The Sun.
London, England, 1858-04-26 00:00:00

TIE SUN, L 0 NITO N, MONDAY V Ellf‘l INr o, APRIL

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.A •\.NAVAL AND MILITARY INTELLIGENCE. arrived on Friday in Plymouth Sound, where she
PER MAJESTY'S VISIT TO DER,SIIO7.
........._.....—. , was visited officially in the afternoon, by the
---se-- e A general inspection and review of the troops l Danish Consul, Mr. T. W. Fox, jun., and his wife.
0
Her maiesty,s firsts. nide visit to the. camp this
i belonging to the corps of Royal Engineers together , Sir James Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak, and Mr.
4- dey evening, after one
the East India Company sSappers and
with
morning with Sir John Pakington at the Admi-
season terminated on Sa tour e
days for witnessing the Miners, now at their head-quarters, Brompton
beWen. G.
plotiindtienrAaensdietalN,nltr..SAur.geßon.
Assistant-Surgeons
of the most unfavourable
t hat con-id have. befallen Barracks, Chatham, took place on Saturday by
Lieut.-General Sir d. A. Wetherall,K.C.B., K. 11.,
*volutions of the troops
we believe, intended to lathy.
ere en at Aldershot. It was,
ion with ee sham battle on a Adjutant-General, and Col. J. W. Gordon, C. 8.,
Indus.
hays marked this occas •Deputy-Adjutant-General to the Royal Engineers. haliver.
be contested
The whole of the companies of Royal Engineers and
scale of unusual magnitude, and :to
'tut one
with the most persistent obstinacy, the East India Company's detachments were formed
the idea was abandoneta; and the in the barrack-square shortly before 12 o'clock in
cause 01: another
• tineuish
d off with very little to dis ~, .it from heavy marching order, and received Gen. Wethei all
day pa
day barometrical vicissit;ides
save those . who was attended by his aide-de-camp, Cul. Sand-
other dayela -0 • ham, director of the Royal. Engineers,. and the
which check.er the monotonous existence of as the •
s whispered by those supposed to be principal officers of the garrison, with the usual
I honours. The entire corps then broke into open
camp. It we.
well informe
esi fee such matters that the reason for i columns of companies, and marched past, after
the non-perfot alta, nce of the sham fight was that her Nvhich they performed a few other evolutions. Gen.
would not stand fire, Wetherell and Col. Gordon afterwards proceeded
• neuect the men's kits and accoutrements, after
Majesty's charge'r and this
made a tour of the spacious barracks,
may certainly have' been one of the causes which led twohlisthey
being departed visiting the libraries, school rooms, and large model
to this portion of nest programme
t that the room, formerly used as a chapel for the troops. The
from. We are inclined, kowever, to suspect
main obstacle to the rev:it3Vvarious objects connected with warfare stored
was the weather, and General spent some time in the examination of the
vwaithin thisbuildiug ; the numerous articles brought
when that is really unproritio.us at Aldershot it rel.:
I,y the corps from the Crimea and the Baltic at-
-1 • huts.
quires no ghost to account for any alloration of a
raregements which keeps the men soithie ts.telr tracted much attention. At 2 o'clock the troops
On Saturday the weather was
were re-formed in the barrack-square in review
such
hass:eopptuactrtssshre
h order, and, each man having been supplied with
fight out of all question. The wind
vast extent of common with a violence that almost . several rounds of blank cartridge, the entire corps,
and the clouds of I headed by their band, marched to the Great Lines
attained the dignity of a gale,
deist itswept before It were a phenomenon in for the purpose of going through the evolutions of a
really quiteuseless attempting to field-day, under the direction of Lieut.-Col. A. P.
their -way. It The troops, to the number of about
simooms, but when G. Ross.
de cribs the densityis ftliese
of these
got invorved in them he 1,200 men, having been formed into line, General
once the
Pelietsl:lervisto see or hear anything that WetheraD, attesecled by Col. H. Eyre, commandant
was unablehAl
within a few feet of him, and not of Chatham garriscist, Col. H. Sandham, Col. J. W.
took place oven.
only was certsean to lose his way, but almost ran Gordon, C. 8., DeputyeAdjutant-General, and a
the risk of bet ag literally suffocated. Probably, of numerous staff, rode on to the ground, when the
its kind, few more curious spectacles could be wit- battalions were put by Lieut.-Col. Ross through a
d than the solemn, angry look at a distance of variety of manceuvres which lasted nearly two
nesse
the dark massive banks of dust that hung- over the hours, at the. e termi
thenation of which
of ththe rey fire
eview a
greater part of Aldershot-common, and which now general salut At conclusion
and then were urged up into the air to a height ap- Lieut.-Gen. Wetherell was en
at an elegant tertained brepast the offiin
-
parently of some 150 feet or so. With the ground cots of the Royal Engineers
on which the soldiers would have to manoeuvre in their mess-room, which was attended by about 100
such a state of agitation, it was not at all difficult officers, including Col. H. Eyre, commandant, Col.
to account for the field-day being postponed and H. Sandham, Eo H. W. Parke, command-
artillery practice being substitrited in its stead. aut of the Royal 'Marines, Capt. G. Goldsmith,
The firing was ordered to take place in the long C. 8., superintendent of Chatham Dockyard, and
valley, which, being tolerably green and well shel- nearly all the heads of departments and command-
tered from the wind, was about the only ground ing officers connected with Chatham garrion. Be-
near the camp where the dust was not absolutely fore returning to the Horse Guards General We-
blinding. The batteries ordered out were the I therall inspected the 12th company of Royal
troop of Horse Attillery, with two field batteries ; Engineers, who were under orders to embark for
the F and No. 5. They were ordered to parade at the Cape of Good Hope.
the east end of the valley, and soon after 9 o'clock In consequence of a notification which was re-
were all in their places. The target was erected at ceived late on Friday evening last at Woolwich,
the west end of the valley, towards Caesar's Camp, that H. R. H. the General Commanding-in-Chief
at a distance of about 1,000 yards from the guns. intended to inspect the garrison on Saturday, the
The batteries remained for a considerable time in whole of the troops were
Common, in mdarching
their positions, for it was half past 11 before her order at an early hour on tlierewilliamune edrratwhne
Majesty was observed approaching then alley in a command of Major-
rten S
pony chaise, of which only occasionalglipses could up tillecroyluoinnutsh:enraiveihntg
be got in the tot nado of dust with which it was en-
comeinteignoußsLoc.
yuat.-Col. Maude, C.B , and three
veloped. Following her Majesty's carriage was his and need b
Royal Highness Prince Albert and a large staff of field baitterietsh
lefty.
u al
He ro. - de
ei s fauns
eyf Rine alArtillery,commau.ded b Col.
Theinfantrybrigade consYistin
Light Infantr , the Oxford Re •
ut of Militia, and ast ent egiment of Mill--
officers, all of whom, like the Prince, were in of
Teesdahe,otnl. e
f Roal Artillery two' battaliongs
dress uniform. The royal party having taken up of one at a Jodi e
their position under a hill on the south side of the of Royal
.a.ridie E K YR
' *P.
'valley, between the guns and the target, the pro- me
ceediuos were commenced by the evolutions of a tia, was commanded by Col. Brown, Royal Marine
small °detachment of the newly-formed corps of Light Infantry. Two troops of the Military Train,
mounted engineers. This detachment on Saturday under the command of Major Solis, were posted in
was called " the Lasso Train," though for what rea- rear of the line. His Royal Highness, having been
son it was so distinguished it would be difficult to received on arrival with a Royal salute, proceeded
say. Each man bad a stout rope of 20 feet long fns- to inspect the line, after which the troops marched
toned to the side of his saddle, and with a running past in quick time in open column. The Royal
noose at one end, so as to be easily fastened to any Horse Artillery ranked by threes at a trot, and
object he might wish to drag away. The value of then trotted past by-troops. His Royal Highness
this corps for taking guns or advancing them unseen having ord-red Col. Brown to form the brigade
by the enemy was attempted to be shown on Sa- into contiguous quarter-distance columns on the
turday, and two or three engineers, fastening their top of the Common facing the Royal Artillery bar-
ropes or lassos to a gun, the 12 pieces of the two ranks, thou assumed the command, and ordered the
field batteries were moved down the valley at the Horse Artillery to the front, which rapidly ad-
rate of somefiveor six milesan hour. This evolution, vanced and opened fire, under cover of which the
however, is so far from being peculiar to the new two battalions of Royal Marines and the Oxford
corps, that it can be performed by Artillerymen, Militia deployed into line, and a field battery was
or, indeed, by any men at all with a horse and a placed on each flank, the battalion of Royal Artil-
rope, and the display, therefore, was met with no lery and the East Kent Militia, with a field battery,
little private ridicule among officers of all ranks. for,ning the reserve. The Horse Artillery were,„
The mounted Engineers were too few to cover the then ordered to retire through the line, for which ,
advance of the guns, and, of course, too few to pro- purpose the battalions were wheeled back into open '
tect them, and if their numbers were doubled it is columns of companies, and the line being re-formed
certain they could perform neither duty so well as advanced, supported by the field batteries on the
the Artillerymen themselves. What makes the in- flanks. The line was then halted and changed
vention of such a lasso troop still more absurd and direction, the one-eighth of a circle to the right,
needless is that the artillery horses are expressly on the ti frd company of the 2d battalion. The
provided with all the requisite iu tho way of has- line was now ordered to retire in direct echelon of
ness for dragging the guns wherever they may battalions from the left, covered by the Horse Ar-
choose,
while the "lasso" being only fastened to tillery, which had been advanced rapidly through
a common saddle, the girths inustbe drawn so tight the intervals of the battalions. A second line was
to enable the horse to pull at all that the animal formed, consisting of one battalion of Royal Artil-
must be injured by the strain. In short, the "lasso !cry, a field battery, and the East Kent Militia,
troop" can only do very ill what the Artillerymen through which the first line retired byopen columns
have always done very well, and the feats of this of companies from the right of battalions; the
peculiar corps in this matter are only likely to equal Horse Artillery retired by the flanks. Tile second
these of a nautical branch of her Majesty's service line was ordered to advance, supported by three
whose equestrian performances are more talked of field batteries, the first line being formed in con-
than seen. Their invention, in fact, only reminds tiguous quarter-distance columns in rear of the
the spectator of tire clever archit at in Lapu ta who centre. The whole of the troops were then f,rmed
discovered how to build houses from the chimneys into one line of contiguous quarter-distance
downwards—a mode of proceeding which, theugli columns, the Horse Artillery on the right, in
it must have been ingenious in the last degree, has, column of troops, the field-batteries on the left in
nevertheless, not been adopted even to the present column of batteries. The line was ordered to ad-
day. vance in direct echelon from the left, change front
After the departure of the lasso train the ball a quarter circle to the right, form line on right
practice with Horse Artillery and field batteries battalion, which manoeuvre was executed with
commenced. Of this very little need be said. It steadiness and precision, and brought the troops on
both the foot and horse batteries had shown equal their original ground. Major-General Sir W. F.
skill in hitting almost everything but the mark, we Williams then re-assumed the command, officers
should have set the failure down to the weather, aed colours were ordered to the front, and the
which was certainly in the highest degree unfa- day's proceedings w,re closed with a Royal salute.
vourable. As, however the Horse Artillery fired His Royal Highness expressed himself much
infinitely better than the batteries, it is fair to con- satisfied with the discipline and general good order
elude that the practice on the part of the latter was of the garrison, The troops were then marched
only practice, and that they will require a great to their respective quarters.
more of it to make them perfect. Tile range for In The Sun of Saturday it was stated that
the field guns was about 1,100 yards, and at this Calour-Sergeant Bond, 70th, was branded with the
fair distance, though the guns had been most care- letter "D." It appears, however, that in con-
fully laid, two-thirds of the shots fell so wide of the s
mark as to excite surprise. The first guns nearly all not
tumenacre of h
marked with
is former
~D.good character, he was
~
struck too low, and afterwards too great an °lova- The te:ght ships Rochester. Heather, master,
tion was given, and the balls went wide over the and the Hope, Dyer, master, have hauled up to
target, tearing up the hills and scatterieg the dust Chatham dockyard, and have commenced shipping
like water. The Horse Artillery then advanced, and war stores for Devonport and Sheerness.
at a shorter range, as they were of course lighter Three 60 horse-power gunboats—the Quail,
guns, their practice was really excellent. It was Clinker, and Porpoise—were forwarded to Wool-
not alone that the shots actually struck the with on Saturday for Deptford, to be transferred
target, but nearly every ball pitched within a few to the west for reserve.
feet of it. After this shrapnel shells and canister Her Majesty's steam store transport Rhadaman-
shot were fired, and a sufficient illustration was thus, Master-Commander Sturdee, from the west,
afforded of the devastating effects of each missile was received into basin at Woolwich on Saturday,
when used against men by the way in which after to ship boilers and steam gear for her Majesty's
the balls scattered they ploughed the ground in ships Lion and Orlando.
every direction, tearing up the earth as if it had The Pembroke, 60 guns, screw steamship, Cap-
been a sheet of water. Even upon the ground the tain Edward P. Charlewood, left Sheerness on
effect of the shrapnel shells was something quite Saturday for Coastguard service at Harwich.
awful to witness. The practice only lasted some The Cressy, 80 guns, screw steam guard- hip of
half an hour or so, and after the marching past of ordinary, Captain Eiward P. Halsted, was put
the batteries her Majesty returned to the Pavilion. out of No. 1 dry dock at Sheerness on Saturday,
In the afternoon the men paraded within their and will in a few days be ready to receive her crew,
lines, and her Majesty, before taking her departure when she will be taken to her harbour moorings as
drove slowly through the camp. The royal party euardship of the steam squadron of reserve.
started to town from Farnborough soon after five fi ° The new screw steam frigate Emerald, 51 (rune,
o'clock. Messrs. Scott, Beattie, and Godson, of is being fitted for the pendant in No. 3 dry °doCie
the South-Western Company, were in charge of the at Sheerness. . •
Royal train. When Admiral Chad's squadron left Spithead on
The tremendous fire which we mentioned in our Thursday morning they had orders to proceed
last notice of the camp as raging in the fir plantar. under canvass only. During the day the wind was
lions near Woking on Friday continued, as we an- aft. The sciew steamship Renown, 91, Captain
ticipated, to burn throughout the whole of Friday Arthur Forbes, proved the fastest. The screw
night and during Saturday. Some idea of the ex- steam frigate Curegoa, 31, Capt. Thos. H. Mason,
tent of th's great confl igration may be firmel when kept
nearly in a line with her. The screw steam-
we say that it has destroyed plantations on an ex- ship Diadem' 32, Capt. Wm. Moorsom, was some
tent of no less than 5,000 or 6,000 acres. The tract distance astern ; and the screw steam corvette Ra-
over which it has spread extends from the village coon, 22, Capt. J. A. Poynter, was " nowhere."
of Piebright over the steep picturesque eminences This squ tdron with the Brunswick, 80, Hogue,
known as the Matchet hills and towards the Frine- GO, brig Nautilus, gunboat Lapwing, and Danish
ley ridges. It seems to have commenced near Pir- brig Omen, 12, are at anchor in Plymouth Sound.
bright, on a lonely road through a largo fir planta- The screw steam ship Brunswick, 80, Capt. E.
tint,, and which leads from the GuilcLord-road. ' Ommaney, arrived at Plymouth on Saturday even-
From the fact of its having evidently commenced ing. She left Colon March 3, arrived at Port Royal
here ou the wayside, it seems as probable as not i ou the 13th, left on the 17 tb, arrived at Havannah
that its origin was aecideni al. It commenced lon the 24th, and sailed therefrom on the 27th.
aim tag the furze and gorse and heaps of pine coils 1 At Colon ware the paddlewheel steam frigate Leo- 1
that lay about. Fed by these inflammable materials pard, 18, .Captain James F. B. Wainwright, and
it seem to have spread rapidly, advancing simul- the United States' corvette Jamestown, and steam-
taneouslyalong the old Guildford-road, and towards ship Fulton. At Port Royal were the receiving
the Mitchet bills. The views to be got from these , ship Itnaum, 72, Commander H. J. Grant, the
steep heights into the country below were pic- j Leopat d, the paddlewheel steam sloop Buzzard, 6,
turesque beyond description, and the little galena F. Peel, and the
lene paddlewheel steam
and shady dales that lay between the ridges were , sleep Basilisk, 6, Commander J. A. Phayre.
• exceedingly beau,iful. Now nothing can exceed Admiral Sir Houston Stewart, in the paddlewheel
the desolate and weird-like aspect of the whole steam sloop Devastation, 6, Commander C. Wake,
Scene. All except the largest trees have been c n- 1 78, Cept. John
Slimed, and the scorched and Misted appearance AC Joinpauied by the flagship Indus
, C. D. Hay, was expected daily in Port Royal. The
of these only makes the de: oration still more Pacldl el ' e I e 1 steam sloop Styx, 6, Commander C .
Striking in its
tensive range appearance. Too whole of the ex- Vesey, was at Havannele accompanied by tho gun-
many hucre of the Mitchet heights a.: ear like as b iat Jasp ir, Lieut. Pym. She took, on the323sl of
Which
contrasts
of charcoal, the black look of March, a valuable priz i, seppoied to be a Slav: r,
hills and plantations to
sadly with the rich green which hal several thousand doll its on b ,aid. The
tense silence, too th to be aen around. The in-' Styx left Havennah again on the 24th fur a
ale over which of hill and pervadesu the great extent cruise. After leaving the Gulf of Florida
not the least mournfulw 1 31st of
ich the fire has raged is the Brunswick experienced on tie .
features. Not the sound of a .I,*
of i,E, •
many impassive March a very heavy gale, with the wind from
a living creature, or oven the rustling
not the stir of all points of the compass and occesional calms.
painful, and,
breaks a stillness that is actually• of a leaf It was accompanied by thunder and intense
p_
place of a thick, blooming plautation. - in lightning,- torrents of rain, and large . hai,
Is redolent stones. The storm commenced a,. 5 end continued
with the scent of wild flowers, there
difficultnthte until half-past 6 p.m., when it gradually followed
smell of burning wood. It is, in fact,track
.to the north-west. The Brunswick was
imagine anything more mournful and desolate, . acommtssioned on the Ist of January, 1856, and
The fire was still burning actively on Saturday has been employed on the Home, Mediterranean,
• evening, but the wind had changed and the flames, and West India Stations, on the last of which she
0
Were being turned back over the tract they hid was for some time engaged watching the proceed-
already devastated, so that it was likely to go out nags of Walker's Fillibu t ' expedition.
Smidth, 29
for want of fuel during Saturday night or iu the His Danish, Majesty's
days from-Santa Cane, for COpenhagen,
_ brig Onion, 12, Captain
curse of yesterday.

MILITIA.

On Tuesday Lieutenant Wyatt, of the Tower
Hamlets Militia, died suddenly at the Curragh
Camp, of apoplexy.
The Forfar Artillery Militia, a detachment of
which corps is at present in charge of the barracks
in Kilkenny, on Wednesday received an order of
readiness to leave Limerick at short notice for
Dublin. The Forfarshire Regiment has given
several volunteers, non-commissioned officers and
men, to Major Boothby's troop of Artillery in
Limerick. _ _

An Irish provincial paper says,—" It is pro-
posed to give each subaltern of Militia regiments
about to be disembodied au allowance equal to six
months' pay ; an allowance equal to one year's pay
will be given to surgeons and assistant-surgeons
from the day of disembodiment inclusive ; and
paymasters will be continued on pay for three
months, and receive a gratuity of three months'
pay on rendering their final pay list. The case of
regimental captains and adjutants has not yet been
brought under the notice of the Secretary for
War."

EXPLORATIONS OF THE AMOOR RIVER

IN NORTHERN ASIA.

THE OFFICIAL REPORT OF MR. COLLINS, 'UNITED
STATES' COMMERCIAL AGENT TO THE STATE
DEPARTMENT. _ _

-------
WASHINGTON, April 17, 1858.
The report calhd for by Mr. Scott, of California,
a few days since, in relation to the explorations of
Major P. M'D. Collins on the Amoor River, will
be submittal to the house in a few days. It was
sent to the State D-apartment to-day, together with
two maps—one on the Amoor River, and the other
showing the relative position of Northern Asia and

our Pacific coast. -
The Amoor, it will be recollected, is a river se-
cond only to the Mississippi, which flows from the
centre of Northern Asia into the Paolo Ocean not
far north of Japan. The report will give a general
view of the interior commerce of Russia prepara-

tory to the grand development of her Asiatic cora-

merce and policy.
Mr. Collins obtained the appointment of com-
mercial agent from President Pierce, for the pur-
pose of making the exploration of the Amoor and.
testing the practicability of its navigation.
In order to do this he was compelled to proceed
by way of St. Petersburg, to obtain the permission
of the Russian Government to enter the Amoor
country.
To have attempted its exploration from the sea,
without the assistance of steam, and alone, would.

have been worse than folly ; therefore the neces-
sity of entering Russia by way of the Baltic. This,
of course, rendered the land journey across both
Europe and Asia necessary ; nor was this without
policy or aim—it was to witness that great inland
trade [of Russia concentrating at Nij ue Norgorod
in Europe and Kyachta in Asia, and to trace this
line of commerce from the Baltic to the Pacific
Ocean.
If the Amoor could be ascended by steamers this
vast country could be opened to American com-
merce, and the very heart of Northern Asia made
accessible to our merchants.
Having obtained the appoititnrept, he proceeded
early in the spring of 1856, via England and Den-
mark, to Croustadt and St. Petersburg. Owing to
want' circumstances, Mr. Collins was detained in
St. Petersburg and Moscow until after the corona-
tion of the present Emperor ; it was not till after
that event that he could obtain the necessary for-
mal permission to prosecute his voyage.
It was now too late to cross the two continents
in order to reach the Amoor before winter would
set in ; he consequently remained in Moscow until
winter fairy set in, and the roads were rendered
good by a sufficient coating of snow.
His detention was not without its benefits, be-
cause it gave him an opportunity to become familiar
with the vast interior trade of Russia ; the wealth
of its great cities and the internal resout ces of a vast
Empire ; all of which was regularly communicated
to the Department of State, and in the meantime
to make himself familiar with the Slavonic language.

Mr. Collins passed oVerland from St. Petersburg
to the headwaters of the Amor, where he awaited
the approach of spring, and than in a small boat,
with ou-s and five Cossack soldiers furni-hed him
by General Mouravieff, the Governor-General of
Eastern Siberia, proceeded down the three rivers
Ingadah, Schilkah, and Amour, to the ocean, a
distance by water of some 2,500 miles. As he
proceeded entirely under the au-tpices ef the Russian
Government, he had every facility granted him in
obtaining information and for exploration. Start-
ing from Moscow in mid winter, Mr. Collins had
the rare opportunity of testing all the terrors of a
Russo-Siberian winter upon au A.inerican constitu-
tion.

along the Amoor, and more than that the naviga-
tion of that river from the sea to the interior pro-
vinces of Siberia through which alone she has an
approach to the Pacific, is of itself a sufficient ar-
gument for the acquisition by Russia. But aside
from this, the Amoor, for ages in the hands of Tar-
tars or the Chinese—who, like the dog in the man-
ger, will neither use it themselves norlet any other
nation use it—justifies Ru3sia now in its acqusition
as we wet° in the acquisition of the Missiisippi, by
Jefferson—peaceably if we could, forcibly if we
must. _ .

The whole Amoor basin is as necessaryto Russia
in the development of that country, and to her
quiet intercourse into the heart of Siberia, as the
Mississippi valley was to us in 1803.
Jr is not only most desirable to Russia, but
equally so to progress and civilisation ; for with the
possession of this river, the Tartar power will be
completely hemmed in and approachable on all
sides. _ _ _

and there to let the Court decide. It was a most
abominable act, and if the law would have per-
mitted 1,
it he should have sent him for trial as an
accessory before the fact. There was, however, the
absence of intention. It was the duty of every per-
son to prevent a breach of the peace ; and when
an officer of the peace, who had been connected
with the police for the last 15 or 16 years, took no
steps to prevent such an act-, but assisted, he
thought it a most sharoaful proceeding.
Mr. Solomon said, from the instructions he had
received, he really believed, if his worship would
hear the witnesses he should produce, an entirely
different impression would be entertained.
Mr. Traill would not recommend such a course,
but Sambrook still pressing, he was ordered into
the dock, the magistrate intimating that if the evi-
dence produced were unfavourable to him he
should commit him for trial.

The former witnesses were then cross-examined,
but their testimony remained unshaken. Witnesses
for the defence were also heard, but nothing of
importance was elicited.
Mr. Boustrel, the chief clerk, then announced,
after the usual caution, the committal of both pri-
soners to Newgate for trial.
Applications for btil were put in, but in the
c Ise of Sallia a refusal was given. On the part of
Hambrook two sureties :n 251. each would be re-
ceived.

Since Major Collins' visit to Irkontsk and the
Amoor, a company, called the " Company of the
Amoor," has been organised in St. Petersburg,
and received the sanction of the Emperor, with a
capital of four millions of francs, to be in-
creased to twelve millions, for the purpose of
" encouraging and developing the commercial
and industrial activity of the valley of the
Amoor, to open trade through the Pacific ports
with foreign countries, to trade with the
Indians, to build and maintain steamers and sailing
vessels, establish factories magazines, &c.
This shows at once the waking up of Russia to
the importanci of the reannexation of the Amon-.
It must be remembered that Russia once held
e Amoor, and only suspended her claims there in
the face of great difficulties, to be renewed at a more
propitious season. This time has now arrived, and
she is pushing the task with vigour. And to what
power but Russia does the world owe the succ.ssful
beating back of the Great Moguls who devastated
Europe for centuries with fire and sword ? Take the
vast extent of country over which Russia now holds
sway, and it is one of the most remarkable in his-
tory ; in control. pre-eminent, in extent far surpass-
ing that of Rome in her palmiest days. Russia alone
has been able to control the Tartar race, and has
whippal them into something like civilisation, and
from marauding hordes trained them to the plough
and the loom. It is to Russia alone that civilisation
owes the fact that you can now travel from S'. Pe-
tersburg to Kamschatka quite as secure as in any
other portion of the globe; and needing, perhaps,
less precaution than over the same extent of terri-
tory on any other part of the earth's surface.
After leaving the Amoor in the fall of 1857, Mr.
Collins visited Japan, Kamschatka, and the Sand-
wich Islands, and returned to liVashiugton by way
of San Francisco, California.

Mr. Superintendent Evans, as also the father of
Sellis, said the coroner had no objection if his wor-
ship thought proper to admit the boy to bail.
Mr. Traill said, for himself, he would so agree ;
but he held the coroner's warrant of committal un-
endorsed, his consent would therefore be of no
avail.

Hambrook's sureties were then taken, and Sellis
removed to a cell.

THAMES. —CAPTURE OF TWO NOTORIOUS SHOP-
LIFTERS. —Two vulgar-looking women, Charlotte
Coleman, a masculine-looking creature, and Ann
Reynolds, were brought before Mr. Yardley,
charged with stealing 104 yards of printed cotton,
the property of some liuendraper unknown.
Copping, a detective officer, No. 379 K, said that
on Friday night ho was in Raven-row, Mile-end,
in company with two other officers, and saw the
prisoners approaching him. He knew them to be
notorious th►eves, who had been repeatedly con-
victed for robbing linendrapers' shops, and he said
to them, " What have you got under your sha-vls:
let me see ?" They appeared thunderstruck, and
said they had nothing, and did not know what he
meant. He put his hand under Reynolds's shawl,
and took from her a piece of cotton print, measur-
ing 52 yards. The other prisoner, Coleman, shifted
about, and then dropped on the ground from under
Tier shawl another piece of cotton print of a dif-
ferent pattern, also measuring 52 yards. He asked
the prisoners where they obtained the property,
and the reply was, " what is that to you?" He
then took them into custody.
The prisoner Coleman said a woman asked her to
carry the print from Mile-End-gate to \Yid, echapel
Church.

Mr. Yardley.—Who is the woman, and where
does she live
The Prisoner.---I am sure I don't know.

Mr. Yardley.—l suppose you want a rem And,
Copping, to find out the owners of the property.
Copping.—l do, sir.
Mr. Yardley remanded the prisoners until Tues.
day.

Major Collins now proceeded in a sleigh
post-horses by way of Vlademir, Nijne Norgorod,
Kazan, crossing the Ural Mountains at Ecatherine-
burg, and thus on by Omsk, Tomok, and Kramoy-
ankte Irkoutsk, the capital of Eastern Siberia,
4,000 miles east of St. Petersburg. Spending some
time at Irkoutsk, and being hospitably entertained
by Gen. IVlouravieff, Mr. Collins then visited the
cities of Kyachta and Mai-mat-Tschin. These
places are, by treaty between Russia and China,
the only points where commerce can be conducted
by the people of the two empires. They are situ-
ated about 350 miles south-east of Irkoutsk, and
1,000 miles north-east of Pekin, on the frontiers of
Mongolia and Siberia.
Mr. Collins had the rare opportunity of witness-
ing the. opening of the great fair at the full or
" white moon," in February.
Grand feasts and entertainments were given in
honour of the occasion ; the town of Mai-mat-
Tschin was filled wi.h feasting, and illuminated
with lanterns at night.
The trade concentrated here is very important,
said to be 20,000,000 of dollars annually. After
finding its way ou the backs of camels and by bul-
locks from Pekin, it is taken up by the Russian
rn( rchants in the winter on sledges, and in the sum-
mer by the rivers and waggouS, and find- its way
across Siberia to the foot of the Ural mountains,
crossing which it concentrates at the great fair of
Nijne Norgorod, where th© commerce of 1856
summed up to 300,000,000 of silver roubles.
Upon the approach of spring Mr. Collins crossed
the Staunvey mountains, and fell upon the tread
waters of the Amoor. Navigation not yet being
opened he made a full exploration of the gold and
silver country of Nerchinsk, the mines of which are
worked by the convicts from European Russia.
The country is very rich in silver and gold.
Returning from t (e tour, he awaited at Chetah
the bre 'king of the Ice in the Ingodab, whence he
proceeded on his downward course to the sea.
The country along the Amoor is fully described,
much of wh.e'r is suss p'ible of farming and grazing.
But the great problem as to its navigability is fully
solved.
Mr. Collins states, without hesitation, that
steamers can ascend from the sea to Chetah, a dis-
tance of 2,600 miles, which great fact opens up
Siberia to our Pacific commerce throng I the Amoor.
This fact, hitherto unknown and not even guessed
at, presents a new field for commerce, the ultimate
limits of which can hardly be grasped by the most
comprehensive mind.
Maegolia, Manchooria, Northern China, all the
Tartari-s, Thibet, and Siberia, will a population
of twenty to thirty millions, are approached by
this river, and a new route to the Indies opened.
The discovery of the north-western passage sinks
into utter nothingness in comparison with the
utility and practic ability of this route.
One most astonishing fact is elicited, which is,
that Irkoet.k, the capital of Eastern Siberia, can
be approaeln d with only about three hundred miles
of land carriage.
Mr. Collins is the first foreigner that has ever
descended the Amoor, the second American that
has ever crosed the Ural Mountains, and the first
that has crossed the mountains dividing the waters
of the Pacifie from those of the Frozen Ocean.
tie speaks in the highest terms of the Russian
officers and people up nu his long jeurney, having
been treated with kindness and hospitality.
At Kyacirta, where he was invited to a pubic
dinner, the health of President Bu.hanan was itive,n
as a regular toast, which was drunk standing, with
all the bonouis.
Mr. Birciarran is very popular in Russia, and
Ivs election was hail d with delight Oil oughoot the
empir. As he war also our M:n's er at St. Peters-
burg,_ and ir,gotiated the last commercial treaty
between the two countries, ho is known to many
personally.
By way of Hakocladi, Jap qr, up tilt ough the
sea of J :Tan to the S'raitr or Tartary and into the
mouth of the Ainoor, the navigation presents no
unusual difficulties ; steam is wanted at the mouth
of the Amoor to tow vee-els to and from sea, the
Mmoisosriseisir stop at De
s a tvn ee
sas!,
las at a tphpeni,rai oculi
gotfhteh
Au
e
prraf'olarsai also
1 gcepatnowr tpoarogode.
Castries for a pitliout,,swapheerr%trlgieoyorcacna
iuto the Arno )r, and thus an' icipate his vessel at
cainedd "b'aytesr;a3yll(olf Keezey, wakAig
the mouth of the river.
That vast and valuable extent of country lying