The Sun.
London, England, 1858-02-16 00:00:00

THE SpN J LONDON,
_TUESDAY EVENING, _ FEBRUARY 16, 1858

only " wanting wings to be angels," it could not
decide the point at issue. We confess we do not
entertain quite so exalted an opinion of these
modern CRICIETONS, and shall, in case of need, be
prepared to support our doubts. We refrain
from doing so for the time being, on the simple
ground that the matter is not a personal one, and
that the contest is waged not against the men but
the system.

Lord PALMERSTON clearly foresaw the line
of argument that would be adopted, and very
judiciously cut the ground from under the
feet of his opponents. In place of attacking
he rather complimented the Directors. He did
not utter a single word against either their
morality or ability. He contented himself that
their agency could only be detrimental to the
interests of the country, which by a species of
legal fiction, they were supposed to govern, that
they were incapable of doing good, although
potent for mischief, and that even under the most
favourable circumstances, there must be inevitable
delay and procrastination, and an almost total
abuse of responsibility.
Practically the government has been with the
Crown. Her MAJESTY'S Ministers have been
enabled to do nearly as they liked, but at the same
time to avoid the responsibility that should have
attended their policy. The directors might recall
an efficient Governor-General, or otherwise a bril-
liant General, because he was not profuse in
" lip service," and not prepared "to boo, and
boo, and boo," to the satisfaction of those who
retained but a semblance of sovereignty as shadow
of their former power. But they could really do
nothing except clog and impede the wheels of the
State machine, and that when additional power
was required rather than a self-acting break.
Mr. ROEBUCK and Sir H. RAWLINSON, the newly
elected Member for Reigate, made very able
speeches in support of the measure. The great
leaders, however, on both sides have reserved
themselves for the last night, when the conflict
will be more furious, and the impressions of the
House will be manifested in the most unexcep-
tionable manner on the lobby that holds the
majority of members. We have but little doubt
as to the result. Indeed, as we have stated, our
chief objection is that the measure does not go
far enough—that there is no provision for an
improved administration of justice—and that
India will still remain, as it has so long been, for
the almost exclusive benefit of the civil service.

The Conspiracy Bill has not yet received the
Legislative sanction ! The National Seal has no t
been affixed to this act of British degradation !
We earnestly hope that the people will yet bestir
themselves, and that their chosen representatives
may understand the full amount► of responsibility
they are incurring in voting against the will of
their respective constituents. We have already
explained how important is the alteration contem-
plated. It is not merely in the amount of
punishment to the convicted criminal, but in the
machinery that may be put in operation to detect
the alleged guilt. This, as we proved on Saturday,
may be made an instrument of oppression and
annoyance, which will render the so-called right
of sanctuary of comparatively little value, and
enable any foreign power, not France merely, but
Russia, Austria, or even Naples itself, to perse-
cute, through the assistance of the English Go-
vernment, any obnoxious refugee, until he is
driven to seek shelter and protection across the
Atlantic, where the only land of freedom will
then be found—that is to say; of freedom for all
who have not African blood in their veins 1

Last night a very,numerous meeting was held
at the Freemasons' Tavern "to protest
against the surrender of English liberties
at the dictation [of a foreign Power."
Many Members of Parliament whose presence in
the House of Commons was required on the ad-
journed debate on the India Bill wrote letters ex-
pressive of their sympathy with the objects of the
assembly. Mr. JOHN BRZGHT hit the right nail on
the head. While expressing anxiety to avoid
causing any irritation between the people of this
country and France, he showed that our own Go-
vernment was to be blamed for a total want of
dignity in the matter, and from shrinking from
their duty in not giving a proper and respectful,
but firm reply to the French despatch. As the
Honourable Gentleman truly declared, the mea-
sure could give no additional security to the
Emperor, or to any other person, and can only be
regarded as " a humiliating concession to a hasty
and needless demand."

We all know how earnestly the honourable
gentlemau deprecates any course that could lead
to hostilities. He must therefore have felt tho-
roughly convinced that the line which he advocated
would not only be perfectly safe, but that it would
be best calculated to avert perils looming in the
future from any quarter whatsoever. There was
a sound truth contained in the hibernicism, that
" the best way to avoid danger was to meet it
full in the face." And everyday's experience
proves that the men who are most jealous of their
honour, and will tolerate no insult or imputation,
are seldom if ever exposed thereto.

We have already commented on the extraordi-
nary omission of the French Government, in omit-
ting to publish the explanatory despatch of Count
WALEWSKI, expressing the regret of the EMPEROR
at the insertion of the objectionable addresses from
the Bobadils of his army, in the Moniteur,
the medium through which the insult
to England was conveyed. This could scarcely
be an " act of inadvertance," considering the
manner in which the previous despatch of the
Foreign Minister vas forced on the public atten-
tion, being not only given by every journal, offi-
cial, and non-official—but posted in every tho-
roughfare, so that he " who runs might read."
And surely it is time that the French people
should learn that we have not yielded to the
bland " invitation;' for further legislation,
without having received an official expla-
nation of the insult inflicted on us by the
truculent sabreurs whom the E'nperor delights to
honour. We are glad to find that Mr. GRIFFITH
has given notice of his intention to exhibit an
interrogatory to Lord PALMEItSTON on this
subject. it is to the following effect
Whether, since the letter of the 6th of February
from the French Ambassador, expressing the
regret of the EMPEROR for the publication of the
addresses in the Moniteur, has not appeared in
that
paper the same way AS its predecessor of
of
intention January, asking for redress, for the
informationh eth
of
the French public, it be the
of Governmentt:thatto istusggepstubltiocattiohne
French Government,
would, in their opinion, be d •
non ucive to the
satisfactory termination of the transaction."
It will not, of course, in the present condition of
the French press, be notice
, unless the Emperor,
knowing that the bill has not yet passed its second'
reading, should think proper to repair
act of negligence, and to caution the redacteur of
the Moniteur not to be guilty of a third act of
inadvertence.

1
In Lord PALMERSTON'S Government composed
of some sixty members, holding what are termed
l•
Parliamoutary places, either in the public offices or

t Curt, we fiad :(excepting the mere working
law officers) that
26 are held by Peers ;
20 by Peers' sons and sons-in-law ;
3by gentlemen closely connected by blood
with the Peerage ;

12 by others, nine of whom perform the hard
work of subordinate secretaries without any
authority or patronage whatever ; and of the
other three, one only is at the head of what may
be fairly called a department.
Such is the summary presented us of aristocracy
in the Cabinet by the author of " Parliamentary
Reform—What and Where," who in the time of
the first reform discussions was the author of
another well-known pamphlet—" What will the
Lords do ?" He seems to have kept his eye closely
on the House of Lerch, for the latter half of this
present pamphlet is occupied with the question of
Peerage Reform ; a reform which he thinks, pro-
bably justly, to be as important as Representative
Reform. As the two houses must co-operate in the
legislature, he insists on adjustment of the two to
each other as no less important than the reform of
the lower of the two. Ilia object is to raise the sta-
tus of the House of Commons, and to improve, by
reduction and otherwise, the quality of the Upper
House, and thus to bring both more into harmony
with each other. The pamphlet indeed is chiefly
interesting as handling the Reform question from
an important point of view—that of adjustment.
It is but to glance at the quotation with which
we began, to see definitely stated, what we all
knew generally very well before, that the pro-
fessedly liberal and popular Ministry of Lord PAL-
MERSTON is overrun with aristocrats. Probably we
have bad none since the Reform Bill was passed,
in which the peerage and their connections so
pressed themselves into all the public employments
worth having. Why is this ? Is it entirely the
Premier's fault ? This, from mere prudential con-
siderations, is hardly likely. Lord PALMERSTON
would probably prefer to have a fair proportion of
men of the people around him, if only to preserve
appearances. But whatever his wishes may be,
one reason why he must employ a large number
of the lordly class is, that its number is become
so large. "At the beginning of the last century
we had 167 English peers; at the close of the
reign of GEORGE 11., 175. We have now 393 !
In the first period of sixty years the peerage
was increased by eight ; in the second period of
100 years a like proportion would have given an
increase of 14 ; but instead of that the actual
increase amounted to 215 1" The peerage was
much more than doubled. The peers of different
kinds now number 460, with a tendency to rapid
increase ; indeed, we are told that we have now
no lesehan 555 hereditary peers and peeresses
in their right within the United Kingdom ; and
that, too, while the number of members in the House
of Commons is slightly diminished. When with
this is coupled the fact that no property qualifica-
tion is required for the House of Lords, the
increasing numbers and necessities of the aristo-
cracy are alone sufficient to account for the charac-
ter of the PALMERSTON Ministry.
All will agree with the writer's remarks that
" there are few greater evils than a faineante
noblesse ; but it is hardly less an evil when the
same body appropriate to themselves and their
families nearly all the great offices of the State, and
press their children on to the front rank in all its
working departments." This will certainly be the
case if the peerage i 3 suffered to be indefinitely
increased, and a body so closely bound together
by pride, family connections, and hereditary pri-
vileges, to becsome also a very large one. The
remedies do not appear to be difficult to find, and
as they would tend, most of them, to increase the
value of a Peerage, there is no reason why they
should not be acceptable to the House of Lords.
Limitation of the number of each class of Peers
is one of the most obvious restrictions ; enforce-
ment of a property qualification another ; and the
departure from the original arrangements, by which
the Scotch and Irish Peers have increased so largely,
affords another means of reduction. The elective
Peers for those parts of the United Kingdom are
now become a great abuse. They are practically
two close peerage boroughs, furnishing 16 and 28
votes respectively to the patron.
Our author is much more interested in increas-
ing the weight and dignity of the House of Com-
mons, than in popularising the constituency which
returns it. He, indeed, from his point of view,
regards larger constituencies chiefly as one mode
of giving importance to our Representatives, He
is therefore desirous that the 101. franchise should
be lowered, and every arrangement made to include
the educated and wall informed classes, in order
to give the House a firmer hold on the country,
since he acknowledges that this has been one great
advantage of the Act of 1832. Ho is also speci-
ally desirous that the public service, science, lite-
rature, and the press, should have easier access
to the House, and that the presence of represen-
tatives of these classes would correct and fill up
many defects.

His proposals for giving the House of Commons
a "broader basis and a higher tone," are an exten-
sion of the suffrage to the competent classes ; in.,
creasing the numbers in small constituencies, so
far as to render them independent of dictation ; and
transferring the franchise to larger constituencies
when a constituency cannot be rendered indepen-
dent.
,To raise the tone of the House he proposes
to check the aspirations of its Members to a peer-
age, and thus to fix their ambition to their own
House ; not to exclude high legal and other autho-
rities who are above Ministerial and party control;
to admit retired public servants without impeach-
ment of their pensions ; to form such Corporations
or Societies into constituencies as would presum-
ably return men of eminence ; to associate our
colonies in groups with the Imperial Legislature ;
to thrown open to both Houses all appointments
in the State and Court which are usually denomi-
nated Government offices ; to give Members of the
House of Commons precedence over all ()the?
Commoners ; and to abate the hunt after patro-
nage, through the steady carrying out under
well-digested arrangements of free competition for
all first appointments.
Such are some of the principal recommendations
of a writer who certainly has a right to be heard ;
one who compares the Reformed Parliament to
great advantage with the old one, and who is
desirious to advance in the same course, while pro-
viding that the House shall rise in importance.

TIIE IRISH VICEROYALTY.—DUBLIN, Monday.---A
metting was held this day in Dublin, to oppose the
abolition of the office of Viceroy. L,ird Howth proposed
the first resolution, to the effect that Mr. Roebuck's
motion, coupled with Mr. foreman's attack on the
office of Viceroy, made it a duty on the part of the
meeting to resist, by all caLstituional means, a proposal
to insult the Irish peopl,., and to compromise the jute-
r,..sts of the Crown itself. Colonel Taylor seconthd the
resolution, which, with others of a similar tenor, was
adopted.
IMMENSE ABUNDANCE OF FISH.—For some weeks
past the mouth of the Tees has been literally tided with
631,, chit./1y gprats and herrings. On one occasion the
an short li:ttetdim the
men belonging to a noble ran out their net on the shal•
efifillsellal
lows near tho ninth buoy, and the fish they took were
80 many that they could tibt draw it in again
without breaking the net. The men got into the water
a
into
as tothieuicl asobl ibtychoauislletcsarfuryll., and in
in
brought
them to Stockton, and sold the quantity to one
man at 2d. a Elton
abuodant as at ° (14'b •
) The shoal continues as
day with upwards of first, and several nobles corne in every
the quay to
persons
from
ton of fish, which are sold on
boatit al, or I.ld. a etrooill,the inland towns at 303. a
been 1 n wn before in the. Such au occurrence has not
memory of the oldest fishermen
on the 'rem—Sum/O'lOW llent/a.

Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent visited her
Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge, yesterday,
at her residence in St. James's Palace.

NV
His Excellency Rear-Admiral Van Dockum, the
newly-appointed Dan:sh Minister at this Court, has
taken a mansion, No. 7, Lowndes-square, at which
place the business of the Legation will in future be
conducted.
His Excellency Count Adolphe Dubsky (Lord
Chamberlain to his Majesty the Emperor of Austria),
accompanied by his bother, the Count Victo Dabsky,
arrivedv itnttnha.eßruns wick Hotel, St. James's, on Saturday
Irons
Riron and Baroness Stutterheim have left Fenton's
Hotel for Germany.
Sir C. R. Rushout, Bart., the Hon. Lady Rushout,
Miss Rushout, and Miss Pamela Rusbout, have left
Fenton's Hotel for Seizincote, Gloucestershire.
Sir Paul and Lady Hunter have arrived at Claridge's
Hotel, from Mortimer-hill, Berks.
Mr. and the Hon. Mrs. Hamilton Beckett have
arrived at their new residence, 55, Rutland-gate;
Mr. Gordon, M.P., and the Hon. Mrs. Gordon and
family, arrived at 19, Hill-street, last week, for the

season,
Mr. and Mre. H. C. Ibbettson have arriv(d at Fen-
ton's Hotel. The Mayor of Manchester and the Mayor
of Ashton-under-Lyne have arrived at the same estab-
lishment.

DEATH OF ADMIRAL ARCHIBALD DUFF.—We regret
to announce the death, at the mature age of 84, of this
veteran naval officer, which took place at hie house of
Braensoriston, on the 19th lied. The deceased was the
second son of Major A. Duff, and grandson of Mr. John
Duff, of Culbin. Heentered the navy as a boy, attained
flag rank in 1840, and was placed, as admiral, on the
reserved list in 1855. In 1837, on the death of his bro.
ther, Mr. J. Duff, he succeeded to the entailed estate of
Drummuir, in the counties of Banff and Aberdeen.
Soon afterwards he purchased part of the lands of Jove-
rugie, in this county, on which he expended considerable
nos in improvements, especially upon the harbour of
Hopeman. In politics Admiral Duff was a stanch Con-
eervative. In the management of his extensive landed pro-
perties he acted on the principle that the larger farmers
are able to protect themselves, but that small ones
should be fostered and encouraged ; and on few estates
were cotters and small farmers more independent.
Having left no children he is succeeded in the family
estate of Drummuir by his cousin, Major Lachlan Duff
Gordon of Park, M.P. for Banffshire, and cousin to the
Earl of Fife, who will assume the name of Duff, in
terms of the deed of enteil.—Elgin Courant.
SURREY SESSlONS.—Yesterday morning the Clerk of
the Peace (Mr. Greig) read a letter, addressed to the
Court by J. W. Freshfield, Esq., expressing his wish
to retire from the chairmanship of the Reigate Sessions,
owing to increasing infirmities, which chiefly consisted
of deafness, requesting at the same time that the Bench
would, at the next Quarter Sessions, proceed to elect a
gentleman as his successor.
LEVIATHAN Excleasions.—The railway companies
announced excursion trains to start on Saturday last
train Manchester and Liverpool, "to see the Leviathan
afloat," at 12s. 6d. first class, and 7s. 6d. in covered
carriages, there and back, allowing four days in the
metropolis. The result was a monster train by the
London and North Western Railway from Liverpool,
drawn by three engines, and conveying from 2,000 to
3,000 passengers. Another train by the Great Northern
route conveyed 260. From Manchester, the Great
Northern train conveyed 500 passengers, and there was
also a heavy train by the London and North Western,
the number of passengers by which cannot be exactly
stated, but it is supposed by the officers to have been
upwards of 500.
THE SPEAKER.—The Right Hon. the Speaker of the
House of Commons gave his first Parliamentary full
dress dinner this year, at his house in Carlton House-
terrace, on Saturday evening. The following had the
honour to receive invitations :—Viscount Palmerston,
Sir George Grey, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir
C. Wood, Right Hon. Hairy Labouchere, Right Hon.
H. T. Baines. Right Hon. R. Vernon Smith, Viscount
Castlerosse, Viscount Duacan, Lord Ernest Bruce, Lord
Alfred Paget, Right Hon. W. F. Cowper, the Judge
Right Han. Sir B. Hall, Right
Advocate-General, Righ; Hon. E. P. Boaverie, Right
Hon. Henry Fitzroy, ight
Hon. Robert Lowe, Right Hon. 11. A. Herbert, Right
Hon. W. G. Hayter, llon. Henry Brand, Sir John
Ramsden, the Attorney-General, the Solicitor-General,
the Attorney-General for Ireland, the Lord-Advocate,
Mr. Massey, Mr. James Wilson, Mr. C. Fortescue, Mr.
Osborne, Mr. R. W. Grey, Mr. Denby Seymour, Mr.
F. G. Baring ; Hon. George Waldegrave, secretary ;
Rev. Henry Drury, chaplain.
ATTEMPTED MURDER IN PRESTON GAOL BY A PRISONER
CHARGED WITH PARRICIDE.—It will be remembered that
Themes Kershaw, 19 years of age, a factory operative,
was on the 15th tilt. committed for trial at the Lancaster
assizes on a charge of having murdered his father on the
13th ult., at Over Dar wen, by striking him ou the head
with a poker. After committal he was removed to the
gaol at Preston to await his trial, and was confined in
one of the hospital wards, two orderlies, named Collins
and Garner (also prisoners) being appointed to watch
him alternately. It seems that he has made some state-
ments to CrillmS about the murder, which Collins has
written down and given to Colonel Martin, the
governor. He told Collins on the Bth inst. that he
intended to act mad before the assizes." He has since
charged Collins with telling tales of him, and threatened
to use the poker and tongs against him. On Friday
morning Collins was sitting by his bedNide, reading the
Testament, when prisoner got out of bed and struck
hire on the head with an iron fire-shovel. Collins was
knocke I down insernihle, and dreadfully injured. Other
men ran in and seized Kershaw, who only said, ' I may
as well be hang for two murders as for one." The mat-
ter was investigated by the visiting justices on Saturday,
and he was committed on this additional charge.
an official in the gaol
the governor, that Thomas
LOAPE FROM HEREFORD COUNTY GAOL. - Shortly
rtpte)rrBtedo'ctloo c
Cock
aopnt
aFi
nri dGalymenn,o
hn
Davis, a prisoner who was committed for trial to the next
assizes, for housebreaking at Little Hereford, was miss-
ing. It was found that the prisoner had removed a
large lock from the door, and wrenched it off; the top
plate of this lock has not yet been found. He also
wrenched off a heavy bolt, and seems to have picked a
large padlock, removing the top plate by means which
have baffled all scrutiny to ascertain. A bag, composed
of strong twine network, is placed in each cell, and in
this the prisoner every eight deposits his clothes, which
are removed from the cell, and restored at 6 o'clock in
the morning. In this case, the prisoner, on receiving his
clothes and the net in which they were placed, must
hive at once set to work in an ingenious manner. He
formed a ladder of the net-work of the bag, and pro-
vided steps for his feet by breaking up his wooden
trencher into steps. He must then have forced the locks
and made his way to the outer wall, which he succeeded
in climbing by the aid of his rope ladder of novel con-
struction, and got clear away before his escape became
known. A description of the fugitive, and a reward is
offered for his apprehension ; but no tidings of him can
be ascertained. Since his escape a robbery has been
committsd at a house in the direction in which it is sup-
posed he has gone ; and, from the fact that wearing
apparel was the booty of the robbery, it is deemed to be
more than probable the prisoner was the perpetrator, in
order to change his attire.--9locester Journal.
THE ADMINISTRATION OF INDlA.—Yesterday was pub•
licked a cony of a memorandum (prepared at the India-
house) of the improvements is the administration of
India during the last 30 years. The statement is
ushered in by a prefatory notics, to the Effect that
at this thee, when a calamity unexampled in the history
of India has excited an unusual amount of interest in
Indian affairs, while the statements publicly made and
the opinions expressed concerning the Government of
India strikingly manifest the deficiency of correct infor-
mation on the subject, a brief survey of the principal
measures which have of. late been adopted for improving
the internal government of the country and the physical
and mental condition of its inhabitants, may be ser-
viceable in removing false impressions and in supplying
materials for a deliberate 'judgment. It is thought
proper, considering
• the very recent period at which the
charter was renewed (1853), to "trace the stream etc.
Indian improvement from a point much higher up in its
course. ' The memorandum refers to the connection of
the revenue system with the rights, lee., of the people,
to the permanent settlement of Lower Bengal, the pre-
seet improvemeete in that Presidency, the ryotwar
system in Madrasi, the ryotwar reform in Bombay, the
settlement of the North-West provinces, the fiscal system
of India, the land revenue, the opium and salt monopo-
lies, Customs, the post-office, judicature, and legislation,
police and prisons, Thuggee and Dacoit suppression,
eiracy,' Suttee, witchcraft, Tragga, Meriah sacrifices,
slavery, the remarriage of widows, public works and
railroads, education, the cultivation of tea, and the im-
provement of native States. The whole forms a Parlia-
mentary pamphlet of nearly 40 pages.
DREADFUL FIRR—The Carlow Post of Saturday con-
tains the following
Oa Thursday morning last, at
about five o'clock, a fire broke out in the clothes store
of Athy Workhouse, and the contents being of an in•
flammable nature the flames quickly spread to an
adjoining dormitory, in which there wire about 13
children sleeping. This room also caught fire ; all the
children escaped, except three, who,
melancholy to
relate, were buret to ashes. The schoolmaster made several
attempts to rescue the unfortunate children, but in vain,
fur the fl ,mes had spread to such an extent that it was
impossible to obtain access to the room. Subsequently
the heated vapour coming from the burning building
extended to a dormitory occupied by 12 men, seven of
whom, on hearing of the fire, immediately got out of bed,
dressed themselves and (petted the room ; but the other
five, not being able to escape, such was the powerful
influence the smoke had oa them, remained, and were
suffocated. A cirournstaace connected with the Buff).
cation of these men deserter to be related. There were
two brothers sleeping in cue bed. On the alarm reach-
ing them one awoke the other, and told him to get up as•
quickly as he could, that ;he house was on fire ; but the
unfortunate man was so much overpowered from the
effects of the smoke that he was unable to move,
and was afterwards with the other four men, suffo-
ca'ed. The fire was first discovered by the cook,
who immediately informed the master, Mr. Tracey,
and he at once proceeded to unlock all the dorm.-
tories, in order to allow the inmates to escape, which,
when dine, he despatched a messenger to the police
barrack for a fire-engine ; be also ordered the alarm bell
to be rang. In a short time the fire-engine arrived, and
of civilians, who rendered very great assistance in ex-
was worked most efficiently by the police and a number
tinguishing the fire, which was completely done before
8 o'clock. The amount of property destroyed is esti-
mated at between 3001. and 4001. The building is fully
, the result of
(Saturday)lay insured in the Sun Insurance Company. An inquest was
held on the bodies yesterday (Friday),
which we have not yet heard. On this
the commissioners' inquiry will be held to examine into
the particulars of the case. How the fire originated is
not known ; when the inquest is held all the circum-
stances connected with the tragic, occurruce Will appear,"

LATEST NEWS.

PARIS, FEB. 16.

The Duke de Montebello has been appointed
Ambassador of France at St. Petersburg.

FRANCE.
PARIS, MONDAY EVENING.

The Emperor and Empress yesterdity gave a pri-
vate audience to Lord Cowley, who presented a
letter from Queen Victoria notifying to their Ma-
jesties the marriage of the Princess Royal of Eng-
land to Prince Frederick William of Prussia.
Afterwards, .Kaider Effendi, charge d'affaires of
Turkey during the absence of Mehemed Djemil
Bey, bad the honour of being presented to their
Majesties ; as bad, also, M. Bornemann, charge
d'affaires of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
The trial of Orsini and his accomplices is re-
ported to be postponed to the end of the present
month, in order to allow time for the translation
into French, by sworn interpreters, of a great num-
ber of documents in the English and Italian lan-
guages._

- Marshal Pelissier is expected in a few days to be
appointed Governor of Paris, a post which existed
under the first Empire. The Minister of War seems
to be thrown into the shade by all these changes.
M. de Persigny arrived here from London on
Saturday night. As invariably happens when this
gentleman visits Paris, rumours have got afloat of
the retirement of one or two of the Ministers ; gene-
rally one of them is the Minister of the Interior,
but the Minister of Foreign Affairs is invariably the
second. Whether or not such a step as the retire-
ment of M. Walewski from office is really contem-
plated, the presence of the French Ambassador at this
moment is, perhaps, something more than a mere
complimentary visit. M. de Persigny will have
an opportunity—and there is little doubt he will
avail himself of it—frankly and unmistakingly, as
is his wont, to explain the bad effect produced in
England by M. de Morny's address and those of
some of the regiments.

In consequence of a recent arrangement between
Russia and the Porte s:x new Consular appoint-
ments will, it is said, be made in the Ottoman
empire.

The Indian news which has reached Paris, dated
Bombay, January 23, says :—" The flying columns
which ale scouring the country are restoring older
and tranquillity everywhere. They had but a few
unimportant engagements with the enemy."
By order of the Minister of Finance, the interest
on Treasury Bonds is fixed as follows from this
day :-31- per cent. for bills from three to five
months' date, 4 from six to eleven months, and 4i
for those of twelve months.

The Moniteur publishes a list of names of per-
sons who have been authorised to wear foreign
decorations. :Among them are the Marquis de
Moustier, French Minister at Berlin, for the order
of the Red Eagle of Prussia, Ist class ; M. Rce-
derer, secretary of legatio❑ at Darmstadt, that of
Knight of the Belgian Order of Leopold ; M. de
Morny, director of the Ministry of Agriculture,
that of Commander of the Danish Order of Dane-
brog.

BOURSE, FEB. 15.—Notwithstanding the change
in the interest on Treasury Bonds, and a rise of
in the English Consols, the market at first declined
to 69fr. 75c. and 69fr. 70a., but afterwards Tallied
to 69fr. 85c. and 69fr. 90c. The following were
the last quotations :-
4i per Cents 94 70

15o: end month

Credit Fonder
Belgian 4
Piedmontese (5) .. 9O
Roman BB
Austrian
Spanish Threes
Home Debt 371

3 per Cent. ..... 69 75
Do. end month 69 70
Bank Shares 3060

Credit Mobilier 950

Do. Account 947 50

RAIL'
Orleans
Northern
New Ditto BO5
Lyon and Mediteran. 870

New Ditto B3O

Geneva

Midi
Western 6914
Strasburg
Grand Central
Sardinian
Austrian

THE DANUBE.

A letter from Vienna, in the Independence of
Brussels, says
" The Porte has sent a new circular note, under
date of the 26th ult., on the subject of the treaty of
navigation of the Danube. Taking no notice of
the controversy of which the said treaty has been
the object, the note commences by an historical
explanation relative to the two commissions ap-
pointed to regulate the navigation of that river,
and then comes an analysis of the question as
connected with the prescriptions of the treaty of
Ppis. The object of the reason;ng i 3 to azsimilate
the Danube to the other rivers which flow through
and separate several States, such as the Weser, the
Elbe, the Scheldt, and the Rhine. It is on these
grounds that the Turkish Cabinet founds its
opinion that the congress of Paris has not merely
the right but is under the obligation to examine
the treaty in question, in order to ascertAin
whether that assimilation has taken place or not.
As to the riverain states, the note states that the
proof of that assimilation is incumbent on them,
and that if it does not appear in the treaty whioh
they signed, the conventions of it must be modified
by an additional article. This note, therefore, lays
down a dilemma which it is difficult to solve—either
the assimilation of the Danube to the .other rivers
has been established by the treaty concluded be-
tween the riverain states, and in that case the con-
ference of Paris is bound to verifythat assimilation ;
or it has not been so established, and the riverain
states must then conform to such modifications as
may be necessary to effect that object. This is
putting the question in a new point of view, and
the clearness and force•of the arguments brought
forward appear of a nature to facilitate a final
understanding."