The Sun.
London, England, 1859-02-22 00:00:00

(BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH )
LIVERPOOL, Tuesday Morning.

Wind W.N.W.

Arrived, Feb. 21—Independence, from New Orleans.
Arrived, Feb. 22—Anoniono, from Monte Video ; Con.
stitution, from Now Orleans; Scottish Mail, from Rouen
Ellen, from Smyrna.

(BY SUBMARINE AND BRITISH TELEGRAPH.).
GRAVESEND, Tuesday Morning.
Wind W.S.W. tide three-quarters' ebb, thick.
Arrived.—Princess from Rouen.
Sailed.---Bulfinch, for Launceston ; Broadwater, for
Hobart Town; Sir Edward Banks, steamer, for Calais.
DEAL, Tuesday Morning.

Wind W.S.W., moderate.
No arrivals.
Sailed.—lona, for Calcutta ; Da*tona, for Sydney;
Almora, for Bombay.

THE CHARLES .ET GEORGES AFFAIR.

The documents relating to the seizure of the
Charles et Georges were issued with the Parliamen-
tary papers yesterday. The main point of interest
now is, of course, what part our Government took
in its correspondence with Portugal and with France.
The documents are of considerable length, and we
select all that bear. on these two questions.

THE EARL OF MALMESBURY TO MR. HOWARD.
Foreign-office, Oct. 15, 1858.

Sir,—Her Majesty's Government have read with much
concern your despatches referring to the dispute between
France and Portugal, and cannot but regret that the French
Government, without first attempting to obtain their object
by diplomatic means, have at once sent an imposing force to
menace the port of Lisbon.

As far as they are at present informed, it appears to her
Majesty's Government that, on the one hand, the French
captain and delegate on board the Charles et Georges vio-
lated the municipal laws of Portugal by anchoring at a for-
bidden point within Portuguese waters, and being there
found with a cargo of nogroes, who had all the appearance
of being slaves, and a portion of whom stated themselves to
have been abducted from a dependency of Portugal ; on the
other hand, that the French captain and delegate had ob-
tained from the Sheik of Matabane a permission to engage
and export labourers of his tribe ; and that in a document
(which was published in The Sun of the 12th inst.) the con-
tract declares itself " to have been made and passed at the
Court of the said Sheik." The document runs thus :

" It is agreed and understood that you hire yourself for
five years to go to the Isle of Bourbon, in the ship.

Captain

You are hired at the rate of two

piastres per month during the whole period of your engage-
ment.

" As soon as the engagement shall be terminated, you will
be free either to remain in Bourbon, or to return to your
country. The present contract is made and passed at the
Court of the Sheik of the Matabane tribe, in the presence of
the Sheik Ali, of the agents Ali Mouro, Sidi Sidi, the inter-
preter of the ship, and the captain, and signed by wit-
nesses in the presence of the above-hired labourers, after
having been read by the interpreter."
You are aware that her Majesty'► Government have never
altered their opinion as to the analogous nature of the
French scheme for exporting nogroes with that of avowed
slave trade. It is not, however, with a view to support
that opinion, fortified by the present case, that I address
you, but in the hope that a suggestion may be accepted
whiCh may solve this question of national honour.
If the above statement is correct, it appears to her Ma-

jesty's Government that Portugal, without any sacrifice of
her dignity and rights, may admit that the French delegate
and captain, when negotiating for labourers with the Sheik
of Matabano, believed him to be an independent chief, and
were ignorant of his being a dependent subject of the Por-
tuguese Government ; for their contract speaks of him as of
an independent ruler, having a court of his own. Should
the Portuguese Government see the transaction in this
light, it appears to her Majesty's Government to be con-
sistent with a wise indulgence to drop the prosecution of a
case which originated in an error, and which might, if im-
prudently urged against France, be the cause of the gravest
complications.

Such a course on the part of tho Portuguese Govern-
ment would be accompanied by a note distinctly recapitu-
lating the details of the municipal law of Portugal on the
Mozambique coast, and to what extent the Portuguese de-
pendencies are claimed to extend.

You will take the earliest opportunity of expressing to the
Portuguese Government the view which her Majesty's Go-
vernment takes of this case, and urge upon them the policy
and wisdom of accepting the advice which I have the honour
to tender through her Majesty's Minister at the Court of
I am, &c.,
(Signed) MALMESBURY.
[Lord Malmesbury addressed at the same time to the
French Government a despatch, which is almost word for
word a copy of the above. The closing words are altered to
"which I had the honour to tender through her Majesty's
Minister at the Court of Lisbon." But there is no other
alteration.]
THE MARQUIS DE LOULE TO MR. HOWARD.
(Translation.

Lisbon.

Palace, Oct. 21, 1858.
In the presence of the demands presented by the Frenoh
Government for the release of the vessel Charles -et-Georges
you will understand how great is the desire I have to hear
the enlightened opinion of the representative ofyournation,
our most ancient and faithful ally, on the subject.
I hope that you will not hesitate to give to the explana-
tions which I have had the honour of hearing from you,
the necessary compliment, informing me what is, in your
judgment, the best decision to adopt.
Tho good relations which have so long subsisted between

the two countries make me hope that you will not hesitate
to satisfy, in this respect, the wishes of the Portuguese
Government.—l avail, &c.,

(Signed) Marquis DE LOULE.
TILE EARL OP MALMESDTIRY TO MR. HOWARD.

Foroign-offico, Nov. 16, 1858.

Sir,—ln the speech made by the King of Portugal on
opening the session of the Cortes on the 4th inst., his most
faithful Majesty is reported, in all the English newspapers,
to have said, with reference to the case of the Charles-et-
Georges :
"ify Government, having exhausted the resources, in
which the letter of treaties authorised it to have confidence,
was obliged to cede to the peremptory exaction of the de-
livery of that vessel and the liberation of the captain."
The reference thus made to the "letter of treaties," ren-
ders it incumbent on her Majesty's Government to inquire
what interpretation the words in italics are intended to bear.
Her Majesty's Government arc not aware that any treaty
has been appealed to by Portugal in this case ; and they
can only suppose that Portugal referred to the protocol of
Paris of the 14th of April, 1856. That protocol, however,
only forms part of the proceedings consequent on the treaty
of Paris of the 30th of March, 1856, and is not embodied in
any treaty.

You will accordingly ask, confidentially, the Marquis do
Louie to favour her Majesty's Government with the exact
meaning of the words in question.—l am, &0.,

(Signed) MALICIESBURY.
[The Portuguese Government state, in reply, that the re.
ference only referred to the Protocol of Paris, 1856.]

The correspondence is closed with the following docu.
wont :

MR. HOWARD TO THE EARL or MALMESBURY.

(Extract)

Lisbon, Nov. 22, 1858.

In execution of the instructions contained in your lord-
ship's despatch to me of the 6th inst., received on the 14th
instant, I inquired of the Marquis de Leith% why, in the
official statement relative to the case of the Charles-et-
Georges, published in the Diario do Govern() of the 6th
ultimo, no mention is made of the tender of the good offices
of England, and I recapitulated what had passed between
his Excellency and myself on that subject.
His Excellency assured me that it was not from any want
of appreciation on the part of the Portuguese Government
of the friendly conduct of her Majesty's Government that
they had omitted to make such mention, but because they
had thought it desirable to make their statement as concise
as possible, and to confine themselves in it to referring to
the principal points of their discussions with Prelim.

ins Excellency readily confirmed the statements made in
my communications to him, namely, that her Majesty's
Government had offered their good offices before they had
even been requested by Portugal ; that the only request for
assistance which had been made by the Portuguese Govern-
ment of her Majesty's Government was for their good offices,
in order to bring about an amicable settlement of the ques-
tion, and that he had charged me to convey to your lordship
the thanks of the Portuguese Government for the tender and
for the employment of the good offices Of her Majesty's
Government, and likewise to Earl Cowley for his exertions
to induce the French Government to consent to a mediation
of the dispute._

PUBLIC PETITIONS.—The number of petitions
presented to the House of Commons up to the 11th inst.
inclusive, was 241. Of these the greater number were for
the repeal of duty on paper, and amounted to 107; while
the total number of petitions for Parliamentary reform only
amounted to 15, and for universal suffrage five. There
were 29 petitions for the removal of restrictions on free and
grammar schools.
RAILWAY COMMUNICATION BETWEEN GARSTON
AND LIVERPOOL.—The Toxteth Board of Health have
adopted a petition against the bill which has been intro-
duced for the purpose of forming a line of railway between
Oarston and Liverpool, and thus opening a complete rail-
way route, via the Great Northern, to London. The
distance between Garston and Liverpool (seven miles) is at
present acoomplished by omnibuses. _ _

REAL ESTATE INTESTACY BILL.—Mr. L. King's
Bill "for the Better Settling" (of) "the Real Estates of
Intestates" has been printed. The preamble affirms the
expediency of assimilating the law of succession to real
estate in cases of persons dying intestate to that of succes-
sion to personal estate; and it is enacted that in cases of
persons dying intestate all real estate shall be included in
the grant of administration. The meaning of this is simply
that the law of suceesion to the whole of a (real) estate by
right of primogeniture is abolished, and a parity of4ight on
the part of all the heirs established.
THE ROYAL STEAM NAVY —A return, moved for
by Sir C. Wood, M.P., the late First Lord of the Admi-
ralty, shows that Since 1447 down to 1858, 354 is the grand
total of steam vessels added to the navy; 21 of these were
" converted" and 100 were built outright. Some were pur-
chased (123 in the year 1856 alone). The steam navy
actually afloat on the Ist of January last consisted of 431
vessels, 319 screw and 112 paddle ; 32 screws were in pro-
gress of building or "conversion." The steam navy actu-
ally afloat is thus classified :—Ships of the line, 33 screws ;
frigates, 19 screws and 9 paddles ; blockships, 9 screws
"
mortar-ships, 4 screws ; corvettes and sloops, 38 screws and
35 paddles ;
26
lovvessrlgsun boats, 161 screws ; floating
, 3 screws
"and 24 paddles ; gun
"vessels,"
batteries, 8 screws ; tenders, &c,, 4 screws and 38 paddles ;
troop and store sliips, 13 screws and 2 paddles ; and yachts,
1 screw and 4 paddles. We observe that the Admiralty in-
clude in the grand totals the number of ships that are onli
being built or converted. Thus, only 33 screw liners are
afloat and 28 frigates; but the Government claim a total
of 49 liners (i.e., 33 afloat and 16 in building), and 34frigates
(i.e., 28 afloat and 6 in progress of builffing). The total
number of vessels afloat includes 319 screws and 112 pad-
dles, making a total of 431 afloat and. 32 in progress of
building or conversion,

IRON SHIP-BUILDING.

At the usual evening meeting at the United
Service Institution, yesterday evening, Captain
Fishbourne, R.N., in the chair, Mr. Robert Tayler-
son, of Port Glasgow, read a paper on his diagonal
principle of iron ship-building. Mr. Taylerson
described with great clearness the inherent weak-
ness of iron ships built on the vertical principle,
arising from the perforations of the plates to form
the rivet holes in the present mode of attaching
them to the frames, which, being themselves placed
in a vertical position, caused the rivet holes to, run
in a vertical line, as represented by the vertical
lines of a sheet of postage stamps. These lines he
described as lines of weakness, and attributed the
loss of many of our iron steamers to the inherent
weakness of structure arising from this mode of
attachment. He then described his own diagonal
mode of placing the frames and attaching the
plates, forming their joints diagonally at the butt
ends, instead of vertically, as in the common mode.
He also described his hollow girder keels and
keelsons, and his plan of constructing water-tight
bulkheads, which, as at present made, did not fully
carry out the idea conveyed, but which had done
more to establish the confidence of the public in iron
vessels than almost any other quality they
possessed. In order to show that the pre-
sent mode of constructing iron vessels was
defective, he quoted a number of the in-
stances of disasters to them from the public
journals of the day—the uniformity of language
used in describing them—the ships being general/1
said to " break their backs," or separate into two
parte, indicating, he observed, a similarity of cause,
that being the inherent weakness of structure
arising from the defective principle according to
which they were constructed. Mr. Smith, of the
Artisan, inquired, in the course of the discussion
which followed the delivery of the lecture, whether
the frames, according to Mr. Taylerson's plan,
being longer than in the vertical plant
did not require a greater quantity of metal,
so that, though ships built on his plan were
undoubtedly stronger than those built on the verti-
cal plan, the greater immersion, or displacement of
the vessel herself did not diminish the Quantity of
cargo she would carry, and whether the original
cost arising from the difficulty of laying down the
lines, and adapting the metal to the form required,
was not considerably more than according to the
present plan. Mr. Taylerson replied, that at first
there was found, a difficulty in laying down the
lines, but like every other obstacle in the wag
of improvement, when properly set about, that' ad.
been overcome, and in his own works at Glasgov•
the lines were laid down with the greatest accu-
racy, and ho found no difficulty in shaping the
metal to the form required. It was true that the
frames being longer on his plan than on the verti-
cal, more material was required, and that involved
an increased cost; but he had that day given 10
estimates, on his diagonal plan, for large contract
not exceeding from five to seven per cent. over the
cost on the vertical plan. And he was of opinion
that the displacement did not materially interfere

with the capacity of vessels for cargo.
Captain FISIIBOURNE, in proposing a vote of
thanks to the lecturer, expressed a strong opinion
in favour of his improvements, as applicable both
to naval warfare and commercial enterprise; and
ho remarked that, as the regulations of Lloyd °
required a certain space between the frames, shin
builders were bound to adhere to these 11111
if they wished their vessels to be classed
A 1., a mark which shipowners well under'
stood, for with that character they could insure
at their full value. On Mr. Taylerson's origilna
plan, he conceived, these frames might be set mnell
wider apart, and yet give greater stability to the
structure than it would have on the vertical ulna!
at present adopted. Such a modification, if allowed
by Lloyds, might produce a better/class of vessels
than now existed, with superior stowage capacity
and a lighter draft of water. In these observations
Mr. Taylerson concurred, and after acknowledging
the vote of thanks, the company separated.