reer of speculation and adventure. To miners of
this class earnings presenting 30s. or 405. a-day
clear profit appear only " moderate," because they
have abandoned rich fields of labour with the true
gambler's hope of finding something richer still,
but the majority of the mining population—" Rus-
sians, Swedes, Danes, French, Norwegians, Ger-
mans, English, Scotch, and Irish "—were found
contented enough with their gains, as well they
might be. At Hill's Bar, one of the richest on the
river, the produce had risen as high as £l3 per man
per diem. This was an extreme case, but at the
lowest estimate it was said that any common la-
bourer could get his 20s. a-day at this spot by
merely letting out his services to others. All this
while it was believed that the great centre and
source of treasure remained yet to be discovered.
The gold deposits on the banks were held to be the
mere washings of some intensely auriferous soil,
and. the miners were eagerly pushing their way up
the river in search of the fountain-head of wealth.
Sone confirmation was lent to this impressios by
the fact that the diggings did really im-
prove as the stream was ascended, but it is the
nature of gold-seekers to be incessantly on the look-
out-for yields of fabulous value, and tne weal
the Fraser River country may ae considered as we
established, even without the discovery of this un•
known mine. The gold is not found in the same
form as in Australia, nor are any miraculous "nug-
gets" described for our edification, but the digging
is attended with little labour when the scene is once
reached. The climate is extremely healthy, and
there is scarcely any
.sickness. Our correspondent
met with only a single invalid throughout his
entire voyage. The great difficulty at present
seems to consist in making the ascent of the river,
but the organisation of traffic sure to follow on the
success of the diggings will soon dispose of this
impediment.
The picture given of the miners and their ways
in this new colony is exceedingly instructive, and,
upon the whole, satisfactory. The great gold dis-
cover ice have now followed each other in such suc-
cession that the practice of treasure-seeking has
been refined into something like a system. Dig-
ging has become a profession, with its rules and
ordinances, its precedents and customs—rude
enough still, in some respects, but based, neverthe-
less, for the most part upon natural justice. In Cali-
fornia the first swarm of adventurers quarrelled,
fought, and squandered without stint or measure.
In Australia things were a little better, as the situa-
tion was no longer novel ; and now, on the Fraser
River, diggers drop into their places and prosecute
their ventures with nearly as much regularity as is
seen in ordinary trades. Intoxication seems to be
uncommon, and gambling discouraged. There is a
general love of order, and a marked desire for a
strong and effective Government. " Give us pro-
tection," say the miners, " and we will pay for the
licence willingly." They want, as a body, to live
under the law, are well disposed towards the
Governor, and promise a hearty, welcome to a
judge. All the barbarous features, in short, of this
mining life are now disappearing, and diggers are
as peaceable, steady-going people in their way, as
any other class of working men. For the rest, it
is amusing to observe how under these favourable
circumstances, the natural, laws of public economy
develope themselves. The accumulation of wealth
and the division of- classes occur exactly as in the
Old World, except that the process is infinitely
more rapid. A man begins as a labourer at so much
a day, and sees the chief portion of his produce
carried off by somebody else who owns the soil, and
thus lives by rent, instead of labour. If our opera-
tive is of an adventurous turn, he employs the first
few dollars of his making in a journey up the river
on his own private account. By the use of his wits,
or his experience, he " prospects" the banks, estab-
lishes a "claim," and becomes the employer of labour
in his turn. If he is less speculative or daring, but
still industrious, he hoards his wages till he can pur-
cak... p .sigii+ of .-d1 in wane established digging—
a half or a quarter interest, or a fifth, or even a
tenth. A very few years will probably see even
these exceptional communities separated into rich
and poor, the former class possessing all the land, the
latter nothing but their. dailylabour. There will, how-
ever, be this peculiarity in the ces3—that, owing to
the wonderful rate of progress, the origin of wealth
and the origin of poverty will be plainly under-
stood. Everybody will know that the possession
of the soil represents either skilful enterprise or
sturdy.self-denial, and that a worse fortune indi-
cates simply less knowledge or less thrift in the
individual or his ancestor. It is just the same in the
world we live in, except that the origin of the dis-
tinction is a good deal more remote.
That the value of a possession like the Fraser
River territory should still be considered debateable
is a signal instance of the advance made in political
science. Half a century ago a colony yielding gold
by the bucketful would have been set_down at once
as the most precious pearl in the Imperial diadem,
whereas we are now disposed to institute a regular
profit and loss calculation, and ask whether the
thing really "pays." In our correspondent's opi-
nion, it does not, and will not for some time to come
—that is to say, it will not be maintained without
contributions from the mother country in the shape
of civil and military establishments, for which no
direct return will be forthcoming. A new country,
like an old one, has its expenses, though of a dif-
ferent character. Roads and bridges require to be
made, an administration must be organised, and in
the case of a gold region an efficien t poll ce must be kept
up. Already, in fact, we are despatching a battalion
of regular infantry to these parts, and the garrison of
British Columbia will probably figure in oar Army
Estimates for some time to come. Such oblivtions,
it is said, are not likely to be satisfied at.present
out of the colonial Exchequer, inasmuch as the tax
upon miners, though willingly paid, is insufficient
to meet the demands of Government. We cannot
exactly see why this should be. If the miners are
sagacious and as successful as our correspondent
describes, they ought surely to understand that it is
fairly incumbent upon them to pay for their own

(From•the i'Vejl-ork
Two events have occurred to confirm in a remark-
able manner the opinion wc so resolutely maintained
a few months since, that the British Government
had not given up the exercise of the right of search-
ing American vessels upon the ocean.
The readers of the Herald will remember how
tenaciously we defended our views, and how clearly
we exposed the fallacy of the contrary assertion,
with arguments drawn from the guarded declara-
tions and cautious admissions of the British Mini-
sters in Parliament, and logical deductions from the
past history of the British Government and its
policy. To-day we publish in another column the
official correspondence upon which the statement
that the right of search question had been settled
was founded, in which it will be seen that Eng-
land, instead of abandoning her old claim, has
taken a really more insolent position than she be-
fore held. Not being able to controvert the weight
of authority that Was brought against her, she ac-
knowledges that Mt-letter of the law d.ods not give.
her the right she claims, and now demands that the
law of nations shall be changed in this respect, so
that it may suit her whims. As if to confirm her
determination to continue the practice of the right
of search come the cases of the American steamers
Washington and Catherine Maria, boarded by her
officers in a neutral port, and in sight of several
American men-of-war, and a full report of their
proceedings demanded.
It will be seen from the letter of Mr. Dallas, in
another column, that on the morning of the Bth of
June last he despaired of bringing Lord Malmes-
bury to the concession of a single point, when sud-
denly he was called off to meet that gentleman ;
and when he resumes the writing of his letter he
tells Gen. Cass that something within the last 12
hours had completely changed his lordship's views.
The subsequent developments show how completely
Mr. Dallas was humbugged. In the memorandum
of the conversation of that day with the American
Minister, Lord Malmesbury admits that the highest
English authorities on maritime law were against
his claims, and that France, who was in close alli-
ance with England, would not submit to them. He
tells him that by an arrangement with that Power
an English boat might be sent alongside of a French
ship and ask to see her papers, but not, unless in-
vited, board the vessel. On the 11th of June, Lord
Malmesbury elaborates in a despatch to Lord Na-
pier his new position toward the United States. He
begins with the same admissions, that the law was
against him, with which he had humbugged Mr.
Dallas ; then he assumes the championship of civi-
lisation, and asserts the necessity of a police of the
high seas to put down American rascals; and impu-
dently adds that the way things 411I'e now going on
every honest trader will soon fly from the American
flag upon the ocean as from a pirate. This neces-
sity of a " police of the high seas" he defends by an
ingenious use of a partial extract from Gen. Cass's
letter of the 10th April last, and a citation proving
that an American naval officer had exercised the
right of search on two French vessels. • We have
long ago stated our belief that it was on this slip
of Gen. Cass that Lord Malmesbury hung his appa-
rent concessions, and the fact is now proved. As for
the example cited, of the commander of the United
States ship Dale, it only proves how little some of
our own naval fficers know of their duties and
their relations to the merchant service, and shows
the necessity of ventilating thoroughly the ques-
tion of the right of visit and search by men-of-war
on the ocean.
Lord Malmesbury, also gives, as seemingly
against himself, the view taken by the French Ad-
miral Hammelin, stating expressly, however, that
the British Government does not accord in it. The
French admiral only claims that a merchant ves-
sel shall be obliged to show her colours to a man-
of.war 4, but without being stopped or turned
"tj-fftkß 'bourse, unless there is just ground for
suspicion. This, however, is a practical admission _
of the necessity of a police on the high seas. It is
in practice the European system of making a man
show his passport whenever an officer demands it..
A passport is the evidence of a man's identity and
nationality, as a ship's colours are of hers. Their
forced exhibition on the high seas during a time of
peace is an undue exercise of authority, and an im-
proper call for respect to authorities. It is the
erection of Gesler's pole and hat upon the ocean for
the citizens of every nation to bow before. Such a
practice accords well enough with the theoriea of
" the empire," which demand that every private
person shall uncover before an official, but it will
not set well upon the stomachs of the free citizens
of the United States.
But the lasttwo paragraphs of Lord Malmesbury's
letter to Lord Napier are the most remarkable of
all. They convey as distinct: a threat us ever was
conveyed in diplomatic language. He tells us that
we must admit the establishment of this police of
the seas, for " these irritating controversies are in-
evitable as long as the letter of the international
law is made to over-ride these measures" which
British experience and arrogance-" recommend for
the security of life and property on the high seas ;"
but which neither the United States nor France
have ever acquiesced in. How Mr. Dallas or
General Cass, or any other man possessing common
sense, could conceive that this letter of Lord Mal-
mesbury was a satisfactory settlement of the right
of search, we cannot understand.
The position of our government is directly anta-
gonistic to it in all its points ; and that position is
clearly laid down in General Cass's letter of the 30th
of June. The American idea is there set forth, that
the occasional abuse of a flag is a far less evil than
the establishment of England's pretensions would
be, and that the freedom of all merchant vessels
from detention upon the ocean concerns every
nation. It is now evident that the question of the
'right of search is not settled, and that our govern-
ment and that of England are in direct conflict
upon it. England has now extended her claim to
exercise a police right upon the ocean, to its exer-
cise in the ports and rivers of neutral weaker
nations. The recent proceedings of the British
officers in :the harbour of San Juan del Norte and
the Colorado branch of that river are of a far more
flagrant character than were the proceedings last
spring in the Cuban waters. The freedom of our
commerce on every sea and in every harbour is
involved in the question. The administration and
Congress must take it up at once, and maintain the
liberty of the American sailor and the American
flag everywhere. We are on the eve of an impor-
tant conflict with the Western Powers of Europe.
If we cede our rights now, we shall never recover
th'.ui main without u, bloody conflict, that will rock
the whole world, and no present cession on our part
will secure peace to us. Concession, once begun,
knows no end.

SHOCKING MURDER IN DERBY.

A most atrocious murder was committedin Derby
on Christmas eve, which has caused considerable
excitement throughout the town, owing to the
savage manner in which it was perpetrated. It
took place in a public-house, the sign of the bishop
Blaze, situated in the Morledge, a somewhat low
neighbourhood. The name of the murderer is
Arthur Bland, and that of the victim Edwards,
whose death was caused through' a stab in the
throat with a pocket-knife. It appears that when
the militia was first embodied Bland entered it,
but he had left the regiment some time. He has,
it Is said, once been convicted of stealing, and has
since been leading a somewhat dissolute life at a
house of ill-fame in the town. He has often accom-
panied others in various poaching expeditions.
Edwards has for some time been living with Bland's
sister, and the two men have been on any-
thing but comfortable terms with one another.
They have, on several occasions, quarrelled, and
about a fortnight back, fought. They happened to
meet on Friday afternoon at the Bishop Blaze, and
drank together, when some old grievance was raked
up, and they went into the yard to fight. Mr.
Pool, the landlord of the house, prevented the fight
from taking place, and Bland and Edwards returned
to the tap-room. They had some more drink, and
shook hands ; but soon afterwards Bland made a
sudden plunge with a knife at the throat of Ed.
wards, inflicting a frightful wound just beneath
the chin. Blood rushed out coveringthe floor.
The landlord was informed
of what took place, and
the murderer was immediately secured and de-
livered into the custody of the police. A surgeon
was instantly sent for, and on his arrival, in about
five minutes afterwards, he found Edwards dead.
The poor fellow exclaimed, when the wound was
inflicted., "Oh ! lam stabbed." An inquest on the
body will be held to-day before the borough coroner.

The witness was examined at great length.
The court adjourned till yesterday,' when Sulli-
van was again called and cross-examined.
Examination resumed—Accompanied by another
man on the road leading to Grimoleague, he saw a
great number of men drilling with pikes. He took
the two oaths at Bantry. He could not say whether
he intended to keep them. He had intended to do
so. He went to confess. The priest refused to
give absolution till he would break through, the
oaths. It was at the suggestion of a police officer
that he first went to Skibbereen. The examina-
tion of the approver then ended. , ,
Adjourned again to this morning.
This day seven or eight witnesses were produced
who were not examined fully. The examinations
were merely read over to them, and they were then
cross-examined. One of the constables contradicted
the evidence of the 'informer as to. the privacy of
the room called the Phoenix.-room, in Morty Down-
ing's house. He stated that it was always open to
the public, and even the constabulary had taken
refreshment there. The form of oaths to be taken
was not produced, but the informer stated it verbally
in his evidence. Three of the prisoners—M‘Carthy.
Driscoll, and Stack—had not been examined. They
were identified by the informer.
The examination terminated at 5 o'clock.

M'Carthy, Stack, and Driscoll were discharged
on their own recognisances of £lOO to come up for
trial when: called upon. Duffin, Dennis, Downing,
Patrick Downing, Timothy M'Carthy, O'Shea, and
Obson were admitted to bail, themselves in £lOO
each, and two securities of £5O each, to appear at
the assizes. Daniel M'Carthy, E. Sullivan, Dona-
ghan, M. Monaghan, W. O'Shea, and Morty
Downing, were committed for trial without bail.
The solicitors for the prisoners returned thanks
to the magistrate and the Crown solicitors for the
manner in which the proceedings had been con-
ducted.

COMMERCIAL STATISTICS-PRIVI-
LEGES OF THE PRESS.

A ,case of very considerable interest to the mer-
cantile community, and involvinc, in its more im-
portant aspect the freedom of the press, in which
certain Custom-house officers, residing in England,
who claim to be proprietors of the Clyde Bill o.f Entry,
have prosecuted the Glasgow Mercantile Advertiser
for publishing the commercial statistics contained in
their sheet, occupies a considerable share of public
interest. It has been brought under the notice of
the Treasury by the merchants of Glasgow, and by
the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, but remelt.
strances have been of no avail in staying the pro-
ceedings instituted in the Court of Session against
our contemporary. Of course, pending an action
at law, we give no opinion on the legal merits o
case. There may or may not have been an in-
fringement of a legal patent right. But the ques-
tion with which the public and the press have to
do lies entirely beyond this domain—and if the
Glasgow interests, backed by the public opinion of
Scotland, had but a tithe of the spirit which ought
to actuate bodies and public men, they would
strangle this disgraceful prosecution ere it had
proceeded another step.
The case is shortly this : a fund has been esta-
blished for the benefit of Custom-house officers ;
and taking advantage of the access which their
official connection gives them to the shipping and
commercial statistics of the Clyde, they publish
these in the shape-of a thrice-a-week Glasgow news-
paper, called the Clyde Bill of Entry. The Glasa
gow Mercantile Advertiser extracts as much
these as it deems interesting to its readers, a course
followed in similar circumstances by every journal
in the kingdom, witness the tables of the Mark
Lane Express and Economist, which are regularly
transferred without challenge into all newspapers
of a popular character ; but, say the proprietors of
the Clyde Bill of Entry, who are handsomely paid.
by the country for doing their legitimate work as
public officials—" You shall not copy from our
sheet, because we have secured a copyright in it,
and if our monopoly is invaded our gains will be
diminished, and this fund of ours [which, by the
way, is not distributed for the benefit f Scotch
officers at all] would suffer." The question is thus
simplified and stands thus :—Whether in the latter
half of the nineteenth century, the interests of
commerce and the press, or the advantage of a
small Government-sanctioned monopoly, shall be
preferred ? Whether the trade of Glasgow and of
Scotland is to be vexed and annoyed and subjected
to restraints, or a peddling bit of official exclusive-
ness put down? To state the question is to answer
it. The plea that these over-burdened officials, who
copy out the list during the hours doubtless for which
they derive their salaries, should be protected by
law, is a piece of pure fudge. Why should they
have a protection which is extended to no one else ?
Nobody wants their exclusive labours. The Custom
House books arc for the use of the public as well
as of the Crown, as the publication of this sheet
abundantly illustrates. Let the books be thrown
open, under proper restriction and regulation, and
neither the Glasgow Mercantile Advertiser nor any
other paper will interfere with their Bill of Entry.
It would thus compete in the open market, and the
result it needs no seer to prognosticate.
The proprietors of the Mercantile Advertiser are
contending against heavy odds. The law may find
them wrong, although they have right andjustice
on their side, and the spirit of the age will not only
justify, but commend them. But the case reaches
far beyond a single newspaper. It aims to explode
a cherished remnant of an antiquated and vile s,is-
tem, which—as cooks lick their fingers—allowed.
official men to have pickings out of public interests.
We trust both the press and the public will not be
slow in speaking out—the contention is theirs—and.
that they will not allow a journal to be trampled
down under the Treasury hoof. Were the members
for Glasgow, backed by the commercial and munici-
pal authorities of the two chief cities, to take up
the cudgels, the monopoly- would be extinguished
with Out loss of time—leaving the Government, to
provide for revenue officers by some more legitimate
method than by allowing them to compete in a field
where they have no business, and where their sel-
fish ends can only be pursued with injustice to the
press and injury to the public.—Scottish Press.

PARLIAMENTARY REFORM.—A meeting in sup-
port of this great and popular movement was held on Friday,
night in the hall at Elliot-street baths, Glasgow. Mr.
John M'Adam occupied the chair ; and the audience,
though certainly not overcrowded, gave unmistakeable evi-
dence of being in earnest in their desire for reform. The
following resolutions were unanimously adoptod, after able
speeches had been delivered in support of them by, among
other friends of progress, Mr. Wilkinson, Mr. John Nichols,
Mr. Little, Councillor M'Adam, and Mr, Troup, all of
whose utterances were enthusiastically received:-1. "That
the meeting of the western district hails with pleasure the
national expression of parliamentary reform elicited since
Mr. Bright's appeal to the country, and consider that we
will best respond to his appeal by asking what is equally
just and politic—trusting to his political integrity and dis-
cretion, on any measure of reform that may be introduced
in the next session of parliament. 2. That we therefore
adopt, as the plainest and best adapted to the opinions and
circumstances of the majority, the programme and consti-
tdtion of the Glasgow Parliamentary Reform Association
—manhood suffrage, with a residential qualification, vote
by ballot, electoral districts more equally districts more
equally distributed, and triennial parliaments. 3. That
we now proceed to organise this district, and to enrol mem-
bers for the Glasgow Parliamentary Association, as the
best means of attaining the objects of this.tllneLtlinctsansesd
(t.l
enable us to co-operate more effectively
n'beef
reformers throughout the Royal Gtwisgbo tacr/o3nu Bulletin.
r. Hughes,
WINDSOR CASTLE.
was this year supplied to
71co,eiirphctry
Majesty•.
Mof
Highland ox fed at Norfolk
noble joint was cut fropl
Pes,scod-street, Windsor,aopnrie
zoef the Itsyal butchers. This
rt It was, as is customary, decorated and
Farm by his Royal Highness the
customary, d
and
head and woodcock-pie, on Christmas-day,
pwleaicgedhedcol3d ihe side table in the Royal Dining-room,
with the boar's
where it will remain until New Year's-day. A baron of
beef has a
1-o arrived at the Castle as a present to Her
Majesty from Earl Fe
rrers. It was taken from a wild ox
and sent to Windsor under the charge of two of
the Earl's
keepers. Dr. Bennett's " May Queen" will be performed
a .George's-hall on New Year's-day instead of Costa's
" Eli." The second part of the performance will consist
of selections from "Der Frieschutz." Sims Reeves and
Clara Novello, we understand, have been engaged, and the
choruses will be sustained by members from Exeter-hall.